by Avery Duncan
“Right, so. What happened to your leg?” Mary let her eyes dart to his bound leg, which was being held up by straps on the wall.
Jared shrugged his shoulders, eyes moving away from her as if bashful, or maybe petulant. She didn’t know, and she could honestly care less. Mary only wanted the straight answer of what had happened to him, and the admission that he had actually done something good.
“A lady was about to get hit—A nice lady, very pretty with kind eyes. I remember. . .” He frowned, then continued, “I saw the car coming for her and thought ‘nice ladies like that shouldn't be in pain’. So I grabbed her. And the car hit me.” Jared shrugged his huge shoulders, still avoiding looking at her.
Staring at him, the only question that came to her mind was: “What was she.”
His nose twitched, as if he was confused about something. “See, I’m not sure. When you get close to her, you can sense that something is. . .off, like wrong, you know?”
Mary nodded silently, mind working like a race horse to come up with an explanation. One reason why Jared was so dangerous: his senses were off the chart. One of the highest trackers in the region, he was slowly going mad—at least, that’s what other people thought.
Late at night he would be seen going out, not coming back till early in the afternoon. Mary didn’t know what to think, and she wasn’t up for the facts that would slowly be coming in about him. She was set on her belief that he was actually a good guy, and that people were just misunderstanding him. Sometimes she had her doubts, but it was rare and alarming.
“What did she smell most of?” she asked, putting her hands against her temples. Mentally groaning at the rapidly growing headache, Mary wished she could get this meeting over with and go take a nap. The feline in her was all too ready to curl up in a ball under the blankets, but this had to be done.
Her eyes closed as Jared talked. “She smelt of. . . Archaeos. Very strong, though. Like nothing I had ever smelt before. But then, something different came in. It wasn’t Acutos; actually it was like. . . burnt.”
The hair on the back of her neck raised. “Burnt?”
Jared nodded, eyes closing as he recalled the details. Mary lifted her head and stared at the man avidly, praying that whatever was going on was going to have a solution.
“Burnt. . . like ash. Like burning wood—I really don’t have any idea on how to explain this.” He sounded as frustrated as she felt.
“Did you find out her name?” she asked, reaching for her purse. Pulling out a ball point pen and a notepad, she flipped it open to a clean page and looked back up at him.
“No, I didn’t. One second, she was there. The next, I was on the ground with a bloody leg and she was missing. Like she had vanished into air or something.” As she wrote that down on the pad, he groaned and the sound of the hospital bed creaking brought her head up.
“Want me to call a nurse?” Mary was about to stand up, but he waved a hand.
“No, I’m fine. Just some leg pain. They said the IV or whatever that crap is should kick in soon.”
Mary nodded, sitting back down. She stared down at her notes, lip between her teeth. “Okay, so what was her physical appearance? Anything striking to you at all, that you might be able to remember her by?”
Jared turned over and his eyes latched onto her suspiciously. “What do you plan on doing? Questioning her?”
“I can’t do that, and you know I can’t. She hasn’t done anything—that we know of. I want to know why she smelt like ash just as much as you do, and she was involved in an accident. This girl would need to be present at court if the hitter got put on trial.”
Jared’s blue eyes went downcast; she could almost see how hard he was thinking.
“She was short, maybe a head smaller than me. I didn’t get a look at her face exactly, like her eyes, but I can’t be sure of exact details. A lot of what happened is a blur to me right now.”
More scratching sounds from her notepad, and then a sigh. Whoever this chick was, Mary felt the urge to find her, to talk to her. . .to see if she was connected to any of the recent murders.
“Do you remember what she was wearing?”
“She had on a blue overcoat, like a navy blue. Brown slacks, light blonde hair. It was pretty long, went down her back.”
Mary nodded as her hand wrote fast, getting in all the important parts. As she did, he said tiredly, “That’s all I can remember right now. I have a distant relative coming in soon, and I would really like to get in some sleep before the big sha-bang happens.” Even as Jared spoke his eyes were closing.
Sometimes, she compared the older man to her grandfather. While he hadn’t been so dangerous, they both had the same. . .temperament. She had grown up with it, lived with it.
Depended on it.
While Jared might not like her hovering or concern, or constant questions, they had a business relationship with a small amount of personal. Mary, as close as she liked to get to people—it was the cat in her, you couldn’t blame her—always tried to keep things professional and unattached.
Mary stood up, patting his hand. “I’ll be back later, have fun and get some rest.”
He nodded, closing his eyes. Right as she was walking out of the door, a light snoring sounded and she left the room, smiling.
The woman at the front desk spared only a bitter glance before going back to her clicking. Mary walked out of the building and started for the parking lot, checking the time on her cellphone.
The sun was setting down, Spring about to start. Patches of snow covered the ground with sprouting grass peeping from the ground. Mary barely held in a sigh of distaste.
Kevin could be down here, she thought, irritated. He could be down here, doing something for his own creations. But no, here she was. Walking around, playing nice, and listening to complaints of others for him.
He could at least—
Mary’s head turned.
Froze.
Connected.
