Chapter Twenty-One

"That's the secret to life…replace one worry with another…"

- Charles M. Schulz

___

Izzy stared at Marach blankly for a whole minute. Then, she suddenly burst out laughing. But the both of them knew her laughter had nothing to do with humor. It was a hollowed, raw sound.

"That's funny," she said after she was finished, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "Serenity and me? Mages?!"

"Why is it so impossible?" Marach asked. "Mages have been known to experiment with the dark arts on their bodies. Your ancestor might have done the same, and have yielded your regenerative blood as a result."

"Hold on, hold on." Izzy raised a hand defensively. "There's no way I'm a mage."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't have a damn clue about magic!" Izzy shouted. "I don't cast spells or light incense or anything like that!"

"Just because you're not a practicing mage doesn't mean you aren't one," Marach said gently, touching a hand to her shoulder. "When you look at it this way, it explains a lot."

"Like what?!"

"Look at when Serenity and you were hiding from the vampire. Fride could've pounced on you at any given time in the woods while you two were wandering around, but he didn't. Did you ever wonder why he didn't?"

"He was playing games with us—"

"He probably couldn't find you. He knew you both were still there, but you were cloaking yourselves involuntarily to hide from him."

"But he was close by! We could hear him laughing at us!"

"A scare tactic, dragă, to force you to reveal yourselves. Maybe he felt that if he toyed with your fears that he find you?"

"But the landslide—"

"If we're going on the theory that he couldn't find you, he would stage the landslide to force you to reveal yourselves, and to separate you both. Both ideas worked, but he didn't count on the fact that his landslide was right over my resting place."

"But Neve!" Izzy said desperately. "Why couldn't I do anything against her any of those times she attacked me?!"

"Maybe…maybe you did," Marach said, trying to reached out into his memory. "You dealt her a blow before she shot Gary."

"You did—"

"I might have, but I was hesitating. When she was hit, I thought it was because I could focus on her. But…" he frowned deeply. "I don't think I actually touched her."

"So I somehow punched her in the chest?! I was fighting for my life, why didn't I do more?!"

"Because you didn't have focus, either. You were too concentrated on me doing something. Her getting hit might've been a result of your frustration."

"No, no, no, this doesn't make any sense!" Izzy shook her head again. "We aren't mages, Marach! We're not ANYTHING like that bitch! Do you see us hunting down people and harassing them?!"

"Isabel, not all mages are like Neve," Marach tried to reassure her. "We do have mages on our side, and they're good people. Neve just happens to be a very poor example of a mage."

"A poor example of a mage with a LOT of power," Izzy grumbled. "But none of what you said proves anything! Where would we get these supposed powers, anyways?!"

"Your father's side."

"But how—"

"You told me he has the same colors eyes as you, correct? Both Serenity and you inherited his eye color. On top of everything else, he's afraid of vampires."

"Everyone has a phobia—"

"Yes, but vampires and mages have feuded for centuries. Don't you find it odd that your father holds fear for a species that most of the world doesn't believe exists?"

Izzy saw the point in this, but it only made her more upset. "But Dad doesn't practice magic! He never has!"

"I believe you, iubita mea. His phobia, if what this were to be true, may either mean he does know we exist, or this fear was instilled in him."

It was starting to make sense. Mr. Crane wasn't just afraid of vampires; he had no tolerance for anything related to them. He refused to let them play video games with vampires, or if they involved creatures that drank blood. Izzy remembered the amount of trouble she got into when she snuck Blood Gorge 3 into the house. Her dad wouldn't even watch movies with vampires in them, no matter how good or campy the movie was.

She always thought it was funny he had such a fear. But now…was it because he knew something about all this?

"No," she found herself saying. "No. Even if what you say is true, I don't believe Dad knows anything. If there's really this big rift between vampires and mages, then he wouldn't have agreed to let us on this trip."

"Isabel—" Marach said.

"And I don't believe we're mages," she added. "We're just normal people. Well…I'm not normal anymore—"

"The word 'normal' is very useless, because our interpretations of it will always be different."

"Just be quiet! We may have some healing abilities, but we AREN'T mage!"

Marach knew she wasn't to budge on this issue. More so, he could sense that they needed to get to ground soon. "We'll discuss this later," he said aloud. "However, we must now to go sleep, Isabel."

"I want to call my dad," she answered. She patted her pocket and found her cell phone. "What time is it in the United States?"

