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Deadlock-3

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The first thing Nessa was aware of before opening her eyes were the cold, hard facts she'd wanted to escape in reality. Images rose sharply before her eyes of Ty's unseeing gaze, the fire that exploded in her chest, the blood dripping from the gaping hole in Nathan's chest. . .things she never wanted to see, and things she'd never be able to un-see.

Her eyes flew open with a gasp as she tore out of her nightmare, and flicked around the room warily. She was in an unfamiliar place with a low ceiling. There was a single window on the farthest wall, and a fireplace in the corner, the last wood pile smoldering into ashes. It was the only light in the room, and beyond the fact she was lying on an incredibly comfortable bed, she couldn't make anything else out.

A heavy, zinging feeling seemed to choke the room. Her blood sang with it, zipped with it, and even seemed to pulse with it. As unfamiliar as it was, it was a comfortable feeling and she instantly felt calmed, though she had little reason to be. As unfamiliar as it was, it was familiar.

The pain from her chest was dull now, not like the raw scraping she remembered the last time she woke up. It didn't hurt her to sit up as she thought it would. Looking down, she realized she was still dressed in her shirt and leggings, and when she removed her feet from under the covers they were bandaged in a soft white material, not aching.

She placed them softly on the wooden floor and stood up, glad to find her feet steady on the ground. If she reached an arm over her head, her fingertips could only be a couple inches from the ceiling. The invisible cloud in the room wrapped around her skin and caressed her, and she took comfort in it.

The door opened before she could make it there. She took a step back in surprise and sat down at the foot of the bed as a tall, slender woman of about twenty-five stepped into the room, dark hair braided back from her face. Though there was a sternness to her step, the expression on her face was gentle and peaceful. She rested her hazel eyes on Nessa and smiled as if in relief.

"Oh good. You're up," the woman said. "We were worried that you wouldn't recover so quickly." She folded her hands together and stopped in front of Nessa, still smiling.
"We?" Nessa replied hesitantly, staring at the woman.

She winced slightly. "Oops. Forgive me. I suppose you're probably confused and frightened. Not to mention what happened with your father. . . ." She stopped abruptly, seeing the pain flash across Nessa's face and cleared her throat. "I'm Lucinda Nightshade. My husband Kale and I run the Sanctuary here in Yellowstone. Do you remember at all what happened when Sky and Will brought you back?"

Nessa shook her head. "I don't really remember much of anything. I. . . I have a lot on my mind."

Lucinda came and sat next to her on the end of the bed, smoothing her loose fabric of her pants over her knees. "I'm very sorry about what happened to your father, Nessa."

The girl nodded and sighed, trying not to let it show how must she was hurting. "So you know."

"Sky told me," she replied. "I hope that's okay."

Nessa shrugged and after a moment, Lucinda pursed her lips, staring. It made Nessa wonder what she was thinking as she tried to forget her own pain. A big part of it, she decided, was sympathy. Lucinda had to be pitying Nessa right now, and Nessa bet that if she could hear Lucinda's thoughts at that moment, she would hear something along the lines of "that poor girl. . ."

"Nessa, I—." Lucinda stopped for a moment, and then continued more warily. "When Sky and Will brought you in, there were marks of magic on you. Dark marks. The witch who killed your father tried to kill you too."

Nessa's heart skipped a beat, and she looked up at Lucinda with wide eyes. "You're fluffing with me."

"Fluffing?" The older woman looked confused, but only for a moment. "Oh. Oh. No, I'm afraid I'm not fluffing with you." Lucinda frowned.

It didn't make any sense to Nessa, and she didn't know how to comprehend what Lucinda was trying to tell her. What could it mean? She didn't want to know and yet she did. It frustrated and exasperated her when she felt a tear slip down her cheek.

"I'm sorry," she said with intense agitation as she bitterly swept the trail of wetness away. "I just can't seem to stop."

"Shhh, it's okay," Lucinda said softly, patting the girl's naked shoulder. "You're in a lot of pain, and there is a lot going on here that we don't know about. It's natural for you to be so overwhelmed."

"But I need to just accept it," Nessa replied fiercely, moving her shoulder out from under Lucinda's hand. "And I can't. I want to, but I just can't." Her voice cracked on the last word. She felt weak and pitiful, being so emotional, and she resented herself for it. There seemed to be a lot of things she hated about herself recently.

"Nessa," Lucinda spoke, placing her hand back where it had just been. "I can take away your pain. If you want me to."

A spring of hope popped in her heart and Nessa glanced at the woman desperately. "What do you mean?"

Lucinda smiled sadly, as if she was carrying a great weight on her shoulders. "The pain you feel over your father's loss. I can lessen it; make it go away. You don't have to hurt anymore if you don't want to."

