I was dreaming of him again.

He was standing on a sand dune, facing a sea of golden desert. The sky was a magnificent dark blue and completely cloudless. The moon hung fat, full and bright, its light reflecting off of the sand to illuminate the shape-shifter that would have otherwise been hidden.

He was dressed as a nomad. His clothes were of different tones, always a shade or two above and below the color of the sand. The material was thin enough to allow the desert’s heat to escape his body, but warm enough when layered to ward off the night’s chill. His head and face were covered by the same material, both to protect him from the elements and to hide his identity. I couldn’t make out anything else. He was always in profile, so I could only see that he had a small nose and that his eyes were a light color.

He stood with his arms crossed and hip cocked, as if the desert had somehow annoyed him. Despite his body language, I knew that he was troubled. I couldn’t make out exactly what, but I knew that this person was weighed down by a massive responsibility. Part of the weight on his shoulders was his attempt to protect someone. His desire to keep this person safe burned through him, his love shining brightly through my mind.

What made this... dream so frustrating was that I was never able to respond. I wasn’t present physically, only mentally. I was seeing this creature and his world like a movie. I could watch, but I couldn’t interact with him or the environment. I also couldn’t tell if he was aware of me.

He stared out a moment more before he sighed and started trudging back home. I felt myself drifting closer, trying to understand both who this person was and why I was seeing him. He was a stranger, but he seemed so familiar that if we met I would treat him as a friend.

As he started to ascend the sand dune, I took my leave. Mentally wishing him goodnight, I dissolved with the wind.

***

When morning came, I went about my day as if nothing unusual had happened the night before. I got the coffee going for Howard and Hilde, brought the paper in, and scoped around the house for any bits of ‘evidence’ possibly missed from last night’s kill. There was nothing. Quatre had cleaned my back porch well… Actually, he cleaned it a little too well. I had to throw some dirt around and stomp grass stains into the wood to make it look its age.

I took a quick shower before I headed into work. The day was slow as usual, which allowed me to zone out in an attempt to save what little sanity I had left. It also gave me the opportunity to learn more about the supernatural. Digging through my book bag, I pulled out the Creature Catalog. I hardly went anywhere without it. After flipping through it aimlessly for a few weeks, I decided to read it from start to finish. Now, there was no way in hell I would remember each and every creature, but it was so fascinating that I didn’t care. It blew me away how many creatures were real, and how many creatures existed that I’ve never heard of.

What I figured out right away was that the oldest creatures were at the beginning. Most of these creatures were vampires, dragons (which made me think of Serafima), werewolves, elves, and surprisingly, wizards. I ran across G’s page within a matter of days, and I was blown away to learn that he was thousands and thousands of years old. The Catalog speculated that he was born at the beginning of the end of the Neanderthal extinction. Despite my dislike of the wizard, I’ve developed a sense of camaraderie with him. I was the only clairvoyant that I knew of, and Wufei has assured me that I was the only one that had been born for hundreds of years. G was probably the only one of his people too. I couldn’t imagine how he felt about that, especially since he was a necromancer. To see his people die and know that he would survive them all indefinitely, or to try and save them by turning them into zombies…

At least there wasn’t a race of clairvoyants that became extinct. I couldn’t miss what never was.

I opened the Catalog to the first page and stared. I always did. The first page was a slightly familiar one. It was of a vampire named Treize Khushrenada. Apparently, he was the oldest creature in existence. I remembered his name from when the Prince mentioned him during an argument…

/ “Treize would be so disgusted if he saw you now.”

“Eat troll shit. Don’t bring him into this. Besides, you are one to talk.” /

Although I never got an explanation for what they were talking about, it stayed in the back of my mind. The mention of Treize was clearly a personal one for Wufei, and when I saw his picture it was entirely too easy to imagine what type of relationship they had.

Treize Khushrenada was very, very handsome. One entire page was just a picture of him. (There was so much information regarding him that his bio spanned several pages.) In it he was seated on a throne that appeared to be made of white marble, legs crossed with knee high black military boots, crisp white fitted pants and a blue, fitted coat with gold filigree on the shoulders. He had his hands clasped together over the handle of his sword, which was out of its sheath with the point to the floor. His sandy brown hair was the perfect length for his face shape, and his eyes were such a searing blue that they seemed to bore right through me. His warm complexion conflicted with the fact that he was a vampire, but it made him all the more attractive. His stats were just as impressive.

