Pushing all unrelated issues to the background, Dom immersed himself completely in Dark-Hunter duties over the next few days. Still pissed off at Ash and his behavior in the café, he walked the city’s streets from just after dusk, to just before sunrise. 1
Falling into bed and going through various stages of restlessness, he was more tired than he could remember being in recent history. Since his precognition always kicked in to warn him of things, it was hard to relax enough to let his Dream-Hunter work his powers. Usually, his mind allowed access, but when tired and wired, it shunted all attempts, which left him unable to get rid of the problems he was trying to avoid.2
With only a few mildly exhilarating clashes with demons breaking up the uneventful quietness, he found it harder and harder to maintain his distance from certain thoughts. Things that would have normally been a passing notion tried to take root and spread through his mind until he was ready to scream from annoyance.3
The second of the fourteen cardinal rules for Dark-Hunters was ‘be a part of the world, but never in it’. By frequenting the café for the past couple years, he had indeed been a part of the world, but had also placed himself in it. 4
It was a confusion that played of off each other in an annoying conundrum that assaulted him during the boring periods. Which tonight certainly qualified as.5
Dom leaned against the seat of his motorbike as he watched the entrance of the college from another location than usual. The view wasn’t perfect, but he didn’t want to be too close to the café in case Angie spotted him. He wished he had his car, but windows for a 2008 Porsche 911 GT2 weren’t exactly an ‘in-stock’ item, and he had to wait a week or more to fix what his temper had broken. 6
He hadn’t been in the café since that night, either. While storming out, he had caught a glimpse of pity in Angie’s eyes, and he wasn’t sure he could deal with that right now…if ever. One of the little issues that kept gnawing at him was the notion that maybe he wanted to seek out comfort from Angie. Having no doubt that she would accept any intimate overtures he made, she would unknowingly be placing her life on the line by sheer virtue of who he was. He couldn’t do that to her, and by staying away, made sure that any impulses could be controlled.7
Angie was going places in her life. Soon to graduate, she would be able to use her skills to help others. Dom was nothing…or more precisely, stuck somewhere around nothing in his existence. And he had to keep it that way. Involving himself in the lives of regular humans was something he had never done before, and he was annoyed with himself for allowing it to happen over the past few years.8
Checking his watch, he realized that the campus was now closed, and he stood with a tired sigh. Reaching for his helmet, he slipped it on. Not that he necessarily needed the helmet since any accidents would probably not kill him, he wasn’t in the mood to get another ticket for riding without one. Besides, sometimes a Dark-Hunter needed that anonymity when speeding through the streets. Not that riding around on a limited edition MV Agusta F4 CC, with a top speed of 195/mph, exactly made him blend in. 9
Mounting the bike, and headed off in search of things to kill. 10
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~11
At first, Aiden had thought that having someone else living in the building would be a good thing, but a few days of sensing Tria’s stress and worries were enough to give the eagle a massive headache. Since Were-Hunter were empathic and telepathic to a degree, Aiden had to consciously work to keep a wall up to ward off the emotions, but make it porous enough to let her know if Tria was in trouble. 12
“You look tired,” Tria said as the two of them sat on Aiden’s patio drinking a couple tall frosty beers. 13
Aiden shrugged in response, and turned her attention to the skyline. “Any idea what you’re going to do for eternity?”14
“Haven’t really thought about it,” Tria admitted as she took another sip of the alcohol. “I guess it would depend on what Ash decides.” She glanced as Aiden gave a small grunt. “What?” 15
“I know how much Ash needs to be in control of every aspect of his life, but this is something the two of you need to decide, together.”16
“What if we don’t agree?” Tria asked. “What if I want one thing, and he wants another?”17
“This isn’t some little discussion over where to eat, or what movie to rent.” Aiden gave the woman a hard stare. “If you do what Ash wants, just because he wants it done that way, and you can’t see the logic in it, then you’re both going to be miserable.”18
“Why?” Tria demanded. 19
“Vagueness is virtually a lifestyle to beings like Ash. He does what he wants, when he wants, but at rare times, he’ll do something because he thinks it’s the right thing to do. Even if it goes against every one of his instincts.” Aiden paused to take a drink. “There are far more things riding on his refusing you, and only a few things depending on you two being together.” She stopped as something occurred to her, and quickly ran through certain conversations in her mind.20
Tria watched as the Huntress seemed to be lost in thought. Settling back in her chair, she looked at the setting sun, wishing she knew what to do. Although Aiden had been gracious enough to let her stay in the building, she felt like an interloper. 21
Turning her thoughts to what Aiden had said, she pulled them apart in her mind, examining each word to find the truth hidden in them. She knew that Ash would do what he thought was right, but she hoped he wouldn’t change his existence only because he thought it was what she wanted. 22
As much as she would love to spend eternity with him, she couldn’t accept that if he compromised his principles just to make her happy. 23
Aiden continued through her thoughts, recalling every word said to her about the particular subject., Since she had perfect recall, the words came back easily, and she frowned to herself when she realized that a certain pertinent phrase had never been uttered.24
Savitar? she thought, reaching out to him over the cosmos. 25
Savitar isn’t available at the moment, came the reply in his voice. Please remove all your clothing, go to bed, and await his arrival.
