The Slayers Ch. 01-02

"Let us say for the purpose of our conversation that I just know. Someone recognized me for what I am and I think that you know who and what I am as well," Jian replied. "Is this true?"

"No."

"Pardon me," Jian said quietly, "but you are lying. You've known about me since I arrived. I should have known about you as well. You are very good at what you do- you are a slayer. Only a slayer is good enough to hide from another slayer."

"Get out," the woman hissed.

Jian didn't move. The woman had been a slayer, but something horrible must have happened for her to be so afraid and angry.

"Where is your mate?" Jian asked and then watched her carefully. The slayers hunted and worked in pairs- mated pairs. As far he was concerned, it was a mixed blessing. The advantage to working with ones mate was that they could be depended on. They ate, slept and at times breathed together. In a battle situation who better than ones mate to fight by ones side? The downside was that the mate also became ones Achilles heel. That was also why pregnancies were discouraged until the couple retired. If a pregnancy occurred, the couple was taken out of the field. Children of the slayer race were more precious than the rarest mineral.

"Get out!" the woman who now in no way resembled an old woman shouted. "Get the fuck out of my house!"

Jian slowly stood up, looked at her and left. There was no point in trying to get her to talk. She was far too upset. He decided to give her a few days and then he would try again. The first thing he did when he got home was to check his answering machine. There was still no word from home- a fact that frustrated him. The second thing he did was to arrange for a car to be delivered to his house. It was time to begin emergency preparations. After that was done, he lay on his mat to think things through. The more he thought about it, the more he thought he knew who the monsters were.

On whim, he decided to call Brittney. He had to be sure that she knew that she had to stay indoors for the rest of the night. The phone rang several times before she answered it. Jian's heart began to pound- he didn't think that she would have gone out. They had worked out hard and she looked tired.

"Jian?" her soft voice said when she answered the phone.

"Where are you?" he asked anxiously.

"Home-why?"

"You are alright?"

"Jian-I'm fine, what's wrong?" Brittney asked picking up on his anxiety.

"Nothing-Brittney give me your word that you will stay indoors tonight."

"Jian..."

"Your word please."

There it was again- that demanding tone and she didn't like it one bit. In response; she snipped at him.

"Since when do you get to talk to me as if you own me or something?"

Jian took a deep breath. He was experiencing what was called new mate syndrome and he had to curb it. He had heard of instances where the female partner became so angry that the training and consequent mating took much longer than it normally would have. He had also heard of female mates who had been previously involved in abusive relationships misunderstanding the attitude of the male. Sometimes those ended badly. Brittney however had been involved with only two men, neither of whom understood her. Neither of whom supported her in her training. Both relationships were short lived with the last one ending months before he arrived from China.

As for himself, he was a healthy, virile male. He had taken many women, human and of his kind alike and he felt no guilt about it. It was always consensual and the female understood that there could never be anything more between them. The last time he had been with a woman was before he left China. Once he saw Brittney, he wanted no one else. That had been the first clue that she was his. Some of his kind took that as the only indication; but not him. He had a list of criteria that had to be met before he was ready to say that a female belonged to and with him. Brittney had met one of the final pieces of criteria when she leaned against him. She trusted him to keep her safe.

"Brittney," Jian said his voice soft, but the tone firm. "I am only concerned about your safety. Something is happening- you felt it as well as I did. Now please- your word that you will stay indoors."

That if anything was what made Brittney give her word. Jian was right, something was happening.

"Alright," she grumbled still not liking his tone. "Just watch the tone," she added.

"Thank you," Jian replied not addressing the issue of his tone. It was a tone that he would be using again. "What are your plans for tomorrow?" He asked thinking that the sooner he upped her training the better.

"I'm going to my sisters like I do every Sunday," Brittney replied still a little miffed. "Why?"

"I thought that we could train again," Jian replied. "I think that you are ready for real weapons."

He knew that was what would get her. She had been after him for the past year to teach her how to use the real weapons.

"They are exactly like the replicas," he had told her time and time again. It was true that they were and he had no doubt that Brittney would have no problems switching to the real thing.

"Are you serious?" she asked.

"Yes- what time will you be home?"

"I usually get home around seven- but..."

"Yes?" Jian prompted.

"My sister said that I could bring you- her boyfriend wants to talk to you about training with us. I should warn you that she thinks that we're a couple, but if you don't care..."

The last piece fell into place. It was the last of the criteria. She was taking him home to meet her family. It didn't matter that she didn't understand the significance of it. It only mattered that it was happening.

"I would enjoy that," he replied. "What time shall I collect you?"

"Collect me? Jian I'm going to be collecting you," Brittney replied laughing. "Unless I'm riding on the handlebars of my bike."

"It just so happens that I had my car delivered to me tonight," Jian replied with a smile.

"You have a car? How did I not know that?" Brittney asked. "What else are you not telling me?"

The question was asked as a joke, but Jian heard the seriousness behind it.

"I have a few secrets," he teased back. "In due time I will be sharing them with you. What time shall I come for you?"

"Dinner is at one so how about twelve-fifteen? Amanda- that's my sister hates it when I'm late."

They talked for a few more minutes and then hung up. Jian felt invigorated now that he knew who his partner and mate was. Too excited to rest, he began making plans. He wondered if Brittney would like to learn how to ride a motorcycle.

****

After the phone call with Jian was over, Brittney called Amanda to let her know that she would be brining Jian. She also wanted to give her the 'behave yourself spiel'. The phone rang several times and then went to voice mail. She left a message, hung up and went to bed. She didn't wake up until the next morning.

****

Amanda was bone tired. She had worked in the yard all day and then had to go shopping for the ingredients for the vegetarian dishes. To his credit, Paul helped her in the yard, cleaned the house and went to the store with her. To her surprise he had even helped make the dishes that could be made ahead of time. She looked over at him. Her teddy bear as she called him. He was well over six feet three inches with the darkest brown eyes that she had even seen. It didn't matter that he was balding or that he had a gut- she loved him and he loved her enough to try to change his lifestyle.

"Come on baby," he said to her after the last dish was in the fridge. "I'll give you one of teddy bear's famous massages."

She didn't need to be told twice. She often wondered about his ex-wife. The woman had to have been an idiot to have let him go. According to Paul, the main bone of contention had been children. He wanted as many as he could while she wanted none. He tried to compromise with her, but to no avail. He had been divorced for a year when she met him at her job. She worked front desk at a busy clinic and he was a UPS man covering for someone on vacation. He started dropping by on his days off and before they knew it they were a couple.

They went up the stairs holding hands knowing what was going to happen during that massage. When they reached the top of the stairs, Paul remembered that he hadn't closed the door to the patio. He almost went back, but he knew that if he did; Amanda would be asleep before he got back. "I'll go back down later," he thought to himself. "My baby needs loving."

****

As soon as they were upstairs, someone moved in the shadows. He walked around the house grumbling when each window he came to was locked. Finally, he stood in front of the patio door. A huge smile spread across his face as he entered the kitchen and headed toward the stairs.