TALIA : ANGEL QUEEN (STORY ONE)

INTO THE STORM

K-jack slept the entire way home. With growing concern, Talia pulled him from the doggie carrier immediately upon walking through the door.

"What was in that air, buddy?"

She held him close, massaging the space between his ears until he opened his eyes.

"Thank goodness you're okay."

He jumped from her grasp, yelped, then ran into a guest bedroom. She followed, growing alarmed by the sounds coming from around the corner. The aroma of clary sage and rose greeting her at the beginning of the hall paled in comparison to the ethereal rhythm pulling her towards its soothing tones. K-jack disappeared through the threshold, his yelping falling silent.

"K-jack?"

She projected her voice of concern towards the room. Pausing to grab a bat from the hall closet, she raised it like she was ready for a pitch, then slowly tiptoed closer towards the door.

"K-jack, come here, baby."

The music even made her panicked beckoning sound relaxed. Nervous, she gulped, gripping the handle tighter. Just before she leaned forward to peek into the illuminated room, her doorbell chimed. Frozen with a conundrum, she had to swiftly decide if she should follow the music or acknowledge the doorbell. It chimed again.

"Ughh."

She groaned, unsure of which answer she needed most. The doorbell chimed yet again. She broke her batter's stance, then backed away from the threshold still concerned K-jack was yet to make a sound. With the bat over her shoulder, she snatched open the front door, glaring at the uninvited guest poised on her doorstep with his arms behind his back.

"Hi, Talia."

"Who are you?"

"I'm your new neighbor, Keyon."

"How do you know my name?"

"I make it my business to know anyone I'm connected to."

She frowned, tilting her head to one side.

"Here, I believe I have something that belongs to you."

His arms swung around his muscular frame. In one hand, he held K-jack. She lunged forward, snatching the trembling pooch from the strange man.

"He's a spry little fellow. You may want to be sure he's well protected from getting away from you in the future."

What she couldn't figure out was how he got away from her in the first place.

"Yeah sure, thanks," she managed to exclaim above a loud clanging of her internal alarms. She wanted to back away, but couldn't stop staring in his eyes. They were a beautiful, although peculiar shade of green. They made her uncomfortable, and yet, she had to will herself to look away.

"I, I have guests, so."

"No problem." He crooned with a smile that gave her a hot flash. "I'm sure we'll have plenty of opportunities to become more acquainted. Until then."

He briskly clasped her free hand, pulling it to his lips. The kiss was electrifying, even K-jack's fur stood up. The dog emitted a growl, while Talia giggled like a flustered hyena. As she closed the door, she couldn't decide how to categorize the interaction with the mysterious stranger when she was still at a loss for as to how he ended up with K-jack in his possession. She grinned from ear to ear while her furry roommate gave her a smug side eye after he jumped from her arms.

"You didn't like the strange fellow?"

She teased her companion as he tossed his snout into the air and trotted away.