A/N: So life kicked me in the ass. That's about the only explanation for taking so long, life honest to God kicked me in the ass.
To make up for it, I come bearing a long, 9000+ word chapter that I don't want to split up, editing is hard to do in this, so sorry for any mistakes. Oh, and if I get 7 reviews this week, I'll put up another chapter because I have state testing this week, meaning I won't have much homework. That is all.
Disclaimer: I own everyone that has been in my story and not in the original House of Night. Pace belongs to Rainbow Gumboots, Switch belongs to EJ. That is all.
JC's POV
"So you're really leaving for good now." I looked up from zipping my bag and to Maggie and Gwen. They were both in the room when I got back, not that it was surprising.
"Something like that," I responded and closed my bag, "thankfully. I really, really love Lenobia right now."
"Yeah, you did get lucky in that respect," Gwen nodded in agreement.
"Eh, I wouldn't say luck this time," I said and scratched Quinn's ear when she came over and sat by me on the floor, "though luck has been good to me at times…and then bad in others. They're human plane tickets, they are relatively easy to get. Speed, that's what it is this time, we had speed to get them that quick. And money I'm sure…"
"Human plane? So it's not a House plane?" my roommate asked and I shook my head, "then how are you getting Quinn and Duch on the plane?"
Huh, I hadn't even thought about that. I looked to Quinn, who was looking back at me, "and Cameron, since he's still here too. And if Shaylin has a cat?"
Well damn it. I sighed and shook my head, "I don't know…somehow," I answered weakly and stood up, giving my side of the room a once over. There was a lot of stuff I was leaving simply because I probably wouldn't need it, my instrument, most of Quinn's stuff, some clothes, etcetera. The majority of what I needed was already packed last night, since I intended on leaving then. But I wanted to add a few things now that I had the chance to think a bit more about it.
"That sounds real convincing," Maggie commented sarcastically.
"Well, what else do you want me to say?" I asked, "I'm not just going to leave them here! Duchess and Cameron belong to Damien, not me, and wherever I go Quinn goes, there's no point in even trying to stop that. They're all vampyre familiars, and if I have to explain that then so be it, I will."
"Glad to know that you're by our side," Duchess said and I met her brown eyes.
"It's something you'll learn quick about her with animals like us," Quinn responded and I smiled, giving her another pat before choosing to sit down on the bed.
"Ok, so what about Shaylin?" Gwen asked.
"What about her?"
"What do you think of her?" she explained.
I paused, remembering the interesting meeting we had. The red fledgling in question was a strange one, but she could see auras, which was interesting and could prove to be useful. "I think she's a bit weird, not gonna lie," I admitted, "but, she has a potentially helpful affinity that hopefully Stevie Rae and/or Sgiach will know more about. I'm just gonna get my job done by getting her to Stevie Rae, the rest can be figured out later. I really don't have another plan or any reason to do anymore with her for the time being."
They both seemed to accept that and I went back to quiet contemplation over whether or not I needed to add anymore. I finally decided that I didn't and flopped back on my bed, careful of my shoulder. "Hey, can I ask you guys a favor?" I asked.
"Hm?" one of them hummed back in response.
"Will one of you wake me up when I need to be leaving? I'm basically running on no sleep again and I'd like to have a little bit before I get on the plane and jet lag begins and makes it even worse," I answered and let my eyes fall shut.
"Sure thing JC, get some rest," Gwen agreed and I felt relieved. After a few minutes, I was out like a light and I wasn't up again until my roommate shook me awake. Luckily (thankfully), I didn't have any weird dreams this time. I was just out…sheer sleep and nothing more, which was what I desperately needed for a bit.
When she did hold up her end of the deal and woke me up, my eyes shot open and for a second, I didn't know where I was. "It's been an hour already?" I asked with a groan once I remembered.
"Sorry to say my friend, but it has. You need to get a move on," Gwen nodded and I sat up, rubbing at my eye.
"Hello!" a cheery voice greeted me and I looked down. A little tabby was staring back up at me, in between Duchess and Quinn.
"Uh…hi there," I responded and smiled a bit. The cat was adorable, and I was guessing that it was Cameron.
"I'm coming with you! My name is Cameron, but mostly I'm called Cammy." Plus one for guessing skills.
"Sounds great, nice to finally meet you," I smiled a nodded before hauling myself to my feet. I glanced at the clock in the room and let out a sigh, "we should be going, shouldn't we?" I asked.
"Yeah," Gwen agreed. It was just us in the room again, Maggie apparently left at some point while I was sleeping. "Can you believe it's only been a few days since you've been here?" she asked.
Ok, it was cliché, but I definitely felt one of them roommate goodbye things coming. "With everything that's gone on? Hell no! It feels like a lifetime," I laughed and grabbed my suitcase, "and then some for that matter."
"Things have been even more interesting with you around…granted that isn't your fault," she nodded and came over to me and hugged me gently, "get there safe, alright?"
I grinned a little bit when we pulled back and I gathered my stuff, "I've been learning not to make those promises. So, no guarantee, but I'm gonna try."
Gwen laughed at that, "I guess I can take that too. Call me when you get there?"
"Now that, I can do," I nodded and headed for the door, "so, I'll be talking to you later."
"Yes, yes you will," my roommate called, "good luck, JC!"
