Rampage [BK#1 in Dark Creatures]

Nighttime Notions

    Xander reclined easily on the large couch in one of the sitting rooms. This house was huge. He was afraid that if he wandered too far, he might get lost. So he'd stayed in this one sitting room, just across the hall from the ballroom, and waited for the party to simmer down.

    He closed his eyes, letting his mind drift. This had been Amelia's safe haven for as long as he could remember. Every time things weren't going well at home, she could always be counted on to disappear, and Xander to go out and bring her back. The witches had taken a liking to his dazzling sister. They never pried into her personal life, which was something she'd always preferred about these people. No one ever looked here for her, except for Xander. He'd been the one who found her the first time she'd run.

   He could still remember that night. Mother and Grandmother had been arguing, trying to decide who should get to keep Grandfather's journals. Mother said that Father wanted to keep them. Grandmother said that it was her right to own her late husband's personal documents.

    Amelia had been crouching in the hallway, her cheeks pressed against the wooden railings as she listened to them shout back and forth. He hadn't meant to startle her. She was barely seven years old. When she turned to him, her eyes were puffy from crying, her nose red from sniffling. He had gathered her in his arms and carried her back into her bedroom. 

    "Why do they always fight?" she'd murmured to him once he'd tucked her under her blankets. "I'm so sick of all the fighting in this house. I wish we could all just love each other, like a real family."

    "We do love each other," Xander had answered, squeezing her hand. "We just show it differently."

    "I don't," she said stubbornly. "Not to you. I would never fight like that with you."

    Xander's heart constricted at the memory. True to her word, Amelia had never treated him the way Grandmother had treated his parents. She was always so supportive, so loving. The only fight they'd ever really had was the one they were battling with each other now.

   Xander clenched his jaw, throwing an arm over his eyes. He had a right to be angry with her, didn't he? She had chosen to be a Host, knowing what that would mean for them. She knew the rift that this would draw between their worlds, and she'd chosen it anyway. She'd left him. Just like his mother. Just like his father. Just like his grandfather.

     He hadn't noticed Bex standing in the doorway until she cleared her throat.

     "Hey," she said, coming to sit next to him. She had changed into jeans and a t-shirt, but the makeup still remained. Not that she needed it. "You don't look so hot."

     Xander raised an eyebrow, gesturing at his outfit. He was still wearing Amelia's concoction. "I beg to differ."

    She rolled her eyes. "Seriously, what's going on? Something's bothering you." She paused. "Is it your grandmother?"

    Xander sighed, forgetting all about Amelia. "I don't want to talk about her."

    "Well, I need to know why you're here."

    "I'm here to take you back," Xander countered. "Plain and simple."

    "Why?"

    Xander turned to her. "What do you mean 'why'? I don't want you running around when the Dark King is on the loose. Who knows what would happen if he got his hands on you?"

    "And fighting for the Hunters is any safer?" She shook her head. "What if the Council gets to me first? Then they'll kill me." She crossed her arms, looking at me seriously. "You're just here because your grandmother is looking for me, and you want to bring me back so she'll pat you on the head and tell you what a good little grandson you are."

     Xander drew back, hurt. "She didn't even know you were gone when I left. I'm sure she does by now, but I haven't talked to her since I discovered the hotel room was empty." He glanced away, not wanting her to see the pain she'd caused. He took a few seconds to compose himself, to put a block against her harsh words before saying "At least I'm not the one cowering behind a ball gown."

    Her expression hardened. "I'm not doing this for me. I'm doing this for you." And with that she rose to her feet and disappeared out the door, leaving Xander in a state of shock.

   The pretty lady who'd first met him at the door introduced herself as Alice, the current overseer of the mansion. She showed him to a room, which was ornately decorated. As soon as she left, he unbuttoned the shirt, threw it off, and crawled into the bed. Rufus had already found a hotel somewhere, so Xander didn't have to worry too much about his driver's welfare. He figured he'd be staying at this stupid house for a few days anyway. 

     He couldn't decipher what Bex had meant earlier. Why would she do this for him? What would he be getting out of it? Gray hairs, that's what. But even as he stayed up all through the night, thinking about it, he couldn't come to a solid conclusion. He must have been lying there for hours, staring at his ceiling.

     Finally, needing to clear his head, Xander threw his shirt over his shoulders, not bothering to button it, and headed out the door. The whole house was silent. There were dim lamps on either end of the hall, but only enough so one wouldn't accidentally bump into a wall. Xander decided to go outside, heading for the veranda at the end of the corridor. He turned the corner, almost immediately jerking back around. Seth was coming towards him, all the way at the end. If Xander hadn't moved so swiftly, the stupid blondie might have seen him.

     Xander waited against the wall for Seth to pass, meaning to have a bit of fun and scare the daylights out of him, but the guy never came. When Xander peered around the corner to check out the holdup, he was surprised to see Seth's hand turning the doorknob to Bex's bedroom.

     The sight turned Xander's blood to ice. Seth's boldness at this time of night could only mean one thing:

     Whatever was between Bex and Seth, it was more than just polite friendship.

      As much as the action pained him, he waited by the corner a few minutes after Seth had slipped inside, praying that he wouldn't hear something that would haunt him forever. If he heard her do anything other than scream in horror at the guy's presence, he thought he'd pass out.

      But he was met only with silence, despite his heightened hearing abilities. He could only hear her steady heartbeat--something he'd grown accustomed to listening to when he realized the rhythm helped to calm his nerves. 

       Fifteen full minutes passed before Seth left. Xander hadn't meant to stay that long, but something had rooted him to his place. When he scanned the hallway, though, all he saw was a head of blond hair disappear into another room a few doors down.