ladydeathfaerie: (Jean Claude)
[personal profile] ladydeathfaerie posting in [community profile] marysuevirus
Title: The Mary Sue Virus: Beyond Death
Chapter Forty Five: Something Wicked This Way Comes
Fandom: Anita Blake universe
Rating: 18 and up
Warnings: graphic sex and violence, language, anything else i can toss in.
Disclaimer: the recognizable characters and places contained herein are the property of LKH. i'm merely borrowing for the sake of entertainment. no money is being made from this venture. the Sues are the sole property of their originators, Ginevra, Dazzledfirestar, Nanaea, SilverFoxChan and ladydeathfaerie. the concept and title of The Mary Sue Virus are used with permission from Dazzledfirestar.

Author's Notes: okay. this one is probably a lot gory. you have been warned

The Mary Sue Virus: Beyond Death - Index Link

He stared at the man sitting across his desk from him, took in the grim look on his face and the deceptively loose posture, and had to wonder just what he'd done that warranted two visits in as many months. He was fairly certain he hadn't ever had as many visits from his guest when Anita was still alive. What cosmic event had occurred to see such a thing happen? What deity had made such a thing possible? Why him? What had he ever done to deserve this?

Edward, the man with one name and scourge of vampire kind, was settled on the couch positioned across the room from Jean Claude's desk. His posture was seemingly negligent, but Jean Claude had dealt with predators for far too many years of his very long life and he could see that it was a carefully crafted lie. The man might seem harmless but he could spring on unsuspecting prey in the blink of an eye if the need arose. He was staring at Jean Claude's face, not quite meeting his eyes but making it appear as if he was. It was a neat trick and one that no doubt would unnerve many younger vampires. Jean Claude, however, was not impressed.

His visitor had been sitting in that same spot for the past few minutes, his very presence bringing tension to life in the small confines of the office. Jean Claude had waited patiently for the other man to speak, to explain why he was there, but realized that he wasn't going to do so until asked to speak. Invited to. Holding on to the urge to heave a sigh, Jean Claude spread his hands in an expansive gesture meant to act as a silent invitation. He decided to add words to the invitation, just in case Edward didn't catch the meaning of his gesture. "What brings you to my door, Edward?"

"Aedan."

That single word brought a rush of emotions that Jean Claude kept to himself. Edward would not want to hear of them. And Jean Claude was in no mood to share. So he merely lifted a single brow at that and decided to tell the other man news that would likely see him terribly pleased. "She is not speaking to me at the moment. In fact, she has removed as much of herself from my life as she physically, mentally, and emotionally can."

There was little change in Edward's posture or outward expression, but Jean Claude thought that the news did not please him as much as it should have. "Shit." There might have been far more feeling in that single word than Edward had meant to put into it.

That was not a reaction he was expecting. "Edward?"

"She's spiraling, Jean Claude." Interesting. It sounded like there was concern and worry in the man's words.

He pushed aside his curiosity over Edward's possible feelings and concentrated on the man's words. Aedan was spiraling. Out of control. It was news to him. And yet, it wasn't. Hadn't he seen the signs the night of the party? Hadn't she been slightly out of control even then? Careful to keep his face still, careful to keep his sigh at bay, careful to keep his own concern from his voice, he asked the question that needed to be asked. The one that would push the conversation, and their meeting, forward. "How is she spiraling? How do you know?"

"I saw her earlier today," he replied. He paused a moment, considered. Then shook his head and sighed. It was a long, loud, serious thing. "She doesn't look good. She's having nightmares. Which is fucking with her ability to sleep."

Jean Claude allowed a frown. This was news to him. He knew that Aedan deliberately chose to sleep when he slept, so that there was no chance he could invade her dreams or read things from her mind when she couldn't make the decision to allow him the liberty. But he also knew that she was locked up tighter than a miser's coffers when presented with a request to help the poor and needy. She let nothing slip through to him when she was awake, even though he knew she was tired and nearing the point of exhaustion. How she found it in herself to keep him so completely locked out, he had no clue. But it seemed as if his being left in the dark was doing her more harm than good. His silence was apparently telling.

"You didn't know." It came out as a statement.

"As I stated, she has removed as much of herself from my life as she possibly could. She has closed herself off from me."

Edward considered him a moment, eyes intent as they stared across the distance. A look settled upon the man's face, one that said he was going to go against better judgement and deliver information another party might not want made known. One that said he was going to live with the consequences because the alternative was not something he wanted to think about. "There are things you need to know."

"What things?"

"The crime scenes are killing her. Every time she goes to one... She's going to snap one of these days. Go right over the edge. Especially the ones with the children. Those bother her the most." Edward sat forward and rested his elbows on his knees. Jean Claude was sure the concern on his face was genuine. In that moment, worried about Aedan, he looked so much older. Worn. "Maybe, if she wasn't chasing the lycanthrope killers so intently, the demon slayings wouldn't bother her so much. But both of them together are almost more than she can handle."

"She tells you about the murders?" Jean Claude asked. He would admit he was worried that she kept too much of the horror to herself, that she was under the misguided notion that she had to remain stoic and emotionless in the face of such terrible acts. He worried that she would snap, as Edward had just suggested, if she didn't find a way to purge the painful, bloody images from her mind.

"She does. She trusts me with that part of herself." She trusted Edward. That was news to Jean Claude. He'd come to the conclusion that the only person Aedan trusted other than herself was Minette. There was silence a moment or two, then Edward shook his head. "She didn't trust me at first. It took a long time to get to the place we're at now. I used to have to practically torture things like this out of her. But I've known her long enough that when I say 'Tell me.', she tells me. Give it time. She'll tell you her story eventually."

"You could tell me the things I need to know," Jean Claude suggested lightly. He was already sure he knew the answer he'd receive.

"Not my story. So it isn't mine to tell," Edward replied. Unsurprising, really. The more he saw Edward with Aedan, the more protective the man seemed. It was... intriguing. And unusual. He couldn't remember seeing Edward like this with Anita. Maybe someday... "Like I said, she'll tell you in her own time."

"How can you be so sure of this?"

