Writers Block

ade arrived at Darryl's place and was greeted at the door. She grinned as he was wearing the top she bought him not long ago.

"Hello" Jade said semi jogging up to him
"Hi" Darryl replied then picked her up and spun her around. "I have a surprise for you"
"Oh? What?"
"Come in and find out"

Jade followed Darryl in closing the door behind him. He then blindfolded her and lead her through the house. When he reached the dining room he removed the blindfold. The table was set up for a romantic dinner including candles.

"Oh Darryl, you did you get John to make dinner?"
"No. Well oki he helped me pick the right sort of herbs but that's about it. I did it all by myself" Darryl declared loudly
"Wow, I am impressed. Where is John anyway?"
"He suddenly decided he needed to see the sights"

Jade laughed and sat down when Darryl held her chair out

"Would madam like a look at the wine menu?" Darryl asked "The house special is the red"
"The red sounds fine"

Darryl walks into the kitchen and comes back pouring apple juice into their glasses. He then retreats again and then brings out dinner. Jade smiles and waits for Darryl to sit down. They ate tea then settled down to watch a movie on TV. Jade snuggled up to Darryl. After half way through the movie Jade started yawning and dozing off. After some time she felt herself being picked up and then put down on the bed. Darryl then removed her shoes and tucked her into the bed.

***

Jade was dreaming fitfully. She was trying to run away from and man and his shadow when she saw her sister. She called out but Kat didn't seem to listen. Jade ran as fast as she could to get to Kat who's back was to her but she ran into a wall of some kind she couldn't see. She kept trying to get to Kat when the shadow was just upon her reaching out to touch her, to hurt her.
Jade awoke screaming and drenched in sweat. A few minutes later Darryl was there and holding her rocking her back and forth and murmuring to her. She cried and said nothing, she couldn't remember the dream all she could remember was the dread she felt.

***

Kat awoke early the next morning with a bitter taste in her mouth. She carefully got out of bed trying not to move the kitten on her bed and headed for the bathroom. She rinsed her mouth out and was about to head down to the kitchen when she heard some meowing. She walked toward the sound and found Tenebrae on Jade's bed. Kat scooped her up and took her back to her room placing her on the bed becide Lux Lucis and then making it to the kitchen. As Kat looked out the kitchen window whilst drinking a glass of juice she noticed her parents car was gone. She thought it was odd as it was early in the morning but then again her mother did sometimes go for a drive early in the morning. She made breakfast and then sat down at the table. Lucia walked in and kissed Kat good morning.

"Hi Mom, did dad leave really early for work or something?"
"No dear, why do you ask."
"Oh nothing, you must have parked your car in the garage then"
"No, we got home late last night so we parked out on the street"

Kat got up suddenly and went to look out the window again. She then ran to the door and flung it open. Lucia was suddenly behind her.

"What's wrong?"
"Where's your car?" Kat asked pointing to the empty road

Lucia dropped her mug and coffee went everywhere. She then hurried to the bedroom and Erick was soon looking out the door. He looked for a few minutes and then picked up the phone and called the police. He spoke to them for some length and then put the phone down. About ten minutes later the phone rang again and Erick answered it. He nodded grimly and then set the phone down. He took a deep breath and called Jade at Darryl's place.

"What did they say?" Lucia asked
"Wait til Jade gets home. I want to give everyone the news at once"

Five minutes later Jade and Darryl arrived. Kat noticed Jade looked shocking like she hadn't slept well but didn't get a chance to say anything.

"Sit down" Erick said softly and everyone complied
"As Kat noticed this morning our car was missing. The cops found it not long after our call. There was an accident"

Everyone gasped

"Is anyone hurt?" Lucia asked after some time
"The car hit another car. Both cars were written off. The driver in the other car is hospitalised. The driver of our car wasn't found"
"Oh no. Is she oki? Do they know who it was?"
"She has been severly injured and yes we know who the driver of the other car is"

Nobody said anything. Erick's gaze fell upon Jade and she held his gaze. He didn't need to say anything she knew it was someone she knew. She held her breath and waited until he finally said something

"I'm sorry Jade." He paused "It was Nicole Howe"

***

Leo was looking at his reflection in the mirror with blantent anger showing on his face

"Why the hell did you hurt Nicole?"
"She was in the way, this way we can get closer to the twins."
"You bastard!"

