AN: ::brushes off the dust::
Chapter Ten: Don't Hold Me Up
Imy let out a satisfied yawn as she patted her stomach, strolling easily into the school building for afternoon classes. Lunch with Dwier had been surprisingly pleasant. The sushi had been great, and despite the fact that the conversation was somewhat lacking, Imy found it refreshing that someone could listen to her endless babble without flinching. Dwier was an excellent listener, and a rather nice guy underneath the several layers of social hostility.
Imy stretched her arms out over her head, a pout on her face as she surveyed the hallways. They were completely empty, something she found a little bit odd. Even though she was late coming back from lunch, it was only by five minutes or so, there should still have been a few lingering students hanging about.
"What's up with this place," she grumbled, strolling leisurely to her math class.
"Excuse me." Imy heard called out behind her, she ignored it, figuring that whoever it was wasn't directing the comment at her.
"Excuse me!" The call was a bit more persistent this time around, and Imy slowed her step, boots swerving to look behind her.
She almost wished that she hadn't.
The first thing that stood out about the girl was her eyes. Piercing, dark, and cold. She couldn't forget that stare if she tried. The long dark hair, the seemingly pale skin, the frigid aura hanging around her-
"You," Imy said softly, her eyes going wide and her jaw relaxing.
The girl across from her smiled, something dangerous flicking across her eyes, "Me." She said, and Imy noted the accent.
"You're the one from Erebus," Imy trailed off dumbly, "The one who-"
"Yes," said the girl who looked almost a year or two younger than her, the ethereal quality about her from the previous night gone, replaced with a cheery, almost impish and completely fake teenage persona, "My name's Esme. Can we talk?"
Imy's throat went dry, her eyes darting around the deserted hallway and then back to her impromptu savior from Erebus. "Okay." She said guardedly.
---
The final bell for school that day rang, and Riley stood up slowly, cracking her neck from side to side as she prepared to leave the classroom. She wasn't looking forward to the school day ending, knowing that a fat stack of homework, and even more importantly, another grueling session of training with Jimena and the others was in store. A tiny little groan escaped from her chapped lips as she pushed her chair in and headed for the exit.
She weaved around the crowds of departing students, her mind blocking out emotions absently. A wry smile crept up her normally blank face. That was one thing she had to be thankful of Jimena's sessions for. The prolonged meditations had helped her to 'filter' out emotions, and a normal person's feelings were easy to shove off to the side.
"Hey, Riley!" She heard yelled out as she made her way towards the bicycle racks where she always met her foster brother to walk home.
Confused, she turned around, surprised to see Jake chasing after her.
"Jake?" She muttered, almost disbelieving her eyes as she saw her friend and the drummer for The Discards jogging up to her, the metal chains on his pants jingling with every step, "What are you doing here?"
Jake Germain, despite being seventeen, wasn't enrolled at Turney High. He went to a specialized school for the arts across down, due to his talent in not only percussion but screenwriting. Since his dad had the payroll to support the ridiculously high tuition costs of the place, he had dropped public education all together. Twiggy, likewise, wasn't enrolled at Turney anymore, but for entirely different reasons. He had dropped out, seeing as the Strings class he shared with Riley was the only one he bothered showing up to.
The drummer came to an easy halt in front of the empath, a slight hitch to his breathing from not only the quick jog but the excited air about him. Riley's eyes narrowed, not sure what to make of the feelings of anticipation around her friend.
"I decided to stop by here after I spoke with Killian," he said finally, a goofy smile on his face that seemed not to fit all the way.
"Really?" Despite her normally reserved attitude, a flutter of hope flew through her chest. Killian could mean new instruments.
"Stuff's coming in a week. Sorry," Jake said quickly, connecting the dots she had made, "But he booked us at a club for a solid g."
Riley blinked.
"A g, Riley," Jake emphasized, not sure if she was following him, "For one night."
She blinked again, "A G?"
Jake rolled his eyes, muttering something about clueless bookworms that Riley didn't quite catch, "A thousand dollars."
She immediately felt her heart drop in her stomach, "A thousand…" Instantly, she noticed that Jake's aura had fluctuated slightly, unease making itself clear along with his anticipation, "What's wrong?"
Jake shifted his weight from foot to foot, uncomfortably rubbing the back of his neck, "I'm not sure if we'll actually see it. The venue isn't exactly legit."
Suspicion made its way onto Riley's face, "What's the venue?"
Jake frowned, "Some place named Air Bus, they want us to headline for some band called-"
"No." Riley cut off almost immediately, her voice stern and resolved, "Tell him to cancel."
His face fell, "What? We can't tell him to cancel a thousand dollar gig-!"
