2 comments/ 40613 views/ 5 favorites Daybreak By: Kiall Part One She awoke in darkness, as she had for the past 2 months... She found it hard to believe that she and been in the Internment camp for 2 whole months. Every day was like the one that passed before, Grueling rounds of physical labor interspersed with the punishing regimen of sleep deprivation and bad food, all played out to a never ending sound track of continual Cardassian Propaganda, that played through the Camps Public address system. It ran through her head like a never-ending mantra, the echoes of the invaders messages "We Are Your Friends" "Freedom through hard work and Diligence" "Cardassia And Bajor, Friends And Allies" had almost erased the memories of who she was, and more importantly of what she was. She was Jessen Ta. She was a Section Chief Intelligence Coordinator in the Bajoran Militia. To this day she found it Ironic that she had been captured. She had been out monitoring the movements of Cardassian troops when she was discovered. Not by the enemy but by a Taag hound, the pet of a local family now probably dead, killed by the same troops she was watching. It had sniffed her out, as she lay concealed in the bushes peering through a set of Macro-scopes at the enemy convoy as it wound through the valley below her, when the stupid hound started leaping up and down and barking at her, in a desperate attempt to get her to play with him. Before she could quiet him down the dog disappeared with a yelp as it was hit with a high-powered disrupter beam. Jessen had leapt to her feet and started to run when she also was hit with an energy weapon, this time set to stun, awakening hours later to find herself in the prison camp. As of yet she was thanking the Prophets that her captors had not worked out who she was, and were just treating her like every other Prisoner. Just as the sun crested the Mountains behind the Camp the door to the Barrack house Burst open and in walked 2 Cardassian officers, A Gul and a Glinn. The Gul moved along the rows of Bunk beds with an air of authority that almost tangibly oozed from him. He was walking with the easy measured pace of a Warrior accustomed to long hard marches in Enemy held terrain. Occasionally he would make an almost imperceptible signal to his companion who would make a note on a PADD and throw a wristband to the Female indicated. Jessen felt the stomach tighten as the Pair worked their way towards her. She had noticed that out of the 5 women the Gul had selected 4 of them were Militia members who had been keeping their identities hidden. The other was a known Shebetar, a woman who reveled in the abuse given by her captors when she was dragged to their beds, 2 or 3 times in a week she would leave the Barrack hut at Lights out, only to return hours later, sexually abused and apparently sated. She always had better rations and easier work rosters. Several of the other women had tried her method but no others had survived. The Gul drew level with her and looked at her strait in the eye. She tried to lower her gaze, but something in his eye had captivated her. She was not sure if it was the knowing look he had shot her or the stubbornness of her nature she could not break his glare. He paused in his stride and swiveled towards her. He grabbed her painfully by the chin and pulled her towards him. Caught off guard by the sudden maneuver she stumbled towards him, and dropped to her knees in front of him. A deep throaty chuckle escaped his lips. Looking back at the other Cardassian he said "and bring this one as well Intelligence Coordinator Jessen Ta has some questions to answer too" As these words left his lips he felt her blood run cold. This Bastard knew exactly who she was, what she was and where she came from. She was worse than dead. Now they would torture her and abuse her to find out all she knew, leavening her a mindless husk wandering around until someone killed her to put her out of her misery. The Glinn chuckle and tossed her a Wristband and marked her on his PADD. Jessen picked up the band and looking up at the Gul standing above her, smiling almost benevolently down at her. "Put it on" He said quietly. For a second she looked at him with confusion in her eyes. The shock of being discovered still twisting her thoughts into a maelstrom of confused sounds and images. She did not even see the open hand as it swung in at her, connecting with the back of her head with a slap the reverberated off of the walls of the barrack house. It knocked her forward into him. Her face close against his upper thighs. She could hear the senior officer speaking to her again. But the ringing in her ears muffled what he was saying. All she got was "... Seems she likes it there. " And that dark throaty chuckle again. She felt his hands on her shoulders and her self-lifted onto the bed, with the ease of an adult lifting a child. She was sat on the bed and he knelt beside her, he leaned closer and whispered into her ear "I am going to ask one more time before I get Nasty. Put. On. The. Band... Do I make myself clear?" She nodded weekly and placed the band around her wrist. It snapped closed and tightened onto her arm. She felt a small pick and the probe Slipped under her skin and injected the subspace tracker into her. "There's a good little Bitch' she heard him say as he stood. "Glinn Murak, Have these Ladies Placed in Containment Unit 7 until I am ready to deal with them. " She Flopped Back against the thin mattress and watched the Gul leave. Her heart Pounding and her breath ragged, she tired to gather her thoughts. The horrifically cavalier way the Gul had treated her like she was nothing more than a piece of flotsam, it disturbed her to realize she was nothing but a piece of flesh with answers to him. As she lay there her military training took over and she took stock of her physical situation, Her ears were still ringing a little and the back of her head was a little tender where the slap had landed, she worked her way down from there. Slight tenderness of her jaw, where he had gripped her face. Then she noticed something strange and scary. She was noticeably wet between her thighs. How could this be? This Bastard has treated her like dirt and she had allowed her self to get turned on by it. She shook her head in disgust at her own weakness and stood up from the bed. Prepared to wait her fate with the honor of a Bajoran warrior. With in minutes a squad of guards entered the hut and gathered the women together and marched them out of the building. The headed across the compound and through a security barrier. There in front of them was Containment Unit 7. It was a derelict cargo pod. Black duralium gleaming dully in the sun, the shimmer of a beaming shield surrounding it. As they reached the perimeter of the shield it opened to allow them access. One of the guards opened the door and signaled them in. The inside had been retro fitted with bunks and a toilet cubical, the guard chuckled and shut the door behind them, "don't make your selves to comfortable. You will not be here long. " He pointed to the Shebetar. "You... Whore... we have need of you. ' The grabbed the girl by her hair and dragged her towards the door. As he neared the door he hit a button and there was a sudden hum. A force field sprang up across the room separating him and his prize from the rest of the prisoners. He threw her to the floor and opened the door, allowing the rest of his platoon to enter. With little or no delay they started unbuckling their Battle Armor. This was the first time Jessen had seen a Cardassian without the Black armor. She was more than a little intrigued. The ridges that adorned their faces followed the contours of their body as they traveled down. They traveled down their backs and met at a point where their backs blended into their buttocks. Then one of them turned around to face her the ridges on his front ran over the points of their hips and met at the Pubic mound. The Cardassian stood there staring directly at her his Large engorged Manhood jutting forward. She smiled at him in an attempt to appear strong and looked directly at it. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw it. It was not overly large maybe 6 inches in length and no ticker than an average Bajoran but it has one major difference. The Cardassian ridges continued down the stiff shaft. He grabbed it and pumped it in his hand directly at her. Then turned and dove upon the now naked Girl at his feet. She screamed as he entered her. Jessen could tell that it was not a scream of pain. It was the animal moan of a woman getting royally fucked. The Cardassian was using her purely as a toy. He was hers to use. And use her he did. He pounded her for several minutes. Until with an ear splitting scream the girl below him cried out as an orgasm hit her. Pulling the cum form her assailant at the same time. The Soldier rolled off of her and started to pull his armor back on. From where she was standing Jessen could see the open pussy of the girl. It was twitching as the aftershocks of her orgasm rippled through her. With each ripple a small amount of the hot seed was expelled from her. The soldier looked down and smiled at the trickle of pink jism, and calmly reached down and dipped his finger in to it. He scooped a small amount up onto his hand and looked strait at Jessen, grinned in a dirty way and licked the mixture of combined juices off. A visible shudder ran through his body as he did this. "Fuck me that little whore tastes good," he said as he looked at Jessen. "Do you want to taste her?" he asked Jessen was more than a little shocked at first. And shook her head. It had been a long time since she had been with another woman. And she had never done what the guard was suggesting. She shook her head. With a laugh the guard hit the button controlling the force field and stepped forward and tried to grab her. Trained to be a warrior she fired a fast punch into his face. The guard rolled back with the punch and countered with a jab to the Maxis-facial nerve just below the 2nd ridge of her Bajoran Nose. She was momentarily stunned and when she came to only seconds later she found herself, on her knees bent over, he face mere inches from the open pulsing pussy of the recently fucked girl. She could smell the sweet scent of Sex as it wafted from her open lips. Jessen was just beginning to like the idea when she felt a bump form behind which pushed her pace into the quivering lips of the naked girl. She tasted of pussy and cum. The cum was different to any she had on her lips before. It was almost spicy. Instead of the Sharp salty taste of Bajoran Come it was almost musty. Her tongue darted form her mouth and into the wetness of the girl, the taste of her was wonderful. And Jessen started to lick with passion. The Hips of the girl beneath her began to push up into her face as her tongue plunged in and out. The world started to slip into the background until she felt her trousers give, as someone ripped away the cloth from behind. She started to Struggle but found she was trapped the thighs of the girl she was eating were clamped either side of her head. And pair of Strong hands was gripping her bottom like a vice. She could feel her Legs being parted, and the familiar feeling of a hot cock opening her Vagina. She tried to scream no but all she managed was to shove her face harder into the pussy of the writhing sex toy below her. Fingers trailed up and down between her buttocks tickling and rubbing, the Penis was pushing into her. It has just entered her by about an inch when she was Shaken By a Disrupter stun blast. It flowed from her attacker into her through the only places they were touching. Through his cock into her Pussy and from his fingers onto her tight puckered Anus. Her Head tipped back and her voice got horse as a Huge Orgasm Ripped through her body. Jessen turned her head to see the Gul who had tormented her earlier standing in the doorway with a disrupter pistol in his hand. "You honor less pigs rutting in the dirt like Klingons. This whore you can use for you own depraved pleasure" he said gesturing to the Shebetar. "However, this one" he added pointing his gun at Jessen "is to be questioned by the Obsidian Order. Have her moved to my personal Interrogation Suite" The Guard who pushed Jessen face into the pussy of the Shebetar snapped to attention "Yes Gul Mikkan". "Oh and by the way" The Gul added with a smile, motioning to the Cardassian who was raping Jessen. "Give this piece of effluence to the prisoners to play with. They should have fun". The Guard stepped forward and pressed something against Her neck and the last thing Jessen heard before she blacked out was the hiss of a hyper spray. Part 2 She awoke in darkness, as she had for the past 2 months... But this time it was different. There was no continual drone of Cardassian Propaganda. Only the soft hum of air conditioning. She was not lying on a thin straw mattress on a hard wooden bunk. She was Strapped upright in a chair. And most importantly she was naked. Her ripped Clothing had been removed. Jessen could still feel the residual effects of the drug injected into her with the hyper-spray, a faint fogginess at the edge of her consciousness, She could also feel the tingle in her pussy from the massive orgasm that had ripped through her body. She had no idea how long she had been unconscious. But she was aware that she had been bathed. The taste of sex was not on her lips. She looked down at her self restrained in a Cardassian interrogation chair. She noticed that her pubic hair had been removed. She had started to smile at this wondering what sort of interrogation she was in for when it occurred to her that it had probably been done to give a smooth surface for the electrodes to stick to. This caused a shiver of fear to run through her, and her senses to heighten. It also made her nipples harden as if a cool breeze was blowing across her small but perfect breasts. Apart from her and the chair the rest of the room was in pitch darkness. Almost imperceptibly the lights in front of her started to illuminate and cast radiance upon a huge black stone desk. Sitting behind it like a predator watching a young dear, elbows on the desk, Fingers steepled in front of his face was Gul Mikkan. He was dressed in the customary dark clothing favored by his race. "Welcome back to the world of the living, my dear Commander Jessen" he said with a smile. "I must apologize for the barbarity of my underlings. The guilty party has been suitably punished; now let us get down to business shall we. I wish to know the location of the Resistance base. I know it is somewhere in the mountains south of here. But these hills are so riddled with caves and abandoned mining tunnels it is really quite impossible to find them with out assistance. " Jessen felt a giggle welling up in her. "That's what you want," she said with a smile. "Trust me even if I told you where it was your men would never reach it alive. The resistance has mined and booby-trapped the entire area. Your men would be dead before they got anywhere close. " "No my dear you misunderstand me. If we don't find the exact location of the camp we are just going to start a Barrage from orbit of the entire area. Every ¼ mike we will send down a 5-point spread of torpedoes. Eradicating every piece of life form the surface. Then we will hit each zone with a graviton wave and collapse any tunnels below. And then we will show the disaster to Viewers planet wide, and we will intersperse it with pictures of you and your entire family. We make sure it was know that you who were responsible for the deaths of all those thousands of deaths. Women, children and old people. Not the Fierce Ready-to-die-for-the-cause Resistance fighters like you. You know, the innocents who always get sacrificed in war for the greater good. But this time it will be your fault" Suddenly Jessen knew the magnitude of her situation. This was not just her doom. This was not only the doom of either her entire family, but also the doom of the thousands of refugees who had fled to the mountains, looking for a safe hiding place. The very people she had sworn to protect when she joined the resistance. She shuddered at the thought laid out before her by Gul Mikkan. There he sat no more than 6 feet from her; His eyes lazily roving over her naked skin. The look on his face that of a bored Tiberian Hunting cat as it gazed upon a herd of Deer, searching for the week, the lame and the vulnerable. This is exactly what he was doing. She was the herd of deer. He was the predator. Jessen knew in her heart of hearts she was hopelessly in his power. She struggled momentarily against the restraints that help her captive. Sweat caused by her exertions beading on her skin. The warriors training clicked in as she felt more than heard him rise from his chair; she froze as he walked around his desk to stand directly in front of her. It was then she realized that he was not dressed, as she had first thought, in the Black and silver Battle armor customarily worn by Cardassian but in a long black silk Kimono. And the look on his face was now one of the Hunting cat who had chosen his target and was accelerating towards the young frail deer intent on sinking his teeth into it and drinking deeply of its blood. The sweat rapidly cooling on her skin caused sensitive goose flesh to rise and her pert nipples to harden. Gul Mikkan calmly reached forward and took her left nipple in between the thumb and forefinger on his right hand and absently but quite gently rolled it back and forward. "Well my little Vixen, what do you think? Do you think you should tell me where the Bajoran Terrorists are skulking, or do I give the order to start bombing?" Mikkan leant forward, keeping eye contact with her, and ran his tongue over her nipple. He trailed his fingers down her body, barely touching her goose bumped skin. Down across the flesh of her petite breast and down across the hard muscles of her belly to the raised now hairless mound of her pubis, where they paused. Jessen found it hard not to move. The drugs she had been injected with earlier seemed to be having a strange effect on her She was in the deepest trouble of her life, and all she could think about was sex. His gently ministrations to her nipple and the almost silken touch of his hand as it trailed across her nakedness and also the restraint chair she was attached to, hard made her very sexually aware. Even though her mind was whirling from the revelations and choices given to by Gul Mikkan, her vagina was almost trembling with desire. Gently he ran his 3 middle fingers over her moist pouting vaginal lips, and parted them allowing his middle finger access to her inner lips. His finger delicately dipped in to the second knuckle and then ran upwards to her engorged clitoris. Where it rubbed softly for a second. Jessen bit her bottom lip and pressed her pubis up into the hand of her tormentor. As she did so he moved his probing digit away from the trembling nerve center and licked her juices from them. With out a word he turned to his desk and picked up a small black bottle. He turned back towards he and lifted the bottle so she could see it. "Do you know what this is?" he asked with a menacing glint in his eye. Jessen just shook her head. "This is KriK-ta-pel. It is a Klingon Poison. It is Incredible one drop of it will kill and Klingon dead with in seconds. However the effect it has on the Bajoran physiology is vastly different. " He unscrewed the top of the flask in his hand and removed the lid. A Small medicine dropper was on the inside. He squeezed the bulb and drew a small amount of the fluid into the tube. Then reaching down he opened the lips of her pussy again and carefully dripped on drop of the solution directly onto her clitoris. For a few seconds Jessen could feel nothing, and then the sensation started. She was not sure whether it burned or was cold or weather it itched or tingled. Whatever the sensation was it intense. It almost felt like millions of minute electrical shocks where being fired repeatedly into the most sensitive part of her body. Daybreak Ch. 01 "This is fucking ridiculous." Jameson turned his head to look at his brother as they slowly patrolled the nearly deserted street. As one of the most patient of his family, he was used to his brother's lack of patience and incredible temper, but the absolute lack of beings in the street was another matter. Though he and his brother walked the deserted portion of town, there was always a demon or witch that could be seen. He'd been told by Nadia, the newest edition of his family, to go out and patrol, and that he would know why she sent him when he heard it. Three hours later, there was nothing. What the hell was he supposed to be looking for? As part of The Brethren, an elite group of demon hunters and slayers, Jameson had quickly learned to expect the unexpected. But as his brother said, this was ridiculous. "Nadia wouldn't have sent us out simply to go walking, Liam." Her eyes had gone white and glowed brightly as she told him to search the night for the sign. There was no way he could deny something like that. Liam scoffed as he said, "Well, it's not like we can ask her now, now can we?" Nadia and his brother Andraemalek, the only half demon in the family, had been summoned by the High Council, the group of powerful beings who'd created The Brethren. The summons meant that the couple would be out of the human realm until their meeting was over. "And what the hell is up with her sending us to hunt a group of Mordecai? We don't deal with those piece-of-shit, want-to-be vampires." The Brethren specifically dealt with powerful demons, not the considerably safer soul sucking animals Liam liked to call Mordecai. "Why aren't the Nariko out looking for them?" Jameson shook his head as he continued to walk. There was a reason for Nadia's instructions. Unlike Liam, he wasn't about to question it. "Calm down, brother. We'll figure it out." They had to; he didn't like having to walk the streets at night like a leper for no apparent reason. "We'd better. We could be out hunting some real demons right now." Leave it to his brother to abandon logic when his temper flared. "Mordecai are demons." "But not worth our efforts." Liam adjusting his black gloves as he flexed his hands. "Fucking ridiculous." "Yeah, but-" Jameson stopped when he heard the terrified scream. He didn't bother to look at his brother to ask if he heard the scream as well; he took off running, ready to help whomever was in danger. The screams led them to a back alley placed between two abandoned apartment buildings. Five Mordecai surrounded a lone woman who clutched a grocery bag to her chest. Their unmistakable, overly bronzed skin and red eyes were evident even from the distance between them. Jameson held a hand up for Liam to keep from rushing into battle when he heard the demons conversing amongst themselves. "He said he wanted her alive." "That doesn't mean that we can't have a little snack." "He'll kill you if you take too much." "Not if we kill you first." Jameson smiled pleasantly as he walked forward. All five Mordecai eyed him speculatively, giving him the advantage he needed. He knew that they thought him to be human, and because they outnumbered him and Liam by three, the odds were in their favor. "You should really learn to pick on people your own size." The tallest of the Mordecai, a blonde with a neck so thick that he looked like he was all shoulders, pulled the amazingly quiet woman to him as he said, "Kill them." Finally, the moment he'd been waiting for. Jameson raised his hand to blast the band of idiots with a fireball but stopped when Liam shoved him out of the way. "What the hell, man?" "I didn't wait all this time to watch you burn the bastards!" Liam stepped forward and grinned when the uppercut he delivered sent one of the Mordecai flying into the side of the building to the left. He'd been itching for a fight and would settle for these idiots. As two others came at him, he blocked their blows a split second before allowing the retractable blades strapped to his wrists to protract. With one swing, he'd embedded one of the blades into the heart of the rail thin demon and relished its tortured scream as it began to molt and degenerate in front of him. He looked to the other one and smiled wickedly when it began to back up. "Oh, no you don't." Jameson ducked a scant second before the body was thrown over his head. He wasn't too concerned with the fight; the woman held captive dominated his concentration as she kept her gaze centered on him. The intensity in her pale green gaze, as well as the look of wonder she gave him caused something inside him to shift. The shift broke his focus on the fight and gave one of the Mordecai enough time to land a solid blow to his back. Jameson rolled forward and just as he was about to blast the bastard with fire, Liam stepped in and flipped the demon over. The two men nodded to one another before Jameson gained his feet and faced the leader. "Either you let her go or you lose your life when I take her from you." "I'm not afraid of you," The Mordecai said. To prove his point, he sunk his razor sharp teeth into the woman's neck. Rage poured through Jameson when he heard he tortured scream. He grabbed the knife he kept hidden in the waistband of his pants and threw it. He'd landed his mark, lodging the blade in the demon's neck. The Mordecai let out a strangled cry as it released the woman and fell to the floor where it immediately began to molt. Her grocery bag ended up flying three feet into the air before crashing down on the ground. Jameson paid no mind to the demon as he lifted the shaking woman into his arms. A cold burn went through his body as he carried her, but he ignored it, determined to get her to Liam. "She's been-" His announcement was cut short when the familiar sirens of police cars approached. They couldn't risk exposure, not this early in the game. Jameson ran to the truck Liam had parked nearby and handed the woman to him as he slid into the backseat. "What the hell was that?" Liam grumbled as he handed the bleeding woman to his brother. A chill raced up his spine, making him both uneasy and slightly nauseous. "Make sure she doesn't bleed all over my car," he said as he shut the door. Jameson rolled his eyes and quickly bent to the task of putting pressure on the wound to ease the bleeding. The woman's skin was pale and slowly growing colder. He stared at her lifeless face and frowned at the gnawing feeling in the pit of his stomach. Her round face was accentuated by her wavy brown-red hair. Thin but straight eyebrows highlighted the pale green eyes he remembered and they led to an impossibly straight nose. Full cherry red lips were slightly down-turned. "Is she all right?" Jameson looked up and connected eyes with his brother though the rearview mirror. "She'll be better after you heal her." "I just bet she will," Liam grumbled, "Shit, there's blood on my sweater." "It's just a sweater." "No, it's not just a sweater. It's my new Armani sweater." Normally Liam wouldn't care about something so trivial, but he'd really liked that sweater. "Liam, stop bitching and get us back to the manor." Jameson shook his head as he looked out the window. The empty streets seemed eerie, dead and unmoving. What was going on out there? The woman's sharp gasp for breath had Jameson looking down at her. Her eyes flickered for a moment before they closed and he frowned at the flush that visibly took over her skin even in the dark cabin of the car. He pulled his hand from her wound when he felt it shift. "Holy shit." "What?" Lam looked at his brother through the mirror once more and noticed the shock. "What's happening? Do I need to pull over?" "No." Jameson glanced up as he said, "She has your ability." "What?" "She's healing herself." Even as he spoke, he watched the tiny tooth marks on her neck close on their own. "No wonder Nadia sent us to find her." "And it saves my car," Liam added as he continued to drive. He remained silent, unsure of what was going on. "You sure we should take her to the manor?" Jameson nodded as he said, "Based on what those Mordecai were saying, she wasn't meant to be dinner. Somebody wants her. And until we figure out who and why, we can't leave her alone, especially since Nadia's gone." He looked down at the sleeping woman in his arms, confused; not only because of the interest the demons had in her, but because of the dull sensation in the pit of his stomach. He'd never had such a feeling before. Had he been human, he would have simply called it a case of indigestion. As part of The Brethren, he was immune to sickness. There was only one explanation for the sudden feeling. The woman. Who was she? Where did she live? Why was she walking through the roughest area of the city by herself? What would possess her to do such a stupid thing after sunset? And how had the police known to show up just as he'd saved her life? She carried no purse. Either that or she'd dropped it during her struggle. Why did she stop screaming when he'd arrived? She'd even stopped fighting the Mordecai that held her captive. They didn't have the power to mesmerize so her actions were virtually inexplicable. Until he could get them from her, anyway. Endless questions flooded Jameson's mind the entire ride home. Even as he carried the woman to the solarium to lay her down on the large chaise, he asked himself what her name was. "Looks like she doesn't need my help anymore." Jameson turned to look at his brother, who was uncharacteristically calm as he pulled his gloves off. "Looks like." He turned to look at the woman a moment before he moved to stand beside Liam. "I guess all that's left now is to wait for her to wake up." "However long that may be." Liam walked to the fireplace and made quick work of lighting a fire to keep the woman from freezing. "Do you think she's a human with an ability or a simple half-breed?" "Does it matter?" "If she's a human, we won't have to worry about having to figure out what clan she comes from." Jameson didn't admit his brother had a point. If the woman was only half human, then her paranormal counterparts would raise hell trying to find her. Having to deal with the Mordecai was enough for now. He waited for Liam to stand up before he asked, "Got any idea how we're going to explain this to her when she wakes up?" Liam shrugged as he said, "Give it to her straight. She'll see the bite scars and we have to keep her here anyway so it's not like we can say we found her passed out on the street and decided to help." He looked at the woman sleeping on the couch and could only laugh cynically as he said, "Humans. Always were the biggest groups of idiots to ever live." Jameson frowned as he looked at his brother. "What makes you think she's all human?" "What half breed with a sliver of sense walks Filburn Street by herself after sunset?" "She could just be a stupid half-breed." Even as the words left Jameson's mouth, he couldn't believe them. He didn't know the woman from atom, but something told him that she wasn't dim-witted. "Even the stupid ones-" The sudden thud had Liam looking toward the chaise. He raised a brow when the woman jumped up and frantically looked around. She was taller than he'd expected; she looked to be taller than Nadia, and the plump task maker stood at an impressive five foot nine. "Good morning, human." The rich, velvet voice had her staring at the red haired man for a moment. He was frowning at her, but his blue eyes were curious as he stared at her. After closer inspection, she realized that he was actually quite a catch; a strong, square shaped face framed full lips and a perfect nose. Ralph Lauren seriously needed to give this man a call. The raven haired man who stood beside him made her stomach flutter. His stormy grey eyes bore into her and made her nervous for a moment. When she looked at him, it felt as if something within her clicked into place. The feeling confused her, mostly because it made her want to go to him. When she brought her eyes back to his strong angular face, she found herself staring at his mouth. Christ, the man was beautiful. "Think she speaks English?" She looked at the redhead again and gasped when she noticed the bloodstains on his grey sweater. Fear pulsed through her as she looked from one man to the next, noticing the weapons they carried, the stern expressions on their faces, and the fact there were two of them - and only one of her. "What the hell is going on here?" She stepped behind the chaise when the taller, midnight haired one took a step forward. "Who are you? What am I doing here and how did I get here?" How the woman went from confused to curious to terrified, Jameson did not know. What he did know was that he had to calm her down before things got out of hand. "You were attacked in the alley off Filburn Street and my brother and I helped you." Brothers? Yeah, right. She looked more like the one who spoke to her than the redhead did, and she looked nothing like the man. When he took another step forward, she grabbed the first thing she saw for protection; a pillow. What the hell was that going to do for her? "Don't come any closer." "Listen, I know you're scared, but if you'd just-" "No!" She took another step backward. Vaguely, she remembered being cornered in the street, but she didn't remember any faces. These two men could have easily been part of the group of men set to hurt her. But there was something about Grey Eyes... No, she would not let a pair of beautiful eyes break her resolve. "I want to leave." Jameson shook his head as he said, "I'm sorry, but you have to stay." She'd been kidnapped! Oh, God, they were going to rape her. Then kill her. Rage and fear pushed her to launch the pillow at the man. A second pillow followed, then a third, and had she the strength, she would have thrown the chaise as well. "Get away from me!" she screamed, "Don't touch me!" Jameson looked at Liam, who strained to keep from screaming at the woman. Her high-pitched screams annoyed him as well, but Jameson reminded himself that she'd gone through a trauma that would have killed her had she not had the ability to heal herself. "I know you're upset-" "You don't know anything!" She frantically searched for an escape route. There was a window to the left, but she couldn't tell what floor she was on; the glare from the lights only allowed her the reflection of the room. There was a door on the right, but Grey Eyes was closer to it than she was; he would easily catch her if she made a run for it. "I won't let you rape me!" "What the fuck kind of men do you think we are?" Liam screamed. He'd received his fair share of accusations before, but rapist? "Liam, calm down. She's just-" "The bitch just-" Liam looked at his hand in horror when the fireball he'd accidentally thrown blackened the glass vase that was placed behind the woman. When he'd thrown his hand to motion to her, he hadn't expected that. There was a tense moment of silence in the room as the three people stared at each other. Jameson looked to the vase as he asked, "What the hell just happened?" "I don't know." Liam looked to the entryway where two men, own with a hawk perched on his shoulder, walked into the room. "Maybe one of you-" he stopped again when another blast of fire shot out of his hand. The man with the hawk on his shoulder stepped to the side just as the hawk flapped its wings to gain height before it became someone's dinner. Liam immediately balled his fists and kept them at his sides. She watched as the man who'd had the hawk on his shoulder glanced at her before he turned to the other men in the room. With unruly dark brown hair and eyes, he looked meaner than the redhead, especially with the sickle-shaped scar on his cheek. A goatee and mustache completed his look, but it did nothing to calm her. More men in the house meant more people to have to fight to get out. "What the hell is going on here?" "What's up with all the yelling?" She screamed and jumped at the voice that came from behind her. Two sets of hands reached out to steady her as she stumbled, and she screamed again, more from rage than fear. If they really thought that they could just sneak up on her... "Drake, Roman, I suggest you step away from her," Jameson warned. Had there not been so much chaos, he could have embraced his twin brothers. Years had passed since he last saw them. As usual, they looked no worse for wear. Their cream-and-coffee colored skin was slightly scarred, but other than that, they both looked as he remembered; short black hair and blacker eyes highlighted their think noses and full lips. Roman had his ear pierced, he'd noticed, but it was a trivial change. Jameson waited for them to stand beside Alexis who nodded a greeting to them before he said, "We have a bit of a situation." "No shit." She looked at the blonde haired man who'd walked in with the brown haired man and would have stopped to appreciate his flawless features and misty green eyes as she not been terrified. There were now five men in the room and with the exception of the redhead, they all stood near her only way out. She was going to die. "We're not going to hurt you." "Save the lines for the movies, Brad Pitt." She ignored the laughter that came from the twins, who, she had to admit were quite attractive as well. Why was she thinking about the way they looked? She was about to get raped, murdered, and then thrown in some- "Hold on just a second," the blonde said, "We are not going to rape you." "How did you-" "Oh shut up!" Liam roared. "Shut up before I really - son of a bitch!" He'd forgotten about his hands and angrily pointed at the woman, which caused a bolt of fire to blow in her direction. "Drake!" Jameson yelled as he stepped forward. He knew that his brother had the power of lentation - the ability to slow moving objects down. Based on the fact that the woman stood frozen in place, the ability was much needed. Jameson watched as his brother threw his hand up to slow the fire down and only gaped when he only vanished into thin air. "What the hell?" Roman, who'd noticed his twin's disappearance, threw his hand up to throw an invisible force field around the woman and only frowned when the fireball moved at a snail's pace through the air. "What the..." Jameson looked from Liam to Roman and back again before he looked at the woman. He looked down at his hands and turned to the fireplace. Throwing his hand out, he made an interested grunt when nothing happened. He turned to look at the woman again and realized that she'd calmed down considerably, which only meant that Caleb used his mental abilities to ease her distress. And that was when realization dawned on him. She had the ability of power transference. She hadn't healed herself; he'd done the work while in the car. "Holy crap. That's a nifty little trick you have there." Alexis, who'd remained silent during the chaos, suddenly shouted, "What the hell is going on?" In the span of five minutes, he'd found a strange woman in his house, witnessed his brother who acted as the family healer throw fire, and watched as the twins switched powers. Jameson used his chin to motion to the woman was he said, "Meet the charge Nadia sent me to find." Daybreak Ch. 02 This is the Next part of Daybreak. Please see my User Profile to read it the 1st parts. Please send Feed back as I wish to improve my writing. Thanks. Part 4 She awoke in Darkness as was her custom... …. And let her eyes adjust to her surroundings. The Darkness was not total however; the crystal green shadows of the Bajoran morning were slowly forming on the edges of the furnishings in her room. She lay quietly curled on her side letting the crisp morning light slowly filter into the room. It was 9 months now since the fall of the Cardassian Forces on Bajor. And 13 months since she had succumbed to the lure of the Darkness encapsulated in the ridged grey skinned body of Gul Mikkan. 9 months of freedom, of walking on streets filled with a free people. 