Any characters you recognize belong to Sherrilyn Kenyon or Laurell K. Hamilton. I’m just doing this for fun. I think this rates PG-13.

 

Nate’s Intro: Chapter Seven

Fight or flight. We've all experienced it and the power I felt coming from just behind me should have caused flight, zero to sixty in a nanosecond. Instead I stood, turning, ready for a fight.

Training and instinct took hold. All Dark Hunters have it. It's what keeps us breathing. He was blonde, his long hair hiding part of his face.

His eyes held centuries of knowledge and something else I couldn't quite put a finger on.

We were in our own little time, space bubble. Everyone else was watching the show. For some reason, my heart was running a marathon in my chest. I glanced over my shoulder at Myra but she was oblivious to it all. Acheron's warning kept sounding in my head, ’the vampires here are different.’

“Calm yourself young one. I am not here to harm you,” the blonde said in a French accent. Well that was good, the part about not harming me. Yeah, that worked for me. “I do wish a word. I have questions that need answers.”

Mr. Tongue Stud and Blondie appeared out of the shadows to my right. I turned and tapped Myra on the shoulder. She looked annoyed as she caught site of security. I motioned to the older vamp behind us. She turned slightly in her seat. Her eyes widened and she said, ”I'll make sure Nathaniel gets the CD.”

I looked at her dumbfounded. One minute she was all set to get in between me and the vamps. The next she wasn't. This guy must be bad news. I turned back to him.

“Look, I don't want any trouble. I just came down to give Nathaniel a CD.”

The old vamp smiled showing the slightest hint of fang. “I am not offering you trouble. What I am offering is to carry on this conversation in private, so as not to disturb our other guests.”

Considering that I was outnumbered again and that Acheron would probably kill me if I started trouble, I gave in. “Okay. I suppose I could give you my trust for awhile, Mr.…”

“I am Asher. I am the Master of the City's second in command.”

“What the hell is the Master of the City? Is that like mayor or something?” He eyed me curiously. “What?”

“I find it hard to believe that you do not know what a Master of the City is.”

“I'm not from around here.” I shrugged.

“That is obvious. Please allow these men to escort you to my office.”

The other two vamps were grinning at me. I was thinking one reason was all I needed.

“Look, we've already had enough contact between us for one night.”

“Yes I know but I assure you they will not touch you.”

The look on my face must have said “Uh huh. Right.”

“You offered me your trust.”

“Are you offering me safe passage?” He nodded once. Okay. “But do not take this for granted. It can be revoked at any time.”

“Was that a threat?” I eyed the older man warily.

“I do not make threats.”

Okay I was getting a headache and we were getting nowhere. So I threw my hands up and let Blondie and Tongue Stud lead the way. I looked back once at Myra. The old vampire was talking to her. She glanced my way and then turned back to the show.

I need a list of people not to trust. Seeing as how I didn't know a lot of people here, it would be a long list.

We walked through the crowd, past the bar to a door that said employees only.  Through the door and down a long nondescript corridor we walked until we came to another door. This one was made of steel. Good protection from small arms fire. 

The door opened and I expected to find another vampire on the other side. There was no one there. Blondie pushed me inside and the door slammed shut. There was another long corridor but this one had several doors along the way.

I felt like Monty Hall. What's behind door number one? I tried the door on my left. Locked. Tw doors down on my right the knob turned and I found myself in a bedroom. There was a large four-poster bed with what looked like black silk sheets, a small table, and a chair covered in some oriental fabric. A single lamp sat on the table. There was another door on the left. ‘Probably a bathroom,’ I thought. The bed looked inviting. Must be getting late.

I stepped back out into the corridor closing the door.  I continued my way down the hall, trying another door on the left. I opened it to find some sort of meeting going on, two women, three men.

One of the men was a vampire but I wasn't sure which one. There was an awful lot of power in the room. They were all looking at me. I stared to say something when a hand grabbed me by the collar and yanked me out into the corridor. It was Asher. I hadn't even heard him. Yeah the vamps were different here. He said some things in French to the others, then closed the door. 

He leaned his head down and whispered, ”Be very careful what doors you open. I wouldn't want you to be...bitten, unless of course that is what you wish.”

“Not if you want to go on breathing,” I snapped back. He laughed as I turned around to face him.

“My office is this way.” He explained, still smiling.

