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The Necklace	By : belladonnacullen Category: Twilight Series > Het > Alice/Jasper Views: 4635 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or make any money from this story.

Chapter List
- 10
- 11
- 12
APOV
Jumping into a pool of mud is easier than you would think when you’re trying to blot out all of your insecurities, and when you know cool, clean water awaited you on the other side. With dried mud and sand plastered to my body, the clean water of the river in the sidhe was almost motivation enough.

Aod had brought the dragon fighters and I back to Umm al Samim, and I half listened as he calmly explained how to get back to the sidhe. While part of my vampire mind effortlessly followed his chatter, the woman in me took note of a very significant absence. Jasper had remained behind with Sakhmet.

I know he was staying as her guard, but really. I was leaving to fight a dragon here! I was leading two other vampires into a big pit of mud, magically hoping to come out the other side into a faerie universe.

You’d think he’d be here to say good-bye.

Of course, I did tell him not to follow me. And I was pretty emphatic. I yelled, I guess. But he should have come anyway; he should have known I’d really wanted him here. He should never have let me go.

I couldn’t shake the feeling that the old Jasper would never have agreed to this. At the very least he would have snuck along in secret. I worried that maybe after finding out about my past, and without either of our powers, that maybe we weren’t the same. Maybe it was just that we were two weird vampires, bound by our freakish abilities. And now that I was a little less vampire, and those powers were gone, maybe we were just Jasper and Alice.

Maybe I was overreacting. Okay, I was overreacting. Probably.

“You must hold their hands. They cannot make it on their own.”

My mind snapped back to the present. “But Jasper and I got here without holding your hand, Aodhfionn.”

“You brought Jasper over, Mary Alice. Not me.”

“What? But I didn’t do anything.”

“Exactly. You stopped trying. Your body knew where it had to go.”

“Huh.” I really hadn’t felt like I was doing anything that first time. Was it really that easy?

“Don’t worry little faerie,” Dong-Mei interrupted. “Alice won’t have a chance to lose me. I don’t know if I’ll ever let her go once we leave here to go visit your home”

Dong-Mei was usually bubbly, but there was something more in her voice as she spoke to Aod. She leaned into him and playfully punched his shoulder. He staggered backwards, but tried to look strong, glancing quickly at me to see if I’d been watching. Dong-Mei giggled and took another step into the faerie’s direction. But Chun-Tao cleared her throat and Dong-Mei, looking a little like a guilty puppy, slowly walked away from the faerie. I wondered if faeries made everyone act weird, or only the people that I knew personally.

“I should get back to your warrior, Mary Alice. I have nothing left to tell you.”

With those words, something tightened in my chest. Without Jasper, I’d felt a modicum of safety by Aodhfionn’s side. But after this, I’d truly be on my own, without my sight.

“You are so strong, Mary Alice. You can do this.” Aodhfionn’s voice rang out in my head, almost in that big voice he’d used to speak to Sakhmet in the sky.

Somehow, he had guessed the exact words I’d needed to hear. Suddenly I felt my eyes burning, and I hoped those stupid faerie tears wouldn’t make a reappearance. I blinked quickly just in case. I certainly didn’t feel strong right now.

I felt Aod’s small hand on my shoulder. “Go now. Donnchadh and Riodh will meet you on the other side. We won’t leave you alone.”

Dog-Mei and Chun-Tao each grabbed one of my hands and squeezed. Dong-Mei chuckled nervously. “Ready?” I asked without looking up from the oozing quicksand at my feet. They didn’t respond, and I understood their silence all too well. This was truly insane, even to a pair of desert-bound dragon fighters. There was no way to tell if they were ready.

“It will be alright,” I assured Dong-Mei and Chun-Tao, trying as much to convince them as myself. “Just hold my hands. And wait until you see the sidhe.” With that we hopping into the mud and let the oozing quicksand gently, but persistently pull us under.

