Running a hand over his face as he walked out of the bedroom, Dom stopped in mild surprise as the door to the bedroom Tria was using opened. Raising an eyebrow as Paul walked out, he shook his head and continued to the stairs. 1
Giving a confused look, Paul suddenly realized what the other man was thinking. Turning back to the door, he looked at Tria who was still asleep on the chair by the bed. 2
“Thanks for the wonderful night,” he said, loud enough to wake her. “You were magnificent.”3
Jerking in the chair, she turned to look at him. “What are you talking about?” 4
“You’ve forgotten already?” he asked, a crestfallen look on his face. “I’m insulted.” 5
Finally catching on, Tria snorted in disgust. “In your dreams, eagle.” She stood and stretched. “And that’s about the only place it’ll ever happen.”6
Laughing, Paul vanished, appearing at the bottom of the stairs just as Dom was walking through the living room. Stopping, Dom turned to look at him. 7
“As amusing as it is to jerk her around, try to refrain from pissing her off enough that she’ll toast your ass.”8
“Okay,” Paul said, unsure of the concern in the other man’s voice.9
“Thanks,” Dom said. “’Cause you know, she flames, the sprinklers go off, and I so don’t want to be walking on soggy carpets.”10
“Ah,” Paul replied, understanding the askew reasoning. “Plans today?”11
“Being bait for a demon. You?”12
“Ohhh… as tempting as that sounds, no, not really, but hey… I was thinking of getting your car back, then hopping to the company I run for an hour or so to sign a bunch of things so I can spend the money.” 13
Getting your car back? “Yeah, uh, where’s my car?”14
”Parking lot of Gothic Dream.”15
Eyes widening in disbelief, Dom stared. “That’s funny,” he said with a small laugh. “I could of sworn you just told me that you left my 1964 Ferrari Spyder parked overnight at a Goth club.” 16
“Yep.”17
“Why?”18
“No choice, really,” Paul said. “Ran into a spot of trouble, and had to bail.”19
“Without my car.”20
“Without your car.” Paul leaned against the couch. “I’ll go pick it up later.” Standing at the look of warning that crossed Dom’s face, he shrugged. “Or, I could do that now.” 21
“Great idea.” Dom watched as he vanished, and sighed in annoyance. That annoyance doubled as Tria appeared at the bottom of the steps. “Wonderful,” he muttered. 22
“Where’s the pain in the ass?” she asked.23
Holding his hands up in front of him, Dom feigned a look of amused disgust. “Whoa. What you two do in the privacy of one of my bedrooms is up to you,” he told her. “I just don’t need to hear the details.”24
“What?” she asked in confusion. Judging by the smirk on his face, she assumed it had something to do with Paul’s smart-ass remarks earlier. “God!” she hissed. “We did not sleep together. Got it?!”25
“If you say so,” he replied in a neutral voice. “None of my business anyway.”26
“Dom,” she warned angrily.27
“Tria,” he echoed in the same tone. “Back up the anger, all right? It’ll do nothing but harm you in the end.”28
“This from the Hunter that cultivated a legend of terror while in Europe.”29
Ignoring the condescending tone of her voice, he nodded. “Yeah, and that got me a severe warning from Ash. And by severe warning, I mean I had the option of continuing, or dying.” Leaning back, he sat on the corner of the tall table that nested behind one couch. “Anger is good in the right doses, but lethal for the wrong person when delivered full out.”30
“Don’t lecture me.”31
“I’m not,” he said in a gentle voice. “I’ve got a lot riding on your ability to keep your cool, and I need you to see that.”32
“I do,” she snapped.33
“I don’t think so.” Standing, he turned and continued on his journey to the kitchen, leaving Tria staring in his wake. 34
~~~~~~~~~~~~35
~~~~~~~~~~~~36
Papers spilled on the floor as Dom made his way out of the back part of the house that had once been his private realm. Closing the oak door with his leg, he walked to the desk in the corner, dropping the papers on to the large surface before going back to pick up the ones he had dropped. 37
Finally gathering them all, he sat, exhaled deeply, then began looking through the papers and books as he tried to place them in some sort of order. Grabbing a small notepad, he leafed through it, and stopped. Ever since he’d been able to write, he’d kept journals of his time as an immortal. Trying to get them into some semblance of order was proving more difficult than expected. 38
“Why didn’t I date these,” he muttered as more papers were shuffled through. Most were old and barely legible, while others held a more distinctly current look. Not really wanting to read every one to get some hint on the dates, he carefully gathered them into small piles based on the state of the papers or books.39
It wasn’t unusual for a Dark-Hunter to keep some sort of records of his life, and certainly not unusual for it to be kept for the ‘in case’ moment when they could be shared with someone important. Even though he’d been alive for over one thousand years, he’d only learned how to write within the past six hundred or so. 40
