Any characters you recognize belong to Sherrilyn Kenyon or Laurell K. Hamilton. I’m just doing this for fun. This is rated PG.

 

Nate’s Intro: Chapter Eight

 

I woke up the next evening for work and felt like I'd been playing tackle football with the Bears. I hurt all over and shouldn't have. Damn.

 

I made my way to the shower and let the warm water run over my aching muscles.  I stood there until the water had cooled. Getting out of the shower to retrieve a towel, I caught a glimpse of myself in the full-length mirror hanging on the door. Bruises? I should have healed while I slept. Something was definitely wrong. Getting dressed was even a pain. Note to self, don't let someone beat on you.

 

I dressed in jeans and a red tee shirt, boots and threw my jacket on before heading to work.  Traffic was light. It was Monday night after all.

 

This weekend was Halloween. It would be wild in New Orleans. Sanctuary would be rockin' and the daimons and vampires would be out in force. It was a perfect cover for them but the Hunters would be out too.

 

I always loved Halloween, even as a kid, all the candy, the weird costumes, all those vampires and werewolves. God if people only knew. They'd barricade themselves in their homes and never venture outside. The world as we knew it would cease to exist.

 

I pulled into a space behind the building that housed the studio. It offered the best cover for me if I had to come out after sunrise. Myra's truck was parked out back as well. I groaned and got out to go inside.

 

Coming off the elevator, I didn't see Myra anywhere.  Sighing I walked down the hall to the vending machine, bought a coke, and went back up to the studio to get ready for the night. 

 

I was just starting to put my headphones on when someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned and was met with a hand across my face.

 

I was faced with one angry Katagari. “Do you know how long it took me to convince them that I had nothing to do with your disappearance?” I started to answer but she got closer. “I had the Master and his servant breathing down my throat!  Not to mention my Ulfric!” She was punctuating every word with her finger stabbing my chest. “Christ, Nathan! What are you that you can just disappear in a flash like that?”

 

I grabbed her finger on the last jab and really had to focus to not twist it. “Will you please stop that? It really hurts.”

 

She looked up at me. I guess what she saw in my eyes made her decide to calm down. “You're hurt. What happened?” There was actual concern there.

 

“Have you seen Kevin?”

 

She looked confused. “No. Had a message on my machine.”

 

“At least yours was on a machine.” She opened her mouth to say something then closed it. “I guess he got worried about you.”

 

“He hurt you? Over concern for me?”

 

I nodded. “I'll heal. Eventually.” That still puzzled me.

 

“What are you Nathan? A Vampire?”

 

Looking at her disgusted, I shook my head. “No. Look I need to get the show started. Can you stick around?”

 

“Are you going to level with me?”

 

“As best as I can.”  I turned back to the console and cued up a few songs and ads, enough for me to tell her a few things and for her to laugh in disbelief.

 

I told her when and where I was born, how I had died and what had happened since. I knew that if I overstepped any boundaries, Acheron would let me know.

 

“You are from a parallel universe and in your world, you are one of a group of people that hunt vampires?”

 

“Basically.” I shrugged.

 

“And you are controlled by a Greek goddess, that has your soul?”

 

“Yep.”

 

“Well that is unique. I'll give you that.” She said skeptically.

 

“It's okay. You don't have to believe me but it's the truth.”

 

“So you were born in 1924?” I nodded. “That would make you what eighty?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

She looked me up and down.  “You look damn good for eighty.” I blushed. “That's cute.”

 

I ignored her. “Anyway. I had no control over what happened last night. One minute I was there. The next I wasn't.”

 

“How did you get here?”

 

“I pissed off a goddess. Luckily I wasn't sent to some cave somewhere.”

 

“Or hell.” She added.

 

I shook my head. “This is a type of hell, surrounded by the very thing I am sworn to protect the innocent from and I can't hunt them. I sure as hell can't kill them.”

 

She laid a hand on my cheek and leaned in close like she would kiss me.

 

I backed away. “Look I don't want another visit from Kevin too soon. I'm not healing like I should.”

 

“You heal differently?”

 

“Usually while we sleep if the wounds aren't too severe but for some reason, my healing abilities have been dampened.” The last of the ads was playing. I moved around her and put on the headphones. “93X fm. Your adult alternative... call me if there's something you'd like to hear.”

 

The phones began to ring. I turned to take the first call but Myra got it. She smiled and winked. It was going to be an interesting night.

 

In between calls and music we talked some more. Around two am Nathaniel called. He had just finished his last set. He wanted to thank me for the CD. He asked if I liked the show and if I'd come back again but stay longer. I told him that I would try. This seemed to satisfy him. He requested a song and hung up.

 

“Should you go back?” Myra asked.

 

“Probably not but I need to retrieve my knife. It means a lot to me. Shouldn't you be getting home?”

 

“You really don't want me around?”

 

“I didn't say that but I'm sure Kevin is waiting.”

 

She walked up and put her arms around my neck. “Let him wait.”

 

I tried to pull away. “This isn't a good idea.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“There are a lot of good reasons.” None of which were coming to mind at the moment as she buried her face in my neck. All my senses went wild. All I could think of was 'a little taste'. “Myra, I need to put on some more music.”

 

She growled.

 

I pushed her to arms length. “Tell me you didn't just growl at me.”

 

She pulled away. “I'm sorry. Full moon is in a couple of days.”

 

“What happens then?”

 

“We all meet at the Lupanar.  We change. We hunt.”

 

“Let me put on some more music and you can tell me about it.”

 

I went about setting up a block of music with ads in the middle but when I turned around, she was gone. I guessed she wasn't at ease with talking about it. I put it out of my head and finished up the night.

 

The sun was just rising when I walked outside. I was tired and still sore. All I wanted to do was go home and curl up in bed.

 

Myra avoided me on Tuesday night. Wednesday night she wasn't even there. Ellen took her place. She pointed out that Myra always took the night off on a full moon. So that was it. Yeah I guess it wouldn't be good to shift in the middle of a show. Talk about grounds for dismissal.

 

I wished her well. Good hunting. I wondered what everyone in my world was doing. Not good to dwell on it. Once again I finished the show and made my way home.

 

As soon as I closed my eyes, the dreams started. It was the usual ones at first, home, the war, Paul's death. Then there was this period of nothing, just a calm, before something crashed into me full force.

 

There was a myriad of scents and visions: the woods and running, others all around me, running with me, and a strong taste of copper, blood, warm and so good. The hunt had gone well. We were all sated. Now we could sleep.

 

My eyes opened and I sat straight up. “What the hell was that?”