Edward was silent, considering his next words carefully. Even if it wasn't on his face, Jean Claude could tell by the way the man stared. "She has some serious trust issues. And she's got good reason to have them. Like I said before, that's her story to tell. But what I can tell you is she's scared of you. She doesn't know how to deal with that just yet. Once she figures it out, once she figures out where she fits with you, the trust will come. You just have to give her time."

Jean Claude spread his hands again. "Time is something we do not have. I cannot ensure her safety if she insists on keeping me out."

"You have to find a way to get her to let you back in. And soon. I can't always be here to protect her. If she's with you, I at least know there's a measure of safety for her."

"You are saying Aedan is in danger?"

Edward glanced away, briefly, before flicking his gaze back to Jean Claude's face. Their eyes met, for just a moment, and Jean Claude saw the deep worry in them. The fear. "She wasn't supposed to end up tied to you. I didn't want her in that kind of danger. She was supposed to help prevent any kind of attack on Anita, then move on to somewhere else. Anita wasn't supposed to die on the road that night. And she sure as hell wasn't supposed to give Aedan to you. Doing so has put her in unimaginable danger and I do not like it. Not one bit."

"There are times when I wish that Anita had survived that night. There is a certain... naïveté in Aedan that Anita did not have. But who do you wish death upon? One of them would have died on the road that night." Jean Claude paused a moment before continuing, allowing that bit of information time to sink in. "I miss Anita deeply. I always will. But there is something about Aedan... She is brusque and harsh and very secretive around most people. But she is also warm and caring and loyal to those she cares about. She is growing upon me, despite my attempts to keep her at bay. It pains me to know she is in danger. I can assure you I do not like that fact, either."

"Its worse than you think, Jean Claude," Edward said quietly. His voice, when it next came, was flat. The voice the vampire had come to recognize as the one belonging to Death. "Her show of power at the party the other night has her marked for death. By the same cabal that took Anita out. And certain members of the vampire council's squad of bad vampire assassins are part of that cabal."

That was news to him. Not that those responsible for Anita's death were now seeking Aedan's. He'd had a feeling from the beginning that such a thing would come to pass. Too many people had thought he and Anita had been too powerful together. It was only logical that they would think the same of he and Aedan. But the fact that members of the council's elite killing squad were part of that group... If they were hunting Aedan, hungry for her blood and death, then she was in more danger than he'd originally thought. And she was conveniently staying at her apartment, as if she was safe there from any attack launched upon her by a group of preternatural murderers. "And you know this how?" He didn't bother keeping the concern from his voice this time.

"Aedan told me. She said she spoke to one of them last night," Edward replied. Jean Claude let the frown come. Aedan had met with a member of one of the most dangerous groups of vampires in the world and he hadn't known. He hadn't been there to protect her. He hadn't felt a ripple of the vampire's power. Or Aedan's power. Or her fear. Nothing. He could have lost her and he'd have been able to do nothing about it. Because he hadn't been there to protect her. Edward stared a moment. "You didn't know that, either."

"It would seem Aedan is very adept at keeping her thoughts and feelings hidden."

"Yeah. She's really good at that. Like I said.--"

Jean Claude lifted a hand and brought the man's words to a halt. "I know. Give her time and she will tell me her story." He fell silent, taking the opportunity to spear Edward with an intense look that he knew had weight to it. Weight that had nothing to do with his vampiric powers. "Why come to me with all of this, Edward. You stated not all that long ago that this is not what you wanted for Aedan. So why change your tune now?"

"Whether I like it or not, Aedan has feelings for you." Edward said it like it was a curse. A raven brow rose at that, prompting an ghostly, almost smile from Edward. "You didn't know that, either. Believe it or not, its true. I know her better. I know her tells. I can see the signs, even if she's trying desperately to deny it."

"She is very good at denial." Edward gave him a look that was almost amusement before it slid away and his blank face came back.

"I need you to reach out to her. Try and reel her back in before all of this shit blows up in our faces."

"I am not so sure she will allow me to do so," Jean Claude admitted. It was not something he was proud of. He could not recall ever dealing with a woman with such a stubborn streak. And Anita had been stubborn.

"Don't let her push you away. She needs someone to help carry the burden. Someone who understands what her powers do to her. I can't be that person. Even before I became the man I am now, I don't think I was capable of being that person. You at least know what her powers are capable of, what they can do to her if she doesn't take care of herself. And you don't want to see her crash and burn any more than I do. If there was some other way, someone else I could go to..." He paused here to let it sink in just what Edward thought of the whole mess. "Trust me. I'd do it in a heartbeat. But you're the only person I've ever seen her respond to in any kind of positive way other than Minette. And Minette cannot be what she needs."

Jean Claude let the man sit in silence as he gave the impression of considering Edward's request. Of course he would do what he could to keep Aedan from falling into the abyss. And it had nothing to do with his ties to her. His affections, though still a giant swirling ball of confusion, were genuine. He didn't want to see any harm befall her. "I will do what I can. I have no wish to see her spiral into madness."

Edward stared at him a moment or two before rising to his feet, signifying the end of their meeting. Jean Claude chose to remain seated, knowing that there was little by way of friendship between the two of them. "Thank you for this. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have even bothered. But I can't help her. I know that. You can. I don't want to see her go off the edge. She's good. Maybe better than Anita, given time and training. But she can't get there if she tears herself apart."

Edward was on his way to the door when Jean Claude's next words filled the room, bringing the man's feet to a halt. "You care for her." He made sure he didn't pose it as a question.

Edward turned, gave him an unreadable look from wintry cold eyes. "As much as I'm capable of caring," he admitted.

"Why? What is so special about Aedan?" It was a puzzle, to be sure. Edward didn't favor the softer emotions. And Aedan seemed to be everything that Edward was not. He was calm and collected. Quiet and thoughtful. Hard and unyielding. Aedan was soft and brash and loud and excitable. Jean Claude didn't understand it at all.

For a moment, he didn't think the other man would answer him. But then Edward offered him a small, secretive smile. "That's my story to tell. And maybe one day, I'll tell it to you."

