by Jenica Saren
"I say we take him back to V," Gatlin growled, causing Bubbles' fur to rise up on end.
"And if he's spying? For V?" Eliam argued, jabbing a finger in the potty-mouthed monkey's direction. "We just let her get any information she wants?"
"Not a spy. Not a he," Bubbles grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest as she spun slightly in the air.
"You, shut up, we're not done with you," Eliam snapped.
A door opened nearby and all of us turned our attention toward Ria, who was carrying a half-full bottle of wine with towels wrapped around her hair and body. She stopped in the bathroom doorway and stared at us all, eyebrows raised as she took in the scene. "Who are we not done with?"
11 Ria
"Who are we not done with?" I asked a room full of question marks. "I hope you're not talking about me, because I'm really tired of fighting with people. And shadowy things. And schizophrenic hallucinations. Basically, I just really want a nap."
I glared suspiciously at Kellan, who was currently holding up the demonic jungle creature by his tail. "Also, why is that evil little shit in my room?" I demanded, folding my arms over my chest and tapping my barefoot on the floor in irritation.
"Your bed was more comfortable than that floor," the dangling hell rat grumbled with a female voice.
Blinking slowly, all I could do was stare. Its mouth had moved. Words came from it. Words that I clearly understood. It looked like it was sulking almost. Maybe pouting was the better word? Either way, I had just heard it talk.
"Okay," I said flatly. "I'm out."
I spun on my heel as I set my bottle of wine on the entryway table and marched for my closet to get dressed. Clearly, my sanity had up and left the chat while I was enjoying the company of my friends, Cosmo and Wanda (don't pretend you don't know what I mean), and lavender aromatherapy. Mom always did say that aromatherapy led the path to Satan himself. Consider that a hard lesson learned.
Dropping my towel, I grabbed a black shirt and jeans from the closet and started shimmying into my outfit.
"Uh, Ria?" Gray coughed.
My shirt was only partially over my head when I turned around to face him. "What?" I asked with a frown.
"Your clothes?"
"Bro," Beck said, clapping a hand over Gray's shoulder. "Let it happen. I was enjoying the show."
I blinked at them before glancing down, reconfirming that I was naked. "Oh, you're right. I almost forgot my panties," I replied dryly. "Thanks for reminding me." I turned and walked to the dresser in the corner, opening the top drawer and intentionally selecting a lacy thong. As I pulled it on, without turning around, I heard someone groan and inwardly smirked.
"Ah, much better. Thanks, Gray," I said with a smile, returning to the impossible task of pulling my shirt over my head without removing my towel turban.
"I think we should leave," Gatlin muttered.
"What?" the unmistakable, high-pitched voice of the possessed monkey cried. "No, it was just getting good! I'm not done watching!"
I started humming to myself to drown out the sound. I finally had a minor reprieve from one imaginary voice, now I had another one to deal with. That was just my fucking luck.
"You shouldn't be watching anything, you mangy beast," Eliam snarled.
At that, I whipped around to face the room, my eyebrows invading my hairline's personal space. "You heard it too?" I gasped. "I'm not the only one?"
"No, Ria, Kel is holding the blasted thing up by his ass because it looked like a good time," he replied, sarcasm dripping from his voice like melted honey. Under normal circumstances, I would have no problem admitting that I found sarcasm extremely sexy, even on assholes like Eliam, but I wasn't allowed to go there at the moment.
“Her,” the monkey corrected once again.
"I'm not gonna argue with that," I muttered under my breath. "But, just so we're clear, I'm not crazy?"
Rafe jumped in, trying to hide the fact that he was eyeing me hungrily... Greedily. Down boy. "No, you're definitely crazy," he remarked.
"Yeah, crazy hot," Beck teased. I seriously wondered what exactly went on in that head of his sometimes.
Rolling my eyes, I scrambled into my clothes but maintained a safe distance. As big and strong as Kel was, I wasn't so sure that the evil thing wouldn't break free and come straight for me.
