Chapter 9: THE PLAN
"Valo, Jahid! Thank you for coming!" Sonela smiles widely to us.
I just smile politely back at her. No point in pointing out that she was the one who asked us to come.
Sonela leads us to the living room. Ivy, Nana, Otto, Adam, Tatu and Irantu are already sitting on the couches, along with two women I haven’t seen before.
One of them seems around late-twenties or early-thirties. She’s a dark-skinned woman with a pastel-pink frohawk waited for us. Her features are distinctly African, with a broad nose and plump lips. Her eyelashes are really thick and long and she has five small, magenta-coloured stars tattooed (or painted?) below her left eye. Her eyes are very gentle, but they have a very piercing look to them, like she has known you for years and seen you at your weakest and still doesn’t judge.
The other seems to be an Arabic girl, about mid-to-late teens. She’s sitting in a wheelchair, and her almond-shaped eyes are sharp. She’s wearing a red hijab and a wrist brace on her right hand. She’s fidgeting with a fidget toy with her left hand and she has dark circles under her eyes.
Sonela points to the black woman. "That’s Shán." Then she points at the girl in red. "And that’s my daughter Setta."
Shán waves and Setta gives me a twitch of her fingers.
"My wife and Dix are in the kitchen, they’ll be here soon. Setta and Eins are a little jet-lagged because they just came back from Setta’s tournament in the States."
"Oh, right! That was happening too. How’d that go?" Jahid asks.
Setta grins, without a hint of tiredness. "First place, baby!"
"Wow! Congratulations!"
"Thank you!"
"Tournament?" I ask.
"Setta is a pro-gamer," Sonela says, preening with pride.
Two women appear from what I assume is the kitchen. One of them is a pale, short woman carrying a tray with fresh pastries on it. Her face is obscured by her long fringe, but I do get a glimpse of round cheeks and a cluster of… freckles? They are a little too big to be freckles though. And oddly coloured.
Behind her walks an Arabic woman dressed in navy blue, sleek dress, a matching hijabi and white pants. She has thick, dark eyebrows, full eyelashes and the same dark circles under her eyes as Setta. She’s carrying a tray with glasses and two pitchers, one full of what I assume is iced coffee and the other what I assume is either juice or ice tea. She seems a little more tired than Setta.
"Here’s Dix with the pastries," Sonela says, "And the one with the drinks, the love of my life, Eins!"
She kisses Eins on the cheek, who smiles widely.
"Sweetie, I’m going to spill!" Eins protests with a wide smile.
Sonela just chuckles. She then ushers Jahid and me to sit down while Dix and Eins serve everyone coffee, ice tea and pastries.
Once everyone has a drink and a croissant, Sonela starts speaking. "Right. Let’s get to why we’re here."
"To catch the British rat," Otto says.
Sonela snorts a sarcastic laugh. Her face doesn’t have a single trace of humour in it, though. "Yes. But first, we must get everyone up to the same page. Nigel, as some of us predicted…" She sighs.
"What did he do, exactly?" Eins speaks up. "I’m kind of out of the loop…"
Sonela looks at me. "Valo? Do you want to tell us what happened?”
I suppress a sigh and nod. I guess I have to. It has been a few days and I’ve had some time to process what happened, so it doesn’t feel like poking at a fresh wound anymore.
I tell the group about how Nigel and I went to Anna’s place and about the circle on the floor. I tell them about… about Nigel’s curse and his plan and how he forced me in the circle.
| If Valo got cursed | If Valo didn’t get cursed |
| I tell them about Anna chanting and setting the curse on me. | I tell them how Nigel tried to curse me. |
| I feel sick. I’ve just been walking around with a rage curse on me. | I feel sick. Was I just a pawn for him? |
After I’m done, there’s a moment of silence.
There’s a lot of serious and grim expressions all around.
"There’s a lot to unpack here…" Eins says with a hand on her cheek.
"Indeed. Where do we even start?" Shán ponders.
"Why not ask Valo?" Tatu suggests.
"They are in the middle of this," Irantu points out.
