First Blood
Part I: The Funeral
She didn’t scream when she died, not that anyone would have heard her if she did. Her body was found in the morning by her parents. When the police arrived shortly after, they took note of a few things, the open window, and the two holes in her neck.
She had been healthy, and happy. She’d had a boyfriend, and friends. Hell, she was going to be graduating from high school later that day. All of her friends had gotten accepted into the same college, and now she was dead.
The autopsy didn’t turn up anything that wasn’t already expected. She had been murdered, her body drained of blood. Somewhere out there, was the killer, an extremely dangerous vampire, that raised the tensions between the mortals and the supernaturals.
The gate retracted, and I stepped through it, where a police car was waiting to drive me back into the city. I got into the back seat, where I watched the world go on around me. “What do you plan on doing now that you’re free?” The officer driving the car asked me.
“I figured I’d go to college. Not much else for me to do,” I told him.
“Where is an orphaned criminal like you going to get the money for that?” He responded, waiting for me to tell on myself.
“Who needs money when you can get a full-ride scholarship? The local colleges are practically begging for me to apply to their school. After all, why wouldn’t you want a magic Know-It-All?”
“A Know-It-All with a penchant for scams,” he said.
“It wasn’t a scam,” I retorted.
“The police gave you money, then asked for the names and locations of murders and criminals, and the answers you gave were always wrong.”
“The officers that came to me never asked the right questions. I would have given them the answers if the questions they asked were yes or no questions. They never were, because you police always expected me to do your job for you.”
“And yet you’d help criminals.”
“They asked the right questions. They never expected me to kill or steal for them. ‘Give us the name of the killer’ this, ‘give us the location of the thief’ that. Seriously, you need to get better at your job. Especially now that that girl is dead.”
“What do you know about that?” The officer looked at me through the rear-view mirror, waiting for me to give him the answers.
“Everything,” I told him.
“You’re not going to tell me anything are you?”
“Of course not. I will tell you this, however, the killer’s got another victim in his sight. That’s all the information you get out of me. Drop me off by the party store, I have some materials to buy.”
Tyler took a picture of the sunset as it lit up the sky behind the funeral home. Perhaps it was the perfect homage to a life that ended too soon. A vampire killer was on the loose, a sorceress was released from prison, and tomorrow was a full moon, meaning the werewolves would be out on the prowl. Only the gods knew what was coming next, and none of it seemed to be good.
Now that Tyler was 18, the orphanage he lived in had given him a time limit to find a place to stay before they kicked him out onto the street. He had no money, no job, and fear amongst the mortals was getting out of hand. If a potential employer found out that Tyler was a werewolf, the odds of him getting that job was zero.
It’s the same for almost every supernatural creature. Werewolves were treated like dogs, and Dragons were treated like they’d burn down the whole city in an instant. The only supernatural creatures that aren’t treated like bombs about to go off were sorcerers, shapeshifters, and dragon-slayers. Dragon-slayers were just regular humans born to wield a sword, they have a sword made especially for them on their 18th birthday. Whether the parents give their child their sword is up to them, most prefer their child to just be human, it’s easier that way.
Tyler took another photo of the funeral home now that the sun had fully passed behind the horizon. It was almost ominous the way the building glowed beneath the stars. He let his camera fall back onto his chest before entering the building to pay his respects.
I stepped into the building knowing full well what I was going to find in there. A crowd of people, most of them who didn’t care about the girl until she was dead. Shame she didn’t get to go to her graduation, but then again, the cliche speech given in her honor just shows how fake all these people here are.
Like that werewolf, Tyler who's just here to get a few good shots. Not that I blame him though, he seems reasonably interested in solving this murder. His list of suspects are even on the right track, even more so than the police’s list of suspects, they’re not even close.
Then, of course, there’s Sydney, she’s the best friend of the dead. She knows that she’s a supernatural being, but doesn’t even realize that she’s a contradiction of herself. Her mother died when she was young, and her aunts have no idea what to tell her. Meanwhile, her father doesn’t even know that the woman he abandoned is dead.
