Shadowed Magic (The Enlightened Species Novella)

by Wendy S. Hales

“Because, 'Don't rape me, I have a black belt' were not the first words in my mind, I focused on fighting four men instead.” Eros grinned, feisty little witch.

  Newman put his hand to his mouth to hide his smile while Cleveland continued. “Did you use excessive force against your assailants?”

  A slight tremor shook her. Eros doubted the detectives noticed. “Are you shitting me! I used whatever I needed to save myself. Did I hold back? Hell no. I also didn't kill them or castrate them once they were down. Don't think it didn't cross my mind. I honestly doubt I'm the first woman those men have attacked. You should thank me for saving you the trouble of tracking them down.”

  After nearly an hour of irrelevant questions, Detective Newman excused himself. He returned a few minutes later to announce the interview concluded. A taller man wearing an expensive suit stepped in. Well tamed, stylishly cut, sandy blond hair, blue eyes and square cleft jaw topped the well-built human. It was Aymee's indrawn hiss that set Eros off. Recognition and indignation registered on her face followed quickly by fury. “You son-of-a-bitch,” Aymee cursed.

  The man smirked at Aymee then address Detectives Cleveland and Newman. “I've decided not to pursue the investigation of Aymee Yamamoto. However, I do have a few questions for her as the victim in the case against her assailants. If you will excuse us.”

  The detectives shrugged and left the room. “You're welcome to keep your attorney here. It's your money.”

  Mark held his hand out and waved his fingers expectantly. The Sandy haired man handed Mark a paper. Mark scanned it thoroughly. “The investigation is closed.” Mark confirmed. “Would you like me to stay, Aymee?”

  Aymee had continued to scowl at the newcomer. “No, I'll be fine. Thank you, Mr. Johnson.”

  Mark gathered his things and left the room. The man sat across from her. Aymee folded her arms and leaned back defiantly. “You are such an asshole, Mitch.”

  “I'm doing my job, Aymee. A man died.” Though Mitch looked sincere, Eros doubted the man's intentions. Mitch was stone-walling. “It would have been a dereliction of duty if you weren't at least questioned about it.”

  “Oh, really? Did you find ethics in the last seven years?” Eros had never heard Aymee be rude to anyone. “Funny, cuz you still look like a prick to me.” He remembered her telling him 'prick' was one of the names men called their phallus. Mitch had a full head of hair ...

  “Don't be like that, Aymee. When the report of what happened last night hit my desk, I freaked. You won't accept my calls, and I knew you wouldn't see me. This was the only way to see for myself you were alright.” Mick justified himself with a slight whine in his voice. Ahh. The moniker ‘prick’ acquired new meaning.

  Eros could feel his blood boil. The selfish son-of-a-bitch had stressed Aymee out when she didn't need to be.

  “Case in point. You are a prick. A married prick.”

  “Emily and I divorced two years ago. You would know that if you'd taken even a single one of my calls. Opened a single letter. Spoke to me when I came to see you.”

  “Well I didn't want to talk to you then or now.” Aymee rose stiffly. Damn it.

  Eros broke protocol by telepathically calling to Shane on an open wavelength. He could give a shit less if other Volaticus heard him. “Shane, Aymee needs you … NOW!”

  Mitch dashed around the table to aid Aymee. She slapped his hand away as Eros reached out to snap his arm like a twig. “Don't you fucking touch me,” Aymee barked. Eros refrained from harming the man, but his dentes slammed into his mouth.

  Mitch gave her a wounded look. “Aymee, give me another chance. I've never stopped loving you or thinking about you. I know I messed up, but I've learned from my mistakes. Let me prove that to you.”

  “I don't do second chances, Mitch. I told you seven years ago I never wanted to see you again and that has not changed.” Aymee cringed with pain but backed several steps away from Mitch.

  The door opened and Shane stood there looking from Aymee to Mitch, his eyes narrowed. “You okay?” Shane asked Aymee while his gaze pinned Mitch in place.

  “Yeah, Just … just get me out of here,” Aymee whispered.

  Without hesitation, Shane lifted Aymee into his arms and marched out. Eros followed behind. Jess waited in the SUV with the motor running. Eros jumped in when Shane opened the back door but scooted over to leave room for Aymee. The second she was seated and belted, he took her less damaged hand in his. She squeezed it gingerly, leaned her head back against the headrest and closed her eyes. A single tear ran down her cheek.

