Will's phone vibrated. He looked at the screen while Ander droned on about different possibilities of what her abilities might be. Not a spell, that much they knew. Ander said casting a spell was a considerable cognitive load. Why couldn't he just say you had to concentrate? Besides, someone couldn't accidentally cast a spell. It always required shit. Pieces of this and that or pinches of other crap. Will had no idea why Ander went into such a long explanation, except he just wanted to talk about magic. Will's shoulder's tensed. An image of Ander strung out in more ways than one, not even a year ago, crossed his mind. He tipped the beer back and took a large drink.
Dale, another Soldier of Night, from the mid-west, had called. Will glanced at Mason. Mason's eyes flicked to Will and paused, still typing on her phone. Will nodded. Something had crossed the line, must've been why Dale called. Will slowly moved his eyes to Ander and Maeve, talking about dormant powers and then back to Mason. She raised her eyebrow at Will.
He finished his beer and stared at the two of them again. His eyebrows drew together. Would Ander be ok without him? Fuck if he knew. For the most part Ander had been pretty stable for the last month, only a few brief hallucinations, and Will had been able to get him back to reality without any major problems. Issue was, there was almost no warning when Ander was about to mentally check out. Sometimes his timing was shit. Especially if they were on a mission. Will's jaw tightened as he put the bottle back on the table. He wouldn't give up on his cousin, they'd figure something out. They always did.
Will cast his gaze to Mason. Her mouth twisted in impatience. Shit or get off the pot. He vigorously rubbed the back of his head where his hairline met his neck. Ander could handle babysitting duty, Maeve seemed to calm him, anyway. It'd be fine. Had to trust Ander at some point. He nodded once to Mason. She typed again on her phone. Ander stopped talking and looked at Will. Fuck, he knew something was up, damn it, they spent too much time together. Will opened another beer and took a long drink to buy time.
"Will, I need you to assist on a mission," Mason said in a firm tone.
He had an urge to hug her. "Something cross over the line?" he referred to the invisible territory lines put in place by the Soldiers of Night.
"Yeah, we need to move out." she stood.
Ander got up and slid his knife into the sheath.
"Not you. You're on babysitting duty since you're going through the entire player's handbook and monster manual," Mason told him, the corners of her mouth tilted up at her own joke.
Ander stiffened and then relaxed. Apparently, he appreciated her humor.
"Seriously, someone has to watch over her and my place and your best to do it. You understand how my security works," Mason told him with a wink.
Ander straightened and smiled. "How long will you be gone?"
"Overnight, maybe a couple of days. Depends on how quickly we find it. Won't take long to take care of things once we do. Will, pack up. I'm going to get supplies." She smacked her book against her palm, a spring in her step as she left the room. Mason loved a good mission and these days she didn't go on many, always too involved on the logistical side of things for the SON's or brokering deals.
"You good?" Will asked, and gestured to Maeve.
Ander stared at the doorway and twirled his knife again, but nodded. Will glanced at Ander again. He needed a shower. The insides and blood of the bodies were still on him. Dismemberment was messy work. Ander was definitely the best at it since he was basically a doctor and in general enjoyed taking things apart. Well bodies anyway. But the mess and stink after weren't fun for anyone, at least not in Will's opinion.
Will had stayed with Ander while he did his work this time. He didn't think Ander would be able to resist the urge to investigate the angel, and they didn't have time for that. It needed to be pieced out and processed as fast as possible. Some parts had been burned, others were dissolved in acid, buried, sent away, or brokered by Mason.
Will was truly impressed with how quick Mason could get a buyer for specialty items. Her fee for the head was high due to the shit storm it would likely bring to her doorstep. But even so, he and Ander had made a nice sum. Wasn't why Will had beheaded the angel. That was out of necessity. Almost all monsters were done if you got their head off of their shoulders. Will had spent years of his life practicing techniques to make it as easy as possible for him, and he was very good at it.
"Go shower while I pack up," Will told Ander, and stretched his neck.
As always, it was stiff the first few hours. He was awake. Ander left the room silently.
"We need to go to my room," Will announced, and waited for Maeve to stand.
"We do? Why?" her face filled with confusion.
"I need to pack, all my stuff is in my room." he strolled to the doorway and turned back to her.
She bit her lip, which drew his eyes to her lips. The urge to taste her gnawed at him again.
"You have a room here?"
He nodded and turned away to face the hallway, couldn't keep looking at her mouth. "Yep,"
"Where are we exactly?"
"I wondered when you were gonna ask that." he followed the narrow concrete hallway and made several turns. Purposely misleading her so she wouldn't remember how to get to his room. He stopped in front of his room and placed his hand on the door and whispered the incantation. He turned the knob and stepped inside the windowless room.
"So... you were telling me where we are," she prompted him.
He felt himself smile, but quickly wiped away the expression. "No, I wasn't actually," he responded and picked up his bag and started putting various items in it. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched her cross her arms across her chest and glare at him. He forced himself not to laugh.
"Are you going to tell me?" she asked with a clipped voice.
"I know what'd be fun, why don't you guess. I can give you clues and,"
"I am not playing this game. What the hell? Why can't you just tell me?"
He knew she wanted him to respond, but he remained silent and waited to see her next move.
"Fine, I'll go find out myself!" she spun on her heel out of his room and into the hallway.
Damn it, couldn't let her wander around down here, it was too dangerous. Mason had more traps and measures of protection underground than anywhere else. Too many powerful or special items were kept down there, not to mention Cuddles roamed the tunnels. Hell, she could have a monster locked up in here. He hadn't had a chance to ask. He exited the room and found her already over ten feet down the hall, headed where the cursed items were kept. Fuck the warding for those caused blindness.
He caught her just before she tripped the trigger and roughly grabbed her arms and yanked her back. He spun her around and intended to criticize her for being stupid in an unknown place, but when she peered at him with wide eyes and her lips parted, his chest tightened.
"You can't just walk around down here," he blurted out.
"What?" the pitch in her voice too high.
"You can't, look this place isn't safe."
Her eyebrows furrowed. She opened her mouth, but then closed it. Once again, he was tempted to kiss her.
"Well, no, it's safe if you know where things are. It's probably the safest place you'll ever be." Why did he such a hard time explaining this, fuck. He loosened his grip but didn't let her go. He wanted to taste her. He shook his head. What the fuck was wrong with him? Had to stop touching her.
"Don't wander off." the concern for her safety made his voice think. "You could get hurt without me,"
The lines in her face softened, and the tension left her body. "Ok." she paused and took a deep breath that made her breasts press against his arms.
His mind wandered to that morning and the next day, the sound of her moan. He tried to ignore their softness and refused to look down, but his mind screamed at him to rip her clothes off and take her right there in the hall.
"Where are we Will?" The cadence of her voice, slower and softer. She pressed closer.
Will stared at her lips. His hands slid from her arms down until they held her wrists gently. An image of him lifting her arms above her head and fucking her against the wall flashed in his mind. Had to walk away, now.
"Baltimore," he replied in a rough voice.
She slid her right arm free and carefully brought it to his chest, near his heart that hammered and laid her palm flat.
"Thank you," she whispered.
In the distance, Will heard Mason's telltale cough. Her coughing fits lasted much longer than they used to. He stepped back from Maeve and walked into his room. "I need to pack" his own voice sounded foreign to him.
She nodded and smiled at him before going inside his room.