Title: Dark Angel
Author:Tapestry
Email: Shaddow_Cat@hotmail.com
Rating:R
Standard Disclaimer Apply
* denotes mind speaking
14/11/02

AN: SailorMoon characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi.
The vampire's abilites are based on Christine Feehan's Dark Series.

"Woman was created from the ribs of man
Not from his head to top him
Nor from his feet to be walked upon
She was made from his side to be his equal
From beneath his arms to be protected
From very near his heart to be loved."
--Anonymous--

AN: Much thanks to the reviewers :) for your comments on Chapter 8.
CrystallineLily, I purposely wrote that last bit at the bottom for
dramatism. :P Judging by your review, it worked....hehehehehehe.
Anyway, I won't bother you as most people don't read AN's anyway.
And by now, since it will be December, my exams are now over! Of
course, comes the hard part of waiting for the results. :p
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He was of a dark and ancient race on the verge of extinction,
She was a mortal thriving on the light and beauty of the world,
They met on a night of unspeakable horror...
With her strange abilities, she ensnared him in a web of desire even as
their souls called out to each other,
Promising eternity and a passion more fulfilling than anything on earth.


 ~ Chapter 9: Conversion ~

  Rain was falling.

  Thunder boomed and echoed, vibrating the very earth as the wind howled 
and lightning raced through the sky like jagged whips, illuminating a lone 
figure hurtling through the night sky, carrying with him, a very precious 
burden.

  The lone individual that kept the darkness at bay.

  His life.

  His light.

  His love.

  His Serena...

  His heart was pounding, threathening to burst from his chest. She felt 
so light in his arms. Limp and unresponding. Cold.
He bent his head over her golden one in an effort to protect her from the 
falling drops of water, uncaring it was a futile effort. Both were soaked 
to their skins, their clothes plastered to their bodies. He would never 
forget tonight....

  Not even a hundred years from now.

  He would never forget the horror, the sacrifice she had done. For him. 
Would never forget holding her pale limp body in his arms. The air of 
fragility and vulnerablity that had encompassed her dying being. He felt 
as if he was an extra hundred years old at the moment.

  He wouldn't be surprised if he found white and grey in his raven black 
hair, though God above knew he had never known any of his race with greying 
and white hair due to old age.

  *We are nearly home, baby...* he whispered tenderly in his mind. He held 
her locked to him, mind and body. Not allowing her to slip away in fear 
from him.

  He landed on the slippery balcony, his foot sliding to the floor, 
falling to one knee. He grimaced, struggling back up, trying not to 
jostle his precious burden. The balcony doors burst open, banging the 
wall, not caring as most of the glass panes cracked, some shattering and 
falling to the ground.

  Stepping into the room, he laid Serena gently on the bed as if she were 
made of glass and needed gentle tender handling. Her skin was pale and wet.
  Laying a hand over her brow, he cursed. Her forehead was hot as hellfires!
Tearing at her wet garments, he automatically fashioned a thick fluffy towel,
rubbing her down.
  While he could naturally regulate his body temperature, Serena was still 
human and could not do the same. He worried for her.

  She was still unconscious and the conversion, he was certain, would take 
place soon. He brushed a damp strand away from her face.

  *Serena...baby, baby...please, awaken. I need you.*

  Her eyelashes flickered. Slowly, he saw blue eyes that were dazed and
confused. The fever...

  "Serena."
  "Darien?" came her soft whisper.
  "I'm here, love."

  Laying a hand over her head, he attempted to soothe her, bring down her 
fever, but she grasped at his hand, clutching at it like a lifeline.
  "You're alive..."

  "Yes, love. I am." he murmured, pressing a kiss to her forehead. Her
colour alarmed him. No longer a pale grey white but burned a ruddy scarlet 
colour. Beads of sweat gathering on her forehead. He felt the first ripple 
of unease rip through him.

  "Darien!"

  His eyes locked with her own, desperate, confused and scared. She looked so 
vulnerable, so frightened. Her grip was harder now and he then knew that the 
conversion was taking place.

