Xur in the picture above :p
____________________________
Kade continued to stare at the sky, where Xur disappeared, while I stared at him.
I didn't know where to start when it came to talking. All my suspicions of the things in the attic being real were true and now it was confirmed that I wasn't even human.
And according to Xur, no one knew what kind of supernatural I was.
My chest tightened with uncertainty and an emotion I didn't recognize as I began thinking about the fact that I was a supernatural. But how? I had lived my whole life as a human, or at least I thought I did. Was that why I had purple eyes? Was that why my hair was unusually darker than the rest of my family?
But how?! What was so wrong with my bloodline that Xur's kind, which I inferred were the Abominations my grandmother had mentioned, would want to get their hands on it? Why was it so important?
I remembered him saying my grandmother had burned herself alive just to keep them from getting their hands on our blood. That takes true bravery and determination, two things I didn't have.
My heart ached for Eliza.
I wanted to get home more than anything right now, back to my time period. I was at least a little glad that I was already with a Freelancer that could help me find answers. If Galendale was still around, then maybe Kade could introduce me to him and we'd work this whole thing out.
But something told me that that wasn't something to get very hopeful over.
I suddenly realized how I was taking this whole supernatural thing a bit too easily, even while knowing I was one of them. But for some reason, I couldn't bring myself to have a complete meltdown. Maybe that was a benefit of having supernatural blood? I wasn't sure but I figured it was a good thing, at least for now.
And then suddenly, another question hit me. Who was Salazar? He seemed to be the main concern right now, my main pursuer. He was obviously the leader of Xur's kind, but why was his focus on my blood and how did he know I was a descendant of Eliza?
How did he know I was here?
I shut off my thoughts when Kade looked back at me with guilty eyes. He took a step closer and stopped, as if thinking I'd run away if he came any closer. But I kept my back straight, showing him I was okay with him being near me.
I wasn't afraid, even though I should've been.
"Looks like I've got some explaining to do," he said softly, taking another step.
"Make that two of us," I added with a smile to lighten the mood. But he didn't smile back.
"Here's not the place to do it, though. Come with me. I'll get my friend to fix you up and then we'll talk," he urged, looking around as if to add to his warning that this place wasn't safe.
I reluctantly agreed and nodded.
***
We walked with me still draped over his shoulders for another ten minutes before stopping in front of a bar with lights and laughter radiating from the inside.
The sign on the front said "CLOSED" but Kade opened an unlocked door and we limped inside, being greeted by curious and concerned faces.
A couple of guys rushed to Kade's aid while a woman, seeming to be in her late twenties, with crimson red hair and bright green eyes, threw my arm around her neck and supported me on her own.
"My God, boy!" An older man with a grey goatee exclaimed from behind the bar. "What has happened?"
All the laughter had halted and everyone's eyes were on me and Kade, mostly on me though. At first I had figured it was because I was a stranger but then I remembered my purple eyes and futuristic clothing.
"Are you okay?" the woman who supported me asked Kade. The two guys had pulled him away from me and were being pushed away while Kade brushed off his arms angrily.
"Yeah I'm fine," he snapped. "Where's Odis?"
I gulped hard, feeling awkward in a room full of people who were all secretly wondering who I was and what I was doing here. A lot of them tried to avoid looking at me but I could tell it took plenty of effort.
"He might be in the back, checking stock," the bearded guy, who I took to be the bartender, answered. It was quite obvious by his black and white uniform.
"Come on, Bella. I'll get you some help," Kade said sympathetically, pulling my arm back over his neck. The crimson-haired woman stepped back but as we began to limp towards the back of the bar, she followed.
And the whole time, I felt everyone's gazes weighing on my shoulders. There were at least two dozen people in the bar and the estimation didn't make me feel any better.
We entered the back, the woman still following. Kade led us through a small kitchen, not much to describe besides a few pots and pans, a stove and a sink, and a large door that most likely led to a freezer.
There was another door at the back of the kitchen which led us to a sort of conference room; a large round table surrounded by about a dozen wooden chairs. It looked official but also like something you wouldn't expect to see at the back of a bar. I didn't worry, though. All that walking made my foot hurt worse and it seemed as if my bleeding was getting worse, too.
Kade pulled out a chair and carefully sat me in it, pulling away gently and trying his best not to jostle my shoulder.
"I'll go find Odis. Maeve, do you mind watching her for a minute?" he asked, turning towards the woman who was now sitting in a chair across the table. She smiled politely and gave a small, obedient nod.
Her smile was so friendly and would've spread to me if I wasn't in so much pain. Just now thinking about it made it worse.
Kade left the room in a brisk walk, taking a sharp right which I was sure led to another door I'd probably missed.
I looked back at the woman who was apparently named Maeve, and smiled politely to make things less awkward.
She smiled even more and dropped her chin into her hand on the table. "He's something, isn't he?" she joked, her green eyes seeming to sparkle. "I love that boy like he's my own son."
