Chaos Lives in Everything - 10. Chapter 10

They marched down the stairway two at a time, Dom in the lead, Rebecca in the middle, and Skold taking the lead. The adrenaline was still pumping through Rebecca's body, her mind bouncing off of the walls of her skull. All she wanted now was to be out of Sinclaire's hotel. At the moment she was too worried about getting to safety to contemplate that she had shot a man in cold blood. At the same time she wasn't too keen on going to jail tonight.

Finally at the bottom of the stairway they burst through the exit door into the parking lot behind the building. She could hear the wailing aproach of sirens cutting through the night, articulating her panic. A large 1961 model Harley was parked neatly next to Skold's Mustang. Dom mounted the motorcycle.

Rebecca's eyes widened. "You drive a Harley?"

He grinned. "I sure do." He turned to Skold. "Follow me. I'll take you to my place. You two can stay low until morning."

"We'll be fine," Skold said.

Rebecca blinked. He was gritting his teeth, glaring in agitation. "We'll be fine on our own."

Rebecca started. "It might not be a bad idea. You might be friends with the RCPD but I'm not."

Skold fumed. They didn't have time to argue. He sighed. "Fine. We'll follow you."

Skold and Rebecca cimbed into the car as Dom's motorcycles jolted into life, growing and sputtering gas fumes. That is such a kick ass bike, she thought. The adrenaline had stopped pumping and she was starting to feel the fatigue.

Skold and Dom had just turned out of the back parking lot of the hotel as an army of cop cars pulled in through the front. Rebecca exhaled in relief. For now they were safe.

Skold's mind was spinning like a whirlwind. He didn't know what it was about Dom that got to him. Was it the way that Dom kept showing up at the oddest moments, poking his nose into Skold's investigation?

He did not like feeling this way, the feeling of being compramised, invaded.Having control over his emotions was imperative. But there was something about Dom that just made him want to come unglued, that made his skin crawl, that made him feel uncomfortable. And such feelings made Skold angry, made him want to lash out. He could not help but view Dom as a threat even though Dom had not yet posed a threat to him. That does not mean that he won't be a threat later, Skold thought. I'm going to have to keep my eye on him. Which was more effort than Skold wanted to put forward. Usually when someone started to be an inconvience he just killed them.

His jaw was clenched and his eyes focused on the road ahead aware of everything that went on outside of the car. He was aware that they had passed outside of the city limits and was heading towards the countryside. Harsh November wind beat at the windows, blowing the trees outside around.

Dom turned onto a small gravel road lined on both sides with trees. In this weather human eyes would have easily missed it. The road led to a small, secluded log cabin with a tin shed. Behind the cabin was a pond.

"Are you sure about this?" Rebecca asked.

"No," said Skold.

"What's going on?"

"I wish I could tell you."

"Can we trust him?"

"I don't know. Trust is something I am not good with." Skold sighed. "But I think he wants to help us. If he tries anything I will kill him."

Rebecca sat in front of the fire, warming up. The cabin was small in a rustic, dusty, neglected kind of way. Skold and Dom were outside, standing on the front porch. She could hear them murmering back and forth, their voices so low that it was almost like whispers. She made no attempt to listen into their conversation.

She looked around again, curious, like a small child who has just discovered a secret, hidden place and wants to explore it. Part of her suggest against it. It's rude to snoop through people's things without their permission. But her fingers itched. She wanted to know more about Dom, wanted to find out more about who he was. After all of the craziness that she had endured today she did not want anyone else pressing a gun to her head. Once is enough, she thought. Once is too much.

Not that there was much to explore. What served as the living room had no decorations except for the threadbare rug that she sat on, the old, crooked, threadbare couch, and the tall book shelf full of leatherbound volumes. If she wanted to snoop around that would be the first place that she would start; you can always tell a lot about people by what they read. The kitchen was a small room with a patchwork quilt thrown on the floor for cheap decoration just like the one that she was sitting on now. A oven mitten sat on top of the small gas stove and several pans hung from hooks. Directly behind her was a small hallway with one door on the left and a door at the end which she could see was the bathroom.

Either he doesn't care much about decoration or he hasn't lived here for very long, Rebecca thought. She threw a glance in the direction of the front door and listened. She could still hear the two of them talking. She decided to take a chance, to urge her curiosity. Damn the consequences.

She got to her feet and wandered over to the bookshelf. She ran a finger along the books of the middle shelf, straining to read the titles in the dim lighting. The only lamp came from a lamp sitting on a dusty intable. Most of the titles were written in other languages: Latin, Greek, Arabian. I was a good student in school, she thought. I was an excellent student. But I was never good with linguistics.

She tiptoed over to the door next to the bathroom, trying her damnedest not to make a sound. Pale light seeped through the crack at her feet eerily. She gulped and wondered if she really wanted to snoop around, if she really wanted to see what was behind the door. What if I open the door and find out that it's a torture room? she thought. What if Dom catches me? She didn't even want to contemplate what the consequences would be? He could pick her up with his bare hands and tear her in half, no problemo. She reminded herself that it was the girls that went snooping around, the ones that couldn't stay out of trouble, died the most gruesome deaths in the horror movies.

