Chapter Three

Daring Rescue

"Hey, Kai. Kai. Kai! Kai, are you even in there?" Tyson waved a hand in front of his friend's blank face. Kai merely continued to ignore him. Max sat beside him, poking him in the arm over and over again, trying to get his attention. It was no good. Kenny just typed away furiously at his computer. Ray stared at Kai intently, trying to read his expression. Finally, he looked away. He didn't seem too certain, but then spoke confidently.

"Guys, leave Kai be for a little while." Ray murmured. Then all five boys heard a terrified shriek, followed by sobbing.

"Run, you two! Run, now!!" Kai leapt up from the curb to his feet. That was Midnight's voice. Something was wrong, terribly wrong. As the Blade Breakers tried to figure out where she was, they saw two little girls run around the corner of a building, stumbling and crying, and were quickly followed by three rough-looking teenage boys. Max let out a sharp whistle, catching their attention. Silvery white and golden blond hair with blue eyes told them it was Tannis and Wendy.

The two girls ran in the boys' direction, keeping well ahead of the three thugs. Upon reaching the boys, they dropped to their knees in front of Tyson, gasping for breath and tears running down their dirt smudged faces. They both cried out in fear, "Kai, it's Dara! They're going to hurt Dara!" Kai went white, then raced off around the corner to find his Auramdas. One of the three boys let out a sickening wolf whistle.

"Hello, my pretty, pretty pretties. You look good enough to eat." The tallest boy leered at the two little ones as they ran behind Ray. Tannis and Wendy peeped around him at the frightening thugs.

Tyson spread his feet and balled his hands into fists. Ray took a fighting stance, and Max pushed the two girls protectively behind him. They heard snarls, grunts, and thuds from the alleyway around the corner, but they paid it no heed. They had a fight on their hands, they knew, and they had to focus on their enemies.

"Why don't you mess with someone your own size?" Tyson challenged.

"Who, like you?" The shorter one mocked. "Ooh, whatcha gonna do, little man? Gonna fight us, are you, little man? You got some big balls." Tyson's fists were clenched so tight his knuckles were white against the rest of his tanned skin. He glared at the shorter thug, a boy of maybe sixteen, with black hair and violet eyes. Holy crap, that was freaky! His pupils were oddly elliptical, and his eyeteeth were oddly long and sharp. He bared his bright white teeth at Tyson in a sneering grin.

"Don't know who exactly I am, do ya, little man?" The other boy glared at Tyson, his face contorted with deep loathing and obvious disdain. He had white hair, with bright blue eyes, but he had the same elliptical pupil and strange eyeteeth. He hissed, "Wouldn't challenge us if you were smart enough to know what was good for you, human." The other boy was small, with carrot colored hair and golden eyes. He too had the strange eyes and teeth, but unlike the other two, he looked a bit nervous. All three of them made Tyson think of snakes.

"Jennan, Hakeem, I don't think this is a good idea! That was… she was a Vaperia Eldimiaria, (Vaperio noblewoman) man, don't you know what that means? If Seth finds out, don't you know what he'll do to us, man? Karziraduna, you guys!"

"Oh, please, Korri, that wasn't an Eldimaria, or even an insignificant Sangrejian, that was a racrazoll!" He sniggered, then fell silent when an icy voice murmured, "Take that back." Midnight stepped forward, Kai beside her. Her eyes were a bright gold, her teeth were long and sharp, her fists were clenched, and she looked positively murderous, despite the job that'd been done on her.

The whole left side of her face was a mass of bruises. The well-muscled midriff she showed off had a large, foot-shaped black bruise oozing green on her right side. Her chin was purple with a little white spot in the center, and her lips were split straight down the middle, puffy and bleeding. Her legs were bruised, her calves mostly. She looked really beat up. But the three boys cowered before her anyway.

Kai, a voice in his head whispered, they hurt me. They called me a whore. They tried to rape me. Hurt them, anosha. Hurt them. As Midnight's voice breathed through his mind, another voice, the voice of rage and madness, roared at him.

Viranoshimik! It screamed, and though he didn't quite understand the words, they served to enrage him further. Viranoshimik phix nur'e amdas, nur'e Auramdas, nur'e lanira!! Viranoshimik phix nur'e eldi, phix nur'e diala! Ranzellar tseim! (Rival! Rival for your mate, your Auramdas, your lover! Rival for your lady, for your woman! Kill them!)