Allegiance: Himself.

I laughed at that. He seemed like the type to have allegiance only to himself.

Classification: Fallen Angel; Demon.

I’ve always found that intriguing. When I read on, I learned that the Hunters believed that Treize was once an angel, but had fallen with the devil. Somehow or another, as a reward or as a punishment, Treize was made into a vampire: the first vampire.

Creature: Vampire.

Nationality: Undefined.

Special Abilities: Flight, Weather Control, Beast Control, Mind Control, Element Control.

Fucking hell. They should’ve just said, ‘there ain’t shit he can’t do,’ and called it a day.

Titles: Master of Vampires; Master of Beasts; Master of Elements.

I snorted. Sometimes, I thought the Hunters were morons. After all, if Treize was a fallen angel, what the hell were they expecting? Limits?

I couldn’t help but wonder about him though. Looking at his picture, I could see Wufei being with someone like him, and I could see Wufei being an asset to him. What confused me was why a guy like that would let someone as powerful as Wufei walk away from him. The only way I would if I was in Khushrenada’s shoes was if I was dead, and I knew that he wasn’t dead. (Well, not permanently dead). I’ve seen some pages where the creature had been killed. There was a long, red stripe that went diagonally across their page. Their day of death was listed, along with who or what it was that killed them. So Treize was still around and kicking, even though the Hunters had no idea where.

Allegiance: Himself.

Maybe that was it. Wufei trying to get one over on the Prince backfired in a big way. Treize, did you try to do the same?

***

“Ugh. There ain’t shit on,” I whined, flipping through the channels. I hadn’t had a customer in hours, and I was about to go crazy from the boredom. “Even with cable, this still sucks.”

“Here, I brought cards.” Heero tossed the aforementioned cards onto the floor. “We should play something.”

We both settled down on the floor behind the counter. “Go Fish?”

“Sure,” he agreed as I started to shuffle.

“Say, not to say I don’t enjoy your company, but where’s Quatre? I thought he was supposed to be my guard-wolf tonight?”

“He was.” He picked up his hand. “He asked me if I would be ‘guard-wolf’ at the last second. He is… I am not sure what it is that he is doing, but I am sure I do not want to know. Got a three?”

“Go fish. What do you mean by that?”

He got a pair of fives. “What I mean is, Quatre is very, very good about getting information without anyone knowing it is him. He usually only does that when Wufei wants blackmail material or something done ‘under the table.’ ” I smirked. I didn’t know if it was a supernatural thing, but it always seemed as if their finger quotes were audible. “Got a three?”

Confused, I answered, “Uh, again, go fish.”

He ended up with a pair of eights. “Lately though, I have been noticing that he has been seeking something none of us know anything about. He has also been very distracted. I have known Quatre for centuries. He has not been himself these past few weeks. Got a three?”

Starting to feel some concern, I asked, “Is he feeling okay? Maybe he’s stressed out. Go fish.”

He pulled the card off the deck and put down two twos. “I would not be concerned but for the fact that it seems Trowa is not aware of what Quatre is doing, as Wufei has not assigned anything to Quatre.”

“I’ve never known Quatre to keep anything from Trowa.”

“That is because he does not. Trowa is his world, which is why this whole thing seems strange. I cannot imagine what it is that Quatre is doing that he thinks Trowa will not support him on. Damnit Duo, I know you have a three.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Yes, you do.”

“I done told you I didn’t.”

“And I am telling you, you lie like a ‘dog in mud.’ ”

“All the fuckin’ cards in this deck and you’re harping over a three?”

“Because I know you have it.”

“What is your obsession with three anyway?”

“I want. The fucking. Card.”

“I. Don’t fucking. Have it. You know what? Fuck you, I’m taking my turn.”

“No, you are not.”

“The hell I’m not.”

“It is still my turn.”

“Not if you’re going to be some kind of Three Nazi.”

“I would not have to be if you would hand it over!”

