Passion and Lust Ch. 04

"I may have found something," said Val.

"Mmm?" Allen mumbled, his mouth full of lunch.

"One of the books you brought from the library. I've been reading it and I believe I've found where they placed my sister's 'statue' after the imprisonment."

Allen swallowed, standing up and walking over to Val where she sat on the bed. "Yeah? Sounds like good news. Where is it?"

"Do you have a map? One that shows where you found me?"

"Sorta. I looked it all up online. I can show you that map."

Allen quickly brought up the map he'd used to find Val on his computer, pointing out the exact building he'd been digging under. Val stood behind him, leaning in toward the screen.

"There."

She looked back to her book, re-reading a few phrases before placing her finger on the map. She moved it up and over a bit, then paused.

"What is the scale on this map?"

"Oh, over there. Bottom left. I'm assuming you figured out what miles were from my head."

"That... is correct," said Val, fidgeting. It looked like she wasn't any more comfortable than Allen bringing the mind-fuck up.

Taking a look at the scale, she zoomed in once, then repeated her earlier motions. After a few glances back between the book and the map, she nodded. "That is where she should be."

"Huh," said Allen, squinting at the map. "That's not far at all from where you were. Half-mile, maybe."

"Yes. The book states she was placed in the same structure as I, in a room symmetrical to my own."

"Same structure?" Allen whistled. Or at least tried to. He still wasn't very good at it. "I take back what I said about a half-mile not being far. That massive for any one building."

"I know. Even as statues, people had great respect for my sister and I. We were placed in a rather extravagant structure."

Allen rubbed his chin. "You want to go look for her, I guess?"

Val was already pleading with her eyes. "I do. Can you take me back there?"

"Yeah, I can do that. But do you have a plan? Seems like just going there and digging down to where she is would be a great way to release her on the rest of the world—assuming she hasn't gotten out already."

"I do. Have a plan, that is." Slapping the book shut, she turned and laid it on a pile with the others. She stood staring at the pile for a moment, a hand resting on the top. Allen crossed his arms behind her, waiting for her to say something more. This wasn't something he felt he should be pushing her on, but at the same time, there was no way in hell he'd be going out there without a plan.

"Yes. Yes, there is a path for me to take should things not be so simple when we arrive. It would give me the opportunity to imprison my sister again. I do not want to speak of it, however. It gives me little pride." Clothes shimmered and solidified on Val, a conservative outfit of jeans and a long shirt. "We should leave as soon as possible."

"I'll get my keys." Allen took one last bite of his lunch and dumped the rest, then grabbed everything he needed. He didn't want to admit it, but he was getting nervous seeing Val in her state. Playful, catty Val was fine, awesome sometimes. Business, formal Val was great, too. But a worried, hesitant Val? Allen started to truly feel he may have bitten off a little more than he could chew.

The drive out to the site was swift and mostly silent. Allen probed Val every now and then, trying to get her to relax or maybe open up a bit about the whole situation with her sister. While she replied to everything, her answers were short and humorless. The only emotion Allen saw on the ride there was an occasional hand darting out to grab the door handle accompanied by a shallow breath. Even after yesterday she wasn't entirely comfortable in the car.

Allen tried to comprehend Val's position. He bet she was hoping her sister would see reason this time, but both of them knew many years of imprisonment probably wouldn't do much to help Lust's disposition. It was a very optimistic point of view to think anything good might come out of the encounter. More likely, he suspected, Val would be forced to use whatever plan she had cooked up to weaken Lust, make her vulnerable for the same imprisonment she'd been subjected to. The same Val had been stuck in with her. Seeing the razor determination in Val's eyes, Allen witnessed a different side of the woman—no, the spirit that was Val. Placing the Stone of Binding on her forehead the first time must have been frightening enough, but now that she knew what that limbo was like? And she knew how long she'd probably be stuck there?

Gripping the wheel harder, Allen tried to focus on the road. He couldn't begin to imagine what Val was thinking. Best leave her to her thoughts.

