It was late afternoon when Ash appeared outside the door of a large house. Knocking firmly, he took a step back and waited patiently for someone to answer. The door soon opened to reveal a man in his early-thirties, with long black hair and bright green eyes. 1
“Ash?” Dominic Olluein asked, surprised. He hadn’t seen the Head Dark-Hunter in nearly ten months…not since Dom had left the ranks and become fully human again. “Come on in.”2
“Thought I’d drop by and see how the newest addition is doing.”3
“She’s perfect,” Dom said, smiling. Leading Ash through the foyer and in to the living room, he motioned to the chair. “Craig’s just putting Amy down for a nap,” he said, referring to the newest addition, Craig Marshall’s infant daughter. “You should drop by later, too. I think Angie wanted to talk to you about something.”4
“Yeah?” Ash asked, already knowing what Dom’s fiancée had on her mind. “She here?”5
“Melissa and Angie are out spending Artemis’ money,” he said. “Baby stuff.” Sitting, Dom looked to his side as Craig quietly walked down the steps, stopped in surprise at the visitor, and then continued on to the chair on the other side of the couch.6
“How’s fatherhood treating you?” Ash asked.7
“Love it,” Craig said. “Being married is pretty good, too.”8
“That’s because you found someone actually willing to put up with you,” Dom piped in.9
“Shut up.”10
Dom snarled good naturedly, then sighed. “It’s just not as intimidating without the fangs.” He looked at Ash. “And the other reason you’re here?”11
Smiling slightly, Ash sat on the edge of the chair behind him. Since the former Dark-Hunter had retained his precognition after his ‘death’, Ash knew that hiding any reasons for the visit would be moot. “I need a small favor.”12
Dom raised an eyebrow at that. “As long as it doesn’t start with ‘I have two people I need you to protect’.”13
Craig shifted nervously in the chair, wondering just what the all might Ash would need help with. Since Dom wasn't a Dark-Hunter any longer, that left out any business regarding that, and since Craig had taken a year sabbatical from his Squire duties, that sort of left him out of the general loop too. His head popped up as an infant’s cry wailed through the baby monitor on the coffee table, and he looked at Dom. “That was a new record.”14
Ash cringed slightly as the screaming continued. Watching as Craig stood and went up the stairs, he turned his attention back to Dom. “I’ll wait until Craig gets back.” 15
“Okay.”16
They were silent for a few moments. “I heard the news. Congratulations on the impending fatherhood.”17
Dom’s stress level rose slightly. “Thanks.”18
“You don’t seem too excited.”19
Shrugging lightly, Dom leaned back. “With Angie being pregnant, it brings in a whole bunch of other issues, and memories, and… “ He trailed off. “Honestly, Ash, I don’t think I’ve ever been this terrified before in my life.” He smiled. “But I wouldn’t give this second chance away for the world.”20
“You’ll be fine,” Ash said with a slight smile. 21
“I hope so.” Picking up a coffee mug from the side table and taking a drink, Dom lowered it and looked at the coffee table. 22
“I’m going to be a while,” Craig’s voice said from the baby monitor Dom was staring at. “No sense waiting for me.”23
Dom looked at Ash. “You mentioned a favor?”24
“I need you to talk to someone.”25
“About what?”26
“The night you died.”27
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~~~~~~~~~~~~29
He’d been sitting in the sand, leaning against a tree for most of the afternoon, and continued in the same position until long after the sun set. Looking out over the smooth surface of water as the moonlight reflected off it, Savitar was barely aware of his surroundings. 30
The morning had been spent on his board riding waves in, but once the storm his emotions created had stopped, the water calmed enough to make surfing useless. Lying on the board as the waves rocked was soothing enough, but being in the water and unable to surf was not something he wanted to be doing at that moment. 31
So, sitting on the beach, staring at the water as thoughts careened through his mind seemed like an ideal way to pass time. It was definitely an alternative to destroying something, which he really wanted to do. He didn’t care what it was, just as long as it was extremely destructive…maybe even unbelievably painful to someone he didn’t really like. 32
But, in the mood he was in, he knew he’d never be able to stop at destroying one thing, and would use that soothing feeling to fuel an even larger fire that would want to take out everything in his path. He’d ‘been there, done that’ before, and although it had served its purpose, he couldn’t see it doing anything but unnecessary harm if done now. 33
