The car door slammed shut with such force it almost caused Akavi to barrel into the car to her left. She cursed again, slamming her hands on the steering wheel. In her rearview mirror, she saw Michael's body roll to a stop, and he lay there, motionless, until she turned a bend. Without a second thought, she slammed on the breaks and pulled completely off the highway, cursing fluently in both English and French as she jumped out of the car and set of at a fast sprint back to where Michael had stopped. Behind her, another car screeched to a halt on the side of the highway, and Cain and Feran started to get out.
"Stay there," Akavi shouted over her shoulder, projecting her voice over the blaring horns and the roar of speeding passersby. She lowered her voice and muttered, "I'll take care of him."
Michael came into view, still lying deathly still on the pavement. Again Akavi cursed. The force of his impact would have liquidated all of his internal organs. If he was dead, there would be Hell to pay.
Akavi was maybe one hundred yards from Michael's body when he sat up. She nearly lost her balance. Gods, was he really that powerful?
He looked at her. She was two-hundred feet away, and had stopped running. Without difficulty, he got to his feet. He turned and started walking calmly into the forest. Akavi growled.
"Michael, don't run from me," she snapped, sprinting up to him just in time to see his form disappear into the thick woods. "Goddamn it, Michael, get back here!" She peered into the dark forest, but there was no sign of him. Maybe she could have seen something in daylight, but the car headlights weren't enough.
"FUCK YOU, MYERS!!" She screamed. "YOU'RE AFRAID, YOU PSYCHOTIC BASTARD, I KNOW IT!" But he did not return.
Akavi let out a deep breath. This wasn't like her at all. She wasn't a screamer. She was calm. She was more controlled than that. But something about how easily he'd walked away from her struck her deep down, like a weight dropped into her stomach.
Michael Myers was afraid of her. No, that wasn't right. Michael Myers was afraid of what she represented: his humanity, the possibility of having non-vindictive feelings towards someone. She'd broken through his layers, and he'd reacted like most males would have, only a bit more to the extreme.
Now the problem lay in getting him back. And this was not going to be an easy solution. Myers had an ego that he wasn't willing to admit he had, and it was hurt, and Akavi wasn't about to apologize for telling the truth. She never apologized. It was a rule, and a damn good one. It kept her dignity safe and secure. Then again, she never said anything that was wrong, so why should she need to apologize?
Damn, that sounded arrogant.
Cain called out to her. She turned to look for him. He was waving at her. He wanted her to come back to the car. With one last dark glare towards the trees, Akavi headed back to her companions.
Akavi was still deeply immersed in thought as Cain pulled into their driveway, eyes glassy as she played the scenes over in her head, again and again. He'd just walked away, like she was another one of his victims, already slain, of no more importance. Just like that.
She didn't even bother telling herself he didn't matter. She couldn't lie to herself that easily. She'd felt a connection to him that was unlike anything she'd ever experienced, even with another child of Thurisaz. It hadn't even taken her long to come to terms with how Thorn had handed her over to Michael like a wedding gift. Independent, dominant, stubborn though she may be she wasn't stupid enough to argue with her rune. And she wasn't foolish enough to think that she didn't mind.
No, she didn't mind at all.
"Shit," said Cain darkly, bringing Akavi back to earth with a jolt.
"What?"
"Coryn." That word answered it all. A dark look descended over Akavi's face. She sighed.
Coryn was the leader of the Jerai clan. He was a tall, slender man with an almost Hispanic complexion. His hair was long, longer than Michael's, but just as curly and just as black. Coryn, however, had grown up normally, and as a result, his expressions were very alive, very vivid. He wasn't necessarily ugly, but he wasn't…
Akavi firmly shut down that particular thought pattern.
"Have we kept you waiting?" She asked as the three of them exited their vehicle and approached Coryn.
"To accuse you for that would be unfair, seeing as I never told you I was coming." He was one of the few Jerai that Akavi liked, partly because of his eloquence, partly because he had a very similar sense of humor. Feran and Cain both deeply disliked him, however. She wasn't exactly sure why.