Still, like an innocent beauty in a grizzly fairytale, she reached for the doorknob, half hoping that it was locked and half hoping that it wasn't. The doorknob actually turned; she had to turn strain a little to turn it all of the way but the door opened easily enough, without making much sound. She closed the door softly behind her, staring at the queen sized bed in the middle of the room.

The bed had been made neatly, the pillows laying neatly side by side. Another patchwork quilt had been folded neatly at the end of the bed. What's with this guy and his quilts? Rebecca thought She had the comical image of Dom lying in the bed, his feet hanging over the edge because he was so tall, snoring away softly. But she knew that fae, though they got tired, could go days without sleep.

Like the living room and the kitchen there wasn't much decoration; it had the simultaneous look of neglect and coziness. At the end of the bed was a massive wooden chest that easily could have been from the 16th century and beside the bed was a large wooden wardrobe. Then she turned and looked at the wall and gasped. Taped to the walls, from top to bottom, she found herself staring at pictures of Skold: Pictures of Skold getting in and out of his Mustang, face pictures from overhead and the side. As she gazed from row to row Rebecca's throat felt incredibly dry. Oh God, she thought. I hope we didn't just go from one bad situation to another one.

She had to tell Skold. But first she had to find out more. The chest was padlocked shut. If she didn't have to worry about the possibility of Dom coming in and finding her in his room at any second, she could have picklocked it without a hitch. But the current situation didn't grant her that mercy. So instead of wasting her time with the chest she went for the wardrobe. Cautiously Rebecca opened them slowly and peeked inside.

Skold and Dom stood on the porch side by side, watching the rain fall, listening to it beat against the tin roof of the shed. Though Skold's face was impassive as usual, his insides were seething like a pit of snakes. It was impossible to pinpoint what he was feeling. Irritation? Confusion? Anger? How could one tell the difference when they were constantly interchanging?

Skold couldn't keep himself from glancing at Dom from the corner of his eyes, at the size of his hands, the broadness of his shoulders, his solidity. He found himself wondering what those hands would feel like against his flesh. He wondered how big Dom's cock was and then wondered how long his own cock had been. But his father had castrated him long ago, and despite his almost flawless memory, Skold could not remember what it felt like to have one, what it was like to urinate, to masturbate.

Skold was a very sexual creature as were all fae. His preferance was strictly male. He had never done it with a female and never would. The female anatomy be it human or fae simply did not interest him. But the male with all of its physical power, the muscles, the testosterone, the smell of male sweat turned him on, it didn't matter the species. They had a word for men who had such a preference, homosexual. He liked orgies, liked it when three or four participants, sometimes even five or six had their way with him, turned him into their bitch, their hands slipping over his flesh, their muscles bulging, their manly grunts grating deeply within their throat. He liked to be submissive because it brought on the sense of excitement that killing did only in a different way for a different reason.

Long ago Skold had learned to control his emotions, learned not to have any emotions. He'd learned how not to feel anything. To feel was to lose control. Sex gave him a scapegoat. He could touch and be touched and be fucked without feeling anything with the recipiants. And to a degree he liked the idea of controlled, of someone using him for their fuck-toy.

But there was something different going on with Dom. He didn't know what it was and whatever it was he didn't like it.

"It's a beautiful night," said Dom.

Skold said nothing.

"Do I annoy you?" Dom asked.

"Greatly," said Skold.

"Why?"

Skold did not answer.

"In the fae world do you know what they call you?" Dom asked.

"I'm sure they call me many things, none of them pleasant. There are as many various knicknames as their are stories and rumors."

"The one that comes to mind is Skold the Cold One. During the Wars the stories go that in battle you killed humans as well as fae, just for getting in your way. You would laugh as you cut them down with your sword. So when I saw you with that human girl I was very much surprised."

"So? What of it?" Skold's voice was cold, sharp. He didn't realize how sharp until the words came out.

"Nothing. I just thought it was interesting, that is all. I meant no offense."

Now Skold looked Dom directly in the eye, silver eyes meeting orange. "Why were you at Sinclaire's?"

"I told you, I was getting information."

"What kind of information?"

"I wanted to meet Sinclaire, see what all of the fuss was about. I wanted to see if he was involved with the troll attack."

"And what conclusion did you come to?"

"I wasn't sure. There was something off about him but I couldn't put my finger on what it was. I knew that he was sly, up to no good. And then you arrived with the human girl and I felt that I had to stick around to see what would happen. I made sure to give the girl a friendly warning. What is her name?"

"Rebecca. Rebecca Hall. She's a private investigator. I thought her talents would be of use to me. She is very astute when it comes to computers. She has a certain reputation, much of it very positive."

