Title: Song of the Siren

Author: Twilightstaruby

Disclaimers: All Night World concepts belongs to L.J.Smith. Kiele and the other characters in the story belong to me.

Chapter Two:

"Kiele, may I speak to you for a moment?" Eli's soft voice was undecipherable, but the worry in his eyes was evident. "In the study." he tilted his head towards the corridor that would lead tehm further into the apartment.

The meeting was halfway through and the slayers were taking a break. Darla was up and running again, and most stayed in the living room to be amused by the spectacle they had duped "Andrew and his little tormentor". Others had wandered off to the kitchen in search of refreshments. They had yet to decide on the people involved in the mission, but one thing was clear: every person present was more than willing to risk their lives for the mission, especially if it was to take down the infamous and never-before-beaten Nightworld ringleader Shadrach Silverthorne who happen to be one the hit list of every slayer alive.

Kiele nodded, and followed him to the room situated near the back of the apartment. No one noticed or were bothered their departure as it was nothing out of the ordinary. Andrew, the only one whowould have cared or be worried was too distracted by Darla. As they walked further away into the apartment, Darla's screaming became softer until it faded away completely when they shut the door of Eli's soundproof study room.

"Finally, peace and quiet. Darla's lungs are sure versatile." Kiele commented off-handedly with a certain degree of relief. The piercing 'quality' of Darla's shrieks were beginning to get on her nerves.

Eli let out a snort of laughter in answer as he gestured for her to take a seat on the settee opposite the desk while he took the armchair behind the desk. His study would have been normal, if not for the jaw-dropping array of weapons that lined the walls. "Ninja stuff", as Andrew used to call them. Weapons, mostly originated from ancient Japan,varying in sizes and shapes were displayed on every space available on the walls. But the one thing that really caught her eye were the stand-alone twin Japanese swords that graced one sideof the walls.

They were made of the same wood as her dagger, lignum vitae, their long, ebonyblade subtly curved and keen enough to be able to cut through a feather balanced on top of blade without any pressure. It was a beautiful piece of work, one that had been given to Eli by his parents, who were also slayers and had died by the hands of vampires.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" Eli said quietly when he saw her admiring them. She nodded, knowing of their significance and of the pain that it must have brought him every time he laid eyes on them for they alone carried the stain of his parents death and blood.

"Kiele, I want to speak-"

"I know what you wanted to speak to me about. You want to know why I wanted to head this mission, since I have always hated doing so." Kiele cut in before he could even finishthe sentence, anticipating the question even before it came.

At Eli's nod, she continued," I have my reasons. Personal reasons." Reasons valid enough for him to die in the worse way possible.

"I realized that. Is it possible to share these reasons with me?" Eli asked softly, somehow sensing that this was something important, and private to Kiele herself. Even though they have known each other for a long time, each of them respected each other's privacy and never came in where they were not wanted. There were many things about Kiele that Eli didn't know about and vice versa.

Kiele paused, quiet for a while asshe fought an inner turmoil coiling in her. Should she, or should she not tell Eli? Eli would keep his silence,that much she knewand she respected him. She thought back on the times he had kept at her side, supportedand helped her through her roughest patches in life.When she looked up, she saw him looked at her in his patient and concerned way, as one would look at a beloved sister. She knew then it would be all right to tell him and made up her mind in the spot.

"You know about a slayer who calls herself Isra?" she asked softly but already knew the answer. Any self-respecting slayer would know who that was. She was more than a slayer; she was a legend. And-

"She was my mother."

She knew this time she had really shocked Eli. His jaw literally dropped and he kept blinking at her as though he had something in his eyes.

"Your, your mother was Isra?" he sputtered out, a comical expression of shock and disbelief on his face. Kiele would have found it amusing if she wasn't feeling as though she wanted to cry inside. It took alot out of her, both emotionally and physically, to drag out and relieve the dreadedpast again.