Riley's mouth pressed into a grim line, "I played there last weekend with Round Table," at this, Jake gave a disgusted snort that Riley pretended to ignore, "There's no way I'm setting foot in that club again." She didn't mention how the feeling of something dark crawling under skin hadn't completely faded from memory, or how the very air in that place was enough to give her a panic attack. Plus, Erebus more than likely meant Tymmie. A shudder made its way through her when she remembered the sadistic taunts he had made about Trysten.
She also didn't mention that she definitely did not want Imy going back. Not after last time. It would be like throwing a bleeding person in shark infested waters.
"Riley, it's a thousand dollars for one night, I already told Twiggy-"
Riley gave the rare hiss of frustration, if Twiggy knew about the price tag on the set, she would have to pry the gig from his money-grubbing, dead fingers. "You told Twiggy." She said in her infamous monotone.
Jake nodded, the chain from his nose to earlobe bouncing with the motion, "He has his heart set on it."
The empath frowned, not liking where this was going, "Did Killian ask why they were willing to pay double our normal fee?"
"No, but the stage manager over there said that she caught one of our shows at RockOut and felt it would be good for the atmosphere…or something," Jake said with a bit of a strain in his voice, obviously trying to recall the exact wording.
"I bet," she mumbled deadpan. Two Daughters parading around on stage in front of tens, possibly hundreds, of hungry Followers was definitely a perk to the club's entertainment.
"So you'll play?" Jake asked hopefully. After all, it was a little difficult to separate Riley's tone from sarcasm and monotone.
She shook her head, her voice softening, "I can't. And if you insist, then I'm afraid you'll have to find another guitarist to play."
Jake felt his resolve crumble slightly, "Aw, Riley, c'mon, don't be like that."
She gave a halfhearted shrug. "Sorry," she replied without much spirit.
The drummer sighed, "You know I won't play without you. Imy won't, either."
Riley gave a brief smile, "Twiggy's welcome to try being the one man band."
Jake snorted, running his fingers through his mohawk, "Get him drunk enough, he'll probably do it."
Riley's smile grew slightly, and Jake laughed along at the mental image.
"Oy, Riley!" Came the undeniable voice of Carlos as he made his way over.
Riley gave a sorrowful look at her friend, "I have to get going. Jimena has me doing…volunteer work after school."
Jake sighed heavily, giving her a hair ruffle goodbye. Riley tried not to flinch at the contact, and failed miserably. Jake let out a bark of laughter, "Alright. Take it easy Riley."
"Goodbye."
Jake slowly made his way over to his van, which Riley now noticed was parked in the teachers' lot. She gave a wry half-smile, and turned to face her brother of sorts.
"Who was that?" Carlos asked as he fell into step next to Riley.
"Jake, our drummer."
"Is he your boy~friend?" Carlos sing-songed as they began walking.
"No." Riley said flatly.
"Riley and Jake, sitting in a tree-"
Riley sighed heavily.
"Just making up for an entire childhood of not picking on you," he said easily, to which Riley rolled her eyes as the foster siblings made their way to Jimena's.
"Where's Aria?" Riley asked quietly, as her fellow Daughter and Carlos's girlfriend was supposed to be at Jimena's practice as well.
"Something about babysitting, she'll be there, but she'll be late," Carlos said easily, he looked at Riley and noticed her disbelieving stare, "What? It's not like she'll flake or anything. Aria'd never bail out on practice-"
The disbelief gained a knowing edge, "Oh really?"
Carlos sent her a confused stare, "What?"
Riley just looked down at her feet, "Never mind."
The conversation ending, the two continued to walk in a comfortable silence.
---
"Spill," Imy said bluntly as she stared down the girl who was probably only thirteen or fourteen, her hip jutting out at an angle and her arms crossed over her chest in an intimidating fashion.
"Calm down," the girl said, her bubbly façade of a personality tossed aside as she stared down the teleporter with equal attitude, her own hands resting on her hips, "I'm here to help you, Imy."
Imy snorted, "That's the thing, I have no idea who you are! I've never even met you before that night at Erebus!"
"Keep your voice down," the girl, 'Esme', scolded, eyes darting around the scenery, "We may be secluded but sound carries, and I'm sure you don't want your classmates learning about your special after school project."
The two girls were currently outside behind Turney's Smoker's Alley, far behind the actual smoking spots, where Imy and the other Daughters normally held their special occasions, like the picnic celebrating everyone's return from the hospital a few months ago. It was a rather desolate spot, which was good, because Imy intended on shouting. A lot.
"Whatever, answer my questions. How do you know Tymmie? How do you know my name? How did you do that frosty cold thing? Why are you here to help me? How-"
"Perhaps it would be easier for me to answer your questions if you took breaths between them," Esme commented drolly with a roll of her eyes. "First things first, as I told you, my name's Esme. I don't know Tymmie, only of him, and that will not be changing anytime soon if I have something to say about it. His kind are repulsive."
Imy rose her pierced eyebrow, "So you know about Followers?"
