A Touch Of Lightning (COMPLETED!)

Chapter 71 The Ballroom

Chapter 71 The Ballroom

"I'm sure I can handle what you are." Arianne said, seemingly unconcerned with the animalistic ripple in his voice.

Callin opened his mouth to reply but then a group of teens entered the hall, walking and talking loudly. There were five of them, and each one seemed to be trying to talk louder and more than the next. Callin instantly felt like getting in their faces and telling them to shut their mouths.

"Hey look. It's the hot but dark guy and his follower." One of the girls said.

"Keep moving." Arianne said coldly.

Callin saw how her eyes were glittering. He could see the confidence in her stance, and her tone. And so could the girls. They all nodded once and hurried on by, with the two guys giving Arianne appraising looks. She gave them disgusted looks in return, making Callin grin. Arianne was obviously used to dealing with people of all ages.

She looked back at him, seeing his amusement at how she had handled the group, smiling herself.

"You seem very...unsure around people. Not like a lack of confidence, exactly, but more like you don't know how to act..."

Callin just shrugged. He knew she was curious about him. He knew that she suspected there was much more to his story than he let on, and he wasn't about to tell her any of his secrets. She was simply too curious, and it wouldn't do her any good to get involved in his world in any way.

"Wait." Arianne said, seeing him turn to enter his room. "Can I come in? We could talk. I could even help you...help you with your mission."

"No. It's best if you stay away from me. And you definitely do not want any part of my mission." He knew he sounded short, but he also knew that she was one that would be likely to push.

"Well-" She trailed off as he stepped into his room, raising her eyebrows at him as he closed the door in her face as she was talking.

Callin stood by the door, hearing her sigh of frustration, then hearing her footsteps fade away. He was annoyed at the sensation of relief that washed through him when he realized she wasn't going to persist. Then, even as he stood there dwelling on her and Miya, his nose alerted him that someone had been in his room.

He stalked through his rooms, following his nose. Following the path of whoever had been here. It was a man, likely in his late forties. One wearing light clothes, coconut shampoo or sunblock, and a piece of metal. Small, subtle. Close to the skin. Callin suspected it was a knife.

The scent was full of the unique signature of the man, what he had eaten earlier, his general sense of self. His smooth assurance.

Callin knew this was someone very comfortable with searching another persons room. Someone confident and relaxed, even as they went through an action that could result in extreme conflict. Someone like one of the Special Forces men on the boat.

He stalked out of his room and began to circle the giant boat, his nose up as he quested the air through the hallways. He barely noticed people around him, hardly registering their confused looks as they saw him following his nose like a wolf. He had the scent locked in his mind like a beacon, and the faintest traces of it led him onward.

Eventually, after almost two hours of searching, he found a section of the cruise ship where the man's scent was much stronger. Much more recent. He was so focused on following that scent that he didn't register that he had entered the executive section of the ship. Not until he found himself standing outside the huge, ornate doors that led into a ballroom that was filled with hundreds of people.