by Sara DeHaven
“It probably surprised the hell out of them too,” he said with a fierce smile.
Bree smiled back, and her whole expression lightened. Leander felt good about that. He’d gotten her to admit the worst of what happened, got her to focus on the fact that she had rescued herself. It was the right card to play, but more, it was clearly actually helping her. That was an almost completely unfamiliar sensation. He kind of felt like the good guy for a change.
He got to his feet and put out a hand to help her to hers. “The bathroom’s down the hall to your left, at the end, past the bedroom,” he told her. “I’ll try to dig up something clean you can wear when you get out.”
She turned to go, then paused and faced him, concern on her face. “Don’t you have some kind of teleconference you were supposed to be doing?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Leander replied smoothly. “I’ll give them a call and reschedule. This is much more important.” She gave him another tremulous smile in response and headed for the bathroom.
While Bree was in the shower, he got his weapons back into their original places. He was relieved he hadn’t had to use them. He'd genuinely wanted to help Bree, but wasn’t truly willing to risk his own life to do it. Which meant, of course, that in spite of that heart warming little interlude, he was not the good guy in this story. He deliberately reminded himself that Scanlon might yet order him to kill Bree. He couldn’t afford to get attached to her. But at the same time, it helped him play his role if he could find something to like in the people he was conning. He had to make some kind of real connection for it to work. He just couldn’t let the connection go deep. He’d learned that lesson long ago.
He dug out a pair of sweat pants, a t-shirt and a sweater and put them in front of the bathroom door. He took a moment back in the kitchen to wet down a kitchen towel and wipe off some of the sweat from around his neck and his chest. The run to his place, then back to where Bree was being assaulted had left him sweaty. And, he had to admit, some of it was from the jolt of those ugly old memories that had come over him.
He tossed the towel into the laundry room off the kitchen, then busied himself with making tea and laying out some sandwich fixings. He was hungry, and Bree was likely to be too after all that use of power. She finally came out into the kitchen, rolling up the sleeves of his sweater as she went. She was moving slow, but she already looked better. Her hair was still wet, and without any makeup, and in the too big clothes, she looked younger. Again, Leander felt feelings for her stirring. This time, he let it happen, waiting to see, with some curiosity, what would come up. She gave him a shy smile, and he found himself smiling back. Damned if he didn’t feel a little giddy.
“Thanks for the clothes,” she said softly. Without thinking it through, almost on impulse really, Leander put down the loaf of bread he was holding, stepped up to her, and folded her gently into his arms. She heaved a big sigh and let him hold her. Her skin was warm from the shower, her damp hair cool against his hands. She was huddled against him, unable to raise her arms because of her injured ribs. It felt like holding one of his birds. She seemed so slight, so fragile in his arms. And yet she had fought off five Keltoi, three of them possessed, which meant she was a lot stronger than she looked. It made him respect her. He examined his feelings as he held her. Yes, he felt protective towards her, at least in this moment. And he liked how she felt against his body. It wasn’t a sexual feeling, maybe more of a sensual one. She smelled clean. He would have liked to keep holding her, but she started to pull away a little, and he let her. “You just sit down now, I’m getting us something to eat while we wait for your friend. Now, what do you like on your sandwich?”
She examined the offerings he had laid out, and said, “Just cheese, please, with some mayo.”
“Are you a vegetarian?”
“Yep.”
“Got it,” Leander replied. He directed her to sit down while he put together sandwiches, roast beef and cheddar for him, cheese only for her. He had some jalapeno potato chips on hand, and he tossed the bag on the table as well. They ate mostly in silence, and Bree’s friend arrived just as they were finishing. Bree introduced the tall, good looking black guy as Dion Evans. He was carrying a satchel of first aid supplies, and after a brief greeting to Leander, disappeared with Bree back into the bedroom to examine her.
They came out together ten minutes later. Bree was looking pale, but her face was significantly less swollen. Evans must have some Healer ability to pull that off. “My ribs are probably just bruised, not broken,” Bree announced.
