"The day we met, you left, my heart was broken... Broken... Never again...." Keely's eyes blazed as she ended the soulful rock song.
She sighed and rested her cheek on the top of the accoustic guitar laying across her lap. Another night of insomnia gripped her, but it was at times like these that she wrote her best music. Besides, anything was better than going to sleep. Dreams... Nightmares came with sleep.
Suddenly the doorbell rang. Keely frowned. It was probably a vampire. They cared nothing for manners.
"What do you want?" She glared at the man, Morgead, when she opened the door to find him standing in front of her.
"No hello? Tsk. Manners today just aren't what they used to be." He said sidestepping her into the living room.
"Hello. Now can you get out of my house?"
"Can't, sorry. Nice place." He sank gratefully into a leather armchair, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. Keely ignored his odvious exhaustion and stood in front of him glaring.
"I know. How did you know where I live... Ah, never mind. I really don't want to know-"
"The dreams have started, haven't they?" He interrupted without moving or opening his eyes to look at her.
"What dreams?"
"No use lying, Keely. You're not too good at it."
"I was not-"
"Yes you were. You dream of screams, blue fire, blood staining the ground, the stench of death... The Wars."
"How did you know all that?" Keely was fascinated by his words despite her annoyance at his interrupting her everytime she tried to get a word in edgewise. She sat on the edge of the table in front of the armchair still staring at him intently.
"Because I have lived your dreams." He slowly opened eyes that were full of such pain that she gasped softly at the look of them. To live what she had only dreamed of... Keely began to see Morgead in a whole new light.
"A new prophecy has been unearthed. A new Circle Daybreak has been put together bringing in old and new members. The Night World is ending. A... Unified world is approaching. Humans, witchs, vampires, shapeshifters, werewolves, dragons.... All will be inified. Those who oppose it... well, they'll cease to be. Circle Daybreak will succeed this time." His eyes turned hard with determination, "They have to."
"You talk of treason."
"I'm talking of equality. You know that, deep in your heart. You have always been treated as lower class to the vampires. Witchs are not as good, not as deserving. That's all you've ever been taught. Humans are worse. They are slaves, good for only food and labour. All this because they dared oppose the Night World five hundred years ago in a measure of self-defense."
"Why do you care? You're a vampire yourself. Higher class, remember?" Keely replied bitterly.
"I care because my soulmate was a crossbreed, the only crossbreed, of human and lamia." Again a great pain flashed in his green eyes.
"Impossible. And there is no such thing as soulmates." Disbelief warred with wonderment across her expressive face.
"I'm not going to argue with you on this too."
"Did she die?" Keely asked softly breaking the tense silence that had fallen between them.
"Yes, she did." Morgead, having gotten his emotions sufficiently under control, stared off into space expressionlessly. Inside though, he shattered over talking of Jez once again in the past tense.
"What was she like?" Keely felt an infinite curiousity about this woman who had died what appeared to be long ago, but still caused Morgead to feel such pain.
Morgead smiled an ageless smile and closed his eyes as he started talking. "Jez had a fierce beauty physically, but inside was where she really shone. Fierce, passionate...."
*********************
Leah woke slowly at the touch of a cool wetness against her forehead.
"Don't move, Leah." Her eyes focused enough to see Skye's blue eyes worriedly watching her.
"Find him..." Was all Leah got out before drifting back to sleep.
Skye stood, slowly stepping away from Leah's deeply sleeping form.
"She'll be okay... When she wakes up, feed her this," Skye showed Damon a small leather pouch full of herbs before putting it on the table beside Leah's bed, "because she'll have a hell of a headache."
"Hunter left about an hour ago on business, but you can leave anytime on my jet with the girls." He said motioning to Faith sitting solemnly at his side watching Skye, and Hope who was sprawled across his lap fast asleep. Skye smiled tenderly at them before scooping Hope up with one arm, and holding out her free hand for Faith.
"We should get going before he starts missing us." She smiled tiredly at Damon, and started for the door. Thelon, Hunter's appointed body guard for her, nodded at Damon and silently closed the door behind them.
Leah started whimpering in her sleep as soon as Skye was out of range until Damon threw his mind over her's in an attempt to protect it from whatever forces were trying to get at her. Instantly the force stopped, leaving Damon somewhat bemused about what is was. He sighed and moved to be by her side.
"Sleep my dear..." He stroked her hair as he lay down beside her on the large bed. She immediatly curled into his side and he wrapped an arm around her slender body. Damon's eyes closed, and as they did, he could feel wetness on his cheeks. Tears, most people would have said, but he knew better. The black dye flowed from his eyes unchecked leaving them a bright green that Stefan had had to hide since taking over Damon's persona about a hundred years or so ago.
