Fate · Part 1 (1/4)
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Modega shifted around nervously in his chair, his dark hooded eyes darting here and there, seemingly trying to keep an eye on every she-devil and werewolf in the place. He twirled his mustache nervously as his eyes darted to and fro.
Darious glared at him. "Will you knock it off! Get yourself under control and act professional. We don't need to give them any more of an advantage than they already have!"
Truth be told, Darious was nervous too, just maybe not for the same reasons as Modega. Yes, some of the she-devils made his skin crawl. In this room was more true power than was ever in his office. And as powerfully religious as some of them were, especially Lady Raven, every hair on his body was standing on end. He was just better at hiding it than Modega. Sitting in the middle of the Pussycat, the she-devil run chain of clubs, famous "back room" where all the dark creatures congregated and no humans were ever allowed, he felt like he was on display or something. Every she-devil and werewolf in the place was staring at him and Modega.
He normally wouldn't have dreamed of holding any kind of meeting here. It would have been in his office, on HIS turf, to HIS advantage. But he wanted to do business with the she-devils and they had certain rules you had to play by. One being, you dealt with them on their turf, so here he and Modega were.
He knew dealing with the she-devils was the most potentially dangerous thing he had ever done. He was bored dealing with humans; they were no longer a challenge of any kind. He wanted to get his foot in the door, to get into dealing with the dark creatures, and the she-devils were the way to do that. They had the reputation of being tough, smart, savvy business-women. He had already found out that they were among the toughest negotiators he had ever encountered. It was fun to navigate the landmines with them. But there was a major pitfall to it all, and he knew it.
One wrong step with these women, one false move that would make them angry, and they would "out" him and Modega for what they were, demons. Even he, Lord Darious Mooksoon, the Lord of Lust, Sex and Decadence, just under Azmodeus in the chain of command in Hell, couldn't withstand the exposure and continue on as he had. Modega, one of his underlings, certainly wouldn't be able to go on within the business community. Plus it would open both of them to attack from the Society of the Templars, those fiends that cloaked themselves in religion, and used that as an excuse to hunt down and destroy dark creatures, especially loving to send demons back to Hell.
So all his dealings with these women had been straight forward and above board, nothing underhanded, no loopholes. He had not even tried to use his considerable charm on them.
Modega shifted in his chair, his eyes scanning the room one more time before looking at Darious, "I'm sorry but this place is making me twitchy. I have heartburn so bad it feels like someone lit the fires of hell in my gut."
Darious gave him the barest of nods. "I know." He said quietly. "It's affecting me too. But we have to buck up and show nothing. They have enough of an advantage as it is; we don't need to bolster it."
Modega glanced around quickly and shuddered slightly. "I'm trying, believe me! I wish they would hurry the hell up, so we can get the hell out of here!" Darious nodded and sipped at the fine brandy they had served him. He suppressed a shudder as Lady Raven passed close to their table on her way to the bar.
After her passing, Modega moaned softly and turned slightly white. He picked up his brandy snifter and downed half of the amber liquid in one swallow. "That broad is the worst of all of them! She actually causes pain when she's near!" He muttered softly to Darious.
Darious nodded. "I know. I feel it too. She's an American Indian and still very strong in her faith, that's what's doing it."
Modega suppressed another shudder and shook his head, then swallowed the last of his brandy.
Soon after that, the she-devils started to seat themselves at the table with Darious and Modega. Raven sensed how uncomfortable she was making them, so she seated herself as far away from them as she could. She had an ulterior motive for this, besides their comfort. Firstly, she was at a better vantage point to observe them. That was her main reason in attending. Upper echelon council members didn't usually attend contract negotiations, but because of the type of beings being negotiated with the head of the North American She Devil Council, Zsuzanna, asked her to attend to get a feel for them and what was going on, then to report back to her with her impressions.
Secondly, Darious and Modega made her as uncomfortable as she did them. It was as if there was an invisible cloak of pure evil surrounding them. She was fighting hard the instinct to chant and banish the evil. She gestured to one of the serving girls and quickly some appetizers were placed in front of Darious and Modega, and their glasses were refilled. She smiled down at them. "If you want anything just speak up. We are just waiting for one more person and then we can begin. She had to pick up the contracts and the list of changes from the legal department at D2K. I imagine she got caught in traffic."
