Nick Gautier jumped slightly as his cell phone vibrated in his pocket, and stood from the wall he was leaning against. He pulled the phone out as people walked past, most trying to make it look like they were not staring at him. He guessed he looked rather intimidating, which was the thing he was going for with the long black jacket and menacing scowl. The scowl deepened as he looked at the call display and recognized Stryker’s number.
Letting it vibrate a few more times in his hand, Nick flicked the phone open and held it to his ear. “Yeah?” he asked in a casual voice.
“I trust you have a reason why you’re following the eagle?”
“Actually, I do,” Nick replied in a pleasant voice.
Stryker was silent for a few moments. “And will you be sharing your reasons any time soon?”
Nick grimaced slightly. When Stryker became over-polite, it was a sign that he was ready to tear into someone… literally. “Just using her to piss Ash off,” Nick said, covering the basic truth.
“And…?”
“And she has a bodyguard.”
“Savitar.”
Nick smiled. “Fury Kattalakis.” Silence greeted him again, and he could almost picture the look on Stryker’s face. Since the Spathi leader could still read Nick’s thoughts and emotions at times, Nick forced himself to not gloat.
“Interesting,” Stryker said in a slow voice. “Keep an eye on them.” He disconnected the call.
Nick closed his phone and shoved it back into his pocket. He pulled his jacket a little tighter, silently cursing the cool mountain weather. He knew that Stryker would be interested with that little tidbit of information, and vaguely wondered what he would do about it.
Nick pulled his jacket tighter and shivered. “Screw this,” he whispered as he turned quickly from his vantage point overlooking a busy city street corner, and headed for the coffee shop on the corner. He could spot Daimons just as easily from in there as he could on the corner, although if they had any sense, they would be heading south for some warmth.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fury Kattalakis.
That wolf had been causing Stryker problems for a while now, first at the cabin in the mountains, then by offering sanctuary with his pack to the eagle after Stryker had threatened any Were that helped her. Not only that, but the wolf had killed one of Stryker’s agents that had delivered that threat.
Stryker placed another call, this time to another one of his agents, a Regis who sat on the Omegrion and kept him apprised on all that happened. That was how he originally knew of Fury’s offering of his pack’s protection to the eagle.
After a short conversation, and finding out that there had been no Omegrion ruling regarding Aiden Falconidae, Stryker tapped his hand lightly on his throne as he stared at the rocky floor.
It was time that the wolf had a few problems of his own to deal with, and keep his snout out of Daimon business.
~~~~~
Savitar vanished a second before Fury reappeared. The wolf looked around in confusion, his gaze settling on Aiden as she sat on the counter table that divided the living room from the kitchen.
Not used to being whisked away by someone else, and certainly not prepared for the nauseas effect that accompanied it, he blinked a few times. “I don’t think I want to know what happened,” he said in a slow voice. “You stay here, I’m going to go sleep before I puke.” He turned toward the bedrooms, changing to a wolf as he walked.
Aiden remained silent as he left, only moving to take sips from her coffee. She knew Savitar was trying to protect her, but it annoyed her that there wasn’t any trust for her own abilities in there. To her, it was like; here’s a male to take care of you.. a Katagaria male, since you’re an Arcadian female, a mere human with magick, and you can’t protect yourself.
She sighed in annoyance at that line of thought. She knew it wasn’t true, but she couldn’t help feeling that way. If Savitar was correct, which he always was, she had so much undiscovered magick that she could be dangerous. So…why the coddling?
Looking at the stereo, and not really caring how loud it was, she used some of that magick to will it on, then hopped off the counter as the intro to a David Bowie song blasted through the condo.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Aiden would never attack a Hunter,” Simi said, then turned away as if the problem were now solved. She glided across the marbled floor of the throne room in Katoteros.
“I never said she would,” Ash said. “But you came to the same conclusion that I did.”
“The Simi doesn’t like conclusions,” she said as she fluttered back, her wings keeping her inches off the floor. “And she doesn’t like the Heifer Goddess insimilating that Aiden would hurt.”
“Insinuating,” Ash corrected her gently.
“What ‘ev,” Simi replied in a perfect Valley Girl voice. “She likes to stretch the truth.” Her anger suddenly vanished, and she adopted the sweet face she usually wore when she wanted something from Ash. Not that she needed to charm him, since he gave her anything she asked for. “Maybe the Simi can visits Aiden and keep her from doing anything?”
