[A.N. I know in earlier chapters I describe her as having black hair and hazel eyes, but I have done a lot of editin (only small details, nothing crucial to the plot) so now she has red hair and green eyes. Like in the cover picture.]
Edana was still shaken the next day. The conversation between her and Lucian had taken a serious mental toll on her. She felt closer to him than anybody before and while the weight of her family’s betrayal still clung heavily to her mind, she felt as if part of the weight had been lifted.
She wandered aimlessly through a park a few streets down from her new home. Lucian and his father still didn’t want her leaving the mansion, but she had needed to get out; to clear her head. So, she put a compulsion in the guards’ minds and slipped off the grounds. Lucian had been screaming in her mind for a while, but she had blocked her mind so securely she couldn’t hear him anymore.
She sat down on a bench on the side of the park that was bordered by trees and watched a group of boys a way off playing rugby.
It was just all so confusing. She wasn’t used to letting people in, to sharing all her secrets with them. Dani knew about her past and the vampires knew about her abilities, but it was somehow different when someone knew both sides of her. She had to admit though, it was nice to have someone she could share these things with, and thanks to the mind-link they had shared during the conversation, she knew he was honest when he said that he cared about her, that he loved her. It was a strange feeling, hearing those words, feeling the truth behind them. She knew her friends, especially Dani felt the same, but they had never said it. It was like an unspoken agreement between the five of them that they would never say those words. None of them were comfortable hearing those words, and they were even less comfortable saying them. They had all suffered damaging years; years that had made that one simple word a fearful concept. They never said it, but they didn’t need to. They all knew how they felt about each other. They didn’t know about her abilities though. A part of Edana felt that if they did, their feelings would change, that they would desert her.
She felt more comfortable since her talk with Lucian though. A part of her still argued with her, saying that it was different because he was a vampire and was therefore very much used to special abilities and less likely to loath her for hers, especially since she was supposed to save his entire kingdom. Another part of her though, a newly formed part, had hope that maybe they could accept her, that maybe they loved her enough to stand by her.
She sat for a while on that bench, thinking things over, idly watching the impromptu sports game. Sometime later, a pair of men walked out from behind the trees. She didn’t notice them at first, but when she did she jumped up from her spot and immediately went on the defensive, relieved when she finally recognised them.
“Josh, Dantè, what are you guys doing here?”
“We heard a little bird flew the coup,” Josh joked, an uncharacteristic smirk on his lips.
Edana laughed, “Yeah, I just needed some air, you know? After that episode at the party and then everything that happened yesterday, I just needed to get out and clear my head.”
“Naughty, naughty, Edana, you know it’s not safe out here,” Dantè grinned.
“Yeah, the Gaunts could get you,” Josh laughed, flashing his teeth.
Edana cocked her head to the side. “What’s wrong with you guys today? You’re acting very weird.”
“We’re just happy I guess, you always have about a thousand people around you, it’s almost impossible to get you alone.”
“And why would you guys want to get me alone?” Warning bells were going off in Edana’s head but she pushed them aside, these were her friends for Christ’s sake! She could trust them.
“Well, why wouldn’t we want to spend some alone-time with the saviour of Amphioxus’s kingdom? The little human girl who is single-handedly going to force us back into hiding, into pretending we’re equal to humans instead of taking our rightful place on top.”
The warning bells had switched off by now. She no longer needed them. Whether she considered them friends or not was inconsequential, they were obviously against her. “You’re Gaunts.” She already knew, it was obvious, but she wanted them to admit it.
They just laughed. “Finally caught on have you? Why do you think we spent so much time trying to get to know you, to spend so much time with you? Because we liked you? Don’t be ridiculous! Vampires were always meant to rule, we’re faster, stronger, better beings!” Josh snarled. “You said so yourself, during your little heart to heart with Philip, vampires have the power.”
“I specifically remember saying that there’s nothing wrong with having the power as long as you don’t misuse it!” She retaliated.
