Charmed Reborn
Disclaimer: All rights for Charmed and the Halliwells go to the WB, as well as Aaron Spelling and Brad Kern. This story is a spin-off of the original Charmed series, categorized under fan fiction, and is not intended to imply any personal knowledge, or the actual sexuality of any of its celebrities.
This story is obviously fiction. This story will also involve sexual and intimate relationships between two (or more) males, and if this offends you or it is illegal for you to be reading, then please leave. If you are under the age of consent for your community, please leave. And if it does offend you, I honestly don't know why you're even here in the first place.
Blood Lust
"Aaron! Aaron, hurry up!"
Lucy screamed for Aaron again, peeking up from behind the overturned couch to throw a potion at the harpy. The harpy flung a blue bolt of energy at it, destroying it in midair. She again tried to attack Lucy, but Lyla saw it coming: she pulled Lucy down before it hit its mark.
Finally, the sound of orbs. Aaron orbed from behind the harpy, Lex grabbing his arm. The harpy turned around, throwing energy at Aaron; Lex caught a surprised look on his face before he burst into orbs. Lex pointed to the harpy. "Rend!"
There was a chime and the sound of metallic slashing. The harpy angrily scoffed as invisible swords ripped part of her shirt and skirt into shreds, and began to make small gashes into her arms. She threw up her hand, sending another bolt of energy at Lex. Lex acted fast. "Rebound!" The bolt went 180 degrees, hitting her straight in the chest, and causing her to recoil with some dizziness.
Lucy swung around from the couch, knocking the harpy over with a sweep. Lex and Lyla ran to her, gathering around a piece of paper she was unfolding. They spoke in unison. "Claw of pain we have to sever/Demon, you are gone forever."
The harpy screamed, before vanishing in a small explosion and a puff of smoke. Lex had averted his eyes, and Lucy nudged his arms down as they all stood up. Aaron finally reformed in front of them. He looked around the messed up house and the smudge on the floor. "Hey... didn't that whole scene seem familiar from somewhere?"
Lucy rolled her eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Anyway..." Lyla turned to Lex. "How was the farmers market?"
Lex sighed. "Overpriced. Oh, but I got the organic celery you wanted, Luce." Lex reached behind him, and handed a paper bag to Lucy.
"I had a good time." Aaron said.
Lex looked at him, bemused. "Why?"
Aaron gave a sly smile. "Because I don't always get to be alone with you."
Lex wasn't sure what to say, and he gave a really goofy smile. But it was cut short when Lyla interceded, sliding an arm on Aaron's shoulder. "Glad you're back."
"Me too." Aaron said.
Lucy raised an eyebrow at the proceeding silence, and decided not to say anything. Lex cleared his throat, averting his eyes to the ground as he walked over to help Lucy overturn the couch again.
Lyla walked over to assist. "Hey, is it just me or have we been getting less attacks lately?" she asked.
"Um..." Lucy tried recounting back in her head. "There was that little dealio on Halloween. And then we had like, a week of nothing. I guess that harpy was the first one we had in a while, yeah."
"Why do you think?" Lex directed the question to nobody, really.
Aaron answered. "Whatever the reason, we should stay on our toes. It probably means the Seven have something big in mind."
Lyla, Lex, and Lucy all nodded. "Definetely." they said in unison.
Somewhere, within a maze of caves, dark rivers, and fiery pits, there was the sound of yelling. Angry screams and arguments bounced off the walls, and there seemed to be no end. This was one of the most secretive parts of the Underworld: this was the Twilight Citadel.
The circular dirt floor of the Citadel was painted with a seven pointed star. At the end of each star stood a podium, each just vaguely lit by an unknown white light. No one dared interrupt the Seven when they met; such a crime would be met with death.
The arguing briefly paused to hear a voice in the crowd. It was Amy's shrill, furious one. "It's not my fault that nobody helps my sisters in any attacks at all! Do you think that I send them out just for the sake of being killed?"
"I merely mean that you have no strategy to your attacks, Amy. You send your demons with no heed to time or place, with not even a semblance of preparation." Barbatos' voice rang out with aged regality.
Ipos returned from briefly convening with two women, both dressed in white behind him and carrying crystal balls in their hands. "I believe that if we tried more coordinated attacks, we could easily succeed in dispatching the new Charmed Ones. We nearly saw the success of the oni and his... paper skin." Ipos acknowledged a hooded figure on the other side of him, who simply gave a silent nod.
"Yeah, it would've worked if it weren't for that bitch with the charms." Amy said, still angry. "But I don't have unlimited demons, you know. A lot of my original sisters have been vanquished. The only thing upolding the Sisterhood is the Harpy Queen, and you know she won't take shit."
"I think I have an idea you might find useful." Kane, dressed in a black trenchcoat, finally spoke up. He was silent for much of the meeting.
"You are a fool." Barbatos said, with particular emphasis on "fool." "You gave away our true names, you-"
"Ah, now you know that I needed to give away some actual information, or Lyla Russel wouldn't have trusted me. Besides... if the Elders can figure out what's going on, all the better. I wanna get `em scared." Someone gave a frustrated groan, which Kane turned his head to. "You don't have to fear the Elders anymore. Remember, you're in the Underworld."
A clear female voice answered back. "We are not afraid. But we find your information bargaining illogical and useless. Instilling `fear' into the Elders is an endeavor that will ultimately amount to nothing."
Kane gave a snappy tone. "Please. Let's stop talking about this. The point is... Amy. I have some prospective members for your Sisterhood."
Amy raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "Oh?"
"Yes. Vampires."
Ipos shut his mouth, and exchanged glances with the women behind him. Barbatos cleared his throat, and some of the other Seven murmured among themselves. The shining female voice from before piped up again. "That seems prudent. Why would such an asset be undesirable?"
Barbatos answered her, Amy still fuming. "Why, my dear. Vampires are personae non gratae. They betrayed the Source in the second Continuum War."
"I won't have vampires in my sisterhood, Kane!"
Kane glared at her. "Amy, it's time to face facts. The Source is long gone. No one has tried to ressurect him since the first Charmed Ones were around, and no one is going to. It was he that the vampires quarreled with, not us." Kane simmered down a little. "Besides. The vampires are desperate for attention at this point. If you extend a hand to one of their queens, I'm sure she'll take it with no hesitation. And you'll have yet another servant."
Amy had to admit that the thought was appealing. She deliberated briefly before giving her answer. "What happens if I do?"
Kane smiled. "I know a certain vampire queen who will be interested. I have a plan."
"Now, if I remember correctly..." Ipos spoke quickly and tensely, like he did at all times. "You have quite a lot of plans. In fact, you have been setting up one of your `plans' for a long time now, and we haven't seen results."
Kane winced, as though wounded. "Hey, now. I'm particularly proud of that one. But it's working as we speak. In fact, you're going to have to help me enact it, with that neat divination you and Cassandra's Eyes have." he gave a wicked smile. "I think the Charmed Ones will be in for a long month."
Opening Song! This episode: "I Want You" By Rachael Yamagata
You simplified me down to slogans on the wall/ I took offense; you were right about them all/ My friends are telling me I shouldn't waste my time/ But I can't concentrate until I make you mine/
I want you/ Or no one/ No one else for me/ You, or no one/ Cos no one else is strong enough to slow me down in time to set me free...
"Hear these words/Hear my cry/Spirit from the other side/Come to me/I summon thee/Cross now the great divide."
There was a flash of light in the circle of candles. Lex averted his eyes and put down the Book of Shadows on the couch. He was standing face to face with Paige, who was dressed in a flowing black dress. "Um... hi. Sorry, are you busy?" Lex asked.
Paige rolled her eyes. "Sweetie, I'm dead. I'm not gonna be doing much." She stepped out of the circle, materializing. "I just like to dress up sometimes, you know. So, what's up?" she asked with a smile and a small jump.
"Oh, uh, well." Lex wasn't used to ghost interaction. "I was actually kinda hoping to talk to Piper, if she's here."
