Moonlight Denial: Shades of Moonlight Book One

Hey guys! It’s Darkness and I am here to bring you another chapter of MD. On time three weeks in a row. Woot! And now we have one week left till MD’s three year anniversary, whoooo!!!

Now, I’d like to talk a little about the last chapter. To my utter astonishment it was a controversial chapter, I guess you can say. Most of the attention seemed to be on Amelia herself. Some were fine with what she did and others were outraged that she dare go behind Nicoli’s back. It was rather eye opening, but I think it’s good when a character can invoke different feelings in people. It makes me feel that I’m making Amelia into a real person. What I mean by that is at one time or another everyone pisses us off. Even our best friends, who we love and look upon as family, can utterly tick us off or annoy us. It’s just human nature. That doesn’t mean I hope Amelia will continue to grate on peoples nerves, but it’s just an interesting aspect that I wanted to point out.

Okay, so enough of my ramblings. It’s time for the new chapter! So here’s the link to my review replies and go have fun!

http://darkness80.livejournal.com/4005.html

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“Deloris Mary-Weather?” Amelia said, her voice unbelieving as she stepped closer to the ghost that hovered over the coffee table. “Is that-is that really you?”

The ghost looked from everyone around her to Amelia. She then gave an uncertain smile.

“Well, this is quite the predicament,” she said. “Just what has been going on since last I was out?”

“Are you the ghost of Deloris Mary-Weather?” Conrad asked, stepping forward and taking charge.

The ghost sighed and shook her head.

“Fine, if everyone is going to ask, yes, I am Deloris Mary-Weather. Are we happy now?”

Nicoli’s jaw was stuck open. He just could not believe what he was seeing. The most he had expected from the book were vague directions on where to find the Heart. Never in his wildest imagination did he ever dream that Deloris Mary-Weather’s ghost was trapped within the books pages. Or that the woman would be so snarky. What was with ghosts and being snarky?

Before Conrad could address her further, or anyone could pick their jaws up off the floor, a piercing squeal cut through the air, making everyone jump, including Deloris Mary-Weather.

“Oh Eem Gee, I cannot believe I am meeting my idol!” she shrieked like a rabid fan meeting a rock star. “This has to be the greatest, most awesomest day of my life! I am so glad I went through with this!”

“You did not seriously just say “oh my God” like that, did you?” Nicoli asked, getting hands waving in his face to shush him.

Deloris Mary-Weather smiled kindly at her, but a brow quirked up as well.

“Sweetie, did you know you have blood all over your face?”

Amelia gasped and quickly covered the lower part of her face with her hands.

“Oh God, how embarrassing!” She quickly snatched the piece of sheet she had been using before. “This is so mortifying. I think I’m going to just die right now.”

“Who are you and what have you done with Amelia?” Nicoli muttered as Amelia furiously scrubbed the dried blood off her nose.

There was a light laugh and Deloris Mary-Weather drifted down from the air to stand before the two.

“You’re a funny one.”

Amelia flushed and swallowed the frog that had hopped into her throat.

“Funny in-in a good way, Ms. Deloris Mary-Weather?” she asked.

“In a very good way and please, just call me Deloris. Ms. Deloris Mary-Weather makes me feel old. Sure I’m dead, but no one wants to feel old.”

“Um, sure thing, Ms. Deloris!”

Conrad cleared his throat and stepped closer to the two chattering witches.

“Excuse me, Deloris, but I would like to have a word with you.”

Deloris turned to him and her friendly attitude became ice cold. She looked him up and down, sizing him up, and her expression turned sour.

“Well, excuse me, Mr. Man, but was I talking to you? Just because you’re all tall, dark and scary doesn’t mean you can come waltzing up and interrupt my conversation.” Her eyes looked him over again. “No matter how dashingly handsome you are.”

Conrad blinked at her and there were snickers coming from the group, mainly from Ethan, Faith and Andre.

“So, let me guess,” Deloris continued, crossing her arms. “You lot are the ones who have been the pain in my side trying to open my book, huh? You made me waste so much energy on you idiots.” Her eyes went from face to face of the clan and Nicoli. “Okay, so who was the one that opened my book and how the hell did you do it?”

Amelia began bouncing up and down and waved her arm in the air.

“Oh! Oh! It was me Deloris! I did it!”

Deloris turned to her in surprise, but then she really looked Amelia over from head to foot.

“You? A little thing like you opened my book all on your own? What’s your name, Sweetie?”

