A/N: So, I didn't get the number of reviews I requested and I had some drama to deal with, both literally and figuratively. But I'm back.
Attention 1: Since I'm getting into actually using the OC's more now, if I write them and it seems extremely far off to what they would do...don't feel like you shouldn't review that/tell me. Just let me know! It's extremely hard writing OC's and keeping them in character as is, it's even harder writing them when they aren't your characters.
Attention 2: Poll on my profile, you should all definitely vote on it because I do cater to my readers from time to time, and if I don't get a majority yes, it's not going to happen. I'm on the fence about it.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but JC and Quinn, this plot, and a few random ideas that have nothing to do with this story. Truth is, I'm broke and I got nothing that can help in that aspect. The song is 'Wine Red' by The Hush Sound, an awesome indie group that you all should check out.
Isle of Skye
JC's POV
Walking along the halls of a magnificent castle in a totally awkward silence with the dude bringing you to your room. Awesome way to start my current life on the Isle of Skye. Seriously, Switch seemed like a nice enough guy, all of them did based on the brief couple of seconds I talked to them (they may be a little dense…but what teen guy isn't at times?), but it was just extremely awkward walking next to him. I mean, he was glancing/staring at me out of the corner of his eye, and it was pretty easy to figure out why. Every one of my Marks was visible, and even if the news had broken about us, it was still shocking more than likely.
Finally, I gave in and sighed, "you know, it'd probably be easier if you just asked about them. It's not like I haven't had the questions before."
"Wait…what?" Switch asked like he was pulled out of his thoughts.
"You, you're staring at my Marks…at least I'm assuming that's why you're staring at me," I explained and looked at him as we rounded a bend.
"So you instantly assume that I'm staring at your Marks," he stated and sounded slightly offended. I couldn't tell if he was being serious or not though, "can't I just be staring at you because you're cute and I want to check you out?"
I snorted and resisted the urge to smack myself on the forehead (or smack him), "for your sake, and for mine, I really hope that isn't the answer you stick with. Seriously, not in the mood for it right now." And after a Goddess knows how long flight, 11 popped stitches and nearly bleeding out in the main room of my new House of Night, sleep deprivation, and the creepy assed dream(s) still at the back of my mind, I was not in the mood to handle any of that.
"Ok, fine," he admitted and let out a suffering (and I think joking) sigh, "we were told about and warned over your arrival, but the completed, purple Marks and the bracelets? It's still surprising to take in."
"Fair enough," I chuckled, "just imagine waking up being Marked like that."
"I wouldn't want to," Switch laughed and shook his head, "I'd probably shit myself."
"I came close," I retorted jokingly and then jumped at the loud buzz that went off overhead. I certainly wasn't expecting that noise, and so loud! If anything, that's one way to wake yourself up. "What the hell was that?" I asked when my escort only laughed harder.
"That would be your class bell," he answered, "third hour just let out. I take it your bells were a bit different in Tulsa?"
"Yeah," I agreed and let out a breath, "you could say that." And as if on cue, the classroom doors started opening and fledglings of every former and appearance flooded into the hallway, going a variety of directions just as at any school. It'd be fun fighting our way to my room now!
"Switch! Switch, wait up!" I heard a girl call through the crowd and we both turned to see a couple of girls pushing through the crowd to get to us. Or, more accurately, a girl with black, wavy hair, dark blue eyes, and a body that belonged in a Victoria's Secret catalogue (though I did have to question the legitimacy of her boobs…because I'm cynical like that…and, sadly enough, I know the mind of a typical teenage girl) pushing her way through people and a girl with chocolate brown, straight hair and pale green eyes following dutifully behind her.
"For the record, I apologize for anything that may happen in advanced," Switch muttered to me then looked at the girls. "Katie, A, fancy meeting you here. What do you need?" he asked.
"Hey Switch, where's Sky, is he alright?" the girl with black hair got right to the point, stopping in front of us. Based on what I could tell, I was invisible to this chick. I mean, sure, I didn't want the attention, but a simple hello to the new girl might be nice on occasion. Even an acknowledging nod or something would've worked.
"So you did hear about what happened last hour," he commented, "yeah, he's fine…just broke some skin on his hand because he and Pace are idiots. It looked a lot worse than it actually was."
