Page 41 of The Paranormal Investigation Bureau
Chapter30
Nicolai
Arden was taking this whole Beyla minion thing to a whole new level, and it was making it difficult for Merlin and me to get in on it. Neither of us wanted to fuck with a gryphon, he’d kick our asses in a supernatural fight, so we’d have to play mind games to get him out of the picture. I didn’t want him in our harem, but we couldn’t even get one started if he was always there.
Merlin and I tag-teamed him to get him away from the studio, so we’d be waiting when Beyla came out. The stupid gryphon was so puffed up with testosterone that he was looking for any excuse to run off and beat someone up, even if it left her alone. We figured we could work with that, and totally exploit it.
Beyla came storming out of the studio. I was guessing she’d said something to Marsden about his twisted girlfriend and that abhorrent display in rehearsal. Honestly, it seemed as if Bellatrix could have brought a semi-automatic weapon to rehearsal, opened fire, and killed someone, and Marsden still wouldn’t have fired her! I never wanted to go there after I found out more about her, but that succubus must have one seriously magical vagina not to be fired by now, because no one danced well enough to make up for her behavior.
“Welcome to the Bellatrix Show,” I said with mock gusto, as Merlin and I started walking beside her. “He’ll make excuses all day, but Marsden will never fire her.”
“Can I trust you two?” she asked. “I got that vibe when we were dancing.”
Merlin stopped and grabbed her arm.
“We want to apply to be a minion. Arden and Bevan get to be minions, Nyx would never be one, but she enjoys fighting evil bitches and hates Marsden. We want in.”
Fucking Merlin. He was so wholly unsmooth when he actually liked someone. If he just wanted her in bed, he would ooze with incubus charm and machismo, but since that didn’t work with her, he was acting like some bumbling teenage warlock virgin. At least he didn’t blurt anything out about the harem… she would have shut that down right away and never spoken to us again. She still might do that, what with the whole minion thing. It was different when it was just Merlin and I talking, we had our own language when it was just us.
Beyla just took it all in and gave Merlin this gentle smile. She didn’t shake his arm away and storm off.
“I don’t have minions, and I don’t want them. Bellatrix has minions, and I’m nothing like her. I’m not sure what’s gotten into Arden, but they are just trying to help me survive being her understudy and protect Bevan.”
“We want in,” I said. “Bevan is our roommate and is like a brother to us. He stopped us from getting revenge on Julian for stealing his boyfriend. The only reason we didn’t was that he said he didn’t want it. Julian isnottaking this part from him because of Bellatrix, and you’re a better dancer than she is. We aren’t letting her hurt you.”
Beyla grabbed our hands and dragged us down the hall to a storage closet. I could get on board with this. Was this kinky little witch pulling us aside for a closet threesome? Iknewshe wanted a harem.
“This can’t leave this closet. I tried to get Marsden to do something about his girlfriend before she hurts Bevan and does something permanent to me. He keeps saying he needs her to stay where she is to pull off this ballet, but heisdoing something… which is just going to make things worse. At least he’s having Julian busted for selling cocaine. You can’t say anything to tip him off.”
I could kiss Bevan. I could kiss her. Bevan told us not to retaliate against Julian and Merlin and I thought it was because Arden beat his ass. Bevan was a nice guy, but Merlin and I lived with him. He could only be pressed so far before his little warlock brain started plotting. Bevan had worked up some epic revenge for eating his food before we came up with some house rules. Merlin and I had missed rehearsal for two days and never left the bathroom when Bevan needed to make that point.
“Ha! Bevan gets his revenge. Did you two work that up when you found the drugs in your bag?” I said.
“Honestly, no… there was enough cocaine in there to get him in serious trouble with his supplier unless he’s got a lot of money stashed somewhere to pay them back. Arden wanted to find Julian and shove all the baggies up his asshole before dumping him in the alley. Bevan convinced Arden to give it to him. He disappeared with it. None of us knew what he did with it. Would he seriously sneak it into Bellatrix’s bag?”
I couldn’t stop laughing, because he totally would. I was so proud of my boy. He stood up to Bellatrix about Julian, and if Marsden had actually searched her bag, both of them would be gone.
“Bevan knows he’s playing with the grownups now. Helikesyou, and he dances better with you as his partner. We all feel that way. I strongly dislike Arden, but I think all four male leads agree that we’d rather be dancing with you,” I said.
“Sorry, guys. You’re stuck with Bellatrix. I don’t think she deserves it after what I saw in rehearsal, but I don’twantit. I need to be the understudy. I’ll defend myself when she comes at me, but I’m not going to stoop to her level and sabotage her.”
What was with this witch?! We’d only just started learning the choreography, but this had the potential to be a fantastic ballet… if Bellatrix didn't ruin it. She couldn’t play some sweet village girl who earned the love of four warriors to the point they called her spirit to a sugar skull and brought her back to life. Nope, Bellatrix was surely going to play Damita all wrong and entitled, as if we owed her that love.
When Marsden needed a shy village girl, he gave the lead to Ivory, and Bellatrix was her understudy. Ivory’s ego was just as massive as Bellatrix’s, but she could fake being humble on stage a little better. Even they understood that, and I wondered if this casting was causing drama within the Terrible Trio. I didn’t even pretend to understand that relationship.
Merlin was still opening his mouth and saying stupid things. I expected when he met his match, it was going to be some epically powerful succubus, not a witch with meanfouettéturns and killer extension. At least she seemed to find it cute, instead of storming out of this closet.
“We won’t go after her if you don’t want us to, but we do think you’d be a better Damita. You still need minions, and Bevan needs minions. When Bellatrix finds out Julian has been arrested, that’s when people will start getting pushed down stairs. One of the Terrible Trio is always there as a witness, ready to testify that no one was nearby to push them. Julian will be gone, but Ivory will still be there. Bellatrix has minions to hurt you and Bevan... so you need minions to stop her.”
If I never heard Merlin talk about minions again, I could die happy. It was different when it was just the two of us. There was stupid shit you said in front of your brothers, but youneverrepeated it in front of the girl you liked.
Was she laughing? Beyla was looking at Merlin like he was the cutest thing she’d ever seen. What the fuck? He went all smooth incubus, and she’d totally shut him down! That usually worked oneveryone.Merlin was acting like a total fool, talking to her like he was talking to Bevan or me.
And she liked it.
“Fine!” she said, throwing up her hands and laughing. “I’m going to need all the help I can get to stop Bellatrix and Ivory, and I want someone watching Bevan. But you aren’t my minions, you’re my new friends.”
What the total shit? We tried talking to her like we talked to other girls… she’d threatened to make me a eunuch and sell my parts on the black market, and Merlin had gotten goofy and talked to her like she was one of us. She was finally laughing and acting friendly to us, we were officially minions and could start working on the harem.
