by Lilly Wilder
“But, that didn’t prevent you from killing us off one by one, now did it?” Reeba hissed.
“Reeba…” Rose gently placed her hand on Reeba’s shoulder and she calmed down again.
“I only killed those who were a danger,” Mina tried to explain her actions.
“How did you choose those?”
“She had instructions from high up,” Rose explained.
“What does that mean?”
“Reeba,” Rose smiled, “you don’t know many things. Maybe if you did, you’d understand that Mina was actually doing us a favor.”
“A favor?” Now, it was Mina’s turn to be surprised.
“There are always good vampires and bad vampires, good people and bad people, good witches and bad witches,” Rose spoke with a kind smile, “Mina and slayers like her only kill the ones who present a threat, to both humans and vampires.”
“Is that true?” Reeba asked, and Rose nodded.
“I always thought that was true as well,” Mina agreed. “So, when my brother disappeared, I thought someone got him. And the book, too. You know what would happen if the book falls in the wrong hands.”
“I do,” Rose nodded and there was no more smile on her face.
“That was why I came here, to try and find my brother.”
“What makes you think he’s here?” Rose wondered.
“A source told me that Dante is planning something big. That he’s already killed a few slayers and needed the book.”
“What would he want with the book?” Rose asked.
“I heard he found the prequel.”
“Prequel?” all the girls gasped.
“But, that’s just a myth…” Rose was pale as she spoke. “Are you sure?”
“That’s what I heard,” Mina nodded. “That he has it and needs the original.”
“Does he have the original?” Rose kept asking.
“I don’t know. My mother told me that my brother still has the book but I don’t know where he is, so I have no idea what exactly is going on. I guess, when I find my brother, I’ll know more about the book.”
“I haven’t heard any such thing,” Rose wondered aloud, more to herself than to Mina, “but I believe you. Dante has always struck me as murky. I’ve also heard some things which didn’t make much sense at the time but, now, with this knowledge, I think you may be right. Something big is about to happen.”
“Can I count on your help?” Mina wondered.
“Can we count on yours?” Rose asked.
“I never killed anyone who hadn’t killed someone else first,” Mina explained again. “Even though I know that you probably heard all sorts of horrible stories about me and my brother. I assure you, I never laid a finger on anyone who didn’t deserve it.”
Rose eyed her, as if she was trying to see right through her and weigh whether she was telling the truth or not. This was one of those moments where not even being a witch could help her. A few seconds passed, and Mina felt like she was melting under Rose’s scrutiny. She knew that there was no point in saying anything. She’d already said what she needed to say. Now, it was all up to the girls.
“Can we trust her?” Reeba asked Rose, both girls looking in Mina’s direction.
“What do you think?” Rose asked. “What is your heart telling you?”
Reeba smiled. The wolf howled again, but now, it was so far away that it was barely audible. A few birds chirped in a nearby tree, as if woken up by the sudden noise, but immediately went back to sleep. The forest was silent, asleep. It felt safe.
“I say we trust her,” Reeba said triumphantly, and all the girls agreed.
“I knew you’d think that,” Rose exulted. “Because, we can trust her. I’m sure of that but I didn’t want to tell you that myself. You needed to feel it for yourselves.”
“Is that why we went through this ordeal?” Reeba asked, with a smile.
“I can’t make the right choices for any of you,” Rose shook her head. “That’s not my job, even as the Elder. I can guide you, but the final decision always needs to be your own.”
Instead of a reply, Mina opened her arms and hugged Reeba. All the girls joined in and Mina could sense that sweet minty smell in the air. She closed her eyes, and enjoyed the moment, for the first time sure that, no matter what, things would be alright in the end.
Chapter 16
The following Monday, Mina was surprised to see a message shoved underneath her dorm room door. She quickly opened it, thinking it was from the same person who urged her to be quiet and who she was now suspecting was her brother. To her disappointment, as well as surprise, she realized it was from Renwick.
Raphael and I were thinking of hitting the Bunker tonight. Wanna come? Ren
Mina folded the message. She’d already gone there with Hendrik and was trying to figure out if showing up with two other guys her second time there was in poor taste. Maybe she could just hang out with them somewhere on campus, without it being the Bunker. She put the message on her desk and went to take a shower. She washed her hair, then wrapped herself up in a small towel, which barely covered her breasts and butt, then walked out into the room, dripping wet.
When she walked into her room, she almost jumped with fright. Right there, on the bed, she saw Renwick and Raphael, chilling. Their eyes were glued to her.
“Whoa, now that’s a welcome!” Raphael whistled at the sight before him and she instinctively covered her breasts, even though they were half hidden by the towel.