Eliam crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at it, his expression grave and deadly. "Start talking, beast," he commanded.
"Or don't," I said hurriedly. "I'm totally cool if you don't. Just saying."
The Sin of Pride shot me a glare that clearly conveyed, "shut the hell up".
"I'm her Familiar," the monkey said, jabbing a finger in Drea's direction.
She reacted accordingly, her face draining of colour and eyes widening in shock. "Me?" She squeaked. "What's a Familiar? It sounds like you have to be like a witch or something to have one, right? I think? But I'm not. I'm not anything or anyone. I mean, I'm someone, obviously, but I'm totally normal. Average. Boring. Everyone keeps me out of everything because I'm all breakable and stuff, you know, because I'm a normal human person." She kept rambling until her face had regained some colour, even if that colour was purple from running out of breath.
Panting heavily, she dropped to the floor, sitting there with her eyes glazed over. It seemed my best friend was going into shock, and I totally didn't blame her.
"Yes, yes, that's what Familiars are known for, isn't it?" Bubbles snapped. I was running out of descriptive phrases and had to resort to using her given name. "You're not a witch, though. In fact, I'm not entirely sure what you are."
Since everyone seemed to be stunned into silence, it fell on me to ask the real questions. Of course it did, the one person in the room terrified of the thing. "If you don't know what she is, how do you know she's your... Uh, owner or whatever?" I asked.
"Owner?" Bubbles sputtered. "She's my Host, thank you very much!"
"Fine, your Host, whatever," I said as I rolled my eyes. "Now answer the damn question, jungle demon." Oh, that was a good one.
Even as her eyes flared in indignation, she only huffed out a sound of irritation. "I smelled her on you."
"Uh, come again?" I blanched.
"I said I smelled her on you. Her scent told me that she was my Host," she explained."Well, actually, I thought you were my Host at first, and thank the gods you weren't. You're a right annoying one, that's for sure."
Annoying? I'd bet she wouldn't find it annoying if I threw her in a pot of water and served her up to all her monkey pals in a stew. In fact, I was pretty sure all she'd feel was dead - like she was about to be.
"Okay, so," Gray interrupted, being diplomatic as ever, his accent soothing my raw and angry nerves. "If you could smell that she was your Host, why don't you know what she is?"
"It doesn't work that way," Bubbles snapped impatiently. "Typically, a Host already knows what they are and makes our jobs as Familiars a walk in the park until one decides to do something stupid like raising the dead." The monkey made a low sound of disgust and I found myself right there with her. I'd already been witness to one reanimated corpse, I wasn't about to hop on board to see another.
Eliam cleared his throat, regaining our attention. "So you're not a spy, then?" He asked warily. "And you're not going to hurt Drea?"
"Or me?"
Another glare from Eliam had me rolling my eyes. It only served to shut me up because I let it. If I was in any mood to push his buttons, he'd know it.
"I cannot harm her in any way. To do so would mean my immediate and swift execution," she promised solemnly. "And if I hurt any of you, it would, by association, hurt my Host. So, that is also a negative."
"What if I punch you in the face?" Beck asked excitedly.
"It would fucking hurt, you moron," the monkey snapped back. "But, again, I would be unable to do anything to retaliate."
My heart softened the tiniest bit and I cursed myself for my sympathy. "That actually sounds hella awful," I ac
quiesced. "You legitimately have no right to defend yourself?"
"Not against my host. Many Familiars have been slaughtered in this way, because of that policy," she admitted, her expression falling into one of sadness. "But who are we to question the universe's decisions, right?"
All I could do was nod in response. The world was a cruel one, for sure. I'd had my fair share of rough hands dealt to me, but something about the idea of not being able to fight back resounded as a complete, universal injustice. It came across as evil.
"Drea?" Kellan called softly, still holding Bubbles. It amazed me how he could go so long without speaking and not have the slightest bit of hoarseness in his voice. "Are you okay?"
