Hallows: Pretty Snakes & Devils

Bendy Becky

The Neighbourhood- Afraid

B.B.

Daemon was established in New City in 1624. Before it was known as New City, back when it was just a little village where women were accused of being witches for outsmarting men at a time when men firmly believed women were docile. And it was women who discovered the stone. Women who were awakened with the power of hell and through the years, it was women who gave way to the new generations.

Four out of nine are men in their stone. Vic and Damian are two of them. I've always known the stone wasn't fond of them. It was why none of them stopped Mariah from doing what she did to Damian. Why they were okay with keeping a sixteen-year-old kid in a f*****g dog crate for a whole year and lying to his crow about it.

Damian has become a really big part of my life. First as my friend and now as my brother. Because that's what he's become. Not just because he's dating Del either. We push each other to be better versions of ourselves. He's never once looked at me like I was insane for doing any of the dumb things I've done since we've met and there have been a lot.

Laying here on top of Victor's building with him just enjoying the quiet hours of the night while we're both a little cross-faded doesn't really come as a surprise to either of us. It also isn't the first time we do this. We've been setting up antennas all over New City and Hellbourne for a while along with our combined protective sigils. If we get it right, we're going to be able to tell what comes in and out of our cities and from where. We're just storing up power right now so we're strong enough to perform the spell as soon as our arch is completed. The spell won't work without a catalyst and what better catalyst than harnessed power of the sun we're making in the basement of the big-ass Kennedy estate?

"Vic's not going to f**k around with Carson unless you want him to," Damian shakes his head. "He loves them but he's there for you,"

"I know," I say taking my glasses off.

I feel when the darkness around him swirls around the two of us. I laugh pulling mine towards us. When our shadows meet, the air around us screams making us laugh. The clouds above roll in blacking out the light. I push off the floor and land on my feet. I remove my coat letting fall on the ground. He does the same and rolls up his sleeves. The veins on his left hand blacken as he summons his bow. It materializes in his hand as we walk to the edge of the building.

"Thank you," he whispers.

"You couldn't take what you wanted from her, D. You deserve that closure," I nod and offer him my hand.

He steps into my shadows and takes a deep breath as he borrows my pop. I shut my eyes letting him take the lead. We materialize in someone's apartment. We're a lot higher here than we were in Vic's building. The view from up here is spectacular. Below the New City Gardens are on full display. If the clouds weren't covering the moon, the entire courtyard would be illuminated beautifully.

"What the f**k?" Damian would pick the bat first. "Damian, what the f**k are you doing here?"

Damian doesn't say a word as I place my hand on the glass summoning Eve. She wraps around the building as I lock it down to prevent him from escaping. I look up when I hear the chittering from one of the bats. The entire ceiling is decorated to look like a cave. His bats are all over the place. Given the chance, he'd easily escape and it would take us forever to track him down. Remy is standing behind Kato prepared to scare the s**t out of him he tries to run.

"What is this?" he demands.

"This," Damian holds out his hand. A set of iron cuffs materialize out of thin air. I wonder if I can do that with Pop. Grim can do that too. Even if I can't teleporting is way better than that anyway. "This is what you used to restrain me when she came for me,"

"Damian-"

"Sit," Damian growls. The bats above us let out little screeches. Kato moves to take a seat on the sofa without getting close to him.

"Look, man. You were out of control,"

I almost jump when Damian tosses the cuffs at him. I laugh when they snap shut on his wrists with a snap of Damian's fingers. The lights flicker and when they settle, Damian is standing behind him. Kato screams when Damian grips the chain linking both cuffs together. He pulls him over the back of the sofa as if the six-foot-something buff guy weighed nothing. He raises his left hand and fires off a black arrow. It pierces the wall close to the ceiling. I watch a little disgusted as a second pair of arms grow out from Kato's rib cage.

