Angel of Death (con't):

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PART 20:

"Conri? Conri, come on, just hold on, okay?" Kavan pleaded desperately as the blood of his best friend pooled ceaselessly in his lap. Forget the blood flowing from his own arm, it was nothing compared to Conri’s wounds. There were tears streaming down Kavan’s face, but he paid them no heed, hardly noticing them at all.

"How is he?" Marcellus inquired worriedly from the driver’s seat.

Kavan just shook his head. That was a redundant question. Even Dion, who was barely conscious, knew that Conri was dying.

Suddenly, a rough cough racked Conri’s body and his eyes flitted open. "Kav?" he rasped, trying to manage a small smile that turned into a grimace of pain.

"Yeah, it’s me," Kavan choked out. "Thanks, Conri. I wouldn’t have gotten out of that without you."

"What’s a friend for?"

"I guess. But I wonder if I would have done the same for you. I’m afraid the answer might be no."

"You under-estimate yourself, Kav. You would have done the same, I know it. I never doubted it."

Kavan closed his eyes as he drew in a sobbing breath. His friends would have said he was acting like a girl, be he could care less. "Conri, I-I’m sorry," he managed to whisper. "If it weren’t for me, none of this would have happened and, and you would be safe and no one would be hurt--"

"Oh, shut up already," Conri muttered, wry amusement shining in his golden-brown eyes. "Don’t give me that crap. My time is limited and I won’t spend it listening to your belly-aching."

A humorless laugh sounded from the front seat. "I’ll second that," Dion chimed in weakly.

But upon hearing this, Conri shook his head. "Don’t say that, Vitani," he warned. "I didn’t go through all that just for you to die on us. One of us is enough."

"No, Conri," Kavan said quickly. "You can’t be sure that you’re going to die--"

"You know as well as I what’s going to happen, Kav," Conri interrupted. "There’s no point in denying it." The next breath he drew brought a wince of pain that was followed by a hacking cough which, to Kavan’s horror, brought up more blood.

"Goddess bless," he prayed in a whisper. Never had he seen so much blood come from a single person.

After he had regained his breath, Conri peered back up at Kavan from under his curly, blood-soaked hair. "Now, before it’s over, you have to promise me one thing, Kav," he gasped painfully.

"Anything."

"J-Just hear me out first," Conri said. "Promise me, that you’ll help Circle Daybreak? That you won’t go back to Hunter? He’s the one that told Emrys to kill you, not Keiara. He never intended to let you live until the Millennium, you know. Just tell me you’ll help out Daybreak and I’ll be happy."

"Of course," Kavan vowed. He could now hardly believe his own folly and foolishness that had led to this whole fiasco. What had he been thinking, trusting Hunter Redfern?

"Good," Conri breathed almost inaudibly right before Kavan felt his body shudder violently. The breath went out of him and his honey-brown eyes became glazed and sightless.

Seeing his best friend like that, Kavan felt himself loosing control. "Goddess, oh Goddess," he repeated, over and over as he fought to breathe.

"Kavan, just calm down, alright? Come on, man," Marcellus suggested, trying to keep the pain out of his voice, and slowly, his advice was taken.

"Okay, alright, I’m calm," Kavan said softly, but that was only his outside facade. Inside, his despair had turned to anger. No matter what it took, he vowed, Hunter would pay.

* * * * *
PART 21:

Chris was placing a pillow under Leila’s head when Oriel descended the stairs. "How’s Thierry?" she asked, preparing for the worst.

Oriel Arlin returned her tense inquiry with a small smile. "Pretty good, actually, considering that he was attacked by a Wild Power. He’ll be out for a while yet, but he should be as good as new in a few days." He added with a puzzled frown, "I wonder why Kavan didn’t kill him. He must realize the best way to bring us down, other than killing himself, is to do away with Thierry. So, if he’s so keen on helping Hunter, why didn’t he kill Thierry?"

Chris shrugged, not at all disturbed by the question. "No offense, Oriel"—she offered the blond witch a sweet smile—"But you witches aren’t exactly known for your bravery at times. Maybe he just chickened out."

