Stone walked in to the kitchen and stopped. The coffee wasn’t on, and Miguel was nowhere to be seen. He reached out with his senses, frowning when he realized that Miguel was not on the grounds. He grabbed the phone off the counter and dialed.
Miguel’s call-answer clicked in, bringing a scowl to Stone’s face. “Miguel,” he said in an even voice. “Call me when you get this.” He hung up and tossed the phone on the counter, assuming that Miguel was most likely with his girlfriend. He didn’t mind that, but the man had duties that took precedence over getting laid.
The phone rang and he grabbed at it, exhaled and answered. “Yeah.”
“Stone?”
“Where the hell are you, kid?”
“I’m on my way back, but I have someone with me.”
Stone’s hand gripped around the phone as he fought the annoyance that was building. Miguel knew better than to bring anyone to his home. “What’s going on,” he demanded.
“I’m a couple minutes away,” Miguel said. “I’ll explain when I get there.” He hung up.
Stone clenched his jaw and slowly put the phone down instead of hurling it across the room like he wanted to. “Pretentious little…” He turned and went to a locked closet at the back of the house and opened the door. Rows of weapons filled the three walls, floor to ceiling, and he grabbed two small thin blades that he placed just under his shirt at the small of his back. He took a small butterfly knife and tucked it into his front pocket.
By the time Miguel’s sport car pulled in through the security gate and parked, he was standing just inside the front door, waiting. He had already instructed Ava to stay in the bedroom until he came for her, and suddenly relaxed when he sensed two people who he knew approaching. Miguel’s presence was familiar, and the second person was someone he had met before, but he couldn’t recall where. Although, that didn’t mean that the person wasn’t dangerous.
The door opened and Miguel walked in, followed by a woman dressed impeccably in a stylish black summer business outfit. They both walked straight by him as he stood silently in the shadows
“Stone?” Miguel called out.
“Yes.”
The other two spun in surprise, the woman automatically pulling out a weapon. Stone recognized the spider web tattoo on her hand and snarled at her impudence.
His eye flashed red, and he bared his fangs as he took a step toward her. The only thing that was absolutely guaranteed to make him literally see red was someone drawing a weapon on him in his own house.
Miguel quickly put his hand on the gun and lowered. “Put it away,” he said slowly.
Not one to be stupid, the Blood Rite Squire raised a hand and slowly put her gun away. “My apologies,” she said evenly. “You startled me.”
Stone turned his gaze to Miguel. “Anything you want to tell me?”
~~~~~~~~
Stryker listened patiently as Davyn continued to report on the events in Vancouver. He’d covered the failure of killing the Squire, to the inability to track down the woman.
Stryker held his hand up. “Who is she.”
“Ava…something,” Davyn responded. “We sent someone to where we thought she lived, but there’s a man with his family living there. So either she lived with them, or used to live there.” He gave a rare smile, one that was pure predatory evil. “We think we know where the Dark-Hunter lives.”
That got Stryker’s attention. “How.”
“Seems a Doulos was in Hawaii a month ago, and started a relationship with a young man.”
“Fascinating,” Stryker said, his tone showing it was anything but.
“And it appears that this young man talks in his sleep.”
“Get to the point,” he said dangerously.
“And it seems that this young man turned out to be a Squire.” Davyn had the nerve to smile at the look on Stryker’s face. “She’s been seeing him since they returned, and getting small bits of information from him. The information is fragmented, but he did mention the names Ava, and Ash.” His cruel smile grew. “She even followed him home one evening, and instead of going to the city, and a high-rise condo like he told her, he went to a beach property in a place called White Rock.”
~~~~~~~~~
Miguel watched Stone closely as he told him about his afternoon and his suspicions. The Dark-Hunter ‘s expression hadn’t changed once during the telling, and that scared Miguel. Stone was rather easy-going for a Dark-Hunter, but when he didn't display any emotions at all, it was wise to look for some sort of cover.
Although outwardly he seemed calm and nearly cold, inside Stone was screaming. They know where we are! Fuck fuck, fuck! He could feel his anger rising, and struggled to keep it safely tucked away…he didn’t need it, not yet at least.
After Miguel finished, Stone’s gaze shifted to Elien, and he silently waited for her to speak. The Blood Rite Squire leaned slightly forward. “As you know, Blood Rite Squires hunt rogue Dark-Hunters, or execute humans and even squire who betray our world.” She paused. “The question here is whether Santos falls under that category.”
