by MJ Fletcher
“Who?”
She laughed aloud throwing her head back. “Do you foolishly think that I’m like some movie villain who reveals all because you simply ask? Please, I thought you more intelligent than that. You should count yourself lucky that you’re being offered a truce.”
“What’s the deal?”
“What?” She blinked and tilted her head shocked I’d even consider it.
“What’s the offer?”
“Simple, you stay out of our way and you and your remaining friends will be off limits. Your mother will be kept on a leash and you will remain safe.”
“By stay out of our way you mean what?”
“No more looking for artifacts or helping the Old Kind.”
I stifled my own grin. They thought I was working for the Doorknob Society. So their knowledge of my activity wasn’t very precise.
“I’m supposed to sit back and let you destroy the Society?”
“The Society is ancient and one young girl and her friends won’t be able to save it and you know that. Plus this way all of your friends will remain safe and you won’t suffer any more losses.”
Her sharp tone made me clench my doorknob more tightly. “If I can’t stop you, why even make the offer?”
“Perhaps we’re sick of fighting with children.”
“You mean losing to them.”
“Watch your tongue,” True reprimanded.
“Or what?”
“We can make things very bad for you.”
“You people have destroyed my family, hunted me, and killed my friends. How much worse can it get? So if you think I’m going to deal with you; you’re e dumber than I thought.”
“As I thought; you’re a fool.” True backed up to walk away.
“True!” She stopped and looked back at me. “I will win.”
“The Doorknob Society will never win; we’re too strong.”
“I never said anything about the Doorknob Society,” I smirked and for a moment I saw a crack in her façade. Doubt crept over her and I realized then how much of an affect I was having on the First Kind.
I turned and walked off without looking back and for the first time since I learned about the First Kind, I smiled. And I continued smiling all the way home because for the first time since this whole mess started... I saw fear in my enemies’ eyes.
Chapter Seventeen
Status: Times change.
I slammed the door closed, tossed my shoulder bag on the hall table, unzipped my jacket, tossed it on the coat tree, then turned and stumbled. I looked down and saw a set of luggage. That was odd. Dad was already on a tour and I didn’t think Gran or Jess was going anywhere. So who did the luggage belong too?
“Hey,” Jess said when I entered the living room. She was sitting next to a roaring fire, and since she hadn’t said much to me as of late I figured this was progress.
“What’s going on?”
“My apprenticeship came through.”
Old Kind doesn’t attend college after they graduate like regular folk. We are apprenticed to someone in our organization. The posting lasts two years, after which you can choose to take a position in the group or forge out on your own.
“That’s good right?” I gulped and glanced at the luggage.
“The posting is in Paris.”
“Oh.” During an apprenticeship you have to live near your trainer wherever she or he may reside and that could include another dimension entirely. “Paris is cool.” I didn’t know what else to say.
“Look, Cuz, I know things haven’t been great between us lately but I just wanted to say I don’t care what happened between you and Nightshade.” She sat across from me rubbing her hands together nervously and not looking directly at me.
“Um, thanks.”
“I’ve thought about it a lot, hell probably too much.”
“Jess.”
She held up her hand. “Let me finish, please?”
She had something to say and I needed to keep quiet, so I did.
”After thinking about it so much I realized that it wasn’t Nightshade and you I was upset about... it was you. When you told me what happened between you and Nightshade I felt betrayed. It wasn’t until I gave it thought and realized that somehow you went from being this annoying girl who I thought was wrecking my life to my closest friend. That’s when it dawned on me that you never really betrayed me. I had no claim on Nightshade, never did. I love you Cuz and I don’t want to lose you again.” She finally looked up and smiled.
I launched myself across the small space and hugged her. She squeezed me tightly and I felt a huge weight lift off me. I felt the same way about Jess, we may have had issues when we rediscovered each other but she had been one of my best friends and had always been there for me.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered in her ear and she pulled me tighter.
“I love you, Cuz,” she said softly and I couldn’t help but smile.
“Love you too.” I finally let her go and leaned back as she wiped away tears. I reached out and brushed her blonde hair away from her face, happy to have my best friend back.
“I wanted to resolve this before I left.”
“You mean you’re leaving now?” I glanced over my shoulder at the luggage.
“The posting by the Skeleton Key Guild is immediate with the truces being gone.”
“Is everything okay with the Guild?” I bit my lip unsure how things had been going for her since she had stood up for me against her fellow Guilders. They’d called her a traitor for taking my side against Darla.
“Some people don’t like that I’m related to you but that’s their problem. Darla and I had a little talk about it and it didn’t go to well for her.”
I’d heard Jess had been getting into fights so I assumed that’s what she meant. “Do you know anything about the posting?”
“It’s in the heart of Paris and with one of the best trackers in the Guild.”
My stomach sank when she said it and I had a sneaking suspicion I knew just who it was. “Who?”
“You met him. Actually, he was the man who broke up your fight with Darla... DeAndré’ Morgan. Gran helped train him.”
