Chapter 24

Mirrors

In the elevator the atmosphere was awkward. Mr. Craybits was fidgeting and looking everywhere but at Klaus. It was a hard thing to do as the walls were all lined with mirrors.

Klaus was listening to the strange and almost irritating music coming through the speakers. He could never understand why people put music in an elevator in the first place.

To distract himself, Klaus looked at the fidgeting man in a mirror's reflection. That was another thing he did not understand about most elevators. 'You are already crammed into this awkward box filled with people, do they want you to look at them from all angles as well?'

Their eyes made contact. Mr. Craybits quickly turned his gaze away.

"What is your name?" Asked Klaus suddenly.

Mr. Craybits, looked up to see that Klaus' eyes were on him via the mirror in the elevator.

"My name is Frederich, but you can just call me Fred, Mr. Roth."

"Klaus."

Fred gave Klaus a confused look after he spoke.

"My name is Klaus."

Fred nodded in acceptance, he had already known what Mr. Roth's name was. He just did not want to use it.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened. "Find an empty room. We are going to be staying here for a week, and will then leave for training."

Fred watched as Klaus walked away after uttering the words. To him, the parting was very anti-climatic. From the stories that were going around, he expected to be threatened at least once more.

He shrugged. Fred had achieved his goal and now had a team that he figured was powerful. 'Time to find a room.'

He looked down the hallway to the left and then to the right. Made his way to the door nearest to him and frowned.

Klaus had never stayed in a hotel. He did not know that key cards would usually be issued to occupants.

Fred looked in the direction that Klaus had disappeared into. "Did he do it on purpose?"

"Where are we going?" Asked Liz while making herself comfortable in the taxi that Billy had flagged.

Despite her reasons for going, she was a little excited. She had never been in a taxi before. She had a driver that would transport her to school and back. If she wanted to go anywhere else, Liz would have to put in a request with her sister. Her requests were rarely approved.

Billy grimaced while looking at the curious and easily excitable Liz. "We are going to see my friend, and then we are going to Ragnarok."

Liz stopped inspecting the taxi and turned to Billy when hearing the name. "Ragnarok?"

Billy nodded while leaning his head against the window. It was starting to go dark, and the cold window did wonders for his forehead, which was starting to burn up. Billy clenched his hands. 'The shakes are getting worse.'

"Yeah, its the name of the club." He finally answered.

After a while, they stopped at a filling station. Billy leaned forward, gave the driver money and then turned to a confused Liz. "I will be back in a moment. Wait here." The last part of his sentence was pointed at Liz and the driver.

The driver, a middle-aged man, looked at the note he was given and nodded.

After Billy was gone, the driver discreetly glanced at Liz. They sat for a few more seconds before the man spoke to Liz out of the blue.

"I usually wouldn't stick my nose in another's business, but I have a daughter about your age, and you don't look the type. Your friend with all the hardware isn't here to meet a friend."

Liz looked at the man. "What do you mean?"

"Kid, I have been driving taxis here for about eleven years now. People who are in this part of town and do a quick stop, do so for only two reasons. They either need to take a shit, or they are buying drugs. I think your friend is the latter."

Liz, who was looking at the man through the rearview mirror, saw his eyes flit to the right and then back to her. She turned in her seat and looked in the direction.

Billy was with someone who had their hoody up keeping their face obscured. They were talking, but the person never looked directly at Billy.

The driver expected Liz to look a bit fearful or to ask him to leave Billy and just take her back.

Instead, her countenance turned into one of anger.

They sat in Silence until Billy returned. As soon as he was in the taxi, he told the driver to take them to Ragnarok.

Billy was a little worried that Liz had noticed, however, the young woman was silent the whole drive over, so he pushed it to the back of his mind.

They both got out of the taxi, the driver leaned out of the window, only after Billy paid him and looked at Liz.

"Miss, are you sure you don't want me to take you home?"

She had her jaw clenched and arms crossed in anger and disappointment. "No, I will be fine."

Billy looked between the two of them and then turned to swear at the driver when understanding dawned on him. He was afraid that the driver had said something and regretted bringing Liz along. If the driver told Liz what he was up to everything could explode in his face. Billy hoped that the driver acted the way he did because of how he looked.  "Who do you think you are poking your nose into our business."

