Stone sat heavily in the sand, breathing hard as he took a break from jogging. His body was still sore from his death, and he didn’t want to overdo…everything. He leaned back, looking out at the water lapping against the beach, scarcely able to believe that he was sitting here in the daylight. He’d never seen a beach up close in the light before, having been raised far from them before he became a Dark-Hunter, and afterwards, well, he’d only seen them at night.
His first ever posting had been in Spain, in a costal region, and all it took was one view of the ocean for him to fall in love with it. Now, he was seeing a beach again for what seemed like the first time. Tomorrow, he would get the dark tinted windows in the kitchen and living room replaced. He’d had enough of blocking the sun and the surf out of his life.
He closed his eyes and laid in the sand, enjoying the warmth of it against his back, and the caress of the sun on his face. However many years he had left, and now he could count those in decades, and not centuries, he would cherish this feeling.
Ash had taken away his ability to sense others for a while, telling him that he needed to get used to his ‘basic five’ before he would return it. It had been a weird few days, but Stone was now getting used to listening for things and smelling. The listening wasn’t hard, but the smelling… he lived on the ocean, about thirty kilometers from a major metropolitan area, and at times it completely stunk!
There were some things Ash couldn’t take away, though. He may have gained his soul back, but he never lost the techniques he had mastered through the centuries. He didn’t think that he would be running across any rooftops in the near future, but he held no doubt that he could do it if needed.
He opened his eyes and sat back up when he started to feel drowsy. His body wasn’t used to being up during the day and he’d purposely stayed up for two straight nights to get himself exhausted enough to sleep like a normal human would. Of course, Ava hadn’t minded the staying up, and they had done more than enough activities to make them both exhausted.
“One week,” he whispered. One week and her kids would be here, and he would be facing something that scared him more than the thought of Stryker. He had to win over Ava’s kids. What if they didn’t like him? What if they thought he was a jerk? What if…
Stone stood and shook the sand from his clothes. What if they liked him and were happy that they were moving to a sprawling beach house?
He sighed as he pictured his future laid out before him. Marrying Ava, helping her raise her kids, hopefully along with a few of their own. The only problem was that he was essentially unemployed. Sure, he had money, lots of it, but he had no job. The only thing he was really good at was killing, and he doubted that would go over well on a resume.
Ava was a teacher. He’d never ask her to give up that, but he didn’t know what he would do. Maybe a househusband? He wrinkled his nose at that thought. No way... not a chance in Hades of that happening. It wasn’t that he wouldn’t be happy…he would most likely enjoy it. But, he would be bored. And boredom was a step away from doing something utterly stupid with your life, resulting with hurting those closets and dearest.
He headed back to his home at an even pace, ideas and possibilities whirling through his brain.
~~~~~~~~~~
Kari and Ava sat on the patio, sipping drinks and watching the sun set.
“I’m sorry I brought this on you,” Kari said.
“For the hundredth time, you didn’t,” Ava told her. “I don’t blame you, Stone doesn’t blame you.” She smiled mischievously. “Miguel blames you for getting him shot, but he kinda liked it since he met a couple young nurses.”
They both laughed as the sun set. The outside lights automatically turned on, casting a charming, yet eerie glow over the area.
“Think the kids will like it here?”
“I hope so,” Ava said. “We’ll be living here from now on.”
“He didn’t?” Kari asked in awe.
“No, he didn’t.” Ava smiled. “He wants the kids to meet him first, and see what they think.”
“That’s so sweet, and romantic.” Kari sighed. “Where is he, anyway?”
“Jogging on the beach, “Ava said. “He likes to spend as much time outside as he can during the day. He asked me to join him…”
Kari laughed, nearly choking on her drink. “You? Jog?”
Ava shrugged. “That’s why he’s stumbling over the sand, and I’m sitting here drinkin’”
“I hear ya.” Kari raised a glass in silent salute, then took a drink. “What about your house?”
“After the kids meet Stone, and all that, then I’m going to tell them that we’re moving here. Baring that they don’t pull tantrums, I’m going to let Sam keep my house. He’s been having housing problems with his new job anyway.
“Speaking of Sam,” Kari asked. “Gonna introduce him to Stone?”
“They met,” Ava said with a grin. “And Sam likes him.”
Kari stared. “No way. Sam doesn’t like anyone that you dated.” She looked thoughtful. “If he can win over Sam, then your kids will love him.”
~~~~~~~~~
Stryker stalked through the halls on Kalosis, waiting for sun down. The two men who had been killed while gaining access to the beach property had not been able to invite the Daimons in before they perished. Not that Stryker minded their deaths. If they were weak enough to perish like that, then good riddance.
