The Lost Pages Sampler by Holly Vane - HTML preview

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Past & Present

This was one of the earlier drafts featuring Colt. In this short scrap Lucifer had been imprisoned by Gabriel and Michael for helping Holly. For once Satan had chose another path; his son over vengeance.

 

One

Colt Prince's laughter carried on the light evening breeze. "My money's on Lizzie guys." He proclaimed with a smirk while watching the cat fight spill all over the parking lot.

"I've got ten on Tricia." Benny Bean exclaimed excitedly, shoving his money at an amused Colt. "God these girls are brutal." He added after Lizzie literally pulled a chunk of Tricia's Brown curly hair from her scalp. The other girl roared and leapt at Lizzie like a coiled jaguar, the two girls rolled over the tarmac.

"Hey Asia, care to make a wager?" Colt asked the tall sultry-looking Goddess walking past, she momentarily paused to eye the fight.

Asia Austin gave Colt a disgusted glare. "Pathetic Colt." His mischievous grin widened. "You girls should save the violence for the one who really deserves it." She called out to them. "Andrea will have your ass if she catches you." Asia added turning back to Colt when the girls carried on slugging each other.

"He's mine bitch!" Lizzie threw at Tricia.

"Please, I can handle Andrea." He retorted. Asia sighed and carried on to the gym of St. Heralds campus. The Spring dance was well under way with music throbbing out the doors, but Colt was having more of a good time out here, watching the cat fight.

"He doesn't have your name written across his forehead, whore!" Tricia yelled slamming Lizzie's head off a nearby car hood.

"Ouch!" Colt exclaimed while his buddies cheered, "that'll leave a mark tomorrow."

"Maybe we should break it up," Jack Ryans asked meekly, "before they kill each other?"

"They can take it." Colt responded.

"I think Jack's right." The female voice made Colt grimace and his happy grin slipped. He turned to see St. Heralds Headmistress behind him. Andrea glared with Green eyes full of fury, disappointment and dismay. It served her right, she expected too much of him. All Colt wanted to do was have fun and lark around, not try to live up to the standards that the world held him to. Colt Prince wasn't his Father. 

Benny, Jack and Francis obeyed Andrea immediately, dragging Lizzie off Tricia, both girls looked like road kill. "Take them to nurse Cliff,she'll be inside." The boys half dragged, half carried the girls inside the gym, looking like frightened rabbits. Andrea held her hand out.

"What?"

Andrea sighed, "the money Colt. You know gambling is prohibited on campus, hand it over." Grudgingly he obeyed, placing the wad of bills in her palm. "Those girls could have severely injured each other Colt, the callousness you show is..."

"Save it Andrea." He interrupted throwing his White Carnation on the ground. "I can't take another of your sermons." Colt started to walk to his Mustang, tugging off his tux jacket as he went.

"Don't you walk away from me..." Andrea bellowed.

"You're not my Mother!" Colt shouted back, taking joy in the pain his words caused. He discarded the jacket in the back seat and slammed the driver's door. Andrea's voice was drowned out by Nickleback.

***

"He's a twisted trickster." Asia commented, coming up behind the Headmistress. "Nurse Cliff wanted you to know the girls will be fine, after a few ice packs that is."

"What did you call him?" Andrea asked watching the Mustang peel out the parking lot in a vapour of White smoke.

"He's a messed up heart throb, girls can't resist him. That tortured thing he's got going on really gets them going. Plus his celebrity status doesn't hurt.. not that I'm into that kind of thing." Asia added on seeing Andrea's raised brows. "I'm just saying...

"He just needs to accept who he is."

"if you were him, would you?" Asia asked before going back inside the gym. Andrea watched her go, wishing she could say yes.

***

Colt Prince however didn't get far. As he was pulling out of campus a stupid and blind waste of space resembling Seth Collins rolled over his hood. "Son of a bitch!" Colt cussed as the brakes squealed out in protest. "Mother fucker..." Colt uttered getting out the car. "What the hell you playing at?" He hollared as Seth Collins picked himself up.

"Behind you!" A girl's voice rang out and Colt pivoted, narrowly avoiding a blade. The knife caught the wing of the car as the man welding it lost his balance and face planted the Mustang's hood, leaving a dent in the metal.

Colt saw Red at the damage done to his pride and joy, the man swung at him wildly and Colt avoided it easily, grabbing the attacker's wrist Colt twisted and heard the bones crack. The knife fell from the man's broken hand and his howls of pain filled the air. A well placed boot to the face ended the scum's screams. "What the..." Colt said to himself looking around at the chaos.

The men, armed with baseball bats, knives, crowbars and chains, seemed to form out the night itself. Two were man handling Seth but it wasn't him Colt was concerned about. Sophie Harrogate, the girl who had called out the warning, had been shoved down onto the ground, a gorilla of a man towered over her, metal gleamed in the moonlight. "Sophie!"

There was pure panic in Colt's tone as he called out her name, he hadn't realised he'd moved until Colt found himself shoving the man away from Sophie, stooping down he helped her up. "Are you okay?"

"Fine." She replied flashing him a smile despite their situation. The gorilla returned launching himself at Colt who sensed him coming and stepped out of the brute's path.

"What's going on?" He asked Sophie, again the gorilla collected himself but seemed to have learned from past mistakes. This time he circled them eyeing Colt up. More men emerged from the dark. They all sported the same Demin cut-offs and reminded Colt of a cult but none flourished in this new world except for the rebellion. And even its days were numbered.

