I have to say I just found some errors on the rune names in ch. 1 and im so embarrassed xP I have fixed them though. I apologize for those and any further mistakes. Here's chapter 3 and please review. Those are what keep me going. X)

There was a pinch of pain, then she was drowning in a sea of fear. It was thick and black and cold, dragging her under without a second to spare. Feeling the disgusting, cruel liquid covering her face made her actually terrified. She was dying, and somehow she just knew that everyone she loved was drowning, too.

In the next second she was yanked back up. The life entering her stung as she was detached from the liquid death. Air filled her lungs and she jolted awake with a gasp. Her whole body launched forward before a gentle hand caught her. She was in some room, some place she couldn't identify but recognized somehow. She was desperately catching her breath when she looked up and saw such kind, sapphire eyes smiling at her.

"J-Julian?"

He shushed her gently and leaned her back down. His fingers were hardly touching her shoulder, but with enough force to get her relaxed. Then they danced up her throat to her chin where he tilted her head up higher to him. "It's just a dream," he said softly, but his words didn't match his lips. The image of him got fuzzy and Jenny realized she was drifting back. Back where, she didn't know. The unknown started to scare her until the warm, tender touch of Julian's lips on her forehead calmed her.

She settled back into the warmth for a while before she was shaken awake. "Jenny," Zach was calling. "Jenny, we're here."

Jenny woke up finally, making sure she was actually here and not still dreaming. Just a dream. She told herself. Not them. Not real. Just a dream. "Where?" she asked.

"Town," Tom answered. Jenny looked over at him in the driver's seat. She had been leaning on him, she suggested since his jacket was laid out on his shoulder like a pillow.

"So what are we supposed to be looking for, a hardware store or something?" Zach asked.

Jenny hesitated. "Uh, well… Do you think there's a superstore here somewhere?" She looked to Tom, but surprisingly he met her eyes, but never answered her.

Before she could question it, a hand grabbed her by the shoulder. She turned, expecting to see her cousin, but somehow she saw something much darker. A tall, black figure masked by darkness only revealing a dark grin. It was surrounded by ice that formed on the window behind it, and the hand it was touching her with wasn't even a real hand. A hoof of some sort, and it was grabbing her-

Jenny screamed as she slammed back into Tom, making him swerve and slam on the brakes. There was another shout and horns blaring before the car jerked to a stop.

"What? What's wrong?!"

Jenny blinked and she saw her cousin staring at her with wide, confused eyes. He was completely normal, even the window was ice-free. Jenny grabbed her chest where she could still feel the lump of ice resting in the pit of her ribs. Tom was shaking her. "Jenny, what's wrong?"

She looked at him, then back to her cousin. "Nothing…" She breathed. "Sorry."

Just a dream, she told herself until her heart stopped racing. Just a dream. That was just an hallucination.

They got out of the car where Audrey and the others pulled over behind them and met up with them. "What the hell happened?" Dee asked.

The boys only looked to Jenny who saw the worry in Summer's doll-like eyes. Even though her knees suddenly felt like Jell-o, she stood up straight and said, "I was still half asleep…"

"She screamed," Tom said a little tensely. "Almost made me crash."

"You okay, Sunshine?" Dee asked and Jenny nodded.

"I'm sorry. But… we need to find a hardware store or something, right?" Since Tom didn't really want to speak, she looked to Zach who nodded.

"Well, what are we even looking for?" It was Audrey who asked it, flipping her copper hair as she did.

Jenny nervously bit her lip. "I'm not sure… Rope or…something…"

"How about a blowtorch?" Dee said with a wild smile. "We'll scorch those suckers away." Jenny gave her a soft smile.

Michael tugged on Audrey's shoulder. "You're the traveler. Where do we go?"

Audrey gave him a stern pout, then fixed her hair and held her chin high. "What am I, your personal GPS?"

"Aw, don't be like that," Michael bumped his shoulder into her. "I know you're a lot smarter than that."

"Damn right."

Using a little guidance and asking around, they were able to find a superstore that had everything from food to house appliances and gun sections. They ventured to the back where the sections divided into dozens. Everyone looked at each other before Tom sighed and took the lead. "All right, I guess we split up."

"Buddy System," Dee said even though she held up a protective fist.

