by C A Ardron
‘Dove,’ he rumbled. ‘Is there something you need?’
She noted his plain, navy tank top. He’d been in the training hall. He only visited the hall in the evening when he was overly worried or anxious. Dove placed a hand on his arm, hoping to calm him. ‘Your worries are distracting me.’
His gentle, brown eyes widened.
‘May I come in?’
He nodded and stepped back. Dove entered, smiling at the wooden carving of an elephant on his desk. She remembered Wolf telling her he’d carved it when he was young. He’d brought it with him from Oldeiria.
Dove turned her attention back to the dark-skinned man and sat in the plain chair by the bed. Crossing her legs, she gazed at him.
He met her eyes for a moment but then looked down at the blue carpet, shaking his head. ‘I know what you’re going to say.’
‘Do you?’ Dove asked, keeping her voice soft.
‘Yeah, I should’ve asked her for a date ages ago.’
Dove smiled at him. ‘You were giving her the time and space you thought she needed. Don’t blame yourself, Wolf. I fear this may be my fault.’
Wolf looked up, ‘how?’
She grimaced. ‘I spoke with her this morning. It’s been bothering me for a while how she’s stopped moving forwards. Falcon’s simply existing, pouring everything into her work but not really doing anything with her life. I tried to get her to see that.’
‘Did she take it well?’
‘Does she ever?’ Dove sighed. ‘She went off in a huff. I could feel Falcon was upset by my words, knowing there was truth to them. Then, she returns and tells us she’s going on a date.’
Wolf’s eyes widened again. ‘You think she’s doing this to make a point?’
‘To make a point, get me off her back, both were emotions I felt from her at the time, but I felt guilt too. Falcon knows she’s doing this for the wrong reasons. I really don’t think anything will come of her seeing this stranger.’
Wolf nodded, ‘I hope not, Dove. If she wants to date someone - Hawk or Coyote, then that’s fine. At least they’d be there for her, this stranger is a civilian.’
Dove’s eyebrows shot up, ‘Coyote?’
Wolf’s gaze dropped again.
‘Wolf, I know you care for her, why did you mention Coyote?’
She gave a soft laugh as his emotions told her everything she needed to know. Wolf shifted his weight but didn’t answer.
‘Wolf, you’re the one who persuaded Falcon to stay, and you’re the one who got her to open up that first week. Do you really think Coyote is a better match for her than you?’
He shrugged, ‘I don’t know. Do any of us really know her, even now? It’s been six months, Dove, and I still feel like I barely know her.’
‘You have to give her time.’
‘I have!’
Dove sighed. ‘More time, then. She’s been through a lot, the time will come when she’ll open those doors, but it’ll only be when she decides to, and only with the people of her choosing.’
Chapter Fifteen
From where she sat at the polished, round table, Falcon glanced about at the wallpapered red and gold walls. The quiet murmuring of other guests was muffled by the small group plucking stringed instruments on the miniature stage. She hadn’t been aware a place like this existed in West Sector.
It looked, smelt and felt very high-class. Falcon was thankful she’d pulled out her only non-leather shirt for the occasion. Dove and Tiger had nagged her into buying smart blouse and trousers in case she needed to attend any large Predgarian functions.
Tiger had pushed for a knee-length skirt, but Falcon had put her foot down. At least she’d still be able to fight in the trousers. Falcon had picked black, but the shirt was grey-white.
Falcon flexed her slender fingers. She’d foregone her gloves for once, the blouse covered her wrists quite well, hiding the purple snake beneath.
The clothes weren’t the best choice for a date, but it was better than coming in her denim. Giving Adam a quick furtive glance, she once more took in his appearance, noting he was doing far better than her.
His smart trousers were black too, but his shirt was a deep purple and made of a shiny material. Falcon thought it was silk or satin – very expensive. Just like his jacket from earlier that day.
Adam didn’t seem to notice her study of him, he was browsing the menu.
‘Mr Sollis.’
Falcon looked around as Adam lifted his gaze. A waiter stopped by their table with a small but gleaming, stainless steel bucket full of ice, a medium-sized bottle wedged in its centre.