"Interesting," said Dom, his eyes glowing in the dark.

"Not that it's any of your damned business," Skold added.

The corner of Dom's lip curled into a smirk that only annoyed Skold further. "So is Sinclaire involved?"

"Yes, somehow. He had orders from his employer to try me and the girl. A Vanessa Holland referred me to him."

"And you have any found any other leads?" Dom asked.

"Yes, one other. Vanessa Holland hired me to do a bounty, a fury who disguised himself as a civil rights attorney. He went by the name of Marcus Sloan. He was involved with an organization that harvests human beings, the kind of people that no one will notice if they go missing. He also mentioned an employer. I can only guess that Sloan and Sinclaire were talking about the same person."

Dom nodded in approval. "Very good. You've gotten farther than I have."

Not much, Skold thought. A spider web has been woven. I can feel it, feel it like I can feel Cerbyndeuyng. It covers the whole city. “What is your part in all of this, Dominyc? Where do you come in?”

"You saw what Paladin did to the world when he rebeled against Yaldon firsthand," said Dominyc. "The world cracked in half and the human race almost went extinct. I don't want to see that happen again."

"And you think whoever is doing this is trying to follow in Paladin's footsteps?" said Skold.

"I know they are," Dom said with absolute certainty.

"Paladin's dead," said Skold.

"You would know. It was you who killed him."

One of the many memories that was stolen from me, thought Skold. It was strange knowing that he had done something that he had no recollection of doing. But he supposed that was part of the torture, to be punished for a crime that you could not remember comitting.

Skold cocked his head to the side. "You care about what happens to the humans?"

Dom nodded. "I do. Don't you?"

"It makes no difference to me."

"I'm a drifter. For the last several centuries I've traveled around the world, through all of the continents and through all of the world's roads in search for the one thing that will make me stay in one place. Along the way I have seen many things and met many people, many of them friends and many of them enemies. Some of those friends were mortal."

"Interesting," said Skold. "There are many fae who do not share your viewpoint."

"And there are a scant few who do."

The two elves remained silent for several moments, staring at one another. To any outside observer it would seem that something was passing between them, not heard but deeply felt. What that thing was was unknown, even between them. Skold was gazing into Dom's eyes, his composure starting to slip, the sense of confusion and unease starting to unroll like a tattered carpet. He looked away, regaining his composure, stuffing the emotions back behind the ice wall.

"Are you an ally?" Skold asked.

"Do you want me to?"

Skold did not miss the flirtatious way in which Dom had asked the question. He could not keep the tone of irritation from seeping into his voice. "Answer the question."

"Yes."

"There is something that I must do, someone that I must speak with. The girl that I brought with me is in trouble and she needs protection. She shouldn't be left on her own. Will you watch over while I am gone?"

"Are you asking me for a favor, Skold the Cold One?" Dom asked, grinning that annoying half grin of his again.

Skold rolled his eyes. "Yes, I suppose I am."

"Yes for you Skold, I will watch over."

Skold nodded. It was the closest thing to a thank you that he could give. He stepped out into the rain. Before getting into the car he turned back towards the cabin. He was smiling, mimicking Dom. "Dominyc, if I find out that you've done her any harm I will kill you."

"I said that I would watch over the girl. You have my word."

Skold said nothing more. He ducked into the Mustang and started the engine, backing away from the cabin. Dom watched the Mustang until it was gone, stood on the porch for a few minutes pondering all that he and Skold had discussed, and then turned and went back into the cabin.

The bedroom door opened and Dom stepped inside. "There you are," he said to Rebecca.

Rebecca turned away from the wardrobe and hefted the double-barrel shotgun at his chest. She could barely heft it up it was so heavy. "Stay back!”

"The next time you want to threaten someone with a gun make sure that it's loaded," Dom said, not unkindly.

"Where's Skold?"

"He left."

"He left me?"

"He said there was something that he had to do. He asked me to look after you, said that you were in some kind of trouble."

Rebecca held the shot gun before her like a club. "Stay away from me."

"If I wanted to hurt you I would have done it by now. I can rip a human in half within the time it takes to snap one's finger. With you, because you are so tiny, it would take less than that."

"You're in on this aren't you?" Rebecca asked, nodding at the pictures. "You've been following him around and spying on him."

"Yes, but not for the reasons that you think," said Dom.

"Then for what reasons?"

Dom heaved out a rumbling sigh. "It's a long story. If I'm going to tell it to you then I suggest you join me in the living room where it's more comfortable. I'll make you some hot cocoa to warm you up."

Rebecca raise an eyebrow. "Hot cocoa? Are you for a real?"

"Yes. Why, do you have a problem with that?"

Rebecca laughed, feeling herself relax. It felt good to laugh, to let her neves go. After the week that I’ve had I could some hot cocoa, she thought. "No. I just thought that elves were supposed to be all bad ass and everything."

"Some of us more than others," said Dom.