I tingled all over when I felt the thick mud change to cool, rushing water. But I fought against my natural instinct to take charge and move forward, instead holding firmly to Dong-Mei and Chun-Tao’s hands as we silently drifted downwards. And then it was done; there was solid ground beneath our feet. Dong-Mei pulled me in for a one-armed hug even while we were still under water. And then with a nod to each of them and a tight lipped smile we dashed ahead, until our heads broke through the surface and we climbed out onto the riverbank.

God, the sidhe was beautiful! I know it was high summer, but it looked like mid-spring here. Pale yellow daffodils and tiny bluebells covered the rolling meadow in front of us. The sky was powder blue, with fluffy white clouds that broke apart and re-formed as they raced across the sky, momentarily blotting out the lemon-yellow sun. And the pale green grass was so cushiony underneath my feet. I knelt down and pressed a blade down with my fingertip, and it sprung back to full height when I moved my hand.

I giggled and tried again, and again the blade of grass sprung back to life.

My laughter grew. “Spring grass,” I chuckled, and let my body collapse onto the ground, bouncing on top of the grass.

“Creepy,” I heard Chun-Tao murmur.

I propped myself up on my elbows. “What do you mean?” This sidhe was pretty and quiet and magical, but it was completely non-threatening. Especially compared to Sakhmet’s compound.

“It’s too quiet. Isn’t there anything here except scenery?” she asked with a hint of disapproval in her voice.

“You live in the desert! What do you mean?”

“I know, but this place… it feels bad, I think,” Dong-Mei replied, with a hint of an apology in her voice.

“I don’t know. I kind of like it… this time.” I looked around and thought about the birds, and deer, and horses and dogs we’d seen the last time I was here. And then, off in the distance, I saw a small herd of dappled gray ponies run through the meadow.

“See, there are other things here,” I countered, pointing off in the distance. Three birds landed on the grass at my feet, and chirped at us merrily, jumping up and down on their little legs in the springy grass.

Dong-Mei narrowed her eyes at me. “I don’t trust it.”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Whatever.” The sidhe was so full of light and the soft breeze felt so soothing against my wet hair and … Wait, my clothing was completely dry! In fact, my cotton button down and my skinny jeans looked as if I’d just put them on today. No wrinkles, no dirt or mud stains. I thrust my hands into the pockets and there was no sand. Impossible.

I looked back up at Chun-Tao and Dong-Mei. Their crisp cotton pants and wrap-shirts looked exactly like they’d been through a lake of mud and a rushing river. Just as I was starting to feel the slightest bit edgy, I saw two little men walking down a path towards us. It was a path I hadn’t noticed until just that second. One man was tall and thin, clad all in green, and the other little one was short and stocky. His rosy cheeks stood out even from a distance. It was Donnchadh and Riodh.

Donnchadh was whistling as he walked purposefully towards us, and Riodh was half skipping half galloping, an enormous smile on his face. But as he came closer, he stopped in his tracks, stone still, except for his trembling knees.

“It’s just the dragon slayers, Riodh,” Donnchadh chastised.

“I know,” the little faerie hissed. “Can you imagine how fast they could slay a faerie?” He seemed equal parts excited and terrified.

“If they do, they’ll face the wrath of the sidhe,” Donnchadh replied, matter-of-factly, striding towards us. That didn’t seem to comfort the little faerie in the least.

“Get over here, Riodh,” I playfully called to the little pink man. Just seeing him made me happy, he was like a little burst of sunshine. Riodh looked back and forth between the fighters and myself, his salmon-colored wings vibrating behind him. Finally, he couldn’t hold himself back anymore, and he came buzzing straight for me, nearly knocking me over with a strong hug to my thighs.

“I missed you Mary Alice,” the little faerie gushed with his face pressed into my hip.”

I gently pried him from me, but when he glanced at Chun-Tao and Dong-Mei he began shaking all over again, and hid like a toddler behind my legs. Donnchadh, however, walked right up to the women and held out his hand.

“A pleasure. I don’t believe we’ve been introduced. I’m Donnchadh, one of the DinSheenK’ha.”

Chun-Tao and Dong-Mei looked back and forth between themselves and the self-possessed faerie, sweet smirks on both of their faces. “Donnchadh, Riodh, these are my friends Dong-Mei and Chun-Tao. They’re here to --”

“Kill Cirein Croin!” Riodh nearly shouted, with his face still pressed against my leg.