Amelia puffed out her chest proudly.

“Amelia Elizabeth Fairbrooke, at your service Ms. Deloris.”

Now it was Deloris’ turn to stare and blink.

“Amelia?” She smirked. “Your name makes you even less impressive.” Amelia deflated at that. “But, if you opened my book you must be a witch. Now why on earth would you open my book for these vampires?”

“Um, because I had to if I wanted to join them.”

“Join them in doing what?”

Amelia averted her gaze, her brows knitting and she touched her fingers to her lips nervously.

“Uh, I don’t know. They were supposed to tell me when I opened the book,” she muttered.

Deloris groaned and covered her eyes with her hand.

“You opened the book without even knowing why they wanted it open? You really are an airhead, aren’t you?”

Amelia’s face was flushed a dark red and her enthusiastic air had been completely doused. Nicoli felt bad for her, but a part of him thought she deserved it, too.

“Okay, fine,” Amelia said, regaining some of her composer. “Then someone tell me what’s going on. Why did you guys want this book opened so much? And why are you in this book, Ms. Deloris? What is going on?”

“Well, I did promise we would tell you if you opened the book,” Conrad said. “And you have, so I will fulfill my end of the agreement. We are here in Whixton because we are searching for one of the Crystal Hearts and Ethan tracked it down to here.”

“Crystal Hearts?” Amelia echoed. “You mean those Hearts that were said to come from the very first vampires and if someone were to possess them they would become really powerful?” Everyone nodded. “But that’s foolishness. Those are nothing but a myth. They’re not real.”

“Oh, aren’t they?” Deloris asked. “Listen, Sweetie, I didn’t trap myself in this book just for the hell of it. I’d like to move on just like any other specter. Ask the cutie back there, I’m sure he’d agree with me,” she said, jerking her thumb in Felix’s direction, who ducked behind Ethan. “I did it because, even though I’m dead, I still have an obligation to the legacy that was bestowed upon me.” She then regarded the clan as a whole. “I must say, though, I’m rather impressed that you overgrown mosquitoes were able to figure out that I was the Guardian. I thought I had that little secret tightly wrapped up.”

“Well, me and the cutie you pointed out kind of put two and two together, although a little haphazardly,” Ethan said proudly. “But it was this guy here that really helped us uncover a lot of the clues, especially with finding the book.” He placed his hand on Nicoli’s shoulder in praise with a big grin.

Nicoli glanced at the hand and shrugged it off.

“Hmm, you huh?” Deloris said, bending down and coming quite close to his face. “You’re obviously not a vampire. Are you a witch like the little airhead?”

“Please stop calling me that, Ms. Deloris!”

“No,” Nicoli replied. “I’m one hundred percent human.”

“Really now? How surprising. My book was very well hidden. You must have incredible insight to have located it.”

“Actually…I found it completely by accident. My hand just happened to hit the button in the wall to your secret room and I fell through,” he said with an uneasy chuckle.

“Accident, huh?” Deloris smiled knowingly. “There’s something to be said about accidents such as those.”

“And what’s that?”

“Oh, nothing,” Deloris said, standing up straight and crossing her arms again. Her smile never diminished. “Just an old saying that I’m sure a young man like yourself would find boring.”

“So, hey, just where was your book hidden anyways?” Amelia asked before Nicoli could question Deloris on what she meant.

“In my house of course,” Deloris said cheerfully.

“Oh.” There was a second of blissful acceptance, but then Amelia’s eyes slowly widened and her mouth went slack.

Nicoli gulped. He knew what had just clicked in her brain. It was something he had hoped she would never find out.

“You!?” Amelia cried, whirling on Nicoli and the others. “It was you!?” Her finger pointed accusingly at Nicoli in particular.

“Amelia, I can explain.”

“You guys were the ones that trashed Ms. Deloris’ house?” she fumed and Nicoli was actually scared for his life. “Why didn’t you tell me it was you? You know how upset I was over that.”

“Because I like my guts to stay inside of my body.”

“Just to be clear,” Andre piped up. “That was before the rest of us got here. That was entirely the three of them,” he said, pointing out Nicoli, Ethan and Felix.

“Thanks a lot,” Nicoli and Felix chorused as Ethan punched him in the arm.

“How could you do such a thing?” Amelia continued. “You destroyed so much history it makes me sick just thinking about it.”

“It wasn’t our fault,” Nicoli countered. “It was that bastard Omen – no offense Andre.”