He was out the door before Jean Claude could even begin to process what he might mean.

~*~*~*~*~

The little café was crowded with people, each and every table sporting bodies in pairs or in groups. The noise was a little loud, but still tolerable, as voices hummed and murmured in counterpoint to the clink and clatter of silverware and stoneware and glass. Something soft and instrumental and faintly New Age sounding filled the spaces the rest of the noise couldn't reach.The lights were bright but not, and there were lush green plants occupying every available nook and cranny and open surface. Even the table they'd been lucky enough to grab had a small heartleaf philodendron sitting atop it.

The girl who had taken their order returned, carrying a tray laden with food and drink. She allowed her gaze, hungry and appraising, to linger for a few minutes longer than necessary on Nathaniel. He pretended he wasn't aware while Rhia had to wonder if the girl was simply appreciating him for his stunning good looks or if she knew he was something more than a mere human. Her attention to Nathaniel did not detract from her ability to deliver their food and beverages without spilling a drop. She eventually stopped staring, delivered a smile to them both, and wandered off after mentioning she'd return in a while to check up on them.

Rhia busied her hands with her tea, adding a touch of honey to the chamomile brew in order to give it a bit of sweetness. She didn't realize she was fidgeting with the spoon until Nathaniel reached out and laid his hand on hers. "Tell me what has you all flustered, Rhia."

She couldn't help the faint, pained smile she gave him. "I'm sorry. How did you know?"

Nathaniel merely gave her a look that suggested she was having a very not bright moment. But one finger on the hand not settled over hers tapped the side of his nose. "I can smell the nervousness on you. And I can feel... just a hint of your power. Its coiling and uncoiling about you like a vine."

She stared at that. She hadn't thought of her power as being something even remotely tangible. But that was a matter for another time. For now... She took a deep breath. "I have something I want to talk to you about."

"I gathered that much." His voice wasn't quite flat, but it wasn't filled with its usual warmth and emotion. She searched his face for some sign of what he felt, but his expression was carefully neutral. For a moment, she didn't understand his coldness. But then it hit her. He thought she wanted to call off their relationship. She almost laughed at the notion and had to force the urge down. She covered his hand, the one he'd settled over hers, with her free hand and stroked her thumb across his skin.

"I've told you about the dreams I've been having," she began. She decided there was no need to beat around the bush. This was important and she wanted him to understand her decisions, what drove her.

"Yes," he nodded. She thought a touch of tension ran out of his shoulders, but she couldn't be sure.

"I've figured out why I'm having them. What they all mean."

He said nothing to this, merely gave her a look that invited her to continue. Rhia let go of his hand and took a fortifying sip of her tea before drawing a breath. This wasn't proving any easier with Nathaniel than it had been with Aedan. She laid her hand back on top of his. "The person summoning the demon is killing natural witches. And he's trying to... to give the demon a permanent form in this world. A physical body on our plane."

"And you believe he's going to attempt to achieve that by using you, so you're going to offer yourself up as bait," he finished for her. His expression changed, let her know how unhappy he was by this.

"I need to help, Nathaniel. I would be betraying my own code of ethics if I sat back and let people die when I could help stop it." She let her gaze slide around the café, let it land on all the patrons and employees. The nervousness died out a bit, replaced by determination. "And it isn't like I won't have any backup. Aedan is going to make sure nothing happens to me."

Technically, Aedan hadn't said yes yet. But Rhia was positive Aedan wasn't going to let any of her friends walk into danger. She'd say yes, and she'd ensure that Rhia remained safe. Nathaniel frowned at that. "I have a hard time believing Aedan would allow you to do this." The tone of his voice said he knew she wasn't telling him the entire truth, but he was being kind enough not to call her a liar to her face. At least it was something.

"I know you don't like it. I don't really like it, either," she told him.

"Then why get involved, Rhia? Those dreams are just that. They're dreams. They won't become anything more if you don't do anything." It didn't take a psychic to know he was worried. "You aren't trained for anything like this. Why put yourself at risk?"

"I'm already involved, whether I want to be or not. Whether we like it or not. If I can help stop this person from hurting anyone else, I'll do whatever I have to. If I can put a stop to the demon walking this plane, I'll put myself at risk."

"Which is why we're sitting in this café. Regardless of anyone's feelings, regardless of what you know about demons, you've brought us to a place that caters almost exclusively to witches. You're showing off, letting yourself be seen. Putting yourself out there, as it were."

His voice was flat this time, and it pained her to hear the lack of emotion in it. She even understood why he was so upset. He had points. She didn't know much about demons. And she knew nothing about the one the summoner was calling up. But she knew in her heart that she was the key to stopping the demon and its summoner. She was going to be instrumental in putting an end to the murders. She had to do this, no matter how dangerous it would be. "I told you. Aedan is going to have my back."

"Aedan doesn't like this anymore than I do," he retorted, a touch of anger coloring his words. Rhia blinked and tried hard to keep her frustration from showing. She failed, though, her anger and exasperation coming out in her voice.

"I don't hear you saying anything about Aedan's ability to deal with a demon. I don't hear you arguing that she isn't capable of taking care of herself," she said coldly. Pulled her hands away from his. A sip of her tea told her it had gone cold, and it slid bitter over her tongue and down her throat when she swallowed.

Nathaniel shook his head at that, shifting his gaze toward a table in the corner. Frowned. Rhia let her eyes follow his. The occupants were watching them intently, as if hanging on their every word. When they saw her looking, though, they looked away. Rhia gave her attention back to Nathaniel and waited for him to say something. Anything. He was silent for a very long time, prompting her to cross her arms over her chest. "I see. You think she's better able to take care of herself than you think I am."

His eyes snapped back to her face and she saw the confusion in them, the contrition. "Of course I'm worried about Aedan's ability to deal with the demon. Even with the added strength she gets from Jean Claude, she'll still be facing off against a demon." He paused there, let her soak that in. Then his gaze, and his voice, softened. He reached out to take her hand in his once more. "But I'm not in love with Aedan."

