Reversis

Noelle watched the redhead and the mostly human boy pale and stumble back into the wall. She raised a curious eyebrow, about to open a line of questioning, when the doctor began to ask more questions about the Revenants. Roux was efficiently and competently answering them with no need of her help, she let her eyes drift to the duo looking absolutely horrified. She snapped her fingers to gain their attention and tilted her head in a motion that suggested they needed to follow her outside. Roux didn’t even stutter in her explanation that they would not be killed by ordinary weapons as Noelle pushed the door open. The only one that took note was Chris but he stayed where he was and let the two kids follow her outside.

“You know something.” Noelle said, turning to face them and crossing her arms. “You need to tell me what it is.” The two looked at each other but remained silent. Noelle didn’t like this game. She rolled her eyes and took a deep breath. “How do you expect me to help you if you do not tell me what’s going on?” Silence followed and she tilted her head up at the sky as though she was praying to Juno herself to help her explain the situation was not the time for stoicism and silence. It appeared they were not in the talking mood, so she gripped her wrist in her right hand and snapped off what had appeared to be an ordinary cuff.

It was not.

It unraveled into a glowing obsidian whip inlaid with gold that shimmered and glowed as though it was electrifying it. The gold was not warmed, though, as there seemed to be no demons around. The obsidian remained cold in her grasp as it fell to her feet, waiting for a strike. The two grew even paler watching her, clearly stunned by what had probably appeared to them to be like magic. She took a step forward, both of them inching back as the girl latched onto the boy’s arm. For some reason, that only increased Noelle’s annoyance.

“I do not like to hurt innocent people. It’s against our rules, actually. But for information we are granted a certain leniency. The bite of my whip will be like nothing you have ever felt in your life but I won’t use it unless you tell me what I need to know.”

“You can’t just … torture us into talking.” The boy said, stepping in front of the girl as if to shield her. “That’s not right.”

Noelle grimaced and stepped nearly chest to chest with him. “I am here to protect you, save you from demonic powers you have no idea about and you wish to speak to me about what I can and cannot do? What is not right is you not telling me everything I need to know in order to save you. Do you understand me clearly? Shall I explain it further for you?” The same spark of something blue, technical, and unique flashed in his eyes before he shook his head at her.

“We’re responsible.” He quietly stammered out.

Noelle had assumed as much, but it helped to hear it. Her whip, silently and without her moving a muscle, slipped back up her arm and twined back into the cuff while she studied them. “You murdered them?”

“It wasn’t like that.” He said. “I was … I wasn’t me when it happened. And Lydia … she’s a banshee. So I think the other one figured she should have been able to see it happening.”

“Did you?” Noelle looked over the boy’s shoulder to the redhead who was meeting her eye though she looked scared still even though her whip was put away. She shook her head.

“Not until it was too late. I don’t exactly have control over my powers.”

“Seems you don’t either.” Noelle commented, looking at the boy.

“You mean Stiles has powers?” The girl, Lydia, asked. “What are they?”

“Not sure. Looks fascinating though. You can go back inside. I’m done speaking unless you have something else to tell me of the Revenants …”

Lydia immediately turned to go back inside but the boy – Stiles – stayed in his spot and shoved his hands in his pockets. She raised her eyebrow at him and grinned, hopping up gracefully on the hood of Chris’s Suburban. “Who are you?” He asked, stepping towards her. “I get you’re a demon hunter, but … I didn’t even know those existed. And why didn’t you come sooner? This isn’t the first demon problem we’ve had here.”

“Although I am rather magnificent and powerful, I cannot be everywhere at once. And my family is not the only family of demon hunters. You have one much closer in South America. If you would like to blame someone for your past demon infestations, perhaps you should look to them.”

“But Chris told us that your family … like, rules the hunters.”

“I felt your guilt the moment I saw you. I knew you felt responsible. Now I understand. You say you weren’t you – you were possessed, were you not?”

“You can either read minds or you are incredibly intuitive.”

“I can read your face. And, yes, among my many talents intuition is one of them.”

“I can’t fix what I did. I feel responsible. And helpless. She has a right to want me dead.”

“Allison. It was Allison whom you killed?” She hopped down from the SUV and backed Stiles up until his back hit brick harshly. Her hand was clenching his jaw with a power he didn’t realize someone as thin as her could wield. He gasped out a breath, looking into her brown eyes as they lit with rage.

“Yes.” He choked on the word, trying to push her off but she was much too strong.

“Noelle!” She didn’t loosen her grip, even at her sister’s angry shout. “Qu'il se en aille maintenant!” (Let go of him right now!)

She stepped back and with one final glare in his direction turned to slide into the backseat of the SUV. She didn’t look at any of the others, but she was sure she could picture their shocked faces. She wouldn’t have hurt him, not much. Something had snapped in her – that temper Roux was always warning her about keeping under control – and she could not stop herself from launching at him. She knew, somewhere in the back of her mind, that it truly wasn’t him that caused it. He had been possessed by a demon and that wasn’t his fault. Perhaps she should take her own advice – blame the South American hunting clan. She’d have to pay them a visit when this was all said and done. It had been far too long.

“You sure do know how to make an impression.” It was Isaac, a teasing tone in his voice as he joined her in the back seat. She looked up from the floor to glare at him. “It wasn’t his fault.” He suddenly turned serious, almost apologetic. “He was possessed by a demon when it happened. He cared about Allison a lot. They were friends.”

“I know it wasn’t his fault.” She snapped, shutting her eyes and dropped her head back to the seat as Chris and Roux got into the car.

“Could’ve fooled me.” He said it in a way that told her he didn’t want the two up front listening but he definitely wanted her to hear it. She didn’t respond to him. She figured that was exactly what he wanted from her and she didn’t like giving people what they wanted when she was in a mood.

“You can stay with me while you’re here.” Chris said, making both girls jump. “Of course, at night you’ll probably be out but it’s a place you can put your things.”

“We should split up tonight.” Noelle said, making Roux turn around. “Each take one.”

“You talked to those two – they the targets?”

“Oui. You take the redhead.”

Roux rolled her eyes and turned back to the front. “Pourquoi suis-je pas surpris?” (Why am I not surprised?)

No matter what Roux thought, she didn’t care so long as she had more time to try and figured out what that boy was. He was fascinating to her and, regardless of what thoughts were permeating in her sister’s mind at that moment when she volunteered for the boy, she really did not want to be around a banshee. Though they were fascinating, they kind of freaked her out a bit. And, fine, she could admit the boy was attractive in a clumsy and adorable way, but that didn’t mean that that was her reason for putting herself in the position to protect him.

Well, not entirely, anyway.