Jus in Bello (Chapter 3)

Dewi looked down a bit before meeting her eyes again. He looked nervous. Like young teenager with his first confession. She tilted her head, encouraging him. 'She looks so cute when she does that' he thought absentmindedly as he watched her. Her blonde hair loose, she with her Hello Kitty pajamas still on. Dewi still couldn't figure out why on earth she was still wearing them, but he couldn't complain, it was cute. Wait, did he just say cute? Yep. It's official. He's nuts.1

He smiled slightly, “Alexandra.. can I ask you something? ..Do you love me?” he asked and blushed badly. Alex's mom left quietly, giving them some privacy. Alex couldn't help but turn completely tomato red. She had liked him for some time but hadn't thought of even trying to tell him. She wasn't the type to stand on top of some random building's roof and yelling "Baby, Baby, I looovvvee you!!".2

That.3

Is.4

Just.5

WEIRD.6

But, she did love him though. Even through all the miserable training, all the times things went wrong and all the pain.. somewhere between meeting him and getting to know him -she had fallen in love. She mumbled an incoherent 'Yes'. Silently she was dreading that it was some kind of sick joke her mind was playing on her, but on the other hand.. "I'm sorry?" he asked with a confused look on his face, leaning forward. "Yes" she said a bit louder, blushing even more. He looked a bit shocked for a moment before hugging her tightly and nuzzling into her neck. "Come on!! Stop playing kissy face and hurry up!!" Alex's sister called excitedly and grabbed both Alex and Dewi's hand.7

"No!" Alex almost yelled in sudden shock. Dewi's eyes widened, "What's wrong??" he asked worriedly. "You can't go out into the sun! That's what!" Alex practically yelled, but kept her emotion in check. "What? Afraid I'm going to burst into flames?" he asked sarcastically and laughed. "Yes" she answered and resisted the urge to slap him behind the head. 'He's a vampire! How could he forget?! ... but.. his skin does look a bit darker.. and his fangs are... no.. he's not human, is he???' she wondered as she looked him over. The room fell into silence for a minute before both Alex's sister and Dewi started laughing. "I might get sunburn easily but that's a bit harsh!" he said when the chuckling died down. It hit her. He was human. It showed.. How could he ever have been a Vampire?? That's just stupid. Vampires don't exist. The blonde teen laughed a bit and pried her hand away in relief, "Fine, then just let me put something else than my jammies on" she said and headed off to her room.8

Not even ten minutes later the family and Dewi were setting up their spot on the beach.Towels on the sand.. alright so it wasn't the sea, but hey, a river works! The umbrellas were propped open and they were all ready in their costumes. Dewi smirked as he took off his shirt. "That's not fair! Boys only have to wear pants!" Alex's one sister complained, but everyone just laughed. Alex was wearing a floral sports bikini with two bows at the beginning of the straps. "Hey, Alex.. I actually got you something.." Dewi called with a Cheshire cat grin on his handsome face. "Hm?" she answered and walked closer. He held out his hands, a small amulet coming into view. It was a Celtic Cross. A shock ran through her, a memory of the same Dewi giving her the same amulet. With that same grin. In a large open plain surrounded by a dense forest. Music playing in the background. She gasped, shocked back to what was happening.9

"Do you like it?" he asked sweetly. "Y-yes! Thank you!" she said happily and took it.10

It was a silver disc with a Celtic knot and cross engraved into it. She turned it around. In the sunlight shone three words. "Time" and underneath that stood two more, "Forever ours". Alex looked up to meet Dewi's shimmering brown eyes, "Time: forever ours?" she read out loud in wonder. He nodded, "We have forever" he said and threw her the beachball, "Now.. are you ready to lose?". A cocky grin spread across his face. Putting on the necklace and running a finger over the cool silver she smiled contently. Alexandra looked up and gave him one of her signature you-are-so-going-down looks and they started playing Volleyball.11

Dewi lost though, although, Alex DID have help from her sisters in tag-teaming up and tackling him. They all laughed. After a while, Dewi and Alexandra left her mother and sister to go for a walk around the river. The day was hot, but clouds were partially covering the sky. It broke most of the heat and made the afternoon less humid.12

