Chapter 8
Mandy walked into her room but something felt off. "When did we travel back?" She thought. "You didn't. You are dreaming." "Merrick?" Mandy says before turning around and see her sire and former lover. He say in a chair by her fireplace a warm smile on his face. "How?" Mandy asked stunned moving toward him. "You are dreaming my love. I've missed you," Merrick says looking at her. "And I've missed you… it's been so hard," Mandy says. "You have done a marvelous job. But the storm is coming," Merrick says. "The storm?" Mandy asks. "You have what you need to survive but it will be difficult," Merrick says before he fades away. "Merrick wait," Mandy yells but he is gone.
The scene shifted Mandy saw the sun her first reaction was to find cover. Finally she realized she wasn't bursting into flames. "I'm still dreaming," Mandy says to herself coming to understand the sun can't hurt her. Trying to get her bearing she realized she was in the woods just woods she had never seen before. In the distance was someone moving around. Moving toward the figure she finds a campsite. "Drip drip drip," A voice says as Mandy gets closer. "Hello?" Mandy says. "DRIP Drip drip!" The voice goes on. As she got closer Mandy says a large puddle was on the ground. "Riley is that you?" Mandy says starting to recognize the voice.
Riley stood in the center of the camp he hands covered in blood the kept falling to the ground causing the puddle to grow larger and larger. "Riley?" Mandy says again. "It's all on my hands," Riley says. "YOU WERE ALWAYS A MONSTER!" Riley's voice boomed. Mandy turned and saw another Riley standing in front of a pile of body's in a mass grave.
Mandy's eyes shot open. She was in her bed back at Finn's compound. She didn't sleep often and when she did she rarely dreamed. "That was intense," Mandy says to herself. She opened the door and looked out into the hall. For a moment she thought about going to check on Riley but stopped herself. Only to than walk down the hall anyway. The door to Riley's room opened and he stepped out. "You okay?" Mandy asks. "Yeah I'm great," He claimed. They stood in the hall in an awkward silence for a second. "Did you want something?" Riley asks. "I just wanted to make sure you would be ready to leave tonight," Mandy lied. "I am," Riley claimed.
Seth's Tower
Becky looked at the e-mail she had been writing. One of many things little Rhea had given her was various current contact e-mails and phone numbers for members of Finn's coven. She had met Zack just before she joined Seth. "He was so driven to find the truth. This could drive him away from Finn and make him go after part of Mandy's," Becky thought. "GOD DAMN IT!" Seth yelled coming in the room. "Problem?" Becky asked. "They still can't find the Riley Morgan's sister," Seth says annoyed. "Does it even matter anymore. Riley is long gone. From what we can tell he's still Mandy," Becky says. "It matters because I told him his sister would die if he didn't join with us!" Seth says before storming off. "He can be brilliant as leader but he can lock in on the wrong things. Who cares about some mortal girl," Becky says to herself before she goes back to typing.
One Week Later
The coven had been home for a few days now. Away from Saber Jr. Riley felt more at ease. Still though what Riley was doing now was a bold move. He hadn't been here since the day before he was turned. This was the first time he was confident no one from the coven would follow him. They were letting him have more freedom. "Hey pal we are closing in forty five minutes," The guy at the desk says. "Don't worry just need to check if my wife put something in our unit," Riley lied. The guy went back to what ever he was watching on his phone. The indoor storage facility had three levels. Riley had pre bought one until on the second floor through a Swiss bank account. Riley knew there was always a chance someone could find out about it. Thus he scanned the area for anything that might be off. Reaching the unit he gave the lock a quick look.
It looked like the one he had bought. There was no sign of it being tampered with. He reached into his pocket and felt the metal key. It had been the only thing the coven had found on him. It amazed Riley the guys that had taken his phone and wallet had missed it. The lock gave way and opened. Lifting the door he stepped inside and pulled it back down, leaving it ajar at the bottom. If anyone broke in they would find various odds and ends, some old tools, some clothes, an Everlast heavy bag. Tucked in the back was box. When he placed the box he used a candle to create a seal of blue wax around the base. The seal was unbroken so Riley opened the box.
If anyone ever got in an looked inside the box they would find old family photos, a year book, a book of poetry and a stack of old birthday cards. But that all hid the false bottom. The cash he stored in there was still there. "The candle... Oh there it is," Riley thinks. He replaces the top. Getting the candle a lighter he do another seal. He moves over to a tin with poker chips. Again it has a false bottom used to hide it's real contents. A handgun and rounds of amo and several fake passports and other ID's. "You got this together to run from threats in the mortal world not supernatural problems. Still nice to know I still have this," Riley thought. He returned the gun and ID's. Closing the storage unit and locked he headed for the steps.
Just as he exited the building his phone went off. It was a text from Jacy. "Hey I need help how fast can you get to 19202 Gatoh Way?" Oh boy what did frick and frack do now? Riley had to wonder. "Why?" Ripley replied as he headed to the car he was using. "Gigi and I need help," came the reply. "I'll be there in a few minutes," Riley replied. It did that long to find the address, it was a coffee house. Heading in he found Gigi and Jacy sitting in a corner table. "Sit down sit down," Gigi says. "If you two forgot your wallets and way me to pay…" "Hello apple pay," Jacy interrupts. "That's not important now," Gigi says very seriously. That got Riley's attention. He did his best to avoid them because they always came off as well kind of stupid. But Gigi here seemed focused.
