Chapter 56

February 21, 2002 – 22:10

She looked at him, nodded and jumped on her stick to leave. The entire way to her meeting place, she kept replaying her conversation with him in her mind. She would need to find a different way to keep him safe. She knew that if she moved with him, it would be harder to keep her enemies from finding out about him.

She activated her invisible glamour a few seconds after taking off, which made Frank think of something else he wanted to ask her. When she disappeared from his sight, he went inside the bar to join their friends.

"Here you are, finally!" said Sebastian as soon as he saw him. "Where's Blue?"

"She got called to a meeting in Winnipeg while we were talking outside," said Frank as he sat across from Sebastian.

Victoria sat to his right, Stephanie across from her. The rest of the group sat on the other side of Stephanie and Victoria. They weren't paying attention to them.

"To CMMA Headquarters? Did she say who called her? I know she normally wouldn't, but now that you know, maybe she did… hopefully?" said Sebastian.

"She didn't, but I watched her call. I don't know who is the guy she spoke with, he looked to be in his late 40s, and he had a slight Indian accent. All that was said was that she was needed for a meeting in Winnipeg and had to pick up Eva at some pack."

"Hmm… she spoke with Panjik then. Was it at The Goddess Gems pack?"

"Yeah, there."

"I don't know what it is about, but most likely related to the case she's been working on this week with Eva."

"Now that you know about us, she will answer you anything you ask," said Victoria.

"What did you talk about outside?" said Stephanie.

"I enjoyed the game, but we didn't talk much about it. At this point, I have pretty much made my decision about her, but there were three questions I wanted her to answer."

"Ooh spill!" said Stephanie.

"Besides what made her decide to tell me all about what she is and does as a condition for her to move in with me, after nearly 2 years of us being together, and what was her second condition, I asked her to tell me a story that would paint her as evil and make me change my mind about her if I hear it from someone else."

"Courageous, but legit question to ask. Let me guess, did she tell you about Syllyan Swanton claiming that she was betrothed to his son Ollyo to make you think that she's been playing you or some hellshit like that?" said Sebastian.

"Wait WHAT? No, that's not what she told me, but now I wanna know about this one, and she said I could ask you guys anything."

"Did she tell you about the night she took over the local werepanther clan? I know what happened that night, but you might hear twisted versions of it from other people," said Stephanie.

"Nope, that's not it. I only asked her for one story, but it sounds like I'll be having a lot of story nights with her."

"I think I know which story she told you," said Victoria.

Frank looked at her.

"She told me about an incident during a world tournament held in an American elemental school where she got disqualified for trying to stop a competitor who was beating you up because people thought she entered his mind to do so."

"Holy gods from above, that's a very bold story to tell. Fits your question, that's for sure, it does make her seem evil if you don't know the context and what happened," said Sebastian.

"I never heard that one," said Stephanie.

"If you tell me that you changed your mind about her after hearing it, consider yourself lucky that I can't use magic on you because I would want to curse you through your next life, and I'm not even a witch. She saved me that day, once again," said Victoria.

"I'll admit that I have wondered for a split second if she had done that to me, but no, I didn't change my mind about her. If anything, I'm glad that she chose that one. Clearly, there are many stories she could have picked from. If someone else had come to me with that story, it would have planted doubts, and I probably wouldn't be trusting any of you."

"What happened that day?" said Stephanie.

"I wasn't at that tournament, but I heard all about it from friends at school who were there. Reggie Nezo went to my school. He was an arrogant asshole who thought everyone should bow to him, and his family donated a lot of money and objects to the school. He was so sure he would win that tournament, that hearing he came back disqualified from it was priceless. I guarantee you that his family is still holding grudges against her."

Victoria told Stephanie about what happened that day.

"Reggie Nezo? He deserved what he got. It's a shame that Blue also got disqualified from it. There was no way she entered his mind, our friends said that she was standing behind him… but she did control him like a puppet. I would have paid a lot of money to see that. I always wondered why the referee didn't step in sooner," said Hector, who had been listening to them for a few minutes.

"That's the conclusion I came to. I don't know how entering someone's mind works, but sounds to me it would have been well deserved, even if she had done it," said Frank, and looked at Victoria. "It wasn't the first time she saved you?"

Victoria's expression turned sombre as she remembered what happened.

"It was the second time. The first time was against worse something than Nezo."

"Lord Meozo?" said Sebastian, looking at her.

"No... but yes, in a way. You don't wanna know what he sent after her when we were 12. These things nearly kidnapped me."

"12? Wait, is it where her scars come from?" said Frank.

"Uh, yes. Before we switch to happy stories, I will just say that these scars are living proof that even if Blue has powerful enemies, I was safe sticking with her."

Frank wanted to know more, but he realized that it was time to change the subject. He could ask Coralis another time.

"Now, tell me," said Frank, looking at Sebastian, "what about Syllyan Swanton's son?"

"Hmm, then I need to tell you about Princess Veronica," said Sebastian, sipping his beer while holding his laughter in.

Their entire table laughed.

"Are you talking about the rumour between Blue and Princess Veronica?" said Lydia.

"I wasn't, but can't tell Frank about the Swantons without mentioning it."

"Long story short, the Swantons knew her parents well and invited her to a mating ball around the time she met you. She didn't want to go but went there with Princess Veronica. The Swantons tried to hook her up with their heir, arguing her parents promised her to him. She wanted nothing to do with him, so she and Princess Veronica pretended to be a couple… and they believed it," said Victoria.

"Do they still believe that rumour?" said Lydia.

A few hours later, Cheetah jumped on Frank's window ledge. He let her in and she changed back to herself. She pulled a mute ball out of her cloak and activated it.

"You missed quite the story night, luv. Coffee?"

"Oh yeah? What did you hear? And yes for coffee."

"I heard all about the Swantons and Princess Veronica. Stephanie told me about the night you defeated a werepanther leader. I've been an ass to you that night, uh? I think I need to apologize to you again for my reaction."

"Oh, the Swantons… you do need to know about them. As for that night, hopefully, that's behind us now?"

"Yes, if you tell me what your meeting was about," said Frank, pouring water into the coffee machine.

"This week, Eva and I have been working on a case regarding a clan of djinns roaming close to a werewolf pack in Sudbury. The CMMA found out that the djinn I killed in Chicago last weekend is from the same clan as the ones we've been investigating this week."

"The guy who attacked the vampire prince?"

"Yes. Panjik, the mage you saw through the hologram, and some others want to help me break off from the EBEE. They seem to think that I was also a target."

"I think that Sebastian also believes that."

"Yes, he does. He's been telling me that for a while, and Chicago events just added to his suspicions. Andrew, my mentor at the EBEE, doesn't trust any of the elders. I don't think they're wrong, but to me, it's just more names to my list of enemies."

He filled two mugs with coffee and brought them to his living room table. They both sat on the couch and his hand went on her thigh.

"Honestly, I'm more worried about you than I am about myself. With everything I've been hearing about you this week, which is probably more than I've been hearing for the entire time we've been together, I am confident that if your enemies get to me, you'll get me out of their claws in no time."

"I suppose that Victoria also told you about the demons at school when we were 12?"

"DEMONS? Wait no, she didn't. She told me how you saved her life when you were 12, but she didn't mention demons," said Frank, looking at her. "Look, I still want you to come home to me. I'm still upset that you didn't tell me sooner, but I'll get over it, and I think I understand the risks. Despite everything, I'm feeling closer to you now and in the end, that's all I want. No more secret?" He leaned toward her to kiss her. "Promise me no more secret, and count me in."

"Fine," she kissed him back and pulled him closer to her. "Hopefully you still think that when shit hits the fan."