Tristan's Peace - Chapter 18
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters that you may recognize from King Arthur. Nor do I own any that you may recognize from the Dark Hunter Series by Sherrilyn Kenyon. I am merely playing with them for a time. So please don't sue me, I have no money. Nada, zippo, zilch.
KnightMaiden - I'm glad you liked that update and I hope you like this one more.
op - Alot happenes these next few chapters. The last and these next two were originally one large chapter. But I had to cut them into pieces because I kept adding and editing. So, eventually, it so long. I am so happy that you keep reading.
Cardeia - I do love your nudges. The give me validation that my ideas have cement under them. To me T&T have this relationship that doesn't require much talking. Prodding when necessary. And for him, he's going with some very good advise he got so long ago...
I hope I got Spurius okay. He's not going to be a real big player right now. Only in bits and peices. His major role will come later. His only purpose right now is to annoy the snot out of Tristan. So I hope I did that okay.
Melosine - Slim Jims. Originally they were twinkies. But someone we both know thought that Tristan wouldn't have much of a sweet tooth. And there is more to these next few chapters and the last was only to set things up.
C.J. Davis - I left it there? Ah Huh. Besides, you already know what's going to happen. grin
blue-waffle - I'm really glad you like my description of Tristan's fab body. I have this one where he's in the shower and I go off that for this certain inspiration. And I think his "thirst" is going to become secondary to what he needs to deal with now. It was mostly a reason to get them back into each other's lives. And i'm so sorry that I haven't reviewed your latest yet. I keep meaning to, but then get sidetracked. But I will. I promise.
2005
20 minutes before...
Acheron stood with his hands in his pockets, one of his knees cocked. The look on his face let on to the fact that he wasn't to happy. It was a good thing that he had on his sunglasses or else he'd be shooting out bolts of lightning. Instead, he fiddled with a pack of cigarettes.
This situation was going faster than he wanted it to. He had hoped that Artemis wouldn't send her crony for a few days yet.
He was just happy that all the players in this little drama were present.
The bolt hole had opened directly behind the eatery. At a time when partygoers were coming out of the bars in search of food to absorb all the alcohol they had just consumed. There had been seven of them, Victor not being present. They had destroyed all but the one that Adamo held onto now and one that had slipped through another bolt hole.
Why they would come to Nick Tahoe's. Ash didn't want know. He wrinkled his nose at the smell coming from the place. It was one of Teagan's favorite places to eat. She raved and raved about their garbage plates. The slaw, potato salad and home fries piled high and either two hots or two hamburgs laying on top wasn't exactly his cup of coffee. Teagan came here every chance she got.
Well, if she liked it...
Now he stood looking at the small group. Adamo was holding onto the female Daimon that they had managed to capture. Spurius was talking softly Seaghdh. Shay giving the Roman a lowdown on Rochester as he would be the new Hunter in town.
Why Artemis sent him, he didn't really know and he really didn't care. He was a good Hunter. Didn't always follow the rules. But then, none of them really did. But despite the man's mouth and cockiness, he was really good at what he did.
His differences with Tristan would prove to be entertaining in the very least. The scout didn't much like anyone Roman. And given his past with them, he didn't blame the man. And Spurius didn't help matters any by constantly goading Tristan every time they were together.
But Spurius' arrival just may prove to help him in his plan.
Acheron had called Shay over to help when he heard about the arrival of the Daimons. He could use all the help he could get. And the Were had a certain knack of feeling the soulless nasties out. He had proven his worth in the fight more than once. Now he just stood aside, watching Ash. Wondering the same thing as everyone else.
What the heck they were all doing here.
"Alright Ash. What are we doing?" Spurius looked to the elder as he put a card Shay had given him inside his jacket pocket. Pulling his hand out, it revealed a rather slim, but long dagger. A dagger that he waved in the face of the Daimon. Giving her an evil looking smile.
The Daimon in Adamo's grip started struggling harder. The Dark Hunter nearly losing his grip on her. "Will you stop?" His voice frustrated. He just wanted to kill her now. "Yeah. Why am I holding her instead of taking her head off?" As his grip on her tightened, he knew he should be leaving marks.
Should being the operative word. The only mark that Daimons ever had was the inkblot on their chests, where the souls entered their bodies. The only spot to kill or hurt the Daimon with any effectiveness.
Their inkblots were the eqivalent of the double bow and arrow mark on any Hunter. It was the spot in which their soul had been taken by Artemis. And it was through this mark that their sould could be returned.
Ash slowly pulled a cigarette out of his pack, sticking it into his mouth. "We are here because of her and her kind. You all saw the bunch of them. And I have an icky feeling that there will be more." He lit the cigarette without a lighter, causing Spurius to raise his eyebrow.
"But why can't I just kill her now?" To Ash, his voice sounded more like a whine.