"Maybe," Oriel said slowly, not convinced. However, Kavan was not his problem anymore. Circle Daybreak had been contacted about the situation and Quinn and Hannah, who were taking over while Thierry was out of the picture, had promised to send some agents over as soon as possible. While they waited, Oriel, the team doctor, had to make sure all his patients were comfortable. Aria was already dead—though Monaco was, amazingly, still breathing—and Oriel mourned for her. Still, there was not way he could let his sorrow get in the way of his duty.

"Okay, everyone else has been taken care of. It’s your turn, Chris," he announced with a teasing smile, knowing how much the shifter despised doctors.

Chris’ eyes widened before she stammered, "N-no, Oriel, I, I’m fine. Really! No need for you to trouble yourself over me."

"Uh-uh," Oriel reprimanded. "That’s a nasty cut you’ve got on your arm. Look! It hasn’t even stopped bleeding yet! Now, get over here!"

After much threatening and debating, Oriel finally got Chris settled in a chair. He then proceeded to clean and bandage the wound, trying his best to ignore her shouted obscenities.

When it was all over, Leila, who was the only other conscious person in the room, remarked with amusement, "You two would make such a cute couple."

Oriel looked up at his friend with a laugh. "Get together with Chris? She’d kill me in a heartbeat! Besides, I don’t think Colin would be too thrilled."

Colin. For a few days, Chris had managed to forget about him, but now his memory came rushing back. Goddess, what did she really feel for him? Sure, she had shunned him at the beginning, preferring Nick. However, now that Nick had proved, quite bluntly, that he was totally devoted to Amaya, Chris was starting to wonder. She was not giving up on Nick, she was simply accepted that the soulmate bond was too strong to come between. So what about her own soulmate? Why were they not together right then?

*Because he volunteered you for death,* a voice inside of her accused, but Chris knew it was not true. Colin had simply done what he had to; she could now admit seeing the glint of pain in his eyes when he pointed out that Chris could contain Kavan. She wondered if he regretted that now, if he thought of cared if she was hurt. Sincerely, she hoped he was among the agents that came to the safe house. Hopefully, he would still take her back after everything that had happened.

@~~>~~>~~~

It was true that Quinn had insisted on having Colin present when he told a few agents what had happened with Kavan, but he was beginning to regret the decision. He had never had any intention of allowing the quiet Lamia to go to the safe house with Destiny, Nick, Amaya, Braeden and Delano. The only reason he had been invited at all was because Chris was his soulmate and Quinn felt that gave Colin a right to know about situation before most people. Now Hannah was smugly giving him the "I-told-you-so" Look while Quinn tried to deter Colin.

"We have enough people going," Quinn argued feebly, though even he had to admit doubt about putting Destiny and Delano together on the same team.

Colin quickly pointed out that fact and added, "I’m a good mediator. I could keep Destiny and Delano from each other’s throats. Also, I’m a healer. Well, as much of a healer as a Lamia can be and Oriel’s going to need help. Besides, Chris is my soulmate—"

"But you’re still weak," Quinn tried to get a word in edge-wise.

"So?" Colin asked. "The fight’s over!"

"We don’t know that."

"Oh, come on, Quinn!"

Suddenly, Hannah intervened, "Just let him go, Quinn."

"What?!"

The blonde girl shrugged. "I don’t see any harm in that. And he and Chris haven’t had much of a chance to be together lately." She turned to Colin. "And when you get there, promise to call me and tell me how Thierry’s doing right away? Oriel couldn’t talk long and I’m not sure if he would have told me the truth anyway."

"Of course," Colin answered, shooting Quinn a satisfied look.

Quinn threw his hands up into the air. "Oh fine! Do whatever you want! I can’t wait to go back to my measly position as an agent anyway. Being the Big Cheese is no fun."

* * * * *
PART 22:

"Goddess, Nick!" Amaya exclaimed through her yawn, "You’ve got a bony shoulder!"

Nick peered over at his girlfriend with a mix of amusement and confusion in his blue-greene eyes. "Uh...if you say so."

Delano, who was driving, looked back at the couple through the rear-view mirror. "What does it matter?"

"I want to sleep, that’s why it matters!" Amaya exclaimed in exasperation.

A wicked smile played on Delano’s full lips and he teased, "Haven’t you been getting enough sleep at night?"

Amaya’s jaw dropped as his meaning became clear to her. "You idiot!" she screamed, swatting Delano upside the head. "Do I ask you about your sex life?"

"You would if I had one," Delano pointed out, which was quite true.