"You'd do that for me?" Nessa asked skeptically. She wasn't about to doubt magic again; not with this sweet air that made her blood sing or the way Will could move things without touching them. She didn't need to hurt anyone else in her broken state of insanity.

"Yes, of course," Lucinda replied, reaching up to tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ears.

Nessa considered it for a moment, her heart aching. To forget the pain she felt over her father's death would be a welcome relief, but she was worried that it would make her believe she never loved him enough. Was it worth it? Oh, but her chest hurt so much when she thought about it, and breathing was so difficult. She'd seen Ty murdered and she couldn't take the guilt or the pain any longer.

"Do it," Nessa said in a hard voice, feeling weak as she gave in. "I would. . .I would do anything. Just. . . make me forget this pain."

Lucinda seemed to search her eyes for absolute sincerity, and she must have found it because she nodded and brought her hands to Nessa's head. Carefully, she cradled Nessa between her long fingers and closed her eyes, her lips moving with a silent speech that Nessa wondered if she was supposed to hear.

When the hands came away from Nessa's head, she felt no different than she had earlier. Her heart still hurt, her hands shaking in her lap. Was this supposed to feel so horrible? Ty still weighed heavily on her mind, his limp form dashing before her eyes as she stared at Lucinda.

"How are you feeling?" the woman asked expectantly. Clearly, she was prepared to hear a different answer than the one Nessa was about to give.

"Awful," Nessa said, angry at this woman for tricking her. "I thought you said my pain was supposed to go away."

Lucinda's eyes widened in surprise and she rose to her feet, putting a hand to her heart. "It didn't work? How is that possible?"

"Maybe you're losing your touch, Lucy."

Both women looked to the doorway to see Will leaning up against the doorframe. Nessa hadn't noticed before—she'd been too shocked and pissed at him to take in details—but he was beautiful. Grudgingly so. The kind of boy she'd scoff at if she had gone to school with him, because he'd be the hot jock who wound up with a different cheerleader every week—and despite that, she'd be ogling that jock at every secret opportunity.

His golden hair curled at his temples, and his eyes were as blue as the Pacific at night. He held himself with a decidedly arrogant countenance, broad-shouldered and slender. Under the pale golden tan of his skin, there were slender muscles that flexed with every movement he made. For just a single moment, looking at him, she'd forgotten why she was there.

"I am not losing anything, Will," Lucinda snapped, sounding slightly offended. "What are you doing here? I thought I told you to help Elena get dinner ready."

Will rolled his eyes and stepped into the room. "You know I can't cook. Besides, I wanted to come check on our patient. How're the feet?" He looked down at Nessa with his blue eyes and she thought he was genuinely curious to know of her current state.

"Better," she replied, somewhat defensively, waiting for him to say something. Her handprint was still on his face, his eye slightly swollen, though the blood was gone now.

"I should hope so. You had a window's worth of glass shoved into your skin; I can't imagine how you were able to walk at all," he told her, and she was surprised to hear that he was almost impressed. Not angry with her, not at all. Impressed. He baffled her completely.

"Nessa," Lucinda said, smiling kindly at her. "You are welcome to join us for dinner. I know this is a hard time for you, and I'm sorry I can't help, but perhaps it will heal faster if you had distractions."

"I'm rather good at providing distractions," Will suggested, to which Lucinda scoffed at.

"Thanks," Nessa said with false enthusiasm, directed solely at Will. She then turned to Lucinda. "Thank you." And she truly meant it. Her voice was full of gratitude as she responded, because they didn't know her and they were trying to help her. She couldn't be more grateful, and decided that if they were going to try and comfort her so thoroughly, she would try her best to push the pain away. Though she wasn't hungry, she accepted the invitation. "What are we eating?"

Lucinda looked to Will for an answer, but he shrugged. "How should I know?" he said.

She threw her hands into the air. "Why do I even bother sometimes?" Her brownish eyes turned to Nessa and softened. "I'm sorry my gift failed you. I must go talk to my husband at once; this has never happened before. The Order will want to know. In the meantime, Will. . . "

He looked at her with expectancy.

"Be a gentleman," Lucinda finished, after some hesitation.

"I'm offended that you'd think I'd be anything else," he said, but his eyes sparkled mischievously. Nessa looked back and forth between him and Lucinda and remembered his conversations with Sky. He was quite a piece of work, she thought, but there had to be some sense of decency hidden somewhere in there. He'd brought her here, after all, hadn't he?

Lucinda rolled her eyes and gave Nessa one last reassuring look before stalking out of the room, her high-heels clicking on the wooden floors.

"She doesn't like you very much, does she?" Nessa said boldly, if somewhat awkwardly. Of course, it only appeared to be awkward on Nessa's part; Will looked around the room casually and stuck his hands in his pocket as if he was meant to be standing in that very spot.

