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All That I Am	By : kitten7315 Category: Anita Blake > Het Views: 5396 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the Anita Blake series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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Summary: -- Preparations.

ALL THAT I AM

Chapter 17

I watched as Jean-Claude valiantly tried to swallow his fury. Asher once told me that I made Jean-Claude more ruthless, because it was my nature, just like Damien made me calmer through the marks we share. I knew that my touch would just add fuel to the fire. I tried close the marks between us, hoping I wasn’t inadvertently making things worse.

Asher came through the door from the bedroom wearing gold silk boxers under an open matching silk robe. My body flushed at the sight of his perfect, near-naked body. Jean-Claude paused in his furious pacing, turning to watch Asher make his entrance with a look that could have made my thoughts seem pure.

“What has happened, mon ami? I felt your fury when I awakened,” Asher asked Jean-Claude with a concern look.

“This!” Jean-Claude said, resuming his tirade of anger. He handed Asher the photos and letter from Alexander.

“They did this to your leopard?” Asher asked me not looking up from the photos. “Merde! Alexandre est tres audacieux,” Asher commented angrily while reading the letter. “Je comprends pourquoi vous etes Jean-Claude furieux.”

“Oui! Je ne permettrai pas à cet Alexandre d'hériter mon territoire et de menacer ce que je juge plus cher,” Jean-Claude answered Asher in a tirade of French.

I caught only that he wouldn’t let Alexander come here and threaten what he holds dear. I guess what he ‘holds dear’ is me, judging from his earlier comments. Despite the shit we were in, I felt warmth spread through me at his words. Because of my lifestyle, I never thought that I would be what someone “held dear”.

“Can we stick to English, please?” I asked, interrupting them before they could continue their conversation in French.

“I can translate for you, Anita,” Bernardo said leaning with his back in a corner observing the drama taking place.

I looked at Bernardo with slight confusion, I had forgotten momentarily that Bernardo was in the room. This was the wrong time for me to be forgetting who was in the same room with me.

“I didn’t know you spoke French,” I told him. This would come in handy.

”I speak French, Italian, and Spanish fluently. German, Chinese, and Russian conversationally.” Bernardo said to me casually.

“You never cease to surprise me, Bernardo,” I told him smiling. I turned back to Jean-Claude and Asher. They had gone unnaturally still. Their unblinking gaze directed towards Bernardo.

Bernardo just grinned unconcerned at their preternatural stillness. “They allow me to communicate with women, no matter where they come from,” Bernardo stated roguishly. “It was also useful in my line of work,” he said as an after-thought.

Jean-Claude and Asher snapped out of their stillness at Bernardo’s lighthearted comments and smiled at him knowingly. I rolled my eyes at the lot of them. Men seem to have a special connection with each other in regards to women, no matter how old they were.

“Mes mercis, mon guerrier. You have lightened my mood, and I am grateful,” Jean-Claude said, giving Bernardo a graceful bow.

Bernardo just answered with a shrug of his shoulders, “Just trying to help.”

Jason took that moment to walk in and leave Death in our midst.

Edward sauntered over to the sofa with his bag of toys, picking up the photos as he sat down. “I guess you know about Elizabeth,” he said casually while flipping through the photographs. “My contacts tell me that this Caitlin is in town. I have a tentative location on where she is hiding. She supposedly has 9 other shifters with her: three male wereleopards, two werewolves - one male, one female, two male wererats, and two male werebears. I took care of the assassin that was in town. That should buy us at least 24 hours before another takes his place. We need to check this place out before they find out we know and go on the move.”

“Let me call Richard and Rafael to let them know,” I told him, reaching for my cell phone.

My conversations with Rafael and Richard were brief. I relayed what Edward had just informed us of, and they each told me that they were sending over two people to act as back up.

I informed everyone on the four that were being sent to serve as back up. Edward gave me a brief irritated glance at the mention of other shifters acting as back up. I have learned the hard way that an extra few guns are helpful, especially the ones that Rafael sends. I just hoped we all would come out of this in one piece, because we had a more treacherous adversary coming our way.

I grabbed my bag of weapons and began removing everything and sorting them in piles. Edward and Bernardo joined me with their own arsenal. We checked all the guns and loaded them with silver shot. I paused briefly in my actions when I felt Micah enter the circus.

“Oh, I forgot to mention that Micah and the rest of the leopards are coming to stay with us until this is over,” I told Jean-Claude, glancing up briefly.

“You know that any of your leopards are welcome here,” Jean-Claude replied, pausing briefly, tilting his head slightly. “I feel the presence of your Nimir-Raj strongly, ma petite. It is almost like when I feel the presence of my wolves.”

“Our connection is stronger and I think, because of that, you are able to feel my connection with my pard,” I said, trying to rationalize this new development.

Micah came into the room and stopped short when he saw Edward, Bernardo, and I surrounded with various weapons. “What’s going on?”

I told him a quick version of what new had happened in the past few hours.

“I want to go with you. I refuse to hide anymore. I feel partly responsible for this,” Micah said with resolve.

