• Chapter V: part 2


    Vincent
    I LOOKED at Seth crookedly. “What’s wrong?”

    With narrowed eyes and pursed lips, Seth looked over at the door he’d now put a ward on. Since he was half-warlock, he had the ability to use such Magic.

    “Nothing. Just had to kick out some unwanted ears,” he replied in his Icelandic accent.
    I looked curiously at the door. Could Kida hear us talking? It wouldn’t surprise me if she could considering she was half-vampire and probably inherited some sort of ability just like the rest of us. Also, the fact that she was part Nephilim meant that her abilities were unpredictable.

    “Vincent,” Seth continued. I returned my curious gaze back to him. “Of course we’re still friends. I’ll always be your friend. And that’s why I’m worried about you.” He placed his slight, elfin fingers on my hand. “Why are you doing this, Vincent? Why don’t you just give up? Stop running? You know you can come back anytime.”

    Suddenly aware of where this conversation was going, I slowly removed my hand from Seth’s grasp and placed them in my lap. Feeling the pressure of my cold stare, Seth shuffled uncomfortably in his seat.

    “You know I can’t go back, so why would you even suggest—”
    “Because you can come back,” he said with an uncharacteristic desperation. “Esther—”
    I slammed my fists onto the table. “Forget Esther!” I shouted with surprising severity.
    Although I felt guilty at Seth’s wounded expression, I couldn’t help but feel betrayed by him. Esther was the last person I wanted to think about, but Seth was my friend, nonetheless, and I knew that he only had my best intentions in mind.

    “Besides,” I said. “Michael would never allow me to go back. He hates my guts.”

    Seth relaxed and looked at me with rueful eyes. “Vincent. Michael doesn’t hate you. He cares about you. Trust me, I know. I’ve spoken with him. He wants you to come back just as much as Esther does.”

    My hands were burning where I’d been digging my fingernails into my palms. Listening to Seth talk about Esther and Michael was like being forced to listen to the screeching sound of nails on a chalkboard. And for a vampire, that can be a lethal sound.

    “You know there’s no way he’d let me go back unless I killed Kida.”
    “So what? You don’t owe her anything! I’m surprised you’re even helping her knowing who she is.”

    “She’s my sister,” I said through clenched teeth. Seth’s eyebrows shot up with an amused curiosity.

    “You’re sister,” Seth asked with a fascinated expression. I was beginning to become uncomfortable with the way he was looking at me. “And you told her that?”

    “Of course I did!” My tone of voice had taken on a sudden offense, and my breathing
    had become irregular and uneven. I hoped that Seth couldn’t notice. I hoped he couldn’t see right through me. Seth chortled and shook his head incredulously.

    “Why do you do this to yourself, Vincent?” I looked down at my fists unable to answer the question.

    “Do what things?”
    “You know what things,” he said intensely as he sat forward in his chair. “Why do you put yourself through so much unnecessary trouble? I mean, is it just that you can’t admit to yourself that she was never who you thought she was?”
    My breath caught at that statement, and I looked at Seth with a betrayed expression. How could he mention her?

    Seth’s eyes grew to twice their size when he realized what he’d said. “I-I’m sorry, Vincent. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

    But when my expression didn’t change, he sighed and buried his head in his hands. “Look. I shouldn’t have said that. I-I don’t want this to come between us,” he said sincerely. “I said I’d help you, so I will. Even if I don’t think you’re doing the right thing, I’ll help you. Because you’re my friend, and I care about you.”

    Averting my morose gaze to my hands, I said softly, “Thanks.”
    “You’re welcome.”
    He paused.

    “But you owe me.” Although I couldn’t see him, I knew that he was smiling, and I couldn’t help but smile back.

    “I know.”

    ***

    Kida
    AS I lay on the couch, my eyes lingered all over the room, at the books, the statues, the pictures and the paintings. Everything was so old and ancient that I began to wonder how old Seth was. He appeared to be so young, but faeries are immortal. Or at least that’s what
    I always believed.

    Many minutes had already passed, and I began to wonder what they were talking about. Seth didn’t really seem to be very fond of me, and the reason was a mystery. Maybe I’d done something to him in the past? After all, he is the one who brought me over here. Or perhaps he has some sort of grudge against Nephilim?

    Or…my mother…
    Every time I thought about her, something invisible stabbed me in the chest. It hurt. A lot. And the knot that formed in my throat threatened to choke me until I allowed myself to cry, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t let myself. But I wanted to know, more than anything, the truth. And I knew that both Seth and Vincent knew.

    The sound of a door opening woke me up from my little reverie, and I jerked up into a sitting position, startled. When I saw that Seth was the first to walk out, I bit my lip timidly, especially since he was no longer glowering at me. Instead, there was no emotion present on his pretty face at all. I was relieved, though, when Vincent followed behind him, a pleading and apologetic look in his eyes. I smiled reflexively.

    Unfortunately, it didn’t last long because Seth was now walking gracefully toward me. When he stood in front of me, I was drawn in by his foreign scent: something like Juniper but stronger and magnified.

    “Alright, so let’s get started,” he crooned without smiling. I managed to bring myself to stand up without rolling my eyes.

    “What are we doing,” I asked. Vincent walked over and stood next to me, almost protectively, and placed his hand on my shoulder.

    “Seth is going re-glamour you.” He smiled reassuringly when he saw my apprehensive expression. “Don’t worry,” he chuckled. “You’ll look different, but you won’t feel any different.” I nodded and looked up at Seth, who was staring at Vincent unpleasantly. I wondered what they had talked about.

    “So,” Seth began. “I guess she ought to look the same as before?”
    Vincent started to nod.

