“What about Sarah?” asked Victoria. “I thought you guys are close. I mean—”
At the mention of Sarah, Melissa nearly scoffed. “She’s too loyal,” she stated flatly. “God, just getting her to go along with the plans to abduct Rosalie was like pulling teeth!”
Victoria didn’t respond, but the look of shock on her face told Melissa everything.
“Now, like I said before, I have a plan. The first part of my plan is complete, and now, I’m ready to act on the second part,” Melissa explained. “Do you know Andre Robinson?”
Victoria nodded. “What does she have to do with—”
“Henri told me about her and that she was the one who killed Dimitri Andreivich,” said Melissa. “He also told me her father is a Spy.”
Victoria shrugged. “So, she’s half-immortal. What’s the big deal?”
“The Spies mostly live in Spain, right? We find out her father’s name. Then, we track him down,” said Melissa. “And then, we utilize his resources to weaken and destroy Henri.”
“Do you know how dangerous that is?” questioned Victoria.
“That’s why we’re not going after a random Spy,” said Melissa. “I’m sure that as much as he wants to kill the other magic users, his daughter is his priority. I mean, any Spy who has a magic user for a daughter or son would want to kill them, right?”
“Are you suggesting we bribe this Spy in order to get what we need so we can go after Henri?”
Melissa nodded. “In a little while, I was thinking about going to Spain. Once we find him, we get him to listen to us. We ask him to provide us with supplies in order to take down one of our own, and in return, we will find a way to lure his daughter to him.”
~~~
Ava: Munich, Germany
Mandy was fast asleep in the hospital bed that she was given, her limbs occasionally twitching from the reversal of Henri’s spell. It was half-past midnight, and the light of the full moon streamed through the one window of the infirmary, illuminating most of the room except the far, dark corners.
The room was like that when Ava arrived—quiet and illuminated. Periodically, she would hear noises from outside the room—growling and hissing, followed by claws scratching the walls. Ava knew the noises belonged to the Bewitched, but how they had successfully infiltrated the ICW facility, she didn’t know.
Ava’s eyes swept over to the Foreseer as she blocked out the noise of the Bewitched from her hearing. Instead, she focused her attention on the slow, staggered breathing of the Foreseer—someone who she had heard rumors about but had never seen in person. According to what she had heard—mostly while wandering around out-of-sight at the ICW facility the day she’d arrived—Mandy had played a big part in uncovering some of Roseway’s secrets. She knew perfectly well the Foreseers were incapable of communicating with spirits directly, but she had a desire to write to Mandy and establish a relationship through the written word.
With her mind, she willed herself to seek out a piece of paper and a pen. Fortunately, there was one sitting on the nightstand next to the bed with a pen lying across the surface. Quickly, she went over to it, noticing that there were words on the paper already:
If for any reason you regain control of your limbs during a time in which I am not there, please try to write something on this piece of paper.
-Jason
Ava executed a sigh, since the piece of paper wasn’t blank. Nevertheless, she seized up even more concentration from her mind so she could pick up tangible objects, like the pen. Quickly, she began jotting down her note to the Foreseer, making it as brief as possible.
As soon as she concluded her note, the doorknob to the infirmary started twisting and turning as if someone were jamming keys into it. The door swung open gently, revealing someone with long, dark-brown curls that shimmered in the moonlight. Ava quickly turned over the note that she had written and moved away from the nightstand.
The girl smiled mischievously, closing the door behind her. “This door must be locked at all times,” she explained, “lest the Bewitched find a way to get in here. I’m sure we don’t want them finding and tearing apart the Foreseer.”
Ava stared at the new arrival, confused. Then, she understood. There was no doubt in her mind the person who stood in front of her was an immortal witch. And she thinks I’m Rebecca, Ava noticed by the way the girl was speaking to her.
“Why are you here, anyway?” the witch asked with curiosity in her voice. “Did Henri send you to check on the Foreseer?”
“Yes, and no,” Ava said, assuming the role of her sister. “Did I just hear the Bewitched a second ago?”
