Angel of Fire (con't) Remember, I take no credit for the concept of the Night World or its characters! :)

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PART 35:

A movement out of the corner of her eyes caught Destiny’s attention and she whirled around, ready to fight.

However, who she saw there was definitely not what she had expected. "Nick!" she cried and flung herself into his arms, making him stagger back.

"Hey, Destiny," he said, sounding weak and despondent. His body was trembling from both physical and emotional exhaustion.

Immediately, Destiny backed up, biting her lip. "Sorry," she apologized, remembering Leandra. Iliana was still by the window, staring out at the fire with tears streaming down her cheeks.

Nick’s eyes stared out the window without answering. Destiny could see the brightness in his eyes, but the tears didn’t fall. Finally, he shook his head, looking away. "Don’t be," he whispered. "We’ll have time for that later. Right now, we have to help the others," and he proceeded to explain everything Dion had told him. "He loves you," Nick finished to Iliana. "He wanted me to tell you that."

A small, wistful smile appeared on Iliana’s face. "I know."

"So, let’s go," Destiny urged, thoughts turned to Delano.

In a matter of minutes, after dodging about 6 groups of guards, the three Daybreakers were outside the door to the main room. Or, at least Nick hoped. He had to trust he had understood Dion’s direction correctly, since it looked like any other door in the castle.

"On the count of three," Destiny whispered. "One, two, three!" she said, flinging the door open. (Dion had assured it would be unlocked).

Inside, Hunter, Keiara, Marcellus and Corin looked up in surprise. Dion, sitting beside Hunter, pretended to be shocked as well, but a glint of satisfaction could be seen in his gray eyes. The guards in the room were just a bit too tipsy to notice anything was out of the ordinary until Keiara shouted at them to get the intruders.

Destiny dashed into the huge room, right for where the Daybreakers were tied, before anyone could react. Dion followed her after a millisecond, followed by a half dozen guards. The other guards, along with Keiara and Hunter, sprinted towards Iliana and Nick, still standing in the doorway, once they had seen the Wild Power.

"Come on!" Nick hissed, taking Iliana by the hand. They tore down the hall, two of the most powerful vampires in the Night World and a whole lot of guards at their heels.

Nick’s legs felt like rubber and suddenly, he stumbled. Immediately, Iliana dragged him to his feet. "And Dion told me to care of YOU!" Nick laughed softly, breathlessly, as he followed her down the hall.

Iliana turned and offered him a smile.

In the main room, Dion slid a small knife and a note out of his sleeve and discreetly severed the hemp that bound Delano’s wrists. The Lamia looked up in surprise and Dion threw the knife and note into his hands. "Get working," his gray eyes told Delano as he ran to join the crowd of guards surrounding Destiny.

In a frenzy, Delano stuffed the note into his pocket and cut the ropes for Keller’s team. Just as he finished with the last of the bindings, Corin noticed they were loose and ran towards them with the guards. Behind the guards, Delano saw Dion run out the door with a large plastic can in his hands. The Lamia could only guess at what THAT was for.

"Destiny!" Winnie screamed suddenly, and Delano whirled around to see what she was yelling about. Marcellus had his arm around Destiny and was dragging her out a back door.

Desperately, Delano tried to reach her before she disappeared from his sight. But two large guards tackled him from behind, pinning him to the ground. "Destiny!" he cried out as she vanished with Marcellus.

@~~>~~>~~~

"What do you think you’re doing?" Destiny fumed, staring daggers at Marcellus. If he thought she was going to cower away from him, he had another thing coming.

"What are YOU doing?" Marcellus countered. His stance was intimidating, but the arrogance was forced.

Destiny saw this and used it to her advantage. "What? You don’t have the stomach for killing anymore? Suddenly grew a conscience?"

"I’M not the one who killed her," Marcellus said stiffly, pronouncing each word separately.

Destiny snorted. "Is that what you tell yourself every time you kill someone? Do you really believe it was all Keiara’s fault or Nick’s? You’re the one that kidnapped her! Why? What did she ever do to you?"

"The question’s not what SHE did, Destiny. It’s what YOU did."