9 months of rebuilding of lives mourning of deaths and the steady returning to normalcy, to a galaxy where it was not a crime to be Bajoran, and where Rape and Murder could be punished not applauded. The United Federation of Planets was taking stewardship of old Cardassian bases and slowly demolishing them or converting them into schools, hospitals or bases for their own use. The orbiting mining station that the Cardassians had called Terrak Nor, had now been converted into a space dock under the joint purview of the UFP and the Bajoran People the main difference now was its dull utilitarian title of Deep Space 9. Life on Bajor, while not excellent was certainly an improvement on the harsh military occupation of the Cardassians. The Internment camps had been dismantled and all the surviving internees were deprogrammed and sent back to their Homes. Towards the end of the occupation the violence had increased rapidly. Rapes and murders where even more common place than before. Where in the earlier years of the camps the dead had been burned and their ashes placed in marked vessels towards the end of the camps life the bodies of the dead were just piled up, originally the plan was to vaporize them with disruptor fore. However this was never done leaving the sickly sweet smell of putrescence to fill the camp. She lay in her Bed her body covered only by a white sheet, and looked at the changes that had taken place in her life. She was now a Vice consul in the new government of Bajor; it was part of her reward for her work as a spy. And the “Sacrifices” she made to keep information flowing about the Cardassian Army, which she gleaned from Mikkans information PADDs while she was captive in his quarters, although even now she was unsure whether she did this for the efforts of the resistance or as a means of getting caught doing something naughty so she could submit to the punishments and sexual torture that her master would dish out should he discover what she was doing. The thought of Mikkan brought a twinge of loss to her heart. He had treated her like his you, corrupting her, forcing her and violating her and addicting her to the drug KriK-ta-pel and Sedatives. Although she managed to occasionally sneak information to the underground she was his Bitch, and secretly loved it. The thought of his Calloused hands on caressing her brought goose bumps to her skin and caused her nipple to harden, and the walls of her Sex to tense. Her eyes fell on the clock that sat on a shelf by her bed. Its glow of its pale blue letters told her she had well over an hour till the transport arrived to take her to the new government complex. She had time. She tossed the sheet back leaving her naked except for her panties to protect her modesty, and looked down at her body softly illuminated in the dawn light. It was Still as firm as the day she had entered the Internment camp all those Months before. Just a Few Pale Scars showed on her skin denoted injuries sustained in Battle, and a couple from the Submission to Gul Mikkan. Her fingers went to a Small crescent shaped scar just above her right nipple, Feeling the soft indentations left by the Cardassians Sharp Carnivore teeth. One night after sexually teasing her for several Hours with out penetration, holding her on the brink of release he had forced his hard ridged member into her Body Ripping a scream of triumph form her lips. Then he sank his teeth deep into the flesh of her breast causing her scream of triumph to become one of Pain, but also driving her Hungry body over the brink into orgasm, Her Blood dripping down over her erect nipples. The memory of him leaning forward and licking her blood from her throbbing yet Sexually tense breast at the time brought another orgasm, now it just made her Hungry. She slipped the panties over her hips and slid them down her legs, but she did not remove them entirely. Bending her knees outwards she twisted her left foot, Twirling her panties tighter. So they tied her ankles together as the soft Fabric bit gently into her skin restraining her feet, she felt the warmth of sexual energy building in her body, and the lips of her pussy opening, as she allowed herself to become the submissive. Her left hand reached automatically for the post of her bed and slipped behind it, finding the hidden catch there, a catch with opened the compartment she had concealed in the Bed post. The secret door opened revealing the hollowed interior of the Heavy wood post, revealing the things that stood there. Inside were a Hypo-spray, a pair of small rubber tipped clamps, a jar of personal Lube, a Dildo, a anal plug and a small black glass bottle about as long as her Thumb and twice as thick. She reached out for the large black dildo; the phallus was a casting from a mold that Mikkan had taken of his Penis one evening, so he could violate her pussy, ass and mouth with his own cock at the same time, which he had done on numerous occasions, alternating which orifice he forced his real cock into. Cast in black Synthetic skin it looked and felt just like the one that it had been modeled from, as her hand closed over its ridged surface she felt again the hot twitching of her vagina, and behind as he body remembered the sweet violation of this massive member stretching her to the point of screaming, to the point of submission, To the point of release. She placed the cock on the bed between her splayed thighs and reached back into the cubby for the anal plug. This was not a thing of rubber, this large anal toy was made from Transparent Aluminum, and it was about 5 inches in length and at the widest point was just over an inch thick. She laid it next to the dildo its cold metal surface eliciting a quiet gasp from her lips as it rolled against her inner thigh. She reached back into the cubby and removed the bottle of lubricant, squirting some into the palm of her hand and carefully replacing it. Jessen then reached down between her legs and fetched the plug. Masturbating her lubricated palm over the toy she coated it in the slick lube. Then reaching down between her thighs she slid it downwards over the outing lips of her sex to the tight opening behind. Gently relaxing the muscles there she started to insert the cool metal toy. But she stopped as the widest point was reached before pulling it out again. With a gentle cry of frustration she dropped the toy to the floor; anal penetration was only good for her when she was being violated. Plugging her own ass just did not give the sense of willing rape she craved. She paused for a moment to allow the sense of frustration to ease within her, before taking the dildo and running the hard fleshy knob over the wet lips of her pussy, Brushing the still twitching muscles of her Anus to her hardening Clit, and back dipping deeper into her vagina on every pass. After three or four swipes over the lips of her pussy she plunged the 9 inches of thick dildo into her self. A soft scream burst from her mouth as she felt her self filled. Her thought flew back to the interrogation suite where she had succumbed to the violent fucking of the man she still regarded as her Master. The molded cock that now filled her was as familiar to her body as the prints on her own fingers. Harder she violated herself with it wishing once again to feel the weight of the Cardassian Gul on her, his hands on her throat His teeth at her neck. She had succumbed to him and now all she wanted was to be his, to be taken by him for his pleasure. To serve him in his chambers as she had willingly done so many times before. She struggled against the bounds of her panties wrapped tightly around her ankles and part of her mind heard the cloth rip. But she did not Care the wave of her orgasm was building. She forced the dildo deeper into her and pounded with a new vigor, and there it was the wonderful moment of illusion when she came. Her Master was inside her not this false phallus. Her orgasm ripped though her pulling a whimpering cry out of her. For a few moments she held the cock deep in her pussy relishing the feeling of being filled by it. And the reality slowly crept back into her world and she pulled it from her. Untangling her feet from her now ruined panties she pulled the butt plug from her bottom and rose from her bed. Stepping across the room she entered her small but functional bathroom and spinning the taps stepped into the shower stall. Putting her toy on the floor of the stall so they rinsed clean in the shower she stepped under the flowing water, hoping once again that the showers water would hide the tears of frustration that rolled unheeded down her face. Daybreak Ch. 02 What in the hell was Grey Eyes talking about? Charge? What charge? And how did the redhead throw fire? And while she had a million questions running through her head, who had slowed the speed of the fireball headed for her and how? Two minutes ago she was in hysterics. Now she was merely curious. "Can someone please explain what is going on here?" Jameson looked at the now calm woman and mentally thanked Caleb before he said, "You switched our powers." "Excuse me?" "Power transference," Jameson said. "You have the ability to take powers from one person and put them into another." He looked at Liam's understanding face before continuing. "It's been interesting, but we would really appreciate it if you put everything back the way it should be." She hadn't been kidnapped by rapists. She'd been kidnapped by a band of lunatics. "We're not crazy," Caleb said as he stepped forward. This woman seemed determined to believe that they were out to hurt her. "Yes, I can read your mind, and yes, Liam threw the fire at you. He's very sorry, by the way." She braced her hand on the back of the chaise as she looked at him. Then she smiled in delight as she decided that she was dreaming. Yes, this had to be some sort of weird dream. It explained everything, down to the unreal beauty of the men in the room. Now that she was sure that she was safe in bed, patiently waiting to wake up, she would play along. "If I have these... powers you speak of, I'm sorry to tell you that I don't know how they work." She watched as the twins approached her slowly. They were the tallest men in the room, making her five foot eleven frame seem dwarfish. There was kindness in their eyes, she noticed, and she actually found herself smiling as they introduced themselves. The one with the earring was called Roman. Draco was the name of the other one, but everyone called him Drake. "We're just going to take hold of your hands, so don't go Britney Spears on us, ok?" She nodded at Draco and let the men take hold of her hands. She watched as they looked at each other for a moment before they let go and stepped back. "Test your powers out," Jameson said. He sighed dejectedly when Draco became invisible once more. So the woman really didn't know how to control her ability. Wonderful. "That's classic," Liam said as he placed his hands on his hips, "Now I'm at risk of turning everyone around me into filet mignon." Jameson looked at his brothers as he said, "She's probably new to this so we have to figure out what triggers her power so that we can set things back." He turned to Liam as he added, "In the meantime, try not to get mad because that's what triggers the bulk of my power." Draco laughed boisterously as he said, "Liam? Not get mad? You might as well ask Lex to become a pole dancer." He walked to the quiet man and threw his arm around his shoulder. "Big brother, you've got your work cut out for you." Jameson looked at the now silent woman as she observed what went on around her. For a moment, he wished that he had Caleb's ability because the amused looked in her eyes was adorable. "What's your name?" "Charisma," both she and Caleb said at the same time. She looked at the one named Caleb skeptically for a moment before she reminded herself that she was still dreaming. That was how he knew her name when she hadn't mentioned it. "Nice to meet you, Charisma." Jameson took a few steps forward as he said, "I'm Jameson. The blonde is Caleb, you've probably figured out that the hot head is Liam, Drake and Roman introduced themselves already, and Mr. Serious over there is Alexis." With a frown, he looked around the room and asked, "Where did Euan go?" "Too much panic from her," Alexis said, "He had to leave." "You'll meet him later," Jameson assured her. He motioned to Charisma to sit down before he questioned her. "Do you have any idea how long you've had your power?" "Can anyone else in your family do it?" Liam asked. "Are you training with anyone to control it?" Alexis added. Charisma looked at the men in the room and shook her head. "Why are you asking me all of these questions? I don't have a power or ability or whatever you want to call it. This is just a dream." Jameson looked at his brothers. He had no idea what to do or say to bring the woman back to reality. He crouched in front of her, trying to seem unthreatening. "I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but this isn't a dream." When she shook her head, he pressed on. "Whether or not you choose to accept it, you have an ability, one that caused those de-" he decided to curb his tongue before she went into hysterics again, "men to try to kidnap you. You remember the men who tried to take you, right?" Christ, this lunatic was gorgeous. As much as she tried to concentrate on the ridiculous conversation, she couldn't get past those grey eyes or those incredibly kissable lips. He had to be the most beautiful man she'd ever dreamed about. She hoped she dreamed about him again. Charisma cried out in surprise and pain when Caleb moved forward and pinched her arm hard. "What did you do that for?" "If you were dreaming, you wouldn't have felt that." She sat back, shocked at how irrefutable his comment was. Charisma looked at the blank expressions of the men in the room and felt her heartbeat accelerate. She wasn't dreaming. Dear God above, she wasn't dreaming. "No, you're not dreaming," Caleb said. He sensed her rising panic and shifted her emotions to acceptance. The sooner she got past the nonsense in her head, the sooner they could get some answers. Jameson nodded thanks to his brother once more before he focused his attention on Charisma. "We have to make sure no one else comes after you." "How do you do that?" Finally, they could get somewhere. Jameson stood up as he said, "By finding out who wants you. We learn who, we're that much closer to figuring out what they need your powers for." Charisma nodded her head as she stood. This was a lot of information to digest, but it was a lot easier that the prospect of her rape and murder. "All right, so just keep me up to date. Now if you could give me directions back to my place from here, I-" "You have to stay here," Jameson said, "You need protection and the safest place for you is this house." There was no way in hell she was staying in a strange house with five strange men. "I'll take my chances." She moved to walk out of the room but stopped when Draco, Roman, and Alexis blocked the entryway. "Look, I appreciate the concern, but I have to go home. I can't put my life on hold simply because some guy wants to use some power I seem to have inherited out of nowhere. I've got a life to live." "And you're going to have to live that life from here for now." Charisma glared at Caleb as she said, "I'm going home." Jameson shook his head for what had to be the thousandth time as he said, "We can't risk whoever is after you finding you. You're safest here." "For the love of... Just lock her in one of the rooms," Liam interrupted. "And make sure you put a gag in her mouth." Alexis ignored her indignant gasp as he chastised his brother. "Liam, the woman already has it in her head that we're either crazy or sadistic. Don't give her any more reason to start screaming again." "Look, I'll let you choose." Jameson stepped back and ignored the cold sensation in the pit of his stomach because of the distance. He didn't want to think about what that meant. "You can either stay here with us until we know you're safe, or we can all go home with you." Charisma was tempted to laugh, but the urge was quelled when the men nodded in agreement. "You're serious?" When they nodded again, she closed her eyes in frustration. By now, she'd figured out that they wouldn't hurt her, but they were still strange men who were telling her very unbelievable things. "I hope you've got room for eight more," Draco announced. He really didn't want to shack up with her, but if it meant her protection, he'd do it. "Make that seven," Caleb announced. "I have to get back to the city to take care of Wood Creek." "The furniture conglomerate?" Charisma asked. Wood Creek specialized in wood furniture, restoration, and import. "Yes. We own it." Caleb said as he walked toward Alexis. "Call me if you need anything." "You're leaving now?" He knew his brother was set to go, but he never expected the departure to be so soon. "Yes. I have a manufacturing meeting in the morning." Caleb turned to Charisma and said, "Interesting meeting you." "Make that seven more," Draco said after Caleb left the room. Charisma dropped herself onto the chaise in defeat. Suddenly she was very tired. Jameson empathized with her frustration and gingerly placed a hand on her shoulder. "We'll be right back." He motioned to his brothers to go to the kitchen. There, he crossed his arms over his chest. "From the beginning," Alexis ordered. "You know that Nadia and D. are meeting with the High Council." "Damn, we cam back to meet her," Roman interrupted. Just days before, he'd heard the remarkable story of the human who'd brought their half-demon brother back home after one hundred years. He'd been excited to familiarize himself with the woman who drove the men who lived at the manor insane. "She'll be back soon," Jameson assured him. He looked at Alexis as he continued his explanation. "Before she left, she had another vision and said that Liam and I had to interfere in the plans of a group of Mordecai." "But we don't hunt Mordecai," Alexis reminded him. They were for the Nariko to deal with. "We do now," Liam interjected. He continued the explanation, recounting the events of the fight, Charisma's injury, and how she'd - no, Jameson - had healed her wound. "The rest you know." "What would a group of demons that live off the souls of humans want with someone who has power transference?" Roman asked, "It has to be more than simply acquiring powers." "Which is why this is going to be a bitch an a half to fight." Jameson brushed his fingertips over his chin in contemplation. "First thing's first, though." "Switching our powers back," both Roman and Draco said. Each brother had different triggers that activated their powers. Because the new powers meant that they'd have to retrain themselves, something they didn't have the time to do, they were in trouble. "Anger or fear?" Alexis asked. When his brothers looked at him quizzically, he said, "Her trigger. Do you think its anger or fear?" "I'd bank on fear," Jameson said. "But since Caleb made her comfortable enough to neglect her fear of us, we have to find another way to trigger it." "Make Euan take bear or cougar form and pretend to attack her." Liam ignored the incredulous looks he was given as he added, "Quickest way to set things back." "One problem," Roman interjected, "He's a partial empath. Her fear will affect him." "Son of a bitch," Liam mumbled. "Let's just concentrate on getting her settled and used to the fact that she'll be here for a while before we do anything else." Jameson nodded in agreement to Alexis' statement as he said, "I'll take care of it." As the one sent to find her, he felt it his responsibility to see to her comfort. There was another reason for his desire to watch over her, one that he wasn't ready to consider. If he did, his head wouldn't be level enough to deal with their particular situation. Jameson expected to succeed, and he couldn't do that if his thoughts were haunted by the beautiful green-eyed skeptic waiting in the solarium. "She seems more comfortable with me." "Yeah," agreed Draco, "That's probably because you aren't as stern as Lex or likely to turn her into a kabob by accident." * * * * * The old church smelled of old, moist wood and mold. Candles were the only source of light. He sat back and watched as his minions painted the glass windows black and tore out the first six rows of pews. He'd known the moment he'd laid eyes on the abandoned building that he had to have it. Asbestos. No money to repair the damage. Weak humans; they were vulnerable to everything. As he looked at the highly arched ceiling adorned with medieval-looking chandeliers and small statues of the enigmatic Jesus Christ, he nodded in approval. Yes, this was perfect. Left to rot and collapse on its own, the church was part of the old factory district, the only part of this God-awful city. He laughed at the term 'God awful'. If only these worthless humans knew that there was no God, they'd be a little less enthusiastic about putting their beliefs in others. He'd learned a long time ago that if he wanted something, he had to get it on his own. Waiting for others was a simple waste of time. "My lord, Lycus and his team have not returned." He looked to the petite blonde who'd bowed low before him. Based on her submissive position, she'd expected him to rip her throat out in anger. That only meant one thing. "They were sent hours ago. Where are they?" "Others were sent to Filburn Street to find out what happened. Only molten bodies were found." He stood, ready to take his anger out of her, but she'd taken a peek of his face in her fear. Crystal blue eyes stared up at him and he'd been reminded of another, more beautiful woman with eyes comparable to a clear spring morning and hair brighter than gold. "What the hell do I have you people for?" he shouted as he ran a hand through his hair. "Was it the Nariko?" Those bastards were a pain in the ass. In the past month alone, he'd lost thirty of his best fighters to the hunters. The blonde shook her head as she replied, "No, we have reason to believe that The Brethren has become involved. One of their blades was found at the scene." He cursed. If The Brethren really was involved, then the woman was with them. He did not like where this was going. He regained his seat at the throne he'd placed on the alter and rested his forehead on his fingertips as he asked, "What about her house?" "Sherlaine waits for her there. No one has returned." One very thin silver lining. He'd take it. "Good. Tell him to stay until she returns. And have someone find out where she is being hidden." He couldn't afford his plans to fall through. He'd worked too long and too hard to have things fall apart now. If The Brethren was involved, which he was sure they were, he had to work harder to cover his tracks. Things had shifted too early in the game. "Tell them-" He stopped talking at the commotion taking place. The sounds of metal shackles brought his attention to the far end of the church, where a group of ten women ranted and raved as they were forced to move toward the back rooms of the building. Good. At lease something was going as it should. "Lord Zaide?" Zaide looked at the blonde and narrowed his eyes at her as he said, "Tell them to hurry. I need the woman before the next full moon." He watched as she slowly backed away as she nodded. It was obvious that she feared him, which only meant that she'd been recently converted. Which meant that he would have to double the training schedules. It made no sense to have an army that wasn't capable of staying alive long enough for him to accomplish his goal. As soon as he had the woman, he'd be unstoppable. And that was when the game really started. Daybreak Ch. 03 Stepping from the shower a few minutes later, her body glistening from the silvery waters that flowed from the cleaning nozzle, she banished the thoughts of Gul Mikan from her head as she did every morning, and dried herself. The soft fabric of the towel vigorously caressing her skin as it removed the last traces of the showers moisture. She quickly dressed in her uniform, and grabbing her attaché, PADD and pass-cards she headed out of her apartment, pausing only once to trot back to the bathroom o grab the butt plug and dildo she had left sitting on the floor of the shower cubicle, so she could put them away in the hidden compartment in her bed, smiling softly to herself as she did knowing the confusion, and embarrassment it would cause the elderly ladies who cleaned her rooms twice a week. If it had not been a mold of a Cardassian cock she used to pleasure herself with she might have left it out; just to give the nosey old matron something to gossip about, but as a Vice Consul in the governing council it would do nothing but give her political enemies ammunition should they require it. Jessen found herself almost lost in reverie as she stood there in the act of putting away her toys; her hand was gently caressing the hard silkiness of the synthetic skin. Snapping out of it she placed a kiss gently on the very tip of the phallus and placed it almost with a religious reverence in its cubby. Clicking the cabinet closed she rose from the bed, straitened her clothing and headed for the door. She arrived in the lobby of her housing block just in time to see the government transport pull up to the curb, its grav-motors humming gently as it lowered itself softly to the road surface. The chauffer got out, to open the doors for her but she stepped forward and was in before the driver had even got around to her side of the vehicle. In the darkened interior of the limousine she reached forward into a pocket of in the upholstery and pulled out the PADD that always rested there and accessed the day's news and mail. It was the usual round of inter-departmental memos, Automated News briefs and Star Fleet, and Bajoran briefings; as usual there was nothing of real interest. She was just about to power the access device down when she noticed a tiny flicker no bigger than an ant blinking in the bottom right corner of her screen. It was a tiny symbol, but she could not see what it was. Highlighting that section of the screen with her finger, she zoomed in magnifying it 20 times. The Icon now filled the PADD screen. Her heart leapt into her throat. She knew this symbol. She had seen it every day for the last 11 months. It was the outline of a set of Sharp hunters' teeth edging an erect tanned nipple, a nipple which she knew intimately; her own. Her mind flashed back to the pain and pleasure of Mikans' teeth tearing into the flesh of her exposed sweating breasts back in his "interrogation chamber", and as always there was a fierce hot twitch from her sex, involuntarily she bit her bottom lip to suppress a whimper brought about by very mixed emotions. Fear that her secret had been discovered, sudden sexual pressure that hit her like the heat from an open oven, and anticipation if what it may mean. With trepidation Jessen tapped the icon with her finger tip and scanned the link for Espionage-ware or a Data Phage but it was clean, in fact what it was was a very secure link to a private info node. That appeared to be off planet. Nervously she tapped the activation key to follow the link. The page that loaded was a plain grey back ground with an alpha-numeric keypad embossed on the screen, and a dialogue box. An antiquated curser was blinking softy in the gray dialogue box as if waiting for input. Then at the top of the screen letters started appearing. >. Good Morning Vice Consul. The dialogue box changed color to white. Jessen swallowed hard and typed. > Good morning. Who is this? There was a pause of a few seconds till > Oh come now my dear. You know who this is. Or have you forgotten my training so quickly? How disappointing. Who else could have sent you a picture of the mark I left on you; A mark that set you apart from all of the others, as my personal choice. A mark so personal that it was my own teeth that made it.... There was a small pinched feeling on the index finger of the hand holding the screen. Jessen looked at her finger to see a bright ruby bead of blood growing there. Her skin seamed to prickle, with nervous heat as these words appeared before her. Her ears seamed to ring, and her vision grew blurry. More words scrolled onto her screen. > .... The time has come for you to complete that training my sweet little pet. Come back to me now. You now you are powerless to resist me. You always were. See you soon. She felt the PADD slipping from her grasp, and the interior of the Transport seemed to lurch sideways. As she slid sideways on to the soft upholstery, she knew she was trapped. The engine noise changed to the softly building whine of grav-motors powering up for Trans-atmosphere flight. The last thing she remembered was the gentle thump of the PADD landing on the soft carpeted floor of the transport shuttle. --------- = = = + = = = --------------- Thanks for reading this is instalment 3 of my story the other 2 instalments can be found at my LIterotica user info page. Please comment thanks :-) Daybreak Ch. 03 Charisma grunted in pain as she tripped over the broken branch that hadn’t been removed from the dark path. She’d been walking for at least an hour and in that time, the only thing she’d been able to think of was the fact that her life was unbelievably messed up. She’d only been trying to get to the twenty-four-hour mini-mart when she’d been attacked. While she did admit that going through the abandoned part of town had not been one of her smartest ideas, it did save her ten minutes of walking. A lot of good that did her. She’d waited exactly five minutes after the men walked out of the solarium before she went to the window. She jumped for joy inside when she realized that she was on the ground level of the house. Charisma made quick work of opening the window and jumping out. Once she was out, she took off running. There was no way in hell she would allow herself to be an accomplice to her own kidnapping, even if the one called Jameson had the face of Adonis and made her feel things that honestly should have stayed in the minds of romance novelists. How she found her way off the large estate, she did not know. She cut through the woods that surrounded the only road that led to the house and found herself approaching the back of the city library. Perfect. She was only a mile away from her house. Charisma walked briskly, paying very close attention to any and all noises she heard. Had she not been paranoid, she would have just called the noises she heard normal stirrings of the night. But she was paranoid, and scared half out of her mind; every noise made her walk faster. Had she the sense to own a cellular phone, she would have called her assistant, Marie. That was after she called the police, anyway. Charisma would need loads of alcohol and a sounding board for the asylum-worthy story she had to tell. But she didn’t own a phone and figured that it was probably for the best; who would believe such a story? “Thank you, God,” she muttered when she spotted the oddly blue house she’d purchased only months ago. The house had attracted her not only because of its blue/purple appearance, but because it was partially separated from the other houses on the block. “It’s good to see you too, Blue.” Charisma felt relief wash over her as she approached the house, but stopped when she heard the deep, menacing growl behind her. She slowly turned and felt her skin go cold at the sight of the abnormally large dog watching her. It was partially crouched and the golden hairs on the back of its neck were pointed toward the dark sky. Good Lord, she was going to get mauled to death. Charisma did the only thing she knew to do; she hauled ass to her house. As she ran, she pulled her key out of her pocket. Luckily, she had to get through the screened porch doors to get to her front door. She ran up the stairs and cried out when she tripped over the last step. Charisma was smart enough to push the screen door open as she pitched forward. After she landed on the floor, she pulled her legs in and used her foot to shut the screen. Panting for breath, she lay for a moment, expecting to hear the wild beast trying to break through. There was nothing. She sat up and looked at the extremely quiet street. “Great, now I’m seeing things.” She shook her head as she moved to stand. Charisma quickly opened the door to her house and closed it firmly behind her. Thank God for automatic locks. One deep breath helped her calm down enough to turn on the lights. The sight of the very large, very gorgeous man sitting on her couch had her jumping back against the door. There was something very dangerous about him, and that fact alone kept her from moving. His long white-blonde hair framed a flawless oval-shaped face. Thick, golden eyebrows hooded crystal blue eyes that accented a perfect patrician nose. Perfect, succulent lips led to a dimpled chin that made him look boyish. “Do not make me chase you.” He stood and looked at the lithe human with interest. She had a pleasant face and her obvious fear of him stirred his loins. Had he not had to get her back to Zaide, he would have enjoyed taking pleasure from her. The man was huge! He looked to be about the same height as the twins, but he had the physique of a body builder. She had no idea how to handle this; though the man was smoking hot, he terrified her. Calling Marie was definitely out of the question. “What?” “Come with me and you will not be harmed.” That was classic. Charisma’s fear dissipated enough for her anger to push through. She’d had about enough of these damned men telling her what to do. “Who the hell are you people?” He smiled at her slowly, deliberately, to regain the fear she’d shown him before. “We are what you make us.” What the hell was that supposed to mean? She crossed her arms over her chest as she asked, “Can I make you gone, then?” He laughed at her courage. The attempt was futile, but still commendable. “Make it easy, human. I was told to bring you back alive.” He took a threatening step forward and smiled at her sharp intake of breath. He could just hear the blood rushing through her veins. “Zaide said nothing about how alive you had to be.” He took another step forward but stopped at the loud crash. The sight of the large golden bear that charged him had him baring his razor sharp teeth as a signal for battle. Charisma watched as man and beast went head to head. The two figures landed on her coffee table, splintering the chestnut piece and the man shouted in pain as the bear clawed at his chest. It was the sound of the man’s pain that pulled her out of her trance. Without a backward glance, she unlocked her door and ran out of the house. Two seconds later, she ran into what had to be a brick wall. New fear washed over her and she jumped back, ready to do what she had to do to defend herself. “Calm down, calm down.” She looked up and sighed in relief at the sight of Jameson’s face. She didn’t know how he’d found her, but she was grateful nonetheless. “Jameson, oh, my God.” Jameson did his best to keep from shaking the woman for her foolish actions. When he’d walked back into the solarium to find her missing, he was calm, figuring that she was in another part of the house. He hadn’t even considered the open window - until Alexis informed him of the fact that the protective cloak that shielded the manor had been taken down due to the installation of the new security system. The cloak not only shielded the manor, but it put those who weren’t given unlimited access to sleep if they tried to enter or leave. Panic gripped Jameson then. How could she be so stupid as to leave? Fortunately she was easy to track and he’d found her, just as she ran from her strange looking house like a bat out of hell. “What-” Jameson stopped speaking when he was roughly pushed aside by Liam. He watched as his brother placed his hand on Charisma’s before throwing a hand out. There was no fire. “That’s better,” Liam said as he stepped back. He wanted to yell at Charisma for leaving before she could set things back but this was better. Based on the panicked look in her eyes, the fear of God himself had been put into her. Charisma found herself shrieking in terror when she was launched forward into Jameson’s chest. They rolled a few feet and it was when she was covered by his body that she heard the loud crashes associated with fire and explosions. Her house was on fire! She pushed against Jameson’s heavy body, but it was useless; he wasn’t going anywhere. It wasn’t until everything stopped exploding that he rolled off her and pulled her to her feet. Charisma watched her house become consumed by flames. Anger rolled through her and she began to shout. At who, she didn’t know or care. All she knew was that her house was on fire and would be gone in seconds. Jameson experimentally threw his hand out. After grunting in satisfaction at the ball of fire that shot out from his palm, he turned to Charisma’s red face. She was livid; good, now she knew how he felt. “What the hell were you thinking leaving like that?” “My house is on fire!” she shouted at him. Rage at him and the out-of-this-world situation she found herself in had her yelling everything that came to mind. “We can see that,” Liam replied. “My house is on fire and there is a bear trapped inside!” Charisma gaped as both Liam and Jameson left her to run toward the burning structure. She was only able to watch as a large cougar sauntered out casually - as if nothing happened. Where the hell did the cougar come from? Suddenly, it was all too much for her to take. Her legs gave out from underneath her and she found herself sitting on her legs as she stared at the two men and the wild animal. Flames licked their way over the roof of her home and in the distance, she heard sirens. “Now you have no choice but to stay with us,” Liam said as he crouched in front of her. The dazed look in her eyes kept him from screaming. But he wanted to. Very badly. “We’ve got to go.” Jameson pulled Charisma to her feet just as the large black BMW X5 xDrive35d screeched to a halt in front of them. Alexis sat in the driver’s seat and even Jameson felt the harsh glare he cast at her. He waited until Liam put the cougar in the back before he ushered Charisma inside. Was he seriously putting her in a confined space with a wild animal? It wasn’t as if she had much of a choice in the matter; Jameson had her inside and the car down the street before she found the voice to protest. Charisma looked at the houses and buildings they drove passed, but she didn’t see them. Her mind remained focused on the events of the past few hours. She’d been attacked, somewhat abducted, learned that she had other worldly abilities, escaped her would be captors/protectors, was nearly abducted again, and lost her house. If she wasn’t amazed by the events, she probably would have started laughing. It was all too surreal. “Why did you leave the manor?” Jameson asked. While her silence and temporary cooperation were golden, he still needed answers. Answers that would keep him from shaking some sense into her. “I told you... I needed to go home.” “The manor is your home now,” Liam grumbled. This woman was going to be trouble. He just knew it. Charisma said nothing to the statement. She remained silent during the journey to the manor and said nothing until she found herself sitting in the room she’d escaped from. Now that she had a moment to look at her surroundings, she found herself frowning. She remembered the blonde, Caleb, speaking about the furniture conglomerate. Just how wealthy were these men? Based on the surroundings, they could probably buy an island or two - if they didn’t already own them. Rich mahogany accented the large windows that she noticed took up three fourths of the back wall. That certainly explained why it was so easy for her to climb out. The plush brown chaise was placed in the center of the room and scattered along the corners of the room were various chairs of all sizes. It was obvious that this room was meant as a relaxation space for more than one person. A pile of pillows rested next to a maroon chair near the window. The fireplace rested in front of her, and it still blazed, lighting the room warmly. There were no light fixtures in the room; the only source of light was the fireplace. Everything screamed money, down to the blackened vase behind her. One hundred percent crystal, she knew. They wouldn’t settle for less. “What happened when you went home?” Charisma looked at Alexis’ stern face and found herself flushing. She felt like a child under his scrutinizing gaze. “I found my way home but then there was this huge dog. Where did it come from?” Jameson looked at his brothers as he said, “And then what happened?” “I ran inside the house and there was this really big guy waiting for me. He told me to go with him. He wouldn’t hurt me if I left with him.” She looked at Jameson’s black face as she continued, “And then a bear just showed up out of nowhere. How the hell did a bear get into my house?” Jameson smiled at the confused look on her face. It was that very look that prompted him to let go of his anger. For the moment. “Euan?” Charisma found herself pressing herself into the backrest of the chaise as the same dog that growled at her walked into the room. Its large amber eyes did nothing to calm her. “Jesus Christ it’s-” She stopped moving when the dog shifted into the form of a man. A very gorgeous, very naked man. His long blonde hair accented those piercing amber eyes of his. An oval shaped face framed a slightly crooked nose and a pearly-white toothed smile that made her jaw drop. This man was extremely pale, but that only seemed to add to his appeal. “I...” Jameson frowned as he closed her wide open mouth. Did he have to look at his brother so... appreciatively? “Could you cover up a little?” Euan raised a brow as he pulled a wayward cushion from the floor and placed it on his crotch. The shocked curiosity of the woman made him want to sniff her. One look at Jameson, however, told him that the urge was a very bad idea. “I saw her leave so I followed.” Jameson nodded in thanks before he turned his attention to Charisma. He did not like that she continued to stare at his brother. “Listen, we’re here to protect you from whoever wants you.” “They sent Sherlaine after her.” “That’s just great,” Liam said to Euan’s announcement. Not quite a Mordecai and not quite a demon, Sherlaine was one of the more difficult adversaries to battle, primarily because no one really knew what the hell he was. “Calm down, I got him.” Liam scoffed at Euan’s statement. “And you know the bastard comes back.” “She’s safe, isn’t she?” Charisma cried out when Draco and Roman suddenly appeared in front of her. In loud booming voices, they shouted death threats a scant second before taking hold of her hands. As she panted to control the furious beat of her heart, she watched them take a step back before Roman vanished into thin air. “What-” “Sorry to scare you like that,” Roman said as he reappeared, “But we really wanted our powers back.” Alexis stepped forward to put an end to the rising chaos. “All right, that’s enough for tonight. This is too much for Charisma to take.” He looked at the now shaking woman and cast a warning look at Euan as he took a defensive stance. “There is a room waiting for you upstairs. Take the stairs up, veer left, and it’s the fifth door on the right. You got that?” When she only nodded, he mimicked the action. “Get some sleep.” Even though she had to stay at the manor, she was glad for the time and space to herself. Charisma nodded once more before she walked out of the room. “Zaide wants her.” Jameson turned to Euan and asked, “How would you know that?” “Sherlaine bragged about it while we fought.” “What would he want with her ability?” Jameson ran his hand over his head as he took a deep breath. Everything just kept getting even more complicated. Roman shook his head slowly, unsure of the next step to take. “Right now would be the perfect time for the Council to send D. and Nadia Back.” Upstairs, Charisma tried to keep from laughing at the ridiculous wealth of the house. As she walked through the house, she glanced at the kitchen. The rich chestnut wood was accented by black marble countertops. Stainless steel appliances screamed sophistication. The floors were marble as well, and shone brightly underneath the fluorescent ceiling lights. The hallway that led to her bedroom was even more intricate. The long hall was lit to resemble candlelight and beautifully illuminated the rich crème walls that were adorned with tapestries and gorgeous oil paintings. On the marble floor - how much marble did these men need? - was a rich Asian rug that was quite obviously custom made to fit the parameters of the hall. Beautiful bronze chandeliers hung from the arched ceiling, both adding height and a sense of history to the walkway. There were no plants or suits of armor to add flair to the hallway, but there were many small tables covered with various pieces of art from all over the world. Now in her room, she looked around in awe. Two of the walls were in actuality expansive windows that overlooked the woods the isolated the house and part of the city. Nestled against one of the windows was a large bed covered with black and grey satin sheets. Crème drapes were pulled to the side to allow moonlight to filter into the room. A dark grey carpet covered the entirety of the floor and accented a white couch that say in the corner. It wasn’t until she’d inspected closely that Charisma realized that the two walls were actually huge closets. There was an array of men’s clothing inside. She looked down at herself and pulled out an oversized black t-shirt to sleep in. She’d replace the clothing when she returned home. Charisma hunched over at the ball of pain in her stomach at the thought of the home she no longer had. Just another loss to add to the mile long list she already had. She’d lost her parents to a car accident at the age of four. Neither her mother nor father had any surviving relatives, so Charisma had been placed in foster care. She was lucky and was placed with a wonderful family, but she was adopted by another after two years. Her new family treated her well enough, but they had the uncanny ability of blaming her for everything that went wrong - even the car accident her adopted brother caused while drunk. It didn’t matter that she was only twelve at the time. At the first opportunity, Charisma left her home, not because of the treatment she’d received, but because of the burning desire to branch out and live life her way. The need brought her to her current career as a freelance chef. She’d sacrificed much to have the simple life she lived, and it was those sacrifices that allowed her her beautiful home. The home that was now nothing but ashes. Now Charisma had no choice but to live in a strange mansion with even stranger men. She had friends, but she wouldn’t be selfish enough to put this odd situation on them. There was enough danger as it was. She forced herself to change into the t-shirt as she wondered about the powers she had. Had she inherited them from her parents or was it the result of some weird genetic mutation? Could she simply switch powers between two people who had abilities or could she do more? Was her ability one that would harm others? Could she be trusted? Should she be trusted? Just as she’d pulled the hem of the shirt down to rest at mid-thigh, there was a knock on the door. “Come in.” Jameson walked into the bedroom and stopped at the sight of Charisma in nothing but the large t-shirt. Two emotions washed over him and both of them were foreign. The first was pure desire. He’d wanted and had had plenty of women in the past, but not one of them made his body shudder at just the simple sight of her. Charisma’s lithe, nubile body was made to make his mouth water. Her delicate hands looked soft and he just knew that they’d caress him in ways he could never imagine. Pert breasts were the perfect handful and they led to a waist that, while concealed by the loose fabric, was narrow and appetizing. Round hips and long, perfect legs completed her look. Which triggered his second emotion; jealousy. Alexis had put her in their brother Slade’s room because it was the only vacant room near his. Seeing Charisma in his brother’s shirt and not his gnawed uncomfortably at his insides. “Jameson?” He looked at her curious face and realized that he was scowling. Forcing himself to smile, he sat down on the edge of the bed. “I’m sorry you have to deal with all of this.” She’d been blindsided by the turn of events and no doubt needed someone to talk to. Jameson was determined to be that person. Daybreak Ch. 03 “So am I.” Charisma sat down on the couch once more. She looked at his hair and realized that she never noticed that it was so long. He must have pulled it back. Now, it was loose and the sheet of midnight hair covered his shoulders. God, he looked even hotter with his hair down. She had to say something before she ending up staring at him even more. “Uh, so what exactly is going on?” “Well, it seems that Zaide wants you.” She remembered the man in her house mentioning the name. “Who is he?” “The leader and unofficial creator of the Mordecai.” “Mordecai?” “Special brand of demon that feed on human souls.” “How do they do that?” “They suck the blood out of the body. The soul’s pretty quick to follow.” Charisma frowned in confusion. “So they’re like vampires.” “Yes and no.” Jameson looked down at the hands he clasped as he thought of an adequate explanation. “They drink the blood because it tastes good, but they don’t need it to survive.” “So it’s like the appetizer before the entrée.” He nodded as he said, “And the soul is the main course.” He looked up to see the shocked look on her face. She had a lot of information to absorb. “Like vampires, they only come out at night, but like I said before, they don’t need the blood.” “What would they want with me?” “That’s what we’re going to figure out.” There was a moment of silence as Charisma thought his words over. She looked at Jameson’s face and felt her stomach flutter when he wiggled his eyebrows in a way that clearly showcased his desire to ease any anxiety she might have had. “So what’s your story?” “My story?” “Yes. What are you?” It was obvious that he and his brothers were as special as she was. Just how special was the question. Jameson took a breath. It was a very rare occasion in which he was asked that question, the very reason he became uncomfortable each time he had to answer it. “Do you want the long or the abridged version?” “Abridged should be fine.” “Half god demon hunter.” Charisma sat back for a moment before she said, “I change my mind. Long version.” He smiled at the amazed and partially confused look on her face. There was a dimple in the center of her forehead when she frowned, he noticed. “Technically, I’m more powerful than the actual definition of the word ‘god’, but it’s the standard description used when referring to the High Council.” “High Council?” “The most powerful beings to ever exist. Period. My father is one of them.” “Oh.” “Yea, he got a bunch of women pregnant with the crazy idea of creating an army of his own. The rest of the Council found out, had him exiled, and pretty much told us that we had to work for them.” Charisma blinked in surprise. That was some kind of family history. “Whoa, so you’re telling me that you have to do this until you die?” “Pretty much,” he replied on a nod. That was a pretty serious job description. How was he expected to live his own life when he had demons to fight all the time? “What about a girlfriend or a wife?” “Are you volunteering?” The intense flush that took over her face made him smile. That wasn’t the reaction of someone who only saw him as a sort of bodyguard. “Be serious.” “We have them from time to time, but if we happen to break up,” which was an uncomfortably common occurrence, “the High Council removes their memories of us.” “That’s one hell of an easy-out clause.” Jameson laughed as he said, “It has its benefits.” Charisma tilted her head curiously at the self deprecating tone to his voice. “I’m sensing a but.” Jameson turned his head away from her curious gaze. How she was able to see passed his joking smile and go right to the heart of his thought, he didn’t know. He didn’t know how to tell her that seeing his half demon brother with the love of his life opened Jameson’s eyes to the fact that he’d spent many years alone. Sure, there was the long list of one night stands, but he was lonely. He wanted companionship. “There is always a but.” “I guess.” She let out a breathe as she tried to figure out the next course of action. “How long have