"Oh." Rhia blinked, at a loss for words. He'd just said... He had just said, hadn't he? Her brain froze a moment, then kicked into overdrive right along with her heart. Her head swam and her heart pounded as she processed what he'd just told her. "Oh."

"Yes. Oh," he repeated, his lips pulling up at one corner to form a half-smile. It lasted a moment or two, then slid away into the serious look he'd been wearing only moments before. "Which is why I'm not entirely happy with your desire to get yourself injured. Possibly killed. Which is why I reacted the way I did."

"And I completely understand that. I respect that. And its your right to not like it. But I am not defenseless. I'm not helpless," she told him quietly. Patiently. "I don't understand why its okay for Aedan to put herself on the line as she does, but not me. Aedan's gun won't protect her from the demon. Her necromancy won't protect her from the demon, either. I have an advantage where she doesn't. I want to help her. I want to make sure she doesn't go mad from all the death. I want to help her put an end to the killing."

Rhia made sure there was passion in her voice. Nathaniel and Aedan might think she had no idea what she was getting herself into, what she'd be going up against, but she knew better. She'd seen things in her dreams she hadn't told anyone about. Things that made no sense to her. Images of Aedan bathed in blood and broken. Of Aedan choking on her own blood. Images of her friends dead or dying. Images of the vampires left to die in the sun. Of the lycanthropes poisoned by silver and dying a slow, agonizing death. She knew that they were all somehow tied to the demon, to its attempt to enter this world. And she knew, without a doubt, that she could stop it.

Nathaniel drew a breath, took it in deep and let it out slow. The stare he gave her was intense enough to pin her where she sat, letting her know that they were not done discussing her plans. She toyed with a leaf of lettuce in the salad she'd ordered, hoping that he wasn't going to suddenly turn into a macho asshole. "I don't like the idea of you offering yourself up as bait. Not because I think you can't take care of yourself. Because I care for you very deeply and I don't want to see you hurt. I've already lost someone I loved intensely and it nearly killed me. I think, if that was to happen a second time, if I lost you, it would kill me."

"You're not going to lose me, Nathaniel," she said softly, tone reassuring.

"You can't know that, Rhia. You can't make that kind of promise. Not when you're talking about demons. Your own vision suggested you were going to die because of this demon."

He was right. Her own vision had shown her her own death. But there was a part of her, somewhere inside, that was sure that part of her vision wouldn't come to pass. She couldn't say why she knew it, or how she could be certain. But she knew she'd be okay. Instead of telling him that, she offered him a soft smile. Lifted the hand that held hers so that she could place a kiss on it. "Then we're going to have to do some serious research to find out exactly what I can do to keep myself safe. And Aedan will be there. And you. And everyone else."

"Rhia--" he began, but she gave him a look that brought him to silence.

"I love that you care enough to be worried, Nathaniel. I love that we're at that place in our relationship. But I would never be able to live with myself if I didn't do something to help. Not just the witches that the summoner sends the demon after. I need to help Aedan, too. Because this is killing her. You didn't see her today. She's going to break and I can't let that happen. I wouldn't be able to look myself in the mirror ever again if I ignored a friend's needs."

He stared at her for several long moments. Moments during which Rhia wondered if he would simply get up and walk away and wash his hands of her. She was mostly certain he wouldn't, but there was a small part of her that worried he wouldn't be able to accept this. She didn't know what she'd do without Nathaniel in her life. He was the most amazing person she'd met, and he'd woken emotions she'd long thought dead. Losing him would kill something inside of her, if that was what happened.

Finally, Nathaniel gave a long sigh and sat back in his chair. "You're going to make me go grey with worry. Because I'm going to worry about you getting yourself killed. Aedan had better come through and protect you. If not..." He trailed off, but the silent threat was implicit. He would go after Aedan. Rhia found that there was a lump in her throat, made of fear and love, and it took three attempts to swallow it down. She smiled at him.

"I'm already working on ways to keep myself safe. You didn't think I'd just go out and flaunt my powers and not have some kind of plan, did you? Do you have so little faith in me?" There was teasing in her voice, meant to take the sting from her words. "I've spent most of my day with Christophe, trying to figure out the best way to tackle this situation. And what I can do, what I can learn, that will help me protect myself."

The smile that came was slight, but it was warm and genuine. "That makes me feel so much better," he told her. "Does Christophe know a lot about demons?"

"He knows more than I do. But that isn't hard. I've never looked into anything to do with demons. I've never thought about summoning demons. That goes against everything I believe in. It goes against everything I stand for." She shook her head and speared a forkful of her lunch. "He's consulting with a friend of his. A friend who knows quite a bit about demons and demonology. He's also consulting the loa because, as he informed me, they know everything."

"I'm glad Christophe is willing to help you. Do you think Aedan will agree to this?" There was a touch of worry in his words. She could understand. Aedan was, for the moment, an uncertainty. Rhia was fairly certain she'd never willingly leave a friend to face something like a demon on their own. But there was so much going on in the other woman's life at the moment that it was entirely possible that she'd tell Rhia to fuck off, that she was on her own.

"I don't know. I think so, if only because Aedan is fiercely loyal to her friends. I can tell you she isn't any happier about it than you are. She hasn't made a decision because Christophe and I caught her coming home from a crime scene." Rhia paused and shuddered. If it was anything like the crime scene she'd visited that one time, she could understand why Aedan had been so dead against Rhia getting involved. "She looked horrible, Nathaniel. Like she isn't eating or sleeping. Like she's living the crime scenes and the hunt for Minette's attacker and nothing else. I honestly don't know how she keeps going."

Nathaniel frowned at that bit of news. "She shouldn't be going at all. Exhaustion should have put her down a while ago. And if not that, then the arduer, because that should have risen and eaten her alive."

"She's the most pig-headed person I've ever met. I can only think she's accomplishing things through sheer stubbornness. It can't last much longer. Something has to give and I'm afraid that that something will be her."

Nathaniel sighed and nodded his head. He knew better than Rhia did what was at stake if Aedan lost control of just one part of her life. She could see the concern in his beautiful lavender eyes. Buried underneath it was fear. And seeing that made Rhia wonder if there was anything they could do.

