Beneath The Light

3. Rogue Angel

Rogue Angel

Aden knew he shouldn't be there, but he didn't care what he should or shouldn't do. He was sick of living under his parents' thumb. He hurried to keep up with Topaz; she was fast, and he liked that about her. Normally the girls in the Light World were slow and innocent, their blonde hair and blue eyes making them all look like clones of each other. Aden was entranced by Topaz's dark hair and ever-changing eyes. He liked the bad vibe she gave off. Generally, he just liked her. "I can't believe you've never been to the Dark World before." She scoffed as they hurried amongst the trees. Topaz had stopped off at her bedroom before they'd snuck out of the concrete house so that now silver glinted at the tops of her boots, the shine of knives hurting Aden's eyes. She'd grabbed a long black velvet cloak which now swept out behind her as she hurried through the forest, her heels unwavering her balance, the hood of the cloak brought over her head, throwing dark shadows over her stunning face. She'd given Aden one of Zac's leather jackets to wear, his promise to keep his wings underneath still resounding in his ears. It was uncomfortable for him to hide his wings, but not painful. He'd done it before plenty of times in the Light World; mostly to amuse himself other than anything else. After endless walking throughout the concrete tunnels, sloping upward until the chill of air ahead greeted them, they were out amongst the trees of the forest Aden and his sister had been in before with Charlie and Jon. "It's the Lighter law." Aden shrugged, admiring the beautiful black velvet billowing out behind Topaz's elegant body as she walked. "What d'you mean?" She gasped, pausing abruptly before a fallen tree. Aden stopped a little ahead, surprised by her reaction. "Well, my parents made it the law a few years ago that no Lighter was to travel to the Dark World without their consent. Unless they were apart of the Droit of course." Topaz's mouth was open in dry shock, her entire expression completely paralysed with the emotion. After a few long seconds she snapped it shut, a look of sheer determination spreading across her face. "Well then." Is all she said before storming forwards, elegantly and effortlessly jumping over the fallen tree and hurrying forward. Aden frowned at her reaction before leaping the tree and chasing after her. "Topaz, wait, what was that for?" He asked, his confusion getting the better of him. "Nothing." She snapped despite the fact her light blue eyes had darkened to the colour of the sky before a storm. Dark, heavy, thick blue, almost grey, but not quite making it. Aden noticed the change in her hair as well, long strands flattened against her chest as she walked. It'd darkened too, a deep blue shine radiating amongst the black strands. Aden frowned. He'd never realised her hair and eyes were ever-changing with her emotions. He shook his head to clear it, focusing on the trees ahead rather than Topaz's stunningly attractive looks. She frowned harder as she realised he'd turned back to the trees in front of him, rather than continuing to stare at her. She seemed frustrated, angry almost by his reactions around her, as if he wasn't acting how he was supposed to. As if he were an actor changing his lines in a play as he acted in front of a crowd.

After ten long minutes of brisk walking, they burst out of the trees, finding themselves in a large greenery rimmed with bins and benches, a flower-patch in the centre informing Aden that what he was standing in was a public park. It was well-kept he thought as they made their way to the large gates beyond the flowers. "How're we...?" His eyes were on the locked gates, towering twenty feet tall. He trailed off as he watched Topaz hook a heel onto the edge of the gate, shoving her other foot on a rung just above her knee, her leather-gloved hands pulling her up the gate. He shook his head at her confidence, her skill, her smoothness. She didn't think, she just done. And that made her all the more perfect. As Aden hurriedly climbed the gate - refusing to be outdone by the mermaid - he thought of all the girls he knew. Beginning with his sisters. Of course there was Alice, skilled in fighting with her bare hands, amazing in a chase and even better in a race, but she wasn't as smooth as Topaz, despite the drastic ten-year age gap. Alice thought too much, she guessed people's reactions judging by their character in order to prepare her moves, plan her attack rather than just do it. That's the way she'd been brought up; living in the Light World with her parents in charge of her every move. But training and fighting smoothed out over the years, and by the time Aden was born, Alice was the only child in the family who knew how to protect herself. Their siblings were pleased with this fact, too lazy and self-obsessed to care about protecting themselves or learning how to fight. But Aden was drawn to the darkness within the Light World. The protestors, the demonstrators - as well as what happened to these people for opposing his parents -. He liked the idea of defending himself, of knowing how to fight and what happened. He'd studied hard the laws of the Light World; past and present, and learned that self-defence and the art of fighting was always a given for Angels. However, he realised that as soon as his parents came into power - ten years previous to the birth of Alice - that all seemed to disappear and the 'Angelic Goodness' of the Light World had taken over. Aden never felt suspicious towards his parents' decisions. Until now. He knew without a doubt that every Nighter knew how to defend themselves, and put up a good fight too. He knew there were no laws binding them to perfection. Therefore, what could possibly make his parents believe that free-will wasn't better than no-knowledge?



