Angel of Death (con't):
* * * * *
"Destiny?" Delano called softly, peeking around their bedroom door.
There was no answer from Destiny, who was sitting on the bed, gazing out the window at the garden.
Effortlessly, he strode over towards her in silence. Reaching her, Delano placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.
Without warning, Destiny wrenched away violently.
"What--?" Delano started, bewildered. She just kept getting moodier by the minute!
"Did I SAY you could touch me?" Her eyes were like midnight fire, burning up at him. "What, you think you own
me?"
A frown creased Delano’s brow. "Destiny, I’m sorry if I--"
"I don’t want to hear it, Delano!" she cut him off angrily. "Why do you keep following me around? Can’t I have any time
to myself anymore? Why are you being so clingy?"
"Clingy?!"
"Yes!"
Finally he had had enough. "Why is everything MY fault? It’s always ME that does something wrong, when I’m only
trying to see if you’re alright! I’m worried about you--"
"Worried about ME? What for?! I can take care of myself just fine, thank you!"
"Well, you could have fooled me! You’re acting like a puerile child! Gabriel and Selena are more mature than you! And
you call yourself a mother!" As soon as he said it, Delano knew he had hit a nerve and wished he could take it back.
Destiny paled in anger and she rose from the bed, placing her face inches from Delano’s. "I call myself their mother
because I AM," she growled, voice low. "Unlike you, who just pretends to be a parent. You’re not Gabriel and Selena’s
father, Delano. Remember that. You tell yourself you are. You think you can measure up to Devon. Don’t kid yourself.
You’re not their father, Delano, and you will never be!" Eyes glistening, she turned abruptly and stormed out the door,
leaving Delano, wide-eyed and stricken, alone in the room. Goddess bless, what had he done?
@~~>~~>~~~
"Is that her?"
Kavan gazed over his shoulder, past the cherry trees, at the back door. Destiny McNite was just stepping out, looking for
all the world like an enraged lioness. Kavan turned back to Conri, who was crouching behind the bushes, "Yeah, that’s
her. You guys didn’t have long to wait, huh?"
"Neither did you," Conri pointed out, but his smile looked forced. Kavan got the distinct impression his friend did not
want to do this, but he could not imagine why. It was not as if they were going to hurt anyone today. At least, if everything
went according to plan.
"You alright?"
Conri peered up at him, golden-brown eyes somewhat sad. "Yeah," he assured half-heartedly, for he knew Kavan would
not understand, even if he explained the whole thing. He himself hardly knew why he felt so guilty about this. "Just go do
what you’re supposed to."
With a shrug, Kavan left the shelter of the bushes and approached Destiny, who was now sitting on the wooden swing
beside the garden pagoda. "Hey," he said softly, a smile slipping onto his lips.
Her head flew up, frightened surprise written on every feature. When she saw who it was, a corner of her mouth lifted, not
quite a smile. "Hi."
"Mind if I..." Kavan let the question hang in the air, nodding to the swing.
Shaking her head as if to clear it, Destiny scooted over. "Sure."
"Thanks." Then, there wasn’t much more to say as they sat in awkward silence.
Finally, thinking he had waited long enough, Kavan ventured, "So...would you like to go for a walk? I mean, sitting here
like this is bound to get monotonous."
Apprehensively, Destiny cast him a side-ways glance. "Why not?" she answered at last.
Springing up at once, Kavan offered Destiny a hand to help her up. After a moment, she took it and he led her towards
the bushes, saying, "So, tell me about yourself."
A wry laugh escaped her lips. "You don’t waste your time, do you?"
"With such a pretty lady? Certainly not. I can’t wait to get to know you."
Destiny gave him a skeptical Look, but she had to smile. "Why don’t you tell me about yourself first?"
Kavan shrugged, like there was nothing to tell. "What is there to say? You already know I’m the Wild Power."
"Well, that IS what they say. But is it true? Has anyone tested you?"
This girl was definitely not stupid. She obviously did not just take things for face value, he had to give her that. It could not
hurt to answer her with the truth. "Yes, actually. Hunter ran a few tests just yesterday," he emphasized the words by
showing her the bandage under his sleeve. "After, oh maybe five tries, I finally got it." Another enigmatic smile as he
added, "For a minute, I was beginning to doubt myself, but it worked in the end. So yeah, I’m definitely the Wild
Power."
Slowly, Destiny nodded. "So, why are you here and not with Hunter?"