Darious nodded, "Traffic over the lunch hour can be quite difficult to navigate." He leaned back in his chair and forced himself to relax a bit. He then tried to make small talk with the women assembled around the table. Mainly it was general questions about she-devil society and the way it ran, nothing in depths or prying. The questions were politely answered by the various women.
Zarah pulled into the back lot behind the Pussycat and came to a screeching halt. She quickly piled out of the car and bustled towards the back door, talking to herself, lugging an armload of paperwork. She was running late. She had gotten caught in cross-town traffic, then had been further delayed by a wreck. She hurried into the Pussycat, talking to herself so fast the words ran together. Anyone listening to her couldn't have made heads or tails of anything she said. Halfway to the table, she stopped cold, her mouth hanging open. She shut her eyes and inhaled deeply.
The smell that filled the air was one she remembered from long ago, when she was still human; for as long as she lived she would never forget it. At the time, she thought, it was the smell of fire and smoke. Now, with her keener cat-senses, she was able to identify it correctly; sulfur and brimstone, the smell of a demon. She opened her eyes, looked the direction of the odor, and grinned broadly. Even from behind, she could identify who he was. The combination of the smell and the tall, erect posture added with his immense size made him unmistakable to her. Stuffing the papers under one arm, she hurried to the table. She was downwind so she knew he wouldn't be alerted to her presence.
She crept up silently behind him then covered his eyes with her hands from behind and whispered in his ear, "Guess who?"
Darious visibly flinched and stiffened up. As high-strung as he already was, he had to fight the urge to incinerate whoever it was. After taking several deep breaths he replied stiffly, "I am afraid you have me at a distinct disadvantage, I haven't a clue who you are, Miss."
Zarah giggled madly, "Ya' know what? You aren't nearly as intimidating without your SS uniform."
He ground his teeth slightly at the mention of his past but replied in a cool, calm manor. "I only knew one she-devil in Germany, but I don't believe you are her."
Zarah giggled madly then removed her hands from his eyes and swatted him in the back of the head. "That's because, I wasn't a she-devil back then, silly."
Once the hands were removed from his eyes, he immediately stood up and wheeled around to face her. When he saw who was there, he stood, dumbfounded, for a minute, mouth agape, then grinned from ear to ear. Indeed he did know her. When he was in Germany during World War II, she was the maid for the she-devil he knew, Countess Katrina Wagner. "Zarah! Kitten!" He hugged her tightly for a minute then broke it off and smiled down at her. Seeing her brought back a plethora of intensely happy memories about the Countess, and the time they spent together.
Raven watched the exchange intently one eyebrow arched. Knowing whom Zarah worked for in Germany and the condition that woman came back in, this exchange raised more questions than it answered.
Zarah giggled madly then swatted him on the arm, "Guess who! Who else would have dared do that to you?" She grinned broadly, "and I'm a real kitten now." She said proudly.
Darious chuckled deeply, "I gathered this. It's wonderful to see a familiar, friendly face."
She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek, "it's wonderful to see you too." She took out a Kleenex and cleaned the lipstick mark she had left, then grinned at him. "We are holding up everything. We had better get back to it before they have me drawn and quartered. We'll have some time to talk afterwards." She then bustled over and sat down next to Raven and arranged the paperwork she had brought.
Darious settled back in his chair, still smiling and in a much better humor.
Modega leaned over and hissed in his ear, "Would you care to enlighten me about that?"
Darious chuckled and whispered back, "Later."
The meeting lasted for a solid two hours. The negotiations were tough and hard-fought on both ends. Basically, what Darious wanted for his company, the large conglomerate Triple D Industries, was to become the distributor for D2K, the parent company of all 2000 of the Pussycat clubs in the United States. There were having problems getting distributors because most human run companies didn't want to deal with dark creatures still. And the distributors they could find couldn't handle the sheer volume of goods the highly successful chain of clubs demanded. Triple D could, but the she-devils had serious reservations about dealing with a demon-run company.