He grinned at her question. "Nah. Lucy loves me. I just have a sense of humor she doesn't always appreciate. Story of my life." He put his hand to his chest dramatically and then came to sit next to her. The amusement left his expression as his eyes roamed her face. "How are you holding up? You were hallucinating pretty badly when we got here."

"I was?" She suddenly felt self-conscious despite herself, and reached a hand up to brush away her wild, curling hair. The heaviness in the room pressed against her skin as she did so, and clung to her, a brief scent assaulting her nose; sweet and alluring.

"Yeah," Will nodded. "Thrashing about and screaming. Had we been out on the streets any longer, people might have thought we were kidnapping you."

Nessa gave him a deadpan look, but she was a flurry of emotions on the inside. It was a wonder him and Sky had helped her at all. "What was I screaming?"

"'Help me! They intend to taint my purity!'" He looked absolutely serious, and though she didn't know him, she knew better than to believe him.

"Nice try," she said in a monotone voice.

He watched her with a careful, measured look before answering. She wondered what he was looking for and if he found it. "'He's coming.' 'Oh, God, he's coming!'"

She felt her face pale at the words, but otherwise held herself together. They were not what she was expecting to hear, though she knew he was no longer joking. Perhaps something about Ty or her family back in Los Angeles, or even that she was hurting, the pain burning her from the inside out. Something along those lines. Nothing about Nathan and how he'd come for her. She hadn't even been aware that idea was weighing so heavily on her mind.

"Well, fluff it all. You probably think I'm crazy," she muttered, dropping her head in shame and rubbing her face. "I don't even know you and you've been nice to me, you and Sky and Lucinda. And I'm a snob." She glanced up at him warily. "Sorry I hit you."

He shrugged. "Eh, I deal with this sort of crap all the time. I am appalled, however, at your choice of swear words. Do you honestly think someone is going to take you seriously if you tell them to fluff themselves all the time?"

"Do you honestly think I give a damn about what others think of me?" she questioned, meeting his eyes straight on. She'd never cared; not when she got the cartilage of her ear pierced and put a hoop through it; not when she'd dyed a strip of her hair pink; not even when the skanks of her school had demoralized her reputation in front of the homecoming assembly. It had never mattered to her.

He watched her for a few moments. "I honestly don't know." A beat of silence skipped between him before he cleared his throat, bent on the more important matter at hand. ""Who is coming after you, Nessa?"

She thought it was funny, the fact that he was saying her name for the first time, and it registered in her mind above all else, even when she knew that was stupid because he was stupid. "It was Nathan," she said calmly, sure of herself. "And you killed him."

For a moment, Will looked satisfied with himself. "I must say that I'm rather proud of that one. A dining room table. How many people can turn that into a weapon?" Then, he recollected himself and was serious again. "You weren't saying 'he came for me.' You were saying 'he's coming.' And if that's true, then Nathan was just a delivery boy."

A tingle of fear crawled up Nessa's spine. "So what are you saying? That I'm dead meat?"
He ran a hand through his hair and glanced up at the doorway. "It means you'll be hanging around here for as long as we can help it. Not only are you in danger, but you've also survived a powerful killing spell and managed to reject Lucinda's attempt at persuasion. That's never happened before in our world." He paused. "Hello, Skyler."

Nessa's head shot to the door, where Sky was standing with a familiar looking trunk. "William." He smiled at Nessa carefully, unsure of her mood. "I've brought your luggage. We were talking while you were sleeping off the shock and decided you'd feel more comfortable if you didn't have to wear Elena's or Lucinda's clothing."

A rush of gratitude seized her and she blushed with the heat of it, though she wasn't sure why. She couldn't remember the last time anyone had done something that nice for her, especially with her attitude. "Uh, thanks." A question rolled to the tip of her tongue. She wanted to ask about her father's body, but she was afraid of getting an answer she wouldn't like to hear. Still, she had to know. "And my father?"

Sky looked uneasy then, crossing the small room to set the suitcase by the dying fire. "I don't want to upset you," he said warily, avoiding eye contact with her.

"The body was missing, wasn't it?" Will guessed blatantly. Nessa was shocked by the pain that suddenly tore through her chest, as if it was being ripped wide open again. Her breath caught and she had to concentrate very hard in order to be able to breathe again. Stupid, she muttered to herself. Why am I so fluffing weak? Ty wouldn't want me to be like this.

Sky turned and glared at Will. "I thought you weren't a mind reader."

Will shrugged, looking sorry that he'd ever said anything. "No, but my father was."

To her surprise, Sky dropped it at that. That's when Nessa knew there was some tragic story surrounding Will and his father, and she suddenly felt more bonded to him than anyone she'd met yet—and that irritated her. But if he understood anything—if there was any reason why he was here right now—it was because he knew what she was going through.

"I'm sorry, Nessa," Sky said softly.

She shrugged, pushing away the urge to cry and scream and die. "It's not your fault, Sky. You don't have to be sorry for anything."

