Continued from:
The Arc
As we pulled into the underground parking of The Arc, I pulled out my cell phone and dialed my house. I surprised I knew it, because I rarely called. But I’d even programmed it in the phone so I wouldn’t have to memorize it completely. Micah picked up first rign.
“Hello?”
“Micah, it’s me.”
“Anita? What is it?”
“Nothing too serious, don’t worry. But I need you or Nathaniel. I’m with someone right now, I’m about to...” I glanced in his direction as we got out of the car. He shrugged his massive shoulders again.
“You can meet the rest of us if you’d like,” he offered/
I nodded and hit the button on my keys that made the car beep, telling me it was locked. “I’m about to go meet the rest of his team. I’m at the Arc, how soon can one of you be here?”
“I’d like to be there, Anita, but I’m busy with Merle. We’re discussing... things. No need to worry about them. I think Nathaniel’s in that area. I’ll send him.”
“What is Nathaniel doing alone?” I asked, a hint of anger seeping through.
“He’s not,” Micah said hastily. “Gregory’s with him. We were out of milk.” I could only guess that he shrugged because that would be what Micah would do.
I sighed and rolled my eyes, the anger leaking some. “Fine. Now. I’ll wait in the lobby.”
“Done. See you in a bit, Anita.”
“Bye, Micah.” I clapped the phone shut and put it in my back pocket. I’d taken my coveralls off just after the raising, so I was left clad in a dark purple polo shirt, black jeans, white jogging socks, black nikes, and my black blazer to hide the Browning in it’s shoulder holster.
“One of your friends grounded or something?” the red demon asked me, amusement clear in his voice.
“Not that it’s any of your business, no. Just can’t be trusted alone in public.” It was true for the most part. Nathaniel was a submissive. A heavy one. He couldn’t say no. Wouldn’t say no. I was his Nimir-Ra, leopard queen, and he was one of mine, and more recently, one of my lovers. He’s made some progress in the making of his own decisions, but he still has great difficulty saying no. Gregory was another wereleopard. He was more of a dominant to Nathaniel, keep him straight.
We entered the lobby in silence. I turned to face him by the front desk. It was black and made of marble. Walking through the front double doors, you saw that it wrapped around and there were about three secretaries waiting to take your reservation and give you a room key.
“I’m waiting here for Nathaniel and Gregory. You can give me your room number and we can go up alone, or you can wait with.”
Hellboy’d put on a hat, dipped well over his shaved horns and hid most of his face. He looked at me through the shadow the brim cast and seemed to be thinking why I would need two men with me. “I’ll wait with you,” he finally said and sat down in one of the cushy chairs in the lobby. The leather groaned under his weight but held him well.
We sat in silence for only a few minutes before the boys came in. They saw me and instantly came.
One was about my height. Around five five, give or take. He was only a few inches taller than me and I’m five three. His ankle-length, deep auburn-brown hair was tied back in a tight braid, swinging behind him as he walked. His tank-top matched his piercing violet eyes and hung to mid thigh. Barely peeking from the hem of the top was a pair of cut-off denim shorts. He wore white jogging shoes and socks to complete the look. The second man was only an inch or so taller than the first. He’d left his waist-long curly blonde hair down and half of it hung over one shoulder. His shirt was short-sleeved and red, complementing the dark, well-fitted Levi’s and black jogging shoes.
“Hellboy, this is Nathaniel,” I gestured to the brunette, “and Gregory,” then to the blonde. “Boys, this is Hellboy Bruttenholm?” I looked to the almost-eight-f
oot demon in question at the pronunciation of his name.
He gestured hello with his normal red left hand and stood. “Call me Red. Let’s go up.”
*************************
*************************
The elevator ride was wordless, as was the walk down the seemingly-endless hallway. In the lobby, I’d explained to Nathaniel why I wanted him there, mainly for the ardeur as a safety precaution. He’d grinned and told me it was alright. I’d rolled my eyes and then told Gregory that if he wanted to, he could go home and I would take Nathaniel back with me. For some reason, Gregory seemed to be happy that he could go home so soon. What the hell was going on?