  Mitch had obviously been someone Aymee had cared about at one time. The kind of animosity she'd showed came from emotional pain. Mitch had declared his love to her … had she loved him back? Did she still? His chest tightened at the thought of her in love with someone else.

  ****

  Jess and Shane dropped her and Eros back at his house. Eros carried her in, set her on the couch with a blanket, forced drugs into her and now knelt lighting a fire in probably the only fireplace in Mesa. All the while, he'd never spoken a word about what he'd seen between her and Mitch. With the fire lit, he dropped his head into his hand braced against his bent knee. The first sign of distress she'd seen from him since he roared into the night after her attack.

  “Eros, will you sit with me?” Aymee asked. He stayed squatted a few minutes more, then sighed and joined her. Wrapping his arm over her shoulder, he pulled her against his side. “I'm sorry about today. Mitch is a ...” She began.

  “Prick. I heard.” Eros's deep voice held sadness. “He seems to care for you.”

  “Maybe.” She shrugged. Over the years, she'd avoided thinking of Mitch ... or at least tried to. Earlier with Eros, she'd felt her heart might heal for the first time. Of course, Mitch would try to ruin it. “I didn't know he was an ADA. I can't believe he opened an investigation on me.” Actually she did. Mitch had practically stalked her for years, using the private investigators his old firm kept on retainer to track her. She'd hoped that had ended a year ago when he'd begun trying to personally get in touch with her. She'd made it clear she wanted nothing to do with him and things had seemed to calm afterward. She should have known he'd hear of her attack and use it as an excuse to re-appear.

  “And you?” Eros prompted. “Do you care for him?”

  Aymee thought hard on that. “Once upon a time, I thought I loved him.” Eros stiffened beside her. “I met him at the university. Of course, I wasn't a student. I had gone there to teach a martial arts class and promote the Ryu. He was in his last year of Law School. We dated for over a year in secret. That should have been a big red flag … the secrecy, but I trusted him. He said lawyers date quietly and marry big for their careers.” Aymee hadn't even told Jess, yet she felt like she needed to confide in Eros. He sat quietly listening, never pushed her.

  “I stupidly thought he'd marry me.” The words caught in her throat.

  Eros lifted her chin forcing her to meet his gaze. Thankfully, she didn't see sympathy or pity, just curiosity. “Why didn't you marry him?”

  Aymee snort laughed with disdain. “He didn't ask … well, he didn't ask me anyway. Turns out, he'd been dating someone else the whole time. Emily. She had the right last name and education to make her an appropriate wife in the eyes of his family, plus Emily could have … err… whatever. He spent months trying to convince me that marrying Emily had nothing to do with love. He said it was a career move. Bastard wanted me to be his mistress.”

  “He intended for you to be his concubine?” The outrage on Eros's face melted her heart. “Aymee, you are a woman of immeasurable worth. If the 'prick' didn't recognize the value of your love, he doesn't deserve it.”

  “That's how I felt, too. So, I told him to 'go to hell.'” Then she'd tried to recover from Mitch. A long process she only realized now, looking at Eros, she'd accomplished. Mitch had never been LESS appealing to her than now.

  Eros brushed her bangs from her forehead. “The right response to a male out of line,
to be sure, though I doubt it aided your heartbreak. I too have loved in my lifetime. When a love is pure, it never dies, when corrupt, it morphs into something dark before it invariably dies.”

  “You're talking about your wives right, the mothers of your children.” And something Aymee had always been curious about. She knew from Umbrae that Eros's sons were born of three different mothers. Added to Umbrae's mother, Eros had been married four times. All were human women known as Heredity because they could bear human/Elven hybrid, aka Hulven, children.

  The look of sorrow broke her heart. “They were each amazing women. I cherish the memory of them … except Umbrae's mother. She knew my species before our marriage. Declared her love before her god and I upon my honor. Our wedding night was beautiful, yet she ran away the next day. Months later, I learned of her suicide. Though hurt, I didn't curse her memory. I took the blame. Justified her action as a shortcoming of my disclosure … my fault, somehow. When I learned of Umbrae-- that she delivered my child only to abandon her to a fate worse than death, the darkness began. That act of betrayal corrupted the love I felt for her smearing it with dark resentment. My children are my joy.” His voice fell quieter as he spoke. “I would appreciate it if you never share that with Umbrae. She needn’t know I despise her mother.”

