by Tigris Eden
“It’s warded, makes people hesitant to approach.” Micah explained. He was a good resource for all sorts of immortal information. The guy on the phone told her to dress comfortably and she did. Dark distressed skinny jeans, holes on her knees and thighs and a black ribbed tank top that exposed not only her sleeve of Hawaiian tattoos but also her bare midriff with the yellow diamond hanging from her belly. She hadn’t taken out any of the hardware either. Lip, nose, eyebrows, and her entire left ear were adorned in jewelry. If she was truly meant to be comfortable, she was going to dress the part. To the T. The sleeve was from shoulder to elbow on her left arm and on her right side peeking from beneath her tank were her Rotheca Myricoides that trailed from underneath her armpit down to her hip. She knew the rest of her ink would show, but those two were the boldest. She did pin her hair up. The sides were shaved bald and it made her pompadour for her Mohawk ponytail perfect. She was make-up free, but she did opt for clear gloss on her lips. It was humid in the summers in Texas and it made her skin sticky. Regardless of it being said humidity was good for the skin, it didn’t mean she wanted to feel like she had to shower multiple times a day because her clothes stuck to her body.
Xee walked up to the doors and pushed. Damn, it was a pull. “Relax; you have this interview in your pocket. I know Degas gave you a glowing recommendation.” Micah whispered in her ear. She tried to picture Micah from time to time, and what he must look like. To her he was just a soul. But she could picture him giving her a mental push towards the door, giving her that shot of confidence she needed in order to land the job.
She stepped into the reception area eyeing the secretary who looked like a 1920’s pinup poster girl. When she smiled, she saw the secretary for what she really was. She was a Siren with scaly pearlescent skin, wide lips, and a sharp row of teeth. Normally it didn’t take her long to identify human from immortal, but that was not the case here. Living in a mental institution had given her plenty of time to research her so-called ailment. She could classify almost all demon and mythical immortals. She could even classify them according to original parentage if she tried hard enough.
“I’m here to meet with Stefan Dravaggio.”
The Siren nodded and pushed a button.
“Go ahead.” The deep voice over the intercom purred. His voice was potent almost like a physical touch to her body. Shivering, Xee rubbed her arms.
“Miss Hale to see you sir.”
“Have one of the team bring her down.”
“Yes sir.”
The siren disconnected the call and met Xee’s eyes; her voice so annoying even Micah mentally cringed.
Game face. Game face. We’ll get the job. She repeated to herself. Not for Micah’s benefit, but for her own.
“Someone will be here to get you.”
Xee nodded and sat down on a bench against the wall and waited as the siren called for someone to escort her to her meeting. She wasn’t nervous about the job, but more about her approach to people. She lacked the social skills that everyone else would have been introduced to. She could do the job, technical support and schematics were her things, computers were her haven. It was the greetings and meeting her team that was the issue. Normally, when she would close down, Micah the ever-talkative Para-housed would speak on her behalf. Most of the time it was hit or miss, as he was an epic asshole.
An elevator dinged to her left and out stepped an animal of a man. He was tall with silver eyes and long fangs, dressed in fatigues and a gray shirt. His eyes assessed her with keen intelligence.
“Follow me.”
Game face.
The man grunted but otherwise said nothing else.
“Damn, he’s a tall hulking male. Wonder what his job is?” Micah said into her mind. She wondered as well, but she’d been too busy trying to peg his kind. He looked more animal than man, and it wasn’t because of what he projected to her either. He was tall, she’d give him that, and he was bulky. Straight out of Marvel Comics, minus the green skin. Everything on him was more pronounced, bulging. It was the air of savagery he projected and the two front canine’s helped as well with them protruding out against his lower lip. They did not want to get on his bad side.
“Speak for yourself. I’m not afraid of him.”
“That could be because you wouldn’t feel anything and I would.” Xee responded.
“I like to blow shit up, but interrogation is my specialty.” The man responded turning in Xee’s direction. Liquid silver penetrated what little calm she had left. He stared as if he could read her mind. “I can read minds among other things. But your parasite is mouthy, makes me want to slap the shit out of him, but then again it would do me no good.” The hulk said to her.
“Not my fault you’re manstrating and Micah’s not a parasite.” Xee countered. Normally she would not have said anything at all to the tall male, but if she intended to work for them, she couldn’t let them think they could walk all over her.
The male grunted but said nothing else. As they made their descent, the elevator finally stopped. She followed him down a hall that stopped at a double glass door.
“In there.”
He waited as she shouldered pass him into the room gaining the attention of the men that waited.
Micah growled inside her head and Xee let out an audible curse. At the same time, the golden giant from the coffee shop cursed, while the other man looked between the two of them. It was the douche that took the last of the coffee cake at the shop.
“We need this job Xee, chin up and just don’t touch him.”
“That’s a done deal. No worries there.”
The other guy at the table with the mahogany dreads and intense violet eyes nodded at one of the empty seats, waiting for her to sit. Dread head was a demon, but also a little something more. She could see the faint energy around him flickering on and off when Micah popped in with information.
“He’s an Incubus, but somehow he isn’t fed the same way the Incubi are. Can’t get much more than that.”