Her heart thudded in her chest as she saw someone staring at her from a short distance. He was on his way toward her, his stride calm yet arrogant. Dark hair thick enough to run her hands through. Tall enough to jump onto. Dark enough to make her veins burn.
His pure black suit fell beautifully on his shoulders, his slacks emphasizing his long legs. He looked like a professional business man, like he could own the whole world if he wanted to.
At first, she was too shocked to do anything. Her reaction was foreign, too instant. Who was this guy, and why had she never seen him before? Was he from around here?
Right when she thought he would stop his stride to talk to her, his arm brushed against hers.
He kept walking.
The place where his arm had touched almost burned, she realized as she stared down in vague shock. She looked down to see if it were really as red as she felt it should be, and when it wasn’t, her head turned around and watched as the strong back disappeared into the hospital.
“God. . .” she breathed, eyes wide. He had smelt. . .wonderful. Like a dark, spicy scent that had sent her senses whirling out of control. Was she going into heat or something? She wondered.
The man had been. . .hot. As hell. Literally.
Unlocking her car door slowly, trying to get herself back in order, she breathed out and tried to calm herself.
The day had barely begun, yet so much was already happening.
Chapter 4
“You’re early.”
Raffaele shrugged, taking the seat by his uncle. It was warmed, like someone had been sitting there already.
“I know, just had to make sure my only uncle was okay.” They both knew that wasn’t the case.
Jared’s eyes, as light and sharp as Raffaele’s, narrowed. “What do you want, boy? Isn’t everything in Happy Land all fine and dandy right now?”
Another shrug. “Would be better if you would get home, where you belong.”
“I belong here.” His uncles hand splayed out, gesturing to the sp
ace around them.
“You belong in a hospital? Tied down with a broken leg?” Raffaele’s eyes rolled. “Somehow, I doubt that is what you really need.”
“Don’t back talk to me, boy. I don’t care how much you’ve grown or how much power you hold now, I am still your elder.”
“No, Uncle. You are still the one who ran. You were the coward.”
An angry hand sliced the air. “I am no such thing! I did what I had to do,” Jared said vehemently. “I have not seen you in how many years, only phone calls that lasted close to five minutes, and you come here. While I lay prone. While I am close to dying. You don’t call me a coward. I am not like your father, and you know this, Raffaele,” he finished, snapping. Raff watched as his eyes flashed fire and would have felt guilt.
Would have.
“I came here to bring you back home. You have no business here! I didn’t come here to fight with you, Uncle.” He leaned in close, eyes as dead as his voice. “And you don’t call my father a coward. Ever.”
Silence.
Matching eyes stared at one another, not one word said.
“I will not be leaving,” Jared finally said, quietly. His eyes were as solemn as his voice.
Raffaele’s lips tightened. “You have to. I’ve heard things, Uncle. You aren’t safe, and people already suspect you of what’s happening.”
“Let them think that!” his uncle burst out. “I know what I’m doing, they don’t.”
“That doesn’t matter! You are old, you are feared. You think that they will just let alone simple facts long enough to let you free? No, they won’t! This is only the first attempt on your life.”
His voice was hard, determined to make his uncle see some sense. Last night he had gotten a call from St. Mercy hospital and had gotten the first plane out here as soon as he had finally understood how bad the situation was becoming.
From the beginning, Raffaele had kept his group of people under control. Acutos were left on their own, and the Archaeos went their own separate ways. As leader of them, he had chosen not to force them into a compliant merging, like other leaders had chosen.
Acutos were known for being more violet, more animal than human. They slept in their human form, but when angered, the animal within them emerged. Once the final transformation, they were subjected to not knowing what was happening until the event was over.
Archaeos were more. . .civil. More understanding. Although if pushed far enough they were more dangerous then the Acutos. In the past, leaders had had to deal with segregation of the powers. The power the Archaeos possessed was sometimes life threatening, but they didn’t come out until their early twenties, when they were more mature and not so. . .aggressive.
Ancient and wise, the Archaeos came from a long line of ancient Italian powers. The abilities came from the Old Ones, and god help anyone who managed to make them angered.
Raffaele himself was Archaeos, one of the most powerful leaders of the time. He took no pride in it, but simply did what he had to do, when he had to do it. He led strictly but freely, letting others make their own choices as long as it was within rules and reason.
“How do you know this was on purpose?” Jared asked tightly, eye brows drawing together.
“I just. . .have this feeling. You know it too, Uncle.” He met eyes with Jared.
“Raffaele. . . I know you mean only to protect me. And I thank you for that, but. . . I want you to leave. I want you to go away, to just let me do my business.”
Raff felt a pang in his chest, tried to ignore it even. He stood up, glaring down at his uncle. “I won’t lose the last part of my family that I have. I don’t care that they all died by your hands, I refuse to let someone take you out.”
“Neph—”
“If anyone kills you, it’s going to be me.”
He left his uncle there, knowing that he couldn’t get up. Soon, though, he would be healed enough to walk, maybe within a day or two. Till then, Raffaele planned on sticking around and watching Jared’s back.
