008.md

**** Nox ****

Once Jacinda was ready they headed out. Nox paid the final bill to which he was surpised had been partially taken care of by Aria when she had ordered room service. Thoughtful, though he was prepared to pay for it. He'd have to thank her later.

They let Jacinda lead the way to Fresno, he and Aria following behind in his Jeep. It had been his fathers. It had been new, he actually remembered the day his dad had bought. The piece of junk they had prior had given out and they were expecting him to come home with yet another piece of junk, instead he came back with a brand new never been driven, it had like 6 miles on it. There were uncountable miles now, the odometer had rolled over several years ago.

Nox wasn't great with cars, but he kept this one running after his father had passed. It was a few years old, he didn't care, it had been modified since that first day. Plenty of hidden compartments for weapons and other things. The color had faded from the nice shiny blue it was, but it was still pretty.

The Fresno airport was in sight and they were all fixing to be in one car. It ought to be interesting. Nox hoped things went well. Jacinda seemed the take charge kinda person, what he and Aria had going was a team built on trust, and they couldn't trust her any father than either of them could throw her. She was a hunter, and if she knew their secrets, well they'd both be in trouble. Thankfully Aria was trained Furia, it said Furia on her file. Aria still had some of her talents available to her. But it would be hard to explain the other things that could happen.

They pulled into the airport long term parking. Jacinda parked her car and Nox waited behind her to get things situated.

**** Jacinda ****

Jacinda drove her truck, an old 2030 Toyota Tacoma. She had bought it after running Regan's Dodge pretty much into the dirt. Not much in the way of American cars by then, what with Detroit having imploded. But Toyota still made a decent one. And it had lasted for 15 years mostly because she took good care of it, like all her tools. Wasn't a lot she didn't know how to handle after 30 years in the field. She knew the country like the back of her hand. The Imperial Valley had become a lush verdant place in the years following the coastal devastation and Fresno had become a major center. The airport there was international so she'd be able to fly in from anywhere.

She parked in long terms and began unloading the stuff she figured she'd need. She hated leaving it- along with its bed storage boxes- but she understood the situation. Still, after looking around to make sure that airport parking security wasn't around- and having parked directly underneath a camera so as to minimize what security could see- she unloaded a few shotguns, a buttload of amunition, camping supplies and food, traps, hi-tech comm equipment, solar and kinetic chargers, her laptop and cloned spare, and a couple of changes of clothing. She'd packed pretty densely and it all fit pretty nicely in the back of Nox's jeep. There wasn't much room, but it fit, with some finagling.

She didn't care much for sitting in the back seat and said so. "Listen up girly"- to Aria- "I'm a sight taller than you and my legs don't like being cramped. A problem if I take the front seat?"

**** Aria ****

The ride to Fresno was typical for her and Nox, except the following Jacinda part. Nox was never in a rush, he drove to drive and was never hurried about it. They chatted, Aria flipped through her wallet of information, Nox blasted whatever station came in, the windows down and her hair had to be tied back so it didn't fly all over.

They pulled into the long term parking. Aria was fixing to get out and climb in the back. Nox grabbed her arm and shook his head with a grin. "Let her ask, you aren't beneath her."

Aria sat back down. Jacinda actually asked for the front seat, Aria wanted to sleep, and keeping Nox company while enjoyable, she'd stayed up on purose so she could sleep during the day. It was preferrable.

Aria smiled. "No problem." Aria hopped out of the car and crawled into the back seat, put on a her headset, and grabbed a pillow. Before Aria flipped on her own music she heard Nox laugh. "She was going to do that anyway. I wanted to see what you'd do."

Aria drifted off to sleep.

**** Nox ****

Aria slept in the backseat, but Jacinda didn't have any inclination. She talked a lot. He supposed it was a side affect of hunting alone for too long. He wouldn't know that feeling though, he'd not been alone for more than a few months his entire life, and those months were the longest in his memory, without his memory the world was chaos, at least now it was clear. He still had gaps, he'd have gaps forever more than likely, but he remembered most of the important things now.

Nox tried to drive. Try being the key word, Jacinda kept giving him instructions. Go faster, This is a better route. Do this, do that. It was beginning to drive Nox up a wall. Almost literally speaking. He didn't think he was one to upset easily but this woman, was grating on his nerves. She was a know it all. He understood she was older, more experienced, but he wasn't a daft imbeicle either. Nox grabbed for the power, he knew he couldn't use it. But it was there, he wove a weave in front of him, it was nothing but it was calming, at least it should have been, he fumed inside, while putting on the happy face, his I'm cool, you can't phase me.

Nox felt Aria put her hand on his shoulder and she sent calming feelings, it helped. It gave him some clarity. He pulled over to the side of the road. "If you think you can do better, you drive."

Nox didn't wait for an answer, he got out of the drivers seat, his seat and walked around the front of the Jeep and waited for her to move or get out. He didn't care either way, as long as she moved. He was done driving. He'd have hopped in the back with Aria, but she was snoozing again, or at least pretending to be. Nox dropped the power and took a deep breathe. This was not going to make this trip horrible.

**** Jacinda ****

Jacinda laughed at Nox's little tantrum, shaking her head and rolling her eyes even as she slid over into the driver's seast. This was how it should be anyway. She knew this place, had hunted in this country for decades. Of course she should be driving. Once they were on their way again, she relaxed. They were heading to the Navajo Reservation, following 40 to Flagstaff, Az and then north on 89 before heading east on 160. The towns had grown over the years but there was still plenty of empty space out there. She'd criss-crossed it and many others over the last 30 years many times. The reports that Nox and Aria were looking at centered in Arizona. Sightings of weird creatures had been reported to Tribal police. So far, they had been confined to north eastern Arizona, from Shonto and the 98 junction to Betatakin to along the western edge of Skeleton Mesa in Kayenta. The three locations made three points in a triangle they'd need to investigate. The canyons and monuments and formations and bluffs and mesas all made for a beautiful backdrop. But there were also plenty places for things to hide. She was honest, though. It made for a fun hunt.

The custom of abandoning a home or hogan where someone had died meant that there were many shelters and shade huts for them to stay. As she drove, she talked with Nox, reminiscing about finding a clan of rougs hiding out near Navajo Mountain. They had been intelligent enough to avoid snatching people from the nearest town. Instead they'd take the trail to Lake Powell and find hikers and fisherman and vacationers who'd wandered off. Many visitors came from around the country as well as from other lands and their disappearance was often not noticed for days, weeks or even months. She and another hunter, Shauna, had tracked them to a grouping of hogans near a generic cinderblock home. A large extended family used to live here. Or maybe still did. All changed at once. There were a couple of shadehouses- pinon and cedarwood planks standing at odd heights tied together with wire or twine or occasionally even an old tire to hold them together, the fine red sand piled around the bases.

She and Shauna had crept up to the place after parking a couple miles down in a dry wash. The sage and yucca and twisted scrub provided little cover in the silver glow of the moon-light. Thankfully, they had been inside. Muffled screams had come from a mound of dirt too small to be a hogan. Turned out to be the top of a sweat-lodge that had been dug into the side of a small bluff. They had unsheathed their long knives so that the sound of bullets wouldn't warn the rest of the clan.The air was still and it seemed that every movement of boots on sand or against branches could be heard from a distance. The quiet pressed in on their ears and they had to communicate using handsignals. At least the moonlight meant they could see those.

They had moved from hogan to hogan, spiraling toward the house. Each time, they found one or two rougs that had been watching tv or sleeping and quickly and quietly put them down, whether small as children or large as adults. Thankfully, there had been only a couple adults there, though. The smell of cooking meat and sage and rotting garbage permeated a couple of the places, the cedar and mud walls creating an insulation that let no air in or out.

Finally, satisfied, they crept toward the sweat-lodge and peered through the openeing of the door frame. There was a fire in there as well as a couple of adults, along with a man and a woman tied up and lying on the ground. One of the rougs had been cutting on the woman- she was no longer screaming so they must have hit her- and the man was struggling through his gag. After a moment, they burst in the door and took out the remaining two rougs. The man they knocked out and then untied, then treated the girl's leg where part of it was missing. They also left keys to one of the roug's trucks near the man.

Barely stiffling their excitement after a final once over of the place, they made their way back to the vehicle, the adrenaline and rush of the hunt still coarsing through their bodies. They stayed in the vehicle for a while and soon the windows had steamed up pretty good, enough that the blue-silver moonlight seemed to glow all around the vehicle. It had been a good hunt. Just remembering it got her excited.

It would be nice to go back and see what else would be out there. Aria and Nox should like it. It was a great place to hunt.

**** Aria ****

Aria was glad she was not having to be actively engaged with Nox and Jacinda, but Nox was getting fustrated, he played it off well, but inside he was upset, until he went blank. That was bad. Aria tried to calm him, and he seemed to react, but he stopped the car and got out. Aria still rested, until Jacinda started regailing her tale about a rougarou hunt up in the same general area.

Rougarou were interesting creatures, and Aria still felt that they could and should find a cure for the mutation. They were born human like the rest of them, it wasn't their fault they possessed a rare gene pool. She'd thought maybe that's what Teyha had been doing, but she hadn't, it was her own needs she supposed, Aria never really did find out about that particular thing, other topics had taken up more priority then.

There was only one recent hunt Aria could even remotely tell Jacinda about, and that was the rougarou hunt. But even then she hadn't actually gotten the monster that was credited her, Michael had knocked the thing out cold, Aria had only restrained it while they took care of the Bannik, though she had killed that one. But it wasn't alone, Mr. White and Rune were instrumental in it as well. Aria had lost a good sword that day, and had the scars on the palm of her hands to prove it.

They didn't stop much, but they all needed food and to relieve themselves. It was an okay ride, but by the time they reached their destination Aria was ready for some quality alone time. They were in the relative middle of no where, it was too dark to track anything the traditional way, and they weren't near any sightings at the moment.

Jacinda had chosen a wash, it was close to a ridge, it was good, and it was empty. Aria could feel only the three of them, a smattering of animals, but that was it. Being out in the middle of no-where was nice every once and a while. She'd have to do it more often when they got back home. This definately wasn't home, Aria liked having a bed she could call her own. She really couldn't understand this life style. Even the hunters in the CCD all came back to headquarters for a bit of RNR. They didn't spend their time on the road like this. It was much more ogranized. Though Aria did see the draw to the freedom. It was empowering.

It was like nothing she'd ever dreamt of. The freedom the open road gave you, yet it was not a stable life. Your life was spent in the back of a automobile. There was no home, no family, no friends. There was loneliness.

Aria could see it in both Nox and Jacinda's eyes, they lived alone, it was them against the world. Despite the fact that her life had been crap and her caretaker and mentors were not the greatest in the world, she was never really alone. Someone was always there, even if she didn't like them at he time.

Jacinda seemed to take charge, it bothered Nox a great deal. He was a mass of tension and he needed to get away from her, for a while. Aria only hoped she got that. It wasn't personal, Aurora did the same thing if they were in the same room too long. They loved each other, but they grated on each others nerves. It didn't surprise Aria, but then again, she felt everything from everyone at all times. That was her life.

It would definitely be a change from the soft cushy beds they had last night, not that Aria had used one much. They gathered the gear they needed for the night, and set up camp. Aria sat and just listened. The emptiness called to her, everything else became noise at the edge of her senses.

**** Nox ****

Chatting was better without the driving. Jacinda wasn't driving him too crazy, but she was there was still that lingering aggravation. It lessened as the drive went on, there really was nothing else to do. Aria slept most of the day away, it was typical, she did listen to some of Jacinda's stories.

Nox thought maybe Jacinda liked the sound of her own voice at times. Cocky!

Their camp site was good, and from the look on Aria's face they were alone, for miles on end. He didn't know how far her radar stretched, but out here it didn't matter, Nox didn't think he'd seen Aria this calm before. He hadn't been paying that much attention the first time they were in the middle of no where. They had a lot of time to chat out here on the road. It was good. Their friendship had moved forward, and he was certain his decision to stay in Moscow was the right one. It would do him good for organization, and endless fights. No roaming, a real home. A bed to sleep in.

Nox was going to miss the bed tonight, if Jacinda's hint played out he was really going to miss the bed tonight.

Setting camp was easy, food was even easier, there was no hunting tonight, no fishing, no trapping. Aria had surprised him when she had caught a rabbit by sneaking up on it. It was pretty stellar to watch actually, this little girl stalking like a predator. She moved down wind, the rabbit didn't know what had it before Aria snapped it's neck. She'd said it was something they used to train her abilities with. Some ability. He was pretty sure she didn't mean her Furia/Sentient training, but that empty bubble thing that made her such an awesome fighter. He'd tried to learn it, but it was still a very foreign concept to him.

Once everyone was settled in and bellies full Nox grabbed his knew leather whip. He knew he shouldn't use it in front of Jacinda, he knew almost absoutely he'd make a fool of himself. It felt right though, almost like they knew exactly how it felt in his hand. It was almost perfect.

Nox let the whip loose and heard the crack of its leather in the air. He saw Aria look up with a smile. He just flexed the whip front and back, it cracked at each end, it was how he'd met Aria, doing the same thing, except there were no walls, and the power only flowed through him, not a weave. He could almost get used to it. He missed the fiery glow it usually had though.

He knew Aria watched him, Jacinda too, but he tried not to think on her.

**** Jacinda ****

They found a place to stay the night just a few miles west of Tuba City. It was a spot she'd been before, sheltered by some ridges and in a dry wash. They could even make a fire and be undisturbed. 160 was quite a few miles to the south. It was peaceful.

After hours and hours of driving and talking Jacinda was tired. She was ready to just relax and recharge. She thought they were going to have to just eat some of the canned food and jerky they'd brought, but Aria was a good one for the hunt. It surprised Jacinda. She knew how to hunt of course, having been raised by her parents in the wild as well as from her time with Regan and since then. It hadn't been necessary of course. And truth be told, out here, there were slim pickings. The occasional prairie dog or a lizard or three. Rabbits were quick and scarce. The fact that Aria not only found one quickly but was able to get close to it...it made Jacinda think. The girl had skill, a lot of it, especially for one so young.

All Atharim who were reared in it mostly learned from their parents. If your parents hunted or lived off the grid, that's what you learned. But if your parents lived in more traditional locations and didn't do those things, well there wasn't exactly an Atharim school to get you up to speed.

Course she wasn't sure how things were done in the CCD. For some reason, the impression she had of Europe and Asia was that it was densly populated and more strict, less opportunities for a person to wander freely from one end to the other without trouble. She wondered where Aria had learned. IF Nox were telling the truth- and there was no reason for him to lie- then she was highly skilled. Truth was, Jacinda knew few like herself. She was curious.

Nox unfurled a whip and headed off a distance to begin practicing. She watched with some interest while she thought, with the cracks punctuating the silence. He wasn't bad. It was a good weapon to have, though of course she liked a knife. There was something very immediate about it, very personal and private.

Again, her eyes drifted back to Aria. The girl sat there, also watching Nox. Her thoughts were a mystery. But they were very similar. Again, Jacinda thought about her tattoo. The struggle inside, the fear and the guilt. They were feelings she remembered having, though of course that's all they were. Once she'd gotten over them, her effectiveness had doubled. And she could sleep. She watched Aria for a little while.

"How did you join?"

**** Aria ****

Aria watched Nox with the whip, he was doing okay considering the different medium he was used to. He wasn't flowing as well as he had with the power. He was utterly empty to her right now Aria hoped he'd not try anything else, she wished he wouldn't grab the power while Jacinda was around. In a fight he'll want to use it by default, it was his go to weapon now. It would be a hard temptation to fight. She might have to talk to him about that too. They didn't need to alert Jacinda to their abilities.

Jacinda asked her about her joining, Aria smiled. "I was born into it like Nox and Aurora. But unlike them I didn't have my family teaching me the way."

Aria turned and looked at Jacinda with a smile. "My mother was a Furia, she decided she didn't want to be Atharim anymore, but in the process of her flight, she decided to go back, taking her closer to Rome, and the Vatican. She gave birth to me in Santa Lucia. My mentor, found her, and took me from her then shot her in the head. Furia don't leave the Atharim, not alive anyway."

Aria turned to watch Nox and the fluid movements of the whip. "I was trained to be Atharim, to be a weapon and nothing more. From the moment I was capable, I was taught how to fight. My lessons ranged from the very basics of a normal childhood learning to several languages, many fighting styles, an enormous amount of weapons, and all about monsters. I learned how to kill people, knew how to do it quickly and quietly, what was slow and tortourous. It's all I've known my entire life."

"I've been training every day of my life to be Furia, to track monsters, to kill them. There was nothing else."

**** Jacinda ****

She listened to Aria and felt a brief stab at the word Furia. Like Rune. She had mixed feelings about these people with abilities. It sounded a little too other-worldly. They were clearly different than other normal people. Once you accept them, what then? Wolfkin? What about the reborn gods? What if you had a god that was an Atharim? Did that lessen the danger they posed?

Still....Furia were unique. Their abilities did not give them extra-strength. It did not give them the power to destroy the world. They did not infect others like Chupes did. They were not murderous cannibals like the rougs. They didn't feed like Dreyken, nor were they deadly like Oni. They didn't possess like Wefuke. They were people who could sense violence. That was it.

Jacinda herself had good instincts in that regard. The way a person walked, carried themselves, the way they registered the world, absorbed it through their eyes and ears, all indicated whether they were alert or not, whether they expected danger. Dangerous people expected danger. It was as near a self-evident truth as she could imagine. In fact, if she had to put a finger on it, it had been the reason she had noticed Nox and primarily Aria back at the Casino.

She wouldn't call that Furia abilities. Just instinct. So maybe that's what Furia were? Those people with a natural instinct for picking up on cues in body language and pheremones had a slight advantage...and the trait gets passed on. In her world, to her perspective, that made sense. She knew that if she had chosen to have a child, all those traits and skills that had let her survive the years of hunting and fights that she had gone through would get passed on. She had earned it.

The storm in her mind passed. She could accept Aria as Furia, could trust her as a fellow hunter. She'd be alert, of course. But she was always alert. Even now, sitting with Aria and watching Nox practice, she was aware of her surroundings, of the...chaos pattern of this place. And if there were a danger- if someone were sneaking up on them or there was some other danger- she would sense it.

She relaxed. "A hell of a story. Mine was similar. At least the being trained in it from a young age. My parents taught me living off the grid, in the wild. And Regan Cross taught me the hunt, weaponry, fighting, everything else really. The rest of my life has been honing that skill. And living for the hunt." She smiled at Aria. "I'm looking forward to seeing you in action."

The fire continued to crackle and pop, the smoke in the air drifting up, the flicker of orange-red light around the camp. And a distance away, Nox's own cracks of his whip punctuated the silence.

**** Nox *****

Nox could tell that the women folk were talking. He could feel their eyes on him. But it didn't matter, he was loving the feel of the leather in his hand, the snap of the leather as it reached is't length. It wasn't a weapon to spar with, but it was a good weapon. It would do. Now if he could only keep in mind that the power couldn't be used. That was going to be a trial, he was going to look like a fool, he knew it.

It wasn't tireing, but he was feeling his arms and back. Last night had done a number on him, he definitely didn't want a repeat performance. And for him, that was saying a lot. Aurora would laugh at him, turning down a romp in the hay.

But Jacinda was wrapped up and resting, Aria was staring out in the wilderness lost in thought. She looked peaceful, which was a rarety. Nox sat down next to her. It was nice just to be quiet for a while.

A yawn peirced Nox's silence and he went off to find his gear and take a rest. He'd releive Aria of her night time watch, other wise she'd be up all night.

Sleep came quickly.

**** Aria ****

Both Nox and Jacinda drifted off to sleep. It was almost dead quiet. Even in the midddle of no where before with Nox, there was always someone lingering at the edges, another camper something, at this very moment she was utterly alone. They slept, their dream selves were easy to block out. Aria stayed up, just listening to the silence, watching the stars, it was beautiful out here.

