Angel of Hope (con't)

* * * * *
PART 5

"I love you," Tier Brandon whispered to LeAnne Wong as he held her in his arms.

In reply, his girlfriend sighed in contentment. Turning to face him, she planted a kiss on his lips.

It was Sunday night and the couple were in the amphitheater behind their high school. Ridiculous as it may sound, the amphitheater was the perfect place to go if you wanted to be alone. The site where the theater was built used to be a quarry and was surrounded by forest. It over-looked the Grand River and a trail through the surrounding forest was the river’s companion as it hurriedly made it’s way towards downtown Galt.

Two days had passed since LeAnne’s little encounter with the Night World. Her meeting the next day with Destiny had been on her mind ever since. No matter how hard LeAnne tried to erase or bury the thought, she always came back to it in the end. It wasn’t like she wanted to go, but a part of her was saying that she NEEDED to.

Normally, LeAnne would have called Tier right away and told him what was on her mind or dragged him somewhere to get her mind off of the problem. However, this week-end both had had to work and had no time to go out.

Finally, not being able to take it any longer, LeAnne called her boyfriend and brought him to the amphitheater. She knew he would ask questions later, but right now, all she was concerned about was their kiss.

LeAnne was the one to pull away. It didn’t matter how much she tried. Tier could only make her forget her problems for a limited amount of time. "Tier?" She asked. "Do you believe in vampires?"

A lock of dark brown hair fell into his chocolate coloured eyes as Tier tilted his head in disbelief. "Is THAT why you brought me here?!?!"

Sheepishly, LeAnne looked down at her and Tier’s interwoven fingers.

A slight frown creased Tier’s features. "I never knew you were interested in that kind of stuff, LeAnne. But, no. I don’t believe in vampires. Personally, I think they’re just monsters parents make up to scare children."

"But there are so many cultures that have vampires woven into their myths! And most of those stories were probably created before they had communication with any outside civilizations. How could all these cultures have the same kind of monster if there wasn’t at least a shred of truth in them?" LeAnne pointed out almost desperately, for now, she was really beginning to feel she had lost her mind.

"Hey, LeAnne, baby, calm down," Tier wrapped his arms tighter around his girlfriend’s body for she was starting to shake. "Everything you’ve said is true, but there’s just no proof, you know? I’m not saying you’re wrong, it’s just that vampires only exist in stories as far as we know. There’s nothing scientific that proves they’re real."

LeAnne snorted. Her desperation was now turning to anger. How could she have fallen in love with a guy that cared if something was SCIENTIFIC!?!?! God, he sounded like her parents. "Who cares about science when the proof is staring us straight in the eye?!" She practically shouted. There was a flutter in the trees surrounding them as she startled the creatures that lived nearby.

Tier just stared at his girlfriend in disbelief. He’s never seen LeAnne so worked up about anything other than a test or music. This was definitely strange and Tier didn’t like it. "What the hell do you mean? God, you’ve really lost it, haven’t you? Where did all this vampire stuff come from? Destiny? Is that girl getting to you?" He demanded, his own frustration showing plainly in his harsh voice.

Of course, her boyfriend had it exactly right, but LeAnne wasn’t about to admit that. She was too angry to do anything that sounded vaguely sensible. "Destiny? Are you crazy? She’s one of the best friends I’ve ever had. I can actually count on her to understand. Not like SOME people I know." An accusing glare was shot at Tier.

With a cry of exasperation, the ex-basketball player gave LeAnne one last withering glance and stormed off.

As soon as he was gone, LeAnne’s anger began to ebb away. *Why did I freak out like that?* She silently asked herself. *Lord, I acted like such a bitch.*

Lost in her thoughts, LeAnne didn’t know how long she sat in the dark amphitheater. She probably would have stayed there all night if she hadn’t sensed someone watching her. Looking around sharply, all she was able to see however, was an owl, flying out of it’s perch to hunt. *That was probably all it was. An owl,* she reassured herself as she quickly got up and walked to her car. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was following her. And the haunting reflection of her eyes in the rearview mirror were of no comfort at all as LeAnne made her way home.

