1 July 2016
?You sure you?re good?? Nica had asked Will at least six times since stepping through the portal. Though he assured her each and every time, she couldn?t help but worry. It wasn?t his first time but this one was different. Nica was different. To answer, he kissed her. Once then twice on the mouth and a third time on the crease that lined her forehead, his hands cupping either side of her face.
?Let?s do this.? He said softly.
Behind them, Daniel and Niamh loaded overstuffed bags into the open trunk of a cherry red convertible. Nicanora hadn?t the slightest idea of what sort of car it was aside from ?red convertible? but the delight in Will?s eyes said that whatever it was, was exactly what he had been talking about when he initially told the lycanthrope that he wanted to ride in style when they came to Miami.
?How?s the sound system?? Will asked Niamh as he slung the last bag from his shoulder into the trunk?s compartment.
?Passable.? Coyote coy grin and promises of more, Niamh?s expression gave away far more than her words would. ?That?s the last o? yer stuff, aye??
?Hardly inconspicuous, don?t you think?? Nica folded her black clad arms and tried not to frown at the sight. But Will looked so excited that it tempered her ire in favor of worry instead. Daniel ticked a look over toward her, the agreement easily read in his expression.
?Call it a righ? proper Miami welcome. B?sides, we?ll be droppin? the twins at Church then goin? on our merry way, right?? Niamh pulled the trunk?s lid down with a hard slam then swung around the driver?s side of the car to climb in the front seat.
?Nicanora,? Daniel said quietly, catching her before she went to join Niamh in the car. ?Are you sure you won?t come with us??
Nica?s breath caught in her chest but she recovered with a lick of her lips and a nod of her head. ?I?m sure, Daniel. I only came back to see you and Dia off and to see my father. Then we?ll be going back to Rhy?Din.?
Daniel seemed disappointed by her answer but for once he didn?t argue. He nodded as well and gestured for her to continue on her way.
?Let the round lass sit up front, the rest o? ye can figh? o?er the back seat.? All long legs, Niamh scrunched herself in to the front seat and made sure it was forward as far as possible to afford them as much room as she could in the coupe?s back seat.
The trio that was Will, Nica, and Daniel exchanged a number of unsure looks before they crammed themselves into the back seat like sardines, Will behind Niamh, Daniel behind Lidia, and Nica stuck in the middle. It was awkward to say the least. Will was all gold and smiles, sandy blonde and light shaded cotton in the Miami sun while Daniel was dark and stoic, drenched in black from throat to toe. The temperature hovered near the triple digits and was easily pushed above it when the heat index and humidity were factored in. The Nephilim were used to it but Will?s forehead was beaded with sweat only a few miles into the drive to the Institute.
Miami?s Institute didn?t sit in Miami proper but rather in the suburb of Coral Gables. In the same vein as many other Mediterranean Revival style buildings in Coral Gables, the institute had once been a grandiose Spanish Renaissance Roman Catholic church. To passing Mundanes, it was an old, derelict building kept behind high, wrought iron fencing, owned by some negligent businessman or other in New York. Or was it Los Angeles? Maybe London? The stories varied but the result was the same. They stayed away. It was dangerous and while it surely brought down the value of the surrounding buildings, it was at the very least hidden mostly from view by the tall reaching fences. To those with the Sight, it was a beauty to behold. It reminded Nicanora of Madrid, a taste of home. Never was she surprised that Gregorio had picked this place of all of his options.
The last time she had stepped foot within the Institute, Christopher had been alive. Now if she were to do the same, the likelihood was high that she would be turned over to the Clave for questioning. It was probable that the exact same thing would happen to Daniel and Lidia once they made it inside unless David and Paola had kept it quiet that the twins were returning. Doing so would compromise David?s career and went against everything that the Nephilim had pounded into their heads but sometimes, Nica hoped, blood was thicker than an oath. After thirty minutes of small talk and awkward silences, the convertible pulled up to the curb outside of the Institute.
?Cool place, killer landscaping. Surprised such a well kept place is considered inconspicuous, figured you?d go for dark and foreboding or something.? Will commented, jarring Nica from her thoughts to shoot him a curious look. On the other side of her, Daniel did the same, a thick brow inching upward to sit high as Nica looked back to him. He grimaced slightly then climbed out of the back to get the door for his sister and to relieve the coiled tension that had kept them packed together in the back. Lidia, seven months pregnant and miserable in the Miami heat, hauled herself to her feet and turned an apprehensive look toward the Institute. Daniel went around to the trunk to get their bags and Nica leveraged herself from the back seat to climb up into the front. It gave her a chance to pause long enough to hug Dia.
?Everything will work out,? she murmured beside the woman?s ear. Lidia clung to her for a few seconds longer before letting go.
