Spoiler Warning: Nothing really for this chapter, but the story itself will have very up to date spoilers. Certain revelations are just begging to be written about...
Disclaimer: Once again, not mine, otherwise the Noah would be getting way more panel time and Tyki and Miranda would be the series official OTP...
A/N: Four months, oh dear God, four months... When I mentioned being a slow updater last time this is certainly not what I meant. Real life completely kicked me around this summer, nothing bad, just stressful and busy. I have thought about the story a lot though, and made notes, there were just too many other things running around in my head to sit down and write properly. Thank you so much for your patience and your lovely reviews. Don't worry, I love this story too much to abandon it. Hopefully it was worth the wait...
WORLD ENOUGH, AND TIME...
He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep
pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart,
and in our own despair, against our will,
comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God.
-Aeschylus
He broke bread with the family. He was an honoured guest. The daughter watched him with wide eyed, innocent curiosity. He smiled at her and she flushed prettily. The entire family was slavishly grateful for his appearance. An angel at the table meant God's blessing. It proved their precious patriarch wasn't mad after all.
Fools.
God didn't listen. He cared for no one. He certainly wouldn't spare an angel to ease an old man's dementia or his family's broken heart. Not that God commanded angels anymore. They too had been separated from him, even as humans had been.
They had been one, once.
They had been God.
And then they had fallen.
A young woman stepped daintily down the shattered remains of London's High Street as the early morning light played across the destruction. She paused by a shattered shop window and examined herself in the miraculously intact mirror within. She touched her skin thoughtfully. The human skin she wore was pretty.
Sister.
The word flickered across her mind and she shrugged it away. The soul that powered her mattered not at all, nor did the body that housed her. Whatever the connection between the two, it was no longer important.
All that mattered was the Earl.
And the Noah.
And the kill.
She sighed.
The akuma was bored.
And hungry.
There were too many other akuma about and too few human prey to divide between them for her to feed properly. When added to the Earl's orders to leave enough of them behind to despair and call on his services... She sighed again. Weren't the akuma he already had enough? Ah well. Who was she to question the actions of the Millennium Earl... or the Noah for that matter?
She felt a faint hint of warmth pass over the skin of her human face. She wondered if her precious Lord Tyki had found the Exorcist woman. Perhaps... she might take a little peek.
The human form folded away, revealing only her sharp metallic features. Her wings snapped and clattered as they unfurled from her back and she launched herself into the early morning air. After a few minutes she had located the building.
Quietly she alighted on what was left of the roof and peered through the gaping hole blown in it.
Nothing.
The woman and her Lord Tyki were long gone. Well, she couldn't have expected them to linger overnight. She sighed in disappointment then started as a flicker of light caught her eye.
She looked closer. There! Something small and round and golden. With wings.
It was fluttering in circles around the spot she had first seen the exorcist.
She inched closer, watching it intently. It was an exorcist's golem. She licked her lips. It looked tasty.
As if sensing her it froze, hovering a moment in place, then it was gone like a glittery shot. With a gleeful trill she pelted madly after it.
They ducked and spun and wove through the city. She chased it down narrow alleys and through half collapsed buildings. It was fast but so was she. Slowly she gained on the tiny thing, her outstretched claws almost brushing it's wings.
"I'm going to eat you little gol-em!" she sang.
As if in response it suddenly pulled itself up short and she catapulted past it into a very solid wall, crashed through, swiftly covered in dust and bricks and mortar. As she sat stunned in the rubble it flipped it's tail at her and whisked away. With a shrill shriek and a string of foul curses she launched after it once more.
She made up ground again quickly and bared her teeth. Oh, she was going to enjoy eating this one. It was almost within reach...
As she was about to clamp down on that annoying little tail, something heavy barreled into her.
She tumbled from the sky and hit the ground hard, the heavy thing falling on her.
She snarled and pushed it violently away. She stared.
It was the stupid wolf akuma that had been talking to Lord Tyki. It looked at her hopefully.
"Did we catch little gold food thing?"
With a furious hiss, she struck out and raked her claws across his muzzle.
"Idiot, idiot, idiot!"
He fell back with a whimper, tail between his legs.
