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The line connected with a click. Void's expression twisted with a look of misery, not bothering to let Auri get an introduction in.
"She's dead, Auri. Alizée's... dead." His breath hitched, eyes unfocused, jaw clenched.
Void's face contorted into a snarl, biting out his next words.
"And it's your fault."There was a brief silence.
"Before you start throwing accusations around, please actually inform me of just
what happened," Auri started, "Alizee left the meeting essentially moments after it began. Without telling anyone where she was going, why, or giving so much as a farewell. How do I even know she's even dead and you're not playing some Apparition-Games?"
"You think I'm playing games, bitch? You think I'm joking?" With each word, Void's metallic voice increased in intensity.
"She went to Veni Vedi, Auri. And she... she... Fuck."Layla emerged from the bathroom, dressed in a blue flower dress. Her eyes were wide in shock. The
tone Void was using to address the new leader of the coven was shameful, entirely disrespectful.
"You don't talk to her like that-""Shut up! You weren't there! You didn't see an innocent girl fall, shot twice in the head. And it was all at her order." Void spat, jerking his head roughly at the phone.
Layla shivered as she stood there, still painfully aware of the hands Void had wrapped around her neck moments before, and fell silent. She looked away, eyes staring hard at the floor to keep frustrated tears out of her eyes.
Void stared for a moment before scoffing, and turned his attention back to the phone call.
"I don't know if your lead was right or not. Hell, didn't even see fucking Judas. But,"His tone lowered to a dangerous note.
"Mark my words, Auri. I will have you stripped of your supposed 'leadership' position so quick, you won't have time to count the street lights as you're chased out of town.""If you can find someone else willing to take the position; I will
gladly step down." Auri answered, in a chipper sing-song. "But, just note they're not going to follow
you, or whatever puppet you find next. Now, I am done speaking with you, put Layla back on the phone or I will hang up."
Void's jagged teeth clenched, glaring hard, before he tossed the phone to Layla. A whimper escaped her lips in surprise as she just
barely caught the phone, before holding it up, watching the seconds tick by as Auri remained on the line.
"H-hi, Auri..." Layla started, glancing at Void sheepishly before focusing her attention on the phone. She remembered what she knew of Auri. Butterflies... it was butterflies, right? A voice of reason, always, even in the old days. As far as she was aware, not the greatest defense, not like Stormy. Trusting, too. Easy enough to catch off-guard and impale with a knife-
Well. it was probably to her advantage that the Coven never had mind readers.
"Some mind you have there." Came a dark, metallic thought. Layla immediately snapped to attention, her eyes settling on Void, who had taken to circling around her shoulders.
"Wh-what-" She thought.
"You're my open book, honey. That's part of being adjoined. Now focus on your call. Tell her everything is fine. That you're heading out.""I... I don't want to-" What she really wanted to do was tell Auri about her new... situation.
Void immediately glared at her, purple aura flaring up menacingly.
Layla stiffened.
"I..." She turned her attention to the phone, feeling cold.
"S-sorry I didn't make it to the meeting, Auri. And for uh, bothering you. E-everything is fine. I'm... uhm... actually about to... head out." She tried to think of an excuse, her eyes searching the walls of her home for inspiration.
"To... to work. Yeah, work. You know I started night shift, right?"There was silence on the end of the Phone.
“No I did not- but do you need help with anything? Maybe me, you, Britney, Stormy, and Sully can get together and help you out.“
Layla swallowed, hoping Auri hadn't caught onto her lie. Void merely raised an eyebrow at the lineup of names.
Suspicious.
Layla sighed. Of course she needed help. Of course she did. But she wasn't in a position to say anything, was she?
"No, you're not." Came the biting thought.
Layla glanced at the Void Heart out of the corner of her eye. She had Auri on the phone. The voice of reason! If anyone knew what to do, she would. All she had to do was-
Void eyed her, danger in his eyes.
"You're not gonna like where this goes."Layla gritted her teeth, feeling her heart race, her head throbbing. She stared at Void straight on, and did something even she was surprised of-
"Auri, there is actually something you could hel-"A sudden thud, and a wheeze. That's what Auri would hear over the line. Void had shoved Layla into the wall, pressing a phantom hand to her mouth and airways, his eyes cold and narrowed.
"I warned you." His voice hissed in her mind.
Layla felt the chill of entropy cutting her to the core before she noticed she couldn't breathe. Again. She couldn't make a sound, left to stare up at Void.
"You really want to do this the hard way, don't you?" His voice in her mind sounded cold, furious.
Void glanced pointedly at the phone, then back at Layla.
