Chapter Two

Noel Kreiss awoke on the cool stone of the temple floor and unsteadily made his way back to the House Imperate; after washing the filth off him in the bath house, he wrote his report over three days and sent it to the House's Marshall. He was summoned to the high court in another three, and pulled aside to the private council room of the Fal'Cie advisory cabinet, where he was politely reassured by the 5 members of the cabinet the incident of his refusal was of no bearing on his standing with the Fal'Cie; he had performed his duty with the utmost loyalty and professionalism; they wished him to rest now, regain his strength and cleanse his soul of the darkness before assigning him another hunt. It was hinted candidacy would be considered, but under another sponsor, whom had already ensured the first nominator withdrew his bid. More time would be given to explain and explore the nature of the position, before he would be asked to choose the next time. It was not a thing to be taken lightly, and they admired his wisdom, so rare in one so…young. A leather bag was pushed forward on the table to his right; it had the seal and mark of the full talent; his fee for his performance, an unheard of full talent of gold gil. Astonished, he simply stared at the faintly smiling quintet of beautiful cool faces.

"We will look forward to your return, when such time has passed and your soul sparkles clear and clean as the crystal of Etro's throne, young shadow hunter. Now, go enjoy life, refresh yourself in Academia or the springs of your beloved desert homeland."

"How will I know when to come back for the next hunt?"

"Ah…we will let you know. And you will know when we call. " An enigmatic smile concluded the conversation.

Don't call us, we'll call you. A wry grin crossed his lips, the first in months as he walked through the main gate out into the high city of Academia.

Noel Kreiss had nowhere to go, no one to see, so he engaged a room for an indefinite stay, and simply began to explore Academia; he'd spent most of his time just within the confines of the Temples, the House Imperate, or in alternate timelines, ever since he came in from the desert and took the oath at his father's deathbed request, whom had also been a shadow hunter. City life was a revelation, yet still lonely as the wildlands beyond the dunes, except the canyons were plasteel and glass, the mesas landing platforms of the immense proud corporations who ran this town, each fiercely brandishing their own sigils, proud as lions. Corporate greed ran deep, and espionage was rampant, along with the intrigues of the lower court, all fighting, gossiping and carrying favor, much to the amusement of the upper court. Noel had no lack of cases, and it amused him also to take some; he usually was referred by one noble or corporate exec to another, so the days began to flow into one another. However, he found the constant barrage of intimate come-ons, flirtations and open invitations wore on his pure, disciplined nomad psyche; it seemed there was no one that was interested in him beyond the obvious; he wanted depth, respect, true intimacy. He began to despair and think there was no one out there for him, then retreated from upper city society functions, concentrating on his Scripts of Etro when not working a case, moodily meditating at Etro's Throne on the mantra of right place, right time, and right person until the tension left his body.

As it so happened, one cloudy day a note was delivered to his room on heavy silver-white paper, addressed to Noel Kreiss Shadow Hunter in a firm angular hand, the brush strokes artistic, yet not full of flourishes or curls, like a lady's script; It intrigued him, so he opened it and read the following:

Noel Kreiss:

A shadow hunter may rest, but never sleeps for long; if the joy of the hunt is missing by now, there is a small matter that may prove interesting and alleviate your idleness.

Two family members in my immediate circle have been marked for termination, and with no good cause or public grievance. As I value my Light as highly as my own life, there is no alternative but to hunt the source and quell it with all the prejudice I can find in me.

Perhaps you will discuss the particulars with me tonight? Andresyr's, 6 PM.

Hope Estheim

Director Academy Dia Academia

10100 Universe Circle House Directorate Suite #1

Upper city Northwest , 3rd Arrondisment 999865A1

Noel sent back a formal reply accepting, writing in a surprisingly elegant hand, with the delicate tribal flourish below the signature and the addressee's name; it made him long for desert land and clean air, but anything was better than the endless waiting for another hunt. He was all appetite when he reached Andresyr's, curious as a cat about the case and sniffing appreciatively at the meat grilled over open charcoal. Hope was already seated at a good table, quiet, near the corner of the balcony, with a view of the bar lined up with pretty women swiftly pouring drinks. Hope's youth was a surprise; also was his sharp concise questions over drinks, then his research into the attempts, all neatly packaged into a micro tablet for him to peruse later. Hope's silver hair began to attract attention the later it got, as the intoxicants loosened inhibitions of the customers; silver hair and pastel eyes with pale skin was the coloring of house Imperate, and Hope was of the blood; and in the upper city, anything Imperate was considered a catch, so the table began to be a magnet of amorous attention. Hope blushed as he always did, humorously stating: "Once they find out I'm an Academian, oh my Etro! It's like I have a plague! How my life is lacking in pretty girls!"