The smile instantly vanished from the witch’s face. “You should know,” she said. “After all, you’re the one who created them and got Henri to manipulate the system so one of the cliques was full of them.”
“Yes, of course,” Ava said in an attempt to cover up her mistake. Henri was the one who sent the Bewitched here?
The witch looked at Ava oddly as she crossed over to the nightstand. “I can see that Jason left paper and a pen here,” she observed, turning it over. “He did say he was going to do that.”
Ava immediately stiffened. “Did he?” she said. It was all she could say, for she was pretty sure her cover had been blown.
The witch turned the piece of paper back over. “That’s what I thought,” she said as she turned around to face Ava, her smile returning. “My name is Kat, by the way.”
Ava looked confusingly at Kat. Doesn’t Rebecca already know her name? Why is she introducing herself?
“And Henri specifically asked me to check on the Foreseer,” Kat continued. “He wouldn’t send two people to perform the same task unless the situation called for it.”
“Maybe the situation does call for it.”
“I think not,” said Kat. “Rebecca did mention you might intervene at the ICW.”
Immediately, Ava knew Kat had seen through her act. “Why does it matter?”
“You won’t succeed,” Kat said, ignoring Ava’s question. “I suggest you stop meddling in affairs that don’t concern you.” Then, she tore up the note and left the room.
Distraught about what had just happened, Ava left as well without attempting to write another note.
CHAPTER
SIXTEEN
Teri: Munich, Germany
T
he day of the sports portion of the ICW came quickly, and Teri arrived early in the hopes that she would catch a glimpse of Jeffery. Now that Rebekah was back together with Jake, Teri was free to pursue Jeffery with no threat.
However, when she arrived, she noticed there were two others who had arrived before her. Dagmar was the one who she saw first, one of the participants from Estonia. Then, there was Viktoriya from Russia—who was supposed to participate in the trivia portion of the ICW. Instantly, Teri marched up to Viktoriya.
“Why are you here?” she demanded. “You’re not supposed to participate in this portion!”
Viktoriya looked at Teri questioningly but didn’t respond.
“Why won’t you answer me?” Teri said, her voice rising.
“American bitch, she doesn’t speak English!” a voice said from behind Teri.
Teri spun around right when Dagmar approached her. “Well, I didn’t know that!”
Dagmar shrugged off Teri’s comment and started speaking to Viktoriya in a language that Teri couldn’t understand but assumed was Russian. Viktoriya quickly responded to Dagmar, and Dagmar glared at Teri.
“Viktoriya doesn’t appreciate you yelling at her,” Dagmar translated.
“I assumed she knew English and was only staying silent because she was trying to ignore me,” said Teri, which was the closest to an apology she would make.
Dagmar translated Teri’s apology to Viktoriya and then formed another question. Immediately, Viktoriya responded.
“She says the reason she’s here is because she’s filling in for Natasha,” Dagmar explained. “Natasha had died the sam
e way Bianca did about a week ago.”
So, that was who the new victim was, thought Teri. “So, you speak Russian?” she asked Dagmar genuinely.
Dagmar scoffed at Teri. “Estonia borders Russia. Obviously, I would know some Russian.”
“I…am…sor-ry,” Viktoriya said, trying to form words in English. “Lear-nin’…” she paused, looking at Dagmar, “angliyskiy.”
“Angli-what?” Teri wondered.
“Angliyskiy,” Dagmar repeated. “English. She’s learning English.”
Then, Viktoriya said something else in rapid-fire Russian that went over Teri’s head.
“For less than a year,” Dagmar translated.
“Seems like a lot less than a year,” Teri remarked after Dagmar’s translation, earning her a confused look from Viktoriya. Without waiting for a response, she began searching for Jeffery. After seeing him, she left Dagmar and Viktoriya without waiting for a response.
“Jeffery,” she called, moving towards him. He looked up at her without saying anything at first. “How are you?”
“Shouldn’t you be getting ready for the competition?” Jeffery questioned.
