It had actually been a while since any of them had a serious talk about what was really happening on Earth. They all knew what their role was and had been completing them separately and silently. It was like having a normal nine to five job that lasted all hours, could sometimes be adventurous and was usually dangerous but for the most part acted as something to do. It was only a few times that they needed each other for their own personal missions. Technik was maybe the only one that would deal with each of the other active warriors on a regular basis as he was needed to run intelligence on companies or give site plans for buildings. The rest would only come together if backup was needed in some way.
It was rare that they were all called into Tristan’s office for anything and now they’d been grouped more than once in one day. The mix up in their routine seemed to affect each of them differently. Vectio was the most affected. He rarely spoke to any of them and so a meeting was mostly useless to him. He never shared his projects with the rest of the team unless he absolutely had to. He stood next to the window watching out as the sun set. The soft rays turned the sky pink and orange, colors he’d been drawn to as they were the all-day sky cast colors of his home planet, a planet he was yet to share the name of with the rest of the team.
Mendax stood just to the left of Hunter, who sat comfortably in the chair facing Tristan’s desk. He used a small amount of life source and played some music for them, softly. Julius looked towards him and smiled, shaking his head. Despite his reserved manner, Julius was the only warrior that seemed to give in or play into Mendax’s games. Vectio watched from afar, observant, he grunted in response; as usual. He rolled his eyes as Mendax glanced at him, lowering the sounds to the choral voices of Buddhist monks he’d dubbed “Soundtrack of the Monks”. Mendax had been enamored by the music ever since he heard them sing when Vectio had taken them to visit the monasteries of Tibet.
“Aright, enough fooling around,” Tristan, who’d been pretending to ignore Mendax for the last five minutes, knowing the music relaxed him also, stood up and rapped the knuckles of one hand against the desk. “I know we all love her, and feel like she’s our Earth mother, but we honestly need to find out who Arinth is.” He looked around at them before clearing his throat again. “Honestly, I can say I never saw it coming. Technik, I thought you did recon on her and everyone else that lives in this area.”
“I did. I couldn’t find anything on her. I honestly thought she was just a homeless person that was squatting and thought nothing else to it. You saw how she was when we first arrived. It was like she had given up on life. I researched her and it was like she never existed.” He stood, pulling himself to a full height of 6’3. “I really don’t know what else to say. I’m sorry? Tristan, she’s harmless, to us at least.” Vectio watched silently as Technik lifted one hand, running shaky fingers through his curly hair. It was his one contribution, his one job, and he hadn’t even fulfilled that position correctly. I know what you’re thinking and you need to stop. Vectio made no movements as to acknowledge he’d also heard the voice meant for Technik’s mind only. Hunter often spoke to him using their connection. He seemed to always be the only one that knew there was something wrong going on with him. Besides Vectio and Hunter, everyone else seemed to move on. Technik hid it easily.
“I’d say, if Arinth was going to hurt us or if she were a danger to us it would’ve happened already. It’s not your blame to take, Technik. If anything, Mendax is the one that I would count on to give us a judge of character. After all, that is his Gift.” Hunter didn’t look towards Technik but he felt a nudge in his mind, acknowledged. Vectio mused. The team might be more ‘well put together’ than he’d thought when he’d been forced to join them.
“That’s true. I didn’t feel any deception in her. That could be a good thing or a bad thing. It could be that I didn’t feel any deception from her because she’s not deceiving us. It could also be that she has the same ability as I do, that or her mind isn’t susceptible to my pull.” It was Mendax’s turn to second guess. Julius walked over to him and placed a hand on his head. “What are you doing?”
“I’m sensing a yellowing in your aura. Are you feeling alright?” Julius pulled back as if he’d been burned and looked at Mendax, incredulously. “How long have you been hiding from us?” Mendax shook his head as he dropped the disguise. He seemed to change instantly before their eyes. He had dark circles just under his eyes, his irises glowed silver and his skin was pale. His cheeks hollowed out, gaunt, skin pulling tight over his jawline. Hunter gasped, standing and backing away from him.
“You have dark power in you. Were you attacked on your last mission?” He stepped further back and examined the traces of Mendax’s steps. If he could see where his aura was the darkest he could find the point of entry for the dark power. They might be able to help him before the power consumed him.
“I was, it isn’t life or death or anything, guys.” Mendax held a joyful tone but winced when his voice came out cracked, dry. Vectio stood motionless, he was usually a great judge of character and action. Usually, he could see through any Storyteller’s guise if he tried. Maybe he hadn’t wanted to try and therefore hadn’t invested himself into the team because he knew he didn’t really belong. That realization still didn’t change the fact that Mendax is his brother in arms. His duty to look out for him firmly outweighed his comfort level. Mendax coughed roughly and turned away from them. He stepped towards the window and looked out.
“Why didn’t you say anything? Keeping up the health of all my warriors is my responsibility. We could have dealt with this.” Tristan tried to keep the anger out of his voice. He was concerned, yes, but he couldn’t do anything unless his team informed him. Things had somehow gotten out of hand. On Arinth, his team had been straight forward, never too close; all business. He barely spoke to them but knew they’d have his back in battle. Here it seemed like he was stuck in what humans called a fraternity house and he barely had any true control. They will respect him. He’d withdraw himself. Maybe establishing a new form of leadership was a bad idea. His Maman, his mother, had told him he was too cold, that he’d spend his life alone. But she’d never been in battle. She didn’t know how imperative it was to have connection, communication and trust amongst warriors. He tilted his head up, looking down his nose at Mendax. “Things are getting ready to change around here. Now get out, I need to consult with the Council.” Tristan sat down at his desk, shuffling the papers that covered its surface, formally dismissing his team. He liked them, all of them, even Vectio, but he wouldn’t let that come between him and his duty to the Council, Arinth or his honor to protect the humans of Earth.
Vectio watched as Tristan shut down on them. He knew what to do. He knew how to do it but he would close himself from his team. He knew they’d become too comfortable with their leader and that sooner or later Tristan would notice that he’d let them take rein of their own lives and had become more of a brother to them. He guessed the time for that recognition was now. They filed out, each taking a glance at their leader.
Julius noticed the dark color that filled their leader’s aura. He was pissed and he had every right to be but that didn’t take away the fact that Mendax was filled with dark power that would most likely consume him by the end of the week. Julius couldn’t let that happen but so far he only knew of one woman, Egeria Shen, who could take the dark power from Mendax. How successful she would be, he was unsure, as the last time they’d encountered this same situation she’d failed. The host had died. Julius couldn’t let that happen to Mendax. A soul was a soul; worth saving, no matter how shadowed, bloody or filled with hate.
Some like to think of dark power as dark magic. It’s a poisonous form of life source that flowed from the vilest of spirits and filled the soul with evil and envy. It was dark black power that filled the souls and ground of Malvroy. Once dark power was introduced to the blood, it warps the soul, the mind and the body. Depending on the level of induction it can take from just a few days to years for it to out weight the gentle life source every being is born with and consume the body. It was even more dangerous to inhabit as a Dark Warrior as they’d be assured to go rogue and force their fellow warriors to hunt down and kill one of their own.
Mendax coughed again and tried to throw up his guise. The paleness of his skin disappeared and his eyes returned to their soft brown color. A small cough escaped from his throat and he fisted his fingers.
“I haven’t been taking this seriously, I admit. We haven’t run into any Malus for almost two years. I didn’t think we would ever again. The Council made it seem like Earth was going to be crawling with them. They made it seem like it would be constant battle with no downtime. It isn’t like that here. They lied to us all or just maybe…we haven’t been looking in the right places.” He straightened and walked over to the stair case. He sat on the second stair, exhausted suddenly, stretching his legs out before him.
“I didn’t notice at first that the dark power had entered my blood. It seemed like just a paper cut, I didn’t think that even the slightest of cuts could introduce the power. He’d laughed right before I slit his throat. Gave me the biggest grin, I felt no deception from him. Now I know that he was genuinely happy. He’d told me, before things went south, he’d gladly take down any other warrior. I knew I had to end it even though I wanted so badly for him to realize his mistake and repent his ways.” Mendax had been the only warrior out of all of them that had hunted and actually executed rogue warriors. It’d been one of his jobs on Arinth.
While Hunter had hunted them, he’d never killed them. Vectio had never killed another warrior, either. Technik had never killed anyone except for the occasional soldier back on Arinth before he’d came to Earth. It’d been centuries though, since he had, when battle took place on the field and not through computers and powered missiles. It had always been someone else’s’ dirty work. One never wanted to hunt down a brother and bleed out his life source. They took it personally, Mendax could be, one could say, the strongest of them all. “He wanted others to feel the joy and freedom in being rogue and not having to follow any rules; to take a life whenever you wanted and to not bend knee to any higher power. The Light Warriors would snatch him up if they heard him talking that way. I guess they did and they sent me. If I become rogue before some stranger the Light Warriors send down kills me, will you…”
“Don’t say it. It won’t happen.” Vectio walked towards them, his voice rough, slightly surprising them. His face was void of all emotion and his tone was steady. The only evidence that the happening affected him was the small tick in his jaw. “We will fix it. Julius, can’t you draw the dark power from him the way you heal bones and cuts?” It was a good idea but half way through the question Vectio knew the answer. Julius stood shaking his head slowly. His eyes were glowing with life source, Vectio watched as he stepped forward and placed a hand on Mendax’s forehead. He felt the burn against his skin as the dark power rebelled against his healing ability. The group waited for a moment before Julius dropped his hand.
“I tried. There’s…nothing I can do.” Julius sat on the step beside Mendax and touched him soft on the shoulder. “It’s like it knows what I’m trying to do and recoils. It’s running from me.” This time he didn’t jerk back from the pain but gripped Mendax’s shoulder and called the dark power to him once again. Hunter came back into the front lobby, none of them had noticed he’d disappeared into the library. He stood leaning against the white pillar that stretched high above them into the arched ceiling, holding an open book in his hand, shaking his head.
“If you’d let someone else kill that rogue we wouldn’t be in this predicament, Andana. The dark power can be drained from the victim by killing the source of the power but only if the source hadn’t been previously executed by the victim or anyone else in its blood stream. Basically, if someone else had killed him, and someone that hadn’t shared blood with him, you would just have a slight wound where the dark power entered.” He turned the book around and showed the page that he read from. The book was nameless, basically a book of rules and remedies. They didn’t know where it came from and actually believed that it belonged to the warriors that had lived there before them. It wouldn’t help them now. Hunter had a different thought. Could it truly belong to Arinth? Maybe she knew more about it, or maybe she just knew what was in the book. Besides, other than giving them a small back ground on avoiding dark power it was useless in this moment. Mendax already had it, it had already enveloped his soul and he would die. That was the end.
“Well…aw…hell.” Mendax coughed, a deep rattling sounded in the back of his throat. He’d lived for just under a century and would now be taken down by a paper cut. This can’t be real.
"The only way to be a writer is to write, write and write. The only way...is to write." -Jade Elyzabeth
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Monday, August 25, 2014
Post 8 : Arinth
Adrian
It was the biggest shock that she’d had since being kidnapped. They’d escorted her down the stairs promising her food and cookies and she could just feel the excitement coursing through the men. It was like they’d turned from grown men to little boys. They kept mentioning a Cook but she wasn’t sure if they meant a literal cook or just the fact that someone had cooked. It didn’t hit her until they’d heard the soft male laughter from just outside the kitchen double doors. She’d felt the electricity between the men charge just as Tristan’s voice sounded through the opening. She was briefly blinded by the sun gleaming in through the large windows lining the walls. A short brown skinned woman walked in circles ranting but Adrian could barely hear what she was saying. Hunter sat just behind the woman with his eyes squinted closed. She stared at him for a moment, soft rays of sun touched his face giving him a glow on one side and casting the other into shadow.
Just as she stepped forward she heard the woman speak but she couldn’t hear her. She turned her head towards the woman but was distracted by his blue eyes opening and then looking at her. They glinted silver, just for a second, before settling back to the ocean blue they usually were. It seemed like everything had been in slow motion but now it sped up as she heard Tristan’s deep baritone behind her. They were talking but she only heard the grumble of their voices. They seemed muffled against her ears as if their mouths were covered. She saw the woman still motioning towards her and walked forward.
“You must be in shock! My, what a long journey I hear you had. A guest of the warriors, eh?” The woman hustled her into a chair before untwisting her hair. “Did you hear me? You can call me Arinth. I’m the cook here. Don’t worry about those boys, they wouldn’t hurt a fly. Come...Come!” Her voice wavered a bit on the last sentence, making it only slightly believable.
“I saw them kill someone last night.” Adrian’s voice came out soft, trying not to sound accusatory even though it was the truth. She followed the rounded woman’s motions to sit in the chair just at the kitchen table that could serve as a full dining table in a normal house hold.
“Yes, well…He probably was an evil man.” The woman teetered a little just before she straightened again, pulling her hands up to finger comb Adrian’s hair. Maybe she hadn’t known. Maybe the men had never told her what they really did when they left the house and Adrian had just confirmed her fears. She felt kind of bad, ruining the woman’s’ innocence but she needed to know and maybe it was good that Adrian was the one to tell her. She’d keep the kidnapping secret, though. Looking up, she finally got a good look at the woman and smiled genuinely. Her soft honey colored eyes and brown hair were comforting. Her skin was brown and devoid of wrinkles, aside the laugh lines at her eyes, for a woman of her age. She had to be around forty-five years old and filled with happiness.
Despite the ranting Adrian had heard when she’d entered the kitchen, the woman seemed to genuinely be happy with her position with the warriors. Adrian glanced behind her and saw that the rest of the men had slinked out of the room and Hunter was the last to leave. Stopping at the door, he glanced back at her and his eyes widened; surprised to be caught staring. So beautiful, his voice sounded gruffly in her head. Jerking back, Adrian breathed out quickly and averted her eyes. Had she just read his mind?