“Human constrictions, your ideas of good and evil are so warped that even you can’t agree on what is and isn’t!” Dantè returned.
“So are Darren, Christian and Philip in on this too?” She demanded.
Josh snorted, “Please, those three are so moral it’s disgusting! Darren’s dedication to Amphioxus is pathetic, as is Christian’s need to let the memory of his old family seep into his new life, and Philip well that boy is just plain useless!”
“What happened to you Josh? If you’re so proud to be a vampire, why turn your back on the one who turned you? Why betray Darren like this?”
Josh laughed, “You really do know nothing, don’t you? Darren never turned me. I’m the only one in our little club that wasn’t. I was a tax-collector in my previous life, but I had a habit of skimming a little off the top. When I was eventually caught, the king was out for blood, literally. I ran, fearing for my life, and eventually met Saven. He told me all about himself and offered to turn me. I didn’t believe him at first, but he convinced me by killing a local whore and leaving her bloodless corpse in the gutter. He was offering me the world on a platter, who was I to say no? He explained the goals of the Gaunts, what their plans where, and I was more than willing to go along with them. So, they put me in Darren’s area to scout out what was happening and turning as many people as possible to our cause. Darren found me, thought I was a crazed Pale and took me in. Eventually we found Dantè. He was the first person I turned, my first convert. I tried to convert Philip too, but he was too stupid to understand! So loyal to Darren and Christian!” He grinned, Edana realised for the first time how feral it looked.
Just as Edana was about to lunge at them in anger, the rugby ball the boys were playing with came flying over, landing a few metres behind them. A brown haired boy came jogging over to collect it and in the blink of an eye Josh and Dantè had the boy held tightly between them. The boys yelled demands to be released were ignored. His friends watched anxiously from where they had been playing, unsure what to do.
“Let him go!” Edana demanded.
“Now, now, I know that look in your eye,” Josh snickered condescendingly. “It’s the same look you had yesterday before you attacked Edwin, and we definitely don’t want a repeat of that. We know you’re not strong enough to attack both of us simultaneously – not now anyway – so, if you attack me, Dantè kills the boy, if you attack Dantè, I kill the boy, and we know how against hurting innocent people you are.”
“I won’t attack either of you, just let the boy go, he has nothing to do with this!” She yelled.
“Oh, we know you won’t, but we’re not going to take the chance that you might take the chance,” Dantè smirked.
She tried sneaking into both their minds at the same time without them noticing, but she was still drained from the last two days events and she could feel herself weakening from just that small contact. They were right: she didn’t have the strength to take them both down.
“What do you want from me?” She eventually screamed, frustrated at her own helplessness.
“It’s obvious isn’t it? We want you dead! When we told our leaders about your arrival they assured us you would be taken care of!”
“You told them were and who I was?” Edana asked shocked. After yesterday, she had assumed it was Edwin.
“Of course! Do you have any idea how we will be rewarded for that?! How much more we will be rewarded for handing them the great Edana’s head on a plat–”
“Edana? As in Edana Greenwood?” The rugby boy snapped, twisting to look at Edana. He had gone silent for a while but all three snapped to attention when he spoke again.
“You know me?” Edana asked in shock, looking him over, racking her memory for where she could have known him. She didn’t usually hang out with jocks. They didn’t exactly frequent the kinds of places she hung out at.
Suddenly her eyes widened in shock. His eyes. They were a bright, vibrant green. Her gaze shot up to his hairline. His hair was light brown, but now she knew what she was looking for she could see the red roots, barely visible above the brown dye. His jawline, his nose, his lips, even his ears. Identical.
“Casey?” She asked in awe.
His eyes rounded in an identical expression of shock. The two identical faces stared at each other. The only differences between them was his hair (colour and length), her make-up and while maturity had softened her features slightly, it had slightly sharpened his. Also, his face was free of scars. Josh and Dantè burst out laughing.
“Casey, as in your twin brother? The one who abandoned you? Oh, this is too rich! I mean, what are the chances?” Josh chortled.
