Angel of Hope (con't)

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PART 26:

"No, Delano, listen to me! I called to tell you something really important, not to be called down to your house for a last minute meeting!" Destiny cried in frustration into the telephone.

After she had finally gotten Gabriel and Selena back to sleep, Destiny had decided that it was time to tell everyone about Braeden’s threat. So she’d dialed Delano’s number before she lost her courage, but before Destiny could explain her plight, LeAnne Wong had come knocking on Delano’s door.

"But she really needs to talk to all of us, Destiny! Especially you!" the Lamia pleaded his case on the other line.

Destiny rolled her eyes at his whiny tone. "But what about Gabriel and Selena? I can’t just leave them here alone! It’s Lupe’s night off, even if I knew where she was, I couldn’t call her back."

"Then bring them over here!"

Destiny wanted to scream in anger. Maybe it was better that Devon was dead. If he’d turned out to be half as dense as Delano about kids, she would have killed him herself. "Delano, look," the witch said, trying to keep her voice level and not wake up the twins, "I just got those two back to sleep. Do you have any idea how hard that was?!?! I’m not about to do that again!"

"But Destiny-" Delano started to whine again before someone else yanked the phone out of his grasp.

"Destiny?" The frenzied, but notable voice of LeAnne Wong came on the other line. "Look, I’m so sorry to bother you when you need to be with Gabriel and Selena, but I REALLY need to talk to you. It’s about Braeden. I... I think he’s my soulmate." The last sentence came out as a jumble of words, but Destiny understood.

This changed her mind instantly. The tall, blue-eyed girl hurriedly grabbed her car keys from the kitchen counter, uttering a quick, "I’m coming," before hanging up the phone.

"Gabriel! Selena!!" Destiny called ahead of herself as she now rushed into their nursery. "Get up, honey. Come on, princess," She said in a softer tone as she approached their just wakening forms. "We’re going to Delano’s house."

Little Gabriel, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, asked simply in a confused voice, "Why?"

"Because I need to go to a meeting at his house and I can’t leave you two alone without Lupe, honey," Destiny explained, gently picking them up, one on each arm.

"But mommy," Selena grumbled, "I’m sleepy. I don’t want to go to Delano’s house. He’s always so serious at your meetings."

Destiny smiled. "I know, princess. But this is REALLY important and I have to be there. Look, if you two are good tonight, I’ll get Nick to baby-sit you tomorrow, okay?"

Immediately, the twins broke out in smiles. "Really? Uncle Nick? Do you promise, mommy?" Gabriel exclaimed in an excited voice.

"Yup, I promise. But you have to be good okay?"

Gabriel and Selena gladly agreed in unison.

When Destiny finally arrived at Delano’s, she found that LeAnne had already heard about Tier’s kidnapping.

"WHAT?!?!?!" The little Asian girl was screaming as the witch knocked on the door. "How could you let them get him?!?!? There were NINE of you and you couldn’t take care of TWO vampires?!?!? What kind of weaklings ARE you?!?!?" She cried in fury, looking like an angry Oriental goddess, come to take her revenge.

Delano was just trying to explain the situation to LeAnne, as Nick let Destiny in and took his niece and nephew in his arms. "Maybe you’ll be able to calm her down. She’s practically hysterical right now and we have no idea what to do," Nick suggested to Destiny in a whisper before starting down the hall towards the bedrooms.

"And where do you think you’re going, Nicholas Corona?" Destiny demanded playfully of his retreating back.

A sweet smile played on the blond boy’s lips. "I’m just putting Gabriel and Selena to bed. Besides, you don’t think that any sane person would actually want to go back to that living room again, do you? I’m sorry, but I’ve had enough of my fellow Dark Angel’s ravings for one day." And with that, he turned his back again, murmuring baby talk to the twins all the way to his bedroom.

With a roll of her eyes, Destiny stepping into the living room where LeAnne was still fuming while Delano attempted a pathetic excuse for an excuse. "Hey guys! What’s up?" She asked, hoping to distract the Daybreakers from their plight for a second.

"What does it look like?" Quinn replied ruefully. "We’re just being told for the five-hundred millionth time that we’re dim-wits."

From where she was standing on the other side of the room, LeAnne snorted. "Hah! You make it sound like I’m lying! Well, you guys ARE pathetic! I mean, nine against TWO?! And you call yourselves the BEST!"

"Well, when she puts it that way, we do sound rather stupid," Keller admitted.

