by Sarah Carter
Her sister rolls her eyes. “Gag me Aurora.”
“You two have such a deep brown hair and the most unearthly green eyes. It’s very striking. Do your parent’s have those eyes?” Claire asks. She turns to Xander. “You must be their brother, because you have the same eyes.”
“And red hair!” Aurora teases. “He looks so incredibly Irish. Fit in perfectly when we were in Ireland.”
“We aren’t related,” Xander states. “Or at least that’s what we are told.”
“Told? What do you mean?” Claire inquires slowly.
Flustered, Xander mutters, “Nothing. We’re not related.”
“Xander, Aurora and Ariel, very cool. Well, It’s nice to meet you. My name is Claire Livingston. I’m a top guard member and…a succubus. Since we are going to start on honesty here. Or at least I hope we do.”
“You’re a what!” Ariel gasps.
“A succubus,” Claire repeats. “I can drain Neturu of some or all of their energy. Usually, I just have to push a little before I can snag it. I can then use that energy to change into anything.”
“A morrae?” Xander inquires.
Claire shakes her head. “Not really because I need someone else’s energy otherwise I can’t shift. I actually spent my whole life not being able to shift.”
“Really?” Ariel draws out in curiosity. “How did you find out?”
“By making out with my friend,” Claire quips. Everyone stares at her. She waves her hand. “That’s a long story. I’m probably going to get my ass chewed for telling you any of this, but I figured if another freak approached you, you’d know the council doesn’t want to do anything to you.”
“How did you know the council isn’t using you?” Ariel asks.
“I would kick Damien’s ass,” Claire simply states, with a nod.
Snorting, Xander says, “They’d never let you touch him.”
“Being that I sleep next to him, I think I can touch him. Sneak attack while he’s sleeping. He’ll never see it coming.”
Xander raises his eyebrows. “You’re dating Damien?”
“Yeah,” Claire growls, crossing her arms. “I am, but I may be breaking up with him after this stunt.”
“Really?” Aurora squeaks. “Is your relationship on the rocks?”
“No, not at all, but this breaks my trust. Not in a relationship sense, but with me being in the guard. I was supposed to have complete control today and obviously that meant nothing. I wanted to come to you guys in a friendly, calm fashion. That obviously is not what they wanted. Jerk faces. So now, my boyfriend is probably on his way here, but I think he may know to stay away for a bit.”
Aurora suddenly rubs her stomach. “Hungry Xander. So hungry again.”
“We will see what we can get,” Xander sighs.
“What you can get? What do you mean?” Claire asks.
Completely embarrassed, Xander answers, “We have to steal food.”
“Oh my god,” Claire exhales. “When was the last time you had a real meal?”
Ariel frowns, “A week ago.”
Claire’s jaw drops. “Oh my god, where’s the nearest restaurant?”
Xander points behind him. “There is a pub a little way that way. Why?”
“Let’s go,” Claire suggests. “I’m getting you real food.”
“How?” Ariel asks.
Reaching into her back pocket, Claire pulls out a credit card. “American Express, don’t leave home without it.”
“We can’t have you buy us food,” Xander mumbles. Even though his stomach is screaming for a real meal. “You don’t know us.”
“Listen the council pays me a boat load of money to do what I do,” Claire declares. “I don’t need any more shoes or riding gear. Let me do something useful with it.”
“You ride horses?” Aurora asks. “That’s a little weird. Be a horse. Don’t ride a horse.”
“Easier said than done for me,” Claire counters. “No, I ride motorcycles.”
That makes Xander raise an eyebrow. All he wonders if she could get any hotter. Even as he eyes her up, Trinity sits in the back of his head. As soon as he thinks about her, he sighs heavily. Suddenly, he hears, “Xander!”
He looks up. “Where did you go?” Aurora asks.
“Nowhere.”
“Leave him alone Aurora. He was thinking about Trinity again.”
“Trinity?” Claire says.
“Trinity,” Aurora whispers. “Just leave it alone, please.”
