“Yes, really. Surely you know of their existence. Your lineage being what it is…” Mr. Reyes continued.
“My lineage?” Solange asked.
“Well, yes. You’re descended from the De’Mers line. I’m sure the existence of those different from ourselves is not news to you.”
“Oh, I see. No, it is not news to us. But… just for the sake of argument, you are aware that all ‘other’ as you call them, are not bad?” Solange said in a veiled attempt to jab at him just because she could.
“Of course. Well aware,” he said, nodding his head to affirm his agreement.
Ms. Laurant sat beside him, picking at her food, a slight smile on her face.
“And you, Ms. Laurant, what is your position with the E.V.I.E. organization?” Marceline asked.
“I’m Cell Director for the New Orleans location,” Gillian answered. “And please, call me Gillian. Ms. Laurant is far too formal.”
Marceline nodded regally and moved her attention to Mr. Reyes. “And you, Mr. Reyes, you are the Oversight Director of all of E.V.I.E.”
“Yes, ma’am. I am. And it’s Jude. Please call me Jude.”
“Thank you, we will,” Marceline replied.
“Perhaps if you were to lay out exactly why you wanted to meet with me, it would help us all to relax a bit and cut through all the bullsh… smoke and mirrors, to be able to discuss exactly what you want,” Solange said. She’d fortunately caught herself about to say bullshit in front of her grandmama, and thankfully stopped in time. Grandmama demanded a very tight line in terms of behavior, not just from Solange, but from everyone involved in the coven. There was no need to stoop to using foul language, and to conduct oneself in any manner other than respectfully and with dignity was beneath one. Of course, she looked the other way whenever it was necessary to protect one of her own, or of her coven, but still, she managed to deliver death and or punishment with a quiet almost apologetic stance. Kind of like that old joke where the punchline was, ‘I’m sorry your honor, but he needed killing’. Marceline was raised in another time, almost literally born in another century, and to her there was no reason for anything to be done without grace and pride in oneself and one’s duties.
Chapter 6
Mr. Reyes — Jude — had put down his fork and knife and looked intently at Solange. “We want you to join our organization, Solange.”
Solange was surprised, her left eyebrow rose in reaction.
“Why?” Solange asked.
“Because we believe you are uniquely qualified to assist us,” Jude answered.
“I know nothing about your organization, and I’ve never been exposed to it, nor any of you to me. What makes you think I’d be an asset?”
“Your lineage. You come from a long line of very powerful witches. We have no doubt you yourself have talents the likes of which we can only guess. You’ve steadily moved through the ranks of all the martial arts practices Sensei Franco Advinadeto presented to you. You’ve not only moved through the training, absorbing all you’ve been taught, you’ve mastered them. You are gifted in hand-to-hand combat, a master with the katana blade. You can kill a man with the bo or psi, and can out-battle anyone on the ground using your Jiu Jitsu techniques. Once you add in the powers that flow in your blood, and your unique ability to move among humans and others without being detected as anything other than a young woman, and the years of your research into vampires, their habits, their weaknesses and their strengths, I believe you would be a great asset to our organization. Join us, Solange. You do not have to work alone.”
Solange didn’t want to tip her hand, but she resented the fact that these people seemed to have kept tabs on her throughout her life. “Exactly how long have you stalked me?” she asked, sitting back in her chair and pinning Jude with a steady glare. She was no longer a little girl. She was a young woman, approaching twenty years old, and if she was irritated by the attention someone paid to her personal life, she had every right and intention of calling them on it.
“Stalked you?” Jude asked, taken aback. “We haven’t stalked you, just began to pay attention to you when you obviously took martial arts training to another level; then when the research started, we couldn’t help but take notice of you. You are born to become a part of E.V.I.E. We would be honored to have you join our family.”
“How do you know what I’ve researched if you weren’t stalking me?”
“I, we…” Jude stopped talking, not sure how to proceed without looking like he was trying to explain away a line they had crossed. And that was exactly what he was attempting to do.
Finally he took a deep breath and plunged right in. “You are right. That is exactly what we did. It isn’t right, but it served its purpose, and now here we are.”
“How did you even hear of me?” Solange asked, somewhat appeased that he’d dropped the bullshit.
“Your mother was killed by a vampire shortly after you were born. It was clear that she’d conceived you while she was away from her home.”
“Again,” Solange asked, an impatient, sarcastic smile on her face, “how would you know?”
Jude sighed, then looked her directly in the eye. “We are focused on vampires and the pestilence their influence spreads throughout the world. But, in monitoring them, planning their eventual demise, we sometimes come across those that are, other. We — our organization — has been aware of your bloodline for more than a century. The coven is not our enemy, vampirism is. Yet, we are aware when things are not as they should be. And your mother missing for almost nine months was not as it should have been.” Jude stopped talking and returned the glare Solange steadily shot his way.
“I see,” Solange finally said, offended that anyone thought they had the right to observe her life from afar. But it was more than that, she was afraid. Afraid of how much they'd learned, what they were and weren’t aware of.
Jude inclined his head. “We never meant offense, but it was our duty to track your behavior, your development, to determine that you weren't also a vampire. If you’d have been a vampire, along with the magics the De’Mers coven carry in their bloodlines, you’d have been unstoppable. So we followed your progresses. We watched. And soon we became aware that you were training for exactly the same mission E.V.I.E. stands for. We contacted your great grandmother very early in your life, but were just now granted access to you. You were still a minor at that time.”
Solange said nothing, just sat quietly still watching Jude as she considered all he’d explained.
“Solange?” Gillian said, leaning toward Solange across the table.
Solange looked up at her.
“I can’t begin to imagine what you’re feeling. I won’t pretend to. And I’d be outraged at people I don’t know watching my every move as I grew up. Puberty is hard enough without a secret audience.”
Solange huffed a laugh and gave a single nod.
“But we need you. All smoke and mirrors, as you put it, aside. We need you,” Gillian said earnestly.
Solange liked this girl. There was no subterfuge with her at all. She was honest, she was actually in this day and age, forthright. So she decided to be honest with Gillian. “Why would I care?” she asked, not with sarcasm, but as a genuine question.