Ash appeared just outside the palace on Neratiti, and then entered through the large solid gold doors. Savitar was immediately at his side, glaring at the immortal.
“You and I need to have a lil’ chat, Atlantean,” he said curtly. “And I do mean now.”
Deciding to spare himself the lecture, Ash spoke. “I promised her, Savitar.”
Savitar’s eyes changed color from deep brown to violet. “Damn it, Acheron,” he growled. “You just ruined a perfectly good rant by telling me that.”
Ash hid a smile. “Aiden’s here?”
“Yes.” Savitar sighed. “It’s the only safe place for her at the moment.”
“I agree,” Ash said mysteriously.
Savitar gave him a warning look. “Don’t even think of playing oracle on me, little brother,” he growled, using a term that he sometimes enigmatically used when talking to Ash.
They both turned as the opening riff to George Thorogood’s Bad To The Bone drifted across the room. Aiden leaned in the doorway, holding a solid red guitar, which she played while smirking at the two of them.
“Good to see you, Ash,” she said. “I release you from your promise of not telling Savitar.” She went to leave, then turned back. “Play nice, immortals.”
Savitar watched as she walked out of sight, and smiled slightly as she switched to playing Jungle Love by the Steve Miller Band. He turned back to find Ash studying him. “Problems?”
“You tell me.”
Savitar stared, then nodded slightly. “She’s right.”
“Who is?”
“Artemis.” He walked across the room and sat on the arm of a large chair. “I’ve known since the first time we met. Eventually, I’ll try to kill you.”
Taking offence to the blasé way Savitar spoke, Ash started to get annoyed. “When?”
“No idea. Could be today, tomorrow, or a thousand years from now.” Savitar stood. “I can tell you’re pissed at me, and already working out some plan of action. Don’t. There’s nothing either of us can do until it happens.” He vanished, and appeared right before Ash. “It’s how we handle it when the time comes that is important.”
Wishing once again that he had the ability to see his own future, Ash stared at a friend who had suddenly become a possible enemy.
“I’m not your enemy, Ash.”
“Stop reading my thoughts.”
“I’m not,” Savitar said. “It’s written all over you face. You don’t trust me. But, think of it this way. What could you possibly do that would make me try to kill you?” He sighed. “When it happens, just…trust…me.”
“Easier said than done.”
“I know.” Savitar reached out and placed a hand on Ash’s shoulder in a comradeship. “It’s not going to be easy, but it must be. Remember, I’ll try to kill you. I won’t succeed.”
“Good to know.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Spathi Warrior Davyn tried not to cough as the smoke from the special effects in the nightclub surrounded him. The flickering lights were bad enough, but the smoke was seriously annoying him. He waved it away in an unconcerned fashion, his eyes alert for anything out of the ordinary.
He smiled slightly as another woman approached and asked him to dance. Extremely good looking with long blonde hair, he knew he appealed to the female humans. They appealed to him, too, but only as something to snack on. He sent her away with a smooth apology, hinting that he might be around later.
If he hadn’t been waiting for someone, he might have accepted her offer, but not to dance. Daimons, as a rule, had no sense of rhythm, and looked rather pathetic when trying to dance. Watching her walk away, he had to admit that she did look delectable, and he could almost feel his fangs sinking deep into her neck and taste her blood. He pulled his gaze away from her as someone sat in the chair opposite him.
“You’re late.”
“Bite me,” the person said.
“Don’t tempt me.” Davyn leaned forward slightly so he wouldn’t have to yell over the music. “Look wolf,” he said, calling the Katagari by his animal form. “I’m tired of you, and by you, I mean Were-Hunters, messing this up. It’s simple. Find the eagle, and bring her to me.”
“If it’s simple, then why don’t you do it?” His eyes grew wide as Davyn moved, and suddenly had his neck in a strong grip. “You’re attracting unwanted attention…”
Giving a deadly glare, Davyn released the Were-Hunter, but remained leaning on the table. “Be warned…if any ‘Were’ helps Aiden Falconidae, then they will join her in death.” He stood, walked across the dance floor and out of the nightclub.