  Aymee felt his words strike her deep inside. Even his pity of Mitch became clear. To lose the love of a male like Eros … She pitied Umbrae's mother. He'd shared that painful experience in camaraderie to her. It touched her more than any compliment she'd ever gotten. “You know Umbrae adores you, right?” He gave her a half-smile. “Repeat after me: I know, right.” His brow quirked. “I know … right.” she prompted again.

  “I know...” Eros started, Aymee made a rolling motion with her hand to encourage him. “Right.” She awarded him a smile. He chuckled and stood. “I thought you might like this.” He pulled a book from a shelf along the wall and handed it to her. The soft leather binding and discolored pages gave her an idea of the book's age. She opened it, rubbing her fingers over the ink raised from the sheets. She recognized some of the symbols, while others eluded her.

  She met his gaze. “What is it?”

  He answered in a language that sounded Asian. Though not Japanese, it held similar nuances. He held his hand out and she handed the book back. “The Art of War by Sun Tzu. It's the truest written account of his teachings ... according to him that is. He's become reclusive in the last thousand years.”

  Aymee knew her jaw gaped open. “Sun Tzu?” The Art of War was the strategic basis for martial arts across the globe … among other things. American Generals quoted from it during newscasts. Entire countries had trained their military’s based on the principles of Sun Tzu. She had a copy on her desk at the Ryu. “Wasn't he born before Christ?”

  Eros sat on the floor beside the couch with his knees bent. Without thought, Aymee pulled the leather thong holding his hair free so she could run her good hand through the silken strands. The effect of the pain pills had started to take effect, and she yawned. Eros's silver eyes clashed with hers over his shoulder. “Quite some time earlier than Christ, actually. I am not surprised you are familiar with Sun's words. This particular rendering has several passages omitted or distorted in other versions. Would you like me to read them to you?”

  Aymee nodded lying on the couch behind him. “Is he Volaticus?”

  Eros lifted a brow. “Of course not. He's Tellus, His colony resides thousands of feet beneath

  Eastern China.”

  Tellus, of course. She should have known. Not! Her mind grew foggier by the minute. Stupid narcotics. Eros began to read, his deep voice lulled her immediately, and within moments she slept.

  ****

  The small smile gracing her lips while she slept captivated him. Eros watched her silently for hours. Aymee's strength of character, exotic beauty and innate sensuality combined with her sexual confidence and subtle vulnerabilities made her impossible to resist. A mysterious witch that stirred his mind … and passion. Child-like split braids and bangs atop a body meant for pleasure.

  A soft tap at the door drew him away from her side. Jacob lounged against the door jam. “It feels so weird to knock on your door, Pops. How's she doing?”

  Eros clasped his hand to Jacob’s shoulder in embrace and stepped out, closing the door behind him to join Jacob on the porch. “Her bruises are darkening … healing. She never verbally complains of pain, so I monitor her expressions for discomfort. Utterly amazing in her positive strength. I marvel at her determination and spirit.” Eros started to say more when the look on Jacob's face declared he'd already said more than he meant to.

  Jacob gave him a single nod and lifted the vase Eros had overlooked sitting on the porch. He handed it to his father. Two dozen long stemmed red roses sprouted from the thick crystal vase. A plastic rod bore a small card with Aymee's name on it. “I intercepted a man trying to deliver these a few minutes ago.”

  Eros glanced down the long drive toward the rural highway noting a Mercedes idling just beyond his property boundaries. The setting sun glinted off the blonde haired driver. Mitch. Eros's low growl made Jacob smile.

  “You like her.” Jacob stated.

  “Of course. Aymee is a wonderful woman. Everyone likes her.” Eros deflected.

  Jacob followed his gaze and looked at the Mercedes too. “So it would appear.” A small engine motorcycle zoomed past the Mercedes. “The human seemed most upset when I halted his personal delivery.” The Mercedes pulled away as they spoke.

