Page 14 of Stalker
But Maryse's laugh echoes in my memory. The way she touches my bone spurs without fear. How she sees past the monster to the man beneath.
My claws gouge fresh marks in the doorframe. The metal screams in protest, but the pain does nothing to silence the war in my chest. Duty versus desire. Vengeance versus passion.
Passion…or something more? Something much more.
The realization hits like a plasma bolt to the gut. When did this slip past my defenses? When did she become more than a pleasant distraction?
I press my forehead against the cool metal, breathing in the last traces of her perfume. My heart knows the truth my mind refuses to accept - I lost this battle the moment she smiled at me in that alley.
The ancient mourning song rises unbidden from my throat, a low resonant hum that vibrates through my bone spurs. Words in the old tongue spill forth - a lament for the fallen, a prayer for vengeance.
"Kah'ra meht, sah'ra dohl." Mother of mine, rest eternal.
My voice deepens, the song growing in power. The bone spurs along my arms and back resonate with each note, amplifying the dirge until the very air seems to thrum with sorrow.
"Veht'ka nahl, meht'ra sohl." Blood will answer blood.
Through the viewport, I watch a human woman pause mid-stride on the street below. Her hand rises to her chest as tears stream down her face. She can't hear my song - no human ears could detect these frequencies - but the emotion carries nonetheless.
More pedestrians stop, overcome by a grief they don't understand. An elderly man removes his hat, pressing it against his heart. A young couple holds each other, shoulders shaking with silent sobs.
"Kah'ra meht, dohl'ra sahn." Mother of mine, forgive my weakness.
The song builds to its crescendo, my bone spurs humming like tuning forks. A security officer below draws his weapon, scanning for the source of the disturbance he can feel but not identify.
I cut the song short, swallowing the final verses. The bone spurs gradually still their resonance. Below, the affected humans shake off their unexplained sorrow and continue about their day.
Too risky. If Daniels' men investigate reports of mysterious emotional manipulation, they might trace it back here. Back to Maryse's condo. Back to her.
My fingers trace the viewport's edge. Soon, mother. Soon your killer will pay in blood and bone. No distractions. No mercy.
Not even for love.
CHAPTER 6
MARYSE
Professor Chen's voice drones on about hydroponics system maintenance, but my mind keeps drifting to last night. The way Bruticus touched me. The heat of his skin. The tenderness in those fierce red eyes.
"Girl, you're practically floating." Eve's whisper cuts through my daydream.
"Pay attention." I try to focus on my datapad.
"You're glowing. Spill."
"I'm not glowing."
"Please." She rolls her eyes and sighs. "Your face gets this dreamy look every thirty seconds. Who is he?"
The stylus slips from my fingers. "There's no-"
"Did you get laid?"
Heat rushes to my cheeks. "Eve!"
"You did! Oh my god, you totally did."
"Fine. I met someone yesterday."