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Part 5:

Cougar Redfern sat down opposite her. He was handsome, even for a vampire. Black hair and eyes that glowed gold made for dazzling appearances, combined with a face any sculptor would have prayed for made him inhumanly beautiful. But inhuman, all the same. And his mind...Alisha shuddered. Black and dark. A vortex of misery and worse. "I want to talk to you," he said again, the words each hurled like chips of ice.

"I'm not surprised," she answered, looking at him with clear sapphire eyes. Her eyes flickered to the bruise where she had punched him earlier and the vampire's eyebrows raised fractionally.

"No, not about that." He half-smiled to her surprise and his voice was a lot friendlier than it had been. "I didn't trust you on sight. But I don't trust anyone, so that isn't a problem."

She frowned. "I thought you had a soulmate."

"I do."

"And you don't trust her?"

Sharp eyed glance. "I'm guessing that gossiping witch told you we're having a few...problems." Alisha nodded slightly and he looked annoyed for a moment. "Well, that's one of them."

"What do you want?"

His eyes met hers, faded to hazel. "To ask one or two things. See, I've been told a few tales in my time of Old Souls. And you've got the look about you."

At her surprise, the vampire shrugged. "Takes one to know one. No one else seems to have realised. But there was something familiar about you and I just couldn't understand until I remembered this story my mother used to tell us. Add that together with a memory...I mean of another life..." She just nodded. Then as his words sank in, stared hard at him.

"I thought I knew you but I couldn't...I didn't know where."

Cougar glanced at her. There was a wary, almost furtive look to his face that was just starting to spark something but she still couldn't remember and shook her head in frustration. "Who were you?" she demanded forcefully. It was just *annoying* her now.

He shrugged. "I don't know the exact time, just a flashback. The girl had your face, but different hair and eyes. The same, otherwise. I was her brother, called Jake?" He swallowed and wouldn't meet her eyes. "And...uh...I think I killed you. Because you went crazy and-"

Alisha held up a hand. "It's okay." She had gone pale, though. "I remember." Then she smiled unexpectedly. "*You* and *me* were related?" She shook her head, and tried not to laugh. "You were a lot cuter then."

His face was perfectly straight as he replied, "Even I was a kid." He paused. "I didn't figure it out until that David person turned up. What is he, by the way?"

"Dragon," she answered quietly and saw him smile grimly, as if he had been expecting the reply.

"Powerful friends you got there," Cougar said dryly. "Tali, he called you. Short for Talisa." She confirmed it with a murmur. "And there's one very famous Old Soul called Talisa I know of. She drove her soulmate to suicide, says the myth and then killed herself. There was a scandal among her witch family, especially when the girl's body disappeared. It was some time later when a dragon appeared to our witch cousins, the Harmans, and asked them to locate this girl. See if she had been reborn. And the rest, as you well know, is history."

She was stunned silent. "But how did you *know*? Apart from the face...I mean, a flashback isn't much to go on."

Cougar's eyes were bitter. "It was the way my mother described this girl's soulmate. For some reason the story was very clear on this point of appearances. I suspect, because the story was started by your family and added to when your...new life, shall we say, was discovered."

He looked at her, utterly impersonal and carried on, "The soulmate was blond, taller than most were then with cat's eyes. And Jepar isn't that far detached from Ieran, is it? Jepar mentioned something earlier about your apparent fear of being touched...that clinched it. He is your soulmate, isn't he?"

Cougar Redfern repeated it, but in a gentler voice, seeing the stricken look on her face.

The twenty million dollar question that wrenched her heart. And all she could do was nod.

Cougar's face gave away nothing of his thoughts. "That David person...I don't know why he told us you were working for Daybreak and looking for us." His eyes narrowed as she flushed involuntarily at that humiliating reminder. "But I guess you do. Still...I don't think you would hurt your soulmate." He shrugged. "I couldn't hurt Ria, even if I wanted to. Physically, at least."

There was definite regret in the vampire's eyes at the mention of Ria Lutinne. "I'm guessing that's why you're here, looking for Jepar...no?" he asked at the shake of her head.

"Just sheer luck that he was here," she muttered. "I didn't even know he was alive. But I wouldn't report any of you to Daybreak. Thierry knew I just wanted to get away. He thought here was far enough that no one would question me." She half-laughed. "He knows, of course - he understands better than anyone can. But what do I do now? They all hate me and there's David as well. You know the story - you know how it ends."

