A/N: I AM A TERRIBLE PERSON! FEEL FREE TO THROW TOMATOES AT ME, I DESERVE IT!

Life slapped me in the face quite hard. This past summer has been absolutely nuts and I'm already back in school. It's insane how time flies by the older you get.

So I come with a small present in the form of this preview. It isn't the full chapter, but I bring it because of the release of the first chapter of Hidden and because I'm trying to get back into writing fanfic. My muse is coming back it feels like, which is a good thing. I'll try insanely hard to get a real chapter out within the next couple of weeks...but I'm not sure how well I'm going to be able to make it work.

If you like this, thank EJ for it. Seriously, she was the one that accidentally got me thinking about it. I might as well post some of the fun I have written down, right?

Isle of Skye

JC's POV

I wasn't kidding when I said sleep was my new natural enemy. It wasn't so much a typical predator/prey relationship as it was an issue with sleep just avoiding me entirely and not granting me a break to catch up on the two plus weeks of straight sleep I needed. And after the emotional turmoil that was the entire day of people finding out my secret, you'd think maybe I would get a break. Nope. Weirdest. Night. Ever. And that's saying something considering some of the nights I had.

It didn't take much for me to get some sleep after talking with Zoey. The Twins were there and were watching me curiously as I came into our room, walked over to my bed, and flopped face down on it. If that didn't make it apparent that I did not want to deal with anything else that day, I made sure that they knew by promising them to answer any and all questions in the morning, just let me attempt to sleep. They seemed to agree to that, and after deciding I wanted to change into an old t-shirt and sweatpants, I collapsed into bed again and was out soon after.

Too bad being out like a light and actually getting a good night's sleep are two different things (believe me, they are). I got maybe an hour or so before the fun began. When I opened my eyes for the first time and actually became coherent, I noted the ocean in front of me and the sand I was lying on. With a grunt, I hauled myself to my feet and paused when I was met with a pair of burning amber eyes. For the love of Nyx, really?! No break even from Tulsa!?

"I'm beginning to see a trend," Kalona commented as I dusted sand off of my clothes.

"Yeah, me too," I grumbled and got right to the point, or at least hoped to. The likelihood of that actually happening seemed to be rather slim, "which one was it this time, Zoey or Stark?"

"Does it really matter?" he answered with a question, "I am here as are you, that's all that really matters."

"No, being here doesn't matter since I know why I'm here," I retorted, "what I'd like to know is what Charge of mine you were going after and for what reasons."

"Ah, but that, young Wa-ya, is for me to know and me alone," Kalona told me with a smirk.

I gritted my teeth, "my name isn't Wa-ya, Bird Boy."

"Resorting the name calling will you get you nowhere," he commented, "and you seem to be quite aggravated."

"Yeah well, things aren't exactly going swimmingly right now," I muttered and glared, "and I have no desire to be doing this, as I'm sure you have no desire to be here. Just tell me what I want to know and I can let us both go on our merry way."

His amber eyes glowed as a smug smirk crossed his face, "can you? Are you sure that, this time, this isn't my dream?"

Well that threw me for a loop. Crap. I had absolutely no proof of that whatsoever. I just kind of assumed that he was going after Zoey or Stark, I didn't think we would be connected in any way, much less that he would want to talk to me. But I knew he wouldn't have brought it up unless it was true, because he enjoyed to gloat and mock. "But the last time this happened, I was the one in control because I intercepted it, why would this time be any different?" I asked. I was confused to say the least, and my frustration was starting to grow. I mean, I knew he could walk dreams, but I always thought there had to be some type of connection between him and someone else…and unless he was riding in here on my sheer hatred, Kalona and I were not connected.

"Maybe this time, it wasn't an interception," Kalona suggested with a wicked smile, "maybe this time, I came here to talk to you."

"You know the last time you attempted to 'talk' to me, I threatened to rip your balls off…that threat still stands," I informed him.

"Then maybe I should take a different approach."

I groaned and repressed the urge to roll my eyes, "cut the shitty mind games, Kalona, and get on with the damn point." He was giving me a headache now and my mood probably just plummeted another 15 points. I didn't care how we were connected now, I just wanted to leave.

"You are a Dark creature, Jennifer," he told me, coming closer, "it calls to you much like it calls to me, and I would like to see you answer that call."

This conversation again? Really? I can't even escape it when I'm talking to Kalona? Ok yeah…maybe that logic was a little skewered since it was him and Neferet that started this topic in the first place. "I'll tell you the same thing I told Neferet, not happening," I answered evenly, arms crossed. Suddenly, I really didn't like where this was going and really just wanted to leave.

"You can say that and believe in that all you want," Kalona added, coming to a stop right in front of me, "but that does not mean it will not come true. Darkness has its own agenda, and he will do what he pleases despite your futile resistance."

"Then let Darkness take a crack at it," I challenged, chin held high. Goddess I didn't really mean that, but I didn't want Kalona think he had the upper hand, "because it isn't happening. I am a Daughter of Nyx, end of discussion."

"So was Neferet," he answered, cold humor in his eyes, "by the Spirits, so was I. Even the greatest of people tend to fall, Jennifer, but you would know that by now," he added and grinned maliciously, "your mother and brother were great people, were they not?"

