Irene ordered herself a nice tall glass of iced latte, plopping herself down at the exact sa seat Amanda took off from.
This, she did, all the while silently staring, barely a hint of emotion in her gaze… at , her surroundings, the other patrons scattered few and far, but mostly just . They were like motion sensors, her eyes were, tracking my every slight move with the sharpest precision.
It took so ti to figure out the reason why I was suddenly under such intense surveillance until it dawned on that this here was the first ti Irene was seeing donning the hero robes that everyone else for so reason just seem to find utterly irresistible.
Bearing that in mind, the look in her eyes just took on a whole new entirely deviant aning, if you catch my aning.
Once I was finished with her order, Irene muttered a thanks, paid for her drink, and began to slowly stir… still refusing to elaborate her reason for being here.
What, you expect to read your mind here or sothing? I'm not psychic, y'know? Well not that I know of at least...
.
I could ask her, sure, simple enough… and from how she was glancing at when she forked over the cash, I could tell she wanted to ask so bad. But I figured I'd play with her for a bit, go against how these interactions of ours usually go, and just continue going about my work.
Besides, if she does indeed need for anything, I'm only a raised hand away.
So I continued fixing drinks, serving custors, taking selfies with the occasional group that recognized , and before long in my absence, it seems Irene's lips had loosened slightly.
With my back turned, as I was switching out the receipt paper, I heard a quiet little voice utter, "I read your ssage," and even more faintly, a quieter mutter. "Samantha, right?"
Okay then, so this is what this is about. Should have known, should have expected it.
I turned around, smiling a wry smile that she shied away from, burying her lips on the edge of her glass and trying in vain to keep aloof. Sadly a facade once discovered, is one twice she would suffer - in embarrassnt, that is.
"You too, Irene?" I shook my head, unable to keep my smile from widening. "You too?"
But Irene refused to take any of my jibes, and went straight to her point. "Does she know?"
"Know what?"
"About you, about , about us, about who I am," She leaned her head in close, and continued in a low whisper. "About what I am? What have you told her?"
"In regards to you?" I shrugged, and went about finishing up with the receipts. "Absolutely nothing."
Her expression went a little blank. "You… you didn't ntion to her?"
"Not yet, at least," I threw her a brief brow-raised glance. "And not unless you want to, that is."
"Oh, well, that's surprisingly considerate of you."
"Detective deserves her privacy," I said, giving a knowing nod. "I learned that from last ti. If you want to keep things hush, sure. I don't mind. "
"Not… not particularly. I don't - It's fine if your sister knows so things about … and so things about us too..." then just as I was about to tease and interject, she intersected. "In return, there are so things I wish to know about her too."
"What, like her hobbies? Her interests? Things that you both have in common? Well, if you both like cheese pizzas, then - "
"Her abilities, her powers," Irene said, then imdiately trailed away when the other barista ca over to take a spare glass. When he left, peering at her enticingly as he did, and she spoke again, she glanced about the place a bit more warily. "The Demon Lord Terestra's daughter is nothing to scoff at."
To go vehently against her statent, I brazenly scoffed out loud. "And you fell in love with her son. Irene, what's the worry?"
"Your sister is a girl."
"Oh, wow, detective, I never would have known."
Again, indulging none of my cheek, she went on to say. "It's a well-known recorded phenonon that won have the tendency to be more attuned to their magic than n do. It's why most Elf-Knights are female, it's why Matriarchs are the top of the vampire species, and it's why Ria was probably created a woman. It's also not a coincidence that the First Divine that created Kronocia, and the one that eventually would go on to bring it to ruin were both won… and now that world-destroyer here has borne a daughter in a new world..."
Was she implying sothing here? That edge in her tone, that look in her eyes… what was she suggesting?
"The only vile thing about my sister is that sharp tongue of hers, 'kay? It's venom, she's a cobra, but that's it. My sister is not going to destroy the world if that's what you're getting at, alright? "
She shook her at once. "No, no, I'm not saying that. I'm saying - just going by her heritage and her sex, I'm assuming she's just brimming with potential, isn't she? More than you, perhaps?"
"You could say that, yes," I said, recalling all of her feats I've heard from hearsay.
"Right, so… can we assu she knows not to draw the attention of the public eye with that vast limitless potential of hers?"
"Ah, so this is a secrecy thing," I waived away her worries, waving assuredly. "She prefers her life as is, no magic, no mystic. She's the last person I'd expect to recklessly shoot lasers from her eyes."
"You sure?" Irene eyed sharp. "Because the general public is far from the worst thing that could be watching her. Jay is - "
"Still out there, I know," I finished for her, using this chance to try to pry for any news. "Speaking of which, have there been any - ?"
