Chapter 5 - Monsters vs. Monster
I left Rip in the restaurant with his jaw wide open and looking as white as a ghost. I couldn’t blame him. Melody had her claws in him long enough to make a man crumble into pieces. He was lucky to still be standing after her kiss. I’d seen stronger men turned into toddlers just by her touch.
As we walked away, I put my arm around her shoulders and whispered, “I think he’s in love. That was a cruel thing you did.”
There was no response. She just walked with a blank expression on her face, not even acknowledging me. “Hey, what’s wrong with you?” I asked, shaking her.
Kiara looked at me and just smiled, “I think the feeling is mutual. After we’re done here, I’m sure she’ll want some time alone with the boy. I mean, he was cute after all.”
“Did you notice anything weird about him, Key?” I asked. “I mean, it’s normal for Melody to attract a boy, but when you’re around, they always turn their attention to you. The boy barely looked at you, though.”
Melody threw my arm off of her and started walking faster, finally giving an indication that she was conscious. She spun around and smiled really wide, “Let’s kill all of these mother fuckers and get HIM. Then we can talk about how jealous my GORGEOUS sister is of me for once.”
She giggled with the maniacal tone that always gave me chills and charged straight into the gas station. It only took a few seconds before I heard bodies hitting the floor inside. She was always so quick to act, but she was efficient with her movements, not letting any of the guards call for help.
Once Kiara and I were inside, we saw that the gas station was no longer in use and completely empty aside from a desk and a bunch of fold up chairs. It seemed to only be serving only as a check in station for any guests.
Melody was over anxious as always as she stood in the doorway that separated the house from the back of the gas station. She held a blood soaked knife in each hand with a look on her face that would frighten any master. Eight guards lay dead at her feet, all stacked in a nice pile. As she entered, she must have cut the electricity because lights that had been lit earlier were no longer.
“Save some for me, Mellie. It’s not fair if you kill them all. It’s bad enough you have a good looking boy waiting for you.” Kiara was pouting and as always, she’d get her way.
Melody stepped aside and let her sister go first. Through the door were two small steps down with a turn to the left and a few more steps down. Quite an odd design, If I do say so.
The stairs emptied into a huge living room where Kiara announced her intentions to the waiting guards, “All of you assholes are going to die. I have no mercy, tonight.”
“See,” Melody said, holding back a laugh. “You’re jealous.”
Nine assault rifles pointed at Kiara, but she moved so fast that none of them even had time to pull the trigger. My old eyes weren’t what they used to be, but I watched her run clockwise around the room, cutting each guard’s throat. It was so unfair that I wondered if this was somehow a trap. It was just too easy.
There were three closed doors in the room and we each took one. No words needed to be spoken between us. We had done this so many times that it had become routine to us. I turned the doorknob of my door and pulled it open, throwing my body against the wall in case of an ambush. Nothing. The room was clear.
There were two monitors in the room on a small table showing surveillance video around the gas station. It seemed as if nobody had been paying attention to the security feed or else we would have had a tougher time with the guards inside.
“I got one,” Melody called out.
I hurried out and found the twins a bathroom inside what looked like the master bedroom. Melody had him with his pants down, sitting on the toilet. She was kneeling, pressing a knife into his inner thigh, dangerously close to his manhood.
The man was shaking, sweat pouring from his face. “This isn’t HIM,” I said, stating the obvious.
Kiara bent over so she was eye level with the coward and spoke softly, “Where is the boy that lives here? We’re looking for him and I’d really appreciate your help.”
The magic in her voice made me shift my stance as it was pulling at me, too. I had the sudden urge to do anything and everything she wanted, even though she wasn’t talking to me. I’d been trained to resist every form of torture known to man, but this girl could persuade me to do anything with just a simple nod of her head. She had a gift that any assassin would die to obtain.
There were some men that could resist her, but only on two conditions. First was the most obvious. If the man was gay and had no physical attraction to women. Second was dependent on if the man was someone whose life revolves around sex. For instance, a prostitute, porn star, and pimp would be more likely to avoid the magic in her voice since sex is a common thing for them. Our previous captive was in the sex slave trade, so his resistance to her meant that we would need to use more extreme methods - not that we were complaining.
With a knife just inches from castration, the man’s voice shook as he squealed, “He left a while ago. I - I don’t know when he’ll be back.”
She pushed him harder, sweetening her voice even more, “How many bodyguards are with him? Where did he go?”
He looked absolutely giddy, finally relaxing and not letting his eyes stray from Kiara’s face, “He went alone. Said he wanted to go for a walk.”
“Bullshit!” Melody spat, digging into his leg enough to draw a trickle of blood. “We’ve been told he’s some kind of important person for Luc. There’s no way that you would let him walk alone outside.”
If he felt pain, his face didn’t show it. “That would normally be true, but not with him. He’s a monster. Everybody here just tries to keep him happy for fear of his temper.”
“Sweetie,” Kiara said, bringing her face close to his. “What does he look like? We’re going to find him and take him away from here so he can’t hurt you anymore, okay?”
“He’s tall. At least a couple inches over six feet. His body looks like it’s been sculpted out of stone. He’s probably about your age and has these crazy blue eyes that would be hard to miss, even in a crowd of people.”
I wanted to kill the guy right then and there. He was right in front of us and we let him go. It was no wonder Melody was falling apart because of him. Clearly there was more to him than meets the eye. I should have seen it.
“And his name?” Melody asked, anger hidden in her tone.
