“Hey, I think it’s genetic. You and I are going to get along real well,” I told her with a laugh.
“That is a good question. How are you feeling about all this, Camille?” Millie asked.
“Truthfully? It’s weird. It’s really fucking weird. It explains a lot of strange shit that happened to me after my parents died, but the fact that all this even exists is off the wall,” I said. “I am dealing, but not. It’s complicated.”
“Well, buckle up. Because this is a whole new world.” Nya laughed a little too hard, and her expression made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. She began to hum “A Whole New World” from Disney’s Aladdin as we drove.
Chinatown, in downtown Toronto, was a brightly lit, colourful wonder of noises and sounds that seemed to never sleep. Even closed, stores were still lit up with flashing lights that glowed like they were in Technicolor. There were always people everywhere, even in the middle of the night; different ages, races, and styles of people that you wouldn’t see in other neighbourhoods.
Millie parked in a pay parking lot, and Nya went and got a ticket from the machine.
“You guys want some money?” I asked.
“No need. Watch.” Nya put in ten cents then waved her hand across it. The numbers shifted and turned from six minutes until the same time tomorrow.
“Cool,” I blurted out. She put the ticket on the dashboard, locked the car, and we all started walking. The bustling streets were amazing and lively. I had to be careful to avoid the street vendors and markets that spilled their wears out onto the sidewalk, whether they were jewellery or fruit or a combination of just about everything. Even the smells competed for your attention, a mash of so many things that I couldn’t tell whether they were pleasing or gross.
“Don’t get any ideas about using it on a bank statement. It doesn’t make money appear, it only changes images on a page.”
I was going to say, “I wouldn’t anyhow,” but stopped as we came to a halt at a flight of stairs leading down to a brightly lit restaurant. A pink and green neon sign flashed above the doorway.
Nya put her hand on my arm before we could start down. “Listen, I know this is all new for you and shit, but please try not to stare. You’re going to see some things that will probably shock the hell out of you. You can bug out about it another time. Alright? Whatever happens, play it cool.”
“Dude, I’m a PI. Keeping my game face on was a course I had to take in college.” I heard Millie laugh from beside her as I spoke. “I know I’ve been downplaying my whole epic unbinding by Harold, but I have to tell you, if I kept my cool during that shit, there isn’t much you could throw at me that would shock me.”
Millie laughed again. “Is that a challenge?”
I followed the two of them down into the restaurant. It was busy, with lots of loud voices and big round tables full of people and food. Some of the dishes looked amazing, brightly coloured vegetables with an array of meats and garnishes that was mouth watering.
“Are we going to eat?” I asked quietly as we headed to the back. “Because the food smells awesome.”
At the back of the restaurant, a small, elderly Asian woman with pure white hair sat in front of a black curtain holding a long wooden cane with a silver handle. What appeared to be a wolf’s head poked out of her claw-like grip.
The woman smiled at Millie. Her expression darkened when she saw me. She gestured towards me. “Who’s that?”
“My niece, Camille. Camille, this is Madam Vo. This is her place,” Millie said with a smile.
Madam Vo eyed me, looking me up and down a few times before motioning to the curtain behind her.
Millie handed the older woman something as we went by. She poked Nya with the head of her cane, it was definitely a wolf’s head.
“No repeats of last time, or I will ban you.” She scowled.
Nya smiled. “You have my word, Madam.”
She rolled her eyes and turned back to the crowded restaurant. Nya took hold of my wrist and pulled me along behind her.
We went down a small hallway that led to a big back room where a group of people were gathered around another large round table. They were playing poker. A cloud of smoke rested just above the ceiling; smoking was illegal inside restaurants. Maybe this establishment was exempt.
All eight people looked up from the table and smiled at us, and I felt something twitching in my hand. I looked down at my ring, and my finger was turning white. Thin white lines ran from my hand up my arm.
“Good?” Nya asked as I pulled my sleeve down over my hand.
