Chapter Twenty-Two

Nandi walked through the crowd with ease, the only trouble she had was keeping her attention on Falen. The human man would draw looks from how out of place he came off as being. Even with the designer suit he wore and contacts in his eyes, he still had an aura that made him stick out in the crowd of nonhumans. The suit was tight against his body, the top button on his collar ready to pop. He had a nervous jitter to him that displayed itself in the way his face crinkled and how he stood.

Anyone in the human world would regard him as a possible junkie with the sniffs he took and the shakes he had. Her kind saw it as someone with something to hide. You could just feel in your gut that you needed to be wary of him. She tightened her grip on his hand, pulling him along with her as she gave pleasant greetings to everyone whose attention she managed to catch. If she had to play up their relationship for his safety, she would do it in a heartbeat.

‘Kaeo wouldn’t tell anyone about his true nature,’ The eighteen-year-old gave a small wave to a couple who looked their way with interest. It was obvious they were searching for someone to gossip about. ‘She’s sympathetic to humans and their cause.’

Even though she hadn’t spoken to the younger teenager in years, Nandi had heard gossip about her behavior. People saw her as weak for being kinder to humans than her kind and cursed her mother for raising her in such an unconventional way. But Nandi was thankful to know someone in power with such a mentality now that Falen was under her protection. She hoped the girl would be alright. She hadn’t realized how much pressure was being put on her as an heiress.

But clearly, the pressure was way too much for someone so young. Kaeo had been pale most of the conversation and by the time it ended she looked like she was going to cry. Nandi knew Falen had wanted to say something but Jolene kept speaking over him. He was quiet as they walked, she knew by the look on his face that the conversation with Jolene had hurt him. He could pretend to snap back at her with confidence but in reality, he was scared of the nonhuman girl.

“Are you just going to stare?” Falen whispered as they walked away from everyone else and headed towards the kitchen. The smell of roasted meat hit their noses almost instantly as they moved.

Nandi tightened her grip on his hand. “I just don’t know what I can say to make up for Jolene’s words.” She felt like a coward allowing her best friend to belittle him. But there was nothing she could do without drawing attention to the four of them. “I know I should have said something.”

“You should have but I know that your mother warned you not to. And besides, I've dealt with girls like Jolene my entire life and they never have the bark to their bite.” Hearing him say that about the strawberry blonde who was essentially her other half hurt but she knew he was right.

While they grew up together and were sisters in spirit, Nandi knew that Jolene was cruel to humans. She saw them as something that she could not trust and she was extremely hostile when they invaded her space. Most of her kind was, it was easy to see them as lesser when you lived for centuries with eternal beauty on your side. You start to treat people who don’t have the same privileges as you like they aren’t even people and more or less like they are vermin.

She had done the same for years, it was ingrained in her from birth and sometimes she made harmful comments unintentionally. They both used to listen to stories about humans being the ones struggling for power back when their kind lived elsewhere. She had looked at them with pity because they’d die so easily and had no idea what life could offer. And it made her sick to her stomach seeing firsthand how this behavior was hurting someone she loved with her being unable to defend him due to how her world worked compared to his.

“I’m sorry, Falen. I know you aren’t used to politics outside of the human world yet and our cultures. I should have warned you how humans are treated by my friends.” She felt like dirt, like utter garbage having to excuse their actions as just how the way things were meant to be.

“I kind of assumed it would be rough but I can’t exactly get on board with watching your mother and these people brag about eating humans. And the way you spoke to that little girl about her position, her place in this society showed me I don’t even know a sliver of how fucked up this all is.” Falen confessed as they finally reached the kitchen and were greeted by chefs from who Nandi quickly asked for some pain pills, lying that she had a hangover.

“Should we call your mother-” One chef started with a nervous tremble in their voice only for another to interrupt them.

“-or help you find somewhere to lay down?” Quickly both teenagers looked at each other with Nandi flinching at the mention of her mother being called to help them.

“Just the medicine would be fine but thank you for the offers.” Falen interrupted as Nandi looked at him anxiously as the chefs gave him a brief, suspicious stare before agreeing.

