TANSTAV part 20

Chapter Six
I gain some assistance, and a visit from Freaky Zealot Girl

When I got back down to the front desk, I requested that the imp give me a copy of the security tape I had seen in Jessup's room (Did I mention that?  I don't think I did.  Sorry.).  The tape would show whether or not he had gotten out- or if anyone had gotten in.  She seemed startled by my request, but yet another hundred to both she and Flavius removed any lingering doubts they might have had in cooperating with me (thankfully the last, there wasn’t much money left).  Soon, the tape was in my pocket (my shirt pocket this time, as my pants pockets were bulging with baggies), and I was out of there.

I approached the mirror, which was still waiting for me.  Where to go now?  Common sense decreed I take the evidence to the station, let the magic people and forensics examine it, watch the tape.  My heart wanted to be back with Xen, and maybe check on Calla.  Heart won.  You saw that coming, didn't you?

Upon rematerializing in the bathroom, I very nearly lost my lunch.  However, I stubbornly choked it back down again, which I count as one of the top ten most disgusting things I have ever done in my life.  Even more disgusting than the time when I had to claw open the corpse of a giant carnivorous slug in order to find a piece of vital evidence, so I could clear up a (totally different) missing person case.  Then, when the last wrenching of my guts dissipated, I went into the living room and found Xen.  She was stretched out on the sofa, fast asleep.

It was quite understandable, since typically, she was nocturnal (though she had been trying to adjust her schedule so we could spend more time together).  It must have been a great effort for her to have stayed awake for so long.  I crossed the room softly, and knelt by her side, staring at her.  Like all gargoyles, Xen turned to stone when she fell asleep.  But because she was half fae, she had some oddities in slumber.  For one thing, she breathed.  Her chest rose and fell, and I could hear her quiet exhalations.  Sometimes she would murmur to herself, or twitch. She was a statue come to life.  And, even in stone, she was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen.

Hey, have any of you readers noticed that I never mention turning on any lights in my apartment?  If so, bravo!  That's because I don't.  Gargoyle eyes can naturally see in the dark, and electric light hurts anyway, so I hardly ever use them.  Just checking your skills in observation.

Watching Xen sleep, I could feel my anger and frustration melting away, leaving me at peace.  She looked so sweet and perfect...my mind was dripping with mushiness.  If you are easily disgusted by mushiness, I would advise that you not read the rest of this next paragraph, and perhaps not anything until the end of this page.  I caressed her face with my thumb claw; it was cold and hard, of course.  But as I did so, it warmed and softened.  That meant she was waking up.  Color crept back into her hair, and her eyelids flickered.  She inhaled deeply, and then her small mouth lifted in a smile.  Xen recognized me by smell.  I leaned down, and gently placed a line of kisses up her throat, over her jaw, and ending at her mouth.  I felt her fingers entwine in my hair, and warmth flooded my system.

When I finally pulled away, I looked at Xen.  Her eyes were open now, bathing her face in a soft lavender hue.  She grinned widely.

"Hi," she whispered.

"Hi, honey," I replied.  Normally, I avoid mushy sentiments like that, but at the moment I felt the need to be more affectionate than usual.  Noticing this, she frowned.

"What happened?"

"It's been a very rough day," I replied.

Xen sat up so that I could join her, and get up from my crouching position, which was starting to hurt.


"Why did you go see him?" she asked, referencing Jessup.  She's known me long enough to recognize the signs.  Draping my arm around her shoulders, I explained everything.