Chapter 14 Dreadful Text

 

“Oh my goodness! She’s actually coming!” May squealed, her face skewed with excitement. “June, how do I look? No, I don’t want your opinion. Sol, would you fuck me if I wasn’t your sister?”

“What sort of fucked up question is that?” Roach asked, mortified.

“I need to look sexy, stupid. Elora Evergand is coming; probably the sexiest woman alive. I can’t even compare to her,” May huffed, placing her hands on her hips

“Breathe, May,” Roach told her. “Getting all worked up like this won’t help you. If she's already offered you the job, you have nothing to worry about.”

“Second impressions matter, Sol,” May corrected, “even if I already have the job. Can you freshen up too?”

Perplexed, Roach looked down at the dark denim trousers and basic long-sleeved t-shirt adorning him. Freshen up?

“Just please don’t embarrass me,” May whined. “I need a drink.” She skipped over to the wine cooler which Roach promptly blocked.

“No, you don’t.”

May scowled at him.

“How do I look?” June announced, stepping into the kitchen, draped in a black and white flowery dress. It stopped just below the knee and covered most of her cleavage—it still didn’t hide her curvy figure. Her hair was curled, eyelashes prepped and peeled, and her arms freshly shaved.

“Put those tits away!” May screamed at her. “I don’t want—”

“You look lovely, June,” Roach interrupted, side-eying his cold sister.

“Thank you, Sol,” she said, glowing.

“Who’s that walking up the drive?” May questioned, pointing with a fake nail out the kitchen window.

“Oh! He’s here!” June exclaimed, hurrying over to the door.

“We’ll be in the living room,” Roach told her, walking after his sister.

Pushing the hair out of her face and composing herself, she opened the door to see Pointy in casual wear. He adorned himself in a blazer, black chinos, a blue floral shirt and polished shoes. The pair had matched without knowing.

“Good day, Mr Lockheart-Horrowitz,” June said, bowing half-seriously.

“Good day to you too—” Pointy locked eyes with Roach in the hallway. “Miss Thorn.”

“Come in, please, would you like a drink?” June asked, stepping aside.

“I’m very much fine thank you, Miss Thorn. How do you do, Mr Thorn?” Pointy asked, extending a hand.

Roach smiled and shook it. Unexpectedly, he didn’t squeeze it or dig his thumb into the top of his knuckle. “Are you sure you don’t want a drink?” Roach asked. “I insist.”

“Well, if you are insisting, of course. Any tea or light beverage is fine,” Pointy replied, breaking away from their handshake.

“I’ll go make it,” June told them. “Sol, could you show him the living room?”

“Of course,” Roach said, smiling wide without his eyes. “Please, Mr Lockheart-Horrowitz, follow me.”

When his sister was out of earshot, Roach blocked off the hallway and turned to face his teammate. “Just because my sister invited you here, doesn’t mean you’re welcome.”

“I understand,” Pointy muttered quickly with a sincere tone. “I mean no offence.”

“I know you don’t,” Roach said, pausing after as he looked through him. “Inside that kitchen is a very special woman who likes you. It’s not because of your good looks but what's up there. You’re smart, Pointy, and I respect that. But remember, she’s my sister. Hurt her, and I won’t hesitate to kill you, even if it puts a target on my back.”

“I can assure you, Roach, I have never met someone like your sister before,” Pointy remarked.

“Isn’t that a first,” Roach muttered, turning on the spot and entering the living room.

“Lovely place,” Pointy commented, eyeing the room. “Victorian-era with modern overhauls.”

Roach raised an eyebrow and turned around again. “You what?”

“I’m admiring your house? This gated community is beautiful, by the way, I never thought you of all people would live here … No offence, of course.”

“None taken, Mr Lockheart-Horrowitz.”

The two sat down on sofas opposite each other. Luckily for Pointy, there was a coffee table separating them.

“What did you get up to that night?” Roach asked him, leaning forward, elbows on his knees.

“We drank some wine at the English pub and were about to head to an improv show but we didn’t manage as you know,” Pointy responded, crossing his legs.