"Piper..." Paige bit her lip. "Yeah... see, here's the thing. Remember that last time we saw you, when she materialized so she could use her powers? Apparently she wasn't dead long enough for that sorta behavior to be proper." Lex raised an eyebrow. Paige continued. "Yeah, I know it seems kinda stupid. But apparently, if you've only been dead for like, an hour, you're not supposed to materialize just so you can blow up a demon. So the Elders kinda punished her and she can't come down for a while."
Lex seemed a little disappointed. "Oh. Well that's okay. Thanks anyway."
Paige looked around. "Say, where are your sisters?"
"Lucy's downstairs. Aaron had to bartend over at P3, and Lyla went with him."
"Okay then." Paige softly clapped her hands back and forth, whistling a little. "So... why am I here?"
Lex sighed, plunking down on the couch. "Is it bad of me to summon you to talk about personal stuff?"
Paige pursed her lips, sensing an emotional topic. "No, not at all." She sat down next to him. "I was a whitelighter for a long time, so I can help. But can't Aaron talk to you about it?"
"Um... That's the thing. It's sorta about him."
"Is he a bad whitelighter? Cos if he is, I'll send him straight back and get a new one for you."
"Oh, no, no, he's great, He's... really great." Lex laughed a little. "Thanks for the offer, but, um... that's kinda why I wanted to talk to Piper about it."
Paige briefly gave a puzzled look, before she put 2 and 2 together. "Ohhh... Oh."
Lex sniffed a little, and felt just a little bit teary-eyed. He was always easy to make cry, and he remembered that's why Lyla and Lucy always had to protect him. "I mean, it's just, I thought it was just a little thing before. But, but I dunno, he's so nice, and he's so kind, and..." Lex gulped. "...and I don't think he's interested."
"Aww..." Paige patted Lex's hand just a little, and handed a tissue to him, to which he gave a quiet "thank you." "Hey, now. How do you know he's not interested?"
Lex shook his head. "I... don't. I mean, I do. It's just, he's always with Lyla, and she's always hugging him, and he hugs her back, you know, it's just... I wish he and I didn't get along so well. Maybe it wouldn't hurt as much if we didn't."
Paige was still quiet. She rubbed his shoulder, and Lex continued. "I wanna... I want so much, you know, to just talk to him, or be with him, or-or, even flirt with him, but I can't! I can't do that, because he's not like that, and we'll... well, we'll never be anything." Lex was starting to cry now, and Paige reassuringly rubbed his back. "I'm just a charge to him. I can't be anything else. Not like Lyla..." Lex whimpered softly, through sobs and sharp breaths in.
Neither of them knew that Lucy was behind the door panel. Having heard everything they said, she quietly crept down the stairs into the lobby.
Paige nodded. "Okay. You know what?" she turned Lex to her, and looked him in the eye. "This is why I hate men." Lex laughed, and she did too. "Alright. Let me give you some advice. Sometime, today, I want you to tell him how you feel."
Lex's eyes widened. "What? No, but-"
"Yes, it'll be fine. But here's the thing. If he pushes you away, then just-" Paige snapped her fingers. "-well, say `fuck you,' then walk away!"
Lex's mouth gaped open, and he laughed. "Paige! What a mean thing to say!"
"What, I'm serious! If he can't appreciate you for all you are, then he doesn't deserve you anyway." Paige cracked her knuckles. "Besides... I think that you deserve better than this too."
"I don't... I'm afraid, because I know he's not interested... he can't be."
Paige smiled. "Well then. Fuck him."
Lex gave another giggle. "I could never be that mean to him, Paige. But... thank you for the advice. It helps."
Paige helped Lex to his feet. "So will you tell him?"
"Um... we'll see." Lex moseyed out the attic. "You can leave, if you want."
Paige nodded. "Sure. I'll stick around in spirit though, so just call me and I'll materialize."
"Okay. Thank you, Paige. You didn't have to help me, but you did."
Paige grinned and waved before fading into the air. Lex stepped into the hallway, and went into his room to lie down on his belly. The bed was warm; he didn't fall asleep, but simply buried his head in his pillow, images of what would happen with Aaron flashing in his head.
In the meanttime, Lucy heard the door shut upstairs. She worriedly twiddled her hair, and nearly jumped as the front door opened up. Lyla and Aaron came barging in, laughing to each other.
Lyla let go of Aaron's arm, running over to kiss Lucy on the cheek before running upstairs to take a shower. Aaron smiled after her, sitting down next to Lucy on the couch. "So, how'd it go while we were gone?"
"Um..." Lucy hesistated, really not sure if she should say anything. She quickly evaded the question. "How was Lyla at P3? I know she can be a handful. You know, she flirts so much, she goes with who knows how many guys, and..."
"I know." Aaron said, solemnly. Lucy raised an eyebrow from his sudden seriousness. "Lyla's... really, been..."
Lucy paused, hoping for Aaron to finish his sentence. He didn't. She continued instead, attempting to usher him on. "Listen, I know how Lyla gets. I love her, but she can't take anything seriously, really. Unless it's demon vanquishing, of course."
Aaron grinned. He looked sad again, as he heard the sound of Lyla's shower and looked up the stairs. "Where's Lex?"
Something got caught in Lucy's throat. She recovered. "He's- asleep, I think. Why?"
Aaron was now pouting. "These last few weeks, I've only been with him for a couple hours. I just wanna spend some time with him." he crossed and uncrossed his legs. "It's just that Lyla always-"
"-monopolizes your life?"
"I'm not supposed to talk bad about my charges, especially with other charges."
Lucy nodded. "Don't worry, I understand." she said.
"Lucille." Lucy perked her ears up, puzzled at the sudden use of her full name. "You know I care about you."
"But what do you think about Lyla? And Lex?"
There was silence. Lucy realized that Aaron might be overstepping some moral boundaries by answering her question, but at this point she didn't really care. Aaron, after much deliberation, actually responded. "I really enjoy being with Lex, Lucy. Whatever small times we have together, I really have fun with him."
Lucy chuckled. "Well, he did save your life."
"Yeah... that's an empirical way of looking at it, yeah." Aaron said with a similar laugh. "But it's more than that, really. I'm happy with Lex." Lucy was quiet. Aaron continued. "There are times when I start off a day smiling, hoping that I'm going to see him. Doesn't that sound pathetic?" Aaron giggled, and Lucy did too: that kind of nervous giggling that accompanies confessions or secrets. "...On the other hand, I've watched over Lyla since she was little. And although I feel responsible to guide all my charges, she's the longest one I've ever had. So I definetely feel responsible for her. I think that in the long run- I have to give up what I really want, in order to save the greater good."
Gears swiftly clicked in Lucy's mind. She figured it out. "Aaron, what if I told you-"
Aaron raised his hand to shush Lucy. He looked to the ceiling, speaking rather distantly. "A charge... a new charge, actually. He needs help."
Lucy bit her lip. "Well, I guess it's only 9:00, anything can happen."
"Sorry, Lucy. I'm gonna have to cut this one short." Lucy pursed her lips, giving a silent "oh well." Aaron smiled. "Hey, thanks for counseling me. Not many people realize that whitelighters need psych help too."
"Ha! Go help your charge, Aaron."
The celestial chime that accompanied Aaron's orbing resounded, and with a flash of white light he was gone. Lucy sighed, sinking further into the couch and pushing a pillow onto her face in exhaustion.
She could only get about 5 minutes of rest in. Rather suddenly, she heard Lyla's voice echo from above the banister. "Is Aaron gone?"
Lucy yelled into the pillow. "Yes!"
Lyla didn't detect the hint of frustration in her voice, and she flitted down the stairs, dressed in a bathrobe and a towel in her hair. She sat down next to Lucy and gave her a big (and slightly damp) hug. "How are you?"
"Fine." Lucy was still muffled, and Lyla didn't do anything to remove the pillow. "And how are you?"