Falcon’s eyes roved across the golden script on the label. Light! Chanitu Ebon – really?
The waiter bowed. ‘You honour us with your patronage, please accept this gift.’
Adam flashed that charming smile again. ‘Thank you, would you…?’
‘Certainly, Sir.’ The waiter picked the bottle out of the ice and popped the cork, then poured a generous amount into Adam’s wine glass.
Falcon watched as the waiter proceeded to pour the same amount of dark, blood red liquid into hers.
‘Are you ready to order, Sir?’
‘Give us a few minutes,’ Adam told him.
Ignoring the wine for now, Falcon picked up the menu and tried not to wince. She didn’t recognise a single thing. Her eyes slid across the table and she froze a tiny moment, finding Adam looking at her over the top of his own menu.
She met his blue eyes. ‘They know you here?’ she asked, trying not to sound accusatory.
His smile was broad. ‘You could say I have my connections.’
Connections? Just what kind of connections did you need to have to be gifted a bottle of one of the most expensive wines on the planet?
‘Have you decided what you want?’ he asked, sipping his wine.
Falcon’s eyes glanced at her untouched glass. She didn’t want to drink it, he was clearly trying to impress her…but she really wanted to know what Chanitu Ebon tasted like.
‘Umm,’ Falcon said, turning her attention back to the menu. She shook her head, she might as well just tell him. ‘Sorry, I…what language is this?’
Adam laughed, ‘old Ischaclappian. I was waiting for your reaction, I wouldn’t have expected a Unician to know it.’
She frowned at him.
His smile only intensified though. He put a couple of fingers on the top of the menu in her hands, making her lower it. When it was resting on the table between them, he slid his fingers down to the middle.
‘I recommend the Stani Groliff.’
‘That doesn’t sound very appetising.’
Adam laughed again. ‘It’s served with white rice, which I’m sure you’re familiar with. It’s meat with onion and peas in a thick, creamy but peppery sauce.’
‘Huh, doesn’t sound that far off a cu’ill.’
Adam mouthed the word, sounding it out.
It was her turn to smile. ‘It’s a Unician dish, it tends to be thick and spicy and served with rice.’
He nodded, ‘I’ll remember that. Stani Groliff is traditionally made with seal meat but,’ he leant forwards, his voice lowering to a whisper, ‘it’s not a very good choice. The way they cook it makes it tough. I suggest the veal or lamb.’
Falcon couldn’t help a tiny laugh. ‘All right, I’ll go with the lamb.’
Adam nodded and clicked his fingers in a sharp manner. The waiter came back, and Falcon realised he’d been nearby the entire time, just out of her line of sight.
Adam reeled off their choices and the waiter bowed again, taking the menus away with him when he left.
Falcon rested her hand on the narrow neck of her glass. Just who was this man?
‘Try it,’ Adam encouraged, nodding his head at the glass in her hand. ‘Chanitu Ebon is produced in Hams, Rajiti. It’s made with the colim berries grown on the mountains of Ischaclappe though. They say it’s the best thing to come out of Rajiti beside its leather.’
Fal
con clamped down on her knowing smirk. She knew all this, she’d spent over twenty years living in Rajiti.
Lifting the glass, she took a sip. Falcon instantly caught the sweet tang of the berry, though she’d never really been fond of wine. She wondered how this rich, pretty-boy would react if she told him she preferred Stiiven Condore.
The thought only stayed with her a moment. Was Adam a member of the Pharollin? Everything was pointing to it. Pharollin were known for their expensive tastes and were always brushing shoulders with dignitaries. Then there was that Wind-Kick he’d used on the mugger.
Falcon placed her wine back on the table. He was staring at her, waiting for her to speak.
‘It tastes good,’ she told him.
Falcon almost squeaked when Adam reached for her hand. She stared down at his pale skin, his fingers brushing her knuckles. This was somewhat awkward. She couldn’t remember the last time a man had touched her like that.
She gasped, an unwanted image of Jackal popping into her head. She pulled her hand away.
‘Something happened to you.’