That was where my line between calm, silently seething, and just pissed off was practically blown to pieces. Something inside of me snapped and the next thing I knew, I lunged at Kalona and tackled him to the ground, hands wrapped around his throat. For my credit, I'm a pretty damn strong girl. For his credit, he really wasn't fighting back. "Never bring my family into this shit you created," I hissed dangerously low, "never. Do you understand?"

Kalona's grin never faded, he was getting sick pleasure out of this. "That was the reaction I wanted to see," he said, but his eyes weren't fixed on me.

Just a bit of curiosity followed after my anger, and I followed his gaze over my left shoulder, going rigid from what I saw. A silhouette, an entirely black silhouette that matched the outline of my body perfectly. And then in the blink of an eye, it was gone. It only took a moment for me to realize what it was though...because it sure as hell wasn't my shadow standing straight up. I turned my attention back to the fallen angel, ready to start forcing answers out of him, but he smirked back at me.

"Thank you for your cooperation," he laughed and the world around me started to melt away. I was now more confused and frightened and I wanted to stay to figure out what just happened, but at the same time I was relieved I was getting out of that.

"You are an idiot for falling for that." I should have figured this would happen; I guess getting answers directly from the source wasn't bad either. I waited for Final Destination to appear around me when I heard the second voice, but nothing came except for her. Apparently pitch black (where I could still see my Dark self somehow, dreamworld has no logic) was our new meeting ground.

And my stupidity was the least of my concerns. "How were you there?" I asked, "how is it possible for you to physically appear in other parts of my life?" I demanded. This had never happened before, I figured the only way I would ever be talking to Dark JC was by my dreams with her, but never outside of them. That was a whole new level of frightening and unnerving as fuck. If I was starting to lose control…

"You aren't a very good listener, are you?" she asked and smirked, "like I said, you can't escape me, even here. The isle is filled with ancient magick, mostly Light, but Darkness dwells in these parts too. So while you are getting stronger with Light, I'm being powered with Darkness."

"Enough power to begin wandering through other parts of my mind," I muttered in shocked understanding, "this leads to nowhere good."

"For you, maybe," Dark me shrugged, "for me…it is quite good."

"I promise you that it won't happen."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," she smirked, "you aren't a liar, JC."

I smirked back, "my point exactly, I'm not a liar."

She laughed, "your confidence and resolve are rather endearing, I must admit. Those are what have been keeping you going for this long. Eventually those break though, even the greatest fall from grace, and let's remember that you aren't the greatest."

"I may not be perfect, and I'm certain I'm not the greatest," I agreed, shoving the similarities with my conversation with Kalona aside, she was there after all, "so I was never in grace to start with, it's hard to fall from something you were never in."

"I consider you to have already started falling from the low place you already were. Your friends know about me now and know you've been keeping secrets. Do you really expect them to trust you and stand by you after discovering a lie like that?" the other JC asked and chuckled darkly, "you would be extremely foolish to do so."

That hurt, I'll admit. What hurt even more was the fact that she was right, and I knew she had a point. But at the same time, I also knew she was wrong, it was just another confusing feeling and more information I had to put together. "They still stand beside me, we all make mistakes," I answered.

"Yours is a rather large mistake, don't you think?"

"To this group? Yeah, it may be a large mistake, but this group has handled worse, I haven't fallen to Darkness like Stevie Rae and Stark did, I have people who understand." Now, if I could only feel as positive of that answer as I sounded. Truly, I didn't know where the hell I stood with anyone other than Zo.

"You keep telling yourself that," she commented, narrowing her eyes, "but don't come crying to me when that belief comes crashing down."

"Oh I promise you, I won't," I agreed to her fading form. I guess she didn't have a whole hell of a lot to say to me. Or she was pushed out by something more powerful. After seeing what was waiting for me after, I had to lean toward the latter.

I recognized instantly that I was in Nyx's Grove, and I was in that black dress again. What I didn't expect was to look up to find a bunch of vampyres, all with a blue crescent and violet star, looking back at me. The only face I could pick out was Nevma, who was standing at the front of the group and giving me a small smile. Well alright then, hello Spirit vampyre meeting. "Welcome, Daughter."

"Um…?" was the only thing I could utter like a total idiot. I could only take so many dream meetings and bombshells in one night, I was only one girl after all.

"You have started taking the right steps, but you must remain cautious and vigilant during your time," Nevma explained, walking to stand in front of me, "you cannot let our race fall to the same evil again."

Color me confused. My mind was still on the track of my Darkness, so even though something in the back of my brain told me I wasn't right, my mouth started working without thought, "I'm not going to fall to Darkness!"

The High Priestess before me gave a reassuring smile, "I trust that you will not. It is not your evil that I am referring to." Before I could even get a word in to ask just what the hell was going on, Nevma turned away to look at all the other Spirit vampyres standing there, "send Sgiach my regards."

The next thing I knew, my body felt like it was standing in the middle of a fire pit and hundreds of screams combined to fill the air. I bolted into an upright position in bed and my eyes quickly adjusted to the dark of the room. I was breathing heavily, my heart was racing, my sheets were soaked with sweat…and for a moment, I had no clue where I was. Then I realized, I was back in my room with the Twins on the Isle of Skye. It wasn't another dream, not another meeting, I was finally awake again.