Xander takes a deep breath and then looks at Claire. “What’s the plan then?”
“We are going to get something to eat. You need a real meal and I eat like a hundred times a day. I should be like 300 pounds but I have actually lost 10 since this whole succubus thing started. Luckily it wasn’t muscle. I don’t want to lose anymore.”
“You have the most banging body ever,” Aurora states. “Like damn girl.”
“Ummm, thanks,” Claire replies slowly. “Anyway, let’s go eat.” She turns and starts to walk down a path.
Aurora goes bounding over and starts to talk to Claire. Xander eyes Ariel. She comes up next to him. As they start to walk, Ariel whispers, “Do you think we can trust her?”
“I don’t know,” Xander whispers back. “I want to and I get a good vibe from her, but we know not to trust anyone. They could have sent her. I don’t know.”
“She does not seem the type to work for them. Claire’s too…nice,” Ariel states. “They only has thugs working for them. Morons.”
“Except Mason,” Xander murmurs.
“Yeah, except him,” Ariel sighs. “Always riding the line.”
“It’s what he does.”
Ariel nudges her head towards Claire. “Are we going to tell Claire about him?”
“Nahhhh,” Xander draws out. Smirking, he whispers, “They’ll never see him coming.” Ariel bursts out laughing and Xander follows suit.
Chapter 3
Claire
When they get to the pub, they take a seat in the corner. Xander and Ariel face the door and Claire and Aurora sit opposite of them. “I’m soooo hungry,” Aurora whines.
“Get whatever you want,” Claire states looking at the menu. “I know I’m really hungry too.” She feels awful that they haven’t eaten. She’s never known that feeling and couldn’t even imagine how hard it is.
“Chicken and a burger,” Aurora states. “And then dessert.”
“Sounds good,” Claire replies. Then like a wisp, she feels energy approaching. “Don’t do anything but a Neturu is coming. I will handle them, but please, don’t do anything.” Xander just glares at her and then nods his head.
They all turn and look at the door. Claire breathes a sigh of relief. “Alex,” she snaps. “What in the hell is going on?” Xander starts to stand up. “Xander, sit down. He’s one of my best friends.”
Xander stares at her and then huffs. Alex comes up to the table slowly. “They sent me in to get you.”
“Well, we are about to order our food, so they can just wait. Tell Damien to kiss my ass.”
“Claire,” Alex says slowly.
She smiles at Xander. “Alex is one of my closest friends. He’s a guard member too, but don’t worry, I can take him down in a heartbeat. Right Alex?” She quips, turning her gaze to him.
He narrows his eyes. “Yes.”
“Why don’t go back out there and tell them we will be out when we are done eating.”
“Claire…be serious.”
“I am serious,” she replies harshly. “Either pull up a chair or go away. If you pull up a chair, don’t say anything asinine.”
Alex takes in a deep breath and then grabs a chair. “I’m going to be in so much trouble.”
There is a voice suddenly in Claire’s ear. “Claire!” Damien yells. “Get out of there.”
She presses down below her ear. “Damien, I’m handling this. Go away.”
“I’m so beyond angry right now,” he seethes.
; “Yeah, well, I’m not happy either.”
“I’m saying this as your ruler. Get out of there.”
Claire’s jaw drops. “Did you just pull your position on me? Oh my god…you are a douche. Go jump off a bridge.” She presses the point on her wrist that fully disables her communicator. “Jerk face.”
With a quick wince, Alex presses below his ear. “You know I can’t just take her out of here. I value my limbs.” Claire nods her head. “Yes, I will tell her.”
Ignoring Alex, Claire says, “I think I want to try something that I don’t normally get.”
“Damien says his father says to get out of here.” That makes her press her lips into a hard line. She continues to read the menu. “Claire, that’s coming from Master Blakely.”
“Fine, they can throw me in jail. I’m handling this.”
“Holy….” Ariel exhales. “Are you seriously going against the leader of our species?”