"Yeah," Damian agrees. He lifts Kato up and hooks him onto the arrow by the chain. He steps back and fires two arrows hitting Kato on each thigh deep enough to go through his legs and into the wall. Kato screams out in pain. Damian waves his left hand and the bow disappears. It's replaced by an arrow. "I was a kid and my reaper had just been activated," Kato screams when Damian takes his second left arm and pushes the arrow through his wrist and slams it into the wall. Some of the bats fall. "You hunted me like a f*****g animal,"

"Stop," he cries out.

"You let her put me in a f*****g cage," he shouts angrily while Kato tries to slap him with his second right hand. Damian grips his wrist and moves to put it flat against the wall.

"Damian stop," he pleads.

"And you left me there to f*****g rot," he stabs the arrow into his arm and Kato cries out.

"I'm sorry," he sobs.

"Open them," Damian demands.

"Damian-"

"Now," this time the walls tremble when he shouts.

I watch as Kato begins to transform. Dark hair grows out of his bare torso. Skin starts to grow connecting his four arms together to create his wings. They're stretched as far as they can be in the position Damian put him in. Tears streak down his face as he stares down at Damian with real fear in his eyes.

"Please," he pleads bloodied booger bubbles popping in his nose. Damian looks up at him. He's mad, sure but I can feel the sadness around him as well.

"Kato," he sighs.

"Please, Damian. I was just following Mariah's orders," he cries.

"Why is Sofie pushing to replace Victor?" he asks. His eyes flicker up to mine. He now knows what I'm doing here. Damian snaps his fingers catching his attention. "Kato, I asked you a question,"

"He's stronger than all of us, Damian," he chokes out. "She did something to him,"

"She did something to all of us," Damian waves it off. "Do you think you'd be able to do this without her?" he asks flicking his wing. Kato's body twitches and I wonder if he feels the same thing Stacy does. If they're just as sensitive. "Of course, Victor is the strongest. He's our source to her,"

"He doesn't belong with us," he pants. "He never has. Elena killed Jonathan. He was our crow,"

"You weren't even alive when that happened. None of us were. Victor has given us everything,"

"Please, Victor is a f*****g thug,"

"We all are," he shouts. "We're all f*****g criminals. You especially. You have a thirst for teenage girls," he flicks his wing again making him squirm. The more he moves the more he tugs on the arrows. He's torturing himself. Damian doesn't have to lift a finger anymore. "You want to be mad at him for making money off of that? What about the girls you and Mariah were selling?"

"That's not what I mean and you know that. This s**t with Diablo has gotten out of hand. We're not the only ones who have a problem with them," he tries to calm himself. "They were never meant to self-actualize. That thing behind you is a f*****g monster, Damian. She's going to destroy us all,"

"Duh," I nod. "What did you think was going to happen when we were let out of cages? That we would just let it go?" I laugh. "That we would just roll over and say f**k it. It is what is it? How delusional can you all be to think that a reaper would just bend over and let you f**k them without any consequences?"

"Damian, you have no f*****g idea. She's not going to stop. She's never going to f*****g stop," he begs.

"That's fine," Damian shakes his head. "I don't want her to,"

"Damian, please," he shakes his head. "Not like this, man. I'll do whatever you want,"

"Tell me where Grant is," Damian shrugs. Kato's entire demeanor changes. Who the f**k is Grant? "Tell me where Grant is and I'll let you down. I'll even wait here while the medical team gets here to make sure you don't die from blood loss,"

Kato swallows hard. I'm blown away by the fact that he has to f*****g think about it and then I laugh when his resolve completely washes away and he accepts that he's about to f*****g die. Damian nods and comes back over to me. His bow returns. He lifts his arm up.

