(A/N): We're back in 1966 with Evie, Jerremyah, Khal, Lisbet, Nuria, Nicholai, Minsi and Grey. This chapter contains what might be considered foreshadowing. It also contains some more predictions from Khal, which are basically just a shot of 50cc's of foreshadowing straight to the heart, so... Also, I'm beginning to come to terms with the fact that I'm almost certainly going to have to use my backup Halloween chapter idea, since if I keep doing alternating Evie/Leo chapters, I only have six Leo chapters left in order to get to the part I need to get to, and I've already two of them and I'm not really any closer. I did briefly panic at the thought that it might fall on an Evie chapter, then made a plan for that too, before I actually counted on the calendar. As long as I keep on the schedule I'm at, it will be a Leo chapter- except it won't be a Leo chapter, because my 'backup' plan- which is now just my 'upfront' plan, doesn't involve Leo, lol.

Trigger Warnings: Somewhat detailed discussion of a person possibly being tortured and/or killed in the near future. References to someone feeling like/looking like they're going to throw up (they do not actually throw up/vomit). Casual discussion of death/turning into a vampire rather than dying, and references to a persons sanity being tenuous (more of that in the next Evie chapter, too). Blood/a minor injury being inflicted on someone... for their own good? I probably don't need to tag blood as a trigger in this story considering it contains vampires, but I will try to tag injuries as much I can, since I know that's a bit different to the vampire-necessitated blood drinking we all signed up for. Oh, um... very brief, jokey reference to anesthetic/painkillers? That probably won't even make sense unless you read my 'info' section at the end of the chapter? I think that's everything, let me know if you spot something else you want me to tag.

January 16th, 1966

Evie

I could tell by the look on his face that Jerremyah wanted to argue with me- to try to convince me to change my mind; to abandon my sister for ten years to come be a vampire with them- but after a second, I saw him start to understand. To accept, even if he didn't like it, because I wasn't doing this because I didn't want to be a vampire- I was doing it because I was too worried about my sister to be able to leave her.

"What about..." He hesitated, then seemed to think better of it, and decided to say something else instead. "Would there ever be a time where you could see yourself saying yes?" Now. Now, I would say yes- I almost had, and I most likely would have, if there hadn't been a quarantine period- but that wasn't what he was asking.

"If I felt like Vi was safe and settled, or-" I cut myself off, and Jerremyah took note.

"Or?" He prompted, and when I winced, I saw the corner of his lips twitch downward in response.

"Or if, for whatever reason, I was on the brink of death. I'd rather spend ten years away from Vi than die, and spend the rest of her life away from her." Slowly, Jerremyah nodded, as if I'd made a surprisingly good point.

"Good to know," He said, and there was no doubt in my mind that he genuinely thought it was. "It's always best to be aware of people's preferences, ahead of time." There was something lacking in his tone, as though he'd left some vital component behind without realising and had to try to make do without. From our previous conversation, it sounded like he was used to that.

"It won't come to that." Khal finally piped up, and Jerremyah immediately relaxed. Only to shoot bolt upright a second later, as he remembered he was the one person in this room that hadn't been eager to hear Khal's predictions earlier, and was supposed to find them discomfiting.

"What do you mean, 'it won't come to that'? What do you know? Is Evie- is she going to- will she-" Jerremyah cut himself off, apparently self-aware enough to know his rambled demands for information were getting him nowhere with the seer.

Khal took the opportunity to roll his eyes at Jerremyah before he turned to me, and his expression softened. "I know you won't be turned because it was either that or die... but I also know you won't turn because you felt like your sister was ready for you to do so." The room fell silent after Jerremyah's sharp intake of breath, and I felt my eyebrows furrow as I tried to think through these predictions.

"But..." I could feel their eyes on me, but I kept mine on Khal, and Khal only- I couldn't afford to miss his reaction. "Nothing you just said indicated I would turn at all." He didn't blink, which was- well, a little off-putting, honestly, but I pushed past it. He barely reacted; the corner of his lips pulled into a small, almost proud smile, and that was about it. Had I missed something, or was he just that good? Or... or was there nothing to react to? "The way you worded it leaves room for me to die before I'm turned, too." Two growls echoed through the room: a quiet one from beside me, courtesy of Lisbet, and a bit louder one from Jerremyah, across the way.

