Devil Inside, page 10
Levi considered this, “That’s not too far off really. We make money. We consult each other. We are given guidance and simple rules and we have responsibilities. But if you follow them then you are allowed to do as you need and want to do.”
“You get paid?”
“Yeah—not much. But if you are responsible you will have plenty. When you live pretty much forever and never get sick and have only basic needs—it’s easy to acquire wealth.”
“Where does the money come from?” Harley asked.
Levi shrugged. “There is a fund. It’s grown over time. It’s invested and has interest. It’s surprisingly corporate these days. Our commanders control it through a ‘committee.’”
Harley nodded. “You said there were rules. What exactly are the rules?”
“Kill Burners. Try to keep human knowledge to a bare minimum. Don’t lose control. And fulfill your responsibility to the Praesidio,” Levi shrugged. “Simple.”
Harley had some doubt that it was as simple as that. She didn’t think Levi was lying to her. But she knew that it was complicated and a huge responsibility. But she also knew that it was something that intrigued her greatly. And usually, when she was intrigued and her interest piqued, she plunged in and learned to swim after she got into the water. Not the wisest life philosophy but one that she was used to.
Harley continued with her questions. “You said Nocte weren’t really immortal. What does that mean?”
“Anything that is alive can die. We aren’t any different. It’s just a lot harder to kill us. Just like Ignis and Lux. We can heal from nearly everything—except cutting off our head, destroying our heart or burning us badly enough that the heart or brain is destroyed. And the Ignis don’t drink blood, but their bite is poisonous. If it’s a bad enough bite it can kill us.”
Suddenly, another question occurred to Harley and she stopped pacing. “How old are you?”
Levi smiled his dry smile again, “I was born in 1903.”
Harley felt the floor drop out from underneath her. “So that makes you…” she tried to do the math in her head.
Levi did the math for her, “109.”
Holy shit “Wow,” she croaked out loud. “You…definitely look…good for your age? How exactly should I respond to that?”
“That works,” Levi smirked.
Harley resumed her pacing and Levi watched her quietly. “Why did you join the Praesidio?” Even as she asked it, she felt like it was a personal question.
Levi held her gaze for a moment before looking away. “For the same opportunity I’m offering you.”
Harley wanted to ask more about Levi’s decision to risk death, given the time period—an even greater risk than she herself was considering—but the closed off look on his face made her change her mind. Finally she asked another question. “Are there any other drawbacks?”
Levi hesitated, she recognized his hesitation as leading into something she probably wouldn’t like. “You won’t be able to see your friends or family again,” he said finally.
Harley considered this. “Because they will want to know why I’m not aging, right?”
“That. And you’ll be different—to some degree. It probably won’t be drastic, but it will be noticeable to people who know you well. Also, it would be dangerous for them. The Ignis could come after them to get to you. Plus, human society can’t know about us.”
“Why can’t humans know about you? Wouldn’t it make sense to tell humans? So that they can protect themselves?” The question wasn’t necessarily prompted by the concern of not being able to see her friends again. It just seemed fair to give humans a chance to defend themselves.
“Humans are happier not knowing—in a lot of ways for a lot of reasons. The Turba—the Burners—work covertly right now. If humans knew about them, they would actively hunt the horde. The Turba wouldn’t be concerned with trying to hide and avoid human knowledge. They would launch full scale invasions. While human technology would give them the advantage—there is a difference between an all-out war and small covert operations. It’s a ‘for the greater good’ thing. A lot more people would die if there was an all out war.
“Plus, human desire for the bond—either with Nocte or Lux and maybe even in some cases a bond with Ignis—would be overwhelming. Can you imagine how many misguided people would want to become all powerful and forever young? Not to mention those that believe we are some sort of angels.” He let the weight of that statement hang in the air briefly. The thought made the Harley’s hair stand on end. She knew the danger of those who used religion as a weapon and they would probably see this as the ultimate weapon.
“And then there are those humans that would want to hunt even without the bond. They would interfere and mess things up. We have to train to fight Ignis. Humans trying to hunt them as well would only cause us more hindrance than it would help. And there aren’t enough Nocte or Lux to bond with everyone. And those who did receive a bond—what does human nature tell you of how they would respond to the Nocte’s and Lux’s power that they were denied?”
Harley knew that he had a very good point and she grudgingly agreed with him. Humans would fear the Lux and Nocte alongside the Ignis. And people dealt with things they feared with a shoot first ask questions later method. Lynchings, science experiments, genocide. Humans certainly did not embrace the objects of their fear.
“I wouldn’t be able to tell even one friend though? Or even talk to him after the bond?” Her heart ached thinking how much she wanted to discuss this with Jamie. The hole that Jamie’s death had left inside her still hemorrhaged brutally. She couldn’t imagine losing Jamie and Jason both. She didn’t know Olivia as well, but she considered her a friend too. Jason and Olivia were the closest friends she had left.
Levi sighed and answered her so softly it was downright gentle for him. “Do you want to worry about protecting your friend—constantly?”