"She's hot"13

Alex heard someone say behind her. She turned around, followed swiftly by Dewi. Two guys, about their age, stood right behind them. They eyed her and shoved each other playfully. Both were tall and muscle bound. The one had red hair and green eyes, the other blue eyes and brown hair. She didn't want either of them coming any closer. Dewi noticed this and stepped in front of her. "Yeah, I know my girl is.. so, if you don't mind.." he warned. The one with the red hair stepped closer, "We're not talking to you, bitch. I'm talking to the goddess behind you" he said with a sneer. Dewi growled but didn't move. Alex didn't bother to move. She frowned though, getting impatient. Without a warning, the red-headed boy swung a punch at Dewi and sent him staggering off balance to the side. "DEWI?!" Alex called in shock. How could he not have seen that coming?? Dewi didn't hesitate to get back on his feet and send a fist flying to guy. It hit him square in the jaw.14

Scoreboard: Dewi, One.15

The Duo, One.16

The boy was knocked completely unconscious, and apparently his compadre didn't have enough faith or compassion for him, and left him there as he just ran off.17

Dewi stared as the boy with the brown hair run up the hill and disappear into the foliage. He turned his head to the side and spat out some blood. His lip was bleeding from the first punch. A bruise was forming beneath it. That was going to hurt tomorrow.18

He looked into her eyes. His brown eyes were much darker now, it was almost as if the protectiveness he felt towards her were reflected there. No. It WAS reflected there. He looked away and cleared his throat, "I think we need to go back" he said hoarsely. Dewi hated to fight in front of her. He knew she only allowed it if there was no other way.She took hold of his hand, "Dewi." she said. He looked back into her eyes.19

It was as if the world had stopped.20

The silence fell across the area.21

The wind stopped.22

The river stopped.23

Time stopped.24

It was the same kind of serenity she felt each time she was near him. "Thank you" she said softly. The light returned to his eyes as he smiled sheepishly. They slowly walked back to the spot where her family was. As her family came into view he pulled her hand a bit, causing her to stop walking. "I want to tell you something.. I know it'll sound stupid.. but.." he took in a deep breath. It was odd to hear Dewi like this. He never hesitated or anything. Dewi was decisive and quick.. wasn't he? "Go ahead" Alex said with a nod. "I'd rather die right now, than be without you. I'll be ... more than just happy.. if I could be with you forever. If things could stay like this forever" he said with a soft, solemn smile. Alex's face dropped. 'No' she thought with hesitation. He noticed her hesitation and inched closer.'NO' she thought decidedly, 'This isn't right..Dewi.. he wouldn't want things to stay the same forever.. he doesn't....'. She shook her head. "You're not Dewi!!" she yelled just as the boy touched her hand "NNOO!!".25

***26

Her vision went black all of a sudden. It was dark. She could hear herself breathing. Slower. And slower. And slower. It must've been a dream.. Maybe? She opened her eyes. There he was. The Methuselah. The Nosferatu. The young Vampire. Dewi. He was sitting in front of her with a slightly worried expression on his face. Yep, it was a dream. No. It was her alternate reality. She was in her Perfect Reality.27

"Hey" Dewi said and he noticed that her eyes were now focusing, instead of just wandering around the room.28

"Hey" she answered back and slowly sat up.29

She held back a yelp as her neck lifted from the pillow.30

Yep, battle is not fun. Dewi helped her up further and pushed the pillow up so it was supporting her back. Her eyes drifted to the wall with the clock. It was already 3pm.31

The heavy block-out curtains were closed, no sunshine managed to enter the room. The kitchen light was on though and the smell of coffee drifted towards her. Her hand unconciously went to the necklace around her neck. His brown eyes followed her hand and a small but sad smile tugged at his lips.32

"Your wish again?" he guessed. Reading her mind at that time would only hurt her. She nodded slowly but looked at him with her blue eyes shimmering brightly, "I.. I'm sorry" she said softly. A knot was forming in her throat. It was hard to swallow. 'I won't cry' she kept thinking, although her eyes filled with them nonetheless. She tried blinking them away. "Alex.." Dewi said and touched her cheek softly, cupping her chin, "You are strong for a human". She hiccuped but kept the tears at bay with sheer will, "I didn't mean.. it's not like I wanted ... "she tried telling him, but it was like her mind was just a huge blur.33