Aiden rolled her eyes at his unusual playful nature. He most likely knew what she was thinking, and instead of outright avoiding it, he was going to occupy her attention to the point of forgetting. Not that it would be a bad thing, but she was determined to peruse her latest insight. 26
~~~~~~~~~~~~~27
The premonition came so swiftly that Dom nearly lost control of the bike as it sped along the city streets. Gritting his teeth, he wrestled the bike from the tilt he had placed it in, at the same time throttling back and leaning slightly to the right, readying his feet in case he needed stability.28
Pulling into an empty parking lot, he quickly stopped and kicked the stand down to support the bike. Straightening himself, he pulled off the helmet and inhaled the cool night air as the scene replayed unbidden in front of him. Out of all the things that he had seen over the millennium, this had been the first time he had seen himself dying. 29
Knowing that there were too many things to take into consideration to make it a sure thing didn’t help with the feeling that crept into his chest. Angie had been there, and that worried him. She couldn’t know who he was, and he didn’t want her to know. Ash had been there, too, which made him think that maybe he died, and Angie had been given the chance to return his soul. 30
Shaking his head, he tried to banish the memories from his mind. He didn’t want the mundane existence that came with being human, and he didn’t need the pain that loving someone brought. He’d ‘been there, done that, got the neat tattoo’ already, and really didn’t want to go through that again…especially the death part.31
More rattled than he was comfortable with from the premonition, he made the rare decision to cut the night short and head back home. There, he could think through things in an undisturbed environment and work through any roadblocks that might stand in the way of making sure his second death never happened. 32
Concentrating on the asphalt in front of him on the journey back was one of the hardest things he had to do in recent memory. His mind kept wandering back to the vision, and more than once he nearly missed a turn in the road. It was bad enough that he had already run two red lights…wrapping the bike around a pole wasn’t something he wanted to experience again. It had been hard enough to get the bike in the first place without having to replace it because of an inability to pay attention.33
Finally making to the gates of the place that had been him home for over two hundred years, he stopped to key in the access code, then drove in as soon as the gates opened enough to let him. Sensors on the gates caused them to immediately start to close again once they sensed the vehicle was through. 34
Not even bothering to put the bike in the garage with the others, Dom parked it in the general vicinity of the end of the driveway, and headed for the house.35
“Craig!” he yelled as soon as he entered the foyer. 36
“What?” the voice hollered back. Craig soon appeared from the rest of the house. “Something wrong?”37
“Contact the other Hunters and tell them that I’m not out.”38
“Any reason why?”39
“Yes,” Dom said in a low voice as he walked past his squire, and didn’t stop until made it to his private area of the house. Pulling his shirt off over his head, he tossed it angrily at a chair, and fell on to his bed. 40
A knock at his door prompted an annoyed groan from his as he sat up. “What?”41
The door cracked open far enough for Craig’s head to look in. “You okay?”42
A thousand and one insulting replies vied for the honor of being tossed, but it was tired indifference that won out. “Fine,” Dom said. “Just really tired.”43
“If you need to talk…”44
”I know where you live,” Dom completed. “Yeah.” He stared at the floor for a moment. “I’m fine. Just need sleep.” Not looking up at the door closed again, he continued to concentrate on an invisible spot on the floor. 45
~~~~~~~~~~~~46
The moonlight shone through the windows, casting ghostly shadows throughout the room. Tria lay on the bed, trying for the first time to sleep at night, instead of through the day. Thirty years of habit was hard to break, and she knew that she might have to stay up a few days straight to make herself tired enough to sleep.47
“Ash?” she whispered to the empty room. “Can you hear me?” Nodding when no reply came, she rolled over and stared at a wall. 48
Maybe Aiden was right, and Ash wouldn’t give up ten thousand years of lifestyle for someone he’d been intimate with for only a few short weeks. His ignoring her was most likely his way of letting her down without telling it to her face, and hurting her more than he would have to. 49