"I think it should be boy-girl," Summer said shyly and took Zach's arm. "That way everyone's protected…"

Jenny nodded. "Sounds fine. Tom and I will go this way. Dee, you can take Michael-"

"No." Surprisingly, Tom cut her off. "Dee, you go with Jenny. I'll take Michael and Audrey. So everyone has a strong person with them in case anything happens."

Jenny gave him a stern look, but he refused to so much as glance at her. The fact that he even walked away from her after doing such a thing made something in Jenny boil. She took a deep breath and looked away. Just relax. She told herself. "Fine. Let's go. Summer and Zach, maybe you guys should stick close."

It's not like she thought her cousin wasn't strong or anything, but as feeble as he was she was sure both he and Summer would get caught up in the Shadow's Man tricks. Even as she closed her eyes she could see it so clearly, Summer only standing there screaming as the black tendrils surrounded her while Zach was dragged into the blackness-

Stop, stop!

They ventured into the isles, finding exotic things from bear traps to chicken wire to elastic ropes. Dee was picking up interesting picks and such things, but Jenny couldn't comprehend. She wasn't really looking at the tools. Finally, the panther strolled over and turned her around. "You know Tom's just trying to look out for you-"

"By ignoring me?" Jenny scoffed and looked away again. "He ignored me for weeks, Dee. It was why we broke up. He finally reaches out to me, then just…"

Jenny saw something flash before her, but she only closed her eyes and ignored it. A voice whispered in the back of her mind, but she couldn't hear it just right.

"Give him some time," Dee said comfortingly before she gave an excited groan. "Ooh, look at this baby!" She picked up some type of graveling hook, playing with it on the rope like some hunter from the Dark Ages. "We could catch those bastards with one of these, for sure!"

Jenny couldn't help but smile. Yet, as she watched Dee play with the toy she found, the flashes returned. Dee was no longer moving about, but standing completely limp; actually she was hanging. She was being dangled off the ground with the same hook shoved through her chest and the moving shadow as the culprit was standing right behind her. Blood was pooling from her chest, staining the hook a sickening black, and Dee's face-

Jenny forced herself to blink long and hard and when she reopened them, Dee was returning the item to its spot on the isle.

Jenny quickly walked away. Just a dream. Like that is just a worker. That is just a dog. That is just a picture. Just…

Something inside Jenny clicked and she took a good look at everything around her. More than meets the eye, more in-depth. It was so familiar. This was just a store. Just an isle, just a room.

"Zach!" Jenny called and ran around the isle until she found her suddenly shocked cousin.

"What? What?" He said as he gripped her shoulders.

Jenny gripped right back, suddenly very intoxicated with discovery. "What was that thing called? Remember? Julian used it in one of his games. Remember that picture you showed me, saying it wasn't a pipe. That-That illusion crap-"

"Magritte? Yeah?"

"What if that's it?" Jenny pondered. "I mean, if you think about it that easel was just an easel before Julian put his magic in it. That closet was just a closet until my grandfather scratched those runes on it."

Dee stepped forward with Summer standing beside her. "What are you getting at?"

Jenny looked around and grabbed some thick industrial rope from the shelf. "It's just like you said, Dee. We can use their runes. What if we can put their magic into our stuff?" She dropped the rope and grabbed something else, something like a tenting pole, but could clearly see it with a broken edge, like a spear. "What if we carve runes or something into our stuff? We could…"

"We could use them as weapons," Zach finished for her, taking the pole from her.

Dee grinned excitedly and punched her fist. "We might be able to injure them."

"At least for the meanwhile. Until we figure out our trap."

Summer smiled, looking like a child with her thick blonde curls overflowing her face, and pulled on Zach's arm again. "Let's go tell Audrey."

Jenny went to add something before she glanced just passed Summer and saw it. A dark shadow lingering at the end of the isle. It was looking at her, and looking back at it made Jenny lose her breath. It was hideous, but she couldn't even identify why. The sight of it made her stomach sick and her head dizzy. She looked back at Zach who was studying her closely, but even when she looked back the figure was still there, in fact it was even closer. Actually, a lot closer. It stood right behind Zach. If it simply turned its head or lifted its hand, it could touch him, It could take him-

Jenny choked on a gasp and looked desperately to her cousin. His eyes studied her carefully, then turned and looked behind them. "What is it? Are you okay?"

Jenny could still see it, hovering closer and closer to her cousin. Dee even stepped forward and blocked it and Jenny just knew it was coming close to her, as well. "Jenny, what's the matter?"

