My eyes were just starting to drift closed as I fought against each wave of sleep that crashed into me like tide waves on the beach. Right as I was gonna lose this fight, I heard the door start to creak open, I took a weak glance at my momma, Ravana, who had been sitting beside me since she put Sevil to sleep an hour ago. It was going on 11 o'clock at night and my daddy still hadn’t returned home. We were no stranger to my daddy coming home later, however on this day it was a bit of a worry. My momma smiled at me and I could tell how relieved she was that he was finally home. She stood to her feet and silently moved to the hallway. “Let me check on him really quick and then we can give him the gift you won.”
I gave her a tired nod as my eyes drifted over to the limited edition spiderman figure I had spent nearly an hour trying to win at the festival. I carefully swung my legs over the side of the couch and let out a long stretch and a louder yawn that seemed to bounce off the walls. Our large living room was lit with only a small bit of lamp light, the coffee table held empty cups of what was once hot tea. My momma’s old bible sat off to the side. It had more posted notes inside of it than any of my notebooks for school. The large television that was over our empty fireplace had long since turned off on its own. A minute passed, then two, and then five, and finally at ten minutes. I crept off the couch and made my way into the hallway that connected this room to all of the others, as well as to the twisting staircase where the bedrooms were.
I could hear muffled voices coming from the kitchen. My father’s soft voice sounded panicked and worried, he almost sounded on the verge of tears, and thanks to my animal spirit, I had amazing hearing. “I-I can’t believe this.”
“Jonan,” my momma said firmly. “Relax for me, okay, you seem on the verge of a panic attack.”
“How can I calm down,” my father sounded desperate right now. “There was a sighting and they want me to go and check it out.” I pressed my back against the wall to listen a bit more closely. I know my parents didn’t like listening in on their private conversations but this sounded far more important than just a normal conversation. My daddy let out another heavy sigh and I heard a glass being set on the counter. “Thank you, dear.”
“Don’t worry about it, Jonan.” One of the chairs scrapped across the floor, my momma was probably taking a seat. “Now please, start over and go a bit more slowly, I could barely understand most of what you told me.”
“Today while I was at work,” he began slowly. “I was the only one there so I was looking into a few of our new reports, trying to get files organized and ready to send our agents out to where I believe their skills would be best used.” My daddy office was a mix of a detective agency as well as a rescue one. They would send in agents of either Master Class or Professional class, the third highest title one could get and was the most common among adults, to places across the world to stop any jepei users that were using their abilities for evil, and or help children that fit the description of our people. “I was just going over some of the files for The United States, when I came across this image.”
I heard a few papering being shifted before something more solid hit the table. “It was about a report of a few of the gangs there in the middle of some kind of tuff war. One of them seems to be led by this man, Hezekiah Wallace, a known kingpin that seems to share our gift. I was about to go and set this file on Andrew Valentine’s desk as he is our best in this sort of mission. When I saw her, right there in the background.”
The room went silent for a moment and then I felt my momma’s jepei flare up a bit from pure anger. “What you know, the violet Liger is still alive.”
My heart sank into my chest, there was only one woman alive with that title. Her animal spirit was a rare combination of her parents, her father being a lion and her mother’s being a tiger. Violet jepei aura ran through her vein like a dark poison. Her image slowly began to form in my mind, a woman that stood taller than my dad at six feet three inches, she was beautiful with curves and a bust that would make models jealous. Her lips always held a simple smile, a smile she used to trick so many people across the island, a smile that held her turn sinister smirk.
Katherine Blackthorn.
All members of the dark order ditched their last name and took on the name of their king. The Blackthorn head family had been in charge of the more darker jepei users for hundreds of years. While my home was ruled by five rulers, it only took one Blackthorn to rule over darkness. Some called them the true saviors of the world, to us he was just an evil man that wanted more power. They ran the black markets, funded civil wars in secret so that once the region was weakened they could move in and take it over. The best agent he held at the moment was Katherine and she nearly took our home in the process.
