going, David will be wondering where I am."
"Thanks, Gillian," Ash said, twisting in his seat to watch the young witch leave. Just before she did, she turned back towards us, pointing a warning finger. "And remember you need
lots of rest. I'm talking to you, Redfern! Don't tire her out too much." And with that she went, leaving me with a flaming red blush, and Ash looking a little too mischievous to be
innocent.
"Hey," he called into the empty doorway. "Why do you always assume I'm up to no good?" From the outside corridor, I could hear the tinkling of Gillian's laughter, gradually fading
as she moved further away.
"So… she seems nice," I began, shuffling myself into a more comfortable position. "Yeah, Gillian's a good kid. Everybody here is, you'll fit in just nicely." I raised an eyebrow,
thinking back to his friendly interactions with Gillian, compared to the hard demeanour he'd worn when I'd first met him. "How did someone like you end up hanging around with
people like that then? And who is everybody? Where am I?"
"You're at circle Daybreak headquarters. And you ask how I ended up here? Well it's all down to you really, and my quest to make myself worthy. And look how good of a job I'm
doing, not only am I actually being nice to people, I saved your ass last night. I was your night in shining armour, saving my damsel in distress, just like I said I would be."
I hit in the arm, and he feigned a look of mock hurt, rubbing the spot where I'd hit him as if I'd actually done some damage. I hadn't of course, even if he wasn't a vampire who
couldn't be hurt by anything, the smack had only been playful. "What was that for?" He whined, putting on a pouty face.
I laughed at his expression, and I could see his act wavering, as he had to fight a smile himself. "That was for calling me a damsel in distress," I replied.
He shook his head, rolling his eyes as he did so. "Not even a thank you, just a hit on the arm. It's a hard life doing this hero thing, perhaps I should just quit while I'm ahead." He
gave me such a suffering look as if he went through this sort of thing all the time, that I couldn't help my own small pout of sympathy.
"I'm sorry," I began, swapping my sympathetic pout for a mischievous smile, as anticipation raced through my veins. "How is this for a thank you?"
I sat up fully, leaning towards Ash. Our lips connected fitting together perfectly, just as they always had. I was thrilled to find that even after six months of separation, the sparks
that crackled between us like a kindling fire, still made me tingle all over. The silver chord that joined us together glowed vibrantly, and as our connection was reestablished, I
could feel the most inner parts of his mind, and he could feel mine. I'd forgotten what it felt like to be with your soul mate like this, locked in an act of such passion and affection,
that I was sure that as long as we stayed like this, nothing could ever be wrong in the world.
The kiss wasn't desperate as it had been that night in the forest, before the incident with Jeremy. Nor was it tinged with sadness as our last kiss had been, when we'd known we
both had things to sort out. No, this kiss, whilst incredibly sweet, was filled with longing for the time together that we'd missed. And it was perfect.
He was the one who finally broke the kiss. Whilst I was disappointed to have lost that unique connection, I was also grateful because I knew that I myself never would have been
able to tear myself away.
"If that's my reward, I might try saving you more often," he said against my lips. I could feel his smile, and I soon returned it with a smile of my own. I rested my forehead against
his, so that our skin was pressing together. "I missed this," I whispered, afraid that if I talked any louder the moment would be broken. "I missed you," he replied.
His breath was warm, tickling my face and I had to fight the urge to giggle. "Not as much as I missed you," I challenged. "I don't think so," he replied. "You have no idea how much
I've missed you these past few months."
"If it's anything like how I've missed you then I think I do. At least you didn't have to sit with a bunch of other high schoolers, listening to Mr Wensley drone on about simultaneous
equations. So I think I missed you more."
I felt more than saw him roll his eyes. "I'd almost forgotten how stubborn you are, Carter. But if you really want to play this game, let me assure you that I will most definitely win.
I'm a vampire, so I can quite literally do this forever."
