CHAPTER EIGHT

Dylan was stunned to see Arnie in class that Monday. "Dude, it's not the first day anymore," he said. "It's the third. What are you doing here?"

"I decided to give education a try," Arnie replied dryly.

"Yeah, right," Dylan said with a laugh. "That's the funniest thing I've heard all day! Seriously, what's up with you, Arnie?"

"I just... I like this class, okay?" Arnie replied.

"Since when are you a fan of reading?" Dylan paused. "Oh, I get it. You're still interested in Miss Keller."

"Is it so hard to believe that I'd like to attend class for once?"

"Yes. Yes, it really is."

"Shut up." Arnie took his seat and waited in anticipation for the teacher to arrive.

Did you go to your other classes? Dylan asked telepathically.

No, Arnie replied with a smirk, but the teachers think I did.

Now that sounds more like you! Dylan laughed.

"Good afternoon, everyone," Miss Keller said as she arrived. Her voice was like music to Arnie, and he swore he'd heard it somewhere before. It was oddly soothing.

S.O.S, Aideen suddenly sent out telepathically. Girl's locker room. Clean up assistance needed.

What happened? Arnie asked, hating to tear his attention away from Miss Keller, but as always putting Aideen first.

Just get down here. I'll explain everything when you do, she promised.

Arnie sighed. "Miss Keller? I'm not feeling so well. Can I see the nurse?" He asked.

"Of course, sweetheart," Miss Keller said, filling out a slip and handing it to him. "Feel better."

"Thanks." He felt like a horrible person for lying to her. She was so trusting, so sweet... Why the hell am I so obsessed with her? Arnie wondered. It's not a romantic thing, so what is it?

He arrived at the locker room quickly. Six dead teenagers lay in pieces across the floor. Despite it being a girls' locker room, most of them were male students. "What the hell did I miss?" Arnie asked as he looked at Aideen. She was covered in blood but looked uninjured.

"They jumped me," Aideen replied. "They demanded to know what side I was on and when I told them that I was on my own side, they tried to kill me. They succeeded, briefly. They slashed my throat. I guess they forgot that I get back up."

"You need blood." Arnie tilted his neck toward her.

"I need more than you can safely give me, Arnie. Just let me get some very, very rare steak and I'll be fine."

"Deenie... What were they talking about, picking a side?"

"It's this war between the witches and the vamps. It's getting bad already. Everyone wants people declaring sides. Me, Mom, and Courtney won't. We're witches and vampires, and if they don't like it, tough. So help me clean up, and let me get to a restaurant. I need steak, and I need it now."

"You need an entire person," Arnie said with a frown.

"I typically don't kill when I feed, remember?"

"Yeah, I know, but steak won't cut it, Deenie."

"Steak will be fine. I fed off of one of them, just not enough to kill him, and not enough to sate the bloodlust enough to guarantee I don't kill the next person I bite."

"Were these the only six idiots who attacked you?"

"No. There were about ten of them. Four must have run off when I died."

Arnie nodded. He began to cast a spell to make the bodies vanish, something he'd picked up from watching the Unit's clean up crew over the years. He got down on his hands and knees.

"I'll scrub the blood up. You go eat. If any girls come in, I'll modify their memories," he said.

"Thanks, Arn," Aideen replied.

"No problem."

Aideen hurried away and Arnie began cleaning up the blood. He tried not to let his thoughts wander back to Miss Keller but was unsuccessful.

~*~

Having eaten two very bloody steaks, Aideen was feeling better. She ran into Alex on her way home. "Hey, Kid," he said. "I heard you had an issue today."

"Issue? What issue?" Aideen asked innocently.

"Is it true that you took out six vampires?"

"They had it coming."

"Deenie, you were in school. Someone could have seen you do it."

"That's what Arnie's for. Anyway, there weren't any witnesses aside from the four vamps who ran for their lives, and Arnie cleaned up the bodies, so what does it matter?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine now."

"Do you need a ride home?"

"No thanks. It's a nice night. I want to walk."

"Alright... Be careful. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Later," Aideen replied. With Alex gone, she headed toward her house.

