by L J Branch
“Kitten.”
“Okay, look, we may have robbed your apartment,” Kat said as she put emphasis on the word ‘we’. Kat noticed that Abbie didn’t look amused.
“How!? It was all there this mornin’ when I left!” Abbie said incredulously. “You’re tellin’ me between the time I left and made it here, you robbed me and set all this up!?”
“We’re really good at what we do, love,” Jack piped up. “Though thanks for agreeing to stay with us, would have been awkward moving this back.”
“You’re all unbelievable,” Abbie said as she rubbed her temples and fought off a headache. Still, despite her irritation about being robbed, she couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation. “Well I guess this makes movin’ easier,” Abbie joked which put the other three at ease. “Still, how did you all manage to set my stuff up correctly?”
“Katarina instructed us,” Diamond answered.
“I picked up a thing or two from our dates, you love talking about new tech,” Kat said sheepishly which made Abbie’s expression soften. “It would be bad if I couldn’t do this much by now. We didn’t move everything obviously, just the heavy stuff so we’ll have to head back to your place and get the rest.”
“Still it’s a good thing you agreed, now we can move on to something a bit more pressing. Everyone in the band has a job and a role as you know,” Diamond began as she gestured to Abbie. “Though you’re a civilian if I had to come up with a job for you, it’s clearly being a hacker,” Diamond explained. “What we want to discuss now, is your role.”
“My role?” Abbie asked curiously. “I’m your assistant, ain’t I?”
“Yes, and you’ve performed marvelously which is why it’s time for a promotion. From now on you’ll be my advisor, my second opinion if you will,” Diamond revealed and Abbie was stunned. “You’ve proven yourself useful and even stopped me from making a very big mistake. Unlike Frost and Kat, in tense situations, you aren’t completely affected by my will as they are. The world has changed a lot since either of my parents first became thieves, a boss alone is not viable any longer in my opinion,” Diamond explained. “You will be my advisor, which is why I need you here, close, in case something occurs. So, what do you say?”
“I, well, I just hope I don’t disappoint you all,” Abbie said as Diamond extended her hand. Abbie accepted it with a grin before they shook on it, prepared to continue to work together with a new and strange dynamic to the traditional band system.
“Good, now before we have to go deliver the Shield to my father, we need to talk about your routine,” Diamond said. “You lack the abilities we have and that will never change, but as you saw last night these jobs will only get more difficult. There may come a time when you may actually need to be boots on the ground with us,” Diamond revealed. “You need to be able to fend for yourself to some degree, at least against other civilians. Kat and Jack will help you work on your body and teach you how to defend yourself, respectively. You will use the private gym in this tower and work with them after we finish our lessons. Understood?”
“Uh, sure?” Abbie said as she figured a little physical conditioning might be good for a worst-case scenario. “A little workout never hurt anybody, right?” Abbie said but soon she shuddered at the mischievous glint in Jack and Kat’s eyes.
* * *
San Diego, Blessings Medical Clinic
“Her injuries were the most severe, so she will have to stay here for a bit longer to recuperate,” Lilia, now garbed in a white lab-coat, explained to Haylen’s team and Xavier. “It was touch and go for a while but she did manage to pull through, she is definitely a strong woman.”
“That’s my Lola for you, always crawling her way back up from al borde de la muerte,” Samuel said softly as he and Jebediah looked down at Jezebel, who had a bloodied bandage over her right eye. “I swear I will get whoever did this.”
“Agreed,” Jebediah said before he turned to Lilia. “Thank you, doctor.”
“Don’t mention it, I’ll give you all a moment,” Lilia said as she made her way to leave the room. However, before Lilia could leave, she stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder and glanced back to find Haylen.
“Thank you,” Haylen said seriously.
“Don’t mention it,” Lilia said before she departed.
“Jebediah, Samuel, head home. You’re off of this job,” Haylen said without preamble.
“What? You can’t expect us to leave after this!” Samuel said as he gestured to Jezebel.