Allen parked in an empty lot not far from the building entrance. The place was crawling with weeds and pebbles strewn out across the lot. He hopped out of the car, making sure not to twist his ankle on any of the larger rocks. Val was already walking toward the site where they'd have to start digging. Slamming the car door shut, Allen jogged to catch up with her.

"Hey!" he said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

She stopped and turned to him.

"Look, I'm not real good with talking people up, but I figure since this might be my last chance to say it, I should. I... enjoyed having you around. I realize this may not go so well for either you or your sister, and we might not be seeing each other around. But I had a good time. Every minute. Really."

He offered what kind of a smile he could, given the circumstances, and put his hand against Val's. Her stone face finally softened, a warm smile of her own growing across it. She gripped his hand firmly and Allen felt three other invisible hands touch him. One on the wrist, another on the back, and one on the shoulder. They walked together, like that, to the old building, ready to face whatever Lust had in store.

What they found happened to be a massive, rough hole in the ground. It was maybe ten feet wide, the edges jagged like someone had wrenched the concrete floor up in a mighty pull. Rock, dirt and even some rebar lay in the radius of destruction. A fine dust had long-since fallen over everything and collected in nooks and crannies.

"Holy shit," said Allen.

"This is not a good sign," said Val.

"You're not kidding." He walked to the edge of the hole, peering into its depths. The room below looked familiar. "Do you think we should go down there? Maybe we're lucky and she's stuck around."

"I am not counting on it, but yes, it would be prudent to investigate."

Val's speech reminded him of when they first met: formal, a little uptight, and maybe even awkward. Whatever warmth she was showing before had diffused into the afternoon air.

"How do you think we should get down there?" Allen asked

Walking over to the edge of the hole, she gauged the distance down. After humming to herself, she walked up to Allen, wrapped him up in six of her arms and leapt. He hardly had time to bark out a protest before they hit the bottom. Val's legs took the shock without trouble and she released Allen, allowing her extra arms to become visible again. She patted Allen down to make sure he hadn't broken anything, then walked off in the direction of the dais where Lust should have been. Allen opened his mouth to give her trouble for the sudden leap, but stopped when his eyes landed on the same thing Val was looking at.

The dais was empty.

A long sigh, closer to a snort, came out of Val. Allen saw several of her hands curling into fists. A wicked aura, both of desperation and fear, bled from her stance. In that moment, for the first time since encountering the stone statue of Val, he was scared of her. His stance stiffened, watching, waiting for Val to do something. The image of Val twirling around, striking everything within reach, stomping on the floor and destroying the ceiling—it was terrifying. He hoped whatever she did didn't bring the whole place down around them.

As nonchalantly as he could, Allen walked over to where he could get a view of her face. Her eyes were cast onto the floor, mouth even and stone cold. She needed cheering up. No good ideas came off the top of Allen's head, except for maybe sex. But that seemed so simple, and Allen felt she needed something more. He started to pace, his footsteps echoing through the old ruins. Sports were an option. She'd shown some interest in football earlier. Allen cocked his head. Eh, watching football could be stressful, too, if your team was losing, and Allen had shit luck in rooting for the right team. He considered another walk as well. It might help her blow off some steam, but at the same time, they'd just done that yesterday. Surely there was more for him to show her in the short time she had here?

His pacing came to a halt, fist striking his palm. Dinner at a nice restaurant. He'd been too broke to go earlier, plus he rarely had someone to take. This was the perfect opportunity.

"Hey, Val."

Her drooping head rose and turned to him. "Yes?"

"I'm taking you out to a nice dinner tonight."

Her eyes regarded him with curiosity. "A nice dinner? What do you mean?"

"A restaurant. You know what those are?"

"Yes. You want to go to a restaurant, then? That sounds agreeable." She turned back to the spot she'd been staring at, where Lust's statue should've been.

Not exactly the reaction Allen had been hoping for, but at least she didn't throw it back in his face. He scratched the underside of his chin, his stubble scratching his fingers back. She probably didn't realize what the significance of a dinner out was. It could also be that food didn't interest her all that much, seeing as she didn't need to eat. Scrunching up his mouth, Allen shook his head. Maybe dinner was a crap idea after all. Oh well. He'd already offered and she'd accepted. Besides, her mood might be dampening her actual feelings about it.

