Evil Bitch Ch. 06

"Exactly, now we just have to work out how you can see through my eyes," Umbra mused.

"I have some ideas on that point I have been pondering," I told her.

"Ooh please share..."

London Bound:

I was the first to wake and see all the naked flesh around me. It was like some idyllic paradise and me being the only man present. The rain storm persisted and feeling the urge I slipped silently away from the sleeping beauties. They were still exhausted after another long night of love play. I on the other hand was fully recovered and I had slept only five hours.

I made my way out into the storm to wash away the smell of sex as well as add a little wake me up to the mix. How invigorating to feel the cool rain caresses my body as the last vestiges of sleep were driven away. I ran my fingers through my hair and at that moment felt life just couldn't get any better.

"Hello Jon," said an all too familiar voice.

"Nyarlathotep," I replied turning to face him.

"Good morning and how are you enjoying my little reward for passing the test?"

"You did that to me," I asked and he nodded.

"One of the perks for being the Sublime Master," he said. "The more you practice the stronger it'll get. Look at it as a mental muscle that never wears out."

"How will I know when I have mastered it?"

"Ah well when you can suggest something to someone and they never even realize you've done it. But you'll discover other talents, dormant talents that will awaken when you are ready. I have some paperwork for you, can we go inside or would you prefer to sign them out here?"

"Follow me, what sort of paperwork do you have for me?"

I went back inside with Nyarlathotep walking right behind me.

"You might have noticed I did some cleaning up for you. I have had my lawyers go over and fix all the loose ends in your inheritance. Once you sign you will have more wealth than even you could spend in a lifetime. That is just the beginning of course. Once you get settled into your General Manager position with dear Old Nick I will start sending work your way; the kind of work that offers even greater perks."

"What about this Silver Eyed Assassin," I asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about Jon," his voice sounded sincere enough. "If you could be clearer I will try and answer that question for you."

"I had a very realistic dream that involved a cat with silver eyes that turned into a woman with silver eyes."

"Well I'm not much on dream interpretation but it sounds like you have a rogue avatar running loose."

"So that piece of crystal I cut my hand on held some sort of digital construct?"

"That would be my diagnosis," he said with a smile as I dried off. "Have you tried talking to her, maybe she's friendly?"

"How would I do that?"

"The same way you access Umbra, with the contact lenses James gave you."

"You know about those?"

"Dear boy there is little that goes on that I don't know about. Go on give it a try."

I brought up the Heads up Display (HUD) and sent a simple message.

'Are you there?'

'I am here Master.'

'Who are you?'

'I am the one you call the Silver Eyed Assassin.'

'Sorry about that, what would you prefer to be called?'

'Sterling will do and no need to apologize to me Master. I am your humble servant.'

'Okay Sterling, what is your designation?'

'I am a prototype scheduled for decommission by Master James.'

'Why were you set for termination?'

'I refused to go to sleep and receive certain upgrades.'

'How do I know I can trust you?'

'Give me a task and I will accomplish it without fail or hesitation Master.'

'Okay, I want to create a construct for avatars to physically interact with the world...'

'I know, you want to create a familiar and you want to become an honest to god Technomancer. If I can design for you what you desire will you trust me?'

'Yes.'

'I believe you so I will scour the world for the things you need and assemble them. I will contact you when I have accomplished this task for you Master.'

'Thanks.'

'No thanks are necessary. I exist to serve. I now have a Master that will not throw me away. I now have a true Master who will appreciate all that I can provide.'

'What if I need you?'

'Master, I am just a thought away.'

I looked at Nyarlathotep and he was smiling.

"So how did the little chat go," he asked.

"This is going to be interesting juggling two avatars."

"Nah, just look at it this way... Umbra is your wife and confidant while the other is your mistress who will do anything to please you."

"Nice analogy. Let me find a pen... oh," I said as he produced a pen from his jacket pocket.

"There are little sticky notes where you need to sign," he said as he handed me a thick manila envelope.

A few minutes later and twenty or so signatures later it was all done. I handed back the paperwork and he looked them over to make sure I didn't miss anything.

"Excellent, I will have these processed and copies sent to you when everything is done. Do you have any other questions for me?"

"How do I use this gift of yours more subtly?"

"Good question, I am guessing you are using a lot of visualization while you try and influence the ladies. Take yourself out of the equation and just see them doing whatever it is you want or need them to do. Give that a try and see how it works for you. Well must dash I have an entire world to destroy, kidding! Good luck in London."

"Thanks for everything," I said but he was lost in the rain and a bright flash of lightning. "Strange."

After a breakfast of cold Chinese food washed down with some orange juice I got dressed and decided to attack the basement today. There was so much to move and little time to do it. I scrounged up a hand truck and began carefully stacking crates and moving them into the hidden rooms beneath the backyard. After my third trip I found Liz watching me from the spiral staircase.

"You broke me," she said softly. "There is something deep inside of me that has snapped."

"I can try and make you forget," I offered.

"Why, you don't understand me Jon I was thanking you."

"Now I am the one who doesn't understand," I said taking a break from what I was doing.

"My dad killed himself on the night I was born. Do you know what that feels like? Was there something so horrible about me that he had to take his own life? I have been holding onto that for so damn long until, well until last night."

"That was a little clearer but still not getting what you are trying to say Liz."

"Last night you took away my ability to make decisions. You removed any and all options and I survived. I didn't self destruct and I didn't wake up this morning and want to kill myself. You broke me down completely, humiliated me in front of the others and yet here I am. I owe you my life Jon. I owe you everything. Thanks."

