The Monhagan Chronicles: Prelude

Chapter 13

Dean

As soon as Audrey walked out of the room I had to adjust the bulge in my pants. This may prove to be a long night. There were so many things we needed to go over and an agent of the council would be arriving soon. I had no hope that they would delay much longer. With a sigh I finished my food and cleaned up the dishes.

While I walked out of the kitchen I spent a few moments wondering about Bain's mood. He seemed a bit more aggravated than normal, though I supposed I hadn’t had much to go off of since we interacted so rarely. Every other interaction I had had with him led me to believe he was a much calmer individual than he appeared to be now. 

I was standing at the foot of the stairs debating with myself if I should go up them to retrieve Audrey for more training or go down the hall to the nook and speak with Bain. The therapist in me won the internal argument as I headed down the hall. Or perhaps it was curiosity; my need to understand the inner workings of the mind of such a powerful being. 

Disappointment greeted me as I walked into the windowed room to only find the Mime. He was sitting at a table reading a large, very old book. As I walked closer he closed it and the book vanished from sight.

“He’ll be back. Bain has a lot on his mind.”

“Mhmm,” I hummed. “He seems a little angrier than usual today.” I said as I sat at the table. 

I was hoping to get the less talkative being to open up. I had little hope that the Mime would say anything. He had talked more today than I had ever heard him talk before. One might say he was being downright chatty. He only smiled.

“Is there something going on I should know about?” I tried again.

“In time.” His smile was more understanding.

Though the Mime gave off an aura of comfort I couldn’t help but become more agitated by his evasive answers. Anger ran through me. My rational mind knew I shouldn’t be resentful, that I had no real reason to be so angry at him. I just couldn’t help but feel the intense rage build up in me. This was an issue I have dealt with for so long. My anger, my rage, so much ingrained into my being. I closed my eyes, attempting to calm myself. Perhaps I should have just gone to Audrey instead.

“Just breathe.” I felt a warm hand fall onto my shoulder.

When I opened my eyes again the Mime was standing next to me looking down at me with a sad smile. “I believe it’s time I should teach Audrey some meditation techniques.” I sighed, knowing full well it was more for my benefit than hers at this point. He nodded, as if he knew this as well, and walked away. 

It took me seconds to run up the stairs to Audrey’s room but several minutes to regain enough composure to slowly open her door. She was sitting in the middle of the bed with a large book in her lap. She was reading about vampire history again. I smiled as I stepped into the room, giving her time to finish what she was reading.

“This is all so amazing.” She said without looking away from the page.

“It can feel overwhelming at times.” I agreed. “I came to see if you were ready for more training.”

“Sure, let me finish this paragraph.” She mumbled absently.

Within minutes she slid a piece of paper between the pages and shut the book. She stood from the bed, stretching her back. I watched as her shirt rode up, exposing a small portion of her alabaster skin. It made my mouth water. Her yoga pants hugged the curves of her ass in the best possible way. I found it extremely hard to look away. The slight upward tilt to her lips gave indication that she knew what she was doing to me.

“Let's head to the gym. Today we’ll work on strengthening your mind. We’ll start with meditation.” I almost groaned as I followed her out of the room watching her hips twitch. This would be an interesting session.

Audrey

When I awoke again it was late in the afternoon the next day. I was alone in my bed. Again. Dean and I had talked well into last evening sitting in the gym while he tried to teach me how to meditate, to learn control over my mind. I never knew meditation could be so fun. Though I’m pretty sure I wasn’t quite doing it right. I had a lot of trouble clearing my mind, especially when he would walk around me and find excuses to touch me. Every touch sent a thrill through me.

I had almost gotten the hang of it when he lost the last thread of his patience, lifting me off the ground and consuming me in a heated kiss. Not that I minded. Not at all. Nor did I mind where that kiss led us. Which was back to my bedroom and to another set of torn bra and panties. I was going to have to go shopping if this kept up.

Our talk the night before had cleared up a lot of things between us. I had confessed things to him I never thought I would to anyone. He didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he seemed to have lost a lot of the tension he had been carrying. He was very easy to talk to and at times the tone of his voice seemed to change in a way that elicited more confessions from me.

I rolled out of bed and went to take a quick shower. I could smell bacon so I figured Dean was in the kitchen. Maybe I could convince him to continue teaching me how to "meditate". I smiled as I washed the shampoo from my hair. I really did need to start learning these things. I'd been a vampire for what three days? Four? I'd lost track. As I was pulling my shirt over my head I realized I didn't even know what day of the week it was. Was it Tuesday? 

I had just finished putting my hair into a ponytail when there was knocking at my door. I practically danced over to answer. Dean looked down at me and I watched as his eyes darkened. One hand reached up to trail a finger along my jaw to my chin, his thumb moving up to caress my lower lip. A soft sigh escaped my lips.

