"Ah, just the person I wanted to see." Ethyn had spotted Draven and was walking up to him in an imposing manner. Draven rolled his eyes and turned to face Ethyn.
"Oh it's you. What do you want now? This time I haven't done anything so don't bother if it's going to be one of those lectures."
"No, you haven't done anything wrong, well not yet anyway. I just wanted to ask you something."
"Well shoot. Some of us have got stuff to do you know?" Draven was starting to get very impatient. He usually did with Ethyn, he really couldn't stand him.
"Look, I think this has something to do with you, so if I were you I'd hear me out and don't be so moody, what has gotten into you lately?" The atmosphere started to get very tense, but both guys were used to this, they rarely talked; if they did it was to keep the peace for Arianne's sake, not for the company.
"Nothing, so come on. Hurry up and ask."
"Well there were some really weird guys following me home the other day." Draven rolled his eyes again and looked around absently.
"And what has this got to do with me or Arianne for that matter? They're not following her are they? No, she would've told me. So do explain."
"I noticed a couple of the guys had that same weird iris thing on their clothes. You know the one that you sometimes wear. I was just wondering if it was some sort of weird gang or something. I'm intrigued to know why they're following me of all people."
Ethyn stared at the ground. He could never look at Draven full in the face, he always made him nervous. Ethyn was not the type of person to be scared of anyone, he was more than capable at looking after himself, he was tall and athletic. He played football and basketball for the school team.
Draven sighed and replied with little emotion. "So you thought it had something to do with me? I'm not the only person on the planet with that particular design on my clothes you know." He stalked off in his usual manner and left Ethyn standing there before he could say anything.
He might have seemed given the impression that this news was unimportant and that it didn't bother him at all, but it did. It was starting again, and he could sort of feel it too. A sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, it made his head slightly spin. He regained control of himself quickly. He had to keep a level head about this. He had to protect Arianne and he couldn't let his feelings get in the way. That wasn't what he was here to do after all. The problem was that that symbol had everything to do with him, him and the Night World. He was concerned. Why would the Night World want anything to do with Ethyn? He was hoping it was just a matter of association with him, but there was a chance that they had discovered the truth.
"It's too late for that now. By the time you get to her it'll be way too late and you know it. You may as well give up now. It's not like your little buddy is gunna save you either." He let out a loud, deep, rumbling laugh. Suddenly there was a dull thump, and he choked on his laughter. He face went still, his mouth fixed in a horrific grin, and his eyes glazed over as he fell to his knees and dropped to the floor. There was a thud as his head hit the floor. It was like a marionette that had been suddenly cut from its strings in mid performance. Draven stood behind the body of the fallen figure, with a large piece of wood in his hand and a shocked expression upon his face.
"C'mon! Quick! We don't have much time left!" He untied Ethyn's bound hands and helped him stand. He was badly beaten, but there was no time to worry about that just yet. There would be more men coming very soon. He thought about leaving Ethyn here, he could get to her quicker that way, then maybe there'd be some hope, but he knew that he would never forgive himself, even though he didn't really like Ethyn, he didn't want him dead. No one deserved to die that way, especially in their hands. He supported Ethyn and they moved as fast as they could down the stairs into the basement. It was dark, really dark, they looked around and finally they saw a shadow in the corner. Draven flicked the light switch on. There was a loud crash. Everything turned to white, to black, to nothing.
Arianne jerked awake. It had happened again, another dream. They were getting more intense now. She felt as if she was watching, powerless, as the story seemed to unfold the characters became more familiar. She was so sure that she knew them. That it was somehow important that she remembered. The problem was that it was all a blur when she woke up.
Arianne got up slowly and dressed, she went downstairs to get some breakfast still racking her brain trying to remember the dream. She had such a strong feeling that it was important. She couldn't seem to shrug it off. She decided to give Draven a call, they hadn't spoken properly for a while and she needed a familiar face. She picked up the phone and gave him a call; she drummed a tattoo on the sideboard as she waited for him to pick up. A few rings later and all she got was his answer phone.
"Hey, it's me, leaving you the four hundredth message this week, why don't you ever pick up you're phone anymore? I'd like to talk to you about something, but I'll probably try and catch up with you at school now. See you in a bit." With an empty feeling she hung up. Why didn't he answer his phone anymore? Was something wrong or was it just her?
"Hey sweetie, how are you this morning? Not long now till the summer holidays is it? Have you got anything planned yet?" Arianne's Mother had just walked down the stairs in a dressing gown, still half asleep. She stifled a yawn. She was platinum blonde with clear blue eyes, almost the complete opposite to her daughter. She worked as a lawyer, which is how she'd met Arianne's Father. They'd met at a party in law school. They'd been together ever since.
"Morning." Replied Arianne sleepily, "I'll have a think about it and let you know, I've gotta dash now, Ethyn will be here to pick me up soon." The holidays felt like forever away. She was hoping to spend some time away with Ethyn and catch up with Draven. She hoped she would be able to repair their friendship.