Topaz elegantly dropped to the pavement on the other side of the gate and received a charming grin from Aden beside her. She raised an eyebrow and smiled, turning swiftly with her smile rapidly fading. She began briskly walking down the quiet street, towards the main road two blocks away. Aden breathed heavily as he caught up with her. "What's the rush for?" He asked in his amazingly perfect English accent. She hated him. Hated his messy blonde hair, ruffling to his earlobes. She hated his twinkling blue-eyes so childish and Angelic it hurt her to look into them for too-long. She hated his mouth-full of glowing white teeth, the rows reminding her of the perfectly aligned white marble headstones in the Jewish cemetery of the Norant's. She hated the deep indents on his smooth tanned skin when he smiled, and the way he smiled with the left side of his mouth pulling up a little higher than the right. She hated the way his red lips always looked so full and rosy, as if they were asking her to touch them. She hated his strong body, the thickness of his muscular arms, the tanned skin so strong and un-marked. All mermaids had either tattoos or scars of Nighter fights of some kind. But the Angels never seemed to get hurt. She hated his words, the way he said things so beautifully as if he'd just swallowed a dictionary. But more than anything else in the Dark World, Topaz hated the fact that Aden seemed to be the only male in existence who wasn't slobbering over her. She was giving him everything. All the signals were there, everything her mother had taught her. And yet, it was as if he couldn't see her. Or maybe, she thought, he was refusing to. After all, he was the son of the Light World leaders. He was a Lightingale. He'd be blessed with the immaculate power of ignorance. Ignorance to the creatures, the evil around him. Just like the rest of the spoilt little brats within the Light World.



Once on the main road Aden noticed they were in the centre of a very busy city. Cars drove past packed full of teenage Norants, the whole place stinking of them. The strong smell of pollution and car-exhaust hung in the air, and as the Worlders walked hurriedly down a lane in-between high rise Victorian flats, Aden could smell the ever-present stench of rubbish. It clung to everything here. He didn't have to smell the air properly to sense it. He shuddered. This wasn't the type of World his sister had described. She told him it was bright, fun, loud, and exotic. She told him he'd love it. From the small amount he'd seen so far, he loathed it. "Here we are," Topaz flashed a wicked grin; sending shivers down Aden's spine as the glow from a neon sign flashed down over the pair. They seemed to be standing outside a loud and noisy club. Two burly Norants stood in black suits and sunglasses in front of the door, red rope holding back a long queue of teenage Norants in their mini-dresses and sky-scraper heels. The girls at the front of the queue gasped as they saw the Worlders, the pair of them staring blatantly at Aden. He averted his eyes from their large chest display and looked down at Topaz who by this time was scowling up at him. "That's right, I should've expected you to be attracted to the Norants." She rolled her eyes as if to say 'typical' and shrugged out of her cloak, waving it elegantly around herself in one whoosh of her left hand. In a second she'd gone from wearing a floating chiffon dress, falling to her knees, to a black lace mini-dress, similar to the short numbers the Norant girls were wearing. A black velvet choker hung round her neck, a light blue diamond swinging in the centre. "How did you...?" Aden trailed off, knowing his questions were pointless. "C'mon Angel boy, let's show you how it's really done," Topaz gave him an eerie laugh, clicking forwards towards the security, her own large chest display way more distracting than the Norants'. But Topaz's skin wasn't necessarily on show. The black lace around her body clung tight to her skinny frame, black material underneath the dress keeping anything else from sight. Fortunately this material stopped in line with her under-arms while the lace continued to her collarbones, wrapping out around her upper-arm and twirling down to her wrists. Aden knew she was beautiful. But still, the bodycon dress flattered the outline of her body, making the bouncers distracted enough without her sultry approach. Aden was so distracted by the Norant girls' giggles that he didn't hear what Topaz said to the two men. But in a few seconds they'd stood aside and let her inside the doorway, and Aden hadn't even noticed. "Hey Angel, hurry up!" Topaz's voice sounded from the darkness of the doorway and he hurried off, his heart hammering rapidly.