"You can call your father later, dragă. But we must get to ground, and you must learn how you can put yourself to sleep."

Izzy seemed to take in her surroundings for the first time. She eyed the soil which would be their resting place warily. "…Do I have to do this, Marach?"

"The sleep of our people is the surest way for you to get a full, complete sleep and wake up completely refreshed."

"All right, all right." Still, Izzy took a deep breath and let it out shakily. "Can't you just put me under?"

"I could do that," Marach said. "I feel it would be better if you learn how to do this on your own."

"Put me under," she pleaded suddenly, grabbing his shirt. "I swear I'll learn on my own, Marach, but I don't like this. I know I have to do this, but I don't like it. Please, just do for it for me until I get use to it?"

Marach realized he was being too hard on her. She was already trying to accept her new life as it was the best way she could. She was uncomfortable with sleeping in the ground, especially at the thought that her organs would be shut down. It wouldn't be wise to force the issue when she had issue with it.

"All right," he said finally, cupping her face in his hands. "I shall do this for you, iubita mea. And I will do it for as long as necessary until you are comfortable with this."

Izzy nodded, feeling a twinge of relief. Only a twinge, though. "Thank you, Marach."

"Allow me," he spoke in her mind, stepping away from her. He waved a hand to the soil waiting for them, and it opened up. It made space enough for the two of them to rest inside.

Izzy stared at this in silence, but Marach could feel her distress inside her head. "Isabel, I'm going to lay you down in it first."

"Can't you do it out here?" she asked desperately.

"Try to get a feel for the soil," he soothed her. "This is our livelihood and a great source of healing and strength. It won't hurt you, dragă; far from it. It only wants to help you. Here." he indicated the soil again. "Please, try to lay down in it. You'll see that you have nothing to be afraid of."

"I thought you said—"

"I will put you under, iubita mea. All I'm asking is that you lie down in it. I won't close it over you until I'm certain that you're asleep."

Izzy stared down at the soil again. This was it; by doing this, she would be truly forced to acknowledge that she wasn't human anymore. People didn't sleep underground unless they were dead. She would be doing it, though…and it was going to be a normal occurrence.

She shivered slightly. Marach hadn't been lying when he said the soil was trying to help her; she could feel it beckoning her. The hairs on her arms stood on end and she swallowed thickly, but she approached the soil. Marach was merged with her, his influence trying to keep her calm. She held onto that influence as she raised a foot and planted it inside. She gasped as the soil curled around her toes, as if it were water, trying to welcome her. "I-It's sucking me in!" she cried out.

"Nothing of the sort," Marach said. "It welcomes you as new brethren. It wants you to come inside."

Izzy tried to relax, but she was trembling as she carefully crawled into the space Marach had created for them. Very carefully, she lay down in the soil and took several even breaths as she felt it shift beneath her, wanting to consume her.

Marach came down beside her, pulling her into his arms. "Do as I say," he said softly. "Close your eyes, and slow down your breathing. Concentrate only on the sound of my voice."

Izzy did as she was told. She rested her cheek over his heart and forced her body to relax. She could smell him, and smell the fresh soil around them. It was intoxicating, and her senses were enthralled.

"Focus on me, dragă. Focus on me…"

She did. Slowly, little by little she could feel him move through her, feel his influence over her. It was the strangest sensation; she could feel him stop the function of her organs, and yet it wasn't killing her, or making her uncomfortable. She felt at peace…and so tired.

Then, he moved onto her heart, and she became enveloped in the sleep of the Carpathians.

___

Neve glanced at her watch briefly. It wasn't time yet, but it was nearly there. She focused again on the microscope, and amplified the resolution. She stared down at the blood cells that were rapidly moving around on the slide. The reaction time was very slowly, but…all of the cells were still alive.

She smiled to herself and sat back. "Interesting…"

Eis walked over to her and looked at the microscope over her shoulder. "Is that still Isabel Crane's blood you're testing?"

Neve snorted. "Hardly. For what use would I have with a dead woman's blood?"

"She may not be dead," Eis pointed out. "She's allied with the Carpathians, after all. It was a great risk to lay that curse upon her—"

"And it hasn't backfired on me. That means it's worked in some way." She waved a hand. "Even if they managed to save her from the curse, which I sincerely doubt, they would have to convert her to save her life. Either way, she's completely useless to us now."

"So this blood…" he indicated the slide. "This is Serenity Crane's?"