Miguel looked shocked. “I came to you with this,” he said, disbelief evident. “I didn’t tell her about the house, or anything, and somehow she knew. “ He faced Stone. “Stone. You know I would never do anything to hurt you.”
“Has she been checked out?” Stone asked in a dark voice, then curled his lip in disgust when Elien shook her head. “Then I suggest you do that before assuming other things.” He stood and walked away.
Elien looked at Miguel. “He took that rather well.”
“Yeah, right.” Miguel stood, then sat back down when something appeared right before him.
Ash looked from Miguel to Elien, his expression a few steps short of wanting to kill them both outright. “I’ll talk to you later, Elien,” he said as he pointed at her. She vanished while he turned his attention to Miguel.
“I am so fucking screwed,” Miguel whispered.
Ash’s features softened slightly, and he sat in the chair that Elien had been in before he whisked her off to her home. “Tell me exactly what’s going on,” Ash ordered. “Don’t leave anything out.”
Miguel nodded wearily.
~~~~~~~~
Stone closed the door behind him and leaned against it as he breathed deeply. “We’re leaving,” he told Ava as she sat on the bed staring at him.
“Why?”
Because I fucking said so! Stone mentally kicked that attitude in the ass. “Because they might know where we are.”
Fear flashed across her face and she stood, then stopped and slowly sat back down. “No.”
“Pardon?”
“No, as in negative, also as in I’m not going anywhere.”
“Ava,” he said in a warning voice.
She crossed her arms and glared at him. “They might know where we are… let’s run. What happens when they possibly find us again?” She shook her head. “We run again?”
He crossed the room and knelt by the bed in front of her. “Be reasonable,” he said. “These people do not play around. They find us, and they will kill us. Your soul will be removed from your body, and used to preserve the life of a killer for a while, then it will simply vanish.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” she stated.
“Ava…”
“Anywhere.” She blinked as Stone’s eyes flashed red at her. “Oh-ho-ho,” she said with an unbelieving laugh. “You best rethink flashing demon eyes at me, Stone.” She stood and glared at him. “We can argue all you want, but if you want to pull macho bullshit on me, then you can do it at my back while I’m walking out your front door.”
Her statement made him rock back on his heels. He closed his eyes and ground his teeth to keep from telling her that he would gladly hold the door for her. He didn’t want her to leave, and he didn’t want her to be hurt. She was adamant about this, he could tell that much just by looking at her.
“I’ll assign a bodyguard to you,” he whispered.
“I don’t…” She stopped as his head whipped up to glare at her.
“This is my world, sweetheart,” he said. “I know it a lot better than you do, and although I think you’re being…and excuse the expression… fucking stupid by wanting to stay, you will have a bodyguard with you any time you leave this property. “ He slowly stood in front of her.
“I’m not being over protective,” he continued, “or overbearing, or even controlling. The Daimons will stop at nothing to wipe out Dark-Hunters, and if one Doulos makes it over the wall, then they can invite Daimons on property.”
“What?”
Instead of answering, he took her hand and led her out of the bedroom and further down the hall to the end. He unlocked the weapons closet, ignoring her gasp at the contents. Reaching up above the inner doorframe, he clicked a hidden switch and stepped back as the sidewall slid in.
“Emergency exit,” he told her. “All Dark-Hunter houses have them. Never know when we might have to get the hell out in the daytime.” He slid through the small gap, and held a hand out for her. She took it hesitantly. “Fires, hurricanes…anything can seriously mess up a Dark-Hunter if they hit the house during sunlight.”
They walked for about five minutes before coming to a small room complete with a bed, small stocked kitchen, and bathroom. “Enough food for about a week,” Stone said. “And the cell phone will punch through the ground. Ash’s number is speed-dial one.”
Ava looked around slowly, and started to reconsider her refusal to leave.
Stone looked at her seriously. “If anything happens, then you get to the closet, flick the switch, and shut the panel behind you. Don’t wait for me, Miguel or anyone. Once you get here, use the cell to call Ash.” He turned and walked back toward the main house, not waiting for her to catch up. He hoped that showing her this might make her change her mind.
~~~~~~~~~
Miguel exhaled, then continued. “After we get back from Hawaii, she calls me on my personal cell and tells me that she wants to keep seeing me. She’s damn hot, so of course I said yes. An everything’s going fine until today.”
“What happened?” Ash asked.
“She mentioned about a big house on the beach. I never told her about a house. I told her that I lived in a condo penthouse in the city.” He paused. “And she was a little too persistent and whiny about wanting to go to my place. I don’t know, maybe I’m reading things that aren’t there, but …then, I clicked my personal call panic… the button that calls your own phone so that you can answer and pretend to have a call to get out of situations.”
