The Stelter City Saga: Ultranatural (21 page)

The man from across the table finally
tossed down the newspaper shielding his face. It fell on top of the
money with such a slap that the men guarding the door glanced back.
“I can’t believe this.” He scowled pointing to the cover of the
paper. “It’s sickening. An inconvenient mishap with a chopper?” He
spat quoting a line from the article. “And we were the ones
who-”

“
Enough, Hamilton!” Hotaru
bellowed. He didn’t slam his fist on the old table for the tone of
his voice was harsh enough.

Ryan Hamilton tucked back the shaggy
strands of his sun bleached hair and ducked his head like a beaten
dog. He would have looked like any other typical Hawaiian surfer
boy if it weren’t for the tattoo of a phoenix rising out of the
collar of his beer stained V-neck. His eyes were still blood shot
from the high of his favorite blend, but he claimed he was fully
functional. “Just, stuff like this really pisses me
off…”

“
You knew exactly what you
were getting in to when you signed up for this!” Heather exclaimed.
“Don’t even start-”

“
Heather!” Hotaru bellowed
and this time he rose to his feet. “Don’t you dare start fighting
with him! We are not splitting Pele into two sides!”

Heather clenched her jaw and for the
first time brushed aside the dribble of blood from her chin. She
held eyes with the man for a moment before finally leaning back in
her seat. “Yes, sir.”

Hotaru’s eyes slid across the room
before locking onto Hamilton’s fair blue ones. “And you. You know
what we do. There is no turning back from your point. I will shoot
you myself if you decide to snitch. Besides, only you are
responsible for the actions you took to rise to your position.
There is no one to blame but yourself.”

A scowl rose to Hamilton’s face and he
bit his lip to keep from making any other remarks.

“
That’s more like it.”
Hotaru mentioned with a slightly relieved tone. “You had better
remember your place. I don’t want any outbursts from either of you.
Especially once Ithaca gets here.”

“
Is that what this is
about?” Heather asked looking up suddenly. “What’s a member of the
King’s Council want to talk to us about?”

“
It’s a proposal,” Hotaru
answered then shot a glance at Hamilton, “One that concerns
me
actually. That is why I
invited the two of you here.”

Hamilton glanced up at the old man
skeptically, “You already told us about her plan didn’t you?” he
asked, “Something about being the first… a Supremacy?”

Gravely Hotaru nodded, “It would be an
honor, but-”

Just then both of the guards were
thrown back from their posts. There was no explosion to trigger
their sudden flight, just an invisible force that threw them off
their feet. Not even a sound was made until they collided with the
opposing wall. Their bodies slumped to the floor unconscious and
the rest of Pele leaped to their feet with guns and knives drawn.
All eyes were glued to the unguarded door.

Hotaru didn’t need eyes to know Ithaca
was only steps away. Her eerie power was suddenly coated into the
atmosphere. The Pele officers kept their eyes stuck impatiently to
the door. Hotaru felt as if his eyes were going to burn straight
from their sockets with anticipation, then finally the familiar
cackle rang through the silence.

The breath of her laughter was right on
his cheek and Hotaru pulled away startled. Ithaca’s laughter didn’t
stop. Like a ghost she materialized from the middle of space. Her
brilliant white teeth framed in a smile as she said, “This is too
much fun. I can’t wait to get the real party started.”

Chapter 6 Two Lessons
Learned

~Lee knew she was sleeping well. It was
a dreamless sleep, and in some ways it was better than fantasizing.
The rumbling of the television didn’t stir her once nor did the
fact that she had fallen asleep with the lights on. She lay atop
the covers of the hotel bed, not shivering, but simply waiting in
that hollow blackness for her eyes to flicker open. Then she would
return to the fantasy of reality.

Reality was right there to great her.
One moment her world was blank, the next she was sitting up in an
unfamiliar bed. It took her several moments for her eyes to adjust
to the foreign surroundings and finally her memory told her she was
in Hawaii. She swallowed an enormous ball of air to try and wake
her tired body, and that’s when she heard it.

