Chapter 5
Reses sighed as he pulled on the finely made black duster, watching in astonishment as the Greek left without another word. Now, that he hadn't expected. The man had seemed at a loss for what to say, and, although he found the prospect strange, he had to consider what his eyes and mind were telling him. Did he make Zarek uncomfortable?
As he made his way down the gleaming stairway, he watched the Greek's back, wide of shoulder and slim in his leather jacket. He saw the instant the man sensed his approach, the second he heard his footsteps fall on the wooden surface of the ground floor. His back tensed, he stood straighter, and he turned, a wary look in his eyes.
The sight nearly made Reses laugh. Nobody had ever looked at him like that outside of one of his limited battles. He was a slave, for Gods' sake. And this Greek, for some unknown reason, seemed to view him as a threat. The thought sobered him. That in itself was nothing new, having, in his lifetime, known many jealous lovers, husbands…and wives, for that matter. He lowered his gaze, trying to look humble, and unthreatening, for perhaps the first time in his existence. He didn't want to lose the odd sort of informality that had sprang up between him and the Greek…Zarek. Didn't want to have to say "master" every time he was spoken to, or bow, or anything he always did to his other masters. He waited for Zarek to say something, anything, but he simply nodded at him once, and headed out the door. Reses silently followed him, and once more they entered the black Honda.
The drive towards "the rendezvous point" was quiet. Both men pretended not to notice, neither one making any true attempts at conversation other than the occasional comment about simple, inane things. The silence was thick, making both men tense and shift, and nearly fly from the car when it stopped in the same dirty alley they had visited when they first arrived. The only differences now, Reses supposed, was that it was filled with several unknown men as well as the Atlantian, and that now darkness surrounded them, every streetlight in the area either broken or shorted. Of course, since Dark-Hunters wouldn't like the light, it was a perfect place to meet these creatures who had once been human.
Reses watched as Zarek strode towards the Atlantian, speaking to him in a soft, forceful tone while Reses hung back, hesitant to show himself. Zarek had been remarkably accepting of his appearance, but he didn't dare hope that the others would be so understanding to his predicament. He was sure that all of the men would respond in one of two ways: either automatic hatred or jealousy, or worse, a desire for his body, willing or no. Although he hated to spoil his here-to good mood by being bombarded with those two expressions, the same on every face, he didn't see any way to avoid it, especially since Zarek was staring intently into the corner where he had hidden himself. The way he was looking at the area of darkness made Reses suspect that he could see him, and understood his uncertain attitude. A ghost of a reassuring smile was on his face, in his eyes, and it pacified Reses. Briefly. It was, however, long enough to give him back the courage he normally had in bundles, long enough to cause him to step outside of the safe shadows of the car.
The result was, as he had expected, a look of surprise, and a mixture of resentment and mistrust passed along all of their faces, especially on one certain face. The dark-haired man was wearing a coat of expensive cashmere, and an expression of amusement on his sneering face. He looked, much to Reses' surprise, remarkably similar to Zarek, down to the height, and even the shape of his face. However, this man stank of something calculating and cruel, whereas Zarek did not. They can't be related…can they? He wondered, then shook that thought off as ridiculous. Dark-Hunters, to his knowledge, didn't have any living relatives.
"Well, well, well. It's a fine day indeed when we are depending on a pretty boy to save our skins," snickered Valerius, Zarek's older brother laughing to himself while looking casually away from Reses, as though he wasn't even there. Another insult, Zarek knew. It was not aimed at Reses, however. Rather, it was aimed at him,a test from a clever man to see whether he had found another of Zarek's weaknesses. He had to will himself not to react, not to immediately jump to Reses' defense or respond rashly, even though he desperately wanted to thump the Roman across the back of his head. He shrugged, and looked around at the faces of the others, some he knew and some he didn't. They all wore similar expressions of amusement, distrust, and…anger? He would have scowled at all of them, but he felt Acheron's warning frown, and refrained. Was simply knowing him enough to label Reses a hated individual? He wanted to snap at the other men, tell them to not judge a man by who he knows, or how he looks. Those wise words, he knew, would have fallen on deaf ears, as they always had. Everybody judged by appearance, he knew, no matter what they said otherwise. Shallow bastards.
He turned to glance sidelong at Reses, and noticed the empty expression on his face. Even though he hid it well, Zarek could feel the resigned dismay shimmering around him, almost as if he had expected such reactions from men, even such well-known and admired men as the Dark-Hunters. He let a shrug roll over his shoulders, a disinterested expression forced on his face. He'd be damned if Reses suffered simply because he was moderately kind to Zarek, if he let the one person who treated him with something approaching friendliness be put through hell. He would rather go under the lashes once again than let an innocent being pay for mistakes he had made, and he would fix this, solve this. Even if Reses didn't know he was doing it. Even if Reses came to hate him for it.
"Isn't it?" he responded mildly, tilting his head. He felt Reses' eyes on him in surprise. "But then, you're hear, aren't you?"
As he had known he would, Valerius reddened, his eyes flashing. Green-boy, Zarek thought, amused. Even though Valerius was older than him in years, he still hadn't learned to control himself, and his emotions, as well as Zarek.
"What are you trying to say, Zarek? That this pretty-boy and me are…alike?" The disgust with which he said it didn't give any complements to Reses, but he forced himself to continue on, knowing that any friendship they had developed would crumble with his next statement.
