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~Chapter 10: The Calm…~

Thinking of her numbered days of freedom, Evelyn could still consider the better job offer from Perse that she would have to move across the country for. New Hampshire was definitely a smaller state – that could mean it might have a smaller supernatural population and she might be safer. However, moving across the country would also mean that she would have to leave Avery behind with that despicable Cooper. She wondered whether Perse would allow her to choose her own personal assistant so that Avery could move along with her. Plus, if push came to shove and she somehow did get enslaved or die, the possibility that she could see Perse again, even if it was just for the one last time, the idea made her feel just a little better.

During the past week, she had checked the location of the Enfer Enterprise office in NH, located in Manchester. Manchester was about an hour drive from the coastlines and would be much colder than LA – more likely to snow, more rain and fewer sunlight hours. Evelyn had always preferred the cold so moving to NH would not be a huge sacrifice at all.

Evelyn wondered whether living in a less populated state would have more affordable real estates. She loved her current apartment, it had 24/7 security and always made her feel safer. However, she had now realized that if someone really wanted you dead, no human security would be enough to keep you safe. If anything, it would probably be safer for her if Avery was to cohabit with her. She sincerely hoped that her friend would accept, the redhead was the only friend she would miss dearly if she was to move. As for her family, she usually only visited them for the holidays and she could still do the same after moving, so that would not be an issue at all.

With the decision made up in her mind, she was about to run off to ask Avery if she would like to elope with her to the eastern coast when something suddenly caught her attention. Across the road, there was an apartment building where a beautiful man was lounging on a balcony. She couldn’t make out his features very well but she knew that he was watching her due to the tingling sensation on her body. He was sitting on his balcony chair, sipping from a glass – probably something alcoholic. When he saw that he finally had the attention of the blonde, he raised his glass in a gesture of salute.

Evelyn then felt warring emotions inside of her – both attraction and repulsion for the man. The black-pink essence around her began to separate, only this time, it was the pink essence on the outside and she could feel the essence pulsing like a heartbeat. Even though she had no idea what was happening, she had been told that the claiming essences were meant to be some form of protection. And for it to react this way told her that the shady man was most likely doing something to her from across the distance.

She didn’t dare look away from the man for fear that once she took her eyes off him, he would kidnap or murder her when she had her back turned. Instead, she called out for Avery and waited. She didn’t have to wait long for the redhead to appear beside her in mere seconds. She felt herself relax when she could finally feel both of her guardians’ presences around her.

Avery glared at the man from where she stood, her essence flared but it soon wavered. The human watched her curiously, her eyes had turned cloudy and her breath coming quicker. Haydn groaned in frustration behind them before he stepped up and physically pushed Avery to the side, to which Avery protested strongly. He snapped his fingers once which seemed to halt her protests, then she shook her head as if she was trying to clear the cobweb that had taken residence there and scowled unhappily.

Haydn flung his hand carelessly, causing a fire to burn briefly by the man’s feet. To his credit, the strange man did not flinch at all for he knew that the Faerie had only meant it as a warning. Haydn glared meaningfully at the man once more before he grabbed both of the women’s arms and led them away.

“What was that?” Evelyn felt like she had been asking way too many questions but who could blame her? She had just been pushed knees deep into a world she did not know about until yesterday.

“That was an incubus,” Avery answered disdainfully but she did not explain further.

Haydn seemed to take a sick pleasure from it as he elaborated for the human, “The incubus was trying to seduce you but the essence around you protected you from his ability, whereas miss little zombie here wasn’t so lucky.” He pointed his thumb at Avery and snickered, “She was instantly starstruck by the incubi.” Avery grumbled something unintelligible under her breath and stomped off to the kitchen.

Haydn did a fancy bow. “You’re more than welcome, zombie.” The human could only assume that Avery must have thanked him under her breath, or cursed him. Either one would achieve the same reaction from the smug Faerie. All the food in the kitchen was already gone and Avery was in the process of cleaning up so the blonde moved to help her.

Once the cleaning was done, the trio sat on the couches in front of the TV. It was showing one of those silly midnight reality TV shows that no one watched. None of them was paying attention to the electronic box but they weren’t making any conversations either, it made the human feel tense.

“So, Avery!” Evelyn chirped suddenly to try to dispense the tension in the air.

She hummed in reply. “Let’s say theoretically if I was to move across the country to New Hampshire for a new job and asked you to move with me as my PA. What would you say? Theoretically, of course.” The zombie stared at her contemplatively for a moment, wondering what her friend was getting at.

“You accepted a job in New Hampshire?”

“No! It was theoretical!”

The green-eyed woman gave her an unconvinced look, signalling that she was not fooled at all. The human then reiterated, “OK, fine. I have been offered a great opportunity in NH but I haven’t given my answer yet. I would hate to leave you here and move across the country by myself.” Evelyn fiddled with her fingers, wondering if she shouldn’t have asked after all. Would one’s best friend really move across the country for you and with you? Just as she was about to ask the redhead to forget about it, she asked dubiously, “You are allowed to choose your own PA?”

