by I. T. Lucas
Vivian added her own bags to the pile and then walked over to the driver’s side. “Maybe he wants to make sure that you arrive as planned. Just as we are preparing and laying a careful net for him, I’m sure he’s doing the same for us. The scholarship was just extra honey to make the bait more appetizing.”
“I hope you’re right. I would hate to get everyone’s hopes up for nothing. Not to mention the resources. If this is all for nothing, I’ll have to compensate the clan for their expenses and not the other way around.”
Vivian waved a dismissive hand. “It’s just nervous jitters. Besides, the trap is Kian and Turner’s idea, not yours, so they bear responsibility for it. What you’re doing for the clan is priceless. Meaning that I would have never agreed for you to risk yourself for monetary compensation.”
As she turned the engine on, Ella pulled out the new glasses Eva had given them and put them on. “I don’t know if there is a saying like this, but you can’t live on good deeds, lofty ideals, or even satisfaction. I need money.”
That was true. Ella was working her butt off and not getting a penny for her efforts. “Did you upload the video you finished editing to YouTube?’
“Not yet. I talked to Julian last night, and he suggested I ask Roni for help with that. I’m just thinking of a nice way to do it. I can’t offer him anything in return, and I hate asking for a favor I can’t repay.”
“You’re not asking anything for yourself. The entire clan is involved in this humanitarian effort. I'm sure he will be glad to help. But if you like, we can invite him and Sylvia to dinner. It’s going to be easier to ask for a favor in an informal setting.”
Pulling out her phone, Ella glanced at the time. “We can stop at the supermarket and get stuff. But let me check with Sylvia first. They might have plans for tonight. What time should I tell her?”
“Let’s make it seven so we’ll have plenty of time to cook.”
Ella’s fingers flew over the screen as she typed up the message.
When Sylvia didn’t respond, Ella shrugged. “Do you want to stop on the way for takeout? Parker wouldn't mind a hamburger, and neither would I.”
“Sounds good to me. But let’s get groceries just in case.”
The return message came while they were waiting in line in the drive-through.
“She says they would love to and apologizes for not answering before. She was in class and her phone was turned off.”
Vivian was glad. Friday dinner without Magnus and Julian would have been a sad affair. In fact, maybe they should invite more guests to make it even merrier?
“What do you think, should we invite Ruth and Nick too?”
Ella scrunched her nose. “Ruth is a really good cook. We are not in her league.”
“We don’t have to be. Let’s make something simple that is impossible to mess up. How about fettuccini with mushrooms and a couple of your specialty salads?”
“Parker will want meat, and so will Roni. I don’t know about Nick, but he probably is a meat eater too.”
“What about fish? I can make salmon. That always comes out good.”
“That could work. I like it, and so does Parker, probably because it’s soft and doesn’t irritate his gums. I hope the others will like it too.”
“Salmon it is, then.” Vivian smiled at Ella. “Having dinner with friends is more about the company than the food. It doesn’t have to come out perfect.”
“No, but it should be tasty and plentiful. Otherwise they won’t come again.”
29
Ella
“I’m stuffed.” Roni pushed his plate away and reached for the pitcher of water. “Everything was excellent.”
Ella wondered if this was a good time to ask for his help.
“Thank you for inviting us,” Sylvia said. “I feel so bad about not helping Ella today, but I had an important class I couldn’t miss.”
Smiling, Ella waved a dismissive hand. Sylvia had just provided her with the opening she needed. “Don’t worry about it. I shot only one video, but there is no rush. I have four already, two of them edited and ready for upload to YouTube, but I don’t know how to do that. I’m sure it’s not a big deal, but with everything new there is a learning curve. And once that’s done, I need to actually set up the fundraiser, again not something I’ve done before.”
Nick put his fork down. “I can help you out with YouTube. It’s so easy that I can do it right now. Just bring me your laptop.”
That was unexpected. Ella hadn’t thought of Nick, but she should have. Eva had told her that the guy was a whiz with electronics and surveillance equipment.
“Thank you. But would you mind showing me how to do it? I’d rather not have to run for help anytime I need to upload a new video.”
“Sure thing.”
As Ella pushed to her feet, her mother cleared her throat. “Can this wait until everyone is done eating? And we also have dessert.”
Glancing at Ruth who was still picking at her salmon, Ella sat back down. “I’m sorry. You’re right. It’s just that I’m so excited and eager for the fundraiser to start.”
Across the table, Parker looked at her as if she’d offended him.
“What’s your problem?”
“You could’ve asked me. I know how to do it. But no one ever thinks I can do stuff because I’m just a kid.”
He wasn’t wrong. She should’ve thought about him, but to admit it would be like throwing more fuel into his fire.
“Do you know anything about search engine optimization?”
He shook his head.
