by Mia Bishop
He didn't say a word. Instead his tongue darted out and licked over the hollow of her throat making her shiver. "Nico, you can't do this," she whispered. Why did she have to be the voice of reason in all of this?
"Why?" His teeth nibbled up to her ear as his hips moved beneath her.
"Because you're deflecting."
"Do you want me to stop?"
"God no." She regretted it as soon as she said it.
His body stilled. He sat up straight and took a deep breath. She knew what was happening. He was pulling himself back together. As much as she didn't want to, she needed to do the same. Better to pretend everything is fine than to show how much the rejection would hurt. She sat up, did her best to relax her features, her muscles, and keep her voice calm. He looked up at her, there was no disdain in his eyes. Just sadness. Pure, unadulterated sadness. "I'm sorry, Abby. I don't know what came over me."
"It's okay. No harm, no foul."
"No, it's not okay. I never really talk about my mom to anyone. I guess my body decided to change the subject without my brain knowing what was going on. It wasn't fair of me to paw at you like an animal."
She smiled, and it was genuine. The aching pain from a few seconds ago ebbed. He was acting on instinct to cover his pain. He wasn't trying to hurt her. "I get it, no worries. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pried into your life."
His reflexes were fast as lightning again, but this time he wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her. His face resting on her chest as she sat on his lap. He nodded but didn't let go. "Don't be sorry. You know, you are the first person to ask me about her in a decade. I guess I need to learn to deal with it after all these years."
She found her hands stroking his short brown hair, holding him as he clung to her. She didn't say another word, neither did he. But she felt something, something had mended between them tonight. Maybe the storm was a good thing after all.
After the storm passed more and more demons seemed to flood into town. Abby was currently on her seventh kill of the night. She'd hoped things would slow down, but it didn't seem like the demons were going to cut them a break anytime soon.
"Good job. Now did you remember to cut off its head?"
Abby grinned and held up a severed demon head, proudly displaying her trophy. "Yep."
He grinned. "And what do we do next?"
Abby rocked back on her heels for a minute and hummed as she thought about her answer. "We dig a hole, burn the body and cover the remains."
“Good.” Nico nudged the decapitated body with his foot. "How do you know what order of demon it is if you can't identify its class?"
Abby reached into the demon’s mouth and pulled out its tongue, lifting it up and checking for the telltale marks that identified all demons. "The markings under the tongue. A snake devouring itself is the lowest order. The horned beast is the mark of the second order. And then the glorious trumpet surrounded by the self-devouring snake is the highest order of demon."
"Only a few weeks and you've got demon hunting down pat. So which order is this one?"
She cocked her head to the side to get a look under its tongue. Even in the dim street light she could easily make out the symbol and grinned. "Snake devouring itself, he's a lower level."
"Well then disposing of him should be easy work for you on your own, right?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good, I'm going to Lobo's for a drink. You clean up this mess and meet there in an hour, we'll go home when I finish up there. Got it?"
"Yep, got it."
"Good." Nico turned to leave but stopped before taking another step. "One more thing, little creature, where are you going to bury the remains?"
Abby stopped mid stride and snapped her fingers. "You said it couldn't be buried near town. It has to be somewhere far from where humans, especially children, might find it. So I was thinking about heading south about 30 minutes from town and burying it in the middle of nowhere."
"That's a solid plan but go east, you don't want to bury it facing south, it’s a bad omen."
"A bad omen? Um... Okay. I'll go east then." She paused again and then added. "Why East?"
"It's just a superstition but after what we've been through I'm not willing to risk it. The logic behind it is that the sun rises in the east, not in the south."
Abby snorted. "Nothing rises in the south."
Nico tapped his nose and grinned. "Exactly. We associate south with down, right?" When she nodded, he continued, "What is below us?"
"Hell?"
"There you go. We don't want to send him home to get a new body, do we?"
"No, sir." Abby tossed the body over her shoulder and paused. "Getting a new body... Can they do that?"
