(Takes place about six months after Wings Of A Cloud)
“Acheron.”
Acheron Parthenopaeus spun to face the man who was standing behind him. The other person knew how much Ash hated anyone to be behind him, but he didn’t really care. Hell, he rarely ever cared about anything beyond his own interests.
“What’s going on?” Ash asked.
Savitar crossed colorfully tattooed arms over his chest. “Could ask you the same thing.” He narrowed his eyes, which were currently blue, showing that this wasn’t a social call. “There I was, enjoying a wave and a babe, and I get this feeling that something’s amiss.”
He thought he knew what Savitar might be talking about but he had been sworn to secrecy regarding it. “How’s Aiden?” Ash asked more to stall for time than anything.
“What?”
“You mentioned babe…” Ash studied him. “I assumed it was Aiden.”
“Uh, no.” Savitar ran a hand over his goatee. “And stop changing the subject. Someone is up to something, and it involves you.”
“Always does,” Ash replied in a tired voice. “It’s been about half a year since Stryker’s last attempt, and he’s long overdue to try something.”
“Maybe.” Savitar stared at the wall just over Ash’s shoulder. “We haven’t talked for over a month.”
“Pardon?”
“Aiden and I,” Savitar said. “I pissed her off, she told me to fuck off, and I left before she pissed me off and I did something I would regret.”
“Oh.” Ash stared, not really knowing what to say. Savitar and Aiden Falconidae had not really surprised him by getting together, but they had lasted longer than he thought they would. Savitar preferred his own company, had serious issues with letting people get to know him, and had vowed to avoid love at all costs.
Savitar placed his hands behind his back, which opened his unbuttoned shirt slightly, giving Ash a good view of a new tattoo on the man’s chest. The image of a small gold eagle was located over his heart, the wings wrapped around its body majestically. That alone showed Ash just how much Savitar had ventured into the hated realm of caring for someone besides himself.
“Anyway,” Savitar said. “Somehow, whatever is going on is being hidden from me, and you know how much that pisses me off.” Being omnipotent and all-knowing was something the man took very seriously. “To me, that means some piss-ant god is trying to pull something, and I’ll bet the deed to Neratiti that it’s something that would seriously piss me off.”
Someone was definitely in a pissy mood. Ash nodded slowly, then sighed. “I’ll take a trip up the mountain and listen around.” He hated going to Mount Olympus, but was willing to suffer going if it meant stopping something that had the potential to harm. “On one condition.”
Savitar raised an eyebrow at that. “Making deals now, are we?”
“Yes.”
“Name it.”
“You talk to Aiden.”
Although Ash was one of the few people Savitar would never deny, he contemplated doing just that. “She doesn’t want to see me.”
Ash shook his head. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Savitar…but, for being all-knowing, you have a lot to learn.” With that, Ash vanished.
~~~~~~~~~~
The wind whistled by as the lone eagle dove towards the water, then arced just before the surface and rose swiftly back into the night sky. It was a perfect evening, and the moonlight reflected off the golden feathers of the Gerakian, or Were-Hunter eagle. An Arcadian by birth, the bird’s natural form was that of a human female, who had the ability to shift into an eagle.
Normally, her appearance was that of a pretty dark haired woman with hazel eyes in her mid-twenties, although in her world, she was a decade or so shy of turning two hundred. That made her still rather young when compared to the rest of her kind.
Heading back towards land, her eyes darted around to make sure the area was clear of anyone that could be of danger to her. For the past six months, there had been attempts made on her life, and she wasn’t in the mood for it tonight. After her now deceased mate had tried to sacrifice her, and failed, the Spathi Leader Stryker announced that she had been ‘wed’ back to her ancestors, and if a Daimon killed her, then their curse would be lifted.
She hadn’t been wedded back, but that didn’t seem to matter to those that targeted her regularly.
She heard something ping, and then she was screeching in pain as something hit her. Unable to stop, she fell towards the ground, slamming into it with enough force to temporarily knock the eagle unconscious. She immediately changed to the shape of a young woman, her bare skin cut and scraped from the ground.
Her eyelids flickered, and she moved with a small moan, sitting up as clothing appeared on her body. Reaching behind, she pulled a dart out of her shoulder, grimacing as the drug that was in it started to work through her body.
Voices were coming closer, and the woman stood unsteadily, then turned in the opposite direction. She stopped short, biting back a scream as a figure appeared.