Shaking her head, she accidently dislodged the braid from Arinth’s fingers. She apologized softly and disappeared into her own world once again. Reaching out, Adrian tried to see if she could read Arinth’s mind. Arinth’s voice, soft and sweet, rang through her mind in warning.
That, my dear, is a dangerous place.
Adrian shivered, she would stay in her own mind for the time being, especially now that Arinth knew her secret but chose not to address it aloud. She had dealt with a lot in her life. She’d been through a lot. Her mother, her weird abilities that she know knew came from an entirely different world, her hard work through college that will most likely mean absolutely nothing; a lot. She knew that she should be happy there’s more to life, more to Earth or better yet more to the universe but she couldn’t really say. She didn’t understand much of anything that was going on. She liked Arinth but knew that she held a deep secret that none of the men knew about. She’d tried to bring up what’d happened but didn’t know how. She felt awkward about being caught trying to read her mind but she also wanted to know about her history.
Why was she named Arinth? She’d heard the leader, Tristan, say that was their home planet and honestly still felt it awkward that she’d been in the presence of aliens but now she felt fine with it. Was it because of all the movies she’d seen as a child or the paranormal romance novels she’d read that she wasn’t too freaked out about that part? Maybe Mendax and Julius had been right. Maybe she wasn’t upset about it because she knew deep down inside that it was true and that she was different. She’d always known. Now it’s time to confirm.
“Arinth, can you tell me about the guys, their planet, where they come from?” She smiled shyly when Arinth looked towards her and raised an eyebrow.
“Do you have one in particular that you want to know about?” Arinth smiled at her and wiggled her eye brows. “I might be old but I know that voice. You like one of them and I think I know who.” They giggled like school girls for a moment before Adrian shook her head to clear it and straightened in her chair. She was silent for a moment while she watched Arinth stir a dark liquid in a pot on the stove. It hadn’t been but ten minutes since the men had left and after braiding her hair, Arinth had returned to cooking. She’d offered to help and Arinth had told her but for a moment. She wasn’t entirely sure what that meant but took it as a yes when Arinth had laid a small apron on her lap.
“Hunter.” She finally spoke quitely into the silence. She kept her eyes averted as she swallowed deeply.
“Ahhh…Chase Hunter. He’s a gorgeous one.” Arinth stopped stirring and lowered her hand, turning the eye down to simmer.
“They’re all gorgeous! Why is that? How is that possible?” Adrian looked up at Arinth, her eyes wide.
“It’s just their genetic makeup. The Dark Warriors from Arinth are all gorgeous in their own way. I remember the first day I shared with the guys. They were dirty, bloody from the most recent battle. They actually came here together in transport but hadn’t met each other from before, I don’t believe. Julius took it the hardest. He was in the middle of the field healing a warrior on Senatus when they transported him down here. To this day he’s not sure if the healing was completed. He’d been covered with blood and reading the rites when he appeared in the middle of the men in the main hall. He’d opened his eyes, silver lacing his iris, and stared out at us. War does something to a man, Adrian. Even a medic is affected.”
“Why all the wars? Why all the fighting? Who are they fighting…where?” Adrian stood as Arinth held out a hand to her. She pulled her towards the window and they stared out at the sky. The sun had just set and the sky was a pale salmon, pale orange color. It looked beautiful and just beyond the sky she could just barely see a star.
“Humans that live on Earth think they are alone. They like to nurse the idea that they aren’t but they don’t really believe in aliens. That’s why they fashion movies with aliens that look like horrible monsters or creatures from nightmares. It’s because they want to show that they are the superior being even despite their weak level of technology. They haven’t really grasped the idea that aliens, in the real sense of the word, look just like them. Despite small feature changes brought on by the survival and adaption habits of their planet or atmosphere, most creatures across the galaxy look a lot alike. Rarely do you see an ‘alien’ that has more than two sets of eyes, legs and arms.” She patted Adrian’s arm and smiled to her. “Most of those stars are just as you see and predict them to be, but some of them are planets. You aren’t alone in this galaxy. I’m not sure why the humans that crashed here ever thought they were alone!” She laughed incredulously and tilted her head when she saw the confusion on Adrian’s face.
“What do you mean crashed here?”
“The boys didn’t tell you anything?” Arinth had stopped laughing and placed her fist on her plump hips. She was everything a happy, strong grandmother of a large brood would be. Adrian liked her almost instantly but knew that she had many secrets to hide.
“Not really, I’m a prisoner here, remember?” At those words Adrian laughed. “Well, I’m supposed to be a prisoner but I guess they sort of forgot to lock me up.”
“I’m sure it’s something besides that, dear. Prisoner my foot! If I have anything to say about it you will be running this household just like me. Granted, I do think it will benefit you to stay here, they will protect you. At least until they figure out what you are or where you come from. But we will cross that trench when we get there. Here, sit; let me tell you what happened. Don’t ask me how I know, I just do.” Arinth turned the pot of gumbo off, moved it to a cool area on the stove and removed the lid. Sweet smells filled the kitchen tickling Adrian’s nose. She didn’t really remember the last time she ate. It seemed so long ago. Arinth replaced the lid, after stirring the spoon for the last time, and walked over to the table.
“Ok, so…about two thousand years ago, a band of Humans lead an uprising on Arinth. At the time the war seemed to be slowing, there was a lull in the fight. It was sort of like the war they had here in American, the civil war. Except, this war was between the rich and the poor. It seems kind of like a human cliché but it’s true. The better technology became, the easier life became, the easier it became for the rich and powerful to push out the poor population, push them out to the street and eventually out of the cities. Pretty soon even schools charged for pens and pencils, everything was a dollar sign, Ariation is the currency on Arinth and it was dying. Unless you already had money, you were more than likely not going to make any more. You would think that in a way this would be a good thing. Everyone would just relax back and enjoy what they had and in a way they did. Most of the smaller, poorer communities lived off the land in their own right. They were often paid for their provisions by the rich but it was less likely the further from the main city you’d go. The miners, the Gold Diggers as they were ironically called, couldn’t settle in this way. They held an uprising that led to war, death and sadness.” Arinth’s eyes closed as if she remembered the war, as if she’d been there when it happened but that was impossible. Wasn’t it? “So many people died, so many lives lost just because they couldn’t start over. They didn’t want to do the work to put the economy back together and no other planet was willing to get in the middle of the dispute.”
“What happened in the end?” Adrian’s voice was soft as she saw the tears glistening at the corners of Arinth’s eyes.
“They failed their mission. They led the last uprising and were captured, many died on either side. They, along with their colonies, were piled on what Earth would call a rocket; we call them capsules and sent to Senatus for sentencing. Senatus is a planet all of it’s own. It is a planet comprised the galaxies most important ones. The Council, political figures, their families and those needed to take care of them reside there alone. They were to sentence the group fairly. Unfortunately, the sentence was death. The criminal Arinthians were supposed to be sent back to Arinth but never made it. The capsule went off course, due to a hijacking by the famous Devlirus Malus. He had planned to take them to Malvroy to use as slaves but instead lost control of the capsule. They crash landed on Earth and have been here ever since. The Dark Warriors, along with a few other groups, police the galaxies in hope to keep them here and keep the rest of the universe away from Earth. It becomes harder and harder as the centuries go on. Earth humans seem to have a death wish of their own!” She huffed and shook her head at the retelling.
“Who is Devlirus Malus? Why did the Council let them stay here?” Adrian was confused. If the group were so evil then why were they still alive? Arinth was correct in one thing though, Humans weren’t very good to each other or the planet, as a species.
“Devlirus Malus is a war leader on Malvroy. He’d been passing the capsule on his way to Malvroy from Senatus when he came up on the aircraft. The Council let the humans stay on Earth when they noticed that memory of what they’d done was almost completely gone. It would be genocide to kill entire colonies of people some that weren’t aware of what happened and others that couldn’t even remember the pain and destruction they’d caused. The Light Warriors won’t let it happen anyway. Why now, should an entire planet full of people have to suffer the pain of few?”
Adrian wasn’t sure what to think. It all seemed surreal and too impossible to be true. Glancing out of the window, again, at a now dark sky Adrian sighed and tightened her lips. She had so many questions but it seemed like the topic mentally exhausted Arinth. She’d found an ally and didn’t want to ruin her welcome so early. If she was going to find out what was wrong, or right, with her and then escape she would need someone in her corner.
“Do you mind if I call you Cook?” Adrian spoke softly not wanting to overstep her bounds. “Just…the guys seemed a little apprehensive when you told them you’re name.”
“Not at all, little one. That’s what they guys call me, well they did. I wonder what they were thinking when they left. I know they never looked too far into my background but even if they did they would find nothing.” A worried look covered her features, she wasn’t sure if the men would come a-hunting when they returned from their meeting. She loved them all, she wasn’t a danger to them but she must admit. She’d lied.
“What are you hiding, Arinth?” Adrian’s voice was soft again; did she have a right to ask?
“I’m sorry, Adrian. I can’t answer that. Just know I would never hurt any of them. I am here to protect them just as they are here to protect the humans that inhabit this world. I just hope they are able to see that.” She stood and wiped her hands on the apron around her waist. “Dinner is ready, we can talk about the men later. We seemed to have gone far off topic. You will hear about your Hunter later.” She smiled down at Adrian, her gaze weary. Adrian nodded in agreement and unfolded her legs from the chair. She was glad for the change in topic but would still love to hear about the man who seemed to set fire to her blood.
"The only way to be a writer is to write, write and write. The only way...is to write." -Irma Jemison
It was the biggest shock that she’d had since being kidnapped. They’d escorted her down the stairs promising her food and cookies and she could just feel the excitement coursing through the men. It was like they’d turned from grown men to little boys. They kept mentioning a Cook but she wasn’t sure if they meant a literal cook or just the fact that someone had cooked. It didn’t hit her until they’d heard the soft male laughter from just outside the kitchen double doors. She’d felt the electricity between the men charge just as Tristan’s voice sounded through the opening. She was briefly blinded by the sun gleaming in through the large windows lining the walls. A short brown skinned woman walked in circles ranting but Adrian could barely hear what she was saying. Hunter sat just behind the woman with his eyes squinted closed. She stared at him for a moment, soft rays of sun touched his face giving him a glow on one side and casting the other into shadow.
Just as she stepped forward she heard the woman speak but she couldn’t hear her. She turned her head towards the woman but was distracted by his blue eyes opening and then looking at her. They glinted silver, just for a second, before settling back to the ocean blue they usually were. It seemed like everything had been in slow motion but now it sped up as she heard Tristan’s deep baritone behind her. They were talking but she only heard the grumble of their voices. They seemed muffled against her ears as if their mouths were covered. She saw the woman still motioning towards her and walked forward.
“You must be in shock! My, what a long journey I hear you had. A guest of the warriors, eh?” The woman hustled her into a chair before untwisting her hair. “Did you hear me? You can call me Arinth. I’m the cook here. Don’t worry about those boys, they wouldn’t hurt a fly. Come...Come!” Her voice wavered a bit on the last sentence, making it only slightly believable.
“I saw them kill someone last night.” Adrian’s voice came out soft, trying not to sound accusatory even though it was the truth. She followed the rounded woman’s motions to sit in the chair just at the kitchen table that could serve as a full dining table in a normal house hold.
“Yes, well…He probably was an evil man.” The woman teetered a little just before she straightened again, pulling her hands up to finger comb Adrian’s hair. Maybe she hadn’t known. Maybe the men had never told her what they really did when they left the house and Adrian had just confirmed her fears. She felt kind of bad, ruining the woman’s’ innocence but she needed to know and maybe it was good that Adrian was the one to tell her. She’d keep the kidnapping secret, though. Looking up, she finally got a good look at the woman and smiled genuinely. Her soft honey colored eyes and brown hair were comforting. Her skin was brown and devoid of wrinkles, aside the laugh lines at her eyes, for a woman of her age. She had to be around forty-five years old and filled with happiness.
Despite the ranting Adrian had heard when she’d entered the kitchen, the woman seemed to genuinely be happy with her position with the warriors. Adrian glanced behind her and saw that the rest of the men had slinked out of the room and Hunter was the last to leave. Stopping at the door, he glanced back at her and his eyes widened; surprised to be caught staring. So beautiful, his voice sounded gruffly in her head. Jerking back, Adrian breathed out quickly and averted her eyes. Had she just read his mind?
Shaking her head, she accidently dislodged the braid from Arinth’s fingers. She apologized softly and disappeared into her own world once again. Reaching out, Adrian tried to see if she could read Arinth’s mind. Arinth’s voice, soft and sweet, rang through her mind in warning.
That, my dear, is a dangerous place.
Adrian shivered, she would stay in her own mind for the time being, especially now that Arinth knew her secret but chose not to address it aloud. She had dealt with a lot in her life. She’d been through a lot. Her mother, her weird abilities that she know knew came from an entirely different world, her hard work through college that will most likely mean absolutely nothing; a lot. She knew that she should be happy there’s more to life, more to Earth or better yet more to the universe but she couldn’t really say. She didn’t understand much of anything that was going on. She liked Arinth but knew that she held a deep secret that none of the men knew about. She’d tried to bring up what’d happened but didn’t know how. She felt awkward about being caught trying to read her mind but she also wanted to know about her history.
Why was she named Arinth? She’d heard the leader, Tristan, say that was their home planet and honestly still felt it awkward that she’d been in the presence of aliens but now she felt fine with it. Was it because of all the movies she’d seen as a child or the paranormal romance novels she’d read that she wasn’t too freaked out about that part? Maybe Mendax and Julius had been right. Maybe she wasn’t upset about it because she knew deep down inside that it was true and that she was different. She’d always known. Now it’s time to confirm.