Dong-Mei couldn’t hold it in anymore and she laughed heartily, bending in two, her sides shaking. “Nice to meet you,” Chun-Tao replied, coolly.

“Well, you did it, Mary Alice. I didn’t know if you and the warrior could pull it off, but here you… Wait. Where is the warrior?” Donnchadh asked.

Jasper. With mention of him, the sunshine around me faded, literally. A dark cloud obstructed the sun and a cool wind blew through the trees.

Dong-Mei’s arm was quickly around me, and Riodh held me that much tighter, so that I was nearly thrown off balance.

“He’s back in Rub’ al Khali,” I mumbled.

“Someone had to stay with Sakhmet,” Chun-Tao explained.

“And Aodhfionn?” Donnchadh asked, a look of dread suddenly etched on his pointy face.

“Also with Sakhmet.”

“That doesn’t sound good, Donnchadh,” Riodh whispered, peaking out from behind me. “Do you see --?”

“Shh,” Donnchadh interrupted. “Aodhfionn knows what’s best.”

“But he’s supposed to protect Mary Alice! What is he doing in the desert?”

“Riodh, it’s not your job to question. And it is not your job to cower behind your charge.”

“Right. Sorry,” the faerie muttered, slinking out from behind my legs, his hands clasped behind his back.

“He’s really fierce when he wants to be,” Donnchadh explained to the two grinning dragon fighters.

“I’m sure,” Dong-Mei giggled. “Me too, little one.”

Riodh jumped and shook, but held his ground, his pink eyes darting everywhere except for the two vampires at my side.

Donnchadh chuckled nervously. “I assume you’ll need a guide to the Northern Shore?”

“Well, wherever this dragon is, lead the way.”

Riodh clutched my hand as we set off. “Oh, Mary Alice, now you’ll have the chance to see so much more of the sidhe! Wait until you see the mineral springs and the arbor, and then there’s the spot where --”

“Riodh!” Donnchadh and Riodh exchanged a knowing glance, and I’d bet there was some faerie mind-talking going on.

“But the edge of the sidhe is really nice too, where our space meets yours. It’s so quiet. Faeries hardly tread there, and humans instinctively know to stay away.”

“What about vampires?” Chun-Tao asked.

“I suppose we’ll see,” Donnchadh replied, turning on his heels and leading us away.

*****

JPOV
I was lying on top of the wall, allowing my body to bask in the light of the stars. Alice told me not to go with her to the entrance to the sidhe. If I were being completely honest, I’d say Alice had hollered at me for the first time since we’d met. She’d shouted and stomped, and Sakhmet stood off to the side giggling with delight. I’d felt defeated in every way possible, and hung my head as I turned to leave her to her adventure.

And as Aodhfionn accompanied Alice and the dragon fighters to the quicksand, I slowly felt my old emotions return. Of course, they were always there. But now, I felt them grow into something tangible and strong, breaking through my skin, until the air hung heavy with despair. The light of the stars dimmed as the space around me became clouded with worry for my mate.

I lay there, bathed in negativity, until another emotion slithered along the wall, and wound its way around my body.

“I don’t want to deal with you now,” I stated flatly. I couldn’t smell her, but she must have been close enough to hear my voice. Within a second Sakhmet stood on the wall, peering down at me.

“How many nights I’ve longed to see you laying beneath me, Jasper.”

“The faerie will be back soon.”

“Which is why I’m here now.”

“Nothing will ever happen between you and I.”

“You are too young to understand the word ‘ever.’ You want me, Jasper.”

“Not really,” I stated as I desperately tried to ignore the things she could do to my body with her mind. I quickly reminded myself that I had my own emotions to contend with, and I sunk back into my sadness and concern, until I watched her eyes go dim, and her shoulders fall. There was no satisfaction in the triumph, though; it only meant that the situation between Alice and I was worse than it had ever been.

Sakhmet sat at the wall by my feet. “You should come inside.”

“I’m here to guard you, Sakhmet. That does not involve actually entering your quarters. There are no Volturi guards here this time to force anything on me.”