The sound of Josh’s voice seemed to snap the two of them out of their stupor.
“Let him go!” Edana growled. If she had had even the slightest thought of risking the boy, it was gone now that she knew who he was.
Dantè and Josh fell silent mid-laugh. “Since we’re the ones with the hostage – your beloved brother no less – I think we’ll be the ones making the threats,” Josh snarled.
Edana had had enough of this. She didn’t care whether she had the strength or not, this was Casey. No-one – no-one threatened Casey. She summoned up everything she had and used her powers of telekinesis to knock them off him. The blow, fuelled by her raw fury threw them to the other side of the park. The pain she felt at using that kind of power didn’t even register, she was so angry she just watched them fly; readying herself for the fatal blow she was determined to deliver. Unfortunately, seconds after the two hit the ground, they jumped up and disappeared.
She swore under her breath and then headed over to Casey who laid a few metres away. He had unwittingly been dragged along by the vampires when she hit them before being released.
“Are you okay?” She asked, reaching down to help him up, but he scrambled away from her.
“Stay away from me!” He yelled eyes wide.
“What? Why?” She asked shocked.
“‘Why’? Seriously? After all these years you still have to ask me why?” He demanded, standing up and glaring at her.
“Kay?”
“What just happened?”
“Who’s this?”
His friends had arrived. She cursed mentally; she couldn’t allow them to remember what had happened. She would have to deal with them – but first things first… “I just saved your ass! You’re honestly going to stand there and moan about how?” She yelled; all her hurt at his betrayal turning into anger at how ungrateful he was being.
“It was your fault I was in danger in the first place! The fact that I was nearly killed just by being in the same park as you proves that I made the best decision ever by leaving you!” He yelled back.
“Ex-girlfriend?” She heard one of his friends whisper to another.
“Try twin sister!” She snapped.
“What?”
“Kay has a sister?”
“I didn’t know that.”
“You’re not my sister!” Casey yelled.
Edana laughed, “You can change your name and hair colour, but face it ‘Kay’ we’re still related.”
“We might share the same blood, but you are no relative of mine! You’ve obviously thrown your life away! Luckily I got out before you could drag me down with you! I mean just look at your nose! What, did you try to rob somebody and get beat up? That’s something you’d do, right? Do you still live in that crappy apartment, or have you run away already?” He sneered. “You always were a freak of nature, a little delinquent, but now you’re obviously little more than a criminal! So stay away from me and my friends!”
Edana clenched her jaw. That was it. He was right, he wasn’t her brother. Her brother was caring and thoughtful. Her brother loved her. This idiot standing before her was nothing like her brother.
“Money and reputation. That was all you ever cared about wasn’t it?” She asked. “You always wanted a high paying job, never mind if you actually enjoyed it or not, as long as it paid well. I might have been a delinquent – a word you probably can’t even spell – but you were a sell-out! I’d choose being a criminal over being a sell-out any day.” She could feel her anger at him rise as he rolled his eyes condescendingly at her. “I mean, would you even have continued to stay away if you knew how rich I was now?” She scowled at him.
“You’re rich?” He asked, laughing sarcastically.
She smirked back at him, “You might have moved out of our flat so you could live in a duplex; but while you’re still living in that duplex, we now live in a double story that could fit four of your lovely little duplexes inside! Plus, the guy I’m currently living with – my fiancé,” she held up her left hand to flash the engagement ring Lucian had given her, “has a seven-story mansion that could probably fit your entire complex into the first floor alone! I’m not your pathetic little sister that cries every time you’re mean to me anymore. Not only am I now richer and smarter than you,” her eyes flashed dangerously, “but I’m also stronger than you.”
All Casey managed to get out was a shocked “what?” before Edana punched him square in the nose, breaking it and knocking him backwards a few metres – making him fall flat on his rump for the second time.
“Now we’ll have matching scars,” she sneered.
She gave him and his friends one last contemptuous glance – making sure to alter their memories at the same time – before turning on her heel and storming out the park.