That was fine with her. The skin he wore didn’t match his true nature, which wasn’t far off the mark with what he presented to the outside world, but his eyes did. Right now, they looked violet, but in reality, they were black in color, soulless. This demon wore more than two skins.
“Ms. Hale,” the Angel sat back in his chair and waited for Xee to take a seat. “I’m Gabe. This is our Captain, Stefan Dravaggio.”
She didn’t say anything to the introduction, but sat down and waited for the interview to begin. Were they expecting her to say something? She eyed both men and cleared her throat waiting for someone to begin. “Tell them it’s nice to meet them,” Micah said. She wasn’t going to say something now, the time to have said something had already passed. She waited a beat more before relaxing in her seat. Slowly, she folded her arms across her chest so she wouldn’t pick at her pant leg and then quickly unfolded them. She wasn’t supposed to cross her arms over her chest, it was a defensive move, she’d read that somewhere in some magazine. She blamed Gabe. He was the one that had taken her coffee cake at the shop, forcing her to leave with only a cup of coffee and no treat to satisfy her sweet tooth. She would have been perfectly able to function properly at this interview had she just had her morning breakfast. The least he could do was lead the conversation. This was why she couldn’t stand being around people, preferring her music and computers to social interactions. She didn’t know what to do or say in this situation. There were times when she didn’t even want to be bothered with Micah.
“Ms. Hale, before we go any further we need you to sign this,” Gabe said sliding a thick piece of paper her way along with a pen. She eyed the paper. It was old. Vellum parchment she realized after she pulled the paper closer so she could look at what she was signing.
“Don’t sign the paper.” Micah whispered in her head, but Xee ignored him, reading the words, going back over paragraphs to make sure she understood what it was she was signing. It h
ad to do with security, which made sense but also about the sharing of energy, which of course she opted out of. When she finished reading, Gabe spoke again.
“By signing this, you’re bound not to speak about what happens within the unit and should you; there will be an adverse reaction.”
“Such as?” Xee questioned.
Gabe sat forward leaning on the table, his eyes roaming over her face before he spoke.
“Memory loss for one and you’re not to disclose the location or goings on in this building.”
Fair enough. Did this mean she had the job?
Xee grabbed the pen and when she pressed the top end to release the ink, something sharp pierced her thumb.
“What the hell,” she placed the pen on the table and watched as her blood slid down into the top of the pen to rest inside the ink cartridge.
“Don’t fucking sign the paper, Xee. Come on we can find another way.”
“Another way? For what?”
“For money.”
“It’s just a blood contract. I can adhere to that. We really need this job.”
Blood contracts were forever binding in the immortal world. Well, most of the time. Why all of sudden Micah was punking out was lost on her. He was really starting to get on her nerves. He was the one who found the job for them, and he was the one who’d been pushing her toward it. They needed the job and this was their only way out. To work for the Shadow Unit was a huge step up on the evolutionary ladder in the order of things. She’d learn new things that had to do with both technology as well as magic.
“Sorry, it’s a blood binding contract.”
Duh, like she didn’t know what she was signing.
“Do you think I don’t know that, Angel boy?”
Dravaggio covered his laugh by coughing, but she knew he was making fun of her too. She could tell by the slight hunch of his back and the shaking of his broad shoulders that he was laughing.
“Please sign the contract Ms. Hale, or we’ll have to ask you to leave.”
Xee grabbed the pen and quickly signed her name. The moment she did, she felt something thin settling over her skin.
“There, I signed your crummy paper.”
“Thank you Ms. Hale, now we can finally begin.” Dravaggio spoke the words, but it felt like a kiss against the shell of both ears slowly caressing her skin and making its way down her spine to settle in her stomach. She shivered unable to control her reaction to his voice.
“What are you?” Xee whispered.
She got no response.
Gabe stood and walked the length of the table over to a large screen. Touching it lightly, the screen came to life showing a series of code. To a novice, it was near impossible but for her it was child’s play. It was enough to distract her from whatever it was the demon made her feel.
“Can you decipher this? Once completed I want the coordinates in its precise locale,” both Gabe and Dravaggio exited the room and left her to do her thing. Some was written and other parts were symbols she’d seen in a text she’d read a while back when she was locked up. Xee walked over to the screen and began pulling everything apart and then putting it back together so that it made sense. Seriously, who wanted to know about ancient Mesopotamia?
It was the punk kid from the coffee shop, the girl that had given him his wood. Great, just great. Boyish in appearance except for well, everything else. Too much metal, not enough hair and her hair was pink! But there was definitely a woman under all the street clothes and tattoos. Even her tats were feminine. He found absolutely nothing attractive about her. Liar. Correction, he tried to find something unattractive about her, and failed miserably. Kapua Hale was an exotic blossom he wanted to devour. Her name meant time of flowering. She definitely hadn’t hit her peak and there was still a lot more beautiful left to go. Gabe stretched his neck from side to side hoping to get the kink out. Now that his time was short, his wings were getting heavier, filling out. On Earth’s plane, they weren’t noticeable unless he wanted to show them, but today he decided to mask them for the sake of interviews. Now he wished he hadn’t.
