The Gaian Spirit: Aife's Return
Chapter 7 – Body of Evidence (Deadly Lucky 5.3)
Nuana and Dyson moved down the tiled halls of the morgue as quietly as they could manage. The Gaian stayed on the balls of her feet while Dyson's smooth gait remained undetectable despite his heavy boots. The two had arrived to find the morgue deathly silent. Nuana ignored the irony of the statement as shivers ran up her spin that had nothing to do with her previous experience with being frozen. The morgue, though it was always full of death, had an air of sadness to it that it hadn't when she'd visited with Dyson and Bo this morning. Something was very wrong.
Nuana made sure to keep pace with a slowing wolf shifter, watching him closely out of the corner of her eye. Shifters, more specifically shifters whose alter ego was a predator, did not show weakness. Shifters hid their wounds from potential threats and hid them from those who would worry. Shifters needed to know they could protect those around them. These were instincts that Nuana couldn't understand the same way men and women couldn't understand each other sometimes. So the fact that he was breathing so hard and moving with such sluggishness told her that she'd greatly depleted him if he was having this much trouble hiding it. The guilt hit her in the stomach and had her stopping him when he rested a hand on the tiled wall for support and leverage to start moving again. She wasn't going to let him continue like this, especially if there was a potential threat in the next room just waiting to ambush them.
"Alright, Dyson, that is enough. I cannot watch you continue on like this," Nuana sighed, stepping in front of him. "Stop before you hurt yourself,"
"I'm fine. Don't worry about it," Dyson took a deep breath before pushing off the wall, refusing to meet her eyes as he lied to her. "You took what you had to,"
Nuana glared at the shifter before grabbing him by the collar of his jacket and forcing him against a wall. If she hadn't had the advantage of surprise, she'd never have been able to do it but now that she had him backed up against a wall, she was determined to keep him there.
"You are an idiot," Nuana growled at him in a voice that was not unlike a predator, her eyes narrowing at the amusement in his pale blue eyes. "I have made you weak, shifter. You know that better than I and any predator will be able to see it. Let me give some back,"
"Nuana-"
"Just shut up,"
She leaned in and kissed him, silencing his words as her lips moved over his. She smiled against his lips when he started to react, his hands gripping her hips and pulling her against him. The possessive move awoke something in her that had her liking it, despite how wrong it was for them to be doing this with each other. It had only been a few weeks ago that they'd slept together and had a falling out that nearly ended their relationship but now they were kissing in a morgue while Dyson was unofficially dating the succubus foundling… The irony was going to kill them one day but for right now Nuana merely kissed Dyson, her hands skating up his torso and under his jacket to shift around his qi. His mouth opened the same time hers did, allowing her to force feed him qi that she could feel fill the places that had left him feeling so weak not a moment ago. By the time she was finished, his energies were back in check and she could almost feel the peace in him that spawned from him returning strength.
But they didn't stop kissing.
Dyson's mind was lost in the haze of Nuana, his wolf unwilling to let her go even though she'd done what she had been meaning to do for them. His arms were like a vice around her body, hands clutching her sides as her body arched into him, a mewl leaving her lips. Despite the fact that she was nearly all muscle, she was still soft against him, not soft and impossibly curved as he was used to, nor was she aggressive. She let him lead her, offering up the dominant role to him. It was different from Bo and he enjoyed it more that he was willing to admit.
But it had to end at some point. Their lips left each other and as soon as their gasps of breath hit their ears, the illusion ended. The world hung around them, telling them that it couldn't happen, that there was a Hsien in the next room that needed them, that there was a succubus that needed them.
"Dyson…"
They both knew it. They couldn't do this unless they were willing to suffer the consequences. Bo couldn't handle loosing Dyson right now, even if they weren't willing to admit that Trick was partially right; Bo wouldn't chose Dark but she might lose her carefully crafted control. He had been the first stable thing in Bo's life and they couldn't take him away from her… The wolf shifter and the Gaian also weren't willing to take it any farther. They weren't willing to have the discussion that they needed to have before going that far. And they couldn't risk losing their friendship to follow something that might work… they were too important to each other.
Dyson sighed, leaning forward until his lips touched her forehead. He closed his eyes and let out a breath that ruffled her hair.
Nuana shivered and leaned into him heavily, wanting to stay there forever. But she couldn't only lock this moment into her memory. This wasn't meant for her. This was a moment stolen from Bo, a friend who looked to her for help… who trusted her. She couldn't play with what wasn't hers, even if she wanted it more than anything.
"Let's go,"
Nuana stepped away from Dyson and waited for him to straighten from the wall and walk ahead. The moment was over and now they needed to focus on the dangers in the next room.
"Eddie?" Nuana called as she entered the morgue, looking around at the tables full of bodies, none hiding a frightened body jumper. "Eddie?"
She approached the freezer carefully, scared half to death when Eddie came flying out of it, stopping in front of her with an easy smile.
"Dyson! What up, brother?" Eddie looked at Nuana with a mischievous smile. "Hello,"
"Are you alright?"
"Never better. So… what up?"