“Well, that’s what I need the most help with. It’s not enough to upload the videos. If I want anyone to see them, they need to be discoverable.”
“I can help with that,” Roni said. “I can have these videos suggested to tons of people. What I need from you is a list of things your target audience is interested in, so I can have your videos suggested to them.”
“Who is the target audience?” Ruth asked.
Ella thought that everyone should watch it, but perhaps certain segments of the population would react more strongly to the message. “Teenage girls and their mothers, I guess. Which I should have thought of before. Damn.”
“Why? Is that a problem?” Vivian asked.
“If I want them shown to teenagers, I need to make sure that the videos don’t contain anything inappropriate for a younger audience, but that’s almost impossible given the subject. And what’s more, girls under eighteen should be aware of the risk. Traffickers don’t shy away from taking minors.”
“Not in the States, I would think,” Sylvia said. “If a minor goes missing, the police get involved. It’s easier and less risky for the traffickers to go after legal adults.”
Roni put his glass down. “You can make two kinds of videos. One aimed at the over-eighteen crowd that will show the videos you are shooting at the sanctuary, and another one for minors that’s more of a general warning and has no details. I would even make two separate channels so there is no confusion between the two.”
It was a good idea, but it meant doubling the work. In fact, Ella wasn’t sure she could edit the recordings so much. She would need to shoot new ones with teenagers in mind.
“Yay, more work for me.”
“You can hire someone to doodle cartoons for you,” Parker said. “Like they do in infomercials. You’ll need to write a script, though.”
That shouldn’t be too hard. She could write highly modified versions of the stories the girls told. Except, it was more work and she was already overwhelmed.
“I need to find someone to do that. I don’t have time to write scripts in addition to everything else I’m doing. And where am I going to find a doodler?”
“Many clan members are creative,” Sylvia said. “You can post a note on the virtual bulletin board.”
“I don’t have money to pay them.”
Next to her, Ella saw Vivian’s shoulders start to shake. “What’s the matter, Mom? Are yo
u crying?”
Vivian let out a snort and then started laughing. Strange woman. Was missing Magnus making her crazy?
“What’s so funny?” Parker asked.
Waving a hand, Vivian caught her breath. “It’s funny what the brain can come up with. When Parker suggested making doodle presentations, I thought that it was a cool idea and that there could be a whole series of simple cartoons showing different dangerous scenarios a girl can find herself in. But then I thought that someone would need to write scripts for the narrator to read.”
She reached for her glass, took a long sip, and then put it down. “Naturally, the first person that came to my mind was Eva because she wrote a book and has some experience with creating stories. But since she somehow managed to turn her romance novel into a detective story full of gore and blood, she would probably do the same with the cartoons, writing terrifying stories that were way worse than the ones the girls recorded.”
Nick joined in the laughter. “I can imagine that. My boss trying to write a romance is a joke. But she can write killer detective and spy novels.” He laughed even harder. “Killer stories about killers.”
If he only knew the half of it.
Nick and Sharon didn’t know about Eva’s vigilante days, and she’d told Tessa only recently. Surprisingly, she’d told Ella too.
But that was because of Ella’s weird effect on people. Come to think of it, if she really had a unique ability to have people open up to her and tell her things they didn’t tell anyone else, it might be a special talent she had in addition to the telepathy she shared with her mother.
And if it was indeed a talent, and not a case of having the kind of personality that invited confessions, it would grow stronger after her transition just as Parker’s compulsion ability had.
In a way, what she did was sort of unintended compulsion. It was as if people felt compelled to tell her their secrets. The difference was that she didn’t do anything to force the confessions, and later people didn’t regret opening up to her.
Or perhaps they did?
Ella wondered if Eva had had second thoughts about sharing her dark past with her and Tessa.
The answer could shed light on whether Ella had done anything to actively compel the confession. Maybe she’d just been at the right place at the right time and armed with the right attitude.
30
Julian
As he came out of the bathroom, Julian checked his phone for a new message from Ella. It was getting late and he was tired after a full day of preparations.
She’d said she would call or text as soon as she was done with Nick and Roni, but it seemed the three of them were still working on uploading the YouTube videos.
It shouldn’t take that long, unless Roni started working on the search engine optimization. Why would he do it on a Friday night while his mate was waiting, though?
The guy didn’t need Ella to do his hacking magic or whatever it was he planned to do. He could do it from his house or on Monday from the lab.
Except, Ella might have wanted to see how it was done.
Julian smiled. The girl was like a sponge for information, her brain going a hundred miles per hour all hours of the day. And she wasn’t just absorbing it, she was turning it into a fountain of creative ideas.
His mate was awesome.
He couldn’t have asked for a more perfect match. The more he got to know her, the more the age difference that had bothered him in the beginning was becoming irrelevant. Ella was bright and confident in her own way, and she didn’t treat him like the older guy she should defer to.