It had seemed like a very long time before Zac had lifted his head from his hands. "I just don't know what to do, Al." He sighed emotionally. The Angel rose and hurried down the table, sinking into the seat beside him, putting her hand on his shoulder. "As soon as I heard, I came straight down." She said as soft as she could. "Yeah and brought your brother with you. He wasn't supposed to know about this, Al." Alice smiled and ran her hands through the mermaid's hair. "Don't worry, he doesn't. I promise you he doesn't." The mermaid relaxed a little. "With you here..." He sighed heavily. "Topaz will know something's up." Alice smiled. "Maybe it's a blessing in disguise that I brought Aden with me after all, huh?"
"You mean...?" The mermaid looked slightly shocked, his blue eyes big and oval. "No, not that way, Zac," The Angel sighed. How had this all happened? "I mean as friends." Zac scoffed. "Topaz doesn't know the meaning of 'friends'. She wouldn't know the meaning of the word 'friend' even if you choked her with the meaning from the dictionary," He shook his head. "There isn't anything in this Dark World that I love more than my sister... Isn't that weird? I have three other siblings I don't particularly care for, but Topaz..." He shook his head. "She's the baby. Sometimes I feel as if she's my baby. I've always cared for her, Al... Always felt responsible for her. By the Angel, our parents never really cared about any of us so of course I had to look after her! But now it's as if I'm all she has left... I'm all that's tying her to living. If she found out," He swallowed loudly, pushing the tears back inside his eyes. "She acts strong... Brave even but she's not Al, she's really not..." The mermaid had started to shake, his hands unsteady as he turned in his seat to face the Angel shaking his head quickly. "Ssh, ssh," Alice soothed him, running her hand across his cheek. "It's okay," She whispered, looking deep into his eyes. "It's alright, Zac, everything's okay now... I'm here..." She pulled the fragile mermaid against her, embracing him tightly and squeezing his eyes shut. As his strong frame shook in her arms she knew that he hadn't slept at all, hadn't grieved on his own for his loss of his parents. He'd felt burdened with the responsibility as the head of the family, so burdened that he hadn't given himself the time he needed... To mourn and compose himself. Now was his time. And Alice didn't object in the slightest.



Topaz watched as a bead of sweat trickled from Aden's temple, running down his face and dripping off his chin. She smiled and ran her hands through her hair, continuing to move her body to the beat of the music, dancing as close to Aden as possible. She knew his subconscious would put it down to the fact that the club was packed, the Norants dancing around them mostly out of their minds on drugs or strong doses of alcohol. But Topaz didn't need drugs or alcohol to make her feel like she was having a good time. She just needed some poor, helpless person, and a packed dance floor to lure them onto. The poor person tonight just so happened to be Aden, who was working hard to keep his hands by his sides as Topaz danced up against him, her back to him and her mind thrilling in the excitement radiating off him. Of course, he'd had to keep his jacket on, in order to hide his wings. But Topaz, she'd left her cloak with the staff in the cloakroom, thrilling in Aden's expression as she'd tucked her ticket inside her bra before grabbing his hand and pulling him into the centre of the dance floor. She knew she should probably get a move on, but she didn't feel like leaving just yet. They'd been dancing here for over half an hour, and if Topaz was being honest, she was enjoying herself. Aden was a challenge, something Topaz wasn't used to. She liked working hard, and Aden made simply breathing hard for her.

The pounding bass drove Topaz against Aden a little harder than before, the change of song totally speeding up her slowly measured steps. Apparently Aden was experiencing the increase also for his hands fiercely gripped Topaz's hips as she drove herself against his left side. His nails bit through her thin dress, driving into the skin of her hips, the sharp twinge thrilling her more. The song drove Aden's body against hers to the beat of the bass, his hips grinding against hers. Topaz violently ran her hands through her hair, feeling strands sticking to the back of her neck with sweat. Normally by this time she'd seduced her pray. But not tonight. Oh no. Aden was totally different. Topaz wasn't sure if she'd totally grown to the idea or not. Half-way through the song Aden's strong hands spun her around to face him, her chest smacking against his ribs, his hands crushing her to him under the powerful burn of the strobe lights. His eyes were suddenly dark and mature as they blinked down at her, the sweat shining on his forehead and making his t-shirt cling to him. She raked her hands up his torso and clawed around his neck, her fingers tying in his messy hair. She liked the way her pale skin was camouflaged by his blonde locks. She liked the way he looked at her as if he wanted to sweep her into his arms and run to an empty room. She liked that. She never had before. He was leaning down to her with a hunger pounding his heart against her. Suddenly she yanked her hands out of his hair, allowing her chipped blood-red nails to claw back down his torso before finding his hands on her hips. She laced her left fingers through his right and stepped back, their gaze never wavering for a moment. She took a deep breath and turned, pushing through the dancing crowd, dragging him with her. Her heart was beating ferociously inside her chest as she smashed open the door in the far corner of the club. Yanking Aden in behind her she slammed the door closed and yanked him against her. She could feel his warm breath sweeping her hair as she ran her hands over his shoulders, pushing his jacket off, letting it drop to the floor at their feet. She turned her face up towards his, their breath mingling in the millimetre of space between their mouths. This intimacy, this burning hunger, this longing and desperation, this was more passionate than kissing. Suddenly voices sounded from the back of the cupboard they were in and the throbbing of music from upstairs sounded inside the room as the door at the top of the stairs opened.



Aden turned towards the noise, bewildered and angered at the interruption. By the time he'd turned back to Topaz she was standing away from him, hanging his jacket on a peg on the wall. He struggled to focus his eyesight in the fierce darkness, but when he eventually did he realised they were standing in a narrow cupboard with a hidden staircase at the very back. When Topaz had hung up his jacket she turned to him and laced their hands together, almost as if to guide him through the room. By the time the voices had reached them, they were passing each other on the stairs. Aden wasn't sure, but it was almost as if the two men had had light glowing around the edges of their bodies. "I hope you're ready for this," Came Topaz's seductive voice as they reached the top of the stairs. "Before today you'd never met another Worlder. Well, now it's time to dance with them all."



