Dark Interests Ch. 02

Big thanks to macktosh for the awesome job editing and keeping the story in line. Also humble thanks to you, whoever you are, for following the story from Chapter 01 and hopefully beyond this one.

Hope you enjoy.

CHAPTER 02

Aaron Bokipse and Bower had spent the better part of their afternoon in town, walking from one place to another randomly in the hopes that Aaron would pick up on something...anything...unnatural. Hot, sweaty and tired, the grumpy little space mage had started to give up hope when Bower suggested they rent a vehicle.

From then on the pair drove in ever-expanding circles from the center of town. Bower sat hunched behind the wheel, his domed head nearly brushing the ceiling. Aaron - who didn't have a driver's license and had laughed at any means of transportation that was slower than instant - now sat next to the Hunter with his legs kicked up on the dashboard and the air-conditioning on full blast.

Aaron had been more than content to doze off as Bower drove, but twenty minutes into their joy ride he had felt a tickle. It was a minor blip on the radar of his magic senses. It was a Gray, he could tell, the lowest of the low and on any other day he would have barely even registered it but it stood out based solely on the fact it was the only magical pulse around. It also fit with the information from the werewolf Alpha. Most Tinkerers had little in the way of magical clout.

"Point the way," Bower had said as he noticed the mage sit up straight from the corner of his eye.

Aaron's keen senses had led them here. To this double story farmhouse with its old rusted blue truck and large barn.

"This sure feels like the place," Aaron said to Bower.

The pair stood together on a dirt road in the dark. They had parked the rental just off the main road, well out of earshot, on Bower's suggestion. The Hunter was falling back on old habits as his tread lightened and the joy of cornering their prey was sending pure adrenaline through his system. The only source of light was the moon and a single glowing bulb above the door.

"Let's go say hello," Aaron said, eager to be done with the job so he could get home and sleep.

Bower held out an arm to stop his companion as he surveyed the compound. Aaron, picking up on his nerves, squinted into the dark. Bower didn't see anything suspicious. Aaron saw monsters hiding in all the shadows as his overactive imagination fed on his fear.

"Waddaya feel?" Bower asked, pitching his bass voice low.

"Just a kind of static. Magic's been used around here a lot...not strong magic...just constant. I'd guess that's from the Tinker. I feel the same thing whenever I'm around the compound's workshops. Nothing else though." Aaron watched Bower inhale and cocked an eyebrow. "You smell anything suspicious?"

"Metal. Gunpowder. Chemicals. Sawdust. Paint. Sweat." Bower grunted each one out. His gaze fixed on the barn before turning back to the house and he finished with, "Pizza."

"So a possibly gun toting hillbilly eating pizza?" the space mage said with a cocked brow.

Bower shrugged his shoulders and started walking towards the house. Aaron rushed to catch up, his early eagerness gone.

"Woah, hold up! Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, if there really is a Black in there and they're just sleeping...do you really want to wake them up? They could be grouchy." Aaron eyed the dark windows of the house suspiciously with an image of a hibernating bear rising from a coffin like Dracula going through his head for some stupid reason. "Besides, this isn't one of your Hunting missions. It's a recruitment job...mission?

Aaron quite liked calling it a mission if he was being honest. It made him sound like a dashing secret agent. Images of him in a fitted tux (taller and slimmer for some reason) flittered through his mind. Bokipse. Aaron Bokipse.

Bower, oblivious to the space mage's musing, ducked onto the stoop. The large man had to keep his head tucked down as the moths that bounced off the light kept fluttering against him, their wings tickling his bare scalp.

The sound of his hard knuckles was like gunfire in the silent night when they made contact with the wooden door, rattling it in its frame. He paused, long enough for Aaron to stare at him wide eyed, before knocking again. His sensitive ears picked up movement inside as someone stumbled around. Bower cocked his head, tilting his ear up. There was more movement followed by the heavy bass vibrations of a man talking followed by the quieter tones of women.

"Three," Bower grunted.

"Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!" Aaron started to chant. Nervous energy made him hop from foot to foot. "I've never tried to recruit a Black before. What if they say no? The Countess said I had to bring them to her though...can you force a Black? I mean...OH MY GOD!" He gasped. "What if they're all Blacks? Three Blacks!"