“Any … handsy stuff?” Roach questioned, grinding his teeth a little.

“None at all,” Pointy remarked quickly. “I am attracted to her mind more than her body. You do know, she is quite something.”

Roach cocked his head. “I know she’s smart.”

“Yes, June is smart, but she has something called Eidetic Memory. All she needs is to see something and she can remember it perfectly. It is both a blessing and a curse.”

“She’s never told me that before,” Roach muttered, furrowing his eyebrows.

“She didn’t tell me either, but it wasn’t hard to conclude. She recalled the entirety of a thesis paper on monsters and their natural resistances through evolution with the addition of chimeric tampering word-for-word after two glasses of red. I was flabbergasted, to say the least.”

“So she remembers everything?” he questioned, looking at the floor in thought. He couldn’t believe June remembered everything. Surely, she couldn’t remember that fateful night?

Pointy nodded. “I tested it myself with her—a simple quiz that she answered with incredible detail.”

“You’re experimenting on her?”

The door opened. “So, I’ve made you some herbal tea from Sandrum,” June said, entering the room with a tray. “Sol, I’ve got you your classic soda water as I know you don’t like tea.”

“Thank you, June,” Roach replied.

“Sugar?” June asked.

“Only one please.”

“How was that important meeting then?” June asked Pointy as she dropped a spoonful of sugar in his tea and handed it to him.

“Oh, last week? I must apologise for that again. Malfunction with a code; chaos at the office.”

“What I don’t understand, is why a B-rated hunter is an accountant?” June asked him, hoping to show him off to her brother.

Roach pressed his fingers together at his mouth and waited for the answer. He wasn’t sure what Pointy had planned for his cover story.

“I changed my line of work a few years back. I still pay for the license as it can get you into certain places,” Pointy explained as he rehearsed. “And you work security?”

“Yes, security for House Bramwell,” Roach replied.

“I think I remember you saying that you had worked together before?” June asked them.

“Our work is separated but our accounting team has done work for House Bramwell, so we’re reasonably acquainted but not as deeply as coworkers,” Pointy explained.

“Summed it up well,” Roach agreed, taking his soda water from the tray.

“You know,” June said, “Solomon has a hunter's license too.”

“I would hope so,” Pointy said, cracking a smile, “most security agencies wouldn’t look your way if you didn’t.”

June took a seat next to Pointy, pressing her thigh against his, which he found uncomfortable given he was only two metres away from a man who could kill him with a spoon.

“Any family?” Roach asked him.

“None, unfortunately,” Pointy replied, tapping his right thigh twice. Silence followed after.

“You can ask us about ours,” June said, tipping her head slightly towards Pointy. “We don’t bite.”

“I don’t want to be intrusive, Mrs Thorn.”

“No, it’s fine,” June shrugged off. “Our parents died when we were young; we drifted between orphanages until Solomon landed a scholarship with House Bramwell. And that’s how we have this place.”

“You have done incredibly well,” Pointy remarked. The hair on the back of his ears shot up and he clutched at them.

From the living room window, they watched as an entourage of blacked-out four-by-fours drove onto the stones outside. Pointy shot to his feet out of fear but Roach was up first and settled him down.

“I forgot to tell you, Elora Evergrand is coming,” Roach explained, hoping to make him as uncomfortable as possible. “May got offered a job with her.”

“How delightful,” Pointy said with fake enthusiasm, giving Roach a side-eye.

“Isn’t it?” Roach agreed, raising his eyebrows.

“I’ll go make sure May’s all set,” June said, sitting up. As the door closed behind her, Pointy turned to Roach with worry.

“We had a little uh … thing,” Roach admitted, staring out the window at the heavily armed personnel.

“You slept with her?” Pointy asked in horror.

“No, but she came onto me after the play.”

“This day just becomes more intriguing,” Pointy muttered, pushing his glasses up his face.

“Now she’s gone full-on freak mode, mate. Been calling me non-stop. My first stalker and it's the most powerful woman in New London.”