"What's wrong?" Riley asked as he sat down. She pointed out of the window. "See that SUV out there the one with the flood lights," Gigi says. "Next to the yellow corvette?" Riley asks. They nod. "What about it?" Jacy explains, "We went out last night and we saw that same truck. Earlier we stopped to get some make up saw it now it stops here when we do." "Seth?" Riley asks. "Maybe or hunters. Remember we never did find out more about the one you killed," Gigi says. "Why call me? I mean Mandy, Sonya, or Malaki are in charge right?" Riley asks. "You were the first one to pick up," Gigi says. "So you think this person is following you? Have you ever seen it before or anything strange going on before we left?" Riley asked.
"Wait that guy at the concert?" Jacy says. "Oh yeah," Gigi replied. "What guy?" Riley asks. "A few days before we went to see Finn's coven there was the guy who seemed like he was watching us," Jacy explains. "We just figured he thought we were hot," Gigi replies. "Stay here," Riley says making a decision in his head. "Where are you going?" Gigi asks. "Just wait here," Riley says heading for the door. Stepping out of the coffee house Riley acted like he was checking his pockets like he was trying to find something. Behaving frustrated Riley started to walk towards a card the kind of looks like the one he drove in.
Getting close to the car he stops and looks around confused. "I hope my acting is as good as I think it is," Riley thinks. The goal was to seem like some guy who had lost something and now couldn't find his car. In reality he was trying to get close to the SUV so he could see who was in it. As he got closer to it the lights of the SUV came on and it peeled out. Riley had to jump to the side to not get hit. "You alright," Some guy in the parking lot yells. "Yeah I'm fine. Some people just have no idea how to drive," Riley claimed.
Elsewhere
"So let me get this straight Adam Cole has gone missing and he took Morgan's sister?" The boss asked. "Yeah Cole and Britt Baker have been dating for a while. The girl gave up a growing dental practice," The lackey says. "I let Adam leave the business a while ago why run now?" The boss asked. "I asked around he got some call just before he went missing… Boss there is something I need to let you know about Riley Morgan?" The lackey says. "What exactly do I need to know about a dead man? A dead man you told me you killed yourself," The boss says annoyed. "Look boss remember you didn't want me to use a gun. You want me to try and get the location of the thumb drive from him," The lackey reminded him.
"You told me he was dead!" The Boss yelled. "Look boss he had to be a dead man walking. I made one little mistake and he manged to get away… I never found his body but he coughing up blood he fucking dragging his foot…" "YOU TOLD ME HE WAS DEAD! If Riley Morgan is still alive you better make sure he is dies soon!" The boss yelled.
The Mansion The Next Day
"I was surprised you had time to do this training given everything that is going on," Riley says as he enters the library. "Your training is important. The rest of us will be the lookout for potential hunters," Mandy says. "So, what exactly are we training?" Riley asks. Mandy turns to the door. "Sonya come in here," Mandy calls. Sonya enters, "you ready?" "Yes we are. Riley I want to test if you can pick who you project your thoughts to," Mandy says. "I've kind of done that," Riley says. "Not on purpose though. So it's simple Sonya is going to ask you some questions. I want you to reply in your mind. Focusing on her and not send it to me," Mandy says. "Sounds simple enough," Riley says.
"Alright, favorite Avenger?" Sonya asks. After a second Riley asks, "well?" I didn't hear anything," Sonya says. "Neither did I. Try again Riley," Mandy says. He closes his eyes. Still nothing. "Keep trying," Mandy says. "Hey maybe I lost it. Maybe it was just a side effect or I shut it down," Riley claims. "Not how it works. Keep trying. You have managed to block out both of us. Try to keep me blocked while reaching out to Sonya," Mandy says again. "You don't need to say it slower. I understood what you said. I just can't do it," Riley thinks. "Yeah she has a bad habit of doing that," Sonya replies.
"What?" Mandy asks. Riley smiles realizing what he just did. "Maybe you should say it real slow," Riley thinks. "I heard that," Mandy says. Her reaction gets both Riley and Sonya to laugh. "Well at least we know there is a chance you can do it," Mandy says annoyed. Sonya trie to move things along. "Let's try again. Riley what is your favorite band?" "Depends on the day," Riley thinks. "Yeah I can understand. But favorite... I need to take this," Sonya says as her phone rings. "Were are in the middle of something... and your gone," Mandy says annoyed. "Your leadership is going great," Riley says laughing.
"Well at least you entertained," Mandy snaps. Riley just laughs again. "It's kind of nice seeing the mask slip," Riley says. "What mask?" Mandy asks. "You always try to seem so calm and in control. Yet you get frustrated and you frazzled," Riley says. "I deal with a lot," Mandy says defensively. "Not saying you don't. It's just funny to act human," Riley says getting up. "When do we see your mask slip?" Mandy asks. For a brief second Mandy is back in woods with Riley in front of the pile of bodies the blood covering his hands. Mandy looks at him and sees he seems upset.
Riley just exits the room. "Riley wait," She calls but he ignores her. "Sorry about that my source at the DMV got back to me... They managed to get me a list of SUV's that match the one Jacy, Gigi, and Riley described," Sonya explains. "That's good... I think it might be time for to look into Riley's past," Mandy says changing the subject. "Really? What brought this on?" Sonya asks. "A number of things it's time to know who he really is. Even if he doesn't want to tell us," Mandy claims.