~*~*~*~*~

Asher was a vision of golden beauty when Janika opened the door of her condo. His hair hung about his face, rested in soft waves against the shoulders of his cream colored suit. The black of his silk shirt was striking contrast to the lightly colored suit and his brilliant hair. She offered him a smile and reached for the evening bag laying on the table near the door. His hand caught her arm just before her fingers could close on the bag, and he crossed the threshold into her home. His free hand pushed the door closed behind him quietly. Janika stared up at him, confusion on her face. She didn't think she liked the seriousness of his expression.

"I thought we were going out?" she asked softly.

"We must talk," Asher replied. He sounded... Actually, she wasn't sure what it was she heard in his voice. But it brought a faint sense of unease to life and she did her best not to freak out. Had he changed his mind about the evening? Had he changed his mind about them?

"Okay," she responded and moved to settle into a chair. Asher watched her, face carefully neutral, as she took her seat. Then he moved to sit on the couch directly across from her. He held himself straight, muscles tense and body rigid. The unease broke into fear and she started mentally gearing herself up for the coming talk.

She waited for him to speak, tension building in that spot between her shoulders. That was never a good sign. If she didn't relax, and do it soon, she'd have a splitting headache within the hour. But he didn't seem in a rush to start the talk he felt they needed to have. Silence filled the space between them, thick and uncomfortable, stretching and growing until it pressed against her skin like a confining layer of shrink wrap or latex. It made her want to squirm in her seat, but she kept herself still. Whatever was coming, she'd have time to fall apart later.

It took five minutes before she was so worked up, she couldn't take it any longer. "You said you wanted to talk. So talk."

Asher cringed at her tone. She hadn't meant to put so much ice into it, but his behavior scared her and she didn't like being scared. It made her angry, made her want to fight. He heaved a sigh and the emotion that had been so open on his face was gone in the blink of an eye, leaving her staring at an empty wall. That didn't bode well. Not at all. "You know I have been looking for your mother," he said matter of factly. No inflection in his words. Not a hint of emotion to let her know what he was feeling. Another kind of fear took hold of her and she had to force herself to take slow, deep breaths.

"Yes," she responded, though it was unnecessary. A lump had already formed at the back of her throat.

"In order to do so, I had to look deeper into your family than I expected. My people found far more Beata Odons than I expected them to." Janika nodded. That wasn't really surprising. He paused and she saw a frown form on his face, as if he was trying to find the right words. Or as if he was trying to process something he'd learned. "Why did you not tell me that your family had been named the country's official vampire hunters by King Charles?"

Janika blinked. That was what all this seriousness was about? She would have laughed, but she suspected Asher wouldn't see the humor in the situation that she saw. Instead, she drew a breath and settled back in her chair. Some of the tension leaked from her shoulders. "Because that was a long time ago, and once Hungary switched to a more modern method of governance, the title wasn't that important. Especially not after mortals started to look upon vampires more favorably. Its little more than a legacy now. One that I'm not sure I should be proud of."

"Why shouldn't you be proud of such a thing?" he asked.

"Well, for starters, I'm dating you," she told him, giving him a faint smile to let him know that she did not miss the irony in all that. "Secondly, it happened over seven hundred years ago. Its a great story to tell a small child before bed. But it isn't something that one just goes around spouting off at any given moment."

"Your father told you the story?"

"He and my mother both did. His version was much more graphic than hers. I stopped being impressed by the story when I was ten."

Asher stared a moment, then shook his head. "Tell me the story. I could not find anything beyond an official royal decree."

Janika blinked at him. This was very much not where she'd seen the conversation going when he'd first told her they needed to talk. And she didn't understand the seriousness he'd been cloaked in when he'd arrived. She wasn't sure this kind of information warranted the seriousness he'd been projecting. Heaving a sigh, Janika let herself relax back into the chair and gave him a look. "The story goes that there was once this small village set at the base of the mountains. A farming village, filled with hard working people. Men and woman and children. Their animals. A peaceful place, mostly ignored by the rest of the country. Until, one day, one of the local farmers woke and found that his cattle had been slaughtered in the middle of the night. His dogs, too. The next morning, more livestock was found dead. This continued for a few days, the people unsure what would be killing their animals like that."

"A rogue," he commented softly. Janika made no reply, merely kept going with the story.

"Animals soon became people. One or two at a time. They'd obviously died horrible, violent deaths. Their bodies were found outside. Bloodless. The rumors started then, the whispers and the fear. The village folk sent someone to their nearest nobleman, begging for help. That help never came. And so the villagers were all murdered, until there was only one small family left. A husband and his wife, their six year old son and an infant daughter. They fled the village and found a home elsewhere. But the killing followed them."

Asher frowned at that. But he said nothing, just waited for her to continue.

"Of course the people of the new village blamed the deaths on the new family. Shunned them. No one would trade with them, so there was no food. The family was starving and the new villagers would do nothing to help them."

"The villagers likely felt that the killings would end if the new family died. So humane of them." Asher sounded like he'd seen this kind of mentality before, in person. His tone suggested he didn't think much of it.

"The little family grew desperate and the husband went out hunting. His wife begged him not to go, not to leave them. But they were starving. They needed food. And so he went. He left with the warning that they shouldn't leave the house until he returned. And that they shouldn't open the door to anyone at all. So the husband left them, his wife and son and infant daughter, to hunt for food to keep them alive. While he was gone, the attacks grew worse. People were being slaughtered inside their homes now. The villagers who hadn't been killed wanted to burn the new family's cottage to the ground, with the family in it. The holy men were the only things that kept the villagers from doing just that."

Janika paused and gave the story some consideration. She hadn't heard it in so many years, hadn't thought about it since the last time her mother had told it. She wanted to make sure she told him the most accurate version. "The husband was gone for three days. When he returned, he had a brace of hares and a pouch of wild berries. And he also had something else. A tale, told to him by an old forest dweller, of the thing that was killing the villagers. More importantly, the forest dweller told him how to kill the thing. The husband took his wild berries and his string of hares to his wife and told her to make them a meal. Then he sought out the holy men."