“So you went to the Blood Rites with this?”
“I wasn’t really thinking, I guess.” Miguel ran his hands over his face. “I dunno. It just…creeped me out when she got angry, then sweet.”
“She could be just some stalker-type who wants to come to your place and see how rich you are before setting you up for fatherhood.”
“If that’s all she is, Ash, than I’ll gladly take it.” He looked up and past Ash, his expression going pale again. “I’m screwed,” he whispered.
Ash stood and moved so that he could see everyone at once. “Stone.”
Stone looked at him, then Miguel, forcing himself not to give a predator's smile at the panicked look on his face. “When you screw this woman,” he asked not caring how crass he sounded, “do you stick around afterwards, or just dine and dash?”
“What?”
“Answer the question.”
Miguel’s face turned three different shades of red. His eyes caught site of Ava in the hallway, and a fourth shade appeared. “Um. Usually, I stick around…we sleep for a bit, then, you know…”
Stone started walking, methodically placing his steps to get the maximum intimidation effect as he slowly approached. “And in Hawaii,” he said in a low voice, “did you spend the nights in her room?”
“Stone...” Miguel nearly whined. “Come on, man.” He backed up as Stone suddenly stopped and glared. “We alternated hotel rooms.”
Stone sighed and shook his head. “Did you ever wonder why, when you were younger, that I wouldn’t allow your parents to send you on overnights to your friend’s houses?”
“Because you were being a neurotic paranoid prick?”
Stone ignored the insult. “Because you used to talk in your sleep, twit.”
“I...what?”
Ash sighed audibly and shook his head. “The Blood Rites are going to want your ass over this, kid.”
“But I didn’t do anything!” Miguel looked from one man to the other, then looked at Ava. “Ms. D. Did I ever talk in your class while I was sleeping?”
Ava smiled slightly. “That’s how I knew you were asleep, Miguel. Sorry.”
“Take it easy, Miguel, “ Stone said. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
“But, the codes…”
“Can kiss my immortal behind. If, and this is a big if… this woman works for the Daimons, then she has to be removed. Even if she doesn’t, you still can’t see her again.”
“She’s a Doulos,” Ash said.
The look that Stone gave him made Ava’s breath catch in her throat. “Could you repeat that,” Stone said, a little too calmly.
“She’s a Doulos.”
“Miguel,” Stone said without taking his sight off of Ash, “take Ava to the security control room and show her how to operate the basic panic functions.”
“But…”
Ava walked up to the young man and took him by the arm. “Come on.” She nudged him in to walking, casting a worried look back at the two immortals.
“Have you been testing me this last month or so?” Stone asked.
“Testing for what?” Ash asked.
“To see how far you can push me before I snap.”
“Not at all.” He knew that the other man had to have been completely pissed with him at the moment. Ash put his hands behind his back, and leaned against an end table. “Daimons have a certain scent, and since Doulos are around them, they get the scent. Miguel has a faint scent of Daimon on him.”
“I’ve never detected anything.”
“That’s because you rely on your ability to sense beings in a different way,” Ash pointed out. He stood. “I’m not trying to be vague here, which in itself is fairly odd, but…I didn’t know about this until a little while ago.”
“And you found out how?”
“A surfer told me.”
Stone stared, then closed his eyes, deciding he didn’t want the headache that thinking about it would bring. “Ava doesn’t want to leave.”
“I know.”
“Of course you do.”
“Then why tell me.”
Despite trying not to, Stone was getting that headache anyway. He turned and headed for the door, knowing that a night of running on a few rooftops and slamming feet first into a group of Daimons would cure him of it.
~~~~~~~~~~
The following morning, Stone ran his hands over his face as he sat in his car just outside the house. He was back a little earlier than usual, but didn’t really care. He’d had a fairly rough night, having run into a group of Daimons who were intent on making a midnight snack out of two bar-hoppers. He had killed a few Daimons, while the rest ran for a lamina, or an established safe-house where they would be safe from Dark-Hunters.
Stone followed them into the club, since it was open to all hunters, both Were and Dark, and were havens for Daimons and Apollites. He had to abide by the ‘no killing’ rule, or else he would have been banned permanently from the place. Stone had used laminas in the past, so there was no way he would screw himself out of a sanctuary if he ever needed one.
The Daimons laughed at him as he seethed, then yelled jeers as he left in search of others to kill.
