“No, I have not completed my mission.”
Tristin raised an eyebrow. Christian was calling him without having completed his assignment? That was odd. His friend never called except upon the completion of a mission.
For some reason, Tristin had the strangest feeling that his friend did this so he wouldn’t have to speak with him. He shrugged the thought off, however. It was a preposterous notion, after all. Why wouldn’t his best friend want to talk to him?
So, if Christian wasn’t calling in to tell him about the mission’s completion, then that could only mean…
“Has there been a problem with the mission?”
It was almost as preposterous as Christian not calling until his mission was finished because he didn’t want to talk to Tristin, but there was a first time for everything, right? Perhaps this was one of those first times.
Oh, I’m going to be Christian’s first. How exciting.
“Yes, there is a problem with the mission.” Christian sighed over the line. Even without being able to see him, Tristin just knew that the younger male was running a hand through his hair. It was an old habit from when they were children. Whenever Christian was stressed or tense, he would run a hand through his hair. “I think we’ve got the wrong target.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me. I think we’ve got the wrong target.”
Tristin sat up a little straighter. He remained silent for a moment, pondering his friend’s words before actually speaking. Christian wouldn’t say something like this unless he was one-hundred percent sure in his beliefs. If he said that they had the wrong target, then he likely had a really good reason for thinking that way.
“What makes you say that?”
“… She’s afraid of men.”
Silence followed. Tristin would have stared incredulously at Christian had they been speaking face to face. As things stood, he settled for gawking at the console.
“I’m sorry, what? Could you repeat that, please? I could have sworn you just said that your target is afraid of men.”
“That’s exactly what I said.”
“Your target, a succubus, is afraid of men?”
“Yes.”
“A succubus is afraid of men?”
“That’s what I said.” He could almost see Christian rolling his eyes. He could certainly hear the annoyance in his voice, but he’d learned to ignore his friend’s tone whenever the young Warrior was exasperated by something—particularly when that something was him.
For once in his life, Tristin found himself at a loss for words. The idea that a succubus, a creature that fed off the sexual energies of men, was afraid of men was unfathomable. It was almost as incomprehensible as his friend calling only when absolutely necessary because Christian didn’t want to talk to him.
“I’m not sure I understand. How could this be possible?”
“I don’t know,” Christian voiced helplessly. “All I know is that she’s deathly afraid of men. I accidentally bumped into her on the way to breakfast, and the moment she got a good look at me, she screamed and ran away.”
“She screamed and ran away?”
“Yes.”
“Pfft! He-he-he… ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Oh, God! This is just too funny! Christian, slayer of vampires, werewolves, and demons! A man so powerful and feared that even succubi quake in their boots at the mere sight of him!”
“This isn’t a laughing matter!”
“Yes it―he-he-he―yes it is!”
“Stop laughing!”
“S-sorry―hehehehe-he―ha… ha…” Tristin took a deep breath, trying to stifle his laughter. He already received plenty of strange looks from the other people working in the Intelligence Division. Best not give them something else that they could use to question his sanity with. “Whoo… okay, I think I’m good now.”
“Really?” Christian’s voice was the definition of skeptical. Tristin could almost imagine the dry look on his friend’s face.
“Yes, really… at least I think so.”
“Whatever.” Christian sighed before getting back to business. “Listen, I need you to double-check our information and make sure I’ve actually got the right target.”
“I could do that, but are you sure it’s necessary?” asked Tristin. “Couldn’t this girl just be faking it? You know, acting like she’s afraid of men so that you wouldn’t suspect her of being a succubus?”
“I don’t see why she would. It’s not like she knows who I am, and according to what I’ve learned from asking around, she’s been like this ever since she started living in Seal Beach. I highly doubt she would spend all that time pretending to be afraid of men on the off chance that she ended up meeting a male member of the Executioners.”
“True enough, I suppose.”
“Besides, you can’t fake terror like that,” Christian added.
“Well, I guess you would know,” Tristin admitted. “All right, I’ll gather up all the information we have on this and verify its accuracy. It might take a while, so just sit tight while I look into things on my end.”
“Thank you.”
“Oh, wow.” Tristin grinned into the headset. “Did you just thank me?”
A second later, a loud beeping was heard as Christian hung up on him. Tristin chuckled. Some of his co-workers wondered why he was so dead set on getting on his friend’s nerves―and even more thought he was crazy for doing so. None of them realized just how much fun it was.
It was like poking a sleeping lion with a stick. In most cases, the lion would simply swat the stick away. However, annoy it too much, and it was more than likely to tear off the hand holding the stick―along with the arm it was attached to. It was fun in a potentially lethal kind of way.
Leaning back in his seat, Tristin basked in the afterglow of successfully irritating his friend. He would look up that information that Christian wanted later. When he felt like it.
For now, Knights of the Cross was calling to him.
***
Christian ended the call and scowled. That conversation could have gone a lot better.
Then again, what else should I have expected?