Ivan was the boyfriend of the girl who died, he is very obviously a supernatural being, how no one has figured it out yet is beyond me. Though I suppose I have an advantage in literally everything, because I know everything. Ivan’s father is dead, and his mother is actually a god. Well, a deity. Most immortal beings prefer the title deity to god. “God” and “goddess” are titles that are unnecessarily gendered, most deities don’t confine themselves to a singular gender expression.
Ace is Ivan’s best friend, and he’s had a crush on Sydney for years. It’s a shame that Ace doesn’t know his stepfather isn’t his actual father. Most people would figure that out almost immediately, if only he could tell people he was a supernatural creature. Ace has been blinded by a childhood of lies.
Well, enough about them. Back to me. This is my story after all. I approached the girl’s parents and shook their hands. “Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, I’m so sorry about what happened to Katy. You have my condolences,” I told them, fully aware that Tyler was watching me.
“Thank you,” Mr. Johnson replied.
“May I ask how you knew our daughter?” Mrs. Johnson asked.
“I didn’t know her, but I did hear about her passing on the news. It’s a shame to lose a child so soon,” I said. Mrs. Johnson narrowed her eyes. She was wondering if I was the killer. She’d seen my face before, she just wasn’t sure where. This wake was an excuse to look for the killer. After all, why wouldn’t the killer attend the wake of their victim? Doesn’t a killer always return to the scene of the crime?
I heard the snap of a camera in the back of my head. Now, Tyler was growing suspicious of me. He was the only one in this room that knew why I looked familiar. The only one that recognized me. I turned my attention back to the conversion at hand.
“Well, thank you for attending,” Mr. Johnson said. “Feel free to pay your respects.”
“Thank you, I will,” I responded.
After greeting the Johnsons, I left. I felt no need to go up to the casket, not when I could already see a perfect image of the body in my head. I had no words to say to her, it’s not like she’d hear me. The only thing I wanted was her sword, which wouldn’t be placed into her casket until after the wake, when no one would ever find out she was a dragon-slayer.
“It’s a beautiful night isn’t it, Tyler. A shame the moon isn’t full, though. That’s something I’d pay money to see in person,” I spoke into the air, without turning around.
“You’re Velvet. The sorceress. The one that went to jail for aiding criminals,” Tyler announced.
“The very same,” I turned around. “Would you like an autograph? You seem to be a fan.”
“I’d like to know why you’re here. Of all the places you could’ve gone tonight, you came to the wake of someone who died before you were released.”
“You and I both know that I had nothing to do with this. I’ve been the perfect prisoner these past two years. So perfect, in fact, they lessened my sentence exponentially. There was nothing stopping me from escaping, if I’d wanted to.”
“Wouldn’t your power allow you to do things easily without getting caught?”
“Of course it would. Oh, I certainly did my fair share of lying and cheating. I am many things, my friend, but a vampire is not one of them.”
“Where do you plan to go now?”
“Why is everyone so concerned about that? I plan to go to a nearby homeless shelter to spend the night. Maybe you should look into moving into a college dorm early. Just, don’t let them know about your problem.”
“Move into college early! That’s a great idea! Why didn’t I think about that,” Tyler shouted.
“You didn’t think about it because you don’t have an infinite well of knowledge in your head,” I told him. “Goodbye, Tyler, I will be seeing you again.” I vanished into the night, leaving Tyler standing in the dark by himself.
The blade of Katy’s sword was made of carbon steel, it was thin and about 15 inches long. The guard of the sword was made of rose gold that was molded to look as though it was woven. There were strips of black dyed leather wrapped around the hilt for grip. Engraved on the blade, was the name Katy Johnson, lest you forget whose sword this was. On the pommel was the Johnson family crest.
I wiped the blade with a wax covered cloth to give it a nice shine. The blade acted almost like a mirror, when I looked down at it, I could see myself in its reflection. I could also see a familiar figure approaching me from behind.
“Did you spend all day looking for me, Tyler? I’m flattered,” I said as he sat down beside me on my cot.
“Is that a dragon-slayer’s sword?” He asked. “Where’d you get it?”
“I stole it. It’s not like Katy’s going to be using it,” I informed him.
