by Harold Wall
him and in weird occasions made him smile when he saw how much her actions resembled a cat. But it troubled him to know that she could be a little too hard on herself. He was
so concerned about her next move, that Peter once again lost himself in his mind.
Suddenly the car door opened from the passenger side. Peter glanced to it and watched as Melody sat down across from him, the hem of her grey blouse falling off her shoulder,
exposing the perfect skin beside her neck. She sighed, rubbing her head. The air around him suddenly grew quiet as he watched her. His thoughts about earlier now gone. He turned
to the front staring at the Denny's sign, having no words.
Melody turned to look at that guy and that red chick as they left. Peter could see that gold idiot turn around and stare at Melody, giving her a lazy smile and waving at her once,
before getting in his car, and leaving.
He glanced to his sister to see, barely, the color of her upper cheekbones turn red as she glanced away staring in the other direction and smiling lowly to herself. Her chocolate
tresses kissing her cheeks as they smoothly fell forward. She pressed her hands together by her white shorts.
Peter ground his teeth and put pressure on the steering wheel with his hands. He tried to tell himself that there was nothing there between them that it was all an illusion and it was
just his imagination fucking with him good. He tried to tell himself that he didn't see an attraction between his sister and that mother fucker. But as much as Peter wanted to lie to
himself, he knew there was. He could see it sparking off of them from the moment they had met, and he hated it. If that fucker wasn't such a distraction Mikey wouldn't have died. We would have beaten these fuckers and lived comfortable lives without problems like him ... I don't even know what I'm going to tell Oliver once he gets back. Peter didn't even
want to think of what kind of expression the guy was going to have once he found out ... He didn't even want to think of what kind of face Melody would have once she
news to him. It was strange for Peter, because they never had a problem before, they each accepted their fates without complaints, and they were both happy to just be with each
other. They never once thought about someone butting in...
He started the engine of his car, and drove out of the Denny's parking lot. They rode in silence for a while as both of them had nothing to say, when Peter finally decided to break
it.
"What took you so long?" he asked Melody, glancing at her from the corner of his eye while he drove. He made sure to keep an eye on the street too just in case, even though the
damned area was practically deserted.
Melody didn't speak right away, and Peter found this odd. "We were talking about...something," was all she said.
Peter's frown deepened. Why wasn't she telling him right away?
"Like?" He tried to sound as normal as possible.
She turned to look at him; she gave nothing away. Her sapphire blue orbs were as inexpressive as ever.
"I have a mission."
It took Peter a moment to take this all in. Her words rang in his ear like an obnoxious wake up call. His face then grew stiff with anger, and he abruptly stopped the car, pounding
his foot on the break. The tires from under them screeched as he turned to the curve to stop, catching his sister completely off guard.
He turned to her furious, and said, "What?!"
Melody was still surprised by his sudden actions that it took her a few second to sink in what he said. She looked like a cat, stiffened when surprised. She clung onto the sides of
the car, staring ahead at the empty darkness stunned to the bone. She scowled. "Idiot what the hell was that about?!"
"Don't change the subject! What the fuck is this about a mission?"
Melody frowned, and glanced away. "I made a deal with them. They will help me, but in exchange I have to help them."
"...And you didn't think about consulting me about this first?"
Melody's face showed her rage. She turned back to Peter. "What the fuck! Peter, I wouldn't need to consult you if you wouldn't have stormed off! You would have heard everything if
you would have just stayed, stupid! If it wasn't for your fucking temper you would have heard everything, so don't make me the villain in all this!"
"Aye! I wouldn't have left if those assholes' wouldn't have pissed me off!"
"They didn't even do anything to you!"
"You're defending them? Oh my God Melody this is beautiful, you're finally turning into one of them! Into a motherfucking Night Worlder!"
Melody stopped speaking at this, and just pierced him with her stare. Her eyes, which were slits, burned with this rage, it was a surprise she wasn't turning and ripping his meant
off of him by now. That was low, even for him.
"Peter," she spoke quietly and deadly. "Look at me. No matter what we say, I am one of them." She took off her seat belt then and got off the car, leaving Peter speechless, having
nothing more to say to him.
But at the sight of her walking away, Peter finally regained his wits and did the same, following after her. Her words still fresh in his mind.
"Aye, Melody, Melody wait!" He felt bad. He jumped out of his car. God what was he thinking, picking a fight with his sister because he was mad at her for liking—what—a Night
Worlder? He felt like a terrible person. He stood there, in the dark, under a light post, watching her, waiting for her to stop.
She didn't stop walking, and she didn't turn back to look at him. He made a noise under his breath, and screamed her name again, running after her. "Dammit, Melody wait!" He
reached her, and pulled her back to look at him. The sight he saw next stopped him on his tracks. His sister, his beautiful sister that was always bright and confident who never
showed her weak side was crying.
She turned away from him then, trying to wrench her hand away from him. "Leave me alone Peter!"
