The Grey God

Darian and Jonny were cracks in her armor. She'd taken pity on both men who lost their own families and ended up feeling more than she ever wanted to again. She wasn't about to go through losing someone she cared about or letting Darian go through his loss again.

Feeling raw, Jenn rose. She retraced her steps until she reached the tall walls outside of the orchard. Scaling the wall once again, she dropped to her feet and was still for a long moment, using her senses to see if anyone was there. Though she sensed nothing, she'd never know an Other was there until he'd zapped her. She moved cautiously through the well-maintained orchard, back to the tree marked by the rocks.

Her gaze flickered towards the other end of the orchard, where the White God's palace had been. She couldn't see it through the rows of trees.

Next time, she told herself and circled the tree. The ground dropped out from under her, and she arrived back into the mortal world. The loss of the magic from the immortal world made her feel slow and heavy as she took her first few steps. Though her trip had taken more than two hours on the immortal side, less than an hour had passed in the mortal world. She Traveled back to Jonny's, appearing in her room.

Wired and agitated, Jenn left for the gym. She stripped down in the locker room and tossed her shirt over the animal head in the bottom of her locker. Not caring how many vamps might be in the gym, she entered and took up her favorite spot and began channeling her emotions into the punching bag.

Awhile later, someone's voice broke her concentration.

"Look what I got."

Jenn straightened, not yet ready to leave the gym. Her necklace felt cool against her warm chest, a reminder of a memory she wished she hadn't reopened.

"Five of them!" Darian's voice held a note of triumph.

She turned to see him hauling a garbage bag. Darian's golden eyes pulsed and swirled with battle fever. He was bloodied and his clothing shredded. She couldn't tell how much of the blood on him was his.

"I figured it out."

"How to fight more than one without getting fried?" she asked.

"Yeah. It's not as hard as I expected. Almost got my ass kicked again before I figured it out. I brought these back for Jonny."

"I don't want to know," she said, gaze lingering on the garbage bag. She glanced at the clock on the wall behind him. "Jonny's probably hunting now."