Recap:
A hand landed on her upper arm and Alex shrieked loud enough to alarm the entire building if they hadn't been frozen in time; the blonde jumped back and reached for the nearest thing she could use as a weapon.
She brandished the thick linguistics volume above her head ready to attack watching the hooded figure stand in the middle of her living room as if floating just above the ground. A hand reached up and pushed the hood away, revealing blonde silken tresses and steely blue eyes that peered deeply into her very soul.
Alex hesitated...
"mom?"
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"Alex..." the hooded figure whispered moving closer towards the shinigami. she really did seem to be floating above the hardwood floor but Alexandra was too shell-shocked to even notice.
"what? how?...you...you're here? how could you be here? you're dead! you've been dead for two decades!" the blonde barista was on the verge of panic. she mentally scoffed; an immortal incarnation of death and she all but panics at the sight of her own mother.
her descendant of a goddess, harbinger of death, deceased mother...
"I know what you're thinking Alex, I can explain everything if you just give me a chance" Catherine Stone spoke, her voice softer than a whisper as it caressed her daughter's ear.
Alex frowned, was it really that easy? one minute she's a human orphan and the next she's probably a reincarnation of death and her mother happens to pop up from the dead? it was all so surreal, Alexandra could barely process the thoughts that were going through her head, yet her mother seemed to think she could explain everything away...
"look, honey," the hooded figure sighed softly "I know this must be strange for you, but we don't have much time for lengthy explanations here. we need to leave before they come for us. you need to learn and understand who you are and what you can do" the blonde matriarch explained urgently "at the very least let me teach you how to regain your normal human form; I don't think you want to walk around with a skull for a face and claws"
her mother did have a point, it was no use being alive if she couldn't even go outside. was she really alive? was either of them alive?
her mother's reappearance caused more questions than it answered, and the more questions she asked, the more she craved the answers that her mother could provide.
"Asha and her friends aren't a threat to us, mom. she saved me, twice now; she won't hurt us or try to take me away from you" Alex tried to explain but she was met with a dismissive wave of her mother's hand
"your chosen partner isn't a danger to us Alexandra, not that there is much she can do if death does decide to claim her. not many creatures threaten our existence yet *they* lurk in the shadows of the human world, hunting us one by one my child, now hurry before they manage to get to us" Catherine Stone took her daughter's wrist into her hand brandishing bone-like talons much like Alex's, the matriarch seemed to claw right into the very fabric of time and space.
Alex was at a loss for words, watching intently as her mother ripped open a portal that flicked and shimmered before her very eyes. she glanced at her mother with trepidation "where will this take us, mom?"
the elder Shinigami seemed much more reassured than her daughter "it'll take us where we need to go honey" her voice was soothing, lulling Alex into a sense of serenity that allowed her to take that final leap of faith.
the second she felt the weightlessness of suspended time and space wash over her, she knew she had made a mistake with her decision, she had left Asha no clue as to where she went. not that Alex knew where they were going, all the answers her mother had given her so far were vague and less than explanatory. but those were the only answers she was getting.
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Amira and Asha had rejoined Bashaa and Anna Lee in one of the many offices at the compound, surrounded by the team they had chosen.
Sekhemet, Zhi-ming, Gordon, Genevieve, and David stood around the room waiting for Asha to settle in her seat before the briefing began.
Bashaa cleared his throat, prompting everyone to focus on him "as you all know, Gabriel Stein was sentenced to death for disobeying one of the cardinal rules of our society. he received a lycan bite for his transgressions," the high elder's frown deepened, his lips forming a tight line. his graying brows furrowed "he didn't die like any normal vampire would; the lycan poison mutated his DNA" he let that thought settle in the minds of his audience; he could see Asha become visibly agitated and he could only assume she was thinking of the day they realized both Gabriel and Alex's tombs were empty.
"from what Anna Lee has told us, Mister Stein is some sort of hybrid creature with the sanity of an enraged beast. So far we know of fourteen different bodies left in his wake since the day he vanished" the elder noticed several people around the room visibly cringe at such a high body count but no one spoke a word.
Sekhemet cast her eyes down, feeling as if this was her fault. she felt as if she had let down Arshaka and her whole clan because she let Gabriel become this insolent. it was her job to train them and keep them in line and she failed. she didn't see how much of a menace he was becoming and that was unforgivable.
"he's taken one of our own as hostage and vanished to an unknown location" the look of desperation plastered across Anna's features broke his heart "we can't canvas the whole city in time to rescue Iris, so I've called in some reinforcements" the salt and pepper haired First Born nodded towards the doorway. Several seconds passed before the door slid open to reveal a well-dressed man with broad shoulders and your typical tall dark and handsome allure.
