Chapter 2
Lauren loved the stillness of the lab late at night, when she couldn't hear any sounds beyond the soft buzz of the electrical equipment. Although she loved the natural light flowing in from the rooftop windows during the day, at night the soft lights from the equipment on the walls wrapped her up, making her feel safe and relaxed.
That's exactly what she needed to balance out the cold inside; that, and a good riddle to keep her mind whirling out of control. She used to hate being out of control. Actually, she never used to like it, until she tasted what it felt like being touched by Bo; being looked at by Bo the way she did before…
She closed the book, and picked up again the second of Bo's list. There was nothing in them that would warrant murder, not even censorship from the Librarian.
The Librarian.
Maybe he could help.
Bo felt someone shaking her arm, gripped her dagger and when she opened her eyes, she saw Kenzi's wild grin inches from her face.
"How-dee-doo, sleeping beauty? Get up, get up, it's lunchtime already and I. Am. Hungry!. And I thought I had a good time last night".
Seeing that Bo had no intention of getting up, Kenzi threw herself on the bed and propped herself on one elbow.
"Sooo. What has my fav succubus being doing all night? Hope all sort of naughty things. Please make me jealous.."
Bo threw the blankets over her head and turned around.
"Okay. Be like that. But I do want all the dirty little details, or at least a name. Was it wolfie-wolf? Or do I smell new blood?" Bo didn't stir. "Okay then, I am going to make a succu-lent meal or heat pizza or something. I am starving"
When Kenzi left the bed, Bo realized she wasn't couldn't go back to sleep and settled for a long, warm bath, hoping no friendly dark demon would come in for a visit. As she was getting in, her phone rang.
She ignored the phone again when it rang a few minutes later, determined that nothing would get in the way of a lazy Saturday afternoon.
When Kenzi stormed in the bathroom holding her own phone, Bo realized that she should have made a national broadcast to share her intentions.
"Our favorite Fae cop for you. Really important, he says. Then, you and I must discuss the new Kenzi-is-my-secretary arrangement". Kenzi handed Bo the phone and sat on the edge of the bathtub, her hand rippling the water.
Bo ended the call and hastily put on her robe.
"Lauren is missing"
"Call me when she gets back"
"Kenzi"
"Alright, I'll go put on my Sherlock attire. What's the plan?"
"Dyson went to speak to The Ash. Hale found in the lab her laptop open showing the address of a Fae called The Librarian. Dyson asked me to speak to this man; he's on the dark team"
"So you're going to be the messenger succubus from now to eternity, right?"
"I know you don't like Lauren, and maybe you were right about her, but now come with me"
The Librarian lived in a house far out in the suburbs. It looked exactly the same as all the houses down the street, except for the overgrown grass. There were no cars parked outside the house.
Dyson approached the yellow car as they park behind his car.
"Hale and I will wait in the car right outside the house. Just talk to him, see if Lauren contacted him this morning. That's all. Don't get into trouble."
"Do I ever?"
Bo expected to find a weird old man, some kind of Dark Fae version of Mr Stelson.
She rang the bell, waited a few moments and rang again, before looking at Dyson back at his car and raising her hands with her palms up.
Dyson crossed the lawn and as he was reaching the door, he stopped suddenly, sniffing the air with eyes half closed.
"Lauren was here".
"So what do we do? There's nobody home". Bo fought the urge to knock the door down.
"She may be inside still. The smell is quite strong and recent. I'll check out back. Wait here"
After a few moments, Dyson reappeared. He signaled Bo and Kenzi to come over around the left side of the house.
"There's a back door. I'm sure he is inside, I hear a male voice, but I can't go in"
"I'll do it", said Bo as she started running towards the back of the house.
Dyson nodded curtly, his face steely, his eyes fixed on the entrance he could not cross.
"Make way, please, Fae peep" Kenzi approached the door while rummaging in her bag.
Kenzi showed them the tools in her hand: two little pieces of metal that Bo immediately knew what they were meant for.
"Sorry to spoil your fun, I know how much you like weapons and kicking doors"
"Granted. Please hurry" Bo's face didn't betray any feelings -nothing at all. Kenzi worried but forced herself to focus on the lock. Within seconds, the lock was opened.
