The Doyennes' Worldly Convergence

Chapter 14 - Time Has Come

Harlee

Time ticked by, and it seemed like the city was becoming more undone as each tomorrow became today's yesterday. That craziness quickly spread to other towns and cities as protests and riots popped up more frequently, keeping police officers and first respondors going non-stop. I couldn't help but wonder how Lorne and Cordelia were doing, but Izzy and Mia kept reassuring me that staying hidden was for my best interest. A fact that I had to keep repeating over and over in my head.

I wandered around the quiet castle, taking in everything that I could while I was here. It really was a beautiful old building, and the modern yet antique renovations were a perfect fit. I wondered what the walls would tell me if they could talk.

Eventually, I found myself sitting at the old, large wooden table in the kitchen, staring at the painting of a thin, older couple that was hanging above the fireplace. It had a very American Gothic vibe to it, only ..... happy.

"That's Mr Ronald and Mrs Betty Kurtz. They were Mrs Laramie and Mrs Isabella's grandparents," Cole said as he sat down next to me, lightly tracing my upper back with his fingertips.

"What happened to them?" I asked as I continued to stare at the artwork of the smiling couple, not bothering to stop Cole.

"I honestly don't know all the small details, but, by my understanding, they decided that their time was due to end, and they requested that their granddaughters take over the coven."

I furrowed my brows as the painted eyes stared back at me, "What about Izzy and Mia's parents? Is it normal procedure to skip a generation?"

"No, not really, but they had their reasons," Cole's voice paused briefly as he continued to lightly rub my back, "They don't blame you, you know. For what's going on around here right now. No one does ......"

"I blame her! I actually blame the both of you!" Sophia's obnoxious voice echoed in the kitchen, the sound of it making me close my eyes and bite my tongue so that I wouldn't get myself into trouble.

Cole stopped rubbing my back as we watched Sophia stomp her way in front of the fireplace. It was like the painted Mr and Mrs Kurtz were glaring at her as she crossed her arms in front of her chest and started tapping her foot on the floor.

"I was just fu.cking fired! Allen called me into his office and told me now that he's back to work full time it's too difficult for him to have me there, and then told me to leave! Fired! Me! I've NEVER been fired before!" Sofia snapped out emotionally.

I couldn't help but stare at Sophia in irritated disbelief. Just behave, Harlee, you're a guest here ..... they're protecting you ..... just keep quiet for once in your life.

Cole slowly stood up from his chair and placed the palms of his hands on the table, "Are you serious right now? You're blaming us because you went against this coven's policy so that you could do a little sucky sucky on the side? Grow the f***k up Sophia. You're acting like a spoiled brat."

Sophia pointed a finger at her brother and started yelling, "If you didn't threaten Allen and then out me to the Doyennes," she then turned her pointy bi.tch finger in my direction, "And then you just had to burn down the funeral home!"

I quickly stood up and started yelling back at Sophia as I made my way around the end of the table to get in her face, "What the f***k was I supposed to do, Sophia?! Allow myself to be killed or maybe just walk out of there so that they could have kept taking innocent lives?!"

"That's fu.cking a start!" she spat back.

"Go stake yourself, blood wh.ore!"

Sophia and I stood glaring at each other, both of us daring the other to make the first physical move as Cole gently tried to get between us, but neither one of us was budging ....

"Damian was right about the two of you! If I didn't think you'd kill each other I'd lock the both of you up in the dungeon together!" Mia's irritated voice captured our attention, making the three of us turn towards the doorway to see her standing there with her hands on her hips. Despite being tiny, she was actually intimidating.

"Mrs Laramie ..... I'm sorry ...." Cole tried to apologize for us, but Mia simply shook her head to quiet him.

"If the two of you don't knock off your bullshit, I'm either else going to lock you up in your rooms, or Lian and Aiden can follow you around and babysit you, do you understand me?" Mia's brown eyes looked between Sophia and I, waiting for an answer.

"Yes Ma'am ....." Sophia finally whispered sheepishly.

Mia then held her eyes on me ....

"I'm done ....."

Mia quickly smiled like nothing even happened, "Good, because things are getting worse out there. I know that tensions are high, but we don't need to make things difficult for ourselves and each other. Stress never solved anything, believe me on that one ...."

As Mia turned to walk away, I couldn't help but ask the question that nagged my every thought, "Mia, when do you and Izzy think that I can get out of here?"

Cole ran his hand down my back, resting it on my hip as Mia slowly turned around to face me.

I know that Cole has feelings for me, and I'd be lying if I said that I didn't feel the same, but this wasn't my home. It wasn't my life. And as hard as it was to say, my place wasn't here with him.

Mia had one of those smiles that people give you when they know no one is going to like what they're about to say, "Harlee, that's honestly up to you, and you're just not ready yet. We technically can't do anything to Mr and Mrs Harris, they're just humans and completely out of our jurisdiction. Plus, they don't want us, they want you. You're not quite healed up enough to ...."

Cole quickly interrupted Mia, his voice was cold and serious, a tone that wasn't normal for him, "You're not using her as bait ...."

Mia tried to hide the shocked expression on her face, "Cole, we don't really have a choice. They want her. They're humans. We can't simply kill them, not without anyone coming after us. They're too well known for us to get away with that. They need to do something so that killing them is done in self-defense. Our coven hasn't survived this long by acting hastily ...."

Sophia's phone started ringing, and she clicked her tongue as she stomped away, obviously irritated that she wouldn't be able to keep listening to the conversation.

"No," Cole's voice sounded like a completely different being, and it kind of turned me on.

Focus, Harlee. You're not meant to be a part of his life, right? I sighed, knowing what I was about to say wasn't going to be easy, "She's right, Cole. I killed their daughter. I also killed two of their friends. Their Inn was bombed because I set the Blavelt funeral home on fire. My actions created a chain of events. They're popular, and they have the money and means to make me take a dirt nap without anyone giving a sh.it. The only way I can safely get out of here and back to my life is to make sure they're not around, and the only way to do that is to kill them before they kill me. I'm the only one who can do that without repercussions ....."

"Well, it sounds like you are going to be bait sooner than you thought," Sophia blurted out as she made her way back over to us.

"What are you taking about?" Mia asked with a confused expression on her face.

Sophia's green eyes held a level of fear that I had never seen before, "That was Val, from the station. Allen is on his way here with a news crew, and Gary and Darlene are with them ...."

"What?!" Cole asked, his voice angry, as if this could be blamed on someone.

My heart was racing, and I tried to my sense of everything, "But why are Mr & Mrs Harris with Allen?"

Sophia was quick to answer my question, complete with an attitude, "It hasn't fully sunk in about who you killed yet, has it? Gary and Darlene are good friends with Marie and Dean, you know .... Al's parents. They probably somehow got talking about vampires and Allen realized what a story he had by coming here ...."

My face fell. Not only was I royally fu.cked, but now everyone in the coven was in danger as well.

"We're vacating the coven. Hurry up and pack a bag, only the bare necessities and only what you can carry. We all need to get out of here .... now," Mia's authoritative voice snapped me back to reality.

"Where?" Cole asked Mia as he reached down and took my hand in his own.

"Cyrus and Layla's ...."