FicWad

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in the following fanfiction, except for Eddy. Pretty much it's all property of Laurell K. Hamilton and I am simply entertaining my own fantasies(in the mildest sense). I also apologize for any OOC's, for I am merely an LKH fan and not LKH herself.

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Chapter Nine



"She got away!"Rhys roared at the crisp dawn air. Red dripped from the gashes across his face.

Merry gently laid her hand on his muscular shoulder, causing him to turn his bloodied expression toward her smooth white one. He relaxed his features, feeling the rage melt away at her beautiful gaze. She tenderly laid a kiss upon his lips.

"Do not be afraid, Rhys," she cooed. "You shall heal."

Rhys felt as if he should begin to cry. He was once beautiful, but his scars were the reason of much rejection. They were a reminder that the sidhe are not immortal. And now he had more to go with it. That is, if what Edith did wasn't going to heal.

"She is only vampyr,"said Doyle, as if hearing Rhys's thoughts. He joined the two of them. "Her touch is likely nothing to the sidhe."

"Maybe," Rhys said sadly. "But she's an assassin. She kills sidhe for a living. Whoever hired her believes she's powerful enough to harm us, even without magic."

"I don't think so, Rhys," Merry said soothingly. "When she came for me last night, she didn't kill me. I think she was trying to take me somewhere, even though I'm only mortal. She could have killed me right there."

Rhys and Doyle exchanged suspicious glances. It was as if a light bulb went off in their heads, but only Doyle spoke the thought out loud. "The night walker was going to take Meredith to someone. Someone powerful enough to kill her."

"Too bad she got away," Rhys grumbled. "We could have found out who."

"Perhaps we can,"said Doyle, kneeling down beside the broken glass of the shattered French doors. The shards had punctured the vampire's skin when she punched through. Her blood still glistened on the debris.

"How?" asked Merry. "I highly doubt a DNA test would do any good. It's likely her DNA isn't in any medical records."

Doyle turned his eyes on Rhys. "Rhys was once able to command the dead like a puppet master. The strings attached could be as simple as a strand of hair or a drop of blood."

"Yeah, but Idon't think I can do that anymore," Rhys said rather solemnly, folding his arms, and staring out of the destroyed door. "Besides, I have a feeling that if I could, I wouldn't be able to get a hold of our night walker."

Doyle and Meredith's silence seemed to ask, 'Why?' He answered their questioning looks without needing them to say it out loud. "You both saw her. If she's a vampire, she wouldn't be wandering around in the daylight, would she?"

"Yes, that was rather peculiar." Doyle scratched his chin pensively. "Although, the vampyr are known to be extremely solitary and secretive creatures. Perhaps, they just avoid the daylight and the crowds that come with it? It's been that way ever since the first weirding."

"Humans don't even believe in them anymore," Merry added. "Not the sane ones, anyway."

"No," said Doyle."But their myths have survived. Who can be certain of the truth?"

Rhys shrugged."The light that reflected off her skin was almost blinding. It might be more fatal for humans."

Doyle grunted in agreement.

Merry said what everyone was thinking, "That's why they stay out of the sun. If humans started dying, and vampires were the culprit, it would be a repeat of the eighteenth-century vampire controversy."

Rhys hissed suddenly, his hand going to the wounds on his face. "We can contemplate the truth about vampires all we want, but I doubt that will help us find her." He cursed as the pain throbbed from the cuts.

"Are you okay?"Merry asked, deeply concerned.

Rhys's sharp noises of pain turned into yells of agony. He dropped to his knees, slicing them on pieces of glass. He clawed at his face, begging it to stop. Merry crouched down, grabbing his wrists and trying to make him stop tearing at the gashes. Doyle forced Rhys to stand, struggling to keep him from making more cuts on his knees. They got him to his feet, but he continued to scream. Tears leaked from his eyes, salting the gashes that began to pour more blood.

"My god, Rhys!"Merry cried, wishing for a way to stop his agony.

As he sucked in abreath, the wails ceased. Doyle held his arms around him, keeping Rhys from falling back into the glass. Rhys was breathing hard and feeling lightheaded, mostly from lack of oxygen.

"Rhys! Rhys, are you okay?" said Merry.

After the excitement had ceased, the three of them noticed that the smell of wild roses was thick in the room. Rhys gazed around with his one blue eye. Red dripped into it, but he took no notice. The azure orb rested on Merry.

"I know where she is," he said, his breath heavy.