“Well, no. They actually just offered me a position in their company but I reckon that I can ask them to allow me to choose my own PA. If they accept, would you come with me? We could probably afford a property on the coast together.” The human tried to give her best-winning smile, hoping that she could sway her.

“Why, babe, if I didn’t know any better, I would say you just proposed to me the gay way.” The redhead jokingly winked at her friend, barely suppressing her own smile.

The blue-eyed woman spluttered and gasped, “Wahhh! No, I would never!” She covered her open mouth with her hands, doing her best to exaggerate a shocked look. After two more seconds of the act, both of them burst out into carefree laughter. The confused man who had been watching them from the other couch grumbled lowly under his breath “Women” and turned back to watch the boring TV show.

Avery wiped away the tears from her eyes when her laughter had finally subsided. Her smile was bright when she agreed, “Yeah, Eve, I’ll gay move with you to the eastern coast.” Evelyn was so overjoyed, she wrapped her arms tightly around her friend who returned the gesture and they stayed like that until the redhead suddenly jerked away.

The alarmed look on both the supernatural beings’ faces told Evelyn all she needed to know – another attack. They jumped from the couch simultaneously and drew out their respective weapons from the thin air. The human thought that trick was really neat, she wondered whether she could learn it one day. Was it possible for humans like her?

Without another moment’s notice, they became a blur to the human’s eyes and disappeared out of sight. A loud clang was heard somewhere in the apartment soon after. No matter how much the blonde wished to help them, she knew she would only be in the way. However, she also knew that she had to be somewhere close to the pair so that they could keep an eye on her just in case. She moved along the wall towards the sound of combat and found herself outside of the guest bedroom door.

She decided to just sit down and bide her time by the doorway where she was just barely visible from inside the room. By the countless flutter of ashes she could glimpse from the room, she could guess that the intruders were vampires again. The demons out to get her must have made a deal with some vampire lord or lady.

Before she knew it, they were done and Avery was tapping her on the shoulder to get her attention. “Are you alright?”

The human nodded and mentioned that they should be writing their resignation letters soon. They adjourned to the study room and composed their letters together while Haydn just sat on the window sill by the broken window. The human really could not understand Haydn’s love of window sills.

“What if they said no to me?” Avery asked while the letters were being printed. Evelyn shrugged nonchalantly and said with absolute certainty, “They would say yes.” Avery did not question the blonde’s conviction even though she looked apprehensive.

After that, the night passed peacefully. The trio woke up around noon the next day and the human cooked a large hearty breakfast for her guests slash protectors. Then, they went shopping for a replacement phone for the human although Haydn was walking a large distance behind them. As they walked down the streets, everyone and everything still looked the same. Evelyn was expecting to be able to see the differences between the supernatural and the humans but everyone just appeared normal and very human. When the zombie noticed her shifting eyes, she reminded her that she would not be able to see their essences unless she was allowed to and also, most supernatural liked to suppress their essences in public.

“But not you, huh?” Evelyn said jokingly.

“I have to show the world how strong I am, you know?” The zombie harrumphed playfully.

Although she was unable to see their essences, Evelyn could sort of tell when someone was supernatural due to the fact that they appeared to avoid her on sight. When she did see a man with a red essence barely making a small bubble around him, she whispered to her friend, “What about that man over there?”

“He is a claimed human.” She whispered as discreetly as she could.

Another question came to my mind, “Does the thickness of the essence around a claimed human mean anything?”

“Yes. Usually, it shows the importance of the claimed to the claimer. However, in your case, it merely showcases the strength of your claimer. That’s what’s making them steer clear of you.” She paused thoughtfully and added, “Although it can also be because your claimer’s essence feels dangerous to them. Did you know that when you were first claimed, the essence was only covering your chest?”

“No, I certainly didn’t know that…”

Shaking her head of the odd thought, she decided to just focus on their search for a new phone. Finally, with a new phone in hand, they returned to the apartment.

The human walked into her bedroom and closed the door to give herself an illusion of privacy since she was certain that they could probably still hear her through the closed door. She gingerly plucked out the card Perse had given her from the drawer by her bedside and steeled her nerves before dialling. She counted the number of times it rang and when it reached eight, she thought that maybe Perse would not be answering the phone after all.

Just as she lowered the phone and was about to end the call, she saw the screen change, indicating that someone had just picked up. “Hello?” She answered uncertainly.

“Evelyn, I have been waiting for your call all week.” The blonde could hear the smile in the CEO’s voice. It made her heart perform somersaults; she really needed to control her emotions.

“Perse, Hi. I do apologize; some odd accidents have happened lately and I only just got a new phone today.” She grinned dumbly with her new phone pressed against her face.

“Oh? I hope you’re okay. Do you want to talk about it?” The worried undertone of the other woman’s voice warmed her heart but there was no possible way that she could tell her that she was attacked by vampires and a nightmare demon’s child. The dark-haired woman would sooner think her crazy and not want her close anymore.

