by Leela Ash
“I just really believed it was going to take place tonight. I guess I was wrong,” the little underling said sadly, frowning to himself.
“We did not want anything too official to take place tonight. We knew there was going to be friction between the two of them. And even if it were to have transpired tonight and the sacred child had been conceived, they would be in another vulnerable state and it would ultimately serve our purpose as well. We could use his emotional frequencies to manipulate him. It’s quite easy to do.”
“Oh, I see. If he has his mate, it will be easier to use her against him. That makes sense.”
The Jornel nodded, his high spirits returning once more.
“Yes,” Kin agreed. “Especially if they were to procreate tonight or sometime in the near future and there was a child for him to consider. Those cursed Golden children certainly make their parents more overprotective than they would be under normal circumstances. He would be very easy to manipulate then.”
“A parent’s love for his child is impressive,” the Jornel said wistfully. Kin narrowed his eyes at the little man, who quickly tried to wipe all traces of sentiment from his face.
“In any event, it is easy to utilize for our gain. We would know exactly what his moves would be at that point, and I do intend for us to use that against him in the future. It’s going to really teach those good for nothing Dragon shifters a thing or two about messing with the divine order of things. They’re going to regret ever having meddled.”
“They certainly will,” the underling agreed, though he wasn’t entirely sure what it was they had meddled in besides simply trying to restore peace and harmony in the universe. Peace that, according to Kin, would make everybody into carbon copies of each other and eliminate the freedom of choice and action. “It was very clever the way we orchestrated the car accident, don’t you think? You truly are a master at what you do. I am very honored to work by your side.”
“Stop with your flattery or I’m going to have you replaced with someone who doesn’t talk so much,” Kin said, shaking his head. The little man clamped his mouth shut.
Truth be told, Kin really didn’t mind having his ego stroked in this way. At least, not often. Still, it delighted him to be able to burst the little man’s bubble. What else was he good for?
“I’m sorry, Master Kin,” the Jornel said, bowing as his profuse apology bubbled from some deeply sincere well within him. It was irritating, and Kin dismissed it quickly.
“Anyway, you are correct. It was a very useful spark of intuition that set this up. We knew the Loni descendant was going to be meeting with her friend, and we also knew Ken would be more than willing to help us to deceive the Dragon shifters. He may not know where their base is, but he does know each of them better than we ever would. He wanted to help. He would have convinced them to go to the club even if Norris had not shown an interest.”
“He has been very helpful for the cause,” the Jornel said with a deep nod. He was very pleased to have made any progress whatsoever toward bringing Chaos to reign in the universe. Whether he understood what it truly meant or not. And if he didn’t, maybe it was just his own damn fault for being so easy to manipulate. Kin couldn’t be held responsible. All he had done was preach the theories of Chaos and the followers swarmed around him in droves. It couldn’t be helped. He used them for what they were worth and that was simply that.
“And the best part is, I didn’t even have to give him anything remotely valuable in exchange for his loyalty. All he wanted was the green Earth paper. Money. I had no idea just how malleable the human species could be. If I had known, maybe I wouldn’t have bothered to bring so many of your useless species with me down to Earth.”
The little underling was quiet for a moment, and then laughed nervously. “Yes, humans can be quite useful.”
Master Kin glanced sidelong at the useless little man, his mind wandering to the plethora of resources he’d had to invest in so that he could count on keeping these silly little creatures alive. While they were very beneficial in strategizing and carrying out his plans, he wanted to get rid of a large portion of them. He had far too many now that his plans were well underway.
Their brainpower had allowed him to get this far, certainly, but really, he didn’t need that many Jornel on Earth with him. He needed a few that he could trust for their brainpower, and that was it. He wasn’t going to waste the fuel to take them back to their planets. He would have to come up with something else. Some other way of getting rid of them. In fact, he had a budding idea that was just beginning to flourish in his mind. A good plan.
A cruel little smile began to part his lips as he looked back down at his companion, considering the potentially unfortunate fates of about half of his unsuspecting crew. It would be a sacrifice, surely, but it was one that would serve a greater purpose.
Their loyalty to Chaos would allow them to die honorable deaths, as far as their own goals were concerned. And he was going to get what he wanted. That was really what mattered most here out of everything. It was a win-win situation. He wanted to make sure that everything he did was done with purpose and was executed flawlessly. Or, at least, as flawlessly as possible. He wanted to put an end to the Dragon shifters and their obnoxious species; an end to the universe that had betrayed him and left him alone rather than guiding and supporting him. He wanted revenge for the cruelty that was heaped upon his shoulders. He wanted to strike back and punish those who thought they had the right to punish him. What else could be more important than that?
“All right,” Kin said cheerfully, his eyes intent upon his minion now that he was happily plotting the little man’s execution. “Now that this has been successful, we should start working on the next course of action. We have to set up the club where they are going to meet. We have to lay down the clues for them to follow. It’s going to be a massacre, and it’s going to be glorious.”
“Yes, all hail Chaos!” the Jornel exclaimed happily.
Kin held up a finger to silence him.
