The Clepsydra

Chapter 13

Genevieve, Aidan's mom, walks through the front door looking very flustered and troubled, her blue eyes flashing dangerously like she could do with punching through something. She closes the front door with barely contained frustration, her face taking in the sight of all of us in the entry foyer waiting expectedly.

I can see the anger boiling inside her, the aura in the room equivalent to what it would feel like in an active volcano about to explode.

"Freaking hell, who was stupid enough to get on your bad side today?"

Clarisse's statement has a changing effect on Evie, causing some of the potential thunder-like animosity to leave her rigid body. A broken, half-heartened smile appears, causing all of us to drop our shoulders with relief at the sight of it.

"Dear, what exactly happened? You weren't very forthcoming on the phone..."

James is silenced when she raises one of her hands, walking towards him and lightly pecking him on the cheek while her hand grazes the side of his face.

"Tea first, James. I could do with a warm cup in my hands and a burst of sweetness gliding down my throat before I begin to talk of marginally bitter events."

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We convene in the lounge after a short but drawn out brewing of tea in the kitchen. Aidan and I resume our normal positions on the two-seater couch while Evie and James sit on the other and Clarisse slouches in the arm chair. Evie tortures us further, sipping her tea slowly while we hang on her every action.

When she does finally clear her throat, her expression now devoid of any of her previous bad temperament I wouldn't associate with her, we all sit up a little straighter and pay close attention.

"It started towards the end of my time at work. We had just received a package of some sorts and while I was sitting at my desks, I noticed one of the delivery men looking at me strangely out of the corner of my eye. I carried on working, trying to seem oblivious to what was happening while I did a bit of a mental radar search. I was looking for signs of negative aura's belonging to anyone with a soul festering with rot inside them...especially any aura's belonging to Alterates."

She drinks some more tea, wetting her throat and brushing some of her pale blonde hair away. James moves to sit on the edge of his seat, his steepled hands shifting so that one is placed tenderly on her arm, encouraging her to continue.

"Well, I did come up with a rather nasty gathering of souls....but they must have been on high alert because they sensed my probing. I knew it when one of the guys stopped on his way out of the building and turned around slightly. I looked up at that exact moment, only to find his eyes boring into mine as if he could find the answers to the universe's mysteries hidden within my pupils."

I shudder slightly, my shoulders tensing uncomfortably at her words. Aidan leans forward like his father, although instead of aiming his comforts towards Evie, I find his presence comforting me rather. I think I feel his hand graze my lower back, but I doubt myself since the sensation barely lasts a second.

"I didn't want to wait too long, but almost as soon as they had left the building I excused myself, packed up and left the building. I thought that I had heard their truck pull out, but I had been wrong. When I turned around the corner of the exit, walking towards my car, I hear the faint sound of laughter behind me. When I looked around, the one who had glared at me earlier was leaning against the wall with a smirk plastered on his smug face. He got up so casually and started walking towards me, but all calm feelings ended when he suddenly pulled his hand out of his pocket and was holding a katar in his grasp."