Even the idea that they held a little of each other’s blood in their veins wouldn’t be enough to make him take that difficult step and claim what the surfer, Savitar, had said should happen. 50
Wishing she could somehow get to sleep, she growled in annoyance. Since she was supposed to be dead, she couldn’t even call on her Dream-Hunter to lull her into unconsciousness. She had no doubt that he would never tell anyone that she was still alive, but since he was attached to a Dark-Hunter, she had lost him when she stopped being one.51
And the last thing she needed was to send out a summons for a new one, and have a Skotos answer the call. Nightmares were nothing new to her, but she didn’t feel like experiencing one tailor made for her by an emotion-seeking phantom. 52
Finally giving up all pretense of trying to sleep, she tossed the blankets aside and stood from the bed. Grabbing her slippers off the floor, she pulled them on and headed out in her nightdress to the rest of the condo in search of something to eat, drink, or watch.53
~~~~~~~~~~~~~54
Smiling as his fingers combed lightly through her hair, Aiden ran a fingertip over the well-defined stomach just below where her head rested. Savitar’s ‘eight-pack of abs’ felt smooth to the touch, his natural tanned skin making her feel like running a tongue instead of fingers over them. 55
His chest moved in a low chuckle, raising her head slightly. “Naughty thoughts,” he teased in a whisper. 56
“If I asked a question, would I get an honest answer?”57
“If I decide to answer,” Savitar replied, “it will be with the truth.”58
Aiden sighed. “It’s really annoying the way you omnipotent beings twist things.”59
“It is,” Savitar agreed. “But it’s fun.”60
“That remains to be seen.” Aiden lifted her head so she could look into his eyes, which were currently the usual violet hue. “Are Ash and Tria supposed to end up together?”61
“Why would you ask that?” 62
“You keep saying that she’s his saving grace, and that he needs her, and all that,” Aiden paused for a moment. “But not once have you actually said that Ash and Tria end up together for eternity as a couple.”63
“You know what I like about you?” he asked. “You’re very perceptive.”64
“So, are they?”65
“The future is ever changing,” he replied, purposely avoiding the question. “There are certain things that cannot be spoken aloud.”66
“Would it change their futures?”67
”I didn’t say that.”68
“You also didn’t answer the question.”69
Smiling mysteriously, Savitar brought his lips to her, kissing gently before resting his head back on the pillow and closing his eyes.70
~~~~~~~~~~~~71
Sleep finally captured Dom, whisking him away to the land of Morpheus, where he was too tried to inadvertently block any attempts from Dream-Hunters. He woke late afternoon, feeling better than he had all week, and experiencing none of the annoyance that had accompanied into the dream realm. 72
Now he was able to look at the vision he’d had objectively, and pick it apart until it no longer bothered him. Okay… he was dead in the dream, but that didn’t necessarily mean that he was dead, dead. It could signify the death of something else in his life. That was the thing about precognition and his little visions of the future…when dug into further, they didn’t always mean what he saw. 73
He could usually distinguish the difference between ‘going to happen’, and ‘have to interpret’, but his mind had been too tired to see through it earlier. Exhaling lightly, he sat up on the bed, moving back far enough to lean against the headboard, and stared across the room at a small golden clock that sat on a dresser. 74
Trying to make his mind blank, he started the mental journey to force himself to see the future. Small tendrils of pain slithered out from the base of his neck, creeping up over his head, and down across his shoulders. Breathing evenly, he kept his focus on the clock, not looking away as it blurred into a golden blob that wavered with each pulse. 75
Walking…he could see that. And clean shaven. He hadn’t completely shaved in over a week, and currently sported a goatee… so it wasn’t something that was going to happen tonight. And maybe never if he decided to keep the beard. A hard surface with lines, most likely a parking lot, and – 76
Coughing in pain, Dom’s attention wavered slightly, pulling the vision out of his grasp. With his head pounding and his shoulders aching, he slid back to a lying position and tried to ride the agony as it flowed over him. 77