Another door down and on the opposite side, we came to his office. He opened the door walking in, allowing me to follow. He sat down in a black leather chair behind an expensive looking desk. It was a dark red wood, probably cherry.

The walls were also dark but held several portraits. There was a black overstuffed leather sofa and bookshelves, four of them. The books looked very old. I wondered if he had brought them with him.

I was looking at one of the portraits, two men and a woman. He was one of the men. The other, I was sure was one of the men in the other room I had entered, but the woman wasn't. They were all in period clothing of early France.

I turned to find him watching me.  He motioned me to sit. I did.

“You are Nathan Elliott. You work at a local radio station.” He was reading from a manila folder. Somebody had been doing homework. “You have been in St. Louis less that one month and already you know two of our people.”

“If I had known that they were Kattagari, I would have avoided them but since I work with one of them...”

“Kattagari? What is this?” He looked confused.

“Weres, shifters, I didn't sense them, not like your kind.”

“And what of your kind,” he asked.

“My kind?”

“You have a unusual amount of power for a human.”

“No power, just better than normal senses.” I tried to explain. “Except common sense,” I muttered under my breath.

“Most humans lack that as well.” We stared at one another until he looked away slightly annoyed. “You should not be able to meet my eyes.”

“Ash said you were different here.”

“Who is Ash?” He asked.

I didn't answer his question.“What do you want from me?”

“Just answers.” The vampire explained.

“To what questions?” I sighed, tired of the game.

“Who are you? What are your intentions?” The man looked suspicious.

I ran a hand through my hair. “You know who I am. Where I work. Why I was here tonight. There is nothing else.”

“Oh I believe there is a great deal that you are not willing to shed light on.”

“I'm not here to hurt anyone. You wouldn't understand anyway.” I tried to defend myself.

There was a sudden flash of bright light and I was standing in my living room. Acheron was sitting in my recliner, watching my TV. He looked bored. “You know there is never anything decent to watch.”

“There are over one hundred and eighty channels.”

“And your point is?” He raised an eyebrow at me.

“Where's Simi?” I asked, hoping a change of topic would improve his mood.

“At Sanctuary helping decorate for Halloween.” 

“Damn I'm gonna miss that.” Holidays there were really something to see.

“I told you not to go to the District.” He frowned at me.

“I had an escort. I didn't get into any trouble.” I added somewhat defensively. The man made me damned nervous.

“Yet.” I sighed which earned me a glare before he continued. “The people here accept vampires. They have rights.”

“I knew this place was screwed up… and the weres?”

“They are secretive. The populace is afraid of them mostly, though not because they are dangerous. For the most part, they aren't.”

“Then what is the reason?” I asked more than a little confused.

“Because they are afraid of infection. Ask Myra.”

“I don't trust Myra.” I was still pissed at her for leaving me to fend for myself against that last vampire I met.

“Then ask Nathaniel.”

Shaking my head, another thought occurred to me. “The vampire I met tonight; he was old, not as old as you, or even Julian but powerful. I'd hate to meet one of our daimons with that kind of power.”

“The vampires here don't feed on human souls just blood and most have willing donors.” He laid the remote down. “Nathan, be careful. I don't want Artemis to brand you a rogue. There would be a battle Olympus would not soon forget.”

“I'm not going after the vamps.” I assured him then added, “Well, maybe a couple but they have something that belongs to me.

“Don't start a war.” He warned me.

“Me?”

He rolled his eyes, clearly not believing my intentions were innocent. “I could flash you back to Artemis.”

“I'd rather be in Hades. I'll be good. I promise.”

“You'd better be.” He added and in a flash he was gone.

“Damn it!” He always got the last word.

*************************

I was sitting watching MTV a bit later when the doorbell rang. I groaned, stood and walked over to answer it. I opened the door and was met with a fist to my face and a knee to the groin. The door slammed shut as I sank to the floor. I managed to look up at my attacker and realized it who he was.

Myra’s boyfriend, Kevin, was practically snarling at me. “Where the hell is she!”

I told him through clenched teeth that Myra was either at home or still at the club.

“You fuckin' left her there by herself?” His look was a mixture of anger and shock.

Myra's pleas to not tell anyone what she was went through my head. “Hey she's an adult.” I shrugged. That won me a nice kick that caught me in the left shoulder and down I went again. I didn't want to hurt the guy. So I played punching bag for about five minutes.

“You'd better pray she's alright.” The angry man added as he left. Somewhere, someone's God was laughing.