A/N: Okay, so guess who didn't plan this. Raises hand YAY! Nonplot!

Yeah...so I think...I think I know what's gonna happen now. It's speculation, really, since they are now in total control (durn control-freak-characters...), but I have an idea.

WHEE ideas. Yeah, I'm rambling...

Read!

-Cali :)

Soon, Kieran was so drawn to the flame that she completely tuned out their chanting, almost unable to hear anything but the dull roar of the flames that seemed to jump higher with each step she took towards it. When she brushed a hand through the tendrils of flame that were reaching out to her, they almost felt solid, but soft like feathers. She smiled and stepped closer, letting the fire play around her arms but beginning to feel its chill.

The followers continued chanting, and Stanton let himself go on automatic as he watched Kieran step into the cold fire, which flared as high as the trees as soon as it enveloped her. "Lecta," he chanted while letting his thoughts fly to Kieran. I love you, he told her as he continued to chant.

Kieran registered that he'd spoken to her via telepathy again, but the feeling she had now was one of sheer ecstasy. The flames entwined themselves in her hair and in her dress, the cold seeping into her skin while the flames created crystalline patterns on her skin. She played with the flames as if they were bubbles, and laughed when it whipped her hair up, twisting it and braiding it like her mother playing with her hair when she'd been younger.

Stanton caught the thought about her mother and felt a pang of guilt. He'd never felt guilty for turning someone, so why should he now? Because you didn't love any of the others, he told himself. You don't want her to suffer the same way you do.

But think of the power she'll have, he told his rebellious mind, and forced himself to continue chanting.

Kieran danced in the flames and let them wrap around her waist like a pair of sinuous hands, moving with her and against her. As the blaze swam around her, she felt the cold flames burning off her mortality. It was such an inexplicable feeling, to think of her life in terms not of years, but of centuries. What would the world be like by the year 3000? she wondered. Suddenly, she felt the fire push at her, and a pair of hands caught her when she fell out of the flames.

Kieran gasped, the wind knocked out of her, and the crowd stopped chanting all at once. What happened? What's wrong? she asked Stanton, intrinsically able to use telepathy now. I can't breathe!

Stanton tensed, holding her. I don't know, he admitted. This has never happened before. When he looked around to see if anyone knew what was going on, Cassandra had stepped out of the circle, standing closer to the pair of them. "Cassandra, help me," Stanton said - more of an order than a request.

Cassandra raised an eyebrow. "Why would I do that?" she asked, tilting her head. "I don't know what's going on any more than you do."

Stanton glared up at her. "You're a lot of help," he said sarcastically, and stood with Kieran, cradling her in his arms. Wordlessly, he walked quickly out of the circle of followers, rushing to his car. He knew where to take her. The daughters would be able to help.

"Hold on, Kia," Stanton begged, and without checking for oncoming traffic, he sped into the road, cars honking at him as he floored the accelerator, heading towards Serena's house. He could only pray that she'd be home.

Serena, he called when he reached her street, and parked on the corner. Rushing around to the other side of his car, he pulled Kieran out of the seat and leaned back into shadow, flying up to Serena's balcony. Serena! he called again.

Moments later, she opened the sliding door and stepped out. "What is it?" she whispered. "What happened to Kieran?"

Stanton cringed a little. "I...turned her...she stepped into the cold fire, and everything was fine - all of a sudden, something pulled or pushed her out and she fell, telling me she couldn't breathe."

Serena's gaze hardened. "What do you expect me to do?" she asked, hands on her hips.

Stanton shrugged, helpless. "I don't know. You saved me once...I thought maybe..." his voice trailed off and he sighed. "Never mind. I can see you're not willing to help her...Goodnight, Serena," he said, and leaned back into shadow.

"Stanton, wait!" Serena said suddenly, trying to catch him before he disappeared, but in vain.

Stanton pretended he hadn't heard her, and slid along the shadows with Kieran still in his arms, now fighting unconsciousness. "Wake up, Kieran," he snapped, more afraid than angry.

Kieran fought to keep her eyes open, and Stanton sighed. Setting her in his car, he drove them both back to the beach, but not to the bluffs. He hugged her and turned the two of them into shadow. Stopping near the water, he laid her down in the sand. "Hang on, Kia." Thinking about it, he decided the best thing to do would be to keep talking to her. "I'm going to try something."

Kieran nodded to show she was listening, but his voice echoed in her mind like a distant recording rather than a person sitting next to her. Her head hurt and her lungs ached for air.

Stanton let his power flow to his fingertips and rested them on her throat, pushing his power into her. He watched her body convulse and flinched, forcing himself not to look away. Tears slipped from Kieran's eyes and Stanton's throat tightened. He pushed his power to his fingertips and moved them down to her chest. He hoped by jolting her lungs he could get them working again.

Kieran felt like her chest was collapsing, and she coughed, but still couldn't inhale.

"Let me help," a gentle voice said from behind Stanton, and he turned to see Tianna standing behind him.

