Storm Brew

I'd been with Aric for one whole week now. He hadn't said much more to me than the usual 'good morning' or that he was heading out.. By now I was craving Nathaniel like my lungs craved oxygen. I missed Anna's spiffy behavior now that I'd been with her, it was hard not to. Drew hadn't shown up, the nightmares grew less intense but not lesser in number. I couldn't understand them as well, and the one where I... slit Nate's throat hadn't been as recurring—sometimes I woke up before I did the deed. There was no doubt something good had come from my talk with Aric. It was strange how things worked...

"Do you want to know the haunting story, luv?" Aric sat down on the porch, his hair was cut shorter—keeping away from his forehead for the most part. I don't know where he'd gotten the haircut, but obviously there was at least one barber shop in Dawnsonville.

"I don't..." How the hell did these people do it? "Fine, I do." Since he mentioned that the woods were haunted I'd been wondering what made him say it.

The sun had set, the stars were peeking behind the black mantle. I looked up—this was one of the few times I saw stars this clear—New York truly wasn't a good place if you wanted to stargaze.

"It's a legend that started in the nineteen century," he leant his shoulder on the white fence. "People say a woman dressed in black haunts them," I was regretting asking already... "It was said that anyone who caught a glimpse of her would lose their child, if the person didn't have children the child of their closest relative would lose theirs."

I whipped my russet hair over my shoulder—well, it wasn't going to affect me.

"If I see her nothing will happen to anyone. I don't have kids and I don't have relatives—" I took his beer and took a swig. I had no family. It was sad when I thought about it. I could only guess my parents' relatives had also been into the assassination business and that was why I had no one else.

"Really? You don't have any family?" Aric's eyebrows arched, not out of admiration but from expectation.

I nodded setting the bottle down.

"Do you?" I rested my face between my palms, leaning forward.

There was a short silence then Aric grabbed the beer drinking it.

"A few people." Was he answered.

"Who—" I yelped.

A man tumbled forward into the porch's stairs—Aric was already prepared to spring into action.

He didn't have to, though. The man didn't even look to us, he was to preoccupied trying to escape someone—the person rustling the shadows, the one coming from behind the bushes. I payed attention to the man's face, it was bruised all over—

"Nate..." I whispered trying to contain the smile breaking across.

It vanished when he brutally tugged the man by the shirt—a fist slammed into the foe's chest. I heard crunching—it was sick—and it sent the guy to the ground. It was the most brutal I ever saw him, anyone, actually. If I ever doubted that Nate could be heartless and coldblooded... this was more than a reminder. I looked to Aric and stopped. Wow, there was something else on his face other than complete calmness. Admiration. I'm guessing he hadn't expected Nate to put up such a show, either.

Nathaniel's foot stomped on the guy's neck, breaking bone. It was like he was squashing a Soda can. Some bones pierced the skin, obviously the guy was dead. Nathaniel's eyes were raged with hunger—thirsty for blood, more of it. If he wasn't there in all his glory—wavy ash hair, fiery eyes, broad shoulders and chest—I could think it was someone else. I'd seen Nate angry or so I thought I had, because the expression he had on, the way his eyes stared to Aric... God it scared me. More than it ever freaked me before. Nate's shaking rage saturated the air. I was speechless to describe it.

"Nate." I said a little chocked up.

He didn't look at me—it was as if I'd never spoken. His eyes were on the young man beside me—Aric was immobile just as Nate. I wasn't sure why, but I tried to yell at him before he did anything. Nathaniel wouldn't have listened—he wouldn't have stopped.

Another crunch set my brain on a reeling mode. I stumbled down a couple of steps when Aric fell over. Nate wasn't stopping there—he fisted Aric's shirt slamming another punch on the side of his face. My mouth opened and closed, I didn't know what I should say. Should I tell Nate to stop? What would happen if Aric began—I didn't need to wonder, Aric started retaliating. He swiped Nathaniel's legs sending him to the wooden floor. They scrambled together—fighting one another off, they were a mess of blurring limbs. It was beyond my comprehension how two people could have such speed. Nathaniel got loose from Aric's arm lock charging forward. Both of them hit the fence, Nate recovered faster since Aric had hit his back and stood over him smashing his fist again—Aric caught Nate's hand twisting it in a painful angle. The tables changed as the dark haired assassin took the top, putting his hand around my boyfriend's throat.

"I'm stronger than you, boy." I heard Aric snide.

Nate's hands uncurled and I gasped thinking... thinking—

"Well," he whispered dangerously. "I'm angrier." He growled, hands grasping both sides of Aric's head, their foreheads smacked.

Aric, caught off guard, fell backward. Nate kicked his chest leaving him sprawled. Nathaniel wiped the blood from his lip; he took one step and began crouching, his hand becoming a fist anew—

"Stop!" I screamed flinging my arms around his shoulders. "Stop, Nate." I braced my face against his back. There wasn't a response to my words, verbal or physical. "Stop." I said again trying to stop Nate's movement, holding his fist.

For the first time since he'd walked into the picture Nate stared into my eyes. They weren't softer—they were still ravenous for revenge or something equally destructive, and my words definitely didn't help...

"Aric didn't kidnap me, I wanted to stay with him!"

The problem was I'd already spoken them before seeing the stare. Nathaniel's muscles stiffened, I thought he was going to stop, and he did. He looked down to Aric who was getting up cleaning blood from his own face. And afterwards, he jerked the arm I was holding sending me crashing to the grass. I hit on my knees staring wide eyed at him. Nate's face twisted, his lips became a sneer—at me. He was looking towards me with raw scorn. I had no idea how he'd gotten here, how he'd figured out where we—I was, it wasn't important now.

"My mistake." He muttered with a tilt of his head. His voice was bitter and deep as ever—it would've sounded sexy even if it wasn't for his expression.

"That wasn't—" I started.

Nate spat a mouthful of blood, I hadn't noticed how damaged they were. He was walking away, though. Nate was just leaving me there—kneeling on the ground, Aric on his feet. I gazed at his disappearing back. Damn.

"You should go after him," Aric leant on the fence with a brooding front. "Before he falls into a swamp."

I blinked abruptly.

"There are swamps here?"

"Yeah."

I steadied myself onto my feet, still not believing what I'd just yelled out to the guy I loved. I bit my lip looking to the shadowy path Nathaniel had disappeared into.

"Can't you help?" I asked over my shoulder.

"If I see him I'm going to kill him. Would you be alright with that, luv?" My eyes slit in hopes of being intimidating. "Didn't think so." The door shut behind him.

Aric's threat descended down my throat as I glanced over to Nate's trail. I had to get to him. Why couldn't I stop saying stupid things? My mouth should stay shut...