Noel just had to laugh, his sapphire blue eyes suddenly alight: "Ah. We nomads know that mantra very well also, Hope!" The evening ended well, and Noel accepted the case; Hope would pick him up tomorrow night and take him to meet Light, or Lightning, along with her sister Serah, both Farrons and cousins to Hope on his mother's side.

He immediately jumped in on the room's info access computer and began to research the info given him, tapping in notes, photos, camshots, police reports, absorbing the hundreds of details about the incidents. It was a delightfully puzzling knot, and he couldn't wait to delve into it and untangle the strings, so to speak.

Hope's cousins, two sisters, one aged twenty-one, one eighteen, had been involved in an incident on the freeway to the upper city recently: flyby shootings were common in Oldtown, but never in the upper city. The sisters were on the way to the university where the younger one studied, and a pair of transports had played cat and mouse with the velocycle, then a gloved hand whipped out a full auto blazefire beretta and emptied a full belt in their exact direction. The elder sister had leapt from the burning 'cycle with sister in her arms and had the courage or the luck to land in the rooftop pool of the Starlight Hotel. The unusual part of the attempt was a spell was cast to turn the water to ice, which partially encapsulated the sisters, but the elder's clever use of her gunsaber pumping repeated high capacity shells shattered the icy prison. Second attempts were made separately, again the elder sister charging in to save her sister at a concert; her wariness increased, so she was ready for the next attempt in Oldtown, by the bridge and managed to hit a 'cycle that fell in the river. It was a pity she was not trained as a shadow hunter, she chased him down the embankment but the assassin escaped. A set of wordless warnings had occurred afterwards, a decapitated snake delivered in a bouquet of roses at Valahalla, then a rather nasty image of a dove with wings torn off sent to Serah Farron's cell from a number that was silent messages were discordant , almost playful afterthoughts vs. a serious warning; Noel wrote them off. Only a jealous boyfriend or disgruntled acquaintance would do something so amateur after the well planned and executed attempts.

When he saw Lightning Farron's face on the micropad, he paused; where had he seen that combination of aqua eyes and icy rose pink hair before? It was a rare combination; something rang within him, the steady clear tolling of familiarity, like a great bronze bell resounding over and over in the depths of his soul. The hazy memory of white feathers drifting down and caressing his face, a face of an angel with ice rose locks cascading over a gemmed eye, laying a cooling caressing hand that brought relief from the agony…the agony that he dared not remember, it was too much… Noel's hand crept up to stroke his left shoulder, as he filled his eyes with the lovely face, enhanced by delicate brows and made utterly, uniquely, adorably feral by a little pointed cat chin that stuck out in such a stubborn determined manner; she was lovely, so lovely…he wanted to touch the skin, feel the warmth of the woman pulsing beneath the smooth expanse of silk that must be her skin, oh, she had to be a beauty through and through; would eyes like those icy sparkling zircons ever warm in welcome to limpid aqua seas at the sight of him? Would anyone's eyes welcome him, or was he doomed to be a man without the kingdom of heaven in his tent? Etro, did you hear my prayer? He laid back on the feather filled pillows and drifted off to sleep, the question repeating in his mind like a mantra. Just as he was slipping off into the warm soft dark, a cool amused voice softly reminded: Of course I did. Have a care for what you pray for - I'll certainly give it to you.

It was nearly 10 PM before Hope & Noel got in the doors of Valhalla; thankfully they found a spot to wait for Lightning and settled in to watch the Valhalla floor show; Noel was already assessing the crowd, cataloging a million details and simply letting his hunter's instincts take over, in case there was some danger the barsecs overlooked. He deemed the security adequate for the moment, but held back any comment until he'd had a chance to see how a problem or two was handled. He was somewhat distracted by the girls performing, but began to tune them out after watching them bump and grind or twirl on their poles; there was one with ebony skin and dark glossy hair in a million braids who exhibited a few strong tribal movements in her act that caught his eye, but no one that really, well, stood out. He'd wondered if the place was overrated, it seemed these city people liked their sex as refined as the sugar in their tea; insipid sweetness, overdone innocence and obvious clichés as pure as the sparkling white crystals Hope had poured into his cup earlier. The recorded music faded off and the stage cleared as the girls now pranced through the crowds, looking for private commissions in the rooms upstairs. Hope And Noel were approached twice before they got the hint it was business with Lightning, not pleasure for the pair tonight; one girl offered to run and get her, her face glowing momentarily with loyalty; Light had taught her that reverse cupid spin, you know? They shrugged, and politely said it was a great move, then declined, preferring to wait for Lightning to find them; this wasn't a conversation for all ears. The girl strutted off with a pert movement of her head and shake of her tail, much like a skittering squirrel who has gotten away with a treat under their noses. Noel & Hope both realized for about the hundredth time tonight how lacking pretty girls were in their lives, looked at each other, sighed and upended their glasses. Hope went back for another round, pushing his way to the long stone expanse and holding his glasses up.

