Damian's Sacrifice #8

God, his eyes.  They’d appeared to be engulfed in flames the second he’d caught sight of her after breaking through the door.  She could have rationalized his super strength—the door and frame now piles of junk—by a spike in adrenaline or something.  But those flaming eyes had no reasonable explanation.  At least, not a human one.

She met his now normal gaze, despair and resignation looming in those mocha depths.  Understanding dawned.  He meant to do to her what he’d done to Brian.  Not hurt her, but whatever was done to his mind to make him leave.  Her heart screamed in protest.  Cara needed to stall.

“Aren’t you going to answer me?”  Her voice creaked, still recovering from the damage Brian had caused.

“It would be better if I didn’t.  I’d just have to...”

“If you say ‘kill me’, I’ll have to kill you for being so cliché.”  She smirked.

“That’s not what I was gonna say.”  The corner of his mouth lifted.  “Glad to see you still have a sense of humor after all this.”

“Stop avoiding my question, Damian.  I admit, I was more than a little freaked out when I first saw your eyes change, but I’m more in control now.  I know you’re not human, but I’m still standing here talking to you.  And, I think I deserve an answer.  What. Are. You?”

“Fair enough.  But you might want to sit down.”  He gestured to the chair in front of her.

She frowned, but followed his suggestion, grumbling as she dropped to the seat. “This better be because it’s gonna take a while.  And not because you think I’m a chick with delicate sensibilities or something.”

His lips curved as he sat in the other chair.  “It is a long story.  But, I have to admit that I do feel protective over you.”

Her stomach fluttered, her heart doing jumping jacks.  As much as she hated the Tarzan routine, a part of her relished the thought of him watching over her.  Great.  Now she was the cliché.

Damian cleared his throat, settling his hands on the table, staring at the empty space before him, effectively avoiding her eyes.

“You’re right about me not being human.  At least, in part.  I’m a hybrid.  My mother was human, but my father wasn’t.  He was an Arcturian.”

“What is that?  An alien or something?”

“No.  Not in the way you’re thinking, anyway.  Millennia ago, my people came to this dimension through a portal.  Not spaceships.  The Arcturians inhabited a different plane of reality.”

Cara listened for The Twilight Zone’s theme music to start playing.  Or the voice-over from The Outer Limits.  There is nothing wrong with your television set.  Do not attempt to adjust the picture.  When the hell had science fiction become reality?

“I know.  It’s hard to accept.  And please don’t ask me to explain the whole alternate dimension thing.  I’m not a quantum physicist.”

“So, Arcturians and humans are... compatible?  I mean, you weren’t created in a test tube, or gestation chamber or whatever?”  Her cheeks warmed.

“Is that your way of asking if my father had sex with my mother?”

“I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to be rude.  But this whole thing is scary and fascinating at the same time.  My brain-to-mouth filter got switched off.”

He grinned, leaning back in the seat.  “Yes, we are compatible.  Crossbreeding was very common, in fact.”

“Was?”

“Arcturian DNA is very strong, but after many generations of mixing with humans, it can be rendered ineffectual, and we would eventually die out.”

“You don’t seem all that different from humans.”

“Well, there are a couple of physical traits I keep hidden most of the time.  You saw my eyes change earlier, but there’s something else.  Please, don’t be afraid.”  He smiled wide, giving a clear view of abnormally long canines.

Fangs.  He had a set of upper and lower ones.  It made him look like a vampire.  Or a werewolf.  Hell, maybe his people were the origination of those myths, considering they’ve been around for thousands of years.  Still, she wasn’t afraid of him.  She was... intrigued.

“Plus, I have certain Arcturian abilities.  Heightened senses.  Superior strength.  And... dazing.”

Something in her mind clicked.  “Dazing?  Is that what you did to Brian?”

“Yes.  I altered his memories of today.  I also placed a block on you, and anything related to you, in his mind.  I assumed you’ve known him a long time, and I can’t mess with stuff that deeply entrenched, so I could only block it.  Others of my species have that capability, but that’s a story for another day.”

“So does that mean he’ll leave me alone from now on?”

“I wouldn’t have let him go otherwise, no matter how much you didn’t want to report him.  Think of it like very strong hypnosis.  Only there’s no special word to snap him out of it.  You will be safe from him forever.  I promise.”

 Her mind reeled.  Despite what he’d done, Brian had been a family friend for as long as she could remember.  Her brother’s best friend.  How could she even tell Connor about Brian’s behavior?  And how it had been taken care of?  Easy.  She never could.

“Are you going to daze me, too?”  Her voice barely a whisper, she held her breath awaiting his answer.

“Humans aren’t supposed to know about us.”

She shot to her feet, her heart on the verge of shattering.  She’d already lost one person from her life that day, and couldn’t stand to lose another.  “I don’t want to forget about you.  I can’t explain it—I don’t understand it—but you’re too important to me.  Please, don’t do it.”

As he rose to his full height, a lick of fear shot down her spine.  He would not harm her, but she would be helpless if he decided to go through with dazing her.  Tears welled in her eyes.

“How can you be so accepting after what just happened?  You should be kicking me out of your life for good.”  He dropped his gaze, shaking his head.

She closed the distance between them, lacing her fingers in his.  “You saved me today.  I won’t condemn you just because someone else I trusted betrayed me.  That’s not who I am.”

A flicker of emotion passed over his features, but it was gone too soon to place it.  He was good at hiding his feelings.

Cara inched closer, brushing her breasts against his chest as she lifted to her tiptoes, hand resting over his heart.  She touched her lips to his, lingering for just a moment before pulling away.  “Thank you.”

Her body ached to be nestled in his arms, kissing him, their passion melting them into one.  They both felt it.  The night they met, she’d been bombarded by it.  Just now, she’d sensed it, hovering at the brink, waiting to be unleashed.  But not here.  Not with the events of the day still surrounding her, smothering her.  She needed to get the hell out of the studio.  And she needed Damian to come with her.

Why did he have such a strong hold on her soul?

His warm eyes met hers, and he nodded once.  “Why don’t we get out of here?  I’d feel better if I can take you home and stay with you for a little while.  To make sure you’re protected.”

“I thought you said Brian wouldn’t bother me ever again.”

“He won’t.  But, there are other bad guys to worry about.”  He breathed a heavy sigh.  “The Arcturians weren’t the only species to come through that portal.”