They quickly scrambled to get her what she needed, ushering them to wait by the entrance as they shut the doors once again. Nandi sighed, feeling a weight lift off her shoulders now that they had some time to be alone together. She had expected them not to listen to someone who from what they knew wasn’t linked to a clan commandeering them like that. Thankfully, they listened and now they would be left alone to themselves.

It was quiet, with the only noise being the bustling coming from the kitchen. It was soothing to not feel someone breathing down their backs. They hadn’t had any alone time since her mother found out about their relationship and “took the human under her care”. They would grow confused and dig for more information. And if they found out about him not only being human but being her boyfriend with an ability that showed him who they were it would get ten times worse.

The party came next and she just felt like a living doll. She had to act calm and pleasant to keep Falen and her clan’s reputation safe. She had been constantly traveling back and forth between Italy, China, and the states with up to 72 hours of no sleep. Then she had to worry about her mother finding out about her boyfriend’s existence or him finding out about her. And when it happened, god, she felt like she would never stop hearing his parents' screams. They haunted her dreams as the gargled noises they made repeated in her mind over and over again.

“Nandi you’re crying.” She looked up, becoming aware of the blurriness that had taken over her vision. Quickly, she wiped at her cheeks fearful of what someone would say if they saw.

“I know what you’re thinking about and it’s not your fault. Your mother isn’t watching us right now, she won’t be able to hurt us with that girl’s clan in control of this town. Or else people will begin to ask questions that she can’t answer. Remember when you told me that on the flight here?” He whispered, pulling her hand closer briefly before letting go. “You told me that it wasn’t our failures that caused their deaths but your mother’s jealousy.”

She nodded slowly recalling the conversation they had while her mother slept. The eighteen-year-old had felt so much guilt for what happened but she pushed those feelings aside. Once she saw the look in his eyes and heard the trembling in his voice she buried that guilt deep. And she lied, she told him it wasn’t in their culture so they needed to stay strong no matter what happened. Even if her mother tried to separate them she would find a way to turn him into her first familiar.

“But it would be my fault if my mother drains you dry by using your powers.” Her throat hurt as she started getting emotional knowing the danger she had put him in by simply forgetting to wipe her text messages. “I saw you looking at Kaeo, I know you were using it on her.”

“I could see that she wasn’t human without trying. She’s powerful but her true form is breaking on her arms despite her clan hiding it well for normal people.” Falen admitted, which alarmed Nandi to hear. Having your form crack in public was worrisome and she wondered why Kaeo wasn’t in bed recovering from whatever trauma caused that severe of an injury.

‘Have they been forcing her to train while in this bad of an emotional state?’ Hell, she had only felt her check crack when her mother confronted her about Falen and it healed by now. “Are the cracks large or are they just like the ones you’ve seen on me?”

The man winced as he let out a sigh with his answer angering her at the younger girl’s mistreatment. “Pretty big to the point I see her true form shifting around through it, there are even blood stains on her skin that they must have tried to wash off.” A chill went throughout her body from shock as she frowned from the obvious lack of care Kaeo had for herself. Once they got back to the girl she’d feed her with as much human flesh as possible, she must be starving to death if she was so fragile.

“That shouldn’t be possible for someone her age. She must be harming herself intentionally for it to have become that severe. We aren’t meant to be, well, fragile.” She muttered hearing footsteps as she sunk deeper into her thoughts, trying to make sense of it all.

‘Once we get to the clan meeting I’m going to share this with her uncle.’ Nandi thought to herself in disbelief at how sick the girl had gotten without annoying noticing or becoming suspicious. As she opened her mouth to speak, the chefs came back, with a glass of what looked to be water with ginger roots in it and two pills in one of their hands. She quickly thanked them as they gave her a warm smile before they hesitantly gave one to Falen before leaving again.

Carefully she carried the glass in one of her hands and handed the medication to Falen as they prepared to reenter the crowd. They hadn’t heard any commotion about someone vomiting or gotten texts from Jolene about taking Kaeo to the bathroom so they were in the clear. Everyone would just assume they had gotten a custom drink courtesy of being related to a powerful clan and would leave them be. And if anyone came up to them she was going to lie through her teeth and push through.

