Part 11
Everyone thought she was crazy for inviting Amber Hamill to join their vampire hunter group. Sunday didn't care. As far as she was concerned, the more people they could recruit the better. What would be better than a recruit who had just been dumped and had her heart broken by her loser boyfriend who was a murderous leech?
"This is Amber Hamill we're talking about," Lucius Meyers, her second in command was saying. "She can't squash a fly without someone to do it for her. You came here a month ago - "
"And whipped your asses into shape," Sunday answered, putting the weights she had been working out with back in their place.
Sunday's parents were workaholics and never home, certainly never looked in the house's basement, so Sunday and her friends had turned the place into a gym where they could train old and new members.
Lucius handed her a small towel. Sunday stood up, stretching and wiped away the sweat dripping from her forehead and under her arms. Lucius's nose wrinkled. "But Amber - have you ever seen that girl do /anything/ physical? She cries when she breaks a nail," Lucius complained as they left the basement and found themselves in the kitchen of the main house.
The other group members, Parker Litt and Carey Oldham were waiting, neither of them were looking pleased. "Jesus, what is the matter with you guys?" Sunday snapped. "We're few in numbers. We /need/ more recruits. Better of she comes here with us than with those moron Daybreak freaks."
"Come to think of it, she actually does have a point there," Parker pointed out, adjusting the silver strap of her aquamarine top. The others just grunted. The doorbell rang.
"That's her. Carey, go let her in."
Carey sighed, and headed over to the door, muttering under his breath. A few seconds later he came back into the kitchen with Amber in toe. Amber looked from one to the other. "So what's this all about then?"
No one understood the pressure she was under. Mercedes had lost interest in caring what people thought anymore. Even Nell, who was supposed to be her best friend, didn't get it.
"How much /longer/ is this going to take?" She paced around her basement, watching the witch in the centre work. A space had been cleared and three white candles were stuck in their own wax onto the floor, burning.
Thanks to her Harman heritage, Nell would have been so much quicker and more powerful, but since Nell hadn't wanted to help, Mercedes had had to find another witch to do the location spell for her.
Raven Swann looked up from the map spread in front of her and the candles. "Can't you just, like, get a spy in Daybreak to find this information out for you? You're a Redfern, aren't you?"
Mercedes snorted. "Yeah, but if I had those kind of resources, why would you be here? Just /find/ the bitch."
Mercedes wished she had that kind of power, like other wealthy Redferns seemed to. But for some reason, her family just didn't. As far as the Night World were concerned, they were just another branch of the Redfern family. In one respect, it was a good thing, Mercedes was able to get away with breaking a few rules every now and then.
Raven was spreading out a scattering of small coloured crystals on the bottom of the map and was holding up a crystal on a pendant. Mercedes looked away, sighing, not really caring to watch how the spell was going to work. When she glanced back, the pendulum was swinging, pointing to somewhere on the map, and the colourful crystals had rearranged themselves in an arch shape.
Raven's blue lipsticked lips were curved into a smile. She pointed to the map, a few strands of frosty pink hair falling over one eye. Mercedes leaned over, looking where the crystal arch ended and Raven pointed. She smiled. "Okay. Good."
"You know, that town has an uncannily large population of Night People," Raven pointed out casually, gathering the crystals she had used and putting them in a red velvet pouch that had been sat on the floor next to her.
"Really." Mercedes turned the basement lights on as Raven was blowing out the candles. She didn't know if that would be a good thing or a bad one. In a town with a sizeable population of Night People there was bound to be a power struggle between Daybreakers and their harmony for all crap, Night People for control, and vampire hunters trying to rid the town of anything not human. Occasionally there was a pack of werewolves thrown in for good measure.
Old Souls were usually popular amongst all groups, mainly for their information on the past. Their soulmates were always a viable target. Pandora would have her hands full, and without a doubt would be under Daybreak protection. But Mercedes wasn't going to let that get in her way.
"You're really doing this?" Raven asked.
"Yes," Mercedes snarled. "Why does no one get this? I'm killing that Pandora bitch and that's that!"
