It should have been simple, but it wasn’t. The one thing Ash thought he would know the immediate answer to was eluding him like some firefly being chased across the lawn. Everyone around him seemed to have a solid grasped on just what should be done, and deep down he knew that he did too. But letting the answer out of its hiding place meant that he would first have to acknowledge that he had the answer. And to do that, he had to turn his back on the last ten thousand plus years. 1
When it was all boiled down, he was essentially a demon killer… plain and simple. Sure, there were other things that could fill out his résumé, such as being omnipotent, and a god of fate, but those usually took a back seat to the one reason he was ‘re-born’ for. 2
As the first of Artemis’ army, his soul duty was to do her bidding. If he relinquished himself to what he already knew he had to do, then all that would be gone. And with it, most of the future which he once knew. 3
For the first time in his existence, he really didn’t know what to do.4
“You’re overanalyzing,” Aiden said as she walked up to him on the beach. 5
“It’s not something I can go into without thinking every aspect over,” he replied tightly. “I have to wonder what else is being hidden from me.”6
Aiden sighed as she sat in the sand. “It all seemed so simple,” she looked out over the blue water. “She would come here, you would come when you needed to, and then you would finally be happy.”7
Finally be happy? Ash studied her. “You don’t think I’m happy?”8
“I’ve know you for over a hundred years, Ash, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen you happy.” Aiden picked up a small rock and tossed it at the ocean. “Sure, you’ve been content, and looked happy, but…deep down, I don’t think you know how to actually be happy.”9
Ready to refute her and tell her that he had indeed been happy, Ash stopped. Looking back over his existence to the times he thought he had been happy, he examined them a little closer. Most of the times had indeed been contentment, with some pleasure and joy thrown in, but there were very few times that he could actually admit to being happy. His times with his godchildren were happy, because they accepted him for who he was.10
His times with Simi were happy in that he didn’t have to be anyone except for himself with her. His times with Aiden could be considered happy, since she didn’t care one way or another that he was some ancient mythical god that could toast her ass at any time. 11
Shifting his gaze to the sand, he realized the pattern that had emerged. He was only really happy when he was with people that accepted him for him, not for what he was. Tria accepted him, and asked for nothing in return… and he had been happy.12
“No one knows what the future brings,” Aiden said. “Well, no normal person. True happiness, like time, is infinite and eternal. It will be there when you need it, and over time you may find yourself longing for it more and more. You cannot deny yourself happiness, Ash. You might think it makes you needy to want it, but to deny it for something else is the real crime.”13
“Stop talking like Savitar,” he said. “It’s freaking me out.”14
Aiden snorted slightly in amusement. “Freaking me out, too.” She stood with a sigh. “I’m sorry for what happened, but… I’d do it again if it meant your eternal happiness.” 15
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~16
The conversation seemed surreal enough to make Dom wish he had just kept his mouth shut and not made the call in the first place. Out of all the people he could have called, the Celt would have the best grasp on what Dom was talking about…although, he wasn’t sure if Talon could put his smart assed attitude on the back burner long enough to help.
