Chapter Four: Kyla
Veto remained a puzzle. Most men desired her because her form was pleasing. Others she influenced with the power of her voice. She was used to seeing that attraction communicated in some way. At the very least she should have been able to read subtle cues in his voice, no matter what words he said. Veto was polite, glib, and utterly unreadable, leaving her to guess at what his intentions truly were.
One regret nagged at her as they waited for the elevator in the lobby of the resort. She had used her power to influence Tomas for the first time. She wanted to keep him from worrying until she could solve this mystery, but now she worried things would change between them.
Unlike almost all the men she’d known over the years, Tomas opened his heart to her from the beginning. Kyla could force anyone to love and obey her eventually, but it was a rare man who would give himself to her as a friend and companion of his own will. Eternity had become lonely and making humans into puppets offered no surcease. Worse, if she joined with him the way he wanted, the act would ultimately destroy the quality she valued most about him—his freedom.
Tomas always told good stories and cared deeply for her as a being, wanting nothing from her but friendship. She could read that as clearly as the ocean waves. It was comfortable to be with him. She dreaded the day he moved on or grew feeble and died, as they always did eventually. Feeling his memory fading away would be the closest thing to pain she could experience. Kyla pushed the uncomfortable thoughts away and returned her attention to Veto.
“Here we go,” Veto said as he guided her into the open elevator. She’d been to the resort with attractive and interesting tourists before for the pleasure they provided. The lobby was an open floorplan with large windows that showed the marina. Soft colors accented the decor in the comfortable suites that overlooked the water.
Kyla nodded and stepped into the closed metal box. She had never known fear, but elevators, cars, and other enclosed spaces made her yearn for open water. Veto entered and pressed the button for the top floor. When the elevator doors opened, Kyla felt relieved. She followed him out of the elevator towards his penthouse suite.
“Thank you,” she said as he held the door to the suite open for her.
The room was lit by the glowing moon shining through the floor to ceiling windows. The large bed was covered with bright white covers that seemed to glow in the moonlight. A kitchen area near the door had fresh tropical flowers in a tall glass vase on the table. She walked towards the overstuffed sofa that faced the open sliding glass door to the balcony and sat down at one end.
“Would you care for a drink?” Veto asked as he turned on the light in the kitchen area. “I have water, white wine, or beer.”
“Water is fine.” Kyla smiled as she studied him. His movements were efficient as he took a glass from the cabinet, filled it with ice from the freezer, then filled it with water. He popped the top off of a beer and carried the bottle and glass to the couch.
Sitting down close to her, he handed her the glass. She sipped it, ignoring the bitter taste of the minerals in it. Earth might be her complimentary element, but that didn’t mean she enjoyed it contaminating the water she drank.
Veto studied her in turn with a faint look of confusion. It was the first genuine emotion she’d seen on his face all night. “Who are you, Kyla?”
“A guitarist in a bar on the beach.” She knew what he was really asking, but feigned ignorance. “And who are you, Veto?”
He pursed his lips and didn’t answer her question. “You’re not afraid of me.”
“Should I be?” She didn’t hide the amusement that bubbled up in her tone. It was absurd that a human would cause her fear. His apparent confusion shifted to a shuttered rage at her question.
“If you knew who I really was, then yes, you should be.”
“And who are you, Veto?” she repeated and sipped from her glass of water again.
“I’m a killer,” he said as he watched her carefully.
His bald statement made her chuckle. Why would she be afraid of a killer?
“You think I’m kidding? I’ve killed dozens of people—men, women, it didn’t matter to me. It’s my job and I love my work.”
Kyla had killed thousands in her long life and smirked at his arrogance. Men who thought to take what she would not give them drowned when she forced her living water into their lungs. Others tried to take her possessions or abuse those under her protection and met similar fates. She could not be injured. She could not die. And this mere human thought she should fear him?
She felt his rage boiling to the surface giving her another unexpected glimpse into the inky darkness deep inside him. Again, the image of a writhing ball of black eels came to her mind. She was used to seeing the perverse nature of men in their thoughts, but his darkness was alien to her experience.
“I could kill you now before you could cry out for help.”
“No, I don’t think so,” she said evenly.
His rage was gone in a blink, replaced again with confusion. “You truly do not fear me,” he whispered as if to himself. “You are a treasure. I think I’ll keep you.”
He stood and gripped her arm. Kyla allowed him to pull her to her feet and drag her across the suite towards the bathroom. She wasn’t physically strong, but it hardly mattered since there was nothing he could do to harm her. When he pushed her into the bathroom and blocked the doorway with his body, his expression was finally open to her.
“You will stay here until I pack my car, then I will take you somewhere so I can explore how far your lack of fear goes.”
“Kiss me before you leave,” she whispered, feigning desire.
He stepped close and pressed his lips against hers. She opened her mouth against his and drank him in. Images flashed in her mind as she pierced his walls. Veto dealt out death, cruelty, and pain, but his only emotion was a detached curiosity. She saw he was clearly human, but broken in some fundamental way.
Where humans were a balance of both thoughts and emotions, Veto was coldly logical. Instead of a smooth palette of desires and feelings, Kyla only saw that he possessed the primary drives of lust and rage. And while he wasn’t capable of experiencing love or fear, he understood them well enough to use against others.
Kyla now understood why she couldn’t manipulate him and it made her uneasy. He was dangerous to those she protected and was immune to her influence. The decision to end his life was a simple one to make at that point.
Before she could act, Veto shoved Kyla back to fall on the floor and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. His walls were up again and she could no longer read his intentions, but she did see an odd expression on his face, almost like he knew what she had done to him.
He slammed the bathroom door before she could get up. When Kyla stood to open the door, she saw Veto had reversed the knob so the privacy lock was on the outside leaving her locked inside the small room.
Rather than panic, Kyla raged as she stepped into the shower and turned on the water. As the water flowed around her and wet her clothes, she willed her body to dissolve into its natural state. Joining her form with the water spray, she left her clothes soaking in the tub and flowed down the shower drain. Once she was free, she would return and take his life.