by Jeff Hale
“I don’t believe so. Nonetheless, let her come to you next time. And I believe that she will. I will make sure that she does. Do you have one of your business cards on you?” he asked.
“Yeah. Here,” I said, reaching into my wallet and handing him one. “And could you let Dave know that I’m leaving?” I asked.
“I will. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Wait in the limo and I’ll make sure you get home all right.”
“Nah. I think I’ll walk. I’ll be fine. If I need to get home in a hurry, I can always teleport.”
“Very well. If you need anything, even just to talk…”
“I know. Go and make sure she comes to see me again sometime.” I waved him away, wanting to be alone.
I just hoped that Lucien was right.
ELEVEN
It was two days later and I found myself catching up on paperwork at the office when, true to Lucien’s word, Celeste walked into the lobby, looking slightly confused.
Raven walked out to greet her. After a few seconds of talking, Celeste went into the waiting area while Raven came into my office. I had to wonder at what Celeste had thought of Raven, especially since all she was wearing was a sports bra and a tight pair of biker shorts.
“There’s this Celeste girl out here who wants to see you. Says you’d know what it was about. She’s not dressed cheaply, despite appearances, either,” Raven said as she opened and rifled through my files.
“She’s not a pre-existing client. She’s not a client at all in fact.” I snatched the files out of her hand.
“Too bad, she has money, that one does. Why is she here then?” Raven asked.
“Probably to talk to me,” I answered.
“Why?” she inquired.
“That’s personal,” I replied
“This is business time. You can talk to her on your off time,” she retorted.
“Yeah, cause we’re real busy at the moment. We just had a five million dollar contract that paid off; I think we’re doing just fine.” I snorted. “Besides, you’re one to talk.”
“Fine. Who is she that makes her so important anyway? She looks familiar.” She put a finger on her chin, seeming to think about it.
“Uh-uh. We’re not going there. You stay out of my personal life, remember?” I stood and placed both hands on my desk and leaned forward slightly.
“That’s… her. Isn’t it?” Raven looked back towards the waiting area. “That’s Serena? She’s prettier in person.”
“Stay out of it,” I growled.
“You have my word. You should know something though,” she said softly. It wasn’t like Raven to back down so quickly. Not normally.
“What’s that?” I asked, taken off guard by the concerned look on her face.
“Someone’s been hurting her,” she said, her tone almost sad.
“How so?” I asked, now really curious.
“Hitting her, beating her. They’ve hid it well, but I can sense it. It’s a secret, which puts it squarely under my Court’s purview,” she explained.
“I’ll need proof. Not that I don’t believe you, but I can’t do anything about it without proof and you know that,” I said, cursing my own inability to do anything without due process if I didn’t want to expose myself.
“Yeah. Too bad,” she said, shaking her head.
“Thanks though, it means a lot to me. Can you send her in now?” I asked in a tired voice as I sat in my chair.
“Absolutely. Wait. Why did she say her name was Celeste?” Raven asked, arching an eyebrow at me.
“Because that’s who she thinks she is. She doesn’t remember anything. I’m not sure if it really is Serena. Not a hundred percent anyway. Not yet,” I admitted.
“Be careful then.”
“That’s what Lucien said.”
“He’s right then. Anyway, I’ll send her in now,” she said, gesturing towards Celeste as she wandered about the lobby.
“Thanks,” I replied.
Raven left my office and headed towards the waiting area. A few seconds later Celeste walked up to my open door and knocked. I was pretending to work on some requisition forms from MAGE. I looked up a second later and saw that Raven was right. Celeste was wearing a pair of tight white denim jeans, a low-cut pink tank top, and a pair of white high-heeled boots that came up to just over her ankles, and carrying a dainty white purse. Not a single item cost less than a hundred dollars, easy.
“Hi again,” I said softly.
“Uh. Hi.” She shifted uneasily from foot to foot. Not something I would have thought Serena would do. She was carrying herself differently somehow.
