Blitz woke up at the crack of dawn. The clock on his bedside reads 6.30 a.m. Okay, maybe it’s not really the crack of dawn.
He have to admit, Gemini did work hard to decorate the room. The walls are decorated with faded beige flowery wallpapers. The duvet sheets are blue and smelled of Carla’s favourite freshener. Honeysuckle and lavender. Gem, no doubt, had hung Tweet Birds curtains on his window, which looks out to the towering sierras. An antique wardrobe took up one space and a bookshelf took up the others. It’s empty except for a few of Scorpio’s old books and a small wicker basket of magazines, most likely placed there by Gemini.
Although everything feels like home, he doesn’t feel happy. Because everything here is…dull. Back in Washington, everything is always bustling in and out.
Blitz shrugged and went to grab his clothes for casual dressing, then made his way to the kitchen where all three Angelo siblings have gathered, wide awake. When Gemini spotted him, she went, “Ah, he’s here.”
“Why do I have to be up here as well?” Virgo grumbled.
“Be quiet, you midget.” Scorpio snapped. “You know perfectly well why you’re here.”
Gemini, who had been counting dollar notes and depositing them into a small money bag, asked, “Are we going to show him or not?”
“Of course.” Scorpio gestured at Blitz to follow him.
Few minutes later, plus a blindfolded Blitz pulled up in front of a building, which looks so plain, with square paned windows and a plain perplex door, but it makes up for it by having a huge vineyard, but not fully grown yet.
“Come on.” Virgo said, leading him forwards. After a few moments, the blindfold was removed and…
“What is this place?” Blitz asked. They are inside the cool interior of the building. Everywhere is nothing but barrels. Barrels made out of oak, all labelled neatly. A counter stood at one end, with an antique cash register and a silver call bell. Behind the counter, a leather satchel hung on a row of pegs.
“What do you think?” Scorpio asked.
“it’s just a winery.” He commented.
Gemini threw him a glare that could probably harden the hottest lava. “Just a WINERY????”
“It’s Gem’s winery.” Virgo explained in a rather bored voice.
Blitz’s ears turned red. “My mistake.”
“Show him, Gem.” Scorpio said.
Gemini went behind a counter, rummaged a few moments or so, then brought out a small bottle of wine, rich in royal purple and sparkling as though it is encrusted with diamonds. It smells wondrously of freshly harvested grapes.
“Here.” She handed him the bottle. “See what you think.”
He peered at the label. “Sierra’s Amethyst?”
“My invention.” Gemini said softly. “Do you like it?”
“It’s pretty good. Chilly and sweet. With natural grape ingredients.” Blitz said, sipping it greedily in one gulp.
“Gem makes the best wine in town…” Virgo explained.
Meanwhile, Scorpio was rummaging through a drawer, muttering, “Mmms”,” uh-uhs”,” nopes”, “hmmms,” and finally, “Ah, here it is.”
Virgo gave a moan as he saw what it was in Scorpio’s hand. “Oh no, no no no no no.”
“Here you are.” Scorpio said.
“No, anything but that-” Virgo began but Scorpio grabbed him into a headlock and flung the photo towards Blitz, who caught it and scanned it first. At first, he was very surprised, but then later, he couldn’t help but shook with laughter.
It was photo of Gemini doing pretty cool bar tricks, like Tom Cruise. Scorpio’s right beside her, looking professional, and right beside him…
Blitz gave a snort of laughter as Virgo moaned and buried his face into his hands.
Virgo, dressed all in purple, with a huge grape hat on top of his head with its leafy stems, looking absolutely peeved.
The current Virgo glared at Scorpio who is still holding him in a headlock. “You can let go off me now, since I already died of embarrassment.”
Scorpio let him go and he stomped over to the counter where Gemini is sorting money into the compartment. He reached over and dug out some cash much to Gemini’s annoyance. “If you want a loan, interest rate has gone up by 5 percent.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Virgo dug out some wads of bank notes. “Who cares, right?”
Whump.
Scorpio had threw the leather satchel in his direction, hitting his chest.
“You want cash, then go and earn them.”
“I’m not your lapdog.”
Blitz, who had been sipping greedily, went, “What?”
“Virgo delivers wines in the town.” Gemini explained, arranging several bottles on the counter top, all wrapped in thick brown paper and tied with strings.
“Sounds fun.” Blitz remarked.
“You want to do it?” Virgo asked. “Then I’ll gladly give it to you.”
“Oh no you don’t.” Scorpio said sharply. “This job is yours, and yours alone.”
“I don’t mind doing the job.”
Scorpio eyed him warily. “Blitz, do you even know your way around Sierra Falls?”
“Well…no.” He admitted sheepishly.
“I can show him around.” Virgo offered.
Scorpio eyed him with mistrust. “Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
“Alright then.” Scorpio was in no mood for an argument. He have to prepare breakfast for four rooms and order a fresh stock of flour for pizza dough because they’re running low of them. “Blitz, if that midget slack off, then I grant you my full permission to punch him.”
“Hey!”
He then left, ignoring Virgo’s protests. Stonily, he turned to Blitz, who said, “Shall we deliver?”
