House of Bones

Chapter 2: Triggered

As Amina climbed the steps to her old home she was struck by how normal the outside looked. Alexandria, Virginia was hardly a place where the world's greatest crooks would make a hideaway. The neatly lined grass, the welcome mat and the wreath on the home's door was warm and welcoming. Soccer moms ran through the streets in reflective gear with bouncing babies in strollers that giggled at the movement. Mama always wanted her place to feel like home and this place was perfect. The summer evening was cooled by the early rain that left her sneakers slightly damp as she squeaked onto the porch.

Amina pulled out her keys to open the door then slid them back into her pocket. She wasn't quite sure why, but Amina knocked at her own door and waited.

The brother and sister Elven twins answered the door. It had been a while since Amina was struck with that kinda perfect beauty. The twins were both tall and strong bodied with skin the color of chestnut. They were easily the most beautiful people anyone had ever seen. Perfect, clear, smooth skin, with matching perfect teeth. Black elves were a rarity - a true sight to behold- and they knew it. It was a part of their magic. No one ever believed that these two perfect beings would ever do a single bad thing- until they spoke.

"Took you long enough." Candance said while peering around her brother Nasir to see Amina's beat up old car.

"And when are you getting a new vehicle, that's definitely a piece of trash. Or are we still pretending to be boring?" Nasir rolled his eyes as he opened the door wider for Amina to walk in.

Once upon a time , she drove an all black Range Rover. It was her baby... Brandon used to wash it for her every Friday with no shirt on and spray her with the water hose when she offered to "help". The tinted windows of the car made every long drive an adventure between them two. But now, she drove a car she bought with her own money that was 10 years old. She was kind of offended by their comments. Her car wasn't much, but it was hers and it was loyal. It never broke down on her and with a little bewitching every now and again, she could really dust people on the road.

"Hey guys. Where is everyone?" she asked, deciding to avoid the confrontation.

"In the kitchen. Mama, ordered some pizza and there's a couple of cold ones in the fridge. We were waiting on you to start." Candance responded.

The kitchen was clean and organized. Nothing out of place. Each beer mug was atop a coaster on Mama's table and bleach wipes were handy nearby in case of a spill. There was only one seat open. Her seat. Across from Brandon. His eyes found hers and didn't let go. Amina was the first to turn then decided to stand as Mama spoke.

"Our client has new terms." Her voice was laced with professional irritation. "It seems that the original task of retrieving the painting from the African American Museum, was just a test."

"Word?! So how do we plan to test him? " Nasir's eyes were angry and his mind had likely already begun planning on ways to use his knives to grade that exam.

"There were pictures taken. And while none of our faces were shown, the attention of the police searching for us would be very high."

"So, what does he want?" Amina was growing restless and Brandon's eyes still burned into her. She wanted to get to her room as soon as possible.

Mama picked up her glass of wine, swirling it a bit, staring into the liquid as if the answers were magically there.

" He has another job for us." The room held its breath. No one blackmailed Mama, and Mama never let anyone get away with double crossing her. But she was entertaining this?

"The King's cloak. We must retrieve The King's Cloak ."

"What?! That's suicidal! You expect us to rob the King of the American Vampires of his prized and likely well guarded cloak, return it to the client and still live? Why wouldn't we just take our chances with the police?" Amina shouted.