Well, here it is!

Disclaimer: I don’t own pokemon, ok?

Chapter 8

Claire groaned as she woke up. It didn’t feel normal.

Oh, but she had been fighting. And then something had happened, with the kid. No he was not a kid, really, a fallen angel, like Lance.

He was watching her now, a serious look in his golden eyes with his black wings folded neatly behind him. Around his neck glittered a key with a star on top.

Almost in reflex, Claire felt around her neck for the pendant necklace Catelyn had left her, reassuring herself that it was still there.

It made her feel safe, after she learned that the dark angel had killed Catelyn.

No questions asked.

“What do you want?” She spat.

He fidgeted. Maybe there was some human left in him; maybe he hadn’t been changed all the way?

Claire frowned. “Well?”

“Um… never mind. Lance-chan!”

Claire froze.

A few seconds later, the dark angel materialized in front of her. Black attire and black wings, as a ribbon of cards danced around her.

“You’re awake.” It was a statement.

“Look, what do you want?” Claire said exasperated. “Why don’t you just knock me out and get it over with?”

Golden eyes slanted to look at her. “It’s not that simple, Claire.”

“How do you know my name?!” She demanded.

“Oh, but I should.” She knelt down and frowned. “After all, little cousin, if I didn’t, what sort of relation would I be?”

Claire froze.

It wasn’t fear.

It wasn’t terror, either.

But as she looked closely at the face, she could see behind the bloody hair and eyes, the haunted expression of her older cousin.

No…

“Cat?” Claire whispered.

Lance smiled relieved. “I was afraid you wouldn’t recognize me.”

“What did they do to you, Cat?” Claire said, curiosity overwhelming everything else. “Why? Is this what happened when they took you away?”

Lance nodded, looking downwards. “They needed a pure soul for their sacrifice to bind this realm. Looks like it was just my bad luck to be that one.”

Claire sucked in a breath. “And the hair?”

“I had no control over that. It was like this when I woke up.”

Her fangs glinted slightly, and Claire winced. It was another unpleasant reminder that her cousin wasn’t technically an angel anymore.

Ash sat down next to Lance and stretched out his wings.

“But what about him? The rumors say that you bound him to the darkness and he became fallen like you. Is that true?”

Lance laughed. “Of course not. He asked me to change him so he could stay with me. How could I deny his request?”

It was so strange for Claire. Love was a foreign emotion to her. “I think I need some time to think about this…”

Lance waved a hand dismissively. “Think as much as you like, Claire. Time runs on my will in this place.”

Claire nodded and became absorbed in her musings.

“That went well.” Ash said.

“You think so?”

“Well, I don’t think she’ll be trying to kill you in the dark.”

“That’s reassuring.” Lance said, yawning. “But could you keep an eye on her? I’m going hunting.”

Ash nodded as Lance stepped through a portal back into the human world.

She licked the blood from her lips as the man she had been holding dropped to the ground with a thump.

He wasn’t dead. She hated killing that way. Better with a swift stroke or a quick flash of ice.

And it wasn’t as if she’d drained him either. But the blood helped replenish her magic, as did the dream realm energy.

She’d have to teach Ash how to start catching his own prey soon; she couldn’t always feed him herself.

Not that she minded much. It was soothing and she loved helping him.

Claire sat with her hands tucking her knees to her torso as she rocked back and forth, trying to digest the information.

It wasn’t helping much.

So her cousin wasn’t dead. Instead, her cousin had been taken away and that day they had turned her into this.

Lance scared her. At times, she could see Catelyn, but Lance was cold like ice, except when she was wrapped up in her ‘light’. The child…

What was so special? She couldn’t fathom it. The instances of an angel changing a human were extremely rare.

And Lance was a dark angel! But he looked content and happy. Odd.

Ash shuffled his cards and groomed Persian as he watched Claire think. He hoped it would work out for all of their sakes.

His wings had vanished and he was getting tired. He hadn’t fed for a while. Lance probably knew this, which was why she had gone out.

He smiled tiredly.

Lance returned in about an hour, another match down and looking quite healthy.

Ash greeted her. Claire was still thinking.

“Hungry?” Lance asked.

Ash blushed slightly. His fangs weren’t sharp enough to kill, and he didn’t really have any practical experience. Lance said she would teach him when the time was right though. She had learned through trial and error herself.

The blood helped a lot.

He smiled as she kissed him, before baring her throat.

And as his fangs pierced her soft, soft skin, he could have sworn Claire had fainted but he wasn’t sure through the haze of warm emotions.

End Chapter!

Started 12/25/03, completed 12/31/03