Hollow Repentance

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

"Torren didn't bite her, Lex; Greytraw did. He attacked her in the garden this morning when Torren let the kiddo have some freedom."

Refocused, I shrugged away Lexi's comment as she blushed apologitically and we took our seats back in the lounge, Lexi filling Izzy's place. Without another word, Deacon stood above her and touched two fingers to her temple, causing her to close her eyes as the flashback of what we all saw flooded her mind. Nobody moved, even when Lexi opened her eyes, her mouth lolled open and pearly eyes wide.

"So, where is she now?" Alexis asked in a small and timid voice.

Holding a dazed expression, I stood and paced into the kitchen. As I pulled open the fridge, I called in a monotone voice,
"Upstairs in her room, I would think."

Dragging out three blood bags and a can of lager, I slipped the bags into the microwave and gently threw the can through the doorway to Dimi, who it hit with quite a resounding force. Oops, a little too much strength, maybe? Quickly, Aldin and Deacon joined me in the kitchen and we drained the bags, turning our backs to Dimi. Even after all of these years, he couldn't quite get used to the idea of drinking blood, it - get this - made him queasy. The top doctor in all of Tolpaza and Dai Esau, the Dr Dimitri Robertson, couldn't stand the thought of swallowing blood...

Slumping back on the sofa, I pulled a pack of tissues from the drawer on the coffee table and drew back my sleeve, mopping the dried blood from Izzy's successful attempt to slice me open. I managed to hold a solemn expression, that is, until I heard a faint chuckle from Deacon; I couldn't help but smile a little when I glanced up at him. Tracing the freshly cleaned scar with my finger, I ran my other hand through my hair and swept my fringe from my eye.

"Her first attack with claws; I bet she's proud... Not that she'll be able to remember everything from her little bloodlust frenzy."

A clatter of frantic footsteps dragged us from our momentary jolly exchange and we all stared as Lexi appeared once more in the hallway. She didn't stop sprinting until she came within a foot of me, and then stopped. Worry filled me as I studied Lexi's expression and waited impatiently for her to catch her breath.

"She's barricaded herself in her room and won't answer me; there's no bolt on that door so she's either holding it closed herself or there's something really heavy in the way."

Shrugging, I glanced back to Deacon and Aldin as they exchanged looks of sudden realisation. What had they realised? Turning back to Lexi, she had adopted the same look and I pulled a weird face, confused.

"Torren; you did warn her not to go looking for trouble to test her powers, didn't you?"

I winced; no. Dimi, Deacon, Aldin and I all held the same gaping expressions. Slapping my hand to my forehead, I pulled my eyes tightly shut and shook my head slowly. What a stupid mistake; in my haste to stop Izzy going into another one of her frantic panic attacks, I let her leave the room without telling her the basic rules. I felt like such an idiot.

"And you warned her not to drink her own blood, no matter how thirsty she might get? No? Goddamn it, Torren, you're so useless! You do know that she could kill herself now?"

No, I wouldn't let that happen. As quickly as possible, I rushed up the stairs to the second floor, with everybody else following close behind. Regrouping in front of Izzy's bedroom door, I tried the handle and pushed as roughly as I could, without breaking through the actual wood. Nothing budged.

"Izzy? Come on, Izzy, open the door. I need to talk to you. Izzy?"

I growled impatiently when there was no reply and fumbled around in my pocket for the key; it was nowhere to be found. Great, because this day was just getting so much better by the second! I'd have to break through the wood. Clenching my hand into a tight ball, I raised my fist to the level of my eye and gasped as Lexi pushed her way past me, standing squarely in front of the door without even a glance back. I tapped my foot impatiently as she ran her hands in her hair, stopping the moment she pulled out a hair grip.

"What is it with you girls and picking locks with hair grips? You're all master locksmiths!"

We all laughed half-heartedly. Eventually, Lexi pulled back and murmured something about never being locked in the first place. Tilting my head to the side, I pushed once more against the wood and growled as nothing happened. Aldin stepped carefully up behind me. Before he could reach my side, I drew my fist back and thrust my hand through the door, splintering the floor with wood shards. Ripping the door apart until the top half no longer remained, I clambered over the dismantled door and onto a tower of furniture.

"She is such a pain now... Stupid immortal strength. Speaking of the pain, where is she?"

We climbed into the centre of the room one by one and gathered after a quick search. Glancing over to the balcony doors, I spotted tiny gleaming shards of glass speckled on the carpet and sighed, crossing over and pulling the ajar doors towards me. A sudden gust of wind and icy white pellets attacked me and I backed away from the balcony. Snow... She was gone, ran away to who knows where, and I'd never be able to track her in the snow, her footprints and blood scent distorted by the bad weather.

Glancing back hopelessly, I spotted Lexi rooting through Izzy's suitcase and pulled out a small green beanie hat, burrowing her nose into the fabric and inhaling deeply. I was worried, and a little freaked out. Aldin rested a hand on her shoulder and called almost inaudiably over the rushing wind,
"Have you found it yet, Lex?"

I switched my attention between each of them, flashing them confused looks and motioning my hands for them to explain. Nothing could settle in my mind as I worried about Izzy; not only was she one of us right now and extremely vulnerable, but it was snowing heavily and Greytraw could still be out there... I exhaled sharply; Izzy... Please, be safe. Alexis pulled me back out of my daze with her unusually gruff voice.

"Yeah, I've locked on. Come on then, Torren, Deacon; I've picked up Izzy's scent, she doesn't seem too far away."

A tiny glimpse of hope. The only thing I needed now, was to find my child safe and sound before somebody else did... Latching my icy fingers around Lexi's wrist, I darted to the balony edge and released my grip on her just as I dived over the rail, free falling at an incredible speed towards the ground, each whisp of snow stinging my skin like a thousand bloodstone daggers.

I landed in a graceful crouch on the pure white ground in front of the porch and straightened myself up as Deacon and Lexi dropped almost silently behind me. Staring blankly at Alexis, I rearranged my jacket sleeves as she sniffed the air and the snow beneath her for any trace of Izzy's scent. I was so glad Lexi had left her pack and joined our side. Within minutes in the raging snowstorm, she found the trail.

Slowly, we followed Izzy's track, winding endlessly through the trees and past the fountain; something told me we were following the trail from the morning, but I thought she might catch onto the right one eventually. It must have been at least an hour of searching until we paused beside a large gazebo in the centre left portion of the garden, hidden from view of the mansion itself. I didn't know why I had built a gazebo when I first moved here; it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Without a word, Lexi circled the gazebo with a puzzled expression and even pressed her nose to the floor as she sniffed around desperately. No, it couldn't be. Trudging through the several inches of snow, I pulled beside her and clenched my hands into tight fists; I was starting to panic.

"What's the matter, Lexi? Have you lost her scent?"