Bower placed his very large hand over the top of his friend's head, almost palming the entirety of his skull like a basketball. It was the equivalent of a shoulder pat with the benefit of being easier for the tall man to manage. Aaron was so miffed that he actually forgot to be nervous.

Light spilled from under the door and through the curtained window next to the duo. There was the sound of locks being disengaged and then the door swung open.

Aaron felt equal parts astonishment and jealousy when the occupants of the house were revealed. There was a shirtless man, showing off way too much toned body for Aaron's liking. He was large, almost as tall as Bower and just as wide at the shoulders but with less bulk and more lean rangy muscles. The loose basketball shorts he wore hung low on his hips. Aaron found himself distracted by a coin the man wore around his neck, and his senses tingled a little when he tried focusing on it.

The man's face was cast in shadows but the scowl was evident as he leaned one muscular arm against the door frame, effectively barring the entrance into the house. He glared at Bower, not an ounce of fear showing in his posture. Aaron was shocked to see Bower actually take a half step back. He was even more shocked to see Bower actually tense as if for a fight.

One of the most gorgeous women Aaron had ever seen stood behind the man. Curly red hair hung from a messy knot and she blew it out of her face with a frown. Her large vibrant green eyes were cold as ice as she glared at them. The woman wore a baggy shirt that hung loose on her, showing off one pale shoulder as it fell to the side. The shirt stopped just shy of her knees and Aaron tried not to stare at the sliver of creamy white thigh on display.

"What?" growled the man, his voice tight with irritation.

Before either of them could say a word though, the little redhead pushed the man aside, shooing him away from the door so she could get a proper look at the late night guests. The woman's gaze swept over a blushing Aaron - who now wished they had waited until the morning - before settling on Bower.

"Bow-wow?" the redhead said, her squinting eyes going wide as she got a good look at the large bald man.

Bower still hadn't taken his eyes off the man who answered the door. Therianthropes didn't sense power in the same way Mages did. They didn't see it, rather they felt it as an instinctive itch that let them know what they were dealing with. Bower liked to think of it as a sixth sense honed through years and years of life and death situations. That itch, coupled with a knack for self preservation that had kept him alive so long, told Bower one thing: danger.

At the woman's call he let his gaze flicker away from the man's face for a second. The unruly mess of red, lit like a halo of blood by the light inside the house and the single dim bulb above them, sparked a memory and he forgot all about the threatening man and his own instincts.

"O'Connor?" His rough voice cracked with emotion making Aaron blink in surprise. The space mage never knew Bower could show emotion.

"Mom, you know these two?" the large man said, his aggressive posture easing a little.

Aaron felt a little better. Mom. So they were related, that's nice. WAIT! There was no way she was old enough to be his mother...and there was no way they were related! The space mage looked between the redhead and the confused Hunter, hoping for an explanation.

"You hunting, Bower?" she asked quietly, ignoring her 'son's' question. Aaron only noticed she was slowly sliding away from the door because his damn eyes wouldn't stop focusing on her...and her naked legs.

"Tracking. Not hunting," Bower replied, his large dustbin hands raised non-threateningly.

"Mom?"

"It's okay, honey. They're from the Clave but-"

"WHAT?!" The young man instantly tried to insert himself in the doorway again but the woman wasn't having it.

"-it's okay. I was expecting this. Not so soon to be honest...but still...it can't be avoided. We might as well let them in."

The man levelled a glare of such anger on the two standing on the doorstep that Aaron actually felt the space around him start to fade away as his powers unconsciously tried pulling him away from this area.

"What about..." The man dropped his voice and whispered not quietly enough, "What about Elina?"

"Could you give us a minute?" the redhead, O'Connor, said before shutting the door in their faces. Aaron's mouth was still open, his protest dying in his throat, so with a snap he closed his mouth and turned to his companion.

"What the hell man! What if she tries to make a run for it? Or is getting a gun to shoot us with...I hear there's lots of guns in the country."

"I can hear them," Bower replied, his voice back to a low rumble. "The man, Daemon, has a woman...a mundane...in the house. She doesn't know about the Clave but he wants to tell her. He loves her."

"Wow...talk about awkward. Hey, what's the deal with you and the redhead, by the way. You know her?"

Bower turned his head - the movement reminding Aaron a little too much of a tank turret locking onto a target - and looked at the smaller man. The orange glow of the stoop light bounced off his shiny bald head and moths flew around his brow like a tiara. For the first time in a long time Aaron appreciated his height deficiency.

