by Bria Lexor
“I see Tuffara has decided to grace us with her presence.” Bru said to everyone, making my face turn red from embarrassment. “Her role is to stay out of our way as we prepare for our task at hand.”
I was shocked by how Bru’s attitude had done a complete 180 from earlier in the morning. I bit my lower lip and sat in a chair behind the others as they talked amongst themselves about the mission.
Maybe I should have just stayed back in the States...
I was lost in my thoughts when Trunks tapped me on the shoulder. I blinked a few times and looked up at him.
“We’re getting ready to head out.” he said with a smile.
I nodded as I stood up. “I’m just not used to being treated like this from her, you know?” I said, nudging my head towards Bru. I felt anger towards her for treating me like crap in front of everyone, but again, she doesn’t know I am really her daughter.
“Don’t worry about it.” Trunks said to me as we followed the others out the front door. “I’m still on her shit list too, remember?”
“It’s not the same thing.” I whispered to him as we piled into the same limo from last night. I sat beside Abel and he squeezed my hand. “She had no right to treat you that way.” he
said to me. “I can tell her—”
“No!” I said, quickly cutting him off. “She can’t know that I’m still...” Abel sighed in annoyance, but reluctantly agreed. “I know.”
We stop talking as soon as Bru entered the limo and sat by the door. The limo started to move and we were going to the bar to meet Bru’s contact, whoever that was. It was an uncomfortable ride as I stared at my shoes the whole time to avoid any more confrontation with Bru. The limo came to a stop and I picked my head up, realizing we were at our destination. We all piled out of the limo. I looked up and read the name of the bar we stood in front of.
ORAN MOR.
The outside was a stunning converted church with stained glass windows shaped like flowers in circles and others that were tall skinny triangles. It was beautiful. As we walked inside. I was taken in by the warm atmosphere. There was a bar, a restaurant, and even an art venue. I was impressed with how one place could have so many things going on at once. As much as I wanted to explore the place, we had business to attend to, so I stayed focused. Our large group was walked to the restraint and was seated in a private area because Bru was still a famous artist and wanted her privacy. After everyone was seated and drinks were ordered, I looked around for the contact but realized it could be anybody. A moment later, a young man appeared and joined our group.
“Everyone, this is Dylan Lerwick,” Bru said. “He’s my contact here in the UK and he has some info about the missing gargoyles.”
Chapter Three
Dylan was tall and handsome. He had slightly long, messy blond hair and blue eyes. He reminded me of Jon Moxley from AEW. Dylan nodded towards all of us, telling us hello, and sat down across from Bru.
“I was able to gather some info on the Hunters and their whereabouts.” Dylan started in his deep British accent. “It seems as though the Hunters have taken the gargoyles to Glamis Castle.”
“What’s Glamis Castle?” I asked, unable to hide my curiosity.
“One of the most haunted places in the UK.” Dylan said with amusement in his voice. “You’re not afraid of ghosts, are you?”
I rolled my eyes at his comment. “Of course not,” I replied. “After everything I’ve seen, ghosts are the least of my worries.” Bru eyed me curiously but said nothing as Dylan continued.
“Good.” he said, turning his attention back to the others. “Because I’ve made reservations and we’re going to be staying there as guest.”
“Awesome!” I said excitedly and everyone just looked at me strangely. “What?” I said to them. “I’ve never been to a haunted building and I’ve always had a fascination with the paranormal.”
Abel elbowed me hard in the ribs telling me to shut up before I told on myself. But it was too late; Bru had already figured it out on her own.
“Shinka,” she said to me. “You can drop the act now; I’ve known all along you didn’t die the other day.” The table fell silent, and all eyes were on me.
“Well, you could have said something sooner mom,” I said, glaring angrily at her. “And thanks for treating me like an outcast this morning. I really appreciate it.”
Bru shook her head in embarrassment. “I really didn’t want you to get involved in this, Shinka.”
“It’s a little late for that now, isn’t its mom?” I said with bitterness in my voice. “I’m stuck in this body for the rest of my life and there’s nothing you or anybody else can do about it!” I stood up and walked away from them. I walked to the art area and looked longingly at the empty stage that stood in front of me. I wished I could go back to how I was before any of this craziness happened to me. But I could not.
Abel came up behind me and I did not look at him. “I guess Kaitlin told your mom about you last night when we were sleeping.”
“She shouldn’t have done that.” I said, feeling annoyed with Kaitlin. “Now it changes everything we were trying to hide.”
“The food just arrived at our table.” Abel hinted we had to go back, but I was not feeling hungry anymore.
“Let’s go.” I said as I followed him back to our table. Everyone was eating and talking amongst themselves like nothing had happened. But as I took my seat, I felt Bru’s eyes on me. I chose to ignore her as I picked at my food with my fork.
“I was able to get you an audition with Geffen Records when we returned to the States.” Bru said casually to me.
My head shot up and I looked at her with surprise. “You did that for me?” I asked her. “Because you are my daughter and I love you,” she replied. “Just because you are in a new
body doesn’t mean you’ve lost your talent, darling.” “So... I can still sing?” I asked her.