“It seems this time you’ve come with a tiny guard, Jasper. It is interesting that he thinks you need someone to keep you in line.”

“That’s not why he’s here,” I growled.

“No?”

“I held out for weeks the last time I was here. And now Alice is in danger, and I can’t go help her. The last thing in the world I would consider is your bed.”

“But you would still consider it. Just last. That is something.”

“It’s nothing! Don’t you understand?”

I felt Sakhmet’s hand caress my ankle and I swiftly kicked it away and jumped to my feet. Sakhmet sat quite still on the wall, ignoring the rumble in my chest, and my teeth, bared for a fight.

“Your mate is perky, and quite clever.” A new feeling hit me: admiration. It wasn’t projected like her lust had been; it just was there, unmistakable. “And she tried to fight me. That was cute.”

“What?” I’d been out here with Aod while Alice attacked Sakhmet?

“I’ll kill that faerie!”

“She was in no danger. Not at that moment. I needed to hear her speak, and she wouldn’t speak if she were dead. She sees things? The future?”

I didn’t relax, and I didn’t respond. It didn’t feel right talking about Alice with Sakhmet. I felt Sakhmet’s pleasure at my discomfort snaking over me, curling around my legs. It was mild though, not the lust she could project if she wanted to.

“Is she always right?”

Again, I didn’t answer.

Sakhmet laughed and slowly shook her head. “You two are a pair, each so quick to defend the other in your own small way. Alice told me things. Things about the future, about your destiny, Jasper.”

I eyed Sakhmet cautiously, trying to discern whether or not she was lying. It wasn’t Alice’s style talking to a near stranger about someone else’s future. My future. I knew she was waiting for me to ask about what Alice had said to her, I saw the delighted expectation in her eyes. But I wouldn’t take the bait. If Alice had actually told Sakhmet something about me, then I’d trust her decision.

I worked to stay still and to look unaffected. I kept my emotions carefully bottled and studied the sand and the sky. I could feel her eyes on me, though, and I struggled, at war with myself about whether to confront her. I knew I shouldn’t, but I wanted to spring at her and take out all of the warring feelings within myself on her.

Sakhmet chuckled and the noise was jarring.

That evil sound brought all of my emotions swirling back to the forefront of my mind. Alice was angry with me because I’d sided with Sakhmet and a faerie against her. Even I couldn’t completely explain why I’d done it. At the time it felt like the indisputable right thing to do. But now that Alice was gone and I faced another empty night alone in a desert, it didn’t feel good at all. I felt the muscles in my chest tighten as I though about Alice jumping into the quicksand without a guide, searching for a dragon. What had Dong-Mei said, that this dragon was enormous? Fucking great.

And then like prickly heat finding its way through the cells of my skin, I felt Sakhmet’s need burst through the hazy desert night.

“Not now,” I growled, spinning around and flying towards the monster perched next to me on the wall. She sat calmly and gazed up at me, her deep red eyes soft and inviting. Their gentle glow was disarming and I took a step backwards.

Sakhmet’s smile was slow and confident, a queen until the end, a goddess of the ruins. “All these years and I still had something to learn,” she mused out loud.

I didn’t know what exactly she meant by that, but it wasn’t what I expected, and I took another step backwards. The force of her desire had waned again, and she managed to hold it around herself like a porcupine with its quills up. I only felt the sting if I got too close. I didn’t intend for that to happen.

“Tonight I’m left without a human. Whatever shall I do?”

I didn’t dignify her question with an answer. Instead I jumped off the wall into the track I’d worn in the sand earlier in the night when I’d been worrying about Alice and Sakhmet. Now, those worries seemed quaint. I could have saved her then. How the hell would I protect Alice now, and would she even want me to? She’d been so pissed at me. Alice and I didn’t argue. Until now.

I felt my own sadness pierce the air, and although I tried to hold it in, it just about took over the atmosphere. I knelt in the sand, somewhat satisfied that I could at least be held in a cocoon of my own emotions when I didn’t have Alice to hold me. Because now I felt certain that I should never have turned and let Alice go. I should have grabbed her by the wrists and pulled her body into mine. She might have struggled and kicked, but I should have shown her just how much this hurt me. Regret joined the sadness hanging in the air, and it was enough to push me back into the sand.