“If that woman calls then you answer, you half-wit,” Pointy insulted. “Do you even know who she—”

“Of course, I do,” Roach cut off. “I don’t date, first thing you should know about me. She’s trying to get to me through my fucking sister of all people. Stroke of luck she was at that play.”
“Lottery odds with me there too,” Pointy muttered. “What’s the procedure?”

“If she recognises you, play it off. Even she wouldn’t compromise our identity,” Roach answered.

“How are you doing?”

Roach squinted his eyes at Pointy. “What? Me? Shitting bricks, to be honest. She scares the fuck out of me.”

“Because she’s interested in a peasant or that she’s a woman?”

“Both. I’ve got no clue what her plan is or what she wants.”

“You better give her whatever it is. You know, she doesn’t strike me as the type to wait,” Pointy stated. “Coming over to your house on such short notice is almost predatory.”

Roach looked at him.

“I was invited,” Pointy corrected.

“Not by me.”

Then, they watched as a bright pink limo with black tinted windows pulled around the other cars, parking up right before the entrance.

“Does she wish to engage in intercourse immediately?” Pointy wondered.

“Don’t say it like that.”

“Well, fornication?”

“Not that either.”

As the two continued to stare out the window, Pointy rummaged around in his blazer pocket and pulled out some pills in an unmarked bottle.

“We’re not spiking her,” Roach said in disbelief.

“They’re not for her,” he replied, tipping three of them down his throat. “Helps with stress.”

Roach fingered the bottle and pulled out two more.

A woman in a tailored suit opened the back door, revealing waxed legs of a glistening golden hue. These legs were adorned with low, white heels. Following her exit, a beige pencil skirt hugged her waist, and a half-cut, steel-grey blazer sat atop her shoulders. As she walked toward the door, her wavy blonde hair swished, accompanied by camera crews and makeup artists. Another woman stepped out with a far slender frame with large, half-revealed breasts. Atop her head was a pair of white, fluffy ears.

“Who’s that one?” Roach asked with a nod of his head. “Bunny-kin.”

“Kara Field … You don’t know her?” 

“Of course, that’s why I was asking.”

“Kara Field: not of royalty, but high social standing. Her race is incredibly rare and males seem to find those ears irresistible. I believe they’re close friends. She’s a model too and works for Elora’s company.”

The woman in question was skinnier but offered more curves, courtesy of a tight, silk dress. She was pretty as Roach would think but he understood that the two large white ears that pointed upright were her main feature.

A knock came and May opened it immediately.

“Do you have a basement?” Pointy asked him.

“You’re not dipping on me, are you?”

“I was thinking we both could.”

“You’re staying or you can fuck off.”

“I’ll stay, thanks.”

 

“Hi, May!” Elora said, smiling wide and leaning in for a huge. “Sorry for the short notice.”

“Please, it’s an honour to have you, Lady Evergrand,” May replied, internally screaming that she was just hugged by her idol. “Come in come in.”

“This is Kara, who I’m sure you know all about,” Elora introduced. “And please, call me Elora.”

“Nice to meet you,” Kara said, curtseying. “I understand why Elora was so keen on you. You have such a unique look.”

May returned it. “Thank you, I might not be as unique as you but I try.”

“Please, girl, the only thing I have going for me is my ears,” Kara joked, all smiley with white teeth.

“Where did you want to set up?” Elora asked her.

“You can look around if you like,” May offered. “There are multiple extensions built off the house.”

“I see,” Elora said, stepping inside. “I love Victorian architecture; I don’t see a lot of it in the Overground. Oh my, what a beautiful kitchen.” Elora snapped her fingers, “We’re setting up here!” 

Camera crews, lighting experts and makeup artists quickly scurried behind her. Kara grabbed May’s arm and followed after them. “We’re going to doll you right up.”

May’s neck shrunk into her neck and a smile appeared across her face. “I can’t wait!”

Pointy and Roach had their ears pressed against the living room door, listening in like children to their parent's argument.

 

“Do we leave the room?” Pointy proposed.

“Are you fucking stupid?”