I tried to remain calm since I didn’t want Jess to know that her new trainer was hunting me. “That’s great.” Was all I could get out. Was Morgan using Jess to get closer to me? Was he on to me? I suspected he was and maybe taking Jess on as a student he’d get a chance to catch me. “Is tracking something you want to learn?”
“It’s something of a family tradition, plus with all the excitement and adventures we’ve faced, I didn’t want to choose something boring.”
“Yeah, right.”
“What can I say you got me addicted to the dangerous side of things,” she chuckled and I grinned back at her.
Did this mean that Jess would unknowingly help DeAndré’ ’ to track me? How the hell was I going to be able to keep my secrets from Jess? “When do you leave?”
“After dinner. Gran went shopping to get stuff to make something special for me and then Morgan is coming to collect me.”
“He’s coming here?”
“Yup.”
“Okay.” My mind raced as I tried to think of what all of this might mean.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, of course.” Jess gave me an are-you-sure-about-that- look and since we’d just mended our friendship I didn’t want to tell her that I had been keeping more secrets from her than she knew. So I did what I do best, I deflected. “I ran into Ms. True.”
“What? When?”
“Just before I got home?”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“We kind of got into things.”
“What happened?”
I relayed the offer of the truce that Ms. True had extended to me and the fact that we finally knew someone other than my mom was in charge of the First Kind. All thoughts of DeAndré’ Morgan hunting me for the Skeleton Key Guild were forgotten, at least for the m
oment.
“Who do you think it could be?” Jess asked.
“It has to be someone well connected to be able to organize the First Kind like they have.” A person came to mind but I wasn’t sure that he would be able to pull it off, though he did seem to fit the mold so to speak. He’d manipulated my family before and had been against me from the first.
“You have someone in mind,” Jess stated more then asked.
“Maybe, but I have to think about it for a while.”
“You have to let your dad know. He might have a good idea of who it could be.”
Dad was on tour, though in reality he was tracking down clues about the First Kind. He probably would have a good idea of who was really in charge. But it also made me wonder just who my mother would so devoutly follow when it meant killing her own daughter. That person I wanted to meet very badly since I had every intention of I beating the hell out of him or her.
“I’ll text him later,” I assured Jess. “We better get the table ready for dinner. Gran should be back soon.”
I lost myself in the menial task while telling Jess about my talk with Slade. She nodded in understanding and soon our chatting turned to Paris and how excited she was about her posting. I told her some of the places I knew in the city. Dad had toured France numerous times and I had gotten to stay in Paris once for close to six months. My French was passable but not nearly fluent and Jess informed me I would need to teach her some simple phrases.
Gran returned home and soon enough the house was filled with the smell of onions and browning beef and the sounds of laughter as we all enjoyed preparing dinner. I stopped thinking about all the things that were weighing on me and lost myself in my family. I wished that Dad could be here to share this family moment with us, though I was also glad that I was getting alone time with the Grimm girls before Jess had to leave.
A knock at the door snapped me out of my happy reflections and with a deep sigh I went to answer it.
Chapter Eighteen
Status: Guess who’s coming to dinner?
“Hello, Chloe.” DeAndré’ ’ Morgan stood in the doorway, his dreadlocks tied back and wearing a long dark overcoat against the winter weather. I stepped aside and ushered him into the house.
“There you are!” Gran brushed past me and hugged DeAndré’ ’. His arms wrapped around her and lifted her clear off the ground.
“How have you been?” he asked as he set her on her feet.
“Good, always busy with two young girls to look after.” She smiled gesturing to me and Jess, who walked down the hallway toward us.
“Hello, Jess,” DeAndré’ ’ said.
“Hello, sir,” Jess replied in respect to her new teacher.
“I hope you’re ready to live up to your grandmother’s glowing praise of you.” He winked at her.
“I intend to do my best, sir.”
“I’m sure you will.’ He turned to me and smiled. “Chloe, I take it you’re staying out of trouble?”
“As long as it stays out of my way.”
DeAndré’ ’ threw his head back and laughed loudly. “Girl, you are rich.” He sniffed the air appreciatively. “From the delicious scent I’m guessing that someone made their famous Goulash.”
“Of course I did, it’s my granddaughter’s favorite and lucky for you, yours as well.” Gran slapped him on the shoulder and walked off, all of us following her into the dining room to take our seats around the table.
“Tell me, why do you want to be a tracker like your grandmother?” DeAndré’ ’ pulled his napkin from the table and slid it over his lap.
“I want to make a difference and the trackers are something of a family tradition. I’ve honestly never thought about doing anything else.” From the tone of Jess’s voice I knew she’d rehearsed that line numerous times.
“The Grimm does have a long history as exceptional trackers.” He turned to me his eyes searching my face expecting some type of reaction “I believe your mother was a tracker wasn’t she, Chloe?”
“Um, I don’t know.”
“Talia was a tracker,” Gran confirmed as she placed a salad bowl in the middle of the table with a smack. She scowled at DeAndré’ ’ and he immediately leaned back in his seat and returned his attention back to Jess. I got the sense that Gran had warned him about bringing up Mom and I was glad. It was bad enough that the man hunting me was sitting right next to me; I didn’t want to discuss my mom, the traitor, with him.
