A/N: Here's chapter five, all dolled up and ready to read! :) This is a pretty long chapter, but never fear, we're not going to give you a nice long chappie and then disappear for a few months or anything. We've been having a lot of fun coming up with predicaments for the group to deal with, and I hope you're all enjoying reading about their adventures.

Disclaimer: We aren't Kelley Armstrong, we don't own the rights to DP or the characters and we make no money from this.

Derek woke up early the next morning to leave, so that my dad wouldn't know he had been here. Utterly exhausted by my tumultuous night, I walked him to the door and smiled as convincingly as I could, leaning as nonchalantly as possible against the door frame. He gave me a long, searching look before leaning down to give me a kiss.

"You're not telling me something," he said suspiciously, lines appearing as his brows drew together in concern.

Always a terrible liar, I summoned everything I had in me to keep from stuttering as I held his gaze. "I'm fine, Derek, I just didn't sleep very well. I'm ok. Really."

Seconds ticked by as he studied me, clearly not believing me, but just as he opened his mouth to press me further, the toilet flushed from the en suite in my dad's room. If my dad was up, Derek had to go now.

"We'll talk later," he said meaningfully, and with a final kiss, he was gone.

I was close to tears as I hurried along the cold marble floor back to my room. After the demon had left, I had laid in bed staring at the ceiling. Whenever Derek had shifted around, I had closed my eyes just in case. I hadn't wanted him to see me awake because then I would have had to explain that it hadn't just been a dream, that a demon had actually found its way into his body.

God, I hated lying to Derek. Truly hated it. It's the one thing that I knew without a doubt had the potential to irreparably damage our relationship; honesty was really important to him. But what could I do? I had no solution and it would only stress Derek out even more because he couldn't protect me. How could he, when he couldn't see the enemy, couldn't touch it?

Now, not only did I have to deal with Mark's sudden reappearance, but also with whatever sort of deal I had made with Valefar.

Exactly what was it I had agreed to? We had never specified what the terms were, just that they could not involve me and him making some hellspawn.

Just the thought of that made me shudder. A little half-demon half-necromancer running around…that poor kid. Could my necromancer powers turn out even stronger in a child like that, my dark power enhanced by demon blood? Was that even possible? Part of me wished I could just look it up online, but I was pretty sure that Google didn't have legitimate answers to the questions I was asking. Should I call Jaime? I thought about that for a minute, but I knew that I would be going there in a few days with Derek and I would be able to talk to her then.

I was just worried that a few more days might make me even crazier than I felt already.

Snuggling back under the covers, I tried to calm my nerves by inhaling the scent of Derek and our lovemaking last night. But as much as I wanted to focus on those toe-curling memories, all I could think of were those eyes watching me, the demon's breath on my neck, Derek's beautiful eyes turned from forest green to demonic orange.

I didn't mean to fall back to sleep, but I did, and dreamt horrible nightmares of demons trying to rape me.

I was jostled awake by my phone ringing. Still half-asleep, I picked it up.

"Hello?"

"You going to bother coming to school?" Tori asked on the other end, the rise and fall of hundreds of students chatting in the background. "Simon and I are a little worried that you didn't come for first period."

Shit. "What time is it?"

"11. Are you sick? Simon wants to know."

"I wasn't feeling well," I admitted. "I didn't realize how late I slept in. I'll be there soon."

Dragging my body out of my bed, I showered quickly, not even bothering to wash my hair. I dressed even quicker and grabbed an apple before heading out the door. My dad was at the office this morning, so I called him on my way to the bus stop.

"Dad, I slept in this morning 'cause I wasn't feeling well," I told him, before he started worrying about why I was calling him when I was supposed to be at school. "Could you just call the school so I don't get detention?"

"Sure, honey. Are you feeling alright now?"

"Yeah, I'm feeling better. Thanks, Dad."

I made it to school just before classes resumed, waving at Tori and Simon before ducking into my class.

Trying to focus was torture; I could barely listen to the teacher. I was on edge, constantly scanning with my peripheral vision, convinced that Mark would show up. I was worried, and a bit scared, that in my attempts to avoid him, he would just come on stronger, and I would look like I was having a psychotic break again. All hands on deck for the hysterical screaming meltdown, take two.

It was a small comfort that at least Lyle House wasn't an option anymore, and Aunt Lauren certainly wouldn't be supporting any more admissions into psychiatric facilities.

When I ran into Tori between classes, she took one look at my tired eyes and shook her head. "You only look like that for one reason. What was keeping you up last night?" Although her voice was teasing, I could tell there was a bit of concern.

"Well, Derek came over..." I started.

"Ahh, so the good kind of not sleeping." She wrinkled her nose.

I nodded, not sure if I should tell Tori about Mark. In the end, I decided I needed to fill her in. "But there's something else. I don't think the spell to banish Mark worked. He kinda popped up afterwards."

"After….?" She gestured expressively and I felt the skin on my face tighten as I flushed.

Clearing my throat, I nodded a little sheepishly.

