“Then ask your humans.”
Dorn sighed then closed his eyes, silently summoning his male human. A few seconds later, Lucian came from the room he shared with Jessie, yawning and running his hands through his hair. He shuffled to the table looking like hell and sat. Gaunt hollows shadowed the contours of his face and beard stubble darkened his jaw to give him a sinister appearance.
He scowled at Dorn and grunted. “What.”
“What is pillow talk?” Dorn nearly whispered and glanced around surreptitiously.
What the fuck kind of question is that screamed from the tired lines of the human’s face. “Why?”
Dorn rolled his eyes and sighed, petulance emanating from his every cell. “Can’t you just tell me? Why does everyone feel the need to know my reasons for asking a simple question?”
"We're just amazed to find something you don't know everything about." Kassern grinned. “Sally has asked for this and he wants to know how to perform it.” Lucian turned his look to Kassern and Kassern shrugged. “I’m clueless as well.”
“It’s when you talk,” Lucian said plainly, “while laying on your pillow.”
Dorn waited patiently for more. When it didn’t come he said incredulous, “That’s it?”
Damn the aqua angel sounded funny in shock. But Lucian’s emphatic nods of, uh, yeah, made it official.
“Pillow talk,” Dorn repeated, amazed. “Well, I can certainly do that.”
“That’s good,” Lucian said, nodding. “Now can I go back to my pillow? You interrupted the sleep you insisted I get.”
“Yes, yes. Rest well. My apologies.”
“Yes, yes, I will,” Lucian muttered as he walked back.
Kassern nodded at his human when he was out of ear shot. “Your boy okay?”
Dorn sighed. “You saw his face, of course he’s not. I mean he is as long as he’s not allowing himself to fall prey to the lies that gave him that mark.”
Kassern nodded slowly. “The God hating bit.”
“Yes, and the bitterness that sort of ignorance produces. When a human can’t figure something out, then he calls it a paradox. When important things go misunderstood, it leads to frustration, frustration leads to anger, anger leads to--”
“Star Wars!” Kassern pointed at him. “Master what’s his name says that part.”
Dorn stared at him in worrisome disbelief. “My God, when do you have the time to make mashed potatoes out of your brain?”
Kassern shrugged. “I’m pretty good at multitasking. But in regard to your human, yes, well regarding all humans. It would be nice if they considered the all-important fact that they don’t have all the fucking variables for their flawed data.”
“And much of the data they do have is flawed.” Dorn’s frustration lined his head.
“Fucking aye.”
“Do you…do you really find it necessary to use that form of language?”
Kassern grinned and shrugged a shoulder. “It’s just word shades. Nothing more.” He turned his head suddenly. “The Serith is coming.”
“I feel him.” Dorn stood with Kassern in respectful preparation. The arrival of a member of the Brotherhood of Aesculapius was a big deal, especially a high ranking member. Normally, apprentices and lower members dealt in the direct practice of medicine upon both human and angel, as well as the other intelligent species spread throughout all the Universes.
For a Serith, one of the senior medical experts, to take personal interest in a case was practically unheard of and nearly sent Kassern off the deep end with worry.
Kassern’s heart beat at a ridiculous pace, dreading the news. When the angel fully formed in the room, Kassern and Dorn bowed. “Serith,” Kassern said.
“I will not delay in relaying my findings. You will bring your female to the Grotto of Aesculapius in order for me to conduct a full line of tests.”
“What?” Kassern’s body began to tremble with ruby energy as he fought to control that debilitating human trait called panic.
The man seemed regretful and concerned. “What I have found is unlike anything I have seen before. The fluid and tissue sample taken showed lethal toxins with extraordinarily small minimum effective doses. I've hypothesized that the only reason she remains alive is that she has somehow assimilated some of your unique angelic properties and they have selectively mutated her immune system into something we’ve not encountered, allowing her to fight the infection."
Kassern’s heart nearly stopped. “From that creature?”
The Serith nodded. “I have found strains of a sort of super bacteria, similar to the medication resistant strains humans often contract when the full course of an antibiotic is not administered over repeated infections. The bacteria is fused with supernatural particles, and I believe the source to be—”