"But he's okay?" she pressed, "is he with you?"
"Yes, Katie, he's fine. No, he isn't with me, he's probably in fourth hour now like he should be, and like you two should be too," Switch answered.
"Watch it, Switch, I don't need some big ole' fifth former telling me what to do," the girl, Katie I'm guessing, teased and smacked him playfully on the arm. Judging by her uniform, she was a fourth former and the girl with her was a third. "Alright, thanks for the update, I just wanted to make sure he was alright. But you're right in saying that we need to get to class," she said and appeared to turn away.
"You're the Spirit vampyre!" I was shaken out of my musing over the two girls when the brown haired one spoke, and seemed to be speaking to me. Huh, maybe I wasn't invisible after all…damn, after thinking about it, I decided that would've been kind of awesome. I mean, being invisible could've allowed me to be a pretty sweet ninja! Ugh, I needed sleep so badly.
"I, uh, yeah, I am," I agreed and smiled a bit, not quite sure how to respond to a statement like that, "JC Redbird, nice to meet you."
"Katie Heathers, welcome to Skye!" the black haired girl introduced herself and grinned brightly at me.
"Aella," the second girl said, much quieter.
"Well thanks," I said and smiled a little bit, "now, I don't want to keep you from class and I need to get to my room anyway. Though it was nice to meet you," I added a bit awkwardly, trying to imply that I wanted to get to my room. It contained my bed, so it wasn't a lie.
"Right, to your room!" Switch agreed, "see ya later girls," he added to Katie and Aella then turned with me and we were on our separate ways.
Going back, he let out a sigh and shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "Are you alright?" I asked, a bit confused at the actions.
"Yeah, fine," he nodded, "I just…I'm cool with the majority of the people here, but she bugs me, Katie I mean. A is alright when you get her alone, just not a fan of Katie," he explained.
"Oh," I answered, "any particular reason why?"
"I can't say anything really, she's my best bud's girlfriend. I just don't like her."
"Alright. She seems nice enough," I shrugged, not really ready or willing to impart any judgment since I'd talked to the girl for all of three seconds. She did seem a little…well, either oblivious or, I don't know, something else. "I just gotta ask though, are the boobs real?" I asked. Yes, I was legitimately curious over that, however shallow, don't judge me. If it's worth anything, I'm cynical and suspicious of the Victoria's Secret models too.
Switch started laughing and looked at me, "I like you, JC. You are the first person to actually ask me, or anyone really, that."
"I guess I'm a bit of an oddball," I shrugged weakly with my good shoulder, "that didn't answer the question though."
He shrugged too, "I haven't exactly had the desire to ask, or find out in any other way."
"Fair enough," I chuckled and let the conversation drop. "So, do you know why I'm in a room of three?" I asked, changing topics. I was kinda curious over that too, I mean, rooms were typically two people, so why was I with the Twins?
"Don't know," Switch answered and shrugged again, "I think it has something to do with not knowing about the other red fledgling that came with you coming and having to make adjustments after that happened. Why do you ask, don't like your roommates or something?"
"Oh, alright. No, it's nothing like that, I like the Twins, it was just a little odd to hear I would be in a room of three," I explained and yawned, "though right now, I could probably be in a room of 50 and so long as I could sleep, I wouldn't care."
"Long trip?"
"Long life," I retorted and sighed, rolling my neck to crack it.
"I can understand that, sometimes life just gets to be too much," Switch agreed sympathetically. I figured he didn't have a damn clue as to what I meant by that and what I was actually feeling, but I didn't have the heart to actually speak that aloud.
So instead I nodded and muttered an agreement then let us fall back into silence. I stared at everything around me in amazement and I was pretty sure Switch was watching me with sheer amusement. This place, I mean, I never imagined I would actually be here, it was beautiful and, in an odd way, felt like home. I felt a connection with the area that couldn't fully be explained, so I just figured it was my heritage and my slight (ok, huge) obsession with anything Irish and Scottish.
"Well, this is your room," Switch stated, stopping in front of a large, mahogany door, "with Shaunee and Erin, though of course they aren't here right now. Get that sleep you were ordered to get."
I smiled, "will try. Thank you Switch, this place is a maze," I added and opened the door.
