“They are not known for cuisine.”
“What! Burgers and fries are typically American. I’ve heard Texas makes the best tacos. We should go once this drama with Cane is over.” Pandora licked her lips. “Oooh and it’s got to be tuna.”
“If you don’t concentrate, I’ll dump you on the border to Me-he-ko, it’s a stone’s throw away, and down some tequila yelling arriba, arriba.”
“Meeeow, somebody is catty today.” Pandora extracted her claws and pawed. “By the way, I hated that cartoon.”
Luxor held in a laugh and smacked her hand. She bit the skin off the side of her thumb. She was in two minds; dreading Evie’s wrath and missing her with a vengeance.
“Now you’re scaring me.” Pandora said.
“Don’t worry, you won’t be her focus.”
Luxor peered through the crowd and towards the back. Her eyebrows rose as Melita flirted with Jake and laughed a bit too loud as she laid the charm on thick. Beside her Theo and Castor roughhoused with each other, their boisterous behaviour capturing the attention of other patrons who didn’t dare say anything.
“Who are they?” Pandora jutted her chin towards the pool tables. “I didn’t get a formal introduction at their house.”
“Hunter’s brothers and sister,” she said crooking her fingers near her head. “But I call them the triple terrors.”
“Do I want to know what that means?”
Luxor shook her head. “I’ll be back.” She strode towards the trio with a falsified bravado. They might have assisted with Cane, but their disdain remained. They lounged about not even acknowledging her presence.
“Hello, dearest Luxor, did you enjoy your holiday?” Castor said.
“It was paradise,” she deadpanned. “Where’s Hunter?” she said, not bothering with pleasantries.
Melita scowled and shoved Jake away, as if he was diseased. “Not here.”
“Thank you, captain obvious,” she huffed. “Is he sick?”
“Yes, of you,” Melita sneered.
Castor peered down at her pocket. “His trademark Skittles, a tell-tale sign of love.”
“Excuse me?” Luxor held a hand over the pocket of her jeans. She found carrying around a packet weirdly comforting.
“Dumb kariola would believe anything she’s told,” Castor spat, dropping the cue and stalking closer.
“You’re a disgusting pig,” she growled out. She understood perfectly the vile name he called her, what she didn’t understand was his continued hostility, especially after what had transpired with Cane.
Castor entered her personal space, and she inhaled a sharp breath, pressing her thumb on her birthmark. A menacing glare entered his cold, grey eyes, as he tilted his head to the side. “You understand our language…interesting.”
“Enough, leave her be.” Theo blocked him off, and faced Luxor, shielding her and removing the ache. “He’s gone. Nobody saw him leave, but everything was taken. Don’t take it personally, he does this a lot,” he spoke with gentle softness, a stark contradiction to his rough exterior.
Castor chuckled. “She should.”
“Cut it out,” Theo called after him and sighed. “I better go before he starts trouble.” He lay a gentle hand on her shoulder and followed his brother.
“So that’s it huh?” she called at his retreating figure.
Theo paused and over his shoulder replied cryptically, “Unfortunately, not by a long shot.”
Luxor returned to stand beside the booth. She stewed over their words and held in the hurt and regretted approaching them. She stuck to her intuition that Hunter would have eventually hurt her despite his promise he wouldn’t. But things didn’t add up. Family meant everything to Hunter and he wouldn’t abandon his family. Unless they truly knew his whereabouts.
So, where is he?
“The stranger returns,” Evie said, and scowled. Luxor stepped forward and opened up her arms, but she retreated and crossed her arms. “Where were you?”
“Let’s sit, it’s quite a story.”
“I bet it is.” She moved to the end of the booth, and Luxor slipped in next to her.
Inez and Ayla returned carrying trays of foods and drinks, and dispersed it on the table, a buffet of calories spread out before them enough to feed a small village. A cloud of silence had descended above them, secrets all of them had threatened to shred them apart.
Evie scrutinised the food as if laced with poison.