"Thanks!" I responded and closed the door. No, I didn't expect her to walk me out to the car, she had other stuff to be doing with school and everything that happened last night. Plus, Goddess only knew what would go on out there next. After everything…nothing would surprise me anymore.
The main room was practically filled with people since everyone was off from class, and my clunking down the stairs with my suitcase attracted a good bit of attention. Hm, my first day and my last day seemed to come in similar fashion. The girls stared at me as per usual, but their faces seemed to be smug approval. They were glad to see me going, which again, wasn't surprising. I was blamed for what happened last night and they ate that blame up like no tomorrow. I was leaving and that was the end to all their problems. Yeah, you and I all wish that.
"Oh how the mighty have fallen." Ugh, I should've expected this to happen too.
"Well hello, Dee, come to give me a warm farewell just as you did a welcome?" I asked and rolled my eyes. Quinn was by my side and growled lowly. "Heel," was all I had to say. If I was using actual dog commands, she knew I wanted and needed her to pay attention.
Dee smirked a bit, "I suppose you could say something like that. Running away from your issues, I'll admit, I never took you as a coward, JC."
"Being a coward and following the Goddess's words are two entirely different things," I retorted.
"Neferet desires your stay, so you are definitely the coward in that statement."
I snorted, "the day Neferet is actually Nyx Incarnate is the day I can ice skate in Hell. The day you brainwashed morons realize that, the better off we'll all be," I replied and attempted to shoulder my way past her. I didn't have time for this, I needed to be in the parking lot to meet Lenobia and Shaylin.
Dee had other plans as she grabbed at my injured shoulder and pulled me back. My face instantly contorted into pain and I let out a strangled yelp. Yeah, still sensitive there for sure. "Oh, I'm sorry, you were injured there! I forgot, my bad!"
"Sadistic, hateful bitch," I growled through gritted teeth. I could feel my blood pressure rising, and rising with it was Darkness. It must have gained strength in me with last night and how it was everywhere. But at that moment, looking at that victorious smirk on her face, I didn't care about that…all I wanted to do was knock that look right off her face. And I did…with my bandaged fist.
The girl staggered back, I wasn't sure if it was from me actually getting a good amount on that blow (it should have been a bit cushy only for the fact that I had bandages covering it and I was so damn tired) so that she was hurt or if she was just stunned if I did it. Hell, I was stunned I let myself do that.
"I don't do bitch slaps and I don't do catfights. If you really want to take me on right now, go ahead, but I gave you that warning. Oh, and I'll give you another one," I paused and glared at her, "I am so tired, so very tired, of you and your minions and all the shit you have made. You've pissed me off for good now." When she did nothing but stared at me wide-eyed, I took that as her answer, "good choice. Now, good day to you," I said, gathered my stuff and walking to the door.
"Everyone will know of this!" Dee finally shouted after me, "everyone will know that you punched me!"
They all already hated me anyways. And really, what did it matter? I was leaving anyways, I'd already suffered enough blame and hatred, what was a little more added to it? Hell, I might as well go out with a bang! I didn't dignify it with a response, just let the door close behind me as I went outside. I paused for a moment and looked around the campus grounds. People were now just starting to clean the area up and I thought I smelt a fire that just started to burn the bodies (not a fun mental image). My heart dropped a little bit and I sighed, "it shouldn't be like this," I said for probably the billionth time.
"Eventually, it will be different," Quinn said and we continued walking. "So, should I be telling you to heel now?"
I snickered a bit, "that was incredibly, incredibly stupid, especially with so many witnesses there, but it felt so damn good to do."
"Violence isn't always the answer," Cameron piped up.
"Trust me, in this case it was," Quinn responded.
"No, he's right Quinn," I said as we got through the gate, "violence wasn't the best way to go in that situation. I'm just so fed up with her…and again, it felt good to do."
"You're all a bunch of pacifists," my dog grumbled.
I laughed a little bit at the thought of me being a pacifist as we went out into the parking lot. I mean, I didn't mind fighting…I just knew when it was incredibly stupid to do. And wasting my time and energy on Dee was stupid. I noticed Lenobia and Shaylin were already in one of the cars and I went over, opening the trunk and putting my suitcase in it. Slamming it shut, I walked to the passenger door and opened it. "Shaylin, do you mind animals?" I asked first.
The girl shook her head so I opened up the back door too. It didn't take a word for Duchess, Quinn, and Cammy to get in and I then proceeded to get in the front.
"You're taking them?" Lenobia asked as I buckled the seatbelt.
"Yeah…and yes, I know it's a human plane that doesn't allow animals on without an extra ticket. But Quinn is like my cat and Cameron and Duchess don't belong to anyone here," I answered.
"So how do you intend on getting them on the plane?" she asked and handed me concealer. I didn't think to hide my Mark or bring my own, so I took it and started to work on that.
"Um…I've determined I'm gonna figure that out when I get to it," I said.
"Didn't plan that one ahead?"
"No," I admitted honestly and smiled a bit sheepishly, "but hey, we're good on improv right? I mean…we're getting me and Shaylin there right?" I asked.
"Huh?" Shaylin asked from the back. She was in her own little world it seemed, something I had a feeling that was a common occurrence.
"I suppose so," Lenobia agreed, "have you spoken with your cousin."