“Oh no, I’m fine. They were no big deal, really. But, Perse, I am actually calling about the job offer?” No, it was way bigger than a big deal but the blonde wasn’t going to tell her that. The blonde also did not want to assume that the offer would still be available even though it was not that long ago when it was made.

“Of course, please go ahead. Are you considering it?” The hopefulness in her voice does things to her fragile human heart. It seemed like every single thing that Perse did pose a risk of killing the blonde before her time was up. An amusing thought of dying by heart attack brought a smile to her face, it would certainly be a better way to go than what was currently in store for her.

“Yeah, actually I am. I mean, I would love to accept the job. Plus, I know I am in no position to make a request but I would like to do it anyways.” At moments like these, Evelyn almost wished that she still lived in the nineties so that she could twirl her index finger nervously into the coiled phone cord like she used to do as a child.

“Sure, what is it?” Her sweet voice sounded through the phone’s speaker.

“I would like to choose my own personal assistant.”

“Under one condition then.” She immediately made her counter offer. It was no wonder she was such a successful businesswoman, for she could always turn every opportunity around to suit her gains better.

“Which is?” Evelyn asked cautiously.

“You will have to stay in any place of my choosing.” Her voice revealed that she was rather pleased with herself by this outcome. Evelyn did not consider this as a bad thing either, it would certainly mean that she would not have to spend money on purchasing a new home or the time to look for one.

“Okay…” Evelyn answered slowly. “But I was hoping that my friend will be able to move in with me at my new place in New Hampshire.”

“Friend?” Evelyn swore that one word could freeze hell over with how cold it was. She swallowed hard against the jagged lump suddenly stuck in her throat.

“Uh yeah, my best friend, Avery. I was hoping that she will be able to move across the country with me and work as my personal assistant.”

“Your best friend as your personal assistant? Bunny, I’m not sure that arrangement would work well in our office. How will you be able to do any amount of work at all, with her there?” Her voice was so sickeningly sweet, it could rot teeth but it wasn’t the kind of sweetness that made the blonde’s insides flutter. It was the kind that raised all the goosebumps on her body in the most terrible way. She wasn’t even sure if what she said next would appease the woman or infuriate her but she took the leap anyway.

“No, Perse. It is not what you think it is. Avery is just a friend and she works as a personal assistant to one of our senior managers who also happens to be an absolute pervert. I swear she is an amazing PA and she will be an amazing addition to the workforce.” For further reassurance, Evelyn added, “She and I do not have any romantic feelings towards each other at all. We are just friends and I am interested in y- someone else.”

It seemed to have worked as her normal sweet voice returned. “Very well then, bunny. Both of you can move in together to wherever I decide to move you to. And I will not hear any words of complaint from either of you with your rooming arrangement. Is that understood?” Her voice held a commanding tone that brooked no arguments from anyone.

The pale woman nodded her head vigorously even though she knew that she couldn’t be seen, “Of course, Perse.”

“Good. Now what of Big Smith’s, regarding the venture?”

“Don’t do it. Since you’re asking for my opinion and I’ve met our CEO personally, I would say don’t do it. But if you’re going to tell them about the rejection; please at least let me resign first? So that I wouldn’t have to deal with my bosses’ angry bullshits.” Evelyn had come to know that while Perse could be as sweet as honey, she could also be just as severe when triggered. Thus, she made sure that her request came out sounding more pleading than ordering.

“Done. I want you here in three weeks. You do not need any furniture, just bring yourself and whatever you feel is essential to you. I will have a private jet at the airport to fly you out there… with your friend. Everything should be provided for you.”

“Okay, no problem.”

“And bunny?”

“Yeah?”

“I miss you so much.”

She was positive that she was melting into a puddle just from those words. “I miss you too, Perse.”

“Do you think I can see you sometime in the next three weeks?”

No matter her age, she felt like twirling her hair between her fingers right now would be more than appropriate, she sighed dreamily, “I would really like that, yeah.”

“You’ll call me again?”

“Okay.”

“Bye bunny.”

“Okay… I mean, bye Perse.”

Evelyn was probably too old for this but she couldn’t bring herself to end the call. She just listened to the sound of the other woman’s breathing for a few long seconds before the beep tone signifying the end of the call finally ended her trance.

As heart throbbing as it was, in more than one way, that was also the second time the blonde had ever felt afraid when talking to Perse. The woman could be rather terrifying when she wanted to be. Evelyn wondered momentarily whether Perse could also be supernatural but then she shook the thought away. Not every powerful person on Earth had to be supernatural. Or did they?

The vibration of her new phone brought her out of her own head. She checked it to find a text message from Perse that said:
“Three weeks, Saturday the 24th of June, be at LAX at 9 a.m. sharp. Don’t be late, Paul will be there to get you.”

The blonde replied back a simple, “Ok, I will be there.”

Finally, the human returned to the lounge room to find Haydn and Avery watching a romcom TV series, they looked so captivated by the show that the human couldn’t bring herself to interrupt them. She supposed that she could always let the zombie know at another time.