Sapphire, by lyradaemon

Chapter 5: A Brother's Revenge

Disclaimer: I owe nothing

Thanks to all my lovely reviewers – as always, your comments are much appreciated

This is set perhaps some time after Noelle first arrives

"Daemon."

Daemon turned in bed, smiling at the beautiful woman beside him. "Morning, sweetheart," he said, voice husky.

She reached out her arms, and he pulled her into his. "Do you want me?" She whispered, cool fingers tracing his mouth. Pools of blue bore into his golden eyes.

"You know I do; always, forever."

She smiled before lowering her lips to his own; they were so warm, so soft. The passion of the kiss pushed Daemon back into the pillows. He smiled, letting his hands wander along her smooth skin, while her own worked their way into his hair.

"I love you Daemon…"

Daemon woke with a start, sweating, throbbing with unfulfilled desire. Instinctively he reached over beside him, seeking the warm flesh, but the bed was empty. Groaning with disappointment he buried his face in his shaking hands, desperately trying to remember the feel of her, the smell of her, the way her voice throbbed with emotion and desire. But it was slipping away too fast to hold onto. Snarling with frustration he threw off the covers and stalked over to the wardrobe on the other side of the room. He reached inside and pulled out a bottle of brandy and took several long gulps, relishing the warmth flooding through him.

Sinking into a chair he sighed heavily, feeling tears of frustration and want well up in his eyes; helpless to stop them they spilled over, sliding hot and unchecked down his cheeks. "Mother Night, I want you so much…" he whispered, voice shaking. "So, so much…"

How long he sat there for he didn't know. Eventually the tears stopped and the bottle was empty. Feeling a thunderous headache building behind his eyes, he dragged himself up and back into bed; the bed which held distant, elusive memories of the one woman he wanted, and the only one he couldn't have.

I will have her. Soon. Soon, she will be mine and I'll love her like no one has ever been loved.

Clinging to that promise, that hope, Daemon fell into a troubled, dream-filled sleep.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Mother Night Daemon, what happened to you?" Surreal demanded, regarding Daemon with an expression of surprise and mirth at his obvious discomfort.

He glared at her over the rim of his coffee cup. "Brandy."

"Brandy? Hell's Fire Daemon! Why on earth were you drinking brandy? You must have had a hell of a lot of it too, by the looks of it." Her hands were set firmly on her hips, a look of disapproval written on her face.

"'S none of your business," he muttered, voice slightly slurred with the after effects of his midnight drinking spree.

"Daemon, you getting drunk is my business. So you'd better just spit it out, since I am going to find out, one way or the other."
His glare could have boiled water. "I was depressed."

"Why?"

"Because-" he stopped, unsure of what to say – and also because a sharp pain had just lanced through his head. "Because I had a dream."

"Aren't you a bit old for nightmares?" She asked, a smile creeping to her lips.

Daemon growled. "It wasn't a nightmare. It was a…a very nice dream, if you must know."

Surreal's eyes widened at the raw look of desire on Daemon's tired face. "About her?"

"If by 'her' you mean Witch, then yes," he snapped, wincing at the loudness of his own voice.

"Mother Night."

"Exactly."

"So you drank a whole bottle of brandy because you had an erotic dream?" Surreal asked, face perfectly straight.

"If you put it like that it sounds ridiculous."

"Oh? Tell me, how can I put it so it doesn't sound ridiculous?"

"Point taken."

Surreal giggled at his expression, one of self-pity mixed with a fierce desire to just curl up and die. "Daemon, sometimes you're absolutely hopeless, you know that?" She laughed at his glare. "Do you want something for it?"

"Please."

"I'll just go and prepare something then, I won't-"

"Is there another option?" He asked. "Somehow, I don't think I'd trust anything you make."

Surreal made a face at him. "I'll have you know, I learned it from a very respectable Healer," she said haughtily. "Although, if you prefer, I could go and call a Healer…"

Daemon literally jumped at that. "No!" He said hurriedly, wincing again. "You'll do just fine."

"Thought so," she said with a triumphant smile.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later on that evening

Surreal had decided to take Noelle to the theatre that evening, partly to get her out and about – for her sake – and partly because Daemon was filling the house with such imaginative swearing that Surreal feared for the sanity of their ears.

