Devil Inside (41 page)

The Lux gaped at her.  “I’m not an idiot.”

Harley rolled her eyes.  “The sunlight doesn’t bother me as much as other Nocte.”  She wasn’t sure why she told him.  She just got the feeling that he was trust worthy.  Granted she hadn’t encountered a Lux before, but she trusted her instincts.  Besides, it wasn’t like it was a secret that she didn’t have a problem with daylight.

The Lux raised an eyebrow.  “Interesting.”

“Interesting?”

“Yeah.” He seemed to hesitate for a minute.  “I’d heard that there was a Nocte who hunted during the day.  I figured it was bullshit though.”

“Who in the world did you hear that from?”

“Another Lux heard some Burners talking about it recently.”

Harley found that disturbing but not really surprising.  She assumed it had to have been her that they had been talking about—as odd as it was to be the subject of more infamy.  The oddest part was that she hadn’t been hunting during the day. 
Why do the Burners think I’m hunting during the day?  And how did they know about me at all?
    She knew that she should be more concerned but maybe it wasn’t a bad thing for her to have a reputation for the Ignis to worry about.

“Now your turn,” Harley said nodding at the Ignis burning away on the ground.  “He didn’t look all that strong. “

The Lux sighed and looked away.  “I haven’t felt all that well recently.”

When he didn’t continue she looked at him pointedly.  Finally, he turned back towards her and ran his hand through the front of his hair which was a little longer than the back part.  “I got bit by an Ignis last week,” he mumbled and turned to pick up the dagger that now lay in scattering ashes.

Harley was surprised.  “Really?  What is it like?” she couldn’t help asking a little more excitedly than she should.

He scowled at her dusting the dagger off on his jeans.  “It sucked.  I’ve felt like I’ve had the flu ever since.  It’s gonna be weeks before I feel normal again.”

“I see,” she wrinkled her nose.  “Well, then why are you still hunting?”

He looked away again.  “I would rather the Vigilum not know that I was bitten,” he said through clenched teeth. 

“Why?”

He looked at her exasperated.  “Why would I?”

Harley tried to not laugh. 
Stupid male pride.
  “OK, then,” she shrugged.  “Suit yourself.  My name is Harley Finn by the way.”

The Lux hesitated for a moment before introducing himself.  “I’m Castor.  Castor Collins”

Harley smiled at him.  “I like it.  Well, it was nice meeting you, but the sun is setting so I’m assuming you will be going to ground soon?”

“Ground?”

She shook her head.  “My own personal joke.  I’ll see you around,” she turned and began walking away.

“Wait,” Castor called.  He held her dagger out to her.  “Don’t forget this.”

Harley looked at him over her shoulder.  “Why don’t you hold onto that? You might need it.  Besides, I have this,” she smirked, indicating the Bowie stills strapped to her back.

Castor rolled his eyes.  “I don’t think the Praesidio would appreciate you giving away their property.”

“Oh, I’m expecting to get it back,” she chuckled.

“OK, how am I going to find you to get it to you?”

Harley shrugged.  “I’ll be around.”  And with that she turned and walked away.  Her Nocte was impressed and a little giddy. 
Being mysterious and leaving them wanting for more? Check.
  She picked her jacket up on the way out and left the alley without looking back.   She hadn’t been able to resist playing with the Lux.  He was worth playing with, and she was craving a distraction—and well, it wasn’t like she could go pick a human up in a bar.  And she knew that there were other Nocte in the city, but while she had spoken to them, she hesitated on getting too close to them.  They had all heard that she was different.  That was pretty common knowledge.  And Harley hated the way that Nocte usually looked at her for it.  They either watched her like they were expecting her to suddenly go crazy, or do something really impressive.  It was annoying and made her very uncomfortable.

