by Mindy Majors
“What are you doing?” Jareth snapped. “You can’t just freeze the whole street; what if someone comes around the corner and sees?”
“She was about to give them your name and description, do you really want the police looking for you?”
“No, I suppose not, but I don’t understand why our plan worked on her friend but not her.”
“I don’t know, it’s never happened before but we don’t have time to figure it out now. I’m going to have to talk to her, ask her not to give your name and tell her I’ll explain everything later.”
“Do you really think that is wise?” Jareth asked.
“No, of course not, but what other choice do I have?”
Daire flashed himself in front of Symarah and unfroze her.
“What the hell is going on, why isn’t anyone moving?” Symarah started to panic as she looked around at the unmoving scene.
“Everything is fine, I just froze them so we could talk for a minute,” Daire said calmly as he crouched down in front of her.
She smiled when she saw him, the most beautiful smile he had ever seen.
“Oh, thank God, I am dreaming; I wasn’t sure for a minute there.”
“No Symarah, you are not dreaming, I am real, and so is Jareth.”
“Of course I am, that would explain everything. I mean a fire is normal enough but not getting any cell phone service when we always did before, the windows wouldn’t open or break, then Jareth saving us, and now Kassie doesn’t remember any of it. It has to be a dream, it’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“The man who wants you dead took out your cell phone service and sealed the windows with his powers and the reason your friend doesn’t remember any of it is because I erased her memories to protect Jareth.”
“You erased her memories?” Symarah asked as a horrified look spread across her face.
“I will explain everything to you later but right now I need you to tell the fireman that you are too shaken up to remember what your rescuer looks like and you don’t know his name.”
“If you are real why should I trust you? You’ve been invading my sleep for years now, lying to me, making me think you are just a dream, not to mention the fact that you’re a freaking vampire and you erased my best friend’s memories. Trust you; I should be running as far and as fast as I can in the other direction!” Symarah ranted hysterically.
Oh yeah, we are definitely screwed, Jareth thought grimly as he watched the scene unfold from the abandoned building.
“If I was a threat to you do you really think I would have saved your life the other night in the ocean, and don’t forget, it was Jareth who saved you both tonight. Look, I promise I will explain everything later, but someone has tried to kill you twice and we are running out of time,” Daire said pleadingly.
Symarah was unsure of what to do. If she wasn’t dreaming and all of this was real then he was right, someone was trying to kill her, and Daire and Jareth had saved her life twice already. She shook her head in disbelief unable to wrap her mind around this new development.
“Symarah, please, it’s not just your life at stake here, it’s mine and Jareth’s as well. You say you’ve been dreaming of me for years now, have you ever seen me hurt anyone who didn’t deserve it? Look at me, do you really think that I could ever hurt you?”
In her heart she knew that he would never hurt anyone.
“Fine,” she reluctantly agreed, “but I expect a full explanation, and whatever you did to Kassie’s memories, I want it reversed.”
“Agreed,” Daire said, heaving a sigh of relief, “Jareth and I will come to your house this evening and explain everything.”
CHAPTER 4
As they all sat in front of the fireplace in the living room, Symarah played the events of the previous evening over in her head. She was still trying to come to grips with everything that had happened. It had been a very strange day and she was exhausted. After telling the paramedics that she didn’t know anything about the man who had saved her, they were taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation and thoroughly examined. They were both given a clean bill of health and released from the emergency room. On the ride home Symarah explained everything she knew so far to Kassaundra who seemed to be having an easier time accepting it than she did. By the time they arrived at the beach house it was 8:30 in the morning. After a long hot shower and some much needed rest they ordered dinner in and waited for Jareth and Daire to arrive and fill them in on what was going on.
“Where do I start?” Daire wondered out loud as he and Jareth sat across from Symarah and Kassaundra.
“Well, why don’t you start by fixing whatever you did to Kassie’s memory?” Symarah scolded.
With a wave of Jareth’s hand Kassie’s memory was restored.
“I remember what really happened now, that is cool! How did you do that?”
“Cool? They played with your mind, deprived you of your own memories, how is that cool?”
“Oh, it’s no big deal; it was just a small memory. Not like they made me forget my own name or something,” Kassie joked.
“It’s a violation,” Sym spat, “you better never pull that on me because I won’t be anywhere near as forgiving as she is.”
“Why didn’t you erase her memory, why only mine?” Kassie questioned.
“Actually, we did try to erase her memory, but it didn’t work,” Jareth answered.
“Good, then I don’t have to worry about you trying it again now that you know it doesn’t work on me,” Sym said, as she shot both men a dirty look.
“Come on Sym, cut them some slack; I mean they did save our lives. You don’t have to be so cranky.”
“Oh, am I cranky? I’m sorry, I can’t imagine why I would be cranky, I mean my best friend lost her livelihood, her home and almost her life all in one night, I just found out that the guy I’ve been dreaming about for over three years is actually real, and he’s a vampire let’s not forget that disturbing little fact; oh yeah, and someone is trying to kill me, so pardon me if I’m a little fucking cranky!”
