* I’m going to warn you all, this is a long chapter! Not very exiciting I know but vital! Hehe!

Part Eight

Sitting in the crone’s magic shop she added the needed herbs and then mixed them in slowly creating a pink tinge to the deep purple mixture. A scent of vanilla orchids hung over the room as light mist started to form above the small pot in which she was creating a spell. Onyx and Jet sat opposite, watching her intently as she calculated each portion of every ingredient that was needed to make this spell work. She didn’t want to let the spell go wrong as it would lead to a wrong reading which could possibly make the situation even worse than it already was.

“He was pretty cute.” Amethyst said smiling. Jet, Onyx and Astrid turned to look at her, worry written all over their faces. If another one of them fell for him it would make things much harder than they needed to be.

“Please tell me you’re not being serious! He’s blonde!” Jet said as if it was the most ludicrous thing in the world.

“No I’m not saying I like him, I’m just saying that I can see why she does like him. Plus his accent was sweet as well… if he’s her soul mate we’re going to have a hard job keeping them apart… soul mates alone are supposed to be inseparable but when it’s those two and how good looking they both are… it’s going to be like separating a giant granite rock from it’s centre.” Amethyst said thoughtfully. “Hang on what’s wrong with blondes?”

“Nothing… I just prefer darker haired men.”

“Can you two stop discussing what type of men you like? This spell is hard enough as it is without you two going on throughout it.” Astrid cried out as an extra drop of her potion was added than necessary. Would that make a difference? Hopefully not…

“Sorry… anyway what are you trying to find out now. We know who he is and what he is and basically everything about him, so what else do we need?” Jet asked as she played with her thick black hair. Behind her Onyx was plaiting white glittering thread in, so that as she walked her hair would seem to shimmer in the sunlight.

“We need to know why they have to be kept apart! We could just ask the crone but she staying with Lucas whilst discussing important night world decisions. It’s a bigwig conference really…” Astrid said as much to herself as Jet. In a few minutes the spell would be done and hopefully she would get the answers she needed. Focusing so hard and for such a long period of time was starting to tire her but she knew that if she wanted to help her cousin then this what she had to do.

“About what?” Onyx asked.

“I’m not a bigwig so I don’t know. But everyone is there… even Phoenix…” At this point all of the girls sighed as they thought of the heavenly object which was known as Phoenix. Head of the made vampires and the coldest being you had ever seen and yet… so beautiful it could take your breath away. Of course none of them actually wanted to be with him but dreaming about him being good and rescuing them never did any harm.

“It must be important if Phoenix is actually going to attend. Usually he blows things like that off… he’s such a rebel!” Amethyst said dreamily and rested her head on her hand as she drifted off into one of her fantasies.

“She’s gone…” Onyx said as she waved a hand in front of Amethyst’s face and got no response. She knew that look so well… each of them got it at one point or another when Phoenix was mentioned. He was just everything you could ever want… tall, dark, handsome, cut throat humour and a brilliant smile. If it wasn’t for the whole him being an evil heartless killer thing each of them would have pounced by now.

“Done! Oh goddess it’s done!” Astrid cried out happily and then clapped her hands in delight. The small bells that were attached to her belt jingled lightly making it seem like even more of a celebration.

“Can we look?” Onyx crept towards the bowl and placed her head in front of it without waiting for Astrid to answer. Amethyst and Jet also came up and stared into the pink and purple mixture that was starting to bubble and rotate inside of the bowl. Smoke poured out of it making the images that were starting to form seem distorted so none of them could see.

“Is that supposed to happen?” Jet asked looking worried. Never having been very good with potions this sort of magic baffled her.

“I’m not sure…” As Astrid spoke the mist cleared revealing what seemed to be writing but it wasn’t English. A few images circled around in the blow and then the writing returned. Although the images and writing were all in a very pure white which was normally associated with harmony, peace and love a bad feeling started to rise in all of them. The images and writing became faster and started to run into each other making even the images hard to understand until the small bowl started to rock on the counter and then flew against the wall, shattering into a million pieces.