"Mmmm..." Lyla inhaled through her nose, as though the air was that of a fresh summer. "Great. I've been feeling really, really clean lately."
Lucy now removed the pillow, baffled. She stared wide-eyed at Lyla. "Are you kidding?"
Lyla giggled. "I'm serious! I haven't gotten drunk in weeks, I haven't had random sex, I-" Lucy glared at her. "-I, no, I never had random sex anyway, you know. Just saying." Lucy continued her stare. "Okay, well yeah, it was sex. But I wouldn't call it random per se. And the point is I haven't had it in a while, but I feel fine."
"Well then." Lucy stated. "That's good, cos you know, you haven't been a good role model to me lately." Lucy said the last part more than a bit sarcastically. She melodramatically held a hand to her forehead. "Oh, oh my... I think your negative aura has driven me to become a prostitute..."
"Shut up!" Lyla slapped Lucy, giggling.
"But Ly..." Lucy started sounding whiney on purpose. "You're the older sis. You're supposed to be more mature than me."
Lyla rolled her eyes. "I am." Lyla spoke with a mock deep voice. "I am extremely mature."
"Suure, sure. Whatever you say."
Lyla sighed. "Where's Lex?"
Strangely enough, Lucy's throat stuck again at the exact same question. She ended up giving the exact same answer too. "Uh, he's asleep, I think. Why?"
"I feel a little bad for leaving most of the day. I hardly got to see him at all. Is he okay?"
Lucy bit the side of her lip. She found out that she was getting good at question dodging. "Hey, you were gone a lot of the day. Where did you go anyway?"
"P3... then Chinatown. I was with Aaron the whole time." Lyla leaned closer to Lucy, as if she were telling a secret. "Luce. I had so much fun. And Aaron: Aaron, he's so great. He's really, really great!" Before continuing, Lyla spent a while with just a contented smile on her face. "Lucy! I've never felt like this with anyone else!"
"Oh... Oh, oh Ly, that's great."
"Isn't it?" Lyla was nearly shaking with excitement. "I mean, just... whenever I'm with him, my head is just clearer. I don't feel like, I have to use sex or beer or drugs to get my highs, I... just need him." Lyla tried staying quiet after that realization, but couldn't hold her noise in as she wiggled her knees and giggled in a schoolgirl fashion. "Lucy, do you know what he thinks of me?"
A fatal question. Lucy, attempting to formulate a harmless response in her head, was silent for a while. But she waited too long to think; Lyla had noted the faintest hint of worry on Lucy's face, and her subsequent distraction.
"Lucy." Lyla began to ask. "Is there something wrong?"
"No. No, not at all."
"I know when you're lying." Lucy knew this was true. She opted to take silence instead. After some time, Lyla pressed her lips together in frustration. "Lucy, spit it out." Still silence. "Lucy!"
The response Lyla got was slow and raspy, as Lucy was reluctant to say anything verbal, really. Lucy unfolded her arms and legs as she began to say it. "What would you do if Aaron didn't love you?"
Lyla's face curled downward in a "that's not funny" indignation. She, slowly yet intimidatingly, whipped the towel out of her hair, and spoke with a wobbly voice. "...I wouldn't care at all." Lyla, rather suddenly, stumbled off the couch and up the stairs. It only took her five minutes to come back down in a skimpy skirt and tube top, with make-up Britney would envy.
"Where are you going!?"
"Out!" Lyla slammed the door behind her. Lucy, befuddled by Lyla's sudden surrender to hopelessness, took the pillow and shoved it into her face, screaming her head off. Several green flashes of light burst through the house, and Lex saw it under the crack of his door.
Lex slowly trounced down the stairs, a bit scared of the frustrated Lucy. When the green flashes stopped and Lucy's breath began to even out a little, he spoke from the top of the staircase. "Luce?" Lucy turned her head. She rushed up the stairs and gave him a hug. "Oh! Oh, my." Lex said, a little confused but valuing the warmth. Lucy didn't say anything, and neither did Lex after a while. Lex, melancholy, stroked the tips of Lucy's hair. Lucy rested her head on Lex's lap. Lucy was probably imagining it, but she thought she felt tears fall onto the back of her hand.
He was running. Puddles splashed upon his shoes and his ankles, each of his footsteps disturbing the watery mirrors with sweeping ripples and tiny sounds. He looked behind him; he was alone in the alley, but he knew better than to stop moving. There was a soft tingling in the night air, and he restarted the retreat. He didn't get far, reaching a dead end. He turned around, heaving.
There: a figure illuminated by the waning crescent moon. A soft silver light, tainted sinister from an unknown darkness, pushed its way through the clouds and illuminated the silhouette just enough to expose his garb: the same black tee and pants he had on in the bar. But around his neck was a strange red twinkle, the tell-tale refracted light of a crimson stone on a gold chain.
"Get the hell away from me!" The runner screamed, backing up towards the wall.
The pursuer stepped closer, laughing. "I never let prey escape. Especially when they're exciting as you... But it is fun to play, don't you think?"
The runner unconsciously cringed from his chilling voice. Suddenly, there was a flash of white lights next to him: a brief burst of luminescence heralded the appearance of a stranger, with shining, short blonde hair and defined features. He turned to him with obsidian eyes. "Are you okay?"
In confusion, the runner quickly nodded. His pursuer however, was visibly not amused. "Now... why'd you have to ruin everything with a whitelighter?"
"White what?"
The stranger, as though from nowhere, procured a glowing bow and arrow. With deft swiftness and strength, he shot the shining arrow straight at the attacker; with a sudden screeching noise, the figure melded into shadow and back again as the arrow shot past him. The arrow hit the wall next to him. A plume of pure white light poured outward from its mark, lighting up the entire alley. The attacker hissed with displeasure, shielding his visage before (to their surprise) shrinking into a bat and wildly flapping into the night.
The runner, gulping, turned to his savior. "...Thanks."
The stranger gave a warm smile, sticking out a hand to shake. "You're Kincaid, right?"
Kincaid raised his eyebrows. "How did you know?"
"I'm Aaron." Kincaid reached out to take his hand, and he felt that Aaron had a strong grip. "I'm your whitelighter."
There was the gentle sound of music somewhere. One of the sisters was playing a harp, another a sitar. They were sitting very close together, and shot each other lusty glances inbetween their cadences.
Gloriana ceased fondling one the handmaidens, moving on to one of the male servants, who was shirtless and massaging her feet. The handmaiden, abandoned, quickly moved onto the party on the floor, where most everyone in the colony had paired off into twos, threes, fours, fives...
"Queen Gloriana."
Gloriana reluctantly let go of the servant. She sat up on the red velvet couch, opening her eyes and licking her lips. Gloriana recognized the demon who spoke: Amy, leader of Zira's Sisterhood. She seemed pissed. Gloriana nervously groped the ruby at her neck, preparing to summon her bodyguards at any time. "Why, we are of similar power, Amy. No need for titles and nonsense."
Amy raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. She looked around the cave; it was a step above an orgy, with every combination of guy on guy on girl on girl, yet it seemed strangely more alluring and erotic than it should have been. "What do you do here?"
"We feast, we comiserate." Gloriana leaned closer, yet again licking the edges of her deep red lips. "But it's important to understand that in the Ruby Guild, inhibition is the greatest sin." Then a laugh, so bright and musical the servants at her feet joined her. Amy could see the trademark vampiric teeth in the edges of her mouth.
"...Look." Amy was struggling to speak to her, and Gloriana noticed, now just the least bit offended. "As a leader in one of the Seven, I have- or, we have to have more members, and-" Amy paused. Gloriana had lost attention completely, turning around to receive the attention of two buxom handmaidens instead. Amy rolled her eyes; she was never a good talker. "Listen, do you wanna be part of the Sisterhood?"
This caught her ear. "Zira's Sisterhood, you say?" mused Gloriana, turning to her minions gathered around her. "We might consider it... This isn't at trick, right?"
"Of course not."
