Chapter 21
Thanks for reading this story.
New Chapter, read, enjoy and review.
The wind was howling around her. Fallen Fae surrounded her. Death was clawing at her arms. So many deaths, so many fallen, from Light and Dark alike. The white dress she had on was torn in places. She gingerly walked over the dead bodies. So many of them. In the distance, she saw a man. He was wearing a long black coat, his back facing her.
She couldn't make out a face as he turned around to face her. He uttered a word. One word before his form took in the shape of the firebird and flew towards her.
Danielle woke up with a gasp, her skin slick with sweat, breathing heavily. She rubbed down her face, waiting for her racing heart to calm down. She was still trying to make sense of it all. And that word that she couldn't hear or even remember. It was all confusing.
This wasn't the first time she would have those sorts of dreams. Premonitions. Why were they coming to her now? She had no idea. All she knew was they were quite frequent. Unusually frequent. But neither of them had encountered a firebird. There was no conflict on the horizon. As far as she knew.
It was all confusing.
Danielle opted not to dwell on it. The dream didn't make sense to her for now. And there was nothing she could do about it so far. Apart from trying to make sense of it which, so far, had not been quite successful. Not that she was really trying.
The Banshee was struggling with many things these days. The main one being her recent breakup with Dyson. She thought she had come to terms with it. The pain and grief she had felt for a while had slowly been replaced with bitterness and anger. She could not stand seeing him or talking to him.
The further away she was from him, the better she was.
Loud knocks sounded through the clubhouse, snapping Danielle out of her thoughts. "Coming!" She rushed to the door. "Alright, alright, I'm here."
"Danielle," Lauren greeted her, panic-stricken.
"Lauren, hey!"
"Is Bo here?"
"She's out right now," she retorted. "But come in," she sidestepped making room for Lauren to walk into the loft. "Is everything alright?"
"No," Lauren shook her head.
Danielle's eyes roamed over the doctor's face. Fear was written all over it, "I'll call Bo."
"—so, starting tomorrow, unless we're working, all humans are to be locked in their living quarters." Lauren finished explaining. "Compliments of the new Ash."
"Well—I mean here you are," Kenzie said. "Running amok." Bo and Dani turned to her with a slight glare. "I mean, what an Ash-hole."
"I kind of panic when I found out. I just ran while I still could. I didn't know where else to go, I'm sorry," Lauren apologized.
"Don't be," Bo gripped her shoulders. "We'll fix this, he can't treat you this way."
"Yeah, he can," Lauren countered. "The old Ash was more lenient than most. Rules were bend but this one, he's—"
"He's not so bendy," Bo nodded. "Alright."
"What are you doing?" Danielle asked her while the Succubus moved to their artillery.
"Bo," Kenzie stepped up to her. "Please tell me, you're just blowing off steam."
"First, I'm gonna give the Ash a piece of my mind," she strapped a weapon to her ankle. "Then, possibly a piece of my fist."
"You can't," Lauren stopped her. "Lachlan has no idea that I'm here. I don't know what he will do to either one of us, if he finds out."
"I don't care," Bo assured her. "You stay here as long as you need."
"I'll be putting you into much danger. All of you. Besides Bo, I don't to complicate things—"
"Oh, yeah. But, no. Think of this as a safe haven."
"Gee, I wonder what could possibly go wrong," Kenzie commented.
Danielle let out a long breath. This had just gotten complicated.
Sitting on the ground, Danielle barely listened to her friends discussing strategies to keep Lauren safe and hidden from the Ash for as long as possible. The firebird was slowly taking shape on the paper in front of her. That was until she heard his voice. Her hand stilled on the paper, her eyes locking onto his. The tension rose immediately. Without sparing him a second glance, she gathered her things and left the room. Whatever business Dyson had; he could speak to Bo about it.
She still loved him but right now, she hated him. The longing she felt for him was growing more painful each day. She hated that he could move on so easily as though they had never declared their love for one another, hours before he gave it all to the Norn. It was unfair to her that he could just move on. After, he no longer felt that love and passion. Whereas Danielle felt it all still. It wasn't something that could just go away.