Nox woke up, "Aria you need to sleep I can keep watch."

Aria shook her head. "I'm good Nox. You sleep. It's quiet, really I'm good." He didn't fight her too much on the topic, he lazily went back to his sleeping bag and drifted back into nothingness.

She couldn't do this forever, but it was a wonderful feeling. Aria knew she'd have to find a place like that in the CCD, someplace to go where there was no one on her radar except those with her. The paradise it would be for her.

The sun came up over the horizon and it was amazing. Aria could have taken a snap shot with her wallet, but she committed it to memory, maybe she'd learn to paint one day.

Aria started the fire going a bit more, to heat some water and rewarm some more food before the others woke. Her peacefulness was about to go away, but soon the hunt would start and that brought another peace - that of the dying breath of a monster leaving this world.

Nox's alarm went of as per its normal schedule, he roused with a stretch and a concerned look. "You been up all night."

Aria smiled. "I'm okay, Nox. I promise. Best night, in almost forever. Coffee will be ready soon, it's in the fire."

**** Jacinda ****

Jacina woke to the early light of dawn. The fire had died down to embers but it wasn't too cold and she was in her bag anyway. She extended her sense of hearing and smell and sampled the morning, allowed its feel and mood to wash over her, callibrating her for the day.

Immediately she was aware of the fact that Aria was awake, though not moving yet. She was watching the sky pink. Nox was still his own bag. Jacinda had woken regularly througout the night- truth was, she never really slept fully. You could die that way. The girl had never passed on the watch. Jacinda had kept awake for an hour or two, though she didnt anymore or say anything to indicate she was awake. The crackle of the fire was the only sound and she had fallen into the alert meditative state she used when she was on watch, alert to sensing any order imposing itself on the chaos of nature. A few small creatures had drifted by, curious and fearful of the fire. Then she'd go back to sleep, though still alert. It wasn't that she didn't trust Aria to do a good job. It was that she was used to doing it herself. It had been that way for a long time- most of her life really, after Regan had been killed. You had to sleep and keep watch at the same time. So she'd learned how to do it from her bag. She wasn't going to stop now, not after almost 30 years. Partners or no, keeping safe was her responsibility.

Aria seemed the same, at least with the watch. Probably everything else too. She'd sleep in the car, but Jacinda'd bet that she was only ever half asleep. A living weapon to kill the dark. Jacinda had been formed by her life, her experiences, every kill, every hunt and trail and victory, her skills honed to razor sharpness. Aria was a product of the same thing, though her sharpening had been deliberate by her mentors. Idly, Jacinda wondered which of them had the better skill. Which was the better? Learning from hard-won experience or from calculated training? Even if they had been the same age, she'd wager it was experience. The added years made that a sure thing in her mind. Failure in training would be punished, even harshly, but still just punishment. Failure in experience meant death or maiming or serious injury. There were no second chances in the real world. Not that Aria didn't live and work in the real world. She'd not take that from her. But still.

In any case, it didn't matter. They were on the same team. Nox awoke and spoke to Aria. Jacinda heard the affection in their voices, the camraderie. She missed that. These two had worked together enough to anticipate, to have a shorthand for speaking to and dealing with each other. It had been a while since she had a partner or partners where that level of trust could be developed. Not since Tommy and Dax. They'd worked well together. Very well. But Dax had been killed and Tommy took it hard. He never got over it. He'd kind of drifted away after that, leaving Jacinda alone. It had hurt. She'd not deny that. But that was life. Experience again.

Jacinda got up to pee and then get some coffee. She didn't say much. That was typical for the mornings for her. After getting some food in them, they packed up and headed back down the wash to 160 and then east. Jacinda drove, listening to Aria's reading aloud of the police reports. The tribal police had received reports from Shonto and Tsegi Canyon and even as far as the western side of Skeleton Mesa of strange creatures seen in the distance, of sheep missing or noises. The area had grown up over the last 20 years, what with all the movement inland after the distasters of the 2020's. What used to be a lot of empty space between Kayanta and the 98 junction was now a lot of housing butting up against Black Mesa. The train tracks there that had been used for shipping coal to the power plant in Page were now used for commercial and commuter traffic, as Page had turned into a thriving city. Having a dam and a powerplant there with ready access to natural reserves made it a pretty natural place for that kind of thing. The upside was that there were a lot of people from Kayenta all the way to Red Mesa, far more than the 5000 it used to be.

There were reports of missing hikers, BML workers, sheepherders and missionaries. Not enough to cause the FBI to investigate. People turned up and they had been lost or it had been a breakdown. But still, there were enough missing that the Atharim intelligence had noticed it and, coupled with the reports of prowling creatures, had flagged it as a possible den of...something. Chupes maybe.

They drove the hour and then turned off onto 98 to go to Shonto and begin there. There were back roads that would take them into Tsegi Canyon to the Anasazi cliff dwelling ruins at Betatakin National Monument and from there to Skeleton Mesa. Despite the larger population, a lot of those roads would be out of the way and unknown. Jacinda had a hunch on where they might find their quarry, but you always started at the beginning and proceeded in an orderly fashion. Making assumptions usually led to mistakes. And more importantly, being able to scout out the area, circling in slowly, allowed her to get a feel for how things were, how they lay, what was normal and what wasn't. It created an impression for her that then let her see when something was off that much more clearly.

They got to the Trading Post at Shonto and got out to use the facilites, purchase some food and water, and talk to the the people. They could have used the gas station or grocery store or shopping center, but they wanted to be where they'd get the best information. Between the jeep and their hard look, they looked like off-roaders. It was a good cover. The locals wouldn't look at them twice, viewed them as a necessary and wanted them as a source of revenue, and so would give them valuable information.

The Najavo lady at the stand handed them each a paper towel with a thick oily piece of frybread in it. Next to the stack of napkins was a plastic bottle of honey, which Jacinda drizzled all over the bread before taking a bite. "So good," she said to the woman between bites and wiping her mouth, taking a deep breath. "I love coming out here. It's so beautiful here." She'd let her voice become soft and relaxed, unhurried. She didn't hold the woman's eyes- it was considered rude- and she'd point to her surroundings by gesturing with her neck and sticking her lips out, as if using her hand to point and encompass the area. Subconsciously, the woman relaxed at her miroring her way of speaking and acting. The wind's breeze drowned out the other noises of other people and cars. After a few minutes of chewing and silence, she gestured with her head. "We wanted to head into Tsegi Canyon on one of the back roads. Do you know where a good one is?"

The woman was quiet and looked at them for a moment and then said, "There are a couple." She pointed with her lips up to the road ahead. "See the cattle guard over there? Head down that one and stay to the right. You'll come to a fork at a rock with a big juniper. Stay to the right and follow it. You'll pass a sheep camp on your left and then some fields. Keep going and you'll get into Tsegi Canyon."

"That your family's camp?"

"Oah-'" she said, the Najavo version of 'yes'. "We don't use it, though. The sheep are up north now at the other camp." She looked away at Jacinda's questioning look. Eye contact wasn't big here but there was a reason. A southern sheep camp near the canyon meant more water. The fields confirmed that. Further north it was drier. They were staying away from the southern camp for a reason.

"Any bears or coyote or wolves out there that we should be worried about?" The question was leading. Though the place was called Shonto- "bear"- they hadn't seen bears out here in decades. As a tourist, of course, they shouldn't know that. And truth was, the number of coyotes and wolves had also dropped a lot as the population had increased.

The woman looked at Jacinda and then at Aria and Nox. "There been a few muh-i"- coyotes- "but no muh-i-tso."- wolves. She seemed to use the Najavo words as a test for Jacinda. Did she really belong out here? At Jacinda's nod, she seemed to relax. "But there was a bear I think. My uncle saw one at the sheep camp." She looked at Jacinda. "Be careful out there. We lost some sheep. It wasn't a coyote or wolf I don't think. At least that's what my Chei"- Grandfather- "said." Her face softened. "If you want to see Betatakin, go back to 160 and head up the turn to the National Monument. It's safer."

Jacinda smiled at her. "Eh-yeh-heh"- Thank you- "But my friends want to see the canyon from this side." She gestured to Nox. "He has a gun. We can scare anything off if we need to."

The woman looked at her for another few minutes. Things out here were quiet and people moved and responded slowly. They weren't slow, of course. But they liked to think and take everything in before responding. "Well, it's up to you. Be careful."

Jacinda smiled at her. "Eh-yeh-heh. Can we get some more frybread to go? And a bottle of honey?" The woman smiled and wrapped up some more bread and the bottle and then took her money.

They got back into the jeep and Jacinda waved at the woman before driving leisurely back up the road to the cattle guard that marked the turn off the highway.

It was at least a start.

**** Nox ****

Aria hadn't slept at all, what he'd gathered from it was she was perfectly content enjoying the near emptiness of things. Nox wondered what Jacinda thought of her staying up like that. Nox knew Aria would cat nap on the drive, but not likely, he'd seen her stay up past 24 hours before, hunting or no, he wouldn't give up his abilities for hers. There was no way he'd want to feel what everyone felt all the time. Yeah it would come in handy, but it had to be stressful. He didn't evny her that.

Jacinda as per their start yesterday had taken over. It felt like she was treating them like kids, like they hadn't been doing this their whole lives, this was their mission, not hers, they weren't tagging along. She was grating his nerves, good lay or no.

But Aria let her, and she seemed fine with it. Even a little admiration he'd thought. He should have been more awed by her, he knew that. But Nox was tired of being treated like a child. It was the big reason he and Aurora didn't get along on the hunt. They worked differently.

However, Jacinda taking the lead was probably good, it reminded him to keep his skills in check. Aria had a cover for hers, but him, there was nothing he could really do. He prayed, and he never prayed, that they didn't come into a situation where he had to use his power or die. He wouldn't hesitate to save his skin from a monster with the power. He'd have to kill Jacinda too, but that was a matter for another day.

The town they stopped in was not used to outsiders that was for sure, Nox was more than happy to let Jacinda do the leg work. It was what Aurora did, and Aria was napping. At least pretending to anyway. He doubted she was actually sleeping.

Once they got back in the Jeep with and the frybread smelled way too good. He'd enjoyed the peice he'd had earlier while listening to the woman, now his stomach was rumbling again. But they moved on down towards the south. The scenarey was pretty nice, nothing he'd not seen before, but it had been a while since he'd been in Arizona, and he was pretty sure he'd not been on this particular reservation, however the years were a blur of memories. He couldn't make out specifics. He'd probably never get all of them back in proper working order, but he knew enough to survive and the rest was instinct.

They got out of the Jeep when Jacinda stopped, the rest of the way was probably better on foot. Aria had perked up a bit as they drew near. She was watching out the window, he knew she felt something. Nox smiled. [color=#0072bb]"We should probably start at the last known sighting. Hopefully we can track it back to its home."[/color]

**** Aria ****

Aria napped, a little, rested was more the word for it. It was peaceful and Aria was reluctant to leave, but with the sun came the possiblity of a monster hunt. Jacinda continued in the leadership role. It annoyed Nox, Aria could feel it. When it was just the two of them, he was calm and centered and very relaxed, but with Jacinda, he felt like he did with Aurora - a mass of anxiety and annoyance. Jacinda was a good leader, a bit bossy, but she knew what she was doing, and she seemed to know the area well enough. Nox let her lead, without a fight he'd have made with his sister. That made Aria proud of that little feat.

As the GPS told them they were nearing the site, Aria extended her senses to their limit. The closer they got, Aria'd have thought the world grew thicker with the violence of the area.

One of the reports said the area had been sheep farmers and a dozen or more sheep had been killed. Another reported a shepherd had been ripped apart. The boy had been found days later scavanged by every beast that could, and very little information beyond that was in the report. A couple of campers had been found ripped apart miles away from the boy. The distance between all the camps had been pretty far, whatever it was could cover a lot of distance with ease. A few bears had been reported. Bears, in the desert, Aria thought that was weird. Aria wondered if there was local lore on bears. It seemed an odd place for a bear. Aria could only think of one monster that could be described as a bear for its hulking size and strength, and that was an Oni. She'd faced a few of them. With out Nox's power she wasn't looking forward to facing one again.

Nox was spoiling her with the use of his power, she hadn't ever thought she'd have relied on someone, much less a godling. But Nox was good, he was Atharim. Aria didn't care what the Regus thought of godlings, Nox was good people, as was Aurora and most of the other godlings she'd met over time.

They got to the last scene. The two campers, the scene was pretty much cleaned up. The forensic teams and all that had made use of all the details, Aria wondered what the Tribal police had on it, they were good trackers. The campers had died violently. They'd been ripped to peices, and only a few peices taken out of them, the kill wasn't meant for food.

Aria focused on the scene and on the violence, Nox stood around doing his thing, which meant nothing. He knew Aria would do a better job tracking, he'd come to trust her ability, as she trusted his. She smiled at him and nodded in the direction the satisfaction and hunger lead away. Or to, either didn't matter, it was still the path it had taken at one point in time. Aria looked to Jacinda to see what she'd come up with. [color=lightgreen]"It went this way."[/color]

**** Jacinda ****

The tire tracks and foot prints covered the sand and scrub everywhere. What was left of the crime scene were just impressions now, with very little to go on. It was always like this. It made it difficult for Jacinda to figure out where to go, at least at first. Usually, she liked to just sit and absorb the scene, try to imagine the evidence of police and emergency workers was gone. She tried to get into the mind of whatever it was that had done the killing. At this stage, it was too early to know what, specifically. Each creature had its own habits. Chupes liked to come at night, being more animal than anything. Rougs being able to pass as humans let them come right up to the victims and feign civility or- if the madness had taken them- at least be intelligent about their stalking. Being large and very dangerous, Oni didn't have to be as stealthy, but they still had their own way of stalking.

This early, she liked to walk around the site in expanding circles, to get a feel of how the location looked from ever further vantage points. Eventually, one would strike her as particularly opportunistic, as a place where a predator might watch and make their approach. It was slow going and would take hours, but once she had a starting point, she would be able to track the creature back further.

This time, though, was different. As she got into her frame of mind, she was only peripherally aware of Aria and Nox. Nox stood around for the most part, making it clear that he wasn't much of a tracker. Well, not as good a one anyway. If he was a hunter, he had to have some skill. Or maybe he always worked with a partner who was good at it. In which case, she wondered what he brought to the table aside from brute strength and numbers.

Aria though, she was different. The way she stood and looked around kept impinging on Jacinda's concentration. Furia. It still made her suspicious, but at the same time, she was curious. If Aria could actually track with that skill, well that would be something to see.

It took only moments, but Aria looked to her and then gestured. "It went this way." Jacinda's face was unreadable as a emotions shifted in her. They settled on cautious excitement. A slight smile played on her lips. This could be very interesting. Jacinda nodded at her. "Ok then. You take point." She looked back and Nox had come up to join them. Like the points of a triangle, they moved together. Jacinda didn't completely trust Aria's ability, but she was moving in a direction that, when she looked back, was one that Jacinda would have settled on as the most likely place a predator would watch their prey. She'd give her that.

Senses alert to anything out of the ordinary, they kept walking, saying nothing. Once they were 500 yards from the site, Jacinda began to notice tracks that were out of sync with the rest of the environs. She liked at Aria and her smiled deepened. She had been correct to lead them this way. Hunting with a Furia might well turn out to be a real advantage. Like have a hound to follow the trail and lead the way. She watched Aria walk stealthily. A very pretty hound. With a nice ass.

She felt the excitement begin to grow in her, the thrill of the hunt. This was going to be a new experience. But Jacinda liked new experiences. She felt the adrenaline rush begin, making her more alert, more attune to everyone and everything. Her mind created a model, an image of how things should be, the natural chaos of this place, and she was alert to anything that should not be there.

Eventually, the came to a rock outcropping against a red sand hill covered in sage and scrub which extended to a larger mesa. Aria paused and then nodded. Jacinda came closer and could see that there was a cave created by a group of tall sandstone towers that crowded around each other like trees twisting about each other. The cave's opening was small but it looked like it became larger and extended deep underneath the hill. It seemed they had found its lair.

**** Nox ****

Nox followed Aria. Hunting with three was different than hunting with just Aria. He knew he looked useless on the tracking front, he didn't want to know what Jacinda thought of him. But in reality he did care. But there was no point in looking when Aria was going to find the 'scent' and they'd be on their way. There was no clues to what it was. A bear typically meant oni. Though how anyone could mistake an oni for a bear was beyond him. The things were big horny and ugly. They weren't furry like a bear, nor brown, unless they were covered in mud. They didn't move like a bear. But people saw what their mind could interpret. Nox remembered his first monster that wasn't in some book. He was 13, his dad had taken them both out on their first hunt individually. Nox's had been in the middle of a blizard, the beastie had come out to play in a fishing Maine. The chupacbra wasn't exactly man, nor beast. It was newly infected his father had said. Which meant that there was at least another chupacabra around. It had charged Nox, it was the one and only time he hesitated. He almost paid for it with his life. His father shot the creature in the head. Nox had to scour his body clean, he'd lost his favorite shirt that day to the fire.

Typically Nox would take point now, he moved in front of Aria with the power at hand and she put her hand on his arm with a concerned look. Nox knew she couldn't read him, he looked at Jacinda and frowned. Aria made him feel very overwhelmed with danger. That touch was more than enough for him to drop the power. Nox was going to be a poor hunter today. The past months he'd been using the power to do his job. He had to rely now on his trained instincts instead. Nox drew the cross bow and made sure the gun was clear.

He embraced the power for clarity. He nodded to Aria to let her know it was alright. He'd be careful. He hoped he could be careful.

Nox would cover the rear, keep his talents out of her sight. He wished he was the praying sort. The last thing he wanted was a enraged hunter after him.

They moved into the cave. Aria drew her sword, Nox knew that she loved that sound. Her sword was unique. A relic from a long time ago. Aurora had done some research into it. He wished he'd paid attention when she had told Aria.

**** Aria ****

Aria took point. She smiled as she felt the impression she'd left on Jacinda. It was one thing to know you were good at your job, but to have a legend like her be impressed. Well that was just a unique feeling.

Nox and Jacinda followed and Aria looked for physical signs as well, it would only prove her right in the long run. The cave they found was probably the lair of the creature. Aria couldn't tell how many were inside, it was a mass of hunger and fighting. And she couldn't exactly tell them how many where there anyway, she was only supposed to be able to smell the violence, and track it.

Aria had never hunted with anyone who hadn't know her particular skill set before. Antoinette had learned to trust Aria, hyper senstative furia. Really everyone should have known. But now that Aria knew the difference, she could keep her abilities to herself. She missed the freedom of hunting with Nox alone. And as they started in the cave, Nox wanted to go first. He disappeared from her senses. He was going to blow it, his instincts were to use the power, he'd been training only in that.

Aria sent him danger. Danger Will Robinson! Danger! popped into her mind and she smiled. It took a bit, but Nox registered the warning and took up the rear. If he had to use the power it was best she not see it. Aria prayed he was safe. They really didn't want or need Jacinda coming down on them. They could survive, but she wouldn't. Nox's power was one of those things a hunter was not prepared for, no matter their training.

Even Aria, someone who worked with a godling, had no idea how to drop Nox if he went rogue and was aware she was going to try to kill him. She'd seen the air shields he could make deflect falling rocks, and probably even bullets. He'd mentioned the tightness of the weaves like kevlar.

Inside Aria could feel the mass breaking apart, not moving per se, but the closer they wound through the cave inside the better an idea she got of how many there were. Three intelligent and hungry creatures. Aria knew the feeling, she'd fought it several times, and once very much like this. The oni were in the cavern up ahead. She motioned for caution like she heard something. Which was a lie. She hadn't heard anything, but she knew they were there.

They hadn't discussed how this would go down. Aria knew Nox, and Nox knew her, neither of them knew Jacinda. Aria looked to her to see what she wanted to do. She was the experience here, though Aria and Nox could have handled 3 oni in their sleep.