Asher was watching her intently, his attention complete. She wasn't sure if he was legitimately focused on the story or if he was simply being polite. She didn't care. Their talk was turning out to be nothing like what she'd expected and, for that, she was so terribly grateful.

"That night, the husband kissed his wife and his children and stepped out of his cottage. The wife fretted the entire night, unable to sleep while her husband wandered the countryside. By the time the sun rose in the morning, she was strung tight with nerves and fear. And so it startled her to hear the cheers and clapping that came from the direction of the village. Cautiously, she crept from her home to see what all the noise was about. And it was to find that the village people were cheering her husband. He was covered in blood, but he was alive and unharmed. His hunting knife was clutched in one hand while the other hand gripped a single arrow. There was a corpse at his feet. He had found the thing that was killing the villagers and he'd stopped it."

"This man was your ancestor?" Asher asked.

"He was," she nodded. "But he didn't earn his title by simply killing that single vampire. He earned the title by wiping out an entire kiss. The vampire that had followed them was but one of a handful terrorizing the countryside. The forest dweller he'd met had told him the effect holy water had on vampires. The effect silver had on them. The best way to dispatch one of the undead. The man put his information to good use and ended up wiping out more than a dozen vampires. Each one had  been terrorizing a different village. He ended up saving many lives by putting his own at risk. Of course the king heard of it. Because none of his nobles had done anything to help the people. And so King Charles I of Hungary paid a visit to this lowly farmer in this lowly village."

Janika remembered that her father had always told the story with a great deal of pride in his voice. Her mother had been less prideful, softer and gentler about it. Her father had made it seem like the father had been some kind of unparalleled hero. Her mother had painted him as little more than a man who had wanted to keep his family, and the lives of the other families, safe.

"It was a big deal. The king came with a small grouping of knights and holy men and all of these noblemen. He stepped into that tiny cottage and asked the farmer about his role in the destruction of the murderous vampires. He listened to the man tell his story. And then, inside that tiny cottage, in secret, the king signed a decree that made the farmer the official vampire hunter of Hungary. The same decree made his children, and his children's children, and his children's children's children, the country's official vampire hunters. The decree was worded so that, so long as the Odon line continued, they would always hold the title of Hungary's official vampire hunters. And we have done that for the past seven hundred years."

Asher stared at her for a moment, then shook his head. "That is quite the legacy."

She shrugged. "Balázs Odon was merely doing what he could to protect his family. The king rewarded him with a secret title that brought no wealth or change in circumstance to our family. If the Odons were needed to hunt a kiss of vampires, they couldn't say no. It came with a bejeweled sword that has been passed down from one generation to the next. My father was the last Odon to hold that blade. And he used it to kill vampires indiscriminately. He didn't care who they were or if they really deserved to die. He killed them anyway. He would likely have tried to kill you simply because you're a vampire. The fact that we're in a relationship would only have added to his desire to end your life."

"And now he, and your brothers, are dead. At the hand of Anders," Asher said softly. Janika nodded.

"Anders has the family sword. I plan on reclaiming it, and then using it to gut that miserable piece of shit," she told him.

"You are the last in the Odon line," he commented.  Janika nodded again, wondering where he was going with this.

"I do not like that you wish to put yourself in danger to avenge a father with whom you obviously took issue. I would rather you let it go. But I understand that you are much like your ancestor Balázs and you have a strong desire to protect your family. I have the same strong desire to protect you. Which is why I have postponed our date for a short while." His posture changed, making her wonder what was coming. Because he seemed to have gotten far more serious and intense. "If you are to avenge your father and brothers' deaths, you will need help. And strength. I believe you should take the final two marks."

Janika blinked. This was certainly not where she'd expected the evening to go. To think, she'd worried that he'd come to end their relationship.

When Janika didn't reply right away, Asher went on. It seemed to her that he felt he needed to convince her. "The final two marks will give you better endurance and make you nearly immortal. They are simple to give, painless. You will need the advantages they provide when you finally face Anders. I would not push them on you so quickly, but--"

"Asher. Its okay. You don't have to try and convince me." He'd obviously worried about this conversation because she saw a brief glimpse of something in his face before it was swallowed up by a beautiful smile. She rose from her chair so that she could join him on the couch.

"I do not wish to rush you," he told her.

She reached out with one hand and pressed it to his cheek. "You're not rushing me. Its a good idea. And I know I can use all the help I can get. I don't know what special kind of asshole Anders is. He shouldn't have been able to take down my father and my brothers. They always worked as a team. Having your marks to protect me is a smart thing. And I have to admit that I really want to see Anders' face when I beat his ass and pin him to the floor with the family sword."

"You think he will be surprised?"

"I think Anders thinks I'm not a threat. He treated me as such at the party. He sees me as small and dainty and helpless. He doesn't know about my ability to see things. He doesn't know that Papa trained me right beside my brothers. He doesn't know I know how to wield that sword."

The smile Asher gave her was filled with wickedness. "I think I will enjoy seeing you destroy his pompous ass."

"I see blood lust in your eyes," Janika commented. Then she gave him a wicked grin before pressing a quick kiss to his lips. "I love it when you get all vampire-y on me. Now. Let's get the marks over with and our evening started."

"Of course, mon ange," Asher said, his own wicked grin spreading across his face. Then he pulled her close to him, cradled her face in his hands, and brought her lips to his for a fiery kiss. It was heated and slow and all consuming. But it was more than that. It was a promise of their night to come.

And Janika planned to hold him to that promise.

~*~*~*~*~

"I don't get why she's avoiding me," Minette said, unable to keep the sullen tones from her voice. She stared out the window at the scenery passing them by, not really seeing anything but a blur of colors.

"She's avoiding everyone," Jason replied automatically, eyes on the road.

"Yes, but... She doesn't avoid me. And I don't understand it." Minette's voice held a good deal of confusion in it. She turned a look to Jason, waiting to see what brilliant quip he made this time. He'd been very much unlike himself for a few minutes now.

"Ask her about it," he responded. Almost dutifully.

