Chapter Four (Newell)
Midnight was my favorite part of the day.
It was dark and most everything decided to rest, settle down for the evening to recharge for the next day. And it was the time of day when I was most active.
Xed and I moved down the hallway as silently as possible, passing by the front desk where an employee was fast asleep curled up in his seat, face stuck to his keyboard. We cut sharply to the left and approached the door to the pool. There were windows along one wall looking into the main hall, but it was currently blocked by curtains to keep curious lookers out. Even on the other side of the door, the thick stench of chlorine burned my nostrils. I knew it wasn't Xed favorite body of water to use, but we had no choice and we needed to make a plan if we were going to break into yakuza headquarters for a kitsune's star ball.
I had managed to snag a computer earlier to research just what exactly these star balls were and who the kitsune were. I had heard plenty of rumors and read fairy tales with them as minor characters, but not enough to actually hunt one down. Especially if this one was a popular character.
Kitsune were Japanese fox spirits. They're incredibly intelligent and had powerful magical abilities almost equal to that of a witch or sorcerer. Kitsune were associated with the Shinto god, Inari, and said to be Inari's most loyal servants. However, kitsune were also known for being tricksters when it came to getting what they wanted. They would possess humans or take on human form, manipulating their victims to the point where they've killed.
A kitsune's power was measured by how many tails they had. The number of tails meant how long they lived, how much power they had gathered, and how intelligent they were. And if this was a famous kitsune, he was bound to have plenty of tails.
But then again, if he was trapped by the oni, surely he couldn't be too much to handle.
But I supposed that depended on the type of kitsune. According to articles online, there were two classifications of kitsune. The zenko, generous and caring celestial beings that served Inari. And then the yako, vicious and cruel, the ones that got a sick thrill from torturing their victims.
And the hoshi no tama that Alaric so desperately wanted to get his hands on translated into star ball. It was the source of a kitsune's power. Legends claimed it held the kitsune's soul, and if seperated from it for too long, the kitsune would die. Which meant Alaric had left out the tiny part where we were grabbing more than just the star ball. We were grabbing the kitsune as well.
Bloody fantastic, really.
I picked the lock to the pool and we crept inside, closing the door as silently as possible behind us. I walked around to one of the chairs that was set up and put my things down, taking my coat off and draping it across the chair. I rolled up my pant legs and came up to the edge of the pool before slowly sitting down. Xed hesitated at the edge of the pool at the deep end that was almost twelve feet deep.
"Go. We don't have time to waste." Xed glanced at me, then obeyed and jumped into the water after having taken his pants off. I waited, watching as the bubbles exploded around him and the water distorted everything so it was difficult to see.
And it was quite a sight.
There was no magical sparkles and beautiful lights or a painless transformation from legs to a fish tail like something out of a children's television show.
I could hear Xed snarl in pain as his legs held together fast, scales tearing through his skin and running down his legs, the skin melting together. There was even some blood rising to the surface. His tail was quite beautiful, though, in a deadly sense of the word. His scales were an eerie blend of black and purple that glistened in the pool lights. It stretched out a good foot or two past his actual feet where the fins split off into something similiar to the movies. However, sprouting from just a few inches down his thighs were another set of fins, these ones a bit smaller, thinner, and longer. The strings of skin going through these were much longer than the actual fit and looked like hairs drifting in the water. Running down his thighs were finlets, smaller rayless fins. Running up from the scales that turned in skin, along his spinal cord was a thin, but curved dorsal fin.
He resurfaced an instant later, reaching up to wipe his hair back from his face and rubbing at his eyes. He grimaced, blinking a few times to blink away the sting of chlorine before he swam over me to, but kept a good distance.
"I do not want to do this." His voice was deep, rumbling, and commanding. He had an accent that I could only peg as Greek. It gave me chills to hear it. I felt the heat of jealousy pooling in the pit of my stomach as a heavy rock as I watched Xed look at me sternly, reminding me of the way adults would look at me, thinking I was a child. I narrowed my eyes, hardly intimidated by Xed's expression, or voice, no matter how authoritative it was.
"I know, I can tell by the way you're looking at me, but it doesn't matter. Alaric wants it. And if we want information on this hunter, we need Alaric's help. I went there knowing full well he was going to ask for something ridiculous." I explained firmly. Xed ground his sharp teeth together, mismatched eyes glaring at me.
"We will get ourselves killed doing this. We already made a mistake in angering these oni. Do you want to put yourself at further risk by stealing from them? Why can we not just look for this hunter ourselves?" He asked impatiently.
"Because we don't have the resources," I answered heatedly, "We only had access to a computer today because the library just happened to be open."