you been doing this?” “A really long time.” “Translation: I don’t know you well enough to get into what comes with that question.” Jameson only smiled as he asked, “What about you?” Charisma shrugged as she looked away. “There isn’t much to say. I’m a freelance chef-” “How does that work?” “I get a call from someone who is having a fancy-pants dinner, well, actually, Marie, my assistant – I should really call her and let her know that she has a vacation.” He chose to ignore the subject change and said, “We’ll take care of that later. What about your parents?” She looked away uncomfortably as she said, “I haven’t spoken to them in a few years.” It was more like seven, but he didn’t need to know all of that. “That doesn’t answer my question.” “No, I don’t want to contact them.” She shrugged before adding, “Back to what we were talking about. I cook the meals, Marie assists me, clients pay me. They get a good meal, and I get another reference.” Which explained why she didn’t complain about having to get to work in the morning. “Does that pay well?” He knew that she lived in a pretty nice neighborhood, but considering said house was now nothing but ashes... “At a minimum of a hundred dollars a plate plus manual labor, yes.” She pulled the hem of the t-shirt over her knees when his gaze lingered on them. Charisma was in no way shy about her body, but there was something about the way Jameson stared at her that made her nervous. “I think we can afford that.” Jameson smiled at her boisterous laugh and felt himself frown at the tight ball of desire that lodged itself in his groin. Her pale eyes brightened when she smiled, and paired with the flush that still took over her skin... He cleared his throat when his hardened member throbbed within the confines of his pants. No, he couldn’t allow his thoughts to drift to anything other than the fact that he had to protect her. “You should get some sleep.” Jameson stood up and quietly left the room. As he walked down the hall and toward his room, he thought over Nadia’s premonition: 'She doesn’t understand why they want her. You don’t understand why you need her. But it is together you must work to find the truth.' Being told that he didn’t know why he needed Charisma was the understatement of the year. What was the green-eyed beauty supposed to mean to him? How was it possible that after only a few hours, she meant something to him already? Daybreak Ch. 04 Charisma opened her eyes slowly and looked around the strange room cautiously. Damn, it wasn't a dream. She really hoped that the events of the past twenty-four hours were some type of food induced hallucinations that would make her reconsider her decision of letting Marie coordinate the procurement of their materials. She couldn't attribute it to drugs or alcohol as she did neither. But everything was real, and there was no going back. She'd awakened to a nightmare. The small island of shopping bags in front of the closet piqued her curiosity. How had they gotten there without her knowing? She prided herself on being a light sleeper; a grandfather clock that ticked too loudly a few rooms away was enough to keep her up all night. That she'd slept through the sea of bags being placed in the room only served to remind her of the life she'd been thrust into. There were thousands of dollars worth of clothes, hair products, and footwear in the bags. A pair of very nice and comfortable looking sneakers that had to be the same price as her living room couch rested on the top of two other boxes of expensive shoes. Everything, down to the lacy underwear she'd blushed over was designer. Charisma knew that the men were wealthy and could probably afford to buy a few small countries, but that still made her hesitant to wear the clothes. At the same time, the clothes she wore last night were nowhere to be found. If she expected to leave the room at any point, she had to wear the clothes. It took her twenty minutes to find the bathroom, shower, dress, and head downstairs. There had to be some kind of maid or personal shopper in residence she had to thank. The clothes, while expensive, were simple and fit her style perfectly. The hallway was quiet, giving her and odd feeling in the pit of her stomach. Charisma wasn't scared, but she knew that something was off. As she continued her walk, she chalked her uneasiness up to being in a strange home for even stranger reasons. A small black Schipperke sidled out of a room and looked at her curiously. Charisma smiled in greeting as she said, "Good morning, Euan." Was animal form the only one he'd take, she wondered. "Good morning." Charisma whipped around and felt her eyes widen at the sight of Euan standing a few feet behind her. She turned and looked at the dog then faced Euan once more. He was fully clothed. "Oh." Awkward. Euan smiled at the deep blush that took over Charisma's face. As a partial empath, he felt a flush taking over his skin as well. "Don't worry about it." She only nodded as she turned to continue her journey downstairs. There was absolutely nothing she could say that would potentially get her out of trouble. "Just so you know, I prefer being golden when in animal form. And my eye color never changes." Charisma made a mental note of the information she was given before she continued on. She shook her head as she descended the stairs. The sounds of a television game show brought her to the kitchen. A large plasma screen television set was mounted over the large entryway. Save Euan, everyone was gathered around the large island. "Hello." As the men nodded in response, she moved to the seat Jameson vacated for her. "Thanks,' she murmured. "Are you hungry?" Draco asked. Charisma shook her head slowly. She rarely ever ate breakfast, primarily because she didn't like breakfast food. She loved to cook everything served at breakfast, but never cared for the taste. When Jameson's arm brushed hers, she looked up at him. The deep stare he gave her sent shivers through her body. "Um, where is your maid?" She felt another flush take over her skin when the men simply stared at her. She'd never felt so vulnerable in her life. "It's just that I'd like to thank her for getting me all the clothes." There was another moment of silence as the brothers looked from her to Jameson and back. It was then that she realized that they didn't have a maid. Another blush took over her face. "We'll thank her for you," Alexis said. He felt the sides of his mouth quirk up at the uncomfortable look on Jameson's face. "We need to discuss strategy," he added as a second thought. The statement was directed to his brothers. Charisma watched the men stand and knew she had to do something before she lost her mind to anxiety. "Would you mind if I cooked?" Roman stopped short and looked at her curiously as he said, "You can cook?" She nodded slowly in response. Cooking was the one thing she knew she could control when life got out of hand. It was her sanctuary, her emotional outlet. The more she cooked, the calmer she felt. Even if she wasn't around her superior cutlery, an opportunity to calm down was much needed. "Go for it," Roman said on a wink. "Just don't burn the house down," Liam added, "I paid a lot of money for the crap you see in here." Charisma only nodded as she frowned in confusion. She waited until the men left before she looked at everything she had to work with. The refrigerator was filled with almost every ingredient found in the supermarket. There was an extensive collection of cookware and spices and bless their macho hearts, they had the best appliances on the market. This wasn't her kitchen, but damn, it was close. The next few hours were spent delicately mixing everything she needed for the large lunch/dinner she'd improvised. She didn't know if any of the men were vegetarians or vegans, so she created sides to satisfy all consumption standards. The more Charisma cooked, the calmer she became and the more she believed everything would work out. The only element missing was the calming polyphonic sounds of ancient chanting. She'd become obsessed with the unique form of music when she helped an old friend study for a music history exam and found that if she cooked while listening to it, she would create mouthwatering dishes. Not that what she currently cooked wouldn't be mouthwatering; it just wouldn't have the extra edge the music added. Cooking brought her mind to her personal responsibilities. Marie had to be contacted as soon as possible; there was a chance that her overly-obsessive assistant would file a missing persons report if she thought anything was wrong. There was also the task of canceling any dinners she had planned. She'd let Marie take care of that. Thoughts of her parents flooded her brain and for a moment, she considered contacting them as well. There was something about seeing Jameson with his brothers that made her long for a sense of family and belonging. Though she'd never really felt like part of her adoptive parents' family, especially after the death of her brother, she figured that it was never too late to try again. But did she really want to involve her parents in her life after everything she'd learned? It wasn't safe for anyone, especially her. No, she would wait until things were safer before she initiated contact. Marie would be the only one she called. The image of Jameson's face caused Charisma to pause her actions. While all the men in the house were delicious in their own way, the grey-eyed fire thrower was the only one to make her stomach flutter when he was near. Charisma had been around her fair share of hot men and even found herself nervous around them, but there was something about the look in Jameson's eyes. He was not only curious about her, but he always managed to make her feel naked when he looked at her closely. It was as if he knew exactly how to knock down the walls she'd spent years building to keep the control she desperately needed over herself. She could have been looking too much into it. Jameson gave her more attention than anyone else because he was sent to find her. He most likely found it upon himself to ensure her safety. Her safety. It would have been nice to know how she ended up here, but the people who had the answers died before she could remember them. Charisma doubted her adoptive parents knew anything about the abilities she had and while Jameson and his brothers knew about such matters, they knew about as much as she did. And on top of all that, she had to avoid getting kidnapped by a demon that fed on the souls of humans to survive. "Surreal..." "What's surreal?" Charisma looked at the entryway and found Jameson leaning against it causally. Based on his positioning, he'd been watching her for some time. He'd taken his hair out of the queue and the midnight sheet that surrounded his face gave him an oddly angelic look. Lord, the man was beautiful. "This whole situation," she replied as she stirred the small pot of soup she'd left to simmer, "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you earlier." Jameson smiled as he walked into the kitchen. As he braced his hands on the island, he forced himself to stop staring at her. He'd watched her for the better part of ten minutes and in that time, he'd found himself itching to touch her. Charisma was so serene, so in control of her environment. He wasn't supposed to feel this attracted to her, but at the same time, he knew that he'd never feel the same about any other woman. It was as if... "Don't worry about it. I'll throw a couple of fireballs at them if they give me shit." He felt his stomach knot at the sound of her musical laugh and had to take a step back. "When did you want to call your assistant?" "As soon as possible would be best." He nodded as he said, "We'll give her a call later." "'We?'" "I have to be here when you call to make sure that it's really her." "Why wouldn't it be?" Jameson chose not to answer the question. "Later." He turned to walk out of the room but stopped when she called his name. "You said that your father was part of this 'High Council?'" When he nodded, Charisma asked, "Do you know where he is?" "The High Council thought it best to keep that information from us, just in case we ever decided to set the old man free. Not that we would." "I take it that you aren't his biggest fan." Jameson shrugged. "I don't hate the man, but it's hard to appreciate someone who only created you to win wars." Too late, he realized he said too much. "What are you making?" "Early lunch, late dinner. Pretty simple." Jameson looked at the pot of soup she stirred before glancing at the other dishes littering the countertops. Roasted chicken, grilled vegetables, two pies, a large plate of salad, and other foods he couldn't identify sat waiting to be devoured. What he saw looked nothing like a simple dinner. But if she wanted to call it that... "Draco and Roman will feel like kings." "They love food that much?" "Bottomless pits." Charisma laughed as she reached for the vegetables she'd set aside to chop. It was nice, simply talking to him. Jameson made her feel like she mattered, that she belonged. "I'm surprised you're still here and not out looking for clues." "After sunset." He watched the way her delicate hands efficiently chopped the vegetables. Her long, slender fingers barely grazed the surface of the zucchini she worked magic on. Jameson wondered what it would feel like to have those beautiful fingers graze over his skin that way, gently exploring and memorizing every bump and ridge of his hardened body. Would her skin be softer than it looked when he mimicked the action? "Can I go?" Jameson looked at her incredulously. Luckily, she could not see the expression on his face as she continued to chop vegetables. "No, you're staying." "Why do I have to stay?" The way she saw it, Charisma had every right to tag along. Those monsters were after her and she wanted to be there when the men found out why. "I need to know you're someplace safe." She paused in her task of chopping to look at him and ask, "Wouldn't the safest place be wherever you are?" A knot formed in the pit of his stomach. What exactly did she mean by that? The way she phrased the question was indicative to the fact that there was something else lying beneath the surface. No, he didn't have the luxury of thinking of that. Crossing his arms over his chest, he said, "Listen. I was sent to protect you and until I'm sure that you're not in any danger, I have to play things safe." He'd already taken the first step by reactivating the protective cloak that concealed the manor. She couldn't leave and no one save his brothers and Nadia could enter. "Sent by whom?" Jameson stared into her curious pale green eyes and knew that he head to leave the room. There was no way he'd be able to keep from touching her if he lingered even a moment longer. "Someone you'll meet soon." Charisma frowned when he abruptly turned and walked out of the room. How rude. Here she was, trying to know a little more about this life and all he could do was turn around and leave. What was that supposed to mean? * * * * * "And you say she gets paid to do this?" Jameson nodded at Draco's question as he, along with the rest of his brothers, walked through the abandoned section of the city. Though they usually separated and checked parameters in pairs, they decided to go against protocol. If Alexis' intuition was right, they needed to stay together to avoid complications. After dinner, where everyone, including Euan, the resident vegetarian enjoyed their meal, he'd spent the better part of a half hour dragging the twins away from Charisma. Each wanted her recipe secrets and it was quite obvious that she was a true chef; she didn't share her secrets. So now, as they patrolled, Jameson had to listen to the dozens of questions Draco put to him. "Maybe we should employ her." "Drake," Jameson admonished with a shake of his head, "It's bad enough the girl had to deal with this. She doesn't need you hounding her for food all day." "He wouldn't have to if she'd just give us the recipes," Roman defended. "And you think paying her to cook for us would make her obligated to?" "Duh, Lex," Draco answered, "If she works for us, we won't need the recipes." Alexis only rolled his eyes heavenward. Jameson looked up at Euan's falcon form flying overhead and heard the ear-piercing shriek exactly two seconds before the two Chinese fighting stars whizzed passed his ears. He turned just in time to see the dozen Mordecai rushing for them. As he prepared to launch a massive fireball at them, Liam rushed forward to attack. "Damn it, Liam," he muttered as he swung a left hook at the tall, disfigured demon that advanced. The demon actually had some sort of combat skill as it blocked his hits before landing a solid punch to his midsection. Jameson retaliated by kicking the demon back into the twins who took turns plunging a blade into three different Mordecai. They high-fived each other before turning to simultaneously punch the disfigured demon that stumbled toward them. "Son of a bitch bit me!" Liam roared as he used the protractible blades strapped to his wrists to stab the oversized demon. Newly angered, he turned away from the quickly molting form and aided Alexis as he battled four eager demons. Together, the two men worked quickly to dispose of them. "Keep one alive!" Jameson shouted as he set two more demons on fire. He smirked at their tortured screams and sidestepped the wayward arm Liam ripped off the still living Mordecai. He stepped forward and held the screaming demon by the neck as he commanded, "Tell me what I want to know." The demon said nothing as it tried to staunch the bleeding that came from his missing arm he knew he was dead no matter what he did, so the only question was which method of death was less painful. "Start talking." Jameson emphasized the gravity of the situation by allowing his hand to heat to the point of burning. "Before the full moon," the demon cried, "Lord Zaide needs her before the next full moon!" "That's in ten days," Alexis interjected. "What does he need her for?" Jameson asked. When the demon only remained silent, he increased the heat pouring out of his hand. "What does he need her for?" He stepped back in surprise when the demon suddenly was consumed by flames. It screamed and begged for mercy as it writhed on the ground until finally, only a pile of ash remained. "Why did you kill him?" Jameson looked at Alexis as he said, "I didn't." He burst into flame himself." "Since when does a Mordecai have those kinds of resources?" Liam asked. "Since he's more than ready to kick ass and take names," Jameson answered on a sigh. How he loved it when things became more complicated. "Let's go back to the manor." Daybreak Ch. 05 Jameson found Charisma on the chaise in the solarium when he returned. She was asleep, he was happy to observe, and she looked so peaceful, so beautiful. With her hand tucked beneath her chin, she looked like a child. A surge of protectiveness washed over him. Jameson knew that he would die to keep her safe if he had to, and it wasn't only because she was his charge. Just another reason for him to ask himself why he was the one sent to find her. He barely knew anything about the woman, but somehow, he managed to figure out that he wanted more that just her safety. Why? Why her? Why now? And would getting involved with her be the smartest choice? Even if the choice was a smart one, it wasn't as if a relationship could work. He was a half-god demon hunter. And she was a human freelance chef. She would always be in danger. She would always be a weakness. With a sigh, Jameson gently lifted her into his arms and had to ignore the feeling that washed over him. She fit... so perfectly. And she smelled like berries. Charisma opened her eyes slowly and smiled at Jameson. "I fell asleep," she said as a greeting. "I know." He said nothing more as he carried her up the stairs and toher room. As he set her on the bed, he smoothed her soft hair back and found himself captivated by the whimsical look in her eyes. "I'll take you shopping for more stuff tomorrow." "No, you already bought me so much." "Yes, but you need clothes to train in." "I have clothes at my..." Charisma trailed off as realization set in once more. She had no home. It burned down two days ago. Being at the manor served as a nice distraction from that fact. Her life was a mess, and she had no idea how to clean it up. The sense of control she lived for was gone. The sudden onslaught of tears caught them both by surprise. "I'm sorry," she said, "I just... I don't usually..." Jameson found himself frowning. He'd never been one to be comfortable around tears and because of that, did everything possible to get as far away from an overly emotional woman as possible. But he couldn't leave Charisma. Not like this. He murmured sweet words of encouragement as he pulled her close. Her tears were quick to end, but her devastation lingered. "It's going to be all right." "How can you be so sure?" With everything going on in her life, there was no feasible way a positive outcome could be had. "Because I just know." "But how? How do you keep going everyday knowing the things that you do?" "You don't think about the next day, or the next week is how," he replied. As he ran his hands over the expanse of her back, he continued, "All that matters is getting through the next five minutes without losing your mind. If you can do that, then the five after won't be so bad." It was hard to get her to understand because she'd only been part of his world for a few days. After centuries of fighting for his life and for the sake of mankind, he'd seen things no being should have, things that had the ability to break the minds of weaker men. Jameson had time to hone his skills of desensitizing, of considering everything part of the job. Because of that time, he was able to compartmentalize a little too well. When Charisma pulled away from him, he wiped her tears away. She looked so vulnerable, so scared, so unlike the woman who'd cooked dinner for his family. "Charisma?" "Yes?" She looked from his paralyzing grey eyes to his mouth and found herself leaning in to kiss him before she could stop herself. It was only a simple kiss, one meant to test the theory that his mouth was as delectable as it looked. His mouth was more than that, she realized, and the knowledge only made her look into his shocked eyes nervously. She'd never been so bold before and thus the fear of his rejection kept her from moving. Jameson stared at Charisma for only a minute before he pulled her to him again and took full possession of her mouth. Her lips were sweet and soft; they molded to his perfectly. He found himself moaning in pleasure when her tongue timidly snaked out to caress his lips. In response to her move, he allowed her tongue entrance just as he used his to invade the sweet cavern of her mouth. Heat and passion swirled through him as his lips slanted over hers. He could not control his need to touch her and found himself lifting the hem of her shirt. Her soft skin drove him mad and her whimpers of pleasure made him want more. Jameson trailed his hands up her taut stomach and groaned at the feel of her hardened nipples begging for attention through the lace of her bra. In the back of his head, he screamed at himself to stop because there would be no turning back once he took her. At the same time, he couldn't stop himself; with every touch, he craved more of her. "Yes," she moaned as his fingertips brushed over the hard peaks of her breasts. A scant second later, she frowned in confusion as he pulled away and took a few steps back. "Jameson, what-" "We can't." "Why not?" The more he looked at her, the more he asked himself the same question. He sighed as he said, "My life is complicated." It was unfair of him to act as if he lived a life that would keep her out of danger. She understood what he meant and even agreed with what he was trying to say. But she wasn't asking for marriage. "That doesn't mean sex has to be." Charisma wasn't the type of person to casually offer herself to strange men, but there was no use in denying the fact that Jameson set her on fire. Casual sex with him would be just that; casual. No strings, no obligations, and no promises. They both remained in complete control of their lives. Jameson looked away, knowing that he would not be able to tell her that though he'd only known her a handful of days, he wanted more than sex, the very reason he couldn't sleep with her. "Get some sleep. We'll be out early." * * * * * "I thought you said that this would be enjoyable." Liam rifled through the various racks of clothes in front of him, disgusted by the fact that he'd agreed to accompany his brother and the woman on their trip. For the past three hours, he'd stood back and watched as Jameson held up item after item for her to consider. Charisma has simple tastes, only choosing dark yoga pants and sports bras for training. Jameson had other ideas, especially when he noticed that many of the stores located in the mall were having sales. Liam, who originally thought that the trip would take an hour, grumbled when his brother reached for another item. "Watching you grumble is amusing." Jameson laughed when Liam's eyes narrowed dangerously. Charisma watched the pair curiously. From what she observed, none of the brothers, save Draco and Roman, looked like each other. Their personalities were eons apart, but yet, they all meshed easily. Maybe it was because they'd been brothers longer than... Well, she didn't know how long, but based on their relationship, it was a damned long time. Watching them gave her another urge to contact her adoptive parents. She longed for a bond. With anyone. She was relatively new to town, and she wasn't close enough to her friends to call them family. There was Marie, who oddly knew her quiet well, but their relationship was more employer-employee than friendly. The men she lived with were suddenly her closest friends in the world. Would she be able to adjust to being alone again once she was no longer in danger of being kidnapped? "You ok?" Charisma blinked herself out of her thoughts and looked up into Jameson's concerned eyes. "I'm fine." "Why are you blushing?" She looked at Liam's exasperated face and felt her flush deepen. She'd only looked into Jameson's eyes and she was acting like a schoolgirl. In public. "Just got a mental image of you in that." She motioned to the pale yellow yoga pants he held. "Very sexy." At Jameson's loud laugh, she smiled, and watched as Liam angrily placed the item back on the rack. He was so hot-tempered. "I think that's enough for today," Jameson said, "You two stay here while I pay for these." "No." Charisma moved to block his path and ignored the shocked expression on his face. "I can't let you pay for these." "Why the hell not?" Liam asked, "Most of you females jump at the chance to have all this shit bought for you." "She's not most women," Jameson defended. She was so much more than that. "But I'm going to guess that you forgot your wallet in the rush to leave the manor - oh wait, that's right; it was destroyed." "That's because one of you got rid of it." Alexis had given her her treasured wallet, claiming that Euan found it while searching through the remains of her home. Her credit cards hadn't been damaged, but her wallet was singed badly. When Jameson heard that her source of independence had been returned, he made sure he distracted her while her wallet mysteriously went missing. "I'd rather we put this stuff back and come back when you give me my wallet back." "Even if I knew where your wallet was, there won't be time to comeback here." Jameson tried to walk around her but stopped when she blocked his path once more. "Listen, we have a lot to do in the next nine days and that includes training you. You won't be back here until things settle." And he had to part ways with her. He didn't want to think of that day, not only because of the fact that he wouldn't be around her anymore, but because he didn't want to analyze the meaning of it all. "I'm going to pay for this." "Listen, human. I'm ready to leave so stop getting in his way." Charisma took a step back after Liam took a threatening one forward. How could she argue with two half-gods against her? "Fine, go pay for it." Jameson smiled victoriously as he walked away. He didn't like being overbearing, but he wasn't lying when he said that there was a lot to be done. It only took ten minutes to have everything checked, bagged and paid for and when he returned, he handed the bags to Liam. "Take these home with you." Liam looked at his brother's outstretched arms as he asked, "Do I look like a pack mule?" "No, but since you're so eager to get back to the manor, I figure you can do your brother a favor, especially since I need to take her somewhere." Jameson watched as Liam narrowed his eyes dangerously a scant second before he grabbed the bags and walked away. "He's always so angry," Charisma said. "That's the happiest I've seen him since Nadia left." "Seriously?" Jameson nodded as he led her out of the store and shopping mall. He walked her to his car (he'd purposely asked Liam to take his own) and once they were settled in, he began to drive to their next destination. "So tell me more about these More-dicks." "Mordecai," Jameson corrected on a smile. "Whatever." She laughed at her mistake as she said, "What's their deal?" "Like I told you, Zaide was the first. He was a Forkai." "What's that?" "Glorified vampire but they could walk in daylight. Most of them, the ones who chose to live among humans, fed on animals." "And those who didn't?" Jameson glanced at her and smiled at her curious expression. "That's why the Nariko were created. Vampire hunters are what you would call them." "What's so special about them?" "Superhuman strength and agility. Other than that, they're pretty much human." Charisma sat back in shock. All of this was going on in the world and she had absolutely no idea. "So this Zaide guy was a Forkai and then poof, he became what he is now?" "No one really knows how he became a Mordecai. Our best guess is that someone found a way to get rid of his soul and he pulled in another one when he next fed, which somehow turned him. Basically, you'd have to first be a Forkai to be turned into a Mordecai." "And these Forkai actually agree to a life of living in the dark?" "Apparently." Jameson pulled the car to a stop when they reached their destination. "We're here." Charisma felt her heart skip a beat when she looked at the charred remains of her home. She quietly exited the car and looked at what was left of the one thing in her life she was most proud of. Everything was gone. Everything. "There's nothing salvageable here." Jameson stood beside her quietly, both glad and upset that she wasn't the least bit emotional. He'd brought her here to show her that though the house was gone, the land was still in tact. There was hope. "That house was the one thing that was mine. I worked hard to earn that house. It was the only thing I had to show that I wasn't nothing. Now it's gone." She looked at his expressionless face and found a sense of comfort in his stoicism. "Now I have nothing." Jameson reached over to take hold of her delicate hand. It was so soft and small in his. "It doesn't have to be that way. You can rebuild your house the same way you can rebuild your life." Though his words were comforting, they weren't enough to erase the pain and doubt she felt. She would have to start over again. And it couldn't be here, where there were demons after her. Marie wouldn't like it, but they would have to move. "Can we go back now?" His answer was to simply lead her back to his car. As he drove them back to the manor, Jameson remained silent, primarily because he knew that she needed time to organize her thoughts. This was a lot for a person to handle, all on top of discovering that she had an ability. The uncertainty she must have felt... This was a perfect time for Caleb to skip town to take care of the family business. His ability to alter emotions would have greatly aided her. "I don't get it." Jameson glanced at her perplexed face as he made a right turn. "You don't get what?" "I know that my ability is useful, but why would someone who lives the way Zaide does want me?" "That's what we've been trying to figure out. I'm not sure your power works on the undead." A chill went through Charisma. This was all so confusing! How was she supposed to face this bravely? "How do you do this, face uncertain death everyday?" He knew that sympathy was the quickest way to get her to lose her composure. "You get used to it. I've learned that the more you think about dying, the more likely it is to happen." He waited for her to reply to that and when she didn't, he took a breath. He wished that Nadia would return soon. Not only would she be able to give him some insight, but having had the crash course into their world just weeks before, she was the only person capable of calming Charisma. "Do you have a phone I can borrow?" It was then that Jameson remembered the phone call she was to make to her assistant. He opened the glove compartment, making sure to ignore the rush that went through him when the back of his hand brushed her knee, and pulled out his sparsely-used phone. "Thank you." Charisma quickly dialed Maria's number and sighed in relief when her assistant picked up on the second ring. "Marie-" "Oh, my God, Charisma! I have been going nuts trying to find you!" Despite herself, Charisma smiled. "I'm fine, there's just been-" "Where are you? I'll come and get you. Jesus Christ, what the hell happened to your house? I went over to see if you were ok and it was like, burned to the ground. You didn't do something while you were cooking, did you?" "No, I didn't burn the house down." Charisma looked at Jameson and nodded at the words he mouthed to her. "There was some sort of weird gas leak and I left a candle burning when I went to the market." "The place exploded?!? Holy hell! Please tell me you're ok." "I promise you that I'm fine, Marie. I'm staying at a friend's." "What friend? Do I know her?" The concern for her general well being was quite soothing. "No, you don't. I just called to tell you to cancel all of our appointments for the next few weeks. And I want you to take a vacation." "But-" "You've been talking about visiting your sister for weeks. I'm giving you paid time off. Take it." The sooner she got her assistant out of town, the less she had to worry about. "I'll call you as soon as I figure some things out." "But it would be better if I stayed and made sure you-" "Trust me. I'm in good hands." Charisma caught the small smile that took over Jameson's face and rolled her eyes heavenward. "Remember, cancel everything for the next few weeks and go have some fun. I'll keep you updated." "But Chari-" "I'll call you soon, Marie. Bye!" Jameson grinned at the exasperated laugh Charisma emitted. "Your assistant sounds like a handful." "She can be. Mostly, she's just very chipper. Tends to drive you crazy when you're having a bad day." He laughed as he said, "Maybe it's a good thing you told her to go out of town. Liam would kill her." "You probably would too. I have nothing against happy people but she scares me sometimes." "But you keep her around." "She's a good assistant. Even if the pep gets annoying, it's still good to have around." Jameson said nothing to that, primarily because he was sure that her assistant's abilities weren't the only reason she was around. Charisma needed Maria because she was a reminder that not everything was as dark as Charisma painted them to be. She may not have said it, but he knew that she longed to be as bubbly as her assistant. The remainder of the drive was done in silence. While Jameson was glad for the opportunity to think, it unnerved him to know that Charisma was quiet because of the thoughts that haunted her. Was she strong enough to handle the details of his life? As he pulled into the garage to park his car, he realized that he didn't want the answer to that question. He had too many other thoughts in his mind to analyze. Jameson cut the engine off and looked at Charisma's sleeping form for a moment. He'd seen plenty of beautiful women in his life, but there was a different element to her attractiveness. He wasn't sure if it was because of her ability or Nadia's premonition, but he couldn't shake the hold she had on him. "Charisma, wake up." Jameson reached over to gently shake her awake and sighed at the surge of desire that went through him. The memory of her soft skin was enough to make him harden with need. "Charsima." She came awake slowly, and found herself smiling at the melodic tone of his voice. "I fell asleep again." Jameson nodded at the flush on her skin and quickly exited the car before he lost control and kissed her again. He waited for her to catch up to him before he let her back into the house. In the kitchen, Liam sat watching the local news. He nodded to them as they entered before saying, "Your stuff is in your room." "Thank you," Charisma said. "Did you unpack them and put them away?" Jameson asked with a grin. "What the fuck do you think I look like?" Jameson's grin widened as he asked, "Do you really want me to answer that question?" "I'm going upstairs," Charisma announced. She smiled at the bickering brothers and walked out of the kitchen. As she walked up the stairs, she thought over Jameson's earlier words. She could rebuild. All hope wasn't lost. At least not yet, anyway. Her faith in life renewed, she opened the door to her room and stopped short at what she saw. A man she'd never seen before stood in front of all of her shopping bags, eyeing the items curiously. He seemed rather interested in her underwear, Charisma was uncomfortable to notice. The man hadn't pulled them out of the bags, but the lust-filled look in his almost black eyes was indication enough of his thought process. "Who are you?" He quirked a thick dark brown eyebrow as he allowed his onyx eyes to travel the length of her body. The woman standing in front of him had the kind of body men killed for. Though she wasn't waif thin as was the fashion these days, she was soft and lush in all the right places. "Whoever you want me to be, baby." Daybreak Ch. 05 That was exactly the type of line that would make her kick him in the crotch. But based purely on the fact that this new man was sinfully beautiful told her that he was another one of Jameson's brothers. Rich, dark brown hair shagged around a round, cherubic face that she knew was used to get whatever he wanted. Those silken eyes caressed every inch of her body before narrowing with his smile. Of course he had perfect white teeth and a dazzling smile. "Can I make you gone?" He laughed uproariously before he said, "You're cute." Charisma ignored the charming hint of a British accent as she looked at him. Everything about this man screamed sex and fun, which made him incredibly dangerous. "You're in my room." "Last I checked, this room was mine." Absolutely perfect. A huge mansion with over a dozen bedrooms and they put her in one that already belonged to someone. Charisma turned on her heels and stepped back when she bumped into someone. When she looked up, she blinked back surprise at seeing the man's twin. She hadn't known there was more than one set of twins in the family. "Oh, great, there are two of you." She didn't wait for a reply; Charisma pushed the twin out of her way and quickly went back to the kitchen. "Jameson, I really think - three of you!" There, standing between Jameson and Alexis was the triplet to the two men she left upstairs. This was all too bizarre. The triplet ignored the curious stares of the men in the room as he said to the woman standing in the doorway, "Any kinky fantasies you want, baby." Jameson, who'd remained silent, forcibly elbowed his brother in the ribs as he said, "I didn't think you'd be back so soon, Slade." Slade shrugged as he said, "I got bored. The Red Light District isn't want it used to be." He let his gaze travel over the woman once more. "But the new lady might be." Jameson moved to stand in front of his brother. He was barely able to hold onto his anger as he said, "Don't even think about it." Because the need to knock some sense into Slade became consuming, Jameson moved to stand next to Charisma. Almost brutally, he threw his arm around her shoulders and hauled her up against him. "Hands off, little brother." Charisma was set to say something to dispel the implication Jameson made but found herself gaping when the two look-alikes walked into the kitchen and joined bodies with Slade. He could clone himself? "Holy mother of..." Slade crooked his neck and grinned at the surprised look on her face. "If you ever change your mind about the offer..." He trailed off when Jameson gave him a scathing look. "Oh, come on! How can you put her in my room and then tell me to keep my hands off?" Alexis, who'd silently watched the scene unfolding before him, stepped in and said, "We live in a twenty bedroom house." Slade scrunched his face in disgust. "All the spare rooms are so... feminine." He smiled at the woman once more before he added, "I don't want to kick her out. I'll happily share." "You aren't going to so stop it before I make you anatomically fit to stay in said feminine rooms." The obvious show of dominance and jealousy caused Slade to laugh. "The day Jameson gets jealous." Jameson shook his head as he said, "You can take my room and I'll take the one on the other side of Charisma's." Charisma watched as Slade nodded before leaving the room. He winked at her as he passed by and she found herself laughing at his unabashed flirting. "Interesting brother you've got there." "Yes," Alexis said as he walked toward the entryway, "With the power to multiply himself, he's done a lot to make himself interesting." She nodded to him as he walked out of the room and found herself laughing at the strange turn of events. After taking a seat at the island, she asked, "Are there any other brothers I should know about?" Jameson smiled as he said, "You still have yet to meet a few." He moved to stand in front of her and found himself leaning in closer to her as he added, "You'll meet the rest soon enough." Before she could reply, he leaned down and possessively pressed his lips against hers. Her gasp of surprise pushed him to take more from her; Jameson placed his thumb on her chin and gently pulled it down. The action caused her mouth to open and he quickly swept his tongue inside her mouth. Charisma's whimper of pleasure, added to the eager way she rubbed her tongue against his, made Jameson's head swim. He loved the way she tenderly brushed her fingertips over his chin. And when she pulled him closer... Jameson slowly pulled away from Charisma and smiled at the bemused look on her face. It was at that very moment that he understood why Andraemalek was tempted to murder him when he jokingly flirted with Nadia; the thought of anyone else putting their hands on Charisma was enough to drive him mad with anger. It didn't matter that she didn't belong to him; as long as she was around, no one was to have her, save him. "What was..." "Just reminding you which brother you actually want." Mouth agape, Charisma watched Jameson walk out of the kitchen. She didn't mind the kiss; she wanted more, in fact, but she didn't like that he constantly played hot and cold with her. Jameson was apprehensive about being with her to the point where he remained emotionally distant. To an extent, his behavior was understandable because it was a battle for her to remain in control of what she felt for him. But when someone else made a move on her, even in jest, he was ready to kill, which made her wonder what he wanted. Not knowing how to deal with him, or how to control what was going on confused her and only made her reevaluate her attraction to him. Was it a good idea to get involved with him in any capacity? Daybreak Ch. 06 There was no reason why she shouldn't have been able to sleep, but Charisma found herself walking through the semi-dark halls of the manor anyway. Three in the morning never seemed as lonely as now. It was his fault. Had he not kissed her before walking out of the kitchen, she would have been able to think of something else, anything else. But 'lo and behold, she'd been stuck tossing and turning in bed, wishing he was there with her. There was feeling lonely, and then there was feeling like this. Charisma sighed dejectedly as she continued her walk. She smiled at the sound of Slade's voice sweet-talking a probable conquest. At the mention of his tongue going in a not so modest place, she increased the pace of her walk and took a right turn at the end of the hall. A very bare hallway led to large double doors that looked like something out of a medieval movie. It was obvious that someone was inside the room the doors protected because Charisma saw the flickering light of a fire through the crack in the doors. If she wasn't such a curious person, she would have headed back to her room. But she was a curious person and because of that, she found herself slowly pushing the door open. Charisma felt her breath catch at the sight of the very large and beautiful library in front of her. Three walls were nothing but shelves filled with books. Wall ladders, much like the ones she'd seen in movies, were perched against the wall, patiently waiting for their next use. The fourth wall was heavily curtained, which made her think that they covered large windows. In the center of the curtained wall was a fireplace that housed the blazing fire that drew her into the room. There was a small sitting area around the fireplace with large, plush chairs and one very comfortable looking burgundy couch. To the other side of the room were three desks, all covered with books. There were no plants or paintings in the library, but a very intricate brass chandelier hung from the center of the steepled ceiling and it only served to highlight the ornate contemporary rug that rested on the hardwood floors. The room was amazing. Charisma took a step into the room and it was then that she noticed Jameson sitting on the large couch. Why hadn't she seen him before? She walked toward him slowly and as she approached, it became clear that he was focused on something in his hands. A picture frame. In it was a beautiful hand-drawn photo of a man and woman she'd never