A/N: Here it is, the next chapter! Okay, everything CSI related isn't mine, but the rest of it is totally mine. Italics are mental conversations.
Nick looked around as he and Verity walked along the streets of New Orleans. Despite the terrible hurricanes of years past, the city was rebuilding. Verity led him to a stately manor near Bourbon St. She walked up and opened the door and shed her jacket in the foyer.
"Nios! We're here!" she bellowed. A man in his late twenties to early thirties, with mocha skin and short black hair came trotting down the grand staircase, tucking something in his pocket. He grinned at the pair, revealing a set of straight white teeth.
"Welcome to Kayson Manor. I'm Nios Nileby, Kaileena's brother. You must be Tex." Nios said, offering his hand. Nick reached out and shook it firmly, feeling the now almost expected tremor of magik. This time he could feel something pressing into his mind, almost like a question.
"Mind reader?" he asked. Nios shook his head.
"Premonitions. Fairly recent addition. My mother was a vaudin priestess, but we thought I was a normal. Then after last years little to do, I started getting visions. C'mon, Kai's in the Solarium." Nios waved them after him as he headed through the maze of rooms and halls. They emerged in a glass walled room filled with potted plants. Standing near a large jasmine plant stood a woman with her back to the trio. She wore a hunter green sweater and black yoga pants, her feet encased in silver ballet flats. Her shoulder length hair was the color of vivid flames, and she was humming as she tended to the plant.
"I'm here!" Verity crowed, causing the woman to turn. Her gentle heart shaped face was lit up with a generous smile for her friend. Nick notice a long scar that traced a path along her left cheek from her hairline to right next to her full lips. Her eyes were a stunning green, flecked with traces of honey, and a tiny ring of blue around the outer edge of her irises.
"Verity, how was Las Vegas?" Kaileena greeted, moving forward and enveloping her friend in a warm embrace. Nick felt the magik radiating off her, bringing with it the scent of jasmine, incense, and something he couldn't quite place. She straightened, and Verity held out a hand.
"Nick Stokes of the LVPD, meet Lady Kaileena, Watcher and Phoenix Queen." She introduced. Nick held out his hand to Kaileena, who smiled and took it, letting his large hand engulf her delicate one.
"Call me Kai. I detest titles." She said, grinning. Nick could feel the power in her hand, and for a moment, his vision swam with images of fire and ash. Kai quickly pulled her hand away, and Nick felt Verity's cool fingers pressed against his neck.
"Nick? Just give it a second, it'll pass." She said, sliding her free hand up his arm, watching in relief as the red glow in his eyes faded, leaving them a normal chocolate.
"He's definitely a magik, but somebody bound his powers, so they wouldn't develop on their own." Kai said. Nick looked up, trying to focus his attention on the woman. This was made harder by the fact that Verity was unconsciously tracing little patterns on his bare arm.
"I'm a little confused." He said, and Nios and Verity chuckled.
"That's to be expected. Kai, I have to go deal with some work, but I'm nearby if you need me." Nios said, waving to the others. Kai shook her head at his retreating form, smiling slightly.
"Right, work. That's why he's wearing his best shirt. He's got a date." She said. Verity raised an eyebrow.
"He actually has a date?" she said incredulously. Kai nodded.
"Remember Lill?"
"The dryad? He has a date with her?"
" One and the same." Kai replied, leading Verity and Nick to the kitchen, a cozy if large room with modern appliances and a generous island in the middle. Nick sat down at the island and Verity took the seat next to him.
"This is…..quite a bit to take in." he said.
"I can understand how you're feeling. Coffee?" Kai held up the pot. Nick nodded, and Verity did the same. Kai poured three mugs out, and set them on the island with cream and sugar. Nick added a little sugar, while Verity nearly drowned her cup with cream and sugar.
"Want a little coffee with your sugar, Ver?" Nick teased. Verity flushed a delicate rose and lightly smacked his arm.
