The Tale of the Blood Diamond (20 page)

He sighed in irritation. Some of this simply didn’t make sense. Lorenzo ran his hand nervously over his face. Maybe he was wrong; maybe he had it all twisted. Maybe these killings had nothing to do with the ‘XXX Killer’ at all, despite the strange multiple homicides in that fucking garage. That could have been someone or a group trying to show out, and marking bodies the same. No other victims had those damn markings, and the ‘XXX Killer’ seemed to be a proud man. To add to the pile of confusion, the ‘XXX Killer’ didn’t have a history of abducting people.

Lorenzo second-guessed himself, figuring his obsession with the man, was making his thoughts blend together, creating sludge. Just then, the hotel phone rang.

He leisurely rose and strolled over to it. Taking one final deep breath, he seized the white receiver.

“Hello… yes. Come up to room 579.”

He hung up the phone. The informant was in the lobby.

Time to finally get some answers…

*
***

Jayme knew her way around a motherfucking gun. Matter of fact, she loved them so much, if there were a twelve step program for such a habit, she’d immediately enroll herself in it and relapse on the first day of recovery just for kicks ’nd giggles. Her parents knew before she did that she’d be in law enforcement. Instead of coveting baby dolls and glossy red lip stick, she’d snag one of Jayson’s toy cowboy guns and make him play ‘shoot ’em up’. They’d duke it out, cowboy style, until they both were exhausted. By the time she reached the police academy, she’d already handled her fair share on the range. She felt powerful without one, but pretty
with
one.

Xzion slid up against her, the coolness of his breath tethered around her head in a wispy whirlwind. She’d taken the day off just as he’d requested, and now they stood underground in a tiny space beneath their home no larger than a solitary confinement jail cell. It was jam packed with shit she’d never seen or heard of. All this time, their bedroom had more power than the energy from the man’s beautiful love making skills; it was
really
rockin’ and rollin’. Instead of being afraid or apprehensive, her damn heart skipped beats as she fell in love with the display. This was so much better than his collection upstairs, the one that was now under lock and key with Zachary in the house. Those were impressive, but this shit right here was something full metal jacket dreams were made of.

“What is this? And this?” She pointed around as if she were a famished child in a candy store.

Xzion leisurely leaned over her, his arm brushing against her shoulder. The faint scent of his cologne titillated her senses as he grasped a long, cylinder gun that resembled a huge bullet.

“Feel this.”

She gasped at the weight of the thing. “Damn, what is it made of?”

“Pure titanium on the nose.” He pointed to the front of it. “That’s to ensure the back is heavier. The back is made of silver. The lever here,” he pointed to a small clip, “is made of steel. It shoots out bullets that are five inches in diameter with a jagged edge to serrate the target. They are the only guns that effortlessly kill dragons.”

He took it from her hands as if it only weighed a feather and placed it back on the shelf. “These right here,” he worked a piece of gum around in his mouth as he pointed toward a top shelf, “they kill all sorts of things.”

He grabbed the tiny red gun. It looked like a damn toy. Jayme grinned; it sure was cute. Seeming to read her mind, he smirked and cocked and loaded the damn thing, pointing it away from them.

“It looks innocent, but it isn’t. This thing sprays up to a forty-five foot distance.”

“Sprays what?’

“Lethal acid.”

“Ugh!” Jayme grimaced and laughed.

“Yup. It will melt the skin right off just about anything, but with so many aliens, Jayme, you have to be precise and you have to use the correct weapon, or you will be sorry. The acid molecules sometimes drift in the air, making it dangerous for everyone involved this is an ‘if all else fails’ weapon. With many exterritorial life forms, if you shoot and miss, there are no second chances.” His warning was stern as he disengaged the weapon and placed it back in its rightful place. The man moved about the room, placing miscellaneous artillery in a basket. Before long, they were back upstairs. Jayme went into the kitchen to find Zachary sitting on the floor, his toy train dissembled and the batteries lined up. She sighed; Xzion was hot on her heels.