"Because, Adamo, we may need information from her." He spoke slowly as it talking to an errant toddler. Adamo really did get on his nerves at times.
The female struggled more, spitting onto Acheron's boot. "I won't tell you a thing."
Acheron moved to the Daimon, taking her chin into his fingers bringing her face to look up into his. "You don't have to. I know who sent you."
She swallowed. Everyone had heard of Acheron. Even Victor had warned them all about him saying he was the most deadly of them all. "If you know it was Victor that sent us, why don't you just kill me now?" She wasn't really afraid to die. And it was almost preferable to what she had been dealing with lately.
She didn't want to be the one to tell Victor that they had failed in retrieving the woman.
Acheron smiled, one of his eyebrows raised. "Because I need you yet."
"Great." Muttered Spurius, moving to pace around the small group, his fingers twirling the slim dagger. Acheron was playing his games.
Again.
Shay looked from one to another. His mind racing. Something in the back of his mind started connecting dots. Something about a story he had heard a long time ago. "And that's why you've called them. Isn't it?"
"Called who?" Asked Adamo as he tightened his grip. She sure was putting up a fight.
Acheron ignored him, his attention on Shay.
"Yes, Seaghdh. That's why." His head turned as he heard a noise. It was the noise of a running engine. Seeing Teagan's Jeep coming into view, he decided that now would be a good time to pee. Without another word to the others, he dropped the Daimon's chin and took off.
0o0o0
Both Tristan and Teagan walked toward the group, both noticing the Daimon tight with Adamo's grasp. Suddenly, Tristan stiffened beside her. She felt the movement of his arm as he pulled a throwing dagger out of his belt.
It happened so fast, one moment Tristan was walking beside her. The next, he had his weapon out, engaging the enemy. He said not a word nor made any noise as he moved. To her, it was like watching silent lightning. She tried to focus her attention to the Daimon in front of her.
Teagan's world spun momentarily as she got a look at the Daimon before she disintegrated, Tristan's knife going deep through her chest to land securely in Adamo's arm .
That Daimon looked familiar to her.
0o0o0o
No one spoke. Each givingvicious looks to one another. Adamo, nursing his arm where Tristan's sharp blade had gone through the Daimon.
No one really wanted to confront Tristan about his actions. Shay, because he was to busy sizing up the competition. Spurius, because he couldn't believe that Tristan was still alive after Artemis put her hit on him. That and the fact that Tristan didn't play by the rules anymore. And Adamo, just because he was afraid.
Afraid of Tristan.
Tristan? Well... He was just being himself.
Teagan was quiet because she was trying to figure out where she had seen the Daimon before. It was one of those nagging things. And she really didn't have much to say. Shay was looking at her like she had just killed his favorite puppy. She knew that she had to talk to him, but this was not the place she had imagined. Not like this, not here.
So no one spoke for a long while, each looking at the other. Each clearly trying to figure out what to say.
It was Spurius that spoke first, breaking the tension that was hanging thick in the air.
He cleared his throat with a short cough. "Old man, what brings you here?"
Tristan bowed his head in acknowledgment, then nodding toward Teagan. "Her."
"And just who are you?" His dark eyebrow cocked, just a bit.
Teagan raised her chin, looking at the Roman with cool blue eyes. "Teagan."
The Roman Hunter looked over Teagan with appreciation, she certainly was a pretty little thing. She wasn't all that tall, in fact she was quite short. Her flaming red hair fell in waves way past that waist. That waist with the most curvaceous hips he'd seen on a woman in a while. It almost looked as though those faded jeans she wore were painted on.
While she wasn't as chesty as he preferred his women, she wasn't that small either.
His lips twitched as Tristan moved closer to her. "So, you're the one everyone is talking about are you?" And if Tristan was with her, he wondered why. For all intents and purposes, this one was a shade already. Word on the site had spread that Artemis has set her monsters onto him.
And having known Tristan for a long time, he knew that the scout wasn't one to follow the rules. Not to the letter anyway. From what Spurius had found out, Tristan wasn't one of Artemis' favorites. In fact, she had put him in situations fully expecting the scout to go off. He had come close, but never had.
Until now, it was rumored.
Spurius looked the Hunter over. He hadn't changed in the hundreds of years since he had met him. Ever the surly looking man. Ever the one to attract danger. It was probably Tristan that the Daimons were after.
And from what he had heard, Teagan was a healer. Known for helping all kinds. From those that truly needed to be saved to those that didn't deserve it. From wounded bodies to wounded souls.
He wondered why Teagan would be saving the scout. He had made it known that he didn't have a soul to save.
But, he was acting awful damn possessive of her.