Jenny blinked hard and rubbed her eyes. Still the creature was there. But Zach hadn't seen it. Only Jenny had; only Jenny was seeing things-

Desperately she grabbed her face and looked away. "N-Nothing…Dizzy," she mumbled, but she couldn't say anything more because a sudden chuckle echoed around her. Judging by her friends faces, they heard nothing.

Dee turned on Zach, saying, "Go get Tom-"

"No!" Jenny snapped and opened her eyes again. "I-I'm fine…"

"Are you?" The voice was like a snake, hissing deep from her mind to the point where it gave her a headache. Her chest hurt again and Jenny suddenly found it very hard to breathe. Just as she tried to stay calm, all her control and composure broke with the numerous voice echoing in her head.

"You took them. Our blood right. We didn't even start. Life for a life. We'll take you. And your friends. You can't stop us. Blood right. We'll have you. Forever. Ours. Death. And Pain. Your friends. Your love. Crushed. Life for a life. Three lives. Ours. You. Are. Ours-

Jenny drastically grabbed her ears and crouched away. Stop it, she was thinking desperately as the fear swept straight through her heart. Stop it. Stop it. "Stop it."

Forever. He wasn't good enough. Human. Blood. You. All of you. More than enough. So much fun. So much time to play. We'll take you. Now. All of you-"

"Shut up!" jenny suddenly shouted and opened her eyes. The lights were flickering all around her and with every beat she saw blood spilled all over the floor. She heard her friends, but they were suddenly very far away, very distant and very disoriented. She was afraid to look anywhere else, too afraid to turn and see something heinous; she didn't want to see their torn bodies or pale, lifeless faces.

She knew they weren't real, but hearing such cold, cruel voices hissing non-stop in her head was numbing enough to scare her out of her wits. They were so loud and so vicious, she could clearly see their sharp, yellow teeth smiling grimly at her.

Something touched her and she reeled away. When she looked up to where her fiends had been standing innocently in the store isle, she saw straight into the Shadow World. Stuck between two rocky walls, there was darkness only lit by strikes of some kind of lightening above, flickering her vision madly at the creatures stalked toward her. There were six of them, tall and grotesque, growing taller and taller with each flash of light, and more and more hideous. The wind struck her harshly, whipping her around enough to stumble away. One reached for her as the voices continued to whisper. But now it was just gibberish, very close but so, so quiet. It was more frightening then understanding them.

She finally heard her name, then a blood-curling scream and a bone-chilling laugh. The closest one tried to grab her and Jenny took off running. The rock walls however, blended in perfectly with the darkness and she only ran with the flashes of light. But the voices grew louder, closer, more violent and more impatient. They were right behind her, right on her heels, boney, bloody fingers outstretching for her, right behind her, about to grab her hair and drag her into the deep depths of unknown, right behind her, right behind her-

Jenny felt her frantic running hit something and she stumbled. She probably would've fell right into the shadows and never stopped if the arms hadn't have caught her. Yet, the cold body only frightened her more when all she could see was the black material they were wearing. She immediately squirmed, her feet finding the ground and trying to pry herself away. They were saying something to her as they pulled her back, but all Jenny could hear were the hideous laughs and chilling threats-

"Jenny, stop."

The order was followed by sudden pressure on her biceps, so tight and so strong that it hurt enough to make her cry. She stopped as the grip forced her to a still and held her in place, but Jenny refused to open her eyes. She was stuck in a very cold, very dark place. Whoever was holding her, whatever had her right now, she didn't want to see it.

Yet, one by one the voices died down into a single smooth voice. A familiar one that sounded elemental, like water over rocks.

"Jenny, you have to look at me."

Desperately, she shook her head.

"Yes."

"I can't. If it's not you-O-Or them-I can't."

"Are you going to let them win? Let them take you? Take your friends?"

For once Julian actually sounded distressed, like he did back in the lighthouse when he tried to get Jenny to leave before his Ancestors tried to take her. Hearing it was like striking the wrong chord on the instrument. It surprised Jenny so much that she finally opened her eyes and looked up. The edges of her vision were black for a while, but slowly she could see him. His white hair was dancing grey with the shadows while his eyes-they were a very dark blue now, like the deepest blue of midnight, right as the sun starts to hit it, so vibrant, lingering on the verge of dark and light.