seen before. They both looked... In love. Though the sketch also depicted what she suspected were the grounds of the manor, Charisma could only see the love and happiness of the couple. "Who are they?" Jameson didn't bother to loop up or at her when she sat beside him as he said, "Two people I am slowly learning to envy." His brother and Nadia barely knew each other for six months and already they knew that they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. Andraemalek, one of the most brash, abrasive and reclusive men he'd ever known was able to find love. And with someone like Nadia. Two people so completely opposite, but so perfect for one another. How did they do it? Where did they bravery to ignore the dangers of this life come from? And how could he, Jameson, find a way to have such a fearless connection? It took him a minute to realize what he'd said to Charisma. To hide his embarrassment, he stood and placed the picture on the mantle. "What are you still doing up?" "Couldn't sleep." She watched him for a moment. With his long ebony hair unbound, he looked more dangerous than when he groomed. But his eyes... They told her just how vulnerable he really was. "You know, it's ok to admit you're lonely sometimes." "Not in my line of work." Jameson stared at the fire as he tried to control his emotions. It was Nadia's words that had him jumbled up and confused. Before her premonition, he was fine; better, in fact, when he kept his relationships light and impersonal. There were no attachments, no worries about emotions, and definitely no concerns for anyone's safety. There was no fear of leaving anyone behind or worse, having someone taken from him. "So why are you sitting alone, starting at a picture of two people who are obviously so deeply in love that it's almost sickening?" He turned to look at her and felt a tightening in his chest at the serene look on her face. The firelight danced gently over her face and for a moment, he could have sworn he was looking at an angel. Charisma's pale green eyes were warm and understanding, giving him more reason to want her. "I was prepared to live my life alone. It's easier that way." "But-" "I'm better by myself," Jameson interrupted, "I don't want to have to worry about the things D. has to." Charisma nodded slowly. She understood that his life was dangerous and that he didn't need the added strain of worrying about someone else on his brain. But his actions, especially with her, said something completely different. "So what about whatever it is between us? Have you made up your mind yet?" He said nothing for a long minute. Instead of speaking, he chose to watch the emotions that played across her face. She seemed disappointed by the thought of his turning his back on his feelings for her. At the same time, she completely understood his reasons if he decided to change his mind. He didn't know how to feel about that, or anything concerning her, for that matter. "I don't think I was the one chosen to find you simply because of this situation." "There were demons after me," she reasoned. She didn't like the thought of his walking away from her, but there wasn't much she could do about it; it was his decision. On top of that was the fact that she was confused about what she felt about him as well. She wasn't experiencing a weird form of hero-worship, and the feelings she had for him were intense. It was the fact that her feelings were so strong after only a handful of days that terrified her. Those feelings took her control away from her, and she needed that control. It was her lifeline. "We both know that that's not what I'm talking about." Jameson moved to sit beside her and took a breath when she briefly looked away. She wanted him, but only if he was patient with her and was sure about what he wanted, which he wasn't. Charisma made it clear that she only wanted a physical relationship. He wanted more. But at the same time, he couldn't bear to put her through the stress that came with his life. "We don't know each other." How could she give him what he wanted if she didn't know him? That was way too much faith to put into a virtual stranger. "I know what I feel." "Jameson, why can't it just be light for now?" "I like a challenge." He smiled when she looked away again. "You do something to me, Charisma." To emphasize his point, he pulled her to him and sighed contentedly at the way she melted into him. "You feel it too." Charisma couldn't lie. But she wasn't comfortable enough to go passed physical attraction. "What if it's a passing thing?" He could wake up one morning and realize that he never really wanted her. That wasn't something she could deal with. "That's bullshit and you know it." He turned her head to face him and captured her soft lips with his. The eagerness with which she kissed him told him all he needed to know. She wanted him, just as much as much as he wanted her. If he was to seriously set his fears aside for her, he would not settle for less than what he wanted. "I want you. All of you." He kissed her again and had to force himself to pull her hands away from the hem of his shirt. "But I won't have you until you're as sure as I am." He had his concerns, but his own selfish needs outweighed everything else. She looked into his eyes and realized how serious he was. He put his cards on the table; he wanted all or nothing. "What if I'm never sure?" "You will be." Jameson ran his fingers through her hair a moment before he kissed her forehead. She was terrified of putting her faith in someone. Though he understood, he wasn't about to make allowances. "You will be." * * * * * The small commotion brought Jameson and Charisma awake. Groggily, they looked at each other and said nothing to the feeling of being the first people they saw. They also said nothing to the fact that sleeping in each others' arms gave them both a sense of peace they hadn't expected. They simply smiled at each one another before following the noise to the kitchen. There, all the brothers gathered around the island with the couple from the picture. Charisma regarded the two figures closely; the man, Andraemalek, if she remembered correctly, was an imposing figure. He was one of the taller men in the room, but that wasn't what gave him the menacing quality; no, it was the almost angry looking square shaped faced and black, almost empty eyes that made her wary. They seemed to look straight into the soul. Thick, dark eyebrows added a dramatic effect to his eyes and when paired with his slightly crooked nose and ridiculously toned body, he was almost scary. The warm toffee color of his skin did nothing to soften him. He looked more like someone the brothers would fight and not one of them. The plump woman beside Andraemalek, however, had to be his complete opposite. Nadia stood a good six to seven inches shorter than him and had a warm smile. Her unusual grey eyes were bright and displayed her excitement to see everyone. Mocha skin glowed almost unnaturally, especially when compared to the deep red hair piled atop her head. In her own way, Nadia was a very beautiful woman, but there was something about her, something mysterious that gave her an edge. The brothers looked very excited to see her. Alexis hugged her tightly as he expressed his relief at seeing her no worse for wear. Liam didn't look so mean, though he did make a fuss concerning the length of her absence. The twins took turns introducing themselves before Slade took the opportunity to state that he always had a thing for redheads. Andraemalek didn't like the remark at all and had Nadia not stood in his way, he would have shown his brother just how much. "Where's Caleb?" Nadia asked. "Wait, Cale was here?" Alexis nodded to answer Slade's question before he answered Nadia's. "He had to head back for a business thing." "That's a shame. Who else am I going to yell at for reading my thoughts?" Nadia looked toward the entryway and smiled at the two very quiet people standing there. "No wonder Jameson isn't busy trying to piss you off, Andrae." She pushed her way through the wall of men in front of her and stopped in front of them. As she regarded the new woman standing in front of her, she asked, "Is this her?" Jameson smiled at the excitement in Nadia's eyes. He'd missed that particular glint and knew that things at the manor would run smoother with her return. "Yes. This is Charisma." Charisma held her hand out and gasped in surprise when Nadia pulled her into a hug instead. Either the redhead woman was extremely open and affectionate, or she was very excited to meet her. "Hi its-" "You cannot avoid what is to happen. It is your destiny. Shame must not be felt." Charisma felt her eyes go wide as Nadia's glowing eyes slowly dimmed. Was she a demi-god as well? Jameson reached over when Nadia stumbled backward. A second later, he gingerly handed her over to Andraemalek. "What did the Council say about that?" Andraemalek helped Nadia to a chair before he said, "She's a Daemis." "I thought she was because of the red hair and grey eyes, but I wasn't sure," Alexis said. "A what?" Charisma frowned at the new events unfolding before her. Would it ever end? "A Daemis is an oracle of sorts," Jameson answered. The confusion and disbelief on her face would have made him laugh if he didn't have Nadia's words on his mind. "Actually that's a really bad comparison." He looked at Alexis as he said, "Lex can be called an oracle. He has flashes of the future, but it's always uncertain. The smallest change can alter what he sees. Nadia on the other hand," he looked at the Daemis as he finished, "Nadia sees what will happen no matter what. There is no way around her visions." "What does that mean, exactly?" Charisma frowned. "Babies." Charisma looked at Nadia and frowned at the pained expression in her grey eyes. "What?" "Alexis can tell you that he sees children in your future. That can very easily mean that you'll be babysitting or somewhere there are children present. That doesn't mean that you are going to have any." "But if you say children in my future-" "If I say to you you'll have seven children to call your own, nothing you do will stop you from having to raise seven children. Be it by adoption or people dying and leaving their kids to you." "So basically her word is law," Jameson added. "You think her powers work like yours? Or will she always have to touch people to-" "She's sitting right over there," Liam growled, "Don't talk about her like she's not in the room." "Wait a minute," Draco interrupted, "Did Liam just get pissed for someone else?" He looked at his twin as he continued, "We've been gone too long." "Can we get back to the heart of the matter, please?" Alexis asked. He looked over to Nadia who sat quietly. "What else did the Council say?" Nadia took a shaky breath before she spoke. " Like Andrae said, I'm a Daemis and it's my responsibility to serve The Brethren. They actually said 'serve.'" "So this means I could ask you to come in my room at night when I need a little-" Slade stopped cold when Andraemalek took a threatening step forward. "Chillax man, I was going to say guidance." "What else?" Alexis asked to get the conversation back on track. "Basically I work for and with you guys and it's my job to make yours a little easier." "Good news for you, huh, D.?" There was a moment of silence as Andraemalek and Nadia looked at each other before simultaneously staring at the ground. "What aren't you telling us?" Roman asked. "We have a problem," Euan said as he walked into the kitchen. He stopped and looked at Nadia a scant second before he crouched in front of her and rested his head on her shoulder. "It'll be all right," he comforted. Charisma glanced at Jameson's worried face. She was beyond confused. "What's happening?" "Something's wrong with Nadia but she won't talk about it," he whispered in reply. "How do you know something's wrong?" "Euan's a partial empath." "So he feels what she feels?" "Which is why he's trying to make her feel better." Jameson looked down when Charisma took hold of his hand. Was she trying to comfort him or was she seeking comfort for herself? "What's going on, Euan?" Euan stood up and pulled a sheet of paper out of his pocket. "I went to see Quila earlier today, but she wasn't home." "That explains why you have clothes on," Draco said. Euan nodded as he continued, "I thought she might be able to tell us something." "She can see the future," Jameson supplied when Charisma glanced at him questioningly. "Alexis doesn't see things as clearly as we would like when it comes to us." "Not only was she not home, but a Forkai was there. And he wasn't a friendly." "Shit," Liam muttered. "Did you kill him?" Alexis asked. Euan nodded before he held up his hand. "But not before I got this." He opened the piece of paper and handed it to Alexis. When his brother frowned, he said to everyone else, "On that sheet of paper are the names of all powerful beings in the city. Witches, demons, humans with abilities... They're all there. And they're all missing." Alexis let out a frustrated breath as he said, "Dion is on this list." "Shit," Liam said again. "Who's Dion?" Nadia asked. "The son of a human with an ability and a witch," Jameson answered. "Not all of his powers have developed." "Which one has?" Charisma asked. "Fear," the men said at once. "He can read your greatest fear and use it to control and manipulate you." Roman supplied. "And the day walking vampire guy had the list?" Euan nodded in response to Charisma's question as he said, "Which means he would have been turned as payment." Jameson looked at Charisma's confused expression. This was too much for her, but she needed to know. "Most Forkai are happy to be as they are but the new trend is to become a Mordecai because they're deadlier. So as payment for carrying out a daytime task, a Forkai will be turned." "So the missing people..." "Zaide," Jameson said in answer. "Try to find them," Nadia said, "If you can find them, you'll find Zaide. He can't be too far away if he's taking people from the city." "If they're still alive anyway," Alexis said. "Their blood is like heroin to his kind." "It's a start," Jameson said. "Yes, it is," Alexis agreed on a sigh, "We'll start after sunset." * * * * * Again, Charisma found that she couldn't sleep. Not because of insomnia, but because she hadn't heard anything from Jameson. As Alexis said, the men went out after sunset and every second that they were gone added to her worry. She wasn't the only one involved in this sordid situation anymore; innocent people, Jameson's friends were being taken or maybe killed. There weren't any real leads, meaning they were all still in the dark. Charisma knew that she should have been calm, should have had faith in the men who protected her, but how could she? Other than her adoptive parents, who she barely spoke to anymore, she didn't trust anyone. And now she had no choice but to trust men she'd never believed existed had someone else told her about them. And one of those men... Charisma expelled a frustrated breath as she paced the length of her room. Jameson. What was it about the man that made her a jumble of emotions whenever she thought about him? The man was the sexiest thing ever and there was no denying the fact that she wanted him. But he wanted more. He wanted a relationship. Hope for a future together. Jameson wanted her to trust him enough to let herself become attached to him. He had to know that he was asking too much of her. They barely knew each other. How could he expect her to just jump into something serious while everything else was going on? Talking to Maria would have been nice. The too happy assistant would have easily made her forget about her inner turmoil. Charisma smiled at the thought of Maria telling her to 'go with the flow' and to figure out how she really felt as time went on. Maria would also tell her that life was too short to try to control every aspect of it. Though her perky assistant would have had a point, it still wasn't something Charisma wanted to consider. "Hey." Charisma whipped around and frowned at Jameson as he walked into the room. He didn't look hurt; in fact, he looked all kinds of delicious in black cargo pants and a charcoal grey sweater that only highlighted his eyes. "I thought you were out patrolling." "The guys are still out." Jameson stepped further into the room before he slowly closed it. Turning to her, he said, "Nadia called me and said that I should come back to check on you. Are you all right?" "I'm fine." No she wasn't. The man's presence was wreaking havoc on her senses. "Just worried." He nodded slowly and tried to ignore the fact that she only wore a pink tank top with red shorts that should have been called underwear. What was he thinking when he bought those for her? Her lithe body was showcased beautifully and those long, muscular legs... "Nothing to be worried about." Charisma found herself blushing at the new, foreign tone of his voice. "Only being kidnapped and probably killed." She gasped when he crossed the room in threes strides. His legs were longer than she thought. The feel of his ultra-warm hands as the cupped her face made her shudder with need. How was he doing this to her? Daybreak Ch. 06 "I won't let anything happen to you." He'd lay down his life for her first. "Don't be afraid." Jameson kissed her forehead and found himself moaning when she leaned up to press her sweet lips against his. Charisma's kiss was soft and experimental, as if testing his reaction. He only pulled her close and felt his body harden at the feel of her softness against him. Wanting more, he nibbled on her lower lip and groaned again when her tongue swept across his lips. Jameson took possession of her sweet mouth; he thrust his tongue inside, and he could have sworn that he could taste her moan. Charisma's seductive moan made him reach down to cup her delicate rear in his hands. Charisma moaned again and found herself being lifted into his embrace. She wrapped her legs around his waist and gasped at the sensual way his fingers slowly inched beneath her shorts. Already, she was wet and aching for him. "Jameson," she moaned as he lay them both down on the bed and tightened her grip on his waist. His kisses were like injecting liquid fire into her veins. "I told you you'd be sure." Jameson stopped when she tensed beneath him. That couldn't be good. Bracing his weight on his hands, he looked down at her and took a breath at the look in her eyes. There was passion in her gaze, but there was hesitancy as well. She was still holding back. Charisma frowned in confusion when he pulled away from her. "What is it?" He ran a hand through his hair. When had she pulled his hair from its queue? Pulling a stray hair tie from his pocket, he stood and fixed his hair. "I told you, Charisma; all or nothing." "Why does it have to be that way?" Because she made him terrified of being alone. Without her. "I don't believe in half-assing." Charisma sat up and watched as he placed his hands in his pockets. "But you want to. I know you do." "Not until you're ready." She stood and rested her head against his back as she splayed her hands over his chest. The corded muscles of his body made her mouth water. "I think you know how ready I am." He did, which was what made the situation more complicated. Jameson placed his hand on hers as he said, "You know what I want, Charisma, but you can't say the same about yourself." "You already know that I want-" "My body. Yes." He pulled away from her. Space would help them both. "But I want you to want me. All of me. Just as I want all of you." "You're asking a lot of me." "I'm only asking you for what I plan to give in return." Exactly what she was terrified of. How could he put so much faith in someone he barely knew? "We barely know each other." "That doesn't seem to stop you from sleeping with me if I allow it." "Because it's not as involved as..." Charisma sat down on the bed. She was quickly realizing that she needed a long vacation from life. "As what you're asking for." Jameson blinked as he came to the realization that she was terrified of emotional intimacy. Based on her tense body and shifty eyes, it would be stupid of him to ask why. Instead, he sat down on the bed beside her and rested his elbows on his knees. Surely it wasn't this complicated for Andraemalek and Nadia. "What are you more afraid of; that we try this and it doesn't work, or that we try this out and it does?" A part of her was scared of putting her faith in him only for the relationship to fail miserably. But another part of her, the bigger part of her was terrified of finally finding her happily ever after. It would work with Jameson; every fiber of her being knew that. But he was a demigod used to a fast paced life. What if she bored him? "I should probably get to bed." He sighed at the realization that she wouldn't let him in. "All right." Jameson moved to stand but stopped when she placed a hand on top of his. "Would you stay? Just until I fall asleep?" She didn't want emotional intimacy, but she didn't want him to give up on her either. Interesting. He nodded before he helped her settle herself in bed. Once the task was done, he wrapped an arm around her. Jameson had to control himself when Charisma pressed herself against him. One minute she was telling him that it was fine for him to want someone and looked worried when she wasn't sure if she was that someone. But the next... She was guarded and tried her hardest to keep him at arms' length. The woman was a walking contradiction, but the trait only made him want her more. It was almost disgusting, actually. But he couldn't leave her alone. Daybreak Ch. 07 Charisma stretched lazily and yawned as she slowly came awake. She felt rested and energized, ready to take on anything that came at her. The memory of last night made her feel like an idiot and a coward, however, primarily because she wasn't prepared to give Jameson what she desperately wanted from him. She should have found the bravery to let him in, to trust him. Jameson wouldn't turn his back on her, not unless she asked him to. But that was hard when she wasn't used to it. Trust was something she needed to learn. "Morning." Charisma sat up and smiled at the sight of Jameson standing at the door. Based on the damp hair and fresh clothing, he'd showered. Possibly in the past half hour. He looked delectable in a simple black t-shirt and blue jeans. His damp hair was left loose, no doubt in order to dry before he pulled it back. "Good morning." Jameson walked into the room and sat down on the edge of the bed. He couldn't help himself and found himself finger-combing her silky hair. "You look absolutely beautiful in the morning." She looked down at the sheets as she felt her cheeks heat. Leave it to Jameson to charm her after last night. "I want to learn how to control my power." The abrupt change of subject made him frown, but he ran with it. "Well, your trigger is fear, so use it." "Yes, but something tells me that I won't always need to be scared to use it. I want complete control over all of this." It was then that Jameson realized that she wasn't only talking about her powers. Charisma was the type of woman who needed to feel like she had complete control of all aspects of her life. No wonder she ran from him at every turn; he was pushing her too hard to face the truth of her feelings instead of giving her the space she needed to embrace them. "All right. I'll work with you when Nadia takes lessons with D. and Lexi." "Thank you." Her dazzling smile prompted him to lean down and kiss her. It was a lazy kiss, one meant to tell her to take what she wanted from him. He moaned when she gingerly brushed her fingertips over his cheeks. Charisma was quick to become the aggressor of their kiss; her tongue brushed over his lips once, then twice, before he granted her entrance. He loved the way she tasted, and the sweet way she pressed herself against him. "I should have figured you'd be in here." Jameson groaned inwardly before he looked to the doorway. Slade leaned against the frame with arms crossed over his chest. His brother had a knowing look in his eyes and grinned mischievously at the sight of them. "Get out, little brother." Slade grinned at the domineering tone in his brother's voice. "Why don't you give up all the pent up frustration to Charisma?" When Jameson conjured a very threatening-looking fireball, Slade laughed and said, "Save all the fire for your woman." Straightening himself, he stepped away from the door and slowly closed it after leaving the room. "He's with her!" he shouted down the hall. Charisma shook her head slowly at the amusing interaction. "We should get to the others. They're obviously looking for you." She moved to get out of bed but was stopped by Jameson's hot kiss. His lips seared her with passion and all too soon, she found herself pressed against him. God, the man was raw sex when he wanted to be. Just as she was about to rip his shirt off, he pulled away. "What-" "We'll finish this later." "Will we?" Jameson knew what she asked but couldn't exactly say that his answer depended on her. "We'll see." Though he hated to be vague, he knew that it was the only way to keep her from becoming hesitant again. "I'll meet you downstairs." Charisma was only able to watch as Jameson walked out of the room. That was almost awkward. "What else is new?" She sighed as she got out of bed and went about preparing herself for her day. Hopefully there would be no new adjustments to be made. God only knew that she had enough to get used to. Charisma skipped down the steps quickly when she saw Euan walk into the kitchen. This was the third time she'd seen him in clothes. She had to admit that he was a sexy man and based on the tight, firm ass that was beautifully framed in his black jeans, he wore his clothing well. "I heard from M. that they're all still alive and apparently Zaide needs them for the same reason he wants her." Charisma came to a stop at Euan's words. "They can transfer powers too?" "No." Jameson beckoned her over to the vacated seat next to Nadia and waited for her to sit before saying, "No, which only tells us that he plans on using your power to either put their powers into other people or he's found a way to harness them in you." "You mean he might want to-" "Make you his new favorite toy? It's not a ridiculous idea." Charisma glared at Draco. She liked his classic one-liners, but this was hardly a joking matter. She looked at Euan's serious face and asked, "What do you think?" "Why are you asking me?" "Because you seem to be the only one with updates on this thing." Euan shrugged as he said, "I have friends that they don't." "Can these friends tell you anything else?" Charisma asked. "Not at the moment." Euan turned his focus to Nadia, who stared at Jameson quietly. There was a long moment of silence as all the men in the room stared at the Daemis. She looked confused for a minute before Liam openly pointed to Charisma. "Oh... right." Nadia smiled to cover her embarrassment before she turned to Charisma. "This might not work. I mean, I'm not trained enough to know how to focus on what needs to be seen and not just what's shown." "Anything you can do would be much appreciated." Nadia nodded before she held her hands out to Charisma. "Whenever you're ready." She watched as Charisma hesitated for a moment before taking her hands. Nadia gasped in horror as flashes of a naked Jameson and Charisma in the throes of intense passion came to her. "Oh, Jesus!" She quickly released Charisma's hands and felt her cheeks heat to lava-like proportions. "Nadia-" Charisma pulled back the hand she wanted to place on the Daemis' shoulder when she bolted out of her seat. "Watch what you're doing!" Nadia smiled in apology to Liam. "Sorry, I didn't mean to step on your foot." She looked at the very confused and worried looking woman seated at the island. "Uh, you and Jameson are certainly headed in the right direction." Slade was quick to catch onto Nadia's meaning. "Based on what I saw earlier, I could have sworn they were already there." "Shut up, Slade," the twins admonished. Slade held his hands up as a show of innocence. "I'm just saying what I saw." "I'm sorry," Nadia said to a scarlet-faced Charisma. "I can't control what I see yet." "It's ok," Charisma said. How she wished she could hold onto Jameson's hand. He hadn't said anything in too long of a time. "I'm taking her to the solarium," Nadia announced. She beckoned Charisma over with a quick motion of her head and smiled up at Andraemalek when he blocked her path. "Girls only, babe." "You know how I feel about that room." Just four weeks before, he'd been forced to watch the love of his life die before she was returned as a Daemis. Paranoia made him keep them both from that room. "Nothing's going to happen." Nadia placed a soft kiss on his lips before she led Charisma to the solarium. She waited until they were both seated and comfortable before asking, "Hard couple of days, huh?" "More unbelievable than hard." "What's the hardest to believe? The fact that not only is the paranormal real, but you're part of it, or you and Jameson?" "You surely waste no time getting straight to the point." "When you live with these guys, you quickly learn that there is no time to beat around the bush." Charisma nodded slowly as she thought of how to explain her feelings for Jameson. "It's terrifying, these feelings I have for him." "Falling for someone usually is a scary thing." "Yes, I know, but... You sent him to protect me." Nadia shook her head in denial. "No, the High Council sent someone capable to protect you. I'd like to think that fate brought a man to a woman." She smiled at the disbelieving look in Charisma's eyes as she said, "They could have sent a Nariko since their specialty is the Mordecai. But they sent a member of The Brethren, people who use the Mordecai as a warm-up exercise." Charisma hadn't thought of that. Could it be possible that she and Jameson were somehow meant for each other? "But we just met." "At least he wasn't sent to kill you before accidentally handing you over to the enemy." "What?" Nadia shook her head as she said, "Never mind." Charisma nodded as she processed the information she'd been given. "What is the High Council? Jameson touched on it, but never explained. Are they gods?" "It seems like the best comparison, but it's best if you never say that when they can hear you." Nadia smiled and nodded at Charisma's shocked expression before she continued. "Think of it this way; they are like every god worshipped by every culture to ever exist rolled up into five beings." "That's seriously hardcore." "Yes, and they show it by being seriously unfair." "What?" Nadia shook her head as she said, "Nothing." Charisma looked at Nadia and had she not watched closely, she would have never seen the look of sadness in her eyes. It was the same look she had when they met. "I know that we just met, but if you need someone to talk to, I'm here." Nadia considered dropping the subject but realized that she needed someone who could be objective. This was also the perfect opportunity for them to bond. "I'm not sure if you heard, but I died a few weeks back." "You died?" Nadia nodded as she said, "Demon poison. Anyway, their father brought me back - you know that their father is one of the High Council, right?" When Charisma nodded, she continued, "To bring me back, he had to give me a part of himself. Unfortunately, that part turned out to be demonic." "What?" "Long story short, Roycelyn, their father, has the ability to absorb demonic powers. Somewhere along the line, he took the powers of an oracle who happened to be part demon." "Which is what he passed on." With a nod, Nadia said, "Bingo. So now, even though I'm genetically human, I'm also partially demonic." Charisma frowned in confusion. "I don't understand how that's a problem." "After Roycelyn made the mistake of procreating with a demon- Andrae's mother," she added when Charisma began to ask, "The rest of the Council forbade any of their blood to breed with anything demonic. So while Andrae and I can be together, because let's face it; he's not hearing anything else, we can't have children." Charisma felt horrible on Nadia's behalf. That must have been one hell of a gut punch after dying. "Man, that's harsh." "Tell me about it." Nadia looked towards the windows as she fought to contain her tears. "After I died, Andrae and I both realized that we didn't want him to be alone when I'm gone since his Council-demon mix gives him a ridiculously long life-span. Children are a must for us." "But you're part demon now. You'll live longer." "Not as long as him. He'll even outlive his brothers." "And there's no way around it?" Nadia turned to look at Charisma and became comforted by the look of concern in her green eyes. "Luckily, yes. He and I both have a test to complete. Until we both pass, no children." "I don't get it." "Basically, the tests started the second we agreed and will end when the last of us passes. No matter how long it takes." Suddenly, Charisma realized that her problems were nothing compared to Nadia's. "What does Andrae say?" Nadia shrugged as she said, "He's acting like nothing's wrong. We're still having our house in Martinique built and he's waiting for the tests to kick into full gear." "Well that's good." "It's not him I'm worried about." Nadia sighed in frustration as she tried to cope with the new changes in her life. "They're sticklers for rules so these tests could be impossible. I don't want to fail him." "I think I know what you mean." Nadia looked at Charisma and smiled as a show of support. As she placed a hand on her new friend's shoulder, she said, "You are on the right path. Doubt will only take you off course." "Time for practice." Both women turned toward the entrance as Andraemalek walked into the room. Nadia smiled warmly as she blinked away the sting in her eyes. "I thought we agreed to take the week off training." Andraemalek nodded towards Charisma as he walked to Nadia and lifted her into his arms. He still loved the panicked look in her eyes when he did that. When would she learn that he wouldn't drop her? "That's not the practice I'm talking about." Nadia laughed before she looked at Charisma. "It was really nice talking to you." "You too." Charisma smiled at the couple as she watched them exit the room. It was quite inspiring to see them determined to be together despite the challenges they faced. Seeing Nadia and Andrae together gave her faith in the fact that it wasn't a bad idea to be with Jameson. Nadia said herself that they were headed in the right direction and that they were pretty much fated to be together. There was no other explanation for the fact that she'd been found by him just as she lost everything. Though she was quickly annoyed with the constant cycle of thoughts concerning Jameson, Charisma had to remember that she did have feelings for him, feelings she knew would evolve into love if she'd only let go. Yes, it was possibly the dumbest idea ever to pursue a relationship with a man in his line of work, but she still wanted to. And now that she was pretty much being told that it was meant to be by an oracle... "What crawled up your ass and died?" Charisma looked toward the entryway and felt her brows raise high at the sight of Liam standing there with his arms crossed over his chest. The epitome of mean. "I was just thinking about my life and how much it's changing." "What is that supposed to mean?" She waited until he'd moved to stand next to the fireplace before she spoke again. "Why are you so angry?" Liam said nothing to her question. Instead, he thought back to the time Nadia asked him the same question. He hadn't answered her either, but she surprised the hell out of him when she said, 'It is when you release your past and embrace the unknown that you will find what you search for.' He hadn't been aware that he was looking for anything other than more demons to kill. Since then, he'd been awash with old memories that he tried to put behind him. When he remembered that Charisma sat quietly as she waited for an answer, he shrugged and said, "Someone has to be." She was only able to gape at his back as he walked out of the room. The man had some serious unresolved issues. "Don't mind him. Women have always been a sore spot for him." Charisma shook her head in wonder as she watched Roman materialize near the window. The man did not look remorseful for spying. In fact, he looked proud. "I guess he makes a little more sense now." With a curious tilt of her head, she added, "You're a nosy one." "Someone has to be." She had to laugh at that. "Where are the rest of you?" "What?" "I thought you were twelve brothers or some other ridiculous number." Roman nodded as he said, "Yes, twelve. You've already met Lex, Liam, Euan, D., Drake, Jay, Caleb, and Slade. Rufus rarely comes home." "Why's that?" With a shrug he answered, "He wanders a lot." He moved to stand in front of her before he continued. "Lindsay wanders too, but he's one of those tortured soul types." That brother of his had more problems than the rest of the brothers put together. "Giles... Well, no one ever knows where that one is. And that's us in a nutshell." Roman smiled at her amazed expression. From what he knew about the woman, everything was more than hard for her to believe. With hope, she'd learn to accept things as they came. She'd never survive otherwise. "Hope you're surviving the crash course." "I'm doing my best." "Best what?" Both Roman and Charisma turned to the entryway to watch Jameson walk into the room carrying a very sinister looking dagger. He only had eyes for Charisma and smiled warmly at her as he approached. Christ, the man became even sexier every time she saw him. His hair was pulled back again, which only meant that it was dry. It didn't matter; she still wanted to jump his bones. "My best at dealing with all this stuff." Jameson nodded before he sat next to her. As he adjusted himself on the seat, he said, "You'd better be gone and not invisible, Rome." He smiled at Charisma's small laugh. The house was a virtual zoo, but she liked it. A glint from the dagger gave her the impulse to take it into her hands. It was amazingly light and had a black hilt made much like the ones hunters used. "This is nice. Titanium, right?" Jameson nodded in approval at the way she handled the ultra sharp, double-edged knife. Of course, she knew how to handle a blade; she was, after all, a chef. "Yes, it's the only thing outside of burning and decapitation that'll kill a Mordecai." "Why is that?" "Seems to be some kind of weird allergic reaction or poison. Kills instantly if you stab in the chest or abdomen." "What about Zaide?" "He seems to be immune. There's something about him being the first that makes him special in a lot of ways." "Awesome," she said with a roll of her eyes. Looking down at the knife in her hands, she asked, "Can I have one of these?" "Let's concentrate on getting you out of dodge first," he said as he gently pulled the dagger out of her hands. "We'll have more time to do whatever you want then." "You say that like you know that I'll still be here when this is all over." "That's probably because I want you to stay." Charisma didn't say anything for a long moment. Hearing him say those words made her feel as if she walked on clouds. Even after the hot and cold attitude she fed him, he still wanted her. Taking hold of his hand, she kissed his knuckles. "There are still a couple of things I need to work out in my head." "I can wait a little longer." He couldn't simply let go of what he felt for her. Now that he understood that she needed to be in control, he was perfectly comfortable easing up on the pressure he put on her. "That's good to know." * * * * * Two men, both large and fearsome looking, stalked the deserted alleyways slowly, determined to catch their prey. The tiny blonde had been quicker than the others. One hell of a fighter too; she'd managed to draw blood from them both before she shape-shifted into a black cat and ran off. But she didn't understand that they were under strict orders to bring her back. If they didn't, they faced a very gruesome fate. Luckily, the daylight was on their side; it was easier to see a black cat scurrying down the street during the day. Even better was the fact that she'd chosen shelter in the old miller's factory - right in the center of the abandoned section of town. "Why do they always run?" The taller of the two, a strapping man with rich mahogany hair and empty red eyes looked at his companion and shrugged. "Fight or flight, I guess." "It's fight, flight, or freeze and I really wish that they'd freeze. Just once." The tall one laughed as he said, "You need the exercise." "You'll need it more than I do if we go back empty handed." "We won't. Zaide counted on us to bring the shape-shifter back." The shorter of the two, a boyish blonde monster, stopped and listened for any sound of the woman in her shifted form. "What would he want with a helpless shifter?" Daybreak Ch. 07 "A hell of a lot when she also has the power to merge her mind with another's." The blonde nodded in understanding. "Thanks for the added pressure. Knowing that Zaide would literally kill for the ability to merge minds makes me feel better about losing the woman." "You asked." Both men stopped when the abnormally large, golden owl landed on the ground in front of them. They stared at it curiously as it tilted its head almost menacingly. "Aren't owls supposed to be out at night?" the blonde asked. "Maybe it's lost. It looks like it belongs to someone." The taller one narrowed his eyes in suspicion when he heard the faint mewl of a cat. "She's near." He and the blonde resumed their search but stopped when the owl shifted to the form of a tall, nude blonde man. "No." The blonde man only smiled evilly before he attacked. Leaping toward them, he shifted to a menacing cougar and clamped his jaws on the neck of the blonde man. He made quick work of ripping his throat out before he turned to take on the mahogany haired predator. The taller one was missing; he'd most likely ran off when the blonde was taken down. He didn't know how long he ran, or where he ran to. The sight of an actual member of The Brethren eliminating his only friend served to show him the price he had to pay when working for Zaide. He found an abandoned apartment building and crouched low once he reached the top floor. If he remained still, he'd make it to sundown when the Mordecai came out. Yes, he would hide and deal with Zaide later. The innocent mewl of a cat made him turn his head slowly. There, down the hall was the woman. She'd remained in her animal form and stared at him in challenge before she turned to stare out the window. He should have remained still, but knew that he had to bring her back to Zaide. Slowly, as to not scare her into running, he stalked forward. "Here, kitty, kitty," he soothed, "I won't hurt you." If he did, Zaide would kill him. "Come here..." He must have been a better stalker than he thought because it only took him one minute and a small struggle to restrain the cat. And when he looked at it... "No." It wasn't a cat. It was a really fat kitten. The loud and confident mewl made him turn around. There, standing not five feet away was the woman in her animal form... Right next to the cougar. There was nowhere to run and the cougar advanced slowly, never breaking eye contact. He only had enough time to drop the kitten. Daybreak Ch. 08 "I really need a break." Charisma rested her hands on her knees as she panted for breath. Shortly after the discussion she had with Jameson in the solarium, Alexis told her that she had ten minutes to prepare for training. One thing she learned very quickly was that when Alexis said something, it got done. Liam and Jameson decided to help since Alexis banned the twins because of their tendency to run off and do their own thing. As usual, Euan was gone. Slade went to 'lay down some serious pipe', and Charisma was sure that Nadia and Andrae were in their room doing the exact same thing. Charisma would have preferred it if Liam had found something else to do but decided that he should be present in the event that she accidentally hurt someone while she trained. He complained to high heaven before agreeing to help, and even went so far as to call her 'the reject of the paranormal world' because of her lack of control. Damaged past or no, she was seriously beginning to dislike the man. "We need to get your body stressed enough to freak you out into using your powers," Alexis said. He understood how she felt; Nadia said the same thing during her first session - right before she had a vision of a small ambush that was focused on Euan. After a few more training sessions, she learned to control her abilities enough to keep from having a vision every time she touched someone. Though she had random slips, she had control. "You're almost there." "Where? Dead? Because that's where I feel like I'm headed." Charisma glared up at Alexis, the evil leader of this torturous operation. His second in command was Liam; the monstrous redhead pushed her hard; if she was set to run on the treadmill for five minutes, he'd increase the speed to dangerous levels. When Jameson sought to teach her the fundamentals of self defense, Liam launched into an aggressive attack to test her skills. Yes, she was really learning to dislike him, down to the ground he walked on. "Let's give her a break." Jameson placed his hand on her back and felt a small wave of guilt at the extremely tense conditions of her muscles. She'd be more than sore in the morning. In the back of his head, he worried about her absently taking his powers and quickly tested his skills to make sure that he still had them. "You think Zaide'll give her a break?" Jameson glared at Liam as he said, "We're not going to make it possible for him to get to her." "Of course not," Alexis interrupted, "but she needs to know what to do in every scenario." Charisma immediately felt bad for causing an argument. "It's fine," she said as she straightened, "I'm better now." "Why are you lying?" Jameson asked. The was no way she was going to say that she didn't want to get between him and his brothers in front of Liam. Luckily, she didn't have to; words couldn't form when Euan sauntered into the room in his cougar form before he shifted to human. Naturally, he was nude, and didn't care