Now the questions were getting uncomfortable. How did this little interview turn on him? "I have my reasons," he did not
really answer the question and he could see the suspicion building behind Destiny’s eyes. Kavan knew he had to get them
off of this topic. "By the way, why did everyone look at me like some ghost had walked into the house when I
came?"
Destiny stopped abruptly and for a moment, Kavan was afraid he had said the wrong thing. In fact, he knew he had, but
curiousity had gotten the better of him.
After what seemed an eternity, Destiny said quietly, "You remind me of someone we used to know."
"Were you close to him?"
Her midnight gaze filled his vision with such sadness. "Yes," she whispered, just as the werewolves burst from the bushes
behind her.
In the first few seconds, Kavan stood frozen. That whispered ‘yes’, had gotten to him somehow. He was not seeing
Destiny as a nuisance, an obstacle to overcome anymore, but as a person, with real emotions. Trust the wolves to choose
the worst time possible to burst in on him!
Destiny was not half as dazed as her companion. Whirling around, she immediately dropped into a fighting stance. By
herself, she could never beat them, but anyone looking out a window would see what was going on. She just had to hold
them off until help came.
She landed a kick square in the first wolf’s chest as he lunged at her, rolling to the side as another flew over her head. She
had just kicked a third wolf out of her way when someone took hold over her arm, wrenching it behind her at a painful
angle.
Immobilized, she stood helpless as the wolves organized themselves and surrounded her in a circle. Where was Kavan? If
he truly was the Wild Power, he better not be hurt.
Without warning, the grip on Destiny’s arm loosened and she twisted around to see Kavan standing behind her, a
flowerpot in hand. A sheepish smile graced his lips as she raised a brow at his weapon, but he quickly took her arm and
dragged her towards the mansion. He pushed her in front of him as the wolves loped after them, gaining with each step.
Suddenly, Kavan pushed Destiny to the ground, putting his body above hers as the wolves dove on top of them. Destiny
her his sharp intake of breath as claws raked into his back. A moment later, Amaya, Delano and Monaco raced out of the
mansion, chasing the wolves away.
"Destiny, are you alright?"
She barely heard Delano’s anxious question as Kavan lifted himself up away from her. Instead, she rolled over and placed
a hand on Kavan’s arm. "Are you hurt badly?" she asked, eyes worried.
Kavan grimaced, but shook his head. "I’ll be fine," he assured as Destiny helped him up.
"Thanks," she said earnestly. "You saved me."
He looked down at her through shy, blue-green eyes. "Really, I didn’t do much," he insisted. "If it hadn’t been for you, I
would be minced meat right now. I was the one that froze up!"
She arched a dark brow at this. "You can say that, but if it weren’t for you, they would have gotten to me."
"I guess we make a good team, huh?"
Destiny answered with a sunny smile.
By this time, Delano, Amaya, Monaco, Thierry and a few others had gathered in the back garden. Delano, for his part,
had an expression fit to kill as he looked upon Destiny and Kavan. This was just not his day!
"Might I ask what is going on?" The Lord of Circle Daybreak asked with patience.
Destiny jumped as Thierry’s voice brought her back to reality. Those eyes, she could easily drown in them, in her
memories of them. "You see, these wolves suddenly burst out of nowhere and ultimately, Kavan kept us from becoming
their dinner."
Thierry’s eyebrows went up as he turned to Kavan. "Well, I believe we owe you, Mr. Harman. Not here for an hour and
you’re already saving our agents." His smile was warm, but he hadn’t lived for thousands of years by being gullible. This
could all be a set-up. Of course, any doubts were wiped from Thierry’s mind as Kavan turned and he saw the wound on
the witch’s back.
"Goddess, we should get that treated right away!" Mr. Lordy exclaimed, steering Kavan towards the back door. The rest
of the crowd trailed close by, everyone but Nick and Delano.
"Don’t worry, I’m sure it’s just temporary," Nick assured, following his best friends gaze. "Destiny’s not stupid enough to
fall for him just ‘cause he looks like Devon."
Eyes dark, Delano peered at Nick under heavy lashes. "Not usually, anyway."
* * * * *
Chris stood outside the door to Colin’s room, listening intently. It wasn’t that she particularly enjoyed eavesdropping--
well, actually, that was a lie--but she wanted to know what the guys were talking about. If nobody walked by, she would
be fine for the time being.
"What do you mean she hasn’t come to see you?" Nick asked.