"You called me," Dyson told him, looking around the room suspiciously. "Sounded like you were going to soil yourself. You said 'he's here',"
"Yeah, he was," Eddie nodded, scratching his eyebrow.
"Lucas?"
"Yeah, my fellow Hsien. He wanted to know if I've been talking to that succubus," Eddie laughed and smiled over at Nuana. "He really doesn't like you sniffing in his business,"
Nuana raised an eyebrow, looking over at Dyson as ther wolf shifter gave Eddie a suspicious look. If the odd feeling they were both getting wasn't warning them that something was wrong, having Eddie, who'd met Bo, talking to Nuana as if she were her, made warning bells go off.
"But that's okay, I scared him off,"
"You did?" Dyson asked, walking into the fridge, sniffing at the air.
"I do not believe you," Nuana said outright, her eyes on the man who appeared to be Eddie but all three knew he wasn't. "Eddie's not here anymore, is he?"
Lucas grinned darkly. "No,"
Before either Dyson or Nuana could do anything, Lucas moved. He slammed the door of the freezer on Dyson, locking the wolf shifter inside and eliminating the biggest threat. Nuana surged forward to act but was met with a gurney to the stomach, knocking her on her butt as Lucas ducked through the tables of dead bodies to escape. The Gaian got to her feet with a grunt and grabbed at the door, meeting resistance. She tried to unlock the door but it was a thick metal door with a mechanical lock, nothing she could break without the code.
Nuana's eyes met Dyson's through the small square of glass that separated them. They both knew there was no way of getting the door open before Lucas could escape. Dyson may have hated it but he wasn't going to be able to keep Nuana safe from this Fae.
"Go! I got this,"
With a groan, Nuana turned away from Dyson reluctantly and left him to follow after Lucas. The silence besides Dyson's desperate fight against the door had Nuana on edge. She crept through the maze of gurneys, her eyes watching for any slight movements that might tell her where Lucas might be hiding. But after twenty seconds of nothing, she was feeling very on edge.
"Oh where, of where has my killer Hsien gone? Oh where, oh where can he be?"
That was when she found Eddie's dead body on the ground and clearly not where Lucas was anymore. But she didn't have to wait long to find out who his new body was. Cold arms wrapped around her neck, trying to cut off her air supply. Nuana jabbed and elbow into the body jumper's stomach and threw him back into the nearest wall desperately. The arms loosened and Nuana slipped away, grabbing his wrist and flipping him around as she brought his arm up as high as it could go before dislocating his shoulder.
"Is this the best you have, Hsien?" Nuana hissed into his ear.
"Oh, I'm just warming up,"
Lucas employed the same move she had, jabbing his elbow into her stomach, causing her to let him go as she doubled over. When she looked up she could see Lucas traveling from body to body all the way down the row until the very last one jumped up off the table. Nuana's eyes were wide as she looked at the body that Lucas had chosen; a tall, tough, muscular, over grown ogre of a man. Nuana had no hope at all of even surviving thirty second with this man, let alone keeping him occupied for Dyson to arrive and save her.
Lucas cracked his neck and turned with a wicked grin. "Let's dance,"
Nuana held up her hands in surrender. "No, thank you,"
This only made Lucas's grin grow wider as he stalked toward her, only coming to a stop when Nuana pulled an empty gurney between them.
"When you're dead, I'm going to wear your corpse like a coat and rip Dyson to itty bitty pieces, using your hands,"
Lucas shoved the gurney towards her, knocking her into a counter and pinning her. He then grabbed her by the neck, cutting off her oxygen as he yanked her up and over the gurney like a rag doll. She was sure that if she were human the pressure he was applying would have snapped her neck, the pain intense as her neck popped dangerously. Nuana let out a surprised croak as her back hit the cold metal of the gurney, her hands trying desperately to pull Lucas's away from her throat.
For the second time that day, she was on her back and at the mercy of a Fae that was about to kill her… and in turn, for the second time that day, she was saved by a friend.
Dyson suddenly appeared out of nowhere, his gun pressing into the side of Lucas's head.
"No more bodies within reach," Dyson growled, his wolf in his eyes. "I pull this trigger and you are as dead as the one you are in,"
Reluctantly Lucas let go of Nuana's throat, warranting a loud gasp of air as she sat up and scooted as far away from the body jumper as possible. She didn't need to though, Dyson shoving Lucas as far away from her as he dared, placing himself between the two. Nuana placed a hand on the small of Dyson's back, tugging on the edge of his jacket.
"Thank you,"
Dyson nodded, not taking his eyes off Lucas, his wolf urging him to end the Hsien before he could hurt Nuana again. He ignored this urge though, knowing that Bo and Nuana would be angry with him for losing their lead. So instead he ordered Lucas to sit, interrogating him until he got what he wanted from him.
"He forced me into Rogers' corpse," Lucas suddenly began, desperate to get the words out as fast as he could. "He fixed the bet at Meyer's and said if I didn't trick that old bookie I wouldn't get my body back,"
"Who is he?"
"Seymour,"
Nuana's eyebrows drew together in confusion. "Meyer's nephew?"
"Wanted to get back at his old man," Lucas shrugged. "Can I go now?"