He just nodded and turned back around down the hallway as I closed the door and looked at the room I would be calling my own. It was huge, with three beds covered in nice sheets of blacks and blues and purples in the two back corners and on the left. Between the two beds on the back wall was a door I assumed led to the bathroom we'd be sharing and on either side wall was a closet. I went over to each and opened them, smirking at the fact that they each contained one Twin's clothes. Not that I expected any different, and I was fine with the dresser anyway.
Speaking of which, I turned to look at what I guessed was my bed and found my suitcase and my dog lying on top of the sheets. "Well it's about time," Quinn teased, but I could hear an undertone of worry in her voice, "where the hell have you been?"
"I was in the infirmary getting 11 popped stitches fixed up," I answered and went over, sitting down beside her and setting the suitcase on the floor, "how long have you been here?"
"11, way to go. Basically since we got here. I followed the Warriors here when they brought your stuff up. This place is humongous!" she explained.
"Yeah," I chuckled, "it is, that's part of the reason I was so late. Switch, the guy who brought me up here, and I got stuck when third hour let out and we had to walk through a hall full of classes and students filing out."
"Well you just met the entire student body then," Quinn joked and rested her head back on the bed, "are you not allowed to be going to class or something?"
I nodded, "I was ordered to sleep…and I can't complain about doing it after I call Gwen to let her know I'm still alive…" as if on cue, my phone started ringing, "speak of the devil."
I flipped open my phone with a grin, "Gwen! I was just about to call you!" I exclaimed. "I finally got up to my room just now, I would have called you when I first got here…but there was an…incident I'll call it," I explained, figuring it was best to just get everything that happened out now.
"An incident? What happened?" my roommate asked worriedly.
"Heh…" I giggled guiltily, "11 popped stitches in my shoulder, almost passed out in front of Queen Sgiach from the blood loss," I answered.
"JC!"
"I know, I know!" I cut her off before she had a chance to go on a health rant, "trust me, Zoey tried to reprimand me too. But what was I supposed to do with popped stitches on an airplane and in an airport? Especially with a red fledgling who started burning in the sun…"
"Sounds like a rough plane ride, but you're there now, safe, sound, and taken care of?" Gwen asked, cutting me off now. She probably didn't want to know everything that happened on the flight for her own sanity. She definitely was a worrier I learned.
"Already met one of the nurses and a couple of my fellow students now. I'm apparently not allowed to go to classes for today, and quite possible tomorrow, because of this. But I'm here now, mostly safe and somewhat sound. So what's up, why'd you call?" I answered and asked. It was a bit weird her calling me since I promised I'd call her and she knew for a fact that I would.
The moment of silence and change of tone was enough for me to know that this wasn't going to be good. "Well," she sighed, "some interesting events took place today. Stuff that you probably need to know."
"Judging by your tone, this isn't good," I commented bluntly, "what's going on over there?" What could possibly have gone wrong since I left? I mean, just really! Ugh!
"Dee was found dead about an hour ago."
If my phone wasn't sandwiched tightly between my hand and my cheek…it would have dropped to the floor. Dee? Dee Summers was dead? Ok, I may have never liked the girl…but dead? Dear Goddess, I was really hoping it wouldn't be that bad.
"JC?" Gwen asked from the other line, "you still there?"
"…Yeah, yeah I'm still here," I found myself answering, "I just…wow. Was it, was it from the Change?" I knew it wasn't, she wouldn't be calling if it was just from rejecting the Change, if it wasn't suspicious, if there weren't other things attached to it.
"Her throat was cut. Neferet is claiming that it was a human that jumped the wall and got into the school," she answered.
"That's a lie, isn't it?" We both knew it was, but I had to make sure to clarify everything before I made any conclusions.
"I was the one who found the body," oh great, my worrier of a roommate found the body, "JC, there was Darkness all around her…even Dragon knew it was evident what really happened. But the whole school took the human theory to a new height in response. I don't know what's going to happen with it, but it can't end well."
I took that answer in with silence, thinking about that information. Goddess, things shouldn't be able to go this bad this fast after we left. Or hell, it shouldn't get that bad after the night with the Raven Mockers either! "I may have hated her guts within the short amount of time I knew her, but I would never wish her dead, especially in that manner. I just…don't understand why. Dee was like Neferet's puppy, followed her everywhere and did everything she said. What purpose would Neferet have for killing her? How does that serve her?" I was more talking to myself than anyone else, just voicing my thoughts to try and get them straight.