_____________________

As the sun began setting Harley’s mind wandered.  She wasn’t sure what to make of the Lux.  She was attracted to him that was for sure.  But she suspected there was more to it than that.  Harley hadn’t encountered anyone who had ever actually gotten bit by an Ignis and the Lux’s vulnerability  intrigued her.  Levi had told her about Ignis bites, but none of the other Praesidio had mentioned getting bit before.  Maybe it was something that no one talked about—maybe it was an embarrassing thing to have happen.  Harley considered this—
yeah, if I got bit by an Ignis I don’t think I would want everyone knowing about it either.

Levi also hadn’t mentioned how creepy the eyes of the Lux were.  She couldn’t shake the eeriness of Castor’s eyes.    She wasn’t sure if the Lux’s eyes would still have been so creepy if she weren’t already a Nocte the first time she saw them.  She hadn’t been creeped out by Levi’s eyes before becoming Nocte, but she didn’t know if the same would have held true for the dead white eyes of the Lux.  Maybe it was some kind of instinctual reaction from the Nocte?  She filed it away to ask Nya and Levi about the next time she talked to them.

Creepy eyes or not, Harley couldn’t stop thinking about Castor.  Her Nocte prodded her to think about him some more.  Not unlike after her first night with Levi, Harley found herself feeling like she wasn’t finished with Castor.  She had a craving, so to speak, for the mysterious Lux and she knew that she wouldn’t be able to forget about him until she satisfied it.  Harley chuckled to herself at the analogy.  Now that she had a good scent of him she was pretty sure that she would be able to find him again without too much trouble.  Between that and her Nocte’s ability to hone in on Burners she was confident that she would be able to find him when she wanted to. 
And do I want to?  Hell yeah.
 
What in the world am I doing? 
She wondered. 
It’s just harmless flirting though, right?
  Harley wasn’t sure about that.  The idea of a hot romp with the Lux definitely sounded appealing. 
Shouldn’t I feel guilty about wanting to hook up with another guy?  Hell if I know…Do I have any kind of commitment with Levi?  No—we’ve never specifically discussed that…Do I want him messing with other women?  Hell no! 
Her Nocte growled at that thought as well. 
Would he care if I messed with another man?  Probably.  With a Lux?  More than probably.

This is so stupid
, Harley thought actually throwing her hands up in the air as she walked along.  She finally decided it didn’t matter if Levi cared or not.  This wasn’t normal life.  Relationships were so far away from practical that it was almost funny.  Harley had decided to devote her life to helping rid the world of Ignis.  She and Levi had made no commitment to each other.  And Levi had made it clear from the beginning that they wouldn’t be able to be together once she joined the Praesidio.  Harley thought back to that conversation.  She mulled the words over in her head searching for the meaning behind them.  It was obvious that she and Levi wouldn’t be able to have a relationship.  The implications of that were obvious.  They both had a job to do.  Their paths would cross from time to time and they would take what they could get.  Harley realized she was OK with that.  She had bigger things on her mind than relationships.  And had Levi tried to secure a commitment from her, she would refuse anyway. 
I would!  Seriously!
 
Right?
 
Definitely.

Harley smiled to herself. 
Glad I got that cleared up.
  Harley decided she would give Castor a few days before finding him again.  That way he would probably have time to get a new weapon of his own—not to mention mull over his meeting with Harley.  She forced her thoughts away from the Lux and to focus the task at hand.  The sun had finally set and her Nocte’s annoyance with the sun had passed.  Just because the sun didn’t weaken her didn’t mean that she liked it.  The night even made the tides of people mulling about the city easier to tolerate.

Harley took a deep breath letting the smells of the city flow through her.  The scents of grilling meat, human filth and people washed over her.  She opened her mind and allowed the energy of the city to hum across her skin and in her mind.  It took a while but finally the city’s buzz turned into a zap.  It was faint but there nonetheless.  She paused in her walking—stepping out of the flow of foot traffic and leaned against a building.  She closed her eyes and focused on the sharp pinging that told her an Ignis was nearby.  It was coming from the south and she turned and walked swiftly in that direction.