"Oh, crap!" I exclaimed and grabbed my phone from my pocket. Quickly, I dialed her number and, not too surprisingly, got her voicemail.
"Hey Zo! Call me back as soon as you get this, or, I guess you can't since I'll probably be on a plane. Lenobia managed to get tickets for me and Shaylin, so we're coming up to Skye. I'm not quite sure when our arrival time is, so I'll just call you when we land. I'll see you soon cuz, bye," I left my message and hung up.
"She's either asleep or in class. I'm not quite sure which, time zones confuse me," I told Lenobia when she glanced at me questioningly.
"So you do not have anyone right now to meet with you when you land?" she asked.
Heh, nope. I looked back to Shaylin and noticed she was watching the passing scenery with obvious wonder. That's when it dawned on me that Erik said she was blind before the Marking. Goddess given sight, she'd never been able to see any of this before. "Let's just say, we're flying blindly into this. No puns intended," I answered.
My mentor let out a sigh and shook her head, "you are a reckless one aren't you? I really expected you to be careful and meticulous, I really did."
"Well…I am sorta. I'm carefully reckless, does that work?" I responded and to my surprise, Lenobia chuckled. We fell into a calm silence for the remainder of the ride to the airport, which wasn't that much longer to begin with.
"You are pretty late," Lenobia announced as she pulled in, "the plane leaves in a half an hour and you still have to get through security. We're only lucky at the fact that this time may mean fast moving security lines."
"On a Wednesday morning, quite possible," I agreed and unbuckled my seat belt to get out of the car, "are you coming with us?"
I asked because when I looked back to her, she was pulling the tickets out of her pocket and handing them to me. "There is no point for me to go in as I won't be able to go past security. You're at gate 13," I snorted at the irony of a two fledglings going to gate 13, "and it's a full flight to Scotland, no layovers or anything like that."
"I didn't know they made full flights to…wait…Scotland?" I asked. We weren't going to Scotland, we were going to the Isle of Skye. Two different places, sort of anyway.
"JC, it was all Daniel and I could find. Stark and Aphrodite got to the Isle of Skye after taking a plane, they managed a helicopter over to the Isle of Skye," Lenobia explained briefly.
I opened my mouth to say something, to voice the hundreds of issues that were going through my head. But as I thought about it, there wasn't time, and I was going to have to rely on my statement from earlier. I smirked at the situation and nodded, "going in blind. Fair enough. I don't know if I've said this yet, but thank you. Thank you for finding these tickets on such a short notice and definitely thank you for getting me out of there," I said and accepted the two tickets from her.
"I'm your mentor, JC," she responded.
"This goes above and beyond what a mentor should and would do," I stated, "and again, thank you."
"Well, you're welcome. Now you and Shaylin need to be going," she said, "let us know when you are safely there." It was an order, not a question.
"I've already promised I'd call Gwen, I'll just tell her to let you know," I nodded, "um…goodbye then, I guess."
"Bye JC, good luck with Sgiach," Lenobia nodded and I shut the door, walking around to the other side of the car.
Shaylin had already gotten both of our suitcases out of the back and she handed me mine. The dogs and Cameron were waiting patiently beside her.
"Thanks," I smiled, "now let's go before we miss our plane and get you caught in the sun," I added and started a brisk walk to the airport entrance.
"Wait!" she called and hurried after me, "I can understand missing the plane…but the sun?" she asked, coming up beside me.
Okay, she didn't know then. I figured she did. "Red fledglings tend to be…vulnerable in the sun," I answered. I didn't exactly want to scare her, especially since we would be on the plane in the sun. I already had a plan involving the window shades and an allergy to the sun (which does exist) for that though.
"Aren't all fledglings?"
"Well, yeah…but not to your extent," I agreed and sighed, "red fledglings typically burn if sunlight hits them."
"Oh!" Shaylin squeaked in surprise.
"Don't worry, it won't happen today, I promise," I said and smiled back to her.
With that said, we walked into the airport and started the process. Like Lenobia had hoped, it wasn't that busy on a Wednesday morning thankfully and we were through with our bags in a flash. Of course, we got some odd stares being two human teenage girls (presumably since our Marks were covered) with two dogs and a cat following after us in the airport. No one said anything though, since they probably assumed we had tickets for them, and we got through security with five minutes to spare to find our gate to get on the plane. Little time, no tickets for the animals, and no plan for such from me (I was kinda hoping Shaylin might have come up with something). This was going to be fun.
Literally running through the airport to get to our gate, we made it their on the last call. Shaylin kept up with me, or in my physical state, I kept up with her, and we reached the attendant, or whatever the hell they're called, huffing and puffing.
"Tickets?" he asked in a bored manner, not at all fazed by our appearance or our entrance, and held out his hand for our tickets.
We both handed him our tickets, he checked them, nodded, and handed them back. "And for the pets?"
I grimaced and glanced at Shaylin. She seemed just as bewildered as I was and I groaned slightly. "They don't…have any," I admitted quietly and looked back to the guy.
"I can't let them bored then."
"Can't you let that rule slide just once?" I asked, resorting to beginning almost immediately. Seriously, I had no plan for this.
"No, unless you can give me a good reason for them to be on," he stated.
Because they need to be on there! "Because they're vampyre familiars!" I blurted out before my brain registered it.
"Smooth, dear, real smooth," Quinn stated behind me.