I exhaled in defeat, leaning back to settle against the pillow. "Unfair. Using your never ending life to win a debate is just low, Redfern." He raised his hands up in defence. "I never
said I would play fair."
"So," I said, picking up the previous thread of conversation from earlier. "I was attacked, huh?" This fact seemed more likely now, after feeling the reaction of my body as I tried to move. But still, I thought my lack of memory was eerie.
At my words, all traces of teasing left Ash's face. I almost regretted bringing the subject up, as I already missed his smile. "We don't have to talk about this if you don't want to, MaryLynnette," he said, placing one of his hands back on top of mine. His thumb traced small circle onto my skin, soft and distracting.
"I want to," I insisted, not allowing him to distract me. "Maybe it'll help jog my memory." At last he nodded, seeming to agree that it was for the best.
"Yeah, like I said, it was a vampire attack. Very brutal. When I first saw you lying in that alley, there was so much blood that I was sure that there was no way you could survive." I
gulped, both at the lost memory, and at the sadness it clearly brought Ash. Still, I couldn't help but push on. I needed to find out what my own mind was hiding from me.
"How did you find me?" I asked, because coming to think of it, I hadn't even known Ash was in Vegas. In the back of my mind I felt highly suspicious that the sisters had planned
this all along. I remembered the weird way that their arguments had suddenly ceased, all of them agreeing on one location.
"Firstly, I felt your fear. Quinn and I were out, checking out this dodgy apartment, and suddenly all of your fear flowed into me. I could feel how scared you were, so naturally I
called Jade."
"Wait, go back a second. Did you say Quinn? As in the Quinn we were all living in fear over, who we were all worried would turn us over to the Night World council?" I asked, my
disbelief evident in my voice. Ash nodded his head, a small smile breaking through his hard demeanour. "The very same. But hey, aren't I proof enough that people can change?"
"Well, yeah," I replied, still shaking my head, not fully able to believe it. I hadn't met the guy, but from the stories I'd heard from both Ash and the sisters, about the notorious,
human hating Quinn, he was worse than even Ash was. And I wouldn't lie, I'd had my doubts about Ash being able to leave his old dark ways behind, but from the guy in front of me, I knew he'd changed for the better. But Quinn? I supposed I'd have to meet him to be able to tell. "But I still can't believe that the big bad Quinn has suddenly changed his
ways."
"It can happen," Ash said, placing a finger under my chin, tipping it up so that I could meet his eyes. At the moment they looked like glowing amber. I felt my breath catch and my
heartbeat flutter as he brought my face close to his. "Love can do crazy things to a guy." He pressed a chaste kiss to my lips before leaning back in his armchair. He looked like the
lazy, big, blonde cat I'd always thought of him as.
"So Quinn found his soul mate?" I prompted. From the reactions of Kestrel and Rowan when they found out that Jade and Mark were soul mates, and then again when Ash an I had
found out, I'd assumed that it was a rare thing. But if more people were finding their one true love, then I guess it wasn't as rare as we'd thought.
"Yeah," Ash answer
ed, a smile playing at his lips. "I think you'll like her. She has the same fiery spirit and ability to put me in my place, as you do. I can't wait until you get a
chance to meet her." A spark of jealousy rose in me, but I quickly pushed it back down. Why should I be jealous just because Ash was friends with another girl? And besides, this
girl had her own soul mate.
Unaware of my internal struggle, Ash continued. "She was actually the one who introduced me to circle Daybreak, almost two weeks ago now. Since then you wouldn't believe how much my life has turned around, how much better it's been."
I forced a smile. Although I was happy, more than happy, that Ash had found his feet, leaving his dark past behind, I couldn't help but feel a little disheartened that it was down to
someone else. Whilst I'd sent him away, saying I was unsure of how our relationship could continue, this other girl had obviously accepted him with open arms, introducing him to a
lifestyle he clearly needed. I could tell by the tone of his voice that he though highly of her too, only making me even more on edge.