Falcon stared at him, unable to tear away from his sincere eyes.
‘That’s why you’re so nervous of me, right?’
Her mouth opened to respond but she had no idea what to say. ‘Who…when you stepped in to help me earlier…’
‘Yes?’
‘You used a Wind-Kick.’
Adam’s eyes widened. He sat back, an odd half-smile coming to his lips. ‘Well, that was unexpected. I do martial arts at the Ring Centre.’
Falcon frowned. ‘Oh! You mean in Central Sector?’
Adam nodded.
‘So you’re not…?’
Adam chuckled, his shoulders rising and falling. He raised his hands, ‘I’m not a medallion warrior, promise.’ He leant forwards, his eyes intense, ‘how do you know I used a Wind-Kick?’
Falcon’s smile was forced, she’d been certain he must be Pharollin, but they didn’t have the same need to hide themselves like Predgarians did. There was no reason he’d lie to her.
‘I’m Unician,’ she replied. ‘A lot of us know aspects of Ki-arl Goh, its part of our heritage.’
‘Ki-ar – oh! Martial arts, Ki-arl Goh is the Unician word for it, right?’
Falcon nodded.
He flashed her that grin again. ‘So how did I do? Did I impress you?’
Falcon shook her head, unable to keep the smile from her face. He actually had. ‘A little,’ she admitted.
She could feel her face flushing so picked up her glass and took another sip, trying to cover it.
Adam reached out for her hand again. She stared down at it, what did she do? This was a bit uncomfortable.
‘I’m glad you’re looking so much better,’ he told her, his voice soft. ‘You were really pale before.’
Falcon was relieved when the food arrived, it gave her a reason to pull away again. She paused, noticing Adam’s plate. ‘What is that?’
‘Sausage.’
‘I’ve never seen one so big before, or so perfectly round.’
Adam smirked and seemed on the verge of saying something but changed his mind. ‘It’s an Ischaclappe specialty, seasoned with onion and garlic.’
‘What’s that in the middle?’
‘Mashed potato.’
Falcon stared at the stodgy mess. She groaned, ‘that’s a north meets south creation, isn’t it?’
Adam laughed. ‘So, the stories about Unicians being traditional even where food’s concerned is true? Though in this case it’s more of a south meets souther.’
Falcon sighed and tried her rice. It was actually very good. She tried the sauce next.
‘What do you think?’
‘It doesn’t have the spice of a cu’ill, but it’s very tasty – and the cream is an excellent addition.’
Falcon watched as Adam started on his potato. ‘Who are you?’
He glanced up at her.
‘Why are you being gifted expensive wine? Why are the staff waiting on you - why can you afford such expensive clothes?’
Adam smiled and cut into his sausage.
‘Are you a senior businessman? You don’t look old enough.’
‘You could say I’m in business,’ Adam replied. ‘I’m in quite the high position too.’
Falcon watched him eat. ‘You don’t want to tell me?’
Adam stopped eating and swallowed. ‘It’s business, Karen. Business is boring, I’d much rather talk about you.’
She breathed a laugh and took her first bite of lamb. ‘There’s really not that much to tell about me.’
Falcon paused, realising Adam had not begun eating again but was gazing at her.
‘Well, why don’t we start with why you changed your mind?’
‘What?’ Falcon tensed when she saw his open amusement.
‘You were all set to brush me off, then changed your mind.’
Falcon’s gaze dropped.
‘Huh-huh, there it is.’
‘What?’ she asked.
Adam sighed and toyed with his potato. ‘You don’t want to be here, Karen. You were going to turn me down but then a thought occurred to you, and you said yes. So my take on this is that you’re using me for something. Trying to make a boyfriend jealous maybe?’
Falcon shook her head. ‘There’s no boyfriend, Adam. I’ve not had anything like that since-’ Falcon clamped her lips shut.
‘But you are using me,’ Adam stated.
Falcon couldn’t look at him. ‘This isn’t me,’ she whispered, pushing her plate away. ‘I’d never do something like this.’
Adam pushed the plate back towards her. ‘It’s okay, I’m using you too.’