I laid there gasping, with my arm slung over my eyes. My emotions were strong enough that I could nearly taste them on my tongue. And almost like the prick of a pin, something tapped lightly at the tight ball of emotions I’d retreated into. It was small and tentative, yet sharp enough that it burst my emotional bubble.

Compassion.

*****

APOV
The edge of the sidhe had an uncomfortable feeling that I had a hard time nailing down. To our right, the sun glowed in the pale blue sky, birds chirped in berry-covered trees, and dark and enticing shapes danced in the shadows. But, on the other side, the world was trapped in darkness, and I could almost make out constellations in the night sky. I wondered what would happen if I slipped over and walked off into the night.

At that moment, Riodh tugged on the belt loop of my jeans. “And those are Rowan berries, Mary Alice,” he said, pointing to the orange-red berries in the trees. They were nearly the same color as Dong-Mei and Chun-Tao’s eyes. I’d wanted to ask them about that, but I hadn’t had the chance yet.

“We use them for protection. The berries on their own won’t protect you, but if you place a spell on them, they are very strong magic.”

The entire trip, Riodh had been gesturing wildly as he told story after story about the sidhe, pointing out landmarks in the hazy distance, and naming every flower, tree and berry as we walked by. He was obviously proud of his home.

At one point, he claimed to see the shadow of a tree gnome. Then, after passing by a large, still pool of deep black water, he grabbed my hand and attempted to pull me away, excited to introduce me to Urisk, who he said would be overjoyed to speak with someone as pretty as I was.

“Just try not to flinch, Mary Alice. He’s very sensitive about his appearance, but I suppose anyone that looked like him would be.”

“Riodh, shouldn’t we stay with the others?” I asked, reluctantly letting him drag me along.

“Oh, just a quick hello. He’ll be so happy.”

“Riodh!” Donnchadh was suddenly blocking our path. “To the edge of the sidhe,” he hissed, bending down to the little pink faerie’s height. “Get back!” Donnchadh’s face had turned deadly, his big doe-shaped eyes seemed to pop from their sockets and his teeth sounded like metal as they gnashed together in his mouth.

Riodh jumped and scurried behind me. I shook my head. “All you had to do was ask, Donnchadh. Look, you’ve scared him,” I said, patting Riodh’s golden curls.

“Heh,” Donnchadh half-laughed. “Right. Err, sorry, Mary Alice. We just have to stay out of the sidhe as much as possible.”

“But why?”

“Vampires and faeries don’t mix.”

“Thy seemed to mix when it came to me.”

“Exactly, Mary Alice. If we’re not careful, we could all wind up as baobhan sidhe. Now, back to the path, please.”

“Humph,” I folded my arms across my chest and marched back to the path as best I could while Riodh clung to my legs. To say I was insulted put it mildly. What was so bad about being like me? And the way he’d scared Riodh… I was starting to have my doubts about Donnchadh.

But before my mind could wander further, Dong-Mei swung her arm around my shoulders. “So, Alice. Chun-Tao and I were just talking about feeding. It would do all of us good before a fight.”

Riodh started jumping at my side. “Oh, oh, Mary Alice, what do you prefer? We could get you anything! What would you like?”

And before I could answer the little man, three large antelope bucks ambled into the clearing just beyond the path. In a millisecond Chun-Tao and Dong-Mei were off, and the bucks loped gracefully off, as if they were more interested in being majestic than actually avoiding becoming a vampire’s lunch.

And that’s when I remembered Maggie’s words: Don’t eat or drink anything that they offer you.

I was immediately running as fast as my legs could carry me after Dong-Mei and Chun-Tao. The two were preternaturally fast, even for vampires, and it all seemed like a lost cause.

“No!” I yelled, as I saw them slow down and circle in on their prey.

The sound of my voice sent the animals running again, but the pause was exactly what I needed. I took a running jump, meaning to fall on top of the women, but instead they sidestepped just before impact, and I landed a little less than gracefully on the ground. But I’d surprised them; that was something.

