Not What She Seems

chapter 18



The morning light poured in her window, warming Sylvia’s face as she slowly opened her eyes. Keith slept on next to her, his burly arm draped casually over her midsection. There had been no sex between them the night before. He sensed she just needed some comforting physical contact and had spent the night spooning her close without ever making a move to turn it into something else.

She rose carefully, trying to let him sleep some more. Once she had checked that the alarm was still set, she went to start her coffee. Her cell phone blinked with multiple calls and messages from Lilith.

Best to call her back right away and be done with it, she decided. Since the Hunter had come to town she found she dreaded speaking with Lilith; she never knew when the topic of conversation was going to be whose life the Hunter had taken most recently. Avoiding her didn’t change the reality of the situation but it did nothing for her nerves to constantly hear about the Hunter’s latest victim.

“You called?”

“Yes, I’d like you to come into the office today, with Elora. She’ll be here at 2:00, can you make it then?”

Sylvia unconsciously tightened her grip on her coffee mug at the mention of Elora’s name. “Did she do it? Did she sleep with an Innocent?”

“Calm down, Sylvia, I can hear you’re getting all wound up. No, not that she’s announced to me. I’m calling this meeting, and I want you here for two. Will you be here?”

“Sure thing.” She hung up her cell phone and stood staring into space, mulling over what Lilith could want now. She didn’t hear Keith come up behind her and she flinched when he wrapped his hands around her waist from behind.

“Easy now, it’s just me. Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Sorry, guess I’m still a little jumpy. I have to go to the office today for 2:00. Does that work for you?”

“Sure, I have no plans aside from spending the day with you. Did she say what the meeting’s about?”

“I have no idea,” Sylvia replied honestly. “She wants to meet with Elora, too.”