"I'm sorry, Damian," he shakes his head. "What Mariah did to you was paradise compared to what Grant did and you know that. I rather die by your hand than let that motherfucker anywhere near me,"

"All you had to do was walk away, Kato," Damian sighs. "All you had to do was say no. s**t, you could have just killed me, man. I've been begging for it since before I even knew what I was," the coldness of his sorrow swirls around me. "You chose this,"

"I didn't want you to die, kid. You were out of control. At sixteen, you were leveling entire blocks looking for him. Maybe hunting you the way we did wasn't the way to go about it but you wouldn't have come willingly, Beck,"

"Don't f*****g call me that," he growls.

"You know it's the truth," he lowers his gaze. "If you're going to kill me, do it already. I have nothing else to say to you,"

"Look at me, Kato," Damian demands.

Kato lifts his head to look Damian in the eyes. Black arrows cut across the room in a barrage and pierce through his body covering him in them. Damian lowers his arm. It takes a moment but as we take in the essence of the kill, the bats on the ceiling fall. I reach out pulling in the essence instead of letting my instincts take it. The bats all fade to smoke along with Kato's body. Damian sits on the sofa burying his hands in his hair.

I step back leaning against the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the garden. Damian's darkness shakes the entire building as he processes what he did. There's no doubt in my mind that the others know it was us or at the very least him. There's a lot I don't know about my friend. So much he keeps hidden.

"You can ask," he whispers after a while.

"Who is Grant?" I ask him wanting to know who it is we're going to be hunting when he's ready.

"Grant Stockholm is my father," he sits back. There aren't any tears in his eyes but his aura speaks for itself. "He was the one who sold me to Harry Montgomery when I was seven. I was a bargaining chip between Montgomery and Bonnie Humphrey. My mother,"

"You're Bonnie Humphrey's son?" I feel my stomach somersault. He nods. "Does she know?"

"I don't know. I never bothered to ask. I have a lot more on my mind," he shrugs. I nod completely understanding. I push off the glass and go over to him.

"I can help you if you let me, but I feel like this is something Del would enjoy doing with you. You know she's a little snoop,"

"Yeah," he smiles and places his hand on my head. "I'd have to tell her everything they did to me, B. All of it. The last thing I want is for the best thing that's ever happened to me to be able to see the shame I feel,"

"The only thing you should be ashamed of is the fact that you look like Edward f*****g Cullen with glasses, Damian," I shake my head. He laughs. I hug him. "Not about this. Never about this. You were a baby. You were helpless. You're not anymore. And you're not alone. You have us and we'd burn the world around him for you. You know that right?"

"Of course, I do," he nods.

"And the best thing that ever happened to you was the day I walked into that library and stole you away. You must have hit your head pretty hard. I think you're confused, Bella," we both laugh.

"That's my line," he pokes my side. I stand up straight and pull my snake back to me.

"Where too?" I offer him my hand.

"Let's see what the kitty knows. One of them has to give him up. They're all going to die anyway. I might as well get something out of it,"

Each visit went almost the same way. Damian coaxed out the familiars, he asked his questions and he ended them all without getting the answers he wanted. If he would have pressed a little harder, he probably would have but Damian, despite hurting the way he is, didn't want to hurt them. He didn't want to prolong the pain either of them subjected him to. While he got his revenge, I snooped and found some pretty neat stuff. Artifacts, journals, grimoires, account information, and contact lists. Carson will be proud and he's going to love the invoice mini Thompson's father sent the senator.

"I was thinking," Damian sits down across from me as I put some laptops into the little wagon I stole from the Hellhound's garage. I almost filled it.

"Sure," I nod.

"You don't know what I was going to say," he grins. He's covered in blood. I also have some on me.

"You want me to drop you off at Delilah's? You have clothes there already right?"

"You're the bestest best friend ever,"

"Brown nosing," I laugh. "You should tell her it's your birthday,"

"What?" he tenses up. "How do you know that?"

"I saw it in this profile Mr. Thompson has on you," I point at the wagon. "I think he was trying to convince the others to help him kill you. What an i***t,"

"I'm sorry," he sighs.

"For what? Damian, why did you change your birthdate and your name?"

