Malice

Chapter Ten

Peter Bahl's funeral. I was there along with Father and Aleysha. She didn't look the least bit guilty even though she was the reason that Peter was six feet under. I saw the guy named Alastair Heart glaring at her. She sighed and walked over to him. He stiffened and whispered something viciously to her. I bristled. She was just doing her job. There was no need to treat her like a criminal.

She sighed again and whispered something back. He looked shocked and all of the tension drained out of him. She gave him a wink and walked back over. Thankfully Father didn't notice the entire exchange. He was staring at the lowered casket with unmasked glee on his face. Everyone present knew that he was, in some way, responsible for the death of Peter Bahl. But there was nothing they could do about it. They all heard how one of the twins, the more proficient one, was easily defeated by the White Wolf- Aleysha. Not that anyone knew her identity.

The funeral was a somber occasion; silence punctuated by the loud sobs of Mrs. Bahl and her ten-year-old son. Her twelve-year-old daughter on the other hand was glaring daggers at Father. If looks could kill, he'd be dead a hundred times over by the force of her glare.

Alastair noticed her clenched fists shaking with rage and he put his arm around her shoulder. He steered her away from the crowd and spoke to her quietly. She looked startled for a second before smiling.

Strange. What did he tell her that made her smile at her father's funeral?

Days passed since the funeral and Father looked more chipper than usual. He popped in regularly for breakfast before leaving for HQ to do more murderous things no doubt. The only time I saw him this happy was the day when Aleysha and Grace were brought before him. I clearly remember that day. He took one look at their ability test results and smiled like an overjoyed parent seeing his children score a 100 on a test.

Aleysha was distant whenever he was around but when he was not, she would usually come over to my room and make camp there. When I asked her how she would know when Father was coming, she shrugged and said that "The universe told me~".

Turns out she told Katie to notify her whenever Father came back.

Vanessa came back a day after the funeral. She was back to her normal self, thank goodness for that, and was surprisingly getting along with Aleysha. Turns out they have a lot more in common than I thought.

Apart from books, Aleysha was also interested in art, dance, music, anime and writing. Turns out she wrote a bunch of fan fics online under ErzaScarlet. Once, she and Vanessa disappeared into her room for hours. They came back out with matching smiles of accomplishment and paint splattered all over their clothes. They spared no time in dragging me into Aleysha's room.

They painted a mural on the entire wall. They painted a grassy plain with miniature people running around. I looked closer and noticed that the people were eerily realistic. I looked around and found myself in the middle of a ball game with a bunch of other people I didn't recognize. When I questioned Vanessa about it, she pointed at Aleysha and said "She drew the people. I mostly did the meadow and the trees lining the distance."

Aleysha smiled and said "I drew all the people that made a mark in my life." I looked at all the people and recognized Alastair, Vanessa, Madeline, Gerald, Katie, Tom, Dante, Ruby, Roy, Grace, Johnson and, surprisingly, even Father among others.

I was brought back to the present with a jab to my ribs. Vanessa gave me a pointed look. "Sorry zoned out." I said sheepishly.

Aleysha held a hand out and Vanessa reluctantly handed over some money. What was that all about? "So what were we talking about?" I asked.

"Vanessa here was absolutely certain that the next mission Zane sends me on will include you." Aleysha said.

"I am certain Aly. I had a vision." Vanessa said.

"Visions don't work like that sweetie." Aleysha chastised. "They are usually gruesome and about death or something. Not about my next mission."

"Fine." Ness huffed "If you don't believe me, we'll just make it another bet."

"This time we'll bet our secret stashes of candy." Aleysha said.

"Deal."

"Wait. You guys have secret candy stashes? And you never gave me any or told me about it?" I said.

Aleysha blew a raspberry and Vanessa laughed.

"Way to leave me out guys." I pouted.

"Aw you adorable nugget." Aleysha said and got me in a headlock. She ruffled my hair and jumped back before I could jab her. I grinned maliciously and activated my ability. A huge hardcover dictionary floated up behind her. It whacked her head and Vanessa fell down laughing.

"Your ability is Telekinesis?" she asked, incredulous.

"Not exactly. It's actually Psychokinesis. Basically telekinesis, telepathy, levitation, energy healing, mind reading, at times, precognition and mediumship."

"That's pretty OP'd." she said in awe.

"OP'd?" I asked.

Vanessa let out another laugh "Overpowered. It's gaming lingo."

"Oh."

We chatted well into the night and I wished that these peaceful, fun days would last forever. But Fate had other plans in store for us.