The guy just gave me a look like I was nuts and I sighed. I'd have to go with this. "Shaylin, wipe off your concealer," I said as I wiped my own off my forehead. Silently, she complied, and I turned back to look at him.
"This has to be some kind of a joke!" he exclaimed in surprise, "everyone knows that vampyres are only blue!"
"Not of late. Try all you want to wipe it off, it ain't coming off," I said, "and I'd really prefer it if you didn't touch me or my friend here." Shaylin beside me nodded in agreement.
"Ok, alright," he sighed, "fine, they are vampyre familiars. But why are there three animals and only two of them?"
"The two dogs are both mine, they came to me together from the streets. The cat is hers," I lied somewhat. Quinn was mine and came from the streets, that much was true. Er yeah, ok I'm not gonna try and make that any more or better than what it was, it was a lie…I just hoped he'd fall for it.
"We're not supposed to let animals on the plane…"
"But…?" Shaylin asked and smiled a little bit.
"As vampyre familiars, we are allowed to let them on. Go, and hurry, the plane is leaving in a few minutes."
YES! Success! Shaylin and I both nodded and we hurried down the little track thingy (whatever it's called) and managed to get on the plane before they closed the door. Sure, we got some confused and dirty looks as we walked past the humans with two dogs, a cat, and blatantly obvious Marks, but we were all on a plane to Skye and nothing was going to take away my happiness over that.
When we reached our seats somewhere in the middle of plane (I wasn't keeping track of our seat numbers…I was way too happy to care about something as trivial as that), I paused and took a step further, "Shaylin, get into the inner seats."
She looked at me in confusion, "why?"
"Because," I stated, "you can pull the shade down on the window and you're less likely to get hit by direct sunlight, or I can block you from the direct sunlight easier if I'm on the outside."
"Oh," she nodded and then hurried into the seat.
I took a breath and then sat in the middle seat next to Shaylin. "Ok, Quinn on the floor, Duchess in the seat, and Cameron, you can either sit with Duchess or on my or Shaylin's lap."
"Why do I have to go on the floor?" Quinn asked and looked at me.
"Because you're smaller and can fit down there. Look, I don't care, but either you or Duch is on the floor and the other is in the seat, end of story," I ordered. I was not about to start a fight with my dog on an airplane full of humans. I'd probably get sent to the crazy house with the pretty white, padded walls. And though it was becoming more and more debatable over whether or not I actually needed to go there, I certainly didn't feel like going by the hands of humans for the wrong reason.
'But my dog can talk!' I chortled at the thought of the interesting argument we'd have if that really happened. Shaylin gave me an odd look and I just waved it off. "Are you guys settled?" I asked when I noticed that Duchess had taken the aisle seat, Quinn was situated on the floor, and Cammy had promptly sat down in my lap.
"All set," Quinn agreed and I sighed in relief.
"You know, if this comes up again, you could just say that Duchess and Quinn are service dogs," Shaylin commented from nowhere. I looked at her in confusion and she smirked a bit, "just because I can see now doesn't mean I can't still act the blind part. Duchess can be my Seeing Eye dog and Quinn can be in training…even Cameron can be mine because people just can't refuse a blind girl."
I stared at her for a couple seconds. That plan was genius! "Why didn't you suggest this earlier?" I asked. That idea would have made the little incident up front a hell of a lot easier.
"I only just thought of it…sorry," she muttered and looked away.
"Well…we're all here now so no harm no foul I suppose," I shrugged, "guess it's good to know for next time though."
Shaylin nodded in response and turned to look out the window again. I glanced at her then the skyline outside. It wasn't quite light out yet, but I could see the sky was lighting up just the slightest, indicating sunrise would be soon. "You may want to pull that down, just saying."
"But I wanna see the city when we take off! People have always told me how pretty it is but this is the first time I get the chance to actually see it," she explained, not turning her attention away from the window.
I let out a sigh and nodded. I took pity on her, I really did, because on top of being Marked as a red fledgling, she could now see every ounce of the world around her and then some with her aura seeing ability or whatever it was. And on top of it all, she kind of reminded me of a child, learning stuff for the first time. "Just make sure to pull the shade down once you're done, because you won't like the results," I reminded her and settled into my seat.
My companion didn't say anything, and I found myself lost in a blank kind of state (those times when you zone out with absolutely no thoughts in your head) within no time. I didn't hear the announcement about the plane taking off and I think I stared blindly at the safety informational video without actually taking anything in, and I was literally thrown out of my state when the plane started moving. "Holy shit," I muttered out and braced myself against the back of the seat in front of me.
The guy in that seat looked back and shot me a dirty look, which I responded to by attempting to apologize. He didn't listen though, and I sat back and decided it'd be a smart idea to actually buckle myself into the seat…something that I seemed to forget about in my moments of happiness for getting on the plane. Quinn snickered at me, as she was the only one of the three awake, and Shaylin remained oblivious to the whole thing as she took in the scenes going on outside.
I let out a yawn as I settled back into my seat again and tried to keep myself calm. A quick note, I hate taking off in airplanes. I don't have any fear of flying whatsoever, and once the plane levels off in the sky I'm fine, but when it's taking off, I have a tendency to freak out since all I can imagine is it running into another plane or something failing in the takeoff gear and it crashing and burning. Seriously, aside from drowning, my worst way to die is in a fiery airplane crash that happened during takeoff.
