Disclaimer: All the Nightworld concepts, ideas, names, basically anything
you recognize belongs to L.J. Smith. I've just created a few characters to
stick into the Nightworld.
A/N: My first L.J. Smith fanfic so all thoughts would be truly, madly appreciated.
Rated PG-13
Yesterdays
Summary: He awoke a vampire, with no knowledge of his past but the surety he'd been human. He would quest to discover his yesterdays only to find that some things are best forgotten.
Prologue
In the darkest hour of the night a boy awoke in the forest. How he'd gotten there, he knew not. And he cared not. He couldn't afford to care, not yet. All he wanted, needed, was to appease the hunger that was coursing through him. A hunger like one he'd never known before. He wasn't starving, it was far worse. There was a gnawing pain in him, not just in his stomach but in the whole of him.
He staggered to his feet and worked his way out of the forest. He'd never been there before but he made it out in record time. If he'd been able to think he would have told himself it was his impeccable sense of direction, of intuition. It was of course neither of those things but he was too consumed in the pain that searing through him to be capable of rational thought anyway.
Some distant part of him might have registered the fact that he could see better than he ever had before, that he was moving with a swiftness and a grace that previously eluded him but about that he was not concerned either.
He turned the corner and saw a sign that made him want to weep with joy. It read, 'Wendy's: open until 2AM.' That sensible distant part of him warned that burgers weren't what he needed, what he was craving. But he paid little heed. As he approached a girl walked out, brown takeout bag in hand. The scents wafting from her were incredible. His teeth . . . sharpened. And, entirely on their own accord, his feet led him to follow her. He followed her out to the deserted parking lot. As she fumbled around her purse, presumably for her keys, he grabbed her. And he fed. And fed. Only when he was sated, when the hunger subsided did he pull away.
He wiped the blood off his mouth, let go of the girl and watched in morbid fascination as she crumpled into a heap on the ground. As he stood there, and regained use of his faculties he was filled with horror. With shame. He had done that to her. He had caused those puncture marks on the girl's neck. He had drank her life's blood until her life was no more. And worst of all was the knowledge that he had never felt more alive in all his life. This he knew with odd certainty, considering that he had just come to the realization that he remembered nothing of himself, of his life before he woke in the forest. He might not know his name but he was pretty damn sure he hadn't been a blood sucking monster. A vampire. Some things really were intuitive. He would just have to find out the rest, the parts that weren't.
He left the girl and walked away. Where he was going, only the fates knew.
***
It was useless to try to slip surreptitiously into the meeting as it only consisted of two other people, her boss Damaris and her best friend and partner in crime (no, not literally), Phoena.
"Sybil, good you're here," Damaris beamed.
Sibyl eyed her suspiciously as she sat next to Phoena. That was it? No complaints, snide remarks? Damaris had a nasty comment for everyone, except that time when . . .
~Oh, Goddess, she's going to send us on a suicide mission~
"As I was just telling Phoena, there's an important assignment that HQ's throwing your way," Damaris continued. "There're some ancient scrolls that have been found, something to do with the final battle. We need someone who can lift them."
~Well, that doesn't sound so bad after all. A little B and E~
"Phoena can fill you in about the rest of the details."
"You want to go to the café while you tell me the rest?" Sibyl asked as they left the meeting.
"Sure." As far as Phoena was concerned the later Sibyl heard the rest, the better. Actually, the best would be if she could be far, far away when Sibyl heard the rest. That snot Damaris had started the meeting early just so she wouldn't have to be the one to tell Sibyl. It wasn't fair.
They walked to the café across the street and sat at their usual corner table. "Sorry I left you alone with the heifer. I overslept."
"So, you've been sleeping well then?" Phoena had many a night woken to the sound of Sibyl's screaming as they'd once been housemates. It was part of the reason Sibyl had decided to move out.
"Yes," and because that was a bald faced lie she qualified it with, "sort of."
