The Envelope
"It's about Sota. He's the one who put the hit out on Z."
The room went dead silent. The atmosphere was so tensed that I soon began to feel uncomfortable. It was a while before anyone spoke.
"But why would Sota want to kill Xavier? That does not make any sense," said Tori after he'd finally calmed down.
Devlyn held up a hand. "Wait. Who's this guy?"
I crossed my arms once more and leaned against the counter. "Paul Sota. He's just some guy who's been after me since the day my... I mean those imposters died. Just like Tori, he is a member of the Warren Clan- a family of guardians who protect my... clan, I guess you could say. He is ranked number two. And he is also the guy who sent those letters, and as we now know, put a hit out on Z."
Devlyn's eyebrows knitted in confusion. "Tori is part of a clan?" When we- well I- nodded he continued on. "If Sota the Strawberry Man is ranked number two in this... clan, who is number one?" For the first time that day Tori smiled. It wasn't a full one but it was close enough.
"I am."
"You-"
"Anyway," I interrupted before they could get off topic. "Can we move on?" The men nodded, their serious faces returning. "Good."
Devlyn sat the plates onto the table in favor of crossing his arms and leaning against the counter across from me. "So, how do you you know Sota is the one who put out the hit?"
I turned my attention to him. "Because Derek told me."
"And how does the human know?"
I told him about what happened the day the pictures had arrived, and where I had gone in such a hurry. As he listened attentively to my words, I willingly filled him in on what Derek really was and his encounter with Sota but being sure to leave out other things like Prom night's kiss. Tori still didn't know about that and I was sure this wouldn't be the way he wanted to find out.
"...he actually gave me the folder Sota had given to him," I continued. Even though Z's appearance had occurred over a month ago I still didn't have it in me to open it. I was too afraid of what I would see. "If you give me a second I can flash and get it."
With Devlyn's nod I quickly flashed into my room and then back, tossing the folder onto the island counter. The wolf picked it up and took a whiff.
"Yeah. It certainly does smell of strawberries," he said, yet he made no move to open it. "So that human is actually a slayer? He could have fooled me. I suppose this means I don't have to be nice to him anymore."
"Careful," I warned with a shake of my head. "He does hunt wolves for a living..."
We continued to bicker for a while longer. During this time Tori hadn't said a word to either of us. This worried me because usually Tori would grow impatient whenever we got off course and say something to steer us back onto the right road. He didn't do that this time. He just stood there; thinking. I decided to tap into our link.
"Hey. What's wrong?"
It was a while before he replied. This worried me even more. "I'm trying to figure out what exactly Paul is planning. Why would he go through all this trouble? It doesn't make any sense."