Leo swore at his reflection but was only replied with laughter. He threw the cover back over but the laughter kept rining in his ears.

***

Jade entered the kitchen that afternoon in time to hear the tail end of the conversation her father was having.
"Yes, that's right, Greg. Lucia and I will be there on Monday in two weeks. We thought we'd have a little bit of a holiday before we started. Yeah, Kat was a bit worried, but she had a bit of a think about it, and decided it was okay. No problem at all. See you there. Bye."
Erick hung up the phone.
"What was that about?" asked Jade.
"Fiji," Erick replied expansively. "Your mother and I are leaving next Sunday week."
"What?"
"You remember, the job in Fiji?"
"Yes - but I thought you weren't going."
"Well, Kat said she was OK with it, so we accepted the offer."
"But... What about...?"
"You and Darryl are engaged now, Jade. You can look after yourselves. Kat spoke to Lucia and I this morning and let us know that she was okay with us going."
"She did?"
"Yes, she did." Erick looked at Jade closely. "Did the two of you have a fight?"
"No..."
"Ok, if you say so. Your dinner is still in the fridge, by the way." There was a very slight tinge of reproach in his tone. "Anyway, your mother and Kat are out looking at houses."
"What for?"
"You and Darryl are engaged. It's customary for couples to start their married relationship in their own house."
"But I'm not married! And I like this house!"
Erick gave Jade a puzzled look.
"Kat didn't discuss this with you? You're not the one moving out - she is."

***

Kat and Lucia were looking at a small house which was merely 10 minutes walk from their current house.
"Oh, Mum, look at the ceiling."
"It's lovely, dear... But the house is very small."
Kat laughed.
"I am but one person," she misquoted, with cheerful lack of grammar. "I don't need a big house."
"Hmm..." Lucia frowned as she looked around the room.
The house was small, as far as their family standards went, but then, their family standards were quite large. Kat considered that for one or two people, it was perfect. There were two bedrooms, a study, a bathroom and separate toilet, laundry, kitchen, breakfast room, sitting room and formal lounge and dining room. The garden was small, but well kept, and there was a single car garage attached to the side of the house.
"It would need a coat of paint," murmured Lucia.
"I could do that easily," Kat replied. "And Marc would help."
"So would Jade and Darryl, I suppose," Lucia murmured.
"I guess," replied Kat, mentally picking colours for the walls.
"And we'd need a couch or two."
"We still have all that stuff in storage from when we moved... What about that?"
"That's a point, I'd forgotten all about that. Are you sure you want that old kitchen table though?"
"It would be perfect. The rough wood would add just the right touch, don't you think?"
"Hmm... perhaps."
Lucia and Kat walked through the house again, Lucia looking for faults, and Kat picking colours.
"Have you talked about this with Dr Howard?" Lucia asked, cautiously.
"Yes," replied Kat. "He seemed to think that the independence would be good for me. Not completely independent, of course, because you and Dad will be helping me out, but the "responsibility of ownership" is apparently a good thing..."
"Hmm..." Lucia said again. "And have you talked to your Marc?"
"Yes... He also thinks it would be good for me. And he offered to help me move."
"And Jade?"
"No."
"No?"
"When? She's been too busy."
Lucia sighed.
"I know that she's been busy, Angel, but people are like that when they first get married."
"They're not married yet, but I can see your point. I'm just letting you know why I haven't discussed this with her."
"Be careful that she doesn't get hurt," Lucia cautioned.
"Jade? Hurt? She is so wrapped up in her own world now that she has Darryl she wouldn't notice if I fell off a cliff."
"She needs you, Kat," Lucia told her gently. "It may not seem like it at the moment, but you do need to remember that she is the one who automatically speaks in "we"s. She relies on you a great deal."
Kat felt a momentary pang of guilt, but then shrugged it off.
"Like a fish needs a bicycle," she said, with a half smile at her mother.
Lucia sighed, but was distracted as her mobile phone rang. It seemed that Erick would be joining them shortly.
"You think this is the one, then?"
"Yes, I think so."
"Are you sure? It's a lot of money to invest."
"I am positive. That money has been sitting around gathering interest for 18 years. I have finally found something that I want to spend it on."
"If you're certain. I take it you and Erick discussed the loan?"
"Yes... I promised Dad I'd pay it all back."
"It's a lot of money, Kat."
"Mum, I know. But I will have a house. Ok, so it's not huge, and it needs a bit of work, but it's in a good area, and it's close to home, and close to uni, and close to work, and close to Marc..."
"I thought that might have something to do with it," Lucia teased with a smile.
Kat laughed. "He's a nice person."
"I know, dear."
Mother and daughter smiled at each other, then heard Erick speaking to the agent at the door. After the three had inspected the house a final time, Erick turned and looked at his daughter.
"You are sure this is the one you want, kitten?" he asked. "You haven't looked at very many."
"Daddy, Mum and I looked at 12 houses and 4 flats this morning before this. This is the one. I'm sure of it."
"Well... I guess I'll go talk to the owners then."
Erick strode through the house to the kitchen, and began the long and drawn-out process of haggling over the price.