"I have to tell him that constantly," Will explained with a dramatic eye roll, though his voice was a little off from his usual cadence. "He's always trying to apologize for the most absurd reasons, as if he was the culprit to my problems. 'My bread is hard'. 'Oh, I'm sorry.' 'My head hurts.' 'Oh, I'm sorry.' 'My grandmother was just mangled in farm machinery.' 'Oh, I'm terribly sorry.'" He looked up at Sky, with a slight twitch to his lips.

"Well," Sky said, looking offended as he glared at Will, "I'm sorry I'm such a sensitive, sympathetic man."

Will began to laugh at him, for saying the two magic words again, and Nessa even found herself smiling a little. It had seemed like ages since she'd heard anyone laugh, and though it was at Sky's expense, Will seemed happy enough for the three of them. She would take what she could get.

"You just can't help yourself," Will said, still grinning.

Sky was about to retaliate with some choice words that weren't often spoken in polite company, Nessa could tell, when another familiar face popped into the opening of the doorway and frowned at the three of them, her long, blonde and waving hair swishing to the side.

"I've been calling you down for the last five minutes," she said agitatedly. "Dinner is ready."

Will jumped up off the bed eagerly and bounded to the door. "Oh goody. I was beginning to fear I would keel over from starvation." He was gone in another instant, leaving Nessa and Sky behind without so much as a glance back at them.

"Thanks for coming to get us, Elena," Sky said formally, smiling at her.

Elena softened under his sweet demeanor. "Whatever." She followed Will then and Nessa stood up to become a part of the chain.

"Are you hungry?" Sky asked, as Nessa stood.

"Not really," she replied truthfully. "But I should eat." Her stomach was in agreement with that much, at least.

"You're a smart one," he said kindly. "I'll leave you to get showered and changed. I'm sure you want to wear something different than that,"—he gestured toward her shirt and leggings, which suddenly made her aware of how tight and revealing it all was—"and you can find the kitchen down the stairs at the end of the hallway and to the right. Can't miss it. The bathroom is just outside your doorway here."

She crossed her arms over her chest to maintain some sort of barrier and nodded at Sky. "Okay."

He smiled at her. "Okay. See you in a few." With that, he turned and walked through the door, closing it behind him on his way out. Nessa realized that if she wanted to fly to pieces, now would be the time, but that was the last thing she wanted to do.

Going to her suitcase, she unzipped it and pulled out a pair of blue jean shorts and a dark blue, long sleeved T-shirt. It was hard to think of other things, happier things, but somehow she managed. The hot water from the shower was laced with the same sweet-smelling aroma that hung in the air, and for the first time she felt clean of everything. Anger. Fear. Pain. For a moment, she was just Nessa Gilbert, and she was happy.

It all ended so soon, but she was able to keep the calmness that the water gave her as if it had seeped into her skin, and she smelled just as sugary as the air around her. She brushed through her wet curls with her fingers and practiced smiling a few times in the mirror. Though Ty was still dead and nothing could change it, by the fourth or fifth time it came naturally.

Finally, clean and exceptionally at peace, Nessa stepped from the bathroom and into the hallway. It was a narrow corridor, with no windows or light, but the walls seemed to vibrate with that same sweet-smelling heaviness that intoxicated the room she woke up in. In a way, it was bright without needing anything to light the passage.

She made her way down it quickly, trying to make up any time she may have lost by taking a shower. To her relief, however, Elena was only piling a mess of noodles onto the waiting plates as Nessa made her appearance. Will was engrossed in conversation with Elena, Lucinda was talking to a brown-skinned man that must have been her husband, and Sky was looking at Nessa.

"Looks like you didn't get too lost," he said patting the seat between him and Will. "Feeling better?"

"Lots," Nessa replied, taking the seat without too much hesitation.

Will graced her with his attention for the first time since she'd entered the room. "Well, you look it."

"Thank you kindly," she snapped.

Elena smiled at Nessa, though Nessa detected that the girl wasn't too happy to see her. "I hope you like pasta."

"Pasta sounds cool," Nessa assured her. Elena heaped two huge spoonfuls of noodles and chicken onto a chipped ceramic plate and moved on to serve Sky his food. The man talking to Lucinda looked up at Nessa, his young face fierce and sharp. If it wasn't for the gentleness that entered his eyes, she would have tensed herself for protection against this man.

"You've caused quite a stir in the area," he said to her, though his words were not unkind. "I do apologize for your loss."

"Thanks," Nessa said quietly. She wished people would stop saying that.

"You are most welcome, child. My name is Kale Nightshade, by the way. I'm to understand that you've already been acquainted with the others."

