Chapter 21

Looking up at me, Lucas stopped whistling long enough to flash me a mischievous smile as he asked, “Lover’s quarrel?” 

Shooting Lucas a questioning look, as I took a seat on the grassy bank, “I’m guessing that murderous glint in your eyes has something to do with Daniel.” Lucas explained.

Snorting at his words, “He TOLD me that I have to learn how to use a gun. He didn’t suggest that I learn or even ask me, he told me. Who the hell does he think he is, telling me what to do?” I heatedly rambled out.

 “Well… he has a point.” Lucas said looking down at the now clean pan in his hand.

“Point? What point? I can handle myself without a gun. ” I defensively retorted.

“October you were there, you saw what went down with the cop. Those things are fast, a few feet closer when it lunged at us, and we could have all been killed.” He reasoned, resting the rinsed pan beside him.

“I have my daggers, I know how to use them. I don’t-” I started to argue.

 “Look I get it, you don’t like guns. But a gun puts a safe distance between you and a demon, enough to level the playing the field and quickly take them out.” He simply stated.

“Why are you so adverse to guns anyway? What’d you do, shoot and kill a cute bunny or something?” Lucas playfully added.

At his words, I felt all the blood in my face pool under the skin at my cheeks. Dropping my head I let my hair fall around me, hiding the embarrassed flush that began to blotch my face. A flash of white, from the corner of my eye as I took a quick peek through my curtain of hair, was enough to tell me that Lucas noticed my unguarded reaction.  

“What?” Lucas asked with a smirk, “What’d you do?”

Biting down on my bottom lip, I closed my eyes tight. “I don’t like guns because I accidentally shot gramps once.” I said in one quick breath.

I heard Lucas’ sharp intake of breath before he erupted in a fit of laughter. “Wow. Of all. The things. I would have. Never guessed.” He sputtered out between breaths.

Looking up at him I angrily said, “Don’t laugh! I shot him in the foot, it was a serious injury!”

My words only seemed to add more humor to the situation as his hysterics increased, leaving me to patiently wait as he calmed down.

“I’m sorry, but that was just too damn funny.” Lucas said without apology.

“For you maybe, but I was traumatized. Whenever I think about firing a gun I think about shooting some innocent person.” I confessed.

Wiping the tears of amusement from his eyes, Lucas got up and walked over to me. “Shit happens, don’t be so sensitive.”

“I’m a girl, I’m hardwired to be sensitive.” I replied.

“There’s no place for it in this kind of life. You’re a hunter now, it only gets harder form here on out.” Lucas said as he crouched down next to me, holding my gaze he continued in a much more serious tone. “You’re going to see and hear things that would make most people cringe, and be put into situations where your forced to do things that you never even knew you were capable of. But you swallow the bile an do it anyway, because your only one who can, because if you don’t no one else will, and that’s when innocent people die.” 

Dropping his gaze, I turned and looked out at the river’s glittering waters. “I still don’t wanna learn how to use a gun.” I said with a heavy sigh.

“Yeh, but you should anyway.” Lucas retorted.

Chapter 20

            “I’m sorry-” Lucas began apologizing            
           
            “For what?” I asked confused.

            “Daniel told me what you said last night and he was right. I should have just kept my mouth shut, instead of bombarding you with information like I did.” He guiltily said, turning away and breaking eye contact.

            “I’m the one who asked you all those questions Lucas. I just wasn’t prepared for the answers.” I admitted. “Where’s Daniel?” I asked him, steering the conversation in a different direction. “He wasn’t here when I woke up either.”

            Looking up from his half eaten plate of food to me, he answered “Oh, he took the jeep into town.”

“For what?” I nosily asked, pushing my plate and the few remaining pieces of bacon to Lucas, having had my full.

“Not really sure, just said he was going into town a couple hours ago. He should be back soon.” He coolly replied, before finishing off what was left on his plate and mine.

Sighing in frustration at not being given a straight answer, again, I started back flipping through Daniel’s book, reading through some of the hand written notes that littered the pages. While some of them were only a few words, clarifying the meaning of phrases or unfamiliar words, others spanned from the top of the page straight to the bottom, filling up the margins, arguing with characters and their actions. The comments were smart and witty, full of humor and amazing insight, that had me smiling as I read. I was just about to enter another scene, when I felt the book being lifted off my lap and torn from my hands.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Daniel said, his voice a harsh scrape. As I looked up at Daniel’s face, I saw his hardened jaw and flinty eyes, and knew that I’d somehow crossed a line. 

“I’m sorry, I just found it on the sofa.” I apologized.

The edge in his eyes slightly softened at my apology and I turned to look at Lucas, who wasn’t sitting on the floor across from me anymore. 

“Where’d Lucas go?” I asked out loud.

“He went out back, to clean up the stuff he used to cook.” Daniel answered.