“Why yes you can.” she said with a genuine smile. “Now eat up before your food gets cold.” I smiled at her, then started devouring my food. Who was I kidding? I was starving and I
knew it! After breakfast was over, we all stood to leave, and Dylan pulled me aside. “I was hoping I would get to see you here.” he said to me.
“You were?” I asked him. “But I’m not famous anymore?”
Dylan chuckled at that. “No, but you are the daughter of the famous Slayer.” he said. I frowned. “Oh that.”
“Look, after this is all said and done, you will have your life back and everything will be normal again.”
“I guess so.” I said, feeling like I was useless to everyone still being... Well, me. “Let us Slayers do all the work and—”
Screams suddenly erupted outside and we ran out of the building to see what had happened. I saw Erasmus flying away with Kaitlin in his arms. I guess the Hunters knew all along where we were and had come to retrieve their own person. Kaitlin was our only chance at the Hunters peacefully giving us back the gargoyles and now she was gone.
Chapter Four
I was shoved into the limo and it quickly sped away from the bar. I was still trying to wrap my brain around Kaitlin being taken back to the Hunters when Abel brought me back to reality.
“Are you okay?” he asked with concern in his eyes.
I nodded and sighed heavily. “They’re probably going to move locations on us now and without Kaitlin...” I let the rest of my sentence hang in the air.
Bru hung up her cell and looked at us. “Dylan is going to use his resources and contact me later.” She paused. “Unfortunately, we have to play the waiting game and go back to the house until he calls.”
I frowned. “I wish there was something I could do.” I said, feeling hopeless. “There is something you can do.” Bru said, smiling at me.
“What?” I asked, arching an eyebrow.
“Call Kaitlin and see if they let her talk to you,” Bru replied. My mouth felt open, but no words came out. “They won’t expect that, now, will they?
”
“I... guess not.” I said, finally able to talk. I dialed Kaitlin’s number and the phone started to ring. It rang and rang. I was about to hang up when someone answered the other line. “Hello?” I said and no one spoke. “Kaitlin?”
“Why Tuffara, it’s a pleasure to speak to you, my dear.” Zander’s voice came from the other end and I made a face at him. “I’m afraid Kaitlin can’t come to the phone right now since she’s being... evaluated at the moment.”
“Where is my clan?” I demanded, not wanting to hear any more from him.
“Your clan?” he said mockingly. “They are in solitary confinement but are alive.” Zander hissed at me. “But I’m afraid they will be leaving shortly.”
“If you such as touch any one of them, I’ll—”
“Now Tuffara,” Zander taunted me from the other end of the line. “We both know you are incapable of doing any real damage to me, so please stop with the tough girl act, hmm?”
“You know what?” I said, getting upset at Zander for not taking me seriously. “I may not be able to do real damage to you in the way you say, but I can still do damage in my own way.” I paused and made sure he was listening to my demands. “Now, you will stay at that castle and meet us, or I will have the detectives do a press conference revealing my real killer and exposing your organization. You wouldn’t want that, now, would you?”
Zander was quiet on the other end as he pondered my threat. “Very well, Miss Tuffara,” he said. “We will meet tonight at the castle.” He paused. “Well played, Tuffara... well played.” The line went dead, and I hung up.
“What just happened?” Bru asked me with curiosity in her eyes.
“I made sure we were able to keep the plans... Now negotiations need to be made, which is where the Slayers come into play.”
Chapter Five
We headed to Glamis Castle and my nerves were getting the best of me. I wondered what was in store for us as we neared the gates that surrounded the enormous castle. It was beautiful. I tried to imagine what the history was for this place, but we were here on a business trip. The limo pulled to a stop in front of the castle, and everyone piled out of the car. I took Abel’s hand and we walked inside. The inside was just as beautiful as the outside. Being in a new place, I had no idea what to expect, so I kept my guard up. My mother walked to the front desk while the rest of us waited for her to return with our room keys. We knew what the plan was, and the hard part was waiting for Zander to get in touch with us... Whenever that would be.
I tapped Abel on the shoulder, and he looked at me. “I’m going to explore this place.” Abel looked at me for a moment. “We can always do a ghost tour later—”
I shook my head at him. “No, I want to walk around on my own and clear my head.”
Abel sighed, but reluctantly agreed to let me go. “If you run into trouble, you call me immediately, okay?”
“I will.” I said, forcing a smile. “But I think it’s going to be an uneventful time.”
“Keep your guard up.” Abel said to me. I waved him off and started walking up the staircase to the second floor. I saw a long hallway and the floor was silent, adding to the already creepy atmosphere. I took a deep breath and started walking slowly down the hallway, looking at paintings that hung on the wall. I did not hear a door open or see anyone until I was grabbed from behind and dragged into one of the rooms. Before I had time to react, it was too late, Zander and his group of Hunters surrounded me, and I knew I should have listened to Abel or rather brought him along with me. I do not know why I thought I was safe because I wasn’t.