Still, Amaya preferred to deny it. "That’s not true," she insisted. "Nicky, tell him so."

"Uh-uh," Nick shook his head, taking the smart route, indifference. "I’m not getting involved in this. Nothing good can come of it; this can only end in tears, love."

Delano laughed as Amaya shot Nick a murderous look, but the jesting was soon ended when Delano announced, "We’re almost there."

The light mood soon darkened as they pulled into the driveway of the Reno safe house. On the outside, it looked like any other suburban family home, painted brown and white with a small garden in the front yard. But inside, where Kavan Harman was supposed to be, lay instead, one dead vampire and two unconscious ones, one of which might die yet.

Behind them, Destiny pulled up in the Daybreak van, which was filled with medical supplies. It was her half of the team that had the medical knowledge and would help the most. Delano, Nick and Amaya were simply there to protect them in case of a Night World attack.

"Well, don’t just stand there staring at the the place," Braeden admonished them. "Let’s go in!"

As they walked through the door, Colin could hear Chris swearing at someone. A smile tugged on his lips as he saw Oriel trying to bandage up her arm in the kitchen; this was his Chris, alright.

"Looks like you guys are getting along," Destiny commented sarcastically as she bent down over Leila, who was in the living room beside the kitchen. To Braeden, she added, "Can you go take a look at Monaco?"

"Sure," Braeden said with a nod, then asked Colin, "Can you help me out?"

As Colin followed Braeden towards Monaco, the smell of blood grew so strong, it was almost unbearable. Oriel had not been able to move Monaco, both because of his wounds and the fact that the vampire was much taller than the witch. So, although his wounds had been cleaned as best as was possible at the time, he was still lying unconscious in his own blood beside his dead teammate, Aria.

Given a choice, Colin would much rather be holding Chris, even if she hated him, than be here, where the stench of death was so puissant.

Face expressionless, Braeden knelt over Monaco and checked the extent of his injury. The only wound seemed to be a bullet under his left collarbone, but the blood from it had stained Oriel’s bandage a bright crimson and the bleeding showed no sign of stopping.

"Goddess bless," Braeden breathed, the distress that did not show on his face permeating into his voice. With a glance at the fallen Aria, who had died of a gunshot to the side of her head, he swore and growled, "Damn that abhorrent bastard."

"Strong language to describe someone who’s our only hope of winning against the Night World," Colin pointed out automatically without thinking. He instantly regretted it when Braeden shot him a murderous look. Why had he said that?

Whatever his reasons, Colin had obviously upset Braeden. He ignored Colin while he worked, only speaking when he had to ask for a bandage or something of the sort.

After they were done, the two vampires gently lifted Monaco and began to carry him out to the van, praying that he would live. Just as they were walking out the front door, Colin saw a navy blue BMW pulling into the driveway. "What the--" he began before realization dawned on him. "Shit," he muttered, than called to Braeden, "Hurry up! Get back in! Nick! Delano! Amaya! We’ve got trouble!"

"What’s up?" Delano asked as Colin gently laid Monaco back down.

Tilting his head in the direction of the door, Colin answered tersely, "Kavan’s back."

Delano’s coffee-coloured eyes widened, then hardened with hatred. "We’ll take care of him," he assured Colin as he turned to relay the message to Nick and Amaya. Together, the three agents left to meet Kavan.

When Kavan saw Delano and the others, he and Marcellus were helping Dion out of the car. "Oh, hello--" he started a bit hesitantly before Amaya cut him off.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she demanded, her gun leveled at Kavan’s heart.

Kavan had known this was going to happen, but the events leading up to this were catching up to him. All he wanted to do was give up, but he had promised Conri he would help Circle Daybreak. Him being dead would definitely NOT help the Daybreakers. "I’m here to apologize," he replied quietly.

"With Marcellus D’Alimonte?" Nick asked coldly.

"And Dion Vitani," Marcellus piped up, his cheerfulness sounding forced, as he helped Dion stand.

For a moment, the Daybreakers just blinked at Kavan and Marcellus in bewilderment. Then, suddenly, Delano burst out laughing.

"What’s so funny?" Nick and Marcellus asked in unison, which just made Delano laugh harder.

"Oh, oh, this is rich," Delano managed to choke out. "This is too much! Goddess, this is hilarious!"