**** Jacinda ****

The inside of the cave was dark and cool with the cracked and broken rock walls and the sand leeching away any heat in the air. She could feel a slight breeze as they entered too- there must be another opening that was lower in elevation- and she was glad of it. They were downwind. The Oni would not smell them coming in.

Nox started as if to take point. Jacinda was about to touch his arm and gesture that he take the rear- he was the youngest and thus least experienced- but suddenly he turned and with a look at Aria, settled back in his spot. Jacinda was impressed. She wasn't sure how long they had been together but their shorthand was incredible. She felt a stab of jealousy. Or maybe was it longing. It had been a long time since she had been part of a team this good. A long time. It got lonely. Well, perhaps after this hunt were over- after their planned hunts were over- perhaps they might be team together. The three of them, forged from experience. Well, four with Aurora. For the first time in a long time, Jacinda felt like she might find a group she could belong with. If they were good. She thought they might be. Hunting honed skills. Their non-verbal communication indicated a lot of hunting.

Aria looked at her as if expecting her to show the way. Jacinda smiled at her and then took point. They crept deeper into the cavern and they moved slow enough that their eyes adjusted to the darkness. Gradually, the sound- or maybe air pressure- of the caverns themselves formed a sort of aural canvas, against which their breathing and the even quite noise of their feet on the sand and rock stood out. But they were quiet even so. They became used to the damp musty smell of the air. So when the first whiff of decay swept their way, Jacinda noticed it and stopped. If her movements were slow before, they were glacial now. Her eyes were wide, taking as much of the faint light as possible. Shadows indicating rocks or columns were clearly discernable against the black.

She became aware of the sounds of smacking, of grunting. She stopped, letting them wash over her. Gradually, her mind picked out overlaps. Smacking while there was a grunt. Difference in tone. It almost seemed a language or at least purposeful. She kept listening, aware of the two hunters behind her. Now that Aria had led them to the lair, it was time to get a feel for the creature's- there was clearly more than one- position. And for that, her experience was invaluable. The sounds of movement and gutteral talk echoed only slightly, indicating a medium sized opening- perhaps 20 by 20. The cool breeze from above said the ceiling was high. Once the visual picture of the cavern was in her mind, she kept listening and gradually could tell where the creatures were in relation to the room. There were three of them. Two were together along the far wall to their right. The third was in the center. It would be cramped.

She peeked around a rock and made out three large white shapes. Her placement had been accurate. Still, she cursed inside her mind. Three Oni. Damn! Well, nothing for it but to get ready. In her mind, she ran over the inventory. Aria had a sword and a gun. Nox had a crossbow and a whip. She had her gun and knives. Three against three. But Oni were huge and fast. And they saw better. Easier to take down one or two with their long-range weapons so that they'd have room and time to kill the other with their short-range ones. The shock of one or more going down would also delay their response.

She turned her head so that her peripherals still watched the room. She gestured with her arm to Aria. The girl was close behind and responded, moving closer. Using her hand she indicated the positions of the creatures. Then, pointing to her gun she motioned to the lone one in the center. Once she was sure Aria understood, she touched her knife and motioned to the other two. Then a nod back to Nox. Hopefully, Aria would know to tell Nox the plan of attack. She turned back to watch again fully, to make sure no one moved. Three Oni at once. She took a breath. Talk about a contest for survival. If they survived, they would be a team. Three against three. It was going to be tough. She waited. When Aria was done, she would signal. And then it would begin.

**** Aria ****

Aria hated the cave after the night of complete openness. It was damp, dark and smelled, and the closer they got to the cavern the Oni were in the worse it got. Aria missed Nox's power. She'd gotten use to it just as easily as he had. It was useful. She disliked the fact that he held the power. But in the long run that was fine.

Jacinda laid out their attack pattern. But Aria looked at Nox, he was in the power, he was the better shot. She knew very little about it, only what Nox told her, but she knew his senses were keener with the power, every sense.

Aria relayed the message, she told him it was Oni through mouthed words. So knew what to do. He would take the shot, she'd even give him her gun if it would have helped, but he liked his crossbow. She smiled.

It would be an interesting fight.

**** Nox ****

Nox nodded his acceptance of the drill. Had it been just the two of them, it would be easy. He wished for the power, knew that it was only here to help his senses, but he wanted to show off, he knew better.

Nox watched as Aria tapped on Jacinda's shoulder and it was like they'd been working together for a while, at least it was like that with other hunters. They moved. Nox had the crossbow already loaded and ready to fire the moment he went around the corner. Its back was turned, thankfully the ladies rushing in made it turn around quickly enough. He could have just sent a flaming arrow at it with the power and gotten it right the first time, but no, he had to do it the hard way. He took aim, and made sure in that moment he was anticipating the creatures movements and he let the arrow loose. It landed perfectly in the eye socket, the creature howled as it died, it's limbs flailing around like a snake with its head cut off.

Nox started to reload the crossbow.

**** Aria ****

Aria let the fight come to her, she let the darkness in, the thrill of the kill, the need for pain. A fight with the Oni was going to be tough, even if Nox took out more than one with the cross bow. She'd keep the things away so he'd have the shots as necessary. It was a maneuver they practiced often in the tunnels. Keeping things away so he could use the power. Except today he was crossbow in hand. The two oni against the wall turned just as the center creature fell thrashing, they turned to look at their howling friend and roared with fury. Aria latched on to their fury, they were upset, angry, hunger was lessened as their anger had taken over. The Oni seemed familial, a family of monsters. The child maybe? Aria didn't have time to think on it before the creatures were near enough. She dodge one large claw and took a swipe of her sword.

Aria kept her senses wide, she knew where Jacinda was, she had to keep track of Nox physically in the powered state he was in. The Oni were big and fast and these two worked well with each other, like a team, focusing on whoever was the biggest threat, and right now that threat was Nox.

**** Jacinda ****

Jacinda felt Aria turn back to her. The moment had come. It drew out, stretched until she could stand it no more. Jacinda rushed out and Aria was right beside her. Jacinda's gun was in her hand, the creature in the middle's back to them. As it turned she raised her weapon and was about to fire when suddenly a bolt blossomed in its eye. Her mind filed this away and she immediately shifted to the other two creatures, both frozen in shock for a moment that lasted only a second. But her gun was up and already firing at the big one on the left. Oni skin was tough and her shots hit it in arm and shoulder without doing much damage. The thing lunged at her and she fired once more, hitting its cheek before it was too close.

She dropped down and rolled, going right passed its legs. As she did, she pulled her long knife and swiped at the back of its knee and it screamed and dropped to one knee. The sound thrilled her, the first concession, the first admission of pain that she could hear It lanced through her like a bolt and her energy redoubled. She hoped Aria and Nox were taking care of the other creature because this one held her full attention. That was what it meant to have a team. She didn't have to be afraid that she'd suddenly feel her back splayed open by large claws.

Even though the creature had dropped, it still threw its paw out and its wicked claws laid open a wicked gash across her right shoulder. She was right handed, but had made sure that left or right handed, she could handle herself. The pain was terrible- the sharp fire across her shoulder- but it only made her blood boil and she hungered for its death. She filed the pain away and her left hand grabbed the large blade and swung it around to hit the creature in the neck, where it sunk in an inch or two, inky blood shooting out and the creature bellowing again, arms and paws hacking at her. She couldn't help it. She laughed even as she flew against a wall, new gashes in her side and leg, but she didn't stop. The feel of the blade thchunking into its neck was her first taste. She stood, her legs shakey and her vision wobley- she'd hit the rock hard. It was one and the blood was in the air.

The thing lunged at her and she spun around it, knife raised and was able to plunge it into the Oni's face. It hit its cheek and scored down its face to its mouth, the feel of the blade scraping along the cheekbone palpable up her arm. She'd missed the eye but had hurt it badly. It was crazy with pain and anger now, moving wildly and quickly. A part of her was afraid, but the other part was in the middle of it, feeling death and darkness swirling around. She was hungry, its pained lunges and slashes acknowledgements of her superiority, its bellows and cries piercing to her heart like lighting.

It was lashing out now, unable to move around the cavern. If she came close, she was sure to get hit. Still, it was her or it and she could feel its suffering and knew death was not far behind, death at her hand. It had only been half a second and she juked right and the left as she darted in, somehow missing its claws, so that she was on the inside of the thing. It could hug her and bite at her if it wanted, but at least it couldn't swipe at her with those razors. Even as the things great arms came around her- the stench was vile and she could feel its leathery skin against her, could see its large mouth coming down toward her face- she thrust her knife upward with all her strengh. She was a strong woman and the thin long blade went through the roof of its mouth and into its brain, could feel the hard crack through bone and the soft thchunk into soft tissue all the way up her arm. She thrust with all her might, burying the blade, pulling it back and plunging it again, feelling the the hot spurt of blood and tissue on her hands. It was as if she fucked it right up into its brain with her knife, and it finally spasmed orgasmically and blood fountained all over her arms and chest. It fell on her, smacking her head into the floor of the cavern but she barely noticed the pain as spots danced before her eyes and she nearly blacked out. She held on to consciousness and squirmed and tried to use its daath spasming movement to find enough space to get free, now that it was done.

Finally it stopped, though it still covered her legs below the knees. Breath came in sharp drafts, her blood pounding in her ear, the iron smell of blood and the fetid stink of its fur and breath and the rot in the air. It was glorious and she felt that euphoria rush through her, almost orgiastic in its strength. She had been in the embrace of an Oni, felt its heartbeat through its chest, against her chest, its breath on her face, death reaching for her, claiming her, and once again, she had won. The feeling of joy and elation was electric, lighting every nerve inside her on fire.

She looked to Aria and Nox to see if they were ok.

**** Nox ****

Nox pulled back the string of the crossbow without paying attention to anything else that was going on he trusted Aria, and that was all that mattered. She'd let him take another shot. She'd put herself at risk so he could fight with the range he needed. It worked well, she enjoyed the fight.

The stench was overwhelming, but the power made it easier to see, Nox watched and waited for another opening. He watched Aria fight the Oni. Jacinda was capable, her's was howling in pain. Nox could only imagine what had happened. He was watching their back as best he could with both women attracking an Oni.

Aria's sword whirled around, the whistle it made was nearly silent but in the power he heard it as if he were the sword. Neither woman gave pause, nor did they leave an opening. Aria was either in the way.

Nox aimed his crossbow, waiting for the moment that was right. A large claw flung Aria across the room, the Oni followed. Nox took the whip from his belt and uncoiled it. With a quick motion Nox cracked the whip against the Oni's large back and took aim again with the crossbow at the Oni. It rushed at him. Nox let the bolt loose. It missed.

**** Aria ****

The darkness fueld Aria's fight. It was a game, she danced with the creature, it was strong and powerful, the night she'd faced one alone, well mostly alone played in her head. The night it was about the risk. Today it was about the kill. The second creature howled in pain and it reverberated in Aria's mind, the pain felt glorious and she pulled on that emotion.

Aria got too close, the pain distracted her just enough, the large claw backhanded her into the wall. She could feel the crushing pain in her shoulder and hip. The world spun, but Aria focused on the creature. It had turned tail towards Nox. His bolt glanced off the left cheek of the creature. It howled at him with rage. The oni was nearly to Nox and he had no close range weapons. Aria rushed the oni, its hulking size was no match for the puny strength Aria offered. It glanced at her and turned to grab her. It lifted her up by the neck about to throw her across the room again as it howled in pain. Aria fought to keep the spasming grasp of the oni from riping her throat out as the oni died from the bolt in its eye.

Three were dead, there was still pain, Aria's own radiated in her mind. It was strong, Jacinda was hurt, Nox was the only one unscathed. Aria pulled the fingers of the oni from her neck carefully, avoding making the wounds worse. Bleeding out didn't sound like a good idea, though death had only been moments away before.

Aria fell to the ground on her knees and started to fight the darkness inside, to think on Lucas, on what he'd say, what he'd do. To bring the hope back, life was worth living. It was the worst part of the whole fight, the coming back from it.

**** Nox ****

Nox watched as the Oni's fell, Jacinda was pinned underneath hers, and Aria had nearly be decapitated. He didn't want to to that again. Three oni. And no power. If they'd had that advantage things would have gond differently. Aria wouldn't have fought the oni as she had. He watched as she fell to the ground. He didn't envy her fight.

He went over to Jacinda and helped her out. The beast was large, and she was injured, she may not like the chilvary of the act, but she was on their team right now and he'd help her.

Once she was out he sat down in the dirt against the cave wall and took a deep breath of the putrid cave. He looked at Jacinda covered in blood, she had a few gashs, and she'd be feeling the pain later. He dropped the power and focused on the good they did, on the things that made it worth doing. It was the only way to help Aria back. The darkness in her eyes was there, if she hadn't had the creature's dying spasms to deal with they could have had a problem.

**** Jacinda ****

Nox came over and helped pull her legs free. Once that was done, he sat down and looked at her. She look at the other two Oni. Each one had a bolt in its eye. She looked at the crossbow now laying across his lap. She had wondered what he brought to the table and it looked like she had her answer. She was a good shot herself, but an Oni's eye was small and the cavern dark and it had been moving around. The precision was amazing and she was impressed.

She looked at him smiling, the rush still coursing through her, the urge. Breathlessly- from the fight mostly- she said, "You're pretty handy with that thing." She nodded to his lap, a slight smile on her face. Her eyes swept the cavern, taking in the three dead Oni, the look of exhileration and pleasure on Aria's face- she had never looked so beautiful as she did then, covered in blood and shadows- her sweet body swaying as she stayed on her knees. Jacinda's nostrils flared, then she looked back at Nox, her eyes still predatory. Her voice felt low and foreign in the back of her throat. "Three Oni dead." The blood on her hands was still tacky though it was drying. She could feel it soaking into her skin, as if she were absorbing the thing's life force.

Her breathes were deep, but now were more prepatory rather than to calm herself. She could feel the heat in the cave, the Oni bodies adding their last calories of heat to the moist air.

Her eyes drifted from Nox to Aria, watching, hoping....

**** Nox ****

Nox grinned at Jacinda's comment. She knew nothing of what he was good at. The crossbow was nothing, that was all the power. Granted it was his aim, his shot, the power hadn't helped, only provided the better vision, the finer attention to details. But it was his skill. He was glad to have been noticed.

Aria still swayed in the darkness, the fight inside raged. Nox could almost imagine the two dragons on her arm fighting it out. Nox remembered the conversation he'd had with Lucas. How things would get worse, how his not being there was an issue. Lucas didn't need to tell him how much she needed Lucas, he knew. He would take care of her, keep her safe no matter the cause. He had promised.

Jacinda looked ready to ... he smiled. She was an interesting woman, and he knew all too well she had enjoyed the fight, maybe a little too much.

He looked from Jacinda to Aria. "She needs more time to come down." It was dangerous when she played games with the big ones. Dangerous for him and Jacinda, but even more dangerous for Aria. He stood up and dusted off.

Nox noticed Jacinda watching Aria more so than him. He wraped his arm around her waist from the side. "She's faithful to Lucas. Lucky bastard." He grinned playfully. "If you want anything you'll have to settle for me. But not with her like that. Your games will likely provoke more violence than even you can handle." He pulled her along, picking up Aria's sword and took it with him. He looked back at Aria, she was looking better, but he knew she was feeding off Jacinda right now, the look on her face. Both their faces, too dangerous!

There was plenty of places to find that she could take out her excitement on him away from Aria. Nox kept his arm around her waist until he was sure they were a good distance away from Aria. The ground was soft enough here, almost sandlike, they must be closer to the entrance than he thought. Nox reached up with the hand around Jacinda's waist and dropped the weapons in his other hand to the ground, and pushed her with his free hand, and pulled her head back until she was against the cave wall. "Far enough away for now. But this is the only fight you'll get out of me, this one thing right now. You can take it or leave it. I don't like your games. You just had a fight, I'm not fighting you so I can get laid."

**** Jacinda ****

Jacinda's curiousity was peaked at Nox's statement, both about Aria and her Lucas as well as the comment about violence. A part of her felt both of them a challenge to her, something to break through, to prove that she could get anything she wanted.

But she was on fire right now and Nox was willing and he took charge. For some reason, she liked that, especially after the fight, after he had demonstrated that he belonged. He wasn't Regan- no man could ever be Regan, especially not one as young and slender as Nox- but he was a man and she respected him.

As if he sensed that he was on the right track- or perhaps he felt a protectiveness for Aria and was willingly putting himself up as an acceptable sacrificial lamb- he led her off into the cavern and found a spot that was further away but the ground was soft. The sand was fine and was like a blanket over the ground.

He turned around and pushed her against a wall, reaching around to pull her hair and tilt her head back so she was looking up at him. He was just a few fingerwidths taller than her. She let him, knowing that if she'd wanted to, she could have planted a knee in his groin in an instant. She was very strong and he'd not be the first guy she'd done that too. A shattered ball was a huge deterrent, completely aside from her normal hunter skills.

But she wanted this. And she liked Nox. And she liked that he was being aggressive. Between the hunt, the fight, the killing and feeling of victory and satisfaction, she was good. She didn't need a fight to get her blood hot. It was already boiling. If Aria wasn't there with them this time, she'd get other chances. For now, this new Nox, he would do splendidly.

She kissed him hard and then bit his lip harder. He didn't want a fight and she wasn't really gonna fight him. But she wasn't gonna be his little bitch either. She would take as much as give.

Their kisses and roving hands were not tender nor affectionate. They were animals tearing at each others clothes, the hunger over-whelming them, the desire to consumate this hunt, to declare themselves alive and victorious. Her senses were always more alive after a fight like that and she felt ever inch of him, felt their bodies slap and melt together, slick with blood and sweat.

And Nox was a beast, one she rode, imagining death and the universe and nature and everyone watching her, being forced to recognize that she was there, she would not be ignored, she existed and mattered and had won again. She had spit in death's face and fucked an Oni in the brain, its teeth and claws trying to tear her to death. And she had killed it. And now she ground her hips down and showed that she would live and fight and kill and fuck as she decided. She was the queen.

**** Nox ****

Jacinda bit his lip and he felt the urge to slam her against the wall, he didn't want to play the games. Bas had been right about one thing the day he met Aria. This was one hell of a way to celebrate living through a fight.

This woman was dangerous. She took him to the edge of a very dangerous place, one he couldn't afford to go to, not now. His thoughts didn't wander long as Jacinda's passions rose, they weren't tender, more like the animals they had fought. She was rough, and he returned the favors. His body ached from sleeping on the ground, and what little scrambling he had to do, he hadn't fought anything, not really. But now his muscles ached for completely different reason. Good reasons, but still he couldn't go multiple rounds again.

There was no emotional connection here, it was pure and unadultrated lust. It was all about satisfying that carnal need. A need he hadn't known was building to the point he had to use this woman to let it out. There was no love lost between them, it was almost violent the way they came together. The dance of dangerous animals.

Time became nothing, it was just the two of them and by the time he was spent he knew he was going to pay. He lay on the sand, knowing a bath would be more than necessary and they were in the middle of no where. He glanced over at his partner, praying she didn't want more now. He really couldn't take anymore, he had to go check on Aria. He pulled his boxers up and winced, Damn woman. "You good? I need to go check on Aria."

**** Aria ****

Aria tried to keep herself together. The peace had been getting harder and harder to find since leaving Moscow. She missed Lucas, she needed Lucas. She didn't think she could do this much longer. She kept telling herself two more, and then they were going home. Home to Lucas.

The darkness pulled at her, Nox tried his best to think the right thoughts but Jacinda's were too much of a draw. It was like Nox knew, he took her away. The farther they went the better Aria felt. The woman was a draw in more way than one. Aria sat on the ground, her sword had been taken away, the rest had stayed in their rightful places.

Nox went farther away, but she could still feel them, feel their new found lust for one another and Aria had to push it else where. She took her wallet out, but they were too deep underground to get a signal. She'd have to do it alone.