  "It hurts, Darien...why does it hurt?" she whimpered, clutching his
hand and squeezing her eyes shut. Tears slipped out beneath her lashes.
She felt as if she were burning one moment and freezing the next. Pain hit her 
body, felt as if someone had ripped out her internal organs.

  She heard someone screaming and realized it was her own voice. She
screamed loud, a shrill cry of pain that lasted as long as each wave of
pain.

  Darien watched in fear as her body shook. He was in her mind, trying to 
soothe her, take away as much of the suffering that was possible. He cradled 
her body within the crook of his arms, laying a hand on her belly. Held her 
tightly as her back arched, contorted only to slam back down against him.
  Sweat and blood beaded on her head just as he knew there was the same on 
his own. Serena huddled against him, trying to muffle her cries against his 
chest.

  A blood red tear slipped from his eyes at the pain she was going through. 
All because she had chosen to save him. She was suffering because of 
his carelessness. He held her close as she tried to crawl from him, watched 
as she vomited over the side of the bed, her body rejecting the last vestige 
of its human origins, the toxins and fluids.

  He lay her down on the bed, the rain still beating down outside the 
house. She opened her eyes and looked at him.

  Darien winced. Her eyes were glassy pools of pain, shining with unshed 
tears. His thumbpad brushed the moisture away from the corner of her eyes. 
He knew this was only a brief moment of relief.

  "Darien....?"
  "What is it, love?"
  "It's starting again." whimpered Serena, shutting her eyes as the 
pain came once more, shooting up her spine, invading her limbs from her 
belly.

  It felt to her as if every last cell in her body was rejecting her. 
She thrashed on the bed and cried out. Every part of her burned. It felt 
like fire ants crawling over her skin, under it.

  Darien held tightly to her wrists, stopping her from injuring herself, 
stopping her from trying to claw her skin away. His heart ached at her 
efforts.

  Shutting his eyes and hugging her, he swiftly took control of her mind 
and commanded her to sleep. She welcomed the swift blackness that took 
her from the pain. The last thing she remembered before giving herself 
over to the swirling void, was Darien bending over her, whispering in her 
ear.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Darien dared to breathe a sigh of relief as the final stages of
conversion ended. He felt a faint prickle of unease, a warning. Glancing 
over his shoulder, he knew the sun would rise soon.
  With a wave of his hand, the balcony doors slammed shut, the tinkle of 
glass echoing as broken pieces fell to the floor. The thick balcony drapes
closed out the light.

  Wearily, he cleaned up the mess that had been made and glanced back to 
the pale woman that lay like dead above the covers. He needed to rest, but 
was reluctant to leave Serena. He did not want her awakening tonight to 
find herself beneath the ground. He would not subject her to it.

  Standing over her, he pulled the covers over her naked body. Her blonde 
curls spread about her, her face angelic. He spied the bruise by her mouth 
and brushed over it tenderly with his thumbpad. His blood boiled. Those 
men had hit her. If they were not already dead, he would have once again 
delighted in killing them, tearing them piece by piece.

  "I love you, Serena..." whispered Darien as he brushed a kiss over her 
forehead, her eyelids and her mouth. He needed the healing earth...he 
needed to be at full strength to help Serena face the challenges ahead.
  He pulled the thick bed curtains shut. He would take no chance that 
the wind would disturb the balcony drapes.

  Lastly he placed the strongest safeguards he knew to protect Serena. 
No one would disturb her and live.


  Descending to the chamber beneath the earth, Darien examined his injuries 
once more before opening the soil and gently floating in. He worried about 
the problems that would come with the next rising. Worried about Serena.

  She was sure to reject his way of life, unable to stomach the idea of
drinking blood. They had already established that fact earlier in their
relationship. So what could be done now? She was already like him. One of 
his race. Able to tolerate the light but barely. Her human mind would no 
doubt protest.

  These troubles assailed his mind until he closed the earth about him 
and shut down his body, sending himself into the resting sleep of his 
people. The rising would bring with it, terrible complications and pain, 
but one problem stuck out brightly within his thoughts.