Resisting the urge to crush the cell phone in his grip, he slipped the device back into his pocket and began stomping down the sidewalk.
Dealing with Tristin was always a chore, one that he felt he would be better off without.
The people walking down his side of the street were quick to move out of his path as he stomped toward his destination, wherever that was. It was only after several minutes of angrily stomping across the city that he decided to calm down by heading to the nearest park to relax. According to the map he’d downloaded earlier, it wasn’t that far.
He could have gone back to his hotel room, but after dealing with Tristin, he didn’t think sitting alone in his room would do his mood any good. Finding a nice quiet place amid nature would be infinitely more beneficial for his poor disposition.
He soon entered the park, his shoes lightly treading well-maintained and perfectly green grass. Several trees sparsely populated the area, and a wide variety of flowers added an array of colors that Christian found soothing. Several children played on a swing set, and a few toddlers were having a grand time in a sandbox. Standing a few feet away, watching the children and conversing among themselves, a group of adults stood; parents, he concluded. Christian felt a pang of envy for those kids, but he pushed it down.
Finding a nice spot underneath a tree, Christian sat down, setting the bag in his left hand next to him and putting the case containing his tablet on his lap. He took the tablet out and turned it on.
Christian tried to enjoy the story, but in spite of the tranquil setting, he found himself unable to do so. His eyes scanned the lines of text, but he didn’t see the words.
And so Christian sat there, not paying attention to the world around him, his mind focused on something that only he could see.
I can already tell. Today is going to be a really long day.
/> ***
“A is for apple. B is for bear. C is for circus, and D is for dare.”
Sitting in a chair, Lilith smiled at the small group of children sitting in a circle around her on a light blue rug. All the children were very young, no older than five. She was singing the “Alphabet Song,” and all of them eagerly followed along with her.
Each of them sang loudly and off-key, but she didn’t care. It was the effort they put into it that made their singing beautiful, not whether they could sing on-key or not.
“E is for elephant. F is for fickle. G is for great, and H is for hello.”
After regaining her composure from her close encounter of the male kind, Lilith had made her way to Little Seal’s Preschool, where she worked part-time as a teacher. It was a small preschool, consisting fifty or so children varying in age from two to five. Because she only worked Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, she didn’t make a lot, but it was enough to get by.
She was considered an assistant teacher because of her part-time employment. But after the other teachers saw how good she was with children, they gave her a class of her own, though they still considered her an assistant.
Because she didn’t have to work with any men on this job, she didn’t make a fuss over how little she got paid. Plus, she liked working with children. She seemed to have a knack for it.
“I is for inside. J is for jump. K is for kindness, and L is for love.”
The song continued, going from M (Mom) all the way to Z (zebra). When the song ended and everyone finished singing (they all sang at different times and tempos, so it took a while for all of them to finish), Lilith stood up and clapped her hands.
“All right, everyone! Class is over now. Time to pack up your school bags.” Smiling when she received a number of “aww’s” from the children, Lilith said, “There’s no need to be sad. Tomorrow we’re going to be counting numbers and learning about addition, and I’ve got a new song for you that I know you’ll all love.”
It wasn’t long before the kids were all packed up and ready to go. They were ushered outside to the playground by one of the other teachers; an older woman with her hair done up in a frizzy bun, wearing a long gray skirt. As the children filed out of the room, one little child broke ranks and ran back toward her.
“Kevin.” Lilith smiled down at the boy. While she was afraid of men, she didn’t hold any fear or dislike of little boys. They were too young to be affected by whatever ailed the adult and teenage population—hormones, she assumed. “Is there something you need?”
“Dis is fa you.” Kevin held up a pink paper heart. On it were the names Kevin and Lilith. Both were spelled wrong, with Kevin being spelled “Kefin” and Lilith missing an “i” and the “h” at the end. The heart had been one of the assignments that she’d had them do today for arts and crafts.
Lilith knelt down and took the paper heart from Kevin’s hand. She then graced the boy with her wondrous smile.
“Thank you. I’ll be sure to keep it somewhere I can see it every day.”
“You’re welcome. I’m gonna marry you one day!”
Okay, so maybe even little boys were still somewhat affected by her. At least she didn’t have to worry about them trying anything… untoward with her.
“You’ll have to wait until you’re much older to marry me,” Lilith said, amusement lacing her voice. “And by the time you’re old enough to marry, I’ll be an old maid.”
“Nuh-uh!” The little boy shook his head in adamant denial. “Ms. Lilith will always be young and beautiful!”
“Well, thank you.” Lilith’s smile was the very definition of amusement. “Now, you’d best be off. I’m sure your mom will be coming to pick you up soon.”
“M’kay! Bye, Ms. Lilith!”
The boy ran out the door, which the older teacher had kept open while Kevin was declaring his intentions of marriage toward Lilith. Sighing, she sat back down in her chair, and glanced around the room.