Which was probably why he hadn’t dated anything… trying to explain something written in 1689 to the wrong person would be a huge mistake. No, these papers would be passed off as family heirlooms to anyone that didn’t know better. 41
Hopefully he wouldn’t have to pass them on to his yet to be born son, but he wanted to get things in order in case today was the last time he would be able to. More amused than annoyed that the thought of impending doom didn’t upset him nearly as much as it should have, he grabbed a pile of papers and leafed through them. 42
From the style of the words, he could tell that these were done right around the time when he’d first started to write. The words were more printed than cursive, with a lot of misspellings. Working with a squire for nearly a year, he’d been able to master the written word, which also opened the world of reading.43
“Whatca doin’?”44
Glancing up at the voice, he smiled. “Just reading a few things.”45
Walking over, Angie glanced at one of the papers. “Chinese?”46
Looking at the page she was reading, he shook his head. “Japanese, actually.” Moving the paper to a pile that held similar script, he smiled lightly. “Sort of a record of my life, minus identifying features.”47
”Come again?”48
“Basically a journal.”49
“In Japanese?”50
“Japanese, English, Italian, French, Russian and Greek.” He glanced at the papers. “I’ve been around for a long time, remember.” 51
“Sometimes I forget,” she said quietly as she straightened. “Why are you going through these?”52
“Decided to translate some,” he said vaguely enough to cover the truth. “Where you off to?”53
“Backyard, and stop changing the subject.”54
“Tria?” Dom asked, impressed when she almost immediately appeared not too far away. 55
“What?”56
Dom looked from Tria to Angie, and sighed lightly before pushing the chair back and gently pulling Angie to his lap. “This is something I have to do,” he whispered to her. “And I’d prefer to look through them alone.”57
Leaning her forehead against his, Angie kissed the tip of his nose. “Okay.” Standing, she looked at Tria. “Come on, bodyguard… I need to take a walk and bitch about my man from one female to another.”58
Tria smirked as Dom closed his eyes in aggravation. “Would be my pleasure. And have I got some stories for you.” 59
Eyes opening in panic, Dom gave Tria a warning glare, shaking his head in annoyance as she smiled evilly. Pulling his attention back to the papers before Angie could see the exchange, he feigned indifference. “Go ahead,” he said in a blasé tone. “I’m sure Ang knows that I wasn’t an innocent virgin when we met.” 60
“Oh sweet mother…” Angie said, staring at him. 61
“I’m kidding,” Tria told her, then motioned for the door to take them outside. Once Angie was out of earshot, she turned to Dom. “Maybe.”62
”Fire-throwing psycho bitch,” Dom muttered under his breath. Knowing that he’d probably have to do some damage repair later if Tria actually did divulge some of his past to Angie, he stared at the papers on the desk as he tried not to imagine the topic they’d be discussing. “I knew those internet chats would come back to kick me in the end,” he sighed, referring to the hobby most Hunters had of talking about anything and everything to the others that happened to be online with them on their secure site. 63
Looking up at a noise from the alcove, he recognized footsteps and soon the other half of his recent headache walked in to the living room. Catching the car keys out of the air as Paul tossed them, Dom placed them on the desk, and gave an arched look. “How fast?”64
“Ninety,” came the reply. “Tria around?”65
“Out back with Ang,” Dom said, his gaze not wavering. “Didn’t I mention something about behaving in the car?”66
”I finally got rid of one father, and really don’t need another,” Paul said easily. “So, if you don’t mind, I’m going to go do something and get ready for the possible appearance of one mean demon bitch.” 67
Turning with a snort, Dom went back to the papers and his past. 68
~~~~~~~~~~~~69
~~~~~~~~~~~~70
Listening while Angie ranted at anything and everything, Tria smiled slightly as she recalled the emotions and worries that sometimes accompanied pregnancy. Adding in the stress of a demon coming for her had made for an interesting tirade. 71
“-I mean how does he know?” Angie asked. “If this demon attacks at random, or at least certain people at random, then how does Dom know that she’ll be coming back?” 72
“Someone probably told him,” Tria supplied.73
“Who?” Stopping walking, Angie faced the other woman. “Ash? Roan?”74
“What do you remember from the night Craig and his wife were killed?” 75
Wondering about the question, Angie stared. “Not much,” she admitted. “Dom admitted that he asked the memories be removed from me, but he’s told me a lot. I know that you were there, and this Roan, and I think I remember Ash…” Trailing off, she transferred her gaze to the ground as she shifted her weight to ease a small cramp that was starting. “Lucifer.”76
