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She eventually unwraps herself from around me and I get off the bike. I set my helmet down and glance at her. ”I'll take you back after this. I just couldn't go back yet,” I say, and shrug.

I pocket the keys from the bike and walk over to the edge of the road. I take in the sight before I hop the guard rail and walk through the path that shouldn't be there and start climbing over rocks until I get to the edge of the cliff. Trees blanket the ground far below, stretching out for as far as I can see. I was amazed when I first found this place. I didn't think I would get such picturesque sights with no longer being in the west coast of the states, but I was glad I found this.

I shut my eyes and take a deep breath in before I tell as loudly as I can into the emptiness around me. I came here to yell a lot.

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Nero untangles themselves from me and shimmies out of their clothes before getting into the bath water. I'm half tempted to run my fingertips along their skin as they move, but I keep my hands to myself. Instead, I look at the marks on their back, having a newfound hatred for them.

Nero disappears under the water and I feel myself relax as I watch the steam curl around them. I smile at Nero when they ask if I want to join. I shake my head and bend down beside the tub.

”No my little imp, this time is for you. I will be in the bedroom reading if you need me, okay?”

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I genuinely blush when Nic throws in my actual nickname. I have a feeling that statement was more genuine than ruse because of that fact alone.

I look away, letting the men carry the conversation for the time being as I collect myself. It almost fails when Mr Scott calls me Nic's girlfriend. I mean, I am, but it's the first time I've heard someone else say it.

I regain my composure when Mr Scott states he doesn't have the gem on him. Of course he doesn't. I twitch in annoyance but I plaster a smile on my face and rest a hand on Nic's arm.

”Oh, yes please! As soon as possible,” I say.

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My eyebrows shoot up in surprise when he yells. Of all the things I expected to happen when I first looked around, screaming into the void was not one of them. I step back so Avery can’t see my expression as he releases the tension he’s obviously feeling. If he would just talk to people about his thoughts, maybe he wouldn’t have to come out all this way to scream. I mentally shake my head at myself - as he has made abundantly clear, I don’t know him.

I look around at the little area we’re in and find a large rock. Mimicking a shot putter, I throw it as hard I can over the cliff. I’m not one to scream or yell; I’d rather throw or break something or both.

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I tilt my head, peering up at Caden. I’m sure seeing my memory was not something he had planned for, but I still feel some relief in knowing he was able to witness and share a little of the pain with me. “I hope you enjoy your time too.” I tell him with a tired smile.

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He nods happily and leads us back to the front, stopping at his counter to scribble down information. “You let me know when a good time is, but I’d love for us to meet sooner than later.”

“Thank you so much, sir, we look forward to seeing you again.” I say with a tiny bob of my head towards him.

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I sigh, feeling better after my little yelling contest into the void. Nearby I hear something crash and clatter. I look behind me to see Kimiko throwing things as far as she can. I imagine she's envisioning throwing me over the edge.

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I smile and lean forward to kiss Nero softly. ”I'll come check on you in a little bit,” I said before standing and retiring to the bedroom.

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We say our goodbyes and head back to the car. I cursed in French once we were far enough away and I looked back at the building. ”I should have known he wouldn't have it on him. Still, I wish he did so we could have solved this today.”

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I’m mid-run to launch another rock when Avery stops and looks at me. I falter and let the rock fall next to me. “Oh, are we done?” I ask simply. I’m dying to know how often he does this and how he found this place, but I also don’t want to deal with the attitude that comes with asking him questions. So I leave the question hanging.

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My eyes follow him as he leaves before I move to a spot where I can lean back and relax, letting my eyes close. I once again imagine Caden’s violin playing, humming to myself as I imagine it.

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I pat Cass shoulder. “It’s a shame we don’t know someone who has access to the medical network in Chicago. They could definitely find his home address for us.” I raise an eyebrow at Cass. “Shall we?”

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I watched the rock she was about to throw clatter to the ground next to her. I walk over, reach down to pick it up, and toss it into the air. I then turned and yeeted it over the edge.

”I usually stay here for a while but I've never brought a guest here let alone one against their will. I'm not sure what the protocol is,” I state simply and look back at Kimiko.

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I whip my head around and stare at Nic. ”What!?” I look back at the building, worried I was too loud, and move in closer to Nic. ”Isn't that against some oath you wouldn't have said back in school?”

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I snort and despite the noise, I start laughing instead of feeling embarrassed. “Protocol?” I shake my head, looking up to the sky for a moment as if it will hold the answers for this enigma of a man. “You kidnap me, scream into the void with no explanation, and then talk about protocol.” I let my laughter die off a little before I take a deep breath to calm down.

“Avery, do you ever do yoga?” I ask, completely changing the subject, but my lips still curl in a sort of smirk and smile.

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I chuckle and pull her into my arms for a hug - just in case Mr Scott happens to look outside and see us, but also because Cass is adorable. In a low voice, I start talking. “If you mean the Hippocratic oath, that’s ‘do no harm’. Well, actually, the oath I specifically took was ‘May I never see in my patient anything but a fellow human in pain. My goal will be to help, or at least do no harm.’” Chuckling, I force myself not to go down a tangent.

