Time passed in the blink of an eye as droplets of water began to splatter onto the grass. The drops ricocheted off of Chase's slightly tan skin and began to pool along the ends of his hair.The smell of wet pine flooded my senses. Our time outside had stayed mostly silent, aside from a few short conversations exchanged between us. Sprawled out on the grass, Chase had fallen asleep for a period of time as I curled dark strands of hair around my fingers. I could tell he was just as exhausted as I was, the death of Jackson seeming to affect us both greatly.
I removed my left hand from the residence in his hair, softly tapping him on the shoulder. "Chase, wake up," I said in a whisper. "It's starting to rain." He groaned in protest, but his eyes began to slowly blink open, revealing the startling shade of green underneath. He stretched, yawning simultaneously, then looked at me groggily.
"Are you sure it's raining?" He asked as his eyes began to flutter shut. "I'm tired." I tapped his forehead gently.
"Stay awake, we've got to go inside, I'm not even sure what time it is anymore." I stated, attempting to lift him off of my lap. He groaned in response, rustling the grass beneath us.
"I'm up, I'm up," he yawned one more, sitting up as the rain began to fall from small sprinkles into a much more solid pour. He stood up with quick movements holding both of his hands out towards me. I gratefully took them. In an instant, my knees almost buckled beneath me, legs tingling. Chase caught me by the arm, hauling me upright against his chest. "Legs numb?" His voice seemed to reveal genuine concern as he held me.
"Maybe a little," I laughed, a small smile dancing on his lips. The tingly feeling in my legs had arrived as blood began to properly flow into my legs. Pins and needles raced up then down through them. Chase helped me stand up straight then released me from his grasp.
Dense clouds began to heavily douse us in a downpour. My hair dripped water down my skin, causing me to shiver. Chase's raven hair had begun to stick to his forehead as water dripped down the ends.
"I think we should probably start heading inside," I stated as he held out his hand allowing for many of the drops to fall onto his fingertips and palm.
"You sure? I like the rain," He looked up towards the sky, closing his eyes as he did so. In response, I did the same thing, allowing for the droplets to hit my face as I closed my eyes. An extreme sense of serenity washed over me as I did so, all of my worries for those few minutes melted away until I felt a presence by my side. I opened my eyes revealing my father, with a soaked jacket covering his head.
"Makayla, what are the two of you doing out here in the rain? Are you insane, you'll catch a cold?" I lowered my gaze at him in a questioning manner. "Come along now, let's head inside." I glanced towards Chase, an emotionless expression seeming to harden his facial features. With a quick nod, we obediently followed my father inside the house. Chase followed a decent distance behind, purposely giving my father and I distance.
Within a minute we had entered the house, each of us soaking wet. I looked to the left towards the kitchen revealing an ensemble of people, my mother sitting front and center of it all with two empty seats beside her. James, Mrs. Lewis, the man who sat at the table the other day, along with another family who I found to be unfamiliar all sat around the kitchen table. My mother sat a little straighter as she saw me, my father, and Chase all drenched in the summer rain.
Eyes of judgment fell upon us. Each family at the table was dressed in designated attire of black, red and magenta. The family unfamiliar to me wore red, my mother and father wore black, and the Lewis's wore magenta, a color that was almost identical in appearance to Chase's Awakened mark. From the table what I assumed to be the family head for those who wore red cleared their throat. My mother stood up from her seat with ease.
A hardened expression plastered her face. "Benjamin, Makayla, Chase, all of you immediately change, dry your hair and get down here quickly. There is important business to attend to and I will not have you waste so much of our guests' time." We all nodded in sync not wishing to cross my mother, heading separate ways to our rooms.
Being in the house had begun to make my heart feel heavy as the memories of Jackson not too long before flooded my brain. Decidedly, I attempted to suppress those thoughts as I wasn't in the emotional state to deal with my mother's bickering about it for more time than needed.