"I was only able to get a very small sample," Neve said, looking into the microscope again. "I boxed her ear, and I got some of her blood on my hand. I'm only so thankful that their blood cells can live outside the body."

"She did accept blood from them, but surely not as much as her sister."

"Yes, and I can see that most of the Carpathian influence has faded. Look at this." She felt slight jubilation…but only slight. "Maybe you were right about the Carpathian influence. The cells are still alive."

Eis looked into the microscope. He smiled slightly when he straightened. "Their movements are rapid. Are they multiplying?"

"We won't know for certain until they actually do."

There was a sudden 'buzz' on the countertop beside them. Neve's cell phone was humming, having been put on vibrate, and it moved slightly across the counter. When Neve didn't reach for it, Eis lifted it up. He looked at the caller-I.D. "It's her."

"Then answer it," Neve said, turning back to her work.

Eis flipped the phone open. "Hello? No, you're not disturbing us. How are you?"

Neve couldn't stop looking at the cells. It wasn't simply Serenity's blood on there after all; Xavier's blood was on there with her blood. Izzy's blood caused a violent reaction between the different cells, but that wasn't happening with Serenity's blood. It fascinated her that Xavier knew when to tell the blood of a Carpathian scum from a normal person.

"—you know that," Eis said suddenly. His tone was calm, but Neve could hear his recipient speaking loudly on the other line. "Yes, I know we're on longer than we said we would be but—yes, work is important! You know that this assignment means so much to—Hello?" he looked up. "She hung up on me."

Neve sighed in exasperation. "She doesn't change, does she?"

"We are past the deadline," Eis said, snapping the phone shut. "She was bound to get impatient with us."

"Whatever." Neve checked her watch again and smiled. "It's time."

"So they came through?"

"Of course." Neve stood up and walked over to the fax machine alongside the opposite wall. As Eis came over, the machine suddenly buzzed. They both waited patiently as a single piece of paper slid out into Neve's waiting hand. Very little was written on the sheet, but it was the message in the center that counted the most.

It was a phone number.

"Should we check it before we hand it over?" Eis asked.

"…No," Neve responded. "I trust that they came through for us. There should be no problems handing this over to our lovelorn git, would there?"

___

Izzy stared down at her phone in trepidation. Everything that Marach said to her this morning was coming back to haunt her. She wanted to discuss this with her dad, but she had no idea where she could even start such a conversation.

"Hey Dad, can I ask you a question? Is your fear of vampires something that you genuinely hold, or do you know about Carpathians, vampires, and mages?"

Yeah, that definitely wouldn't work.

"Isabel?" Marach came up beside her. "Are you feeling all right?"

"…Yeah," she said after a long moment. "I'm just overdue in calling home. I'm already having a hard enough time trying to decide how I'm going to tell them the truth about me, but how am I suppose to ask my dad how much he knows about all this. Just wait, he'll want to have me committed."

"You're reading too much into this," he said softly, brushing his lips over her hair. "But, I must admit you're preoccupied with this, rather than your awakening."

"It was odd." It was odd, to wake up in the ground the same way she went to sleep. It wasn't like she was waking out of a sound sleep, either. When Marach reawakened her organs, it was like life itself was being instilled in her. She was suddenly aware that nothing was functioning in her body, and she wasn't even breathing.

Izzy didn't panic, but it'd been a weird experience to say the least.

She became aware of soft conversations on the outer part of her being and she reached for Marach. "Shea wants to test my blood again, doesn't she?"

"Yes, iubita mea. She wants to see whether or not you've retained your regenerative abilities."

"The only true way to find out is if I cut myself, but I don't want to do that." She shrugged. "But I trust Shea. She won't mishandle me in any way, or my blood."

"Hmm." Marach turned her so that she was facing him. "I wish I could go with you, but there's an errand I must run and I'll be gone for a few hours. I hope you don't mind."

Izzy shrugged again. "Why would I mind? You have to go handle something, and I still don't know much about being a Carpathian. I'd just get in the way, and I'd think it'd be better I don't meddle in stuff I'm not too familiar with."

"Don't dumb yourself down, dragă." Still, Marach was masking some of his intentions from Izzy. He did intend to go out and get information, and it did involve things she didn't understand.

But it also had to do with her.

They departed a little while later. Marach made sure that Izzy was safely in Shea's lab before he took off in search of a certain couple. He wasn't currently in their good graces, but he had questions and they most likely had answers.

If they wanted to give them to him.