"Yes. Her real name was Myra. Myra Donovan." Kiele continued in a soft voice, battling conflicting emotions within her. "She was married to my father, Gareth Cocharen."

"Isn't he the tycoon who own like, half the continent?" Eli's incredulous tone finally squeezed a smile from Kiele's face, even though it was one filled with sorrow and bittersweet.

"Not really half the continent, but rich he was. Floundering in money, my mother used to say." Kiele's face held a reminiscence smile and she continued, "They loved each other very much, and yes, he knew about her 'part-time' job. He accepted her way of life, though he never did approved of it," She answered Eli's unasked question, which was reflected in his eyes.

"They had two children, twins in fact, Kalika and me."

"You have a sister? And here I thought I wouldn't be more surprise if you told me you were a dragon." He murmured, more to himself than anyone else. Kiele felt a smile tugging at the edges of her mouth. Somehow, being around with Eli made everything easier to say out. He always had that effect on her, or on anyone else for that matter. Eli was simply one of those people who had the ablility to make anyone around him relax and he was remarkably easy to talk to.

"You would know about how my mother died, right? 'By the hands of an unidentified vampire'," she mimicked the voice of the detestable nightworld coroner, a healer witch really, bitterness edvident in his tone. "But he wasn't unidentified." She said softly, "They were just too afraid to confront him. For they thought: since a legend can't even beat him, what chances do we have? No one was willing to give their lives away for the simple sake of revenge for someone they do not know," she laughed mockingly, bitterness and anger edging the sound.

Suddenly, what she had been implying struck him. "The vampire was Shadrach, wasn't it?"

"Yes. My sister went after him a year age. I was too late in stopping her. When we found her, she was damaged too badly in her mind to ever recover. The doctors couldn't help her even with the best technology my father's money could buy. So you see, these are the reasons why I will, no, must kill him." She raised her head and stared at Eli, who looked at her, horror and sadness in his handsome features,pity showing clearly in his eyes.

"But have you thought about what will happen to your sister if you died? What about your father? And are you sure it was Shadrach who did all this?"

"He killed himself soon after my mother's demise. I have made arrangements for Kalika to be taken care of. And I am sure of it. Nobody could have done it except him."

Eli sighed, knowing that her mind was already made up and that nothing he could say would change her mind. "Then take care, Kiele. And be careful. Don't you dare lose your life." Then, in a movement that surprised them both, he leaned forward and hugged her tightly. After getting over the initial surprise, Kiele hugged him back. For a while, they remained in that position. Then, Kiele pushed him away. "You are going to make me cry." She informed him with a watery smile, swiping at her eyes with the back of her hands.

"I think I already did." Eli grinned.

"And it is not as though we won't see each other again." Kiele said, but both of them knew the truth. Chances were that she might die on the mission. She knew it, and so did he. But they kept it to themselves, unwilling to give up hope. They spent a few minutes composing themselves before exiting the study and returning to the living room where they found the rest of the group laughing in mirth as Andrew was cursing about the loss of his few strands of hair, which were clutched in Darla's little palm at the same moment.

The rest of the meeting went quickly. At their appearance, Darla ran to Kiele who managed to quieten her down in a matter of few seconds. Eli ran over the plan to the now quiet and alert group. Occasionally, someone interrupted with a question, which Eli answered smoothly. They chose the people who would be on the team Kiele would be leading and the backup team.

Finally, Eli dismissed them with a "break a leg, guys."

Jarve answered lazily with an "I think we might be breaking more than that."

"Yeah, like our necks, for example." Vivian laughed as she exited the house with the others. Kiele turned, ready to leave with the others when Eli's voice stopped her from doing so.

"Kiele, wait." Eli called out. Kiele turned around surprised as she saw him ran back into the house. Seconds later, he came back and thrust something long into Kiele's hands. Surprised, she nearly dropped the sword he had given her. It was one of the twin Japanese swords she had been admiring not long ago. She blinked, more out of surprise than anything, at Eli, who smiled at her brotherly, his eyes alight with a emotion Kiele was unable to decipher.

