Notes:
- English is my second language, please forgive me for any mistakes.
- This fic is a sequel for my previous fics, For You and In The Daylight. I recommend reading them both before starting this one.
- Hope you enjoy it, your reviews and likes are always appreciated.
Kamilah
Kamilah sighed as she looked down to her watch, noticing the meeting was taking longer than expected. She was ten minutes late and every minute counted when time was so limited.
After signing the contracts, she went straight to her office and locked the door. Interruptions were not allowed. She sat on the couch and opened the video-chat software on her laptop, as Lily taught her. However, who she was expecting wasn't online yet.
She rolled her eyes and started reminiscing about the last few months.
"You gotta let me know," Amy said, taking notes. "Do you want a small or a big wedding?"
"It's up to you to make this kind of decision."
"Kamilah, I know you. You'd hate a big wedding."
"Well… You have kind of a numerous family. And a lot of friends too."
Amy chuckled and shook her head.
"You want it small, right?"
"Maybe?" She gave Amy a suggestive look.
"And I want…" Amy pressed her lips on hers, "what my fianceé wants."
After returning from Japan, Amy immediately started with the wedding plans. They'd get married at their one year anniversary, in five months. Kamilah left it up to her to make most of the decisions. Her company, Ahmanet Financial, was showing a significantly growth lately. With a bunch of new clients and projects in hands, she didn't have much time to help.
It was Thanksgiving when she agreed to go with Amy to her hometown. Surprisingly, Amy's parents were acting kind and supportive of their relationship. Were they really starting to accept it? Kamilah feared it was too good to be true.
The confirmation came right after dinner, when Amy's mother handed her an envelope. An acceptance letter from an University in London, for a Marketing course she had applied before moving New York.
At first, Amy was confused.
"I don't get it, first they rejected me and now, one year later, they changed their minds?"
"That would be a good impulse on Amy's carreer," her mother added. "Don't you think, Kamilah?"
At that time she decided to agree. It was a trick, she knew. Amy's mother was trying to put them against each other and she wouldn't fall into that trap. She knew Amy wouldn't go after all. She was satisfied with her job at Ahmanet Financial and the wedding was her main priority now. But apparently she didn't know her fianceé so well as she imagined.
"It's only three months," Amy said. "Time flies. Sooner than you think, I'll be back."
In the first month, Kamilah visited her twice. Then, it became unbearable because of her roomates, who wouldn't give them enough privacy. They used to chat through video-call everyday. But in the last couple weeks Amy was too busy with her final exams, rarely having any time for her fianceé.
When Kamilah checked her watch again, it was almost 6 PM. What meant Amy wouldn't be calling again. For the third time in a week.
Her phone started buzzing on the desk. A text from Lysimachus.
Council meeting tonight. 10 PM.
I can't. Twin favor? Last time, I promise.
It's something of your concern this time. You need to come.
Lysimachus had been attending every Council meeting in her place since Amy's departure. They weren't important, not for Kamilah at least. Adrian wanted to meet them often to keep an eye on The Baron, Priya and Lester. After Jameson's betrayal, any of three could easily become Gaius' next puppet.
She rolled her eyes and closed her laptop in a violent manner, ready to go home.
"I'm gonna need some alcohol before this."
Lysimachus
After denying being a vampire for so long, Lysimachus was finally embracing his condition. When his twin sister forced him to work at Raines Corporation, he wasn't happy. Until he learned he and Adrian could make a good team. They had similar views when it came to projects to make the world a better place. Secretly, they were also developing new weapons to use against Gaius.
At night, he would enjoy life like he was used to. Riding around New York City on his motorcycle or… in Priya's company. They knew how to have a lot of fun together.
He was about to go home when Adrian called him to his office. He had scheduled a Council meeting and requested his presence, along with Lily. They weren't Clan Leaders but recently, they were playing important roles in The Council's businesses.
"And there's one more thing," Adrian told, before he left. "Starting tomorrow, the room at the end of the corridor is yours."
"But that is…"
"Vice President of the Operations office? Yes. After Nicole, it took me a long time to pick someone. And now I know I can trust you…"
"Come on, man… You can't do this. Not only because I'm Kamilah's brother."
"It's not only because you're Kamilah's brother. You earned it."
Outside Adrian's office, the corners of his mouth curled up in a smile and he celebrated.
Kamilah got him an apartment in the same building as hers. Althought it was spaceful, luxurious and comfortable, it could be quite annoying, considering how controlling his sister was still acting. When he opened the door, she was already sitting on his couch with a drink in hands.