“I can and you will. Do not forget who is in charge here,” Haylen said calmly though her gaze was as hard as stone. “You’re both filled with a need for revenge and are no longer thinkin’ objectively. Go home, rest, and forget about this. I will finish the contract, all I need to do is set up some security systems as originally planned.”
“But-”
“Haylen, be reasonable,” Jebediah interrupted Samuel. “I’ve watched over you since you were but a girl and you want me to leave you alone after some punks did this to Jezebel?”
“Yes, that is exactly what I want and what you will do so long as you’re under my employ,” Haylen said matter-of-factly. “Mr. Magnus and I will finish this and once things have simmered down, I’ll head back down south and pick you all up.”
“Really? And what can this rich kid do that we can’t?” Samuel challenged as he glared at Xavier who simply raised an eyebrow in response. Xavier had no idea what he did to upset the smuggler.
“He has more power, resources, and influence than the both of you combined,” Haylen said dryly. “This is not the time to start a dick measuring contest you won’t win. Need I remind you it is because of him that you all made it to this hospital in one piece? Before you snap at the man who saved Jezebel, show some respect,” Haylen said coldly before she headed toward the door. “Mr. Magnus, we need to discuss the next step.”
“Agreed,” Xavier said as he left with her. Once they exited the room, they heard a loud bang which more than likely meant one of the men had punched a wall. “Are you sure you want to keep them out of this? Unlike you, I can deal with their memories with ease.”
“Yes, but like I said in there, their minds aren’t in the right place, they’ll do more harm to themselves than good for us,” Haylen explained.
“You care about your subordinates.”
“I’m simply protectin’ my assets,” Haylen said and Xavier rolled his eyes as he knew the concern that she had shown the previous night told an entirely different story. “Good idea, movin’ them to this clinic, by the way. It stopped a lot of unnecessary questions. Does your sister actually work here or was that some act?”
“She doesn’t just work here, she owns this place. Despite her…charming…demeanor, she means it when she says she has a bleeding heart. She can’t stand the sight of someone in pain,” Xavier said softly and Haylen could tell that he was lost in some memory or another. “Speaking of her, I apologize that you had to see that…altercation…last night. I was stressed and didn’t have the patience I normally have available when dealing with her.”
“Stop, I couldn’t care less about your family problems, especially when it seems I have my own to deal with once again,” Haylen muttered as they found a more remote place in the clinic where they could speak freely. “It’s about that group's fourth member.”
“What!? Fourth?” Xavier asked completely thrown off by Haylen’s statement. “What do you mean fourth?”
“Are you an idiot? Think, if all three of them were busy with my team, then who the hell was attackin’ our systems?” Haylen questioned and Xavier paused as he realized she had a point. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more the heist at his own business made sense.
“Thieves’ are known for their willingness to hire civilians for jobs.”
“Yes, and the way I was attacked was similar, too similar, to the work of my wayward sister,” Haylen explained. “She’s younger than me and has a record of being
rebellious and hanging with the wrong crowds. How someone so brilliant can be so stupid, I’ll never know,” Haylen said with a scoff. “What I do know, is that she bit off more than she can chew this time. If they’re willin’ to kill for what they want, then that makes them far more dangerous than that last rag-tag group of people she worked with. What you’ve told me about this…Thieves’ Guild, only proves it.”
“I see, if you’re right then this does pose a more immediate issue,” Xavier said, his voice deathly serious. “The mark of the thief is only supposed to be borne for short amounts of time, long enough for one job. If she’s been wearing it for as long as I believe then she is in danger of having her entire identity changed when they remove it,” Xavier revealed to a now startled Haylen. “Once removed, it gives the civilian false memories that cover the day prior to when it was placed up until the moment of removal. A week or two of false memories is one thing, but months? Her mind could break from that,” Xavier explained with a grimace. “Band 13, are you truly that cruel or just clueless?”
“Forget about that, how do we remove it?” Haylen asked immediately. “We need to get rid of it before it does too much damage.”