When Kavan began to think about the situation, it WAS quite comical. A smile smile formed on his lips, which eventually turned into a grin, then a chuckle.

Amaya soon joined in, as did Marcellus and Dion. Nick continued to stand in silence, a wry twist of his mouth betraying his emotion. With a shake of his head, he turned and called for the others to come out.

Soon, Kavan and Marcellus were sitting at the kitchen table with Delano, Chris, Nick and Amaya while Dion’s injuries were being tended to by Destiny. Braeden and Colin were busy with the gruesome work of getting Monaco and Leila into the van and cleaning up the house.

"So why are you here?" Chris asked for the second time as she watched Kavan fastidiously scrubbing Conri’s blood off his hands. Kavan was just glad that no one could see his face and the tears that streamed down it as he washed.

Sensing Kavan’s distress, Marcellus answered for him. "Conri and I had decided last night to get Dion out of the base, so this morning, we knocked out the guards and did just that. We were just getting ready to sneak out of the house when we heard a gunshot. Conri looked out the window and saw that Emrys was outside, shooting at Kavan, so he ran out and distracted Emrys while I ran to the car with Dion and Kavan." Unsure of how to continue, he paused and the Daybreakers took this as the end of the story.

"So where is Conri, anyway?" Delano asked, looking around the kitchen as is he expected the werewolf to spring out of the fridge or something.

"Oh, he’s in the car," Kavan replied nonchalantly, then added quietly, "lying dead in his own blood."

* * * * *
PART 23:

Her hand raised and ready to knock on the door before her, Chris felt herself hesitating, some of her usual confidence ebbing. As much as she longed to get this over with, she also dreaded the confrontation.

She was still standing, hand waiting for her brain to let it move, when Colin flung open his bedroom door and almost collided with her.

Startled, the vampire stepped back into his door, lost his balance, and fell in a heap on the sky blue carpeting.

"Oh, oh Goddess, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry," Christ mumbled as she leaned over to help Colin up.

Instinctively, he reached for her and as their fingers met, the inevitable spark flared up between them. For the second time in a row, Colin plopped onto the carpet and if Chris had not been so flustered, it would have been funny.

Finally, after much fussing and apologizing, Colin managed to get back on his feet, making a point of not touching Chris. "Well, uh, hi Chris," he said to fill in the awkward silence that ensued. "What are you doing here? I haven’t seen you for days." He decided to leave out the part about missing her terribly during those days. If there was one thing he did not want to do, it was scare her away.

"Yeah, I’ve been busy," she explained lamely, though the excuse was partially true. It had been five days since the whole incident with Kavan and in those days, many events had come to pass. Thierry had reclaimed his title of Lord of Circle Daybreak and Aria’s and Conri’s funerals had been held. Thankfully, Monaco had not followed them to the grave and was healing nicely, if slowly. Dion was also coming along and was already well enough to chat long into the night with his overjoyed soulmate, Iliana. Leila was pretty much healed now and spent much of her time with Monaco and Oriel. Chris herself was avoiding Oriel, since he had a tendency to tease her about her phobia of doctors every time they chanced to meet. She had also made a point of avoiding Colin, not because he teased her, but because she did not know what he was to her anymore. Tonight, at last, she had gotten her feelings on order and decided she truly did love Colin. She had steeled her nerve and walked right up to his door before she realized how foolish this action could turn out to be. But it was too late for doubts now.

Shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot, Colin asked, "So, how are Kavan and Marcellus fitting in?" Actually, he knew perfectly well how they were fitting in. Marcellus seemed to be taking the change in stride, accepting the Daybreakers’ snubs and dirty looks as his due, which it was. It seemed his humility was working, for a few Daybreakers had begun to accept him, Eric Ross and Thea Harman being two of them.

"Oh, Kavan has gotten really quiet," Chris replied, keeping up the charade. At least this was neutral ground and she did not need to lie. Kavan had been keeping to himself lately. It was not that he was rude or hostile, just distant. Destiny avoided him like the plague and Delano and Braeden looked like they would love nothing more than to deck him when he passed, but Chris doubted he noticed at all. There was something wrong with Kav, if the Daybreakers could only figure out what.

"So..." Colin drifted off, at a loss for words.

Chris nodded, biting her lips. "So..."