Aria thought about meeting Lucas, about the day he'd taken her to mass. Their first kiss, it was Lucas that made the hope come. She'd lose him one day. It was inevitatble, something that good shouldn't belong to something with the complete desire to not be good. She wished it would go away, the need, the want, the desire to inflict pain, feed on it. To seethe in the pain of others. It was part of her. Part of everything she was, everthing she would be. But for Lucas she would fight. And she fought every day and every night with herself.

It was a war she was bound to lose doing what she did, but there was nothing else she could do. If she left the Atharim, they'd hunt her down on principle. Father Dimitri and Father Stone would probably hunt her personally. The thought enranged the darkness. It wanted their deaths. Aria forced herself to think about Lucas, about anything other than what she felt about the world in general.

Minutes, hours, time passed, it didn't matter, Aria fought the darkness alone, in the darkness of the cave with the lingering yet distant knowledge that Nox was off entertaining Jacinda.

Aria took a deep breath, feeling more like her self, she needed signal though. She got up, and almost fell, her leg had fallen asleep, the tingling and needles pierced her skin and she had to walk just to get feeling back.

Aria walked the direction they came, she followed Nox's persence, he was still with Jacinda they were still busy, maybe she could find the entrance without interrupting. She couldn't see them again, not until she called Lucas.

Thankfully as she skirted the edge of the next bend before Nox and Jacinda, their passions started to die down. Aria heard Nox and smiled. He was still concerned about her well being. She wondered if he'd done this to keep Jacinda away from her. She'd have to thank him later.

Aria rounded the corner. "I'm okay. But I have to make a call." Nox pointed in the direction they had come with a knowing smile, not a goofy grin.

Aria nodded to both of them and picked up her sword from the ground, it would need a proper cleaning later, but not now. She walked off in the direction they came and headed towards the Jeep to make her call. She really needed to hear Lucas' voice.

**** Jacinda ****

Jacinda breathed now, calming herself. She felt warm and flush and content. Nox had done a good job and she'd gotten everything she wanted out of today, out of being with them. Mostly anyway. She was satisfied.

Nox looked at her and asked her if he was good even as he pulled his boxers up. She smiled at the slight grimace that passed over his face. He'd be thinking about her everytime he changed over the next few days. That made her laugh inside. She knew that she took a toll and didn't mind. She was always memorable. And she'd remember Nox too. He'd been what she needed him to be, after a fight like that. Not too much more necessary to make it better.

Well, maybe if Aria had joined them. He was thinking of her too, wanting to go check on them. Idly, she was curious what they were to each other. She didn't understand how Nox could keep himself from going for her. Well, he had mentioned a Lucas that she was faithful to. But if Nox didn't care about that, if he'd still viewed Aria sexually, he'd find a way. Or he'd be filled with resentment and frustration with her. Instead, he was protective of her. She shrugged in her mind. Not a big deal, really. She was just curious.

As if a summons, Aria came around the corner. It was the second time she'd walked in on them, though this time they weren't actually having sex. She, of course, felt no shame at having her jeans off. Nor, in truth, much voyueristic thrill either. She had been satisfied, after all. Instead, as Aria mentioned needing to make a call, she was curious. This Lucas guy? She wondered at him.

She remembered Aria's fighting. That, together with her rep- at least what she heard of it from Nox- and her abilities- made her wonder at what kind of guy he was. How had he hooked her? What was the draw?

Aria headed outside and she sat there with Nox. "So who is this Lucas? What's their deal?"

**** Nox ****

Nox watched Aria leave, didn't look like it was over yet. Hopefully Lucas wouldn't be too pissed off at him. Jacinda asked after Lucas and he laughed.

"You ask her, he's a good friend. But it's a lot more than that. He is her boyfriend. I know this, I'm pretty sure he knows it, but Aria's well... Aria." Nox pulled his pants on swearing to himself again. He saw the happy smile on Jacinda's face. He'd be the jovial child and kick sand at her if he could do so without making a fool of himself, so he didn't.

"Lucas keeps Aria sane. It's the easist way to put it. She had a bad break from the get go, but she met a guy, wasn't a good relationship. Lucas gave her the peace she needed."

"He's got it rough with her, but he's the saving type. The guy who reached out to her when she needed it most, if you ask me he's in the deep end now, and there is no real way out unless he wants to hurt Aria. But then I can't say much, here I am looking after the same girl, for very different reasons." His reasons were purely selfish, Aria was the best partner he could ask for. She required a bit more work than almost anyone else, but there was no arguments, she lead when necessary, followed like the good little sheep she could be, though he wished she wouldn't do that so willingly. At least that's how it started for him anyway, now Aria was family. He'd do anything to make sure she was safe. He trusted her with his life.

Nox pulled on his shirt and looked around, picking up his gear. He picked up Jacinda's things and tossed her clothes at her. "We should get back."

He didn't wait for her to get dressed. He hadn't thought about it when he left the cavern, the three bolts were still there, he sighed. "I'll be back. Gonna go get the bolts, hate to lose three perfectly reusable items." Nox went back into the caverns, he embraced his power and the walls light up, the smell of decay grew stronger as he reached their lair. The Oni had been there a while, their natural stench was everywhere, and soon would be laced with the decaying smell of their dead body. Somehow that made him happy.

Nox retreived two of the three bolts he'd shot. The one that missed he couldn't find, and he was not going to try to move the mass of dead bodies to find it. One lost was better than three.

When he strolled past the spot he and Jacinda had been she was no longer there. He smiled and then frowned, he hoped that she'd leave Aria alone. He had intend to make it a slow walk back, but he picked up his pace to try and catch Jacinda.

**** Aria ****

Aria felt Nox's concern, it grew as she walked away. But she needed to talk to Lucas, it would help push everything else away. The sun was bright as she stepped out of the mouth of the cave. He pushed the dial button and waited for him to answer. She knew it was likely really early in the morning. She hated waking him up, but she needed to hear his voice.

She had woke him up. But as usual he was glad to hear her voice. Just hearing his voice made Aria's spirits lighten. The world grew lighter, the darkness fled with each word. It was enough that he was there, but she'd not seen him in over a month, and it was getting harder to deal with everything alone.

Aria realized that she'd gone from Dane to Lucas. It was not the same obsession, but she'd moved from one need to another. Which basically placed it at obsession. They talked until Aria saw Jacinda approaching the Jeep.

Aria hung up the phone wondering if she could really survive without Lucas. Did she want to? The basic answer, yes. But she wasn't sure how well she'd do without him in her life. It was difficult, pulling out of the darkness now, only a month after not seeing him, only listening to his voice, seeing his image in holo. If he was never there, the images and feelings faded with time. Would it be enough? Aria knew it would have to be unless she fell into the darkness. Aria didn't want to hurt anyone, not on purpose, and not for the pure pleasure of doing it. That was the key, not for the pleasure of it.

Jacinda walked up to the Jeep, Aria smiled. "Don't break Nox on me." It was meant as a joke, but there was a hint of threat in it. Nox was her friend, and she needed him, almost as much as she needed Lucas. He kept her out of the depths of the darkness where Lucas couldn't go. He knew her secrets. He kept them.

Aria needed to sleep for a few days. She could feel the tiredness seeping into her bones, that was a good thing, that meant the darkness wasn't going to pull her down, not until the next fight, the next battle to rise.

**** Jacinda ****

Jacinda listened to Nox's answer. It kind of made sense. Savior type. They seemed to gravitate to women in trouble. She'd known a few. It pissed her off. Like she needed saving or something. She wasn't a project or some damsel in distress that needed saving. She took care of herself just fine. She'd learned from Regan, from the time she was 12. He'd showed her how to be a woman. And She was a woman who didn't need anything. Well, at least not to save her life.

It bothered her that a capable and talented woman like Aria found herself fixated on a man. Very likely it was that struggle, the one she'd had when she was younger. This Lucas was very likely confusing things for Aria, or making her weak. She was depending on him. 'He kept her sane'? The thought turned her stomach. Aria needed to stand on her own two feet. She didn't need another person to make that possible. Needing people was a weakness. People could take it away. She knew that from experience, the day the rougs took Regan from her. She hadn't been ready for that, to stand on her own. At least, she thought she hadn't. And it had taken a while.

But eventually, she made it. I would be doing her a favor if I killed Lucas, she thought idly. It was just a passing thought. Lucas was in Moscow. She doubted she'd leave the US. They did make a good team though. Once they left, she would be back to hunting on her own. She could probably find another partner or two. But someone like Aria- a Furia who worked for the Atharim- was rare. And Nox was good enough. Now that the thought had a occurred to her, it decided to stay lodged in her mind. It wasn't something she would actively consider. But it was always an option. She kept her options open. Always.

She got dressed and walked out of the caves to the jeep. Nox was inside looking for his bolts and Aria was by the vehicle. She saw her coming out and ended her conversation. The look in her eyes showed a measure of peace. Jacinda's gaze was flat. Yeah, it bothered her. Aria make a quip about breaking Nox. Jacinda laughed half-heartedly. Clearly, Aria felt Nox was necessary too. He was no doubt a good partner. Partners grew to rely on each other. That wasn't a bad thing. Until you needed each other.

Jacinda thought she could help Aria. She knew enough to know that they were similar. And that included the needing of another person. And the struggle. Aria would be stronger once she accepted who and what she was- what she had to do as Atharim. They were the guardians of humanity against the darkness, against forces that would see mankind destroyed, creatures that sometimes masqueraded as humans, as even children. This was a war and they were the front line- the only line! The masses of people had no clue of what was at stake. And now, now there was evil walking around that could call on power, could destroy the earth at a whim. Rumors had flown since she was in her 20's. Now it had been confirmed with what was going on over in the CCD and DV. Hell, even that political commentator, Nick Trano, had come out and said that that asshole the Ascendancy was one of them. Even claimed to be one of them himself. And if that didn't beat all. A guy who ran half the world for nearly half her life was a reborn god. Suddenly, all the disasters that had seen the US lose its place and the CCD rise had all made sense. The war had always been on. The enemies pretended to be human.

Yeah, it would take all of them, doing everything they had to. What was the saying? "By any means necessary." Aria needed to know that, needed to realize that it would be by any means necessary that they had to fight. There was no place for guilt or mercy. No place to hold back. Sometimes, they had to get dirty themselves. Hey, if a guy knows where a bomb is and won't tell you, you do what you must to get the info out of him. This was no different. If even regular people stood in the way of their battle, they needed to be removed. It was regretable, but necessary.

And if she enjoyed the battle, enjoyed the war, so what? Wasn't a soldier who enjoyed soldiering worth 10 reluctant conscripts? That really was what it came down to, Aria's internal battle. She enjoyed it and felt guilty for doing so. And people like Lucas fed that guilt. Even Nox, It hindered her effectiveness. If Aria was this good with those two holding her back, what would she be like once she accepted who she was?

Indeed, what if Aria and Jacinda were partners. No holds barred, no guilt, no rules. Just two bad-ass soldiers on the front line. It made Jacinda kind of excited. They would be unstoppable. Perhaps even take out the Ascendancy himself. Now that would be a thing.

Aria needed to find her peace with it. Jacinda knew she had to be careful. Aria was delicate, would take it wrong if she came out and said it. Instead, she would have to do it carefully, over the remaining time they had. She smiled at Aria. "I'll be careful with Nox. I promise." Then she laughed.

This just got interesting. Maybe she would go to the CCD after all.

**** Nox ****

Nox wasn't far behind Jacinda, he could see her walking towards the Jeep, he saw Aria hang up the wallet, she looked better from the distance. He arrived missing what Jacinda was laughing about, from the look on Aria's face, it was mildly confusing. Jacinda confused him too. He grinned at her as he packed his gear.

"On to the next hunt?" Nox was happy to let Jacinda drive again. He wanted to sleep. "Or nap time?" Either way they were on the road again as soon as they were ready to hit it.

---

The next leg of their trip was long and actually not too bad. He actually drove a little while Jacinda napped. Nox and Aria didn't talk much, which was fine with him, she seemed to be a bit more quiet than usual. The trip was taking a toll on her, on him too, he knew that. Lucas had been right, but when it came to Aria Lucas was hardly wrong. Aria needed this though, he was sure of it. Needed the freedom of being what she was, not bound to some building, some place that didn't want her. This was different. Her version of the Atharim was strict and guiding, his was not. It was just as deadly, but the freedom it gave them was better for both of them. They would have to find a happy medium in Moscow. He liked having a place to go home to, a real bed to sleep in. Maybe Aria's small rebellion inside the Atharim would work things out, lessen the reins so to speak. Killing people like him, that had to stop. Killing people like Aria was just as bad, and the wolfkin? Before he'd fell out of that plane he'd not have cared, a monster was a monster. But his abilities, they made him second guess everything he was taught. He was a monster by their account. But he didn't hurt anyone, not intentionally anyway.

The day he realized, he remembered why the plane had crashed, it had been a rough day. He'd hurt those people. Nox had found the families of those that died that day, he sent them anonymous gifts to help them out. It was the least he could do, it wasn't much, but it was all he could do. He couldn't exactly apologize for the mistake he'd made. 'Hey yeah, I can do magic, sorry I tore a hole in the airplane by accident that killed your family member.' He'd be in a loony bin for sure.

But Lucas had been right, Aria needed him. It just wasn't the darkness, it was the death she saw, the death she felt. Each one a little more of her died inside. He saw it, and without Lucas to fill those peices up, he was afraid for Aria, for himself. If Aria went rogue, became the person she could be. He'd be dead, and so would a whole lot more people. Aria collected godlings as acquantainaces and friends nearly as easily as someone would collect pretty rocks along the path. Lucas was the only friend Aria had that wasn't special. Everyone she'd met up to this point was unique, had a gift, or was Atharim, and knew about everything that she did. Lucas was the only normal thing in her life. She needed that. Nox would make sure she kept that, at least as much as he could.

There next stop was in Missouri, bodies drained of blood, and there was no explanations as to what was doing it. The rumors indicated vampires. But it could be one of three things, it all mattered on the wound - chubackbra feed like animals, they drank the blood of their victims, animal or human, could be told from the bite marks despite the muzzle shaped deformity that the parasite created in the human. Nox had to imagine that was a painful experience. Dreyken slashed you open wide with knife like claws and drank from the wounds. And then their was the Dranaika, the most vampiric like of the creatures that vampire lore came from. They fed through a bite, not fangs, but still the same typical feeling. And they were a bit more dangerous than the other two, they foresaw the future. No one really knew how much future they saw, but they could predict with almost near certainity the outcome of any fight.

Aria had a dranaika to her credit, and he beleived her when she said she didn't kill it. Nox has never known Aria to lie, and specifically why would anyone lie about not doing something extraordinary. Aria beleived Dane killed it. And if Dane killed it and it made Aria worry about him, Dane was not someone Nox wanted to meet, not now, or ever. He was dangerous, he hadn't even known WHAT he was fighting, as far as Aria had told him, the world of monsters was foreign to him. A civilian who killed one of the hardest creatures to kill. That was not a person he wanted to meet.

Nox suspected that Dane had used the same power he possessed. It could be the only explanation. Aria had agreed with him. Nox knew he was probably a bit cocky in thinking he could take down a dranaika, but he was fairly sure he and Aria could if they were at full strength. Fighting that oni without his power had been difficult. He'd wanted to bind them with air several times, he'd even wove the weaves, but released them prior to finality so that he wouldn't blow his cover as a normal hunter. But he and Aria were far from normal.

Nox pulled up at the police station. He wondered, "Jacinda, you ever play cop? We need to see the vicitims, at least the marks." They had to know what they were up against on this one. Dranaika kills were not fly by the seat of your pants type drills, they had to know. He was too young to play an experienced cop, and Aria well she didn't lie very well, and she didn't have the look nor the demanor of a cop. Jacinda might, he prayed, hopefully she'd done this before. His dad had. He missed his dad, and his mom. Nox was eternally grateful he and Aurora had mended whatever fences they'd broke the day Nox watched his mother be mauled by a hell hound.

**** Jacinda ****

The trip was only a few days, with Nox and her switching off driving. Aria, apparantly, didn't drive. It irked Jacinda a bit, but then again, the CCD was like that. You could go most of your life using public transportation. It lacked many of the large empty spaces that characterized the US. Well, maybe that wasn't strictly true. Maybe it was a cultural thing. Bottom line was, unless you lived in large cities with easy and cheap public transportation, you just needed a car. The idea of not having one- of not using it to get where you needed to go, to have the freedom to go anywhere you wanted- well, it just was alien. It wasn't American. Nox certainly was American and part of this trip, he explained, was to get his vehicle back to the CCD so he'd have the same free mobility.

If she decided to go to the CCD she'd make sure to take hers as well. At the end of the day, you didn't want to have to depend on anyone if you needed to get somewhere. You needed be able to do that yourself. And she was increasingly sure that she was going to cross the ocean and join them in the CCD. Aria didn't speak often but Nox did. He liked the sound of his own voice and he was entertaining enough. He and Aria's hunts in the CCD sounded fun. Something was definitely going on over there. The sheer number of creatures of every type that they'd gone after in so short a time was mind boggling. Jacinda was a famous hunter in the US and had a lot of kills to her name. But if you worked the numbers, it really amounted to maybe 4 or 5 a year. In a good year! But in the CCD, they had gone on 4 or 5 hunts just in the last two months. The thought excited her. She loved the hunt, the contest, the fight, and the victory. If she could have that every few weeks...that alone was reason to go.

Of course, why they were so dense underfoot in the CCD was a mystery. Perhaps Ascendancy had something to do with it. The man was a reborn god. Perhaps other creatures of darkness felt drawn to where he ruled. Or perhaps it was worse. Perhaps the man's policies made them feel safe. Perhaps even he was collecting them, bringing them together. It made a perverse but undeniable sense. Of course he would build an army of darkness. The longer he ruled and the more creatures that flocked to that new safe haven, the more they would multiply and grow. The thought sickened and angered her. Why had he not been put down? It could not be allowed to go on.

Jacinda felt her determination harden. There was no maybe about it. She was going to the CCD. She was going to hunt. But most of all, she was going after Ascendancy. Now, if she could maybe have some help with it, that would something. She'd never met the titular head of the Atharim, the Regus. Up to this point, the Atharim was mostly a collective. She didn't receive orders really. Just places to investigate. And money to live on. But now....if she was going to do this, she'd need more. A team.

And she knew who she wanted on her team. Aria. Once she had been set free. So throughout the trip, Jacinda also told stories of her hunt. And she made sure to include details of the hunt- the stalking; the struggle; the fight. She made sure to make it clear that the hunt was everything, that giving her all had made her the most effective Atharim this side of the Atlantic. She wanted Aria to look up to her, to want to be like her.

And she began to lay the groundwork about Ascendancy by questioning them about why creatures of darkness seemed to be congregating around Moscow. What did they think of Trano's revelation about himself and Ascendancy. Did they think war was coming. Eventually, she would have an opportunity with Aria. Even her attraction for Aria played its role. She flirted with her. Teased her. If Aria was emotionally invested in her on multiple fronts- attraction, affection, admiration, respect- then her trust of Jacinda would grow. She would listen to her, would try to be like her. On occasion, Jacinda mentioned her own 'struggles' with guilt or fear, back when she had them. How they'd held her back. She wanted Aria to see that she'd gotten through it and was a better person. And a much better hunter.

It frustrated her, though, that Aria spoke to Lucas every night. Nox was bad enough, though Jacinda did like him. He hovered over her protectively like a brother. But he had his own darkness. Jacinda could sense it in him, from the way he spoke of their hunts. Nox could be turned too. But Lucas was the thing that kept Aria from letting go and becoming everything she should be. He would have to be taken care of when she got to the CCD. An accident of course. Aria couldn't know that it had been her. But he was definitely the weight that was holding her back.