Musicians had entered and were quickly running hands over instruments while the lights dimmed and smoke began to fill the stage like drifts of clouds in the heavens; the illusion was amplified by holo projections of sky and stars in the upper half; coos and gasps of anticipation began to float above the introductory music as five winged figures began to slowly descend from the heavens of to grace the ground below in Valhalla. The music was the latest rage, amplified electronica; with an alarming screech of the guitar, the vocalist attacked their ears with a skull-splitting scream like an eagle's cry and then the hottest, tightest, sexiest rhythm broke out as the Valkyries swooped in on their mortal worshippers. And oh, how worthy they were of worship! Each had a unique face that seemed heaven-made and their bodies were more like living sculptures; they didn't just dance, they flew in space, using the poles to launch themselves into flips or layouts that seemed gravity defying; one Valkyrie caught Noel's eye with her black wings and a body sculpted long and lean, equal to his beloved goddess Etro. All of his instincts prickled in a silent alarm as his eyes took her in; he was transfixed, his body automatically standing absolutely still. It already knew what his brain had yet to tell him: He was in the room with a hunter. She didn't just dance, she prowled, her stride surefooted, while that beautiful body rippled with a barely contained power; his mouth went dry and his eyes clung as she fiercely thrashed her icy platinum rose head in time with the driving beat as his body, a step ahead of him tonight , slapped him in the face with another message: desire. Not the idle attraction he'd felt earlier, but a thick hot pour of magma bringing his blood to rolling boil in seconds; Ohhh Etro…mine. She MUST be mine. Then disgusted with himself, he pushed it down & caged it with a well-practiced reflex; she was a pole dancer in a city bar, not a lady…no breeding, no family inheritance…most likely a whoring guttersnipe, not the mate, the match he'd waited for all his life. Desire, it was just desire. Wholly despisable & utterly contemptible. Totally conquerable. Ismii qalil walah. It was just desire. He'd dealt with that demon many times, out in the wastelands with golden Tajen, his first hunting partner; stumbling back into civilization after eons in time travel desperate for the touch of a human, any human; in the dark of night watching Yuel's breath from the doorframe of the bedroom door she'd left open in silent invitation. He'd conquered the dark side of his soul more than once, so he let his blazing thoughts be quenched with the cool water of long-suffering reasoning.

His eyes went wide as the Valkyrie swung off the pole into space towards him, plummeting from 15 feet up into a hawk-like stoop, then she lashed her leg out in a move that was shockingly familiar to him, a lethal scissors kick that sliced the air above his head quite precisely; he felt a few hairs move as he sank down in a block, his hand on his knife hilt as his nerves shrilled in alarm – Etro, I did NOT see that move coming, what the baste is up with this place? Everyone seems on the verge of crazy! He was suddenly distracted by the semi-angelic face looking down on him, a touch of naughty wickedness in the sparkling crystal eyes, palest rose satin lips arcing into a subtly amused smile, and then she gone, a brush of sooty wing feathers caressing against a cheek. An enchanted Noel silently kissed the air recently vacated, then sighed as he dropped his chin in hand to give the floor show his complete attention. Beautiful girls were so lacking in his life, especially the ones who could kick his ass.

So, Noel waited patiently with Hope as the seven Valkyries finished their act, then dispersed; there was no crude trolling for customers, they had their time bought via bid or appointment for private functions. Noel glanced at Hope, wondering how much longer they'd have to wait; then Hope's face registered a familiar glow of happiness that Noel attributed to Lightning's presence. He turned as a spray of refracted light announced her presence; she hadn't even changed from her performance costume, a rather shocking affair of sparkling gems which covered precious little of her artificially tanned skin. Hope grinned and tilted his head in greeting: "Where's the wings, Valkyrie? " knowing full well they were a minor magic glamouring spell to enhance the mystique of the girls. " Light, let me introduce Shadow Hunter Noel Kriess. He's visiting in Academia for a while."

Noel met her eyes squarely and saw a fortress in the aqua blue eyes of his fantasy warrior-huntress, overlaid with a cool amusement at the world. She returned his formal greeting with a palm to forehead, tribal style and gave the traditional Ya'asallaam ah'Etro in a voice as coolly amused as her eyes, taking in his tribal clothing, especially the wrapped pants that seemed half skirt. Hope briefly caught up with the events in their lives over the past few days while Noel simply observed the crowd, letting them go through their city protocol.