It wasn’t large, maybe about the size of her living area. She gazed at the colorful and vibrant posters covering the cream-colored walls. Some she had bought to use as visual aids, but others had been created by her class. A number of round tables were scattered around the room, tiny chairs sitting along their circumference. Several feet away from the tables was a desk, which she sometimes sat behind when not helping the kids learn.
After several minutes of just sitting there, silently contemplating anything and everything, Lilith stood and made her way out of the room. The older woman was waiting for her.
Janice Altier wasn’t someone who Lilith would call old. At thirty-one years of age, Janice’s frizzy brown hair didn’t have any gray in it, and her face still maintained a youthful appearance. Her face was the kind that could easily get lost in the crowd, but was by no means ugly. Plain. That was probably the best word to describe her.
“Kevin’s given you another declaration of his love, I see,” she said as Lilith closed the door behind her, the smile she wore one of mirth. “This is his seventh time, if I’m not mistaken.”
When Lilith first started working at the preschool, Janice had not liked her. She’d been critical of everything Lilith did, berated her over even the smallest mistakes, and insulted her every chance she got. Having already experienced the hatred that her gender showed toward her, Lilith had done her best to ignore the older woman and focus on helping the children.
Janice’s dislike for her hadn’t changed until about three weeks ago. An older gentleman had shown up to pick up his son. Lilith had been unfortunate enough to be stationed at the front desk at the time. The older man had started hitting on her, gotten angry when she tried to run away, and then tried to molest her. Lilith had kneed him in the balls and escaped. Janice had found her several hours later, huddled under a desk in an unused classroom, shaking and crying.
Janice had stopped being discourteous after that, and they began getting along decently enough, although Lilith wouldn’t call them friends, but they weren’t enemies either.
“He still hasn’t beaten Russel yet.” Lilith didn’t know whether to be feel amused or resigned about the situation. Maybe a little bit of both. “He’s given me ten.”
“And Mike has given you twenty-three.” When Lilith just sighed again, the other woman responded with a smile. “All the children are quite taken with you. It almost makes me wonder what they’ll do when you graduate college and get a real job.”
Lilith withheld a grimace at the thought of graduating college. She wanted to graduate; she didn’t enjoy college because of the large number of hormonal men attending, but she didn’t know what she would do after graduating. How could she find a job when most, if not all of them, required her to work with the opposite sex?
“We’ll just have to see, I guess,” Lilith said.
After saying goodbye to Janice and several of the other teachers—most of whom ignored her, she noticed—Lilith began the journey back to her apartment. It was a twenty-minute walk from Little Seal’s Preschool.
The afternoon sun blazed overhead, turning the air warm and humid. A breeze blew through the streets and between the buildings, creating a pleasant contrast against her skin.
As she walked, she recalled the events of this morning, how she had run away from that man in fright. A part of her felt a tad foolish. Even if the person she had bumped into had ill intentions toward her, it was rather shameful on her part to just run off screaming like that—not to mention embarrassing. And it had been in public, too. How many people had seen her reaction and were now gossiping about that strange girl who ran away from a man, screaming like a banshee?
Lilith dispelled such thoughts and focused on her surroundings. She was walking by a park, one of many that dotted the city. She could see children running to and fro, having an all-around good time. A group of parents conversed some distance away, watching the children, and a young man was sitting underneath a tree with a tablet in his hands.
Just then, the young man looked
up and their eyes locked. Lilith froze. It was him! The man she had run into this morning!
His eyes flickering in recognition, the male partly responsible for the incident this morning stood up, and began walking toward her. This was not good! This was so not good! Had he followed her all the way here? What should she do? Should she run away again? Wouldn’t he just catch her if she did? And how did he even know that she would pass by this playground?
As he closed the distance, Lilith dithered in indecision. With her mind paralyzed in fear, she could do little but stand frozen in place, a statue of ice amid a sea of viridian grass. The young man seemed to recognize the signs, for he stopped just short of two meters from her.
“Hello,” he said, his voice coming out in smooth overtones that would have probably been soothing had she not been so frightened.
Despite her growing distress, Lilith still heard his words and respond in kind. It was an action done more out of reflex than anything else.
“Ah, um, h-hello,” Lilith stuttered. She tried taking several deep breaths, but they came in quick pants. She was getting close to hyperventilating. Why couldn’t this man just leave her alone?
“I wanted to apologize for bumping into you this morning,” he continued.
“O-oh?”
“I’m really sorry about what happened. It was never my intention to frighten you.”
Lilith’s fear stilled and made way for another emotion: surprise. This was new. No one had ever apologized before, and he wasn’t attempting to get close to her either. Most men would have already tried groping her by now, but this man just stood there, calm, composed, completely unaffected by her presence.
What’s going on?
“That’s… it’s okay,” she managed to speak again, surprising herself. Shouldn’t she be running away by now? “I’m, uh, sorry for screaming at you.”
“Oh, no, don’t worry about that.” He waved off her apology with a smile. “I understand that men make you uncomfortable. Kay told me,” he added upon seeing her expression. “And it was my fault for bumping into you. I’m new here, and I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.”
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