There was a quick intake of breath as Marcellus’ words sank in. Hurt confusion shone in Destiny’s eyes as she asked incredulously, "This was revenge for you? Because I didn’t want you?! What kind of sick creep are you?" There were more things she wanted to say, but held back. Had he cared so much about her that he would do THIS to get back at her? Or was he simply deranged?

Marcellus gripped her arms, just above the elbow, with an iron hand. His breath was coming in gasps as he drew her close. His emerald eyes glittered as he breathed against her lips, "You still don’t realize, do you, Destiny? I love you." A little laugh escaped his throat and it sounded more like a pained moan. "I thought this would make it a bit better. Make the pain go away, or least make it less. But it keeps getting worse. I need you. It’s the only way to take away the pain. Come with me, please."

Destiny’s eyes widened in disbelief and she tried to pull away. "Are you insane? You just killed one of my best friends! And you want me to go away with you?" Marcellus winced, but the witch ignored it. Who cared what he felt anymore? "You’re crazy. You’re mad! You would kill me!"

"No," Marcellus whispered fervently, shaking his head. "No, I would never hurt you. I’ll do anything. Please, Destiny."

Destiny forced herself to look straight into his eyes. "Give me Leandra back," she said.

Marcellus gave a small cry and turned away. "You ask the impossible."

"So do you."

The vampire closed his eyes and suddenly, he looked very young. His expression was pained, vulnerable. It was the look someone got when they had lost the most precious thing in their life. Like a child being told his dog had just died, but times worse. For a moment, Destiny wanted to reach out and comfort him, but Marcellus wasn’t a child. He was powerful, dangerous, even in this state.

Suddenly, a panther jumped out from behind Destiny, catching Marcellus unawares. Before he knew what was happening, he was pinned to the floor with a very pissed off Keller on top of him.

Delano came up behind Destiny and enveloped her in a hug. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Returning the hug, Destiny nodded. "Yeah." She turned towards Keller and Marcellus on the floor.

The panther seemed bewildered as she sat atop the vampire. He wasn’t fighting back. Was he planning something? Well, she wouldn’t wait for him to get it done. Making up her mind, Keller clamped her jaws over Marcellus’ throat and prepared to tear it out.

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PART 36:

"Where ARE they?" Iliana demanded in frustration. She wasn’t talking to anyone in particular, but Nick answered.

"Look, we can’t wait. Hunter and Keiara are going to find us any moment now. Or they’re going to realize what’s going on. We’ll just have to trust that they’re safe."

Iliana shook off the hand Nick put on her arm. "Five more minutes, Nick. Please."

The shapeshifter sighed heavily. "Then let’s at least get out of the castle." He took her arm again and this time she didn’t object as he led her towards the door.

"Uh-oh," Iliana said as soon as they stepped out into the night air. About 30 Night People were waiting for them in a half circle in the courtyard. Keiara and Hunter were right front and center.

"Thought you could escape us, did you?" Keiara purred, looking as satisfied as the Cheshire cat.

*Light the fire!* The mental shout came from nearby, but Nick had no idea where Dion might be hiding. Wherever he was, Nick hoped he was safe from what was about to happen next.

"Use your Blue Fire," Nick hissed into Iliana’s ear.

The little witch shook her head. "That would set the gas-"

"Exactly," Nick said, cutting her off. "We have to do it now or we’ll be joining Leandra shortly."

Iliana hesitated. The Night People began to close in and she made up her mind. "I need something sharp!" she demanded.

Nick looked around frantically, for he himself didn’t have any weapons. "Your nail?" he suggested as a last resort, seeing that they were formidably sharp.

Iliana was already taking his advice. When the Night People saw what she was doing, chaos erupted.

Night People were running every which way but towards them as Hunter and Keiara shouted, "Fools! Get her! Cowards! She can’t hurt you if she’s dead!" However, it was notable that the two doing the commanding didn’t follow their own advice, keeping their distance.

"Now!" Nick urged. Some of the more daring vampires and werewolves were circling from behind.

Iliana raised her bloody wrist and aimed right at Hunterand Keiara. "For you, Leandra," she whispered and the Blue Fire shot out of the wound. But instead of going towards the two vampires, Iliana jerked at the last minute and directed the blaze to her right. The puddle of oil there immediately burst into flame, spreading quickly in a circle around Nick, Iliana and the Night People. P> "Oh, yay," Nick muttered sardonically under his breath as he took Iliana’s hand. There didn’t seem to be a way out of the circle of fire. At least Hunter and Keiara were now too busy trying to save their own butts to pay attention to he or Iliana.