Thankfully, tonight Talon decided to be more of help than a hindrance. Through some rather pointed questions, Talon was trying to get information out that would help decipher the feeling that Dom had experienced when he saw the woman.17
“Do you know her?” Talon asked.18
“Never saw her before tonight,” Dom said as he aimlessly drove around the parking garage. “Worse thing is… she’s my squire’s girlfriend.”19
“Ouch,” Talon said, humor working its way into his voice. “She doesn’t have the same name, does she?”20
“No. I think Craig said her name was Melinda… Melissa… one of those.”21
“It could be anything, Dom. The walk mighta been similar enough to make ye think it was her. Or even her looks.” 22
“Weird thing is, she didn’t look anything like her,” Dom said. “It’s just…I took one look and just…” He stopped. “Never mind. I probably just imagined it.”23
“Ye sure?” Talon asked, willing to let it slide.24
“Yeah.” Dom finally parked his car on a middle level of the garage. “I think one of Ash’s cryptic conversations took root and has grown into a huge annoyance.”25
“They do have a habit of doin’ that, aye,” Talon agreed. “I take it T-Rex is there?”26
Dom snorted at Talon’s nickname for Ash. “He’s around…someplace. No idea, really. Showed up, mentioned something about someone needing me, then sort of stuck around just to piss me off.”27
“This someone a woman?”28
Dom hesitated. “Yes.”29
“The man may be cryptically flaky, but he knows what he’s taking about,” Talon said. “And that’s probably why ye think ye saw your wife.”30
Yeah, sure, let’s go with that. Dom closed his eyes wearily. “That could be it.“31
“Don’t take this the wrong way, Dom, but maybe you should take a night off.”32
“Did that last night,” Dom answered. 33
“Really?” Talon sounded surprised. “I thought the concept of not working was foreign to ye.”34
“Never too old to learn.” Dom looked out the heavily tinted window to the darkened parking structure. Over the centuries, there had been nights when he did absolutely nothing but stare into the darkness as he walked around, or sat at home waiting for Daimon activity…but until last night, he had never actually just slept the night away unless he was under a Dream-Hunter’s care. 35
His eyes widened slightly as he looked to his left. “Gotta go,” he said. “Daimons.”36
“That’ll get your frustrations worked out,” Talon said. “I’ll call ye later.”37
Dom closed his phone and got out of the car. Slipping the phone into the front pocket of his jeans, he walked away from the car, motioning behind him with the keys to set the alarm, before securing them in a zipped pocket in his jacket.38
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~39
Craig stared out the window of the café, looking for signs that Dom would be returning. The thought of trying the cell phone were quickly pushed aside. Nothing worse than calling someone and having a ring tone announce to the demon population that a Dark-Hunter was sneaking up behind them. 40
There was also the fact that Dom had a strangely intense look on his face that he usually got just before a hunt. Interrupting at that moment would have been a mistake, and although he knew Dom would never intentionally harm a human, that vow didn’t leak over into the verbal area. Last thing he wanted was for his ‘boss’ to have a freak out on the street… things like that were best kept for the Daimons.41
Not that Dom freaked out a lot, but he had zero tolerance when it came to some things, while with other issues he had more patience than anyone Craig had ever seen. The man could sit for hours, waiting for something or someone, and then calmly get up and walk away if neither developed. 42
One time, Craig had gone with him while Dom had gotten one of his numerous tattoos, and while the Dark-Hunter seemed oblivious to the needle etching into his skin, and the hours that were passing, Craig had quickly gotten bored and antsy. 43
Across the table from him, Craig’s girlfriend Melissa was sipping on a coffee and getting rather bored. “Maybe we should leave?” she asked in a neutral voice. 44
“Maybe,” Craig said slowly. His eyes shifted to the large clock on the wall, and he nodded. “It’s nearly midnight.”45
“Back to your place?”46
“No,” he said with a smooth smile. “Boss doesn’t like anyone on the property without his knowledge.”47
“I thought he was suppose to be here,” she pouted slightly as she stood. “Instead, he runs off.” She looked at him. “Who is he, Superman or something?”48
“Yes,” Craig answered. “Just don’t tell anyone.”49
“Maybe you could come to my place, and I’ll drive you back in the morning,” Melissa suggested. “Or, meet him for breakfast someplace.”50
“He’s not a morning person,” Craig said. “At all.” He smiled at her. “Don’t worry, you’ll meet him.” He jumped slightly as his phone vibrated in his pocket. “Speaking of which…” He answered his phone on the third ring, turning away so Melissa wouldn’t hear the conversation. 51