His fingers curled into the black silk sheets as the pain remained, drawing a low moan from him. Purposely using his precognition wasn’t something he liked doing, since the end result was a lot of pain, but sometimes he had to ignore the risk for the gain.78
The first time he had ever forced it, he ended up with the scar on his right cheek that ran from the corner of his eye to just above his ear when the pain caused him to fall off the horse he had been riding. That had been back when Ash was training him as a Hunter, and from that point on, Dom made sure he was always on a solid surface during the ultra-rare occasion that he used it.79
Exhaling slowly, he rolled off the bed and stood, the sheets pooling around his feet and remaining on the floor as he rubbed his hands over his face. He couldn’t tell from the vision if it was real or not, but knew that there was no guarantee either way.80
“Screw it,” he whispered to himself as he stepped out of the sheets as headed for a long hot shower to work out the residual pain in his shoulders. If, and when he saw Ash again, he would ask about the vision, and if Ash wasn’t in one of his annoying cryptic moods, then he might just get an answer.81
~~~~~~~~~~~~82
The bed was soft, and the body warm, prompting Ash to roll over so he could lay on top of her. There was no way to be closer without being in her, and since he already was, he took her hands in his and brought them over her head. 83
Lowering his mouth to her neck, he could smell her blood flowing, and gave a long lick from her shoulder to her jaw, causing her to squirm in delight. Pulling his head back he stared into her eyes as their bodies moved in the ancient rhythm of lovers.
Jerking at a sound, Ash’s eyes flew open and his feet fell from the computer desk they were resting on. Confusion quickly left his brain as he looked around his opulent bedroom in Katoteros. Having arrived back from traipsing around the globe to check on various Hunters, he had leaned back in his chair, placed his feet on the computer desk and surfed the net through a laptop. 84
Apparently he had fallen asleep, and apparently his mind decided to remind him that he still had feelings for Tria. It had been nearly a week since he left her on Neratiti, and according to one of the e-mails that he had managed to read before sleep claimed him, she was safely sequestered in Aiden’s condo.85
A small part of him didn’t like the idea of her staying with someone that had caused him so much pain in the past few months, but he knew that Aiden wouldn’t let him down again. Unless Savitar asked her to, then it would be anyone’s guess whether she would do as asked, or tell the surfer to shove it. 86
Ash? Can you hear me? Tria’s voice carried across the cosmos to him, caressing his heart and mind. “I hear you,” he whispered, not sending the message back to her. He had to put some more distance between them so he could think this through to the proper conclusion…plus, he didn’t want Artemis hearing him sending messages to someone that wasn’t her. The goddess tended to be slightly bitchy at things like that.87
Pulling his attention back to the computer, he surfed through all his e-mail, finishing off the original messages, while ignoring the new ones that were coming in. Checking who they were from, he reached out with his omnipotent powers, making sure that there was nothing that needed him immediate attention.88
Standing, he stretched, then reaching a decision, teleported himself out of the Atlantean heaven. Ash appeared in a livingroom and looked down at the figure staring blankly at the television. Tria had such a completely angelic appearance to her at times that it made Ash’s heart ache.89
He reached out to touch her, stopping his hand halfway. He couldn’t do this, not now. He needed a clear mind to think, and giving in to the urge to be in her would definitely go against that. 90
Sighing to himself, and making a mental promise to return, he vanished with a small glow.91
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~92
Angie turned as the door opened, and stopped in surprise at the figure that stood there. She hadn’t seen him since that night about a week ago, and had hoped the fact that she had overheard the conversation wouldn’t have kept him away. 93
Smiling lightly as he remained where he was, her expression faltered somewhat. Dressed all in black, with his hair pulled into its usual queue, he looked both comforting, and completely dangerous. The goatee was new, and coupled with his usual dark sunglasses, gave him a completely sinister appearance.94