A low moan escaped Ace’s lips and her
head shot his direction. He was doused in sweat as if someone had
just dumped several buckets of water all over his body. His blanket
had fallen to the floor and even that reeked of sweat. Every vein
in his arm bulged like blue streaks beneath his skin and as his
head thrashed around, Lee could see the blood beating against the
arteries in his wet neck. A jumble of nonsense trickled from his
lips and beneath his glossy eyelids, Lee could see his eyes daring
around.

As swift as a heartbeat, the grogginess
disappeared and her eyes went wide. She didn’t know if what she was
seeing was real, but the next thing she knew, she was standing
beside Ace’s bed, shaking his chest fiercely.

“
Ace,” she begged still
shaking him. “Ace!”

But that didn’t work. He only continued
to thrash and she began to grow frantic. Shocked and anxious, Lee
didn’t know what else to do. Both her hands sprung to his sweaty
shoulders and she shook him again.

The whites of Ace’s knuckles matched
with the sickly color of his lips as his fists clenched beside him.
He had begun to thrash about violently as if he were throwing
punches at someone Lee couldn’t see. The mumbling had grown into
audible words now. “No,” he was muttering, “No, no!”

It was a dream- a nightmare, Lee
finally concluded and her hands sprang back to his neck. “Ace you
need to wake up!” she was pleading.

His head flopped around back and forth
and the rolling of his eyes had grown out of control. His muttering
was now a scream: “No! Don’t! Stop!”

“
Ace!” Lee shrieked. She was
growing terrified now. He had never mentioned to her that he had
nightmares. Maybe for supernaturals it was different? What if this
sort of thing was to go on of hours? What if Ace was never going to
wake?

She was shaking him as hard as she
could now, yet the dream clung to him like tar. Lee’s heartbeat was
pounding in her ears and for a moment drowned out the sound of his
screaming. She shut her eyes hoping that maybe this wasn’t his
nightmare, it was hers and she was the one that needed to be
woken.

“
Lee!”

The sound of her name tore her eyes
open and she felt his sweaty embrace before she had time to
register that Ace was sitting up. He was awake and without
hesitation her own arms went around him with relief. His hot breath
stung her chest as his face buried against her shirt. For a moment,
Lee blushed realizing where he had set his mouth.

Before she could pull away, he had
yanked her down beside him and suddenly his lips were intertwined
with hers. The thought of kissing him back had just popped into her
mind when Ace pulled away completely.

“
Woah, what happened?” he
asked. His voice seemed abnormally casual for someone who had just
awoken from a nightmare. He glanced down at his cloths only to
confirm what his skin was telling him; he was laired in cold sweat.
His hand sprung to his chest so he could still feel the racing of
his heart. “What happened?” he asked again, this time full of
curiosity. “I fall asleep in a hotel room and wake up drenched in
sweat and kissing you… or were you kissing me?” He asked smiling
weakly.

“
You were having a
nightmare.” Lee whispered quietly.

Ace raised one of his perfectly shaped
brows. “I was?”

It was Lee’s turn to be surprised,
“Don’t you remember? You were thrashing around; you nearly gave me
a heart attack I was so scared!”

A frown appeared on Ace’s face as he
made to wipe away a fine lair of forehead sweat. “Wow. That’s…
unusual. I honestly don’t remember anything, Lee.” He made a face
as he racked his brain, “Are you sure I was? Because I feel
wonderful right now, well aside from the sweat.”

“
Positive,” she said. Her
large eyes studied him with worry and finally she leaned in and
wrapped her arms around his neck. “You really scared me.” when she
spoke, her chin dug into his shoulder.

He grasped back hesitantly since he
didn’t want to contaminate her with his stench. “I’m sorry about
that, Lee.” He whispered back. “But I’m fine now, Honestly.” He
pulled back and gazed into her eyes just so she could see the truth
when he said, “I promise.”

Lee swallowed then nodded. “Alright.”
Her lips met his and they held for a moment before she began to
smile.

