Sanctuary's Fiend
Chapter 20

I jammed my keys in the lock and swung the door open.

“I’m back, I’m here!” I shouted into the house.

Immediately my mom thundered into the hallway. “Where have you been!?”

Okay, she was really pissed. Also, her eyes were red and her cheeks puffy.

I rubbed my own eyes and took a deep breath to collect my thoughts before I explained everything. Leaving Peter and Bhav to go off by myself and explore a graveyard seemed like weeks ago, not yesterday evening.

“I just forgot to text you, I’m really–”

“Why are you covered in blood?”

Damn it. I’d forgotten again. “Don’t worry, it’s not mine!” Perhaps that hadn’t made things any better. She covered her mouth in shock as I continued, words tumbling out as I tried to explain. “I went to the cemetery after cheerleading yesterday, because I… smelled something, or whatever, and then I found it in a crypt at the back of the place, and I felt that I had to prove something, that I could control myself, but I couldn’t, and then–”

“What did you replace in there?” she whispered.

“Umm, I don’t know. It was huge and smelled of dead things, and it was like a huge mound of flesh with boils all over it. I’ve never seen anything like it. I don’t know.”

“And you fought it? That’s what covered you in blood, right?”

“Like I was saying, after that–”

“Because if that’s human blood, Rel… If that is human blood, then I have to report it.”

“What? To the police?”

She pushed past me and slammed the front door shut. “Let’s clean you up. Quick.”

She marched me up the stairs and into the bathroom, running the shower.

But what did she mean she’d report me? She’d turn me into the cops? No, no, my mom would never do that. No way! “Report me to who?”

“The Masquerade.”

“The who?”

She wiped her face and stopped me from taking my clothes off. “Get in the shower with them on. Wash them too.”

Okay, this was scary weird now.

I stepped in the shower, leaving crusted dark smears wherever my hands touched in the pristine white bathroom. It didn’t even look like blood anymore. Just dirt.

She swept some towels off a chair, sat down hard, and started talking as I scrubbed myself clean. This wasn’t a relaxing shower, this was purely functional. Mechanical motions to remove the blood of the mistake I’d made. The hot shower water hid my tears, as I listened to my mother’s voice.

“We keep you children out of it as much as possible. SCIM polices us–”

“I know what SCIM is,” I muttered.

“You’ve heard of SCIM, I know. But they’re much more important than you think. They police us, and have ultimate authority. Judge, jury, and executioner. That’s part of the deal. We get to live normal lives, but to make sure of that, we have something called ‘The Masquerade’. That’s why you can’t tell any humans about your real nature. Because it would upset the balance we’ve managed to establish. Yes, some humans know we exist, but most of those don’t trust us and want us dead. So we hide. And we can do that thanks to the Masquerade. It’s easy for you kids, you can pass for human, that’s why we leave you out of it. But, around this time, when you start getting your powers, we start requiring you to go to our weekly meetings so you know how deep everything goes. Just how important SCIM is. You went to one once, remember?”

I nodded weakly, still scrubbing.

“You were too young, and a lot of what was said went over your head, so your father and I decided to not drag you along to any more until you got to the proper age. But you came into your powers so quickly… If only we’d told you more about everything earlier, but I wanted you to be able to be – uncomplicated – for as long as possible! There are other places like Sanctuary. One on each continent. Supernaturals don’t instinctively congregate and live all together like this…” She sighed. “But that’s not relevant right now.”

She stood up and started pacing. As much as anyone could pace in such a small room. “If you had lost control. Which you hadn’t. Then I would have to report you to SCIM. The Masquerade. Mistakes have happened in the past, of course, and every time it’s ended with a death. Normally it’s a human’s death. But because of what you are… they wouldn’t take any risks. I can’t take the chance that it would end with… you. And you can’t hide from them. I wouldn’t be able to hide that I knew, and you wouldn’t be able to hide that you did it. They keep us safe from humans knowing about us, and they stop hunters from knowing where we are, and they pump money into the town so we get a great University and hospital and everything else. But there’s a price.”

I gulped. I could never admit what I’d done. Even though she knew, I could never tell her. Or anyone else. This shadowy organization that I suddenly found I knew nothing about would kill me. Great. I turned the shower off and let the water drip from me now that it was running clear.

“So, what you found in that crypt,” my mom continued. “Did you kill it?”

“No. It was so strong…”

“But you survived.” The concern was written all over her face. She wanted to ask how. She needed to know. But she couldn’t ask, and I couldn’t tell.

“Yes. I survived.” I started crying softly again. What was happening to my life? It was too much. “But, it gets easier, right? I mean, being a teenager is tough for everyone, but then… then it’s easy? Like it was for you and Dad?”

She smiled sadly. “It becomes manageable for most. For a few… they change too much, and they have to live outside Sanctuary. I… I don’t know what will happen to you. I’m sorry.”

Oh. Great. But I couldn’t deal with thinking more than an hour or two ahead at the moment.

“Well. Mom. I think I need to get out of these clothes and sleep. Waking up, optional.”

I sighed before stepping out of the shower, my clothes still damp. What a mess. My life, not the bathroom. Actually, the bathroom too. My mom picked up one of the towels from the floor, put it round my shoulders, and hugged me, not caring that my wet hair dripped all over her front.

“Where’s dad?” I asked, only just registering that both of my parents should have been freaking out over this.

“He just left before you got here. He was worried about you, of course, but he got an urgent call.”

“Oh. Is everything okay?” I asked, not really concerned about what my dad was going through at work.

“I think so. I’ve already sent him a message to let him know you came back. He ran out the door, shouting something about Mr. Anderton needing help.”

I froze.

Shit.