Chapter 3
1054 Words
Chapter 3
“REVYK!” Rachael boomed from the doorway. “How dare you enter my home!”
Revyk shifted Vicky in his lap; he held her in place. “I didn’t think I needed an invitation to visit my dear sweet sister.” Vicky’s jaw dropped. Revyk held her too tight for her to move. “Don’t worry, love. We’re not related,” he said to Vicky. “Right, sis?” He smiled.
“Get out of my house!” Rachel shouted.
“Aunt Rachel, what is going on?” Vicky asked.
“Yes, Auntie Rachel. Please tell your sweet little niece how she is not your niece.” He let Viky go, and she stood up.
“Aunt Rachel?” Vicky pleaded with her aunt. “Revyk said that my parents left me at the carnival on purpose. Is that true?”
“Yes,” Rachel replied.
“Why?” Vicky asked.
“Revyk, I didn’t want to tell her. It’s cruel.”
“She has a right to know,” Revyk said. He stood up and stepped closer to his sister. “She deserves to know what she is and why you did what you did.” Rachel’s mouth was in a tight line. She refused to say a word. “Rachel, you’ve hidden her. Tell her why.” Revyk demanded.
Rachel looked at her niece. Vicky’s eyes were filled with tears. “Victoria, I have only done what was right for you. I’ve been protecting you.”
“Protecting her,” Revyk scoffed, “She’s no idea what she is or how to protect herself. If I could find her, others could find her.” He looked at Vicky. “Victoria, you should not have had a problem fighting me off last night. What happened to her powers, sister?”
“What powers?” Vicky asked.
“Victoria,” Rachel said. Vicky sat down on the couch. Rachel took a deep breath. “I saw you running from Revyk’s tent when you were a little girl. You were scared and crying. You told me that you couldn’t find your parents. I took you home. They slammed the door in my face. They did not want you back. I forced the door open and made them tell me why. You could move things without touching them. You knew what people would say or do before it happened. You scared them. I told them that I could help you control your powers, but they refused to take you back. I slaughtered them and took you with me. I told you I was your aunt.” Rachel said. Vicky couldn’t move. She stared at her aunt.
“Why can’t she use her powers anymore, Rachel?” Revyk asked.
“The tea,” Vicky said softly. “That’s why you told me not to drink it this morning.”
“You didn’t drink your tea?” Rachel asked. “Revyk, you don’t know what you did. The tea keeps others from finding her.”
“By suppressing her skills. That’s not fair to Victoria.” Revyk said.
“Fair? I’m keeping her safe. You and others like you would exploit her.”
“I can teach her to use her skills, and she can protect herself. You can’t keep her locked away forever.”
“No,” Rachel said. “If she wants to learn, I will teach her.”
“Rachel, do you think you know what’s best?” Revyk said. “I will teach her. And she needs to know.”
“Neither of you knows what's best for me,” Vicky said. She ran up the stairs and slammed her bedroom door behind her.
“Victoria.” Rachel knocked on her door.
“Since when does a closed door stop our kind,” Revyk said. He materialized in Vicky’s room.
“I don’t want to speak to you either.” Vicky glared at the demon. “You could have told me yesterday. You could have told me this morning. Or an hour ago.”
“Victoria, you must understand. Telling the whole truth is out of character for us. What my sister did for you was kind.” Revyk sighed, “If I didn’t see it myself, I would not have believed it. Rachel is not benevolent.”
“Kind? What she did was kind?”
“Did she not care for you?”
“Yes, but”
“And she protected you.”
“Still,” Vicky protested.
“And in her way, she loves you like a daughter,” Revyk said. “Victoria, she may have done things unconventionally, but she does love you and will always try to protect you.”
“This is a lot to take in.” Vicky sat on her bed.
A silver necklace with a black and polished heart-shaped pendant appeared in Revyk’s hand. “Take this,” he said as he handed her the token. “When you are ready for my assistance, it will bring you to me.”
“How?” she asked.
“You will know.” He said, and he was gone.
Vicky put on the necklace and tucked the pendant inside her blouse. Her aunt knocked again. Vicky looked at the door and thought about opening it. Her door slowly swung open.
Rachel walked in. “Are you ready to talk to me?” Rachel asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Victoria, you have to believe me. I did everything to protect you.”
“Does that include killing my parents?”
“They were religious zealots. They thought you were one of us. If I didn’t kill them, they would have killed you.” Vicky stared at her aunt in disbelief. “The tea I gave you also helped block the memories of your life with them. You will remember soon.”
Vicky nodded. “I think I need some time alone.” She said.
“Okay. I’m here when you're ready to talk.” Rachel left her niece’s room.
Vicky looked around her room and wondered what else was a lie. Her eyes landed on the pile of papers and books on her desk. She suddenly had a burst of energy and inspiration. Vicky took a seat at her desk and got to work.
- Writer