“But before that, we need to make sure they are able to lead us to their secret base. With those artifacts on Earth, none of us are safe. It is highly likely that we will all end up surrendering to their power and Chaos once again will be held back for another century. We cannot let that happen. We are the stewards of the age of Chaos, so let it reign!”
10.
When Lisa woke up, the first thought that popped into her head was the enormous desire that had consumed her the night before with Norris. She had not been able to get him out of her mind all day. All thoughts seemed to be focused and consumed on him.
She hated to admit it but having him touch her had been one of the most riveting experiences of her life. She had been in relationships before and had enjoyed a healthy sex life with her partners, but nothing in any of her previous experiences had ever compared to the way Norris had made her feel. Not only physically, but emotionally as well, as strange as it seemed to her to admit such a thing.
It went above and beyond any normal attraction she had experienced, and she wasn’t quite sure why that was the case. Why couldn’t she just put it down and get him out of her mind? Why had his touch left such a lasting imprint upon her?
She wanted nothing more than to be able to have him back in her house, touching her, holding her the way he had been holding her before he left. And yet, it seemed ridiculous and impossible for her to harbor such strong feelings for Norris. He was so strange and ridiculous. Nothing good could come of it. That seemed to be the unfortunate fact of the matter, whether she liked it or not.
If Lisa was going to be honest with herself about it, she really didn’t know a thing about him. It was dangerous for her to be so invested in someone like this. Especially someone who had already shown her every possible sign that he might have some sort of mental illness. Or at the least, severe delusions of grandeur and importance that didn’t fit in with his identity as a human who was forced to live on Earth.
And she had
told herself that she wasn’t going to fall for his charade. She wasn’t just going to let his charm take over so that he could preserve the integrity of the company he was surely hoping to protect. No, there was far more to it than a simple attraction at work here, and he shouldn’t get off the hook just because he had played the crazy card by saying he was from another planet. No, there was certainly something strange about Norris that made it seem like he didn’t actually belong on Earth, and it was for some reason, a strange but endearing quality. If it was an act, she had fallen for it, both emotionally and physically.
She couldn’t wrap her mind around how it happened that she was so comfortable with him and trusted him so implicitly when it was so clear to her that nothing about him was stable. She didn’t even know what to call him. Norris? Vash? He had introduced himself as Norris. But then, his name wasn’t really Norris, was it? He had called himself Vash. And somehow, Lisa determined that the name suited him far better than Norris did.
Why did it matter? Why was she thinking so hard about this? She shouldn’t have to concern myself with such trivial and ridiculous matters. How was it that this man had somehow inserted himself into her life, leaving her feeling confused and lost most of the time, and somehow making it far more difficult for her to live her life than it already had been?
But the real question was, why wasn’t she more upset about it? Why was it that, somehow, she was beginning to welcome this strange bout of chaos that Norris introduced to her life? Why was it that she was so grateful to see him and excited to find out what he was going to do next? Why did she look forward to seeing him and keep his ridiculous business card on her refrigerator even though she half the time wished she could get rid of it? None of this made sense to her. It was all ridiculous and illogical. She would be glad when she was able to start maintaining her focus and moving forward with her life.
At least she had the rental car to look forward to. Norris was going to stop by that afternoon and help her sort that out until the insurance companies were finally able to give her what she was entitled to.
And then, they were probably going to talk about setting up a date.
Nervous butterflies erupted in her stomach. A date with Norris. A real one. Even after having a conversation with him where he had revealed that he believed he was some sort of mystical Dragon being and not a human from Earth. How was it possible that she was still tolerating this ridiculous person? Was it only because he was attractive? Nobody who was ugly would get away with saying something like that and still have a date later on. Maybe she was just being superficial.
But when she really searched inside of herself, she knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that it went far beyond superficiality. There was a strange connection that she sensed between herself and Norris, a connection that she had felt from the moment she laid eyes on him when he was driving the stupid moving truck that had totaled her vehicle. Yes, the event had introduced untold chaos to her life, but it had also added something to it that she hadn’t even realized was missing. A strange, fulfilling quality that seemed to be more apparent when Norris was present.
How could she justify this to herself? How was all of this happening? And why was she allowing it to? Maybe she was just as crazy as he was. There was no good reason for her to believe in any of this nonsense. And yet, she found herself trusting her own instincts on the matter more and more, ignoring how strange and bizarre everything was, in favor of seeking the greater good and giving in to the innate comfort she felt in his presence.
Sure, he was an asshole, but he was an asshole that she felt safe with. Protected by. And, somehow, cherished by as well. She really wasn’t sure she was willing to let any of that go. He presented himself in her life in a way that made her feel extremely lucky and happy, despite all the inconveniences his presence brought her. No matter how skeptical she was of him, she couldn’t deny the tenacity and conviction of her feelings. She wanted him. She truly, deeply wanted him. In her life. More and more. As much of him as she could reasonably get her hands on. What was it that was going to drive her to happiness if it wasn’t going after the things she truly wanted?