"We're on the same page in that regard," Gwen agreed, taking me out of my thoughts, "I was trying to think of some reasons and came up with nothing. Maggie commented that her being dead should make it a bit easier on us, with one less obstacle and everything, but I'm not sure. Neferet had to have some reason to kill her, and that may be even worse."
I only sighed again, "maybe Dee went against her or something. Maybe Neferet took her power too far and Dee, still having a little bit of a conscious, decided enough was enough and stood up for herself," I threw out there.
"Maybe," she conceded a bit, "but that seems far too easy."
"Sometimes easy is the best answer. Occam's Razor and all that," I answered. Yeah, I knew that wasn't right, but I was trying to stay a little bit positive.
"Occam's Razor was smashed to pieces by Neferet's Crazy Evil Sword of Darkness and Complete and Total Chaos," Gwen responded darkly.
"Well that's positive," I snickered and then sighed bitterly, if only because I knew she was right, "but so true. I'm sure there's more to it, like you said, but honestly…we don't have anything to go off of, even to validate my Occam's Razor point. Nothing can be said of this right now."
She grumbled, "I wish we could do something about it. The reaction to this was beyond horrible. As I said, Neferet's claiming it was the humans, and a lot of the vampyres and fledglings here are calling for blood…and that's what Neferet really wants."
I groaned and I fell back on my bed. Of course she would, of course the war with humans would begin when we weren't there. "Has anything, of yet, been decided regarding that aspect?" I asked.
"Other than the majority of the school believing it was humans and calling for the start of a war? No, she didn't say how she was going to enact anything yet. Probably to let the feelings of hatred and anger boil over in everyone," Gwen spat. If anything that was probably a good thing. Not to let the anger and hatred rise in the House of Night, but if Neferet hadn't done anything yet, there was still a chance to counter it.
"Then, I hate to say it, but all you can do right now is wait," I said, "you have no proof of anything, just suspicion…and we can't go off of that. You just need to wait and see what happens."
"I hate waiting, especially right now," she grumbled
"I know, trust me. I get it, I really do," boy did I ever, "but there is absolutely nothing you can do about it right now," I responded.
"Why do you have to be so reasonable right now?" she joked and sighed, "yeah, I know, all we can do is wait right now. It doesn't mean that I don't want to go rip out Neferet's eyes and throat."
"Honestly, I've played that scenario in my mind hundreds of times…and none of them end so good with the current position we're in," I admitted.
"I'm not quite sure how to respond to that," my roommate commented, "should I be worried?"
"Eh, depends on which way you look at it," I laughed, at least the mood was lightened up some by the conversation of Neferet's death (if that isn't ironic…), "listen, I'm gonna go find Zoey and tell her about this news. If we can get anything on it, I'll call you ASAP. You sound dead tired, you need to get some sleep." That was one thing I knew that I had to do now, Zoey and the others needed to know about this. I'm so going to get lost!
"This coming from the girl with 20 stitches in her shoulder, 11 of them popping, a torn up hand, and who hasn't slept in at least a week. Do you understand how hypocritical that is?"
"Well…let's just not get into that. You follow doctor's order like you should, you're responsible like that. I'm not," I laughed, "but seriously, get some rest, and if anything changes call me, sound fair?"
"Sounds fair. Get some rest yourself. Bye JC."
"Bye Gwen, talk to you soon," I said and hung up. Sighing, I hung my head and let the information sink in before I made my decision to go find my cousin final and getting up.
I could feel Quinn watching me worriedly before I heard her dog tags jingling as she got up to follow me, "what was that all about?"
I sighed again as we left my room and started walking the hallway, "that was Gwen. Dee was found dead, her throat slashed. Neferet claimed it to be humans…but it was obvious what happened. Gwen said there was Darkness all around the body," I explained.
"Wow, the bitch has no boundaries," she commented and padded up beside me, "and as horrible as that is, I don't understand what you're doing now."
"I need to find Zoey, she needs to know," I said, "obviously something's going on and Neferet planned something…I just don't know what. Maybe she'll have some ideas."
"And she needs to know this right now?"
