CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Wednesday, October 5th

KANDICE DROVE TO LANCE'S EARLY to get the place ready for the meeting.

Lance and Slava seemed worried by the letter's orders to accommodate the Biancardi twins. It could mean anything from providing a proper meal with great wine, to setting up the guest room because they'd be moving in.

Lance had spent a couple days shopping, to prepare for any scenario that might occur. Kandice's job was to wear a nice dress, and prepare herself to answer any, and all personal questions the twins might ask.

At 1:15 PM, Kandice walked into the house wearing a crimson dress. The shoulder straps caressed her outer shoulders, and her cleavage hung out just enough to make her uncomfortable.

It sounded like Lance was already in the kitchen cooking. His knife was tapping away on the cutting-board.

"You look magnificent," Slava said.

Kandice blushed a little, "Thank you."

The living room looked much the same, however, next to the typical vodka bottle were two bottles of wine and a bottle of whiskey.

"Sit and relax," Slava said. "They will be here soon."

"Do you want a drink?" Lance asked Kandice over the counter.

"No," she lied.

He was staring at her chest, which made her heart race. A drink sounded great, but it was more important to keep her wits about her than trying to take the edge off. Kandice could smell the vegetables Lance was sauteing in a pan. It made her stomach groan for comfort food.

"Anything new happen with the mayor?" she asked Slava.

"He has added more security," he said. "He had a crew out to add security cameras throughout the ground."

"How does this change our plans then?" she worried it would throw everything into disarray, and today of all days.

Sweat covered Lance's brow, "The plan will move forward as planned."

He took a small sip of his vodka, it was hardly gone.

"We'll deal with the cameras when we get to the property," Lance said. "Perhaps Blake will have a clever idea. He seems quite gifted when it comes to these sorts of things."

"There is always brute force," Slava said. "You are more than fast enough to disable a camera without it catching you."

"Regardless," Lance said, "I intended to change before going over the wall."

At precisely 1:30, the doorbell rang.

Slava looked to the door in surprise. When he opened it, the twins walked in without saying a word. They were a perfect copy of each other, reminding her of the twins from the Shining, and her skin crawled.

"Is this the girl?" the twins asked in unison as they entered the living room.

"Yes," Slava said. "This is Kandice," he lifted his hand up to Kandice.

She stood up, "Mr. Biancardi, Mr. Biancardi, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"She lies," the twins said in unison. "But she's a beauty, so we'll forgive her."

They turned to Lance, "How goes the fight?"

"Good," Lance said. "We're planning to attack at the end of the month."

"Excellent. Cara will be glad to hear it. Now, Kandice, please sit."

She sat down in her usual spot, and they both sat across from her. They sat so close to each other, they were touching. Their proximity to each other made her feel even more uncomfortable. It felt like they were touching her in a way.

While their suits were the same dark gray, their shirts had a different blue striped pattern and their ties were yellow. One had dark blue spots while the other had light blue. It was a small difference, but enough for Kandice to tell them apart.

Their olive eyes stared at Kandice with intensity, it made her feel much like a fly caught in a spider's web.

They smiled, and their sharpened teeth shone, "Kandice, why don't you tell us how you met these men."

Kandice glanced at Slava.

"Don't look to them," the twins told her. "Lies will not do. Slava, leave us."

Slava wasted no time and went to the garage.

Kandice explained her short time tracking Aether Walkers by night, and her run in with Lance during one of these outings.

"Aether Walker," they said. "This is a nice phrase. Continue."

Once her story of tracking Lance down the second time was complete, the twins looked away from her for the first time. They looked into each other's eyes for a minute and Kandice regretted not taking Lance up on the offer for vodka.

The twins looked back at Kandice. The next moment, the twin on the right opened the bottle of vodka and poured her a glass.

"Drink?" they asked, and the twin handed her the glass.

"Thank you."

They can sense my thoughts? This'll go over well.

"Lance, two wine glasses," they said.