“Wow! Was that supposed to happen?” Amethyst asked looking impressed.

“I…I… I’m not sure… the writing… it can’t be right…” Astrid said as she held her hands up to her mouth in fear.

“What? Could you read the writing?”

“Yes… I… it’s a very old language.”

“What did it say then! Come on you have to tell us!” Onyx jumped around excitedly, hoping this would be something fun.

“That… that boy! We have to keep him away from Kirsten… Oh goddess help us…” Astrid seemed to go into shock and started reciting prayer after prayer to every goddess there was. Jet grabbed Astrid’s shoulders and hushed her mouth.

“Astrid! What is going on?”

“The boy! If he and Kirsten remain together they will end the world…”

~*~

Stepping out into the harsh sun she slipped on some sunglasses and carried on walking. If her cousins caught her here she knew they would be severely disappointed and would try to put a spell on her, of course they would think it was for her own good but she knew better. How could kind lovable Christian be a threat to her? He was only a human after all! Unless… They couldn’t think she was in love with him or they would have reported her already. Maybe Astrid would hold off, try and make her see sense but the others would run to the elders as fast as their legs would carry them. Shaking away the annoying thoughts which had clogged her brain for so long she entered the only place she could be sure they would never go. The music room. For some reason they detested the music room whilst she could never get enough. Two grand pianos taking pride of place in the centre of the classroom, their ivory keys gleaming happily in the sunlight giving the classroom an elegant look which the others had yet to manage. White tiled floors with musical notes to symphonies and pop songs covered the floor whilst all around on the walls stood pictures and information about great artists. Hopefully one day she would be on that wall…

“So you came.” A voice said from behind. Jumping slightly she turned to find Christian standing there with a small flower in his hand.

“Yes. Why wouldn’t I?” Kirsten asked as she sat down by the piano.

“I hear that your cousins don’t want us to see or talk to each other. I would have thought you would listen to them.”

“Why would you think that?” Christian thought about all of the power those four witches possessed together, it was enough to scare most vampires and shape shifters and yet she wasn’t afraid. True they were family but then family ties aren’t always strong. Trying to think of something he could say without giving away the fact that he was a vampire he stared pensively out of the window trying to come up with something, anything that could answer her question.

“You seem like a very family orientated person and so I thought you would do what they say. Obviously not. I’m glad you came, I wanted to see you.” He thought she was family orientated? Could he be further from the truth? Of course if any of them were in trouble and she could help she would but in general she wouldn’t listen to a word they had to say.

“Really why?”

“I wanted to give you this.” Handing a dried black Ilex over to her he smiled slightly as the shock flooded through her eyes. Would she recognise this and come to the conclusion he was a vampire? He didn’t know but it would be fun finding out.

“What’s…this?” She asked nervously as she slowly fingered the leaves. This couldn’t be what she thought it was, that would be too perfect, well not necessarily perfect but workable. If the guy she was having these deeply intense feelings for was a night person she would be set… it wouldn’t mean death for her because she loved him. Christian… he couldn’t be a vampire! His name was wrong and he just couldn’t be…

“It’s a black ilex. I dried it out so that you could keep it forever… I find fresh flowers false as they die away after a while but dried… they last a lifetime.”

“Thank you it’s lovely.” Kirsten said as she continued to look at it. If he was vampire why hadn’t he just come out and said it by now? It would make things a lot easier and he knew it. He must know she was a witch… the fact that she had the witches flower on her ring should have been a good enough give away unless he was human… was that a good or bad thing?

“So do you want to start playing?” Kirsten nodded and swivelled around on her piano chair as Christian went to the other piano. After the last time they had played piano together they had decided separate pianos would be best as it would give them more space to work. The truth was Christian had felt her mind melt into his and had felt her, the inevitable was that she had felt him as well and he didn’t want that… his mind was his own and he didn’t want anyone else looking into it. Starting the song he tried to concentrate on the keys in front of him but found himself looking over to catch her playing. She looked so cute! Her hair fell into her eyes and every now and then she would poke her tongue out slightly when she got to a difficult part in the piece. Not wanting to play anymore he crossed the classroom and sat on the bench next to her so that her side was facing his front.