The Katagaria wolf stared in his wake, then ran a hand through his long brown hair. Starting to think that it might have been a mistake to pledge his life to the Spathi Leader, Stryker, he finally got up and made his way to the bar, ordering a drink while mulling over Davyn’s warning.
~~~~~~~~~~~
The sun was setting on Neratiti, the lights and hues in the sky giving yet another magnificent sunset. Aiden dug her toes in to the sand as she watched Savitar in the water. He seemed to know exactly when a good wave was coming, and rode them perfectly, never once wiping out.
Ash had retired to a guest room, making some lame excuse about being tired. Since he couldn’t lie, she knew that he was tired, but since when had that ever stopped the Head Dark-Hunter from doing anything. ‘My cell doesn’t work here, and Artie wouldn’t dare show up’ he told her as his reason for wanting to get as much sleep as he could.
She didn’t really blame him, since his phone did seem to ring a hell of a lot, and he would be lucky to get more than four hours sleep in a row. So, with him sleeping, that left her and Savitar alone. Not that she minded, but there were a few issues that needed to be ironed out before she would be able to relax.
Savitar walked out of the water, placed his surfboard with the others against a stand, and plopped down in the sand beside her. He wiped water off his face as he silently studied her.
“You should work on your magick,” he said quietly.
“No.”
“Why not?”
They had had this discussion many times, and it was one of the things that had originally pissed her off when they had been ‘dating’. Aiden stood from the sand and looked down at him. “Why is it so important to you that I hone my magick?”
Savitar placed his hands behind him and leaned back. “It’s not, really,” he answered. “You’ve got this immense magick in you, and you should use it.”
“Yeah?” she asked, slightly annoyed. “Fine. You want to see what I can do…” Tapping in to the magick that she had first discovered the night of her supposed sacrifice, she raised her hands in front of her and concentrated.
He smiled to himself as he felt her reach down inside herself and tap into the magick she possessed. Since Aiden didn’t exactly like using her magick, she hadn’t discovered the power she actually had. She had the potential to be extremely powerful, but somehow through the years had never realized it. Savitar knew exactly what she was capable of, and he needed her to reach past her limits so she could control herself.
Savitar watched as power danced around her, causing small puffs of sand to swirl around her feet. He forced himself not to look up as the sky over his island turned dark and lightening started to flash across the sky. Thunder rumbled in sync with it, causing the very ground below them to vibrate an instant before rain cascaded from the clouds.
Oh, yeah, she could cause some real problems if she ever had the inclination to. His eyes flicked to the side as waves began crashing on the shore. Usually, the island only reacted to his moods and whims, and to see it bowing to the will of another was slightly disturbing. It was also a very powerful aphrodisiac.
Standing in one fluid motion, Savitar placed a hand gently behind her head, and brought his lips to hers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The blanket slipped to the floor, being tossed there by the body that slept on the bed. Ash rolled over, then back, caught in the grip of a terrifying nightmare. He bolted up in bed, gasping for breath and looked around wildly. A shadow detached itself from his body and solidified by the bed.
About three feet in height, with large burgundy wings, red and black skin and yellow eyes, Simi looked ready for battle. She spun quickly, glancing around, wondering where the enemy was. “Oh, Savvy’s island!” she chirped happily when she realized where she was. “Akri having bad dreams?”
Ash nodded slightly as the images stayed with him.
“About Heifer goddess?” she asked as she placed her hands akimbo. “She always make you upset. I wish you let the Simi eat her.”
Ash smiled gently as his breathing returned to near normal. “I’m okay, Simi.” He patted her shoulder as she leaned over and gave him a hug. “Go play. I’m going to try to get back to sleep.”
Simi smiled, and skipped across the floor to the door. She turned back. “And the Simi knows Savvy’s rules about barbecuing things on his island.”
Ash closed his eyes as the door shut behind her, and tried to get back to sleep. His dream kept flashing through his mind, and he grimaced when he couldn’t rid himself of it. “Just a dream,” he said out loud.
He had tried to think of what he would do to make Savitar turn on him, but there wasn’t a thing that came to mind. They had known each other for over eleven thousand years, and anything that could be done, had been. The only thing he could think of was if he came between Savitar and destroying the cosmos.