* * * * *
PART 6:

*Monday at last,* Braeden Soterios thought in joyful anticipation. Excitedly, he made his way towards the majestic building that was Galt Collegiate Institute & Vocational School.

Braeden couldn’t have hoped for a better chance than this. He had timed his entrance perfectly. The final bell would be ringing in a few minutes and he would be waiting at LeAnne Wong’s locker, ready to sweep her off her feet.

Slowly, Braeden climbed the stairs to the third floor. Running a tanned, long-fingered hand across the intricate railing, he mused about how easy this assignment was going to be. LeAnne had just had a serious fight with her boyfriend the night before and Braeden was sure she wouldn’t turn down the chance to go out with him. Number one, she would want to get revenge. Secondly, being a made vampire, he was now naturally gorgeous. How could any girl resist?

BRING!

"Goddess, that is the mating call of a frog if I’ve ever heard one," Braeden muttered as students came surging out of the classrooms. Their eyes widened when they caught sight of the vampire and some even paused for a second. Girls whispered and stared as they went by and even some guys were eyeing him with ‘Who is that hot guy?’ written all over their faces.

All this was very amusing to the vampire, but nothing more. He was used to this kind of attention by now.

"Hi," Braeden said to a short, red-haired girl as she shyly hurried by.

Sharply, she looked up in pleasure and surprise. "Y-y-yes? Um...d-did you s-say something?" She stuttered, clearly flustered.

Flashing a charming smile her way, the vampire replied politely, "Yes. Do you know who LeAnne Wong is?"

Braeden could have laughed as the girl’s face dropped visibly in realization that she wasn’t the one he wanted to talk to. He loved playing on pathetic human emotions. It was so amusing. Instead, his face remained distantly polite as she replied in dejection, "I think I know who you’re talking about. She should be up in a few minutes."

"Thank you." With that, Braeden ended their conversation and the redhead shuffled away to reveal a small, ebony-haired Asian girl emerging from the stairs. No one needed to tell him that this was LeAnne Wong. To his surprise, Braeden felt his heart race just a bit faster. He had seen pictures, but they didn’t begin to reveal how pretty she really was. It was hard to believe this hazel-eyed girl was really just vermin.

Looking up, LeAnne caught sight of the blue-eyed boy standing in front of her locker. With his excellent eyesight, Braeden could see her intake of breath. *Good,* he thought, *this is going to go perfectly.*

Catching her eye, the vampire flashed her a beguiling smile. The show was about to begin.

@~~>~~~>~~~~

Destiny McNite raced out of her French class as fast as her legs could take her. UGH! A major downfall of going to school in Canada was having to take French classes. Being in Grade 12, she was technically allowed to choose her courses, but administration had messed up and put her in a French class. Before, Destiny had thought she could take it, but now she wasn’t so sure. The only thing she had bothered to learn in all her 20 years was the phrase, "Je ne parle pas francais." And that meant, "I don’t speak French." Obviously, that wasn’t going to save her now.

Reaching the stairs, Destiny almost cried out in dismay. She really shouldn’t have been surprised. It was like this everyday. There was a whole line-up of about 100 students standing at the entrance of the staircase to the third floor. About 300 more students were trying to get down the stairs.

Desperately, the dark-haired witch glanced at the other stairwell. It was just as bad, if not worse. That was another thing about this school. The main part of the building that had 4 floors, had been built in the 1800’s and was only to accommodate no more than 400 students. Now, there were over 1,200 students and only two stairways to the third and fourth floors.

Destiny decided there was only one thing to do. Mustering all of her nerve, she let out a blood-curdling scream. Usually, everyone would have known it was her, but a little spell had been added, so that the cry echoed on the walls. People looked around in confusion and it that moment, Destiny was darting up the stairs. She HAD to get to LeAnne as quickly as she could.

Destiny wasn’t stupid. She knew that her friend had Senior Band practice that night and didn’t plan to go to Delano’s house anyway. Who could blame her? But LeAnne had to be there tonight. She had to know what was going on as soon as possible.