"What can you do?" he asked.

"I can try to help, can't I?" she asked, hands on her hips. When Stanton moved away, she knelt next to Kieran. "Hey Kieran," she said with a smile, and the girl said nothing, wiggling her fingers in response. Tianna looked her over. "Okay, this might hurt," she warned the girl, and focused her eyes on Kieran's lungs, pushing on them.

Whatever was left of Kieran's air left her, and Stanton watched her slip into unconsciousness. "What did you do to her?" was the last thing Kieran heard Stanton growl at Tianna before she stopped hearing their voices and blacked out.

Kieran woke with a start. "Where am I?" she asked what she thought was an empty room, lying on her back. She tried to move her arms and realized she couldn't. "What the - ?"

"Well you're not dead, if that's what you're thinking," a voice said from above her. "I wouldn't try to move if I were you," the very obviously feminine voice warned her.

"If I'm not dead," Kieran began, trying to keep her voice from shaking in fear, "what the hell is going on?" she asked sharply, and winced. "And why does my entire body ache?"

"The cold fire is very...unforgiving," the woman told Kieran, who remained silent, waiting for more of an explanation. "Your body aches because you were pulled from the flames too soon. The flames that burn away your mortality can also burn away your life if you aren't careful," she warned.

Kieran raised an eyebrow and struggled to lean up on her arms. "So I am dead?"

"How many times do I have to say it? No. You're very much alive, Kieran...your soul's here - that's why you can't move," she explained.

"Who are you?" The woman wore a dress the color of lilacs, and when she moved it seemed to whisper against the floor. Her hair was black, and she wore a veil over her face.

"No one of your concern," the woman said, kneeling next to Kieran and pulling her head onto her lap. "Drink," she told the girl, and lifted a bowl to her lips. Kieran, feeling like a bit of a baby, as she couldn't even hold her own head up, sipped, choked momentarily, then began sipping more carefully. The water was ice cold, but left a bitter aftertaste.

"What's in this?" she asked, her entire body beginning to feel better.

"Herbs, plants...you know. The usual," the woman said as she tipped the rest of the brew into Kieran's mouth. "Now relax, will you? If you continue to fight me and tense up, your body will die. You need to relax your muscles. Breathe in," she instructed once she'd draped a steaming cloth over Kieran's forehead. When Kieran inhaled as instructed, she coughed. The cloth smelled strongly of lavender, but once she stopped coughing, she felt her body relaxing.

"I don't know if you'll be immortal or not when you wake," the woman admitted a little awkwardly. "You will know," was the last thing Kieran heard before drifting off into a deep sleep.

Kieran's waking breath exploded into her lungs, causing her muscles to seize up again, but they quickly relaxed when her lungs got used to the air again. She felt a pair of hands on her back, helping her sit up. She breathed deeply, and when she looked into the night sky, she didn't feel the beauty she once might have.

Stanton? she asked, testing to see if she could speak mind-to-mind with him still.

Stanton looked her over, letting his hands wander to make sure her body was still intact. Are you all right? he asked. He failed to mention that the daughters had once almost killed him trying to release him, and he'd gone through a similar thing - collapsing and waking later. What happened?

Kieran shook her head. "I don't know," she said aloud. "I...felt a pair of hands push me out of the fire, and all of a sudden I couldn't breathe. The lady..." she let her voice trail off and bit her lip. She could still smell the lavender from the cloth. When Stanton urged her to go on, she continued a little reluctantly. "There was a lady - she told me my body was here, and my soul was there, and she gave me something to drink...and put a-"

"Lavender cloth on your forehead?" Stanton asked gently, looking past her into the water.

Kieran turned in his arms to face him. "How did you know?" she asked, and he turned back to her, touching her face. He realized he could have lost her and felt lucky more than anything that she was still alive.

"It's a long story," Stanton admitted. "I think I know what pushed you out of the fire," he told her, wincing. "I think it was me..."

Kieran frowned. "But you were the one who -"

"I know, I know. As I was standing there chanting, I kept thinking of how I couldn't believe I'd done this to you, ruined your life this way," he said with a sigh. "I think my thoughts solidified and pushed you out. I'm sorry, Kia."

Kieran shook her head. "I'm not. I'm just glad I'm alive right now." Suddenly remembering, she added a question. "What happened to Tianna?" As she questioned him, she looked around, and all the daughters solidified, surrounding them in their party clothes, Jimena wearing a slinky purple halter top with a black skirt and heels, Catty wearing a brilliant green dress, Vanessa dolled up in blue, Tianna in a gold-tone skirt, and a white butterfly halter, and Serena in a short black dress, her hair curled into a pile on top of her head. Their moon amulets all threw iridescent rays of light at the immortal duo.

Stanton stood, helping Kieran onto her feet. "Goddesses," he sneered.

A/N: Ooooooooooh, I sense a fight scene coming on!I think I know what's gonna happen. I sense cool stuff in the next chapter. Muahahahaha...

Review!

-Cali :)