“Katy was a dragon-slayer?”
“Yes.”
“That means the vampire that killed her was hired by a dragon,” Tyler mused.
“Congratulations, you have a potential motive, but that doesn’t narrow down a thing. In fact, if that is the case, then there’s now two criminals that need to be identified,” I explained.
“One step forward, two steps back.” Tyler’s mind was spinning with the new possibilities at hand. “Why hasn’t it been reported that Katy’s sword is missing?”
“The Johnsons want to continue to keep Katy’s identity a secret. Katy didn’t even know when she was alive. This is one stolen item that won’t be missed.” I replaced the sword in its box for safe keeping, noting that it was 30 minutes until sunset. “Shouldn’t you be in the woods by now with the rest of the werewolves?”
“I should,” Tyler replied.
“Then go,” I shooed him away, and he left, leaving me sitting on my cot.
Part II: High Tension
The next few months felt drawn out, forever stretching onward. Everyone waited with bated breath for the next axe to drop. Will the police solve Katy’s murder? Will the vampire strike again? If not, what comes next?
Tyler didn’t visit me again the rest of the summer. After finding out about the sword, he felt confident that I had nothing to do with the murder. He was still curious about what my next plans were, and was even tempted to ask me for more clues about the murderer. He decided against asking because he knew that I’d probably charge him for answers, and he wasn’t willing to waste what little money he did have just for answers that might not even help him.
Suddenly, it was move-in day. I arrived before my roommate. I had just closed the door of the wardrobe, where the sword was hidden before the door to the room opened. My roommate was blonde, with hazel eyes that shone with a certain mix of kindness and ferocity. Following behind her were her two aunts, who had raised her most of her life, since her mother died.
“Wow!” She exclaimed as she entered the room. Her eyes were wide as she examined the room.
Then she turned her gaze to me. “You must be my roommate. My name is Sydney. Sydney Rivera.”
She held out her hand to me, I shook it. “My name is Velvet.” I swallowed. I had known that Sydney was going to be my roommate for about a month now. It was determined after I stole Katy’s sword. Since I was homeless, and an orphan, I had nowhere to hide it from her. If Sydney found out her best friend was a dragon-slayer, let alone that I had her sword, it would cause some very big problems. I was going to have to be very careful.
“It’s nice to meet you, Velvet,” she said, smiling. “Are you all moved in? You don’t have that much stuff.”
“I don’t need much,” I told her. “I’ve spent the last few years living… minimalistically.”
She pursed her lips, “that’s alright we can share a refrigerator and microwave.”
“Uh, thanks, Sydney.” I had to get out of here. “I’m going to get out of your way, so you can move in.” I pushed my way past Sydney’s aunts and into the hall.
My anxiety caused me to get distracted. I lost focus on my Know It All, my head swarmed with events occurring concurrently. I vaguely acknowledged that I was standing in a lounge. There was so much. Too much. Was this what it was like when I was born, before I learned to focus on my immediate surroundings?
There were people everywhere. People running, playing. Dying. Fire, smoke, alarms. Arguing, punching. Sickness, blood. Panic. Everything. Everywhere. Birth, death.
I gasped for breath, struggling to reel in my thoughts. My heart was pounding, my legs gave out and I fell to my knees. My vision was fading, I couldn’t focus on what I was seeing, feeling. It had been so long since I lost control like this. Was all of this happening around me, near me? What was happening across the world? What was happening in the building? I could no longer tell. It all blurred together, and I was drowning.
I felt a hand grab my arm, my focus snapped back to my reality. “Velvet?” The voice sounded concerned. It was a familiar voice. I sucked in a deep breath, steeling myself against a roaring tide of thoughts. I pulled myself to the surface, shoving everything else away, wrapping it in chains held under by cinder blocks. I collapsed onto my side, trying to catch my breath. “Are you okay?”
I turned my attention to the person beside me. “Oh. Hey, Tyler,” I wheezed. He was crouched beside me, his eyes shone with worry. “Relax. I’m fine.” I sat up, adjusting my shirt, and running my hands through my hair. “That was just a minor lapse of control.”