Bo walked inside as silently as possible. The door led into an almost bare, darkened kitchen, with a square table in the middle and two mugs on it.
Dyson was right about a man being inside the house; Bo could hear his voice muted somewhere in front of her. Her eyes began to adjust to the low light. She saw a door half opened in the passage way in front of her; she approached it carefully and saw that it was the door to the basement.
She could see down below a feeble, flickering light, enough to see a shadow moving about. The stairs were made of wood and they would creak, so Bo took impulse and in three steps she reached the basement, her dagger ready in her hand.
A short, balding man in a rumpled suit was pacing up and down, completely oblivious to her presence, muttering while rubbing his head and waving his arms.
In a corner, sitting on a chair, there was Lauren, her chin resting on her chest, her arms dangling on the sides.
Bo grabbed the man by his collar. He continued muttering in a tongue Lauren couldn't understand. His eyes were unfocussed, and his face, unnaturally wrinkled, had a yellowish tinge, visible even in the low light.
"What the hell did you do to her? If you killed her, I swear…"
Bo let him go, sensing no immediate threat from him, and rushed over to Lauren.
She had a pulse, but her breathing was shallow and was completely unresponsive.
"Come Lauren, please, please…."
She knelt in front of Lauren, gently lifting up the doctor's face with her palms and let out as much energy as she could. She only managed to slightly stir Lauren, but it was enough to make her keep on trying. It was not helping; Lauren was soon as unresponsive as when she'd found her.
Then Bo remembered Saskia. She had no idea how she'd done what she did to the Fae killer, but she felt the urge to get close to Lauren –just as she would to drain someone.
Without even thinking, she reached Lauren's face with her own and kissed her softly, parting the doctor's lips slightly, and visualized Lauren smiling at her trying to conceal embarrassment, as she did so many times. She focused with all her strength in Lauren's admiring eyes, her soft touch, and then she felt it: deep from her core came flowing that energy that she'd taken so many times to feed her hunger. She let it flow outwards for what it seemed an eternity.
Suddenly, Lauren gasped and slowly half-opened her eyes.
Bo left Lauren's lips and rested her forehead against Lauren's while encircling her body with her arms to support her.
"Where… what…?" Lauren's weak voice filled her with marvel, as if she had witnessed part of a miracle
"Oh, how sweet, succubus version of Sleeping Beauty. I wonder if Disney would object to two ladies playing the lead roles"
Kenzi's words brought her back to reality: she had a rogue Dark Fae in the room she hadn't dealt with. She turned around, her hand flying to her dagger although she sensed no danger, and saw that the elderly man was safely tied up on the floor, still talking to himself. Dyson was standing over him, staring at the floor. Kenzi was sitting on the floor next to the door, to their side. Despite her sharp comment, she showed a distended look of relief.
She turned around to face Lauren again. She was still weak but her eyes became focused on the small man on the floor.
"The Librarian… Can't be…"
Bo looked at the man and despite herself, understood the gravity of the situation: a dark Fae nearly killed a light Fae.
She turned back to Lauren, feeling her intense gaze on her. They were full, deep, questioning…
"We should take Lauren to the lab now. I must also deal with this… situation as fast as I can" Dyson's tone was firm but betrayed a sense of real urgency.
"Can you stand up, Lauren?" Bo said, lifting her with great effort.
"I'm… I'm okay. Just dizzy, headache, that's all. I can walk" Bo put her arms around Lauren's waist and together took the first steps, but Lauren was just as strong as Bo, so each dealt with the stairs on their own.
Hale was standing outside the outside the house. He rushed over and took The Librarian to his car.
"Kenzi, take Bo and Lauren to the lab. Hale and I must go and see The Ash now" Dyson put his hand on Bo's arm. "Thanks for helping, Bo. And… Call me later if you need me, you know…."
Lauren stopped and closed her eyes.
Bo saw her and then turned to Dyson. "I'm going to be fine. I just need some rest, that's all"
"Come on people, there are wounds to be healed, food to be eaten and strong drink to be enjoyed" Kenzi said, standing on the driver's side of the yellow car.