“Hey, babe.”
Aiden stared at the handsome man in front of her. Okay, so the drug was definitely kicking in and she was hallucinating. All things considered, she could have imagined worse. Her eyes flicked closed and she fell towards him.
Savitar reached out and grabbed her before she could hit the ground, and immediately vanished. Arriving back at his private rooms, he laid her on the bed, working his powers to remove the poison from her system, then turned and walked out of the room.
~~~~~~~
The Spathi Warrior, Davyn, second in command to the leader Strykerius, or Stryker, glared at the two Were-Hunters and one Daimon. They shifted nervously under his gaze, knowing that they had messed up big time.
“You shot her?” Davyn asked, his dark voice in contrast with his extremely handsome looks.
“Yes,” one of the Were-Hunters replied.
“And she crash landed…”
“Yes.”
Davyn looked around the small room that was located in the back of an abandoned house. “So where is she?”
The Daimon spoke up. “By the time we got there, she was gone.” An apologetic looked crossed his youthful face.
Davyn tapped his fingers on the table in front of him, the drumming serving the purpose of allowing him to think of some other option than killing all three. Stryker had advised him to not kill, but the temptation at their screw up was severely pushing the limit.
“She’s one lone eagle,” he said slowly. “How can it be so hard for you three to kill her?”
“Usually Acheron is with her.”
“Was he there tonight?”
“Well…no.”
Feeling what could only be described as a headache, Davyn stood from the table and started for the door. “Kill her the next time,” he said in a low voice, “or I kill you.”
The three watched as the door shut behind him, then looked at each other. “You sure that tranq worked?” one asked.
“It knocked her out of the sky, didn’t it?” he replied back as he stood and headed for the door.
Before he got halfway there, the door suddenly blew in, slamming into him, and continuing on to smash against the wall, killing the Were-Hunter. The other two stood as a tall figure entered and glared at them. Power seemed to emanate from him, surrounding the stranger in a tangible deadly aura.
One launched himself at the intruder, only to stop in the air as a hand grasped him by the throat and held him above the ground. The man’s eyes grew wide as the lean and muscular stranger, whom he obviously outweighed by a good fifty pounds, easily held him there.
The intruder closed his hand, breaking the Were-Hunter’s neck, and then dropped him to the ground before turning to the remaining person. The Daimon’s eyes were wide as he tried to summon a bolt-hole to get himself out of the room. His eyes grew wider as he could feel the stranger searching his brain for information, then he screamed in agony when the man finished and turned away. The Daimon exploded in a cloud of golden dust, which fell harmlessly to the floor.
With only some of the information he required, a blue fog started near the floor, and soon enveloped Savitar, transporting him back to Neratiti.
~~~~~~~~~~
Aiden woke with a headache that could rival Mount Olympus, and sat up. The room around her spun, and she closed her eyes and breathed through her nose to keep from losing her lunch. This wasn’t her bedroom, or anyplace she had ever been before, and her eyes flicked back and forth looking for any sign of danger.
She remembered being hit while flying, then falling…the tranquilizer, and then… Savitar? She blinked, then looked around again. Through their brief relationship, he had always been with her at her condo, and never his island. She wondered now if that was where she was. It felt like she was in some sort of ancient sultan’s tent, the place a classic study in hedonism. Yeah, the décor was definitely something Savitar would have.
She looked as a door opened, the room spinning to keep up with her motions, and Savitar walked in. “Wha’ happen?” she asked slowly, closing one eye so that he would stop being doubled as he walked to the bed.
He leaned over, gave her a brief kiss on the lips, then sat on the bed beside her. “Long story short, someone tried to kill you.”
“And I’m here…”
“Because it’s not your time to die.”
She stared at him, feeling hurt that it was the only reason she was there. Savitar frowned. “It’s not the only reason,” he said.
“I see.”
“Do you?”
“So, how’s things on Neratiti?” she asked. “Still wrapping yourself in solitude and surfing waves?”
Anger flashed through his eyes, and he stood. He knew he deserved that, but it didn’t mean he had to like it.
“How did you know I was in trouble?” she asked. “You told me you wouldn’t read my mind.”
“You’re complaining because I saved you?” he asked, confused.
Aiden stared, then laid back on the bed. She was tired, and still feeling the effects of the drugs. She tried to fight the tears, but they came anyway.
