It didn’t really take much to prepare for the jump. I closed my eyes and stilled my breathing and my heart rate. I knew Dev was trying to do the same thing. “You can face me, the ground, or the sky.”

Dev looked at me with confusion written all over his face. “We can both jump facing the ground, my arms around you or yours around me but I’d rather you be between me and the air weaves I use. You can embrace me facing me and you can look up at the sky or down at the ground.”

“I don’t want to see the ground come rushing back at me, other than that I’ll leave it up to you.” Dev’s voice shook with fear but he was trying to hide it. But I could smell it on him.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” I smiled, “It’s the last time I’ll ask.”

“Just do it Nox.” Dev declared.

I nodded. I held on to Dev’s hand, “Stand up there with your back to the street.”

Dev sighed with releif but he didn’t move right away. When he did he did it slowly. The ledge here was barely wide enough for him to stand on. I wrapped him in weaves of air so he could feel them pressing against him. He looked at me with wide eyes and I smiled back reassuringly. I knew this was difficult for a first time jumper. I threw up a veil all around us. No one would see us fall. No one would call the cops and no one would know what we had just done except us.

I sent patterns of earth and water and fire to the ground below softening it long before we even got close. Dev watched me as I climbed up top with him. I grinned at him, “You ready?”

He nodded and I pressed a kiss to his lips while wrapping my arms around him. I spread wings of air out from us, and up into the sky like a parachute, and then I leaned forward and we started the downward decent. I ticked off the seconds in my head. I closed my eyes and I let the drag of the air press us closer together. I pressed my forehead to Dev’s and he wrapped his arms around me tighter and kissed me. It distracted me enough that I lost my count somewhere between 3 and 4. The patterns were strong, we slowed and fell at the same time. The ground grew closer I could feel my patterns getting closer as we neared them but the only thing I felt was his lips against mine, hot and wet and hungry.

We collided with the earth and Dev let out a grunt and bit my lips. He was laughing against my neck and rolled over on top of me. We were in the middle of an alley – dark and dirty and smelled of garbage but right then he didn’t care. I didn’t care. He pressed a kiss to my lips and I tasted blood.

Dev looked down at me as he sat up straddling my body. The world passed us by on the other side of the viel. Dev wiped his mouth of the blood. “Sorry.” He said.

I shrugged. “I didn’t mind. It’s healed now.”

Dev smirked and stood up slowly. He offered me his hands. “8 seconds of bliss. That’s what you say right?”

I nodded, “That was more like 6 but I lost count.”

Dev laughed. “Why did you do that?”

I grinned at him as I took his hands and wrapped my arms around him when I was standing. “Because some hot guy kissed me.”

“Oh? Should I be jealous?”

I shook my head. “No.” I said, “I only have eyes for you.” I pressed my lips to his and he backed me up against the wall. The world would pass us by behind the veil and no one saw when Dev pushed his hand down my pants and grabbed my hardening cock.

Dev bit my neck and I groaned. “You are going to be mad at me if you keep doing that.” I said.

Dev sighed. “We’ll talk about what the vampires wanted in the morning. I got something I want to show Sage.”

I raised my eyebrow in curiousity. I wanted to know what Dev had in mind. But he thought at me Wait and see, pretty boy, wait and see. as he pressed his lips to mine before we parted and Dev started for home.

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I turned around before reaching the door. I grinned at Ant, “Mind if I use your roof?”

There was a slow smile that crept up Ant’s face as he nodded. “Mother says you have the code, feel free to use it whenever you like.”

I shook my head. “I don’t think they’d appreciate me jumping too much.”

Ant shrugged. “Never stopped you before.”

I sighed. “I wasn’t in love before…”

Ant laughed and waved his farewell as I shut the door behind me. Well fuck! I had the perfect oppurtunity to jump. I could take control of my life. The tattoo on my arm was only a minor releif and I don’t think I want to have to cope with the fear and the pain of getting another tattoo. The heart and serpent meant a lot to me. I loved my life. It was a reminder, a constant one now. I rubbed at the spot under my hoodie and sighed. I needed to jump.

I took the stairs, the elevator didn’t go to the roof. I was grateful it was dark, but the weather was colder up here. The wind ripped through the clothe of my hoodie and I pulled the hood up around my head and tightened it down. It only helped a little. I stood by the door and when I tried it, found it locked. There was only one way down now. I sighed… They were going to be super pissed if I did this.

