Disclaimer: The Night World is the work of L.J Smith. Only the story is mine and a few extra characters. I apologise if this chapter makes no sense but I have never been to America before, so I don't know all the right words to use- please tell me if I am wrong
5
Mary-Lynnette had had enough. Today had turned out to be the worst day of her life- she was losing her soulmate. She was fed up of how everything that could go wrong was going wrong.
She looked at Ash with his very pale face and stroked his ash blonde hair softly. Her mind was made up.
Mary-Lynnette pulled the car door open.
"What are you doing?" Rowan asked.
"I'm getting some petrol. Now." She replied firmly.
Mary-Lynnette stepped out of the car and walked into the middle of the highway.
"Can you see them?" Mark asked Kestrel, who was driving.
"No." Kestrel replied agitatedly, for this was about the twentieth time he had asked. Jade replied by squeezing his hand.
"It'll be alright." She said.
"Are you telling me, or reassuring yourself?" He asked.
"Both." She replied firmly.
Suddenly, the car swerved. Mark was thrown into Jade.
"Ow! What did you do that for?"
"Your sister is standing in the middle of the highway." Kestrel replied calmly, as though she saw such things every day.
"Oh." There wasn't that much you could really say about that without being hysterical.
Mary-Lynnette ran to the car door that had just swerved around her. She was worried whoever was in the car was not going to be very pleased. But she wouldn't let that distract her. Ash's life was at stake.
She let out a huge sigh of relief when she saw it was her brother and her blood-tied sisters. Jade ran down the window.
"What do you want?"
Mary-Lynnette took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. "We're out of petrol and we're running out of time for Ash."
"Right." Kestrel looked at her. "Do you think that we can get Ash into the car?"
"No. It would attract far too much attention. We've already had trouble with the police…"
"The police!" Mark interrupted.
"Speeding. Rowan and Ash took care of it- but it took too much out of Ash. Can we siphon petrol out of this car and put it into the other car?"
"Do you have anything that could do that?"
"Um…no."
"We're just going to have to carry Ash into this car then."
Mary-Lynnette sighed tiredly. "Fine."
They managed to get Ash into the car with great difficulty, seeing as they had to be careful with him. Even Kestrel's face showed an element of worry when she saw how pale he was.
Mary-Lynnette had to sit in the back with Ash spread across her, Jade's and Mark's laps. He was really limp under the picnic blanket.
Mary-Lynnette got a taste of Kestrel's driving that she never wanted to experience again. She was reckless. However, she was also fast, which was all Mary-Lynnette cared for at the moment. She cursed as her head hit the ceiling as they went over a pot hole. And she was wearing a seat-belt. She kept a tight grip on Ash after that.
She relaxed a fraction as she saw the lights of Las Vegas approaching. Then cursed as she saw blue lights in the wing mirror.
"That's it." She yelled. " Don't stop for the police. We'll just have to lose them."
Kestrel complied by putting her foot on the accelerator. Mary-Lynnette clung to Ash for her life as the car went over the bumps. Funny how she still relied on him for support even when he was in this state.
They veered round a corner and a large mansion swung into view.
Despite their situation, Mary-Lynnette still found room for awe. She looked down at Ash and whispered, "So this is where you've been living then."
The car jerked to a stop and Mary-Lynnette clambered out after fumbling for the door handle.
They carried Ash up the front steps. Heart pounding, Mary-Lynnette reached for the door bell as the door swung open.
There was a young man standing in the door way. He reminded Mary-Lynnette of James Dean.
Rowan gasped. "James!"
"What's wrong with Ash?" He asked.
"I wouldn't have thought that you would have cared." Kestrel said.
"He's changed." James replied, and that seemed to sum it up.
Mary-Lynnette interrupted the reunion desperately. "He was staked through the stomach by a wooden spear." She looked down at Ash, who she was carrying, at his pale clammy face, at his lax hand swinging from under the blanket. She flung the blanket off. "Please don't let him die!"
