Celestial Sisters

Chapter 18: Missing Half

Xavier crossed his arms over his chest, his back was pressed against the cement wall as he stared at Twyla. He was extremely curious about the Raven haired vixen, who stood before him dressed like a nightmare in her steel toe combat boots, distressed jeans and black tank-top. She was the sort of girl who could walk into any bar and jump onto a stool and order a glass of bourbon and nobody would even blink. There was a husk to her voice which made her southern accent sound more devious than charming and he found her all the more alluring for that. But, she was dangerous, and as a vampire he had a certain respect for his own life. Witches like Twyla- meaning witches that were cool- often found themselves in very dark situations, tempted by the worst of the magical world. And if the two sisters continued down this dark path they were on, he had no doubt Twyla would become a terror.

"I'm sorry, I'm here just finding it a little hard to believe that you forgot you had an uncle," Xavier kicked his boot against the wall.

Stacking the boxes on top of each other, Twyla glanced back at her new vampire comrade and rolled her eyes. "I'm not exactly close with my family- I'm sure you'd understand."

He gasped in mock outrage. "Are you insinuating I'm that I'm not close with my family. I'm offended, I was quite the family man in my day."

"And when was that 1692?"

"No, 1982, for your information. Geez, I'm not that old."

Twyla snorted. Both Xavier and herself froze upon hearing the foreign sound, their eyes wide as they stared at one another. "Was that a laugh?" He asked, a smirk slipped onto his face.

"Shut up," Twyla threw an empty cardboard box at his head but to her dismay he grabbed it midair.

"Look at that the ice queen has a heart," Xavier stalked towards her. He threw the empty box back into the pile and grabbed the heavy boxes Twyla was trying to balance in her hands. Whereas her knees were wobbling and arms shaking from the weight, Xavier carried the load as if they weighed no more than a feather. Twyla glared at him as he put the boxes back in place. She could see the cocky little attitude within in him, it was in the way he walked with a smooth gait and that stupid half-smile on his face. It was almost as if he was asking for her to punch him, she thought.

"I'm no queen," said Twyla, her hands on her hips.

"Not yet," said Xavier, "But you'll figure it out." It almost sounded like he muttered you always do, under his breath but Twyla couldn't be sure, he spoke so fast. 

"Anyway," Xavier swiftly changed the topic, "How did you just forget that you had a perfectly alive and well uncle?"

"Like I said, I'm not that close with my family."

That was perhaps the biggest understatement of the year- Twyla despised more than half of her family and Uncle Leo was no exception. She had never actually met him, but from the way Nyx's lips twisted into a snarl and every other word leaving her mouth was a curse when he was mentioned, it was safe to say they wouldn't get along. Nana had said he was like her mother, in the regard that he married a mortal woman and though he wasn't magically inept, he wasn't fond of the supernatural world. Shortly after he got married, he shunned his entire family, leaving them with the short request to never contact him or his wife. Nana and Nyx never told Twyla why and at the time Twyla assumed it was because there was no reason but now, she had a strange feeling that she and her sister were somehow at fault for her uncle's departure. They seemed to be at fault for most things nowadays.

In the midst of her musings, Twyla's eyes settled on a tall rectangular object covered by a white blanket propped against far wall. Wondering what had captured her attention, Xavier followed her line of sight and saw the strange item as well. The two of them shared a quick glance before walking over, after a moment of hesitation Twyla swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat and ripped off the sheet. It was a tapestry, of sorts. The glowing orb levitated in the space between Xavier and Twyla, it's soft hues of light illuminated the picture depicted on the canvas. The picture was of two women, their bodies were bare but twisted in such a way that nothing could be seen, their hands were extended in the air as if two hold up the large moon drawn above their heads. Inscribed on the bottom of the page, in golden letters was the name Allaki- the moon Goddesses.