Death Comes To All (Book 1) (48 page)

“
Better?”
she asked with mock innocence. He wasn’t fooled.

“
Beautiful
would be more accurate,” he replied honestly. “I've never
seen you wear a dress before. I didn't think you wore them.”

And
I think I would like it if you wore them more often,
he thought,
though he decided not to add that out loud.

“
I
don't very often,” she admitted. “I'm just feeling a
little too hot. It's an aftereffect of going into heat. This isn't as
heavy or warm as what I normally wear. I hope this doesn't bother
you.” The back of the dress swung back and forth where her tail
poked out. Drom knew at once she was teasing him.

Considering
that they had spent the past two days together without him feeling
embarrassed, even when she had nothing on at all, there was no reason
for him to feel that way now. He knew that, but still felt that way
anyway, and he knew she was purposefully teasing him to make him feel
that way. Still, the dress was not really provocative or revealing.

She’s
alluring enough all on her own,
he
decided.

“
No,
it doesn't bother me,” he lied. “I've just never seen you
dress like that before is all. You can look very beautiful when you
want to.”

“
You
mean I didn't look beautiful before?” she pouted. Drom could
see the merriment in her eyes and knew she wasn't serious.

“
No,
I mean, of course you did. It's just that before you always dressed
in ways that covered your looks. That dress accentuates your beauty,
instead of hiding it.”

“
Good
answer,” she replied merrily, moving into him and giving him a
quick kiss on the cheek.

It's
not really flirting; she's just joking with me as a friend,
he
thought.

The
two friends finished the cooking quickly. They ate their meal in the
living room, in front of a small blaze in the fireplace, side by side
on the soft sofa. After they finished they sat together there for
quite a while. Drom idly read one of the books on magic theory that
he had found in the library. He hardly paid attention to what he was
looking at, too absorbed in his thoughts of the past few days.

Raine
rested her head lightly on his shoulder, a soft purr coming from deep
in her throat. He thought for a moment that she might have fallen
asleep, but one glance in her direction told him otherwise. Her
bright amber eyes blinked back at him, gazing into his face. Even
when he turned his gaze back to his book, he could feel her eyes on
him, though what she might have been thinking he couldn’t begin
to guess at.

After
a short time he put the book back down on the small table. He hadn’t
been able to pay much attention anyway, not with Raine staring at him
like that. His mind kept drifting back to the last few nights he had
spent with her.

We
agreed that it was nothing more than two friends having a good time
together, but could there possibly be more there?

He
wasn’t sure, but knew better than to question it. He was
enjoying this moment, just as he had enjoyed the many moments over
the past two days. Trying to question things now would only make
things harder.

Much
better,
he decided,
to just leave well enough alone for now.

“
Would
you like to join me on the rug?” she asked after a few moments.
“We could stay here if you’d prefer. I was just thinking
that we might feel more comfortable there.”

“
Sure,”
he agreed. In all the time he had been there, he had never considered
lying on the bright white fur of the bear on the floor, but if she
thought it might be more comfortable there, he had no problems with
indulging that wish.

Perhaps
she would be right.

She
stretched out on the soft rug, gesturing for him to join him once she
had made herself comfortable. He never questioned why she wanted him
to join her there. As before, he suspected that some things were best
left alone. If she felt the desire to remain close to him, even after
her heat cycle had passed her, he would not disagree with her.

She
pulled one of his arms underneath her, using his thick bicep as a
makeshift pillow, and without another thought he wrapped his other
arm around her, holding her tightly. She snuggled against him, as if
for warmth, though he was certain that, with the fire blazing only a
few feet away, she could not possibly have been cold. Comforted in
their mutual embrace, the slowly drifted off to sleep.

Chapter
Sixteen

“
Hey,
watch where you’re going old man,” the drunken sailor
slurred, roughly pushing his way passed the frail-looking old man who
stood, bent over his thick cane, in front of him.

The
old man staggered backwards, though to his credit he somehow stayed
on his feet. He took an extra step back, as if to move out of the
way. He could hear the small waves of the calm ocean water lap lazily
against the wooden posts of the dock he was standing on. He was only
a foot from the edge, the water behind him hidden by the night, just
a swirling movement of black and grey in the darkness. Another step
back and he would find himself swimming in that water, he knew.

“
Sorry,”
his high voiced cracked apologetically. He didn’t see any
reason to point out to the sailor that he had not been moving. It was
the sailor that had run into him, not the other way around.

“
You
better be,” the sailor returned darkly. The sailor’s
friends laughed behind him. There were three of them, all of them
dressed in the manner common to those that spent a lot of their time
at sea. The pungent odor of alcohol was evident on all of them.

“
Hey,
maybe he should pay you for your troubles,” one of them
commented.

“
Yeah
old man. You should give me something for my troubles. How much money
do you have on you old man?”

“
I’m
afraid I don’t have anything,” the old man replied, his
hand trembling slightly where it rested on his cane.

“
Don’t
lie to me old man,” the sailor returned threateningly. “You’ve
got something on you. Now you can give it to me, or you can go
swimming off the side of this dock.”

“
I
told you, I don’t have anything to give you,” the old man
repeated, moving another half a step back.

Only
six inches left.

