My Name Is Not Alexa Pearce

by Kerri McLoone

  “Okay, I understand a little more,” Cali says. “But tell me again slowly.”

  “Which part?”

  Cali thinks it over. She wants to say “all of it” but instead says, “What if I just ask you specific questions about things?”

  “Sure.”

  Cali looks at her roommate. She doesn’t remember ever seeing Alexa this relaxed before. She’s always been somewhat guarded, even when it was just the two of them. But now, she looks calm, peaceful, serene.

  “Before I ask you anything, I just have to say one thing.

  “It’s just that, I could tell you’ve always been somewhat guarded, even when it was just us watching a movie or doing laundry. And this is like, the first time I’ve seen you totally relaxed. Like a big weight has been lifted from your shoulders.”

  “It has,” Alexa sighs. A soft smile covers Alexa’s face. She and Cali pause and just look at each other for a moment. Before speaking again, Cali squints as she thinks over everything she’s just been told.

  “Okay, I changed my mind. I only have a couple of questions for you.”

  “Whatever you want to know.”

  “You’re the good one right?”

  Alexa chuckles and answers, “Yes.”

  “And this guy....” she trails off.

  “Demon. Darius,” Alexa fills in.

  “Darius. He sent those guys here looking for you?”

  “Yes.”

  “And they are obviously bad. So you’re going to what? Battle these guys to protect the portal and save the world?”

  “It’s a little more complicated than that, but basically in a nutshell, yeah.”

  “Okay, so I just have one more question. At least right now.”

  “Okay.”

  “What can I do to help?”

  ● 46 ●

  Darius

  His strength is slow to return.

  It takes the demon a full forty-eight hours to recover from a Victus transition when the person is willing. When Darius takes it upon himself to force a human into becoming one of his soldiers, it can take up to three days.

  For the last seventy-two hours, Darius has been mostly comatose. The few moments that he was conscious were tainted by frightening hallucinations and spiking fevers. Demons are naturally cold-blooded to be able to withstand the scorching heat of their homeland so even the smallest of fevers can be life-threatening to an otherwise immortal being.

  Viribus has never seen it take this long for Darius to recover from a Victus transition. Nor has he ever seen a recovery this violent before. He has spent the majority of the last three days soaking towels in ice water and draping them over his boss.

  When Darius started convulsing at hour thirty, all Viribus could do was put Darius’s leather belt in his mouth so he wouldn’t break his teeth from his jaw clamping shut. When he started vomiting at hour fifty-seven, the giant turned him on his side so he wouldn’t inhale any bile.

  Now at hour seventy-seven, Darius opens his eyes. Gone are the milky irises that had clouded his vision for the last three and a half days, now replaced by shining onyx orbs. Gone are the rivers of sweat that poured off his body during his fevers. His pale skin glistens from the leftover salty residue.

  “Viribus,” the demon says. His throat is dry, and his voice is choked and tinny.

  “I’m here, boss,” the colossal man says. “What can I get you?”

  “How long have I been out?”

  “Just about three days.”

  “What?!” he attempts to shout. He growls in frustration and gives his Victus an order. “Help me stand.”

  Darius lifts his right arm. Viribus’s large palm claps onto the raised one and he gently pulls his boss to an upright sitting position. Darius’s eyes swim as the room spins in front of him.

  “Maybe you should lay back down, boss.”

  “No!” the demon snarls. “It’s been long enough. There’s no more time to waste.”

  Viribus slowly lifts Darius. He holds on until the smaller man is steady on his feet. When he lets go the ancient brute starts to sway slightly. His Victus flicks two of his long fingers and the chair across the room skids over the floor just in time for Darius to collapse into it.

  “Get me something to drink, would you?”

  The soldier scurries from the room as quickly as his massive frame allows. He reappears a minute later with a pitcher of water and a glass beer mug filled to the brim with whiskey.

  After downing both, Darius asks, “How’s the little one coming along?”

  Viribus hesitates before answering. “He’s been a quick study but a royal, fucking pain.”

  Darius lets out a hoarse groan at his newest Victus.

  “Boss, he’s almost gotten into trouble a couple of times and is being very stupid about listening to our advice.”

  “What trouble?” the demon growls at the burden of breaking in a new recruit.

  “He’s just a real cocky son of a bitch. You know, hustling people playing pool by using his power, hitting on women and then throwing their boyfriends across the room when they step in.”

  Darius chuckles without any humor and then says, “Bring him to me.”

  Viribus disappears once more. Darius closes his eyes while he waits for his three Victus to appear. His eyes snap open as he hears a commotion outside the door. The noise from the hallway carries into the room as Damon is shoved through the door by Viribus who has a grip on his shirt collar, Julius close on his tail.