Colin looked up at Nick with a sad but patient smile. "Just that. She hasn’t come to see me."
"But don’t you guys have some thing going on?"
"Where’d you get that idea?"
Nick shrugged, not wanting to look like a complete fool. "The rumor’s been going around. After the whole thing at the
meeting 2 weeks ago, you know? You guys kinda had that shocked look of just discovered soulmates going on."
Colin winced. Had it been that obvious? "Well, I don’t know about the soulmate thing. I’ve only seen Chris that once."
Again, Nick shrugged and decided to change the subject. "So, how’ve you been coming along? The doctors say pretty
well, but we’d rather hear it from you."
"I’m as good as can be expected. Other than the fact that I can’t DO anything," Colin complained, motioning to the casts
on his leg and fingers.
"Yeah, that’s gotta suck."
"Oh, it does," Colin assured, nodding. "But I’m just glad I’m not human. Then I’d have to wait 6 to 8 weeks. As it is,
these"--he wiggled his fingers--"are coming off later today."
Nick smiled, truly glad for him. "That’s great. But what about your leg?"
A shadow crossed Colin’s face. "That, they’re not sure about yet. I wonder if I’ll even be able to walk again."
"What do the witches say?"
"Oh, they keep assuring me I’ll be fine," Colin replied with a wave of his hand. "But they seem to forget I can read their
minds."
"Oh."
With a shrug, Colin echoed, "Yeah, oh. But anyway," he said, to change the subject, "I’ve been hearing rumors myself.
What’s this about Destiny, Delano and Kavan Harman?"
Nick’s face screwed up in a frown. "I think it would be safe to say this is the scandal of the year. Have you seen Kavan?"
"No, but I’ve heard he looks a lot like you."
"He looks similar to me, but he’s the exact replica of my brother, Destiny’s soulmate, who also happens to be dead.
"The day after we found you, Kavan came knocking at our door and that afternoon, he saved Destiny from a werewolf
attack. They’ve been joined at the hip ever since. It’s so bizarre. I thought she was so devoted to Delano and suddenly,
she’s totally abandoned him for a total stranger! I swear, this place is turning into a teenage soap opera set!"
Colin’s eyes widened. Seeming to sense his disbelief, Nick confirmed, "I’m completely serious."
"That’s harsh," Colin commented sympathetically, able to empathize to a degree how Delano must be feeling.
Nick nodded, agreeing. "Yeah, Destiny’s moved into the twins’ room and Delano’s been cooped up in his room for the
last week. I swear, he’s going to make himself sick." He shook his head ruefully.
"Sounds like he’s already sick."
Nick glanced up, startled. "I guess you’re right." He looked up at the clock them, remembering the time. It read 4:25 PM.
"Speaking of Destiny, I promised her I’d baby-sit Gabriel and Selena in five minutes! I’ll see you later, alright Colin?"
"Sure. Thanks," Colin called as Nick eased out the door, waving.
As Nick turned his back to the closed door, Chris popped out of her hiding place behind a large fern. "Hi Nick!"
He had not noticed her at all and jumped a mile high. "Chris! Oh, hi! Where did you come from?"
"Oh, I was just walking by," she lied, "and I thought I’d drop by and say hello."
Nick flashed her a small, hasty smile. "Um, yes, hello. It’s great to see you, Chris, but I have to go right now. Could we
talk later?"
Chris let her face fall, trying for a very disappointed expression. "Oh, okay. But I just wanted to ask if you wanted to do
something tonight."
What had she just said? Nick stopped in his tracks and turned on his heel. "Pardon?"
"I wanted to know if you wanted to do something tonight."
"You and me?"
"Who else?"
Okay, he had heard right, no? But Nick was sure he had made it clear before that he and Chris were just friends. "Chris,
you know that Amaya’s my soulmate, right?"
Getting impatient, Chris sighed. "Yes, but I didn’t mean it THAT way! I meant as friends. Just to get to know you."
Nick was not so sure she was telling the truth, but it would be rude to shoot her down for that reason. It was not as if he
had any exceptional hatred for her. And he WAS in a hurry; he had no time to make up an excuse. "In that case,
uh...okay. Why not?"
"Great!" Chris chirped. "Meet you here at 7:30?"
"Uh, yeah, sure," Nick muttered, already half-way down the hall.
Behind his bedroom door, Colin listened to the whole exchange. Goddess bless, just as he started to feel better, Chris
always had to bring him down! Laying back on his pillows, he blinked the tears from his eyes, feeling his heart shatter
again.