But that was a mistake because Phoena gave her the there's no fooling me look and asked, "Which is it, yes or sort of, or no not at all?"
Sibyl sighed. "No, not at all. But it should be better when Owen gets back." She smiled at the thought of her boyfriend, the rest of the reason she'd decided to move out. She never had nightmares when he was there, but he was away on a mission of his own. "Provided of course we're not being sent somewhere." She waited a beat. "Are we being sent somewhere?"
So, it was truth time already. "We are being sent somewhere."
When Sibyl merely raised an eyebrow, Phoena continued, "To California, L.A."
Sibyl rolled her eyes. "Why do they need us all the way over there? They have piles of trained agents available in Vegas. I mean if it's just a lift."
Phoena shook her head, "We don't know where the scrolls are - just who has them. And HQ thinks we, or rather you, have a better chance of getting him to tell you than anyone else."
~Did that mean? Please, she wasn't saying?~
Phoena nodded slowly at the look of horror that was coming Sibyl's face. "It's Thorne Redfern, he has the scrolls."
~So, I was right. It is a suicide mission.~
Thorne Redfern. He was trouble, a mercenary in every sense. He didn't even care about what happened in the Final Battle because he knew he would land on his feet either way. He had helped out Circle Daybreak in the past, but only when it suited him. Start depending on him though and you were bound for disappointment and heartbreak. He changed allegiances the way girls changed outfits before a first date - frequently and without care for the mess accumulated.
"How exactly, am I supposed to have a better chance than anyone else?" she asked.
Phoena shrugged uncomfortably.
"Let me guess. He's going to take one look at me, fall head over heels and blurt out all his secrets."
"They probably figure he can't have any secrets from you."
Because that's how it worked for the rest of them, Sybil thought bitterly. No secrets between soulmates. Having a soulmate was supposed to be like sugar and spice and everything nice. "Oh, he can keep secrets from me. I just can't keep them from him."
Phoena didnn't change expression as she absorbed that little bit of information. ~We're doomed~
A/N: I would love to hear your thoughts. Please review. Comments, criticism, anything at all *begs pitifully*
A/N: My first L.J. Smith fanfic so all thoughts would be truly, madly appreciated.
Rated PG-13
Yesterdays
Summary: He awoke a vampire, with no knowledge of his past but the surety he'd been human. He would quest to discover his yesterdays only to find that some things are best forgotten.
Prologue
In the darkest hour of the night a boy awoke in the forest. How he'd gotten there, he knew not. And he cared not. He couldn't afford to care, not yet. All he wanted, needed, was to appease the hunger that was coursing through him. A hunger like one he'd never known before. He wasn't starving, it was far worse. There was a gnawing pain in him, not just in his stomach but in the whole of him.
He staggered to his feet and worked his way out of the forest. He'd never been there before but he made it out in record time. If he'd been able to think he would have told himself it was his impeccable sense of direction, of intuition. It was of course neither of those things but he was too consumed in the pain that searing through him to be capable of rational thought anyway.
Some distant part of him might have registered the fact that he could see better than he ever had before, that he was moving with a swiftness and a grace that previously eluded him but about that he was not concerned either.
He turned the corner and saw a sign that made him want to weep with joy. It read, 'Wendy's: open until 2AM.' That sensible distant part of him warned that burgers weren't what he needed, what he was craving. But he paid little heed. As he approached a girl walked out, brown takeout bag in hand. The scents wafting from her were incredible. His teeth . . . sharpened. And, entirely on their own accord, his feet led him to follow her. He followed her out to the deserted parking lot. As she fumbled around her purse, presumably for her keys, he grabbed her. And he fed. And fed. Only when he was sated, when the hunger subsided did he pull away.