With a sigh, Destiny intervened, "Look guys, that’s not the issue I came here to discuss. Now, LeAnne, you called me because you wanted to talk to me about something really important. Do you want to tell everyone or just me? Tell me now, because I’m not staying long and if I get any bull-shit from anyone, I’m out of this for good. I’m getting really sick of us fighting all the time and not getting anywhere!"

For a few silent seconds, everyone just gaped at Destiny in disbelief. Finally, LeAnne decided to speak up. "Well, there’s two things I wanted to say tonight. Of course this was before I heard about Tier," the Dark Angel directed a pointed glare Delano’s way. "But anyway, one of them, I want to tell everyone. The other, I just want to discuss with Destiny. What I want everyone to know is that I’ve changed my mind. I have no idea what got into me before, but I’m totally over Braeden and I’m on your side now, one hundred percent!"

Almost everyone was ecstatic about the news. Ash, let out a loud whoop of joy, now being almost fully recovered from his ordeal.

But Quinn, being Quinn, was still suspicious. "How do we know Braeden didn’t put you up to this? How can you prove that you’re not lying to us?"

"Quinn, love, think of it this way," Rashel answered for LeAnne, "If she were still under Braeden’s control, could she have seemed so genuinely upset about Tier? I mean, even the best actress couldn’t be THAT convincing."

Quinn still didn’t look too happy and if it had been anyone other than his soulmate that had spoken, he probably would have talked back. But he just sat back broodingly and settled with giving the Asian girl evil glares instead.

"And what was it that you wanted to tell me, LeAnne?" Destiny asked to change the subject. She already knew the problem LeAnne had encountered.

"Oh, um... could we go somewhere else? Maybe outside?" LeAnne suggested.

Hesitantly, Destiny agreed. She still didn’t know how much she could trust this girl.

Once outside, LeAnne didn’t waste and time. "Look, Destiny, you know that I think Braeden is my... soulmate. But I need to ask you, what should I do? I mean, God, I want him. But he’s evil. I just can’t be with someone like that. What am I going to do?" Plopping herself down on the front steps, the Asian beauty put her head in her hands.

Destiny, the pale moonlight making her look like a Dark Angel herself, crouched beside her friend. "Well, we have to find out for sure if Braeden Soterios is REALLY your soulmate or not. If he is, we’ll go on from there. If not, well, we have nothing to worry about, do we?"

"But how do we find out? I told him I never want to see him again and I meant it. Sort of."

"By memory I guess," Destiny answered LeAnne’s mournful question. "Let’s see, did you feel the tingles, the electricity, white light etc.?"

"Yup."

"Feeling of being whole, totally complete?"

"Yup."

"Did you see into his mind?"

"I don’t know."

Destiny abruptly stopped ticking the symptoms off on her fingers. "What?"

"Well, I don’t know if I saw into his mind. I might of, but I was in a really hazy and kinda drugged state every time I was with him until today. I could hardly see straight, let alone think. So I COULD have seen into his mind, but I wouldn’t remember," LeAnne explained with a desperate hope in her voice.

"I doubt seeing The Pharaoh’s mind would be one someone could forget," Destiny mumbled to herself. More loudly, she asked, "You mentioned before today. I’ve been meaning to ask you about that. It sounds like you were with Braeden. What happened? He didn’t show up for our meeting at the mall today."

A far-away look entered LeAnne’s large, hazel eyes. "That’s probably because he was chasing after me when your meeting was supposed to take place. I already told the others part of the story before you got here. Anyway, you see, I heard you and these two other girls- Keller and Rashel I think it is- talking about me and Braeden after school. So I went to check out what it was all about. I asked Braeden about it and he seemed really nervous about it, and finally, he spilled the beans. He told me everything about what had gone on these couple of days and his past, everything. And when he started, it was as if a veil had been lifted from my mind and eyes, you know? I could finally think about what he was and I could finally really SEE him, you know? And God, I just wanted to run away and cry right then, but I still had some doubt about Braeden being totally evil.

"I don’t know what was going on with me, I desperately didn’t want to believe it. Whether it was because I was in love with him or if I wanted to make myself feel better for choosing such a creep over Tier, I don’t know. But I demanded proof. And I got it.

"Braeden brought me down to the basement and showed me what he was doing to Ash and Leandra and I just lost it. I mean, this was the proof that I’d demanded. He was who he claimed to be, ‘nuf said. And I just found myself screaming at him, shouting obscenities, the works. And he was on his knees, begging me to allow him to redeem himself! God, I just couldn’t let myself cave in, you know? So, I just ran out of there and headed down to the trail by the amphitheater.