Suddenly, the Wild Power tugged on Nick’s hand. "Over there!" she shouted over the commotion to be heard. She indicated a small break in the fire, or more appropriately, it was lower in that area. It wasn’t very big. Iliana would have no problem jumping between the walls of flame, but for Nick, it was a different matter.

Nick shrugged. He would worry about that when the time came. He followed Iliana as quickly as possible, dodging unsuspecting Night People.

Without warning, a hand clamped down on his shoulder. "Where do you think you’re going?" Keiara growled, twirling Nick around to face her. He was too tired to fight and she knew it. There was a metallic *schling* and a silver knife slid from Keiara’s sleeve. The vampire wrapped an arm around Nick’s waist, pulling him close enough for it to be intimate. "I would have preferred to burn you alive," she whispered, oblivious to his weak struggles.

Nick closed his eyes as the knife pierced his skin, fighting a scream. But that was as far as the blade got. "Get out," a familiar voice hissed into his ear as Keiara suddenly let go of him with an anguished cry. Opening his eyes, Nick saw that a dead werewolf had landed on her. The scene was almost comical, if you forgot how close he had come to death. It was too much of a coincidence for the wolf to have fallen there on it’s own and Nick thanked Dion mentally. Not wasting another second, Nick spun around and sprinted towards the gap in the flames. It was much smaller now. He could just see Iliana on the other side, violet eyes searching frantically for him through the melee.

Iliana smacked Nick in the arm as soon as he dove through the fire. He was about to object before he noticed that his sleeve was burning. After checking to make sure he wasn’t on fire anywhere else, they made their way towards the drawbridge. It took them a while to figure out how to let it down, but there was little chance anyone would follow them out of the fire.

Nick drew in a breath as he and Iliana made their way across the bridge and turned to survey the damage.

"I hope they’re safe," Iliana whispered as she laid eyes on the blazing inferno that was the castle, her thoughts on Dion.

Dion had done his job well, maybe too well. The castle could hardly be seen at all through the flames. Nick didn’t know how much gasoline Dion had dumped on the interior of the building, but it must have been a whole lot.

Silently, the shapeshifter nodded at Iliana’s comment. But secretly, he didn’t think anyone could survive this.

* * * * *
PART 37:

Delano was reading the note Dion had given him when Destiny shouted, "No! Keller, stop!"

The Lamia and shapeshifter both started and stared at Destiny in bewilderment. "What?" Delano asked, not sure he had heard right.

"Keller, please. I...j-just don’t," Destiny stammered, seeming a bit surprised at the outburst herself. It wasn’t really that she cared about Marcellus. But he wasn’t completely bad, she had seen that, and she had the strange impulse of wanting to save him.

Finally, Keller stepped away from her prey and changed back to human. "I have no idea why you want to save him, though," she muttered as she went to stand with Galen.

Marcellus himself stayed lying on the ground, staring up at Destiny with even greater confusion than Keller. He opened his mouth to say something, but Galen interrupted.

"Do you guys smell something funny? Like something’s burning?"

Delano’s eyes widened as he remembered the note in his hands. Skimming over it again, he read Dion’s warning about setting the castle on fire.

"They’ve set the place to flame," Marcellus said, softly, dispassionately, voicing Delano’s thoughts.

Winnie’s voice was high and squeaky, "Well, how do we get OUT?"

In the note, Dion had written instructions on how to make their way out. Reading them over, Delano urged everyone to follow him. They passed through the main room again, where Corin and the guards lay unconscious. Delano realized that they would probably burn if they didn’t come to soon, but there was no time to worry about them.

"Shit," Delano cursed as the route Dion had described ended in a wall of flames. What to do now? It was almost impossible to see in the thick smoke and everyone was gasping and coughing.

"Follow me. I know a way out," a voice from the back of the group said quietly. Delano hadn’t realized that Marcellus had trailed them. Without waiting for an answer, Marcellus began walking away and didn’t look back.

