In her mind, they'd just met and they were all but strangers.
Regretting the necessity of that, Arik directed her toward the cafe. Solin had prepped him on how to greet the hostess and request a seat, but it was still very strange. It was odd how people left such trivial matters out of dreams. They simply cut to the chase and didn't waste valuable time with incidentals. If someone wanted to eat, they were in the restaurant, eating. There was none of this getting to it and requesting tables or waiting.
Dreams really were superior to reality.
After a bit of a wait, Arik and Megeara were seated at a table that overlooked the sea. Even though it was dark, they could still hear the surf and see the whitecaps as they rolled onto shore. Lights from boats and buildings in the distance twinkled like stars that had fallen to earth, while the smell of cooking food
made his stomach grumble and cramp.
Arik was surprised by the sensation. He'd never been really hungry before. And the sights and sounds were overwhelming as they brought a peculiar ache to his chest. He didn't understand the source of it. He felt sad and happy for no apparent reason, and when he looked at Megeara all he wanted to do was reach out and touch her. To ask her if the sight and sounds made her feel the same way.
"I've never eaten here before," Megeara said as she skimmed her menu. "What do you recommend?"
He frowned as he looked at his menu and wondered what he should suggest. "I don't know. I didn't think to ask that of Solin. Is that something a date normally knows?"
She gave him an arch stare. "Only if the date has eaten at the restaurant before." Then she chided him,
"Don't tell me you've never been on a date."
Arik realized he'd already made another mistake. She would never believe that he'd reached whatever age he appeared to be without having taken out a woman-it would be completely illogical for a human male to have kept to himself. "No, I have... just not like this."
She still wasn't buying it. "Not like this how?"
Think, Arik, think. "With a woman."
Her other brow raised as she gave him an amused smile. "So you've been on dates with men?"
Smooth move. Solin was right. He was a moron. "No, no. What I mean is that I've never asked a woman out on a formal date. I usually spend an evening or two with them and then leave." There, that sounded better and it was the truth.
"Then you what?" she asked, her voice tinged by anger. "You leave them waiting by the phone for a call that never comes? How wonderfully kind of you."
Why the sarcasm? What had he said that was so upsetting?
"No, that's not what I meant." How could one man get himself into so much trouble with just words? But he could tell from her body language and the fury in her eyes that he wasn't helping himself in this at all.
"Why are you being so hostile to me, Megeara?"
"I'm not hostile. I'm merely trying to understand you and the things you keep telling me. I mean how did you manage in Nashville with such a limited understanding of people and how things work?"
Nashville? What was she talking about now? He'd never heard of such a thing before. He was constantly baffled by her. "What is Nashville?"
She gave him a "duh" stare. "Where you claim to have met me. Remember?"
He shook his head. "No. That was Vanderbilt where we met."
"Yes, and Vanderbilt is located in Nashville, Tennessee."
Arik froze as he realized what he'd just done. In her dreams she'd never made mention of what town the
school was in, and since he wasn't from this plane there was no way for him to know it.
He cleared his throat as he tried, yet again, to cover his blunder. "Oh, it's been a long time."
Instead of being comforted, she looked even more suspicious. "Six years isn't that long ago, especially not for a man who remembered me so well. And I don't see how a man raised in rural Greece could forget his trip to a bustling American city so easily, either. What's going on, Arik?" She narrowed her eyes on him. "You didn't meet me there, did you?"
"Of course I did," he said defensively. He had no choice except to try to brazen this out. "Why would I lie about that?"
Geary didn't know what to think. But something wasn't right with all of this. She could feel it in her gut and she could see it on his face. He was hiding something extremely important about their meeting. "How should I know why you'd lie? But you're not who you say you are, are you?"
"I am."
Yeah, right. "Be honest with me, Arik. Who the hell are you?"
"I've told you. I'm Arik Cantranides."
"Yeah, you keep saying that, but why don't I believe it?"
"I can't imagine. It's the truth."
Still, her gut warned her to put distance between them. Had they been alone, she would have. But they had plenty of people around them and she wanted some answers. "Tell me the truth, Arik. Why are you here with me?"
"I just want to spend time with you."
Wrong answer. "You keep saying that."
"Because it's true. I swear it."
She clenched her teeth as a wave of anger went over her. Why couldn't he tell her what was going on?
Honestly, she was getting tired of his cryptic ways and things about him that just didn't add up. "I don't believe you."
"Then what do you believe?"
She didn't know, but the more the thought it over, the less any of it made sense. Something wasn't right with this. With him. She knew it. And his constant denials were making her feel as if she were losing her mind.
Glancing away, she caught sight of an incredibly intense man who was staring straight at them. At least six six and with an aura of "don't look at me or I'll kick your ass," he was wearing a long black leather coat and dark sunglasses even though it was nighttime. He had a small goatee and short black hair. There was something ominous about him. It was as if he was looking for someone to fight and kill.
She had to drag her gaze from him, back to Arik. "Do you know him?"
He followed her line of vision to see the man who was now making his way toward them. There was a knowing smile on the man's sardonic lips as he paused at the table next to them. The "killer" whisked his coat off with a flourish, and as he moved, a tattoo of a double bow and arrow on his biceps peeked out from beneath his sleeve.
"Evening, folks," he said to them in Greek as he took a seat.
"Good evening," she answered.
Arik merely inclined his head. But there was no missing his tenseness. He didn't like the newcomer and it was obvious.
"Is he a friend of yours?" she asked in a low tone.
Arik cursed silently at the presence of the Dark-Hunter. Immortal warriors in the service of Artemis, they protected mankind from the things that would prey on them. No doubt the Dark-Hunter could sense the essence of Arik's soul. Even though he was technically human at this time, he still had the soul of an immortal, and since Dark-Hunters were the protectors of human souls the Dark-Hunter would know that Arik wasn't human.
Could the Dark-Hunter's timing have been any worse? Megeara was already suspicious enough. The last thing Arik needed was her asking questions about immortal vampire slayers.
And then he felt it . It was a whisper against his soul. A touch.
A threat.
The Dolophoni had found him. Their presence on this plane was unmistakable. They were here and they were looking for a fight. He glanced around the restaurant and street but couldn't find anything out of place. Everyone around him, except for the Dark-Hunter, was human.
"Is something wrong?" Megeara asked as she noticed Arik's fidgeting.
He knew the smile he offered her was extremely fake. "No. Nothing."
"You don't look like nothing's wrong. You look really nervous all of a sudden. What? You owe the guy next to us money or something?"
How he wished it were that simple. No, he owed one Greek god a human soul and a dozen more his life. Yeah... well, it was time to put a stop to at least one side of that statement. "I just need a moment.
You wait here and I'll be right back."
Geary frowned as Arik got up and left her alone. She didn't know what concerned her more, the strange man at the table next to her who kept looking over as if he knew a secret she didn't or Arik's peculiar behavior.
"You have an interesting friend there," the man said.