“None taken, I’m sure he deserves to be called such.”

“We were only there to look around and try and find some sort of clue,” Nicoli said. “But then Omen came out of no where and tried to kill us. We were just trying to get away and not get our heads lobbed off. The house just happened to get wrecked from it. There was nothing we could do about it.”

Amelia still looked about ready to explode. Her face was red and her fingers twitched, ready to wrap around anyone’s neck that came close enough. The most unlikely person was the one to defuse the bomb.

“Oh, don’t get so worked up, Sweetie,” Deloris said. “It sounds like they had just cause.”

Amelia gaped at her.

“But-But, Ms. Deloris, you didn’t see what it looked like. So much stuff was ruined, including that beautiful chandelier in the entry room.”

“The chandelier? Now how in the world did you guys wreck that? I’m assuming you did that,” she said to Ethan.

“No, actually it was him,” he said, pointing at Nicoli.

“You? How did you manage that?”

“I got Omen’s axe during the fight and threw it at the chandelier, cutting the cord and making it fall right on him.”

Both Deloris and Amelia stared at him.

“Wow, no way,” Amelia murmured.

“You cut it down with an airborne axe?” Deloris said and Nicoli nodded. “My goodness you are a scrappy little one! I wish I could have seen it. I’m starting to like you already,” she said and a chill ran through Nicoli as she ruffled his hair.

“So, you’re not mad that they wrecked your house?” Amelia asked, a little unsure of her anger herself.

“Nah, it’s just a house, and it’s not like I could do anything with that stuff anyways. Being a ghost makes you not value such trivial possessions. Isn’t that right, Cutie?” she asked Felix, who gave a curt nod.

Nicoli wondered what was up with Felix. He had never seen the ghost so shy before.

“You shouldn’t be mad at them either,” Deloris continued to Amelia. “Sounded like they had a good enough reason.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Amelia looked to Nicoli apologetically. “Sorry for blowing up and I’m glad that creep didn’t hurt you.”

Nicoli smiled and nodded.

“All right, as heartwarming as this all is,” Conrad said, his patience wearing thin.

“Oh great, Mr. Blowhard is going to interrupt again,” Deloris whispered, making the two teens snicker.

“We need to get to the matter at hand,” he finished and everyone could see how annoyed he was getting by the tick in his cheek that was fluttering angrily.

“Man, that stake up your ass must get really itchy,” Deloris said, causing more hushed laughter. She waltzed over to him and put her arm around his neck, leaning into him like he was an old buddy. “By the way, what’s your name, Mr. Handsome?”

“Conrad Areli,” he replied through his teeth, his cheek still twitching.

“Ooh, yum, that name so suits you,” Deloris said, fluttering her eyes at him playfully. “So, what is it you have to say that is so important?”

He stepped away from her, making her arm slip from his shoulders.

“We had your book for a specific reason. We would like to know where to locate the Heart that you were guarding. Tell us that and we will release you.”

Deloris burst into laughter, catching everyone off guard.

“Very straightforward and to the point, I like that,” she said, she grinned and it was predatory at best. “But I’m not going to tell you just because you asked nicely. Even if I’m the old Guardian I still have duties to abide by and I’m not going to give up Katerina’s Heart just like that.” A snap of her fingers accentuated her point.

“Katerina?” Nicoli and Amelia said at the same time.

“Yes, that is the name of the woman who the Heart came from. She was said to be the first female vampire in history, but, of course, history is never fully accurate, so I’m not sure if that’s true or not.”

A prickling sensation ran across Nicoli’s skin. It was so easy to forget that the Hearts they were looking for came from real people that, at one point, had been alive just like him. Now knowing the name behind the Heart made him extremely uneasy and he wasn’t sure why.

“Guardian or no, I must insist that you disclose the information we desire,” Conrad pressed.

“Or what? You’re going to kill me?” Deloris asked, not intimidated in the least. “I’m already dead, so threatening my life would be a waste.”

“There are ways to hurt even ghosts,” Conrad told her lowly.

“Hey, don’t threaten Ms. Deloris like that!” Amelia huffed angrily. “If she doesn’t want to tell us she doesn’t have to.”

“Amelia, you are the one who wanted to join us. I would keep that in mind when you say such things. Remember which side you’re supposed to be on,” he said sternly.

She bit down on her lip, wanting to say more, but strangling the words down.