So I sat in my seat for a while taking deep breaths and thinking happy thoughts (which mostly consisted of Neferet dying in a fiery plane crash…but let's not get on that topic) and listening to Shaylin gasp and mutter about how pretty the city of Tulsa was as we took off. Overall, it helped a good deal because I didn't have a spazz attack and the plane finally leveled off, so I was in the safe zone.
"Hey JC, do they have any blankets on here?" Shaylin asked and I looked over to her and noticed she had closed off the window and was snuggled into her seat.
"It should be in the pouch on the chair in front of you," I said and leaned forward, grabbing hers and giving it to her. That's when the thought struck me. I entirely forgot about the blankets on the plane, but it could just be an added protection to the sun! "Hey, if you can cover your head with that, it'll help keep the sun off of you a good bit. Even if that means your feet aren't covered, that's alright since your head is more likely to be hit."
"Oh, good point!" she smiled a bit as she fussed with the blanket in the package, "hey, if I fall asleep and the sun hits me, am I gonna wake up, or am I just going to burn?"
"Well…seeing as though it burns you," I stated, "you'll know it, as will I, and the rest of the plane based on everything I know. Don't worry, if we get to that point, we'll be able to handle it. Just hope we don't get to that point at all," I explained.
"Sounds good, thanks. I'm going to try and sleep some," she announced like it wasn't obvious and curled up.
I nodded in response and decided to grab my own blanket. It wasn't that I was cold, just in case I fell asleep I would prefer to have it on. Don't ask why, it just makes it more like a bed I suppose. And really, even though I was still dog tired, I didn't expect to sleep since me and sleep still weren't on the best terms. To my surprise though, I did start nodding off, and my last realization before sleep consumed me was the fact that I never went to see Helena for the blood like I was supposed to. That's probably why I was so tired and why my physical need won out.
When I consciously came to again, I noticed that I was lying on my side in some grass. I was in the Otherworld again. "Really, again?" I groaned and shut my eyes, "can't I get a break?"
"That's why you're here. I figured you needed one."
I knew that voice, but it wasn't Nyx. I sat up and noticed Jack sitting on the edge of a stream looking back at me and smiling, "so you're welcome I guess."
I smiled back at him a bit, "well thanks, but isn't a break technically a time when you just don't dream at all?"
He chuckled, "what else are you supposed to do when you sleep? You're soul's gotta do something!"
"You're supposed to have non-REM sleep based on every science I've ever known," I responded. We'd learned about it in one of my bio classes back in human high school.
"Ok, but then what happens to your soul?" Jack asked back.
"It doesn't matter," I shrugged. I didn't really have an answer to that.
"JC, you're a Spirit vampyre, the first within a few centuries. Of all the people, you should be the absolute last one saying that," he responded and shook his head.
I smirked a bit, "touché. So what's going on right now anyways?"
"I'm glad you asked!" he beamed, "you're body's getting the rest it needs in the physical world and now your soul gets the rest it needs in Nyx's Realm. It's all very good for you!"
"Finally," I sighed in relief, "and I'm not gonna get pulled away this time like I did last time?" I asked.
Jack shook his head, "you shouldn't since last time was your affinity. Someone was hurting Stark or Zoey's soul and that's what pulled you away, not Darkness like I initially thought. It was such a relief to know that too, because I thought you were in some serious trouble."
"Trust me, it was scary as hell from my part too," I agreed and, after a moment's debate, plopped back on my back onto the grass, "so I don't have to do anything right now?" I asked.
"Nope," he answered and popped the P, "right now you are free to do whatever you want."
Free to do whatever I want. I hadn't really heard that phrase since I was Marked, and it was nice to hear it again. I let my eyes close and let out a content breath, "that is nice, real nice."
We struck up different conversations after that. Jack was really interested in everything that'd happened since we'd last met in a dream. Despite the fact that he could basically see and know about everything that was going on, he was still interested in hearing my thoughts and learning more about Damien and how he was holding up, not that that was too surprising. And of course, he talked too, about him and Damien when they were alive, about the Otherworld, about Anastasia making her final entrance into Nyx's Realm, and most interestingly about his own death.
"You know, Neferet killed me," Jack stated like it was everyday information. It was weird to be able to talk to someone about their own death…and so naturally too.
"I think we all have our suspicions, but we have no proof of it," I responded, "if I may, how did she do it?" I asked quietly.
"It's okay to talk about," he said and smiled at me, "really, I don't mind. I mean, I miss being with everyone else, especially Damien, but I don't mind being here with Nyx and the other spirits. I've come to terms with my death, it happens eventually anyway, right?" he asked and I nodded slightly, "yeah…she did it with Darkness. After talking to me, she held me to the ladder until midnight, where Darkness pushed me off the ladder and onto the sword. It didn't even hurt…really the worst part of it was learning later that Damien and Duchess saw it," he explained.
I swallowed and turned my head to look down at the grass I was on. "That sounds horrible," I commented finally.
"I had enough time to come to terms with it and be brave. I knew I was going to die and I knew I was going to see Nyx, there was nothing I could do but be brave about it," Jack responded.