Melissa watched the concern cross his face, and slightly wondered just what she was getting in to with this relationship. When she had first seen Craig, she had been ready to ignore him when some inner voice told her to smile back at him across the bar. 52
They had met casually in the same bar for a few nights before he asked her out. And after a few weeks of dating, she was glad that she had listened to her inner voice. Although he had a few eccentricities, and seemed to be on a tight leash with his job, they enjoyed their time together. 53
Craig closed the phone and looked at her. “I have to go,” he said slowly. 54
“Work again?” she asked in a slightly annoyed tone. 55
“It’ll only be for a few hours,” he said, bending to give her a small kiss. 56
~~~~~~~~~~~57
Quickly making his way down three flights of stairs and out through a street level entry, Dom ran across nearly empty traffic towards the feeling that was beckoning him. The Daimons were across the street in a vacant lot behind a rundown building, standing over a body on the ground. 58
“Yo, blondie!” Dom called as he walked up to the group. Casting a glance at the woman on the ground to make sure she was relatively unharmed, he motioned to the side with his head. “Time to go, little one.”59
The Daimons snarled as the woman scrambled to her feet and ran past Dom, vanishing into the darkness. One pulled something out of a pocket, pointed it at Dom, and jerked his finger.60
The bullets from the gun hit Dom in the stomach, chest and hip, pushing his body back with each impact. When the gun was empty, Dom looked at the blood flowing down his chest, grimacing at the waste of another custom made shirt. The pain from the multiple wounds was overshadowed by annoyance when he discovered that the bullets had also ripped through his motorcycle jacket.61
“Shit,” he groused, looking up as the Daimons approached. “Wait, wait, wait!” Dom held his hand out.62
The Daimons stopped and looked at him. 63
“What are the three things that can kill a Dark-Hunter?”64
The Daimons looked confused at the question, then one shrugged. “Beheading, sunlight and…”65
“Total dismemberment,” Dom supplied, then shook his head. “So why the hell did you think shooting me would work? Shit. I should beat the hell out of you before I kill you just for being so stupid.”66
Snarling as one, the Daimons attacked. Usually, the four would be no problem for a well rested, or non-injured Dom, but the blood seeping out of his body was making him a fraction slower than usual. Killing one Daimon before spinning away from the other three, he gave them a look of pure contempt that hopefully hid the discomfort that was starting.67
The Daimon that had shot him bent low to the ground and straightened while holding a large stick with a few leaves on the end. He held it out and to the side as he approached. 68
“Tree branch? Hey, now you’re thinking.” Dom nodded in approval. “I’m still going to kill you, though.”69
A small warning rang through his brain, telling him that someone was coming up behind him. Quickly checking, he discovered that it was a human, and a brief glance showed it to be the woman he had initially rescued from the Daimons. 70
“Not a good place for you to be,” he said loudly, his attention back on the remaining three Daimons. One of the soul suckers tried to make a dash past him, and paid the price by turning into a small pile of golden dust. 71
Maneuvering himself to stay between the Daimons and the woman, Dom cursed lightly at the predicament. He had to keep his Hunter secret, yet at the same time protect the woman at all costs. His mind yelled out another warning at him, but all he could feel was the female behind him. 72
The Daimons facing him had stopped walking, and looked in no hurry to even approach or attack again. He briefly wondered why. It all connected in his brain, and he moved to the side the same instant he felt immense pain in his back. A scream involuntarily escaped from his lips and he fell to his knees as the pain was repeated, except this time in reverse, and his hands went to his stomach. 73
The human female walked around from behind him, holding the sword in her hand expertly as she smiled at him. Dom’s eyes went from her face, to the blade that was dripping with his blood. Images flashed past him, bringing the events of his death back in full focus. The pain was unbelievable, and threatened to break him as it had done over one thousand years before.74
Only, that time he had been human. This time, he was immortal. 75
The sword came down again, aiming for his neck. Moving on nothing more than instinct and adrenaline, Dom’s hands came up, slapping against both sides of the sharp blade, stopping it just short of his face. 76
Falling back to the ground, he used the momentum to yank the sword from the woman, and continue in a roll that ending with him on his knees. Quickly getting to his feet, he faced the two Daimons and one woman.77
“You stupid bitch!” he spat, his vision swimming in and out of focus. Holding the sword low, but ready, his eyes turned red as he stalked towards the three. He knew he had to guard the woman, but at the moment he wasn’t feeling overly charitable. If she ended up being a causality in this by not getting out of the way, then that was her problem. 78