I looked up at Micah’s face and knew that he was just as determined as I was in getting Caitlin out of our lives. I just nodded my agreement. “As soon as the others get here we will leave.”

“Before you go, I believe it would be wise to call your fantôme to help us search the city again, making sure Alexander does not lay in wait for you on this night,” Jean-Claude said to me.

Jean-Claude was right, I couldn’t have this vamp surprising me. I got up, reaching out to touch Jean-Claude. Our power began to build before we touched, seeking one another out. As soon as we touched, our powers joined and flared out. Our connection was much stronger than it was last night. It was as if we became one being, seeing everything the other saw. I called to Aita much like when I call to the munin, not exactly sure if this would bring her here. Edward, Bernardo, and Micah, who had not been present when Aita first appeared, gasped at her sudden appearance. I don’t get to surprise Death every day. Things were looking up.

Aita smiled gently at the sight of Jean-Claude and I standing together with our powers as one. “How can I assist you, Anita?”

I quickly explained about finding the possible hideout of Caitlin and not wanting to run into Alexander unexpectedly. Aita nodded in agreement.

“Let me join with you,” she said while approaching us. Aita walked through us adding her spiritual essence to our power.

When her essence joined with ours, our power slowly began to form a circle around us. It then spread outwards like it did last night, but this time it was different. It was almost as if we left our bodies, then watching a movie in fast forward. We were hurtling through the circus and towards the city, feeling and seeing every vamp under Jean-Claude’s control, my leopards, and the wolves. Our power grew stronger with every contact and we encircled the city and the surrounding areas.

Suddenly we were back at the circus in Jean-Claude’s rooms and in our bodies again.

Aita stepped away from us, her eyes matched Jean-Claude’s, a glowing midnight blue. Without looking into the mirror I knew my eyes also mirrored theirs. Her incorporeal body almost had a life-like substance to it.

“You have become very powerful now that you have embraced your power. Thank you for allowing me to experience it with you, domina. I got to briefly feel alive again,” Aita said bowing her head at me. “I did not feel the undead one you know as Alexander, Jean-Claude? Did you feel any that are not tied to you?”

“Oui, I felt and saw two master vampires that have entered my territory without my permission. I felt them when we were in the warehouse district,” Jean-Claude replied, sending me a mental picture of the two.

Contrary to popular belief, I did not know all of the vampires under Jean-Claude’s and Malcolm’s control like he did. Now with a mental picture, I would be able to be on the look out for them.

“Isn’t that where we are headed? I doubt that any of this is a coincidence. I think these vamps are with Alexander,” I said to the room.

“The address I have is in the warehouse district and, from what we already know about Alexander, you are probably right. This is just his advance team,” Edward interjected.

Aita was staring intently at Edward with a sorrowful look. She floated over to him and reached out her hand towards his face.

Edward went almost as still as an old vampire can, his eyes went artic cold, “What is she doing, Anita?” he asked me coldly.

“Aita?” I asked with a questioning gaze. Aita seemed to be in a daze and skimmed her hand near Edward’s cheek.

“He looks exactly like my love, who was also such a fierce warrior.” Aita snapped out of her daze and dropped her hand. “I apologize to you. I was overcome by strong feelings of seeing a replica of my lover in the flesh. I meant no harm,” she explained to Edward.

Edward’s body relaxed at Aita’s explanation and his eyes thawed. He gave her a brief nod and turned away.

Aita turned back to us, “If you have need of anything else this night, all you have to do is call for me. I will stay in this realm until after the outcome of this Alexander situation. Do you have a particular place I can,… how do you say? Ah yes, haunt,” she asked smiling.

I just turned to Jean-Claude and let him answer her. I know he doesn’t mind when I invite the pard over, but to invite a ghost….

“It would be a good idea to have her close, ma petite,” Jean-Claude said to me. Turning to Aita, “I would be honored if you stayed here at the circus.”

Aita’s eyes widened with joy, “A circus! Oh, I love the circus!” she said excitedly, vanishing before I could explain what kind of circus Jean-Claude has.

Oh well, at least someone was going to have a good evening. I had to check out this warehouse, possibly occupied with Alexander’s minions, and then greet the Traveler tonight. I wonder if there is a place where you can go to exchange you life for another for a night? Knowing my luck, I would lose my receipt before I could do the exchange.

Bobby Lee and Claudia came into the room, well armed as usual, with Jamil and Sylvie behind them. Well, looks like the gang’s all here.

“Ma’am,” Bobby Lee said, nodding in my direction, “I brought a suburban so we could all fit. Ready?”

I picked up some extra clips of ammo stuffing them in my pockets, grabbed my sawed off shotgun and my newest toy from Edward.

“Be safe, ma petite. Asher and I will join you as soon as the sun sets,” he said, then placed a gentle kiss on my forehead.

We left the circus and headed out to the location. And so now the game begins. All that is left is to make some good maneuvers and be able to call check mate first.

TBC
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All That I Am