Keith made no comment and as he hugged her from behind, she had the sense that he knew something she didn’t.

~~~

They arrived at Enchanted Escorts early, and she was pleased to see they had beaten Elora there. Keith waited for her in the waiting area while Deborah openly stared at him from behind the reception desk. Sylvia walked right by her and into Lilith’s office before she had a chance to protest. She seemed to be too busy getting an eyeful of Keith to worry about proper office protocol anyway.

“Sit.” Lilith waved to one of the chairs in front of her desk. “We won’t begin until Elora arrives as well, but no matter. I can use this time to let you know how things are coming with the police investigation.” Lilith explained to her that while the police were holding some information about the serial killer back from the general public, no real leads had come forth and they still had no solid evidence linking any specific person to the crimes.

“I’m glad you sent me that text last night. What were you two thinking, out walking at that hour with a Hunter roaming the city?” She snapped, her dark eyes blazing coldly as she waited for Sylvia’s reply.

“I’m sorry, I guess we just got sloppy. You can rest assured it won’t happen again.”

“Sloppy, indeed. You can’t take risks like that, Sylvia, not until the Hunter is stopped.”

Before Lilith could chastise her further the office door opened and Elora sauntered in. She sat down next to Sylvia.

“So Lilith, what can I do for you? I wondered if you wanted us here to announce the winner of the Challenge, but then I realized there’s no way Sylvia could have bagged an Innocent by now.” She shot Sylvia a malicious smile as she insulted her prowess as a succubus. Sylvia bristled beside her but held her tongue. She wouldn’t sink to Elora’s level, no matter how she baited her today.

“No, there’s no winner to claim the territory yet, unless either of you has an announcement to make?” Both ladies sat silently as Lilith paused to give them a chance to speak up. “Fine, let’s get down to business then. You would not know this news yet, Elora, but we have reason to believe the Hunter actually followed Sylvia on foot last night. He’s left her notes, broken into her apartment while she was out, and left her name in rose petals at a crime scene but this is the first time he’s openly stalked her like this. She’s in grave danger-”

“Aren’t we all? I mean, why is Sylvia so special? The Hunter could kill any one of us at any time,” Elora interrupted rudely.

“Indeed.” Lilith paused to fiddle with her Chanel scarf. Sylvia forced down the smirk that wanted to appear on her lips. She knew this move from Lilith well. She was angry with Elora for interrupting her and taking a moment to find more patience so she didn’t bite her head off for it. She was a strict woman with little patience and Elora’s bad manners were pushing her limits already.

“The Hunter has shown a special interest in Sylvia, and while he seems content to kill any one of us he happens across, she’s caught his eye for some unknown reason, putting her in greater danger than the rest of us,” she continued briskly. “Due to his increasing aggression towards her, I’ve called you both here today to ask you to call off the Challenge for the time being.”

“No way! I want that territory and I’m going to it. It shouldn’t take me much longer to nail my Innocent. Another date or two it’ll be ‘in the pants’ time, another date or two past that I should be able to get him in the sack.” Elora smirked at Sylvia triumphantly. “I don’t think Sylvia can say the same. From what I’ve heard she spends all her time with her incubus boyfriend instead of hunting these days.”

Rage flushed Sylvia’s cheeks with color but Lilith cut her off before she had a chance to reply. “There’s no need for such talk, Elora. The Challenge is still the same, and whoever beds an Innocent first wins. It’s all speculation until one of you has sex with one and takes his virginity. No more of that talk, now. This isn’t a street corner, this is a business.”

“So you’re calling the Challenge off?” Sylvia asked Lilith. She was secretly relieved, though Challenge or not she still intended to bed Mason. There would still be perks to having sex with him, even if reclaiming her territory was no longer one of them.

“No, I’m afraid I can’t do that. Only the one who brought the Challenge forth may cancel it.” She looked to Elora expectantly.

“No way, forget it.” She shook her head vehemently. “I want that territory and I’m not willing to put off getting it just because Sylvia here managed to attract the attention of some psycho.”

“Some psycho?” Sylvia exploded as she jumped out her chair, yelling at Elora. “The man is a Hunter! He seeks our kind out with the intention of destroying them and he’s got a thing for me in particular. That runs a bit above your average psycho in my book!”

Just then a soft knock at the door made all three women look to see Keith poking his head in. “Everything okay in here, ladies?” His question was posed to all three of them but his eyes rested on Sylvia and Sylvia alone.

“Everything is fine Keith, thank you.” Lilith dismissed him firmly. He paused until he saw Sylvia give him the slightest nod of her head, then he stepped back out and closed the office door softly behind him.

“There’s no need for raised voices, Sylvia. I expect more from you,” Lilith declared evenly.

“I’m sorry.”

“Now, where were we? Elora, I’d like to ask you to rethink your position, for Sylvia’s sake as well as the rest of us. I would like to see all girls stay home unless they’re with a client. I have closed the business to new clients for the time being to help keep you girls safe.”

Sylvia gasped out loud at this news. The Almighty Bottom Line ruled Lilith, and for her to turn away business for the sake of everyone’s safety meant she took the whole thing very seriously and didn’t want to leave anything to chance.

“I’m the only one who can call it off, right?” Elora asked for confirmation and Lilith nodded. “I don’t want to call it off. No.”

Lilith’s mouth tightened into a thin line of disapproval. “I think that’s very selfish of you, Elora. I must say I’m shocked by your disregard for your fellow brethren. I’m sorry, Sylvia, I tried. I hope you will heed my advice and stay in until this blows over.”

“Sounds like a good plan, Sylvia, what do you say? You stay home with your Man Meat out there,” she gestured towards the waiting room on the other side of the closed door, “and I’ll go do my thing. I’ll let you know when the territory’s mine.”

“It won’t ever be yours,” Sylvia replied coldly.

“We’ll see. I’m not calling off the Challenge, so are we done here?”

“Yes,” Lilith replied curtly. Elora rose and left the room without any parting words. Once she was gone Lilith looked imploringly at Sylvia. “I hope you heed my suggestion and stay in anyway. Let Elora have your territory. I’ll find another great place to set you up in, one with even better hunting spots. One far from here, away from the Hunter.”

“No. It’s my territory by right and I won’t allow that bitch to take it from me. She won’t call off the Challenge until the Hunter’s been caught? Fine. I’ll make sure she loses anyway. She’s probably ecstatic the damn Hunter’s after me, I’ll bet she thinks it’ll make it easier for her. She wants me to cower behind closed doors while she takes what’s mine. Not going to happen.” Sylvia rose to leave, fury darkening her lovely face. “She started this mess, but I’ll be the one to finish it. You mark my words.” She stalked out of the office without waiting to hear Lilith’s reply.

Keith rose up from his chair when he saw her exiting the office.

“Close your mouth, Deborah, you sloppy thing. He can’t be the first incubus you’ve ever seen,” she snapped as she strode past the secretary’s desk.

“Easy, girl, easy,” Keith murmured in her ear as he helped her into her coat.

“Let’s go. I’m done with this place!”

On the elevator ride down to the lobby Sylvia began explaining to Keith what had transpired during the meeting.

“So Elora seriously won’t call this whole thing off until the Hunter’s caught?” He shook his head in disbelief as they stepped out into the lobby.

“Nope, and apparently Lilith can’t or won’t make her do it. She wants me to throw in the towel and let her take my territory. She thinks I should just hide in the dark until the whole Hunter thing blows over.”

“I tend to agree with her.”

Sylvia stopped dead in her tracks and scowled at him. “Really? You think I should just wave a white flag, let Elora win, and give up my home?”

He nodded, his eyes never leaving hers. “It’s not worth it, Sylv. Think about it. I think you should pack up, give Elora your territory and leave town. Lilith will set you up somewhere else, somewhere new, away from the Hunter. I’ll go with you, if you want me to.”

“I can’t believe you want me to just lie down like a dog and take all of this. Let Elora have what’s mine, let the Hunter drive me out of my turf. No way. That’s not me. I may be lot of things, but I’m no quitter.”

“I was afraid you’d say that. I was hoping Lilith could talk some sense into you today.”

“You knew about this?”

“Yes. It was my suggestion, as a matter of fact. I called Lilith while you were in the tub last night and discussed it with her, and she agreed it would be for the best if the Challenge ended. If Elora refused to end it we agreed it would best to get you out of town, for your own safety.”

“That’s great Keith, that’s just great. Why don’t you two pow-wow some more and let me know what else you’ve decided about how I should live my life.” She stalked out of the building and angrily flagged down a passing cab. Keith barely had time to slide in behind her before she was telling the driver to go.

“We’ll talk about this more at home. For now, I want you to just consider it. I love you Sylvia, and I can’t stand seeing you in danger like this day after day. You think about what Lilith said, and what’s in your best interest.”

Sylvia refused to reply to him and they spent the ride home with a pregnant silence between them.