"We have money--"
"Money for survival," I cut him off sharply, "Not money to waste on this. Alaric doesn't ask for money."
"No, he asks for the impossible," Xed replied in irritation, "He is asking you to put your life on the line, and for what? A silly deal little deal? I know exactly what you are planning. You want to use yourself as bait, to put yourself in a position where the oni will find you and grab you and take you to their headquarters, but you will not be able to get away. Not if you are by yourself there."
Anger boiled in my veins and I wanted to strangle him. How dare he talk to me like that! It wasn't like I had a choice anyway! Alaric wanted what Alaric wanted. And I wanted what I wanted, and the only way to do that was to give Alaric what he wanted. And I never asked him to come with me anyway, and I definitely was not asking for his permission! I was much older than him and I knew exactly what I was getting myself into. I didn't enjoy it, but I had to do it.
"I'm not asking for your permission, Xed. I'm doing it whether you want to help me or not." I said coldly. Xed's eyes glowed, literally, matching his temper as he drew closer to me. I concealed the uneasiness I felt by having him so near, his sharp, jagged teeth glinting as he spoke.
"And I am not asking yours. If you do this without me, we both know that you will not come out alive. You need me." He spoke softly, his tone eerie and giving me goosebumps. I glared at him, curling my lip at him in repungence.
"I don't need you. You're the one who followed me home like a lost puppy." I answered. Xed stared at me for the longest time. I waited for him to say something or maybe even attack me, but he just floated in the water just in front of me, his eyes level with mine. His expression was completely blank, so trying to read it was impossible.
"I do not want you to get killed," He said at last, "Not after everything that you have been through. You are wasting your life here."
"What life," I asked dryly, "While I admit that I would prefer not to die, what would be the harm in dying? I've lived quite long enough to know that even after I get back all that I've lost, I will still be the way I am now." Xed said nothing to that. Just stared at me. I narrowed my eyes, then looked away.
"I need to position myself in an area where the oni will find me. I'll pretend to use the subway, thinking I can get away. I have no doubt I'll run into at least two oni there trying to prevent me from escaping. They'll take me to their headquarters. From there, I'll do whatever I can to find the star ball and get out." I explained sternly.
"Get out how," Xed asked me bitterly, "Do you think the oni will let you get away?"
"No, but Alaric gave me blue prints of the air ducts throughout the facility. If I can get into the air ducts, I should have no problem trying to get out. However, I will need you to be waiting outside with a mode of quick transportation as fleeing on foot will not vote well for me. Maybe snag a taxi and have them take us to Alaric's penthouse on 52th St. It's safer than his shop, trust me." I added.
"What if you do not make it out? What if you are captured and taken somewhere else? What if they do not even take you to the headquarters? What if they take you to a warehouse and sell you?" Xed demanded. I glared at him.
"Then keep an eye on me. Keep an eye on the facility. Follow me to the subway station, but keep a good distance. We need to hide you as best we can. We'll go out tomorrow bright and early and buy you some clothes to help you blend in, but keep out of sight as much as possible. Follow us, even if they shove me in a vehicle and take me somewhere else. I'll pretend to struggle, but do not come after me."
"Then how will I know if you need help?"
"I'll cry."
"This is not a joke--"
"I'm not joking," I snapped, making Xed frown, "I can trigger myself to cry the same way I did during our attacks on the humans. I can control whether I want to cry or not, so if you see me crying, you must come. If you're not in a position where you can see me physically, but you can see the building I'm in, I'll make the lights flicker three times. That will be your cue to come assist me."
"And if they know I am following them? What will you do then? What if they lose me? This city is very big and I have never been here before. I do not know any of the streets or shop names or anything. They can manoeuvre much this place much better than I."
"Then you've lost me," I answered icily, "Leave the city while you still have the chance and seek out Vladimir Van Gothica--"
"No," Xed cut off, his voice laced with hatred, "I do not like Vladimir."
"He's the only one who won't kill you on sight and will help you find your place in the world. He saved Kristophe and Claude. He can save you--"
"No," Xed repeated angrily, "I do not want to be saved by him... I want to stay with you."
"You can't do that if I'm dead." I answered dryly.
"Then I will sit by your grave until you come back."
"Then sit there and rot for all I care, because my kind is not given a second chance. We get no redemption." I responded, slowly standing up. Xed's hand shot out like a snake, catching my ankle. I snapped my head to stare down at him as he looked up into my face with glowing mismatched eyes. The pool lights practically made his blue hair glow too, the scales of his tail glittering beneath the water. For a second, I actually felt like I wanted to fall into the water.
Would the water be as heavy as the air? Sometimes, it really felt like the world was pushing down on my shoulders, trying to get me to fall to my knees in submission. I could feel its gnarled hands grabbing my body.
