A headache was her first clue that something might be wrong. Trinity rubbed her forehead, trying to figure out if she was changing into a demon or not. Since she hadn’t gotten much sleep in the past few days, and things were definitely stressful, it might just be tension. At least she hoped it was.1
From what she remembered from reading about Gallu, it took anywhere from a few hours, to a day and a half for the infection to spread. With the way her luck was going, she probably didn’t cauterize the wound enough, and now all she could do was sit and wait while she became a mindless zombie.2
The thought of killing herself crossed her mind, but even that wouldn’t work. Her body would just regenerate, and she’s still be in the same predicament. All in all, this seriously sucked. Big time. 3
Dying. Somehow she never pictured herself going this way. In her line of work, she always assumed that if she were to die, then it would be by a Daimon’s hand, or an extremely pissed off Dark-Hunter. Her chest started to hurt as she thought of Tria, and she swiped at one of the few tears she had shed since being abducted.4
Okay, yeah, the Huntress was an annoying pain at times, with the chocolate consumption and occasionally smashing the car into the garage wall, but damn it…she missed her. They both were around the same age, if one ignored Tria’s nearly thirty years of being dead, and actually got along rather well. 5
“If I could make one parting wish,” she whispered. “It would be that Tria goes out, finds a great guy, and gets laid until she’s too sore to move.” Laughing to herself, she wished she had the foresight to put that into the will she had filed with the squire council. She’d love to see the look on Tria’s face when something like that was read. 6
Looking at the floor, she brought a foot down and kicked it across a few of the stones. Grabbing one of the magazines the Gallu had given her so she wouldn’t actually be bored to death, not that it would have mattered, she leafed through one until she came to a full page ad with a decent sized white background.7
Scooping up a handful of stones, she scratched the page with each one until she found the stone that left a little residue behind. Wetting her finger, she rubbed it over the tip of the stone and tried again. A visible line appeared on the paper, bringing a small smile to her face. 8
By continually wetting the stone, and being patient, she managed to write a fairly decent note. Ignoring the headache as it advanced another notch, she carefully folded the paper, and placed it carefully into her front pocket, smoothing her pants down so the note was unnoticeable. If she did turn Gallu, and they sent her after Tria, then she hoped that her Huntress would find the note before reducing her body to ashes.9
Wrapping a blanket around herself as chills started, she sat back against the wall and stared at nothing.10
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~11
The water coming out of the multiple showerheads had long since turned cold, and had long since been ignored by the person standing under the flow. Tria stared at the drain and the water circling it as her body slowly became as numb as her mind seemed to be. 12
She had saved a fellow Hunter last night, and wondered why she didn’t feel better about it. Mosi was a wonderful person, full of mischievous fun and boisterous laughter…so why did she feel a void when she thought about the alley and saving him?13
Saving one won’t bring another back. “Shut the hell up,” she whispered to her mind. “Death is the name of this game, and you know that.” 14
Reaching out, she turned the shower off, and stepped out, wondering why her teeth were chattering. The idea that she had been bitten last night crossed her mind, but she dismissed it. Not one of the Daimons had laid a fang on her, and even if they had, Dark-Hunter blood was poisonous to them. None had been Gallu, either, since infected Daimons tended to convert immediately due to their altered life spans. 15
Remembering the cold water, she sighed, and muttering in annoyance at her sudden paranoia, quickly dried off and walked into her room. Grabbing a pair of jeans from a pile, she pulled them on to her bare body, then slipped into a black satin bra and walked to the closet for a shirt. 16
Even though she felt like shit, she reasoned that there was no need for her to actually look it. Grabbing a sheer blouse, she walked back to the bathroom while holding it, and proceeded to brush her long hair. Opting to leave it down tonight, she dried it quickly, and then put on the blouse. A quick brushing and flossing of the teeth and fangs, and she was on her way.17
She made it up the stairs to the main level, her three inch heals barely audible on the hardwood steps. Opening the door, she was surprised to smell coffee, and for an instant looked to the table, half expecting to see Trinity sitting there. 18
Instead, it was Ash, sitting there as he stared at her through those dark sunglasses that he seemed to always wear when he didn’t want to make eye contact with someone. Not knowing if she even wanted to hear any more information on, well, anything, Tria walked to the coffee maker, grabbed a mug from the cupboard and poured herself a large serving of caffeine. 19
