by R. Mason
“Harper!” Faye yelled, yanking on the door, “Harper! Where are you?!”
No one answered, and Faye’s breaths came fast and heavy. She was alone. One blink, and she was back in the crypt.
◆◆◆
Her head wouldn’t lift, so all Faye could see was dark boots pacing in front of her. It took a moment for the reality of the situation to set in. She must’ve mumbled something, because the boots stopped. Her heart stuttered, and all she could do was screw up her face.
Everything ached. Her left shoulder felt displaced, and her right eye wouldn’t open. There was something trickling down the right of her face, and she couldn’t be sure whether it was sweat or blood.
“Awake?” A voice said, the owner of the boots. Because she still hadn’t rose her head, a rough hand forced it upright and caused a loud heartbeat to pump through Faye’s head.
The man was old, worn, his round glasses cracked and probably worn for sentimental reasons rather than for practicality. Faye struggled to blink against the light behind him. Was it day time? She blinked again and saw dusty stairs on the other side of the room. They were underground.
The memories came rushing back to her. The rush to Amethyst’s house, the arms around her neck, the whispered warnings not to move in her ear, the hard, cold metal of the van she was thrown into.
She blinked again.
The man moved his hand away and tutted. Faye’s head lolled back onto her chest.
All she could think was ‘I’m going to die down here’.
That was when the next hit came.
◆◆◆
Thrown back into the present, Faye slid down the door, tears in her eyes. Someone had taken Harper, and she was alone again. She knew they shouldn’t have trusted Leon.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Awkwardly waiting for her tea to be made, while the guy that tried to kidnap the secret love of her life was stood next to her, twiddling his thumbs, was not what Amethyst thought she would be doing today. Maybe being bad in maths, which she was, or being questioned in English, which she was. This little after school activity, though, was not a predictable event.
“Here you go,” The barista smiled at the three of them, Amethyst took her tea, and handed Dylan his scone.
“I don’t know how you can eat,” Amethyst said to him quietly, as Leon went to sit in the booth they left their jackets on.
“I’m doing it to piss him off,” Dylan replied with a smile, “He looks like he hasn’t eaten in days.”
“Oh,” Amethyst teased, “You’re a bad ass.”
“I’m the baddest.”
“Is that even a word?” Amethyst asked, shuffling into her booth.
“Probably not,” Dylan shrugged, putting his plate down and joining her. He sliced into the scone with relish, inhaling through his nose dramatically when sweet smelling steam floated off the food. Amethyst rolled her eyes and took a tentative sip of her tea.
“So,” Leon interlinked his fingers in front of himself, “What do you want to know?”
“Everything,” Amethyst said, “Where did Kamini come from? Why is she so fixated on me? And why is she more powerful than other wolves?”
Leon sighed, and leant back in his seat.
“She’s going to kill me for this, you know.”
“I’m sure you can hold your own,” Dylan said with his mouthful, “You’re a big boy.”
Instead of replying, Leon just glared at the food on Dylan’s plate, then turned to Amethyst, seemingly removing the other boy from the conversation.
“Kamini is extremely closed off about her past,” He started, “She doesn’t talk about it. All I know is that she’s been travelling since she for years, attacking anyone she feels like. The lucky ones that survive get collected later. I guess she decided you were special,” Leon smirked, “Like a princess.”
“Say one more creepy thing and you’re out of here,” Dylan threatened, somehow trying to be authoritative while daintily picking at a scone.
“It’s fine, Dylan,” Amethyst sighed, “Go on.”
“She always mentions a girl,” Leon continued, “An ex or something. At first she would just mutter under her breath in French and no one would have any idea what she was saying.”
“Did you ever find out?” Amethyst leant forward on her elbows, “Who was she?”
“Her name was something like Ayota, or Ayita,” Leon inspected his nails, “I remember looking up what it meant, because it was one of the only words I didn’t at least recognise. It means ‘little’ or ‘little one’. I can’t remember. I’m guessing something bad happened or- are you okay?”