I huffed a small laugh and gripped my bleeding hand. "You look too young to have any kids," I said, not just saying that as a complement. She honestly did look too young.
"Thanks. And I honestly don't want any kids of my own. That boy is enough to handle," she responded.
"Is he that bad? He seems alright to me," I said as I glanced towards the door.
"Yes. He's always going head over heels with things which normally gets him into a ton of trouble." She brushed a painted nail, the color matching her crimson hair, over the wooden table and sighed.
"I wish he hadn't taken the role as leader. We Freelancers respect him but I think it's sometimes too much on him," she mumbled solemnly. Her bright eyes became dull.
"We? You mean all of them out there are Freelancers?" I asked although I wasn't really shocked. It probably helped with the reason they were staring so curiously at me. I wasn't one of them.
And I wasn't surprised Kade was their leader, either. He carried himself like a person with control, although he did seem a little young for the role.
Maeve nodded. "I thought you'd know since Kade normally doesn't bring strangers in unless it's for a good cause. And most of the time, they already know what we are."
I noticed she didn't say "who we are" but instead, "what we are".
"Supernaturals," I muttered under my breath but she apparently heard me because her lips curled into a smile.
"So you do know?" she asked, pulling a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I thought you might."
The door opened again and Kade entered with another man, looking around the same age as Maeve, with thick, brown buzz cut hair and a pair of bright amber eyes. He was dressed in black overalls which covered a white dress shirt similar to Kade's, and carried himself properly with a wide smile spread across his face.
"Hello," he greeted me, sitting in a chair beside mine. "I'm Odis, a friend of Kade's. I heard you were injured and needed some assistance?" I didn't like the way he spoke. It seemed awkward, like he felt he shouldn't show too much emotion. Or maybe he was just trying to be gentle and not scare me away. But he wasn't succeeding.
His face was frozen in a stiff smile, I realized, as if he were trying hard to keep his composure. And the sudden silence didn't make things less awkward.
"Odis, stop that. Look, you're making the girl uncomfortable," Maeve snapped as she slapped him on the arm. His erect back immediately slouched and his smile turned causal. A small laugh escaped his lips as his whole posture relaxed into a nonchalant sitting position.
"Nah, I'm just kidding," he said. "But I am here to help." He reached out a large hand to me and I suddenly felt relieved that he wasn't a complete weirdo, just a childish adult.
I reached out to shake his hand but realized that both of mine were covered in blood, one from the glass and one from gripping the bleeding one.
I pulled back with a crooked smile and chuckled weakly.
"That's okay. A proper greeting isn't always necessary," he teased, setting a black bag, which he had entered with, onto the table and opening it.
"Don't worry, Odis may seem a bit childish but he's good at what he does," Kade reassured, even though I didn't need it. I believed this guy could help me.
I really didn't have a choice.
Odis pulled out a bottle of gauze and a roll of white bandages and began pouring the healing liquid onto a small cloth. I watched and started to wonder what kind of supernatural he was, and also Maeve. I already knew Kade was a warlock so that canceled him out but my curiosity grew for the other two.
For some reason, I felt it would be rude to ask.
Odis reached for my hand and wiped the gauze over the cut in my palm gently while also wiping away some of the blood.
"So?" he said. "Wanna explain why I'm having to bandage a random girl and why you messed up a good shirt?" He didn't sound angry, nor all that concerned, but I guess he was just asking out of curiosity.
Kade ran a dirty hand through his hair while I looked down at his bloody shirt, noticing again how bad it looked. But by the way he stood, he looked almost unaffected, as if the wounds weren't even there.
"Xur's back. He decided to pay me a surprise visit tonight," he explained. His lips dipped into a deeper frown.
Odis glanced briefly over his shoulder and finished wrapping my hand in bandages.
"You mean that ol' gargoyle you beat down last year?" he asked. I pulled down my shirt far enough for him to reach the wound on my shoulder.
Gargoyle? That thing was a gargoyle?
"Yeah," Kade answered. "He said Salazar's coming back. And right now, he's focused on Bella over here." He nodded his head towards me.
Three pairs of eyes fell on me and I got a nervous tickle in my throat. They all stared, waiting for me to explain but I didn't know where to start.
"You remember that strange visitor Galendale warned us about before he disappeared?" Kade asked Odis, taking the pressure off my shoulders. Odis nodded.
"What about that coin Thomas's wife was given? The one everyone said had time traveling powers?" Odis nodded again while his eyes became distant with thought.
"Well, apparently, the rumors were true. And Bella, here, is our strange visitor... from the future." Kade flashed me a look of admiration but curiosity swallowed that look.
"The future?!" Maeve and Odis exclaimed at the same time.
"How far in the future?" Maeve asked with jittery excitement.
I looked from her to Odis, to Kade, and then back at her, realizing I hadn't said anything yet. "Over a hundred years. Year 2017."
I ended up looking directly at Kade when everyone's eyes widened in surprise, thinking he'd offer some kind of reassurance that that wasn't exactly insane.
But he didn't, and I couldn't bring myself to believe that, either.