Not for the first time since Friday night, Destiny felt guilt and uncertainty well up inside of her. Ever since the party, she had been wondering if she’d done the right thing without telling LeAnne the truth. There was so much more going on than anyone would have guessed. That fact had been proved last night, when Destiny had received an urgent call from Circle Daybreak, telling her that the Night World was planing something big for today.

So, now, the dark-haired witch found herself racing up the stairs to the third floor, praying to the Goddess that she wasn’t too late to stop whatever was going to happen.

Just as she burst through the stairway, onto the second floor, Destiny spotted something that took her breath away. In an instant, she was back in the safety of the crowd of students dashing up and down the stairs.

She couldn’t believe it, but another glance at LeAnne’s locker told her it was true. Goddess, it was HIM.

* * * * *
PART 7:

LeAnne was almost hyperventilating as she strode to her locker. Just a minute ago ,she was worrying about Destiny, but those thoughts had now POOF! vanished without a trace. God, that guy was HOT! And he was looking at HER! Not that it actually meant he wanted to talk to her, but LeAnne was ecstatic nonetheless.

Just his body was enough to make her knees quiver. He wasn’t extremely tall, like Tier. This guy was more compact, but nicely muscled and projected an aura of confidence.

"Hello LeAnne," He said softly as she came closer.

He knew her name! LeAnne was filled with joy and for the first time, she felt confident enough to really look the boy in the face. It was like falling into a black hole. His eyes alone were enough to take her breath away. Deep and fathomless. Add the high cheekbones that would be any sculptor’s dream and the sensuous mouth and LeAnne was ready to swoon.

She desperately wanted to say something, but nothing came out of her mouth. All she could do was stare, like she was in a trance.

Not fazed in the least by LeAnne’s loss of voice, the boy continued. "I’m Braeden Soterios." He offered a friendly smile. "I know we’ve just met, but would you like to go to the Black Iris with me tonight?"

LeAnne could feel her eyes grow wide. What was probably the hottest guy on the planet had just asked her out! Normally, she would have thought him a lunatic, it wasn’t sensible to ask out someone you’d just met. But suddenly, she didn’t care about sensibility. Suddenly, the old, rational LeAnne had vanished and a wild party girl had replaced her. Later when asked, she would have described it like someone had placed the new personality in her mind. But this was now. Without a second thought, she shot Braeden a flirtatious look. "Sure."

@~~~>~~~>~~~~

It was him. Braedon Soterios. The Pharaoh himself.

Leaning against the wall for support, Destiny’s breath came out in ragged gasps. *Braeden Soterios. Braeden Soterios has LeAnne.* The chant kept repeating in her mind and there was no way Destiny could make it stop.

Braeden Soterios or ‘The Pharaoh’ as all Night People knew him, was one of the most notorious assassins in the Night World. He had been made into a vampire over 600 years ago and was infamous all over the world for his ferocity. It was even said that he, like Maya, could shape-shift into any desired animal.

He had been one of the seven made vampires at Hunter Redfern’s Bloodfeast, and most had thought he’d been killed. But just a few weeks ago, there had been a string of Circle Daybreak murders and all had been killed in a fashion that screamed ‘The Pharaoh’. Daybreakers had realized that Braeden was still alive and he was feared now more than ever.

And he was after LeAnne.

Destiny couldn’t just stand in the stairway and leave her friend, the most powerful weapon against the Wild Powers, alone with that monster. But there was nothing to be done. Destiny herself had become a bit of a celebrity in the Night World after she had found out about the Dark Angels and Braeden would be sure to recognize her. That could mean a whole list of new problems to add to the ones Circle Daybreak already had.

Just as she decided that there was no other choice but to go to LeAnne herself, Destiny saw a tall, familiar figure rushing down the stairs. "Tier!" She called, waving a hand in the air.

Whirling around, the human boy looked hopefully at Destiny. "Hi Destiny! Have you talked to LeAnne yet?"

"Actually, I was wondering if you could talk to her," Destiny replied as she hurried down the stairs and pulled Tier down another flight so Braeden wouldn’t hear their conversation.

Tier’s face fell. "Oh. Why?"

"’Cause I want to talk to her."

Dark brown eyes peered at her quite quizzically. "So why don’t you talk to her yourself?"