  Had Serena made it through the conversion? It was his last thought 
before the resting sleep claimed him.


  It was hours later when the first sound of life once again echoed in the 
deep chamber. Soil spewed from the earth like a geyser. Darien hovered 
over the air scanning his surroundings for any disturbance.

  Rain was still beating a rhythmic tattoo on the roof. His human servants 
went about their duties unconcerned. His unit was already awake and 
beginning to roam about the mansion.
  Malcolm reported back Geoffrey was better, that he was accepting blood, 
but felt it was still a risk to allow Geoffrey to wander lest he try to 
destroy himself.

  Darien agreed and broke away from the link, his restless mind searching, 
always coming back to center on the tiny being in his room. Worry ate at 
him. What if something had gone wrong? Was she insane now? His heart 
clenched unable to bear the thought.

  He streaked through the house with his speed, puzzling a few maids at 
the sudden gust of wind that had swept by them. Stopping outside the door, 
he stayed his hand at the door. Pushing it open slowly, he stepped into 
the chamber, shutting the door behind him.
  The room was dark, but he saw everything as clear as if it were day. 
The window drapes were still in place, as were the bed curtains. His senses 
picked up no movement within the room.

  Serena still lay on the bed as if dead.

  Brushing the curtains open, he sat down on the bed. He stared at her 
face, afraid to awaken her in case she had become a deranged vampiress. 
A part of him wanted to keep her this way, so he would not have to know 
the answer.
  Would not have to know if something had gone awry and he had to destroy 
her. He would not survive that. The selfish side of him whispered that 
at least she would be by his side.

  His large hand cupped her face, feathering over her smooth alabaster 
skin. His eyes moved over her face lovingly until they narrowed at the 
faint bruise marring the skin beside her lower lip.

  His thumb feathered over it. Rememberance of the night before scored his 
mind. Anger lanced through him.

  In the end, he awoke her for the simple reason that he wanted to see her 
eyes. Wanted to see the life in them. Needed to know she was alive.
He leaned close to her, felt a puff of breath on his face and smiled. He 
waited for her to open her eyes, his hand still brushing her face while his 
free hand clutched one of her hands to his chest.

  "Baby, baby..."

  Her ridiculously long eyelashes fluttered, lifting to reveal crystal 
blue eyes. His breath caught as she stared up at him and suddenly 
revealed a dazzling smile.

  "Darien...you're alive." she whispered. Her hand lifted to brush his 
face for confirmation. "You're real..."

  Darien felt tears at his eyes.

  Staring at her, he felt them run down his face. She brushed it away 
with her fingers. Her eyes puzzled and questioning. His lips trembled, 
as she stared up lovingly at him.
  He gave a jagged cry of joy, burying his head within the crook of her 
neck, his arm gathering her body to him, hugging her within his protective 
embrace.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Serena awoke to the night, knowing she was not human anymore. She could 
hear all that went about in the house. Hear the butler and the housekeeper 
argue. A maid's amourous doings somewhere close. Her sense of smell was 
stronger. She could smell Darien sitting beside her.

  The moment she had opened her eyes, she knew all her senses had been
enhanced. She could see Darien clearly as if it were day. Her fear had 
then been swept away with the look in Darien's eyes. The worry. The 
fear. The leap of joy. She had not been able to help but smile. He was 
alive. That was all that mattered. She loved him.

  She would not be the cause of his pain. She had brushed his tears away, 
puzzled with them. He buried his head in the crook of her neck, hugging 
her to him. One of her hands were clutched within his, so she only had her 
one hand to stroke the dark locks of his head.

  She watched his face as he lifted it from her neck. He stared straight 
at her, his eyes hard with intent.

  "You will NEVER do that again, baby." whispered Darien as he claimed her 
lips in a kiss. His mouth hungry and needy, exploring her own. Her blood 
boiled within her veins.

  When they broke the kiss, she stared dazed at him. "Do what?"

  "Do what?! Do WHAT??! You will never place your life in that sort of
danger again. I cannot survive it." growled Darien imperiously, his 
breath warm against her lips.

