Barely An Angel (Completed)

27~ Long Story Short

"Ah, where to begin," Dad marveled. "They're a vile group, really. But I suspect their bark is bigger than their bite."

"I see," Anna replied, weighing his words. "So, you wanted me to send a message to the Chancellors because..?"

I crossed my arms. "Look, they have the potential to do some serious damage. They already have done damage. They've been recruiting countless blackeyes into their gang against their wills, wiping their memories completely and making them believe it's what they want."

Anna rolled her eyes, surveying me with annoyance. "Who cares? They're blackeyes."

I raised my eyebrow at her, and I heard my mom let out a low, annoyed growl. Anna didn't even pretend to be sorry.

"I still don't understand how this involves the Chancellors," she said, leaving the small half-circle we had formed and walking along the counter that separated the entryway from our kitchen.

"They're building an army to overthrow the Chancellors," Dad explained. "Who knows if they'll have a chance, but we still need to communicate with the Chancellors. Even if the Fangs don't achieve their goal, they are still very well able to take a toll on the well-being of the community."

Anna turned on her heel to face us again. "Alright, I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, which room will I be staying in?" She asked with a sly smile, letting her gaze travel to the hallway across the living room with doors that led to spare bedrooms and a couple bathrooms.

Dad eyed her with disbelief. "You're kidding, right?"

"You're definitely not staying here," Mom growled. "You can find a hotel or something."

Anna looked straight at me. "Well, they obviously don't want my help that bad," she laughed, making her way past me to the front door.

"Wait," Veren called after his sister. "You can stay here. I'll prepare a room for you," he sighed, rushing off down the hallway. Mom scoffed in disbelief, chastising him as she followed him down the hallway.

"Veren, this is my house, too. I said no," I could hear her say. Dad's response was muffled as they disappeared into the spare bedroom that I assumed was the one Dad intended to let his sister sleep in.

Anna's hand on my arm startled me. "Sorry," she whispered. "Hey, I was hoping you could answer the questions I have. I just need a few wrinkles smoothed out before I speak to the Chancellors. You know, I need to know everything so that I can make sure they know everything."

"Okay, ask away."

"Alright," she grinned. "So, earlier you said that this gang is wiping people's memories...how are they doing that?"

"There's this guy that goes to school with me, Dario Radley. He somehow has the power of manipulating anybody's memories and making them believe whatever he wants," I explained. "From what I know of him, he doesn't like to use that ability, but the leader of the Fantom Fangs is blackmailing him in order to build up this blackeye army of sorts."

"Hmm. I didn't know vampires could have abilities like that. I thought they could only have mundane abilities, like moving pencils with their minds or something," Anna marveled with a small laugh.

"Well, uh, did you have any other questions?" I asked. I could still hear my parents bickering in the spare room across the house, but, thankfully, it sounded like they were coming close to a consensus. Even so, "super hearing" was sometimes more of a nuisance than anything else.

"I do, actually," Anna replied. "I was wondering, how did you and my brother get all wrapped up in this mess?"

I laughed. "Well, long story short, the son of the gang leader, who also went to my school before he got expelled, tried killing Nathan a few times. So, naturally, I did my best to stop him, but he didn't like that very much.

"He and his sidekick turned me into a blackeye against my will, and kidnapped me. Dad rescued me, but in someone else's body. And, well, along the way, we discovered their plans and Dad started brainstorming how we could stop them."

Anna blinked. "If that was the short version of the story, I'd hate to hear the long version."

I laughed nervously. "I mean, it answered your question, didn't it?"

Before she could reply, my parents had left the spare room and met us back in the front of the house.

Mom's arms were crossed, her lips pursed as she looked at her feet. Dad looked expectantly at her, before she heaved a sigh of annoyance. "Anna," she raised her gaze to her sister-in-law, "we've decided that you, uh...," She cleared her throat. "You can stay in that spare room...as long as you'd like." The statement sounded forced; the smile she flashed was strained. But at least she was making an effort.

Anna grinned back. "Thank you, how sweet," she gushed. She immediately dropped the subject in the next moment, snapping her head in Dad's direction. "So, my dear niece here tells me that you rescued her from kidnapping, but in someone else's body. Do elaborate."

My father cast and irritated glance my way. "Anna, you know that when angels come down to Earth, they have to-"

"Yes, yes, I know the whole 'letting yourself adjust' thing. So glad I don't have to deal with that," she snickered. "I meant, who's body was it? Are they involved in this gang situation in any way?"

Dad sighed. "This kid Ramona's age named Demitri. And yes, he's about as deep in it as we are, if not deeper. His friend was taken by the gang, and he almost was, too. As far as I know, he's completely open to helping us take them down."

Anna touched her fingertips together, looking as though she was plotting something. "Oh, that's good to know. Is there any way we can contact him? I mean, since these Fantom Fangs are building an army, there's no reason we can't have our own. We're going to need all the help we can get."

~

Oof, sorry this one took so long. I just got sidetracked; life, ya know? And, I didn't particularly enjoy this chapter, as I wasn't all that inspired today. But, I hope you guys enjoyed it. I promise, action is coming soon ;) so stay tuned!

~R.J. ♡