The driver snorted and took off. Not missing a chance to give Billy the stink eye as many times as he could.

Billy turned around and gave Liz a nervous smile, hoping that she did not find anything out. "What an asshole, am I right?"

Liz was not amused and gave Billy a stern look. "Is it true?"

The nervous smile faded, and Billy swore on the inside. He reverted to something that seldom worked; playing innocent. He asked: "Is what true, Liz?"

Liz sighed and rubbed at her temples. She was looking forward to a night out, and what happened ruined it all. Liz had hoped that they could be friends, it was something she had very little of. The young woman also needed to know what he was using but knew it would not be easy to convince Billy to come clean.

"Billy, what are you using?"

Billy's face lost its cordiality completely, and he took a menacing step forward, towering over Liz. "Keep your mouth shut; this has got nothing to do with you."

Liz was stunned for a moment. The change in him was instant. If she were in her right mind, Liz would have backed off- however, she had just learned of her sister. The betrayal hurt, it was raw and fresh. Billy was supposed to give her a distraction. He was going to help her forget about everything for just one night; The Secret Worlds, her responsibilities, and everything in between. In the end, what she found out, and how he was acting at that moment, threatening her.

It felt like another betrayal.

She did not back down and took a step forward. It brought them closer and forced her to look up at him. "Tell me, what you are using." Each word was laced with a promise of violence if he did not.

Billy snorted, it was obvious that he was nervous. In truth, he was not used to people standing up to him.

Billy was way past rational thinking. His family chose the hard road to raise their family members, and Billy was always the runt of the litter. He had grown up feeling unloved and failed at most of their tests. Billy was a nobody until his awakening. He had gotten two stigmata, and suddenly he was important. The family started to overlook his failures and instead focused on his strengths. As a result, he learned early on how to use his stigmata, but was warned not to and why.

This lead to him shirking on martial teachings, and he was important, so the other members of his family left him alone.

Billy took a step back and looked down at his hands, and with conscious effort, relaxed them.

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"Look, I don't want to fight you, but I am not telling you. I also suggest you don't tell anyone else. I could make things very difficult for you."

It was an empty threat, and Billy knew it. One look in Liz's eyes, and he knew she could tell as well. 

Liz looked between Billy and the cars passing by. Billy had backed down and not given her the fight she wanted. She planned to leave and tell Klaus.

"You may not want to tell me, but you will have to tell Klaus. He needs to know, we all do. Not knowing could put us all in danger."

Billy took a step closer, desperation boiling up. If Klaus found out, he did not doubt that his family would find out as well. "You can't do that to me, Liz, I have been hiding this for years. I have been dealing with it by myself for years, and it is under control you have my word."

Liz turned to him and stuck out her hand. "Then give it to me. If you can go without whatever it is, then I won't say a word. You have to realize that once we enter the Secret Worlds, you will be cut off. From what I understand there will be no drugs there or nothing like we know here. Will you then turn to other things? What could that lead to; A lapse in your judgment when we need you most? Our enemies could even use it against you if you are addicted enough, use it to coax you into betraying us for your next fix."

Liz waited for five seconds and then lowered her hand. "We can't trust you, Klaus needs to know, I am sorry."

Billy was not stupid; he knew she was right. A part of him knew it in his heart of hearts, but his addiction had its claws in him. The importance his family placed on the young man, along with the attention he got made him not want to let it go even more. 'Without it.'

He shuddered at the thought. 

Prodigium were known to be unstable for good reason. They shared their blood with monsters and beasts. Their awakening usually involved glimpses of that effect. Stigmata served as doorways to the abilities in their blood. Like Klaus, this also meant it connected to the instincts and mood swings attached to those with which they shared their blood.

Billy had started to lose himself in his instincts, and he hid it. He had heard the stories from older members. How those who lost their minds would be put down. He did not want to lose the favor of the family, and he did not want to be put down. So he turned to substance abuse to curb his instincts.

At first, he drank the pills sparingly, however,  the drug he used was a controlled substance for a reason; it is very addictive when abused.

Rational thought left as desperation took over. Billy reached out and grabbed Liz's hand. "I can't let you tell Klaus, nobody can find out."

Liz turned to Billy, and her eyes narrowed. "Billy let go of me."

Billy's hand tightened. "I can't do that."