What he got out of this meeting was, the flagship Pussycat, their very first club in Charlotte, had approved the contract. For a year, as a trial period, his company would supply the two biggest of the clubs, the afore mentioned Charlotte and the massive LA club. Since Charlotte had approved the contract, all he needed was LA's approval, which meant a trip out to his LA office. Nothing too bad to deal with if he wanted the contracts. He was relieved that he only had to deal with the CEO of D2k and their lawyers, not the owner herself, the legendary Lady Danyealla herself. What he had heard of her made his blood run cold.
She was the oldest she-devil "above ground", meaning not in a permanent sleep, very close to the 1000 year old mark. She was said to be a fierce warrior, a she-devil assassin and psychotic to boot. Every dark creature had a deep respect for her and a healthy does of fear, yet most didn't even know what she looked like. She was reclusive, one of the few of their kind that still chose to blend in among humans rather than live openly as what she was. He had heard many, many legends about her and if just 1/8th of them were true, she was one of the deadliest dark creatures to have ever walked the face of the earth, bar none.
After finishing the delicious lunch he was served, he leaned back in his chair and looked at Zarah, smiling. "You have done very well for yourself haven't you, Kitten? Come a long way from being a maid."
Zarah grinned at him, "Sure have. A business degree from Harvard opens a lot of doors for a person."
He chuckles, "That it does." He looked at her, still smiling. His mind was flashing back to the large apartment in the expensive hotel in the heart of Berlin during World War II, while Germany was still at the height of power, and the flaxen haired doe-eyed she-devil that had shared his life for several months, Kat. Many times in the 150 years or so since they had parted, he had tried to look for her but didn't have much to work with. Before leaving him in Alaska, after they had escaped France together, she had told him to call her Dani. That was all he had. Dani could be short for any number of names, or her name itself.
But he also knew she-devils had changed identities on a regular basis, like he himself had to do often, so looking for her was futile. The only being that had ever made him feel true happiness had walked out of his life and there was no way to find her, until now. Zarah. She would know where she was. Trying to sound casual he asked, "So, tell me, are you still in touch with Kat?"
The she-devils looked at him quizzically and Zarah burst into a gale of giggles. "Didn't she ever tell you her real name?"
Darious shook his head. "Before she left she told me to call her Dani. That's all I know."
Raven had been talking to Joline, the she-devil that was in charge of this particular Pussycat club, quietly. When she heard the name Dani mentioned, she sat bolt upright and looked at Darious, eyebrows arched into her hairline, her onyx eyes fixed on him. He now had her total and complete, undivided attention, along with most of the other she-devils sitting at the table.
Modega slouched down in his chair, muttering darkly to himself, uncomfortable with all the attention now directed towards them.
Zarah opened her mouth to answer him, but Ravens' hand on her shoulder shushed her. Raven cocked her head to the side and fixed him with her dark eyes, "Dani was her name, you say?"
He looked at her and nodded, "Yes, Lady Raven. That is what she told me to call her." His brow was furrowed slightly in confusion. He looked around the table at all the faces now turned towards him.
"You mean her?" Raven said, pointing to a large painting on the far wall, with a large cluster of other paintings and pictures of women.
Darious looked at it, his mouth slightly agape. It was partially hidden in the shadows, and a bit hard to see, but the large brown, doe-eyes were very visible, and that is what locked his attention. They were just how he remembered them; the very same ones that he still dreamed about. "Yes, that's Kat." He said softly, his eyes locked with the eyes in the painting.
Grins and titters of laughter broke out from every she-devil at the table. Darious looked at them, brow furrowed, totally confused. "If there was a joke told, I have apparently missed the punch line."
The only one at the table not laughing was Raven. She continued to look at him intently. "You're sure that is her?"
He nodded, "Positive. Her eyes are something I will never forget." He looked around the table at all the grinning faces, frowning. He hated being the butt of any joke, let alone one he didn't understand.
Raven thought for a minute, a frown creasing her forehead. When she spoke again, her voice was quiet and her tone was soft. "You were Col. Darian Swatsenbarg were you not? An SS officer in the Gestapo? You first dated, then co-habitated with the Countess Katrina Wagner. She was also an SS officer. But she wasn't what she seemed. She wasn't the true Countess. She was there to pass along information to aid in getting all the dark creatures out of the Nazis' way, so they couldn't get their hands on one. Darian and Kat were "killed" in an explosion in Paris. You both actually made your way to Russia, then Alaska, where you went your separate ways. Is that about the sum of it?"