“Hey Evie,” Ayla said, sitting on the opposite side.
Evie sniffed and turned her head away, before narrowing her eyes at Pandora who seemed unfazed by the death glare.
Luxor let out a small breath. “The reason I had to go away was it was the anniversary of my mother’s death. It was supposed to be only for the weekend but then Meredith received a phone call about a gas leak and decided to extend our stay.”
“And you couldn’t call, or text? I was worried sick. I thought you were in an accident or died.”
“Meredith took my phone away. She claims I’m obsessed and I need to be respectful without the disturbances of phone calls and messages, by not being glued to the screen.”
“That’s just dumb, you hardly touch your phone,” Evie said. “And you, Ayla?”
“My father needed my help with his business,” she said. “And then helping Pandora settle in. She’s an exchange student.”
Evie furrowed her brow. “An exchange student? Since when do we get exchange students? Who did we exchange? When did this happen?” Her voice became more urgent with every question.
“It’s a new incentive to honour the Kenyan cultural year,” Pandora said quietly.
“Huh?” Evie scratched her head. “Is this legit?”
“Absolutely,” Ayla said. “My father signed up last year, and I’ve been organising Pandora’s arrival.”
“Guess it makes sense why you’re so flighty.”
Oh my God, she’s believing it.
“This doesn’t make sense, especially added to other factors. Most of our class had disappeared too. I actually was disappointed not to be subjected to Scarlett’s bullying.”
“Don’t get used to it. Was Hunter around?”
“Well no. Those idiots were still around, mainly at The Blazin’ Bakery. I swear there’s something fishy going on with those sweets.”
Luxor snuck a look at Ayla and Pandora who kept their mouths shut and acted as if they were in their own world. She had divulged the truth about the true dealings of what really was inside. Ayla voiced her disapproval whilst Pandora kept wanting an invitation to go and check it out.
“You didn’t see them at school?”
“What school? Remember Robby Redman?
“No.”
“He’s, or was, in our history class. He has these ratty dreads. Anyways he committed suicide.”
Luxor remembered now. Robby had sent a paper plane her way begging her to change places after he was stuck with a chatterbox for the rest of the year. Hunter had intercepted and promptly scrunched the plane into a ball.
“I had to keep myself company like a loser watching re-runs at the theatre hoping Becky Tan wasn’t working.”
“Back-up. He committed suicide? How?” Luxor said.
“Threw himself off the school roof. I’m glad I was late for school that day.”
“You’re always late,” Ayla deadpanned.
“That’s awful,” she said. She couldn’t imagine how the suicide would have affected everybody who had witnessed it. Death was horrible, no matter what the circumstances were.
Evie shrugged nonchalantly. “Yeah, but I have my own issues to deal with rather than decipher why somebody would kill themselves.”
Luxor gawked at Evie, and at her blasé attitude as she digested the latest news. A suicide in bigger towns and cities would go unnoticed, but in Brighton Falls with a small population and where everybody knew everybody, even one life lost, especially in a non-natural way would be cause for alarm. A selfish part of her thoug
ht when Cane eventually struck, and if lives were lost, the strange circumstances wouldn’t come as a complete shock.
Suicide and murder are two different things though.
“Are you going to eat?” Luxor said, shaking her head of morbid thoughts.
“Nope, I just had breakfast.”
“Since when has that ever stopped you?” She laughed.
“Since now,” Evie said flatly. “What’s up with the get up?” She pointed to Luxor’s arms. “It’s an improvement, you’re almost in the summer groove.”
Luxor pulled up her full-length gloves which she had cut off at the wrist. Even though the non-celestial couldn’t notice her true veins, it didn’t stop the Habiti or any other entity from knowing how powerful she was.
“I’m trying to see if a new fashion trend takes off.”
Evie chuckled. “The eighties had leg warmers so why not?”
She smiled. “Am I forgiven?”
“Fifty percent.” Evie gave a conspiratorial smile.
