Tenants and Tyrants (Book 5 of The Warden series) (18 page)

He sat on his bed and took his shoes off. He undid the last few buttons of his black button down shirt. He was about to slip it off when he heard a quiet tap on the door. “Daniel.” Nevia’s voice was quiet and sounded nervous.

“I told you, no,” he grumbled not moving from the bed.

“We can do whatever you want. Just open the door,” she said. He debated for a second before opening the door for her. She slipped inside holding her wrist with a towel. “I’m sorry, Daniel. I just can’t let you not live up to your potential.”

“What did you do?” He closed the door behind her, watching the towel, that was starting to soak through with blood.

She smiled, but he could see the fear behind her eyes. “I know I came on too strong. I took advantage of your attraction to me, to get what I wanted. It was wrong, but ultimately I know it’s what’s right.”

“What did you do, Nevia?” He said taking a step to her.

“I know you don’t see it yet. Your still angry, and bitter, and frankly I’m not entirely sure if I’m not exacerbating that by what I’m doing, but I’d rather teach you to save lives and hate me, than love me and hate yourself.”

“What did you do?” He said softly. She unraveled the towel, and her wrist gushed blood from a wide gouge. “Christ woman!” He jumped forward and put pressure on the laceration, but it was too deep to attempt to contain. “Did you do this to yourself?”

She nodded. He understood her fear now. Up to this point all his healing had been skin deep. She was taking a big risk hoping that he could stop the bleeding, repair the nerves and muscles. If she walked away with a gashing scar, it would still be a success.

“You stupid girl!” He pinched her chin with his free hand. “I don’t know if I can heal this!”

Despite the fear in her eyes, she didn’t waver on her response. “Yes, you can. I know you can. You’re not just a destroyer, Daniel. You’re a healer. You have to see that now.”

“All I see is a suicidal girl, playing with matches.” He moved his hand and more blood gushed. He wrapped the towel back around her arm. He didn’t know where to begin. “We should just go to the infirmary. There’s no reason to risk your life over this.” He started walking her to the door, but she pulled back.

“Daniel,” she shook her head. “You know I’ll just do it again. You might as well try.”

He knew she meant it. Tenacious was a nice word for her. Stubborn bitch was a more apt turn of phrase. “I’ll fix you this time. As best I can anyway. But no more. You don’t
ever
do this to me again. No more hurting yourself. You got it.” She gave a slight nod but that wasn’t good enough. He gripped her shoulder and shook her. “Promise me! No more!”

She snapped her head up like she was forcing herself to stay awake for this conversation. “I promise.” She started to waver, and Daniel wondered how much blood she lost already. She was a small woman. It wouldn’t take much to make her lightheaded. At least that’s what he told himself.

He picked her up easily and laid her on the bed with wrist overhanging. He unwrapped the towel and focused everything he had on making her better. It didn’t take long for the intense heat to overwhelm him. He wasn’t a big fan of heat anyway, but the heat wave he got from using this aspect of his power was enough to give him heat stroke.

29

He woke in his bed naked with a towel draped over his better half. He could feel ice packs around him behind his knees, lower back, neck, and on his forehead. He still felt hot, but like a Saharan heat wave instead of the fiery depths of hell. “Nevia,” he pushed back an ice pack so he could open his eyes. She touched his hand.

“I’m here.”

“Are you okay?” He took the pack off to look for himself. She looked a little pale and she had put a sweater on, but she wasn’t bleeding.

“Yeah, I’m good.”

“Let me see your wrist,” he demanded with a flapping finger. She pulled up her sleeve to reveal her wrist. It was nearly completely healed. A faint pink shine marked where she had gouged herself. “It’s almost gone.”

“It’s perfect. I can move, there’s no numbness. You did it.” She must have expected him to be proud. She was beaming at the revelation. Her puppet had done so well for her. The joy in her face trickled away, and they were left frowning at each other, his disapproving, hers penitent.

“Get out,” he finally said.

Her face fell, and she put her hand on his chest. “I meant what I said before. We can do anything you want.”

“That’s bullocks,” he said pulling her hand away, “You’re only offering because you know you’ve finally lost your grip on my knob. What’s your plan, throw me another shag so I’m caught up in your web again.”

She shook her head. “It’s not like that Daniel. I’m not trying to lead you on or manipulate you.”

“You just said you took advantage my attraction.”

“Yes, I did, but it wasn’t malicious. I want to help you.” She put her hand back on his chest, but he threw it back at her harshly.

“Who said I needed your help? I was doing just fine before you came along. I was happy before you came along. Ever since you got here, I’ve been working nonstop, Heaton’s gotten warped, and I can’t get a proper lay because I’m too worried about who you’re shagging. Which apparently was a waste of my time?”

“I’m sorry, Daniel.”

“Don’t be sorry, just leave me alone. Get out of here.” He motioned to the door.

She looked over to the door, like she knew she would eventually have to leave, but didn’t want to head that way until she absolutely had to. “I’m not leaving until your temperature goes down.” She looked at him as if she needed him to agree to that, but he just rolled his eyes.

“So concerned about my welfare, when you’re the reason I’m in this condition.”

“And I’m the one with six ice packs, a thermometer, and a vigilant eye,” she scolded. “I don’t know what more I can say or do for you Daniel. I screwed up with us, okay. I thought we could have a quick fling and move on. I didn’t want to pursue anything more, because I thought you would just hurt me. It didn’t occur to me that I could hurt you.”

“Why does everyone think I’m a sociopath?”

“The truth is I didn’t use sex to get you to use your powers. You did. I was always clear about my intentions. Your hope that I might change my mind fueled your desire to please me. Even when you knew what I was coming over for, you still let me come up.”

“Is my temperature down yet?”