Getting to her knees, she gently kissed the top of her son’s head and cradled him close. “Zachary, baby, what are you doing? You don’t like your train?” She smiled and picked it up, showing it to him as if that would somehow bring his interest back to the original design and intent of the thing. The little boy looked at her, seemingly lost in thought.

“He likes taking things apart, trying to figure out how they work. There isn’t anything wrong with that,” Xzion interjected.

Jayme looked over her shoulder and up at the man, standing there looking sexy as hell with his black button down shirt on, his loose, faded dark jeans hitting him just right, clinging over so slightly to the big bulge of his balls. Her eyes finally landed to his feet — covered in thick black combat boots. He flexed his fingers, making his wedding band shimmer under the bright lights. She shook away the wayward thoughts, and sunk a bit deeper in her pool of self-pity.

“I feel…I feel like…never mind.” She got to her feet, glanced at her son once more and headed out the kitchen. She didn’t know where she was going; she just wanted to get away, but then felt guilty about it as she heard the two laughing. When a hand curled around her arm, she gasped. She hadn’t even heard him approach and before she could inquire as to where he was taking her, she was escorted farther into the hallway.

“What did you tell him? Shouldn’t he be closer? He’s alone there.” She looked over her shoulder woefully, as if she could still see Zachary but she was too far-gone.

“He’ll be fine,” Xzion assured, almost smugly. “As long as he stays in this house, he is in good hands and he is fully capable of being alone right now. He and I have an understanding.” He muttered, dug bullets out of his pocket, then twirled them between his forefinger and thumb as if they were loose change for a vending machine.

Jayme couldn’t help but feel some kind of way… She was seething with green jealousy and it felt completely lousy. Zachary was in his own little world, and she didn’t know how to enter it or even if she managed to get inside, would she even be accepted? She was watching her baby from the sidelines, while he and his father made plans, travelled to distant lands and giggled amongst themselves…leaving her in the lurch. Swallowing her pride, she focused on the here and now. She’d have to deal with this later; how, she wasn’t sure, but a mother’s love that felt unreturned was one of the worse experiences of her life. Just then, she caught Xzion grinning at her, checking her out from the corner of his dark eye.

“He loves you, Jayme…you’re
still
his mother. He wouldn’t have it any other way. He asks for you when you’re at work. We talk, well, I talk about you all the time, and he listens. He misses you. He wants to protect you, already.” He turned away from her, wiped the bottom of his shirt over the copper-toned bullets before placing one in his mouth and puffing on it, as if it were a cigarette. She didn’t ask what the hell he was doing; her thoughts were still with Zachary.

“I love him so much, Xzion. Our son means everything to me. I can’t be mad at him. He’s only a little boy.” She tried to get the quake out of her voice, but failed miserably. “I spend every chance I can with him, but I still feel remorseful. This is my fault, I work too much. I think…I think I’ll have to tell them I need to step down.” She balled her fist at her side. The anxiety of the whole situation had come to a head. She’d had no intentions to discuss the matter right then, but since Xzion seemed to know her fears and put them right out there, she danced to the beat of his drum and fell to the ground, tripping over her own clumsy feet.

“No.” He shook his head and led her into a guest room. He walked towards the opposite end of the room, drawing down a target board from a thin wire above. “I’m the one that begs you to come home. He just misses you, but he isn’t suffering, Jayme. I’d told you if he were. He is not like human children that way, baby. Zarkstormian children are very independent. It is essential to our development.”

“But he is half human, Xzion, and you seem to forget that sometimes. Our son is half of me…he came from
my
body.” Her hands folded into her chest and her knees felt a tad weak.  “I felt him kick, move inside of me. He was mine before he was yours.”