She lead him to the bar, propped herself on a barstool and ordered two cocktails assigned to her tab. She knew all the barmen here. Knew all the regulars. But she wasn't interested in the familiars tonight, not with their sympathetic expressions reminding her of the reason she was standing beside an Angel right now. She turned to Aden as she sipped her cocktail through an orange straw. He was leaning against the bar on her left, leaning back against it with his arms folded over his chest, his blonde hair shining gold under the tiny white lights from the bar. He was watching the dancing Worlders, the smaller and more fragile pixies, the tall and lean werewolves, the pale and shiny vampires, the elegant and glowing witches and finally, the tattooed and gothic mermaids. His mouth was slightly open, his eyes wide and wondrous as he took in the scene before him. "Yo stranger!" Came a female voice from down the bar on their left. Aden didn't react to the voice, but Topaz would recognise her anywhere. "Mimi!" She laughed, hugging the witch in return when she'd approached. The curvy girl had caramel curls falling to her shoulders, the exact same match as her skin tone. Her brown eyes were always big and open, now smiling happily at Topaz. "My Angel you've not changed a bit, have you?" Mimi said, folding her arms. "I'd like to think not," Topaz shrugged, setting her glass onto the bar, half empty next to Aden's full one. "But you have." This wasn't entirely a lie. The witch had gained weight since the last time they'd met, but besides that there were no other traitors to her usual bohemian appearance. "You think so? It's the new meals Derek's been making, man I've rekindled my love of food!" The witch laughed and something shone in her eyes. Something Topaz had always envied of the witch. Mimi always got the same look whenever she spoke of Derek, her boyfriend of three years. "Still with the vamp then?" Mimi scowled at Topaz's nickname for Derek. "As a matter of fact..." Mimi extended her left hand towards Topaz with a grin as white as pearls. Topaz gasped as the strobe lights bounced off the elegant diamond slotted onto Mimi's wedding finger. "He didn't...?"
"He did!" Topaz jumped off the stool with a squeal, throwing her arms around her long-distanced friend. "I don't believe it!" She gasped, pulling out of the hug and sitting back on her stool. "Congratulations, Mi. Can't believe he finally grew the balls to do it." Mimi scowled again before regaining her smile. "What about you? How's your love life? Still with Kye-slash-Sam?" Topaz smirked and shot a glance at Aden who was looking at Topaz with questioning eyes. Mimi caught Topaz looking at the Angel next to them and basically dropped onto the floor. "Oh Angel, I'm sorry Paz, I didn't realise you'd started dating someone else." Aden opened his mouth to correct the witch, but not before Topaz shot in, "Actually I'm not, this is only Aden. I was with Kye a couple nights ago as a matter of fact and Sam," She shrugged nonchalantly. "Well I haven't seen him in a couple weeks. We keep our distance, you know." Mimi shook her head in awe, the two Worlders unaware of the fact that Aden was now standing with his mouth open at Topaz. "So you're still playing them both then?" Mimi asked excitedly. Topaz shrugged. "I'm not playing anybody. I just so happen to spend more time with Kye because my brother's dating his sister, but that doesn't mean we have to be dating too... He knows about Sam and Sam knows about Kye. I'm not a liar, and I don't keep secrets." Mimi was shaking her head in awe before something clicked on in her mind. "Hang on a minute, what did you say he was called again?" Mimi turned her gaze on Aden as if seeing the Angel for the first time. "Uh..." Topaz realised she'd said 'Aden' and with Mimi knowing his name now, it would also mean she knew he wasn't a Nighter. But without his jacket his wings were visible. They were just hard to spot tucked down behind his back. Mimi turned back to look at Topaz with wide eyes, her expression asking incredulously; 'You're not dating this guy?' "This is Aden. Aden this is Mimi, the second Nighter you're going to have a conversation with." Aden turned to Mimi with one of his magical smiles, making Mimi gasp and take a step backwards. "You're a Lighter?" Mimi gasped quietly in awe. Aden nodded his head. "And you're a witch? Like an actual, real witch?" Mimi turned to look at Topaz questioningly who then shrugged and sat her cocktail back on the bar once again. "What can I say, he's inexperienced... This is his first time in the Dark World... You're the second Nighter he's spoken to." Mimi shook her head in awe. "I can't believe we have a Lighter here, right now, in our club without arresting people or throwing people out," Aden looked baffled for a moment before Topaz shook her head at him tightly, sipping her cocktail again. Aden turned as if just remembering his drink and began sipping it profusely. "So Aden, what's your surname?" Topaz choked and spat, "What?!" At Mimi's random question. "Well you know, which family does he belong to?" Mimi turned back to Aden who was looking at Topaz with questioning eyes over the rim of his glass. She shook her head violently, her eyes warning him in every way. "Oh right," Aden laughed bashfully at Mimi, setting his glass on the bar. "I'm Aden Brightlaw." Mimi nodded and said, "Good upper-class name," She looked impressed as she turned back to Topaz. "Good catch, Paz." Topaz shook her head simply. "We're not together." She said calmly. "Topaz," Mimi scoffed. "You never are."



