Chapter 19 - Monster
"Where is she?" Charming exploded the moment Killian reappeared with Ash.
"She-" Killian couldn't even force the words out. She doesn't want me with her. She doesn't want to come back. There was nothing I could do. All of it was left unsaid. Pain lanced through him.
"You will answer me." Charming now had his sword out and pressed against Killian's neck.
"Oh calm the fuck down." Ash replied and with a flick of his wrist the sword was gone. "She is adjusting to her new form, and at the moment anger would probably overtake her at seeing you two again. I know had my mother not been banished to a hell realm and had already killed everyone else I would have killed her when I was changed. I was filled with so much anger at being abandoned. I don't think the real story would have stopped me. Give her space, all of you." He said and gave a pointed look at Killian before he was gone.
Confusion pulsed through him, why was Ash protecting Emma like he would do her harm? He would never hurt her. She would never hurt him. Well—not physically that is, on the emotional front she had pretty much just tore his heart from his chest.
Pulling himself from his inner torment he looked up to Emma's parents. "She is afraid of her powers. She won't come back yet."
Snow rocked back onto her heels and nodded. Understanding crossed her pixie like face.
"Then we will go to her." The words seemed to almost explode from Charming. Snow's hand came up and rested on his arm. He glanced at her and she shook her head. Killian watched as he physically deflated. He too would go to her if he could. But he didn't have that kind of power and he was pretty sure if he took either one of her parents they would be removed from the picture. They had to be invited.
"We will do what we can for her here." Snow stated the words like she had thought of them for more than the few seconds since finding out that she couldn't go to her daughter. "We need to locate Loki and contain him. We can look for him during the day and Killian can look for him at night."
Although he was pretty sure that Loki was far, far away by now it would give him something to do. Loki was the reason they were all in the positions that they now were. He nodded his agreement as Charming paced the floor like a caged lion.
Emma pulled herself to her feet a long time after Killian had been pulled from her life again. Her sight was vivid again and she feared looking in the mirror. What if the monster was back? What if she could never control it? She walked on unsteady feet to the bathroom in the little house Ash had given her to stay. Her eyes closed tightly before she could catch a glimpse of her face in the mirror. Gripping the sides of the sink she drew in a shaky breath before cracking open on eye.
A sigh left her at her normal skin tone, but her eyes were the strange color of before and her lips were a purple color, the fangs were back and resting on her bottom lip. Oh gods, what had she become? She gripped her throat with her hand and noticed her fingernails were also the deep black that they had been while she was in the change. They looked sharp and dangerous. How had she gone from being a simple bounty hunter to a god killer?
"Oh, you's are a pretty girl." A girlish voice said from right next to her. "The Arki said you was new, and the Simi likes new friends." The girl standing in the doorway of the bathroom had tiny glowing red horns coming from her hairline and Emma thought she saw a tail, like the kind that would be on a demon or something. Her hair was long held back in pigtails on each side of her head, and it was a bright purple with streaks of a deep red. She had a cute outfit on that could be considered club going clothes and a purse on her shoulder tucked under her arm. "The Simi has the plastic cards and we can go shopping. It would make my new friend happy, yes?"
"I-uh- who is The Simi?" Emma asked the only question she could think of. The girl before her was charming and she seemed so young, yet not young at all. Obviously she was some sort of creature of this place.
A joyful laugh came from the girl before she responded. "Me silly. My Arki did not say you were daft."
Emma couldn't help the laugh that came to the surface at her insulting words. "What is an Arki?" She asked at the risk of sounding stupid again in the girl's eyes.
"What is an Arki?" Simi laughed her face full of happiness as if she had just told the greatest joke ever. "Oh the Arki will find that funny. Not what, but who. My Arki is Acheron. He is like you. Or you are like him. Which means you are not good barbeque. Maybe we can find barbeque to fill my tummy. But my Arki says not human's." She pitched her voice lower and said, "No human's Simi, we protect them not eat them." She rolled her red eyes before looking back at Emma, "but what my Arki doesn't know doesn't hurt him."
"Oh you and Ash are—" Emma, replied shocked at that revelation.
"Uh- NO! The Arki is like a father to the Simi." Simi replied appalled at the thought. "Are we going to use the plastic to buy things now? Arki will know they are missing soon."
Emma couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that this girl in front of her was Ash's daughter. They seemed like opposites. "Shopping?" Emma was winning all the awards of conversation today.
"Well first the Simi will have to do a make over. You can not be going anywhere looking like that." Simi gestured up and down at Emma's clothing. She felt a blush spread to her cheeks in a slight embarrassment. "The Arki said you did not bring anything with you so I have brought you some of my clothes." She smiled brightly before going back into the living room and getting a suitcase stuffed with clothing that was the type Emma would wear to clubs to find a mark.
Maybe the distraction of this girl, or whatever she was, would do Emma good. It would get her mind off of Killian and the pain she had caused him.
"The Simi does like your horns, they are nice horns, and your lips are the color of the Simi's hair." She pulled out an outfit and held it up to her, "This one will be good. It will bring out your pretty eyes." The last time Emma had looked in the mirror her eyes were that strange alien swirling color. "But that skin—" Simi tisked, "it is as pale as the moon and that is really pale. You should get your other skin back. I bet it is pretty like your eyes. Not that the Simi thinks your human skin is ugly, but it does make the Simi hungry."
If only the change was that simple. Emma gave the girl a small smile and remained quite as she fluttered around her putting makeup on her and doing her hair. It was the quickest make over Emma had ever had. She wasn't much for having girlfriends.
"Now put this on. Then we can use the plastic. It will be fun. We can go and have crawfish with barbeque sauce and then we can go to the club."
"I'm sorry but I'm not sure I could go out like this. My nails, lips, teeth, and horns may look a little strange on the streets of New Orleans," or anywhere for that matter.
