Sangra Luna Rising

11.18.2004-

Chapter 1

11.18.2004-3.07.2005

“Jynxx!” Kacea screamed, her sight being overwhelmed by a red haze as her echo rang loudly in her own ears. A thick, juicy tearing noise followed her desperate cry and there was a hot spray of liquid that hit her chest and face like a wet, stinging slap.

“NO!” she shrieked, waking herself with her own horrified cry. She sat up and clutched at her forehead, gritting her teeth at the throbbing agony that resonated through her whole cranium. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, the painful pulsations abated.

Her long ebony tresses cascaded about her pale form, her skin coated in a light sheen of sweat. The blood-dark blankets pooled around her waist and the air suddenly seemed far too warm. It was stifling her, closing its fetid fingers around her throat and slowly crushing her trachea. She tossed off the covers and ran to the adjacent bathroom, emptying the contents of her stomach into the toilet.

When her insides were done trying to climb out of her mouth, she gargled several times with Listerine and splashed icy water on her face. She glanced at herself in the mirror, instantly regretting it. Her eyes were bloodshot with dark circles beneath them as though she’d been punched in the nose. Her full lips were chapped and cracked, no doubt from her unwanted worship of the porcelain goddess. She had a stray thought that it was odd for one goddess to worship another, chuckling sickly at the idea.

She heard him stirring in the bedroom. His voice drifted out to her. “You okay, babe?”

She leaned out the door and shot him a glare. “I’ve been puking my guts out... Of course I’m not okay!” she said angrily, slamming the door and sitting down on the edge of the tub.

A moment later, she heard his footsteps pad across the floor. She never would have heard them before, but her cohabitation with Luna had changed that. Her senses were so acute now that it nearly drove her insane sometimes. The mere chirping of a cricket could be enough to give her a headache that was borderline migraine.

“Kitten... Please open the door.” Jynxx said softly.

Kacea sighed and opened the door, immediately being enveloped in his strong arms. She buried her face in his chest and his long fingers ran soothingly through her hair. “Bad dreams again?” he asked.

She nodded slightly. She’d yet to tell him that she’d been having nightmares about his death for the last few days. Well.. she wasn’t sure if he died, but she’d definitely been experiencing his defeat at the mond versammeln. Over and over and over.

Kacea kept hoping that the dreams were simply the result of her anxiety and apprehension and not some sort of prophecy. She didn’t know if she wanted to go back to sleep only to live through the gruesome event again, as she surely would. Every time she slept, even if it was only a ten-minute nap, she had to suffer through it again and again.

“Come on, babe. It’s three a.m. You should get a few more hours of sleep.” Jynxx said softly.

Kacea let him lead her back to bed, her hands cold and clammy as they gripped his. She lay with her arm across his waist and her head on his chest, basking in his warmth and the comfort of his embrace. She listened to Jynxx’s heartbeat slow and his breathing deepen as he drifted off to sleep. She envied him for being able to rest so peacefully, knowing that her own slumber would be plagued with gore and screams.

Regardless of her fear of R.E.M., Kacea eventually gave in to the Sandman and let Jynxx’s gentle heartbeat lull her to sleep.

The clock rang all too soon, shrieking at her in its disturbing electronic monotone. Her eyes snapped open, her reddened glare matching that of the LED display on her clock. 5:30 a.m... She groaned and dragged herself out of bed, stumbling to the bathroom and practically falling into the shower. She cranked the water over to cold and let out a shrieking gasp, half expecting ice cubes to come out of the faucet, before adding a bit of heat to the water which happily gushed all over her wearied frame. She sighed and leaned against the cool tile of the wall, closing her eyes as the water ran in rivulets over her milk-pale skin. She emerged from the shower twenty minutes later, the mirror completely fogged from the steam.

She yawned into the back of her hand and wrapped a burgundy towel around her buxom figure. Her hair ran in wet black trails down her back and her bluish grey-green eyes glowed faintly in the mirror. She looked like some sort of wraith dredged up from the watery depths, her skin pallid from long years away from the nurturing light of the sun. She wiped some of the steam from the looking glass with her hand, taking a step back and covering her mouth to stifle a scream. A pair of blood-red eyes floated just a bit above her own in the mirror, completely disembodied. They stared at her, blinking only occasionally. Something about them was horribly familiar...

“I’m coming for you, Kacea...” an ethereal, husky voice breathed in her ear. Ghostly fingers caressed her bare arms with a molten warmth that nearly made her drop her towel. “I’m coming for you...” the masculine voice practically moaned. The impassioned sighs faded into nothingness, the eerie eyes leaving with the echoes.