As it was, he was slightly bruised from the killings he had done throughout the night, nursing a sore leg where a Daimon had been dumb enough to try to bite him when he was swarmed by four of them, and still pissed at the Daimons who sought refuge in the club. He got out of the car and quietly entered the house, looking forward to a quickie followed by some well deserved sleep…or maybe a quick sleep, followed by all day nestled between Ava’s thighs.
He woke her by kissing his way up her inner thigh, pausing to savor her as she writhed on the bed, her hands clenched in his hair. Then he gave her one last toe-curling lick before pulling back and heading for the bathroom. She lay there, confused as she heard the shower start.
Stone opened the bathroom door. “You’re suppose to follow me,” he said, then closed it behind him.
After the best shower of her entire life, they lay on his bed in each other’s arms as he told her about his night. He skimmed over the killing parts, which she was grateful for. She just couldn’t imagine this man as a killer, even though she had seen him in action up close and personal a couple times.
“This… lamin…”
“Laminas.”
“Laminas,” she repeated. “Do humans ever seek refuge?”
“It’s not unheard of, but usually, no.” he yawned. “Sorry. I have to sleep, but…if anything happens, please, let me know.”
She nodded. “In a couple weeks, my kids will be here,” she whispered.
He smiled sleepily. “Can’t wait to meet them.”
She stared at him in suspicion. If she didn’t know better, he actually was looking forward to meeting them.
Twenty minutes after Stone fell asleep, Ava was standing in the garden, camera in hand, waiting for sunrise. She wanted to get some pictures of the flowers at the sun hit, and positioned herself so that the light would be coming from behind.
Glancing up at a sound, she watched a small boat glide past, just short of the outer property markers. She could just see them over the top of a hedge that ran by the house, although she wasn’t sure if they could see her. Shifting the camera, she took a few pictures of the boat, zooming in on the occupants as they tried a little too hard to look like they weren’t studying the place.
Not wanting to wake the house, Ava kept the camera on them, snapping the shutter every so often. They could have been anything, from people out for a sunrise boat ride, to people casing the place for a robbery, to someone wanting to see an exclusive beachfront property, to someone intent on making their way on the grounds, inviting monsters in, and killing them all.
The sun peeked over the horizon, shining straight on the people in the boat, highlighting them as they drifted on past. Ava turned to the flowers, snapping quickly while the dew sparkled, and move to the pond to get a few more pictures. She had nearly filled the camera card by the time she was finished, and walked slowly back to the house, pausing to look behind her to make sure the boat was gone.
Miguel looked up from his coffee as she walked in to the kitchen. “Morning.”
“Do me a favor, and turn on the water security system.”
“Why?” Miguel asked as he reached over and keyed it on with the remote he always carried.
She handed him the camera. “Put these pictures on the computer, and I’ll show you.”
It took less than a minute to get the pictures to the computer, and then Miguel sat down to study them. He enlarged the ones of the boat, using specialized software to sharpen and clear the images of the occupants.
Ava smiled as she watched him, so different from the teen that used to fall asleep in her class all those years ago. She watched as he ran the faces through various data banks, and was impressed at the resources these people seemed to have at their fingertips.
“They either kept just past the property line to be safe,” he said. “Or so that they wouldn’t be trespassing. Either way, they knew some security measure was there.” He printed out a couple copies of the pictures, then went to turn the monitor off.
“Could I print some things?” Ava asked.
“Sure.” He stood and let her have the seat. “Just click the print, then select picture if you’re wanting to print some of those flowers.” He smiled. “Nice pictures, by the way.”
“Thanks,” she said. “And thanks for not freaking that I didn’t come get anyone when I saw the boat.”
He shrugged. “That close to sunrise, it wouldn’t have been Daimons anyway.” He walked away, leaving her to the computer.
Ava printed out 8X10’s of the images on photo paper, impressed at both her pictures, and the quality of the printer. She rolled her eyes, figuring that Stone would have nothing but the best of anything in his house. Little did he know that the ‘best of anything’ was a magnet for kids.
Gathering the pictures up, she quietly made her way back to his room and slipped in closing the door gently behind her. She took a moment to let her eyes grow accustomed to the dark, then walked over to the bed, placed the stack of pictures on her pillow, and stepped back.
She had seen the look on his face when he had been in the garden, and wondered if he’d actually ever seen them at sunup. She doubted it, since that would leave him with a rather nasty sunburn, right before it killed him.
Stone rolled over in his sleep and cracked an eye open. “Hey,” he said sleepily. He raised his head, slipped one of the pictures off the pillow and tried to focus on it.