As the other akuma slunk away from her she scanned the area and growled in frustration. The golem was gone.
The wolf-thing began to whine. "Hungry! Wanted to eat little gold ball!"
She flicked her wings, scowling. Stupid akuma. Absently she licked his oily blood from her fingers. She froze and cocked her head in thought.
Of course there were other ways of feeding. Other ways of evolving.
A wide sharp grin spread across her face. The wolf akuma chuffed nervously and smiled slowly in return.
She pounced.
There were a series of panicked metallic howls, but they died out quickly and soon there were only the terrible sounds of crunching and tearing.
The golden golem twitched nervously from it's hiding place and sped quickly away from the carnage, orienting itself until it was heading southeast. She was somewhere in that direction.
His master had ordered him.
He had to find his master.
Glittering in the early morning sun, the golem flew on.
It was dark, so dark.
Miranda was sitting in the dark.
Lost in the dark.
And she was not alone.
Around her there were low murmurs, rustling clothes...
She pulled her coat tighter about herself. There was soft wool beneath her fingers. Her old coat. She shifted nervously on her hard seat It creaked ominously. There was more creaking around her, then a sudden brush of contact on one side, then the other. She bit down hard on her lip to prevent a scream. Her senses strained. Where was she?
And then there was light.
Dim gas lamps flickered on above her. She craned her head to look. High above she could just make out an intricate framework of wooden poles and fabric stretched between them.
It was a tent. A very large tent. And stretching around it were long wooden benches supporting shifting, whispering crowds of humanity.
How had she come here?
Now brighter lights were coming up, illuminating a sawdust covered floor below her. As she watched, a clown tumbled in, a Pierrot, a boy. He flipped, twisting in the air like a cat and, like a cat, landed on his feet. The boy laughed, smiling brightly despite the painted tears upon his face.
The crowd cheered and laughed as the young clown tripped and danced his way around the ring.
He was familiar... Miranda gasped as the boy's mussed brown hair flashed white.
Allen Walker.
She blinked. Two Allens danced before her. One, the laughing happy boy clown leaping through the air for amusement and the other, the Crowned Clown, whose acrobatics looked more like the feints and dodges of battle.
Pierrot Allen paused and from nowhere, shot streamers and sparkling confetti into the crowd.
The people laughed as they were covered in glitter. They screamed too.
Miranda was frozen as she watched the overlapping images.
People still sat in their seats, still laughed and applauded but transposed behind them Miranda saw them twisting into nightmarish metallic shapes. They shrieked and writhed as Exorcist Allen invoked Cross Grave through them again and again.
Miranda squeezed her eyes shut and clapped her hands over her ears against the onslaught.
Then she was moving. She had to get out. She fled, stumbling, pushing through the crowds, eyes filled with tears as she tried to escape the horrors of sound and vision.
She skidded down the rickety steps and through the canvas covered exit, praying for the silence of night air.
Mirrors.
Everywhere mirrors. A maze of mirrors. She turned in a panic and came face to face with herself.
The self she had been, the self she hated.
Her hair was pulled back in a too tight bun, emphasizing her pinched and hollow face. Black upon black circles made her eyes look sunken and small and her shoulders hunched in an ugly black dress.
She whipped away in pain and tried to find a way through the distorted images of herself, reflecting into infinity around her.
Soon she was seeing her exorcist self in the mirrors and that was better. She was stronger like this, happier. This Miranda had a purpose, a family. The panic began to subside. She began to move more confidently through the labyrinth.
She was at the end. One last mirror stood before her. She stepped firmly up to it. She was certain she would see her true face in this one, and then she would be free.
A black featureless form loomed over her reflection. Empty white eyes peered out at her and an empty white smile split across the face. The black of the figure shifted and swirled. She stepped away in fear. What was this?
The smile grew impossibly wider.
"Hello Miranda..."
The voice resonated through her being. The figure moved forward, pressing against the glass. It began to stretch. She stumbled in horror and fell back through the canvas with a cry.
Suddenly she was outside and it was night. It took her only a moment to notice this before she landed flat on her back and a swirl of paper... no, cards... scattered in slow motion around her.
"Ah, this is a pleasant surprise."