"It doesn't," Cougar said. "The ending always seemed to be that the girl goes mad, but you seem sane enough."

"Something changed this time round. I was born knowing what I did...every other life it hit when I became sixteen. I just couldn't cope, but growing up knowing, it's different."

They sat in silence for a moment, her mind heavy with remembered guilt and even worse, remembered madness. Had she been watching, she would have noticed something in Cougar Redfern's face change as he became decided.

He liked Alisha. The vampire wasn't sure why, because so far all she had done was hit and irritate him but she was smart and she was brave. He remembered when, another life, he had been that kid that she had looked after and protected. She hadn't tried to deny any of what that David person said, she hadn't tried to manipulate them. And he believed her when she said that turning them over to Daybreak was the last thing that would happen.

She had lived as many lives as he had, the difference being that Cougar couldn't even remember one life, just the occasional flashback that he found mildly annoying. But to remember anything you had ever done...he couldn't begin to imagine it. Wouldn't try either.

Yet she just sat there, prepared to face whatever the world had to throw at her which at that moment including Nightworld assassins and a dragon who seemed out to hurt her. Something Cougar wouldn't wish on anybody.

The vampire got up abruptly, and hauled her up too. "We've got people to fight," he said calmly.

"We?"

He grinned. "I've never met a living legend. Or anyone who stood up to me. And I know what's it's like to see your soulmate die. Mine lived again. Yours...you've waited eight centuries. I have a lot of respect for you."

She laughed, genuinely pleased. Cast a wry glance at this unexpected ally. "You just want a favour."

Slight lift of broad shoulders. "That too."

"Cheapskate," she muttered and followed the vampire down the path.

* * * *

They were waiting at the foot of the mountain. Five of them, black clad and snake thin. Men, from their build. Alisha felt her own long legs fill with energy as adrenaline swept her system. This was going to be one hell of a fight.

Cougar was rapping out instructions at her, his own voice taut with energy and tension. "Aim low. And watch out, they like to distract you while one of them hits you on the back of the head - whatever you do, don't turn your back on them."

Easier said than done, she thought as the five moved around in a pattern that was too swift to see. Now they were circled, Alisha instinctively moving backwards.

"Ready?" Cougar's voice was calm, controlled - to keep her from panicking she suspected. But he had forgotten how many times she had died already. After all, she thought, no matter how bad it is, there's always a point where the pain stops.

"Ready."

"*Now*," he hissed and Alisha leapt at the nearest assassin and kicked him hard, propelling her foot into his stomach with no grace but a lot of brute force, then snapping it back and following through with an even lower punch. The vampire screamed and was on the ground as Alisha felt a sudden sense of danger and ducked automatically. A fist whistled over her head but she was up, driving her elbow back, feeling it connect as someone moaned while she was spinning, her foot coiled to kick again.

The vampire was moving already though, ducking behind her and Alisha turned that spin into a jump, still twisting in the air, her foot kicking out to meet his head. He was temporarily stunned, while the other vampire was beginning to drag himself up. She kicked him in the head and he slumped again. For good measure, she kicked them both a couple of times. They would be out for a matter of minutes, nothing more.

She saw Cougar Redfern fighting the other three with an expertise that surprised her. From somewhere, he had produced a wooden knife that looked more like a butcher's instrument and already one vampire was screaming on the floor. Alisha made a mental note to get one of those.

She scoured the floor for wood, and finally saw a heavy branch under a lone tree. She ran to get it and returned to find victim number two was feeling better as he stood up again and flung himself in her direction with a primal scream.

She swung the branch like a professional baseball player and felt it meet his body. The scream turned a little more frantic as Alisha nearly hammered the branch through his leg and finally stopped in a low howl.

"It's not how loud you scream, buddy," she said with a tiny smile of satisfaction. "It's how hard you can hit."

She went to help Cougar, but found there was no need. Three vampires were out for the count, two of them bleeding heavily.

"Strange," the vampire remarked, stowing the knife somewhere on his person. "They had no weapons."

"Nightworld martial arts experts," Alisha explained, with a disdainful glance at the bodies. "Learned in every art known to humankind and some that aren't." She paused reflectively then added, "I guess they weren't expecting me to be trained or armed and they definitely didn't think they'd have to deal with a berserker vampire."

"No..." Cougar looked at her slyly. "But you're still alive and you owe me a favour, right?"