He was watching her from the shadows, hidden from her view but close enough to hear her conversation. She'd just casually discussed killing vampires. Maybe they were right to fear her. Clearly, he needed to take care of her, and since she was on both hit lists, he vaguely wondered if both groups would pay him.

Don't be greedy, he scolded himself. Money didn't mean much to him anyway.

He carefully crouched and took aim, hesitating for only a moment. Maybe she's not evil, he thought. She's just... She radiates something.

Again, he scolded himself. Aideen Phillips was clearly evil, and just because he found her attractive, that didn't mean he shouldn't kill her. He aimed his gun again, steady and perfectly on target. She was waiting to cross the street. She was a sitting duck.

He pulled the trigger and waited. A split second before the bullet would have hit her, Aideen moved out of the way.

I missed? He thought angrily. I never miss! How the hell did she know the bullet was coming?

Aideen cursed. "Great," she said. "They're shooting at me now? Listen, don't waste your time, whoever you are. You'll never keep me down." With that, she ran toward her house.

I cannot believe I just missed... He thought. I'll have to try again tomorrow. He was now more determined than ever to put Aideen Phillips down.

~*~

At the Silver Society meeting the next afternoon, nearly everyone was gathered in Alex's living room. "Did you really hang up on Alex?" Dylan asked Jade.

"Yes," Jade replied.

"Wow," he said with a laugh. "You've got even more nerve than I thought!"

"Why did you go back to New York?" Arnie asked.

"I had to keep a promise to a friend... And protect a Half Breed," Jade replied.

"What do you mean by a 'half breed'? Like a dog?" Melissa asked.

"She's talking about her half brother," Beth explained. Everyone stared at her in confusion. "I know. I was shocked, too," she added.

"Hey guys," Alex said, joining them. "We've got problems."

"Did you just figure that out, Alex?" Dylan asked. "I could have told you that!"

"Psychological problems aside, we're in trouble," Alex replied. "The war between the vampires and witches is already getting bad." He paused. "Where are Aideen and Cassandra?"

"Good question," Arnie said. "Deenie said she'd be here early, but it's already ten minutes after you told everyone to show up, and Cass is never late."

Just then, the door opened and Aideen walked inside, supported by Cassandra. Aideen was covered in blood and bruises and looked weak. Cassandra just looked furious.

"What happened?" Jesse asked. He and Randy raced toward them and helped Aideen to the couch. Cierra ran toward the back of the apartment while Dylan and Arnie immediately started to heal Aideen.

"Witches," Cassandra replied. "They flung about fifty spells at her at once. She dropped dead on me twice before I finally got her here."

"Why would witches attack her? They're supposed to be the good guys," Beth said.

"She's a Reaper. They assume that she's going to betray them for the vampires," Jade replied. Analyzing the energy surrounding Aideen, she added, "Wow, these spells are really strong. They weren't playing around. Whatever happened to a warning shot?"

Aideen started to twitch violently. "She's going to die again," Cassandra said. "That's what she did the last two times."

"Not on my watch," Arnie said. He placed one hand over Aideen's third eye and one over her heart. Dylan focused on her stomach, which was radiating a strange orange aura. Melissa joined them and put a hand on each of Aideen's shoulders, which were badly burned.

"How do you burn a pyrokinetic?" Melissa wondered aloud.

"A powerful enough energy ball can do it," Cierra replied, returning with water and a first aid kit. "You know, like what Shooter does." She knelt beside Aideen and applied pressure to a wound on her left leg that had started gushing blood.

"I can't heal her right," Dylan said. "Every time I heal one thing, another spell kicks in and something else happens."

"We just have to work faster," Arnie replied.

"I can break some of the spells," Jade offered. "They're strong, but there's always a way."

"I'll help," Alex said. They set to work on that, finding more spells than they expected, but determined to break them all.

It took about twenty minutes for the chaos to calm down and for Aideen to stop dropping dead. She gratefully drank the water Cierra offered her before asking, "Have you got anything stronger? Like vodka?"

"She'll be fine," Arnie said with a relieved laugh.