  Serena wriggled, glaring at his face.

  "You can't just order that, Darien! You were dying! I did what I did
because I didn't want you to die!" hissed Serena.

  "Still, it is better you live, than I lose you."
  "What do you think about me?? I want you to live too!"

  Darien stared at her.

  "I would rather you were alive too! I don't want you to die! I 
couldn't bear it, especially when I would know I could have saved 
your life." cried Serena, tears falling from her eyes. "It's just like 
you to look a gift horse in the mouth! You and your stupid male 
chauvinistic backward ways! Well, I won't have it, Darien! You're just 
as import-"

  Darien cut her off with a breath stealing kiss.

  Her cheeks flushed. "That's another bad habit of cutting me-"

  He kissed her again, effectively silencing her tirade.

  "Darien! Stop-"

  His lips fell on hers before she could finish the sentence again.

  "Darien!"
  "Hmm?"
  "Will you stop it!?"
  "Only if you stop badgering on and on." grinned Darien. "And who is
chauvinistic and backward?" exclaimed Darien feigning outrage.

  "You. Prince Barbarian."

  Darien tickled her. "I'm Darien, heir to the leadership of my people 
and your mate for life."

  "Prince Egghead."

  Darien mock growled and tickled her until she was gasping. Retaliating 
with a deep hot kiss that left the both of them breathless.

  They stared at each other in silence, their breathing heavy.

  "You're still recuperating." murmured Darien.
  "I'm fine." whispered Serena as she looped both arms about his neck.
  "Serena...."
  "You talk too much."

  He was pulled downwards and instantly, forgot about his excuses. God, 
he wanted her as never before! Needed to prove to himself she was 
alright. That she would be with him forever.
  His mouth played at her breasts as his hand went south, brushing the
curls between her legs. Serena whimpered.
  "Darien..."
  "I love you."

  He was gentle, not wanting to hurt her. His tongue stroked a warm 
caress over the bruise near her mouth. His saliva carrying a healing 
agent, soothed the hurt.
  His hands clasped with both of hers, tears falling from his eyes as he 
stared down at her.

  She was beauty in his world. She was the only one who could bring the
gentleness within him, out. And he feared she would hate him because of
what she had become.

  His lips claimed hers as he loved her, moving his hips at a frantic 
pace, wanting to escape reality just a little while longer. Before he 
had to feed her and see the revulsion in her eyes.

  Serena gasped, his mouth hot and demanding. She sensed his thoughts. 
Knew the guilt that was eating at him. She felt sad to know that he 
thought she would ever hate him. She could never hate him. She had chosen 
this path with full knowledge of what she would become.

  She loved him.

  "Darien..."
  A growl answered her.

  Unintimidated, she forged on even as she felt her breath catch and 
her pleasure rise and peak. Her mind went blank for a moment before she
recalled the point she needed to make.

  "Your fear is unwarranted. I could naver hate you, or turn from
you in revulsion. I am your mate for life. I love you. More than 
anything in this world. You mean everything and I hope you will be 
here to guide me through this time in my life." whispered Serena, 
kissing his jaw lightly.

  Surprised, she felt moisture fall on her cheeks.

  "God Serena, how had I ever existed without you? I love you, baby..."
  "I love you too. Now, no more talking please."

  A gruff chuckle answered her as he kissed her, his hands tightening on 
hers. She lost thought then as his loving picked up pace again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  It was later when he returned from feeding. He had left her sleeping on 
the bed, sated and content. He had felt insatiable. In fact, he still 
wanted her. But first thing was first, he would feed her.

  "Serena..."

  She snuggled deeper into the bed.

  "Baby, you have to feed to keep your strength up." he chuckled, nuzzling 
her bare shoulder.
Her hand came up to swat him away, burying her head into the pillows like 
some woodland creature bent on hibernating.

  He chuckled. "Serena," he purred. He saw a blue eye open and shut back 
again. A humph came up muffled from the pillows.
  "C'mon lazybones. I swear, you're the laziest woman I've ever met."