Suddenly feeling like maybe she was in mortal danger, the woman screamed and moved to stand behind the Daimons. The one with the branch ran at Dom while the other circled around behind the injured Hunter. 79
Dom blocked a few swings of the branch with the sword, his anger growing with each parry. One hit caught him in the side, and he felt something crunch against his hip. Bringing a foot up to kick the Daimon back, he grabbed the stick out of his hand, swung it around in an arc to catch the Daimon that was trying to attack from behind. Dom continued in a circle, striking the second Daimon in the head with the sword. 80
With both lying in the dirt in pain, Dom easily disposed of them, then slammed the sword angrily against the ground, collapsing it back into the hilt. His breath was ragged as he stared at the woman who was still standing there, her eyes wide. 81
“What did they promise you?” he demanded.82
Her eyes flicked from him to the spot where the Daimons had been. Screaming again, she turned and ran into the darkness. Dom watched her go, figuring that she was one of the stupid ones that believed the Daimons when they told her that they could offer immortality…if only she would do one little thing for them. More often than not, that little thing meant trapping or killing a Dark-Hunter.83
Fighting the overwhelming urge to sleep so he could heal, he took a look around to make sure that there wasn’t too much of his blood on the ground. Reaching in to his jeans pocket, he pulled out the remains of what had been his cell phone before the branch had smashed it. 84
“Great,” he muttered. “Just…fucking great.” Slowly gathering anything of his from the ground, he placed a few knives back in hidden pockets in his jacket, along with the newly acquired collapsible sword, then started for the parking garage where he had left his car. 85
He could feel his stab wound pulling as he walked, every step making it seem like the sword was being driven into his back all over again. His whole midsection felt numb, making it hard to breathe and get any air. The view in front of him danced in and out of focus, and the pain in his head went up another notch to a persistent pounding. 86
He desperately wanted to go to sleep, but he knew he had to get to some sort of safety to do that, and the only place he could think of was his car. He hoped the extra cell phone was still in the small slot between the seats, although if worse came to worse, he could spend the day in the car. The windows were heavily tinted to prevent sunlight, and once set, the alarm would prevent anyone from gaining access.87
Only by sheer willpower did he make it to the parking garage without attracting attention to himself. Although, he did shock a few pedestrians with the bullet holes, stab wound and blood that lined his front. Luckily, none of those people that saw him had been police, and as he stood at the bottom of a flight of steps, he wondered if a night in jail would be preferable to climbing three floors. 88
Deciding that the extra pain was better than being fried in the morning sun, Dom placed a bloody hand on the railing, and grimaced. Wiping his hand on his pants to remove the rest of the blood, he cleaned the railing, then tried again. He would be able to send a squire clean up team here in the morning, but the last thing he needed was someone finding a bloody handprint before then.89
Half way up the stairs, he faltered slightly, loosing his footing and slipping backwards. He held on to the railing, bringing his body into a slight arc, which rammed his side against the metal barrier. 90
Hissing in pain from his shoulder, arm and side, he slowly pulled himself up and he forced his body up the rest of the steps. The urge to sleep was getting stronger, and he wanted nothing more than to stretch out on the landing above him and close his eyes.91
The remaining two flights felt like torture on his body, and when he finally got to his vehicle, it took four tries before his key made it into the car door to unlock it. Making sure he pulled his keys back out, he opened the door, gingerly got in and pulled the door shut. Leaning back into the seat, he resisted closing his eyes for a few moments longer. Locking the doors of the car, and setting the exterior alarm, Dom contemplated what to do next. 92
Pulling the extra cell phone out of the small cubbyhole between the seats, he flipped it open and stared at it, trying to remember Craig’s number. He couldn’t even recall which speed dial it was under, and oddly enough, the only number he knew was the cafe's. 93
“Shit,” he whispered. He wanted to call his Dream-Hunter, but somehow, even that information was eluding him at the moment. 94
As if on cue, a small electrical hum sounded in the car, quickly followed by the body of a tall man in the passenger seat. Pale blue eyes looked him over, then a hand reached out and took the cell phone from him. 95