“Aiden has a bodyguard,” Ash told her. “Fury Kattalakis.”
“Pfft,” Simi scoffed. “FYI, akri…Wolfies are great for snacks, but too high-strung for bodyguarding.”
FY what? Ash thought, then shook his head slightly. “No snacking on Were-Hunters,” he reminded her.
“You always say no to the Simi,” she said as she stomped her foot, not quite making it to the ground. Blowing him a large raspberry, she turned and floated away across the marbled floor, stopping in front of the large TV screens that covered a wall, and then sat down. Almost immediately, the QVC Network started, showing an assortment of home shopping treasures.
“Oh, sparklies!” Simi squealed at the gem necklaces on the screen. Her cell phone materialized in one hand, and her credit cards in her other.
Ash turned and walked out of the throne room. With Simi now occupied and knowing that she would be sitting in front of the screens for hours ordering things, he wanted to work through the eagle attack problem.
He could ask Savitar, since the immortal saw everything, but one never knew where the man stood on any subject. Although Ash knew that Savitar basically had the well-being of the cosmos in any decision he made, there were instances when he acted with absolute evil intentions.
Sure, Savitar was calm and somewhat docile at the moment, but Ash knew he could turn violent and vicious without warning. An Arcadian jaguar had pissed him off once, and Savitar destroyed not only the jaguar, but also the entire bloodline, making them extinct.
Questioning him about a Were-Hunter, especially one that he was intimate with, was something that Ash would have to broach very delicately. Not that the Atlantean was afraid of Savitar, he was more concerned for any action that couldn’t be reversed if Savitar got pissed off.
Cursing his inability to see the future’s of those that he cared for, Ash decided that it would be less stressful for those involved if he just plain out asked Aiden about it. If it was indeed her, then she would know that he knew, and that might be enough to stop her at a crucial moment.
Then again, it might not even be her. But…it could be Nick. He had reached out with his powers, and had been unable to pick up on any eagle attacks that would be happening to any of the other Dark-Hunters. There were others that he was close to, and couldn’t see the futures of, but in his heart, he knew it was Nick.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The music was loud, causing Fury to cringe in pain. He thought that the eagle played it loud, but she had nothing on the volume that hit him as soon as they walked into the nightclub.
Remind me why we’re here? he though to her, certain that his words would never reach her had he spoken them.
Because you said you were bored, and instead of sitting around listening to you whimper all night, which, might I add is pretty pathetic, I suggested here, and you agreed.
I agreed to be assaulted by music?
Aiden shook her head with a small smile. After he had reappeared in her condo, he retreated to the spare room to sleep while she stared at the walls. Sometime after nightfall, he reappeared, sullen, and constantly looking at the door. Since she usually went out when she was alone, she suggested it, and he jumped at the chance to pull his alpha-male routine in a new city.
The music stopped as the band took a break. “Go play or something.”
Furry shook his head slightly to clear his ears. “Bodyguard usually means guarding the body.”
“We’re in a limani,’ she reminded him. “Trust me, I’m safe here.”
Fury’s expression changed to one of pure predator as he looked around. He immediately spotted a few Arcadians that were glaring at him, and casually sniffed the air to see who else was around.
“Girl behind the counter,” Aiden said with a smirk. “Bitch with an attitude just like yours.”
“Katagaria?”
“Arcadian.”
Fury slowly looked at her. “No offence,” he said, “but I’m not into humans.”
“Imagine my relief,” she replied dryly, then made a shooing motion with her hands. “Go piss someone else off. I’ll let you know when I want to leave.”
“Luckily I excel at pissing people off,” Fury said seriously as he turned and made his way to the bar.
Aiden tilted her head slightly when she got the feeling that someone was looking at her. Turning, she locked eyes with an extremely good looking man that was sitting at a corner table and watching her with the intensity of a hunter. She could sense that he was an avian, and her best guess would be eagle.
Pointedly ignoring him, she turned back to her original position and fought the urge to look over her shoulder to see if he was still watching. She didn’t have any fear of the man, since limani rules forbade fighting on the property, but his stare was making her skin crawl.