Liz, had Billy by his neck the next moment. He tried to fight back, but despite many attempts from his family, Billy never took his fighting lessons seriously.

He broke her hold and swung a fist at the deceptively small Liz.

Liz easily stepped out of the sloppy blow's way. Grabbed his arm and pulled him off balance before smashing her palm into his jaw in one quick motion.

Billy was disorented, but she did not let up and hit him again until he lost his footing and fell to the ground.

Billy rolled onto his side and spat blood out of his mouth, his cheek had been cut by his teeth on the inside. Billy thought of activating his stigmata, but he feared he would not be able to control his instincts after suppressing them for so long. If he were to go on a ramage here his family would surely put him down.

"Don't move, or this will only get worse for you."

He tried to roll away, but his head got stomped on for the effort.

The stomp dazed Billy long enough to allow Liz to search his pockets.

She found a container and opened it to find light blue pills with a "v" indentation on them.

She closed her eyes. Liz was very familiar with them. "Diazepam. Does your family know?"

A crowd had formed and was watching them now. Someone came rushing out of the crowd and said. The person pointed a policeman shouting for the crowd to make way. "This is not the place or the time for this."

Liz wanted to tell whoever it was to take a hike, but she paused when she recognized him. The last time she saw him, she thought it would be the last time.

"What are you doing here, Spartan?"

He did not answer and instead looked at the both of them. Billy was busy getting up. "I no longer have the right to carry that title. Just call me Leo."

Liz was about to ask more but he held up his hands to stop her. "We don't have time to talk, your stupid actions have drawn a patrolman over."

Liz put the pills in her purse and looked at Billy who was staring at her purse. She hesitated for a second "Last chance Billy. Come with me, and we tell Klaus together or stay here. Make no mistake. I will do it by myself."

Billy knew he had no choice, he had to hope that Klaus would not tell his family. The young man gritted his teeth and nodded.

"This way." Said Leo and started pushing through the crowd.

The policeman saw them trying to run and redoubled his efforts. He made it to the Spartan first and got rewarded with an elbow to his jaw, so fast he could not react.

Leo started to run and the other two followed.

Klaus was sitting on the roof again. He felt angry and stupid at the same time, so he chose to go to the roof with hopes that it would clear his head. It did not work.

He felt angry because he found out from reception that Liz and Billy had left without letting him know. He had a few issues with it. The top is the fact that they had just recently survived an attack from the Roth. He felt that it was initially just the stupidity of Cornelius that lead to the attack, but he had probably angered them properly now.

Pain had urged him to kill them all outright. Something he did not want because he already had the Argents on his conscience even though he did not give the order. It was done for him. He was never one to shirk responsibility.

The second reason was more logical. Klaus knew that if he took some of the assets from the Roth on this world, the other branches would probably send him a thank you note. The way he understood it. The branches in the families vied for resources among each other just as much as the families fought for them.

If, however, he killed them all. It would leave the territory open to a new branch and give the other Roth branches a reason to come after him.

Knowing all this, he found it irksome that two of his team members took off without taking anyone to help keep them safe.

He felt stupid because he was not responsible for them, not really. They were their own keepers. The same age as he was and should have a better understanding of the politics and other stuff that went with being a part of the Secret Worlds.

That is what he hoped, but their actions proved differently.

Klaus was also worried about the Scientia. He had not heard anything from them yet. It also did not help that another part of him was urging him to send them packing for daring to question and judge him.

It was illogical.

He had a gut feeling that the Scientia was the key to the knowledge that he may need in the Secret Worlds, especially since he could not access the knowledge his family had.

"Stupid Worlds, with its stupid rules and the stupid people I am surrounded by." He muttered.

A giggle gave him a freight, and he nearly jumped up. It would have been a bad move since he was sitting near the edge.

"If you don't like me anymore, committing murder is not the answer." Said Klaus while giving the guilty party the stink eye.

Lilith walked over to him and then looked over the city. "When I heard you were up here I was ready to box your ears, but when I got here and saw you moping like a chastised child, I could not help myself."

Klaus looked away. "I was not moping."

"Sure looked like moping to me." Said Lilith, amusement obvious in her voice.

Klaus raised his eyebrow at her. "On second thought, committing murder does not seem like such a bad idea."