“Arinth, can you tell me about the guys, their planet, where they come from?” She smiled shyly when Arinth looked towards her and raised an eyebrow.
“Do you have one in particular that you want to know about?” Arinth smiled at her and wiggled her eye brows. “I might be old but I know that voice. You like one of them and I think I know who.” They giggled like school girls for a moment before Adrian shook her head to clear it and straightened in her chair. She was silent for a moment while she watched Arinth stir a dark liquid in a pot on the stove. It hadn’t been but ten minutes since the men had left and after braiding her hair, Arinth had returned to cooking. She’d offered to help and Arinth had told her but for a moment. She wasn’t entirely sure what that meant but took it as a yes when Arinth had laid a small apron on her lap.
“Hunter.” She finally spoke quitely into the silence. She kept her eyes averted as she swallowed deeply.
“Ahhh…Chase Hunter. He’s a gorgeous one.” Arinth stopped stirring and lowered her hand, turning the eye down to simmer.
“They’re all gorgeous! Why is that? How is that possible?” Adrian looked up at Arinth, her eyes wide.
“It’s just their genetic makeup. The Dark Warriors from Arinth are all gorgeous in their own way. I remember the first day I shared with the guys. They were dirty, bloody from the most recent battle. They actually came here together in transport but hadn’t met each other from before, I don’t believe. Julius took it the hardest. He was in the middle of the field healing a warrior on Senatus when they transported him down here. To this day he’s not sure if the healing was completed. He’d been covered with blood and reading the rites when he appeared in the middle of the men in the main hall. He’d opened his eyes, silver lacing his iris, and stared out at us. War does something to a man, Adrian. Even a medic is affected.”
“Why all the wars? Why all the fighting? Who are they fighting…where?” Adrian stood as Arinth held out a hand to her. She pulled her towards the window and they stared out at the sky. The sun had just set and the sky was a pale salmon, pale orange color. It looked beautiful and just beyond the sky she could just barely see a star.
“Humans that live on Earth think they are alone. They like to nurse the idea that they aren’t but they don’t really believe in aliens. That’s why they fashion movies with aliens that look like horrible monsters or creatures from nightmares. It’s because they want to show that they are the superior being even despite their weak level of technology. They haven’t really grasped the idea that aliens, in the real sense of the word, look just like them. Despite small feature changes brought on by the survival and adaption habits of their planet or atmosphere, most creatures across the galaxy look a lot alike. Rarely do you see an ‘alien’ that has more than two sets of eyes, legs and arms.” She patted Adrian’s arm and smiled to her. “Most of those stars are just as you see and predict them to be, but some of them are planets. You aren’t alone in this galaxy. I’m not sure why the humans that crashed here ever thought they were alone!” She laughed incredulously and tilted her head when she saw the confusion on Adrian’s face.
“What do you mean crashed here?”
“The boys didn’t tell you anything?” Arinth had stopped laughing and placed her fist on her plump hips. She was everything a happy, strong grandmother of a large brood would be. Adrian liked her almost instantly but knew that she had many secrets to hide.
“Not really, I’m a prisoner here, remember?” At those words Adrian laughed. “Well, I’m supposed to be a prisoner but I guess they sort of forgot to lock me up.”
“I’m sure it’s something besides that, dear. Prisoner my foot! If I have anything to say about it you will be running this household just like me. Granted, I do think it will benefit you to stay here, they will protect you. At least until they figure out what you are or where you come from. But we will cross that trench when we get there. Here, sit; let me tell you what happened. Don’t ask me how I know, I just do.” Arinth turned the pot of gumbo off, moved it to a cool area on the stove and removed the lid. Sweet smells filled the kitchen tickling Adrian’s nose. She didn’t really remember the last time she ate. It seemed so long ago. Arinth replaced the lid, after stirring the spoon for the last time, and walked over to the table.
“Ok, so…about two thousand years ago, a band of Humans lead an uprising on Arinth. At the time the war seemed to be slowing, there was a lull in the fight. It was sort of like the war they had here in American, the civil war. Except, this war was between the rich and the poor. It seems kind of like a human cliché but it’s true. The better technology became, the easier life became, the easier it became for the rich and powerful to push out the poor population, push them out to the street and eventually out of the cities. Pretty soon even schools charged for pens and pencils, everything was a dollar sign, Ariation is the currency on Arinth and it was dying. Unless you already had money, you were more than likely not going to make any more. You would think that in a way this would be a good thing. Everyone would just relax back and enjoy what they had and in a way they did. Most of the smaller, poorer communities lived off the land in their own right. They were often paid for their provisions by the rich but it was less likely the further from the main city you’d go. The miners, the Gold Diggers as they were ironically called, couldn’t settle in this way. They held an uprising that led to war, death and sadness.” Arinth’s eyes closed as if she remembered the war, as if she’d been there when it happened but that was impossible. Wasn’t it? “So many people died, so many lives lost just because they couldn’t start over. They didn’t want to do the work to put the economy back together and no other planet was willing to get in the middle of the dispute.”
“What happened in the end?” Adrian’s voice was soft as she saw the tears glistening at the corners of Arinth’s eyes.
“They failed their mission. They led the last uprising and were captured, many died on either side. They, along with their colonies, were piled on what Earth would call a rocket; we call them capsules and sent to Senatus for sentencing. Senatus is a planet all of it’s own. It is a planet comprised the galaxies most important ones. The Council, political figures, their families and those needed to take care of them reside there alone. They were to sentence the group fairly. Unfortunately, the sentence was death. The criminal Arinthians were supposed to be sent back to Arinth but never made it. The capsule went off course, due to a hijacking by the famous Devlirus Malus. He had planned to take them to Malvroy to use as slaves but instead lost control of the capsule. They crash landed on Earth and have been here ever since. The Dark Warriors, along with a few other groups, police the galaxies in hope to keep them here and keep the rest of the universe away from Earth. It becomes harder and harder as the centuries go on. Earth humans seem to have a death wish of their own!” She huffed and shook her head at the retelling.
“Who is Devlirus Malus? Why did the Council let them stay here?” Adrian was confused. If the group were so evil then why were they still alive? Arinth was correct in one thing though, Humans weren’t very good to each other or the planet, as a species.
“Devlirus Malus is a war leader on Malvroy. He’d been passing the capsule on his way to Malvroy from Senatus when he came up on the aircraft. The Council let the humans stay on Earth when they noticed that memory of what they’d done was almost completely gone. It would be genocide to kill entire colonies of people some that weren’t aware of what happened and others that couldn’t even remember the pain and destruction they’d caused. The Light Warriors won’t let it happen anyway. Why now, should an entire planet full of people have to suffer the pain of few?”
Adrian wasn’t sure what to think. It all seemed surreal and too impossible to be true. Glancing out of the window, again, at a now dark sky Adrian sighed and tightened her lips. She had so many questions but it seemed like the topic mentally exhausted Arinth. She’d found an ally and didn’t want to ruin her welcome so early. If she was going to find out what was wrong, or right, with her and then escape she would need someone in her corner.
“Do you mind if I call you Cook?” Adrian spoke softly not wanting to overstep her bounds. “Just…the guys seemed a little apprehensive when you told them you’re name.”
“Not at all, little one. That’s what they guys call me, well they did. I wonder what they were thinking when they left. I know they never looked too far into my background but even if they did they would find nothing.” A worried look covered her features, she wasn’t sure if the men would come a-hunting when they returned from their meeting. She loved them all, she wasn’t a danger to them but she must admit. She’d lied.
“What are you hiding, Arinth?” Adrian’s voice was soft again; did she have a right to ask?
“I’m sorry, Adrian. I can’t answer that. Just know I would never hurt any of them. I am here to protect them just as they are here to protect the humans that inhabit this world. I just hope they are able to see that.” She stood and wiped her hands on the apron around her waist. “Dinner is ready, we can talk about the men later. We seemed to have gone far off topic. You will hear about your Hunter later.” She smiled down at Adrian, her gaze weary. Adrian nodded in agreement and unfolded her legs from the chair. She was glad for the change in topic but would still love to hear about the man who seemed to set fire to her blood.
"The only way to be a writer is to write, write and write. The only way...is to write." -Irma Jemison
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Post 7: Cook, No...Arinth
He couldn’t believe what an idiot he’d been. The first time he was able to see the woman they say they’d put in his room, he’d stared at her like a horny fourteen year old. Her long beautiful hair hung to one side, just flipped over her shoulder. Its auburn tresses complimented the olive tone to her skin and curled around in a soft braid. How had she accomplished that with one arm hoisted above her head the way it was? Her emerald eyes had glistened as she’d spoke with Technik. She’d seemed genuine enough and he wasn’t sure why the rest of them didn’t believe her. What had happened the night before? Julius had told him she’d put him to sleep and just now Technik had said something about a burning but he couldn’t see why these things warranted them kidnapping her.
Well, Tristan was the leader and has always made the right decisions but this time Hunter wasn’t sure. Maybe he just needed to get all the pieces to the puzzle before he questioned his leader’s authority. Maybe it was because he’d felt deception in the others earlier and he wasn’t sure why. That seemed to have worked itself out though but he still felt skeptical. Maybe it was the reaction that he had towards the woman in the room that made him want to protect her. He popped in the Kitchen to find Cook reaching out to clean a small mixing bowl.
“Hey! Don’t you touch that!” Hunter yelled out just as she touched the rim. She snatched her hand back as if burned and gasped. He’d scared her, not that he’d meant to, but he couldn’t let her touch that bowl.
“What is wrong with you? I almost died of a heart attack right here in your kitchen!” The older lady turned back to the sink where she continued to wash the dishes she’d placed before. She had soft mocha colored skin, honey colored eyes and long, soft brown hair that she kept twisted up in a frizzy bun. “I was beginning to think that you boys had changed. I’ve never been able to make it through an entire making of a meal without someone coming to stick a finger in one of the pots.” She huffed and leaned a rounded hip against the kitchen sink.
“Missed us?” Hunter sat at the table just before sticking a finger into the bowl and scooping out a tip full of icing. Cook has been almost like their earth mother ever since they’d come down from Arinth. She’d been squatting in the home when they appeared and didn’t seem the slightest bit scared that six men had invaded her borrowed house.
The safe house had actually belonged to a few Dark Warriors before them but she’d taken over the place. She’d cooked and cleaned and when they’d arrived she’d taken Tristan by the ear and told him if they’d been “fixing to throw her out” she’d show them who was boss. She’d then pulled them all into the kitchen where she’d fed them gumbo, the first Earth food that any of them had ever tasted, and chattered on for hours about nothing. She’d definitely been lonely and had time to make up for.
“Boy, don’t play with my heart. Tell me what’s going on.” Her face turned to stone as she reached out to take the bowl from him. Hunter groaned in disappointment around the icing he’d been sucking from his finger.
“Don’t worry Cook; Hunter is almost as clueless as you are about what’s going on. He’s been sleeping all day, laziest warrior I’ve seen yet. We have a guest here. She’s going to be staying with us for a while until we hear back from the Council. Do you mind if I take that off your hands?” Mendax had walked into the room and stood next to Cook. He softly lifted the bowl from her fingers and dug his own fingers into it, ignoring Hunter’s protest. Cook dried her hands on a towel and took out a cleaning wipe from the pocket of her apron. She put it in Hunters hand almost instantly, just as he began trying to lick his fingers again.
“Is she pretty? Can I meet her? There’s so much testosterone here I swear I’m going to die not seeing another feminine being! Oh, she must be frightened, being around all you men. I know I’ve been having trouble, no women around for miles!” She huffed again as if her ranting had taken all her energy.
“You go to the grocery store like…every week, Cook. What do you mean? There are so many women at the grocery store it’s like Palis all over again.” Palis was a gathering on Senatus they had every year. He understood they’d had them, similar to it, on earth a century ago or so. They’d called it a woman’s season, or coming out. Basically a bunch of women go to parties in search of finding a man to marry. He must admit that it was mostly effective as one rarely left without a proposal or two. Unfortunately, the women greatly out populated the men in the most prominent areas of Senatus, the capitol country on Arinth, and they had been thinking of inviting a select few from different provinces around the planet but that is most definitely not a good idea.
“Yes, but I can’t bring them here! Tell them what? I’m a woman in her forties and I live with a bunch of warrior alien men with crazy abilities who carry around swords and kill people that I cook for and sometime have to stitch up? I don’t know how many times I’ve stitched you boys up. It seems like every time one of you leaves the other five of you come back with bruises or something. Seriously, what is it that you spend your time doing? I just don’t understand why you can’t just be safe. Go around like normal human beings!” Hunter and Mendax sniggered as she worked herself into a tizzy as she usually did, eyes glistening as she called them out. She’d even stood up and paced around him and back to the sink. Just then the kitchen door opened and Tristan stepped in. He must have recognized the tantrum as he began to chuckle as soon as he saw her.
“But we aren’t human beings! Cook, you do know that Constantine will heal us. You don’t have to take care of us.” He’d made an emphasis on the word ‘have’ but she ignored it.
“…always sticking their fingers into my cookie dough and they don’t even think to take their shoes off when they come in from the snow. Like those beautiful floors won’t get slippery when it melts. They’d don’t even know the meaning of hanging up a jacket or picking up their underwear!” She stopped just briefly to quickly take off her apron. “Julius? Ha! Your healer? Julius can barely take care of himself, that boy never learned how to do laundry! How does one be a doctor and can’t figure out how to keep a white shirt clean.”