Turning from her, Dom made his way to the table he usually occupied, hesitating for moment as his hand landed on the back of the chair. Continuing to a table a little past it, he pulled the chair out and sat. He could still see the intersection from the new table, but now his back was against the wall to prevent anyone from walking behind him. 95
Angie bit her lip as she watched him take a new position in the café. It seemed odd to see him at a different table, and she hoped that she hadn’t been the one to cause a change in him. Grabbing the coffee pot, she walked over.96
“Coffee?” she asked, a little higher pitched than she intended.97
Dom’s eyes closed briefly behind his glasses at the strained infliction in her voice. “Thanks, Ang,” he said to put her at ease. He could still see the pity in her eyes when she looked at him, and it took a lot to ignore the urge to just get up and walk out. 98
“About last week,” Angie said, feeling the need to clear the air between them. “I didn’t mean to overhear, and I’m sorry-“99
“It’s okay,” he interrupted. 100
His cell phone vibrated in his pocket, with the muted chords of 'Sweet Home Alabama' accompanying it. The music grew as he took the phone out, surprised at the number that showed on the call display. 101
Hitting the talk key, he brought it to his ear. “Yeah?”102
“Busy?”103
“Just sitting in a café, having a coffee.”104
Talon’s appreciative sigh made it over the cell phone. The man was a coffee lover that took his passion very seriously. “Kin ye talk?”105
“Sorta, kinda,” Dom replied as he took a sip from his coffee. “Oh, that’s some good java.”106
“Yeah, maybe ye could shut it,” the Celt replied. “Sunshine has me on a two pot minimum.”107
Dom smiled at the thinking of the ex-Dark-Hunter’s health conscious wife. “Did you call for a reason, or just to whine?” He chuckled at the sputter that he could hear. 108
“Still interested in that information from the last call?” Talon finally asked. “I was gonna call ye earlier, but I heard ye had yerself a bad week.”109
Jerking slightly as something connected in his brain, Dom’s eyebrows creased as he considered. “I don’t know,” he said slowly. “E-mail it to me, and I’ll take a look tomorrow morning.”110
“Ye got it,” the Scottish voice replied. “Listen... both ye know, and I know, that sometimes premonitions can come in strange and various ways. Ye could have had one when ye was lookin’ at this lass, and it connected that way.”111
Dom sat straight as he recognized a car pulling in front of the café. “Fuck,” he whispered, forgetting he was on his cell phone. “Not tonight.”112
“Daimons?” Talon asked.113
“Worse,” Dom said. “Topic of discussion.” 114
“Ah.”115
“Could this week get any worse?” Dom mumbled.116
“Don’t ever ask that question,” came the reply. “We both know that it can get far worse. Later.”117
Dom exhaled and closed the cell phone. He contemplated going through the back and out to the alley and circling around for his bike, but the car was parked next to it and he’d most likely be seen. 118
The door to the café opened, admitting a smiling but slightly nervous looking Craig, and a woman that Dom had only seen from across an intersection. The jolt of recognition still ran through him as he looked at her. Turning his head slightly, so it wouldn’t look like he was staring, his eyes shifted to continue watching. 119
“Hey, Dom,” Craig said as they approached the table. “Got a couple minutes?”120
“I’ve got all eternity,” he answered truthfully as he motioned to the chairs across the table from him. “What’s up?”121
“This is Melissa,” Craig said, placing his hand on hers as she sat staring at Dom. 122
“Hello, Melissa,” Dom said, straining to be polite. She looked nothing like his wife, but the feeling that he knew her was still there. 123
Craig stared at his boss. “Something wrong?”124
“Caught me at a bad time,” Dom said, trying to relax. Glancing at her again, he was relieved to find that although the recognition was still there, it was waning slightly. Maybe Talon had been right, and Melissa had only been the vessel he transferred a vision to. Then again, he might be convincing himself enough that he was starting to believe it.125
“We won’t keep you,” Craig said. “Sorry to spring this on you, but you’re always on the go.”126
“What do you do?” Melissa asked.127
Dom looked at her again, noticing that her voice took away more of the feeling he was experiencing. If this kept up, he might actually be able to put thoughts of bolting for the door out of his mind. “I do lots of things,” he answered, his tone a little more relaxed than before. “Mainly things that can’t be discussed out of official settings.”128