The play had been enjoyable; Noelle hadn't seen one for years, she'd said, and Surreal had smiled at Noelle's expression of obvious delight. She hadn't been out at all since coming to stay with her and Daemon, so Surreal was pleased at how well she was coping being in other people's company.

They had gone out for lovely meal afterwards, which they had both enjoyed, and now they were walking slowly back to the house.

"Good evening, Ladies," a voice said from the shadows.

Both heads turned immediately. "Who are you?" Surreal asked quickly, stiletto already in hand.

A dark, hooded figure emerged. "That's not important. I've been looking for you, Noelle." He turned towards her.

Noelle literally jumped out of her skin and edged closer to Surreal. "Why?" She asked, keeping her voice as calm as possible.

"Hmm. It might have something you did to someone…my brother actually…" He took one step closer. "I believe you left him in a rather…lifeless state. I want revenge. And what I did to your family doesn't even come close."

"Noelle, run," Surreal whispered to the younger woman, not looking away from the man. "I can deal with this."

"No! Surreal, you can't-"

"Trust me, sugar. Run."

Without hesitating, Noelle disappeared round the corner. "So," Surreal said pleasantly. "Are you going to leave her alone, or am I going to have to persuade you to? After all," she smiled, "I can be very persuasive."

"Leave it," another voice said from behind the first man. "It isn't worth it."

Surreal snorted. "I think your friend there has the right idea," she said silkily. "Playing with me definitely isn't worth it." Giving the man one last look, she turned and stalked off after Noelle.

"The bitch! I'll-"

"I said drop it, Greer. She's not worth it."

"The bitch threatened me! I'm not going to just leave it."
A hand tightened on Greer's shoulder. "You are going to leave it," the voice snarled. "Otherwise I'll tell my mother you interfered in her plans."

"What does Dorothea care? She's too busy playing with her little toys to worry about what happens to some bitches who can't keep their mouths shut."

"I'd keep your mouth shut if I were you, Greer."

"My brother was murdered, Kartane. I want revenge."

"And you shall have it. But not like this. Do you know who those two are living with?" Kartane asked, letting his grip on Greer's shoulder relax.

"Who?" Greer asked, disinterested.

"Sadi."

"Sa-Daemon Sadi?"

"Yes, Daemon Sadi, who else ?" Kartan snapped, irritated. "And I have no desire to have anything to do with him either." His golden eyes filled with longing, but it disappeared quickly; he'd learned – very adeptly – the art of keeping his thoughts hidden behind a cold mask. An art he'd learned from Daemon.

Turning so Greer didn't notice the flicker of emotions across his face, he said, "We should probably go; I don't want anyone to see us around here. It was stupid to come in the first place."

"I had to meet the bitch who killed my brother," Greer reminded him coldly. "If you remember."

Kartane ignored that. Pulling his cloak closer around him, he stalked off into the darkness, Greer trailing behind him.

Something tugged at his memory. He didn't know what it was…could it have been that woman, Surreal? There was something so familiar about her… Kartane stopped. Could she be? But – but that was impossible, wasn't it? She couldn't be…

Shaking his head to clear the ridiculous thoughts, Kartane caught the winds and left.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Daemon was sprawled on the sofa, a book he wasn't really reading lying loosely in his hands. His head was still protesting too much to be able to read the small writing. Instead, his mind was wandering idly, going over the previous night, trying desperately to recall something…

Suddenly he heard the front door fly open. Surprised at the loud intrusion, he looked up. His eyes grew even wider when he saw Noelle literally fall into the room, breathless from running. "Noelle?"

Her gaze swiveled to him; "Daemon," she whispered, lurching towards him, clutching her chest. "Daemon…"

Daemon leapt off the sofa and pulled her into his arms, cradling her against him. "What happened?" He asked soothingly, feeling his heart thump against his chest.

"That man…his brother…" she sobbed.

"Shh, Noelle, it's ok. Tell me what happened."

"The man who – his brother, he – he told me…my family…" her voice trailed off.

Daemon held her closer, stroking her hair, trying to soothe her. "Where's Surreal?"

"Surreal? She – she told me to run. She stayed behind with her stiletto." She frowned, despite the state she was in. "I don't know why she thinks a shoe will help her."

Daemon smiled inwardly. For someone who was – used to be – an assassin, she could be adorably naïve. "Don't worry about Surreal; she'll be fine, she always is."