"Kamilah? What are you doing here?"
"I couldn't stand being alone in that penthouse for another minute. I was deadly bored."
"Did you finish watching all the shows Amy recommended you?"
"Long time ago."
After pouring himself a drink, he joined her at the couch, where she suddently frowned at him.
"Come on, you need to attend the meeting for me. It's the last time, I promise."
"Adrian said he wants you to be there."
They both finished their drinks in silence. Lysimachus noticed how tense his sister looked. Amy probably had no time to call her again and even though she was fighting hard to hide it, he knew it was breaking her heart. They were supposed to be getting married in the next few weeks, but would they be able to repair their relationship in time, after being so distant from each other?
Later, they walked together to Raines Corporation. Kamilah checking her phone occasionally to see if Amy had texted her. When they arrived, the meeting hadn't started yet.
"Hey, here's the sister of the new VP of Operations," Adrian greeted as he saw Kamilah.
"What?" She gave Lysimachus a suprised look, before wrapping her arms around his waist and hug him tighly. "Brother! You didn't tell me…"
"Yeah… I was going to invite you for a celebration after the meeting," he lied. It sounded unfair to deliver such good news when his sister was going through a bad phase.
"Somebody said celebration?" The elevator doors dinged open, Priya passed through them with a smirk on her face. Her fingers gently touched his cheeks. "What are we celebrating?"
After glancing at Kamilah, who was about to unleash all her rage at Priya, Lysimachus cleared his throat.
"I've been promoted as the new VP of Operations."
"Well, if you want…" she leaned closer, whispering in his ear, "we can celebrate later. In my house."
She walked away, headed to the conference room.
"She's going to get you killed someday," Kamilah angered. "And this time, I'll not spend centuries mourning your death. You know why? Because it'll be entirely your fault!"
He let out a sigh and left to join the others at the conference room. He knew it was useless to argue with his sister. While she was right about Priya being somehow dangerous, he knew exactly how to play her game. The Fashion Designer was the last of his concerns in that moment.
Kamilah
Kamilah couldn't force herself to pay attention on the meeting. Between his brother's involvement with Priya and Amy not calling for the third night in a row, her mind was far away.
"We've lost track of him."
At first her mind didn't connect the dots, but after a wave of panic struck all the other Clan Leaders, Adrian's words finally started to make sense. She felt a shiver going down her spine.
"You incompetent pig!" The Baron slammed his fist on the table. "I told you we should've ambushed him when we had the opportunity, but you were too distracted developing your own secret little plan."
"The Baron is right," Lester shouted, "how do we know you're not serving him? You're starting to sound suspicious Adrian… What is it, huh? The loyal puppy is returning to his King?"
"Do you mean…" Priya's eyes were wide in fear, "h-he could be anywhere? Like… my place or my studio?"
Lysimachus asked them to be silent, what they protested. Not all members of The Council were willing to accept him as a member and trust his loyality. It didn't seem to affect him though. Kamilah knew he was working with Adrian, monitoring Gaius inside the library and developing a plan to take him down for once. After all, he spent centuries studying his weaknesses.
She stayed in silence, sharing a long gaze with her twin brother. Suddently, Amy not calling didn't seem so important anymore, for the first time in almost a century she was scared. Truly scared. She knew what Gaius was capable of. She witnessed him doing the most horrible things to mortals and other vampires.
"You too… My Queen?"
The look he gave her when she stabbed him in the chest came back to her mind. Gaius never expected her betrayal. For this reason, he should be planning a painful and elaborated revenge. She needed to be ready. She couldn't waste any more time with minor distractions.
"We should've done something sooner," she told Lysimachus after the meeting ended.
"We? Pardon me, sister, but you refused to listen a single word about this in the past few months. Only now you're showing concern?"
He had a point. She didn't even know what was their plan in first place. How could she be so negligent at this point? They could've ambushed Gaius in the library when he was still in a desiccated stage. That was an advantage they had. Now, his powers should be fully recovered.
"Adrian thought it wasn't a good idea," Lysimachus explained when she questioned. "Put him back in the sarcophagus and it'd be a matter of time until someone set him free again. We were trying to figure out a way to destroy him."
"And?"
"And now we have nothing, and Gaius is out there. Just getting ready to strike. Simple as that."
She watched as her brother left through the door, being so worried as she was.
