“Since when are you someone’s bitch? That doesn’t look good on you, Blanchmains, to be taking orders this early on in your career. What the fuck do you want to know about Nikki?”
“We have to stop her. We have to stop the virus.”
Lilly laughed. “Being the prophecy girl doesn’t make you smart, does it? You can’t do shit, so don’t fucking bother.”
“She says we can’t do shit about the virus,” I told the group, but I kept my eyes on Lilly. I was worried if I looked away now all the bad I had felt when summoning her would come back.
She turned her head and stared at something beside her. The darkness began to ripple like water. Fear hit me like a punch in the face, and something inside me said it was time to go. Like right now.
She laughed. “I fucking knew it!”
“Knew what? What are you looking at?” My mouth went dry. “What is that?”
“Me,” a deep female voice said, and I jumped. “I am here now, Blanchmains. But I have no form, so you cannot see me. Could you help me find a form?”
“I don’t understand,” I said quietly. The nervousness I’d already had shook hands with this new bit of fear and began to tap dance on my stomach.
“What is it, Camille?” Eric asked quietly.
“Tell him!” Lilly exclaimed. “Tell them all I was right about the fucking demon!”
“They did not tell you, Blanchmains?” it said. I could tell it was laughing at me.
Stupid girl.
“What do you want?” I asked.
“I want to be like you. I want a form,” it continued. “I could join yours, or perhaps the Merlin. No! No. That young man you live with, or your guardian perhaps?”
“Don’t you touch them!” I screamed at it. Eric’s body tensed, and the energy around us shifted. My anger took over, and I was relieved. In this situation, fear wouldn’t do me any good. I would set the entire world on fire before I let this thing touch my family.
“You have bigger worries than Frankenstein now, bitch!” Lilly cackled. “You better find this fucker a body and quick!”
“Will you find me a form, Blanchmains? If you find me a form, I will not bother your loved ones.” The demon cooed like it was trying to coax a small child into getting into its creepy van. “But if you don’t, I will start with your guardian and his son.”
“I will find you a form. Just leave them alone,” I told it.
“No…no,” Millie said from beside me, but I ignored her.
“Of course. Summon me when it is time,” it said.
“What is your name?” I asked.
“Noirmains, of course.” It laughed. Then it was gone.
“Tell me how to find Nikki,” I snapped at Lilly. Anger was now at home in my body. I had no room for any other emotion.
“You can’t be that dumb. The virus is already out in the world. Focus on more important things. Like that demon,” she told me sharply, then completely vanished.
“What just happened?” Eric asked when I turned back to him.
“She made a deal with a demon.” Millie didn’t bother hiding her disappointment.
“It would have gone after Ted and Cuddy. I had no choice.” I couldn’t fight back my tears. “Lilly said going after Nikki is a waste of time. The virus is already out in the world. And that I have more important issues. I am inclined to agree considering she hasn’t been wrong before.”
“Why would the demon go after Ted and Cuddy?” Eric asked.
“It wants a form. It threatened Ted. And Cuddy.”
“Making promises to—”
“And you. It threatened you too.”
He squeezed my hand and said nothing. I hoped that he understood. I would have to find a way to make Millie understand.
“Why would Lilly not be afraid?” I asked, turning to him and wiping my tears. “How could she be standing that close to a demon and not be afraid?”
My phone started vibrating in my purse. I ignored it. But then it vibrated again. And again. And again. I ignored it while I waited for someone to answer me, my purse made an odd humming noise like a swarm of bees approaching. With that amount of noise someone must have called multiple times.
I got fed up and put my purse on my lap and dug around for my phone.
“Everything good?” Eric asked.
“Someone keeps calling. It must be important.” I finally found my phone and answered it without looking at the number, “Hello?”
“Yo, Camille. You can’t answer your phone?” Q’s voice sounded panicked. She rarely called me by my first name so I knew it was serious.
“Sorry. Long story. What’s up?”