She turned her head. A man wearing thick glasses sat cross legged upon the ground, his hair loose and tangled, his rough clothes patched and work stained. A cigarette dangled from his smiling mouth. As he slid the spectacles from his eyes, the ash gray skin of the Noah and a stigmata of crosses flickered over his face like the shadows of fast moving clouds.
Tyki Mikk.
Gently he caught her arm with one hand and slid the other beneath her back. She stared at his handsome face as he helped her sit up, mesmerized as it shimmered from human to Noah and back again.
"She's spoiled the game Tyki-pon."
Miranda gasped and turned. It had been the voice of the Millennium Earl but an older man, well dressed and cloaked in shadows, sat on the other side of her. His monocle flashed as he frowned.
"Then we'll have a new game." Tyki's hand pressed reassuringly warm against her back. His other hand released her arm and slid along her jaw, turning her face towards him again.
"Do you want to play a game, pretty lady?"
Without waiting for an answer he released her and began to gather the fallen cards. Unthinkingly she grasped at a few laying around her and glanced at them.
Lavi.
Her breath caught. She looked at another.
Road.
Tyki plucked them from her hands and she caught a glimpse of a few others. All wore the faces of Exorcists and Noah, akuma and scientists.
He offered her a wistful smile. "I'm sorry, you have no choice but to play."
He flicked the cards he had just picked up and they spread out and covered her like a blanket. They layered over her, pressing her. She seemed to shrink, flatten out. It grew dark. Something was holding her in place. She slapped her hands against the walls that had grown up around her. She tried to scream but she had no voice.
Then it was warm, so warm as she felt Tyki's hand, impossibly large, sliding around her, lifting her. Pressed her against his chest. It had to be his chest because she could hear the steady beat of his heart. She leaned her cheek against that strange barrier, pressing against that heat. Her mind was growing dark again but it didn't matter.
She felt... safe.
And all was black.
Miranda awoke slowly. She was warm and comfortable and a cool sweet breeze tickled across her skin. Her eyes drifted open and she regarded the room through a pleasant sleepy haze. Sheer white curtains fluttered and the soft light that shone through them danced. She sighed and stretched in contentment. Through the sleep induced muddle of her mind something worried at her. She ignored it in favour of burrowing deeper into the pillow. Still, it would not allow itself to be set aside. The back of her neck began to tingle as the 'something' pushed it's way into her consciousness.
She turned over carefully.
Tyki Mikk was stretched out next to her, head propped up in his hand, watching her with dark eyes.
"Bom Dia," he purred.
With a shriek, Miranda flung herself away and tumbled off the side of the bed.
As she lay on the floor in an undignified heap, the entirety of the previous day flooded back into her mind with crystal clarity, including her devil's bargain with Tyki. She groaned and banged her head back, uttering an oath she was absolutely certain the nuns would not have approved of.
Tyki's head appeared over the side of the bed and he peered down on her with undisguised amusement. She blinked at him. He looked... different. His thick black hair was loose and somewhat tousled, but it had been much the same yesterday. It hung down around his face, almost obscuring those laughing dark eyes.
Those dark brown eyes.
Miranda blinked again. The stigmata of crosses that had marred his forehead were gone and his ash gray skin had paled to a light tan.
He looked as he had in that past.
He looked human.
He grinned at her boyishly.
"Sleep well?"
"Um... yes, I think so..."
"Ah," he nodded. "Good."
He smirked.
"And you're fine down there are you?"
"Yes...," she muttered.
"I wonder," he sighed, "if I should be offended that this is your first reaction to finding me in bed with you?"
Miranda stiffened. In bed. With Tyki. She sat up abruptly, making a narrow miss of clipping Tyki's chin with her head, and took swift stock of her body. She didn't feel any different... and she was still dressed... mostly. She caught sight of her coat, gloves and utility belt folded neatly on a nearby chair, her boots side by side beneath it. She was still modestly dressed in her uniform pants and snug white shift. Automatically her hand went to her throat, her precious key was still there. She wrapped her arms about herself and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Now I am offended..." Miranda caught her breath and turned her head. In her new position she had gotten unnervingly closer to Tyki. He was peering at her with his dark eyes, through his dark lashes. She trembled.
