Into Death's Arms (22 page)

   
I was just as I am now.
He
sounded smug,
again,
I hated smug.
Do you truly think I could harm someone while in mental communication with you without your sensing it
AoD?
How little you think of yourself.
He sounded like he felt sorry for me I hated that even more than I hated smug
Vamp
ires.

   He had a point did I suck so bad
at what I was
that I thought I couldn’t sense a
Vamp
ire
murder
ing
someone whil
e I was in
mental
contact with him? 
Perhaps I just have an overinflated image of you.
I responded, angry that he knew I wasn’t sure I would sense it. I could feel the pleasure he felt at what he thought was a compliment. I was not complimenting a
Vamp
ire
well at least not on purpose.
Do you know who did it?
I asked wanting to change the subject. Or at least veer it away from the idea of me giving an alibi to the undead.

     
I am not undead!
He
huffed loudly. All the delight he’d felt at the compliment melted away. He was pissed I could feel it like the heat coming off a fire.

    I remembered the interview on
TV
he hadn’t liked it then either.
You don’t like being referred to as undead do you?
It
was almost funny, v
ain
Vamp
ires
who’d a thunk it
.

     He growled again. I laughe
d aloud I couldn’t help it.
I believe I will summon the police now and give them my alibi.
He threatened me.

    
No, no don’t resort to blackmail I’ll play nice, I swear.
I continued to chuckle but I didn’t need to be blackmailed by a
Vamp
ire
.

    
I like the idea of
you
playing nice
,
h
e purred. I wasn’t sure I was supposed to get that thought from him but hell he picked up my stray thoughts all the time it was only fair that I start picking up some of his.

     I decided to ignore it.
How is it that you invade my mind so easily?
I asked concerned that if it was this easy for him I might be getting a bunch of unwanted mental visits.

   
Am I not an unwanted mental visitor?
He
asked softly
, expectantly
. That was a good question was he still unwanted? Oh, God yes he was unwanted he was a
Vamp
ire
. He was unwanted. If I kept telling myself
that,
I’d
start to believe it.

   
Answer the question and maybe you won’t be.
I lied
,
he wasn’t unwanted.
B
eing unwanted would be ideal
,
but we don
’t live in an ideal world do we?
 
The truth was I liked this. Oh, I was in trouble
. He was laughing at me again, s
tupid
Vamp
ire
. 
Well
?
I asked.

    He
sighed;
I don’t wish to tell you. You won’t like it.
He answered quietly as if truly concerned I would be angry with him.

   
Don’t be a chicken, just tell me
,
I demanded. He was being
too
personable. If he kept this up I might actually start to like him and then where would I be? Oh yeah
,
dead.

    
I took some of your hair the night we met. I use it to focus my otherwise substantial skill. Without it I could not, I tried.
He actually sou
nded impressed.
I liked that.
In
time,
I believe
that
even with the focus you will be able to block me as your father does.

    
My father said you can still invade his mind.
He had my father’s hair?
Wait a minute he took my hair?
Oh, you…I want it back!
I yelled. I was pissed. I
was
really pissed. I believe the word wroth fit rather well.

   
Of
course, I will return it to you immediately
,
he answered in that calm way that was
really starting to wind me up
but it is midday, I cannot come to you. You can
however
,
come to me.
Anticipation it was there in his voice, yeah, I was not going to him.

   
We’ll meet somewhere tonight somewhere heavily populated.
I suggested.
The thought of meeting him somewhere terrified me.
The
thought of meeting him somewhere alone, I fought hard not to shiver and I wasn’t entire
ly
sure it was because I was scared. I hated not being sure.

   
No,
he said succinctly.
I have something you want. In
return,
you will have to give me something I want.
In my mind’s eye I saw his eyes glowing, fangs extended
a
s he leaned towards my throat, I felt hot. I looked down at my hands, which were trembling.
Um
not gonna happen.
That’s not what I want naughty AoD. Where do these images come from?
Not that I am complaining they are quiet entertaining.
I could fee
l him smiling I swear I could.
I want you to confirm my alibi.
Oh, hell no I w
as not going to tell the police
he was with me when that girl had died
. I could see how that would run, ‘
of course I know he didn’t do it
, officer,
he w
as talking to me at the time no, no,
not on the phone in my head.
’
If I didn’t end up in the loony bin, I’d
be thought of as in his thrall so not good for an AoD’s rep.
What was I going to do? Simple I was going to learn to shield better.