She dressed quickly, twisting her tresses into two long, thick braids. She laid the eyeliner and mascara on thickly, her lips covered in a dark layer of purple. She woke Jynxx a few moments later and she sat on the bed while she waited for him to get ready.

Kacea idly toyed with the gauzy pieces of fabric which hung from her bed’s canopy, glancing at herself in the large mirror across the room from her. Her eyes looked haunted and she felt like a doll, her full breasts presented almost artificially in her low-cut black peasant top, her long legs concealed behind a matching crinkle-rayon skirt that fell to her ankles. A simple pair of clogs covered her feet. She looked like a hippy gone horribly wrong.

Luna’s preferences in clothing often won out over Kacea’s, although she did constantly struggle against the Goddess’s urge to go around topless.

But you have such magnificent breasts, Kacea, was always the Moon Goddess’s defense.

“And we don’t live in Europe, Luna. I can’t just go bouncing around with my boobs hanging out!” Luna would sigh and give up for a time. Kacea planned on going to a nude beach sometime just to make Luna happy.

Kacea’s friends found her change from almost-peppy punk to Princess Doom-N-Gloom a bit odd, but they didn’t question her about it. On some days, Kacea would have sold her soul for something florescent orange to wear. She wondered at the fate of her soul, then.

Since she was essentially a Goddess reborn, would she be sent to some alien paradise upon her death? Or perhaps she’d wind up in the Christian Hell for being utterly and irreversibly pagan? Her heart pounded at the thought of it.

Jynxx emerged from the bathroom, drawing her out of her brooding thoughts. She gave him a small smile, hoping it didn’t look forced. He smiled back, falling for it. He looked gorgeous this morning, wearing a dark green button-up shirt and a pair of normal blue jeans. It almost made the wolf in him more visible to her. No wonder he’d lived in the country... a prison of glass, steel, and car horns was no place for a wild creature such as he was. Kacea was slightly shocked at the color; she didn’t know he owned anything that wasn’t black, red, or dark blue.

He shrugged as though reading her mind. “I felt like a change today.”

“It looks nice,” she said, getting up to give him a tight hug. It was almost as if their tastes in clothing had been switched. She half-expected him to be wearing a bright neon shirt that said “Tough Guys Wear Pink” soon. It wouldn’t surprise her in the slightest. Well, maybe it would a little bit...

They left for school, Kacea dreading another day of monotony. It was almost like she was living a double life: her nights filled with danger and excitement, her days filled with torpor and anticipation of the night to come.

The whole drive to school was silent, more and more tension building between them as the mond versammeln drew ever closer. It was now a mere two days away, and that was far too near for comfort. Kacea didn’t doubt Jynxx’s ability, but she also remembered how Gavin had cleaned Teigan’s clock for him. Such violence... The carnal hunger in his eyes when he’d bitten her and said that he was going to take her away from Jynxx...

She shuddered in remembrance, her eyes refocusing as she pulled into a parking spot. She’d zoned the whole way there. It was a miracle she hadn’t crashed. She stood in Jynxx’s safe arms for a moment, enjoying the warmth and breathing in his scent. If Gavin defeated Jynxx, she’d become the red-haired beta’s plaything. That was something she didn’t want to even consider. She nearly broke down in tears at the prospect of it.

The morning was a blur of taking later-illegible notes and stumbling from class to class. When lunch arrived, the gang could tell that something was up. Tarren, Mia, Taylea, Raul, Benai, and Fae were full of questions since Jynxx was skipping lunch to write a paper.

“Where’d you disappear to for a week?”

“Why the Angst Princess get-up?”

“You look like shit, Kaysh. Like you haven’t slept in a week.” Raul put in, earning a smack from Taylea.

“You never tell a girl she looks bad, you ass!” she turned to Kacea then, concern obvious in her eyes. “What’s going on with you, Kacea?” she asked softly.

Kacea was silent a moment, wanting so badly to tell them, but knowing that it would endanger all of their lives. She shook her head, biting back tears. If I could tell you guys, I would. But... you’d all think I was full of shit and have me committed.

“Jynxx isn’t hurting you, is he?” Tarren asked, the promise of violence obvious in his eyes if it was true.

“Jesus, no.” she responded, sniffing lightly. “He couldn’t hit me if he wanted to.”

“Are you...” Benai leaned in close and whispered, “pregnant?”

Kacea laughed. “Not that I know of.” She sighed. “I’m just not sleeping well, you guys. I’m glad you’re concerned, but there’s no need to worry. I’m just stressing over midterms and stuff.” They all stared at her disbelievingly. “I’ll be fine,” she said more assertively. “Really.”