Because by now, the sky had darkened as the night came closer to an end and everyone was either tipsy, tired, or ready to just get onto the important parts of the events. Besides drinking and catching up with one another, they needed to have a few speeches about what the families have been up to. Some of them came with offers to join charitable organizations while others had new real estate endeavors they embarked in, their child was going to a t20 school, etc that they just had to share.

So, while they moved through the smaller crowd she could hear someone standing in the room, discussing the new business move they had made or something like that. Truthfully it all began to fade into the background as she focused on guiding Falen and texting Jolene to make sure Kaeo was okay. She couldn’t tell her what Falen had said as she was still in the dark about his actual reasoning for being with her clan, so she passed it off as something she noticed when hugging the girl. Almost immediately the southern belle replied that she saw the scars and was going to ask the girl what was going on.

“Jolene says she’ll talk to her about the injuries,” Nandi said as they neared the two teenagers sitting at the table, hidden away from everyone else. “I guess that will be something else to worry about while we are here.” She added already imagining herself going gray from all of the stress.

Falen scoffed. “As if we don’t have enough on our plate already.” A waiter zipped past with a full tray in their hands, ignoring the two as they discussed with one another.

“The plate’s broken by now but I can’t let her pain go unnoticed. Especially since we’ll be here for a few weeks to discuss clan business with her.” Nandi retorted, knowing that Falen was probably annoyed with her declaration of needing to help the girl.

But she’d feel bad not stepping in, so she’d at least mention it to Jolene and make her keep it a secret from everyone else. The teenager had a liking for Kaeo since they had met the girl and she would keep her secrets close. They needed every ally they could get when Falen was revealed. She knew it would happen eventually, their world had spied on all sides. She couldn’t protect him all on her own against hordes of older, stronger nonhumans who could destroy her.

He didn’t argue with her, keeping the rest of his sassy comments to himself. She was thankful for this as she felt like someone had started to watch them. As they got closer and closer to the two teenage girls the more this feeling grew. It was like they were being followed but when she turned her head slightly to look without anyone noticing, they were gone. No one was visible to her but she had been trained from childhood to watch her back.

While someone could be gone in front of the human eye, they were most likely watching from the shadows. Whoever was following them was doing this, when she moved Falen a certain they moved with them. They were probably nonhuman curious to see what an heiress was doing when everyone was distracted by the event. When she weaved and ducked under a waiter’s tray she could hear the echo of shoes slapping on the marble floor behind them.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the confusion on Falen’s face growing. He opened his mouth to speak but she held up a finger to her lips, shushing him. They moved further away from the path that would lead them towards the two and back into the crowd. She stopped hearing the footsteps as she dragged him with her until people surrounded them. The footsteps were both heavy and light, being from multiple people of various weights.

She was unsure if she could fight off a duo or trio of vermin with Falen to protect herself. He was only human, so very fragile and oblivious to combat. The teenager tightened her grip on his hand and ran. It was hard to do so without drawing attention to themselves but she managed to avoid anyone's eye. They were now pressed back into the crowd they worked so hard on escaping with Nandi panting. She had run with the man in tow, the person tailing them getting closer and closer until she lost them.

“Someone was following us,” She whispered, moving closer to him as she looked behind them again only to see no one there again. “Another nonhuman maybe or a sneaky human.”

“Do you think it’s someone working with your mother to spy on us?” Falen whispered back immediately, becoming on guard as the speeches rammed up in front of them.

She took her phone out to text Jolene what was happening. The blonde would need to watch her back as Nandi had no idea if someone may be after her too. “No, they moved weirdly. Everywhere I went they followed after and it sounded like they started running.”

“But I didn't hear anyone behind us?” He cursed seeing the implications of what they were saying. Someone had been running after them and only a nonhuman would be able to identify them before it was too late.

It was puzzling that she hadn't heard them before, that she hadn't been able to sense them. She didn't have strong abilities like Falen but she was trained. 'If I hadn't been so worried about my mother I could have noticed them earlier.' The teenager stood staring off into the crowd, ignoring her lover as she mulled over the situation.