"No," Nuana spat, her eyes angry. "We are taking you to Meyer so that you can explain yourself and get your body back. Then you can be punished for killing one of the Light," Nuana looked up at Dyson and began to speak before he could contradict her. "Please. I have no hope of keeping him if I go alone. And Meyer is a personal friend of mine. He will not talk,"
Without much else needed to be said, Dyson nodded.
Before long, Nuana, Dyson and Lucas entered Meyer's restaurant, recently having called Bo and Kenzi to tell them they had found the body jumper they had been looking for. They had agreed to meet them down there after the finished up with something and to go ahead without them. The three Fae were greeted at the door by Meyer himself who was happy to see Nuana but not the others.
"This is Lucas, your body jumper," Nuana explained as she came to a stop in front of him. "Will you let us in?"
"You, yes. Him, no,"
Nuana rolled her eyes at the bookie. "Why? It is not as if he is going to learn some huge Dark Fae secret in the next five minutes. He is here to help me. You can trust him," When both men didn't seem to back down, Nuana's eyes rolled again. "If you both stay quiet no one will ever know you were within five miles of each other,"
The first one to crack was Meyer, who reluctantly held out his hand to Dyson. "On your blood honor?"
Dyson looked over at Nuana before sighing and shaking hands with Meyer.
Nuana gave a soft chuckle. "Bad peace is better than good war,"
"And who taught you that?" Meyer asked.
"You did," Nuana admitted easily before leading Dyson and Lucas over to the table that Seymour was sitting at. He looked up as if he were confused as to why a man with a bullet wound to the head was standing in front of him with a Light Fae cop and a Gaian spirit. However, Dyson could smell his fear and Nuana could sense his anxiety. "Do you not you recognize your own man, Seymour?"
"You?" Meyer asked, looking as if he couldn't believe his ears. "It can't be. My sister's only son? My own flesh and blood? I taught you everything but common sense! Three hundred years, you finally grow a backbone and you can only use it to usurp your own uncle!"
Seymour stood up, frowning. "All I wanted was some respect,"
"Respect?" Meyer laughed bitterly. "You're dead to me,"
"I guess I'll go collect the body of evidence," Dyson smiled up at Nuana, about ready to lead Lucas out of the restaurant.
"No need," Everyone turned to see Bo and Kenzi dragging in a limp body which they then tossed onto the ground, making Lucas wince. Bo just smirked and turned to Meyer. "So… Seymour, huh? What are you going to do with him?"
"Put him somewhere safe," Meyer shrugged as he poured himself a cup of tea. "You're more familiar with the Light. My side, we don't believe in mercy,"
"Which is why I will never join you," Nuana smiled, leaning down to kiss the man on the cheek fondly. "It was good seeing you again, Meyer,"
"Don't be such a stranger,"
"I promise," Nuana smiled, tugging on Dyson's jacket. "Could you drive me back to the Dal?"
"Of course," Dyson nodded before he turned to Bo, who was watching them. "Do you need anything else?"
"Nope," Bo shook her head. "You go. I've got this,"
Dyson nodded. "Alright. See you later?"
Bo nodded, watching Dyson leave with Nuana.
Bo really liked Nuana but she hated the overwhelming urged to hate her for being so close with Dyson, especially after this afternoon and that kiss they shared on that pool table. Granted, Bo had owed her some healing after getting Nuana nearly frozen to death but Bo hated that it had to come from Dyson. Not to mention that it was obvious the two liked each other. Bo didn't like admitting it to herself but she could see both of their aura's warm when they were near each other, the same way Dyson's warmed when he was near Bo except it was much brighter with the Gaian. However, she couldn't think about it right now. She had a debt to be paid to her by way of a lollipop sucking Oracle.
Later than night, at the Dal, Dyson sat a beer down in front of Nuana, pulling her from her thoughts as she looked up at him. She slid the bottle toward her and took a long sip, scrunching her nose at the bitter taste that rolled over her tongue.
"I thought you might need something stronger than chamomile,"
Nuana snorted unceremoniously. "You thought right,"
"How are you feeling?"
"Like I nearly died twice today," she sighed, taking another but much longer sip before looking over at him. "I am also feeling very grateful to a certain wolf shifter for saving me both times,"
"We need to stop making this a regular thing,"
"I will stop when you stop saving me,"
Dyson chuckled at her, taking a long drag from his own beer. "If I do that you won't be around,"
"I will be less likely to fall if you are not there to catch me,"
He shook his head. "That's where we have a problem. I'll always be there to catch you,"
Her face softened as she looked over at him. "Really?"
"Really," Dyson put down his beer and gave her a serious look. "Not enough people worry about you, Nuana. Someone has to,"
She ducked her head and smiled. "I love you, you dopey wolf,"
"I love you, too, stubborn woman," Dyson then smiled back at her, raising his bottle in a ceremonial fashion. "To catching each other when we fall,"
"To catching each other when we fall,"
Author's Note: The scene between the two in the hallway of the morgue was hard to write because it was so hard to force them to come to that decision but it needed to be done... I like the ending of the chapter. It makes me all warm inside and you really get to see the true friendship between Nuana and Dyson.