And the only peace I'd seen in years was Xed looking up at me with such a serious expression. Despite the furrow of his brow, his frown of concern, and his eerily glowing eyes, I suddenly felt lightheaded. I wanted to just go into the water. I wasn't the greatest swimmer, so I would probably drown, but I suddenly found that to be okay.
And then it hit me what was going through my mind.
I hissed at Xed, jerking my leg out of grasp, baring my teeth at him.
"Don't do that! I told you never to touch me! It makes my skin crawl!" I snarled. Xed frowned.
"I did not do anything."
"Don't lie to me, you...! Ugh! Enough, you know the plan, stick to it. Enough wasting time. We need to get rest for tomorrow. I'm going up to the room to rest. You may stay here if you wish. In fact, I would prefer it if you stayed here." I sneered, then whipped around, leaving the pool room and Xed to swim in silence on his own.
How dare he play innocent with me! I knew full well that mermaids were manipulative little demons. They liked to prey on land creatures, one of their favorites being my species. They made a feast of us, and using their dewy eyed stares and beautiful singing voices, they lured prey in, seduced them until the victim realized too late that they had just walked to their death.
I was still angry by the time I reached the room. I showered quickly and walked into the room stark naked, drying my hair off with a towel. I shut the curtains to the room and sat on the bed. I was too used to being naked at night in bed that even the sweatpants Xed had bought me were uncomfortable.
I tried to watch some television, but nothing held my attention and the news only peaked my interest about this hunter character even more, and that was the last thing I needed. I shut the television off and curled up in bed after turning off all the lamps, except the one at the front door so Xed would at least have some light once he returned.
If he returned.
Some days, I waited to wake up in the morning to find that Xed had abandoned me, but he was always there. Even so, the concern still stayed there.
Concern? Was that what this was? It was difficult to say. Some emotions were foreign to me, or at least, so lost to me that I couldn't remember what they felt like. Love, safety, protection, comfort. All of these and so many more were distant. It was almost like they ceased to exist.
So how could I feel any kind of concern if Xed was gone? Maybe it was like having a home and Xed was the couch you'd have for as long as you can remember, and suddenly one day, the couch isn't there anymore. But with a couch, you could just buy a new one. I wouldn't know where to find a new bodyguard, one that would tolerate me. How Xed managed to tolerate me was stunning.
Why did he tolerate me? I asked myself that every time, and I knew asking him would be out of the question. What was I expecting? Him to tell me he actually enjoyed my company? My own mother hated being around me as time went on. She blamed me for the beatings my father gave her, blamed me for the stress in her life, blamed me for something I couldn't stop. She even stopped trying to get between my father and I when we argued.
So what reason could Xed possibly have for wanting to stay with me?
I was just about to drift off to sleep when I heard the door to the apartment jiggle. I tensed on instinct, listening carefully to the sound of the heart beating gently on the other side. I relaxed as the door opened and I caught sight of Xed moving out the corner of my eye. He shut the door and turned off the light, moving as a dark shadow to the other bed. He sat down for a while in utter silence, not speaking or anything. I wasn't sure if he could tell I was awake or not, but he didn't seem talkative.
He was probably still angry from our argument.
I just laid there in silence, staring at him through the darkness. I saw the lights from outside the window cast shadows across his face. His eyes glinted for a moment and he opened his mouth. I was caught off guard for a moment until I heard his voice.
He was singing. His voice was beautiful, a melodic lilting sound in a completely different language that almost sent me spiraling into a relaxed abyss when I realized what he was doing.
"Stop!" I barked, sitting up right and throwing the pillow at him sharply. Xed smacked it away and stood up, turning on the lamp and appearing at my bedside, glaring down at me for a moment until he realized I was naked. I was surprised to see his cheeks flush and he looked away. I glared at him, jerking the blankets back over myself, narrowing my eyes. No one was more embarrassed than at seeing my body. There was no need for him to react that way. It wasn't helping me settle my temper.
"Do not sing to me," I snapped angrily, clenching the blankets in my fist, "You can't knock me out, Xed. We are going through with the plan tomorrow whether you like it or not, do you understand? If you don't want to, fine. Leave." Xed hesitated, his back to me. I frowned, waiting for him to do something to show how angry he was, but he didn't look at me. He just got under the covers and kept his back to me, facing the window. I rolled my eyes and reached out, flicking off the lamp and laying back down in bed.
How childish, I thought bitterly. It wasn't too surprising considering Xed was actually quite young. He was by far younger than me. In his late twenties, maybe early thirties. I was slowly creeping toward a hundred. And while I should look like I'm in my thirties, I wasn't.
I was trapped.