The destination itself was typical. A small town. Many creatures chose those kinds of places because despite the fact that 'food' was scarcer, it meant that it would be harder to track them. Fewer witnesses and recording devices. They were harder to find. And the smart ones rotated their hunting grounds so that patterns took a long time to notice. It was one of the reasons why she only bagged 4 or 5 a year- in a good year!

They came to Waynseville, Missouri. It was a small town of maybe 15,000 people. There was a Fort east of there. But the town was smack dab between Springfield and St. Louis. Those major hubs took up the greatest amount of official attention. And there were jurisdictional issues. Disappearances from the town were attributed to either city in some way. Missing people were assumed just as likely to go to St. Louis as Springfield. So the local PD was in the dark. And the discovery of bodies that had been bled out was seen as gang activity or organized crime. But because it was blamed on either city, again the local PD's leads were minimal. But Atharim who watched police reports noted the nature of the mutilated bodies and flagged it for them.

There were three possibilities. A chupe, a dreyken or a drainaka. She'd killed all three, though the last was part of a team. The increase of people meant that there were more likely futures that the thing had to keep track of and react to. At least that was how Jacinda understood it. Bottom line was that she was a hunter and knew her prey. How it worked was not necessary to understand. The three of them would be able to take care of a drainaka, though it'd be hard. Fun though. A lot of fun.

They got to Waynesville and Nox asked her if she'd ever played a cop. She smiled. "Of course. Local yokels sometimes need encouragement to talk. I can get us in." She looked them over. "Think maybe you two are going to need to look a bit professional though. You don't look like a feeb."

**** Aria ****

Aria could tell Jacinda was annoyed at Aria when she didn't take a turn driving. She hadn't explained exactly why, but in Moscow she could get anywhere she needed to just fine without having learned. It was not a required skill her teachers thought necessary for their tool to have. Aria hated them for their thinking, but it was who she was, what she was. Her life was fine, the best it could be under the circumstances, and now it was getting better. Still she was naive, she knew that. Her life had not prepared her for real life. But her life wasn't normal to begin with either. There was little that could be done about things now. And driving just was not something she was interested in.

Jacinda told stories that made Aria feel a connection to her. Though the way she told the stories, the feelings that were there, Aria knew that this woman was telling the truth, but also very much like her. It was hard to think that anyone would understand. She seemed to get it, but Aria knew she didn't, not exactly.

Aria also knew that Jacinda was annoyed with her calling Lucas, she never said anything, but it was there under the surface. Jacinda never let on, but she definately was still feeling it. Aria had started leaving camp to talk with Lucas, it made the enjoyable conversations hard to enjoy with her annoyance sitting at her feet.

Aria got the feeling Jacinda enjoyed their company, she wasn't sure if that meant anything real, she was an American, and they were both going back to the CCD, maybe it was just nostalgia, but feelings were never thoughts, and Aria really had no idea what was going through her head anymore than she did Nox's.

They finally reached the little podunk town and Nox asked Jacinda if she'd played cop. Of course she had, it had to be part of the game, how else would anyone get anywhere. The CCD was different, they had connections in the system, they just looked it up. This world was very much different from this one.

Jacinda told them they had to be more professional. Aria laughed. "Can't do that. My entire wardrobe consists of this. And I'm pretty sure I can't wear your clothes." They would look even tackier than what she wore now. "I'll stay in the car or outside of town in camp or whatever, you can send pictures if I need to see something."

Besides, Aria wasn't a cop, she couldn't play cop. There was no faking that, she didn't watch cop shows as a kid, she didn't know the lingo, couldn't fake it in the least. It was not a good situation if she tried to fake it.

**** Nox ****

Nox grinned. He could be professional, he dislked wearing the monkey suit but he had one. He knew Aria hadn't packed anything appropriate, she didn't own much other than jeans and t-shirts, all the same style and pretty much the same color. She didn't spend money on clothes, she was functional, thought she did have a dress and a skirt, but he'd only ever seen her wear he skirt to mass with Lucas. Never any other time. She could clean up nicely, but she didn't feel comfortable. Nox had to move his train of thought else where.

"I can be professional." He said it perhaps a bit too defensively.

But he did change into the monkey suit, it fit a little bit tighter than before, with an actual gym membership he had bulked up, not that he had much more bulk than before, but he could tell the fit was diferent now. He was still too tall, and too thin for most hunters standards, but it didn't bother him. It let him have the advantage, it was a good advantage.

Aria raised an eye brow when he came out. They didn't pretend in the CCD to be something else, there was little need. Not with their style of hunting anyway. Nox grinned at her.

Jacinda was hot as usual, in her 'professional' get up. He didn't like playing second fiddle to her, but he'd do it. He'd be the rookie FBI agent to her superiority. For now. It was annoying for him.CCD

The two of them went into the station, there was little to declare it a station other than the name on the building. Inside it looked like a pretty small business office. In the back the bars of some cells could be seen but that was the only inindication that this was the local police station.

Nox let Jacinda do the talking, she was the senior officer and he the newb. He really hated that!

**** Jacinda ****

Jacinda put on a grey pantsuit and put her hair up in a bun. A little splash of makeup and glasses, a badge and a holstered gun and she looked the part. Course, the look was only partly what you wore. It was all about how you carried yourself. 30 years experience as a hunter exuded from her as complete and utter competence, a woman who was used to getting what she required with minimal hassle. She found that most men found her intimidating when she truly let it show. Nox appeared to be in that select group of men who found women like her attractive. It was why she still enjoyed playing with him.

He looked good in his monkey suit though he'd have to stop fidgiting to be believable. She gave him one last look- "Let me do the talking."- and they walked into the podunk police station. She stood there for a moment, surveying the room, trying to see where the concentration of power lay. The couple faces in the room looked up at her and the man at the desk said, "Can I help you?" She ignored him as she looked at each face and desk until she saw the office in the corner. It wasn't big but it was seperate from the rest of the room. Empty though. A man who had been sitting on on one of the desks while talking to the man who sat at it looked at her and then stood up.

She ignored the desk officer entirely and walked a step toward the man who'd been sitting on the desk. He came the rest of the way. It was a little game, but little things had a way of adding up. He had come to her, once she'd indicated her interest. She held out her hand. "My name is Agent Emily Prentiss. And this is my partner Bruton Gaster. We're with the FBI." She surpressed a smile at the name and held out her credentials for him to see.

He was around her age and a hard man. Probably had been elected Sheriff year after year in this small town. Knew the town and knew the people. Suspicious of outsiders probably, feebs in particular. His handshake was firm but his stance was cool and suspicious. "Hello ma'am. How can I help you?"

She didn't want to put him on edge so she smiled warmly while still seeming professional. "We've been investigating a string of murders that occurred in Tulsa, Vinita and Springfield. We understand that the Waynesville PD has als reported a few murders that match the MO we've seen." The sheriff's face blanched. Small town like this, three dead bodies drained of blood was bad enough. Finding out that it seemed to be part of a string of murders made it a hundred times worse. He'd want the murderer caught or out of his town as fast as possible. It being an interstate matter, he'd not question the FBI involvment. Cooperation would be given.

"Yes ma'am, we've had a couple that don't seem to match the kind of thing we see around here, even as close to the big cities as we are. You say there have been others of this kind?"

Her smile remained, one professional to another, mutual respect. "Yes sheriff. It's a bad business too. I've been tracking his guy for weeks. I had hoped to get him in Springfield but we just didn't have enough to go on. And the local police gave me the run around. You know how it is. Jurisdictional dick measuring contests." She shook her head and let sorrow show on her face. "I just wanna catch this guy." She made it sound personal. Then, her voice lower, "Did you know any of the victims?" In this small of a town, that was likely. And might allow her more freedom from the local cops to investigate.

"Yes ma'am. I knew two of them. Not the first guy though. Don Lark was a house builder. Was out on a site after his crew had left. He liked to do that, I understand, to make sure everything was being done as he liked it. They found him the next day, all drained of his blood. We never seen anything like it. Second victim was Mary Swanson, a school teacher. Again, working late in her class. The janitor found her the next morning. Same thing. The last was just a kid, Billy Rodgers. Had been out with friends and driving home. His family lives out in the country. The found his vehicle and he was inside it. Dead."

He looked around the station and then back at her. "This is a small town. We have crime from time to time. The usual stuff. And occasionally we'll get some spill over from the city. But we've never had anything like this. We'd be appreciative of any help you could offer."

And done. She smiled reassuringly. "We'll get him sheriff...?"

"Spencer. Shawn Spencer."

"We'll get him sheriff Spencer." He nodded at that. After a moment of silence, she said, "Can we examine the bodies?"

"Sure. We've had our ME look him over and the relevant scans and data has been sent to a forensic's team in St. Louis since we don't have one here. But the bodies are at the morgue. Which is in this building. If you'll follow me?"

They followed him down a hallway and into an adjacent building. The police station was next to the hospital, which seemed appropriate. The parking lot was big enough that the sheriff wouldn't see that their vehicle was a jeep, for which she was thankful. Then entered the morgue and the sheriff introduced them to Dr. Gunn. The woman was around Jacinda's age though not as well preserved. Small towns and a sedentary job had that effect on people. "Loretta, I need the three murder victims pulled out for Agents Prentiss and Gaster. They're FBI and investigating a string of these."

The woman looked at them sceptically. "A string of these, huh? You shoulda caught them before they got here. Poor Mary and Billy. Even Don here, as much as he always had been mean to my boy." She pulled out three slabs from the walkins. They were covered in blankets.

Jacinda looked at Nox and went to the first one and pulled it back.

**** Nox ****

Nox tried not to glare at the name she gave him. It could have been worse, he was still not comfortable doing this. He'd have prefered to sit in the car with Aria. How things had changed, lying and playing the game used to be fun. Now he'd rather just hunt, the fancy games were Aurora's thing. He'd be the lacky, just not Jacinda's. It was one thing for family, a completely other thing for someone who wasn't.

He followed the conversation, nothing really struck him as unusual, it was typical small town that had no murders. Now they had 3 dead bodies all drained of blood. Still 3 suspect creatures, only the bodies would tell.

The sheriff lead them to the morgue. The first body was the kid, why did it have to be the kid. The body was sliced cleanly with four long slashes along the abdomen. Hell of a way to die, poor kid. The bowels looked intact for the most part, just drained of blood. "Cause of death?"

The sheriff blinked at him. Nox grinned, Yeah I can speak. I am not a lacky, he wanted to roll his eyes but didn't.

The sheriff answered with that man you are stupid tone, "Blood loss."

Nox rolled his eyes this time. "So the kid lived what, four hours while his body drained of blood? Probably less. Would have been better if he were dead quicker if you ask me." He glared at the man who had turned ash white. Nox had given the man food for thought.

The wounds were clearly dreyken. They lapped blood from the wounds like a dog drank from a water dish. Disgusting, and they liked their victims alive. Nox didn't want to die that way. He'd rather an oni crush him or rip his body limb from limb, but to die a slow horrid death, he'd not wish that on anyone. No one!

The other two bodies were the same their bodies sliced open, drained of all blood. You couldn't tell how many dreyken there were, just wasn't possible. He looked to the sheriff and then to Jacinda, "We good?"

**** Jacinda ****

Jacinda looked at Nox and nodded. Inside she smiled at his obvious irritation, his asserting himself, and its result. It always worked that way. People either took her relegation of them as unimportant and were sullen or they stepped up and made themselves useful. She found it was a good way to sideline the useless folk while make the ones who could actually help do so.

They both recognized the slices. Dreyken. They had died hard. Dreyken were like Rougs. They liked their meals living. Her lip curled in disgust. Her determination solidified, the feeling in her gut, the twisting wrongness of it all. These things should not be, these creatures and monsters that fed on people. Dreyken could even pass for normal. But they weren't. They were abominations, a perversion of their world, evil made flesh and she hungered- craved- to exterminate them.

She was glad that Regan had helped her burn that softness out of her long ago, that empathy and compassion. Creatures that looked human had that effect at one time, especially when they looked soft and innocent. But that had been a long time ago. She wondered how Aria had held onto that weakness for so long. Didn't matter. Aria needed to let it go, to push past it. It was the only way. She needed to see their work as not only necessary, but right and holy. They were the human race's first line of defense. If humanity had been selected by being the most ruthless and efficient and brutal in the game of survival, the Atharim were the best humanity to offer. An existence that went back thousands of years, families and individuals honed through centuries of battle and killing to be the most efficient and lethal weapons they had against the night. And she, Jacinda Cross, was one of the best Atharim ever, standing at a pinnacle that few could possibly understand.

She would help Aria to that place. Together they would stand, would topple the monstrosity that currently ruled in the CCD. It mattered little to her if the Regus approved or not. He was a hunter. He was also a book worm. They were allies in the war, though if he knew of her it was the same way she knew of him- reputation only. She wasn't interested in seeing him whip it out to measure against hers. The job was what mattered, extermination of these creatures was all. If he could help, great. If not, he better fucking get out of the way.

Her plans for Aria, though, depended on their developing their friendship, deepening their trust. It wouldn't be a lie either. And in truth, Nox was an assett too. He was quick on his feet and from what she saw a good fighter. She even detected a little bit of the same struggle Aria had. This case would cement their working relationship. And from there....

"Thank you sheriff." She sighed, letting her anger and disgust come through. "It's the same guy." She looked at the bodies and then said, "We're going to check out the crime scenes. Can you send me the coordinates?" The sheriff pulled out his wallet and complied and Jacinda's showed the locations. "Thank you sheriff." He looked troubled. It was clear that this kind of thing was rare. She put her hand out on his shoulder. In a soft steely voice, "I promise you. I will get the person doing this. I will stop them. No matter what." She meant it with every fiber of her being. She would get this thing.

She took one last look and noticed something. The slices were all large and uniform. But there were a couple small ones. Her eyes narrowed. The slices were thinner, deep but not rending. A dreyken sliced open to lap up the pooling blood like an animal. And while it liked its meal warm, it rarely made cuts for no reason, at least not some that blood could collect in. It was a puzzle.

"You ready Gaster?" She used the name because she had to. She wasn't laughing anymore though.

**** Nox ****

Nox nodded. He really hated the name. He wasn't exactly happy with her promises of "I", what were he and Aria, chopped liver, this was their case, Aurora had found it for them. The woman was driving him up a wall, even more than his own sister had.

The sheriff lead them back out to the station and to the doors. He almost looked relieved when she said they would find the guy, when SHE would find the guy. What was she going to do tell the police they caught him, turn him in. Fat chance that, dreyken don't get arrested they die.

Aria sat in the car, she watched them approach and got out, Nox knew she watched him in particular, she could feel the anger underneath. She hopped out of the car and leaned against his Jeep, it was casual, she looked at home. He smiled. "It's dreyken." Nox didn't stop as he got in the passenger seat. He hated being a lacky, it was the worst thing possible. He truly hated it. Jacinda was a leader, he knew that, she was used to hunting alone, much like Aria, but Aria wasn't the same type leader. She claimed to not be one, but she was, she was a control freak as much as he and Aurora were, it really was amazing how well the three of them meshed together, Aria buffered the twins, it was a missing piece almost. But now Jacinda was pushing all of the wrong buttons. Nox knew he was being childish, but still he was who he was and he hated the feelings she made him feel.

Aria climbed into the back seat, "You okay?"

Nox just nodded his head and crossed his arms, he wasn't going to talk about it. Aria put her hand on his shoulder, but she didn't send calming feelings, she knew when to and when not too, Nox wanted to brood in his silence. They'd be hunting soon and he'd have to focus, it was best to get it out now, before he had to trust the woman with his life. And he wished for the power he couldn't use. It would be so much easier.

**** Aria ****

Waiting in the car sucked, but she couldn't pull off cop, she knew that. She wasn't cop material. Aria saw Nox walking out ahead of Jacinda, he looked, and felt angry. His normal calm was disrupted by something, Aria could only figure Jacinda had pushed buttons again.

But he didn't want to talk about it. He was happy to brood, it was such a guy thing. Aria shook her head.

"Dreyken. We have the last crime scene?" Jacinda nodded and sent them to the car's GPS and got the hunt moving. Soon they'd be hunting the dreyken, hopefully not too many, but hopefully a good fight. Aria watched Nox from the back seat. He was not hiding his disdain well, hopefully it would pass. He was upset at something Aria could only guess at what. Aria asked about the victims, and the generalitities the police had come up with. Thankfully they didn't have much, and what DNA they would get wouldn't be there for a while, that was a good thing about small town sheriff's offices, no local tools to get the job done. It was always a waiting game for them.

They'd bag the dreyken, and the murders would stop, and hopefully the DNA that returned would be forgotten. Involving the police sucked, particularly when you didn't have someone on the inside.

Jacinda drove to the last crime scene, the kid. It was pretty much already cleaned up. Nox got out and stood next to her, like he was some bodyguard. His whip and crossbow ready for whatever lay ahead. It was typical, the hunger was there, but it was a little different, something was different than prior hunts she'd been on with dreyken.

Aria found the trail they had taken and started to follow it. "This way."

It was her job to be the tracker, it had always been her job. But what Jacinda didn't know was that she could track anyone, any emotion, and the longer she knew a person, the easier it was to track them. Violence was easy to track, Aria thought she could almost smell the violence, but that was all in her head. She knew it was the emotion she followed not the scent of it. She was not Furia.

Dreyken typically hung out in dark damp places like bats. In the middle of no where it was hard to find a cave, when all you had was flat lands, but as they neared an old abandonded building, Aria knew that the dreyken was inside. They were still too far away she couldn't get a count on the monsters inside, or if there were any humans.

Aria fell back and let Jacinda lead. She could direct if she had to, but Aria let her have the lead, she could feel the seething from Nox behind her but he didn't say anything, he hadn't said anything since they'd returned to the car.

**** Jacinda ****

Nox was pissed but Jacinda really didn't care. It was inconceivable to her that she would pass over leadership to him. She'd been a hunter for longer than either of these two had been alive. One of the best. As far as she was concerned, that ended it. She had paid her dues in a life that few survived to get old.

They got back into the jeep and Aria asked about the meeting. Jacinda gave her the specifics and then the coordinates to the last crime scene. It made sense to go to that one first. Nox sat in the back sulking. Jacinda was amused. He sure didn't seem sexy now. The idea of nailing him after the hunt did not appeal to her at all. As she drove, she watched Aria from the corner of her eye. Aria seemed much more controlled, less prone to tantrums. Of the two, she'd pegged Aria as the better hunter from the start.

Nox was flamboyant and wanted attention. Aria quietly got the job done. She had no doubt the girl had earned her reputation. And she was quite pretty. Probably one of those quiet volcanoes, all reserved and business-like until she was between the sheets and could let go. Lucas was lucky. Bastard probably didn't deserve her at all. She knew he didn't. Lucas was holding Aria back, keeping her from being what she was, from being everything she could be. Aria was weak because of him. She'd heard snippets of their conversations. It made her sick, the constant psycho-babble and affirmations of 'you're doing good' and shit like that. Like he was her therapist or something. He'd never be her partner, someone who understood what the hunt was like, the sacrifices and the choices they made. Wouldn't understand the rush that came from proving yourself superior, showing again and again that you could walk up to death and tell it to fuck off and walk away unscathed. To feel the power of life and death in your hands and to decide. They shaped the world with their work. What would Lucas know about that.

The GPS system indicated they had come to the right place and they stopped. They got out and walked around, getting a feel for it. Jacinda was trying to see it as a predator might, a dreyken might. The vehicle had been towed for analysis and the site cleaned up. But what they were looking for wasn't forensic anyway. It was a trail, an indicator of how the creature had come upon the teenager as he drove. The report had said he'd gotten a flat and was fixing it when he was attacked. She looked around and it was desolate, just miles of open plains, a few rises that the locals only pathetically called hills, corn fields and scrub. She needed to walk around, get this place in her head properly.