  Damon yanks himself out of Viribus’s grip and faces Darius who is still sitting. Darius doesn’t stand or make a single move, his feet are flat on the floor, one hand on each knee. He stares down the young man until he looks away.

  “So Damon,” Darius says in a quiet voice. “I hear you’re having a grand time in your Victus infancy.”

  “Yeah, well I figure why not?” With the tiniest flick of his wrist, Darius slams Damon into the wall behind him. From his spot pinned against the discolored plaster he yells, “You know, this getting-thrown-into-walls thing is getting really fucking old!”

  “Is it? There’s a real simple way for it to stop happening,” Darius calmly says, standing up from his chair. “Stop acting like a goddamn fool you dumb fuck.”

  From his spot in the doorway, Julius smirks at the tight end in response to his boss’s words.

  “You know Damon, I really don’t know what your problem is. I mean, I hear you’re hustling some people at pool and throwing others across the room. So while I’m up here regaining my strength, your stupid ass is downstairs exposing all of us time and time again.”

  “You think people don’t know wh—”

  Darius shuts up his new Victus with a forceful and humiliating slap across the man’s face.

  “I wasn’t fucking finished,” Darius says roughly. “What’s wrong with this guy?”

  Julius and Viribus shrug.

  “I’ve been around for a long time, little one. A long time. And the reason I set up in rotten places like this one, instead of the lap of luxury is to stay anonymous. Because if humans become aware of me before I’ve killed the girl and opened the portal, then some pesky scientists or government agents could come along and become very annoying.

  “So if you keep up with this shit you’ve been doing, then you’re gonna attract attention that I don’t want.”

  Darius’s hand starts to glow as he gets ready to throw a ball of fire. Damon tries to move but he’s riveted to the wall still. His head thrashes side to side, a vain attempt at moving his body out of Darius’s path. Darius cocks his arm and launches the ball.

  Damon shuts his eyes tightly, anticipating the moment he bursts into flames. But the moment never comes. He opens his eyes one at a time, and the ball is hovering right in front of his chest, rotating in place.

  “See, here’s the thing Damon, I need you but you don’t need me, right? I need you to come with me to Portland, and I need you to help me finish what I have to do. You don’t need me to
be mad as fucking hell at you every goddamn second you’re in my presence. You don’t need me ready to rip you to shreds at any moment. And you don’t need either one of these guys over here feeling the same way. Understand?”

  Damon nods his head quickly. The man is terrified at being literal inches away from death. He’s breathing heavily, his eyes never leaving the fiery orb in front of him. He’s started to sweat through his shirt and perspiration is dripping from his temples down his face to his neck.

  Darius comes over and clamps his hands together, extinguishing the flame. He blows the puff of smoke into Damon’s face making his eyes water.

  “Aw, don’t cry now little one,” Darius sneers. “You just stay out of the way and make sure you fucking behave.”

  Darius finally releases the young Victus and Damon falls to the floor physically and mentally exhausted. The demon turns to face his other soldiers.

  “Where are the potions?”

  “They’ll be ready first thing tomorrow morning,” Viribus says. He nods his head toward the table in the corner.

  There are eight small glass jars the size of prescription bottles in the center of the table. The tops are fastened with black plastic caps. They’re filled with a clear liquid. Darius picks one up in his hand and holds it up to the single bulb lighting the room.

  “They aren’t black.”

  “Not yet, boss,” Julius answers. “But they should turn in a few hours and be ready for use tomorrow morning.”

  “Why are there eight potions, Viribus?” There’s a distinct edge to Darius’s voice. He believes his number two has disobeyed him.

  “Two extras just in case they are needed, boss,” Viribus answers. His voice shakes slightly under the demon’s scrutiny. “There’s enough for two more potions still brewing. I’ll be here waiting for word to meet you at the portal, sir.”

  Darius sits down on the dirty mattress. He lays flat and speaks at the ceiling.

  “Book a flight for tomorrow to Seattle. I want to save those potions to get us right into Portland unannounced. We take her out and head to the portal. Clear?”

  Three voices chorus “yes, boss” back at him.

  “Good. Now get out, all of you.”

  Darius closes his eyes and dismisses his Victus with a non-magical wave of his hand. He needs to recuperate a little more before taking on the girl. He wants to make sure there aren’t any surprises.

  On the table in the corner, the liquid in the eight bottles has turned a faint gray, almost milky liquid. Another step closer to being ready to use.

  ● 47 ●

  “Alexa”

  I launch myself at Cali. I can’t believe that she not only believes me but that she’s willing to help. It’s what I was hoping for, but until the words came out of her mouth, I wasn’t sure exactly how she was going to react.