  Her eyes opened again, glaring at him. "And just how many have you met?"

  Darien grinned and inclined his head. "Oh, a few here, a few there over 
the centuries. But you're definitely the laziest." he teased jokingly.

  She caught the laughing tone in his voice and smirked up at him.
 "Only after sex."

  He laughed.

  "You must feed, baby." he said afterwards, sobering. Watched as her nose 
scrunched up. "Come on, lazy." he swighed, dragging her languid body up.

  "But Darien, I can't drink blood." whispered Serena.
  "Serena..."
  "I just can't."
  "I could help you, Serena. Put you in a trance."

  Serena shook her head. "Then you would have to do that everytime. That 
would probably be damned inconvenient at times."

  Darien frowned.

  She watched as a gleam entered his eyes and she backed away on the bed, 
warily. Watching his expression reminded her of the old black and white 
movies that were sometimes aired on television. The way mad scientists 
looked.

  "We could try it another way."
  "What way? And why are you smiling like that? It's creeping me -OUT!"
shrieked Serena as she suddenly felt hands all over her body. Knew Darien 
was projecting the thought in her mind.

  He gathered her to him. Felt him kiss her shoulder.
  "Wasn't this a feeding session?"
  "Mmhmm..."


  Serena lay dazed on the bed, staring at the canopy. She had no idea where 
Darien had gotten off to, and she didn't want to know. Not until she 
recovered. Oh, he had fed her alright. Fed her when she'd been distracted 
by hot wild lustful love making.

  Gods, she never knew feeding could be so erotic and arousing.


  Darien wandered downstairs, a smug smile on his face. He bumped into
his sister. Her puzzled eyes eyeing him suspiciously.

  "You're in a good mood."
  "Mm-hmmm." He seemed to be doing that a lot this rising.
  "How is Serena?"
  "She's resting." smiled Darien. "Have the others gone out already?"
  "Jayden is still here. Malcolm is checking on Geoffrey again, so yes, 
the others are out." said Raye ticking her fingers.

  "Thank you. I will go out to patrol now." nodded Darien.

  Standing outside and looking up at the sky, he inhaled. The night was
damp, houses and trees dripping wet from the recent storm. He smiled.
Serena was fine and was slowly coming to accept what she had become. At
the moment, all was right in the world except for the dark cloud in the
horizon. Dylan.

  *Darien?*
  A grin creeped onto his face. *Yes, baby?* he purred.
  *Stop being so smug! I just wanted to tell you I'm very unhappy with 
you. You tricked me!*

  Serena sensed his chest swell with pride, which was so goddamn irritating.
  She had sat up from the bed, feeling limp and sated, every part of her 
anatomy tingling embarrassingly, plus, she had not been the least bit 
hungry. Another way to feed her my foot. He had merely distracted her.

  *Tricked you in what way, love?*
  *Distraction is not considered another way of feeding. I thought you
meant intravenously.*
  *Whatever works.*
  *Stop that!*
  *Stop what?*
  *That! Being so smug, like an intentful panther twitching its tail in
victorious satisfaction.*
  *You must admit, I deserve the 'tail-twitching', love.*
  *Oh, go away!*
  *You started the conversation.*
  *Yes, and I'm ending it.*

  Laughter echoed in her mind and faded as Serena felt lips travelling 
down her cheek to her throat, a nip of teeth and it was gone. She 
shivered and with a groan, sank down onto the bed, pulling the covers 
over her head.

  Darien chuckled. Leaping up into the air and changing shape in mid-air, 
he flew upwards into the night in the form of a bird of prey.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  He sank his fangs into the vulnerable throat of the blonde, blue-eyed
woman. His hatred festered. The woman struggled in his arms, trying to push 
him away even as she felt her life drain from her body. Her mouth was 
open in fear, but no sound came out.

  He knew the woman was mute. All the better, as it would have been messy 
with her screaming and causing a ruckus.
  In his mind, he invisioned another blonde with blue eyes. A blonde with 
a laughing smile in the arms of a dark haired man looking just like him. 
Rage rose at the image. He wanted the woman dead.