"You ready to play by my rules?"Layla's lungs started to burn.
"...Yes.""Good. Apologize, answer any remaining questions she have, deny you need help, and let her hang up. You make her suspicious, you're gonna regret it. Got it?""...Got it."Void narrowed his eyes slowly, before slowly letting go of Layla, phantom hands disappearing. She took a breath, feeling warmth pool in her insides again, before she addressed Auri again.
"Sorry. Uh, I uh... don't need help with anything. But a get-together sounds nice. Did you uh... have any other questions for me? How did the meeting go?"She tried to sound as natural as possible, and there was a silence on Auri's end of the phone before she spoke.
"... It went great! Everyone had fun, and we got back together. You
really should have been there," Auri started, "Unfortunately, your friend the Void Heart left with Alizee before we could really get to the meat." She then chuckled.
"Huh." Layla tilted her head, her brows furrowing.
"Sounds like you left before the meeting was done. What if you missed something important? Something that... could have saved Alizée?" She thought, giving Void a sideways look.
Void immediately frowned, his voice buzzing in her mind.
"You think I planned to run head-first into danger? No. It was a bullshit assignment that was sour from the start. Still Auri's fault."Layla's lips pursed, regarding Void with an unsure expression.
Void rolled his eyes.
"The meeting was also bullshit. Just talked about how the Coven is getting hunted down. I can smell a dead-end waste of time a mile away."At Layla's shocked expression, Void smirked.
"You didn't know that? Surely, you would have heard it in Auri's invitation.""I... didn't listen to the voicemail.""Hm. Well, that's the state of things. Murders. You people are dropping like flies, and Alizée and I just wanted to get some answers as fast as possible."Layla stood there in silence for a long moment. So that's what this was
really all about.
She squeezed the fabric of her dress at the chest, her eyes tight, lips pursed. Hesitation. Then, a small intake of breath.
"Auri... is there... anything I can help with?"There was another silence.
"... You can, actually," She started, "Just swing by the next meeting. I'm hoping to do it real quick tomorrow at twelve before I get back to work."
Void raised an eyebrow at that. Layla, however, naively breathed a sigh of relief.
"Right, right. I'll... I'll be there. Thanks, Auri."“Alright, see you there!” Auri chipperly said before she hung up.
The motorcycle roared down the highway, white and chrome reflecting the streetlights. Layla, helmet darkening her features, pressed the pedal further. Her dress was flurrying in the wind to reveal white leggings, her hair whipping in the night light. Void hovered just behind Layla as a backpack, keeping an eye on their surroundings as they neared Veni Vedi Veni.
There was rumbling. Crashing. Like a battle was still going on. Well, the fire lighting up the parking lot indicated a battle, anyway. Void told Layla to hit the brakes, and she skidded to a stop behind an overturned car.
From their hidden vantage, there was a lot to take in. Void peered over the car, eyes narrowed.
“Alizée isn't here.” Came the thought.
“What the heck happened here?” Layla pursed her lips, looking at Void anxiously from where she was crouched.
“Long story.”A man with monstrous hounds was in the midst of battle with a man commanding fire. It would have been impressive to watch if Void didn't trust either party with a copper pin.
That girl Britney was gone. Nearly everyone was gone…
There were lights. It seemed the cops had finally shown up.
“They're late.” Void muttered over the telepathic link, feeling a pang deep within him. Too late to save Alizée.
He eyed Alizée's purse on the ground, covered in dirt, half burned. He wondered if anything within had survived.
He wondered if he should even bother trying to pick it up.
He wondered if it was even worth risking his neck to try.
Void stared a little longer, jagged teeth gritted.
Was it worth risking getting caught by Wolfpack again? Was it worth getting caught by the cops?
His red-rimmed eyes tightened.
Was it… worth it for Alizée?
His eyes resolutely narrowed, and he gave Layla a sideways eye.
“There's something here I need. Turn the bike around and get ready to press the gas. When I say ‘go’, peel outta here like it's life or death. Got it?”Layla swallowed nervously and nodded.
“Got it…”Void went low to the pavement, phantom hands summoned. He steeled himself, and he dove forward, zigzagging into the heart of the parking lot, hiding behind what remained of the shields and taking cover behind tossed cars, before reaching the purse.
His hand clutched the purse.
He turned.
His eyes landed on Judas.
And dove as fast as he could back to Layla's bike.
“GO! NOW!”
If he was successful, he'd slip onto the back of the seat just as the bike screeched out of Veni Vedi. Next stop?
The Temple.If anyone knew anything about Alizée, it would be Leon. If Void was lucky, Leon would be there.
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