“Don’t fret, Sweetie, he doesn’t scare me,” Deloris said with a dismissive wave in Conrad’s direction. “I may not be able to use magic anymore, but that doesn’t mean my power is gone.” She smirked at Conrad, almost evilly. “So you better watch yourself. I could level this whole house without breaking a sweat.”

“Don’t tempt her,” Felix muttered, the first thing he had said since Deloris’ appearance. “She can do it.” His spectral body trembled and made everyone rethink on how to deal with the ghostly witch.

“Cutie speaks the truth,” Deloris confirmed.

Conrad was silent for a moment, but then a minute smile upturned a corner of his mouth.

“You are bound to the book, are you not?” he asked.

“Yeeees, I thought we already established that. What are you getting at, Connie?”

Conrad’s cheek fluttered again as there was even more laughter.

“Are you aware of time while you’re inside?”

“Yeah, I can’t see or hear anything, but I know how much time is passing. Gets rather boring. Why…oh crap.”

“Yes, how would you like for us to take your book and bury it for a good few hundred years?”

It was evident the threat disturbed Deloris by the almost panicked look that cross her face, but she quickly masked it and upturned her nose.

“That would suck, I admit, but do you even know how to get me back in the book now that I’m out?” she challenged.

“Gavin, you have an extensive knowledge on various facts,” Conrad said, his eyes turning to the mentioned man. “Do you know as to how that could be accomplished?”

“If it is the spell I am sure she used then we would simply have to close the book and she would be forced back in,” Gavin replied in his level voice.

Everyone turned to Deloris to see if this was true. She kept a straight face for only a few seconds before a tight frown appeared and she snapped her fingers.

“Drat.”

“Would Conrad actually do that?” Amelia whispered.

“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Nicoli replied, and bitterness tinged his words.

“So, you’re saying if I don’t tell you where the Heart is you’re going to keep me trapped in my book forever?” Deloris asked.

“More or less,” Conrad confirmed.

“You know you still won’t get the Heart that way.”

“The satisfaction I get from it will more than make up for that loss.”

Deloris crossed her arms tightly and tapped her fingers against one arm. Her brows then rose and a glint came to her eye.

“Okay, since I don’t want to be locked up in that damn thing more than I have to be, I’ll make you a deal.”

“I’m listening,” Conrad said.

“Well, since I’m not really the Guardian anymore, I have no right to say where the Heart is or isn’t. But there is one person who is more than privileged in that regard.”

“You mean the current Guardian.”

“Yes, so here is my proposition. Find out who the current Guardian is and then you and the Guardian must fight, and it has to be you since you’re the clan leader and all. If you win then I’ll reward you. Not with the definite location of the Heart, but a clue that will help you out.”

“Why should we go through all of that and not even get the Heart?” Conrad asked.

“Because it's the best you’re going to get. Do you have any other leads you can try?” No one spoke. “That’s what I thought. This is your best shot, and if you really want the Heart that bad you’ll take my offer.”

“Fine,” Conrad conceded. “How do we go about finding the current Guardian?”

Deloris shrugged.

“That’s entirely up to you. You get absolutely no more help from me.”

“But we haven’t been able to get any information on the Guardian whatsoever,” Faith piped up.

“Except that they’re here in Whixton,” Cora added.

“That’s not my problem,” Deloris said stubbornly.

“Come on, give us at least one clue,” Nicoli urged, wanting to know who the Guardian was just as much as everyone else. “We have nothing.”

Deloris stared at him before sighing in defeat.

“Damn, it had to be you of all people that asked. How can I say no to this face?” she said, squishing Nicoli’s cheeks and making him jerk back from the cold. “Fine, but this is all you’re going to get from me. Since Whixton is a small town, I’m more than sure you’ve run into my protégée already. They come from a family that has been rooted in Whixton for decades and the Guardian is forty-three years old.”

“That’s it?” Conrad asked incredulously.

“Yep.”

“An age and family history, that’s all we get?” Ethan asked.

“Yep.”

Conrad turned to Amelia, but side glanced at Nicoli before speaking.

“Amelia, you were born here and you know most everyone that lives or has lived in Whixton, correct?”

“Yeah,” she said with a nod

“How many families do you know that started here in Whixton and are still here to this day?”

Amelia screwed up her face in thought.

“I can think of eight off the top of my head, but I’m sure there’s more.”

“It’s a start,” he said, but still didn’t sound too thrilled.

