Forbidden

~Chapter Twenty-Three~

A/N: Here it is all: Chapter Twenty-Three!

First of all, I've notice that a lot of people have been adding this story to their reading lists. I greatly appreciate that; it cheers me up to see how many of you are actually reading my work. :-) Thanks so much for making my day, and I hope all of you are enjoying it!

Second of all, this chapter is dedicated to boldt1. She has written greedy me two one shots, which are both fantastic. She writes amazingly, and I'm hoping to be able to sti down and read her actual fan fiction one of these days. *crosses fingers* So, to her: Thank you, boldt1! :-)

Last thing: I know I've already got two unfinished stories up, but I wrote the prologue to a fan fiction the other day, and I was wondering if some of you could check it out. I'd love some feedback on it, and to know if I should even continue it. Don't worry, though: I'm still going to finish "Forbidden" and "Caged Animals." :-)

ENJOY!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

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~Chapter Twenty-Three~

Meaghan glanced up as the crowd merged, as if by an unspoken command, into a circle around the arriving car. She craned her neck to peer around the taller person in front of her, trying to catch a glimpse of the appearing student. Who in the world would they all be so concerned about?

            Eyes on the prize, Jenna reminded her harshly. Meaghan sighed, turning back around to face her friends.

            “So what do you think, Megs?” Hayley asked, sending her a questioning glance.

            “Think about what?” Meaghan replied, confused. She hadn’t been paying attention to their conversation. Instead, she had been worrying about her latest failure, adding to her agonizingly long résumé of horrors.

            He had sworn that yesterday would work: worming her way into River’s mind, causing him excruciating pain by just a few images. He had told her—and she had stupidly agreed—that River would easily blame it on the other side, indulging himself in false beliefs. Meaghan had given it all she had, ignoring the twist of guilt in her abdomen, and sent forth a barrage of painful clips, attacking River’s mind with a bombardment of depression. But it hadn’t worked: River seemed bent on worshipping the other side; he wouldn’t believe that his precious “voice” would do anything that horrible to him.

            Despite another twinge of regret, Meaghan ground her teeth together, a familiar rush of anger straining against her nerves. Why were humans so eager to believe their enemies? It was almost insulting the way the mortals allowed them to lodge themselves in their hearts, all golden and goodness. A combination of irritation, fear, and longing colored Meaghan’s vision, causing her to bite her tongue to keep from losing control and transforming right then and there. She was completely irritated by the other side, the way the humans easily gave into them: their golden, exquisite beauty, melodic voices, and inborn goodness easily attracted the mortals’ attention, gave them an advantage on Earth. But Meaghan knew that somewhere, deep inside at least a few of them, laid a more complicated mess of emotions, a mind of their own. They had tried to force it out of “Erin”—Meaghan grimaced at the thought of the girl’s alias—with the water, the near-drowning, but it hadn’t worked. River had jumped into the chaos, saving her in the nick of time.

            Meaghan gulped, the thought of River causing dread to chill her blood. She was terrified of what Ari would do to her when he discovered her latest screw-up. Yes, she was, in theory, as physically and mentally powerful as her brother, but Ari had a way of commanding the crowd, of striking undeniable fear into the hearts of all, that Meaghan just didn’t have. She missed her brother from the old days: the shining Ari, her savior, her inspiration, her hero. Meaghan repressed a sigh. Blocking Jenna and Hayley out of her mental workings for a moment—allowing her a distraction, for it was no easy task—she let the thought run through her mind: she truly missed the old days. The longing wrenched her heart into a pulpy mess, but Meaghan shoved it away, ignoring it.