Right now they were searching her desperately as his grip didn't loosen. Seeing him so strangely amid the darkness only terrified her more. Something in them changed as he met her gaze and his voice tightened. "Jenny, you have to give me permission."

"No!" She said quickly and shook her head fiercely. It was a trap. All a trap. They were in her head. Making her see what they wanted her to see. Make her fall right for Julian's words so they could take her. Take her to the shadow world where they could torture her forever, doing God-knows what-

"Jenny, look at me!"

The tears blinded her and she could only shake her head. She was so scared. She didn't want to see the Shadow Men behind her. She didn't want to give in to his words. She didn't want to die or have her friends get killed because of her. She just wanted everything to be normal, to be warm and safe, with her friends and her family and-and-

"That's it, Jenny, keep thinking." Now everything was muddled. She was pulled against his chest until her face was buried into the crook of his neck as his arms wrapped around her upper body-the part he had permission to touch because of the jacket-and the stone-

He was gripping her hand now, the hand where she could feel the warm lump in her palm.

"Remember? Whatever you want to see, whatever you want, Jenny."

He wasn't trying to bribe her. No, his voice was much calmer than that. He was speaking as if coaxing her back to reality, his voice low and serious in her ear. But it was so exotic, offering her so much for so little.

Whatever she wanted to have? Wherever she wanted to go? Just as the thought sounded so inviting, the cold in her chest struck her like a cold knife, making her wince away.

But Julian didn't let her escape. "Hurry, Jenny. Just picture it in your mind. Wherever you want. I promise it'll be okay. Please, just think of it."

Jenny suddenly felt very tired as the last of the tears streamed down her cheeks. Her eyes were already closed, but she couldn't focus right. She didn't know what she wanted. All she knew was that she didn't want to be in the darkness anymore. She was tired of the cold and the voices and the visions and the blood and the threats-

So she saw somewhere wide and bright with lots of open space and colors. A cool place where black and white mixed evenly to reveal so many colors. And it was suddenly so warm, so warm that it melted away the voices, the ice, and everything around her. She was comfortable now, losing her sense of time and place. She was comfortable and content and safe.

There was a very odd sensation after that. It was as if she just forgot everything. The fear was entirely gone as was everything else. She wasn't thinking anymore, only something very light passing through her as time seemed to move on by.

When Jenny opened her eyes again, she was laying down on something very soft and weightless, smothered in thick blankets. When she moved, she realized the bed was so light it was like a cloud and it was just so warm. Jenny felt like she was a kid again, so lazy and unmotivated that she didn't want to get out of bed-but the sudden reminder of her friends and the Shadow Men and Julian made her jump up.

The room was unfamiliar with beige walls, a bureau in the corner, a beautiful and exquisite vanity table in the other corner, and a window parallel to her. Warm sunlight was peeking through the curtains and curiosity got the better of her as she walked over to it. It was standing up that she realized her clothes had changed. From her ripped and worn jeans and white blouse, she now had on a black dress that hugged her body just enough to make her look stunning, but comfortable. It was similar to silk, but somehow different, as if the material was alive and let her breathe and moved with her as she started to move. Her legs were very weak, but she found her feet bare on the soft wood floor and pulled away the curtains.

When her eyes adjusted to the light, she was starting to think she was dreaming. The land outside was endless with a large yellow field dotted with flowers of every color, mixing gorgeously. There were grassy hills in the background and a cool, rocky mountain hoisting the sun up. It was a breath-taking view really because even right beyond the hills was a vast blue lake, as blue as sapphires, as blue as-

"It's the peak of the Highlands of Scotland," Julian said smoothly.

Jenny turned and he was leaning against the doorway she hadn't noticed before. He was wearing a black t-shirt, unbuttoned to reveal his pale collarbone, black pants and black boots. The sunlight danced off his hair, making it gleam like freshly fallen snow, and his eyes…

His face was solemn, soft as he looked out the window, then at her. Jenny couldn't take the honest look in his eyes. With such a gentle gaze as that, he almost looked…human.

Too many different feelings rushed through Jenny so she looked back out the window. "Wha-….We're-really in Scotland?"

"If that's what you want to believe."

Jenny looked back and he was right in front of her, within arm's reach but making no move toward her. He was gazing at her with a new gaze and as he took her in, he inhaled deeply then let it out with a new face, as if realizing something. Jenny was too far gone to question it.