“Minor? That didn’t seem minor. You seemed like you were having an entire panic attack,” Tyler responded.
“I had it under control.” I decided to change the subject. “How was your summer?”
“Don’t change the subject.”
“I will do what I want,” I stood up. “If you want to continue to be concerned, for no reason, then I am going to leave you to do that by yourself.” I began to walk away.
“Alright, fine.” Tyler called after me. “My summer was boring. I’m not anywhere closer to solving the murder mystery, though I’m surprised our vampire hasn’t killed anyone else yet.”
“Maybe there was only one dragon-slayer.”
“No, you wouldn’t be here if there was.”
“Maybe, I’m just here to learn.”
“Learn what? You already know everything.”
I smiled, “you’re right. So, I understand that you’re rooming with Ace.”
“I am, which will be difficult if I’m going to solve this mystery and he’s the killer.”
“It’s also useful for the mystery because you’ll always be close by.”
“I guess. Who’s your roommate?”
“Sydney, actually,” I told him.
“That’s perfect!” Tyler blurted out. “That will allow us to spy on them to figure out who the vampire is!”
“Yeah.”
“Well, you already know who the vampire is.”
“Yeah.”
“Come on, I’m going to introduce you to Ace.”
We passed other students and their families all trying to move into their rooms all at once. As we were walking, we passed Sydney and her aunts, at the sight of her, I felt a brief moment of panic. I took in a deep breath and closed my eyes. Don’t panic. She doesn’t know, and she won’t find out.
Tyler and Ace’s room was on the first floor of the building. When we entered, Ace and his parents were arranging things into place. Ace’s father was big, buff, and scary looking. His mother was beautiful, yet shy, and meek. Add the hidden bruises on both Ace and his mother, and it was the perfect image of a dysfunctional family.
I saw the anger in Frank Gold’s eyes, the darkness, the fire. His eyes sent out a silent threat to anyone that got near his family. To me, that threat wasn’t scary, to me, it was a dare. He was daring me to challenge him, and I knew that as long as I walked this Earth, he would never lay a hand on Ace again. Oh, Sersi, am I getting attached to these people?
I shook my head, trying to clear it of the fluffy protective thoughts. It’s not my business what happens between family members behind closed doors. And yet, it is my curse to know. I straightened myself and tore my gaze away from Frank, though I was still hyper aware of his presence in the room.
“Ace, this is my friend Velvet, we met over the summer,” Tyler said, then he turned to me. “Velvet, this is Ace, my roommate.”
“Nice to meet you,” Ace responded, his voice seemed strained.
“Is something wrong?” Tyler asked, first looking at Ace, and then at me.
“Everything’s fine,” Ace told him. I was about to say something to change the topic, but Frank just had to chime in with his two cents.
“He’s upset because Ivan asked out that girl before he could,” he replied.
“Wait, are Sydney and Ivan dating?” Tyler asked.
“Yes,” Frank said. “Because my son is a coward.” At that, Ace lowered his gaze to the floor, and the room fell silent.
“I have an idea! Let’s all go take a break from moving in and explore campus,” I suggested. I wanted to get Ace as far away from Frank and Sylvia as I could. He needed to escape from them, and he was already finished moving. They could show themselves out of the building.
Tyler looked at me, he understood that I knew something he didn’t and that I wouldn’t be suggesting it if it wasn’t absolutely necessary. “Yeah, that sounds cool,” he said.
Ace hesitated, he didn’t want to be rude to his parents, but he also didn’t want to be near them any longer than he had to. He made his decision. He walked out of the room without so much as a goodbye to his parents, and I couldn’t have been more proud. On the way out, I made sure to stomp on Frank’s foot as hard as I could, while still being able to play it off like an accident. His curses echoed in the back of my head as I followed my new friends, and that made me smile.
The sun hung high in the sky as we wandered the college pathways, watching the people that were just arriving move all their stuff into their respective dorms. As we walked, we found ourselves in a forest, and in front of us lay a tiny frog, just hopping along. “Oh my Harlan, it's a frog!” Ace exclaimed as he bent to pick it up.