"I made you a promise Lady Exorcist, I haven't laid a hand on you," he hesitated. "Well, other than the putting you to bed and undressing you bit, but," he grinned cheerily, "my hands didn't wander much otherwise!"
"Didn't wander much,"she repeated weakly.
He pulled away from the edge and sat back on his haunches, pressing one of his large hands against his chest.
"I am a man, my Lady," he declaimed theatrically. "When faced with the vision of such a lovely creature tumbled across my bed how could I possibly resist?"
It was a rake's line. Miranda had worked in many taverns over the years and had heard them all. Not directed at her, of course. Still, false as it was, it was rather nice to be referred to as a 'lovely creature'. She knew she ought to be more shocked by his behavior, instead she found her attention drawn to the chest beneath his hand. The white shirt he wore was untucked and partially unbuttoned and she caught a glimpse of tanned skin and smooth muscle.
She swallowed tightly.
"In any case," he continued with a purr, "If I'd been of a mind to seduce you last night you would not have forgotten it." He smirked at her and she felt an odd twisting, shivering sensation in her gut.
She couldn't possibly be thinking...
Her stomach rumbled...loudly.
She flushed as Tyki burst out laughing.
"I see I have competition for your affections."
With a chuckle, he rolled off the other side of the bed and padded, barefoot, across the room. He plucked a large, red apple from the top of a dresser, hesitating only a moment before also catching up a small, wickedly sharp looking knife. Miranda tensed.
Tyki turned back to her and his mouth quirked.
"Do you need some help getting up?"
With a rush of embarrassment, Miranda realized she was still sitting on the floor. Blushing furiously, she scrambled ungracefully back onto the mattress, tucking her feet up beneath her. Tyki moved towards the bed, smirking, and perched himself on the end. Deftly he cut a neat slice from the fruit and held it out to her on the knife's edge.
Miranda stared at the offering, watching rivulets of juice pool along the glistening blade.
"Go on," he murmured, "it's only an apple."
Unexpectedly Miranda found herself giggling. Tyki raised an inquiring eyebrow.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she choked, "but I keep thinking of all those stories of young women being offered bits of fruit by suspicious persons." She covered her mouth with her hands to stifle the slightly panicked giggles.
Tyki's smile curved wickedly.
"Oh really," he purred. "What stories are those then?"
He leaned closer to her, and Miranda's laughter died with a squeak.
"Snow White? No? Perhaps you're thinking of the original story of Eve, hmmm, or, better yet, Persephone. Captured by Hades to become his Queen of the dark, she eats the fruit of the underworld and is forced to remain by his side for eternity. Is that what you're imagining?"
Tyki brought the knife to his lips and, as Miranda watched, mesmerized, his tongue slipped out and drew the apple into his mouth.
She released the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding when he sat back.
He hummed contentedly as he munched, cutting another piece. He held it out to her and, shaking slightly, she accepted it.
She began slowly under Tyki's intent gaze but soon she was wolfing down the pieces almost as quickly as the Noah could cut them.
When she finished the last of it, she was surprised to find she felt pleasantly full.
"I didn't think that would be enough."
Tyki smiled. "You didn't eat at all yesterday, did you? If you'd had anything heavier you'd have made yourself sick. Ah," Tyki reached out suddenly and captured her chin," You have some juice... right... here." The pad of his thumb dragged across her lips. Miranda jerked back.
Tyki licked the juice from his thumb with a grin as he stood and moved towards the dresser. Miranda tried to ignore the tingle of her lips as she watched him wring out a washcloth in the basin. In a moment he had returned to his place.
"Hold out your hands," he ordered.
Miranda, spurred by years of training by the nuns of St. Hildegard's, obeyed with alacrity.
Tyki chuckled as he he caught her hands, rubbing the damp cloth over the fingers of one, then the other.
"You have a little juice here as well..." He trailed off and his brows knit together. His hand tightened about her own and, carefully, he began to slide his thumb over the rough, puckered skin of her palm. Miranda bit her lip to keep from mewling. Without the leather barrier of her gloves... Her hands had healed ages ago but the palms were still almost painfully sensitive and, she felt a stab of shame, terribly ugly.
Miranda tried to pull away but Tyki held fast.
