Deviant (Blendling Trilogy #1)

Chapter Twenty-Three

"They're in Beverly hills" I shout, bursting into the warehouse.
Belle was listening to music on an iPod and the other two were making out, as usual. I bend over, panting.
"And you know this how?" Sherry asked, clearly annoyed by my interruption.
"Let's just check the news" Cam says, turning on the flat screen on one wall.

Each station had their own version about what was happening. One claimed it was an earthquake tremor and another says it was terrorist attacks. Five major buildings were leveled in the past three days. They all agreed on the fact that if more lives and property were lost, evacuation was inevitable.
"We have to get there before they start evacuation!" I say
"But why" Sherry whines. "It's no longer our fight"
"Do you really believe that? So you think they will just leave your boyfriend alone? Even if Sanchez fails, he can still turn us in. We need to make sure that doesn't happen. Think about the lives he's ending..."
"I hate to admit it but he's right, we're doomed either way. Better die on our terms than in bed eh" Cam said.
"Besides, I think mum will be there. It's been almost two weeks we saw her" Belle adds.
"Fine" Sherry groaned.

We agreed to head for Headquarters immediately we arrive. If stuff was going down, it was likely going down there. The headquarters was situated on the fifth floor or Giovanni and sons office complex. Giovanni was the soul catcher representative on the Council and one of the oldest Odda in America. Reputed to a cunning man, he bribed his way into leadership. Needless to say, he wasn't a well liked man.

We arrived Beverly hills on a sunny afternoon. I immediately observed that the news stations exaggerated the pandemonium. Celebrity wannabes still roamed around in their skimpy outfits, teenagers rolled down the street on their skateboards, flashy cars still zoomed down the roads with music blaring. It didn't look to me like these people were preparing for an evacuation.

Sitting at a MacDonald's, I munched hungrily on a burger and continued eyeing the street. Across the road from where we sat, Giovanni and sons complex sat undisturbed and glittering in the sun.
"Are you as confused as I am?" Cameron asked. He has consumed three burgers,a fourth is in front of him, and is on his fourth drink. The hot weather warranted continuous hydration.
"It seems peaceful" Belle said
"Maybe we shouldn't have come, like I said before we set out on this fool's errand" Sherry pouted.
"It doesn't look like a place a usurping happened" I say
"That's because of treachery" a voice says behind us.

We turn in alarm and there's an old man behind us. His smile does nothing to relieve the guilt I felt for not paying better attention to our surroundings. A mistake like this could have cost us our lives. The man gestures to an empty space on our booth and lowers himself into the seat gently, all the while smiling.
"I have been waiting for you for a while now, took you long enough" he says
"Who are you?" I ask
"Have no fear young Parker, I come in peace" he says and I flinch at the name. "My name is Theodore Amul DaSilva. You can call me Theo" he says with another smile.
"What do you want?" Cam asks
"I am a seer" he answers simply. "I foresaw the treachery that cripples the Council. No one listened to me, they believed my visions were inaccurate because of my age"
"We are still confused" I say
"I will explain. I had a vision of a time of tragedy. Great families were being slaughtered like sheep because of the greed of a few men. I related my vision to the Council but they didn't believe me. I didn't know it then, but a member of the Council was in on the plot. He discredited my vision and convinced the others it was just a dream.
"I had another vision but by then it was too late. I see alternative futures for the American Odda, nothing concrete yet. I see a future where Sanchez intends to take the whole of America. I see a future where America is razed because of Odda wars. I see a future where he kills me.
"There are endless possibilities. One of my favorites is the future you kill Sanchez and put an end to this madness. I know you're just children, but I have faith in you"

"Why are you telling us this? We don't know you, and I don't know if we should trust you." I say bitterly. The man is already rising to leave
"I believe deep down you know you can trust me. Besides, even if you didn't meet me today, your presence here presents a new possibility. I came to warn you however, everything is not what it seems. You must beware the man that draws souls, treachery."
"What does that mean?" Sherry asks
"A decision that will alter the fates will present itself soon. You must all follow your hearts" he turns to me. "Pain awaits you at the end of this journey. All the possibilities show me this. You must be strong and brace yourself to do what must be done."

He hobbles away from us then and we watch him leave. At the door, he turns to us and waves once before continuing into the sun. We turn to watch him through the glass as he hobbled down the road before disappearing round a corner.
"I believe him" Belle speaks for the first time.
"I scanned his mind and he was telling the truth, at least what he believes to be the truth" Cameron said, pushing away his half eaten burger. He isn't the only one who as lost his appetite. I can't erase the look of sorrow he bestowed on me when he said pain awaited me.
"What do we do then?" Sherry asks
"Isn't it obvious? The Council fell because someone, the man that draws souls, betrayed them. We need to find him and take him out, Sanchez too" Cameron said, slamming a fist into the table.
"We need a better plan" Belle says.
"I think it's best if Cam doesn't flash his wings, just to be careful" Sherry said, running her arms down Cam's back.

I tune them out as my imagination runs amok. I imagine different scenarios that will bring me pain but my mind keeps creating scenes where one of us dies. I shudder and wish we hadn't come. Maybe Sherry was right, maybe it wasn't our fight.