Amethyst couldn’t breathe. No wonder Kamini hardly ever referred to her by name. She wasn’t meant to be someone new to have, she was a replacement of someone old. It made her think of all those episodes of crime TV shows where someone was obsessed with recreating an old flame.
“I’m little one,” Amethyst swallowed, “That’s what she calls me.”
“Guess my theory is right, then,” Leon raised an eyebrow, and looked Amethyst up and down in a way that made her skin crawl. She wanted to run, to hide, to hurt someone. Closing her eyes. She took in a deep breath and tried to slow her heart beat. The last thing she needed was to lose control in the middle of a café.
“I’m what?” She asked eventually, “Some kind of replacement?”
“Probably,” Leon still had that look on his face, like he was putting all the pieces together. Suddenly the homeless teenager was gone, and the boy from the forest, the one who had taken Faye, was back, “You have no idea what she’s planning, do you? It makes sense now,” He tapped his fingers against the table, his mouth turned up in a small, knowing smile, “I mean, look at you. You’re perfect.”
The way he said it didn’t sound like a compliment. It sounded like she was a part of a machine. His tongue curled around the word like he was inspecting a race horse.
“Perfect?” Amethyst scoffed, “I’m not a commodity. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a person, with a life, and this smug act you’re doing right now is pissing me off.”
“You’re easily irritated then,” Leon stopped tapping his fingers, and gave Amethyst his undivided attention, “Not everyone is peachy clean like you and your gung-ho gang of idiots,” He leant forward, his face inches away from Amethyst’s, “Some of us have to do what it takes to survive, and sometimes that means being the bad guy. Don’t act high and mighty until you have to make the same choices I have.”
“I don’t care about your tragic past,” Amethyst clenched her knuckles to hide the fact that they were shaking, “I care about what’s happening now. And what’s happening now, is that you said you were going to help us, and all you’re doing is being a prick.”
“Shall I go?” Leon made to stand up, then took in the shocked look on Amethyst’s face and sat down again, “Didn’t think so. I’m the one here with the information.”
“You’re homeless, right?” Dylan had pushed his plate away, and moved closer to Amethyst in some display of comfort, “You’re sleeping in the woods.”
“Yes,” Leon answered after a moment, his eyes hard. That was the answer Dylan wanted, and he smirked.
“I have a garage you can stay in,” He offered, “But only if you tell us what you know. I’ll bring you food and water and maybe even a sleeping bag.”
“Why would I take that offer?” Leon shook his head, as if Dylan had just told him to jump off a cliff.
“Because you need to do what it takes to survive,” Dylan said smoothly, “And I don’t see anyone else offering you a place to stay since you left your gang of ‘gung-ho idiots’. So, tell us what you know, or you’ll stay homeless,” He punctuated the end of his sentence with a huge bite of a scone, and Leon dropped his gaze.
Amethyst couldn’t help her smile. She never thought that Dylan would be the kind of person to catch someone’s weakness and use it against them. To be honest, she was just glad they were on the same side. Who knew
what weaknesses Dylan had seen in her.
“Fine,” Leon sighed like it was the hardest decision he had ever made, “I don’t know everything though, and that isn’t a lie.”
“Amethyst?” Dylan turned to her for an answer, and she sighed.
“I’ll take what you can give.”
“Good,” Leon clasped his hands together, and started to say more, but was interrupted by someone joining their table.
“Harper?” Amethyst looked out into the café to see if Faye was with him, “Where’s Faye?”
“She’s fine,” Harper smiled, “I left her with Volkov. I didn’t want you guys to do this alone.”
“We aren’t alone,” Amethyst said, “We have each other. And how could you leave her with Volkov? He doesn’t seem like much of a fighter.”
“He fights more than you’d think.”
“Hello, tall dark and handsome,” Leon raised his eyebrows, “Don’t trust me not to hurt your little friends?”
