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Flamechild Part Eleven

Dragon was walking over to Jepar's house. It was still pretty early, but the sun was sloping onto the horizon, starting to dull into orange and the first hints of night were touching the sky. It was a hunting night, cool and clear with a strong breeze. No mist, no rain. She had a hunt planned all right, but the quarry was much more dangerous than usual.

It wasn't hard to guess which was Jepar's. The house was nice, but a little odd. It was very medieval and exactly the sort of place that Jepar would live in. On the door were a couple of runes that Dragon could read with some difficulty; it had been a while since she had seen those markings etched anywhere. "Trespassers will be eaten," she read and half-smiled. "Knives optional.".

The whole place was wood and stone, just one storey but with a lot of rooms sprawled about. It was airy, comfortable, and she could see touches of his personality scattered around; a photo of a stern woman with his eyes and lighter hair, almost white, and a demonic photo of the Circle all leering at the camera. A desert scene hung on one wall, so vivid Dragon felt she could reach out and touch it.

It was odd, she thought; from the outside, there was nothing to show it was a modern house at all. No doorbell, no TV aerial, nothing but a telephone line. And no silver anywhere. Inside, she noticed a wide-screen TV, the aerial obviously disguised somewhere, a holograph of a weird futuristic scene and other oddities. She liked it.

The three of them were sitting round the fire talking when she walked in. The room was warm due to the fire blazing in the hearth, smoke mostly floating up the chimney, but some of it swirling round the room. It added to the secretive air, though that was spoiled by the music on the stereo.

They all looked up when she came in, faces expectant. Three pairs of autumn-leaf eyes were inquisitive, expectant. Dragon hoped they weren't expecting a great master plan; she had an nice little scheme, but it needed work - she'd admit that. She didn't say anything, just took off the cloak and threw it on the floor then sat down.

"So, what's your big plan?" said Jepar, curiosity written all over his face.

Dragon smiled. "It's pretty simple. A little risky, but I think we can do it if nothing goes wrong."

"Yes? And what if something does go wrong?" That was Chatoya, looking a little troubled.

"That's why you're here. You point out the problems then we figure out how to solve them." Dragon replied. She hadn't got any further than thinking up the plan and she would bet anything that between those three they'd find a hundred and one things that could wreck this.

"Well? What is your big master plan?" Matt asked, looking impatient already. And she had only just got in.

"First, when Bella asks you about the Moon Festival again, you accept." Dragon waited for his reaction.

"What?" He looked absolutely horrified. Dragon grinned. For once, someone else would have to put up with Bella.

"You accept, not too obviously, and you have to think of a good excuse why you've changed your mind." Dragon carried on, exposing flaw number one in her scheme.

Chatoya shrugged. "That'll be easy enough."

"Oh?" Matt looked baffled. "It will be?"

The witch smiled, a little condescendingly, Dragon thought. "You just explain you were going to accept originally but didn't get the chance because Dragon interfered."

Simple enough. That was why Dragon was glad she had told Chatoya. The witch saw things more plainly so she solved the problems quicker.

Dragon went into the next part of her idea. "After the Moon Festival, Bella is going to take you to the sacrificing field, I'll bet." She knew. And she would bet her life some of Bella's little toys, her precious collections of knives and…other torture instruments she had boasted about would be there too.

"Sounds about right." Jepar muttered. "Let 'em have fun dancing before they rip you to bits." The 'shifter was always cheerfully morbid. But then he saw dead things all the time. It was a way of life for 'shifters and some of the more bloodthirsty vampires.

"Thanks," Matt said, wrinkling his nose. He didn't look too enthusiastic. Dragon didn't like risking him; but it was better that than letting Doomfire alone to kill who they chose.

"Can I actually finish?" Dragon demanded, wondering how she was ever going to explain this without *someone* jumping in.

There was a muttered chorus of 'Sure'.

"Thank you," she said with heavy sarcasm. "Bella said something about my getting a chance to redeem myself on Friday, so I'm guessing that she wants me to kill you. So Matt and I will go to the field. You two," she looked at Chatoya and Jepar, "have to follow us. Then Jepar, you've got better night vision, so you watch out for any trouble and Chatoya has to sneak up behind the coven to help us out when the fighting starts." She remembered Lanaka's little note about keeping him away from the field. That particular cat was staying out of the fighting.

"The fighting?" Matt gave her an extremely sceptical look.

"Yes. You don't seriously think you're going to get out of there without a fight, do you? Those people are insane. They do *not* like it when the entertainment runs off. So, we're going to fight our way out. Chatoya, you know some fire-spells?" Chatoya nodded, concentrated and fire glowed between her hands. "Okay, stay out of the way, throw fire-spells and try not to hit me or Matt."

"In fact," Matt put in, "How about 'don't hit me or Matt'?"

"Whatever. Try to knock them out, not kill them. They're just dumb humans, after all."

"Nice to know we're appreciated," her soulmate muttered. Dragon glared at him, but found it pretty difficult to stay angry with him when the soul-link kept trying to pull them together.

Eventually, she gave up, smiled ruefully and carried on talking. "Like I said, knock them out, except for Bella Majwiel. Feel free to kill her." She saw surprised looks at her venom. "Then, after they are all out, I'll mindwipe them."

"What? Dragon, you can't just mindwipe twelve kids and not expect anyone to notice!" Chatoya said, consternation on her features. She rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Even the humans will figure it out."

Dragon shrugged. "But everyone knows they're part of some strange cult, right? So I'm sure the shrinks will be able to come up with a good excuse."

"And what do I do?" Jepar said. "Just sit there all through this? What if someone does come along?"

Dragon glanced at him. "If they're going to attack you, fight back. If not, distract them. Influence them so that they go away. If that doesn't work, talk to them. Say you've broken your leg. Just do something. Otherwise, yes, you just sit there."

"Thanks for the big responsibility," the cheetah-boy snarled derisively. Uppity as an offended cat, and no surprise. He would just have to put up with it, because Dragon trusted Lanaka's advice; if she had seen something, then it would be true. Lan had never been wrong yet.