Destiny sighed in frustration. There was definitely something up with these two lovebirds, but she didn’t have time to find out. Thinking quickly, she answered, "There’s this guy with her. I know him from somewhere and I’ve been trying to avoid him for the longest time. He doesn’t know that I’m at GCI yet and I plan to keep it that way. If I want to do that, I can’t just waltz up to them and say what’s up? You get my drift?"

Tier raised an eyebrow. It was obvious Destiny wasn’t telling the full truth, but he wasn’t going to ask. Angry women were one of the things he hated most. "So, who’s this guy?" He asked instead.

"Does it matter? I really need to talk to her!"

"What should I tell her?"

Destiny almost screamed in exasperation. Human men! UGH! "You’re her boyfriend! I don’t know. Tell her she’ll be late for band or something. It wouldn’t be a lie," she added with a glimpse at her watch. "Now, GO!"

"Okay! All right!" Tier cried, "I’m going. I’m going."

He and Destiny headed back up the now deserted stairway and Destiny waited quietly while Tier went to talk to LeAnne. *I hope this works,* the witch thought. *The way things have been going, I’ll be lucky if no one dies."

@~~~>~~~>~~~~

As soon as he saw the guy LeAnne was talking to, Tier got a visit from the green-eyed monster. He didn’t know much about what girls liked, but he knew that a guy like that was someone everybody wanted to ‘get to know’.

"Hello LeAnne," Tier said, trying not to sound too frosty.

His girlfriend coldly raised an eyebrow his way. "Hello Tier." Then, as if the thought had just struck her, a pleasantly fake smile appeared on LeAnne’s lips. She slipped an arm around the other boy’s waist, something she wouldn’t have dared do just a day ago. "Oh, have you met Braeden? We’re going to the Black Iris, in Kitchener tonight."

Anger and fear coiled itself around Tier. What was wrong with LeAnne? He knew she was mad, but never had she acted like this. It was almost as if she had been brainwashed. *Braeden,* his mind spat out the name. *It’s got to be him. I can see why Destiny wants to get away from him.*

Trying to sound non-chalent, Tier said, "Shouldn’t you be getting to band now? It’s 3:00, you’re going to be late."

A snort of disgust was his reply. "What? Are you my mother now, Tier? Not only do you order me around when we’re going out, after we break up, you still think you can tell me what to do!"

"What?!?! B-break up? When?! Why?"

"I’d think you knew Tier! I thought you were much smarter than this!" With that, she took hold of Braeden’s hand and shoved past a shell-shocked Tier.

As he passed LeAnne’s ex, Braeden turned and gave one last triumphant look his way. He had won, and there was nothing Tier or anyone else could do about it. LeAnne was totally his.

* * * * *
PART 8:

Destiny cursed under her breath.

From his place across from Destiny, on the couch, Delano rolled his eyes. "Look, Destiny, don’t think that I can’t hear you. I’m a vampire remember? Anyway, you can’t keep blaming yourself. You’ll get an ulcer or something."

A bitter laugh came from Destiny. "That’s easy for you to say. You’re not the one that ran and hid as soon as Braeden Soterios came towards you instead of facing him and saving a Dark Angel."

"Girl, you have been grumbling about this for the last half hour. Just because you missed them once and saved your own ass, doesn’t mean Braeden is going to kill LeAnne. Besides, I hate to sound like some cold-hearted monster, but he would really solve a lot of our problems if he did kill her. Braeden Soterios isn’t stupid. He is in no way going to do anything that will benefit us."

Destiny really didn’t want to get into this. It didn’t matter what Delano said or how reasonable he made it sound, she wouldn’t be able to bury the guilt. "Where’s everyone else, by the way?" She asked, hoping to change the subject.

"Oh, so I’m not good enough now, am I?" Delano looked extremely offended, in a fake sort of way.

"Of course you’re not good enough, Delano. What sane woman would want to be in YOUR company?" A playfully snobbish voice quipped from the doorway.

Without looking behind him Delano replied flatly, "Hi Rashel. Hey guys."

"Aren’t we cheerful today?" Leandra said. Picking up a pillow off the floor, she hurled it Delano’s way. It hit him squarely in the face, but by the time he recovered, Nick and Leandra had both disappeared down the hall in a fit of giggles.