I cringed at the name of the Human’s deity. Harlan is the deity that created humans. Some of the humans simply call them “God.” They seem to think that there is only one god, when many civilizations before them have had entire pantheons of them. I can’t speak for the other pantheons, but supernatural creatures all follow the same deities, we wouldn’t be here without them. Deities are naturally immune to my Know It All, so for all I know every religion is correct, to a certain extent. Anyway… back to the story.
Tyler narrowed his eyes at Ace, “you follow the Pantheon?”
“Well yeah, I think that it makes more sense than any other religion. I mean every single supernatural creature believes in them, they can’t all be wrong,” Ace told him. Ace held out the frog to us, “look at him, isn't he cute?”
“Yeah, it’s great,” Tyler replied insincerely, he recoiled as Ace turned to face him.
“Well I think he’s adorable,” I stated. I cupped my hands together, and Ace handed me the frog.
Tyler turned away, and I could see the memories playing in his head. A hungry werewolf orphan scavenging for food with no choice but to eat what he could find. The taste, the texture, so vivid in his mind you could almost taste it.
I started coughing, trying to get Tyler’s memory out of my head. The frog lept from my hands onto the ground. Before it could escape, Ace bent down to pick it back up. Tyler, who had turned around when I started coughing, gave me an apologetic look.
Oblivious to the world, Ace continued to stare at the frog. “You know, I’ve always wanted a pet lizard,” he said, not looking up.
“So get one,” I told him.
Ace looked at me, a frown appearing on his face. “My dad will be angry,” he explained.
“So? Do it anyway. You’re a college student now. You have freedom. What’s the worst that could happen?” Tyler said. I saw Ace flinch at Tyler’s words.
“Tyler, don’t push him,” I said.
The thoughts swirled in Ace’s mind, his fears, his dreams, and a spark of defiance. I knew he had made up his mind. Before Ace could say anything, a new voice spoke.
“Look at this, my best friend, a loner, and a stranger.” I didn’t want to turn around. I knew who it was. It was Ivan, Katy’s ex, who was now dating Sydney.
Ivan was one of those people with the tendency to be mean to people he didn’t understand. He carried himself with a sense of importance that only children born into nepotism did. His family was rich and powerful, and he knew it. So powerful, in fact, that they attracted the attention of the most powerful vampire family in the world, the Cassidys, and they had killed his father.
The thing that bugged me the most about Ivan was the smug look on his face. He had known that Ace had a crush on Sydney along with the rest of us, and yet he still went after her. At this point, the only person that didn’t know Ace had a crush on Sydney was Sydney.
Ivan looked at me, his eyes lit with recognition. He had heard a description of me from someone. From who was something I couldn’t discern. That’s strange. No matter how much I sifted through his brain I couldn’t find the answer. It was just an empty space. The longer I looked, the more clear the smirk on his face became. He knew I couldn't figure it out. I also saw concern in his eyes. He was afraid of me.
“Well, it’s been nice, but I have to go see my girlfriend,” he waved goodbye to us, before he turned and walked away.
There was a long silence as we all stared at him while he left. I cleared my throat and turned to my friends. “Let’s go to the pet store!” I exclaimed.
Part III: Matters of the Heart
When the automatic doors slid open, and we stepped into the store, Ace’s body stiffened. Tyler had an adverse reaction, his eyes lit up and excitement flowed through his body. I looked at Ace, I knew why he was nervous, anyone would be.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked.
This was his chance to turn back, his chance to shy away. He could be perfect. Maybe if he was perfect, his father would love him. His father would change his mind about him. It was this belief he grew up with, fighting to be better, in order to gain respect and love. Yet, he spent his life being “perfect” and he had gotten nothing from it. His fear turned to anger. He had wasted his childhood just to appease his father. No. He was not turning back.
“Yes. I am absolutely sure,” Ace replied.
Ace steeled his shoulders as he began to walk towards the reptile section of the store. I followed him, just to make sure he was okay. Tyler wandered towards the dog aisles, picking up his pace out of excitement.
The aisle where the reptiles were kept had more than just reptiles. It also had amphibians like frogs, and rodents like mice, rats and hamsters. There was a woman in the aisle dressed in the store’s uniform. She looked at us as we approached.