Nico shrugged. "At this rate nothing would surprise me, so I'd rather not tempt fate."
She couldn’t agree more and headed east as Nico disappeared into the shadows of the shanty buildings on the outskirts of town.
Digging in the sandy soil of the desert gave Abby some bit of comfort. It felt familiar to have her hands in the dirt, although she still couldn't figure out why or what the connection was. Digging offered her a brief rest between fighting and she fully intended to enjoy the mundane down-time until the next hunt came along. Judging by the way things had been going in Dusk she wouldn't have to wait long before another demon spawn rose up to terrorize some town folks or mutilate some livestock. Not that she minded the hunts, at the very least it gave her something to do instead of being locked up in Nico's shack day and night. She'd learned a lot in the last few weeks but still he seemed to have trust issues with her being a vampire and kept her hidden away from the people of Dusk.
Even tonight when she finished her work in the desert and met him at Lobo's she'd have to wait outside the tavern like a stray dog. She didn't feel evil, but Nico reminded her every time he called her "Creature" she would always be a monster. Even if he didn't mean to.
She tossed the body and head into the hole, doused it with holy oil, and lit a handful of matches before tossing them in. The demon ignited. It would only take a couple of minutes for the body to char to a crisp and be ready for covering up. She leaned against her shovel and let out a long sigh watching the flames dance in the pit.
Abby jumped when a soft voice asked, "Nico has you doing the dirty work, huh?"
She snapped her head up at the unfamiliar voice and narrowed her eyes on the young girl perched on top of a large rock nearby. A string of curses ran through her head chastising herself for being so lost in her thoughts that she hadn’t noticed someone sneaking up on her. "Who are you?"
The girl hopped off the rock she'd been sitting on and tossed her long blonde hair over her shoulder. "Sorry, that was rude of me, Mother would be ashamed." She extended her hand. "I'm Chloe."
Abby shook the girl's hand. "Oh, you're a Striga."
"Yep, guilty as charged."
Abby played with the loose sandy soil waiting for the fire to die down. "Are you here to check up on Nico? If so, you're too late. He's probably meeting up with Meredith at Lobo's right about now."
"Nah, I don't get mixed up in Mother’s meddling, I just wanted to see what all the fuss these last few weeks has been about."
A smirk played on Abby's lips. "And let me guess, I’m the fuss?"
"Yep. I would have introduced myself earlier, but mother forbid it."
"I can imagine seeing as how she isn't Nico's biggest fan."
Chloe laughed. "That is an understatement. It's probably why I enjoy having him around so much. Mother and I don't exactly see eye to eye on most topics."
"Why haven't I seen you around when I go to the Striga house for my check-ups?"
"I was sent away when you arrived. Arveda tends to overreact when she thinks danger is nearby. She sent me into the city to stay with Lucas until she felt it was safer."
"Why send you away and not any of your other sisters?"
Chloe pursed her lips for a moment. "I'm the baby. Apparently she feels I can't take c
are of myself."
Abby arched a brow now consumed by curiosity. "Who's Lucas?" The smile beaming from Chloe made it clear just who he was. Abby waved her hand. "Never mind. I don't need details. But if you're back it must mean Arveda thinks it’s safe now. That's good news."
Chloe grimaced. "Either that or, more likely, she figures the danger is going to spread. And it's probably better to have me close by. She's forbidden me from going back to the city now. So make of it what you will."
Abby snorted. "Well, thanks for bursting my happy little bubble, Debbie-Downer."
"Sorry, better to crush someone with the truth than to shelter them with a lie." Chloe glanced down at the demon in the hole. "How about you toss some dirt on that thing, and we head into town for a drink at Lobo's?"
Abby groaned as her stomach growled. "I can't drink anything but blood."
"Ah, good point. Okay, new plan. I'll drink, and you observe. From what I've heard Nico keeps you pretty sheltered but if you are going to be helping save this town from demons you might as well get to know the people you are defending."