“I wouldn’t trust you to look after a cockroach,” Harper said simply, his face blank, “What has he told you?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Amethyst snapped, “We were actually getting somewhere before you arrived so shut up.”
“Amethyst,” Dylan said gently, “He’s just trying to help.”
“And I’m just trying to find out what a psychopathic serial killer wants with me, while trying not to worry about the fact that my best friend is being looked after by an old man that faints.”
“I was just trying to support you,” Harper blinked like he’d been slapped, and Amethyst scoffed.
“Looks like she really appreciates it,” Leon teased.
“Shut up, Leon,” The other three shouted at the same time, and he slouched in his seat.
Only Dylan nudging her and nodding at her hands made Amethyst notice that she had been digging her fingernails into her palms to the point where they bled. She uncurled her fingers and tried to smile at him.
“Leon,” She said what she hoped was calmly, “Tell us what you know, and then we’ll take you to Dylan’s.”
“Wait, what?” Harper gaped, “He’s not going to Dylan’s.”
“That’s the deal we made,” Dylan said.
“No!” Harper slammed his hand down on the table, which made half the café turn to them in surprise, “We can’t trust this guy. He’s not going to yours, end of story.”
“You’re not the boss of him,” Amethyst said, “And you’re the one that wanted us to trust Leon in the first place. If he wants to help by letting Leon stay at his, he can. At least he hasn’t gone against our plans.”
“I haven’t done anything wrong,” Harper said defensively.
“Would you just shut up!” Dylan’s voice wasn’t loud enough to draw attention, but it made the table pause, “We need to know what’s going on, and this is how we’re going to do it. You’re not even supposed to be here, so don’t make more trouble than you’re worth.”
“Dyl-”
“What do you know?” Dylan ignored Harper and addressed Leon, pushing his plate with the half-eaten scone towards him. Properly berated, Harper looked down at his lap, and seemingly zoned out of the conversation.
Amethyst’s phone buzzed in her pocket, and she pulled it out with a frown.
FAYE
You need to come get me. I’m locked in the back of volkov’s and something has happened to Harper.
Amethyst looked up from her screen, at the perfectly healthy Harper sat opposite her. She shook her head and tapped out a reply.
What? He’s right here. Isn’t volkov with you?
FAYE
Volkov’s gone. It seems like for a while, too. He engraved this in the desk
[ATTACHED IMAGE]
What’s kemp?
Amethyst stared at the picture for a moment. She zoomed in, and out, and in again. The words never changed.
‘KEMP DON’T’
There had to be an explanation. Harper had lied. Faye wasn’t with Volkov, she wasn’t safe, and his name was engraved in the abandoned desk of his office.
Kemp wasn’t a what, it was a who, and Amethyst was looking right at him.
KAMINI
The moon shone, taunting, keeping her at bay while she waited. It was too close. Too close, and too powerful. But Ayita was insistent. She wanted to meet and watch the full moon together, and Kamini could never deny her anything. The risk was there but it had been years now since she had been turned. Since the bite. Even the thought of it made Kamini shiver.
It was a curse. She was cursed.
Ayita was her saviour. Every time they were together Kamini would forget that she was secretly a monster. Something unforgivable and disgusting. She was just a friend, a lover, a person. Ayita saw her humanity.
As she made her way to their meeting place, Kamini could feel the pull. It was small, a tug, an instinct. Nothing more, though. She was sure she could control it. She had never done it before, but she had never had a reason to. Now she did.
The wind swept up fallen leaves, and they rustled in the air as they were taken away. The strength of it shook more from the trees and they flew past Kamini in a whirl of browns, reds, and oranges. She turned to watch them float away.
“Watch it,” A man bumped past her, ramming into her shoulder. Kamini ignored it. This had been happening a lot now, since she and Ayita had opened up. Only a select few were cruel, but it was enough to feel it. Ayita’s family were the worst.
Kamini closed her eyes, memories falling upon her of harsh words and strewn clothes. She felt it, even though it was Ayita that was the target. Another reason Kamini had to believe she was disgusting.