“What the hell are you guys doing here!?” she hissed at them.
“Shut up, you,” Renwick playfully punched Raphael, “sorry, Lucy. We didn’t mean to scare you. We just figured, we’d wait for you to get ready and then just hit the Bunker.”
They were both laid back, not even trying to hide the fact that they were devouring her with their gazes. She stopped feeling insecure all of a sudden and, instead, only remained upset, but even this sensation was diminishing and she couldn’t resist their tempting smiles.
“How did you get in?” she wondered, a little more calmly.
“Your door was unlocked,” Raphael replied this time, with a mischievous wink in his eyes. “You were subconsciously inviting us in, you see.”
“Do you mind?” she rolled her eyes, pointing at her wardrobe.
“Oh, by all means,” Raphael nodded. “Just go ahead.”
“I meant for you to turn around,” she felt a sudden urge to giggle at their boyish mischievousness but managed to stay serious.
“Turn around,” Renwick instructed Raphael and they immediately did so.
Mina rushed over to the wardrobe and got some clothes out. She quickly put them on, then went back to the bed but she didn’t sit down next to them. She remained standing, like a mother scolding her two boys who were up to no good.
“Okay, you can turn around now,” she told them.
“Not as nice as before but I can work with it,” Raphael winked at her.
“You really are a pig, aren’t you,” she rolled her eyes again and the guys both laughed.
She couldn’t resist joining in.
“I don’t really have anything to offer you, guys,” she told them. “I could rush over to the machine in the hallway and get you some coffee.”
“We were actually hoping you’d agree to go to the Bunker tonight,” Raphael said.
“Oh, the message,” she remembered, biting her lip. “I’m kinda tired.”
“Oh, come on,” Renwick urged her.
“Yeah, come on!” Raphael repeated.
“Seriously guys, it’s been a helluva weekend and I’m beat,” she replied, changing her mind about the offered coffee.
“Well, we could stay here with you,” Raphael grinned. “Keep you safe from all harm?”
“I appreciate the offer but like I said, I just want to hit the hay.”
“The lady has spoken,” Renwick got up, “come on, pig.”
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The guys laughed again. Mina had no idea that the guys were such good friends. It was obvious from the way they treated each other. She had to admit, she was surprised to see two such different guys function so well together. She guessed that was why Renwick was such a good advocate for Raphael when they spoke the last time.
“Are you sure?” Renwick asked again and the twinkle in his eyes sent goosebumps down her back.
For a second, she imagined his fingers leafing through her body like he leafs through one of his favorite books: slowly, passionately, with complete focus and interest. She felt a hotness arising from somewhere deep inside of her.
She looked at Raphael, then back at Renwick. She realized only now that she had a major crush on both of them. A crush on Renwick she could totally understand. He was everything she liked in a guy but Raphael was a complete mystery. She hated guys like that. She couldn’t stand them. She wanted them as far away from her as possible and, yet, his presence made her nervous, it made her palms sweaty, it made her heart beat faster and faster. She wanted him to talk to her dirty, just so she could pretend to be offended and talk back to him. It was so much fun but she’d never admit it, especially not to him.
Then, a scary thought occurred to her. What if he already knew that? What if he knew exactly how he made her feel and that was why he was pushing for this so hard?
She swallowed heavily, and thought about it for a second. One coffee. Could it really hurt?
The two of them there, with her - it felt right. Sure, Raphael was being his cocky self as always but she instantly remembered how they’d clicked last time they had a coffee together and how she thought she’d regret it. No such thing happened. She liked them both, that much was obvious and the guys were here for a reason, too. Maybe that reason was the same?
“Okay then,” she shrugged her shoulders, pretending like she was indifferent to their presence, “I can go and grab us that coffee and you can stay a while.”
She started to the door but Renwick bolted towards her and gently grabbed her shoulder. His closeness and his touch made her feel like she was standing on top of an active volcano. Her blood turned to lava, boiling hot. She could keep her guard up only for so long, until it would come crashing down before them, allowing them to do to her whatever they pleased.
“Wait,” Renwick smiled. “I’ll go. You stay here.”
His voice was kind and gentle, she almost couldn’t believe that a guy’s voice could ever be so soothing. All she wanted to do now was give him an acoustic guitar and make him sing love songs all night long. The thought made her grin uncontrollably.
“Did I say something funny?” he asked.
“Oh, no, no...” she quickly shook her head. “It’s just me. I’m silly.”
“You are,” he grimaced, cupping her chin with his fingers.