Ash laughed at that thought. Savitar was somewhat anal about his rule of ‘don’t fuck up the cosmos’, and Ash knew that the god wouldn’t tangle with him over that. Unless… it was Ash who was about to screw things up, and Savitar had to stop him.
It would do him no good dwelling over it, since he never knew when the event would happen. Sighing, he pulled a pillow over his head and tried to block out everything but thoughts of getting back to sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~
The sand was still warm below them as the stars twinkled in the clear sky. Aiden laid on Savitar’s bare chest, wanting nothing more than to remain there until the sun rose in the morning.
“Remind me to kiss you again the next time you flex your magick,” Savitar eventually whispered against her hair. She laughed gently, and sighed as his hand traced the curve of her backside.
Aiden blinked as clothing suddenly appeared on her body, and realized that Savitar was also dressed. He sat up while holding her, then allowed her to slide to the sand beside him.
“What…?” she started to ask, then stopped. Someone was coming, and by the bouncing shadow and singsong voice, she knew it wasn’t Ash. “Simi?”
“Who else?” he replied in an amused voice. Even though he adored Simi, she was a little too flaky at times for his tastes.
“What’s she singing?” Aiden whispered, trying to make the demon out.
“No barbecuing Savvy’s things,” Savitar replied as he stood, then offered her his hand. “Little rule I had to lay down after her first visit.”
“Savvy!” Simi said happily, then she squealed when she noticed Aiden. “And Aiden!” She rushed forward, grabbing Aiden in a hug. “Simi didn’t know you was here, isn’t this a great place, can we make biscuits?”
Aiden blinked as she tried to decode Simi. “We’ll see,” she said with a smile, thinking it was the safest answer.
Simi pouted. “That usually means no when akri says ‘ we’ll see’.” She looked at Savitar. “Why akri having bad dreams here? He usually has them with the Heifer Goddess, but she’s not here, so…” She looked suspicious. “She’s not here, is she?”
“If she were ever to set foot here, Simi, then I would allow you to barbecue her, no questions asked.”
Simi smiled hopefully. “Can we invite her?”
“No.”
“Simi hates that word.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Apparently,” Stryker said in a low voice, “you threatened the Were-Hunters.”
Davyn looked up from what he was doing, then placed the hand held video game on the table in front of him. He may have thought of humans as cattle, but there were some things of theirs that he enjoyed. “I told the wolf that if any ‘Were’ helps Aiden Falconidae, then they will join her in death.”
Stryker nodded slightly. “And somehow that translated to a threat from me, to the entire Were-Hunter nation.”
Whoops! “I have no excuse, my lord,” Davyn said earnestly.
“They can keep their misconception for now. Our cousins are survivors, and most won’t take the chance of helping her once word of the threat gets around.”
Inwardly, Davyn breathed a sigh of relief. Putting words in Stryker’s mouth was almost a sure fire way to be killed, and he knew how lucky he was at the moment. He nodded once, then watched as Stryker stood and walked out of the large room.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Savitar closed his eyes in mild annoyance as pounding sounded from the kitchen area of his palace. Shaking his head as the noise was followed by laughter, he continued walking past the door and down the hall. It had been quite a few millennium since he had even been anywhere remotely near the kitchen area, and he was somehow glad that it was being used now. Usually, he used his magick to summon anything he required, and he wasn’t the type to entertain, so it was rarely ever used.
He stopped, and sniffed as a rather delectable aroma drifted down the corridor, beckoning him like some siren’s song to go back to the kitchen. Fighting the temptation, he continued walking, stopping again as a stray piece of information entered his brain.
“Stryker,” he whispered to himself, “you stupid punk ass.” Leave it to the Spathi leader to once again carry a grudge too far and mess with things he had no right getting into in the first place. One of these days, Savitar was going to just plain out kill the demi-god, and take his chances with the fallout.
If killing him actually messed up everything, and delivered the wrath of Apollo on his head, then… bring it. Not like Savitar was afraid of Mr. Sunshine-Greek-god anyway. As far as he was concerned, Apollo was a pansy ass who was seriously fucked up to curse his own children to such a fate.
Besides, if Apollo tried anything, Savitar would kill him, which would kill Artemis, that in itself not too bad a result... in theory…but kind of bad in reality. With the two of them dead, the sun and moon would die, and so would the Earth.