She was going to ask Aria to go with her- Nox could sulk by the jeep for all she cared- when Aria started walking about as if sensing something. Jacinda stopped and watched her, curious. Was she smelling the violence done here? What was that like, to experience events of the past in that way, to smell them as if they left some trail, some physicial or psychic clues behind. The girl walked only for a moment before stopping and looking off in a specific direction. She looked at Jacinda and motioned.

Damn but she was good. Twice now, what would have taken her hours was done in minutes. Talk about an assett to the team. She looked back at Nox and let him decide whether he wanted to stop sulking and come along or not. She walked to Aria who led the way. The trail seemed to meander but always in the same general direction. Jacinda was looking for a typical dreyken hide out. They liked caves best but barring that, an old building was good enough. And sure enough, the trail led to a small rise with a couple trees and an old ramshackle farmhouse. The warping of the boards said it was abandonded. Had been, anyway.

Aria stopped and it was quiet. Nox was with them, for which Jacinda was glad. Baby though he might be, three hunters were still better than two. The breeze through the tall grass and leaves was the loudest sound they could hear. Aria looked at her and Jacinda nodded.

More than likely there was a back door to this place. She pullout out the gun from it's holster and motion for the others to do the same. She pointed to Nox and indicated that he go around back. Then she and Aria began walking forward slowly, listening. She looked everywhere, here senses opened to any and everything that might be important. The noise of the breeze masked any sounds they might have made which was good. The porch was old and the boards warped. There was a window by the door and she move toward it to get a glimpse inside. She came to the edge and crouched down next to the corner, and then carefully eased one eye only up until it could see into the room. It was mostly bare though a few pieces of furniture were scattered in the room. But the dust on the floor looked disturbed. Something had been here.

The room connected to a hallway but she could only see the open mouth of it. She was listening for anything as she pulled back and mouthed "clear" to Aria, and then stood. She went to the door- if there was a screen it had blown off long ago- and tried the handle gently. It was unlocked. She carefully turned it and pushed open the door, taking one step at a time, checking the corner as she came in. It was clear. Her gun still drawn, she moved to the center of the room with Aria coming in behind. She looked to Aria. "Where?" she whispered. She hoped Aria could tell were it was. Nox better be watching the back. This thing was not getting away from them.

**** Nox ****

Aria quickly found the trail and he followed, he was pretty sure Jacinda didn't care, fine by him. But this was his hunt, not her's.

Aria took point and Jacinda followed her lead until they went towards the lair, a rundown farm house. It would do for a dreyken to hide in. Jacinda told him to go around the back. He smiled and nodded. It wasn't that he got away from her controlling self, but he could use his power. He wanted to use it. He drew in on it and it felt glorious.

He stalked around the outside looking for the back door. He walked past it and to check the other side of the building, once satisfied with this being the only other exit out Nox crept up the back steps. He placed his feet gingerly on the old warped planks that made up the stairs and porch. The power raged in his body, he made the firey coil in his hand and let it lie, but he wasn't playing in the tunnels now, he was in a building, with rooms and walls that were close together, it wouldn't work. The weave vanished, Nox opened the back door, or tried to, the door was locked, but that was simple to fix, a fine sliver of fire melted the latch so he could open it with ease. He was careful not to let it make a sound.

He was't going to stand and watch the door like a good little dog, he wove an air weave at the door, as long as he maintained the weave, nothing was passing through, he laced it with electricity, whatever hit it would get a nice jolt too.

Nox stayed in the rear of the house, checking the rooms and making sure nothing got out. He wasn't going to forsake his post because he was in a bad mood.

Time passed and nothing. It felt like forever, and then there was loud noises and everything happened quickly. A form, came rushing up into the sunlight. It blinked and it howled, and it darted into another room looking for less light, shade. Nox followed. He raised the cross bow, the dreyken slashed at Nox and he jumped backwards as he let loose the bolt on the crossbow. Nox watched it peirce the dreyken's eye socket before he fell against the doorway he'd electrified, the moment he touched the power jolted through his body. And he lost his power...the weave disappaited and Nox's fell to the ground limp and unconscious...

**** Aria ****

Jacinda was a cautious one, but then she didn't have Aria's talents, nor did she know about them. Aria hated being patient. But Jacinda did trust her judgement on the trail. Aria pointed down. They were downstairs. The path to the basement was through the hall. Aria pointed in the general direction of the basement door.

And Jacinda took point. Aria couldn't feel Nox, the power raged in him keeping her from him, she disliked splitting up. It made her worry, someone could shoot the wrong person, and with Nox's current mood there was no telling what he'd do.

They walked slowly through the house, the floor boards were quiet, everything was quiet. The door downstairs was tightly shut. The light from upstairs would bother their slumber, among other things.

Jacinda opened the door Aria knew nothing was behind them, knew there was three dreyken below. The hunt was now, Aria let the darkness in. She could feel only her hunger to inflict pain, to harvest the suffering. It had become part of her, Aria had to keep the thoughts from overwhelming her. They were still not ready for the fight, but it wanted the taste of blood, Aria could feel that Jacinda was ready for the fight, ready to take on the monsters.

Into the depths of the basement they decended. Aria caught a glimpse of Nox as he checked another room. She was glad he had her back but she still didn't like the fact that they'd split up, tactical or not.

The basement was dark and damp, perfect for dreyken. But their eyes hadn't adjusted properly and Aria kicked an old paint can. It clattered across the floor and the world whurred into being. Three dreyken descended from their perches on the floor beams. They could see perfectly in the darkness. Aria wished for Nox's ability, his flaming whip could light the darkness, or just a general fire, it didn't matter anything to allow the three figures to be seen.

Aria pulled her sword. It was not the best use of room, but she wanted to fight, wanted the blood, the up close and personal fight. Aria danced with one dreyken, Aria got a few good strikes in before the claws made purchase on her right arm. The claws ripped through her skin and the pain radiated through Aria's body. A clean swing and then it was gone, Aria had missed and the creature fled up the stairs. It was Nox's problem now, the second smaller one was sneaking up behind Jacinda while she engaged the last of the three dreyken. Aria could feel Jacinda toying with the dreyken, making it suffer, Aria almost succumbed to the actions of her compatriarte.

The small one was nearly childlike, it made Aria pause, but only a moment as it reached to swipe across Jacinda's achilles. Aria swung her sword and the head of the childling fell to the ground. The blood and the pain made Aria's heart beat, she stood in pain, in the grip of her own hunger. Aria only peripherally noticed that Jacinda had dispatched the last dreyken, she felt only two presences. Her's and Jacinda's there was desire and need and hunger, and Aria wanted more blood, the pain in her arm radiated up, the blood flowed down her arm, but she hardly noticed, the darkness threatened to consume her...

**** Jacinda ****

They crept through the house quietly. As they passed a closed door that probably led to a basement, she saw Nox's shadow at the back door window. Good. He was doing what he was supposed to. Aria looked at the door and then nodded to her. So they were downstairs. It made sense. It was daytime and they liked the dark, liked the cool damp. They'd likely be sleeping.

Of course, just opening the door was going to let light in and they would likely be warned. Briefly, she thought about locking the door and setting the house on fire. But she wouldn't be sure they were all dead in the chaos. Besides, she wanted this kill. She wanted to plung her knife into the flesh of the dreyken. The image of the victims flashed to her mind. She let herself dwell on it, letting the hunger build. She did that at times during the hunt. She found that the hunger and anger made her a better fighter too. But mainly she did it because this was what she lived for. She was the focal point of humanity, the knife that the human species had created, had forged and tempered and honed until it was steely strong and razor sharp, a weapon to plunge into the heart of anything that threatened them. She gloried in it, felt the entire weight of the world focused through her, felt herself ready to act and kill violently. Her blood was pounding now, excitement and adrenaline flowing through her.

Carefully she opened the door and listened. Nothing. They were sleeping then. Hopefully that gave her the advantage. Her senses were ablaze to everything. The sound of her blood pumping was as loud as Aria's breaths, the warmth of the woman's body palpable against the back of her. She felt herself open, the fight and the bloodlust bringing her to fever pitch.

Quietly they made their way down the stairs until they stood on concrete. It was cool and damp in here, the air moist and wet. She placed her feet carefully as she stepped forward, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness. She felt more than saw Aria move to her left and gave her a bit of room. It would do no good if they were both so close together that they couldn't fight. Silently, she put her gun away and pulled out her long heavy bladed knife. The blade was as long as a machete- really a short sword- but she still thought of it as a knife. It was an extension of her arm really. She stepped forward, the darkness resolving into shadows the could make out hanging from the rafters.

Aria moved too but kicked a can. Immediately the shadows moved, dropping to the ground silently. Jacinda rushed forward slashing at the dreyken but it sidestepped her and then was at Aria. Jacinda didn't have time to notice because a larger second creature was on her, claws slashing. The face was visible now, the long gaunt features noticeable. This thing had never been human. It was a demon, alien, and she slashed again and again at the thing. Twice she felt her blade slice flesh, knowing that the things didn't bleeed. A claw came out of nowhere and slashed at her side along the ribs. Her clothes were torn and she felt burning wetness. She ducked and slashed but the thing was lightning fast. She bore another slash down her arm and one on her thigh. While she didn't feel it then, she knew that later on she'd pay for it.

The hunger and craving for death built in her and her attacks became faster and more frenzied. She felt the blade shiver as she cut a hand off and her heart leapt at the imagined pain. The creature stumbled back clutching the stump and screaming an awful cry. She laughed, knowing how they had tortured and toyed with the boy, with the man and woman, letting them see them as they fed on them. It was not enough. Jacinda slash again and the creature fell, its leg ruined. Her heart exulted at its agony and she slashed again taking the other hand. Now she was toying with it, letting it feel the fear and terror that it had given others. Let it see her, fear her, plead with her, beg her, crying. She plunged her knife into its groin. Dreken mated with women, forced them to carry their spawn until they were ready to give birth, at which point the creature inside ripped its way free from the mother. 9 months of torture followed by horrible death. She twisted and the creature howled and she laughed.

Vaguely she was aware of movement behind her and as she turned she saw Aria take out a small form. Her face formed a smile, all teeth, and she grabbed the dead child and held it up to it's parent. "Look. Look at your child." She invested the word with scorn and stabbed it in the eye. "You think us prey." She laughed. "I will kill all of your kind." She threw the body at the thing and then plunged her blade into its abdomen, twisting again. She relished it squirms and kicked when it struggled. Slow, she wanted a slow death. And that's what she gave it.

When it was done, the creatures screams stopped and the room quiet, she turned. She was covered only in her own blood from her wounds but she didn't feel them. The bloodlust was on her know, her blood need satiated. And there Aria was, beautiful Aria, herself bleeding, two demon women, living blades of humanity, tempered and forged by battle. So beautiful and she felt the lust grow in her, the desire for her, to fuck her. This woman was far more appealing than Nox or many others she'd been with. This woman was like her. She was everything Jacinda wanted. She was wet and craved Aria's mouth on her. She stepped forward and touched Aria's arm. It was all she could do to hold back and not press her lips to hers, to feel her tongue on hers, her body against hers.

**** Aria ****

Jacinda tormented the creature Aria was swept away in the pain and the suffering until Jacinda touched her and the world exploded into a thousand different emotions - the main being Jacinda's hot desire for her. The want, the need. It pulled Aria down, into the darkness, the hunger turned from fear into satisfying another primal urge. Aria didn't hesitate, her sword still held limply in her right hand, with her left she grabbed Jacinda's face and pulled it towards hers, the want, the desire , the need to touch and feel and kiss her permeated Aria's body. Aria pushed her lips against Jacinda's and felt her hot wet lips on hers.

The last woman to touch Aria had died at her hands. Aria remembered the night vividly. Aria dropped her sword on the ground, her arm still didn't work as she'd have liked, both hands wandered Jacinda's body. She could feel the heat of her skin through the clothes she wore. Aria wanted skin, to touch her to feel her.

Unlike the last woman, this one was not a lush, the drink did not make for hazy memories, the darkness coursed through Aria's body instead. She could feel Jacinda's desire, the lust she felt towards Aria was not feigned, Aria had not placed it there, it was real. It encompassed Aria's body as she pulled at Jacinda's clothes. Something nagged at the edge of her mind, something wanted to pull her away, Aria pushed it away.

Aria kissed Jacinda's neck, bit at it. Her nails raked down the skin of her back leaving small red welts. Aria wanted to do so much more than little things. Aria's hands wandered over Jacinda's skin, her back, her hips, her breasts, her thighs, as she kissed Jacinda's lips, bit at her bottom lip, sucked and pulled and used her mouth to elicit pleasure from Jacinda. Their blood mingled as did other bodily fluids. Aria's hand found Jacinda hot and wet and she delved inside. Jacinda's hands flowing along Aria's body. Aria wanted to make her come, she wanted to hurt her, wanted to show Jacinda exactly what she was capable of. The darkness consumed Aria, the higher the passion rose, the darker the demons became, the more the hunger pulsed and pushed for Aria to hurt her, to make her scream in so many different ways. But Aria's kept it pleasant with a nip of her teeth, the raking of her nails along her skin, those little things kept her darker desires happy until she got what she wanted.

**** Jacinda ****

Aria looked at her for a long moment and Jacinda felt her heart beat thundering. It had to be now, the lust had to be satisfied now, now, now. She willed Aria, begged her with every fiber of her being.

Aria's mouth locked on to hers, hungry and passionate, her hand holding Jacinda tight against her. Her mouth was wet and hot and their tongues danced together, breath's came hot together. Jacinda's hand wandered pulling at Aria, frantically caressing her back and bottom, squeezing and gently rubbing, while their mouths explored each other's, hot breath on necks, kissing and trying to melt into each other.

Jacinda's hands were mirrors to Aria's as she pulled at Aria's jeans, undoing the button and zippper, pushing them down, her hands slipping in, between skin and soft cotton, warm skin, so soft and inviting.

They fell to the floor together, both stripping the other of clothing until their naked bodies were pressed together, legs twined, their bodies writhing as if this thing was not in their control. Jacinda explored every part of Aria's body, beginning at her lips while her hands parted and pleasured her. Aria's tiny hands and fingertips were exruciating in their play while her mouth and tongue alternated between tender and passionate and biting and sharp.

It was as if Aria was weaving back and forth between pleasure and pain. Jacinda knew this since she felt the same. It had been long time since Jacinda felt a lover who walked that line, could cross and dance back and forth on that line and she was transported back in time to her first time with Regan, the piercing sharp pain mixed with pleasure, his animalistic nature warring with his need to be gentle with her. Her joy and fulfillment heightened by the sharpness and tearing.

Aria was the same way, biting and teasing and caressing and squeezing and Jacinda responded in kind, fingers deep, biting and nibbling and tickling. They were everywhere in each other, back and sides on the cold concrete, panting and hungry and ravenous, as if time were going to run out and them not be fulfilled, not be able to come as many times or as strongly as possible.

Aria was heaven. Jacinda was in heaven.

**** Nox ****

Nox opened his eyes, his head hurt, his vision was blurry. He sat up. Blinked his eyes to clear his vision. He rubbed his head as he saw the dead dreyken lying face up with a bolt in its head. He grinned, he got the better of it and himself.

Nox reached for the power but it failed to come, he failed to grasp it, his head hurt too much. He sat on the floor and prayed that they were okay, he couldn't hear anything, there were no fighting sounds. Was Jacinda that unconcerned she'd left. Aria wouldn't have. They had to be outside or downstairs still. He leaned against the wall. He didn't think standing would be a good idea. He wanted to sleep for a month, his head was pounding.

He didn't know how long he sat there, but Nox was getting worried they hadn't come upstairs. He tried to stand and found his footing only after a few moments of swaying. Nox tried to walk but he had to stop, had to keep his balance. The jolt had done a number to his head, he should probably seek medical attention, but he'd have to find Aria for even a small amount of that. Not that she could help really. He knew what had happened, there was nothing really to treat, he'd hurt himself, it was rather funny actually, though Nox wasn't laughing, he still hurt.

Nox took a look outside first, he walked the permimeter of the farm house and didn't find anything out of the ordinary, no signs of struggle, nothing looked like it was in a hurry to leave. The women had to be inside still.

Nox loaded a bolt into his crossbow, he'd only get one shot, he didn't even bother trying to grab the power as he stepped back in through the back door. On his way he pulled the bolt from the dead dreyken's body and stuck it in his pocket for now.

It was a slow steady walk making sure not to make an unwanted noise, there was no telling if any drekyen lived, if they'd gotten the better of the women, he'd be dead if they did, but he couldn't understand why they'd been down there so long.

Nox made his way to the basement door. He heard sounds, but he couldn't quite make it out, he took a step closer, into the darkness. He walked slowly down the stairs, making sure not to make any noise. At the bottom of the steps Nox saw exactly what had kept them.

He took a deep breath, he could sit and watch, could join them, but.... Lucas would kill him. He wasn't afraid of Lucas, not really. He was afraid of Aria. Her back was to him, his eyes lingered on her body. He swallowed and hesitatenly put down the crossbow. He put the whip and his weapons under the staircase. This was going to go down very badly, two of the best hunters and he was about to break them up. If he could just get Jacinda to leave, Aria would be easy to handle, and that's who he was worried about far more than the dangers Jacinda presented.

The closer Nox got the more he wanted to be else where, his own fear was strangling whatever desire should have come from watching the two women, one whom he'd already slept with - twice - and one he'd never get the chance not that it didn't cross his mind often. Nox swallowed and grabbed Aria by the hair and pulled her away from Jacinda. The look on her face was far more dangerous now than anytime he'd seen her fall. He didn't care what Jacinda did, how she reacted. But it was over.

Nox wrapped his arm around Aria's throat and pulled her farther away, she clawed at his arm and then stopped, placing her hands calmly on his arm and sent him pain and fear and everything else she thought would make him let her go. She had stopped struggling. He backed away with Aria in his grip. Nox stared at Jacinda, "Just go. She's using you." Nox could feel the weight of Aria's touch on him, and he knew he would withstand, he had no other choice. They'd been practicing for a moment like this but Aria always held back, always careful.

Nox strained to stay upright, he knew Aria would kill him given the chance, he needed his power, he grabbed for it and thanked god when the raging power fought for its freedom, Aria started to fight him again. "She wants to kill you. This isn't about what you want, not right now, not like this. There is one thought, and only one thought running through her head, and that is to make you suffer. She's playing you," Nox voice strained with the pain Aria sent him, "to be close, to trust her, before she plunges her dagger in your kidney, slices open your abdomen. If you scream she'll drown you in your own blood, and when she's done she'll kill you. You have no idea what you unleashed."

**** Jacinda ****

Jacinda pulled Aria's hips down on her, relishing the warmth of her body covering her in contrast to the cool concrete, the way Aria kissed and carressed and nibbled and played. She enjoyed the way Aria's own body moved above her, the involuntary spasms and flexing of thigh, the taut flat stomach so smooth, the arch of her back upward, thrusting her hips down.

Suddenly Aria's whole body was pulled away from her and she was suddenly cold, the contrast stark and Jacinda rolled over and looked up. Nox held Aria back by the neck and yelled at her to get out of there, that Aria was going to hurt her. Jacinda came to her feet, trying to understand what Nox was talking about. Was he really such a little bitch that he would try to stop them when they had both been getting the other so close to their end? If he felt slighted she should have just joined it. That would have been fun, her face buried in Aria while he took her from behind. Or the other way around. She found the idea of seeing the top of Aria's head while Nox was behind her very arousing and she took a step forward.

"Nox, you can join us," she started to say, but the look on Nox's face said there was much more to this than simply feeling left out. Aria looked feral though she had stopped struggling. If anything, it looked like Nox was struggling to hold her despite her lack of fight. It was odd. She heard Nox's words though and looked at Aria closer. Was he right? Was this what Aria was? Was this why she fought so hard to control the darkness?

