Dead Ringers; Chapter 8

I've barely reached the counter when something grabs my arm and yanks me backward. Next thing I know, I'm back in the hallway, being pinned against the wall by Detective Miles. He's pinned my arms over my head, so there's no chance of reaching my gun.

I glare at him and growl, "Get your hands off of me."

"Not until you calm down."

"I am perfectly calm."

"Oh really?"

"Really. If you don't believe me, let go of me and I'll let my aim prove it."

"Tha-"

"CHILDREN!" The woman calls. Both of our heads snap towards her. "Elijah, release Miss Fullin. Miss Fullin, I'd appreciate it if you didn't shoot Elijah. Getting rid of a bullet hole can be quite tedious."

Releasing me, Detective Miles steps back. Instinctively, I go to grab my gun, and the woman glares at me. Slowly, my hand slides to my side, and the glare disappears, replaced by a smile.

"That's better. Now, Miss Fullin, might I call you Winter?"

I'm shocked that she knows my first name, and it takes a second for me to respond. "Detective Fullin, please."

She scrunches her nose. "Hm, a bit of a mouth-full, I'll just stick with Miss Fullin. I can only imagine what you're thinking and some of the questions you must have. So, come into the sitting room and we'll all have a nice little chat."

She motions to the room Elijah and she had been sitting in. When I don't move, she motions again. "Come, come, we have not all day."

Reluctantly, I move into the room, the woman follows directly behind me, and Detective Miles comes in last, shutting the door behind him.

The room is a pale yellow, with brightly colored flowers decorating it. In the center of the room is a faded blue three-person sofa, faded red and purple cushioned armchairs, and a glass coffee table.

The woman glides past me to the sofa, and perching on it, she looks at me and she pats the seat next to her. Obediently, I come and sit beside her. Sitting next to her I can now see that Detective Miles is leaning casually against the door. A clear indication that I'm not leaving without permission.

"Well, let's start with introductions, I am Madam LeVou, but you may call me Sofia. You already know Elijah, and you know I know who you are. So, I'll let you ask some questions now."

"Where am I?"

"At my store."

"That's not very specific."

"That was the idea."

A beat passes. "What?"

"That was the idea," Sofia repeats.

"Is that a threat?"

"Perhaps."

"Am I to understand that if I wanted to leave right now, I wouldn't be allowed to?"

"For your own safety, of course."

"I would say you are the biggest threat to my safety right now."

"Nonsense, and I wouldn't advise trying that."

I'm suddenly aware of the fact that I've grabbed my gun. "And why shouldn't I?"

Sofia smiles. "Trust me when I say that you are very much so out of your depth."

"Why?"

"No." It comes as a command, verging on a threat, but not from Sofia. Detective Miles is the one who spoke.

Sofia closes her eyes. "Elijah, dearest, I love you, but my patience with you is running oh so thin. For once, just don't argue. Trust me."

"I do trust you, but that doesn't change my opinion that this isn't the option that we should take."

"Well with this option, you may still get the outcome you want, and she will be better off for it in the end. And besides, it's easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission."

With that said, she opens her eyes. I gasp and jump back, as they're now glowing green.

"Now calm down Miss Fullin." Sofia reaches out for me.

I jump up from the sofa and pull my gun on her. "What- How- That's- " I sputter, no coherent sentences forming in my mind.

"Miss Fullin," Sofia begins, reaching for the gun.

"No," I say, backing up. "Don't tell me to calm down or give you my gun. Neither is going to happen." I notice Detective Miles beginning to push himself off the door. I turn my gun on him. "You can stay there."

"Brilliant plan Sofia," Detective Miles remarks, voice dry, "It's working perfectly."

"Hush up," Sofia tells him. "Now that I have completely thrown you into the deep end Miss Fullin, perhaps you'd like a life vest?"

"The deep end of what?" I risk looking back at her.

Smiling, Sofia blinks again, and her eyes return to their dull gray. "Why, our world, of course."

"Your world?"

"The Night World. Surely at some point, you've wondered why the police department is broken into the Day and Night Divisions?"

"That question has crossed my mind once or twice."