"I hope you remembered to thank her," I said in my most pleasant voice. It sounded fake even to my own ears, but either Ash didn't pick up on it, or he chose to ignore it.
Not wanting to hear anymore about this marvellous girl who had turned his life around, I steered him onto the path of our previous line of thought. "So you said you called Jade,
what happened then?" He immediately picked up on his story, for which I was grateful, talking me through what happened step by step. Apparently once Jade had admitted to not
knowing where I was, Ash had jumped in a cab with no time to waste, coming to my rescue. He finished off with how he'd brought me back to the mansion, letting the witches heal me.
Even after he'd drawn his story to a close, he looked as if he was undecided on something. I gave his hand a squeeze, letting him know that he could tell me anything. "What is it?"
I asked. He looked into my eyes but couldn't hold my gaze, as he answered. "It's nothing."
I frowned at his dismissal. He was obviously hiding something, not telling me everything. If only I had a clear memory, I would be able to tell what it was. Did what he was hiding
have something to do with my memory loss? What was he not telling me?
"Ash," I began, trying to shift to make him look me in the eyes. "It's obviously not nothing, just tell me what it is. I can handle it, you know I can." I could see the uncertainty on his
face as he deliberated what he should say. I was beginning to get frustrated.
"Ash Redfern, if you don't tell me what's wrong right now, I swear I'll_" I didn't get to finish my threat because Ash held up his hands in a gesture I was sure was supposed to be
placating. "Okay, okay," he said in a calming voice. I sighed, crossing my arms over my chest and raising both my eyebrows. "Well?"
"Look, I don't want to worry you over nothing, because it probably is nothing." He paused, gaging my reaction. I gestured for him to go on, glad that I was finally getting some
answers. "It's just that when Thea was checking you over she said that you had this mark. She said it meant that you must of at some point run into a witch. That doesn't spark a memory does it?" I could tell he was stalling for time, delaying whatever it was he had to tell me.
I still tried to think back, delving into my mind. I couldn't remember running into a witch, but then again I couldn't remember being savagely attacked by a vampire. It seemed that
if I were to remember one of those encounters, it would be the latter. I shook my head. "Nope, still no memories. So do you have any idea of who this witch is?"
"No," Ash began slowly, "We don't know who it is but they must have been bad, one of the ones who practice dark magic."
"Oh no! It's not another whack job like Jeremy is it? They don't want me to join them in some evil witchy quest do they? Because after Jeremy, I don't think I'm ready to go through
anymore Night World shenanigans."
Ash chuckled, the sound washing over me, leaving me with a warm feeling. It was a nice sound. "Like I said, we don't know who it is, but I promise that you won't get tangled up in
any more, and I quote 'Night World shenanigans'". I laughed at that too, realising how ridiculous it sounded. It was something Jade would come up with.
"So, you said I met up with some witch. What happened? Did they do something awful to me? I can't get a break from all this stuff, can I?" I ran my hands down my face. God I
hoped Ash would just say that I'd just had a runin with some dodgy witch and that was the end of it, but from the way he'd tried to hide it from me earlier, I figured I wouldn't be
that lucky.
After a few moments of hesitation, Ash opened his mouth, closed it again, and then spoke. "No, I told you it was nothing didn't I? As far as we know, they didn't do anything to you.
It's just that Thea was worried after feeling the remnants of their dark energy clinging to you," he said, and I sighed in relief.
"That's all?" I asked. I still felt as if he wasn't telling me everything, but I was too relieved that I wasn't hexed or something to care at the moment. For all we knew, some of the
witch's dark energy could have brushed off onto me in passing. I couldn't process how overjoyed I was that there wouldn't be a repeat of the Jeremy Lovett incident. Sure I'd been
the victim of a vampire attack, but I'd survived. Just like I'd survived Jeremy.
Ash nodded his head, smiling at my obvious relief. Something flashed in his eyes guilt? but it was gone so quickly that I wondered if I'd ever seen it at all. Probably just a trick of
the light, mixed with the everchanging colour of his eyes. They could play havoc on the mind.
