Believer

by Ravin Tija Maurice

  “Really? Well, trust me when I say, you’re not missing much.”

  “That’s all fine and dandy, but can we get down to business? I’d like my friend back.”

  “Do you mean Bliss?”

  I hesitated, then laughed. I pushed at Bliss again, this time almost knocking her over. I was trying to loosen her grip on Lemme. As I lifted my hand up and down, my power smacked her face like I was slapping her.

  While holding on to Lemme with one hand, she threw the knife high into the air and formed this glowing orb in her hand. It shot out of her palm at me, and I ducked out of the way, pushing Eric behind me. It bounced off a protective wall that appeared in front of us.

  When I looked back, Bliss had caught the knife, and the glyph on her arm was glowing. It wasn’t quite glowing like my hands did, but enough that it was noticeable. Like a digital watch lighting up with the time,

  Cool trick. Wish she could have taught me that.

  “No. I mean the girl you kidnapped,” I told Nikki. I took a breath in and out, standing up a little straighter.

  Tobias was on his feet and heading towards Bliss. He grabbed her arm, where the mark was, looking from it to her. Bliss’s expression soured when she realized what she had done. What I made her do.

  Gotcha.

  “You liar!” he yelled. He went to grab Bliss by the throat, and before he could, she stuck the knife into Lemme’s side.

  I screamed, and the room started to shake. A dark shape appeared in my peripheral vision, and I ignored it; I was not concerned with the damn demon at the moment. I focused on making the biggest, strongest thread that I could and attaching it to Bliss. Lemme would not die.

  “Got one for you,” I said to the demon, in my mind. I could feel its excitement building as if it was my own.

  The knife clattered to the floor and Lemme clutched her wound, blood seeped out between her entwined fingers.

  The thread took a second before it finally attached, and I sensed every little piece as it latched onto Bliss. She turned to me, her eyes filled with horror as Tobias grabbed her throat and began to squeeze. I didn’t know if she was more afraid of me or of Tobias.

  Bliss let go of Lemme, who stumbled while she clutched her side. I used my powers to pull Lemme to us. Liam and Millie grabbed her when she fell at our feet.

  “No! No! No!” Nikki screamed, stomping her feet like a child. “This is not supposed to happen this way! We need her! Grandfather said—”

  “Do you understand what she is?” Tobias snapped at Nikki. I caught a glimpse of his face, and his fangs. He held Bliss up by the wrist and dangled her in front of Nikki, reminding her who the she was he spoke of.

  “If it makes you feel any better she lied to me too, Tobias,” I called out to him. I knew it probably wasn’t helpful, but I didn’t care. If I were him, I would want to know.

  He squeezed Bliss’s neck a little tighter, and the demon spoke to me again.

  I like her.

  My conscience told me that this was a bad idea. That I would regret this later. But in that split second, my anger bitch slapped my conscience out of the way.

  If I had to choose between Bliss and my family, I would choose my family. Every single time. This thing had threatened them. And Eric. She had hurt me. Now it was her turn to hurt. After what she had done to Lemme, this was nothing.

  “Get ready. Your time is now,” I told the demon, then I twisted and turned Bliss’s thread.

  Her face went white as a sheet. Her irises split in two for a second, then reconnected. She blinked, and then there was something else there. Her body twitched like she was coughing, and I saw her shadow darken. Bliss’s face turned back to me and smiled a menacing grin, sending shivers down my spine. There was a coldness, a deeply consuming darkness that filled her eyes, and it was frightening. I had never seen anything like that.

  I was pretty confident that no one saw it but me. Tobias was yelling at her, and then she grabbed him by the wrist, and he stopped. She said something I couldn’t hear, and he let her go. But was it Bliss or her new dark passenger?

  I could use this to our advantage. Someone or something on the inside that owes me a favour.

  “What the hell are you?!” Nikki yelled at me.

  I took a deep breath, and the room calmed down. My power shifted, the energy dying down as my emotions settled. Liam and Millie picked up Lemme. They were surprisingly calm, considering she was bleeding.

