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“Our next date is going to be at my place on a Friday night, so there won’t be any work activities the next day and no interruptions!” she said with a pout.
He lifted his cell and opened the calendar app. He scrolled and checked. “You’re in luck. This Friday night is open.”
Sigrid’s delighted squeal was a loud and happy sound as she grabbed him in a hug. Henry couldn’t stop himself from laughing. He tapped the date and entered Sigrid’s initials on Friday night.
He looked over at the fond smile on Camila’s face.
“Don’t be late for work tomorrow. You and Mahati leave for the airport at 9AM.”
He sighed and nodded. He walked over to the CEO, and he saw her smile begin to get wider. He kissed her with his hand deep in her hair on the back of her head. She gasped slightly into his mouth as he caressed her lips.
Henry pulled back. “Good night, ladies.”
He stepped from the room and heard the giggles behind him. That brought a smile to his face. He collected a bag from his office to carry the cat’s treat in, then headed downstairs.
The trip home was quiet and uneventful, and soon he was walking along the waterfront walkway towards the condo. When he passed by it, his eyes went to the small shrine set up for the two murdered youths. Someone was adding fresh flowers. It wasn’t going to fade from the public mind until their murderer was caught and punished.
Henry looked forward and smiled as he saw the black cat waiting by the bench. It spotted him and trotted closer. It meowed sweetly as it reached his feet. He stopped and bent down to let it sniff his fingers. Once it was comfortable, he stroked its head.
It moved behind him and looked back, meowing to him.
“Sorry, I can’t go on a walk with you tonight. I need to get to bed as I can’t be late for work tomorrow. But I have a treat for you.” He sat on the bench and unwrapped the napkins to expose the small pile of chicken.
The cat jumped up on the bench and sniffed at the offering, then looked up at him. “It’s the chicken from the Pad Thai I had for dinner. I thought maybe you would like a better meal than what you normally get on the street.” He examined the cat’s body. “You don’t seem to be too skinny, so you must be a good hunter, as well as being so pretty,” he said.
The feline watched him with her startling, mismatched eyes. Then it dipped its head and began to eat.
Henry smiled and relaxed back against the bench as he watched the cat quickly polish off the chicken. He casually looked around and saw they were alone. He looked back at the cat and smiled. “I made a new friend today, and she’s special, like me. Baba pulled her from the past, too.”
Blue and yellow eyes lifted to look at him seriously as her pink tongue licked her lips.
“And that isn’t even the most interesting thing about her. She’s a wielder, but her magic doesn’t come from the magic realms. That means Earth must have magic, too! She’s a Naiad. I’m not totally clear on what that means, but she’s really nice. She was so lonely. Do cats feel lonely? No one should feel that way. I know what it is to be lonely, and it’s a terrible thing. I’m so looking forward to introducing her to all my new friends.”
The cat rubbed its head against Henry’s leg. He automatically ran his hand over the cat’s head, neck, and back in long strokes. Shortly, the cat was purring deeply. It crawled up onto his lap and laid down, feet tucked under it.
Henry was so comfortable and calm from petting the cat, he began to nod off as his hands continued to stroke it slowly.
“Henry?”
He jolted awake as the cat leapt from his lap and ran away. He watched it disappear, then looked around to see Dayshia staring after it as well.
“Oh! Hi Dayshia.”
“Oh, hi?!? What are you doing sleeping outside on the bench!” Dayshia said in outrage. “The serial killer is still out there!” She glared at him, and he stood.
Henry cringed apologetically. “Sorry! I was just feeding the cat. Then I petted it, and it was so soothing I-I guess I nodded off.”
Dayshia clucked her tongue at him. “You have to be more careful! There is something weird about that cat, too.”Text © by N0ve/lDrama.Org.
“No! It’s so sweet!” Henry exclaimed in protest.
She hooked her arm around his and pulled him towards the door to the condo. “You’re too innocent for your own safety.”
Henry glanced back, but there was no sign of the cat. He let himself be pulled away.
-=-
Minkah, in her Human form, strode towards the entrance of the subway to make her way back to the safe house once more. Her night was… disturbing. How she’d behaved with Henry- her target, was far beyond her usual professional standard. She ate the food he’d brought her! Rule number one: Trust no one and especially not the target! The chicken was delicious, and she was immune to most poisons, so the risk was minimal, but still!
Then to top it off, she let him hold her while he slept!