I entered my room, the sound of rain reverberating in the walls. A cold chill swept around me as I opened the door. One of the windows within my room had been left open, I assume from the warm day previously. I made my way to it, smelling the cool air from outside. The smell of the wet pines and grass flooded my nostrils. After a moment of relishing in the cool air I proceeded to make my way to the bathroom, taking out my bun, blow drying my hair and leaving it in a slightly wavy, slightly straight mess. I brushed it out, but decidedly didn't braid it or put it up as my mother had said to be quick. I removed the clothes I already had on and changed into a black jumpsuit. I put on a pair of black shoes then proceeded to head downstairs. Although I had no knowledge as to why the families were color coded, however, I figured I should match it as best as I could.
By the time I'd once again entered the kitchen, everyone had been sitting in utter silence. At some point my foot hit the ground too hard and all eyes were on me. My mother motioned for me to sit beside her on the left side of the table. She was the only one who sat at the end, she had seated me across from my father. My fathers fairly deep brown hair had been gelled back. Streaks of grey were visible within, showing he truly had begun to age. He also wore a black suit, with a black undershirt, black pants and a purple tie.
To the right of him sat the family I was unfamiliar with. The one who seemed to be the head of the family was a female with chin length bright red hair, she wore a red suit herself, her tie black against the red. Another woman sat beside her, she had deep brown skin and long curly hair that flowed down her back. She wore a form fitting red dress with an open back, and a v neckline with a strap that wrapped around her neck.
Beside her sat three children, what looked to be the eldest had short curly hair that framed her face perfectly. She seemed to be about my age and had stunning blue eyes that jumped around analyzing things, a great contrast to the caramel color of her skin. She wore a short length red dress that flowed out from the sides.
Next to her was who I assumed to be the second oldest. He had platinum blonde hair that was straight and messy, it was clear an attempt had been made to tame it, however, several pieces of it were sticking out on the sides. He looked to be around twelve years.
The third child seemed to be around 5. They had large brown eyes and light brown curly hair, their skin was tan, but also light. She was almost like a perfect blend of the two adult women. Her hair was long and went to about the base of her spine. She wore a black and red dress adorned with a floral pattern of black roses.
To my left sat the Lewis's, they each wore outfits in a beautiful shade of magenta. Beside me sat James who, uncharacteristically, was abnormally silent. He too wore a suit, his was entirely magenta aside from the red tie around his neck. The man who I assumed to be his father wore almost identical attire, except his tie was red and black. He looked strikingly similar to James except for the fact his curly hair had extreme amounts of grey scattered throughout and fell to his shoulders. A beard almost fully grey adorned his face. His expression was that of power and determination. Mrs. Lewis wore a silk magenta gown that hugged her waist and flowed out at the bottom with red sapphires hugging her neck.
Finally, at the last spot at the table, almost as though they were excluded, was Chase. He sat there with his own magenta attire, signifying his status with his family, however, his suit was split in half. The right half was magenta, matching his family, and the other half was black with intricate gold designs embroidered within. I stared at him for a long moment, before his piercing green gaze met my own and I quickly looked away.
Eventually, my mother hit a small metal spoon against a glass of champagne delicately placed in one of her petite hands. She looked at everyone smirking a bit as everyone's attention went to her.
"Good afternoon everyone, without further delay," my mothers blue eyes glaring daggers in my direction. "We shall begin our meeting for the day, Mrs. Valentina Aimilos, you may begin." With that the red haired woman arose to her feet holding a folder full to the brim with papers.
"Thank you Mrs. Clark. To begin, as we are all aware lately there had been an increase in the activity of the demons," she paused, clearing her throat, "along with the other entities within this region." Her voice was smooth yet firm as she spoke. Much different from the usual authoritative voice of my mother. With quick movements she opened the folder in her arms, passing out photos to everyone around the table. In front of each of us was yet another gruesome scene similar to the one I had just recently experienced.
