A/N: I'm so sorry I forgot to warn for the kissing part in the last chapter.
BTW, this chapter also involves referring to sex, but it's not shocking or anything, so...See for yourself I'd say... =P
P.S. The lyrics are again from Keane. Man, they give me good ideas...They have great music too...
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After they had kissed Chris backed away from her. Her expression was now frantic and frightened rather than self-confident. It looked like she had changed into somebody else.
"He got me", she whispered. Yet, to Chris it seemed like a scream in fright.
"He got me, please help me!" she whispered again, looking frightened and exhausted.
"What?" said Chris, but before he could do anything, the self-confidence seemed to slip back into the girl. He tried again.
"What did you say? About him having you? Who got you, girl?" he asked, pushing her to get an answer.
"I don't recall saying anything", said the girl, seemingly returned to her don't-mess-with-me attitude.
Chris sighed deeply and turned away from her.
"You know I want answers", he said.
"You know I can't give you answers", she said.
......::::::::::::......
Leo was Up There, trying to find Elders to get them to track Paige. They really needed her now. He had a strange feeling that whatever was happening to Richard wasn't all as 'natural' as having the ability to absorb other people's powers.
One Elder came around the corner, looking scared and shocked.
"What is it, Lucius?" asked Leo. "Did something happen?" he said at a sharp tone, looking around suspiciously as if to see if there was a possible suspect around.
"No, Leo, she already left. I managed to hide using my powers as Head Elder, but she was powerful. More powerful than I've ever felt in a girl of her age. You know, she seemed to radiate it too. She was only wearing jeans and a white tank top, but her hair was honey-like and glowed with something that seemed like pureness."
"Chris..." said Leo, suddenly remembering Chris' description of the girl that morning.
"I don't understand", said Lucius in a puzzled voice, "I could sense her pureness, her innocence, yet she drove all the other Elders away, killed a few, I think. They don't dare return to this place, even though it will be safe now. I've taken my measures, of course."
"Lucius, I have to go", said Leo, his tone almost as urgent as his looks.
"Goodbye, Leo, I will see you soon, I hope", said Lucius in his usual patient voice, calmed by having seen his most faithful Elder. "May the Gods be with you..." "Yeah", said Leo, "I'm sure as hell I'm not going to need that."
Last thing he said before orbing off to the Manor was: "Don't be dead, Chris, not now that I've finally found you..."
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As Paige woke, her head was throbbing like mad. She tried to move her hips up as she felt extremely tense, but found she couldn't. She looked around and saw she was in some sort of cave, but it wasn't dark. Moreover, there was light coming from a place she couldn't see.
"Okay...this is freaky", she said to herself, something she always did when she was alone or scared.
"Let's just try to magic me out, OK?" she said, while thinking: 'This is insane. One, I'm talking to myself, which is generally considered to be the first sign of madness. Two, I'm here because of my insane boyfriend. Three, he's tied me up, so I'm probably not supposed to go walking around. All signs of madness...'
"Freaky", she said one again, remembering that she should stop it.
"Undo these bonds,
created out of love,
make me free,
so I can save you, my dove"
she chanted and the invisible ropes glowed gold and disappeared.
Paige got up, cracking her neck and her back in the sudden movement. She got off the stone she had been lying on and walked out of the cave, rubbing both her neck and back.
She gasped as she walked out of the cave and a beautiful landscape appeared before her very eyes. She was amazed, not only by its beauty, but also by Richard's nerve to bring her here.
"God damn it!" she exclaimed and only got more infuriated at hearing her curse echo around her. There were lots of mountains there and a lake. Paige just knew it would be pure and ice cold, because she'd been here before.
I walked across an empty land
I knew the pathway like the back of my hand
I felt the earth beneath my feet
Sat by the river and it made me complete
I came across a fallen tree
I felt the branches of it looking at me
Is this the place we used to love?
Is this the place that I've been dreaming of?
This could be the end of everything
So why don't we go
Somewhere only we know?
"Nooooooooo!" Paige screamed out loud as it dawned on her where she was.
She wasn't on earth. Richard had trapped her inside her own mind. This was where they'd go when they'd make love. Not physically, but mentally. There was no place like this to be found on earth, it existed only in their minds and every day again, she yearned to be there...
TBC
A/N: I'm sorry, I know everybody hates cliff-hangers, but I'm kinda busy.