~~~~~~~~~~~~~96
Turning Aiden’s words around in his mind, Ash walked along the small path that led from one end of Neratiti to the other. He knew she was right, although he avoided saying it out loud. He was purposely keeping the options he still had available and open; one wrong word, and everything would crumble around him, pulling this out of his grasp forever. 97
First, he had to admit it to himself that he needed Tria, but to do that, he had to turn his back on the Dark-Hunters. And that was the one thing he couldn’t bring himself to do.98
“Tria?” he called out quietly, knowing that she could hear him. 99
“Yes?” her voice whispered back, carried on the warm tropical breezes. 100
Within an instant he had located her and teleported himself to stand in front of her. Studying the calm eyes that looked at him, he knew he had the decision that he had to make; regardless how painful it would be.101
“I can’t,” he said quietly, feeling a part of himself breaking. “I-“102
She broke him off with a finger placed gently against his lips. “Shhh,” she said in a soothing voice, bringing her hand up to brush lightly through his hair. “Don’t make a decision now. You have far too much to offer the world for me to ask you to give that up without thinking it through for a while. Take all the time you need…I happen to have eternity.”103
“Are you sure?”104
Tria nodded. “This isn’t something you can do because you feel obligated or because someone has told you that you need to. I won’t accept anything less than your freely given decision. Whatever it may be.”105
Ash stared at her, his mind pulling a full reversal on his earlier conclusion. He felt slightly more at ease with the conundrum that faced them, knowing that he didn’t have to rush into anything that may doom both of them. There was so much for them to discuss and work out, but all he wanted at that moment was to feel her against him. 106
Tria jumped slightly as Ash reached out and gently pulled her close. For her, it had only been about four days since she had last tasted him, while on his part, she had been gone for over three months. 107
As his lips covered hers, Ash was content, for once to just let the world pass him by as he experienced happiness.108
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Craig slowed his 2002 Lotus Esprit V8 enough to pull into the parking garage before speeding slightly to make it to the third level. After the phone call from Dom’s Dream-Hunter, Craig had dropped Melissa off at her car a few blocks away before making his way to the garage. 109
Pulling alongside a black 2008 Porsche 911 GT2, Craig quickly got out of his car and went to the passenger side of the other one. Tapping lightly on the window would set off the alarm, so he pulled out his cell phone and made a call. 110
“I’m at the car,” he said, “The alarm disable is on the key chain.” A small bleep sounded, signifying that the alarm had been turned off, and the passenger window lowered.111
Craig looked in at the Dream-Hunter, then over at Dom as he sat slumped in the driver’s seat. “Holy shit,” Craig said as he took in all the blood and slowly healing wounds that he could see through the shirt. “What happened?”112
“Shot, stabbed,” the Onerio replied in a bland voice. “It might be easier to get him into your car than try to move him to the passenger seat in his.”113
“My windows aren’t tinted,” Craig pointed out. “Don’t need someone seeing him looking like that.”114
“Not a problem,” came the reply as he got out of the car and walked to the other side. Opening the driver’s door, he easily hoisted Dom out and pulled him towards Craig’s car. 115
Running over to help, Craig resisted the urge to place a blanket down so blood wouldn’t get on his seats. Quickly securing his boss in, Craig went to Dom’s car, took the keys out and made sure the windows and doors were secure before resetting the alarm.116
Getting into the driver’s seat of his Lotus, Craig’s eyes shifted to the Dream-Hunter. He watched as the man vanished in a blue haze, and jumped slightly when Dom jerked and moaned in pain. Assuming that the Onerio was doing his work healing Dom in his dreams, Craig started the car and headed for home. 117
In a list
Please tell me what you think
Comments
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"I should beat the hell out of you before I kill you just for being so stupid.” HAHAHAHA
What? No, wait. Stabbed?
Excellent fight scene though, and shows his sometimes dislike of humans.
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Grrr...
I want to know who that dumb bleep was that stabbed Dom is. She needs to be drawn and quartered for her insolence. It was a good chapter though. Oh, too bad Dom didn't get to "beat the hell out of the daimons before he killed them just for being so stupid".
beginning: 5, language: 5, plot: 5, ending: 4, dialog: 5, characters: 5.
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So worth the wait!
Can't wait for the next chapter!
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