BlueK Dynasty: The 1st Seven Days (21 page)

“
Nina,
I’m your friend. I met you before all of these girls. I brought you
in,” April pleaded. “I’m not like them. Trust me. I’m scared,
Nina.” She began to cry.
  

Nina had no tears for any
of these girls. If they wanted Kurma so badly, they could have her.
“I said stay back, you brute!” She picked up April’s gun from the
floor and aimed for the girls. “Anybody comes near me; I put a
bullet through their head. Let’s see if you like
that!”
  

Kurma took this
opportunity to sway April to her side—the good side. “You see,
April? She isn’t one of us.”
  

“
Neither
am I,” April yelled through snot and
tears.
  

“
But you
are, hon, you are. So is O’bellaDonna, Jackie, Chelsea, Rimselda,
and I am,” said Kurma in a soft voice. She opened her arms to
April. “We’re a set now, and we have to stick together. There will
be a lot of people who see us as Nina does and who will want to
hurt us. I don’t want anyone to hurt you. If they hurt you then
they hurt me.”
  

April was lost, but
Kurma’s arms did look inviting. She just wanted to close her eyes
and sleep. She walked over to Kurma and let her hug her worries
away. Chelsea came over and rubbed April’s back, and she instantly
felt better.
  

“
Do you
think I care? I don’t!” Nina held her
ground.
  

O’bellaDonna hopped off
the bed and went to sit next to Rimselda. She would watch out for
Kurma, but she still had Rimselda, Jackie, and April to look
after.
  

“
You
know, I was thinking,” Kurma said. “We should get new wardrobes for
our new endeavor together. No more of this shabby
stuff.”
  

Rimselda had been wearing
the same clothes for almost three months now. “You’re absolutely
right, Kurma. We need new clothes, new hair, new everything. We
deserve it.” She showed her dazzling smile. Rimselda was ready for
some action.
  

“
Where
do you think we’ll get the money for all this new stuff?” asked
O’bellaDonna. She seemed to be the only rational person at the
moment.
  

“
Let’s
not worry about that right now. We all have our little talents,
don’t we? So I’m sure we can manage
something.”
  

O’bellaDonna didn’t want
to smile, but she knew what Kurma was talking about and didn’t mind
the thought of hoodwinking her way to a new wardrobe at
all.
  

“
Plus,”
Kurma said, “We need to give Nina some time to
think.”
  

“
I don’t
need time to pull this trigger.” Nina cocked the gun. She was dead
serious.
  

Kurma morphed back into
her human body and found her clothes. The girls looked amazed and
dumbstruck.
  

“
Let’s
give her space, girls.” Kurma laughed. The clique followed her
toward the door. Rimselda was second, as she should have
been.
  

“
Don’t
come back, or else you die!” Nina shouted at the girls’
backs.
  

Kurma sneered at the
thought of Nina with the gun. She dressed quickly before she headed
out. She would come back alright, just for that gun, and it would
be best if Nina wasn't there when she did.
  

21.

Skid
Row
  

The girls got past the
evening guards easily enough. There seemed to be an uneasy truce
since Kurma had shown Jackie how to transmute back into her old
body. They headed up to Skid Row, where the retail was high-end,
and the restaurants were all four and five-star.
  

Kurma didn’t have a penny
to her name. She couldn’t pop into a bank and take out cash either,
because then she would be in the system. She knew her family was
still looking for her, and she wanted to keep it that way. Kurma
didn’t need money for Skid Row, though. Chelsea, who just so
happened to be a kleptomaniac, was happy to boost anything for the
girls just as long as the items could fit in bags; then
O’bellaDonna would distract whichever sales clerk came their way.
She had been trained in the con in prep school, by her mentor—an
elderly custodian lady who liked other’s people’s identities.
Jackie, a masterful car thief, stole a beat-up, black SUV, and the
girls were off shopping.
  

“
Turn on
the radio, Jackie,” April said from the back seat. Her nerves were
still shot, and she worried about who was going to fill in at her
guard post. She hadn’t reported in like she was supposed to, and
she knew her brother would find out. “I haven’t heard the radio in
so long.”
  

Music filled the car, and
the girls all seemed to be in their own worlds for the moment. The
groups were clearly set: Jackie and O’bellaDonna were in the front,
since they were the oldest. Kurma and Rimselda sat in the middle
seat, and Chelsea and April—the two most hesitant ones in the
group—were in the back.
  

The SUV pulled onto
Skiddish Boulevard, better known as Skid Row, and the girls looked
out onto the busy street lined with restaurants, boutiques, shoe
stores, a movie theater,
 
two malls, motor dealerships,
condos, and endless stores. Jackie parked the SUV and the girls
jetted from the vehicle.
  

“
Where
should we go first? Food or shoes?” asked
Rimselda.
  

“
Shoes!”
all the girls said in unison. They laughed together and crossed the
street. Men and boys alike cat-called the girls as they made their
way to Rueben’s, one of the biggest shoe warehouses on the east
coast. Kurma kept her head down and ignored the
men.
  

The store was brightly lit
and filled with women, mannequins, and boxes of shoes. The girls
scattered out in a dash.
  

“
Let’s
meet back outside in thirty,” Kurma screamed to the backs of the
girls’ heads, then directed her attention to a pair of black boots
displayed in the front of the store. They were shiny and sequined,
with platform heels, and laced up to the calf. Kurma quickly undid
her old sneakers and tried them on. She didn’t know if she should
stick to something comfortable or go for
fashionable.
  