"Children," Quinn sounded greatly superior as he looked after them. Turning around and flopping down on a sofa, he asked, "So, what’s up? Anything interesting?" Seeing Destiny’s expression, he said, "I take it that this isn’t a good thing."

Destiny nodded sullenly. "You guys better sit down for this. Oh, and get Nick and Leandra too."

Ash immediately sank down onto an ottoman. Keller sat beside Delano and Rashel lay down, using Quinn’s lap as a pillow. "Hey! You two lovebirds!" She called. "Get down here! We’ve got something important to tell you!" Turning towards Destiny, she said simply, "Shoot."

When the two shifters had entered the room, Destiny began, "The Pharaoh’s in town."

The vampires and shape-shifters, with the exception of Delano, were up in a second. As soon as Rashel picked herself up off the ground, she was just as concerned.

"What do you mean he’s in town?" Ash demanded.

"I mean what I say," Destiny replied without expression. She launched into her account of what happened at school and by the end, all the Daybreakers were staring at her in horror.

"Great," Keller muttered. "So, you’re telling me that The Pharaoh just waltzed into GCI, asked LeAnne out and she actually said YES?!?! Damn, I thought that girl had some more sense!"

"If you’ve seen any pictures, you’ve got to admit he’s pretty hot," Leandra pointed out, as Nick glanced at her sharply. "Besides, LeAnne’s ver-human. Braeden can influence her."

Clearly NOT happy that his girlfriend had just admitted another guy was hot, Nick quickly changed the subject. "We can’t worry about what’s already been done. The question is, what are we going to do about it?"

"No matter what we decide to do, you’re not going to be a part of it, Nick," Delano remarked, "Thierry told us to keep you safe, and that’s what we’re going to do."

The blond shifter looked at the group before him incredulously. "I can take care of myself! I’m expendable, really, and you all know it! I’m nothing special! All I can do is kill Delos Redfern and we don’t want that now do we?"

"You could also protect him from anyone that tries to hurt him," reminded Destiny.

Nick didn’t relent in the least. "That’s right. All I need to do is touch The Pharaoh and he’s dead. Wouldn’t that be considered an asset?"

Quinn gave a disbelieving snort. "Nick, I’ve fought this guy before. You’ll never get your hands on him, I guarantee you. I knew exactly what I was doing and I barely came out of it alive. You’re young and inexperienced, you’d be down in the blink of an eye."

Nick must have been insulted, but everyone knew Quinn was telling him this for his own good. Never would John Quinn confess to a weakness unless it was absolutely necessary. So, the shifter just silently brooded while the others contemplated what could be done.

"We can’t go to the club ourselves," Ash was saying. "We’re all Night World celebrities here. Everyone knows our faces. As soon as he sees us, he’s gonna know something’s up. Is there someone at the high school or university that could help us out?"

"Actually, surprisingly, the Night People around here are almost all neutral. Most were in Circle Twilight, and haven’t taken any sides. There’s a few that are allied with the Night World, but I don’t think any are in Circle Daybreak. I doubt that any would be willing to duke it out with The Pharaoh anyway." Delano’s report didn’t enlighten anybody’s mood.

Instead, Keller frowned at the Lamia in alarm and said, "How come you didn’t tell us that there are Night Worlders around? They could seriously do some damage-"

Delano raised a silencing hand. "Don’t worry. They’re not going to bother us. I took care of it as soon as I got here. I’m not totally incompetent, you know."

"Well, we’ve only got one choice then, haven’t we?" Quinn said bitterly and everyone turned towards him in anticipation. "We either send the least well known of us or a group of the strongest to the club and hope for the best."

There was no objection, for everyone knew he spoke the truth. Grimly, they discussed what would be best and came up with this.

Delano and Leandra, being the least known, would together go into the club first and check it out. After a while, Ash, Keller, Quinn and Destiny would follow. Together, the 6 would try to corner LeAnne or Braeden and pray for a miracle. Rashel and Nick would stay at the safe house. Naturally, both of them had objected fiercely. It was pointed out again that Nick was special and totally untrained for battle. Rashel, on the other hand, was Quinn’s soulmate and only one could go so that the one fighting didn’t need to worry. They had flipped a coin and Quinn had won.