“Well, that’s good,” Leander replied. “Bree and I were just having something to eat. Can I get you a sandwich?”
Evans shook his head. “I’d just finished dinner when Bree called. I had my friend Henry drop me off so I could drive her home.”
“Yes, right, I’m sure you just want to be in your own house right now,” Leander told Bree. “Let me give you both a lift to Bree’s car. I don’t want her to have to walk.”
Leander left quickly to fetch his car, and met Bree and Evans out in front of his apartment building. Evans managed to fold himself into Leander’s small back seat, and Bree climbed painfully into the front.
Leander quizzed Evans a little on his work as a paramedic, making small talk as he drove the few blocks to Bree’s car. It was almost seven o’clock, and he was able to pull right in behind her car as there was a yellow marked loading zone there. The three took a minute to go back the alley where Bree had been assaulted. They found her purse on the ground, and strangely, there was nothing missing from it.
There was an awkward moment as he and Bree said goodbye in front of her car. He wanted to hug her again, but had the feeling she didn’t want him to do it in front of Evans. So he just promised to call tomorrow to see how she was doing and let her go. Evans shook his hand firmly, maybe trying to read him a little, but the contact was brief.
As they drove away, he considered the mixed feelings he’d experienced when Bree had failed to read him. He truly enjoyed being un-readable. It gave him a huge advantage in almost every aspect of powered life. But there was a little part of him that wanted there to be an exception, wanted someone to really be able to see him, to know him. He’d thought there was a chance Bree was that person. He’d read her at the party, and she was clearly a very high power Reader. Of course, she wasn’t at her best right now. She might be able to read him when she was feeling better.
Not that that would truly be a good thing, he reflected as he made an illegal u-turn and started driving back towards his place. It would screw up the job he was doing, and besides, no doubt she’d stop liking him if she could read him. Deep in his gut, he felt a quiver of protest at that thought, but with long practiced skill, he repressed it.
CHAPTER TEN
Dion settled on one end of Bree’s light green velvet couch, and Bree sat sideways on the other end, carefully placing her feet in Dion’s lap. She found the contact comforting.
“You know, I’ve always thought you should go out for Keeper,” he said.
“No, really?” Bree said, drawing out the syllables sarcastically.
“Hey, let me finish!” he protested. “What I’m trying to say is, I always thought you had the right abilities, the right temperament for it. And you did seriously kick some ass with those Keltoi guys. But seeing you like this, all beat up…” He shook his head. “I’m not as big a fan of the idea as I used to be.”
“Fine time to decide to go all protective, right when things are getting so out of control. We both know that’s probably not the last time I’m going to have to do battle, not if a demon war is really starting.” She gave a little huff of protest as Hanroi jumped up onto her lap, tromped up her chest and butted his little head into her chin.
“I think it has started. And I’m starting to think I know why.”
“Politics. The elections in November,” Bree put in, picking up the kitten and settling him down on her lap, away from her ribs.
; Dion gave her a surprised look.
“I saw that guy on TV, what’s his name, Senator Morton. He was going on and on about law and order.”
“That’s my read of it. In fact, I’d say it’s come to be the consensus of the Ecclesias.”
The mere mention of the Ecclesias was enough to raise Bree’s blood pressure. She’d been so distracted with what had happened in the alley with the Keltoi, so much in shock, that she hadn’t stopped to remember that she was supposed to be avoiding Dion until she could figure out what to say about Daniel. As if he were reading her mind, Dion said, “I was going to have to call you anyway. The Ecclesias wants to interview you and Daniel.”
“Why in hell would the Ecclesias want to interview me? And don’t they have to have, I don’t know, have a warrant or something?”
“Bree honey, when the Ecclesias tells you to show up, you show up. Think of it as jury duty. It’s a pain, and you lose a day’s pay, but it’s your civic duty.”
“Not a good analogy,” Bree insisted. “I’m the one on trial, right?”
“Not you, Daniel.”