“We can’t just act like perves—”

The door was opened, hitting them both in the face. “What did I just hit?” June asked them, stepping inside and looking at the bottom of the door.

“The interior designer wanted them,” Roach lied. Unfortunately, it was the first thing that popped into his head. Luckily, Pointy had gone along with it.

“Yes, I can see why you had the design specifically done for this room … magnificent,” Pointy remarked, gazing upward.

“Are you two talking about the ceiling?” June questioned. 

“It’s a good conversation topic,” Roach countered. “Is Elora here? Does May want us to hide?”

“Apparently not. Strangely, Elora wanted to see you and I think Mr Lockheart-Horrowitz should accompany you; there’s not a lot of men here you see, well, straight ones anyway.”

“Sure,” Roach said, clearing his throat. “After you, Mr Lockheart-Horrowitz.”

 

“This is Solomon, my older brother, and this is Mr Lockheart-Horrowitz, the man June has been seeing,” May introduced them inside the kitchen. 

“I think we met last week at the theatre,” Elora said, extending her hand with a pleasant smile on her face, eyes fixated on him.

“I believe so,” Roach replied, regrettably shaking it and bowing his head.

Elora moved over to Pointy and he repeated what Roach did. “You may call me Quinn if that suffices,” he offered.

“Quinn it is. You do look familiar, have we met before?” Elora asked.

“He’s an acquaintance, from work,” Roach said, placing a firm hand on Pointy’s shoulder and making eye contact with Elora.

It suddenly clicked with her. “Oh, that must be it,” she muttered. She spun around on her low, white heels and clapped her hands. “We’ll do some test shots with the three of us then it will be her headshots. Come on, people, we’re wasting time.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” Pointy whispered to him as people rushed around the room.

“If I’m going down, you’re coming with me,” Roach whispered back.

In no less than twenty minutes, a full set had been built in Roach’s kitchen. There were white screens, different stools, and rails of expensive clothes equal to that of a deposit on a house. Pointy watched with intrigue while Roach eyed for any scratches in his spotless kitchen.

“Are we ready?!” Elora shouted after a brush had patted her face.

May came around the side of the kitchen in a scandalous outfit. A dead animal hung around her waist and her ginger hair had been blown out with curls to dream of.

“I think it would be best not to watch this,” Pointy muttered to Roach.

“Come on,” June interrupted, grabbing Pointy’s arm. “I invited you round, let me show you my library.”

Roach cleared his throat.

“Just the library,” June said with distaste, staring at her brother with a hardened gaze.

“Enjoy,” Roach said, offering a smile without his eyes.

So there Roach stood, by himself again, just like when he was at the theatre. He knew he shouldn’t watch his sister pose in revealing outfits but there was nothing he could do. It was her choice, no matter which way he looked at it, and he didn’t feel like getting backhanded again.

“I’ll post these,” Elora said to May after they had finished shooting. “I’m sure the internet will blow it up.”

“On your main account?” May questioned, starry-eyed.

“Of course, darling, you’re in now. Ok, we’re going to get some of your headshots done. If you speak to Jackie over there she can help you to get in the right positions.”

“Sure sure, did you need anything by the way?” May asked.

“Don’t worry, I can just ask your brother,” Elora dismissed. 

“Ok!”

 

In the back of the kitchen, sipping on his soda water, was Roach, silent as a statue. He was angry too —his privacy curtain had been pulled back. However, he was holding his tongue, no matter the urge to bellow at everyone.

“Solomon, right?” a feminine voice asked.

Roach looked to his side, seeing Elora’s Bunny-kin friend. “Yes,” he bluntly replied.

“Do you not want to know who I am?” she questioned, perplexed, her ears rising like a dog.

Roach locked eyes with her and shook his head.

“I’m Kara. I would say it's nice to meet you but I don’t think it is. Are you the one dating Elora? She said it was May’s brother.”

“Dating?” Roach questioned.

“Sorry, not dating, parring off by the sounds of it,” she remarked, squinting her eyes at him.

“Solomon Thorn,” he said, extending his hand out.