Luxor pressed the button on her phone. She still had a couple of hours until her appointment with Valencia. After the run-in with Theo and Castor and their ambiguity about Hunter, she needed answers, and surely, Valencia would be in the loop.
“Okay I’ll make up the other fifty percent later,” she said, sliding across the booth. “I have my doctor’s appointment to go to.”
“I’ll take you, there’s more to this story you’re omitting,” Evie said, leaving no room to argue.
Evie drove up and down the darkened street which housed The Renaissance Centre. Cars packed both sides of the street making it impossible to find a space. “This area is creepy. Where exactly is it?” She flicked on her high beams.
“There.” Luxor pointed to the small door on the corner, but her attention was focused straight ahead.
With no other option Evie eventually parked way down the street. “Wow, looks like the loopy are out in force,” she said, putting the car into neutral.
“Thanks,” she deadpanned.
“Oh, I didn’t mean you, I just didn’t realise so many people had mental problems.”
Luxor frowned. “Yeah I think you should stop before you truly stick your foot in your mouth,” she said. “I’ll buzz you when I’m done.”
“Remember I love you because you’re crazy, because you’re like meeee.”
Luxor slammed the door and waved once to signal Evie’s departure. A large building loomed before her which previously wasn’t there, indeterminable and see-through, blending in with the background. A shimmer of purple and pink glinted off the holographic glass exterior as she made a move to enter The Renaissance Centre, to find out what exactly she saw.
A high-pitched squeal caught her attention, and she stopped in her tracks.
“Let go!” A small body thrashed, gagging noises coming from his throat.
“Hold still or I’ll snap your neck,” a familiar voice growled.
Hidden partially out of sight, Castor held one arm around the waist of a young child, his hand around their throat. The boy kicked to and fro into his shins. He held firm and chuckled as if he was amused by the antics.
“Careful with him, unless you want to lose a limb,” Theo warned.
“Relax brother, he has no power over me.” The boy clamped down on Castor's finger, and snarled, his teeth tinted with blue. “You fuckin’ shit, you’ll pay for that,” he hissed, and slightly loosened his grip.
“I dare you to touch me.” The boy spat the blood on the asphalt. He angled his body, his hood slipping off.
She surveyed the boy to see if there was anything unique about him. At first glance, nothing stood out, his hair was shorn to the scalp, too fair to properly distinguish the colour, and his ice blue eyes stood out from a complexion devoid of colour.
His eyes zeroed in on Luxor. “God, help me,” he urged.
Castor snickered. “What a joke. Put your faith elsewhere.”
Luxor placed a finger to her lips and slunk into view, containing her fury at bay. It would have been easier to create a scene and make herself known but she was unsure of the outcome. Theo and Castor, despite their help with Cane, hadn’t proven they were on her side. Hunter was their only link, and with him gone the line was increasingly blurred.
“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” Luxor barged forth.
Castor ignored her. He stared into a silver box on the side of the door and a buzz emitted. Theo pushed him inside of the door, and they disappeared out of sight, the door slamming shut.
Luxor followed them with trepidation and rapped on the screen. “Hello and welcome to The Renaissance Centre, a home to the gifted, please supply your verification.” Valencia said in a chirpy voice.
Luxor removed a contact and balanced it on her forefinger, placing her irises against the screen. A blue light scanned across. “Access denied.” She rubbed her eyes and blinked away the stars. She removed the other contact and tried again. “Access denied.”
“Ugh, come on,” Luxor grumbled, re-inserting her contacts. She banged the screen with the heel of her palm. At the corner of her eye, she noticed a black button on the left-hand corner of the screen and buzzed. “Hello.” She tapped the screen, hoping it was some sort of intercom.
Silence.
“Screw this.” She almost facepalmed herself.
Why bother when I can go straight to the source?
Luxor practically danced on the balls of her feet at finding out about the latest development at The Renaissance Centre. The aroma of lavender lingered in the air when she entered the packed waiting room, a selection of people, mainly parents with young kids on their iPads made up the majority of the room.