“Beg pardon?” Tria asked.77
“Dom said he traded with someone to remove the events from my mind,” Angie clarified. “I asked him if it was Lucifer, and he said close.”78
Stopping herself before she could snort in amusement at the description of Savitar, Tria nodded lightly. “Pretty close, yes. And probably the one that told Dom about Labeve coming back.”79
“Who was it?”80
“You’re probably better off not knowing,” Tria told her. “He’s very secretive and doesn’t like being questioned about anything.” She paused. “He’s sneaky, manipulative, and downright dangerous. But… if he gave Dom the knowledge and warning, then it’s more than likely a guarantee that he wants this stopped.”81
“Then why not stop it himself?” Angie asked, shifting uncomfortably at another cramp. “Braxton Hicks contractions,” she explained. 82
“You sure?”83
“Yeah. The Squire’s doctor said that if they become regular or more intense, then I’m to call him.” Sighing, she went back to her original thought. “Why won’t this… whoever… stop Labeve?”84
”Because doing so would interfere with someone else’s fate, and although he mucks around with the thing all the time, there are some fates he won’t mess with.”85
“Well, all right then,” Angie said. “Makes no sense, but then again, what has lately?” 86
“I might be able to get some answers and be able to make sense out of this if my Paul would stop vanishing.”87
“He probably has reasons for it,” Angie said, not knowing why she was defending the brother of eagles that had tried to kill her. All she knew was that Paul had a sadness in his eyes that he tried to abolish with his infuriating attitude. That, coupled with the past he had told her, made her willing to cut him some slack. 88
“Yeah, reasons,” Tria snorted, recalling that he’d vanished before just to get a little action in the sack. “So, any particular place we’re walking to, or are we just aimlessly covering every acre?”89
“Little this, little that,” Angie admitted. “I just needed to get away from Dom for a while. Love him dearly, but this whole thing is pissing me off, and he doesn’t need or deserve to be the recipient of my pregnant hormonal ire.” 90
~~~~~~~~~~~~91
~~~~~~~~~~~~92
Tossing the cell phone on to the bed, Paul quickly followed with his own body. Bringing an arm up under his head, he stared at the ceiling as things whirled through his mind. Labeve, Tria, Angie and Dom, his brothers, Aiden, Roan…93
Clenching eyes shut, Paul moaned in annoyance as he tried to sort it out. More used to just going out and doing, linear thinking had never been his forte. Lately, people had never really counted on his for anything more than a paycheck from the company he headed, and small tendrils of doubt started working their way in to his thoughts. Beyond the company, just going out and killing whatever bugged him had been his way, and having human lives depending on the outcome was mind-boggling. 94
Dom could definitely take care of himself, but not against a supernatural being like Labeve. Hell, Paul wasn’t even sure if he could take care of his own self against the demon. He’d actually never faced her after the first time, and hoped the anger he held towards her would be a help instead of a hindrance. 95
This week would probably be the end of him, or the demon…most likely him. Not really counting on much help from anyone only added to the stress he was uncharacteristically feeling. Why Roan had passed her powers to Tria still baffled him. The ex-Dark-Hunter was a neophyte in this, and would more than likely be another victim of Labeve. 96
Laughing in amused frustration, he sat up on the bed and stared at the wall. “Damn it,” he whispered. Death really didn’t scare him since he’d faced the prospect nearly every day of his life from both those around him, and those who were their natural enemies. Although… there was one thing he wanted to do before he died. He’d actually never thought about it until now, and didn’t really know why it even crossed his mind. 97
Paul?98
Grimacing at the voice in his mind, he exhaled in annoyance for her interrupting his ‘pity time’. “What?” he asked the empty room, knowing she would hear him. 99
What’s with the vanishing act? Tria asked tersely. If you don’t want to protect these two, then why bring me here?100
“Tria,” he began patiently. “Shut the hell up.” 101
Pausing at the tone he used, Tria attempted to access his thoughts. Even though he was usually curt with her, he usually coupled it with amused indifference. What’s wrong?102
“Still got a headache from last night,” he mumbled, then tried to ignore her. 103
Need some Tylenol?104
Laughing despite himself, he sat up on the bed. “Can’t kill me off that easy, lady,” he said, more amused than annoyed. 105
Knowing that Tylenol was deadly to Were-Hunters, Tria laughed in his mind. Then quit your pouting, or I’ll hide some in a chocolate bar and force feed you.106