"And that's it?" Chatoya asked. "Mission accomplished, you head back for wherever you live?"

Dragon blinked. She hadn't actually thought about that. What *was* she going to do? Stay or go? She decided that she had better be honest with them, seeing as she had lied a lot and they might not be that pleased if she did it again. "I don't know."

She saw Matt's appealing look and it made her feel that maybe she could stay. Let's just get this over with first, she thought grimly. Then you can worry about him. And yourself and how much you would miss him if you did leave.

They stayed there working out details of the scheme until late in the night. Dragon left before midnight, so not to make Shadow suspicious. As it was, he quizzed her when she came back until she felt like screaming at him. This was not like him and Dragon did not like this one bit.

~*~

The next day, before the first class, a still-shunned Dragon watched expectantly as Matt walked up to Bella. She felt her lips quirk at the sheer revulsion flooding through the link at his one brief glare. He let her know how much he resented this.

The witch turned and seeing him, put on her most viper-like smile. Probably what she considered seductive; oh, Bella was beautiful, Dragon gave her that, but her personality twisted that into something deformed and evil. She had never known that people could really be so destructive; that it was just a term to describe one wrong action. But Bella…she was brimming with malice. Dragon wondered if there had ever been anything good in her.

"Hello Matt," she purred. "Have you changed your mind about the dance yet?" 'Yet.' What arrogance. Just assuming that Matt would eventually give in, due to her charm and beauty. As it turned out, yes, she was right this time, but Dragon wondered what Bella would say if she knew the real reason for Matt's acceptance.

Matt smiled, at his most engaging, the topaz eyes warm. "I was going to accept before." Bella's lips curved with feline delight. He carried on, sounding a little apologetic, and keeping his face turned away from Dragon, "but that girl," he managed to sound completely dismissive, "jumped in before I could answer." He winked at Bella, a flare of gold in a mischievous face.

Dragon kept her face perfectly blanked, but inwardly felt proud of him. She knew now why Daybreak thought Matt Wolff important enough that he was privy to information about the Wild Powers.

Bella looked like a cat who had got the cream. "Well, I'm flattered. I'll see you tonight in that case. You know where I live." Who didn't? Even Dragon knew, and she had only been here three days.

It was a huge mansion on the outskirts of the town. It was a disgusting building, square and ugly, filled with what where supposedly priceless objects, but knowing Bella were replicas she had picked up.

Bella turned, posed for the crowd of people watching that little exchange and left. She must have practised those exits, Dragon thought. She looks like a bad model. Even she recognised the jealousy in that thought. Am I really jealous? She wondered, disbelieving. Yes. And don't I have a right to be? He is my soulmate after all. And you don't meet too many of them in a lifetime. Even one that's lasted thirty thousand years.

Lunchtime spun around eventually, agonisingly slow and her circle of friends were all deadly curious about Matt and Bella. That was all they could talk about; eyes gleaming with fascination, gossip flying. Jepar and Chatoya just shrugged off questions and threw in a few ideas to keep them diverted while Dragon just sat thinking.

"So, " came Zara's bubbly voice, "is every one going to the Moon Festival?"

Cougar stretched lazily. "Nope." When they looked at him for an explanation, he just smiled sardonically and said, "I'm not going to this so-called Moon Festival just to be laughed at. And I don't really want to spend my night stuck in a hall with a bunch of sniggering 'wolf IQ humans." Jepar raised his eyebrows at the 'wolf remark. Like all shifters he hated the derogatory comments. Even Dragon felt a twinge of anger at the vampire.

Lisa grinned. "Going hunting tonight, huh?"

Cougar smiled, and his hazel eyes silvered as the fangs came out. "Yeah." It didn't change him much, just defined his features and he looked a little less human and more fiendish.

Everyone else was going though, Dragon included, of course. She was going with Jepar, the two 'shifters deciding they would make an entrance to annoy Bella even more. Earlier, she had apologised profusely - in public, which ad gritted her teeth, but Bella had accepted graciously and told Dragon she could prove her loyalty tonight.

"The more angry we get her," Jepar had commented yesterday while they discussed ideas, "the more likely she is to make a mistake. Believe me, when she's calm, she's lethal."

~*~

Eight p.m. The dance had started half an hour ago. Dragon was ready. She had dressed practically, but had decided she had better not make Bella suspicious. Black, gothic clothes. Good for camouflage. It had been difficult to find things that looked suitable but were made from animals. The circlet was arranged so that her horns were still hidden. 'Shifter-hide black boots, good for running in. And several hidden knives.

Someone knocked on the door. Jepar, late as usual. Shadow had already left, with another vampire, made, with short sun streaked blond hair. She ran down the stairs and opened the door.

The 'shifter boy was standing in the pouring rain. Jepar whistled in appreciation as he stood there. "Wow. Now I see why Bella likes to wear the gothic look so much." He was casually dressed, in black, not formal at all and still looking good, but then he was going to be spending most of the night watching and it would look a little weird to anyone if you found a guy wandering round the fields dressed in a suit.

Dragon smiled impishly up at him. "You're late."

He shrugged. "I was hunting."

She rolled her eyes, wondering why he couldn't have hunted earlier. Probably forgot, knowing him. It was typically Jepar. Dragon grabbed her cloak, threw it over herself then ran out to the car with Jepar where Chatoya and Cern were waiting.

~*~

The four of them walked into the rented hall very late. The Moon Festival had already started. Chatoya was as practically dressed as Jepar and she cast a look of disbelief at Dragon's clothes as they got into the light and Dragon flung off the fur-lined cloak. But she got a lot of appreciative looks - including one from one of the coven girl's escort, who was supposed to be paying attention to her. But it made Dragon feel better.

Dragon glared back at her. "I have to wear this, okay?" she hissed. Chatoya nodded and an irritated Dragon could see her trying to hide a smile. It's all right for her, Dragon thought bitterly. She isn't the one who is going to have to stand on a freezing field that is going to be soaking wet and pouring with rain in this flimsy black crap.

