The song of Storm and Rose

Chapter Eighteen

Rose hung the board up on her wall, aiming for the middle of the board. She had knives of all shapes and sizes strapped on her thighs. Standing far away from the board, she takes out the smallest knife, she takes her stance closing one of her eyes, she kept the other fixed on the target. She threw the knife, and it flew from her hand, across the room, doing multiple spins before it hit the board in its middle.

“Bull’s eye!” There was a knock on her door, interrupting her mini training session. She opened the door to find Storm standing outside. He came in leaning on the door frame with a lighted cigarette in between his lips.

“Smoking. Again.”

“It helps the mind,”

“It destroys the lungs. Without the lungs, you won’t even have a mind again.”

“Good point, not taken.”

“What do you want?”

“One of the beautiful places here in my hotel,”

“They’ve still not fixed my water. I can’t keep using your shower.”

“Stop interrupting,”

“Say please, then I would listen to you.”

“Please?”

“Yes, you will have manners and use them when you’re speaking to me. However, if you chose to ignore that simple rule, consider yourself talking to a brick wall because I will not pay any attention or give any answer to you.”

“There’s a shooting range and I’m going over there. Knowing how competitive you are, I was wondering if you were interested?” Rose ignored him going back to what she was previously doing, throwing knives . Storm stood outside watching her, she shot the first one, and then the second one.

“You’re making a mistake,” he said to her. He puffed the last draw from his cigarette and dumped it on the floor stepping on it. He walked into her room. “Let me show you how it’s done.” He pulled out a knife from her strap, and she stepped away for him to take his stance. His throw was precise and very fast, hitting the center. She still didn’t respond to him, rather she continued to throw the knives.

“Why are you so mute? Suddenly gone dumb?” Still, she said nothing.

“Still waiting for the please?” He asked. Yet, she said nothing. He watched her throw the next knife and then he shook his head.

“Let me show you. I hate seeing something being done so weakly,” he said. He stood behind her reaching down to pull the knife out. She held it in her hand, and he held her hand tightly, grabbing on to her waist so tight, he pulled her hand all the way back,

“Don’t waste your time in letting the knife go. Just keep your eyes fixed on the target.” He directed her as he brought her hand forward with speed, “let it go!” She released the knife immediately and it hit the center of the board.

“Are you seriously not going to say thank you?” Storm asked but she picked up all her knives and began to arrange them in her case.

“Okay. Rose, please come downstairs and join me in the shooting range.”

“I’ll be coming, and thank you for the new knife throwing skill.”

“Women. You can never understand them.”

He said as she followed him down to the shooting range.

“Let me see how good you are with your gun.”

“Learn from the best.” Rose said as she stood holding the gun in its correct position, the googles on her eyes.

“Let’s see how long you can last and how good your eyes are with a target.”

After rounds of taking turns shooting, Rose and Storm fell to the grassy ground to rest and stretch out.

“Storm, can I ask you a question?”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

“Do you know that your father killed my father?” She asked him. Storm looked at her, as if trying to read her expression, and get an answer from it. He took a stick of cigarette and placed it in between his lips, lighting it with his lighter and puffing out the smoke from his lips.

“Why do you ask?”

“It’s just a question.”

“No. I don’t know anything about the death of your father,” he answered.

“Cool.”

“Why do you believe that it was my father?” He asked her.

“We are all very well aware of the hatred that runs in our families for each other. I went out for a run with my father, and I didn’t see him again. I ran through the woods just to find him dead, in a pool of his own blood. No one can easily kill an Alpha, only one of its kind that knows his weakness. Our fathers once, we’re best friends. The goddess of light, the one that existed before Lady Catherine Henelsy, said to my father that darkness resides within the heart of your father. Misunderstandings and confusions came in and everything that was once beautiful turned very ugly.” Rose narrated to Storm who carefully paid attention to whatever she was saying. “I found something beside his dead body.” She said to Storm. She raised her hand to show him the bracelet,

“This bracelet once belonged to my father. The closest thing to home for me, look, there is a letters ‘J B’ , and it stands for Julian Blanc, my father. I found the exact same bracelet beside him, the hook was off, but this one has the letter ‘ D R’ , and my theory is, that it stands for Dominic. Dominic Reed.” Storm sat quiet for a while, the cigarette in between his lips and his eyes looking else where.

‘Julian and I were once best friends.’ He remembered what his father said to him.

‘That explains the similar bracelets you once had . Where is yours?’ He asked.

‘I threw it away because I cannot have anything to do with the betrayer.”

He said he threw it away because he wants nothing to do with the betrayer. Rose finds the bracelet beside Mr Blanc. What exactly do I make of this situation? Who do I really believe?”

‘Julian killed your mother out of greed. He did it to spite me.’

“It’s not a theory. That’s what they stand for. My father confirmed it.”

“What did he confirm?”

“You’re right. We’re strictly business partners, and should keep it that way. It’s almost time for our deadly mission to begin. You need to get ready.” Storm said standing up on his feet, leaving Rose to sit lone in her thoughts.