"What do you… Oh, God. My friends. Zach and Dee-" She was cut off by the mirror that Julian held out to her. He said nothing as he offered it to her, so Jenny gently took it. The hand mirror showed her reflection for only a second-showing her eyes slightly bloodshot and her hair framing her face in a honey glow-before it flickered and showed her friends in a room, all of them asleep. Summer and Dee were sprawled out on one couch, looking like Goldie Locks next to a black panther. Zach and Audrey were on the next couch, posted as if they had fallen asleep while watching a movie or something. Michael was posted in some chair, slouched over very far and about to fall off, while Tom was sprawled on the floor. All of them were sleeping. All of them were fine. They were alive.

Jenny breathed a little easier and set the mirror down on the vanity table near them. She was afraid to look back at Julian even though she knew he was watching her. She looked out the window one more time before closing the curtains. She didn't really know what to say either. "Your Ancestors-"

"Did you ever question the people inside Asylums?" He asked suddenly. It was normal for Julian to change subjects like this, but something was different. His tone wasn't cool and collected, trying to slowly trick her into what he was getting at. No, it was…rushed in a way. Like he was trying to make his point, but what a drastic point it was that it disturbed his voice.

"Did you ever wonder how a normal man, a husband, a father, just one day lost his mind? Just completely lost all his sense of reality and reasoning?"

Jenny waited till he looked at her before she shook her head. "It's very simple, really." That shocked Jenny. Whatever conversation they were going to have, whatever they had to say, she never would've guessed this. "It depends on the person, their age, their lifestyle. And their fear. The dark is such a frightening thing, Jenny, mixed with a few whispers, a few hallucinations. You seem to lose your sense of what's real and what's not, between what's possible and what is not. Is it really a wolf, or a just a picture-"

"Magritte," Jenny cut him off. "Is that what you're getting at?"

"That concept, yes, but also just basic reasoning." His eyes flickered back to her after having looked away again, and the blue in them swayed like a flame. He finished slowly, "Shadow Men are very reasonable."

A strike of fear hit Jenny. It was true; Shadow Men were very old, very wise, very beautiful, but very dangerous. They knew how to coax you into their hands, whether it was with fear or reason. It was how her grandfather sacrificed himself for her. It was why Julian enjoyed his games so much; he got to mix his use of reasoning with the games, forcing them to use him as help and still fall right into his hands.

"So?" It was the only thing Jenny could really think to say. "They're also cruel and crafty-"

It seemed to hit Jenny right as Julian turned on her. "Exactly. We'll get in your head and make you hallucinate. We'll show you anything to make you scared, until you think you're somewhere else, till you really do run right into our hands. For all you know you could still be in their grasp, in this exact moment. I could be a simple hallucination right here in front of you, while you're thinking your safe when this could turn into a nightmare at any second. It's that easy."

Jenny was suddenly ripped away from herself. That fear made her lose all thought. If the Shadow Men still had her-If she was just hallucinating Julian right now-like in Limbo-

Dear God.

But he acted like Julian. Yet, that was how jenny knew him. However, she didn't know this side of him. She didn't know this stressed version, this emotional, almost human side of Julian that was trying to persuade her into something.

Was it reality? Or farther into a nightmare?

Even when Julian continued, Jenny couldn't listen. All at once she could understand how Julian felt when he saw Jenny burned alive, then was holding the real her for dear life. All at once she understood the risk, the fear, and the consequences.

She glanced around the room one more time. Julian had always promised her everything she ever wanted. Why would his Ancestors put her here? Because that's what she wanted.

Was it?

Did she always want what Julian offered?

Nothing made sense anymore.

"Do you understand now, Jenny? We'll take you as simple as that," he was stressing, but Jenny wasn't listening.

If this wasn't real. If Julian wasn't real-

He began to turn away from her, but Jenny couldn't take it. If disappeared on her. If he was just an hallucination-

In the next second she grabbed his face and forced his lips against hers. The shock was obvious, but Jenny didn't let him pull away. She kissed him hard, pulling herself completely against him. She waited for him to fade or simply disappear, or even the room to melt. If this was an hallucination then he wouldn't be able to touch her. If this was fake, then everything would disappear or he would turn into some hideous monster.

He didn't.

He hesitated for only a moment before he grabbed her and kissed her back. To Jenny's surprise they were very gentle kisses. A foreign shiver raced down her spine and to her gut. Like tiny bolts of electricity were tickling her lips in slow motion. And his hand was so soft on her cheek that it made her lean into more kisses.