As they walked into the main room, Dragon saw that lighting had been rigged up so most of the room was dark with a few strobe lights flickering through the room. Music screamed out from some speakers at the other end of the room while people danced in the middle of the floor. The walls had glow-in-the-dark crescent moons stuck on them. How tacky.

She could see Matt with Bella right in the middle of the floor, dancing, but not looking like he was having much fun. He was in black, dressed like Jepar and the witch. Dragon envied the lot of them. The dress code was a mixture of formal and casual - it seemed to depend on the mood of the wearer.

Zara came running up to them dragging her date along. He was a human, and Dragon recognised him as Rob Slivan, the good-looking boy with the grey eyes. They talked and gossiped for a while before Jepar took Zara off to dance and Dragon, feeling very self- conscious for once, danced with Rob.

They talked a bit and to her relief, Rob didn't mind that she had turned him down; he had been surprised, he explained self- consciously, but Zara had been talking to him and he found he liked her a lot more than he had thought. She was amused to see a slightly dreamy glint in the human's eyes when he said her name - and a similar look on Zara. Smitten, the pair of them.

But Rob was gracious in defeat - unlike Sean back in Saynor, she thought with a rush of revulsion at the memory of that particular human. The rest of the night seemed to fly by, just dancing and talking to people.

Until, when midnight hit, a coven boy walked up to Dragon leering appreciatively. She fixed a icy stare on him. "What?"

He smirked. "We're leaving and Bella wants you to come with us." He looked her up and down, oblivious to the thoughts running through Dragon's head. He met her eyes boldly, licking his lips. "How about you and me meet up afterwards?" he suggested. "We can...walk." Could that have been any more unsubtle? She shuddered at the thought of going anywhere with that moron. But hid it instantly.

Dragon nodded. "Yes." She turned to get her cloak and quickly called to Jepar. I'm leaving now. Hurry up. You should be able to beat us there if you're quick. Tell Toya.

She heard his cheerful reply. Over and out, Boss.

~*~

They were walking towards the field, Matt asking brightly, "So where are we going?"

Bella's voice floated back to Dragon, mysterious and icy cold. "You'll see when we get there."

Thankfully the rain had stopped. But it still didn't give Dragon much joy to trudge through the sludgy fields in the cold night. It was full moon now, glowing bright above her. Usually it would have made her happy. Full moons were important to 'shifters. But not tonight, not knowing what was going to happen. The only thing that made Dragon feel any better about this night was Bella Majwiel's upcoming death and knowing she would have revenge for her father.

It was a long slow walk to the sacrifice field, which was right out on the edge of the cluster of grassland ringing the town. Jepar and Chatoya should beat them easily. She walked in silence with the rest of the coven. They were close to the field when Bella stopped them and said, "You know why we are here tonight." She smiled nastily at Matt, who was doing his best to look confused. "But there is another reason. There is a traitor in our midst, brethren!" Brethren? What kind of a word is that? Dragon really hoped Bella hadn't found her out. If she had, they were in *big* trouble.

"And this traitor must be stopped. At all costs. I told you earlier what to do. I revealed my plan. Now implement it!" Uh-oh. Earlier? Certainly Dragon hadn't been told anything. She watched in horror as one of the coven people hit Matt hard with a wooden club. Then she felt something crash down on her head and she hit the ground, unconscious.

Bella smiled coldly, soulless eyes lit up from within by a grim light as she watched the girl crash down. Whatever she was.

~*~

Jepar sat up in a tree. There were just a few lining the boundaries of the field. This one was a couple away from the sacrifice field so he had a clear view of anyone approaching the field. Trees, he reckoned were the safest place he could be right now. Besides, he was a cheetah and they were good at climbing them. It was colder up here, true, but he liked it. He was worried about Dragon though. There were a lot of blind spots in her plan, the main one being what if something happened to her?

She was the one with the power, the dragon-witch with the fire and 'shifting abilities he would never have in a million years - if it went wrong…

But that won't happen, Jepar, he told himself. She's only the most famous of the Angels, done over fifty missions in a little over a year. But…even so, it doesn't matter how good you are, there's always someone better. It's not going to be here, though, right? So stop worrying.

He gazed out over the dark fields. Nothing. He could just see the line of figures slowly proceeding to the field where the large altar lay.

He turned as he heard a sharp crack behind him. Stared into the darkness. Must just be the wind. He relaxed and swivelled back to watch Dragon and the coven. Then pain exploded in his head and as Jepar Jubatus toppled sideways he realised he was going to hit the ground. Hard.

~*~

Chatoya followed the coven silently. They were making enough noise, mud squelching under their feet, voices whispering through the night. They were easy to trail, even though there was no cover between here and the field except for a small wooden hut tucked off to one side.

She could see Matt, a silhouette in the darkness, walking with an easy stride, compared to the tall rake thin figure of Bella with her long hair trailing like a cloudy cloak. Chatoya hated her. Bella claimed to be a witch, but she had never been seen practising any magic. Sure, she knew about the black dahlia but any human could pass themselves off as a witch if they needed to that way. Bella laughed at the other Nightpeople in Ryars Valley, not just her group of friends, Cougar, Jepar, Cern and the others but at the rebels who passed as Elders in the town. They didn't stick to the usual guidelines, but they did impose some rules and Bella was definitely not popular among them.

She narrowed her eyes as she saw the coven had stopped. They weren't anywhere near the field. Chatoya felt a flutter of uneasiness in her stomach. She hadn't liked this plan, it was way too risky, but there hadn't been any time, so she had stupidly agreed to it and now it was all gong wrong…what *was* going on up there? She could hear tatters of speech drifting towards her. "Traitor…must be stopped…at all costs…told you…now implement it!" And a horrified Chatoya watched helplessly as a wooden club that had metal glittering in it - silver, it had to be, crashed down on Dragon's head.

Now what? She couldn't tackle twelve humans and Bella, another witch, with a handful of non-lethal fire spells. She turned to go back to Jepar and gasped as she saw a figure standing there. Then, as she realised who it was, her lips curved in a smile of relief and recognition as she said, "Oh, it's you. Dragon let you in on this, huh?"