But Peter wasn't going to leave her alone, and he didn't let her go, instead, he held her hand tighter. Melody glanced back to him and at his hand. His face was expressionless, and
the anger that had been boiling inside him was no longer there, it was gone.
Melody got angry, and jerked her hand again. "I said, Leave me alone Peter...!"
He ignored her. He held an unreadable expression; one Melody could not see through. She didn't know what he was thinking, and Melody hated that, especially when she looked this
vulnerable. She didn't even know he could have such an expression. It reminded her of that one time with Rider, when he and she were in her club room, and he showed her that
weird face. She didn't like it. She jerked at her hand, frustratedly, not wanting to be near him any longer while looking and feeling the way she was, and in a flash, Peter pulled her
in to him, embracing her. He held her close to him not even able to ever let her go now, especially with that face she was making. The scent of her sweet shampoo filled his
senses. He took a whiff of her, and breathed out.
"...You idiot. I have never seen your sad face, and now of all times you decide to show it to me ... I can't let you leave me like this now," his voice was small, but absolute.
Melody's face was stunned, until it contorted hearing his words; she began to cry in his arms. Her tears hurriedly spilling down her flushed cheeks like a waterfall.
"...I'm sorry," she said. "I don't know what has gotten into me lately ... I can't think straight like I used too, and I can't help but have second thoughts... Peter... I'm so sorry... I
can't hurt them like I used to anymore ... I can't when I know I'm one of them..."
Peter rubbed her hair as he stood there quietly just listening to her. I know, he wanted to say. He wanted to tell her that it was alright because—because he too knew she was one
of them. As much as
he hated it, Peter was no dumbass either. He could see those large fangs protruding from her face, and all that hair covering her from head to toe like a
fucking yeti. He knew where his sister belonged. But he just didn't want to accept it, which was the bitch part.
They stood there like that until Melody had calmed down and finally stopped crying. She sniffed in his arms looking like a little girl and stared at his soaked shirt. She didn't know
how long they stood there, quietly, embracing one another, but it was a long time.
"C'mon," Peter said, walking her to the car. Melody didn't protest and followed.
They got in the car and sat there quietly, neither really able to break the awkward silence. Peter started the engine.
And Melody finally broke it. She spoke first. "I have to leave in two hours to the airport." She looked out the window. She knew saying this to him, after what had happened would
be difficult, but Melody had to say something. She had to go, and he would not stop her. Melody had made her choice, and Peter knew.
Peter glanced at her, and bit back the annoyance and protests that threatened to come. He could already see the boldness and determination she was giving him, even though he
could not see her eyes. He chose to look away from her and glance to the front. He refrained himself from starting another fight with her because he did not want to see her suffer,
or sad because of him.
"And where are you going?" he tried to even his voice as much as he could. He felt like shutting his eyes in exasperation.
Melody turned to him.
"To San Francisco."
He stared back at her wideeyed. His expression then turned obstinately firm. "Well shit..."
A young man with a complexion of eighteen and platinum blonde hair walked up the long steps of stairs, stepping, with a steady pace, through a long dark and gray stoned hall,
with ceilings so high it was void of any light. Curtains fell, to the side of him, like red wine—opened to reveal a large row of windows so tall they almost reached the ceiling of the
large spooky mansion. By each window there stood a very polished and neatly placed and built statue of a knight's armor. The place felt like something straight out of a graphic
gothic novel. It was dark, yet oddly comforting, like the whole area just belonged with his type of world. He was one from the dark, and so was the house, so it was only fitting of
him to feel this way.
His stiff lavender stare came up to an ebony looking door, with golden hinges and patterns that lined all around it. It was about—he would have to say at least thirteen feet tall. The
door was ginormous. It looked and felt intimidating just to stand by it. But that's not what worried him. What worried him was the woman he would have to meet, on the other side.
The double doors creaked as it stiffly opened.
He made his way inside to the girl sitting in a dark luxurious seat, in front of a large exquisitely curved mirror. She was wearing a very expensive gorgeous black gown made out of
silk that reached all the way down to her toes, making her look like a gothic beauty as it clashed with her creamy complexion. She crossed her leg over the other as she exposed
her thigh. Maids surrounded her as they each had a job to do on her. One combed her jet black hair as two others filed and colored her nails a stunning bloodred color. She looked
like a princess. And the expression on her face did little to hide that arrogance. In the background of her was a large bath that could probably fit a whole football field, and he
wasn't exaggerating. Steam clouded its surface indicating its warmth. Her hawk eyes came up to see him come in. Her face wasn't burnt like it should have been since the last time
she had been seen, but that was only because the scar of the flames left on her face was caked with makeup, covering the scar cleverly good.
"So I'm guessing that the reason you are here, Clove, is because you're here to bring me good news, am I right?" She waved the maids away to leave her compound, and gestured
to a boy—maybe sixteen—with a collar. He wore nothing but a fearful expression and black colored speedos that looked like a tuxedo, a funny joke from Lily's side. And he was also
human, another reason why Lily would treat him like garbage. Disgusting creatures, Lily gave him a wrathful eye. But they serve their purpose. She gave him no further attention
as she grabbed a strawberry from the tray and sucked on it, loving the juicy taste it brought.
