“Ha!” Anastasia laughed as she dodged Tony’s fist again.
“You have a magical advantage,” he explained.
They had been training together every chance they got that Vincent wasn’t spying on them, which surprisingly was quite often. It seemed as if Vincent had believed that they had truly called the truce.
Dakota had gone back to work at the precinct. Since he had been put on leave after he had found his partner murdered, it hadn’t been strange that he had been gone to them. Elizabeth’s absence had been a bit more difficult to explain, but they had let her come back after they received a call from Vincent telling them to do so. It sickened Anastasia the amount of power he seemed to hold over everyone.
“True, but that only counts if I am using it.” She grinned and swung her fist towards him again.
“Why aren’t you using it?”
“I don’t want to attract Vincent on the off chance he is tracking my magic.”
“Good idea.” He kicked her feet out from under her and she landed hard on her butt.
“We haven’t talked about our plan yet,” she said breathlessly as she stood and grabbed her bottle of water off the counter.
“I’m not sure what we can do until he is no longer blocking our world.”
“We need to get to him somehow.”
“But how?” The man is guarded incredibly well. The Brutes he has working for him have been out of sight, but the Trepidos are everywhere, and he now has armed human guards from this world as well.”
Anastasia nodded. “I need to be able to freeze them, then we could get to him.”
“Could you freeze him as well?” Tony asked, hopeful.
She shook her head. “That power won’t work on him, since he is able to use it as well. It’s why he can’t freeze me.”
“So it could come down to only being the two of you,” Tony replied, frustrated.
“It was always going to end with him and me, Tony. It has to be me that ends him, you know that.”
“Yes, I suppose I do.” Tony ran his hand through his graying hair. “I just don’t have to like it.”
“I know you don’t.” Anastasia smiled and squeezed his hand lightly.
“I love you, kid.”
“Love you too, old man.”
Anastasia felt the alarm begin to ring in her head. “I haven’t been able to find a single dress that fits right,” she said to alert Tony that they were being watched.
“You will find it. We can go again later if you would like. Elizabeth won’t be back from work until later this evening, and then we are going to go to dinner together. She is going to introduce me to spaghetti.” He grinned, and then time froze.
“Vincent,” Anastasia said as she took another drink of her water.
“How are you settling, Anastasia?” he asked as he took form in the living room.
“Just fine, thanks. What do you want?”
“Just checking in on you.”
“Well, I’m doing great. See you next time.”
“How did you know it was me?” he wondered as he walked through the living room inspecting everything.
“You are the only person I know who can freeze time,” she said simply, crossing her arms over her chest. “I put two and two together.”
“Interesting.” He continued to pace.
“What’s interesting?” she asked, trying to hide the panic in her voice.
“Why have you not gotten a job?”
“In case you don’t remember, I was missing for ten years. People aren’t inclined to hire someone who not only doesn’t have a high school diploma, but who also has absolutely no job or credit history.”
“I can fix that for you.”
“No, thanks. I think I’ll just stay home.”
“Why?” The look on his face was one of confusion, and Anastasia very nearly snorted even though she was nervous as to why he was asking so many questions.
“Why are you here, Vincent? Don’t you have world-conquering business to attend to?”
“I’ve told you why I am here, I wanted to check on you. To see how you are acclimating.”
“I’m acclimating just fine. Tony and I were just talking about wedding plans.” She smiled, trying to hide the fear.
“I know you have been sparring, Anastasia. I’m no fool.”
“It’s important to stay in shape. That’s all we are doing, Vincent.”
“It had better be,” he growled before he disappeared.
“So, have you ever had spaghetti?” Tony asked as he unfroze. “What?” he asked when he noted the anger on her face. “Did I say something wrong?”
“No, Tony. I’m sorry, just started getting a headache,” she lied. She could still feel Vincent watching them.
“Do you need to lie down?”
“I think that would be a good idea.” Vincent would be pretty bored watching her if she was asleep, or at least pretending to be.
“He was here?” Tony asked angrily as she helped him choose an outfit for his date with Elizabeth.
“Yes. Claimed he was just checking up on me, to see how I was acclimating.”
“Because he cares so incredibly much,” Tony said gruffly. “Why can’t he just leave us the hell alone?”
“That would be nice, wouldn’t it?” She handed him a light gray tie to pair with his black suit. “I wish I could help you with this, but I’m afraid I never learned how to tie one.”
Tony held the silky fabric in his hand. “What is this?”
“I believe I can help with that.” Elizabeth smiled from the doorway.
“You are so beautiful,” Tony said as their eyes met.
“Oh, stop it, you silly man,” she said with a laugh, “I’m still in my scrubs.”
“You are always beautiful.”
Suddenly feeling very out of place, Anastasia began walking towards the door.
“You don’t have to leave, Anastasia,” Elizabeth offered after planting a quick kiss on Tony’s cheek. “I have to get dressed.”
“Dakota should be home soon anyways,” Anastasia said lightly. “I want to be there when he gets in.”
“It’s nice, isn’t it? I know it’s only temporary, but the ability to relax even for a short time is nice.”
“Yes it is, Elizabeth. I’ll see you guys later, have fun.” Anastasia smiled and then closed the door to Elizabeth’s apartment behind her.
“Hey you.” She turned when she heard Dakota’s voice.
“Hey you yourself.” She grinned when he planted a loud kiss on her lips. “Long day?” she asked, noting the darkness in his eyes.
He nodded, and the smile he had faked vanished. “Hell of a long day.”
He unlocked the door and they walked into the living room together.
“Want to talk about it?” she asked.
He nodded. “Anything going on?” he asked, motioning to the room.
“No, we’re clear right now.”
“I think the Trepidos are getting worse.”
“What do you mean?” Her back straightened.
“We had three more suicides today. Perfectly happy, normal people who for twenty-four hours leading up to their deaths were exhibiting paranoia and panic attacks.”
“That must be why Vincent was here earlier. Son of a bitch.” She stood and rubbed her hands over her face.
“He was here? What did he say?”
“That he was only checking in on me, but he came right after Tony and I had finished sparring. I’m worried it may have alerted him some.”
“Shit.”
“The Trepidos were supposed to be leaving this world alone. I wonder if they aren’t falling in line as Vincent had predicted.” She was so incredibly sad for those who had lost their lives at the hands of the monsters, but part of her was glad things were going according to Vincent’s plan. Maybe that meant Terrenia was able to buy a little more time so they could get there and warn them.
“We have to figure out a way to stop him.”
Anastasia nodded. “We will, Dakota.”
“So many people are depending on us, and we are stuck here and expected to go on like nothing is wrong!” He slammed his fist down on the counter.
“I know.” Anastasia’s heart hurt every day for those trapped back in Terrenia, for her family and for those who had already lost their lives to Vincent’s madness. How much longer were they expected to go on like this? she wondered. “We will find a way, Dakota. You can’t lose faith.” She wrapped her arms around him and leaned into his back.
She smiled when she felt his hands grip hers on his waist.
“I love you, Ana.”
“I love you too. Now, I have an important question for you,” she said as she turned him to face her. “What do you want for dinner?”