She nodded and picked up her fork, stabbing it into the noodles. "Yes. And. .  .uh, thanks. For letting me stay here for a while." She couldn't be sure, but she thought she saw Elena make a face at Nessa's gratitude. Nessa tried to ignore it, but it was difficult. She'd spent her life calling out the mean girls and chewing their asses. Elena would be no different, if that's the way things were going to swing.

"Naturally," Lucinda said. "It's our duty."

"Of course," Kale continued, with a curious look in his eye. Elena placed the remainder of the pasta in the middle of the carved wooden table and took her seat across from Will, who was shoveling the food into his mouth like a mad man. "There is the question of the mystery you present. Lucy tells me that you felt no effects from her persuasion."

Nessa shrugged and popped a forkful of pasta into her mouth. It didn't taste like much to her, but it felt good to chew something. "I wanted to forget about my dad." Shame curled in her chest, suddenly, for admitting to caving toward the most painless route. But I can't go that way, she reminded herself. It's better this way. Ty should be remembered as clearly as I can manage.

Sky smiled at her. "It's alright. It's natural to want that," he told her gently, trying to ease her mind. Then he turned toward Kale. "She can't hear me either, when I try speaking to her."

Nessa was about to object to that—she could hear Sky perfectly fine when he talked to her; she was not deaf, thank you very much—but Will butted himself into the conversation before she could.

"Telekinesis works fine on her," he offered, swallowing a bite.

"It does?" Nessa said in surprise.

Will was staring at her and it took a couple of minutes to realize that her damp hair was wavering above her head as if she was underwater, undulating in unseen waves. She raised an eyebrow and reached up to smooth it down, feeling the wet curls fall against her neck reassuringly.

"You could ask permission, you know," she said, her eyebrows furrowing.

He grinned and shoved another bite of noodles into his mouth. "Yep. It works."

"This is strange indeed," Kale said, his eyebrows furrowing in puzzlement. "Is there anything else at all that you can remember that you haven't told us yet?"

Nessa shook her head and looked down into her food. "No."

"In that case," he rose from his spot at the table, his meal left untouched. "I must go write to the Order and let them know what is going on. Maybe if we can figure out what's so special about you, then maybe we can understand why you're being hunted.  Pardon me." He left the room, and Lucinda gazed after him.

"Who said anything about being hunted?" Elena spoke up after a moment of silence, pushing her food around on her plate. "What's the big deal?" She said these things sweetly, but that's was alerted Nessa to the girl's indifference; and that may have been too mild a word.

"I suggested it," Will replied, as if the matter was completely blasé.

Lucy pushed her half-empty plate away and stood up. "And it's a hunch we'll rely on. Clearly, something bigger is going on than just the murder of a mortal. Anyone could have killed him and a wizard was sent. This includes us, Elena, whether you're going to be rotten about it or not."

"She's always rotten," Will said.

"I am not!" Elena retorted, making a face at him. "I just don't like pathetic, whiney girls who mooch off of others because she has nothing better to do." This, Nessa knew, was directed straight at her.

"Hell no," she said, glaring at Elena. "You do not get to talk about me like that. I don't care what you think of me or what you say behind my back, but you will not talk about me like I'm not here. I will slap you."

Will pointed to the red mark on his face. "It's true!"

Elena threw her hands into the air and huffed loudly, shoving away from the table. "Argh! I can't stand you people sometimes. And did anyone ever say thank you for dinner? No, of course not! Why I put so much effort into making you food, I'll never understand. Maybe next time, I'll leave Will to his own defenses in the kitchen and see what happens. Maybe he can charm the oven into cooking up something twice as tasteful as you people!" She huffed again and marched from the room with her fists tightly at her side.

Nessa glared after Elena until she was gone and then threw her fork into her pasta. "If that's how she feels about me, I should be going."

Lucinda shook her head and walked towards the doors, her heels clicking on the floor. "Nonsense, Nessa. She's always uptight."

"It's true," Sky supplied.

"I can affirm that," Will said, finishing off the last of his noodles. "I'm her brother; I would know."

Lucinda smiled at Nessa. "You see? You have nothing to worry about. Now, eat up, dear girl. If my assumptions are correct, Elena won't be making anything for dinner for another couple days. Which means take out and leftovers." She laughed lightly and then left the room.

Nessa couldn't quite believe any of them when they objected to Elena's ideas about Nessa's being there. She did feel like an intruder; she hadn't asked permission to come to their. . . .whatever this place was; she was eating their food as if she belonged; she was talking to the inhabitants like she knew them.

It was completely understandable that Elena was so upset, but Nessa wasn't going to take any of her crap.

"Elena is right about me," she said matter-of-factly, standing up. Though before she was just eating to fill her empty stomach, the thought of shoving another mouthful in was highly repulsive.

"Honestly, Nessa," Sky shook his head at her, "she's wrong. We brought you here. Me and Will. If anyone is to blame, it's us."

