A Weapon’s Serenade

“No Serena today?” Melody looked around the glass dome. Isha had requested that Melody, Anne and Kuria would come by before the siren would leave for a longer exploration trip and the girls did their sightseeing tour through Germany.

Isha shook her head. “Not right now. I wanted to talk to you three specifically, about things that I want to be a surprise for Serena.”

“Alright, now I am curious.”

“You will be gone for three weeks, right?”

“That’s the plan, we’ll be leaving in two days on Saturday and return on the Saturday three weeks later.”

“I will go on a one-week guided tour of the oceans of Hell after which our group will come together to discuss moving here. I will stay in Hell even if the rest of the group decides to return to the other side. I want to keep it a secret to surprise Serena, but I wanted to tell someone, I am just so excited. Famine agreed to turn me once the group made their decision.”

“That is amazing!”

“It really is! I wanted you to know before you leave and I am tempted to wait for your return to show my new self to Serena.”

“No need to wait for us, I am sure Serena has all kinds of ideas of how to spend that time with you.”

“I have no doubts there.”

“And it would be nice to hear about your experiences when we return, all the things you did.”

“Only if you tell me about your adventures.”

“You got a deal.” Melody chuckled. “I’m really happy that everything is working out for you.”

“As am I. Could you do me a favour while you are gone?”

“Of course, what do you need?”

“Famine promised that she would create a little house for me to stay in, just a little space that I have the right to apparently. She eventually wants to figure out how and where I want something permanent, but I like the idea of having a little space to decorate. Can you bring me something for that? A little trinket.”

“Absolutely! Anything in specific?”

“I don’t even know what’s out there, surprise me.”

“Alright.”

Before the girls left for their vacation, they had checked in with Beatrice. She was quite happy staying in the library, but she was ready to confront her family over what had happened. Nirrti would be there to support her and help her make a quick exit in case anything went wrong.

It was Saturday now, the girls had left for the train to Portsmouth to catch the ferry to Le Havre. Beatrice and Nirrti teleported onto the sidewalk outside Beatrice’s childhood home. Despite her family still living here, it didn’t feel like home anymore.

“Will you be okay?”

Beatrice nodded. “Hopefully. This has to be done no matter what. Let’s go.”

“If you need me to step in, just say so. I am here to support you.”

“Thank you.” Beatrice slowly made her way to the front door and hesitantly rang the doorbell.

Her father answered the door. “Beatrice. I didn’t… I’m sorry, I just didn’t expect you to come back.”

“I can’t leave this all unresolved. I still care about you all, I can’t just leave you behind.”

“You don’t have to deal with this if you don’t want to. Just say the word and we will deal with Jake.”

“I have to do that myself and you know it. I appreciate it, but this is between me and him.”

“And your bodyguard.”

Beatrice forced a smile. “Just a precaution. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all, especially after last time.”

“Good. Is he here?”

“In his room. We should warn your mother though.”

“Agreed. We can wait here for now, just to be sure.”

Her father nodded. “That might be for the best, don’t want to start things unprepared. I will hurry, alright?”

“Of course. Take your time, dad.”

 He nodded again and rushed into the kitchen.

Nirrti stepped closer to Beatrice. “I can read your brother’s mind if necessary. I can also hand any information I find to you telepathically.”

“Then you could read my mind to find out if and when I would ask you for that, right?”

“I could, yes.”

“Then please do that. I want to resolve this peacefully and with everyone happy in the end. Having the upper hand in that is a good idea.”

“I will do what I can.”

“Thank you, truly. What a couple of years it’s been… I hope I can repay your kindness one day.”

“You do that with all you do for this world, don’t worry about repaying me. Making this world a better place is enough.”

“You people are way too kind.”

Beatrice’s father returned. “I warned your mum, she wants a few words with you before we call Jake down. If that’s okay.”

Beatrice nodded. “Of course it is.”

“Come in then, we’ll do this in the kitchen, we just cleaned it this morning.”

Beatrice’s mum shot up to hug her daughter as the three entered the kitchen. “I am so sorry.”

“Hey mum. It’s okay. I have seen worse, don’t worry about me.”

“It’s my job to worry.”

“Then you are doing a fine job, but you can work less. I am fine and will be fine, no matter what. You raised a hardy daughter.”

“I love you, Bea.”

“Love you too, mum. And I am really sorry for doing this today. I just have to, I can’t leave this unresolved.”

“No, I understand. If you can get through to Jake…”

“I am ready to cheat to get this family back together. No matter what happens, just know that I love you two and this is all about Jake and where he went wrong.”

“I understand, we will always love you.”

Beatrice’s father nodded in agreement. “Always. Shall I call for Jake then?”

Beatrice took a deep breath. “Alright, let’s do this.”

Jake dumped himself on a chair at the kitchen table after his father basically dragged him from his room. “Oh, it’s you. What do you want?”

“I want to know why. Why the outburst? We used to be so close, what happened?”

“And that’s what you brought the bitch… sorry, the bodyguard, for? Scared of me? The little doggy you sent to eat shit in your stead all those years?”

“I genuinely believed that we were close. That we would help each other. I made sure your grades were sufficient, you made sure I wouldn’t get beaten up. That meant nothing to you, did it? You were the best brother I could imagine. What happened?”