Savitar sat on the bed again, and reached out a hand to wipe away a few tears. One of the few things in the universe that he truly hated was seeing her cry. “Don’t cry,” he whispered.
“I’m sorry,” she whimpered. “I can’t help it. I’m so tired, and I can’t sleep and there’s eagles trying to kill me, and…”
“Whoa… back up…who’s trying to kill you?”
“Some of Pierce’s followers,” she said, referring to her deceased mate who had struck a deal with Stryker and tried to sacrifice Aiden about six months earlier to get rid of the Daimon curse. “Ever since you left, it’s been one attempt after another. Usually, they’re pathetic, and end up dead.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Aiden glared at him. “Gee, sweetie,” she said, her voice full of venom, “hate to pull you away from your surfing…and other activities, but you remember Stryker?? Yeah, the guy that gives you a run for your money in bad-assness? Well, seems he’s slightly ticked that I didn’t die, so he wants me dead. Not sure if it’s just to kill me, or to get a parting shot at you.”
“And you’re being a bitch because…?”
“Because I’m tired of being used!” she screamed. “All I’ve ever wanted was to be with someone I liked being with… but, nooooo.” She shook her head with a sad laugh. “This is payback for telling the fates off, isn’t it?”
Savitar stared as the pieces all started to fall into place. Somehow, this was the missing key to what was bothering him. He watched as she started to shiver, and knew that she needed to rest. “Stay here for a while, okay?” he asked, moving so he could hold her, willing to forget, for now, her outburst. “I give my word that I’ll try not to piss you off too much.”
Aiden laughed as she cried. “You sure?”
He nodded as he brought a hand up to caress her face. “Staying away from you might have been one of my only mistakes…” He placed his forehead against hers and kissed her softly.
“You coulda called,” she whispered against his lips.
~~~~~~~~
Ash placed his thumb and forefinger against his eyes, rubbing them as he tried to remember why he had voluntarily come to Mount Olympus. Oh, yeah…he’d hidden a few things from Savitar and instead of coming clean, decided that a trip to Artemis’ palace was safer.
What the hell was I thinking?!? Right now, facing a pissed off Savitar seemed a lot safer than a tantrum throwing Goddess of the Hunt. Ash had known that Aiden was being targeted by Daimons and a few other eagles, and had agreed when she swore him to secrecy. She didn’t want Savitar to know, and since Ash had thought that they were still together, he went with her wishes.
After finding out that they weren’t together, he was still bound by his promise, but right now, death looked kind of preferable to the glare that Artemis was giving him. All he did was arrive, and nicely ask if she knew anyone that was making a power grab. The ensuing rant that she unloaded on him made him wonder if he should have brought a present of Midol. Then again, she always acted like this, and after eleven thousand years of PMS-like attitude, he wondered if maybe he should take the Midol and just sleep while she screamed.
“You never come her to see me!” she yelled as things exploded around her. “Unless you need something from me!”
“A simple yes or no would have sufficed, Artie.” He stood his ground as she effortlessly flew at him, her feet inches off the ground. She stopped so close that he could feel her chest as it rose and fell.
“You care more for him than you do for me,” she growled, not willing to say Savitar’s name lest it bring his attention to her. Like most others on Mount Olympus, she held fear of the man.
Well, d-uh. Ash returned her menacing glare with a calm one. “Savitar hasn’t tried to kill me.”
“Yet.”
That set Ash back slightly. “What?”
Artemis smirked at him. “You see, my dearest Acheron, your best buddy is going to turn on you eventually.” She reached a hand out to caress his cheek. “I’d hate to see you get hurt.”
Ash took a step back, out of her reach. “If you don’t know who’s making a power play, then I’ll be going.” He immediately vanished.
~~~~~~~~~~
Savitar woke with a start, staring around the darkened room to see what had caused the brief panicked emotion that seized him. The surf pounded outside the window, and the natural night noises were no different from any other night.
He slowly untangled himself from Aiden’s body, and slipped out from under the covers to go to the window. He gazed into the star filled sky, feeling the universe around him, searching for what had woken him.
Unable to find it, he sighed and quietly walked back to his bed, laying on the cool sheets and wrapping one arm around Aiden as she rolled to snuggle against his side. He stared at the ceiling far above them as he searched through Aiden’s mind for some hint to why her being targeted fit in with the recent event he was concerned over.
