* * * *

Part Nine

It was late when Matt headed home. He'd had to talk with a Daybreak representative and that had taken a while. Some of them were so bloody annoying! All elusive half-truths and paranoia that kept them looking over their shoulders every other minute. And as for the whispering and the code words…well, Matt had stopped that nonsense by threatening to ram the information he had so carefully written down into the Daybreaker's throat to keep it safe if he didn't stop whining.

He'd joined Daybreak after his sister had found her soulmate. He had laughed at first. Up until he had met Emerald. Seen the way they looked at each other, that dopey look his sister got when he was around. And that was really his name.

What had stunned Matt though was the fact vampires actually existed. And so did witches, werewolves and shapeshifters.

So every time he read about 'vampire killings' it made him wonder. He was never really comfortable around vampires. 'Shifters he didn't mind, even though he knew what *they* ate. Witches fine. There was just something about drinking blood that got to him. Maybe it was because one of his friends had died that way. He'd been pretty ripped up about it. So had his friend, come to think of it.

His sister had convinced him to join Circle Daybreak. For his own safety. And lately, Matt had been wondering why it was so safe. They couldn't do anything to help him. Last time he was attacked, he survived from luck. Next time though, he knew they would make sure the only luck he had was bad.

He would have been afraid, but Matt knew that fear wasn't going to help him fight or run any faster. The only thing that could help him was himself. So Matt worked hard, had already learned Tai Chi and Karate and was slowly working his way through any sort of martial art he could lay his hands on. But even so, he was no match for the Nightworld specialists; they had twice his speed and many times his strength. He could hold off one, maybe two, but sooner or later, he would go down.

Matt lived in the middle of nowhere. His house was up a very long dirt track, unless he took the shortcut through the wood. Which was what he did most of the time. And what he decided to do then. That was the smartest thing he ever did, he reckoned afterwards.

Instead of turning up towards the road, he headed into the forest, quietly walking along the path he always used. It was dark now, but there was a fair bit of moonlight and besides, he'd always had good night vision. It was unnatural, really. He could see like it was still lit from the sun at night. But then he had always seen things a little differently from other people. Like their auras.

No one believed him, of course. Even Daybreak was sceptical. After all, he wasn't even a lost witch. Matt could trace his family tree right back to the fifteen hundreds. And it was humans all the way. Not even a hint of a seductive witch or purring shifter. Right up to his father, Timothy Wolff and his mother, Zorra Vulpin.

But even if he didn't have Nightworld blood in his family, he knew of a few people round here who did. All of the people they called Circle Strange, for a start. The nickname was cruel, because people always loathed what they feared. But Chatoya was as gentle a witch as he had ever seen, and Jepar Jubatus was rumoured to be as easy going as they came, and that was unusual for a shapeshifter. They could be pompous and proud, their past affecting their attitude.

Cougar Redfern - now there was what Matt classed as a typical vampire. Moody, vicious and downright sarcastic. He didn't like him, and the feeling was mutual. Although the vampire had a bitter humour that cracked classes up, that humour was too easily turned on anyone else like a blade.

They were the major three. The Nightpeople - witch, shifter and vampire. And now there was the new girl. Who seemed to be all three and yet none. Just thinking of her brought a droll smile to his face and then a surge of puzzlement at the bond between them which he simply didn't understand.

That girl though, she had the strangest aura he'd ever seen. It was barely there, for a start. Just a thin glowing line hugging close to her body. A black line. What kind of person had a dark aura? None, that he'd heard of, at least not like that. But then there were a lot of strange facts about her.

The way she looked was a good place to start. At first he'd thought her hair was just a very pale blond, but it was actually silver. And curling almost like waves, twining round itself like a nest of snakes, exotic. Frightening. Her eyes - he had never seen anything like them. Brighter than a vampire's eyes when their fangs were out, they seemed to change from icy cold impartiality to warm liquid metal affection.

There was something old and otherworldly about her that he sensed lay just below the surface, almost a second skin. A manner, an attitude that echoed in her voice that reminded him of rainbows and hawks diving in flight. Her strange accents that made her voice lilt and tip like an ocean.

What about the way she walked? Quiet, stealthy in a fluid glide. Something like the vampire hunters he'd seen, but more elegant, also something like the 'shifters but without the predatory element. Or how she could hear people on the opposite side of a room. A couple of the seniors, Delia and ones of her friends, had been bitching about her. And he'd seen the look of pure fury on Dragon's face when she spun around at one of their crueller comments. Now that was alarming.

