Havermouth, Present Time“Newly turned hybrids struggle to consume anything other than blood,” Aislen explained to Stella as Talen entered the bathroom. “And cigarettes, in Rhett’s case,” she added. “Hey, Toby!” She exclaimed as he exited the bathroom, his attention on what was behind him and not what was before. As he saw her, his face lit up and he crossed to join them. “How’s Rhett doing?” She asked, grimacing.“Not great,” Toby pulled a sympathetic face. “Talen said that he might be a while as Rhett will need to drink again after vomiting up breakfast. He’s going to take him to the donations area when Rhett stops chucking up. He asked me to accompany you back to the bunker if you did not want to wait?”“Oh,” Aislen worried her bottom lip. Rhett was pretty unwell for Talen to assign Toby to accompany her. She remembered Cameron and nodded. It had taken Cameron a while to recover from his food-experiment.“Okay,” she agreed. She didn’t want to hang around at the hospital whilst Rhet
Havermouth, Present Time“I think I’m dying,” Rhett announced blowing out his breath. “How is it possible that one small espresso causes this much woe?” He felt sweat break out on his forehead and braced a hand against the stall walls as his body arched into another expelling of what it was convinced to be poison.“Well, you did eat rather heavily for breakfast,” Talen reminded him gently. He had braided Rhett’s hair back from his face, handed him a handful of wet paper towels, and now filled the stall doorway with his shoulders as he watched as Rhett flushed away the coffee-scented bloody evidence of his experiment.“Yeah.” The toilet bowl had looked like a murder scene, something that Rhett found quite entertaining now that the worst of his vomiting was over. He hoped. He closed the lid and sat down on it, feeling weak in the aftermath.Talen walked over to wet more paper towel in the sink, bringing it back, and tilted Rhett’s head back with his fingers before gently wiping the towe
Havermouth, Present TimeLyric woke face down in the pillows, her hair sticking to her eyelashes. A ray of light pierced the part in the curtains and shone directly in her face causing halos in her vision when she blinked her eyes open. She rolled over, reaching for Niarthen and found him sitting on the edge of the mattress.“Niarthen?” She shot to seated and reached out to touch his back. His spine was so clear through his skin it frightened her, and his rib bones could be felt beneath the palm of her hand. “Are you okay?”“I am fine, mia persuma inillium,” he turned to look over his shoulder and smiled at her through the luxurious fall of his green-toned hair. “I am sorry to wake you. I am just returning to the water.” He turned fully, and stroked his hand through her hair, cupping her neck and lowering her back onto the pillows, sliding back into the bed with her so that he leaned over her, his eyes dark with intent.Her heartbeat picked up as she lifted her hand to touch his chee
Havermouth, Present TimeAfter his visit with Charlie, Heath needed to calm down. He changed into work out wear and went down to the army bunker to work out using their gear, thinking to sweat it out. He found Rohan already there. They worked out side by side in companionable silence for half an hour before Rohan took a break and retrieved two bottles of water from the glass fronted fridge.“So…” Rohan said as he sat on the weight bench across from Heath. “How’s things?”Heath took a mouthful of water scrutinizing his friend. “What’s up?“About the meeting yesterday… Look, I’m sorry, eh?” Rohan glanced around them, making sure that they were alone and would be unheard. “I didn’t mean to…”“I know,” Heath interrupted. “It’s fine.”“Nah, it’s not,” Rohan shook his head. “I have to be upfront about some things, Heath. When we adopted Julian, we started preparing for the Triquetra’s purpose. I did some things that I shouldn’t have done to raise the money to build our bunker,” he told him
Havermouth, Present Time“No,” Heath eased back off the mattress. “In fact, you’ve come at the perfect time.” He hauled the limp Cameron off the mattress, causing his red-haired mate to grunt in surprise, before turning and setting him down, seated on the foot of the bed.Cameron grinned at Aislen. “Hi. And eww,” he pulled a face at the smears of lube that Heath had left on his skin.“Hi,” she giggled at his disgust, and stepped into the room, pulling off her clothes and discarding them onto the floor. “I think I know where Heath is going with this… Facing you, or away?” She asked Heath as she closed the bedroom door just in case Stella returned. As open-minded and in touch with nature as the witch was, walking in on an Aislen sandwich would be pressing the friendship.“Facing Cameron,” Heath caught her by the waist and left a slick of lube on her as he lifted her to straddle Cameron’s hips.“Mmm,” Cameron caught her arse cheeks in the palms of his hands and lowered his mouth to hers
Havermouth, Present Time When Aislen left the bathroom, Heath and Cameron piled in together, laughing between themselves flirtatiously. Seeing Cameron glowing with happiness was a relief and further vindication that she’d done the right thing using her power to ease his mind. It felt good, even, to have used her power to help someone important to her. She dressed in the spare room and dragged the suitcases out into the main room. A knock at the door interrupted her, and she let Stella and the waiters with the midday meal in. A pair of werewolf guards stood with three different Van Helsing prisoners. “Oh,” Aislen wasn’t sure what to do with them. Rhett and Talen were at the hospital, and Cameron and Heath were in the bathroom. “Sit on the couch,” she said to the Van Helsings and used her power to enforce her order. “And stay out of trouble,” she frowned at the three men. “We can stay and supervise them,” the guards offered. “We have them under control,” Stella smiled sweetly. “You
Havermouth, Present TimeThe heat was fierce, driving the people inside their homes to sleep through the hottest part of the day. Samuel’s tunic stuck to his back with sweat, and he was grateful for the swath of cloth that kept the sun from beating down upon his head. At his side, Ember reveled in the heat, lifting her face to the rays of the sun, soaking it in.He watched her, in between sweeping gazes over the street and buildings around them, ever vigilant for attack, for there were always those humans who sought to prey on others. The sun had reddened her cheeks, forehead, and nose, and her hair shimmered with absorbed heat. She was storing energy, basking in the bright golden rays of sunshine. Her beauty astonished and awed him. Like a flame, she was both fragile and fierce, the warmth of a hearth, but also the danger of a raging forest fire.The buildings were built for the sand and sun, the walls made of a stone, limestone, and volcanic ash mixture that was quick to build with,
Rideten, Present Time “I’m not getting into a fucking car with him,” Rhett declared straight away, gesturing with his head to where Phillip, clean shaven and dressed in one of his suits, waited beside the car. Phillip arched an eyebrow. “I’m not precisely keen to share a car trip with you either, Rhett,” he observed leaning forward and dragging in a breath before recoiling. “You stink of cigarettes, coffee, and wasted opportunity. How any of your mates can stand to be downwind of you, I don’t know.” “I do not fucking stink,” Rhett resisted sniffing at himself. Phillip rolled his eyes. “I will ride in this car, and you the other.” He opened a car door and slid within. “Take the other car,” Talen placed a hand on Rhett’s shoulder and squeezed it gently. He inclined his face into Rhett’s hair and breathed in. “You smell sexy,” he purred quietly. “Ignore him. Cameron, Aislen, we will take this car,” he moved to the driver’s side. “Rhett, Heath, you the other.” “I’m driving,” Heath sa