"Amanda O'Connor. Worked together. Roving team."

Aaron's eyebrows rose in shock. Rover was the designation assigned to Hunter teams, normally three or more individuals, whose skill sets complimented each other. They were usually assigned the longer lasting and more dangerous jobs. A standard Hunter would be sent out from the closest Clave branch when the need arose, but a Rover team was constantly in motion, constantly checking in at different branches of the Clave and constantly hunting. They were the best of the best.

"Never heard of a Tinker being on a Rover team before."

Bower just shrugged before looking back at the door a second before it opened. This time the man, Daemon, was notably absent. "Come on, you might as well come inside," Amanda said, holding the door open and ushering them in. "We'll talk in the kitchen while Daemon...sorts his stuff out. It's the room just down the hall."

Aaron walked down the shadowy hallway, looking about himself with interest. It was nice. Homey. Polished wooden floor, soft cream wallpaper. Pictures of the woman holding a chubby baby with wild curly black hair. A few paintings, mostly of scenery. It was a far cry from the cold, sterile, Clave-issued apartment he stayed in. The little mage thought of maybe picking up a few photos next time he was free. Maybe some flowers.

Amanda flicked a switch on the wall, and twisted the knobs to a reasonable level so the small spotlights dotted around the kitchen didn't blind everyone.

"Coffee?" she asked as she ushered the pair into seats.

"Black," Bower rumbled.

"T-Tea, if you have it," Aaron said, nervously fidgeting in his chair.

He watched Amanda move about the kitchen with a fluid, well practiced precision. Her shirt hitched further up her thighs, the hem stopping just below the bottom of her ass cheeks as she grabbed mugs from a cabinet above the sink. Aaron was both happy to see she wore little boxer shorts under them (for his blood pressure) and disappointed to see she wore little boxer shorts under them (for his hormones).

"So, you felt the ripple huh?" she said once the cups were lined up on the counter and they all waited for the water to boil.

"Aaron," Bower rumbled.

Aaron bounced off the chair, his hand held out before him, a blush staining his round cheeks red. Amanda shook his hand, a bemused smile on her face at the space mage's exuberance. Aaron could feel the calluses on her palms and had to remind himself that even if she was an angelic vision of beauty, she was also a Tinker that had gotten onto a Rover team and that meant she specialised in making one thing: weapons.

"I'm Aaron Bokipse. Sensitive!"

"Amanda O'Connor. Thick skinned!" she replied, mimicking his level of excitement.

"I-I meant I'm a sensitive. I was the one that sensed the ripple." He was quick to correct her.

"Relax Aaron, I was just messing with you." She turned to Bower. "So you here for the Countess?"

Bower grunted an affirmative before cocking his head back down the hallway "The boy?"

Amanda poured the water into the mugs and answered with her back to them. "Yeah, it's Daemon." She placed the steaming mugs before each of them and took a seat opposite, her shoulders slumping. "It's a tricky situation. Hard to explain...I had to remove the suppression medallion I made earlier and wasn't expecting him to be that strong. I knew as soon as I felt it that someone would be coming. Guess i should be happy it was you, ay Bow-wow?"

"YOU made the device that suppressed his aura?" Aaron said, suddenly excited, his already high opinion of the Tinker skyrocketing even further. "It's amazing! I can't even sense him from here. All I can feel is a minor hum and even that is hard to pinpoint. That's really impressive."

"Uhh...thanks, I guess..."

The sound of heavy footsteps coming down the stairs stopped any further conversation and Amanda got up. Her gaze locked behind the Hunter and Aaron. The space mage turned in his chair to see.

Daemon was back, wearing a vest. He had an arm wrapped protectively around the shoulders of a woman who was tall and athletic, her short dark hair a mess of bedhead. Her large chocolate brown eyes were wide open as they landed on the incredible bulk that was Bower.

Aaron could admit she was pretty, but nothing compared to the redheaded goddess that served him tea...the goddess that hadn't even asked if he wanted milk with it...he could learn to love black tea.

Amanda moved forward, going to stand on the other side of the young woman. She placed a hand on the woman's shoulder and looked at her warmly before nodding to herself and turning back.