“We are warriors, Cook, we didn’t have to learn how to do laundry!” Hunter knew it was a mistake the moment it came out of his mouth. Hunter squeezed his eyes shut, and chuckled, as he prepared for the swift slap to the side of his head. Despite her heavy and easily provoked rants, Cook was sweet. She always found time to love on them but always made sure they knew respect and kept the slaps light and dished them out regularly. He opened his eyes to a squint as the slap never came. A silence settled over the kitchen just before Cooks voice came out breathless.
“Well I’ll be. You are just the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen! Please, everyone around here calls me Cook but you can call me Arinth. Come, Come! Let me fix your hair!” Her voice was soft but excited as she motioned for Adrian to come over. The warriors all stared at her stunned; their jaws hanging open in surprise. Adrian glanced briefly at Hunter before ducking her head and walking past him to sit cautiously at the table.
“Your…name is Arinth? That’s the name of our home planet. Why didn’t you tell us?” Tristan’s voice boomed in the open space. Cook turned and stared at him for a moment. She seemed taken aback more at his tone than what he’d said. “Why didn’t you tell us?” he said in a softer tone.
“It’s the name of your home planet? I didn’t know. Well, my boy, you never asked what my real name was. I much better like being called Cook by you, though. It made me feel all motherly. It was what you took to calling me the first day you arrived and…I guess it stuck.” Cook, Arinth, turned back to Adrian and touched her tasseled hair; fussing over her.
Tristan stood up straight still shocked as to what Cook had revealed. He sent out a feeler to the other warriors and even reached out to Technik who was in his lair in the basement, as usual. Cooks name is Arinth. Arinth; as in the name of our home planet. We have a woman who’d already lived in the safe house and also stumbled upon a mysterious woman with abilities who’d initially lied to us about having them. What else do we not know?
She didn’t actually lie, Tristan. That’s why I didn’t get any deception from her. Like Cook said, we just didn’t ask the right questions. Maybe, she never would’ve thought about it in that way if we hadn’t mentioned it. I’m sure if we’d stopped to ask Cook what her name was long time ago we would’ve figured it out then. Mendax rose from his lounging position against the counter and turned to leave the room. He gave Arinth, Cook, a finger wave and a crooked smile as she looked up at him. His last glance was towards the beautiful woman that sat before Cook at the kitchen table. A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth at how vulnerable she looked getting her hair fixed. He scowled, turning to leave. Adrian was Hunter’s mate, not his. He’d do well to remember that.
Well…If we are asking the wrong questions then what are the right ones? Julius followed Mendax from the room; Vectio did also with a small grunt they all assumed was agreement. It seemed that the only person that could get him to really talk was Adrian. Did that mean something? He thought to himself.
Tristan nodded at Hunter as they filed from the room. He needed to find out what was going on in his house and fast. Hunter was the one who could figure it out, track her past. Who is Arinth? Who have I let into our circle? Was keeping her around a good idea? Maybe the whole keep your enemies closer spiel. He didn’t realize he’d projected his thoughts into the group’s mental channel until Hunter finally spoke.
No matter who she is, if we can’t trust Arinth, whom can we trust?
"The only way to be a writer is to write, write and write. The only way...is to write." -Irma Jemison
Well, Tristan was the leader and has always made the right decisions but this time Hunter wasn’t sure. Maybe he just needed to get all the pieces to the puzzle before he questioned his leader’s authority. Maybe it was because he’d felt deception in the others earlier and he wasn’t sure why. That seemed to have worked itself out though but he still felt skeptical. Maybe it was the reaction that he had towards the woman in the room that made him want to protect her. He popped in the Kitchen to find Cook reaching out to clean a small mixing bowl.
“Hey! Don’t you touch that!” Hunter yelled out just as she touched the rim. She snatched her hand back as if burned and gasped. He’d scared her, not that he’d meant to, but he couldn’t let her touch that bowl.
“What is wrong with you? I almost died of a heart attack right here in your kitchen!” The older lady turned back to the sink where she continued to wash the dishes she’d placed before. She had soft mocha colored skin, honey colored eyes and long, soft brown hair that she kept twisted up in a frizzy bun. “I was beginning to think that you boys had changed. I’ve never been able to make it through an entire making of a meal without someone coming to stick a finger in one of the pots.” She huffed and leaned a rounded hip against the kitchen sink.
“Missed us?” Hunter sat at the table just before sticking a finger into the bowl and scooping out a tip full of icing. Cook has been almost like their earth mother ever since they’d come down from Arinth. She’d been squatting in the home when they appeared and didn’t seem the slightest bit scared that six men had invaded her borrowed house.
The safe house had actually belonged to a few Dark Warriors before them but she’d taken over the place. She’d cooked and cleaned and when they’d arrived she’d taken Tristan by the ear and told him if they’d been “fixing to throw her out” she’d show them who was boss. She’d then pulled them all into the kitchen where she’d fed them gumbo, the first Earth food that any of them had ever tasted, and chattered on for hours about nothing. She’d definitely been lonely and had time to make up for.
“Boy, don’t play with my heart. Tell me what’s going on.” Her face turned to stone as she reached out to take the bowl from him. Hunter groaned in disappointment around the icing he’d been sucking from his finger.
“Don’t worry Cook; Hunter is almost as clueless as you are about what’s going on. He’s been sleeping all day, laziest warrior I’ve seen yet. We have a guest here. She’s going to be staying with us for a while until we hear back from the Council. Do you mind if I take that off your hands?” Mendax had walked into the room and stood next to Cook. He softly lifted the bowl from her fingers and dug his own fingers into it, ignoring Hunter’s protest. Cook dried her hands on a towel and took out a cleaning wipe from the pocket of her apron. She put it in Hunters hand almost instantly, just as he began trying to lick his fingers again.
“Is she pretty? Can I meet her? There’s so much testosterone here I swear I’m going to die not seeing another feminine being! Oh, she must be frightened, being around all you men. I know I’ve been having trouble, no women around for miles!” She huffed again as if her ranting had taken all her energy.
“You go to the grocery store like…every week, Cook. What do you mean? There are so many women at the grocery store it’s like Palis all over again.” Palis was a gathering on Senatus they had every year. He understood they’d had them, similar to it, on earth a century ago or so. They’d called it a woman’s season, or coming out. Basically a bunch of women go to parties in search of finding a man to marry. He must admit that it was mostly effective as one rarely left without a proposal or two. Unfortunately, the women greatly out populated the men in the most prominent areas of Senatus, the capitol country on Arinth, and they had been thinking of inviting a select few from different provinces around the planet but that is most definitely not a good idea.
“Yes, but I can’t bring them here! Tell them what? I’m a woman in her forties and I live with a bunch of warrior alien men with crazy abilities who carry around swords and kill people that I cook for and sometime have to stitch up? I don’t know how many times I’ve stitched you boys up. It seems like every time one of you leaves the other five of you come back with bruises or something. Seriously, what is it that you spend your time doing? I just don’t understand why you can’t just be safe. Go around like normal human beings!” Hunter and Mendax sniggered as she worked herself into a tizzy as she usually did, eyes glistening as she called them out. She’d even stood up and paced around him and back to the sink. Just then the kitchen door opened and Tristan stepped in. He must have recognized the tantrum as he began to chuckle as soon as he saw her.
“But we aren’t human beings! Cook, you do know that Constantine will heal us. You don’t have to take care of us.” He’d made an emphasis on the word ‘have’ but she ignored it.
“…always sticking their fingers into my cookie dough and they don’t even think to take their shoes off when they come in from the snow. Like those beautiful floors won’t get slippery when it melts. They’d don’t even know the meaning of hanging up a jacket or picking up their underwear!” She stopped just briefly to quickly take off her apron. “Julius? Ha! Your healer? Julius can barely take care of himself, that boy never learned how to do laundry! How does one be a doctor and can’t figure out how to keep a white shirt clean.”
“We are warriors, Cook, we didn’t have to learn how to do laundry!” Hunter knew it was a mistake the moment it came out of his mouth. Hunter squeezed his eyes shut, and chuckled, as he prepared for the swift slap to the side of his head. Despite her heavy and easily provoked rants, Cook was sweet. She always found time to love on them but always made sure they knew respect and kept the slaps light and dished them out regularly. He opened his eyes to a squint as the slap never came. A silence settled over the kitchen just before Cooks voice came out breathless.
“Well I’ll be. You are just the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen! Please, everyone around here calls me Cook but you can call me Arinth. Come, Come! Let me fix your hair!” Her voice was soft but excited as she motioned for Adrian to come over. The warriors all stared at her stunned; their jaws hanging open in surprise. Adrian glanced briefly at Hunter before ducking her head and walking past him to sit cautiously at the table.
“Your…name is Arinth? That’s the name of our home planet. Why didn’t you tell us?” Tristan’s voice boomed in the open space. Cook turned and stared at him for a moment. She seemed taken aback more at his tone than what he’d said. “Why didn’t you tell us?” he said in a softer tone.
“It’s the name of your home planet? I didn’t know. Well, my boy, you never asked what my real name was. I much better like being called Cook by you, though. It made me feel all motherly. It was what you took to calling me the first day you arrived and…I guess it stuck.” Cook, Arinth, turned back to Adrian and touched her tasseled hair; fussing over her.
Tristan stood up straight still shocked as to what Cook had revealed. He sent out a feeler to the other warriors and even reached out to Technik who was in his lair in the basement, as usual. Cooks name is Arinth. Arinth; as in the name of our home planet. We have a woman who’d already lived in the safe house and also stumbled upon a mysterious woman with abilities who’d initially lied to us about having them. What else do we not know?
She didn’t actually lie, Tristan. That’s why I didn’t get any deception from her. Like Cook said, we just didn’t ask the right questions. Maybe, she never would’ve thought about it in that way if we hadn’t mentioned it. I’m sure if we’d stopped to ask Cook what her name was long time ago we would’ve figured it out then. Mendax rose from his lounging position against the counter and turned to leave the room. He gave Arinth, Cook, a finger wave and a crooked smile as she looked up at him. His last glance was towards the beautiful woman that sat before Cook at the kitchen table. A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth at how vulnerable she looked getting her hair fixed. He scowled, turning to leave. Adrian was Hunter’s mate, not his. He’d do well to remember that.
Well…If we are asking the wrong questions then what are the right ones? Julius followed Mendax from the room; Vectio did also with a small grunt they all assumed was agreement. It seemed that the only person that could get him to really talk was Adrian. Did that mean something? He thought to himself.
Tristan nodded at Hunter as they filed from the room. He needed to find out what was going on in his house and fast. Hunter was the one who could figure it out, track her past. Who is Arinth? Who have I let into our circle? Was keeping her around a good idea? Maybe the whole keep your enemies closer spiel. He didn’t realize he’d projected his thoughts into the group’s mental channel until Hunter finally spoke.
No matter who she is, if we can’t trust Arinth, whom can we trust?
"The only way to be a writer is to write, write and write. The only way...is to write." -Irma Jemison
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Post 6: The Techy
Adrian
What she’d done to deserve benefits were beyond her. They had started to take turns watching her. Julius Constantine, the Healer, had been the first to come in. They’d talked about everything except the reason she was being held, Hunter and what was happening next. They talked about his ability to heal and how he often takes a tour of the world healing those who’d die without him. He seemed humble but sad. He’d told her stories of how he couldn’t exactly save all of them. She could see it weighed on his shoulders. At one point, after a long stretch of silence, he’d gotten up and left the room. Vectio had replaced him a few minutes later.
She’d done nothing all day but sit in the room, tied to the bed and only had asked to pee once. It seemed like the storyteller guy had been taken off babysitting duties as he hadn’t come back to check on her. She’d met two other men since she’d woken up but Julius and Mendax were the only ones that actually talked to her. Vectio, the one she remembered from the night before, that had held the knife to her neck, sat and grunted at her every time she asked him questions. When she’d pointed out that he’d spoken to her just the night before he looked away from her like he was ashamed. Whatever it was, with this guy, it needed to stop immediately. She’d always been fond of the silent type but not broody, moody and dangerous. Not to mention he was handsome, either.
She turned and studied the one who’d taken babysitting duties last. He seemed no more than a boy but she was sure it had something to do with the unruly hair and the glasses that perched on the tip of his nose. Despite his young looks, he was handsome just like the others. The way he slouched in the chair made her think that maybe he wasn’t as dangerous as the others. He held a comfort about him that the others didn’t display in front of her. Either he truly believed her harmless or he just didn’t care.
She hadn’t tried to speak to him but he seemed to be having a conversation all on his own. He sat leaning back in his chair with one hand playing out on his leg like he was typing keys on a keyboard. The other hand swiped at an invisible screen before his face. He seemed to be reading something and completely ignoring her. She’d asked him what he was doing but he’d ‘shhhh’ed her like she was disturbing him. She figured he had some sort of ability that he could see wavelengths or radio waves like a computer. It sounded really farfetched but she’d always thought there was more to the world that what was on the surface. Apparently, anything was possible.
“Am I going to get to go home any time soon? I do have a job you know.” She figured with him there was no need to be sweet like she had been with Julius, or the Healer or Constantine, as she’d heard him called. She tried that and it hadn’t worked. He only seemed to block her out even harder.
“You don’t, not right now at least. Your boss gave you the summer off because she’s on vacation with her lead assistant. She paid all your bills and you’re basically free for the entire summer.” The man didn’t even look at her. He seemed completely distracted by whatever he was reading on the invisible screen and didn’t bother to stop what he was doing. It was beginning to irritate her.
“I’ve always been special. My dad was never a part of my life. It’s…”
“It’s just you and your mother, she doesn’t live with you. She wanted you to take care of yourself but was really upset that you left. She came to visit you in college every weekend before you finally told her that you were an adult and needed space. You’ve been working really hard and not just to be an editor but to show her that you finally can and she doesn’t need to worry.” He continued to silently click on his keyboard.