I was snapped out of my shock when I heard someone call my name. I nearly jumped out of my skin as I saw my daddy standing in the hallway, looking surprised to see me leaning against the door. “Verona…” he spoke softly.
I moved without telling my body to do so, slipping past his outstretched hand and into our large and clean kitchen. My now scared eyes scanned the room and found the file that they were talking about and I quickly snatched it off the table, ignoring my momma’s calls for me to stop and set it back down. My eyes only needed a moment before I saw her, the picture showed a group of people moving down the street towards a large looking nightclub. Two of them were large body guards maybe 6’6 and had large muscles barely contained underneath their sharp black suits. Another man with a low cut hair style, and a nice looking goatee was walking behind them. He was wearing an expensive looking suit as well, a nice looking watch and diamond cufflinks, he had a dark black aura spilling off him like smoke. A girl around my age was beside him, her hand being held by the man’s, like the dark skinned man she had a small bit of smoke spilling into the air. A sign that she and he were jepei users, that smoke could only be seen by jepei users, even in photos. Her was dark red and she was wearing a cute tanned skirt and a white button up.
However, walking behind them with her arms crossed and she seemed to be staring right at whoever had taken this picture, was Katherine. She was wearing a dark skin tight dress with a slit going up the side showing off a lot of her leg. Her hair was folded over the left side of her head, dark brown with a few purple streaks running through it. She had piercing violet eyes, that again were looking right at them, she could see who had taken this photo and if I was guessing girl.
That person was probably dead now.
I felt my knees slam against our clean white floors as I dropped to my knees and just stared at that picture. My head was starting to spin like I had just been spun a thousand times, everything was blurring around me, but just her image stood perfect. My headcanon for years had just been destroyed, because she was alive and judging from this picture.
She was doing just fine.
The picture fluttered from my hands as the entire world seemed to turn sideways and I felt my head slam against the floor before layers of darkness began to surround me, and the last thing I saw was my daddy kneeling beside me, his mouth was moving but no words were coming out.
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My eyes snapped open and I sat up with a loud scream. My chest was heaving like I had I just run 15 miles and sweat was already starting to flood down my face. It took my eyes a moment to adjust to the dark golden light that was coming from my lamp. I was in my room, my sheet had been thrown off me in this process. I heard something crash to the floor and I quickly looked down to see an ice pack had fallen to the floor. The calming blues of my room started to fill me with much relief, my computer was sitting off to the side humming softly, the air condition was filling my room with a pleasant chill. I looked over at my clock and saw that it was 1:06 in the morning. My chest started to relax as another smell filled my nose, and sitting on the edge of my bed was my daddy. He always used the same herb and fresh smelling cologne, his hair always smelled of peppermint as it was his favorite body wash. His hair was nearly as long as mine and neatly trimmed around the edges, now it was spilling over his shoulders like two brown waterfalls.
His eyes were much softer and kinder than Katherine’s ever were. His facial feathers gentle and fatherly, he was always cleanly shaven as he never could quite grow facial hair. His eyes were a brighter purple than even my own, they shined like diamonds in the night. On instinct alone, I scrambled up to my knees and practically through myself into his arms for a hug. His long arms engulfed me into his chest and the smells I had always known surrounded me like a comfy blanket. “It’s okay,” he soothed upon hearing the slight sniffles that were escaping my lips. “It’s okay, little cub.”
He lifted me up to sit on his lap and just rested my head against his chest. Right now I just wanted to be close to him, to hear his heartbeat. “What are you gonna do?” I asked, once I had enough strength to do so.
“I am guessing you mean about your mother.”
“She is not my mother, Ravana is my momma.”
My daddy kissed the top of my head. “I know, forgive me for forgetting that is how you feel.” He rested his chin on the top of my head holding me closer to him, almost like he was worried I was gonna go somewhere. “I am going to New York, and I will be bringing an older student from the academy to come with me. Our mission is to find and either capture or.” He trailed off for a moment before picking back up in a softer voice. “Kill Katherine for her crimes against the island.”
“Who is coming with you?”