As the red demon led us on, I linked my arm with Nathaniel’s, instantly feeling a bit better. I was at full attention and ready to face anything when Hellboy slid the card-key home and the door beeped unlocked. He removed his hat as he walked in the door and threw it on one of the beds, the farthest from the door. There was an ashtray on the small two-seater table, it was in need of dumping. A door was on the wall to the right. Adjoining rooms. Talk about close quarters. Though I’ve no room to talk. Last time I stayed in a hotel, my apartment was being remodeled after zombie’s had tried to kill me one night. We’d had to drag Jean-Claude’s coffin up and put it in an adjoining room. Better safe than sorry I guess.
“Sorry about the mess and whatnot, we just got in this morning,” Hellboy said as he shrugged his coat from his frame. With the coat gone, I could see his “utility belt”, so to speak, in full. It was nothing but pockets and pouches. And “The Samaritan”, of course. Once he’d removed that, though, I saw a dark-beaded rosary hanging from one of his belt loops.
“You’re a Christian?” I asked, surprised.
“Yeah. Just like my father.”
“Hey, HB, I hope you don’t mind but – Oh. Hi?” A woman about my size stepped out of the bathroom pulling an oversized shirt over her frame. If I had to guess, I’d say she was about five five or five six. More Nathaniel’s size than mine, really. She had medium raven-black hair that shone blue in the bathroom light. It was straight as a board and went just past her shoulders. She had a fringe of bangs and her eyes were a deep set brown; a rich chocolate. There was a cross around her neck on a black ribbon, pulled back like a choker. Her full lips had stopped mid-sentence. She clearly wasn’t expecting us.
“Hi,” Nathaniel said, the hint of sexuality nearly masqued. When he wanted to be, Nathaniel was serious. He’d set his face into deep, yet soft lines that made him look older than his ripe twenty years.
“Liz, this is Anita Blake and Nathaniel. Ms. Blake, Nathaniel, this is Special Agent Elizabeth Sherman. B.P.R.D. employee for... what is it? 12 years now? 13?” He’d stopped talking to us at guessing the year numbers, giving all his attention to her.
“12 ½,” she said distractedly as she walked away from the bathroom and closer to Hellboy. “As I was saying. I hope you don’t mind, but I used your shampoo. It works better for my hair.” As she spoke, the girl braided her hair tight and tied it securely at the end.
When Nathaniel spoke, it was an odd topic. “Ms. Sherman. If you start the braid a bit higher than the base of your neck, it is easier to get some of the whispy hairs in with it all.” His voice was a bit shy for Nathaniel, but it was just a random fact. If there’s something Nathaniel knows, it’s the aspects of long hair.
“Right. Thanks.” Elizabeth’s eyebrows knit in momentary confusion as she looked up at Hellboy. “Please tell me I’m not the only one who didn’t get the memo you were bringing people up.”
“No. Myers and Abe don’t know either. Speaking of...” Hellboy walked over to the adjoining door and opened it. He yelled, “Myers! Get over here. Abe! Out of the tub,” and left the door open to cross the room, sitting his massive red frame on one of the beds. Liz came to sit next to him and laid her head on his shoulder. His left arm went around her and I realized that they weren’t just fellow agents.
“What now, Red?” The man, excuse me boy, was not tall, dark and handsome. He was about five ten and scrawny. His short, boringly brunette hair was tousled, like he’d just lost the war with his bed sheets. He was naked from the waist up and wearing black slacks and no shoes.
“Get in here. I’ve found people who will help.”
The young man stepped into the room and it hit me that he wasn’t a boy, per se. He was only a year or two my junior. I was currently twenty-seven.
It was the next... person to come into the room that caught me. Creature was too harsh. Merman wasn’t right. But neither was person. Fish-Guy?
“Ms. Blake,” Hellboy began.
“Anita,” I corrected.
“Anita. This is Agent John T. Meyers.” The young man gave a casual one-wrist-flick-three-fingers-up wave and sat down. “And this,” he gestured to Fish-Guy, “Is Abraham Sapien.”
“You may call me Abe,” Fish-Guy said.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nathaniel lick his lips in a way that was passed off as casual, but I knew better. I glanced at him sideways. “Nathaniel,” I said. And that one word contained enough order and warning for him to straighten up and take a breath. Nathaniel’s behavior reminded me it was too close to the full moon for comfort.
