Train Ride

I clung to his hand as we walked. I ignored everything but the feel of his hand in mine. I don’t think I realized when we got on the train and took a seat. I was so focused that when I realized it Alex was smirking at me. “I don’t think you’ve ever been so quiet.”

I laughed. “I just had another telepath tell me I don’t shut up.”

The smirk on his face faded. I shoved my shoulder against his, “You do know that there all sorts of magic in the Venatori right? I can’t keep my shields up all the time. It physically hurts.”

Alex looked at me with those gorgeous eyes and he looked deep. I knew he was looking for something. I asked, “What do you want to know?”

“Just the truth.” He said.

“I don’t lie to you.”

“But you keep secrets from me.”

“Do you really want to know?” I asked.

“I promise I won’t walk.”

I laughed, “It’s not the walking I’m afraid of. I can keep up with you walking. It’s running I’m afraid I can’t.”

“You’re fucking Venatori.” Alex laughed.

I stuck my tongue out at him and he leaned in and captured it with his mouth. I groaned.

He pulled a way with a press of his lips against mine. “Show me.”

I sighed and tore down the wall I’d put up before. The feelings rushed forward. I needed him. It wasn’t like a sex need. It was more about something else, something I couldn’t explain.

“I don’t…” Alex said and I sighed.

“Maybe we should go back.” I felt like I did when my dream guy didn’t show up. Maybe it would have been better if he hadn’t even come.

“Come on.” Alex sighed. “Don’t … I’m here. I don’t know what to say, Nox. I don’t feel like that. Not yet.”

“I never asked you to.” I sighed. “But this is why I didn’t want you to know. I fall fast. Always have. It’s not about being in love. I don’t let people in, and here you are in my head, reading everything.” I clamped my mouth shut and tried to think of something else. Tried to direct my thoughts away from him away from the problem – which ultimately laid with me. “Let’s just do this. We don’t have to talk.”

Alex leaned against me, “What if I like listening to you ramble?”

He sounded sincere in his words but I just shook my head. “Fine then, I’ll talk.” But Alex didn’t say anything after. I looked at him expectantly and he smirked, “I don’t know what to say. I don’t have a plethora of words spewing around my mind like you.”

I rolled my eyes, “So you are saying that you don’t have a thought in your head.”

He smirked and shrugged. “I’m just that kinda guy.”

“I doubt that.” I said. “You said you were late because you were tied up with a client? What do you do?”

The smirk changed to a smile and Alex shifted in his seat and put his arm around my shoulders. I leaned against him and it felt right while I listened. “I’m a business consultant of sorts. I do all sorts of things – efficiency training, gathering intel, I get paid a lot of the times to find information on opposing sides for good or ill. Depends on their needs.”

“I’m sure your ability helps with the intel.”

“It does. Why is it you don’t mind that I’m in your head?”

“I have nothing to hide. The only time I shield my entire existence is if I’m hunting a telepath or something.”

“Do you do that often?”

“Hunt telepaths?” I asked, then shrugged in response. “I’ve never hunted one personally. Human paths don’t fall under the same sorts of laws as the rest of the supernatural world.”

“You mean because they’re human. But you have orders to kill some kinds on sight don’t you?”

I nodded. “Dreamwalkers and clairvoyants typically yes. But honestly I don’t know why. I get they are dangerous and could really do some damage. But it’s no real difference than say telepaths who get insider secrets and become rich and famous because they know exactly what you want.” I smirked because I knew that’s probably what Alex did. I didn’t blame him for using his gift for his greater good. Most humans would. “My best friend is a technopath. He’s a hacker, he uses his gift for his betterment. A dreamwalker isn’t going to go bad just because he can walk into your dreams. No more so than any other human. Everything should be a case by case basis.”

“How many have you killed?” Alex asked.

“I’ve taken a handful of lives in the past 5 years. Can count them and still have figures left over. I only kill in self defense. But unless I made arrangements with their own people, the Venatori kill them after a sort of trial. We can’t contain them, so they die anyway. But I hope one day it’ll change.”

“What do their people do with them?”

“Most of the time rehabilitate them. 80% of the cases in New York are fledglings – either abandoned or neglected. Sometimes it’s an unknown, rare case. I had one girl who couldn’t shift at all during the moons. Once she shifted into wolf while the moon was full she couldn’t shift out. Her tie to the moon so strong, and her human form so weak she couldn’t do it. So her family has to lock her up for three days. She gets out on occasion and I have to find her before anyone else.”

“Aren’t you afraid of getting bitten?”

“No. Not really. I’m a hunter. It’s what I was trained to do. I’ll die young as most hunters do. But I’m going to live my way – not the way the Venatori say I have to.”

“Big talk for such a little man.” Alex smirked.

“Little huh? I’ll show you little.” I bit my bottom lip. “But I don’t think that’ll happen anytime soon.”

“So now you aren’t trying to get in my pants? I’m offended.” Alex smirked as he said it.

“My motives are still the same.” I pressed a kiss to his cheek and stood up when the train lurched to a stop at our destination. “But we have a date to get through. And I’m looking forward to beating you at laser tag.”

I headed for the door with Alex following after me. “We’ll see about that pretty boy.”

Nox

Hey Ducklings, my name is Nox. I am first and foremost a fictional character escaped from the mind of my creator AJ.

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