"Each of you have received just one measly photo of these events. Many humans are getting murdered and the special forces are beginning to suspect things are going on." She had begun to pace around the table, almost as though she was gauging our reactions. She stood in silence only a moment before she spoke again. "Now the higher ups are scared that these unawakened people will somehow find out about us and these mythical beings exist which would spell trouble for us all. With the recent death of Jackson they have been increasingly…. On edge."
Valentina continued to walk behind all of our chairs tapping her nails as she walked. At the mention of Jackson my heart began to break once again. "Now the question is, what should we do about this issue? Does anyone have any ideas?" She stood behind who I assumed to be her wife tapping the seat and standing tall. With a slight raise of hand the platinum blonde boy began to respond. He stood as well looking at the people with stressed hazel eyes.
"I think that we should uh- you know um," he looked to his mother for assistance or some form of comfort. "We should sign everyone up for new missions and destroy the root of the problem where it starts." He quickly sat back down glancing towards Chase before his panicky gaze went back to the wooden table.
His mother let out a sigh as she began to walk around the table once more. "Now those at this table may not be particularly opposed to this idea, however, we have a majority to bring this idea to." She glared at her son ever so slightly before returning her gaze to everyone else. "On top of this we have to take into account that destroying too many of these creatures at once could be a cause for war. Due to this we would have to carefully consult the elders before proceeding as although this city's protection is our duty, we cannot go against their decisions. With that being said, any other plans?" With this everyone's eyes seemed to jump from person to person before Chase raised his hand and began to speak, almost everyone holding their breath.
"Although I do not particularly approve of the idea Chanin has spoken of, it is smart to get rid of as many as possible without harming those within the treaty in the process." He cleared his throat, "Along with those with half blood such as myself." He sat down almost immediately after a sense of interest had flooded into Valentina's blue-green eyes. She continued to walk around.
Her eyes scanned everyone's facial expressions. "Well, any opposition?" She raised her eyebrow to see if anyone was opposed. Nobody spoke, until James's father raised his hand.
"I do not believe it wise to carelessly destroy these creatures without explicit orders from the council of elders." He seemed agitated as he spoke, unlike James and Chase's smooth voices, this man's was rough and deep. He spoke as though he were a clever man. "I understand that we would be asking for the permission to do so, however, if they were concerned about this issue wouldn't they have sent word to act sooner."
With this Valentina's wife stood up, her voice stern. "We wouldn't be having this meeting if they weren't concerned, Wayan, we wouldn't. They are just as clueless as to what to do as we are." Her voice had softened at the end, but the slight irritation her words gave the man were clear.
"Oh yes, of course. You all need to take into consideration what issues this poses what lives-"
"I'll bring it up to the council. Both sides, that is, they can pick how they wish for us to proceed." Valentina quickly interjected before a heated argument could begin. The woman and Wayan took their seats as soon as she had said this. With fast movements she gathered the photos sprung across the table placing them back into her folder before sitting once more.
At this my mother rose to her feet, straightening out her black dress before speaking. "Now that we've got that out of the way, as you are all aware these past few years have been extremely difficult for our family." She placed her hand against her heart, false sorrow crossing her face. "Yesterday we lost my dear son after Makayla had just begun to get her memories back." Everyone murmured to themselves, closing their eyes and bowing their heads. My mother slammed her hand on the table, "For this, those creatures must pay." Everyone excluding me echoed her saying "those creatures must pay." My mother was clearly angry, however, it was difficult to tell where her anger rooted from.
Was it the fact she wasn't there for Jackson? That she wants revenge? That she was selfish? I couldn't tell. I stiffened as she began to speak again.
"For this they must pay and you, you filthy half demon, you must pay!" Everyone fell silent, heads raising, eyes opening, everyone looked to Chase who met her gaze, swallowing hard. My mother was seething at this point, her perfect hair out of place. Her face contorted in rage, she took a breath before looking at the table, her voice cold as it came out. "James bring me your whip."