“I am taking a young man that I believe you have met a few times. Joshua Cash, he has experience in those streets and has a connection to the leader of Marsh Pride as they call themselves.”
“When do we leave?”
“We?”
I nodded against my daddy’s chest. “I am coming with you.”
“Absolutely not!”
“Why not?!” I snapped pulling away slightly so I could look him in the eye. “I deserve to go with you, I have gone with you on missions before. I am the most skilled fighter in my class, I can be street smart, me and Aisu are nearly as good at tracking as you and Thanami!”
“My answer is no, Verona.”
“Daddy please.”
“Verona!” My eyes shut as the rare instant of my father’s louder voice broke through the darkness. He pulled me back into his arms and began to rock back and forth. “I’m sorry for raising my voice, truly I am. However, we both know why you are not going. You are still a kid and as skilled as you are, you cannot contain your emotions, especially the ones you hold for Katherine. That makes you a liability on the field, and this needs to go perfectly or we could lose her.”
“You are lying,” I said. “You are worried she is gonna take me from you if she sees me.” The staggering silence from my daddy was enough to confirm my accusations. “Please…” I begged, holding onto my daddy’s shirt, determined to never let go. “Let me go with you, let me help you… what if she takes you from me?”
“Verona,” I felt one of his hands come to rub my back. “Katherine is not gonna take me from you, she is not gonna kill me, but I can’t risk her taking you from me.”
“T-Then let me go and we can protect each other.” I suggested, ready to throw out how many ideas I needed until he finally just said yes. I wouldn’t let him go, not with some academy student, that is probably better than me in every way. He needed someone that knew his target, that was trained by her, that knows even a tiny fragment of how that demon thinks.
He needed me.
“Verona, my answer is no, end of discussion.”
“Daddy please.”
“End of discussion!” I went limp in his arms, my arms hanging limping at my side by fists tightening with each passing moment. Why couldn’t he just see how I see things, two people that know Katherine are better than one. Three people are better than. “Verona, my dad began once more. I-I’m sorry, I just can’t risk you.”
“A-And I can’t risk you,” I said softly. “I love momma and Sevil, but I need you. I need my cornerstone, and you need yours.” When Katherine left my daddy promised that he would be stronger, that he would remain my cornerstone, and as long as that stone stood that I could do and be whoever I wanted to be. I made the same promise to him, without each other. I don’t want to think about what would happen to us
“Verona, I promise you on whatever and whoever you want me too. That I am not gonna die, sweetheart.”
That was the problem, with Katherine promises always broke and shattered like glass. She is a variable that no one can predict, that cannot be accounted for, she can turn the best into the worst with just a moment. I trusted my dad, but I do trust him with my life. However… As long as Katherine drew breath, I couldn’t trust him.
As I closed my eyes and let my daddy rock me back to sleep, I can to the realization that if I wanted to go with him.
I would have to sneak my way there.
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“Are you out of your mind!” I winced a bit at Beatrice’s sudden yell. I needed help in figuring out what to do, so I gathered the smartest minds that I knew… mostly my group of friends.
“Beatrice calm down!” I hissed back, noticing that a few people were now looking our way. I invited them all to our favorite restaurant on the island, the jasmine sky, that also acted as a nightclub for kids 13 to 15. I had a lot of good memories, including my first kiss, but considering that my daddy and momma would murder me, (and Jake) if they found out. That was a memory that stayed safely within these walls.
“Don’t tell me to calm down!” She snapped once more, shocking most of us into silence. Beatrice was always very quiet and shy, I had never seen her so made before. “Your mother is alive, is in New York, your daddy is going to get her and you want to sneak there to help him. Absolutely not, forget it!”
“First of all she is not my mother-”
“Shut up!” I could now see tears starting to form in her eyes. “No, I am not helping with this dumb plan! I am not letting you get yourself killed!”