“Got it all out of your system now do ya?” Kassie said sarcastically.
“Bite me … and yes.” Kassie always did have a way of calming her down.
“Okay, so now that “Sybil” is back to normal can we get an explanation on who burned my shop down please?”
“Sybil?” Jareth questioned.
“The movie from the 70’s … about a chick with multiple personalities ... played by Sally Field …. never mind.”
“Anyway,” Sym interrupted, “can you please explain to me why I’ve been dreaming of you for three years when I just met you yesterday?”
“I was hoping you could tell me that,” Daire answered.
“Well, we thought it was the necklace she got in Spain; she started having the dreams the same night that she got it,” Kassie said.
“But I took it off a week ago and the dreams didn’t stop.”
“Okay, so we still have no answer to that question,” Kassie stated, “but can you tell us why someone is trying to kill my best friend?”
“We don’t know that either,” Daire said apologetically, “all we know is that he is one of our kind.”
“Strike two; ya know for vampires you guys don’t know a whole lot,” Kassie groused.
“We are not actually vampires,” Jareth explained “we are Atlantean gods.”
“Whoa, really? Gods from Atlantis? As in the lost city of Atlantis?” Kassie asked.
Symarah could not believe her ears, she had been obsessed with the story of the lost city of Atlantis her entire life and now to find out it was not a myth was like a dream come true.
“But you have fangs, and I’ve never seen you walk in daylight in any of my dreams,” Symarah said.
“Poseidon’s curse,” Jareth said.
“We are cursed to drink blood to survive and we burn and turn to dust if the sun touches our skin. There’s actually no such thing as vampires, that’s just the n
ame they gave our people anytime humans caught us using our powers. They would call us witches or vampires,” Daire explained.
“So, can you really turn into a bat?” Kassie asked.
“We can turn into anything we want, so yes I guess we could turn into a bat, but why would anyone want to?” Daire answered.
“Do crosses and holy water really burn you?”
“Kass.” Symarah rolled her eyes at Kassie’s ridiculous questions.
“What, inquiring minds want to know,” Kassie teased.
“The touch of silver burns our flesh; it’s part of the curse. Back when these rumors started almost all crosses were made out of silver, they just assumed it was the cross. Holy water has no effect on us whatsoever,” Jareth patiently explained.
“So I have an Atlantean god who wants to kill me and we have no idea why? That’s just great.”
“We don’t even know who it is,” Jareth said.
“Wait, if you don’t know who it is how did you know he’s one of your kind?” Symarah asked.
“We can always tell when another of our kind is near, it’s kind of like a tingling feeling,” Daire explained.
“Like Spidey senses?” Kassie asked, amused by this new bit of information.
“Spidey senses?” Daire questioned.
“You know, Spiderman … a guy who was bitten by a radioactive spider and developed spiderlike powers and became a superhero … played by Tobey Maguire … damn rent a movie sometime will ya.”
“Well, at least we know his name,” Symarah interrupted.
“How do you know his name?” Jareth asked.
I started having nightmares about him killing me a few weeks ago, he told me his name. I guess they weren’t nightmares after all.”
“Well that should make it easier to track him down and kill him then,” Daire said trying to sound hopeful; “what is his name?”
“His name is Vaiden.”
The look on both Daire and Jareth’s face was unmistakable.
This was beyond bad. Of all the names they could have thrown out there Vaiden’s was by far the worst. He had been trying to get revenge against Daire for centuries and his last attempt had almost cost Daire his life.
“Do you know him?” Symarah asked, seeing the concerned looks that Daire and Jareth were exchanging.
“Vaiden has been a thorn in my side for quite some time, he shows up once every twenty years or so with a new plan to kill me. He is ruthless and he doesn’t care who he hurts,” Daire answered. What Daire wasn’t telling them was that Vaiden was one of the most brutal killers he had ever met. He would stop at nothing to exact his revenge on Daire and he took great pleasure in causing people as much pain as possible and taking innocent lives in the process. If the suriens had a most wanted list, he would be at the very top. They had been searching for him for several decades but no one could find him, not even Athena herself.
“Is it that bad?” Kassie asked.
“Well, it’s never a good thing when someone is trying to kill you,” Daire answered vaguely, not wanting to frighten the girls any more than they already were.
“We cannot allow Vaiden another opportunity to take a human life,” Jareth said to Daire.
“Then the girls will have to stay with us under our protection where it’s safe until we can find him and eliminate the threat.”
“Like hell we will, I’m not letting some crusty old Atlantean god with a grudge disrupt my life,” Symarah argued, “I’m staying here and Kassie will stay with me until her shop is rebuilt.”
“You’re both staying with Jareth and I, and that’s final,” Daire put his foot down.
“Oh lord, here we go,” Kassie sighed.
“Excuse me? The last time I checked this was still a free country with equal rights. I don’t know how things worked back in Atlantis but here in 21st century America women are allowed to have their own opinions and we’re even allowed to make our own decisions and everything so don’t tell me what’s final, we’re staying here, that’s what’s final,” Symarah ranted.