I glanced over at my best friend, still sitting on the floor, ashen face and glassy eyes staring blankly ahead. "Babe?" I called as I made my way over to her, giving the Familiar a wide berth. I placed a hand on her shoulder and shook gently.
It seemed to snap her out of it because she shook her head and looked up at me. "I'm okay," she reassured me as she smiled weakly. It didn't suit her, the smile that didn't quite meet her eyes.
"She can't hurt you," I told her gently. "You just need to decide what you want to do with her."
She shook her head again as though clearing her thoughts. "I... I don't know," she confessed, frowning. "I need some time to think."
I felt like complete shit. If we hadn't gone to see Lady Vermillion about my stupid crisis, the damn thing wouldn't even have been there. We would have continued on with our regularly scheduled programming, living our lives and enjoying Drea's constant light that she brought everywhere she went.
"You need to come with me, is what you need." Cloves voice from the doorway scared the hell out of me and I nearly fell back on my ass.
"Fucking wear a bell!" I shouted, gasping for breath. "And why does she need to go with you? Why can't she stay with us?"
Clove sighed and checked her watch impatiently. "Because," she said calmly. "She requires assistance and you seven have somewhere to be."
The said seven of us all glanced at each other. "Uh," I replied eloquently. "Where do we have to go, exactly?"
She made an irritated sound and tapped her foot once on the floor. "The church, of course," she told us. "There's been another flare up and - oh, you'll see when you arrive."
The bizarre woman waved a hand dismissively at us and single-handedly hauled Drea to her feet. "Off with you all now. Go on, go on!"
We all turned to look at Eliam, who's face was hardened to the point he looked like a carefully sculpted statue. He nodded once and I walked up to Beck, who threw an arm over my shoulder as we prepared to travel. With my powers on the fritz, it was safer to travel with one of the guys.
"Oh, and one more thing," Clove called out. "I'll be needing her Familiar there, you see."
Kellan glanced down at the pissed off primate and stared like he completely forgot he was holding her in the first place. After Clove cleared her throat, he reluctantly opened his fist and Bubbles dropped to the ground, cursing under her breath.
Seriously, the vocabulary on that thing.
Without another word, she took off running for Clove and positioned herself on the odd woman’s shoulder, grinning at all seven of us as she flipped us the bird.
I changed my mind. I was no longer sympathetic and definitely going to throw her in a stew. As I seethed, I clutched Beck's arm.
"Let's get out of here," I hissed, glaring daggers at the insolent cretin.
"As you wish, Princess," he replied with a grin in his voice.
In the next instant, stones filled my gut and the world spun. Then, we were off.
12 Ria
When we arrived at the church, the soft ground under my feet was the first thing I noticed. I glanced around to take stock of the scene and was surprised to see multiple large machines scattered about and piles of dirt here and there.
Thankfully, all the dirt seemed to come from outside the gates of the cemetery, otherwise, I might have projectile vomited right then and there. Especially with what Bubbles had said about people raising the dead and all that fun shit.
"They're tearing it down?" I asked, confused.
Beside me, Beck nodded. He seemed to realise that he still had his arm slung over my shoulders and hastily moved it away, clearing his throat before speaking. "Yeah, they are. Or rather, they were before the barrier went up." He clarified.
"Oh."
No one spoke as we approached the red line that marked the start of the barrier. At a glance, and for any regular human individual, there didn't seem to be anything present, just a straight shot to the run down little building. No one would think twice about the fact that they were too scared to go in, coming up with their own incredible conclusions to justify their aversion.
But, to someone who had any larger amount of magic in them, it was evident that it was there, looking like a dome of those heatwaves that come off the pavement in the summer. I could feel the power radiating from it, but that wasn't what caused me to take a nervous step back.
With wide eyes, I glanced between the guys. "Did any of you see that?" I asked in a whisper.