Lance came around the counter with the glasses and handed them to the twins. As he walked back to the kitchen, he gave Kandice a reassuring look.

The twin on the left opened the bottle of Merlot and poured a small portion of wine into each glass. They both lifted their glasses and swirled them around.

"When did you first see Them?"

"You mean Aether Walkers?" she asked.

"Yes."

Kandice didn't want to share this, it was too personal. Over the past month, she'd done well not to dwell on her mother's death. It felt good, like the progress people talk about when they see a therapist. They had no right to know such a personal story. They each smelled their wine, then took a small sip.

"This will go best if you answer our questions."

Kandice understood their meaning and explained about her mother's death. Upon hearing her describe the Cthulhu-like creature that had attacked with its tentacles, the twins raised their hands to silence her and looked at each other.

This time, they didn't break eye contact for what felt like an eternity to Kandice. Something was happening between them, but it wasn't clear what. They seemed to communicate with each other through telepathy.

Lance had finished cooking and was setting the table.

"We are familiar with this one," the twins said. "It has been around for many years. Was your mother a seer?"

"No," Kandice said.

"Uncertainty. Do you know this, or are you assuming?"

Kandice couldn't be one hundred percent sure, but her mother had never reacted to an Aether Walker in her presence. Though, there was no way to know since she'd never seen one herself before the night her mom died.

"She wasn't a seer," Kandice said.

"Your father then?" the twins asked.

"No."

They broke eye contact and looked to one another again.

Kandice looked behind her to Lance to beg for help with her eyes, but Lance shook his head. Being alone with nobody to converse with, or reassure her was doing a number on her nerves. Her hands were sweaty, and her heart was racing. She took a deep drink from her glass and finished the vodka.

"It's time to test you," the twins said, not breaking eye contact.

"Lunch is ready," Lance said. "Perhaps we could all eat before the test?"

They each took a deep breath, "It smells great. Food will help fortify her."

They ate in near silence. The only time someone spoke was when they asked for a dish. The twins finished the entire bottle of Merlot, and Kandice drank two more glasses of vodka. Her head was a little foggy when they finished eating.

Slava started the dishes.

"You can use the garage, when you're ready," Lance said.

He finished clearing the table and helped Slava with the dishes.

Kandice and the twins sat for several minutes. They switched between staring at her and looking into each other's eyes. If it hadn't been for the vodka, she would have lost her nerve.

"Let's begin," they said. "Kandice, please come with us."

The garage had padded mats on the floor, and the twins stood at the far wall, away from the door. It was 3:00 PM, and the garage was blistering hot, but Kandice noticed the twins weren't sweating in the slightest. They looked just as comfortable as when they were inside. Within a minute, Kandice was sweating.

There's no way they're human.

"We want you to shift," they said.

"I'll ruin my dress," she said. "And I don't have any seals."

"Go ask them for a seal."

Kandice walked into the kitchen and explained what the twins wanted. Slava retrieved a seal from his room, and Lance offered to let her wear some of his clothes, to not ruin her dress.

She took the seal from Slava and carved her symbol into the leather with a kitchen knife. Once finished, Lance came back into the kitchen with basketball shorts and a t-shirt.

"This has a pull string, so I think you'll get it to fit," he handed her the clothes.

She thanked them both with a reluctant sigh and stopped in the bathroom next to the garage to change clothes. Her dress hung on the spare towel bar, it would have been easier to prepare had anyone in the house been more open about the Council.

When she walked back into the garage, the twins looked away from one another and back to her, "Ready?"

"I guess," she said.

They took three steps apart from each other, "Shift."

Kandice lifted the t-shirt and slapped the seal against her stomach, her body began the transformation the instant it touched her skin. Within moments, her scales appeared, along with the large spikes down her back. She'd grown to over eight feet tall and was looking down at the twins.

"Impressive," they said. "Now, attack us."

Kandice didn't hesitate for a second, it was about time she turned the tables. She swiped with all her might at the twin on her left.