Harley knew he was right. She continued pacing as she evaluated her options. How many friends did she have to lose? She had a few coworkers who were acquaintances. But Jason and Olivia were really the only friends she had left. While she considered them both good friends the pain of losing Jamie outweighed her ability to consider Jason and Olivia’s feelings. She knew it wasn’t fair to them to let them suffer by not knowing what had happened to her or where she went—but was that more important than ridding the world of as much evil as she could? Even if the douche from the bar wasn’t responsible for Jamie’s death, she didn’t want the Ignis to hurt more people. She wanted to make sure that they couldn’t hurt anyone else. Creatures like that didn’t deserve to walk freely among humans causing and creating pain and chaos.
Even if she didn’t choose to become Nocte and join the Praesidio, would Jason and Olivia be safe? Wouldn’t she have to worry about more Burners coming for her again—thus putting her friends in danger? She knew that she wouldn’t feel comfortable potentially exposing her friends to danger. If blowing that guy off in a bar was enough to piss him off to send “henchmen” after me—what’s he going to do now? On the other hand, if she was Nocte, she could—would—stay away from those that she cared about. Thus she would be drawing them away from her friends while at the same time doing her part to reduce the Turba numbers.
Something about the guy from the bar continued to nag at her. She could imagine--if the Turba were as bad as Levi claimed, that he would want to make her pay for blowing him off. But he claimed to have known her from somewhere. At the time she had thought it was just a pick up line. But was it? She struggled to remember his features clearly. She didn’t know if it was just her brain trying to make sense of everything but he did seem vaguely familiar. She had probably just seen him in the bar before. Trying to remember was making her head hurt, so she tried to let it go for now.
Harley stopped pacing and looked at Levi again. He was still standing but no longer watching her. He was staring into the fire again. He seemed transfixed by the flames that cast shadows upon his face. He rested his chin in one hand and propped his elbow in his other hand. The look was contemplative and intense. It caused Harley’s stomach to tingle. Even with everything that she knew about him now she still found him devastatingly handsome—if not more so. Knowing that he wasn’t really human didn’t bother her. He still seemed human. He was still the kind person that made her feel comfortable. She just understood now why he was so standoffish and wary. But she didn’t see him as a monster. When she chuckled softly he turned away from the flames.
“What’s so funny?”
“I’m just wondering if all the vampire porn I’ve read has prepared me for this. I just can’t believe that I believe all of this…and that I’m considering becoming Nocte,” Harley explained shaking her head.
Levi gave one of his rare, genuine laughs. He rubbed his face with both hands and slowly returned to his seat on the couch. Despite the tension in his jaw and eyes he assumed a relaxed posture again. Harley remained standing—taking her turn in staring into the darkness outside the window. The night looked different now. It wasn’t just a time when the world slept anymore. She saw it as a whole other world now. One that was exciting and dangerous and Levi was offering to bring her into this world. Something new occurred to her.
It wasn’t jealousy that made her ask, it was simple curiosity. Well OK, maybe a little jealousy, she admitted to herself. “How many other people have you brought into the Praesidio?”
When he didn’t answer after few moments of staring quietly into the fire, she almost asked again thinking he hadn’t heard her. Still not looking at her, he finally answered. “None.”
Harley wasn’t sure what to think about that. In 90-some odd years he hadn’t brought anyone else into the Praesidio. The fact that he was offering this to her both scared her and flattered her. “Then why ME? I’m no one special”
Levi finally looked at her, holding her gaze steadily. “Because you are strong. You have a lot of self-control—when you want to have it,” he laughed. “Because I think you deserve a chance to have your revenge. And really, what favor would I be doing if I didn’t? You deserve the right—the ability—the chance—to protect yourself.
As to why I never brought anyone else in?” Levi was thoughtful for a few moments. “I just never felt compelled to. Honestly, I think…I think I was supposed to be here when this happened. I think you were meant to be Nocte.”
Harley was stunned. “Meant how? You mean like fate? Or divine intervention?”
“Not really. Not like that,” Levi answered, brushing off the religious implications. “Sometimes the Nocte seem to have a plan and influence our actions without us even realizing it. Nothing overt, but when I was deciding where to go next I was trying to decide between Ohio and Kentucky. I went with Kentucky. Maybe my Nocte pushed me in this direction,” he shrugged
Harley wasn’t as concerned by this as maybe she should have been. It didn’t seem all that unusual. People believed that they were influenced by a “higher” power every day. Who’s to say if that power comes from above or from inside?
“Regardless,” Levi finished. “I think you have the strength to bond with a Nocte. “
As a human she wouldn’t be able to adequately defend herself—or her friends—they could all be dead soon. What was her other option? Relying on Levi to protect them? She felt her hackles rise over that. He hadn’t exactly offered and she wasn’t going to ask—or allow it either. She wouldn’t ever be OK with not being able to take care of herself.
Levi seemed to read her mind. “I have no intention of letting the Burners hurt you—or anyone else. But I can’t always be there.” He was silent for a moment before continuing carefully. “If you do accept the bond, you have to know…we won’t always be able to be together then either. Part of my job—my responsibility—is to travel. I have to be on the road a lot. And as a Nocte, you’ll be assigned to a specific area.”
