Lilly's Torment(9)

"Later. First, you are going to eat. Right after we test your glucose,"  Briar told her, pulling on her arm. "We'll feed you, test again, and  give you some insulin if needed. But I think we should wait for Artaxias  before you make any calls, Lilly."

"If you are certain." She didn't look behind her, fear of falling down  another rabbit hole too heavy in her mind. Instead, she let Briar lead  her to her office where she had her glucose levels tested, and then to  the cafeteria where they could have something to eat.



* * * *



When Artaxias reappeared, she'd just finished her meal. He walked toward  the table but paused a couple feet back. "Is it okay if I join you?" He  was looking at Briar when he asked. Only when she gave a nod did he  finish walking to the table, sitting at the end closest to her and  furthest from Briar. "Feeling better?"

"I am. A great deal," Lilly said with a smile. "I have no idea what  happened, but I really do need to make some phone calls," she told him  softly. "I might end up needing to return to DC." She hated to think  about it, but if she was losing time, well, hell. That just wasn't good.

"No you don't," Gavriel said as he walked in. "Sorry I'm late, got hung  up," he muttered to Artaxias as he sat down. "Hey Briar." He grinned at  her before turning his disconcerting gaze onto Lilly. "Artaxias gave me a  call when he was heading back to see the captain. He wanted me to check  a few things with a couple of contacts and he was right, mostly."

"Okay … " Lilly trailed off the last of the word. "I'm kind of at a loss  here, so what are you talking about?" They couldn't possibly know about  her missing time, her small break in reality. No one knew about it. She  had kept it very, very well hidden with the help of her bosses and her  bosses' bosses.

"I'm letting Artaxias explain because I'd never even heard of it before  now. But he's been alive a hell of a lot longer than I have," Gavriel  told her. Then he stood. "I need a drink, I'll be right back."                       
       
           



       

As Gav walked away, Artaxias let out a breath and ran a hand over his  face. "When I was younger, working for one king or duke or whatever, I'd  heard a rumor floating around. Only it turned out not to be such a  rumor. But I'm getting ahead of myself. The rumor was surrounding a  woman, can't recall her race, not that it matters. She was apparently  wed to some high-powered sort, maniacal in nature, if the story's to be  believed. Cruel, loved to torture his victims and foes, hated everything  and everyone except for her. But he didn't trust her. So he apparently  hired a Vhampire and a Spiryte to create an effect in her mind. It was  to keep her from ever straying or thinking of straying, and to keep her  always in love with him."

He paused as Gavriel rejoined them. "The only side effect was that if  she ever thought of leaving him she'd go into this odd trance, focusing  on something, anything, for a time until someone or something snapped  her out of it. But she always lost that chunk of time. A blank spot in  her memory. If she fought against the programming she'd actually black  out, sometimes even go into convulsions and have bleeding from the nose  and ears."

"Okay, but I'm not that person. And I've never met a Spiryte before. So I  think that you are wrong." She looked down at her hands and shook her  head. "I've lost time before. I had a break in DC," she admitted softly.  Damn, she hated to tell them this, but she had to. "I seriously, like,  lost my mind. I guess that I somehow actually managed to kill a Luhpyne  in the process. No, trust me, I'm not anyone that would have something  like that on them, I'm just someone who has lost her damn marbles and  seems to be losing them again."

"Hello"-Gavriel waved a hand-"Spiryte."

"You have met one, actually two," Ax said quietly. "While those of the  races don't like the contacts you people use or the version we ourselves  have, they can be used to change their eyes. They are pretty  distinctive, obviously." He waved a hand to Gavriel. "But it can be  done. What I need to know from you is, when was the first blackout and  what happened prior to it? It would be something that knocked you about  or put you into a highly emotional state that you'd need care."

Frowning, Lilly began to think. "It was a case in DC." The line between  her eyebrows drew into a heavy crease. Her hand began to shake and she  began to think. "I found a talon, like the one that would go with the  shard that came from the body." Chewing her lips, the woman continued,  hands visibly shaking, leg beginning to bounce, and frustration clear in  her voice.

Briar went to reach for her but stopped when Ax shook his head. Instead,  she listened and watched. "I reconstructed the claw into the weapon  that it came from." She began to sweat. "My partner died soon after  that. I was taken and I don't recall much of that time," she whispered.  "But that is more than likely because of the torture," she admitted  quietly. "But when I got out, was found, there was a body." Her head  exploded in pain, a soft cry escaped her lips, and she dropped her head  into her hands. "Tattoos, and then nothing. I woke in a mental ward."  She whimpered with the pain.

A large hand was on her neck, massaging her tight muscles slowly. "Let  it go, Lil," Artaxias said right next to her. When she lifted her head,  he was crouched next to her. "Slow, deep breath and just let it all go  away." He looked over the top of the table to Gav. "We need the pics of  the guy's tattoos. The body she found and any tats on the guy down in  the morgue. We need to run them for similarities and then pick them the  fuck apart."

"I'll get them, one way or another," Gavriel said, standing up. Leaning  over the table, he touched her cheek. "We'll figure this out, Lilly,  promise."

Lilly nodded and licked her lips. "I really need to make that call,  though." She had to let them know that she was falling down the rabbit  hole again. She desperately needed to tell them so that they could at  least send someone to check her out, or maybe medications, something.  "You need to let me up so that I can go and make that call. I have to  make it from a clean line, a secure line."

"No calls," Artaxias said, cupping her face. "Lilly, you are not going  to make any phone calls until I say so, all right? You have to promise  me. No calls. I have a really bad feeling, darling. You and I are joined  at the hip until further notice. For now, we're going to go up to the  office and you are going to take a nap on the couch."

"No." Lilly felt a little on the panicked side. "I need to call them. I  have to let them know. Don't you see, Ax? I could be a danger to you  guys. I should have never come here to begin with. I knew I was too  unstable and I'm sure that they did, too." She sobbed. "Please, I need  to make that call."

"No," he said, shaking his head. "Lilly, it's a compulsion, likely part  of whatever they did to you. If you give in to it, the Gods only know  what will happen, baby. I'm sorry, but you cannot make that call until  we know more. Once we do, we'll be right there with you to figure out  what this part of it's all about."                       
       
           



       

"Compulsion?" She felt as if her head were about to explode. "Okay,  sleep. I can do this." She leaned into his large frame, the heat of the  man beckoning her. "I really, really think that maybe I will feel better  after sleep. I've ate, I just need to retest my glucose levels and then  sleep. Later I will have to take my shot, but for now, I think sleep  sounds marvelous." Even if it was a nap. Maybe her head would feel less  like a pressure cooker.

His hand stroked down her hair slowly. "Let's go up to the office. I'll  pull the blinds and we can relax on the sofa. We'll wait on Gavriel to  come back with his findings and we'll go from there. Come on, darling."  He straightened, pulling her up from her chair. "A nap does sound good  doesn't it?" he said softly. "Close your eyes, let all the day's worries  and troubles just float away. I'll even tell you a story to help you  relax if you wish, something from Gav's childhood, if you'd like."

Lilly grinned. "Why not something from yours as well? I would really  like to get to know both of you. I want to know everything that there is  to know about you both." She walked along at his side, her eyes closed  so she didn't see the odd looks they got from their coworkers or the  even odder look from their captain.