Part Five
His kiss was gentle, as was his touch. He undid the buttons of her blouse and moved the fabric out of the way, trailing kisses across her exposed warm flesh.
She sighed at the pleasurable feelings he was giving her. Tucking her hands under his chin, raising his head to look at her, and she traced her fingers lightly over the scar that marked his left eye.
Parz's eyes opened. Her heart was beating a little quick. She took in a deep breath and let it out. Almost the same as the last two that she had before, centuries ago. Parz's heart sank. She was dreaming of a future that wouldn't happen. A dream that could not be…
I shouldn't have done that, Parz thought, remembering when she had kissed Cale just a little more than a week ago. She had no idea what possessed her to kiss him, and the feelings that were stirring inside her made her nervous. Parz had thought the feelings would be buried forever this time. But she knew that she had been wrong before. Would she be wrong again?
Parz moved a little, noticing that the room was a little cooler that usual. Mia had turned on the air-conditioner before, and Parz didn't want to be rude and shut it off. Then again, she didn't know how. Parz closed her eyes again. She was silently debating if she should get up and search for a blanket when she felt something cover her. She jumped a bit and looked behind her. There was Cale, still wearing his clothes from earlier in the day, placing a light blanket on top of her.
"Sorry," he apologized, fixing the blanket over her more snuggly. "I didn't mean to wake you. I thought that you would be a little cold, so I brought this from my room for you."
"Thank you," said Parz. She pulled the blanket a little tighter around her shoulders, smelling Cale's scent on it. Parz smiled a little. His scent reminded her of a pine forest after a good rain shower. A flutter came to her stomach and she became worried about it. "Won't you be cold?" she asked.
Cale shook his head. "I'll be all right." He looked around the room nervously for a moment. "Is Altyno in the guestroom?"
Parz sat up and wrapped the blanket around her, suspecting that something would start into a direction she did not want to go. "It's late," she said. "You'd better go back to your room. We all need our rest." Parz didn't want to be cold to him, but she was afraid what would happen and where it would lead to.
Cale noticed her tone. His guess that she was nervous being around him alone had been confirmed, especially by the way she had been acting for the past week after the kiss. Cale walked to the doorway and stopped. He turned around and looked Parz. The dim light coming from outside faintly glowed around her, making Parz resemble an angel. Her eyes were closed and she looked sad.
She's confused, he thought. "Tell me that you don't care," Cale said aloud.
"I don't," Parz said, part of her wishing that she hadn't said that. She felt warm hands touch her face. Parz looked up into Cale's dark blue eyes. She had never really paid attention to them before, but now… they looked so close, practically identical to-
"You're lying," Cale said, cutting Parz's thoughts. He bridged the distance between his lips and hers, catching Parz off guard. Cale slid his tongue into her mouth and was reward with a pleasured moan. Parz's arms went around his neck as Cale undid the tie in her hair, letting the silky black and white tresses cascade down.
The kiss broke, leaving them breathless. Cale looked into Parz's eyes, seeing a flicker of light deep within the dark orbs. She smiled and they kissed again. Cale wrapped his arms around Parz's waist, pulling her off the couch, laying with his back to the floor and Parz on top of him.
Parz knew that she was losing the control she had built up over the years, and she didn't care. She unbuttoned Cale's shirt and moved the fabric away, exposing his chest. She traced his skin with her lips and tongue, listening to him groan as she continued to torture him.
Cale gathered Parz into his arms and moved, switching their positions so that he was above and she beneath him. Cale grabbed Parz's shirt by her waist and pulled it free from her pants, lifting it over her head and tossing it away, and removed his shirt as well. Cale looked down at Parz. She still had her bra on, and Cale saw that the crisscross pattern on her left arm extended from her wrist all the way to her shoulder. He lightly traced the lines with his fingers and lowered his head to her throat, kissing her gently near her collarbone.
Parz shivered. He knew where to touch her that made her excited. A little part of her mind that wasn't affected by pleasure was beginning to hope…
Cale slowly pulled the bra strap down Parz's shoulder, and followed with kisses. She put her hands on his chest and lightly pushed against him. Cale moved back and looked at her, feeling that he had gone too far. "I'm sorry," he said quietly.