“Uhhh, I mean they told me you were the techy but they said nothing about you being a mind reader or a fortune teller.” Agitated, Adrian leaned forward in the bed and crossed her legs underneath her as comfortably as she could. He was ignoring her again. She leaned her chin against the wrist they’d untied. It had been her first thought to try and untie herself but the rope around her wrist was enforced with some kind of invisible seal. No matter how hard she tried to undo the fraying end it would curl back onto itself. She’d studied the rope for an hour before reserving herself to the idea she’d be there until she convinced one of them to let her go.
“I see you looking at the rope again. It won’t come a loose. Is it hurting you?” She whipped her head around to stare at him once more. He now stood looking in her direction; fingers stilled from their typing, true concern covered his features. She didn’t get them, they all seemed to really care about her warfare but none of them wanted to let her go. She couldn’t lie to him though.
“Actually, no. It’s quite comfortable, thanks for asking.” Adrian blushed as he walked over to the side of the bed, anyway, and tugged at the rope. It felt looser than it had before but she wasn’t sure how he did it and she knew she still couldn’t come out of it if she tried. He walked away from the bed, with a confident stride, back over to the chair and plopped down silently.
“As a kid, I sometimes thought that people were talking to me in my mind whispering from across the room or sending me messages from other countries. It always made me sad. I’d sometimes get weird vibes from people and I was able to tell someone’s intentions just from being around them. I could do more than manipulate people; I began to realize that me just hugging or talking to them made them feel better. I could affect their emotions. My mother said I was a miracle worker but word spread fast and we had to move a lot. Whether being called a miracle worker or a devil worshipper, it’s all the same.” Adrian stopped as she realized that he still seemed to be ignoring her. She watched as his swiping stopped and his fingers slowed. Without looking at her, the man tilted his head toward her as if urging her to continue. When she didn’t he looked over at her but stayed silent. “I don’t get them when you guys are around. Isn’t that strange? I can actually think. I…”
“Obviously, there is something other worldly going on with you. You have to believe it now. You know the things that we do. I know Mendax has shown you a little of what he does. I also know that Constantine talked to about his ability to heal. I’m guessing that is one of the reasons you aren’t as scared as you should be. I would have thought you would be terrified.” The man shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. “So, there must be something that you know. There must be something that would make you believe us and not think that you’re just crazy. Why is all that’s happening so easy for you to take in? You’ve even been kidnapped!”
“I don’t know what you mean.” Adrian looked up at him and back down at her hand. Since her other was tied to the headboard she couldn’t really fiddle in the covers the way she usually did when under close scrutiny. Good, it was time to break that habit anyway.
“Come on, Adrian. You know why you’re here. You haven’t asked anything about ‘how’ you were able to put Hunter to sleep or even ‘how’ you were able to burn Vectio’s eyes. You already know but you refuse to tell us. Don’t play dumb with us.” The soft-faced boyish features she’d seen disappeared before her eyes. His façade slipped away and a rugged man with wire rimmed glasses and the same hair replaced him. She hadn’t met him before, he hadn’t been one of the others that babysat her, and this must be a new guy. So he can hide who he is also? She thought to herself. She gasped in further understanding when Mendax suddenly appeared next to the bed. He’d hid the truth from her again, he’d been standing there the entire time. He’d lied to her. For some reason she felt betrayed and glanced up at him. He looked down at her a new expression on his face. The loving, happy guy she’d talked to earlier was gone. The light from the window poured in from just behind him giving him, illuminating him. He was the illusion of an angel. A dark angel, she thought.
“You’re right. I’m not dumb, I obviously know I’m different but I don’t know how. I’ve never really thought about it before last night. I thought there were more people like me, in hiding, maybe they didn’t want to get exploited either! When Julius, or Constantine or whatever it is you call him…when he said that about the man you killed not being human and that maybe I’m not either. A part of me believed him and a part of me didn’t want to. What else could explain the things I’ve been able to do, now and as a child?” She startled as the rope that held her in place disappeared and her arm fell slack beside her on the bed. She could barely feel it until small pins and needles prickled her skin starting at her wrist. “Are you letting me go?”
“No. Until we know exactly what you are, where you come from and who you are, you are going to stay here. But we will no longer hold you to this room like a prisoner.” Tristan, the leader as she remembered, stood in the doorway. A familiar face stared at her from behind him. It was more so that she felt his presence than recognized him. Happiness jumped inside of her, she almost smiled and had to fight against it. It was both arousing and a mental joy that filled her soul. Ignoring it, Adrian shook her head and slid to the edge of the bed. The pajama pants they’d given her caught against the covers and slid up her legs. She stopped moving to push them down uncomfortably. The techy guy, who’d begun pulling at his skin as if to make sure he was fully himself again, stood with her and helped her to her feet.
“I’m David Modus. I didn’t get to introduce my true self earlier, sorry about that. I’d prefer being called Technik rather than techy.” Technik smiled at her and pushed her towards the bathroom. “You’ll find a change of clothes sitting on the counter in there, regular clothes. I checked your most recent bank statements to see what sizes you recently bought but the latest one I could find was two years ago, you really don’t shop that much? Anyway, I got four different sizes in everything.” He bit his lip, worriedly, while studying her size.
“My bank statements? Is that even legal?” Adrian’s mouth fell open, their tone had changed, just when their leader appeared. They were giving her clothes? They were letting her walk around? What is going on here? Wary, she headed towards the door to the bathroom at the same time in anticipation to change into some real clothes.
“Is kidnaping legal?” Tristan stated gruffly, a wry look covered his face.
“Touché.” Adrian ignored the man that stood just behind the leader even as she caught eyes with him, she blushed slightly. He hadn’t said anything, just stood there staring from the door. He hadn’t even moved from his position when Tristan had given him space to enter the room. Maybe he couldn’t feel the electricity that he sent her. Shaking her head, once in the bedroom, Adrian dropped the pajama’s to the floor and almost squealed at seeing the pile of matching under garments and the jeans and t-shirt ensemble. Someone knew exactly what she liked.
Maybe being kidnapped wouldn’t be as bad as she thought. She’d definitely escape as soon as she got the chance though, just because they played nice now they might not if they found her out to be something alien, dangerous. Murderous, she thought. She stared at herself in the mirror above the sink, looking into her own eyes as she’d done many times before. She’d never seen anything in them looking back at her before but from time to time she could swear there was a glint of something else. Something inhuman? Watching as a tear slid down her cheek, Adrian lifted a hand to swipe it away and took a deep breath. No, she wasn’t a monster, she hadn’t meant to hurt them but it was safe to find out whatever caused her powers before she escaped though. At least she’d get something out of it all.
"The only way to be a writer is to write, write and write. The only way...is to write." -Irma Jemison
What she’d done to deserve benefits were beyond her. They had started to take turns watching her. Julius Constantine, the Healer, had been the first to come in. They’d talked about everything except the reason she was being held, Hunter and what was happening next. They talked about his ability to heal and how he often takes a tour of the world healing those who’d die without him. He seemed humble but sad. He’d told her stories of how he couldn’t exactly save all of them. She could see it weighed on his shoulders. At one point, after a long stretch of silence, he’d gotten up and left the room. Vectio had replaced him a few minutes later.
She’d done nothing all day but sit in the room, tied to the bed and only had asked to pee once. It seemed like the storyteller guy had been taken off babysitting duties as he hadn’t come back to check on her. She’d met two other men since she’d woken up but Julius and Mendax were the only ones that actually talked to her. Vectio, the one she remembered from the night before, that had held the knife to her neck, sat and grunted at her every time she asked him questions. When she’d pointed out that he’d spoken to her just the night before he looked away from her like he was ashamed. Whatever it was, with this guy, it needed to stop immediately. She’d always been fond of the silent type but not broody, moody and dangerous. Not to mention he was handsome, either.
She turned and studied the one who’d taken babysitting duties last. He seemed no more than a boy but she was sure it had something to do with the unruly hair and the glasses that perched on the tip of his nose. Despite his young looks, he was handsome just like the others. The way he slouched in the chair made her think that maybe he wasn’t as dangerous as the others. He held a comfort about him that the others didn’t display in front of her. Either he truly believed her harmless or he just didn’t care.
She hadn’t tried to speak to him but he seemed to be having a conversation all on his own. He sat leaning back in his chair with one hand playing out on his leg like he was typing keys on a keyboard. The other hand swiped at an invisible screen before his face. He seemed to be reading something and completely ignoring her. She’d asked him what he was doing but he’d ‘shhhh’ed her like she was disturbing him. She figured he had some sort of ability that he could see wavelengths or radio waves like a computer. It sounded really farfetched but she’d always thought there was more to the world that what was on the surface. Apparently, anything was possible.
“Am I going to get to go home any time soon? I do have a job you know.” She figured with him there was no need to be sweet like she had been with Julius, or the Healer or Constantine, as she’d heard him called. She tried that and it hadn’t worked. He only seemed to block her out even harder.
“You don’t, not right now at least. Your boss gave you the summer off because she’s on vacation with her lead assistant. She paid all your bills and you’re basically free for the entire summer.” The man didn’t even look at her. He seemed completely distracted by whatever he was reading on the invisible screen and didn’t bother to stop what he was doing. It was beginning to irritate her.
“I’ve always been special. My dad was never a part of my life. It’s…”
“It’s just you and your mother, she doesn’t live with you. She wanted you to take care of yourself but was really upset that you left. She came to visit you in college every weekend before you finally told her that you were an adult and needed space. You’ve been working really hard and not just to be an editor but to show her that you finally can and she doesn’t need to worry.” He continued to silently click on his keyboard.
“Uhhh, I mean they told me you were the techy but they said nothing about you being a mind reader or a fortune teller.” Agitated, Adrian leaned forward in the bed and crossed her legs underneath her as comfortably as she could. He was ignoring her again. She leaned her chin against the wrist they’d untied. It had been her first thought to try and untie herself but the rope around her wrist was enforced with some kind of invisible seal. No matter how hard she tried to undo the fraying end it would curl back onto itself. She’d studied the rope for an hour before reserving herself to the idea she’d be there until she convinced one of them to let her go.
“I see you looking at the rope again. It won’t come a loose. Is it hurting you?” She whipped her head around to stare at him once more. He now stood looking in her direction; fingers stilled from their typing, true concern covered his features. She didn’t get them, they all seemed to really care about her warfare but none of them wanted to let her go. She couldn’t lie to him though.
“Actually, no. It’s quite comfortable, thanks for asking.” Adrian blushed as he walked over to the side of the bed, anyway, and tugged at the rope. It felt looser than it had before but she wasn’t sure how he did it and she knew she still couldn’t come out of it if she tried. He walked away from the bed, with a confident stride, back over to the chair and plopped down silently.
“As a kid, I sometimes thought that people were talking to me in my mind whispering from across the room or sending me messages from other countries. It always made me sad. I’d sometimes get weird vibes from people and I was able to tell someone’s intentions just from being around them. I could do more than manipulate people; I began to realize that me just hugging or talking to them made them feel better. I could affect their emotions. My mother said I was a miracle worker but word spread fast and we had to move a lot. Whether being called a miracle worker or a devil worshipper, it’s all the same.” Adrian stopped as she realized that he still seemed to be ignoring her. She watched as his swiping stopped and his fingers slowed. Without looking at her, the man tilted his head toward her as if urging her to continue. When she didn’t he looked over at her but stayed silent. “I don’t get them when you guys are around. Isn’t that strange? I can actually think. I…”
“Obviously, there is something other worldly going on with you. You have to believe it now. You know the things that we do. I know Mendax has shown you a little of what he does. I also know that Constantine talked to about his ability to heal. I’m guessing that is one of the reasons you aren’t as scared as you should be. I would have thought you would be terrified.” The man shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. “So, there must be something that you know. There must be something that would make you believe us and not think that you’re just crazy. Why is all that’s happening so easy for you to take in? You’ve even been kidnapped!”
“I don’t know what you mean.” Adrian looked up at him and back down at her hand. Since her other was tied to the headboard she couldn’t really fiddle in the covers the way she usually did when under close scrutiny. Good, it was time to break that habit anyway.
“Come on, Adrian. You know why you’re here. You haven’t asked anything about ‘how’ you were able to put Hunter to sleep or even ‘how’ you were able to burn Vectio’s eyes. You already know but you refuse to tell us. Don’t play dumb with us.” The soft-faced boyish features she’d seen disappeared before her eyes. His façade slipped away and a rugged man with wire rimmed glasses and the same hair replaced him. She hadn’t met him before, he hadn’t been one of the others that babysat her, and this must be a new guy. So he can hide who he is also? She thought to herself. She gasped in further understanding when Mendax suddenly appeared next to the bed. He’d hid the truth from her again, he’d been standing there the entire time. He’d lied to her. For some reason she felt betrayed and glanced up at him. He looked down at her a new expression on his face. The loving, happy guy she’d talked to earlier was gone. The light from the window poured in from just behind him giving him, illuminating him. He was the illusion of an angel. A dark angel, she thought.
“You’re right. I’m not dumb, I obviously know I’m different but I don’t know how. I’ve never really thought about it before last night. I thought there were more people like me, in hiding, maybe they didn’t want to get exploited either! When Julius, or Constantine or whatever it is you call him…when he said that about the man you killed not being human and that maybe I’m not either. A part of me believed him and a part of me didn’t want to. What else could explain the things I’ve been able to do, now and as a child?” She startled as the rope that held her in place disappeared and her arm fell slack beside her on the bed. She could barely feel it until small pins and needles prickled her skin starting at her wrist. “Are you letting me go?”