Xzion nodded, though she could tell by his expression, he appeared to be grappling for words. But nothing he’d say could make this sit well with her. True, her child didn’t need the same coddling of a human child, but he still needed love and affection. And also true, he was independent. So much so, he barely asked for help even when he clearly needed it. She relished the times she’d curl up in his bed beside her baby and sleep next to him — smell his sweet skin and feel the tickle of his soft, dark hair against her cheek. Then, and only then, would he sometimes turn to her and give her big, all encompassing hugs that would take her breath away. His soft plush lips would land a kiss against her cheek and then he’d whisper ever so gently, “Love, Mommy…”

“Yes, he is half human, but he is my son, and from the looks of things, Zarkstormian genes are strong, Jayme.”

There was a bit of arrogance in his tone, though she was sure it wasn’t intentional. She fought wanting to tell her husband a thing or two, to kiss her ass and get the hell out of her face, but that would be an unwarranted emotional outburst. He was trying to help, although he failed miserably. Regardless, she opted to remain quiet. It wouldn’t do any good to bark at the man; he’d done nothing wrong, at least not deliberately. She simply wanted to take her aggressions out on the guy who was stealing her child away from her, regardless of him being the father or not. She knew she made no sense, and she was no longer trying to.

“Give me something big and something I can blow to kingdom come!” she shouted, needing to unleash the bottled up aggression and anxiety that damn near caved her chest in. Xzion bent low and removed what appeared to be a bow and arrow.

“Nuh uh,” Jayme protested. “I don’t want that shit. I want some heavy artillery, Xzion. Archery class is for Robin Hood and I don’t like green tights.” She made her way to his stash, selecting the weapons she preferred. He put his hand out in a gesture for her to cease her movements.

“You have to learn it all. You wanted this, so you’re going to get it. A bow and arrow is the only way to kill a Lyalt.”

“A what?”

“Imagine a grizzly bear that is articulate, consumes dirt for their main course, and is extremely powerful with their hands. So much so, if they get a hold of us, they can break us to pieces, and it requires little fatigue on their part. They are typically peaceful, but once roused, things escalate quickly. Oh, and one more thing, they have eyes like a human being…and the big fuckers are fast on their fuzzy feet. That’s a Lyalt.”

“Oh hell! How big do they get?” she asked in disbelief.

“Pretty fucking huge. Also, mind control doesn’t work on them.” He shrugged. “Just like the damn Yuledrakes, you have to fight them head on. In battle, they can be quite deadly. They are
not
cuddly teddy bears.”

She pointed to his lens. “That won’t even kill them?”

“Well, yes.” He moved around, setting up an odd tripod of sorts. “But there is so much layering to their fur, flesh and bone, it would take a lengthy amount of time and by then, they would have gotten away or worse, became so enraged they’d charge. Zarkstormians are fast by nature, but some Lyalts are faster, and if you’re a human, you can forget trying to outrun them. I don’t care if you run in the Olympics, you won’t make it. You have to use this bow and arrow.” He stopped and pointed at her, “And you have to get it directly inside of their —”

“Brain? Heart?” Exhilaration rose deep within her. It came out of nowhere, married to her fear. She hadn’t even scratched the surface of things going on in her world, with Xzion.

“No.” He shook his head. “Their stomach. In their stomach lies their heart, not in their chest. Biology is
much
different in my world, baby…much different.” He turned away from her, perched his bow and arrow like a professional about to take out a buffalo. She watched him squint one eye, while the other shined like freshly made gold. In less than a second, the arrow hurled across the room, landing squarely in the bull’s-eye. A perfect hit.

“Impressive.” She nodded, a smile on her face.

He handed her the weapon and stood to the side of her. Jayme took a deep breath, and held it as she’d seen him do. In a subtle whisper, his voice carried lightly to her ear, “A bit higher…there you go,” he instructed. She raised the bow and squinted her eye, moving slightly to the left. The arrow flung across the room, burning her hand as she released the damned thing. It landed on the target, a few inches above the bull’s-eye.

“Damn it.”

“Hey, that’s still not bad for someone who never shot a bow and arrow before.” He lightly clapped. “Now, keep practicing in here. I will check on Zachary and I have a couple calls to make. If you need any help, call for me. Keep working on it Jayme until you get it right.” He winked at her and left the room, leaving her alone to her devices.