"I can affirm that, too," Will said, running a hand through his hair as he rubbed his other over his stomach. "Damn. Do you think Elena was right about my charm working in the kitchen? If so, we'll be eating like kings every night."

"I should go," Nessa insisted, shaking her head, pushing the wooden chair back into the table. She wondered if it would be worse to leave the rest of her food there, if Elena would resent her even more for that, or if that didn't even matter. Maybe Elena just wanted Nessa out of her hair as soon as possible.

"You don't have to go," Sky spoke softly, standing too, touching her shoulder tentatively. Through her shirt, his fingers were warm and gentle, and when she shrugged them off, she realized that it was freezing in the dining room.

"Yes, I do." Her voice was hard, determined. It silenced Will who opened his mouth and Sky who only pursed his lips in unspoken resignation.

"At least call your mother," he said, quietly and reasonably. Nessa nodded because it made sense, though her hands quivered at her sides. She was terrified of everything; she didn't even know who. . .no, what. . .these people were exactly. She didn't plan to stay long enough to ponder over it.

"Do you have a phone I can borrow?" she asked, flipping her hair over her shoulder subtly as she looked between Will and Sky. Her hair was still damp when she ran her hands through it, though the ends were nearly dry.

Sky shook his head, but Will piped up enthusiastically. "As it so happens. . ." He stood up and motioned for her to follow him. She glanced back over her shoulder to see if Sky was coming, but he was reaching for the dirty plates and piling them. He seemed to feel her gaze and looked up to meet her eyes.

She felt her cheeks warm, as if the sun was kissing them itself, and he smiled slightly at her, a lock of his brown hair falling over his forehead. He disappeared when she turned the corner, and upon seeing that Will was several feet ahead, she rushed to his side, afraid of getting lost.

"You really shouldn't let Elena scare you off, you know," he was saying, as if she'd been there the entire time. "She bullies everyone."

"If you hadn't noticed, I'm not the kind of girl to let someone scare me off," Nessa replied, sticking her hands in her pockets. "Its simply time for me to go."

"I don't like it," he told her honestly. His eyes darted out from the corner of his vision and found hers, staring up at him in confusion and curiosity. The dark blue of his eyes were shocking to her every time she saw them. She'd never seen a color quite like it.

"You don't like what?" she asked as he led her down a new hallway.

"That you're kicking yourself out the door," he said, looking away from her and down the corridor. "I'd bet my bunny slippers that someone is out there waiting for you to leave."
"And how would you know that?" She unsheathed her hands from her pockets and propped them on her waist. Goosebumps ran up her legs; how had she not realized how cold it was in this place before?

"I'm psychic," he said in such a way that she couldn't be sure if he was joking or not, and stopped in front of a door. "Ah, here we are. Welcome to my humble abode." He opened the door and gestured for her to go in ahead of him. The room was a terrible mess; the duvet thrown back haphazardly to the end of the bed, sheets rumpled; clothes littered the floor in piles; little glass bottles lined the shelves on the wall and the sweet smelling zing in the air seemed heavier here than anywhere she'd been yet.

Other than that, the room was largely identical to one she'd woken up in, and had the same staple furnishings. She fleetingly wondered if this repetitiveness was due to large numbers or if it was simply because of a budget.

"It's lovely," Nessa said in a sarcastic, bored voice.

"You're too generous," Will objected as he jumped over some clothes and reached for a strange looking silver device on his desk. "It's a right mess in here, but I can't bring myself to clean it. I'm too lazy for that. Here." He held out the device.

"What is it?" She eyed it in his outstretched hand.

"My phone," he said. "Actually, its mine and Elena's; these buggers are hard to come by but we inherited them from our parents, so. . . ."

Nessa shook her head. "Elena probably wouldn't like me to use it."

He rolled his eyes and grabbed her wrist fearlessly, turning it over to expose her palm to the open air. "Elena, Schmelena. It's mine too and I want you to use it." He forced the phone into her hand and watched her intensely. "Seriously, Nessa. Please, use it. Just say the number and it'll know what to do from there."

She stared at it for a moment and then looked up at him. "Were you kidding about being a psychic?"

He laughed, and headed for the door. "I don't know. What do you think?"

"I'm not sure what to think. About anything."

His eyes sparkled as he stepped into the hallway. "I'll give you time to figure it out then." Without touching the doorknob at all, the door swung shut and she was left alone in the room, the weird looking phone clasped in her still outstretched hand.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Hey, Mom, it's me. Nessie." She paused, hearing how strangled her voice was and struggled to compose it better. "I guess you're busy right now, but I need you to call me back on this number as soon as you get this, okay? It's super important." She took a deep breath. "I love you, Mom. I'll talk to you soon."

She pulled the device away from her ear and stared at it, hoping that the call had ended. It had taken her forever to figure out how to use it; she wasn't going to mess around trying to close it up properly. She set the thing awkwardly back on the desk and when she opened Will's bedroom door, he was leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the hall.

