lots of somethings. She
pulled her gaze back, stared at all of him and not just his face. Ohhhhh, that
was it. It was like there were multiple creatures moving around under his skin.
It was fascinating, and a little creepy. As she watched one creature seemed to
slide to the top of the others and sit just under his skin. She squinted a
little and saw the faint outline of golden fur and black spots start to shimmer
over his skin, like the creature was rising up out of him.
“Cheetah!”
Zora realised she had shouted this rather triumphantly when all three men
turned to her. The odd overlay on Powers faded instantly and the yellow tinge
she had not noticed until then disappeared from his eyes.
“Zora?” he
asked. “You could see?”
“Er, yes,
I saw what looked like many different animals and then the cheetah seemed to
rise up out of you and I realised which one you had chosen.”
Powers
sank down into the nearest chair, looking shocked. Marcus stared at her wide
eyed and Axel simply smiled and nodded his head.
“So little
Zora, you are by far the strongest defender ever. You see the tells as I see
them. You will know which creature the shapeshifters will turn into just before
they change. It will give a slight advantage should you need it, but of course
you won’t because the shapeshifters are our allies and always have been. Still,
it is good to know, yes?”
Zora
smiled back at him, because it was kind of cool. She felt it gave her a bit of
an edge over Powers and she liked that. She shot a cheeky grin at him and he
glared back at her. Impishly she winked, which earned her a large grin from
Marcus and a frown of disapproval from Powers. Then she looked back at Axel.
“I don’t
really understand why this is such a big deal Axel? I mean, seeing when a
supernatural is using his or her abilities, how can that be a sign of
strength?”
“Little
Zora, your strength is measured by many things. Your ability to see these tells
is simply one of them but it is the clearest indicator to me that you will be
extraordinary. No other defender has had such enhanced senses that they could
see this; for no other defender has the veil between our worlds been so thin.
This means that all your powers and abilities will be enhanced. I find myself
excited to see what you can do.”
He smiled
a purely male smile at her and Zora felt the impact right down to her toes.
This fairy man would be an amazing lover. No sooner had the thought crossed her
mind than a feral growl came from beside her. She glanced across at Powers and
felt a little faint at the raw animal anger in his expression as he stared
aggressively at Axel. The fairy gazed back at him unconcerned and grinned at
him cheerfully.
“Come on
Powers, you know there is no danger from me, dial it down and drink some
coffee.”
Zora
picked up her own coffee, and as she did so her stomach rumbled noisily. Powers
heard and snorted and the dangerous mood broke just like that. Without further
words he turned on his heel and went back into the house – to get the promised
food Zora fervently hoped. She was so hungry that she found it quite easy to
tune out Marcus and Axel while she stared hopefully at the door, rather like a
food oriented Labrador she realised, so with some effort she wrenched her
attention back to the conversation. Immediately she wished she had not done so.
Axel and
Marcus were deep in the discussion of blood stocks which she supposed was at
least one myth about vampires proved true. But seriously, they could bring
blood into the house in convenient baggies?
“Exactly
so little Zora.” Correctly reading her curious expression Axel was smiling at
her. Zora supposed someone – some fairy – as old as Axel was entitled to
call her little Zora but it did make her feel like a child in plaits. Realising
she had tuned out again she blushed faintly and hauled her attention back to
his face. “There are suppliers of blood to the vampires, families of humans
that
pulled her gaze back, stared at all of him and not just his face. Ohhhhh, that
was it. It was like there were multiple creatures moving around under his skin.
It was fascinating, and a little creepy. As she watched one creature seemed to
slide to the top of the others and sit just under his skin. She squinted a
little and saw the faint outline of golden fur and black spots start to shimmer
over his skin, like the creature was rising up out of him.
“Cheetah!”
Zora realised she had shouted this rather triumphantly when all three men
turned to her. The odd overlay on Powers faded instantly and the yellow tinge
she had not noticed until then disappeared from his eyes.
“Zora?” he
asked. “You could see?”
“Er, yes,
I saw what looked like many different animals and then the cheetah seemed to
rise up out of you and I realised which one you had chosen.”
Powers
sank down into the nearest chair, looking shocked. Marcus stared at her wide
eyed and Axel simply smiled and nodded his head.
“So little
Zora, you are by far the strongest defender ever. You see the tells as I see
them. You will know which creature the shapeshifters will turn into just before
they change. It will give a slight advantage should you need it, but of course
you won’t because the shapeshifters are our allies and always have been. Still,
it is good to know, yes?”
Zora
smiled back at him, because it was kind of cool. She felt it gave her a bit of
an edge over Powers and she liked that. She shot a cheeky grin at him and he
glared back at her. Impishly she winked, which earned her a large grin from
Marcus and a frown of disapproval from Powers. Then she looked back at Axel.
“I don’t
really understand why this is such a big deal Axel? I mean, seeing when a
supernatural is using his or her abilities, how can that be a sign of
strength?”
“Little
Zora, your strength is measured by many things. Your ability to see these tells
is simply one of them but it is the clearest indicator to me that you will be
extraordinary. No other defender has had such enhanced senses that they could
see this; for no other defender has the veil between our worlds been so thin.
This means that all your powers and abilities will be enhanced. I find myself
excited to see what you can do.”
He smiled
a purely male smile at her and Zora felt the impact right down to her toes.
This fairy man would be an amazing lover. No sooner had the thought crossed her
mind than a feral growl came from beside her. She glanced across at Powers and
felt a little faint at the raw animal anger in his expression as he stared
aggressively at Axel. The fairy gazed back at him unconcerned and grinned at
him cheerfully.
“Come on
Powers, you know there is no danger from me, dial it down and drink some
coffee.”
Zora
picked up her own coffee, and as she did so her stomach rumbled noisily. Powers
heard and snorted and the dangerous mood broke just like that. Without further
words he turned on his heel and went back into the house – to get the promised
food Zora fervently hoped. She was so hungry that she found it quite easy to
tune out Marcus and Axel while she stared hopefully at the door, rather like a
food oriented Labrador she realised, so with some effort she wrenched her
attention back to the conversation. Immediately she wished she had not done so.
Axel and
Marcus were deep in the discussion of blood stocks which she supposed was at
least one myth about vampires proved true. But seriously, they could bring
blood into the house in convenient baggies?
“Exactly
so little Zora.” Correctly reading her curious expression Axel was smiling at
her. Zora supposed someone – some fairy – as old as Axel was entitled to
call her little Zora but it did make her feel like a child in plaits. Realising
she had tuned out again she blushed faintly and hauled her attention back to
his face. “There are suppliers of blood to the vampires, families of humans
that
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