"Oh shush. The Simi can be trusted. You will fit right in." A reluctant smile formed on Emma's lips and she allowed the girl to get her into the other clothes. A single night out might be good for her frame of mind and she didn't feel like the monster that had taken over before. She felt almost normal. "Now, yous just have to do the Arki thing and take us there." Simi gestured at Emma and then held her hand expectantly.
"The Arki thing?"
"I thought we have been over this… are you truly daft?"
"No, I just don't know what you mean."
"The Aaaarrrrkkkkiiii thing." She drew out the name like saying it slower might help Emma to understand. At Emma's blank look she threw up her hands in exasperation. "You know. The poof. The go from here to there." She pointed at her palm and then to another spot on her palm for an example. "It is easy. Just think it."
It is easy? Just think it? Wonderful, this girl thinks that all Emma has to do is think of being somewhere and she will appear there. Emma closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath to prepare herself for the upcoming conversation with Simi.
"Yes! Like that!" Simi cheered. "Although the Simi would have picked somewhere not so dirty."
Emma's eyes flew open to find them standing in the alleyway she had first met Killian. What in the hell? The tears formed before she even knew they were that close to the surface.
"Oh don't cry. The Simi is okay with walking to less dirty places." Simi tried to comfort Emma when she broke down in tears. She patted her back awkwardly and tried to pull her in for a hug. "Oh! You have decided to wear the pretty skin. I knew the pretty skin would be so much better than the human one." She said in joy.
Emma looked down at her arm to find that her skin had indeed gone into the swirling pattern again. Oh no. This was not good. She was a step away from the busy street and people would freak out. "This is not good." She told Simi out loud.
"It is perfect!" She replied still caught up in her joy. "I wish my skin was swirly like that."
"No, Simi, I can't go out there. They will know I'm a monster."
"A monster? No yous is not a monster, yous is a beautiful Chthonian. And the Simi will just eat any of the humans that do not agree." Simi told her and she materialized a bottle of barbeque sauce with a large bib over her clothes. "The Simi is ready."
Emma appreciated the offer but she could not have Simi eating people just because they were scared of her. Music sounded in the distance and caught her attention. A parade was starting somewhere and would come this way. It was an opportunity to blend into the parade. Lots of people wore strange costumes for the parade. A sigh of relief left her at the thought.
Killian felt a pulsing in his blood. It drove him out of the hotel room and to the roof. His eyes looked down at the crowd below. A parade just started to pass the area. What was this feeling? He hadn't had a chance to search for Loki. Snow and Charming hadn't turned up anything in their search during the daylight hours. An ache for Emma had kept him awake most of the daytime hours. Not that he slept much anyways.
He watched the parade as the feeling intensified. Then he caught sight of blue and green swirling skin in the parade.
Emma.
She walked with her head bowed and a girl with purple wings walked next to her. To anyone else they looked like just one of the many costumed attendees. But Killian knew Emma. He now felt her in his blood.
She continued down the street not even glancing at the building he stood on. He was down the side of the building in moments. Then he used the shadows to blend into them. He wasn't sure why she was here and why she hadn't searched him out but he would find out.
The parade route turned to the left and Emma and her companion continued through the crowd and then flowed into a street that was nearly empty in comparison. He could hear the girl with the wings chattering on to Emma while they walked in the general direction of the Sanctuary. What the hell? Emma was going out partying? This was how she was going to deal with the change?
He kept to the shadows as he followed them the short mile to the club. Which was in full swing at this time of night. The Pelts stood guard at the door and allowed the Emma and the girl in after a few short words with the girl. It seemed the brothers knew who she was.
"Killian. We don't see you around too much anymore. Welcome." One of them said as he drew close to the door. He gave them a short nod and then entered the smoke filled room.
He found the girl on the dance floor but Emma was nowhere to be found. As he got closer he realized he knew the girl. It was Simi and she was not a girl at all, not really. And if you wanted to keep your life you kept it that way. He'd heard the rumors of what happens to people that forget she is protected by Ash.
"Simi!" Killian called to her. She turned towards him and a smile formed on her lips.
"Oh! The Arki's dark hunter! The Simi hasn't seen you in too long." She said as she threw her arms around him in a hug. He tried to keep his distance. It would not be a good idea if even a hug between them made it back to Ash.
"Simi, where is Emma? The woman you came here with?"
"Oh she had to use the ladies room. She will be back soon; we are going to have crawfish. The Simi is so hungry."
"Thank you." Killian told her before turning towards the hallway Emma would need to exit when she came out of the bathroom.
For the second time that day Emma was gripping a sink and trying to get her emotions under control. She wasn't feeling like herself. The predator was back and it wanted to kill things. Her control was slipping and she couldn't say that the people in the building would be safe from her. No matter what type of rule they have against violence. It wouldn't matter to the monster she had become.
A knocking on the door had her pulling herself up to look in the mirror again. Her skin still swirled and her eyes now had a reddish hue to them beneath the swirling of green and blue. What was she? Why couldn't she control it?
The knocking increased.
"Just a moment." She told the random person.
In response the knocking happened again. Anger at the unknown person came to the surface and she yanked the door open to find Killian standing there. His hair was disheveled like he had run his hand through it a million times since brushing it.
"Emma—" he breathed her name like it was a prayer. But Emma was long gone. What was left pulled him into the small room and sunk her teeth into his neck. A gasp left him at the same time a groan rose from her chest. The monster had full control and it was hungry.
A/N - Okay so I love Simi in the books and I knew I wanted to add her in because she is such a fun character. Please know that any typos are on purpose with her... part of her quirky personality. ^.~ And for those of you that also love the Dark Hunter books I hope I did her justice.
Sorry for the cliffhanger... hope you all love it!