I pointed toward the open entryway and watched in horror and fascination as nearly opaque shadowy tendrils seeped out, joining the waves in the barrier, creating a temporary smoke-like effect.
"We do," Eliam answered grimly. Look at him, his mouth was pressed into a hard line and I couldn't tell what level of upset he was. Not that I'd ever had too much luck reading him before.
"What is it?" I pressed my hand to the barrier, feeling its glass-like surface under my palm, strangely hot to the touch.
"I don't know," Eliam admitted. Ah, definitely pissed, then. He hated not knowing.
I stared for a long time, watching the shadows creep about and then disappear into the barrier. We hadn't been able to get in before and it didn't seem like it would be any different now. The real question was what had changed so drastically, aside from the shadows, that we needed to be here?
I cut my eyes over to Eliam and opened my mouth to ask what he thought when something caught my eye. I moved slowly, cautiously toward it and had to cover my mouth to suppress a scream when I saw what it was.
Partially hidden by some torn up brush, was a body.
The guys all came running as soon as they heard my muffled cry and all stopped just a foot or two behind me. The grotesque part of it all was the gaping hole in the man's chest, black goo surrounding the opening like blood.
"A construction worker," Gray confirmed soberly.
There was no foul odour of noisome decay, no signs of bloat, and he wasn't discoloured. If I hadn't already been living a glorified nightmare, I would have thought it was a Halloween prop, with the holiday right around the corner.
"What the hell did this?" I asked. I felt as though all I was doing was asking questions, but Eliam seemed too distracted by the issue at hand to berate me for it, so I was going to consider that a small win when I wasn't feeling like I wanted to puke my guts up.
"Nothing good," Gatlin answered from directly behind me. I turned to face him and tried to keep my eyes from watering. That was an understatement. We'd defeated one bad guy already and another just popped up in its empty seat.
I looked past Gatlin at the barrier and noticed that it almost seemed to ripple at times, like the way that water does when you touch your finger to the surface. It was like something was going in or out periodically.
The urge to go and investigate was strong, but I was trying to not be the typical white girl in every single scary movie ever made. I had to be smart. "Can one or all of you guys come check this out with me? The barrier is moving."
All of the guys made a simultaneous noise of approval that made me want to roll my eyes until I could see my fucked up brain in action. Regardless of my annoyance, I was glad when they all followed behind me and stayed silent as I narrowly avoided tripping over the dark terrain.
When we reached the point that I
believed I had seen the ripples originating from, there was nothing. Just the side of the church, complete with cracked and peeling paint, and loose boards.
"There's nothing here," I commented, feeling slightly disappointed and embarrassed. "I could have sworn I saw something..."
"No, look," Gatlin whispered, moving up beside me and pulling me down with him into a defensive crouch.
My senses were suddenly on high alert and I was searching for whatever he had been talking about, but to no avail. "I don't see anything," I breathed back.
He moved his arm in front of my face and pointed to a spot in the barrier where tendrils were entering and exiting the barrier. Unlike the ones at the front of the building, these were actually leaving, going out into the world and coming back.
My skin crawled and goosebumps pebbled over my flesh. This was bad, very bad. And the worst part was trying to fight off my own anxiety as my mind tried to flash back to my battle in the very same building. While I'd miraculously become some sort of badass during the fight, it wasn't an easy one. It was another thing to add to my already over-packed case of traumatic luggage.
Ria.
"What?" I turned to the guys, who all stared at me quizzically.
"We didn't say anything," Beck answered, keeping his voice a whisper, unlike me.
Great, I was nuts again. Whatever.
I turned back to study the shadows slithering about. Whatever they were leaving to do and coming back for, it didn't bode well for any of us. We needed to figure out what was happening before something unimaginable happened, but there wasn't a feasible way to follow the shadows without risking being caught.
"You guys should follow them," I said in a low voice.
"Why the fuck should we follow them?" Rafe demanded, sounding taken aback. I didn't turn to face any of them, but I could just imagine his face.