"Well good." She purred the word "good" like a very contented kitten. "Because you realize that coming to my home, you leave yourself vulnerable to being bitten by the hundred of us."
In sudden anger, Amy conjured a flaming pink energy ball, and shot it straight at the floor; the brilliant flash of light caused every vampire in the room to cringe, and some to even flee to the top of the cave in bat form. There was the sound of collective screeching. Gloriana furiously stood as the light faded, her elegant crimson dress flowing to the floor, the rubies adorning her body shining bright. "What do you think you're doing?!"
"You're lucky I don't kill every one of you right here and now!" Amy motioned to Gloriana. "As if I want to let vampires into my Sisterhood... If I send one of my energy balls square into your heart, I could kill your entire coven, right here, right now."
Gloriana raised an eyebrow, still heaving from rage. "V-very well. We'll join you."
Now Amy smiled. "Glad to see you know who's in charge."
Rather suddenly, a big black bat swooped in from the way Amy came in, hovering in the air before Gloriana. Its wings swooped down and multiplied in size, until it became a cape of shadow from which an attractive vampire with shoulder length red hair emerged. He cracked his neck, and meticulously made sure his ruby was still around it. He addressed Gloriana, giving no heed to Amy. "My queen."
"Shade... Mon amour..." Gloriana said, more tauntingly than anything else.
"My prey escaped. I saw him in P3, and I almost had him. But a whitelighter protected him. I guess he was a witch."
Amy perked up. Gloriana placed a hand on Shade's bowed head in pity. "Poor thing... There's fresh blood in the back. See if any of them are to your liking."
"P3?"
Shade turned to face Amy, only then noting her presence. "Yes. The first time I've been. If I knew the terrain better I wouldn't have let him get away."
"Ipos! Ipos!" Shade exchanged a confused glance with Gloriana as Amy continued yelling at the ceiling. Amy finally acknowledged Gloriana. "The Charmed Ones always go to P3. Maybe your vampire was stalking the male Charmed One, Lex Russel. Ipos, where the hell are you?!"
Amy thought it was her imagination at first, but she realized that the air did get abruptly chilly. Gloriana, Shade, and Amy all jumped up in unison, as a crimson-red icicle, like a frozen sculpture of blood turned glacial, forced its way through the ground in front of them. It shattered with the sound of a thousand chimes. Rather suddenly, Amy was facing a beautiful woman with an elegant white dress, long, shiny brown hair that fell to her waist, and a crystal ball in her hand. It was one of Ipos' oracles.
"You. Where is Ipos?"
The oracle looked at Amy through narrowed eyes, unphased by Amy's rudeness. Behind her, both Gloriana and Shade admired her figure. "Lord Ipos is occupied. He sent me in his stead."
"What's your name?"
"...Postverta." Postverta said her name as if it cost money to hear it.
"Whatever. This vampire says he was tracking a witch in P3. See if it was Lex Russel."
Postverta closely glared at Amy before turning her full attention to Shade. It seemed she had a hard time looking Shade in the face, only barely containing her disgust for the pariah. Her eyes glowed white; red crystals shone inside of her crystal ball, flowing in and out with the harsh sound of buckling ice. With a minute of contemplation, she returned to normal. Not wanting to stare at a vampire for any longer than necessary, she looked at Amy. "It wasn't the Russel."
"Is that all now?" Gloriana said, becoming impatient.
Amy ignored her, as did Postverta, who did no more than grip her crystal ball tighter. "Who was it then?" asked Amy.
"A new witch. His name is Kincaid. But he has the same whitelighter as the Charmed Ones."
A sinister smile crept onto Amy's lips. She peered behind Postverta to where Gloriana and Shade were reluctantly waiting. "...Vampires can track their prey, right?"
Gloriana turned to Shade. She rather lasciviously bit a nail, and her smile revealed her sharp teeth again. "If they excite us." Shade nodded, laughing and licking his lips. Gloriana reached over and stroked his cheek. "Take Shine with you, sweet. He hasn't been out for ages."
"My pleasure."
Aaron orbed Kincaid into the Russel foyer. Kincaid looked around confused, before dizzily settling down onto the couch. He looked up at Aaron, who was still standing. "Whoa."
"Don't worry, you'll get used to it."
"So wait, I-I still don't get it. Do I have powers too?"
Aaron nodded. "Well, yes. But you haven't realized how to manifest them yet."
"How do I do that? I mean, I don't... I'm really, just really confused right now, this is a lot to take in at once."
Kincaid was comforted by Aaron's smile. "I know." Aaron said. "But you're doing great so far. Don't worry, we'll take it as slow as we can. For now, we have to protect you, but then we'll get to working out your powers."
"Whaddya think I'll be able to do?" Kincaid asked, half out of curiosity and half to make small talk.
"Well, that's a good question." Aaron thought to himself a little bit, considering the possibilities. "I've had a pretty long run as a whitelighter. The most common I see is telekinesis, but I've also seen transmutation, empathy, molecular immobilization, aerokinesis, acoustic combustion, enhanced precision hyperkinesia..."
"Okay, I only understood about half of those."
"Don't worry `bout it. We'll find out your talent soon enough."
Lucy walked into the foyer from the dining room, and both Kincaid and Aaron turned to her. Lucy stifled a gasp, stopping in her tracks. "Oh. Hello, Mr. Rowe."
Kincaid nearly yelled. "Dr. Russel?!"
Aaron, now the odd one out, looked at Kincaid then at Lucy. "So I guess you two know each other."
Lucy shuffled over to Kincaid. "Yes, we do. He's in my morning class." Lucy bent over to Aaron briefly, and whispered so only he could hear. "I need to talk to you later." Aaron nodded. Lucy turned her head to Kincaid again. "By the way, I have your third test. Outstanding."
"This... is awkward."
Lucy sat in front of him. "...Kincaid. I'll assume you're new to this whole magic business, right?"
"Are you a witch too?"
She laughed. "Yes! Oh, yes I am. But don't worry, I'm only about a month more into it than you are."
"Is that because you're older than me?"
Lucy put down the mug of coffee she had brought from the kitchen, swallowing down a gulp of it. "Tell me, how old are you?"
"22."
"See, now I'm 21. You just think I'm older `cos I grade your papers." Lucy winked, but Kincaid didn't seem any less uneasy. Lucy craned her neck to try and look up the stairs. "You're actually around the same age as my older brother... whom speaking of, I should call down too. Lex! There's someone here to meet!"
They heard a responsive noise from the upstairs. A moment later Lex came sauntering down, hands in his pockets and in a comfortable sweatshirt. For a moment, he locked eyes with Aaron. He quickly looked away, turning to Kincaid and then Lucy. "What's up?" he asked.
"Lex, Kincaid Rowe. Kincaid, Lex." Lex looked at Lucy with some confusion. "He's Aaron's new charge." Lex responded with a small "Oh," before circling around to shake Kincaid's hand.
Kincaid, however, seemed (if Lex didn't know any better) smitten. His formerly tightened face relaxed as if a load of bricks had suddenly been lifted off his toes, and he broke out into a smile. "Hi there." Kincaid said, in a flustered voice that accompanied his reddening face.
Lex was fairly oblivious, and didn't seem to notice when Kincaid had difficulty letting go of his hand. Aaron, however, took painful note, and conspicuously cleared his throat. Kincaid finally let go, but didn't take his eyes of Lex.
"So." Lucy finally decided to interject. "Aaron, what exactly is Kincaid in danger of?"
A rather strange triumvirate was formed, as Kincaid stared at Lex from his front, Lex stared at the ground to his left, and Aaron stared at Lex's back, sadly unable to see his face. Aaron snapped out of his daze enough to answer Lucy, prying his gaze away from Lex in hopelessness. "Vampires."
This caught both Lex and Lucy's attention. "You're kidding, right?" Lex thought but Lucy asked.
Aaron gave a tight grin. "I wish I was. But I don't think they're necessarily working for the Seven, otherwise they would have gone after us."