Now that couldn't be fake. There was no way the Shadow man could fake that feeling.

Eventually, Jenny pulled away where the realization set in. "Still here," Jenny mumbled, a little breathlessly. She got off of her tip toes, not realizing she had been on them, and turned away. "We're still here, so it's real. You didn't fade away so you're not fake." She faced him and said as clearly as she could. "I won't let them trick me into insanity. Or my friends. They won't win. I'll say what's real and what's fake."

It was quiet for a minute before Julian let out a soft chuckle. "Now do you see why I fancy you so much?"

Jenny looked and he had on a smile, but it seemed…weak for someone like Julian. It wasn't wide or hungry or devilish, just small and honest. "Your strength. Your admiration. Your courage."

Jenny didn't want to take in such compliments. "I mean….It's not like I'm not scared," Jenny forced the words out. "But… for my friends…. I just won't. Not to them. Not to something so-"

Jenny stopped herself, but Julian finished for her, "Evil? Cruel? Cunning?"

He was moving toward her, but Jenny couldn't walk away nor toward him. She stood still until he approached her, his gaze covering her in blue flames that tingled her skin. He stopped right before her, barely inches away, his mystical gaze pinning her down easily. "Are you frightened?" he asked so quietly it was almost inaudible. "Of me?"

Jenny actually had to ponder on the question. There was something in the atmosphere now. Something very soft, but mundane. Very familiar, but dangerous. Like back in the cave, the day Julian seemed so human. Just like now.

"Sometimes," she answered honestly without really thinking at all. "What you can do…. That scares me… But because you don't do such things, I'm not afraid of you."

His eyelids drooped just slightly and his head tilted back a little. "Don't test me, Jenny." It wasn't said as a threat, although maybe it was supposed to be. In order to push her away-

Yet, Jenny wasn't pushed away at all. "I don't intend to. It's just…."

Jenny lost her train of thought when Julian lifted his hand and grazed the back of his fingers against her cheek. It was so gentle that it made something inside Jenny, the thing Julian had created within her upon meeting him, grow stronger.

"It's just you're not cruel. Not to me. Not to my friends, really." She grabbed his hand when he pulled away, something changing in his face. "And I know you are cruel. I know you're powerful and dark, but towards me-"

"You can't change me, Jenny-

"And I don't want to."

She said it on impulse, but it wasn't until after she said it that she realized it was true. The way he acted, the way he was, it was why apart of her….

She didn't want to finish that thought. The fear of that thought was too much for her to handle. And it must've registered on her face because Julian noticed it, his eyes growing lighter if just slightly.

She quickly walked away and ran her fingers through her hair to try and calm down. The wood was hot under her feet now and the silk dress seemed like it was constricting her. God, she almost died again and here she was, standing in Scotland with-

"Then," Julian's voice came at her slowly, "what do you want?"

"I-uh…." Jenny desperately tried to get her reasoning back, but as much as she tried it wouldn't return as fully as she needed it to. She wanted to go home, she wanted to assure her sleeping friends that she was okay. Yet, there was also a side of her, a very new, very curious side that she didn't want to face because if she did…

It was just like remembering the night her grandfather was taken. It was a terrifying thing, but she needed to know, but as soon as she did, she would lose control of everything.

Yet, even as she tried to suppress whatever was rising up inside her, she could see through the window again-didn't she close that earlier?-back into the fields. And those feelings were forced to be exposed.

No matter how hard she didn't want to see them, they were there. As she stood there with Julian approaching her from behind, she realized it. The side of her that Julian that had changed; A side of her that wanted to walk out the front door and explore the plains of Scotland, even if they were fake, with Julian.

There was a side of her that wanted to sit in a dark castle as its queen. There was a side of her that wanted a white tiger as a pet and to go anywhere she wanted, have anything she ever desired.

But the realization of having it all was just too much.

He was behind her, but Jenny couldn't look at him. If she looked at him-If she saw his eyes-If he kissed her-

"Do you wish to wake up in a different place every day, to explore it's exotic plains? A griffin to carry you anywhere you desire? Or how about a large wardrobe to give you clothes you've only dreamed of-"

"Stop, stop." Jenny faced him now, but only to push him away. "I…Just stop."