“Kara Field,” she introduced herself again with her ears sprouting up once more, shaking it elegantly. “She said you weren’t the talkative type.”

“She’s not wrong.”

“It is sexy how rude you are, I know what she sees now. I mean this—” she circled his outfit with a finger, “is dreadful. Your face isn’t too bad. How bigs your cock?”

Elora, seeing her friend talking to Roach, quickly hurried over to them. “Hi!” she said, cutting the two out of their conversation. “I see you’ve met Kara.”

“Yeah, I like her. She needs to stop asking about my cock though,” Roach remarked.

“I am so sorry,” Elora apologised. “Kara, could you not?”

“I’m just getting the gist of him,” Kara explained her innocence. “There’s not a whole lot going on here so I was just speculating. Wait, are you a famous Hunter, I haven’t heard of you?”

“He’s not a famous Hunter,” Elora stated, “he works security for House Bramwell.”

“And what do you do?” Roach asked her. “Other than asking for cock sizes.”

“I’m a model and influencer for Omen Entertainment,” Kara replied.

“We went to the Seven Spheres University together,” Elora explained, “it's how we met.”

“She was such a stickler,” Kara told him with a wink. “Cared more about learning magic than chasing boys.”

“Is that such a bad thing?” Roach asked her.

Kara was speechless. 

Breaking the awkward silence, Elora said, “Kara’s a Hunter too—A rank.”

“What’s your speciality?” Roach questioned her.

Coming out of her shock, she replied with, “Space-Time.”

“Impressive. GMS?”

“Thirty-seven,” she gloated, “but it's nothing compared to Elora’s 55 for Pyromancy.”

“It’s 57.27 and 37.11 for enhancing,” Roach corrected her. “Yet I haven’t seen her use her magic yet.”

“You do your homework, wow,” Kara muttered. “I quite like him, Elora.”

“Do you mind if I talk to you? Privately?” Elora asked of him.

Roach inhaled through his nose.

“I guess I’ll leave you two alone,” Kara said. She spun on the spot, heading to speak to someone else in the team.

“Why, Elora?” Roach grunted through gritted teeth.

“I’m not here for you,” Elora half-lied, folding her arms and leaning on the countertop. “We were running some tests and found we needed a rare Terran look for our company. Your sister fits the bill.”

“You think I believe that?” Roach questioned, folding his arms too.

“No, but I knew you wouldn’t.”

“And testing me with your friends already?” Roach questioned, sipping his soda water.

Elora rolled her eyes. “How else was I supposed to see you?”

“Maybe hire me again, and not contact Mercy for my details,” Roach answered.

“So you were getting my texts. You said you wanted to see me again,” Elora countered, squinting at him.

Roach ignored her, staring at the staff in the kitchen.

“So you felt nothing that night? At all?” Elora wondered, turning to face him.

“You were drunk and so was I.”

“Do you mind if we do this somewhere else? Some of the staff are looking this way.”

“Sure.”

Roach led her to the lounge—it was more private but at least not anyone could barge in. He guided her to sit, and he took a place opposite. “Does anyone know who I am?” he asked.

She shook her head. “I haven’t told a soul … I know this may sound wrong of me to say but—I feel safe with you.”

“That’s because I protected you before,” he remarked bluntly.

“But everyone else—I can’t talk to them. I don’t even trust my own family anymore. When I was with you that night I felt safe. It was a relief when I saw you, like a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.”

“That’s normal,” Roach commented. “But you’re confusing safety with liking me.”

“Don’t tell me how to feel,” she snapped at him. “You’re the one confusing your feelings here. You could have just said no if you didn’t want to speak to me.”

“I apologise then, for leading you on,” Roach said.

She sighed, placing her head in her hands and sniffling. “How do I stop feeling like there’s a target on my back?”

Roach shrugged. “I’m not your therapist, Elora. I learnt to just deal with it.”

“That’s a very polite term to say stop being a child.”

“It’s not childish. I’d say it's maturing. If you feel comfortable with misted faces, we do offer full protection services—I’m sure you can afford it.”

“Would I get you?” she asked, looking up with a half-smirk amidst her teary eyes.

