On Wednesday night, as planned, Betty and Zola headed up to the rest of the government officials that specialised in the supernatural. Betty felt rather relieved that the whole thing would soon be over. After her partners found out that they were merely Cupids trying to spread love, they would be left alone. That poor girl Lea could finally be let go, and they'd never bother WA ever again.

     "I hope Kelly isn't back yet from her travels." Zola admitted. "I think she's going to be extremely angry wen she hears that I've gone down and told you."

     "But you've helped us extraordinarily much!" Betty exclaimed. "Without you, we'd probably still be trying to hunt down and kill Cupids!"

     Zola shrugged. "The agency treated me like dirt. I don't care if I've helped them or not, I just don't want them to send me back to Death. He hates the fact that we take freshly dead away from him to become Cupids, so if they kill me again and I end up in his arms I can guarantee you it will not be fun."

     "You don't have to go back. You could live under our protection," Betty suggested. "We could even give you a job with a high ranking, give you the rewards we promised."

     Zola brightened. "Yeah. That'd be good."

     Betty smiled as she parked her car outside of the towering building. Not many people knew the secrets that went on within the walls, but Zola was about to find out. "Come on in, it's freezing out here." She swung open the car door, and did the same for Zola. The journey hadn't exactly been pleasant, with Zola screaming every time a car headed in the opposite direction, but after a lot of explaining what cars were and that there wasn't people trapped inside them singing, it had been alright. Zola had become a little addicted to Adele's new album, playing 'Hello' on repeat.

     Betty grabbed Zola's arm and steered her in, hoping to avoid any kind of freak-out involving the modern world. She guided her up to the sixth floor, which housed Lea and the man who tortured her. She had never bothered to learn his name, because he commanded respect, authority and power in a cruel manner. It made her feel a bit more powerful when she asked him to introduce himself because  she liked to think it was slightly humiliating for him.

     He was watching a sleeping Lea with the usual intensity. His eyes were so dark they were nearly black, and they always made her recoil and shudder. He heard them coming, but didn't acknowledge their presence. Instead he kept his eyes firmly trained on Lea, forcing Betty to make the first move. "This is her. She can explain." She said simply, and that was enough to drag the man's attention onto Zola. He scanned her quickly up and down.

     "She looks of little value, so she better have some inside information." He said coldly, staring harshly into her eyes. Zola stared aggressively back, instantly disliking the man. "Go on then. I'm listening."

     Over the course of the next twenty minutes, Zola told him everything he could possibly need to know about WA. His face remained impassive throughout and he only spoke to ask quick questions to which a flustered Zola would reply. At the end of it all, a small smile crept onto his face. Betty wished it was a smile of rejoice at the love Cupids spread, but it seemed like a mean smile.

     He started to walk quickly back to his office, and Betty sort of did a half walk half run behind him in order to keep up. He turned at the door, and she waited for the instructions that were inevitably to come. "All those agents you have trailing the Cupids? Tell them to close in. Tranquillise them and bring them back here."

     "Wh-what?" Betty asked, her mouth hanging open. "But they're doing good! They're spreading love!"

     "We ought to have a choice of how we love. It is not to be decided by those freaks." He said harshly. "If you won't tell them to close in, then I'll do it myself." He entered the office and headed straight for his computer, dismissing Betty with a wave of his hand. He was about to send the order when she broke in.

     "Please," she begged, her face white. "You can't do this. This isn't right." He merely looked at her frostily.

     "If you do not agree with our work, then why are you even here?" It was a good question, one that made Betty think. What the hell was she doing here? But he barely had her time to more than ponder before pressing 'send'.

***

     I regretted the costume the minute I stepped outside.

     In an effort to respond to the Halloween themed party, I had worn a large triangular black hat, sky high black heels and a purple and black striped dress covered in a layer of netting that stopped abruptly at my thighs and barely reached my shoulders. I had added several green warts to my face and was carrying a broom to make it obvious I was a witch. That's the thing about Halloween parties, it's all too easy to have a revealing outfit whilst sticking to the theme.

     Beach parties weren't usually the ones I enjoyed, but as Julia had made a special effort to ask me, I decided to come. The invitation was a gesture of peace, and I for one wasn't going to stop her making amends. Besides, now Julia and Nathan were together, I suspected that I wouldn't be spending too much longer with the group. When Kelly explained everything to me, she said Cupids usually stay only about a month after the relationship is first set up to make sure everything's running smoothly.

     It was unusually cold for California, I realised as I headed down to the beach. There was a definite chill to the air, and I was wearing a very skimpy little dress that didn't bode well. The beach was only about a three minute walk from the campus, which seemed to be in the middle of everywhere.

     The beach was already overflowing with students celebrating. A huge bonfire burned in the middle, with problem dancing and laughing drunkenly around it. There were bottles aplenty and huge cans of beer, and I clenched my hands at the sight of people down by the waves. Okay, I was irresponsible. That was my major flaw that was only backed up by my death. But drunk people down by the sea? Even I knew that wasn't a good idea. And that was because at one beach party I had went to, Ophelia nearly drowned from swimming drunk in the sea.