And I hated it.
I hated being cornered.
I've always hated being cornered.
I could hear my father's voice in the back of my head, shouting at me once I reached ten years old. I had been eavesdropping on a phone conversation between him and another member of our clan, probably my uncle, Scott. I remembered how serious he sounded, how concerned. They were discussing business stragedies up until my uncle said something I didn't catch. Edward had gotten angry at his brother and threatened him. They were yelling back and forth by then. I started to leave, but tripped over the rug outside his office and he heard me.
He was on me faster than a cheetah pouncing on its prey. He'd grabbed me by the back of my neck and thrown me into the corner of his office, standing over me.
"What are you doing, you stupid little ingrate?!" He snarled, baring his teeth at me. At the time, I had pressed up against the corner. I remembered the way my heart pounded in my chest, goose bumps rising on my skin, body trembling. It was the first time he'd gotten violent and angry with me. Up until then, he'd been just cold towards me.
"S-S-S--"
"Well?! Out with it, you filthy thing! What were you doing there? What did you hear? Come on, speak, before I rip your tongue out!"
"N-Nothing. Nothing, sir. I swear. I was waiting for you to come to dinner."
"I'm not going to eat dinner! Go downstairs, now!" He shouted. At the time, he terrified me. I bolted out of the office, the whole way my heart pounding in my ears. I hadn't gone downstairs. I went straight to my mother where she tried to come up with excuses. It was then I saw what Vladimir had seen on my father's face.
That fake smile that said everything was fine, everything was safe.
When really, everything was crashing to pieces.
It was fascinating how a simple smile could hide so much. Smiles hid pain, rage, betrayal. Did no one smile because they really wanted to smile? Because they really felt genuine happiness? What was genuine happiness anyway? Was it what Vladimir felt when he was with Alexander? I had seen the way Vladimir looked at his precious lover, a member of the Grey family. Alexander was quite beautiful, even I admitted to this. He was naive, yes, but that was what made him so special. He was innocent. He was sweet. He was caring. He was merciful.
Even when I was trapped by Zephyra, nailed down to a chair, Alexander had screamed at them to let me go, that torturing me was inhuman and cruel.
He defended me, even though I was the one who had his precious human lover killed.
And how I hated him for it.
Kindness never came without a price. I had learned this the hard way. It was as Alaric always said...
There was no such thing as a free lunch. If something was too good to be true, there was always a catch. Nothing in life came without a price. Should someone show you kindness, they expected something in return. Be it money, a special favor, or even your life.
"Aren't you a regular ball of sunshine?"
I could hear Vladimir's words in the back of my head, making me grind my teeth together. There had been a time in my life that seeing Vladimir had brought me great relief. I finally had someone to speak to, someone to teach me, someone to give me attention. Someone to be happy to see me.
And just like that, the veil was torn down and the truth was revealed.
The cold bitter truth, the bitter cold winter winds during the night. Harsh and biting and cruel.
I suddenly didn't want to sleep. I was surprised at how unnerved I was at the thought of closing my eyes. I didn't want to sleep when I was feeling this miserable. It always gave me nightmares and while nightmares didn't result in me screaming and carrying on, it made me uncomfortable. I hated moments of vulnerability.
And if you were me, your entire life would be made of vulnerability.
I tried to stay awake, tried to divert my thoughts to other things. To the plan tomorrow, to getting the kitsune to Alaric, to figuring out who this hunter was. And yet, each time I tried, my mind plummeted and I was left feeling heavy and depressed.
I eventually fell to sleep, then woke hours later to the sound of Xed moving around in the room. I groaned, feeling a headache pound behind my forehead as I lifted my head to see that the alarm clock read noon. I dropped my head back on the bed, watching through sleepy lids as Xed folded up my clothes, placing them on the bedside.
"You don't have to do that." I muttered. Xed paused, glancing at me out the corner of his eye before looking back at my clothes in his hands. He went back to folding and I rolled my eyes, pulling the blankets closer. Xed cleared his throat and I peeked an eye open to stare at him over the covers. He made gestures that indicated him asking if we were going to go ahead with the plan now or later.
I wondered momentarily when he decided to go along with all of this, but decided not to ask. I sat up slowly, reaching up to ruffle my hair out of my face.
"Give me a moment. I need to get dressed." I answered, then paused with a frown as Xed turned his back to me. Was he still angry? If he was, then why was he so compliant with the plan? It didn't make any sense, but I didn't waste my time with his childish antics.
I crawled to the end of the bed, picking up my shirt to pull on over my head. Xed walked away to the bathroom, shutting the door rather loudly. I narrowed my eyes in irritation, then looked away as I tugged my clothes on.
What a brat.