"Dear lord," he said with extreme exaggeration, running his fingers through his curls. "What exactly were you doing in there? Calling everybody in the entire phonebook?"
"You have one of those on that thing?" she asked sarcastically, but her heart wasn't in it. Something didn't feel right about Amanda not picking up the phone. Her mother had only barely allowed Nessa to spend an entire summer away from home; she promised that she'd be on call at any time of the day. It worried Nessa that Amanda wasn't answering.

Will seemed to appreciate her attempt, in the very least. He grinned at her. "So? Are we taking you to jump on the next possible flight back to wherever it is you hail from?"
"My family isn't at home; they're in Europe," Nessa told him, trying to push away the irrational panic. "My mom didn't answer her phone."

He picked up on her anxiety rather quickly. "And she was supposed to." It wasn't a question; it was a statement.

"Well," she replied, looking up at him. He really was beautiful, with those eyes and that hair. Damn that boy for being so attractive. "It's stupid; she could just be busy. But she promised she'd answer whenever I called because she almost didn't let me come to visit Ty in the first place. She didn't really want me here."

His eyebrows furrowed. "You're absolutely sure?"

"Of course I'm fluffing sure; you people ask me the dumbest questions." Nessa held her arms to herself, feeling a draft in the hallway. She could feel her heart begin to beat a little faster. "I'm probably just overreacting."

Will shook his head. "Never underestimate your instincts."

She sighed and he met her gaze, searching her face intently. His eyes were trained on her fiercely, the blue of them seeming to glow with all the intensity of a wildfire. The only thing she could do was stare back, unsure of what to say. She remembered how correct her instincts had been about Nathan in the airport the day before and repressed a shudder from the sour feeling that poisoned the pit of her stomach. She didn't want to be right about this.

"You're not leaving this place," Will said suddenly with an air of determination, turning his powerful eyes away from her. She was grateful for it; afraid of the way he looked when he unleashed the glory of those eyes, in a way that made her nervous about her reactions. "You're going to stay right here until we are completely certain that it's safe to send you away."

"But Elena—"

"Damn Elena," he spat with an eye roll. "My sister and I were brought up in a world completely different to the one we live now. She's a spoiled little pig half the time and a pain in the saddle sacks the other. No one else cares what she says so you have no reason to care either."

Nessa made a face at him. "I don't know, Will."

"It isn't me, is it?" he asked, suddenly teasing. "You aren't worried that I'll creep into your room and ravage you in the middle of the night, are you?"

She scowled at him. "Is that something I need to worry about?"

He grinned and was about to respond with something arrogant, when Sky appeared at the end of the corridor. He made certain eye contact with Will and then turned and hurried away. The smile dropped from Will's face and then he took Nessa's arm and began to pull her down the hall. His fingers were very warm through her thin shirt, warmer than Sky's had been, and not quite as gentle. She shivered.

"Why didn't you tell me you were cold?" he asked, looking at her sideways.

"It doesn't matter," she replied; then, "Where are we going?"

"Sky said that Kale has gotten a message from the Order about a little problem that needs immediate attention. Since you're here, you'll probably like to know what's going on." He chuckled. "Obviously you aren't any ordinary mortal girl, so this is something you'll need to understand. May take a while."

She didn't know what that was supposed to mean, but she shrugged out from his grip, walking close for the heat his lean body gave off. Maybe she would finally have a chance to ask all the questions she was filing away for discussion. She was desperate to know about that sweet smell in the air, about Will and Lucinda's abilities, about this place that she was being housed in. Not only was she curious, but it would be a welcome distraction. And God knew she needed one of those.

Will led her down a maze of hallways until they came into a room with several plush chairs scattered around. Elena was sulking in one of them, Lucinda and Kale standing near a large window that looked down onto a barren grass plains with grazing buffalo. Sky smiled at Nessa when she and Will entered the room. She smiled back, grateful for his warmth toward her though she wasn't exactly a dream girl.

"Hello again, Nessa," Lucinda said kindly, crossing her arms over her chest without aggression. "I'm assuming you were able to contact your family?"

Nessa shook her head. "No."

"Of course not," Elena muttered.

Nessa shot the girl a glare, but said nothing. The words were harmless enough; they just pissed her off was all.

"Do you think you might be able to reach them any time soon?" Kale asked, ignoring Elena completely. The blonde haired girl slumped down further into her seat and glared at the shiny wooden floors.

"I'm not sure," Nessa hedged truthfully with a shrug.

"Well, you can take as long as you need," Lucinda said. "Actually, we'd prefer that you stay until we hear back from the Order about your situation. If that's not asking too much."

Nessa knew that it wasn't; she could always fly back to Los Angeles and spend the next month in her suburb home alone while the rest of her family was tromping off in Europe and she didn't want that. She was afraid to be alone after what had happened to Ty; afraid that something big was happening and her father's death was just the beginning.