"Good point. What do you want to talk about first, Valo?" Sonela asks.
| > The curse | > Is magic real? | > Nigel |
| “The curse. Is there an actual curse on me now?” I ask. | “Nigel called it a spell or a curse,” I say, “So is… magic real now?” | My fingers twitch on my phone. |
| There’s a moment of silence. | When no one answers in a moment, I look around. Everyone is looking at Sonela. | "Was Nigel…" |
| Otto is the one to start talking, to my surprise. “What did the Englishman say it did again?” | The one who starts talking, though, is Ivy. "Remember when we were at the abandoned house?" | Now that I think about it, the answer is clear. |
| "It makes people more aggressive and violent, according to him," Jahid says. | I nod. | Nigel’s actions at the university were premeditated and not because of a momentary lapse of reason. |
| Otto nods and rubs his stubble. "And have you felt any more aggressive or violent?" | "You must remember the skull too, right?" Ivy asks. | My eyes well up and I blink rapidly to stop them from flowing over. |
| … Not really, no. I’ve been more anxious and afraid of hurting anyone than wanting to hurt anyone. | I would rather not remember, but I do. I nod again. | Did Nigel plan to use me all along? Was that all he wanted from me? |
| I shake my head. | "I’m not saying that magic is now 100% real, but… We can’t deny that," Ivy says. | I want to ask that, but I know the answer. |
| "Then it’s probably bullshit," Otto simply says. | I look at my bandaged hand. I do remember how the dry teeth dug into my skin… But when I later changed the bandages, I couldn’t find any bite marks. Neither could Otto… | "Nevermind," I say. |
| Setta blurts out a small laugh. Nana and Ivy also chortle. | "So we’re just supposed to accept that magic exists now?" Jahid asks, incredulously. | |
| … Is “probably” enough, though? | "We don’t know what’s happening yet," Sonela says. |
“Anything else?” Sonela asks.
| > The curse | > Is magic real? | > Nigel | > That was all |
"Alright. Now that we’re all on the same page… we need to talk about Nigel." Sonela presses her palms together. "I did erase his and the girl's memory when Nana and I picked Valo up that day. But I have no guarantee that the memories stayed erased, especially when Adam is now here and not with Nigel. That must jog Nigel's memory or hint that something isn't right. I fear that Nigel might try to find Valo. Because they have something that he wants."
Despite the heatwave, I feel a cold chill.
"… Any ideas?" Sonela asks.
Otto exhales a stream of vape smoke. "I say we take the light-head and use them as bait to draw the rat out."
"Absolutely not," Jahid says immediately, barely letting Otto finish.
"I agree," Eins says, "We can’t force Valo to be the bait."
"Why can’t we let the police deal with this?" Jahid asks.
“And tell them what?” Otto asks, “Help, we think this crazy bastard is going to start a magic apocalypse?”
Jahid's jaw tenses. "Is he really that dangerous?"
"He did build an android from scratch," I point out.
I see Adam's light blink yellow. I wonder how it… they? are feeling about this.
Irantu scoffs. "He built the frame, yes. But he stole the AI for it. He’s not as smart as he thinks he is. Alone, Nigel is nothing. We’re more worried about his connections."
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"His connections that he might have," Sonela says, giving Irantu a look. "We know little to nothing about Nigel and what he can do which is why we’re so worried. And why we want to talk to him ourselves, if possible."
"Which brings us back to why we can’t let the police deal with this," Otto says.
Jahid lets out a breath through his nose, still looking dissatisfied. "… Fair enough. I still don’t like it."
"You don’t have to," Eins says, patting his arm, "We’ll figure something else out."
"I’ll do it," I say.
"I’m sorry?!" Eins yelps.
"I’ll be bait so we can lure Nigel to us."
"Are you sure?!" Jahid asks.
"Yes. It’s the easiest, most obvious and fastest plan we have."
"You can say that again," Otto says.
"And I want Nigel to be brought to justice."
"We don’t even have a plan yet," Jahid says.
"We should get to it, then, yes?" Sonela says.
Eins sighs. "Valo. Please remember that you can change your mind at any time."
I nod and give her a smile and a thumbs-up.
We end up coming up a few plans during the late afternoon. Most of the predictably included me sauntering outside in public alone and wait for Nigel to appear. Then I will lure him to a more secluded area, where Sonela and Nana would wait for us and take him… somewhere.
"What are you going to do with him afterwards?" I ask.
"Don’t worry about it," Ivy says, with a smile that does not reassure me.
It all kinda sounds a little vague, but I have no other choice than to trust Sonela and Nana…
THE NEXT DAY
I step out of the store and take a deep breath, soaking in the sunlight. It’s still hot as balls and I’m already sweating, but at least I have a popsicle.
I could go back to Jahid’s, but it’s such a nice day out. I might just sit down to enjoy my popsicle somewhere sunny and bright. I could even take a selfie to commemorate the event.
Which is exactly what I will do, in fact. Only because I want to, and not because this is a part of a secret plan.
I take a quick selfie and ignore that I look like death warmed over. I open Instagram and pause. Maybe I should explain why I haven’t posted in a month…
Fuck it, I wouldn’t know how to even begin to explain this clusterfuck. I don’t owe anything to my followers. I’m not insta famous anyway.
I do make sure to tag my location, though.