Kai swiftly kicked one boy in the gut and then clocked him, effectively knocking the boy out. Midnight was slightly more vindictive. Glaring at the other two boys, she knocked their feet out from under them, kicked them right between the legs, feeling the delicate flesh and organs there give and crumble beneath her boot heel, then proceeded to kick them both in the face before letting them fall to the concrete.

Kai, as if moved by an unseen, unknown force, strode toward the leader, the tall one named Jennan. He knelt beside his quivering, bruised body, leaned in, and began whispering softly in his ear. Tyson and the others couldn't hear what he said, but Midnight caught the last part.

"Razella makim nu, fid nu nor jakar digan a shea vamistol. Loshatelmi?" Jennan whimpered a reply, something like, "Yes, yes, just please don't…." Kai made a sound of disgust, kicked Jennan in the ribs, and stalked back towards the others. (Death awaits you, if you ever lay a hand on her again. Understand?)

Midnight hopped onto the jungle gym, pulling the two girls up after her. Kai, Ray, and Tyson both hopped up. Kenny climbed, and Max just pulled himself up from underneath. Mariah, who had been watching from an alley to see if they needed help, nudged Li, Gary, and Kevin, and they too took a seat on the top bars of the gym. Everyone stared at Midnight so hard she dropped her gaze to the ground.

"What? What are you all staring at?" Midnight murmured. Kai lifted her chin with his fingers, and she looked him in the eye. The others immediately saw what Kai had suspected from the first: her eyes held pain, sorrow, and a secret. Li, Ray, and Mariah smelled fear, disgust, and anger. She knew who did this, and it wasn't some punk kid.

"Midnight, who did this to you?" Ray asked finally. Tannis and Wendy both scooted closer to her. "Please, tell us." Midnight just shook her head.

Auramdas?

Dara.

Huh?

My name is Dara, anosha.

What does anosha mean?

Beloved. It is another word for what you are to me.

Is there another word?

Auramdas.

What does that mean? And why does it do… this to me?

Auramdas is our word, a word that makes your body realize its connection to mine. It makes you realize how your body feels, something that you tend to suppress. It lowers your inhibitions… with me.

What does it mean, though?

You will know when you are ready to know.

Who hurt you?

Don't ask me, anosha. He has power over me.

What power? Who?

I…I cannot say.

Why?

You are not ready to accept my true nature.

What's that supposed to mean?

What it says. Suffice to say, he holds power over me, and because of him, I am…not as I should be, on the inside, where the heart is. I am…off, because of this power hold. And because of this, because I am not as I should be, you, anosha, are in danger. So, do not ask.

Who hurt you, Dara? You have got to tell me!

I will not, I cannot. You must…let me do this on my own.

The bond between Auramdasi requires trust, Dara.

You have the language gift. She was surprised at how quickly he was picking up the rules of Sanguinyte from her mind.

Huh?

Never mind. You are right, Kai. I should trust you. I do trust you.

Then tell me who this enemy of ours is. This…viranoshimik.

He is not viranoshimik! Do not think that, Kai! To believe this is to let something dark loose in your heart, in your soul, something you're not ready for! He is only an enemy, nothing more. Not viranoshimik. Okay? You must listen to me, he is not viranoshimik, he is not! Do you understand?

Why are you afraid?

Because…because someone like you, with the nature, the heart and the soul that you have, is dangerous when confronted by a viranoshimik, or someone they believe to be so. You must not believe Vlad to be this way.

Vlad?

Yes, anosha, Vlad.

His smell is on you. His smell…his essence is still…Dara!

Please, Kai, don't turn me away! I didn't want it, I promise! He…I…Kai, don't turn me away now, not after I've spent so long searching for…

Shhh, hush. Hush. It's alright, don't start crying, please. Out loud, Kai said, "It was Vlad."

"What do you mean?" Tyson and them all stared at Kai. "What do you know about Vlad?"

"Vlad the Impaler, that was his nickname back when he was arrested, the name the press gave him."

"What was he arrested for?" Wendy asked meekly. But Midnight got it. She knew. She had always known, and she had only held out because she'd been looking for the one her parents had told her about. She hated Vlad, she despised and loathed him.

"Uncle Vlad." Everyone but Kai stared at her. Max gave her a strange look.

"What's an 'uncle,' Midnight? The way you mean it?" Kevin asked.