“Why did you stop?” She asked as she continued to play.

“Because… I want to get to know you. I know you’re a great piano player already but I want to know other things.” Kirsten rested her hands on the keys for a moment as the echo ran through the piano and then turned so she was facing him.

“What do you want to know?” She asked shyly. With a human you could only tell them so much so that you weren’t breaking night world law. If you told them you were a night person it would mean immediate death which meant you could never really share everything with a human. Maybe that was a good idea… they didn’t tend to love the unfamiliar. After all when they had discovered the first witches they had burned them at the stake! What a charming race…

“Do you have any siblings? What are your interests? What is your favourite colour?” Christian started to laugh at the last question, this was so not a vampire thing to do. He had certainly never had this conversation with Jane… Jane who was supposed to be the one he loved, the only one he had ever loved and yet for the past few days she hadn’t existed to him. That wasn’t fair…

“I have a sister but we don’t see each other very much. She lives in England. I am interested in preserving the Earth and keeping everything as pretty as can be and my favourite colour is yellow. How about you?”

“I have one brother but we don’t speak…ever! My interests are very limited, I’m a music guy and my favourite colour is silver.”

“Like your eyes.” Kirsten responded and then looked very embarrassed.

“What?”

“Your eyes… they’re silvery green. Very unusual.”

“Well my eyes may be unusual but you’re unusual all over. You are one of the most intriguing people I have ever met.”

“Why thank you. But is that a good thing?”

“It’s a very good thing.” Christian smiled reassuringly and went to place his hand on hers until he realised what would happen. Something was going on with this girl and he was going to find out what…

~*~

Standing by the altar she felt fear seize her heart whilst worry gripped every fibre in her body. The silver ritual letters ingrained into the solid vortex started to flash showing that they had done something right. Checking that her robes were immaculate and she wasn’t going to do anything to offend them she ran over to Astrid for final approval.

“I look okay don’t I? I don’t want to be turned into a rat!” Onyx cried out as what could happen finally sunk in.

“You look beautiful and they don’t turn you into a rat they turn you into a tree frog. Helps the world out more you know? You will need this.” Astrid handed her a small rustic vase with jewels incrusted onto it. Letters engraved into the vase started to glow as Onyx walked closer to the altar.

“Make sure you’re brief! Just ask your question and get out! Don’t make them mad and don’t babble!”

“If you’re such an expert why aren’t you going?” Onyx cried out as the stone vortex started to melt away and the bright light from beyond started to pierce through the dimensions and into their small alcove.

“Because I’m older and it has to be a maiden and I needed to cast the ritual now just go!” As Astrid’s words drained away she felt herself being dragged through dimensions and all she could see was bright white light which seemed to explode all around her. As quickly as it had started it faded away and she found herself in a temple with letters and pictures all over the walls. In front of her she could see a man and a woman dressed in lavish gold and blue togas talking to each other.

“Why do you seek the oracles oh lower being?” The man asked.

“I am Onyx a descendant of Hecate I have come to seek your knowledge.”

“What have you brought us?” The woman asked smiling.

“I have brought you this.” At this point in time she really wished she had asked Astrid what the hell this vase thing was. The woman seized it from her hands and touched it gently.

“This is old… it smells of emotions…I like it. You may proceed.”

“The wild powers are rising and we believe that our cousin is one. There seems to be a prophecy about herself and a boy…”

“Christian.” The woman interrupted.

“Yes that’s him, in the prophecy we read, it said together they would end the world. How are they going to do this, why and how do we stop it.”

“It is not our job to dispense tips on how to stop the world. Your own intellect should serve you with this one.” The man said and turned around.

“No… this… girl. Kirsten… she is special… this is our job, do you not remember the mothers?” The man turned around shocked and then faced Onyx again.