“Alice?” Chun-Tao asked.

“We can’t eat here.”

“We’re going to have to feed for the fight.”

“We can’t.”

“What are you talking about?” Dong-Mei asked, bewildered.

“I don’t exactly know. But my friend Maggie said we couldn’t feed here.”

The three of us turned in unison to face the two faeries. Donnchadh was studying the glittering moss at his feet. Riodh was shyly smiling at me, but he gave himself away by nervously wringing his tiny hands.

“You could eat,” he said hopefully. From the corner of my eye I saw the three antelope dance inexplicably closer.

“And if we did, Riodh?” I asked.

“You might have to stay with us a bit longer.”

I growled and was across the clearing in less time than it took the little faerie to take even one step backwards.

“We just like you, Mary Alice. Of course we want you to stay.”

“We can’t feed, Dong-Mei,” I heard Chun-Tao murmur in resignation.

“We’ll find a way,” Dong-Mei assured her mate.

“But they said we can’t feed.”

“That’s not exactly what they said,” I growled looking between the two faeries, and placing Riodh back on the ground with a little less care than I normally would have.

I turned back to the dragon fighters. “Will you have the strength to kill a dragon?”

“It’s not just having enough strength, Alice. We’ll have to kill the dragon without using our teeth.”

“It’s impossible,” Dong-Mei sighed and threw herself onto the ground.

“Faeries!” I yelled.

Donnchadh and Riodh assemble themselves before me, both looking everywhere except at me.

“They could use their teeth,” I thought I heard Donnchadh whisper.

I quickly had his green tunic in my fist, and I held him off the ground. “And then they’d have to stay a while,” came the panicked second half of his statement. I tossed him to the ground.

“Can it be done?” I asked, looking at the flustered fighters.

Dong-Mei was shaking her head regretfully, but Chun-Tao reached out her hand to her mate and pulled her to standing. “Tell those things to take us to the dragon, Cirein Croin. Your family needs our help. We will do what we can.”

“But what can we do?” Dong-Mei asked.

*****

JPOV
As I lay in the copper-colored sand, with the red light of dawn bursting through the black night, I felt a new weight coming over the atmosphere. It came in a quick and constant manner, pressing my emotions back inside my body, until all that was here in the moment was a man and a woman staring at the stars.

Until the stars themselves were marred by a wide set of strong, translucent razor-sharp wings.

“Faerie,” I sighed, surprisingly relieved at the site of him. “Did she make it?”

“The dragon fighters are safe. So, yes, Mary Alice did her part.”

I sighed again and rolled to my side as Aodhfionn came back down to earth. I watched Sakhmet hiss and scuttle away like a threatened reptile. “I guess I knew she would, but, how?”

“She’s part fae, warrior. The knowledge is within her, and the longer she’s with us, the easier it is. How do you drink blood? It isn’t a matter of how. It’s who you are.”

“Like the silent talking between you two?” I asked.

“And the tears, and the sleep,” he added, leaning back on his elbows.

“And when we leave?”

“If she leaves us, it will fade.”

I was about to argue his use of the word ‘if’ when I realized I’d subconsciously sidled closer to the little man. I was freaking lying next to a petite little faerie watching the goddamned sunrise. I growled and shifted quickly to a seated position. I heard Sakhmet’s jarring laughter and turned to sneer in her general direction. I didn’t need her having fun at my expense.

But she wasn’t looking at me at all. She’d apparently had the same reaction I had, and was also lying quite close to the little winged man.

“Would they cut?” she asked, drawing one fingertip within inches of the tip of his wing.

“You know they would,” the little guy smirked. This exchange had me thrown, and it wasn’t until the faerie turned toward my staring eyes that I realized my mouth was hanging open. I managed to close my gaping mouth and raise an eyebrow simultaneously.

The look in Aod’s eyes told me that whatever he was doing, it was for Alice. Heck, I was supposed to be here for an Alice-related purpose as well. But had I accomplished anything except berating Sakhmet and pushing her away? What else could I do, given the situation?