  I couldn’t think about that now. I wasn’t done yet.

  “It’s not deep,” Liam said quietly. “We’ll take her to my doctor. She will be fine.”

  “Answer me bitch!” Nikki screamed at me as she stepped towards us. I turned to her, and she stopped. Every part of her frozen except her head. Just like I had done to her precious Fray, she was contained within a strangle hold of my powers.

  I sighed and rolled my eyes. I debated taking my gloves off and showing her exactly who I was, but didn’t. Tobias was still in the room, and Marcus was around, probably hiding in a corner with the other rats. I wasn’t ready to throw down just yet. My secret was more important than my anger.

  “My name is Camille Bishop. I might be just like you. Only, I’m not. I am a le Fay. I am a descendant of the Nine Sisters of Avalon. And I am sick and fucking tired of people thinking they can kick me around,” I growled as I stepped closer to her and pointed a gloved finger in her face. “No, I don’t want to be your friend, you crazy bitch. I want you and whatever the fuck this is,” I gestured widely at the room, “to leave me and my people alone. Plain and simple. Can you do that? Or do I have to be honest with you like I was honest with Fray?”

  I tilted my head to one side, watching her face as what I said went through her mind. She had a thin nose that was a little pointy, but was small enough to look delicate. Her icy blue eyes were sharp and penetrating.

  “Tell me, Nikki,” I began, getting about a foot away from her. “This Frankenstein thing, is it true?”

  She laughed. “Are you a believer, Camille?”

  “Answer the question.”

  “Yes.”

  “Why do you work for the Kinkaid’s? You could be—”

  “Not for,” she snapped. “With. Don’t get it twisted.”

  “Sorry. With. Why do you work with the Kinkaid’s? Why did you make the virus? Do you understand what you have done?”

  “Why? You got the virus?” she asked. She smiled, making her thin lips almost disappear.

  “No. I got the antidote from Lilly Darling.”

  “Oh yeah? Where is the little traitor anyway?”

  “You haven’t heard? She’s dead.”

  Nikki snorted. “Not a surprise. She was weak.”

  I twisted my wrist, and the hold I had squeezed like a vice grip around her. Her eyes got big, and her face turned red.

  “Stop dodging the question. Why did you make the virus?”

  “To make a better breed of human. To weed out the weak. The vampires were the original carriers, and then it got passed on. Anyone else, if they survive, is strong enough to live in the new world we intend on creating.”

  “Who is we? You and the Kinkaid’s? You know they will throw you under the bus if they need to, right?”

  She laughed again. “They’re funding. A means to an end. When we find the immortals, it won’t matter anymore.”

  I paused, thinking so hard about the stupid shit she just babbled that it made me squint.

  “That’s so fucky I can’t even process it.” I turned to Eric. “Are you hearing this shit? Does any of it make sense to you?”

  “Unfortunately.” He walked up from behind me and took my hand. “What do you want to do?” he asked.

  I made another thread, this one not as thick as the one I did for Bliss, and attached it to Nikki.

  I held up my hands so she could see them, then I tugged gently on her thread. Not hard enough to kill her, but she felt it. I could tell by the look on her face.

  Tobias stood off to the
side, holding Bliss by the wrist. I glanced briefly at them, and the demon smiled at me from Bliss’s face. I tried not to cringe.

  Ruh roh.

  “As you can see, I can fuck you up pretty bad without touching you. So I am going to tell you now, and only once. You and your people will leave me and mine alone. Understand?” I let her go, and she dropped to the ground, coughing. “The only reason you are not dead right now is because you did not hurt Lemme. You said you wouldn’t. And you kept your word.”

  I approached her and crouched down to look in her eyes. “I never want to see your face again. If I do, I will kill you without a second thought.”

  I stood up and took Eric’s hand. Millie and Liam grabbed Lemme, and we headed for the door.

  “Oh! And one more thing,” I called back to Nikki. “We will stop the virus. So you might as well change your plans now. Do something productive with that science brain of yours. Frankenstein, really? Wow. If that doesn’t make me a believer, I don’t know what will.”

