The vase smashed into the wall. How the bitch had escaped Crystal wasn't sure. She had never seen such unusual shapeshifters.
"I'm telling you I don't know!" Paige insisted.
Crystal scowled at her. Paige must know /something/. Paris was her brother, despite his appalling taste in women. Her hands were placed on her hips. She'd wrecked the dining room of her parent's mansion, smashed everything she could get her hands on, including breaking the wooden dining room table. To bleed felt surprisingly good. The sharp pain the broken wood caused Crystal's vampire flesh brought Crystal back to reality sharper than anything else. Anger gave her something to focus on.
"So you have no idea who can shapeshift into a moose and a giant anteater?"
Paige shook her head, trying not to smirk. "I really don't, Crys. I swear."
Crystal opened her mouth to yell, then shut it and grinned herself. A shapeshifting giant anteater was very weird and amusing in one respect.
"I also haven't seen Paris since he left this afternoon," Paige said, stepping over a pile of broken glass and other shattered things. "I guess we can't expect shapeshifters to limit themselves to types of birds, dogs and cats."
Crystal nodded. She guessed it made sense. "It could have just been me, but I was so getting the sense that they were a little more than just shapeshifters."
Paige frowned. "Half breeds?"
Crystal shrugged. She didn't know how to explain it. She hadn't stayed long enough to find out. "I really don't know." Suspicion and hatred darkened her eyes. "And I /hate/ not knowing."
At the time the supposed millennium battle was supposed to have been taking place Night People were supposed to be getting more and more powerful. Then the battle had never happened. But Night World power was still increasing. Crystal had heard her parents talking about it, witches with startling new powers - stronger magic, firepower thrown from their hands, vampires with stronger mind control, increased speed and stronger and more ruthless and vicious than every, They were also complaining about new species that were showing up, one in particular causing problems - a species with the powers of vampire, witch and shapeshifter. cause Crystal's parents and some members of the Joint Council seemed to think were far /too/ powerful. These species were freaks like Jean Winters who didn't fit in anywhere.
"I think we may have more freaks to deal with than one," Crystal said harshly. She started to move out of the ruined dining room. The entire point of her plan had been to get rid of Jean so Crystal could have Paris, despite the fact that Paris was gorgeous - was he really worth all this bother, she couldn't help thinking, if he was a freak-lover? "Ugh, I /so/ hate this! I hate being in the dark!"
"You're not the only one, you know." Paige had followed Crystal out the dining room. Now they made their way down the hall, but Crystal wasn't really sure where they were going. "We're doing this to save my brother, remember?" Paige was going on. "No Jean, no obsession. So she was rescued by some odd shapeshifters - so what? We go back to the cabin, and I will do a location spell to find her. We find her, and destroy the bitch once and for all." Paige held up her white leather shoulder bag. "I have all my supplies." She marched off towards the front door, glancing back over her shoulder at Crystal. "You coming?"
Crystal smirked and hurried after her. "Of /course/ I'm coming."
--------------------------
"So she wasn't there?" Ice shook her head
Nate paced up and down the floor of the same living room where Ice had first encountered him.
"I did get an irritating witch," Ice offered, smiling.
"Whatever. The witch was not the target - Ivy Tempest was," Nate snapped, "and you didn't do your job." He whipped around to face Ice, eyes blazing silver with fury. Ice simply gazed back at him, unimpressed with Nate's shining eyes and the anger in his voice. It wasn't like she had never had to deal with a pissed off vampire before.
"All right, all right," Ice said dismissively. "I don't see why you're so pissed off at killing one particular Tempest who killed your brother when the cousin you sent to work with me is dating one."
"What?" Nate looked like she had slapped him. "Paris is…"
"Yeah, she and Ivana/Ivy are living in the same house. The witch I killed was the little Tempest freak's adoptive mother."
Nate smiled, a little more relived. "Oh that makes killing the witch a lot better then." Ice's eyes rolled. She just did not get this guy. Nothing about Nate made sense. He seemed - weird wasn't quite the word. While it certainly fit him, Ice thought there was something else - frustrating was another good word to describe Nate.
"What the hell /is/ this place?" Ice gestured around her. She had been told to meet Nate in a motel, she had gone, when she had walked into the appointed room Velvet had been there to meet her - the witch she had first seen on waking in this strange place. She had been knocked out, and woken up in the living room facing Nate. "What's going on here? I've had enough of you and your fucking games. You're not the only one with a grudge against Ivana - Ivy whatever the hell she wants to call herself. I can find her without your personal crap getting in my way."
Ice turned around and pushed Nate angrily aside and made for the door.
"Ivana's people did a damned good job of kicking your ass. You're lucky you weren't killed and should be thankful we saved your life instead of leaving you to die," Nate called after her.
"Thanks," Ice said dully as she placed her hand on the door knob and turned it. She stared to walk out and found herself in a dark empty corridor. Her sensitive hearing picked up on loud music and her extra sensitive nose was assaulted with a myriad of scents - people, booze, cigarettes, drugs. Could there be a club not so far a way? The catacomb of rooms could be underneath the club. So why couldn't she know where the club was? It was crazy.
"Ben wasn't so lucky was he?"
Ice stopped, stunned by Nate's words. The mention of Ben's name brought tears to her eyes. She had forced herself not to think of him. It was the only way Ice had been able to get on with her life. She turned. "How - "
Nate shrugged. "He worked here. Hell of a guy - best Tempest killer I've ever met. They never saw him coming."
Ice shook her head, unaware of the tears spilling freely down her cheeks. "I don't - I've knew Ben my whole life. He couldn't have been…" She trailed off.
"Everyone's got secrets," Nate said."
"What /are/ you? This place - "
"Curve your tongue and your temper and I'll tell you." Nate took a seat in one of the leather arm chairs and gestured for Ice to take the other one. Ice laughed bitterly and came back inside the room, closing the door behind her.