"Um..." Lucy looked nervous. Aaron and Lex turned to her. "...well, maybe they might start going after us."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because Lyla ran out about half an hour ago."
Aaron turned pale. "...What?"
"She ran out. She got really upset, because-well, because we were talking about some things, and..." Lucy bit the edge of her lip. Aaron sensed what she was trying to say, and clicked his tongue half out of frustration and half of worry.
Lex timidly spoke up. "Is she safe?" he asked.
"No." Aaron vigorously shook his head. He turned to Lex. "You have to protect Kincaid, Lex. I'll find Lyla, and try to get her before its too late."
Aaron closed his eyes to orb, but stopped as he felt Lex's hand on his arm. "I'm going with you!"
"Lex, you can't. It's too dangerous, you might-"
"Aaron... Please."
Silence. Lex had locked eyes with Aaron again, and there was more to their exchanged glance than met normal perception. Kincaid slowly leered with a quiet jealousy. Lucy nearly held her breath. "...You can't leave Lucy and Kincaid alone here."
"I won't." Lex addressed the ceiling. "Paige!"
The sound of a million tiny, shimmering orbs and materializing ectoplasm. With a flash of shining lights, Paige appeared in the middle of the foyer, black dress and all. Kincaid withdrew into the couch in some fear, and Lucy rushed to him in comfort.
Paige first smiled at Lex, then gave an uncalled for ferocious scowl to Aaron before nodding to Lucy and addressing Lex again. "Do you need help?"
"Yeah. If it's not too much trouble, could you stay here with Lucy and Kincaid?"
Paige wiggled her fingers in the air. "Leave it to me, the dead girl with nothing to do." she gave a sarcastic eye roll and a smile, turning around to introduce herself to Kincaid.
"Thank you." Lex turned his attention to Aaron again. Aaron seemed very impressed, and looked down at Lex with his familiar warm smile. Lex wasn't sure he could take it anymore, and he quickly turned around to hide any tears. "L-let's go."
Aaron put a hand on Lex's shoulder, carefully but gently savoring the touch. He closed his eyes, and together they orbed in on Aaron's senses.
There was a steady rhythm, like the pulse of a heartbeat but laced with the light tingling of piano strings. The dance floor; the insatiable hunger for sound; the heat oppressive with sweat and pumping blood. The music was a sea. The dances were its life.
Lyla screamed in delight, drowning in the sonic opiate and grinding with strangers. Her lip gloos was hot and sticky. Bits of glitter stuck in the nape of her neck, getting in her hair and culminating with alcohol and sweat. She smiled, moving her feet in a wild rhythm. Inhibition was sin.
Then, a hand on her shoulder. Lyla angrily swung about to confront the touch that puled her out of ecstasy. Aaron stood, grim and quite unamused. Lex strayed behind him, eyes wide open and alienated by the crowd.
As though choking back a cry, Lyla simply stared for a long while. She finally broke through her barrier with a yell. "What? What do you want?"
"We gotta go. You're in danger." Aaron attempted to pull Lyla out of the crowd, but she shook him off. Aaron attempted to appeal with a gentler tone. "Lyla, please."
With sudden fervor, Lyla plunged into the dance floor, shrouded by the darkness in stark contrast with shining lights of all hues. Aaron remembered Lex, and quickly leaned close to him to speak into his ear. "Vampires are sensitive to light. Use it if we encounter any."
Lex, a bit unclears as to what Aaron meant, nodded anyway. They swiftly tailed Lyla, and (to Aaron's frustration) were forced to follow her out the back door and into the alleyway.
Cold electric light and shivering winddrifted from the sky. The moon was a thin sliver now hidden by a cloud. Lyla stood huddling against the cold, alone with her back to the door.
Aaron and Lex came to meet her. Aaron put a hand on her shoulder, which she only slightly recoiled from. "Are you okay?"
Lyla turned her head to look at Aaron. She smiled at Aaron's concern. Lex began to feel ignored, and started to regret coming as butterflies welled up in his stomach.
Lyla sensed something behind her. She quickly swiveled to face the far-off wall, and Aaron and Lex followed her gaze.
Aaron recognized the red-head from before leaning against the wall and giving a wicked smile. "Mm... and two more to boot. Hard to believe you're all so fine."
"Is he flirting with us?" Lex whispered, a little bemused and a little serious.
Before Aaron could conjure a bow however, he felt someone grab him from behind. He struggled in vain, for the grip was too strong; a tall vampire, more muscular than Aaron with long black hair, had him in his vice.
Lyla turned around and screamed. As soon as she did, the red-headed vampire from behind rose from the shadows just next to her. He grabbed her arms in one deft motion.
Aaron kicked his assaulter, and screamed at Lex. "Lex! Light!"
Lex shook his head, stunned by the sudden attack. "I-I, don't... Yield! Rend!" He heard the chime of his powers, but they did nothing to the vampires.
Aaron's attacker got his neck. Lex drew back with some horror, still flinging useless commands at the vampires. Aaron collapsed. Lyla's attacker strangely knocked her out with a deft motion of his hand, rather than bite her. "Shine. Was it good?"
Shine spoke with a sickly sweet voice, smooth and charming as honey. "It was great. I can't wait `till he wakes up... How was yours, Shade?"
"That bitchy demon the Queen's working for said not to bite her yet. They wanna question her or something." Shade turned to Lyla's body, and licked his lips in anticipation. "It's a damn shame."
Shine turned to Lex, who gasped in fear and confusion. "...aww, but someone left this little bunny. He looks too delicious to waste."
His company laughed. "Ooh... yes, he does look sweet. Maybe sweeter than his sister." Shade turned to Shine. "...she didn't say we couldn't have her brother."
Lex found himself running backwards, and he hardly kept himself from stumbling. His attackers did nothing to speed up their chase, perhaps taunting him. Lex felt a damp wall behind him: a dead end. He whimpered softly. Doom.
Aaron had said to "use light." Lex, in the desperate curiosity of impending fate, raised his hands in front of his face. His assaulters laughed, and Lex heard them coming closer. He decided to give it a shot, and unable to think of any other word, decided to utilize one that was familiar at the moment. "Shine!"
Lex had kept his eyes open, and saw through the windows of his fingertips bits of bright blue light pirouette in the darkness. Shine and Shade averted their eyes, similarly putting their hands in front of their face. The glittering azure light shone brightly, and they seemed to give up, running in the other direction and flying into the night sky as bats.
The lights finally disappeared. Sensing the danger passed, Lex quickly ran into the alleyway again. Lyla was on the ground, but she was getting up, slowly ruffling a hand through her hair. But Lex looked left and right, up into the sky and at the ground; Aaron was missing.
"Yeah, you could say I've had experience with vampires before."
Lucy closed the Book of Shadows shut. Kincaid looked up with some surprise. Paige crossed her legs and shrugged. "Actually, I was a vampire once."
"How... err, how did you `un-vampire' yourself?" Lucy asked.
"Well. You know how they say that a person becomes a vampire when they're bitten by one?"
"Yeah." Lucy and Kincaid said at once.
"That's only half-true. A person becomes a vampire permanently when they drink blood from their first victim. That ties their life to their queen. So as long as a person hasn't drunk blood yet, then they can be turned back human in one of two ways. Either killing the queen, or killing the vampire that bit them. But you know, it's really hard to kill a vampire. Witch powers don't work on them."
"So what was it like?" Kincaid asked with a morbid curiosity.
Paige's face was still as stone for a little, before just the hint of a smile appeared. "One of the greatest feelings I've ever had." She shook her head, as if snapping out of a daze. "That, and being a nymph. But the thirst for blood was so, so strong, that I literally couldn't resist."
They heard the door slam. They turned their heads in unison. Lyla came in first, throwing her car keys on the table and hanging her head in shame. Lex followed, sheepish.
Lucy stood up, attempting to approach Lyla; Lyla gently shunned her, sitting on the couch alone. Lucy gave a quizzical look to Lex, who seemed reluctant to say or express anything.