He just smiled coldly and said, "Yes."

Heart lightened with the newcomer's presence, Chatoya twisted round yet again to watch the coven. And shrieked as pain hit her in a agonising shockwave. The world shattered in black triangles.

~*~

Bethini Arlin picked up the letter lying on the table. It was for Dragon, with the word 'urgent!' scrawled on it in black. Dragon and Shadow had gone out, she knew. Should she open it…the witch eyed the letter, curiosity overcoming the fear of what would happen if the explosive Dragon found out. That girl was *weird*.

She ripped the letter open. There was just a single sheet of paper, with a few words on it. They were sloping and messy, as if the writer had been in a hurry.

Dragon,

Get out of there, now! Shadow is still in Europe. He rang HQ today, said he'd be coming back early. Whoever is with you is not Shadow.

Lanaka.

Flamechild Part Twelve

She could smell something, sharp and sweet. It was choking her almost, dragging her out of strange dreams where she, for once, was the hunted. And she could hear voices from a distance, weird and floating.

Dragon opened her eyes. At first, there was only a sickly blur of colour. She felt heavy; even her vision was sluggish as she tried to focus; like moving underwater. Her head hurt like hell. She was flat on her back and there were wooden boards above her. What was that smell? With a groan she sat up, kneeling, hair falling over her face that she pushed out of her eyes to find in was dark and clumped with what she guessed to be her own blood. There was someone beside her, unconscious. She recognised him immediately. Matt.

She sent a panicked nudge at his mind, but his eyes stayed shut, one already starting to swell and darken. He was pretty battered, she realised. Humans couldn't take the injuries the way a Nightperson could.

"Oh, so you're awake finally." That voice, it was so familiar. Dragon looked up, silver eyes wary. Shadow was standing there. Thank Goddess! He had rescued them, somehow. She glanced around swiftly. And knew at once just how wrong she was.

She was in a small hut, wooden. Crammed full of people lounging at the edge of the room with that casual grace that made her heart sink. They were obviously here for her and Matt, who were in the centre of the floor. Surrounded by the coven. Only these people weren't human, they were vampires. She counted thirteen. Not surprising really. But what did surprise her was that Bella Majwiel was standing there, fangs indenting her lips, white eyes wild. She was a vampire? She had sure fooled Dragon.

Bella-the-vampire wasn't much different from Bella-the-witch. The black hair tumbled wildly round her face, the white eyes were the vampires' lethal silver as the two long slender deadly fangs were bared. Just the same, but a little more beautiful and a lot more dangerous. All enhanced by the fact she was holding a long wicked knife. She kept turning it so it caught the light, seeming fascinated with the glittering patterns it threw onto the walls. Occasionally stabbing it into her finger and watching blood blossom before the cut healed. Just like a kid, thought Dragon. Or someone seriously unhinged.

She looked at the others. These were the real predators. All lean, hungry. Some were dressed in the latest fashions, some in costumes that looked like, well, like what she was wearing. Others were in filthy rags. All staring intently at her with hungry, evil eyes. A rainbow of colours, all around her, but it was a tarnished rainbow, like you might see in a patch of oil. All Nightpeople and all very obviously here and waiting for something.

Bella looked at her and giggled. High-pitched, shaky, it grated on Dragon's nerves. Made her want to throttle someone. No, not just someone - Bella. She bent over Dragon, grinning lopsidedly, eyes wide and mad. The cloud of hair was tangled, a thin trickle of blood was running from her lips where her fangs were.

"So, you thought you could deceive us, did you little dragon- witch?" Bella leaned down, closer to Dragon until all she could see were her wild colourless eyes. "Well you were wrong!" Then she straightened, threw back her head and cackled, so high and thin Dragon thought the windows were going to shatter, it was that horrible.

"Obviously," Dragon said, fighting hard to keep her anger and fear down. The fact she was feeling even that twinge of fear just enraged her more.

"Don't try to be sarcastic," Bella jabbered, her voice running from low pitch to high effortlessly. How anyone could put up such a formidable guise of sanity, Dragon would never know.

"How?" Shadow said lazily. His smile widened as he saw the shock on her face. He had read her mind; he shouldn't be capable of doing that, even with the gargantuan headache she had. "With a little help from her friends." He looked at the witch and his lip curled. "Or allies."

"What are you talking about?" the witch cooed. Her voice was syrupy sweet as she gazed at the lamia with adoration that made Dragon want to retch. "Can't we talk about something more enigmatic - like how we're going to kill her. I want it to be slow." The pupils dilated until her eyes were almost black. "But she's a dragon, isn't she? It'll have to be slow." She giggled.

Angry silver eyes glared at Bella for a fraction of a second, before Dragon started to think. No one knew she was a dragon. The coven had always thought she was a witch. So how had she worked it out? Dragon knew all of Circle Strange were trustworthy. No one else knew. Unless…her eyes swung back to Shadow accusingly. The lamia was wearing the same mad grin as all the others, but his was a little more detached, fake. Behind that, she thought, there was something utterly sane. Someone who wanted her and Matt dead. The humans were just a front. This was the real cult; the one that picked off Nightworld and Daybreak informants. For fun and to protect themselves. Circle Doomfire.

~*~

Chatoya groaned as her eyes flickered open. She eased herself off the floor, aching all over. What had happened? One minute Shadow had been standing there, smiling, next, flat out on the ground. And nothing in between then and now but bleak darkness.

Slowly she got up, staggering a little. The whole of her right side was plastered with mud. And the coven was gone. How long had she been out? Chatoya didn't know. Oh, Goddess, it had all gone so wrong. Now, because of her, her best friend was trapped somewhere with Bella 'insane-as-hell' Majwiel and Shadow, who was even more insane if he was on the wrong side.

Jepar! Her heart leapt into her throat as she remembered he had been on guard. Had Shadow hurt him too? Ignoring the pain, Chatoya Irkil, child of the earth and knowing she looked like it at the moment, reeled off to find Jepar.