Destiny shrugged. "Come on," she said with a cough, taking Delano’s hand.

"You trust that guy?"

Destiny looked steadily at Keller for a moment, while they all sputtered and coughed, before answering. "Do we have another choice? Besides, I don’t think he would hurt me." At a skeptical look from Nissa, she added, "Don’t ask why."

Marcellus said nothing as they caught up with him. Acting as if he didn’t notice how far Nissa and Keller kept away from him, he slipped around a corner and seemed to disappear.

Keller was about to crow, ‘I told you so’, when a hidden panel in the wall opened and Marcellus peeked out. "Coming?" he asked, a bit of his old arrogance in his tone. He waited until Destiny followed joined him in the wooden corridor before letting go of the panel.

Delano dove at the wall to keep it from shutting. There was no way he was going to leave Destiny alone with that leech.

Marcellus and Destiny were already halfway down the hall before the other caught up with them. Delano gave the other vampire a venomous glare as he took Destiny’s hand in his. Marcellus just smiled condescendingly.

"This whole hallway is made of wood," Nissa pointed out as they walked by the featureless walls. "How can you be sure the fire hasn’t reached this far?"

"I can’t be," Marcellus answered indifferently. "However, it’s highly unlikely. This is pretty deep in the castle. Still, I guess we could go a bit faster, just in case."

"Where does this lead?" Destiny asked.

Marcellus took the chance to glance at her before answering, "It goes under the moat and out into the forest. You should be safe from the fire at that distance."

Destiny caught that he said ‘you’ instead of ‘we’. "Aren’t you coming with us?" she inquired, ignoring Delano’s ‘Why do you care?’ look.

Delano’s expression was mirrored on Marcellus’ face and he cast her a sideways glance. Sighing, he replied, "I can’t just leave Keiara. I don’t know where she is and I have to find her. When she finds out Corin’s dead, she’ll freak and I should probably be there with her."

The Daybreakers were obviously surprised at this confession. Did Marcellus just admit that he cared about someone?

"Why would your sister care if Corin’s dead?" Delano queried, his interest piqued.

Marcellus set his jaw and didn’t say a word.

"Marcellus?" Destiny placed a hand on his arm and he shook it off.

"He’s her soulmate, alright?!" he practically shouted, voice echoing eerily through the hallway. "She won’t admit it, she just thinks of him as any other boyfriend, but I can tell." He added, voice slightly quieter. Muscles tense, he stalked ahead of the group.

Delano looked sideways at Destiny, a ‘Did I hear right?’ expression in his dark eyes. Then a sly smile appeared on his lips as he leaned over towards Destiny. "What’ he going to say next?" he whispered into her ear, "That he’s bisexual?"

"I heard that!" Marcellus called. "You coming?" he added, agitated, when the Daybreakers failed to follow him. Shaking themselves of their amazement, the Daybreakers resumed walking. The rest of the way was made in awkward silence.

Just as Destiny was beginning to believe they would never get out of the tunnel, Marcellus turned a corner and came to a door. "There you go," he said, waving carelessly at the door. You should be able to find your way back to the trail. The burning castle will light your way," he added, sardonic.

As the others filed past him, Destiny lingered, placing a hand on his arm. "Look, why don’t you come with us-" she started in a low voice.

Marcellus shook his head. "I have to find Keiara." His tone was adamant.

Destiny sighed, worry in her eyes, "Oh, alright." Grudgingly, she turned away and followed the others out the door. Behind her, Marcellus stood where he was, staring out at her for a moment longer. Should he have taken Destiny up on her offer? No, he couldn’t leave Keiara. With one last glance at Destiny, he shut the door behind them and left to find his sister.

@~~>~~>~~~

As his adrenaline slipped away, Nick found himself dizzy and exhausted. For a while, he had been too busy to think about what had happened that night, but now, as he stared into the fire, everything came rushing back. Leandra was gone, really gone. With a sigh, he leaned back against a nearby tree. He just hoped that Leandra was the only person that was dead. Could Destiny and the others have survived the fire?

Iliana echoed his thoughts as she slumped beside him, "You think they’ll really get out of that?"

"I don’t know."