     "Rosie! You came!" Julia yelled excitedly. Her choice of attire surprised me. She was wearing a white and red striped Alice band and a nurse's uniform that was just about decent. Nathan hung proudly onto her arm, as if delighted he should be with her. Was he corrupting her? I narrowed my eyes at him, but didn't say anything. "Wanna drink?"

     I wrinkled my nose at the offered bottle. "No thanks."

      "Don't be such a prude!" Fiona chimed in, wearing a slinky all in one cat outfit. "Even I'm letting loose a little. It's Halloween!"

     "No." I said firmly. I don't drink at beach parties, and that was one rule I'd never ever change. The trio shrugged and headed off, swinging their bottles loosely alongside them.

      "Boo." I half gasped half jumped at the sudden word from behind. I turned round to glare at a laughing Harriet. "Come on. That was funny."

     "Keep telling yourself that." I said sarcastically, giving her the once over. "Didn't anyone tell you this was a Halloween party?"

     "I'm a shadow." She said defensively, pulling at her black turtleneck sweater. I eyed her sporty black leggings and Nike trainers warily.

     "You look like you're about to go rob a bank. Put your hands in the air!" I curled my fingers into a pretend gun and made a banging noise. Harriet just looked at me, unimpressed. "Well, at the very least, you look like you're ready to run when things go wrong here." After getting no kind of reaction, I sighed and headed over to sit by the bonfire.

     There were ample wooden chairs situated around it, so I plonked myself down onto one of them. The fire danced in front of me, the tips flickering dangerously in the sky. The logs slowly wilted under the instance heat and the flames licked them lovingly. I focused on the flaming centre, an ever changing array of reds and yellows and oranges. I held my hands out closer and felt the heat at my fingertips. I sighed contentedly.

   I would be quite happy to stay here forever. I didn't want to leave everyone behind and go make someone else fall in love. Why couldn't I just be here, a proper college student, living a secret life of a Cupid? Even as I thought it it didn't make sense. I wasn't a Cupid just so I could live the life I never got. I had a mission; a purpose. I was important. I knew in my heart that I couldn't stay. Not here, not anywhere else this road may take me. I was forever destined to keep moving, keep working, my appearance always changing but at heart still a seventeen year old girl that crossed the fine line between good fun and danger.

     I curled up in my seat like a cat, my head up against the arm of the chair. My eyes flickered upwards and I took in the amazing sight of the fierce white stars and the half moon hanging lazily up in the night sky. I liked America, but I wondered if I would ever go other places. I would love my work to take me to Europe or Asia.

     I was just about ready to fall asleep at what was possibly the most boring party I had ever attended, when the nagging urge to pee settled upon me. I inwardly groaned and squished my legs closer together in an effort to stop the feeling. I was so tired, and in a really comfy position. I really couldn't be bothered to get up and try to find a toilet somewhere.

     However, when you need to lee you need to pee. After ten minutes, I had completely lost the lovely drowsy feeling and it had been replaced with an uncomfortable stomach cramp. Groaning, I got to my feet and staggered across the slippery sand in my heels. There were a few porta-loos nearby, and I'd just have to pre in one of those.

     I went into the first one and locked the door behind me. I pulled my knickers down with trembling relief when I realised all the toilet roll was gone. A trickle of pee had already started to come out, but I had to hold the rest of it in and yank my knickers back up. I then proceeded to check both the others, but neither of them had toilet roll either. Cursing, I resigned myself to the walk to the beach's toilet block. It was an agonising three minutes but at least I made it. I practically ran to the nearest stall which thankfully had toilet roll and let loose. The pee rattled out for about twenty seconds, a new record. I sighed in relief.

     I left the stall and went over to the sink to wash my hands. It was at that moment I realised exactly how grimy and disgusting the bathroom was. I had somehow overlooked those details in my haste to pee, but now they were strikingly obvious. I washed my hands throughly under the tap that dripped the ice cold water out slowly. I wiped my hands down on my skirt, the dryer not working.

     I heard the door to the bathroom slam. "Hello?" I called out nervously, straining my neck to see who was around the corner. My shoulders sagged in relief as I realised it was only Harriet. "Oh my goodness, you had me sca-"

     Harriet's hand clamped roughly over my mouth, a sweet smelling hanky pressed to it. I lashed out at her wildly, but she pinned my arms behind my back and held me with strength I'd no idea she had. I shook my head, determined not to breathe in the strange substance. But then her other hand pinched my nose tightly, and I had no choice but to open my mouth to breath. Immediately the stuff made me gag, but the damage was done. Harriet went blurry, and the last thing I saw was my startled face in the mirror before I slumped to the floor and passed out.

And so begins the end... Please comment your thoughts and reactions to my most recent chapter. I'm so excited for the ending, I've been waiting for this since Chapter Fifteen when I introduced Betty. Originally when I planned this book I intended for the man Betty told to agree Cupids were a good thing and call off the agents, leaving Rosie safe. This was going to be the last chapter. But then I realised that the ending really didn't fit. I needed to link Rosie and Lea together, and give the story more of a climax. Rosie was clamouring for an explosive ending, so over the next few chapters I'm going to give it to her. There's about four chapters left and an epilogue, so I hope to finish by November.

Zoe xxx