On the plus side, Ash would be free of the bitch, and Savitar wouldn’t have to deal with anyone else, ever again. He stopped at that thought. He liked being alone; preferred it, actually, but sometimes, it was nice to have a comforting presence around.
He sighed. Yeah, okay… no killing Stryker. The end result was more hassle than it was worth. Maybe he’d just eventually beat the shit out of the Spathi leader. Savitar smiled at the thought.
~~~~~~~~~~
Ash sat on the edge of the bed, his long black hair falling over his face as he stared at the floor. He wasn’t really used to getting that much undisturbed sleep, and it was slightly disconcerting. Stretching lightly, he stood, willing black leather pants and a black t-shirt on to his body as he walked across the room.
Opening the door, he stepped out, and stopped short as he came face to face with Savitar.
“I gotta check some things,” he said. “Simi okay here for a couple hours?”
“She’s fine,” Savitar said, and then sighed. “Stop worrying about the ‘me trying to kill you’ thing, would you? Artemis had no right to tell you, and all it’s doing is serving as a distraction for you.”
“Kind of hard not to think about.”
“If you want, we can do this right now,” Savitar transported them both to a small clearing located just off the beach. “Just do something to piss me off, and I’ll take a few shots at you, then we’re done.”
Ash sighed. “You’re not overly funny.”
“Wasn’t trying to be.” Savitar vanished, only to appear right behind Ash. “Come on, Atlantean.”
Ash spun around, only to find the other man gone. He felt someone behind him and spun back, glaring at Savitar. “I thought I was suppose to be the one pissing you off, not the other way around…”
Savitar raised a hand and spread his fingers. Lights danced around the tips, weaving in and out in an ancient rhythm. “It’s all how we handle it, remember?” he said in a slightly hypnotic voice. “I’m not much for fighting, so I just kill whatever pisses me off. But, you, Acheron, would never be killed by my hands.” He twisted his wrist, bringing his hand and the swirling lights in a circle.
“I could try for a millennium,” he continued, “and you’d still be able to get up and walk away.” He brought his other hand up, creating a sphere of twirling light between them. “It makes all this insignificant in comparison, and not really worth worrying over. There is nothing I would do that would permanently harm you. The worse that would happen is that I would destroy myself, and we both know that’s never going to happen.”
The lights faded away, leaving the two men staring at each other. Savitar had a timeless wisdom to him that always seemed to ease any worries that Ash had at any given time. The surfer never patronized him, and for that, Ash listened and accepted his insights.
“Okay,” Ash said as he nodded. He had enough to worry about on a regular basis, and felt relief when he discovered that, although he was concerned about it, the ‘trying to kill’ didn’t completely occupy his mind any longer. “Thanks.”
Savitar gave him a nod. “What are friends for,” he said, then vanished.
“Friends,” Ash whispered. That had to be the few times Savitar had ever used the term. The man didn’t really have friends, or anything remotely similar to them, and Ash felt a strange sense of pride that he could be considered as one of the extremely very few who could be called such.
He vanished form the island, returning to his Dark-Hunter life for a few hours.
~~~~~~~~~~~
“What’s this?” Savitar moved his head back slightly from the small brown… thing that was being held in front of it.
“Biscuit,” Simi told him.
“No, really,” he said, “what is it?”
“It’s a biscuit,” Aiden assured him. “Simi made them, and make sure you let her know how good they are.”
You can’t be serious. He gave her a pained looked, then shifted his gaze back to the item. He slowly raised his hand and took it out of Simi’s, trying not to cringe when it felt heavier than it looked. Not to mention that it felt like a pumice stone. He wondered how anything that had smelled so delicious while cooking could end up as this.
“Eat!” Simi urged him.
From the look on her face, he knew she would be heartbroken if he didn’t take a bite, and nothing was more pathetic than watching a Charonte Demon cry. He’d faced worse things in his life…. Hell, he was Savitar! The gods shuddered at his name and hid when he walked by! He was a badass surfer dude, and there was absolutely nothing in the universe that scared him.
Except for having to take a bite from the biscuit in his hand.
He had just raised it to his lips when he felt a presence on the island, and looked up as Ash appeared in the doorway. He had never been so happy to see anyone in his entire existence.