“You can request my team.”

“I tried,” she huffed. “You didn’t even bother to say no.”

“Elora,” he said, moving onto the same sofa as her, “I’m not someone you want to be with. I’m not going to be here forever, and I don’t want to lead you on. I think you’re wonderful … and classy, Elora, and can do far better than me,” Roach said, attempting into dig down into his emotionless heart for comment.

“You’re leaving?” she questioned. “Where are you going?”

“I’m not leaving,” he dismissed hesitantly, standing up.

“Then where?” she hastily asked, standing up too.

“I … I can’t say, Elora.”

Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted by the door opening. June, with her arms in Pointy’s, stood in the doorway. “Are we interrupting anything?” June questioned, glancing at their closeness.

“No,” Roach bluntly replied, sitting down on the sofa, “had fun in the library?” he asked.

“Quite the collection,” Pointy remarked, breaking away from June and finding a seat. “So many books from Earth.”

“They’re June’s favourite,” Roach told him. “Shall we all sit and have a drink?”

“Ooo sounds fun!” June exclaimed, clapping her hands together. 

“Do you mind if I invite Kara in here too?” Elora asked them.

“No issues,” Roach answered.

Once Pointy, June, Elora, Roach and Kara had settled down, there was a unique tenseness in the room, reflected by the many secrets and relationships behind zipped lips. 

“So,” Elora said, breaking the silence, “are you two together?”

“We’re only dating at the minute, Lady Evergrand,” June told her. “He is the volunteer supervisor at the New London Library where I intern. He’s rarely there and I have a suspicion he only ever comes to read the books.”

“You have me all figured out,” Pointy chuckled, cracking a smile. “There are plenty of old manuscripts that the public cannot view. Of course, June caught my eye immediately—not that I’m calling her an old manuscript.”

June tilted her head slightly and smiled. 

“I think she was reading Malcolm X’s biography; it’s about his and other African Americans’ human rights struggle in the United States. He won by no means of violence or aggression. Just peaceful protesting.”

“What’s the point in a protest if it can’t be violent?” Kara asked, joining in.

“I don’t think that’s the point of the book,” Pointy reminded, cocking his head. “But you are right, protesting always results in violence given enough people are present. Anonymity is a powerful driving factor.”

“Oo, like the Unwanted?” Kara proposed.

“Urm … quite right,” Pointy muttered, side-eying Roach.

“I know that Elora has had first-hand experience with them. What was it like?” Kara asked her, leaning into the edge of the sofa.

“Well—” Elora gulped but hid it well. “Very unusual bunch. A lot of swearing, really.”

“The mist on their face, what’s it made of?” June asked out of interest.

Elora shrugged. “I did find that puzzling. Perhaps a very talented blacksmith or alchemist made them.”

“I deduce it is converted from their breathing,” Pointy offered, cutting it a little too close. “Your breath extends quite far given you can see it. By transferring that kinetic energy to a mana battery of sorts it would then produce the mist. Just a guess, of course.”

“That is a very good explanation,” June complimented.

“Thank you.”

All of a sudden, two pings sounded off in the room. Immediately, Pointy locked eyes with Roach and they hurriedly pulled their phones out. In bold black letters, a text read,

 

‘ALL UNWANTED REPORT TO THE SOUTHERN GATE! MASKS ON! MONSTER HORDE  [SEVERITY 7] INBOUND. ETA: 02:23:21s. TELEPORTATION PADS HAVE BEEN DISABLED. ALL UNWANTED REPORT TO THE SOUTHERN GATE. MONSTER HORDE SEVERITY 7 INBOUND.’

 

Not even five seconds later, everyone else got a similar one.

 

‘MONSTER HORDE INBOUND. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. ALL TOP TRAINS WILL STOP AT THE NEXT STATION. SHELTERS ARE PRESENT UNDERNEATH EVERY TOP TRAIN STATION. MONSTER HORDE INBOUND. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. ABANDONED ALL VEHICLES AND HEAD FOR THE NEAREST SHELTER AT A TOP TRAIN STATION.’