“Hey, wait a minute,” Nicoli said, a thought crossing his mind. “You were a witch, so the Guardian must be a witch too, right?” he asked and he felt a ripple go through the clan. They were all thinking the same thing. If that were true then that meant finding the Guardian would be easy because there was only one prominent witch family residing in Whixton…

“Clever,” Deloris said with an appreciative grin. “But that’s not necessarily true. Humans were the ones that founded Last Hope and the Guardians’. They seldom ever strayed from that and witches were the only ones they even dare trust with such secrets, so it’s only natural that after me another human would be chosen as Guardian.”

“So you didn’t choose your successor?” Nicoli asked.

“Nope, just because I was Guardian doesn’t mean I had that kind of right.”

“Well, at least we are on some kind of path.” Conrad said and there were murmurs of agreement from the others.

Everyone tried their hardest to get more out of Deloris, but she refused to say anything further on the matter, not even when Nicoli begged. She kept changing the subject on them, asking about random celebrities, the latest news, and if the clan had a TV she could watch. Finally, with no gain in sight, Nicoli decided to leave, wanting time to himself.

“All right, well, I’m out of here. Call me when you have an idea on what to do next,” he told the others. He made to leave without waiting for goodbyes or seeing if Amelia wanted to walk home with him, but fingers clamping down on his ear stopped him from going more than a few steps.

“Ow!” He was able to turn his head enough to see that the fingers belonged to Conrad. “What the hell are you doing?”

Conrad ignored him for a second as he addressed the others.

“Fill the girl in on any questions she might have about what we’re doing,” he said, referring to Amelia. “And get all the names of the families that she has thought of so we can look into them as quickly as possible.” Nicoli yelped as Conrad dragged him towards the stairs by his ear. “We need to have a talk.”

“You better not hurt him!” Amelia called after them.

Nicoli grumbled and cursed as he was lead up the stairs and into Conrad’s study.

“Let go of me! Get the hell off!”

The study door closing was his only answer and he was then pushed into a chair that sat in front of the desk. The chair tipped back, but he was able to right it before he toppled over. When the four legs were firmly on the ground he glared at Conrad as he rounded the desk and took a seat behind it.

“Now, like I said, I believe we need to have a talk,” Conrad said calmly as he made himself comfortable. “Especially if we’re going to keep working together.”

Nicoli crossed his arms and leaned back in the chair.

“You mean talk about what an ass you are?” He saw the way Conrad’s eyes narrowed, but he kept going. “And I’m surprised you’d even say “Working together.” Don’t you mean, if you’re going to keep using me?”

“No, I meant it how I said it.”

“You could have fooled me.”

Conrad sighed as he also leaned back.

“Nicoli, I know you are young and hot headed, but this is foolishness. I guess the only way to resolve this is if you tell me what has you so upset.”

“What has me so upset?” Nicoli repeated in disbelief. “How can you even ask that? Okay, well, for one, I’m pissed that you used my best friend with absolutely no thought to her safety. I hate that you dismissed me when I tried to talk some sense into you. Then I am absolutely furious that you’re treating me like you did when we first met. I mean, I know I’m human, I know you have a thing against humans, but I thought we had finally come to some kind of understanding.” Nicoli stared at the floor, not wanting Conrad to see the hurt that he knew his eyes would show.

“After what you said, after you guys rescued me. About how you thought I was brave and courageous and even commended me for it. I thought you were finally seeing past my weaknesses and even accepting me, but I guess that was stupid of me to assume.” He turned his face away, tracing the floorboards with his eyes. “And to think I was even starting to like you.”

A silent moment past before Conrad sighed and laced his fingers together.

“All right, I suppose I can see where you’re coming from,” he said, and his voice was strangely softer. “I admit that I have been harsh on you, sometimes without even meaning to be. I constantly suffer from my own demons and I know that I take it out on others. You are not to blame and I apologize if I make you feel…inferior.”

“But that’s how you see me, isn’t it?” Nicoli asked.

“…Do you have to make this harder than it already is?”

Nicoli let a little smile slip through.

“Who said I wanted to make it easy?”

Conrad sighed again.

“Anyways, with my superiority complex aside, I want to assure you that what you have done for us and what you will do in the future is appreciated. No matter how I may act about it during that time. There is also another thing,” he said, before Nicoli could interrupt with a snide comment. “With what happened just now with your friend, I must admit that there was more at work there than what meets the eye.”

“What do you mean?” Nicoli asked in confusion. He thought it was exactly how it looked.