"Well, the answer is simple: Every monster you've heard of, every fairy tale creature you've heard of, every impossible nightmarish creature you've heard of is real. And they exist in this world. You pass them every day on the street. They're the people you hear about but never see. They're the people that Night Division deals with. They're the reason Night Division exists."

I shake my head. "That's ridiculous."

"So, my eyes were just a trick of the light?"

I have no response, and Sofia knows it.

"You should have been able to make it to the door of my shop at least. I'll bet you didn't make it to the counter."

"How could you possibly know that?"

"Every story is true, or at least based on something real."

My gun is still locked on Detective Miles, but I'm very tempted to turn it on her. "Stop changing the subject," I growl through grit teeth.

"Fine. How about we make a bet?"

"What?"

She carries on as if I was following completely. "I bet Elijah could have that gun out of your hand before you could say another word. Do you want to bet?"

"Don't be ridiculous. That's impossible."

"If I'm right, you have to sit back down and listen to everything I have to tell you. If I'm wrong, you get to walk out of here. Do we have a bet?"

I gauge the distance between me and Detective Miles. It's at least double what it had been in the hall. I readjust my grip on my gun. "Y-"

The gun is ripped out of my hands with such force that I stumble forward, right into Detective Miles who is now right in front of me, smugly holding my gun out of reach.

Sofia claps once in delight. "Look at that! I've won! Now Miss Fullin, come sit."

She pats the spot I had been sitting in before. Instead, I take a seat in the red armchair, right across from her. Detective Miles walks over, places my gun on the coffee table, and sits down beside Sofia. I suddenly feel like the victim of an intervention.

"I'll begin with me," Sofia states. "My role in the Night World is the Keeper of Copultin City. Each city has its own Keeper. Our role is to monitor the inhabitants of the Night World and make sure they follow the Rules. Night Division helps enforce that. I just show up to try them and decide their punishment. Now Night World inhabitants include all sorts of, well, what you would call monsters, for the most part. There are fairies, and pixies, and dragons, and vampires, and werewolves, and goblins, and trolls, and I'm sure you get the picture."

"That's, um, quite the list," I manage to say.

"But of course, that's not the whole list. There's oh so many more. Like I've said, you've probably met quite a few and didn't even know it."

"But if all of them exist wouldn't there be some kind of proof?"

"Where do you think the stories come from?"

I suddenly feel flustered, "I mean, wouldn't we still know that they exist today? Like, dragons. Surely someone would have seen one."

"Well, the stories aren't completely true. Take Elijah, for example. What would you say he is?"

I look at Detective Miles. He looks relaxed, leaned back, arms folded across his chest. He smirks at me when I look at him.

"He's very fast, so, I'd say, well, the only thing I can think of that would match that is vampire, but it's the middle of the day."

Sofia smiles. "Well, back when Mr. Stoker was writing about vampires, his knowledge was, well, limited. Back then, vampires didn't go outside during the day much. Sunlight doesn't hurt them, but the ones he knew were bothered by it. That whole idea of vampires not appearing in mirrors? Posh. The vampire he knew just really detested mirrors. Didn't really like to talk about it either."

"Let me guess, the whole stake to the chest thing isn't true either?"

Detective Miles laughs. "A stake to the chest can kill just about most living things."

I look at Detective Miles. "Holy water?"

He pauses for a second. "That one is partially true. Holy water doesn't burn us, it just really agitates us."

"Crucifixes?"

Detective Miles makes a face, shaking his head.

"Right," Sofia says, jumping back into the conversation, "I believe you get the point Miss Fullin. There are many out there and not all of the stories are necessarily true."

"You've only given me one example."

"True, and not all of it."

"I'm sorry? 'Not all of it'?"

"Yes, you can ask Elijah later for more information, if you still want to know more."

"'If I still want to know more'? I am still so lost it's not even remotely possible for me to not want to know more. I'm not even sure if I really am awake right now."

"You are. You have my word on that. Now, for the real reason, Elijah brought you here. How long did you look into the eyes?"

I feel unbalanced. "The eyes?"

"Yes. The eyes of your doppelganger."

"Um, I don't know. Ten, twenty seconds maybe."

"And that was yesterday?"

"Yes. In the evening."

"Hm." Sofia leans back looking at Detective Miles. "I'm afraid you were right Elijah. Our Double Doctor would appear to be back in town."