How things could've been.34

How things are now.35

What she wanted.36

What she had.37

He slowly stood up and sat back down on the couch, next to her, "Hey, it's alright.. " he said soothingly. She shook her head but kept her lips pressed tightly together. Her head was hanging and her blonde hair fell over her eyes. "It's just the spell." he reasoned and reached over to rub her back. "No" her voice squeaked out. He looked over, his brown eyes shimmering slightly. "I really.. " she looked up. A single tear rolled down her cheek. Dewi leaned over and kissed it.38

She blinked in shock.39

He didn't pull away though, he merely carried on to kiss her softly and moving to her lips. The same feeling suddenly hit her. It was like floating on water. That feeling of weightlessness. As if the world and all it's problems never existed. She slowly kissed back and loved the warm feeling she was now feeling.40

He slowly pulled back and wiped way the rest of the evidence of the one rule she had set herself and she'd now broken away. Nobody ever had to know that she did cry. Even a single tear. It was more than enough. He hugged her softly, being aware of the bruises that covered her body. "You can always.. if you want.. go back to the other reality" he said softly. Alex shook her head, "No way, this is so much better!" she said and shared with him another kiss.41

Alex smiled and laid back down on the couch. "Are you sure it is better than the other reality, Alex? A djinn's spell is pretty powerful, it can last forever.. each time, until you find your own perfection, you will drift back to that Reality. Each time you find a flaw in that Plane you will return to this one" Dewi explained with a slight tilt of his head. She pulled a bit on her necklace, contemplating the temptation, "No... I don't think so. Besides, you were such a lovesick teen" she said with a laugh. 'And I was human..' he thought as he stood up. A frown slightly lined his face, but just as she looked up it was gone. "I'll get you some hot chocolate, alright?" he offered with a grin. She smiled a bit.42

Seemed like time was the only thing that never stopped. 'What does it really mean?' she wondered. The phrase..well, few words written on the back of her necklace bothered her. Time: forever ours. 'But I'm not even a vampire... and in that reality Dewi was human.. it doesn't make sense...maybe both realities converged?' she wondered, swinging her legs off the couch. Okay. that. was. Ouch.43

Bruises were pretty much a second skin at the moment to her. Healing by spells or magick took just as long as normal healing, so neither Dewi or Alex even bothered. It was a shame things worked like that. 'Good old-fashioned healing after a massive battle. Hooray!' both thought sarcastically to themselves. Alex looked over to the clock again, but just as she did the screen of the face cracked. Dewi, who was carrying two cups of hot chocolate, laughed awkwardly and put them down on the coffee table in front of her. 'How did that happen??' she thought. "Don't worry too much about that" Dewi said and waved his hand dismissively in the air. Alex nodded insecurely and reached for the mug, 'It's probably an old clock' she thought, trying to convince herself.44

Unfortunately, her mug- the mug with the goldfish on it- broke into pieces just as her hand touched it. Hot chocolate spilled all over the coffee table and unto the Persian carpet.45

Dew quickly reached over and grabbed his cellphone before the hot liquid could reach it. Alex pulled her hand back and moved her feet out of the way of the -now steaming- carpet. She looked at him with one of those 'That was so weird' expressions on her petite face. Dewi still had his smile on his face and put his cellphone in his back pocket of his cargo pants.46

"Okay, you can start worrying now" he said with a nod and quietly sipped his hot chocolate o-so-gentlemanly. "What's going on??" she asked.47

Worried, yes, but she wasn't about to let it show.48

"Who did you fight in the battle?" Dewi asked. It made her feel a bit guilty. She knew, even though he tried to hide it, that he fought in each battle every night once the two of them had finished training. She would always go home around 11pm after training for four hours with Dewi, and he would head off to another battle. Another battle to win the war. Just another battle. War was not new to him. It made her feel so inadequate. Weak. She was only in a single battle, and he was involved in each battle since the war had started. He would come to training with bruises and cuts, he had never once looked tired. She was in a single battle and she felt like she had fought for a year. Dewi did forbid her to fight before he had officially invited her and made sure that she kept her end of the bargain. "I fought two witches.. a warlock...and another witch, but she doesn't really count" she said. Dewi tilted his head as he watched her eyes glaze over a bit again.49