"I did as you commanded my lady." Clove bowed down to her with one knee, oddly resembling a knight from a farther era than ours.
Lily snickered, enjoying this. "Good," she said. Her eyes glimmered with this evil gleam. She had been waiting for this man's news above all. She smiled disturbingly.
little wrench thought that just because she had burned my face she was going to get away. Well not this time. Lily had done something really bad. She was feeling extra lively. She
had been a really bad girl today.
She hadn't liked the disappointed look her father had given her when they had brought her back from the failed mission. Hunter Redfern had no expression as he was listening to
the story. But his eyes had blazed with a golden look when he had heard the news of what happened, and his profile lightened up dramatically once the story had come to its end.
He looked like a beast that had finally gotten a favorite toy to play with. And Lily didn't like it one bit.
That little bitch and her vermin of a brother had gotten cocky just because she had put her guard down for a moment. And now, not only has she gotten most of the Night World's
council's attention, but her fathers as well. She had vowed that she was going to get her revenge, and she did.
But what had really gotten to Lily, was not the excited joy her father had, but the fond expression he had made when looking at the picture of that stupid vermin lover—
what he had said after.
"Cynthia..."
With the tip of his fingers Hunter Redfern touched the picture of Melody.
Cynthia. Lily's face had grown mad. There had been only one Night Worlder with that name that Lily had known and that bitch was dead. And really, now that she thought about it,
that skinchanging bitch did look awfully like Cynthia, but her eyes were blue. Cynthia's had been green like most of the Drache's. This only made Lily hate Melody even more. If
that vermin lover really was Cynthia's daughter, then it was fine now. That vermin lover was dead. So those old farts from the Drache family can't really say anything about her
death.
"But there's more my lady," said Clove hesitant.
"Hm, is there? Like what? Don't tell me you didn't kill her." Lily leered at him, her temper slowly rising. But she would wait to hear what he has to say before she decided to lash
out at him.
"I did not fail you. I did everything as you have said, properly. I even left a few dogs just in case, to finish the job; however, I cannot say that my plans will go out flawlessly if
Redfern's themselves decide to get in the way." Clove had a smile plastered on his face that looked to calm.
"What? And who per say decided to get in the way?" I will have their heads! Who was it—Quinn, Ash, his sisters—who?!
"Jezebel Redfern and your favorite "brother" of them all—Rider Herondale."
Lily was stunned, speechless. She grabbed a cream off the counter and shrieked while throwing it to the other side of the room, losing her temper tenfold. It hit the wall, rooting
itself into the wall.
"I don't have a choice. I have to go no matter what." Melody was leaning down scrapping through which pair of clothes she would take with her to San Francisco, while speaking to
Ginger who sat on her bed crossed legged and with one of her plush pillows on her lap. It was hard to choose what type of clothes to take with her. She could end up in
any kind of
situation while over there, so finally she decided to take all types from casual to glamorous. A duffle bag sat right beside her already half way filled.
She examined two mini dresses debating on which to take and which to leave. She glanced to Ginger. "What do you think? Which should I take?"
"The red one; it brings out your boobs more, and why? I don't get it? What's so important in San Francisco that you indefinitely have to go?"
"The suspect that ruined my club." Melody's stare grew icy. She took a minute to think.
"Does he really matter? I mean I'm starting to think he maybe just an excuse for someone else..."
Melody turned to her. "What? That's just absurd. I would never go somewhere unless it meant business."
"Uhhuh."
Then it came flooding back to her. To both of them.
She was at the hospital because Storm had gotten hurt last night, badly, and Emerald had taken him to the hospital. How she had ended up sleeping in his bed, with her head
resting on his chest, arms around him, his arms around her, she couldn't quite remember at the moment.
As quick as lightning, Emerald turned to her left, nimbly rolled off the bed and landed on the floor, her heels clicking as they hit the tile floors. Storm sat up as she had rolled off
the bed, too, intending to stand up, nearly forgetting he had wires and tubes hooked up to him.
"No you don't." a nurse told him sternly before he could do anything further than sit up before going over to check his vitals.
Standing on the right side of the Storm's bed was Valerie and she did not look happy. Her arms were crossed, her face a hard mask, and her foot tapping annoyingly and
impatiently on the floor. Emerald ignored her as Storm apologized to her, grabbing her coat that was hanging over the back of a chair and throwing it over her arm. She quickly
headed to the door but Valerie stopped her halfway through the door.
"Don't. You. Dare." she hissed, stopping her infernal tapping and turning her head to glare at Emerald who had slowly backed into the room and softly shut the door. There was a moment of tense, awkward silence as Valerie glared at Emerald, Emerald averted her gaze to the tile floors, and Storm sat there looking back and forth between Emerald and