They were too engrossed in each other to notice that a patron approached; amused, Noel watched the horny drunk announce his presence by stumbling up to her and shooting a hand out to grasp a nipple, despite it being well concealed beneath the crystal studded fabric; Noel was as surprised as the patron to have his wrist taken in a steel grasp; almost daintily, she ducked underneath the arm, quickly twisted and drove it deep into the shoulder, pinning the greedy hand, now numbing with pain; the other hand grasped the collar of the shirt and pushed him over the bar head first in the ice bin; a light leap up, then a little more pressure ducked the head below the frigid water line and held it there for a good 15 seconds before yanking it back up to her face. She lightly admonished the sobering man with: "It keeps its hands to itself, or it gets the bin again, understand?"

The huge blond bartender who'd been watching without a move grinned, then took the collar from Lightning and pulled him down the rapidly clearing space in front of them towards the back door to be escorted off the property.

"I…ah, apologize for the intrusion; I shouldn't have come out here in costume." She scuffed a bare foot, only clad in a jewelled wrap, like Noel's tribal leather bracelet running up his right forearm, but citified with sparkling gems and silver cord. Noel's desire returned to bite him, his mouth filling with juices as the thought of holding that strongly arched foot, biting it savagely as it dangled on his shoulder while he…Stop. She's not Nomad. Listen to her voice.

"…and you two could have just stepped in there for me a minute, couldn't you? My ever-loving Etro, if he can't even bring himself to lift a finger to help me with a drunk patron, why would he be any use as a guardian for me here?"

"I wanted to see what you could do on your own…Miss…Lightning. Miss Farron. My position not only demands I protect you, but help you learn to protect yourself. Looks like I won't have to start from scratch, as I usually have to do. You've learned some things. You need some situational awareness, but at least you're not afraid to assert yourself." He permitted a brief smile." "I like that. I accept the job." Noel caught himself and Hope neatly with that, he was sure Hope had been tuning her whine out of his ears, too.

She transfixed him with a heartless aqua eye ringed with deep smoky stage makeup, a bit surprised at the backhanded compliment, but irritated at his superior air: "What did you expect? A helpless city girl in a panic over an ex-boyfriend? Little brother, you must think I am really helpless or hopeless. Think again. This. Is. Valhalla. The ultimate den of sin in Oldtown. You obviously don't have a clue about the insanity that really goes on here, do you? In fact, I think you're so clueless, I'll give you a second chance. Why not just start over again and come back later, say….like about when you can get off your Etro-damned ass and take me seriously like a real pro instead of acting like you're too good for the job while staring at all the eye candy?"

Noel stifled the impulse to look down his back for claw marks, opened his mouth to hotly retort and shut it, as he quickly realized she'd nailed him within 15 seconds, and his instincts were right: she was a hunter – and that was her first pounce. He merely kept silent and offered the other cheek.

"Over-enthusiastic and violent patrons are part of the business; and yes, I can 'assert' myself quite well – dancing wasn't my first job here. I was hired for security detail at Valhalla – go ask Lexis or Snow there, if you don't believe me, Shadow Hunter Kreiss…As for YOU accepting the job, I think I will, ah, 'assert' myself and state I have a say in that also; and right now I have only two words, and one of them is Bovine, oh Kupo."

Noel reddened as his mind supplied the malodorous mate to the word bull and was about ready to growl at her city manners; a light pressure from Hope's hand on his shoulder stopped him, so he settled for a sarcastic glare from his deep blue eyes, which she returned, steady as a lynx.

Hope hastily interjected: "Noel, it's true, she was security; Lexis found her teaching the girls how to flip off the pole and tempted her to the side of chaos with an offer she couldn't refuse. You can assess her skills in the security dojo – they've got their own training rooms on the 3rd level of this hell. How about we talk this through in a more quiet location? If nothing else, think of your sister, Light. The best way to protect her is to protect yourself. You have to stay alive long enough to get her through to adulthood. Then you can go back to killing yourself by swinging off poles all you want." His lightly sarcastic distraction from Noel worked, as he knew she was about to sink her teeth into Noel, then they'd be in a dominance fight, which Noel would lose, just like any other male, Nomad or no Nomad. She was a force of nature when pissed.

