Bellamy Holmes #2
“A very powerful dark spell that’s been holding on to your mother since she was very young!” Vanessa shouted. “Trevor, the jar! Himora, read the notes I left! Read it out loud! Now!”
“Spirits that do not belong, I command you to leave this body,” Himora read with a straight-laced tone. “I close every doorway to darkness and seal this body in protection.”
The black face pulled from the ceiling, reaching down towards Poette with a sinister laugh as Vanessa tossed her hands back before pushing forward.
“This spell doesn’t seem to be effective,” Himora said out loud. “The words don’t line up–––”
“Himora! JUST READ IT!” Trevor shouted.
“I will not read something that does not make sense. This spell is useless–––”
“Yuh can’t claim her soul anymore! Let her be in peace!
” Vanessa angrily shouted. “Dis body shut to wickedness! De gate close ta yuh now, Lettie! Go now!” She looked over her shoulder just as the corners of the ceiling began to set a blaze.
“Everybody but Himora, get out now! She’s trying to burn this house down with everybody in it! GET OUT! NOW!”
The distorted laughter of the black face pulled and twisted from the ceiling when I felt Namir grab my arm, yank me with a hard pull towards the nearest door.
He banged on it three times, shoved it open with his shoulders and pushed my body through first until we fell through his closet door in his dark office.
I caught myself just before falling on Namir who would undoubtedly shove me off.
He was coughing while stumbling to his feet as he reached for his sofa to steady and balance himself.
I looked back at the stuffed closet door filled with sports equipment, boxes of uniforms and sneakers along with stacks of folders and paperwork.
“She’s about to die.” Namir let out as he dropped down on the couch with an exasperated sigh. “She’s about to die…” He leaned over the couch as he gripped his head. “I don’t know how to even tell Maggie all of this. I feel like I shouldn’t have been there in the first place–––”
The door to his office suddenly burst open as Namir shot up with me not even bothering to hide at this point. If it’s my time to get arrested for being who I am, then so be it.
“Oh thank God!”
My eyes burst open at the familiar voice. Seeing Birdie Jones rush in with a hesitant siren walking nervously behind her, picking anxiously at her nails. She was one of Maggie’s friends. I recognized the faded scars and vaguely remember her being at the house before everything went down.
“You’re already back–––Bellamy?!” Birdie shrieked with her arms reaching for me. “You…”
Her words fell silent as she read everything about me just from my eyes. She wrapped her arms around me to hold.
“What are you doing here?” Namir asked as he sat back down.
“I ran into Asha on the way here…” turning to look back at Maggie’s friend.
“We had an interesting conversation, and I figured it would be useful for you, so we intended to leave a note under your door until I heard your voice. I didn’t expect either of you to be here so…
quickly.” She turned to look at me with a gentle smile. “Are you okay, my love?”
I nodded, feeling spoiled as she reached to smear any stained blood away from my eyes. She was all I needed. Maybe a drop or taste of Himora Clarke to settle my curiosity but Birdie was all I needed in the foreseeable future.
“What was this conversation?” Namir asked as he stood up to walk to his desk. “At this point, my focus is turning towards finding my Maggie. I don’t care about this job. I don’t care about any of this other shit but her–––”
“She’s on her way back,” Asha blurted out before nervously retreating behind Birdie.
She wasn’t the same siren I met last year that had a mouth and attitude.
Yet, something about Namir made her nervous.
“I know I’m probably the last person you want to hear from but I…
I saw her. At least I think I did. I saw her in the water. She…”
Namir’s gaze pierced through her like a dog tracking its prey. He only had eyes for her and as the rest of the office fell silent, Birdie coaxed her to keep talking.
“Maggie said she’s on her way and she wanted me to let you know she’s okay.”
I looked at Namir. His nose tweaked, nostrils throbbing as he picked his chin up to smell the air. His hardened gaze suddenly softened with his shoulders falling from its defensive hold which meant he caught something.