“Come in, have a seat. Oh, and close the door, please?”
“Sure.” She did as I asked. Once she was seated across from me, I leaned back and stared at her for a few minutes, the awkward silence causing tension to mount until I found it hard to breathe.
“So. What can I do for you?” I asked in my agent-to-client voice. The entire time I was looking at her, I was looking for those signs that she had been abused.
If Raven was right, there wasn’t a damn thing anyone could do to stop me from slowly torturing her asshole boyfriend until he broke into a gibbering, drooling wreck. And I still wouldn’t be done with him. I had a feeling Raven was right, especially after what I heard on the phone the other day.
“Uh. I’m not here ta hire ya…” she said, shifting uncomfortably in her seat.
“Then why are you here?” I asked simply, harshly.
She stood suddenly and turned to leave, looking over her shoulder at me. “I don’t know. Goodbye, then,” she returned haughtily. Arrogance was not in Serena’s vocabulary. I was beginning to think I had seen something in this girl that wasn’t there. Sure, she looked like Serena, but at this moment that’s all it was; an uncanny resemblance.
“No. I’m sorry. Please sit down. Look, I’m assuming you want to talk?” I said, standing and walking over to the other chair that sat on the opposite side of my desk, next to the one that she had been sitting in.
“Yeah. I guess.” She sat back down and faced me.
“I just got the impression that you didn’t want me around you the other night.”
“Honestly? I don’t. You’re a bit creepy, and I get the feelin that you’re obsessing over me,” she said, giving me an appraising look.
“I’m not, it’s just your imagination,” I lied.
“I mean, I have a boyfriend. And really, I shouldn’t be around ya at all,” she admitted.
“Why not? We can’t be friends? We seemed to be pulling that off in class quite well,” I pointed out, leaning forward on my desk.
“No. If I look like this dead girlfriend of yers, then ya shouldn’t be around me. It’s like I said, creepy.” She was using that haughty tone again.
“You don’t trust me. I understand. You don’t know me. Yet,” I said.
“No. And I don’t want ta. I know you’re Kat’s ex-boyfriend, but maybe ya should stay away from all of us.” She leveled a gaze at me that brooked no argument.
“Fine, whatever you want,” I said in resignation.
“Really? You’ll stay away?” she asked, incredulous.
“Sure, if that’s what you really want, but first you have to do something for me.” I stood up and walked around the desk towards her.
“What? I am not that kind of girl!” She stood up and scrambled away from me.
“Why is it you females always think we’re going to suggest sex? No, just come here for a second. Nothing funny, I promise.” I held a hand out to her. She took it tentatively and I pulled her slowly towards me. When she was a couple of feet away from me I looked into her eyes, and I heard her breath catch. “Now, look into my eyes and tell me that you really want me to stay away,” I requested. “If you can do that, then I will do what you want.”
She looked into my eyes, and I felt myself getting lost again. Her breath came slightly faster and heavier and she opened her mouth to say something. She closed it and le
aned up towards me, standing on her tip toes. She shook her head slightly, then without taking her eyes off me she nodded.
“Stay away from me and Kat,” she ordered, before she turned on her heel and stormed out of the room.
I was completely baffled. I would have sworn the last two times I had seen this girl she had acted, walked, stood, and fidgeted exactly the same way Serena had. Now she was completely different. Everything about her told me that it wasn’t Serena.
“Well, it doesn’t seem things went very well,” Raven said as she walked into my office.
“Shut up, Raven,” I muttered, leaning back in my chair and trying to think. I had been trained to read people pretty well by MAGE. It helped when trying to question witnesses or acquaintances of suspects that might try to hide them.
Everything, and I mean everything, about Celeste’s body language and mannerisms almost literally screamed Serena to me previously. Just now, however, was a completely different person and I wasn’t sure how that was remotely possible. No one could change their mannerisms that much; it just wasn’t within a human’s capabilities. With Aetheric powers on the other hand…. She wasn’t Aetheric though.