Only when he was in his car did he finally let his shoulders slump, his guards down. Life was really kicking him in the balls, he thought. How was he supposed to get his pacchetto in order when even his own uncle wouldn’t listen?
Kevin, one of the two snotty bastards that visited his dreams, had come to him last night.
The things that he had said had. . .scared Raff. Honestly scared him. Nothing had had his back chilling as it had when he had found out that his parents, his family, was gone for forever.
When Stuart had entered the conversation, it had only taken a second for the fight to escalate. Among the words he had heard “Mary” “Separate” “Kill” and many other words that had caused the hair on the back of his neck to rise.
As soon as he had finally started to understand what was happening, Kevin had awoken him, leaving him clueless as to what had happened after that.
It had only made his night worse when the call from the hospital had come in. The uncle that he had figured would be okay to let roam had been put into the hospital, and he had felt such a rage, such a complete fury that someone would take what was his— Jared’s life.
As he turned the car on, he focused on not breaking the steering wheel and backing out calmly. Jared was alive, and that was all that mattered.
When the time came, he would be. . .no more. Raffaele planned on draining every ounce of blood out of Jared before he let the man finally die. And only after he was used to his full potential.
He might be family, yes. But after what he had caused, what he had done. . . Raff was waiting for just the right moment.
The Marina in was on the opposite side of town and only took less than a half hour to get to. Parked, he got out and grabbed a bag of groceries out of the back and started into the lobby. Raff received several looks from blondes sitting in the plush chairs of the lobby, and would have gone to one of them except. . .
Green eyes.
They didn’t have striking green eyes with gorgeous brunette locks falling down their shoulders, or the light smell of roses floating around them.
They also weren’t so deeply Archaeos that he could feel the power they possessed from a mile away.
The human females preened under his searching gaze, and he could sense their disappointment when he turned to the elevator, away from them. While he waiting for the elevator to come to his floor, he listened to their chatter and then the sound of heels pattering on the tile came closer than he was comfortable with.
Touch. On his forearm. Raff looked down at the slim, manicured hand that was currently feeling him up. Turning cold eyes to the blonde, big breasted woman who’s bustier was close to exploding, he grimaced mentally.
“Me and my friend are going out soon,” she commented suggestively. “Would you like to come with us?”
Another hand landed on his arm and he almost shuddered. Something about the women seemed. . .off. They were human, he could feel it. But. . .something more.
“I’m sorry, ladies. I have some meetings tonight that I can’t miss.” Said meeting was actually where they were probably going, he thought bitterly.
“Awe,” pouted the taller of the two. Eyes caked full of make-up turned up to his, and all he could see were plain-Jane brown eyes that did nothing but put him off.
“Yeah, so. . . buh-bye.” He stepped into the elevator right when it it dinged, leaving them there. He might have felt bad that they were sex-crazed addicts, but they had chosen the path.
And touched him.
Raff grimaced in disgust. He hated the feel of hands on him when he wasn’t aware of who it was. He barely accepted the feel of meeting handshakes.
As he got up to his room, he unlocked the door to his suite. The room was spacious and clean, couches a dark brown that set well against the cream walls. The balcony was open to the Missouri river and as he looked out, he saw several boats floating along the dark waters.
He closed the door, more content to be surrounded by busy cars
and rushed nights. Old champagne, sky light views, and high classed ladies dressed in cocktail dresses was more of his thing than a boring and run down country.
Chapter 5
I’m going to murder them all, Kevin swore as he stared down at mirror, lips drawn tight.
The next time Jared slips up, he is going down. Just when the old man would realize it, Kevin had no clue.
Not that he cared, though.
As much as he loved peace and quiet, talking to the other men up here was not enough. A good massacre, bloody murder, juicy fight—whatever you wanted to call it, was exactly Kevin’s piece of cake. Especially when it’s been a couple hundred years since he’s gotten any action.
The conversation with Mary last night had been eye-opening of how badly things were actually getting. At first, he had refused to believe any of it was as bad as it seemed, but when she had put out there the suggestion that a separation was soon to come, he had finally had the full impact.
Stuart, one of his colleagues of sorts, had the luck of Raffaele as a leader. Mary had only just realized the danger of her previous decision years ago, and was paying dearly. If only Kevin had a say in the fate of his race.
A union between the two of them would have been beautiful. Not only for Stuart and Kevin, but for the races and the leadership, the way things were meant to be. If only he could control them, could take away free will and enabled to interfere in their lives.
Kevin had realized ages ago that he would not be able to interfere with their lives. Not because he didn’t want to, but because the universe wouldn’t allow it. It honestly made him frustrated when times like this came, when he could not push them in the direction that he wanted them to go.
“Stuart,” he said. Even though the man wasn’t in the room, or even the same world as him, Kevin knew that he was heard.
After a couple of seconds, the sound of rushing wind came over him and there his friend stood.
They could not feel, smell, or look the same as mortals did. While Kevin was white haired, white faced, and white robed, Stuart was. . .blue. Everything about the man was blue. To his skin, his eyes, his clothing. They were of the same height and appearance, except for the coloring.