********************
As soon as they have left, Demise, wearing a purple and white sweater, blue baseball cap with the bill facing outwards and baggy maroon pants , swaggered in, like some beanpole model.
“Gemini!” He exclaimed happily.
Gemini looked up from her wine sorting and greeted him. “Well, if it isn’t my regular customer.”
“The usual please.”
“That much?”
“Yep.”
As Gemini was wrapping the bottles, the door swung open and a girl entered.
“Um, I’ve ordered some wine yesterday…for prayers...” She said softly, holding out a bill.
“Ah, of course. Here it is.” Gemini handed her a couple of large round bottles and bagged them. “Here you are. That’ll be forty-five dollars. Grazie.”
As the girl passed Demise, holding her bottles, he stared at her in shock, his heart thudding hard. No, it can’t be-
“Wait! Do I know you? “ He blurted out.
The girl stared at him silently and said, “No…You must’ve mistaken me for someone else.”
She then left, leaving him in utter shock.
**************
Mrs Parker opened the door on the second knock to find Virgo standing outside with a case filled with six wines, neatly wrapped in plastic.
“Why, if it isn’t little Virgil.”
“It’s Virgo.” He muttered, ears turning red. “And here’s the wine you ordered, Mrs Parker.”
After he had collected the payment, he went back to where Blitz is waiting on his bike.
“Mrs Parker is a nightmare.” He wiped his brow. “She keeps calling my name wrongly. It’s Virgo, not Virgil.”
As they drove down the road, something caught Blitz’s eye. A group of teenager around his age, standing in a semi-circle.
“What’s that?”
Virgo barely glanced his way. “Oh, just a bunch of kids from the next street.”
“Freak!”
Blitz braked the bike so suddenly that Virgo lurched forwards in his seat. “Hey, what gives?!’
As Blitz got off the bike, a girl was shoved onto the pavement by another girl.
“Freak.”
“Give it back.” The girl said threateningly.
“So that you can go on hexing us? I don’t think so.” The girl who shoved her sneered.
Provoked, the girl who was shoved sprung like an angry cat and started trying to claw the other girl but her friends shoved the other girl away, causing her to stumble.
“Did you see that?” The girl said. “That witch tried to claw my eyes out.”
“Go back to your temple, witch.” A guy taunted.
“Stay away from our town.”
“Hey, hold it!” Blitz intervened, jumping in between them.
“Who are you?” The guy asked.
“Hey look, isn’t that Virgo?” One of the girls said.
“Oh, you’re Signora Carla’s nephew. ”
“So it is. OI!!!!”
The girl had tackled the other girl while they are all talking, finally managing to retrieve her possession. It is a small altar stand, something that you normally used in prayers. Without even looking back, she ran off with it tucked under her arm.
“Well, good riddance.” The girl scowled, picking herself up. “You should stay away from her, new guy. She’s a witch.” She added to Blitz.
“Why?”
“Dude, didn’t you know?” The guy had lowered his voice into a whisper. “Ever since she arrived here, girls had been disappearing.”
“I heard she cast hexes on the girls because she’s too plain looking.” The girl said darkly.
“You should stay away from the temple.” The guy jerked his head at a temple in the distance. “That’s where she lives.”
They all then left, leaving Blitz alone with Virgo.
“Did you see how they treat her?” Blitz whirled on Virgo.
“They always do that to her.” He shrugged.
“Aren’t you even sorry for her?” Blitz asked.
“Dude, at least I don’t tease her like that. ” He muttered, looking a little offended.
Blitz stared at the temple in the distance, looking thoughtful.
“How do I get to the temple?”
Virgo pointed at a road down some shops. “There’s a path that leads to a flight of stone steps. Just climb all the way up.”
“Thanks.”
“Before you go there,” Virgo points in. “Would you mind dropping me off first?”
“Sure.”
************
A large raven perched itself on top of a tree, watching the shrine maiden sweeping up leaves in front of a temple. He had went up there as soon as Demise in haste had reported back to him.
“It’s her. I do really think it’s her. She doesn’t recognize me though. I don’t know why she bothers pretending, she can’t fool him.”
Even as he watched, a large stone was thrown and it hit her wrist, causing a bluish-black bruise.
“Freak! Don’t step into our town!”
“Stop hexing all those poor girls and just leave!”
Sigan cocked his head to one side. Oh, she’s getting blamed for his and Demise’s doing. He made sure that the bodies were never found but it seems that someone has been noticing. Catching sight of a group of teens, he gave a smile in his mind. He’s definitely going to enjoy this.
*************
“Hey, leave her alone!”
Blitz came sprinting up the steps just in time to see another group of teenagers hurling stones at the girl, who is steadily ignoring them, despite the fact that her wrist stings from the bruise.
When the teenagers saw him, instead of running, one of them said, “You’re helping her?”
“Did she hoodwink you with her spells?”
“No, she did not.” Blitz shouted in anger. “Get out of here before I call the sheriff.”
It was kind enough of Virgo to let him know that the town has a sheriff, the equivalent to cops in the cities. The sheriff is the one who often keeps things in order, including keeping the teenagers away from the girl.
The teenagers glared at him and scampered, dropping the stones with a clatter. Shaking his head, Blitz turned to the girl –
And stared.
No comments:
Post a Comment