Disclaimer: I know I'm supposed to write something important here but...Blah...

Fallen Angel

Chapter 10

'What the hell?' Desh thought as he listened to Remi and Serena. 'All I do is go out looking for dinner and I find this? I don't even know what 'this' is! What the fucking hell is going on? I am sick of being confused and left in the dark! It's really starting to piss me off!' He was hiding in the shadows as Asher and Dominic entered the clearing. 'Now what, I wonder?' Remi waited in the middle of the circle as Serena and the two men took positions in a triangle around her.

'I knew something was strange about Remi and Sere—'

WOULD YOU SHUT UP! I'm trying to concentrate He jumped and looked around wildly, looking for the speaker. 'Who said that? Whose there?'

I said SHUT UP! Oh! By the way, it's Serry!

'Uhh...' He looked down at the redhead from the tree he was perched in. She wasn't looking at him. 'How did she know I was here?'

You don't like to listen, do you vampire? I said 'shut up,' didn't I? Ask questions later. I can't afford to be distracted while we do this. As she sent the last thought, she raised her hands as she began to chant in a language Desh didn't recognize. The circles and symbols on the ground began to glow with a dark purple light. Remi was kneeling in the middle of the circle and she too took up chanting, but in a completely different language. It sounded very musical compared to the one Serena was speaking. Asher began speaking in what Desh assumed to be French and Dom's voice came in what he thought to be Latin. The circle's glow intensified. The wind picked up and began to swirl around the clearing.

'This power is amazing! I've never felt anything like it!' He thought as he fought to hold on to the tree as the air whipped furiously around him. He now had to squint to see through the light of the circle. Remi was huddled in the same spot, hugging herself. She screamed once. Twice. Three times she screamed, holding the third until the light died away and she was left gasping on the ground. Desh stared in wonderment. Dom and Asher ran over to her and laid her down on the ground. He heard Asher say, "You must ground the energy mon peu de dragon. Give it time to adjust." Remi nodded and closed her eyes. Her expression told of pain.

'What exactly just happened? What did they do?' Desh wondered as they continued to watch the girl. We released what is rightfully hers. His head snapped around to Serena, who was kneeling on the ground. She hadn't moved. Still confused?

'Yes.' He wasn't sure how to send a thought as she could, so he simply thought what he wanted to say. He heard, no, felt, her giggle. Remi is an exceptionally strong witch. Her mother's people were...not of this...world. Or maybe plane is the better word. I never understood that part of it myself. Just understand that Remi is only half human and that will have to do.

"Wha—'

Later. Right now we need to take care of her. You should leave and head back to the house. Wait for us to come back. We still need to find Kalutika, remember? He nodded, and then remembered she couldn't see him. 'Right.'

Oh! And one more thing. You can't tell anyone about this. Not even Remi. Understand?

'Why can't I tell her?'

Because if she knew you were here, then she would also know that I knew you were here, and I do not want her mad at me. She is really scary when she's angry. Has Dom told you about the fire incident in the northern wing? Well, let's just say that Remi was pissed and fire has always responded to her the quickest. He felt her shiver. Trust me, Deshwitat. You don't want her angry now that she has her powers back. At least, not this early when her control is weak. Now go, and remember: don't tell anyone. She got up and went to help the men with Remi. Deshwitat slipped back into the moonless darkness back to the house to wait, and to evaluate the new situation.

Remi was aching all over. 'But here I am. Helping these two find their lightning rod of hate.' She looked at Rett and Deshwitat as Serena explained what they needed to do, which consisted of sitting, remembering and concentrating. 'I do all the hard work,' she thought darkly.

"Draca? Are you ready?" Serena called. Remi hated the alias. She glanced down at the clothing she was wearing: a long, forest green peasant skirt, a white blouse, and head scarf. She had used glamour, which she had learned from a faerie friend, to darken her skin, hair, and eyes. She nodded. She had not spoken aloud since she had entered the room.

She strode forward and knelt in front of Serry. 'Two workings of high magic in one night. My body is going to hate me for quite a long time.' She had to control her wince as she considered the soreness of waking up after she went to sleep after all this was over. She felt Desh and Rett kneel behind her, one to either side of her, placing a hand on her shoulders. 'It's odd to sense them now. It's like seeing them for the first time,' Remi thought as she let her magic sense travel and memorize how they felt to it. Rett reminded her of stone. 'He may be a lecher, but he is dependable when he needs to be. Strong and reliable. Loyal. Like stone. Desh on the other hand...' To her he felt like fire and darkness. Her strongest elements. It sang to her very blood. It was distracting. She shook herself lightly and placed her hands in Serry's. "Focus, Rem. Think about it later.'

"Let us begin," Serry stated. Remi plunged into the abyss of the four connected minds. She first reached out to make the easiest path. To Serena. Then she linked her mind with Rett and then Deshwitat. It was a bit like drawing a map. Or like weaving a spider's web. She then pulled everything the two men were remembering into her and then added her own...

Meeting Kal in a cave...

The three, Desh, Kal, and Rett, meeting as enemies...

Kal saving their lives...

Laughing with Kal and the rest of the company around a campfire...

Sharing a late night discussion about a book...

Killing Lilith...

Cursing Rett...