Ash watched her from behind the safety of his dark lenses, the see-through barrier shielding him from her inquisitive gaze. He tensed slightly, not really knowing why, when she walked to the table with her coffee and sat across from him. 20
“Sleep well?” he asked, glad for the dark lenses shielding him as he rolled his eyes at the lame question.21
“Thanks to D’Alerian, yes.” She had still been staring at the ceiling when the Dream-Hunter appeared and lulled her off to a basically peaceful sleep.22
“Good.” He picked up a napkin that was on the table and started to fidget with it as she stared at him. “How’d you know that it wasn’t Trinity in the car?”23
“Because they wouldn’t take her just to kill her,” Tria answered calmly. “If we think she’s dead, then defenses relax, and it makes it that much easier to slip her back in.” 24
“Makes sense,” Ash agreed with a nod. He put the napkin down and stared at the table for a few moments. 25
“Are you all right?” Tria studied him, not knowing if he was looking at her or not. “You seem a little…strange this evening. Well, strange for you, that is, which is basically an oxymoron.”26
Ash snorted slightly, not the least bit insulted, and grateful for the humor she was trying for. This whole thing was bringing back too many memories of another missing squire, and the end result would most likely turn out to be all to similar. Trinity, if she returned, would be a demon, intend on killing. Nick Gautier had disappeared years earlier, and had returned as a Dark-Hunter, intent on killing. The anger Ash held then had threatened to resurface, and he had spent a sleepless day wrestling those emotions back to where they belonged. 27
He sighed to himself before speaking again. “I know I said that I would only be staying for a week, but I’d rather remain until this…gets settled.”28
“Okay,” she said. “Help yourself to anything in the house.”29
He stopped his mind from drifting to places it shouldn’t go, and he wondered for the hundredth time just what the hell was going on with him lately. He had always been able to concentrate at the task at hand, and been able to avoid distractions without problem. Everything in his existence happened for a specific reason, and he needed to know why lately it seemed like all the distractions were the problem and the task that had to be handled, all rolled into one.30
Since he was prevented from seeing his own future, and needing answers, he had tried to contact Savitar, but the immortal was nowhere to be found. Which really wasn’t surprising. The dude had this weird idea that Ash should figure out some things for himself.31
“You can be my substitute squire,” she said, interrupting his thoughts. She ignored the warning look he gave. “Know anything about laundry?”32
“Not a damn thing,” he replied honestly.33
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~34
Savitar picked a leaf from a tree as he walked past it, turning it over in his hand as he continued on his stroll to the north shore of Neratiti. Looking out at the water as he walked, he concentrated, moving the location of the island a few degrees south to take advantage of the waves. 35
Not even bothering to look around, he sat in the sand, and held the leaf up to study as he waited. Savitar? Ignoring the voice in his head, he continued with the leaf, taking in its contours and deep green coloring. 36
He knew Ash had been trying to contact him for a few hours, but he refrained from replying. He knew what the Altantean wanted and he also knew that this was one thing that Ash had to stumble through on his own. Not he, or even Simi, could help him this time.37
Savitar looked up as a bright flash appeared beside him, and smiled at the woman that stood there. “Hey babe,” he said warmly.38
Aiden Falconidae smiled at his as she sat in the sand with him. Kissing him, she pushed slightly, smiling against his lips as he obligingly laid back on the sand. She pulled back and looked at him. 39
“Next time you know that my Regis is going to try to screw me over,” she said in a pleasant voice, “I would appreciate a little notice.”40
“What happened?” he asked, a little too innocently.
"You know exactly what happened. And you also know that I ruffled his feathers so much that he’s threatening to make me exoristos.” Being called such would prohibit any member of her clan from even speaking her name. She would essentially become figuratively nonexistent.
“That won’t happen,” he said. “And if it does, there are far worse things than-“ He stopped at the look she gave him.
“Anyway,” she said in a tight voice. “Did you know… and I’m speaking generally here, since I’m sure you already do… that one of the DH’s squires is missing?”
“Trinity Wells.”
“Do you know where she is?” Aiden asked pointedly.
“Yes.”
“And that would be?”
“Missing.”
Sighing in annoyance, Aiden shook her head. She knew enough of the man to know that he wouldn’t devulge anything unless he deemed it necessary. “And the Gallu?”
Savitar blinked in surprise at the question. He hadn’t really seen that one coming. “What about them?”
“You tell me.”
“Nasty disposition, world domination, double row of fangs, can infect with a bite.”
“I see.”
Sitting up in the sand, Savitar looked out over the water. “They were created to kill, and they’re very good at it.”