@~~>~~>~~~
"So, let my get this straight, the prophesy reads:
"Yup."
Kavan frowned, not understanding the importance of such a prophesy. "Why is it so crucial that the Night World doesn’t
find out? What’s it about?"
Destiny looked up at Kavan seriously. "It explains where the Wild Powers are supposed to be when the Millennium
comes around. I mean, you can’t have expected them to just stand around in Thierry’s front hall, hoping they’re doing the
right thing. And obviously, if the Night World finds out the locations, they can plan a major attack."
Actually, Kavan had truthfully pictured the Wild Powers all standing around in the mansion at the Millennium, but he was
not about to admit that now. Besides, what Destiny said made perfect sense; the Night World WOULD attack with all
they had. Little did she know that she had just given Hunter the means to attack the Wild Powers with. Hey, all was fair in
love and war.
"Hey guys! How’s it goin’?" Nick Corona walked through the door of the nursery and lifted Selena up into his arms. He,
of course, was speaking exclusively to Destiny and the twins, seeing how he absolutely despised Kavan.
Gabriel looked up with a huge grin. "Hi, Uncle Nicky!" he said cheerfully before turning back to his Lego castle.
When Nick put her down, Selena also crouched by the castle and announced proudly, "Uncle Nicky, isn’t it a great
castle? We’re making it for Slappy Tobias Doris!"
"Ah! A hamster castle. Is Slappy Tobias Doris the prince?"
Selena nodded enthusiastically, then went back to concentrating on the Lego structure.
"Hey Nick! How’s Colin? How are YOU?" Destiny asked, rising with Kavan from the couch.
"Colin’s coming along," Nick replied with a dark glare at Kavan, as if Colin’s injury was somehow solely his fault. "I’m
fine."
"That’s great-" Destiny started just as Nick said:
"Destiny, could I speak with you for a moment." His tone added, ‘alone’.
After a short pause, she replied nonchalantly, "Sure, Nick," and pulled him out into the hallway.
As soon as they were out in the hall, Nick’s frown became prominent. "Destiny, should you be telling him about the
prophesy? Sure, we’ve accepted him for now, but we’ve still got reservations. We’re still not sure he’s not a spy for
Hunter."
Realizing what this was about, Destiny retorted hotly, "What gives you the right to listen in on my conversations? What,
are you spying on me for Delano now?"
"What the hell are you talking about? Of course not! Delano would never ask me to do that anyway. You give him too
little credit, Destiny."
"Too little credit? He’s been sulking for two weeks straight!"
Nick pinned her with a pointed glare. "And he isn’t entitled to that? After what you did? You might as well have physically
stabbed him in the back; that would have been less painful!"
"Since when did my every action have to be screened and approved of by you?" she shot back.
Slowly, Nick took a deep breath to calm himself. He had not started this conversation to talk about Delano. "Look,
we’re getting off topic. I just mean to say that you should watch what you say to Kavan. We don’t know if we can trust
him yet."
Shaking her head, Destiny replied, "No, you don’t know if you can trust him yet. I do. And as far as I’m concerned, this
conversation is over!" With that, she whirled around on her heel and marched back into the nursery. A moment later, she
and Kavan came out. Shooting a venomous Look at Nick, she strode purposefully down the hall, head held up with
queenly dignity.
Quietly, Nick groaned. How could he be so stupid? It was obvious he had only worsened the situation.
* * * * *
At 6:45, two hours after he had begun his little baby-sitting shift, Amaya walked in on Nick and the twins in the nursery.
From the look on her face, she was not a bearer of glad tidings.
She was quite too the point on what she had to say. "Nick, did you agree to go on a date with Chris Ashkia?" Her
expression told him what she might just do if his answer was yes.
For a moment, he had no idea what she was talking about. Then, he remembered his earlier conversation. "Oh! No, not in
the way that you mean. Why? What’s going on?"
If anyone else had said it, she would not have believed him. But this was Nick, her soulmate, and Amaya grudgingly
accepted his answer. "Monaco was talking to Colin today and Colin said something about you and Chris and a date.
Admittedly, he was groggy at the time, but he seemed perfectly coherent. When Monaco saw me, he told me about it
and, well, she HAS been showing some interest in you."
"Some, is an understatement," Nick muttered, but Amaya heard.
"Yeah, so what is going on between you two. You didn’t exactly deny that you had a date with her."
