Hollow Repentance

- - - - - Torren's POV - - - - -

I listened in on her trail of thought and felt even more irritated by the second. She was right, it would annoy me, even this annoyed me to a point. Well, I wasn't going to let her know that. Yet, she was wrong in some ways. I loved to sing.

I had been singing since I was young and even performed at the local hall with my old band. It was a shame that I had to use my 'special charm' just for this though. Oh well... I sighed and whispered in her ear as she struggled desperately,
"Very well then, child. I suppose I'll just sing to you to pass the time."

I laughed quietly as she gasped and wriggled much more vigorously, and I closed my eyes to concentrate on the words. I knew just which song would do the job, it always had done. I settled back into a comfortable position on the bed, but laid in a way so that I could easily slide away from her once she was sleeping. As soon as I sang the first line in my mysteriously alluring voice, she stopped wriggling and lifted her head to watch and listen.

"She sits upon her bed at night
and hears a whispering tune.
And does not know what lies ahead
but that which she can see.

Such ill fate, and a spirit so worn,
a life turned upside down
A single rose upon the grave
It's petals torn and black."

As I sang, I watched her eyes widen as she was clearly stunned by my voice. I have to admit, you certainly wouldn't think somebody like me could sing like that, but hey, what can I say? I understood what she was quiverring for, she had heard this before and it would sound familiar to her. The problem was, she wouldn't be able to remember where she had heard it before. I felt guilty but continued regardless.

"She lies in bed awake at night
and cries herself to sleep
For she who knows not how to love
is never truly whole.

A dream shall pass and many more
where she shall find her love
A warming smile and true at heart,
a fair and kindred soul."

Koerta's eyes began to grow heavy and her head randomly lulled as she slipped in and out of consciousness. She had stopped wriggling altogether now, so I loosened my grip on her and changed my tone to that of almost a whisper, making the overall tune sound eerie and mysterious. I wasn't sure if it would sound quite right, but it would certainly do the job.

"The lights fade away
as the fog rolls into her path
The dream to find her true love,
has once and for all, disappeared."

Before I could even assume that it was working, I felt her head fall gently against my chest and her soft rhythmatic breath brushed my arms lightly. I sighed contently and unravelled my legs from around her, sliding my body out from under hers and laying her head carefully down on the pillow. I swept her hair away from her face lightly and pulled the covers up to her chin. Kneeling down beside the bed, I whispered the last verse to her, hoping it would sneak into her dreams and soothe away any nightmares or thoughts of her family.

"She lies in bed awake at night
and cries herself to sleep
For she who knows not how to love
is never truly whole."

I watched in awe as Koerta smiled in her sleep and turned over onto her front, hugging the pillow tightly. Well, at least she would have some of her own belongings soon, I wouldn't have to force her to wear my clothes, which she obviously hated. Heading over to the balcony, I traced the broken window pane with my index finger and nodded in satisfaction as the glass shards rose from the ground and pieced themselves back into place.

Well, now Koerta was sorted for the night, I left the room silently and turned the key in the lock, strutting cheerfully along the hallway towards the stairs. Aldin was due to come round in a few hours when the sun rose, so I couldn't be too long, not that I would be in any case. Reaching the front gate, I glanced back at the mansion and sighed happily.

With a small jump, I projected over the gate and landed crouching gently on the other side. I always loved doing that, it was so much fun. Well, now to Koerta's house. I took off at my usual starter pace of just over seventy miles per hour and sped up to one hundred and twenty after about five minutes.

Eventually, I reached her street and slowed to a human's walking pace. I had only ever been here twice before, but I always knew which apartment was hers. I arrived at her apartment block and stared up blankly at the balcony I had dragged her from a few nights ago. A light? Uh oh, they were back earlier than I had expected. I considered leaving it for another day, but I suppose there was no avoiding it anymore. I mean, the time had finally arrived where I had to kidnap her, but I had hoped that it would have never come to this.

Slowly, I entered the building and climbed the stairs, missing the creaking steps as I ascended. At the top, I was stunned. The door was still shattered at the bottom and hanging open to reveal a pair of policemen seated on the sofa next to Koerta's mother. My, she had changed a lot too. The way humans aged so quickly, it was unbelievable!