"I thought I’d get a bit of privacy there, but he chased after me. And finally...finally I couldn’t run from him anymore. We had a huge fight and oh God, he told me.. he told me, he LOVED me! LOVED ME! And he was crying! God! I just, I couldn’t, I mean..." With that, LeAnne’s body was racked with sobs. It was as if the world had come to an end, all because some boy had declared his love for her.

Without a word, Destiny put her arms around LeAnne. There was nothing she could or should have said. It was all clear. Nothing had been said in words, but both women realized now that Braeden had to be LeAnne’s soulmate. It couldn’t be mind control, like Destiny had suspected in the beginning. Braeden wouldn’t pour his guts out like that if he didn’t care for LeAnne. And the only reason that could be is if they were soulmates.

Destiny had once heard about what had happened to Braeden’s previous love. That was over 600 years ago, when he was just about to be transformed into a vampire. It seemed that that girl had been Braeden’s first victim after he changed. The blood-lust had been too much, the elder she’d heard it from claimed, but up until now, Destiny had believed that The Pharaoh was just evil. Nevertheless, Braeden Soterios had been afraid of love ever since. The only reason Braeden would let his guard down now, so near to the Millennium and the final battle was if he had found the girl of his dreams. His soulmate.

"So what do we do now?" LeAnne asked in a small voice.

Destiny hadn’t realized her sobbing had ceased. "Well, the question now is, do you want him back?"

There was hesitation as the Dark Angel thought this over. In her crying fit a few minutes ago, her mascara had started to run and her lips still quivered from the newly found information. However, the scattered beams of moonlight showed no flaw as it struck her face. Finally, she answered, "Well, if it were just Braeden I had to worry about, as much as I’d hate to admit it, I’d want him back. But it’s not just Braeden I care about. I mean, when I heard that Tier was missing and that Braeden had him... well, I just wanted to kill that damn soulmate of mine! But that’s the problem, you know? He’s my soulmate and regardless if I want him or not, I have to love him. The thing is, I’ve been with Tier so much longer, my love for him grew out of getting to know him, not some silver cord that throws you towards a guy you’d normally despise. I just don’t know anymore."

Destiny let out a frustrated sigh. What to say? She’d encountered this sort of situation before, but never to such a serious and out of control extent. What could be done but to give LeAnne time and let her follow her heart?

As Destiny was about to point this out, a gentle knock sounded from behind them before the front door was opened a crack. Dark aqua orbs peered out at the two women and Nick’s quiet voice informed them with a note of worry, "We have to talk to you guys right away. It’s about The Pharaoh. He wants to see LeAnne, or Tier is as good as dead."

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PART 27:

"What the HELL are you talking about?" LeAnne Wong demanded as Delano Saldivar desperately tried to explain the situation to her. "I don’t CARE what you think, got that? I’m going to meet Braeden right now, whether you guys are coming with me or not."

"But LeAnne, that’s exactly what he’s counting on! Don’t you see?" The Italian Lamia pleaded from his place in the living room across from the Asian girl. "This is so obviously a trap it’s almost comical. If he can’t have you on his side, he’s going to kill you. One less Dark Angel doesn’t effect him. There’s three more. And he’s just using Tier as bait. He knows you still care. The Pharaoh’s not stupid, LeAnne. He’s clever and blood-thirsty. He’s not going to care if he has to kill you. You’re just VERMIN to him, don’t you understand? VERMIN!"

Vermin? No, that was where Delano was wrong. She wasn’t just vermin to Braeden. She was his soulmate.

All the yelling and screaming finally took it’s toll. Before anyone had time to think, LeAnne had Delano pinned against the wall. "No, no I’m not the one that doesn’t understand, all right?" She growled, inches away from his face. "You’re the one that’s confused. You’re the one that’s trying to be everyone’s psychiatrist and messing up big time. Listen to me, I am not just vermin, got it? I am a Dark Angel, much more powerful than you could hope to be. And I’ve been closer to The Pharaoh than the likes of you ever will be. And I’ve seen into his mind! His mind, God damn it! And do you know how? Why? Because I’m his soulmate, do you hear me? His fuckin’ soulmate!! So don’t you pass judgment on me just yet. You got it, you Antisocial Egotistical Blood-Sucking Bastard?" LeAnne’s chest was heaving with anger and contempt by the time her speech was done.