    
Keep the damn hair then
!
I growled
and slammed up my shields.

          Three days, it had been three days since I kicked Dayton Tameron out of my mind.
He had found someone else to alibi him. Some blond bimbo, I knew I shouldn’t be mad about that after all what right did I have, but
I thought a
bout him almost constantly, which
was fucked up. Bastard invaded my mind now at all hours of the night and day
and he wasn’t even speaking to me
. Sometimes I wasn’t even sure if I was thinking my o
wn thoughts or they were his. 

   
I had
decided to leave school I couldn’t focus
right now I would go back later, i
f I survived.

  
I
had also
decided I wasn’t going to wait around for the
Shifters
to come for me. I was actively seeking them. Last night I’d found another
Dream-walker
this time I wasn’t sporting so many bruises.

   
I was waiting for Laurna at a little Italian place within walking distance of Fisherman’s Warf.  The old woman who owned the place had announced I was too skinny and plied me with enough breadsticks to feed a starving nation.  I was reading
a small hand
written journal one of my great-
grandfathers
had written
, the man thought entirely too much of himself considering in the end the
Shifters
had finished him off, it was
dull stuff but it was the best thing I had on
Shifters
.
It was rare for an Ao to actually commit anything to print. We didn’t want the humans to know we existed. So
,
a lot of our lore was written in the form of fairytale or just forgotten.

     The chair across from me scraped the ground as it was pulled out.
“I
ordered the veal for you. I don’t k
now why poor baby cow.” I said
I did feel sorry for the calf the making of veal
seemed cruel to me.

     “Good
I’m famished,” a
male voice responded. That was not Laurna. My head snapped up. Fuck, it was that
Shifter
.
I hadn’t even sensed him and it was daytime!
  I reached
for my gun. “Not the best idea,
” he
nodded toward my hand. He lay both his hands palm down on the tabl
e before me. Not armed yeah, I was
not buying it. I know all about your
claws buddy
, I thought
. I slid the
Sig
fro
m its holster and laid it in my lap, hand still ready. “Is the safety on? I don’t
fancy getting accidentally shot there,” his blond eyebrows rose, “If you get my drift.” I could just imagine. I didn’t have that part
and the thought of
having a
gun pointed
there made
me nervous.

     “I’ve never shot anything on accident before
maybe I should try it sometime,
” I answered
tersely
. What was going on here? Didn’t any of these demons read the
rulebooks?
No
Shadow-born
when the sun was up. That was how it fucking worked!

    
Macyn
?
That damn
Vamp
ire
asked in
that soft tempting voice.

  
Not now Fangs, I’m busy!
I shut him out.
Funny hadn’t I just been lamenting his
absence?
“Where are your buddies,
” I said to fluffy sitting across from me.

     “You’re glowing,” t
he
Shifter,
pointed out
, calmly like he sat down to lunch with Ao every day
.

    
I looked down at my hands, d
amn I was. I focused
the glow receded
. “You didn’t answer the question dog boy.”

    He laughed, leaned back in the chair, snag
ged the waitress
who blinked at him as if he’d hit her with
headlights
on high
and ordered a C
oke before answering m
e. “Don’t have any. I’m outcast,” h
e grabbed one of my breadsticks and began to eat it. Damn if he wasn’t eating it like an animal. Stuffing it in swiftly grabbing another
like,
he was starving. I
did
not feel sorry for the werewolf I told myself.

     “What did you do to get yourself
all
castigated Laith?” I asked leaning forward.
Like I didn’t know but I wanted him to tell me.

      His eyes flared all golden at me when I used
his name. Odd as they were black
before. “Do you remember me AoD,
”
he asked his tone smooth but wary.

    “Remember you,
” great he was a loon just what I needed crazy werewolves, “we’ve never met.”

     “Then you are remarkably well informed, AoD.” He kept saying AoD almost like it was a curse word.
His tone suggested violence despite the fact that he hadn’t moved from his relaxed position.  

      I wish I could do that. “Yes
I am
,” I admitted. Laurna came thr
ough the door. “Beat it dog boy,
” I hissed
flicking my hand at him dismissively
.

     He smiled, my first impression was right he was beautiful, yuck. “Your
pretty friend is here isn’t she,
” he asked
, his eyes lit with mischief
.
He didn’t bother to look over his shoulder I guess being a
Shifter
does have certain advantages like that great sense of smell and if I could hear Laurna leaving my house and getting into her car what exactly could he hear?