The Soul Devourer

V:

"I'll tell you what you need to know. Have a seat, please",Xavier said again, running a hand down his face.

I looked at Natasha, who shook her head disapprovingly and went through the hallway, disappearing from view.

I took a seat on the couch while Xavier paced in front of me.

"You were right about one thing. All these... occurrences aren't coincidental, they're part of an elaborate scheme", He started, turning to look at me. "There are people after you. We weren't sure just how many enemies you had, but today's events have brought in light the people who brought you so close to death the previous times. They're actually a group, who go by the name of Python. Initially, they were part of the Preservers. But after seeing how they murdered their enemies, without leaving any trail and seemed to have a different agenda from the Preservers, another name caught on."

He trailed off and I straightened, my head spinning. "I don't understand. Who are they? What do they want from me?"

Xavier sighed and sat at the edge of the couch. "I had been trailing them for a while now. They're hard to catch and they have some powerful connections, including some authority figures. When you became their target, I couldn't not intervene. You've managed well on your own, but now that you've reached the age, things are going to get real bad."

"What are you talking about? What age? And again, what do they want from me?", I questioned. Getting answers was only making this more confusing.

"They believe you have concealed a very powerful weapon. One that could do a lot of good or bad in this world, depending on how the weapon is wielded.", Natasha's voice carried through the doorway and a moment later, she entered, holding a cup of herbal tea.

As she placed it on the table in front of me, I looked up at her. "I have no weapon. I'm just a teenager, I haven't even had my driver's license made yet!"

She didn't even bat an eyelash at my outburst but gestured to the tea. "Drink it while it's hot. It'll help with the healing. About the weapon, it's a possibility it's hidden from your own self. You just have to dig deeper."

The smell of the tea was sharp and as I took a sip, I almost grimaced at how extremely sweet it tasted. However, there was bitter aftertaste left in my mouth. "No one in my family has ever had possession of any military weapon either. They're mistaken."

Natasha watched me take another sip. "I never said anything about your family or that the weapon is military. It can be the most unexpected of things."

I was about to enquire more when there a knock at the door. It wasn't just a usual knock, there was a pause and a pattern to the three knocks that sounded.

Natasha's gaze swiveled from me to the door and she muttered quickly, "Get her out of here. Now."

Xavier nodded at me, gesturing for me to follow. I wanted to ask more questions, but the atmosphere had suddenly gotten very tense and if they'd gone so far to help me, maybe they were protecting me from whoever was on the other side of the door. 

I followed Xavier through a corridor with artsy paintings hanging on the walls and giant vases of flowers lining every table. He led me past the kitchen and a staircase, and stopped at a screen door. He wrestled with a knob for a moment before the door creaked open. My thigh hurt but the pain was lesser than before. We emerged outside on the backyard, a lone chair sitting in the grassy plot.

The sun was melting into the horizon, and I suddenly realized how much time had passed. Was it just this morning that I had been stabbed? Sitting in the ice cream parlor with my friends seemed years ago.