Silence enveloped the room like a blanket over a smoldering fire. A tiny wail could be heard coming from Nick’s bedroom and Destiny gestured for the blond boy to go check on her children.

Finally, Leandra Leon found her voice. "What did you say?" She asked in awe. "Who’s your soulmate?"

LeAnne was still breathing hard and Delano was still pinned to the wall, but the Asian seemed to be cooling down. Without taking her eyes off the Lamia, she answered, "Yeah, you heard me. Braeden Soterios, The Pharaoh is my soulmate. So, I’m going to talk to him no matter what. The question is, are you in? Or out?" The last questions were directed specifically towards Delano.

"I’m in," he said quietly and grimly. His steady black gaze was unnerving as he matched LeAnne’s glare and tone, word for word.

"I’m in," Keller chimed, "No offense, LeAnne, but I want to get my claws into that damn leech."

"No conflict there," LeAnne replied swiftly with a stony air. Finally, she let Delano go and he thankfully sank into a nearby chair.

Ash however, didn’t look quite as healthy as he had before when he’d heard LeAnne was on their side. "Um... LeAnne, you know, I’d love to help you out and all... but I’m really not too excited about seeing that torture-room specialist anytime soon."

Leandra beside him, nodded her agreement.

The harsh look on LeAnne’s face melted a bit as she sympathized with the two Daybreakers. "Oh, I understand. That’s okay. Besides, there might be need of a back-up team. You guys can be it and anyone else who wants to be. So basically, you’ll go to the amphitheater with us and wait where they can’t see or sense you. But make sure you can see what’s going on because I don’t think there’s any way for us to communicate with you. Then, if we need your help, you come, pretty simple." Then the Dark Angel turned her attention to the pair of soulmates sitting together on the green-striped sofa. "What about you guys? Yes, no, maybe?"

Quinn, always ready to attack his enemies, agreed with an little twinkle of excitement and anticipation in his bottomless eyes. "Let me at him."

Beside him, Rashel didn’t look half as thrilled as her soulmate, but also gave her consent to go.

Now Nick entered the room, carrying with him two very sleepy and grumpy little twins. "They wanted their mommy," he explained softly.

"Oh come here, Gabe. Come on, princess," Destiny quietly cooed to her children as she took them in her arms. To Nick, she asked, "What about you?"

Perplexed, the blond shifter stared at his brother’s soulmate a full 5 seconds before he asked, "What about me what?"

LeAnne answered for Destiny, "Are you going to the high school amphitheater with us to meet The Pharaoh?"

"Right now?!?!"

"Of course right now," the petite Asian girl replied, in a wasn’t-that-obvious-you-little-dim-wit voice.

Nick looked around the room as if this were some joke that everyone was in on against him. "And when did we reach this decision?" He asked cautiously. "Last time I checked, we were profusely against that idea."

"That was before we found out The Pharaoh was her soulmate," Rashel remarked bitterly.

"Oh."

"So?" LeAnne was getting impatient. It was almost 9 p.m. now and her parents must have realized by now that she wasn’t home. Who knew what kind of trouble would be in store for her when she finally returned? "Are you coming or not?"

Instead of Nick, it was Delano that answered. "I think Nick should stay back with Ash and Leandra. Quinn too, for that matter. We already have one Dark Angel going, we should keep our other one safe for as long as possible. And Quinn and Rashel are the only soulmates we have here. One of them should stay behind."

"And why should it be me?" Quinn demanded heatedly. "Remember, I have something to settle with Soterios."

At that, the dark haired Lamia gave Quinn a pointed glare. "Exactly. We don’t want anyone to go picking a fight, Quinn. We just want to get Tier back. Besides, if something goes wrong, you’ll have as much ass-whooping time as you want with the Pharaoh, but only then."

Rashel agreed. "He has a point, love. Stay where you can only watch. You’ll have your chance with the Pharaoh sooner or later. You’re both immortal remember?" The vampire slayer added with a smile.

"So are you both being back-up?" LeAnne asked Nick and Quinn impatiently. This was taking a lot longer than needed.

"Yeah," they agreed in unison, Nick sounding much more cheerful than the always grumpy John Quinn.

"Hey, Keller?" Nick piped up all of a sudden before anyone else could speak, "Do you still have those communicator thingys that you’re team used for finding Iliana in the mall? That way, if we loose sight of you, we can still hear what’s going on. "

The panther shifter gazed at Nick with a look of respect and regret. "Well, that’s a good idea, Nick. But they weren’t mine to keep. Those devices are back in Las Vegas at Thierry’s house."