“Can I help you find anything?” she asked.
Ace looked at me for support. “Actually, you can. Ace here would like to purchase a pet lizard.”
Once Ace was settled, I went to explore the store. I found myself drawn to where a commotion was taking place. A large wolf dog was sniffing at the toys in the aisle and pulling them off the walls. He wasn’t wearing a collar, nor was there an owner for him in sight. “There you are!” I called to it. The dog startled and swung to look at me. His fur was a dark gray, almost black, he looked similar to a husky, but much bigger. The dog folded its ears back and hung its head as if it were ashamed.
“Ma’am, is this your dog?” A worker asked, stepping cautiously forward.
“Yes, it is,” I replied, putting an edge to my voice.
“Well, it needs to be on a leash,” the worker stated. I was aware that most of the people watching knew that the dog was a Werewolf. No regular dog had glaring red eyes. The dog also acted too human to be just a dog with a strange defect.
“Well, I don’t have one with me, could you point me towards where they are located, so I may buy one?” I responded.
“Of course,” the worker said, “the leashes and collars are this way.”
“Heel,” I ordered Tyler. He ran to my side and remained there as we walked through the store. Fortunately, it was still legal to own Werewolves, so no one will judge me too much, though the most liberal of the onlookers would think me cruel. That was an idea I was okay with.
Once we reached the leashes I picked out the biggest collar I could find, and put it on him. Then I picked out a matching blue leash and hooked it to the collar. After thanking the employee, I tugged on the leash and led Tyler into the store’s bathroom. Luckily, no one was paying attention to us as we went in. I dragged him into the handicap stall.
“Get up,” I commanded. Tyler’s body began to shift back into his human form. The next thing I knew was that he was standing before me, the collar dangling from his neck like a necklace.
“That was humiliating,” he groaned, unhooking the collar from his neck. “I got so excited I lost control. I just slipped into it. It was an accident,” he scrambled to explain in the hopes I wouldn’t get mad.
“I know. It’s okay,” I told him. “Accidents happen sometimes. I still cast spells when I'm not thinking.”
“Really?”
“No, but that’s unusual, a side effect from my other power. Most supernatural creatures do slip up from time to time.”
“Are you sure it’s okay?” he asked again.
“Yes,” I replied.
“Well, thank you for helping me in my time of need,” he said.
“It’s the best I could do after you helped me.”
“Yeah.” There was a moment of pause where we just looked at each other. It sucks, knowing things that others don’t, you have to hide it forever, but what happens when you reach a point you can’t keep it in anymore?
“Well, we should get out of here while no one is paying attention,” I told him. We left the bathroom and I kicked myself for not acting while I had the chance.
Before leaving the restroom, I transported the collar and leash into my special magical storage space, where I could retrieve them should I need them. We joined Ace at the checkout counter. He had picked out a large tank, a heat lamp, and artificial plants and rocks, you know, the usual stuff.
“Hey, where’d you guys go? Ace asked us as we approached.
“We went to look around,” I told him. I shivered involuntarily, there was a customer in the aisle over that was staring at me. They had witnessed the event with Tyler earlier. The customer was wondering where my “dog” was, while also trying to figure out which of my friends was the werewolf. If we stayed here, they were going to make a scene. They were the kind of person that believed supernatural creatures were inferior to humans, and in their minds, werewolves were just more aggressive dogs.
I put my hand on Tyler’s arm. “We should go,” I whispered to him. “Ace, we’ll be outside.”
“Try not to keep us waiting for too long,” Tyler added as I pushed him out the door. Once we were in the car, Tyler asked, “was that because of me?”
“Someone was getting suspicious,” I replied.
“Are we safe now?”
“We should be. As long as Ace doesn’t take too long. They didn’t see what car we got into.”
“Thank you for your help. Harlan, if it weren’t for you, I’d have been taken by animal control.
“You’re lucky to have met me.”
“Yeah.” There it was again, that moment of pause. I could hear a torrent of thoughts coming from Tyler. I decided to solve his inner conflict for him. I kissed him. All the thoughts in his head went silent. His mind was buffering like a computer.