***

Momo watched the man walk into the house with open arms towards Sonya who accepted his hug. She detested the relationship Sonya had with the human man but she kept quiet and focused on the matter at hand. There was a stench that clung to him like chains, it made the hair on her body stand up as she stared. A feeling of nausea swamped her senses like a wave once he came closer, sitting down across from her on a nearby lounge chair no doubt trying to stay away from her.

There was something wrong and she couldn’t put her finger on it. It lingered in his scent so she stayed unusually quiet as the man began to explain his lateness. His wife had gotten off of work early and came home to him preparing to leave. This caused an argument to start as the woman became upset from his sneakiness. She questioned him intensely, Momo suspecting the woman believed the man was having an affair before finally allowing him to go.

“I’m relieved you’re able to help us out. I know you have family issues so we won’t put too much pressure on you with this.” Sonya said sitting next to Momo with a smile on her face. The nineteen-year-old could tell this made the man’s skin crawl and she had to repress a smirk.

He was jealous of the way Sonya trusted her and treated her like an equal. She knew that he probably heard rumors about her family and the power they had. Of the murders she committed, the tortures that turned her on and filled her with hunger once she finished. He resented the fact that the woman was so close to someone like her. It made her simmer with amusement knowing this and watched his mouth twitch at the way she moved closer to Sonya. The nineteen-year-old might as well tease the man for a bit before he cracked.

"It's no problem. I want to get all of this off my chest before anything worse happens. Things appear to have gotten out of hand." He said, picking up a now cold cup of tea that had been made for him hours beforehand. There was a noticeable shift in his tone as he began speaking again. "I've learned some disturbing information about the man you two murdered and the people he worked for."

"We didn't murder anyone," Momo said with a blank expression on her face as he glared at her with anger from her blatant denial.

Sonya sighed, crossing her legs over one another. Her hands were clenched on the hem of her tee-shirt as she added to the conversation. "We only killed that man because he tried to kill us. And I'm sure the information you got shows that he won't be missed."

“He tried to hurt you? Or were you cleaning up her mess?” He glared at Momo, earning an eye roll. ‘What are we in kindergarten? His jealousy is so obvious.’

The older woman frowned and shook her head. “I don’t need to cover for her. He was ready to harm me due to having his ego bruised by our rejections. She was cornered by that creep and when I came into the room he turned his anger onto me.” The lie was incredibly believable, with the way her voice trembled as she spoke and the way her expression became watery.

The man nodded, seemingly accepting Sonya’s explanation. Even if he didn’t, Momo didn’t give a damn. He was just a dog running with a wagging tail desperate for Sonya to give him a lick of attention. She was focused on getting the intel he claimed to have. She wanted to know what pig was causing all this trouble for her clan. They were drawing the attention of nosey humans and she wasn’t interested in having to slaughter hundreds to get to them. No, the nineteen-year-old wants to come for their throat, rip it out and watch their skin tear as blood bubbles out.

“The man was a pervert as you said but more so an internet predator. He targeted human pre-teen girls for years before the people you are interested in hiring him. They helped him make a little extra cash and he gave them the product.” There was disgust in his tone, his teeth clenching as he appeared to remember graphic details he wasn’t explaining to them.

Momo nodded her head, having already deduced the man was a pedophile. “So he was meant to capture the girl on the news and sell her as some sort of sex slave. But she was aware of our world and targeted because of her knowledge, right?”

“I was getting to that,” He growled at her interruption before taking a sip of tea and continuing with what he had been saying. “From what I learned they began to blackmail the humans unaware of your world to start moving onto bigger fishes. Non-humans raised by human foster or adoptive families are missing. Teenagers that can see the future or your true forms suddenly become runaways once their spies find and target them.”

“Why are they after our kind now? Is there a market for non-human children to be brutalized by human filth? Or are they just being groomed?” Sonya turned to Momo with an ashen look on her face. The information was hitting her harder, she looked like she was going to be sick. “How the hell hasn’t any of the clans spoken about this?”