Zander smirked evilly at me and it took all of me not to roll my eyes at him. “Well, Miss. Tuffara, it’s a pleasure to see you again.” he said, trying to sound pleasant.
This time, I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms in front of me, giving him my I do not care look. “What do you want, Zander?” I said, very annoyed he was messing with me again. “You’re interrupting my exploration this awesome castle, you know?”
Zander smiled as he took a step towards me. “I wanted to see if you remember anything from the music industry with your short time being there.”
I gave him a puzzled look, not understanding what my former life as a pop singer had to do with my new life as a Demi-god. “That’s none of your business, Zander.” I said, getting defensive of my personal life.
Zander grunted and smiled at me again. “I don’t mean to pry Miss Tuffara,” he said. “I only want you to understand your former life and why it ended so tragically.” I stayed silent as he continued. “You see... The music industry can be a very cruel place. They offer you glamour, glitz, popularity... but it all comes with a price, now, doesn’t it?” He paused and I just looked at him, not understanding what he was trying to get across to me. “You sold your soul to the devil when you signed your recording contract, Miss. Tuffara. And they had you murdered as a blood sacrifice.”
“Hold up.” I said, scoffing at his allegations as to why I was killed. “I wasn’t a blood sacrifice?” I yelled angrily.
“Miss Tuffara, I took your soul and transferred it into this new body to ensure your survival before they could claim your soul for themselves.” Zander said. I took a step back and shook my head at him in disbelief. “When I found out they were going to kill you, I took matters into my own hands because you deserve to live, Tuffara.”
“Why... would they do that to me?” I asked him in shock. “I wasn’t even—”
“They used a top-secret program on you called Project MK Ultra, which is the CIA’s mind control program... An illegal program, might I had to keep you and other celebrities under their control. And Kain, your former manager, was your handler. He used mind control to ensure you did as you were told.”
I blinked a few times as I started to realize what Zander was saying to me was the absolute truth. I was starting to remember things I had suppressed, and things were starting to make sense now that I was not living that lifestyle anymore. “You had to worship Satan and they conjured up demons in secret ceremonies, and made you kill other human beings to rise higher through the ranks. You see, to them, your soul does not mean anything and that is why they want it, so you cannot ascend to the Fourth Density. They want every soul on this Earth to worship Satan as their Lord and Savior. They will lie to anyone to get what they want and will kill anyone they please and cover it up to look like an accident. They know you are still alive, but they cannot find you because of the Demi-god blood that pumps through your veins, Tuffara. That’s why your mother came to me a while back asking me to save you from them because she knows what they are capable of.”
I wrapped my arms around myself as a sudden chill ran through my entire body. “They... they made me do such terrible things to other people. I... did not want to do them... but they made me. And I could not control myself... I wanted out... and that’s when I met Abel and the Haven clan.” I said to Zander, looking at him in pure amazement. How could he have known about what I had been going through? Celebrities were not allowed to speak about that sort of stuff to the public or they would be killed just like JFK, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Aaliyah, Rowdy Roddy Piper and so many others were, to keep them silent.
If only the public had been notified about the bleak future that would be coming soon, Martial Law was coming, and the American people would be placed into concentration camps and be killed if they refused the ’Mark of the Beast’. The so-called Conspiracy Theorist were right about everything. If only the public was not so deep into themselves and did the research for themselves and would wake up! Then they would see the truth. But you can lead a horse to water and cannot force it to drink. And whoever said: “Those who increase their knowledge increase their sorrow” was right. I felt terrible for all those innocent people, but I was powerless to do anything about it at this point. I sighed in relief and wiped the tears from my eyes because, finally, the weight of the world was no longer on my shoulders. I was finally free from the evil that once had
control over my entire life. It felt good to make a fresh start. I looked at Zander once more. “I owe you my life.”
“More than you know, child.” he said to me. “I couldn’t let them take you when I knew you never got the chance to live... My debt has been paid.”
“Thank you.” I spoke. “But we still want the remaining Haven clan released.” I added.
“In due time, Miss Tuffara, in due time.” Zander walked me towards the door. “I will send a message to you very soon.” he said as he shoved me out of the room.
“Can I see—”
The door slammed shut in my face and I stood there for a moment trying to take in the information I had just learned about my previous life. I was not a puppet for the Illuminati to use anymore. I could leave that life behind me forever and not have to worry about them coming after me ever again.
I suddenly felt a hand on my right shoulder, making me yelp out in surprise. I quickly spun around to find Abel looking back at me with a surprised look across his face.
“Did you really have to scare me like that?” I asked as relief flowed through my entire body. Abel just blinked at me with a look of confusion across his face. “You were taking your
sweet time and I was starting to get worried about you, so I decided to go find you.” I rested my head against Abel’s chest, and he wrapped his arms around me. “Are you okay?” he asked, and I shook my head no. “Let’s get you back to the room so you can relax.” Abel guided me up the same hallway and our room ended up being the last room on the left. Abel pulled out his plastic key card and slid it into the slot. The light turned green, and the door unlocked. He opened the door and led me into the room where everyone was sitting in the living room.