“How much time do we give her?” Dravaggio asked. They were in the office next to the War Room, with him pacing and the Captain sitting behind his huge oak desk.
“She’ll never figure it out.”
Dravaggio bowed his head, letting out a tired sigh. Gabe understood the man’s weariness. Time was running out and they needed his replacement and soon. Not to mention they needed to locate the Sahidic. There was also the issue of the Hybrid Interlocking Vein Entrance. In short, the H.I.V.E was used as a mode of transportation between the different planes. The person that would fill his shoes would have to maintain the activity in the H.I.V.E as well as handle all mission logistics and maintain the buildings security, making sure that all hot spots remained closed for unwanted or violated travel. He wasn’t so sure she could pull that off. Or if the gatekeeper would allow her safe passage. She was only a little more than human.
“What about Cyrian?”
“I have him and the twins looking for as much information as they can about the Sahidic. Especially since no one so far has been unable to decipher the code. The other units don’t have men to spare.”
“It will work out my friend. I won’t leave you with your dick flapping in the wind.” Gabe just hoped he could stay true to his statement.
Dravaggio laughed and Gabe couldn’t stop the smile that appeared on his face. He wasn’t going to stress until the time came. It was either that, or he and Greyson were going to come to blows over what little time he would need to stay longer if they couldn’t find the proper replacement.
“Let’s go check on her and see how she’s coming along.”
Dravaggio stood from his chair and both men made their way back to the War Room. Gabe was ready to go in and politely thank her for her time when he was rooted to his spot by what he saw on the screen. She’d decoded the formula, had given the exact location of what they knew without a doubt was the first step in finding the Sahidic. It didn’t matter that it had taken him days to figure it out, the mere fact that she was able to do it in minutes attested to her skills.
“Give me something that actually makes me think.” Kapua boasted.
“Alright Blossom, you’ve got the job. I’ll have Ellie get you scanned in for security and one of the girls will get you situated here at the facility. Welcome to the Shadow Unit.”
What else was he going to do? He couldn’t let her walk out without giving her the job. She was going to be perfect, and in the two weeks it took to train her, he knew they would be able to locate the whereabouts of the Sahidic before he had to go back to his realm. He was sure of it.
Dravaggio stood at the door with a smirk on his face as he welcomed Kapua to the group.
“We’re glad to have you aboard Kapua.”
“Xee, call me Xee.”
Dravaggio nodded.
“Good to have you on board, Xee.” The Captain corrected. She nodded once and Gabe could tell she wasn’t comfortable around people. Her eyes scanned everything from the exit out of the War Room to anything that could be of use to her should she need to make a hasty exit. She only gave the slightest responses and even smaller acknowledgements.
“We start first thing in the morning. For now, we’ll get you processed. Did you come in a car?”
She shifted her shoulders before answering. “No, I walked.”
“Alright, one of the girls will arrange for you to pick up your things. For security reasons everyone on the team resides here on base.”
Again, she shrugged. “This place is better than the shit hole I live in. Lead the way Angel boy.”
She really needed to stop calling him Angel boy. If she thought for a moment it irritated him, she was wrong. It had the opposite effect. He had to adjust himself before showing her where to go.
Gabe led her down the hall towards the elevator. H
e held the door open to allow her inside.
“Such a gentlemen,” she remarked under her breath.
It was ingrained into him to be polite, and back when elevators were first operational it was customary for the men to hold the door and check to make sure the car was there. It was something he did without thought.
“It’s customary for a man to go before a woman in case the elevator is faulty. This way, I’m the one to plummet to my demise.” He offered as a way of explaining his actions.
She snorted and backed into the corner of the elevator. The ride up felt like it was taking forever. Maybe he should say something.
“Sorry about this morning.”
“Yeah, sure you are.”
Gabe turned to look at the girl. She was pixie-like in a way, but also harsh with masculinity. Maybe her Para-housed was male. The Host and Para would sometimes take on the other’s attributes. The masculine part of her was off putting and it made him want to compete with her, challenge her to a test of wills. At the same time, he found that once again he’d gone hard. What the hell did that say about him? What did it say about her? Was she even a little affected? His hands were itchy and not because he was coming into some money. The entire time he sat across from her, he’d wanted to touch her buttery soft skin. He knew her skin would be soft too, just from the unblemished texture and the smoothness of her tats. The light golden tone of her skin was free of imperfections and a part of him wanted to put marks there by his own hand in a possessive manner. Every surface that was exposed to the air let off a very strong coconut smell that made his mouth water. He needed to take things down a notch. She was young and had obviously been through a lot. Her hazel eyes told a story of a life not lived easy. Her life had made her hard, and that harshness molded her into what stood before him.
What the hell is wrong with me?
Gabe couldn’t reconcile his body’s reactions with his minds lists of all the reasons she was off limits to him. He even listed all the places she fell short of attractive qualities he found in women. What was taking the elevator so long? He was suffocating. Her coconut scent was everywhere. Not cool on so many levels. His mouth was moist with the taste of her, coconuts and sugar and he hadn’t taken a single solitary taste. Her essence was just that potent, thick and heavy scented so that it attacked all his efforts at remaining calm.