“Lemme’s gone.”
“Gone? What do you mean, gone?”
“Gone as in cannot be located. Gone as in disappeared, vanished, not present. Last I heard was that contact you had wanted to meet her about some samples and then, poof.”
“Contact?” Oh my God.
“You know, the contact you had sending her samples. Not your cousin, the other one. She called, wanted to meet her. Poof.”
“Alright, I’m on—”
“I’m not done,” Q growled. “Her lab is on fire, Camille.”
“What!”
“I am standing outside the building right now. The entire floor that the lab was on is on fire. They evacuated the goddamn building.”
“Did you call Ted?”
“Bitch, are you stupid? This is on you. Find my friend! Please.”
“I will, Q. I will find our friend. I promise,” I said, and she hung up.
“We have a problem. A big problem,” I began, loud enough that they could all hear. “Someone snatched one of my techs and torched a U of T lab, all because she was analysing the virus.”
“Is it Q?” Eric asked.
“No, the other girl, Lemme.” I continued, “I have to go and get her. Someone else can’t die because of me.”
“How do we find her?” Millie asked.
“Q said the last she heard from Lemme was my contact wanted to meet her with samples for testing. That contact being Bliss. Bliss told me that she was an undercover cop, and she would get her friend in the police lab to send my friend samples infected with the virus. I’m going to try her old number.” I tried Bliss’s number from my phone, and it rang and rang. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Why would she do that to your tech?” Liam asked. “Why would she care about the virus?”
“She wouldn’t. But Tobias Kinkaid would. Nikki works for the Kinkaid’s.”
My phone started vibrating again, this time from an unknown number. Hoping it was Bliss, I answered it quickly.
I put the phone on speaker. “Hello?”
“Hey there, Camille. This is Nikki. I got your number from Fray, I’m sure you don’t mind as I have something you may want.” Nikki’s voice was way too calm and casual.
“Oh? What’s that?” I asked. My hands started turning white, flowing up to my elbows. They glowed eerily. My anger seemed to stay confined to my hands, which was good for the moment. Letting her know that she got to me would give her the upper hand, and she already had Lemme. I wouldn’t give her more.
“U of T had quite an amazing set up. Not as great as mine though. You should come see it sometime.”
“If you hurt her…”
“Oh, I have no intention of hurting her. Bliss might, but that’s a whole other story.”
“What do you want?”
“I want you to meet me. Do that, and I will give you back your friend in one piece. With all that business with Fray, I sort of feel like we got off on the wrong foot.”
“Where and when?” I immediately thought of Lilly, willing her to appear, and she did. Summoning her didn’t hurt this time.
“I will text you an address. Meet me in one hour,” she hung up without saying goodbye.
“Was that Nikki?” Lilly asked, laughing. “Oh, you fucked now!”
“She has my tech. I’m not letting anything
happen to her, Lilly.” I stood up and walked over to the ghost. “Tell me something so I am not flying blind here.”
“Does Bliss know the truth about you?” Lilly asked.
“Sort of, but I got some shit on her. She’s a bruja, loyal to a queen or some shit.”
Lilly’s mouth hung open and she stared at me. “Fuck off. Are you serious?”
“Absolutely. You had no idea, did you?” I took out my phone and showed Lilly the glyph. “This is on her arm. Look familiar?”
“Son of a bitch!” she yelled. “I can’t believe she got passed me! I can’t believe she got passed any of Tobias’s peeps…dude, that’s your ace in the hole. That is your trump card. Whatever they have on you does not mean shit.”
“She had no idea?” Millie asked.
“Nope. And she seems to think that will help us.” My phone vibrated, it was a text from the unknown number. Sure enough, it was an address downtown, not far from Fray’s loft.
I turned back to the group. “So, are any of you coming or am I calling a cab? Because I have to go. Like now.”