“How should I be preparing?” Teri asked playfully. “Are you willing to help me?”
Jeffery said nothing to her. In silence, he walked past her to where the other participants were. Frustrated, Teri glanced behind her and noticed that the others had arrived. Figures. She sighed. How did Jamie snag that one boy at the mall?
Teri remembered how the clique dared Jamie to go up to this one boy at the mall last year and kiss him. Afterwards, she gave him her number and went back to her clique. She flirted with him a little…and then, she kissed him, Teri thought, glancing at Jeffery. I tried flirting with Jeffery. Am I willing to degrade myself in front of all these people and go in for a kiss?
Jeffery had positioned himself in front of most of the participants, readying himself to start explaining the rules for the sports portion of the ICW. From behind him, Teri listened to what he was saying: the participants needed to wear fencing gear and carry a fencing sword, the rules of fencing do apply, whoever gets tapped on the chest is automatically out, and the maximum amount of points that can be earned is eight.
By the time Jeffery concluded his speech, Teri approached him from behind, who had made up her mind. By that time, her desire had taken control of her mind, blocking out all interventions, such as the fact that there were seven people who would witness the entire thing. Seven people who paved the way for judgment and ridicule. Yet, Teri didn’t care. If such a method had worked for Jamie, then it was bound to work for her. After all, the boy from the mall looked like he enjoyed Jamie’s company, and Jeffery was bound to be the same way.
With Jeffery standing just mere inches from her, Teri reached out and grabbed his arm, spinning him around to face her. Then before he could figure out what her intentions were, Teri pressed her lips upon his, grabbing the back of his neck. Instantly, she felt herself melt into him.
But he felt stiff. Teri could sense that she was the only one putting any work into it. Stunned, Jeffery began to push her away, but Teri held on, blinded by lust. After a few more tries, he successfully pried her off him and took a step back.
Confused, Teri went after him until he held up both of his hands.
“You should get ready for the competition,” was all he said before he turned away from her.
Dazed and confused, Teri surveyed her surroundings, noticing that there were a lot more people than just the eight participants and Jeffery. The chaperones had arrived as well, trying to help the participants get dressed in fencing attire. Teri felt herself relax at the thought of the participants being too busy to witness what happened between her and Jeffery.
She turned around from where Jeffery left her, her eyes landing on the two chaperones who were supposed to be helping her. Upon seeing their shocked expressions, there was no doubt in her mind they had seen her and Jeffery’s embrace. Hesitantly, she went over to them, her head bent low.
“He’s…not interested,” Courtney said when Teri approached her. “We could have told you that before you went and—”
“Because he’s into Rebekah,” Teri said, trying to choke back her tears. “I saw them the other day alone on the couch in our room.”
“He is?” Courtney questioned, glancing at Andre. “Did you know about that?”
“I kind of suspected it,” Andre said. “After all, his eyes were on her during the opening meal.”
Teri’s head shot up suddenly. She remembered vividly that ceremony when Jamie had first pointed him out to her. “I thought he was looking at me,” she stated flatly.
“You?” Andre questioned as Courtney began to prepare the fencing gear. “Even if he was interested in you, we wouldn’t allow you to go out with him.”
“But it’s okay for Rebekah to go out with him?” Teri asked with hurt in her voice.
Not responding, Andre began to help Courtney prepare the fencing gear.
“Is that because you’re picking favorites?” Teri tried again. “Because Rebekah’s friends with Holly, whereas I’m not? Yeah, I know you two are related! The resemblance is there!”
Courtney had thrust the attire into Teri’s arms, and Teri put it on over her current outfit.
“And from what I’ve been told, you’ve done a lot of things to hurt Holly,” Andre replied, giving Teri the appropriate helmet and sword.
Teri scoffed. “You are picking favorites! Both of you!”
Just then, Jeffery reentered the room. “Line up; the sports portion is about to begin.”
