Car exhaust, burning diesel, oil and burnt brakes can hide many scents. An old trick had been to use a mixture made from natural oil seeps to disguise the hunting pheromones.
Llew had stashed his lunch waste, tossing the bodies into a dumpster. He would have retrieved the one on top of the trailer, except that tractor and trailer had pulled out while he was snacking. It would be mildly amusing to see how long it took for the cadaver to be found.
Wrinkling his nose in distaste, Llew knelt and rubbed his hands in an oil stain on the pavement. He then rubbed along his neck and armpits. It took several oil spots and applications before he was satisfied.
He knew that the Morrigna had a refuge in the mountains. Looking north and east he could see the beginning of the mountain range. Lugh was not exactly sure how they would respond to his uninvited visit. Not that he had not told him he was coming. Bad enough that they had recovered the battle regalia.
Which of them had awakened the cursed things? Damn them! That trio was not the most stable or predictable to start with. Mix in the madness of the regalia and disaster was at hand.
There were no more Formorii to battle. The ancient enemy was thirty five centuries dead or destroyed. The regalia should have been destroyed. He had tried. Each time he had neared the volcanic rift, something prevented his casting them in.
Delegating the duty had resulted in the disappearance of Aphra. She had last been seen walking up the slope of Vesuvius. Then gone without a trace. Over the centuries, myths had grown around that tragedy. The Dorians had spun it into Persephone and Hades. The Latins and Etruscans had sun it into the tale of Venus wed to Vulcan, living in the volcano, Vulcans forge.
The reality was far less dramatic though agonizingly tragic. Aphra had been the best of them. It was no wonder that she was remembered as the morning star, the goddess of love. Nearly half the heroes of the legends, had been her children. All that had known her, loved her. You could not help yourself.
Llew shook his head to clear the memories and visions from his head. Here and now required his attention. With a long suffering sigh, he retrieved a shirt from his travel bag, made sure no trace of his feeding showed then went inside the truck stop shop and restaurant.
Llew wondered if they had tea or only that bitter american truckers coffee. Americans and their bloody coffee! Why couldn’t they have preferred a proper tea instead? Examining the Lipton tea bags on the drink bar he snorted in displeasure, choosing to go with coffee instead. Is Darjeeling or Prince of wales or Devonshire too much to ask for? Even Twinings would be preferred.
The coffee was fresh brewed. Sweet arabica bean could be tasted on the air. He went about preparing two large coffees. Both heavily sweetened, one black, one with cream. He had examined the bottles of flavoring, rejecting the artificial hazelnut. The chemicals it was made from were not pleasant to the taste. Putting the coffees into a drink carrier he selected two bottles of cold sweet tea. Sniffing at them they did not seem repulsive. The scent of chocolate drew him to the candy aisle. This was much more to his liking. Llew took three extra large bars of dark chocolate. Thus fortified he went in search of maps. Finding a detailed atlas of the South eastern U.S. detailed down to even the forestry roads. He was ready to check out.
Standing in line, the smells from the kitchen assailed him. Llew decided to take a booth in the restaurant. Something for dessert seemed as a good idea. He could taste several tempting pies on the air.
He paid for his things and walked through the store into the restaurant. A booth was open in the far corner. It would give view of all of the entrances with his back to the wall. Llew sat down, settled in and concentrated on the pies he could taste. The peach cobbler or the blackberry? He couldn’t decide.
When the waitress asked for his order, he asked for some of each. She was blushing and trying not to stammer as she took his order. Llew tended to have that effect on human women.
He opened the road atlas to see if anything sparked his memory. Sipping his coffee as he flipped through the pages he was completely surprised when an unknown male Aos Sidhe pheromones caught his attention. Eyes scanning the restaurant saw nothing. When Llew got to the store entrance and register, he found source.
An Aos Sidhe he had never seen before. As tall as Llew with long strawberry blonde hair, to Llews golden blonde. The man stiffened in place, looked around until he focused upon Llew. Green tinted hazel eyes set their gaze uon him. Llews sapphire eyes widened.
Except the hair color and eye color the stranger could be Llews brother. Or close relative at the least.
Llew had not ever spent time this part of the U.S. Before now. Because it was the Morrigna’s hunting grounds. There was some unpleasant history between them already. It was interesting to see how successful the breeding program had been.
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Morgan cruised north along I-75 scanning , her paranoia peaked. Was this trace from the enemy? Musing, chewing possibilities over she was focussed into her own realm. ” Waffle House!” Michael yelled out. ” Look, next exit a Waffle house! You promised!” Morgan jerked back into here and now. Michaels outburst had startled her. He was hopping around in his seat pointing and jabbering like an excited child. “Waffles and sausage and eggs and pork chop and T-bone and hash brownes ” he was chanting. ” I will hold my breath if you won’t! I swear! You’ll be sorry! You promised!”