They all hesitated for a moment, and I turned to Liam. “Look, I get it if you all don’t want to come. You and your pack, you don’t know me. I could be coocoo for Coco Puffs. All you know is this,” I waved my glowing white hand at them, “and that says nothing about me as a person. But they have an innocent girl, who knows fuck all of this life, and I have to go and get her. They did this to her because of me, and I can’t do nothing. And my other tech girl will kill me. Then tell my uncle. Shit just goes south from there, and it’s a bad scene for everyone. I have to go.”
I turned and trampled back through the woods, not paying attention to make sure I didn’t trip. I didn’t wait to see if anyone was coming. I didn’t think anyone would come and that was fine. I had already gotten enough people hurt.
Maybe, just maybe, that apologetic text was from Bliss, and this is part of an elaborate plan.
You’re a moron.
Eric and Millie caught up to me by the time I got back to the vehicles. Liam Fitzpatrick was not far behind.
“Liam and I will take my vehicle and meet you there. What’s the address?” I opened the text and read the location out to her.
“We have an hour.”
“Are you prepared for this to go south?” Liam asked, and I started laughing hysterically.
“What’s so funny?” he asked.
“Sorry! I have just been getting asked that question a lot lately,” I said. “But yes, I am prepared. And I will keep my gloves on unless it’s absolutely necessary. Does this mean you’re choosing a side?”
He laughed. “I’m on the side I am always on, sweetheart. Mine.”
I turned to Eric, smiling at him, and softly touched his cheek. He looked down at me, a slight twinkle in his eye.
“You don’t have to do this,” I said.
He smiled, taking my hand. “Yes, I do. Now let’s go get her. I have a feeling pissing Q off is a very bad idea.”
11.
Silence filled the car as we drove. I spent most of the time deciding what lengths I was willing to go to to get Lemme back.
Whatever it takes.
It didn’t surprise me when we pulled up in front of a warehouse in midtown. It was still clearly operational, with boxes stacked around the loading dock in the back and skids stacked off near garbage bins. I could have thrown a rock and hit Fray’s building. I laughed to myself.
“What’s funny?” Eric asked me as he parked. I grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him to me, kissing him. His warmth gave me energy and strength.
“Nothing. Are we good?” I asked.
“Absolutely. Are you ready for what might happen in there?”
“Are you? I have done this a few times now. It’s kinda becoming my thing.”
“Does that bother you at all?”
“It can’t. I spent a lot of time being powerless, and feeling like I could do fuck all about what was going on in my life. Now, it’s different. Now, I can protect myself and my loved ones. This is me waving my middle fingers in the air screaming ‘Fuck the Free World’.”
“What’s that from?”
“8 Mile. The movie with Eminem? You haven’t seen it?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“Well, I know what our first movie date is then.”
He rolled his eyes. “Anyways, are you ready to face Bliss again?”
“Most definitely. I just have to get her to use her powers. Easy peasy.”
“Might not be as simple as you think. She has gone to great lengths to hide herself.”
“I just have to piss her off bad enough. You haven’t spent enough time around me to fully get that I’m really good at pissing people off. Don’t forget, I also know that she killed Lucia Kinkaid.”
“But that would incriminate you too.”
I shrugged. “Might be worth it. And if they want to come at me for it, let them come. Now, let’s go before I chicken out.”
Time to put my big girl pants on.
Marcus Kinkaid stood guard at the door, looking like an angry gargoyle in a t-shirt he stole from a six-year-old. This was too easy.
“Evening, crypt keeper,” I said happily to him. “Your vamp tramp stole something of mine, and I am here to get it back.”
Marcus looked behind me. His pupils dilated, and his neck muscles tensed. He did a good job trying to hide his irritation, but I was standing too close to him. He vibrated with so much energy, I was surprised it didn’t knock me over. His attempt to look intimidating, with his melted looking skin and snaggle tooth snarl, was cartoonish.
“You good there, Marcus?” I asked, still smiling and ignoring him overlooking me. “Hope you don’t mind I brought my people. Can’t be too careful these days.”