He didn't need to read her mind to know what she was thinking.50

He decided to change subject to take her mind off of self-guilt, "You know, black magick does have negative side-effects" Dewi stated and put his mug back on the still-soaked table, "Well.. besides destroying the synapses to your receptors.. you're lucky to be alive. you know that, right?". Her head shot up, "Huh?" was all she could say. "Your body, by some higher miracle, survived those spells. The nervous system receives most of the negative mana..er.. chi from the spell. Think of it like clogging up a small river with branches.. it will still flow, but it is so restricted that it dries out. Does that make sense?" Dewi asked and touched her cheek lightly.51

She nodded and looked at him, "What do I have to do?" she said and stood up. He smirked. Those vampiric teeth showing. "Not much, you could try luck charm, good luck spells, use vampiric blood or just wait for it to stop" he listed and ran a hand through his black hair. "V-vam...yours?" she asked in surprise. "I can always find another Methusula if you wish" he said calmly, "Okay.. on correction, it doesn't actually cure it. It merely neutralizes it. Although it adds up to the same thing". The thought of becoming a vampire sent a shiver down her spine, "I don't think I want to" she admitted. Dewi laughed, "You wouldn't become a vampire with contact with my blood. It's not exactly a disease. Although if you count extra-sunburn and the on-and-off craving for blood as a disease, then yes" he answered. 'On and off? Doesn't a vampire only drink blood?' she thought and pulled a bit on her black sweater. She had seen him consume normal human food, but it didn't make much sense to her.52

"You know how magick runs in blood, right? That's how I could tell you were a magus since before I saw your powers, I could feel it. Magick runs in a vampire's blood, same as a human, but a vampire's magick is neutral and causes all magick to be gray. Not white or dark, okay? Spiritual energy as well. It all runs in blood, in auras too, but let's stick with blood for now" Dewi asked and took hold of his hot chocolate again. Trying to get her some more hot chocolate would only result in retro action, and he was not about to soak more of his once-beautiful carpet. She nodded, but her confusion showed. "You see, as a vampire you drink blood. Blood carries energy, much the same as food. But, as a vampire you need more energy, more than can come from any amount of human food. So, blood is the best resource. We still need other food, but that is our primary food-group,if you can call it that" he said awkwardly and laughed.53

Oh yes, more than we needed to know. She swallowed and shook her head to that proposal, "I think I would rather stick to a lucky charm" Alex said firmly. Dewi stood up and walked over. He put down his mug in front of her broken one. The smile on his face had disappeared in a heartbeat. He put the side of his right thumb in his mouth a bit through. "DEWI! What are you doing?!" she yelled and started to get up. He pulled her back down on the couch. A drop of blood formed on the edge of his thumb. His eyes glowed red. She couldn't help but start trembling again. Hadn't she already said she didn't want his blood? She shook her head frantically and tightly sealed her lips. 'No! This is wrong!' she thought frantically. She felt his hand take hold of her arm. He drew a line with his blood right across her wrist. In an instant all the pain vanished. She kept her eyes shut but felt him move off the couch. He sat down in front of it, sitting on his heels, watching her.54

Alex cracked open an eye.55

Who said that when you don't see something it's less scary?56

Nothing.57

She looked at her arm suspiciously. Dewi wrapped his finger in his handkerchief and held it. "What happened.. what did you do?" she asked hesitantly. He smiled, hurt showed, but he still smiled. "A vampire's blood neutralizes it. The spell is gone. You have no more of it left to affect you" he explained. "What do you mean? I didn't take your blood" she said. "You just had to be in contact with it, by whichever means. Did I tell you otherwise?" he asked with a lifted eyebrow. She shook her head and smiled in relief. 'What was I thinking? He'd never do that.. he's always been protecting me.. ' she thought and took in a deep breath. "It's fine, Alex. I understand. I tend to forget you're young. You act like an elder at times" he said and looked at his thumb again. It had healed. She glanced down to her arm, the blood was already dried. "I-I'm sorry" she said, feeling badly. He just shook his head and hugged her tightly, "The last time you had seen my vampiric Eyes, itwaslong ago. Back then they were a lost wampyrs. I have changed. My Eyes have changed. I'm no longer without meaning or purpose" he said and softly stoked her blonde hair. Her cheeks flamed up with a blush as he said that. "Is that alright with you, Alexandra?" he asked softly.58