“Fine. Be that way,” Raul said, crossing his arms and pouting. His eyes were serious when he went on. “But know that we’ll all be around if you need to talk to anyone about anything.”

Kacea nodded, a genuine smile coming to her face. “Thanks, Raul. I’ll remember that.”

“Damn well better,” he muttered.

Taylea gave her a look that said the two of them needed to have a chat. Kacea nodded to her wordless command. The blonde-haired girl would understand. After all, her house was haunted, her mother was a medium and amateur tarot reader, and Taylea herself was a practicing dark neopagan. If any of her friends would understand, the occult-learned Taylea would be the one. She’d always been the one to watch horror flicks with, the one to debunk bad special effects or plotline inconsistencies. Kacea had to share her dark secret with someone...

Strong arms wrapped around her and there was a slow exhalation of warm breath on her neck. Thinking it was Jynxx, she turned to give him a kiss but met nothing but empty air. The hair on the back of her neck stood up and Taylea’s eyes widened. No one else seemed to have noticed, so they shrugged it off until lunch was over. As they exited the cafeteria, Taylea grabbed Kacea and dragged her into the girl’s restroom. She pulled her into a stall and shut the door. Her eyes were wide, frantic, frightened.

“What in the name of FUCK was that?!” she practically hissed, gripping a fistful of Kacea’s shirt.

“Could you see any of it?” Kacea countered. The other girl nodded. “What did you see?”

“Eyes.. A man’s eyes.” She shuddered. “Red eyes.”

Red eyes... The event from that morning came flooding back to her, and it suddenly made sense. Gavin... But how?

“Answer me, dammit! What the fuck was that?!”

Kacea shook her head. “I promise to tell you tonight, but there’s not enough time to explain it all now. Let’s just say that I fell into a pile of shit and I thought that the smell was finally gone. I guess I was wrong...”

“Stop talking in riddles!”

“Taylea! I can’t tell you now! Tonight, I promise. Jynxx is gonna go practice with the boys, so we’ll have plenty of time then.”

“You swear you’ll tell me? Every last detail?” Kacea nodded. “Then let’s get to class.”

Night came sooner than Kacea expected and she waited by the door for Taylea. She was the only person she could share this whole complicated story with. Jynxx had gone to the boys’ house, understanding that she needed some time with her “normal” friends. Besides, he needed a night with just the boys, too.

Kacea had considered inviting Raul and the others over later, but she wasn’t sure how long the explanation was going to take. There was a series of seven knocks on the door, the sudden noise nearly causing Kacea to jump out of her skin. She put a hand over her heart as if to keep it from attempting to beat its way out of her ribs. She opened the door to see Taylea’s sweetly smiling face. “You almost gave me a coronary, you know.” Kacea said flatly, glowering.

The blonde merely grinned back, patting Kacea lightly on the shoulder. “Don’t scowl, Kaysh. Your face might get stuck like that.”

Kacea sighed and invite her friend in, leading her up to her bedroom and sitting on the spacious bed. Taylea kicked off her shows and leaned back, toying with the gauzy curtains with her toes. The goddess reincarnated quirked a brow at her slimmer companion. “Why so giddy, Taylea?”

The girl tapped the side of her nose with her thumb and smirked. “Something you likely don’t want to know,” she replied in a sing-song voice.

“Oh?” Kacea’s eyebrow went higher.

Taylea giggled, causing Kacea’s jaw to drop. “No,” she said with a gasp.

“No, what?” the other replied innocently.

“You and Raul..!” she left the statement unfinished.

Taylea smirked and crossed her arms. “If you’re implying that Raul and I had sexual relations, then your assumption would be correct.”

“Eww!” Kacea stuck out her tongue in disgust.

“Why eww? You wanted him once, ya know.”

“Yeah, but the thought of you two...” Kacea paused and shuddered. “My friends don’t have sex, as far as I’m concerned. It’s one of those things that my brain just doesn’t want to wrap around.”

Taylea shrugged. “Makes sense, I suppose.” She sat up then, her features becoming much more serious. “But now... on to business...”

Kacea sighed. “You’re not going to be happy about this. Any of it.” She gave Taylea a sad look. “Hope you’re comfy, because you’re in for a long, complicated story...”

And so, it began.

Author’s Notes: Hope you all enjoyed the start to the next installment! Hopefully it’s off to a better start than the first one. Also, sorry this took me forever and a few months, but college and work have been kicking my ass hardcore. I have a few days off this week from college, but will be working most of them. (Some Spring Break, eh?) Anywho, love ya all, and I hope to get more of this up soon!