Morgan glanced over at him very annoyed. Annoyed until she saw his bulging cheeks as he held his breath. Morgan snorted, giggled then broke into full laughter. Michael was being hilariously ridiculous. ” Ok ok, alright you insufferable twit! We will stop at Waffle House” ” Yay! yumm yay! At last!” Michael exuded. Then in a deeply serious voice, like some BBC nature show narrator, ” The quest for the holy grail of waffles comes to an end at last. Golden majestic magical wonders await! We will see unusual creatures, taste amazing feasts of syrup soaked goodness.” Morgan interupted his litany ” Behave now or mother will spank! Settle down!” ’Ooooohh promise?” Michael erupted in laughter.
The exit approached. Pulling off the interstate onto the surface streets. Ringold Georgia the signs said. A sign for Cochrans Truck and travel center pointed to the left, glancing down she noted they were down to a quarter tank of gas.
The Waffle house was on the way to the truck stop. Restaurant first, fuel and amenities second. Michael was still wearing the BDU’s and t-shirt he had put on when this journey began. These truck stops usually had a store where you could get clothing and just about anything. She said as much, Michael tugged at the neck of his t-shirt. Yeah I could use a change! On that note, Morgan decided Truck stop first, then the waffle house after. Michael could clean up and change clothes while she took care of the car. She stopped at the main entrance to let him out then pulled into line to wait her turn for fuel.
Michael headed straight for the clothes section. They had jeans, t-shirts, button downs, and even boots and leather jackets. selection was quick. They had his size in jeans in stock which was a surprise. He usually had to get them a bit wider in the waist than he needed.
He grabbed all of the jeans in that size bin. Socks, essentials, Black t-shirts, and a black long sleeved button down. Amazingly the sleeves were actually long enough! He usually had to go to specialty shops, thirty six and a half inch sleeves were hard to find.
Michael rifled through the shirts finding a dark blue, dark green and a deep red one. He grabbed another black one as well. After finding a basket for everything he decided to get the Harley biker boots and after all it was winter out, an insulated leather bikers jacket.
Along the way to the register he grabbed a little stuffed dragon plush, bright red, there were roses in a bucket by the register as well. After he paid he went into the drivers lounge to find the showers and change.
Once he had cleaned up and dressed he headed back out to find Morgan. She was still waiting in line! As he walked over to her he could see the aggravated look on her face. Hiding the roses and dragon behind his back he walked up to her open window.
Morgan looked Michael up and down. She approved of his choices. The red shirt looked good with the black jacket. Michael was wearing a silly grin, as if he were up to something. “What are ya...” Morgan broke of in mid word. Michael had produced the roses . Morgan was surprised. No one had given her roses in centuries. No one had ever given her an adorable little plush dragon before! She was caught speechless, holding the roses and staring at the toy dragon. Something moist gathered in the corner of her eyes, her nose began to sniffle. She stared up at Michael and his silly grin.
” Hah! I got you! You are the speechless one for a change!” He twirled about doing a funny happy dance jig. This continued until the guy in line behind her began honking his horn. If she had had a free hand she would have flipped him off. She pulled up to the furthest pumps and stopped. Michael popped open the passenger door to dump his purchases in the back seat. When he turned to start fueling up, he saw the pay first sign on the pump. ” I will be right back, gotta pay first, want anything? ”
Morgan was burying her face in the roses. ” Nae, ” was her simple reply. Michael paused watching her, she was smiling. Really smiling. He had not seen that look on her before. He suspected that no one had, at least, hadn’t in a very long time. It was not her twisted mona lisa I am going to eat you smile. This one lit up her face. Her crystalline emerald eyes had softened. She was stunning. It took an effort of will for Michael to turn away and go into the store. He resolved to find ways to make her smile like that as much as he could. A new major lifes goal.
Bemused, in his own world, Michael got in line at the register, paid for the gas and as he pocketed the change caught that odd tang on the air. As he tasted that coppery sharpness he looked around. When he spied a man, long blonde hair, deep crystaline blue eyes, staring at him. They locked eyes.
Michael realized that this was who they had been following and that they had accidentally caught up with him. The second thing he realized is, the man looked strangely familiar. It registered in his mind that the guy looked a lot like him. The man stood and walked towards Michael. He was just as tall and built very much like Michael. It was unsettling.
The man had a look of curious interest on his face as he approached. Looking Michael up and down, he proffered his hand, ” Hello, I am Llewis.”