Now more than ever, Jacinda was intrigued. Aria was a crafted and honed as she had been. Jacinda was well aware of her own darkness, her own predilections. Her toying with the dreyken, taunting it with its dead child, inflicting slow excruciating pain, was part of the cost she demanded of her work. These things existed and preyed on humanity, causing suffering and pain as a daily practice. It was nothing but pure justice that Jacinda make it know the same agony. It gave her pleasure to do so. It thrilled her. She'd long ago stopped trying to figure out how it was all connected together- the pain and the victory and the death and the sex. It just was who she was.

She smiled. Aria was the same, but wild. Untamed. Aria had been becoming the best sex she'd had in a long time- since Regan. Now she knew why. They were the same. Nox didn't understand. He didn't know what their struggle was. She was sure Lucas had no clue. They all probably thought they were saving Aria. But they weren't.

Jacinda was Aria. Aria was Jacinda. The same. But Jacinda had walked this path, had tamed herself- with help from Regan, at the beginning anyway. Jacinda could do the same to Aria. Not while she was like this, of course. Not while she was in the sex-blood-death frenzy. But later, when they could talk, she could begin.

It was almost providential. At every turn, it was seeming as if Aria was designed to be her partner, her other half. Together, they two Atharim would shake the earth. Ascendancy would lay dead at their feet. Draikana would quail at the future they saw. Oni would flee in fear. And the reborn gods would know that humanity rejected them. She could see it in her mind's eye. It was worth waiting for.

With a look at Nox and Aria, she gathered up her clothes and walked up the stairs. Let Nox look at her ass. She might even give him another taste. But it was for Aria that she walked slowly. She was not done. Not by a long shot.

**** Aria ****

The darkness pulled at Aria, the way Jacinda moved, Aria wished for her dagger, wished to cause the pain she remembered, it played in her head, wishing and wanting until she was ripped away by hands that were not feminine. Nox pulled at her hair, took her breathe away. Instinct said to struggle, and then her head cleared enough to remember what she could do. She sent Nox pain. She could feel him stagger underneath it. He pulled tighter, the air got thinner.

Aria put the world on top of Nox, sent it through her into him, he could feel her hunger, feel Jacinda's confusion and desires and her own darkness. Aria fed Nox his own fears, his own emotions, Aria piled everything on top of him. And he fought her still pulling her away.

And then he went empty. That meant one thing, she started to struggle. Jacinda left her alone with Nox. The woman wasn't done, she walked slow, she taunted them, but the moment had passed there was only one person she wanted to kill right now and he wouldn't let her go.

All thought of frienship were hidden in the darkness, the urge to kill, to hurt to cause pain and suffering that's all there was. Aria grabbed at his arm and tried to pull it away, fought with him as he watched Jacinda walk up the stairs. She could feel nothing from him. He waited until Jacinda was far enough away before he flung her across the room, a wisp of air pushing her against the wall.
The fact he used his power on her made the darkness grow stronger, her anger at it fueling its desires. Nox looked at her with a frown, still she felt nothing from him.

He spoke but Aria didn't hear it, couldn't hear it with the blood rushing through her ears. The fury rose, she wanted blood and she was pinned to the cold cement wall with nothing but air.

**** Nox ****

Jacinda thought he was jealous. She might have been partially right. But this was bigger than her, bigger than Lucas. It was Aria's soul that hung in the balance. Aria would hurt herself if she hurt another person, it would push her past an edge that Dane had drawn clearly that night with her, the stories made his blood run cold. Aria scared him like this, and Nox wasn't afraid of much, he hunted monsters for a living.

Nox watched Jacinda leave and waited till her footsteps took her away from the door before he put Aria against the wall with a weave of air. He panted like he'd been in a fight, her power was consuming, it hurt, he could feel the weight of the world on him. He felt how she always felt when her control fell, when the world was too much. He wished it wasn't so, that weight was hard and it had only been a few moments. She'd killed a boy like that, her first kiss - devestating.

Aria stared wildly at him from the distance. He closed his eyes and just waited, he prayed she'd calm down. But he wasn't getting near her unless she was back to normal or out cold. They couldn't stay down here longer than necessary, Jacinda might come down, and see, and know for sure that he was a godling. She didn't suspect yet, he hoped, and Aria he could only hope she didn't push too far, that Jacinda didn't dig into the information about Furia and Sentients.

Nox calmed his voice, "Aria you have to calm down. Think of Lucas. Remember you don't want this." They hadn't gone over the details of what to do IF he ever had to stop her, they only practiced will power, not allowing Aria's power to consume him. He was grateful for it. But now he was stuck with a girl naked in the basement who wanted to kill him.

He sat on the stairs and waited, she struggled against the bonds, and grew tired, he didn't watch, barely looked at her. He listened to her breathing it never calmed, it was ragged and heavy, she was fighting everything she wanted to be. He prayed she wasn't too far gone.

But time was drawing on. There was no choice, she wasn't going to calm down, not on her own. Nox dropped the weave of air and Aria rushed at him. He put up a wall of air between them and she crashed into it, falling on to the pavement, smashing her head hard. She'd feel it later.

Nox checked to make sure she was breathing, it came in ragged and deep but she was alive, he tended her head wound before getting her dressed. He'd keep her weapons from her for a while. He took her wallet too, he'd have to call Lucas and let him know that she wasn't going to make their nightly call.

The slashes on her arms needed stiches. Nox hoped that she'd be fine when she woke up, but he was hesitatant, he didn't know what else to do. Nox picked up the weapons and slung them over his shoulder before he lifted Aria up like a sleeping child and took her upstairs. Lucas was going to be angry, but it wasn't his fault, it would likely have happened any which way with Jacinda around. She seemed to bring out the worst in Aria.

He didn't wait for Jacinda, he walked back to the Jeep and put Aria in the back seat and waited. He needed a drink badly, they needed a real place to sleep.

When Jacinda showed up to the Jeep he smiled but it didn't reach his eyes, "I think a proper bed will do us all some good tonight."

**** Jacinda ****

Jacinda waited upstairs for a bit. She wondered what Nox was doing with Aria. Cleary the man knew her well and had expected this. And with Aria in the frenzy, her being there wouldn't help. She'd have another chance with Aria, now that she knew what she was dealing with. In the meantime, there was work to do. She decided to explore around the outside of the house. As she looked in room after room she was thinking.

There had been four dreyken, three adults and one child. She found the fourth one out by the back door where Nox had taken it out. The child looked to be about 4 which probably meant it was closer to 2. Dreyken grew faster than normal humans. That meant that around 2 years ago, a girl had gone missing. Very likely whoever the local police were- and it wasn't here. The dreyken couldn't have been here long. Three dead bodies had already caused a stir. If they had been here longer, the FBI and every other investigative body in the vicinity would have been here trying to figure out why so many folk were being murdered- whoever the police were, though, they hadn't found whoever this girl was or where she'd gone.

But this girl hadn't run off. Oh she might have been running off- plenty of reasons a girl might run away from home- but she never made it to wherever she'd been running off to. Instead, she'd been set upon by a couple dreyken. Jacinda never understood what made them decide to feed versus reproduce, but whatever the reason, this girl was raped repeatedly by probably both of them until she was pregnant and then kept alive. She didn't want to even imagine what that experience was like. What had she eaten? What had they made her eat? The amount of terror and fear this poor girl had lived through for months had to have been extraordinary.

And that terror ended when the creature growing inside her grew claws enough to begin slicing her open from the inside out, ripping her open, and then feeding on her blood. It was enough to make her sick, and she had seen truly horrible things. She wished she had kept the dreyken alive longer, had made it experience a tenth of what that girl had.

Nox didn't understand. It was pure justice. It was right, the truest truth that went far deeper than any thought or human concept. Aria knew though. When they were in that frenzy, it was as if they were possessed by life itself- the human race as one organisim and them as the hands and feet- and their actions were the unequivocal refusal that this be allowed, that they be killed. They were the human race saying with one cry "NO!" There wasn't room for compassion or willingness to live and let live. This was war. Humanity on one side. Creatures of evil and darkness on the other.

And when Jacinda and Aria acted, they were the purest expression of humanity's will to live and willingness to do whatever it took to survive. It was as close to holiness as she could conceive. She didn't much believe in a god, that someone had a plan or some shit like that. But she did very much believe that all of human life collectively functioned as a god and they it raised up- or maybe some people like themselves raised themselves up- to act in the best interests of mankind, as champions. That was holy. That was religion. That was a cause worth dying for. Better yet, it was a cause worth killing for.

And it was something to enjoy. It was sacrament realer than any you saw in a church. Instead of taking the priest's word that the bread and wine had turned to flesh and blood in your mouth, you saw the evil and you destroyed it and the joy and pleasure she felt was all of humanity saying 'Yes, this is just, this is good, this is necessary." It was the truest sort of communion with something larger than yourself. No wonder she felt the desire to fuck afterwards. After having won such a contest, after having expressed the will of the human race to survive, of god, she felt a need to do the most human of things possible.

When she came to herself she realized that the sun was far lower than she expected. She'd been standing there for a long time, just watching over the scrub and dirt that surrounded the house. It seemed lifeless and desolate. But she had been communing with god himself, feeling the approval and sence of rightness reverberate through her. She felt calm and at peace, awash with stillness.

This is what Aria needed. She needed to know how to embrace the storm, the blood, the frenzy, to rage through the tornado and weather it. And then to come out the other side, purified, having glimpsed the face of god. To know her place in this world and the priviledge she had. Jacinda felt impelled to teach her, to show her the way. For her sister, for Aria.

She made her way to the jeep and there Nox was. Aria was asleep in the back. He suggested a real bed for the night and Jacinda nodded in agreement. "Suits me. You're in charge." She'd let him take the lead for a while. They'd finished their mission. Maybe he'd stop acting like a little bitch for a change. She felt conflicted about him. Sometimes she thought he was an assett, useful. Maybe even receptive to her ideas. And at other times she felt like he was a hinderance. Not to her but to Aria. She could almost wish that something might happen to him. It would leave Aria alone with her. She had little doubt that if that was the case, Aria would soon view things as she did.

**** Nox ****

Nox was surprised when Jacinda said he was in charge. But he didn't balk at it. The keys were left in the car, not a good place, but oh well, better than losing them he supposed.

Aria slept, if you could call it sleeping. Nox didn't let go of the power, he'd reveal himself if she woke up before he had things under control again. This was part of the reason Aria trusted him, trusted him to keep her safe, by whatever means necessary. As long as she didn't take him down with her. And that was always a threat, he could fall easily with her, the thrill of the hunt, the kill, the end. It wasn't hard to fathom. But he wasn't gone like her, he wasn't fighting the demons inside on a daily basis.

Nox glanced at Jacinda as he drove back to town. They needed to get away from her. Aria was falling down the rabbit hole, and he wasn't sure he could keep her out, Nox wasn't even sure Lucas could.

Thanfully Waynesville was large enough to have a motel, it was crap but still there were three rooms available, he hadn't bothered asking Jacinda if it was okay, the rooms were next to each other, he didn't exactly need three, he had no real intentions of letting Aria alone until he was sure she was fine and had a chance to talk with Lucas.

Before he took Aria to her room he asked Jacinda, "You need help with the wounds? Some look like they need stiches."

Jacinda shifted as if she had forgetten they were there, then smiled. "Actually, yeah. There's one on my leg and arm I can do myself. But the one on my ribs is going to be a bastard."

Nox nodded. "I can help, Aria's better, but she's incapacitated at the moment. Let me get her situated and I'll come help. I'll get hers and then bring the kit to you."

He didn't wait for an answer, he took Aria to the room farthest from Jacinda. Yes, he was being over protective. This woman was like his little sister, and Lucas would hunt him down and kill him if he let it happen a second time. And Nox kinda like to be living. The whole situation put a damper on his mood. He really needed a beer.

Nox stiched the slices on Aria's arm, she was gonna be weak in her main hand, not that she'd think so but they were pretty deep, they'd really required much better medical attention. But how does one tell someone the truth about the matter, it didn't matter, he'd been taught to stich up his Dad's many wounds. Aurora was better, calmer and more attention to the details, but he could do it, knew how, and he'd been practicing with Aria more than he had when he was back in the States. A different skill set required he guessed, Aria was much more prone to wounds than Aurora.

When he was done, Nox wove an alarm ward around Aria's bed, it would alert him to her movements if she got out of bed before he got back. He picked up her wallet and dialed Lucas' number. He didn't want to explain things but he didn't want Lucas worrying either about Aria's lack of calling.

It was late, the phone rang a bit before he picked up. "Hey Lucas, Nox. Sorry to wake you. Aria's incapacitated at the moment, she won't be calling per her usual."

Lucas sounded worried. "What happened?"

Nox sighed. He didn't exactly want to be the one telling him. "Aria fell kinda hard."

Lucas didn't sound like he believed him. "She fell. Bullshit. What happened."

"I didn't mean literally fell, Lucas. Her demons consumed her." He didn't want to tell him, that was for Aria, but he would if Lucas pressed.

Lucas voice grew more intense. "Is she...I'm mean did she come out of it? Is she gonna be ok?"

"I don't know. I stopped her, but in the process knocked her out, she's sleeping it off right now. Her physical wounds I've tended, I don't know what else needs to be fixed. But I didn't want you to worry she didn't call." He knew he was going to worry more, who wouldn't, Nox was worried too.

"Fuck!" Lucas sounded angry. He didn't say anything else for a good minute. His breathing on the phone said he was still there. Finally, "Have her call me. And tell her I love her." He hung up.

Well it could have gone worse, he expected Lucas to yell more though. Pissed at him he was definately, but it wasn't Nox's fault, and maybe Aria would own up to it, or blame him, blame Jacinda it didn't matter, he knew what happened. He'd done everything possible to keep her safe. She'd have been fine if Jacinda hadn't pushed, if she wasn't here. He really needed to get Aria away from her, she was a good lay, a great hunter, but she was bad for Aria. She fed of off her, fed her darkness, fed everything Aria detested, everything she fought for all in the name of good. Jacinda thought she was right, he could tell.

He glanced down at Aria sleeping. He wrote a note. "Call Lucas. He's expecting your call. I talked to him, he's pissed at me I'm sure. He said he loves you. Call him!"

Nox made sure that ward still stood and he held on to the power as he closed Aria's door taking the key with him. He knocked on Jacinda's door with the first aid kit in hand. He'd play nice for now. He'd have to figure out a way to break this party up though. His head hurt still, and the desire to drown into a pint was growing stronger the longer he stood outside Jacinda's door.

**** Jacinda ****

Nox knocked and Jacinda let him in. She stripped down to her panties and sat on the bed. Now that the adrenaline had run its course, she was sore. Nox got his things and first started on the gash on her arm. They didn't require any stitches. Then he cleaned and treated the wound on her leg. That one took a few stitches but he had a steady hand. Finally she lay back and raised her arm so he could get to her ribs. He was forcused on tending to her wound but she noticed that he was unable to stop letting his gaze wander to her breasts and panties. She smiled inside and felt the familiar warmth. Not so much at the idea of sex with Nox, though he was fun. Just that she had this sensual power over people. Ok, maybe a little at the thought of sex with Nox. Only a little though. She had never finished with Aria. Now that did get her hot and bothered. Unconsciously she clenched her legs together and felt the pain from her leg. The combination of pain and pleasure was....delicious. She watched Nox work quickly. In her mind, though, she had decided. She still wanted Aria, still wanted to finish what they had begun.

Nox finished up and she sat up- it hurt to sit up, but in her mood, she liked that. He hadn't said anything the entire time. She waited for Nox to leave.

**** Nox ****

Jacinda took her clothes off, it wasn't like he hadn't seen her naked before. He tried to play it off, but his eyes wandered. He kept his hands at the task of cleaning, she didn't seem overly concerned about the casual nature of it, it reminded him of the first time Aria had done pretty near the same thing. He couldn't help but stare, she gave him a quick shove in the arm before he came back to reality. But Jacinda was different, he'd already seen her, already had her.

He tended her cuts, and stiched her up the best he could and he left. There was little ceremony in it. He just nodded and left. Across the street a bar sign blinked, he really needed a beer, his head hurt, his whole body hurt, the adrenaline from before wore off and now the shock to his system was playing hard ball.

Aria would be okay, she needed to sleep and he didn't exactly want to sit in her room and watch her, she'd not care, he knew, but he did. Nox cursed Lucas again for being so damned lucky. Nox walked across the street to the bar.

It was quaint, it looked like a western saloon, the theme had the whole old piano with the rolling music box thing to automatically play and everything. The only thing it was missing was the balcony with the girls in scantally clad clothes hanging from it waving at their patrons.

Nox sat at the bar and ordered a beer in a bottle, he didn't bother with showing off, there was no point, and he already held the ward anyway, he wasn't about to let that loose. Nox was more than happy to sit at the bar alone and drink his beer, the day had been interesting to say the least. His mind drifted to what he had seen in that basement...He shook his head and took a long pull on his beer. What a thing....

**** Aria ****

Pain, hunger, they all swept through Aria's body. Her head hurt, her arm ached. She opened her eyes and saw a ceiling and light from the distant nightstand. It was dark outside. Aria wondered how long it had been, how long she'd slept. She saw nothing or no one, but someone had to move her. Everything was hazy. She laid in the uncomfortable bed and pondered what she remembered.

The fight had gone okay, she'd let one go. Had Nox gotten it? Was there still one on the loose? Aria sat up, her head hurt. She'd killed a small dreyken, she remembered slicing its head off. She remembered feeling Jacinda torment the remaining dreyken. Aria blinked at the darkness inside, it wanted to well back up just thinking about how she felt. And then she touched her. Aria pushed the thoughts away. She remembered the feeling, remembered the thoughts, so dark, so far gone. She wanted to luxuriate in the pain of hurting Jacinda, but not after getting far more pleasure from her. Aria shuddered.

Aria looked around the room in the dim light, a note sat on the nightstand on top of her wallet, it was written in Nox's handwriting, the ever tilting slant to it, like he was always writing with italics on his keyboard settings. For a guy it could have been much worse. Aria smiled at the note, it was mostly from Lucas. Though why Nox had talked to Lucas seemed more a curiousity than anything.

There was a knock at Aria's door. The sound made Aria's head hurt. Aria had to get up to open the door, she wasn't sure she was capable of that, but she tried anyway, she set the note down under her wallet and used the nightstand to keep her blance. Everything seemed alright. Looking through the peek hole was rather useless for her height. She opened the door slowy, she saw Jacinda waiting and smiled. Aria opened the door wider and stepped back towards the bed. She wondered where Nox was as she sat down on the bed. Aria rubbed her eyes and her temples once she sat down. "Glad to see you are in once peice."

**** Jacinda ****

Nox left without saying much. Jacinda was fine with that. Probably wanted to go to his room and cry or something. Maybe pull up some porn on his wallet or whatever. If he'd have been smart, he would have picked up on Jacinda's mood and turned that to his advantage. His loss.

And truth was, she liked it better this way anyway. She sat on the bed going over her options. Finally, with a bit of a groan at the pain in her torso- she wasn't getting any younger though she knew she could put anyone half her age on the ground pretty easily. That amused her to no end. She threw on a t-shirt and some boxers that she slept in, got her key and then went outside. It was cold on her bare feet but she didn't really care. She liked the constrast. It reminded her of the concrete in the basement.

She knocked at Aria's door- it was on the other side of Nox's, which Jacinda also found funny. Probably wanted to protect Aria from bad-old Jacinda. She smiled. Nox should worry about protecting himself from 'bad-old Jacinda'. After a little while the door knob finally turned and she saw Aria there, dressed as she had been before. Her hair was messy and she looked like she had just woke up after a long rough night. Which was nearly true, though it hadn't been night.

"Hi Aria. I came to check on you, see how you were." She put her hand on her shoulder and looked down at the woman, searchingly, in her face. "Are you ok?"

**** Aria ****

Jacinda put her hand on her shoulder, Aria wasn't exactly sure what she thought about that, but she smiled, "I'm alive, that's a good thing I guess."