"How can I ask her about it if she's avoiding me? Also, you saw how she reacted the last time I tried to talk to her about whatever the hell is going on with her. She practically froze me into a block of ice with her frigid bitch act."

"Minette, you're an alpha. You have power. Aedan isn't bigger or scarier or stronger than you are. Flex your preternatural muscle with her if you want to know what's going on. It isn't that hard to figure out how to handle this." Jason almost sounded distracted. He definitely sounded annoyed.

She shot him a dirty look that she was fairly certain he caught out of the corner of his eye. She was a little bent out of shape because he was paying more attention to the road than he was to what she was saying. Jason had always been an understand shoulder and a voice of reason. This behavior was unlike him and she didn't care for it one bit. "Need I remind you that Aedan has a gun filled with silver bullets?" she asked, voice saccharine sweet.

"She won't shoot you. No matter what she says. You're her family," he returned.

Sure. He sounded so rational and sure about it. But Aedan had been irrational for weeks now. And Minette knew the other woman had a horrible temper. She likely had an itchy trigger finger and Minette wouldn't put it past Aedan to shoot to wound if someone she cared about was annoying her.

"She sure hasn't been acting like family lately," Minette grumped.

Jason gave an exasperated sigh and made a sudden left. His actions jarred Minette and she was thankful she had her seatbelt on, or she'd have gone sliding across the seat. "Maybe if you quit moping and cornered her. Maybe asked her about what's going on. You might get an answer to your question."

"You know, if you don't want to talk about this, all you have to do is say so. Don't give me half-hearted answers while sounding like you're absolutely not interested in anything I have to say at all. I can take a fucking hint," she snarked.

The vehicle made another sudden turn, this one right, and Jason muttered a few very not nice words under his breath. "I'm sorry if I sound a little pre-occupied at the moment. That would be because I am a little pre-occupied at the moment. You'll have to forgive me for my lack of full concentration on your problems right now. I have my own problems to deal with."

The shortness of his tone caught her attention. She turned to fully look at him and realized he was concentrating on the road quite intently. Every once in a while, she'd see his eyes flick left and right. Minette found herself sitting up straighter and she let her gaze slide from one side mirror to the next. She even flicked a look toward the rear view mirror. She didn't see anything amiss, but that didn't mean anything. Jason had been paying better attention than she had. "What's going on?" she asked, putting her own problems on the back burner for the time being. It wasn't like Jason hadn't told her anything she hadn't already heard from Micah. And Requiem.

"We're being followed. Three cars back on the right. Green sedan," Jason said curtly. Minette had just located the car in the rear view when Jason took another sudden left. She watched as the same green sedan made a wide turn after them, back end swerving as the driver tried to bring the vehicle back under their control. She frowned and wondered what that was all about.

"How long?"

"For at least the last five minutes. I've been driving around St. Louis randomly in order to keep them from following us back to the Circus," Jason told her. Minette frowned. Cars only followed for that long if the driver was planning something not very nice. She glanced at the digital display of the clock in the car's dash. It was late enough that she knew Aedan would be at work. It was a shitty thing to do, but Aedan was always armed. And she was in a bad mood. Whoever was following them would be risking a bullet to the head if they trailed them into Animator's Inc.

"We're going to go visit Aedan," Minette announced. Jason glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. She could clearly see that he thought she was insane. "Do it. I'm going to call her. But given the mood she's been in lately, she will be mighty pissed about this and will hopefully meet us in the parking lot with a gun in hand. Whoever is trailing us is going to end up getting shot if they don't back off."

"That's evil, Minette," Jason told her, then signaled his next turn.

"I know," she replied, phone already in hand. They both heard the electronic chirp as she pushed the button that would dial Aedan's number. She had no doubt he heard the numbers going through. The call connecting. The other end ringing

"Hello?" Aedan asked, voice icy and cold.

"Look, I don't know what bug is up your ass. Right now, I don't care. There is a car tailing Jason and I right this very moment and we're heading to you. I would really appreciate it if you could stop giving me the cold shoulder long enough to meet us in the parking lot and help us put an end to this whole mess. Jason doesn't want to go back to the Circus for fear of the car following us there."

"How far out are you?" Minette blinked at the phone. Aedan had sounded like Edward just then. Exactly like Edward.

"We're ten minutes away, Aedan," Jason replied, covering Minette's momentary lapse.

"I'll be waiting. With a surprise."  The phone went dead, letting Minette know Aedan had already hung up. Jason shot Minette a look, mouth twisting into a knowing grin.

"She's going to make them regret following us," he commented.

"Oh, she's going to do more than make them regret following us. She's going to make them regret being born," Minette told him. Then she frowned and stared out the window. "After that, she'll make us regret bothering her for this."

"Come on, Minette. Surely you're exaggerating just a bit."

She shook her head and watched as he signaled his next turn. "Wait and see, Jason. She's going to make us regret we were ever born."

~*~*~*~*~

The night air was brisk, but not too cold, as they exited the massive theater complex. Damian's arm was around her shoulders, while she'd casually settled her arm against the small of his back. It was a silent proclamation that they belonged to one another. Not that anyone leaving the theater with them was looking. They were absorbed in chatting excitedly about the action flick they'd just seen. Isis was curious about Damian's opinion, since it had been set at a time when the Vikings had sailed the world. A peek at his face from the corner of her eye suggested he was lost in thought.

"So," she began, in an effort to break the ice. "Was it even close to what it was like for you back in the day?"

Damian blinked at her slowly, as if trying to pull himself from his own mind. "Excuse me?"

"The movie. Was it anywhere close to what life was like for you back when you were still alive?"

"Ah. The movie." The way he said it made her think that he was disappointed with what had been on the screen.

"Wow. That bad, huh?"

Damian frowned and spent a moment or two gathering his thoughts together. "It was more fantasy than fact. The writers did get some things right. But much of it was filled with modern notions of what a Viking was."

"Oh, yeah?" Isis asked, positively curious about the facts that they'd gotten right.