“There’s nothing you can do to stop them?” 41
“You don’t really want me to answer that, do you?” He could stop them in an instant, but it wasn’t that simple. He minded his own business…usually… and as long as the Gallu stayed away from him, then he didn’t really care. Grant it, the meeting between Stryker and Kessar piqued his interest, and he was keeping tabs on any development there, but that was it. 42
“So, you’d let these demons take over?”43
“I don’t let anyone do anything.” He looked at her. “There’s this concept called free will that gets tossed around a lot. You might have heard Ash mention it from time to time. It was Sumerian free will that decided to create these things, Atlantean free will that decided to ignore the threat, and once again, Sumerian free will that chose to bury them deep underground instead of annihilating the entire damned race.” He shook his head at the issue. “No one is going to learn anything unless they see it through to the end. I can’t keep stepping in to save various asses from getting hurt every time free will doesn’t end up they way they expected.”44
“You saved my ass,” she reminded him.45
“And a lovely ass it is. There are always exceptions, my dear. I messed up your future myself, and Stryker screwed it up even further. It had to be set right.”46
“And the Gallu?”47
Standing in one fluid motion, Savitar turned and held his hand out to help her up from the sand. Gallu, by nature, went against free will. People were infected, and lost all control of themselves, and that seriously messed with the very fabric of the cosmos. He knew the future for some was going to be bloody, deadly, and full of misplaced trust and anger. He could nearly taste the carnage that was coming, and a part of him that reveled in bloodshed couldn’t wait to view it. 48
Basically, it was up to Ash and his Hunters to clean up this mess…and what a mess it was going to be. Eventually though, and all too soon in the grand scheme of time, it would be over. From the chaos would come order, and eventually the order would reveal a new future for those lucky enough to exercise the right options of free will. 49
Free will. Savitar rather liked the concept…it was always entertaining seeing how much humans could screw up such a simple ideal. 50
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~51
Kessar stood outside the door, his attention solely on the woman that lay on the floor inside. Her gaze returned his, burning into him, and promising absolute annihilation if she were given the chance. 52
“You’re a tough one,” he said in a low voice. “I’ll give you that.”53
Trinity snarled in response, the double row of fangs she now sported giving her a highly sinister appearance.54
“Here’s the problem,” Kessar said. “It appears that you were smart enough to cauterize your wound, but not smart enough to get all of the poison.” He tapped his finger on his chin in thought. “You’re turning Gallu, there’s no doubt there, but somehow you’ve managed to keep some of your humanity. Which is rather disgusting.” 55
Struggling to her feet, Trinity glared at him. She could feel the hunger and voices calling to her, and it took every ounce of her dwindling will power to fight it. Maybe if she could get out of here, she could find a Dark-Hunter, and providing they didn’t kill her, somehow find a cure. 56
“Maybe another bite will do.”57
Trinity snarled again at the humor in his voice and launched herself at the crude bars that held her in. Am arm snaked through them, grabbing Kessar and pulling him straight into the wood. He didn’t even flinch as she brought her face to his.58
“Why don’t you come in here?” she asked, her voice an odd combination of desire and hatred. “That way I can rip your spine out and fuck you while you’re dying.” 59
Smiling at the absolute repulsiveness of that statement, Kessar easily removed her hand from his neck and took a step back. “As charming as that offer is, I believe I’m going to have to refuse.”60
“I. Will. Fight. You.” Trinity winced at the strength it took to keep some sort of human thoughts. 61
“Not for long, you won’t.” The Gallu leader turned and walked away. 62
Watching him leave, she could feel herself slipping further and further into an area that she would never be able to resurface from.63
Screaming in annoyance, she wrapped her hands around the crude wooden bars and yanked at them. 64
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~65
The lights were far too bright where she was standing, prompting Tria to slip her dark sunglasses on. Ash, who never went anywhere public without his already on, seemed completely in his element as he stood leaning against a far wall of the nightclub, enjoying the music, oblivious to the throng of women strutting in front of him. 66
Goth Night. 67
Tria sighed, remembering the last Goth Night and how the week in between was a total and complete nightmare. Still, there were Daimons to be killed and Goth Night was the best place to find them. 68
She hadn’t originally wanted to leave her house, but decided that slaying a few Daimons was preferable to staring at the walls while her imagination ran wild. Catching sight of someone across the bar, an evil part of her prompted a stroll through the crowd. Standing slightly to the side, she watched as a man hit on a female at the bar, and when he turned around, Tria gave him a huge fang filled smile. The man that had hit on her just the week before looked surprised then turned and nearly ran out of the bar.