“I had an ulterior motive for wanting her to try and open the book and I had her wellbeing in mind more than you would give me credit for.”

“Ulterior motive? Okay, I’ll bite. What was this ulterior motive?” Nicoli asked, tilting his head as he regarded Conrad.

“I have had a working theory on the girl and her family and today presented me with a glorious opportunity to test it out.” Conrad leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and arms came up to lace his fingers just beneath his chin. “I believed that the Guardian was in fact one of the Fairbrooke’s.”

Nicoli’s eyes widened and his breath caught in his throat.

“One of-are you serious? How could that be?”

“Is it so hard to believe? You surmised it yourself when you had the thought that the current Guardian must be a witch. We all had the thought. It makes sense. They are the most powerful beings to reside in Whixton, so who better? That was why I wanted to challenge the girl into opening the book. I wanted to see for myself if there was even the chance that one of them was the Guardian, but my theory was proven wrong.”

“So, you’re saying if Amelia had refused to open the book, that it would prove that someone in her family was the Guardian.”

“It would have left the possibility open. I’m sure that she would have wanted to keep the secret of her family, but it seems there was no secret to give. Her awe of the book and her ignorance of the Hearts were genuine, Gavin proved that.”

Nicoli knew that with Gavin’s sight any deceit Amelia carried would have been easily uncovered. It didn’t help that she was such an open person anyways.

“So, you risked her life to see if she would open the book or if she had a connection to the Guardian?”

“Do you still think I am so stupid?” Conrad asked. “Endangering her life would have caused more problems for us than is worth. Even if no one of the Fairbrooke was the Guardian they would make powerful enemies. The harm or death of the head of the family’s child would have ensured that and I have enough trouble dealing with my brother.”

“Wait…you’re saying Amelia wasn’t in any danger?”

“If you hadn’t been in such a rage you might have noticed that several members of the family were on standby to pull her out of harms way. Faith and Gavin had surrounded her with their mental energies as a shield and the reason I had stayed so close to her was so I could pull her out of the way if it had come to that. You decided to take matters into your own hands, however, and did it yourself. It worked either way, so I have no hard feelings on the matter.”

Nicoli exhaled and slumped in his chair. Amelia had been safe the whole time. He just knew Conrad wasn’t lying and relief washed over him to know that the leader hadn’t played with Amelia’s life like it was a toy.

He was brought out of his revere by chair legs scraping against the floor. Conrad rose from his chair and came around the desk.

“I know I may not treat you right,” Conrad said as he sat on the edge of the desk in front of Nicoli. “I’m cold and callous at times. I may, no, let me rephrase that, I will never see you as my equal, but as long as you are with us and helping us you will be a…guest of this clan. A temporary member, if you will, and in being so that means you are under my protection and guidance. I know you have lost faith in us after what happened with Dimitri.”

That statement sent a jolt through Nicoli and he averted his gaze. He never said anything to anyone about that, but it was true. Both he and Conrad knew it. Before he had blind trust in the clan that they would always protect him and nothing truly terrible would happen to him. Dimitri shattered that foolishness and Nicoli was still struggling with his loss of security. He wanted to put his faith in the clan, but it would take more time and would probably never be whole again.

“But I assure you,” Conrad said, drawing Nicoli’s attention back to him. “We will try to be there for you when we can be and if you ever feel as if I’m belittling you in any way or disregarding your judgment, ignore it. That’s just who I am. I’ve been this way for over a thousand years.” Then, to Nicoli’s shock, Conrad smiled. A true, sincere, albeit small, smile. “And as they say, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”

A smile that matched Conrad’s formed on Nicoli’s lips. There really was a nice guy in Conrad. It was buried deep, but it was there.

“Thanks, Conrad.”

Conrad nodded and stood.

“Good, I’m glad your fiery temper has been quelled for the time being. Now let us return to the others.”

Before Nicoli could get up Conrad placed a hand on his shoulder and bent down just a tad.

“Oh, and let’s just keep this conversation between us. If anyone asks I roughed you over and threatened you into compliance.”

“Gotta keep up appearances, huh?”

“Quite. Lord knows I’d never hear the end of it from that brat Ethan if he found out I was being even mildly reasonable towards you.” He removed his hand and let Nicoli stand. His steel eyes then roved over Nicoli’s person. “You know, you actually remind me quite a bit of Ethan.”

“I do?”