"I'd very much like that," she said softly, glancing up at Lucinda long enough to attempt a smile of gratitude. Didn't work very well. Nessa wasn't given to automatic smiling so much.

"Then it's settled," Sky said cheerfully, smiling at Nessa again. She began to understand that that was all Sky ever did. Smile. It was refreshing, and completely respectable.
She'd never met anyone who was so happy all of the time, and while she would have pegged herself to be the kind of girl who was easily annoyed with that, she wasn't. She welcomed it graciously.

"We'll get you a tour of the place; Sky you can do that while Will and Elena are out," Kale said, suddenly very serious.

"And why will Elena and Will be out?" Will asked curiously, crossing the room to a chair in the sunlight and flopping into it. The sun illuminated his hair, making it glow like a halo around his head.

"We've been tipped off to a breech in the shield," Lucinda explained, while Nessa sat in the chair closest to her current standing spot on the floor. "Vampire. Female. Young and impressionable. You must take care of it quickly; there are still tourists milling out and about at this time of night."

Will groaned and lolled his head back to stare at the ceiling while Nessa grew incredulous. Vampires? God, magic was one thing, but fluffing vampires? "Oh, but Lucy, you know how much I hate those vile creatures," he complained. "They're so cranky. Can't you send Sky instead?"

Sky shook his head. "I've already offered to stay behind with Nessa."

Nessa found herself blushing slightly at the comment and looked down into her lap, though her mind was still sluggish as she tried to make sense of the conversation. She was still stuck on the mere thought of vampires.

"Sorry, Will," Kale laughed at the expression on the boy's face. "You snooze, you lose."
"Fine," Will snorted, pushing himself over to slouch with his elbows on his knees. "Fine. But if I am bitten one more time, I promise you I can't be held accountable for my actions." He looked scornfully at Elena and it was the first time Nessa had sensed that he was truly upset with her. "Come on, you. We'd best get changed and leave."

"So long as I don't have to breathe her air anymore," Elena grouched harshly. She pushed herself out of the chair and stormed from the room. Nessa simply glared again. If the girl kept it up, that perfectly upturned nose of Elena's wouldn't be so perfectly upturned anymore.

Will stood, ignoring his sister's melodramatics, and swooped a low bow for the rest of the room. "I shall return. And if I don't, I place Tom Hanks in Skyler's capable guardianship." He straightened and winked at Nessa, and then he was gone.

"Do I even want to know what he was talking about?" Nessa asked blatantly once he was gone.

Lucinda rolled her eyes. "His stupid Teddy bear."

"It's about the only thing he kept from his former life in New York," Sky said easily, rising to his feet. He came to stand in front of Nessa, and then knelt down so that his eyes were lower than hers; he lifted them to blink at her with that same gentleness she came to associate with his character. "I'm guessing you have a lot of questions for us."

She nodded and couldn't help the twitch of her lips. "Your guess is correct, sir."

"Well, that's completely understandable. I—."

The fireplace on the far wall suddenly flared with an unexpected fire and a sheet of paper was born from the flames. Kale furrowed his eyebrows at the sight, but Lucinda seemed to expect it. She marched toward the paper and grasped it firmly in her hands, her hazel eyes making quick work of the words.

After about two seconds, her expression changed from expectant to horrified and she held out the paper for Kale to read. At the exact same moment, their eyes snapped to Nessa's and her heart raced, pulse jumping. The surprise in their eyes wasn't hard to decipher, only she wasn't sure what exactly this meant for her.

Sky seemed to be the only one clinging onto any common sense. "Well? Is it from the Order?"

Lucinda shook her head and glanced once more at the note, as if reading it a second time would change the letters. Kale frowned. "It's signed by someone called R."

"And what does it say?" Nessa pressed, though her gut told her that she didn't want to know.

Oh well, it wouldn't have mattered anyways. Despite the fact she didn't want to know, it was something crucial that needed to be spoken. She needed to know.

Kale held out the letter, and Lucinda hurried from the room, saying that she needed to send another contact to the Order to tell them what has happened at once. Nessa took the paper into her shaking hand, not bothering to look at anything but the small, neatly-printed words on the page. Her face paled and she felt sick enough to hurl up the food she'd choked down for dinner.

So maybe she hadn't been hallucinating earlier.

I have her family. Send her to me and no one will be harmed. Ignore me and I will see to it that everyone she knows is punished in the most painful way possible. You have two weeks.
-R
Wow. I did not realize how long this was. Sorry D:
Chapter 3 is up for your enjoyment :happybounce:

Deadlock (c) :icontaylor-tot124:
© 2012 - 2024 taylor-tot124
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RunOrChaseMe's avatar
Sky reminds me of Jem. ^^