I looked at Abe and couldn’t seem to look away. He was beautiful. His skin was a solid dark cornflower blue with navy striped patterns on his shoulders, chest, legs, and head. He was completely bald and his eyes were the deepest ocean blue I’d ever seen. They were very large and up-tilted, just like those of a fish. He had ears with gills running the length of his neck underneath. Both his hands and feet were webbed.
“Your mother was Mexican, your father Greek. You know very little Spanish and your mother died when you were eight. I’m terribly sorry,” Abe said suddenly. His voice was slightly British and heavily intelligent. One hand was outstretched to me, the fingers spread as wide as the webbing would allow.
“How the hell did he know that?” I asked, my eyes widening slightly.
“Abe has a ‘unique frontal lobe’,” Meyers said from the chair in the far corner.
“Before you leave, Anita, I should probably explain a bit, huh?” Hellboy asked when he saw the confusion on my face. I simply nodded. What else was I supposed to do?
He gestured to the other bed and Nathaniel and I sat. “I only have one request,” I said.
“Yeah?”
“Make it quick. My eyes burn and I’m tired as hell.” The ardeur had finally quieted from it’s near appearance. Who ever said the show has to go on?
“We should probably wait until later, Red. She is very tired. It is only best,” Abe chimed in.
“I’m with him,” I said, jerking my thumb over my shoulder in his general direction.
“Works for me. I know we’re all tired. How long?”
“At least 4 to function. 5 or 6 to listen and play.”
“Five hours efficient for everyone?” Hellboy asked, looking around the room. Everyone nodded in agreement and I left my home number with them.
*********************************
*********************************
Bed beckoned me and I was coming to its call. “Let me drive,” Nathaniel said was we neared the Jeep. “You’re having trouble not falling asleep.”
I nodded with a yawn and handed him the keys without protest. “I was hoping to see someone’s bed before dawn. Guess that’s not happening anytime soon,” I said as we pulled out and the dull shine of the sun peeked over the horizon.
“So I take it you went down to see Jean-Claude earlier?” Nathaniel asked, probably already knowing the answer.
“Yeah. For about two minutes. He was tired, I had a demon in my Jeep, we weren’t up to talking much.” I let out a sigh, curling up in the passenger seat with my knees to my chest. I rested my head on the tops of my knees.
“At least you’re feeling better. Though, you look like you could use a hot bath.” Nathaniel seemed to know too much about me in such a small space of time. Though, three years is only small to some people. He turned on to the empty, deserted street lined by the occasional burst of trees. Silence filled the car, and for the first time, it seemed incomplete. I never felt like that around Nathaniel. But nevertheless, the rest of the ride was silent. Neither of us seemed to know what to say to the other, what could make anything better.
I looked up at the sound of my gravel driveway and noticed the small flowerbed started to wilt. I’d have to water it later. With the usual press of St. Louis in August, I hadn’t been up to tending the only color for miles.
There was only one prerequisite when I thought of renting a house: no neighbors. That’s why I left my apartment in the first place. After numerous attacks on my life, the last think I needed was a neighbor catching a stray bullet or something. I struck gold with this little place. It was nice. Two bathrooms and a window seat in the kitchen.
I snapped out of my fixed stare on the house when Nathaniel’s face filled my vision. “Come on, Anita. You need a bath, and sleep.” He opened the door for me, which I would usually protest. I was a human being and could open my own damn doors. Tonight, I was too tired to complain about much of anything. Besides, a hot bath sounded good.
To let you know how out of it I was, I even let Nathaniel open the front door to my own house. Excuse me, the house. Too many lived with me now for it to be called my house. None of them helped pay rent, though. That tended to piss me off from time to time.
No sooner did the door shut that Micah stepped in from the kitchen. “Anita. You don’t look so good. What is wrong?”