“You changed. You left me behind, that’s what happened. You leave me in the dust and return every few months as the ever greater saviour of the world. What about us? What about this family? You never gave a shit about us. You show up, boast about how amazing your work is and then go away again. Just fuck off entirely.”

Nirrti shot Beatrice a glance. Jake was lying, this wasn’t the original cause.

“You don’t even believe that yourself. You know that all the money I send home, all the help I get you, the people who renovated the house, the gardener, the fucking cleaning lady, all of that is contingent on me being out there, jumping when my boss tells me to. I do not have the time to be here for weeks on end because I made this deal. A better life that allows me to help you in exchange for creating a better world. If you don’t want my help anymore, then tough shit. That’s not your choice. As long as you live in this house, you will receive the help I give this family.”

Nirrti sent a little more information, the image of Jake’s hatred became clearer with every word Beatrice said. So, she continued. “Someone got into your head and turned you inside out. The words you said about me helping lesser people, people who aren’t even human to you, weren’t yours. You are jealous that I got this life after dad’s mistake and that drove you right into the arms of the people who want to exploit you.”

“No, people who understand. Unlike you. You used to understand. We used to be underdogs together, fight together for our place, and now what? You get it handed on a silver platter?”

Beatrice shot Nirrti a glance. “No, not on a silver platter. Do you even know what happens to me when I break the terms of the deal I made?”

“You get fired, boohoo. Cry harder, lapdog. Go back to your mister Johnson if your deal is so shit and whine at him.”

“My deal isn’t with him. My deal is with powers beyond him, powers that use the Hand as it is named. I am not Johnson’s lapdog, I am their prisoner. I wronged them, wronged the wrong people and this is the price I pay. Do you remember Bradley from primary school?”

“What? The guy who got expelled and his family moved?”

“Do you remember what he did?”

“No?”

“He crossed Melody Valefor. That girl casts a long shadow everywhere she goes, students who wrong her go missing, teachers appear of thin air to keep their eyes on her and vanish as she does. Two mothers with strange names who adopt this innocuous child after her parents die at the hands of a mysterious organization. All assailants dead on the scene.”

“That’s the bitch that beat me up!”

“You were smart enough to not get involved with her again.”

“You're saying that she is some sort of super powerful mafia boss then?”

“No, obviously not. I am saying that she belongs to the organization making Johnson jump on command. I crossed Melody Valefor and I am paying the price. Now I jump on command. I don’t know their long game, but right now they are happy as long as we keep trying to make the world better for people. And they get very cross when we exploit someone. Getting you a little help in life, so you don’t have to worry about anything, is something I am doing with the money I get paid. Hate me for it, I don’t care. I care about you, all three of you.”

Jake took a moment to think or at least it seemed that he did. “Wait. The Hand? Your company bullshit is really called the Hand?”

“Yes.”

“You can’t truly believe what they’re telling you, right? The Hand are devil-worshippers. A demonic power!”

Beatrice looked at Nirrti in confusion. “Where the fuck did that come from?”

Nirrti silently raised an eyebrow at Jake, who continued. “Everyone’s saying it, I saw videos about it. Fucking Hand people tearing down churches and shit, forcing people to pray to Satan.”

“How did you even find that kind of stuff?”

“Marvin sent me some stuff about that library in the city. That shit is wild, but, like, it has to be true. Those librarians are crazy! He also found those Hand videos. Those are legit.”

“Those are bullshit. If you want I can debunk them right here, just show me.”

“And listen to your propaganda and lies? You are part of the Hand, you are literally some high satanic priest. Fucking women, always women by the way.” Jake started laughing. “Even your little doggy here. Because real men won’t fall for this shit.”

Beatrice sighed. “There is nothing I can tell you to just give me a chance to prove you wrong?”

He scoffed. “No? All you do is lie. I know better than to fall for your shit again, especially now that you have your little propaganda booklets and devil spells. You can’t bewitch me.”

“Then I will only ask for one thing. Just try to make this work when I visit? I don’t care what you believe or what you do when I’m gone, let’s just pretend to be a family when we are all together.”

“I make no promises.”

“I will try. But I will also not tolerate assertions that you might blow up my car. I will not let you hurt anyone over this. If you want to believe that I am in some cult because I wronged some demons, fine. Let’s just pretend to make this work.”

“Yea… no. Honestly, I don’t care. You sold your soul and I won’t let you sell mine. Just fuck off.” Jake got up and walked back to his room.

“Alright then. That went better than expected.”

Beatrice’s parents needed a moment in silence. Meanwhile, Nirrti leaned over to Beatrice. “We will have to report this to the inquisitors.”

“I know. I might have to ask mister Johnson to be put on cleanup duty for a few months. I don’t want the fixers on this, this is still my problem even if it has grown out of hand.”

“Make sure he knows that the inquisitors are involved and that cooperation is not optional.”

“I am sure he is already well aware, but I will remind him.”

Finally, Beatrice’s mother spoke up. “If your business can wait a little bit, I would like to make some tea. To at least have something nice come from this, even just a cup of tea…”

Beatrice nodded. “We have time and tea would be lovely, thank you, mum. I’m sorry all this went sideways. I’m really fucking sorry.”

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