"Alright, DeeDee, I get it but you can't lock yourself up every time he shows up," Kenzie followed her around the kitchen as she brewed a fresh pot of coffee.
"Sure, I can," Danielle retorted.
"Dani," Kenzie got in her way. "I know it's hard for you but—"
"Nothing, Kenzie," Dani cut her off. "But nothing. Listen, Bo and you can be his friends. I'm not gonna stop that. And I won't be mad at you for being his friends, I'm not. But I need this, okay? I need to be angry at him, so, I can try and move on. And also, I can't help it."
Kenzie rubbed her back, remaining quiet. She took a deep breath, "did you know there was a Fae black market?"
"Yes," Danielle nodded. "Was that why Dyson was there last night?"
She proceeded to tell Danielle about a Mongolian Death Worm. A very powerful Fae that produced electric energy that could liquefy about pretty much everything. Obviously, he sought out the help of the unaligned Succubus to walk onto Dark Fae territory.
"And so this—Cayden was part of his pack?" Dani turned to Kenzie.
"Yep," Kenzie nodded. "Something happened because he severed his bond with his pack."
"And became the lone wolf we all know him to be."
"Danielle?" Lauren called from the kitchen, "do you have any baking cup?"
"Yeah," Dani got up from the couch, "I'll get that for you." She moved into the kitchen, looking in the cupboard by the fridge. "You don't have to do this; you know that right?"
"I know," Lauren smiled taking the cups that were handed to her. "It keeps me busy."
"I get that," Danielle said. "Look, I don't know what Lachlan is planning really, but we'll figure it out."
"Thank you, Danielle." Lauren smiled gratefully.
The new Ash was slowly showing his true face to them. She did not know on which side he truly was. She didn't expect him to treat Lauren differently than the previous one. But this—this was extreme. And it didn't sit well with her.
Lachlan was clearly planning something. Making veiled threats towards Bo, mainly. She knew that Lauren, Kenzie and herself were targets to Lachlan. Leverage that the Ash could use against Bo.
And she didn't like that.
"Banshee," Dyson nodded at her. He had walked away from Kenzie who was trying to get access to the arms dealer's data.
"Nope, not doing this," Danielle shook her head.
"So what? We can't be friends anymore?" Dyson scoffed.
"You want me to move on, right? So, no, we can't be friends. I don't want to be your friend," the Banshee shook her head. "I can't."
Bo walked back into their living space in her kimono. "Amazing," she smiled at Lauren.
"They haven't cooled. Yet," Lauren stopped her as she was about to take a cupcake.
"You're not mad, are you?" Bo questioned, Danielle turned her back on Dyson, walking up to the kitchen.
"It's alright, Bo," Lauren reassured the Succubus. "You had to heal. It's who you are." Cayden came up from behind Bo, Danielle made a face at the sight of him, "they haven't—"
Cayden took one of the cupcakes and ate it, moaning in delight, "doctor made these?" He said, chewing, "tastier than my mum's."
"It's the CO² bubbles—it gives the dough its light, airy texture. You add just the right amount of baking powder and then ensure the fat content to retain the gas bubbles. And then throw in the eggs as a binding element—"
"Miss the lab much?" Bo questioned, and Dani huffed out a laugh.
"Maybe it was too rash running away like that," Lauren tried to reason. "I mean, if I return now and apologize maybe the Ash's punishment will be lenient—"
"No, I've met the guy," Bo retorted. "Lenient would be an ankle bracelet of razors. Besides, if you go back now with your tail between your legs, Lachlan will have more power over you than ever before. You're safe here."
"Yes, bitches!" Kenzie exclaimed. "My genius hacker bud in Vienna totally came through. We're in—"
"According to this email sent yesterday, Death Worm is gonna be auctioned off tonight," Dyson pointed to the screen.
"That's a very elite group of invitees," Bo commented.
"It'll be hard for us to blend in."
"Not necessarily."
"Bo, DeeDee and I could totally pull off the infamous Romanian Cantacuzini sisters." Kenzie stated.