“Aren’t you?” Claire quips, looking at her. “He said I was in charge of this mission so I am.”
“Claire,” Alex emphasizes.
She puts down the menu. “Go out there and tell them that they are hungry. We will peacefully come out when we have talked and I have convinced them that we are the good guys.”
Alex takes a deep breath and stares at her. “Fine,” he whispers. “I will see you out there.”
They all watch him leave. Xander looks at her. “Either this is the biggest ploy ever or you are risking a lot for us.”
“Listen,” Claire sighs. “That was Alex. I accidently drained all his energy. We passed out for three days. I thought I had killed him. I was deathly afraid. I didn’t know what I was or what happened. When I did find out. I thought I was going to be thrown in jail or something horrible was going to be done to me. I was a freak, plain and simple. But I was surprised. They were nice and understanding. I had to undergo tests to figure out why I was so different but it wasn’t against my will. I promise you. They aren’t out to get you. You were just creating a scene and the council needed to put a stop to it.”
“A scene?” Xander says. “What scene?”
Claire looks at the twins. They are staring intently down at their menus. Claire turns her gaze back to Xander. “Didn’t you wonder why there are so many people here all of a sudden, around the lake?”
With his eyes lighting up, Xander goes, “Oh.” He turns and looks at the twins. “Have something you want to tell me?”
“No,” Aurora scoffs, but she still won’t look at him.
“Every time we are someplace, you two have to cause problems.”
“Come on,” Aurora whines. “We were at Loch Ness and it’s us. What did you think was going to happen?”
Xander puts his face into his hand. “Oh my god…. That’s why you are here.”
“Once they realized that it was the twins. They put them under surveillance. Then you appeared and they saw what you could do. They are intrigued on how you are so different. A succubus is in my bloodline, but you are like nothing they have encountered before. Can you explain why you are so different?”
“No, not entirely,” Xander sighs. “I’d rather not talk about where we come from.”
“Well, okay, maybe someday you can confide in me,” Claire whispers. “What shall we order?”
The waitress comes over and they order their food, which is two entrees each. The waitress narrows her eyes. “Are you going to order all of this food and then leave?”
“No, we are that hungry,” Ariel replies. “Trust me.”
“Okay, I will put this in.” She leaves and Claire looks at Xander.
“Anything else you can do?” She asks.
“No,” he replies. “Just the telekinesis.”
“And you two?”
Ariel smiles, “No, we are just super shifters.”
“One of my best friends is a morrae. She turned into a dragon and bit a guy in half.”
All three of them go quiet. “Say that again,” Xander stutters.
“Long story and it’s not mine to tell, but yeah she is a morrae. And I am a succubus.”
“Anything else you can do?” Xander asks.
Claire bites her lip. “Yes, but that I really can’t tell you.”
“I thought we were going on honesty,” Xander replies with an attitude.
“Oh boy,” Claire sighs. “I really can’t tell you. I’m sorry. There are only a handful of people that know.”
Xander stands up. “Then we are making a run for it.”
“That is totally not even fair!” Claire exclaims. “Sit down.”
He puts his hands on the table and leans forward. “Tell us if you want us to trust you so badly.”
“Fine,” Claire exhales. “Sit down.” She puts her face into her hands. “I’m going to be in so much trouble.”
“More trouble than you are already in?” Ariel quips.
“Yeah,” Claire sighs. “But I want you to trust me.” Taking a deep breath, she says, “I can turn into other people.”
There is just dead silence for an entire minute as they stare at her. Xander plops down in his chair with a look of shock on his face. “You can….what?”
“It takes a lot of energy, but I can shift into anyone,” Claire declares. “I’m so getting fired from the guard and probably losing my boyfriend but I want you guys to be okay. The council will take care of you.”
“Yeah, use us as guinea pigs,” Ariel growls.
“They haven’t done anything to me and I am much, much, much more dangerous than you.”
“More dangerous?” Xander quips.
“I’m the fastest, stronger and most skilled fighter for the Neturu. You add on my abilities. I’m deadly.”