"Considering the current circumstances, feel free to crash in my room for a while. I'll fill you in later," Alex said.

"No way. This concerns me too much. They're trying to kill me because I won't pick a side," Aideen replied. "I think this entire war is stupid. It was one vampire, so kill the one responsible, not everyone. And as far as the witches, they cast a poorly planned spell that got out of hand and went way too far. That doesn't mean that they should all die."

"You're right," Alex said.

"The vamps jumped me, the witches went spell happy, and someone tried to shoot me yesterday, but missed."

"You didn't tell me about that," Alex said with a frown.

Aideen shrugged. "It's no big deal. Like I said, they missed," she replied. "Unlike the vamp who decapitated me before I ran into the witches today."

"What?!" Arnie asked in horror.

"What are we going to do about this?" Cassandra demanded.

"We'll have to be careful," Alex replied. "Getting in the way of a territory war is never wise. I'd like to have official protection put on Aideen for a while."

"Consider it done," Cassandra said.

Alex nodded. "I don't need protection," Aideen protested. "I can protect myself."

"Right now, you could use some help," Cassandra said as gently as she could manage. Gentle and Cassandra normally didn't go together. "A large chunk of Salem's supernatural community is actively trying to murder you. Even I'd take a bodyguard under these circumstances, Aideen."

Aideen sighed. "You're right, but make sure it's someone who can handle the job."

"I'll do it myself."

"You're too busy protecting the entire state of Massachusetts, Cass."

"And at the moment, you need me more than everyone else does."

"Oh man," Arnie whined.

"What?" Alex asked.

"It must be the apocalypse again. Cassandra just chose the life of one person over the greater good."

"If Aideen dies for real there won't be much of Salem left to save," Cassandra replied.

"I never knew you thought so highly of me," Aideen joked.

"You know we need you. So, you go nowhere alone. If you are out of your house, I'm with you."

Beth suddenly began shaking violently. "What's wrong?" Jade asked.

"Courtney," Beth replied. "Courtney's energy is off."

"Courtney's not even here. Why are you feeling her? Usually, that's my job," Aideen said.

"I don't know, but I know it's her. She's really cold."

"Where is she? Is she hurt?" Aideen asked in alarm.

"No, she's not hurt... She's with a boy."

"Which is why I can't feel her. We both decided we'd rather not know the intimate details of each other's love lives. You know, she'd be warm if her clothes were back on," Aideen joked.

"You're terrible," Arnie said.

"I'm just stating facts."

"It's almost like... I don't know. I've never felt this sort of thing before," Beth said.

"That's because you're sweet and virginal," Aideen informed her.

"It's not sexual, Aideen," Beth insisted. "She just doesn't feel right."

"Her twin just died and resurrected herself a ridiculous number of times in a row," Randy pointed out. "Maybe her energy was drained because Deenie was so weak?"

"That's a definite possibility," Alex agreed.

"Maybe we should go find her?" Arnie suggested.

"Not if she's with a boy. She'll freak on me," Aideen said. "If Courtney needs help, she'll let us know."

"Maybe that's why she's reaching out to Beth," Melissa suggested.

"She's right," Alex said. "We should check on her."

"All of us?" Randy asked. "If nothing's wrong, she'll be really pissed."

"I'll go," Aideen said with a sigh. "She's my sister."

"You're still recovering," Arnie pointed out. "Let me go with you."

Aideen nodded. "Okay. And I guess Cass is coming, seeing as how she's my new bodyguard."

"That goes without saying," Cassandra replied.

"Let's go," Aideen said.

Melissa grabbed Arnie's arm. "Meet me at the waterfront tonight?" She asked.

"Absolutely," Arnie replied. He gave her a quick kiss before following Aideen and Cassandra out of the house.

They found Courtney relatively fast. She was sitting on a bench in the Salem Common with a boy Aideen didn't recognize.

"Oh, hey guys," Courtney said, lifting her head off of the handsome boy's shoulder.

"Hey, Court," Aideen replied. "Who's this?"

"Rafe, meet my sister Aideen, our honorary brother Arnie, and our friend Cassandra. Guys, this is Rafe, my boyfriend."