I looked up again and looked at the kid sitting across from me. All I ever heard about him was how sweet and adorable and childlike he was. But the boy sitting there was mature and brave and wise beyond his years. I had to question how it was possible for him to be both. "It pisses me off that it happened at all. It pisses me off even more that we can't prove anything about it," I grumbled out and tore some of the grass.
"All in time, JC," he said, "eventually…everything will sort itself out, I have faith in you guys."
I only smiled in response and looked down at the grass in my hand. "It's getting around the time for you to wake up again." I looked back up to Jack in question.
"It feels like it's only been an hour."
He giggled, "yeah, but time in Nyx's Realm and time in the real world are two entirely different things. You need to be waking up soon, your plane will be landing."
I sighed and got myself to my feet, "I suppose that's a fair argument. Will I be speaking to you again?" I asked.
"From time to time I may pop up."
I smiled and nodded, "then until next time, Jack." The area faded away from my sight and a new one appeared a moment later. It wasn't the airplane like I expected though. It was…ah shit.
"Welcome back to my humble abode," I smiled to me. Yay, back to Final Destination with evil me!
"Why the hell am I back here?" I demanded instantly, "what do you want?"
She smirked, "nothing major, it won't be long, I promise, I wouldn't want to take your precious time away from you. I just wanted to give you a fair warning." When she said nothing more, I motioned my hand for her to continue, "you think you're escaping by going to Skye. And while it may be away from Neferet, it certainly isn't from Darkness, meaning it certainly isn't from me. The Isle of Skye is built off of and filled with ancient magick, but that ancient magick is as much Darkness as it is Light, even if Sgiach serves the Black Bull. Magick has two sides, darling, always two sides, just remember that."
And then I was awake on the plane with the understanding of a couple things. For one, I was freaked the fuck out again. Two, I really had to pee. And three, my shoulder was hurting like a bitch while we were starting to land. I slept the whole plane ride, I think that just goes as a statement to how much I needed that sleep.
While the dream was quite worrisome (an understatement), I focused on my physical issues for a moment. I gently felt my shoulder with the fingers sticking out of the bandages and scrunched up my face in confusion when the cloth of my shirt felt wet. I pushed the collar of my shirt back to reveal those bandages and stared at the red on them for a minute. "Damn it," I cursed and resituated my shirt properly. Pressure, changing air pressures and a newly sutured shut wound. Or maybe the turbulence causing odd blood movement since the cabin is pressurized, or maybe I shifted my sleep and caused it…whatever the hell the case was, it looked like, judging by the bleeding, I popped a good 8 stitches. Just wonderful.
I groaned and shifted as the seatbelt light came on. I was bleeding and I had to pee and I couldn't get out of my seat to take care of either. I guess the movement and/or the noise caused Shaylin to wake up since I saw the blanket move and she looked at me. "Are we landing?"
"Yeah we're there. I'd suggest staying under the blanket until we do though, just since it seemed to work and to stay safe," I said and the blanket instantly fell back over her head.
With that covered, I sighed and shoved my head into the back of the seat. 15 minutes, it took 15 minutes to land the plane, and Goddess were they ever long minutes. Finally though, the plane landed, the seatbelt sign went off, and people were getting up. Looking around, I noticed nearly everyone was getting stuff out from the overhead compartments and I took that as my chance to get a glance outside. The connector from the plane to the airport was covered, luckily, but it looked quite flimsy. It was around sunset though, so that was a bonus.
"We're getting off last," I announced to Shaylin.
"Why?" she asked, though it was muffled from the blanket.
"Because the covering on the stairs is pretty bad. It's gonna be uncomfortable as hell for you to go through because of the light, meaning you're going to want to get out of there fast, and we aren't going to get to be first. Might as well clear everyone else out before we go through," I explained with a shrug then hissed with pain. That was going to need to be taken care of pretty soon.
So we waited. I checked multiple times to see if I could get to the bathroom on either end of the plane, but the pathway wasn't clear until we were able to get out, so there wasn't any point. When everyone else had finally cleared, I nudged Shaylin and we, along with Duchess, Quinn, and Cameron, made our way off the airplane. We stopped briefly before going onto the stairs to remind her to run, and then we were flying down them.
"That made me ache," Shaylin mumbled once we were clear of those and in the little hallway thing to get to the actual airport.
"Hopefully that's the worst of it," I commented as we went to get our luggage. We stood around for only five minutes or so before grabbing that and continuing on…and that's when the fun set in.
Neither of us were paying attention, I was checking for service in order to see what was going on with the rest of the group and if Zo called me back, and I think Shaylin was fascinated by all the auras. Whatever the case was, we didn't realize she stepped into a patch of sunlight until the red fledgling let out an ear-shattering scream from the pain.
Many people were surprised and stopped to stare at the oddly Marked, screaming girl. Shocked, my instincts kicked in and I practically body slammed her into the closest wall and out of the light. Using my arms to support myself against the wall and block her from the light, a motion my shoulder protested greatly, I looked down at her, "you alright?"
"That burned!" Shaylin exclaimed in shock, "really badly!"
"Yeah," I muttered, "now you know what it's like for a red fledgling to be in the sun." I turned to look back and let out a groan. This was a freaking airport and there were big ass windows everywhere! This would be so much fun to get out of. "C'mon, I'll go get your stuff and we'll go to the bathroom like we initially planned. There shouldn't be windows in there," I decided. And after Shaylin huddled in the dark of the corner as I got her stuff, we were off to the bathroom. Now I really had to pee.
