Supernatural Encounters

Chapter 18

"Are you unharmed," Aeron askes after the shattered glass stopped falling and the frantic splashing in the pool quieted down to gentle strokes and light panting.

"Yeah. I think so. What happened?"

"I am unsure, but it is likely that I will be ending the night with a new pair of dragon hide gloves" the demon growls as he sits up, dislodging the glass fragments that settled on his back, sending them cascading down to the ground. "Please tend to Kye while I have some words with our unwelcome guest."

Before Harper could even open her mouth to respond, Aeron disappears and the sound of voices raised in anger drifts down from the broken window above her.

Although her mind is telling her to get up and check on her brother, the body refuses to listen. Muscles lock up, eyes settle on glittering remains of the window, and the mind goes blank. As she stares at the broken glass fragments, the only thought that enters her head is "same".

Something in Harper feels broken. Maybe it is all of the stress of the past couple days catching up with her or too many intimate encounters with death in the last 48 hours. Knowing that someone out there wants them to become the next undead member of the household but not knowing who it is would break most people. If she is honest with herself though, Harper knows that this feeling started before now.

But when did it start and why?

"Get it together," Harper mutters to herself with a little shake of her head. "Wallow in depression after dealing with this hot mess of night."

After tiptoeing around the glass, she walks over and sits down next to her brother, who was draped over the ledge. His lower body is still submerged while his forehead rests against the stone pavers. "I didn't know narwhals could fly."

Pulling an arm up from the water, Kye flips his sister off. "Your ex threw me through a window. You'd think I would be entitled to some sympathy.."

"Seriously though, are you okay?"

"Yeah," he grunts as he pulls himself out of the water. "Ego is a little bruised but otherwise I am fine. Were-genes mean I'm a little tougher than I used to be." Once he is out of the water, Kye leans back until he is splayed out on his back, looking up at the night sky. "Do me a favor though. Don't tell Yuki about this. He's already a little on edge about Aeron being a demon. I don't know how well he'll take me pissing off a dragon."

"What happened? I know you two never really got along, but throwing you out a window is very dramatic."

"He told me about the night he left you, so I may have implied, well more like directly said, I think his family might be the ones who put out the hit. And he didn't like that, hence the big hole in the side of your house.

"Oh. Yeah, I can see that. Both why he's angry but also why you'd come to that conclusion.'' Dipping her feet in the icy pool water, Harper uses the temperature shock to clear her head. As she sits there, one thought keeps popping up over and over. "Do you think Alistar could have anything to do with the hit?

"Alistar as in Aeron's brother?"

"Yes."

"I've never met the guy so I can't say. I think a better question is do you think he has something to do with it?"

"I don't know," she says after pausing for a minute. "Is he capable of it? Of course. Let's be real here. He's a powerful demon who tolerates me because I am in a relationship with his more powerful brother."

"He did save your life today. That has to count for something though, right?"

"I guess." Even though the night is fairly warm for December, the current thought running through her head causes an icy chill to spread throughout her body. "Maybe it is the weird dream I just had or the trauma of the past few days. Or maybe I feel more betrayed by his 'prank' than I thought I would be. But part of me wonders if Alistar planned for me to be alone and injured so that he could build that mental connection between us."