"I'm going to go crazy thinking up ideas and not get sleep until she knows, so it's for my own sanity," I said.
Quinn only shook her head in response and continued walking by me. After maybe three minutes of wandering around the castle, I stopped and groaned, "ok…where the hell are we? And where the hell do we go from here?"
"You mean, you didn't know where you were going to start with?" my dog asked.
"That information, in hindsight, would've been extremely helpful to know," I muttered sheepishly.
"You think?" Quinn retorted, "c'mon…I can get us back to the main hall at least, we can figure something else from there."
"Dogs, always a better sense of direction," I chuckled and nodded, following after her.
"You have no room to talk, Miss Animal Girl. You should have a great sense of direction because of that," she grumbled and I only laughed again.
"Touché, Quinn, touché," I agreed as she brought me back into the main hall. After looking around and chewing on my lip in debate, I sighed. "What would be really helpful would be one of those giant mall maps. You know? Those things that number every room and explain how to get there…and the giant red dot that announces 'You Are Here.' Yeah that'd be wonderful."
Quinn just looked at me for a moment, "and you would know where you would want to go in order to find Zoey?"
"No," I admitted with a grumble and crossed my arms, "but it would still be nice to have."
"Jennifer?" I spun around at the sound of my name and saw Queen Sgiach, a white bearded man with griffin claws Markings that I figured could only be Seoras, and a little brown haired girl sitting at one of the tables in the room and all staring at me in amusement. "What are you doing?" the queen asked.
"I was…talking to Quinn," I answered and pointed weakly at my dog. The only reason I didn't scream that I wasn't hearing voices was because Sgiach smiled kindly at me. I was used to the strange looks I got from saying that, I was used to being defensive.
"I suspected you were talking to your familiar," she answered, "however, that is not what I was referring to. Did Leslie not order you to rest?"
"Oh, heh. Yeah, she did…but…I just got some information that my cousin and the others need to hear," I explained, "and I don't have any darn idea as to where I am right now or where I need to be going."
"Aye lass, that's why yie shouldnae be here but in bed asleep," the Warrior told me.
"Seoras is right, especially if you want to start classes tomorrow," Sgiach added.
"I know…and I'm beginning to think that since I'm hearing this advice so much, I should probably listen to it," I admitted wryly, "all I need to do is find Zoey and tell her this then I'll stumble back to my bed and sleep."
"Why don't you just leave the information with me and I'll tell her?" she offered.
"As much as I appreciate that, Your Highness, this is just something I have to tell them all myself," I rejected. I didn't really know why I wanted to tell Z myself, I just knew that I had to. "Also because you seem to be busy teaching…" I trailed off because I didn't know the girl's name.
"Lynnia," Sgiach answered. The girl gave me a small smile and waved, then started signing something. "She is a mute, she said it is nice to meet you," the queen added.
"Oh, well it's nice to meet you too," I responded and smiled, "is that why you're teaching her? Because she's mute?"
"Nae, the lass is only 11," Seoras said.
"11?" I asked in surprise. I mean, she looked young, but I just figured that was because of the lighting or something. "How does a Marking like that happen?" I asked.
Lynnia shrugged in confusion as a response. "A rare occurrence but it can happen. How were you Marked like that?" Sgiach asked and smiled wisely.
"Just stranger and stranger," I muttered and shook my head, "anyway, I'm not meaning to interrupt. Can you just point me in the general direction I want to go to find my cousin?" I asked.
"You go down that hallway all the way and through the doors. That is the gym where your cousin and her Guardian are currently at. After that, you either go to lunch to eat then go to your room or go directly to your room," the queen ordered.
I smiled and nodded, "very well, Your Highness, thank you," I said, bowed, and then left for the gym with Quinn by my side.
"If anything, she seems to like you," Quinn commented.
"Yeah," I agreed, "which is good. The last thing I need to do is piss off the best Warrior in the world," I laughed.
"That'd go well with the rest of your luck though," she added.
I just laughed bitterly. After that, we walked to the gym in silence and entered a fencing class. "Of course," I sighed, standing by the door and watching the class go on, "do you see Z or Stark?" I asked.
"I see Zoey, she's with the blonde dude over there," Quinn answered and pointed her tail in the direction, "I don't see Stark though."