At the last minute, Destiny remembered a made vampire from her Physics class. Tehya McCormick. A made vampire and good friend of Destiny’s, Tehya had always been fascinated by the Wild Power prophecies and Destiny was sure she would help. She arranged for the vampire to meet the Daybreakers at the Black Iris, after all, the more the merrier right? With that last phone call, the Daybreakers were off, to the most dangerous assignment of their lives.

* * * * *
PART 9:

"LeAnne!" Mrs. Wong called upstairs to her daughter. "Someone’s here to see you!" She didn’t sound pleased.

"It’s a cute boy!" LeAnne’s eleven year old sister Jasmine quipped.

There was no verbal reply from above, but a door could be heard opening. Soft footsteps descended from the stairs and slowly, LeAnne appeared.

As soon as she was in sight, Mrs. Wong’s jaw dropped and Jasmine clapped in approval. However, one venomous glare from her mother shut her up. Behind the two females, Braeden just smiled his devastatingly sexy smile. His plan was working perfectly. The little vermin was his to control, mind and soul. (Gasp! It rhymes!)

"What?" The new LeAnne asked in mock innocence. She discretely glanced down at her outfit. It was showy, definitely showy. A little red sleeveless dress was all that covered her body and the question of whether she was wearing a bra could be debatable. The dress reached down to mid-thigh and would go no further. Despite the fact that she wasn’t very tall, Braeden had to admit the little vermin did have a nice pair of legs. Knee high black cargo boots completed the get-up.

Mrs. Wong replied stonily, "And where do you think you’re going in THAT outfit, young lady? Besides, in case you’ve forgotten, it’s a school night and you have a Physics test tomorrow."

"Mother, puh-lease," LeAnne sighed. "You should really watch your blood pressure. I can see it going up already! I’m just going to the Black Iris with Braeden! I’ll be back by...2 am. Seeya!" Not giving her mother or sister a chance to reply, LeAnne accepted the leather jacket Braeden offered and sauntered out of the house.

Both mother and daughter turned and watched in disbelief as LeAnne got on Braeden’s motorcycle and sped away. Jasmine voiced the question both women wanted answered. "Mom, what’s wrong with her?"

@~~~>~~~>~~~~

"Great," Quinn grumbled as he drove down the highway. Right in front of their Elantra was Delano’s BMW. "It’s going to start raining."

Ash stuck his head out the back window. "Ho can you tell? The sky looks pretty normal to me."

"Goddess, Redfern! Get your freakin’ head back in the car. You’re scaring the humans," Quinn said.

"Ha, ha, and also ha," Ash retorted. "I still don’t think it’s going to rain." Instantly, big fat raindrops hit the windshield.

Smug dark eyes glanced back at the Lamia from the rearview mirror.

"Humph. It was a lucky guess," Ash grumbled.

Flipping down the mirror on the shade, Destiny rolled her eyes at Keller who sat directly behind her.

In reply, the shape-shifter made strangling motions with her hands. Both girls burst out laughing.

Ash and Quinn, realizing how stupid they sounded, joined in and soon all were hysterical. It must have looked pretty bizarre, all of a sudden, four incredibly grouchy teenagers bursting into laughter and not being able to stop. But it helped ease the tension that was building up inside of them. All four Daybreakers knew they may very well not come out of this ordeal alive.

Suddenly, a motorcycle whizzed by the car and their laughter ceased.

"Did I just, was that really..." Ash began.

Destiny said grimly. "The Pharaoh."

The rest of the trip was made in silence.

@~~~>~~~>~~~~

The Night People recognized him of course.

How could they not? He was The Pharaoh of Death. Internationally known for his murders. They knew he was dangerous.

That was why Braeden was sure that they wouldn’t help out the Daybreakers when they came along. Oh, he knew they were coming, he’d seen them driving to the club, tittering like a bunch of drugged humans.

Braeden (and some lovely surprise visitors) were ready for them, and he would make sure none of them came out of the club alive.

* * * * *

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