"This is why I hate your bloody riddles. Why can you never just give anyone a straight answer, and save us all some time?" I felt like we'd already covered this, but apparently Jerremyah didn't thi- and Khal smirked at him, albeit somewhat tiredly.

"Because if I gave you a straight an answer- an answer I, myself, do not have access to most of the time- then we would, in fact, all save quite a lot of time." Jerremyah threw his hands up, more exasperated than I'd seen him thus far. I didn't think he was the sort of person to get exasperated very often- in fact, I assumed he was the one doing the exasperating, most of the time.

"And yet you still-" Khal cut him off, swiftly and decisively, that smirk still painted across his lips like an omen.

"Yes, the Hunters would cut our lives quite short indeed." We all sobered at that, especially Jerremyah. "No destiny, no mentoring, no loved ones to protect, no kit, and worst of all- no mate." Jerremyah's face was as pale as a sheet, and he looked like he was having trouble swallowing- this statement, and in general. "They would kill her first, you know," As I watched, Jerremyah's eyes flicked to Lisbet, and I saw real, visceral terror there. "She would try to protect you, obviously-" Looking at Lisbet's expression, there was no question about it. She wanted to protect him even now. "-and you know how Hunters tend to feel about 'obstacles'."

"Khal," Nuria cautioned, finally attempting to come to Jerremyah's aid even if it was against her best friend, but Khal completely ignored her. Maybe he couldn't even hear her, considering that his eyes were milky white once more.

"There would be a bit of dissent in the ranks for that- there were those who didn't think she deserved to die simply for trying to protect her mate, and there were others- the winning side, by the way- who considered her to be an accessory to your crimes, if not an accomplice." I- I'm sorry, what crimes were these?

Nuria looked furious, and Jerremyah- I couldn't tell if Jerremyah was going to cry or be sick, or both. Or both, at the same time. "Khal," Nuria warned, but again, he kept going.

"You die screaming, of course." Of course. "Not from the torture- it barely affects you, at that point- but because you're so grief-stricken that you want them to kill you, because you desire nothing more than to join her. Some of the Hunters feel that's punishment enough, but it doesn't matter what they think."

"Khal!" Nuria snapped, but when he still didn't respond, she grabbed his hand.

"No, it isn't the torture that kills you, but the heartbreak. Of course it's Heartbreak, you love her too much to live without her, and yet you're doing a pretty piss poor job of-" He blinked, then blinked again- and this time, the white cast was gone from his eyes. "...thank you, Khaleela." It was only at this point that I noticed the blood dripping from Khal's hand, onto the carpet. Nuria must have done something to make him stop talking... unfortunately, I wasn't sure if it was in time to save Jerremyah's peace of mind. Or sanity, for that matter.

Khal's eyes didn't leave the floor, but I could tell he wanted to look at Jerremyah- to check in on how he was doing. Apparently that wasn't something he could see right now- or maybe it was, and he was eager to do some much needed damage control. "Jerremyah, I-" Lisbet cut him off as she appeared at her mate's side, far too concerned with reaching him as quickly as possible to bother moving at human-friendly speeds.

"I think we've heard quite enough from you for one day, Khaldun." She snapped, which I didn't think was entirely fair given that he clearly hadn't done this on purpose, but I also couldn't bring myself to openly oppose it either, since Lisbet looked almost as wrecked as Jerremyah did. She cupped her face in his hands incredibly gently, as if she thought he might break otherwise, and it was at this point that I realised he was visibly shaking. "Salut, mon amour. C'est moi. C'est moi. C'est toujours moi, ce sera toujours moi." His eyes roved over her face like he was starving again- but for her this time, not food. Then, without so much as a sound- at least not one I could hear- he slumped forward, and buried his face in the curve of her throat.