~*~

Black and white, that was all he could see. Pretty sparkling little points on a black canvas with even blacker spiky lines cutting across that canvas. It was very beautiful, he thought in a stupor, but a bit frightening in its vastness. But he didn't move. Didn't think he could. His back was horribly numb and besides, he quite liked this dream world. Comfortable, at least. And familiar. One of his dreams of lying out on the savannah and watching the world go by, tracking yaks and then breaking into the killing-run…

There was pain, distant, at the back of his mind, but he tried to block it out and besides, it grew fainter every minute. His body healing, he guessed.

"Jayyyy-par…Are you there?" Someone was calling him, in a ghostly lilting voice.

~ Hmm…never had this part of the dream before. So, do I see who it is, or do I stay? Stay. If it's important, they'll find me, he thought hazily. Wasn't I doing something before this? Something to do with a…with a…dragon? But what would I be doing with a dragon? Must be imagining it. Better just stop and watch this weird thing above me. Wonder what all those lights are? Look like stars.

Somewhere, at the back of his mind, Jepar was aware that he shouldn't be thinking like this. As though he had drunk a few gallons of Iry Lupine's moonshine. It must have been that impact with the ground. The one that had started all this.

"Jepar?" There was that voice again. Clearer this time. Lilt still there, but it was more worried. It was a lovely voice. Reminded him of birdsong. Very poetic. And brought an image to his mind; tall girl, with murky green eyes and the scent of herbs. He felt affection at the thought of her. Perhaps she was his sister.

"Yeah?" he called, surprised by his voice, sleepy and slurred. ~

Someone stumbled nearby and he heard creative cursing. Then a horrified gasp. "Oh, Isis, Jepar, are you all right? You look terrible." Then someone was bending over him. Heart shaped face, mud smudged down one side. Concerned swamp-coloured eyes and mist of dark hair. The girl in his head, the one who was like his sister. But not. He was confused.

Say, do I know you? He wondered if he should ask the creature that. So he did.

~*~

Chatoya looked down at her shifter friend, half-amused, half- worried. His voice was very wrong, all lethargic and blurred. And his eyes, normally crystal clear and snapping looked just as confused. His expression was…weird.

"Were you in the tree?" she asked gently, but watched him with eagle eyes. Mentally, her mind ran over herbal remedies that she was going to have to force down that feline throat after tonight. She didn't even contemplate that they wouldn't survive.

"Tree," he mused in that very odd tone. "Yesss. Was inna tree. Fell."

Chatoya sighed. How like him. So, he must have been sitting in the tree and fell. So he had a concussion. That should wear off in a few minutes, provided he hadn't hit his head on any silver on the way down, which was a little unlikely.

"What made you fall?" she prompted gently, wondering why it was always Jepar these things happened to, and why it was always her that got dragged in. Quietly, she leant over and put her hands on his temples, sending healing energy.

He sat up, pushing her hands away. The voice was clearer now. Obviously the effects of hitting the ground like a cannon ball were wearing off. "Sssome basstard gave me a mental punch and knocked me out. If I catch them, they'll be sssorry." He was hissing, furious, feline. In a fluid motion he got up, back to what passed for normal with him.

He looked at her. "Got you too?" She nodded. "Dragon?" She shrugged. Jepar groaned, looking mortified at the thought.

"We're in trouble," he announced unnecessarily. Then he sighed, looked at her with crystal green eyes and she saw his lips quirk. He was trying not to laugh. She seethed inwardly but hid it. "Felt like a mud pack, did you?" he inquired oh-so politely.

She ignored that. They didn't have time to waste. "Ideas, Einstein?"

"Go and fetch help. Not our Elders. Cougar and Lisa, Cern as well. Any 'shifters, vampires and witches with fire spells." He paused, and added with a wry expression, one hand touching the faded yellow bruise on his head, "that we can trust."

"What about you?" she asked, hoping he wasn't going to do anything stupid.

"I'm going to find out what's happened." There went that hope.

She stood looking at him, debating. Then with an inner shrug, Chatoya realised she couldn't change his mind. He was stubborn as they came. "Be careful," she said, knowing he would ignore her, then headed back to town at a run, or at least a fast stagger.

~*~

She looked at the creature opposite her. It was like she was seeing for the first time. His hair, yes, it was black but tousled. Shadow was always immaculate. It was one of his redeeming features. His eyes - they were glittering unnaturally, like two gems. Fiery black obsidian. That was the big give away. Windows to the soul. His soul was black as night, dark and deep. And his eyes were round, without the slant that gave the lamia such a cunning look. The aura. How, by all that powers that be, could she have missed the swirling black fire that cloaked him?

And of course, what about all those little mistakes she'd ignored.

Goddess, what an idiot she was!

"You're not Shadow, are you?" The minute the words were out of her mouth she regretted them. Oh, good question, Dragon.

He smiled. "No, my dear, of course not. But you know that already, don't you? Allow me to introduce myself. I am Anguis. Add a letter and you get Anguish, which is what I bring. Now what *am* I going to do with you, little dragon-witch?"

She stayed silent. Anguis smiled in its sly, dangerous way. The Shadow-creature, Anguis, the dragon. All one and the same. And she was in trouble. The dragon smiled, almost angelically. "By the way, your little cheetah friend - he won't be coming to help you now."

She just glared at it, fixing a smouldering silver stare on it. Lazily, Anguis bared his teeth. Then shifted. Tiger, wolf, bear, hound, rhino…it was like playing roulette. It kept 'shifting. Where will it stop? Puma, cobra, vulture, lion, hawk, fox, elephant, leopard and…

Oh. My. God. What the hell is that?

Eight feet high, with intelligent reptilian eyes and sharp claws like knives. It stood on its hind legs. Bared long pointy teeth. A three foot tail swiped wildly as those behind it. What was it?

Not Shadow, that was for sure. He had been a quiet lamia, not a damn great raptor with teeth the size of her hand. Raptor. Fast. Lethal. And this one was smart.