"An uncle is someone who likes to play with little girls, Kevin." Disgust contorted everyone's features.

"He didn't… I mean, he hasn't… has he…."

"Don't ask what you don't want to know."

"What will you do?"

"Does anyone know about the Brotherhood of the Quill?" Ray, Li, Kai, Kenny, and Kevin all stared at her, open-mouthed. She couldn't possibly have that much hate, to be able to do something like that to him.

"You got the guts to do that, Dara?" Kai asked. Midnight smiled at him.

You know how I can be, Kai. That's why I'm your Auramdas.

I want to protect you.

I can protect myself.

But I…there's this…this urge, this compulsion-

It's our aura'tish-a-nkar'lania.

Our what?

Never mind, I'll explain it later. Suffice to say, I feel this urge to protect you, to be strong for you, as well. We can be strong for and protect each other. How's that?

'Kay. He smiled at her, a warm, tender smile.

"I don't even wanna ask what that's all about." Max shuddered. Midnight dropped her smile. "But, Midnight, you got to tell someone. Tell my dad, or Mr. Dickinson, or Tyson's grandfather. But, you got to tell someone."

"Tell someone what, Carlotta?" Vlad was there, staring up at the teenagers. Wendy snuggled closer to her captain, and Tannis whimpered. The boys glared at him, and Mariah stuck up her nose and turned away. A shiver went through Midnight, and she felt an acidic burning through every capillary, vein, and artery in her body as her blood began to reject the sickening energy Vlad was sending toward her. The message was crystal clear: come down now, or he would make her so sick and hurting she would fall to the cement at his feet.

"Nothing, Vlad. Nothing." She murmured softly, fighting not to be sick. The burning deep in her body increased, and she gave a soft, strangled cry of pain.

"Didn't sound like 'nothing,' my lovely." Vlad smiled icily. Midnight whimpered. "Come down and we can talk about it." He murmured sweetly, cajolingly. Shards of glass were scraping against every raw nerve behind her eyes. "Then everything will be all right." Spikes of burning cold ice shot through her heart. She felt bile rise in her throat, and choked as she kept herself, by sheer force of will, from throwing up. This pain, this brutal, agonizing assault, had to stop.

Midnight leapt down. So did the other kids. "What's up, boys, miss?" he smiled again, grabbed Midnight's arm hard enough to bruise, and then began walking away. The aural poisoning continued. Tannis and Wendy began to follow, and then Midnight broke away and ran back, stopping only when she reached the boys.

Kai wrapped an arm protectively around her, and soothed her telepathically in a language he didn't know but somehow still understood and could speak. Ray, Li, Kevin, Tyson, and Gary all took a fighting stance. Kai was tense, ready to spring this way or that. Midnight was balanced on the balls of her feet, ready to step back. Vlad's cold, fishy smile faltered.

"What's this, Midnight? Got yourself a special friend now, do you? Tsk tsk. I thought I taught you better. Come here." Midnight took a step back. Vlad shot forward, dragging her back with him. He was on his guard now, and she couldn't break away, no matter how she struggled. He only drained what energy she put forth. He brought his arm back and slapped her.

Tannis took in a whistling breath through her teeth, and then she ran at Vlad, beating him with her little fists. All he did was snort. Then, grabbing her by the hair, he threw her to the ground. Her head hit the curb, and she lay still, not moving. Midnight gasped and renewed her struggle. Vlad's fist swung and sank deep into her stomach. She choked, gagged, and doubled over.

A voice in Kai's mind screamed in frustration and despair, I am NOT supposed to be this way! This is NOT how I should be! This bond, this leeching of power, this is not right! Kai!!

Rage boiled up in Kai. No one had a right to do this to his anosha Auramdas. How dare this… this… this human touch her with his base, vile, human hands!?

But wait… Kai himself was human. So why was Vlad's humanity so… so… so very, terribly, sickeningly offensive?

Ray rushed the older man and let loose a barrage of kicks. Kai and Gary were content to slug him. His grip on Dara loosened, and she crumpled to the ground. Kai lifted her into his arms and carried her back to the shelter of the jungle gym. He ducked beneath the "door" and set her down on the wood flooring inside. She coughed, choking, and spat blood. She wiped her mouth on the back of her sleeve.

"Kai…."

"What have you done to me?"

"I… only what you have done to me."

"What's happening to me?" How can I talk to you like this, in my mind?

It is something you were born with anyway, and being one such as yourself, your mental talents have increased around me.

