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"Death is not the greatest of evils; it is worse to want to die, and not be able to."
- Sophocles
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Chapter Six
A Bad Day | Luke
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I felt like cracking my head on the edge of the desk in front of me in hope that the headache would spill out. It was bound to at least be less painful than it was now. I couldn't concentrate and had already gone over the correct dosage of painkillers. I'd go see Paddy, my favourite healer, but he was currently aiding a young teen who had attempted shape change without enough study or testing. I was told it wasn't pretty. And, of course, if I went to visit him just quickly, the parents of the child would find some way to pin the blame on me. I rolled my chair away from the desk and computer to stop myself from picking anything up and throwing it.
I had been only two seconds in the door when Kara had squealed into the foyer, making sure that I had no woman with me and probably smelling me for some feminine smell. I was grateful that I hadn't hugged Dizelde or anything. Kara might have demanded to know who the 'other woman' was. It was troublesome enough to get rid of her but by the time I did, others had gathered in the room. Had I added this-and-that to the month's budget? Could I tell such-and-such's neighbour to lower the volume of their stereo after nine? Had I heard from him-and-her who had recently moved to California? Was I informed of the day and time of the next pack gathering dinner? Had I prepared my speech? Had I gotten a date for that night? Would I be taking Kara? Would I be needing a suit made? Did I have any preference about the meals served or the drinks provided?
I snarled aloud, tempted to find relief in my other shape and go on a bloodthirsty rampage around the household. It was called air, couldn't they see that I needed some?
The door to my study opened and Garth walked in, an amused smirk on his face. The door swung shut behind him, returning the room to its soundproof state. It was the only room in the house that stopped sound from reaching inquisitive and nosy witches with sensitive hearing.
"Please say you heard some good news, or at least something funny," I muttered, a near growl.
He grinned, too used to my frustrated emotions to falter at my tone.
"I wouldn't say it was good news, but it's not bad either. Lark gave me a call."
"Oh? Was he home?" Damn, I had wanted to speak with him before he met the kid. No, she wasn't a kid... though she had seemed so young, even when I knew she was a trained assassin.
Garth chuckled. "Yeah, seems something smashed him in the nose."
I nearly burst out of my chair. "What?!" I exclaimed. Shit, they'd fought? Lark wasn't one to roll over and let himself be pounded, even if he fought a girl. And if he pushed her, she could fall into habit and injure him quite badly in order to protect herself. Dammit. I shouldn't have let her go by herself.
He seemed taken aback by my reaction. "Whoa, Luke, it's all good. He swore to me that he didn't harm her and he was well enough to call me."
"Man, you should have stayed there with her. Fuck, I don't need any more problems!"
He gave me a level look. "Then why'd you bring her back with us?"
"I couldn't just leave her out there."
"Ah, but you could have dropped her off in the city, given her over to LASER so that they could help her. Face it, man, despite all your complaining, you like being a person people look to when they need help."
I scowled and sat back down. "That might have been true in the past but all I've wanted for the previous month was a goddamn holiday."
"Just say the word and I'll step up for a few weeks." He took a seat on the other side of my desk and swivelled on it, staring across to the wall to the paintings that he had studied thousands of times before. He already knew what my answer would be. Which made me think. Did I really want a break? I didn't want to relinquish my position, not now when I was getting into a pattern, but a week wouldn't hurt. So why didn't I ever accept Garth's offer?
"Screen call?" asked Garth suddenly, changing the subject and relieving my troubled mind.
"Yeah. I want to see Liam's face when we tell him what we found in that abandoned building he sent us to investigate."
Garth wheeled his chair over to the wall and pulled down the white screen sheet while I typed the command for a screen call to Liam on my computer. He'd only recently had his camera and display set up for screen calling so I hoped that this worked. I wanted to get this done so that I could get out of this place and talk to Dizelde.
'Dialling'
'Dialling'
Liam's face showed up on the screen, he was reclining on a new-looking sofa and I felt jealousy rise as I watched him relax.