Finally pulling his attention back to his surrounding, he blinked when he realized that the sun had long set. Standing easily, he turned to his palace and started walking, teleporting himself mid stride and appearing in the throne room. Needing something to take his mind off of thinking, he surveyed the room. Eyeing the pool table in the corner, he contemplated for a fraction of a second before ignoring it. 34
Paying a visit to his stable of concubines was a possibility, but he hadn’t really made use of one of them in the past year, and actually had no desire to. Sleeping seemed like a good idea, although the dreams that would accompany it put the idea out of his mind for the time being. 35
As one of the most powerful beings in the cosmos, he could do a million and one things…but none really appealed to him. All he wanted to do was to banish the past to where it belonged so he could enjoy his future of surfing, being with an eagle, and imparting his own little mayhem every so often when the inclination to do so hit. 36
And he couldn’t do that hiding out and basically moping. Yeah, okay… three months being alone wasn’t anything new or strange, but it was currently enough for him. He had things to do, people to annoy and beings to scare the hell out of. Transporting Neratiti to a location just off the coast of New Zealand, but still hidden from prying eyes, he vanished from the room.37
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“The night I died?” Dom repeated. “Which time?”40
“Second.”41
“What about it?”42
Instead of answering, Ash looked towards the display cases on the wall that held the dragon figurines and Dark-Hunter memorabilia. Dom followed his gaze, frowning slightly as a small light appeared.43
“What-“ Dom’s question was cut off as his precognition kicked in. 44
Appearing out of seemingly nowhere, a woman took a cursory glance around, realizing that she had been somewhere in this house before. Her eyes settled on a man that was staring at her with a mixture of anger, annoyance and fear. 45
“Ash,” he said in a forced voice. “Why is she here?”46
“This is Roan,” Ash said. “You might not remember-“47
“I remember her.” Going back to the night he received the brunt of the column of fire directed at the demon, he flinched slightly before getting his emotions under wraps. “Why is she here?”48
“I’m hunting Labeve,” Roan said, annoyed at being referred to instead of spoken to. “You’re the only being that has fought her and survived.”49
“Yeah, well… I sort of died because of that, didn’t I?” Leaning back, Dom narrowed his eyes slightly. “That, and a big assed column of fire.” 50
“Miscalculation on my part,” Roan said. “I’m here to offer you a deal for your help.”51
Dom actually snorted in amusement, which brought a small snarl to Roan’s face. “Sorry,” he said. “But I’m well versed in the stupidity of making deals with assorted gods and goddesses.”52
Ignoring his sarcasm, Roan took a step forward, intent on using temptation as her main point. “I can make you immortal.”53
”Been there, done that, see no reason to repeat the experience.”54
”You don’t want immortality?” Roan asked.55
“Nope,” Dom replied easily. “All I want is to kick back and grow old with the woman I love.”56
“Seriously?”57
“Yes. What did you want to know?”58
“As Roan mentioned,” Ash said. “You’re one of the few that’s fought Labeve and survived.” 59
“I need to know how she fights,” Roan added60
“Seriously?” Dom asked, employing the same tone that the goddess had previously used. “I’m not sure, really. I was too busy bleeding all over her to really take notice.” He jerked slightly at a feeling in his mind, and immediately closed off all access to his thoughts. 61
“What?” Roan asked, slightly confused as she tried to read his thoughts.62
“Can’t read his thoughts without permission,” Ash told her. “He’s stubborn that way.”63
Sighing in annoyance, Roan bit back a caustic remark as she looked at Dom. “I need access to your mind?”64
Ash snorted in amusement as Dom raised an eyebrow. “No.”65
“Pardon?” Taking a step towards him, Roan allowed her eyes to turn red in anger. 66
“And you can cut the pressure approach. It doesn’t work on me. Besides, Ash does it far better.” Ignoring her glare, he looked at Ash.67
“Roan?” Ash said mildly. He stood from his seat. “Might think about rephrasing your request.”68
Rolling her eyes, Roan looked at Dom again. “May I please have access to your memories regarding the fight with the demon Labeve?”69
“Sure,” Dom replied.70
“You’re one of the most annoying humans I’ve met.”71
“You’re far from the first immortal to tell me that.”72
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The words began to blur in front of Tria, prompting her to lean away from the computer screen. A web site on legends of baby stealing demons had caught her attention, and occupied most of the past few hours. As a former mother herself, one who had lost the child she was carrying when she was attacked and killed, Tria could connect with the victims of Labeve on certain levels. 75
