Torn Asunder

Chapter 15 Dante

A/N: Pic to the side is Salvatore played by... Tory Bellici :P Yes I picked a mythbuster :P

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We were in a restaurant full of the Mercy, and I knew now that they were not the good guys. Isn't it just so wonderful when a great plan falls apart because the good guys figured out it was easier to be bad guys? I knew I hadn't liked this idea one bit but no one listened to me. I hadn't had any proof and I really had no grounds to make an arguement on but still, I was right and if we survived this, I was gonig to enjoy saying I told you so repeatedtly to the arrogant jerk that is Caleb. I knew part of my hatred for this man was fueled by the fact that the body I wore still really wanted him and that thought just made me angry and disgusted all at once.

But now was so not the time to be fighting with this body over whether or not he has a nice ass! I felt Caleb's hulking presence right behind me, Andros off to the side and the rest out of view. The table we had just been leaving stood and I knew that half of us were watching them and the other half watching the rest of the restaurant.

"Leaving so soon?' Salvatore asked, voice holding the mocking edge of laughter.

"Not entirely sure crazy isn't contagious and I don't think my health insurance covers it. I'm sure you understand." I replied with a bite to my words. My jaw ached as it kept expecting fangs to descend with my anger but my Valentine's body had no fangs, she wasn't Turned yet.

Salvatore smiled at me, a mad twinkle in his eyes that said louder than words (but was still more subtle than a neon sign) proclaiming that he was one tea cup away from being as mad as a hatter. "I like your lover's spunk Caleb. She's going to make a fascinating addition." he smiled at Caleb and I turned a suspicious glare at him.

Part of me actually wanted Caleb to be one of the bad guys. I knew my twin, my Valentine would inevitably develop emotional attatchments to this bastard in her bed. It was in her sweet, generous nature to love the person she is being intimate with. If Caleb was in league with the bad guys though, I had the perfect way to seperate them and never become the bad guy myself. It would be perfect! It even made sense, that this dirtbag was using my Valentine for his own ends. And it made even more sense for him to set ME up, he knew now that I wasn't going to let him touch my girl anymore and he knew that the Mercy were probably the best way to get me out of her body...

"What the fuck is he talking about?" I demanded, spinning to face Caleb. I expected to see triumph, mockery, the glint in his eyes saying that yes he is the bad guy. Instead I dropped the rest of my angry tirade as I caught sight of the plain, uncompromising confusion in Caleb's eyes. He had no clue what was going on either.

A wave of murderous rage welled into my gut, a mere whisper of what my Valentine was feeling elsewhere. I could feel a shudder wrack my body while I tried to hide it from Salvatore's view. The golden glow of the room intensified as the Hunger spiked, making me nearly growl with the demanding pain in my stomach. This was so much worst than what I had endured in my own flesh and I once again was amazed at how strong my Valentine was. To resist this each and everytime she Hungered, to hold this back everytime she suffered the spill over from my own body, it showed that she had a resilience inside that even I had doubted. Pushing my shame, guilt, lust and frustration into the back of my mind, I focused on what useful things my senses were telling me.

I knew how many humans there were in the room, the sounds of their heartbeats as unique as the swirls on their thumb. I even knew that Ixchel was about two months pregnant even though she hadn't said anything yet. Maybe she already had and I just wasn't invited to the baby shower, it didn't really matter. My nose twitched as I caught the stench of garlic, the sour scent of human flesh, human fat and human sweat all dressed up and coated with perfumes. I felt my gorge rise, an uncomfortable feeling after not eating solid food in so long as I could taste the tainted, sick wrongness hovering around Salvatore. Concentrating on just looking at the bastard, I tried to see what it was about him that made my instincts scream.