"You're not really here to help me with my parents' death are you?" Zac asked Alice as the pair lay down in the shallow embankment just on the outskirts of the forest, wrapped up in each other staring up at the stars. Laying this close, he could feel her heart beating against the side of his ribcage. Alice shook her head, her beautiful blonde hair sprawled out on the grass beneath her like a stunning carpet. "I'm here to help you, with you." She said simply, turning her blue eyes to meet his own. "But your brother-"
"Will be gone in a week. I'll take him home and then I'll tell him I've forgotten something and come right back."
"Will you though? Will you really?" The Angel turned, propping herself up on one elbow. "I can't lie to you, Zac, I've told you that before." He reached up and gently swept the backs of his fingers across her beautiful soft tanned cheek. He loved every little thing about Alice. Her flawless perfections were infinite: The way she smiled in the toughest of times, her sharp breaths always cool against his skin, her delicate fingers sweeping his own, her skin always cold even in the sunshine, her long blonde hair shining golden even in the dark, her blue eyes deep and never ending like the ocean in La Ville Souterraine, her laugh touching every part of his body warming him in the dead of night, and more importantly her words always keeping him safe even when they were close to losing their lives. Her personality was like a cloak; touching every single part of his body, keeping him warm and untouched by the outside world. He was as in love with Alice Lighting now just as much as he had been the very first time he saw her. And he didn't care. He'd live his love for her ten-fold if spending even a minute with her was his reward.

Back in the club the three Worlders were dancing, two attractive girls grinding on Aden as he swayed to the music, the power behind the cocktail hitting him under the burn of the lights. He felt sweaty all over, as if he were sunbathing in space. He couldn't take his hands off Topaz, running them along her arms, through her hair. He wanted to kiss her so bad, wanted her to stop dancing so he could do it. He was getting frustrated because she wouldn't stop when he wanted her to. He just wanted her. Badly. "Topaz." He gasped and yanked her against him as soon as Mimi had walked off to the bar. She stumbled against him, her hands slapping against his chest, her hair sprawling down her back. As she looked up at him and their eyes met he felt himself relax. Her eyes were the colour of the ocean in La Ville Souterraine and he felt himself go numb as he looked deeper into their depths, her lips parted slightly as his moved closer to hers. Suddenly she was gone, tumbling to the ground beside them after a Nighter had knocked into her roughly. "Topaz!" He called out numbly, helping her to her feet before turning to the guy, instantly recognisable by his pale, almost transparent skin, as a vampire. "Hey," Aden called out angrily. "Apologise!" He demanded of the vampire who was staring down at Topaz with a yearning look in his eyes. Aden didn't know why but he wanted to slap this guy silly. "Why should I, Angel?" The vampire slurred, swaying on the spot. "Wait," Aden paused in thought. "I don't remember telling you-"

"Aden!" Topaz gasped as she took in the sight of Aden's wings, spread out high in the air to their proper height, towering above everyone else in the room, as wide as a person and as beautiful and delicate as a fluffy puppy. Aden reached behind him and felt nothing but his t-shirt, stretching and feeling the flutter of his wings above him. It was as if he'd yelled to the crowd as soon as he'd realised because suddenly one-by-one the Nighters stopped dancing. As one guy yelled "Angel!" Topaz threw herself in front of Aden and began shoving him off of the dance floor and towards the doors. "Hey, I wasn't finished with that guy!" Aden complained, pointing towards the Vampire as they hurried through the Nighters, all staring at Aden in disgust. "Snitch!" Someone yelled at Topaz as she hurried him towards the door. "Liar!" Another shouted. "Cheat!" Before long insults were being thrown at the pair and by the time they'd reached the door the whole crowd were pushing forwards, trying to enclose themselves around Aden and Topaz. Quickly Aden folded his wings down and yanked on his jacket before the pair pushed out into the Norant part of the nightclub. Topaz grabbed her cloak out of the small cupboard beside the door before grabbing Aden's hand and yanking him out of the club, Nighter's pushing through after them. Laughing hysterically Topaz dragged Aden down the road and around the corner, skidding to a stop breathlessly. "Why were they wanting us?" Aden asked confusedly as Topaz dropped her cloak to the ground, pulling his jacket off behind him, staring at his wings flattened against his back. "Because you're an Angel..." Topaz mumbled distractedly behind Aden. He turned in confusion. "What is it?" He asked, seeing her awe-filled expression. "Your wings..." Her eyes were sparkling blue in the light of the moon. "What about them, are they okay?" Quickly Aden unwrapped his wings, feeling the feathers flutter as he whooshed them out above him. Topaz gazed up at them open-mouthed, her eyes sparkling and her whole expression one of amazement. "They're... They're..." She shook her head, her heels clicking on the pavement as she walked around him, gazing up at the wings. She reached her hand as if she'd been about to touch them before a voice cracked the silent night around them on the quiet Main Street. "There he is!" A vampire yelled from across the road, pointing to Topaz and Aden. "Run!" Topaz screamed, grabbing his hand and yanking him down the road, their jackets abandoned on the pavement.