As
the old man stepped backwards his coat moved to the side, just for
the briefest of seconds. Just long enough to reveal the small leather
pouch hidden there. Just long enough for the drunken sailor to see
it.

The
sailor’s eyes lit up with triumph, and his mouth widened into a
vile grin. The old man caught the sailor’s intent. He knew what
the man was thinking.

If
I won’t give him what he wants, he’ll take it from me.

His
foot slid back another small bit.

Three
inches.

The drunken sailor lunged at the old man, reaching for
the pouch he knew would be hidden at the old man’s side. He was
confident of his ability. He was fast, he knew.

The old man was faster.

The movement was barely noticeable, he just shifted
himself ever so slightly. He moved less than a foot altogether, but
toward the sailor instead of away! He slid between the sailor’s
outstretched arms like liquid, avoiding them completely. He turned to
the side and the sailor rushed passed him, tripped over the cane that
the old man had placed, unnoticed, in front of his knee, and fell out
into....nothing!

The old man’s high pitched laugh could be heard
over the sound of something large splashing into the water behind
him. The three remaining sailors glared at the old man. The largest
and closest of the three reached to his side and slid a long knife
out of its sheath. The old man could see the murderous intent behind
the eyes of the drunken men.

Not one of them moved to help their friend, who still
splashed about in the water somewhere below them, coughing violently
as he tried to spit out the salty water he was swallowing. Obviously
revenge was more important to them than helping the fallen sailor.

Great
friends.

“
Oh,
you really shouldn’t have done that,” the knife wielder
growled. “You’re going to regret that.”

I
doubt it.

All three sailors staggered forward, the knife wielder
leading the way. The attack was clumsy, but the knife was sharp. Even
such a drunken sot as this man could be dangerous if he got lucky.

He didn’t. With a light flick of his wrist the
aged man brought his cane up. It smashed against the knife wielding
sailor’s head with a resounding crack. The surprised man
cartwheeled off the side of the wooden dock.

Without missing a beat the old man thrust his cane into
the open space where the knife wielder so recently vacated, striking
the sailor behind him in the center of his chest. This man stumbled
backwards to join his companions in the dark, swirling water below
them.

The final sailor stared at him as if he were a demon
pulled up from the depths of the underworld. The old man simply
stared back, a look of barely disguised amusement printed on his
wrinkled face. He raised his eyebrows questioningly.

So
are you going to join your friends, or are you going to grow a brain
and keep yourself dry?

Coming to an apparent decision, the sailor bellowed and
charged, throwing his arms wide.

Apparently
he thinks that grappling with me will give him a better chance.
The old man snickered.

At the last possible second the aged man dropped
underneath the sailor’s outstretched arms, spinning quickly and
bringing his cane into the back of the sailor’s knee. As the
drunken sailor dropped the old man deftly slid behind him and caught
him, breaking the man’s fall with his own lap. As the sailor
looked up at him the old man tilted his head until it was only a
hair’s breath from his own.

“
So
are you ready to go swimming with your friends?” the old man
whispered with false sweetness, his crackling voice practically
dripping with barbed honey.

Without waiting for a reply the elderly man pushed with
far more strength than his frail form should have possessed. With a
final look of surprise the last and final sailor flew forwards,
disappearing over the edge with a loud, definitive splash.

“
Well,
that was fun,” the old man mumbled under his breath. He once
again stooped low over his cane, as if he couldn’t possibly
take a step without it. Anyone who hadn’t seen him only a
moment ago would never suspect he was anything other than the old man
he seemed to be.

One man, however, had seen. A reptilian head appeared
from a darkened corner of a squat building at the end of the dock,
slowly pulling back the hood of the shadow grey cloak he was wearing.

The old man watched him with interest. He had known the
sloveckii man had been standing there the entire time. He had been
waiting for him, or someone very much like him. The cloaked sloveckii
walked over to him at a cautious pace.

“
I
haven’t seen someone fight with that much grace and ease in a
long time,” the reptilian man said when he reached him. “I’m
guessing that you are not at all the old man you appear to be. What
brings you to this part of town?”

“
I’m
here to see Loretta,” the old man answered without missing a
beat. He noticed the sloveckii's eyes widen ever so slightly at the
name, betraying his thoughts.

Good,
I guessed right. He does know her.

“
Not
too many women would come into this part of the city,” the man
replied instead. “If you are looking for a woman, then you want
to head over to the red light district a few blocks over. You’ll
mostly find sailors over here, especially now. Quite a few of the
fishing boats are in, so their crewmen would be out drinking. Stick
around here and you’ll be sure to find more men like those.
This group would be the ones coming back early, the ones that
couldn’t hold their drink. In another hour you’ll see
some of the heartier ones. You might not find them as easy to deal
with as those drunken louts were.”

“
I
should finish my business and be gone before then,” the old man
replied casually. “Since we both know that you know who I’m
talking about, and that you most likely work for her directly, why
don’t we save each other some time. Take this to her, and tell
her that the owner is waiting for her here at the dock. She won’t
keep me waiting long.”

He tossed a small metal object to the sloveckii man, who
caught it easily. He reptilian man glanced at what he held. It was a
small, round disk, like a coin, though not of gold or silver. Still,
though he had never seen one, he knew exactly what it was. He looked
back at the old man, who waited expectantly.

“
If
you have this, you should know the way already. Why do you need my
help?”