"Don't be," whispered Parz. "I want to, but it's just…"
"What?"
Parz gave him a small smile. "Bad timing."
Cale smiled lightly himself. She was right. With all the events happening, it wasn't a good time to try and form a relationship or anything else. What mattered first was to get Chadih back from Jinmin and Kiyaa, and let Parz settle everything with her twin brother.
Cale moved off of Parz and helped her stand up. He picked up their shirts and gave Parz's to her. Cale watched her put it back on as he buttoned his shirt. As he started to leave, Parz took his hand and led him to the couch. They sat down and she leaned against him, her arms lightly hugging his waist. He held Parz to him. For some reason, Cale felt that if he let go he would lose Parz forever.
"Maybe when things are better," Cale whispered in her hair.
Parz closed her eyes. "Maybe," she said quietly. "There was someone after my husband. He's gone, too." Parz sighed. "I don't know why I'm telling you, but…"
Cale rested his chin on top of her head and hugged Parz a little tighter. "I understand," he said.
They sat there holding each other. After a while, Cale looked at Parz and noticed that she was asleep. He smiled and, being careful not to disturb her, picked the blanket off the floor and wrapped it around them both. Cale lightly stroked Parz's hair as he watched her sleep. Soon he joined her in the calm realm of dreams.
____
He had heard the rumors that she would never age. Most of the people in his village feared her, but those who were desperate overcame their fears and sought her out for help. Some said that she was the child of a demon. Maybe she was, that would explain her unique power. Her hair was black and white streaks and her face was pretty but had something that made her more beautiful than other girls his age. She probably wasn't bad at all.
But looks could be deceiving, he had to remind himself, as he watched her pick up the water skins and started to walk into the forest. He moved to get a better view to which direction she was heading in, and fell off the small cliff.
"You idiot," he cursed at himself. He started to get to his feet when pain shot up through his right leg. Looking down, he saw a bloody gash on the side of his calf.
"That's quite a nasty mark you have there, my friend."
He looked up and saw HER standing above him. "I didn't mean to spy-" he started. "No, I wasn't spying. I-"
She knelt down next to him and put her hands over his wound. "Just hold still," she said. "This will sting a little." She started to chant in a language he had never heard before. His wound began to burn, and he grimaced from it. Then the pain was gone. He looked at his leg. There was no gash, no blood, and no scar. All that existed was a tear in his hakama.
"How did you do that?" he asked.
She raised her eyebrow at him. "You haven't heard of healing spells?"
"Well, yes, but only in stories and legends."
"I am from a legend," she smiled at him. "You better get to your home. It'll be dark soon." She stood up, and walked towards the forest.
"Wait! " he called after her. "What's your name?"
She stopped, totally surprised at his words. No one who had ever came to her for assistance ever asked for her name. She turned around and looked at him. "Parz," she answered him. "My name is Parz. If you ever need anything, just come here and call for me. I'll come." With that said, Parz entered the forest, disappearing into the shadows from his sight.
He stood up and peered through the trees, trying to see any sign of her. "Parz..." he whispered and smiled. "I hope to see you again." And he went back to his village.
____
Cale opened his eyes only to have the early morning sunlight practically blind him. Flinching away from the bright rays, he sat up and stretched. Cale noticed that he was still on the couch, but Parz was nowhere to be seen.
"Parz…" he whispered and remembered the dream he had last night. Too real, he thought. Cale lied back down and shut his eyes. Did he know Parz before he joined the Dynasty and become one of Talpa's minions? Almost all of his memory had returned to him. Maybe Parz was within that small bit that still eluded him. But somehow that theory didn't seem to be the answer.
Cale felt a light tap on his forehead and opened his eyes. Dayus was standing behind the couch, looking at Cale with a mischievous grin.
"Wakey, wakey," the Warlord of Illusion said.
"I'm awake," Cale said a little groggily.
"So I see." Dayus backed away. "Breakfast?"
"Why not?" said Cale. He got off the couch, thinking that maybe he would have a chance to take a shower after he ate. Cale followed Dayus into the kitchen, and the two Warlords sat at the table eating cereal. "Where is everybody?" Cale finally asked, noticing the lack of the other inhabitants of the house.
