Disclaimer: Everything but me belongs to Mrs. Hamilton, Ms. Rowling, Mr. Butcher, Mr. Walt Disney, and the people who wrote the script to Final Fantasy. No money's being made out of the story.
Warning: Bad language, violence, and sexual content.
Chapter 8
I arrived back at the house in five minutes. I walked up the stairs onto the patio that led into the kitchen. Jason had left me a few minutes ago so he could chase a rabbit through the woods. Anita and my stepmother were sitting at the kitchen table arguing about Richard and the murder case. I could hear them through the sliding glass doors. I stood there listening to them argue back and forth. I felt a hand on my right shoulder and I jumped. I turned around to see Sylvie standing there listening to them as well. The others were nowhere to be seen. I looked at Sylvie and asked, "Where are the others?"
"Jamil and Shang-Da went chasing after Jason. Abbey and Charles wanted some quiet time alone," She said with a smile.
I smiled back at her and nodded my head. We stood there for a few minutes more, listening to them argue, until I couldn't take it anymore. I slide the sliding glass door opened and stepped into the kitchen. Sylvie followed me in. Anita and my stepmother stopped arguing long enough to acknowledge our presence.
My stepmother gave me a weak smile and turned her head around to stare into her coffee mug. She sat like that for what seemed like a life time before she turned toward me to say, "You just missed Shiloh."
"Shiloh. What was he doing here?"I asked her.
"You forgot your overnight bag, so he brought it over. He thought you might need it,"She said returning to her cup of coffee.
"Oh," was all I said. My stepmother never drank coffee unless she was upset. It calms her nerves. I stood there for a while trying to figure out what to do next. Should I tell them now or wait til I had a shower and got dressed. I decided to the latter option.. I looked at my stepmother and asked, "Would Abbey and Charles mind if I used their shower?"
Sylvie spoke up first and said, "Of course not. Just follow me and I'll show you where it is." I watched Sylvie's naked form stroll past me toward the hallway. I thought about a song I've heard before and couldn't resist. So I yelled at the top of my lungs, "Don't look Ethel," and ran past Sylvie, down the hall toward the stairs singing the Streak by Ray Stevens. I heard laughing coming from the kitchen half way down the hall. I bounded up the stairs with Sylvie on my trail. I opened all the doors until I found the bathroom located at the end of the hall. It was right over the kitchen.
The bathroom I entered was decorated in a celestial pattern. It was painted dark navy blue with gold trim. All the carpet, the shower curtain, and the bath utensils were celestial print. I was thinking, "Cool. Abbey and Charles are on the same wave length I am. My bathroom was done in the same pattern." I located my duffle bag and rummaged around in it, pulling out my bathing essentials. I had just stepped into the shower when Sylvie came through the door laughing so hard she was crying. She had sat down on the toilet, waiting for her turn in the tub. I stood under the hot water for a long time, before I started to scrub myself down. I finished with my bath, wrapped a towel around my head and body and stepped out of the bathtub.
"It's about time. I thought I was going to have to drag you out of there," She replied with a smile, adjusting the water temperature for her approval.
"Sorry. It takes awhile to shampoo and condition my hair. It might not be long, but it's really thick. I also needed time to think and relax my aching muscles," I said. I unwrapped the towel from around my hair trying to dry it upside down,when she tapped me on the shoulder. I looked up at her, to see a shocked expression on her face. I didn't like the way she was staring at me.
Sylvie was trying to tell me something, but kept stumbling over the words. Finally she gave up and pointed at the mirror.
I turned around to face the mirror over the sink and groaned. The Earth element has come to pay me a visit. My hair, eyes, and lips were a dark hunter green. My skin was whiter with a hint of green streaks running through my skin like blood veins. For all I knew the green streaks could be my blood veins. My nails had even turned green. I turned back to Sylvie and said, "Don't worry. This will only last until morning. The earth element must be the strongest of the elements tonight." I don't know if I was reassuring her or myself. She stared at me and said with an amused look on her face, "If you say so. I'm just glad I'm not you." She turned and got into the shower. I stood there wrapped in a towel staring at myself in the mirror. While Sylvie was taking her bath, I finished getting dressed in a pair of green sweat pants and a green T-shirt with Tigger on it. I examined my appearance in the mirror once more. I looked like a tree. I finally pulled away from the mirror and packed my stuff back into the bag. I grabbed it and went out the door telling Sylvie, "I'd see her downstairs."
She stuck her head around the curtain and said, "Okay, and would you tell Jamil and Shang-Da that I'll be finished in five minutes."
I turned back toward the shower and said, "I thought they went looking for Jason."
"It won't take long for them to find him and chain him up somewhere safe, "She said looking around the shower curtain at me, with a head full of shampoo.
"Ok. I will tell them if I see them,"I said
I went out into the hall way to find both Jamil and Shang-Da leaning against the walls. They turned my way and started laughing. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why they were snickering. I was all green and resembled a tree. That's enough to make anyone laugh their ass off. I glared at them and snarled, "Sylvie said to tell you she'll be out in five minutes."
"Ok grinch," chuckled Jamil.