Ace felt her lips curve up and he
pulled away to flash a smile of his own. “What’s so
funny?”

“
Nothing,” she answered, “I
just wanted to say good morning.”

Ace glanced back at the clock on the
night stand. It read 5:45. He couldn’t believe that he had been
asleep straight for over twelve hours. Maybe that’s why he felt far
more energized than he had in a long time. “Well good morning to
you too.” He smiled, “I don’t suppose you’re going to want to sleep
in for just a bit longer.”

Lee shook her head. “Nope, I’m ready to
find some answers.”

Answers. That’s right; that’s why Ace
was in Hawaii in the first place. But for some overpowering reason,
he didn’t want to hunt them. Not that day anyway. “I have a better
idea.”

Lee couldn’t hide the stunned
expression for her face and she pulled her arms off his neck. “You
do?”

“
We’re in Hawaii,” he began.
“Why don’t we take advantage of that? Let’s go to the beach, Lee.
Just you and me.”

Lee’s stunned and quizzical expression
remained the same.

“
Trust me Lee,” he coaxed,
“It’ll be fun. The beaches here are nothing like the ones in
Tarrillian.”

“
They don’t smell like fish
guts?” she asked with a light giggle.

Ace grinned, “That’s what I’m
told.”

Lee’s eyes glistened as she considered
his proposal. “Alright. If that’s what you want to do.”

“
It is.” The way he said it
made it sound like he was confirming it with himself then shimmied
from his bed and set his cold feet on the floor. “I’m going to take
a shower.” He announced.

Lee hopped up, “Alright, and I think
I’ll grab some breakfast.” She rubbed her stomach, “I didn’t eat
anything last night. I fell asleep right after you did.”

Ace climbed to his feet and glanced
over her head at his reflection. It was revolting to see that there
wasn’t a single dry spot on his shirt and he would have flung it
off immediately if he was confident about Lee seeing him shirtless.
“I smell disgusting.” He muttered.

Lee hadn’t noticed until he mentioned
it. Yet she couldn’t agree. For some reason she wasn’t repulsed by
his sweat. To her, he smelt more like morning dew and for some
strange reason she found it attractive. “Take your shower then.”
She replied as Ace hobbled over to his duffle bag and began
rummaging for that day’s attire. “Do you want me to bring you
anything?”

“
Sure,” he replied, “Bring
me whatever; I really don’t care what I eat.”

Lee giggled, “I’ll bring back cotton
candy and licorice sticks then.” She joked as she found her way to
the door.

Ace chuckled as he blew a kiss, and
that was the last thing Lee saw before the door shut behind
her.

The hallway was remarkably active for
being so early in the morning and when she glanced over the railing
into the lobby below, she saw that there was a bustling crowd
beginning to form around the breakfast buffet line. Down the hall,
the elevator doors were just closing and she squeezed herself in
before the ding. Once on the ground floor, Lee grabbed a tray and
joined the line of early tourists.

A shelf of bagels, an assortment of
fresh fruit later and Lee was back in her room. Ace was still in
the shower and she couldn’t help but to snicker at his singing. She
set down the food in the kitchenette and picked at some grapes as
she changed from her pajamas to a pair of capris and a t-shirt.
Finally after finishing a bagel, Lee proceeded to brush her
teeth.

Her mouth was ringed with foam in
seconds and from the bathroom she heard the shower stop raining.
She spat the fluoride in the sink and rinsed it out with water. The
bristles of the brush ran against her tongue and she heard the
bathroom door creak open. When Ace stepped out, he was sporting a
dark blue baseball T with a set of neon colored swim trunks but
that wasn’t what made her laugh.

Ace turned at the sound of her half
choking- half giggling as she gagged over the sink. “What?” he
asked.

Lee rinsed the foam from her mouth
before gazing up at him. “What are you wearing?”

Ace pointed to the top of his head
where a white hotel towel sat expertly wrapped around his hair. He
looked like a fortune teller and his visage only conveyed a look of
amused confusion. “The shampoo bottle said I should do
this.”