Time, Death & Scar Tissue...

17. The After Dinner Guest

“Okay, so what's really behind this?” Kathryn dipped the ring of fried calamari in sauce and saw Corey blanch as she ate it.

“I don't know how you can eat that stuff.” She said with a little shiver.

“It's just squid. Answer the question.” Class had been good for her. The movements had actually eased her ache and the concentration had allowed her mind to turn over the Corey issue without actually thinking about it consciously. She knew that Corey and Lucien were polar opposites, but just about ANYONE that would suit her as a mate would be Corey's opposite. What struck her was that Corey was pretty easy going when it came to men in general. They were there and she liked them, but she didn't get attached very often and she didn't get drawn into drama. It made Kathryn think that this had more to do with her than with Lucien.

“He's just weird, Kat.” She was shredding a piece of bread and Kathryn suppressed the urge to say something. She wanted information, not to lecture about table manners.

“Not good enough, the way you've been burning up the phone lines you must have something more specific to say than that.” Kathryn was halfway through the seafood and Corey still hadn't looked her in the eye.

“I don't know, it's a lot of things. He's so intense, and he looks at you like he knows you.” She was nibbling at the bread.

“He can be very intense,” Kathryn nodded. “But you say the same thing about me.”

“But it's not the same kind of intense. You have this intense bookworm thing going on. He could peel paint just by staring at it for awhile. That is NOT normal.” The waiter brought their meals and Kathryn dove into her slice of three meat lasagna while Corey savored her fettuccine alfredo. For a few minutes, both women ate in silence.

“All of his paintwork seems intact so far. I think it has to do with the color of his eyes though, I don't know if I've ever seen anyone with that same eye color. The rest I think is just a mannerism.” Kathryn took a sip of her wine.

“The color of his eyes and mannerisms don't explain why he acts like he knows you.” Kathryn could see by the way that Corey stabbed at her pasta that there was something else, but she wasn't sure if her friend was going to be able to articulate it yet.

“You're the one who dragged me to that silly past-life regression quack.” Kathryn rolled her eyes a little at the memory. Even though she absolutely believed that some people had lived previously she doubted anyone would find out who they were in a store-front office in the mall. “Maybe our souls have met before, or maybe we just click. Maybe he's intuitive about some things, like I'm supposed to be. It could be a million things, but it's not automatically sinister. Besides, there are times when I feel like he's familiar to me as well. Does that make me dangerous?”

“Dr. Pinsky is not a quack. You're just not hypnotizable.”

“Memories, even memories from this lifetime, recovered under hypnosis are unreliable. Once someone is in a highly suggestible state leading questions can create vivid memories of things that never happened, and those false memories have all the emotional impact of real memories. I don't need to be any more emotional than I am already lately, and I certainly don't need a stranger fiddling with my memories.” Kathryn realized she was feeling pleasantly full. She was very glad that she wasn't feeling as hungry or as worn out as she was the night before, she had been worried she might be getting the flu.

“Well none of that changes the fact that he's cold.” Corey's plate was nearly empty now too.

“How do you mean?” Kathryn had noticed that his skin was always cool. She thought it was unusual but far from unpleasant. She wasn't certain he had ever touched Corey though.

“I mean he looks at you like,” She stopped searching for the right words. “Like you're some kind of threat to him, or like you're just a bug on his windshield.”

“So he's guarded. A lot of people are. You know how long it usually takes me to warm up to someone. None of that justifies calling the police though.” Kathryn was picking at what was left on her plate until the waiter cleared the table.

“And you scared him away.” Corey said with an accusatory tone. “You know he came to my apartment and went into this long confession about how he was married and how he was SO sorry. Like I couldn't tell he was married in the first place.”

“Corey! If you knew why did you,” Kathryn hesitated to call it what it was. “Get together with him?”

“He didn't always look like he'd been dragged through Hell. In fact when I met him he was pretty hot. I figured if he was out looking why not? He did say that if you were looking for a career change you ought to be a detective.” Corey laughed softly and Kathryn couldn't help but smile.

“Well, if the writing thing ever goes south, I'll think about it. I feel a little bad though; I try and only use my powers for good.” Her smile was sweet and angelic and it was impossible to suppress a laugh.

“You're the only person I know who can scare the police.” Corey was laughing now too.

“So does that mean that I can be trusted to take care of myself?” Kathryn raised an eyebrow.

“Kat there's just something about him, something weird. Don't you feel it?” She was serious again and Kathryn could hear the concern in her voice.

“I feel that he's definitely different than anyone else I've met before and there is something about him that makes him just out of step with the world in some ways. There are oddities I’ve noticed and I get the impression that there's something about himself that he hasn't told me, but this sinister, dangerous picture that you have, I'm just not seeing it.” It was entirely true, there was something there but Kathryn just wasn't getting a bad vibe.

“I guess you would be one to pick up on it.” She admitted grudgingly. “I miss you though Kat. You're the only friend I have that I can really TALK to. You're really into this guy and he looks at me like I'm some crack whore who's trying to drag you out of the library and onto the street corner.”

“He doesn't think of you like that. I don't know if you two would ever be friends, but I do know that neither one of you made a good impression that night at my house.” If she were going to be honest with herself, Corey's assessment of Lucien's feelings might be close to right. But this wasn't about honesty; it was about calming Corey down. “And I'm not going anywhere. You and Lucien don't have to be friends. You and I are. Now come on and take me home, I need to get a change of clothes and stuff.”

“Okay, but you have to PROMISE to tell me everything about the big night.” Corey grinned wickedly and Kathryn felt herself blush.