Bree’s brain made a heroic effort to get in gear. This was a dangerous conversation to be having right now, when she was a little woozy from the pain meds Dion had given her, not to mention still feeling jangly from what had happened. Her first tactic was silence. Maybe Dion would drop it for now.
“Bree, you know what this is about, right? What happened there on the beach, it didn’t look good. I was there. It definitely looked like Daniel was using Demon Master talent.”
Yeah, like Dion ever dropped anything you wanted him to, Bree thought ruefully. She waited a beat for her mind to come up with some kind of intelligent response, and to her relief, something did occur to her. "Maybe you haven't been at too many exorcisms, but sometimes, you have to rush it at the end and hope for the best. Daniel was primary and had to risk blowing it because the possessed girl had a gun on me."
"Yeah I saw that. Honestly, Bree, it's more what I felt than what I saw. My Reader sense was open, and I didn't feel the kind of ritual magic that you get with exorcisms."
"I've got to assume you missed the part where both Daniel and I raised ritual energy." Bree felt she was scrambling to come up with words that weren't a lie. So far she'd managed it, but she was afraid if the conversation went on for too long, she wouldn't be able to keep it up.
Dion slanted a look at her. "Javier told me Daniel was called up by the Ecclesias on suspicion of being a Demon Master before."
“Isn't it supposed to be literally impossible for someone to hide their power signature? I don't even get why he was called up in the first place.”
“There's always a first time for everything, which is why the Ecclesias tends to be conservative on this issue.”
“Yeah, but the part you’re not hearing is that the previous examinations found nothing. The way he explained it to me, some high power Exorcists can used some of their own power, in addition to the power raised by the rituals, to de-possess a subject. So they can perform exorcisms more quickly most other Exorcists.” Daniel had told her that when he’d speculated on her own abilities, so she wasn’t lying.
Dion was shaking his head as she spoke. “I’m not sure I buy that. Maybe it’s literally true, but I’m not sure it adequately explains what I saw.”
“What you saw was Daniel once again risking his life to save innocent people,” Bree replied heatedly. “He did fifteen years as a Keeper, and got all the shit jobs because he’s so good. They used him up, and then accused him of having the forbidden talents, put him on trial. The trial damaged his reputation, even though they didn’t find against him. No one wanted to work with him anymore. It tore the heart out of him. And now you’re dragging him back into it all!"
“I’m not doing anything to him, don’t shoot the messenger! Bree, look, I like the guy, you know I do. I’m the one who told you should give him another chance, remember?
The irony of her defending Daniel when she herself had been so recently wondering if maybe he should be turned into the Ecclesias wasn't lost on her. But something in her protested the idea strongly once she was faced with the reality. “Just consider this,” she said intently, trying to moderate her tone some, sound more reasonable. “Daniel is so high power in so many talents that there are probably few people like him, anywhere. I don’t think most of us have any real understanding what it means to be that high power.
"And you know, I think it scares people. On the one hand, we’re all impressed. We all secretly wish we had that much power. On the other hand, it freaks us out. We don’t want anyone to be that much better than us. It makes us feel vulnerable, less than. But surely you must know that in the end, it’s not the power you have, it’s what you do with it. And all Daniel’s ever done with it is try to help people.”
Dion’s expression went from guarded to thoughtful as she spoke. In the brief silence that fell as she ended her little tirade, Bree realized that to some degree, she had just been describing herself. Daniel’s level of power did scare her, it had since the first moment she’d read him. And at the same time, it attracted her.
Dion finally got his thoughts together for a response. “I’ve gotta say, I think there’s some truth to what you just said. I think Daniel unnerves people. Hell, he unnerves me a little, and I ain’t easy to unnerve. And I get what you’re saying about the use of power. That’s obviously true of any talent or ability. We should be judged by what we do with it. But if you’re wrong, and Daniel really has managed a spell to hide being a Demon Master, his actions won’t stay positive forever.”
"Yes, but..."