I turned my tired eyes in his direction and gave one of the laziest smiles I could muster. He wore only a pair of worn flannel pajama pants on that small, slender, tanned, muscular body. Micah was exactly my height which made me feel a bit better about being short. Five foot three inches isn’t much to be proud of, but Micah seemed to pull it off. His long, curly, deep brown hair spilled around his shoulders in a messy froth, making me think of hot cocoa in winter. He had a wide mouth with a thick, pouty bottom lip that was simply made for sucking and nipping. His face was a little too triangular and delicate, just crossing the line into androgyny. Micah’s eyes were the most catching part about him. When I first saw them, I thought they were yellow. But I knew better by now. There was a thick ring of a grey green around the pupil making them look like a golden yellow-green. They were neither human, nor wolf. They were leopard. When a shapeshifter spends too much time in animal form, they don’t quite come all the way back.
“Just tired and covered in chicken blood,” I said.
I must have looked as tired as I felt, because Micah smiled that mixed smile of his and said, “Then let’s get you bathed and it bed, yeah?” He walked past me and down the hall to the upstairs bathroom. That was the one with the tub.
Faintly, you could hear the water running through pipes all over the house, but only if you really listened. It was so quiet out here that if a civil war broke out, no one would hear it. There wasn’t a neighbor for miles. Nice and safe. And isolated.
Nathaniel snapped me out of my momentary gaze with a hand very gently putting pressure at the small of my back. I looked at him and tried to smile, knowing it wasn’t all too successful. “Micah’s right. You need sleep. The sooner the bath, the sooner bed. You’re off tomorrow night, so sleep as long as you need.” With that, he started to nudge me in the direction of the stairs.
“I may be off, but my plate is already full of demons and fish-dudes,” I sighed. When I’d had enough rest, I’d call, or they’d call. If they woke me up, they were out of luck. I’d gotten little sleep lately as is. Not to mention I had to see Jean-Claude tonight. Shit. I had to see Jean-Claude tonight. I’d almost forgotten.
As I reached the bathroom, Merle walked past me heading downstairs, a towel in his hand. He tossed me the towel with a weak, very-Merle smile and kept walking. I yelled “Thanks” at his back and heard the grunt I got as a reply. He was busy doing something, that much was clear. What that something was, I didn’t know. Didn’t want to know.
I walked in and Micah was shutting off the water. He stood and closed the door behind me. I let him help me strip and there was nothing sexual about it. When I was down to my black lace bra and underwear, he saw the fresh cuts on my forearms. He looked up and scowled at me.
“Look, Micah. It’s how I pay rent and gas. Not to mention, I don’t really have a choice in the matter. My necromancy is there, and there’s nothing you can do to make it go away. You knew all this going in, you knew it when you wanted to be my Nimir-Raj,” I said weakly, not giving him a chance to interrupt the entire time. Still, he just looked at me.
“I know,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean that I have to like it.”
“Sounds just like Richard,” I said softly. So softly, that if he wasn’t a wereanimal, he wouldn’t have heard.
“I’m sorry,” Micah whispered, head bowed.
I leaned my forehead against his and sighed again. “Not your fault, Micah. He’s gone, you’re here.”
“Are you saying that I’m just another Richard?” he asked, the first hint of anger seeping through his words. I could feel that other worldly energy start to dance on my skin more heavily that usual. He took it the wrong way, and I hadn’t meant for him to.
I stood up straight and he faced me, his eyes locked to mine. “That’s not what I meant and you know it, Micah.” I stared at him hard, letting him know I wasn’t playing games, wasn’t running him in circles.
He returned my hard look, but didn’t say anything. I knew he was angry at being compared to Richard, he knew I was right about him taking what I said wrong.
“Micah, say something.” My voice sounded tired again and I hoped I didn’t fall asleep while bathing. My eyes shifted down and then back up at Micah. When I looked back up to him, his face was much closer to mine then when I had looked down. His lips hovered just above mine, but he didn’t move any closer. It reminded me of he and Jean-Claude during their first meeting not too terribly long ago.
With a sharp intake of breath, I brought our lips together, light, brushing, chaste. I started to pull back when Micah leaned forward and look my upper lip between his two, the smooth fullness of his bottom lip working against mine. It went no further than that one simple liplock, and he was the first to pull away.
He left a butterfly-light kiss on my blood-crusted forehead and left me to take my bath.
The Arc: 3
Stumble!