"Where's Aaron?" Paige finally asked.
Lex looked at Lyla to see if she wanted to answer. She didn't. Lex did instead, trembling. "Th-they took him. They bit him, then took him."
Oh. Shit. No one wanted to say it, but everyone thought it at the exact same time.
Paige rose. "Are you sure?"
"Yes!" Lyla nearly yelled. She buried her face in her hands. "Oh god... it was my fault. It was all my fault. If I didn't go out, he wouldn't have-"
Lucy and Lyla's voices culminated into a storm. "Lyla, you can't blame yourself for-"
"-I couldn't even do anything! And now he's gone-"
"We're going to get him back."
Lucy and Lyla turned to Lex, who spoke with unusual defiance. Paige beamed. Kincaid smirked with admiration. "Paige. Do you know if we can still save Aaron?"
"I was just talking to Lucy and Kincaid about it. You can kill the Vampire Queen, or the vampire that bit him. But before Aaron bites anybody"
Lex nodded. "Lyla and I already know what the vampire looks like, so we can just kill him, and Aaron'll be back to normal." Lucy opened her mouth to say something, surprised at Lex's sudden ambition to kill. She stifled herself before she could. As though reading Lucy's mind, Lex continued, a touch less confident than before. "We have to save Aaron. We have to."
Gloriana inspected her new subject closely, carefully as though he were antique. With lustful percision, she slipped the edge of her finger over his sternum horizontally, then up his abdomen vertically. She smiled with satisfaction, feeling the skin of his cheek with the back of her left right hand. "He's a whitelighter?"
Shade said, "Yes." He pointed to Shine. "Shine bit him. I knocked out one of the Charmed Ones..."
"Well? What stopped you from bringing her?" Gloriana asked, icily. Shade drew back in fear.
"There were two Charmed Ones." Shine said, coming to Shade's defense. "And the male one could create light."
"That can't be right. The oracle said he has the power of telekinesis."
"My Queen... I apologize, but there was nothing more we could do." Shade petitioned to Gloriana.
Gloriana looked at Shade like he were a strange talking anchovy. She turned her attention back to Aaron, who this whole time had idly walked away into the crowd of lovers. "He really is quite fine though. And you boys did a good job in getting this one." Sharply, she turned to Shine and Shade. "Initiate him into the guild." Suddenly, Gloriana's face lit up in epiphany. "Yes! Send him against the Charmed Ones!"
"Queen Gloriana, that's suicide!" Shade nearly whined. "Besides, he may not even lust after them."
"Oh, please. The way he always sticks with that Charmed girl, he has to have some lust." Gloriana leaned over, and made eye contact with Aaron. "Come here, child." she walked away as Aaron approached, giving nothing more than a wink to Shine and Shade before retreating into her quarters.
Shine smiled at Shade. He smiled back. As Aaron tried to pass between them, they each put a hand on his chest, stopping him.
Shade approached first, wrapping an arm around him. "Let me ask you something... Are you hungry?"
Aaron seemed confused at first, but that quickly subsided as he found himself drawn closer to Shade, their faces parallel. "Starving."
Shine came from the other direction, wrapping an arm around Aaron's waist and laying another on Shade's shoulder. He spoke into Aaron's right ear, as Shade's mouth was still close to his left. "We tell all the new initiates this. But do you know the rule of the Ruby Guild?"
"Inhibition is sin." Shade said with a laugh, coming dangerously close to Aaron. He spoke with his lips nearly settled on Aaron's cheek now, and Aaron simply smiled. Shine laughed at his reaction.
Shine, although amused, nonverbally signalled Shade to "tone it down." Shade didn't listen. Shine continued anyway, still whispering into Aaron's ear, and now slowly rubbing his stomach. "So if you're hungry for something, go get it." Shine spoke with a soft croon. "Don't you know anybody you want?"
Aaron briefly drew away from a dissatisfied Shade, and now craned his head over to look Shine in the eye. He gave a wide smile now, fully baring his new teeth. "You bet I do."
"Then lead, and we'll follow." Shine held Aaron a little tighter before disengaging again. Shade was more reluctant to let go, but he did after Shine insisted.
Aaron laughed, now licking his lips. He looked at the night stained inky. "This is great."
"You don't know the half of it yet." Shine said. "Welcome to the Ruby Guild."
There was the sound of screeching, and three bats flew into the darkness.
Lucy linked her arm into Paige's. "Okay. So I wanna get this straight."
They were all in the attic now: Kincaid on the couch, Lyla, Lucy and Paige standing in the middle, and Lex at the Book of Shadows. Lex recounted the steps briefly in his head before telling them to Lucy. "Paige'll orb you two to the graveyard where she was brought as a vampire, and maybe you'll be able to find the Queen that way. You'll bring a lot of holy water, stakes, and garlic with you."
"And you'll stay here to protect Kincaid." Lyla looked at Kincaid, who was still rather lost, and then Lex. "Will you be okay?"
"Well, yeah." Lex now went to a bookshelf, and perused through a cardboard box until he pulled out a map and celestite crystal. "I'm gonna give Kincaid here all the garlic and crucifixes and such. He'll be safe from vampires. Right?" Lex asked Kincaid, a little rhetorically.
Kincaid smiled, curiously dazed. "Uh... Yeah, yeah."
Lex lay the map out on the table. "So when you get there, call me. And if you don't see Aaron, I'll scry for him."
Lyla shook her head mournfully. "I-I hope he hasn't bitten anyone yet."
Something tingled in Lex's stomach. He felt the sudden urge of sadness as well; the temptation to give up to depression like Lyla was doing. He shook it off, a hint of anger manifesting instead. Lyla wasn't even trying, she was so crippled by sadness; she had no right to Aaron. Lex was going to save Aaron. He knew it. "...I hope he hasn't either."
Paige took Lyla's hand, and exchanged glances with her and Lucy. "Okay, girls. Let's go."
There was a flurry of orbs, more sparkly and a shade or two lighter more violet than Aaron's. Paige, Lyla and Lucy disappeared.
Lex heard the cell phone ringing and vibrating in a frenzy on the table. He quickly picked it up, jumbling it in his hands a little before answering it. "Hello?"
"It's me." Lucy spoke on the other end of the line. She let go of Paige's hand, stumbling over a pile of rubble inbetween two gravestones. "We're here, safe and sound. For now. Anyway, we'll head near the mausoleum, and then see if the vampires are still here. I'll call you in a little bit."
"'Kay." Lex put down the phone, and briefly reached into another cardbox to pull out several other scrying crystals.
Kincaid broke the silence. "So, uh... you're the older brother."
"Um." Lex paused from his work. "I'm the middle brother, anyway. You take classes with my little sister though, huh?"
"Yeah." Kincaid took the opportunity for conversation, crossing his legs and stretching. "She's tough."
Lex laughed. "Haha, she's always been like that. But don't worry, she doesn't mean bad. She just thinks it's better for you." Lex pointed towards himself. "Take it from me, her tutee for about five or six years."
Kincaid nodded, further displaying himself on the couch. Lex took the opportunity to look him over. Kincaid was a couple of inches taller than him: about six foot. He had short brown hair that was very well groomed, and a tanned body to go with it. He was fairly toned- certainly not bulky, but definetely no push-over. Lex could see the contours of his muscles as he stretched. But the most fascinating thing about him were his eyes, which were a bizarre shade of icy blue. Antarctic waters lived in these irises.
"Kincaid, you're really taking this magic thing well, by the way." Kincaid raised an eyebrow. Lex giggled. "Really, you are! Gosh, you should've seen me and Lucy when Lyla broke the news to us. Luce got so pissed, and I was just like a vegetable or something."
"Well..." Kincaid began to say with a smile, amused at Lex's story. "I think I've always been really interested in this sorta stuff, you know? That's because of my dad, actually. He told me all these stories since I was little, and... well, I dunno. I guess it must seem kinda stupid, but I always believed them."
