Chapter Ten: The Valkyrie and the Succubus

Tamsin paced around her small apartment the next morning, wondering when they would get a hit off the reconstructed face, besides some shit water sprite saying that she'd seen him in passing. She wanted this case closed, and then she planned to take some time off. There was nothing more she wanted than to blow this shit town and get away for awhile.

After her talk with Bo, she felt like her world had ended. From all her many lives, these past two have been the most trying. And it was all that damned succubus' fault.

No emotion, that had been her motto for an eternity. A thousand years of training wiped away by one job she happened to take. How had her life come to this? She was supposed to be an emissary of death, cabbing souls of fallen warriors to their wonderful afterlife, and now all she remained was a detective that couldn't solve a stupid John Doe case. And of course, of course, this case she worked happened to cross paths with Bo.

That night they shared, when Tamsin literally wrapped herself up and gave her body to Bo, was supposed to be the beginning of something wonderful. Instead she got a boot to the ass and asked to go.

Why did she even care about any of this?

The answer, simply, was Bo. Until the two of them met, Tamsin had been a tough shell to crack. Entering the circle of friends she had here somehow softened that, and she found herself sometimes grateful, but more often than not, regretful, of opting to put herself in this position. Thinking back, she couldn't remember whether she volunteered for this Light and Dark playing nice experiment, or if she had been forced into it. Everything with Evony was complicated, and she had her ways of making you choose something you'd regularly not.

Whatever happened since then, that was totally all on herself, and Bo. She wanted to hate the succubus, and succeeded in that for a long time, but like everyone else in Bo's life, she fell under her spell.

She wanted out, and this dead body was the last loose end she had.

Nothing would stop her once this case resolved itself.

She took another swig of the glass of scotch that she had been cradling against her chest. Everything was in such turmoil, she wasn't sure which path to take. The only thing that made sense was to leave, then, and never look back. Of course she would tell Dyson, and Evony, that she'd be right back, just needed to take a quick sabbatical, but she couldn't return here.

Stumbling, she realized that she was too drunk for it being this early in the day. Oh well, not like she had much to do today, aside from sitting around waiting for Dyson to call about the case. And she'd been working for eight days in a row, so maybe she'd just take a personal day.

Goddess knows she's earned it.

Every time she thought of Bo, her heart jumped to her throat, followed by an immediate knife to the organ. She couldn't trust herself, and that was the worst kind of doubt there was. If she knew one thing, it was doubt, and the sensations it stirred in her were horrible. She needed a release, or a cleansing, of sorts.

One final case, and she'd be done.

There was a knock at the door.

"What the fuck," she whispered. Dyson would have called, and since he was the only person she interacted with lately, who else could it be?

Taking the first tentative steps towards the door, she called out, "Who's there?" If it wasn't Dyson, the only logical assumption would be that it was an old enemy returning. But she didn't make enemies that were this polite.

No answer.

Pressing her hands against the wood, she positioned herself to see through the viewer.

"Goddamnit," she said beneath her breath. Standing inches away from her, close enough to touch if not for the door, was none other than Bo herself.

Bo knocked again.

Letting out a colossal sigh, Tamsin placed her glass on a side table and opened the door just enough to talk. Her body blocked any sight of the apartment behind her. "What do you want?"

"I just want to talk," Bo said, her demeanor sincere.

"I thought you had said everything you had to say," Tamsin said, knowing that Bo wouldn't leave until she's said her piece. She walked back into the apartment, grabbing her glass and leaving Bo standing in the open doorway.

"That's not true, and I think you know that."

Tamsin tipped her glass in the succubus' direction. "Never quite done with anyone, are you?" She downed the rest of the glass and moved to pour another.

Striding across the room, Bo put her hand on Tamsin's arm, preventing her from pouring more scotch into the glass. Tamsin reacted by jerking her arm away, breaking their contact and sending the glass bottle to the floor. As it shattered, Bo knelt to begin cleaning, and Tamsin brought her palm to Bo's cheek.

Bo fell to the floor, shocked at the sudden outburst of violence.

"What was that for?"

"You really have to ask that?" Tamsin said, reeling. "After everything you've put me through, you really need to ask that?"

"I'm sorry," Bo said, settling into a sitting position on the floor.

"It's about time."

Bo started to stand back up while Tamsin went to a cabinet and withdrew another bottle of alcohol. She refilled her glass.

"Tamsin, listen, I've had time to think…"

"Oh, so now you're thinking before you speak? What a startling innovation!" Tamsin took a deep swig, and finally took a long look at Bo. She was taking a much longer time to get back on her feet than she should, and the red mark from her slap had not yet started fading. She seemed out of breath, weak. "Bo," she said, her voice shaking just a bit, "when was the last time you fed?"

Bo worked and pulled herself to her feet. "I'm fine."

"Bullshit."

"I know how to handle my cravings."

"OK, if you're so fine, then please, tell me what warranted this unexpected visit." Tamsin said. If Bo wasn't willing to tell her what she really needed, then maybe she'd tell her the lame excuse she made to visit her.

