Scorpion (9 page)

I had no way of expecting Calum to come, but it seemed he and Cas were texting buds without me knowing still.  I never really broached that subject with either of them.  I figured it was better they were getting along. 

Finding out that now his father was a Hunter lord made him next in line and able to do more front line work for the Hunter court
eased my worry over him.  It would keep me busy.  I need to check on him.  Ask him how he is.  But I didn’t.  He would want more than a friend right now.    Perhaps he’ll come around.  I decided I should at least text him. 

UOK NEW WORK n ALL

A few minutes passed.  I heard the ding and read it. 

FINE DON
’T WORRY BOUT ME

U CN B NICE

K

That
’s all I get?  Just a freaking K!  I would see him soon.  Better to let time go by.

He was a week away from graduation and would then be at his father
’s court as his right hand man.  No more Hunter school.  In fact, I learned only yesterday by formal letter that I was to attend the graduation and receive a diploma.  My father had produced all legal documents showing that I should have graduated a year ago and this proved sufficient to let me cross the stage of the Hunter school graduation.  I don’t know why that affected me so, but it was like everyone was moving forward with their life and it didn’t make sense to me.  As if I felt they would stay still in the life events I keep walking away from and everything would be the same when I walked back into them.  But, that’s not how it works.  My old court was bustling with much focus on Szar becoming the heir, Dr. Green becoming the new Hunter lord making news in every faction, and the unsuspecting humans knowing nothing of any of this or the Vampire court or still vengeful Were courts all right under their noses.  They were noise in the background only.

I greeted Calum with a less than eager nod and was a little surprised to find Lee with him.  It seems they were a team.  How could he trust him?  Or was it keeping tabs on him like suggested.  Feed him right information and filtered. 

They both looked me over and said nothing.  The warehouse door creaked with another body entering.  I quit holding my breath knowing it was Cas before he entered.

Great
as it was to finally be noticed, I was yet again surrounded by these men in my life that gave me lingering stares that remind me I didn’t pick my own purpose.  Thank the gods one was my brother.  He tolerated me like I did him.  The rest wouldn’t leave my side for fear of my life being threatened.  One small comfort was knowing Szar was okay with me fighting.  Yet one could turn that to assuming he was also going to be okay if I died.  Gruesome thoughts. 

He doesn
’t think that at all.

Then why does he act like he doesn
’t care?

It
’s not that.  He just goes about it different.  He allowed himself to be tortured for you.

We were being watched.  “We will be right back.”

I think they all grunted in unison. 

“They think the worst of me.”

“No they don’t.”

“I know what guy
’s think.”

I followed Cas to the outside corner where he shielded me from the others even at dusk
’s fading light. 

Not hardly.

Then what are they grunting for other than thinking we’re making out or something.

Kissa.  You
’ll never understand.

Try me.

He stopped under the lamp outside the side entrance. 
They are jealous.  Every guy lives to show off his female.

You make me sound like a sports car
.  I rolled my eyes.

In a way we substitute the car for the girl we do not have.  It
’s why the car becomes obsolete when the girl comes along.

Odd but strangely understanding.
  Girls are the same in some ways.  Okay.  Got it then.  About my brother...m
aybe you’re right.  I’ll be nicer.

Dressed in my black weapons cat suit as the boys called it, I stood now at the warehouse where I
’d last stood with some of the same men under all different circumstances.  Inside were Calum and Lee, my somewhat allies.  Szar, my brother, supposedly kidnapped and rescued.  And Cas, the undercover Vamp guard aiding my father in watching over me and played the double agent allowing me to scar his shoulder with my knife.  I love irony.

I will carry that scar with me everywhere as a memory of you.

That’s kind of pathetic, isn’t it?

Probably, but you were safe and that was the intended outcome.  I knew of your power and you have your knife back.

I raised my eye at that. 
So you thought me powerful.

Rendered powerless more often than not.

I wouldn’t say that. 
I couldn’t stop the thoughts pictured in my head of how his face, or his lips, or his hands, or his sun melted everything in me.  Who had the power?

Perhaps I
’ll try some of those later.  Seems you at least admit it more now. 

I peeked left and right.  Two crickets jumped onto the concrete squares by the warehouse door.  We were alone for the moment waiting for Dr. Quinn while the others were conversing inside.  With no one to see, I quietly made myself sidle up next to him, put my hand directly ove
r his sun, and yanked the shirttail up a little.  A little more.  Then I moved my hand into place over the sun and watched his eyes turn gold
.  Oh how I love that.  I can’t imagine not having that.

He finally breathed out and said aloud, “Is that such a good idea here?”

You said I’m rendered powerless.  Can’t go letting you think I’m weak.

“Oh,
Kissa,” he whispered to me like my name was a song
.  We’ll see about that.  But for business, we both need a clear head. 
He paused and looked long at me. 
It’s a good thing business hasn’t started yet.

He
looked left and right.  I knew his Vampire sense would know if anything was coming so he was exaggerating his moves now.  He pulled his fingers up to close my eyelids pressing each finger gently. His fingers tipped my chin up sending heat touches with each feathered fingertip.  He moved next touching the tips to each of my ears and up my jaw line alternating sides.  When his lips touched mine I collapsed slightly and felt him catch me, laughing quietly.

“Funny,
huh?” I managed to control the desire but it felt like he’d pulled a fire alarm and I was popping sparks and he was about to find himself attacked with a sprinkler of passion.

“No, just amazed that you think that
’s power.  I could do it thousand times.”