Darious felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He looked at her, astounded but muttered a very soft, "Yes, that's the way it was."
Raven leaned forward and looked more intently at him, "The woman you knew as Kat, then after as Dani, is in actuality Lady Danyealla."
Darious stared at her, an incredulous look on his face and muttered a soft, "No!" He then looked at Zarah for confirmation.
Zarah had quit laughing and was just looking at Darious, her amber eyes wide. Raven may have known the basic facts of what happened, but Zarah was THERE; she saw them together. She saw the way they were with each other and the way they looked at each other. There had been something between them, a fire, a passion that everyone could see. Raven didn't know about it, but Zarah had seen it, felt it. They had meant something more to each other than being good cover for their ultimate purpose. When Dani had finally come back to the states, and Zarah had next seen her, she was changed, like she had left a vital part of her back in France. It took months for her to smile again.
To this day, that part was still gone. That distant look she saw on her face at their first meeting in the states was still there. She leaned forward and put her hand on Darious' and looked up into his eyes. "Yes, Kat is Lady Danyealla."
Darious just stared at her in total shock and disbelief. In his mind he was trying to meld the two images, Kat and Lady Danyealla, and what he knew about both of them. The person he knew in Germany was soft spoken and kind. She was the first person he had ever come across that didn't seem to be bothered by what he was. Furthermore, she was the ONLY person that EVER wanted to hold, touch and cuddle on him. She had actually made him feel wanted. He had enjoyed being with her, enjoyed her touching, enjoyed not feeling fear from her, just enjoyed being around her. She had been the only being that had been a ray of happiness in his life.
Then, there was everything he had heard about Lady Danyealla. It seemed to be the opposite of the woman he knew. From everything he had heard about her, she was mean, vicious, hard, cold hearted, a bitch and animalistic; she was the most feared she-devil of all time, bar none. He just looked at Zarah, shaking his head, "She can't be lady Danyealla. It just doesn't make any sense!"
Zarah stroked his hand softly, "She is, believe me."
Modega looked back and forth between Zarah and Darious, a look of abject horror on his face.
Raven sat back in her chair and studied Darious' face carefully. There was something in it she didn't understand. When he asked about Kat his eyes and face lit up the way a humans does when they talk about the person they love. But that wasn't possible. Demons COULDN'T love anyone; they weren't capable of it. It wasn't in their nature. Yet the feeling she got was, he did. Most of his thoughts were blocked off to her telepathically, but his emotions weren't and she could feel the power of them. They were almost overwhelming, like those of someone who was not used to controlling them. She kept a poker face but she was confused, her mind racing over the possibilities.
Modega was wishing he were anywhere but here at this point. The looks from all the she-devils were making his skin crawl. When he glanced at his watch, he almost sighed in relief. They had to get going, they had another meeting to attend. He nudged Darious. "We have to go. R. J. Reynolds is in an hour and we have to get back."
Darious tore his eyes away from Zarah and looked down at his own watch, then sighed. "Yes we do." He stood up and straightened his clothes. He looked around the table and nodded to the women. "Ladies, it's been a pleasure, but I have to get back to the office."
The she-devils stood up and shook his hand, then disbursed. Zarah waited until last, then linked her arm through his, "I have to scram too. Walk me to my car?"
Darious grinned down at her, "It would be my pleasure." He turned to Modega, "Meet me in the limo."
Modega nodded, then walked out, suppressing a sigh of relief. All he wanted to do was get to his office and have a LARGE drink to calm him-self.
Darious walked Zarah to her car. Both of them seemed to be quiet and subdued. When they got there, she turned to him and smiled. "It was WONDERFUL seeing you again."
He smiled back, "It's the same on this end Kitten." He cocked his head to the side and looked more intently at her. "May I ask you something?"
"Sure, ask away."
He sighed softly and lowered his eyes. "Where is she Zarah?" he asked in almost a whisper.