***

Jade waited until evening before emerging from her room. She could hear Erick and Lucia in the kitchen, and moved in that direction. "Very reasonable price," Erick was telling Marc. "Kat will only owe us for 20 years of so," he teased his daughter with a smile. "Not so at all," Kat replied, coolly. "I shall live on bread, and cut that down by half!" The four in the kitchen laughed, and Jade entered the room.
"The owners have actually already moved out. They're "giving" me an old bed and TV cabinet that didn't fit in their new house, and I'm going to go through the things in storage and get some more furniture. It needs painting first though. I'm going to go look at paint colours in my break tomorrow."
Marc laughed.
"In your break, hmm? Break from what? Sleeping? It's a long weekend, remember?"
"It is?" Kat asked, blankly.
"Yes," laughed Marc. "It is. And you don't think that out lecturers would miss a chance of having a day off, do you?"
"I guess not!"
"Hi," said Jade, quietly.
The circle of four parted, and Kat smiled at Jade.
"I bought a house."
"So I hear."
"I was just going to take Marc over to have a look. Would you like to come?"
Jade paused for a moment, then smiled.
"Sure. I'll go get my jacket."
The twins smiled at each other, and everything was alright.

***

In the hospital, Nicole awoke from a startling nightmare, to see Leo leaning over her body. She had tubes down her throat and needles in her arms, and bandages everywhere. Her initial panic lessened as she recognised Leo.
"Ah, Nicole," he said, her name sliding over his tongue like oil on water.
She suddenly became terrified.
"I feel I must commend you on your ability to survive. I felt sure you would not return to consciousness. But no matter. Your revival will be short lived."
The stainless steel cabinet beside her bed was polished to an almost blinding gleam. Leo leaned towards it, and touched her terrified reflection with one hand. Nicole tried to scream, but the tube in her throat prevented her from making any more sound that a quiet whimper. Leo then leaned over her, and sucked in her aura. The aura was slowly sucked up as Nicole's reflection was leeched out of the reflective surface into Leo's body. Once her soul was gone, Leo leaned forward and looked at his reflection.
"You fight me already?" he questioned. "You are stupider than I thought. I have just fed, I am stronger than you."
His reflection glared at him impotently.
"Now, I will rest. Soon, I will go after the twins. Trust me, My Reflection, it is better this way."
Leo absently rubbed the birthmark by his left ear, then walked swiftly from the hospital room.

A nurse watched him pass, then entered Nicole's room. The girl was still in a coma, the nurse noted. It was uncertain if she would awaken or not. The nurse checked the equipment, then left the room again. Leo left the building, and began the drive home.

Fifteen minutes later, the emergency alarm sounded - the body cannot live without the soul, and Nicole's body had finally died. The doctors tried to revive her, to no avail. The nurse noted the time of death on a sheet, and made arrangements to notify the girl's family.