“As this man is not my patient and my goal is to help the Hindu temple restore a part of their spiritual culture, I’d say I’m well within the scope of the oath.”

I move to kiss the top of her head. “Now, you’re probably thinking of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 or as most people call it, HIPAA. It’s a federal law that required the creation of national standards to protect sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patient's consent or knowledge.”

“Either way, this guy’s a scumbag who’s taken his wife to the emergency room six times this year for falling down the stairs. Their house doesn’t even have stairs. I feel no remorse for doing what needs to be done here, but if you don’t want to cross that line, I understand.” I pull back to look down at her and caress her face. “How would you like to proceed?”

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I stand there while they laugh at me and the situation we are in. I feel like it’s deserving as well as therapeutic for Kimiko. I rock my heels back and forth and look out over the edge until she’s done and asks me another question.

”I have, although I use it more for stretching than mindfulness. This works better,” I say, gesturing to the space around us.

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I hug Nic back, both amused and impressed, as he talks about the different oaths taken. I suppose I was talking about the second oath he mentions, which is a law more than an oath. His last statement shocks me, though.

”Nicholas Wu, did you look this man up in the hospital system?” I searched his eyes, wondering where this rebel side of him had been hiding.

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I go out to the bedroom and stand there for a moment before I start to tidy up. I replay Nero’s memory in my head over and over again, committing Mundus’ face and voice to memory. I knew Hell was full of people like Mundus, and Nero likely did some of the same things he did just to regain some control in their lives, but Nero was mine now, which meant anyone who had harmed them had harmed me.

I walked over to the bookshelf in my room and scanned the row of books before I pulled one down. Any of the books I needed for more research-based purposes were in my office, but I wasn’t going to leave Nero. I brought my book over to the couch and sat down to try and drown out the murderous thoughts in my head.

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I nod, looking around, and stick my hands in my jacket pockets and I pad my foot around to find an even surface. I start doing my stretches and turning them into yoga poses. “And how often do you need to come out here?” I ask.

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I grin. “I would never.” I say innocently. “But Jane would.”

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After some time, the water’s cooled down and I decide I’ve turned my fingers into prunes enough and drain the bath, stepping out to wrap myself in a towel. I wait until I’m not dripping water everywhere before I step into Caden’s bedroom. ”Mein drache?” I call out. Even though I’m still exhausted, the bath helped a lot.

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I cock my head to the side, watching Kimiko hunt around. I look away when she starts stretching so I’m not staring. ”Remember when I said I try to go to the restaurant once a week? Once a week unless Caden needs me for something.” I kick the ground at my feet and glance at Kimiko.

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I narrow my eyes playfully at Nic and shake my head. ”You two are horrible,” I declare and get into the SUV.

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I lost time while I was reading, and I didn’t hear Nero until they walked back into the bedroom. I look up, set the book aside, and stand. ”How was your bath, my little imp?”

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I roll my eyes. “I didn’t know there was a correlation.” I say, flipping him off from downward dog before I straighten. There’s not many poses I can do in leather pants. “This place is gorgeous though - you should try yoga next time you’re out here.”

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I laugh, but honestly, it’s not the first time Jane and I have pulled a stunt like this. I shut Cass’ door for her before getting in on my side. “Alright, decision time though; do we want to go check his house for it or try to find a Chinese fountain.” I pause, peeking over at Cass.

“Wait, could you perform like illusionary magic to make a fake fountain?”

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I smile, hurrying over to where he stands and wrapping my arms around him. “It was very nice. Thank you.” I tell him.

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I glance away from Kimiko, feeling my eyes continue to be drawn to her. I stare out at the trees again, feeling the need to scream again. ”I’m sorry about earlier… I took my past frustrations out on you, and that wasn’t fair of me,” I say, but I can’t look back at Kimiko.

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”Oh easily,” I said but wave that idea away. ”I’d rather go now. I want to solve this.” I said. I had no patience when it came to completing something supernatural-related.

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I smile and kiss Nero gently while I hold them. ”You are most welcome. What would you like to do now? We could watch a movie or go for a walk,” I offer.

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I sit on the ground leaning back on my hands. “Do you… want to talk about it?” I almost want to ask this in a teasing tone, to try and get a rise out of him, but I remind myself that he’s actually being sincere for once.

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I smile, once again happy that I predicted her response. I punch in the address and head on the way. His house isn’t far from his office, so it wouldn’t be too long for us to get there. “Glad we’re in agreement.” I tease lightly, placing my hand on her thigh like usual.

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I tilt my head as I think. “What would you like to do?” I ask, indecisive at the moment.

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I laugh at the simple way Kimiko asks me that question. ”No, but I have a feeling this is going to keep you up at night unless I tell you. Well, maybe I won’t just so you stay up at night thinking about me,” I teased and found a place to sit on the ground as well. Leather really doesn’t move easily, so I am certain it is quite the show as I try to kneel, and they stretch out.

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”Please tell me you were corrupted before I met you,” I say, intertwining our fingers like before.

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”A walk might be nice. You haven’t seen the full grounds yet,” I declared.