“No. Until we know exactly what you are, where you come from and who you are, you are going to stay here. But we will no longer hold you to this room like a prisoner.” Tristan, the leader as she remembered, stood in the doorway. A familiar face stared at her from behind him. It was more so that she felt his presence than recognized him. Happiness jumped inside of her, she almost smiled and had to fight against it. It was both arousing and a mental joy that filled her soul. Ignoring it, Adrian shook her head and slid to the edge of the bed. The pajama pants they’d given her caught against the covers and slid up her legs. She stopped moving to push them down uncomfortably. The techy guy, who’d begun pulling at his skin as if to make sure he was fully himself again, stood with her and helped her to her feet.
“I’m David Modus. I didn’t get to introduce my true self earlier, sorry about that. I’d prefer being called Technik rather than techy.” Technik smiled at her and pushed her towards the bathroom. “You’ll find a change of clothes sitting on the counter in there, regular clothes. I checked your most recent bank statements to see what sizes you recently bought but the latest one I could find was two years ago, you really don’t shop that much? Anyway, I got four different sizes in everything.” He bit his lip, worriedly, while studying her size.
“My bank statements? Is that even legal?” Adrian’s mouth fell open, their tone had changed, just when their leader appeared. They were giving her clothes? They were letting her walk around? What is going on here? Wary, she headed towards the door to the bathroom at the same time in anticipation to change into some real clothes.
“Is kidnaping legal?” Tristan stated gruffly, a wry look covered his face.
“Touché.” Adrian ignored the man that stood just behind the leader even as she caught eyes with him, she blushed slightly. He hadn’t said anything, just stood there staring from the door. He hadn’t even moved from his position when Tristan had given him space to enter the room. Maybe he couldn’t feel the electricity that he sent her. Shaking her head, once in the bedroom, Adrian dropped the pajama’s to the floor and almost squealed at seeing the pile of matching under garments and the jeans and t-shirt ensemble. Someone knew exactly what she liked.
Maybe being kidnapped wouldn’t be as bad as she thought. She’d definitely escape as soon as she got the chance though, just because they played nice now they might not if they found her out to be something alien, dangerous. Murderous, she thought. She stared at herself in the mirror above the sink, looking into her own eyes as she’d done many times before. She’d never seen anything in them looking back at her before but from time to time she could swear there was a glint of something else. Something inhuman? Watching as a tear slid down her cheek, Adrian lifted a hand to swipe it away and took a deep breath. No, she wasn’t a monster, she hadn’t meant to hurt them but it was safe to find out whatever caused her powers before she escaped though. At least she’d get something out of it all.
"The only way to be a writer is to write, write and write. The only way...is to write." -Irma Jemison
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Post 5: Safe
Hunter
Hunter sat at the bottom of the long staircase on the first floor of the safe house. Tall ceilings stretched above him and the soft cream colored pillars surrounded him. Honestly, he’d always felt comfortable in this house, it was like a castle and reminded him of his homestead back on Arinth. Back home he’d lived with all of his family in that one castle, Hunter’s Peak. It could’ve covered a village or a city on Earth. He shook his head as home and the memory of his brother Zurich’s death crossed his mind. He had other things to think about than the past. Arinth was better left in the sky, Zurich was buried in the past; he had to stay in the here and now. Immortal or not, a distracted warrior was a dead warrior; as the humans say.
He waited there on the stairs because he knew being around the guys would drive him crazy. They held a secret that only he was excluded from. He knew because their auras held a yellow tint to them that he saw when he was tracking someone. His tracking abilities went far beyond the ‘smelling someone’s scent’ or ‘following a trail’. If he wanted to know something he could usually see an aura or have a vision of the next steps or clue to the puzzle. He could be fully awake or dead asleep when he solved a case. This one was different though, close to home. They were betraying him somehow, not that it felt that deeply rooted. They weren’t being honest about something. The question he now posed was ‘what happened last night’?
The last memory he had was just after snapping the neck of a Sprite and being hassled from Tristan about Ascendance. He’d thought on it, Ascendance was one of the hardest things to ignore as an active warrior. When the life source of one leaves its body upon death it enters the surviving immortal and he is filled with the combined power. Hunter had only known one other person who’d given into Ascendance. His older brother Zurich had been killed by a man filled with the life source of a Malus filled with dark power. The rouge had given in to Ascendance and was tracked by Zurich to Malvroy. Hunter’s brother found him and misjudged the situation; he’d died believing he could still save the rouge soldier’s soul. No, Hunter would never give into Ascendance. He reminded himself to stop thinking about his brother, again.
Standing, Hunter rubbed the back of his neck as a pain shot up his spine. For some reason he’d woke up on the couch in the library. He knew they were keeping a secret from him and that was a beginning clue. He’d blown a great deal of money at the mattress store on the perfect bed in his room and had no idea why he hadn’t been allowed to sleep on it. Tristan had put a barrier on the second stairs and every other path that would allow him to go up to the second floor to his room. He knew something was going down that he might not like because even Technik, who was always eager to use their mental connection, had shut him out. He entered Tristan’s office just to the right of the front door in time to hear Mendax speak.
“I’m not sure what you want from her. She’s telling the truth. She has no idea how she welds the power. She knows she has it I’m sure but she doesn’t know why or how. I’m not biased in anyway, she’s not my mate.” Mendax, who usually held a light joyful tone, was angry. His voice was tight and disgruntled. From what he could see, Mendax had fisted both hands and was slightly turned away from their leader as if he couldn’t bear to look at him. Hunter cocked his head to the side, listening, straining to hear the converse. He used his abilities as a hunter to hide his presence.
“I want nothing but the truth. I told you to go up and see what she knew, not make buddies with her! Don’t test my authority, Mendax. She’s not your mate; she felled two of your comrades. We are not trying to be her best friend, human or not, she’s dangerous. We don’t know if she’s telling us the truth or not and you are the only one who can do that. Don’t make me out to be the bad guy, here. I have to protect my team and I won’t be questioned about my decision on this.” Hunter’s brows scrunched together as he stepped into the room. Tristan hardly ever threw around his title or weight with the team. He never used his Influence on them and rarely raised his voice in anger.
“I’m assuming this has something to do with my waking up on the couch in the library. Can someone tell me why I’m not allowed upstairs or in my room?” Hunter rubbed his hand were the barrier had burned him. “Or couldn’t someone, at least have told me there were barriers up? I walked straight into one!” He was agitated but kept his voice low. He didn’t know what was going on and things already looked pretty heated but he was sure it had something to do with him. A silence answered his question. In the corner of his eye a deep yellow haze circled their healer. “Doc?” The man’s aura wavered just before he opened his mouth.
“You killed a Sprite last night, Hunter.”
“I know. I remember that part. What happened next?” The men looked uncomfortable until finally Technik spoke up.
“You were knocked out by a woman, she has some special ability. First she burned Vectio in the eyes when he made eye contact with her and then it was like she put you in a coma, paralyzed you. Your eyes were awake but you couldn’t hear, speak or move. We brought her back here and are keeping her prisoner in your room.” He spoke fast as if in a hurry to get his part of the retelling over with.
“Why in my room?” Chase looked to Tristan for the answer as earlier he’d seemed adamant about it.
“She was comforted by you. Honestly, I don’t think she meant to hurt you. I think she was just overwhelmed. You relax her for some reason.” Tristan’s admitted.
“Why me?”
“That, we don’t know.” Mendax was the one that spoke and Hunter turned to look at him. Hunter’s pupils expanded just before he smiled, nodding in understanding. Mendax looked over Hunters shoulder to Tristan and nodded slightly. Hunter scratched the back of his head as an odd feeling filled him and then dissipated.
“Well, sounds like you guys have things under control here. If you don’t mind, I’m starving. I’ll go talk to Cook and see about dinner.” Hunter left the room, his mind completely taken over by the want to eat.
Once he was gone from the room, Julius sat heavily in the chair behind the desk before jumping up. He whispered an apology to Tristan before going to stand at the bay windows and look over the courtyard. The small circular fountain that sat in front of the safe house glistened in the sun. The stone Aztec warriors that stood in the water stretch tall above the spurts that surrounded them. The safe house was the epitome of man cave crossed with a warrior cove. It was perfect for the group and held a very high status among the Dark Warrior community.
“Is it safe?” Julius’ voice was low but they all heard him. He stood, his back to them, pretending extreme interest in the stone warriors on the other side of the glass. Vectio was the one who responded.
“Is what safe?” Julius, still incredulous that Vectio had actually spoken to him, turned to him and looked him in the eye.
“That we’re not telling him the truth, that we’re not telling him she’s his true mate. Is it safe?”
“I’m not sure. It’ll have to do for now.” Tristan spoke this time, his voice tough. He wasn’t a fan of lying to his team but until he knew exactly what he was dealing with when it came to Adrian, it was better Hunter didn’t know. Was he making the right decision? He had to be.
"The only way to be a writer is to write, write and write. The only way...is to write." -Irma Jemison
Hunter sat at the bottom of the long staircase on the first floor of the safe house. Tall ceilings stretched above him and the soft cream colored pillars surrounded him. Honestly, he’d always felt comfortable in this house, it was like a castle and reminded him of his homestead back on Arinth. Back home he’d lived with all of his family in that one castle, Hunter’s Peak. It could’ve covered a village or a city on Earth. He shook his head as home and the memory of his brother Zurich’s death crossed his mind. He had other things to think about than the past. Arinth was better left in the sky, Zurich was buried in the past; he had to stay in the here and now. Immortal or not, a distracted warrior was a dead warrior; as the humans say.
He waited there on the stairs because he knew being around the guys would drive him crazy. They held a secret that only he was excluded from. He knew because their auras held a yellow tint to them that he saw when he was tracking someone. His tracking abilities went far beyond the ‘smelling someone’s scent’ or ‘following a trail’. If he wanted to know something he could usually see an aura or have a vision of the next steps or clue to the puzzle. He could be fully awake or dead asleep when he solved a case. This one was different though, close to home. They were betraying him somehow, not that it felt that deeply rooted. They weren’t being honest about something. The question he now posed was ‘what happened last night’?
The last memory he had was just after snapping the neck of a Sprite and being hassled from Tristan about Ascendance. He’d thought on it, Ascendance was one of the hardest things to ignore as an active warrior. When the life source of one leaves its body upon death it enters the surviving immortal and he is filled with the combined power. Hunter had only known one other person who’d given into Ascendance. His older brother Zurich had been killed by a man filled with the life source of a Malus filled with dark power. The rouge had given in to Ascendance and was tracked by Zurich to Malvroy. Hunter’s brother found him and misjudged the situation; he’d died believing he could still save the rouge soldier’s soul. No, Hunter would never give into Ascendance. He reminded himself to stop thinking about his brother, again.
Standing, Hunter rubbed the back of his neck as a pain shot up his spine. For some reason he’d woke up on the couch in the library. He knew they were keeping a secret from him and that was a beginning clue. He’d blown a great deal of money at the mattress store on the perfect bed in his room and had no idea why he hadn’t been allowed to sleep on it. Tristan had put a barrier on the second stairs and every other path that would allow him to go up to the second floor to his room. He knew something was going down that he might not like because even Technik, who was always eager to use their mental connection, had shut him out. He entered Tristan’s office just to the right of the front door in time to hear Mendax speak.
“I’m not sure what you want from her. She’s telling the truth. She has no idea how she welds the power. She knows she has it I’m sure but she doesn’t know why or how. I’m not biased in anyway, she’s not my mate.” Mendax, who usually held a light joyful tone, was angry. His voice was tight and disgruntled. From what he could see, Mendax had fisted both hands and was slightly turned away from their leader as if he couldn’t bear to look at him. Hunter cocked his head to the side, listening, straining to hear the converse. He used his abilities as a hunter to hide his presence.
“I want nothing but the truth. I told you to go up and see what she knew, not make buddies with her! Don’t test my authority, Mendax. She’s not your mate; she felled two of your comrades. We are not trying to be her best friend, human or not, she’s dangerous. We don’t know if she’s telling us the truth or not and you are the only one who can do that. Don’t make me out to be the bad guy, here. I have to protect my team and I won’t be questioned about my decision on this.” Hunter’s brows scrunched together as he stepped into the room. Tristan hardly ever threw around his title or weight with the team. He never used his Influence on them and rarely raised his voice in anger.
“I’m assuming this has something to do with my waking up on the couch in the library. Can someone tell me why I’m not allowed upstairs or in my room?” Hunter rubbed his hand were the barrier had burned him. “Or couldn’t someone, at least have told me there were barriers up? I walked straight into one!” He was agitated but kept his voice low. He didn’t know what was going on and things already looked pretty heated but he was sure it had something to do with him. A silence answered his question. In the corner of his eye a deep yellow haze circled their healer. “Doc?” The man’s aura wavered just before he opened his mouth.
“You killed a Sprite last night, Hunter.”
“I know. I remember that part. What happened next?” The men looked uncomfortable until finally Technik spoke up.
“You were knocked out by a woman, she has some special ability. First she burned Vectio in the eyes when he made eye contact with her and then it was like she put you in a coma, paralyzed you. Your eyes were awake but you couldn’t hear, speak or move. We brought her back here and are keeping her prisoner in your room.” He spoke fast as if in a hurry to get his part of the retelling over with.
“Why in my room?” Chase looked to Tristan for the answer as earlier he’d seemed adamant about it.
“She was comforted by you. Honestly, I don’t think she meant to hurt you. I think she was just overwhelmed. You relax her for some reason.” Tristan’s admitted.
“Why me?”
“That, we don’t know.” Mendax was the one that spoke and Hunter turned to look at him. Hunter’s pupils expanded just before he smiled, nodding in understanding. Mendax looked over Hunters shoulder to Tristan and nodded slightly. Hunter scratched the back of his head as an odd feeling filled him and then dissipated.
