Hotbloods, Coldbloods, and the Creatures In Between

#34. Sonny

"Who are you?" The security guard's eyes narrowed as he looked me up and down at his desk behind a glass wall laced with interwoven metal wires.

I lean into the round two-way speaker imbedded in the center of the glass and recite my name. "Christopher Mason." I pray that Victoria is as skilled as she says she is. As skilled as Gryle thinks she is.

"Stand still and clear your mind." Victoria had said. Her hands raised, then started soaring through the air in one fluid motion after the next. I could feel her magic wrap me up tightly like it was tucking me into bed. She looked fiercely concentrated and on the occasion looked up at me, irked by impatience. "Clear you mind." Her lips pursed and her eyes nervous. "If they know who you really are, you're as good as dead." I couldn't help it. Every time she'd glance quickly to one side, I swear I could see Tess's reflection deep in Victoria's iris. Tess was standing by, waiting. Watching me as I prepare to infiltrate Bradley's operation.

I'd close my eyes and see if I could hear her. I have witches blood, even though I'm not magical in any way. "Be brave." I hear her say. Or, I think that's what she's saying. It's hard to tell the difference between a foreign, ghostly voice and my own thoughts.

Victoria gives me another irked look and in the reflection of her irises, I see Tess looking back at me. "I'll avenge you." I whisper and I wait for Victoria to stop what's doing to scold me for moving. For speaking and distracting her, but instead, she's looking at my body, my chest and then down my stomach and legs. All the way down to my feet and back up to my face.

"Beautiful," she whispers to herself, like she's a tailor admiring her work with such precision.

"Can I have a moment?" Dominic asks Victoria.

"I'm not done, I just need to-"

"I want to talk to Sonny as he is, before you change him." He says. She nods and slips out of the tent.

The light is dim and Dominic's tinted skin looks even darker than usual in the golden glow from upcycled Christmas lights. He's looking around nervously, searching for words as he opens his mouth then closes it again. "Are you sure you want to do this?" He asks. His lip raises and he's wondering if I'd reconsider.

"It's not a matter of want." I say and he nods. "I don't think my own sister would be so compliant with me going in there alone if I was going to die." I say. It was something I told myself when I felt my nerves begin to fray and unwind.

"You think she planned us?" He asks, his head bowed, but his eyes still finding me, hiding under his brows. "For us to meet?"

"Maybe." I say.

"So what we have...is it real?" He asks. I lean in closer to him, taking one step after step until one more would send me crashing into him.

"It feels real." I had said.

"Where's you badge?" The security guard asks. I reach into my security guard uniform and pull out a plastic card, a foreign face glued to the front of it and a metallic strip that I slide through a black device by the door to gain entrance. "Wait." He says, and my heart begins to pound as my insides crystalize with fear. "Forgot to give you your rounds." He walks around to the door of the security office and opens it, handing me a folded piece of paper. Time slots are listed and with each slot, there's a floor number and a wing number.

From the floor plans that Gryle had managed to digitally swipe from the builder's computer servers, I was set to arrive on the floor with all of the computer servers at two in the morning. "You might have to actually do your job." Gryle said. "If you see anyone that might be a witch, avoid them at any cost."