Even though Stone Mikels was now human and posed no real threat to his brethren, Stryker still wanted him dead. It was a matter of principle; a payback for all the Daimons the former Dark-Hunter had slain.
He had searched for the Doulos who had been sleeping with the squire, but she seemed to have vanished, with no one, not even her Daimon master, knowing her where-abouts. Stryker knew where she was, though… dead. The squire’s council must have found out about her, and stepped in with their brutal efficiency. Stryker gave a rare smile. He admired their tactics, somewhat, even if they were the enemy.
Stryker had no way of getting on the grounds, or even near the man, until a stray thought crossed his mind. He snatched the idea before it vanished, then put it into motion. Through intermediaries, he contacted a Skoti, and got the rogue Dream-Hunter to visit the woman as she slept. She planted a single thought in her mind, getting a dream promise in return. The promise, recited back to the dream hunter, simply stated ‘ when I visit my friend, Daimons shall come with me.’
The woman most likely had no idea what she had promised.
~~~~~~~~~~
Kari stared as Ava finished talking. She had originally asked about the reason people wanted Stone dead, and Ava slowly told her. Now, she wished she hadn’t asked.
Ava smiled slightly, knowing that the look on her friend’s face was probably the same one she had worn nearly two months ago when Stone first told her. She was about to lie to Kari, when a deep voice in her head told her to tell the truth. She didn’t recognize the voice, and hoped that she was doing right by telling, and not going insane.
“You brought his soul back?” Kari asked quietly tears running down her face. “That has the be the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard.”
Not wanting to argue about there being nothing romantic about Stone dying, she merely nodded as she took a drink.
Kari jerked at a memory. “Wait, so that was Stone in the alley on your birthday?!” She shivered at the memory. “Shit, he was vicious.”
“He was,” Ava agreed. “But he saved us, and he saved me a few nights later, and then, well… one thing led to another…”
“And you’re banging a sex god who happened to be dead.”
“Yuck!” Ava crinkled her nose at that. “Not dead, immortal.”
“Still…”
“I know, Kari. I went through all this myself, but…I’ve never been happier.
Kari raised a glass. “Then here’s to sex-god immortals who slay…” she paused. “What are they called?”
“Daimons.”
“That sounds familiar.”
“It was from that web site we looked at on my birthday,” Ava reminded her.
“No,” Kari said absently. “From more recently… like, I swear I dreamt it or something…”
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stone was a couple hundred meters away from the outer wall when he noticed an odd blue glow coming from the back yard. He stopped and looked, wondering what it was, until he realized that there was only one thing he had ever seen that cast a glow that shade, and that briefly.
He set off at a dead run, clicking off the boundary wall’s security on a small remote he wore, and then prayed that he would make it in time.
He threw himself at the wall, using his legs to propel himself to the top, doing a quick handstand before launching off, spinning in the air and landing in the midst of Daimons.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Both Kari and Ava stood as a strange blue glow started, then grew bigger. People stepped out of the hole, all blond, young and deadly looking.
“Kari,” Ava said calmly. “Get in the house, lock the door and don’t come out.”
Kari turned, yelping in fright as a man stepped behind her. She scurried around the table, cursing as another blocked her way.
A tall, deadly handsome dark haired man stepped to the front of the group. He walked straight up to Ava, dodging a punch she threw, and smiled evilly. He grabbed her, and held so she couldn’t fight, then waved his hand, creating another bolt hole for him to walk through. He paused to look back.
“Kill her, but leave the body so he’ll know where his woman is.”
Kari’s mouth dropped as he vanished with Ava, then she tensed as the Daimons surrounded her.
“Come here, my pretty,” one said in a very bad ‘Wicked Witch of the West' impersonation.
“Bite me!” Kari snarled as he stopped right in front of her.
“I plan on.”
“Yeah?” Kari shot. “Try this instead!” She punched out, smashing the Daimon in the face, then followed it up with a kick to the side of his knee. She spun, grabbed the fork off the table, yelled, “Fork you!” and stabbed him in the chest, stepping back as he disintegrated into gold dust.
She glared at the remaining Daimons. “All right, you bastards. I have a fork, a dozen bad puns, and I’m not afraid to use either… so, whose next?!?”
One Daimon stepped forward, sneering. “Me,” she said.
Kari gave her an approving once over. “Any other night, babe, and I’d be happy to oblige, but tonight… don’t think so.”
She jumped back as someone seemed to flip over the four Daimons and land in a crouch behind them.
Stone glared at the intruders. “Get the hell off my property,” he snarled before he swung out, stabbing one. He quickly worked his way through them, anger at their being here fueling him. He may not have been immortal any longer, but more than three and a half centuries had taught him a lot of tricks and know how in dealing with Daimons.