"Not yet, I'm working on it," spoke a heavy finality in her voice, promptly snuffing that chance to dust. "Worry more for your sister. If Jay suddenly finds an interest in her..."
"Why would he?" I wasn't liking where the topic was drifting. My concentration was faltering. "It's Ash he wants, not Sammy."
"Just speaking from personal experience, alright?" I think she noticed my discomfort, for her tone suddenly went soft and gentle, alas even still, that didn't help dampen the blow as she quietly finished. "Family is always the best bargaining piece you can have."
Call easily disturbed, prone to perturbation, but I didn't wanna hear a single word of the subject anymore. I excused myself from the counter, using an empty chocolate sprinkler as my chance to go slinking into the backroom to scrounge for more.
Irene, unsurprisingly, didn't buy the excuse, but nevertheless, still allowed to go all the sa… she's considered like that.
But not before she called out to , speaking out without the urgency, and purely just in passing, "By the way, I've talked to Alia yesterday… she's been rather unusually curious about how you're doing. Any reason why that is?"
I shook my head. "No."
"Oh," She nodded hers. "Well, she's coming to visit you tonight."
Great.
Normally it wouldn't take any longer than thirty seconds for to co back out with a fresh new bottle… but for so reason I stuck around for a little longer just staring blankly at the shelf.
The thought never occurred to , it never dawned on once… why didn't it? If Jay caught wind of Sammy, if he knew of our relations… who's to say he wouldn't try to pull sothing?
Bargaining… Jay was never the best at that. But the thing was, he didn't have any leverage before… and with Sammy's arrival, he might just potentially have one now.
If I had to choose, say if it was between Ash and Sammy, who would I -? No, no, stop it… I won't even consider it, I refuse to even have that be a feasible possibility. I won't let it co to do that, I won't let it happen.
Even if, who's to say he'll even try anything? In my humble abode where a diverse cast of powerful mythical beings would occasionally congregate, he wouldn't stand a chance. Sammy would be in one of our cares day and night. He wouldn't be able to touch her.
Jay's an idiot, but he's also a smart idiot, so even if he does find out about us, he knows well enough to steer away. Plus, the last I saw of him, the last I sensed of him, that is, waiting tables and serving drinks - there was barely enough magic present to swing a door wide open.
Things should be fine. Sammy should be fine. Irene's just a worrywart is all, it's the detective within her that's stoking that fla of paranoia.
The more I thought about it, the more assured I got - and then, finally, all worries cleansed, I discarded the old sprinkler and on tiptoes, I reached for a new one on the highest shelf.
My fingers only managed to graze the bottle before I was suddenly interrupted by a buzz in my pants pocket.
Phone. Call. Who calls at ten? I don't know anyone who calls at ten. Unless…?
I violently swiped away my cape and dug into my pants for my phone. Silent mode had it vibrating quietly in my palm like the world's most silent earthquake.
The display was flashing bright, and as I suspected… the culprit was exactly who I thought was.
"Ooo ~ Girlfriend calling at this ti?" whispered a voice so seductively suggestive.
Having soone unknowingly peeking over her shoulder was bad enough. Having that soone be your boss and eyeing you slyly was even worse.
I flinched, stumbled a few paces, and imdiately whirled around to face the shady witch with the even shadier expression.
Where the hell did she even co from?
"Ah, yeah," I replied, still recouping from my shock. "She probably needs sothing. I'll be quick though."
"Hey, hey, you know the rules, don't you?" Hayley spoke out, crossing her arms and overplaying a tone of authority. "No phone calls unless during break, or sothing important is happening."
My phone kept vibrating violently in my hand, and it just refused to stop… seeing that, the Witch gave an amused chuckle.
"That being said, a call from love is the most important of them all," She stepped out into the cafe, giving a gesture that implied she'll be commandeering in my absence. "Besides, sotis I forget about the rules myself too every once in a while, or all the ti actually," waving with a knowing smile. "I an, we all make mistakes, after all."
Way to go, boss.
At this point, my phone had already stopped ringing… but just as soon as it did, it started up again once more like it had never stopped in the first place.
I don't think she's fully adapted to leaving a ssage yet instead of flat-out just calling for every single thing. She promised she'd work on it… but I guess touchscreen keyboards simply proved too daunting of an undertaking even for soone of her caliber.
When I get back ho, I suppose I'll dedicate so ti to giving her another crash course on text ssaging.
But for now, tapping on call, I raised the phone to my ear.
"Nice of you to call," I said, already beginning the first steps of my pace around the backroom. "Yes, Ash?"
Reviews
All reviews (0)