She sat down next to Klaus and bumped her shoulder against his. "Nah, you wouldn't. I have got you figured out, Mr. Roth."

He snorted. "Am I that simple then?"

"Very."

"That's it. You have earned the wrath of the dragon lord of doom." Klaus then proceded to tickle his victim.

"Klaus stop! We are sitting forty stories up." She managed between laughing.

He stopped and the two lapsed into silence. "God, I don't know when the last time was that someone tickled me. You are such a weird person."

He shrugged. "I have my moments." He then snorted. "I can change into a dragon and shoot flames from my hands, but tickling someone makes me weird."

She giggled. "I guess."

They lapsed into silence and Klaus thought about bringing something up, which he had been curious about.

"I have a question." Klaus finally asked.

"Yes?"

"What changed your mind about me. When I was little. I mean. When you showed me." Klaus took a deep breath, it was still hard for him to talk about. "When you showed me the shooting. I got the impression that you were doing it out of duty and kind of regretted what it would cost you. It was not out of care."

"You are probably right." Lilith looked into the distance, and Klaus watched as her hair danced in the wind.

"I was fresh from the Secret Worlds, I was hurt and angry at everything. Don't get me wrong. That is not an excuse; there is nothing that can excuse what I did. I apathetically watched you grow up, not caring what you were going through until you showed tenacity."

"Tenacity?"

"Yes. Caring for someone in the Secret Worlds is viewed as a weakness, a liability in a group. People don't think straight when they are in love. I knew that and I was guilty of it at the same time. I saw your relationship with Macy as something that made you weak."

She waited for Klaus to say something, but he didn't.

"It started with small things. I remember how I felt when I saw you secretly plan and record the alcoholic while he beat you. For the first time, I felt something; respect." She looked at her fingers.

Klaus fought the urge to hug her.

"It continued to grow the more things you achieved. The schools you went to- sports you excelled at. You were growing strong by yourself, using whatever you could to achieve something. I always wondered why you were so driven. I could not understand it. There you were, surrounded by people who chose different paths, mostly the wrong ones, yet you never swayed or veered from yours."

"There were times when I thought you would fail. I am ashamed to say those times made me happy. I had failed, you see. Failed my friends by choosing to trust someone for the wrong reasons."

"One day, I could not hold back anymore. It was after a bunch of rich kids cornered and beat you for showing them up. I wanted to know what drove you. So I read your mind for the first time, and there she was. Macy."

Lilith swallowed, and a tear ran down her cheek. "She was in every part of your thoughts, every little thing you did was driven by her. To me, someone who had only ever done things for herself, it was beautiful. I saw your dream of becoming a lawyer, so kids like her would not be put in such situations."

She wiped at her eyes and nearly whispered. "That day I took a hard look in the mirror and realized something. I was empty."

Klaus expected that it would hurt to hear Lilith talk about the past. It more than hurt while listening to her. Klaus had gone through a myriad of emotions ranging from anger to feeling bittersweet. 

He ignored his feelings as he listened, or he would interrupt, and he did not want to. Klaus chose to listen stoically, while Lilith poured her heart out.

"I was in the winter of my life. It was hard to accept that my whole identity had been put together by a series of events that meant nothing in the end." Lilith leaned into him and held on tightly as if he would disappear. 

Klaus reciprocated the hug and placed his chin on her head. "After that, everything changed. Your achievements and rare smiles became my summers. It's a sad thing, knowing your happiness depends on someone else. The thing is, I don't care anymore because I realized; it takes, getting everything you ever wanted and losing it to know what true freedom is."

Klaus felt Lilith's thoughts brush against his, and he let her in. Klaus felt like his heart wanted to burst when he felt it. Her voice reverberated in his mind and ears. "I was someone empty and broken. My dreams and aspirations were scattered like a million stars sparkling with what could have been."

She looked up at him then. "When you accepted me despite what I had done, when I felt your care and feelings when we made love. It was like a fire that both dizzied and dazzled me. You have become my obsession to a point that I find it hard to talk about. You are my freedom and cage all rolled into one."

Lilith then kissed him, it was soft at first but turned into a burning needy kiss. Klaus kissed her back, and for a moment, they were lost in each other.  

She broke the kiss and then bit his chin. Klaus' grip instantly tightened and he nearly lost control.

She hugged him close and whispered in his ear. "Make love to me."