"Luke. What's up? Did you find something? Oh, Garth, how're you doing?"
I didn't understand it, but Liam and Garth got along well. Maybe it was because their ages were closer, or maybe it was because Kayli and Garth didn't get along so there was no chance of my second in command stealing his girl.
"I've got a new housemate and thanks to last night's trip, I am sleep deprived. I feel like shit. How's it going with you, Liam?"
I raised my hands. "Can we just concentrate here, just for a little while? You two can have your deep and meaningful after I'm done."
Garth slowly wheeled himself back to my desk and Liam, other than raising his eyebrows, made no comment.
"We did find something. But it has nothing to do with the case. Liam, we found a girl who was running from an institute built to train assassins."
Liam frowned, his gaze suddenly very serious. "How do you know she's an assassin? Did something happen to one of your pack?"
I shook my head and Garth spoke, "She's been obviously trained in some martial arts. She was carrying a set of knives and two fake passports. And she stated that she was an assassin herself. We did not Hear a lie."
"Could she be a witch? It is possible to smother the aura of a lie to other witches."
I shook my head again. "I checked her internally. She had no extra energies flowing through her veins. And she succumbed to my compulsion rather easily."
"That's no way to judge. Many powerful witches have fallen under your coercion."
I wished that Liam had been one of those people, so I could at least get him to stop treating me like a kid. "She's not a witch. Trust me on this."
He shrugged carelessly and I bristled with annoyance. He accepted it but he didn't show me any respect and that frustrated me.
"Do you know her name? Or the people she works for?"
"Dizelde is her name..." I was about to tell him about Wesley 'Scythe' Michaels, the defence minister of Ireland, but noticed the change in his demeanour as I spoke. "You've heard the name?"
He was now leaning forward, his eyes the only insight into the fact that he was thinking fast. "I can't be sure. It sounds similar. I'll need to see her... but that is not a popular name for a girl child... Dizelde. Did she tell you anything of her past?"
I thought back but couldn't remember anything.
"It seemed that she'd grown up in the assassin institute. She did not know where we were and therefore couldn't have travelled to the place without passing any signs and recognising where she was located," Garth muttered.
Liam frowned.
"What is it? Who do you think she is?"
He looked like we'd discovered something amazing. "There was a mission years ago, carried out by Kayli's own father. You'd have heard of the French serial killer, Beaumont? Leandre Beaumont? And how a girl was found in his basement, tests later proving that she was the killer's daughter. The Bastard Beaumont?"
It sounded familiar but I couldn't remember much detail. I would have been only a toddler at the time.
"Are you trying to say that Dizelde is the girl?" The idea didn't sit well with me. I didn't want her to be taken off by LASER for interrogating. She had seemed so young and innocent when she'd slept in the back of my jeep.
"I can't be certain. I'll head over to yours now."
I wanted to refuse him. I didn't want her to show that fearful look again if he questioned her about the possibility of her father being a mass murderer. But I needed his help if I was going to keep her safe.
"Fine, but bring Kayli."
He sucked in a breath slowly. "Luke," he said slowly, "I don't think that it would be suitable for you to flirt with my girl while I talk to this runaway."
I scowled. "Sometimes a girl needs another girl to help her to relax. I'm not sure surrounding Dizelde with intimidating men is going to make her feel at ease and safe."
He rested back against the couch and rolled his shoulders as if to release tension in them. "Okay. If the traffics good I can be there in half an hour. I'll update Kay on the way."
Without a goodbye, he clicked something to his side and the screen blacked out. I turned to Garth who was ripping loose threads from his singlet.
"We'll head there first. Text Liam to tell him to meet us at your place. I just hope the two haven't beaten each other up."
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It's a bit shortish but you guys should know me by now. I hate writing long chapters filled with mostly dialogue... Necessary but so hard to write!
And, as I always say, listen to the song. It's by one of the greatest new indie bands in the world [imo]