"While Vikings were loud and boisterous, we did not simply go around raping and pillaging and plundering with wanton abandon," Damian told her. There was a touch of indulgence in his voice. No doubt he'd known just how exciting those bits had been for her to watch. "We were not barbarians, contrary to what modern history would say of us. The image of the Viking barbarian came to pass because our men were always clean and groomed and we wooed the English's women away from them by virtue of being gentlemen. No one wanted to admit they'd had their wife stolen from under their noses by kind words and gestures. So the image of the barbarian Viking was born, where we threw screaming, struggling, resisting women over our shoulders and dragged them off as if we were little more than cave dwellers."

She shot him a stare that clearly said she didn't believe him. "Really?"

"Really," he replied evenly. "Viking warriors had manners and honor. We treated our women with dignity and respect. We gave them power and control over their lives. Much of what history tells people today of the Viking peoples is distorted by those who want to appear better in the eyes of future generations."

"So you weren't blood thirsty or anything like that?" Isis questioned.

"We were human. As with all of humanity, we were blood thirsty. But no more so than any other race of man under the sun," Damian replied evenly. "The propensity for violence is what sets humans apart from other species on the planet. We kill for fun. For the thrill of it. We are the only species that does so. Every other creature living on Earth kills for food or to protect themselves. We've turned the art of war and destruction into art forms unparalleled by anything else in the world. By anyone else in the world."

"What? Are you saying that the history books lie?"

"History is written by those who win. Of course the books lie," he returned, an indulgent smile on his face. But the smile faded suddenly, and Damian went stiff under her hand. A moment later, she caught a strange but somehow familiar scent on the wind and froze next to him.

"We're being watched," she whispered, softly enough that no one would hear her unless they stood right beside her. "And whoever it is, I've smelled them nearby before."

"Yes," Damian agreed, nodding his head. Though he didn't move, she saw his eyes shifting back and forth in an effort to locate their company. One of his hands pointed at the ground. "Lean down and pretend to tie your shoe. We do not want whoever it is to know we're on to them."

"Good idea," Isis replied and knelt. She pretended to retie the lace on her shoe, all the while letting her gaze slide around the parking lot under the cover of the hair that had fallen into her face. Try as she might, she couldn't figure out where their watcher might be hiding. There were far too many bushes and trees surrounding them to allow her to accurately pinpoint their location. And the scent that tickled her nose was of no use, because she couldn't figure out where it was coming from. Too many people in the parking lot and the surrounding area to let her accurately sniff their audience's location. Some help her nose was. "I can't find them," she told Damian, making it look as if she was making an final adjustment to her lace before standing back up.

"Nor can I," Damian admitted. Not happily. Isis sighed and, after giving one last pull to the loop on her lace, rose to her feet. She put her hand on Damian's arm and flicked a look toward her car with her eyes. Instead of nodding his head, he stepped forward. Isis went with him, her attention still on their well-hidden watcher.

What the hell was going on? And there was something going on. Everyone had been acting so weird lately. It seemed like it had started after Jean Claude's party and the attack on Minette. Everything had been seriously out of control since then. Of course, if she took into consideration the fact that there was a team of serial killers out there hunting lycanthropes as well as someone summoning a demon, it had been out of control almost since Anita's death. Things had just seemingly gotten weirder after the party.

All of the events that had happened since someone had murdered Anita Blake jumbled together in Isis' mind and left her with a bad feeling. She was more than certain that this, whatever this was, was only the tip of the iceberg. There was more bad to come. She just knew it. And she didn't like that idea one bit.

They reached the car and Damian stood at her side while she removed the key from her purse and slid it into the lock. He didn't move until she was in the car and the door was shut behind her. Then he was around to the passenger side in the blink of an eye, sliding into the seat even before she could think to put the key into the ignition. Once his door was closed, he hit the locks and reached into the console where she kept her gun. She didn't like that he felt the need to bring the weapon out.

The engine came rumbling to life with minimal fuss. Just the feel of its vibrations made some of the tension slip away. Isis shared a look with Damian for a moment, then put the car into reverse and started out of the space. Her eyes moved constantly, scanning not only for cars and stray pedestrians but a sign of impending doom. She felt Damian beside her, occupying much of the space inside her car, the aura around him filled with vigilance. She had no doubt that he would put himself in harm's way to keep her safe. The notion warmed her heart, but also scared her deeply. She didn't want him hurt because of her and offered up a silent prayer that whoever or whatever it was that watched them would stay hidden and leave them alone long enough to get home.

It wasn't until they'd pulled out onto the street and the feeling of eyes upon them had passed that Damian relaxed. His voice was dark with foreboding as it filled the interior of the car. "I do not like that someone is watching us. That is the second time I've felt eyes upon us as we've left an establishment."

Isis flicked her gaze his way, taking note of the set of his face. He may as well have been carved from stone for all the emotion that didn't show there. "What the hell is going on? Could it be Haven? Could he be looking for an opening to try and blind side you? He wouldn't have anything to gain by trying to take the pride from you by force. My lioness has already made her decision. She won't accept him. She'll kill him if he tries anything."

"It isn't Haven," Damian shook his head.

"Then... who?" she asked, bewildered. Why would someone be watching them?

"I do not know. But I need to inform Jean Claude."

Isis wasn't sure why Damian needed to tell the other vampire what was going on. She didn't know if Jean Claude could really do anything. Hell, she didn't know if anyone could do anything. How could they stop someone if they couldn't find them? She had enhanced eyesight and hearing and smell and she couldn't locate whoever had been watching them. Hell, Damian's senses were even better than hers and he hadn't been able to locate the creepy watcher. If the two of them couldn't spot this person, how did he expect anyone else to be able to do it?

Her hands curled around the steering wheel, knuckles whitening as her grip tightened. The interior of the car was silent, Damian as absorbed in his thoughts as she was in her own. She'd known almost since Anita's death that weird things had been happening around her and her friends. Hell, weird seemed to be the norm in their circle. But this... whatever this was, it was beyond weird. It was menacing and deadly. She didn't like what it could possibly mean. Not one bit.

Her fingers tightened on the wheel a touch more. Something bad was coming. Something very, very bad.

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