When the last one vanished, he stared at Kari, breathing heavy, waiting for her to talk.
“They took her,” she finally managed to say.
Stone’s face seemed to freeze as he stared, then anger erupted with an agonized roar. Kari jumped in fear as the man yelled, and took a step back as he approached. She held the fork out for protection, gasping as he easily swatted it away. He grabbed her by the shoulder and stared into her eyes.
“Where. Did. They. Take. Her.” he said, punctuating his anger by making each word its own sentence.
“He said you’d know,” Kari squeaked.
“Where?” he ground out. His eyes shut in anguish when she shrugged, and he let her go. He turned, banging into the patio table, and put his hands under it, easily flipping it out of his way. His head jerked as he heard the front door close and he ran through the patio door, ready to kill.
Ash stood in the foyer, a young woman standing beside him. “Simi, Stone… Stone, Simi,” Ash said. “She your house’s new guard, and I have to go.”
“I’m coming.”
“You’re staying.”
Stone snarled and headed for the door. The young woman stepped in front of him. “Akri said you stay.”
Stone looked at Ash, then her. He was too angry to even bother wanting to listen. “Simi?” he said with forced calmness. “Please move out of my way.”
“She’s my personal bodyguard, Stone,” Ash said. “So don’t go thinking that she can’t kick your ass.” He turned for the door. “I know where Ava is, I can get her. You, on the other hand, have soul, and I’m not going to be the one to explain it to Ava that you threw away both your futures because you were too stubborn to listen.”
Stone watched him leave, then followed. Simi appeared before him. “I’m not going with him, I just want to ask him something.”
Simi moved out of the way and walked towards the patio.
Stone opened the door and trotted to catch up with Ash. The immortal turned with an aggravating sigh. “We’re wasting time.”
“I know,” Stone said. “I’ll only take a minute.” He exhaled to calm down. He knew Ash was right, although he didn't agree with it. “Why?”
“Why what?” Ash asked tersely, annoyed for having to answer questions.
“Why are you helping?”
Ash blinked, not expecting the question. Stone was one of the handful of Hunter’s that didn’t call Ash every time he needed help. He handled it on his own, and only called when he needed certain guidance. And he was one of the rare Hunter’s who called just to shoot the breeze, or to invite Ash to something. He doubted that Stone would ever understand how much he appreciated that.
“Because it needs to be done. The universe is unbalanced, and this will bring some of that back. “ He looked around for a moment before he stared at Stone. “And because you need help.”
Stone looked at his former boss, then turned and headed back for the house. He turned back. “Thank you Ash, for everything.”
Ash watched as the door closed behind Stone, then he exhaled and closed his eyes in an attempt to follow Stryker.
~~~~~~~~~
Ava placed her head between her legs to calm her frantic breathing down. Might as well kiss my ass goodbye while I’m here she thought sarcastically. She straightened and tried not to look at the two blonde, gorgeous men who stood around eyeing her like she was the main course at an all you can eat buffet.
To her surprise, the man with the dark hair had taken her to some abandoned building near the train tracks. She tensed as another train whistle blew, and wished she could just get the hell out of here.
Ash watched from the shadows, relieved to see that Ava was still safe. He had not exactly told the truth to Stone earlier, since he had no idea where he was, and had trusted his senses to bring him to the right place when he searched for her.
Not that he didn’t trust Stone with the information, it was just that the man, like Nick Gautier, was one of the one in a billion who was immune to Ash’s mind erasing technique, and he was better off not knowing certain things.
Ash moved further in to the shadows as Stryker slowly approached Ava.
Ava watched, wary as the man who took her slithered up and stop about ten feet from her. A shadow moved against the far wall, and she forced herself not to look past him and focus on it. She looked at the floor, then her eyes darted back to him quickly.
He took off dark sunglasses, and she gasped. He had silver swirling eyes, just like Acheron’s, and the person in her dream.
“Who are you,” Ava whispered. The shadow across the room moved again, but she ignored it. “And who are they?” She motioned to the two blonde men.
“I am Stryker.” He approached and stood in front of her. “And I lead them.”
Suddenly defiant, Ava crossed her arms and stared up at him. “Well hello Mister Fancypants,” she said, borrowing from the movie ‘Army of Darkness’. “I've got news for you pal, you ain't leadin' but two things: Jack and shit...”
Stryker snarled at her impudence, but turned at a sound behind him.
Ash stepped out of the shadows. “And Jack just left town,” he said, completing Ava’s quote. He lifted his hand, sending a god bolt, or current of powerful electricity, straight at Stryker, lifting him in the air and crashing him against the wall. He sent two blasts at the shocked Daimons, disintegrating them on the spot.
