| Hidden Depths |
[04 Nov 2005|02:14am] |
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Matthew had spent the better part of three hours driving around the Nevada desert and still no sign of the woman he needed to see. The spell he had cast to help him find her hadn't been helpful and the light had died an hour or so ago so he was going right back to square one and starting in the town.
Kris' necklace was wrapped around his right hand and the amber seemed to swing back and forth in the air as it dangled below the hand that held one of the handlebars. His bike's engine was the only sound that Matthew could seem to hear until he was sure he heard footsteps.
His head turned and blue eyes came to rest on a blur of purple to begin with. The colour was so overwhelming that he had to pull his eyes away for a fraction of a second until they came back and the colour subsided to show a startling amount of black that seemed to be shifting around the person in front of him.
He narrowed his eyes when the black started clearing for a brief moment and he began to see shapes. What he saw would have turned any man's hair white but Matthew kept looking in spite of wanting to tear his gaze away - he could see beings that seemed to look like a cross between a praying mantis and a scorpion. Hard outer shells covered their entire bodies exactly how armour would cover a Roman soldier's body out on the battlefield.
However the black began swirling once more, the colour seemed to flow easily and fluidly around the individual until it was a huge mass and it was all that Matthew could see. He grimaced faintly and then swallowed hard as his hands eased up and his bike began to roll to a slow stop.
The black seemed to finally clear until Matthew could see through it to see the slender woman dressed all in black that happened to be crouched over something. Upon sighting of her, Matthew knew he had just found who he had been looking for all this time.
It was a dried husk. Something which had most probably died from the heat. But even a carcass need not go to waste and a ceremonial knife was poised over it, the owner locating what she wanted from it by means other than touch.
Then, pausing, the knife slipping out of their presently shared plain of reality, Elfleda turned, becoming acutely aware of another's eyes upon her. Corruptress rising to full height and blank expression shifting into a subtly more pleasant one.
"Matthew..."
They had communicated before and here he was again, deciding to come and play. Back then, it had been over the matter of a Slayer named Kris and her sudden illness. The blame for which she had never directly denied, but had seen fit to strongly suggest herself she was not the cause.
Ambiguity.
A powerful weapon in its own right.
"And to what do I owe your visit this evening, hmm? Business or..." Eyes moved slowly down and then up the male's form. "Pleasure?"
Matthew stepped off the bike as Elfleda turned her attention to him. Already he could hear a choir of voices in his ears, each one talking directly to all those well hidden insecurities of his and voices he ignored to the best of his ability.
In spite of everything and his repulsion at what this woman stood for, he couldn't deny the warmth that seemed to pool in his stomach as her eyes swept over him from head to foot and back up again.
( All Business )
( What Is She Worth? )
The moment the Corruptress left him, Matthew was dry heaving. Horrid sounds were leaving the back of his throat and it felt as if his entire body was rebelling against him. The necklace hung from trembling fingers and a sharp pain seemed to be creeping out from his chest and throughout his body.
The interaction with Elfleda had taken far more out of the Watcher than he cared to admit and he’d never admit to being tempted by her, by all the things that he could do if he no longer had morals holding him back.
He closed his eyes and forced the voices back and tried to ignore the way in which he felt with Elfleda no longer near him, it was like a void had formed and only her particular brand of company could fill it. That in itself was disturbing.
The one thing that stayed with Matthew was the smile she had given him before she had disappeared into shadow, that smile had said a lot and Matthew had read into it very clearly. He pulled his eyes open and focused a blurred gaze on the sand at his feet and he forced himself to straighten his back.
A glance was spared over his shoulder and he simply swallowed back the sickening taste of bile as he allowed himself a moment to enjoy the fact he had gotten his answers. How he would use those answers, he didn’t know but he had answers all the same.
Matthew was a little shaky on his feet as he walked back to the bike that waited for him. Long legs straddled the seat, key was inserted and the bike was kicked into life before fingers wrapped the handlebars. He stared at the shadows for a few very long moments before simply pulling the bike around and starting back for home.
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