“What? She didn’t fall head over heels for you like she was supposed to?” Raven quipped.
“Shut up, Raven,” I muttered again.
“I could Dazzle her for you. Like I did to Jacob, only she would be like that for you. It’s in my capabilities,” Raven offered.
“I swear by the Aether if you don’t shut the fuck up, Raven, we’re going to find out if I can take you out,” I said, leveling a glare her way.
“Fine. Have it your way. She can hate you and walk out on you like that, and you can continue being miserable. You humans are so odd.” Raven waved a dismissive hand and walked out of my office and towards hers.
For about an hour I sat there completely bewildered before it occurred to me to search for Celeste Aetherically. If it was an Aetheric personality switch, then I would sense it. If it wasn’t, then I had no idea what was going on. I closed my eyes and meditated.
Reaching out for her, I sensed Celeste easily enough. She was at her house, getting ready to go and have fun at the Circus Circus with her boyfriend and some of their friends. It was still her, and there was no Aetheric tampering whatsoever about her. Now I was really confused.
I decided then and there that I needed to go observe Celeste to see if I had gotten a completely wrong read on her initially, placing my own desires of what I wanted to see over her actual personality.
I stood up and teleported myself down to the Strip. A car screeched as it hit the brakes and swerved to miss hitting me as I jumped straight up to avoid being hit. Still needed to work on the location of arrival for my teleportation somewhat.
After being yelled and cursed at for being an idiot, I walked towards the Circus Circus, and once there went towards the entrance of the Adventuredome. I sighed and hesitated. I should be hunting Baba Yaga, or Henry’s pack to question them, not stalking this girl. But until I had her figured out, I wouldn’t even be able to concentrate on the other stuff. I shook my head and walked inside.
The Adventuredome was a small theme park that the Circus Circus hotel and casino ran on the side. It had a roller coaster, laser tag building, a water log ride, and several smaller carnival-style rides including a Ferris wheel, pendulum ship and bumper cars and boats. It was a good place for a group of teens or young adults to go and hang out for a day and have fun.
Once inside, I hung out near the entrance in a location where I wouldn’t easily be spotted, but where I could see everyone who came into the place. About an hour later Celeste, Travis, Kevin, Tiffany, Erin, Kat and Kris walked into the park.
Travis and Kevin were dressed in their normal blue jeans, with Travis wearing a dark blue polo shirt and Kevin wearing a white t-shirt with a light blue button up shirt over that and worn open. Tiffany and Erin were both wearing as little as possible it seemed: Erin was wearing an extremely short pleated cotton black skirt and a barely there silver bikini top and Tiffany was wearing a pair of extremely tight and short cotton shorts and a gold bikini top that matched Erin’s.
Celeste was dressed a light blue top that tied around the back of the neck, and around the back with thin strings and came to just under her breasts, and a pair of white cut offs. Kat wore a tight grey tank top that had an extremely low neck line that showed off her not inconsiderable chest and that plaid school girl skirt I had first seen her in over a year ago. Kris was wearing a pair of faded and strategically torn blue jeans, and a Pantera shirt that was missing not only the sleeves but the sides as well, though she had a bikini top on under it to prevent accidental flashing.
I followed them wherever they went, but stayed out of sight as best as possible. If they went on a ride, and they did, lots of them, I waited near the exit area of the ride and followed them to wherever they went next. As I watched, I saw that Celeste was acting the same as she always had, like Serena. It made her behavior in my office even stranger.
At one point they all stopped to get something to eat and decided to sit near the Ferris wheel. In order to stay mostly out of sight, I got on it and rode it around a couple of times, keeping an eye on Celeste the whole time. When they left, I got off the Ferris wheel and followed as they moved down towards the water log ride. That’s when I noticed that I had lost Kat somewhere because she wasn’t with the group.
“What in hell do you think you’re doing?” I heard Kat demand from behind me.