Casually walking to the bar, she angled her body so that she could see him out of the corner of her eye. He was still watching her, and making no pretense about it. She wanted to walk straight up to him and ask him what his problem was, but she wasn’t sure she even cared to know. He could mean her harm, or he could be just a Were on the make for a mate, and checking out every female that entered the place.
Aiden knew that she was one of the few avians to frequent the bar, and this stranger must have zoned in on her avian scent. It seemed as good an excuse as any, and one she preferred over the idea of yet another being wanting to harm her.
At the other end of the bar, Fury ordered a drink from the pretty Arcadian wolf behind the counter and returned her even gaze with one of his own. Turning his hands over to show his unmarked palms, he grabbed the beer and took a drink. Even though he had told Aiden that if he wasn’t into humans, he was really not overly picky when it came down to it. As long as she was a wolf, then it was all good to him.
The female wolf smiled slightly, then walked to the other end of the bar. He sighed in annoyance. Figures that he’d find a nice looking wolf like that and she wouldn’t be in heat. Turning from the bar, he took a good look at the surroundings.
He didn’t really like Were sanctuaries because it was a good way of someone knowing that you were in a certain area. On the plus side, it gave a creature the added advantage of looking over the clientele and seeing just what they were up against.
He scanned the crowd, looking for Aiden. She was easy enough to find, since she seemed to be one of the few patrons that wasn’t dressed in some sort of black. Her yellow shirt shone like a beacon in the sea of drab colors, and he pushed himself off the bar and headed behind the row of tables so he could be in her general vicinity in case anything happened.
Still checking out the bar, Fury inhaled deeply as he walked behind the tables, stopping when he came across a scent he had briefly smelled before. Sniffing again, he was certain that the man sitting at the table he had passed had been in the clearing outside of the condo complex that morning.
Altering his destination slightly, Fury slunk into the shadows near the back of the large room and took a good look. He followed the man’s line of sight, realizing that it lead directly to where Aiden was standing.
Fury studied her posture for a moment as she talked to some people, and recognized that she seemed to be forcing herself to relax. She knew she was being stared at, and she was determined to ignore it.
Various thoughts crossed through Fury’s mind as he considered. The man staring could be doing just that; staring. Or, he could be on the hunt for a mate. Or… planning ways to kill Aiden. Pulling out his cell phone, and raising it to make a call, Fury clicked on the camera portion instead. He wasn’t sure if the lighting was good enough for an image, but he hoped for the best while he pretended to listen to the phone ringing. Resisting the temptation to check out the picture, he frowned, closed the phone and slipped it back into his pocket.
~~~~~~~~~~
Nick Gautier ran down the street, his long black jacket billowing behind him as he skidded around a corner. His breathing came in jagged gasps as he sucked in the cool evening air. His target was in sight and he ran faster, stopping in annoyance at the building that was coming closer.
“Damn it!” Nick cursed to himself as the Daimon he was chasing scurried up the steps and ran through the door. As a rule, Nick didn’t exert himself in the hunting of Daimons, but at times he made exceptions. And the bloodsucker that just got away was one of those exceptions.
The Daimon was the one that Nick had met in the alley the night the squire had been killed, and then proceeded to inform Nick that if he didn’t help him, then he would be going to Stryker with news of Nick’s extracurricular activities.
Needing to keep certain things secret, Nick tried to kill the Daimon, but he proved to be a little too slippery. Plus, Nick hadn’t counted on him running for the one Limani in the area, and there was no way Nick would follow him there. Places like that still had a tendency to remind him of Sanctuary in New Orleans, the Limani where his mother had worked.
“I know where you live, you little fucker,” Nick said in a whisper. “Come tomorrow, you’re dust.” He turned and stalked away, not noticing the two Were-Hunters that walked out of the bar and started walking the other direction.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Returning back to her condo, Aiden flopped on her couch and placed her feet on the coffee table. Fury sat in the chair and wished the ringing in his ears would stop. The music had returned to extra loud, and had actually hurt.
Her phone rang, startling them both. She pulled it out of her pocket and brought it to her ear. “Hello?”
“Good evening, Aiden.” She went still at the smooth deep voice. “Oh, please don’t hang up,” Stryker told her. “I was hoping we might have a moment to discuss a few things.”
She noticed Fury studying her. “What would you like to discuss, Stryker?” she asked.
Fury’s eyes opened wide as he fumbled for his own cell phone. He took it out, stood, and walked a little to the side and placed his own call.