“Uh, yeah. Just no weirdness, okay? I can promise to keep my cool, but my hands will give me away. I can’t control the... the... I don’t know what the fuck to call it other than ‘whitening’,” I whispered in her ear.
We crossed the room and grabbed some chairs. Nya and I sat down next to a tall, thin woman with super long hair. Millie went to the back of the room to talk to a group of people gathered in a corner. I tried to side glance at them so I could be aware of everyone in the room.
“Evening, Nya,” the woman said. “Surprised to see you here.”
“Evening, Bex. How’s your night going?” Nya asked.
“Meh. You guys looking for info or something? Your mom doesn’t usually talk to the chain gang.”
“We are. But I don’t know if you want to get involved.”
Bex smiled. “Awww, c’mon. I am always down for a shit storm!”
“Okay. What do you know about the Kinkaid virus?”
Bex began to laugh. When she turned her head, I saw that the tips of her ears were pointed, and that her eyes were quite round.
“Virus? Oh, sweet pea. There are so many conflicting stories about that. You need to talk to the traitor herself.”
Nya groaned. “Fuck. She’s involved?”
“Who?” I asked.
“She works for them. She is their bitch,” Bex sneered. I was taken aback by her reaction.
“Would she know if they were holding someone?” Nya asked.
Bex hesitated. “Not sure. Why? Who they got?”
“My cousin’s friend got snatched. Mom’s peeps told her that one of the knuckleheads wants to claim her.”
“If they grabbed her friend and intend on claiming her, there is not a whole lot you can do about it. Except pray she ends up being food.”
“Great. So where is the traitor? We should have a word with her.”
“Apparently, she ghosted. Wanna guess why? You’ll get a kick out of this one, being le Fay and all.” She leaned in towards us, speaking quietly, “I heard she had a premonition about the rise of Blanchmains. It scared her so much she took off, and no one can find her. Is it true? Has Blanchmains happened? Everyone is saying it’s true.”
Without thinking, I sat on my hands. I would have to get a pair of gloves if this was going to continue. My stomach dropped. My anxiety went through the roof. I paid attention to my breathing and kept it calm. Millie and Nya had warned me not to freak out about what I saw, but nothing about what I should do if someone found out what I was.
“Not that we are aware of,” Nya told her. “Oh, this is my cousin Camille. Camille, this is my girl Bex.”
I smiled and tried to breathe normally. “Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise. I hope you find your friend, or they kill her. Being claimed is no way to live.” Bex turned back to the poker game. I wanted to cry and puke at the same time.
Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw someone on the other side of the room. I fully turned and looked, studying carefully to see if the man I got a glimpse of was Eric. If he had randomly followed me here, this could be bad.
Really, really bad.
But the man faded into the shadows, disappearing into a dark corner of the room like he had never existed. All the shadows seemed normal and didn’t change shape, I watched for a few minutes just to be sure. This wouldn’t be the first time the dark played tricks on me, but now I may have an explanatio
n. I looked around for Millie, who was still in the corner talking to the people Bex had called the chain gang. It seemed as if no one had noticed this person but me. Best case scenario I was being paranoid. Which was totally possible.
I have to calm down. No wigging out.
Something happened in the game that I didn’t quite catch, then suddenly the entire table disappeared, including everything that was on it.
I tried not to seem startled, but when I saw some of the player’s faces, I knew I wasn’t the only one who was confused.
“Alright, who’s the mook?” Bex yelled. “We’re trying to have a fair game here!”
The table reappeared, and Bex threw her cards down. “We need to restart the hand! That is some bullshit.”
“How do we know you didn’t do it?” a man on the other side of the table asked. He wore an old Blue Jays baseball hat and a dark hooded sweatshirt. His face remained partially hidden, but I could see his large hands clenching into fists.
“Unless I got a major power upgrade, I can’t do that, dummy. You probably did it and are trying to make me look like a douchebag. Well, fuck you,” Bex stood up and began pointing at each player. “Fuck you. And especially fuck you.”The cursing that came out of her mouth made me blush.