After getting to one, taking extra care to keep her out of the sunlight, and taking care of everything needed, I paced the bathroom attempting to get a signal. Getting none, I sighed and looked to Shaylin, who had decided to sit on the counter the sinks were in, "I'm going to go try and get a signal. Stay in here for your own protection, I'll be back," I said and went out, Quinn following me.
Finally with some bars, I noted that I had no messages and called my cousin again. Unlike last time though, she answered. "JC! I was just about to call you, I just got your message, how's it going?" she asked.
"Ugh, let's not get into that," I sighed and turned my head to look at the ceiling, "you just got my message? So, uh, any chance you could get a helicopter to the western border of Scotland, actually, strike that, Lenobia I don't think realized where these tickets went. How about Armadale, Isle of Skye?" I asked, noticing all of the signs that stated the city's name around the area.
"Well…" Zoey said and trailed off, "I can ask. I don't know how quickly it'll get there though."
That's what I was afraid of. "Can we try to make it fast?" I asked.
"JC, I can't promise anything."
I groaned, "can you at least try? This has been one hell of a trip and I refuse to spend another three hours or Goddess knows how long in the bathroom!" I exclaimed.
"What?" my cousin asked in confusion.
"It's still a good bit sunny here, Shaylin can't be in the daylight. Trust me, we've already had one encounter…so we're hiding in the bathroom," I explained. On top of that, I'm bleeding, in pain, and tired as all hell, but I chose not to speak those facts right away.
"Look, I'll see what I can do, we'll get word when the helicopter lands there, and I'll call you. That's the best I can do," Zoey stated.
"Fine, fine," I sighed reluctantly and rubbed at my face, "just go and do it and call me ASAP alright?"
"Alright, see you soon. Bye," she said and I hung up. I let out another groan, and if I weren't in an airport full of people, I would have screamed.
"You alright?"
I looked down and shook my head, "FML. Seriously, all of it."
"Alright, so you're pissed."
I snorted a bit, "whatever gave you that idea?"
"You're swearing a good bit right now. You have one more thing and then you're there and we've all made it, it'll turn out alright," Quinn promised.
I grumbled but said nothing as we went back into the bathroom. "So, we're in here until Zoey calls me because there's a helicopter or until the sun sets…whichever comes first. And it is a serious toss up as to which actually does come first," I told Shaylin and sat down on the floor. Yeah, gross sitting on the floor of a public, airport bathroom, but I really couldn't bring myself to care.
Shaylin only nodded in response and started swinging her legs from the sink. I sighed and let my eyes drift shut. I didn't fall asleep, but it did feel kinda nice to give them a break. And for an hour, we awkwardly sat in the bathroom of the Armadale airport and waited. It was kind of funny when people walked in, because they gave us the strangest looks. Some left the room entirely, which was really funny. Two, teenage, girl fledglings just sitting in a bathroom, nothing wrong with that, right?
Anyway, after an hour passed, the word of the helicopter came and the sun had set, meaning we were free to leave the airport altogether. Literally, we threw all of our stuff in the thing when we got to it, the animals got in, and I collapsed in the front seat. A vampyre was flying it, and he handed both Shaylin and me headsets. There was no communication going on between us, but it was nice to have. And one, final, quiet flight later, we were finally standing outside the newly opened Skye House of Night.
The pilot, who was most definitely also a Warrior when I looked again, led us into the castle and into a main room where the rest of the group was waiting. The moment we were in the room, Zoey literally flew and tackled me in a hug…which was quiet painful.
"Ow, damn Z, I'm happy to see you too, but please, ow, get off," I muttered and gently rubbed at my shoulder when she got off.
"Sorry, sorry, I forgot!" she exclaimed, "my Goddess, are you alright?"
"I'm…alright now," I sighed and looked at her. I was suddenly extremely tired, "it's been one long ass week."
"You have been through much," someone agreed with me and I looked to find none other than the queen standing and smiling at me, "merry meet, Jennifer."
And now I was embarrassed at my mouth. Blushing slightly, I fisted my hand over my heart and bowed, "merry met, Queen Sgiach. It is quite nice to finally be here."
"As it is nice to have you here. Your cousin and her friends have spoken quite highly about you," Sgiach stated and I looked around, forcing a smile at them. I noticed Stevie Rae was watching Shaylin intently and was just burning to talk to her…and I also noticed I felt like I was in some type of haze and it was not pleasant.
The queen continued talking, and I blinked a few dozen times to try and clear the fog taking over my mind…but it wasn't working. After about a minute, I had to interject as I could feel myself swaying. "I'm sorry, your Highness, but Stark," I said, noticing that he had come by me and Zoey.
"Yeah, JC, what's wrong?" he asked a bit worriedly.
I could feel my knees starting to buckle, "I'm going down." And no sooner had I said it that they buckled and I fell. The reason I told Stark was because I knew he would be able to catch me, which didn't fail either.
"JC, my Goddess…are you…wait," he paused, one of his hands wrapped around my bandaged shoulder. He probably felt the wet, sticky material too, since he pulled down my shirt to reveal the red bandages. "What the hell happened?" he demanded.
"20 stitches last night. I think, judging by the bleeding, at least 8 of them popped on the trip here," I mumbled an answer.
