Lilly's Torment(16)

"Not so much me. I'm a baby in comparison to him. He's got me by  centuries," Gavriel said, leading her out into the yard. He bent down  near a wall and a moment later, the yard was lit up, the pool and  waterfall glowing and little lights softly presenting various paths.  "Pool's heated so you can swim in it year-round. Though, why in the dead  of winter"-he gave a shudder-"I'll never understand."

"Wonderful." Grinning, she winked and said, "Naked, me, swimming. Think  that you could handle it? If we were all naked and swimming? I'm sure  that you could cast a spell that could encompass the pool area so that  it was warm and fun for us."

"Probably, but really, why bother? We'd get you nice and warm if you  were having any trouble with a chill." He grinned at her. "I know a few  ways to keep you nice and toasty. And really, with the toothy old fart,  I'm sure he knows a few hundred ways."

"Of that you can be sure, runt." Artaxias's voice came from right behind  them. The look on Gavriel's face was completely and totally "fuck me."

Lilly grinned and looked back at Artaxias. "Hey you." She looked back to  Gavriel and asked, "Are you okay, Gav? You look a little green around  the gills. Could it be that foot you shoved into your mouth? Do you need  some help prying it out of said mouth?" she teased.                       
       
           



       

"He'll be fine," Artaxias said, leaning in to kiss her cheek. "He should  be used to the taste of it, he has it stuffed in there often enough."  He pulled her in close for a hug and then looked down at her. "How do  you like the place so far?"

"I love it." She wrapped her arm around his middle and gave him a small  hug. "I have always, always loved this style home. This building period  has always intrigued me," she admitted softly. "I think that this is  truly an amazing home, and thank you for opening it to me as well."

"You are our mate, it's your home, too, Lil," he said quietly. "Come,  I'll show you around the inside while Gavriel tries to get that foot  out. If he's lucky, I might let him back into the house. But he  definitely has much explaining to do about that last comment I  overheard."

That had her grinning. "Sounds good. Well, thank you for giving me your  home as well. It was your home and now it is ours, right?" That sounded  nice. Very nice. "And add to it that it's one of my favorite home  styles, then you totally are the right guy for me," she teased him.

"I bought what felt right," he said quietly. Leading her inside, he  showed her through the lower level before going upstairs. Then he showed  her the five bedrooms, four baths, den, and library. After, he took her  down to the basement and showed her the gym, sauna, the room where he  stored his blood, the wine cellar, and then, the largest room, his  weapons room. It was climate controlled and everything was organized  perfectly.

"Then you must have bought it for me," Lilly said with a smirk. "Wow,  this place is huge," she murmured with wide eyes. "Oh God." She moved  from his side and to the weapons cases. "Oh my freaking god," she  whispered in pure reverence as she took in the weapons hidden and  protected behind the glass. "These are truly, truly spectacular," she  whispered. "Amazing. This floors me that you have these. Can I see?" she  asked, and turned to face Artaxias.

Nodding, he moved to the side and dug out a key from a hidden  compartment. "Here." He handed it to her. "It works for all the cases.  Except that one there." He pointed. "Because those are the most  dangerous to handle, they're on a keypad lock system."

She opened the first case and lifted a blade. It felt so light that it  was surreal. "The balance on this is perfect." She could likely balance  it upright by the tip, if the tip wasn't so sharp it would cut her. "You  can tell that you spend hours upon hours cleaning and caring for these  blades. They are like your children, aren't they?" She knew she felt  that way about weapons that she created, at least.

"They are all tools of the trade. My trade, or-" He gave a snort. "My  former trade, anyway. I treated them with the respect they deserved  after all the years of service I've put them through. Nothing more than  that, little mate. But I've never constructed a blade, that is not my  gift. Mine is knowing the way to use the blade once it's been crafted to  perfection."

"They are stunning," she whispered and put the blade she had picked up  back into its holder inside of the case. Closing the glass, she turned  to look back at her mate. "I would like to know more about you, Ax." She  felt a deep connection to him, like her soul cried out for him to touch  her and she didn't understand it, but wouldn't deny it.

"Ask, and if I can, I'll answer," he told her quietly. "I don't know if  I'll have all the answers, but whatever ones I have, I'll give you."  Artaxias lifted a hand and touched her cheek lightly. "I'll tell you  anything you want to know, Lilly."

"What made you chose the jobs you chose?" She didn't want to know about  what he did, she wanted to know what drove him to choose as he had. "I  just want to try to get to know you better, understand you, and if I  knew how you decided which jobs you would take, it would make it easier  to understand." She realized he had been an assassin, but that was then  and this was now. The job changed. His way of thinking wouldn't, though.

"I had to feel it, here." He pressed his hand to his chest, over his  heart. "I had to understand, to know and want to do the job. Unlike  others, I couldn't just take any job. I had to know it made a  difference, work out the consequences and the benefits. I had to think  through the ripple effect of my actions. If I felt strongly enough about  it, that it felt right to me, then I took the job. Otherwise I passed.  Which, in our word, was easy. Everything was in the system, documented, I  could read through the options, investigate those that pulled me, and  make my choice. Everything was anonymous, just codes upon codes upon  codes."

"Which is actually very good. That it was all completely and fully  anonymous so that they wouldn't give you trouble in your real life.  Sometimes going with your gut or what's in your heart is the only way to  make difficult decisions, and I would imagine that weighing the life of  a person would be one of the most difficult decisions that any one  person could make," Lilly told him quietly, her voice almost whisper  soft as she spoke.                       
       
           



       

"I've never pretended to be one of the Gods. And I'm no saint, either.  But there are some people, in the realms and in this world, who  shouldn't be allowed to keep breathing. People who do terrible things  because they think they have the right. People with power, influential  friends, money, or whatever excuse they give. Those are the ones I used  to choose," he said quietly.

"Sounds as if you had your own way of choosing, and it worked for you. I  am happy that you would pick the ones that you did, because you are  right. Some people feel as if they can get away with anything and  everything when they shouldn't be able to. I'm happy that you were able  to see them for what they were truly and not what they portrayed to the  world. That makes me humble and happy."

"Not a saint, Lilly," he said again, moving to lock a cabinet. Then he  went to another and unlocked it. Reaching in, he pulled something out  before closing and locking it once more. Only when he turned did she  spot something in his hands. "Since I know you'll appreciate it for what  it is and for its craftsmanship, this is for you. A gift, so no  refusing it," he said. He then handed her the small blade, a dagger of  sorts, complete with leather sheath with an intricate and foreign  pattern on it.

"Ax." She whispered his name in pure reverence as she took the blade  from him. "Are you sure?" She looked up at him, studying his face as she  did so. "This is." She pulled the blade from its sheath and gasped,  "God, this is beautiful." The scrollwork writing on the blade was  amazing. She wished she knew what it said, but the blade itself was made  of pure black metal. What kind, she didn't know, but it was  spectacular.

He put a finger to the blade. "The material is specific to a mountain  range in the realm of the Ahnjels. To be gifted with the material is an  honor, to be given a blade made from it is beyond measure. The writing  is a blessing, and a curse of sorts. This says ‘may you never have to  draw a blade from its sheath.' The other side says ‘may you always  strike true, should you have no choice.'"