“Got a seven?”

“It is still my turn, Duo.”

“I’m goin’ fishing.”

“It is still my turn, Duo.”

“Damn!” I huffed. I picked up a card that didn’t match anything. “This is gonna be painful.”

“Give me your three.”

“Eat shit, Heero.”

He growled at me. Not the playful type of growl, but the kind that let you know you were about to be eaten.

I casually reached behind me and grabbed my shotgun, laying it across my lap. I opened the chamber so that Heero could see it was loaded, and snapped it back shut. Locked and loaded, I laid it across my lap again and smiled brightly at the werewolf.

Needless to say, this was going to be the most dangerous game of Go Fish ever played… because he was not getting my three.

***

The hours passed into dusk in relative peace. We went through Go Fish (violently), Poker (where I lost every hand), Spades and Blackjack. After Heero dozed off from watching me play Solitaire, I began to build a card castle around his head. All was right in my world until the Special shot up, eyes wild and head tilted to point his ear to the ceiling. He rolled forward onto his hands and knees, crawling towards the door.

“They attacked last night!”

He sounded incredulous and worried. My heart sank into my stomach. “They’re back?” I asked, choking. It felt as if I was trying to whisper and scream at the same time. Sparing a second, I reached out to read any minds close by. There weren’t any, human or otherwise. We were very much alone. I pulled my shields back up, terribly confused. “Heero?”

“Run! Don’t drive!” Heero barked before he Changed over and charged out of my shack.

I did as I was told, but my heart damn near stopped when I saw that he ran to the right instead of to the left. The left went east, towards home. The right, west, was towards the apparent danger. I let out one last curse and ran east.

I was terrified as I ran. It had been months since I felt this way, and I couldn’t believe that I had forgotten its taste. Yes, I have been attacked by Hunters but I was able to read their thoughts. I knew what they were going to do before they had a chance to do it. Now, I had nothing. I was running down a gravel road by myself in the dark from... I didn’t know what. Was it another Hunter? Was it a werewolf? A vampire? A ghoul? Has Oburi resurrected himself again? Was the Prince going to attempt to get revenge? Was Heero okay? Would I make it home in time to get help? Would I make it home, period? These questions crowded my mind to the point where I couldn’t even let down my shields. The jumble of questions acted like a doorstopper. So I channeled my inner Forest Gump and kept running.

I couldn’t have been out there for more than a minute when I heard a huge explosion. It was quite the distance behind me and I wasn’t in any danger from it, but I knew for a fact that there wasn’t anything big enough out here to cause that kind of explosion. Two minutes later there was another explosion. It was closer. I looked over my shoulder and saw a large hunk of flaming metal. I spotted Heero’s silhouette leaping across the flames and disappearing back into the dark. Facing forward I picked up the pace, and that was when I recognized the sounds.

Helicopters.

Shocked nearly shitless, I stumbled and tripped. I fell face-first onto the ground in a skid due to the momentum. I yelled from the burst of pain but did not let that stop me from rolling into the bushes alongside the road. Crawling under them, I used the opportunity to get my breath back and to try and see what the hell was going on. I was just in time. A helicopter had flown overhead, its lights shining down on the ground as if searching.

“Un-fucking-believable,” I muttered to myself as I peered through the leaves. “Are you shitting me? Are you shitting me?” I lowered my head to the ground. This was unreal.

I thought that the pilot of that helicopter knew I was in the area. Instead of searching on, he would immediately turn around and come back. The light had shone over me again and again, but my dark clothing really blended in with the surrounding area. I figured that as long as I stayed where I was, I wouldn’t be found. So far, that theory rang true.

The chopper made two more passes before there was another explosion. It was closer than the two previous ones. Making some sort of last-ditch effort, the chopper dropped to the ground in the most insane landing. I had no doubt in my mind that anyone who was on that helicopter now had their stomachs in their throats. Once down, three tall figures jumped out and ran in different directions with something in their hands. I learned quickly when they started firing that those ‘something’s’ were guns.

They were done searching. What they were doing was shooting up the bushes. Using words that blistered God’s eardrums, I rolled away from my bush. I was just about to ask the gnomes for help when a black form ripped through the area and gutted the three shooters within seconds. The form then broke through the window of the helicopter, and I heard someone cry out in fear before Heero ripped their throat out.