It lunged for her. She jumped sideways, hitting the wall. Its hind claws scraped Matt's face, leaving three bloody trails. It turned, ran at her. She dived past it, hitting the floor, rolling back onto her feet. Time and time again, she dodged it, being missed by barely a millimetre. It swiped its tail at her. Weapons, weapons, she needed one desperately.

Her eyes focused on Bella, holding that gutting knife. She dodged round the lizard again, threw herself at Bella. She had it!

Dragon spun, it was heading straight at her. Wait. Not yet. Draw the knife back so you get a good fast slice at it. Now! She swung the knife round, heard the 'splat' as it dug into the creature's eye and she whipped it back. Anguis was minus an eye. But he was furious.

With a screech he ran at her, feet pounding on the wooden floor. Dragon desperately, dodged, ducked, rolled, leapt. Every defensive move she had ever learned, she used now.

One of the vampires, an emaciated female, kept pushing Dragon, and once the 'shifter stumbled and the raptor's claws flicked through her arm. The vampire woman laughed and kept shoving her. Until an irritated Dragon tripped her right into the raptor's welcoming claws. Her scream echoed through the room, into Dragon's bones.

She watched, disgusted yet morbidly fascinated as it killed the vampire. The creature shook the last few rags of flesh from slavering jaws. A bone dropped onto the floor with a clatter.

Dragon shook her head, revolted. "Didn't your mother teach you table manners?"

The cold black eyes fixed on her, then the shape melted. The Shadow-'shifter stood there, mouth ringed with gore.

"Outside!" it bellowed. "I've had enough waiting."

Bella shoved Dragon out onto the field. A couple of the vampires dragged Matt out and dumped him by the altar. Dragon remembered only too clearly the last time she had been there, just a few nights ago.

She was shoved unceremoniously next to the stone altar. She watched Matt anxiously, knowing she was going to have no chance to heal him, this time. She heaved a sigh of relief as he groaned dazedly, then sat up shaking his head. "What…?" His eyes lighted on Dragon, grim, bruised and realisation dawned.

Without warning, both of them were pulled to their feet by the coven, the real coven, not just the high school kids. They must have been a cover for the vampires, rebels that where doing this for fun. Fun! Ripping up teenagers, killing them in awful barbaric ways.

The vampires had ringed the altar and Anguis stood by it, waiting eagerly. She could see the horns now, just two, evenly spaced on his wide forehead. Bella, she saw, held another knife in her hand. She must have a never ending supply. And like the other one, this was made of that most lethal of metals. Good solid silver. Damn.

As she looked around, she realised it was all of the Nightpeople, not just vampires as she had first thought. Laughing, sneering vampires with fangs glowing, of course. Savagely grinning 'shifters with rippling forms. Wild, dark witches, power flowing around them. All holding a variety of weapons, wooden daggers, silver knives, iron bars. And of course Anguis, the terrible dragon. Her people. The Nightpeople, who were going to kill her.

She caught Matt's wrist, ignoring the dizzying sensation. ~ Stand back to back. We are going to fight. We have to. ~ She sensed his agreement and subtly she slid round until they were back to back.

"Look," mocked a male witch, "the mice want to play." He threw back his head, screaming with laughter that was echoed by the others.

A 'wolf slid up to Dragon, tipping her head up. "My, this will be- "

Dragon had stabbed him with one of the slender knives she always carried. He was whimpering softly, curled in a heap with a silver blade in his shoulder. Before they could react, she gave Matt a knife. They hadn't bothered to search her. It was double sided, one made of wood, the other side of silver.

Screaming in rage, the others hurled themselves at her. She stabbed a vampire, kicked a witch, hastily flung the knife at an approaching vampire. She had a couple more knives left, that was it. And Matt wouldn't last that long, she was sure.

Desperately they fought, holding the coven off. But as she punched a witch, the dragon laughed and changed. He was monstrous, a huge wingless reptile, a leviathan lizard. She could hear its insane laughter ringing through her skull, smell the putrid scent of death and decay. It looked at her malevolently, its single black eye bright, the empty hole where the other should have been dripping black blood. Dark power crackling in a halo around it, the creature stepped forward, blocking out the sky.

~ Fools! ~ Its voice shot through her head. The cult members stepped away, leaving her and Matt, still back to back.

"Now," it hissed, in a reptilian sound, "for you."

~*~

Jepar 'shifted flawlessly and as Chatoya loped back to town, he sped off towards the field. He ran fast as he could, and that was a fair speed considering he was a cheetah. Finally he was just a few hundred yards from the field, then his eyes widened as he saw people coming out of the hut. Not just people. They were dragging an unconscious Matt and an angry Dragon. And…was that *Shadow* following them? It was. What was going on - and where had his other eye gone?

Curious and troubled, Jepar slunk along behind them, so he watched in admiration as Dragon stabbed the 'wolf and as the pair fought off creatures twice as strong as them. But them he stared, as Shadow lost his shape and exploded into a huge lizard, Goddess, what a monster. A big monster. He looked around desperately for Dragon, saw her kneeling over Matt, who had a knife in his back.

Oh no, now is really not the time for you to go to pieces Dragon!

He saw the dragon swing round towards her and realising what was going to happen, Jepar desperately hurled himself at the creature, claws swiping, teeth sinking into the swamp skin. And to his horror he felt himself thrown into the air, easily as a tennis ball and his head smacked against the ground as he felt bones break.

Flamechild Part Thirteen

Now, it hissed in a reptilian sound, for you. She could almost taste the emotions it felt - all dark negative emotions, beautiful in their own way, but as a cobra might be. Overpowering hunger, that roused the bloodlust in her own body, anger, triumph, and the indefinable darkness that was carried in every dragon's soul. The knowledge that their powers were beneath the surface and capable of such destruction as would, in the end, destroy itself, too.

How can anyone possibly fight that? she thought.

Then a gold blur streaked past her, striking the lizard with teeth and claws. A slight, pygmy creature compared to the vast bulk of Anguis; little more than a wasp. And Dragon knew what happened to wasps.