“Well, sounds like you guys have things under control here. If you don’t mind, I’m starving. I’ll go talk to Cook and see about dinner.” Hunter left the room, his mind completely taken over by the want to eat.
Once he was gone from the room, Julius sat heavily in the chair behind the desk before jumping up. He whispered an apology to Tristan before going to stand at the bay windows and look over the courtyard. The small circular fountain that sat in front of the safe house glistened in the sun. The stone Aztec warriors that stood in the water stretch tall above the spurts that surrounded them. The safe house was the epitome of man cave crossed with a warrior cove. It was perfect for the group and held a very high status among the Dark Warrior community.
“Is it safe?” Julius’ voice was low but they all heard him. He stood, his back to them, pretending extreme interest in the stone warriors on the other side of the glass. Vectio was the one who responded.
“Is what safe?” Julius, still incredulous that Vectio had actually spoken to him, turned to him and looked him in the eye.
“That we’re not telling him the truth, that we’re not telling him she’s his true mate. Is it safe?”
“I’m not sure. It’ll have to do for now.” Tristan spoke this time, his voice tough. He wasn’t a fan of lying to his team but until he knew exactly what he was dealing with when it came to Adrian, it was better Hunter didn’t know. Was he making the right decision? He had to be.
"The only way to be a writer is to write, write and write. The only way...is to write." -Irma Jemison
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Post 4: Kidnapped
The air around her was cold. Crisp wind tendrils wrapped around her arms and chilled her to the bone. For some reason, it felt like winter time. Despite it being New York, she was sure it would be warm for a May night. Reaching blinding to pull the covers of the bed up over her bare shoulders, Adrian felt a shock of pain as the muscles of her right wrist stretched above her head. Opening her eyes would probably be a bad idea. She’d thought that last night was a dream and the only explanation for lying in a bed having both of her arms tied above her head is that it wasn’t. She knew what she’d find. She’d probably open her eyes to a dark and gloomy room, probably in someone’s basement. It actually smelled clean, though. At the feel of it, the bed was really comfortable but it could also just be worn. The walls would be empty and the furniture scarce. She’d seen enough of Criminal Minds to know when someone’s been kidnapped.
Opening her eyes anyway, Adrian gasped at the vast contrast the room had to her thoughts. High ceilings stretched gloriously to the sky. The walls were covered in what looked like 19th century tapestry. The dark colors reminded her of strength and masculinity. Although the room was neat it looked quite lived in. A man’s light brown jacket hung over the back of one claw footed chair and a pair of worn gym shoes sat neatly underneath it. Adrian couldn’t see any other sign that a man lived there, or anyone for that matter. The drawers were pushed in, their tops clean of any toiletries. The closet, she assumed it was a closet, was cracked open but from where she lay, she couldn’t tell if there were clothes hanging inside. Pushing at the ties on her wrist, Adrian pulled herself up in the bed just moments before realizing she was naked beneath the covers; it was no wonder she’d been freezing in her sleep. Confusion covered her. Did they mean to keep her as a sex slave?
“I will not be a sex slave to anyone.” Adrian huffed as she tried to shimmy back under the covers.
“No one said you were going to be.” A deep voice spoke from across the room. A handsome dark haired man sat in the chair that held the brown jacket.
“How? I just looked over there and I didn’t see you!” Adrian gasped.
“You didn’t see me because I told your mind you couldn’t. It’s one of my abilities.” The man stood and came over to the edge of the bed. Adrian flinched as he grabbed the sheet. She relaxed slowly as she realized he was just pulling it up over her breast to tuck it beneath her arms, covering her.
“You wouldn’t have to do that if you would just untie me and if you gave me my clothes.” Adrian’s voice sounded strong but she wanted to plead with the man to let her go. “And I don’t mean make me believe that I’ve been let go.” Hearing her words the man laughed at her.
“You catch on quick, Adrian. Don’t be afraid. We actually just want to protect ourselves, from you.” He sat on the edge of the bed where her feet were. She hadn’t noticed until he sat there that her feet had been bound together, perhaps to let her sleep more comfortably. “What you did to our transporter was…something none of us had ever experienced before.” He shook his head as he leaned forward to tuck the covers in around her legs. “You look cold.”
“Protection from me? What do you mean your transporter?” Adrian felt her body began to relax around the man. He seemed to be harmless but she wasn’t sure why. The events of the night before came crashing to her; the gaps in her memory startled her. She gasped aloud, startling him. “How did I get here?”
“Vectio transported you. You put Hunter to sleep and we weren’t sure if you’d poisoned him or what not so we had you transported to the dungeon. Waited for you to wake up, to tell us what you did.” The man stood up off the bed, remembering she couldn’t be trusted.
“I understand what you’re saying but at the same time I don’t. Is this your dungeon?”
“No. Tristan had him transport you up here when we returned to the safe house. He figured until we decided exactly how dangerous you are we’ll bring you up here, he said something about innocent until proven guilty.” His face scrunched as he said the last part. It was a human law, an American law that he didn’t quite agree with. If it were up to him, it’d be ‘guilty until proven innocent’ because he’d come to realize, being a warrior, they often were guilty anyway.
“Guilty of what? And why am I naked?” Adrian’s voice became strained as she tried to ignore the mention of Hunter, the man who tried to protect her the night before, she supposed. He’d made her feel weird things inside and she wasn’t at all sure why.
“Vectio can transport any one and anything to anyplace, it’s his ability. Well, he can transport almost everything. For some reason when he transported you here from the dungeon, your clothes didn’t come with you. I wonder why that is?” The man looked genuinely perplexed by the situation but shook his head as if it didn’t matter. “I’m positive that when he appeared here and realized you were naked he bundled you up in the sheets and tied you to the bed. He doesn’t talk much, that one, but for some reason he said more words to you, last night, than he’s said to all of us this past month.” The man laughed and sat back down on the bed.
“Who are you?” Adrian titled her head to the side as she’d listened to him ramble on. He seemed comfortable in his own skin with a really laid back personality. If she wasn’t tied to the bed and obviously a prisoner, she’d have thought he would make a great friend. His smile was inviting but on the other hand it set off a warning in her head. If he could convince her that she hadn’t seen him sitting in the chair, what else was he lying to her about? She took a quick look around the room wondering if there was anyone else standing there with them.
“My name is Mendax Andana, some call me Storyteller.” He smiled at her as her eyebrows drew together. “Basically, I’m a liar, it’s my ability, and I make up stories. Wordless stories. I can make you believe anything I want, make you see anything.” His face suddenly grew serious. “You can trust this as you see it, though. Here, in this room, I have left everything as it was except for the stunt earlier, when you didn’t notice me.” He turned to go after glancing at his watch and seeing the time. He had some business to take care of with Tristan and as interesting as it was to talk to the pretty prisoner, he had to leave. Just as he stepped towards the door he turned back to her, a stoic look covering his face.
“I am surprised you haven’t really asked me anything about the man you put to sleep.” Mendax was sure to tread carefully.
“Is he alright?” She spoke quietly, trying to keep the concern out of her voice. The man had made her melt on the inside, she felt towards him in a way she’d never felt towards any man. Just thinking of him changed her view on being kidnapped, maybe it wasn’t so bad. How this was, she couldn’t say but she felt a small amount of joy inside just thinking of his name and knowing he might be in this very house.
“Yes, he’s fine. Do you know what you did to him? How you did it? And the pain that you caused Vectio, how did you do that?” Her next words would be crucial. He was the storyteller and could tell when being lied to. He could almost sense the lie in his blood, see it in the eyes or even smell it in the words. Her next words would decide everything. They would be important as to tell them the next steps they were to take. He didn’t want to hurt her, especially since she was Hunter’s mate but he would to protect his team.
“No. I swear I have never done that before. I wouldn’t ever hurt anyone. Especially…” Hunter. His name hung at the end of the sentence even though she didn’t speak it. Her lips closed firmly and she averted her eyes. Mendax knew she felt the connection to Hunter just as he did to her and that it confused her just as Hunter was confused. What he didn’t know was that if she didn’t know exactly how she welded those powers, how did she get them?
"The only way to be a writer is to write, write and write. The only way...is to write." -Irma Jemison
Opening her eyes anyway, Adrian gasped at the vast contrast the room had to her thoughts. High ceilings stretched gloriously to the sky. The walls were covered in what looked like 19th century tapestry. The dark colors reminded her of strength and masculinity. Although the room was neat it looked quite lived in. A man’s light brown jacket hung over the back of one claw footed chair and a pair of worn gym shoes sat neatly underneath it. Adrian couldn’t see any other sign that a man lived there, or anyone for that matter. The drawers were pushed in, their tops clean of any toiletries. The closet, she assumed it was a closet, was cracked open but from where she lay, she couldn’t tell if there were clothes hanging inside. Pushing at the ties on her wrist, Adrian pulled herself up in the bed just moments before realizing she was naked beneath the covers; it was no wonder she’d been freezing in her sleep. Confusion covered her. Did they mean to keep her as a sex slave?
“I will not be a sex slave to anyone.” Adrian huffed as she tried to shimmy back under the covers.
“No one said you were going to be.” A deep voice spoke from across the room. A handsome dark haired man sat in the chair that held the brown jacket.
“How? I just looked over there and I didn’t see you!” Adrian gasped.
“You didn’t see me because I told your mind you couldn’t. It’s one of my abilities.” The man stood and came over to the edge of the bed. Adrian flinched as he grabbed the sheet. She relaxed slowly as she realized he was just pulling it up over her breast to tuck it beneath her arms, covering her.
“You wouldn’t have to do that if you would just untie me and if you gave me my clothes.” Adrian’s voice sounded strong but she wanted to plead with the man to let her go. “And I don’t mean make me believe that I’ve been let go.” Hearing her words the man laughed at her.
“You catch on quick, Adrian. Don’t be afraid. We actually just want to protect ourselves, from you.” He sat on the edge of the bed where her feet were. She hadn’t noticed until he sat there that her feet had been bound together, perhaps to let her sleep more comfortably. “What you did to our transporter was…something none of us had ever experienced before.” He shook his head as he leaned forward to tuck the covers in around her legs. “You look cold.”
“Protection from me? What do you mean your transporter?” Adrian felt her body began to relax around the man. He seemed to be harmless but she wasn’t sure why. The events of the night before came crashing to her; the gaps in her memory startled her. She gasped aloud, startling him. “How did I get here?”
“Vectio transported you. You put Hunter to sleep and we weren’t sure if you’d poisoned him or what not so we had you transported to the dungeon. Waited for you to wake up, to tell us what you did.” The man stood up off the bed, remembering she couldn’t be trusted.
“I understand what you’re saying but at the same time I don’t. Is this your dungeon?”
“No. Tristan had him transport you up here when we returned to the safe house. He figured until we decided exactly how dangerous you are we’ll bring you up here, he said something about innocent until proven guilty.” His face scrunched as he said the last part. It was a human law, an American law that he didn’t quite agree with. If it were up to him, it’d be ‘guilty until proven innocent’ because he’d come to realize, being a warrior, they often were guilty anyway.
“Guilty of what? And why am I naked?” Adrian’s voice became strained as she tried to ignore the mention of Hunter, the man who tried to protect her the night before, she supposed. He’d made her feel weird things inside and she wasn’t at all sure why.
“Vectio can transport any one and anything to anyplace, it’s his ability. Well, he can transport almost everything. For some reason when he transported you here from the dungeon, your clothes didn’t come with you. I wonder why that is?” The man looked genuinely perplexed by the situation but shook his head as if it didn’t matter. “I’m positive that when he appeared here and realized you were naked he bundled you up in the sheets and tied you to the bed. He doesn’t talk much, that one, but for some reason he said more words to you, last night, than he’s said to all of us this past month.” The man laughed and sat back down on the bed.
“Who are you?” Adrian titled her head to the side as she’d listened to him ramble on. He seemed comfortable in his own skin with a really laid back personality. If she wasn’t tied to the bed and obviously a prisoner, she’d have thought he would make a great friend. His smile was inviting but on the other hand it set off a warning in her head. If he could convince her that she hadn’t seen him sitting in the chair, what else was he lying to her about? She took a quick look around the room wondering if there was anyone else standing there with them.
“My name is Mendax Andana, some call me Storyteller.” He smiled at her as her eyebrows drew together. “Basically, I’m a liar, it’s my ability, and I make up stories. Wordless stories. I can make you believe anything I want, make you see anything.” His face suddenly grew serious. “You can trust this as you see it, though. Here, in this room, I have left everything as it was except for the stunt earlier, when you didn’t notice me.” He turned to go after glancing at his watch and seeing the time. He had some business to take care of with Tristan and as interesting as it was to talk to the pretty prisoner, he had to leave. Just as he stepped towards the door he turned back to her, a stoic look covering his face.
“I am surprised you haven’t really asked me anything about the man you put to sleep.” Mendax was sure to tread carefully.
“Is he alright?” She spoke quietly, trying to keep the concern out of her voice. The man had made her melt on the inside, she felt towards him in a way she’d never felt towards any man. Just thinking of him changed her view on being kidnapped, maybe it wasn’t so bad. How this was, she couldn’t say but she felt a small amount of joy inside just thinking of his name and knowing he might be in this very house.
“Yes, he’s fine. Do you know what you did to him? How you did it? And the pain that you caused Vectio, how did you do that?” Her next words would be crucial. He was the storyteller and could tell when being lied to. He could almost sense the lie in his blood, see it in the eyes or even smell it in the words. Her next words would decide everything. They would be important as to tell them the next steps they were to take. He didn’t want to hurt her, especially since she was Hunter’s mate but he would to protect his team.