It only took a little while of searching deep in a nearby section of caves. They were in a quiet room full of aging books, both of them pouring over a volume that looked like it was over a thousand pages. "Razvan? Ivory?"

In reality, they'd looked up the minute he entered this cave-room. Ivory's dark eyes narrowed and she slowly stood up, but Razvan looked a little more accommodating to him. "What is it, Marach?"

"I need help with something," he said slowly. He came over to the table they sat at, but he didn't sit down, waiting to be invited. "I have an inkling about something, and I was wondering if you could help me investigate it."

"Is it about your lifemate?" Ivory asked. "You're doing this behind her back?"

"She refuses to see my point of view. I wanted some conclusive proof on this matter before bringing it up to her again."

"You think she's a mage." It wasn't a question.

"Yes," he said. "And I was wondering if you two could find out if this was true."

"So, you believe her regenerative abilities are related to magic?" Razvan asked sagely. He thought about it for a moment before he nodded. "I would be happy to look into it, but I want to know more about this."

"I'll tell you anything." Marach just hoped Izzy didn't see this as a betrayal.

___

Izzy stood in front of Serenity's door, holding the piece of gauze to the crook in her arm. After a moment, she withdrew the gauze to look at the puncture wound. It was still there, even though it wasn't bleeding. She'd wanted to see how long it would take for her regenerative blood—what was left of it—to kick in. But ten minutes had passed and it still hadn't kicked in.

What if…it really was gone?

Don't think about it, she ordered herself. Remembering that the Carpathian saliva carried healing antigens, she raised her arm and licked at her wound. She felt it close immediately, but it did little to make her feel better. She couldn't just lick her wounds all the time. Still…she tasted her blood. Whether it was because blood was part of her diet now, but it tasted different. Like it wasn't hers anymore.

But…she could feel herself, still in there. Marach had said her regenerative blood tasted different from other people. Then maybe it was still there?

She held the gauze in her palm and tried concentrating on it. It suddenly burst into flames and she yelped, letting it drop to the floor. It burnt to a crisp on the floor until there was nothing left of it.

"Carpathian," she breathed, trying to stay calm. "It's because you're Carpathian…not because you're mage…"

She should probably be freaked out she wasn't thinking of herself in the human sense anymore, but she wasn't. Izzy brushed all of that aside and finally knocked on the door. "Serenity?" Marach had said that Gregori put her back under once they finished talking last night, but she held onto hope that he allowed her to be awake again. Especially since Serenity had promised she wouldn't attempt suicide again.

"…Izzy?" came the soft reply. Izzy sighed heavily in relief and pushed open the door. "Hello, Serenity."

Serenity was sitting on the bed meekly, as though she were an awkward guest in the room. She wasn't crying anymore, but she looked so pale. She probably needed sunlight, and Izzy's heart clenched at this thought. If this were the case, then she couldn't go out with her.

"It's nighttime, dragă, not daylight," Marach spoke to her suddenly. "So you can go out with her."

Serenity was looking at her now. "How are you feeling? Have you fed?"

"…Yeah," she said reluctantly, trying not to remember that Marach gave her his blood the minute she woke up. And how the fact she fed off of him seemed to be such a turn-on for him, and…No. It's not right to remember that in front of your sister.

"But it's a pleasant memory, isn't it Isabel?"

Izzy ignored him. "Don't worry, Serenity. I'll never ever take your blood. You can trust me with that."

Serenity snorted, but came short of actually laughing. "Dad's the one who's afraid of vampires, not me."

Izzy didn't want that reminder, especially in light of everything. "Well, that's just in case you're wondering…"

"Izzy, you can have my blood if you're in need of it."

"But I'm not in need of it now."

Serenity waved a hand and stood up. "So, what do you want to do? I can already tell they want me to stay in this room."

"Not necessarily in this room," Izzy corrected her gently. "Just not outside this building. But I don't see why we can't walk around the building. Are you up for that?"

"…All right," Serenity said, folding her arms over her chest. "Just for a little while though, okay? I'm still feeling tired."

Izzy smiled at her. "Sounds good to me." She linked her arm with Serenity and they slowly departed the room. They saw a few Carpathians in the hall, and all of them stared at the sisters. But nobody said anything as they went for a simple stroll down the hall.