Madam Vo appeared in the hallway and slapped her cane on the floor. The whole room shook.
“Watch your mouth, young one.” She gestured to Bex with the wolf head of her cane. “Any more and you’re out.”
Bex raised her hands in defeat, sitting back down. The hand was dealt again, and everything returned to normal.
“Is this normal?” I asked Nya.
She laughed. “Just another day at the office.” She turned back to Bex. “So what do you believe about this Kinkaid virus, Bexie?”
“Truthfully? They’re making a play to take over the world and weeding out the weak. It’s fucked up, it’s like ethnic cleansing,” Bex said. “I don’t know if that’s the real deal, but whatever it is, it’s going to get worse before it gets better.”
“So you think they won’t kill my friend?” I asked Bex. She glanced at me, and then looked back at her cards for a moment before turning to me. Her perfectly circular green eyes looked like they were made of glass, hand painted with different shades that gave them an eerie glow.
“Do you think one of them is in love with her?”
A memory of the weirdness at Ren with the Kinkaid’s played in my mind. “I think they think they are, but it’s a twisted obsession thing. And it’s all of them, including Lucia. She’s a stripper.”
“Sounds like a trophy. Do they all like her? Could be some weird power play.”
“They also think she knows what happened to Lucia Kinkaid.” That got their attention.
“What happened to Lucia Kinkaid?” Bex and Nya asked in unison. A few heads turned, but only for a moment.
“I don’t know. It was something Bliss said when she was able to sneak a phone call. I guess they think something happened to her. Why? No one has heard anything?” I asked, fumbling a few of my words. I tried to be as vague as possible, hoping my panic would be written off as concern for my friend.
Millie came over and pulled up a chair beside us. Nya nudged her mother. “Did Camille mention that something may have happened to Lucia Kinkaid? That they think her friend knows something?”
My mind went totally blank. I could not remember if Bliss and I had told Millie the truth about what had happened or not when we went to the Whistlestop after all hell broke loose.
“She did mention it. Have you met Lucia, Cas?” Millie asked.
“Yes, I have. I met all of them one night at Ren. That’s the club my friend works at.”
Bex chuckled. “Well, that explains a few things. There’s another girl there that dances that…never mind.”
“There is nothing going around about Lucia, but the traitor is definitely missing,” Millie said with an exhausted huff. She sat back in her chair and crossed her legs, moving her long dark hair back behind her shoulders. From her stature and the way she composed herself you could tell that Millie meant business. Beautiful but tough as nails; something that I hoped to be. She smiled at me when she saw that I was watching her.
“Who is the traitor?” I asked.
Bex looked confused. “Is she new?”
“A little,” Millie began. “There are five noble magic families. We’re one, and the traitor is from another. By going to work for the Kinkaid’s, she has betrayed us, in some people’s eyes.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because they treat us like we’re the scum of the earth. Like we’re lesser beings because we’re not vampires.”
“What’s her story? Maybe she has a good reason.”
“Her name is Lilly Darling. She’s a….” Millie turned her head away for a moment. “I am not entirely sure how the Darling’s became a noble family, probably to shut them up. It is hard for them to prove their backstory because it is marketed as fiction.”
“The same argument could be made about us.”
“Not really. There is some evidence that Arthur could be a real person. Therefore, logically, the rest could be true. The Darling’s claim lineage to Peter Pan.”
“You have got to be kidding.”
“I wish I was. The ‘story’ is that Wendy and Peter hooked up. A little young, I might add. They had a few kids, and after Wendy lost her marbles, they were fostered by Tiger Lilly, who was a powerful sorceress. The kids had inherited shadow magic from Pan, and after getting together with Tiger Lilly’s kids, they developed a wide array of powers. Pan’s shadow magic is the only dark magic that I am aware of that could rival... Blanchmains.”
“So, is the story about Blanchmains true?” Bex asked Millie.