Everyone thought she was crazy for inviting Amber Hamill to join their vampire hunter group. Sunday didn't care. As far as she was concerned, the more people they could recruit the better. What would be better than a recruit who had just been dumped and had her heart broken by her loser boyfriend who was a murderous leech?
"This is Amber Hamill we're talking about," Lucius Meyers, her second in command was saying. "She can't squash a fly without someone to do it for her. You came here a month ago - "
"And whipped your asses into shape," Sunday answered, putting the weights she had been working out with back in their place.
Sunday's parents were workaholics and never home, certainly never looked in the house's basement, so Sunday and her friends had turned the place into a gym where they could train old and new members.
Lucius handed her a small towel. Sunday stood up, stretching and wiped away the sweat dripping from her forehead and under her arms. Lucius's nose wrinkled. "But Amber - have you ever seen that girl do /anything/ physical? She cries when she breaks a nail," Lucius complained as they left the basement and found themselves in the kitchen of the main house.
The other group members, Parker Litt and Carey Oldham were waiting, neither of them were looking pleased. "Jesus, what is the matter with you guys?" Sunday snapped. "We're few in numbers. We /need/ more recruits. Better of she comes here with us than with those moron Daybreak freaks."
"Come to think of it, she actually does have a point there," Parker pointed out, adjusting the silver strap of her aquamarine top. The others just grunted. The doorbell rang.
"That's her. Carey, go let her in."
Carey sighed, and headed over to the door, muttering under his breath. A few seconds later he came back into the kitchen with Amber in toe. Amber looked from one to the other. "So what's this all about then?"
No one understood the pressure she was under. Mercedes had lost interest in caring what people thought anymore. Even Nell, who was supposed to be her best friend, didn't get it.
"How much /longer/ is this going to take?" She paced around her basement, watching the witch in the centre work. A space had been cleared and three white candles were stuck in their own wax onto the floor, burning.
Thanks to her Harman heritage, Nell would have been so much quicker and more powerful, but since Nell hadn't wanted to help, Mercedes had had to find another witch to do the location spell for her.
Raven Swann looked up from the map spread in front of her and the candles. "Can't you just, like, get a spy in Daybreak to find this information out for you? You're a Redfern, aren't you?"
Mercedes snorted. "Yeah, but if I had those kind of resources, why would you be here? Just /find/ the bitch."
Mercedes wished she had that kind of power, like other wealthy Redferns seemed to. But for some reason, her family just didn't. As far as the Night World were concerned, they were just another branch of the Redfern family. In one respect, it was a good thing, Mercedes was able to get away with breaking a few rules every now and then.
Raven was spreading out a scattering of small coloured crystals on the bottom of the map and was holding up a crystal on a pendant. Mercedes looked away, sighing, not really caring to watch how the spell was going to work. When she glanced back, the pendulum was swinging, pointing to somewhere on the map, and the colourful crystals had rearranged themselves in an arch shape.
Raven's blue lipsticked lips were curved into a smile. She pointed to the map, a few strands of frosty pink hair falling over one eye. Mercedes leaned over, looking where the crystal arch ended and Raven pointed. She smiled. "Okay. Good."
"You know, that town has an uncannily large population of Night People," Raven pointed out casually, gathering the crystals she had used and putting them in a red velvet pouch that had been sat on the floor next to her.
"Really." Mercedes turned the basement lights on as Raven was blowing out the candles. She didn't know if that would be a good thing or a bad one. In a town with a sizeable population of Night People there was bound to be a power struggle between Daybreakers and their harmony for all crap, Night People for control, and vampire hunters trying to rid the town of anything not human. Occasionally there was a pack of werewolves thrown in for good measure.
Old Souls were usually popular amongst all groups, mainly for their information on the past. Their soulmates were always a viable target. Pandora would have her hands full, and without a doubt would be under Daybreak protection. But Mercedes wasn't going to let that get in her way.
"You're really doing this?" Raven asked.
"Yes," Mercedes snarled. "Why does no one get this? I'm killing that Pandora bitch and that's that!"