“Yeah,” I turned around to see my first crush and kiss and Jake place a hand on the back of his head. He had short blond hair and a brighter pair of orange eyes like the sun. His spirit animal, a large bullet ant the size of a medium sized dog, was sitting on the ground beside him. “To be honest Verona, this is like the dumbest thing you could possibly do. Like seriously, we are talking the Violet Liger, the most wanted woman in our culture. Maybe it would be best to just let your dad and that Joshua fellow handed this. I heard he is on the same level as Alona Ameko and we know what she could do.”
“If he was going with Alona then maybe I would be okay with it, but she is in France and this Joshua guy doesn’t know, Katherine like I know her.”
“That is beyond the point!” I turned as my other friend, Malcolm Fields joined the conversation. I couldn’t tell if he was upset because of my plan or because he was gonna be paying our bill today, via a not so fair game of rock paper scissors. “Verona, look I will be the first to admit that you are skilled, you could probably take us on in a four on one and probably win.”
“Debatable,” I heard Nene speak up from beside me. She was Mrs. O’Brian’s daughter, her accent was a bit softer almost like she was trying to hide she was irish. She had light blond hair like her momma, cute blond hair, she was the smallest of us but because of her animal spirit of sailfish, she was the best swimmer in our age group. “Last time I checked I won our last group sparring match.”
“You dragged three of us underwater, so technically attempted murder should have gotten you disqualified.” Jake mumbled. “The point is, this is really dumb, Verona, and besides…” Jake lowered his voice. “D-Doesn’t your mom want to take you away if she gets the chance. Who's to say that if you go and do this that she won’t try again.”
“And no offense but if you are there your daddy will be more worried about protecting you, rather than his mission. This could be the one chance he has to get back everything that she took from you two.” Malcolm added.
“Plus what are you gonna do, sneak there and then show up where he is staying so he has to take you with him. What happens if at that moment, she just at a Starbucks or something and snatches you and we never see you again.” Nene pointed out. “Look, Verona, this just isn’t a good idea, and I couldn’t live with myself if I lost one of my friends like this. Especially if I helped her do this in the first place.”
“Do none of you understand?” I felt eight pairs of eyes lock onto me, two pairs filled with anger and the other two just concerned. “My daddy can’t do this alone, Katherine trained me so I know some of her moves. I am stronger even if it is just to be a distraction, three people going after her are better than two.” My voice choked up for a moment. “I-I can’t let him go without me and die. I can’t lose him.”
“And he can’t lose you, this island can’t lose you, Grandmaster Ravana and Sevil can’t lose you.” Beatrice pointed out, her set of tears running down her face. “I can’t lose you. You can’t go, we cannot risk it.”
“Beatrice-”
The glass that she was gripping so tightly in her hands shattered into a million pieces as she rose to her feet. “No!” She shouted before grabbing her small backpack and heading towards the door. “I am not gonna let you get captured cause, you want to kill your mom yourself!”
“Excuse me!” I snapped as I knocked my chair over and rushed over to my best friend. “What did you just say?”
“You heard me!” Beatrice spun around and faced me with a tearful but angry look on her face. “This isn’t about daddy, this isn’t about wanting to protect him or be near him. You want to go so you can kill her yourself! You're being selfish!”
My mouth opened and closed as I struggled to refruit this claim. She was right and I knew it, yes I was worried about my dad, yes I wanted to be there and help him as best as I could, yes I didn’t trust this Joshua Cash guy to help him. However… I also wanted to kill my momma with my own hands. “So what if that is-”
I didn’t finish that sentence as my head snapped sideways and I was nearly knocked clear off my feet. A moment later the air seemed to shake with a loud smacking noise. My cheek burned a few seconds after and looked up in shock to see Beatrice was lowering her hand. Now shaking a bit herself. “I am not losing you because of some petty revenge plan. I love you too much to let that happen.”
I stood frozen as Beatrice spun on her heels and headed towards the door. The wood cracked and the door flew open as Beatrice kicked it open, leaving us alone in silence. I slowly sunk down onto my knees and hung my head in shame.
Was it wrong to want revenge on the person that took everything from me
Or was it wrong that I risked losing everything to go on a mission that deep down I knew.
I would just be in the way if I went along with them.
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