Chapter 26

The vehicle came to a screeching halt and all eyes turned to Kenzi. Her white eyes were frightening. Kenzi gave Bo a sideways glance when she scrambled to Lauren's side to check on her. Lauren appeared ok, she rubbed her shoulder where she'd hit the window, but other than that, she was alright.

"Kenzi." Bo said quickly. Kenzi's head cocked to the side slightly and she smiled.

"Sorry, no Kenzi here. She's a fighter that one. Tried her hardest to keep me out, she almost succeeded too, until she let down her wall that is. And guess who made her do that." she stretched her hand out and tapped Dyson's nose before she leaned back and crossed her legs, sitting as if nothing was wrong with this situation.

"Sweet Kenzi, she's so strong and hard headed. Oh god she cares about you people so much it's nauseating." Leila tossed her head back and groaned. Bo took her chance, she leapt forward and wrapped her hand around Kenzi's throat.

"Bo no!" Dyson shouted. Leila stared at Bo and her eerie smile didn't disappear.

"Get out of her, now." Bo growled right in her face.

"You're not hurting me Bo, you're hurting her." Leila said. Bo's face softened and her hand fell away. Leila moved so quickly Dyson didn't even see it. Her hand wrapped in Bo's hair and she shoved her face into the side window.

"Don't you ever put your filthy Fae hands on her again." Leila released Bo and she turned quickly toward Dyson. Her long fingers gripped the back of his neck and she jerked his face toward hers.

"Dyson, handsome Dyson." she purred his name and put her lips next to his ear, pressing her cheek to his.

"So many feelings rushing through Kenzi's body. She wants you, mmmm, I can still feel your body on top of her, writhing, panting. Oh but it's not just sex is it?" she leaned back and stared at him.

"No, not just sex. She loves you. It's sickening how much she wants to be with you. All she wants is reassurance. She needs to know you care about her the way you cared about Bo. Jealous little thing isn't she?" Leila released Dyson.

"What do you want Leila?" Trick asked.

"I want out!" she shouted and her eyes narrowed.

"I don't want to be locked inside this body. I want out of her. Do you see these bruises?" Leila lifted Kenzi's shirt to show the fist sized bruising as well as the bruises that looked like fingers.

"I don't want to hurt Kenzi. I may despise you Fae, but I love humans, all my life human's have provided me with a place to live, to thrive, and I'm a parasite. I kill them slowly and painfully and once I'm inside them, the only way out is death." She sat back against the window and frowned. Dyson felt like she was telling the truth.

"Why don't you possess Fae, they are much stronger. Maybe they could deal with your strength?" Tamsin asked. Leila snorted and chuckled.

"Don't you think I've tried that? Something about you Fae doesn't allow me to take over your body. Even with humans I don't fully take over. Only for a short amount of time can I be in control."

"Why is Aros after you? Why do you have so many enemies?" Hale asked.

"A long time ago I did something terrible. But that's a story for another time." she waved him off.

"Please, tell us why you're hiding. It may help us figure out how to get your out." Lauren reasoned with Leila and finally she sighed and nodded.

"Before all of you were born, the Fae were known by different names. Witches or demons they were called. Everyone feared them, rightfully so. The Fae killed all humans they encountered. The humans were forced to build walls around their homes, quarantine everything that entered for days, just to see if it would change into the feared beasts. Eventually the humans grew tired of the dangerous Fae, so a new race was created to fight them, to keep them from killing the humans. The Fae with the most desirable traits were captured, their eggs, and sperm were taken and used along with humans in order to create beings so powerful even the strongest of the Fae feared them. These new creatures were trained and taught to fight, and then they were sent out to hunt the Fae and kill them. So they did, they drove your people to near extinction. The Fae became like the humans, hiding away in fear of these beings. The humans called them Angels, Gods, but the Fae had another name for them, a more realistic name, The Sphinx, which is what I am. The human's worshiped us because we protected them. My people quickly became complacent because we thought the threat was gone. That's when Aros decided to attack. He dispatched the remaining Fae to the villages. They murdered humans by the dozens, broke into the homes of the Sphinx's and killed entire families, women, children. I was just a young child when the massacre happened. After I watched them kill my family, I barely escaped with a group of humans. I grew up despising the Fae that had murdered my family, and when I grew old enough, I finally learned the name of the man who controlled the Fae, Aros. I was furious, a petulant child if you will. So I sought him out, I discovered he had a family similar to mine, a wife, three sons. I tracked him, I killed his bodyguards one by one, I made him fear for his life, and then I stopped, I let him think he was safe again, that's when I broke into his home and murdered his family. I should have killed him, it was stupid of me not to, instead I threatened him and left. He's been hunting me every since. I have been running for as long as I can remember. He caught up to me once, and when I knew he was about to kill me I discovered the ability to move from my own body and into another. Every since then, I've changed bodies frequently, sucking their lives away like a leech and then moving on. He hasn't caught up with me yet, but he's always right on my coattails." she took a deep breath and sighed, covering her face with her hands and rubbing her temples.

"Look, I don't want to hurt your friend. She reminds me of myself so much, strong, hard headed, sarcastic, sweet, loving, and caring. But I can't figure out how to leave these bodies until right before they die. I've been doing this for as long as I can remember and I haven't figured it out. Trust me, I've tried, but I don't know how. I'm only forced to make an appearance when my host is hurt or in danger. That's why I hit and react the way I do when people hurt her. I know what I'm doing inside her body and I don't want damage done to the outside. I'll keep my appearances away because I want you all to have as much time with her as possible. I can feel how much she cares for you all and how much she trusts you guys. So I guess that means I have to trust you also. I'm sorry." She nodded to Bo and Lauren.

"You're a sphinx." Trick said in awe, Dyson was in awe as well. He'd heard the stories of the old days, but he'd never met a creature from that time, let alone the creatures that had protected the human race and kept them alive.

"Take care of her." Leila said.

"Wait!" Lauren shouted. Leila's white eyes fixed on Lauren.

"You said you've been doing this for as long as you remember, in all that time did anyone ever do anything that helped the human body, even momentarily. We can buy her time until we figure this out." Lauren asked quickly. Leila sighed and shook her head slowly, but then Dyson saw something, a spark of hope. She smiled, and it wasn't eerie at all.

"You're a succubus right?" Leila asked. Bo nodded quickly.

"Give her chi, not constantly, but whenever she grows weak, give it to her. It will make her stronger for a few days and keep her alive. I don't know what you all can learn that I haven't, but good luck." Her eyes flashed back to blue and Kenzi crumpled to the pillows.