Ander's eyes opened. His heart raced, but not with panic or fear, as he had become accustomed to over the past months. He touched his lips with his fingers and briefly tasted the angel's blood on them. The pressure of Maeve's lips on his remained. Unmoving, he counted to ten and then listed the most common injuries seen in the ER and thought through addressing each until his heart stopped thundering in his ribs. He rolled to his back and recalled the details of her soft face. Her concern for him caused her abilities to manifest.
He swallowed and ignored the increase in blood pressure. Perhaps she had not meant to wound the angel, only to cause it to become prone, so it was no longer a threat. Either way, she reacted to protect him, not herself. She had not lied. The corners of his mouth tilted up in a small smile. She had gazed at him with adoration. Closing his eyes, he monitored Will's even breathing, and hers, and allowed himself the pleasure of reveling in her concern. The only other humans who were ever concerned about him were Will or Mason.
Uncomfortable to accept, her abilities allowed knowledge of the sorcerer, Ander frowned. He loathed his weakness regarding the sorcerer. She was aware of his powerlessness and addictions. Ander clenched his jaw but reminded himself she was concerned for his safety after that knowledge. His chest constricted. Was is possible she was not repelled by him?
With a slow breath, he acknowledged the things he understood to be real. Will reminded him daily, and encouraged Ander to do the same. It had become habit when he woke and again before he went to sleep to preform the exercise. Focus only on what is real. He needed to know the difference between his hallucinations and reality.
Monsters were real, not some story or myth meant to frighten children. Humans could not travel between the dimensions, at least not without severe cost. Only rare creatures could do that. Time was finite, it was not flexible. Magic was real but dangerous and addictive and there was no support group to help you abstain from slipping into abusing it and yourself again.
Ander's hand slid down and held the handle of his knife. It was real, a present from Will. He created it for him, taken months to complete it. Will excelled at modifying weapons, vehicles, almost anything that could be disassembled and reassembled. However, Will was not a weapon smith in the sense of taking a raw piece of material and forging something. He had forced himself to learn how to create the blade for Ander. It was Ander's most prized possession and now his material link with reality. Will always improved things, even someone as fractured as him.
It had been just a dream. Her lips had never touched his. He hoped to dream about her again, their kiss. It was so much better than his reoccurring nightmares. He had almost forgotten what it was like to dream about anything else. He turned his head and viewed Will holding Maeve. Irritation swelled in his chest, but then he noted Will's relaxed posture and how deeply he slept. Perhaps she was a panacea for both of them. Will would probably argue she would take their "edge" and get them both killed, but Ander could appreciate the peace she brought them.
Ander flexed his hand, the dried gore and blood somewhat restricted his movement. He should have worn gloves when he dismembered the bodies, but he was angry and had forgotten. Both Mason and Will insisted he get the angel into pieces immediately so they could deal with the parts in the fastest way possible. Neither of them listened to his reasoning, the information that could have been gained by a clinical autopsy. Even willing to compromise and do a forensic autopsy to find the barest amount of information. His words fell on deaf ears. To his infuriation, Will stayed the entire time to make sure he did what he was told.
As each limb was removed, Mason would return to collect it and carried it off into the unknown. When Ander inquired, Will told him it was a need to know, and he did not need to know. Ander had argued, but, as Will had often done in the past months, reminded him there were reasons he did not need to know. He relented.
He wanted to be trusted again. Will had good reason not to trust him, hell he had good reasons not to bother with him at all. How long would he have to pay for his mistakes? It did not matter, he would pay any amount of time needed. Will was his brother. Perhaps not by blood, but in any way that mattered. Will had always been and always would be there for him, just as he would for Will. He moved his gaze to the sleeping pair, struck by gratitude and awe.
Will must have sensed, because his eyes snapped open. Ander watched his body tense and then relax when he recognized Ander. He lifted his arm off Maeve and rubbed the back of his head. The movement caused her to stir.
"You know that fucking creeps me out."
"I apologize." Ander averted his eyes and sat and checked his FitBit.
It was 11am, they had slept eight hours. His eyes widened with surprise. Typically, they only slept five to six hours at a time. Out of the corner of his eye, he looked at Maeve. It must be her. There was no other rational explanation. They moved off the couch, Maeve's eyes darted around.
"Do you need the bathroom?" he asked.
She nodded and followed him out of the room into the hallway. Will stayed in the room, presumably searching for his cigarettes. Ander stopped a few doors down. It was Mason's bathroom, which he realized he would catch hell for allowing Maeve to use it, but it was the only clean bathroom. Maeve scurried inside.
Ander waited across the hall and peered at the drop ceiling, deceptively normal in appearance, but he was aware of all the traps that laid in wait above the panels. He rubbed his eyes. His contacts bothered him and needed to be cleaned. Maeve opened the door.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just don't have any of my clothes or anything."
"We can speak with Will about it." he motioned for her to walk.
Will was not in the room, but Mason sat in her recliner near the wall, drinking coffee.