“No. I swear I have never done that before. I wouldn’t ever hurt anyone. Especially…” Hunter. His name hung at the end of the sentence even though she didn’t speak it. Her lips closed firmly and she averted her eyes. Mendax knew she felt the connection to Hunter just as he did to her and that it confused her just as Hunter was confused. What he didn’t know was that if she didn’t know exactly how she welded those powers, how did she get them?
"The only way to be a writer is to write, write and write. The only way...is to write." -Irma Jemison
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Post 3: Mated
“Not so
fast this time, little woman.” The growling voice of the man who’d held the
knife to her throat was behind her again. This time his eyes averted hers and
his stance was assertive. “If I were you, I’d take a deep breath.”
Tristan
charged forward just as Vectio disappeared with the green eyed woman, Adrian. Who
is she? How was she dropping his soldiers like flies? He knelt beside
Hunter and touched his forehead. It was hot, like a fever, and covered in
sweat.
“Hunter,
rise.” He spoke but the warrior didn’t hear him. Leaning forward, Tristan waved
a hand over Hunters open eyes and received no response. “Julius?” He looked
back at the Healer that seemed to be staring at the air just above Hunter’s
body.
“She
covered him with her aura. Actually, I think it’s more like…their auras
combined. I’ve only seen this once before.” Julius knelt on the other side of
Hunter using his fingertips to lower his eyelids and placed a calming hand
above his heart.
“Where?”
“The only
other time I’ve seen an aura like this was on Senatus, with a mated pair. Can
sometimes happen with a first touch, either physical or mental. This time it
seems that the both were aligned.” Julius took a deep breath just before he
drew a small amount of Hunter’s life source from his body to examine it. The
wisp of air was dark, murky just as Adrian’s had been. If he’d remembered
correctly, Hunter’s aura was usually an icy, water blue with the occasional
sliver of silver just like his eyes. It’d been a long time since he’d had to
heal the warrior but he was positive this wasn’t the normal shade the warrior
usually carried on his shoulders.
“Mated? I
thought Hunter was mated to an Ana Guile.” Mendax spoke from where he stood at
Hunter’s feet watching Julius return the life source.
“Yes,
somewhat, you’re a little young to remember her, I’m sure, but we all know she
wasn’t actually mated to him. Why he agreed to that has been beyond us for
centuries.” Tristan helped the men gather Hunter to his feet just as Vectio
returned.
“What did
I miss?” Vectio watched as they toggled Hunter between them. His eyes were still
closed and his head rolled forward.
“Julius
says Hunter is mated to Adrian.” Mendax laughed and passed Hunter into Vectio’s
hands to transport. “You know! Once one of us goes down the rest of us follow.
We’re all going down!” Vectio snorted; the only words they usually heard from
him.
“I don’t
plan to get mated any time soon.” Tristan shook his head and looked back at
him. He was unbelieving of the whole mating process. He believed it was the
Light Warriors’ way of controlling the universe. He was going to say when and
with whom he was going to mate and get married and that was the end of it,
especially if he had to spend the rest of eternity bouncing between planets
with her.
“Well,
I’m sure Hunter didn’t plan to find his real mate anytime soon either, or ever.
That’s probably why he agreed to be mated with the Witch.” Mendax laughed even
harder. He was the most light hearted of the group and for some reason found
the predicament hilarious.
“Well, he
at least didn’t plan that she’d be human either…if she is.” Tristan stated
before disappearing with the rest of the men.
"The only way to be a writer is to write, write and write. The only way...is to write." -Irma Jemison
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Car Accident Almost Prohibits New Posts
Hey guys!
I know I was supposed to post a new installment on Monday and another on Friday but I was in a car accident on Saturday. I haven't yet had a chance to rewrite, edit and upload the two new posts between then and now. I do plan to upload two more parts of Hunter but I have been a little out of it lately due to the pain and medicine I was given.
I will definitely upload as soon as my head is back on track and I finish the next cut piece. This can happen anywhere from the next few hours or the next couple of days but it will be done!
Thanks!!
:)
"The only way to be a writer is to write, write and write. The only way...is to write." -Irma Jemison
I know I was supposed to post a new installment on Monday and another on Friday but I was in a car accident on Saturday. I haven't yet had a chance to rewrite, edit and upload the two new posts between then and now. I do plan to upload two more parts of Hunter but I have been a little out of it lately due to the pain and medicine I was given.
I will definitely upload as soon as my head is back on track and I finish the next cut piece. This can happen anywhere from the next few hours or the next couple of days but it will be done!
Thanks!!
:)
"The only way to be a writer is to write, write and write. The only way...is to write." -Irma Jemison
Friday, August 8, 2014
Post 2: Adrian
Although working for her was lucrative in being the
first step in the door to a long career, Candice Tabakov was a pain in the rear
end. First off, she had been one of the best authors with the best marketing
strategies, about ten years ago. Secondly, she decided there was more money
being behind the talent than actually being the talent and became an editor.
She was inspiration for wannabe editors everywhere but to be her assistant was
one of the worst jobs one could have. That is, unless you were really great at
your job like Adrian was and could potentially become editor yourself one day.
It still took the best grades in college, a pretty face and an ability to hold
three cups of coffee in one hand, scribbling on a notepad in the other all the
while talking on the phone with god knows who. That was Candice’s type of
employee and Adrian excelled at it everyday. If Adrian didn’t actually like her
job she would have quit long time ago but she was stuck in it for the long
haul, since the moment she was picked for the position.
Adrian remembered the first day she met Candice.
A group of English majors from NYCU been called in for a position as a
receptionist at Tabakov and Associates almost a year ago. She’d been postgrad
for almost three months and determined to find a job just about anywhere. About
halfway through the interviewing process, before it was even Adrian’s turn,
Candice had stopped on her way out and said she was hired.
“You…with the pretty eyes and the too long hair,
you come.” For such a successful author her English seemed to be only so-so but
Adrian had guessed that was what editor’s editors were for and ran after her.
“You don’t have to run. I am merely walking.” The woman had said, matter of fact,
despite the fast pace via her long legs. From that day forth she seemed to take
an instant dislike to her and kept her constantly doing the menial jobs. Then
one day Adrian sat at her desk outside of Candice’s office and heard the most
important words of her career.
“I’m bored with this one; you may edit it and bring
it back.” Candice had spoken softly as if she knew Adrian was listening
intently. Luckily, Adrian did a great job on the project and was given the
credit and recognition with the client. Since then Candice no longer barked
beautifully, she spoke with respect. She respectfully asked Adrian to fetch her
coffee.
Coming
back to the present, Adrian sighed and narrowly missed the curb as she stepped
down. She smiled softly, hoping no one saw her misstep, and wrapped her arms
around her waist. Candice was gone to Aruba for an overdue vacation with the
lead assistant Bernadette. She’d basically given her the summer off and paid up
her rent so she wouldn’t feel “tempted” to find another job elsewhere. She’d
merely smiled when Adrian exclaimed with joy but allowed herself to be hugged.
Adrian knew Candice wasn’t the cold woman everyone thought she was; The Russian
Queen, they called her.
A door
opening on her right drew her attention to a small café. She’d walked further
than she thought. Just as she began to turn around Adrian tilted her head to
the side looking at the sign above the door. I’ve never even noticed this
place here before. I wonder if it’s new, she thought. Stepping up to the
glass, Adrian looked just inside the window and watched five men come to stand
in a circle around two crouching men. One man on the ground looked frightened
and had a black eye, his hair was disheveled and his clothes looked bloody. The
other man on the ground was well groomed despite the slight unruliness of his
shoulder length hair. He held a hand just above the injured man’s heart and seemed
to be praying, his eyes closed. She watched as the praying man then looked up
and locked eyes with the bloody man. It seemed like an eternity that they lay
there, staring at each other.
As little
as she knew what was going on, Adrian felt a sudden dip in her mood. She shook
her head, as a distressing cloud seemed to fill her mind; a heavy weight
dropped on her chest and labored her breathing. A seemingly dark mist
surrounded the battered man. It was as if she could feel his soul blackening as
a soft light poured from the prayer’s eyes. The two energies melted together,
like a channel between the two men. She couldn’t turn away her eyes as she
noticed the praying man’s body soften. Then, as if he lost all his strength, he
hunched over. His shoulders fell forward and his head lolled all the while
their eyes remained locked in the death stare. The feeling dissipated,
instantly, as she saw one of the five standing men reach down and snap the
injured man’s neck. The darkness left the lifeless body, whishing up and
entered the standing man’s hands. He straightened and Adrian was instantly
drawn to him, she sighed softly as his face turned slightly in her direction.
She knew she should be frightened because he’d just murdered someone but for
some reason that could wait, for just a few more seconds. She saw then, the
praying man seemed to regain his strength. He stood, unstable, to his feet.
She then
remembered she was out in the open, standing before the window and should
anyone really look her way they’d spot her. Instantly taking a step back,
Adrian stumbled against the wall until she reached the alley just to the side
of the café. Her mind spun, shifting, emotions swirled and spiked. The thoughts
jumbled inside her head and Adrian stood there, leaning against the wall for
what seemed like years. Someone just got murdered, he just reached down
and…and killed him; I can’t believe I just saw that. Should I call the police?
I don’t know what to do. I mean, what CAN I do? They didn’t see me, right? I
didn’t really see anything. I don’t even know what happened. I should just…
A
scuffling sounded behind her, further into the alley, and Adrian froze. Unsure
what to do, Adrian stumbled backwards, toward the street. Just as she stepped
around the corner back toward the café, Adrian heard quick steps on the
pavement. Eyes widening, Adrian gasped as a man, standing about 6’5, peeked
around the corner. Throwing her hands up, Adrian jumped back, an odd tingling
feeling coursed through her fingers. Just as a wave of adrenaline bursts
through her body the man cringed in pain before disappearing. Seconds later,
she sucked in her breath as warmth pressed against her from behind, he was
pushing her back into the alleyway. She knew almost instantly when the knife
came to her throat and closed her eyes.
“It’s…a
woman.” Without opening her eyes, Adrian knew almost instantly the killer from
the inside of the cafe had spoken. For some reason she felt relieved but didn’t
dare relax as the knife was still pressed to her jugular. The next few moments
went by in a confusing flash. Opening her eyes as the killer's voice sounded
behind her, Adrian was shocked to see his own knife pressed against his
friend’s throat as she was let go. She turned slowly until she faced him but
still had the others in her sight, she wouldn’t dare turn her back on any of
them. They all stood nearly as tall as the first man, intimidation dripping
from their bodies. Looking up into his eyes, a windstorm blew through her mind
jumbling her thoughts again. He stepped towards her, slowly. The closer he got
the louder the storm rushed through her mind; the more the hairs on her arms
stood at attention. She felt claustrophobic; he was crowding her space, her
mind, pleasantly?
“You…killed
that man. The man back in the café,” she spoke and stepped back again. She
couldn’t hear anything else he said but watched his lips as they moved. He
seemed to be trying to comfort her in some way but the rush in her mind had
grown so loud she could only feel the words reverberate against her ears and
the pleasure her body felt at receiving them. She felt comforted, slightly,
though she couldn’t hear him.
“Come,
I’m here to protect you.” She snorted. Yeah right! She looked behind him
at the men standing at his back; most held long swords almost the length of
their legs. They looked like warriors. Their hard eyes stared at her with
intensity, mouths tight and hands touching the hilts of their swords. One, the
prayer, stood with a perplexed look on his face. Another man, standing just left
of the killer, leaned against the wall with his mouth in a crooked smile,
almost uncaring; though his eyes still watched her. They seemed confused but
didn’t look like they’d hurt her, maybe. Looking up, Adrian’s brows rose as she
locked eyes with the killer. The rush in her mind died instantly.
“…Don’t
worry, they will protect you too.” For some reason, Adrian believed him. This
is definitely a dream! She knew it was real; there was no doubt that it was
real. It’s definitely a dream, she thought as she reached out and took
the hand the killer had extended. A shock of pleasure rolled through her body,
like a wave of ultimate happiness, as they touched. It felt good, too good. Who
is he? Could she really be reacting this way…to a murderer?
“Don’t be
scared.” Vectio spoke with his palms out towards her; they were the first words
he’d said all month. Did he just speak? Did he sound concerned?
Technik’s voice sounded out again in their minds but rang playful this time.
“I
shouldn’t be scared but you’re snapping necks and holding swords?” The woman
seemed to be trying to gather courage but shifted her weight to hide behind
Hunter’s crumpled body. For a strange reason, she couldn’t quite put her finger
on, she felt safe around him. It was as if she knew he’d protect her no matter
what.
“He
wasn’t human and I have a strange feeling that neither are you.” The moment the
words left Julius’ mouth he knew they were a mistake. If the women didn’t know
about the otherworldly she did now. The look on the woman’s face seemed
genuinely shocked but they weren’t usually this easily fooled. It was hard to
tell if she was just playing with them or if she knew exactly what he meant
when she dropped Hunters hand to cover her mouth. Her lips moved but no words
came out.
Hunter frowned
at his team and placed both hands on her shoulders. Instantly a feeling of
happiness filled him. He couldn’t speak but continued to look down into her
eyes. He’d believe anything she said if she’d touch him back. Hunter narrowed
his eyes as her hands began to ascend towards his chest; it was as if she read
his mind. Her hands settled against his breast and he felt a storm rage in his
veins.
She
gasped as his eyes suddenly rolled back and he crumpled to the cement before
her. Hands stretched before her, Adrian looked incredulously at her fingers,
gasped as the tips tingled and felt singed as if burned. She’d barely touched
him before he went down. Did I hurt him? She bent beside him and went to
touch his face. What had she done?
"The only way to be a writer is to write, write and write. The only way...is to write." -Irma Jemison
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