"He's here somewhere if she's here, probably having to help another student or something," I shrugged and went over, dodging the pairs going at each other to reach my cousin and the guy she was with. "Mind if I cut in?" I asked when I was close enough and saw that he was teaching her something.
"JC?" Zoey asked and stopped, looking at me, "weren't you ordered to bed rest or something?"
"Heh, yeah, how much do I actually listen to that?" I chuckled and then sobered up some, "listen, I got word from Gwen and we have a bit of a problem. Do you know where everyone is?" I asked.
"Well, Stark and I are here with Damien and Rephaim. I don't know where everyone else is though," she shrugged, "what happened?"
"Gwen, Dragon, and I are all pretty sure that Neferet killed…" I trailed off when I realized the guy that was helping my cousin was still watching us in confusion and I turned to him, giving a sheepish smile, "sorry, I'm being rude. For one, I'm JC, two, may I steal my cousin for a little bit?" I asked.
He laughed, "I know who you are, we already met, sort of. In case I didn't say so in the infirmary, I'm Skylar," ah, one of the guys from there…that explained the wrapped hand, "and this seems important, go ahead."
"Thanks," I grinned and linked my arm through Zo's, dragging her to the side, "this actually is important. Dee Summers, the girl who was a complete and total bitch to me and Gwen and everyone, was found dead this morning by Gwen. She and Dragon both assumed it was Neferet's doing, but she blamed a human, and more and more fledglings and vampyres are calling for a war against humans," I explained in a rush.
Zoey just looked at me in surprise for a moment, "wasn't Dee Neferet's biggest supporter?"
"Yeah, which is what makes it weird," I nodded, "but Gwen said there was Darkness everywhere around her body."
"Is it possible that the Darkness was there because it's everywhere in the school?"
"It's possible," I conceded, "but the fact that her throat was slit and Neferet is blaming humans makes it a little too coincidental don't you think?"
"Who's throat was slit?" I looked back to see the guys coming over to join us, Damien looking worried. Apparently they saw us talking and decided to join the party.
"Dee Summers'," I answered and sighed, "Neferet's biggest support in the student body. We're almost positive she did it…but we can't prove it and even worse, we can't figure out motive."
"Because she's a crazy bitch?" Stark asked, "isn't that more than enough for motive?"
"Yes and no," Rephaim answered, "her insanity is enough to explain why she does things, but that is not her motive. She has a reason to kill everyone she does, whether they are opponents or they serve as a sacrifice for Darkness, there is a reason for it."
"And not knowing that reason is worrisome," I added and groaned.
"Based on the two reasons Rephaim gave, then she served as a sacrifice to Darkness," Damien said, "it would be ludicrous to think she would be Neferet's opponent if she was her biggest supporter, which without a doubt, Dee was. The question becomes over why she was sacrificed to Darkness."
"And not knowing that is even worse," I agreed.
"JC, we can't do much about this right now," Zoey told me, "you know that as well as I do. We're here, Neferet and Gwen are there, and we've seen nothing and know very little. I'd still say you should probably call Gwen or whoever and warn them about this and tell them to be on the lookout for anything that could be strange or dangerous."
I swallowed and nodded, "and you guys need to tell the others since they're not here, maybe they know or could come up with any reason. Right now, I promised Sgiach that I would get some rest after this and now I'm fairly certain I need to do that…if I can get back to my room that is."
"I can get you back the long way," Quinn informed me.
"Alright," I nodded to her, "Quinn can get me back so I'm gonna go, have fun with the rest of classes and be prepared to lead me around tomorrow," I said and backed out the door.
They all smiled at me as I left, but the worry and bit of fear on their faces from the news was enough to know that we had more issues to deal with than we hoped. Remaining silent, I followed my dog through the castle and back to my room with the Twins, promptly collapsing on my bed and shutting my eyes.
And of course, I can't get normal sleep as the dreams keep getting weirder and scarier. Even when I start praying to the Goddess for either normal dreams or none at all, my prayers aren't answered. And this one, it was a fun one. It started when I blinked my eyes open, I was in the dark for a moment.