Heck, she didn’t give him an inch, and he loved that she wasn’t a pushover. A lot of it was bravado, and on the inside she hid insecurities, but those were the result of her captivity, and in time they would fade away.
He would make sure of that.
His mate shouldn't feel tainted, or undeserving, and he was going to reassure her day in and day out that she was pure and kind and selfless, and that she deserved every bit of happiness that life with him would bring.
When his phone finally pinged, Julian let out a relieved breath, read Ella’s short message, and called her.
“It’s about time, I was about to hit the sack. It’s after three o'clock in the morning here.”
“I’m sorry about that. But it didn’t feel right to leave Roni and Nick to do the work while I went chatting with my boyfriend.”
“What took so long? Is it complicated?”
“No, not really, but they also helped me with establishing the fundraiser. We are up and running. Or rather crawling, but we are up.”
“Congratulations.”
“I’m crossing my fingers. Do you have a clan member who’s a witch? Because I could totally use some good luck charms or incantations.”
He chuckled. “The closest we have is Merlin. But he’s all about potions. I don’t think he does charms.”
“A potion is not going to do it, but enough about me. How was your day?”
“Grueling. Turner is having us check out every corner of the campus and memorize it. After today, I can find any place here blindfolded. Tomorrow, he’s going to assign positions. He must really be concerned with Mr. D. I think he takes him more seriously than he took Gorchenco.”
“He should, and he shouldn't.”
“What do you mean?”
“As you’ve pointed out, Mr. D is a god’s grandson. He is smart and has powerful abilities. So that’s a good reason to take every precaution Turner can think of. But on the other hand, he might have no nefarious intentions other than to win me over.”
Julian shook his head. “He’s playing you. Did he invade your dreams again?”
“He did. He said he’s arranging a full-ride scholarship for me. Why would he do that if he knows I’m not going to go? But that’s just a side note. He’s acting as if he’s really happy to help me get a great education. He is either an amazing actor, or I am clueless because I’m inclined to believe him.”
“The guy is old. He’s had centuries to hone his acting skills. Doomers are not into charity and doing good deeds, they regard humans as only a little better than sheep, and getting an education is not high on their priority list even for themselves.”
Ella sighed. “You can’t generalize. Look at Dalhu and Robert. Not all Doomers are evil.”
Julian was getting annoyed. It was good that this was coming to a head because Lokan was messing with Ella and little by little pulling her over to his side.
“Your own impression from him was that the guy was bad.”
“True, but then when you’re the son of a despot, you can’t act like a nice guy even if you are one on the inside. Every dream we share, he sheds more of his thorns.”
Pushing up to his feet, Julian started pacing the small room. “Don’t tell me you’re falling for his lies, Ella.”
What he actually wanted to ask was if she was falling for the Doomer. But that would have been stupid. Ella would’ve denied it, probably because she hadn't even realized that it was happening. Lokan was messing with her head big time.
“I’m not sure. But all this guessing is futile. We will know in a few days. I can’t wait to see the campus and go touring the city with you. How is the weather? Is it cold?”
“It’s very pleasant here. After all of this is over you might consider going here for real. You don’t need any charity from the Doomer. The clan will pay for your tuition and your living expenses.”
There was a moment of silence, and then she sighed. “It sounds lovely, but I don’t want to leave the village. I decided to go to a local college.”
It should’ve been good news, and he should’ve been happy about her decision, but Julian didn’t want Ella giving up on her dreams or even compromising them on his account.
“Is it because of me?”
“Yes, but not exclusively, so don’t let it go to your head. I just found a new home and an extended family. Leaving it to go to college and hang around a
bunch of humans I have nothing in common with doesn't appeal to me at all. I’d rather stay in the village and commute to a local college every day. That way I can have it all.”
“It’s a compromise.”
“Why would you say that? It’s not like there is a shortage of great universities in Los Angeles, and with my fake transcripts and list of achievements I can get into any of them. I don’t see it as a compromise at all. On the contrary, I think I’m being very smart about it. Besides, I don’t like being away from you. It’s been only two days and it feels like you’ve been gone for weeks.”
The vice that had squeezed his heart when Ella had waxed poetic about Lokan not only loosened but fell off completely.
Ella loved him.
“Same here. It’s tough being away from you.”
“You see? And you want me to go away to college?”
“I would’ve gone with you.”
That stunned her for about three seconds. “Really? And what would you have done? Studied for another degree?”
“Maybe. Or I would have found a job wherever you went to school. There’s no way I can live without you. I love you.”
“Oh, Julian. I can’t live without you either. I love you so much. You’re the best guy on the planet.”
31
Ella
Ella was about done packing her suitcase when her phone rang. Expecting Julian, she snatched it off the nightstand, but it wasn’t Julian’s handsome face on the screen.