Will it go away once you leave?

No. And I am not leaving. If I left…you would wish it otherwise.

Dara…are you threaten-

NO!! I am not threatening you, nor will I ever. I am only telling you, that without outside assistance, your body, your heart, mind, and soul will let you realize that I should be with you.

Why?

Because I am supposed to be with you.

Am I…

You are supposed to be with me, as well. We are Auramdasi. It is…how it is, how it must be, and how it has always been, since as far back as I can remember.

Well, that's not very long.

Oh, hush, anosha, you know not of what you speak. They are hurting him.

Yes.

Good. You cannot join them. If you do, your rage will be such that you will not be able to stop yourself from killing him.

Killing him?

Do you deny that this is what you wish to do to my enemy?

No. It is what I want to do to him. Anyone that hurts you deserves death…what are you doing to me? He cried suddenly, realizing what he had been saying.

I know this is new. It is to me, as well. But I am not doing anything to you. What you are feeling…it is all you, not me. You know I'm telling the truth.

I know. I want to hurt him.

You also wish to tear off all my clothes, sheathe yourself between my thighs, and take me as completely and thoroughly as you know how. So what? Neither can be done at this time. Can they?

N-no. No, they can't.

I want it, too.

You want to hurt him? Of course you do, after what he did to you.

That is not what I am referring to, and you know it. Kai turned bright red. Desire, lust, sexual hunger…it is all part of the bond between us. Does this displease you?

Stop reading my mind, Dara, you know I'm gonna say no, I'm fine with it.

I know. I just…thought I'd ask anyway. They listened to everyone beating on Vlad until they heard four voices cry, "What in the world are you kids doing?"

It was Mr. Dickinson, Max's parents, and Tyson's grandfather. They were staring at the kids with disbelief. Midnight decided it was time to speak up.

"They were helping me." She stated as she crawled out from inside the jungle gym. Max's mother, Sara, gazed at the girl intently, her eyes taking in all the bruises. She then glanced briefly at Vlad. Her eyes widened.

"Is he your guardian?" Midnight nodded. "What is he to you, family wise?"

"My… my uncle." She murmured, her eyes a hard, hateful yellow. Rage and utter contempt flashed in her golden gaze. Sara glanced at Max questioningly. Max pointed at Vlad and indicated he was crazy. Sara blinked. Then, beckoning Tannis and Wendy forward, she kneeled down and murmured, "Is he really your uncle?"

"He's funny that way." Wendy replied. Tannis nodded. Sara shook her head, confused.

"Funny as in he's funny in a ha-ha way or funny in a strange way?" She asked. The girls shook their heads.

"Neither." Wendy murmured.

"He's funny in a bad way. He hurts Midnight, and Winter." Tannis whispered, looking frightened. "He makes them cry. He hurts them, and they cry, and then he says he's sorry, and he says, 'Let's make up,' and he takes of their clothes and says, 'See, we're still friends,' and then… then… he's bad, he's bad, he's really, really bad!" Tannis screamed and buried her face in Sara's stomach. Sara understood.

"Mr. Dickinson, call the police." She ordered. Tannis and Wendy ran back to Midnight, who was leaning on Kai, breathing heavily. "So, that's where you got those bruises?" Midnight nodded slowly.

"She seems quite attached to the boys. Why don't you and your team stay with the White Tigers and the Blade Breakers for now?" Midnight looked hopeful. Wendy and Tannis wriggled.

"Yippee!" They cried, dancing up and down. Midnight sighed heavily. The grown-ups looked at her sharply. Kai caught her eye.

Dara?

I feel really dizzy…She gave an apologetic smile… and pitched forward. Kai and Ray caught her easily. She looked exhausted. Her eyes were fluttering. Her breathing was very shallow. Her eyes were shadowed, and she was pale and gaunt.

"She needs a night without worry, some sleep, and something to eat. Give me a sec." Kai said. He and Ray sat her up, but her head lolled to one side. "Midnight, we're gonna go to the stadium hotel and then we're gonna get pancakes." He whispered earnestly. Midnight gave a little half-smile and opened her eyes.

Really, Kai?

Yeah, really. And then, we'll get a room, and you can lie down. I'll take care of you, I promise. You can get some rest.

Are you sure it's rest you have on your mind, anosha?

For the most part, hot stuff. She grinned, and closed her eyes.

You got it, then.