Author's Note: Sorry this took so long. Thanks to everyone who wrote in with such positive and insightful emails and comments! A few of you noted that the timeline was a bit confusing, and I agree that I was overly subtle, so I'll be putting in time markers as chapter headings. All dates are based from the first day in Part One (i.e. the main characters' first interaction would be "Day one" and the first chapter in this installment would be "Eight months.") I'll try to have the next part out soon.
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*** Eight Months ***
"Hey, I'll catch up to you guys later, ok?" Kevin said, waving the girls on, giving Sarah a thumbs-up. He waited until they were out of sight before walking over to the shadows at the side of one of the buildings.
He shook his head slightly as he cut through the early evening crowds of students heading back from labs and late classes, catching the increasingly obvious stares, the not so discreet pointing at him and the girls. Someone on campus had discovered Talera's open secret and rumors were beginning to reach a fever pitch. She had pointed out that humans had such short attention spans, when she showed no signs of being anything supernatural, most would lose interest in her quickly. While he understood her stance on the whole issue, he was having a hard time believing it wasn't getting to her at all. When someone had decided to baptize the front door of the girls' suite with blood (pig's blood, she assured them) she had seemed only mildly concerned, and even then only for the well-being of her roommates. As far as he knew, she'd done nothing in retaliation, but then again, no one had dared pull a similar stunt since. Some part of him was enjoying the notoriety, but it was distracting and more than a little disconcerting. He had been walking with her across the lower quad one afternoon when a small band of ornately dressed Goths had approached them, bowed before her and asked to be made into Chosen. She had explained in a surprisingly polite tone that she wasn't accepting applications at the time, but would keep them in mind, carefully removing the hand of one particularly brave girl from her forearm. The incident had amused her highly, but Kevin found it disquieting that the general public was so willing to believe what they read about her on the internet. He shook his head, smiling grimly to himself.
"Jobias," he said, stopping next to the Hunter who waited patiently for him in the swath of darkness.
"Can we talk, kid?" the older man said, cocking his salt and pepper head to the side, indicating the little wooded park behind the dorms.
"Yeah, sure," Kevin said, leading the way.
"Listen," the Hunter said, kneeling in front of Kevin after he sat on a bench, his lean frame, though aged, still like an overwound music box, his movements graceful but overly sharp and a little too fast. "It's come to our attention that you have a new friend. A unique friend at that. Do I need to tell you that every Hunter in Creation has his sights set on her?"
"I don't think that's really a problem."
"It IS a problem, and it's not going to get any better. She's dangerous. You know that."
"She hasn't done ANYthing. Hasn't even shown an interest in upsetting any balances."
"You can't control her."
"You don't know that. She listens to me."
"You've only known her for eight months. How much do you really know about her? Do you know where she was last week? "
"I didn't ask," Kevin said with a shrug, a flutter of dread quivering in his stomach. He had seen her briefly earlier in the night after she'd vanished for nearly a week. Her eyes had dark circles under them, her expression wild, eyes not completely focused on the physical. She'd waved a little coldly at him, then disappeared into her room, closing the door after her.
"She found them."
"Who?"
"The men who offed her family. They were in California. Up to their old tricks. As far as we know, she broke a promise she made to Council that she'd leave them be, even if they were found, until she was Turned, when they could handle the situation better. She killed them."
"So?" he said, crossing his arms and leaning back against the seat, feigning nonchalance. "They created her. It was on their heads."
"No, not like that, it wasn't. She... I've never seen anything like it, kid. She...shredded them. Alive....That thing inside her is pure evil."
"Jobias, she IS the thing inside her. Talk to her for five minutes, you'll see she's not evil."
"I can't, you know that. I shouldn't even be talking to you."
"What does that mean? Why did you really come here tonight? I know it's not out of the goodness of your heart. Your concern for my well-being."
"Son, you know I love you like my own," the Hunter sighed, sinking down onto the bench next to the larger young man. "You're a Born Hunter. I wanted you to think about joining my crew one day."
"But..."
"You're no longer an Innocent."
Kev raised his eyebrows. "Is that official?"
"Yeah. There was a meeting of the big organizations yesterday about her and her acquaintances. I tried to turn the vote, but there was nothing I could do. You're in too deep now."
"If you're not with us, you're against us, huh?"
"Yeah. In this business, it's the only way it can be."
"I understand."
"Kevin, this is serious. Do you get that? We see you as Theirs now. I can't protect you if something goes down. It's out of my hands."
"It was never in your hands, Job," the boy said with a smile. "Alright, since we're down to, uh, brass tacks here, let me say this: Those girls are Innocents. If anything threatens them, nothing I or Ash can do will stop her from eliminating that threat. Nor would I even try. Leave them out of it. For your own sakes'."
"Is that a threat?" the old Hunter said, surprise on his face.
Kevin bowed his head, eyes closed, and whispered her name into the night breeze before answering.
"Just a warning. I don't want this turning into a war, but if anything happens to those girls, even a thought of it, she's going to know. And she's not holding back. Clear?"
"Clear," the man said, standing again. "You're in love with her."
Kevin stood, shaking his head. "That's no secret."
"Kid, seriously. Please be careful. I don't want to see you hurt. Or worse."
"That won't happen," the boy said, his voice conveying a confidence that he himself was beginning to doubt.
Jobias looked down at his feet, shaking his head with a sigh. He started when he looked back up, hand going to the holster hidden under his coat.
Talera stood beside Kevin, green eyes peering steadily at him, expression unreadable. The Hunter moved his hand away slowly, but stayed on high alert. Never having seen her face to face, he took the opportunity to study her intently, knowing she did the same to him, though she made no sign of it.
"Job," Kevin said, taking her hand and squeezing it, making it clear where his loyalties lay. "You really don't need all four of them watching us. You know where we'll be."