She could hear the condescension dripping off her words, "Of course I know about Followers. For someone who wants answers, you're awfully intent on rushing me."
Imy lowered her gaze to her boots, "Sorry," she muttered not fully sincerely.
Esme huffed, tossing her glossy hair over her shoulder, "Anyways, as I was saying, my name is Esme, and I'm a Follower-"
Imy burst up from her sitting position, "Ah ha!"
"-of Ananke."
She sat back down, "A nun key?"
Esme gave a despairing sigh, "Ananke, the Goddess of Destiny, surely your Magna Mater told you about her."
Imy racked her brain, she vaguely remembered a story about the mother of the three Fates, but she had been distracted towards the end of it, mainly because she was in the middle of a very interesting nap-
"From the vacant, slightly embarrassed expression, I'm going to assume that you don't remember it," Esme said calmly, the first tugs of a smile crawling on her face.
Imy looked back down at her feet, "Whatever. Explain what this has to do with me."
"I was once a Daughter of the Moon."
Well, whatever Imy had been expecting, it certainly hadn't been that. She almost fell out of her seat, "A Daughter of the-?"
"Yes. Well, at least, I had the potential to become one. The Atrox got to me first, before the Magna Mater, her name was Penelope back then, had a chance to tell me about my destiny."
"So you are a Follower?"
Esme's eyes narrowed, "No. I was crossed over, but Ananke intervened because that was not meant to be my destiny. I have Immortality, but not the need to take other's hope."
"Sounds like a load of bull," Imy commented delicately.
Esme groaned, "Look, I really don't care if you believe my story or not, but I'm telling you the truth out of your best interest. You're in grave danger."
Imy gave an exasperated toss of her hands, "Of course I am! Great, just great. Nothing like some weird little girl with a hokey-at best- backstory, no offense, saying my life's in danger when I have finals coming up and enough stress to feed a rhinoceros."
Esme frowned, "There's no need for dramatics," she looked down at a watch on her wrist, "Look, I don't have a whole lot of time, so I'm going to simplify the situation for you."
"Oh please, make sure to pronounce every syllable slowly, like you're talking to a third grader," Imy said snottily, "Who says I even believe you?"
"You have no reason not to, I did save your life a few nights ago," she said pointedly.
Well, then. That shut her up.
"Now, hopefully without any rude interruptions, if you would kindly let me tell you why Ananke sent me to protect you."
Imy gave a tight nod, "Fine."
"I suppose there's no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to say it. Your father's a half-demon."
Oh, that was rich. She couldn't help the giggles and snorts that escaped her.
"Yeah, I'm sure. A demon of what, paper work? Alphabetical filing systems?" She said.
"No, the legends say he was sired by some sort of demon from the depths of hell itself, one that has the power to bend space and time, a power that Evil, The Atrox in particular, would greatly covet," a meaningful look crossed her eyes, "You can see why my Goddess Ananke can't allow this."
"You're completely crazy," Imy said flatly, moving to sit up, "My dad has problems bending his stress ball. You've made a mistake."
"Kyle Ormond, married to Catty Turner, formerly a Daughter of the Moon," Esme rattled off without preamble, causing Imy to slow in her tracks, "Your birth date? April 23rd, 2011. You've been seeing, unwisely, might I add, a former servus that goes by the alias Arthur King, and you are able to teleport. Your comrades are Riley Zalank, an empath, Tessa Lockland, an illusionist, and Aria-"
Numbly, Imy sat back down into her seat, "Perhaps you've got the right girl. Either way, what you're saying makes no sense."
"Well, if you could sustain your childish outbursts for a mere moment, I would be more than happy to enlighten you," Esme said calmly.
Imy inhaled, trying to summon up those patience exercises Jimena had to practically beat into her, "Alright…even though I highly suspect bullshit."
Esme looked like she wanted to retort, but wisely bit down her tongue, "Fair enough. I'm sure it must be a huge wave of new information to process, and I apologize for my bluntness, but time is of the essence. The Atrox has sent one of its best hunters from the Cinti to either capture your power, or…destroy you."
Imy paled, "What? Why?"
"It believes that you have the potential to harness your father's gifts, seeing as your inherited power from Selene is eerily similar to your mother's."
Imy tried really hard to stop the glazed over look in her eyes, "This makes no sense. They think I have my dad's-" she stopped the snort of incredulousness this time, "-powers because my Daughter powers are like my mom's?"
Esme frowned, "I'm not to clear on it myself, but my orders state that the demonic abilities worked in conjunction with time travel, sort of like an enhanced teleportation gift. That, as you see, could pose a serious headache on my Mother Goddess, as well as your own."
"How so?" Imy said carefully.
"Think about it," Esme said, struggling to simplify this even further, "If the Atrox were able to control time, to make certain things never happen, this war, and Ananke's plan for it, is going to have a severe lopsided advantage." She paused, blue eyes darkening, "They want you turned, Imy. And I, as an agent of Destiny, cannot allow that."