"More like Oscar the grouch," chimed Shang-Da.
"So! I take my tree-hugging responsibilities seriously. What's it to you?" With that said, I flipped them both off on the way down the stairs. That made them laugh harder. I strolled back into the kitchen to find my stepmother and Anita arguing once again. I had heard enough and proceeded to give them a piece of my mind.
"Are you two going to argue all night, or you going to shut up and listen to me for a moment," I asked getting a glare from both of them.
"We were not arguing," my stepmother spat.
"Oh? You could have fooled me," I said grabbing the nearest chair and sitting down in it.
I looked at Anita and reverted to professional speak," I have information for you that might help Richard, but first you have to tell me about the murder scenes before I give it to you."
She looked at me as if I had grown another head just then. "What do you mean you have information if I give you details on the murder case?"
"What I mean is that I can hand you the real killers if you tell me about the murders. I need to make sure the patterns of the crime are the same and that the paw prints match the ones I have," I replied returning her stern look.
Something hit the floor and we both turned. My stepmother had fallen out of her chair from being shocked at my statement. I got up to help her and she let me pull her back into her chair. She stared at me before asking, "What have you gotten yourself into?"
I went over to fix myself a cup of coffee. I didn't used to drink coffee, but in the last six months I needed something stronger than sodas to calm my nerves due to stress. I went back over to take my seat at the table and took a swig before answering her, "I've been working for the International Government for the last five months. They added their own version of the Special Research Team. I was on retainer for them until I got hurt on the last job. I was put out on medical leave. Now they want me back on the case because The Black Magic Society has reformed and their here in St. Louis."
"You're what? Does your father know?" She asked not believing what I was telling her.
I looked at her and smirked, "You heard me and yes dad knows."
She gave me a puzzle look, "How does your father know?"
"Grandfather had to tell him when he showed up at Jean-Claude's this evening while grandfather was formally requesting entrance into his territory." I replied.
Anita spit out her coffee at that statement. My stepmother tried to pat her on the back. Finally when she stopped coughing she asked, "Did he tell your father in front of Jean-Claude?"
"I don't know, my grandfather didn't say," I responded. Anita went into deep thinking, then turned her face toward at me and asked, "What is The Black Magic Society?"
"The Black Magic Society is a group of humans that are trying to rid the world of preternatural creatures by using dark magic," I replied.
"Do these people have anything to do with the murders here in St. Louis and why Richard is being framed for it?" She asked.
"They have everything to do with it because they possess ancient artifacts that allow them to turn into animals. We must stop them before it's too late. They've completely lost control over the artifacts," I said.
She sat there holding her coffee cup thinking about something. Then she stared up at me and mused, "This all makes perfect sense, but I need to see the file on this before I can take it to Dolph."
"No problem. I'll be able to access the files from the police station with my security code," I told her.
My stepmother got in on the conversation by asking me, "How do you know so much about the murders and the people who are committing these crimes?"
I glanced at her and sighed, "That was the case I was helping the London police with when I got hurt. I know these people because they tried to kill me. That's why I'm here in St. Louis. I'm supposed to be recovering from nearly having my heart ripped out, but all good things come to an end and I'm being put back to work earlier than I had expected."
"Do what?" The both yelled.
I looked at them both and cocked an eyebrow, "What?"
"What do you mean you nearly got your heart ripped out? "My stepmother looked horrified, but was trying to stay calm.
"Exactly what I said. They tried to rip my heart out with black magic. What part of that did you miss? "I replied.
I had never seen my stepmother turn so pale as she did right then. I left out the part about being tortured and raped. If I had told her that, she would have passed out on the floor. Anita was sitting there staring at me as if I'm keeping something from them. To tell you the truth I was, but it was to protect myself from everyone feeling sorry for me. I didn't need that right now. After a few minutes of sitting there in silence. Anita ordered me, "I want to see the wound."
I looked at her and exclaimed, "What?"
"You heard me. I want to see the wound."She replied steadfastly.
I glanced between her and my stepmother. My stepmother was on the verge of tears. I just solemnly nodded my head. I got up and pulled my sweatshirt off to show the bandage between my breast. I took off the tape and showed Anita my chest. I still had stitches in it because the rip went in deep. She came over to examine it by running her fingers down the ridges. I winched in pain because technically it still hurt like hell. When she was satisfied with her inspection. She nodded her head for me to put my sweatshirt back on. I would have healed by now, if I was just a werewolf. I'm far from being a normal werewolf and when your injured with dark magic, especially when it's ripping your heart out, your not going to pop back up from it anytime soon.
She sat back down and asked, "Why didn't I see the bandage before? You know I can see through glamor too, ya know."
"I don't know why you couldn't see it before. Maybe you were too busy arguing with my stepmother to pay attention to anything else. And I didn't know you could see through glamor, but I'll remember that for next time," I spat at her.
Sylvie finished her shower and joined us. I had just got my clothes back on when she entered the kitchen. She hadn't seen the wound upstairs in the bathroom, due to the fact I was using glamour to hide it. She was making herself a cup of coffee when the phone rang. She was closest, so she answered it, "Hello."