Asha was less than impressed with the man, she smelled the lycan blood pumping through his veins the moment he stepped into the room. she didn't understand why Bashaa had brought in a lycan when the vampires in this room had enough experience on their own to track and apprehend almost anyone. the redhead leveled a questioning gaze onto Bashaa, which he answered with a knowing smile
"since Gabriel has become half lycan, we can only track him so far. but without any clue as to where he is, we needed outside help. Lycans can always track members of their clans, or at the very least individuals that have the clan's venom flowing within their veins, Lucas here will b our guide. once Asha returns with Ishtar and Alex, we will get going" the high Elder dismissed them shortly after discussing their plan once they find Iris.
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it took Asha barely any time to get from the compound to Alex's apartment, traffic was at an unusual low but you wouldn't catch Asha complaining. she took to the stairs two at a time, her vampiric speed giving her the extra boost she needed to reach the top floor in less than a minute.
as the redheaded elder reached the top of the stairs, she noticed that something was definitely off; the front door was left slightly ajar, but was clearly not forced open. the vampire cautiously walked forward pushing the dark ebony door open, she could hear the slow rhythmic thump that she knew belonged to Ishtar but nothing else.
Asha made sure to cover the entire apartment, noticing Ishtar laying on the couch at a weird angle. the raven-haired vampire's deep breathing and steady thumping heart told the redhead that she was simply passed out.
the sweep complete, Asha kneeled next to her former sire and a delicate hand under the collar of her shirt. The vampire squeezed against the elder's trapezius muscle stimulating the accessory nerve, jolting Ishtar out if her unconscious state.
the brunette vampire sat up abruptly, blinking to clear the haze from her vision "Asha? W-what the hell happened? where's Alex?"Â she looked around trying to catch a glimpse of the blonde but the flaring daylight flooding into the apartment made her wince in pain, hand shooting out to clutch her head.
Asha moved quickly, shut the blinds, then in a flash sat next to Ishtar "I was hoping you could tell me, Ishtar"
the elder shook her head "I...I don't know Asha, I don't remember much after Alex joined us in the kitchen" her brows furrowed in concentration, she tried to recall what happened after the two left but she was drawing up blanks. no matter how hard Ishtar tried to remember, all she could muster were distant feelings and incoherent thoughts that only aggravated the pounding that resided in her skull.
Asha sighed loudly and reached for the phone clipped onto her belt. She needed to get amira on the line and three rings later the woman in question answered with worry lacing her voice "what's taking you so long Asha? you should have been back here already! Â everyone is getting antsy and Anna Lee is a few seconds away from a vasovagal episode" Amira rushed out in one breath, everyone wanted to get all of this over with so they could put it behind them, Amira couldn't imagine what was keeping the trio.
"Amira..." Asha tried to interrupt the Arabian princess "Amira, listen!" the vampire snapped but caught herself before she said anything else. she exhaled loud enough for Amira to hear it on the other end of the line "I think Gabriel took Alex, Ishtar was passed out cold when I got here and she can't remember anything that happened after we left them alone" the redheaded elder pinched the bridge of her nose, eyes shut tight as she spoke. her jaw was hard-set "tell everyone to be ready, we move as soon as I get there with Ishtar. Shoot to kill, I want that bastard's head on a silver platter".
Rage flooded her system; she hadn't felt this kind of anger surge through her since her earlier years as a mortal, years she'd tried so hard to forget ever happened.
Ishtar seemed to notice this shift in Asha's mood and hurried to her feet "Please little one, I need you to breath right now. Don't let the anger consume you, don't let it control you" the elder pleaded with her sired but all Asha could see was tinges of red. she yearned to see Gabriel's blood stain her fingers as she crushes his heart with her bare hands.
her eyes unfocused, unblinking, the redheaded vampire reattached the phone to her belt and spun towards her sire "we need to go Ishtar, everyone is waiting for us at the compound, Zhi-ming and Cheyenne can take a look at you and make sure you haven't uffered something permanent"
Ishtar looked deeply into the other woman's eyes but she could see nothing more than the emptiness that was consuming Asha. The raven-haired woman knew that if Asha were to face Gabriel like this, she would surely die.
Before she could say anything else, try to persuade Asha to calm down before she does something she will regret later on, the redhead had taken off with hurried steps and was already out the door and halfway down the first flight of stairs.
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vasovagal episode: also known as vasovagal syncope which occurs when you faint because your body overreacts to certain triggers, such as the sight of blood or extreme emotional distress.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
happy reading my lovelies!
~Reddy~