"No, they’re not, actually," Delano said with a slightly sheepish smile. "Um... I kinda asked Thierry if I could borrow them, just in case, so I have them at the moment in my room. I can’t believe I didn’t think of it before!" he added to himself.

"So go get them!" LeAnne practically screamed. This was taking WAY to long. "We’ll be waiting for you in the cars."

"Oh yeah, take my car," Delano called, half-way down the hall as all the other Daybreakers dashed for the door. "The keys are on the kitchen counter!"

"Wait!!!" Destiny suddenly cried out, standing on the front step. Everyone else, who was either piling into Quinn’s rented Camry or waiting for Nick to come out with Delano’s car keys, froze in the middle of their actions.

"What am I going to do with these two?!" The dark haired witch bounced the two little babies in her arms a little to show what she meant.

Nick, having just emerged in the front door, dashed back into the house. "I’m going to call your apartment. Maybe Lupe’s back, I have a feeling she is. Then we can drop the twins off before we head for the amphitheater."

Destiny thought the macaw shifter must be crazy. Who came home early at 8:45 p.m. on their first day off since the she had been sent to baby-sit for two little 7-month olds?!?!

But, as it turned out, Nicholas Corona was always right. Lupe hadn’t been feeling well and decided to call it a night. After hearing what was going on, how could the werewolf refuse to help?

So, after all 11 Daybreakers including Gabriel and Selena had been loaded into the two cars according to who was going in and who was back-up, they made a quick stop at Destiny’s apartment before heading off towards the amphitheater. With any luck, they hadn’t wasted too much time arguing about whether to go or not and Tier was still alive.

* * * * *
PART 28:

Braeden Soterios glared at the figure hanging by his wrists from the tall maple tree in extreme distaste. "You better hope that little bitch of yours gets here by nine, vermin. Do you trust her? You think she’ll come? ‘Cause if not, well, looks like you’ll be getting a little wet," The Pharaoh growled quietly, dangerously. Goddess, he hated this stupid human boy. If it wasn’t for Tier, he’d still have LeAnne. Braeden had seen into her mind, like all soulmates could. He’d seen what she felt for her human boyfriend. No matter how much she denied it, LeAnne would always love Tier Brandon and there was nothing The Pharaoh could do to change that. Or, almost nothing.

If Tier Brandon was found dead in the river, well, the cops wouldn’t think that was strange. Every year, at least 5 people were found, drowned in the fast flowing Grand River. No one would make the connection between the death of an ex-basketball star and a mysterious and gorgeous boy that had just passed through the city for a few days. Besides, even if they did, it would be impossible to track Braeden, for according to the human government, he didn’t exist.

Wanting to torment his captive even further and to vent his own fury, Braeden continued, "You think that little slut of yours is so perfect? You think she’s so great? Well, you’re wrong. She uses people. She makes you THINK she cares about you and then dumps you like you’re a bag of shit. She doesn’t care about anyone, anything, just what she wants. And what she wants, that changes almost daily. So guess what, vermin? You’re yesterday’s news. She’s not going to show. She DOESN’T CARE!" His voice escalated in volume as he grew more passionate, felt all the hurt, anger and betrayal. Suddenly, The Pharaoh became quiet, the only sound heard was his heavy breathing as he desperately grasped and fought for control. Even the soothing sounds of the night creatures on their nightly rounds were extinguished by the vampire’s deafening outburst.

Inside, Tier must have been seething and crying at the same time, but no sign of that showed. His face was a mask of calm and serenity exactly opposite of his captor’s. Quietly, surprising Braeden, he stated simply, "So basically, you’re saying she’s like you."

The Pharaoh glanced up sharply, his sky blue eyes flashing, even though the clouds had dimmed the moonlight. They seemed to glow with a deadly inner light. "What did you say?" He asked calmly as he slowly advanced towards the maple. Too calmly.

"I know you heard me perfectly well with those leech ears of yours," Scorn added an edge to Tier’s mocking reply.

If looks could kill, the human boy would already be dead. "Well, I don’t think testing the water a bit sooner than planned is going to hurt anyone," The Pharaoh said, quickly pulling a silver plaited dagger from his belt.

Just as the chocolate haired vampire was about to slice the rope that held Tier’s tied hands aloft, a quiet but furious and commanding voice echoed through the night air, "Touch him, Soterios, and die."

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