Seaghdh slowly moved close to Teagan and Tristan. Slowly in the way his species moved when faced in possible hostile situations. And as much as he wished to be more human, he wasn't. And right now, his animal side was forefront. And his animal was saying that his property was bing messed with.
Even though Teagan never gave her love to him, he still concidered her his. Still wished for her to be his mate.
He only had eyes for Teagan. Taking in the change in her. She seemed very much at ease next to Tristan. It was almost as if she had unfolded. Unfolded from that guarded wall she had been behind most of the time since he had met her. She had the unmistakable smell of woman about her.
"You've mated with him."
"No, Shay. I haven't."
Shay's eyes narrowed, his nostrils flaring with the intake of air. "But, I smell him on you."
Tristan, smelling the jealousy emanating off Shay, moved protectively close to Teagan. Almost pushing her away from the were with his body. "Yes, you do, hawk."
Teagan eyed both men, worried that both would come to blows. She didn't want that, but she didn't stop Tristan from asserting his male dominance either. It was probably something he needed to do.
She belonged to him. She knew this. And honestly didn't care who else did either.
She moved her eyes away from the men, her senses picking up another presence.
Teagan noticed Acheron standing next to her jeep. One booted foot resting up in the door frame while a hand was holding onto the side mirrors. He had his hair black today, with it's red stripe. It was unbound with his ever present sunglasses holding it away from his face. He wasn't looking at any of them, only peering at his reflection in the mirror.
Placing her hand on Tristan's arm, she pointed to Ash. He nodded his head at her, his attention back on the men in front of him.
0o0o0o
"Hello, T. You're looking well."
She thought about giving him another piece of her mind, being still angry at him for withholding vital information from her. Instead, she decided to just prod him a little bit.
"Ash, I really need you to tell me what's going on."
He only watched her, his eyes slowly swirling.
"Please?" She swallowed, her emotions coming again to the surface. She cursed inwardly. She'd done more crying these last two days than she had in years. "Do you see my future?" He may not be able so as she was part of his blood. But there was always a chance he could.
As he was connected to her directly by blood, he could never see her complete future. Only bits and pieces. And only those bits that were connected to Tristan or Joachim.
Acheron closed his eyes, searching his mind. His mind's eye finding her aura, her essence. He could only see grey. He couldn't read her future, he was too close to her to do so. But, he could read Tristan's. And as she was connected to the scout, it scared him.
"I can't, love." Which was true.
Teagan's eyes started to water again. As she blinked, wetness seeped out of her closed lids. When she opened them again, the blue had started to take on a grey.
"Can you see Tristan?" She whispered. She knew Acheron wasn't as connected to him as he was her.
"Yes." Ash didn't elaborate. He didn't want to. He didn't want to even think of what was going to happen.
Ash knew that Tristan was going to bite someone. This, he had seen. It was inevitable for the scout. He looked at Teagan. His heart thumped.
Tristan was going to bite her. He knew it and he had a feeling that the scout knew it also.
Tristan needed to die. For anyone to gain their sould back, it needed to be done. But, this is where is was going to get tricky. He was going to die. The minute he did, Teagan would follow him.
Unless Tristan could give her soul back to her before that. He could feel the warmth of the bloodstone that held that most precious soul against his chest. He was never so happy than at this moment knowing that he had been the possessor of her soul since the beginning. He didn't even want to imagine what Artemis would make him barter with to gain it as she did with every other soul he asked for.
His eyes flicked to Tristan, where the scout was eyeballing Spurius.
"Please Ash." Her eyes pleading with his. "Tell me what you see."
Acheron moved closer to her, not quite embracing her. His fingers went to her chin, bringing her face up further. His thumbs gently caressing her chin's curve. "Are you sure you want to know?"
Teagan nodded, Ash's fingers still under her chin. The absence of anything human in him seeping into her skin. She was like Ash in so many ways but his one. She had managed to keep much of her humanity throughout the years. This was part of the reason she was who she was.
Suddenly, Acheron dropped his hand, turning away from Teagan. "No." He couldn't do this to her.
A frustrated sound left Teagan's lips, she moved to Acheron's side, leaning on the jeep. Trying to stop the tears of frustration and fear from coming back.
Ash touched her shoulder, pointing behind her, toward the group of men.
"Hey T? You better go see to your man."
0o0o0o
"Well?" He asked his servant as he turned from the window overlooking Holy Seplecure Cemetery.
"I'm sorry, Lord."
"And what are you sorry for?" Victor smile was thin as he advanced on his subject.
"Because they weren't there, Lord. We could not find her." The blonde Daimon swallowed hard, backing up to the stone wall. "She wasn't..."
He never said another word nor felt another thing as the blade entered his chest, causing him to disintegrate into so much golden dust.
TBC...
A/N: Well? Was this interesting enough? I just hope it conveys what I am trying to say. keeping fingers crossed