"Do you understand, Jenny? I could take you, right now. I don't have to give you back. With me, you're safe. You won't have to worry about anything anymore. My Ancestors can't touch you if you're with me."

Jenny didn't look up. She couldn't. She kept her hands on her face, trying to focus as Julian's elemental voice played in her ears.

"I'll give you anything, Jenny. Just like this, things that you won't get anywhere else. You want it, I know you do. Just let me make you happy."

Jenny stood completely still when Julian touched her, lightly running his fingers over her hands until he was able to pull them off her face. He was so close now, and trying to coax her head up. Jenny waited, firmly she stood with her eyes clenched shut, desperately trying not to think about what Julian was offering, but about everything else. About the other Shadow men. About her friends, and Tom-

Oh, God, that didn't help.

That's when she looked up. "Just because I'm safe," she found the breath to say, "doesn't mean my friends are. They'll still attack Tom and everyone else even if I'm gone."

The disappointment and anger swept through Julian's eyes, but his face didn't show it. He refused to let her hand go, as well. He looked down at it as Jenny did and gently stroked the back of her hand. He spoke slowly, his tone intrigued and almost casual. "And…if I don't let you leave?"

Jenny scowled up at him. "Don't do that. Don't be cruel just to prove to me that you can be." She ripped her hand away and turned for the door that was now gone. "You can't keep me here-"

"I could do a lot worse."

She sighed and tried to be stern with her actions. Cold, not responsive at all. "If you just…keep me here, I'll starve myself. I won't let you-"

"I can force you."

Jenny turned on him, getting furious faster than a fire. But it died just as quickly at the look on his face. The same as it always had been, beautiful and cunning, but still so soft, almost distant. She was used to dealing with Julian. She just had to be clear. She just had to be reasonable. Shadow Men were very reasonable-

-which meant they made bargains.

Jenny bit her lip. She was the only thing he wanted. How was she supposed to deal with that without giving up to one side? She had beaten him at three of his games already, but somehow playing a game right now seemed completely unorthodox. Besides, looking at the Prince of Shadows, he didn't look playful at all. Actually, he looked somewhat hurt, but was hiding it with a stone-like expression. As if he was waiting for jenny to give in just to ease everything once and for all.

Jenny closed her eyes and gave in. "I need to be with my friends, Julian," she said very carefully. "I have to stop your Ancestors. If they get my friends-"

"Whenever you're away from me, you're completely vulnerable. Like a prize in the waiting," he said suddenly, very quick, very hard. "Do you expect me to let you linger in their grasp?" Abruptly, he was serious and glaring. "They almost had you last time. If I hadn't have grabbed you…" he let the threat trail off, letting it sink into Jenny's fears. "There's only so much I can do when it comes to them. You were always playing my games, that's why you were never in any real danger. If you get caught in their games, there's nothing I can do. Same goes for your friends. If they get anywhere near my Ancestors, I can't-" He cut himself as the fury and desperation swept over his face, then disappeared.

That's when Jenny really felt it. It wasn't so much that Julian wanted her. Like back in the cave, how he expressed it so clearly. He needed her. Light to darkness. Without it, he would just be….

But now here was the drastic realization. As the words failed from both of them, Julian turned away from her. It was such a horrible, heart-aching feeling when they realized it.

As much as he wanted her, as much as he needed her, it was the painful truth that he would never have her. Never fully.

Even now, alone in a different scene like he always promised, with him as her only safety, he couldn't take her. Even if they stayed trapped together in the same room forever, it wouldn't be enough. It never would be.

Somehow, Jenny understood that suffocating feeling without any words. It was enough to hurt, and she was lost again, teetering on this mundane world with its pleasures, and reality with its consequences. That's when a strange thought occurred to her, like they always did with Julian.

"Do they…talk to you? When you're not around us, can you…."

"Of course," he said quietly again without bothering to face her again. "And they threaten you. I recoil, then turn around and you're in their grasp."

He looked at her after a moment of silence and there was a determined flame in his eyes, burning a deep coral blue under those snow white bangs. "I won't let them take you," he said after he approached her and cupped her face in his cool hands. "Even if I have to force you to stay here."

Jenny began a protest, but he stopped it with a kiss. Such a desperate kiss it was. There was this need inside them. A need for each other. A need for this-this place, this moment just to last forever without any consequences. Julian wasn't focused on it, but Jenny was, and it was enough to make her pull away.

She felt her knees giving in, but she supported herself with her hands on Julian's shoulders. He was pushing the hair out of her face, gazing at her so longingly. Jenny couldn't return his gaze. If she did….

Everything would be different. If she stayed, she would lose everything about herself. And so would Julian, and she knew, deep down, that the longing they both so suddenly desired would be broken just like that.

Yet, if she left, everything that had built up, the part that he had changed in her, part of herself would die with this moment.

And the fear of that was too much for Jenny to handle.

"You can have me," Jenny said in a soft whisper, "on Earth."

Julian's eyebrows pinched together in confusion, but his eyes were wide with interest now. Jenny tried to pull away completely, to keep her head clear, but somehow Julian had her cornered. When had he trapped her?

"I have to stop your Ancestors. My friends won't be able to do it alone. And I'm the one they want originally. If I'm only safe with you then…I'll go with you when you want, willingly, so long as you keep my friends safe."

Julian actually pulled away, the look of an intrigued dealer on his face. Jenny studied it and added, "Keep them safe until we throw off the other Shadow Men,….and you can have me."

Julian pondered on it for a moment, even tilted his head to the side. "Are you toying with-"

"No," Jenny said and assured him with a step closer. "I'm just… putting my bargaining chips on the table." That gave Julian his wolf-hungry smile back and, surprisingly, Jenny smiled back.

"And I can take you…whenever I want?"

Jenny hesitated. "As long as my friends are safe for the moment…and we aren't busy with setting up our trap."

Julian shook his head then. Jenny's shoulders slouched in dismal. "If we're working then I need to be with them. When they're safe, like at night or something…" Something flickered in Julian's gaze, a look a lion gets as he gazes at his very vulnerable prey, and something in Jenny shuddered. "And the quicker you help us, the faster you'll have me…"

Julian still made no move to draw up that door for her. He stood very still, very close, looking up every inch of her and trying to imagine her as completely his. Still, the doubt remained in his eyes. Maybe it was because last time she made such a promise, she had trapped him in his own game. Or maybe it was because they had both come to the terms that she would never be his, and yet, here she was, offering herself to him, even if it was just a part.

As Jenny hesitated upon how else to convince him, she thought of her friends and the last she saw them, in the store, with the older demons in her head.

Fear must induce honesty, she thought because she was speaking again without thinking. "I don't want them to get me…" her voice was very small, and it was such a weak thing to be admitting to the man that lingered on the line of lover and enemy, but Jenny couldn't help it.

Did it matter anyway? She was in another world with the Prince of Darkness. And he did say she wouldn't have to worry about anything else.

Something changed in Julian's expression and he stalked toward her. Still, he never touched her. Not yet. The trust wasn't there yet. It was still so impossible and the doubt lingered in the air.

Jenny didn't know what else to do to convince him. The last time she had to he had given her-

Silently she held out her hand and Julian caught on.

The cold touch of the ring surprised her, although she should've seen it coming. It was heavy on her finger, but she didn't even get the chance to look at it because Julian reeled her in from it. When she was completely against him, all her weight supported only by him, he kept her head tilted up, their lips lingering on contact.

"Then it's a deal."

He kissed her and her mind reeled. All she saw were stars and little bursts of light that flashed under her closed eyes when Julian changed the pressure of the kisses. When he pulled away so slowly, it left Jenny a little dazed. She didn't reopen her eyes until Julian had completely released her.

When she did, she was standing in the basement of her grandfather's house.

She took a minute to accept everything that just happened. Going from almost dying in one minute, to offering herself up to the one Shadow man that started it all… Yet there was a twinge of guilt inside of her; the bitter part that was going to betray almost everyone in a way.

She thought of Tom for a moment and inside her emotions battled on what the hell she was doing. But she had already started it, she slowly realized. The cruel decision she had made wasn't going to end happily like a fairy tale. She wasn't going to have to choose a side.

She wished she could apologize to everyone, even to Julian, to somehow explain why she was doing the things she was about to do. Yet, she knew she couldn't.

She had realized it in the store or maybe it was in Scotland. No matter who she chose, no matter what she did, she was going to die before she could give herself, or her friends, up to anyone….

I hope this chapter's good because I struggled on Julian and Jenny's encounter so much. I just wanted it to be perfect and I'm not sure if it is or not but I never change anything when I go back through it. Advice is nice and please review XJ

Till my next update.