I looked back at Sakhmet, and her mouth was precariously close to the faerie’s neck.

“I haven’t eaten this evening, and you, young man, smell divine.”

Without thinking, I sprang into action and pushed myself between the faerie and Aodhfionn.

“Jasper, you can’t have everyone for yourself,” Sakhmet cooed.

“And you can’t eat the faerie.”

“We should hunt,” came Aod’s reedy voice from behind my back.

“What the hell are you talking about, faerie?”

“Sakhmet is thirsty. And, if I’m not mistaken, it has been some time since you’ve had a drink as well, warrior. Shall we?”

“Not a chance in hell, faerie,” I snarled.

“Jasper,” he hissed. He caught me off guard by using my real name like that, and I turned to face him. “Trust me,” he mouthed, as Sakhmet sidled up to the two of us.

The faerie was pushing me, and with everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours, I felt I might seriously crack. I would not stand by and watch Sakhmet drain blood from a human again. That was something I’d seen more than I cared to, especially given her predilections about what she liked to do to the body, for Christ’s sake. I was here to guard her, period. She could get blood where and when she wanted, without me.

“Did you hunt in the southwest when you were here last?” Aod asked, again taking me by surprise. I raised an eyebrow at him and he shrugged. “It was a good guess. It makes sense.”

I sighed and turned and walked quickly away. I didn’t care which direction I was headed in, because none of them could get me back to Alice right now. I felt more lost than ever. The last time I was here, Alice was my rock, but now my rock was gone. Or at least off on a quest to kill a dragon. It was fitting that I was in a desert, because my life without her would always feel like this: an empty and arid wasteland. Fuck, who was I kidding? I wouldn’t have a life without Alice. Nothing could fill it. Being here seemed suddenly stupid. I didn’t care what happened to my family if I didn’t have Alice in my life.

Compassion. I felt it again like a flicker.

A faerie hand was suddenly wrapped around my elbow and I fought my body’s natural inclination to swoon.

“How do you do that?” I murmured without thinking.

“It’s not me, warrior. It’s the nature of the universe.”

I guffawed, despite my black mood. Leave it to a faerie to interject some metaphysical speech into a simple answer.

“Vampires are drawn to the piece of heaven we carried with us after we were thrown out. It’s something you ache for, since it’s denied you. You want what you cannot have.”

“That’s not what it feels like.” I wouldn’t admit to myself what it felt like.

“You should leave it at that, warrior. And you need to come with us and hunt. You can go first.”

“I do not want to do that in front of her.”

“She needs to see.”

“I don’t care what she needs, faerie. I’m losing it here, and the last thing I need is to come unglued in front of that monster.”

“Do not forget why we are here.”

“I don’t give much of a damn anymore, faerie. This whole situation is fucked. I don’t know how I let you convince me that any of this is a good idea. Alice is gone, and I couldn’t get to her if I tried. And I’m left with… this,” I gestured to the unending expanse of copper sand that surrounded us. I didn’t often swear so much out loud, but this was all too much. I felt angry and raw, like the sand had rubbed a hole in my heart.

“You will feel better after you eat. Please, come. At least the running will make you feel better. Will it not?”

Again, I looked at Aodhfionn quizzically. How did he know that running would ease my mind?

“Vampires are easy to read, warrior. Have you ever tried to figure out a traumatized human?”

“What are you talking about?”

“My job. But right now, my job is to help Mary Alice and her family. You need to drink, so stop arguing.” And with that I felt the warm wind pick up behind me as a small pare of hands pushed me with surprising force toward the distant horizon. I wouldn’t commit myself to feeding, but the faerie was right, a run would help to ease some of my tension.

So I ran; I pushed fast and hard over the hot sand, warm wind whipping me on. I knew the others were close behind, but I didn’t care. I ran, letting the dry wind pull at my hair, finding small consolation in my own rapid and regular footfalls and my dry shallow breathing. I followed the same path I’d taken so many times with Chun-Tao and Dong-Mei, and smiled absently as the color green came into view, partially obscured by a thick blanket of fog. Waves of hot fire lapped at my throat. I was thirsty, ravenous, and my feet carried me even faster toward the hills of Asir.