Jade had felt like spending some time alone and decided to go shopping in the city. She popped into Kat's shop where she was now working and found Yasmin and thanked her for the rock before heading towards the art shop. Jade was a little confused about what was going on now as Kat was moving out, her parents where leaving home, her engagement and the news of Nicole her favourite lecturer was in hospital just seemed a bit much. She headed to her regular hang out being the city's art shop but then changed her mind and walked into a shop she had never seen before. It was full of odd bit's a pieces. Jade was browsing when she found a small wooden chest.

"Ahh I see you have fine taste" a ladies voice said
Jade jumped
"Oh I'm sorry I didn't mean to startle you"

Jade turned and looked at the lady. The best Jade could describe her would be that she looked like a gypsy. She was not beautiful but she looked pretty in a slightly exotic way. Jade soon realised she had been staring and felt her face grow warm. The lady laughed softly which for some reason made Jade relax.

"It's very pretty" Jade said in refernce to the chest
"It was carved over three centuries ago to keep magick safe from evil. It's also has a secret compartment for those little keepsakes"

The lady opened the chest and then showed Jade the extra compartment. Jade watched and then noted the price and decided she would buy it for Kat as a house warming present. Personally she didn't like the fact that Kat was moving away at the same time as their parents but Jade thought she would at least make the best of it. She just wished she was moving tho, she didn't like the idea of being left alone in such a big house.

***

Kat was slowly packing up her room and was stopping to rest. She watched as the two kittens where playing with all the newspaper that Kat had to wrap the breakables in. The door bell rang so Kat got up to answer it. As she got to the door she found a package on the doorstep addressed to both herself and Jade in writing she didn't recognise. Kat looked up and down the street but couldn't see anyone. Shrugging she grabbed the package and brought it inside and put it on the side table and went back upstairs promptly forgetting about it.

***

Jade arrived at uni and headed for her art class. She was planning to skip it and head home and give Kat the chest but in the end caught the bus to uni. Jade chose her seat and watched as the rest of the class showed up. Last to show was Leo. Jade suddenly felt a pang as the memory of Nicole being in the car accident suddenly came back to her. She remembered why she had wanted to skip class. Jade was about to grab her bag and leave when Leo spoke.

"Class, I have some bad new. Miss Nicole Howe was in a car accident and died shortly after. Class has been cancelled for a week and the councillors are available if you want to make a time with them."

The news hit Jade hard and as she looked around she noticed she wasn't the only one. A few girls were crying and some of the guys didn't seem that far behind. Jade however felt her eyes stinging but no tears flowed. Jade suddenly wanted out and grabbed her bag and headed for the door. She stopped short as she felt something tug on her arm. She spun on the spot to find herself faced with Leo who was grinning.

"I am so sorry for your loss" He said then let go

Jade rubbed her arm and noted it was bleeding from where his nails had dug in. She looked around but the class seemed oblivious to what just happened. Jade fled from the room. She called home.

"Hello?"
Jade thanked the stars Kat had answered the phone
"Can you pick me up?"
"Umm yeah sure, is everything oki?" Kat asked
"Can we talk about it in the car?"
"I'll be right over"

Kat hung up the phone and grabbed the car keys and headed out the door. A few minutes later she met Jade and they were on their way home. Kat waited for Jade to speak but she said nothing the whole way home. They got home and Kat made tea before they sat down. Jade then told Kat everything. They spoke at some length before Jade could finally cry. Kat moved towards her and just held her. They stayed that way for some time. A few mintues later Jade got up and went to freshen up. She came back into the sunroom holding the package Kat had found at the door.

"What's this?"
"Oh, I totally forgot about it. I have no idea but it was on our doorstep today."
"Shall we open it?"
"I don't see why not"

Jade sat down with the package and they opened the package together. There were two little boxes inside, one for Kat and one for Jade. They opened the boxes and found two hand mirrors made of pewter with twisted thorned roses as a border for the mirror itself. Jade noted Kat's looked identical.

"I wonder who gave us these" Jade said and picking up the mirror looked right into it
"I dunno" Kat replied and then looked up. Jade's face was contorted in a rather painful expression "Oh come on Jade you don't look that bad" Kat teased and then suddenly felt a sense of dread decend onto the room.

DISCLAIMER:
These stories contain material not suitable for children. We recommend that mature audiences only (18+) read these stories.