The biggest smile she had ever seen broke out on his face as he ran a finger over the dew-laden petals. “Go back to sleep,” she whispered.
“Okay,” he said, pulling all the pictures off the pillow, and placing them beside him on the mattress. He placed a protective arm over them, then fell asleep.
~~~~~~~~~
In a dark corner in Kalosis, Davyn glared at the Daimon who dared to interrupt him while he was eating, and bared his fangs in a silent promise that he would be next if the reason for him being there wasn’t adequate enough. He let the body he was holding fall to the ground, the human’s terror filled eyes staring blankly at him.
The Daimon who interrupted wisely waited until Davyn casually wiped his mouth clean before speaking. “Ava Delen,” he said in a rushed voice. “Can’t find her so she must be staying at this beach property. Has two children, whereabouts unknown, and has many friends in Vancouver, one whom we’re approaching today.”
Davyn nodded, then turned back to his dinner. She was pretty, he supposed, if one were into humans, which he certainly wasn’t. They were food, cattle to be devoured, and that was all. And fairly dumb, too. The promise of immortality from a handsome stranger, and the Goth-dressed woman was more than happy to follow him anywhere.
He finished her quickly, inhaling deeply as he walked away from the corpse. Her soul barely made a dent, so full of self-loathing and hatred it was, that he considered tracking down the Daimon who had interrupted him and helping himself to a second course.
“It better be good news you bring,” Stryker said from his seat at a table. He glanced as Davyn sat a few seats away, then went back to the line of beings in front of him. “I do love a menu,” he said in a low voice, eliciting a chuckle from Davyn. “You, you, and you,” Stryker pointed, the three he picked out immediately leaving and walking to his private quarters.
“Make it fast,” he told Davyn. “My lunch is getting cold.”
“Ava Delen, friends in Vancouver, tracking one down now.”
“Excellent,” Stryker said as he stood. “I want someone on that property by tonight.” He walked away; following the same path that the three he picked out for his meal had taken.
~~~~~~~~~~
Kari Shyler peeked through the small hole in her door, sighed as the site of two men holding badges stared back at her. She took a step back, trying to recall what she may have done to warrant police coming to her door. As far as she knew, she hadn’t broken and laws…lately.
She opened the door with a fake smile. “Can I help you?”
“Kari Shyler?” one the men asked.
“Yes.”
“Do you know an Ava Delen?” the other man, who could have been a carbon copy to the first in attire, asked.
Fear gripped at her. “What happened? Is Ava all right?”
“She’s fine, Ms. Shyler,” the man replied. “For now.” He glanced at his partner. “Could we discuss this inside?”
Kari motioned for them to enter, then sat nervously in a chair while they began.
“We have reason to believe that your friend, Ava Delen, is in trouble.” The first man consulted a notebook before continuing. “It seems she is currently residing with a ‘Stone Mikels’, is this correct?”
“She’s staying with him, yes.”
“Your friend needs to get out of that house, as soon as possible,” he told her. “Stone Mikels traffics in narcotics, and although we’ve yet to be able to trace anything back to him personally, we would prefer it if Ms. Delen didn’t accidentally stumble upon this knowledge and end up like the others.”
“Others?”
The two men looked at each other. “Stone Mikels has had numerous women in the past simply vanish.”
Kari looked from one to the other, confused. She’d met Stone Mikels, albeit briefly and a few weeks ago, but there was nothing in his demeanor that pointed to the type of man that they were describing. “You’re joking, right?”
“No, ma’am. We know, but still cannot prove, that he murdered his own wife and brother with his bare hands.” That little fact came straight from dark-hunter.com, which the two men neglected to mention.
“Oh my god!” Kari’s eyes grew wide. “What do I do? Do you want me to call her?”
The older of the two closed his notebook. "Stone Mikels won't suspect her friends, so yes, if you could get her to come out to your place so we can help her, then we would appreciate it greatly.”
The younger one held up his hand as if something occurred to him. “Wait. What if… if we took you out there, would you be able to talk to her, and let her know that we’re interested in talking to her?”
“Yes.”
The two officers, Doulos’ with an ax to grind with Stone Mikels, nodded solemnly as they stood.
In a list
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Comments
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very cool twist. i didnt expect that kind of ending... i was thinking along more violent lines... but i like this better.
the picture thing was very sweet sand i would have loved to witness that smile! -
Woahhhhhh the ending took me by surprise! Wow...I wonder what they are going to find out there when they go...
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I have the next chapter written, and am just tidying it up now
I'll prpbably post it after I get the kids to bed. (oh, it's gonna be a grand one!! 
)
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