to win. I looked off down the street, now thinking about where I should go next to try and find Josh.
“You don’t like me or the Lappell much do you Lenorah?” Kyser was trying to get my attention. I didn’t understand why our conversation was so stimulating.
My eyes squinted at him as he waited for me to respond. “I just don’t like what the Lappell do. I don’t like any of it.”
He raised his eyebrows. “And you know exactly what we do?”
I stared at him blankly, not knowing what to say. I didn’t like the way he spoke to me and the many implications he constantly made, but I couldn’t define an all-rounded Lappell activity that was accurate enough for a correct response. They threw lavish parties and had their hands in many businesses, but I knew they did a lot more than just that. I just couldn’t put the disturbing nature of them into the right words that would accurately describe it.
Kyser saw I couldn’t give him a answer, and took it upon himself to play some more. I felt like I was his favorite toy, a constant source of entertainment for his sick and twisted mind.
“Let me tell you about what the Lappell do.” He stood behind my back. It was a weird feeling of cold intimidation, yet he was trying to be soft as well. He was moving around me, like he was going to draw me in and whisper in my ears. He moved so his mouth was near my shoulder, his body almost hunched over me. I swallowed, unable to move. I was oddly captivated wanting to listen and terrified to run away at the same time.
“The Lappell...” he began, “are the shadows behind you. We are the whispers in your ears... and we are the dreams you have while you are still awake.” His voice was hypnotic, and I stood frozen, hanging on every eerie word. I was sucked in by what he was saying. It was like he was going to give me their deepest darkest secrets, even though he had revealed nothing at all. Was this the allure of the Lappell? He made them sound like spirits who could crawl under your skin and make you do anything they commanded. The way he spoke made me think that they were in every powerful corner of life, and maybe they were?
He then moved around in front of me and reached into his coat pocket, drawing out a tiny gold coin. He reached down and grabbed my hand, opening it up, and putting the tiny gold coin face down in the centre of my palm.
“The Lappell, Miss Rossi... Have the power to turn your fate, upside down. We. See. All.” He then very slowly spun the coin over so I could see the picture of an eye printed on the gold coin on the other side. He then closed my hand over the top of the coin and met my eyes.
“That’s what we do.”
I swallowed, feeling kind of shaken up. I felt like I just did a dance with the devil, and I was left unhinged and speechless. My soul now a little more black.
A limo pulled up at the curb and Kyser picked up his briefcase, readying himself to get in, but not before having one last word with me. I gulped again, trying to think of how I could possibly respond to that. But I only stood, very quiet and still, while Kyser gathered up his things.
“I’m sure Mr. Hollows will find you Lenorah. Oh, and keep the coin. Maybe it will bring you luck, whatever that may be.” He pat me on the shoulder like he was trying to comfort me, and then slithered off into his limo. I watched as his limo pulled away holding on to the Lappell coin tightly.
I think I just let the dark angel into my head.
Chapter 27
Poetic
~ ~ ~
I sat, staring at my art, aimlessly going over the flow of colors and the movement that I had put into the directions of the paint with my body. I had been trying to find Josh all day but with no luck, and after leaving a message for Clint about when I was moving out, I had retreated to the one place where I could find a tiny speck of peace, my art space. I needed to get my head together and try and finish this last canvas, but all I could think about was Josh, Josh,