Chapter Two:

Previously:

"Whoever they are, neither of them is human. If they make one wrong move, they won't leave here alive."

Alianda shifted around on the bench, her arm rubbing against Taylor's as she moved and reached for the glass of water he had set in front of her. "Thanks," she muttered before drinking it all down just as she had her own. She licked her lips as she looked back up at him, not having heard anything the two men at the bar had said. "What's your name?" she asked quietly. "I'm not going to keep thinking of you as a random stranger, especially if you're buying me dinner."

Taylor smirked a bit at Alianda's question. "Taylor. Taylor Halliwell." He had to fight back a laugh as he mentally moved three glasses out of the bartender's reach, listening to the man becoming confused when he turned back around. Taylor fiddled with the red ring on his middle finger, it was a duplicate of his adopted father's ring, as he thought over what the two men had said. They could smell the witch in him but not the Cupid. He frowned a little. They had also said something about the girl not being human. He was almost tempted to take off his sunglasses to look at her straight so he could see what they meant, but he didn't dare. There was no use in scaring her off. He saw the waitress coming toward them with the food he had ordered, realizing she must be Aimee. He also remembered what the two men had said about her being able to sniff out what someone was. Taylor had to suppress a smile as he muttered a spell under his breath before Aimee got close to their table to close off the young woman's sense of smell.

Aimee's eyes widened as her sense of smell suddenly disappeared. She almost dropped her tray, something that never happened, as she glanced around to see if any of the others were affected. She caught the look on the older teen's face. It was both protective and contained hidden amusement. She knew he must have done something, but she couldn't figure out what it was. She shook her head slightly and forced a pleasant smile onto her face as she closed the distance to the table and began setting the dishes on the table in front of them. "Can I get you anything else?" she asked.

Alianda's stomach growled loudly as she shook her head, causing her to blush with embarrassment. She frowned and brought her knees up against her chest, wrapping her arms around them and burying her face on top of them. "I can't go anywhere," she muttered. While Taylor was distracted by the waitress, she slipped off the bench they were sitting on and out the other side of the booth. She made her way quickly toward the door, frowning when the man guarding the door blocked her path. "Move," she whispered. "I've got to get out of here."

Aimee noticed the girl leaving but did nothing to try to stop her, keeping the male teenager's attention focused on herself as she waited patiently for him to let her know if there was anything else he wanted to order. She motioned with one hand at her side for her brother, Dev, to stop the girl at the door. She knew he would take her into one of their back rooms and find out the truth of what was going on with the two teenagers. She didn't like being robbed of her smell and wasn't about to let either of them get away with attacking her.

Taylor's lip curved slightly. "First of all, tell your guard dog to get away from my companion. Second, it's rather rude to start pointing fingers and accusing us of being such bizarre things." There was an edge to his voice now that made him seem older, much more wiser than he had first seemed. There was something deeply unsettling about him as he stood up from the booth. "Wouldn't want someone to get hurt now, would you?" he whispered quietly as he walked past Aimee to the door. He waited until he was across the room to release the spell he had cast on her, making sure his scent was mixed in with that of the other patrons and staff. He himself could not pick up the scents of different animals that he hadn't noticed before. He considered the idea of shapeshifters but quickly crossed them off his mental list of possibilities. Shapeshifters didn't have any kind of distinctive animal scent to them.

Dev chuckled as he watched the kid. "Nice bravado, kid," he commented before nodding toward the sign that hung on the far wall. "But you're failing to follow our one rule." The sign read, 'Come in peace or leave in pieces.'. He glared at the smaller boy. "You attacked my sister, and I want to know what you did to her."

Alianda growled, still weak and getting weaker since she still hadn't eaten anything, struggling against the hold Dev had on her. She lifted up one leg and slammed the heel of her foot against the instep of his foot, smiling in satisfaction as he howled in pain before crying out in pain herself as he wrenched her left arm up behind her back. She not only could feel the bones break, she could hear them as well. Her skin turned an ashen color as she fought to stay conscious.

Aimee hurried over. "Damn it, Dev! I wanted you to scare them, not kill them!" She growled, yanking the girl out of her brother's arms and into her own. She easily scooped the girl up, holding her in her a cradle-carry as she studied the boy. "Look. Whatever you are, no one can really hurt you here unless you break our one rule. This place is called Sanctuary for a reason. Any supernatural creature can come here without fear of being in danger while they are here. We protect any as long as they don't cause trouble." She made no effort to hide the fact that she was probing the boy as she studied him. "You're some kind of a witch that we've never encountered before... and a demigod of some kind." She frowned a little. "There's something else, but I can't tell what it is." She smirked. "You smell kind of like Eros but a little different."

"What about the girl?" Dev inquired, reaching out and putting his hand against the boy's chest as he moved to try to take the girl from Aimee. He shook his head in a silent warning for the boy to stay back.