"I guess..."

He grinned and mischief sparkled in his eyes, as well as something melancholy. "You're the soulmate expert. I need some help."

She looked at him solemnly. "I can try," she said in a low voice. Memories could bring so much pain.

He caught that and in so much as Cougar Redfern could be sympathetic, he was. "It'll work out, Alisha...or Tali...which is it?"

She sighed. The name from her past was affecting her life too much, in such a bad way; everywhere she went, it changed her future and affected the present. "Neither. Call me Shar if you have to call me anything."

"That's what Daybreak reckons, isn't it? We'll all live happily ever after." She nodded. "Come on. I'll buy you lunch, seeing as ours got disturbed."

* * * *

And in the shadows, a dragon watched them go, fury turning his eyes black. He cursed softly and rued the day Cougar Redfern had ever decided he need Tali's help. The vampire would have to suffer, of course. But when he had Talisa back, it would be worth it.

And he had worked hard enough the first time. David remembered his meeting with her soulmate well. It was one of his favourite memories.

Ieran had been employed by his father as well, but unlike Talisa, he worked all across the land, carrying messages back and forth between the other aristocrats that were scattered around. Even then, he had an uncommon turn of speed so David wasn't at all surprised to learn that he had been reborn as a cheetah shapeshifter.

David had planned it very carefully. By then, it had been some two years since his affair with Talisa had started. David had assumed that she would leave her soulmate but instead, every time he saw her, she was more and more reticent and could no longer meet his eyes. It was starting to tear her apart and Tali didn't know which way to turn. David planned to make that choice for her.

He had ridden out to meet the boy, and found him on one of the main paths, travelling swiftly. David pulled hard on the reins and the horse stopped, hooves clattering as it shifted uneasily.

Ieran had looked up, and his face registered confusion at the sight of David. "My lord?" he said, something like suspicion in his eyes.

David circled the horse around him. "Ieran, is it? Talisa's betrothed?" he said politely, though he knew full well just who he was.

Ieran nodded, his look relaxing into an expressionless cast.

"A lovely lady," David continued, watching Ieran carefully. "But not, perhaps, as well treated as she should be." His tone was casual, but he noticed Ieran's shoulders tense at once.

"What are you implying?" he demanded, dropping all pretence of submissiveness. "That I neglect her?"

David laughed harshly. "For one who claims to be in *love*" he sneered openly, "with her, yes."

Ieran glared, his eyes hard as emeralds. "What business is it of yours, *my lord*?" The title was plainly derogatory and David suppressed rage at the thought of the effects his next words would have on him.

"You may neglect her," he said loftily, looking disdainfully at the boy who stood their, his face guarded and wary. "I do not."

Ieran inhaled sharply and his eyes dilated for an instant. David couldn't hide the sly smile that crawled across his features.

"You lie," Ieran hissed, shaking his head so the blond hair caught bright in the sun. "Talisa would never---"

"Never is a word that does not apply here." David's words were snapped out. "Especially considering that she already has for the past two years."

Ieran had gone white. Except for his eyes that were burning like hot coals, he was a ghost. "Two years?" he said furiously. "You think my soulmate could lie to me for two years and I wouldn't *know*?"

David merely laughed. "Your soulmate is a witch. I'm sure she knows the right spells. And if she doesn't, someone else in the Nightworld will."

Finally he saw belief register in Ieran's eyes. "She told you about the Nightworld," he said in a strange, flat voice.

David pulled the horse round, and added as a parting shot, "Ask yourself this - what reason would I have to lie? And if Talisa loves you so much, then why does she spend every waking hour she can with me?"

That last was a lie, over the last year Tali had grown more and more distant. The fervour in her eyes was gone, replaced by an ageing he did not like. But it had the desired effect and as David looked back, he saw the look on Ieran's face.

It was often said in gossip that Ieran let his mind overrule his heart and that his emotions were second to his logic and intelligence. But all David could see in that one glimpse was raw, primal emotion. A shattered soul.

And unaware of David even leaving, Ieran sank onto the ground with his head in his hands. His eyes were dead and hopeless, his voice dull with the numbness rapidly spreading through his mind. There was no denial, because somewhere in his heart of hearts, he knew.

"Oh God," he said so softly the words were not touched even by the breeze. "Oh God, it's true."