He gave Val a bit longer to brood and stare at the spot where her sister once stood. After what felt like quite a while, however, he decided any more wouldn't be healthy. It hurt to admit, but seeing Val so downtrodden didn't help his feelings about the situation at all, either. She was supposed to be the one who knew what was going on, who understood her sister and how to stop her. Yet, here she was, staring at the floor like it would solve all her problems for her. Allen tasted bile in his throat.

He walked over to where Val sat and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Hey."

She didn't bother to turn around this time. "Yes?"

"We should go. There's nothing for us to find here."

"I suppose we should." She didn't stand.

Allen waited a few seconds, then squeezed her shoulder. "C'mon."

"What do you suppose this means?" she asked, her voice wistful.

Allen winced. He was terrible at this stuff. Something had fish-hooked its way into Val's thoughts and it would not be easy to get it out of there. "I think it means your sister doesn't like being cooped up in a dusty old ruin. That's it."

"She didn't come looking for me."

"Oh, c'mon, how do you know that? You didn't know where she was, how would she know how to find you?"

"She could've found me. She could have waited here, too, knowing I would be looking for her."

"Yeah, I guess. I still don't see how this means anything special. The two of you left on not-so-great terms. Maybe she wanted some 'me-time'."

"I wonder if she still thinks of me as her sister." The words came out cold, cold enough to make Allen shiver had he not already began to burn with frustration.

"Oh, what the hell? Is that really what you think?" Allen heard his voice rising. This always happened when things got serious and even though he knew it was happening, he could never stop himself. "You've got nothing to base that off of. This is your job, right? To keep things running? Keep people sexing and whatnot? Maybe your sister understands that. Maybe she feels the exact same way as you about this."

"That is an optimistic way of viewing it. You may be right. But I was the one who captured and imprisoned her. I was the one to end what we had."

"And what did you have? Whatever it was, it wasn't working. Stop moving the goalposts. You're judging yourself with unfair standards."

"But your logic is too cold. Emotion is too important to disregard in such an important decision. Maybe it's right I feel guilty."

Allen bit his lip to keep from escalating further. That's not what Val needed. And who was she to talk about being cold? He could feel the frost coming off her speech. Stepping in front of Val, he stood atop the spot she was staring, extending a hand downward. Val blinked, looking between the hand and Allen's face, her eyes glittering with that familiar beauty, though drenched in conflict.

"Then feel guilty. But stand up, too. Don't feel sorry for yourself without learning from it."

Be a better person than me.

Val sat in place, staring at the hand, debating with herself. Allen hoped he'd convinced her because not only had he run out of things to say, the next comment from her with that disgusting negative tone might well set him off. Eventually, she huffed, nodded, and accepted Allen's hand with three of her own. Getting her back on her feet was a touch awkward, given she was so much taller, but he managed.

"Now, how about that dinner?" A corner of his mouth managed a crooked smile.