As the propellers slowed, I rolled onto my back and flung my arms out. I laid on the ground and gasped for breath as the werewolf trotted up to me and collapsed beside me.

“What... the fuck... was that?”

Heero dropped back into human form. “I... have no... idea.”

I took several more breaths. “Rest now... think later...”

We were both out cold in seconds.

***

“He is not injured. It is safe to move him.”

I only had a second to think ‘Huh?’ before I felt arms gently enfold me and bring me against a firm chest. Automatically, I turned my nose into the neck of the person holding me. I knew before my mind completely processed the information that the body enveloping mine belonged to my lover. I inhaled deeply and clung to him.

I felt a hard kiss on my ear as well as several others along my jaw and neck. As he held me I started to become more aware of my surroundings. I could hear Sally talking to Heero, but I wasn’t paying enough attention to make out what they were saying. There was a great deal of light flashing and movement all around us. There were doors opening and closing, things being dragged and orders barked. It sounded like a well-controlled crime scene.

With that thought in mind, I pulled back just enough from Wufei to look over his shoulder. The lights from the helicopter were blinding, but so many people were walking in front of it that it gave my eyes a break. Using his shoulder, I slowly rose to my feet. Glancing over my shoulder, I spotted Heero and Sally. Heero was standing as well, talking to the doctor. Besides some blood splashed across his face and chest, he appeared to be fine. Concern abated, I left the safety of Wufei’s arms and stepped towards the corpses. When I got a good look, the first thing that struck me as odd was their gender.

They were male.

The second thing that struck me as odd was the way that they were dressed. All were dressed in clothes that were a hodgepodge of colors and textures, as if they threw on whatever was available without concern or care about fashion. It all had a very nomadic feel that was... familiar.

Reigning in my desire to go ape-shit, I ran to the one closest to me and pulled down the cloth hiding his face. My eyebrows rose in surprise. I didn’t know who this person was; he had black hair, thick brows and very olive skin. Peeling back an eyelid I saw that he had dark brown eyes. Hmm. Very handsome. Still surprised, I laid my hand on the side of his cheek. After a few moments I gave up. He was a shape-shifter, and I knew that if I tried to breach his mind it would put me in a world of hurt. I learned my lesson from Mrs. Darlian’s eye. So I touched the ground his body rested on, and his final thoughts seemed to jump out at me. Unfortunately, he spoke a language I had no way in hell of understanding. It sounded like every syllable came from the throat. He was Middle Eastern?

Wufei came up from behind me and placed a hand on my shoulder. “Anything?”

“Nothing,” I said in honest bewilderment. “This... this is not jiving at all.”

“What is not ‘jiving?’ ”

I smiled as I heard the quotes. “I don’t know yet.” I squat-walked over to the next person. This one was of a similar ethnicity, as was the next one. The third person however, was a wizard, not a shape-shifter. Storing that bit of info away, I jogged around to the cockpit. Unfortunately, I had a hard time getting to the pilot. I had to halfway climb through the broken window in order to reach him, and when I did I shrieked and promptly fell out.

“Duo!” Wufei yelled, racing over to me. Sally was right behind him. “Duo!” He dropped down to his knees beside me, Sally a second behind him on my other side. Heero appeared, standing over Sally. “Are you alright?”

“…ow.” I sat up with Wufei’s help, hand held to my forehead. “That smarted.” I could feel something pouring down my lips. Wiping it with my hand, I saw that it was blood. I had a nosebleed. A big one. Sighing, I brought my knees up to rest my elbows on them as I pinched my nose closed.

“What happened?”

I looked to my lover, still slightly dazed. “I don’t know. I only touched him and it felt like I got zapped.”

“Everybody, back!” Heero barked. Everyone jumped away. I just jumped.

“Did you get anything?”

“I’m not sure,” I grimaced, hating how nasally I sounded. “A word popped into my head. Im… Impundulu?”

“An impundulu?” Sally’s shock hit me in the chest. I groaned in pain. “That can not be right. If that is the impundulu, where is his wizard?”