Alice was calm staring up at the stars with Zac. It was a quiet, beautiful night with the half-moon eclipsed with clouds. Alice always felt happy in the Dark World as long as she was with Zac. She'd met him on her first trip to the Dark World when she was sixteen. They became fast enemies working beside each other with a Worlder from each vicinity as they patrolled areas of the Dark World. It wasn't until Alice's eighteenth birthday that she'd got into trouble with a rogue werewolf. It had her pinned in an alleyway, the cries of his pack members echoing from the end of the street as her colleagues fought against them. The ragged breath of the werewolf slobbered down her dress as it's claws ripped into her chest. If Zac hadn't came after her, she would've died in a puddle of her own blood. But she vaguely remembered him yelling her name at the bottom of the alleyway, attacking the werewolf before turning back to her in a blind panic. It was that blind panic that had distracted him that night. He left the werewolf half for dead, giving him time to heal as he fussed over Alice's dying body. He'd flung her over his shoulder and ran to the jeep they'd travelled in. Laying her down on the back seats he worked over her chest with the medical equipment they had. She's woken up in a hotel room the next morning with giant red scars the only reminder of the night before. She began to fall for Zac right then. His light blue eyes contrasting with his dark hair, the vague ghost of the feeling of his rough pale hands healing her as she dozed in and out of consciousness. It took the pair three years to admit to their feelings. They had to work together during this time, the Nightingale's and Lightingale's assigned to no other Worlder but each other. Alice would never forget that night, the night she told Zac how she felt about him. The pair had became friends after her encounter with the yellow-eyed werewolf. Alice felt bound to the mermaid after he'd risked his life to save her own. The pair had been under attack by a group of rogue vampires, the pair trapped at the bottom of an elevator shaft, crouched beneath the metal bars, panting and panicking, trying to conjure a plan. "Zac," Alice had whispered, their bodies squashed against each other in the small space. Zac had turned his burning eyes on hers, sweat shining on his forehead making his hair stick to the skin there. As soon as their eyes met Alice had kissed him. His hands, always rough and cold had slid up her back, brushing her wings, giving her the most wonderfully safe feeling she'd ever experienced. "I've been wanting to do that since the day I met you." She breathed against his lips, their breath mingling, their smiles brushing each other's. "Alice-" he'd spoken her name with such care and affection. Her breath caught in her throat just at the sound of her name on his lips. But the rest of his sentence had been interrupted with the lead vampire leaping onto his back, his sharp nails digging into his throat. Alice had screamed like she'd never screamed before, the violence of the attack freezing her in her crouch. Her white leather fighting gear was covered in Zac's blood by the time she'd slaughtered every vampire in the building with merely Zac's dagger. She ensured a mermaid had taken him back to La Ville Souterraine before going back home and falling apart in the shower. She didn't know if he'd lived or died that night. And she didn't find out for another week until patrol came again. She saw him before he saw her, and she knew she couldn't work with him. She knew that what she'd said to him had been the wrong thing to do. She wasn't supposed to be with Nighter's. It was forbidden. Alice had travelled back to the Light World immediately and pleaded with her parents to rotate the groups, just so she wouldn't have to work with Zac anymore. Instead she worked with Louise Nuit, a mermaid who after two months claimed to be dating Zac. Her Zac. For nights Alice cried herself to sleep, heartbroken over the thought of someone else kissing Zac, someone else holding him. She hadn't had the pleasure of anything other than a kiss from Zac, but she could imagine how his hands would feel pressed against her back in an embrace so powerful that nothing else could touch her. It wasn't until the fifth month away from Zac before their paths crossed again. "Alice." That familiar way his voice held her name sent shivers over her spine and made her rush forwards, throwing her arms around him in the throb of the packed nightclub. She should've expected him to be there, just seconds from La Ville Souterraine where the mermaids lived in their underground world. "I've missed you so much." His voice breathed in her ear as his fingers trailed through her hair. "I've missed you more she whispered. "Hey now, I didn't know you two knew each other." Louise slurred, pulling Zac away from her. She slobbered over him, making Alice's eyes fill with tears. She listened as Zac called her name as she pushed through the crowd towards the bar. She couldn't stand it. Listening to Louise talk about her Zac was bad enough without actually seeing them together. "Alice, I'm sorry." Zac said when he found her a while later at the bar. "Save your apologies, Zac. I don't care what you have to say to me." Alice had turned her back on him then with all the willpower she could handle. Her wings were tucked safely underneath the floor-length pink chiffon dress she was wearing that night, her hair plaited over her right shoulder, the braid falling past her waist. "D'you remember," He whispered, reaching a hand out and brushing the scars forever clawed on the left side of her neck, leading all the way down the left side of her body until her waist. "The night you got these?" He finished, his fingers trailing to the neckline of her dress as she turned to face him with tears in her eyes as she nodded her head. "I thought I'd lost you forever... I didn't know if I could save you or not." Alice swallowed loudly, barely able to look him in the eye. "I'm sorry I left you," She whispered, looking at her perfectly manicured nails as she played with the frills on the front of her dress. "But I was so scared-" Zac reached out and trailed a hand over her cheek, pushing his fingers on her lips saying, "Ssh, I'm here now." He pulled her into the circle of his arms and held her close whispering, "I don't want you to leave ever again."
"We can't be together Zac... They'll kill us." Zac was all too aware of the fact that Norants used this phrase plenty of size to highlight the ferocity of the situation. Just like he was aware of the fact that when Alice said it, she meant it one hundred percent. Not only would his parents be disappointed in him, but her parents wouldn't rest until they had his cold body in one box, his fish tail in another. "We can be together." He'd promised her faithfully, before sweeping her out of the club and into the pixie forests at the end of the road. There the pair sat looking up at the stars and bound themselves to the promise that no matter what happened between their worlds, between their shapes, they'd always belong to each other. They agreed to have relationships with people of their own shape, in order to cover up their own. And that's what they did. Alice began dating Alistair from the Light World, and Zac continued seeing Louise on-and-off. Although, from what Alice heard from Louise, it was more off than on. Zac hated the thought of being with two girls, playing them off one another. He hated the fact that his sister done the same to every boy she saw, and he promised that as soon as they got the chance they'd run off.