They got swatted.

It was flung off, hitting the ground with a crunch as bones broke. It was a cheetah, oh no, no, please no, it was Jepar.

No one should look like that, hind paw twisted grotesquely, blood leaking from a thousand wounds. What had they done to him? He was her friend, and she'd let him down.

She heard a muffled gasp and a thump behind her, then something hit the dragon-witch, knocking her into the ground. She heard a sharp snap. Her arm breaking. The cult dragged her up, surrounded her. All Dragon could see were their leering faces as they twisted the broken arm. Pain shot through her head; pain that she wouldn't allow to break her. One of them shoved a silver knife into her shoulder, somewhere in the struggles and confusion. She spat at him, instinctively furious, somewhere inside her beginning to draw on the dragon's dark power while another, more rational part screamed that now was not the time. That she would destroy all of them now, her anger stopping any control she might have over the power.

Dragon's resentful silver eyes spiked loathing at the vampire. She'd remember him if she lived through this. She wanted to scream, rant, do anything to stop the agony. But that would be showing them it hurt and she wouldn't do that.

Dimly, Dragon heard Anguis ordering them away. They let go of her and Dragon dropped to her knees, in front of a body that lay on its side. With a cold shock, she recognised the pale face - too pale - that was bloodstreaked and serene. The limpness of the limbs, the utterly still way that meant only one thing. Without life.

"Matt," she whispered in a cracked voice. Not him too! Please, not him. Then she saw the wooden knife in his back and she screamed in pure rage, an animal sound that ripped into the sky as she felt her heart breaking into a million pieces.

She was crouched over him, her hands cradling his head, desperately trying to sense his mind, but all there seemed to be was an awful spinning motion, as though she was staring into a spiralling tunnel. Mentally she called his name, her cries becoming more and more desperate with each repetition. As though something had been snatched away from her. It was a torture, knowing…somewhere, deep inside, in a place she supposed could be called her heart or her soul - a place she hadn't known existed, that there wasn't - that there would never be - any response.

And above, the dragon towered, formidable, ferocious and enjoying her pain, a forked tongue flicking out to taste the air, to taste her emotions. But unnoticed, unimportant.

Dragon didn't realise tears were pouring down her face, forgot about anyone else until she saw the girl in front of her. She was hovering over the field, a few inches off the ground and Dragon recognised her at once. It was Lanaka, screaming silent words at her, the whites of her eyes showing. Hands clamped to her face in a deformed parody that was something like a horror film with the volume turned off. And she looked terrified, but she was looking behind Dragon. Slowly Dragon got up and turned around.

She had forgotten about Anguis. Until he came right up close so she could see the dripping saliva, feel the hot breath. The sharp stings of the cuts and bruises over her body that dulled to a tingle as she healed rapidly. And she hated him. That pain had been replaced by boiling anger.

She heard his cool, cruel reptilian voice. You should not have interfered. But you have, and I will kill you.

With a scream she released the energy. Her body exploded into her true form as fire shot from her, hitting the cult members in a black, deceptively slow wash. They crumbled into dust. This was what she was meant to be. A dragon. She was slender, white with huge wings lying against her back. And all she felt was anger. The names of her friends swept away by a tide of rage that made the power crackle around her body in a black aura that beyond all rules of physics, glowed across the night sky. Everything forgotten in the primal feeling that was her heritage.

She swung to face the other one. The black lizard. She was bigger, stronger than he was. Dragon stepped forward, swinging her white head on its long neck towards him. You hurt me. You killed my soulmate. You must pay for that, she told him.

He cowered. She heard his desperate pleading that died away as he realised the futility of it. And she ignored it, treating it with the contempt it deserved. Dragon leapt into the air, wings whipping up and down, soaring higher and higher. She turned saw the creature on the ground, just a miserable black dot, huddled into a tiny ball, as if that could offer it any sort of protection. Dragon hovered for a moment, wings spread, sensed Anguis' sudden hope. Then she dropped, claws outstretched, straight at him.

White fire streaked out from her, hit him at the same time she did, claws slicing at his horns. Just two to get rid off. She swiped…letting out a banshee howl as black pain hit her; Anguis defending himself. But she saw two horns lying on the floor as he whined, pitch rising until she could no longer hear it, before his body shattered outwards, layers billowing off as he exploded in a tide of red flames that hit her, wave after wave and took her away on them.

~*~

Matt Wolff opened his eyes. He was sprawled out on the floor and something was in his back. It was annoying, like an itch but more painful. He sat up, reaching round to his back and pulled out the thing that was stuck there. His eyes widened as he saw what it was. A knife. Covered in blood up to the hilt. An optical illusion, his first thought. Dried blood? But it was still wet. So why wasn't he dead?

He shook his head, confused. Then noticed how quiet it was. Not a sound. A cold fear began to strike his heart as he remembered the madness and confusion before he had been knocked out. Unsteadily, Matt got up and looked around. All around him were piles of black dust, arranged as if in some pattern; a sort of half circle. Weird. And lying on the ground, a few feet away was a cheetah. It was perfectly still, but then it moved. Matt ran over to it then watched in astonishment as the twisted foot righted itself while the cuts healed up.

The cheetah opened its eyes and staggered up. He watched as its body widened, stood up on its hind feet, the ears retracted and the jaw seemed to drop down. The tail got shorter and shorter while the eyes shrank slightly, still oval and crystal green, though. Then Jepar was standing there, wearily grinning at him with the sunny manner that seemed to be a permanent fixture.

"We won?" he said jubilantly. "We actually beat that dragon?" Then he saw the knife Matt was holding. "What the hell is that?"

Matt looked at him soberly. "It was in my back."

Jepar stared at him. "You should be dead. Or at least hurt."

"It's healed."

"What?" The 'shifter sounded like he couldn't believe it. Which was no coincidence. Matt was having that same problem.

Then there didn't seem to be much more to say and Matt was left to face the topic he was afraid to bring up. Dragon. He couldn't see her anywhere, and he was worried for her. What had happened to her? Last thing he knew, they'd been fighting, then someone had stabbed him. Next thing he knew, he was here, with a knife in him. And alive.