“Right there,” I said, pointing. “The one that looks like he’s been tied up with his entrails.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“Check the other corpses in the other helicopters,” Wufei barked. “I want to know if there are any other creatures this… far from home.” I stayed seated as the werewolves loped off to do as instructed. Wasn’t like I could get up and join them anyway.

“How far from home are they?” I asked, tiredly. Boy, did I feel like I just ran a 10k in concrete shoes. My head was pounding and I was wheezing. I could feel my heart beating against my ribs like it was caged, and I felt particularly charred. Not a pleasant feeling at all.

“Impudulus hail from South Africa, but in this day and age I am sure they are all over the continent. Impudulu translated means ‘lightening bird.’ ” Wufei sighed softly and started running his fingers through my hair. “They shoot lightening from their talons and are vampiric in nature, even though technically they are shape-shifters. They thrive on drinking blood, and usually are the familiar or pet of a wizard.”

“How the hell did Heero avoid getting shocked?” I grimaced again. “Maybe he moved that fast?”

“I’ve never heard of an experience where an Impudulu struck another post mortem. He may have been prepared to electrocute Heero when he died, and you touched the essence of that attempt with you power.”

“So, had anyone else gone near him, they wouldn’t have gotten zapped.”

“Correct.”

“Awesome.” I scoffed.

Wufei easily picked me up and pulled me into his lap. Wrapping his arms around me, he held me tight. “Duo?”

I sighed and rested my head on his shoulder. “I really, really feel like shit. I want to go home.”

“Then home we shall go.” He stood fluidly, cradling me firmly against him without causing me a twinge of pain. God, how I loved his strength. “Heero, you are in charge. Get this sorted.”

Without waiting for a response, Wufei turned on his heel and walked away. We disappeared into the night like the dark creatures we were.

***

The next thing I was aware of was being lowered into a warm bath. I jerked in surprise, but Wufei kissed me on the temple and told me to relax, that he would take care of everything. So I did as instructed, and dozed as he quickly but tenderly bathed me. Once that was done, he had me stand as he toweled me dry. Squeaky clean and dry, he tucked me into bed and spooned up behind me.

Both of us closed our eyes to sleep, but sleep wouldn’t come. Even with his arms around me, I could only doze as I felt myself twitch from time to time due to the shock I received. Every time I did, the movement woke me up more, as well as disturbed Wufei. This last jerk was so hard I accidentally shouldered him in the jaw. “Shit! Sorry Wufei!” I rolled over to face him, kissing the point of impact.

“Do not apologize. It was not your fault.” He gave me a quick kiss. “You were harmed because I was unable to prevent it. It is my responsibility to take care of you.”

“You probably couldn’t have protected me from it anyway. I was gonna get zapped no matter when I touched him.” I huffed in annoyance. Not that I wished that it had happened to Heero instead of me, but I didn’t think they understood how much this really, really pissed me off. Why was it always me?!

“Most likely,” he agreed.

“God.” I rolled on my side again, my back to Wufei. My head was pounding, and my eye was twitching nonstop. “This sucks.”

“I can put you to sleep,” Wufei said, his thumb and forefinger sliding up to the junction where my neck met my shoulder.

Hmmm... “Will it hurt?”

“No.”

“Okay.” I took a breath. “Will you be here in the morning?”

“No," he sighed. "With this latest incident, I will have even more work to do now.” He kissed my shoulder. “For the harm caused to you, someone will die.”

I sighed. “I know.”

“There is also the issue with the Hunters. The ones responsible must die as well.”

I sighed again. “There seems to be a lot of people that are going to die.”

He tightened his grip on my neck. I relaxed my body as much as I could. “Duo,” Wufei whispered, lips ghosting my ear. “You belong to me.” He gave a hard pelvic thrust that had me gasp. “It is no secret,” his words and breath ghosted across my face, “that anyone who fucks with what is mine, dies.”

I swallowed thickly. His desire to kill was nearly choking me. “But what if they don’t know I belong to you?”

I felt his smile against my cheek. It wasn’t a nice smile. “I will make sure they are aware as they beg for their end.” He squeezed.

I felt pressure, then nothing else.

(tbc)