Chapter 63: Interlude Five: Maria - Bringer of Misfortune

Maria shifted her weight to look at the somewhat large dance space entrance as two women walked through. Both had black hair, yet one had a motherly look and wore an orange prison jumpsuit, while the other was an olive-skinned seductress, practically sculpted to perfection in her blue dress.

An impish tilt came to Relica’s mouth. "You should really be more careful how you use your tongue when addressing women... Someone might snatch it out."

Marcus’ eyes widened, hands going to his throat as the woman casually brought two fingers to her thumb and then flicked her wrist. The man tried to speak, but no words came out. His brother held up his hands in a way that said he wouldn’t utter a word, continuing to make his own drink as Marcus recovered, now utterly mute.

Terrell sighed, gesturing for Maria to sit off to the side. She didn’t need to think twice after seeing the influential man not demand her to stop; this was probably one of the Syndicate’s high-value assets and a real killer.

"We can’t have any devices here due to some hacker."

"Mine are spelled, sooo no leaks on my end!" the dressed-up woman sang.

"Right... What do we owe the pleasure of you returning to Miami, Relica? I thought your business was done after setting up our takeover operation. I’m guessing El Padrino sent you back?"

"Naughty-naughty, Terrell. You know I cannot divulge my purposes," Relica giggled, making the man shift uncomfortably as she smoothly sat before him; the man was clearly intimidated. Someone bigger was always pulling the strings, and it appeared even Terrell was only following orders. "Don’t let a tiny amount of power go to that big head of yours."

"Ahem. No big head here, ladies. Yeah, I’m at your disposal. What do you need?"

"Wonderful!" she said, hands going into a praying position before gesturing to the agitated woman beside her. "All you need to know is that Adele here is a very influential individual who has been the Syndicate’s largest financial contributor. Whatever she needs, you will provide, and she wanted to meet you. So, here we are!"

Maria’s focus shifted to the woman with everyone else.

Adele’s disapproving stare went from him to the children. "Something is...wrong. My daughter should have been here already; these men are supposed to be dead. Scarlet should have broken me out of the facility yesterday. There is a variant, and I need to know what it is."

"What?" Terrell asked, looking at Relica as if she were insane. "What are you talking about—was there a request somewhere in there? I’m confused."

Relica gave the frustrated woman a cheery shrug, ignoring the man’s inquiry. "If you are concerned for your daughter, why not have Terrell spy her out? As I understand it, his blind eyes can actually scry things from quite a ways away, which is how his son teleports to these specific locations. Would you like him to collect her?"

Adele rubbed her chin with a troubled look directed at Marcus and Daran, who were now entirely focused on the pair; the younger brother still couldn’t utter a word after Relica’s spell on him.

"She would simply kill them before they fully materialized... Scarlet should be seeking me out to make sense of everything, so...where is she?"

"Hold up." Terrell sat straighter, breathing out a long sigh. "Your daughter’s name is Scarlet—the timid vampire chick running around with the lunar hare mythickin? I’ve been keeping tabs on them after hearing about the Crystal event at the college. They’re making plans to take us out with some hacker myth right now... What’s going on, Relica?"

"I don’t know!" Relica chirped. "It’s exciting, though! In the years I’ve worked with the Scarlet Hand, I’ve never known you to be wrong in your predictions, Adele. What a horrific turn of events! Oh, did you realize something? I’m very interested now."

Maria’s hands tightened into fists, trying to sink into the corner of the room as Adele’s vision became distant after Terrell’s words.

"Lunar hare mythickin... No, it’s impossible—there shouldn’t be a lunar hare mythickin—she died ten years ago. You were in charge of that, Relica!"

A note of recognition rumbled in Relica’s throat, her vision narrowing as she looked off to the side, making Maria swallow. These people were insane; she didn’t want to be here listening to past hits and conspiracies.

"Oooh! I remember you having me orchestrate a little accident ten years ago in Miami; an Asian family, if I recall correctly. Let’s see..."

"You told me they were dead—the mother, sister-in-law, and their daughters! If Rachel is still alive... No. Shit... Without a doubt, she would be the anomaly. Her very existence will ruin everything! Everything I did was necessary for the future, but now—now, I don’t know!"

Adele bit her lower lip, beginning to pace and making Maria nervous that she might turn that anger on them; her instincts told her this woman could likely erase all of them.

Relica pulled out her phone to scan the web. "Let’s not jump to conclusions; I confirmed they were dead. I remember it like yesterday.

"I coerced a rather pathetic father into making it look like a drunk driving accident by using his son’s heroin addiction as collateral. Hehe. He couldn’t let it ruin his son’s promising future as a judge, and when confronted, you should have seen the tender moment they shared; he was going to get better. He died a year after his father of an overdose. I had a hand in that, as well, but it’s so fun to see what normal people will do to protect the secrets of their family."

Her fingers paused in their swipes and clicks. "Yes! See, it is on the police rep... Wait, there was a correction. Well, huh... Damn. Isn’t that unlucky? Initially, it was reported that all of them had died. That’s a shame."

"A shame?" Adele snarled, brown eyes alight with fire, making the terrorist’s lips pull in. "Everything I have planned—all of it—none of the sacrifices mean anything if Rachel is alive! You!" She pointed at Terrell; the man’s arms were now crossed defensively. "What has Rachel done?! Every detail matters—every event and person she’s interacted with!"

Terrell pointed at her, making the hair on the back of Maria’s neck stand up. "Maria healed her; apparently, she was on the verge of death before that, fighting some kind of toad people. If your daughter’s the vampire chick, then Rachel’s manipulating her into being friends, as far as I know. She all but admitted it to a shrink. A military big-shot is now in her pocket, too. Look, her parents are here; we snatch them, and it’s easy!"

"Idiot!" Adele hissed, holding her sides as she stopped to glare at the corner of the room. "Rachel’s power isn’t in her strength, speed, or even her intelligence...it’s her misfortune. Her very existence pulls things in that warp the future negatively to her favor."

Daran forced a chuckle. "Pfft! You can’t be serious. So, she’s like the opposite of a lucky rabbit? Wouldn’t that mean she’s unlucky?"

Adele’s fingernails dug into the side of her jumpsuit, nose flaring with anger.

"Everything was planned down to a T by the Scarlet Apostle. How do you think your father rose to his current position, hmm? I knew who you would become when you were under three years old, boy!

"Now, everything is in jeopardy—every plan and movement from the moment Rachel survived that crash—ten years of potential anomalies from her misfortune working against the reality I tried to forge! The Crystal invasion will be different, legendkin quests, the deities in the background, who changed and into what—our knowledge on how to counter them—everything!"

"Let’s not have a stroke, Adele!" Leg folding over the other, Relica sat back with a thoughtful hum in her throat. "Why not test it?"

"It won’t work!"

"Can I try, at least? Please."

"It’s not going to change anything," the woman groaned, seemingly almost in tears. "She has my daughter!"

"All the more reason to try! What do you say, Terrell? Do you have faith in your kids to perform a simple snatch-and-grab? I’ll even help!"