?It wasn?t for nothing,? Dia intoned softly. ?Be careful, Nica.?
?I will. I promise.? Nica paused, hesitating before she pried the silver ring from around her right hand?s middle finger. She had been wearing it for so long that she had tanned around it, a thick band of paler skin proving where the ring had been for almost six months. ?I? I want you to have this back? for luck.?
?Nic?,? Dia?s stormy gaze brimmed behind a rapid shuttering of lids and lashes to try and hold back the torrent.
?He?d want you to have it. I should have given it to you sooner?,? Nica admitted. Who was she to deem Lidia undeserving when Christopher had thought differently? She pressed it into Dia?s shaking hand and curled the woman?s swollen fingers around it. ?Good luck, Dia.?
?Nee! I love this song, turn it up!? Will?s hand banged a few times on Niamh?s headrest. The were laughed and rolled the radio?s volume dial up until the smooth rhymes of Will Smith?s Miami poured from the speakers at an increasingly cringeworthy level. ?Me and Charlie at the bar runnin up a high bill. Nothin? less than ill, when we dress to kill. Everytime the ladies pass, they be like Hi Will.?
His voice pitched high and everything. At the exact time the Institute?s front double doors swung open to produce a looming figure in the doorway. David Blackwater made Daniel look small even from afar, which was saying something considering Daniel?s hulking size. The Blackwater twins both visibly stiffened and Nica sank into the convertible?s front seat, clumsily drawing up the hood of her jacket to shade her profile. The bouncing of the car said Will was in the back still dancing. Another sharp jarring also told her that Daniel had shut the trunk. Out of her periphery, she watched him scoop the handles of both his and Dia?s bags in one hand before ushering Lidia forward with a hand to the middle of her back. A second figure appeared in the doorway but didn?t stay there. Like her husband, Paola Blackwater was tall and imposing but that didn?t mitigate the motherly rush and wrap of arms around Lidia and soon Daniel too in a tightly packed and likely uncomfortable hug.
It was sweet even if Nica could still feel David?s hard gaze boring into her from afar. She sank further into her seat as Niamh pulled away and there she stayed until they were well away from the Institute and on their way to Hialeah.
?Bouncin' in the club where the heat is on. All night, on the beach till the break of dawn. I'm goin' to Miami. Welcome to Miamiiiiiii.?
?You sure you?re good?? Nica had asked Will at least six times since stepping through the portal. Though he assured her each and every time, she couldn?t help but worry. It wasn?t his first time but this one was different. Nica was different. To answer, he kissed her. Once then twice on the mouth and a third time on the crease that lined her forehead, his hands cupping either side of her face.
?Let?s do this.? He said softly.
Behind them, Daniel and Niamh loaded overstuffed bags into the open trunk of a cherry red convertible. Nicanora hadn?t the slightest idea of what sort of car it was aside from ?red convertible? but the delight in Will?s eyes said that whatever it was, was exactly what he had been talking about when he initially told the lycanthrope that he wanted to ride in style when they came to Miami.
?How?s the sound system?? Will asked Niamh as he slung the last bag from his shoulder into the trunk?s compartment.
?Passable.? Coyote coy grin and promises of more, Niamh?s expression gave away far more than her words would. ?That?s the last o? yer stuff, aye??
?Hardly inconspicuous, don?t you think?? Nica folded her black clad arms and tried not to frown at the sight. But Will looked so excited that it tempered her ire in favor of worry instead. Daniel ticked a look over toward her, the agreement easily read in his expression.
?Call it a righ? proper Miami welcome. B?sides, we?ll be droppin? the twins at Church then goin? on our merry way, right?? Niamh pulled the trunk?s lid down with a hard slam then swung around the driver?s side of the car to climb in the front seat.
?Nicanora,? Daniel said quietly, catching her before she went to join Niamh in the car. ?Are you sure you won?t come with us??
Nica?s breath caught in her chest but she recovered with a lick of her lips and a nod of her head. ?I?m sure, Daniel. I only came back to see you and Dia off and to see my father. Then we?ll be going back to Rhy?Din.?
Daniel seemed disappointed by her answer but for once he didn?t argue. He nodded as well and gestured for her to continue on her way.
?Let the round lass sit up front, the rest o? ye can figh? o?er the back seat.? All long legs, Niamh scrunched herself in to the front seat and made sure it was forward as far as possible to afford them as much room as she could in the coupe?s back seat.