Melissa narrowed her eyes, slightly put off by the attitude she was getting. Although Craig had assured her that his boss was all right, she had to wonder. Dressed like a biker, he looked nothing like a man that held massive wealth. Craig had told her that he had some sort of internet business, or had one before selling it for a huge chunk of change, and now dabbled in all sorts of projects. She wished she could see his eyes. 129
“You wear sunglasses at night?”130
“Yes.”131
“Why?” 132
“Lights give me headaches,” he said vaguely, then looked at Craig, expecting him to pick up the conversation thread.133
Making a show of looking at his watch, Craig grimaced. “You’ve got that conference call in thirty minutes,” he said, then glanced at Melissa. “Australia.”134
“Yeah,” Dom said in a low voice. Standing slowly, he shoved his hands in to the pockets of his motorcycle jacket. “Nice to have met you, Melissa,” he said, wanting to leave as fast as he could. “Craig.”135
They watched as he walked from the table, pausing briefly to say something to Angie, then exited the café. Grabbing a helmet off the back of an expensive looking motorcycle, he pulled it on, slung one leg over the bike, and was soon driving away.136
Angie’s eyes flicked from watching him leave, to the two who had been sitting with him. 137
Melissa stared at her boyfriend. “That’s your boss?” she asked in a dubious voice.138
“That’s him.”139
“And he’s a millionaire?”140
“Yep.”141
“He’s a flake.”142
Craig smiled. “Dom would be the first one to agree with you on that.” He shrugged, going with the edited version of the story that Dom allowed him to use when needed. “Lost his wife and kids in a fire quite a few years ago, and he’s never quite gotten over it.” 143
Melissa looked ready to cry. “Oh, that poor man.”144
“Just don’t mention it around him,” Craig advised, noticing that the waitress, Angie was watching him. He had hoped he had spoken loud enough for her to hear about the fire. “It’s a topic he won’t speak about.”145
“I won’t,” Melissa promised as she reached over and held him hand. “I don’t think he likes me anyway.”146
“He rarely likes anyone,” Craig lied. “So don’t take it personal.” He fell silent as he considered that. Dom, although moody and peculiar, was usually reasonably friendly with any human he met. Hell, he was even cordial to the rare Apollite that happened to cross his path.147
“Is the fire why he wears sunglasses…at night?”148
Thinking quickly, Craig worked that new question in. “Yes,” he said. “His eyes were injured, and can’t handle bright lights.” He had to remember to let Dom know that in case it came up again.149
~~~~~~~~~~~~~150
Driving nowhere in particular, but keeping a look out for Daimons and Gallu, Dom cruised up and down the city’s streets. There had been a few Daimons just after he left the café, but that had been all. Disappointed, and wanting more to kill, he glanced in every alleyway he passed. Things were deserted at this time of the morning, and he decided on one more spin around the park before calling it a night and heading on home. 151
With luck, Craig would be there, sleeping, so Dom wouldn’t have to talk to him about meeting Melissa. He had tried to be polite, but found it to be a chore. The woman still had the effect on him like she was the reincarnate spirit of his wife, but a part wondered if this was a trick some bored god was playing on him. 152
The e-mail Talon was going to send might be able to answer a few questions for him. Dom could have easily looked up information himself, but getting someone else to do it was far easier. Plus, Talon had first hand knowledge in the subject.153
Passing by an all-night diner that he had driving by at least three times already, Dom slowed considerably, then doing a U-turn in the middle of the street headed back and in to the parking lot. There, in the shadows was a custom made motorbike that put his sweet limited edition to shame. It would also leave him in the dust if the two bikes ever raced, not that Dom would be stupid enough to challenge the owner though. 154
Parking next to the bike, Dom removed his helmet and entered the diner. His gaze immediately fell to the back of the place, knowing that was where the rider would be sitting. 155
“Took you long enough,” Ash said casually as Dom approached. “You must have passed here three times before you noticed the bike.”156
“Yeah, well,” Dom said as he slid into the opposite chair, resisting the urge to cringe at his now exposed back. “I wasn’t exactly hunting the elusive motorcycle.”157
“How’d the meeting go?”158
“Since you know about, then you know how it went,” Dom said. He fell silent as a middle-aged woman approached.159
“Coffee?” she asked.160