“The first anniversary of your near death is almost upon us,” Stryker paused, “and I merely wanted to offer you a little.. bargain.”
Aiden closed her eyes at the reminder of the deaths her deceased mate had committed to their own Patria. “I’m going to hang up now,” she said slowly.
“Wait.” The word blasted from the earpiece, causing her to cringe. “This past year has been, well, not very good for either of us, actually, and I wanted to let you know that I have decided that all this should end.”
“So you’re leaving me alone?”
“No.”
“Didn’t think so,” Aiden mumbled. “What are you going to try now?”
“I’m not going to try anything,” Stryker said. “I plan on doing everything I’m about to tell you.” He paused, more for effect than anything. “Last year, the eagles got slightly… plucked. This year, in honor of your… bodyguard is he? And, allow me to commend you both on looking past that human, animal issue. But, I digress…back to my promise. This year, I believe that the wolf population should be thinned out slightly.”
“No.”
“Nasty vermin, they are,” he continued as if he never heard her. “Always bickering amongst themselves and killing for the fun of it.”
“Sounds familiar,” Aiden replied dryly.
“You do have the option of stopping this from happening, though. Simply give yourself over to me.”
“I’m hanging up,” she said in a dangerous voice. “Call me again, and I’ll-“
“And you’ll what?” Stryker interrupted.
“You remind me so much of your father,” Aiden said, then closed the phone. She knew that parting remark would piss Stryker off more than any threat ever could. She looked at Fury, who held up a finger as he talked quietly on the phone.
He flipped his phone shut, and slipped it back in his pocket. “What did he want?”
“To be a prick.”
“He’s very good at that.” Fury crossed his arms over his chest and stared. “Best tell me,” he told her. “I’ll find out anyway.”
Aiden chewed on her bottom lip slightly. “Call your brother and tell him that the wolves are on Stryker’s list.”
Fury glared at her, and flicked open his phone, pushed a button, then brought it to his face, all without breaking his stare. “Vane,” he said when it was answered. “Long story short… Stryker’s pissed and wants some wolf pelts.” He listened for a few moments. “Not sure, but a couple days, at least……yeah……” He flicked the phone shut, then finally broke his gaze.
Aiden watched as he walked down the hall to the spare room, and winched as the door slammed behind him. Okay. He was definitely pissed at something…most likely her. And she didn’t blame him one bit.
“Don’t even think about doing it.”
Aiden whirled at the voice that came from behind her. As she thought, she was alone.
“Do what?” she asked lamely.
“Give yourself to Stryker to save the wolves.” A small blue mist started, and quickly solidified into Savitar. “It won’t work,” he told her. “You’ll be dead, and he’ll still attack the wolves because they’ve been annoying him for years and he’ll use any excuse to attack anything.”
“I can’t just do nothing.”
“Sure you can.” He took two steps, then sat on the couch in front of her, reached out and gently pulled her to sit with him. “It’s hard, but sometimes the universe requires that you do nothing.”
“Will you save the wolves if he attacks them?”
“No.”
“What?” She stared at him like he had just kicked a puppy.
“Wolfs are fierce creatures,” he said easily. “They are more than able to defend against Daimons.” He smiled slightly. “And with your warning, they’ll be ready if anything ever happens.”
“I see.”
“No you don’t.”
“No, I don’t.” She leaned back in to the cushions. “You’re willing to sit back and allow something bad to happen.”
Savitar ran a hand over his goatee before he spoke. “Whether I’m willing or not is irrelevant. The universe is ever changing, and, although slightly inconceivable, remains the same. It is vast…empty…and full of possible timelines that should not be altered.” He looked into her eyes, seeing the anger she held, and knew that he was going to add to it very shortly.
“So, you’re saying that this is all mapped out, and what will be has to be, and if I trade myself, then I’m altering something?”
“Yes.”
Aiden closed her eyes and shook her head in annoyance. “Why?” she asked. “I mean, I’m just an insignificant eagle. Why should it matter what I do?”
“One, you’re not insignificant, and you never will be.” His voice was low, slightly accented, and smooth as velvet. “Two, everything you do matters. It’s mapped out, and to greatly alter things would cause other lines to alter. Think of the cosmos as a large Domino set. Alter one, and the rest come crashing down.”
“So, you and I being together isn’t greatly altering things?”