He didn't say what he truly wanted to say, which would have been something like no, I have known Reses much less time than I have known you, and I like him ten times more. Instead, he responded differently, his cool tone belaying the harsh words that poured from his mouth.
"Of course you are. One worthless, pretty face to another."
He expected the Roman's fury, but not in such a way. He was unprepared for the jolt of another body slamming into his, and the fierce slash of pain as the Roman landed a quick blow to his ribs, and plunged a hidden knife into his side. Schooled in hiding pain, he didn't cry out as he wanted to. Didn't so much as whimper as the knife plunged a second time, before the Roman was yanked off of him. He felt the blood pooling in his midsection, the rich color dying the black of his shirt and jacket, and he blinked into the darkness, squinting to see the face of the man who had interfered.
He was surprised, if not completely, to see Reses standing above him. Even though his face was as blank as ever, Zarek could all but taste the fury he was feeling. Sorry, he thought sadly, disappointed that he had to pretend distaste for the attractive slave to insure that he did not have any problems with the others. It made him feel guilty, and cruel, to treat a fellow slave like that, taking away the one alliance the man thought he had.
Oh well. He thought resignedly as the slave pulled him unceremoniously to his feet, then let go almost immediately. He hid his shock that, even for a brief second, Reses had helped him even though he was angry at him. He tried to hope that the man might forgive him, and Zarek might actually make a friend, as with one look at the man's stony-set face was enough to quash these foolish thoughts. Even as he brushed himself off, he noticed the other men eying Reses warily, and Zarek looked at the other man for a clue as to why. However, one look at the battered Roman lying perfectly still in the alley prevented him from having to wonder for too long. Was Valerius dead? But no, seconds later the man moved, groaning a little as he propped himself up on his elbows, looking at Reses with an expression of disbelief. Besides the fact that someone had actually helped Zarek, the silver-haired man had practically thrown a full-grown man across an alley with one hand, as though he was nothing more than a fly. With a cool, calm voice, Reses spoke, his eyes on the Roman, but Zarek knew those words were meant for him as well.
"If you believe I am simply a 'pretty boy,' then you are sadly mistaken. I would recommend you not make me angry enough to find out just how mistaken you are." He leveled one last glare at all of them except Zarek, who he tilted his head at in a mockingly respectful manner, before he turned and walked away.
"Well," said Acheron with mild cheer, causing everyone to turn to look at him. "That, if you couldn't tell, was Reses, a friend of Morsus' who has offered to assist us. For the time being, he is staying with Zarek, as no other room is available at this time. I would suggest that you stay well away from the man when not preparing to do battle, else you might, er, upset, Morsus who, if you don't mind me saying so, would gladly rip out your heart and feed it to you."
Very tactful, Zarek thought, shaking his head though it hurt to even breathe. He was sure that that statement would only increase the men's curiosity, and, undoubtedly, it sounded like a challenge to Valerius, and he never backed down from a challenge. Fucking perfect, he thought. Just what he needed: to have to protect the man from even more threats now. Although… the man seemed much stronger than Zarek had originally thought him to be, as well as much more resilient. He hadn't blinked an eye at Zarek's cruel comment, or Valerius.' It was fairly likely that the man wouldn't need his help at all, and that thought bothered him. He didn't know why, but he wanted Reses to need his support, and his protection. His village had needed it, and he hadn't been able to give it to them. Reses, however, was new to Dark-Hunter customs, and would be lost with most of their references, and techniques for dealing with Daimons, and, damn it, he would need help, but he doubted the man would accept it from him now. He narrowed his eyes in thought, an idea coming to him. Could he perhaps help Reses adjust without seeming to, while seeming to be cruel? The man would only be around for a week, starting tonight, and he wouldn't have time to adjust on his own.
Hmmm…sounds like a challenge, he thought, glancing at the annoyed man standing by the black car, practically glowing in the light of the quarter moon. It would take hard work, and loads of determination to succeed in this scheme of his, but he was used to both. He had been the main whipping boy of his own half-brothers, and he had survived, one day at a time, willing his broken body and mind to go on. He would do so now, resisting the urge to apologize every time he insulted the man, and seeming to be his regular, obnoxious self, while secretly making sure that Reses didn't get into trouble…of any kind. His subtle interference would go unnoticed and, while it may hurt the man's opinion of Dark-Hunters, and humans in general to act so harshly, it had to be done. And it had to be done without the man's slave instincts kicking in, without making him feel small and foolish.
This was going to be one interesting week.
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And now…the MEGA RESPONSE.
Of course, this is too Rae Roberts, who actually bothers to review. I love you so much for commenting on my work.
Chapter 1- Thank you for enjoying this, and you're welcome! As far as reading the whole series, you'll do it eventually. Warning: I do not recommend Seize the Night. It's an okay book and all, but it makes me so sad. If you read it or I write a fanfic about the new Dark-Hunter in that book, you'll see what I mean.
Chapter 2- Yes, Reses is an original character, but (I said it once, so I'll say it again) he really should exist, if you ask me. I was kind of annoyed that the rule was a Dark-Hunter had to fall in love with a woman to be released, so I made Reses. Isn't he great?
Chapter 3-Thank you again.
Chapter 4-They do have a lot in common, so I hope their upcoming relationship works out (you never know.) In case you didn't notice in this chapter, he's going to act like his cantankerous self again, but we all know there are good intentions behind the way he acts, either because of the way he feels or because he doesn't like intimacy (yet another reason we love him.) While what he said was kind of a low blow, it was all for the best.
Thank you so much for reviewing!