“Yes, you both have the same fiery spirit that makes you think its okay to butt heads with me. That’s rather infuriating, actually, but it may serve you well in the end.”

Without another word Conrad strode to the door, Nicoli following after him. Nicoli happened to glance at the damaged part of the desk before he fell in step behind Conrad.

“Hey, what happened to your desk?”

“That would be Ethan’s fiery spirit at work. I swear, whenever we get into an argument it always ends with me having to buy new furniture.”

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The clapping of feet against sidewalk sounded as Nicoli walked home. His hands were shoved in his pockets to protect them from the cold. It was a smidge warmer than it had been recently since the sky was blanketed by a layer of stormy clouds. He hoped it would rain.

He also wished that his feet were the only sound he was hearing. Amelia walked beside him, prattling on and on about this and that. He tried to tune her out the best he could, though that was easier said than done.

“I just can’t believe I met the Deloris Mary-Weather. It’s like a dream come true. She’s kind of mean, but I guess I would be too if I was dead and had to be stuck in a book. She’s really funny, though. Who knew Conrad could fluster like that…Nicoli, are you okay? You’re really quiet.”

“I’m fine,” he mumbled.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Did Conrad say or do something to you that you’re not telling me? ‘Cause if he did I’ll totally kick his ass for you.” She had asked that several times as they walked and his answer was always the same.

“No, we’re fine now.”

“Then why are you so grumpy? You should be excited of all the stuff that happened today.” She studied him as he remained quiet. “Are you…are you mad at me?”

Finally she had hit the nail on the head.

“Whatever would give you that idea?” he asked sarcastically with a roll of his eyes.

“Wha-Why are you mad at me? What did I do? I helped you guys out. You should be thanking me.”

That was it. He snapped. He stopped dead and practically shoved her shoulder to make her face him.

“Thank you? Are you insane? You’re lucky I don’t punch your teeth out right now.”

She took a step back just in case he decided to follow through.

“Oh, come on, what reason could you possibly have to want to punch me?”

“You went behind my back! I told you not to pursue the clan and you did anyways and had even done it when you thought I wouldn’t know about it. I didn’t want you involved for a reason, but did you care? Not one bit.”

“Get off your high horse, Mr. Hypocrite. You’ve been going behind my back since day one. Running around with vampires and lying to me at the drop of a hat. You probably weren’t even going to tell me the truth if it hadn’t been for Dimitri opening that can of worms.”

“That’s different,” he hissed. “I was keeping you in the dark to protect you. You think I wanted you to be like me? Cared and looking over your shoulder all the time? What happened to me could easily happen to you. Do you think I want that?”

Her features softened and she put her hand on his shoulder.

“And that’s why I went behind your back. Don’t you understand? I want to protect you so something like that never happens again. If you’re in danger, if someone is trying to hurt you, I want to be there to stop them. I just can’t sit back and do nothing.”

He sighed and took her hand from his shoulder.

“Look, I know what happened to your friend was horrible. No one deserves to lose someone like that, but do you realize how self-destructive you’re being?”

“Self-destructive? What are you talking about?”

“You keep going on and on about how you want to protect me, but you don’t even give a damn about yourself. You went headlong into trying to open that damn book without even a thought to your safety.”

“That’s called being selfless.”

“That’s called being stupid,” he countered. “Deloris was right. What you did was beyond moronic and that’s putting it nicely. You did something dangerous without even knowing why you were being asked to do it. I told you how dangerous it was, but you didn’t care. You are so consumed with this drive to protect me that you don’t give a damn about yourself. How do you think that makes me feel? Knowing that if I make one wrong move you’re going to jump in and do something stupid that could get you hurt. That makes me feel awful, especially since next time you may not walk away with just a bloody nose.”

He flicked at her collar that was stained with red droplets. She stared at the ground, unable to meet his eyes.

“I-I didn’t know that I was making you feel like that,” she said, her voice hushed and laced with hurt.

He was glad that he seemed to finally be getting through to her, but didn’t like seeing her so down. He had to stay strong, though. He couldn’t just take back everything to try and make her feel better. So, as not to lose his resolve he turned his back on her and dove right into his next irritation.

“And you know what makes everything worse? The fact that you keep rubbing in my face that I need protecting.”

“W-What?” she said quietly behind him.