I wasn’t sure if it was Liam or Eric, or even Millie, causing him to react like that, and it didn’t matter. I wanted to make him uncomfortable. Them uncomfortable. I was tired of the nonsense. They needed to know that they aren’t the big bad wolf. Ignoring me as a potential threat was a good thing.
“Can you take us to Nikki? I am on a schedule here,” I pointed behind him into the building. “C’mon now, fuckboy. Time to do your job.”
He laughed and said nothing, just turned around and went inside.
As we followed him, Eric whispered sharply, “Are you trying to pick a fight before we even get in the door?”
“Trust me. I have a plan,” I replied.
Marcus escorted us to a large room near the back. It was dirty, with broken bits of wood and other things scattered around. They had done a good job of making this warehouse look like it was still in use from the outside, but from the broken bits of glass and stained concrete I could tell it was just a facade. Light crept in from a crack somewhere on the ceiling, illuminating this spot on the ground that looked oddly enough like dried blood. We were in the main area where most of the work would have been done, which they had turned into some sort of meeting room.
Bliss had Lemme by the arm, a big knife in her free hand. It looked like a hunting knife, with a large serrated blade and a handle that was enormous in Bliss’s small hand. Lemme seemed more annoyed than scared, which was a good thing. Fear would not help us.
Tobias sat off to one side, sipping from a disposable coffee cup. He smiled and waved like an idiot when he saw me. What did she see in him? His scrawny little face reminded me of a weasel, only weasel’s are cuter.
“Camille! At last we finally meet!” a female voice exclaimed from the back of the room. A girl appeared, a blonde in her mid-20s with sharp angular features and grinning like a moron.
Keep up the attitude, dummy. Your friend is in trouble.
“You alright, Lemme? These fuckboys treating you okay?” I asked, gesturing towards the arm Bliss was holding. “Don’t worry, we’ll get you tested for super syphilis later.”
“Fuck you,” Bliss snarled.
I laughed. “Naw, I’m good. Vamp tramp is not my
thing.”
I flicked my wrist, twisting a coil of energy out to yank on her hair. She growled, flicking her hair back and pulling Lemme closer to her. This would either work or make things really bad, really fast. I was willing to roll the dice if it helped me get Lemme out unharmed.
“Hey, back over here! I am the one you need to talk to.” Nikki waved in my direction. “I heard you’re looking for friends.”
“Do you have something for me now, Blanchmains?” The demon’s voice whispered in my head. A cold breeze blew on my neck, as if the demon was standing behind me whispering in my ear.
“Is that not true?” Nikki asked. “Are you not desperate for friends? Because I think we can be friends. I think it could be mutually beneficial for both of us.”
I flicked my wrist again, this time using the coil to push into Bliss and causing her to stumble. She looked a little annoyed, so I did it again and pulled her hair at the same time. Tobias watched her in confusion. I had wondered if maybe he knew what she was and just never told anyone, but the look on his face said otherwise.
I almost didn’t want Bliss to fall for it. All it did was make me right, and I still—in some small part—didn’t want to be right. I wanted to believe in who I thought Bliss was. No matter how hard I tried to shut up the naive little fuck in my head I couldn’t.
“I often need someone to find things for me, whether it be a person or a thing. That is what you do, right?” Nikki continued. “And I wanted to ask, what happened with you and Fray? I called him a few days ago, and he was making plans to leave the country.”
I laughed a little harder than I should have. Knowing you were successful when you actively tried to scare someone was amazing.
Good. Fuck him.
“I was honest with him. I guess he didn’t like it. Some people just can’t deal with honesty, right Bliss?” I turned my eyes to my former friend, tormenting her again with a magical poke. “Lord knows how some people would feel if they found out the real truth, right?”
Nikki waved like she was shooing away a fly. “No matter, he was of no use anymore. Not just as a lackey, but as a boy toy. Am I right?”
“I wouldn’t know. I never slept with him.”
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