Falcon lifted her head, ‘what?’
His lips tugged into a smirk. ‘Come on, a gorgeous woman being assaulted on the street – how could I resist?’
Falcon gaped before releasing a breathy gasp. ‘I can’t believe…you actually just admitted that.’
‘That you’re gorgeous?’
‘I am not! Will you-’
Adam raised a hand, ‘stop. If you don’t know what you’re talking about, just stop.’
Falcon realised she was gaping again and closed her mouth. She met his sparkling eyes. Light, did he really think she was...?
Adam leant back in his seat. ‘So, I’ve told you why I set up this date. Why don’t you tell me why you decided to play along?’
Her eyes dipped towards her plate again. She slowly reached for the wine. ‘Why are you being so nice?’
Adam gave a short chuckle. ‘Me? I’m not nice, Karen. No one’s really nice, you know? Everyone has motives, things they want.’
Falcon sighed and sipped her wine. ‘You’re impossible.’
‘No,’ he disagreed, touching her hand again. ‘I’m not impossible, I’m right here, with you.’
She drew back from him, ‘why do you keep doing that?’
Adam grinned and picked up his wine glass, ‘because it’s making you blush.’
Falcon stared. She forced herself to look away, focusing on the food in front of her. ‘I…something bad happened to me,’ she told him. Falcon put the glass down but didn’t start to eat again. ‘I don’t want to talk about what happened but…guess I’m still coming to terms with everything. My friends want me to move on, get on with my life – do more than just exist.’ She paused when she glanced up at him. Falcon met Adam’s serious gaze for a moment but couldn’t keep looking at him, or she’d not be able to speak another word.
She gave a shrug, trying to ease the tension in her muscles. ‘Well, one of my friends suggested a small list of things I could maybe do to try to…I,’ she sighed. ‘One of them was dating.’
She dared a glance at Adam and found him smiling at her.
‘If that’s the case,’ he replied. ‘I’m honoured it’s me you’ve chosen for that first step.’
Falcon took a deep breath, realising tears were starting to form in her eyes. She blinked, trying to force th
em back.
She sighed, feeling Adam’s hand on hers again.
‘Why don’t we talk about something else,’ he suggested. ‘Let’s eat and enjoy the rest of the evening.’
She smiled at him, he really was so nice.
Chapter Sixteen
Falcon gave a great sigh of relief when she was off the street and out of sight of Adam. She was thankful he hadn’t tried to kiss her, she wasn’t ready for things like that. Adam had seemed to realise, which was nice. She paused and took out her phone. It was still on the number list screen from when she’d added Adam’s number. Staring down at it, she took a deep breath. She’d meant to delete it afterwards, once the date was over but…
Falcon gave a small laugh, she didn’t want to. Sliding the screen across to look at the time, her eyebrows rose, finding six missed calls.
‘All from Lion,’ she murmured. ‘He can’t have been that worried about me.’
Falcon decided to check her messages, maybe Lion had left something for her. She found one so let it play, putting the phone to her ear.
‘Falcon,’ Lion’s distorted but still very terse voice played. ‘Come back, we have a situation. Fly, don’t walk, and stay alert – it’s not safe for you tonight.’
Falcon’s eyes were wide as she lowered her phone. Maybe she should’ve taken Adam’s offer of a car ride after all.
She started a brisk walk, Lion telling her to fly was all well and good, but she couldn’t activate her medallion with so many people around. Still, it was pretty dark. Looking up at the sky, both the suns had set, the sky now blanketed by a myriad of stars.
Eyeing an inky black alley up the side of a shop, she decided that if she couldn’t see anything in there then neither could anyone else. Even if someone spotted the light of her medallion being activated, they wouldn’t actually see her.
Stepping into the darkness, she took a few moments to watch the street. No one seemed to be showing any interest in her suspicious behaviour.
Falcon pulled out the silver coin from under her blouse and activated. She breathed out, feeling the wings growing out of her back, a new strength and resiliency filling her body.
She stretched her wings and stepped boldly out of the narrow alley. She’d need more room to take off.