in the least. Jameson felt his hands ball into fists at the approving look Charisma gave his undressed brother. "Cover it up, animal boy." Euan only quirked an eyebrow before he moved to stand behind the weight rack. "We were wrong about Zaide." "What do you mean?" Alexis asked. "I came across two Forkai hunting a friend of mine and they spoke of Zaide not being able to absorb her powers if they didn't bring her to him." "Are you saying he'd be able to accept the powers Charisma gave him?" Liam asked. "That's impossible," Jameson said, "Mordecai don't have those capabilities." "Zaide apparently does." Euan shrugged as he stared at Charisma. Her fear was slowly mounting, which meant that he had five minutes to leave before he took on the characteristics of a frightened animal. "Something about the full moon, which is soon, by the way, will help him." "Of course," Alexis said," The full moon is a proverbial grab bag of power. All he needs are the right incantations and he'd be able to do anything, especially since it's clear that he is unlike any other Mordecai out there." He cursed himself for his absentmindedness. "Why didn't I remember that before?" Jameson spared a glance at Charisma and frowned at her pale face. "I won't let them take you." She was only able to nod; speaking was pretty much impossible. Now that she knew the exact role she was supposed to play in Zaide's plan, she had to do everything she could to make sure that he wasn't captured. Even if it meant... No, she wouldn't consider that option. Not yet. Charisma cried out in fear and surprise when the manor shook violently enough to knock everyone in the room off their feet. A scant second later, a blood-curdling scream pierced her ears. She only had time to take a breath before she was hauled to her feet. "Are you all right?" She looked up into Jameson's concerned eyes and nodded slowly. "What..." "Stay behind me." Jameson followed his brothers out of the room, his senses alert. He didn't know what just happened, but he knew that Charisma wasn't leaving his side. The sight of Draco and Roman running to the solarium prompted everyone to follow. There, they found Andraemalek crouched in front of Nadia, who sat as still as a statue. Her eyes were glowing brightly and her face was pinched in concentration. "She wanted to get some water, but she kept walking." Andraemalek cupped Nadia's face in his hand, both worried and expectant. "Something hit me hard when I followed her. Then she screamed when I touched her." That certainly explained what happened in the training room, Jameson mused. "Is she all right?" "I don't-" "Two will be taken. Only on will return." Jameson moved to crouch in front of Nadia as well and found himself entranced by the searing look in her glowing eyes. It was almost as if she was able to see straight into his soul. "You're crowding her," Liam warned. Jameson ignored his brother and instead asked Nadia, "Who will be taken? Can you tell us when?" "All that is asked of you is that you remember two things. First, forgiveness and understanding are the key." Bright eyes shifted to Andraemalek. "Second, always remember that your bond as brothers is stronger than any other bond you have now." "Looks like shit is going past the fan and headed straight for the roof," Draco said on a breath. He watched as Nadia returned to normal. "Do you remember what just happened?" "Some of it," Nadia replied as she took deep shuddering breaths. Suddenly she was exhausted. "Suit up. We're going hunting," Jameson announced. He stood up and waited for his brothers' approval before he pulled Charisma from the room. "Come on, baby. I'll take you to bed." Nadia pushed Andraemalek's hands away as she said, "Actually, I need to talk to Alexis for a minute." She watched the two men share a look before they both nodded in approval. "Alone," she added when no one made a move to leave. Alexis waited until the room was clear before he took Andraemalek's place in front of her. "What is it?" "I lied when I said that I only remembered some of it. I always remember everything." He waited for her to continue. When she remained silent, he asked, "Why didn't you say that?" "I'm not allowed to say everything clearly." Nadia sighed at his confused look. "The Council said that I can only give warnings and veiled words of advice. Because what I see can't be changed, I can't tell people exactly what I see." "Jameson?" "I told him to take Liam hunting because I knew she would get hurt. Had I told them why I sent them, they probably would have left it to the Nariko." "I understand." "Good. I need you to do something for me." When Alexis began to speak, she shook her head as a signal for him to remain silent. "I can't tell you why or give you any indication as to how or when, but this will save your brothers." For that very reason, he would have agreed to walk to the fires of hell. There was also the fact that he'd grown to view Nadia as a sister, and naturally felt that it was his duty to help her any way he could. "I'm listening." Alexis remained silent as Nadia explained the situation to him. He was shocked, he was appalled, and he was incredibly humbled. What she asked of him was unlike any favor he'd ever heard of. And that she asked it of him... "Are you sure about this?" Nadia nodded slowly, relieved that he agreed. "No one can know about this. Ever." It was his turn to nod in agreement. "When?" "Tonight, after you get back." "What about-" "Don't worry about Andrae. I'll handle him." Nadia watched as Alexis nodded before he stood and abruptly walked out of the room. She sighed tiredly, hoping that she was right to do what she planned. Andrae; she as doing this to save his life, and the lives of his brothers. As long as she continued to tell herself that, she'd have the courage to follow through. She hoped no one hated her after this. * * * * * Zaide steepled his fingers together and rested his chin on his fingertips as he tried to remain clam. "What do you mean dead? I sent them out during daylight hours to avoid suspicion." He looked down at Evangeline, the petite blonde he was quickly learning to hate. She was only sent to him when there was bad news. "I do not know, my lord," she replied shakily, "Others were dispatched to find them and the woman." "These imbeciles have cost me two women now. Two!" He bolted out of his chair, nearly toppling it over in his rage. This had all been planned for years. Years! He'd paid the corrupt oracle handsomely to tell him how to gain the power he needed to rule. From her, he'd received worlds of information. Because of the oracle, he knew that his body was capable of accepting abilities and that he only needed a medium with which he could absorb them. And then he learned of a woman who would be vital to his cause. He'd gone through great lengths to achieve his goal, even went so far as to manipulate her life to get her where he wanted her. He refused to fail. Not again. This woman he would have. "Stand, Evangeline." She stood slowly, waiting for the moment he would strike. Zaide was beyond angry and it was twice now that she was sent to play messenger. "My lord?" "Bring Sherlaine to me." He watched as she nodded and waited until she looked at him before adding, "The next time I see you, you'd better have good news." * * * * * Charisma waited exactly one hour after the men returned to find Jameson. Actually, she didn't have to look for him; she knew that he went straight to his room. And he hadn't left. Instinct told her that he most likely received information that would upset her if she knew. But she didn't want to talk about her safety or Zaide. She wanted him. To be with him. Watching Nadia with Andrae only served to show her what an idiot she was. Jameson had somehow wiggled his way into her soul and she'd reacted by punishing him for the sneak attack. All that accomplished was delaying the inevitable. It was like Nadia said; fate brought a man to a woman. If Jameson was really her fate... Charisma quietly left her room and padded toward Jameson's. She didn't hesitate, nor did she bother to knock; she marched into his room proudly, set to hear his objections. What she saw surprised her. Jameson lay on his back, quietly staring at her. He rested his head on his hands and the sheet that covered him only went to his waist. The corded muscles of his chest and abs made her breath catch in her throat. She knew that he was nude; the sheet rested low on his hips, giving her a glimpse of his dark pubic hairs. The sight of him alone was enough to make her mouth water. How was she so stupid to deny herself the pleasures of his body, his heart? As she mentally kicked herself for her stupidity, she closed then locked the door. Then she climbed into bed with him. "Charisma-" Jameson stopped when she placed a delicate finger against his lips. He stared at her in curious amazement; the last thing he ever expected was to have her walk into his room and climb into bed with him. Charisma's beautiful face was soft and her eyes were tender as they stared into his. "All or nothing, right?" It took him a minute to understand what she really asked him but when he did, he nodded slowly. He found himself groaning when she leaned down to lick his lips. Instinct told him to take control, to roll them over and bury himself between her long legs, but he knew that she needed to control this. Jameson succumbed to the pressure of her soft lips on his and felt his body tighten as she slowly ran a hand over his chest. In response, he deepened their kiss, sliding his eager tongue into the sweet cavern of her mouth. Charisma took his large hands in hers and brought them to the hem of her tank top. She whimpered as he slowly pulled the thin material up and over her head. He did not touch her suddenly aching breasts; Jameson simply looked at them as he slid his hand over her smooth thighs. He reached her shorts, feeling the outline of her center through them. She knew that the fabric between them was wet and incredibly hot. Jameson felt his turgid member throb at the feel of her heat. He'd barely touched her and she was ready to receive him. He edged his fingers beneath the heated fabric and groaned at the sensation of her curls brushing against his fingertips. Charisma's wet core made him shudder with desire and he did not hesitate to slip a finger into her depths. "Oh God," Charisma moaned. She watched his face as he pleasured her, held captive by the erotic furrow of his brow. She was on fire for him! As she looked down at his body, she pulled at the sheet that covered him and felt her breath catch at the hard rod desperate for her attention. The sight of it was too much for her to take. "I need you now, Jameson." His name came out on a harsh gasp when his finger increased pressure within her. Moving his hand out of the way, she quickly pulled her shorts down and off. The heated look in his eyes made her forget to savor the moment. Charisma breathed heavily in her passion then groaned when his lips took hot possession of hers. As his tongue slipped into her mouth, she mounted him and gasped at the feel of his heated body beneath her. He was so pliant, so ready for her to do to him as she wished. Instead of taking what she wanted from him, she simply held his face in her hands and deepened their kiss. His hand returned to her center in response and she aggressively moved her hips against him for more. Charisma couldn't decide if she wanted to slow down or speed up; every touch made her want more from him while at the same time, made her need to savor every moment of their lovemaking. "Don't stop," was all she was able to say as he touched her. "I won't." Jameson eased two fingers into her depths and slowly moved them within her. The way she ground her hips allowed him the freedom to concentrate on other parts of her flushed body. He sucked a taut nipple into his mouth and groaned at the sweet taste of her skin. As Charisma continued to move against him, he thumbed the secret button hidden between her slick folds. He groaned when he felt her core flex in response. She was close, and he knew that he would die if he didn't wrap himself in her passion. Removing his fingers from her, Jameson took hold of his aching member and placed it at her opening. The heat permeating from her forced him to close his eyes in surrender. He knew he wouldn't last very long once they joined, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't get her there first. Taking the lead, Charisma eased herself down onto his length. Her jaw slowly dropped as he filled her and her back instinctively arched to take him in deeper. "Oh yes," she moaned. She closed her eyes at the intense pleasure coursing through her. Jameson pulsed hotly within her, matching the reflexive throb of her depths. Charisma took her lower lip into her mouth as she began to move. She rode him slowly, enjoying the feel of his filling her over and over again. The hands on her hips gripped her firmly, both leading and following her pace. Jameson's guttural gasps and moans inflamed her with passion, pushing her to take more from him. She moved faster, letting the mating ritual take over, feeding the desperate needs of her body. Her hiss of pleasure forced Jameson to lift his hips for more. When she leaned forward and pressed her heaving chest against his face, he pulled a pebbled nipple into his mouth. He suckled hard, running his tongue over the hard tip before he laved at the dusty pink peak. Jameson continued his play, feasting on her nipples as she pushed him closer to the inevitable end. In response, she rode him faster, grinding her hips against his. The lazy circles she drew with her hips made him grunt in ecstasy. "Yeah, like that, baby." Jameson gripped her firm bottom and she increased her pace of her movements. "Just like that." Charisma leaned down and fisted her hands in his hair as she kissed him again. As she felt her body begin to tighten, she moved even faster, moaning against his mouth as he nibbled on her lower lip. The way he lifted his hips against hers sent bolts of pleasure through every inch of her body, making her tingle and shudder. On the brink of release, Charisma gripped the headboard and moved over Jameson as fast and as hard as she could. She felt his hand on her center again and at the first flick of his finger against her sweetest spot, she lost control. With a loud cry, she shook over him as her orgasm gripped her. She pushed her hips down onto his and remained still, allowing him to move beneath her. Jameson groaned when he felt the first contraction of her center. Losing control, he thrust his hips upwards and groaned her name as he filled her with his seed. He held onto her hips tightly as his body erupted. He faintly felt her place kisses all over his face but he was too caught up in the force of his orgasm. He moaned, kissing her back as his hips jerked beneath hers. For long minutes, they remained as they were, both too weak to move. The sounds of their frantic breathing and pulsing heartbeats filled their ears. Neither wanted to move. Charisma exhaled lazily when Jameson slowly kissed the length of her neck. Their encounter wasn't what she'd envisioned for their first time, but it was still better than she could have ever imagined. "Are you ok?" He had to laugh at her question. Jameson rolled them over and braced his weight on his elbows so that he wouldn't crush her. Her eyes were still glazed with passion and the sensual tilt of her lips told him that she wasn't ready to stop. The sight alone had him hard and aching within her in mere seconds. The pleasantly surprised look on her face prompted him to kiss her again. Jameson used his tongue to tease her, to give her an example of what he was going to do to her. As she began to writhe beneath him, he brought his hand down to strum the swollen button of pleasure hidden between her silken folds. He dared not move while he touched her; if he did, he'd forget about finesse and take her roughly. Instead, he allowed her to lift her hips against him for more. He loved the small sounds in the back of her throat and the way she nipped at his bottom lip. Waves of heat and desire coursed through him as he fought to remain still. He wouldn't be able to last much longer. Charisma was lightheaded from the intense pleasure shooting through her body. The way Jameson touched her was like magic, unlike anything she'd ever experienced. He remained torturously still within her while he used his hands to touch her in ways that should have been illegal. Her body began to shudder beneath him; she was so close already. She threaded her fingers in his hair as she commanded, "Move." Charisma could only moan in ecstasy as he complied; Jameson made slow, torturous love to her, not once bothering to remove his hand from between them. It was too much for her to take. "Faster." Daybreak Ch. 08 Jameson groaned low in his throat at the harsh guttural tone of her voice as she demanded more from him. She was so hot, so tight around him, and the way her body continually squirmed beneath his brought him closer to insanity. She murmured while she clutched him, but he didn't understand what she was saying; Charisma mumbled more than she moaned. The small quirk prompted him to increase the pace of their mating. "Oh, Christ, yes, like that." Charisma screwed her eyes closed as he let the needs of their bodies take control. She couldn't keep her hands off him; she went from pulling his hair to gently caressing his back, to aggressively gripping his firm bottom, then back again. She was going to combust, her body was so hot. "Yeah?" he groaned. "Yes!" she gasped as he moved harder. He changed the angle of his hips. Yes, she wanted him deeper. She needed him, all of him. "Jameson I-" "I know." He felt it too. He buried his face in the crook of her neck as he let the desire take control. It was no longer about savoring the moment; his body craved her release. She was so close; she tightened around him deliciously as she moaned his name. "Yes, that's it, baby. Come for me." "Come with me," she responded. Jameson was only able to nod as he lost control. He moved within her hard and fast, stealing soft whimpers and moans with each thrust. Her hands were on his rear again, guiding his pace, making him give her more. The pressure was building inside him, making his head swim and his body shake. It was coming; yes, it was going to come hard. "Jameson," Charisma gasped. She couldn't do anything more than hold onto him as she was finally pushed to that body gripping edge. "Jameson!" "Charisma!" he groaned as his body released. He had to grit his teeth to keep from shouting. Waves of pleasure washed over him and somewhere in the back of his mind, he had to remind himself to keep his weight on his elbows to keep from crushing her. He smiled at the gentle way she ran her hands over the expanse of his back. "Are you ok?" She could only nod as she sighed in satisfaction. Suddenly she was exhausted. "You're not going to be weird in the morning, are you?" Jameson laughed at the question. If anything, he should have been the one to ask that. "No, I won't. But I will have a goofy grin on my face." He raised his head to look at her and smiled at the faint flush of her skin and the lazy smile on her face. He placed a small kiss on her lips before he settled her on the bed. Afterward, he turned out the light and pulled the sheets up around them. "I suppose I'll have one too." "I thought you were sleeping." "No, just thinking." "That you'll have a goofy smile on your face in the morning?" "And a beet-red face once Nadia and Slade see me." She smiled at his loud laugh. She liked the easy-going atmosphere they shared. Without the tension of sex between them, they were more like... More like Nadia and Andrae. That was a nice feeling. Suddenly she remembered the conversation she had with the Daemis, particularly the section that had to deal with children. "You didn't get me pregnant." "I know." The nonchalance in his voice made her open her eyes in curiosity. "How do you know?" "A trait that all of the brothers inherited from our father." When he did not elaborate, she elbowed him in the ribs. "Explain this trait." "We have to be fully willing to procreate for conception to occur." "Oh." Charisma wasn't sure if she should take offense to that or not. On the one hand, it saved her from having to explain that she was on a five year birth control regimen, but on the other, the way he worded his explanation made it seem as if he didn't want to father her children. "Do you want kids?" "If I lived a different life, yes, I would." "So you're saying that I should never hold out hope that you'd change your mind?" He did not like where this conversation was headed, especially after the lovemaking they shared. "I don't know. We should really get some sleep." He frowned at her skeptical grunt and sighed in resignation. Somehow he knew that he ruined the romantic afterglow, which wasn't his intention. He simply wanted to remain honest with her. Jameson half expected her to get up and go back to her room and immediately became pleased when she found a comfortable position in his arms. He lightly stroked the silky strands of her hair and listened to her soft sighs. A feeling of completeness and vulnerability washed over him and he knew that the feelings would never fade. So this was love. He smiled to himself at the realization and made a mental not to thank Nadia for sending him to Charisma. It had only been days, but he was desperately in love with her. The only thing left to do was to get her to realize that she felt the same. After he was finished with Zaide. Daybreak Ch. 09 They spent an entire day strategizing and trying to figure out how to keep her out of harm's way. Every single plan they came up with put someone else in danger. Charisma spent hours cooking lunch and dinner for everyone while they grouped around the island in the kitchen coming up with ways to defeat Zaide. There was talk of finding a polymorph to pretend to be her but she protested on behalf of the person they put in danger. Draco suggested Euan following Forkai around to find their reporting location, but Alexis vehemently refused, stating that not only was Euan placed in danger, but if the corrupted Forkai were sent to capture someone else, then that person would be placed in danger as well. As a way to keep everyone safe, Charisma volunteered herself to be made bait, but that only caused an uproar between the brothers. Finally, she pulled herself out of the conversation and focused on the meals she prepared. Liam didn't make matters any better. He continually picked fights with everyone in the room, convinced that they were screwed no matter what they did. Yes, he sure was the optimistic one of the bunch, especially when he placed the blame of their situation solely on Andrae for taking on the responsibility of murdering Nadia those many months ago. That accusation alone had the twins, Jameson and Slade holding the half demon back while Alexis forced the redhead out of the room. "This is absolutely hopeless," Charisma mumbled. "You have to have a little faith." Charisma sighed in defeat as she looked at Nadia. "How am I supposed to have faith when all of this is happening because of me?" "No, all of this is happening because of some sick bloodsucking demon out for power. You, just like all the rest of us, happen to be a pawn in his twisted game." Charisma didn't exactly know how or, but hearing those words from the Daemis made her feel better. "What are we going to do?" "We'll figure it out." Nadia looked over and noticed Euan standing toward the garage exit. He looked uncomfortable and eager to talk to her about something private. That could only mean that his animal senses were on full alert. "Why don't you go lie down for a while?" "I can't, dinner-" "I can tell that the only thing left to do is to let the soup you made for Euan simmer a while longer. I think I can handle that." If it had been any other time, Charisma would have vehemently refused to leave her creation in the hands of anyone other than Maria. But the day had worn her out and she was desperate for some time to think on her own. Jameson was busy trying to calm his brother, which only meant that she would have more than enough time to sort her thoughts and see if she could come up with a plan of her own. "Just give it a stir every five minutes for the next twenty and then turn the stove off." Nadia nodded in understanding and waited until she was sure Charisma was out of earshot before she turned to Euan. "You can feel it too, can't you?" "How long have you known?" "I only thought it was a possibility, but seeing the way you are acting confirmed my suspicions that it's a reality." She sighed dejectedly as she walked to the stove to mix the soup. "No matter what happens, I need you to-" Nadia stopped cold when she realized that she was the only one left in the kitchen. "That's just nice. Leave me here all by myself to-" The loud crash had her jumping back in surprise and fear. That wasn't Andrae or Liam; though both men were angry enough to tear down a house, they would never destroy the manor, especially not when they were being watched by their brothers. No, the noise she heard had nothing to with her loved ones. Something was wrong. Andrae always told her that if anything ever happened, she was to run. She wasn't to worry about any of them as they had the power to defend themselves, and she was to find the safest place she could think of to hide until he found her. While it was a smart idea to get into one of the many cars in the garage and high-tail it to one of the other safe-houses, Nadia couldn't leave Charisma behind to fend for herself. She was just as responsible for the new charge as the men were. Yes, she would get Charisma and together they would run and hide. Nadia felt her stomach drop to the floor at the sight of the three Forkai sauntering into the room. They each stared at her with evil smiles on their faces and she knew that they had every intention of making her their next meal. Determination coursed though her veins; if they wanted her blood, they would have to give up some of their own first. She grabbed the nearby knife and held it in front of her, ready to do serious damage to the first one to attack her. They each took a step forward at the same time and in response, she took a step back. Her heart beat a thousand miles a minute, but adrenaline gave her the bravery she needed to continue on. With one glance at the stove, she shifted the knife to her left hand and waited. She didn't have to wait very long. The largest of the Forkai, a beefy brunette who looked like he injected his weight in steroids, rushed toward her and she waited until the last possible moment before she reacted. Nadia grabbed the small pot of soup and hurled the contents at the demon. His agonized cry gave her a surge of power; she hurled the empty pot toward one of the other two demons a scant second before she plunged the knife into the neck of the soup-covered leader. As she tried to move back, Nadia found herself being thrown toward the other end of the kitchen after the third and smallest Forkai grabbed the knife. In the distance, she heard more of the demons entering the house and knew that until the brothers arrived to help, she was the only person to keep the blood-sucking monsters away from Charisma. She gained her feet and looked for both another weapon, and a way out of the kitchen. The latter seemed to be easier to achieve; just as the men advanced to kill her, one crumpled to the ground. When the other turned to see Charisma standing with one of the small statuettes that adorned the upstairs hall, Nadia took advantage of the opportunity and tackled the demon to the ground. Both she and Charisma jumped on him and took turns beating him. Within seconds, they were both roughly pulled off the Forkai. Nadia fought like a wild cat, determined to keep from being killed. "God damn it, Nadia stop fucking fighting me!" Nadia immediately calmed at the sound of Liam's voice. In her relief, she launched herself into the hot head's arms. "Thank God you guys showed up." She wasn't given an opportunity to get yelled at for invading his personal space as she, as well as Charisma was shoved behind his and Alexis' backs. Neither one of them could see over the men's shoulders, but they knew the sounds of more intruders being fought off when they heard it. "Stay close to me." Charisma only nodded as she tried desperately to peer over Alexis' shoulder to see if Jameson was all right. It was a near impossible task, especially considering she was continually shoved back whenever she had an opportunity to look at what was happening. The only fact she was able to understand was that there were way too many demons entering the house and not enough brothers around to fight them. How were they going to get to safety? She became comforted when Nadia took hold of her hand. A second later, Andrae burst into the room with such a bloodthirsty look in his eyes that she gasped in terror. Where was Jameson? Charisma wasn't given a chance to ask; the half demon pushed his way through the throng of Forkai and promptly teleported the women to another location. "What the hell were you two thinking?" Andraemalek focused his anger on Nadia who only seemed mildly irritated that he raised his voice to them. "I told you what to do if anything ever happened." "I couldn't leave Charisma to fend for herself." "I would have gotten her out of the house, Nadia." "Yeah, worrying about where the hell I was the whole time. I saved you a lot of trouble so stop yelling at me." Charisma watched with wide eyes as the couple stared each other down. It was obvious that Andraemalek tried to use his size to intimidate Nadia, but it was apparent that she had a few intimidation tactics of her own. Her eyes had darkened to a slate grey and her hands were fisted at her sides. Neither one of them was ready to back down. "Uh, guys, what the hell is going on?" "The manor is under attack." "So why are Nadia and I the only ones here?" Andraemalek turned to the worried human and took a breath to calm himself. "Jameson asked me to get you to safety when the Forkai breached the cloak." "Is he all right? I didn't-" "I have to go back to get the others." Charisma only watched with wide eyes as the half-demon shimmered out of the room. She couldn't believe this was happening. Just ten minutes before, she was in her room preparing to relax. Now she was in what looked to be some sort of panic room while she and Nadia waited for the men to return. "I don't understand what is happening." "Somehow they got through the cloak that is on the manor." Nadia moved to sit on the small twin bed in the corner and sighed. "This wasn't supposed to happen this way." "What do you mean by that?" "It's just..." Nadia shook her head to clear her thoughts. "There is a cloak on the manor for a reason. How did they even get around it?" "We'll worry about that later." Charisma took a seat next to her friend, but refrained from touching her. They were both running on fear and adrenaline, which meant that anything could have happened when it came to their powers. "Right now we have to figure out what comes next." "I already know what comes next. We sit and wait for them to come back." Charisma nodded somberly. There really was nothing else they could do. They were locked in a small room with very dim lighting and it was clear that only the barest of essentials were left; the only other piece of furniture in the room was a couch that lined the opposite side of the room. Between that and the bed, rested two refrigerators, no doubt filled with enough food to last several weeks. Shelves of canned food flanked the steel door that had no knob; there was only a keypad. Wonderful; the only people who knew how to get in or out of the room were currently fighting and risking death. "At least I'm not alone," she whispered. "No, you aren't." Nadia placed a hand on Charisma's back in an effort to comfort her. "Everything will work out the way it's supposed to." "I hope so." "Me too." Nothing more was said for what had to be an eternity. Neither one of the women carried watches, and there was no clock in the room. They weren't sure how long they were locked in the small room but they both were completely focused on their prayers' for the safety of the men who fought to protect them. Charisma fought hard to remain hopeful that everything would be fine. Any minute now, the door would open and the men would walk in to tell them that they'd killed every single one of those bastard demons. Jameson would present himself to her simply to lighten the mood about what happened and she'd sit back and sigh in relief at seeing that not one of them were harmed. Nadia would continue her fight with Andraemalek while Liam grumbled about the first thing he thought to complain about. Yes, this would all happen any minute. Any minute now. "Charisma, wake up." Charisma was quick to sit up. She cursed herself for falling asleep and would have looked at the time if there was a clock available. "What, I-" "I hear something." Charisma remained quiet and listened. There was a soft shuffling sound coming from the other sound of the door. Had the men returned or had they been found once more? She had to force herself to remain calm and looked around for any possible weapons they could use. There were none, which meant that she and Nadia would have to think quickly to get out alive once those doors opened. "What are you doing?" she whispered when Nadia crept toward the door. "Trying to see if I can figure out how many are out there?" "How many what?" "Brothers, hopefully." Charisma nodded slowly and went to stand by Nadia's side. They would face whatever came through that door together. Her palms were sweating, she realized, and it was then that she came to the startling conclusion that she wasn't afraid. She was mad as hell. How dare those demons attack the manor? How dare they attack Nadia and the brothers? And most importantly, if there were demons outside the door, how dare they come after them again? The rhythmic, semi-high-pitched tones of buttons being pushed made her think that the intruders realized that there were no door handles, which meant that they had to crack the code to get in. At first, Charisma believed that Jameson and his brothers returned, but at the third buzz signaling an invalid code, she knew better. "We need-" "Something heavy?" Nadia finished as she placed an armful of canned foods on the ground in front of them. With such limited time, they had to use whatever they could as weapons. "Help me get the rest." Within seconds, the women had a small mountain of cans in front of them. "The second that door opens, start throwing." "Got it." They stood quietly, each with cans at the ready. They lost track of the number of buzzes they heard, so focused they were on the door opening. They were tired, they were worried about the brothers, and they were ready to do what was necessary to stay alive. Though only a few minutes had passed, it felt as if they waited an eternity for something to happen. And when it did, they stop thinking altogether. The tell-tale extended beep of a correctly entered code pierced their ears a second before the door slid open. At once, Nadia and Charisma launched cans at the doorway, ignoring the angered sounds of the being on the delivering end of their arsenal. With every grunt and curse, they threw harder; adrenaline and the fierce will to live pushed them to keep going, to keep fighting. If they had to die, they would do it like warriors. When their cans began to bounce off an invisible wall, they stopped throwing. A second later, both Nadia and Charisma took a surprised step back when Liam slowly walked into the room, the brothers trailing behind him. There were two large lumps on the redhead's forehead, and a serious bruise was forming near his left temple. His face was dangerously red and his hands were fisted at his sides. He stared them down predatorily, as if trying to decide which one to kill first. The longer he looked at them, the more his eyes narrowed and when he spied the cans in their hands, his breathing became hard and shallow; dangerous. "Ooooo..." Draco said as he assessed the situation. "Did he just say 'you' or 'oo?'" Charisma whispered to Nadia. "I think it was the latter," the Daemis replied, "We are in pretty big trouble." "Put. The cans... Down," Liam whispered. His voice was hoarse with the effort to keep from shouting. They seriously threw cans of food at him. They actually threw... "Liam, why don't you go downstairs for a while," Alexis suggested. He knew that it was only a matter of minutes before his brother's temper exploded, and they had too much to deal with as it was. As soon as the redhead left the room, he turned to the women. "He'll be fine." "We didn't know it was you guys," Charisma defended, "the wrong code kept getting punched in." "None of us knew that Liam changed it a few months ago." Which explained why there were so many errors and why the hot head was on the receiving end of their attack, Charisma mused. She jumped when Andrae shimmered into the room to stand next to Nadia. The half demon looked like he'd been through hell. "Where's Jameson?" With the exception of Euan, who probably went off on one of his solo missions, he was the only one unaccounted for. No one answered her question and she asked again, hoping someone would give her some kind of information. "He let them take him," Roman answered. "What do you mean he let them take him?" Charisma shook her head in disbelief. Surely, he was joking. "They kept coming in faster than we could kill them. He told us to get out while he held them off." Charisma shook her head again at Alexis' explanation. Jameson's actions made sense, yes, but she couldn't find the compassion to understand them. He was supposed to come back to her. "No." "Charisma-" "No!" She took a step away from Nadia. She didn't want to be comforted right now. She wanted Jameson. "How could you let him do that?" "We're going to get him back," Andraemalek said. She did not know it yet, but they'd already devised a plan. Terror and worry kept Charisma from listening to reason. "They're going to kill him!" She'd never be able to live with herself if anything happened to him. They'd only just found it within themselves to be together. He couldn't be gone. "No they won't," Nadia said. She stepped forward and placed a hand on Charisma's shoulder as a sign of comfort. "Everything is as it should be." Charisma should have been comforted by that, considering Nadia's eyes were glowing as she spoke. But she wasn't. "If everything was as it should be, then he would be here with us right now." "Don't you get it?" Roman asked, "He sacrificed himself not only for us, but to make sure that there were enough of us around who were able to protect you, Charisma." The validity of his statement did nothing to calm her. Instead, she sat down on the bed and said a small prayer for the man who'd come to mean everything to her. Charisma did not even look up when Euan walked into the room, but she did listen to what he had to say. "I followed them to the old brick church on Page." "That's only three blocks away," Slade said, "We would have known if-" "They have some kind of cloak of their own. One that keeps others from sensing the power inside." Alexis nodded in thought before he said, "Slade, D., go back to the manor and grab as much gear as you can. We're getting Jameson out tonight." After the two men shimmered out of the room, he turned to the twins and said, "You two make sure Liam's calm." "He fights better the angrier he is," Draco argued. "Then you can piss him off when we get to the church. Just go check on him." "Do we have to stay in the panic room?" Nadia asked. "No, that was just a precaution. You two are more than welcome to become familiar with this safe house. We'll be staying here until the manor is safe." He stopped when a look of terror came across Nadia's face. Her eyes weren't glowing, which meant that she wasn't seeing anything horrible. "What is it?" "It was me. The night I asked you to..." Nadia placed a hand over her mouth in horror as realization sunk in. "I was the one who deactivated the cloak." Alexis thought back to the shock that knocked everyone off their feet. What she said made sense; if she had the power to momentarily stun everyone in the manor, then it was possible that she was able to take down a simple cloak. "You didn't know. None of us did." "But it's still my fault." Charisma placed her arm around Nadia's shoulder when Alexis gave her a look asking for help. "You shouldn't blame yourself. It was an accident." "That nearly got us all killed!" Charisma understood her friend's anxiety; when she'd accidentally switched the brothers' powers, she risked putting them in massive amounts of danger. "But we're fine, right? Jameson is too." "What did you do to her?" "It's my fault," Nadia cried as she launched herself into Andraemalek's arms. She ignored the fact that he had to hurriedly drop the weapons in his hands to keep from killing her and held onto him for dear life as she explained the situation. Daybreak Ch. 09 "Nadia, calm down," Andrae comforted, "It was an accident." She wasn't listening to him; Nadia shook her head furiously and clung to him as if desperate for a solid anchor. He looked at his brothers, who were understandably impatient to get going. Charisma stood off to the side, ready to take over when he left. "We need to go get Jameson, now." Nadia nodded quietly as she pulled herself together. She accepted the kiss Andrae placed on her lips and nodded to Alexis and Slade. "I want all of you to come back this time." "Will do." Charisma watched as the men left the room with a heavy heart. She hadn't realized how much she'd come to care for the brothers as well. Her feelings for them were nowhere near what she felt for Jameson, but the thought of any of them getting hurt made her feel sick. "Everything's going to be fine," she said to no one in particular, "They are going to get Jameson, they'll all come back, and everything will be fine. * * * * * Jameson didn't know if he should be excited or pissed off that he found himself in such a ridiculous position. What on earth possessed him to allow himself to be captured? Yes, there was the matter of keeping Zaide away from Charisma, but that could have easily been done without his imprisonment. There was also the fact that allowing this to happen gave him an opportunity to get insight on how Zaide ran his operation. Operation? This wasn't the mafia; it was demon idiocy. But this idiocy would have a chance if he and his brothers did nothing to act. The church was the perfect base for Zaide; it was obvious that the Mordecai had taken considerable time to redecorate the former house of worship to his particular tastes. The first five rows of pews had been torn out, most likely to create a mock stage for whatever sick and sadistic games Zaide wanted to play. Directly beneath the large cross at the head of the church was a portentous chair. A throne, no doubt. Zaide always did think more of himself than he should have. What should have been stained glass windows were painted black to keep the sunlight from destroying the demons. They really were idiots for thinking that he did not need to be blindfolded. Jameson took in every aspect of his surroundings, making sure to memorize the number and locations of the exits; his brothers would need that information. His attention became focused on a group of people being rushed towards the rectory. Jameson easily recognized the hostages; they were shackled as if they were animals and were abused if they did not move fast enough to suit the guards. Though anger washed over him, it was better he kept his cool and waited for the perfect moment to strike. He withstood the taunts and blows he received as he was led toward another room in the back of the church. Jameson made sure to look at the face of every single guard in the church; they were his second priority, after he took care of Zaide. They were the same demons who were stupid enough to believe they took him down and brought him unwillingly to their leader. The small hallway was dimly lit; there wasn't enough light for him to adequately assess his surroundings. But Jameson looked anyway, making sure to take in as many details as possible. Not one of the religious figures has been removed from the church; in fact, they'd all been moved to different locations that kept them from becoming damaged. That was interesting. Why would a demon care about religious relics? Jameson grunted in frustration when he was roughly shoved into one of the back rooms. This room, he knew, was made specifically for Zaide's sick and sadistic games. There was no furniture in the stale and hot room, save the lone electric chair that had obviously been pilfered from a prison. It was not hooked up to a generator, which only meant that its main purpose was to retrain the lucky victim who sat in it. One lone light fixture illuminated the black walls and windows. If it wasn't for his disgust, Jameson would have been impressed by the rough and intimidating atmosphere. Zaide materialized in the far corner of the room. The demon leader looked both pleasantly surprised and minutely disappointed by Jameson's presence. "When I was told that one of The Brethren was captured, I thought for sure that it would have been the healer or the oracle." "You mean one without an active power," Jameson replied. He was only mildly surprised by Zaide's pristine attire; black slacks and a matching black dress shirt gave the demon a sophisticated look while at the same time highlighting the blonde's evil qualities. It was funny; Jameson expected him to have a wardrobe that consisted of leather and chain links. "Yes, which tells me that you weren't actually captured like you led my men to believe." Zaide stared at his new captive and had a good mind to kill every single one of his guards. There wasn't a scratch on the demigod and if anything, he looked completely bored. Jameson shrugged as he said, "I simply tagged along for the ride." "Which will be more fun for me, and not your precious brothers when they come to find you." Zaide held up a hand and within moments, Jameson was strapped into the chair. "Didn't expect that, now did you?" Jameson said nothing. Euan was right about him taking the powers within himself. Not one of them could have anticipated the fact that Zaide already had abilities of his own. He had a good mind to blast the son of a bitch, and moved his hand to do just that. Only, nothing happened. Zaide smiled cruelly as he said, "It would have been easier to have a brother without an active power. But a brother with one, is so much more fun." He turned to his guards and within seconds he was left alone with his enemy. "I invite you to try to use your powers with me around. It'll keep me entertained." Jameson narrowed his eyes at the demon as he stopped his struggles. So much for his brilliant plan. "Like I'd really do anything that made you happy." "Is that why you took away my precious human?" The demigod's lopsided grin ignited a spark of anger within him. "I don't like it when people get in my way." "I guess we're kind of on the same page then, because I don't like it when soulless scum gets in mine." "And what am I in the way of?" "Simple: my killing you." Zaide laughed loudly as he stepped away from his captive. "It's going to take a hell of a lot more than you to kill me, flame boy." Jameson remained silent as he mentally filed away the information he'd just received. He stared at Zaide, at the demon's cold blue eyes and uncharacteristically bronzed skin and realized that Zaide was just as powerful as he and his brothers were. Finding his weakness would be as easy as finding a glass needle in a haystack. Zaide diligently rolled up the sleeves to his shirt as he said, "Because I'm such a nice demon, I'll make you a deal. You let me have the woman, and you and I can forget that we each exist." The demigod said nothing to his offer, which frustrated Zaide. "All I want is the ability to take over the underworld." He lifted a hand and used his powers to create a deep gash in his captive's thigh. The demigod didn't scream, but he did grunt and groan in agony. Those only made Zaide want nothing more than to hear the tortured cries. He aimed for the other thigh as he said, "I'm still up for negotiation. So when you're ready to talk, I'll be prepared to make your death easy. And a lot less messy." Daybreak Ch. 10 It felt as if they'd been gone for hours. Charisma paced the length of the chaste living room as she went over every horrible outcome to the change in their situation. It would have been one thing if Jameson had only been hurt; she could deal with injuries. But willful capture? Didn't he know that she couldn't handle that? "Could you stop pacing, please? You're making me dizzy." Charisma sighed as she dropped down onto the green couch next to Nadia. "Sorry, I just can't..." She cradled her face in her hands and took another deep breath to calm herself. "He has to be all right." "He is and he will be." "How do you know?" Nadia thought for a moment. It was true that she did not know if Jameson was fine, but keeping Charisma calm was priority. "It's part of my role to know. If something bad was going to happen to him, I definitely would have been informed." "But you said that what you see is destined to happen." "That's true, yes, but there are random instances in which what I see is meant to be prevented. If I don't get the vision, then that random instance may come true." "That makes absolutely no sense." "Tell that to the High Council." Charisma shook her head as she said, "The more you talk about them, the more I dislike them." Nadia laughed to keep herself from voicing her true feelings about the High Council. What mattered was that Charisma was kept calm so that her abilities didn't get out of control. She'd only had one training session - a training session that was interrupted when the cloak on the manor was deactivated - and therefore didn't have enough practice to keep her abilities to herself. "You have to believe that everything will be all right." "You're right. I know you're right." Charisma took another breath and then sat back. As she stared up at the ceiling, she forced herself to think positively. Nothing was wrong with Jameson. He was fine, he would return to her, and she'd apologize for stupidly keeping him at bay when he knew from the beginning that they would have something special. "I just don't know what I'll do if he gets hurt. I finally accept the fact that he's-" She stopped when she realized that Nadia wasn't the person who needed to hear those words. "If you touch me, will you see anything?" "It's possible. We're both running on high emotion right now." Nadia shrugged in a way that kept her from having to explain much else. She was sure that Charisma already knew that their powers came from their emotions and that neither one of them was trained enough to control them. "But these visions are also dependent on the High Council. They don't want me to have the power to alter the future too much." "Then what's the point?" "They don't want me to interfere with their grand plans, whatever they may be." "Why am I scared all of a sudden?" Nadia shook her head slowly to calm her down. "Don't worry too much about them. Their grand plans mostly have to do with the guys. We just happen to aid them in their so-called missions." She held her hands out toward Charisma, hoping that she saw something other than a scene comparable to porn. "Let's see what happens." Charisma placed her hands in Nadia's and felt her eyes widen when a surge of heat went through her body. At first, she thought it was simply her powers coming into play, but when Nadia's eyes only became brighter and more intense, she knew that her friend was seeing something of great importance. When the heat became uncomfortable, she began to pull away. "Nadia, it's starting to hurt." "To kill the beast, you must go to the den." "What?" Charisma pulled harder, convinced that something was wrong. If she heard correctly, Nadia wanted her to go to Zaide. Since when was that a good idea? "Nadia, no." "Yes." Nadia nodded slowly as she continued, "It is the only way." There were tears running down Nadia's cheeks. That couldn't be a good sign. Charisma used all of the strength in her body and pulled away from the Daemis' tight grip. The move had her half sprawled on the couch, but she was at least free. She watched as Nadia's eyes slowly returned to normal but was quick to see the devastation in her friend's eyes. "Nadia-" "You have to go to the church." "Are you nuts? That's suicide." Nadia didn't bother to wipe her eyes or mask her inner turmoil as she said, "It's the only way." "But the cloak-" "There is no cloak on this safe house. You have to trust me. Going to the church will save Jameson." How could she argue with such a statement? Charisma knew that she would do anything in her power to save him, and she was sure that Nadia knew the same. Though she did not think that Nadia would use the knowledge against her, she had to wonder what her friend's motives were. "You're sure about this?" "I'd bet my life on it." Charisma took a moment to sigh before she stood and said, "All right, let's go." "No, I have to stay here." "Nadia, you can't honestly think that I would not only go by myself, but that I'd leave you here alone." Not after everything they'd been through and most certainly not after the way Nadia fought to protect her. "But you will." It was imperative that Charisma go to the church. Something had changed, so much so that the flow of events had been altered. If things were to get back on course, drastic measures had to be taken. "You need to go now. Before it's too late." "Too late for what?" When Nadia only looked away from her, Charisma became frightened. "Too late for what, Nadia?" "Please... Just go." Charisma stared at Nadia for a few moments, unsure of what to do. On the one hand it was stupid to ignore the advice of someone who could see the not too distant future, but on the other, it was hard to follow such dangerous orders. Go to Zaide? Willingly? It was insane! But Nadia's tears... The look of genuine fear on her face. Those were too hard to ignore. She had to go. "Ok, I'll go. But please, be safe." "You have to hurry," was Nadia's reply. She did not watch as Charisma walked out of the room and waited until she heard the eerily loud click of the lock. She was alone. It was safe to cry. The tears started slowly, like the slow decent of rain droplets on a dry windowpane, but the more she prepared herself for what was to come, the faster the tears came. Nadia was powerless to stop them. Nor did she try to; thoughts of what was to happen pushed her closer to hopelessness and she did not know how to stop it. There was no way around this, no way to save everyone from the pain of what was to come. As she curled herself on the couch, she prayed. Not for a miracle, but that she was doing the right thing. Outside, Charisma roamed the deserted streets slowly as she tried to find her way to the church. She wasn't completely sure, but she thought that she knew where Page Street was. It wasn't too far from the abandoned glass factory, but a side street needed to be taken to get there. She sincerely hoped that Nadia was right. This was a very stupid idea, especially considering the fact that Jameson got himself captured to keep her safe. Nadia did say that going to Zaide would save him, however, so there had to be some wisdom behind the idiocy. Charisma turned the corner, hoping that she found the right side street, when she walked into what had to be a wall. She took a step back and felt her eyes widen at the sight of the man who was in her house the night it burned down. "Sherman." "Sherlaine," he corrected. There wasn't fear in her eyes now, he was disappointed to see. It was the fear he loved, not the surprise. "You will come with me." "You're going to take me to Zaide." That she said that as a statement of fact and not a question made him quirk a brow curiously. "Yes. You will not fight me." Well, that was certainly easier than she thought. "How did you find me?" Sherlaine thought it best to keep from telling her that she'd found him. He'd just finished feasting on an especially delicious human when he heard the sounds of approaching footsteps. By chance it happened to be her. He said nothing as he placed his hand on her shoulder and remained silent as he teleported them to the location chosen by Zaide. "I hope you find your accommodations suitable." If it wasn't for the fact that she was literally in the beast's lair, she would have been more than excited to look at her new surroundings. The stone floor shone from a recent polishing and highlighted the four-poster metal bed in the center of the room. High, arched ceilings gave the room a medieval atmosphere, especially when paired with the large opened window that let in the moonlight. There was an armoire in the far corner of the room and near it, a full length mirror. It was obvious that the room was prepared for a long stay. A permanent stay. "I want to talk to him." "You will. In time." And after he made arrangements with Zaide to keep her for himself when his temporary boss was done with her. "No, I-" She turned full circle and frowned when she realized that Sherlaine had left just as soon as he dropped her off. "That's just nice." Charisma knew when she was beat. With a long, drawn-out breath, she moved to the bed and sat down. There was nothing left to do but wait. For what, she did not know. But she hoped it wasn't for nothing. * * * * * How he wished he was able to use his powers. Jameson sat quietly in the dark room, bruised, bleeding, and completely exhausted. Zaide wasted no time in showcasing a broad spectrum of his abilities while he emphasized his need for Charisma. The demon didn't bother asking questions; instead, he made simple statements, all the while reminding Jameson of his sudden lack of ability to fight back. Zaide wanted screams; he received nothing but bored looks and grunts for replies. Those only angered him, but Jameson did not care; he wasn't going to win. It felt as if they'd been in that room for days when in reality, it couldn't have possibly been more than a few hours. When one was being tortured for information, time never seemed to move normally. Jameson kept himself focused on getting to Charisma and ensuring her safety. Where the hell were his brothers? He knew for a fact that Euan tailed the Mordecai that captured him, which meant that the others knew where he was. Gaining entrance to the church really could not have been that much of a problem. A subtle knock on the door caused both men to turn toward it. "What is it?" Zaide called out. Jameson watched as a tall and lean underling walked into the room. If he had to guess, he was Zaide's second in command. "Relocation has been completed." "Excellent. What about Sherlaine?" "He demands a moment of your time, My Lord." "Of all the..." Zaide shook his head to clear himself of his anger. "He demands my time?" "He says that you will appreciate it." Jameson watched as Zaide thought for a minute. What was relocated and what did Sherlaine have to do with it? "Tell him I will be with him in a minute." Zaide watched his commander leave the room before he turned to his captive. "Since I'm pretty sure your precious brothers are on their way, I had to make sure that you idiots didn't get in my way." Jameson said nothing to the remark as he'd realized that the other captives had been moved. Absolutely perfect. "I think you need some time to yourself to think about your selfish behavior. Not only have you taken something that is not yours, but you refuse to return it." "I'll never let you have her." "Never say never, Flame Boy." Jameson allowed himself to scowl in anger when Zaide teleported out of the room. He sat quietly for a moment, both trying to control his rage, and the white-hot pain pulsating through his body. That son-of-a-bitch demon did a number on him. How in the hell did he get those powers? And how were they able to neutralize him? Endless questions flooded his mind as he fought the pain taking over his body. Zaide had to have some kind of a weakness; there was no way he was indestructible. A familiar heat in his hands caused Jameson to look down. He flexed a hand experimentally and quirked a brow when a small spark ignited. Zaide's powers wore off after he left. He wondered if the demon knew that vital piece of information. Jameson figured not; his High Council half was most likely the reason for the return of his powers. Yes, it had to be his higher half; had Zaide's powers worn off on anyone else, the other captives would have found a way to escape. Jameson waited patiently for his powers to return enough for him to burn his restraints off. Once the task was done, he did his best to ignore the agony tearing at him as he tried to move. Zaide must have taken his time learning human anatomy; there was no other explanation for the fact that his body was nearly cut up beyond recognition, but yet he did not bleed out. Every step, every move, even every breath was met with gut wrenching pain that made him confused on whether he would pass out or throw up. Getting out would not be easy, especially if he had to do it on his own. It took time, but he managed to get to the door and use his powers to get out of the dark and stale room. Through the bright lights of the hall, he was able to backtrack and find the main area of the church. His brothers were there, and every single one them were engaged in battle. Andraemalek, the least merciful, too no time ripping the heads off of the demons that attacked him. It was clear, by the utter lack of training, that Zaide had left those who were newly turned into Mordecai behind. Jameson wasn't aware that so many had been created; it seemed as if his brothers were outnumbered nearly twenty to one. He held up his hand to throw out a blast of fire but stopped when Liam took hold of that hand instead. "Way to look like shit," Liam admonished. Jameson only grinned wryly as he allowed his brother to heal him. The sting of it was barely tolerable and for a moment, he wondered how Nadia was able to stand the pain when she'd been healed after she was once tortured. "We would have gotten here sooner, but Lex wanted to check out the perimeter first." That was as close to an apology as he was going to get from the redhead. Jameson didn't really care about the tardiness; his goals were to kick demon ass, get back to the woman he loved, and then kill Zaide, all in that order. As soon as he was completely healed, he threw out a series of fireballs, each concentrated on the demon scum attacking his brothers. In mere minutes, the fight was over. "Did you see any of the hostages?" Jameson nodded at Alexis as he said, "A small group was brought in just after I was, but Zaide have them moved." "Did any one of them mention where?" Slade asked. "No. Zaide was having too much fun cutting me up like last night's steak." "Why didn't you blast him?" Jameson only glanced at Andrae as he said, "This guy has a lot more power than we thought." "How much power?" Alexis asked. "He was able to neutralize me," was all Jameson said as he watched Euan's wolf form stalk out of the church. "So you're saying that this guy can kick all of our asses?" Liam asked. "Probably." "That's just nice." "Don't go into a fit," Roman said, "Obviously it doesn't work that well if you managed to get out." "Yeah," Jameson replied, "My powers came back a few minutes after he left to talk to Sherlaine." "I love how you wait until now to mention that that son of a bitch is back." "Liam," Alexis warned. "Where are Charisma and Nadia?" Jameson asked. "At another safe house," Andraemalek said, "The manor needs to be reinforced before they can go back." "They know what happened," Draco said, "D. told them both after they pelted Liam with cans." "What?" "Don't fucking worry about it," Liam answered. He glared at his laughing brother and silently vowed to seek revenge. "We should get - Slade, what the hell are you doing?" The youngest of the brothers turned from his position in front of Zaide's throne as he said, "This chair reminds me of one I sat in during a visit to a brothel in Morocco." "What the hell does that have to do with Zaide?" Liam asked. "Nothing," Slade said on a shrug, "It just brought back some pretty sweet memories." "We should get the perv back to a neutral area," Draco said. Andraemalek waited until all of his brothers had taken hold of his arms before he shimmered them back to the safe house. Everything was quiet, but he wasn't worried; the women were most likely sleeping. He found himself following Nadia's scent and nodded in satisfaction when he found her sleeping on the couch. "Is Charisma in there?" he heard Jameson call out. He rejoined his brothers in the kitchen before he answered, "No." "She wasn't upstairs," Jameson replied. The men spent a tense moment staring at each other, hoping that someone would have an answer. "If they came in here, Nadia would be missing too," Alexis reasoned. "Then where the hell is she?" Just then, Liam's question was answered. A folded sheet of white paper materialized on the small kitchen table. The men looked at each other once more before Jameson took the piece of paper in his hands. "Son of a bitch!" he shouted after he'd read the contents. "What is it?" Roman asked. He quickly read what was written on the sheet of paper after Jameson shoved it at him. A second later, he rushed toward the living room. He heard his brothers follow after him but paid no mind. "What the fuck is going on?" Liam shouted. He stopped when he walked into the living room. "I thought Nadia was in here." Andraemalek ripped the sheet of paper out of Roman's hands and read what was written aloud. "'Turns out you had no choice in letting me have her, Flame Boy. She came to me herself. The other one on the other hand, I took. Just because." Alexis ignored Andraemalek's roar of rage as he thought back to Nadia's warnings the day she deactivated the cloak on the manor. "Two will be taken." Daybreak Ch. 11 "You are out of your mind if you think I'll do it." Zaide stared at the woman curiously as she shook her head at him. It was a rare occasion in which he was told no, and on those rare occasions, the unfortunate being was shown the full extent of his temper. That the one person he needed alive very seriously told him no made him confused. He couldn't kill the human; she was too valuable. Beating her was out of the question because he knew that she would prefer that to what he asked her. "My sanity is not the subject of this conversation." Charisma narrowed her eyes at Zaide as she shook her head once more. The sight of him confused her; he wore nothing but black, down to his alligator shoes. Only one color was present in his impeccable ensemble - the red tie that enhanced the startling color of his eyes. She didn't know much about the Mordecai, but she knew that his eyes weren't supposed to look like his. They were black, but there were odd red chips within them. If she hadn't been told that his being the first made him different, she would have figured it out on her own simply by looking at him. He was another looker. Long blonde hair tied back in a sexy queue emphasized the sharp lines of his face and the colors of his eyes. He looked like the kind of man you saw on the cover of magazines, not the leader of soul-sucking demons. "I won't do it." Zaide let out a small breath of exasperation before he used his powers to teleport two people into the room. The first was a young boy, no older than eighteen, and the second, was someone his precious tool would immediately recognize. "Nadia!" Charisma took a step forward to embrace her friend but stopped when Zaide wrapped an arm around Nadia's shoulders. Fear coursed through her body, but she found herself calming down when she looked at Nadia. The Daemis looked extremely calm, almost as if she knew that nothing would happen to her. Had this been part of her vision? "Other than the stench of demon she has on her, she smells lovely." Zaide stopped to press his nose against the redhead's neck and inhaled deeply. "The raw power in her blood is quite tempting." "Get your hands off her," Charisma commanded. Watching Zaide toy with Nadia sent her into a rage. Had she the power, she would have killed him with her bare hands. "So there is a way to tame you." Zaide looked to the young boy who stood paralyzed, thanks to his power. "All I want is his power." "No." Zaide took another frustrated breath before a dagger materialized in his hand. "I won't ask nicely again." To emphasize his point, he brought the tip to Nadia's neck and pierced her soft skin just enough to draw blood. He was impressed by the woman's silence; she didn't even flinch or cower in fear. "No! Stop it!" Charisma took a pleading step forward. Nadia wasn't supposed to be caught in the middle. She was innocent and had nothing to do with Zaide's plan. "Stop." "Give me what I want and I won't kill her." "And I'm really supposed to believe that?" Not after what he just did. "You're the bad guy, remember?" "She is of no real use to me." "All the more reason for you to kill her to get what you want." Zaide paused for a moment, impressed by her thorough logic. She was right; he could kill his expendable hostage at any time. "You're absolutely right, darling, but you have the power to make her transition to the afterlife painless." Charisma watched in horror as he used his knife to cut the collar of Nadia's shirt just enough to bare her shoulder. A second later, he bit into her tender flesh. Charisma screamed and tried to rush forward, but found that Zaide used his powers to keep her locked into place as well. She could only scream at him to stop as he drank from a very quiet Nadia. Why wasn't she screaming? There was a demon sucking the blood out of her body and the only thing she did was stare off into space. Charisma found herself quieting the longer her eyes remained locked on Nadia's and before long she felt the tension seep out of her body. Zaide pulled away from the woman he fed on and pressed a hand to his forehead to calm himself down. Bursts of energy rolled through his body and while the shocks were uncomfortable, they were also extremely arousing and euphoric. "You have the most delicious blood I have ever tasted." He leaned down to lick the drops of blood that seeped from the wounds and took care to close her wounds before she bled out. "What are you mixed with?" When the woman only continued to stare at his gem, he placed his fingers beneath her chin to force her to look at him. "You aren't completely human. What are you?" Still, the woman remained silent. She was terrified; the furious beat of her heart could be heard. He looked at her neck and licked his lips at the arousing movement of her carotid artery as blood rushed through her veins. "She's quite the delectable creature," he said aloud. Zaide looked into the woman's grey eyes and found himself held captive by her stare. Her emotionless gaze made him lean closer to her to better search for some kind of weakness. She held her ground, however, even when her eyes momentarily flashed like lightning. "You'll be worth the pain that comes with eating your soul." "No!" Charisma shouted again. Tears streamed down her face, but she could not move to wipe them away. There was nothing she could do to stop him, to protect Nadia as she had her. She was completely helpless. "I'll do what you want. Just... Just Stop. Please." Zaide smiled at Charisma as he moved away from Nadia. "You humans and your hearts. They will always be your downfall." Charisma said nothing as she took a breath. She wasn't sure if her powers would even work. As she looked at Nadia, she realized that keeping quiet about that was not the smartest idea. "I don't have that much control over it. I don't know if it'll work." "Not much of a problem," he replied as he moved forward to place his hands on either side of her face. Zaide stared into her eyes and concentrated his focus on her control. Within moments, her problems were solved. "Now give me his powers." Charisma looked over to the young boy frozen in place and murmured an apology before she brushed her fingertips over his cheek. A cold burn sizzled down her spine as his powers flowed into her. She felt uncomfortable and bloated, as if she'd eaten too much and her body wasn't working fast enough to digest. "Come to me," Zaide commanded with an outstretched hand. She looked at him for a moment, considering her options. He only stared at her in challenge, daring her to defy him. If she did as he said, he won. But if she tried to fight, he'd kill Nadia, and possibly the boy. He'd win that way as well. With a frustrated sigh, she walked to Zaide and placed her hand in his. Within seconds, the cold burn left her body and she no longer felt uncomfortable. Zaide's face reddened for the briefest of seconds before he let out a satisfied breath. She wanted to kill him. "Very good," he praised. After teleporting the boy out of the room, he walked to the red headed woman and touched his fingers to her forehead. What he saw only served to amuse him. "Interesting." Charisma did not like the look of the cruel smile that had taken over his face. She was tempted to ask him what he saw and what power she'd given him, but she knew that the move would have been useless. Zaide didn't say the things he said because the filled the silence in a room. His words were deliberate, calculated. His goal was to weaken his opponents before he shattered them. "I'll let you rest for a bit before we continue the transfers." "Wait, I thought this was supposed to happen during the full moon." Zaide tilted his head curiously as he stared at her. "What made you think that?" "Your demons. They kept saying that you needed me before the next full moon." "I do." "So what's the rush?" Zaide only smiled as he said, "I said I needed you before the next full moon, Darling. Not for it." * * * * * It took every single one of the men in the house to restrain Andraemalek. His rage at learning of Nadia's kidnapping was enough to worry them; though he was usually hot tempered, Andrae had learned to control his emotions. Now, he was a walking instrument of fury which meant that no one was safe. "You have to calm down, D.," Slade pleaded. Getting angry wouldn't help them get Nadia back. "Do not tell me to calm down, Slade," Andraemalek replied. His hands shook from potent fury and he knew the second he laid eyes on the bastard that took her from him, he wouldn't be satisfied until he had blood on his hands. "Leave him be," Alexis cautioned. He paced the length of the room as he tried to figure out what to do next. "D., I need you to stay here until we figure out how to get both Nadia and Charisma out of there safely." "I'm going to get her out, Lex." "Not until we have a plan. Just give me a minute." A minute turned out to be ten seconds, for as soon as Alexis finished giving his order, another note materialized out of thin air. Before Andraemalek had a chance to reach for it, Alexis had it opened and read the contents. "It's a formal invitation," he announced. "An invitation to what?" Alexis shrugged at Roman's question as he allowed Andraemalek to snatch the paper from his hands. "It says that Zaide requests the presence of two of us to take part in some sort of celebration." "The fuck-head thinks he won," Liam scoffed. "Why only two of us?" Draco asked. "Easier to mind-fuck two," Liam guessed. "I'm going," Jameson said. "Yes, I figured you would want to go," Alexis said with a nod. He wasn't a fan of what was to happen, but he knew it was the best way to get the women out alive. "D. will go with you." "Damned right I will." Alexis held up a hand for silence as he said, "Have Euan track you by air so that he can give us your location. We'll find a way in, get the captives out then come back for you." "We'll be fine," Andraemalek said. An army of demons was not enough to keep him from getting Nadia to safety. Draco looked at Jameson, who seemed surprisingly calm. "You ok, bro?" "I'm fine," was all Jameson said. In truth, he was just as upset as Andraemalek, but his anger was focused on himself. Had he not been the idiot to willingly allow himself to become captured, he would have been able to prevent Charisma and Nadia's capture. "We'll get them out." "This is one hell of a trap," Slade stated. There was no other explanation for the formal invitation to whatever Zaide had planned. "I don't like it," Alexis chimed in. "That's the point; we've got no choice but to play along," Jameson replied. He'd play, but his goal was to win. Zaide would pay for taking Charisma from him. "He knows he's powerful enough to subdue us and is stupid enough to think that his army is enough to keep all of you out. This is a game to him. He wants us to pay for getting in his way and most likely make examples out of us." "Ballsy," Draco sighed. "We have to concentrate on the captives," Alexis cut in. They were wasting too much time talking about trivial matters. "D., Jameson, you two go on. It's better if you two don't know exactly how we're going to get in, just in case Zaide can read minds." "But you just said what you have planned," Jameson interjected. He waited for his brother to explain himself and only sighed when he received a pointed look. "Fine. Just don't get yourselves hurt. I have enough to worry about." Daybreak Ch. 12 Charisma watched with disgust as Zaide paced the length of her room. He'd long ago sent Nadia back to the place he'd kept her; she wasn't sure if it was another room or some sort of warped dungeon made to keep her friend traumatized. The longer she remained in the same space with the demon, the more she wished she had the power to destroy him. What made matters worse was that he continued to play the gracious host; she was fed, given multiple forms of entertainment, and even a change of clothes. He'd told her that his precious gem could not be allowed to wear such common clothing while his minions held up a multitude of expensive clothing. When Charisma refused to wear the clothes, he used his powers to put his preferences. The bastard had the nerve to grin at the flash of anger in her eyes and went so far as to tell her that he was looking after her best interests. Her best interests?! He might as well have told her that pigs flew to the North Pole when they needed a vacation. "Her blood is like liquid fire," Zaide said whimsically. With every passing second, the woman's unique blood intensified the bolts of electricity that flowed through his veins. He wanted more; he wanted to bathe in the blood, to live in it. Despite the ridiculousness of the urge, he still wanted it. "Her blood is not entirely human, which means she has some sort of ability. I wonder if your blood would have the same effect." "I'll kill you first." Zaide smiled as he continued to pace. There was too much energy in his body; remaining still for even the briefest of seconds would drive him mad. "You do not have to worry. As much as I would like to, I cannot drink from you." Her head told her to leave the topic alone, but instinct told her that she needed that particular piece of information. "Why not?" "Your power is tied to your energy and your energy is tied to your blood." Zaide stopped pacing just long enough to give her a sidelong look. "Draining you means draining your powers. We can't have that, now can we?" "How did you know about me and my powers?" "Your mother." Charisma took a step back. "You- you knew my mother?" "You take after her, though she had the power to absorb powers into herself and not transfer them." Her head was swimming. Zaide knew her parents? "How..." There were too many thoughts running through her head at once. "What? I..." "She was one of my best fighters. Trained my armies for decades. Brilliant warrior." "My mother was evil?" Zaide laughed at the question. "Good, evil... Prospective changes depending on what side you're on." He continued to pace and rubbed his temples with his fingertips as he continued to speak. "After she met your father, she decided that she didn't want any part in my plans anymore. I was fully prepared to let her go without argument." He stopped pacing to look at her. "Until I learned about you." "What?" "It was only fair that she gave me what was due to me after leaving me so suddenly." "Are you saying that you're my..." "Father? Heavens no." Zaide chuckled at the thought. "Thought it certainly would have allowed me to avoid this unfortunate situation." "You wanted my mother to give me to you?" "Yes." Charisma forced herself to take a calming breath. Anger rested heavily on her chest, and it was only a matter of time before she did something foolish. "And when she wouldn't give me up?" "I'm not a man who enjoys hearing the word no. What she did not give freely, I took on my own." "You killed them, didn't you?" "If I'd killed them, would you have grown up with your adoptive family?" "Maybe." She felt her eyes narrow when he laughed. "Why didn't you take me like you planned to?" "Binding your powers until you were old enough for me to train you seemed easier than raising a child." That certainly explained why no one knew of her powers or tried to kidnap her before now. "Why should I believe any of this?" "Have I lied to you since you've been here?" "Not yet." Zaide smiled at the comeback. "Your mother's name was Amaranda. Like you, she had green eyes, but her hair was darker than the midnight skies." Using his powers, he showed her one of his greatest memories of her mother. Charisma felt her eyes water at the image of her mother using powers she acquired to slaughter a room filled with demons. The all begged for mercy, but she gave nothing. They had the same face, she and her mother, but that was as far as the similarities went. "Stop." "If it wasn't for the fact that I need you, I would show you just how much I dislike being ordered around." "I'm not afraid of you." "I never thought you were." Zaide stopped his pacing to stare at her curiously. "Let us see what you are afraid of." He walked to Charisma and smiled at the nervous look in her eyes. "I can't hurt you, remember?" When she said nothing, he touched his fingertips to her forehead. "Your greatest fear is to die alone, to be as lonely as you were before..." He disconnected the link between them to stare into her wide eyes. "My, my, is someone in love with a member of the infamous Brethren?" Charisma took a step back and forced herself to keep from hitting him. He may not hurt her, but Nadia, as well as the other hostages were expendable to him. She felt her heart drop to her feet when she realized what power he used. There was only one person she knew of who had fear recognition; Dion. "Fuck you." "I would, but you aren't my type." She ignored the backhanded insult and asked, "Why are you doing all of this?" "To take over the underworld, of course. With the Order of Zebulon destroyed, their territories are ripe for the taking." Zaide resumed his pacing for a few moments before he said, "I intend to have them all, both human and demonic." "You're insane." "It's rude to critique the sanity of your host." He walked to stand before her once more and nodded in approval when she did not step away. "With you by my side, giving me the powers I need to demolish my enemies, I'll be unstoppable." He may have hid it well beneath the layers of expensive clothing, but he was, in fact, insane. "What makes you think that I would help you?" "The same thing that tells me that you will." Zaide stepped back and crossed his arms over his chest. "Silly humans and your empathy. You'll never achieve superiority when you harbor such a weakness." "You only consider it a weakness because you're too stupid to know how to use it." Charisma gasped in surprise when he slapped her in anger. She winced at the sting of it, but stood her ground. If this was the only way to fight back, she'd do it until he lost his patience and killed her. "It would be better if you remembered that you are the only non Mordecai that is not a captive. Insolence will get you nothing you want." "Neither will working with you." "Your life isn't the only one in your hands." Charisma let out a frustrated breath. Of course he would use the hostages against her. She decided to remain quiet, lest she did something that got someone killed. Once they got out of this, she would have a serious talk with Nadia. What in the hell was she thinking, sending her to the madman? "Ah, our guests have arrived. Let us greet them together." She opened her mouth to protest, but found that the effort was futile as he used his powers to teleport them to a large hall. The white and black checkerboard floor only seemed to emphasize the large size of it, and the fact that the only furniture in the room was the large throne and matching chair at the front. All of the windows were blackened, making the candlelit room seem eerie and uncomfortable. Charisma was sure that that was the effect Zaide was looking for. There were dozens of Mordecai present, most likely to be witness to what was to happen. She watched as Jameson and Andraemalek were led into the room and would have run to him had Zaide not placed his arm around her waist. He was making it clear that he was the one who controlled the situation and that she had no say in what happened. She noticed that neither brother had a weapon, but they weren't bound. Why would they be? Zaide most likely had the power to subdue them with the simple flick of a finger. Wonderful; something else for her to worry about. What was she talking about? Had she known about her power and the role she was to take, she would have done everything she had to do to prevent this situation. It made no sense for her to try to place blame on anyone other than Zaide, the mastermind behind this nightmare. "Welcome. I'm glad you accepted my invitation." Zaide pulled Charisma toward the two chairs at the head of the hall and forced her to sit down before he took his place at the throne. "Cut the shit, Zaide," Jameson said, "What are your terms?" He was relieved to see that no harm had come to Charisma, but the sight of the demon's hands on her set his blood to a boil. He had to remember that he was on unfamiliar territory and that he could easily be made into a living statue. "Aren't we frank," Zaide replied with a smile. "No, I'm Jameson. And you're scum." Zaide narrowed his eyes as he sat back in his seat. He never liked it when people insulted him. Not since... No, he would not think of that right now. Turning to look at Charisma he said, "You know, she is quite a keeper. Can make a man extremely powerful." Jameson was done playing games. "What did you want, Zaide?" "Your powers for one." Zaide smiled at the incredulous look on Charisma's face before he turned to the men in the room. "The underworld, to see the Brethren wither and die for getting in my way. Stuff like that." "You know we won't let that happen," Jameson said. He wanted so badly to throw a bolt of fire at the son of a bitch but not only was he too close to Charisma, but he would easily block it. Once he got her out of the way, he could concentrate on battle tactics. Zaide laughed at the outrageous boast. "You act like you have a choice in the matter." Raising an arm, he teleported the not-so-human woman into the room. Within seconds, she and the half breed tried to run to each other, but he stopped the nonsense with a quick flick of the wrist. "Of course the stench was Belial. And here I thought she belonged to you, Flame Boy." Zaide watched as Jameson glanced at Charisma and laughed again once realization dawned. "Ah, I see. You two came for your precious women." He brought his attention to Andraemalek, who's skin began to darken and turn to its natural demonic state. "Tell me something; did you know that her blood is enough to drive me insane? She's not even my type, but I almost want to keep her to see if everything else is as intoxicating." Andraemalek let out a feral roar as he lunged for Zaide. He found himself frozen in place but continued to struggle against the hold Zaide had on him. He would kill the demon and find a way to bring him back from the dead just so that he could kill him again. "No, Andrae. Stop." Zaide raised his brows in interest as he watched the half breed calm down. "She's even got the power to tame you." He smiled at Andraemalek's warning growl but decided to focus his attention on Jameson. "Back to business. As much as I would love to have all twelve of you assholes here, I think what I have planned is a lot more fun." "Why play games?" Jameson asked, "Set the women free and do with us as you will." "I plan to do just that, but I'm using the women." "Leave it to a Mordecai to hide behind a woman." Jameson found himself smiling at the anger that was quick to take over the demon. Good. Let him get angry; he'd make a mistake. "I was planning on being a gracious host, but I have now changed my mind." He looked at Andraemalek and ignored the deadly stare he was given. "Belial, do you love this woman?" Andraemalek remained quiet. There was no way in hell he would give Zaide anything. His main concern was getting to Nadia and getting her to safety before he beat the life out of the demon. "I really don't like the silent treatment," Zaide said. A scant second later, he used the back of his hand to strike the woman's face. Both of his guests and Charisma cried the woman's name as she stumbled backward. "Answer me or the rest of Nadia's life will not be pleasant." "Yes, I love her," Andraemalek answered. He knew that he'd shifted to his demonic form; he was never able to remain human when such intense rage coursed through his system. Killing Zaide would not be enough; he would have to rip the demon apart limb by limb first. "Good boy," Zaide praised. He turned to Nadia and licked his lips at the drop of blood that trickled down the side of her mouth. "Do you love him?" Nadia was quick to reply. "Yes, I do." "You mush have been really desperate for a date." Zaide turned to Andraemalek and tilted his head in thought. "Andraemalek, fearsome warrior. Your abilities are useless to me since your powers are tied to your life. Nice insurance policy you animals have." He ignored the half breed's loud growl and continued, "I suppose I could be gracious enough to let you live a while longer. Don't want you to miss out on the fun." To demonstrate his power over everyone in the room, he leaned over and kissed the side of Nadia's neck. Her skin seemed to smell sweeter than it had before, and it only made him want to sink his teeth into her delicate flesh once more. Instead, he pulled away from her and said, "I just might have to let you live as well, pet." "Get your hands off her," Andraemalek said. He knew that his voice had turned guttural, threatening. The second he had control over his body, he wouldn't hold back. Zaide only turned to look at Jameson as he said, "Give me your power and I will." Jameson nodded his agreement. He'd already expected that request and if it meant protecting Nadia and Charisma, he would do anything he was asked. Their lives meant more than his ability. "That was quick." Zaide said. "No use beating around the bush," Jameson replied. "And here I thought you'd be more fun." Zaide motioned to Charisma to take Jameson's powers. He watched closely to make sure no one came up with any brilliant ideas. She mouthed an apology to the fire thrower and he almost laughed. Leave it to a human to feel she had responsibility for someone else's brilliant plan. Jameson had to remember to restrain himself when Charisma touched him. It would have been easy to grab her and shove her behind his back. Instinct told him that Zaide was anticipating a move like that, which meant that the situation would have escalated. For the first time in his life, he wished his father was available to help. Roycelyn was the only being he knew of who not only had the power to subdue Zaide, but would be willing to join the fight. At least he hoped he would; one could never be sure about his father. He never expected the pain that came with the extraction of his powers. When Charisma accidentally switched his powers with Liam, he'd felt a cold burn sizzle down his spine. Now, it felt as if someone had placed him in a compressor and slowly worked to squeeze the life out of him. Jameson didn't flinch, but he did hold his breath. It felt as if the pain would never end; Zaide's torture was more bearable than this. Just when he thought that he would fall over from the effort of seeming emotionless, Charisma pulled away from him. The second she stopped, the pain ceased. He took a breath and looked at her; her skin was red and she looked ready to hurl. An intense urge to hold her took over him. Seeing the woman he loved in such a situation made his stomach lurch. He was supposed to protect her, do any and everything possible to keep her from danger. All he'd succeeded in doing was getting her and the woman he considered a sister caught by the enemy. "Come here, Charisma." Zaide watched her walk to him and waited until she stood in front of him before saying, "You know what to do next." He hissed out a breath when she touched him. There was a moment of discomfort as he absorbed the power but it faded in moments. "Very nice," he praised before stepping away from her. Curiosity and excitement got the best of him and he eagerly threw a hand out. A burst of flame shot out and hit one of his guards at the far end of the room. Zaide ignored the tortured screams and turned to Jameson. "Since you were so cooperative, I'll give you special preference. "Do you love the woman?" Jameson didn't hesitate as he said, "I love them both." Zaide tsked at the answer. "No use beating around the bush, right Flame Boy?" He placed his hand on Charisma's back when she tried to move away from him. The game just wasn't the game if there wasn't close proximity. "Do you love Charisma?" Jameson brought his eyes to Charisma. She did not look at him, but he knew that she wanted to hear the answer. For the briefest of seconds, he could have sworn that he saw hope on her face. Hope that he did, in fact love her. "Yes, I love her." "How sweet." Zaide sat back in his seat and causally crossed one leg over the other. "She loves you too, you know." The look of shock on Jameson's face was classic. He would have loved to take time to exploit that, but he had other matters to take care of. With a clap of his hands he announced, "Two happy couples." "I am going to enjoy tearing you apart," Andraemalek announced. He glanced at Nadia, who, like him, had remained exceptionally quiet. She didn't look scared, but the potent scent of her fear was strong enough to make his stomach turn. He'd never known her to be so frightened. "Let's play a game." Zaide stood and walked to his quests and made sure to keep them restrained as he touched his fingertips to their foreheads. "One of the nifty gifts Charisma bestowed on me was fear recognition." He watched as the men shifted their eyes to look at each other, but paid no mind to it. "I suppose you should know that the Belial's greatest fear is losing his precious Nadia. Tell me something, Jameson; would choosing your happiness over your brother's constitute betrayal?" Zaide smiled at the hesitant and questioning looks on Jameson's face before he continued, "I mean, betraying a brother is your greatest fear. I wonder how that would work." Jameson did not like the direction Zaide's twisted game was headed. "You need them both." "Not really. The second Charisma gives me the power of mind control, I won't really need her to transfer powers to me, will I?" "You couldn't stand the thought of others doing your dirty work." Zaide wasn't in the mood to agree with that very important fact. "I'd learn to deal." He remained quiet for a moment, then moved to stand between the objects of his game. "So choose, Jameson; Nadia, or precious Charisma. Who dies?" Andraemalek let out another roar of outrage and used all of his strength to fight the hold Zaide had on him. His efforts were useless, but he didn't give up. There was no way in hell anyone would put their hands on Nadia. Not again. Jameson completely agreed with his brother's feelings about the situation. He knew that Zaide was sick, but he never guessed that the demon was so sadistic. "No," he said, "I won't choose." "So I'll kill them both." "No!" Nadia screamed. She looked from Jameson to Andraemalek before she said, "Remember what I told you; the Brethren is most important." Andraemalek shook his head in denial. "I will not lose you again." He'd barely gotten over her last death. To even think that she'd be taken away again... No, he could not let that happen. "No." "We don't have a choice," Nadia reasoned, "It was supposed to happen." "What?" "I wasn't allowed to say," whispered, "I have to go." Andraemalek fought against his restraints again. He needed to go to her, to talk sense into her. She wasn't supposed to die; she was supposed to be with him. They were having a house built in paradise, a home where they could raise their children. Death was not an option. "I will not let you sacrifice yourself." Daybreak Ch. 12 "Andrae-" "I refuse to live without you." "I can arrange something," Zaide offered. He laughed when the half breed growled at him. Though he understood the frustration, he had no intention of stopping it. "Choose, Jameson." "Jameson, choose me." Charisma nodded slowly to emphasize the order. Nadia was like a sister to him and the love of Andrae's life. She loved him enough to do what she had to do to keep his family together. "I can't," Jameson said with a shake of his head. He was terrified; he loved both women and though his love for them differed, he still couldn't choose. How was he supposed to live without Charisma? How could he be the deciding factor of the end of his sister's life? He couldn't choose, but if he didn't he'd lose them both. For the first time in his life, he hated his father. "I can't." "You can't take her from your brother." "He has to," Nadia interrupted. "No!" Andraemalek shouted. "Jameson, I'm begging you to choose me." Nadia ignored the tears that slowly rolled down her face. She had to get him to understand why he had to choose her. "If you expect to get out of this, I have to die. Choose me." Andraemalek kept his eyes on Nadia as he said, "If you choose her, I'll kill you myself." "Andrae, no. Remember what I said. Charisma has to live." Andramalek looked at his brother. He knew that Jameson was in a tough spot, but he didn't care. Nadia came first. "If you ever loved me, you will not take her away from me." "Think of the greater good," Nadia reasoned. "I don't want to die, but I have to do my part in protecting the Brethren." Jameson shook his head and brought he focus on the ground before him. How was he supposed to do this? Kill the love of his life and hate himself, or kill his sister and have his brother hate him enough to want to kill him. It didn't matter what he chose; someone was going to die. "I can't." "Choose or I take both." "Don't you do it, Jameson." Andraemalek warned. "I'm getting impatient." "I-" Jameson looked up and found his eyes connecting with Nadia. Her eyes showed her support; there wasn't even the slightest flicker of hate or resentment. She nodded slowly, as if making the decision for him. He was going to be sick. "Nadia..." "It's going to be ok, Jameson." Nadia nodded again and forced a smile for his benefit. "I forgive you." With that simple statement, Jameson hung his head in shame. He couldn't bear to look at anyone as he said, "Nadia. Nadia dies." He allowed his tears to fall and felt his stomach lurch at Andraemalek's soul-shattering bellow. He'd betrayed his brother because he was too selfish to let go of the love of his life. Zaide applauded the scene in front of him. It was better than any movie he'd ever seen. "This just keeps getting better." He walked to Nadia, who kept her concentration on the murderous half breed. "You would have been fun to keep around." He leaned forward to place a kiss on her cheek. "But this is fun too." Her eyes didn't give him any hint of her emotional state, which he found interesting. Zaide prided himself on being able to get anyone to reveal their emotions to him. Yes, she would have been a lot of fun to have around. "Just think; at daybreak, you get to live out your greatest fear. Three for one deal. I like it." _________ Another short installment. Sorry guys, but this pretty much the length of the chapters for the remainder of the story. You'll understand why as you read on. Daybreak Ch. 13 Nadia turned to look at Andraemalek and found him staring at her angrily. She knew that he thought that she'd given up on him and that she'd finally found a way to leave him and his life. There was no longer any life in his eyes. The black pools seemed endless and void. He didn't understand her motives, that she was doing what she had to do to protect her family. He probably never would, a fact that broke her heart. "Can I say goodbye to them?" Zaide thought for a moment, considering the repercussions of the request. Nadia wasn't capable of escape, and he'd make sure he was in the next room in case anything happened. "I don't see a problem with that." Her request also gave him time to rearrange his plans. "Alone," Nadia demanded, "And none of your mojo." "Do you think I'm an idiot?" Nadia shifted her eyes to look at the demon that was to take her life. "You really don't want to know what I think about you." "And here I thought you found me charming." "Just say yes, Zaide." He smiled at her bold command as he said, "Ten minutes." "Sixty," Nadia corrected. When he tried to argue, she added, "Grant a dying woman her last wish." He couldn't really argue with that. It was the least he could do. "Fine. One hour starting now." Zaide looked to his followers, the witnesses to his little game. "Let's give them some privacy." He waited until the room cleared before teleporting himself out. Nadia immediately walked to Andraemalek. Neither he nor Jameson could move, which meant that there was no hope of them getting out before her death. She reached out to touch her hand to the side of his face and did not fight the fresh tears that fell. She would never get to touch him again. "Andrae." "How could you do this, Nadia?" His voice was gruff, a clear sign that he fought hard to mask his despair with anger. "Baby, I'm sorry. I had to do this." Though he could not move, she still hugged him, hoping that he still accepted her love. "Please don't hate me or Jameson." This choice had been taken from his hands; the only person he should have hated was Zaide. "I could never hate you." She didn't say anything to his particular phrasing. "Give me a minute to say goodbye to them." Nadia didn't wait for his agreement and quickly walked to the front of the room where Charisma stood frozen. Her friend couldn't look her in the eye and it was clear that she blamed herself for what was about to happen. "Jameson is really going to need you after this. Don't let him down." "Why, Nadia?" Nadia knew what she was asked. "The world needs you more than me right now. It had to be done." Charisma found it hard to believe that Nadia wasn't in the middle of a severe anxiety attack. Didn't she understand the monumental sacrifice she was making? She was going to die and acted as if she'd only lost her favorite pet. "How can you be so calm about this?" "It's not the first time I'm going to die." "But no one's going to bring you back this time." Nadia looked away for a moment. She didn't want to think about that. "I'm glad he finally found you." "Nadia-" "It's going to be tough for a while, but you two can make it. Please be there for him." Charisma tried to fight the knot in her throat that signaled tears, but knew that there was no use. "Nadia, please don't do this." She wished she could have reached out to her friend; the contact could have given Nadia some kind of sense. "It's already been done." Nadia placed a kiss on Charisma's cheek before she walked to Jameson's sullen form. He refused to make eye contact with her as well and while she understood why, she still did not like it. "Jameson, look at me." "Please don't ask me to do anything else for you." She let out a breath before she said, "Don't blame yourself." The ludicrous request prompted him to look at her. "Don't blame myself?" The pleading look in Nadia's eyes did nothing to calm him. "Nadia, I've just taken you from my own brother." How could she ask him to take this lightly? "No, Zaide is taking me from your brother." The correction did nothing to placate him, she knew, but it needed to be said. Nadia took a step forward and made sure to lower her voice as she said, "I couldn't let her grow to resent you." "What?" "He would have chosen me no matter what you said." The impact of Nadia's words made him stare at her in disbelief. "You knew you were going to die?" How could she know that and not tell anyone? Didn't she know that they would have done something, anything to keep her safe? Nadia's answer was to wrap her arms around him as a show of affection and comfort. She didn't see the use in dwelling on what was to happen. There were too many other important things to be said and done. "Andrae will be understandably upset for a while. Well, a long time, but he will come back." "I'm not sure about that." "No matter how he feels, his love for you will never die." She glanced at Charisma who stood watching and added, "Take care of her. She's going to blame herself for this." "Not as much as I'll blame myself." He should have never allowed himself to become bait. He could have done something to prevent this. Selfishness was the cause; had he fought to keep his feelings under control, he would have had more room to think clearly. He would have seen this coming. He could have... "I'm so sorry, Nadia." "Remind her that what I see can't be changed. Everyone will heal. Give it time and you will too." "Why aren't you scared?" "I'm terrified," Nadia replied on a slight laugh, "But who's being scared going to help?" She tilted her head to the side at the odd sound in the room. "Roman?" "I can get you out," Roman declared as he became visible. His part of the plan was to infiltrate the compound and find the captives. He'd not only that and informed Alexis of their location, but he'd found a way back into the compound. He'd witnessed everything and would have killed Zaide himself, but the demon had his brother's powers. Jameson needed them back before the bastard died. "No, he'll just use his powers to bring me back." "You have to let me try." "I won't risk anyone else getting hurt for me. You guys are about to go through enough." Nadia walked to the curious twin and took his hands in hers. She forced a smile for his benefit, because it made no sense to show him that there was a part of her that secretly wished that he could take her away. "I'm sorry that we didn't get to know each other longer." "Let me try," Roman pleaded. He could find a way to get her out. "You don't have to die." "There's no use arguing," Andraemalek called out, "She wants to go. She wants to leave us." "What I want is to be with my family but I guess I'll have to settle for watching over you guys instead." Roman wanted to argue, wanted to say more, but no words came to him. How did he tell someone that he'd only known for a few days that her sacrifice only made him love her more? She was part of his family and the knowledge of his helplessness devastated him. "Nadia..." He stopped when she pulled him in for a hug. She was shaking, he noticed, but he said nothing to it. She needed support, not argument. "Tell Lex that his favor will be returned when he least expects it." Nadia moved to pull away but stopped when he tightened his hold. On impulse, she lifted herself to the tips of her toes and beckoned him lower. "Wait for the flash of light in the darkness," she whispered, "When you see it, take three steps forward." She stepped back and glanced at Charisma as she said, "I know they can't move, but maybe they can be moved. Why don't you go see if you can bring Charisma to Jameson? I need to be with Andrae." Roman wasn't given a chance to answer as Nadia swiftly walked away from him. Because he wanted to make her happy, he did as he asked and pleased when he was quickly able to move Charisma to Jameson's side. "This is seriously fucked up." "Yeah." Jameson would have nodded if he had control of his body. Instead, he only glanced at Nadia, who occupied herself with saying goodbye to the love of her life. His brother. The person he'd just betrayed. "You should go tell the others what's about to happen." Though he wanted to stay, Roman knew that his brother's words were wise. With a nod, he shifted into his invisible form and left the room. "This is my fault, Jameson." Jameson shifted his eyes to Charisma and felt his heart constrict at the pain in her eyes. "No, it's not your fault." "I shouldn't have listened to her," she pressed, "She kept telling me that I had to go, that I would save your life if I willingly gave myself up. I shouldn't have listened to her." "Baby, don't blame yourself. We'll get through this." He wasn't sure if he was lying or if he was being hopeful. Too much was happening too fast, much too fast for him to process adequately. "How do you know?" Charisma didn't understand how he was so sure of his words after everything that happened. They were about to lose someone they cared about because she was stupid enough to let herself become captured. What made her feel worse was the fact that she was also glad that she wasn't chosen because that meant that not only did Jameson love her enough to be so selfish, but that she'd have the time to show him that he wouldn't regret his decision. What kind of friend was she to think such things? She should have been the one knocking on death's door, not Nadia. "I don't," he replied, "But we have to tell ourselves something." He wished he was able to touch her, to hold her in his arms. Jameson needed her comfort, needed to comfort her. He didn't think he could hold himself together much longer. He shifted his eyes to his brother, who was firmly wrapped within Nadia's embrace. They both cried as she placed loving kisses along the side of his face and neck. Hushed words were spoken between them, but Jameson didn't need to hear them to know what they spoke of. "I love you," he said. "I love you too," Charisma replied. She kept her eyes on Jameson as she spoke. Nadia and Anraemalek needed as much privacy as she could give them. "I'm sorry it took me so long to say it." "We have the rest of our lives to say it," Jameson declared. He brought his eyes to Charisma and forced a smile. It was the only move he could think of to comfort her. * * * * * Zaide decided to make it a show. The hall had been redecorated to look like a funeral; black rose petals were strategically placed along the red-carpeted floor and bouquets of the same flower were neatly arranged on a table the demon teleported into the room. In place of his throne was a long table. Beside it, a smaller table littered with what looked like surgical instruments stood menacing and scary with the way the candlelight bounced off the metal objects. The sight of it alone gave Charisma shivers. She, as well as Andraemalek and Jameson had remained frozen while the changes were made. Nadia had been sent away to prepare for what was to come. No one save Zaide spoke. What was there to say? Someone who was loved and cared for was about to die. Zaide did not like seeing her near Jameson and made quick work of moving her to the far end of the room, near the table. The table Nadia was to die on. She'd tried to negotiate with Zaide, promising to stay with him and do whatever he asked of her if he'd let her friend live, but he'd made his decision; nothing would change his mind. It only took thirty minutes to prepare the room. The dim candlelight highlighted the somber tone of the upcoming event. Had Charisma any control of her body, she would have done more than scowl at the sight of Zaide's army poised and waiting for what was to come. A gift for his loyal followers, he'd declared; they'd worked hard for him all these centuries. The least he could do was shed a little blood on their behalf. Charisma shifted her eyes so that she could look at Jameson. Though he stared at the ground, the pure rage emanating from him was difficult to ignore. Whether he was angry on behalf of Nadia or angry at himself, she wasn't sure. Had she been able to, she would have gone to him, given him the comfort he needed. Nadia asked her to look after him and Charisma would fulfill her friend's request until her dying day. "Everything is ready," Zaide declared, "We'll begin in a moment." Charisma felt her heartbeat accelerate dangerously. There was nothing anyone could do to stop this. Tears welled up in her eyes and for the first time in her life, she wished that she'd never been born. And when Nadia had been brought back to the room, she couldn't find herself to look away from her. Zaide had decided to give Nadia a makeover of sorts; her hair hung in mesmerizing waves down her back and shone brightly, as if she'd just walked out of a shampoo advertisement. He'd dressed her in a long black gown; the crystals used to enhance the soft fabric glittered in the firelight. "Lovely," Zaide praised. He ignored the low, menacing growl that came from Andraemalek as he placed Nadia on the table. "Do you have any last words, darling?" Nadia waited until she'd been tightly secured before she said, "Your heart will be your destruction." "I'm a demon, sweetheart. We don't have hearts." He felt his brow lift at the glow in her eyes. "A Daemis. I should have known. You really would have been fun to keep around." Nadia's only reaction to his statement was to turn her head to look at Andraemalek. She had nothing more to say to the demon and wanted the last thing she ever saw to be Andrae's face. His expression was blank, but the devastation in his eyes ate at her soul. Had there been a way around this injustice, she would have fought for it. But as a Daemis, she saw things that could not be changed. And she'd seen her own death. She had to leave her loved ones behind. She didn't know what the High Council was about, considering they were the ones to give her the visions, but it wasn't as if she could ask. Time would answer her questions. Zaide took a moment to look at the woman in front of him. Her focus was concentrated on the half breed. Neither one of them looked away from the other and it was quite apparent that their connection wouldn't break until she took her last breath. He remembered a time when he would have felt the same, when he would not have looked away from crystal blue eyes. A vision of golden hair shining in the sunlight gave him pause and he had to take a moment to clear his thoughts before he proceeded. Zaide lifted a delicate surgical blade into his hand and raised it to begin his special ceremony, but stopped when he looked at the woman once more. "Are you ready?" "Are you?" Nadia replied. Zaide smiled before he looked out to his followers. "If only they all showed such courage." As a small show of praise, he ran the tips of his fingers over the lines of her face and neck, stopping at the intoxicating thrum of her pulse. "I was surprised to learn that you greatest fear was simply dying before you had a chance to pass your test, whatever it was." The feeling of her accelerating heart rate made his mouth water and his body throb in anticipation. "I originally planned on putting on a brilliant show for my people, but the memory of your blood holds me back. I should have known what you were when I tasted you the first time; blood that potent could only come from a Daemis." He slowly ran his fingertip over her raging pulse and smiled when she involuntarily shuddered. "It would be a shame to waste all of that wonderful blood." The half breed's growling was quickly shredding his patience. Zaide used his powers to put Andraemalek on mute before refocusing his attention on Nadia. As he leaned down to inhale the scent of her skin he murmured, "Just one more taste." Charisma watched in horror as Zaide sunk his teeth into Nadia's tender skin once more. The demon held nothing back as he drank from her; his grunts and slurps of ecstasy filled her ears and made her stomach lurch. She wanted to look away but found that she couldn't; the horror of what was happening kept her riveted on the scene before her. His eyes were half opened, and it was clear, even from her place in the room that arousal coursed through him. Charisma almost expected him to rip Nadia's clothes off and take her right there in front of everyone. She hoped he wouldn't; this was more than enough for her to take. The small tingles Zaide felt the first time he fed from Nadia became a raging fire as he feasted a second time. His blood felt like lava in his veins and his head became heavy. Distant voices, ones he'd never heard before, called orders out to him, urging him to kill her. The voices began as hushed whispers that pulled at his control, but more he drank, the louder the voices became and all too soon, he became lost in the sea of orders washing over him. They were yelling at him to end her life, to make it quick. "Quiet," he whispered. His head began to throb unbearably with the voices. These new, foreign voices were slowly taking control of him, making him want to do anything to take control of his own mind. He looked at Nadia's still body and the voices became louder still; they told him that she did not deserve to live and that she needed a swift death. "Silence!" Zaide shouted. He needed a moment to calm himself, to gain a sense of control. Staring at Nadia only made him crave; not for more blood as he did earlier, but to end her life. To kill her. Before he realized what he was doing, he altered his grip on the blade and plunged it into her chest. The second he'd delivered the blow, the voices stopped. Charisma choked out a sob when Nadia whispered a last declaration of love to Andraemalek. Her voice was soft and calm, but it was enough to make Charisma feel as if she'd shouted. And then with one quick strike, her life was taken. Nadia only emitted a soft gasp of pain as the blade was buried deep within her chest. Charisma felt the bile in her stomach rise as she listened to her friend's last breaths. Nadia's death was quick, but it was not easy; the last remaining bits of blood on her body pooled out of her mouth and as the life slowly dimmed from her eyes, her body convulsed. Charisma wanted to scream, wanted to express her anger and devastation, but found that there was nothing. There was only silence as she watched her friend die. A tense moment of silence passed before a blast of energy radiated out from Nadia's body. Like the day in the manor, everyone was knocked off their feet. As she hit the ground, Charisma shouted in fear. The candles blew out, leaving everyone on a void of darkness. Out of nowhere, a flash of light sizzled through the room and forced her eyes closed because of the brightness. Just as soon as it came, the light was gone. And then all hell broke loose. ___________________ Ah, I can almost smell the anger coming off you guys. Daybreak Ch. 14 Roman, who had found a way back into the room waited for his queue patiently. He'd hoped that the flash of light would have appeared before Zaide had a chance to finish his show, but when Nadia's last breath came and his chest seized in mourning, he stopped hoping. The long and tense moment of silence did nothing to soothe his thoughts. And then he'd been forcefully lifted off his feet. Roman only had seconds to clear his head before he pushed himself up, just in time to see the bright flash of light that illuminated the room for a brief moment. He immediately took three steps forward and waited. The distinct whiz of an arrow had him clenching his fists in anticipation. The arrow hit its mark; Zaide let out a furious roar. He threw out a fireball and used his powers to relight the candles and it was then that Roman noticed Draco and multiple Slades fighting Zaide's followers. He was proud to see that they looked bored as they killed the demons, which only meant that they knew that they had a chance of winning. As his brothers fought, he went to Jameson and Andraemalek. Neither one of his brothers bothered to move and he wasn't sure if it was because of Zaide's powers. "Can you move?" Jameson, who'd finally managed to look at something other than the floor, stared up at his brother. It only took him a moment to realize that he'd moved his head to look at Roman. "Yeah," he said as he gained his feet. He sought out Charisma, determined to get her away from Zaide before he killed the bastard. "Check on D." "He's busy ripping heads off," Roman replied. Jameson took a moment to look over and found Andraemalek in the middle of a fight with five Mordecai. His brother wasted no time ripping the demons apart as his rage at them had turned him into a madman. "Watch his back," Jameson told Roman. He had other things to take care of. He didn't see Charisma, but Zaide remained in his sights. The demon leader looked dazed and slightly pained, which gave Jameson the advantage he needed. He rushed forward and dodged flying body parts as he attacked Zaide. Three solid blows to the demon's face and chest forced them both toward the corner of the room. Zaide laughed as he countered Jameson's moves. He had to ignore the deafening voices in his head that abruptly returned in order to concentrate on the fight; the effort wasn't easy as the voices interfered with his abilities. The louder they screamed, the harder it was for him to concentrate on his abilities. He managed to kick Jameson back and used his opening to freeze his opponent in place. Zaide used his opportunity to clear his head enough to win the battle. As long as he did not listen to the voices, he had control of himself. He manifested a large fireball and stared at his creation as he said, "I'm going to enjoy watching you burn." Just as he was going to throw the fireball, it disappeared from his hand. Pain rushed over him, and he felt as if he was gripped in an impossibly tight vice. The pain was debilitating enough to keep him frozen in place. It was also enough for his magical hold on Jameson to break. Charisma placed a hand on her stomach as she hurried to Jameson. She'd done a very stupid thing. By the furious look in Jameson's eyes, she would hear just how stupid that was later. She didn't wait for him to question her; she simply placed her hand on his neck and allowed his power to flow into his body. Once Jameson's powers were returned, she found herself being shoved toward the corner where he could see her. Charisma wanted to help and knew that if she simply got her hands on something heavy, she would be able to kill some of the demons the brothers battled. There were so many of them; it seemed that no matter how many clones Slade created, there were still outnumbered six to one. Andraemalek seemed to relish the fight; ripping the heads off the demons seemed to be his only battle tactic. Draco and Roman worked together to fight, often throwing each other at the demons to gain momentum. Where were Liam and Alexis? Charisma was sure that the redhead would relish a battle of this magnitude. Alexis would also fight and his presence would help even the odds. "I am going to enjoy punishing you for that," Zaide declared. He hadn't expected her to find a way behind him to steal Jameson's powers. Though it had only taken him a minute to regain his senses, the loss of the ability enraged him beyond sanity. "You won't be alive long enough," Jameson said. He rushed forward and used momentum to push off the ground. While in mid-air, he spun and prepared to kick but cursed when he found himself frozen once more. "Where is your head, Flame Boy?" Zaide moved forward slowly, allowing himself to look into Jameson's eyes. "Just because I can't burn you alive, does not mean I've lost all of my other abilities." He used his powers to close off the air passages in Jameson's body and smiled cruelly as he gasped for breath. He wanted the man to suffer; suffocation seemed a good enough method for him to die. Charisma watched in horror as Zaide slowly choked the life out of Jameson. The sick gleam in the demon's eyes made her glance to the table where Nadia's lifeless body lay. Rage coursed through her and prompted her to grab the first thing she saw; a three-sided etching tool used for carving. Without thinking, she ran forward and plunged the tool into the center of Zaide's back. In a roar of fury, Zaide turned to attack. His eyes widened at seeing Charisma behind him before they narrowed in displeasure. He did not want to kill the woman; he still needed her abilities once he eliminated his enemies. Reminding her of her place, however was important, especially if he expected no other trouble from her. Zaide raised his arm high to strike and swung hard to hit Charisma and could only frown in confusion when his hand bounced off thin air. A second later, he felt his body begin to freeze in place. Charisma watched in wonder as Alexis and Liam guided the captives into the room. Together a mall number of the scared men and women chanted, concentrating their focus on Zaide. They ignored his screams and protests as they chanted louder. Soon, a small vortex materialized around him and as his body began to dematerialize, Charisma took a step back. Zaide was being sucked into the vortex and for the first time since she met him, he was powerless; there was nothing he could do to control the situation. Within moments, he'd disappeared and all that was left of him was the tool she'd lodged in his back. Charisma figured that the men and women who chanted had to be witches of some sort as she knew for a fact that neither the brothers nor Dion had the power to make that happen. She didn't know how they all knew what to say and didn't bother to care; Zaide was gone. At the sight of the destruction of their leader, the remainder of the Mordecai army swiftly fled. The brothers nodded to one another, acknowledging their victory. A loud bark in the background had the newly freed captives leaving the room as well. It almost seemed as if the battle never occurred. Almost. Charisma let the shock of the night consume her; tremors of fear and pain coursed through her, forcing her to her knees. The strength seeped out of her body and she found herself saying a silent prayer of thanks that she'd survived. She also said a prayer for Jameson's life. Again, guilt washed over her; she had no right to be thankful for her or Jameson's life, especially when it meant that they had to acknowledge the lifeless body left on display at the front of the room. It took the identical look of shock on Alexis' and Liam's faces for Jameson to look at Nadia's body. She didn't even look dead; she faced everyone in the room seemingly staring at them because she never closed her eyes. If it wasn't for the surgical blade still embedded in her chest, one would have thought that the Daemis was simply frozen in place. "What the fuck happened?" Liam asked incredulously. No one answered the question. They all silently watched as Andraemalek walked to Nadia's body. He leaned down to place a kiss on her slightly parted and cold lips as he pulled the blade out of her chest. He lifted her into his arms and shimmered out of the room, leaving everyone to stare at each other. No one, save Jameson moved. He slowly walked to Charisma and lifted her into his arm as she cried. He, too, let his tears fall freely, allowing his brothers the knowledge of what he'd survived. "I'm so sorry," Charisma whispered. She allowed Jameson to carry her out of the room and as they neared Liam, she reached out to place a hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry," she said again. Liam only stared at the table. Jameson carried Charisma out of the room, tightening his hold on her as he remembered how close he was to losing her. Conflicting emotions battled within him, and it wasn't long before he gave up and only concentrated on the woman in his arms. The rising sunlight prompted him to walk faster; soon there would be the normal activity of the city. Cars would race passed and those who chose to live near the abandoned section would rush through it to begin their day. "I love you," he murmured. Fresh, stinging tears escaped Charisma's eyes as she nodded. "I love you too." This wasn't the kind of start she wanted with him, but after coming so close to death, she wasn't about to let him go. She made Nadia a promise and she would see it through. Loving Jameson was simply a wonderful bonus. "I would have taken her place to keep you alive." Jameson remembered Nadia's revelation and only nodded in answer. "I know. I would die for you too." The cool night air did nothing to soothe him; with the exception of his time with Charisma, nothing would ebb the pain of his loss, of the loss he'd forced on his brother. Nadia's revelation did nothing to ease the burn of the ultimatum he'd been given, of the choice he made. "What happens now?" He stepped over a wayward limb before he said, "We say goodbye." * * * * * Charisma and Jameson returned to the safe house to find the living room littered with his brothers. Andraemalek wasn't there, but he'd taken the time to dress Nadia in ceremonial burial robes before placing her body on the couch. He'd also taken the time out to close her eyes. She looked very peaceful in the plum colored velvet robes, as if she were only napping. Her skin was ashen but still glowing, a common sign for someone of her paranormal status. It was common for the skin of a Daemis to glow after death and Jameson used to think it was because of the blood still in the body. But there was no blood; Zaide had drained her of it. "Roman told us what happened," Slade said. With such a heavy silence in the air, he thought it best to be the one to begin some form of communication. He'd barely known Nadia a week, but yet she'd found a way to wiggle herself into his affections. Had he known this was to happen, he would have come home earlier, would have spent more time with her. He would have found a way to help. "She didn't tell anyone." "She couldn't," Alexis replied. He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand as he stared at the body in the room. He couldn't call it Nadia; Nadia was a woman filled with life and love. A woman who risked everything for the ones she loved. The body in the room wasn't any of those things. "What she sees can't be changed." "We could have tried something anyway," Liam muttered. Fighting was his in his blood; he fought for the innocent, and he fought to protect his family. Nadia fell into both categories so it only made sense that he would have done anything possible to protect her. "Liam, she did what any one of us would have done," Roman tried to reason. It was the main reason he didn't fight harder to convince her to leave. He understood her motives and after putting himself in her place, he realized that he would have done the same. Her decision was still difficult for him to accept, however, and it made him that much more conflicted about whether to mourn her or celebrate her sacrifice. "If that's not devotion and loyalty, I don't know what that is," Draco added. "And look what it got her." Liam shook his head in disgust at the price innocent people had to pay for becoming part of their lives. "This is why we shouldn't have mates." "Liam," Jameson warned. He understood his brother's line of reasoning, but that didn't mean he would allow the redhead to demean the relationship Nadia had with Andraemalek or the relationship he had with Charisma. Liam turned and walked to stand in front of Jameson before he said, "Liam, nothing. Every single one of us knows that we'll be the ones paying for the old man's brilliant idea until we die. Nadia is a prime example of that." "It won't always be like this." Liam shook his head at his brother. "That's what you want to think because of Charisma. But tell me this. If the wondrous High Council wasn't out to punish us for his sins, why in the fuck would they show Nadia something as awful as what she had to go through?" Jameson didn't have an answer to that. Part of him agreed with what Liam said, but another, more optimistic part didn't want to believe that the High Council would be so cruel as to force them into their line of work and not allow them a small piece of comfort. "She wouldn't want you to act this way." "Something tells me she wouldn't want to be dead either," Slade interjected. He'd remained silent as he listened to his brothers argue, unsure of what view he wanted to take. He didn't think anyone noticed Euan enter the room before switching to his canine form. His brother quietly walked to Nadia's body and rested his chin on her stomach. Slade knew that Euan was taking time to say his goodbyes; he refocused his attention on Liam and Jameson to give Euan the privacy he needed. "But she is dead," Alexis said. "And she wouldn't want us arguing like this," Jameson defended. "Stop!" Liam shouted. "Stop talking about her like she's not-" Jameson watched as Liam paused to stare at the ground. He knew that his brother was having a hard time accepting what happened. They all were. "Like she's not here? She's not, Liam. Not anymore." Jameson found himself sighing when Liam pushed passed him to walk out of the room. He let out a very tired breath as he ran a hand over his disheveled hair. Suddenly, he didn't think he'd make it through the next five minutes without losing it. Charisma sensed Jameson's distress and placed her hand in his. It was a small show of support, but she knew that it was what he needed when he gave her hand an appreciative squeeze. She didn't look at Nadia's body again, primarily because she knew that she would need to be sedated if she did. Instead, she focused her attention on the hand securely held in Jameson's. They were linked and gave each other the support that kept them calm. As long as he held on, she would be fine. The silence in the room was enough to make even the most patient of people uncomfortable. Charisma thought it best to keep from asking questions; there was a great potential for another argument. She did not want to be the cause of it. For hours she stood in the room with Jameson and his brothers; the only time anyone left the room was to either have a moment alone, or to get her something to eat. Like she could; a permanent reminder of what her new life was about lay not five feet away. Charisma desperately wanted to ask Jameson why they stood. It was obvious that they were waiting, but she didn't know what for. With every passing minute, the air in the room became thicker, heavier, as if emphasizing the seriousness of what was to come. She didn't want any more surprises; Charisma wanted her new family to heal. "Did anyone tell Caleb?" Alexis only looked at Slade for a moment before he shook his head. "He probably already knows." Caleb's telepathic abilities allowed him and Euan to mentally communicate during times of high stress. If Euan didn't outright tell him, Caleb would still know because of the distress his brother felt. "He'll say goodbye when he's ready to." "I don't think anyone is ready to," Draco announced. "No, we aren't," Jameson said. He looked out the window and sighed at the sight of the setting sun. "The sun is setting." The announcement set Alexis in motion. "It's time." "We can't do this without D.," Roman interrupted. "They said their goodbyes in that room," Jameson said, "You saw the look in his eyes. He doesn't want to watch her go." "But he should be here for the ritual." "What ritual?" Charisma asked. Yet another part of their life she would have to learn. Jameson chose to acknowledge Roman's statement first. "He should be here, but he isn't going to be. I don't blame him." "Neither do I." Liam crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned his shoulder against the door jamb. "Everything is set up for the ritual." "We have to set Nadia's soul free," Jameson explained to Charisma. "When someone we love dies, we burn the body so that the High Council will allow the soul to be reborn." He neglected to mention that reincarnation was entirely up to the High Council. If they so chose, the soul could be implanted into a newborn animal, or worse, a dead body that already contained a soul. Such a fate was worse than what most would consider hell. "I thought a soul just left a body once someone dies." At least that's what she'd been taught growing up. "No, a body can't live very long without a soul, but a soul can stay inside a dead body indefinitely." A flash of a cemetery came to Charisma's mind. "So the people who are buried..." Jameson remained silent as he watched Alexis walk to Nadia's body. He brushed his fingertips over her hair. Even the silken strands were cold with death. The second he touched her, a soft, gentle breezed swept through the room. It was a comforting breeze, one that made Jameson remember to value the life he hadn't lost. The life he would live with Charisma. "It's time," Alexis said. Everyone watched Liam walk to Nadia's body. The usually gruff man lifted her into his arms and placed a gentle kiss on her cold brow before he walked out of the room. The others followed behind him. Jameson would have followed as well but stopped when Charisma remained rooted in place. "What's wrong?" "I don't think I can watch again." He pulled her into his arms and rested his chin on her forehead. "This is our way of sending her on a peaceful journey." "But if I'd stayed here-" Jameson quickly calmed her rising panic by placing a soft kiss on her lips. "You did what you thought was right. We have to thank her for giving up her love so that we could have ours. We have to be there to bless her next life with happiness." Another breeze caressed the room, causing Charisma to sigh. She wasn't able to blame herself when that breeze washed over her. "Ok. Just don't..." She looked down at their still joined hands before saying, "I won't be able to get through it without you." "I'll be right there next to you the entire time. I'll never leave your side again." Charisma nodded in relief and allowed Jameson to lead her toward the door. "Shouldn't we close the windows before we leave?" There was no telling when anyone would be in the house again and with the risk of rain, closing the windows seemed like a smart choice. Jameson didn't look back as he said, "The windows in this safe house are bolted shut." ___________ I know I know... Another short one. Forgive me; there is a method to my madness. Daybreak Ch. 15 The ceremony was to take place on the hill crest on the manor grounds. Five black flags, each encrusted with gold etching were placed in a semi-circle around a similarly decorated alter. The alter was made to look like the bottom half of a coffin; a flattened body