“It alters things, but not greatly,” Savitar admitted. “But, by interfering in the things that you do, it will alter things.”
“You’re interfering now,” she said slowly. “By telling me not to trade myself.”
“Stryker interfered first,” he said. “I’m merely setting it straight again.”
Aiden scrubber her hands over her face and sighed. “Do you have any idea how unrealistic this all sounds?”
“Unrealistic?” Savitar asked. “Like…shape-shifting humans unrealistic? Or surfing gods that live on mystical islands unrealistic?”
“Oh, well then,” Aiden said in a perky voice. “That’s setting everything in perspective.” She shook her head. “Are the wolves going to be attacked?”
“Yes.”
“But...”
“It won’t be because of anything you’ve done, or haven’t done,” Savitar told her sternly. “Everyone, even Stryker, makes decisions that they have to live with. Sometimes people find it easier to blame their actions on others, in an attempt to dodge responsibility for those actions. Don’t ever accept the burden of someone else’s fuck-ups.
“This isn’t some game where I ask you to do something and you fight me over it,” he said as gently as he could as he stared at her. “I know it might be hard to believe, but it could be possible that the guy who can see all futures might just have some clue of what he’s talking about.
“Grant it, I can’t tell you certain things, but what I do tell you should be enough for you to take heed of what I say.” He looked at her, then stared past her at the wall.
“Savitar,” Aiden said and stood slowly.
“I don’t think I have anything else to say about this,” he said slowly.
“Yeah?” she asked. “Well I do.”
He raised a hand in silent motion for her to continue.
“I’m tired of it,” she said in a shaky voice. “Tired of getting treated like some fragile female who can’t do anything without help. I’m not suppose to do this.. or that.. or make a mistake.. or work my on way out of some mess. No one tells me anything, but I’m expected to follow blindly and accept anything that’s told me.” She noticed that Savitar’s gaze slid to her as she spoke. “I feel completely useless, except as some bait of sorts, and I’m sick of it.”
He stared at her for a long time, his eyes altering between black and violet, a give-away to the emotions going through him. The universe had the potential to go straight to hell depending on her actions, and he didn’t really have time for her whining and self-pity. All things considered, he shouldn’t really care how she felt, but he did.
Caring had brought a strange feeling to him, one that he didn't like in the least. It had a way of occupying the mind; making it blind to the dangers that were coming until it was too late. Caring was a luxury he couldn't afford, and he suddenly felt angry when he realized that he would do anything to retain that luxury.
“I never meant to make you feel that way,” he replied in a soft voice, then vanished from the room.
With nearly-forgotten emotions swirling through him, and feeling the need to cause damage, he arrived in his private rooms on Neratiti. He walked quickly down the hall, his hair billowing around his shoulders with an unearthly wind as every light shattered when he passed it.
He stalked through his throne room, the air around him rushing into a whirlwind that picked up chairs and flung them against the walls. Windows blew out, the glass landing on the sand and grass outside. Making it to the beach, he glared at the water as the waves started to grow bigger, and then raised his arms straight and yelled into the night sky, the noise echoing over the island like an angry mythical dragon.
He had hurt her, made her feel worthless… A large stone to his left exploded, quickly followed by two more as the immortal tried to get his anger back under control. All this time he assumed he was helping her and all he was doing was controlling a destiny that he wanted to see.
The wind whirling around him uprooted a tree, bringing it perilously close to where he was standing. If he wanted to be completely honest, all he wanted was her, and his arrogance ruined it. He knew she was stubborn, and wouldn’t take things at face value, yet he expected it of her. She’s been telling you for the past while how unhappy she’s been with this, and you could have at least respected her enough to listen.
“Respect,” he whispered, his voice low and guttural. Suddenly feeling extremely tired, he closed his eyes and inhaled. The storm immediately stopped, and the island repaired itself back to what it had been.
Savitar lowered himself to the sand and stared out over the water, trying to find some peace.
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Comments
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typo- second to last paragraph, "suddenly 'felling' extremely tired" instead of 'feeling'.
damn everything is soo freakin complicated! i mean im glad its complex enough to take me away from my own problems but its not refreshing at all... its just reserfacing my own emotions at the moment! i hate men and people who 'care' and control your life!!!!
all i can say is aiden better kick someones ass by the end of this.
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