"But my family," Noelle whispered. "He killed them; he and his brother. They killed them." Sobs shook her body as she wept into his shoulder. Daemon smiled softly, letting his hands wander down her back.

"Do you know who he was?"

"No," she sniffled. "He didn't say. And I didn't want to ask." She shuddered.

Just then the door opened again and a furious looking Surreal strode in, throwing her jacket angrily onto a chair. "The bastard!" She fumed. "What the hell was he thinking?"

Daemon raised an eyebrow at her over the top of Noelle's head. Surreal glared at him for good measure. "That bastard," she replied in answer to his silent question. "He just turned up with some other bastard and threatened Noelle! What's he trying to achieve?"

Noelle turned in Daemon's protective arms and wiped tears away from her cheeks. "Did they go?" She asked quietly.

Surreal nodded satisfactorily. "Yes. I threatened them, then they left. I was ready to spear the bastard, but they left too quickly." She sighed. "It was very tempting."

Noelle leaned back against Daemon and his arms pulled her closer. Surreal smiled inwardly at the protective look on his face. "I want to find him," Noelle said quietly but firmly. "I have to know what happened to my family. I won't rest otherwise."

Surreal looked at Daemon; he gazed right back, his answer written on his beautiful face. We can't stop her. Surreal sighed despairingly; those two were so similar some times, it was ridiculous. "Alright. I'll look into it; I can find out any information you want. For a price though."

"Of course." Noelle seemed to adopt a coolly professional manner. "I'll be happy to pay whatever's necessary."

Surreal grinned. "I'm not talking about money, sugar. I'm coming with you."

Noelle's golden eyes widened. "But-"

"You agreed to the price, honey. I'm coming. End of story."

"I-" Noelle spluttered; Daemon chuckled behind her. She turned on him. "I don't see what's so funny Daemon," she snapped crossly, pouting slightly.

"Exactly; you're coming too."

"What? No I'm not Surreal-"

Surreal cut across him, triumph on her face. "Noelle needs to find out what happened to her family; you said so yourself." She congratulated herself mentally when he blushed. "I'll find out the necessary information. Then the three of us go hunting."

Daemon sighed exasperatedly. "Fine," he said shortly. "Whatever you say Surreal."

Surreal laughed and clapped her hands delightedly. She ran over and kissed him quickly on the cheek. "I'm just so glad you agreed Daemon," she said happily, before running back out the door.

Daemon glared at Noelle, who smiled sweetly back. "It's only fair, Daemon," she said levelly. "If Surreal has to come, then so do you. Besides, getting out the house will be good for you. You're getting rather crotchety at the moment." Mimicking Surreal she reached up and kissed him softly on the cheek. "Thank you," she murmured, suddenly mortally embarrassed at daring to kissing him, then she too left rather hurriedly.

Daemon was left staring after the two female whirlwinds who had just dragged him into a journey he didn't want to go on. He knew that Surreal was trying to get him 'out and about' – her tried and tested way of making him forget about whatever was troubling him; which, in this case was Lucivar and that damned dream. He still didn't like it though. You would have thought that she'd give up after all the fuss I've made over the years, he thought to himself.

Still, he knew that Surreal didn't give a damn whether he liked it or not; he was going and that was final.

But Noelle… Daemon knew that despite everything that had happened to her, and although she had only known him for a short time, she trusted him devotedly. It was rather endearing, he thought. But why did she want him along? Was she expecting trouble?
Mother Night, I hope not.

Sighing resignedly, Daemon flopped back onto his sofa, picked up his neglected book, and proceeded in trying to get the impending trip out of his head.

It didn't work.

A/N: Ok. I know Daemon seems remarkably placid and easy-going here BUT, before any of you complain, it's because he's with two females he feels he can trust, and who he knows trust him. Noelle doesn't want anything to with a man – physically, anyway. Surreal feels pretty much the same (well, up until a certain episode later on in books); and so Daemon doesn't feel threatened by them. They don't want to use him, he doesn't want to use them. It's a mutual loving relationship…!

Anyway, hoped you enjoyed the chapter! As ever, reviews are REALLY appreciated; it just takes one minute to hit the button and say GOOD or BAD or COULD DO BETTER etc.

PLEASE! Lyradaemon x