Why did she have to be so damn stubborn? It was both adorable and irritating at the same time, reminded him of Meissen.
“Symarah please, Vaiden is a very dangerous man,” Daire pleaded, “he will kill you.”
“I will not run and hide, I refuse to live my life that way,” Symarah stood her ground.
“Look, you said this Vaiden is one of your kind right?” Kassie asked.
“Yes, he is an Atlantean god like us,” Jareth answered, “not as old as we are, but just as powerful.”
“And is he under the same curse as you?”
“Yes, all Atlantean gods suffer the same curse; those who were not alive when the curse was cast are born with it.”
“Well, then he can’t go out in the daylight either so we can go about our business during the day and you guys can hang out and protect us at night; there, problem solved,” Kassie said.
Jareth and Daire exchanged worried looks but agreed that this did seem to be an acceptable solution to the problem.
“Fine, we will arrive just before nightfall and leave just before dawn,” Jareth agreed.
“I don’t like it; that still leaves a small window of opportunity for Vaiden to strike,” Daire argued.
“Why don’t you two just stay here, there’s plenty of room,” Kassie suggested.
Symarah reluctantly agreed to let them stay there, as she glared at her friend. She wasn’t too happy with Daire’s bossy attitude and the last thing she wanted to do was to share her home with someone who thought he had the right to tell her what to do.
“Okay, well now that we’ve resolved all our issues, I say we have another movie night since our last one was so rudely interrupted,” Kassie suggested.
Symarah was always amazed by Kassie’s ability to handle anything in stride. I mean here she was with no home, no business or job, or any source of income, sitting across from two cursed Atlantean gods, discussing another Atlantean god who had just tried to kill her, and yet she was still light-hearted enough to make jokes. She truly was the best friend Symarah could ever have. When she got upset or stressed out, Kassie was always there to calm her down, cheer her up, and just even things out in general. Kassie’s basic attitude was that life is an adventure and as long as she was still breathing, nothing could be that bad. Symarah admired that quality and often wished that she were more like Kassie in that respect.
“I’ll get the food, you get the movies,” Kassie said cheerfully.
“No, I’ll get the food; otherwise, we’ll have enough to feed an army again,” Symarah laughed.
“Fine, then I’m renting Sybil and Spiderman so these two know what the hell I’m talking about,” Kassie declared with a defiant smirk.
Vaiden paced the length of his living room impatiently waiting for his unden to report back to him. The abandoned house where he’d set up his headquarters was the perfect place to hide, it was in a neighborhood so bad that even the police didn’t want to be there, and there were plenty of potential slaves for him to turn. It was vital for Vaiden to have access to as many slaves as possible for his plan to work; since he could not walk in daylight he would need someone to do his bidding during the day and he needed a slave to be his eyes and ears since he couldn’t get close to Daire or Jareth without them sensing him.
“It’s about fucking time!” Vaiden spat as the slave knelt at his feet.
“My apologies thaison.”
“What did you see unden?”
“The men are staying at the beach house with the girl and her friend.”
“Has Daire figured out my plan?”
“I don’t know, they spent the evening watching movies and then they went to bed.”
“What did you hear?” Vaiden asked, annoyed at the slave’s ignorance.
“I heard nothing thaison, I watched through the window but it was closed so I heard nothing.”
“I must know what they are saying!” Vaiden screamed as he
threw the slave across the room with a wave of his hand.
“You will get inside that house,” he ordered, as he walked across the room to where the slave had landed and kicked him in the stomach.
“Yes thaison,” the slave choked out the words as he tried to get up to leave.
“Fucking useless,” Vaiden said in disgust as he flashed the slave from the house.
So the so-called hero and his little lap dog are staying with the girl, Vaiden thought to himself, pleased that his plan was working so well. It’s only a matter of time now before they fall in love and then I will strike. He will finally pay for what he has taken from me. He will watch her die so that he may know my pain and it will kill him.
After all these centuries Vaiden was finally going to get his revenge, and with that thought a twisted smile spread across his evil face.
“So what’s the deal with you and Mr. McHottie?” Kassie asked, as she helped Symarah finish setting the table. They had decided to make a nice dinner for the guys as a thank you for saving their lives.
“Who?” Symarah said as she laid the napkins on the table.
“Hottie McHotterson,” Kassie grinned.
Symarah looked at Kassie questioningly, she really had no idea what her friend was talking about.
“The ridiculously gorgeous Atlantean god sitting in your living room.” Kassie rolled her eyes in exasperation at her friend’s cluelessness.
“Oh, there is nothing going on between Daire and me.”
“Oh please, don’t think I can’t see how you look at each other, you can’t tell me he’s not the hottest guy you’ve ever seen.”
“Okay, so he’s hot, so what? He’s also bossy and he pushes my buttons; we argue a lot.”
“All the epic love stories start out that way,” Kassie grinned.
“Look, I admit that when I thought he was just a dream I was a little attracted to him but…”
“A little attracted? Please, you were smitten,” Kassie accused.
“Smitten; what is this 1952, who says that anymore?” Symarah teased.