Damien Night Ch. 04

It's all written. I will post the rest of it, about five thousand words at a time, on Fridays. It won't take long to post it all. It isn't edited. I just don't have the time or patients right now. I wanted to go ahead and get it out there so those who were interested could 'finish' the story. I won't every actually finish it here, but the portion that was start here will be finished.

*

The breeze on the strand was cool and gentle. While it was by no means autumn even though the calendar said November, the oppressive heat of summer had moved on. Many of the tourists had gone with it as well. Annabel decided she should wander these streets during the off season once in a while. She may not generally like people, but they were always interesting. In this environment she could get the best of both worlds: peace and quiet and mild entertainment. She turned to look at Damien as they strolled past clothing boutiques, novelty shops and the occasional bar blaring music and wondered if life would get back to such a normal pace that something so simple would be the whole of her day.

"Something on your mind?" He asked without actually returning the glance.

"Is our question game done? I'm thinking you got what you wanted." She was just adding to the list, but what the hell. It wasn't like she was hiding much from him for long.

"True, but why would I end it? I'm curious what else I could get you to tell me before the day is out." He turned to her and smiled then. "Or longer. I don't think there was actually a definitive end on that one."

"No. But I might be more amenable to you if I was inclined to let my guard down, and that isn't happening as long as this game continues."

"Strange. I would think you'd want any reason to keep your guard up. But you win. Game over."

Even though he had a point she still considered it a victory.

The old wooden sign hanging above them indicated they'd arrived at the next destination. The inside didn't exactly look like she thought an old soda shop would, but then this was supposed to be older than the 50's. A short flight of worn stairs led up from the street level to a sea of white thin metal tables and chairs. All around the sides were every sweet you could think of: coffee, ice cream, fudge, more candies than Annabel thought possible, and truffles. There was even a museum of sorts dedicated to the history of candy making. It was a pretty cool place, though there were a few more people than she would have liked.

"I like it. A little crowed for the off season though."

"Says the girl who enjoys going to a standing room only club on Saturday nights." Damien commented as he guided her to the soda bar on the left.

Annabel shrugged.

"I like to show off sometimes."

"At least you're honest. Drink?"

"Cherry coke. So why here?" Annabel asked still looking around the building. Had it really been that long since she'd been anywhere but work and home?

"Why not?" He said shaking his head. "I'll tell you a secret. Honestly this is the first time in some time I haven't had a plan plucked from someone's mind. I'm winging it."

Damien led them to one of the empty tables as soon as they had the hand mixed sodas they'd ordered.

"Ok, you read minds. Interesting." By this time nothing really surprised her with him, still he didn't answer the question. "But, why here?"

He took a moment, looking at her with an almost smile on his face.

"It feels good."

"Here...feels good." Annabel repeated his answer, her voice hued with doubt.

"Yes. Ice cream. Chocolate. Fudge. Laughter. It all feels good."

He was right. Even her aversion to crowds didn't overshadow the general lightness of the atmosphere. She took a drink of the coke pondering the creature in front of her.

"It's not exactly sexy though."

"Does everything you do involve food in some way, Belle?" His lips parted in an amused grin.

"No." she answered, laughing at the absurdness of the question before realizing it was her that had been a little absurd. To her it was bizarre that he would so easily equate sex with food in the nourishment sense, but it was. It had been for thousands of years. Maybe he wouldn't give her the mechanics, but somehow that was food. "I see."

"Why are you so alone?"

"I already told you." She answered scowling.

"No." He was shaking his head, no hint of subterfuge or planning just curiosity. "I know you have a phone. I stole it once. Yet in the three days I've been here I've never seen you pick it up. The only person I've seen you talk to you liked little enough to sick a possible malicious entity on her. You're alone. You are the most alone person I've ever seen. I've been around humans that retreat into the woods to live like animals but this is different. You are alone in the middle of a million people. Why?"

"What? Never met anyone like me?" Annabel quipped.