For a vampire to admit such was akin to a marriage. Vampires were nothing if not loyal,and he had just given her his.59

He didn't pressure for an answer, but in his own mind he was ready to accept the rejection. It was part of his nature. Ready to accept that things don't always go according to plan. She shook her head with a smile, "It is" she whispered against his ear. A red tint lined his face, sometimes he would forget that she was a 15-year old. She sometimes forgot he was over two hundred-years old. He pecked her lips. It felt like a jolt of electricity ran through her, and by the looks of it, the same with him. They both smiled at the feeling. Dewi extended his hand over the spiled hot chocolate and lifted his hand, the water followed his arm upwards, he motioned it to the kitchen sink and it obeyed. A splash was heard and both were a bit relieved. Persian rugs are such a pain to clean. "I think we should get going" Alex suggested as she saw the clock. It was already 15:41.60

Dewi stood up and smiled as she stood. Bruises and healing cuts on her neck; Dewi's dried blood over her right arm; dirt on her skirt.. they were in for a lot of explaining. "Hey.. Dewi.. " she called as she thought of the better-of-two options. "Sure" he said as he automatically knew what she wanted.61

He transported them to her room.62

Good.63

The door was still closed. She walked to her door, opened it and peered out. No-one. Excellent. She walked back to her closet and grabbed some clothes. Dewi grinned sheepishly as he sat down on the chair in front of her desk. Alex walked to the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Her reflection in the mirror startled her a bit. A sigh left her lips as she reached down for the medical kit.64

Just then she spotted Dewi sitting on the bathtub's rim, "Can I help?" he asked sweetly. That stupid boy-scout smile. She shook her head but she knew it was a bit stupid to do so. He grabbed the kit from her and extended his arm to rim. He looked like a waiter, indicating for a couple where to sit in a restaurant. Alex sat down and waited. He took out some alcohol, gauze, a few band-aids and a small tub of cream.65

A frown suddenly crossed his face, "Do you mind?" he said irritably. "What?" she retorted, taken aback. "Your sweater and blouse. I don't want them to get dirty" he stated with a roll of his eyes. She frowned, 'Pervert' the thought crossed into her mind. "Oh please." he said with a huff. She took off her sweater and unbuttoned the first few buttons on her blouse and pulled it further away from her neck. He just sighed, shook his head and dipped some gauze in the alcohol. He softly dapped it across the cuts the warlock had left and made sure they were clean. She didn't even flinch as the burning sensation spread from her neck right through her system. Yep, pain is contagious sometimes.66

The burning faded a bit and she looked over to him.67

"You're pretty good at this.." she noted and glanced at him, still very aware of her current state. He just shrugged and threw the used gauze in the small waste bin, "I worked as a nurse for a while." he answered as he started to apply the waterproof band-aids. Smart guy. Waterproof ones. She slightly bit her lip, "Sorry about that..you know.. what I thought" she said sheepishly. "That's okay" Dewi said with a slight chuckle. In two hundred-years he had seen it all. Anatomy for him was just anatomy. It didn't have any other type of connotation to him, for him it was just muscles and bones. The thing was, Dewi was just so amazed that she had LET him help her. ALLOWED him to help her. This was epic. For a moment he almost wanted to go and get his camera. Naw, moment would be ruined then.68

Best moments of life are almost never caught on film. He finished off the last band-aid and opened the tub.69