"I'm not gonna let you go there alone this time," Dyson promised.
"She's not going to be alone," Danielle reminded him with a glare.
"What he means is, we can't just sit here and do nothing," Cayden clarified, Danielle turned her glare in his direction.
"Last minute save by Cayden and the crowd goes—wild—wild—wild," Kenzie said as though she was a sport commentator.
Bo laid a hand on Dani's shoulder, "you guys will do something. Dangerous hotties such as ourselves are obviously going to need muscle."
"And man-candy," Kenzie added. "Lots and lots of man-candy."
"Ladies and Gentlemen welcome to this fine event," A man in a suit walked onto the stage.
The warehouse was very large and almost empty, as the auction was very exclusive. A few people were roaming the place, sipping from their flutes. Danielle put as much distance as she could between her and Dyson. Making it clear to him that she truly had no intention to be his friend for the time being.
Danielle grabbed a flute from one of the servers' platters. "If you, please, gather 'round. The auction is about to begin."
"Cayden's in position," Dyson told them. "He's got the back covered."
"How many of those have you had?" Bo asked Kenzie.
She shrugged in return, "lots."
"And without further ado, please allow me to introduce you," the auctioneer continued, "to one of the world's rarest and most dangerous weapons." He stepped down, and grabbed a flute of champagne, "thank you. The formidable Mongolian Death Worm."
The sheet was pulled away and an old lady was revealed to the small crowd. She was sitting in a chair, focused on a small television. She didn't look very deadly or dangerous to Danielle.
"Everyone; meet Velma."
"That's the feared Mongolian Death Worm?" Kenzie turned to Dyson. "What's she gonna do, gum us to death?"
"Anybody got a light?" Velma asked from her spot.
"Velma is a three-thousand-year-old Mongolian Death Worm whose destructive powers can outmatch any human made missiles." The auctioneer explained.
"When you think about it, it's actually brilliant packaging," Hale commented. "I mean who's gonna suspect a little old lady?"
"You've never battles one at a 50% off sale," Bo replied to him.
"She's well known for her part in the Greco-Persian Wars, and was the inspiration behind the Archemedes Death Ray," he continued with his selling point.
Mongolian Death Worm didn't look as impressive as its name. Not very deadly. But she had learned to judge a book by its cover.
"Though once difficult to control, Velma's mind has weakened over the years, making her now an extremely user-friendly weapon."
"Come on! Give it a spin!" Velma exclaimed.
The auctioneer chuckled, "outbursts like these are merely a touch of dementia, and will not affect the efficiency of the product." He stepped closer to Velma, "if I could draw your attention to Velma's portable television set. It is her most treasured possession. It is also her activation key. If you take it from her, you will incite rage." He pulled the television set away from Velma.
"Hey," Velma snapped.
"Now, it's important to note that whoever holds the activation key—controls Velma. Further, the holder of the television will never be targeted by Velma."
"Gimmie back my TV!"
"Now Velma, I will give the television back to you—if you be good and obliterate—that big bad truck."
Velma turned towards the vehicle, her eyes shooting a powerful electrical force. The big bad truck melted into nothing, in a matter of seconds. Pulling gasps out of the crowd at this show of power.
"Deactivating Velma is simple," the auctioneer said. "Just give her back the television. Never, ever misplace the television."
"I don't know whether to be impressed or terrified," Bo leaned over to Danielle.
"I'd go with both," Danielle mumbled back.
"Now without further ado," the man continued. "Let the bidding begin. We're gonna start the bidding at twenty million dollars."
Bo raised her hand. Other bidders entered the game, the price kept on climbing. People wanted their paws on the Mongolian Death Worm at any costs. For what purpose? Not knowing the answer was what married Danielle. If any of those people had their hands on this Fae, what would they use her for? Destruction? As a piece of their collection? The thought of it alone sickened her.
"One hundred and fifty million dollars," Kenzie raised her hand.
"Kenzie," Dani's tone held a warning.
"If you mess this up for us there's a good chance you'll leave here in a bucket," Hale told her.
