Page 20 of Awaken the Dragon
“You should have a calming place. I find they help in centering your thoughts.”
It was true. Her altar was one place to find her center; the water was the other. “When at my home, I swim. The water is my calm.”
He was silent for moments after her admission.
“Tracer demonics,” he said finally.
“What?”
“That’s one of the things on my mind. Now you tell me one of the things on yours?”
He sounded as if he were having a general conversation with anyone in the world. Not sitting in his den with her—the one selected to save a tribe of people from colonization. And as if that were not strange enough, she felt like she wanted to answer him, although she knew she should not. No one could know she was born to kill.
“What are tracer demonics?”
For a few seconds he only stared at her, wondering why she had dodged his question most likely. But her mission was a secret, not even her parents knew what she had really been sent here to do.
“I thought you might have read about them too, you know, during your studies.”
She didn’t respond because she’d forgotten that she’d already mentioned reading about demonics and other things.
He shrugged at her silence and continued. “They’re the ones who attacked us last night. They hunt for power, storing it like food to energize themselves. And they tracked us. Got any thoughts on why they’d do that?”
The tips of her fingers tingled, as if to give him the answer he searched for. She kicked off her slippers, pulled her legs up on the couch and stuffed her hands between them. He couldn’t see her power, no one could, until she used it, but this position offered another layer of protection.
“I am not from this place, so I have no knowledge of why things happen here. Why do you think they attacked?”
He sat up now, his legs gaped open, eyes watching her too closely. Like he expected to see the words she refused to say.
“I think they sensed a power source, and they tried to claim it. I think there’s someone after you, which is why I keep asking you about your husband-to-be, who’s still MIA.”
“He is not missing in action.”
“Oh, so you know where he is? Well, then how about first thing tomorrow morning we pay him a visit? Because if I think you’re in danger, he sure as hell should know about it.”
There was an edge to his words now and it matched the fierce look in his eyes. They almost glowed to neon brightness, which could not be right. Theo was a security guard; he had no other powers. Maybe she was tired and did need to sleep. She certainly didn’t need to sit here and be hounded with questions she could not answer. Yet, she didn’t move.
“Ziva mentioned a dinner or party or something on the schedule for tomorrow night. He will be there, and you can tell him what you want at that time. But he will not agree with you.” Just as she didn’t. There was no reason for her to be in danger here because no one knew why she was here. Or did they?
He stood then as if he were impatient and needed to move or...or...she didn’t know what he would do. When she was impatient or felt any anxiety, she swam for hours and hours just letting the cool water rinse all the worry and stress away. She wondered if there were a place here to do that.
“What do you think?”
She watched him pace back and forth after asking his question, before eventually stopping to stand directly in front of her. He appeared larger than life in the white-silver glow of the room, wearing only baggy shorts and a sleeveless shirt that clung to his body. The muscles in his arms bulged and strength poured from him in waves.
“I think there are things about this place that I do not have information about. These demonics you referenced, they do not only attack women from out of town. And the trouble at the hotel had nothing to do with me, because I was in the room with you. Yes, they were strange happenings, but you cannot reasonably connect them to me.”
Or perhaps he could and she just didn’t want to see it, because her focus had to remain on one goal only. If there were danger, the goddess would protect her until this was done.
“But there’s something about you.”
His tone was questioning, almost perplexed, and matched her exact thoughts about him. It was really time for her to go to bed now. She rushed to stand, but he did not move, and so their bodies collided and he gripped her arms to keep her still.
The beast was growing used to the feel of her and thumbing its nose at Theo for continuing to fight the recognition. He couldn’t tell it to go to hell; by keeping it locked away, he’d already banished his other half to a form of purgatory. But he could push the disruptive bastard to the side even if he couldn’t take his hands off the woman slicing divisiveness between them.
“I’ll walk you to your room.” That was the smart thing to do, and it would give him more time with her, to ask more questions of course.
“Fine, but you’ll have to let me go first.”