  He wanted Serena dead. It wasn't fair. His brother was the heir. Their 
parents' favourite son. The perfect son that could do no wrong. The brother 
who had even found and gotten a mate first.

  The blonde slid to the ground, lifeless. With cold frightened eyes, he 
stared at the corpse that lay before his feet. This woman wasn't his
brother's mate. No, his brother's mate was no longer human, but one of
their race. The first human to have been successfully converted.

  Cruelly, he kicked the dead woman back into some thorny bushes, out of 
sight from humans. With that, he walked out into the night, his hatred 
hanging about him like a cloak.



  Serena paced about the mansion feeling trapped. Tonight would be her
twelth night as a 'vampire'. She had recently begun the habit of sleeping 
underground with Darien, which to her felt like a burial. Although she 
did awaken in a bed feeling refreshed.

  However, she was in a foul mood tonight. Darien hadn't allowed her to
leave the mansion without him. The argument which had occured after their 
usual bout of 'bed activities', had entailed shouting.
  Well, actually she had been the one shouting. The idiot didn't shout. 
No, never at her. It was a nice thing, though at the time she'd only felt 
aggravated by him.

  He'd kept her in for almost TWO WEEKS! All because his undead twin had 
been silent lately and he'd been uneasy finding the blonde blue-eyed 
corpse left behind by Dylan. Darien had not understood the saying 'no news, 
was good news.'
  So, she'd opted to stay in, AWAY from him. And, arrogant princey male
that he was, he'd merely shrugged and left to find any clue on his brother's 
whereabouts, reading her desire to be alone.

  *Serena?*
  *....*

  There was a sigh. *Are you still angry at me? You cannot not talk to me 
forever you know. I only do this for your safety, baby.*

  *Go away.*

  *At last, some words.*
  *You stink, you know that, Darien?*
  *I know I am the sexiest most handsome stinker alive. You like my eyes, my 
hair, my lips, my shoulders....and you think I have great buns.*

  Serena's face flamed. Oh, he was teasing her. He was probably 30 miles away, 
and he was teasing her. So what if she did think he had a pretty backside? 
Wasn't he suppose to belong to her?

  *Mmm-hmmm...I belong to you and you, are MINE.* he purred.
  *Oh shut up.*
  *I love you too." came laughter.

  It faded in her mind as a flood of warmth and love assailed her. 
Serena huffed and flopped into a chair. It was so difficult staying 
angry at the man. Especially since they ran about each other's head.

  The ringing of the telephone snapped her out of her contemplation.

  "Miss Serena, there is a call for you. A Mr. Andrew Roland?"
  "Andrew!" exclaimed Serena surprised. "Thank you."

  Lifting the receiver to her ear, Serena smiled. It had been awhile since 
she'd saw him.

  "Andrew?"
  "Serena! Where've you been? It's been awhile. Oh, sorry about the last 
time I called you out."
  "What?"
  "You know, losing you in the fog?"

  Her mind sped back to the horrible night. The night she had seen Darien's 
twin brother. Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to banish the memory of 
that night from he mind. Trying to school her voice into a breezy laugh, 
Serena swallowed.

  "It's alright, Andrew. No harm done."
  "Are you alright, Serena?"
  "Yes, fine. I'm just tired."
  "I should say! I called once in the morning, oh-say...3 days? They 
said you were out. I've never known you to go out in the mornings."

  "Yes, well...Darien insisted, and since I'm on leave from work, I 
really had nothing to do."
  "Say, why don't you come out for a drink? Talk abit. I could call the
gang."
  "That would be lovely, but-..." Serena stopped. It was just a harmless 
drink. What could happen? Besides, the apeman was being very stuffy and 
at the moment, she was still feeling a tad bit rebellious.