"The little perv was watching? Did you tell Derek?"

I shook my head. "I feel bad about keeping this from him, but I don't want to stress him out too much until I know what's going on."

"Bullshit."

"Excuse me?" Part of Tori's charm – if you want to call it that – is her ability to get to the point, but that was a little much…

"You want to prove that you can handle some things without wolfie's help, that's why you're keeping him in the dark. But hey, I think it's about time you ventured out of the playpen on your own."

"Uh…"

She barreled on. "Did you talk to your necromancer friend? The famous one?"

"Jaime? Not yet. I'll be seeing her this weekend when Derek and I go up to Stonehaven."

"We're only Wednesday. You still have two more days until then."

"I know," I said grimly.

Tori was thoughtful for a minute. "Look, if you need me to come over tonight for a bit to keep you company, I don't mind."

It was a bit out of character for Tori to be so nice, but I was grateful. Maybe our banishing session had made us closer.

"Thanks," I told her. "I would really appreciate it."

Simon popped up from behind Tori, sketchbook in hand and gaggle of giggling girls in tow. "Appreciate what?"

"Just helping her with her computer. She thinks there's a virus," Tori lied smoothly.

I nodded, too tired to contribute anything.

"Oh, okay." Simon shrugged. "So you feeling better?" he asked, looping an arm around my shoulders and sauntering down the sterile white hall with me. I could almost feel the angry glares directed my way by his latest fan club.

"Yeah, I think I was just overtired or something."

"Not sleeping well?"

Tori snorted, keeping pace with us. Simon looked at her, but when she didn't say anything, he turned his attention back to me.

"Just, you know, nightmares." I shrugged it off, pretending it was nothing.

"Since when am I a nightmare?" a voice behind me asked. I looked at Simon and Tori, whose eyes never left my face. Hmm…guess there wasn't anyone behind me. At least, no tangible person behind me. Dammit…

"I thought you loved my little visits. Does it turn you on that I watch while you suck on Derek's-"

I closed my eyes and willed myself to be deaf to his disgusting comments, readying myself to push him away as soon as his spirit became more present. Except instead of Mark's spirit coming more fully into being, another, heavier presence made itself known. Simon and Tori weren't paying attention to the newcomer, discussing something between themselves. What it was, I wasn't sure. I was just trying hard not to react.

The heavier presence swelled, then I heard a strangled noise and one of the presences was gone. I felt hot breath on my neck that I knew wasn't coming from any real being.

"Oh, but I am real. And I haven't forgotten our deal, Chloe. I thought that maybe if I got rid of this little pest for you, you would be more willing to accept my previous offer. A show of good faith, I think you call it."

I had to admit, a tiny part of me thought that if he could get rid of Mark for good, then I would consider his offer, but the rest of me screamed that it was a bad idea. I wasn't old enough to be having babies of any kind, whether they were necromancers, werewolves, demons or plain old humans. And let's not even get into the whole mess of emotions and ethics and…and…

I shook my head to clear it, but hoped the demon understood that to mean that I was saying no to him. When I felt his presence leave, I sighed in relief. The bell rang and I walked to class with Simon, who seemed to pick up on the fact that I wasn't in a talkative mood.

That night, Tori came over and we watched a movie. I wasn't really paying attention to it, but it was a nice distraction and I enjoyed having someone there to talk to.

It seemed Tori wasn't paying attention either when not even 10 minutes into the film, she turned towards me. "So Mark's back?"

I was wondering when she was going to bring it up. "Yeah. He showed up last night. But not in full form. Just his eyes and this ghostly fog stuff." The description was lame, but it was the best I could think of.

"What a creep." I nodded. "So did you try banishing him again?"

"No," I said, biting my lip. I didn't want to tell Tori about the demon until I figured it out on my own or spoke to Jaime. "He just kinda left. But I couldn't sleep the rest of the night. It bothered me that he was still around, and watching us." I shivered at the invasion of privacy I felt.

"So what are you going to do about it? I know you said you'll talk to Jaime, or whatever her name is, but that's too far away. You can't hide from this guy."

"I thought, maybe we can set up protections around my room?" I told her about the spell Jaime had given me. "They have it over at Stonehaven so that Jaime doesn't have to deal with ghosts."

"Isn't your necklace supposed to do that?"

I fingered the necklace that I wore around my neck. "It helps with regular ghosts, but it doesn't seem to do much for Mark."

"Is it because you killed him?"

Tori's bluntness made me pause. It was still difficult to wrap my head around the fact that I killed a man. Even one as sick as Mark.

"I had considered it," I admitted. "But how do I know for sure? Who can I ask about this stuff? Because I have never heard of a necromancer taking OUT someone's soul while they were still alive. I'm a genetic freak, remember? Most of this stuff shouldn't even be happening to me."

"Call up Jaime. Now."

"But-"

"No buts. Do it. And put her on speaker."

I pulled out my cell and found her number. It started ringing and I put on the speaker phone.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Jaime, it's Chloe."

"Oh hey! How's it going? Why does your voice sound like you're in a tin can?"