“I suppose the posting being in Paris had nothing to do with why you applied.” DeAndré’ ’ laughed as he made himself a plate of salad.
“I’d be a lair if I said that didn’t help.”
”The city of lights is a wondrous place and also very dangerous if someone isn’t careful. I’ll keep you close by for the first few months while you get your bearings. Do you know any French?”
“Not really, I’d been hoping Chloe could teach me a few phrases.”
“Parlez-vous français?” DeAndré’ ’ slipped effortlessly into French asking me if I spoke the language.
“Oui,” I answered in French with the word most people knew as yes, though in French it can also mean I do, which is how I intended it for DeAndré ’ ’.
“How did you learn it?” He kept speaking in French and Jess looked on smiling, happy that it seemed the dinner was going well.
“During one of my father’s many tours there.”
“A handy thing for someone to know, I take it you know France well then?”
“Well enough.”
“Been there recently?” he asked.
I snatched my glass and took a quick drink trying to cover my nervousness. Yes, I’d been there and he had chased me and I think he damn well knew that now.
“No, I haven’t.”
“Interesting.” He smiled at me and I decided I didn’t want to speak in French anymore.
“It’s a beautiful country and I think you’ll love Paris, Cuz.”
“You’ll have to come visit her, maybe show her around a bit.”
I didn’t meet his gaze instead I concentrated on the large bowl of goulash that Gran placed on the table.
“That’s a great idea,” Jess said excited. “Once school is done you can come stay with me for a while.”
“Have you decided where you’ll apprentice yet with the Doorknob Society?” DeAndré’ ’ asked and eagerly reached for the bowl Gran had filled generously for him and inhaled deeply, a huge smile spreading across his face.
“Not yet, I’ve just been trying to finish up this year.”
“Apprenticeships fill quickly. You should think about your future, you wouldn’t want to be left out in the cold with no help,” DeAndré’ ’ said.
“I’ll be fine.”
“I’m sure DS will look out for you. That’s what SKG does for its own.”
“I’ve got time.”
“School will be coming to an end before you know it, dear. I told your father I thought he should have this talk with you sooner rather than later,” Gran chimed in.
“Why?” I asked wondering if Gran and Dad had already had thoughts in mind as to what they expected her to do.
“You need to start thinking about what you’re going to do with yourself after you finish at Paladin Academy. I know you haven’t been very close to anyone from DS but they are your Society and you need to start building relationships there.”
“I have been; I had my own team there.”
“That you left.”
“Well yeah.” A brilliant response but what was I going to say that I didn’t really trust DS? Since first meeting members of my own Society I didn’t trust any of them. So what popped out of my mouth surprised even me. “I’m close with Faith.”
“Don’t get me started on her,” Jess jumped in on the pile on.
“Look, I know not everyone likes Faith and even I have had some doubts about her but she’s helped me a lot.” My familiar headache made its return, but who wouldn’t get a headache when
receiving this much grief from your family.
Jess rolled her eyes. “I don’t trust her and I don’t see why you do.”
“Gran wants me to start getting closer to DS but the one member I am close to my own cousin doesn’t like. What am I supposed to do?”
Gran reached across the table and grabbed my hand squeezing it. “Chloe, I just think you need to be more open to working with the Society. It’s your future we’re talking about. If you don’t choose a mentor you’ll be assigned one and who knows where you’ll be posted.”
“Okay,” I relented so that I wouldn’t have to listen to anymore. “I’ll look into open apprenticeships.”
“That’s all I want.” She patted my hand “Now let’s eat.”
I picked at my food while my mind raced at top speed. I hadn’t even thought about my future; I was too busy dealing with the latest crisis. Val had tried to talk with me about it but after Nightshade died I didn’t even want to think about a future, much less believe I had one. But life moves on, nothing stops it, and now I needed to decide what I was going to do. The Doorknob Society was an option but then again I was a Polymorph I could go down the same path as Gavin and become an independent. That meant I would be on my own all the time with no backup if a problem arose.
I’d never really given DS a chance, even after they had let Dad return, I kept the group at arm’s length. Dad had encouraged it by setting my friends and me apart at the Reliquary. Maybe I did need to get closer to DS and learn if it was something I wanted to be a part of or not.
I made up my mind that I needed to pay a visit to Doorknob Society Manor and finally decide if it was going to be part of my future.
Chapter Nineteen
Status: Back to the beginning.
“This is where we met.” Faith beamed as I stepped out of the portal onto the grounds of the Doorknob Society Manor.
“Yes it is,” I confirmed with a nod. It was over a year ago when I first came here and had my first taste of the Doorknob Society. And a bitter taste it had been. Mr. Jordan had been the head of the Society then and had made it quite clear that he didn’t want me or my family around. As far as he was concerned we were a plague on the Society that had to be eradicated. I’d taught him that he had had that backwards; he was the plague. I took him down and ran him out of DS. Unfortunately, that bitter taste never left my mouth. Even when I was training here to learn how to use and define my abilities, I tended to stay away from everyone except Faith. She had always made an effort to be my friend, and it made me feel guilty for ever doubting her motives.