Behind her, James Rasmussen and Poppy North walked by, giving them a greeting and a curious look as they passed.

"Uh, Colin, this might not be the best place--" she began and he sighed in agreement.

"Why don’t you come in?" he suggested reluctantly and stepped aside to let her in. Again, he made sure not to touch her, a fact they were both painfully aware of. Softly, he closed the door behind her and leaned against it to gaze at Chris, who was sitting on the edge of the bed. The tension was thicker than molasses and he had the odd sensation of drowning.

"Chris--" he said, just as she said:

"Colin--"

"You first," Colin insisted.

Chris offered him a small, hesitant smile, then, her eyes down-cast, she explained, "Well, I came here for a reason and I might as well get it over with."

He fatalistic words had Colin bracing for the worst, but her next words were not what he expected.

"I know I caused you a lot of pain and I’m so sorry for it. It was wrong of me to avoid you when you were hurt, to run after Nick like some lovesick schoolgirl and toss your feelings aside. I’ll admit that I thought of you as a boring bookworm to begin with, but now I have no idea where I got that notion--"

"That’s because I AM a boring bookworm," Colin interrupted bitterly. To hear his fears voiced by Chris was like making them true.

"No, no," she quickly denied. "You’re not! Okay, you’re a bookworm, but that doesn’t make you boring. I’ll bet Einstein was a bookworm and look, the man was brilliant! No, Colin, you are far from boring. I truly don’t know where I got that first impression. It certainly wasn’t judging a book by it’s cover." As she said this, she rose from the bed and walked towards him. Almost as if they had a will their own, her hands reached up to him, one resting on his chest while the other drifted to his hair.

"Hair as soft and dark as chocolate. Eyes fit to drown in. Lips as soft as velvet, that light up your whole face whenever you smile that beautiful smile..." For every feature she described, the fingers flitted there, touching his eyelids and mouth as lightly as a moth’s wing.

Even those gentle touches set their soulmate link ablaze and Colin was beginning to feel seriously unsteady. When Chris slid her arm around his waist and kissed him, he fell to his knees with a moan, taking her with him.

The touch of her lips were so soft, he barely felt it, but it left him craving for more. Colin was sure his longing for her would drive insane, but even in that cloud of need, a part of his mind was telling him to be careful. *She’s never given you a reason to trust her,* it warned, *only to distrust her. How can you know she’s genuine? How can you know she won’t desert you like everyone else?*

As soon as he thought this, Colin felt Chris recoil. She was hurt by his doubt, though she knew it was what she deserved. "No, Chris, please," Colin breathed, reaching for her, but she backed away.

"No, you’re right, Colin," she said shakily, turning her face away to hide the tears. Goddess, she had not known this guy for 6 months and he could bring her to tears. Her, Chris Ashkia, who had not cried since she was 9. "I shouldn’t be trusted."

While she was distracted, Colin took the chance to catch her in his arms again. "Chris, look at me," he pleaded as she struggled in vain to be free of his grasp. "Chris, please," he begged, taking her chin in his hand and looking into her tear-filled green eyes so the sincerity of his words would sink in.

"It’s not you I don’t trust, tiger, it’s life. Everyone I’ve ever know, my mother, my father, my brother, everyone until Thierry took me in, has left me. My mom died, my father said I was too interested in books, and my brother said I wasn’t tough enough, I wasn’t ruthless, I’d never be a hunter. It’s life I don’t trust, Chris, not you."

Gently, he wiped away her tears and waited for a reply. Sniffling, she looked at him with the beginnings of a smile and inquired, "You sure?"

"Positive. But while we’re on the subject of trust, why do you seem to think I shouldn’t trust you?"

Her answer was tiny shrug, then, after a moment, the mumbled words, "I betrayed my best friend, I would betray you." "And how did you do that?"

She closed her eyes, as if in great pain. "Kerri made me promise that I would watch out for her when I convinced her to go rock-climbing before. She had done it before and after a while, she was doing great, so I went a bit ahead of her. The next thing I knew, she was screaming for me to help her, but I couldn’t get to her in time."

Colin was silent for a while, then he pulled her close and planted a kiss in her hair. "You shouldn’t blame yourself for accidents, tiger. It wasn’t your fault. To place all the blame on yourself in unjust."

Chris gazed up at him, filled with love for him. "Thank you," she whispered right before her lips met his.

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