Aimee looked down and studied the girl's half-conscious form. "She's a lot more difficult to read. I sense powers of a god in her, but they're being blocked by something."

Taylor let out a growl. "You mind? Trying to heal the girl you hurt, asshole." Anyone who knew him knew that he was dangerous when angry. Taylor shoved the man's hand off him. "And I'm no 'whelp' as I seem to have been dubbed," he muttered as he cautiously stepped up to one side of Aimee. Taking the younger girl's arm gingerly, he started a quiet chant in an ancient tongue as he waved a hand over the girl's injury.

Alianda grit her teeth and crushed her lips shut to keep from screaming as the bones inside her arm were magically moved to the right places, the flesh covering them healing. She clutched Taylor's free hand like a lifeline while Aimee's softly stroked her hair.

Once the injury was healed, and Alianda's skin had gained back a bit of color, Taylor stopped. He almost stumbled to the floor himself as he pulled away, muttering to himself. "I don't even know her name." His face was a bit red from spending that much energy for one wound. He made a mental note to himself to study more healing with Leo when he got back home.

Dev stared at the boy in disbelief. The teen didn't seem to have any fear for himself at all, only for the girl. He looked from one of them to the other, reaching out and helping the boy get himself steady on his own feet. "Who is she, and why are you so protective of her?" he asked.

Aimee continued to gently stroke the girl's hair, turning and carrying her behind the bar and leaving Dev to talk to the boy. She carried the girl through the kitchen and behind a secret door that led to a set of stairs to the upper levels of the building. She carried the girl down the hall of the third floor and into an unoccupied bedroom, laying her down gently on the bed. "I'll bring your food up here," she said, promising the girl. "What's your name?"

Alianda stared at the other woman before remembering what Taylor had told her about unexpected strangers. She sighed, curling up on her side and wishing Taylor was there with her but knowing the man wouldn't allow him to come upstairs until he had some answers. "I'm Alianda," she whispered. She studied Aimee carefully. "What are you?"

Aimee chuckled, her eyes sparkling mischievously as she leaned over to whisper in Alianda's ear. "I'm a bear."

Alianda stared at her with wide eyes, completely and utterly surprised. "A-a-a BEAR?!" Her jaw felt as if it had just dropped out of its socket.

~C~

Taylor coughed to clear his throat before speaking up. "I don't know. I literally met her five minutes before we came in here, and your sister took her away before she could tell me her name." He stood up to his full height when he didn't feel like he was going to face palm the floor anymore. "And I'm not sure why I'm so protective of her. I just am."

Dev nodded thoughtfully. "What are you?" he asked. "And no bull shit. I know you're not human, even without Aimee letting me know you're some kind of witch and a demigod or something. I want a straight answer about what you are and whether we should be on the lookout for any trouble. Is anyone after either of you?"

Taylor sighed, deciding it would probably be best to just tell Dev the truth. "Fine. I'll tell you what I am... if you'll tell me what you are first."

Dev chuckled, clapping Taylor roughly on the back and almost knocking him to the floor without meaning to. "I think I like you, whelp." He glanced around to make sure there weren't any humans within hearing distance. "My name's Dev, and I'm a bear." He smirked. "Your turn. Spill."

"Huh?!" Taylor felt his jaw go slack. "You said no bull shit! So I'm expecting the same thing!"

Dev laughed wholeheartedly. "It's true."

Taylor gave him a skeptical look. "What are you, a were-bear or something? Because I've fought were-wolves, and they're a pain!" But he decided to come clean, then maybe he'd be able to see the girl. "Truth be told, Aimee was right on the first two. I'm a mix of Wiccan witch, Cupid, demigod, and dragon demon. Cupids are a lot different from Eros, although he is the poster child of what we do. No one knows which god is my parent." He sighed. " And dragon demons are rare to find nowadays and have even fewer descendants. I got bit by one several years back, and it injected me with its venom. So now I've got it running through my veins."

Dev stared at him. "You're a mutt," he muttered, teasing the boy. "What's your name, whelp?" He motioned to Jasyn, who was the one manning the bar that night. "Get me a couple of beers." He was muttering to himself as he studied Taylor. "Two demigods. That can't be good." He frowned. "I should probably contact Ash. He needs to know there are demigods in town." He picked up the beers Jasyn placed in front of him and handed one of them to Taylor. "What's your name?"

Taylor stared at the beer bottle in his hand. Technically he was underage, but he shrugged it off. It wasn't like he hadn't drank before. He took a swig of the alcohol before answering. "It's not mutt or whelp. It's Taylor, Taylor Halliwell." He thought about what Dev had muttered. "And who's Ash, if you don't mind me asking?" He hoped it wasn't someone he would have to worry about stalking him home to San Francisco and getting his family involved. He had a feeling he was already going to be in so much trouble when he got home. Disappearing all of a sudden for several hours and then coming back with a mysterious girl just spelled trouble.

And that's chapter two! thanks goes out to those who favorited and reviewed this story!

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