“Dude, have you gone on missions? Have you killed someone?” Aurora gasps. Claire’s heart and face fall. She stares down at the table, not saying a word. “Holy crap,” Aurora exhales. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know….”
“Can’t say one way or another,” Claire sighs, still not looking up.
“Your face is saying it all,” Ariel whispers.
“Is that why I always lose at poker?” Claire quips, trying to break the mood. It works and everyone laughs.
“You are like us,” Xander says.
“See, I told you, and you can trust me. I will do my best to protect you.”
“Protect me from him?” Xander snorts.
Turning around, Claire sees Damien standing in the doorway. “Uh oh.”
He casually walks over. Damien doesn’t look at anyone but Claire. “Hi honey.”
“Ummmm, like, does your Dad know you’re here?” She asks, her voice wavering out of nervousness.
“I bet he does now,” Damien replies casually, still staring at Claire. “I’m so pissed, I had to come tell you in person.”
“Whoa,” Aurora exhales.
“Damien….” Claire starts.
“Save it,” Damien quietly snaps. “We are leaving now.”
“No, we ordered food,” Claire mumbles.
Rolling his eyes, Damien says, “I don’t care. This could end up messy really quickly and we are surrounded by….” He lowers his voice, “…humans.”
“Unless you start something,” Xander interjects. “We aren’t going to do anything.”
Damien finally looks at Xander. “And why should I trust you? You have thrown our guards thirty feet.”
“We don’t know anyone, okay?” Aurora sighs. “We can’t trust anyone, literally, for our own safety.”
“What do you mean by that?” Damien asks.
“Nothing,” Aurora whispers, looking away. “We’re sorry we caused problems. We won’t do it anymore.”
“We all need to get up and walk out of here,” Damien growls.
“Damien, stop it,” Claire replies harshly. “We are going to eat.” Damien glares at her. Changing her tone, Claire looks at him with pleading eyes. “Baby, they need to eat. They haven’t had a real meal in a week.”
The
expression on Damien’s face changes instantly. He looks at the twins. “Is this true?”
Ariel frowns, “Yeah, we don’t have any money, so we steal our food most of the time.”
Pulling something out of his pocket, Damien says, “They don’t seem to be a threat. We will be in here for a while. Claire is here to protect me. Stand down.” Taking a deep breath, Damien sits down in the chair that Alex pulled up. “Alright, you need to eat. We will take care of you. We take care of our people.”
Xander stares at him. His gaze unmoving. Claire watches nervously. Finally, Xander says, “We can take care of ourselves. We don’t need the council’s help.”
“Let us feed you, give you a real place to sleep and provide you with some clothes. It’s the least we can do. The council is not a bunch of evil people. We are the good guys. I promise. We just have to make sure we aren’t discovered and the twins making a scene sent up red flags. We can’t have that. I’m sorry.”
“Yeah,” Xander says, looking at the twins. “I didn’t even know about that. They are very sneaky when they want to be. I should have put two and two together.”
“What!” Aurora exclaims. “It’s what we do. Mythical creatures is our thing.”
“That doesn’t mean you need to bring unwanted attention on ourselves,” Xander states harshly. “We have now been discovered. What if it had been you know who? What would we have done then?”
“Who’s you know who?” Claire asks.
Quickly shaking his head, Xander whispers, “No one. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“Is someone after you?” Claire asks, sounding concerned.
She watches Xander stare at the table. He finally shakes his head. “No, there is no one after us.” Claire instantly knows that he is lying.
Damien tilts his head. “Well, if there is no one after you, the council will still protect you from whoever is not after you.”
Ariel snorts and everyone looks at her. “There may be things a lot more powerful than the council,” she sighs.
“Ariel, drop it,” Xander snaps under his breath.
“What’s going on?” Claire asks.
“Nothing,” Xander growls. “Leave it alone.”
“Alright,” Damien replies. “You will be protected from nothing then. So, tell us something about yourselves.”