That had been their plan for years, constantly sneaking around, seeing each other once a week on patrols and sending messages whenever they could. But one thing was clear as they got older; their love would never die. And that's why they'd planned to run away the week after that. But his parent's death and Aden's interference had ruined everything. Alice didn't know when they'd ever be together. She didn't know if she should give up on the future she'd dreamed of for twelve years; a future spent with Zac, in a far off city where they both wouldn't need to hide, a place far away from British Worlders, and if possible, Worlders altogether.



Laughter broke the night silence around the pair laid out on the embankment and Alice shot up into a sitting position, recognising her brother's hearty chuckle. "That's Aden." She whispered to Zac who was sitting up beside her. He nodded. "That's Topaz." The pair shared a look of dread, realising at the same time that they hadn't thought to check Topaz's bedroom before they'd left the house. "Of course she was gonna sneak out." Zac sighed, running a hand over his forehead. "That's not like Aden at all." Alice admitted as the pair climbed to their feet wiping grass off their coats. The laughter was getting nearer and in seconds the outline of two figures came into Alice's eye-line. She saw the curve of Aden's wings as he spread them high over the pair of them under the trees, his chest rising and falling rapidly from running. And then she saw the slender figure of Topaz as she stretched up to ruffle Aden's hair, saying words neither Zac nor Alice could hear. "And just what do you think you're doing?" Zac called out into the evening air, causing the young teenagers to jump in surprise. "Well, well, well, look what we have here. It's the sister Angel and the brother Mermaid. That's a surprise." Topaz slurred, turning away from Aden and walking towards the pair in stilettos way too high for Alice. "What're you doing out of La Ville Souterraine, Topaz?"
"You still call it that? Seriously bro? I call it Hell, maybe you should too."
"You didn't answer my question."
"Maybe that's because I don't like it."
"Have you been drinking?"
"Haven't you?" Zac knew it was pointless arguing with Topaz. She answered his questions with one of her own, and answered his answers with a sarcastic insult. He hardly blamed her for drinking, it had only been twenty-four hours since she'd found their parents slaughtered in their own home. He still shuddered at the Devilish sight of his mother's dead body... "Zac and I came out to arrange somewhere for us to stay." Alice said, breaking the evil looks passing between the mermaid siblings. Her own brother was walking towards her looking grim, biting his bottom lip hard as if mentally arguing with himself over something. "And by 'us' you mean...?" Topaz folded her arms condescendingly, eyeing the older Angel with contempt. "The four of us and our brothers," Zac answered impatiently, turning on his heel and heading back to the sloping hill of the underground tunnel leaning to La Ville Souterraine. "We're not staying in that Hell-hole any longer, Paz." Topaz hurried to walk beside her brother while Aden fell in to step alongside Alice with his hands shoved into his pockets. The Mermaids walked ahead of the Angels, silently discussing their temporary home in the Norant hotel a few miles away from here. "So what happened tonight?" Alice asked Aden, looping her arm through his own as they walked, feeling the usual guilty spasm at having to keep secrets from her own brother of whom she was best friends with. "Nothing. We went out." Alice leaned closer and smelled the sickening scent of Witch-made alcohol. "You went to the Grinder Bar, didn't you?"
"The where?" Aden looked down at his sister with hooded eyes, that mental war still playing out in his mind with the veil shielding his eyes. "It's the bar on the road just outside of the Norant Park at the other side of those trees." Alice explained as they trudged on through the tunnels. "Oh right... Yeah... We went there." Aden no longer felt the need to lie to his sister, of which she was pleased. "Why?" Alice asked with an emphatic sigh. "Because I'm sick of having to obey by what everybody tells me to do!" Alice knew how he felt. Her parents were pretty smothering, as well as the rest of the Angels in the Light World. She'd grown to despise her parents after she joined the patrols at the age of sixteen. Quite frankly Alice was surprised at how long Aden had managed to last under their parent's roof. She herself was suffocated. "Sometimes it's good to get out of Le monde de la Lumière... Mum and dad are pretty claustrophobic."
"Pretty? How about severely?" Aden was angry. Alice could tell by the fists balled in his pockets, the unwavering tone increasing his volume. She felt helpless. She wanted to rescue her brother from Le monde de la Lumière, cradle him in her arms and flee from the Worlders, just her, Aden and Zac to worry about. But she knew Zac was struggling to loosen the reins on his siblings in order to leave. And she knew she'd never be able to live with herself if she took Aden and Zac left Topaz. Besides, Aden would highly disapprove of their relationship and after a while of living away from the Light World, would return to their parents and tell them everything. Alice couldn't risk that. She couldn't afford to risk anything. She'd already risked too much by sneaking around. She couldn't do it any longer.