"What's that for?" she asked and peered over. Alexandra hadn't seen it in the medical cabinet before and she was pretty well acquainted with it. But this was new. The cream looked blue and smelt of Arnica and Peppermint. "It's herbal. It gets like an anodyne and an astringent mixed together." he said and smiled sweetly as he held up a small blob of it. It must have been her raised eyebrow that tipped him off. "It helps for pain and heals tissues.. better?" he said and smirked. She nodded unsurely but tilted her neck to the side, exposing the bruises. He gingerly soothed it over her bruises, careful to avoid the cuts. It was cold, but it made the pain recede and she felt her shoulders relax and drop slightly.70

"Works that well huh?" he said and laughed. Dewi stood up and washed his hands at the sink, drying them off on his pants. Alex stood up, "Thanks, Dewi" she said and smile. He smiled back and replaced the alcohol and the tub back in the medical box, stashing it away again. He picked up the gauze and threw them in the dustbin, "Done" he confirmed and disappeared.71

After about half an hour Alex walked back into her room. Was she walking on the ceiling? She was wearing a short black dress lined with purple piping and thin purple straps. Blonde hair hanging loose over her shoulders. Eyes sparkling. "Wow.. nice" Dewi said with a shocked smile on his face. Alex smiled at the sight before her. He was watching her. Upside-down. He was doing a handstand, leaned again the far wall. His green tank top was falling down, showing off his abs. He leaned over and jumped up, landing on his feet. Oh, she wasn't walking on the ceiling. Silly me. "Better now that you're not upside-down?" Alex said with a grin. "Much" he said with a nod and brushed his shirt back down. Alex had covered the bruises with foundation and they were completely invisible now. It was quite well done. She felt happy about it.72

The front door rattled.73

Shit.74

Dewi growled as he saw how tense she suddenly became. He edged closer, tuning his senses for a fight. She edged from the door but forced herself to stay calm. Then they heard familiar voices. Alex's hand shot to the band-aids on her neck. How was she going to explain that? It was her mother and sisters.. Dewi grinned, hooked in his arm with hers and led her to the front door. His vampiric grin on his face, charm almost oozed from him. Oh yes, he was turning up the charm-o-meter. Somehow people were always smitten with him once he did that. Alexandra wasn't affected by it at all, but the rest of her family- not so much. The front door opened. Alex's two sisters and her mother walked him. "Hi!" Dewi exclaimed and hugged both her sisters. They really loved him, he was like the ultimate teddybear-but-in-human form.75

"Hey, you want to check my cellphone out??" he asked excitedly. He held out his cellphone to them. Both sisters nodded vigorously, grabbed his cellphone and ran off to living room. "Just don't call international!" Dewi called half-heartedly after them. Too late. Both Alex and her mother couldn't help but laugh at that. Then Alex's mother noticed. Her eyes widened and the laughing stopped. "What happened??" she practically yelled. Alex knew what she was talking about and looked to Dewi for support. He took her hand and shook his head, "I'm sorry. I have a new iguana.. it's a bit.. overzealous with attention" Dewi lied and scratched the back of his head.76

Damn he was good.77

Not so much as a twitch to give away the truth.78

Alex's mother looked a bit appeased, but still unsure. "I call him Scrap.. like from Iceage?" he said with a big grin on his face. He was so adorable sometimes. "Those marks look a bit more than just an iguana" she warned. Dewi just shrugged and held out his arm. Several slash marks stood out. They were fresh cuts he had gotten during the fight, they were still healing. "It could be worse" he said and hung his arm down to his side. Her mother looked convinced. Excellent. She leaned over and hugged her daughter tightly, "I have my eye on you.." her eyes said as she looked at Dewi. Alex almost burst out laughing as her mother walked off.79

"Thanks" she whispered just as her mother was out of earshot. They were still holding hands. "Sure" he replied. A moment passed of complete silence. Well, complete except for the beeping of Dewi's cellphone, but that was easy to ignore after a while. "Dewi.. what did you mean? With what you wrote on the necklace?" Alexandra asked as she looked down to it. "You remember what William Gladstone said?" Dewi asked as he ran a finger over the silver. "You cannot fight against the future. Time is on our side." she answered. She suddenly realised. What he'd written didn't mean that he wanted things to stay the way they are forever.. he wanted things to change, and to know that will turn out as they meant to be. Time: forever ours.80