Amy
Maybe it was the stress, or the hangover, but when Amy woke up in the morning something felt… weird. She was having one of those crazy dreams again, but she couldn't quite remember this time. Something about a powerful witch, researching for an immortality elixir in a very old village.
"I should ask Kamilah about it," was the first though that came to her mind… followed by the realization that she slept way more than she should. "Oh no! Kamilah."
Desperately, she grabbed her phone at the bedside table. It had passed 8 a.m.
"It means it's 3 a.m. in New York, if I'm lucky she's still up…" she went to her computer, Kamilah was offline. Then Amy tried to call her cellphone and it went straight to the voicemail. She had turned it off. On purpose, of course. Kamilah's cellphone was never turned off.
She had a class at 9 and she still needed to take a shower and hide the mess she was looking like. Again, she allowed her new friends to drag her for one of their wild parties and she hated herself for that. Before the shower, she left a message on Kamilah's voicemail, apologizing for not calling her in the previous night.
"I fell asleep… after hours of intense studying," she was too embarrassed at herself to tell the truth. "Please, call me as soon as you can."
Once she finished, she tried the best to not be late, but her roomates wouldn't stop arguing over who took the other's yogurt and expected her to side with one of them. It was like living the whole college experience for a second time, except that she was getting tired of it.
"It's only a few days, Amy. Then you'll finally go home."
It was hard to stay focused on class. Her eyelids were getting heavy, her vision was getting blurred… Amy decided to take another nap. The possibility of knowing further about Kamilah's past and eras she lived through was the only reason why she was taking that extra class about Ancient History. It wasn't important. She had all the grades she needed to conclude the course.
Before she knew, she was in one of those dreams again, but at this time she could barely see anything around her. Everything was dark, in an old, crumbling temple. But she could hear voices. They sounded like some kind of cult. Some of the words echoed inside her mind repeatedly.
"The time has come… our fate will be sealed… we must awake our… Intruder!"
After saying 'Intruder' they all turned around and stared at her, with their hypnotized eyes. They started coming in her direction, attempting to reach her but they couldn't. An invisible wall was stopping them. She heard a voice calling her name, she still tried to run, but her feet wouldn't move…
"Help," she tried to scream, wondering if anybody could listen. That was when the voice called her name again.
"Ms. Parker," she heard distantly.
She opened her eyes in a hurry. Looking around, the class was empty. She was the only one sitting there. She and the teacher, who looked at her with a frowned expression and crossed arms.
"M-Mrs. Wright, I'm deeply sorry… I…"
"Partying too hard?" The blonde, tall woman approached. Standing right in front of her. "I've had your age, Ms. Parker. But I didn't expect this behavior from you. You're, so far, the most dedicated and brilliant student I've had in the last few years."
"A-Am I?" Amy couldn't believe what she was hearing.
The teacher answered with a nod.
"Actually, I've read your essay. Needless to say, once more you surprised me. Your research about the Ancient Egypt was exceptional. Some of the written information cannot be found in books, being known only among experts."
"I… My girlfriend is Egyptian so, she knows a lot," for some reason the word fianceé escaped from her mind, until she looked at the ring on her finger. "Fianceé," she corrected, but the teacher wasn't there to listen anymore.
She went to her desk to pick up Amy's essay. When she came back, she showed her the grade. A+. Amy grinned.
"But this isn't enough, Ms. Parker. I know my class has nothing to do with the Marketing course you're taking, but I'd like to make an offer. Extend your course and stay here for another three months. There's an important fair about Ancient History happening soon, maybe one of the biggest in Europe, and you will help me to organize it. Don't worry, it'll give you some extra credits."
"Another 3 months?" Amy asked. "I can't. Actually I need to come back to New York as soon as possible, I'm getting married in only a few weeks."
"Married?" The teacher let out a laugh. "At your age, Ms. Parker? It sounds… precipitated."
"Now you're starting to sound like my mom."
"Amy, I've been your age. And if you want to hear an advice, live your life at the fullest while you can. You're still young and you have a long road ahead of you. Getting married and being locked inside a financial company is how you imagine youself in the next few years?"
Amy didn't know how to explain why, but she accepted the teacher's offer. It was only three more months, right? If Kamilah truly loved her, she'd be supportive. After all, it would count on her career later. She'd coordinate the Marketing team of the fair. Mrs. Wright even offered her a place to stay, far away from her noisy roomates. Her fianceé would even be able to visit her again and stay longer, if she wanted to.
When she checked her cellphone, Kamilah hadn't returned the call yet. She called again, leaving another message.
