Full Moon Strays Ch. 04

"So so," Red replied. "I kind of lost my head, and it bugs me. We've lost the element of surprise and I'm pretty sure we can expect some kind of retaliation.

That means sitting back for a moment and waiting for something to happen to us, and that never works out well in my book." She sighed. "And it looks like Tarloh may ask Natasha to come back with him if this 'dark thing' is what he thinks it is, and that generally complicates my life."

Jane's blood chilled, but she struggled not to let it show. "What's she like? Natasha?"

Red kissed her young lover long and slow. "Annoying," she said with a grin. "Stubborn, short-tempered, prone to violence . . ."

"Is this Natasha or you?"

"Both, actually. That was one of the problems . . . probably one of the reasons we were able to go our separate ways. We were a lot a like, and it irritated the crap out of both of us. But she meant a lot to me, and she . . . she changed me quite a bit. Are you okay?" Red noticed that Jane was trying really hard not to cry.

"Yeah . . . no. I don't . . . do you still love her?"

Red stroked Jane's face. "Yes, and I always will. But not in the way that you think . . . at least not anymore. She's dropped by a number of times. Things always start out well and end up with us yelling at each other or getting into a fight. It's funny. You're worried about me and her hooking up again, aren't you? To be perfectly honest, I'm more worried about YOU wanting to run off with her."

"ME?!? Why would . . ."

"Because she's strong . . . gorgeous . . . and she can give you a better life than I can."

For a moment, Jane was a bit offended. "I'm not looking for someone baby me . . . like that anyway," she grumbled, turning over. But Red was not to be discouraged. She scooted forward and spooned the young woman.

"I want you to stay," Red said slowly, "but someday, you WILL be tempted to want to return to the surface full time. Everyone does. And someone like Nat can make that extra-appealing. Something you're going to have to do is decide what you really want to do with your life."

Jane sighed. "Do I have to decide right now?"

Red kissed her on the side of the neck, making Jane's whole body feel much warmer. "Nope. As far as I'm concerned, take your time." There was another kiss. "I believe that some things should take a long . . . (kiss) . . . long . . . (kiss) . . . time."

And it was a long, long time before either woman would get any sleep.

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Somewhere east of town . . .

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Gelok was less than pleased with the recent turn of events. His hellspawn's movements in the city were under careful scrutiny by those annoying street dwellers, their carefully orchestrated attack on their enemy's lair had been thwarted by a veritable unknown, and those Strays had come far too close last night to his base of operations.

He walked the halls of business complex that served as the hellspawn's base of operations, passing the human servants and swill that operated the software company that served as the hellspawn's front. They were rich humans, that was for sure, but Gelok doubted they understood the price that would someday be paid for their collusion. But it seemed that Gelok might have to pay a price as well, and even sooner. The Dark One was unhappy.

'The Dark One,' Gelok thought with some bitterness. He and his demon tribe had been great warriors for millennia on end, but even he himself involuntarily trembled when in It's presence. He and his warriors called it the Dark One because it had no name of its own. It and its kin had existed in a time before names . . . in a time before there were even words to describe them. They would be given many names by those unfortunate few who would learn of them in the years gone by, but the essence of them had remained unchanged throughout the duration of time . . . they were chaos. For reasons no one quite seemed to know, they had gone disappeared until this one had returned, and it was on a mission. Gelok didn't understand . . . he didn't want to. He just obeyed, and hoped to be in its "good" graces when the time came.

Gelok opened a door and began a long slow descent into the bowels of the building. There was no lock on the door . . . there was no need. No one in their right mind wanted to go down there anyway. He emerged into a hallway which led him to a large room. There were no lights there, so Gelok was moving based on memory. He didn't have to wait long to be noticed.

{{THERE YOU ARE, }} came that sickening voice directly into Gelok's head. It was like having raw sewage poured directly into your brain. {{ I EXPECT YOU TO EXPLAIN YOUR INCOMPETENCE!}}

[[ We stopped them well away from the building, and they won't risk another push so soon, ]] Gelok replied in his native tongue, a little miffed that he and his warriors were getting blamed for something that wasn't really their fault.

{{ THEY SHOULD NEVER HAVE GOTTEN THAT CLOSE! THEY SHOULD BE DEAD! }}

[[ They would have been if it weren't for that . . . woman! ]] he shouted at the nothingness before him. [[ There was no information on her, or even any sightings of her that we know of! ]]

{{ NO EXCUSES! }} the Dark One replied. {{ THOUGH THIS NEW HUMAN . . . INTRIGUES ME! }} came the mental mutter. {{ I SENSED GREAT POWER WHEN SHE FOUGHT YOU . . . MORE THAN EVEN SHE KNOWS! }}

Gelok was a bit mystified. [[ True, she fought well, but her power is odd and not overly potent, now that we know what we're facing. ]]

{{ YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU ARE FACING! ALL YOU SEE IS THE EFFECT OF THE POWER, NOT IT'S SOURCE! EVEN ACROSS THE MILES, I FELT IT! THE EMOTION . . . THE RAW FEELING! I FELT THE GRIEF . . . THE PAIN . . . THE TORMENT, AND IT FILLED ME AND MADE MY VERY ESSENCE SING! }} The Dark One's enthusiasm dampened for a moment. {{ BUT I FELT SOMETHING ELSE . . . SOMETHING DISGUSTING . . . I FELT HOPE. SHE HAS BEGUN TO HOPE, AND ANY FOOL COULD SEE WHY! }} The entity went silent as it pondered something. {{ IF SHE WERE TO BE DRIVEN TO INSANITY AND HER POWER COULD BE FUELED BY THAT MADNESS, SHE WOULD BE AN INCREDIBLY POWERFUL WARRIOR! SHE WOULD BE MY AVATAR . . . MY RIGHT HAND IN THIS SAD LITTLE WORLD! }} The Dark One paused, then brought its thoughts to bear on Gelok's brain once more. {{ BRING ME THE GIRL, AND SEPARATE HER FROM THE SOURCE OF HER HOPE! }}

Gelok wasn't pleased with this at all. The Dark One obviously meant to replace him as its emissary. But at least it would mean someone else would be blamed if things went wrong. [[ How do you want me to do that? ]]

{{ ANY WAY YOU CAN! ACTUALLY, I HAVE AN IDEA. USE THE SWARM! }}

Gelok turned and walked back down the hallway, a malicious grin playing across his normally stoic face. 'The Swarm . . . that might just do the trick,' he thought. Red's image flashed through his mind . . . that warrior bitch that had been a thorn in his side for so long without even knowing it. 'By tomorrow night, you'll be dead,' he thought, 'and your girlfriend . . . well, she'll just wish she was dead.'

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To be continued . . .