"Who shot that arrow in your throat? Who missed the crimson apple? It hung heavy on the tree above your head." With those lyrics being sung, the scene before me came to life, and it was unnerving as all hell. There were bodies lying on the ground…bodies of the circle. Damien was lying by a river, glassy eyes staring at the clouded sky, the Twins back to back slumped sideways on a tree, and most strikingly, Zoey sprawled in the center of the field, a fresh, scarlet river running from her throat. All of them had an arrow jutting out of their throats. What the-
"This chaos, this calamity, this garden once was perfect. Give your immortality to me, I'll set you up against the stars." It took me a moment, but I realized the lyrics were ripped from my mouth without much warning or thought, which was strange.
"JC?" I turned at my name and saw Aphrodite standing there. She wasn't in the scene, she was standing beside me. "How the hell are you here?"
I shrugged, but couldn't say anything except to keep singing. It was like that was all my mouth knew how to do, even as my brain worked on overdrive. "Gloria, we lied, we can't go on, this is the time and this is the place to be alive. Who shot that arrow in your throat? Who missed the crimson apple? And there is discord in the garden tonight. The sea's wine red, this is the death of beauty, the doves have died, the lovers have lied."
We both turned to watch as another person came into view…and that person was me, my arms tied to a tree and my head bowed. "Well, at the very least, the carnage has disheartened you enough that you stopped struggling and fighting the ropes," Neferet spoke and vision me looked up, glaring at her. By her side was Stark, and behind them were Stevie Rae, Rephaim, and Kalona. Suddenly, my stomach dropped…I had a feeling I knew what was going on, and glancing at Aphrodite, she did too.
"And yet you still seem reluctant to join us," she added and looked at me oddly, "why? What do you have left on your precious side of Light? Your Guardian and mate was killed, one of your Charges is dead, the other two have joined me, your fledglings are dead said for one who joined me, and the circle has been slaughtered. What keeps you rooted to this side?"
"Knowing that I'm doing right," I responded, though through myself watching that…I could feel the sadness and fear radiating through me (if that makes any sense, it was a weird thing to explain). "Knowing they died fighting for Light and if I was to give in and give up now, they would have died in vain."
"I cut the arrow from your neck, stretched you beneath the trees. Among the roots and baby's breath I covered us with silver leaves. Gloria, we lied, we can't go on, this is the time and this is the place to be alive. The sea's wine red, this is the death of beauty. The doves have died, the lovers have lied. The sea's wine red, this is the death of beauty. The doves have died, the lovers have lied."
"I always figured, aside from Rephaim, you would be the easiest to change," Neferet commented, "Stark and Stevie Rae were too associated with Light I thought. Apparently I thought wrong, that does not happen very often. You do know that you are the only one left to fight this battle for Light, correct?"
"I'm not stupid enough nor arrogant enough to think I'm powerful enough to beat you," I spat and glared, "I know the only reason I'm even still alive at all is because you think you can convert me. Either that or you enjoy toying with me way too much. I know I'm one of the few, if not the last one left for Light, and I know it's a losing battle without Zoey and the circle."
"And yet you still fight," she pointed out.
"It's in my blood. I don't know how to 'give up,' and that's going to be my demise." I was resigned, I knew what was coming.
"Stubbornness is going to be your demise. I offer you one last chance to join us and spare your life," Neferet said.
To save my life, it was a tempting offer. But as I looked at the bodies of those who died and knowing I couldn't help them, my friends, there was no point. "I'll die before I join you," I growled. I chose not to question whether I chose my death because guilt forced me to give up or because I really didn't want to join Neferet and Darkness.
"Very well," she grinned and signaled to Stark. He let go an arrow, and just like the others, it lodged right through my throat.
I had never seen the girl scared, or ready to cry…but looking at Aphrodite, she was both. I could understand, I felt both too…this was beyond unnerving, beyond scary, if only because this was a vision, and this had the potential of being real.
"The sea's wine red, this is the death of beauty. The doves have died, the lovers have lied."
My voice still ringing in my ears, I leapt awake and scrambled to my feet out of bed. My heart was pounding, I was sweating and trembling and I quite possibly felt tears down my cheeks. As I booked it for the door, I heard a faint scream echo through the hall outside and I only had one response. "APHRODITE!"
Not particularly fond of this chapter. That's what writers' block does to you. Anyway, the magic number is 5...5 reviews and I'll try to update again.