TWENTY-FIVE
Leila accepted the cup of tea Hamish handed her as he joined her on the couch in the living room. She had gotten dressed in jeans and T-shirt again.
Hamish leaned back in his corner and saluted her with a glass of Scotch, which he’d told her was the preferred drink among Stealth Guardians.
“Why whiskey?” she asked.
He shrugged. “I guess it’s our heritage. We’re descendents from an ancient tribe that lived in Scotland, or rather on an island off Scotland. It’s cold up there. And the Scotch warms us.”
“Aiden mentioned something like that, the Outer Hebrides, I think he said. Well, I prefer tea.” At least it would keep her head clear.
Hamish smiled and took a swig. She watched as he savored the drink coating his throat. He was as tall as Aiden, but a little broader around the shoulders and the hips. His features were a little more worn, with more pronounced lines crisscrossing his face and dark shadows under his eyes as if he hadn’t slept in days. As if some big worry had kept him up.
“So, what else has he told you about us?”
Leila set her mug on the coffee table. “Not much, only what your powers are; that you can cloak humans, and walk through walls. Is there more?”
He quirked an eyebrow. “That’s about it.”
“How many of you are there?”
“Not enough.” He expelled a bitter laugh. “And at this point I’m not even sure which one of our people I can trust. It’s sad to see that even among our kind there are those who put their own profit before the good of the community. And we’re not immune to temptations, as you might have noticed.”
She felt herself blush under his suggestive gaze, knowing only too well what he was referring to: the fact that she and Aiden had kissed passionately when Hamish had transported them to the wine country. She could only blame her fear of dark spaces for having provoked this kiss. Otherwise, she was sure, she wouldn’t have allowed it, not after everything that had happened between her and Aiden previously. After all, he’d lied to her—repeatedly.
And so have you.
She tried to squash the little voice in her head that reminded her that she hadn’t confessed that one copy of her research still existed. Instinctively, her hand went to her pendant that still hung inconspicuously around her neck.
“So,” she searched hastily for something to say, “how long have you and Aiden known each other?”
“Almost two hundred years, we grew—”
“Two hundred years?” Shock made her sit up straight. “You’re two hundred years old?” He didn’t look a day over thirty-five, and neither did Aiden.
A charming grin spread over Hamish’s lips. “Yeah, that always gets a reaction.” He winked at her. “But we’re only just hitting our prime. Unfortunately, rasen can be a pain in the butt.”
Her eyebrows snapped together in confusion. “Rasen? What’s that?”
“Mating season. The closer we get to our 200th Birthday, the more urgent the drive to find a mate becomes. It’s a bit like a human woman’s biological clock, only a lot more intense.”
“Oh.” She hadn’t really wanted to talk about anything related to relationships. Maybe it was best to change the subject. “That’s okay, I wasn’t really asking about that.”
But Hamish didn’t let her off the hook. “You wanted to know more about Aiden. I’m willing to talk. You might as well take the offer. Who knows whether I’ll feel this generous ever again.”
She reached for the mug, feeling the need to steady her hands with something to distract from the fact that she was nervous. “I’m really not interested in talking about him. He’s obviously mad at me for calling my parents. I’m sorry, but I had to. I couldn’t just let them believe that—”
Hamish held up his hand. “I understand. But you’re misinterpreting Aiden. He isn’t mad at you. Of course, he has his reasons for reacting the way he did. But since you’re not interested in finding out more, I’ll just keep those to myself.”
Leila glared at him. She understood exactly what he was doing: he was baiting her. As if she were that easy to manipulate. Taking a quick sip from her tea, she told herself that she didn’t care what Aiden’s reasons for his outburst were. It didn’t matter at all.
When she looked up, Hamish sat there in silence as if waiting for her to crack. She wouldn’t. She didn’t want to hear excuses for his behavior.
“You surprise me,” he suddenly said.
“In what way?”
“Your self-control.”
When she gave him a confused look, he continued, “Most women would jump at the chance of getting the inside scoop on a guy they’re into, but you—”
“I’m not into him!” she snapped.
“Well, my bad.”
She huffed and hugged her arms around her torso.
“We grew up together. We’ve been best friends since we broke out of our crib for the first time at age two. If anybody knows him, I do.”
“Fine! Go ahead, tell me what you want to tell me and get it over with. Obviously, he told you to pacify me and make excuses for his behavior.” But she would take it all with a grain of salt.
“Aiden? He would rip my head off if he found out about it. He’s a very private man. He never even tells me anything, but I know what he feels. He can’t hide things from me.”
She had to agree with him on that statement: Aiden didn’t tell her much either. Rather, he liked to omit things, important ones. And he didn’t explain why he made certain decisions either. At least if she knew why certain things had to happen, she could try to come to grips with them. The scientist in her could accept that. But there had to be compelling reasons. Irrational behavior she could not excuse.
Leila settled back into her corner of the couch, and tucked her legs beneath her.
“He has a soft heart,” Hamish started, making her scoff instantly.