"These scars," he murmured. "This was our Road's work, wasn't it?"
"Yes." She whispered. She could never forget the white hot pain as the child Noah's candle spikes pierced her hands, anchoring her firmly to her precious clock. She could never forget Road's sing-song voice, taunting her... Now you'll never be apart... Miranda shuddered.
Tyki grimaced. "Well, at least she made a good job of it."
Miranda snatched her hand back with a gasp of outrage.
"I only meant," he sighed. "that, had she been any less precise, your hands would have been damaged beyond repair. You might never have been able to move them again."
"Ah." Miranda bent her head and clutched her hands to her chest.
There was an uncomfortable silence.
"Well," Tyki stood abruptly and stretched, " I' ll run you a bath and then we can see if we can't find something more suitable for you to wear."
Miranda's head shot up, the offense of a moment ago swiftly dismissed.
"A bath...," she breathed reverently.
Tyki grinned at her. "I thought you'd like that. Once you're ready we'll have a bit more substantial lunch and then make a trip into town for supplies."
"Into town..." Miranda felt a sudden rush of curiosity.
"Tyki," she began hesitantly. "Where are we? Where... um... where did you bring me?"
"Well, home of course," he said expansively, "but if you wish to be exact, we are a few miles outside of the town of Piódão, in the Serra do Açor of the Beira Alta."
Miranda blinked at him and he chuckled, making a formal bow and holding out his hand to her.
"In other words, welcome to my homeland, my Lady Miranda.
"Welcome to Portugal."
It was... exquisite.
Miranda sighed as the cooling water enveloped her body. The tension that had twisted her muscles over the past few days... no, the past few weeks, had melted away. When she had first slipped into the water it had been almost hotter than she could stand it... and it was glorious. She scrubbed over and over until each and every speck of dirt, each trace of blood was gone. She could not wash away the bruises and they stood out darkly against her pale skin but they would soon fade away.
The point was she felt clean, cleaner than she had in ages. The sour smell that had been clinging to her had also washed away and now there was only sweet scent of almonds from the rich soaps Tyki had left for her. She breathed in slowly, deeply. It was intoxicating. Her eyes fluttered shut. She was floating, drifting...
"Shall I wash your back?"
Miranda started, and slipped under, coming up again with a jerk, sputtering and flailing as the water sloshed noisily around her.
"Are you alright? I'll come in..."
Miranda splashed the water in her panic.
"NO! STAY OUT! STAY OUT! STAY OUUUUT!!"
There was a significant silence on the other side of the door, then a low chuckle.
"If you insist..."
"Why are you lurking out there?"
"I am not 'lurking'." Tyki sounded offended. "I merely wished to see if you needed anything. It's been about an hour, Miranda. We still have quite a bit to do today."
Guilt washed over her. She was taking too long. She was wasting Tyki's time. "I'm sorry," she moaned. "I'll get out now...!"
As Miranda fumbled for the plug, there was a long suffering sigh from the Noah. "Don't rush if you're not ready..." The was a pause. "I could still do your back if you like."
She watched in horror as Tyki's hand slid through the door.
"No! It's fine! DON'T COME IN!," she wailed.
"Very well," There was laughter in his reply. "Try not to be too much longer..." With a jaunty wave his hand slipped back out of sight.
Miranda breathed a sigh of relief. Allowing the bath to drain away, she rinsed the soapy water from her hair and body. As she dried off with one of the luxuiriously soft towels she blushed to think that Tyki was on the other side of door while she was in here, like this.
She supposed she should be frightened to be in such a vulnerable position around that dangerous man, but he had already demonstrated his willingness to take care of her... at least as long as he needed her.
For the moment she was safe.
Though, considering the way he looked at her, her virtue might be a little less secure.
Trembling, she fixed the key about her neck, covered herself with the soft, pale cream robe he had also left, and clutched her uniform to her chest. Taking a deep shaking breath she slipped into the hall.
Tyki was leaning casually on the opposite wall. He regarded her through half lidded eyes and smiled.
"Ahhh, you must have scrubbed your face very hard to get that sort of colour in it."
Miranda's blush grew deeper.
"I took the opportunity last night, after I'd put you to bed, to return to the main house and raid Lulubelle's wardrobe."