"Come inside," she gestured, ascending the concrete staircase and pulling out the keys to her condominium. Cain kept up at her side, while Feran trailed behind Coryn. It seemed like a casual formation, one that most would easily have overlooked, but Akavi knew it was standard, and very serious, practice for her overprotective roommates.
The condo smelled like fresh, crisp winter. It was also very cold. Akavi liked it cold. No one else did.
"I assume you came to obtain information about your Thurisaz," she said as they all took seats in the living room. Coryn gave her an apologetic smile.
"I can't help but notice he's not with you," he said evenly. He was very careful where he tread, this one. Experience had taught him many things about Akavi's neurotic nature.
She smiled and shrugged lightly. "Temporary inconvenience," was all she offered him. Her voice sounded assuring. And it was honest, too. Deep down, something told her she'd find Michael again… Or perhaps he'd find her. Either way…
Her smile became a dark grin. Coryn's eyes widened just a little. She had big plans for Myers, no use concealing that from herself. It was with a mixture of exhilaration and anger that she anticipated their rendezvous.
"So he's here?" The man sounded anxious, pressed for time. And rightfully so. The Arkinaz were probably all but beating down his door by now. She frowned. Retiring from the political Druid circle had lightened a load of stress from Akavi's back, but it also made her feel in the dark sometimes. She wasn't completely up to date on the situation involving the conflicting clans.
"He's in the city," she replied. Coryn raised his eyebrows.
"He's not with you…?" Akavi sighed.
"He proved to be…too impulsive for his own good." They looked at each other. Coryn smirked.
"Much like yourself," he suggested cautiously. Akavi arched an eyebrow at him.
"I'll find him," she said, as if that not only summed up, but ended the entire conversation. Coryn knew better than to say any more. He stood.
"Goodbye, then," he gave her a nod, though it seemed to her he was having difficulty not breaking down in a fit of anxiety over the mysterious whereabouts of his Thurisaz. He said his farewells to Cain and Feran, and was out the door.
Michael took care in staying away from major roads. He moved through thick forest relying solely on his sense of direction. An hour or so of walking and he stumbled upon the suburbs. Hundreds of houses lined the streets, all quiet and sleepy. He didn't pause. He wasn't exactly sure where he was going, but wherever it was, he was going there with a vengeance.
Anger still coursed through him. He hated Akavi for what she'd said. He was afraid of nothing. He had no humanity left in him. What he'd been feeling was a trick of his mind. She'd manipulated him, twisted him around her finger so tightly he couldn't feel it happening.
Michael stopped. He was at an intersection. But that wasn't why he stopped.
He stopped because he wanted to laugh. He saw a bitterly ironic humor in those egotistical thoughts. He hated himself for having to fall back on Akavi as his scapegoat when he no longer knew how to properly explain his feelings to himself. But he did it almost without thinking.
Akavi claimed that he was afraid of her.
And despite all of his male instincts, which were screaming against it, he couldn't help but admit to himself that she was probably right.
He'd always assumed Thorn had given him a neutral view of his life. He'd always assumed Thorn belonged to him as much as he belonged to Thorn. Akavi had changed more than just his opinions. She'd changed the very way he reflected upon his life. Everything he'd done for all these years, he'd done out of pure bloodlust. He'd held himself to thinking that Thorn gave him this carnal urge.
It had always been him.
Akavi killed, Michael killed, both in the name of something much more powerful than themselves. But there was a difference there that buzzed in his head like a rancid little fly. A difference that set them apart by miles. Michael wanted to kill. Akavi needed to kill. Michael did it to sate an urge that he couldn't put into words. Akavi turned it into an art.
She was his opposite in almost every way.
A car was approaching. Michael was still standing in the middle of the intersection. He entertained the idea of commandeering the advancing vehicle, but an urge to track down Akavi had surfaced in his mind and it was too overwhelming to fight.
He sighed. The car zoomed past. Music blasted from the open windows.
As he watched the headlights fade into darkness, he turned down a second road, heading in the direction the small voice in his head was telling him to go. Passing beneath a streetlight, he looked up to see snowflakes drifting idly towards him. He smiled.