The hazy desert heat, relentless sun and the sudden need that rose in my throat all coalesced to bring out the perfect killer within me. I stalked noiselessly through the sparse foliage that passed for forest in this neck of the world, my nose guiding me toward a faintly musky smell that engulfed my throat in flames.

I heard their taunting cackle just before I saw scruffy coat disappear into the thick fog. As if they could escape me. Within seconds I was on top of the pack of hyenas, and they pawed the ground anxiously and laughed into the face of their death. Then, the alpha gave a short cry, and the scavengers assembled themselves into an impromptu strike force, and they reared and jumped as one.

While I could have drained twelve hyenas, I certainly didn’t require that much blood, so I struck out swiftly and strategically, pushing animals aside, going straight for the alpha. If I took her down, the other animals wouldn’t force themselves on me and I wouldn’t have to needlessly slaughter the pack. As ugly as they were, it still wouldn’t be right.

I threw off the attacking canines, and they fell and scattered and scrambled back to their feet. But I had the alpha in my grasp. She snarled, her pointed teeth bared, saliva dripping from her black lips. And faster than she could detect, her throat was in my hand, and I watched as the small blood vessels in her eyes burst as they darted around to try to figure what had just happened.

The other dogs tore at my clothing, trying without success to find purchase on my granite skin. I ignored them, instead picking the alpha off the ground, her paws clambering uselessly beneath her. And in a swift move, I locked my jaws around her throat, burying my face in the grizzly hide, my teeth sinking threw the sinewy muscle, easily reaching the great vein encased in taut connective tissue. Her blood was acrid at best, as a result of the dead meat she fed on. But it warmed me and strengthened me, and I breathed slow and deep and lowered myself to the ground.

The other dogs had skittered away, whining and confused, before taking a few cautious looks over their shoulders and scurrying for cover. I let the large bitch drop to the ground, and my eyes rested on her mottled coat, grateful that I’d found food. I’d apparently needed to feed more than I’d realized, and relief and gratitude filled the space between the green earth and the gray fog. I gently closed her bloodshot eyes, and laid back on my elbows, hoping that Alice would get the chance to feed wherever she was.

Oh no!

“Faerie!” I jumped to my feet, but Aodhfionn was nowhere to be seen. Alice couldn’t feed in the sidhe. Did she remember? Did she find something before she left? It had been too long, and she was going to be in the vicinity of a dragon, her strength waning.

“Aodhfionn!” I yelled. My relief at feeding had been instantly replaced with grave concern. “Goddammit, faerie, get out here! It’s Alice!”

But instead of the little faerie, Sakhmet stepped through the thorny bushes, bringing with her compassion, and curiosity and her own concern.

“Sakhmet, where is the faerie? Alice is in trouble.”

Sakhmet eyed me curiously. “What are you, Jasper Whitlock? You are like no other vampire I have ever seen.”

*****

APOV
The cliffs on the Northern Shore were imposing, to say the least. All five of us lined up along the sheer precipice that overlooked the white-capped churning waters below us. The gray sandstone cliffs dropped off for hundreds of feet below us, where great jagged boulders littered the line where the water met the seawall. Fog hung thick and dark, so that it was difficult to see one another amidst all the thick haze. The only real color came from the thick emerald green moss that carpeted the ground where we stood. It seemed to hold onto what little light it could find, so that there was a green phosphorescent glow all the way to our knees.

Chun-Tao and Dong-Mei had been plotting and planning quietly for the entire walk to the shore. There were no guarantees that they could slay a dragon without using their teeth. But they had some ideas, and those boulders below would help.

But now that we were here, the task seemed absurd. The water looked violent and alive; rolling, undulating and stretched to the horizon.

“How do you find a dragon in all of that?” I asked.

“Usually we would wait it out. But now, each day we wait, we will get weaker. Without feeding, we have to make the dragon come to us,” Chun-Tao explained.

“And how do you do that? Do you have a dragon charm or something?”

“No,” Chun-Tao answered gravely. “We use bait.”
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The Necklace