Imy rolled her eyes yet again, "There's no way I'm going to believe that there's going to be some Cinti member coming to Los Angeles after my ass."
"She's already here," Esme said coldly.
Imy blinked, "She?"
The girl nodded, "You know her. The Atrox has had her by your side for years, a tool to get you to succumb to your inner darkness, to provoke the worst of feelings inside of you."
She paled, the gears in her head frantically turning.
Esme cleared her throat delicately, "She goes by Tatum."
The gears in her head ground to a halt, "Tatum?"
Esme lowered her gaze respectfully, "Yes, I understand that it must be difficult to accept that one of your childhood friends was meant to destroy you-"
"I knew she was Spawn! I freaking KNEW IT!" Imy jeered almost happily, "Man, I am so glad I punched that bitch in the face!"
Esme blinked owlishly, "I beg your pardon?"
"Tatum's been a pain in the ass since forever, it all makes perfect sense now!" Imy said, her previous skepticism quickly discarded in favor of this new discovery. "Do we get to take her down?"
Esme coughed in her hand, "Well, I suppose, I was sent to guard you from harm-"
"Awesome, teach me how to kick her sorry ass," Imy said, dead serious.
Esme could only stare at the teleporter in a sort of confused horror, "This is no laughing matter!"
"Who's laughing?" Imy said, a hint of danger lurking behind her stare, "Tatum's made my life hell, and now that I know why, there's nothing standing in my way from taking her out."
Esme cleared her throat, digesting this, "If you insist…I could teach you a few meditations to counter the Cinti member's."
Imy nodded, "Meditations are my specialty," she said with two fingers crossed behind her back.
---
The second hand on the clock went at an agonizing pace as five pairs of eyes stared at it.
"Did you leave a message?" Tessa asked for about the fourth time as she, Aria, Riley, Carlos, and Jimena sat in the Magna Mater's living room, waiting with excruciating patience for their final member to arrive.
"Several," Jimena said dryly, impatience coating her tone as she all but glared at the clock, to her phone, to the clock again.
Aria rolled her eyes in aggravation, "Ugh, if Imy gets to play hooky, I definitely should be able to. My parents needed a sitter tonight," she said with a rather pointed look.
"Oh, trust me, Imy is going to have severe consequences for ditching," Jimena said, and a collective shudder went through all of the teenagers in the room.
"I'm sure she's just caught up with something," Tessa compromised, even though that 'something' had already lasted about two hours, "Riley, try calling Art or something. Maybe she just lost track of time."
Aria rolled her eyes with a scoff, "Typical."
Riley said nothing, but her hands dialed the numbers on the phone in her hand, and she pressed the receiver to her ear. A few seconds passed, then, "Art? Yes. No. Yes. Alright then."
She hung up the phone, and everyone blinked at the rather blunt conversation.
Riley stared at them all flatly, "Imy's not with him."
Carlos looked at his mom, "What now?"
Jimena glared sourly, "Now you all get to pick up her slack. Be sure to thank Imy personally for the extra hour of training you'll all have to do."
"What!" Aria hissed, "That's so unfair!"
"I don't play fair, and neither will the Atrox," Jimena said tensely, "Now assume the meditation poses."
Aria pouted, "But-!"
"Assume them!"
A very cranky silence was her response as the Healer crossed her legs and closed her eyes, muttering a few choice words for the teleporting goddess under her breath. Tessa also looked heavily annoyed, an expression that was replicated on Riley's face due to her picking up the negativity in the room.
Carlos whistled happily, as he prepared to leave the apartment, "Well, I'll leave you ladies to it then. I'm going to go surfing-"
"The hell you are," Jimena said flatly, her bad mood increasing, "Sit down."
Carlos blinked, "But isn't this, like, chick stuff-?"
"Sit. Down."
Carlos practically squeaked, "Sitting!" As he awkwardly assumed the same position next to Aria.
Jimena watched as the Daughters minus Imy began to enter the trances that the meditations provided, a frown growing on her features as she eyed Imy's empty spot.
---
A bright, white circle appeared above Imy's bed before one very exhausted teleporter toppled out of it onto her pillows. Imy gave an exaggerated yawn, she was dead tired. Esme had forced her to do grueling meditation sessions, sitting still for more than three seconds, let alone three hours, was enough of a daunting task for the very energetic Daughter.
She rolled onto her side, letting out a relieved breath of air as she faced her alarm and let her eyes drift closed in slumber.
Before surrendering to the dark corners of her consciousness, she couldn't help but feel as if she had forgotten something.
---
AN: It's probably weird to read this, but please bear with me while I write the transitioning chapter…it's been a while hehe :o)
I apologize for the delay!! Thanks to anyone still reading!