Covens and Proxies

3

POV

I start cooking breakfast early every day. My roommate has a big appetite and not much time to wait around. She's a waitress at a local dinner, working the first shift of their open hours. And the last. I don't mind, really, because I'm gone during the day. I work in the closest city as a driver. It's not the best job, but it's one that I can easily hide my powers.

Zemra(idk) wakes to the smell and sound of sizzling bacon and hashbrowns with a small side of eggs. "Something smells like heaven," she walks in, nothing but a loose robe keeping her body hidden. Like me, she's comfortable in her body, if not more confident.

"Good morning. Today's breakfast will consist of bacon, eggs and hashbrowns." I greet her with a wide smile.

She gives a small, tired smile. "How do you have any energy?" She asks, flopping onto the couch.

"Lots and lots of practice. Food will be ready in another five minutes." She groans, making me smile to myself. "Are you going to get dressed or no?"

She falls off the side of the coutch before dragging herself to her feet and heading for her room.

"And stay out of my room!" I call to her

She groans louder in response, slamming her door shut.

The rest of the morning passes uneventfully. I serve the breakfast, and once Zemra is done eating she gets ready for the day. It usually takes anywhere between an hour to an hour and a half for her to be done. Today it took her 83 minutes to get out the door, with me pushing her the entire way.

I sigh, leaning against the door. "Finally." I grumble, kicking off of the front entrance and walking to my room. Opening the door, I see Toby sharpening his axe on the floor. He looks up. "She's gone." I say, opening the door wider.

"G-ood." He growls, sheathing his blade and standing. "I've decided I'm going to let yo-you live. But we're going t-to have some rules." He says, walking over.

He leans on the door frame with his forearm, looking down at me. I don't back away, only giving him a small smile. Even though my heart is pounding like a war drum.

"Rules?" I ask politely.

He nods. "Can you heal?" He asks.

"Of course."

"Show m-me." He demands, handing me a knife and rolling up his sleeve.

I hesitate before cutting his wrist. He doesn't flinch, he hardly reacts at all. I silently hand him back the blade before holding a hand just over the cut blooming red. Warmth floods my fingers as I focus on the image of the cut sealing up, the blood returning to it's wound, the scar thinning and becoming faint. Ancient Latin flows from my mouth, incantations taking life of their own. After a moment of hard concentration, I pull away, revealing a paper-thin scar.

He examines his arm before nodding. "I'm going to let you live, b-but you're going to do me-me some favors in return. And no-no one finds out about y-our powers."

"Favors?" I question.

"Healing, m-mostly. If something else happens that you can-can fix, you'll do that." He explains, to which I nod. "No one touches you, b-but me. Anyone that at-attacks you, you kill. Without hesitation."

I freeze. "Kill?" I stammer, too scared to move, to do anything.

"Yeah. Ki-ill. Is there a problem with that?" He growls, leaning down closer.

I'm lost in my head, my thoughts spinning at speeds worse then a hurricanes, swarming like hornets. I shake my head, backing up into the wall cross the hall. I slide down, fighting tears. He only watches me struggle to pull myself together.

I gulp down the lump stuck in my throat. "I can't." I croak. "I can't kill."

He grunts. "No. You j-ust won't." He growls. Kneeling down, he grabs me by my jaw, yanking me towards him. "You will kill anyone who t-tries to hurt you. Or I will ki-kill your roommate." He threatens.

"Why?" I manage.

"Because if you don't, my-my boss and the Hunters wi-will get word of y-you being alive. Which will lead you too a much worse d-eath." His nose is almost brushing mine. "Eve-ry one you let go is a minute I spend on you."

I nod.

He smirks and lets me go, standing up and stretching. "You ta-lk in your sleep, by-by the way. I thought you'd woken up completely." He heads for the front the door.

I flush deep red. "I... Sorry?" I stammer, still reeling from his aggression.

"Yo-you talk. Which reminds me. Who's Jeff?" He asks, stopping at the end of the hall.

Fear shoots through me like an electric current, but I hide it. Instead, I only shake my head. "Nobody. When can I expect you back?" When I look up again, he's holding my phone.

"I'm giving you a f-false number. Only you can text th-is, so don't worry about your roommate. And the c-cops." He tosses it back after tapping in his contact. The name read Tobias.

"Your real name is Tobias?" I ask.

He nods. "Ticci Toby is my-my killer name. Since yo-you're not a victim, and-and you can't tell anyone an-ything, I figured it was safe enough to tell you m-my real name." He informs, shrugging.

I nod, looking at the screen intently. Ive always had a knack for memorizing things, but I can't seem to get his number lodged in my head clearly.

"C-call if anything comes up. I'll try-try to let you know when I-I'm coming by, but I can't guarantee anything." He talks as he walks into the kitchen. I hear the fridge open and shut. When he comes back to the hall, an apple in hand, he notices I haven't moved. "Hey." He barks, startling me.

"Y-yes?" I manage.

"Did you he-ar me?" He asks, pulling down his scarf.

"Yeah. Call in emergencies, expect the unexpected, your real name is Tobias and I can't tell anyone anything." I rattle off, looking back at the screen.

He chuckles. "I should be back in a week or two." He heads for the door and stops. "Yo-u'll break your mind trying to memorize tha-that." He calls, followed by the front door slamming shut.

I look up, dumb-founded by all that's happened. Shaking my head, I drag myself to my feet and into my room. "This is just a dream." I mutter, falling into my bed.