"Don't be silly. What was it? Every story under the sun has already been told. That's in the Bible or something." He mumbled the last part. "But I'm always curious regardless. You all tell the story differently."

It would have been gratifying to be the only one he'd ever met like her in 5,000 years if she was honest with herself, but that was silly. The number of people he must have met was unfathomable to her.

"I just...don't connect with people. Period. I don't understand them for the most part. And then I have no real desire to. I do like to watch them though. Sometimes I think I don't belong in this world."

Not the way you are now but there is nothing to change that. He mused to himself. The need for hunters was long past. There hadn't been an upstart from his kind since he could remember. At face value he would consider her a poor unlucky thing, but she came along for him at the perfect time. Of course humans were terrible at realizing the value in any purpose.

"If there was a rule on belonging you would probably be exactly where you belong, but since there are no rules you still are. You found me."

"Oh good my crisis of faith in the world is miraculously cured." She grumbled. "Besides you found me. I wasn't looking."

"Hmmm...if that's the way you want to see it."

Annabel was completely lost on how he could possibly think she was looking for anything like him and the trouble he represented. Several times her lips parted in an effort to rebuff the comment, but every time there was nothing to say. Because of him she had someone to talk to which, like it or not, everyone needs. Because of him she was getting a glimpse of another world and maybe the question of whether or not she belonged in this one would finally be answered. And now, because of him, who knew what was next. Still, just because someone has questions does not necessarily mean they are looking for the answers.

"On one hand I suppose five thousand years gives you the right to be so sure of yourself. On the other, you are supposed to live that long, and longer. Maybe you take longer to learn things. You've already said time goes by differently." Annabel waited for a rebuttal but Damien only nodded.

"True."

"So it does take you longer?"

"No." he laughed. "But your logic is sound. Kind of makes you wonder what a fruit fly would know if it lived as long as you."

She sighed and drew circles in the little puddle her glass made on the table.

"What is your name?" She asked after a few minutes of silence. It wasn't that the silence was uncomfortable, but sitting there without asking something given the vessel of knowledge in front of her was impossible. Besides, the name he used couldn't possibly be of Egyptian origin. Or maybe they spoke perfect English and just left all those funny pictures for humans to find eons later as a practical joke.

Damien was speechless. He dealt with his own kind so little that the idea of his own name was little more than a faded memory, but it was still there. His first reaction was to say that she would not understand. Forget lacking the proper vocal chords to produce the sound, one needed something else entirely to understand their language. Then again, technically, she was something else entirely.

"What makes you curious of so simple a thing?" He asked, still contemplating the idea of trying to legitimately answer her question.

"You may have seen every story, but I haven't. Nothing is simple when it comes to you. Besides, if I'm meeting someone for the first time the first question I ask them is not going to be 'so tell me your whole life story'. It's 'hi, I'm Annabel, what is your name?' Though you're probably going to tell me that I can't pronounce it or something."

"Actually there is no pronouncing it. We have no need for words generally. It makes any language of yours a bitch to learn."

"Even better. How exactly do you speak without words? Even if you talk telepathically or whatever you still have words don't you?"

"No. I can't even explain how we communicate." Damien looked perplexed. It was abnormal on his drool worthy features. Even with the intellectual course their conversation had been sticking to, looking to long at him had Annabel's mind drifting to a more seductive location.

"I'll just tell you. Maybe you'll get it, maybe you won't." He continued finally.

The demon, though that term was fitting him less and less, made no movements. To any onlooker the table's occupants had suddenly run out of things to talk about and were sitting quietly staring at their drinks until another topic presented itself. As difficult as it was for Annabel to grasp, the truth was exactly the opposite. She heard nothing in any context she could relate to, but knew what he said nonetheless. It was that otherworldly cinnamon and heat and breath; a feeling that was simply known, not felt. Their language was some strange form of emotions and she could understand it!

"Holy crap."

"I take it you got that."