What had happened had complicated things. And now Aria understood the note Nox had written. He'd told Lucas something had happened. Aria's heart sank, unsure of what Nox had said to Lucas. Knowing Nox though it was round about and avoided the true nature of the problem. Lucas was angry at Nox. She looked up at Jacinda and remembered what she'd done, her body flushed, it wouldn't be hard to continue, but Aria couldn't, wouldn't go there, Lucas was all she really wanted, but it seemed that she had been mistaken about that too. She sighed. "My entire body hurts, but I'm fine. A bath would probably be great, though if the bed is any indicator, I can't image the tub is much better."

Jacinda laughed and seemed to relax. "It was a good fight. Really good." She didn't say anything after that, at least for a few moments. Then she looked back at the bed- bounced on it before sitting- and back at Aria. "Well you probably should lay down. Not too soft, but that's ok." Again, she was silent for a moment and then began to talk as she looked at Aria's head, bringing her hand up as if to feel for a bump. "Nox said you got knocked out." She looked down at Aria. "You remember what happened?"

Aria grinned as she lied, "He did as he was supposed to. I rushed him, he stopped me. After that I don't remember." Truth was though she remembered hitting a wall of air and bouncing backwards and hit her head on the concrete. But Nox had been careful, she knew he had let her go on purpose, he'd made the wall on purpose knowing what she would do. He'd done well and Aria owed him a lot just wasn't sure how much yet, depended on what happened with Lucas.

Jacinda smiled at her and put her hand down. "Well, I'm glad you're ok." She twisted a bit and it hurt, so she lifted part of her shirt just to expose the lower part of her side. "I took a good one right here. Hurt's like a son of a bitch." She lowered her shirt and then straighted, smiling at Aria. "Ahh the price we pay." A pause. "It's a good life though. Exciting. Important." Another pause, this time longer. "It's hard though, sometimes. People don't understand what we do. Who we are. What it is we are really doing." She looked at the door. "Sometimes not even those we work with." Back at Aria. "It was hard for you down there huh. You are so careful. You have your walls. But sometimes, the thing behind the walls wants to get out, huh?"

She had been right, kinda hit the nail on the head. "You have no idea." Aria laughed and laid back against the pillows. "I wasn't kidding the day we met. Not sure exactly why Nox laughed, playing along, or covering surprise. All in the name of the job, at least that's what the report says. I killed her to get evidence back. Nox knows the truth, and the secret that is kept." She didn't mention Lucas, Aria still got the feeling Jacinda didn't like Lucas. "It's not exactly the dream every girl hopes for." Aria smiled, "But it's my life, its the only one I'm going to get, make the best of it. Share what I can with those who would understand. But there are things people, even you, wouldn't understand, given everything I know about you and what I've witnessed." Aria felt a kinship with her, and she felt that darkness taking hold in her when she thought about Jacinda, and her emotions. She lived, and breathed in the same path as Aria, she survived, she was a great hunter, legendary if she lived long enough, if there were enough records she'd be the pinnacle of Atharim, but only if she survived in recorded history. It made Aria wonder if Jacinda cared about that legacy, her family and Nox's had, the written legacy. "I couldn't have survived out here, not like you have."

Jacinda was quiet as she listened. There was a bit of puzzlement at first but it soon passed. Probably trying to remember what girl she'd killed. When she was done Jacinda didn't say anything for a bit. She looked down at Aria lying on the bed and sighed. "You poor thing." She shook her had sadly. "It's hard. I know. I mean, I don't have your gift- and it is a gift Aria. I firmly believe that now, now that I know you. What we do though, those of us who truly believe in what we do, how important it is"- a slight look at the door- "...well, it takes a toll. I struggled with it for a long time." She looked at Aria as if making a decision and then pulled her legs up onto the bed so she was cross-legged. "Can I tell you a secret?" At her nod, she continued. "The man who took me after my parents were killed, Regan, he became my family. He was a hunter." Her look became distant. "He was a hunter like you've never seen. Patient, calculated, determined. He lived to kill evil creatures. He taught me everything those 7 years we were together. He was more than my father or my mother. He was like a brother and a husband and everyone else that has ever been important to me." She paused, her voice catching. "I learned to kill evil from him. But...I felt guilty. You killed a childing dreyken tonight. At least those look alien enough that you can see they aren't human. I was 18 and I had to kill a roug who'd been a 12 year old kid. It still looked like a kid, sounded like one." She shook her head as if at the memory. "God it was so hard Aria. Regan made me do it though. It fought me and tried to kill me. It wasn't human anymore. It would've stripped off my flesh and eaten it if it had a chance. But it looked human. Regan made me do it. He knew I had to learn. That was my first lesson- my real lesson- on the war that we were in." She looked around. "None of these people realize that we are at war. For humanity, for survival." She stopped. There seemed more, but she didn't go on. Not yet anyway.

Jacinda did undertand part of the problem, but she didn't get the whole picture, and it wasn't something Aria could share. "The war is only going to get bigger, and worse." Aria knew far more than she could tell Jacinda. She wanted to tell her of the prophecy, wanted to tell her about her ultimate mission, but in her head that meant telling Jacinda she was sentient, and the woman just told her she'd learned a lesson, the lesson Aria struggled with. But it wasn't the same struggle at least not on the surface. Aria's problem wasn't killing mosters that were monsters, no matter what they looked like, if they kidnapped and murdered humans, they deserved to die. Any human who did that deserved to die. But Nox and Aurora, they were monsters, they'd never hurt anyone, never killed for the pleasure of it. She knew that a good share of the godlings she'd met had rough goes of it, killing without meaning to, surviving now because the Atharim hunted them. She knew what it meant. She would defend her life, or Nox's or Aurora's if anyone tried to take them out because they were supposed monsters.

It was almost idle thought that Aria mentioned, "The Regus feels as you do. He's plans, that he's set in motion. Plans that I'm not sure I could do. I know I can't do it. I don't want to do any of it. But it's that or die." She was just a tool to be used, something to use until it was no longer useful. Aria wondered how long she'd remain useful.

Jacinda listened and nodded. She didn't say anything though. She just looked at Aria. She couldn't know what Aria knew, what she was thinking about- her experiences with Nox and the other godlings. She smiled softly at Aria as if trying to figure her out. Or maybe whether she could tell her. "That wasn't my secret though. I know there's a war going and it will get worse. But I want to tell you something else. Because maybe you will understand. I've never told anyone else." She was quiet for a moment. "Rougs killed my parents. Killed them and ate them. I hated them. I wanted them to suffer. But I was only a girl. Regan taught me. I told you that. And I learned to kill things that looked human but weren't. They needed to die. It was war, like I said. Like you said. As the Regus- whoever he is- feels. But deep down, there was something else. Another reason I kept hunting. It wasn't just Regan, that he was my world. I didn't really even know what it was until...." she breathed deeply. "Regan was killed too. It was just me and the roug. It had a kid too, like him." She looked at Aria. "You remember me in the basement with the dreyken and the childling? My taunting it? That wasn't my first time. After Regan died, something snapped. He had been my anchor, the only one I had since my parents had been murdered. My whole life had been deformed and ruined by this evil, this darkness."

She stopped and looked at Aria sharply. "I didn't just want to kill it. I wanted to make it pay, to make it suffer, to feel terror and hopelessness. I took that kid and I cut him. I didn't kill him but I cut him up good. He screamed and screamed." Her words were spoken softly, but there was a bit of a smile on her face. "You shoulda see the way the other roug struggled against his bonds. Funny huh? These things will eat people alive, enjoy their suffering. And yet they have the gall to feel when I hurt one of theirs?" Her lip curled. "It offended me- it STILL offends me to my core- that these things should claim to have feelings. Well if they wanted them, they could have them. And all that that meant. I took that kid apart Aria. It screamed and screamed. And when it died, I felt good. I felt justified. It had suffered. And then I started in on the roug. It was crazy with rage and terror." She shook her head and was breathing hard. "You have no idea how it made me feel. These monsters terrorized humans. They had no idea what they had awakened. I was the hand of god. I was living vengeance, the hand of humanity, and I was telling them that they should be the ones that were afraid. They should cower in the night at the beast they had awakened. The creature was terrified of me and I loved it, relished it."

Her voice was breathless and she stopped. "I've never told anyone but not because I am ashamed. I am not. I am what I was meant to be, what I am shaped to be. I am the hand of justice. I take pleasure in what I do. I revel in it. It makes me happy." She looked at Aria and smiled confidently. "You've heard of me. I am known in many places. It started that night. That night I was born as my true self. I shed all myself of all weaknesses. I stopped letting myself be held back by emotion." She reached out a hand and took Aria by the wrist. "I have never met anyone I would say this to, Aria. But I think you were shaped too, like me. You have a destiny. You are meant to shake this world. You seem like you are afraid of what you are. But I am telling you Aria, when you let yourself go, when you are your true self, you will be one of the greatest Atharim the world has ever seen. You and I, we will save this world." She sneered and stared into Aria's eyes. "Fuck the Regus. You and me, we will do it. If he can't understand then he is expendable. No one will be able to harm you. No one. Together, we will bring peace to this world." Her grip was tight.

The way she spoke, the feeling it elicited in her memories Aria almost drowned in them, Jacinda grabbed her arm and her grip was tight, the emotions, the words radiated through Aria's body. Her heart beat faster, the darkness rose up. Aria looked up at Jacinda with a hunger. Aria fought it, but it was hard with her touching her. Aria pulled her hand back, her hand slipped from Jacinda's grip, it was only a minor relief. "I'm not worried about others harming me." Her words were tempting, everything seemed tempting.

"Im not saying you are Aria." Her face was calm and she didn't seem like she felt rejected by Aria's pulling her hand back. "All I'm saying is that I believe in you. You will be one of the most powerful Atharim the world has ever known. You will save humanity." She smiled at Aria tenderly and her voice became soft. She reached out a hand and gently swept aside a strand of hair from her forehead, her fingertips lightly brushing her skin. "I don't want you to be anything other than you are. I accept you for you, Aria- darkness and all." She leaned forward and kissed her tenderly on the lips. It wasn't passion. It wasn't prelude. It was just pure acceptance. When her lips pulled away, she whispered. "I believe in you Aria."

Aria's heart leapt. Those were the words that pulled her away from the darkness, but spoken from a different source, one that didn't know what she was capable of. Doubt and sadness crept in as the door to her room opened and Nox stepped through with a look that said he wasn't happy. Aria smiled at Jacinda, "You should leave before he gets angry. My room I know, but I think he wants to yell." Aria smiled at him.

Jacinda looked at Aria and then at Nox and then moved casually off the bed. She didn't leave. She looked at Nox with a smirk that said that she dared him to try to force her to leave. The moment drew out until it looked like things were going to get violent. Then and only then did Jacinda look at Aria again with a genuine smile. "I hope that you feel better after you get some sleep." She walked to the door and pushed past Nox as if he was a joke to her.

Aria could feel Jacinda's emotions towards Nox, they'd changed drastically since the first few days. Instead of being intrigued and desireable, now they were tinged with humor and bare tolerance. Aria wondered at the change. He stared after Jacinda, probably checking her out, but he held the power so she had no clue what he felt. He turned around and the anger had left his eyes. "You call Lucas?"

Aria glanced at the paper under the wallet then shook her head. "Not sure I want to."

Nox shook his head. "Why not?"

Aria smiled, "What did you tell him? He's pissed at you, why?"

Nox sat down in the chair opposite the bed. "Why do you think? I brought you here, you fell, you let your darkness consume you, you let the demons take you over Aria."

Aria laughed, "That implies there is something wrong with me."

Nox rolled his eyes. "You are the one who told me to keep you out of your demons, you want to fall then fine by me. But you tell Lucas it's not my fault. I've saved you once Aria. I may not do it again." He got up and left the room. He didn't slam the door, he left quietly. He held the power until she felt his presence on the other side of the wall. He hurt, the pain was delicious, but she knew better, she did. Aria picked up her phone and called Lucas.

The voice on the other end picked up after the first ring. It was 3 AM in Moscow and he was up. "Hello? Aria?" His voice sounded worried.

"Yeah, it's me. Nox worried you?" Aria missed Lucas, she let the world revolve around him, his voice. She wanted to be in his arms. She got under the covers and pulled the blankets over her body and made herself as small as possible wishing he was there.

His voice sounded relieved, almost in tears. "God Aria. I was so afraid. Afraid that you'd been hurt. I wish you hadn't gone. I miss you so much."

"I did get hurt. Nothing new there. Nox patched me up. That's not why you are worried. I miss you too." It was almost an echo, but she could feel the lack of acceptance of what she was, knew he couldn't handle it, she didn't want him to, he was good, Lucas was everything good in her life, even though Nox was the one to pull her from the flames Lucas was the reason she did it. Why was it hard today? "It's not Nox's fault." She sighed. "He's been a good friend. Don't be mad at him. I fell Lucas, Nox didn't push me. He pulled me back, and I keep fighting him on it."

Lucas was quiet for a moment, then his voice was soft. "Aria, I love you. It's as simple as that. You didn't want me coming on your hunts because you were afraid for me. That's what happens when you care about someone. Well I feel the same way about you. I don't want you hurt." His voice became firmer. "I was worried that you'd been hurt. It kills me to know that you are out there fighting, getting bruised and cut up. But I accept that. It's who you are. I have no right to try to ask you to change."

His voice waivered and then firmed. "I...I even believe its the right thing to do. These things are real. If you know about them, you have a responsibility to do something about it. In fact..." his voice trailed off and then started again. "When you come back, you're going to help me join the Atharim. I know, we can't be partners. I accept that. It weakens both of us. But I believe in what you do. More than that. I believe in you. You make this world a better place Aria. My life is better because you are in it." He didn't stop. It was as if these words just came out of him. He hadn't given her a chance to speak. Now he stopped, as if waiting for her response.

Aria didn't know what to say, it felt different being the one to inspire someone into things, but the Atharim. "Are you sure you want to do this Lucas? Sure you want to be with an organization that you don't know anything about. Things that could chill your heart and things that are more extraordinary than you can believe?"

He didn't speak for a moment. Then, "I don't care Aria. These things are real. I trust you. I believe in you. I just want to be part of your life. I want to be part of your work."

Aria smiled to herself. "We'll talk when I get back, don't go see Aurora and sneak in behind my back." She was poking fun mostly, Aria didn't think he'd actually do that, but she wanted to be there, wanted to make sure he understood. She'd have to talk to Nox about his feelings on the matter, Lucas needed to fall on the right side of the table if he really did join the Atharim. Aria wasn't exactly sure why he wanted to do this, she prayed he'd be more like Aurora, at least until he learned about the monsters in more detail, until he could understand the life. It was something though.

Aria sighed. "You didn't ask how I fell today." She didn't want to tell him, but she knew she had to. She told him he'd have to ask, but he hadn't, he needed to know. Aria waited for him to ask. She didn't like keeping secrets from him. "I don't know what Nox told you."

His voice was filled with relief. She could hear his smile. "You called me. It was enough that you called me dear Aria. You pulled back. He said you'd fallen to your demons. I couldn't go back to sleep I was so scared. I prayed and prayed for you, that you be safe, that you be happy. And finally, you called. I knew you had made it out then. I'm just so happy to hear your voice Aria." He really meant it. He was quiet for a moment though and then spoke more softly. "If you want to tell me about it, I'm here. I know that I don't understand everything Aria. Especially without you here to share with me. But I can listen. Tell m what happened."

Aria closed her eyes and took a deep breathe. "I told you we've another hunter with us. She's..." Aria didn't know how to say it, not really say it to him without making things worse, "she's a legend. She's a good hunter, and she's a good hunter because she'll do what needs doing no matter the options ahead. She accepts the darkness within, uses it to empower her." There was awe in Aria's voice, she didn't try to hide it, "She touched me. She wanted me. I couldn't exactly control myself, control the demons." She paused, it was the hardest thing to tell him. "We started having sex. Nox stopped me. Kept me from doing what I wanted, what the demons wanted. He put himself between me and a hunter that was better than him, two hunters. And I owe him an apology, you owe him too. Things could have gotten bad Lucas, real bad. And I don't entirely mean me sleeping with someone other than you."

**** Lucas ****

He was quiet for a minute. He felt like he had been punched in the stomach. His mind was reeling from what she said. It latched on to whatever it could. She was telling him. She wanted to tell him. It was something. He held on to that, let it anchor him. "God Aria." He fought down his gut reaction. He made himself step back. She was telling him. She felt guilt.

His mind struggled to hold on in the storm of emotions, reaching for memories. He remembered the first night they'd met. From that moment, she had been open with him, honest. She wanted him to know her, to want to know her. Which meant she had shared her ability with him from the start. He still remembered the fear she'd fed him at first, to demonstrate. And then later at her place, eating, her experiences. But most of all, her fear, the weight of the world on her, feeling it's fears and rejection. He remembered her journal- the handwriting and drawings of a seven year old. That was Aria. That girl. This woman.

It was hard, but he pushed to the two people together in his mind, merging them. They were the same person. Aria was still that scared and lonely little girl. Her abilities left her open to things that normal people didn't have. He knew from experience was it was like to succumb to lust when it was wrong. He knew how enslaved he had been to his desire for drugs and alcohol. What had he done under their influence? How many people had he slept with just to get them? Being under their influence was one thing. But he had been so enslaved to them that he had had sex with men just to get the drugs. How was he different than Aria, better than her?

Aria's demons came from her abilities and the pressures she was under, pressures that she couldn't escape. If he could ask for God's forgiveness, if he could hope that people understood his addictions, didn't he owe that to her? She wasn't hiding it. And it wasn't exactly the same. But it was a start for him, a way for him to view it. He felt a sense of peace. It still hurt, but he thought he understood at least.

"It's ok Aria. I can't pretend to know or understand the pressures you've been under. All I can do is think back to my own struggles. And how many times I gave in. How many times I begged for forgiveness and understanding. I know you're trying. It's ok Aria. I love you."

It hurt. He was glad she wasn't here because she'd know it hurt. But he needed to forgive her. Wanted to forgive her. "With the judgement you give to others, you will be judged," echoed through his mind. He was touched by people's kindness to him, their understanding. Valentin's willingness to help him despite his lapses. How could he do any less to Aria, when her road was so much harder.

"I am glad you told me, Aria."

**** Aria ****

Aria sat in the silence afterwards while he ran it all through his head, she prayed for it to be done quickly whatever happened, whatever he said. She hated not telling him everything, but he couldn't take too much at one time, too many things were wrong with her, would always be that way. She could fight all she wanted, but the world wasn't going to stop pushing her, stop feeding her, even the impending apocalypse wasn't going to stop the world from feeling. There was only one way out for Aria, and she didn't want to take that way. There was much to live for.

His words made her cry happy tears. She tried to hide them, but she doubted that she was successful. She could barely speak, "I love you too." It was not just an echo, as it had been before the trip started, she knew in that moment, even though she couldn't feel what he did, that her words were the truth, not just words. She still didn't get the emotion itself, it was still an illusion to her but she knew she loved him. She'd do anything for him, anything within her power, there were things that she couldn't do because it meant her life, but she loved him.

"I need to apologize to Nox. I didn't want to call. Jacinda's words pull me the wrong way Lucas. I don't know if I can make it without him. I know you don't want to hear that. But he said he might not help the next time, not the way I treated him. Don't be mad at him. This isn't his fault."

"I'm not. I owe him an apology too. I am glad he was there. He's a good friend to you Aria. And that makes him my friend. I'll call him after you speak to him." He paused. "God I love you. I feel closer to you right now. Funny. We're thousands of miles apart, but I feel closer than ever. I love you Aria."

Aria smiled. "I love you too Lucas, so much. I'll talk to him after I sleep a little. I need to sleep my body hurts. I'll call you tomorrow night. I love you." Aria hung up the phone with a smile and put the wallet on her pillow, her hand on top of it. She hoped it was restful sleep and not darkness filled, she thought of Lucas as she drifted off to sleep.

(58 pages - 37063 words)