"I guess the introductions fall to me since Bower doesn't talk much and...Aaron, was it? Seems intent on staring at everything like a wide eyed little kid."

Aaron blushed which earned a cough-like bark of laughter from Bower.

"Daemon and Elina, Bower and Aaron. Aaron and Bower, Daemon and Elina."

"Amazing social skills as always Mom," Daemon said before nodding his head in acknowledgement of the pair. His eyes turned soft as he once more looked at the woman under his arm and asked, "El, you want a coffee?"

Aaron watched Daemon, the possible Black, as he moved to make a cup of coffee and Amanda led Elina to a seat. He hadn't been lying when he told the Tinker that he couldn't feel anything but a light hum coming from the man. It was truly impressive work she did. Also a little scary because Daemon looked much younger in the kitchen lights than he did towering over them in the darkened doorway. Too young to be a Black.

There was an awkward silence as they all sat sipping their respective hot drinks. Aaron and Bower sat facing Amanda and Elina with Daemon sitting at the end, his presence a constant weight at the back of their minds.

"So..." Aaron finally said as the silence stretched on. This was his show after all. "Uhhh..." His gaze flickered to the mundane, Elina, wondering how much he could say. "The...manager...of our...organisation...has requested that you come in for...an interview..."

'I explained everything to Elina. She doesn't really believe me but is willing to keep an open mind," Daemon said, earning a sigh of relief from Aaron who wasn't very good at subterfuge.

"Oh thank god! Okay, so the Countess...wait, you know who she is, correct?"

Aaron stopped to look at Daemon but it was Elina who asked, "Who's the Countess?"

"Countess Mircalla Karnstein. Head of the American Clave. Fourth seat of the committee."

"Boss lady," Bower helped clarify. Elina seemed to understand that better and gave him a shy smile of thanks.

"As I was saying, the Countess needs to see you. You, meaning you Daemon. She can't have an unlicensed Black running around her territory unchecked."

"What do you mean, unchecked?!" Daemon said, his voice slipping into a growl towards the end.

"Daemon, relax," Amanda admonished gently. "We've already talked about this, remember? It's not necessarily a bad thing to get registered. You need training and now that we've been found, you need to learn to defend yourself. The Countess can provide that."

Daemon settled down but he kept frowning. Elina reached out and held his hand reassuringly which bought a smile to his face. She lifted their joined hands and turned them so she could place a soft kiss on the back of his large mitt. "I don't know what's going on babe, and I'm not sure if I believe this magic and fairies and vampires stuff but I'll be here for you."

"Aww, that's real love right there! She's willing to stay with you even if she thinks you're a little kooky," Amanda said, giving Elina a proud look which caused the younger woman to blush prettily.

"Okay, so now what?" Daemon asked the room.

"Now, we bring you in," Aaron said. "Well, all of you actually. You because you're the one we want. Miss O'Connor because she built the suppression medallion and the Countess said to bring the person or thing responsible and Miss...uhh...Elina-"

"Cancio," Elina said almost automatically.

"-and Miss Cancio because...well she now knows about the Clave and the Countess will want to meet her."

"Wait WHAT!?" Elina said at the same time as Daemon. "I have to meet this...this Countess woman?"

"Countess Karnstein."

"Yeah! Her!" Daemon said, standing up. "Why the hell does Elina have to meet her?"

"Because she is involved with you," Amanda said quietly. That shut Daemon up, a guilty look replacing the anger. Elina saw the look and knew it for what it was and why it was there.

"Okay." She hid the tremor in her voice well. "If that's what it takes to be with De, then I'll meet her...but my parents are expecting me back tomorrow...this morning now I guess. Can we leave sometime in the afternoon...how long is the trip?"

"Actually we'll be leaving now. The trip will be instant. I'm a space mage." The last part was said with an almost comical level of pride.

"What does that mean?" Daemon asked the man which deflated him like a popped balloon.

Amanda turned to talk to Elina as Daemon listened to Aaron explain.

"How you doing, honey?"

Elina met the concerned eyes of Amanda and shrugged. "Honestly, I have no idea. Part of me still feels like this is all a dream. I mean, first Daemon and I...uhh...well, you know...and then he says magic and creatures from movies are real and that he has to go away for a while AND THEN I'm told I have to meet some woman named Countess Karnstein whose name sounds familiar for some STUPID FUCKING REASON!"