VILLAIN WITHIN

By Ines Marhat

“Normal is subjective, but I can’t say I see this every day.” His laugh echoed through the empty room, and Naomi leans back amused while his partner narrows his eyes and looks at him with his intimidating glare. “Kai, focus,” he lightly growled, not in the mood for Kai’s behavioural problems. “Aw, bulky guy you should leave him be and focus yourself. You’re already fed up with your dearest partner and we haven’t even started yet, have we?” Naomi joked, half serious. The bulky guy now had his glare set on her, but seemed to have taken up her advice as he calmed himself down, Kai’s chuckles still going around the room in the background. “So, what do you nice boys want with the little old me?” Naomi asked with a pout. “Tch,” scowled the bulky guy, disliking Naomi more and more as seconds ticked by, “You’re truly as irritating as the rumours go around.” “That’s still out there?” Naomi questioned, pure irritation leaking off her, changing her mood in a second, “I thought I killed all those bloody bastards.” A dark, cruel smirk pulled up on her lips at the end, looking the bulky guy straight in the eyes, her blood lust filling the room. He in return gave her a strong glare, piercing through her, daring her to try and do something. He was ready to play just as much as she was. A light whimper broke off their staring contest, both of their heads snapping to Kai’s direction, the dark mood disappearing. Kai was visibly trembling as he avoided both of their eyes, “M-Marcel c-could we-“ “No,” The bulky guy – Marcel cut off whatever Kai was going to suggest, irritation now even bigger than before, “Why did I have to get stuck with you, again? It almost seems like the agency wants this criminal women here to break out.” “Oh sweetie don’t worry, I’ll be breaking out either way, no need to be such a grumpy pants.” Naomi replied, the smirk of amusement still decorating her face, “No need to take your irritation out on Mr Scared cat right here. Looks like he’s pathetic enough on his own, he’s probably going to die quickly.” What Naomi had said struck a nerve with Kai, but there was no way he was going to talk back to her. He just saw how scary she can get if she wants, he wasn’t going to test her limits anytime soon, all through she did deserve a piece of his mind. As he had a small inner battle with himself, Kai realized he was indeed a Scared cat. It was something he had known for ages now, but never cared to admit it. He was scared of even that, admitting his own feelings. He could be a cocky, confident guy sometimes, in normal situations, but whenever something scary as this came in the picture that part of him was gone faster than a speeding bullet and in came the scared, nervous and anxious little boy. He couldn’t deal with bloodlust or anything related to blood, his own fear stopping him from achieving great things. Blood. He couldn’t stand that. Naomi observed Kai with hawk like eyes, sensing his magic now that she was almost out of the ropes that were apparently laced with something that concealed away all her magical abilities. She learned of that just recently as she had tried using her Pyro-kinesis, the manipulation of fire, but it did not work. Pyro-kinesis, unlike Mnemokinesis was a power an individual would be able to learn, not something that only the privileged ones would have stored in their DNA. Thankfully, Naomi always had a backup plan for everything even though she never truly believed she would be set in a situation where she couldn’t use magic at all. On the very end of her long baggy sleeves she had a mini pocket of sorts in which she stored her pocket knife. She had a lot of weapons hidden in her clothes and on her body but the Iustitia Pugnatores took most of them out while she was unconscious. Naomi was glad that whoever checked her and the clothes was too dumb to check the sleeves and the necklace she wore. A set of pictures was thrown on the table, Marcel’s eyes narrowing and observing Naomi’s reaction closely. If she recognized anything she did not show it, raising her eyebrows in disinterest. “What is this, a peace offering? If you wanted me to spare your pathetic lives you’d have better chance begging then throwing me some pictures of a bunch of strange women,” she huffed, eyes darting between the pictures, “or wait, no… Are these the women you had slept with?” Naomi’s head shot up to meet Marcel’s eyes, feigning shock. “But that seems rather impossible if I dare say so. A man with your face and such fine women. There’s no way you have a history of a single touch with them, or they must have been blind. Wouldn’t you agree Kai,” Naomi continued mocking Marcel as she was met with his silence, Kai deciding it would be best to stay quiet as well. “Ah, now I remember them!” Naomi exclaimed after minutes of boring and awkward silence. Both Marcel and Kai changed their postures immediately, they were surprised by the loud tone of her voice, and that she was admitting into knowing the girls. “They’re the pretties I slept with while in the Mandago town and then killed them afterwards along with the stupid town,” she said and laughed afterwards, closing her eyes momentarily, “Gosh I had almost forgotten that, thank you for reminding me!” Marcel grit his teeth and clenched his fist under the table, trying his hardest to not lunge at her and give her what she deserved right here and there. “Y-You killed an entire town a-and you don’t even remember!” Kai shouted, furious as well, forgetting how scary the woman in front of him can be. “No, no, no, no. I didn’t forget really. That town killings just wasn’t something I haven’t done before, it was rather normal really, so it doesn’t stand out in my mind.” “It did stand out to us. The blood bath of Mandagos was the 1st actual case we could pin point straight to you. It also stood out because it didn’t seem like the usual massacre the Blood Fairy would indulge herself in. You slept with seven women. Women. With each one day, methodically. After seven days you murdered the entire town… Exactly who were, or better yet, what were those women?” Marcel questioned, sitting at the edge of his seat, ready for nothing more than to expose the fiend sitting in front of him. “And it never occurred to you that I might be homosexual?” “There is a clear proof you are not.” “Oh yes, William.  How’s he doing, still in that mental institution?” Marcel stood up abruptly, slamming his hands down on the table. He stared furiously at Naomi. The nerve this woman had, mind games was something, but bringing in the partner she herself mutilated, both psychically and mentally was another case. No matter what Marcel knew he wanted this woman dead by the sun down. “Poor old William. He was actually good and all, it was all on me really. He kept on doing the same things over and over again,” she groaned, “it got really boring so I decided to spice things up in our little relationship. Not my fault he didn’t tell me he didn’t like blood play.” Small hand gripped at Marcel’s wrist and he immediately knew it was Kai, willing him to calm down. There would be no point in getting upset, it would only screw the case. No matter how screwed this individual case would be, Naomi would still definitely be facing prison for a time long enough until they would be able to find more proof of her wrong doings. Marcel slowly sat back down, taking a few deep breaths before he forced himself to look at her smiling, non-caring face again. “Just answer the question and be done with it,” he demanded his voice much rougher than it was just seconds ago. “Well I could… But you see I have trust issues. So how about we make a deal in which I get to ask a question and then you get to ask one?” Naomi suggested. “No.” “Okay fine then, I guess we’ll be sitting in quiet then.” Calling her bluff Marcel didn’t say anything, believing she was going to break soon enough. She seemed to be the type of person that just wouldn’t shut up no matter what. Minutes run by and the minutes turned into hours, but Naomi’s lips stayed shut. Kai even tried a few methods, asked her questions, even went as far as trying to provoke her, but she remained quiet and calm. It wasn’t until hours later when Marcel realized she truly wasn’t going to say anything that he finally gave in and allowed her to ask the question she wanted answers from. “Took you long enough,” she began, “I want to know how the hell you kidnapped me and who the hell did it?” “That’s two questions.” “Actually it’s only one. I’d have to pause in the middle of the sentence and start again if I wanted to make two,” she explained, chuckling at the look of irritation that swept over Marcel’s face. “Fine. I don’t know how, but Kai was the one that brought you in,” Marcel admitted in a quiet voice. “He – Um – What?” Naomi blurted, hoping she had heard him wrong.