Lilly's Torment(18)

"You can't cook to save your own life, let alone anyone else's, Gav,"  Artaxias said, setting the warmed garlic toast on the table. "The last  time he did scrambled eggs … simple, right? Not so much for our friend.  Last time he did the eggs, he ended up in the hospital getting his  stomach pumped."

"That was embarrassing," Gavriel agreed with a sigh. "The fucking nurses  wouldn't stop laughing after I explained how I came to have this food  poisoning."

Lilly began to giggle and had to ask, "Why? How? I don't even mess up  scrambled eggs." To Artaxias, she said, "So just simple here-and-there  kinda stuff huh? Follow a plan and put the ingredients together. Do you  have a recipe for your chili that you follow? Even if it's in your mind?  If so, will you teach me how to make it?"

"No recipe," he said with a shrug as he sat down. He wasn't eating, but  he sat with them. "I just throw whatever into the pot. Barely even think  about it, actually. I change it up from time to time, depending what's  in the house. But since Gav can't even boil water and I usually don't  bother to eat food, it's rare. I can teach you the basic recipe, I  guess. It's always the same. After that, it depends on your taste buds  what you want to add."

"Interesting. And what about you?" she asked and shifted slightly closer  to Artaxias. "When do you eat? What do you eat? If he can't cook, why  do you, if you don't eat? Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that you can  cook, but why?"

"It gives me something to do on occasion," he said with a shrug. "I can  eat. I just don't bother most of the time. The blood gives me all I  actually need. Food just gives me something less boring to consume.  Besides, it's relaxing, and given the fact his mother is still calling  me, it took my mind off snapping his neck and delivering the body to  her." His voice was seriously, scarily calm as he spoke, like he was  discussing the weather. "I eat when I feel the need or interest. The  rest of the time, I don't."

"And you do realize that he's not to blame for his mother's actions,  right? Heavens, from what I understand she's not even to blame for her  own actions. Poor woman." She felt intense sympathy for the woman, very  much so. "I just really hope that maybe one day you will be able to find  a way to help her. Somehow and some way." She was sure that these men  were trying to find a way, would be surprised if they weren't.

"I know he's not responsible, and I also know she's not of her right  mind at times like this. But I am the one that has a nearly constant  ringing in my skull and rattling my teeth," he said quietly. He opened  his mouth to continue but flinched, slapping his hand to where the  implant behind his ear was. "Gav, call her caretaker for the love of the  Gods and get her chip deactivated, damn it."

"Why hasn't it been deactivated before now?" Lilly asked with a frown.  "If she's not truly of sound mind, then why hasn't her chip been  removed? Do you think that perhaps the chipset is giving her trouble? I  know for some of the earlier chips there was an interference of sorts  where the waves of the tech damaged the natural brain patterns. Do you  think perhaps this happened to her?"

Gavriel turned back around and tapped his chip again before shaking his  head. "My mother's magic isn't geared toward anything other than a  knowledge of science. She was one of the scientists involved in  upgrading the chips. She has the latest model like we all do.  Unfortunately, even when they deactivate the chip, she knows how to  reactivate it when she's of sound mind again. They're supposed to  deactivate it as soon as her mind slips. But the nurse who's her  companion had a family emergency, so the stand-in didn't know. That's  why mother's been calling. Apparently there is a stranger in her house."  He rolled his eyes and pushed his bowl aside. "I'm going to head back  and see if I can get her calmed down."

"Can the chip be fully removed?" Lilly asked Artaxias when Gavriel stood  and walked out of the room. "Would it be possible to fully remove her  chip so that she can't reactivate it herself?" She wasn't sure how the  chips worked. She was good, but the tech was far out of her realm of  expertise.

"Maybe," he said quietly as he looked past her for a long time. His gaze  snapped to her in the next moment. "Some of the issue with the chips is  that, depending on the surgeon who implanted them, they can become  embedded in the skull bone. It would involve breaking that bone here"-he  pointed behind his ear-"to dig it out. Painful, to say the least. I  don't know who put hers in, so I can't say, but it's something we've  been trying to get accomplished. Unfortunately, when she's lucid we  can't do a damned thing, because she's fully cognizant. Gav would have  to have her declared mentally incompetent to have it done against her  will."                       
       
           



       

"And to do that would bring her before the ruling council and possibly  bring to question her line. Neither of those things are things that we  would want to do. We would want to ensure that she's protected, as is  Gav," she murmured with a frown. "I don't know. It was just a thought.  As I said, I'm nowhere near an expert on the tech that we have inside of  our heads, but it was a thought."

"Hey." Artaxias reached out for her hand and gave it a squeeze. "It's a  good thought, one we've been working on for a while now. We will find a  solution to this, Lilly. I don't know how or when, but we will." He  smiled slightly before flinching and pressing his hand to the base of  his skull. "Gods, I hope he gets there soon, she's killing me."

Lilly moved closer to Artaxias and placed her hand on his cheek. "Will  you let me rub your temples? Maybe that will help a bit? We can dim the  lights and you can lay your head in my lap. I will rub your temples and  your shoulder until the pain has eased somewhat."

"You need to finish eating, love," he said, dropping his hand after a  moment. "But I think I am going to go and lay down. Just in the living  room for now, if you want to join me. But eat, Lilly, I don't want you  getting sick because you're not taking care of yourself."

"Don't worry, I will eat," she assured him. "Go, do what you need to do  for your headache so that you can hopefully begin to feel better soon,  okay? I will come and join you shortly. Promise." She would clean up and  then go join him.

Nodding, he leaned in and kissed her gently, "Thank you, Lilly. But you  do not need to clean up. Just unplug the pot and leave the dishes in the  sink. We can deal with them later. Eat and then come and sit with me,  please."

"I will be in there shortly, promise. Go and lay down, but scootch it  over, because I want to come and cuddle up next to you as well. Go. I  will be there shortly, I promise." Lilly picked up her spoon and once  more began to eat, her eyes following Artaxias as she ate.

Nodding, he leaned in to kiss her gently. Straightening, he went to the  fridge first. A moment later he moved toward the door with a bottle of  water. "Don't be long, but don't wolf it down. That stuff can have a  nasty bite if you gorge too quickly."

"Go. Get relaxed and all that fun stuff so that I can come and join you,  okay? I won't wolf it down. I will take my time, but I won't take so  long that you will forget me." Her tone teased as she spoke.

A snort was her only answer before silence ensued.





Chapter Six




"Did you have enough to eat?" Artaxias's voice came from the darkness of  the room. The drapes were pulled and all the lights were off in the  room and surrounding it. The sound of material shifting reached her ears  and then his hand was on hers. "Come here, Lilly," he said softly.

Moving to the couch, Lilly dropped so that she could curl up at  Artaxias's side. Wrapping her arm around his waist, she curled up close  to him and breathed out with a yawn. "I did. How are you feeling?" she  asked softly and held onto him.

"Better," his words were soft against her cheek. "Gavriel must have made  good time getting there. Either that or had her helper keep her  occupied. I only got one more call before they stopped. It's actually  been very peaceful for the last ten minutes."

"Good. I'm very happy. I've cleaned up the kitchen." Her words were soft  in the darkness, her body moving in closer to his. "You are so nice and  warm. I could become accustomed to this, Artaxias. Being held by you  like this."

"Despite your mythology, we run at normal body temperatures. But then  again, we're not dead and never have been." He shifted away from her  slightly and then there was a warm weight on her. It was a blanket,  which he tucked around her a moment later. "Try and get some rest,  Lilly. You look tired, little mate."