"I don't know how. Is it common for humans to understand your language?" Annabel asked a little bewildered.

Lying: It wasn't in him. How many questions would telling her that she was the only one that had ever understood his language prompt, however? He continued pondering his answer until the girl in front of him started to wonder.

"Damien?" She might understand his language, but it wasn't something she could grasp enough to simply start using. The name he spoke to her would have to continue to suffice.

"No." He said finally. "It's not common."

"How uncommon is it?" she pressed.

Damien took a deep breath. There was no way she could become dangerous to him suddenly. Just knowing what she is wouldn't suddenly give her the powers it took years of training to develop. He had good reason to be anxious though. In the millenniums that had passed during his life; only once had he come close to losing that life. The bastard might have even been related to the raven haired young woman before him. They shared similar features. But still, lying wasn't in him.

"You're the only one." He said quietly.

"You mean I'm the only one you've ever met."

Damien frowned. The simple statement was far from the plethora of questions he was expecting.

"As far as I know, yes, you are the only one I've ever met."

"Are you going to tell me more?"

It crossed his mind. He'd spent a great deal of time and effort collecting all the information he could on the hunters and what they once were. He was sure he could answer almost every question she might have about her past. The ability to understand his language was a new one though. While he had to painstakingly collect every piece of information he had on the ancient race, she seemed to be born with knowledge on him. That wasn't really fair in his opinion. It definitely didn't sweeten the deal on giving her that information. That and it was a bargaining tip. She may have more to offer than just sating his appetite.

"No." He answered. "I never give anything up that might be of value."

For a minute she almost forgot he was heartless or soulless or maybe it didn't matter. Maybe people put too much stock in that crap. In the end didn't everyone want something?

"So it 'might' be of value. Still gauging whether you can trash or use it?"

"Not entirely." He shrugged. "I've chosen the last two destinations. Do you have a preference on the next?"

Annabel crossed her fingers beneath her chin and smiled suddenly.

"You're trying to decide if it's dangerous to you."

Damien sat in silence, a little stunned if truth be told. Regardless of the truth she knew little about, how could she think she was dangerous to him?

"Not...only." He answered with an uncertain tone.

"How could a human be dangerous to you, Damien?" Annabel pressed.

"There are many oddities in this world. Apparently even the lifetime I've endeavored thus far is not enough to see them all."

"And if I take the amulet off?"

It was stupid. It was ludicrously idiotic. Since Gram was right about the existence of these strange things then it was a good possibility she was right about dealing with them being a bad thing. Still, when you spend a lifetime alone and out of place knowing why can trump common sense and even sanity. Besides, how do you just casually ignore that you might be dangerous to something that is quite literally older than dirt...at least some dirt.

He thought about it, but it was the wrong kind of lust. He would much rather talk her out of that thing than deal her out of it. Seduction worked so much better than deals. The successful seduction created a fire like no other while a deal, even at its best, was a bland exchange. Deals were unbreakable and sex without choice held nothing of value for him; food or otherwise.

"By all means, take it off. I keep telling you won't regret it." Damien smiled amiably as he took the last drink of his soda.

"You do, but I wanted something for it."

"No, I won't trade the information so you'll remove that trinket. We do seem to be progressing a bit. I thought you were dead set on waiting in stony resilience until I got bored and loafed off." He chuckled.

Annabel suppressed the urge to smack him. According to him that would only net her more trouble in the end, and she was inclined to believe him. Now she had choices: tell him to take her home where she would end up alone with him or find another place to explore.

"I want to go to the beach." She said upon her decision at the same time derailing the now useless line of conversation. That didn't mean it was over, it was just time to find a new way around it. He might not want to be forth coming with the things he knew about her, but he was, slowly but surely, giving up pieces the longer she was with him. The beach seemed like a perfect place to get someone randomly talking. Maybe he wasn't used to that. For the moment the only other 'thing' she'd seen like him look bereft of any communication skills so it was possible he rarely talked to anyone without watching what he said.

