Rideten, Present Time Samuel landed on the roof as their escort showed Aislen and Heath to the door, causing the poor werewolf to stumble backward in alarm, cursing. “Hi Samuel,” Aislen smiled at him, enjoying the fear that the dragon invoked. “Anything interesting happened whilst we were underground?” “The streets are busy,” Samuel replied. “But all who are out and about think that they are stealthy. None look to the sky, and so I have not been seen.” “Who is out and about?” Heath wondered. “Humans of the Order of Nexsis, patrolling the streets. Some move to take other households and are thwarted by the werewolves. Werewolf parties moving out of the city and into the countryside. Witches. There is a very odd energy south of here. A powerful spell involving many witches is being cast.” Aislen’s gaze sharpened. South would be Stella’s house. “Is that so?” “Yes,” he seemed pleased with himself, but did not explain, taking off again into the night. “I wonder what the witches are u
Rideten, Present Time“Daring fashion choice,” Rhett followed Aislen and Heath upstairs to the bathroom and stood in the doorway watching as Heath turned on the shower and removed the dressing gown. “What inspired this look?”“We came upon a group of Van Helsings about to take a werewolf family, and whilst we were saving them, a bunch of Victor’s men interrupted. They insisted on taking us to see Victor, and it was wear these or go naked.” Aislen bared her teeth in front of the mirror examining her longer canine and premolars. Definitely more vampire teeth than wolf, she decided. It was interesting how the hybridism combined traits. She wondered if the vampirism was dominant. “Do you think we’re all the same?”“What do you mean?” Heath stepped under the shower spray and Aislen watched in the reflection as the water darkened his hair and plastered it to his skull before running down his beautiful body. The scars on his chest didn’t detract from his beauty, but added an edge of danger t
An Island Somewhere, Present Time Niarthen had gone with Benethin and Aeylira to meet with someone leaving Lyric alone in the house. It had been a long-time since Lyric had been alone, and she quickly found herself ill at ease in the house where nothing was familiar, she didn’t understand how anything worked, and she was too afraid to touch anything because it didn’t belong to her. She went outside instead. Like most of the Mer houses, there was seating against the front of the house. The Mer lived more outdoors than in regardless of the weather, and many people came over when they saw her, talking to her in the Mer tongue. Their children reached out to touch her dark hair and the braids that Niarthen had woven into it without hesitation, handling her with familiarity and without fear, although their parents quickly cautioned them off with what Lyric thought was an apology to her. She was offered food, and the Mer watched with interest as she sampled it, laughing in delight when she
Havermouth, Present Time It was an ordinary house, much like those around it. The gardens were a little overgrown due to recent events, and everything still held a layer of dust from Connery and Harry’s exploding devices that had rendered the school to rubble, but other than that, had the little filing of bark not led them to the house, Meguitte would have walked past it unsuspectingly. The gate squealed as Connery opened it and he grimaced. “Well, if our presence wasn’t known, it is now,” he commented. Mercy and her mother disappeared, their movements as fast as vampires, the layer of dust that was still settling on the grass showing the path they took around the side of the house to the back. Meguitte led the way to the front door and rang the bell. She could hear movement within. After a moment, a woman answered. She was pale, gaunt, and a little disheveled, but she smiled as if undaunted by their presence. “Hello?” She asked with a lift of curiosity but no apparent fear. “Can
In the Ocean, Present Time It was a long swim. They were deep underwater, beyond the reach of the sun or moon, and so Lyric could not tell how long it had been that they were swimming for, just how tired she was getting despite taking frequent breaks. She was not bored, however, as the ocean around them was constantly changing and Niarthen spent the time catching food for her, pointing out dangers, or explaining signs to look for on the ocean floor or in the currents. He was a good teacher, and his love for his home was evident, as well as how thrilled and excited he was to be able to share it with her. He did not rush the journey, taking time with her to marvel at all the beauties and wonders, enjoying seeing her reactions to them. There were ruins from humans that Lyric found fascinating to explore – both shipwrecks and ancient civilizations that had long ago sunk. There were also abandoned Mer cities, distinguishable from the human ones in that the Mer cities were designed to wit
Rideten, Present TimeDaylight was not the right time to go sneaking into the Van Helsings' stronghold. The sleepy night shift was replaced by alert and attentive guards, and the footpath and street were busy with pedestrians and soldiers. Talen led his mates on a slow loop around the premises anyway, mentally marking where they would make their approach from, when it was dark again, before turning towards Stella’s house.He was relieved that Morgana was more open-minded about Stella. He wished that Sigrid was there. Sigrid knew the witch priestess better than he did. Whatever the witch was up to, he was certain that her agenda was entirely her own, and that Morgana was a tool that she was using rather than altruistically helping.Stella had been playing puppeteer in Morgana’s life for five years. He wondered just how far her plans went, and what the witch sought as an outcome. Was she like August, using the war to position herself into power and influence?Heath had relayed the conve
Rideten, Present TimePhilip stood in a doorway that Aislen guessed led to the bedrooms and bathroom. He was, disconcertingly in “Philip casual” – a pair of blue jeans and a collared shirt. His hair hadn’t been so vigorously styled back against his skull as was customary and hung in silky strands over his forehead.She couldn’t help but glance at Rhett, mentally comparing the two men. Rhett’s face had immediately curled into a sneer, his eyes hardening and his posture becoming defensive. The change made the similarities between the men even more striking as Philip mirrored the expression.“Fuck, Rhett, it’s called a hairbrush,” Philip crossed to the little kitchen and opened the fridge looking inside.“Have you ever thought about greeting him nicely?” Aislen snapped out irritably. “You know, hi son, nice to see you, how are you doing?”Philip paused, his shoulders tightening, and he straightened slowly, turning his head her way, every move designed to be subtly intimidating. “Are you
Rideten, Present Time“I can’t tell you how much I detest you using your ability on me,” Philip told Aislen stiffly as he finished buttoning his shirt ignoring Toby’s departure.Aislen heard the of thud of the bedroom door closing. She knew from Toby’s thoughts that he planned to pack his bag and leave. Ironically, like when she had left Rideten five years before, he had automatically picked the furthest city he could think of: Kabramatta. She wondered if she should offer him her apartment to stay in and ask him to water her house plants… Probably not the best idea.“Did it hurt to take your shirt off?” Aislen replied absently. “No. And it solved the problem, didn’t it?”“Hmph,” Philip sneered. “Whatever.” He took out his phone, and Rhett’s beeped a moment later. “That is the location where we are to meet Victor’s people. We should get going.”Aislen shook her head. “You go ahead and tell them we’ll be a little late. There’s some stuff we need to take care of here first.”Philip arche