Chapter twenty two: Mafia assassin

KAYA

My lips stretched into a mischievous smile. Battles of loyalty.

Oh, how I love them. Whose side will Jade Erlone take? Keith Lionel, her new friend,or Percy Haudeclaire, the ex-lover whom her heart still beats for?

"That was Jade Erlone"I said, walking back to Niccolo.

"What did she want?"he looked up from the chessboard before him.

"She knows I killed the kids, so I told her why I did it".

"You were planning to kill them anyway, even before Percy gave the order".

"Don't act all innocent. You were in on the damn plan".

"I never said I wasn't".

"C'mon,Nic. Cheer up,"I said, taking my seat across from him"it just began".

"What did?".

"Sweet revenge. Now that we've started with Jade Erlone, let's turn a few more people against him"I grinned at Niccolo, picking a bishop.

"Like who?Who would matter?".

"The smartass, Irene Jefferson. Or that easy-going but deadly guy, Kevin. Or perhaps...".

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KEITH

Another long day spent doing nothing. I'm already bored with every form of entertainment my phone has to offer. Now I'm just lying on my bed and staring at the ceiling, too drained to even shower or change my clothes. And I can't risk going outside.

"How dull!"I complained.

"You can say that again!"a voice replied.

I sprang into a sitting position and looked around, shocked and alarmed. There on my sofa perched a voluptuous woman, her legs crossed like she owned the place. Her dark ripped jeans worked with her flowing dreadlocks to give her a rugged look.

"Hey there,"she grinned, flashing even pearl white teeth"Keith Lionel, right?".

"What are you doing here? You shouldn't even be able to get in".

"Yeah, that"she rose, shrugging nonchalantly

"I happen to have an unfortunate knack for getting into places I shouldn't be able to get into".

"You!"I could feel my eyes widening"I know you!".

It's her. The woman from that day. The one that reminded me of Annie Oakley.

"You do?"she replied cheerfully"good!then this will be snappy".

"Um... I meant I've seen you before,"I replied sheepishly"who are you exactly?".

"Kaya Gilbert, Mafia assassin. Pleased to meet you".

"Mafia... assassin?"I repeated hesitantly.

"Yup. Don't look so freaking spooked,kid"she snapped, her tone irritated"I'm not here to kill you. Infact,"her voice turned gentle"I'm here to help you".

"Help me?"I stuttered"what do you mean?".

"The kids I killed. Barbara Jones and Langdon Wyatt. They were your friends, right?".

My eyes widened.

"You... you did that? You killed Barbie and Langdon?".

Rage clutched my throat as images rushed into my mind. Of Barbie, lying on the ground in a pool of her own blood. Of Langdon, faceless and bleeding, on the floor of his parents' living room. Of Cherith, and the way her tears would not stop flowing.

"The mail girl,"Kaya went on unapologetically "that was me. Did I mention that I'm a master of disguise?I suppose it's a bit unbelievable, since your mail girl was this creamy-skinned beauty. And do you know the best part of the whole thing? Your buddy Percy ordered me to kill them".

"Percy?"my rage gave way to shock"that's impossible. You're a liar".

"Well, I'm not the poster child of honesty, but right now I'm telling the truth".

"Why should I believe you?".

"Why? I'll tell you why. First of all,who else in the Underworld did you tell about Barbie besides Percy? Nobody. Who else in the Underworld knows about Langdon besides Percy? Nobody. Who else besides Percy did you give Langdon's residential address? Nobody. So, isn't it so freaking obvious?".

"No,"I shook my head"no. You're lying. Percy is a nice person. He's...".

A loud,hearty laughter cut me off. I stared, frustration welling up inside me inside me. Kaya was laughing. She laughed and laughed until I began to feel extremely foolish. Then it finally dropped to a chuckle.

"Yeah, right"she chuckled"a nice person. If Percy is a nice person then I'm Virgin Mary! You sure are hilarious,kid. I haven't laughed so much in quite a while".

"Laugh all you want. What do you know about Percy?"I snapped.

"Oh, I know him pretty well. He's deceitful, ruthless and cruel. He's bloodthirsty, insensitive and so damn hateful. He's freaking manipulative,bloody cold-hearted...".

I must have let my disbelief show on my face, because she paused her rant and looked at me for a while, annoyance evident on her face.

"Fine. If you don't believe me, you can check with your whore friend. Percy killed your friends, and he'll kill you soon. I give you half an hour. It's seven PM, and Percy will be back by nine. I can get you out of the Underworld, but you must make up your mind in the next thirty minutes,or you lose this chance. I'll be right outside".

As she turned and began to leave,a thought struck me.

"Wait"I called out.

She stopped, her back to me.

"If you words are really true...why are you telling me this?".

"That's because I hate Percy, and I'm tired of watching everything go his way".

With that, she exited the room, shutting the door behind her. The door, which I am sure I locked from within when I entered my room.

I stared at it, several thoughts racing in my mind. Then I reached for my phone and rang Jade, my heart thudding in my chest.

"What do you want?"she said as soon as she picked.

"I...uh..."I stuttered, unsure how to proceed"I spoke to Kaya".

"Is that so?".

Her voice was cool. Too cool.

"She said..."I faltered"I had to tell you about it. She said that Percy ordered her to kill my friends".

I don't know what reaction I expected. A gasp of disbelief, maybe. Or a reassurance that it was all false. Nothing could have prepared me for the ice in her tone.

"Okay. Well?".

I paused, speechless.

"As it turns out, you both have been keeping secrets from pathetic Jade,"she did not sound pathetic at all"he killed those children, and you killed Lisa. But no one saw it fit to say anything to this insignificant woman".

If she had sounded spiteful or offended, I might have understood. But there was no feeling in her words, rather it sounded like she was reading from a script written by someone else. And,in that moment,a piercing realization hit me- that I did not know Jade Erlone at all.

"And just in case you're wondering, I don't blame Percy at all for killing them. They didn't deserve to die, of course. It would have made a lot more sense if you had died".

Each word struck deeper than the one before it, and I actually began to feel some physical pain.

"Jade... you know about Lisa?".

"I just found out. So before you start blaming Percy for deceiving you, think about how you deceived me. You're not the only one who thought we were friends. But to think you had her blood on your hands the whole time".

Her voice was calm. Frighteningly calm.

I gulped.

"Jade, I get that you're mad at me, but you can at least hear me out, can't you?".

"I don't think there's anything you need to tell me that I don't know already. Your father and uncle, right? So I don't think you really have much of a right to complain when Percy is merely finishing what you started. This is vengeance, Keith".

With that, she hung up. I stared at my phone, the grim reality dawning on me. It's me against Percy, and Jade has taken his side.

Returning my gaze to the door, I made up my mind. I'm leaving the Underworld.