"Kamilah, it's me again. Listen, I need to tell you something and I don't wanna do it over the phone. Would you come visit me this weekend? Call me."
Lysimachus
Lysimachus woke up in the morning with Kamilah yelling in the living room. As he rubbed his eyes, his mind recalled the reason why she was freaking out. Last night, when he arrived home, Priya was already waiting for him. Naked, on his bed. Although she said she wanted to celebrate his new position at Raines Corporation, he detected something different coming from her this time. She looked vulnerable and insecure. After a few shots, she finally confessed she was afraid of Gaius. Then she begged him to break their rule for one night. He decided to listen to her appeals, with one condition, she'd sleep on the couch.
"What part of 'she's going to get you killed' you failed to understand last night?" Kamilah stormed inside his bedroom, slamming the door behind her.
"Kamilah, nothing happened between us this time… she was only sleeping."
"Naked? On your couch?"
He nodded, knowing he'd have a hard time to convince his sister he was telling the truth.
"She's scared," he lowered his voice. "She thinks Gaius is going after her first because she's the weakest in The Council. Do you know how hard it was to make Priya spill those words? So… she's really being honest."
Kamilah rolled her eyes.
"You trust her way too much, brother. She isn't different from The Baron or Lester. After she came to New York, Adrian and I had a hard time too keep her on the line. Vega would let her do what she wanted and she was out of control. She never cared about the Pact. And there's all these rumors of people going missing after attending her parties. Someday she'll put the blame on you and this time, The Council will sentence you to death."
"I've heard all of that before," he sighed, "but I thought she could be an easy prey for Gaius to use next, that's why I approached her. I promise you, if I ever see her murdering anyone or violating the Pact somehow, I'm out."
He placed his hand on Kamilah's shoulders, lowering his head to look straight inside her eyes.
"Do you trust me?"
She rolled her eyes again.
"Alright, just… be careful."
"I am," he assured her again. "Now, what brings you here so early?"
Kamilah sat on the edge of his bed with an upset look on her face.
"It's Amy. She'll break up with me."
"Oh, how do you…"
She played the message on her voicemail for him to hear.
"Kamilah, it's me again. We need to talk, it's something important… Listen, I don't wanna do it over the phone. Would you come visit me this weekend? Call me."
Kamilah was not being excessively negative this time, she was right. In the best of the cases, Amy would only ask her to change the wedding's date.
"I'm sorry, sister," he sat next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Maybe she only needs more time. I mean, when she returns she can help you to plan the wedding."
"I already took care of everything. The place, the decoration, the buffet… Meanwhile, Gaius was escaping and I've put everyone in danger."
"It wasn't your fault. There was a voting and we all agreed to wait."
That was the only time Kamilah was opening up about her feelings and he could see she was devasted.
"What are you going to do now?"
"I'm going to London but… if anything happens, don't hesitate to call me. I'll return immediatelly."
Not so far away…
A figure slowly disappeared, going down the staircase leading to the dark basement of a bar. Making sure no one was following him, he knocked three times at the wooden door. Scholar Jameson invited him in.
"Why did it take you so long? The Master won't tolerate indiscipline."
"Don't worry, my dear Jameson," the male figure smirked and patted Jameson's shoulder, "once he hear the news I bring, he'll be truly satisfied."
After going to the center of the room, he kneeled and bowed his head, waiting for his Master's answer.
"I bring good news, My King.
"And what those news would be, Harvey, my most loyal soldier?"
"Everything is going according to the plan. The Council is aware of your disappearance and the blame? It's all on Adrian. According to my sources, he's lost as a caged animal."
"It's not Adrian I asked you to inform me about. What about Kamilah?"
"The girl hasn't returned yet. Kamilah doesn't show but… she's shaken. She has gone to London after her."
"Perfect. Push Kamilah a little bit further, as we planned…" Gaius approached touching the circular Brand on Harvey's upper arm. The Brand that represented Clan Sayeed. "Very soon My Queen will be here, begging for my forgiviness!"
Notes:
- Priya is possibly the weakest member of The Council, as The Baron was Turned by Gaius and she didn't. Quote from Chapter 14 (The Cabin): "each subsequent generation is less pure than the one before. Each generation removed from the original has more weaknesses and impurities". We don't know who Turned Jax to determine if he's stronger or weaker than Priya.
- Alternate ending for Memory Fragments is coming soon, I promise! I was really excited to post this fic first. I'm sorry.