"The beach it is then." He stood and moved toward the door, looking back to make sure she followed him.

They found the car quickly and were slipping through traffic a short time later.

"Do you guys ever get together and do the demon equivalent of having a beer?" Annabel asked as she watched the cars outside. It was barely afternoon, but this late in the season the sun lit everything with a softer touch than the harshness of summer. In just a few more hours it would start winding down and allow a chill from the cooled waters of the gulf to creep across the landscape.

"No, we are solitary for the most part. We also don't require any form of socialization." He answered sidling the car up against the seawall sidewalk and shutting it down.

"You never feel alone?"

"No."

She envied him all of a sudden. She might purposefully eschew humanity but it did not mean she did not feel alone.

"So what the hell do you do when you are not hunting?"

Damien shrugged. What did he do? Watch movies, eat junk food, read...everything. Suddenly he sounded very human. It went with the territory though. Unlike the rest of his kind he actually had to interact with them. It was bound to happen that some of them would seep into him.

"Sometimes I sit very still just to see how long I can do it." He answered finally and then got out of the car.

Wow, sounded like eternity was a blast.

"What's your longest?" She asked as he held the door open for her.

"Hmmm." His lips pressed together as he considered, and she was close enough to catch a hint of that damning sweetness. "I think I missed the roaring twenties. Shame too."

"And what's the worst thing that's ever happened to you?"

"My so many questions. When do I get a chance?" Those same lips curved upward and parted showing a flash of teeth with just the hint of sharp point on the canines. Annabel had to sharply remind herself to focus.

"Well, less than three decades versus five or so millennia. What exactly is there to ask me?"

"If you could be anything else what would it be?"

"Anything? Real or imagined? Human or not?"

"You get my point quickly." He grinned.

They walked down the steps to the shoreline near a line of granite that jutted several yards out into the surf. Theoretically it protected the shore's shape, but really it just interfered.

"A bird sometimes and just me others; except with more freedom and fewer cares."

The wind was constant but gentle and barely caressed the milky green waters. A few hundred yards out the water turned suddenly to a beautiful blue that sparkled in the sun's presence when it twisted subtly this way or that. Closer in she watched a clearer version of this ocean slip up the very gentle slope of sand that constituted the beach and then retreat in a rhythm all its own. She definitely needed to find her way down here more often.

"You know I could do that." Damien commented as he watched her.

Annabel just laughed and did not bother commenting, but damn it was tempting.

"Anything else?" She asked even though a thousand questions still vied for first answer in her head.

"Yes. Tell me about your first time." He said thoughtfully.

"I'm assuming you mean sex. Why does it always have to be that?" She frowned.

"We all have our way of looking at the world. I could ask you your favorite music which is an extremely viable question. Music has a way of manipulating the flow of everything inside and outside of the universe. That's not exactly the filter I look through though. I have to hunt. A large portion of my very extensive life is wrapped up in what I require for nourishment. So, while not every portion of my thought concentrates on sex, it does flavor pretty much everything I do. I know food may not be as important to you, but it does color the way you see other people does it not?"

It made sense. People who ate caviar came across as uppity and people who ate pig's feet...well she worried about them.

"It was...uneventful."

"Uneventful...or disappointing?" A dirty blond eyebrow arched over one of those bewitching green eyes. The sun made them more like cut emeralds than the strange iridescent fire that greeted her that first night.

Annabel smiled and shook her head. She'd never told anyone about that awkward moment.

"I was young. Full of lust."

"Hmmm...something youth does abound in."

"I thought I was in love. My heart was racing, my mouth was dry, and then...nothing. It wasn't the pain or the lack of skill, though there was definitely lack of skill..." She blushed and sighed softly to herself. "It was just that everything stopped. It was no different than talking to someone for information. It was the same way the few times I took the chance to go that far later. So what does that say about me, Damien?" She cocked her head at him waiting for some seduction routine.

"A lot," was all he said as they continued down the shore line.