"I didn't. Vic changed it. When he found me, the kids at school used to call Bendy Becky after-" he turns away.

"Okay," I take his hand.

"He changed my birthday so my dad wouldn't find me after his parents bought me for him. He burned the entire manor down with everyone inside of it. I kept the name Stockholm because it was all I ever had,"

"How did you guys land on Damian?"

"Oh, our favorite movie is The Omen," he grins.

"Of course, it is," I laugh checking my watch. "Delilah is home but Lucien isn't," which is perfect because I don't want to show him my hair yet. "You ready?"

"Yes," he nods. I think of their apartment. As soon as we step down, Delilah rushes out of her room with a huge smile on her face. It gets bigger when she sees we're a mess.

"You two motherfuckers went on another feeding spree," she nods approvingly. "I feel un-f*****g-stoppable,"

"B.B. don-"

"It's Damian's real birthday today and his real name is Beckette Evergreen Stockholm. Now it makes sense. Your astrology signs line up and your birthstones match. Get him a ticket back. I'm going to be busy with the devils,"

"Thanks, B. I kind of always thought you just nodded to all the things I tell you," she laughs.

"Your rants make mine seem less crazy," I shrug.

"B.B." Damian sighs pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Get used to it, D. No secrets. The faster you learn that the better. Now, I'm off to teach the rest of my boyfriends that,"

"Hey, baby. What are you-" Lucien drops his backpack. "What. The. Actual. f**k. Bella!"

"Lucien, you're home early," I laugh nervously. "I would love nothing more than to stay and do freaky stuff with you but I have s**t to do. Before you ask. Yes, I did save you a strand," I take the little ziploc back out of my boot and hold it up for him. He snatches it out of my hand before looking up at me eyes wide. "I'm sorry. Carson has the why on his phone and he's almost done, so bear with them. Also, the reason this all happened is taken care of," I point at my clothes and then at Damian. "I love you,"

"B.B.-"

I get back to my wagon and let out a heavy sigh. The impact of my landing must have pushed the hidden door open because I am one hundred percent sure that the wall in front of me wasn't ajar when we left. I reach for my gun and remove the safety as I approach. I pull it open and lower my gun.

While I was going through everything in here trying to find anything on Grant Stockholm, I was feeling really bad about killing everyone but I don't anymore. As the lights leading down into the hidden room turn on to reveal stacks of metal kennels my stomach feels like it's going to fall out of my ass. I tuck the gun away and approach the closest one to me. Using my phone as a flashlight, I met with big brown eyes filled with fear.

"Please, don't hurt me anymore," the little boy shakes his head. I cover my mouth and step away from the metal box feeling my body prickle with dread. Names just flood my head. Lucien, Carson, Ro, Dad, Mom, and I land on David. I turn my phone over as a sob makes its way out of me.

"B.B. I thought-"

"David," I try to stop myself from crying.

"B.B. what's wrong? Where are you?"

"I'm in New City," I cry. "David they're little kids inside of them,"

"B.B. what's going on?" he demands. My body shakes and the next thing I know I'm standing in front of him. His eyes scan my body.

"Is this yours?" he asks worriedly checking my bloodied clothes.

"No, no. You have to help me," I try to push him away.

"B, what's wrong?" my parents appear behind him.

I can barely breathe so instead of telling them I grab onto them and take them back to the loft. I point at the door. David and my dad walk inside.

"Oh, s**t," my dad turns back to look at me.

"f**k, there are over a hundred cages in here," David comes back. My mom wraps her arms around me. "B.B. what were you doing here? Where are we?" I open my mouth but my heart is beating way too fast. My ears are ringing and I can't control my breathing. "Okay. Baby girl, you need to calm down,"

"Pinky, calm down," my dad pulls him away. "She's going to blow," he puts his hands on my shoulders. "Bella, I need you to take us far away. Can you do that for me, Pinky? David's got it here. Wherever you want. Let's go,"