What Not to Do (Kallisti)

[Aiden Finnegan]

Aiden was guided in by the staff after being asked to put the cigarette out. Wallets snapped discreetly in the lobby; eyes glued to him. He discarded the butt without protest and was eventually brought to a shadowy table near the front. Sage and Dimitri were already tucked in, the middle seat left free between them. Aiden flashed the pair a smile before taking his seat and placing a drink order. Dimitri had already begun to sip upon a vodka tonic. He leaned in towards Aiden and whispered, “Whatever stunt you two were pulling outside, it’s already being talked about on the Scroll.”

Aiden’s expression did not alter a hair. He knew exactly what he had been doing. Why, Jaxen had been the one to start it – not Aiden. Let the man deal with the media and the paparazzi and the snakes. Whatever article was written about the night, it would only prove to be a passing annoyance. Would the paparazzi be following Aiden again? Most likely. But then, he was about to release a new novel. The repercussions of fame would have begun to edge back into his personal life sooner or later. He sighed quietly to himself.

“Ignore them for now. We’re here to see and support Nox. Forget Jaxen,” Aiden whispered back to Dimitri. The man rolled his eyes and slid his Wallet back into his coat pocket. Aiden’s hand found Sage’s and he gave him a reassuring peck on the cheek. The waitress was back with the whiskey before Aiden’s face pulled away from Sage’s. Aiden smiled lovingly at him and grabbed the whiskey with his other hand.

Aiden’s attention was pulled away as Nox sauntered out onto the stage, looking very much like the late, great Elton John. The look was a little over the top, but it suited Nox surprisingly well. Aiden had never donned feathers in any of his own stage looks – only leather. Lots and lots of leather. Memories flooded back to him of sweaty, screaming bodies and the hot lights of the stage. Maybe he would reconsider a Blarney Stoned reunion in the future, a one-night engagement perhaps. Such a thing would only be possible with a reconciliation with Kyle Rice. That was a feat not even Aiden Finnegan felt he was ready for just yet.

Nox began to layout some ground rules for the show as he took the mic. Aiden’s eyebrows shot to the ceiling as the words ‘Atharim’ were spoken over the speaker system. Fireballs errupted, no doubt due to Nox. They floated up and exploded into a glittering rain of tiny embers. Aiden smirked. His friend had come a long way from hiding in the basement of a mansion, running from the very thing he now called out. It was a shame they could not take the snake out. Three Gods? Maybe more? They could surely make short work of it.

But that would have surely outed Aiden and put a price on his head to boot.

That would never do.