  "But?" prompted Andrew.
  "Nothing. Call the gang, I'll meet you guys at San Francisco's in half 
an hour?"
  "Perfect. See you there. Lita and Mina are really missing you. Of course, 
Alan and Melvin still can't believe you're dating Mr. Big-Shot." laughed 
Andrew.
  "Yeah, tell them I'm okay alright? I guess Alan will be bringing Ann?"
  "Yup. I'm telling you, that girl's got no friends of her own. Oh yeah, 
Mina will want to bring her new hottie boyfriend."

  Serena laughed. Mina changed boyfriends as often as she changed socks. 
Which was frequent.

  "Who?"
  "Some guy named Alanisdair Lucas Walling the third."
  "Alanisdair?"
  "It's a family name. He's from England."
  "I'll bet."
  "Yeah, wait 'till you see him. Brownish hair streaked with blonde. Blue 
eyes. Nice build. 'Course, he's nothing if you're comparing him to your 
man and his friends. " teased Andrew.
  "Okay, okay...see you."
  "Yeah. see you."

  Serena laughed as she replaced the phone on the hook. At least Darien
didn't know she was going out. He needed to cut with the babying. This
baby was rebelling.

  *Are you alright?*

  Serena jumped in surprise. *Darien? I'm fine, why?*

  *I got this huge surge of satisfaction and triumph. Are you up to
something? Because I have this funny feeling of foreboding.*

  *Oh, leave it Darien! Can't a girl feel triumph over somthing? Where's 
the big sexy stinker attitude?*

  *Being wary because he knows his mate is a troublemaker.*

  Serena rolled her eyes. *Go stick your head in ice.*

  *Impertinence baby. Impertinence. This impudent behaviour will tempt 
me to turn you on my knee and spank you.* growled Darien playfully.
  *Really kinky, love. But I'm not a masochist. And I know for a fact
you're not a sadist.*
  *I love you, Serena...you have to stay safe.*

  Serena felt a surge of love wash over her. Warm arm holding, and
protective. A twinge of guilt assailed her at her little rebellion. She
could feel his love, his need of her in his life. The madness that lay
simmering at the bottom.
  Ruthlessly, she quashed the guilt and merely sent reassurance back to 
him. She was fine. Nothing was going to happen, right?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Serena reached the coffee shop, feeling uneasy. Something was wrong, but 
she couldn't put her finger on it. The uneasiness was growing every minute 
she was outside the mansion.
  She had a sense as if something was waiting to happen. Much like the 
time when she'd felt the presence of someone watching her and Claire.

  Claire.

  It was almost 3 months since that time. Was she missing Darien, or 
were her strange abilities that Darien had decreed psychic senses, 
warning her of danger?

  "Serena!" called a feminine voice.

  Smiling she waved her hand. It had been so long since she'd seen these 
people. She had of course, missed Lita and Mina. They had known each other 
in college. The three of them drawn together, instinctively knowing they 
were different from others.


  Andrew smiled, hiding his in-drawn breath of awe. Serena was looking 
even more beautiful than the last he'd seen of her. Haunting was probably 
the word to describe her beauty.

  "Andrew, Mina, Lizzie, Lita, Alan! It's been so long!"

  Mina and Lita moved to hug Serena. Squeezing the petite blonde fondly.

  "Yes, well...you should try to keep in touch more often, even if you DO 
have a boyfriend now." Lita mock reprimanded.

  "You're looking more enchanting than ever, Serena." murmured Alan,
mesmerized.

  The look in his eyes startled her. She'd always known Alan had had some 
feelings for her, but this time, he was staring at her in an odd way that 
made her skin crawl.
  She recognized the look from Darien's eyes. Desire. It discomfited her 
where with Darien it made her feel sinful.

  "Rena, this is my boyfriend, Alanisdair Lucas Walling the third." smiled 
Mina, introducing the blonde man next to her.

  "Nice to meet you." said Serena.
  "A pleasure. Call me Lucas."

  Offering her hand, the man grasped it firmly, shaking it. His thumb
feathered over the inside of her palm. Her stomach recoiled.

  Her eyes jerking upwards, she met his burning blue eyes, flaming with
lust. Tearing her hand away, Serena clenched it by her side. This brought 
her attention to her heightened senses.