“How about the abridged version of everything?” The two women walked the short distance to the car.

“How about not! How many hot guys have I set you up with and you pick him? I want to know why.”

“I want to know why you picked Jerry Tolliver as your first. At least Lucien smells good.” Kathryn said as Corey pulled away.

Kathryn let herself in around eleven. She had managed to say very little to Corey about 'the big night' while implying quite a bit. Corey's vivid imagination filled in the rest. It didn't really matter whether those imaginings were accurate or not, Corey had her story and Kathryn had her privacy. Though she supposed it wasn't just HER privacy anymore.

The rest was still not entirely resolved in Kathryn's mind, although she thought she made some headway. Corey did tend to get very set in her beliefs though and drunken first impressions mixing with bad second impressions might be hard to overcome. Maybe the three of them should go to dinner some night, just in the interest if establishing peace.

That was something that could be worked out later though. Just because she was focused on something else didn't mean the story had gone away. All night it had tugging at the edges of her mind and now the maelstrom was insisting on release. However, tonight was not a Mahler night. She scanned the music on her laptop and selected His Infernal Majesty.

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LaCroix looked disdainfully at the boxy apartment complex. It was one of those places that had been designed to look old, even when it was new. As the years had gone on, age had taken on the air of depression and hopelessness. He was not surprised that Corrina James would live in such a place. He had watched as she dropped Kathryn off, following above rooftops. He noted what door she went into and then waited for a time, considering his plan. LaCroix knew the safest course would be to eliminate Corrina, but as intuitive as Kathryn was, it was entirely possible that she would sense something and he didn't want to take that chance. He also knew that he could not stand to lose Kathryn because of a meddler. He had experienced that kind of loss already and didn’t wish to repeat it. While he didn’t think that Corrina had the same influence at her disposal he wasn’t about to take the risk.

He moved out of the deep shadow he was standing in and knocked on the door, as benign a look on his face as he could muster. After a moment the door opened a crack. He noticed that it was held by a rather flimsy-looking chain and that Corrina was wearing an equally flimsy-looking robe.

“Good evening, Miss James.” She smelled as if she had been drinking, or the apartment held that scent.

“Hi.” She looked at him uncertainly. “What are you doing here? Kat's back at your place.” She was shifting from foot to foot nervously. Perhaps she had more sense than he had credited her with.

“I am aware of that. I came to speak with you.”

“About what?” She looked at him incredulously, but didn't make a move to open the door. He glanced behind himself at the deserted courtyard and considered the viability of forcing the door.

“About Kathryn of course. However I don't believe your neighbors have any interest in our conversation.” His voice was calm, reasonable, entirely non-threatening. She hesitated a moment more before shutting the door and unhooking the chain. She stood aside as he entered. The room was cluttered with dishes, take-out food boxes and clothing. He wrinkled his nose slightly and wondered why anyone would choose to live in such conditions. The framed print of 'Flaming June' caught his eye.

“A gift from Kathryn?” He reluctantly took his eyes from the print's serenity and turned them back to the chaos of the rest of the room.

“Yeah, a housewarming thing. How did you know?” She cleared space on the sofa for him.

“We discussed the artist briefly.”

“So if Kat's back at your place, what are you doing here?” She sat down and crossed her legs, allowing the robe to ride up and expose a rose tattoo on her upper thigh. He had seen professional whores who weren't so obvious.

“Kathryn is very dear to me. Perhaps you don't realize how your comments upset her.” He was still standing over her.

“You mean my comments about you.” She was smiling and for the moment he let her think she was in control of the situation.

“Precisely.”

“Look if it weren't for me Kat would be a hermit. She would never have any fun and she would fall for the first guy that made her cum. I guess that would be you so I can see why you'd be offended, but you're really not what she needs. Besides, so far I've only been telling her the truth. How do you think she would react if I told her you were here?” Corrina got up and started pacing in front of him. She was six inches taller than Kathryn and moved with an overt sensuality that might have interested him for a few minutes, if he had been desperate. “I mean, let's be honest. All that purity must have made you curious, but do you really want to spend months or years cutting through all that sweetness and light and only managing to teach her to be a mediocre fuck?” She stopped in front of him and let the robe slip from her shoulder. Her breast was still covered, but the suggestion was obvious as she teased her nipple through the cheap pink nylon. LaCroix managed to keep the look of disgust off of his face. “Kat's smart and cute in her own way, but guys want more than that and she knows that's why they come to me. I might even have to tell her that you came over here and came on to me. Not that I would want to fuck you, but maybe you were so insistent I had a choice between giving in or being raped. I don't think that would sit well with sweet, innocent KATHRYN, do you? Why I don’t think she would even take your calls-” He grabbed both her arms, his rage barely concealed, the terror was obvious on Corrina's face and in the surprised little scream that escaped her lips.

“You have no idea how lucky you are that she cares for you as much as she does.” He growled. The connection was ridiculously easy to make and the suggestions that he planted were simple and to the point. Corrina would stop calling Kathryn's family. She would never even HINT at the vicious lie she just suggested. She would stop the negative comments. She would stop badgering Kathryn to end the relationship and if she did all of these things she would be allowed to retain Kathryn’s friendship. The price for slipping even once would be her life, though he found he wasn’t interested in taking her blood himself. Even though whores had been fodder for his kind for centuries, the most debased street creature was more tempting to him now. That hardly mattered. There were others who would act on his order. He left her with no memory of his visit and he found himself wishing that he could forget as easily.