“Fine, you don’t want to talk about us, let’s talk about you. I know you hate killing transmorphs. Even if they deserve it, you hate it. What if you could balance all that death out with life? You could do so much good.”

He shrugged. “I don’t give a wick about that. I just do my job. I’m not a superhero, Nevia.”

She looked at him like she couldn’t understand his words. “How can you say that? You have the power to save lives. You could…save burn victims months and years of recovery. You could restore function to people with spinal injuries.”

“I could remove wrinkles from woman’s faces. I could sand blast the sun spots off of old men’s foreheads,” he quipped snidely. “So what, I’m not going to go into a heat comma everyday just to make right something that I’m not responsible for.”

The enthusiasm on her face died, and she gaped at him. “I guess I should have found out what kind of person you were before I risked my body to train your gift.”

“It’s not a gift, it’s a curse,” he griped.

“No, Daniel it is a gift, a very powerful gift. I thought you were just too scared to use it, but I was wrong. You’re too selfish to use it.” She grabbed her thermometer and checked his temperature via his ear. “You’re under 104, you should be fine.” She tossed the device back on the bed and slipped off the bed. “I hope you don’t mind, but I’m going to rescind my earlier offer. I’m not really in the mood, anymore.”

She stood beside the bed, looking past him into nothingness. She looked like she might cry, but no tears surfaced. “As promised I won’t ask you to use your power on me, or anyone else again. I’m sorry I can’t tell you what Heaton and I discussed, but I think you two will be able to work things out in time. As far as work is concerned,” her toned changed to add authority to her statement. “I think six years is enough time to be a lazy, belligerent, womanizing drunk. You’ll just have to step it up and be a real hard working man for a change.”

He wanted to say something in response to that, but her eyes were challenging him. She wanted to pick a fight about his lifestyle choices. She wanted to add a few more scathing remarks to her attack. She was already prepared for this battle. So, instead, he opted for the high road, which was not really familiar territory, but it was worth taking for the view of a squelched strategy. “I think you’re right.”

She headed to the door. “Jordan,” he called just as she opened it. “Regarding
my
earlier offer about only knocking on my door for sex, I’d like to rescind that for the foreseeable future.”

She paused in the doorway, but didn’t turn around. If it hurt her he wouldn’t know. She had never shown any interest in reestablishing a relationship with him, so he assumed the only damage it would inflict would be to her ego. No one liked being rejected, even if it was from someone they didn’t like.

She stepped out closing the door gently behind her. There were no clear winners tonight. They had taken their digs, but neither of them really flinched. He knew she was disappointed that he didn’t want to use his powers to help people, but what she didn’t understand, what no one understood, was that he didn’t want to use his powers at all. He would have been just as happy to never have had them to begin with. Becoming a side show healer, was his idea of a personal hell. Whether he saved lives by killing, or saved lives by healing, he was still a freak.

30

Ethan and Cori managed to outlast most of the employees. With only a few stragglers, the band started to pack up their instruments and head to the docks to wait for their ride back. All Ethan wanted for the last hour was to take Cori back home for a little private dancing, but aside from a lengthy bathroom trip she hadn’t missed one song and she insisted on staying for all of it. He had even suggested a tryst in the prop room, but she was appalled by the mention of it.

When it was clear that there was no chance to get her to leave before she had a chance to thank every single member of the band, Ethan gave up the fight and headed back without her in hopes that she would take the hint and follow him.

Heaton joined him on the walk back. Once outside, Ethan expected him to light up a cigarette, but he didn’t. He wasn’t entirely—or in the least bit—sure what was going on between him and Daniel, but it had been developing since they last visited.

Ethan had sloughed it off as stress from the pressure of saving Cori, but no one was in danger now, and Heaton was still being indifferent and introspective. He was still Heaton, but with a monumental chip on his shoulder.

“So what’s up?” Ethan asked letting his feet slow to a snail’s pace to encourage the conversation over the destination. “You and Daniel seem to be on the outs again or still.”

Heaton shrugged. “Daniel’s Daniel.” The statement stood for itself, but Ethan couldn’t tell if it was said with frustration or despondence.

“Yeah, and he’s always been, so what’s changed?”

“Nothing, me maybe. It doesn’t matter. I just don’t know if things are going to work out with the three of us working together.”

“Why? Is Nevia not working out?”

Heaton scoffed. “No, actually, she’s great. She’s a sniper, what’s not to love. She’s found dozens of vampires we would have missed and transmorphs. We’re almost too busy. Daniel hates it of course.”

“Of course, cuts into his drinking time,” Ethan quipped, although it was true. “So what’s the problem? You’re not feeling resentful of her are you?”

“Resentful?” he asked as if he needed to verify his meaning before he gave an answer.

“Nevia has her nose. Daniel has his eyes. Are you feeling a little bland by comparison?”

Heaton chuckled. “I should I suppose. If Daniel wasn’t such a complete doofus I’m sure I would feel like a third wheel, but at this point I think I’m relieved to share the reins on him, you know?”

“She’s the go-getter she claimed to be?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“I suppose my next question has to be, are you falling for her?”

Heaton scoffed again. “I think I’ve had this discussion with Daniel three times already. He’s the only one falling for her.”

Ethan perked a brow at that. “No kidding?”

“I don’t know how she managed it either. She hardly gives him the time of day outside of giving him orders on the hunt.”

“Maybe that’s the trick.” Ethan paused. “But if it has nothing to do with her, why are you mad?”

Heaton stopped on the path. “I’m not mad.”

“What then?” Ethan stopped and looked him over, but as usual Heaton was a closed book. For the most part, Heaton was upfront and honest, so his ambiguous expressions didn’t need to be deciphered. Now all Ethan could do was probe for the answers his face wasn’t revealing.