“Yeah, I always pegged you as the black widow killer type.” Standing from the bed, he gave a slight smile. “Lucky for me that you’re not in my will.” 107
Imagine my chagrin. 108
“Hold on, phone call.” Grabbing his cell phone off the bed as it chimed through Hotel California, Paul took one look at the number, and flipped the phone open. “You better have good news,” he growled, “or I’m going to show up wherever you are and kill you.”109
“I delivered your message,” the caller said. 110
“Good,” Paul replied, flipping the phone shut. He contacted Tria again. “That was my charming friend from last night. He delivered the message to Labeve, so she’ll probably be hunting my ass.” 111
When? 112
“Don’t get all excited,” he said dryly. “She still needs to find a way on to the property.” He stopped as something occurred to him, but it was gone before he could grab hold to see what it was. 113
What? she asked, picking up on his slight confusion.114
“Uh…no, never mind.”115
If you have something that could help, regardless how stupid it is, then I want to hear about it. 116
Paul grimaced slightly as the idea popped back in his head. “I was thinking that since Labeve is technically still human, then she could possibly find her way on to the property.”117
How?118
Shrugging, he ran a hand over his mouth. “Dunno,” he admitted. “You need to talk with Savitar and find out who gave Labeve her powers.”119
Talk with who? 120
“Savitar,” Paul repeated. “Big, bad surfer dude that’s been giving you info all along?” Smiling as she gave him an innocent sensation tinged with guilt, he raised an eyebrow. 121 Why don’t you ask him? 122
“He’s slightly pissed off at me, and I happen to like breathing.” Talking a step back, he sighed. “Besides, I have to talk with someone else.”123
Who? 124
“We’ve got limited time,” he said instead. “Try contacting Savitar, and I’ll…” he trailed off with an annoyed look on his face, “…be back.”125
Appearing in his office at the company he headed, Paul grabbed for the small phonebook that sat on the barely used desk. Opening it to a page, he dialed the number, growling as it went through to voice mail. Inhaling to calm the annoyance he felt, he smiled. 126
“I need to talk to you,” he said. “Today. Your choice of place.” Leaving his phone number to the cell phone, he hung up gently, then picked the phone up and slammed it down.127
“Bitch,” he hissed, hating the fact that she could affect his emotions even after all these years. 128
Like so many of his genus, he’d found love early in his life, assuming that once puberty hit, the mating mark would appear between the two. And, like so many, they’d both been crushed to find out that they were never meant to be. 129
The possibility of staying together regardless never actually occurred to either, their culture so ingrained in them. Had they, their commitment would have been tested each ad every time mating season rolled around and they felt the almost uncontrolled urge to find their proper mate.130
Not wanting to put him through that, she walked away from what they had spent the past few years sharing. It wasn’t her fault that the fates had others in mind for them, but it was easier to curse her than some cosmic force. Parting under the less than ideal circumstances was made worse by the knowledge that she’d have to have sex with multiple partners before finding her mate. 131
Pulled out of his musings by the chords to Hotel California, he pulled his cell phone from his pocket, sighed at the number that showed, then flipped it open. 132
“Thanks for calling back,” he said, trying to force the tightness out of his voice. Usually, he faced her with insulting indifference, but this time he’d have to swallow the pride and basically kiss up. “I really need to talk with you today.”133
~~~~~~~~~~~~134
~~~~~~~~~~~~135
Angie was still talking about the demon an hour or so later, the rant having died out. Sitting on one of the benches just past the large gardener shed, the two women played off of each other’s emotional worries. 136
Tria admitted to the doubts that surrounded her becoming what she had, while Angie just plain out was worried about everything. The walk had started with her interest in hearing things about Dom’s past, but had decided against it. He had been corrected when he said that he hadn’t been an innocent virgin when they had met… although she sometimes wondered just what he had been that had made the standoffish persona that he first displayed to her. 137
Grimacing as another false contraction hit, she also realized that she really needed to use the washroom. Knowing there was one in the gardeners hut, she stood, letting Tria know where she was going, and walked towards the building. 138
As soon as the door closed, Tria felt a small fissure in the air behind her, and turned as she jumped to her feet.139
“Little antsy, are we?” Savitar asked in a condescending tone that immediately annoyed her. 140
