Dead by Dawn

Chapter 5

"Chase?"

"Your body physique is too weak. Chase was stronger. But, during the implant, something went wrong. Someone disturbed it, and channeled all of my magic to you. You lived, miraculously. Later on, your mother found out that if the magic hasn't gone to you, you would've died."

Wyatt stared down at the carpet and glanced up, noticing a faint light emitting from his bedroom window. Strange. He'd never recalled being in that room. Royce had always said it was off limits to everyone except himself.

"Royce said he was working in the lab today, wasn't he?" Wyatt asked himself.

Someone was in there.

Quietly, Wyatt slid off the bed and slipped in his shoes as he opened his bedroom door and snuck into the hallway. He shivered in his T-shirt and jeans that he'd worn to bed before pressing against the cold walls. His breath seemed loud as he tried to hold his breath a bit before moving on.

It seemed like years had passed before Wyatt reached the door and slipped inside quietly.

The room was amazing. It was like a warehouse, boxes filled with Royce's inventions and blueprints.

Wyatt stepped back and his heel knocked over a box that had been left on the ground. The contents spilled out and Wyatt caught something glinting and dome-shaped out of the corner of his eye. He walked over to it and picked it up. "Contact lenses?" Wyatt muttered. "Why would Royce keep contact lenses in a box?" Wyatt absentmindedly slipped it into his pocket and was about to continue exploring when a piece of corrugated tin rattled.

He froze.

He'd completely forgotten that someone was in the same room as him.

Wyatt grabbed a switchblade lying on one of the work tables and flicked it open. He silently walked over and ripped the piece of metal away.

A girly, high-pitched shriek made him stop.

Wyatt glanced down. It was a little girl, maybe seven, maybe older or younger. She had a timeless face that made you falter at deciding her age. She had blond hair, blue eyes, and a black dress.

Wyatt wondered if she was homeless. Then again, her clothes were impossibly clean for a homeless guy.

He knelt down and forced a smile upon his face. "Hey there, I'm Wyatt. What's your name?"

"Ki...ara. Kiara Lyre," the girl looked at him with her blue eyes.

"What a pretty name."

"Thank you."

"How did you get in?" Wyatt asked, curious.

Kiara pointed to a hidden back door. A sudden bang on the opposite door startled Wyatt.

"Open this damned door!" Royce shouted angrily.

"Oh God..." Wyatt felt feverish. He stood up quickly and pulled Kiara up. "Quickly...escape." He opened up the back door and pushed her out, smiled, then shut it, just as Royce kicked down the other.

Royce's face was a mask of fury. "What the hell are you doing in here? You haven't heard me tell you more than once not to come in here? And who the hell were you taking to?"

Wyatt held his hands up in a defensive stance. "No one," he whispered.

Royce's hand shot out and gripped Wyatt by the throat. Wyatt and started turning red. His vision started blacking. Before he went unconscious, though, Royce threw him against the wall. He slammed into the cement and heard the sickening crunch of bones.

"Wyatt," Thane urged, "Wake up and run. You are walking into death."

*****

Kiara Lyre

She heard the voice in that boy's head. "You are walking into death." Chuckling, she straightened up and spread her arms out.

A miraculous sight happened. A dark light surrounded her. Black wings sprouted out of her back, beautiful against the now clear moon. She didn't enjoy rain.

Kiara reached into her hairclip and snatched the tiny vial of green, deadly liquid out. She watched, mesmerized by its beauty.

Then she took off into the endless night.

"My name is Kiara Lyre. I am the shadow of Angel, the darkness of your heart. And I swear, Wyatt Clark, that I will help Royce awaken you as the ultimate death weapon. If not..." Kiara landed on a branch and watched Wyatt getting beat up.

"... Everything you love will drown in the Dark Angel Kiara's hands and you will be dead as well. Dead, and added to my 'killed list.'" She smiled sadistically as blood could be seen.

"I hope you don't fail me, Wyatt."