Taking a deep breath, I knocked sharply on the door and stepped in. As I approached the sofa, the policemen stood up and Jacqui (Koerta's mother) leapt into my arms from behind them, tears streaming down her face.

"Torren, Torren! She's missing, my baby's missing. Find her, please!"

I hugged her tightly and breathed lightly into her ear,
"Calm down. I'll explain anything once these men are gone. Be quick, I don't have long before dawn."

She glanced at me with wide watery eyes and took a deep breath, pushing herself lightly away from me. Turning on her heel, she walked over to the policemen and told them that she had ran away and I had found her. I was shocked by her amazing acting and chuckled as the policemen left without another word. Spinning suddenly and knocking me into the wall, Jacqui gripped my jacket tightly and spoke so quickly I had to listen carefully to understand what she was saying.

"Have you seen my baby? Of course you've seen her, that's why you're here. So, where is she, why haven't you brought her back here and where did she go in the first place? Oh yeah, and what the hell happened to my door?!"

I led her back to the sofa and pushed her down gently. After she had calmed down, I knelt down on one knee beside her.

"Listen, it happened. I was tracking one of the Dangroes and followed it here. I was about an hour behind so it had time and attacked your girl. Luckily, it was in it's beast form. She only took injury to her hand and managed to barricade herself in her room until I arrived and controlled it's mind without her knowing. They're getting stronger, stronger than we had expected by this stage."

I sensed Koerta's brothers sneaking out of their rooms and paused to greet the boys and glance to Jacqui for permission to continue. She quickly introduced me and nodded. I returned the gesture and continued hastily.

"Anyway, once it was gone, I had no choice but to take her. She is suspicious of the way I appear randomly and talk in her mind and that sort of thing, but nothing's resurfaced in her memory yet, and she doesn't know what I am. She's pretty rebellious now, though, isn't she? She's already broken my balcony window, tried to stab me and punched Mr Robertson from the hospital! So, I'm going to keep her until I'm certain she's safe, which is why I've came for some of her things. And on that note--"

I caught my breath and excused myself, accellerating once again to seventy miles per hour and raced around her bedroom, throwing random clothes and the contents of her bedside cabinet into the three suitcases I had found. Within moments, I raced back to the sofa, leaning the suitcases neatly against the armchair.

"Oh, Jacqui. The council have decided if I am to be protecting her at my mansion, I have to take her into town and get one of those things done that we talked about before. There's no choice apparently, it's the rules. I would have avoided it if I could have, but even I don't have that sort of superiority. Although we're going tomorrow, it's going to be pretty difficult to drag Koerta there, even with Aldin's help!"

Jacqui merely stared at me and I felt her sons' eyes baring into me also. In the same instant, I sensed an attack and braced myself as Koerta's brothers thrust me against the wall by my arms. I knew that if I hadn't been so determined not to injure them, I could have dodged easily. Jacqui stood angrily and yelled,
"Kevin! Zach! Let Torren go now! He's one of the good guys."

They didn't listen and held me with all of their strength to the wall. Obviously, they were humans and didn't pose a threat to me so I merely smiled warmly and knocked them aside with a gentle push, crossing over to where Jacqui stood.

"Well, I'll have to run, I'm expecting Aldin round to make the final preparations for tomorrow night. I'll drop by with an update as soon as I can. Catch you later then, Kevin, Zachary. Jacqui."

I lifted the suitcases into my arms as though they were nothing and, with a last glance at Jacqui and her family, took off at one hundred and ten miles per hour out of the door and back towards home. It only took me an hour there and back, I was a little surprised. Leaping once again over the gate, I rushed up to Koerta's room and set the suitcases neatly in the corner of the room.

"Hey, Torren, I'm here. What took you so long? Anyway, come on down and lets get to business. We have a lot of planning to do if you're hoping to do this tomorrow evening."

I glanced at Koerta sleeping soundly in the bed and crossing the room to the door once again. Still there this time then. Glancing back to her, I whispered, "I'm sorry" and left, closing the door firmly behind me.

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