Ava jumped back as Ash dove for Stryker, his long body covering the distance within seconds. The two struggled for a moment before Ash flew back past her, slamming into the wall.
Stryker ignored her completely as he stalked past, his gaze solely on the man he was fighting.
Not even bothering to think, Ava scooped a broken chair off the floor, stepping on one part to snap it in two. She flipped the stick over in her hand so the sharp jagged end was pointing out, and jumped at Stryker’s back.
Heavily tattooed arms caught her out of the air, and then she was suddenly on the beach outside of Stone’s house.
She stepped down hard on a foot and pulled herself away, spinning as she did and holding the stick out as a weapon.
A handsome man with long brown hair and a goatee gave her an arched look. “I save your life, and you stomp on me?” He blinked at the uber-dirty look she gave him, and then waved his hand.
Ava growled as the stick she was holding vanished. “Fine,” she said angrily, then spun and headed for the property wall. She stopped as she stepped into what seemed like an invisible wall.
“Far be it from me to stop someone’s suicide attempt, but what the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“I was considering the possibility of helping Ash,” she said a little too calmly as she turned.
“Trust me, human,” Savitar said. “Acheron doesn’t need anyone’s help.”
Ava sighed in defeat, then looked as she remembered something. “You know Ash?”
“I do.”
“You know Stryker?”
“Unfortunately.”
“Who else has swirling silver eyes?”
The question seemed to take him off guard, and he stared at her. “What?”
“I’ve had dreams with some man with silver eyes, and it’s not Ash nor Stryker.” She paused and he gave her a look like she was to continue. “He’s mid to late twenties, dark hair, good looking, but not insanely good looking like the rest of you seem to be.”
“Dream.” Savitar repeated. “A skoti can make you imagine anything in a dream.” He approached. “I told Acheron that I would make sure you are safe, and I have.”
Ava watched as he vanished. “You know who it is, don’t you…” she whispered into the night.
~~~~~~~~~~
Ash grimaced as a god bolt caught him straight in the chest, but refused to fall even though his legs felt weak. He returned the shot to Stryker, who deflected it, but wasn’t fast enough to stop the second shot that Ash immediately sent.
Stryker hit the wall hard enough to go through, and picked himself up from the dust and dirt that coated him. He looked as Ash came flying out of the building in a massive leap, and landed on his chest feet first. Stryker yelled out from the pain and grabbed at Ash, who had already catapulted himself off and turned to deliver another god bolt.
Stryker slid across the floor, into the far wall, unable to protect himself as part of the wall fell on him. He felt hands pull him out, and snarled as Ash stepped on his throat, and had a rather sharp retractable sword pressed against his chest.
“I should kill you,” Ash said as his eyes danced a bright red. “You’re even more pathetic than your father.”
“Now that’s just being mean,” Stryker manager to say. He hated his father, Apollo, more than he hated Acheron… and that was saying a lot. “Get it over with, and I can get some much needed rest.”
The sword pushed against the chest as Ash fought the temptation to end it all. A simple thrust, and the world’s greatest evil would vanish. Ash paused. No, Stryker wasn’t the world’s greatest evil, his own mother was. And his mother was Stryker’s adopted mother, and as much as Ash hated it, that made them connected.
Savitar had told him that Ash couldn’t kill Stryker, and Ash always took Savitar’s advice to heart. Usually. His eyes remained red, and the sword remained at the chest as he reached his decision. “You will leave Ava Delen and everyone she knows, alone.”
Stryker stared at the being he wanted so desperately to destroy. The human and her friends were of no consequence to him, and he had more than enough ways to make Acheron miserable. “I give my word.” He tried not to breath in relief as the foot moved off his neck, but the sword remained. “You’re letting me go?”
Ash gave him a deadly stare. “I beat you. You know it. Your Spathi know it.” He smiled evilly. “And now, for your parting disgrace….” He spoke an ancient language, watched as Stryker’s eyes widened, then took a step back as a bolt hole appeared, sucking the Spathi Leader into it and taking him back to Kalosis and shame.
Author notes
Simi is from the series, Akri is the Atlantean term for lord(master... boss, etc, but for Simi, it's a term of endearment). Bolt holes are sort of ripples in time that allow Daimons to travel from Kalosis to Earth.
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Comments
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okay the notes were very much needed cause i had no idea who those people were and it reaoly threw me off.
for the most part i really liked this. i like that kari can also handle herself like ava had. they seem a lot alike.
i thought that through all the work stryker had too little time with ava. it would have been cool if they talked a little more or fought a little.
but my favorite part was when stone was on the beach. it as so awesome the way that he relished in the sun and accepted his new life.
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Wow...I so wish I could write like you..now I'm going off to the next chapter
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