"Why were you so worried about telling me that? It's not as if I haven't been through worse," I said, wrapping my arms around his neck, drawing him into a hug. His concern, while
sweet, was a little overdone. I didn't need to be wrapped in bubble wrap.
"I didn't want to scare you," he replied, returning my hug tightly. His arms felt so right wrapped around me, like we'd created our own little safe haven that I never wanted to leave.
"Especially after the attack and everything," he continued. "I figured you didn't need another thing on your plate."
"Well thanks for the concern and everything, Ash. But you don't need to censor everything you tell me. Whatever it is, no matter how big or how small, I can take it. Okay?" I
asked, leaning back to look him square in the face.
His eyes twinkled as he looked at me, and for the first time I considered what I must look like. With my bandaged face and neck, as well as my hair, which by now must have
looked like a bird's nest, I really was a sight to behold. "I know you can," he said, lifting a hand and sweeping back a strand of hair. His fingers lingered, making my face tingle and
sending happy shivers down my spine.
You are so beautiful. His voice sounded in my head. It was barely a whisper, more of a breath really. Despite my atrocious appearance, the look of utter certainty in his eyes told me that to him, none of that mattered. I could say the same thing about you, I replied, a smile twisting my lips.
Ash sat back, running his hand through his hair and striking a pose. "Well I already knew that I was beautiful," he said, making me laugh. "Of course you did," I answered, shoving
him in the shoulder.
Just then my stomach made a loud gurgling noise, interrupting both of our laughter. "You hungry?" Ash asked, raising his eyebrows. I narrowed my eyes in return. "How did you
guess? You don't have some secret superpower do you, that you're not telling me about?"
"Well if I told you, it wouldn't be a secret, would it?" I rolled my eyes, but started to shift, preparing to get out of bed. Ash instantly shot to his feet, standing over me and spreading
his hands. "Whoa, where do you think you're going?"
I stared at him in disbelief,
waiting to see if this was a joke. When he didn't elaborate, I guessed that it wasn't. "Urmm… to get some food. I'm assuming your super power doesn't
extend your ability to catch on that when people are hungry, that usually means they need something to eat."
He shook his head, both in amusement and in exasperation. "You heard what Gillian said, Mare. You need to stay in bed, rest, take it easy. I don't think walking down two flights of
stairs to the kitchen counts as taking it easy, do you?"
"What, so you want me to just stay up here and starve?" I cocked an eyebrow, crossing my arms over my chest. I could visibly see Ash becoming more frustrated, his jaw
becoming tenser, and I had to fight back a smile. Bless him, I was only winding him up, but if he really thought that he could make me stay up here, he'd have to think again.
"Look, tell me what you want and I'll go and get it for you. We've got practically anything, just place your order and I'll be right back."
Another gurgle erupted from my stomach. We both sat in silence staring each other down, waiting for the other to cave. I tried to ignore the hunger pangs shooting through me, as
well as the occasional rumbling, but after a few minutes, I decided I'd had enough.
Throwing the covers off of me, I swung my legs round and began to stand up. "Look, Ash. I'm going whether you like it or not. If you want to stay here that's fine, or you can stop
be a spoiled sport and help get down those fricking stairs." As I placed all of my weight on my feet, I wobbled, the pains that had been held at bay by the medicine, coming back. My head swam from getting up too quickly after lying down for so long. Ash was by my side in a second, holding me up for support. A worried look appeared on his face.
"You okay?" He asked, as I gripped hold of his shoulders, trying to get my balance back. After only a few moments, I felt as if I could stand on my own. I stepped away from him,
finding that I could stand perfectly fine. I was still a little achy, but it was manageable. "Yeah, I'm fine, see?" I answered, indicating my steady legs. "It was just a little head rush,
that's all."
The look of concern didn't leave his face, and he still kept a firm hold on my hand, but I could see him conceding to my wishes. "So are you gonna help me or not?" I asked, walking
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