The longer Harley walked, the strong the pinging became.  It was surprisingly strong.  She was pretty sure that she had not encountered a Burner this strong thus far in her hunting.  When she realized she was within a block or two of the Ignis she slipped her leather jacket off again and stashed it behind a garbage can.  She knew she didn’t want to be encumbered by the coat and if a homeless person found it—then so be it.  They needed it more than she did anyway.  She wasn’t too worried about the people noticing the Bowie knife on her back—if they noticed it at all they would probably figure she was filming a movie or something.

Harley was careful to stay in the shadows along the edge of the buildings.  She walked slowly because she wasn’t sure yet where the Burner was and she wanted to sneak up on him if she was able.  Suddenly, the zinging alert of more Ignis thrummed through her. 
Shit! Just how many of them are there?
  Harley got her answer when she spotted them in a group crossing the street.  They appeared to be heading towards a rundown looking bar that was situated on the opposite corner.  If she hurried she might be able to catch them before they went inside.  If they went inside she would most likely lose her chance to attack without attracting human attention.

Harley picked up her pace as she crossed the street behind the group of Ignis.  There were five of them and they all looked well dressed and clean.  The Ignis leading the group must have heard or sensed her presence because he looked over his shoulder.  The movement caught Harley’s attention and immediately she became aware of two things.  One: this one was the source of power that Harley had picked up on from five blocks away.  Two: he had blonde hair.  Her blood ran cold and she stopped in her tracks with her body going completely ridged as everything clicked into place.  As her eyes met his she felt her own black out and her Nocte roared as her face split into a smile.  She had finally found him.  It was Cutter.

The Ignis’ gave a dangerous grin as he drew to a stop.  He turned to look at Harley and the rest of the Ignis stopped and turned with him.  Harley assessed the situation.  She was outnumbered five to one.  The Praesidio didn’t hunt in groups for a couple of reasons.  They could cover more ground if they were on their own.  And they normally didn’t have to worry about being outnumbered this badly.  The Ignis rarely formed large groups.  The three that she and Cassandra had encountered the first night had been unusual.  They had just happened to come upon the Burners in the middle of a transaction.  Fifteen minutes before or after and the Ignis would probably have been on their own again.  She had made the mistake of forgetting that Cutter had followers and would probably be in a group.  Harley had the phone numbers of other Praesidio in the city but she knew that even if she could call them they wouldn’t get here in time.

Harley risked looking away from the Ignis to survey her surroundings.  There were not many people on the streets.  They were again away from the main thoroughfare and the crowds of people had thinned drastically.  The ones who were still on the street were quickly heading to their own destinations and not paying attention to what was going on around them.  If they noticed a commotion it was doubtful anyone would even call the police.

Harley made a mental note to herself. 
Start carrying a gun
.  Even if it wouldn’t stop them it would at least slow some of them down enough to give herself a better shot.  Harley considered her options.  But before she could come up with a good plan, Cutter stepped through the group of Ignis and spoke.

“Well, would you look at this?  I figured that Nocte would take you over to the darkside,” Cutter sneered at her.  “Hey boys, it seems our night’s entertainment has found us instead of us having to go looking for her.”

Harley curled her lip at those implications.  She could feel her Nocte gnashing her teeth to fight.  “Long time, no see,” she sneered back forcing herself to sound more confident that she felt.

Cutter chuckled.  “I guess you have been looking for me?”  Harley didn’t answer but held his gaze steadily.  “I’m flattered really.  But I am a busy man.  I can’t really be bothered with vendettas.  If you would like to take the matter up with my associates they would be happy to solve your problem for you.”  The Ignis around him sniggered and chuckled.

“I’ll take care of them too.  But they aren’t the ones I’m interested in,” Harley said icily.  “You’ve already ran from me once—are you really going to run again?”

Cutter laughed.  “You know what they say.  Run away.  Live to fight another day.”  He leered at her again before gesturing towards her and saying to his companions, “Take care of this, would you?”  Harley didn’t have a chance to try to stop him.  As he ran the rest of the group lunged towards her as one.  In one smooth motion she whipped the chain from around her waist and skipped backwards a few feet to give herself room to maneuver.