Smiling slightly, Tria went back to watching the crowd. There didn’t seem to be any Daimons in amongst the patrons, and that worried her. If they weren’t here, then where were they? 69
Scanning the crowd, she caught sight of Ash looking in her direction. He gave a small nod of his head, motioning for the door, then pushed himself off from the wall and started to walk to the exit. 70
Tria caught up with him outside, and waited while he worked his way through the crowd of women that followed him out to the sidewalk. Smiling faintly, and making polite excuses, he finally convinced the women to go back in, jumping slightly as more than a few pinched his backside as they walked past.71
“You’re a chick magnet,” Tria commented dryly.72
“I could do without, thank you.” Ash looked around. “Thought Goth Night was prime Daimon night?”73
“Maybe they finally smartened up.”74
“Doubt it.” He started walking, prompting her to follow. “They like to be where they know they can get an easy soul or two.”75
Tria stopped walking, and stared at him. “I just had a terrible thought. What if the Daimons and Gallu are joining forces and are planning our demise?”76
“If there’s one thing that Daimon’s hate more than Dark-Hunters, it’s Gallu.” Ash briefly placed his hand on her elbow, prompting her to start walking again. “They have a long, and I do mean long, hatred for each other.”77
“Why?”78
“Besides, Stryker doesn’t like to share the limelight,” he said, avoiding the question. There were some things that were far better left unanswered, and the reason behind that hatred was definitely one of them. “Or the glory, either.”79
“Having a common enemy would make strange bedfellows.”80
They walked in silence, scanning the crowds that passed them, and keeping an eye out for Daimon. Savitar? Ash thought. There was no reply, not that he expected one anyway. Simi? He thought, trying another avenue.
Akri!!! Came the reply, full of energy and happiness. The Simi misses you.
I miss you too, baby. Used to having her in tattoo form on his body when he was on location, he felt like a piece of himself was missing. I’m going to be longer than I thought.
Simi knows. It’s sad the squire is missing. Is Tria okay?
How’d you know the squire is missing? He thought for a moment. And why ask about Tria?
There was a brief silence before Simi replied, Savvy asked me not to talk about it with you. He says that Arki is on his own this time. 81
She sounded sad and worried, and although annoyed, Ash couldn’t add to it. It’s okay, Simi, he said in a warm tone. Savitar knows what he talking about. Then, to himself, he added, I hope. Well, at least he knew why Savitar wasn’t returning his calls.
Can Simi come see you?
In a few days. I’ll call you later. Closing his conversation with Simi, he tossed her words around in his mind. On my own this time… you know, Sav, a few hints wouldn’t hurt. 82
~~~~~~~~~~~~~83
Shoving closed fists into her eyes, and pushing, Trinity tried to concentrate. It wasn’t working. The voices in her mind were beckoning louder and louder, and the hunger in her stomach grew with each passing moment. She would fight it as long as she could, but know it was a losing battle. There was no doubt in her mind now as what the future held in store for her. 84
Jerking at a sound, she pulled her fists away and looked at her tormentor, the one being she would love to kill, Kessar, as he stood outside her little cell, studying her. At his side stood a young female, her arm securely in his grasp. She looked more than scared and regarded Trinity with the fear that came with knowing her death was near.85
Opening the cell door, Kessar shoved the woman in, and closed the door quickly. “Think your human will power is stronger than us?” he asked in a conversational tone. “Let’s put that to the test.”86
Trinity snarled at him, then shifted her gaze to the young woman, who was now cowering in a corner, her arms over her head as she whimpered. Forcing herself to sit on the ground, Trinity leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes. She could feel the hunger demanding she kill the woman, and she knew that eventually she would. But she would be damned if she gave that asshole the satisfaction of her killing when he wanted her to. 87
“Impressive,” Kessar said in a dry tone. “But please, don’t take all night. I have plans, and your stubbornness is seriously screwing them up.”88
Trinity could hear his footsteps as he walked away, and she waited a few more unbearable minutes before cracking one eye open. She was alone with the woman, who was still in the corner, crying. Closing her eyes again, she counted to one hundred, then two hundred. 89
“Two hundred fifteen, two hundred sixteen,” she whispered, trying to ignore the commands. “Two hundred seventeen, two hundred-“ 90
Before she knew what was happening, and unable to stop herself, Trinity bolted to her feet and stalked to the woman. 91
Grabbing her by the arm, she pulled her to her feet and leaned forward, sinking her fangs into the throat and pulling back. 92