Izzy hung onto Serenity's arm and leaned her head onto her shoulder and closed her eyes. For a brief moment she could still imagine they were back home. She was human again, and Serenity wasn't suffering a half-life. They were together, and happy. Everything was normal and their lives were uneventful. It was wishful thinking, she knew. Their lives would never be normal. Even if they succeeded in killing Parn and restoring Serenity's life to her, it was only an illusion. Serenity would never completely have her life back.

"But we'll do everything we can to grant her happiness again," Marach told her. Izzy appreciated his comfort, but his thought patterns were starting to become strange. He kept fading in and out of her head and when her mind unconsciously reached for him, she only found fragments. It confused her, but he seemed to be all right and so she wasn't too worried.

"…You're different," Serenity said suddenly.

"Huh?" Izzy stopped walking and looked at her sister. "What do you mean?"

Serenity gave her a sideways glance. "I know you're…Carpathian now, but I thought it was just subtle differences. But Izzy…you're really different?"

"Am I?" her tone sounded a little strangled, and her chest tightened. "How so?"

"I was walking just now. But you weren't."

"Really? I thought I was."

"You're moving too quickly, Izzy. If you weren't holding onto me you would've walked straight down the hall without me. Besides…you aren't even lifting your feet when you walk. It's like you're gliding, or something."

"G-Gliding?!" Izzy forced out a laugh. "I'm not so graceful that I could be gliding!"

"But you weren't walking, Izzy." Serenity sighed, and ran a hand through her hair. "I'm sorry. I'm being too difficult with you…"

"I-It's fine." But the tightness in her chest hadn't faded. Izzy couldn't really explain why Serenity's dissection of her new self hurt so much. Maybe…it just gave the impression that Serenity didn't accept her, despite her reassurances.

How will my parents react to this? she thought, sighing to herself.

"Your parents will accept you, iubita mea. Even I have to make them see the light, they will accept you."

Izzy sighed again and managed to smile. "Thanks, Mara—"

She suddenly froze. She felt something suspicious inside Marach's head. Curious, she plunged in suddenly, taking him off-guard. He was still in the middle of his business, but now she could see who he was talking to. Razvan and Ivory. She was sure that was what their names were. And they…

"MARACH!" she shouted aloud suddenly.

"W-What?!" Serenity cried out. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to upset—"

"Serenity, go back to your room! I have to take care of something!" Izzy took off running down the hall. She didn't seem to realize she was moving so quickly, and that she appeared to be nothing more than a blur to Serenity.

Serenity stood there alone in the hallway, completely puzzled. "…What?"

Not knowing what else to do, she turned to head back to her room. Her foot nudged something as she did, and she looked down to see what it was.

It was Izzy's phone.

___

"…Uh oh," Marach said gravely.

"She found you out?" Ivory asked unsympathetically, hardly looking up from her book.

"She's on her way here," he said, slowly closing his shut. Most of these books were telling him very little, outside of rudimentary history of different mage clans, most prominently the Dragonseekers. But Izzy and Serenity weren't Dragonseekers by far, and so he had very little to go by. "She's angry with me."

"And you're surprised?"

"Not really, no."

"It might take her awhile to get here," Razvan offered him. "In the meantime, I can tell you that your suspicions have validations. The circumstances of these instances seem too precise to be a coincidence. And, the root of her blood might be related to experimentation. Xavier continuously experimented on himself, seeking immortality without the aid of Carpathian blood. I think it's safe to say some of his cohorts also tried these experiments, especially in light of his many failures."

"So Izzy and Serenity might be descended from one of these cohorts?" Marach asked.

"If what you're saying is true, then it's most likely this case. Either that, or the girls are descended from some extinct species with amazing healing abilities, but I don't think we should think about that until we prove or disprove the mage theory."

"Hmm." But Marach quickly braced himself as he felt his lifemate approach very closely…and very quickly.

"Marach!" Izzy shouted, storming into the room. She didn't know how she'd been able to find this place, but it probably had to do with her link to Marach. Now her lifemate was sitting at a table with Ivory and Razvan, and they looked like they were doing research. Research about her. "Marach, what are you doing behind my back?!"

Marach took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She was angry; that was certain. And she was fast. That was something he would have to contend with from now on. He stood up from the table and turned to face her. "I had questions, as I told you iubita mea. I wanted them answered, and these two—"

"You have no right!" she snapped, advancing on him. "You have no right to snoop around my back like this, especially since this is about me!"

"Isabel…" he reached for her but she stepped back. "Isabel. Both of these people are knowledgeable about mages. I thought if I talked to them—"

"I'm NOT a mage!" she shouted, jabbing him in the chest with her finger. "I'm just me! I'm not some raving lunatic waving spells around! And I sure as hell am not related to some bastard who would call Neve's boss his own!"

"So she heard us," Razvan said dryly.

Before anyone could say anything, Ivory stood up from the table. She walked around the table and headed over to Izzy. "I've met you before, when you had that death-curse on you." She held out her hand to Izzy. "I'm Ivory Malinov, lifemate to Razvan."

"…All right," Izzy said, accepting her handshake. This woman seemed to hold an incredibly amount of power to her. "Did you break my curse? Thank you."

Ivory leaned in suddenly, looking Izzy straight in the eyes. "You have purple eyes. Is that your natural eye color?"

"Y-Yes."

"……I see." Ivory leaned back and withdrew her hand. "I'm not one to stand up for your lifemate, but not all mages are bad."

"I'm not one—"

"You might be one, though, and you need to consider this possibility. Especially if this is the reason Neve has been coming after you."

"She…" Izzy looked away briefly. "She said she needed something from me. But I still don't know what it is. And…she knew so much about me, and…"

"Marach wasn't doing this to hurt you," Ivory said evenly. "He's concerned, Izzy. If you are in fact a mage, there's nothing to be ashamed of. Mages aren't evil anymore than Carpathians are. A few bad apples don't spoil a barrel."

Marach raised an eyebrow slightly. "That sounded so strange coming from you."

Ivory glared at him. "I'm doing you a favor, aren't I?'

Marach raised his hands, but said nothing more. Ivory continued. "But if you are in fact mage, your capabilities seemed diluted. All of these acts you did—cloaking yourself and attacking Neve—they were involuntary. Your blood is your only great clue to this, but it could mean anything."

Izzy took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "If…I am a mage, would you be able to find out if my family was ever aligned to Xavier?"

"Xavier kept a ledger of the Carpathians who attended his school," Razvan said. "I'm certain he kept a ledger of his allies. I'm even more certain this Neve or any of her allies might have it now. If we can see it, we might be able to start a trace from the lines and see if it links to you."

"Hmm…" Izzy looked at Marach. "Can I speak to you outside?"

"Certainly." Marach followed her out of the cave-room and deep into the cavern. There were a scatter of fluorescent lights and the corridor was very dim, but the two of the could see fine. "What is it, dragă?"

"I…wanted to apologize," she said slowly, shifting her posture slightly. "I didn't mean to yell at you like that in front of them. I'm angry with you, sure, but I flew off the handle."

"I shouldn't have snuck around on you like that," he said. He slowly drew her into his arms. "It wasn't my intention to deceive you, especially since I promised that I wouldn't ever do so. But…I haven't come up with this theory to hurt you, Isabel. I feel that it's very important to investigate this. Now," he said before she could cut in. "I know you have doubts. And if I'm proven wrong then you can rub it in my face. But I'm curious about you, iubita mea. I'd like to know more about you."

"…Fine," Izzy said after a long moment. "But do it with me, okay? You don't have any right snooping around in matters related to me without my knowledge!"

"I understand, Isabel. And will you, in turn, open your mind to this possibility?"

Izzy contemplated this for a long moment. "All right. I'll stop doubting you."

"Thank you—"

"But I still think you're wrong."

___

Serenity sat down on the bed, but then quickly stood up. Then she sat back down again, and sighed.

Where was Izzy? Serenity lay down on her back, staring up at the ceiling. Izzy had been so angry about something, and she hadn't heard from her since. It was still the middle of the night, too…and she was tired…

Her fingers curled around Izzy's cell phone. Her sister had dropped it in her hurry, but she was bound to get it back. She still didn't know where her own cell phone was, and in all honesties she didn't care. She was just worried…and alone…and she wanted to think about something else.

Izzy's phone suddenly buzzed in her hand, and a generic ringtone filled the room. Serenity raised it up to look at the caller-I.D. 'Withheld'. That didn't tell her a whole lot. Still, Izzy wasn't around to answer it. Should she answer it?

She let it ring for a few seconds before she finally flipped it open. "Hello? Who's calling?"

There was silence on the other line, but it sounded like the other person was holding their breath. Frustration and annoyance mingled with Serenity's worry. "Who is this?!" she demanded sharply.

"It was a risk, to call like this. But somehow…I knew you would answer the phone, Serenity."

Serenity gasped, and her heart leapt into her throat. "Parn…"