He wiped the blood off his mouth, let go of the girl and watched in morbid fascination as she crumpled into a heap on the ground. As he stood there, and regained use of his faculties he was filled with horror. With shame. He had done that to her. He had caused those puncture marks on the girl's neck. He had drank her life's blood until her life was no more. And worst of all was the knowledge that he had never felt more alive in all his life. This he knew with odd certainty, considering that he had just come to the realization that he remembered nothing of himself, of his life before he woke in the forest. He might not know his name but he was pretty damn sure he hadn't been a blood sucking monster. A vampire. Some things really were intuitive. He would just have to find out the rest, the parts that weren't.
He left the girl and walked away. Where he was going, only the fates knew.
***
It was useless to try to slip surreptitiously into the meeting as it only consisted of two other people, her boss Damaris and her best friend and partner in crime (no, not literally), Phoena.
"Sybil, good you're here," Damaris beamed.
Sibyl eyed her suspiciously as she sat next to Phoena. That was it? No complaints, snide remarks? Damaris had a nasty comment for everyone, except that time when . . .
~Oh, Goddess, she's going to send us on a suicide mission~
"As I was just telling Phoena, there's an important assignment that HQ's throwing your way," Damaris continued. "There're some ancient scrolls that have been found, something to do with the final battle. We need someone who can lift them."
~Well, that doesn't sound so bad after all. A little B and E~
"Phoena can fill you in about the rest of the details."
"You want to go to the café while you tell me the rest?" Sibyl asked as they left the meeting.
"Sure." As far as Phoena was concerned the later Sibyl heard the rest, the better. Actually, the best would be if she could be far, far away when Sibyl heard the rest. That snot Damaris had started the meeting early just so she wouldn't have to be the one to tell Sibyl. It wasn't fair.
They walked to the café across the street and sat at their usual corner table. "Sorry I left you alone with the heifer. I overslept."
"So, you've been sleeping well then?" Phoena had many a night woken to the sound of Sibyl's screaming as they'd once been housemates. It was part of the reason Sibyl had decided to move out.
"Yes," and because that was a bald faced lie she qualified it with, "sort of."
But that was a mistake because Phoena gave her the there's no fooling me look and asked, "Which is it, yes or sort of, or no not at all?"
Sibyl sighed. "No, not at all. But it should be better when Owen gets back." She smiled at the thought of her boyfriend, the rest of the reason she'd decided to move out. She never had nightmares when he was there, but he was away on a mission of his own. "Provided of course we're not being sent somewhere." She waited a beat. "Are we being sent somewhere?"
So, it was truth time already. "We are being sent somewhere."
When Sibyl merely raised an eyebrow, Phoena continued, "To California, L.A."
Sibyl rolled her eyes. "Why do they need us all the way over there? They have piles of trained agents available in Vegas. I mean if it's just a lift."
Phoena shook her head, "We don't know where the scrolls are - just who has them. And HQ thinks we, or rather you, have a better chance of getting him to tell you than anyone else."
~Did that mean? Please, she wasn't saying?~
Phoena nodded slowly at the look of horror that was coming Sibyl's face. "It's Thorne Redfern, he has the scrolls."
~So, I was right. It is a suicide mission.~
Thorne Redfern. He was trouble, a mercenary in every sense. He didn't even care about what happened in the Final Battle because he knew he would land on his feet either way. He had helped out Circle Daybreak in the past, but only when it suited him. Start depending on him though and you were bound for disappointment and heartbreak. He changed allegiances the way girls changed outfits before a first date - frequently and without care for the mess accumulated.
"How exactly, am I supposed to have a better chance than anyone else?" she asked.
Phoena shrugged uncomfortably.
"Let me guess. He's going to take one look at me, fall head over heels and blurt out all his secrets."
"They probably figure he can't have any secrets from you."
Because that's how it worked for the rest of them, Sybil thought bitterly. No secrets between soulmates. Having a soulmate was supposed to be like sugar and spice and everything nice. "Oh, he can keep secrets from me. I just can't keep them from him."
Phoena didnn't change expression as she absorbed that little bit of information. ~We're doomed~
A/N: I would love to hear your thoughts. Please review. Comments, criticism, anything at all *begs pitifully*