She was prancing in front
of the mirror with the boots on when a flash of color caught her
eye. Kurma turned around and saw a pair of blue-leather gloves with
white and black diamonds on them. They sparkled on the mannequin’s
hands. The sensor that was laced through them stopped Kurma—she
would need assistance from one of the clerks if she wanted to try
them on. She glanced around and saw that the coast was clear. Her
right-arm dagger cut through her skin, and she quickly sliced
through the device, grabbed the gloves, and walked out of Rueben’s,
platform boots and all. It was exhilarating.
  

Kurma looked behind her
and saw the security guards still standing on either side of the
door, oblivious. She put her nose to the gloves. They smelled new
and earthy. She checked the price tag and couldn’t believe they
cost five hundred dollars. She slipped them on and
smiled.
 
Gloves were the best accessory to have since she couldn’t
touch people, not to mention that they were in season and to die
for.
  

Chelsea and Jackie came
next, practically skipping across the lawn where Kurma was waiting.
They had scarves wrapped around their necks and new shoes on their
feet. Rimselda and April both had huge purses they said were for
the next stores they went shopping in. Kurma knew what that
meant.
  

O’bellaDonna glided out of
Rueben’s last. She carried shopping bags as if she had actually
purchased something. She wore shades and a new hat as well. She
smiled as she approached the girls.
  

“
So, the
security guard. Not the fat one but the skinny one. He used to be
an associate of mine. He tells me there’s a massive party tonight
over in east Alexandria. I think we should
go.”
  

“
Where
did you get all that stuff?” asked Kurma. All she had was a pair of
boots and some gloves. This girl had hats and shoes and bags of
stuff.
  

“
Never
you mind that. If you were with me, you would have the same thing,”
O’bellaDonna said. “Ask Jackie. She knows. Now I suggest we head to
Flamingoes and pick up a couple of dresses. I know the Loss
Prevention guys have gone for the day.” O’bellaDonna turned, and
the girls followed.
  

“
How
does she know this stuff?” Kurma asked
Rimselda.
  

Rimselda said, “You know
how the Raptor is your thing? Well, being in the know is her thing.
She goes around conning and charming her way into everybody’s
business. It’s her business to know their business since it’s her
livelihood.”
  

Kurma was
impressed.
  

The girls ditched the food
idea and instead went to find outfits for the party. Kurma and
Rimselda didn’t think the others would want to know they had to eat
insects in order to live anyway.
  

Chelsea picked a fuchsia
chiffon dress that went perfect with her sparkly stilettos. April
left with a two-toned jacket and a black mini skirt that showed off
her killer legs. Rimselda stuck with a basic, low-cut red dress
that clashed horribly with her red hair. Kurma tried to tell her
that sometimes red and red was overkill, but Rimselda stuck to her
guns. Still, she had a beautiful face, so Kurma was sure it
wouldn’t be too bad for her at the party.
  

Jackie chose ripped,
low-rise jeans that showed off her back tattoo, and a gold halter
top that matched her hazel eyes. Without a doubt, she had the best
body to Kurma, who had never worked out a day in her life.
O’bellaDonna squeezed her big hips into a light-pink, backless
dress and paired it with black-ribbon, six-inch heels and a leather
jacket.
  

Kurma chose to do a piece
outfit. Chelsea had stolen a gray, long-sleeve belly shirt for her,
along with white-and-black patterned high-waist shorts and a sleek,
black blazer that went perfectly with her new
shoes.
  

The girls were on a high
from the day, and chattered excitedly about who they would see
later that night. They didn’t know what was waiting for them back
at their room in the train station.
  

22.

The
Jeers
  

Nina had tipped off Aaron,
April’s brother and the leader of the Jeers. She was scared of him
for sure, but was even more scared of Kurma and her new goonies.
She couldn’t believe they had all taken Kurma’s side without even
considering how Nina felt. She had been in the flat, contemplating
what she should do, when a knock had come at the door. It had been
Aaron wanting to know where his sister was and why she had not
reported to her post. Nina had blurted out everything so fast she
couldn’t stop. She had clamped her hands over her mouth in an
attempt, but the cat was out of the bag. Aaron had flipped
out.
  

Nina now sat in a corner
while Aaron and the Jeers ransacked the flat, waiting for Kurma and
the girls. She wanted Kurma to get hurt, to feel the same pain Nina
felt. But then on the other hand, she didn’t want the other girls
to get involved, especially Chelsea. Chelsea had been attacked by
the Jeers her first year at Snowhill, and Nina knew what they were
capable of. She sniffled and cried as she nursed her bloody nose.
Aaron had struck her when he’d found out April had somehow been
turned into another species. It wasn’t Nina’s fault; she’d tried to
tell him. Kurma would have to deal with him now.
  

*
  

The girls walked through
the main gates and up to their floor.
  

“
Do you
think Nina will still be in there?” Chelsea asked. She hoped so,
because she didn’t want Nina to be left out. Nina was like a sister
to her. She would have to find a way to persuade Kurma to change
Nina into a Raptor.
  

O’bellaDonna replied,
“Most likely. She has nowhere else to go.”
  

Kurma just wanted the gun
back. She didn’t know how to use it, but April did, and April was
on her side. If Nina was still in there, that meant she was barred
in. How would they get back inside?
  

The girls stood in the
stairwell. Jackie knocked on the metal door and waited. They could
hear feet—several as a matter of fact. Before the girls knew what
was going on, the Jeers had their hands on them, pulling them into
the flat.