~~~

Once they arrived back at the apartment Sylvia huffed off to her room and slammed the door without a single word to Keith. He settled down to watch television in the living room, figuring it best to give her the space she needed to cool down.

A few hours she emerged, slightly mollified. “I have a compromise I’d like to present to you.”

Keith nodded, showing his willingness to hear her out.

“I’m not going to give up my territory to Elora, despite the Hunter’s activities. I refuse to tuck my tail between my legs and slink away like she wants me to. I do, however, see the value in what you and Lilith are proposing. Here’s my proposal: I won’t give up on my Innocent since I still intend to win the Challenge, but I agree to lay low and stay home except for calls from the service or dates with Mason. No hunting. I’ll have to get what I need through work.” She crossed her arms and looked at Keith defiantly, daring him to challenge her plan.

He thought about it for minute before conceding. “It’s not what I would choose, but if you really insist on going through with this stupid Challenge right now, I know I can’t stop you. Your suggestion is better than nothing, I guess. You still need to agree to answer my calls or texts while you’re out though.”

“All right, as long as you promise not to be a pest about it.” Her expression gradually relaxed.

“C’mon, come sit next to me.” Keith patted the spot on the couch next to him, inviting her to join him. She obliged and snuggled against him as he slung his arm around her and kissed her on top of her head. “Stubborn as you ever were, I see. I guess I’m not surprised.”

“You know me better than anybody else, except Lilith. I’m not about to let anyone push me away from what’s mine. Not a Hunter, and certainly not that crazy bitch Elora.”

“So we’re in, unless the service calls?”

She nodded. “Yup, but I have a dinner date with Mason tomorrow night.”

It was his turn to look upset. “It’s not a wise choice to go, Sylv.”

She rolled her eyes dramatically at him. “I thought you agreed to this. If you agreed, you can’t complain.”

“No,” Keith said with a sigh, “I guess I can’t.”