Soul Moon

It's Coming

"Well, he's either a very talented young man or one crazy son of a bitch." Rook says as he looks out over the railing of the balcony. Rev stands next to him, her eyes searching the street below for any sign of which direction Erick might have gone.

Behind them, Caden smiles secretly. He was intrigued by the bartender before but now he's extremely fascinated by the man with starry eyes. The question bugging him though is why did Erick leave? It seemed like he was willing to wait but obviously something changed. And changed dramatically if he was willing to scale down six stories to escape.

"He heard us," Rev suggests, almost to herself.

Caden's body tenses, his smile wiped from his face with distressing alarm.

"Impossible."

"Is it?" she asks, turning to face him. "Caden, the man just climbed down six stories to escape without us noticing," she points out. "Something spooked him."

"Impossible," he says again but then hesitates. He thinks back to when Erick heard Rev and Rook through the door, the way the bartender tilted and turned his head to listen more closely. 

"He did hear us, didn't he?" Rev asks, although it sounds more like a statement than a question.

"Earlier, he heard you through the door when you arrived. I didn't think much of it at the time. He was straining to hear you then so there's no way he could have heard anything we said now. I made sure we were far enough away from the door."

Rev looks at him with worry in her dark eyes. "Caden, it's coming."

Reality slams into Caden and knocks the breath from his lungs. His eyes turn away from her feminine face to look out onto the cityscape below. Erick could be anywhere, a ticking bomb ready to explode and wreak havoc on the city.

"How long?" he asks sharply, turning his attention back to Rev.

"Everyone is different."

"How long?" he growls as he grabs her arm roughly.

"Let go of me and I'll tell you," she responds calmly.

Caden releases her and apologizes with a small head bow. Nothing else needs to be said between them. Their bond is too strong to let something like this get between them. They have lived too long to worry about such petty things.

All three move to sit in the living room. Rev and Rook sit on opposite ends of the cream fabric modern style couch while Caden takes his place in a high backed leather chair. The walnut wood frame creaks under the weight of his large body, the deep blue leather wrinkling under the grip of his strong hands.

Erick was right when he said the condo held no personal touches to make it feel like a real home. Everything here had basically come with the condo when Caden bought it. Except for one thing. The chair he is currently sitting in.

At each of his temporary residences around the world, whether it be the one in London, Beijing, or here, there is a chair. All of them are antiques, gifts given to him in gratitude for saving a life. Caden used to refuse gifts. Being a guardian was something he was created to do. It was in his blood. It filled the emptiness that continually ate away at his heart. Yet, no matter how many times he refused, humans and shifters alike begged him to take their offerings.

In the end, he couldn't help but yield to their wishes. However, he insisted the gifts come in the form of something he could use such as a piece of furniture or an article of clothing. Even books and food were acceptable methods of payment. It all depended on what the giver could afford or spare.

Riches have never been something Caden was interested in. His accumulated wealth over the centuries is more than he could ever spend which means he often gives large donations to organizations who need it more than he does. He learned early on that there's more than one way to protect people. By giving them a place to shelter, food to eat, or life saving medicine, he's able to give them the priceless gift of hope. Hope for a happier life. Hope for an easier life.