"I just wanted to talk about the case we are working," Bo said, and her hand went to her cheek again. "Damn, have you gotten stronger?"

"Or you've gotten weaker. Has someone actually IDed our John Doe?" Tamsin retorted. If Bo wanted to play this game, she'd play along. Dance around the subject, like she's always done.

"No, I wanted to run some ideas by you. Trick's told me a little bit about these water sprites, and this particular sect of them are really interesting."

"I don't care about that," Tamsin said bluntly, polishing off this glass and slamming it on a table. "Blah blah blah, stupid Fae getting themselves into stupid situations. I keep trying to help, but the more help I give, the more they need my help. You know what, Bo? I'm sick of it."

"Are you trying to provoke me? I want us to just move on with our lives and get back to normal."

"What is normal with us, exactly?" Tamsin asked. "Really? I came into your life with the intent of bringing you down, you decide that I need to be reformed, I get a potion to send you to the Wanderer, we try to kill each other, you fuck me and then discard me? Is that the normal that you're so wanting to get back?" By the end of her tirade, she was a ball of fury, and stormed over to where Bo stood. Jabbing a finger into the succubus' chest, she said, "No, Bo. No."

Bo knew she had this onslaught coming, but now that it was here, she felt like she could do nothing to turn the tide. Everything Tamsin said was accurate, and in some way echoed the words Dyson had so thoughtfully said to her before.

She felt weak, mentally and physically. Tamsin was right that she needed to feed, but she just hadn't been in the mood in such a long time – since before she and Tamsin spent that night together. Thinking back, the last person she fed on was that one night stand with Mark, and while that night was amazing, Mark didn't hold the power that Tamsin, or even Dyson, was able to give her. This case had pushed her to the edge, and she felt like she was about to fall off the side.

"Tamsin, please."

"NO!" She shouted, still poking her. "I am on my last fucking life, and you took my heart before smashing it. I don't have the time left to deal with this. So you tell me, what do you honestly expect from me?"

"I don't know!" Bo shouted, backing away from Tamsin. She'd seen her angry before, but never quite like this.

When the valkyrie went to refill her glass yet again, Bo sprang into action and knocked the bottle from her hand again, sending another bottle to shatter on the hardwood. "Oh, bitch, you owe me so much for this," Tamsin said, throwing herself at the succubus.

They fell in a mercifully dry spot on the floor, a tangle of limbs.

Tamsin's breath was hot in Bo's face, and reeked of alcohol. Despite that, Bo found herself wanting to kiss the other woman. Kiss, inhale chi, fuck her, she wasn't entirely sure what she wanted, but she knew it started with kissing.

The valkyrie was having a similar experience, but she thought the process should start with a little punching. In their joined confusion, they began wrestling on the ground.

"Please, just relax," Bo said, rolling on top. She tried to use her sexual-energized touch to calm her, but she didn't have enough juice.

"Are you kidding me?" Tamsin said, punching Bo in the gut and throwing her to the bottom. "You are too weak to fight me right now, succubus. Maybe if you fed you'd stand a-"

Bo took that as a cue, and inhaled deeply. Blue energy flowed from Tamsin to Bo, and she felt one of the best rushes of her life. Apparently, the last life of a valkyrie was their strongest. She hadn't felt this good in a long time.

Forcing her mouth shut, Tamsin punched Bo again, although this time the blow landed with a little less impact.

"Listen, I'm sorry for whatever pain I've caused you," Bo said, now that she felt she had the situation under control. "But I still need you in my life."

"Oh yeah?" Tamsin said. "If that's true, then show me."

Bo ripped Tamsin's blouse off without half a thought, then tore her bra in two. Her hands and lips explored the exposed flesh, hungrily devouring every inch of her. Tamsin kept struggling to return, but Bo continued to slap her hands away, wanting to savor each individual sensation she received from her temporarily heightened senses. Her fingers dug at the waistband of Tamsin's pants.

Arching her back, the valkyrie scratched her nails down Bo's back, happy to find no resistance from a bra. She caught purchase on her shirt, and ripped it away from the succubus' body.

They continued their dance on the floor, spinning further and further into each other.

Dyson felt like he needed a run.

Not a typical, human jog, but a nice, animalistic, run. He went out to the woods, discarded his clothes, and shifted into his wolf. Sprinting through the trees, he felt free. All the stress from his son and Vex, from the missing water sprite and the John Doe, everything just faded into background noise.

As he ran, he caught a very delicious scent.

Barreling towards it, he charged through the underbrush, ignoring the scattering of smaller creatures. Nearing the amazing scent, he realized what it was. Blood.

Shifting back to his human self, he wandered naked towards a large redwood tree.

At first he didn't want to believe that what he saw could be real. The red splatter could not have come from just one person. Barely noon, and still clotted chunks of matter oozed their way down the trunk of the tree. It had to have been from the night before. The body barely had any full parts left to it.

And there was a message.

Written in blood, along the snaking roots of the massive tree, were the words, "I did it to myself."