"Mia went out," Dayus started. "Sekhmet's still asleep, who knows where Altyno and Parz are, and Kayura's sleeping."
Cale grinned. "In her bed or yours?"
Dayus glared at him. "Why should you care? Wasn't Parz sleeping with you last night?"
"Don't even go there."
"You started it."
Cale sighed and pushed the raisins floating in the milk around in the bowl. He found himself thinking that he and Parz would have gone farther then they had, and he wouldn't care if someone had found them in the morning after they made love. "All right," Cale surrendered. "I like Parz. I care about her a lot. There, you win. Are you happy now?"
"Only because I finally got you to admit it to yourself," said Dayus. "Did you tell Parz that you care about her?"
"Yes."
"And what did she say?"
I can't believe I'm telling you this, Cale thought, and said, "She doesn't want me to end up like her husband."
Dayus' eye widened. "She was married?"
"A very long time ago," said Cale. "I got some of it from Parz and the rest of the details from Altyno. Parz married when she was about thirty. Her husband gave up his family name and they eloped. Mainly because he loved her, and so that his brother could marry his betrothed. His brother and betrothed were in love with each other, but we all remember the arranged marriages."
"Oh yes," Dayus chuckled. "So what happened to Parz's husband?"
"Jinmin killed him." Cale looked away. "On their eighth wedding anniversary." He frowned. Why did I say that? Neither Altyno nor Parz told him that, but deep inside Cale knew it was the truth and that disturbed him.
"What's wrong?" Dayus asked.
"She's afraid to let anyone near her again," Cale said. "That's why she pushes away. She believes that if she doesn't let anyone near her, they'll be safe."
"If that isn't the biggest crock of bull," Dayus snorted.
"I know," said Cale. He drank his orange juice and continued, "There's something about her. I don't know what it is."
"Like you've been looking for something all your life and you believe you've found it now?" Dayus suggested.
"I felt that way before, but it still felt like something was missing." Cale smiled a little. "And with Parz I feel like I have found it, but I can't get close to her. She won't let me."
"So close, yet so far," Dayus recited the ancient phrase that was older than both of them.
"How true," Cale said quietly.
Dayus grinned, "So are you and Parz…" He waved his hand, telling Cale to finish the thought.
"Maybe," Cale said. "After this is over, we'll see."
____
"You're in love with him."
"Don't even start," Parz warned.
Altyno grinned and watched her friend turn slightly red. "Is he a good kisser?" Altyno asked, and laughed as Parz's cheeks turned a darker shade of crimson, blending with the chimney bricks.
"Would you please just drop it?" Parz hissed. "Or would you prefer that I throw you off the roof? Don't forget who brought you back to life."
"And I am eternally grateful." Altyno pulled her mask off and twisted it in her hands. "And since I'm immortal now, I always will."
"You better keep that on, my friend," said Parz. "Or do you want him to see you?"
"I do want him to see me," Altyno sighed, and she put the mask on again. "But I have to wait and keep my mouth shut."
Parz laughed. "I know it's hard for you not to talk, but I'm sure it gets hot enough under there."
"Very funny." Altyno glared at her through the eye slits. "When do you think Jinmin will contact you? It's been a couple of weeks already."
"I'm not sure. Any day now, hopefully."
"Have you told Essah the truth about your connection to Sekhmet?"
"No, I haven't," Parz said and smiled. "Is he in for a surprise, though."
"Indeed he will be, my dear sister."
Parz and Altyno whipped around and saw Jinmin floating in the air not too far above them. "Jinmin," Parz said darkly.
"I thought Essah knew that you were acting as guardian to his only son," Jinmin said with mock concern and shrugged. "Oh well, it doesn't matter. I'm here to invite you to the location of our little tournament, Parz. I'm sure you remember that old abandoned warehouse fifty miles from here? Meet me there at sunset."
"What about Chadih?" Altyno nervously asked.
"She'll be there with Kiyaa," Jinmin answered. He turned to his sister. "Bring whomever you wish to watch you die, Parz. Our final game, you will draw your final breath." He disappeared.
"Parz…" Altyno said after a long silence.
"Let's get the others and call Essah," she said and started to float down.
"Jinmin doesn't know?"
"No," Parz answered. "I never told him, either. But he'll find out soon enough as well."