“It may already be too late, if it gets removed now, there is a good chance she could become a vegetable,” Xavier said before he suddenly found himself held tightly by his collar by an irate Haylen.
“You mean to tell me you don’t have a spell or whatever that can save her?” Haylen asked angrily while Xavier just gave her a sad look as he shook his head. “Don’t fuck with me, Magnus!”
“It is not my attention to do so, I’m simply telling you the truth!” Xavier said honestly. “Even the memory alteration spell is warded off by the mark. It’s a divine tool, a weak one, but divine nonetheless which means it can’t be tampered with by just any magic,” gray eyes mixed with blue as Haylen tried in vain to find any semblance of deceit. When Haylen found none, she simply released the Mage with a curse.
“God damn it!”
“I am sorry,” Xavier said sincerely as he felt true sorrow for the woman before him. “You really love her, don’t you?” Xavier asked and he noted how she didn’t even try to hide her pain as she did with her team earlier.
“She hates me with every fiber of her being and I won’t lie, I despise her at times myself,” Haylen said quietly as she looked up at Xavier. Haylen’s eyes shone with tears that her pride refused to let fall. “But we’re family, and a Stone never turns their back on family.”
“I see,” Xavier said quietly as he thought about his father and his love for family. “Then let me promise you this, I’ll do everything I can to find a way to fix this. My younger brother is on that band, by blood his sins are my sins and I will do my best to cleanse them,” Xavier swore. “I’ll wait for you outside and give you a moment to collect your thoughts,” Xavier said quietly as he left the woman alone in the corridor. After a few moments of silence, she collected herself and started to follow him only to stop when she heard someone behind her. When she turned around, she spotted August behind her.
“That boy is a passionate one, too much like his father without the skill to back it up,” August said with a sigh. “Forgive my nephew, he did not mean to give you false information, he is simply too young to know how this secret world of ours operates.”
“What are you talkin’ about?” Haylen questioned as she looked at the large man suspiciously.
“The mark of the thief that your sister bears,” August clarified. “It can be removed easily, that is, if the band who placed it upon her is destroyed.”
“But about her mind? Won’t that break it?”
“No, she will retain her memories, a fail-safe that was placed on the mark. This way if a band was destroyed or in danger of it, they could send a civilian back to the Guild to explain what happened. If this band is destroyed, your sister’s mark will vanish and her memories will still be intact. And with the mark’s disappearance…” August trailed off as realization began to dawn on Haylen.
“…Then your spell won’t be warded off and you can fix her memories safely,” Haylen whispered. “No,” Haylen said suddenly as she shook her head. “If your spell doesn’t work on me, it won’t work on her either then. We lived with that relic for a while.”
“My girl, that spell didn’t work but that doesn’t mean I don’t have stronger ones that will,” August said with a boisterous laugh. “They just require a bit more time to prepare.”
“Destroy the band...that means, the three of them will have to die, right?”
“No, because the greatest weakness of a band is their greatest strength,” August said as he walked toward her. “If you destroy one member of the band, the entire thing collapses like a house of cards. This works in our favor seeing how one of them has a lot of popularity amongst the civilians so losing her may draw too much attention. Xavier’s brother can also be freed from the insidious grasp of the thieves and return to House Magnus where he belongs. Only the least important one has to fall, the no name,” August said with a dark glint in his eyes. “Get rid of her, and you save your sister. One life, for your sister’s, a small sacrifice if I do say so myself.”
“How do we even know that they haven’t removed it already?” Haylen questioned quietly as the idea began to appeal more and more to her.
“Trust me, those monsters will need her skill for at least one more job,” August said and there was no doubt in his words. “What do you say? Want to help me out and save your family?”
“Tell me more,” Haylen said as a dark resolve overcame her.
“That’s my girl,” August said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. As they talked, neither noticed Lilia at the end of the hall nor the look of anger that quickly appeared on her face.