Abby started the task of filling in the hole and refused to look up, embarrassed by the fact everyone seemed to know how much Nico didn't trust her. "I'm not allowed inside."
Chloe wrinkled up her nose. " Did Lobo say that? He can't be that much of a hypocrite."
"Not Lobo. It's Nico's rules. I have to wait outside."
"That's just ridiculous."
Chloe seemed like she might push the idea and tonight of all nights Abby didn't want to rile Nico up. They'd had such a good night during the thunderstorm. If she showed up at the bar it would undo all the progress they made. Abby stopped working and leaned on the shovel. "Things are good right now, I don't want to make waves at this point."
"Makes sense I guess." The girl paused and gnawed on her lip for a moment. "Well, if we aren't going to Lobo's then we need to find something else to do after this. Do you like movies?"
"Movies? Yeah, I think I do anyways."
"You think? What kind of answer is that?"
"I'm not really sure. I don't remember what I liked or didn't like. I remember little things, like the occasional name of a movie or song, but I can't recall if I liked them or not."
"Oh right, the amnesia thing. Mother mentioned it. How about you finish up with the demonic funeral, then we head to my house and veg out watching movies until Nico's finished drowning himself in his sorrows?"
"Really? Just hang out, like normal people?" Abby arched a brow. No one had wanted to hang out with her. Anyone who came around had a purpose, and it didn't involve a girl's night in watching movies. "Um, okay. I just have to check with Nico first."
"He's not your master, for God's sake. He needs to loosen the leash on you." Abby blushed at the thought of Nico being considered her master. It wasn't how she saw him at all. As soon as Chloe’s eyes locked on the bright red stain on Abby’s cheeks she busted up laughing. "Oh my god! You like him, don't you?"
"No." Abby blurted out.
"Oh my god you do. Okay, okay. I won’t say anything more, but," Chloe flashed a mile-wide grin. "Wow. Just wow."
"I don't want to talk about it." Abby clinched her fists. She didn't need someone she didn't even know figuring out what was going on inside of her when she was pretty sure Nico would stake her just for having the thought. He was hot one minute and cold the next, but regardless of what temperature he ran the one thing she could count on was he'd never get past her being a monster.
To her credit, Chloe nodded and pretended to button her lips. "Not another word, I promise. Now how about that movie?"
Abby gathered up her tools and weapons. "Okay, let me just go ask Nico."
"No. We’re not asking permission."
Abby blinked as Chloe pulled out her phone, put it on speaker phone, punched in a number, and waited for it to ring.
Nico answered on the second ring. "Chloe? What's going on?"
Chloe smiled at Abby and gave a playful wink. "Not much, you?"
"Oh, the same ol' same ol'."
"Which is code for you're at Lobo's getting tanked?"
"That pretty much sums it up. What do you need, kid?"
"Well I'm here with Abby—"
Nico cursed. "You're what? Why? What happened? Did she feed on someone?"
"God no. Settle down, spaz. Everything is fine."
"You shouldn't be out there, Chloe."
"Why, are you afraid Vampirella is going to bite me?" Abby covered her mouth to keep from laughing at Chloe’s playful jab.
"No, I'm sure she wouldn't do that." There was a pause. "Wait, am I on speakerphone?"
"Yep."
"Is Abby right there?"
"Yep."
"God damn it, Chloe."
"Before you have a coronary, grandpa, I just wanted to give you a heads up, I'm taking Abby to my house. We're gonna relax and watch movies. Now, before you go flipping out you're going to listen to me. We're practically the same age. We're both bored out of our minds, Abby probably more than me because at least my house has satellite. You want to continue getting tanked at the bar. So this is a win-win. We can hang out, Mother can make sure Abby is still healthy as a horse, and you don't have to cut your night short. Just swing by after Lobo's closes and pick her up. Pretty damn easy, Right?"
Nico grumbled and waited quietly on the other end of the line for what seemed like an eternity before answering, "Fine. I'll be by after 4:30."