She continued walking, watching leaves curling and moving in the wind, mini tornadoes by drains and darkness creeping in the woods.
Eventually she reached their spot, on the outskirts of the forest, where no one would find them. There was Ayita’s van, an old model with graffiti on the side that Kamini couldn’t read anymore, but their cleaning efforts had not completely ridded the vehicle of the marks.
Ayita was sat on the hood, laid back and staring at the sky. Before she approached, Kamini admired the girl. Her hair was wild and windswept, laying around her head like a halo on the windshield. She had a slight smile on her face, her crooked and bucked teeth showing, her hazel eyes blinking slowly.
She was wearing a dress, for once, which struck Kamini as odd. It was burgundy, like the rest of her wardrobe, but it was a dress nonetheless, a small belt around her waist to pinch it in where it looked like it would just hang.
“Little one,” Kamini announced her presence gently, and Ayita just turned her head towards her, the small smile falling into something more genuine and loving.
“Kami,” She sat up, her dress slipping back down where it had clung to the top of her thigh, “I would have got you some snails, but they only had muscles at the shop.”
“Still in a shell,” Kamini climbed onto the hood beside Ayita, and accepted the small tub of muscles. She knew Ayita hadn’t really looked for snails. It was something she mentioned constantly, a small joke about Kamini’s past and the accent that still traced her tongue when she spoke. It wasn’t mocking, it just reminded Kamini that Ayita loved all of her, “You look beautiful. A new dress?”
“My mum likes it,” Ayita pulled at the hem, “She wants boys to like me. They like dresses.”
“And you wore it? To come and see me?”
“Girls like dresses too,” Ayita’s smile was teasing, like she was proud that she could use her mum’s gift against her wishes. In some ways, Kamini admired it, but in others it made her feel that Ayita wasn’t safe as long as she challenged her family. The girl must have seen this on her face, because she rested her hand gently on Kamini’s arm.
“You don’t have to worry about me,” She said, “I’m okay. I am.”
“Okay isn’t safe,” Kamini put the tub down, and turned so she could consider Ayita’s eyes, “Okay is okay. I want you to be fantasti
c. Perfect.”
“As long as I’m with you, I am.”
She was always like this, Kamini’s love, she was gentle, kind, reassuring. Even when she was the one being hurt, she didn’t get angry, she just found a way to make it okay. But it was always just that. Just okay.
“Now lie down, grumpy,” Ayita laughed at Kamini’s face, “You aren’t going to be able to see the moon through that frown.”
Instead of pursuing the subject any further, Kamini laid down and shuffled slightly so their shoulders were touching. Ayita, always the initiator, linked their hands, and moved ever closer so they were touching from shoulders to thighs. It made Kamini’s heart race. Something so innocent, so unassuming, set her stomach on fire.
“It’s so fascinating,” Ayita whispered into the silence between them, “That something so far away is so clear. We’re so small and yet we can see craters in the moon.”
“I don’t find the moon that fascinating.”
“Why?”
Because it turns me into a monster.
“Because it is a constant.”
“Even constants can be fascinating,” Ayita stared at the side of her face, “Like love.”
“Like pain.”
“Like touch.” Ayita squeezed her hand.
“Like death.”
A hand turned Kamini’s face towards another, and before she could think about anything else, Ayita’s lips were on hers.
Something inside her was egging her on and before she knew it she was kissing down Ayita’s neck, biting down on her collar bone so it would leave a mark. The urge to break skin was stronger than it usually was when they did this, but Kamini continued down, kissing Ayita’s chest.
As she kissed over the dress, straying lower and lower, she was concentrating less on controlling herself. The bites got rougher, and so did Kamini. When she reached Ayita’s bellybutton, she pulled the dress up, so it was pooled around her waist and bit at the sensitive skin of her lower belly.
“Okay, Kami-” Ayita cut herself off with a moan- “That kinda- that hurts. Kami.”