Harley’s first reaction was annoyance. “Do you honestly think I would be doing this to be with you?” Levi braced himself to respond but Harley continued before he could. “Look, I like you. I care about you. But I’m not in love with you. I’m not considering this—giving up my life—for YOU.”
Levi looked like he wasn’t sure if he wanted to be offended or relived. “Well…OK…that’s good,” he said finally with a small smile that might just have seemed to be a little proud.
Harley began pacing again. Neither of them spoke for a while. “You said I would be assigned to a specific area?” Levi nodded. “Who decides that? And where would it be?”
“You would end up wherever there was a need. The General usually offers a few areas where there is a need—if there is more than one. You would probably get to decide between them.”
“The General?”
“Yes. Each country that has a Praesidio presence has at least one general. The Eastern U.S. general is Nya.”
“Oh.” Harley didn’t know what else to say. She had lots of other questions but she felt her headache growing. The more she thought about everything, the more she tried to understand it—the worse her head hurt. She needed to stop thinking for a while. She had been pacing the room slowly while Levi sat staring at the small fire in front of him, but she had grown tired of pacing. She had finally walked out the questions that had been rattling around inside her brain.
Done pacing, Harley stopped and stood silently in front of Levi between him on the couch and the coffee table. She stopped chewing on her cuticles and took a deep breath. “I need more time to think about this.”
“I would be worried if you didn’t,” he replied evenly, looking up at her. Harley looked at him reclined on the couch. She was surprised to feel the flutter in her stomach that made her shiver. Her brain tried to force her body to concentrate on the important things right now. But her body had seemingly decided it wanted to feel good for a while instead. It was apparently tired of stress, anxiety and sadness. She had spent the past 24 hours angry, terrified and confused and needed something to distract her from how bad she felt.
Her thoughts must have shone on her face because Levi’s hand reached out and grabbed the waistband of her jeans. She gasped as her pulled her roughly onto the couch with him. She managed to straddle him surprisingly graceful, instead of simply falling into his lap. She gripped his shoulders as he pulled her face to his. He began the kiss but she finished it. He held onto her hair as he nibbled at her lips and the hunger behind the kiss took her breath away. She grabbed handfuls of his shirt and held him as tightly to her as he held her. He only ended the kiss so that he could pull her shirt over her head as she struggled to get his off at the same time. Frantically, they tore at each other and Harley found herself on her back pulling Levi on top of her. The sex wasn’t just for physical enjoyment it was a release of pent up frustration. It was a catharsis.
Levi unbuttoned Harley’s jeans and she helped him by kicking them off. As he unbuttoned his own pants Harley pushed his hands away to do it herself. Levi didn’t stop her and used the opportunity to unzip her sports bra. He brushed the bra aside and rubbed his face against her chest. The rough scraping of his whiskers raised goose pimples over her skin and she moaned with the pleasure of the sensation. She didn’t bother to pull his pants all the way off, not wanting to push him far enough away to make the action possible. Instead, she freed him as much as necessary and ran her hand along him gently teasing a shudder from him as she did so.
Finally, she guided him into herself and he growled against her ear sending shivers up her spine. He thrust himself inside and she met him eagerly. She wrapped her legs around his waist tried hard to not dig her nails into his back. After she remembered that it didn’t really matter if she did or not, she stopped holding back. She wasn’t sure how hard she clawed him, but he hissed as her nails dug in. He pulled away enough to look at her and she saw that his eyes had dilated again. She smiled at him wickedly and he responded by biting her neck. He didn’t use the fangs that she has seen earlier because he wasn’t trying to break the skin. Instead of hurting, the bite heightened the pleasure that coursed through Harley’s body. It was the sharp edge to the bite that brought out the soft edge of pleasure in contrast. Experiencing the highs of both pain and pleasure sent chills over her again and she began to feel the blissful tension thrumming though out her body.
As she came Harley’s back arched against Levi’s chest and she cried out throwing her head back. Levi soon followed her growling into her neck. Neither of them moved for a while. They lay where they collapsed recovering from the torrent of physical release they had just shared. Harley was trying to catch her breath but Levi didn’t seem to be all that winded. Well that makes sense now, Harley smiled to herself. Her muscles still shuddered slightly and she could feel sweat beneath her back. She basked in the afterglow, enjoying every tired muscle and drop of sweat. Levi’s hand was still grasping her hair and she allowed herself a weak moment to turn into it. She placed her face against his fist and as she did so he opened his hand and cupped her cheek. She only allowed herself a brief moment before she turned away again. Harley had built up enough endorphins to counteract the rawness of her anger and sadness for a while. When she pulled away Levi finally unburied his face and stared down at her. His eyes had returned to normal again and he was giving her his half smile.
She pulled him down by the back of his neck and kissed him again before squirming out from underneath him. They both climbed from the couch and began to get dressed again. They didn’t say anything but they didn’t need to. When they were together it wasn’t awkward or uncomfortable and nothing was missing between them that needed to be filled in by talking about it. They both knew where they stood and what they both needed from each other. They made each other feel good and that was what they needed at the moment.
The combination of the warm fire and the physical exertion left Harley sweaty and stuffy. “I’m going to go outside and get some air,” she said with a small smile.