James looked down at the cousin he once hated. He gasped as saw the wound covered in blood. As the spear was wooden the wound was not closing, and Ash seemed to have lost a lot of blood. Not to mention that the wood was poisonous to vampires.
"I gave him a potion that a witch gave to me. It's supposed to stop the poison spreading further, but it can't heal him. He used his powers- it took a lot out of him." Rowan explained.
James shook himself out of his shock. "That's what the healers upstairs are for."
"Poppy! Ash is dying! Get ready for him down here- we can't carry him up the stairs!" He turned to Mary-Lynnette. "Poppy is my soulmate. She's a made vampire- I turned her- but she also happens to be a powerful witch."
A copper haired vampire ran down the stairs, followed by several witches carrying herbs. "Ash!" She shrieked.
"Save him…please." Mary-Lynnette sobbed.
Poppy squeezed her shoulders. "I'll do everything I can."
"That counts for a lot." James added.
Poppy looked at him. "Get Thea, I'm going to need her."
Mary-Lynnette held Ash's limp cold hand, tears in her eyes. She could barely feel the silver cord that tied them together as soulmates.
She looked up in surprise as the witches that had followed Poppy started singing in a tight circle around her and Ash. She felt a kind of energy building up in the circle. A blonde slim girl with brown eyes joined Poppy. Mary-Lynnette felt she could trust her.
"I'm Thea."
Mary-Lynnette nodded, too fearful for Ash's life to make conversation. She knew Thea would understand.
Poppy and Thea came into the circle as the singing grew louder. Together, they started applying herbs to the wound. With expressions of great concentration, they held their hands over the injury. Mary-Lynnette watched, fascinated, as a glow came from their hands and entered Ash.
Joyfully, Mary-Lynnette felt the silver cord strengthen as the energy built up around them.
"Ash?" She whispered, still holding his hand. She felt his hand squeeze hers, though very gently.
"It's working." She said ecstatically.
Mark, Kestrel, Rowan and Jade let out a collective sigh.
Rowan leaned towards James. "Um… we had a police car following us."
"It's okay. Thierry sent Nilsson to deal with it."
Rowan relaxed.
Ash sat up suddenly, taking the biggest breath of his life- Thea and Poppy pushed him gently back down.
"You should rest." Poppy said as the singing started to fade. "We were able to extract the poison- but we have to let the wound heal. I'm prescribing bed rest."
"Typical." Ash murmured.
Mary-Lynnette squealed. "You're alright."
"She ran into the middle of the highway for you." Kestrel teased.
"You what?" Ash exclaimed- softer than normal but the meaning was clear.
"Don't you start."
"I'll start when I want to start…"
James turned to Rowan. "Are they always like this?"
"Yup." Jade said happily.
That night, Mary-Lynnette slept on the sofa next to Ash.
Somewhere else…
Alexa cackled evilly to herself, looking in on Ash's sleeping form in her crystal ball. "That potion I gave Rowan worked. Little did she know- it has two purposes. Yes… it saved his life- but now his life is mine! I now have control over him."
Ash sat bolt upright on the sofa, breathing heavily.
"Ash?" Mary-Lynnette murmured sleepily.
"Hush… I just had a bad dream." Ash stroked Mary-Lynnette's hair until she fell asleep.
Then he fell into an uneasy sleep.
Hope you liked this chapter- I wrote it as fast as I could.
Jinxed4Ever- See! See! I updated very soon. I will tell my cuz you said congrats- thanks!
Mary Lou Out Of Order-Exams- For the safety of my shins- here's the next chapter. I update fast cause I'm impatient- I like other people to update fast, so to be fair, I update fast. Plus, you guys review fast.
Undeveloped Story- Have I avoided having Hunter being sicced on me? The cliffhangers are here to stay- sorry. But I update fast to compensate. When you say little wooden cage I imagine Hunter being pixie size! Hee Hee. Thanks for calling me an amazing author. I've had to order a new shelf to fit my head.