Which was probably why Ash thought she would be ideal for the job. Damn him and his insights and thinking. Tria could live the rest of her life never knowing that a demon like Labeve was out there, but she was glad that she knew. The chances of her ever finding the demon were slim to none, but at least she knew she was doing something to prevent other mothers from feeling the horror of a child taken away like that. 76
Yes, damn Ash for it, and damn his cute little butt, too. Ever since her induction into Hunter-dom, she had kept to herself, not allowing anyone the right to touch her. Then, through a series of events, she’d let that guard down, and permitted Ash past the defenses. Just a few short days ago; to her at least, she had been in a relationship with the man. Now, she was cast aside so he wouldn’t be tempted to pick her over the fate of the universe. Not that she could actually blame him, but damn it… 77
Sighing, she pulled her attention back to the computer screen, and more macabre tales of demons and babies. Deciding that her brain had absorbed all it could on the subject for now, she stared at the screen, then flicked through to other web sites, intent on thinking of anything else but killers. 78
All of this had brought back far too many bad memories for her, and she could see the night her family died. Her husband killed in front of them, her sons running in fear, and the complete helplessness she felt as the intruders took turns with her. Needing to dull those images and place them back in the recesses of her mind, she looked through any and every web site she could think of. 79
Spending a few hours surfing through Facebook, myspace, and StoryWrite seemed to put images of demons out of her mind enough so she could go back to looking at legends. Since Labeve was sort of a Celtic demon, Tria always found herself drawn back to certain legends. The only bad part was that this demon was such a conundrum that no one really knew where she originated. The best anyone could come up with was that she was Celtic, although Tria had found legends from other parts of the world that predated the Celtic ones.80
She knew of one person that probably knew the origin of Labeve, but since he was currently more than slightly pissed off at her boss, she doubted he would give her any answers. Annoyed at the round about way gods and goddesses seemed to do things, and the games they played with each other over important matters, Tria jotted a note on the large pad in front of her. Hidden among the copied information from the computer screen about legends and myths, was the memo to herself to contact Savitar… hopefully he’d shove his cryptic mood and be able to answer some questions.81
And hopefully he wouldn’t kill her on the spot when he found out that she was working with Roan.82
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Mountain breezes curled and caressed around the lone golden eagle as it flew in the evening light. Circling around a large chalet set in a small clearing on the side of a mountain in Switzerland, the eagle dipped slightly as a blue mist started on her patio, quickly solidifying into a tall man. 85
Scanning up in to the darkening sky, the man smiled at the sight of the eagle as it flew towards him, and took a step back as the avian landed gracefully on the ledge. Inquisitive eyes looked him over before the golden eagle hopped to the sturdy wooden floor and morphed in to a human woman. 86
“Hey Babe,” Savitar said, raising an eyebrow as the woman remained undressed while she stared at him. 87
“I thought you were going to be gone for a few more weeks?” Aiden asked. 88
“Things moved faster than I thought they would,” he explained vaguely, not wanting to bring her into his problems. 89
Smiling slightly as his eyes remained below her neckline, she crossed her arms over her bare chest. “”Scuse me. My eyes are up a little further.”90
“I know,” Savitar replied. “And beautiful eyes there are.” Pulling his gaze up to her eyes, he took a step forward as clothes appeared on her body. “I haven’t seen you in three months, so I’ll speed this up. How are you? How’ve you been? How’s the new place?”91
“I’m good, been good, and love the new place. Come on inside.” Taking a step past him, Aiden walked in through the open doors and entered her ‘new’ home. Although she had been here for nearly half a year, this would be Savitar’s first real visit. Shortly after moving in, he seemed to be either too busy, or occupied to actually pop in, so most of their time was spent with her on Neratiti, his private island. 92