She smiled back.

~~~

They stopped by Allen's apartment before heading out. If they were going to a nice restaurant, Allen figured he'd do things right. He put on the one faded navy-blue blazer he had, a light blue button-up shirt, and navy slacks. While it wasn't the snazziest getup in the city, it was the nicest he could come up with. He spun to face Val, intending to show off his style, but he ended up in awe instead.

It was the red dress.

Again, he tried to whistle, but it came out flat. That familiar sparkle, the tightness against her body, the way her breasts almost spilled out of the top, and that teasing cut on the legs... all of it just as wonderful as he remembered. He walked up to Val, almost in a trance, laying his hands on her shoulders. He traced one of her flowing arms, adoring her smooth olive skin with his fingertips and groping her tight muscles as his hand glided over them. Cupping her elbow, his touch drifted over her arm to her hand, where their palms met and fingers intertwined. Standing so close to her, he had to strain his neck to look directly into her eyes. Neither one of them smiled, captivated by the other. Those piercing azure eyes melted Allen right there. Swallowing, he looked to his other hand, this time tracing her outer curves. His touch flowed over the group of joints where her arms met her body, then lower to her stomach and finally coming to rest on her hip.

"Goddamn," was all he could say.

"I told you I love it when you do that. Look over me."

"Like I could help myself."

Allen smirked, withdrawing his hand from her grasp. "I think we're ready to go."

"Dearie, I'm always ready to go," her lips shot at Allen before curling up in a dark smile, the kind that both teases and promises.

Yep, definitely gotta go. Else I'll be tearing these clothes off instead of staring at them. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her out the door.

As a result of never visiting any of the nice restaurants downtown, Allen sat in the unfortunate position of knowing exactly zero places to go. He spent far too long driving around, looking for a place without a ten-mile line extending out of it. The sun was touching the horizon by the time he spotted a place, and there was still a half-hour wait. Guess there's a reason why you're supposed to get reservations.

He jogged back to the car, letting Val know the situation. He found it hard to keep his speech steady every time he spotted her in that dress. For a woman that supposedly knew nothing about modern fashion, she sure as hell knew how to cook up something to drive him wild.

"C'mon, let's go wait near the door. I need to show you off in that dress of yours."

Her cheeks dimpled with her smile and she stepped out. Allen took her arm and guided her to the front door where they stood in the cooling late-afternoon air. He spotted a few spots inside where they could've sat, but anyone passing by wouldn't have had the chance of seeing Val... and the guy she was with. Each time someone walked by and shot Val a look, Allen swelled up with pride. Even more so when their eyes shifted to him. Maybe all the money from selling that jewel could buy a certain kind of respect and a pretty woman on his arm, but what he felt now? Nah, that was the kind of respect you couldn't buy, and the pride of standing next to a woman who was not only gorgeous, but intelligent and caring as well. Someone who felt as good standing next to him as he her.

"You're cute when you thrust out your chest like that," said Val.

"Yeah?" Wiping off his front, Allen settled back into a more relaxed pose. He hadn't even noticed he was doing it. "Well, maybe I've earned the right to do it a little bit."

"That was more than a little."

"Maybe I've earned the right to do it a lot." He stuck his chest back out again, this time excessively so. "I'd tell you to do it, too, but I think those tits of yours would burst right out of your dress."

Val giggled, setting a hand on the small of his back.

After a wait that felt like much less than thirty minutes, they were called in and shown a table. The place certainly fell into Allen's definition of 'nice'. The atmosphere was calm and soothing, a smooth jazz accompanying the dull chatter of conversation. Each table was covered in a red tablecloth, though the red on Val's dress was much more dazzling. The walls were adorned with fine patterns, with framed paintings filling up the empty spaces. A wafting scent of sweet perfume hung in the hair, as well as the occasional rush of spices and flavor so rich Allen could taste it through his nose. Val and him were shown to a spacious half-circle booth against a wall, the seating a plush red. As Allen slid into the booth, the long tablecloth tickled his legs. Val sat mostly opposite him, grinning both with a reckless sort of joy and that spark of risqué brazenness he'd come to recognize.

Once the menus were set in front of them, however, Allen forgot all about Val. He dismissed the waiter to get them both water and the second he was gone, he allowed himself a thorough gawking at the prices. He could live for days off the money they charged for a single meal! His gawking turned to coughing and he was about to deflect it into his sleeve when he realized he was wearing his nicest blazer. Instead, he grabbed his napkin and coughed into that. When the fit passed, he felt himself blushing at acting so normal in a prissy place like this. Ordinarily, he'd add a spit to the floor on top of the coughing, but he didn't want to embarrass Val. Plus, if he was going to be one of these well-off people in the near future, he might as well act more like one.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, fine. Cough all the time."

"I noticed. Do you think—?"

"C'mon, Val, this is supposed to be about celebrating! About you! Let's not talk about my stupid cough."

"If you wish."

The waiter returned with their water, asking if they'd ever been there before and gave some recommendations. Val listened intently while Allen looked over the menu. At this rate, he'd just end up with the cheapest thing they sold. He might've been coming into big money soon, but 'soon' wasn't 'now' and his 'now' wallet was a little lacking. The waiter left to give them time to think about their meals. Allen didn't notice he'd left until Val's finger hooked over the top of his menu and pulled it down.