Nick shrugged, not sure how Amaya would react. "She kinda accosted me in the hallway this afternoon and asked if I
wanted to do something tonight. Well, I thought she meant a date, as in, you know, a date, at first too. But then she said it
was just to get to know each other and though I had my reservations about the truth of that, I was in a hurry, so I said
yes. It would have been rude to refuse, anyway," he made a feeble attempt at an excuse.
"You’re just too nice, Nick," Amaya reprimanded gently. "I saw Chris earlier today. She’s obviously got a different idea,
since she was strutting around like the world was her oyster. I was wondering why she was so cheerful too, seeing as how
she’s not usually so obviously happy. Now I know."
"Yes, well..." Nick drifted off, at a loss for what he could do about it now.
Suddenly, Gabriel and Selena simultaneously let out a joyful cry. "Uncle Nicky! Aunt Mai! Come look! It’s done!"
Amaya cast Nick a look that asked ‘What’s done?’ but she soon saw for herself.
The completed Lego castle stood about 20 cm tall, just right for a hamster. Red and yellow Lego blocks were stacked to
make the four parapets and spires and a little flag with a green dragon emblem flew from the southwest tower.
"Wow, I’m impressed," Amaya commented, meaning it. After all, the twins were only two years old.
"Uncle Nicky help-ed us," Selena explained. "It’s for Slappy Tobias Doris." Then, she turned and added to Gabriel,
"Let’s go get him!"
As the two tikes ran out of the room, Amaya was inspired. "Nick, I’ve got an idea how we can get Chris off your back
tonight..."
@~~>~~>~~~
Something was going to happen, he could sense it.
Dion Vitani, Circle Daybreak spy as well as soulmate and Dark Angel to Iliana Harman, sat to the left of Hunter Redfern,
a werewolf named Conri Seanach beside him. Why Dion was there was still a mystery to him, but the air hung heavy with
anticipation. The D’Alimonte’s, on the other side of Hunter, were obviously excited over whatever news the Lamia had to
give; well, at least Keiara was. Dion himself was not sure he cared to know, seeing as how his and Keiara’s tastes
differed greatly; not that he would ever let anyone catch onto that, of course.
"As most of you know, we’ve sent Kavan Harman into Circle Daybreak as a spy," Hunter was saying, giving Dion a jolt.
What? Kavan had been sent to the Daybreakers? Damn. There was no doubt in Dion’s mind that Thierry would have
accepted him. Why hadn’t Dion heard of this sooner? Who knew what the Harman had already found out? Well, he was
about to find out.
Hunter sat in his chair, grinning like a cat that had just been given extra cream in his bowl. "And I’m pleased to announce
that we have finally"--he cast a meaningful Look towards Marcellus, making it clear he was not impressed by the
vampire’s failure where Kavan had succeeded--"discovered the prophecy concerning the Wild Power’s locations at the
dawn of the Millennium!"
Shit. He was already too late. But how could Kavan have gotten the information so quickly? Thierry might have accepted
him, but he was a cautious man; he would never have told Kavan without thoroughly checking him out first. So, who had
let him know? Dion had no idea, but that really did not matter. He had to let Thierry know the info had escaped into Night
World hands. The boss wasn’t going to like it.
"Vitani."
"Huh?"
Hunter’s amber eyes glared at the werewolf and Dion flushed. "I asked you a question."
Dion groped around in his mind, trying to think what the question might be. Nothing came to mind.
Finally, Hunter grew impatient and repeated himself. "I asked if you had any suggestions as to what the prophecy might
mean."
So good ol’ Hunter didn’t know the meaning yet. Well, that was a bit of a consolation, at least. But of course, he would
find out soon enough. "No, sir," Dion said quietly, trying to mask his relief. He was getting better everyday, but with
Hunter at such close range, you never knew about what your mind might reveal. Dion was just lucky that for the most
part, Hunter had finished with that months ago. He now trusted Dion and that was quite an accomplishment on the
werewolf’s part.
"I see," Hunter grated, annoyed. "And you usually have such helpful insights."
"I’m sorry, sir," Dion apologized, already formulating his report to Thierry.
* * * * *
PART 10:
PART 11:
The King to his land must now return,
The hearth must journey to the greatest of walls.
Below all the others the eyes stand watch,
In the waters of Huron will darkness fall," Kavan asked Destiny as she leaned on his shoulder, keeping an eye on the
twins.
PART 12:
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