The trio that was Will, Nica, and Daniel exchanged a number of unsure looks before they crammed themselves into the back seat like sardines, Will behind Niamh, Daniel behind Lidia, and Nica stuck in the middle. It was awkward to say the least. Will was all gold and smiles, sandy blonde and light shaded cotton in the Miami sun while Daniel was dark and stoic, drenched in black from throat to toe. The temperature hovered near the triple digits and was easily pushed above it when the heat index and humidity were factored in. The Nephilim were used to it but Will?s forehead was beaded with sweat only a few miles into the drive to the Institute.
Miami?s Institute didn?t sit in Miami proper but rather in the suburb of Coral Gables. In the same vein as many other Mediterranean Revival style buildings in Coral Gables, the institute had once been a grandiose Spanish Renaissance Roman Catholic church. To passing Mundanes, it was an old, derelict building kept behind high, wrought iron fencing, owned by some negligent businessman or other in New York. Or was it Los Angeles? Maybe London? The stories varied but the result was the same. They stayed away. It was dangerous and while it surely brought down the value of the surrounding buildings, it was at the very least hidden mostly from view by the tall reaching fences. To those with the Sight, it was a beauty to behold. It reminded Nicanora of Madrid, a taste of home. Never was she surprised that Gregorio had picked this place of all of his options.
The last time she had stepped foot within the Institute, Christopher had been alive. Now if she were to do the same, the likelihood was high that she would be turned over to the Clave for questioning. It was probable that the exact same thing would happen to Daniel and Lidia once they made it inside unless David and Paola had kept it quiet that the twins were returning. Doing so would compromise David?s career and went against everything that the Nephilim had pounded into their heads but sometimes, Nica hoped, blood was thicker than an oath. After thirty minutes of small talk and awkward silences, the convertible pulled up to the curb outside of the Institute.
?Cool place, killer landscaping. Surprised such a well kept place is considered inconspicuous, figured you?d go for dark and foreboding or something.? Will commented, jarring Nica from her thoughts to shoot him a curious look. On the other side of her, Daniel did the same, a thick brow inching upward to sit high as Nica looked back to him. He grimaced slightly then climbed out of the back to get the door for his sister and to relieve the coiled tension that had kept them packed together in the back. Lidia, seven months pregnant and miserable in the Miami heat, hauled herself to her feet and turned an apprehensive look toward the Institute. Daniel went around to the trunk to get their bags and Nica leveraged herself from the back seat to climb up into the front. It gave her a chance to pause long enough to hug Dia.
?Everything will work out,? she murmured beside the woman?s ear. Lidia clung to her for a few seconds longer before letting go.
?It wasn?t for nothing,? Dia intoned softly. ?Be careful, Nica.?
?I will. I promise.? Nica paused, hesitating before she pried the silver ring from around her right hand?s middle finger. She had been wearing it for so long that she had tanned around it, a thick band of paler skin proving where the ring had been for almost six months. ?I? I want you to have this back? for luck.?
?Nic?,? Dia?s stormy gaze brimmed behind a rapid shuttering of lids and lashes to try and hold back the torrent.
?He?d want you to have it. I should have given it to you sooner?,? Nica admitted. Who was she to deem Lidia undeserving when Christopher had thought differently? She pressed it into Dia?s shaking hand and curled the woman?s swollen fingers around it. ?Good luck, Dia.?
?Nee! I love this song, turn it up!? Will?s hand banged a few times on Niamh?s headrest. The were laughed and rolled the radio?s volume dial up until the smooth rhymes of Will Smith?s Miami poured from the speakers at an increasingly cringeworthy level. ?Me and Charlie at the bar runnin up a high bill. Nothin? less than ill, when we dress to kill. Everytime the ladies pass, they be like Hi Will.?
His voice pitched high and everything. At the exact time the Institute?s front double doors swung open to produce a looming figure in the doorway. David Blackwater made Daniel look small even from afar, which was saying something considering Daniel?s hulking size. The Blackwater twins both visibly stiffened and Nica sank into the convertible?s front seat, clumsily drawing up the hood of her jacket to shade her profile. The bouncing of the car said Will was in the back still dancing. Another sharp jarring also told her that Daniel had shut the trunk. Out of her periphery, she watched him scoop the handles of both his and Dia?s bags in one hand before ushering Lidia forward with a hand to the middle of her back. A second figure appeared in the doorway but didn?t stay there. Like her husband, Paola Blackwater was tall and imposing but that didn?t mitigate the motherly rush and wrap of arms around Lidia and soon Daniel too in a tightly packed and likely uncomfortable hug.
It was sweet even if Nica could still feel David?s hard gaze boring into her from afar. She sank further into her seat as Niamh pulled away and there she stayed until they were well away from the Institute and on their way to Hialeah.
?Bouncin' in the club where the heat is on. All night, on the beach till the break of dawn. I'm goin' to Miami. Welcome to Miamiiiiiii.?