"It's nice to meet you all," Rafe said. His golden blonde hair fell in ringlets around his face and reminded Aideen of an old painting of cherub angels. His blue eyes simply added to that image.

"Hi, Rafe," Aideen replied, reminding herself that it was not okay to hit on her sister's boyfriend.

Cassandra nodded briefly in his direction. Arnie assessed him before saying, "Treat her right or you'll answer to me, man."

"Arnie's a bit overprotective," Courtney said. "And don't let her casual greeting fool you... Deenie's worse."

Aideen grinned at Rafe. "She's right. If you hurt her, I'll kill you, but if you don't, we'll get along just fine."

Rafe returned her grin. "It's good to have a family that loves you so much," he replied.

"Well, I'm exhausted," Aideen said. "I'll see you at home, Court." She led Arnie and Cassandra away.

"Why would Beth pick up on that? I didn't sense anything at all," Arnie said. "I mean, Courtney seemed a little tired, but that could be the twin bond."

"I don't trust that guy," Cassandra said bluntly.

"You don't trust anyone," Arnie reminded her.

"He rubs me the wrong way. It's almost like he's hiding something."

"My BS detector didn't go off, but he could be," Aideen replied. "I'll keep an eye on him." With that being said, all Aideen really wanted was to curl up in her bed for a few days, although she'd only allow herself a few hours. She was grateful when they arrived at her house and she was able to go inside and get some sleep.

~*~

At about ten o'clock that night, Arnie arrived at the waterfront. Melissa was already sitting in her usual spot, staring dreamily at the water. Arnie knew that no matter how dazed out she appeared, Melissa was aware of her surroundings. She had been training as a Slayer for a little while now and her instincts were strong. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Hey honey," she said.

"Hi Missa," he greeted her with a kiss. "It's a great night."

"Yeah, seriously," she agreed. "It's that perfect blend of summer and fall. I love this weather." She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him fiercely.

Arnie felt the urge to say the words he so often held back. Could he tell her? Would she be safe? She was a Slayer. She could fight. She was also a witch, and a shapeshifter. If trouble came, she could hide if nothing else.

"Missa," he sighed. "I love you."

Melissa smiled at him brightly. "I love you, too," she replied.

"And everyone's on my case because I haven't been very good to you. They're right. You deserve better."

"What are you saying?" Melissa asked, suddenly afraid that he was about to dump her. Can you technically dump someone if you've never officially started dating? She wondered.

"I'm saying that you're my girlfriend, and I need to admit it." Arnie waited, but the sky didn't fall, Melissa didn't spontaneously combust, and everything seemed to be fine. He dared to continue. "I love you, and I'm sick and tired of denying that we're a couple just because I'm stupid and paranoid."

Melissa squealed and pounced on him, knocking him onto the grass. "I love you, I love you, I love you, too," she shouted. "Times a million and one!" She kissed him, not allowing him to get off of the grass. He didn't protest.

Finally pulling away, Melissa punched Arnie's shoulder. "Ouch! What was that for?" He asked, rubbing the spot she'd hit.

"For waiting so long, you dork," she replied. Then she kissed him again and added, "It's about damned time."

~*~

He was waiting for Aideen when she left the house that morning. Her identical twin was with her. He could tell them apart easily because she had colorful streaks in her hair, but on a deeper level, they carried themselves differently. She radiated a darker energy. Her twin was the epitome of love and light. He nearly decided to leave her death for another day when her twin got into a car with a boy who drove off quickly. She was alone.

"I guess I should have waited for Cassandra," Aideen mumbled. "Then again, I didn't think Court would ditch me for a guy." She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I'll be fine." She started walking forward.

He aimed the gun at her head and was about to pull the trigger when she moved to the side. He paused, and was going to try again, but once more, she moved. Stay still, he silently commanded her.

She knelt down to pull something out of her bag and he fired a shot. Just in time, she moved, and the bullet missed her by centimeters.

I missed again? That's impossible! He thought. What the hell was going on, and how did she keep avoiding his shots?