Her mind clouded with anger, Teri turned her back on the chaperones and lined up behind Viktoriya. Within a few moments, the eight participants were pushed into the stadium, and Teri secured the helmet over her head with her sword in her right hand.
The first thing Jason did was introduce the names of the eight participants—Lois Stumpf of Germany, Yoko Suzuki of Japan, Alicia Cruz of Spain, Teri Olson of the United States, Daniella Lombardi of Italy, Alice Babineaux of France, Dagmar Vitsut of Estonia, and Viktoriya Ivanova of Russia. Next, he explained the rules once more, of which Teri paid no attention to.
Teri entered the stadium right when Jason was wrapping up the introduction, instantly gawking at the way it was transformed for the sports portion. Through her helmet, she saw a giant maze that had been built with tall, thick, wooden planks. The clique participants were led to different parts of the stadium by Jeffery, and Teri noticed that this was a hunt-and-kill type of game. When it became her turn to be led to her section, Jeffery barely made any eye contact with her.
“Nice to see you again,” she said to him in an attempt to strike up a short conversation. Why do I sound so idiotic?
Jeffery didn’t respond to her right away. Once he led her to where she would be starting out, he turned around, meeting her gaze. “What you did is inexcusable,” he said coldly. “From now on, our relationship is strictly business until this competition is over.”
“Look,” Teri started to say in an attempt to explain herself, “Jamie once did that to another guy, and it worked. They seemed to really enjoy it, and—”
Jeffery didn’t let her finish. “I want nothing to do with you unless I am forced to,” he said before he walked away from her.
And Teri was on the brink of tears, almost missing the signal that Jason had started the sports portion. Slowly, she entered the maze with her sword drawn, ready to slash at the first threat. Her vision blurred due to her tears, and she wiped them away with the back of her free hand. Yet, she refused to let out any sort of noise lest her competitors hear her and use that to their advantage.
A minute into the competition, someone was already down. Teri heard the sound of a bell and Jason announce, “Alicia Cruz has tagged Dagmar Vitsut, earning Estonia one point.” Upon hearing this, Teri smiled to herself—the first time she had smiled since her blunder with Jeffery. Serves Dagmar right for being a bitch to me.
Several
minutes had gone by, and Teri still had not come across any competitors. Her mind compelled her to find a corner and take a seat on the floor, burying her face in her knees, but she forced herself to resist that temptation. Instead, she trudged on.
The bell sounded once again, and the familiar voice announced, “Lois Stumpf has been tagged by Alice Babineaux, earning Germany two points.”
Teri’s blood boiled upon hearing this. Alice Babineaux, the person that Jamie had told her to make sure she takes out. In the previous portions, Teri remembered Mandy beating Julie and Rebekah tying with Marisa. It was because of those two previous competitions that made Teri’s win crucial or else France would tie with the United States.
Teri rounded a corner, her eyes landing on Yoko and Viktoriya battling it out. Instantly, she hid behind the corner and watched them. Within moments, Viktoriya had successfully tagged Yoko. The bell sounded, Jason announced Viktoriya’s win, and Yoko sauntered off, her shoulders sagging. Japan had earned three points.
Who’s left? Teri silently asked herself. Me, Viktoriya, Alice, Alicia…
Teri was unable to finish that thought, for someone violently yanked her arm. Teri clutched her sword tightly, taking a swing when she spun around. Noticing that her attacker was Daniella, Teri let out a small smile.
Daniella lunged at Teri’s chest, and Teri blocked the attack. With a few more swings, the two swords clashed repeatedly as Teri advanced on her opponent. Then, with one fatal lunge, Teri dug the tip of the sword deep into her opponent’s chest, causing Daniella to fall backwards.
The bell sounded, and Teri heard Jason announce her win: “Daniella Lombardi has been tagged by Teri Olson, earning Italy four points.”
Teri smiled cockily at Daniella as she proceeded to leave the maze. Then, she focused her attention back to where she was planning on going before the attack. Four down; three to go.
Bleeding Misery (Threatening Souls Book 2) Page 20