“They are predestined for each other. One of them is the wild power but we shall not tell you which. You need to keep them together as without the love of each other neither will survive and the world will end. Outside factors are going to try and break them apart, do not let it happen. The vampire is unusual… his decision will determine the salvation of the world. That is all.” Both figures turned away from her, satisfied with the information they had given her.

“What decision? You‘re speaking in riddles!” Onyx cried out. As soon as she said it she knew it was a mistake as the male oracle waved his hand which sent power through her body and made her go hurtling back through dimensions and straight into a wall.

“How did it go?” Amethyst asked eagerly.

“I angered them but I think we need to get that Darla girl to help us. If she is from the family who she says she is then we need her on our side. Something is going to happen and… we can’t stop it. It lies in Christian’s hands…

~*~

Sitting there together she watched carefully as he continued to laugh, she loved his smile it was infectious and she could never get enough. For hours now they had sat in the music room just talking and yet there had been no awkward silences or misinterpreted meanings, just familiarity.

“So who do you live with now then?” Christian asked.

“My grandmother… my mother died when I was very young. What about you?”

“I live on my own, my mum just walked out. She didn’t even say goodbye. Nice huh?” Although he was smiling she could tell that he was hurting and more than anything she wished she could take that pain away. It had become clear to her now that he was definitely a human and yet she didn’t care. She wanted to show him everything, she wanted him to know her like no one else. Know everything that there was to know about a person and then some. But that would mean… Was it really worth the risk? She had already broken the other night world law, she had fallen in love with him and she knew it. It had happened so fast but she had fallen over and over again for him just by how truly wonderful he was.

“I’m sure there was a good reason.” Kirsten said quietly.

“I don’t mind. I got over it a while ago now. Did you have a boyfriend in your last school?” Christian asked suddenly.
“I had boyfriends yes. Nothing very serious why?”

“So you don’t have a boyfriend now? Not even a small fling with someone?”

“No… Christian why are you…” She was interrupted by Christian pressing his lips against her own and the dizzying sweetness that came along with it. Although she could feel the bolts they weren’t as intense anymore, they didn’t seem painful just perfect. She felt his hands touch her legs and work up to her waist as he continued to kiss her. She never wanted to let him go… Eventually they did have to break away and by the pain that she felt because he was no longer touching her she knew what she had to do.

“Christian I have something to tell you and I don’t think you’re going to believe it.” Kirsten said quietly as she looked down at the floor. A part of her dreaded telling him this because she didn’t want to see the disgust on his face which might appear if he was closed minded.

“What’s that?” Christian asked. Shock rippled through him as he realised what she was about to tell him. She was going to break the first rule in night world law just for him… which inevitably meant she either had or thought she was going to break the second. She loved him? So soon? He knew he felt something for her and it was very strong so strong that he felt it was consuming him at times but was that love? What he felt for Jane he had thought to be love but now… he was just confused…

“I… I’m not like you. I’m a witch and I belong to a place called the night world. I’m not really sure why I’m telling you this but I want to know you and I think that unless you know that you never will…” She just told him. Looking up she tried to search his face for a reaction but didn’t seem to be getting one. His face seemed confused and yet calm… Was that normal?

“Well do you think I know you now?” Christian asked. He hadn’t a clue why he had just asked that it was just something to buy him some time. She had practically just committed suicide for him and yet he was torn. What she had just done was probably the nicest thing anyone had ever done for him and yet all he could think of was Jane and whether he should tell her he was a vampire.

“Not entirely… but I think you’re getting close.” Entwining his fingers with hers he pulled her close so that she was in a tight embrace with him. He didn’t know what he was doing or what he wanted except for knowing that he wanted her next to him now. Deciding against telling her he was a vampire he just held her tightly hoping that the small explosions that were going off in his head as they touched would block out the questions he was going to have to face…

* Ahhh well that’s the end of another chapter! Oh and Kate yes Hayes. That is me so get over it hehe! I hope everyone is doing alright! Take care! Taz *

~ If you need to fall apart, I can mend a broken heart, life you up and fly away with you into the night. Yes Kate, I still continue. ~