It was already dark when they walked in the deserted lab.
Lauren looked as if she had a hangover but otherwise no one could tell she had had a brush with death less than an hour before.
She was more concerned about Bo, who looked pale and weaker than she had back at the house.
"I'm okay Lauren. It's you we must worry about, I'm just a little tired, that's all"
"You should have gone with Dyson. You need to feed"
Bo shook her head. "I just need to rest for a while, I'm just tired but fine" Bo saw that Lauren was about to object. "And don't give me the 'I'm the doctor' routine"
"Let me take your vitals, at least"
"Shouldn't someone do that to you first?"
Lauren looked around. "I am fine. You took care of that"
Bo and Lauren looked at each other in silence for a brief moment, until Kenzi came in between them.
"Okay ladies, very entertaining to see you two fight like an old married couple but since you're both better than the other one, I'm off to find us some food. Any special requests?"
Bo smiled, and Lauren went over to the workbench and took out a small instrument.
She sat on the examination table, took her blood pressure, then did the same on Bo.
"Now I'm going to need your help. First I need you to look at my pupils with this flashlight." She explained step by step all she needed Bo to do.
Bo smiled wickedly. "Well, how's that?. First, you take me on one of your house calls. Now I must play nurse?"
Lauren tightened her lips and nodded, but her eyes were not smiling. The friendly bantering felt too close, and somehow, the spell was broken.
Bo followed Lauren's every instruction. Lauren seemed to be just fine, responding well to every test. Lauren found nothing wrong with Bo either. Lauren put back her equipment, and Bo sat down to wait for Kenzi, closed her eyes and sighed.
"Are you okay?" Lauren came over and leant on the counter next to the chair.
"I don't know, Lauren. I mean, my body is fine, but…"
Lauren contained her breath.
"What happened back at the house was… I don't know"
"It was your next huge step, Bo. It was great, truly great. It takes a succubus years of practice to do that, and you just…" Lauren softly snapped her fingers.
"Let alone the fact that it saved my life"
Bo shook her head. "I don't think he would have killed you. You should have been dead by the time we arrived…"
"That wasn't The Librarian I know. He's just a… censor, he reads minds but mostly reads books, or the Internet. He looks for leaks in knowledge of the Fay. He may be dark but he's never been evil, let alone kill anyone. I've known him for years. Something is not right with him"
"Kidding. I didn't notice"
"Anyway, The Ash will deal with him and..."
"The Ash" Bo shook her head. Suddenly a stampede of reality knocked her awake.
Lauren took a deep breath. "Bo, I…." Lauren shook her head slowly. "I wish I… "
She knelt next to Bo and put her hand over the succubus' leg.
"Whatever the cost, I'm just glad you are alive. I'm so sorry I handled it all so badly. I could have done things differently, but I could not lie to you…"
Bo listened in silence, her eyes fixed on the floor. She felt a surge of frustration well up in her eyes, so she closed them. The contact of Lauren skin on her own was now burning her, but her heart was frozen again, fighting the words that she didn't want to hear.
"Back at the pub one night you said we should work on me losing control. Well, that night I lost control and…" Lauren pursed her lips and took her hand away from Bo.
"I'm not perfect, Bo. You said if I knew what you thought of felt, I wouldn't have done what I did. If you knew what I think or feel… Still, I'm sorry"
Lauren sat on the floor next to Bo, and covered her forehead with her hand.
Bo looked at Lauren, realizing that she didn't know her at all. She didn't know anything about her past, or even what she did beyond the lab, let alone understand what really went on in the inner circle of the Light Fae.
She remembered Trick reminding her that she herself had done many things she should have not done. And still…
"It's about trust, Lauren"
Lauren nodded, but said nothing.
"It looks like our paths keep on crossing no matter what. And even if it is just for 'work stuff,' I need to trust the people I have around me"
Lauren forced a smile "I know"
She looked at Bo, and for the first time, they made eye contact.
Bo saw Lauren's eyes welling up, so full of meaning and unsaid useless words. Nobody had ever looked at her like that before, and it felt real.
It felt good.