Then, a few months previous, he showed up on her patio, told her that he was going to be gone for four months, and that was the last she saw of him until tonight. He had called twice, but somehow those seemed like cursory conversations made just so he could hear her voice. She never knew what he did when he vanished like that, and pulled Neratiti along with him through the cosmic time streams, but she figured he was up to no good. 93
Regardless of how great he treated her, and how he seemed to care for some things in general, there was a dark side to him that was a struggle at times to keep under wraps. At times she wondered just what happened to make him retreat from the world, but she knew his secretive nature wouldn’t reveal a thing unless he felt like it. 94
Standing in the doorway, Savitar watched her as she gracefully walked across the hardwood floors. Even though they had been in a relationship for nearly two years, a lot of that time was spent apart. Times like this were rare, and highly cherished by a heart he had just recently discovered he still owned. As one of the most feared god-killers, or Chthonians, there were things in his past that were off limits, and that he never talked about. The fact that she didn’t harp about his past and secrets made him love her even more. 95
Now, if only he had the nerve to actually tell her that little four-letter word, then things would be easier in the long run…maybe. Being able to tell the future, and to know all things had its drawbacks at times, especially since he knew they weren’t supposed to be together forever. Then again, he never really played by any rule but his own, so staying with her until the world collapsed against them was something he was willing to do. 96
Taking a step in the room, he cringed as she turned on a light, the bright pastels making the room look a lot larger than it was. “Kind of bright in here,” Savitar commented as he walked up behind her. 97
Aiden gave him an arched look. “You live on the beach.”98
“Yeah,” he agreed while giving the room a studied look. “Lots of browns, greens and blues.”99
Snapping her fingers, Aiden changed the pastel shades into sand brown, forest green and sea blue. “Satisfied.”100
“Much better,” he said, shifting it back to the pastels. “I appreciate you changing it, but don’t alter things just for me.”101
“I like the earth tones,” she said, snapping her fingers, changing it again.102
“You like the pastels,” Savitar said, changing it back.103
“Earth.”104
“Pastels.” Changing it once again, he hesitated, then changed it once more, making the room a riot of all the combined colors. 105
“What’s with the playful mood?” Aiden asked, surveying the colors that actually went together fairly well. 106
“If you prefer me off killing things, then let me know. I’d be more than happy to accommodate that.” He took a step forward and looked down at her. “I mean it… I have a list of things I can kill… just say the word.”107
Laughing at his mock seriousness, Aiden stood on her tiptoes and gave him a kiss. Wrapping arms around her, Savitar pulled her body in to his as his hands tenderly glided down her back. They had three months to make up for, and he planned on taking his sweet time catching up. Gently lowering her to a couch that appeared under her body, he continued to kiss as they settled in to the fabric.108
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Author notes
smaller chapters for this story....
In a list
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Comments
1 - 5 of 5
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Wicked Grin
Savitar has GAME. Lol! Sweet job, and so cool of you to bring back Dom. On to next chapter.
beginning: 5, language: 5, plot: 5, ending: 5, dialog: 5, characters: 5.
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I like Dom, and I wanted to bring him back since I thought that his story didn't really end... sort of.
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uhhhhhhh, Savitar
he's getting really passionateXD
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Awesome once again. *grins* I love the Savitar and Aiden scene. He is again showing that he has a heart and can be...well a tiny bit human. I hope that Savitar won't kill Tria once she reaches out to him for information. And I can't wait to see what Dom's wife has to speak to Ash about.
Anyways hope to see you next chapter soon.
beginning: 5, language: 5, plot: 5, ending: 5, dialog: 5, characters: 5.
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Nice work! very nice work indeed!
Haven't read one of your stories in a while, sooo at the moment I'm going to have to get back to schoool...I promise to read more...and get more of my story done!
can't wait to read more!
cheers
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