Disclaimer: I don't own the Underworld concept, but I do own all the characters in this story unless aforementioned in this disclaimer.
P.s. Help! If anyone has any ideas of how to continue the story, let me know! I'm writing this chapter on the fly and unless I get an idea by the time I'm done writing, I'm afraid I'll have nowhere to turn with it. So if you have any suggestions, review and let me know! If I use it, I'll mention you in the A/N. Thanks!
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Elise was pissed. Anyone who even walked past her room could tell. The door was locked, but just passing by it sent shivers down their spines. She had been in this mood since they had returned home the night before and Christopher decided to find out what was wrong. Summoning all his nerves ( because when Elise was in a bad mood, she could be scarier than fifty mages,) he knocked on the door.
"Elise ?"
"Go away, Christopher."
"C'mon, don't be like that. What's wrong ?"
The door swung open on it's own and he entered the room. At, first it was so dark he thought he'd gone blind.
"Elise, where are you ?"
"Why are you asking me that ?"
"Because I can't see you. Can't you turn on the lights or something ?"
"The lights are on."
"Oh, now I get it. You're still pissed off at that Lycan."
"Whoever told you I was pissed off at someone ?"
" 'Cause you always do this when you're angry. You get enveloped in this weird dark fog."
"Okay, so I'm am pissed off. And, you care why ?"
"Because you're my friend."
"Fine. What do you want me to do about it?"
"I don't know. Take a walk or something."
"All right! I take a walk. Happy now ?"
"Yes."
The darkness seemed to creep back into one corner of the room where Elise was. She stood up and gave Christopher a small hug and then disappeared out the door.
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The biting wounds stung with every step that Christian took. Four silver shuriken stuck like deformed saucers out of his chest, their sharp barbs digging into his muscles and bones every tiny movement he made.
Somehow the mages had found out about the intended raid and instead of unarmed unassuming mages they had hoped to find, they had met at least ninety mage guards armed to the teeth with all sorts of silver weaponry. Only himself and Raphael had survived and they had both been so badly injured that it was a while before they could find the strength and energy to return to the mansion.
When, he entered the main hall he headed straight for the infirmary to get the things dug out of his chest before they completely poisoned him. Caleb the Lycans doctor was a forty-ish man who had been turned specifically for the use of his medical knowledge. He was puttering around cleaning medical instruments, when Christian banged through the doors of the tiny room. Caleb jumped slightly and his eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the shuriken.
"Well, these are nasty little stickers, aren't they ?"
Christian shot him a baleful look. "Can you get them out ?"
"Sure, but it's not going to be easy."
He picked up a small wrench and slid it into the first wound. Christian bit down on his lip in anticipation of the pain to come. Caleb clamped the wrench down on the trigger button, causing the sharp barbs to slide back in. He then wiggled the wrench back and forth until the compressed shuriken popped out. With a disdainful sniff, he dropped it into a metal tray full of water.
"I'll hold onto this to show Lord Christophe. He's not going to be happy that they've adapted more of our technology."
He slid the wrench back in and quickly removed the three other shuriken, dropping them in the tray with the first one.
He then bustled over to a cabinet and pulled out gauze, tape and some rubbing alcohol.
Without giving Christian a chance to catch his breath and recover from the pain of having the damned bits of silver removed from his chest, he splashed some of the alcohol onto a piece of gauze and meticulously cleaned out the wounds. Covering each one with a pad of gauze and taping it in place, he turned to Christian.
"These won't be needing stitches, but you may want to take it easy for a few days. And, you should definitely get some rest now to let the healing process begin."
Christian snorted. "Screw rest. I'm going out."
He slid off the examining table and headed for the door.
"But won't Lord Christophe be wanting to know how the mission went ?" Caleb called worriedly after him. But, his query fell on deaf ears, because Christian had already left.
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Elise leaned back against the metal girder and let the cool night air coming from the valley wash over her. The bridge she was sitting on had been declared a death trap and closed off long ago, so she doubted anyone would come along and disturb her privacy.
She shifted uncomfortably as the smell of freshly spilled blood reached her nose. She didn't have to open her eyes to tell who it was, she could smell him almost instantly.
It was the lycan boy from the covenant and he was rather obviously injured. She turned her head and regarded him silently.
He was walking along the bridge, clearly lost in his own thoughts with his hands shoved in his jacket pockets and a rather grim expression on his face.
He was about only three or four feet away from her when he finally realized someone was staring at him.
"Oh. Hullo."
She gave him a thin smile, but her voice was as cold as the night air. "Hello."
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Christian almost winced at the iciness in her voice, but he shrugged it off. Normally, he would have continued on his way, but he had to ask her. He just had to know the truth.
"You're that vampire from yesterday night aren't you ?"
Another cold glance. "I am."
"We met at the covenant didn't we ?"
She sighed in a very world-weary way. "Yes. I believe so."
Christian decided that faking a casual, stupid manner would be the best way to go.
"You were wearing that pendant weren't you ?"
This time she actually tuned to face him, swinging her legs over the edge of the girder.
"What do you mean ?"
"Oh, nothing. I just remember that you were wearing a spider pendant with a rather unusual design. Can you tell me where it originates from ?"
Her fingers flew subtly up to her throat and for a split second a panicky look flew across her face, but it was replaced by the ice mask again.
"I haven't the faintest idea what you are talking about."
"C'mon now. The design ? It looked to be a Celtic symbol or something. Did it come from Britain ?"
"I told you don't know where it came from. Now if you'll excuse me I need to be going."
She hopped off the girder with the grace of a cat and turned to leave, but Christian caught her wrist.
"Let go of me!"
She jerked her hand back, trying to pry it from his grip, but even with her vampiric strength she couldn't.
"I'm sorry if I must insist, but I need to know the origin of it's making. Because, I believe that it is a mage design an only mages can use their designs, so I need to know where you got it from."
Elise braced her heels against the stone wall of the bridge and tried even harder to pry her hand loose. But, in all her struggles, her mage pendant slipped out of her jacket, catching the moonlight and sending off a silvery glow.
"Well, what's this then ? A mage pendant with an identical design to the other that I saw you wearing. How did you come across it ?"
"I don't remember. Now please let me go ! You're hurting me !"
He dropped her hand as a look of sadness slid across his youthful features.
"I'm sorry for hurting you. I just needed to know if I was the only one or not."
"The only one what ?"
Elise could have had many chances to run by then, but she stayed. She didn't know why she felt sorry for him all of a sudden, but for some reason she did.
"My father was a lycan, my mother was a mage. I'm a hybrid. A monster as some would choose to call me. But, ever since I saw that design on your spider pendant at the Covenant I can't stop thinking about it and you. Please are you a mage or is this some sort of trick to get me to reveal my past ?"
Elise's hand closed around her pendant. "I am a mage. Well, I was one."
"But how did you become a vampire ?"
Elise took a deep breath although she didn't need it. She had kept this secret for more than a century and now she was about to reveal it to a boy she barely knew.
"Before I tell you what happened to me, show me your pendant to prove you are not lying."
Reaching inside his shirt, he pulled out a silver piece of metal dangling from a black cord, much like her own.
She closed her eyes a took a few more deep breaths.
"All right, now I will tell you..............."