pillow covered in gold satin was placed on the alter top. Red rose petals were sprinkled on it and around the alter. Torches flanked two sides of the alter and paired with the lack of moonlight, the scene felt like a dramatic painting the viewer could not escape. Charisma tightened her grip on Jameson's hand as they approached the alter. Nadia's body wasn't present, but that did nothing to remedy the heaviness in the pit of her stomach. "What should I do?" "We have to wait for the body to be brought out." "And then?" Jameson looked at the ground solemnly as he said, "And then we watch as Alexis sets it on fire." There wasn't much else to the ceremony; prayers weren't needed because they knew exactly where the soul would go. Everyone had said their goodbyes and there were no other special preparations to make. All that was left to do was wait. Charisma felt his tension and decided to remain silent until it was necessary for her to speak. She wasn't sure that there was anything she could say at this point; they were about to burn someone who'd given up her life for them. They were about to burn someone they loved. Charisma let out a tired breath and found herself straightening in tense anticipation when she noticed Liam carrying Nadia's body toward the alter. Behind him, the brothers followed. They walked slowly, almost as if trying to delay the inevitable. Their focus was the alter before them. Liam gently placed the body and the men helped to adjust the robes and her limbs. Nadia's body was still pliable, an observation that made Charisma frown; rigor mortis should have set in by now. But what did it matter? It wasn't as if Nadia would be using the body any time soon. Alexis directed everyone to stand around the alter in a semi-circle opposite the flags. "If anyone has anything else to say to her, say it now before I... Before..." He forced himself to calm down before he became too emotional. "Say it now or keep it to yourself." "Why is Alexis doing it?" What Charisma meant to ask was why the quiet dictator of the family took the responsibility of burning Nadia's body. In her eyes, Andraemalek, the person who loved her most, should have been the one to do it. "Because he's the oldest and therefore the head of the family," Jameson whispered, "Since D., isn't here to do it, it falls on Lex's shoulders." As if his brother didn't have enough responsibility. Jameson would have volunteered, but he knew for a fact that Alexis would have denied the request. Like everyone else in the family, the eldest brother felt it was his responsibility to ensure Nadia's safety. Because he too had failed, he would punish himself by setting her body free. Alexis waited a few minutes before taking one of the torches in his hand. He inwardly said a few words of farewell before he touched the torch flame to the edge of the mock bedding. The fire did not take long to spread, and within moments, dark, billowing smoke floated through the air. There was silence as everyone watched the body burn. Charisma's vision grew cloudy; she was crying again. Somehow, watching the fire made Nadia's death more permanent; there was no way around a burning body. It was then that she realized that there was a part of her that hoped that by being part of the paranormal, she would have been able to find a way to bring Nadia back. It was possible before; it should have been possible again. But there was no longer any hope for that. She had to let go and mourn. Jameson felt tears well in his eyes when the fire that engulfed Nadia's body slowly dimmed to allow the bright blue light that slowly raised freedom to move. It was her soul; they'd successfully released the last part of her, the part that made her who she was. The soul shone brightly; physical proof that the warmth and love she gave everyone was pure and unconditional. How could it not be? She'd given up her life to protect the people she loved. Her soul hovered over her chest for the briefest of moments before it continued its ascent to the either the afterlife or reincarnation; her destination was up to the High Council. Jameson hoped that she'd be sent to the afterlife; Nadia had been through enough. She deserved peace. Euan, who had chosen to remain in his canine form, was the first to walk away. Consuming grief gripped his chest painfully, slowing his usually brisk gait. He needed time alone to get himself together; it would do no one any good to see him a mess of emotions. Distantly, he heard Slade follow behind, but he paid no mind; solitary was his main concern. Roman, who'd lagged behind to give support if it was needed, shook his head in confusion as he asked, "How could they allow her to die?" Liam knew who his brother spoke of. "Like I said before; they're selfish bastards who always thought it was perfectly fine to punish us for his mistakes." He looked to the still burning embers on the table in disgust. "Never mind the fact hat good people get hurt in the process." Roman would have replied to the statement, but Liam abruptly walked off. With a discouraged sigh, he looked at his twin. "We should go make sure D. is ok." "He wants to be alone," Draco replied. "What he wants and what he needs are two different things," Alexis countered, "Have Caleb track his thoughts for a location." The twins nodded once before they walked away from the group. Draco took the time out to place a hand on Jameson's shoulder as he passed him. Alexis watched the show of affection silently. The look on Jameson's face reminded him of a look Euan once had when he had to kill a rabid wolf; guilt-ridden. "She wouldn't want you to blame yourself for this." "Doesn't change how I feel," Jameson said with a shake of his head. He was growing tired of hearing those words. As long as he lived, he would feel guilty for Nadia's decision. "She begged me to take her from him." Alexis said nothing for a moment as realization kicked in. It wasn't Nadia's death Jameson blamed himself for; it was more the fact that Nadia's death meant Andraemalek's pain and desertion. "She begged you to let yourself have her," he said with a pointed look at Charisma. Her wide eyed look of surprise told him that she blamed herself as well. Alexis was sure that her guilt had to do with the fact that she'd survived. "So let yourself have her." Charisma watched Alexis walk away, shocked that he seemed so unemotional about the situation. He was very abrupt and straightforward, a trait that confused her. It was obviously that he felt Nadia's loss, but his quick dismissal of it made her uneasy. "We're going to have to start over," she announced. "You've seen first hand the risks that come with my life, and still, you want to stay?" The reality of his life never hit him harder than now, and it shocked him that someone as innocent as she was wanted to take her chances with him. Part of him would have preferred it if she'd reverted to her previous actions of remaining distant and unattached. "Yes. I love you more than I will ever love anyone. It would kill me to leave you." "You almost were killed." "And going through that only showed me how stupid I was to fight my feelings for you." Charisma leaned up to place a soft kiss against his lips. She sighed in relief when he responded; she'd feared that he'd changed his mind about her. "I'm not running anymore." Jameson pulled her into his arms, kissing her forehead as he held on tightly. Her words meant more to him that he could say; Charisma was the love of his life and thought it would have kept her alive to leave, he would have died inside if she did. Her choice to stay, to love him, to share his life, lightened the burden in his heart. He did not have to be alone anymore. * * * * * He watched from the top of the hill as her soul was set free. She was gone, and there was nothing for him to live for anymore. She didn't fight to stay, didn't do what she had to do to stay with him. She'd always wanted to leave, never wanted anything to do with his life, or with him. The second she saw an opening to go, she took it, not caring that her precious life would be taken. She didn't care that her beautiful heart would no longer beat. He'd never hear her laugh again, never see her breathtaking smile. He'd never see the heated gleam in her eyes as she insulted him. With her life, her scent was gone. All that was left was a void; a consuming void that left him numb. Nadia was dead. Andraemalek never bothered to go back into their room. He never would. The only proof that she existed rested within the confines of those walls, walls he would never breach again. He was done trying to be human. He was a demon, and demons never let themselves become weak enough to fall in love. She didn't fight to stay. He wouldn't mourn her. Suicide was not an option; the High Council had taken that decision from him and the Brethren. If they were to die, it would be in battle or through natural causes. A broken heart wasn't enough to send him to the pits of hell. There wasn't much out there that was. He was left alone to find his own way. The underworld was his home and it was there he would stay. He was a hired assassin, a ruthless killer paid to make the lives of his clients easier. Emotion was not part of the package. There was only death. Never-ending death. He wouldn't allow himself to miss her. The sudden but faint breeze that brushed over him made him clench his jaw in determination; he would not cry for someone who left him. He did not care that the air held a familiar scent; berries with a hint of mint. The smell of her emotion. The smell of her love. Andraemalek waited until there were no visible traces of bright blue light. She was gone, never to return to him. He didn't care that the wind smelled of her or that the taste of her kiss lingered on his lips. She was gone and she wasn't coming back this time. He turned to leave and gritted his teeth when the breeze brushed over again. "Goodbye, Nadia." As he shimmered himself away from the manor and away from her, only one thought dominated his mind. He would not grieve. * * * * * He had no idea where he was. It was dark, and it felt as if he was locked in a coffin. There wasn't much room to move around. He was locked in a void space. Nothing he tried was powerful enough to set him free. They knew what they were doing when they banished him. "Zaide?" The voice in the distance startled him. "Sherlaine?" "The one and only." "How is it possible?" He'd tried countless times to get a number of his powers to work. Why was it so easy for Sherlaine to communicate with him? "I don't particularly care." The humor in Sherlaine's voice pricked at his temper. "Find a way to get me out of here." "Not possible," Sherlaine replied, "They knew what they were doing when they sent you to... Where the hell are you, anyway?" "I don't know." "And how was I supposed to get you out when no one has any idea where you are?" Zaide counted to ten. Slowly. "There has to be some kind of a loophole. Find it." "What do I get for my troubles?" Zaide did not like the humor in his voice. "You get to live when I seek out my revenge. Why did you wait this long to contact me?" "Never bothered to try before now." "How did you try?" "I have information," Sherlaine said instead of answering his question, "Information about a certain soul you've been waiting to return." If felt as if a building had collapsed on him. Zaide puffed out a surprised breath. He'd been waiting for this moment, anticipating this return, for centuries. How many nights had he paced the length of his rooms trying to sense it? Too many. Much too many. Realization made him laugh. The soul had been cloaked. For centuries it had been reincarnated, reborn and reused. And he'd never known because the High Council protected it. They'd waited until he'd been banished to let him know that it was free. "Zaide?" Zaide continued to laugh as he replied, "Find the owner of that soul." "You want a kill?" "No!" Zaide took a calming breath to keep from revealing too much. "Simply keep track of it." "And once that's done?" "Find a way to set me free." * * * * * It took six months for everyone to begin socializing with each other. The twins had spent the bulk of the time doing their best to console their brother and themselves, ignoring the fact that Andraemalek nearly killed them dozens of times in his range. They kept Alexis updated on what they were doing, which allowed the family a small sense of peace. Slade decided to visit Caleb to give him all of the details concerning Nadia and from there, decided to travel to ease his grief. Liam kept to himself, and refused any kind of communication. He went into rages frequently, but no one said anything to his behavior, as they knew that he had no other way to cope with the changes in the family. Jameson and Charisma slowly helped each other to heal and used their time together to reinforce their relationship. Theirs had been the easiest transition into acceptance, and it was through the love they shared that they were able to help their family. They hadn't heard anything about Zaide or his camp. After he'd been defeated, it seemed the rest of the Mordecai no longer found any reason to remain in town. That didn't mean that the brothers gave up their mission to rid the world of their evil; Alexis contacted the Nariko and gained their word in tracking and killing the demons. If Zaide's banishment didn't hold, they'd make sure that he didn't have an army to return to. "Marie keeps asking when she is going to be able to meet you." Charisma stood in front of the stove at the manor, diligently working on dinner. It had taken a week for Alexis to have a better cloak put on the manor, one that would not falter when a person had a momentary surge of power. Occasionally there were small surges from Charisma that worried the quiet leader, but for the most part, the manor was safe. "When she comes back from visiting her sister again." "Two weeks it is then." Jameson smiled as he picked a cucumber slice from the bowl of salad Charisma had prepared. She cooked daily, despite the fact that he and his brothers did not need to eat as frequently as humans did to remain strong. He figured that it was her cooking that allowed her to think and concentrate when she had a lot on her mind, the very reason why he never bothered her about it. "Jameson?" He looked up at Charisma, who'd decided to focus her concentration on the countertop. "What's wrong?" "Nothing. It's just that... The ceremony." He let out a wary breath at the mention of the ceremony. "What about it?" "Why did we have to wait until it was dark outside?" Jameson paused for a moment. Though he'd learned to accept everything that had happened, he still hadn't found the courage to talk about it. "Good souls are bright. It's easier to do it at night because then you can call it a distant helicopter light or a star." "Oh." The sight of Euan's canine form took them both by surprise. Like most of the others, the shifter had taken to wandering in order to deal with his grief. This was the first time they'd seen him in three months. Euan dropped a large document envelope he held between his teeth into Jameson's lap before moving to nudge Charisma's thigh with his head. "Welcome back," Charisma said. She frowned when Euan only shook his head before walking out of the room. It seemed as if he'd only returned to deliver the package. "What did you get?" "Let's see." Jameson looked at the large envelope, hoping for an indication of who'd sent it to him, but the packaging was blank. Because Euan delivered it, he wasn't concerned about a trap. "It feels like paperwork," he said as he opened the large envelope. Sure enough, there was a stack of papers, with one sheet folded in half. Jameson picked up the sheet first and read the contents twice before looking at the other papers. Charisma did not like his sudden silence. "What is it?" He looked engrossed in the paperwork and curiosity got the best of her patience. She lifted the folded sheet of paper to look at what had the man she loved shocked into silence. "'Nadia wanted to fill it with kids. Since you're the only who's the closest to having them, the house is yours. Don't let her down. D.'" Charisma peered over Jameson's shoulder and felt her jaw go slack when she looked at the paperwork that named them as the owners of a manor in Martinique. "He gave us..." Jameson only nodded silently as he stared at the documents. He was honored that he was given such a gift, but he did not think that he deserved it. Though he'd accepted Nadia's death, he still felt responsible for his brother's mourning. He didn't deserve the house. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Jameson found himself involuntarily smiling at Liam's abrasive question. He handed the papers to Alexis as he replied, "D., gave Charisma and I his house." "No shit?" "He shits you not," Alexis said as he handed Liam the documents. "Are you going to move into it?" "Probably." "Did he tell you where he is?" Liam asked. Though the twins were with their brother, they'd neglected to divulge information on their location. He didn't want another century to pass by without knowing if the half-demon was in need of help "No, Euan delivered the note personally." "Like that's supposed to help us," the redhead muttered, "If he needs us, how the hell are we supposed to know where to go?" "He'd come to us for help if he needed it," Alexis replied. That was Andraemalek's method of operation; he only went to brothers for help when he couldn't handle a situation on his own. "He just needs time to get himself back together." "Bullshit. He needs to stop running from his problems when shit gets tough." "This coming from the man with serious unresolved issues?" Jameson asked. If there was anyone in the family who ran from his problems, it was Liam. "We're not talking about my problems." "If we did, I'd have to tell you that reliving your past will give you freedom to enjoy your future." There was a tense moment of silence as everyone stared at Alexis curiously. That was strange; Alexis rarely spoke and when he did, it was usually to get answers or bark out commands. Speaking in riddles was not his thing. Liam, too shocked to even bother to become offended asked, "Since when do you start talking like Nadia?" He frowned when his brother only shook his head before he walked out of the room. "Is it just me or were his eyes glowing a little bit?" Both Jameson and Liam turned to look at Charisma who stood with her head cocked to the side. She looked just as confused as they did, but there was also a look of pain in her eyes that she could not hide. "I am not in the mood to deal with this shit," Liam said a second before walking toward the back door that led to the garage. "It wasn't just me, was it?" Jameson let out a breath before he walked to her and pulled her into his arms. "No, it wasn't just you." He'd seen the change in Alexis' eyes as well, but did not want to know what it meant. He wasn't even sure if he would ever known; his older brother made a habit out of withholding information from others. Until it was absolutely necessary for the rest of the family to know, Alexis wasn't sharing. Placing a kiss on the side of her neck, Jameson asked, "What do you want to do about the house?" Daybreak Ch. 15 "What would she have wanted?" "Furnish it for him, if it isn't already. Live in it. Fill with a family." "And what do you want?" He did not hesitate as he said, "To give her what she wanted." Charisma nodded in agreement. "Do you think we're ready for that?" Though they decided to stay together, they'd come to no agreements about becoming a family. As far as she knew, Jameson wanted to stay as they were. Jameson kissed her soft cheek to brush off her underlying question. "After what we've been through, we're ready for anything." When he told her that he'd never leave, he meant it. He'd finally found what he'd been looking for and he wasn't going to let anyone take it away from him. Never again. ______________________ And that concludes this edition of The Brethren series. I know it didn't end on the happiest of notes (don't hate me too much now), but I hope you guys vote and comment anyway. Thanks for the support and comments! Daybreak The sensations that were invading her genitals were almost frightening to her. If she could not see the opening of her pussy she would swear that a large hard and ridged penis was slowly pushing its way into her. Jessen felt a scream of pleasure welling inside of her chest. It burst from her mouth, reverberating off of the walls of the Interrogation suite. An orgasm Rocked though her. Spasms rippled violently along the walls of her vagina, desperately trying to grab the phantom cock that she could feel stretching the sensitive walls of her sex. Through her scream she could here the dark chuckling of Gul Mikkan. "You are such a good subject for this Torture. " He said with a smile. "The combination of the hyper spray and the KriK-ta-pel has an incredible Psychotropic effect of the Bajoran mind. Essentially the 2 of them combined take the last dirty sick and depraved thought your mind had and stimulate the nerve endings to give a false feeling of the event. And what is even better about it I have total control over your sluttish little fantasies. " He picked up another vial from his desk and unscrewed the stopper, and watched her intently. Jessen could hear his voice through the pounding of blood in her ears. The feeling of a hard-ridged cock thrusting in and out of her was tangible. She could feel every ridge of the Cardassian Penis as it passed the entrance to her tight wet pussy. Gul Mikkan leant forwards and parted the lips of her opening and let one drop of the fluid from the second vial fall onto her Clit. An Ear Splitting scream burst from his captives' lips as the wonderful sensations that had been flooding through her stopped with the suddenness of a switch being thrown. It was worse than the invading cock being pulled out. It just stopped being there at all. It left the feeling of emptiness that was almost painful. Her pelvis bucked upwards off of the seat in a vain attempt to get the sensation back. Her hips rotated trying to push her sexual nerve center against the Guls fingers. He pulled away from her and looked up at her face. And smiled at the tears rolling down her cheeks. "Well Well Well" he said. "Looks like my little Slut needs something. " He opened her sex again and landed another drop of the second fluid on her clitoris. The feeling of emptiness intensified. Jessen had never felt in this much need before. "Now my dear. You have another choice. Either feel this emptiness for ever or tell me what I want to know" Jessen started to Sob. The need to be filled was horrific. She knew that the information she had was outdated and would be useless to the Gul; the resistance would have moved camp after her capture. But she could not give this up with out an attempt at resistance. She could not give in with out trying to show this Cardassian pig that the people of Bajor were stronger than them. She looked up at Gul Mikkan through the streaming tears and what she saw made her blood surge. He was sitting nonchalantly on the edge of his desk, his Black kimono had fallen open, and his right hand was gently gripping his fully erect shaft. Jessen could see that the Gul was bigger and thicker than the one she had seen earlier. She could also see a small pinkish droplet of his pre-cum glistening on the engorged head of his manhood; she could not resist licking her lips. She could feel his eyes on her and she looked at his face. His eyes were fixed firmly on her open twitching sex. "I will make you a deal, you give me a little, and I will give you a little. How does that sound?" Jessen knew what he was saying but the words did not make sense. Gul Mikkan could see this and re worded it for her. "If you give me a little information I will alleviate the... Err... Stress for you. " In Jessens' head she could hear the 2 sides of her brain screaming at her. The analytical side telling her she was being tricked. "This Cardassian bastard was not going to help. " it said "He just wants the information. " But the Darker more bestial, animalistic side of her Brain was winning. It was screaming, "Let the Cardassian Bastard fuck you. You know you need to feel his hard-ridged cock inside you. Your pussy is wet open and desperate for him. Take your pleasure from him. Drink his cum. Make him use you like a toy. " She looked up at him and whispered, "Use me" A dark chuckle reached her ears from the tall soldier sitting in front of her. He shrugged the silk kimono from his shoulders. He stood there naked in front of her. The lights from above highlighting the hard ridges that ran down his torso. He stepped towards her and ran his fingers gently along her inner thigh towards her quivering pussy. He raised his hand and stoked his rock hard cock with his left hand while his right hand trailed up her belly towards her breasts. He took her right nipple in her hand and twisted it hard. Jessens body jerked violently as the pain ripped though her body. He twisted harder causing a scream to escape from her sweet mouth. He took a small step forward so her open thighs were touching his ridged hips. Her released her nipple and reached down to grab his erection he used the copious amount of juices dripping from her to lubricate him self. He rubbed his cock up and down over the lips of the open sex, concentrating on the hard bud of her clit. She bucked towards him but he stopped he with a hard slap to her thigh. "What would you like my dear?" He whispered in her ear "Are you sure you want me inside you" Jessen Nodded emphatically she was biting her bottom lip so hard she could taste Blood in her mouth Mikkan Fingers were gently stroking the outer lips of her pussy and rubbing her clit softly. It felt to the young Bajoran that warm electric tingles were springing from his fingers. He suddenly plunged 3 fingers into her. His Thumb bumped hard against her clit and his little finger slipped along the soaking wet valley of her ass. Jessen Screamed with pleasure, as the vacuum she had been feeling vanished. As her cunt was suddenly filled by the gnarled hands of her captor. She could feel his thumb rubbing hard against her clit and his pinky finger sliding over the puckered entrance to her ass. She had never been into it before. There had been one time with an ex boyfriend they had tried it but it had failed miserably. Since then she had never even thought of it. But now it felt wonderful. Almost as if he read her mind he bent his little finger and slipped it into her virgin ass. She moaned. A deep bestial sound that was purely animal. She was loosing her self to the dark predatory beast that was raping her. She was truly becoming his slut. She could feel her orgasm approaching with the power of a wrap drive, when he ripped his fingers from her. She roared with frustration. Her eyes opened and she looked up at her tormentor. He had turned from her and was at his desk. "You Fucking Bastard" She growled. He looked over his shoulder at her. "We had a deal my dear. I need some information from you before I can continue. " Jessen felt the tears welling up in her eyes. She had made the deal with him now it was time to pay the piper. "The base coordinates are 157degrees 5 minutes 12 seconds north by 256 degrees 56 minutes 54 seconds west". "Good Girl, even thought they have probably moved by now I seriously appreciate your help" Gul Mikkan said with a smile. "Now for you reward" The Cardassian turned back towards her and covered the distance between them in 2 strides. Jessen grinned almost manically at the thought of his large ridged cock forcing its way into her willing flesh. Mikkan picked up a PADD and pushed a button. The Chair she was in started to roll over till she was hanging face down her Ass high in the air. She felt his hands rest upon the backs of her thighs. The pressure on her thighs increased as Mikkan leaned forward. Jessen twitched as her vaginal lips were forced opened by the long tongue of the Cardassian probe into her. He lapped hungrily at her sex. Then he moved upwards and licked fervently at the tight puckered entrance to her anus. His tongue almost violating her as it dipped in. This had never been done to her before and the sensation was incredible. She was just loosing herself to an onrushing orgasm when he pulled away. She could feel the cold air against her open ass. Mikkan walked around and squatted down by her head. "Time for your reward my dear. Are You Ready?" he whispered. From her position she could see the veins in his penis pulsing. She had never seen a cock so hard before. Jessen nodded giving herself over willingly to her new master. He picked up the small Vail he had first used and showed it too her. "Would you like some more?" "Yes. " She breathed, "Yes please". The anticipation was incredible; in all her life she had never felt a sexual hunger like this. She could feel her sexual juices running down her inner thighs. Her pussy and ass were twitching with the burning need to be violated by this monstrous bastard. He stood and stepped behind her again; she could feel the coldness of the glass vial on the small of her back. The fingers of his right hand plunging in to her pussy and the thumb of his left pumping viciously in and out of her open ass. His thumb pulled out of her virgin orifice and he picked up the bottle. "Are you ready you dirty little slut? I hope you are prepared to be totally violated by me?" "YES" Jessen Screamed "FUCK ME YOU BASTARD" In the back of her mind she knew she had just crossed the line form prisoner to slave. She could not tell what he was doing but instantly knew what it was when the orgasm careened though her body. The internal walls of her ass were on fire with the same sensations that had been on her clit. Mikkan had dripped the KriK-ta-pel inside her ass. It was intense. It was incredible. She was his Bitch and he knew it, and secretly she loved it. As the first thundering orgasm was subsiding, the blood hammering in her ears, she sensed her master behind her. His Hands grasping her at the hips as he positioned himself to take her. She was still twitching when the Silky smooth head of his man hood touched her. But it did not touch her where she was expecting. She could feel his manhood pressing against her anal sphincter. She whimpered in fear. Nothing this large had ever been in there. The biggest was Gul Mikkans thumb now he was going to push that thick ridged cock of his in there. She tried to pull away from him but was tightly restrained by the chair. His hand grabbed her by the back of the head and yanked her hair. He leaned forward. "It will hurt more if you struggle bitch, But then again you seem to like pain". His left hand maneuvered his penis to her cunt and rubbed it over the lips to coat it in her slick lubricating juices. Then her moved it gently back to her bottom. He pressed forward and slowly entered her. Jessen could feel her virgin ass opening to this unwelcome invader. It hurt but not as much as she remembered. He was going so slowly, allowing her chance to open and accept him. She could feel every one of his ridges as it passed the opening. His left hand joined his right at her hairline; he was slowly pumping in and out now. The sense of violation was very strong to her but she loved it. She had never been so used by a man before. It was wrong to enjoy this, but she could not help it. He has riding her like a horse his strong hands pulling her head back by her hair. Using her hair like a jockey used the reins no his mount. She could tell he was all the way in. His heavy testicles were banging on the lips of her open pussy and striking here engorged clit with each thrust. Every time he drove into her she grunted, and felt the walls of her ass twitch, clamping down on his cock. He was pounding harder now. Pulling her hair harder She could feel herself building towards yet another orgasm. He was fucking her up the ass with an urgency of the man about to cum. His left hand released her hair and struck her with stinging force across her naked buttocks. That was the trigger. The orgasm that had been building was there. Her vagina walls twitched, and her now throbbing ass clamped down hard on the 9 inches of thick Cardassian meat that was buried there. Gul Mikkan Roared And Jessen felt the hot seed fly from his penis and fill her. He pulled her hair violently back and thrust deeper than she thought possible into her as he came. A few more jerky thrusts and he fell forward, crushing her into the restraint chair. His slowly limpening cock twitching inside her as it discharged the last drops of cum into her. After a couple of minutes he pulled out of her. She could tell that he had pumped a huge load of his semen into her by the amount of hot sticky seed that she could feel dripping from her open rear. He knelt by her head and whispered. "Did you like that my little whore?" Jessen hardly had the strength to nod, but she managed somehow. "Good. Sleep now I will return in the morning". He hit a button on his PADD and the chair slowly rotated back to the usual position. "See you soon my slave" Mikkan added with a smile. Jessen heard a faint his from behind her neck as she was again injected with a Hypo-spray, then she drifted into darkness. Part Three She awoke in darkness, as she had for the past 2 months... But this time she was not shocked when she awoke. The feeling of the restraints holding her securely had now become familiar, almost welcome. The darkness was not complete though. Her internal body clock was telling her it was late at night. From the desk in front of her there was the soft green glow of Gul Mikkans desk Lamp. She scanned the room looking for her captor. He was nowhere to be seen. Jessen adjusted her position a little. She noticed that her bonds were looser than she remembered them. The silver metal bands around her thighs were loose enough to move her legs up and down a little. The one around her hips was the same. Should she try and wriggle out of her restraints. Even if she could did she really want to. The experiences of the previous day were still intense in her mind. She could feel the tenderness form the violation she had received at the hands of Mikkan. As she thought of it a Shudder ran through her body. Whether it was one of fear, revulsion or pleasure she would never know, But she knew she had to try and escape. Either that or just abandon herself to being This Cardassian slave. Constantly striving to please her master as he physically and emotionally controlled her ever move. Twisting her body side ways she started to work her right arm out of the restraint. It was not an easy task, it took her about 35 minutes to free her right arm, and another 250 to free her left. Once these were done it took very little time at all to free her self from the restraint chair. She just worked her body slowly upwards slipping out of the bonds and after about an hour and a quarter she was free. Well she was still locked in an Interrogation room but she was no longer Chained to a chair. She gently eased her self down onto the cold metal floor and stretched. The movement was almost feline. Joints that had become used to being in the same position for 24 hours, popped and cracked in a very satisfying way. Jessen bent over and placed her hands flat on the floor and stretched out the muscles in her back, knowing if she was going to stand a chance of escape she would have to be as physically supple as possible. Then she carefully surveyed the room. She crossed over to the door. It was the typical blast proof circular rolling bulkhead door, favored by the Cardassians. There was no lock mechanism visible. She crossed to the desk, her naked feet leaving small misty footprints that faded quickly after she had passed. The desk was a monument to masculinity a solid piece of polished black stone with very little adornment, just some Linear engraving around the edge. Sitting on the front corner was the collection of objects she was interested in. There were 2 bottles of drugs. The KriK-ta-pel and its counter potion were there, as well as the control PADD for the restraint chair she had until recently been strapped to. She saw the PADD sitting there and grabbed it, hardly believing her luck. Pressing the Mode Access stand by button she booted the small computer and headed back to the door. Setting it to scan she started running it around the door edge searching for any way to open it. Half way up on the left hand side of the frame the PADD started to beep gently. Quickly she scanned the readout and chuckled cracking this lock would be a piece of cake. She started tapping the buttons on the scanner to adjust it to transmit the frequency of the lock, and within a couple of minutes there was a satisfying hiss and a gentle clunk as the seal on the door released. The door popped towards her and she pulled it open just enough to allow her to see into the passage. She could see down the corridor all the way to the Exit Hatch, it was empty. Smiling to her self Jessen opened the door and padded along the corridor towards freedom. She reached the Hatchway easily, and listened carefully at it. Faintly she could here the nighttime noises of the camp beyond the portal. The incessant propaganda, the hum of the security fences, but other wise nothing. Jessen again took the PADD and scanned the doorframe, and sure enough there was the release mechanism. This one was set to a slightly different frequency than the previous door, but it was only a matter of time before the resourceful Bajoran Girl had discovered the correct frequency needed to open the door. The lock mechanism sprang with a quiet thud. Jessens heart leapt at the sound, loud in the silent corridor. Putting the PADD down so she could work freely Her fingers wrapped around the pull bar on the door and she started to pull it open when she paused. "I can't leave that Drug behind. " The analytical side of her brain said. "We could use it as an interrogation tool. Or even find a way of combating its effects" behind this thought was a darker more needful voice she was trying to ignore "Take it with you. Who needs anyone else when you have that?" She turned and lithely trotted down the corridor, back to the interrogation room, She slipped in through the door and across to the desk. Jessen Picked up the vials and turned towards the door to leave. There standing beside the door with a smile of victory on his rugged features was Gul Mikkan. "Dear me. " He said with a gentle shake of his head "If you had just left you may well have escaped clean. But like a Tantali addict. You had to get your drugs before you left. Now I am afraid you shall have to remain my guest for a while longer. " He pressed a button on the PADD in his hand and the restraining bands of the Chair Opened with s sharp click. "Get back in the chair Commander, it is not time for you to leave yet. " Jessen could feel the tears streaming down her cheeks, and her legs growing weak. The Gul Stepped forward and scooped her into his arms. The she could feel the ridges on his torso and he carried her across the room and placed her almost reverently into the seat. "Make your self comfortable my little plaything, you will be here for a long time. I must admit I am surprised. A trained warrior like yourself, Allowing Physical sexual needs dictate your moves, and thereby allowing your capture. Unless of course. " His face cracked into a dark smile "You were coming back here because you wanted me to capture you. You wanted me to use you as my sexual toy for a while longer. Hmm? Jessen shook her head weekly. She knew the truth. Inside, her darker animal side was just laughing at her. She found herself looking into the eyes of the Cardassian officers Dark Brooding Eyes, and new the truth. She would be here till she died; she was truly his slave, and a slave to the drug he had used on her delicate sex. Daybreak The Gul pressed a button on the PADD and the restrains tightened them selves around here arms, legs and torso. Holding her securely to the chair. She felt the Metal restrains pressing against her skin. And then pressure against her anal sphincter, which opened as a soft lubricated probe pushed it way into the recently violated passage. Jessen felt it push in about 5 inches where it stopped moving, seemingly to rest there. Jessen was nervous as to what was going to happen to her now. Her captor moved around in front of her. "Now what punishment is fitting for you? There are no words to describe how disappointed and hurt I am by your actions. I thought we had come to an arrangement. It looks like I will have to reevaluate our relationship. I was beginning to think I could instill a little trust in you. Obviously I was wrong, terribly wrong. " His hand reached over and stroked her pubis. She could feel the stubble of her recently shaved pubic hair bristling against the calloused palm of his hand. His thumb pressed down hard on her clit with a suddenness that shocked her, and rubbed vigorously. We will have to press the interrogation further, just to make sure that there is no more information that you know. With his thumb still rubbing hard at the bundle of nerve endings at the crown of her pussy he reached over to his desk and grabbed the vial of KriK-ta-pel, unscrewing the top with one hand he squeezed the bulb, and filled the dropper all the way up to the top. His thumb released her clit and he leaned over her. Holding the dropper in front of her eyes. "Do you know what I am going to do with this?" he said. His voice was a husky growl. "I am going to pump this whole dose inside that little pussy of yours. And then I am going to leave. The probe that is nestled in you ass will read how many orgasms you have. I will be back in 4 hours and I will see how many times you have disgraced your self. And if the number is to my satisfaction I may release you from your bonds. If not I will continue your punishment. Jessen felt the lips of her sex pressed open by his strong fingers, and a brief sensation of cold from the glass. She looked up briefly, not sure weather to watch him or the hands as they hovered at the opening to her pussy. He grinned at her a brief flash of those Shard Flesh rending teeth and he squeezed the Bulb pumping the viscous fluid onto the clenching walls of her vagina. Jessen felt the momentary warmth on the Klingon poison before the explosion of sexual sensation caused her to spasm hard against the metal restraints, and her head was thrown back against the Back of the chair, eyes clamped tight shut. The hard warrior trained muscles in her arms, legs, back, and neck Clenched and relaxed as wave after wave of orgasms Ripped through her body. Every dirty and perverse thought she had had throughout her life, felt like it was being enacted on her willing but tortured flesh. Simultaneously shy he could feel the brief Pain of her first time. The hot white thunder of her first orgasm. The beautiful violation of the anal sex she had experienced from Gul Mikkan the day before. All mixed together. On her lips she could taste the sexual juices of the Shebetar and the jism of the Cardassian soldier. And all of the time the hot sweet scent of sex was filling her nose. Sex she knew she was not having but could still feel. She opened her tear filled eyes and saw the Gul. He was standing between her open thighs, and he was naked. The hard ridges of his body glistened slightly with sweat. His right hand was gripping his engorged shaft pumping back and forth slowly. His eyes fixed on the lips of her pussy. Mikkan looked at her and they stared into each other's eyes for a second or two. A dark smile spread over his lips and he stepped forward and rubbed the smooth head of his penis over her pulsing clitoris. Jessen Screamed. It was the cry of a hungry lion being teased with a piece of steak. Mikkan Laughed and pulled away from her then drove his hips forward and forced his manhood into the restrained girl. Jessen Screamed as another violent orgasm tore through her. She had never felt this filled before. The large probe filling her bottom, and the 9-½ inches of ridged Cardassian cock that was viciously fucking her was just driving her wild. She had stopped having separate orgasms. They were just blending one into another. It only took a few minutes of this before she felt him start to pump even harder and heard his breathing change and with a snarl like a feral cat his came. Hot semen filler her, and he pulled out and sprayed more of his pink seed onto her belly, almost burning her where it landed. The huge violent rush of orgasms made her feel like she was going insane. A continual animal moan was coming from deep in her throat and she could hear the blood thumping hard in her ears, and the pressure of orgasms in her spasming cunt was building to a point she had never know could exist. It was almost as if her sexual peaks were merging not only coming continuously but over lapping building into one massive Cum that would either kill her or turn her into a hopeless addict of sex excess. Every muscle in her body tensed and spasmed. The muscles of her filled ass clenched down with such ferocity it almost lifted her off of the probe inserted there, as the wave of sexual energy crashed down upon her helpless form like a tsunami hitting a small fishing village destroying everything in its path. A scream Burst from her as she came more violently than ever before. Lights Flashed behind her eyes, bright and vivid, and the roaring of her pulse was deafening in her ears. The thumping of blood in her head was so loud it almost hurt She forced her eyes open to see the Cardassian officer standing over her. His fingers trailing though the droplets of semen on the stomach. He smiled at her showing the sharp teeth of his hunter race. "I am so glad you came back to me. It showed weakness, but it did show loyalty" He licked some of his own juices from his fingers, and leaned close enough that she could smell his musky jism on his lips. "I Own you, and you Will be loyal to just me. Do I make my self clear" All the poor girl could do was nod weekly as she stared into the eyes of her admitted master. "Now My little one, it is time for yu to sleep" He reached over to his desk and lifted a hyper-spray that rested there to her throat. "Dream well" he said as he pressed the button to inject her. This time she welcomed the darkness with open arms.