The scream was surprisingly brief, and Trinity could feel no sense of remorse or even a flicker of compassion as she leaned in for another bite. Quickly finishing, she let the remains fall to the ground, and took a step back, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. 93
There, she had done it. She’d become Gallu, and a part of her liked it. May Olympus have mercy on any Dark-Hunter that got in her way.94
Lifting her head, she smelled someone coming, and turned to find Kessar leaning against the wall opposite her cell. 95
“It’s time for you to leave,” he said as he took a step and opened her cell door. She dutifully walked out, her conditioning from the poison complete. “We’re going to take a little drive, and you’re going to make a phone call or two.”96
Trinity smiled, the double row of fangs now at home in her demon body. 97
~~~~~~~~~~98
Tossing her keys on the kitchen counter, Tria clamped down on the urge to call for Trinity. Some habits died hard, and that one was going to take a lot to get used to. She felt a little guilty that she was gradually getting used to Trinity no longer being there, and felt bad that it was only a little guilt, and not some massive remorse when she thought of it. Not willing to give herself the opportunity to beat her mind up over it, she headed for the fridge for an early morning beer. 99
Walking past the phone, she noticed that light was blinking, indicating that there were messages waiting. Picking up the cordless phone and dialing to retrieve the messages, Tria grabbed two beer from the fridge, and held one out. Ash took it as he walked past her on his way to the laptop that had taken up permanent residence on the coffee table in the living room. 100
Tria listened to a message Mosi left in which he thanked her for the, as he put it, ‘little bit of help’ the night before. She smiled when he mentioned that he had a large box of chocolates with her name on it, just waiting for her to come get.101
Punching through to the next message, she froze at the voice that came over it. “Tria?” Trinity’s voice whispered. “I don’t know your cell… please…help me…my pocket-“ There was scared yelp, and then the message ended. 102
Staring at the phone, not quite sure if she’d heard it correctly, Tria pushed the button to replay, her hand shaking so badly that she had to try twice. “Ash?” she called in an eerily calm voice. “Could you come listen to this please?” Hitting the speakerphone option, she closed her eyes as the message sounded again.103
Ash stood in the archway between the kitchen and the living room, listening to the voice. He could tell right away that it was most likely a trick, but the ‘my pocket’ part made no sense. “It’s a-“104
Tria’s look made him stop. “A trick,” she said, “I know.” She rubbed her hands over her face and turned away from the phone. “I’m going to bed.”105
Ash watched as she walked to the door leading to the basement and was surprised when the door shut quietly behind her. Turning back to the phone, he looked through the call information as he listened to the message again.106
Pulling out his cell phone, he made a call. “There was a call made from Trinity Wells cell phone, to Tria Cavanaugh’s home phone, at,” he paused to check the time, “four twenty-seven this morning.” 107
Waiting while the information was looked up, he listened to the call again. The voice was, on the surface, quiet and scared, but when studied, seemed to have a theatrical feel to it. He was confident that it was a staged call, designed to upset Tria, and make her think that her Squire was still alive. 108
Listening as the person he had called returned with the information, his eyes creased in confusion. “Are you sure?” He listened some more. “Yeah. Let the rest of the squires know.”
Ash closed his cell phone and held it in his hands as he stared at the phone on the wall. The GPS on the cell phone had kicked in when the call was placed, and according to the data, that call had come from less than fifty miles away.
Author notes
I know the Savitar/Aiden part seems out of place, but trust me.. it'll make sense....
In a list
Please tell me what you think
Comments
-
it really surprises me how much i like the parts with trinity because im usually like 'boo bad guys' but her parts are just so damn intriguing.
ash on the other hand has always held my attention oh so effortlessly.
a great plot building chapter and yeah for butt pinching of the ash type... though that is reserved for me only! -
Amazing!
I'm new here and this is the first thing that I've read. All I can say is Wow! This is VERY well-written. It felt like I was reading one of the Dark Hunter novels. It flows very very well. It sucked me in from the get go. I look forward to reading much more!
beginning: 5, language: 5, plot: 5, ending: 5, dialog: 5, characters: 5.
-
Trinity nooo!
Ash yesssss! OKay.. to me, this looks like he likes Tria, and boo-yeah!
Savitar.. bad, bad for ignoring Ash. (I shall give him a tongue lashing for that.)
Trinity but oh so interesting to the story
Adding your comment:
