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Chapter -34- Of Rivals and Romantics

Early June, 1893... Lyon France ...

Reno ran his fingers over the stubble growing on his chin, cheeks and along his jawline. He tilted his head somewhat, listening to the sound of audio recorded on his cell.

He thumbed the screen of his cellphone, pressing the triangular 'play' icon. "Listen closer this time." He touched a volume icon, turning up the phone's internal speaker.

The voice sounded familiar but he couldn't place it. 'It is entirely possible those people following us are working for Niall Kincade. I don't recognize either of them. The girl is a succubus, but the man has a power we've never seen before now. Worse, he seems to have no affiliation with the council. He is a complete anomaly.'

Reno turned to Kerii and grinned somewhat. "You didn't see my phone."

"Just as I have not made witness to your magical slate."

Reno smirked. "It isn't an Apple, so I wouldn't call it a 'magical' or 'revolutionary' device, that's for sure."

"I beg your pardon?"

"It runs Windows."

She shrugged, not understanding his joke. "It is quite magical in regards to what I have witnessed in my lifetime. Nathan, your devices would have been considered witchcraft in the last century."

"Heh."

She took the phone and turned the thin device about in her hands. "I cannot fathom upon where the information is stored. I certainly cannot comprehend how your little object captured that man's voice like one of Thomas Edison's sound capturing devices."

"This thing here is my cellphone. I pressed 'record' to record a voice memo and teleported out of the room in a flash - pun intended. When those guys came into the office and spoke to one another, I recorded everything they said. When they left, I went back for my cell. We have the whole conversation."

"Entire."

"Hmm?"

"Entire conversation." She smiled somewhat. "We do not know how much longer you will stay here. It would behoove you to learn how better to adapt."

"You'll have to help me adapt."

Her smile broadened. "You are a capable, shrewd, clever man. You are intelligent, perceptive, and you have a confident wit."

He grinned at her. "You know, you're the only girl who has ever complimented me, saying I'm smart. Not just once, but several times. You better stop being nice to me or I might believe you one of these days."

She smirked. "The fact you do not believe it already is something in need of change. Love yourself, then the rest of your life will fall into line. I see so much potential in you, Nathan Carrington. I look forward to seeing it bloom."

"You're a great girl; you really know how to make a guy feel appreciated."

She scoffed in amusement. "The irony of such is the fact you are the first and only man to whom I have expressed such sentimentality. I seem to take a fancy to my 'husband', but I can think of no better person with whom I wish to feel, let alone share, such fondness."

"You're talking all ... nineteenth century again. It's hot."

She snorted with amusement and abruptly cleared her throat. "Many from California speak different from myself. My syntax comes from blending how I was raised to speak with how I have attempted to evolve my speaking. I ... am glad you enjoy it."

"Hell yeah I do. So, you think we should get this recording back to someone who can verify this guy's voice? It sounds familiar, like I've heard it years ago, but I can't place a name or a face to it."

"Unfortunately, I feel the need to express my disagreement. I believe we should follow them."

Reno thumbed his phone, saved the file name as the date, and stuffed the phone into his pocket. "You want to follow these guys to Russia? We won't have any support, and we don't speak the language. Plus, we'll really stand out."

"Then the man whose voice you seem to recognize ... let him go to Russia. Perhaps we should follow the man he spoke to - the target we have followed thus far."

"Well that guy said he's going to Marseilles. That's, uh, south of here right?"

"Yes. I am told it is beautiful. Do we have knowledge of the target's objectives in Marseilles?"

"Something about laying the foundation of an underground warehouse. He wasn't close to the phone's microphone, but that's what it sounded like he said at the beginning of the recording. So, you want to go spy on this douchebag?"

"Douchebag?" She shook her head with a slight smile. "I know you are rather fond of your colloquialisms. Just ... reconsider your use of them while you exist in this time."

Reno pursed his lips, creating a dimple on either side of his mouth.

She reached up and placed her fingertip into the indent at the corner of his face and smiled. "You are adorable when you pout. Come, we should make haste."

"Haste makes waste," he said with a slight grin.

"Regarding sex? I agree." She offered him a brilliant smile, took his hand and gave a tug.

X

X

Sixteen hours later...

Kerii grimaced at the racist remark.

Reno saw the look on her face. "What does that even mean?"

"It was a derogatory term for a succubus that has long since fallen out of use," she explained. "Before evolving the ability of slow healing, people once marked our faces so people would not wish to have sex with us. We starved for a time due to such tactics."

The man across the lot from Reno and Kerii approached with a confident stride. "Did you hear what I said? Your pretty little friend is actually a Wheal Wench."

Reno lifted an index to Kerii. "I've got this."

"He's a highly influential member of the Esoteric Community," she warned.

"Is he on the council?" asked Reno.

"Not the American one, no."

"Then I got this." Reno turned from her and faced the approaching man.

The man was well dressed, with a grey suit, vest, and a necktie in a double Windsor knot. The large knot of the tie complimented the man's neat, thick beard, which stopped just at the top of his tie.

Reno narrowed his eyes. "Now, I know a little something about tying ties, and you are a hipster."

The man lowered his gaze, sizing up Reno. His eyes lifted, slowly, returning to Reno's own. "It seems I am not the only one out of his time and place."

Kerii whispered into Reno's ear from behind. "He is from the future?"

Reno rubbed his hands together. "So, what was that you were saying about my wife?"

The man smoothed his hand over his tie. "We thought you died, and here you are, enjoying the finer things in life. I must confess, Mr. Nevada, I did not know you had such an ability."

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't. You want to see what I can do, though?"

The man scoffed. "I was delighted when Conner delivered the coup de grace to Aris. There is a reason why the world has jocks and nerds. When you give that kind of power to someone who was bullied for their mind as a youth ... well, suffice it to say, Aris was an insufferable bastard."

Reno looked the man over. "I don't know you. I've never seen you before. How the hell do you know so much?"

"I used the time stream, which you were kind enough to unlock. Don't worry, Mr. Nevada. I destroyed the machine in 2050. Shortly after, the city flooded." His eyes shifted to Kerii. "Your sister is to blame for that."

"You don't belong here," Reno said. "What happened to me was an accident. I'm trying to get back."

"And, like me, you came to Europe to find Raul, correct?"

"Yeah..."

"And he found you didn't he..."

"Yeah."

"He knows when someone is out of phase with their time. He knows it the way you or I can tell someone has been laboring, because of their body odor."

Reno pushed his hands together and cracked all his knuckles at one time. "So who the hell are you?"

"I'm Reinhardt St. Leonard. We've never formally met face to face like this."

Reno blinked. "Aren't you supposed to be the President?"

"I imagine the country will be reeling from a lack of leadership, and the death of two Presidents in succession. Especially after two nuclear detonations." He shrugged uncaringly. "We can help one another. I do not belong in this time; Raul will not help me return to my time."

"He told me it was too dangerous to take someone with my ability through time."

Reinhardt shook his head. "The truth is, fate brought us here. Therefore, we were _meant to_come here. We are meant to create specific ripples in time. If we do not play our parts, time changes. Raul wishes to see to it that fate's plan plays out. I have no desire to be here - I am sure you are eager to help your friends in the war."

"Loki was trying to pave the way to kill all the gods. That shit will trigger Ragnarök and Revelations. A lot of people will die."

Reinhardt shrugged. "Why do you think I wish to return to my time? A presiding leader with my abilities would be like a god. In this time, however, the technology is abysmal."

Kerii cleared her throat. "Why are you speaking so freely of these things in front of me? The future, and your time period - it should be kept a secret, should it not?"

Reinhardt shrugged. "Aren't you close to death? From my understanding, you are little more than an old hag, succubus."

Reno clenched his fists. "Hey, asshole. I didn't like your shithead brother, and I don't like you. Say just one more insult to my wife, I fucking dare you."

"Reno ... it _was_Reno wasn't it? Listen to me, child ... I know you inherited your abilities from Nathanial Carrington. However, you are _not_Nathanial Carrington. You are just a man out of time, like myself. I arrived seven years ago and I have worked hard to avoid my past self. I have stayed away from the council. I have made powerful friends here, and there is little point in us fighting. We need one another's assistance to return to our time."

"How the hell do you figure I need you?"

Reinhardt tilted his head. "I am older than most realize."

"And that means what?"

"I was able to read the math-based language of the First Age. That is how I knew I could escape the flooding of the city by stepping into the time stream. But I also know the frequency of the time stream, to which we must tune the energy cascade in order to return to 2050."

"So you think I can just zap us through time like some sort of lightning battery?"

"You alone? No. You cannot 'tune' the frequency of a bolt of lightning. A machine must be constructed, capable of managing the energy and the resonance, which will return us to our time. You power the machine."

"You seriously think it will be that simple?"

Reinhardt smirked. "No. The power chamber beneath the First Age City was designed to put out far more energy than you are capable of creating."

"What?"

"We would need to build a machine that could amplify your power. We're sending two bodies forward a great distance of time. It will require a great deal of power. Even then, I do not have the mathematical understanding to know if my equations will work."

Reno and Kerii exchanged glances but said nothing.

Reinhardt sighed. "I pride myself on my math, however, the equation is complex. There is a possibility we will wind up in 2024. As that would places you into the time where you initially disappeared, I imagine you would have little problem with such. I am immortal and I can wait in the rafters until 2050. I am a patient man."

"You're a weird guy, you know that? So, you're telling me that you made this big-ass equation to get home, and you needed a power source to get there?"

"My initial plan was to speed things along - I knew about the civil war of 1908 in Tunguska. My brother and I avoided it, but I know both sides. One of the two sides will rescue Aris Sokolov as a child and prepare him for his destiny. That means there are people who are searching for the city of the First Age People. Eventually an energy core will be found. If I expedite that, I can use the energy source to return home."

"And now you want to use me instead?"

"We belong in our time," said Reinhardt. "You belong with Nicky Parker. Now I find out that you're here_and you married Karla Loupe's _sister? When you sleep with dogs, you wake up with fleas, Reno. A succubus is the epitome of filth."

"You're wrong," Reno said. "They kill diseases. They can't catch STDs."

"So you would mop a bathroom floor in a hospital three blocks from a slum ... and then _knowingly_lay down on that floor after mopping it? It is still just as disgusting, but with a shine and a fresh scent. Do not fool yourself into thinking otherwise."

"She's my wife, so back the fuck off. You want my help? You respect her. Are we clear? Now, I have to see your math."

"So you can return without me? I think not."

"No, dickhead," Reno snapped. "Because I don't put out the same power as one of those ... fancy technology core things. Your shit will be wrong."

"I will compensate."

"Lightning isn't some ... consistent variable, you nut job. I don't know fancy math, but I _do know_that lightning changes output based on a bunch of stuff, like the atmosphere and a bunch of other shit. Have you thought about what happens if you get too much energy?"

"We adjust the resonance of..."

"No, I mean if I juice your machine, and there's an overload ... what happens? Do we wind up in the distant future? Fuck that."

"Likely, you will not have the power to get us back to our future. But any future is better than this anachronistic Dark Age. I have lived through the true Dark Ages, and I do not wish to repeat it. Steam engines? No."

"You're in such a rush to get home, you're trying to get us both killed, you moron."

"We can help one another, Reno. All we need is someone who can build a machine capable of maintaining the energy."

Kerii placed her hands on Reno's forearm. "This is what you've been waiting for. You wished to build a machine with Tesla, but you had no plans and no mathematical understanding of what expectations should be designed for this machine. Now you have that. This is what you've wanted."

"Reno, there are no automobiles in this period. Do you have blisters on your feet yet? I know you were fond of your father's Chevelle. It was an impressive machine when your friend finished with it."

Reno tilted his head.

Reinhardt smiled. "Yes, I know you told a human being about our kind. Yes, I know the two boys who helped that man turn your father's car into a war machine. I also know that the man who made your wedding band," he said, pointing to Kerii and Reno's left hands, "Is the fourth-great grandfather of Evan Balmoral. Although, if you know anything about Evan, you'd know that Evan's surname was adoptive from his step-father."

"Yeah, I knew Jerry Balmoral. He was a hunter."

"Was he now? He worked for Aris?"

"Yeah. And he knew about Evan. And he didn't attack his step-son, so ... he wasn't as big of a dick as, say ... you." Reno rubbed his palms together. "So, how the hell did you hop into the time stream after me, but wind up going back in time seven years earlier than now."

"Because the water flooding into the city. It changed the resonance frequency in a minute way, sending me back further. The water was waist deep when I went through. It was my only means of escape."

"You're an arrogant asshole," Reno grumbled. "I don't want to work with you, Reinhardt. We're not friends, we're not teaming up. You tried to kill Karla and my friends. You killed the President to take his place. You're a dick. You can stay stranded back here for all I care. When Nathan, the_real_ Nathan, shows up, he's going to kill your ass because he'll see what a dick you are."

Kerii moved between the two men, facing Reno. "What choice do you have? I want you to be happy. I care about you."

"You should listen to her. It seems she is far more reasonable than her sister."

Kerii glanced over her shoulder at Reinhardt. "Quiet. You are not helping." Kerii turned back to Reno. "It will take time to build the machine. We can finish what we've started, and spend time together until you to return to your time."

Reno sighed. "I need to think about this."

"Love, please. Be clear-minded about such - it is your best chance for success."

Reinhardt smirked. "So how about those blisters on your feet from all the walking you've done since your arrival, Reno?"

"Funny how we're suddenly on a first name basis, 'Reinhardt.'Goldbond powder hasn't been invented yet, but when it is, I suggest you use it. Me? My feet are fine - guess I'm not as big of a pussy as you are."

Kerii put her hands on Reno's chest. "It will take all three of you to properly build the machine."

"Three?" asked Reinhardt. "I doubt Clarence will help."

Reno looked up and smirked. "She's talking about Nikola Tesla. For a guy who thinks he's smart as hell, and who has lived through this time period, you sure don't know what's available to you." Nevada adjusted his wedding band.

"I know how the technology worked," said Reinhardt in a stern tone. "It was my math that created the quantum temporal lock. Falcon needed me when we first accessed parts of the underground Capital. You need me, now, to return to our time."

Nevada sighed. "I still think you should sit in the past and rot. However, I'm going to listen to my wife and accept your help."

"Splendid!"

Reno ran his hand back through his hair. His eyes landed on an enormous foundation pit behind Reinhardt. It stretched out over a third of a mile, and appeared insanely deep considering the time period and lack of technology to dig it.

Reinhardt noticed Reno's gaze and followed it to the large square hole in the Marseilles mud. "What? What are you looking at?"

Reno pointed to the deep lot in the background. "How did you dig that?"

"It's a warehouse that will be used by Aris in the future, Reno."

"We're a few miles from the beach. The water table is too high for people of this time period to dig it out that deep. So, you're using future technology methods to build it, am I right?"

Reinhardt shrugged. "Yes, Reno. And a steam engine-powered backhoe. My design. It's slow going, but it was going to be part of something I needed to build to obtain a power core. Then again, now that I have you..."

"Uh-huh. Well, I'll meet you in New York." Reno glanced at Kerii, and then back at Reinhardt. "Mid-July, I'm thinking. We have things to do here."

Reinhardt shook his head. "You honestly want to fight the Purist Movement? It's a losing battle. Whether it happens in 2023, or 2050, or even if it happens in 1908, it doesn't matter. It will happen. Loki will show up, just as he does in the future. Wouldn't it be better to happen now? Now, when there are no serious weapons of mass destruction for humans to use against one another?"

"Shut the fuck up," Reno snapped. "I'll see you in New York next month. Find Tesla around Independence Day. I'll see you around then."

"Till then, Reno."

Reno took Kerii's hand. "Let's roll, hon."

They made their way back towards the heart of Marseilles. Occasionally, Reno glanced over his shoulder. "That guy is trouble."

"Your summation is akin to what little I know regarding him thus far."

Reno shook his head. "He can appear in multiple places at one time, and he has some sort of willpower thing. If he's around you long enough, if you're weak-minded, or if you're exhausted, he can force his will on you. His brother is about ten times stronger."

Kerii glanced back over her shoulder as they walked back to town together. "I've heard of someone like him, however his name is not Reinhardt. Also, he has a brother whose primary ability is to dominate the will of those around him. They are respected members of the Esoteric Council. They live in London."

"These guys, in my time, lived in America. I guess, at some point, they move across the Atlantic." Reno glanced over his shoulder, mirroring Kerii, as they continued to walk. "Karla hated those guys. Your sister, I mean. Keturah. Sire made her hurt people."

"What? When?"

"About a hundred years from now. He forces her to crash an airplane full of people, all because he wanted to take down some supernatural nut job who stepped on too many people's toes. Rumor had it, the target was some Justiciar, but no one seems to know the guy's region."

"Sire was the brother's name? Not the man to whom we just spoke?"

"Right. That guy is Reinhardt, his brother called himself 'Sire.' They're both respected by the survivors of what Karla called the 'Silent Inquisition.' Later, when people found out those two were at the heart of the attacks that killed a hundred thousand supernatural people, the brothers became notorious."

"What happens if we arrange the brothers to die in London now, in the present?"

Reno shrugged. "Nothing good, I'm sure. Reinhardt can't come back in time to help me get home. For all we know, they're not part of the Purist Movement yet. Maybe their minds can be changed. I don't even know why they got involved in the first place."

"And, with all due respect, Nathan, what exactly is the Purist Movement? I wish to ensure my understanding of the matter."

"Those guys, and a handful of other supernaturals, are opposed to any supernatural with normal human genetic traits in the bloodline. They're just racist pricks."

Kerii nodded in understanding. "Akin to the situation brewing in America, presently."

"Exactly! I don't know why it's such a big deal that some people have black or white skin. Both sides freak out over someone who is Mulatto. The Purist Movement is the same crap. They kill almost everyone in 2023 who has an ability, unless the person is both pure and willing to commit to their 'cause.' It's bullshit."

"Supernaturals entering a partnership with human hunters is rather serious." Kerii took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "If the movement continues to grow and gather supporters, it could lead to a civil war. Imagine the American Civil War, however, instead of canons and Gatling guns, the warriors throw fire, or they create a miasma of sickness, or they conjure acidic rain, which melts flesh from bone."

Reno grimaced at the thought. "If it comes to that, Neill Kincade needs to find a peaceful way to talk through the issues of both sides."

"When Justus reports back to Niall, there will be panic. Their movement is larger than previously thought. However, I am unsure as to whether or not we should speak of the man from the future."

Reno sighed. "Not yet. If he really is my only way back to my time ... back to my battlefield ... then I have to be patient."

"What if he attempts to kill you when you arrive in your time?"

A smirk spread across Reno's face. "I fully expect it."

"Is it really worth the risk? Why work so hard just to die at the end of your journey? I cannot allow you to..."

"Are you wife-ing me?"

"Nathan..."

"Look, I've got it handled."

"Do you?"

Reno nodded with a grin. "He's not coming to the future with me. I'm going to play by his rules - I'll use him and then lose him."

"How do you presume to manage such? Surely he will expect you to act, if it is his intent; people often judge others by their own standards."

"I'll tell him to 'go through' the energy field first. If the distance traveled really is dependent on energy output, I'll send him through with a static shock. With any luck, he'll appear the very next day at best."

She laughed and shook her head. "You would leave me here, in this time, with that man?"

"No, we're going to fake your death. Only a handful of people will be allowed to know you're still alive. Are you okay with that?"

She thought about her options, weighing them carefully. Kerii nodded. "I like that you care for me."

"You're growing on me," he said. "It's been a month and I feel like I've known you for years."

Her smile brightened. "Ah, so it isn't only me who feels such a way. Excellent."

"So, we have a month before we have to meet up with this dope. What's the plan?"

"Are you not the expert regarding investigatory tactics? Lead the way, Nathan."

Reno rubbed his chin. "Alright, well..." he considered his leads.

She did the same, wanting to be an equally contributing member of their two-person team. "Our largest clue linked Palestine to Washington DC. Our resources would have greater effect in Washington DC than in Palestine, unless you speak the language..."

"Palestine would be a dead end," he murmured in thought.

"Oh?"

He ran his hands back through his hair and turned to her. "We can assume these 'purist' idiots started piecing together their grand plan for some time, now. Do you know of anyone in America who used to live in that area, or speaks that language?"

"I know of no one personally. However, the Justicar of North America has lived in Washington since Colonial times. He is quite dated, and lived in Babylon, long ago."

"That's in Iraq, right?"

"It is near Baghdad."

"Right, that's the capital of Iraq. So, he's old huh? I bet anywhere is better than a desert shithole like that."

Kerii arched her brows. "The country you speak of, Irak-Arabi, has marshlands, swamps, mountains, rivers ... it has a beautiful gulf, as well."

"Yeah, but nobody lives there. It's not the Fertile Crescent anymore, now is it?"

"A thousand years ago, it was an epicenter of society. As per my understanding, the country hosted thirty million, possibly more. Less than five million live in that nation, now."

"Holy shit," Reno murmured. "That's ... weird. I always thought more people live in any one place as we go forward in time. People keep having babies, you know? The population keeps expanding."

"Much has changed in that region over the past thousand years. The reign of the Ottoman Empire is historically rich with numerous wars on countless fronts. Many supernatural persons have lived, at one point or another, in Persia. The Arabian culture is romanticized in fairytales and mythological history. Baghdad was once the metropolis of the world, as Babylonia before it."

"You never cease to amaze me with how smart you are."

Kerii bit her lower lip and smiled. "It is difficult to make a succubus blush, Nathan. I dare say you have brought a flush to my cheeks twice since I have met you."

Reno grinned at her. He rubbed his hands together, wanting to try and stay on task. "Okay! Profile time. So, it sounds like we're looking for someone really old, now living in Washington DC, who fondly remembers the old days. They probably speak several Arabian languages, but have been practicing English for long enough that we wouldn't know it wasn't their first language right off the bat. "It's likely that they have strong beliefs of what constitutes a superior race, or they might be interested in eugenics and genealogy. People who have managed to stay alive that long know better than to be public about their judgmental opinions. "They've had to change their identity so people wouldn't know they're that old, so it's likely they're very private, but you don't survive that long with a shy personality, so they are outgoing. They're probably likable, even though you wouldn't like their core personality and manifesto if you ever got to see their true nature. "They'll be educated, and they'll be up to date on the latest fashions and trends. They won't be trend-setters, because that draws attention. Instead, they'll wear what was popular as of last week, so to speak. "This person will have enough money to live like royalty, but they'll prefer to live as Upper-Middle class, because it keeps them close enough to all their connections that they can mingle with any social group. This means they're well connected, they might even know we're looking for them by now. "You don't live that long without having access to a wealth of information on current events. "They'll also have an exit strategy if they have to disappear. They'll likely have more than one contingency plan for reinventing their-self. Sound like anyone you know?"

"Niall, Clarence, the Justiciar in DC I mentioned previously, Justus, the brothers in London we now presume to become Sire and Reinhardt, Azazel - my father, and quite a few others."

"Jeeze, I thought I really narrowed things down."

"Mm, yes ... I imagine, of the quarter-million members of the Esoteric Community, you have narrowed the list to approximately one hundred persons. The question is - how many of them live in Washington DC at this very moment?"

"You think they still pray to Moloch?"

Kerii shook her head. "I dare assume this person never gave praise or worship to Moloch. To them, it was merely a symbolic icon of their rebellion against mono-theology." She linked her arm with his at the elbow. "Do you suppose that man really knew your father?"

"Why, because he brought up dad's Chevelle? Hell, if either of my parents had an ability, it would surprise the hell out of me. I never saw any proof they could do anything special. I thought they were bat-shit crazy."

"May I ask why?"

"They moved to the middle of nowhere and raised two kids like Amish hermits or something. I was homeschooled and everything. It was hardest on my little brother, Vincent. He craved friendship, or some form of socializing. Living out there was lonely for him after I moved to San Francisco. Vincent eventually joined me in San Fran."

"Why do you suppose your parents lived away from society?"

"They wanted to be off the grid. They never seemed like they were anything less than ordinary. See, I got my powers from Nathanial when he died in 2023. But Vincent? Yeah ... my brother can control a different kind of energy called radiation. I don't know if it's been discovered yet, but Vincent tells me it was a term coined by Marie Curie."

"Of whom do you speak?"

"Uh, first woman to win a Nobel Prize? Hell, it think she has two."

"What manner of prize is such?"

"Alfred Nobel? Some inventor guy."

She arched her brows as they walked together. "The Swedish Armament manufacturer? He invented dynamite. It is an explosive based on nitroglycerin. People now use it to mine for gold throughout California."

Reno laughed and shook his head. "You know, that's ironic."

"Hmm?"

"A 'peace' prize named after a guy who made arms and explosives."

"Again, I know of no such prize."

"Maybe it hasn't been invented yet."

"Do you speak Swedish or German? We could ask him, if you wish." She grinned.

"No, I speak English and a few words of Spanish. That's it."

"How are you so well learned if you speak only English?"

"Because, in the future, information is available in every translation except Latin."

"No Latin?"

"It's a dead language. People still learn it, but there's no nation that speaks it."

"Every cultured nation speaks it to some degree," she said.

"Just scholars in my time."

"How tragic."

"I guess. I mean, technically, hasn't Latin been a dead language for a few hundred years?"

"Yes, to a degree. Certainly classical Latin. Vulgar Latin evolved into Spanish, French, and the like. As you now speak English, it was once far different. In regards of Latin spoken as a nationally recognized language, yes - it has been extinct for ages. However, many Catholic masses are conducted in Latin, and..." She trailed off.

"What?" He looked up at the hotel at the end of the block. They approached the red-brick building side-by-side.

"I merely meant I cannot fathom a society that does not know Latin in this day and age. It has endured for so long ... what brought about its death?"

Reno shrugged. He opened the door to their hotel lobby for her. "Technology made it easier to focus on the modern languages. You can fly anywhere in a matter of hours in my time. You can use the internet to speak with anyone anywhere, and you can use a translator on the computer to talk to anyone. It might not be perfect, but it's good enough that they'll understand you. So why learn something else, you know?"

"God razzed Babylon and used His gift of tongues to force the people to disperse, babbling to one another. He created the language barrier to drive people apart, so they would cultivate the entirety of His Earth, be fruitful and multiply."

Reno chuckled. "People probably did it to themselves. In retrospect, people looked back on the collapse of Babylon and blamed God. Humans are assholes - they'll blame everyone and everything but themselves."

She smiled somewhat. "Your confidence and blasphemy amuse me, however I suggest you do not attempt to speak such a way to others. This is a conservative era."

"Seriously, though, people like to disagree with each other. If Babylon really was as big as the bible suggests, people got sick of the city life and moved out to the country. They evolved new ways to speak over a few generations. Look at how close Spanish is to Italian and Portuguese. But they're different." He shrugged.

They took the stairs together. "Nathan, I understand. I know too well the disgusting lifestyle of cities. People naturally huddle together; it is programmed into us by our Creator. However, the stench of fecal matter thrown from a window onto a street ... the lack of land for agriculture ... it is enough to push some people away. Thank Heaven for the modern lifestyle in which I live. My sister knew of such cities in the 1600s."

"Yeah, I suppose." He held the hotel door for their bedroom open for her. "Ladies first."

She smiled and stepped within. "So, from here, you wish to travel to Washington?"

"Sure. But first..." Reno closed the door behind himself and took her by the hips. He lifted her from the floor and sat her onto the end of the hotel bed, so they were face to face. "I figured you would be in the mood for a pick-me-up."

She placed her knees on either side of his hips and rested her hands on his chest. "You spoil me. I never dreamed one man could manage to keep me sated." Her voice lowered, becoming husky and seductive in nature. "What we have ... what blossomed between us ... it is more than just sustenance with you, Nathan."

"Yeah? How so?"

"At first, I fed with you to sustain myself. Then I fed from you because I enjoyed the fruits of your offering. But now? I indulge for no reason other than to enjoy your closeness ... I enjoy bonding. I feel something growing between us."

"So you're falling in love with me, huh?"

She studied his eyes. "The life of a succubus is a lonely one. We have suitors and consorts, but ... we have no partner with whom to share our life. This past month, however ... I feel as though you have exceeded all expectations of the definition of spouse. I know our union is not a legitimate one, but I confess ... it feels exactly as I imagine a real marriage _should_feel."

"If you're falling in love with me, then say it."

"Excuse me?"

"Did you fall in love with me, Kerii?"

She bit her lower lip.

"You don't have to be coy. You're a confident succubus, right? So say how you feel. Did you catch feelings for me? Did you fall in love with me?"

"It has only been a month, and..." She trailed off. Her nose brushed against his from their closeness.

Reno lifted her from the end of the mattress and laid her down on the bed. He moved over her, until his weight was upon her. "Just like a woman wants to know how a man feels about her, I want to know how you_feel about _me. Just be honest."

"I adore you." Her lower lip trembled and her voice lowered. "I love you."

He smiled. "Was that so hard?"

"Will you say it back?"

"I'd rather show you. It'll mean more. Anyone can say the words - I'd rather show you how I feel about you." And then he kissed her firmly.

It took her breath away. For as badly as she longed to hear him say it, she felt it in his touch. It caused chills to race down her spine.