  “Indeed. This suitor has displayed great … measures to establish contact with Aymee. I am not surprised by his continued pursuit.” Eros felt relief when the vehicle disappeared down the road. Mitch would return, Eros had no doubt about that. He also knew that it would be difficult on Aymee. If she loved Mitch, she might forgive his past indiscretion if the man could show her he'd changed. Prove that he truly loved her and come to cherish the gift of her love. A woman in love could forgive her man almost anything. If that proved to be the case, Eros would remove himself from her life. Only with a human would Aymee be able to have children … a family of her own. The thought of letting her go filled him with an overwhelming sense of loss. His attachment to her grew exponentially every moment he spent with her.

  But, she named Eros her 'boyfriend'. “Jacob.” His son turned to meet his gaze. “What is … a boyfriend, exactly?”

  Jacob started to laugh then sobered when he saw the seriousness of Eros question, he cleared his throat. “It is the male counterpart to a girlfriend and denotes a relationship of exclusivity and future.”

  That's what Eros was afraid of. If Aymee wished to evaluate Mitch's courting of her objectively, the obligation of a boyfriend might hinder that. Then Eros felt himself smile. Aymee was his girlfriend. Eros made the decision to enjoy the newfound relationship fully … for now. Part of him wanted to dispose of the roses. With a sigh, he bid Jacob goodbye and carried the perfect red blooms into the house, set them upon the casual eating bar overlooking the kitchen and began preparing her a meal. His eyes returned to the roses again and again and his apprehension grew. Exclusivity and future. The phrase echoed through his mind. Aymee's human mortality dictated her future. A future with Eros negated children. Aymee would bear beautiful young. What right did Eros have to deny her the chance to be a mother?

  ****

  Zack made another pass of the four isolated homes visible from the highway. He'd followed the SUV when it left the police station but he'd been unable to stop and check it out. The Mercedes that followed him had been hovering around ever since. He pulled off the highway behind a bluff not far from the homes, parked the bike and pulled out a smoke. The bitch couldn't stay holed up forever. He needed to come up with a plan, especially since she surrounded herself with large guys who'd probably kill him if they got the chance.

  A call to his dad informed him the cops had been to his house trying to find him, so the bitch had obviously identified him too. Now it wasn't just
about getting even for Kade's death and his injured friends … he needed to kill her to keep them all out of prison. They had a better chance to beat the rap without a victims bawl-baby poor-me testimony.

  Originally, he'd thought a drive-by shooting might work, but it had too much room for error, and with her luck, she'd fucking survive and he'd be facing more charges. All he needed to do was lay low and wait for an opportunity. With her separated from others, then he could slip in and shoot her up close and personal. He often wondered what it would be like to kill someone. This would be a perfect test. And, his friends would worship him as a god for saving their asses.

  Zack started up the incline of the bluff wishing he had a sharpshooting rifle... or binoculars. The burn in his shoulder reminded him he needed to clean it. Fucking nasty, and painful. Later. His shoulder could wait.

  Chapter Seven

  Seven days of Eros feeding her, drugging her, reading to her, sleeping and they’d had the most amazing conversation. They spent an entire day only speaking Japanese. Aymee had become rusty in the language of her father since his death. Aymee had never been happier … except Eros seemed to keep his distance from her. He'd even had Umbrae and Jess take turns coming by to help her shower and get cleaned up every morning, until yesterday when she'd told him she felt able to do it herself. She woke every day tucked into his bed alone. Her second night, when she'd asked him to hold her while she slept, he'd declined using a lame 'I'm a rough sleeper' excuse. Maybe what she'd thought was blossoming between them had been a figment of her drug induced imagination. The few times she'd tried to touch him, even taking his arm when her legs stiffened up from resting, had felt awkward though he never pulled away. He'd said he wanted to seriously date her … didn't he know what that meant? Or maybe he regretted asking at all. That she'd wanted an exclusive relationship with anyone shocked the hell out of her. She'd gone out of her way to avoid entanglements since Mitch. Was Mitch's sudden persistent attention causing Eros to back off? Mitch had brought or had delivered roses, books and magazines everyday. Of course Aymee refused to see him or accept anything from him, which left Eros or one of his sons dealing with Mitch. Maybe Eros though her avoidance of Mitch a weakness and resented being her unwitting representative. Had Mitch said something to Eros that caused Eros to re-think his desire to know her better?