"Sorry. Auction fever," Kenzie said sheepishly.
"One hundred and fifty-five," Bo bided.
"One hundred and fifty-five million dollars right here," the auctioneer repeated. "Going once, going twice. Sold! One hundred and fifty-five million dollars!" The crowd applauded, "put your hands together! Congratulations ma'am! Well done!"
"Good job," Dyson praised her.
"Yeah, right," Bo said back. "Now all we gotta do now is not pay for the Death Worm, kidnap killer Grandma and get the hell out of here without getting liquefied. No biggie."
Bo, Dani and Dyson walked up to the auctioneer, ready to collect their prize. "Hi, I'm—"
"No names. You give me the money. You get Velma, simple," he pushed an empty bag towards them.
"Hush up, children," Velma said. "I'm watching my stories."
"I take cash, gold, jewels or bank transfer."
"How about none of the above," Bo pushed the bag back towards him.
"In the name of the Ash, I confiscate this weapon," Dyson said.
"I don't think so," he stepped back. "Boys—"
Dyson pushed Danielle out of the way as the bodyguards attacked them. Dyson quickly and swiftly took care of the first, while the second grabbed him from behind. Bo used her touch on him, and released the hold he had on the Shapeshifter. Making it easy for Dyson to take care of him.
The auctioneer grabbed Velma's TV set, "hey!" she exclaimed.
"Let's go! Move!" He ordered Velma.
"Hello Brikim," Cayden had taken the TV from him. "Old buddy, old pal."
"Cayden," Brikim chuckled awkwardly, "damn. Look, I can explain this."
Danielle frowned up, confused, "what?"
"You two know each other?" Bo questioned.
"Oh, we go way back, don't we?" Cayden shrugged. "We stole the weapon together, then we transported the weapon together, and we were going to sell the weapon together. Only you reneged on that last part didn't you, partner?"
"Cayden, you lying bastard," Dyson said through gritted teeth.
"Listen, you need to forget about this," Brikim tried to reason with him. "Go back to our 50/50 split?" Cayden pulled out a gun, Dyson put a protective arm around Dani. "60/40?"
"Nah, I think I'll finish this gig solo," Cayden shot Brikim. He waved the TV, whistling to Velma, so, she'd follow him. "Thanks, buddy. I couldn't've done it without you." He aimed his gun at them, "you really don't wanna mess with this. Do you?"
"Give me back my TV!" Velma snapped.
"Velma! Let's go," Cayden disappeared through the door, followed closely by Velma.
"How did not we see this coming?" Bo asked as they were all gathered at the Dal.
"Because big whoopsies are only 20/20 in hindsight?" Kenzie shot back.
"So, Cayden and that Brikim dude stole the Death Worm to begin with," Hale said.
"Well, they were obviously in it together," Bo continued. "Until Brikim snatched the weapon for himself. He almost pulled it off with that quickie auction of his."
"I'm sorry I got you guys involved in this," Dyson apologized, Danielle locked on him from across the table. "I trusted him—I didn't think he'd betray me."
"You couldn't have known, Shapeshifter," Danielle sighed. "And blaming yourself won't help us find Velma."
"Dyson, do you have any idea where he might've taken Velma?" Bo questioned.
"No."
"Maybe he sold her to Ms. Money Bags? Huh?" Kenzie suggested. "She was pretty loose with the old cheque book."
"Or Cayden cut a deal with Cumberbatch," Bo said.
"I don't think so, he lost interest in the auction early," Dyson reminded her.
"Exactly—"
Bo had guessed right. Cayden and Cumberbatch had made a deal together. Cayden had betrayed him; Dyson. A friendship that had lasted centuries was ended all in favor of money—and a woman.
Ciara.
Danielle had watched Dyson reunite with her after they had secured Velma. Ciara and Dyson had seemed really close. There was an undeniable bond between them. Dani could see it. The bitterness of jealousy made itself known as she watched Dyson and Ciara embraced each other. An unshakeable fondness—love, even. There was no denying it.
And she hated him all the more for it.