The man caught Colt lost in his thoughts, he landed a punch that landed firmly on the jaw and Colt staggered back. A bolt of lightning flashed across the night sky without warning making Sophie start. Rain lashed the earth without mercy. Colt rubbed his jaw, annoyed at being caught napping. The familiar sensation of fury flowed through his veins, knocking something very old and very rare that he had inherited from his parents, loose; his power.

The gorilla stepped back and his smug grin vanished as crimson flashed in Colt's eyes. Inside he felt on fire, like liquid nitrogen was flowing instead of blood. Colt smiled before launching a pure ball of fire at the gorilla. He screamed and ran around, trying to dowse the flames, that hungrily licked every part of him till there was nought but ash left. The gorilla's comrades in arms suspended all acts of violence, watching their companion burn.

As if someone clicked their fingers the men took off, fleeing for safety. Colt could have let them go, but his power was all consuming when it took over like this. Begging for blood, it wouldn't be denied and Colt, ever its slave was helpless to stop it. Screams filled the night and could be heard even over the lightning, that repeatedly stabbed the ground with a fury never before seen.

The dark inside of Colt had been unleashed.

***

Sophie Harrogate had never feared Colt Prince, sure she had heard the stories, just as everyone else had, but never once had she believed them. Until now.

Colt stood still beside her, almost like he'd become frozen. The ground beneath her sneakers trembled like an earthquake, and yet she knew it wasn't Mother Nature rocking the earth. It was Colt.

Their attackers had fled into the night like cowards, but their wailing was enough to make Sophie clamp her hands over her ears. She had never heard suffering like that. The screams rose in pitch as the Red that invaded Colt's eyes flooded his pupils till it dominated all other colours. Colt Prince was somewhere else entirely.

Just when Sophie couldn't take any more Seth grabbed Colt and shook him hard. "Stop it!" He demanded. Colt eyed him like he would garbage and Sophie fearing what he might do joined Seth.

"Colt please!" She pleaded, "listen to him."

The darkness within Colt receded and once more he was her Colt. Her Prince again. "Thank God..." Sophie whispered, throwing her arms around him, willing her pounding heart to slow.

"The stories really are true." Seth said with bitterness and dislike in his voice. Sophie felt Colt pull away and only held him tighter.

"Stop. Both of you. This inst the time for your petty bickering." She scolded finally releasing Colt. "We should get out of here. Whatever you did to them, I don't fancy being the one to explain it. Lets go." She got in the front seat of the dented Mustang and waited for the boys to follow.

Colt followed Spring Road and joined the interstate. Sophie couldn't resist sneaking looks at him in the driver seat. Every time Sophie saw him it was like seeing him for the first time again. The butterflies stirred in the pit of her stomach and drowned out everything but Colt Prince. They said he had his Father's looks, that silky mane of raven hair that fell in waves to his broad shoulders, those cheekbones that looked like they had been chiselled from stone, dark stormy eyes that were as turbulent as the North sea in winter, all said to be Dominic's. Sophie could appreciate the utter devastating desire Holly Adams must have felt if Colt's Father really had looked this perfect. There was no way you could fight such a force.

Of course all this Sophie kept to herself. He might look flawless but Colt's soul was far from beautiful. It pained her to see him tormented like this, so far from the man he could and should be. He thought of women purely as a form of entertainment, and Sophie had more respect for herself than to let Colt use her like that. But still her passion overwhelmed her mortal body sometimes. Especially when Sophie denied herself of him, which she had been doing for years. Colt Prince always hit her like a sledge hammer.

Abruptly the Mustang swung off the Interstate and squealed to a stop. Colt got out the car and walked to the edge of the grass bank. Traffic whizzed past, at odds with the calm vast space of dark Blue that stretched out before him.

Sophie quickly followed, while Seth dragged behind, worry aged her face prematurely. "What is it?"

Colt turned to her. "You owe me an explanation. What was that back there?"

"We owe you nothing." Seth spat before she could answer. Sophie saw Colt's dangerous eyes settle on the younger boy.

"I just saved your life, I think I deserve..."

"That's all you think." Seth interrupted. Sophie was shocked to see Seth squaring up to Colt like this. "You think your entitled to anything you bloody want."

"Stop it!" Sophie demanded with such anger they both turned to her. "I'm sick of this." She paced. "Seth, he did help us, maybe he can be trusted..."

"No." Seth said firmly, his Blue eyes pleading with her to stay silent. "We need to go." He walked off down the grass but stopped when Sophie didn't follow.

Sophie Harrogate was a girl caught in the middle of a rock and a hard place. It had always been that way. She told herself it was for the best, for the burden she carried to remain hers alone, it was too dangerous to involve anyone else, but Sophie was wary and her conviction floundered. Colt had a right to know the truth, didn't he?

Sophie gave Seth an apologetic shrug and began to speak. "Colt you have..." that was all she could manage before a sharp sting stole her words. Sophie looked down to see a long thin weapon, that resembled a big needle, sticking out her stomach. Blood soaked her sweater within minutes. Sophie grabbed the thing with both hands intending to pull it out, but she had lost mobility. Her hands wouldn't responded. She glanced up with shock and pain.

 

Colt Prince's horrified face was the last thing Sophie Harrogate saw in this world.