CHAPTER 13: Solstice
Santa Monica, Midas Tower
“You could hold back a little, you know?” Abbie said sarcastically as she held the side of her face. Jack chuckled as he helped Abbie up to her feet before they both moved to their sides of the ring. It had been a very painful month for Abbie since she moved in with the thieves. Kat and Jack had not taken it easy on Abbie as they trained her to her absolute limits on a daily basis. Abbie was positive that she had somehow awoken a sadistic side to Kat who was surprisingly merciless in how she trained Abbie almost to the point of cardiac arrest. “Tough love” is what Kat called it one day after Abbie woke up after she passed out in the middle of an intense session. It didn’t help Abbie that Kat and Jack were more than willing to share their nectar with her which meant they could push her far beyond what civilians were capable of. Abbie wanted to quit, but she couldn’t because despite the pain and agony, she began to show positive results.
“I am holding back, love,” Jack informed Abbie. “But our enemies won’t. I’m trying to go at your pace but you need to help me help you,” Jack said as he watched her raise her fists. “Want to get a sip of nectar or keep going? Believe it or not, you are getting better.”
“Right, because you totally didn’t just lay me out with one punch.”
“Well, he did,” Kat piped up from the sidelines. “But you lasted way longer this time, thirty seconds at least.”
“That’s thirty times longer than her first session,” Jack said with a grin. “Baby steps, love,” Jack said before they began to spar once more. Jack went on the offensive and rained down blow after blow upon Abbie whose arms trembled from each impact as she attempted to block his attacks. Abbie realized that she couldn’t keep this up forever and managed to side-step his next punch. Abbie conjured up a month’s worth of frustration and punched Jack in his jaw with all her might. Unfortunately for her, all her might wasn’t enough to do more than make his head move to the side slightly. Jack grinned before he slammed a punch into Abbie and knocked her back down onto her rear. “See, baby steps,” Jack said as he offered her a hand while Kat cheered.
“Yeah! See, you actually hit him!” Kat said as Abbie looked at her own hand in shock before s
he let Jack pull her up to her feet.
“How about we take five, love?”
“Sounds good,” Abbie said tiredly as Kat walked over and handed Abbie her flask. Abbie shuddered as she felt the healing effects of the nectar course through her body and replenish her stamina.
“By the way, Jack, Christmas is coming up soon, right? What do you want for your birthday?” Kat asked curiously.
“Your birthday’s comin’ up?” Abbie questioned curiously.
“Yes, sorry, did I forget to mention it? Happens all the time with it being on the holiday, it’s a bad habit,” Jack said apologetically. “Honestly, a nice dinner with you, Diamond, and Abbie along with Roderick and Vivi would be perfect. I want to experience what it is like to be all together for it.”
“Do you all not normally spend your birthday or holidays together?”
“Oh, we do, but my curse stopped me from truly appreciating it. This is why this year it will be my first time actually experiencing the so-called warmth that comes from a family,” Jack explained and that was quite possibly the saddest thing Abbie had ever heard from him. Even Kat, though she knew Jacks feelings on the matter, looked a bit moved by his simple want for a gift. Abbie was just touched he considered her important enough to be present.
“Sounds easy enough,” Kat said after a moment. “I’ll talk to Diamond about it when she gets back from her old man’s place.”
“Hope she isn’t there because of somethin’ bad,” Abbie said only for Kat to wave off her concerns.
“Nah, he probably just wanted a visit from her, that’s all,” Kat reassured her. “Alright, that’s it for today Jack. I need to work on her flexibility,” Kat said and Abbie shuddered when she saw the sadistic glint in Kat’s eyes.
* * *
Hollywood, Midas Manor
“Any luck on deciphering the grimoire?” Diamond asked Roderick as they sat in the garden.
“Unfortunately, no, the Knights’ Order seemed to make sure that its secrets remained just that, secret. Even when we contract civilians, the grimoire reacts to their mark which renders their efforts useless. Only unmarked civilians have a chance at deciphering it and even then, if the grimoire would deem them unworthy, they too will be turned away. Such an enchantment is expected of their Lady.”