Dahlia turned in time to see Thane walk around the corner. A cute brunette stood up and closed the distance between them. Thane opened his mouth like he was about to explain, but his "date" didn't give him the chance. Using the full length of her arm, she slapped him across the face - hard.
He turned his head with the hit, then sighed. "That's fair," he grumbled.
"The only reason I'm still here is because I wanted to make sure you know that not all women will put up with that shit!" the woman snapped.
Thane just nodded. "Probably a good thing."
"Yeah," Dahlia said to the bartender. "Just make sure she doesn't kill him, ok?"
"Your ex, or something?" he asked.
"More of a hate fuck," she told him. "Can't seem to quit that man, no matter what I do."
She gave the bartender a smile and turned for the door. Behind her, he chuckled and added, "Lucky man."
That was enough to add a little sway to her hips. Yeah, and she was completely refilled again. She couldn't explain how Thane did it, but a little taste of him was all it took to let her feel life again. The colors were closer than she could remember in centuries. The smells and sounds of the world around her were crisp again, not muffled through the veil that separated life and death.
Because while she existed and had a body, it wasn't the same as when she'd been alive. This was a construct. A wound that would kill a normal person would destroy her form, sending her to the Abyss. Technically, it was a kind of death, but not the permanent kind. If only her body died, then her real name would call her back so she could make another.
True death was when her soul was destroyed. That was what those silver stakes did. True death meant no more second chances. No more life after death. True death was the complete and total end for her kind.
That was what it meant to be an eidolon. Body death meant nothing. Sure, it still hurt, but it wasn't quite as permanent as it was for everyone else. The hard part was finding someone to call her back. It was why she and Mei had initially joined forces. Mei knew her real name and could whisper it to a human. She could do the same for Mei. And if they both lost their bodies, someone would eventually summon them by accident. They just might lose a few centuries before it happened.
Just as Dahlia left the pub, Thane's date had reached the point of yelling. Dahlia dared to look back once, not surprised to find him standing there, taking it. For some reason, that made her like the man a little more. He wasn't trying to gaslight the woman. He wasn't lying to her. He was accepting the consequences of his actions like a real man, and it had been a long-ass time since she'd met any of those.
Outside, the sun was setting. It wasn't dark yet, but it would be soon. She turned her feet down the road, intending to cut through the parking lot of a large store, take a short cut across a residential neighborhood, and make her way back to her hotel. It was only about a twenty-minute walk, and it wasn't like she was worried about getting mugged.
But when she reached the sidewalk, she noticed a black SUV start up in the parking lot beside the pub. No one had walked to it. The thing had been sitting there for a while. She'd noticed it when Mei had met her "date" across the street because it matched the description of his vehicle.
Then it pulled onto the road behind her. Dahlia paused to check her shoe, letting the SUV pass her, then turned down a side street. Looking through the buildings, she saw it was now in another parking lot, and seemed to be turning around. When the vehicle headed back the way it had come, she decided it wasn't worth sticking around to see what was going on.
She ran.
Sure enough, the SUV turned down the same street she'd taken. Her sandals slapped on the asphalt and she was looking for another way out of this area that a car couldn't follow. Up ahead, on her right, was an alley. Turning down that, she kept going, trying to get out of sight.
Behind her, the vehicle kept coming. It was moving slowly, almost like they were letting her get out of the most populated area. That meant it had to be inquisitors. If this was a group of thugs wanting to pick her up for human trafficking or something, she was secluded enough. Inquisitors, however, would try to minimize all exposure to the public - because it was hard to explain the supernatural to those who didn't believe.
She found another cross street and turned down it. Then another one right after. The buildings were getting further apart, but since she didn't know how many people were in the vehicle, she had no idea how easy this fight would be. She also didn't think she'd be able to get out of it.
Clearly, Thane had set her up. She should've known them bumping into each other couldn't just be a coincidence! Somehow, he was following her. Was it the cameras around town? Did the inquisitors have the ability to tap into those like on some movie? Had she been reported by someone? How did that man keep finding her?
And why had he fucked her if he knew this was coming? Was his brother in trouble? Had that been his way of giving her the best chance he could? No, not likely. What would he get out of helping her? Was the story about his brother a lie? Had he been playing her this whole time?
Or had fucking her been a way to distract her? He'd clearly been on a date, so that much was true, but what if he'd notified the Church and was trying to delay her long enough for them to get there? Had that been why the SUV had been waiting? Had the people in it arrived and he hadn't known?
More importantly, how could she keep these assholes away from Mei?
Because where there was one, there were always more. If they had a group waiting at the pub when Mei got dropped off, what kind of mess would she walk into blindly? Unless Dahlia could call her girlfriend and warn her, there was a good chance Mei would walk right into a trap. Then again, would they stick around if Dahlia was no longer there? She couldn't be sure, although if the bartender said anything to Thane...
While her mind spun, she ran, pushing herself just hard enough that she wasn't burning vitality to do it. Her lungs ached. Her muscles reveled in the use. Her eyes sought out anyplace she might use for cover, but there was nothing. This was an upper-class neighborhood, with clean stores and a serious lack of poverty to shelter her.
Then she ducked into a narrow gap - and stopped hard. Ahead of her was nothing but buildings and loading docks. Keypads beside the doors made it clear she couldn't just run through them. She turned to backtrack, but it was already too late. The SUV pulled up to block the end, and three doors swung open. They had her.
"I knew that fucker was meeting with her," one of them was saying.
"What fucker?" Dahlia demanded, feeling an irrational need to defend Thane, just in case he was innocent.
The inquisitor chuckled. "You think we don't know about you and Thane?"