  “This body is nice, Blanchmains. Thank you,” the demon said in my mind. I glanced at her before we walked out.

  You make it count, do you understand me? Destroy them and make it hurt. Don’t make me regret putting you in that body.

  I sat in the back of Millie’s SUV with Lemme, and Eric followed us in his car. She lay out on the backseats, her head in my lap.

  “I am so sorry,” I said quietly as I stroked her hair. “I don’t know if I will ever be able to make it better, but I am damn well going to try. First, we’re going to get you fixed up.”

  Lemme coughed. “It doesn’t feel bad. That means it’s bad, right?”

  “No! No, we’re taking you to Liam’s doctor right now. You will be okay.” I tapped on the passenger seat where Liam sat. “She will be okay. You said!”

  “Dude, you are never going to believe what she had in her lab!” Lemme began. “It was like something out of a movie. A mermaid, dude. A living, breathing mermaid in a giant tank!”

  “She’s delirious,” I said. “Hurry up!”

  Lemme grabbed my arm and squeezed. “I know what I saw. And we have to go get her. She did this mind meld thing where she spoke to me in my head without actually speaking, and she told me how dangerous these people are. She helped me keep it together. We can’t just leave her there!”

  I stroked her hair again. “We will. Let’s just get you fixed up first.”

  I was speechless when we drove up to a garage in the east end of the city. Like the type of garage where they fix cars. It looked too fancy to be a chop shop, but what did I know. I was so worried about Lemme it didn’t matter as long as they fixed her.

  Two big burly guys came over to the car; they helped me get out then turned their attention to Lemme. Together they gently picked up Lemme and brought her inside. I followed them without thinking or worrying where anyone else was.

  We walked through to the very back, where behind a wood door was a clean and lovely medical clinic with state-of-the-art equipment. Once the door closed behind us, it was like we were in a completely different place.

  The men helped Lemme up onto an examination table and immediately got to work. He turned and looked at me after a few minutes, motioning over to a group of chairs that were up against a far wall. Eventually, I went and sat. Standing in the middle room like an idiot just made me look weird.

  Millie, Eric, and Liam came in a short time later. Millie and Eric sat on each side of me, and Liam went over and spoke with the doctor. I could not see what he was doing. I was literally sitting on the edge of my seat with anticipation. The cold plastic chair was extremely uncomfortable, and my hands were gripped on the sides so tight I worried I might snap it in half. Millie and Eric did not try to soothe me. We all just quietly waited to see what would happen.

  Liam came over to us a few minutes later. He knelt down in front of me, his expression made me immediately scared.

  “What? What’s wrong? She’s going to be okay, right?” I blubbered out, trying not to hyperventilate.

  “She’ll be fine. It’s not very deep. But she came very close. Another few centimetres and that would have been a different story,” he said. I bent over and put my head between my knees, bursting into tears.

  “Thank God,” I finally managed when I sat upright. “And thank you for bringing her here. I don’t know how I will ever repay you. Do you like cookies? I can send you some cookies. I promise I won’t bake them myself.”

  Liam laughed, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry. But you know what you will have to do, don’t you? Do you know what this means?”

  I felt Millie’s body tense. Eric reached out and grabbed my hand.

  “Those rules don’t apply to her. She doesn’t know how our world works,” Millie told him.

  “What rules? What do you mean?” I asked no one in particular.

  Eric sighed loudly. “What he’s getting at is that some people would take what Bliss did as an act of aggression. And it would mean....”

  “If she was a wolf, what she did would mean that I would hunt her and kill her if I was in your shoes.” Liam’s dark eyes remained locked with mine as he spoke. “It is an act of war in our world, Camille. I hope you understand that.”

  I put my hand on his shoulder and smiled. I thought for a second about telling them what I did, about the demon that was now in Bliss’s body because of me. Considering how they felt about what she did to Lemme, maybe they would understand.

  I kept eye contact with Liam, I wanted to make sure he knew how much his advice meant to me.“I understand. Her act of aggression will not go unnoticed. I promise.”