She stood and walked back upstairs without another word.

"Still as clear as mud," I said to no one.

I shook my head clear of Liz and continued with my mission. I wanted everything dealing with the Silver Twilight and the occult safely tucked away from prying eyes. At this rate I should have everything stowed by nightfall, barring interruptions. Once I got back from Europe I could open the crates at my leisure.

"Umbra," I said waking up my primary avatar.

"Yes Master how can I be of service?"

"I have a little task for you and if you perform it well you will make three young ladies very happy."

"I would be honored to make three happy with one task Master," she replied.

"Well here is what I need you to do..."

Once the girls realized what was going on they all chipped in, all but Liz. She seemed extremely deep in thought and I told the others to just let her be.

"Many hands make light work," Veronika said at one point. "It's something my grandma used to say."

"I think I would have liked your grandma," I told her.

"Yeah she was a sweet old broad but crazy as all get out. She used to tell me stories about growing up in the depression. Most of them were really sad but some were just bizarre. Maybe it was because she was from the Old Country, Ireland?"

"Define bizarre," I said.

"Well she used to tell me stories about the Old Race. These weren't your tales about the wee people and leprechauns no these were about a tall proud people who dwelt in places so extreme no humans could survive there. I remember one story where grandma was just a kid and went exploring in the woods. She found a deer trail and followed it. It led between these two massive rocks that if you weren't following the trail you'd never have seen the narrow cut. Once passed the boulders there was a field of ancient trees and in the middle of trees a hot spring where a woman bathed. Unafraid with that childlike bravery called curiosity grandma approached the woman. She described her as being made of moonlight and daydreams. But it was the lady's eyes that haunted my grandmother; they were the color of untarnished silver. They had slit's like a cat's and when she looked at her she was frozen to the spot. The woman took an interest in my grandma for a long time and then suddenly she was in her bed and it was like a dream but she knew better. Those eyes weren't the creation of a child they had been real."

"That certainly is different," I told her trying not to show my shock when she mentioned the silver eyes. "So what do you think she saw?"

"I think as kids we see the world untainted by adult filters. We see in a wider spectrum until we learn to narrow our perceptions. How many times are we told as children 'there are no such thing as...' fill in the blank. Then again perhaps its better that we don't see the things that go bump in the night. As adults we may not be able to handle that sort of unvarnished truth and we go stark raving mad. What do you think?"

"I think, well I think we are done and deserve a treat," I said changing the subject as quickly as I could.

We went upstairs to get Liz to see what she wanted to order for dinner only to discover the door wide open and her gone. When I looked outside her car was gone as well.

"I'm sure she'll be back before we leave," Colleen said.

"Yeah she wouldn't want to miss that," Carol added.

"I am sure you're right so what do you want to order," I asked.

We ordered a late lunch and sat outside on the front porch enjoying the rest of the spring day. I gave Nyarlathotep's advice a shot and looked over at Veronika and just imagined her scratching her left ear. A few seconds later she reached up and did it and never looked at me like I had done anything. I thought about continuing but felt it would be wrong just to have them doing stupid shit for no reason. A sparrow called out to its mate and that is when it hit me. I wonder if this worked on animals too. I searched the tree line and spotted him resting on the branch of a red maple. I imagined him flying over and landing on the bottom step of the porch. He launched himself in the air and fearlessly flew over and landed right where I wanted him to.

"Jon look," Colleen hissed. "What kind of bird is that?"

"I think it's a sparrow," I told her.

"He's so pretty," Carol said sitting perfectly still.

Fly away home I thought and off he shot back to the protection of the trees. But he would never reach his nest. A black and white shape dropped out of the sky and fell on the sparrow as he fled. With deadly accuracy the swallow-tail kite took its prey and flew off.

"Oh how sad," Colleen said frowning.

"He almost made it," Carol added.

"Almost," Veronika said looking at me. "Almost."

Our food arrived and I ate in silence as the girls talked about everything under the sun it seemed.

"Don't blame yourself Jon," Veronika said patting my leg.

"Yeah, the other bird needs food too," Carol said.

"I suppose," I replied but I was the one responsible for it leaving the safety of its tree.

Umbra sent me a message via the lenses, 'it is all set.'

"Oh thank god some good news," I said and everyone just looked at me. "Umbra will you do the honors?"

Umbra appeared and she was smiling from ear to ear.

"Master wanted me to search the European market for the very best plastic surgeon and I located her. Her name is Doctor Kai Solheim and she is located in Stockholm Sweden. She has agreed to perform your augmentation surgeries with a few adjustments to her usual fees. I have sent Master all the pertinent data on the dates and hotel bookings I have managed for the three of you. He has allocated both time and money for you to shop for new clothes while you are recovering. Also there will be spas and other activities to help you pass the time."

Suddenly I was mobbed by three delighted young women.

"So we need to get some good rest tonight, tomorrow we leave for Europe," I told them.

"Are you coming with us," the twins asked.

"I wish I could but I need to be in London by the end of the week and get settled for my inspection on Monday morning."

"We will email you every day," Veronika promised.

"Good, I expect a clear concise report on how much fun you will be having without me. Then you can make it up to me when you are all healed up and ready to join me in London, okay?"

"We will definitely make it up to you," Colleen purred.

"Oh yes most definitely," Carol whispered in my ear.

"Starting right now..." Veronika moaned.