Charlie's Furies

Prologue pt. 3

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Previously on Charlie's Furies

"He's all yours."

As whatever monsters lurked in the shadows began to advance, the hand on my shoulder turned me away and steered me toward the door. Smooth, black feathers filled my peripheral vision, a large wing curled around my frame to block the sights and muffle the sounds of my former best friend's demise. I stepped into the cool night air and closed my eyes. Lips brushed tenderly across my temple.

"Be at peace, dear one."

Everything went black...

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I woke up late last Sunday morning, back in the dorms, tucked safely into my bed. For a couple of hours, I almost convinced myself I had dreamed the whole thing. Every trace of the House Omega party has been scrubbed from existence - all of my text messages with Drake about it were gone, none of the sleek, black invitations remained. I thought briefly, hopefully, that maybe it had all just been a grief-induced nightmare.

Until the news broke that Drake's entire fraternity and a handful of Ming's sorority sisters had disappeared into the ether overnight.

The police have no leads. I know they won't find any. I drove back out to County Road 5 a few days ago, after half a week of fielding concerned phone calls from my mom. There's nothing there; just an empty field with an abandoned, decrepit farmhouse rotting in the prairie sun.

Drake's mom has been calling me, too. To see if I've heard from him, if I have any clue what happened. I haven't told her the truth. I've decided that I won't. Sometimes lies are kinder. She doesn't need to know what kind of monster her son was, what kind of monster he was killed by.

I spent most of the day today at the cemetery. I sat cross-legged in front of Ming's headstone, tracing the letters of her name and thinking of everything I should have seen earlier, everything I missed. A shadow fell over me, breaking my reverie.

"Mind if I join you?"

I squinted up into the afternoon sun. It was Kelly. With everything else that had been going on, I had almost forgotten that she had even been there that night. I guess I had subconsciously catalogued her as one of the missing. Apparently, officially speaking, she was never at the party either.

She helped fill in some of the gaps.

"Ming came to me, right after it happened," Kelly said, voice tight. She sat down beside me in the grass, close enough our thighs were touching. "I was furious, ready to call campus police, but she begged me not to. The boys, and some of our so-called sisters, had taken video of the whole thing, she said, and threatened to expose her if she got 'too sensitive' about it. I promised her I wouldn't call. I wish every night that I had anyway

I had decided I would connect her with campus resources instead, you know? Support groups for survivors, counselors, that kind of thing. I convinced myself it was good enough. But before I could make it happen she.." Kelly choked on the words. She cleared her throat and breathed out harshly through her nose. "Well, I was too late. I would apologize to you, but an apology isn't good enough."

"You have nothing to apologize for, Kelly. You tried to help her." I squeezed her hand. She squeezed mine back.

"Still, I felt like I had to do something," Kelly stared at Ming's headstone, eyes hard. "People like the men and women who hurt your sister, they think they're invincible. Untouchable. And they're not entirely wrong these days. With enough money, you can get away with anything, right?" She laughed, dry and humorless. "So I knew I had to reach out to a higher authority."

"What did you do?"

Kelly smiled grimly. "My family worships the old gods." I shivered at that, a chill dancing across my skin. "I called upon a long-forgotten sisterhood, ancient and hungry. If I could deliver them the guilty parties, they promised they could deliver justice." Her expression softened as she finally looked at me. "You were never supposed to be there, though. Oh, honey, I am so, so sorry."

I didn't tell her it was okay, because it really isn't. But I appreciated her apology nonetheless. I nodded and squeezed her hand again, blinking back tears.

"So...what now?"

"The deed is done." Kelly stood up and dusted the grass off of the back of her leggings. "They'll have moved on." Kelly looked at me, long and hard, and bit her lip. She nodded to herself, and reached into her purse. "They did ask me to make one last delivery, though."

Kelly pulled out a very familiar piece of black cardstock, embossed with gilded lettering. She handed it to me. I took it with a trembling hand.

"There's no pressure, and no expiration date," Kelly said. She started to go, but turned back one last time with a sad, sweet smile. "I really am sorry, Nicki. For everything. Ming was the best of us."

I waited until her figure faded into the distance to look down at the paper in my hands. It was a new invitation, to me, this time:

Onika Maraj
True of heart and strong of will,
The Sisters of House Omega invite you into our fold.
A black candle to summon us; a white candle to turn us away.
We will heed your call.

I thought of Ming, crying and confused, stumbling in a dark basement. I thought of Ming, the last time I'd seen her in life, head thrown back and laughing. I thought of Ming, cold and still in the ground beneath me. I crumpled the invitation in my fist.

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It's quiet tonight; not even a breeze rustles the dying leaves. And yet, a soft wind is disturbing the flame of the black candle I've placed in front of my open window. A low, sweet voice floats on the breeze, speaking an old language, and feathers flutter in the dark just past my line of vision.

I was never the type to join a sorority. But I think there might be something to this whole sisterhood thing after all...

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Last update (maybe) until T.S. is complete (pretty sure it will be).

Y'all still feeling this storyline?

Any questions?

Nicki?

Kelly?

The invitation?

What do the mysterious women want with Onika?

Predictions?

An update for the succubus is in the works so make sure y'all show just as much love (if not more) on it when it gets published.

Don't forget to vote and comment please!!!