  She heard the rush of blood through veins, almost deafening her. Smelled 
the night air as well as the overpowering smell of food and arousal. Garlic 
and onions in sandwiches, sausages and mustard. It made her nauseous. She 
could feel the eyes of men around her, staring, lusting, leering. It was 
enough to make her bolt for the safety of the mansion or Darien's arms.

  Fearing he would sense her apprehension, Serena forced herself to relax. 
Sitting between Lita and Mina, away from Alan and Lucas provided a bit of 
relief but did not chase the strange sensation in her stomach away.

  Her eyes rested on Ann, staring at her intently. She sensed her jealousy.

  "Where's your handsome boyfriend, Darien Alessandros?" asked Ann.
  "He had family business." replied Serena. Her senses were working
overtime, trying to pinpoint the strange feeling that filled the air.

  The wind picked up, leaves and branches rustling. Dark clouds moved
overhead in the night sky, the moon, a silver orb emerging behind the cover 
of clouds shining brightly.

  Lita sighed and stared up at the sky.

  "Looks like rain. We've been getting a lot of that lately."
  "Yes, a very damp month." agreed Elizabeth.

  Suddenly, an evil presence thrust into her mind, the invasion so
aggresive even Darien who was not monitoring her mind on the other side of 
the city felt it. She knew it had to be Dylan.

  Shooting up from her seat abruptly, the chair overturned. Her friends
rose, worried. Lita and Mina especially. She felt sick as the undead
proceeded to invade her memories, pulling out the ugly scene of Claire's 
death.

  *Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! Darien, help me!* screamed Serena afraid, 
as the vision of blood and death danced before her eyes. She felt 
violated, unclean.

  *Leave her, Dylan.* snarled a familiar voice.

  The pounding pressure in her head merely intensified. She stumbled to her 
knees and Mina and Lita were instantly by her side.

  The horrible silent cries that echoed in her mind, the fear in Claire's 
eyes as her face turned white, leaked of all colour. Remembered the vile 
evil stench that had filled the air. The horrid laughter that had seared 
itself into her mind.

  The splatter of blood that had stained her person. The sticky red liquid 
that had left a puddle on the ground.
  The cold eyes that had pierced her. Of insidious whispers telling her 
she would be next.

  The sky darkened and Serena screamed.


  "Serena!" exclaimed Lita.

  *Oooh, Darien...look, more psychics.* taunted Dylan.

  Darien searched for the mental path that his brother was using, intent on 
eradicating it, even as he streaked through the sky. Damn it, why did Serena 
have to be so stubborn and leave the mansion?

  Finding it, Darien proceeded to extinguish the mental path.


  Serena lay curled on the ground, the invasion no longer there, but the 
images and memories still vivid and alive in her mind. She couldn't focus on 
anything. Not the dark clouds, not the stinging chill of the winds.

  *Serena, I need you to look about you! You are still in danger! Dylan is 
close by, baby.* exclaimed Darien fearful.

  Tears leaked out from her eyes as the bloody images loomed before her
eyes. She shut her eyes, wanting merely to drift off into the healing sleep 
of the race she had become.

  *Serena!*
  *I'm sorry, I'm just so tired...* she protested weakly in a small voice.

  A shadow loomed over her.

  She sensed a presence. The in-drawn breaths. The silence of her friends.
  She felt the pounding sense of fear radiating from the people around her.

  Her eyes opened, and she saw Darien's face grinning evilly down at her.

  Dylan...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
To be continued...

It's only slightly longer than the previous chapter. Sorry for not getting 
this chapter out earlier, but I wasn't sure how to write it as well as my 
desire to be free and letting go for awhile. (Hey! My final exams were over 
and it was end of school! Of course I'm taking advantage to hang with 
friends!) I had planned to make this chapter longer with Dylan...but I 
decided finally on cliffhanger. :p Hope you like this chapter. It really 
doesn't seem as dark to me anymore. *Compared to my first few chapters*
Reviews please! This story of course, is ending soon. *Whew*

18/12/02
Edited: 20/12/02