“I can smell her on you,” he said, voice barely above a whisper. Birdie smiled as she rubbed Asha’s arm to comfort her. “Did she say where she is?”
“No. I…She just kept screaming my name for my attention and said she’s coming. This was all underwater…at the dome.. Maybe it was some sort of illusion, but it felt real.”
“Yeah so before you do something stupid,” I added as Namir cut his eyes at me. “Think about your next move, especially knowing what you now know about yourself.”
“What does he now know?” Birdie asked.
“That I was right all along. There is no such thing as a powerful First Family descending from the fucking moon or whatever…but there is such a thing as Gaia,” I said. Birdie gasped with intrigue while Namir shook his head.
“Really?!” She gasped but when Namir glared at her, she cleared her throat and adjusted her shoulders to focus.
“What we all need to do now is focus on the trials coming up and wait for her arrival. From what I’m hearing right now, she’s not the only one that suddenly went missing.
Apparently, Xavier Martin is now missing too, and the dean is in an absolute panic since he’s the damn face of all of this shit. ”
“They don’t know where he is? He was just there on the Grounds last night. He just disappeared?” Namir asked. Birdie shrugged.
“He’s missed two major meetings already this morning. No one knows where he is and he’s not answering his phone.”
Just then, the sound of a phone buzzing suddenly caught our attention. I felt around for my pockets before seeing Namir pull out his own device.
“Yeah?” His voice, tired and demeanor drained but I could tell it was his brother Seth just from the unnecessary background noise he tends to have in his calls.
“Did you hear what that lady said about you? I just wanna make sure you heard it the way I did.”
“Don’t do this–––”
“YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE ALPHA! Mothafucka you’ve been that dude this whole time!
” Seth exclaimed. “THE FIRST WEREWOLF?! brUH!? THAT SHIT IS CRAZY!” I glanced at Birdie with a quick wink of my eye while she anxiously stood in place waiting to hear everything.
I would have to have what she calls ‘pillow talk’ with her later tonight.
“How are you out here chasing this woman down, helping her with her life and shit but you running from yours this whole time?”
Namir gripped his head before using his hand to pinch at his eyes, trying to hide the fact that he was about to start crying. You could see it though, the hairs on his arms and legs standing up at the expressed emotion.
“Listen to me Namir…If your brother was alive today I can promise you, he would prefer you take his place over me. What happened at the funeral needed to happen. It’s cool being the interim alpha and all but the amount of…
bitches on fours throwing it at me…I can’t stand it.
” Namir started laughing as I shook my head.
“I’m being serious! You know me…I’m not fucking no raw animal…
I can’t do it…and that’s just me and my own personal issues with my image as a wolf.
Maybe I should seek therapy…who knows?! I’m my mama’s son and will forever be her child.
You on the other hand? You were born for this…
born and bred for this and now you got the woman who is your equal… Yall were destined to be.”
“That might be the nicest thing I’ve ever heard you say, Seth,” I let out.
“Who is that? Is that Big Red?”
“One and only,” I replied with a light bow of my head. “So are you saying you no longer want to be alpha because you know you’re inferior to your little brother?”
“I’m saying I was never made official because I knew my little brother was meant to do big things. I’m just keeping his seat warm and away from others until he’s ready to sit down.”
“Awww,” Birdie cooed as she looked at Asha who smiled.
“Bellamy, what did Velma with the fangs say? Please wake my brother up and talk some sense into him. What did she say?” Seth asked. “Where ever she is, you know she’s not gonna come back the same woman as before. You and I both know that.”
I leaned my head forward with a tilt to look at Namir who looked like a child trying to find the strength to be strong. Something I will never understand, or experience is grieving the death of someone. So when Namir turned to look at me, I cleared my throat.
“Velma with the fangs said that you are the moon, and my sister is as powerful as the earth will let her be. Either get yo shit together or move aside so she can reign supreme.”
Seth sighed.
“That’s…Man come on now. That’s not what she said man.”
“Well it’s what I heard.”