She was a dragon, though. A dragon. Daybreak would be interested to hear about this. He hadn't told the agent today, because he wanted to know a lot more about what she could do, what she was before he told them.

But they would be fascinated. Matt had heard the legends often; the lizards, terrible and terrifying, lost in endless slumber. Stilled by witches in a battle that had cost lives in their multitudes. A spawn of demons that had been peacefully stopped. But if they were so terrible, how was it that at times, he saw sadness sweep the face of Dragon Tiamat. Why was she so human?

Off to his right, a twig snapped. Matt stopped instantly. That was no animal. There weren't any round here. Too near the sacrifice field.

He turned to face the noise. Thank Isis for his night vision! Although maybe he wouldn't want to see what he was facing. In the bushes, he saw several dim glows outlined. Auras glowing through the night. Several of them, at least seven or eight. Three guesses who that was.

Quickly Matt turned off the path and headed for his escape route, a little idea he'd had while he was in hospital having his arm fixed. The whole route was lined with traps. All of them were invisible. Most of them were lethal. Sometimes it was good to have a twisted sense of humour. All simple stuff - pits, trip wires, catapulted stakes. He relied on his memory to miss them.

He heard a series of soft thuds behind him and blessed his hearing. That was another of his weird senses. Supernatural hearing.

But they were after him now. He ran.

He heard a slithering sound and a shriek behind him. That was the first pit. There were a series of them, with silver, iron and wooden stakes at the bottom. He had called up a couple of Daybreak's best to give him a hand with this, John Quinn and Rashel Jordan. It had been worth the trouble.

He hoped the fighting moves they'd taught him were going to work. He needed all the help he could get right now.

An enraged cry from above told him someone had stepped on one of the hidden loops and gone flying up into the air. He risked a glance back and nearly burst out laughing at the sight of an enraged vampire swinging upside down by one foot, swearing. Thank Goddess he'd seen all those films as a kid. It had given him a lot of ideas.

Finally Matt got through his lethal trapped route, leaving a few screaming Nightpeople behind. But not enough. So when he heard a quiet crash off to his left, he saw what it was at once. The last vampires. True, he was surrounded by wood, but it was mainly twigs and those were a little difficult to stake a vampire with.

One stepped out in front of him. Dressed in black, tall. Not that it mattered how tall they were. They all had that inhuman strength. Out of the corners of his eyes he could see there was one either side of him. And probably one behind. Trapped. And this time, there was nowhere to run.

* * * *

Dragon was out hunting. She was tracking a hare, and this one was fast. But not as fast as a panther. It was one of her favourite forms. To be able to slink through the shadows noiselessly. Just a formless shape against the darkness, infinitely graceful and swift. Then, just when her prey was least expecting it, she pounced.

It was a hunting night. No wind, just a little moonlight, not too cold. Her prey couldn't see, smell or hear her. And would continue not to until it was too late. Her slender whiskers twitched as a sudden breeze appeared. She sat still as a rock, downwind of the hare.

It was a big hare. She could smell it from here, the sweet grassy scent and the mud on its paws. And of course, the delicious scent of its blood and flesh. It made her want to purr. Juicy. Fluffy. It looked like every kid's idea of a pet. But it was her idea of a meal. Just enough to give that little *hit* to her skills. Not enough to get anyone suspicious. One little dead hare never bothered people. She could almost taste it now. Her mouth watered, teeth bared in expectation.

She was lying up a tree waiting for it to come just a little closer. Her muscles tensed, her tail twitched…

And something crashed up ahead. The hare bolted. Dragon snarled in frustration and swatted at the branches, sending leaves tumbling from her claws. She slid back into her human form, cursing. A whole night of patience wasted. Then she heard, undeniably, the sounds of a fight. Muffled crunches and thumps.

Dragon leapt from the tree in an incredible cat-leap, silver hair flying out behind her and shifted into owl shape. Swiftly she flew towards the noise, glorying in the feel of the air under her wings, the owl eyes making the whole wood come alive, every movement seeming magnified.

There was some sort of a fight going on. Not much of one. Her glowing tawny eyes focused as she spiralled above it. Four vampires, dark clad, swift and agile, against one human, with fox hair…oh hell. Why couldn't this guy just stay out of trouble? Dragon dropped, flowing into her panther shape again, twisting her legs under her, claws out, ready to land. She dropped right into one vampire and her claws raked into his eyes as one hundred pounds of angry night-black panther hit him. His shriek split the air. One down.

