Incompatible Means (Completed)

Chapter 26

Later I awoke naked under a sheet in a sterile white room I didn't recognize, my vision was hazy with pain medication and my head felt itchy. Tex sat in a chair a few feet away from me playing a game on his cell phone.

"Hey," I managed to croak out, I had a serious case of cotton mouth.

"Hey there darlin', is it true that your last words to Roderick were from Fight Club?" he asked while putting his cellphone up.

"You've read the book?" I asked surprised.

"Nah but I got the collector's edition DVD. Roderick didn't know what your words were from, he thought it was from a poem or some sonnet," he laughed. "I was the one to figure it out," he said puffing his chest out.

"Ah well, I'm glad he had you helping then, though paraphrase is probably more accurate" I smiled at him.

"So how are you feeling?"

"Tired and a little high," I said. His warm laugh made me smile, "It must be day time if you are here, how is everyone?"

"It is day time but I've been here at night too, I'm visiting not guarding you anymore," he gave me a wink. "And by everyone do you mean Roderick or Silas?" he waggled his eyebrows at me. I rolled my eyes because I didn't have the energy to throw anything at him.

"You sound jealous?" I teased.

He gulped loudly and looked away. "Well you're pretty and all but to tell you the god's honest truth," he paused steeling himself to look me in the eyes, "you scare the shit out of me. I'm not dominant enough to follow through with any of that flirting. Even if I weren't sure you'd serve me my balls for lunch if I ever wronged you I'm pretty sure there are a couple of other guys around here that would."

Throughout his speech I went through a slew of different emotions, flattered, hurt, insulted, understanding, confusion, and a little sadness. Not able to settle on any one emotions I just laughed, I laughed until I cried and after a few moments of indecision Tex joined in on my laughing.

"Well okay then," I said and shortly drifted off to sleep. Nightmares plagued my dreams, of Rakel trying to kill me, of me killing Roderick, of Declan's face before I killed him and he exploded. My chest hurt with sorrow and guilt as I came to in the same room, now dark, apart from, the soft glow of the bathroom light in the adjoining room. I was still on pain medication, not really sure why I didn't recall my injuries being that severe, so I didn't scream when I looked at Declan sitting in the chair Tex had previously occupied.

"If this is another dream I don't want to watch myself kill you again," I told him. "You think we can mix it up this time and you kill me instead." He smiled at me, there was a touch of sadness in his eyes.

"You did not kill me Aisling," his rich baritone was the same as I remembered it.

"Is this the part that you tell me that you asked for me to do what I did so it wasn't murder, because I don't think that logic is going to work."

"No this is the part where I tell you to stop playing the fool and realize I am not dead," he accentuated this statement by holding my cold hand in his warm one. I didn't really know what to say to that so I got bossy.

"Explain."

"I have already told you that my people are not of this world," he said.

"So this is about the special magic thing you wouldn't tell me about before."

"Yes. I am what my people call a Projector. The simplest way to explain it is that we create a golem, do you know what that is?" I shook my head no. "I golem is an animated object created with magic from inanimate matter such as stone or clay. So we create these then I am able to push my spirit form through the division of our worlds and inhabit the golem. When I do the golem takes on the appearance I want including everything biological that I wish it to. I can make it to where I bleed, eat, make love, or I could keep it only a surface thing and someone could carve away at regenerating clay. I spend a lot of time on this plane so I like to keep it as real as possible most of the time, three nights ago I simply took the power and let you destroy my golem knowing that I would just animate another one, once I recovered."