"Just because you have burned off your taste buds with that sludge cops call coffee." She muttered.
"Hey, Greg keeps the lab rats supplied with some really good stuff." He defended. Verity looked at him, a glint in her eyes.
"The guy with the spiky blonde hair who was drooling over me?" She asked. Nick shrugged.
"That's what you get for dressing like a vamp from a noir film. Greg has a thing for the Old Vegas look lately." Nick replied. Kai was watching the whole exchange with a secret smile on her face, sedately sipping her coffee.
"I just thought, when in Vegas." She said.
"Well, you can definitely pull off the look. You turned every head in the department. Half the guys thought you were my girlfriend, and the other half were hoping I could get your number for them." He said, brushing his fingertips along her forearm as he said it. Kai's eyebrows raised as she watched Verity's eyelids flutter slightly.
"I'm glad to hear you are so memorable in Las Vegas. Now then, you came here for some answers." She said, effectively distracting Nick from the raven haired woman's reaction to his touch.
"Verity said we don't notice the magik around us because of a veil?" he said.
"The Veil is what we call the unseen barrier between the normal world and us. In ancient times, it is believed that it was a spell that hid magik from human sight. Over time it became part of the natural programming of the human brain. As you grow, you learn to walk, talk, and think, but at the same time, you learn to ignore the magik right in front of you. Occasionally, a human will stumble on our world, and the veil is stripped away. It is a bit of a gradual process, as you have no doubt noticed."
"I have noticed little things, in the corner of my vision. And a couple of days ago, I saw the ghost of a friend of mine that was murdered a few weeks back."
"As time goes by, your brain will adjust to the magikal world around you and integrate it so that you will be able to see these things with little surprise. At the same time, now that you have crossed the Veil, you must protect it."
"I understand guarding something like this, but how am I supposed to stay calm if I encounter a werewolf during an investigation or something?" Nick asked. Kai grinned gently.
"Your Gift is subtle. Other magiks will not know you can see beyond the Veil unless you tell them. We are all bound to keep the Veil intact, so magiks will not use their powers in front of normals, for fear of exposure. All you have to do is keep our secret, and we will keep yours." Kai replied.
"What is my power exactly?" he asked.
"I think you are a witch, I think. Like I said, your Gift is subtle. We'll have to coax it out to be sure." Kai replied.
"Does this mean I have to be a guinea pig again?" Verity whimpered. Nick laughed at her reluctance.
"Don't worry. I won't let you make a fool of yourself." He teased. Verity smacked his shoulder again.
"You promised to be nice!" she scolded.
"No, I promised not to tease you for the rest of the flight. Flight's been over for a while now." He shot back. Verity slipped her hand past his arm and poked him in the ribs, hitting a ticklish spot and making him jump.
"Ticklish, are we?" she teased.
"Let's take this to the training room. We'll see what Nick can do and help him get some control." Kai said, leading the pair down the hall. Verity tried to poke Nick again, but he was waiting for her, and caught her arm, pulling her firmly against his body.
"Truce?" he whispered in her ear, his breath along her neck giving her goose bumps. Not trusting her voice, she nodded, and swiftly headed after Kai, who barely hid a smirk. Reaching out mentally, she shared a silent exchange with Verity.
Ver, do you have a crush on him? She asked.
I don't know, more like a mutual attraction. He is very hot though, isn't he? She replied.
Maybe after this week, you should go back to Vegas. With Vincent gone, I need someone in the area. I'll set you up with a place, and you could even open that shop you've been dreaming about since you were a little girl. Kai watched as Verity's eyes widened in surprise.
Kai, I don't know. She protested.
Verity, you have been wandering the country for seven years. I think it's time you put down some roots. It's time you put the past behind you and focus on the present, which in your case includes one hot Texan. Kai smiled as Verity blushed and quickly nodded.
A/N: Okay, another one done. Reviews are better than gold. One more chapter in New Orleans, and then it's back to Vegas. Feedback makes it happen faster!