  12.

  The next day I woke up early, ready to get back to my normal life. Lemme was home safe, fixed up, and healing. The demon had a body. Nikki and the Kinkaid’s were out of our hair, for now.

  I woke up and got ready, whistling as I went downstairs. Ted was cooking breakfast, and Cuddy was already at the table in the kitchen, chatting away. My normal, wonderfully weird family.

  “Good morning,” I said happily, kissing them both on the cheek as I sat down. I had never been so happy to just sit in the kitchen and listen to people talk.

  “Good morning.” Ted handed me a plate. “You’re in a good mood.”

  “Yep. Ready to start the day.”

  “This have anything to do with your evening with Eric?”

  I smiled and shrugged my shoulders. “You all got a policy about employees dating?”

  Cuddy laughed. “Considering the fact that Dad dated Ram—”

  “You what!” I exclaimed.

  “You never told her?” Cuddy asked him. He smiled mischievously at me, and I was reminded of his five-year-old little face. I remembered the day he called me Cas for the first time. I was so happy because he finally said something close to my name.

  “My dating life doesn’t concern either of you.” Ted pointed at both of us. “Now eat your food; we’re running late.”

  No amount of pestering would make Ted tell me about him and Ramona, and by the time we got to the office, I gave up. When we walked in the front door, Ramona looked spooked behind her desk.

  I was about to ask her what was up when I saw Mr. Croft sitting in the far corner.

  “Your first appointment is here,” Ramona said quietly.

  I smiled and nodded at them both. “Just give me a few minutes.”

  I rushed into my office, putting all my bags away and taking my coat off in the most orderly fashion I could. I set up my computer and put my phone in my lap as I sat down.

  I wasn’t sure why Mr. Croft was here. Why had Ramona not told him things just don’t happen that quickly?

  I buzzed Ramona and told her to send him in. Whatever it was, I was ready for it. After last night, I felt like I could take on just about anything.

  I stood up, putting my phone on my desk and smiled, holding out my hand for him to shake it.

  He didn’t.

  He waited for Ramona to close
the door then sat down, folding his hands in his lap.

  “What can I do for you, Mr. Croft? I’m sorry to say that I haven’t—”

  “I am here to talk about my granddaughter,” he said, interrupting me. “I wanted to assure you that your message was heard.”

  I swallowed hard. “I don’t understand.”

  “Please, Miss Bishop. That is unnecessary. I am here to speak with you about Nicole’s behaviour. She did not understand the magnitude of her actions or the situation. I am here to express my deepest apologies and extend an olive branch.”

  I was completely speechless. If my math was correct, this man was close to 240 years old. But I could be off. He could be older.

  “It’s–it’s an honour to meet you, Dr. Frankenstein,” I finally said.

  “Yes, yes. I am pleased that we can now speak freely. I believe we could have a mutually beneficial relationship, as my granddaughter attempted to discuss, but failed miserably,” he began. “I assure you that nonsense they did with the poor young woman, and that heinous act they committed at the university, will not go unpunished. Mr. Kinkaid and I spoke about it at great length. Institutes of higher learning should be treated with more respect. My granddaughter is a bright girl but does not understand the need to be diplomatic. And the Kinkaid boys are…well, they’re Neanderthals.”

  Before I could say anything he continued, “Mr. Kinkaid does not know I am here. He believes it is best to keep our distance, where I believe, with your particular skill set, we could use your services and make you quite wealthy.”

  “And what skill set is that, Doctor?” I asked.

  “You have unique abilities, not just magical ones. You can help us locate people that we need to further our research.”

  “I won’t be your own personal bloodhound. I won’t help you hurt anyone.”

  “Oh, I am sorry. I believe you misunderstand me. I have no intentions of hurting anyone.” He looked down his nose at me, as if the notion disgusted him.

  “I’m confused.”

  “There are some people I need to locate. Immortals. Learning more about them will help further my research,” he said flatly, clearly irritated that I had not clued in to his subtleties.