Wow. Sorry it took me so long. Things have been crazy lately. I appreciate that you all waited so patiently. Anyway, thanks to LostTranslation, End-of-ur-world, Terriah, and Moongoddess0808/Hecate0808 for their reviews.

Chapter 14

Drew had a grin running up his cheeks all day. He couldn't seem to help it. Everything about him was euphoric. He'd never felt like this in his entire life. Usually some bitter or resentful threads wormed their way into the back of his mind, bringing him down to earth. But nothing could have killed his good mood today.

He wanted to be with Clara every moment, but he knew he shouldn't. He knew how hard it was for her to accept everything that he'd just revealed to her. He'd broken apart her whole perception of the world and now she had to place it back together with the new bits. And it had to be hard to realize that humans were not at the top of the food chain, like they'd always believed. He would give her some time to think it all over.

Besides, he thought with his first twinge of regret since they parted. He could seem to keep his distance when she was so near. The bloodlust became so strong that at points he couldn't control it. He hadn't been able to control it today, and that scared him. He could end up hurting her. Really hurting her. And then he'd end up turning her into a vampire because he couldn't stand the thought of seeing her die. Never being with her again. His heart wrenched just thinking about it.

But Clara couldn't be a vampire. It just wasn't in her nature. She had very clearly stated today that she did not want to become like him and he could understand this. It was a great burden to bear. The benefits did not outweigh the curses of his nature. She would be furious with him for making her like that. She might hate him forever.

So he must wait for her body to rejuvenate--for her human cells to battle it out with the vampiric ones.

Drew sat on the front step that led away from the grand entrance. He didn't know what to do with himself. It was as if the world was hanging over him, waiting for its cue to go on. So we love each other, he thought. So something happens when we're together that I've never experienced before--something that shouldn't even be possible. Now what?

He was saved from having to answer such a difficult question when the front bell rang. Drew would have been lying if he said that his heart didn't jump into his throat at that minute. His first thought was, maaybe it's Clara.

He hurried over and grasped the door handle. Even before the door opened, he knew it wasn't her. He caught the distinct smell of witchery--a combinations of flowering plants and herbs. A different collection of natural objects that witches liked to douse over their bodies. This particular sent filled his nostrils and entered his brain, leaving him relaxed and unnoffensive.

The door opened to reveal a petite girl with a lank of silver-blond curls and warm amber eyes.

"Jen," Drew stated, his eyes widening.

He didn't expect to see her here--not after she and his brother broke up.

"Hey," she said, smiling warmly. Jen had always been nice to him, even when his brother wasn't. She was like that with everyone. It was just her nature. "I left some things at your house a couple of weeks ago."

"Oh," Drew replied, still trying to pull himself from his thoughts. He finally managed to do so. "Um, some of your witch stuff?"

She batted him lightly on the arm and stepped into the entrance. She reprimanded lightly, with a twinkle in her eyes. "Don't call it that. It's lore and history. It's for the vampires as much as the witches."

Then she said. "I think I left it in the library."

Drew nodded, nudging his shoulder in the direction of the library. He moved up the stairs, and her feet whispered behind him. Like human feet. Witch's bodies weren't exactly well-equiped for stealthy movement. It was to be expected. They were almost like humans as it was. Heck, their blood even tasted human for the most part. He'd had a couple of willing donors at different points in his life. What set them apart was their way to use nature that baffled even him. He had once seen a pale pink fireball resting in Jen's fingers, flickering merrily.

He pushed through the library door to reveal cherry wood bookcases lining the walls and a steady oak table stained cherry to match sitting in the center of the room. There was a magnificent built-in chess set in the center of the table. The wings of the table had been pulled up to make room for study materials. They were strewn with papers--probably Jen's study materials.

Drew took a deep breath and stepped aside so that Jen could enter the room. A familiar, woody scent hit his nostrils. He loved this room although he rarely entered it. There was something calming about it. But he'd been trying to keep up a reputation, even among his own family members. He was Drew the bad boy. He didn't read. Now it all seemed so silly and inconsequential. Clara had changed everything for him and there was no going back--even if he wanted to.