"I put you on speaker because my friend Tori and I had some questions for you. About my ghost."

"The one you banished or another one?"

"The one I banished."

"But he didn't leave," Tori added, raising her voice a little so Jaime could hear her. "In fact, she got another visit from him last night."

"Really?" Jaime said. "And you did the spell correctly?"

"I'm pretty sure," I said. "He disappeared with a bang, like you said. Last night, he only came back as a wispy sort image, almost like smoke. And I could see his eyes staring at me."

"Is it possible for a necromancer to kill someone?" Tori asked. My heart jumped and I shot her a warning glance, but she waved me down.

Jaime inhaled sharply. "Is it possible for a necromancer to manipulate a soul to the extent that the person dies?"

"Yeah. Is it possible?"

If only the people who thought Jaime was just another ditz could hear the depth of thoughtfulness in her voice as she answered slowly, "Well, I guess it could be. Honestly, I've never heard of anyone powerful enough to do it."

"But if it was done, could the soul become linked somehow to the person who took it out?" I asked, afraid of the answer.

"Like I said, I've never heard of such a thing but I guess it's possible. The soul would be like a vengeful spirit wanting justice."

"It would take more than a banishing spell, right?" Tori added. "Like, a more powerful spell?"

"Chloe? Where are you guys going with this?" Jaime's thoughtful tone sharpened suddenly.

Tori and I exchanged a long look. Tell her, Tori mouthed. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about," I admitted. "I was trying to protect Derek and I lost control of my powers. I ended up tearing out the soul of the guy who was trying to kill us."

There was a long pause on the other end of the line, but when she finally spoke, she sounded concerned. "I'll make some calls. I really wish you had come to me sooner about this. Not that I would have had more knowledge about it back then, but still. Look, you're still coming down with Derek on Friday, right?" I said I was. "Okay, good. Hopefully I'll have something for you then." There was a pause. "Give me a minute, and I'll e-mail you an incantation that might at least ward him from your room if the regular stuff isn't working. It's a lot stronger, but a bit more complicated. Maybe your friend Tori can help?"

"Thanks a lot, Jaime," I said, feeling a sense of hope flutter in my chest, but I was afraid to get my hopes up only to have things collapse again. But if the past couple of years had taught me anything, it was to always have hope. Maybe things were going to get better and I could tell Valefar to stick his deal where the sun doesn't shine.

I hung up with her and looked at Tori. She still looked like she had questions, but our immediate concern was going to be dealt with soon.

As I was hovering next to the computer, checking my e-mails every two seconds, my phone rang again.

"Hello?"

"It's me," Derek said, his voice taut with worry. "Simon said you weren't feeling well."

"I'm better now, thanks."

"Was it from last night? Was I too rough or..."

I laughed. "No, Derek. It has nothing to do with that."

I could hear his faint sigh of relief. "About last night, though. That dream... are you sure it was just a dream? Because it felt real."

My heart dropped. "Yes, it was just a dream."

There was a long pause. "You sure?" Damn. He knew something was up…

"I'm sure," I lied, palms sweating as they clutched the receiver. "Really, Derek, everything's ok."

"Hmph. What are you doing tonight? Is Tori still there?"

"Yeah, she is. We're just doing girly stuff." I checked my computer. Jaime's incantation was waiting in my inbox. "We just finished watching a movie." I clicked on it. I had all these ingredients stashed in my room, with only a few ingredients I could grab from the kitchen. "I think we're just going to make a snack now." Almost the truth. But not quite.

"Oh. Okay. So you're sure you're feeling better?"

"Peachy," I said. Not at all. My heart was hammering in my chest. I felt a bit sick, but at least I wasn't stammering.

"Alright. Call me if you need me. 'Night."

I got off the phone with him and before Tori could ask any questions, I turned the computer monitor around. "Let's get started. The faster it gets done, the faster I'll get some peace and quiet."

Once we gathered all the ingredients and mixed them, I said the incantation out loud. Tori helped me, both of us hoping that our combined casting would be effective. After a few rounds of the Latin, my pot of ingredients started burning and burst into green flames. According to Jaime's e-mail, that meant we were successful.

But unlike last time, I tried not getting my hopes up too much. After all, the first spell had been a bust.

I quickly opened the window, hoping that the smell of burning herbs didn't make my father think we were smoking weed in my room. How would I explain that I was casting a spell, not doing drugs? The latter option would just be easier to explain.

Tori helped me clean up before leaving, telling me to call her if there was anything. As much as I was glad I had people to rely on, it also bothered me to feel like I needed others to protect me, which in a way was true. But now I knew that when it came down to it, I literally held the power of life and death in my hands.

For maybe the millionth time in my life, I wished I was just a normal kid. Not a necromancing teen who had an evil ghost hell-bent on revenge haunting her and a demon courting her to bear his little half-demon babies.

I crawled into bed that night thoroughly disgusted with the current state of my life, and dreamt of Derek with burning-ember eyes and of a wispy figure with a scary grin.