Just then, the door opened and Ace shoved his new stuff into the back seat. He plopped down in the seat behind me. Ace held the box that contained his new leopard gecko on his lap. He was beaming. His happiness was contrasted by Tyler whose confusion was palpable. I grinned. I was happy for the first time since my parents faked their own deaths.
When we got back to Ace and Tyler’s room, Ace introduced us to Dusty the gecko. This time, Tyler was willing to hold the creature that Ace was showing off, as he’d never eaten a lizard before.
There was a knock on the door. Ace jumped over the stuff on the floor in order to answer the door. Ivan and Sydney were standing in the hallway. “Dude, you live with the loner? You better hide your stuff, and definitely watch out. He might be the one that killed Katy,” Ivan said.
“I’m right here, you know.” Tyler called. “If I were going to kill anyone, it would be you.”
“Ivan, be nice to Tyler, he’s my friend and I’m not going to let you continue to treat him this way,” Ace said to Ivan.
“Ace, where is this coming from?” Ivan asked, surprised. Ace had never stood up to him before. He’d never stood up to anyone before.
“Is that a lizard?” Sydney interjected, shoving her way into the room.
“Oh! Yeah, that’s my new lizard, Dusty,” Ace explained, the conflict forgotten by everyone but Ivan.
“Can I hold him?” Sydney asked.
“Of course,” Ace told her. Tyler slid Dusty into Sydney’s outstretched hands.
“You bought a lizard?” Ivan said, furrowing his eyebrows. “Your father isn’t going to approve.” Ace continued to set up the lizard’s tank. “Are you sure this was a good idea?”
Sydney looked up from the lizard. “Why wouldn’t it be a good idea?”
“No reason,” Ivan said. He looked at me. Ivan was worried for his friend’s safety, and he blamed me for it. We both knew the same thing. Yet, I let Ace buy the lizard. There was something Ivan didn’t know. I wasn’t going to let Ace’s father do any more harm to him. I knew Ivan felt the same. To Ivan, I was a threat to the status quo, and he didn’t trust me.
“Well, I’d better go,” I told the crowd.
“Bye, Velvet,” Ace said, as I made my way to the door. I felt Ivan’s eyes on me as I approached him. Once beside him in the doorway, I paused, turning my head to lock eyes with him. His eyes glittered with hatred, and suspicion. I shoved past him into the hallway and then into Sydney and my room.
I pulled the box that contained the sword from my closet just as Tyler knocked on the door. I placed the box on my bed before answering the door. “Come in,” I said, holding the door open for him. He entered, his eyes jumping to the box on the bed.
“Isn’t it risky to be playing with that while Sydney, Ivan, and Ace are so close by?” He asked.
“Maybe,” I shrugged. “But I’ll have enough time to hide it should Sydney decide to come back. I have a built in radar, remember? Plus, I’m magic too.” I sat down on the bed and opened the box to reveal the glimmering sword.
“Why is it a bad idea that Ace bought the lizard? Why is Ivan so worried about Ace’s father?” Tyler questioned.
I pulled the sword out of the box to see it better. “That is not my story to tell. You’d have to get either Ace or Ivan to tell you, and you’re not likely to get it out of either,” I told him.
“Oh come on. You’re so powerful and know everything, can’t you just let me in on this one little thing?”
“No. It is Ace’s story not mine. I have no right to tell you. It wouldn’t be fair.”
“Fine,” Tyler grumbled, giving up. “Then can we at least talk about the kiss earlier?”
“What about it?”
“Why’d you do it?
“Do what?”
“You know what I mean,” He said before realizing he needed to ask the right question. “Why did you kiss me?”
“Because I wanted to.” I put the sword back in the box and looked up at him.
“But-” He started before I cut him off.
“You wanted to kiss me too. Don’t deny it.”
Tyler just looked at me. He was confused again. I moved the box off my lap and onto the floor. Next, I held out my hand to him. Still, confused, he took it, and I pulled him down onto the bed next to me. I kissed him again, knowing today was a day that I had been waiting for 20 years.
Part IV: Trust Issues