Lex shook his head. "No, no that's not stupid. Not at all. You had faith. I think we need more faith in the world." Lex got up and turned around, gathering items into a procured white velvet bag. Kincaid grinned behind him in admiration. Lex spoke as he worked. "Yeah... but you know, I'm really only like, a month more experienced than you are right now. So I guess we can be newbies together!"
Kincaid laughed. "Yeah."
He jumped a little, as Lex now stuck the velvet bag in Kincaid's face. "Um... this has cloves of garlic, wild rose thorns, three crucifixes, a couple of lit glow sticks, and an Eye of Fatima in it. Keep it on your heart, and I'm pretty sure it'll protect you from any vampires." Kincaid took it. Lex ran to the box he just packed, and placed a series of smooth metallic-shiny stones, big enough to fit in the palm of his hand, around Kincaid. He placed the fifth one on the floor, and they all lit up a shade of bright yellow. Lex yelled over the soft humming of the crystals. "Hematite. It's a blood stone, and they're shiny like mirrors. That plus the bag, and you'll safe."
"Don't you need to be protected too?"
"Don't worry, I'll be okay." Lex's cell phone rang on the table. He turned around and picked it up. "Hello?"
"Lex. Nobody's here." Lucy said, kicking a rock. Lyla and Paige were inspecting the cavern, as Paige began to recount her experience there. "Lyla will do some postcognition and we'll sweep around some more, but you can go ahead and scry for Aaron."
"Alright. I'll call you when I find him." Lex hung up. He sat down, wrapping the sky-blue celestite pendant around his hand, and swinging it over the map. Lex looked up; Kincaid seemed worried. Lex smiled at Kincaid in the hematite circle in order to diffuse it, and he grinned back. Lex concentrated on the map, the true combination of worry, anger, and hopelessness from earlier in the evening replacing the false contentment on his face again. This entire night had been a night of suppression; a night of hiding true feelings out of the fear of rejection. Lex held back tears, swallowing and forcing yet another grin.
The crystal dropped more quickly than Lex thought it would. He was baffled by where it landed. He stood up. "Uh oh."
"What?"
Lex ran to the doorway. He swiveled around to Kincaid before he left. "Kincaid, don't leave the circle, ok? I'll be right back."
Kincaid nodded. Lex ran to Lyla's room and shut her window. He did the same in Lucy's. But when he was too late by the time he got to his.
The three-split bat armada hovered through the open window pane, flowing with the windy curtains and phasing back into human form seamlessly. There was Aaron; fangs and all, with a curious look in his eye. Lex stepped back, taken by mixed anger, hope, and fear drawn into him by a single gasp.
One of the vampires behind Aaron (Shine, Lex believed it was) flicked his finger, and with a sinister chime the door shut behind Lex.
The red-headed one known as Shade crept a hand onto Aaron's shoulder, speaking to him as he trained his gaze on Lex. "Is this the one you want?"
Aaron licked the edges of his sharp teeth. "Yeah."
"Then by all means." Shine stuck a finger out at Lex. Lex sharply inhaled, an invisible grip binding his entire body. Shine shot him at his bed, and Lex felt himself flung with a savage force; the landing was cushioned by the springs, but still shook him up enough to elicit a small yelp. Lex gave a fearful cry as Shine motioned yet again, this time pulling up his shirt; his small chest and belly were exposed to the air, heaving with fright.
Aaron quickly turned to Shine. "Don't hurt him!" Shine finally put his hands up. Lex felt the grip releasing on him, but it was replaced again as Aaron renewed it with his own force. Aaron nearly jumped on Lex, placing a hand on either side of him and sitting down on Lex's legs. His bare chest was parallel to his, and Aaron spoke face to face with Lex, smiling. It was such a different smile than Lex was used to; full-teethed and nearly malevolent, but still bearing all of Aaron's charm. Lex was afraid of this smile. "Hey there, Lex. Miss me?"
Lex felt hurt by vaguely sarcastic tone. He turned his head away from him, refusing to respond. What was Aaron doing? Lex gasped as he felt Aaron move down closer, and now their chests were touching; he could feel Aaron breathe against him, and his bigger frame over his. "Aaron, no!"
"What... you don't want this?"
"..." Lex couldn't say anything. Maybe he did want this. He did want Aaron. Wasn't the question whether or not Aaron wanted him? But not like this. This wasns't actually Aaron... this was just the blood lust speaking. This didn't mean anything. Lex couldn't help it any more; a tear dripped out of his left eye, crawling down his cheek and into the nape of his neck.
Suddenly, Aaron stopped. The smile was wiped off his face, and his wild eyes traced the trail Lex's tear made. He reached one of his hands up to Lex's face, taking the tear onto his fingertips. He looked at it with amazing curiosity.
Shine and Shade exchanged glances. Shine yelled at Aaron. "Well? Bite him! Complete the transformation!" Aaron hesitated still. Lex opened his watery eyes; Aaron was looking back at him, eyes open with wonder, his fanged mouth open just slightly.
Shade spoke more reasonably. "If you bite him, you'll have him. Forever."
This made impact. Aaron craned his neck behind him, to look at Shade, who nodded in approval. He went back to Lex. Aaron opened his mouth wide, going in for the neck; Lex felt Aaron's breath against his cheek, and he closed his eyes, anticipating the feeling of blood being sucked out of him.
The door slammed. Aaron drew back, his gaze trained to the door. Shade and Shine growled in frustration. Lex opened his eyes again; Kincaid was in the doorway, a rather frightened look in his eye.
"Dammit!" Shade raised his palms up at Kincaid. A pulse of energy flew out, heading straight towards Kincaid. Kincaid saw it, and hid his head in his arms, attempting to brace for the impact. But he didn't see an icy-blue barrier, swirling like a vortex but flat like a mirror, conjure in front of him. The pulse of energy flew into the barrier, seeming to merge with it as though it were a whirlpool. The strange white-blue light barrier ebbed and flowed in the air like a floating tide, before bursting back at Shade with twice the power. Shade's eyes widened, and he was flung out the window with amazing force. He transformed into a bat in midair, and defeated, flew back into the night.
Shine growled. But behind Kincaid came Paige, then Lyla and Lucy. Lyla saw Aaron still pinning the stripped Lex on the bed, and raised hands to her mouth in hectic confusion. "Aaron!" Lyla yelped.
Aaron now turned her attention to Lyla. Shine tried to take advantage of it, sending a huge telekinetic wave at the new crowd.
Paige stepped forward. She raised her palms in front of her. "Force!" Lex didn't think it was possible. Neither did Lyla or Lucy. With a huge flux of glittering orbs as big as the room, Paige had orbed the telekinetic attack away, completely nullifying any effect it could've done.
Shine turned around, attempting to head out the window. Paige twirled her hands in the air; a swirl of orbs conjured around Shine, trapping him in a cage of sparkles. Paige strategically flicked several of her fingers. With deft precision, the orbs now formed into chains, and bound Shine to the ground by his hands and feet. Paige turned to Lyla. "Now!"
Lyla rushed forward, procuring a wooden stake from her back pocket. With terrible swiftness, she aimed and stabbed it into Shine's heart. There was a horrible scream. In a storm of fire and fading orbs, Shine burst from the inside, and he was vanquished.
A presence seemed to leave Aaron's body. He closed his lips and opened them again, and Lex saw that his teeth seemed back to normal. Aaron's eyes seemed tired now, but were (to Lex's relief) restored to sanity as he quickly blinked out of his daze. There were several moments of stunned silence. Aaron looked down at Lex, who still had his shirt pulled up, and was still nearly parallel to Aaron. Lex blushed. Aaron blushed. He gave the warm smile, and spoke quietly, as though nervous. "Hi."
Lex had a lot of trouble smiling, but he managed something. Another tear trailed out of his other eye, running down his dry cheek and making his tiny grin taste salty. "Hi."
"Let the object of objection become but a dream/As I cause the seen to be unseen."