“I have to deal with the fact everyday that I’m not like you guys. I’m not a vampire, or a witch, or a ghost. I can’t wield magic like a weapon or a shield. I don’t have super strength or speed. I can’t defend myself with just the power of my mind or spiritual energy. I’m just me, which means I’m basically useless to everyone. I question everyday why Ethan chose me, why anyone puts up with me. Compared to everyone else I’m just a waste of space.

“I struggle with it all the time. It doesn’t help that I’m the one being continuously targeted by our enemies because I’m the weakest. It makes me hate myself for how weak I am. I must be a masochist for wanting to go on with this, but I never said I was smart. I just have to deal with the reality that I’ll always be weak. Nothing more to it than that.”

There was numbing silence when he was through and his chest felt tighter than a coiled snake. He hadn’t meant to let all of that out, but it was impossible to stop once he started.

He grunted when something hit his back and arms came around his torso. Amelia hugged him so tight that he could feel her body tremble.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know me doing this was going to make you feel so bad. All I wanted was to help.”

A puff of air escaped Nicoli’s mouth as he tilted his head back to rest against Amelia’s that was nestled in the back of his neck.

“It’s not all your fault. Most of that wasn’t about you. That’s been building up for a while.”

“Still, I made it worse. I just want to protect you because I care about you, not because I think you’re weak.”

“I know.”

“If it was going to hurt you this much I never would have gone to the stupid vampires.”

Nicoli chuckled softly.

“That’s a lie and we both know it.”

“…Yeah, but I would have gone about it in a more considerate way.”

She let go of him and turned him around to look at her.

“Nicoli, listen to me, you’re not weak. You’re anything but weak. The others filled me in more about what happened with Dimitri when you went to go talk to Conrad. About how Dimitri kept pressing you for information on what you knew and I was just so impressed by you.”

“Impressed?”

“Yes, he did terrible things to you. I don't know everything, but I know enough and through it all you didn’t give him anything. Not one thing. Sure, I have my magic and the vampires have their strength and speed, but take that away and what are we left with? We would have no clue on how to function.

“If it had been me Dimitri had kidnapped and if he somehow found a way to take away my magic, I’d be a terrified mess. I probably would have given him anything he wanted the second he touched me. What you went through and how you handled it is just amazing. I don’t think you realize just how strong you are. You may not have super powers, but you have something else.” She pressed her finger into his chest, right over his heart.

“Willpower. You’re overflowing with it. In a way that makes you just as strong as the rest of us. So, don’t look down on yourself so much with what you don’t have and focus on what you do have and you can only get stronger from there.”

Nicoli looked down at her finger then up into her eyes. He smiled.

“Thanks, Amelia, I think I really needed to hear that.”

“Anytime.” Her smile fell. “And I’m sorry I went behind your back, but I’m not pulling out of this. I believe what I’m doing is right. I want to protect you, but I’ll be expecting you to protect me too and stop me if I’m being reckless. We’ll just watch each others backs,” she said with her radiant smile back in place.

“That sounds great,” he said and he meant it. It was going to be nice to have someone on his side and he felt much better after getting all of his anxieties and frustrations off his chest. “And you probably couldn’t get out of this if you tried. You know too much now. Conrad wouldn’t allow it.”

“Sounds fine to me.” She slipped her arms around one of his and they continued home. “We’ll find out who the Guardian is and get that Heart before Dimitri can polish his fangs!”

================================Ch. 73 End

And there you have it! I actually liked this chapter because I think Nicoli got some confirmation on a few things that he felt like he was missing. But before I get into that I have to say that I absolutely love Deloris! I never expected that she would turn out like that. When I envisioned her I saw her as someone that was like Cecile. Regal, soft spoken, kind, but when I started writing with her she morphed into something completely different! I like it though and I think she heard some of your guys outcries and was just an extra bit mean to Amelia and Conrad XD Though, I’ll tell you this now, after writing this chapter I am so into a ConradxDeloris pairing. I sometimes think of crack pairing that would be cute and these two just shot to the top of my list. They would make just an adorable bickering couple ^-^

So, I know some people voiced how unfair everyone was treating Nicoli, but I think some forgot that Nicoli doesn’t really take crap from others, no matter who they are. If he’s being treated unjustly he’s going to say so, which he did so very freely to both Conrad and Amelia and now Amelia knows just how much her strive for protection was irking Nicoli.

In all this was a good chapter to clear the air, and we got to see Conrad’s nice side again and even learned that he did have Amelia’s safety in mind. Well, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and I will see you on Oct, 30th which is MD’s anniversary! Until then, everyone, take care! *huggies and lickies*