Dion held up a placating hand “Look, to be honest, I don’t know the full story on this one. I’ve got to assume people have tried various ways to hide Demon Master and Binder talent from the authorities. There may be lore about this the Ecclesias has that I know nothing about. I do know that hunting down and monitoring Demon Masters and Binders is part of what the Ecclesias does, and it’s something that needs doing. Surely you can see that.”
Grudgingly, Bree nodded. “I do see that. It’s just that I know Daniel. This isn’t just some random person I’m being asked to testify about. I don’t want to see him hurt anymore.”
Dion regarded her closely. “So, you are in love with him?”
Bree’s hand stopped its automatic petting of Hanroi. She didn’t know what to say. Was she in love with Daniel? Stupid for the question to shock her. Hadn't she just been feeling it a moment ago when she wanted so badly to defend him? But every time she got there emotionally, something he did gave her pause or just outright terrified her. And Gelsenim’s recent revelation about Daniel’s dark energy left her feeling more conflicted than ever. Yet here she was, defending him instinctively, as if she deep down really believed in him.
“You don’t know, do you?” Dion said with a little laugh. “God, I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes on this one. He’s charismatic as all get out, and you’ve both clearly got a thing for each other. But I’m not sure you should get involved with him.”
“Thus says the man who brought Daniel to my house when I specifically told him to stay away.”
“I was right that time, and you know it. You needed his help to snap out of the fog you were in after that Keltoi guy died.”
“You mean after I killed him.”
Dion sighed in frustration. “Let’s not go around about that again. I just think that until he’s cleared by the Ecclesias, you ought to think twice about hanging around him. If you’re seen as associating with him, as defending him, and he’s convicted, they’re going to be looking pretty closely at you.”
Bree felt a chill at that. What if she really was developing Demon Master talent? And what if one of the Readers on the Ecclesias could tell? Daniel wasn’t the only one facing neutering of powers, and the very real possibility of death as a result. But neither could she see herself just letting Daniel deal with all this alone. She regarded Dion with some disfavor. “I suppo
se that means you aren’t going to do jack shit to defend him. That would screw up your precious political career.”
“That was a little harsh,” he said quietly.
Bree put a hand to her forehead. It had been too harsh. “God I know, I'm sorry. I guess I'm just upset that Daniel has to go through all this again, and I wish someone could prevent it. I know it's unreasonable to think you could."
Dion took a deep breath and let it out slow. "Apology accepted. Look, the most likely outcome is that he won't be found guilty. As far as I know, there's never been a Keeper convicted of being a Demon Master. They're all subjected to an energy read by a high power Reader. He's hot shit, but what are the chances he's the first person to figure out how to hide the forbidden talents?"
Bree looked down at that cat to avoid her expression giving anything away.
There was the sound of a car honking out front. “My ride’s here,” Dion said. He gave her legs a final pat, then moved them off his lap so he could stand up. “No rest for the weary,” he intoned lugubriously. “I’ve got a late shift. I’ll meet with you and Daniel before the meeting once it gets on the schedule, coach you a little about dealing with the Ecclesias.”
“Thanks for everything Dion. I mean it.”
He leaned over to kiss her on the cheek. "Take some more ibuprofen before you get in bed."
Hanroi followed him to the door, and failing in his escape attempt, came and climbed back up onto Bree’s lap, and half-closed his eyes bliss as she scratched his cheek. When he was like this, it was easy to forget what a little shit he was. She wasn’t about to admit it to anyone, but she had, quite in spite of herself, grown fond of the little beast. And she probably hadn’t given the Cat Master thing anything like a real try yet. She’d had too much else to focus on.
She jumped hard when a tree branch from outside tapped against the side of her house in a gust of wind, and she swore, loudly. Hanroi dug his claws into her in protest. She was obviously still unnerved from her earlier experience. Even thinking that much caused a disturbing image to intrude into her mind, the one of the blonde guy trying to get her pants off. Tears started into her eyes, and before she knew what hit her, she was crying. She knew it was perfectly natural after what she'd just been through, but she resented it. She resented it like hell. She wiped angrily at her tears. She was so fucking tired of being hurt, of being afraid. And now she had this to deal with, nearly being raped.