"So you're saying you'd much rather stay under here, in this Hellish place?" Zac sounded appalled and Topaz regretted asking him why repeatedly. "No I wouldn't much rather we stayed, but why the sudden change of heart? You've always been insistent on us staying in the place we were born."
"Well we can't exactly stay there now, can we?" Topaz sighed and ran her hands over her face. "Look," She pulled her brother to a stop beside her. "I know you're going through exactly the same thing as I am so will you just quit trying to be the dad and just be my brother again? You're acting as if they're not dead, like you've been promoted and now you need to take care of everything. Why can't we just live freely like we normally do?"
"Because," Her brother said, looking down at her with large, apologetically sympathetic eyes. "We just can't." He stormed off down the tunnel and Topaz groaned, throwing her hands in the air. "Everything okay?" Aden asked as him and his sister turned the corner and caught up with her. "No," Topaz snapped, turning to Alice. "What have you said to him?" She demanded. Alice looked shocked for a moment. "Sorry?"
"Yeah, you better be. Cause if I find out you've said something to upset him I'll pluck every fe-"
"Topaz," Her brother's strong authoritive voice cut off her sentence and she wheeled, finding her brother standing before her looking outraged. "You will never speak to Alice like that again, d'you hear me?" Topaz turned with her deep red hair flaring back to black and her red eyes calming to blue. "Why, what does it matter?"
"Because," Her brother said lowly, that thick loud voice making her shivers uncontrollable. "I told you so." He then spun and stormed off once more, but this time, Alice chased after him. "Whoa," Aden said baffled as he watched their siblings run off. "Wonder what all that was about..." Topaz turned and looked up at his innocent face. "Isn't it obvious?" She asked him, tears shining in her eyes, a lump choking her throat. The Angel shook his head and Topaz sighed lightly. "No..." She said softly. "I suppose to you it wouldn't be."





"Why are you so pessimistic?" Aden asked as the pair set off after their siblings. "Why are you so innocent?"
"I'm an Angel," He smiled. "I'm supposed to be." The mermaid shrugged and crossed her arms. "I'm gutted I dropped my cloak, that thing was amazing."
"Yeah it was pretty nice."
"Nice? That thing was mermaid silk, the best of its kind."
"Mermaid silk? And there was me thinking it was velvet." Topaz laughed and shook her head. "That's why I was able to change... The material it's made with is incredible."
"It's magic, that's what it is."
"Well..." Topaz shrugged. "I suppose you could say that."





The Angels helped the mermaids transport their bags outside of the house where family associates collected them alongside the Lightingale's own belongings. "How were you able to pack for a week in a bag so small?" Topaz gasped to Aden and Alice as she observed their small satchels. "We pack light." Alice said sternly as she began hurrying after Zac on their way out of the caves. "What's with your sister, she's so uptight?" Topaz kissed her teeth as the pair watched Alice run round the corner after Zac. "I don't know... She's been acting weird recently..." Aden shook his head. "I guess this all a bit of a crazy time for everyone." Topaz could hardly disagree; after all it was her parents who had died. She couldn't stop thinking about Alice and Zac though, the way they held each other's eyes, the fierce protectiveness against each other. She hadn't seen anything like it before between strangers. She knew something wasn't right. Something she couldn't put her finger on. And she vowed to get to the bottom of it by the time the week was out.