I took my phone out of my pocket. I could call Ant, have him come open the door. My phone buzzed in my hand and I juggled the phone in my hands before catching it. My heart was racing from the fear and the surprise. I don’t know which was worse. I glanced at the text and smiled.

Dev
Pretty boy, where you at?

The roof of the Night Life building.

I sighed. I knew he of all of them was going to be pissed. I sent another text.

I was going to jump. Door’s locked now that I decided I shouldn’t.

Dev
Don’t jump. Wait for me.

Take the elevator to the 40th floor, use the stairs up from there.

I sat down near the door and pulled my knees up to my chest and waited for Dev to show up. I tried to calm my heart rate and my breathing. But I was on the roof. My fear of heights, the wind cutting through my clothes, I was overwhelmed and I hugged my knees tighter to my chest while I waited. The door opened and Dev stepped out. He let the door close behind him and I was about to say something when he grinned. “I put a rock down.”

I sighed.

“What’s wrong pretty boy?” Dev sat down next to me and leaned his head against the wall. “Dee called me as my shift ended. Bitching at me because you went to see the vampires. Your father called interrupting you and she had plans.”

“You here to to talk to me, or avoiding Dee?” I asked.

“A little of both.” Dev confessed as he took my hand in his and entwined our fingers together. The simple touch made me calm down and speed up my heart at the same time. “Nox, you aren’t Venatori anymore. I thought we were done with all this.”

I shrugged. “They are my friends. You want me to abandon my friends. Tell them what, I can’t help them because it’s too dangerous.”

“What about us?”

I sighed. “So in order for you to be happy, I need to be miserable.”

“That’s not what I said.” Dev sighed. “You gallavant off to be the hero you are. The hero we love and go and get yourself hurt or worse you’ll die this time.”

“At least I lived. I got to know you. You got to know me. We didn’t spend the time we did have never having known each other. I got to fall in love with you, and Sage and Dee. I’d die happy.”

“And you’d leave us all.” Dev’s voice rose. His hand was squeezing tight, I thought my hand was going to fall off.

“I’m not killing myself. If I die I didn’t mean to. I don’t want to die. I want to be happy with you forever.” I pulled my fingers from his grasp and shook my hand as I stood up.

Dev sighed. “So why are you up here then?”

“To jump. To control my fear. To get a handle on my fucking life. To feel in control for 8 seconds. So I can feel the wind against my face, feel the power of what I can accomplish if I put my mind to it. So I can feel alive, Dev. I’m drowning in nothingness. My entire body hurts from trying so hard. I just want to give up and let the world claim me. I hate this feeling. I know this feeling will lead to really letting it happen. I have to stop it. And I don’t know how. I don’t want to die Dev.” I knelt down in front of him. “I want to be with you fucking forever. I can’t see my life without the three of you and the boys. Without you there is nothing.”

We sat there staring at each other for a long time not saying anything. Dev moved to stand up and I fell backwards on to my ass. Dev grinned and offered me his hand. He walked to the ledge of the roof and looked down. “45 floors?”

I nodded. “10 floors short of the AU building.” I added.

“And you want to throw yourself over the edge with only your magic to save you?” He asked.

“Yeah. Come with me?”

His baby blue eyes looked at me in the darkness. I couldn’t see his ice blue eyes, but I knew the color, I knew what they looked like right now without having to see them. “Trust me Dev. I won’t get you killed. I don’t want to die.”

He dropped my hand and I was afraid he was going to leave. The door opened and he stared down the the darkened entrance. “There are perfectly good stairs right here.” He knelt down and I sank to the ground by the edge of the wall. He was going to walk away.

Dev picked up the rock he’d propping the door open with and tossed it to the side. He didn’t stand up, just stared down into the darkness of the stairwell. I pulled my knees to my chest and pressed my forehead into my knees.

I heard the door close and I didn’t look up. I felt like my body was being crushed. But the sound of gravel under foot made me look up. Dev was standing in front of me with a frown. “You crumble too easy pretty boy. Will this help?”

I shrugged. “For a little while. But it doesn’t fix the problem so it’s a band-aid.”

Dev offered me his hand. “Alright. I’ll do this. But if you get me killed I’m going to haunt you.”