The nineteen-year-old wanted to ask the same question. The clans weren’t the small secluded entities they had been fifty or so years ago. They influenced smaller government bodies such as police forces, militias, political organizations, and church systems. They did this through donations, planting moles in the group to plant ideas, or worse, just taking complete control and breaking down anyone who thought of resisting. To have a group of human worms who can kidnap some of their own sounded utterly embarrassing to the teenager.

Still, she couldn’t fault the children themselves. While she held firmly onto the belief their kind was naturally stronger than an average human she wasn’t able to say a child could fight off a human man. A man that was huge and essentially a big ball of lard, may she add. So instead she found herself pitying the children and their unsavory fates as mere playthings for humans to defile. They would never reach their full potential as immortal beings that could rule the world. If they stopped bowing to humans and playing pretend as the clans instructed this would have never been possible.

"Because the clans are a bunch of cowards who'd rather play pretend than face the real world. They probably don't even know any of this." She muttered back, taking note of the way the man instinctively moved closer. When she turned to stare back he instantly acted as if he hadn't moved a muscle and glared back heatedly.

‘This guy is such a goddamn weirdo.’ Momo bemoaned in her head, allowing him to continue onward with what he was saying. She needed to know everything she could before they started to rub each other wrong enough for an actual fight to break out.

“Your kind are working with the organization most likely.” He finally said after what felt like an hour of staring at one another with annoyance and rage reflected on both sides. When he bent over to set his cup down the teenager noticed there was dried blood under his fingernails.

Sonya hummed, biting her lip as she considered what he was saying. “I guess that would make sense but why would anyone do such a thing? No amount of money or greed would convince someone to risk being found out and punished by the clans. And the families of the children would rip them to shreds or worse when their identity is revealed. It just sounds too obvious of a possibility.” A strand of her hair fell on her face as she shook her head. “There has to be more to the story.”

“I agree with you. There has to be more to this as it’s a deeper issue but I wasn’t able to get much else due to my connection with you, Sonya. Word is spreading fast about you being involved with someone like her. A spy for murderers. People even saw you speaking to one another and have been harassing my coworkers about what your relationship is.” His hands tightened into a fist as he spoke, growing agitated once again but this time with the both of them.

Momo wasn’t surprised by everything she had been told by Sonya. Her family was known for being strong and her parents had a more brutal reputation. She had walked into a human club that acted as a safe place for the two species to hang out and then killed a human man. They were shaking in their boots, sweating at the thought of what she was there for and the sick realization of how no one recognized her. The teenager had burst the bubble they had become complacent in and now they wanted to know why.

“Our relationship isn’t important to the matter at hand,” Sonya huffed, having taken note of the man’s mood swings. The room began to fill with an uncomfortable amount of tension as the two women put their guards up. “Tell them to back off or I’ll give them a piece of my mind.”

“How can I tell them to back off when you’re parading around town with her on your arm?” He snarked, the venomous feelings he had for Momo coming out full throttle. She wasn’t shocked, but Sonya was with her mouth slightly agape as she instinctively moved backward, away from him.

It was clear as day that both women were uncomfortable with the way the conversation had turned. But Momo knew she would have to be the one to vocalize it as the man was someone Sonya was close to. She had no emotional attachment to him so in comparison telling him to get the fuck out would be rather easy. The nineteen-year-old looked over at the front door quickly before shifting her gaze to the room’s windows. No one was outside beside a child walking their dog and the door was locked from the inside.

If they had to fight, the neighbors wouldn’t hear much. There wouldn’t be any witnesses outside to potentially witness anything from afar, the blinds could be shut. She remembered the blood under his fingernails, the erratic way he behaved and licked her lips. The man wasn’t as innocent as Sonya had tried to lead her to believe but instead a liar. She wouldn’t be surprised if he was hiding more information about the disappearances from them. Or more annoying, he lied about everything.

Momo cleared her throat and stood up from her seat. “I think it’s time for you to leave. You have an issue with me and I don’t know your relationship with Sonya, but it needs to be respectful when you’re in her home.” Seeing a human huff and puff in the home of someone she knew could snap his neck easily made her nose burn with his disgusting scent. “You gave us all the intel you have and we are thankful for that. But this conversation is over with.”