    “No, wait!” They both looked at me oddly, and I hurried to explain myself. “It’s just that I already told everyone that my natural hair color was black, so maybe I could just keep it?”
    Seth shot Vincent and inquiring glance.

    “Okay,” Vincent agreed. “But could you make it a little less…shiny?”
    Seth smiled crookedly and nodded. Although I would miss the shine and the silky texture, at least I got to keep the beautiful color.

    “Alright,” Seth said. “Hold still.”
    I shut my eyes tightly and waited for something or anything to happen, to tell me that he was finished, but I couldn’t feel a thing.

    “All finished,” he finally said after only a few seconds.
    That was fast, I thought. Seth pointed over to the side where an antique mirror was leaned against the wall. Taking in a deep breath of air, I walked over and looked at myself in the mirror. Everything about my appearance seemed to be like it was before other then my hair. The skin was no longer shiny like metal, and my eyes were no longer red. I let out a sigh of relief.

    Back to normal.




    AFTER GETTING all glamoured up, I followed Vincent and Seth down a narrow spiral
    staircase into what appeared to be a normal weapons room. That is until I looked around the corner.

    My jaw dropped to the floor, and I gasped with disbelief when I saw the huge city that faded into the distance. It was like it came out of absolutely nowhere. At one end you’re in a normal weapons room, and at the other, you’re in what appeared to be New York City.

    There were huge sky-scrapers piercing the gray, overcast sky, and the fact that it was completely void of any inhibitors was very intimidating.

    “How is this possible,” I whispered, completely awestruck.
    Vincent walked next to me so silently that I almost didn’t notice. “Remember who Seth is. He’s capable of very powerful Magic. This is only glamour. It’s doesn’t actually exist.” He looked over at me with an exciting smile. “But it’s pretty amazing, though, isn’t it?”

    I nodded my head without replying. It was the most amazing thing I’d ever witnessed.
    “Okay,” Seth said from behind. “Let’s find you a weapon.”
    “A weapon?” I asked anxiously. What reason was there for me to have a weapon?

    “Well,” Vincent explained. “You’re going to need to be able to defend yourself. Especially if I’m not around.”

    “Why wouldn’t you be around?” Vincent didn’t answer immediately, but looked at me as if he were perplexed. Like I should know what he meant.

    “Kida, I won’t be here—”
    “I doubt she’ll want a sword,” Seth interrupted.

    “Probably not,” Vincent answered without finishing his previous comment. I pursed my lips, annoyed. “I don’t think she’s very skilled in sword-play, and there’s not enough time to teach her.”

    Why wouldn’t there be enough time?
    “How about guns?”
    “Guns?!” I screeched. Vincent laughed at my reaction.

    “Yeah, why not? Guns are fairly modern, and you can learn how to use them a lot faster than anything else.”
    Guns. I’d never pictured myself holding a gun, but then again, I’d never pictured myself holding any type of weapon.

    Seth went over to a rack of various guns and pulled off what looked like a small, silver 9mm rifle but a little larger. “Here. See how it feels,” he said handing me the gun. It was a bit intimidating at first and much heavier than I thought a gun would be. When I got a better look at it, though, I noticed a bunch of small markings tattooed on the side.

    “What are these,” I asked. Vincent leaned forward and murmured something in a strange language to himself.

    “Runes. Ancient markings. Most likely these were painted on here by Witches in order to kill Other-worlders, especially those that aren’t easily injured.”

    “Like vampires?” I asked.
    “Like vampires,” he said as he gestured for me to follow him. “Vampires, faeries, demons…you name it, that gun can probably kill it. Assuming that whatever Witch made that gun painted on all the Other-worlder runes.” He stopped abruptly and grabbed the gun, turning every which way. “But it doesn’t look like it uses bullets, so you can’t hurt humans. That’s good in this case. I don’t want you getting any ideas.”

    “Ideas?” I said offended. “You think I’d kill someone?” He didn’t answer. Instead he stopped right where the room faded into the city. “Are we…going in there?” I asked nervously.

    Vincent shook his head. “No. You couldn’t if you tried. This is where the room ends. It just doesn’t look like it.”

    This whole ordeal at this point just seemed so out of the ordinary, so impossible, and at the same time, so absolutely amazing.
    “Alright, so here’s how you use the gun.” I watched attentively as Vincent demonstrated how to shoot and aim the gun. “It’s got a good kick, so be sure to keep a good grip on it.” He handed me the gun and gestured for me to get into position. “Shoot anything that tries to attack you,” he said as he stepped away, and I didn’t have time to ask questions.

    Before I could even blink, what I assumed to be a demon leaped out of a building and literally flew towards me! I was too petrified to lift my gun. Besides there wasn’t much time to think. It was so terrifying with its black wings and grayish skin, and right as it was about to claw me with its talons, I shot the gun. The kick caught me off guard, and I ended up dropping it, falling on my back in the process.

    I’m dead! I’m totally dead! I covered my face protectively with my arms and waited for the attack. But instead of being clawed to death, nothing happened. I peeked out of one eye to see Vincent and Seth leaning over me.

    “Maybe we should start her out in a shooting range,” Vincent proposed.
    “I think that’s a good idea,” Seth said with a smirk.

    How embarrassing. I watched in amazement as Seth blew in his hands, rubbed them together, and snapped his fingers. What appeared to be glitter fell from his hands and scattered throughout the room, and as it settled, the city faded into a normal shooting range, equipped with not only targets but a great view of a large field and a mountain in the background.

    “Nice,” I said amazed. Seth turned and smiled at me with a proud smirk.
    “Yeah. Let’s hope you can at least hit the targets on this one,” he said with a severe disdain. I swallowed reflexively.

    He really doesn’t like me, does he?

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