And yet, he had left for home after getting so close to her. In a way, she felt rejected and insulted. And she would have been furious if he hadn’t proposed a proper date. That had sort of helped her feel better about the whole situation. It never felt good to be rejected. But maybe he hadn’t rejected her intentionally. Maybe he was just old-fashioned. Or, whatever fashion people from his supposed planet happens to be. Or maybe, he was just insane and didn’t know what it was he wanted. Either possibility seemed very likely.
And yet, she still couldn’t fathom why it was that she was taking all of this so damn seriously. Why did she care so much about what happened between herself and a legitimately crazy person? Handsome or not, he hadn’t exactly presented himself as the most reliable person to fall for. Why couldn’t love and attraction be simple rather than blind? She wanted nothing to do with the agony of realizing that all the warning signs she had been presented with were there for a reason, and that she was stupid to have ever considered the possibility that he was a genuine man whose connection she could trust and nurture for a brighter future?
“Lisa? Are you there?”
Her heart nearly stopped when she heard Norris knocking at the door. She went quickly to answer it, her heart thudding back to life when she pulled it open and caught sight of his ridiculously handsome face.
“Norris! I mean… Vash?”
Norris beamed at the mention of his allegedly given name and nodded.
“Yes, you pronounced that perfectly. You may just be a Loni yet.”
“A what?”
Lisa raised an eyebrow at Norris as he clamped his mouth shut and shrugged with a small laugh.
“It’s just that, for us to be fated, there is a high likelihood that you have a special bloodline of your own. We can talk more about it on the way to the rental agency, okay?”
Lisa was startled and nodded quietly as she attempted to process Norris’ words. He thought she was an alien too? That couldn’t have sounded more ridiculous. She had been getting herself all worked up about a crazy person. She was sure about it now. Why did she have such terrible taste in men?!
“Anyway, good morning,” Norris said, flashing her a stunning smile from the driver’s side of his car.
“Good morning,” Lisa replied, dazed for a moment by the man’s ridiculous good looks. Her face grew warm as she considered the intensity of their connection; the way his hands felt against her skin. She wanted him so badly. Why was it that everything always seemed to be stacked against her? Why was she so invested in a total lunatic? A ridiculously handsome lunatic.
And yet again, the guilt crept back to her. Why was it that she wanted so badly to buy into this poor man’s delusion?
Then again, it could be possible. There were real shifters in existence on Earth. Just because they didn’t live near Brookside didn’t mean they couldn’t. Right? Why was she having such a hard time keeping her mind open to the possibilities when they were so clear in front of her?
She couldn’t just completely refuse somebody for believing they were a little bit better than human. Who didn’t want to be a little bit better than human sometimes? Didn’t being human come with limitations and hurdles that could make life difficult and drab? If she could believe that she was some sort of mystical flying creature to console herself about the existential horror that was everyday life, maybe she would have allowed herself to slip into a fantasy much like Norris’.
The thoughts didn’t make her feel any better and she sighed, looking out at the road ahead of them. Why was it that she just wanted to have a normal relationship with this guy? She barely knew him. And what she did know, it didn’t look very good on his end.
Was she some sort of masochist? Did she seek out terrible situations because she somehow believed she didn’t deserve to be happy? How could she convince herself that she could be happy wi
th a man like this?
“I’m sorry, I’m sure that must have thrown you off. You must think I’m very strange.”
“What gives you that idea?” Lisa asked sarcastically. She couldn’t help but let the bitterness in her voice leak out. She was frustrated with the realization that she was having a hard time figuring out what it was that she wanted out of her relationship with Norris. She already knew he was not like other men. He dressed to the nines, and she was ridiculously handsome, but he also believed he was a creature that probably didn’t even really exist.
And if it did, and he was telling the truth, that would just make him the most extraordinary being that she had ever encountered. And how in the world would the universe allow her to have a good relationship with somebody like that? It didn’t seem feasible. It would be too good to be true.
“I know all of this is probably very difficult for you to believe, but I vowed to myself that I was going to be honest with you about everything. I do not want you to one day realize I am exactly who I say I am and feel deceived because I did not tell you who you are as well.”
“How in the world would you know who I am? We just met.”
Lisa was now fully on the defensive. As soon as people started to make presumptions about her, she was always ready for a confrontation. She did not want anybody telling her who she was. Only she could tell them. What could this man possibly know about her that she didn’t already know about herself?
She couldn’t stand that type of presumption Norris seemed so ready to display. He knew nothing about her, and she was going to make damn sure he realized that before he said something he would ultimately regret. She wanted to trust him. Didn’t he know that? Why would he say these things that made her feel unsafe and angry?
“It isn’t that I know who you are exactly,” Norris said, glancing from the road back to Lisa. “It’s more that I know how we are connected. It is more than just the grand scheme universe thing. It also has to do with your bloodline. And mine. You have a gift. The gift of healing, don’t you? And I’m sure you are also very creative, thoughtful, and intelligent. You are probably the type that other people always turn to for advice and if they need a helping hand. Although, you may find that when you are in need, many people are oblivious to it and turn their backs. You never get back what you put out, but somehow, you stay strong and continue to give regardless. Does that sound about right?”