"Thanks," Jen said, as polite as ever. She began to gather some of the papers together.

Drew moved to the table to help her. He lifted a paper, about to stuff it into a pile, but a passage caught his eye.

One from the land of the land of the kings long forgotten;

One from the hearth which still holds the spark;

One from the dayworld, where two eyes are watching;

And one from the twilight to be one with the dark.

It was just a silly poem. Nothing more. But he found himself asking anyway. "What's this?"

"Oh!" Jen smiled, looking really pleased that he was actually taking an interest in her witch stuff. She rarely found people who were interested in talking about lore with her. She took advantage of every chance she got. Drew knew that he had probably got himself stuck in an hour-long discussion about nonsense, but he didn't have anything better to do at the moment. "I found that in an old diary. It's just a copy. Apparantly, it's supposed to be a great prophesy about the end of the world. The problem is, that no one has ever found the original manuscript so most witches are wary about it. They're not sure if they should believe it's true."

Drew frowned slightly. "What does this have to do with the end of the world? It looks more like a puzzle than anything else."

"Well, they are riddles in a way," Jen said, chewing her lip. "It's information about the four wild powers who are supposed to start popping up in the days nearing the end of the world. There's another prophecy about them that I found in the old diary."

She rifled through the papers for a few moments before coming up with one and handing it to Drew. "Here, look."

In blue fire, the final darkness is banished.

In blood, the final price is paid.

Four to stand between light and shadow,

Four of blue fire, the power in their blood.

Born in the year of the blind Maiden's vision;

Four less one and darkness triumphs.

For some reason, the words seemed to come alive in his head, dancing about his subconscious. There was something he needed to know--something they were trying to tell him. However, when he reached out to grasp that information it was gone. He strained his mind harder, blinking unseeingly at the page. However hard he tried, the iformation still evaded him.

He frowned slightly, muttering to himself. "This is important."

"So you feel it too!" A wide grin was breaking across Jen's cheeks. "Most people think it's a load of crock. But I know it isn't. Those prophecies have to be out there somewhere. And we witches will find them some day.

Drew nodded and helped her gather up the rest of the papers. He surprised himself by saying, "Keep hold of these. They might be useful someday."

Jen gave him an odd look.

"What?" He asked, feeling a little perturbed under her gaze.

"You're changing," she stated simply. "And I think it's a good change. Whatever's causing this...don't let it go away."

A small smile played along his lips. Don't worry, he thought. I wouldn't let her go. Not for the world.

All he said was. "Thanks for stopping by."

She turned to leave, but he got the odd urge to reach out and catch her shoulder. She stopped, turning around to view him with her amber eyes. "What is it?"

Drew didn't really know. Well, he did. But he felt embarrassed to ask. The old Drew would never have asked such a thing.

The words finally managed to stumble out of his mouth. "Why did you and Bracken break up?" He asked. "You two were so happy together. And you're still great friends."

"Because," Jen said after a moment, nodding to the stack of materials in her hands. "I'm looking for something more."

Drew's eyebrows hitched up in perplexity. "You're looking to study?"

"No," she shook her head with a smile at his confusion. "As you know, I read into a lot of this history and lore. I found this one passage where a witch was speaking of something called the soulmate principle."

Something burned in Drew's chest at the sound of the word. He was barely able to ask, "What is it?"

"Just what it sounds like," Jen replied with a shrug. "There's one special person out there for everyone...and when you know, you just know it. With every fiber of your being. I want to find that person, even if it takes me to the ends of the earth."

So that's what they were. Soulmates. And he knew it with every fiber of his being. Everything in him told him rang true to his belief.

Drew's eyes flared up. He knew that he was coming dangerously close to revealing something. "Even if he were human?"

Jen laughed at this. "Of course not, silly. Humans are vermin. They're not like us. They couldn't possibly have soulmates."

With that, she turned to go. Drew didn't stop her this time.