I think I
’m quite okay with that because that’s the only part making me able to wait that long.

Good, I plan on it
.  The yellow in his eyes hadn’t dissipated.  I warmed at the copious thought of what he might have planned.

Clank!  I heard a noise behind me and saw a Conan sized figure in the window fleeing it.  I saw who it was.  Cas told me, “Let
’s go.  Quinn is here.  We need to know the plan.”  And like that he was all business for the rest of the mission.

Dr. Quinn arrived before we opened the door.  He
’d stopped me and asked to talk privately apologizing for all the rudeness at the Hunter school when we’d first met.  Knowing now that spying on him had all been a set up by my own father just to keep me busy and “safe” was thrilling to think about.  He said he didn’t want anyone to have any ideas that he’d been helping in any way.  Playing the hate button was easier than friendliness and gave Borgon reason to have little doubt.  He didn’t regret anything; just sorry he’d had too. 

I didn
’t believe one word.  I popped my knuckles like I’d seen Szar do to make a silent point and turned away from him still wordless.  I don't  think he even noticed.

We entered the warehouse and joined the rest.  My eyes averted to Lee who had cut his hair back to the short spiky gel look like he had at fifteen.  He looked like himself again.  It looked good on him, so I told him.  Traitorously nice I was being.

“You look good.  I like it, makes you younger.”

“Not the look I was going for.”

“Well, it looks good.  You’ll catch someone’s eye for sure.”  He flinched at that, but said nothing.  More than anything, I wanted to cement the distance that had grown between us and was now on the mend.  I didn’t trust him, but I didn’t hate him.

The meeting hadn
’t started so I dared a chat with Calum to let him know some more information I’d found back in the library that day he was overly dramatic in his endeavors.  He was standoffish at first but I forced a smile and he gave in to my friendly nature rather too quickly.  I realized then I still had some invisible force over him that he tried like everything to keep hidden.  He smiled uncontrollably and then stopped himself remembering his place.  I saw him dart a look at Cas who had retreated to the shadows more than I would have wanted pretending to check out the building.  Did he sense my need to talk with the others?  I just wanted to know they were okay.   I looked his way searching his face and body for any emotion, but he there none present.

I told Calum what I
’d heard.  He puffed his chest out a little at hearing more about the bad Hunter strength of his father Neptune, but it made him seem a little more confident.  He needed that.  Lee even turned into his old self by joking a bit with him about his god status.  Lee knew most of our secrets now.  I worried furiously at letting him know them after confirming through Cas recently that he gets paid on the side for information passed through the factions.  I made up my mind I would find a way to force him to make that known to the—Hmm!  What do I call all them now that they are all on the same team?  We have a new faction lord and other titles, so…Quinn, father, and Green are…are…the elders.  That works.

“Let
’s get started,” my father, the
elder,
insisted.  “Some of the facts need straightening out.  First, Borgon was initially thought to be a Hunter ally, but his family was threatened and he had no choice but to comply with the charge of hurting my son and attempting to capture Anastacia.  Curiosity won him over and he learned of their unearthly heritage through our own ill prep.  We went along with the plan hoping to trick him into giving over the Elf population, but he convinced them instead that taking our children would gain them power over the factions rather than keeping them from being heirs.   However, the circumstances changed when they killed his wife and three children.  Now...he wants everyone taken out.”

Horrified, I just listened.  I thought there was a single child,
not that it wasn't still just as disgusting to hear.

“He means to take Anastacia for reasons beyond what we can determine other than what we assume is destroying her for what she is.  Speculation reasons that he wants revenge and this is how he angles to certify it as acceptable.  First reports at Anastacia
’s coming of age night were that the Elves sent Borgon to do the dirty work.  We have inconclusive evidence of Borgon, but we have confirmed that it was in fact the opposite.  Some of the self chosen Elf leaders who adhere to having nothing to do with Borgon, say he instigated their help in torturing my son beyond the planned setup and the continuous attacks on my daughter, not the other way around.”

They are still the bad guys.  And it hurts to know he l
eft Szar there to the torture for my supposed benefit.

“However, with the facts a little clearer, we can see Borgon in no way as anything but a threat.  He will be taken down and the
Elves with it if they continue to help him.”

“Where is he?” I asked making every head in the room acknowledge my face and return to father.

“We don’t know.  He moves before we can find him.  Spineless oaf.”

This was huge in the scare me department since my father never failed and he rarely showed emotion even in anger.  Father was off-kilter by all this.  And with all the factions working together, it was bigger than huge.  How could he
not
be found with so many at work to find him?  Maybe there were bigger plans at work we could not see.

The group designated out various scouts to look for him or signs of starting with the areas known for
Elf activity.  The room turned into a small conversations with everyone circling round the round to talk.  I found myself face to face with Lee and Calum discussing what I'd missed. At the school.

Cas was by my side again after my father turned to check his phone signaling he was done talking to him about
my
safety.  I felt him get closer loving the feeling that it strengthened when he was far away and returned to me.  I reached my hand across the back of my shoulder behind me where he barely touched my fingers in return and the fear created b the safety talk resided a little but rising again from something different and new to me.  My mind went back to that day in the gymnasium when I’d taught Maze to sight her arrow better and Calum challenged me to a standoff.  I’d misunderstood the fear he had then.  It was the same fear Cas had now standing here listening to me talk with Calum and Lee.  Territorial jealousy.  I understood now even without the symbolic peeing to mark his territory.  I would be more careful. 
I’d never hurt you Cas.  Ever!