She was going back to the safe house to review all of her actions since taking this mission. Her professional detachment had somehow been compromised.
The only positive outcome from the evening was learning of the Naiad! The Hidden Races Council would want to hear about that! She had no doubt she’d receive an immediate hit order for her to take the Naiad out.
She thought about how Henry described her and realized how it would make him deeply sad. That wasn’t really a consideration for her completing her duty.
She’d have to investigate further before disclosing what she’d heard. She’d need to identify which of their new friends was the Naiad. Only then could she report on it.
This delay had nothing to do with Henry- her target!
-=-
Meixiu slipped through the shadows with ease tonight. Henry’s blood was still amping up her senses, so she was aware of every movement. She was able to filter out insect, animal, and plant life motions and concentrate on those caused by Humans. She hadn’t encountered any non-Humans in her route tonight, but that wasn’t really unexpected with the curfew and the limited numbers of Hidden Races. Sigrid mentioned that Roy’s theory had the serial killer lying low for now as he’d fed. Still, she felt a need to patrol. To keep her eyes open while remaining invisible to others.
One of her new abilities, courtesy of evolving, was her enhanced eyesight. While she’d never had issues seeing her way in the dimmest of light, she now saw further into the wavelength spectrum. Infrared and ultraviolet were now within the range her eyes could see if she concentrated. Seeing Infrared was particularly handy as she could now avoid walking into areas lit up with infrared light. This typically indicated the presence of motion-detecting cameras or floodlights.
She paused when she noted the street ahead was lit up with cone after cone of infrared. This was either a very cautious neighborhood or the sign of a very convincing door to door salesman.
Meixiu passed this street by and noticed odd movement three blocks ahead. Two figures were leading a third into a darkened lane behind a row of houses. The one being helped was stumbling.
She leaped forward, keeping to the shadows and remaining as silent as possible. She raced across the distance as quickly as she could, then jumped and climbed up a nearby tree to move out over a branch that had visibility into the lane. The smaller of the beings was holding the wrist of the third to her mouth. Meixiu saw her pull back and touch the person’s neck and face before nodding to the taller companion, who pulled the opposite wrist to his mouth.
They were vampires! They seemed to be acting like she did when she fed. Meixiu had never met another vampire before. She had no idea if there was some protocol for this.
The larger vampire lowered the arm, and the small one did another check on their victim’s health. Then she tucked something the large vampire handed her into the third’s pocket and guided the… she saw him clearly now, young man to the sidewalk where he walked away. The farther he got, the steadier his footsteps.
Meixiu could now see the features of the small one, and it was a dark-haired woman. She was watching the Human she’d fed from, ensuring he was okay. The large one hadn’t stepped from the shadows yet.
Instinct made her leap from the branch in a dive. She twisted in midair to land as soft as a leaf behind the smaller female. She took a grip on the woman’s neck as the large male dropped from the tree before them.
He snarled, but the woman just held up her hand to stop him. Meixiu could see the tension vibrating in his muscles. Meixiu knew she could jump back into the shadows and disappear, so she took a chance and released the woman’s neck. “I mean no harm, but I will defend myself.” She held his eye and pushed with her will, and his eyes widened as he felt her strength.
He showed her his palms in a peaceful gesture.
“You are… like me?” Meixiu asked.
The female turned to face her and looked at her closely. “I’m not sure. You feel… stronger than any we’ve met, but we haven’t met many.”
“Why were you watching us from the tree? Were you following us? We are exceptionally cautious,” the male asked, his deep voice still holding the tension from earlier.
“I was three blocks away when I spotted you leading the Human into the alley. Its movements were distinctly different from yours,” Meixiu answered. “I was curious, as I have never met any of my kind before.” She looked to the woman. “You touched the Human oddly after you fed.”
The male looked at the dim lighting of the lane entrance then traded a look with the female before looking back to Meixiu. “We would never have been able to see that level of detail from that distance!”
The female shook her head at her partner. “Maybe introductions are in order. I’m Eleanor Hollings, and this is my husband, Raymond. I’m a doctor, and I was ensuring the man wasn’t harmed by the feeding. Raymond is a public defender.”
Meixiu felt better about this couple hearing that. She saw them looking to her expectantly and recalled what Henry once called her. “I am Meixiu, a wealthy woman of leisure.” She giggled at their surprised expressions. “Until recently, I was a slave. I served a cruel master for over a century, but I inherited everything he owned when he died. A friend, who helped free me, gave me that title.”