"JC-"
"Don't, please," I begged Zoey. I knew where she was going to go before she said anything, "I already have a headache, along with a head rush and whatever else. I know, I should have said or done something sooner, but what the hell am I supposed to do on an airplane or airport full of humans?" I asked rhetorically.
It worked though, as my cousin just sighed and shook her head. "Canon," Sgiach called and a Warrior with dark hair and eyes stepped forward, "if you will, escort Stark and Jennifer to the infirmary," she ordered.
He nodded and signaled for us to follow. After a moment of getting situated, Stark practically dragged me after him (I was leaning heavily on my cousin's Guardian because honestly…I didn't trust my own legs), and Zoey was by my side. It was a short and quiet trip, but both Zo and Stark were watching me intently and worriedly. Not that I could blame them seeing as though I did almost pass out in the main room a few moments ago.
"Leslie," the Warrior called, leading us into a room that looked quite similar to the infirmary in Tulsa. A black haired woman with sharp amber eyes appeared a second later and looked at us expectantly. "She is the Spirit High Priestess we've been waiting for, she's bleeding," he explained.
The woman went to work almost the moment he said bleeding. She came over, led me to a bed, and sat me down. I guess she felt my shoulder too, because she instantly went there. "What happened?"
I sighed and explained it for probably the third time, "I was injured last night, got 20 stitches in the shoulder, took a plane ride today. What happened, I don't know, but some of them apparently popped."
"Ok," she nodded and looked up to Zoey and Stark, "I'm going to need you to take off your shirt," she told me, then, "you two are going to have to leave, I need the room, if you want to wait you can, just not in here."
"Don't bother," I added, "I'll be alright and hopefully by the end of this I'll be going to bed anyways. Besides, isn't class starting soon?"
"It is," the nurse agreed.
Zoey let out a breath and crossed her arms, looking at me, "you are starting to worry me more and more, I swear you're getting more reckless."
"I'll take that as a compliment," I responded and smirked a bit, "I'm here now, it's better. I promise, we'll talk later about…everything…just get to class now."
She nodded and the two filed out. After that, I did basically everything the nurse said and soon after found myself in a gown with my shoulder wound unwrapped and her looking over me. "11, you popped 11 total," she informed me.
"Great," I mumbled and sighed, letting out a grunt when I felt the needle go into my shoulder to give more numbing stuff. And that was pretty much the end of the discussion as she tended to my shoulder. This time though, the drugs worked and it wasn't painful, therefore I wasn't cussing like a sailor through it.
However, towards the end, that comfortable silence was broken as I heard voices coming in. "It isn't my fault!" someone, a guy, said.
"You were the one that kept going!" another person, and another guy, responded.
"You were the one that created the challenge in the first place!" guy one retorted, "I didn't think it would go this far."
"Well I didn't either. Hell, I figured you'd wimp out on it, I know you don't like going hand to hand!" guy two said.
"Can't we just agree that you're both idiots and move on with it?" yet another person, now guy three, asked.
"It's his fault!" guy one and guy two said at the same time.
"Leslie, help me, please!" guy three called and a moment later, a tall, blonde haired blue fledgling appeared in the doorframe to the room I was in. He stopped when he noticed me, "oh, well, hello there."
I was going to say hi, for lack of any witty response, when I was cut off before I even started. "Switch, is she not…oh." The two others, one a dirty blonde, green eyed blue fledgling and the other a dark haired, gray eyed red fledgling, appeared in the doorway as well.
"Well, surprise surprise," Leslie stated, "the Three Musketeers in here again. What's wrong this time?" she asked.
"Pace and I may or may not have torn up our hands in a bet," the dirty blonde stated. So far I knew Switch and now Pace.
"I'm almost done, just wait for a moment," she said and I heard the familiar sound of gauze being unrolled. Yay for time three!
None of the guys standing in the doorway seemed to think to use the waiting room to wait, and continued to watch the nurse and me. It was then that I remembered I was in a hospital gown and I blushed almost immediately. "Um…for the record, this is extremely awkward right now for the girl with the torn up shoulder," I stated.
"Oh, right, right!" they all exclaimed and clamored away from the door.
Leslie let out a sight and shook her head, "they are nice boys, I swear, but they can be so dense at times," she muttered.
I chuckled a little bit and closed my eyes, waiting for her to finish with the gauze. Five minutes later, I was done and dressed again, following Leslie out of the room and into the waiting room. "Ok, so which one is injured again?" she asked.
"Sky and me," the dark haired one…Pace, answered and they both held up hands that were…hm, well, looking quite mangled.
She sighed and shook her head, "I'm not even going to ask how that happened. Alright, Skylar, Pace, come back with me. Switch, would you mind showing Jennifer here to her room? She's with Shaunee and Erin."
"Yeah sure, not a problem," he nodded, "just make sure to take care of these two…and maybe knock some sense into them?" he asked.
"You have no room to be talking," Leslie retorted and took the other two back, leaving just me and Switch.
"Switch Serafim. You want to head to your room?" he asked and smiled at me after a minute or so of awkward silence.
"Jennifer Connolly Redbird, but it's a lot easier to just say JC. Please, lead the way," I said and motioned to the door. He let out a chuckle and we walked out. I sighed in relief, I was finally here, fixed, and safe…and it was an amazing feeling.
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