  “You believe me?” I feel like crying, I’m so relieved. I latch on to her and hug her tighter than I ever have before.

  “It’s pretty unbelievable, but yeah, I do.”

  “Oh, thank god! I was so nervous you were going to think I was crazy and have me committed or something.”

  I finally let her go and lean back, wiping the tears from my eyes.

  “So, what can I do, Lex?” Cali winks at me as she says my name.

  “Umm, well that’s the tricky part,” I say hesitantly. “Have you ever imagined having a power of your own?”

  “Intriguing.”

  “Indeed,” I say getting up from the couch. I put my mother’s letter and my money safely back into the box, lock it and replace the chain with the key around my neck. I gesture for Cali to follow me to my bedroom. She gets up, Milo close on her heels.

  We sit on my bed, and I hand her the red leather notebook and sheets of paper with the translated parts of The Book. She flips through them quickly before looking up at me with a confused look on her face.

  “What’s all this?” she asks.

  “It’s parts of The Book that I used your tablet to translate. The whole thing is in Latin, it’s taking me forever.”

  I take the notebook from her and flip back through it to the pages I wrote about Darius and the princess when Cali and I were at the laundromat.

  “When you were a kid, were you ever told the story of Sleeping Beauty?”

  “No,” Cali says. “But I saw the animated feature film.”

  “Okay, good. So the story goes that the princess is tricked by the evil queen and pricks her finger and falls into a deep sleep. Then the prince battles those crazy vines and the dragon to save her. He finds Sleeping Beauty and kisses her. She wakes up so it’s no longer necrophilia, but a romantic love story with a happily ever after. Right?”

  “What a way to put it, but right.”

  “Well, when I was a kid, I was told stories where the princess was the one who did all the saving.”

  I hand her back the notebook and point out what I’m talking about.

  “Both the princess and Darius had magical powers. They also had armies with their own soldiers. His were called Victus... like the guys that grabbed you, and it means “the defeated” in Latin. Her’s were called Extensios, which means “extension.” Both armies were given the power to move things with their mind.”

  Now I hand her the translated page from The Book with what I learned about Extensios.

  “The difference between my army and Darius’s army is that all of my soldiers have to volunteer. But Darius can force humans to become Victus. If what I was told as a kid is true, then when someone becomes a forced Victus, it drains Darius’s energy so much that he has to rest for a few days to recover. So he can have more people in his army, but it costs him more. Plus if I die, my Extensios go back to being normal people. But if he dies, except for the Forced, his Victus die too.

  “On this planet, Darius has had a twelve hundred year head start on me. I’ve only used my powers twice in my life. He, I’m sure, uses them probably every day.”

  I pause. “Cali, I can’t defeat him on my own. So if you really want to help me, then the way to do it would be for you to become an Extensios.”

  Cali stares at me while she processes everything. Milo is sitting on the floor next to the bed. He’s been looking back and forth between us as I’ve been talking and handing stuff to Cali. He shifts a little and nudges Cali’s hand. She startles and then starts petting him.

  “What happens when I become an Extensios?”

  “You’ll get the power of telekinesis, so you can move things with your mind.”

  “That’s pretty awesome.”

  “Yeah, but there’s a major downside, too.”

  “Yeah that whole demon thing.”

  “No, it’s not just that.”

  I bite my lip. This is the part I’ve dreaded the most. How can I tell Cali that becoming my Extensios means leaving Mickey behind if I have to hide again, or travel somewhere else? She’s waiting for me to explain, but I’m still struggling to find the right way to tell her that the love of her life doesn’t get to come too. At least not right now.

  “Umm, if you became an Extensios, and I had to leave here and go somewhere new, you’d have to drop everything and come with me. Sever ties, take nothing, and no one, with you.”

  Cali’s brow scrunches together. “I don’t understand.”

  A bead of sweat is running down my back between my shoulder blades. I can hear my heart pounding and the blood rushing through my ears. My breathing is shallow. I’m on the verge of a panic attack. I can’t do it, I think. Cali deserves better than this.

  “You know what? I can’t ask you to do this. Let’s find some other way you can help besides the Extensios thing.”

  I stand up and try to walk away but Cali grabs my hand, stopping me. She tugs on my arm making me sit back down on my bed.

  “What is it? Tell me.”

  Please don’t hate me, I silently plead.

  “It’s just that if you become an Extensios, it means you would essentially have to pick me
over every other person in your life. Forever.”

  ● 48 ●

  Cali stares at me as though I’ve just spoken German. I watch her as she sifts through everything I’ve told her. I can see on her face the exact moment she understands what I’m saying. She blinks rapidly as if clearing tears from her eyes. She looks hurt. Her grasp on my hand loosens.