He turned, to where that huge crater was. The earth splayed out on all sides, a massively violent display of elemental power. What had happened?

Without warning, Jepar 'shifted and shot over to the hole. Matt followed slowly, but there was no way he could keep up with a cheetah. He watched as Jepar slid back into his human shape.

"You'd better get over here," the 'shifter yelled. He sounded…amused. That could only be good. Matt ran, faster than he had ever gone before, insides twisting from something between panic and relief.

He got to the edge and looked in. It was a steep slope, going down about fifteen feet. And at the bottom, lying in a heap was Dragon. Her hair was mussed and she was covered in ash but she was alive. He could sense her mind through the soulmate link. He hadn't thought it would be that strong, that he could sense her mind all the time. Thank the Goddess for that. Somehow all three of them had survived.

Her heard a muffled groan and looked down to see Dragon stand up, looking confused. He saw her eyes widen as she looked around and realised she was inside a huge blackened crater. Then she looked and he saw the look on her face as she stared at him. Then with a shriek of delight, she 'shifted and flew up to him, then changed back, smiling ecstatically.

He grinned as she hurled herself into his arms and he swung her round jubilantly. Almost disbelieving, but knowing with a growing sense of sheer euphoria that it was real Heard her thought, I thought you were dead!

He laughed out loud. So did I.

~*~

Two days later, Dragon was sitting with Matt and Circle Strange by the crater. Away from all the scandal, the probing questions of the local Elders, the sly grins of the Nightpeople and the utter relief of everyone who had been plagued by Bella and her cult.

Zara was leaning over the hole, shaking her head in disbelief. The small human turned back and said, "I can't believe it. But you must have done it."

Cougar Redfern glared at the conspirators. "What I want to know, is why you didn't tell us? I cannot believe I missed this! The one exciting thing to happen here in the history of Dullsville and you keep it to yourselves." The lamia looked insulted, but the gold eyes held that odd unique humour that made Cougar so enigmatic.

Dragon shrugged. "Well, maybe it had something to do with the fact that we all came pretty close to being killed." She had found out later that Jepar had been knocked out, as had Chatoya. The witch had seen Shadow before she had blacked out, though Jepar hadn't seen anything, but both of them said that it was a mental 'punch'. Anguis, she reckoned, coming to meet the cult.

"Hey, that's a point," Jepar said, eyes snapping with intelligence; obviously suffering no ill effects. He looked suspiciously at Matt, who Dragon was leaning on, his arm coiled round her waist. "Why didn't you die when that knife got stuck in your back?" All of the Circle looked interested, multicoloured eyes focusing on her soulmate with combinations of interest, amusement, confusion and scepticism.

She couldn't see Matt's face, but heard the puzzled tone. "I don't know. I'm human. I know my broken arm healed pretty quickly the first time I got attacked…but this? It's weird."

Cougar snorted, his tones holding frank suspicion. "No, being a Daybreaker is weird. Rising from the dead when you aren't even entitled to belongs in the Twilight Zone, along with snail racing and Jepar." A glare from the shapeshifter.

Zara came over from the crater, curious as ever. "How long did your arm take?"

"Three days." Matt said.

"What? And you think you're a human? It takes longer than that." Zara said.

"And even Zara knows that," the black haired lamia put in. "So it must be true."

"I think that's what you say three times, Cou," Lisa murmured dryly.

Chatoya stared thoughtfully at Matt. "What were your parents' names?"

He sighed. "Look, I can trace my family back a long way and there are no Nightpeople in it."

"Even so, " the witch persisted, a gleam in her eyes, "what were they called?" Dragon wondered what the witch was up to. She tried to catch Chatoya's eyes, but the witch just looked back at her expressionlessly.

Matt shrugged. "My father was called Timothy Wolff - he was human. My mother was called Zorra Vulpin and she was human as well."

Jepar laughed. "No she wasn't. Not with a name like that. Do you look like her?" he asked suddenly.

"Yes. Apparently I get all my looks from her," he said wryly.

Lisa joined the conversation. "That's because your mother is a shapeshifter."

She felt Matt's body go tense. She couldn't believe it herself. But…Zorra Vulpin was a 'shifter name, definitely. A fox 'shifter more importantly. Which explained a lot about Matt.

"You're joking!"

"She isn't Matt." Dragon said with a grin. "You're part 'shifter. You'll have to learn to 'shift. You'll be a fox, you know."

"But, that's impossible. Daybreak didn't say anything."

Jepar raised his eyebrows. "Just goes to show they don't know everything."

Matt relaxed. "Well, it's a good job I'm leaving then," he said dryly. Dragon could sense his shock but he was amused, too.

"What?" That came from the whole group. Dragon smiled at the looks on their faces. The vultures had been surprised.

"Didn't I say?" Dragon put in innocently. "Matt's leaving Daybreak and joining us." She beamed at Chatoya and Jepar.

"Us?" queried Cougar Redfern, looking puzzled.

Chatoya and Jepar looked even more surprised than him. "But he's hu…no, he isn't, is he?" Chatoya said with a sigh. "And will Shadow agree?"

"Who's Shadow?" Cougar again. Of course, they didn't know about the Angels. And they weren't about to find out.

Dragon shrugged. "I guess we'll find out when he gets back from Europe." He was still there. Anguis had just given the impression he had got back. With any luck, the lamia would agree. She had a lot to write back to Lanaka about.

~*~

Later that evening, after a good night's hunting and trying to teach Matt to 'shift - when he had finally managed he got stuck for a while - Dragon and Matt were standing on the hills, where the dragon-witch had been the first day she had arrived.

It was still just a beautiful, but much better because now she had someone to share it with. Her other half. Her soulmate.

I don't know why you love me," she said honestly, looking up at him with faint bemusement in her eyes, arms around his neck.

She could see him floundering for an explanation, then he shrugged and kissed her and Dragon found she didn't really need it explaining at all.