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My legs are just stretched out in front of me as I shake my head with a roll of my eyes. “I swear you actually want me to fuck you or something.” I turn my head to watch his struggle at just sitting down.

“You don’t have to tell me anything - I don’t want to make you scream into the void even more.”

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“I mean, not to this extent, but Jane and I would slip some info to Kat every so often if there was a particularly nasty person who came through our hospital.” I drum my fingers on the steering wheel.

“I think we did it mainly because we felt like the system was doing nothing.”

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I beam up at him.“Let’s do that then.” I say before I release him to go change back into my clothes from before the bath. I’m quick about it since I don’t want to keep Caden waiting.

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”Flirting is just my default,” I tell her truthfully. I rock my feet from side to side, hitting the toes of my shoes together. ”I’ll probably end up screaming into the void with or without your help. I’ve been a shitty person to you, and you don’t deserve it. I just have a problem with being asked a lot of questions. People always end up wanting something from me when they find out who I am or who I know. I find when I’m being asked a lot of questions, it’s not me they actually want to know. It’s what I can give or do for them that they want.”

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”Vigilantly work,” I note and nod my head. ”That’s good. Sometimes, I feel like the treaty has failed the supernatural community, but I also know what it’s like outside of Chicago.”

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I smile, watching them run off. I rub the back of my head and glance around my room before I head for the door to wait for Nero. Suddenly I feel nervous about showing Nero more of my place, and I’m not entirely sure why.

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“Well, you’ve told me some of your shit and I still haven’t found a use for you.” I say teasingly before I just lay back flat, putting my hands behind my head and stare up at the sky with a sigh.

“I don’t know if this is anything like your situation, but I’d get a lot of that kind of behavior back when my dad was more active in the Men of Letters. I couldn’t tell if someone genuinely liked me or just wanted to get closer to my da for status.” It’s better now that people don’t really connect me to my da anymore.

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I squeeze Cass’ hand. “Looks like broken systems are in place for both worlds.” I observe with a tone of sadness.

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I prance back into our bedroom and meet Caden at the door. I leave my shoes off, wanting to feel the dirt under my feet for this walk. “Ready?” I ask, beaming up at Caden.

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I laugh and nod my head from side to side. I definitely deserved that comment. ”So I don’t need to train you anymore?”

I listen to her story about her experience with people only wanting to get close to her father. We really were similar. ”Ya. It’s been like that for me with the Marrok and then with Caden.”

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I smile and squeeze Nic’s hand in return. ”Thank goodness for people like you, Jane, and Kat then.”

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I grin and take Nero’s hand. ”Let’s go,” I said. I lead them down the hallway to the upstairs patio and outside. ”When I first bought this place, I wanted to get horses. The property is big enough for it, but when Bran asked me to keep an eye on the Chicago werewolf pack, I couldn’t. However, that did allow me to plant a bigger garden for the kitchen and do some other things,” I said, leading them across the backyard.

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I laugh at his light threat, choosing not to comment on it. “So, I think we’re safe from being used by each other.” I say, tapping my feet rhythmically. “If I’m asking you questions, it’s because I genuinely want to know more about you. If it was trying to get some info to hold over you, I’d be finding that without questioning you.” Who knows if Avery will remember that next time he gets grumpy though.

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”And you and Caden.” I add before pulling up to Mr Scott’s residence. “Now, medical records didn’t tell me if his wife or anyone else would be home right now. Are you able to find that out?” I glance through the SUV’s window, peeking at the house.

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I wrap my free around Caden’s arm that holds my hand, looking up at him while he talks. “Shame about the horses, but a big garden does seem more useful for beings that need to eat.” I joke.

“Do your other estates have horses?” I ask.

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I nod in agreement. Hearing that she went through another similar experience that I had, it definitely seems like she wouldn’t be one to perpetuate the cycle. I lean back on my hands and look up at the sky.

”It’s just that you ask a lot of questions,” I inform her.

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I glance at the house when we stop in front of it. ”Ya, by you ringing the doorbell,” I say. I look at Nic and grin before I open the door and hop out of the car. ”If she opens the door, I have a powder I can blow in her face that’ll put her to sleep. You just have to catch her so she doesn’t hurt her head,” I tell him.

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”I do with the one in Scotland and one other. My other properties are not as extensive,” I told Nero as we walked along the path into the woods. I lean Nero into the trees and along the tree line. In the distance the sound of water can be heard as we near the little creek that runs through my property.

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“Yeah, ‘cause you’re interesting.” I say almost immediately without thinking.
“But I’ll make a deal with you - I’ll only ask one question a day from now on and you stop trying to murder me.”

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At first, I think she’s kidding, but once she explains her plan, Nic nods. “Alright, sounds good enough for me.” I slip out of the car and walk with Cass up to the front door before I press the doorbell, glad that they don’t have one of those video camera doorbells.

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I twist my feet in the ground, enjoying being outside with Caden and listening to him talk. “I can’t wait to visit all of them.” I say as I beam up at him.

“How big is the stream? Does it cut through the whole property?” I ask, kicking my feet in a little skip as we walk.

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