She turned, jumped for the one with the knife. She hit him full in the stomach with two sets of claws and her teeth, ripping at him savagely. Distantly she noticed things were spilling out of his stomach that should only be seen in an autopsy. Two down.

"Run, you idiot!" she snarled at Matt. Startled he headed off towards where the hare had been. Prey, came the thought for an instant before she controlled her baser instincts and concentrated on trouble. She noted distantly his arm was broken. Again.

Something hit her from behind, hurling her into the ground. In human shape again, she turned and kicked the vampire, her foot knocking the knife out of his hand. She grabbed a good heavy stick lying on the ground and swung it as hard as she could. It smashed into his head in a satisfying crunch. Blood dripped from his head onto a puddle on the ground. Three down.

The last one took one look at her furious face and ran as Dragon called the dragon fire. Black, sparkling, it collected in her hands. The vampire glanced back, terrified and she saw his panicked face. It exploded from between her hands and hit the running vampire. He was lifted off his feet straight into a tree branch. She heard the sharp crack as bones broke, saw red blood spray out in a fountain. Four down.

Breathing hard, Dragon watched them for any movement. They weren't moving, but they weren't dead. Good. No rules broken and her duty had been done. Where the knife had hit her had healed already. It hadn't been silver, just cheap steel.

Dragon smiled savagely to herself and ran after the human.

* * * *

He hadn't got very far. She found him sitting in a clearing clutching his arm. Matt didn't look so good. He was covered in bruises and blood. Those vampires had really thrown him around. He looked up as she walked in and Dragon caught a flash of his defiant angry face before he smiled in relief. "Thanks." He said. It was heartfelt, Dragon thought quietly.

"Your arm's broken," she said gently. "Maybe I can heal it." Quietly the 'shifter knelt down by him. Her hair fell over her eyes and she pushed it back irritably, realising too late he had seen the horns on her forehead.

She saw his eyes widen, heard his sharp inhaled breath. He lifted his good hand to touch the furry stubs. "So you *are* a dragon." He breathed almost reverently. "I've never heard of - or seen - anything like you. Are there more like you?"

Dragon drew back, a little frightened. His tone was peculiar. He sounded a lot like the people who had asked her where the rest of her people were. So they could wake them. And Dragon had known their motives were not 'pure'. Most of them had been so twisted you could use them to open bottles with. But still, he was just a human, a brave one at that. Or possibly just a stupid one. It usually meant the same thing.

"Yes," she said softly. "But they are all asleep." And thank the Goddess that they are. Or you and all your kind would be having a very *long* sleep right now. You would be crushed by the rage of a thousand furious creatures that were locked away in nightmares. We were never meant to be caged, but you caged us and one day, they will make you pay. And not all of Circle Daybreak, or the angels will protect you.

He didn't say anything for a moment, just sat there looking at her with compassionate topaz eyes. Dragon could feel something between them, like a magnetic force, gently pulling them together. Then he said softly, "I guess you must find it hard being on your own."

Startled, Dragon looked at him. "No, not at all. The dragons were evil, Matt." With a strange thrill, she realised that was the first time she had said his name. Matter of factly she said, "Your arm needs healing. Or do you want to wind up in hospital again?"

He looked at her wide-eyed. Then shook his head with a rueful smile.

Warily, Dragon reached for his arm, unsure of how she felt about this boy. He was unique, charming and chivalrous, but he had some sort of power over her. Every time he looked at her she felt helpless. And that scared her. Last time she had been helpless, someone had died.

But she couldn't be afraid forever. Taking a deep breath, she seized his arm…and his skin touched hers. A spark jolted through her that turned into a raging fire.

Without warning her world faded in a swirling glow of multicoloured light. It was like when their eyes had met, but *more*. Now she was floating in a sparkling shifting beam, being slowly dragged towards a blinding vortex, knowing every thought he had, every feeling. Dragon had never known anything like it. Not even hawk-flying or jaguar-hunting compared.

~ What's it like? 'Shifting, I mean. ~ She heard a thought, softly voiced and threading into her mind with formidable subtlety. It wasn't hers. It came through the link that bound them, and then she could see him, but it was more of Matt. It was his soul. His jewel-like eyes burned more brightly, his whole being seemed to glow with an angelic light and his wistful smile lit up her very soul. Dazedly Dragon realised what was happening. He was her soulmate.

~ Yes, ~ he said. ~ I've always wondered what it would be like. And everything they told me was right. ~

Dragon caught flashes of people, soulmates talking to him, the happiness that surrounded them and discovered that it was right. They belonged together. Just her and Matt. Dragon had always felt that part of her was missing. That there was something that should be there. And now she knew what it was. Him.