Nya smiled at her mother. “Story is that the traitor split because she had a premonition about the rise of Blanchmains.”
Millie’s eyebrows raised. “Oh yeah? Well isn’t that amusing. I guess we should be on the lookout. Especially since this is the first I have heard of Lilly Darling having premonitions, and I have known her since she was a toddler.”
“I guess we should.” I tried to be calm, but inside I was planning my hasty exit. “Did you find anything out?”
“A little. Bliss’s fine, by the way. And she will be. Tobias Kinkaid intends to claim her. Word around town is that she is his chosen mate.”
I felt like all the air had been let out of my body. All I could think of was Tobias’s gooney face and how much I wanted to punch it. It was hard to believe that he was the same guy who was so drunk he broke a glass and cut up his hand one night when I was waitressing at Ren. That moment changed everything.
They weren’t going to kill her. So that was good. But being claimed by Tobias Kinkaid….
“I have to find her. I have to try to rescue her. She won’t want to be claimed. That’s insane. She is in nursing school.” I didn’t even know where to begin. Bile began to rise in my throat.
Maybe I did need to talk to Kiera. Bliss had said that she was so deep undercover that Kiera wouldn’t even be able to find her. Should I test that? She had to have a contact, someone she reported back to. If she was gone, it would set off alarm bells. But this could all just be part of her plan, a plan that she didn’t—and probably couldn’t—clue me in on.
Millie put her hand on my arm. “I know. Don’t worry. We’ll get Bliss back.”
She looked at my arm, and her eyes widened for a split second. I was still sitting on my hands, but my wrists were a little exposed. I assumed because of her expression that meant they were white. Mille moved her chair closer to me, trying to arrange herself so her arm blocked one of mine.
I took a deep breath. I tried to calm and centre myself, but my head was swimming with thoughts of Bliss in chains, curled around the ankles of Tobias fucking Kinkaid.
I need a drink.
We stayed at Madam Vo’s for a few hours, eating and chatting with other people. The food was fantastic. Luckily
my hands went back to normal so I could eat.
It seemed a lot of people had heard about Lilly Darling taking off, and her premonition.
“Frankly, I hope it’s true,” Blue Jays hat-wearing man said when the topic came up.
“What? That the traitor ghosted? Don’t we all. Maybe she went back to Never Neverland,” Bex joked.
“No. I hope that Blanchmains is real,” he continued. I sat on my hands again, trying to make sure no one noticed.
“Why do you care?”
“Because I like the idea of someone who scares the shit out of the cabals. A magical messiah, if you will.”
“Why would she scare the cabals?” I asked. People were startled, shocked to hear my voice. What a cabal was wasn’t important at the moment.
“Because of what she can do,” he grumbled. “Aren’t you le Fay? You should know better than anyone.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “My mom never talked about it.”
“Scaring the cabals doesn’t mean shit if she doesn’t have people behind her. The le Fay are not enough on their own.” A white-haired man turned from his place at the table, he resembled a modern-day Gandalf with his long white hair and beard and Slayer t-shirt.“If she is around, tell her we’re with her, Millie. Tell her if she wants to be the goddamn messiah, we are behind her.”
Millie smiled. “I appreciate that. Unless I am super out of the loop, it is just not true.”
One of the chain gang came over to us. She had long red hair, similar in colour to Ramona’s, that flowed like it was alive when she walked. She stood beside us, smiling down at me from her place beside Millie. A strip of her hair coiled itself around her arm like a snake.
“We really hope you find your friend, dear,” she told me. Her hair began to move on its own, slithering up her arm in its coil.
It brought tears to my eyes. Millie put her hand on my knee, and I took a deep breath and tried to remain calm.
I kept to myself for the rest of the night. I smiled and was friendly, but kept my hands firmly planted under my butt.
No matter how comfortable I got with these people, I could not let them know what I was. Just because they said they were down with Blanchmains didn’t mean they would be when the chips were down. I had never felt so alone in a room full of people.
Believer Page 3