“Considering the present company, then yes.” Feigning an air of indifference, Tria folded her arms over her chest. “So nice of you to acknowledge my summons.”141
Summons? “What do you want now?” he asked, pissed off at her misplaced brashness.142
“Who gave Labeve her powers?”143
”Doesn’t matter,” Savitar replied. 144
“It does to me.”145
“Why?” he asked. “It makes no difference in the long run, nor the end result.”146
”Then what will it hurt to tell?”147
Sighing in annoyance, he glared at her. “Anyone ever tell you that you ask far too many question?”148
“I need the answers.”149
“Questions often get in the way of the answers,” he told her. “Now go away before Angie comes back. Last thing I want is for her to see me talking to you.” 150
Before Tria could object, he waved a hand in her general direction and transported her to the other side of the property. Trying to bring herself back to where she had been, Tria grimaced when she realized he was blocking her. That part, although annoying, wasn’t nearly as bad as the idea of Angie being alone with him. Shifting her thoughts, Tria appeared in the living room, startling Dom who was engrossed in the papers he was reading.151
“Where’s Angie?” he asked.152
“With Savitar, I think.”153
Standing slowly, Dom frowned. “You think?” 154
“Angie had to make a bathroom break at the gardener’s hut, Savitar showed up while she was…occupied… and then basically ordered me away so I wouldn’t be there when she got back.”155
“So you just left?”156
Giving him a glare, Tria sniffed in anger. “With Savitar, one doesn’t have a choice.” 157
Running his hands over his hair, Dom thought. Although he trusted the Omegrion mediator explicitly, he’d also heard enough rumors to be very wary of his temperament. Then again, he had been the one to offer Dom the aide in getting rid of Labeve and keeping Angie safe. 158
“I don’t need this,” Dom whispered as he started for the door that would take him to the back yard. Grabbing his cell phone as it played Sweet Home Alabama, he pulled it out as he opened the door. 159
“Yeah?”160
“Chill, dude. Your woman’s fine.” 161
Stopping at the deep voice, he glanced at the call display, then brought the phone back to his ear. “And will she continue to be fine?”162
“After I’m done talking to her, I’ll personally deliver her to you, safe and sound.”163
“Appreciate it,” Dom said, closing the phone after the other caller disconnected the call. Turning slowly, he forced himself back in to the house, and back to the desk. “She’s fine,” he told Tria. 164
“You sure?”165
“Yes,” he said, surprised that he believed it. 166
~~~~~~~~~~~~167
~~~~~~~~~~~~168
Stepping out of the gardeners shed, Angie wiped hands on her pants, stopping when she realized that Tria was not sitting on the bench. Instead, a tall man sat there, looking at her with such a calm expression that she immediately started to worry. Although he looked slightly familiar, like someone she had seen in a dream, it took her a couple minutes to realize where she had seen him before. 169
“Lucifer,” she whispered.170
Snorting in amusement, Savitar waved away the comparison. “He’s a pansy ass who knows better than to mess with me,” he said. “Besides, wrong religion.” 171
“Who are you, why are you here, and explain to me why I shouldn’t scream my head off right now.”172
“I am Savitar, I’m here to talk to you, and screaming will do nothing more than piss me off.” Raising an eyebrow, he looked her over. “And trust me, that’s one thing you don’t want to ever do.” 173
Despite the thinly veiled threat, Angie found herself not only relaxing, but also trusting the man. “What do you want?”174
“It’s not what I want,” Savitar replied. “It’s what you want.”175
“What?”176
“You want to remember what happened that night, and you want to know why Dominic didn’t want you to remember.”177
“How do you know that?”178
”I know everything about everything,” he told her. “But on this, I’d have to side with your fiancé. There are some things that some people are better off not knowing.” 179
Rubbing her forehead, Angie narrowed her eyes at him. “So you come here to tell me that?”180
“Yes.”181
“Why?”182
“Because you’re worried about what’s going to happen. And rightly so. This is going to be messy and highly dangerous. I promised to give Dominic all I could to remove Labeve, but you have to acknowledge that he has to do this with no intention of coming out alive.”183
“No.”184
“And yet you must.”185
”No.”186
Sighing to himself, Savitar tried another avenue. Upsetting Angie wasn’t something he wanted to do, but she had to know certain things. “Only by willing to give his life for yours will Dom be able to survive.”187
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Comments
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Amazing
Starting to lean towards Dom killing Labeve. Good writing. getting antsy about Tria and Paul, lol. They so need to hook up.
beginning: 5, language: 5, plot: 5, ending: 5, dialog: 5, characters: 5.
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