She hit the ground quickly and dove for cover. It was unnecessary. He wasn't going to shoot at her anymore that day. Clearly there was a reason that he kept missing, and he needed to look into it before he took action. Unfortunately, he didn't have the luxury of time.

A spell was flung toward the bushes she'd thrown herself behind. Without stopping to think, he pushed her out of the way of the attack just in time. She shrieked, but calmed down when she looked into his eyes.

"It's you," she said. "The guy from the waterfront."

"And you're the girl people really, really seem to want dead," he said. "Now that we've gotten introductions out of the way, let me get you out of here before the witch tries again."

Deciding that if her only choices were getting more spells flung at her or running away with a sexy stranger she'd prefer the latter, Aideen obliged. She allowed him to lead her away from the witch and realized that she didn't care where they went as long as she could find out more about him. He intrigued her.

They finally reached an apartment building. He led her inside and unlocked one of the apartments. It was meticulously clean. Any unpacked boxes were hidden in places no one would see. He didn't like messes.

"Nice place," she said. "Are you new in town? I don't think I've seen you before that day on the waterfront."

"Yes," he replied.

"Wow, one whole word! Do I get any more information?" She teased him.

"No."

"Okay, Mr. Tall-Dark-And-Handsome, I'll play along for now. After all, you just saved me from dying again."

"Again?" He asked. He raised an eyebrow at that.

"Oh, yeah, I die a lot. Spend some time around here and you'll probably get to see me reattach my own head. The last new friend I made who witnessed that fainted."

"I'm not the fainting type."

"I didn't really think that you were," she replied with a smirk.

"You're a Reaper," he realized. That explains why I keep missing, he thought.

"You know a lot about the supernatural," she said.

"I like to be well-informed."

"Good to know." She studied him curiously.

"So dying is a regular occurrence for you?" He asked.

"I'm a Slayer, and I have this really bad habit of opening my mouth and pissing the bad guys off, but they've yet to find a way to keep me down." She grinned at him, and he nearly let his guard down.

Composing himself, he said something he didn't expect to. "You've got a price on your head. Two, actually. The vampires are willing to pay about three million. The witches have offered one million. I guess they're on a tighter budget."

"That doesn't surprise me, seeing as how they've been trying to kill me actively since this stupid war started. How do you know about it?"

"I'm the one they hired to do the job."

Aideen was silent for a minute. "You screwed up the job, then. Isn't the first rule of being a hit man that you don't get to know the mark personally? If you take it home and give it a name, it's much harder to kill something. You know, like when kids find lost dogs and name them."

This actually caused him to laugh for a moment. Aideen beamed and declared, "I knew I could get past your tough guy act!"

"You're very unusual, Aideen. I just told you that I was hired to kill you and you're cracking jokes about it," he replied.

Aideen shrugged. "If I don't laugh about how many people are out to kill me, I'll freak out and never leave the house, and I love my mom, but I can only stand so much quality time." She grinned again. "I appreciate you saving my life, but I'm a little confused as to why you did it. I mean, you're supposed to kill me. Did you just save me so you'd be able to get the job done yourself instead of the witch?"

He was silent as he considered this. When he finally spoke, he said, "I'm not sure why I saved you. All I know is that you made me miss."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm the one who's been shooting at you."

"Oh, that. Sometimes, people miss," she replied casually.

"No," he said. "Not me. I've never missed a single shot in my entire life, and then you came along."

Aideen laughed and said, "I'm sorry that my awesome Reaper skills ruined your track record."

"It's more than that."

"Don't be too hard on yourself. Reapers are notoriously hard to kill."

"I know," he said, growing even more serious. "I've killed one."

"Good or evil?" Aideen asked.

"He was a pedophile, making him the worst sort of evil there is as far as I'm concerned."

"Then he deserved it. Good for you," Aideen replied firmly.

"Aideen, you're going to think I'm crazy for saying this, but I don't think I'm here to kill you."

"What do you mean? That's why they hired you, right?" She asked in confusion.

"I came to Salem on a whim, which is very unlike me. I felt like I was meant to be here, but I had no idea why. I think I understand now. You're the reason I needed to be here. I'm here to protect you."