Lucy finished the spell, and the shards of broken glass flew into their original places. Lex's room was back to normal. Paige spoke to Lucy from on top of Lex's bed. "That was my favorite spell, you know."
Lucy smiled. "So did you orb Kincaid back home?"
"Yeah." Paige nodded. "Kincaid Rowe... that last name sounds really familiar, but I don't remember from where."
Lucy shrugged. "Maybe you can ask him later. He'll be coming `round a lot more often. Since we're both witches and he's in my class, I told him it'd be safer if we rode together." Lucy clarified.
"Reflective telekinesis. That's an interesting power."
"Yup."
"Umm... am I interrupting anything?"
Lucy and Paige turned to the doorway. It was Aaron, still looking a little bit sheepish. Paige exchanged a glance with Lucy. "I was just about to go back anyway." she smiled at Lucy, but ignored Aaron. "Say goodbye to Lex and Lyla for me." Lucy nodded. Paige waved goodbye, and with a vivid flash of light, she was gone.
Aaron took her place on the bed. "I don't think she likes me."
"Oh. I'm sure she has good reason." Lucy sat down next to him. "So how are you doing?"
"Better. Thanks. I'm not thirsty anymore." There was a little bit of silence. Aaron spoke up to Lucy again. "...So, um. Before that whole vampire incident. Did you want to talk to me?"
Lucy peered over her shoulder into the doorway, ensuring the hallway was empty. She walked up and shut the door a little further just to be sure. "Yeah." Lucy turned around, confronting Aaron. "You like him, don't you."
There was no more beating around the bush. Lucy knew what she was talking about, and Aaron did too. He blushed. "It's more complicated than that."
"How much more complicated does it get? He likes you too."
A strange look of hope laced with sadness crept onto Aaron's face. It was as if he were pleading with himself. "I want to. But I can't. I just can't. I have... responsibilities. And there are so many things I can't control. Things that... must be, whether I like it or not."
"What in the world is that supposed to mean?"
"...It means we can't. No matter how much I want to, we can't." Lucy crossed her arms, dissatisfied. Aaron rubbed his face in his hands. "Please, Lucy. Don't think I don't want to. Because I do. So badly."
"Then why don't you? You sound like a broken record: `I can't, I can't.'" No response. Lucy sighed. They were quiet for a while, listening to the night outside. Lucy restarted. "...You'll break his heart, you know."
More silence. Aaron licked his dry lips. He bowed his head in shame. "I know. And I'll never forgive myself for it." Aaron swallowed. He was melancholy as he stood up. "Where is he?"
As though reluctant to say, Lucy hesistated before answering: the kind of hesitation that's obviously stalling for time. "Kitchen."
Aaron nodded. "Thank you." He pushed the door open, and headed down the stairs.
Lucy sighed, twirling her hair in one hand as she went out the door and headed towards her own room. She trained her gaze at the floor, sadly guessing at what would happen to Lex.
Lex sat at the kitchen counter. He stared at his cup of hot chocolate, mulling over Paige's words and Aaron's actions. He heard footsteps behind him, but he didn't do anything.
"...Hey."
Aaron's voice was soft and sad. Lex didn't turn around, but he spoke into his cup. "Are you better now?"
"Yeah." Aaron slipped into the chair next to Lex. He tried to meet eyes with him, but Lex was staring downward in the piping hot chocolate. Aaron twiddled his thumbs nervously. He noticed something about Lex. "...Have you slept lately?"
"...Not in a week." Lex said. "But I'm okay. It's okay." The last affirmation was shaky and nearly ironic when coupled with the unsteadiness of his voice.
Aaron switched to a voice of worry. "Lex, that's not okay, you need to rest, you-" he stopped. Lex had raised his head from the hot chocolate, and was stared straight into Aaron's eyes. He wasn't crying; there were no more tears left. But an all-pervading sadness emnated from Lex's eyes.
"Aaron, why did you go after me?" Lex asked, thoughtfully. "Why me? When you could have just as easily chased after Lyla, or-or anyone else. That vampire said I was the one you wanted. Were you... were you lying? Or did you just go after me since I was an easier target? Was it strategic?"
"No, no, Lex, it wasn't like that, it was-"
"You don't want me!" Lex said, firmly. He gulped, and Aaron was speechless. "I've... I've heard you talk to Lyla. I heard you on the night before Halloween, when you got back from the town. I've seen you touch her, and I've seen her touch you back." Finally, one more tear. It came from out one eye and came down to his chin, landing in his hot chocolate. "A-and... and, I don't know what I was expecting. Really, I-I-I don't. It's not like you could've liked me back, or anything. I'm just another charge, and... and another guy, and..." Lex shook his head, covering his mouth with his hand briefly, to stifle a whimper. "Why won't you say anything?"
Aaron couldn't release his gaze from Lex. Something was still caught in his throat. He knew he could do at least something; he reached over and caught Lex in a hug. Lex sobbed fiercely, and his tears were dried against Aaron's chest.
"I-I... I just wish. I w-wish, you know, that you weren't so kind to me. I wish that, you didn't know when I was sad, and that you weren't so good at cheering me up, be-because then I could hate you so much easier! But, but I can't, and it hurts so much! Aaron, I like you!"
Aaron gripped Lex tighter. Finally, he spoke into Lex's ear. "...I'm s-sorry. I don't..."
Cruel poison. Slippery fire in verbal form. It came into Lex slowly, and Lex's sobbing just seemed to stop. Something broke inside his chest. He felt Aaron's t-shirt wet with his tears, damp against his cheek. He tried to speak, his voice the raspy way it gets after crying. "It's... it's okay." Nothing was okay. Lex sniffled. He drew himself away from Aaron's arms, and could have sworn they were reluctant to let go. "I wasn't expecting anything anyway."
Lex wiped his face with the sleeve of his shirt, turning his back to Aaron. Aaron intently watched him, hoping for one more chance; perhaps one more opening for him to change his mind and profess "yes" to Lex. But Aaron knew it would never come. He didn't touch Lex as he walked away, out the kitchen door. Icy guilt froze his chest. It was only the centuries of discipline that kept him from crying as he took one last look at Lex, who went back to sipping his now salty hot chocolate.
Lex heard conversation in the foyer. He turned around. It was Lyla. She had ran down the stairs, still wearing the clothes she had gone to the club in. Her make-up was running. She was crying, hysterical. Lex could see her lips move up and down, and Aaron's too. He didn't hear any conversation, but he knew what it was about. She was so worried. She felt so guilty. He was okay. They were so sorry.
Aaron's arm moved to Lyla's shoulder. Lyla buried her face in her hands. Aaron's other arm moved to Lyla's hair, stroking it. But Aaron turned his head back to the kitchen. Lex stared at Aaron. Aaron stared at Lex. Lex marveled at how pretty Aaron looked with a frown, and how his sad eyes could capture the essence of regret. Aaron took one last glance Lex, his eyes red with tears and sleeplessness, before Lex walked up the stairs. Aaron held Lyla tighter, and her tears mixed with Lex's. No, he would never forgive himself. Never.
Perhaps inhibition is sin, he thought. Either way, he knew that he had sinned tonight.
Aaron, you dog :O. I felt so bad to do this to Lex, but... it'll all be for the better, don't worry.
Why can't Aaron be with Lex? Who is Kincaid Rowe? What is Kane's plan? All these questions, when compounded with the unanswered questions from the previous episode, probably still won't be answered soon. Or maybe they will. I guess we'll see. ;)
Oh, and the family tree will be uploaded two episodes from now. I have a bit of a feeling that the next episode will be released fairly quicker than the previous ones, since it is already partially hand-written, and just needs to be typed up :D. You guys'll get to see what a Charmed nerd I am; I really thought the tree out a little too throughly.
as per usual: thank you for reading!
Questions? Comments? Reccomendations? Fan Mail? Hate Mail maybe? Wanna just talk about Charmed? email me at ThePleiadesCall@gmail.com . Love to hear from you!