"Feeling rested?" she asked both of them.
Ander nodded and cast his eyes to the floor before he moved to the table in the middle of the room. He sat, kept his eyes on the floor, concerned she was irritated with Will for falling asleep. Even though Mason's was the safest place to sleep, she always told them to keep to the code. Someone had to be on watch. Will had been on watch and fallen asleep. Ander's stomach knotted.
"Coffee?" Mason asked, her voice too smooth.
Familiar with her morning voice, it was raspy and always on the verge of a cough. It likely meant she had been up for hours. He unsheathed his knife. The weight of it comforted him.
"Sure, thank you," Maeve replied.
Mason handed her a travel mug of coffee, knowing Mason it was twice the strength needed to be and probably had Irish creme in it. Ander watched Maeve's eyes bulge in surprise and confirmed his suspicions.
"So the boys told me about your abilities." Mason took a drink of her coffee and stared Maeve down.
"I don't really know much about it. I was just worried that the angel was going to hurt Ander."
Her truth once again resonated in his chest and made it hard to breathe.
"I wasn't talking about the protective power. I was talking about how you got in his head."
Maeve's posture changed. She gripped the coffee mug tightly and bit her lip. Stiff, she sat at the table near him and as far away from Mason as she could. She took a sip and then a deep breath.
"Well, that's different but sorta the same." she sipped the coffee again.
Will walked into the room and appeared refreshed. He had showered and changed his clothes. Both he and Ander had rooms there. He glanced at Maeve and raised an eyebrow.
"I mean its different because it works differently but similar because I can't really control it." her voice trembled.
"Huh, and how long you had these abilities?" Mason questioned.
Maeve shrugged. "What happened with the angel is new, that's never happened before." Maeve looked at her feet. "My soul touch, that's been around for as long as I can remember."
"Soul touch?" Will asked incredulously.
"That's just what I started calling it after a while when I understood what was happening." she placed the mug on the table and put her hands in her lap. "It's almost like dreaming the important parts of someone's life. I can see pieces of things that impacted them but not the circumstances around it. It feels like a five second dream. Everything is confusing, out of order and hazy. I don't really get any good details but I know their soul." she swallowed.
Ander listened and tried to discern how much she had seen in his soul.
"I don't have control over it. Who it's with or when it'll happen. Sometimes the timing is really bad,"
"Do you need physical contact with someone for it to happen?" Ander asked.
She shook her head no. "It works better, or at least the details are clearer, but it isn't necessary. Just eye contact. And even then it only needs to be for a few seconds."
"Do they know its happening?" Will sat in the empty chair at the table.
Maeve jumped in her seat when he sat. "Yeah, they feel an instant connection with me. They don't see anything about me, at least not that I know of. Most people freak out and deny anything happened." her fingers entangled themselves in her hair. She twirled a chunk in her hand over and over.
Will looked at the wall and rubbed the back of his head. He did not believe her. Ander's head pounded with mounting irritation. No one was innocent, but Mason and Will had no reason to view Maeve as a threat. It was preposterous.
"I think what we need to focus on for now is why dickhead demons want you and what interest the asshat angels have in you," Will changed the subject.
"I already told you I have no idea why demons want me. Until a few days ago, I suspected they existed but had never actually saw one in the flesh. And until yesterday I thought angels were good." Maeve pinched her lips together.
She picked up the coffee and took another drink. Will's gaze moved to Mason. Mason's head tilted to the right, and indicated she did not think Maeve was a threat. Will's grey eyes turned to Ander. Ander repeated the slight movement. To an outsider, their movements were so insignificant they were almost unnoticeable.
"So if you don't know, then we need to look at the bigger picture." Will smiled and flashed his even white teeth.
Ander's jaw clenched. It was Will's charming smile. Her lips turned upward in the corners. Ander felt like someone punched him in the stomach. It was so easy for Will.
"Other people I know? Or where I work? Or do you mean something else?" she asked, now focused on Will.
He flashed another quick smile. "That's a good start. All that and a lot more. Somewhere something or someone that's connected to you sold you out or realized you had abilities and then sold you out. Cause unless you did something to gain the attention of demons or angels, they wouldn't bother with you."
Together they made a list of all the humans she knew or could think of and how they fit into her life. Ander did not comment on how short the list was compared to most humans they aided. After that, they expanded the list to date back to college. Ander wanted to speak more with her about college, but Will cut him off and declared it was enough to begin research.
Which meant Ander would do the research and Will would review the results. Of course, most of the time Ander wanted to do the research. He excelled at it and was faster than any other Soldiers of Night he had met over the years. Except Mason. However, this was their mission, and so it was Ander's duty.
He had begun a file on her when they were on the werewolf mission. Excited to have permission to dig deeper into her life, he wanted to know everything about her. Ander sat with the list but did not wish to stop speaking with Maeve. He revived the conversation by returning to her abilities and explained how dormant powers activated and behaved until the owner gained control over them.