With the popsicle calmly hanging from my teeth, I saunter off to find a bench in a sunny spot. I am not anxious at all. Not at all! Not one bit!!
I hear someone behind me. "Hey, Valo."
I freeze. A British accent. I know that voice.
Slowly, I turn around.
Nigel.
He shifts his weight onto his other foot and sticks his hands in his pockets, the very picture of relaxed.
"It's been a hot minute, huh?" he says.
I remove the popsicle from my lips and say nothing. I suddenly don’t want to eat it anymore.
Nigel tilts his head. "You look great! Did you do something to your hair?"
Despite everything, his words still give me a rush of warmth in my chest.
As if sensing my moment of weakness, Nigel steps closer. "… Hey, mate." He sighs and his shoulders slump. "I want to apologize. I really fucked up, didn’t I? God, I’m the worst."
I stare at him without a word. His memories have returned, I assume.
"How can I ever make it all up to you?"
He seems so earnest… I try to steel my resolve.
"Listen, I… It’s really hot out. Let’s go to my place and talk it out, okay?" He smiles. "What do you say? I might have some leftover weed somewhere. D-different strand than the one before, of course. Weaker. Just like old times, right? You, me, a fat blunt and take-out pizza, talking about everything and nothing, just like we used to…"
I give him a long look before I nod.
Nigel smiles, relieved. "Awesome. You won’t regret this, I promise. Come on."
He starts walking and I follow him. There are not many people around, I realize. It’s kind of late in the evening on a weekday, so everyone’s probably at home.
We walk past a department store and make it to a woodsy, shaded area. It’s slightly cooler here, but not much. I hear traffic somewhere nearby, obscured by the trees.
Sonela promised she’d be nearby with Nana, but I’m not seeing either of them. Worry makes my stomach feel tight.
"So you still can’t talk, huh?" Nigel asks.
I snap back to the moment. Gotta stay sharp. I shake my head as a reply to Nigel.
"Still? It’s been, what. A week and a half? Since that?"
I shrug. A week and a half aren’t that long.
And it’s not like other, equally traumatizing and depressing shit hasn’t happened after that.
One equally traumatizing shit, in fact.
Nigel hums. "That’s unfortunate…"
One equally traumatizing shit that Nigel directly caused.
"Hm? What’s wrong?" Nigel asks.
I realize I stopped walking.
"Mate, I hate to sound like I’m in a hurry," Nigel says, sounding impatient, "but we should get going."
"Shut up," I say.
Nigel steps back like I had physically slapped him. "Did you just…"
"Every single thing you’ve said to me… It’s all been just lies and manipulation!" I snap.
Nigel blinks and appears to recover a little. "I-I wouldn’t say…"
"I said shut up!"
A gust of wind washes by, tousling our hair and clothes, snatching the popsicle out of my hand.
Nigel makes a placating gesture with his hands. "Jesus, hell! Calm down, mate! We don’t have to-"
"Do you ever shut up?!"
Another gust of wind. Now I realize that it's not wind, but a surge of air, a shockwave. This new burst makes the air thick.
My blood feels electric, like my veins are live wires. Something powerful is coursing through me and rushing in my veins.
"You’re unbelievable," I say, voice barely stable from rage, "You used me and lied to me all along and you have the gall to come back like none of it happened?!" My voice cracks from the disuse. I feel something, like static energy, crackling at my fingertips.
Nigel lets out a high-pitched, panicked-sounding laugh and steps closer. "Listen, you’re not thinking clearly. Let’s just calm down and not make a scene…"
He reaches out to me and I slap his hand away and step back. Another pulse shocks the air and makes my blood thrum. The air is crackling.
"Oh, like we didn’t make a scene back at Anna's place?" My voice booms and Nigel winces.
But then he scoffs and laughs incredulously. "Seriously? This is when you grow a backbone? Now?"
Hot anger flashes in my chest. "Oh, I’m sorry. When would’ve been more convenient for you?" I step closer to Nigel. "That time when you made me touch that skull that mangled my hand?" Nigel steps back. "Or that time when you gave me weed brownies and didn’t tell me how strong they were?" My heartbeat is thundering in my ears. "Or that time when you fucking broke my arm and then put a curse on me??" My heart feels like it’s about to burst out of my chest.
"C-calm down, Valo, you’re not thinking clearly," Nigel says.
"Am I?! Am I not?? Funny, because I feel like I’m more lucid than I ever was with you!"
"Now, listen-" Nigel grabs my arm and I feel something snap behind my eyes. Another burst of wind blasts us. It envelopes us and whips up dry leaves around us like a small tornado.
Something powerful swirls inside me. It would be so easy to just let go and accept it, let it consume me…
| > Give in | > Resist it |