I could tell that Nuria was murmuring to Khal as well, but I couldn't hear what was being said even slightly- the only reason I knew she was talking to him was because I could see her mouth moving. Khal's lips, however, seemed like they would remain sealed for the foreseeable future. "Evie," My head snapped around, not expecting Lisbet to be addressing me anytime in the near future let alone this soon, and saw that while she was still holding Jerremyah about as close as a person could, her head was tilted slightly so she could meet my eyes. "Jerremyah and I- I need to take him somewhere private. Our bedroom. Are you okay with that?" I blinked at the sudden question, then furiously flapped my hand at her as I realised she was only asking because she was worried about how I would handle being left in a room of veritable strangers. As if I hadn't only known her and Jerremyah for maybe an hour longer than Nuria and Minsi, who I'd known for only about seven hours longer than Grey, seven hours and fifteen minutes longer than Nicholai, and seven hours and thirty minutes longer than Khal.

"Go! What are you waiting for? Take your man and get him-" I took in Jerremyah's obviously distressed state again- the way he was clutching her like letting him go would physically pain him- and felt my face soften of its own accord. "Help him. Clearly, he needs a dose of Lisbetocaine right about now." Despite the situation, I didn't miss the fact that the corner of her lips briefly twitched skyward at this. Or, rest-of-bank-ward, at least.

"Thank you," Was the last thing I heard from either of them before they literally disappeared from my line of sight, and down the hallway, I heard what I assumed was their bedroom door closing. She didn't slam it- and I had no doubt that it was Lisbet who'd done it, seeing as Jerremyah was far too busy with more important things, like clinging to his mate- but she didn't close it softly, either. No, I don't think they put much thought into how the door closed at all, merely that it was, in fact, shut.

"That... that was a mistake." Khal croaked quietly, and it really tugged at the heartstrings. Since Nuria seemed preoccupied staring about Lisbet and Jerremyah, I hopped in to try to comfort him, despite only having known him for less than an hour.

"We know. It's okay, we all make them- you just need to give Lisbet and Jerremyah time to remember that, too." There were a few seconds where nothing happened, and then I felt the couch cushion next to me shift, as someone sat down next to me. I turned my head, mentally preparing to tell Grey that this wasn't the time for more flirting, but I was surprised- almost shocked, really- to find out that it was Nicholai who had sat down next to me.

We locked eyes, but after a few second where he did nothing- and said even less- I turned my attention back to Khal. "Khal, Jerremyah knows you didn't mean it-" A poor choice of words, given the nature of his abilities. "He knows you didn't mean to say it, and probably meant even less to see it in the first place." His nod was as heavy as an anvil. "He'll forgive you eventually, when he comes to terms with the fact that you're doing this to keep us all safe." Khal looked at me for the first time since his eyes had turned white, and he seemed almost as heartbroken as Jerremyah had.

"Evie..." He trailed off like he didn't know what to say, then cleared his throat somewhat awkwardly. "Thank you isn't enough." It was more than enough to me- "Can I give you a piece of advice?" Nuria made a noise in the back of her throat that was distinctly disapproving.

"Khal, considering what just happened, do you really think it's best practice to-" He cut her off with a gentle squeeze of her hand- the one that had apparently made him bleed- and a tired smile.

"I know. I appreciate the concern, but I don't need to do more than skim the surface for this." She looked unhappy, but gave no further complaints when he moved his focus back to me. "Walk, don't run. Bianca. Blue daisy. And..." He paused to consider this, and I knew by their lack of reaction that I was the only person that noticed when his eyes flashed white for a split second. "Pip will set you free."

(A/N): Translations (French):

Salut, mon amour. C'est moi. C'est moi. C'est toujours moi, ce sera toujours moi. = Hello, my love. It's me. It's me. It's always me, it will always be me.

Info:

Lisbetocaine = Lisbet-ocaine. This is not a reference to cocaine, it's specifically a reference to lidocaine, but really to all anesthetics with that suffix. Basically, Evie is saying that Jerremyah needs what is the worlds most effective pain killer when it comes to him: Lisbet. (Lisbetocaine is also partially effective on those named Leo, but some side effects may include: blushing, nonverbal segments, lashing out, or uncontrollable purring.)