“Please,” Dom replied.161
The woman looked at the untouched cup in front of Ash. “Need a refill so you can pretend to drink it?”162
“No thanks, Jules,” Ash said. 163
“One of these years,” she said as she walked away, “I’m going to insist you eat if you’re going to plop your ass in my seats.”164
Dom arched an eyebrow at the woman’s forwardness. “Friend of yours?”165
“Known her for years,” Ash said vaguely.166
“And she doesn’t think it strange that you still look like you’re fresh out of diapers?”167
Choosing to ignore the comment, Ash waited while the woman returned with their coffee. He nodded to Dom. “Jules, Dom. Dom, Jules.” Then, picking up the coffee, he politely took a sip before placing it back on the table. 168
Jules smiled. “See, that wasn’t so hard now, was it?” She looked at Dom. “Three hundred years, and this is the first time he’s humored me.” 169
Dom managed to keep the shock off his face, but knew that the woman could probably sense it anyway. Since he didn’t get an animal feeling from her, he would guess that she was an Arcadian Were-Huntress. 170
“Litarian,” she said, as if reading his mind, which she probably could do anyway. 171
Recovering quickly, Dom nodded once. Arcadian Lion. “Do you prefer ‘Lioness’, or ‘Jules’?”172
Jules smiled at him. “Well, aren’t you the polite one? Usually it would be Lioness, but my friends call me Jules.” Giving him a good once over, her smile grew. “You can call me anything you want.” Switching her gaze to Ash, she winked. “He’s a cute one. Love the goatee. You should consider growing one, Acheron. Might make you look a little older.”173
Dom blinked slowly as she walked away. “Tell me she didn’t just hit on me.”174
“Can’t lie to you,” Ash said, and he couldn’t. “So, on to other things.” He leaned back in his seat. “I was talking to Talon-“ He paused as Dom sighed audibly. “I was going to ask him to give you a call, but I come to find out that you’re already talking.”175
Grabbing his coffee, Dom took a slow drink, trying to get rid of the unexpected irritation he had at Ash for calling Talon. After all, he really was only trying to help…maybe. It was hard to tell at times with the guy.176
“If I asked a question, would I be able to get an honest answer?”177
Ash stared at him through dark glasses. “Depends on the question and if I feel like answering.”178
“Gee, vagueness from you,” Dom said sarcastically. “How unusual.”179
“Gee, a smart-assed Dark-Hunter,” Ash replied in the same tone. “How unusual.” He paused for a moment. “What’s your question?”180
“If you had the chance, after all these years, to risk it all for happiness, would you?”181
Ash stared at him. “Loaded question that would depend on far too many unseen variables to give you an honest answer.”182
“Fair enough,” Dom said. “And that’s how I feel with you telling me about Angie.”183
“You’re going to have to trust me.”184
“I do trust you,” Dom replied. “But there’s something I’m just not understanding about all this, Ash.”185
“Which is?” Ash asked as he rolled his eyes behind his glasses. Always with the doubts…186
“I don’t know,” Dom said slowly. “Maybe it’s the whole ‘be a part of the world, but not in it’ Dark-Hunter rule, or maybe that ‘no relationships’ one.” He looked at Ash. “You know, the rules that we’re not supposed to break…ever.” 187
“They’re not written in stone.”188
“Well, I guess that must have made them easier to write down,” Dom replied sarcastically. “I just…” he trailed off as he rubbed the back of his neck with his right hand. “I don’t want to die, and that’s where I see this heading.”189
“What?”190
“I had a premonition, vision, whatever,” he said. “Both you and Angie where there, and I was on the ground, dead.”191
“Interesting,” Ash said as he searched through Dom’s brain for the vision in question. Quickly viewing it, he frowned slightly. “I don’t think-“192
“Might not be an event,” Dom said, taking a guess on what he was going to say. “Could be the death of something that involves, me, you and Angie.”193
“Trouble with visions,” Ash said wearingly, having first hand knowledge of the statement, “is that they can signify something, and by the time you’ve got it figure out, the event’s staring you in the face, moving in for the kill.”194
195
Author notes
sort of a jumper chapter that moves things along, and brings back mentions from earlier.
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"Savitar isn’t available at the moment, came the reply in his voice. Please remove all your clothing, go to bed, and await his arrival." That is the best line that I've read so far. Too funny!!!!!!
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