“Simi, Aiden,” he said, “go flying or something, please.”
Not impressed at being dismissed, Aiden teleported out of the room instead of having to walk past him to leave. Simi bounced out of the room, singing something about going in to business as a chef.
Using his magick, he dissolved the cooked ‘pumice stone’, then wiped his hands on his thighs. He sent a small mental caress to Aiden as a small apology, then walked over to one of the floor to ceiling windows.
“Vane Kattalakis called me,” Ash said. “Stryker has let the 'Were' community know that if they help Aiden, then they will be targeted with her.”
“I know.”
“And you’re doing what about it?”
“Nothing.” Savitar turned to look out the window. “Unless someone calls the Omegrion.” He looked over his shoulder. “You’re not a Were, you can’t call it.”
The Omegrion was the ruling council of the Were-Hunters that makes all the laws that govern them. One representative from each branch of the Arcadian and Katagaria is sent to represent them all, and Savitar had a position as sort of an overseer of the Omegrion. Ash sighed, then flicked his cell phone open, forgetting that he couldn’t get a signal on the island. He grimaced, and vanished.
Savitar turned back to the window and waited. He remained where he was as Ash returned with another man. “Speak.”
Vane Kattalakis glanced at Ash, then back to Savitar. “As the Arcadian Lykos representative, I formally request the Omegrion to discuss what should be done regarding Stryker’s ploy.”
“Granted,” Savitar said, a moment before various voices started to filter from the adjoining room he reserved for meetings. The other Arcadian and Katagaria representatives were complaining about being plucked from their lives by Savitar. Vane disappeared, transported by Savitar to the room with the others.
The immortal turned from the window, his outfit changing from tan beach pants and a loose white shirt, to a long, flowing, dark blue robe. He walked straight past Ash and in to the room.
In a list
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Comments
1 - 5 of 5
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with all the biscuit making simi is going to get very good. and im glad that ash is willing to take the initiative if savitar wont. someone needs to step up for aiden even if she is kick ass.
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So. Savitar is going to try to kill Ash? That's not very friendly. Then again, he IS a bad-ass.
Guys with alterior motives Even worse is when they're trying to do good.
SIMI! “Simi hates that word.” funny! Sometimes that demon is very smart and sly.
Love the biscuit part! That was very funny and well written, expecially the "He was a badass surfer dude, and there was absolutely nothing in the universe that scared him.
Except for having to take a bite from the biscuit in his hand." part. Scary buscuit, it sounds like.
beginning: 4, language: 5, plot: 5, ending: 4, dialog: 4, characters: 5.
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Howdy!!! I'm so excited...
First typo. Second section, first sentence. Here's the sentence:
"The Spathi Warrior Davyn tried not to cough as the smoke form the special..."
"form" should be "from" ^_^
Please tell me that the Katagaria wolf isn't one of the Weres that helped Aiden last time!!! That would be a terrible betrayal... than again, Aiden was the one trying to hunt the wolves first... Ah well, I'll continue reading...
Second typo. Third Section, eleventh paragraph, first sentence. Here's the sentence:
"He smiled to himself as he felt her reach own inside..."
"own" should be "down"
I love Savitar!
Third typo. Fourth section, seventh paragraph, first sentence. Here's the sentence:
"As closed his eyes..."
"As" should be "Ash"
I love this story- so many exciting storylines that could happen. Aiden's storyline, Ash's storyline, and Savitar seems to be in every single one. So does Ash, in a way. This is so cool!!
Fourth typo. Eighth section (I think), sixth paragraph. Here's the sentence:
"Just do something to **** me off, and I'll take a few shots and you, then we're done."
"and" should be "at"
That biscuit and Savitar section made me laugh out loud. Funny! This story is so good. Have I already told you how happy I am that you continued it? I think I have... thought I might say it again. I can't wait to see what happens next.
MoonNight
beginning: 5, language: 5, plot: 5, ending: 5, dialog: 5, characters: 5.
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That darn from and form!
Thank you, thank you! I try to put a bit from each storyline in each chapter, since they are all connected and each decision made affects another storyline.
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too tired... fix spacing later.....
or, and ... I added some character images to the list that this is in
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