She remembered what she'd written above her mirror, 'Crying doesn't change anything'. It didn't matter how much we wished for things to change.81

Things were the way they were. Things were going to turn out how they meant to be. It matters how we'd handle those situations.82

Alex closed her eyes as her eyes slightly filled with emotion again. 'What? Am I some stupid wimp who keeps crying over everything??' she thought in frustration. She opened her eyes and met Dewi's brown eyes. They were close to hers. "You know.. it's alright to have someone to look after you once in a while.. " he said with a sigh but with a smile on his lips. Alex swallowed and took a shaky breath in relief, "That's what I have you for" she answered and leaned up a bit. Damn, he was slightly taller. He leaned down with a chuckle and kissed her softly. It just hit her then, the spell had worn off. The Wish had worn off. This was what she had wanted from the start. She could feel that Dewi was reading her thoughts, but she didn't mind -just for this once though. He deserved to know. He hugged her tightly. She definitely didn't mind feeling this safe with him.83

The pair walked to the front door, intent on relaying the news back to Headquarters. “Mom, we’re going out!” Alex called as she opened the front door again. “Again? You went to the movies just this morning!” her mother protested, appearing back in the hallway. “It’s the holidays, pretty please!” Dewi pleaded with puppy-dog eyes. Her mother rolled her eyes and waved her hand as a sign of resignation, “Just be home by dark”. Both Alex and Dewi sniggered at that. They closed the door behind them and started to the Dewi’s car. “You beat up half of the demons at the Shores, and your mother still worries about you being out after dark?” Dewi said with a laugh as he unlocked their doors with the remote. Alex opened her door; “You expected anything else?” she said and climbed in.84

The sun was still up, but it was lazily setting in the west. It would still be light for some time. For a moment Dewi stood outside his door, hand on the handle. “Dewi! You are a Nosferatu… you know, creature of darkness. Do you become a crispy-critter?” Alex called from inside the car. The vampire nodded to himself, climbed in and started the car. Even from such a limited exposure he had still gotten sunburnt. “Oh geez, you weren’t kidding. You are photosensitive” Alex observed as she saw the reddish appearance on Dewi’s hands and face. “It’s fine…” he said idly and made a turn. “We should have reported sooner. Robert won’t be too happy with me” Dewi murmured to himself as he took a right. They were apparently heading towards Wollongong.85

“Wollongong?” Alex asked with a raised eyebrow as she read the sign. It was still at least half an hour’s drive away. “…Not exactly” Dewi said and pulled the car over to the side of the road. The extent of secondary road they were on was quite free of traffic. Less traffic meant less people would notice his car just parked in the middle of nowhere. Alex didn’t need to be told to follow him. They walked a way into the brush before Dewi stopped. “Um… scouting for a picnic spot, Dewi?” Alex asked and sidestepped from a thorn bush. Damn tree hooked it’s thorn to her dress. She tugged at it for a moment and ended up wining the wrestling match with the bush. “Just a good place to teleport” Dewi said and disappeared into a dark mist. Alex rolled her eyes but followed him back to Headquarters.86

Just as soon as she had teleported herself to the Order, she was facedown on the ground. “What the-” she managed to say, although, having your right cheek planted to the floor usually made sounds come out inaudible. Dewi was in the same position on her left side.87

They were in the main Conference room. Hundreds of chairs stood against the circular room’s walls. The ceiling was made completely of glass and light shone through. Alex could see that it was still midday here since the sun was shining directly through the glass. The white marble floor reflected the light and made the area seem almost ethereal. The skirting moulds were that of old Victorian decoration. The walls were pure white, except for a diamond pattern painted only with a slightly off-white silver-ish colour.88

She felt two weights on her back and felt a pair on arms hold down her own arms. Those who weights were a pair of werewolves. They were huge. Their black fur coats were stained with blood. It was still probably from the Final Battle early that morning. It smelt like burnt iron and it made her eyes sting. Their claws dug into her skin. No doubt that these were infant werewolves, she almost feels their eagerness to rip anything apart. “What, did we come at a bad time?” Alex growled as she tried to move her arms to a more comfortable position. It didn’t help though.89