He gave her a chiding look. “Which he hides well. His sister and he were very close. Twins. They did everything together, so it was only natural that when Aiden decided to get into the trenches and train for the most dangerous jobs to fight the demons, Julia was right there with him. She was fearless.”
She shuddered, knowing she herself would be too much of a coward to do the same.
“And of course, when we were young, we all thought we were invincible. I was the same; we all thought we could overcome any obstacle, defeat any enemy, save any human.” He paused. “We couldn’t.”
Leila noticed the pain that was suddenly evident in his eyes. “What happened?”
He continued as if he hadn’t even heard her question. “Aiden didn’t hate humans. In fact, he was rather curious about them. He liked watching them go about their lives, oblivious to the dangers around them, and he felt proud to be there to protect them. Every time he saved a human from the clutches of the demons, you could see the pride and satisfaction in his eyes. He loved what he was doing. Julia did too. They were cut of the same cloth: fierce, loyal, and so proud of their achievements. And convinced they could do no wrong.”
He sighed, and Leila held her breath, sensing that something did go wrong after all.
“Aiden had never killed a human before. He’d never had to. And he believed strongly that everyone could be saved, that even if the demons got close to them, he could still pull them back and turn them onto the right path.” Hamish let out a bitter laugh.
“How wrong he was. How wrong we all were. But of course we didn’t listen to our elders, we didn’t listen to experience. Because we were young and invincible, remember?”
“Like we all are when we’re young,” Leila murmured. She had thought the same when she’d started out her career and hoped to conquer the world only to be brought down to reality when her parents had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
“Yes, just like humans. But it was worse, because we knew we were immortal. Well, as immortal as you can get: there is only one sort of weapon that can kill us, but we were too full of ourselves to believe it would ever affect us. We’d trained to fight the demons; we fought them on a regular basis; we were good. But we weren’t perfect.”
“Nobody can ever be perfect.”
Hamish looked at her then, his eyes brimming with the pain from his past. “No, but we sure as hell tried. And failed. We all paid the price in the end. Aiden and Julia were on a mission, but things went south. They were protecting a brilliant young physicist, ambitious and driven. He was on the verge of a breakthrough that would have pushed Stephen Hawking’s work into the background. But as it is often with people who want to succeed, no price is too high.”
His words sunk deep into her, and she felt how they resonated with her. Would it be the same for her? Would she be willing to pay any price just to succeed and reach her goal? And what would she give up for it? Her soul?
“The demons took control of him, but Aiden thought he could still save him, even though it was too late for him. He already belonged to them. In the fight that resulted, the human, controlled by the demons, drove a blade forged in the Dark Days into Julia. In blind rage, Aiden massacred him. I’ve never seen so much blood and gore in my entire life. But Julia, it was too late for her. She died in Aiden’s arms.”
Leila gasped, tears threatening to burst from her eyes. “Oh my God.” Her heart bled for him.
“To this day, he blames himself. And he despises humans for their weakness, for their lack of strength in resisting the demons. He still protects them, but . . . ”
“But what?” She nudged forward, eager to hear more.
“When he had to kill his charge last week, I can only imagine that the memories of what happened to Julia came flooding back to him. I haven’t seen him so agitated since her death. He won’t hesitate again to kill a human if he believes the demons have taken hold.”
She nodded numbly. “How can he even be around me? He must see all the parallels between me and Julia’s murderer. He must think that I will succumb too.”
Hamish gave a soft smile. “And yet, he seeks to be near you.” He hesitated. “Maybe you can help him restore his faith in humankind. Perhaps if he sees that not every human is weak, he will finally realize that what happened was a terrible tragedy, but it doesn’t mean every human poses the same danger.”
“But how can I do that? Did I mention that I’m a coward? I felt claustrophobic in that portal you took us through. I was shaking like a leaf. I’m not strong,” she protested. She shied away from any kind of danger.
“You’re stronger than you think.”
“But Aiden . . . he’s so angry with me now. Because I called my parents.” How could he forgive her when she’d reacted like one of the weak humans he despised?
“He’s not angry. He’s scared because he thinks he’s failed to protect you.”
“I wish I could believe that.” She sighed and paused for a moment. “Uh . . . may I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“You said he despises humans for their weakness.” She searched his eyes for confirmation and found it. “He told me he doesn’t touch his charges . . . that he never . . . ” She broke off. Maybe she shouldn’t go down that road. “Forget it.”
“Leila, I’ve seen the way he looks at you,” Hamish helped.
Heat shot up her cheeks as she made another attempt to get her question out. “Does he ever get involved with humans?”
“A few days ago I would have said ‘no’, but today, seeing him with you, I have to revise my answer.”
“But . . . what does he want from me?”
“Why don’t you ask him that yourself?”
The sound of footsteps coming from the entrance door made her look up. Aiden stood at the door to the living room, his eyes trained on her. Their gazes locked, and the world around her faded into the background. All she saw was the man and his heart, vulnerable, bare, and without protection. She understood now what he needed.