Remi was drowning in the memories. All of which were from another time. She fought the pull to become her again. 'No, I am Remi Do. I am not her. Not anymore.' She steadied herself and began to channel the recollections into Serena. It seemed like forever until, finally, there was a little click and the link between them all snapped. She was free of them. She opened her eyes and found herself staring into Serry's. Her pupils were gone. All Remi could see was a solid wall of green threaded with purple, the color of Serry's power, and waited for her to find what she was looking for. Serry spoke:

"An island...Far away...Warm, no winter...a basilica...clear skies...off the coast of...Australia...not on a map...hidden...magic...power..." Serry's voice trailed off. She blinked and her pupils were back. She shook herself, trying to clear the vision from her sight. She looked exhausted. "Thank you...Draca." She took a deep breath. "We are finished here." Remi got up and walked out, knowing that Serry just need to sleep. She had caught glimpses of the men's faces. They had looked dazed, and eager. She wondered when they would want to leave. Probably tomorrow. 'Damn. I'm not ready to leave. I still need to rest and recuperate. Oh well...I'll deal with it later. I wonder if I can make it to my room before I pass out,' she thought dazedly. She swayed, but kept going. She just barely made it to her room. Her head hit the pillow and she was asleep instantly. She did not dream.

The Next Day...

Remi stretched. 'Ow! I'm so stiff.' She groaned. She walked out of her room and ran into Millenear. They agreed to go down to breakfast together.

They walked into a very dark kitchen. Why was it dark you ask? 'What are they doing up? It's daytime,' Remi thought as she mumbled good morning to Asher. He smiled but said nothing. 'Smart vampire,' she thought. 'The last time he made a remark about my morning attitude...' She remembered how she had torn apart the room they had been in as she had tried in vain to strangle him. It almost made her smile. Almost.

She realized that Millenear had been talking to her. "I'm sorry, Millenear, could you repeat that? I'm not really awake yet." Millenear laughed. "Sure, Remi. I said 'Where were you last night?' I was waiting up for you, you know." She noticed Deshwitat giving her a strange, intense look. For some reason she couldn't meet his eyes.

'Shit. I didn't think she would wait up for me. Mother Night! What should...Oh! I know!' She responded, "I stayed with Serry. We were talking and it got late. I fell asleep there and didn't get back to my room until really late...uh...early in the morning." It was sort of the truth. She could feel Desh staring at her. 'What is his problem?'

"Oh. Ok. I was just wondering." Millenear glanced down at her watch. "I'm supposed to meet Dominic down in the training rooms. He's helping improve my skills. I'll see you all later." She gave everyone a bright smile and left the kitchen. As she walked out, Rett entered. He scanned the room and looked puzzled.

"Any of you see monkey-boy? I can't find him anywhere." They all shook their heads. Rett shrugged and left the room. Asher stood. He simply nodded to her and Desh and left. No explanation. The spot between her shoulder blades was itching. 'That is really starting to piss me off.' She whirled on the staring vampire.

"Do you have a problem Deshwitat!"

"Just thinking about Millenear's question and your answer to it. Why did you lie to her? I though you two were...like sisters or something."

Remi stared at him. 'How does he know I'm lying? He couldn't know unless—'

"YOU SNEAKING LITTLE BASTARD!" Remi jumped as Serena's voice cut through the house. 'Just what I was thinking, but what could—' Her thoughts were cut off again as a loud crash resounded through the halls, followed by a man's yell. A block of wood flew by the doorway. Serena ran after it. "YOU FUCKING LITTLE NINJA! YOU THINK YOUR ESCAPE MAGIC WILL SAVE YOU FROM ME! DON'T COUNT ON IT!" The front door slammed as the chase continued outside. 'I wonder if she'll catch him?' she thought with idle curiosity. She then turned her attention back to Deshwitat.

"Desh?" He looked at her. "Were you following me last night?" He didn't answer her, which answered her question. Her voice became soft, deadly. "How long? What did you see?"

Desh thought he should leave now. 'Actually, I should have left after Asher. Damn it. This isn't going to be pretty.' He had a feeling walking away wasn't an option. He didn't want to deal with this right now. He was still processing the fact that Remi might be more than cannon fodder and dead weight.

She was advancing on him. The air in the room had gone cold. 'Shit. That can't be good.' He stood, ready for her to attack him, but she froze, and, with visible effort, began to calm down, a little. The room warmed. Then the shouting began.

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE! YOU HAD NO RIGHT TO SPY ON ME!" She froze again. He watched as another thought crossed her face. "She knew you were there, didn't she Deshwitat? Serry knew you were there!" He didn't deny it. There was no point. He watched as she processed it. She surprised him though, instead of running out to tear Serena apart, she nodded (he thought to herself) and sank into a chair. He didn't know what to do now. 'I could handle her attacking me but I'm not sure—' He broke off the thought as she looked back up at him.

"So...now you know."

"Yes, I know."

She looked at him hard. "It's a secret Desh. Trust me. It's a lot safer for everyone if they not know." He nodded. 'What could be so bad about it? Why is she being so overly dramatic?' She frowned. "I heard that."

"Heard what?"

"Overly dramatic, am I?"

'Oh no,' he thought. 'She can read minds too. Shit.'

You think. She was getting angry again. "I am not overly dramatic you prick."

He began to feel his own anger building. She flung out another insult and, this time, he responded in kind. The screaming match had begun.

Rett walked in on girl and vampire yelling. 'What the hell is going on? First Eiji pisses of Serena, again, and now this? Aren't there every quiet mornings any more?'

He cleared his throat. Both screamers turned on him. "What's going on?" he asked. They both looked at him for a second and responded in unison, "Nothing." That made them turn back to each other. The yelling continued. He decided he just didn't want to know. He left the kitchen in search of Beryun.

'I wonder if I can sneak in on her in the bath. Hmm...The morning still has possibilities...'