The Darkness Calls (The Transfigured Ones 1)

He had long since lost interest in most food and drink. Scotch was one of the few exceptions. Alcohol didn’t impact him the way it would a normal human. His body metabolized far too quickly to actually feel it. He rather enjoyed the complex flavors that played on his tongue though. When he had finished his drink, he stripped down and crawled into bed. The darkness called to him. Perhaps tonight he would dream.

Chapter Three

Lilly tilted the glass and watched as the golden liquid spilled down the inside of the pilsner glass. Hockey season was in full swing, and the Leafs were playing tonight. The business would be steady. She watched momentarily as the foam settled, then turned back to the bar.

As she slid the pilsner glass down to the waiting woman, she considered the strange mix of customers in the bar tonight. One of the regulars, Daniel, must live in the area and had just come into the bar. There were a few couples, both Transfigured and not.

She had always wondered what the appeal of watching human sports was for them. They possessed superior reflexes and strength. She had to admit she hadn’t considered the Transfigured much before now. She had avoided them since they had torn her world apart.

When she was fourteen, a rogue group of them had broken into her family’s home. Her parents and her two brothers had been slaughtered. She had been in the cellar raiding the refrigerator. She’d stood at the bottom of the steps, listening as her family was killed. She had felt both lucky and unlucky to have been the one who survived. Even though they’d been quickly caught and put to death, it was still hard for her to separate what they had done from the group as a whole. Intellectually, she knew they weren’t the same, but there was certainly some bias there.

She’d gone to live with her Aunt Magda in Mississauga. She’d been kept clothed and fed, for which she was certainly grateful, but that was where the care had stopped. She’d never come out directly and said it, but Lilly was pretty sure she was just a daily reminder of everything Magda had lost. She had no doubt that if Aunt Magda had any idea she worked for and directly with the Transfigured, she’d be rolling over in her early grave. She’d been bitterly angry. It was probably best that she wasn’t here to see it, Lilly conceded.

Lilly hadn’t been sent to therapy or any sort of counseling. She’d learned to deal with it on her own. She had kept quiet and read as much as she could about handling grief over the last ten years. For the most part, she’d been able to let go of the anger, both rational and irrational.

Now, she found herself for the first time actually interested in them. Well, maybe not them as a whole, but certainly one of them. Talan was undeniably gorgeous. His hair was auburn and his eyes were such a pale blue that she wondered if they were actually made of ice. He didn’t have the typical freckles that you’d expect. Just a smooth, ivory complexion. He looked to be in his late thirties, even though she knew he was several hundred years older than that. His features were sharp and angular, as if they’d been carved in granite. She imagined he was rock hard under his dress clothes, too. She could totally picture him as a Highland warrior preparing for battle. Perhaps it was his expression. It could be so unyielding.

Every so often, though, she could see something behind the mask of composure. It made her want to know more about him. He had been kind to her. Hell, he bought her a new purse. It had been in no way his responsibility to take care of that. Still, he dropped over a grand on it. Clearly he cared about people.

Lilly took a quick glance around the bar at the patrons. Their drinks were mostly full, so she stood patiently behind the bar and continued to daydream. Not that this was wise. He was her boss. Actually, she realized, he was her boss’s boss’s boss’s boss. Which made her fantasies even more inappropriate. Maybe that added to the thrill a bit. She figured he could have his pick of women. There was no reason he’d be interested in an employee. She wasn’t one of those girls that needed someone to constantly tell her she was pretty. She knew she was attractive. She just considered herself realistic. She was a young, relatively broke college student. She had a loud mouth. She wasn’t the refined sort of woman that she imagined he’d go for.

Over the next two hours, the hockey crowd filtered in and out of the lounge. When the game was finished, the bar had pretty much cleared out. By midnight, even those few stragglers were gone.

When the last patron left, she slid her book out from under the counter. Her boss, Marcus, had given her permission to read behind the bar in the event they didn’t have any customers. That made school much easier for her. She was always able to get in at least part of the required reading, except on nights when there were foreigners in watching games from their own country. She was engrossed in her psychology textbook when she heard the door open. Her heart began to pound when she saw Talan step into the bar. Tonight he was dressed in a suit again. She suspected he considered the dress shirt he’d worn on Saturday as casual wear. She wondered what he would look like with no clothes at all. Tamping down the stray thought, she quickly slid her textbook back under the bar and greeted him.

“Lilly,” he said, his voice so stilted and formal.

“Sir,” she answered. “How are you?”

“I thought we talked about this, little one. Call me Talan when we’re alone.”

A smile curved her lips when she asked, “Fair enough then, Talan. How are you?”

He considered her for a moment and then said, “I’m well. How are you?”

“I’m doing pretty good. We were pretty busy tonight with the hockey game. As soon as it was over, the excitement died down.”

She watched, confounded, as he slid onto a stool and said, “Well, we can’t have that, now can we?”

Lilly cleared her throat and asked, “Would you like a drink?”

He asked, “What would you suggest?”

Tongue in cheek, she studied him for a moment and said, “Your choice in womens’ accessories and the obviously tailored suit lead me to believe you’ve got refined tastes. Molson Ice?”

His lips twitched. “Do I look as if I like cheap beer?”

“No. I’m going to guess that you’re a Scotch fan,

” she said by way of response.

He raised an eyebrow and repeated the question, “What would you suggest?”

“We’ve got a nice Macallan 21 Year. If you’re looking for something less smoky, then the Glenmorangie Signet might be to your liking. It’s sweeter.”

He grinned, obviously enjoying the game. “And if you didn’t know that I owned the casino? What would you suggest then?”

She laughed and then said, “Laphroaig Triple Wood or Balvenie 12 Year. Both still high quality even though they’re less expensive. The Balvenie has a nice, sweet vanilla undertone and the Laphroaig is going to be much more smoky.”