“Robert! What are you doing!? And Nicholas, get your claws off of Alex before I rip them out of your paw!” Dewi bellowed, his face contorted in anger. Alexandra could feel the one wolf slightly shift its weight, but they didn’t move off or even back off. Seems like the orders they were under were pretty strict. No doubt reinforced by predisposed disciplinary action. Alex could still remember being Robert always insisting on how she should always “follow the rules” and not disobey. He always said that there would be “consequences” to having ever failed to do so, but she never thought that it would be bad enough to erase the sense of will of his underlings.90

But, in a sense she knew it was. Even before she had started to work with the Order. Dewi’s punishment for disobeying Robert’s order to kill a spy working for the Shores was that he wasn’t allowed to feed for two weeks after. The spy was killed anyway. Dewi had just watched Robert that night as the old man had taken a spear and drove it through the broken and beaten creature’s heart. It had turned to ash almost immediately. Dewi just watched as his old Master turned more and more tainted each day. He had managed to contain some of Robert’s newest hobbies: killing off and torturing everything and all that stood –or sometimes ran- in their way. He had managed to mostly avoid bloodbaths and conflict where he could spare it, but he couldn’t do more than that. He was still indebted to Robert and he still felt that the old man was still his best friend.91

The head of the Order was standing in front of them looking down at them. The old man rubbed the bridge of his nose before answering, “You were told to report immediately, David” he said. ‘Dewi’s full name is David? …who knew’ Alexandra thought as she surveyed the situation. Dewi grunted under the weight of the two centaurs holding him down, “I couldn’t come immediately, Robert. I had to take care of a few things first” he defended.92

The one centaur dug its horse-like hoof into Dewi’s spine. A wet crack resounded through the building, it clearly sounded like a bone breaking. The same sickening sound you hear when you witness a killing in the wild. The centaur just smirked in satisfaction, but Dewi didn’t even react. ‘How could he NOT have felt that!!’ Alex thought in shock as she surveyed him. It was then when she saw his eyes. His eyes had that under-glow of red. The same type of minute glow it had every time he was using his vampiric power to heal himself... “Those things could’ve waited” Robert snapped. Alexandra could feel Robert’s eyes boring into her skull. He knew that Dewi was talking about her. “No. It couldn’t.” Dewi replied flatly. He didn’t want to go against Robert, but he felt like he needed to make the head of the Order understand.93

“Celestine is dead” Robert growled. In that instant both Alex and Dewi were suspended midair and felt completely frozen. Alexandra tried to move her arms, but she couldn’t even budge them a centimetre. “Celestine? Are you sure?” Dewi asked with shock. Alex momentarily dropped the guard to her mind. She needed answers. ‘Who’s Celestine?’ Alex wondered. Dewi glanced over at Alex, “The Archmage you saw when we came here the first time…he’s Celestine Portman” he explained. Robert paced in front of them.94

Back and forth.95

Back and forth.96

His steps were jerky but slow. It showed his age, but it also showed something else.. something Alex didn’t want to think about. “Alexandra Burdett…. An Archmage for almost three years now… so impressive for such a young girl. How old are you now exactly?” Robert asked gruffly. Hanging four feet in the air is not fun and it clearly showed on both Dewi and Alex’s faces. It felt as if all energy they had were being drained out of their bodies. Alex took in a deep breath, “I’m fifteen. Now please let us go” she said and tried again to break free. “What a shame” Robert said as he walked to right in front of her. Dewi’s head snapped towards Robert, “We’ve done nothing deserving of this! Let us go right now!” he snarled.97

Robert leaned closer to Alex, as if examining her, “Not until the boss comes...” he muttered. In that moment, Alex knew. Her face became pale as the realisation sunk in. It made her nauseous. “You are!” she spluttered out. “I am? …What am I?” Robert said and smiled as the old man tilted his head. “You’re a …” she swallowed, trying to calm her rising nauseous ness. Dewi looked at Alex. He narrowed his eyes as he looked at her. “Dewi” Alex shuddered out, ducking her head down to keep down the bile that was rising in her throat, “He’s not alive”.