“James, but he prefers to be called Rip.”
Without hesitation, Melody twisted his head, breaking his neck with such force, I thought it’d pop off.
“Calm down, “Mellie,” I said, trying to keep her from losing her cool. “He doesn’t know who we are or that we’re looking for him. Remember that we’re not trying to kill him. We just want to find out who he is and why Luc wants him to stay away from us.”
My plea fell on deaf ears as she jumped out of her crouched position and rushed out of the bathroom. Her sister and I hurried after until we came to an abrupt stop just outside of the gas station. Melody stood there, staring at Rip.
He was sitting on the steps of the diner, waving at us. We approached carefully and I noticed that Melody had her eyes locked onto him again, looking like a predator waiting for the right time to take down her prey.
He stood up slowly, pulling off his hoodie and the t-shirt underneath. His body looked like it could have been the mold for a suit of armor. Every muscle popped out, hardened like stone. He wasn’t one of those huge body builders you see on TV pulling a bus. On the contrary, his muscles were efficient - not too big to slow him down in a fight, but hardened enough to make any punch hurt like Hell.
“So, I guess you guys found me. I hate to disappoint you, but you’re not going to be able to kill me. You’re welcome to try, though. It’s been a while since I’ve had any real fun.”
I didn’t even have a chance to respond - to tell him we weren’t coming for his life - when Melody and Kiara removed their knives and charged. Kiara’s face was focused and strong, but her sister’s was wild with rage.
Rip just stood there, not even taking a fighting stance. It dawned on me that he should have done what most men do when they get a glimpse of the twins’ speed and fighting spirit. They’d panic, realizing almost immediately that they were over matched. But he - he just stood there with a smirk on his face. It’s like he knew something that we did not.
Kiara closed in, aiming for his throat. The knife cut quickly across and blood drained from the wound like a water fall. Melody took her turn, embedding both of her knives in his abdomen and then rolling out of the way, allowing her sister one more strike to his throat. They called this move, “The Executioner”, because nobody had ever stopped it before. True to form, they performed it beautifully.
I allowed myself a moment of relief, knowing that this weapon of Luc’s was dead. But, to my horror, I noticed that Rip hadn’t even moved. In fact, a huge smile lit up his face. He started to laugh, blood bubbling out of his throat as he did.
“What the hell is so funny?” Melody asked, her anger rising, again.
“You’re really good. Both of you,” he said with a huge grin on his face. “But, as I said before, you can’t kill me.”
The open gashes in his throat began closing on their own and the knives in his stomach were slowly pushed out until they hit the ground. The bloody holes quickly disappeared and he bent over to pick up the weapons, tossing them back to Melody.
“You’re pissing me off,” she shouted back, attacking him with her bare fists.
He deflected the punch to the side and let her momentum carry her away from him. “I told you that you can’t kill me. Give it up, now. I don’t want to kill you unless I have to. You’re far too beautiful to waste your life needlessly.”
It caught her off guard for a moment, but his attention was focused on her, letting Kiara attack him from his blind side. Blades in each hand, she tried for his throat again, but Rip held out his hand in her direction and I watched her fall to the ground, screaming in pain.
“I really don’t like repeating myself so many times,” he said playfully. “You can’t kill me.”
Suddenly, the air felt heavy and I dropped to my hands and knees, barely able to hold myself up. I looked to the twins and noticed they were fighting it, too. Rip began walking toward me, pointing his hands at the girls. They began to move, dragging on the ground, barely able to keep from laying flat against the concrete.
That guard was right. This kid was a monster. I’d heard rumors that there were people in the world with real magic and after watching what Kiara could do, I believed them. But this - this was insanity! It was like he was a god!
Melody and Kiara came to a stop on either side of me. He’d aligned us so we were facing him. I watched as a family exited the diner, but they paid no mind to us, just walking past like we weren’t even there.
“Oh, don’t worry about them. I’ve made sure we won’t be interrupted. First thing’s first, though. I have questions for the three of you, but I want to know why you’ve come for me before we get to the fun part.”
“We came here to find you, not kill you. I think your attitude just pissed the girls off. They were out of line. I’m sorry.”
I felt like a traitor kissing his ass. He wasn’t my enemy, but he did just humiliate the two people I care for most in this world. It was clear, though, that he could crush us like bugs under his shoe if he wanted to. I couldn’t risk it. This was why Luc had him hidden away. A boy like this would be a huge advantage in his rise to power.
Rip twitched a single finger and the force that had held me down, lifted me to my feet. He looked me in the eyes and up and down my body. “You’re not lying. I can see that, so I’ll say it one last time. Call off the dogs because none of you can kill me. I’m not your enemy.”
The force completely disappeared, allowing the twins to stand with me. There was a look in Melody’s eyes that I’d never seen before. She looked angry, but also embarrassed. There was something else, but I couldn’t figure it out what it was. This was a new emotion for her.
Only a few feet away from him, she left her feet, jumping on top of him. Her legs wrapped tightly around his waist and she punched him in the face once, laughing like a villain from an old spy movie.
Rip’s face remained unchanged until she kissed him. It was an aggressive, passionate kiss that dropped him to the ground. He laid there on his back, allowing her mouth to do as it pleased. I’d never seen a kiss quite so intense. It was a little awkward, so I was thankful when Kiara grabbed my arm and turned me away from the scene.
“Let’s give them some time to work things out,” she said. “I guess he’ll just have to ask the rest of his questions later. She might not be able to kill him, but she sure can shut him up.”