Tyki's smile turned to a sneer as his gaze fell upon the soiled clothes folded in her arms.
"Those filthy things will, of course, be burned."
Oh no, he couldn't...Her hold on the uniform tightened. "N... no," she managed.
He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Are you defying me, my Lady?"
She shook her head sharply. "It's not that, it's just... this is all I have left... of them... "
He looked at her a long moment, then, unexpectedly reached out and slipped his finger beneath the cord at her neck. She froze as his touch brushed along her collarbone until he reached the clock key.
"You have this as well," he murmured. "It's even more important to you, I think. What do you need with a pile of rags?"
She stared at him, mute.
Tyki drew back and shrugged. "Keep it then, but pack it away. The Noah within me is well aware of your status as an Exorcist, but it's wise not to tempt it too much." His mouth quirked. "There'll be enough work suppressing it around the Innocence.
"Now shall we get you dressed? Or," His gaze drifted to the gaping neck of her robe. " Do you plan on wandering about in that the rest of the day? Not that I have any objections..."
She covered herself swiftly as Tyki chuckled and started up the narrow hall.
Miranda followed tentatively as he reached the door at the end and pushed it open. "This will be your room, though I'm afraid I mussed the bed a bit while I was sleeping."
She stepped in. It was a very pretty little room, decorated in muted greens and cream painted furniture. She liked it immediately. Then she registered what he had said.
She blinked at him. "But I thought you... I mean when I woke up you were..."
He shrugged. "I came in to wake you, but you looked so comfortable I simply didn't have the heart to." He smirked. "Besides, you're adorable when you sleep."
As she flushed again, this was getting ridiculous, he hauled a large carpet bag onto the bed. The covers were wrinkled. He had slept here. Miranda felt a surge of relief. He was capable of being a gentleman after all.
Tyki hummed as he sorted through the bag, plucking out random dresses. Miranda waited in weary amusement as he held them up to her, examined them with a critical eye, then either lay them out neatly or tossed them unceremoniously aside.
"I thought you didn't keep dolls..."
"Hmmm...?" Tyki glanced up from the soft looking, olive green silk he'd been sliding over his fingers.
"I feel as though we're playing 'dress-up'..."
Tyki smirked and held the silk up to her. Miranda felt a sudden flicker of yearning. She'd always wanted to wear something beautiful, something delicate...
"We will be residing together, and I'll be damned if I allow you to wander about in that horrible uniform ever again... Perfect."
With a nod, he lay the dress carefully aside.
Miranda felt a surge of warmth towards Tyki. He was being so kind...
Her warm feelings froze immediately as he held up the next dress.
"I absolutely refuse."
Tyki seemed disappointed.
"Are you sure...?"
"Yes!"
He pouted slightly. "I thought women liked lace..."
"Not there..."she sputtered, folding her arms across her chest instinctively, her face aflame, "and not... not only lace..."
"Oh, well that's just the back..." He turned it round.
Miranda wasn't sure what expression crossed her face but Tyki looked even more disturbed than when she declared him her enemy.
"Ah," he murmured weakly, quickly dropping the offending garment, "I'll take that as a 'no'." He gave her a long look. "Scary..."
Somehow Miranda felt better.
"Don't look so pleased about it," he grumbled, retrieving the now empty carpet bag and stuffing the rejected items roughly in.
Miranda watched him struggling with the unwieldy things. The man could be rude and seemed to delight in embarrassing her but he was treating her far better than she expected. Even among his own...
"Tyki..."
"Hmmm?"
"Thank you."
The Noah paused and gave her a wide eyed look that was almost comical on his handsome face.
"You put yourself at risk, you protected me..." Miranda wrung her hands together uncomfortably, "...from your family."
He blinked at her. "Well certainly. I didn't want anyone getting too close. You were carrying Innocence on your person after all. They can't detect it but if it fell, literally, into their laps, I'm almost certain they'd notice." He smirked. " Well, maybe not the twins..."
"Oh..." Miranda sighed... and here she thought he was being chivalrous.
Tyki's eyes flickered over her lazily. Miranda gasped as she found herself suddenly trapped against the wall, Tyki's arms braced on either side of her. His eyes had gone strangely dark.