"Good evening Jean-Claude," she said out loud. We all looked at each other.
"Just a minute. I'll get her," she continued. She pulled the phone from her ear and looked over at Anita. "It's for you, "She said, giving Anita the phone. Anita got up and took the reciever from Sylvie. She took the phone out into the hall to have some privacy. That gave me time to talk to my stepmother before Anita got off the phone. I looked at her and she just stared at me. I knew what she was thinking and I was going to set her straight for good. "Mom, I love you like my own mother, but you've got to stop treating me like one of your students. I'm 26 years old. I would've been married for four years if Dakota hadn't been killed in the car accident. In fact our wedding anniversary was three days after the car accident. I've been through hell and back with the councils. I've been trained as an agent and a retainer. I don't need you or dad treating me like a ten-year-old child. I understand if your trying to protect me, but I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself. I'm being put back to work on a dangerous case that might get me killed, but that's my job," I told her trying not to lose my temper.
She sat there trying to evaluate my words before saying, "Why didn't you tell us the truth to begin with." She sounded hurt.
"I didn't want you or dad to worry about me for one. Second, grandfather didn't want dad to know about my job. He knew dad would hit the roof, because I'm his baby girl, "I said.
She took all that I told her into mind. You could actually hear her think. She was sitting there like a wise woman, contemplating on what advice to give you. Before she could say anything, Anita had rejoined us after hanging up the phone. Sylvie had also returned back up from outside, where she had gone to give my stepmother and I some privacy of our own. Anita sat down with a sigh. She glanced at me and said, "I've got to go and meet Jean-Claude at the Circus. He's asked for your presence as well. He wants to meet you.
I dropped my mouth and then tried to say something. I just couldn't get it out. My stepmother decided too chimed in, "Alexandra is not allowed anywhere near Jean-Claude, Anita. Maximus doesn't want her anywhere near the city master. " My stepmother didn't seem too happy with this little arrangement. She turned toward me and replied, "That's why we've been hard on you. Your father doesn't want you anywhere near Jean-Claude. I don't know the reason for that. It's up to your father to tell you, not me." I didn't believe what I was hearing. My stepmother was treating me like a child, because my father didn't want me involved with Jean-Claude? Why didn't he just tell me, instead of these mind games he was playing? Oh yeah right. I forgot I was playing them to by not telling dad the truth about me. Anita and I just looked at my stepmother who was on the verge of tears. I didn't know if I made her cry or everything else was getting to her. Anita tried to be calm about this, you could tell she was upset at my stepmother's outburst. "I'm sorry, but she has no choice. She has to go with me to the Circus tonight. I promise you that she will be safe. She will be under my protection, and besides Maximus will be there also. I don't think Jean-Claude will try anything."
Abbey and Charles had returned. They went upstairs to take a shower. I watched them walk out of the room funny. I couldn't help but laugh. Jamil and Shang-Da came into the kitchen fully dressed in sweat-pants and T-shirts. They went to the fridge to get something to drink. Then they came over and plopped down beside me, one on each side. They were making jokes about my color behind my back, so I decided to get even. I wrapped my ankles around both of their chairs and tipped them over. They landed with a thud on the floor breaking the chairs. Anita had to hide a smile behind her hand. Sylvie rolled with laughter and my stepmother gave me a mean look. I just shrugged my shoulders and took a sip of my coffee, while smiling from ear to ear.
Anita looked at her watch and said, "Time to go."
I looked at Anita and asked, "Do I have your permission to kick his butt, if he gets too close for comfort?"
She just smiled and said, "If you can beat me to it."
I just shook my head and laughed. I looked back at my stepmother one more time before following Anita out the door. I left her to Sylvie and the pack. I knew they would take care of her and made sure she made it home okay. She took what I told her easier than I thought she would. The good thing about it was I didn't have to worry about her telling dad. He already knew. I couldn't believe she was treating me like a child just because dad didn't want me near Jean-Claude. I was feeling a little pissed at the moment. My father and I were going to have along talk when I got to the circus. We had just stepped out the front door, when we heard whimpering in the corner. Jason was chained to the front porch, with a sad look on his face. I looked at Anita and said, "Mind if we take Jason with us." She looked at Jason's little puppy dog face, while trying not to laugh she said, "Sure why not, I'm sure Jean-Claude would like to have his lap dog back."
I glared at her and said, "That was totally mean. I think you hurt his feelings." Anita just started to laugh, nearly falling down the steps.
I grabbed her and pulled her back upright onto the porch, with a speed only a vampire could have. I got Jason loose from the porch and walked him to Anita's jeep on his leash. I put Jason into the back seat and got into the front. Anita had started the jeep when I realized I had forgotten my broomstick and my overnight bag. "Wait a minute Anita. I forgot my overnight bag and broom," I said getting back out of the jeep. I ran into the house, grabbed both my bag and broom, and headed back out the door. I got back into the jeep and we headed for the city. Tonight had been the longest night of my life, and it seemed to be getting longer. Where did we go from here? Ah yes, next stop on tonight's agenda was a visit with the Master of the City. Yippie, what fun. NOT.