The Nosferatu Adventures
page 251, chapter 251
Out of Time
Our heroine shook her head, her features melting back to normal as she moved closer to the two teenaged customers. Sniffing, she picked up the small incense burner breathing it in as if smoking a cigarette before grabbing one of the tea cups on the little coffee table, taking a large gulp. "Mushrooms and mugwort." she smiled again at them. "Good choice." she nodded to the room as she slipped out the front door.
"That was sloppy." a voice said to her over her shoulder ten minutes later, as she hit the button on the elevator. She didn't have to look to know that Loki had shimmered in. "What the hell were you doing exposing your..."
"Fangs." she snickered.
"Exactly. Exposing yourself to average humans! What the hell were you thinking? You've been at this long enough..." the elevator binged as the doors slid open, a rush of air slamming into our heroine's face. She didn't move just planted both palms firmly on the edges of the elevator door, her shoulders hunched, her nose twitching.
"Oh you didn't!" She turned around to find the elevator empty, Loki having shimmered away. Growling, she stormed the few feet to the door of the penthouse, hesitant to open it. Just as she was reaching out for it, it swung open revealing a little pink nose as the fuzzball yelped. The fur of the little pup was white with patches of black, grey and rusty brown. It's stub of a tail wagging happily as it rested on it's back legs, it's front paws treading air. "He's not a wolf."
"No, he's not. I was thinking of making him half hellhound half husky, but thought the St. Bernard would suit better." he bent down to scratch the puppy's head.
"He's going to be a big dog." she sighed sidestepping around the little creature. The little pup yawned as he turning around fully, following the two through the penthouse.
"More than normal given he is half hellhound." the dark haired god replied pointing at her.
"I'm happy here. This modern reality, this life. Even if I have to hide my real nature, have limited access to the magick. I'm not going back just so that you can have..." she gestured angrily at the creature.
"Oh your not going anywhere." he licked his lips taking a deep breath, his brown eyes searching the room as he searched for his thoughts. "I'm not letting you out of my sight and since I need to be here..."
"Because of The Seer. Which brings up, why is he locked up in his apartment?" she tossed her leather bag at the sofa, pacing around the living room. The puppy darting right for the sofa, jumping up trying to get the strap of the bag.
"It's for his own good. He's piled up too many dead bodies. Brought too much attention to things. It's been a hell of a bitch cleaning up after him." Loki replied leaning back against the wall, his shoulders inching up and down as if he were trying to find a soft spot.
"He'll starve." she raised her voice, a near growl sounding. "You realize that right?" she crossed her arms then uncrossed them gesturing to the ceiling. "His sidhe side still needs to feed even if the werewolf side is under control." she brought her hands up to her neck locking her fingers, taking a half step towards Loki.
"I told you to stay away from him." the dark haired god shook his head, his eyes turning to the amber-grey of the werewolf, fangs began to jut across the edge of his bottom lip, as he squared his jaw. He launched himself away from the wall again, hunching his upper body towards her.
"You talked for years about how the pack is everything, how loyalty is everything. And now, you're turning around telling me that I should forget that The Seer was part of my pack? Is part of my pack. And the only member of that pack that I've got any access to!"
"You've got Rufus!" he shouted taking a step then turning sharply. His hands had become claws with long glass like nails, as he flexed his left one.
"The Seer should be here with us! If you're so set on protecting him, and not having to clean up after his hunting, then why is he alone in an apartment and not here with you to begin with? What, does he cramp your style of jet setting playboy huh? Why if you brought him here first did you set him up with a great new fake life and stick me in the spare bedroom?"
"Cause he's a poptart."the sentence was barely a hiss as Loki's neck moved in a near spasm. "Yeah, you're right he does cramp my style. My jet setting playboy style..." he took a deep breath advancing towards her to the point they were nose to nose. "Cause I've got nothing better to do all day then seduce people, and party with a bunch of kids. It's not like I've got anything real to do, such as I don't know, keep the balance of life and death." he grabbed her chin tightly, dragging one long clawed nail down her face leaving a hot trail of liquid heat as he did. Leaning in, Loki licked the blood from the edge of her cheek bone to the corner of her jaw, the wound closing just as quick as he'd scratched it."I set him up in his apartment with a job, and friends, and gave him a lifetime of fake memories because he's under an extreme witness protection got it! That day...that day so many years ago at that fair ground, Pan possessed him. You thought you were all dreaming, being at a rock concert. But you weren't. We planted you all in yet another reality."
"Why?" our heroine asked, her anger still just under the surface, still hovering in her voice.
"Dagan had just found a way to break your bond. Had asked Bach to...and I thought at that point it was a mistake. I needed you two to reconnect." Loki dropped his hand finally from her chin, lowering his own to look up at her from under his lashes."It was the one reality were The Seer was weak. Our weakest link, and Pan took advantage. You were newly pregnant with Damen..."
"The oldest yeah whatever get to the point." she hissed.
"...with Damen, and Pan was trying to get close to you to possess the baby. We've been over this." his features shifted back to normal, his eyes flashing back to their human brown.
"So The Seer suffers now because he's got a hitchhiker and you're itching for another ankle biter." she cleared her throat crossing her arms. "You made me the unwilling surrogate for your five brats, the oldest plus the litter." she screwed up her nose squinting her eyes at him, a dissatisfied grunt half escaping her throat.
"Only two survived." the dark haired god's tone dropped a notch as he brought his hands to his belt, rocking back on his heels."Damen and the very youngest of the litter."
"That's not my problem. I barely got through childbirth on the second round, what makes you think I'd let you toss your orbs again?" she turned in a blur snatching her leather bag from the sofa, causing the new puppy to whimper in defeat and confusion as his nose sniffed the air where the bag had just been. Moving at a speed only Loki could see, our heroine was down the building's back stairs and on the main street before anyone else even felt the breeze as she zoomed past.
She found herself back at The Seer's building less then five minutes later, sneaking in a side door that she'd less then gracefully broke the lock on. Climbing the stairs to The Seer's floor, her senses were on overload as she heard every movement behind every door, smelled every mixture of scents coming from each neighbour. It was all she could do to keep her wits about her as she slammed an open palm on the door.
Within seconds, there were footsteps gently padding across the room, the sound of someone sighing as they approached their side of the door in confusion, and finally the lock sliding open. Arthur Holmwood stood one arm braced against the doorframe, as he smiled down at her. "Sorry I was rude earlier, I had a family emergency. But, I was wondering if you might be up for some company?"
Tune in again for another installment of the Nosferatu Adventures starring your heroine...me(straight up story. I think he's up for it.)
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