He quickly let go, then walked out the door, leaving Mina and Raphael alone. She had her profile turned to him but she could tell that he hadn’t taken his eyes off of her for a single second. His gaze was deep, pensive, as if he was in grave deliberation on what to do with her. She tried to shoo away these thoughts, which were clouding up her judgment. They were here just for a coffee and nothing more. There would be no hot action, no matter how often these images were popping up inside her mind.
She made sure to sit on a chair, away from him. She didn’t trust him to be this close to her. Or maybe, just maybe, she didn’t trust herself. She wasn’t sure anymore and she didn’t even want to risk it.
“Why don’t you sit over here?” he asked her, patting the place next to him on the bed.
“I’m okay here,” she replied.
“Scared?” he winked.
“Of you?” she snorted. “Don’t be absurd.”
“Actually, I meant are you scared of yourself?”
“What do you mean?” she frowned.
“Oh, come on….” he rose up from the reclining position he was in and was now sitting with his legs down and his feet on the floor.
She watched him, in anxious anticipation.
“You can’t deny the chemistry that’s between us,” he whispered seductively.
“I think you got hit in the head with that ball one too many times, my friend,” she teased him, enjoying it far more than she thought she would.
“Ouch,” he laughed at her comment. “That’s a good one.”
Instead of a reply, she just raised her eyebrow impertinently, while the corner of her lips danced, in a hidden attempt at smiling.
“So, you guys headed to the Bunker?” she asked, trying to change the topic.
The sexual tension in the room was palpable. She had no idea if it was just Raphael and his energy. His good looks were undeniable. Even she herself, who despised such overly assertive, pushy guys, couldn’t refuse him this compliment. Also, there was a boyish, impish kind of charm about him. That was usually when he’d stop being so full of himself and just try to be himself, like that last time. That was the kind of Raphael she could see herself with but, the cocky jock – no.
“That was the plan, yeah,” he nodded. “Wanted to get you in. But, then I remembered you were already in, so you don’t really need us but we still need you and, besides...”
Raphael was about to say something, when Renwick opened the door and walked in, carrying three coffees in his hands. He pushed the door closed with his foot.
“Am I interrupting anything?” he wondered, seeing the look on their faces.
“Hendrik got her in,” Raphael told him, without even being asked about their topic of conversation.
Renwick thought about it for a second, then shrugged his shoulders as he handed everyone their coffee.
“So?” That was his only comment.
“I thought we had an agreement,” Raphael was pouting and Mina had no idea why.
“It doesn’t matter,” Renwick urged him. “Stop being a wuss. She’s in. That’s all that matters.”
Renwick sat back down on the bed, and took a sip of his coffee. Mina felt like they knew something they weren’t telling her. Why was it so important to make her a part of their silly little club?
“Is there anything you guys want to tell me?” she asked, eyeing them suspiciously, as the heat from her cup oozed through, warming her fingers.
“No, why?” Renwick smiled, pouring sugar into his cup.
“I don’t know,” she still sounded distrustful, “feels like you guys are talking about something specific.”
“Nah,” Renwick waved his hand dismissively, “we were just talking to Hendrik and he said he wouldn’t be going to the Bunker these days, so we offered to get you in. Seems he beat us to it, though, that’s all.”
He sounded sincere, as he sipped his coffee, not taking his eyes off of her once. Raphael on the other hand, still seemed like he was pouting. His brows came together just a little, giving him that cute, funny upset look. Renwick noticed that she was eyeing Raphael, so he elbowed him gently. She noticed that, too.
“I didn’t know you guys hung out with Hendrik,” she continued.
“Well, you know there’s not a lot of us at the Bunker, so we kinda know everyone.”
“How did it start?” she wondered. “I mean, the Bunker.”
“My grandfather started it,” Raphael interrupted, less pouty now, obviously proud of this historical fact. “He was friends with Renwick’s grandfather and, basically, whoever was a member back then, their sons and daughters and so on were also automatically in.”
“What about me then?” Mina asked.
“We can always add someone new,” Renwick explained. “It’s not a closed kind of club. I mean, you can’t join unless someone gets you in, someone who’s already a member, and even then, the rest need to confirm that it’s okay. So, in the end, it’s a group decision.”
“I see,” she nodded, “and, why me?”
Renwick looked at Raphael. For a second, they looked confused, as if there was a
secret they knew, but they were keeping her in the dark, like something was preventing them from sharing what they knew.
“I kinda have a crush on you,” Raphael grinned.
She burst out laughing. It was such a stupid thing to say and, yet, it sounded completely sweet and genuine. The look of confusion immediately disappeared from their faces and they were their usual selves again. Renwick was also laughing. Mina wasn’t sure if that was the real reason, or if Raphael just cleverly managed to steer the conversation in another direction but she was happy to hear what he had to say.