Suddenly, Nick heard a rustle in the bushes behind him, but he was too tired to care. If a werewolf decided to jump him, he thought, so be it.

"Nick! Iliana!" familiar voices cried from behind him and this time, Nick turned around. Keller’s team was already crowding around the Wild Power, hugging and crying and the like. But something on the Dark Angel’s face kept Destiny and Delano from doing the same.

"Hey Nick," Delano said softly, slowly approaching his best friend.

"Hey. I’m glad you’re alright."

Delano nodded. "Same here."

They stood there for a while, staring at each other in awkward silence before Destiny spoke up. "I’m sorry, Nick."

"So am I," he replied, turning back to the burning castle. Behind him, Nick felt Destiny wrap an arm around his waist. Delano placed a hand on his shoulder. No one said a word, lost in their own thoughts, as they watched the fire consume everything in it’s wake.

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EPILOGUE:

"Iliana, my dear child, forget your fairy tales. This time, Beauty can’t save the Beast.

"Erase Cinderella, dear girl. Your prince isn’t waiting at the ball.

"And when you prick your delicate finger on that magic spindle, Iliana, there will be no fairies to help you thwart death. There will be no knight in shining armor to slay the dragon and wake you from eternal sleep. No, there will be no Prince Charming because he’s in my control now, dear Iliana. Of his own free will.

"You see, child, you can’t save everyone. You can’t even save your own soulmate with your putrid purity. As I said, Beauty can’t save the Beast this time. Not from himself.

"Keep that in mind, for the next time we meet."

Iliana Harman scanned the letter she had received that morning one last time before placing it over the flame of the scented candle. Hunter didn’t know what he was talking about, even if he DID have a talent for writing metaphors. Dion still loved her, she knew it. But it was for the best that Hunter didn’t know that. He would have Dion killed in a second.

It had been two weeks since Leandra’s death and Dion’s false allegiance with the Night World. Thierry had been skeptical when Nick and Iliana had told him about Dion, but he trusted the love of soulmates. When the Night Lord had heard about Leandra, however, he had been shocked.

But Thierry, along with the other Daybreakers present that night, had accepted the loss. Well, everyone except Nick and Iliana was beginning to worry about him. He never showed his feelings anymore, he face might have been made of stone. It was always expressionless. As far as Iliana knew, he had never cried for Leandra, though she knew how much he had loved the lioness.

Yes, Nick was definitely someone to worry about.

"Hey, Iliana," Destiny said quietly, peeking into the Wild Power’s room.

Iliana glanced up, dropping the remaining edge of the letter into the fire. "Hi, Destiny," she said with a smile. "Come on in."

Destiny raised a brow at the ashes from the letter. "Hope that wasn’t from Dion."

Iliana rolled her lilac coloured eyes. "I wish. No, it was Hunter. Talking nonsense, as usual."

A laugh sounded from Destiny. "Did you hear that Hunter actually got burned pretty badly in the fire? But I guess that doesn’t stop him from writing to you. Anyway, I came in because we got some news of Keiara and Marcellus."

"They survived too?" Iliana guessed. At Destiny’s nod, she sighed inwardly. It was bad enough that Hunter had lived, but to that they had all made it... Oh well, it was just more unfinished business to take care of later.

"But it’s not just that," Destiny said. "It seems Keiara is half-crazed. Her soulmate died in the fire, did you hear about that? And Marcellus is much more subdued that usual. I’m guessing it’s because of his sister."

Iliana felt a twinge of pity towards Keiara. She might have helped kill Leandra, but no one deserved to be separated from their soulmate. However, it was the part about Marcellus that really caught Iliana’s attention. Studying her friend for a moment, she pointed out, "I don’t think Marcellus’ problem is Keiara. I think it’s you."

"ME?!"

"Come on, Destiny. Everyone’s been saying how he was infatuated with you. Maybe it was more than just infatuation."

Destiny shook her head, disbelieving. "I don’t think that’s possible. I’m just another damned Daybreaker to him." But she couldn’t get the image of him, pleading for her to come with him, out of her mind.

For a long time, Iliana just stared steadily at Destiny. Finally, she shrugged and looked out the window, at the sunset. Somewhere, she hoped Dion was watching the same sun. "Maybe we’ll find out someday," she whispered.

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