~ We belong together, don't we? ~ she said, somehow stunned by the discovery and knowing now that if she rejected this, it would colour her life forever in dark hues. Or she could accept it, accept this gift and have someone to share everything with.

Someone who could understand. Who she could understand in return. And as she felt acceptance, she also felt something towards him. The emotion that was always there, that was bittersweet and that had taken her so long to know what it was. Love.

And in return, she felt his mind open until they were almost melded and she understood that this completeness would always keep them bound. Always in touch, but a thought away.

~ Not even that, love, ~ he said gently. The endearment had a subtle force behind it.

~ I didn't think I had a soulmate, ~ she confessed through the link that bound them. She could sense the love and the surprise radiating from his mind.

~ Why not? ~ He asked in his quiet amused way that she knew so well now. A light touch that was a mental embrace, a gentle warmth on her physical form that was him wrapping his arms around her almost absently.

~ I'm thirty thousand years old: I just didn't think I'd have one. You aren't an Old Soul, are you? ~

She sensed his laugh, and caught the images that flickered through his head of the Old Souls he knew. ~ Not wise enough. ~

That made her laugh. But it was true. She knew him, like she knew herself, and he was stubborn, gentle, funny but no, definitely not wise. Definitely not like her. Dragon knew full well what she was. Angry, impetuous, stubborn…

~ Brave, fiery, beautiful, *my* soulmate…~ Matt cut in.

Soulmate. It sounded so right. How could she ever have disbelieved in this? It didn't matter if he was human. He was her other half. That was what mattered.

She felt a wave of happiness from him and a white light exploded in her mind as their souls joined into dreamy oblivion. His mind was coiled around hers in a protective amber spiral. Then they just stayed there, talking, sharing each other's thoughts and lives. Just being together. There were no secrets, no way to hide from your soulmate.

And Dragon had never felt so peaceful. Dragon, for once, never having to worry. And she liked that. She'd never realised how much of a hassle the Angels were. Then she'd never known someone so relaxed, happy. ~ I love you. ~ She whispered softly, the words echoing through both their minds. The simplest truth.

She caught his gentle reply. ~ Good. That's makes both of us. ~

She hadn't realised how long they'd been there, until she heard his mind-voice, which was so much of Matt. Everything he was, his very essence. ~ Look, sunrise. ~

They just sat and watched the sunrise, the sky lighting up in velvet orange, shining pinks, dusky purple and finally faint pastel blue dotted with feathery clouds. The sun rose in a hot glowing ball over the fields, slipping through the leaves to light the wood.

It brought memories of other sunrises, of new days. And of reality, creeping into a place that was timeless and unutterably theirs. That thought was Matt's - that the time times between night and day, sunrise and sunset, were theirs. The joining of two worlds.

And then Dragon remembered. The coven. Shadow.

She sat up with a gasp, breaking the link almost painfully. "I'm sorry." She said quietly, knowing he understood. That was the best thing knowing he would always understand her, no matter what.

Dragon realised dimly, she had been curled up against him. So she'd found her soulmate. They did exist. But she didn't mind. For once, Dragon was happy to be wrong. She smiled into the dawn, then said, "So what happens now?"

~ What? ~ She heard his voice echo softly through her mind. He sounded a little upset; ~ You mean about us? I thought… ~

"No," she said quickly. Reassuring, letting him pull her back against his chest for an instant. "About Doomfire. And Bella." She spoke aloud, deliberately. Having a soulmate was all very well, but not if he was going to die in three days. Which he was if she didn't start planning this.

He sighed, leaned forward. Then shock crossed his face. "Hey! My arm - it's healed."

"What?" She realised he was right. She could feel it, down the link. They were still connected and she knew what he was feeling, but she couldn't read his thoughts.

Then something struck her, and she leapt to her feet. "Isis! What about Shadow?"

Matt knew, of course, who he was. And he picked up her fear. "You'd better get back." She saw the regret in his eyes.

She smiled, though and said, "I'll see you in class then." Saw realisation dawn on his face. "At lunch, I need to talk with you, Jepar and Chatoya." He nodded quietly, then watched dumbfounded as she 'shifted into her panther shape and sped off towards the safe house. She had to get back before Shadow woke up. She remembered Myandra's parting words 'Don't trust Shadow.'

Then she heard in her mind, just three words and she knew it was Matt. ~ I love you. ~