I grinned up at him as I took his hands and he helped me up.

“At the AU building we have harnasses to insure there is no separation. I trust you won’t let go of me?”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” He wasn’t grinning. It wasn’t funny nor upset he was staring over the ledge in horror.

“You don’t have to do this.” I said.

He looked at me with a smirk. “Pretty boy, if you can do it. I can do it. I trust you.”

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Before I could sit down Ant was pulling my coffee cup from downstairs from my hand and depositing a warm ceremic mug of coffee in it to replace it. “This is better.”

I didn’t question the vampire, he knew how I felt about my coffee. I took a sip and grinned at my friend then I sat down in the most uncomfortable chair in the room. There were a pair of the antique chairs, probably from the 18th century made of wood. The sat opposite of the very modern look couch with it’s sleek lines and leather upholstry. My back was to the door, but I was okay with that. I knew where the exit was and there was no one that could sneak up on me other than those that were right in front of me. And I was confident the shadows behind me were too shallow to allow for vampires to pass through.

Il Cane was looking at me with curiousity. She was privy to my thoughts on a minor level. Embraced from all the vampire lines gave her certain powers of each line. It wasn’t perfect like in a Primeval Vampire, but she touched them all in some form or fashion, as did Ant.

A tall blonde man dropped a plate of cookies on the coffee table in front of him and he took the seat next to me. He grinned at me, “You remember me?”

I nodded, “Ryan Elliot. I remember you from the club a few years back though we never were properly introduced.”

Ryan offered his hand. “And you are Nox Sétanta, former Venatori and friend of my friend.”

I grinned at him as I shook his hand. “A pleasure.” I almost lifted his hand to my lips to flirt but I didn’t think flirting with an 900 year old human was the best move. It might be a good fight, but he was tied to a vampire – and one of the strongest vampires alive. I didn’t need that trouble. I turned to my attention to Cari. “I’d say I was in a hurry but thanks to this meeting my date got cut short and now she’s pissed at me.” I rolled my eyes and left out the bit where I was pretty sure all of my lovers were probably going to be pissed at me.

Ryan glanced at Cari and frowned. “This could have waited. There is nothing we can do tonight to help Kai Viddens nor is there anything Nox can do. He has a family and he has to talk things over with them. You know how pissy Ant and I get when you just walk out on us.”

I shrugged. “What’s done is done, but can we get on with it?”

Cari smiled. “A little quid pro quo. I will help your father find the vampire or vampires terrorizing this city. In exchange, you will go to Rome with Ant and stem Damian’s fears that Valence is out to kill him.”

“Why would he think that?” I asked.

Ryan answered. “Valence has outright attacked one of Damian’s houses in retaliation for some slight Damian is not about to tell us over the phone. Cari would go herself, but Valence tends to attack when we step foot on old soil. Her villa in Italy being the only exception. And Damian will not leave Rome. And Ant is not the most diplomatic person so he can’t go. We’d enlist Tony, but he’s dealing with their own set of problems with his uncle. He’s pretty tight lipped about it all.”

“Why me?”

Ant laughed, “Why not you? You have something better to do?”

I glared at him and he sighed adding, “Sorry. Touchy subject.”

I sighed. “I have a family to take care of.” It was the truth. But I felt lost doing that. This was the frist time I’d actually felt any sort of excitment. But I knew going would only cause more problems.

Cari’s voice was soft in the presence of my emotions. I heard it over them, in my head, but also as she spoke them. “Ant speaks highly of you. You are free of Venatori restirctions, yet possess the skills needed to stop Valence if that is what is necessary.” A slight smile spread across her lips as she continued, “And a little adventure would brighten the dour mood.”

I sighed. “I can’t say yes right now. I need to talk to Sage, Dee and Dev.”

Cari nodded. “Talk with your family. I need an answer tomorrow night or I’ll have to go and diplomacy won’t work.”

Ryan sighed. “You are worse than Ant.” Cari left. She headed towards the hall in the back of the room. Ryan looked at me. “Don’t mind our mistress she’s moody.”

I grinned, “Aren’t we all. I should go. I’ll let you know.”

He nodded. “Call Ant. Let him know.”

“Will do.” I grabbed a cookie and gulped down my coffee before leaving which drew a chuckle from Ant. “See you soon,” he called after me.

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