Zarahs eyes darted quickly around the parking lot to see if anyone was listening, then whispered, "Not here. Meet me for dinner and we'll talk about it." She gave him a time and place to meet her then kissed him on the cheek, hopped in her car and drove off.
Darious stood there and stared after her car for a few minutes, thinking, before turning and striding off to his limo.
The whole way back to the office Modega peppered him with questions about Lady Danyealla and Lady Zarah, but the only answer he got in return was a curt, "Later!" Even during the meeting, it was apparent his mind was elsewhere. All his staff could tell his mind was on something besides work.
He left work early and went home. When he got there he changed for dinner then shut himself up in his study until it was time to leave, just sitting there, thinking. Marcus, his slave/manservant, a big, hulking werewolf, saw the look on his face when he came in and made himself scarce until he left again.
While Darious sat in his study, his mind replayed over their times together. First meeting in Paris a year before the French Revolution started, then meeting again in Berlin, just as the Nazis' were starting World War II. When he closed his eyes, the memories were so vivid he could still almost smell and feel her touch. He was finally brought out of his revelry by the alarm going off on his watch, signaling it was time to leave.
He arrived at the restaurant long before she did and got them a booth in the back where it was semi-secluded. The place she picked was just a small mom and pop place, nothing too fancy.
She came in right on time and hurried over to where he was sitting. He stood up and smiled at her. She really was just how he remembered her, still quite plump, her dark brown hair was still long and curly and her amber eyes still danced and laughed. The only thing different was her manner of dress. Tonight she was in jeans, an oversized men's dress shirt, and athletic shoes.
She kissed him on the cheek then slid into the booth opposite him.
He sat back down and smiled at her. The waitress came by and took their order, then hurried off. "Today was the most pleasant surprise I've had in years. It is so wonderful to see you again, Zarah."
She giggled that giggle he remembered so well, then smiled at him. "It's great to see you again too."
They made small talk until their drinks and meal was served.
When they finished eating and were just sitting back relaxing, he brought up the subject of Kat. "So, you've seen Kat since Germany, then?"
Zarah looked at him seriously, "Yes. Many times. Lady D. is the one who created me when she got back from Germany. We spent a lot of time together here, until she moved."
He gave her an anguished look. "Here? She lived in Charlotte?"
Zarah nodded seriously, "Yes, for a long time. After Germany, she came here and stayed for a while, then roamed until the 1990's, when she came back. She lived here until about a year or so ago, then moved on again."
Darious shook his head, sighed and looked down. "Damn it! I kept trying to find her, and she was right under my nose for the longest time. Damn it!" He rubbed his face and sighed deeply at the irony of it.
Zarah watched him quietly for a couple minutes before starting to speak softly. "Darious, she always knew where you were, from the time you left Alaska, until she left this last time. How could she live here any length of time and not have heard of you, let alone know where to find you?"
He looked at her, eyes filled with anguish. It felt like a mule had just kicked him dead square in the nuts. She KNEW! She knew how to get a hold of him, yet never bothered to try! How could she not have? He looked at Zarah and whispered, "If she knew where I was, why didn't she try to get a hold of me? Why? I thought we parted in Alaska on great terms."
Zarah shook her head and looked down, "I don't know why. I know she kept track of where you were and what you were doing."
"Did you ever ask why she didn't?" he asked her, eyes glued to her.
Zarah nodded, looking away from his piercing stare, unable to stand the anguish on his face. "I asked her many, many times why she didn't try. All she would say was, she couldn't handle it. Same answer every time."
He looked bewildered, "Couldn't handle it? What did she mean by that?"
She looked at him and shrugged her broad shoulders, "Your guess is as good as mine. I asked her several times and she wouldn't explain it to me."
He reached across the table and took her dainty hands in his then looked her directly in the eyes. "You know where she is, don't you? Please tell me. I don't want to hurt her, or anything like that, trust me. I just want to see and talk to her if I can. That's all. Nothing stupid."
Zarah sighed and looked down, thinking. She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt Dani still had a great deal of feelings for him and that was probably a big part of the reason she left. But, if she couldn't bring herself to see him while still here, then how would she feel with him just showing up out of the blue?
Fate · Part 1 (1/4)
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