I turned and saw her with her arms crossed, glaring at me, though I could sense a bit of amusement in her eyes. “Uh… stalking a poor teenaged girl because I think she’s my dead girlfriend?” I admitted sheepishly. “I know, it’s pathetic.”
“Just a little. But also understandable. Didn’t she ask you to stay away from us?” Kat asked, obviously knowing the answer to that question.
“Yeah,” I muttered.
“Because?”
“I creep her out.”
“And this is helping that image... how exactly?” Kat asked as that amusement traveled from her eyes to the rest of her face.
“I know how it looks, it’s just that…. She came into my office, and she didn’t act…” I searched for the right words to explain it to Kat.
“Like herself? Yeah, she does that sometimes. Especially when she’s around people she doesn’t know, or feels like she can’t be herself around. It’s odd when it happens, but it does on occasion, mainly when people throw her,” Kat said matter of factly, like she knew this girl better than I did. What did I know? Maybe she did. That thought pissed me off at her again. I tried to quell my anger, but it wasn’t going away this time.
“Oh, like you know?” I snapped at her.
“Whoa, Aerick. Don’t take it out on me. You’re the one that’s never around! That’s not my fault!” Kat retorted angrily.
“Yeah, so you don’t even let the relationship cool off before you go slut yourself out and have a threesome?” I shot back, finally getting to the heart of why I was mad at her, at least partially.
“I did wait! Waitasec. What threesome? Who told you I had a fucking threesome?” Kat asked, completely surprised by that statement.
“That threesome you had with those weretigers. Dave told me all about it! Not to mention you couldn’t have the decency to even let me know you were going to move to Europe with Darien!”
“What? Dave told you Nina’s little fucked up lies? Dammit! Look, that threesome never happened, and I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you about what happened over in Europe. Just know that I went there because I was needed, me and Alex both. I didn’t move over there with Darien.”
“Then you keep her from me?” I was still trying to find something to be angry with her over as she punctured all of my little balloons of hatred.
“I didn’t know it was her! Dave promised he was going to talk to you. Damn that man, I’m going to kill him when I see him.” Kat huffed for a second and then deflated, and
looked tired. “I didn’t know, Aerick. I really didn’t. If I had, I would have found you, believe me, I would have. Knowing that Serena was alive, and knowing how you felt about her, you don’t think I wouldn’t have come to find you, no matter where you were at? You don’t think I’d tell Merlin himself to shove it because you needed to know? I would have. In a heartbeat.”
“Really?” I let out a little breath, feeling that last bit of hatred for her fading.
“Yes. You really think it’s her?” Kat looked over her shoulder towards them. They were still in line for the bumper boats. It was a hot July day in the middle of the desert, so there was a long line for the ride.
“Yes. No. I don’t know. I’m just not sure yet. I want to believe, but I have my doubts. Especially since Lucien can’t read her.” I shook my head and looked towards the ground.
“He can’t? That’s odd.”
“Yeah,” I nodded.
“I better get back. Kris and I need to go anyways. I told Celeste we couldn’t stick around for long, pack business,” Kat said as she turned to leave.
“Nina, you mean,” I bit out despite myself.
“Yeah. Look, she still loves Dave, tell him that, will you?”
“Sure. Whatever.”
“She does. Just like I still love you, Aerick. Whether you believe me or not, it’s the truth.”
“That really is too bad,” I said sadly.
“Why?” Kat asked in a low voice.
“Because I think you’re too much trouble to be worth it. Especially with emo wolf around,” I pointed out. There was no way I wanted to be involved with someone who might constantly be fighting her feelings for me and another guy. I just didn’t have it in me.
“I hope you’ll change your mind one day. But it’s probably a moot point anyway with Celeste around,” she admitted.
“Not necessarily. If that was actually Serena, then maybe you’d be right. But since it’s not her, not in the strictest sense anyway, then I’m not sure I could be with her. Besides which, being with me would be too dangerous for her.”
“I know what you mean.” She glanced back and I saw her gaze linger on her friend Kris. “Believe me, I know. I’d better go. See you around?”