"Okay, thanks." Chloe hung up before he could say anything else and pocketed her phone. "See, easy as pie."
"I can't believe he went along with it."
"Nico has a soft spot for anyone Arveda is hard on, and she is hardest on me. Now, let's drop off your murder weapons and get up to the house."
Abby grinned and with an armful of tools she followed Chloe to a nearby jeep. "How come I didn't hear you pull up?"
"I'd already been out here for a while."
"Oh?"
"I like to come out here and just listen to the wind, stare up at the stars and try to imagine what it would have been like if I'd been born in another time."
"Hmmm, well that's deep."
Chloe laughed. "I guess it's from all the stories I hear from my sisters and my mother. They are all way older than me. I'm the youngest Striga in our Coven by at least five centuries."
"Really?" Abby slid into the passenger seat and started to relax as the Jeep lurched forward and made its way toward town.
"Yep, Meri is one of the oldest. Kara is the next youngest after me. They all tend to leave me out because they have much more in common with each other and are closer in age."
"It must suck being the baby of the family."
Chloe snorted a laugh. "You have no idea."
They stopped at the house, unloaded the shovel and weapons and next thing Abby knew she was curled up on the couch at the Striga house with Chloe right beside her binge-watching 80's movies. For Abby it was much better than sitting outside the bar waiting for Nico or being locked up alone in his house with nothing to do. She'd have to make sure she got more chances to act normal in the future, normal felt good.
CHAPTER SEVEN
The days passed quicker since Abby and Chloe were allowed to hang out after hunting, and on nights when she didn't hunt, Abby and Nico settled in for awkward stretches of time in front of the TV. It wasn't bad, but she kept hoping for more contact like the night he'd pulled her into his lap. It was maddening how badly she wanted him and yet he was like a stone pillar of restraint.
Chloe snapped her fingers in front of Abby's face. "Earth to Abby."
"Huh?" Abby faked a yawn. "Sorry, I must have zoned out. I'm so tired."
Chloe clearly wasn't buying it. "Right." She hit pause on their current movie and hopped up off the couch. "We're going to the bar."
"What? No way, you know I can't go."
"You can and you will. We're young, we need to be out on the town."
Abby glanced out the window at the
vast emptiness and then back at Chloe. "You do realize we live in the middle of nowhere, in the desert?"
"We can still have fun."
"Well, Nico won't let me come in the bar. I'll have to sit outside and wait for you." She shrugged. "Not that I mind it, I'm kind of used to it after waiting for Nico."
"Bullshit. You're coming inside and we're going to enjoy ourselves. You worked hard tonight, time to blow off some steam.”
Abby shook her head. "Nico would be furious."
"Let him be furious. Between him and my mother we’re both trapped. I don't know about you but if I'm gonna be stuck in this hell-hole then I'd at least like to get out of the house every once in a while." She reached out and pulled Abby to her feet. "What do you say, are we in this mess together, or what?"
She nodded. "Okay, together... But he's not going to be happy about it."
Chloe laughed. "He can get over it."
The bar was smoky and loud and although she'd met up with Nico here more than a dozen times in the weeks before Chloe came around, he'd strictly forbidden her from coming inside. This time she entered the building with Chloe by her side, who seemed to think Nico's rules were more along the lines of suggestions which could be ignored.
Abby swallowed past the lump in her throat the moment Nico bristled. Nervously she tugged at her tight fitting t-shirt. She readied herself for the yelling but instead his eyes fell on Chloe and he seemed to soften. "You girls shouldn't be in here."
Abby blinked. That was all he was going to say? She looked between Chloe and Nico. Chloe's blue eyes were a soft purple color now and she was staring so deeply into Nico's eyes the hairs on the back of Abby’s neck stood on end. There was a soft hum to the air, it wasn’t from the music playing in the bar, but instead, something was humming between Chloe and Nico.
Chloe spoke up, "We came to have a drink. Abby needs to meet some of the townsfolk. She's helping keep them safe, they should know who she is."
