My Soul to Reap (Archived)

Siren

Her boots thudded across the floor, and I figured if I was going to be punched I might as well be standing up. Rina had started to say something, probably in my defence, but just seeing Brie stopped her. Her face was blank, eyes narrowed and never leaving me. I shifted uncomfortably, and for the first time realized what exactly I'd done. I'd effectively betrayed her, and here I was eating cake like that shouldn't matter. I looked down, unable to stand seeing her. She was probably so furious with me that she couldn't even show it. I saw her take a few steps closer and braced myself for impact.

She hugged me tightly, grabbing on like she was afraid to let go. I froze in shock, because she was still dangerously silent. After a second I hugged back, squeezing my eyes shut in relief.

"Don't do that again," she whispered, and I knew I was the only one who would be able to hear it. I nodded, burying my face in her hair. She still smelt like lavender, and I remembered the fact that every time I'd faced Aryan in her house I hadn't really been alone. The hug lasted probably longer than it should have, but neither of us minded. We slid back into the booth, and even though she hadn't meant to Brie effectively trapped me in the seat. Rina looked down, eyes scanning over the table. At first I thought that she was avoiding Brie, or that she was scared.

"We don't have enough cake," she announced finally, and whatever tension remained was broken. She looked thoroughly confused as to why we were laughing. Brie just shook her head.

We sat there for what must have been an hour, and at some point Kayin had managed to convince the admittedly limited staff it was okay for them to leave. I wasn't about to question how, but I was certain it had nothing to do with money or intimidation. It felt nice, just sitting with these people and being able to forget that anything bad had happened.

"We should go," Brie said finally, and Kayin nodded.

"They'll have stopped waiting at Brie's by now. And if not, well..." Rina trailed off, evidently uncomfortable with saying "we beat them to a pulp." We shuffled out of the booth, Kayin going around and shutting the lights off for us. There was only one car, Kayin's, and I had to hold myself back from asking how Brie and Rina had gotten here. I didn't want to have the image of them running across town to find me.

The car ride passed quickly, Rina and Brie's banter in the back seat enough to pass the time. I closed my eyes briefly, but allowing myself to slow down was a mistake. I was exhausted, and now that I had time to fully process that it was weighing down on me. Kayin parked in front of Brie's house and I had to startle myself awake, push out of the car. I forced my feet to move through the foyer, even though I was pretty much asleep on my feet. From the looks I got when I attempted the stairs, I could tell it was obvious.

"You know where my room is," Brie laughed. "Go to bed." I nodded, gripping the handrail and not even really registering the trip. Brie's bed was soft and warm, and it didn't take much for me to be gone.

"Get out. Now!" It wasn't the most pleasant of things to wake up to, yelling. After a moment of grogginess I sat up, looking around the empty room. There was more talking but it was calmer, quieter. I couldn't make it out. It had sounded like Brie who had yelled, and already I could feel my heart sinking. Something was very, very wrong. I knew, deep down, that I should be afraid. But it still felt early, and that meant I wasn't thinking properly. I pressed my ear to a few doors, cursing their sheer number and finding nothing. Eventually, the voices became a little louder behind one door, so I quietly pushed it open. I figured she was pissed at Kayin, since Rina wouldn't have been able to make her so angry.

I stopped dead in my tracks. It wasn't Kayin.

The two girls turned, Brie furious and she a little less so. Skylla, still looking cocky as hell and still dressed for the dancefloor with white headphones hanging around her neck. I suddenly remembered the involvement, what she'd helped Aryan do, and I wanted to be as furious as Brie.

"Hey," she said, waving at me. Brie snapped back to her, hissing something I didn't catch. I tried to look around what must have been her living room, judging from the couches and tables. It looked a lot like her room, but that's about as far as I got before I gasped, stepping backwards.

It was the club all over again, that strange sense of unity. Kayin and Rina sat still, staring straight ahead. They should have been at the very least registering the conversation but they weren't, and I had a sinking feeling who I could blame.

"What did you do to them?" I cut in, even though I was sure Brie had already had this conversation. Not that I cared.

"They're fine, okay? Jeez. Just didn't feel like having three powerful people on my ass," she shrugged. I narrowed my eyes, but knew that getting her to repeat everything that had happened thus far wouldn't help anything. I just leaned against the door, motioning for them to continue.

"And somehow you think we're going to trust you," Brie scoffed, and that's when it clicked. She'd showed up here, probably froze the two and then offered her help. I wanted to laugh.

"I told you. I'm not going to gain anything from things being run by a small group of psychopaths. A large group would be a lot better for me," she said, like she was explaining the obvious.

"Bullshit," Brie said quickly. "That is absolute bullshit, don't insult me. You came here because of me, didn't you?" Even though Brie was furious, Skylla wasn't affected.

"You got me," she smiled, putting her hands out in mock surrender. "Yeah, it's because of you."

"Then get explaining," Brie snapped, and Skylla titled her head. I could tell I might need to step in, because as much as I hated her right now Brie killing her wouldn't do us any good.

"You don't remember me, do you?" she asked slowly, and Brie laughed.

"What, are you going to tell me you're some sympathetic face from my past? Give me a break," I could see her hands moving, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to stop her or not.

"Roquebrun," she said quickly, and I saw Brie freeze, but of her own free will. "That's where you lived, right? Seaside town in the south of France." I could see Brie trying to understand, and I could only barely understand what this meant for her. If someone knew about her past, I could only imagine how much danger that would put her in.

"You have seconds, seconds, to prove why I should not kill you," she said slowly, words dripping with venom. I took a step forwards. Skylla seemed to decide quickly.

"I was there. When you turned." I'd never seen anyone stop functioning quite like Brie did. It's like the words had hit a wall, but if Skylla noticed she did her the courtesy of ignoring it.

"I saw what you did," and that was the wrong thing to say. Brie had the blade at her throat in seconds, eyes all but on fire.

"How," she spat, and I had to back off. I didn't want to be anywhere near what Brie was about to do, and Skylla didn't even seem to care.

"I was in the water. The water that turned red because of you. I thought it was poetic. I'm a big fan, see-" Brie had grabbed her by the collar, sneering into her face. But Skylla was enjoying this, not seeming to care about her own imminent end. I was trying to understand what it meant, what she meant by her words. What had Brie done? What was so horrible she'd hidden it so deeply that this was the response to having it come to light?

"I'm a siren, Abrielle." The name was like a physical blow, I knew. "And I like seeing death on my shores. I owe you, and this is how I'm going to repay you," she clicked her tongue, and Brie let her go. The anger was draining quickly, and I wasn't totally sure what it was being replaced with.

"Get out." It was the same words, but somehow it sounded different. And she did this time, not looking back. An agreement had been made, and as much as having someone on our side should have felt like a victory it didn't.

They woke up quickly after she left, both of them standing up. Rina took the scythe from her friend while Kayin left, presumably to make sure she was gone. Brie sank down onto the couch, and Rina hugged her tightly. She looked up at me, pink eyes filled with concern. I sat down heavily beside them, awkwardly patting Brie's back and realizing just how little I knew.