* * * *

"See, it's like this..." Cougar Redfern had a voice that was dark as his mind, but with an edge to it as though he thought she would criticise him at any moment. So guarded, Alisha found it hard to understand how anyone could be so...closed. He was almost angry at the moment and tension showed in every line of his face.

Alisha held up her hands. "Hold on," she said. "Count to ten and take deep breaths."

Looking slightly startled, the vampire obeyed.

"Now maybe you can talk without foaming at the mouth," she continued and was rewarded with a corner of his mouth lifting.

"Okay," Cougar said in quieter tones, "it's like this: Ria and I aren't getting on. And it's my fault. I don't trust her...much...and she's pretty screwed up because of it. You know, she's always had this romantic notion that love just cures everything.

"Ria's a witch, or half-witch at any rate and she came here with her crackpot sister. Girl called Bliss. She got treated like dirt, eventually Bliss tried to kill her. Then...then we found out, you know, and everything changed, and now it's got back to normal and she's finding out that I'm not..." Deep sigh, and Cougar's face was taut with tension, "...not what she wants me to be. That love isn't the answer to it all."

They shared and understanding glance. Both of them knew how false that assumption was.

"But..." he seemed to be struggling for words, "I just can't trust her. It's not that easy, her sister was trying to kill me at one point and I've known her what? A month or two at most. It took years for me to learn to trust the circle and there's things I've done that she wouldn't want to see, that I have to hide from her but she's starting to think that maybe...." There was sudden pain in his face then that Alisha knew only too well, "That I don't love her. And it's just all a big mess that's there's no way to sort out."

"Bullshit." She said it thoughtlessly then saw the indignant look he gave her as Cougar gathered himself to argue. She cut in quickly. "No, I don't mean what you were saying. I mean that you can sort it out."

"You think?" His eyes flared gold for an instant. Pure predator and yet somehow as human as she had ever seen.

Alisha smiled soothingly. "I know." She paused to think about it. "But it's give and take. That was my mistake. I took and took until there was nothing left for me to take and..." she trailed off. They both knew. "Cougar, you've got to learn to trust her. And that means starting with all your horrible secrets - which probably aren't as bad as you think - and in return, she's got to forgive you. That's what's called a relationship and it is that simple."

He looked at her impassively for a moment. Then smiled, his face determined. "I'll try. I have to." Then he stopped and stared at her. "So...what about you?"

She knew what he meant. What about her and Jepar, that was what he was saying. She felt pain clutch at her, like a fist around her heart but Alisha answered him in a low voice. "Nothing."

Astonishment. "Nothing? But-"

"You don't understand," she said in fast clipped words. "How terrible it was, what I did. You can't imagine what I did to him. He killed himself, Cougar, because of *me*. Your friend, Jepar, he's not the same person, he's happy and he's so confident. You want me to destroy that, to bring back bad memories?"

Thoughtful pause. And the vampire was drumming his fingers on the table, obviously thinking about what he was going to say.

"But you made the point yourself," he argued finally. "Jepar's a different person from this guy who walked off a cliff. And it wasn't your fault...maybe you were the trigger, but he still had to choose to walk off that damn rock. I can tell you for free that Jepar's not trying for any lemming awards."

Alisha shrugged. He didn't seem to *understand*. "Doesn't matter. You don't know what it's like to have eight hundred years worth of life hit you. It will drive you crazy, it changes all your perceptions and I *won't* do that."

Silence. Neither of them could see the other's point and finally Cougar stopped rapping his fingers. "Okay. Fine. Your choice," he said slowly. "But I find it a little hypocritical after you're telling me how I can sort out my soulmate problems."

"See it how you want." Short tone.

The vampire rolled his eyes. "I am. But I think you should explain to the circle that you aren't a Daybreaker - no hear me out - because this David guy...the way he talked to you, he sounds dangerous, and you're going to need someone to look after you and we're the best people you'll find. I don't mean you've got to tell everything, just say you're an Old Soul and make something up." He glanced at his watch. "Tomorrow," he said ruefully. "Ria will kill me if I don't spend some time with her." He looked pensive. "And probably if I do."

She frowned, stared into eyes that were sincere and still held that sour humour. "Why are you doing this?"

The answer surprised her. "We're friends, aren't we? That's what friends do. They help each other." Grim smile. "You helped me; I help you, you stay alive and kick that dragon's ass."

She laughed gladly. "Sounds like fun to me."

And just for a while, she could forget about David, forget about her problems and relax in the company of a friend.