He had told her before that he wouldn’t read her mind, but he hadn’t promised that he wouldn’t. Besides, the universe took precedence over any insult she may have for him doing this. If he deemed it important enough, then he was going to do it.
Stopping with a pause, he realized that this was one of the things that had ticked her off in the first place. He did what he wanted, when he wanted, and didn’t care about the end result as long as it didn’t mess up the cosmos.
Reaching back in to her mind, he happened upon a rather vivid dream she was having…about Ash. He instantly grew jealous, until he looked closer. In her dream, Ash was dying. He watched, fascinated as the dream unfolded, and discovered that she had been having this dream for nearly a year now.
It wasn’t the woman in his bed that had woken him, but it may have had something to do with her dream. He watched her dream unfold, morbidly interested in the detail and action that was happening. To him, it seemed more like a vision than a dream. Himself, he knew every detail of Acheron’s future death, but none of it matched this. In fact, this was closer to his original death than anything, and he suddenly wondered how and why Aiden would even know about Ash’s most guarded secret.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Stryker tapped his fist on the arm of his chair as he listened. The two Were-Hunters and one Daimon that had been trying to kill the eagle had been found in the building they used to meet in. Two bodies, and one small pile of golden dust were all that was left of the three.
And the female was nowhere to be seen. It seemed at though she simply vanished off the face of the earth…which only meant one thing. Savitar was back in the picture, and Stryker had to plan his steps carefully to keep under the radar of the volatile immortal. He had thought that making the story of Aiden being wedded back would be enough to get her killed, but he had underestimated the length that both she and her friends would go through to protect her.
He assumed he was in the clear once Savitar ceased visiting her, but apparently those he paid a lot of money to were not as diligent with the information as he originally thought.
His little ‘spies’ had to pay for their oversight, that much was assured, but that did not clear up the problem of Aiden Falconidae still being alive. He would be dammed if she lived another week.
Stryker laughed to himself. He actually was damned. But that didn’t change facts.
He wanted her dead.
Author notes
I've had people ask that I make a part two for a recent novella....so, here it is.
In a list
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 11 of 11
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i really like savitar and all but i kind of got my hopes up something would happen with ash when i thought he was out of the picture.
oh well... it would be complicated anyway. well im excited to see what happens as the attacks continue. -
Acheron is Ash? It's hard to tell..
I like the "eagle turns into a human" idea.
Most guarded secret? Ash knew of his death? I don't get it..
Mind reading would be fun but it would also suck because there'd be no surprises and people would feel invaded.
Good luck ^^
x Julez -
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It's part two (sort of) of a novella I did. One the list page, it tells more information. Plus, it's written with the assumption that people are familiar with the Hunter world.
It was nominated for some reason(not one I would have picked, really), so it had to be the one I entered.
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Well, it was good either way, after I got past the confusion, of course.
x Julez
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Wow! I just read this again, forgot to comment before! I loved it, its so awesome! So intense! Perfect for a nomination! Oh and do put enter this in the contest PLEASE!
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They broke up?
I think I'm starting to like Davyn
Wow. I thought the person who attacked the Weres and Daimon was Ash, but... very cool.
I love your Artemis/Ash scenes. Such a power play from both, and neither getting the upper hand.
An excellent first chapter to what I can tell will be a great book. I'm off to read part two
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Yeah!! I'm so happy you made a sequel.
First typo. Second to last section. Here's the sentence (second paragraph):
"He slowly untangled himself form Aiden's..."
"form" should be "from"
Second typo. Very last paragraph of the whole chapter. Second sentence. I'm not going to spell it, but the last word in that second sentence is spelled wrong. I think... I'm not positive. I thought it had an "n" in it somewhere... but maybe that's how it changes when it's past tense... not sure.
Any who. This was a great chapter!! I like the fact that Savitar and Aiden are together. I can't wait to see what happens!!!
MoonNight
beginning: 5, language: 5, plot: 5, ending: 5, dialog: 5, characters: 5.
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And I should be posting part three tonight (baring any brain meltdown
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That darn from.. I always make it form.
Thanks for spotting typos that I miss, I really appreciate it.
And thanks for continuing to read!
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Sweeeeeet
YOU ROCK BARBARA i mean seriously rock...great story as well you are very good at writing stories...i wish i was as good as you...but keep up the good work
Love
Emily Rose -
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Thanks
Hopefully I can keep out of my 'soap opera' mode that I sometimes slip in to while writing
(Which isn't a bad thing.. at times 
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