"Now you have to gave it back to me personally after the mission. Alive.May it protect you." Kiele felt tears clog her throat. Unable to speak, she threw her arms around Eli and then departed before he could see the tears swimming in her eyes.

The moon was high in the air, its silver rays lending the essential light and shadows the slayers needed. It was a beautiful night, cloudless, leaving the moon and the stars intheir brilliance to dominate the dark sky. It reminded Kiele of Lord Bryon's poem, She walks in beauty. Her mother had loved the poem, often saying that it was one of the most accomplished masterpieces in the world. She still remembered the words:

She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:

Perfect to describe this particular night. Pity, Kiele thought as the car sped along the darkened streets with nary a sound, that Shadrach Silverthorn would have to die on such a beautiful night. She would have preferred him to die while the winds wailed and the rain splashed, just like the night her mother had died and in the brutal way she had died. The car grinded to a halt a few metres away from their destination and the slayers within alight stealthily onto the pavement. As soon as they had alight, the black coloured car drove away with a low purr.

The slayers, five in all (Kiele, Jarve, Andrew, Leah and Wayne), were dressed in black ninja garb, the lower half of their faces covered with a mask thatpreventedtheir identities from being discovered. Kiele fingered the swordhilt strappedat her side and recalled Eli's last words to her. Well, one thing was sure: she did not plan to die tonight. It was already decided who would die a long time ago and only him would die on this night, barred a few vampire minions. She was going to make sure of that.

At Kiele's signal, they splited and melted into the night and shadows casted by the moon with a skill and stealth of one used to it. This way, they would not be detected so easily, rather than as a whole group. They were all headed towards one destination: the old warehouse where a transaction was supposedly on. Shadrach would be there, as would few of the other important night world ringleaders. Killing two birds, no six leeches actually, with one stone. A rather good deal if you ask her. Kiele smiled a feral smile as she closed in to the warehouse. Several huge trucks were parked outside the warehouse, probably used to deliver the human slaves. This meant that the transaction was already on. Good. This way, they will be less liable to be detected by the nightworlders within.

She then saw a darker shadow slipping through the shadows cast by the warehouse towards the warehouse. Andrew. Slipping forward to join him, she tapped him on the shoulder in a code rhythm to inform him that it was only she. As soon as he realized who she was, he relaxed his stance and grip on the sword strapped to his waist and indicated with a slight tilt of his head to the lone two vampires that were guarding the entrance.

Only two?A prickle of unease formed on her skin but she ignored it. The rest were probably still in the warehouse guarding the human slaves or guarding Shadrach Silverthorn. Her lips turned up in a sneer at the name, a reflex movement. Pushing aside the feeling of unease, she moved closer to Andrew.

"Left's mine." She whispered. Andrew nodded. In accordance, they moved towards the two guards and made quick work of them, who went down with nary a sound and collasped down next to the heavy doors of the warehouse. Together, in accord, they entered the building silently. It was pitch-dark and had a musky smell, as though it had not been used for sometime and thesilence that descended like a thick blanket was oppressive as they entered. Something was wrong. Kiele could feel it. It was too quiet. Her slayer instincts told her to run for the nearest exit at the invisible threat she felt. Then she realized it the same time as Andrew but it was too late. The doors slammed shut behind them, plunging them into darkness.

"A trap. They knew we were coming." Kiele said grimly as a masculine laugh rang out throughout the warehouse.

"Welcome to our lair, slayers." Lights blinked on suddenly, illuminating the whole place, and the man who spoke those words. He gave a low, ironic bow to them, "Shadrach Silverthorne at your service."

Author's notes:

Incarnated-soul: Thanks for reviewing, and I usually get these names from either websites dedicated to names or from books. I copy down those that interest me. And no, I have never read the Moon Riders. Maybe I'll try it the next time, seems to be a good read, judging from the name.

Thanks to those people for reviewing, though it would be nice if you keep on doing it! Love you guys!