She led the way to Lexis's private office, called Serah to come downtown, and pulled on a shirt against the cool air conditioning in the office, then waved Snow, the big blonde bartender & Serah in when they arrived. Contrary to her earlier display of temper towards Noel, she listened carefully at his assessment, then Hope's assessment and theory, then roundtabled the discussion in a logical manner, asking Snow for his comments, then asked Serah to recount all of her 'incidents' no matter how small or trival they appeared. It soon turned into a lively discussion of planning, and Hope could see Light finally being sold on the idea. She had reservations about Noel, it was clear, but Hope sensed it was more about his attitude towards her; he would advise Noel later to respect Light, or at least act like he did, and fill him in on her background in detail; he was sure she wouldn't tell Noel about her training in Corps because of the subsequent standard dismissal for having a minor as a dependent. It couldn't be helped; their mother had died. The commander did all he could, as she was a promising talent, but the judge advocate general stood firm and Light had to return to civilian life until Serah was capable or no longer a minor. So for 4 long years, Lightning became trapped in a role she'd been forced into. At least she was trained, and kept up her training every day.

The discussion was stopped by a heavy rattling thump and a dull roar of screaming that rose from the second floor below them; smoke billowed up from the elevator doors as they tore down the hall to get out; Snow caught up a sec com ear mike from Lexis' office and ran to command central with the others in tow; it was another assassination attempt ; a patron in the house tonight had been a crime lord, and someone had picked Valhalla as the best chance for killing him off; sec men swarmed in, grabbed gear and ran for floor two; they were ordered out, get to the rooftop and escape from there ; when they hit the roof, air hovercraft and velocycles awaited to either block off the lord's escape or assassination crew's return. They rained light fire down on everyone, lords or not, in their eagerness. Others ran onto the roof and shot back, a small handheld rocket launcher took out a velocycle, raising a ragged cheer from the lord's sec detail. Then the airborn transports backed off, puzzling the small group until a single dark object was thrown from a velocycle higher up; Oh shite was all Hope could say when he realized it was an explosive; he ran & dove for the door as Light was sprinting for all she was worth to the escape route off the side of the building, she was dragging Serah also, which slowed her down; Serah fell, and Light turned back for her as she always did; Snow and Noel sprinted out from their spot behind the A/C unit to them; Snow threw himself on Serah & rolled with her towards the overhang supports of the small air transport landing platform; he was six feet and 4 inches of solid muscle and surrounded Serah with a complete shield of himself with ease, then took cover under the 12 inch plasteel-reinforced deck.

Noel didn't hesitate and dove for Light, a hand pulling at his back waistpack & desperately throwing something onto the 6 inch plasteel post that held the ladder as they both plummeted over the edge of the building; he wrapped his legs and arms around her as they fell through the canyons of skyscrapers, the explosive detonating with a brilliant white light, then flaring golden as the building shook with the force. Bricks toppled off, then a small part of the roof collapsed in with a great cloud of dust. The rope unraveled for what seemed like hours while Noel & Light fell into the dark of the cool evening air. With the slowing of time in such situations, they stared at each other with a stillness, sapphire and aquamarine gems opening into pupils of night, falling, falling into each other's' souls …this could be the last face I see alive…until the rope caught and rebounded, sending them arcing back up into night.

Lightning caught her breath as Noel did; if it were possible to hold each other tighter, they did, and their adrenaline soared, totally dazzled by the fact they were alive and relatively unharmed; then it somehow segued into an insane adventure as the momentum continued to arc them back and forth between the buildings; they were extremely keyed up from the near death experience, so it was no surprise that the flex of the muscles in her leg between his thighs began producing an unbelievable excitement. The soft rasp of the fabric & the warmth of each other began to suffuse them with a sharp white heat they couldn't ignore; every time one slid down a little off the pitch of the leg, the other would slide it in a little further & pull closer. Noel kept his gaze on Light, the iris of his eyes darkening; something in it was looking right into her. She felt like she was falling into those ocean blue depths & finding a deep wellspring of intensity in those open eyes to match the over the top excitement happening in her head; the maddening rhythm of the arcing rope was unbearably sexual; Light felt his arms tighten even harder, pulling her face inches from his face, his warm breath mixing with hers, close enough to kiss; all other sensations fell away, and they were alone except for the singing rope, the sheer pleasure verging on agonizing then soaring to a fine point until their bodies gently released themselves, drifting back down in a welter of sweat, trembling, & thudding hearts. The soaring climax was spontaneous as breath, their bodies wiser than their minds, rejoicing at the near miss with a sudden outpouring of life.

It wasn't until they both undressed for the night in their respective showers that they both sank down to the shower floor weak kneed at the sudden self-awareness , the secret admission to themselves that the physical explosion had actually happened between them while hanging in space, held in Etro's hand.