He smiled and pulled his hair back from his face. “You know why I’m here.”
“Gotta go, huh? It figures. All those nights of incredifucks and you leave me. I’m still walking funny from the last night we were together. You do have a way of spoiling a woman for regular men. Not only do they have a cock that’s diminutive in comparison, but you do that thing with your mind.” She rolled her eyes and took his hand.
“You will make some man incredibly happy.” He paused.
“Oh, blah, blah, blah. Will I see you again?”
“I don’t know. I have something for you. A thank you for your help.”
“I didn’t do anything. You, though? My friends are all a little different now. And Iris…”
He interrupted Tasha. “What about her?”
“She’s really different—not sure what you did to her. It’s like she has amnesia. I asked her about that night you said you met her, but she can’t remember any of it. She does seem to be a lot happier and definitely stronger. She took up painting as a hobby and she’s working at the deli down the street. Doing really well I heard. Josh, the owner, gave her a job after I told him about her. He’s real pleased how well she’s working out for them.”
“That’s good. In fact, that’s great.” He dug into his pants pocket and pulled something from it. “Here, this is for you. I made it. The stone is from volcano lava. It has a special feel to it.”
Tasha held out her hand as he draped the necklace with a black stone on her fingertips. “Holy shit. It’s warm, in fact it’s hot.”
“It will always be hot to your touch. But only your touch.” He looked at Tasha and when she looked up to meet his eyes, he kissed her.
Tasha’s legs went weak. His hands held her hips and moved up to the side of her breasts. With a gentle lift her breasts pushed together and he groaned into her as his tongue danced in her mouth.
Pulling back, he whispered, “I’m going to really miss snuggling between those breasts and eating your sweet-tasting pussy.”
Her head fell against his chest, her hair hanging along her face. “You don’t play fair. My God, I’m so fucking horny now. You sure you don’t have time for a…you know…here in the stockroom? Nobody will notice.”
He put his hand along her jaw then outlined her lips with his finger. “Not now.” He opened the storeroom door and walked out.
Tasha lifted the necklace, held it in her palm. It was a dark black shining stone with a beaded strand to wrap around her neck. The black stone had an oblong shape but was flat with small divots carved into it. It was beautiful—when the light hit the surface, it flickered in her palm. She felt a coil of sadness creep through her as he left and closed her hand tight around the stone.
Her body began to shake and her eyes fluttered. The heat from the stone began to pulse in her palm. “Oh you bastard, not again…” Tasha held one hand on the counter while the other firmly clutched the necklace. She squirmed and clenched her thighs together as tight as she could.
*~~*~~*
He walked to the back exit door to leave the bar and heard a familiar moan echoing through the air. Pausing for a moment, he let a wicked smile cross his lips. Then he left, closing the door behind him.
*~~*~~*
The mist filled the cemetery and he took his usual stance, wet but motionless. Like every other time he’d visited this spot, he said nothing and simply laid a rose on the grave, then stood as still as the statues that surrounded him. A light rain began to fall, adding to his somber mood.
“Why couldn’t you tell me? You knew and yet you made me go through that again.” His head hung, water dripping from his wet hair.
“How did you know I was here?” The woman’s voice came closer as she cleared the shadows.
“Maya, you are a messenger, but I knew your mother. She was more powerful than any simple messenger. You knew who that lost soul was and yet you knew I’d do whatever was asked to appease the elders. You knew I wouldn’t find out who it was until the transference was happening, and it was too late to stop it.”
She felt guilty. “I couldn’t tell you. The elders said you had to do this yourself.”
He turned, looking over his shoulder at Maya. His eyes were dark and there were shadows beneath them. “I watched Kelly die in front of me. She told me we’d meet again, but I thought that would be when I passed over to the other side.”
“What you did was right. Her soul was lost without you. Now she can have what was taken from her. You gave her a life again. One with sight, one that she can begin again with…because of your powers.”
“That may be true, but I know it means I can’t go back to her. She has no memory of me or what happened before. The slate is wiped clean. It means I’m alone now. Completely alone.”
Maya stood next to him, her umbrella sheltering him from the rain. She looked down at the grave and saw Kelly’s headstone with a metal plaque attached. The year of death had been etched away. “You have never been alone, Pilan.”
He looked down as Maya took his hand.