“Come, we don’t have much time and dinner is getting cold.” He said in a husky voice.

“Mmmhh.” I answered with another sigh.

He took my hand and guided me down the stairs. Bain and Mime were sitting at the table already having a quiet conversation. They stopped talking as we entered, Bain giving me a knowing smirk. I just smiled sweetly in return. No need to play innocent but also no need for him to tease. I really couldn’t figure him out. I would almost swear that I felt loneliness from him that day in the theater. That he was wrapped in a profound sadness and guilt. I still felt the need to give him a hug but lacked the confidence and bravery that it would take.

Dinner was rather silent. It seemed as if the air was filled with tension; a new kind of anticipation that wasn’t necessarily good. Mime would smile encouragingly anytime our eyes met, Bain would smirk, but Dean seemed to glower and glare at the walls more than anything. He seemed very uneasy. I had my guess as to why that was but really didn’t have to ponder too long. The doorbell rang just as we finished loading the dishwasher.

Dean pushed me toward the living room as Mime headed into the foyer. Apparently someone was antsy as the doorbell rang for a second time then whoever it was knocked. I jumped at the knock on the door. I was so nervous I couldn’t stop fidgeting. I didn’t usually fidget when I got nervous, in fact I used to freeze when I had an attack of nerves.

When Mime returned he was followed by a man with blue hair. Well, not all of it was blue, just his long bangs were a very vibrant blue. He wasn’t very tall, maybe 5’8”. His eyes were a light shade of blue and he had a few days worth of stubble on his jaw. He smiled as if he didn’t have a care in the world. 

“Heya Bain, long time no see.” The man said, walking into the living room. He held a hand out to Bain as if to shake in greeting. Bain just shook his head. “So I guess I’ll just go f**k myself then.” But he said it with a smile in a teasing tone.

“Trust me kid, you don’t need the headache.” Bain replied in a serious tone.

The man’s smile faded. “You’re probably right. Mime, good to see you.” He didn’t even try to shake Mime’s hand. “So that makes you Dean, and you my target.” He said the last looking directly at me. I gulped and looked to Mime.

“This is Mckiel,” Mime started.

“Mickie.” the man interrupted.

Mime continued as if Mckie had never spoken. “He is here on behalf of the council.”

“Old creepers.” Mckie said under his breath.

“To assess you.” Mime finished giving Mckie a chiding look.

“Sorry.” He smiled mischievously. 

Dean stepped in front of me. “We’ve been working on control and…”

Mckie waved his hand in a dismissive way. “I don’t do those kinds of assessments. Mine are much easier. I’m what you would call an enforcer of destiny.” He strode over to the couch and plopped down. “Have a seat.”

I looked around the room warily. Mime nodded in encouragement. Bain rubbed his forehead. Dean stood stiffly to the side.

“C’mon, I don’t bite,” he teased. “We’ll get this done and over with and I’ll be out of your hair in no time.” Mckie said with a smile.

“I wouldn’t promise that if I were you.” Bain said all too seriously. I couldn’t help but think back to the conversation I had overheard between him and Mime. Perhaps now I would learn something.

“Seriously man. Can’t you quit meddling with me for five f*****g seconds?” Mckie huffed. “All right Bain, I’ll make you a deal. I’ll stay for as long as I’m needed if you give me an update.”

Bain seemed to think that over. He looked at Mime before answering. Mime simply shrugged.

“Deal.” Bain said. “She’s still in Kansas City. She’ll be moving to Colorado in January. You’ll be reunited there.”

Tension I hadn’t seen he was holding seemed to flow out of Mckie. He sighed. “Three more months. Okay Audrey, your turn.” He patted the cushion beside him again.

I walked over and sat down keeping some distance between us. For some reason Mckie made me uncomfortable. There was an aura surrounding him that seemed to bite at my skin. It wasn’t unlike Bain’s but wasn’t entirely the same either. I put my hands in my lap, unsure of what I was supposed to do now.

“Give me your hand.” Mckie said, holding out a hand to me.

I froze. Last time I did that it ended badly. I wasn’t too keen on having a repeat of that.

“Don’t be a p***y, gimme.” He said in exasperation. 

He reached over and gripped my hand. I waited for something awful to happen. Nothing happened… to me. Mckie went rigid, his eyes fogged over becoming all white. What the hell?

“Don’t worry, it won’t take much longer.” He said, which was even creepier. Did I say that out loud? Pretty sure I didn’t… “You didn’t.” He winked. After his eyes cleared he spoke. “Well s**t on a twizzler. Guess I’m bunking here.” Mckie said in defeat.

“Blood.” Bain said in warning.

Before I saw it I smelt it. It was the richest, most decadent aroma I had ever encountered. There was so much power in it. My head snapped to Mckie. I saw a small trickle of crimson trailing from his nose. My gums didn’t burn, they throbbed. I shot off the couch and out of the room as fast as my feet would carry me.