How long was I reading that book?

I thought, looking across to the now fading fire. Waking past Daniel, I headed outside to find Lucas and see if he needed any help with the cleanup.

“Hey.” Daniel said to me, as he reached out and grabbed my wrist, stopping me before reaching the door. Lifting my fist, he opened it and placed a small box in my palm.

Furrowing my brows in confusion I looked down at the box in my hand before looking back up at Daniel.

“I tell you I don’t like guns and you give me a box of bullets?” I said, handing the box of bullets back to him.

Refusing to take them back, “Their standard bullets, not like the ones we use for hunting. You can use them to practice with.” He replied in a serious and unwavering tone.

“I told you, I’m not good with guns.” I rebutted, matching his tone.

“Tough Luck. You have a gun, you’re gonna learn how to use it. Whether you like them or not is irrelevant.” Daniel told me, as if it was his decision and I had no choice in the matter.

My eyes narrowed to slits at his tone, as I threw the small box of bullets at him before walking out the front door. Walking barefoot on the lush green ground, the blades of grass gently stroking the pads of my feet, I followed the soft sound of a whistled song to find Lucas, crouched down near the edge of the shallow river a couple feet downstream.

“Hey.” I said catching his attention as I made my way to him.

Chapter 19

The smell that filled the air when I opened the cottage door and walked in, made my stomach ache and my mouth water. Hurrying over to the bedroom, I threw my things on the unmade bed before walking over to Lucas, as he knelt in front of the growing flames that now danced within the chipped and faded stone hearth. Curling up on the sofa and tucking my feet under me, I reached for Daniel’s pillow, still lying on the end of the sofa where I left it earlier. Pulling it into my lap, I heard a soft thud as something hit the floor. Looking down to the bottom of the couch I bent over and picked up a weathered paperback book from the ground.

The sound of bacon sizzling had me looking back over to Lucas. Sitting with his back to me I watched as he held out a cast iron skillet, which looked as old and worn as this house, and held it high over the fire’s flames.

“What are you doing?” I asked, curiously watching Lucas, as he poked the frying bacon strips with a plastic fork.

“I don’t know about you, but I like my bacon crispy.” He threw over his shoulder, along with a sly little smile before turning back to his skillet. 

Looking back down to the small battered novel in my hands, I turned it over. I was barely able to make out the words, Hamlet, written in bold font on the scratched and tattered cover. Flipping through the stained and creased pages, I stopped several times to look at the small, scribbled notes that filled the margins in almost every other page.

“Hey, is this yours?” I inquired, looking up to see him pull a large brown bag out from the right side corner, beside the fireplace.

            “Is what mine?” he answered with a question. His eyes never leaving his task, as he dug through the bag.

“This….” I said, waving the book back and forth in the air, trying to get his attention.

Finally looking up to see what I was talking about, “Oh! That’s Dani’s. His m-” he started to say before stopping himself.

“His what?” I eagerly asked, silently begging him to continue so I could find out more about Daniel.

 “So how do you like your eggs?” he asked, avoiding my question. “Scrambled or-”

Tuning Lucas out as he continued talking, I thought about the last time I saw my gramps. How I watched him make eggs that morning for breakfast and how we talked about my trip. Thinking back, it felt like a lifetime ago.

“I’m good. No eggs for me.” I told Lucas with a tight smile.

“Well the bacons done, so have at it!” he said to me as he took the strips out from the hot pan, and laid them on the paper plate he pulled out from the magic brown bag.

Still clutching the book in my hand, I hunkered down next to Lucas on the floor and took a bite from the still blistering hot slice of bacon. Unconsciously closing my eyes, a soft little moan escaped my lips when the hot meat touched my tongue.

“You…ah… you got a little bit of drool right there.” Lucas said, startling me out of my bacon trance.

Reaching up I wiped the side of my mouth with the back of hand, glaring at Lucas when his amused smile morphed into a deep husky laugh.

“Don’t you have eggs to make.” I snapped. Still glowering at him as he turned and cracked a few eggs, into the same mug Daniel had offered me soup in last night. Using a plastic fork, he whisked to eggs into a frenzy before throwing them into the heated skillet.

Throwing the cooked eggs into another paper plate, he rested the scorching hot pan on the other side of the stone hearth. Settling to face me, the plates of food between us, Lucas dug into his eggs and I nibbled on my bacon as we both ate in silence. I’d just polished off my 6^th strip, and was staring at Daniel’s book in my lap but not really seeing it, when Lucas’ raspy voice cut into my thoughts, shattering the unintentional silence.

“So how’re you doing? You know, with…..everything?” Lucas asked.

Looking up from my lap to Lucas, I saw the concern and wariness that flickered across his grey eyes as he patiently waited for me reply.

Holding his gaze I took a breath, “I’m…..dealing.” I softly murmured.