"Besides," he purred. "You belong to me now..."
He pressed closer, leaning down until his nose was almost brushing her own. Her breathing grew erratic, her heart knocking rapidly against her chest. He was tall, how had she not noticed how tall? Her head barely cleared his shoulders.
"...and I don't like to share."
The low thrum of his voice shuddered through her. She trembled as a strange heat enveloped her.. Their bodies were barely an inch apart...
He turned away abruptly, caught up the bag and casually hoisted it over his shoulder.
"I'll leave you to get dressed. We'll meet downstairs in about half an hour." He smiled cooly and, without waiting for a reply, strolled out the door. Miranda took a shaking breath and did a very good job of not sliding down the wall.
Had he almost...? Her stomach fluttered and she ruthlessly stamped down the traitorous part of her mind that was disappointed. She threw herself against the door, slamming it shut, and leaned her forehead against the cool wood. Her eyes closed and she sighed again.
It seemed that living with Tyki was going to be interesting.
Oh dear.
As Tyki Mikk dressed he found his hands were trembling. He grinned. This game was providing a rush he hadn't felt in ages. Even the Noah within him was satisfied and, for the moment, silent.
True, he felt a twist of guilt over deceiving his family and no small measure of fear over deceiving the Earl but, somehow, that merely enhanced the excitement of it all.
No longer was the future an uninteresting certainty. It was an unknown once more, a challenge, all thanks to that woman and her Heart of Innocence.
Miranda Lotto.
It had truly been a stroke of luck that she held the Heart. Any other Exorcist would have either fought him to their deaths or would have been so broken as to be useless.
To be honest had it been any other Exorcist he may not have extended the offer.
Both Miranda and the form of her Innocence intrigued him. The woman was a delightful amusement. He had surprised himself by how quickly he had grown fond of her company. Another Exorcist might very well have encouraged his cruelty, but with Miranda it seemed easy to remain his White self.
Or perhaps he had simply lived on the Black side for too long.
He needed both his Black and White selves to make life fun. Miranda's presence had at least made the White interesting again.
He sighed. This was now the closest he could get to that other life. Returning to Eeze and the others had become impossible. Now that his Blackest self had been tapped he could no longer trust himself in the close quarters of a mining camp. That transient existence didn't exactly attract the gentlest natures and being challenged was a daily ritual.
He could not longer trust his control.
Tyki shuddered. He'd already had an 'accident'. He would not expose his friends to such a thing.
He did what he could from a distance. Arranged work in a warmer climate for Eeze's sake, sent money regularly. That was the only contact he would allow himself.
Tyki scowled. He did not like dwelling on such things. He pushed aside his dark thoughts and reconsidered the pretty Exorcist upstairs.
He smirked to recall the flush of embarrassment that rose so easily to her cheeks.
He thoroughly enjoyed teasing her.
Well perhaps a bit more than teasing.
Tyki found himself growing a bit warm at the thought of her standing shyly before him, scrubbed pink, damp hair falling appealingly over her face, wearing the scent of almonds and that robe that clung so nicely to her curves.
He had been sorely tempted to throw her on that bed and ravage her right there.
It would have been an exquisite pleasure but a fleeting one. He was perfectly capable of controlling those sorts of urges and, should he not, he had any number of lovers to choose from. Seducing Miranda would be an unforgivable distraction. She had but one true purpose to him and that was as the controller of the Heart.
The Heart of Innocence... such power! Imagine playing with time in such a way... He still smarted a bit from the foray into his past, but he could still appreciate sheer immensity of the event. What would the Heart be capable of with work? What, indeed, was that woman capable of?
It would be a pity to kill her.
His hands stilled on the buttons of his shirt and he frowned.
Despite his games, in the end, could he ever really turn against the Earl?
Did he even want to turn against the Earl?
In the end, was he a sheep of Noah or a human of free will?
He sighed and resumed dressing.
'You're going to have to make a choice sometime, Tyki.'
In the end, he supposed, was when he would finally find out.
Music: Whispers in the Dark by Skillet (Yes Skillet, bad name, great song), The Story by Brandi Carlisle (This is Miranda's song, it fits her perfectly...)