"Hello, welcome to the Renaissance Centre," a girl said. She was hunched over on a stool, flipping through a fashion magazine.
Luxor tapped the bell on the counter to get her attention. The girl let out an exaggerated sigh. "I need to see Valencia, it's an emergency."
The girl briefly glanced up before she resumed her flipping. "Join the queue," she said in a bored tone, chewing loudly on her strawberry bubble gum. "Do you have an appointment?"
"Not til later."
"Well come back later." She waved goodbye dismissively.
Luxor wanted to throttle her. She tapped the bell louder with a quick consistency. "I need her now, she'll want to see me."
The girl stood up on her full height and with her sky-high stilettos and closely cropped hair, she was level with Luxor. And intimidating. "Listen here girlie, Dr. Lawson is busy, and all her patients are as important. What makes you special?" she asked rhetorically with a stern expression.
If only she knew.
Luxor didn't have time to get into an argument with the girl even though she was only doing her job. Valencia had to help explain. She bumped the girl aside and rapped repeatedly on the pine door a few times hard until her knuckles burned and turned a bright pink. She heard high heels clicking towards the door and waited for the door to open, except the sounds retreated as if they were walking away.
The door opened and Valencia viewed Luxor's demeanour with alarm.
"It's okay Dani, cancel my appointments for the rest of the day," Valencia said.
Dani parted her lips and exchanged glances between Luxor and Valencia but she quickly shut her mouth. Luxor raised an eyebrow and smirked.
"Come in Luxor, this must be an emergency," she said in a soft tone, and ushered her in.
Luxor nodded. She didn't have time to conjure up what she would say, instead she paced around the reclined chair. “Kind of.”
"It better be."
She peered back, and picked her nails, feeling guilty for being selfish and putting her rant and need for answers over the needs of the children in the waiting room. Were they all Nephilim? Did Valencia help humans as well? She never bothered to ask.
“While you appear to be in confliction mode, do you have your notebook? Maybe I can help and decide if you’ve wasted my time.”
; Luxor slipped the notebook out of her backpack and passed it along. From the first session Valencia had given it to her, she carried it everywhere. It was supposed to be cathartic to express her feelings since some words can get lost in translation. Luxor wasn't able to write anything, she had never been one of those girls who kept a diary, to write about crushes or secrets. She'd always been too scared it would be found and so kept it buried inside behind a phoney smile everybody she was reduced to wearing.
"Do you think this is appropriate?" Valencia frowned. She slammed this book shut and placed it on the desk with an exasperated sigh. She rounded the desk and opened the top drawer, popping out two ibuprofens and gulping them down with water from her bottle.
Inside, on pages upon pages, Luxor wrote “Beware of the light, stand too close, and it will obliterate.”
It would have been easier to write Lucifer is my father, but that dark and poetic line continued in her mind each and every night. Cane might not have been there in the physically sense but his voice was always there.
"I think there's something you have to see." Valencia left the room with Luxor right behind her out in into the empty waiting room. She peered through a glass pane on the side of the door. A blue scan crossed across her retinas.
"Accepted. Welcome Valencia to the Renaissance Centre." A couple of seconds later, when they were sandwiched between another door, she turned to her. "I need you to keep an open mind."
Nothing can shock me at this point.
The second door slid open, and Luxor had only taken one step into the airy interior before a blur ricocheted in her direction, skimming the material on her arm. She screeched and ducked in time just as a sonic boom exploded, and she was flattened to the floor.
"Move away. Now!" a domineering voice boomed.
A few medics ordered everybody back and pried the two boys apart. Even contained, they continued to attack each other with their gifts, a combination of fire against speed. While two medics held the boys down, another one opened up his case and jabbed each boy with a glistening syringe in the neck. They jerked for a split second before slowly succumbing to the poison and becoming lax.
Betrayed: The Chronicles of Luxor Everstone Book Two Page 4