“Are you here to help these girls?” She leans closer. “Did something happen to the real Noelle Stein?” she whispers above the music.
“You ask a lot of questions, Amaya. Allow me to ask a few of my own. I’d be interested to know how you attribute these disappearances to me. If you want to help me, it would be useful to know.”
“You thought you were slick, huh? Didn’t think anyone could put your shit together. But ahhh, you didn’t plan on me. Gotta let me in the club now. I know too much, you know what I’m sayin’?” Amaya giggles and throws her head back.
Noelle digs her fingers into her chair. “You know mierda. You have inside information; you knew what to look for. I took pity on you and saved your ass before that creep got started instead of waiting until he was alone.”
Amaya’s good humor dies in her chest. She turns her body toward Noelle and gazes up at her until Noelle turns to look at her. “What do you mean? You were gonna let him rape me?” Amaya looks around the room and realizes anew what’s happening all around her while Noelle sits and watches with Amaya at her side. “You’re not here to save them, are you?”
“Are you?” Noelle retorts. “How far are you willing to go to get what you want?” She reaches out to stroke Amaya’s mask in lieu of her face. “I’m not a superhero, Amaya.” She takes Amaya’s gloved hand in hers and caresses her fingers. “I’m a killer.” Amaya tries to pull her hand away, but Noelle is stronger than she looks. “Do you know what you are?”
Amaya doesn’t know how or what she feels in the presence of Noelle. She knows, ostensibly, that VV is a killer. Amaya doesn’t care about dead rapists. However, she’s never considered that VV might not be in it for the sake of justice but simply has a predilection for killing. Amaya has always assumed the rapes were the cause for the murders and not a victim profile of VV’s preferred prey.
“You’re sorry you didn’t let him rape me?” Amaya asks, managing to keep her voice steady.
Noelle pauses to formulate her response. “You want to learn from me? I’m teaching you. Don’t assume people are on your side. The more people you trust, the more there are to turn on you. Sometimes, you have to decide what’s more important; the moment or the movement. With you—I chose the moment. You could’ve gone to the police, told them where we put the body. I didn’t plan for you to put my business on the Internet. About the smartest thing you did was keeping our history out of the narrative.” She spares a moment to glare at Amaya. “It’s fortunate no one takes you seriously, but it doesn’t help me rest easier. You understand?”
Processing all that information takes Amaya several minutes. In essence, Noelle views rescuing her as a mistake, a threat to her movement, but what is the movement? She refuses to believe VV’s entire motivation is murder itself; otherwise, she would not have let her live; not seven years ago and certainly not after Amaya created an online trail of VV’s exploits.
“I’ll take it down. I only wanted to find you. I’m smart, like you said. You could use someone like me.”
They look into one another’s eyes for a few moments, having a silent conversation. “I plan to use you, Amaya. I wouldn’t have invited you otherwise. If you serve me well, I might have further use for you. If not, I’ll leave you with a parting gift. But you need to ask yourself how far you’re willing to go to change the world? I know you’ve found religion. Like Jesus, will you allow yourself to be nailed to the cross?”
Their interaction is interrupted by the sound of the double doors opening over the sound of the music. A tall man enters wearing a traditional tuxedo and a ram headdress. Two, large curling horns adorn the side of his shiny black face. He walks like he owns everything around him.
Amaya can’t bring herself to look about the room. She wonders how many of these girls are terrified to be here. How many of them are aware of the steep and soul-altering costs of their ambitions? Victims, all of them. “So, what’s the plan?”
Noelle laughs. “You’re a brave little duck, Amaya. With any luck, I’ll turn you into a beautiful swan. There’s a man coming to see us. He thinks he’s above the law. Will you help me prove him wrong?”
Amaya stares at The Ram. God has given her a mission, and she won’t turn away this time. “Yes,” she says steadily, “I’ll help you.”
Noelle nods discretely and focuses on the man approaching them. She speaks with a French accent this time, emulating the real Noelle. “Welcome, Ram. How may I please you this evening?”
The Ram looks to his left and right before settling on Noelle. “I was told you knew I’d be coming.” His words are sober and clipped. The skin around his eyes and beneath his mask is covered with black. He’s wearing unnatural contacts that transform his eyes an artificial shade of blue.
Amaya feels Noelle’s cold hand return to her neck. “Yes,” Noelle replies and gently strokes Amaya’s nape with her thumb. “I’m told your tastes are more forbidden than most.”
The Ram chortles. “That’s one way to put it.” He sits on the edge of the altar and leans forward on one hand. “Did you bring it?”
Noelle grips Amaya’s neck. She squeezes once, twice, and a third time. Weighing a decision in the span of a pause. Decided, she pushes Amaya forward onto her hands and knees. When Amaya attempts to rise, she finds Noelle’s hand once again on her neck, gentle and proprietary. “It is right here.”
“The duck?” remarks The Ram. He looks her over. “Nice little body. I like the dark ones; they can take the most.” If it weren’t for Noelle’s hand on Amaya’s neck, grounding her, reminding her why they are here, Amaya would attack him. She’s glad VV’s going to kill him—at least—she’s pretty sure that’s what she’s planning.
“This one isn’t trained. It’s why she’s up here with me instead of out there with them.” Noelle tilts her chin toward the other girls in the room. “But then, I thought a man like you would prefer to take a hand in training his pets.”
Amaya’s anxiety bursts to the forefront. Her instincts tell her this is a test of some kind. If she passes, VV will let her into her trust. Still, she can’t ignore her words from earlier. If VV finds a situation to the benefit of her movement, she will readily sacrifice anything and anyone standing in her way.
Amaya realizes she must take care not to be blinded by her adoration. She bucks Noelle’s hold on her and sits back on her heels to glare at them both. “It has a name, two ears, can hear you, and is sitting right here.”
The Ram is taken aback but amused. He laughs congenially. “You weren’t kidding. She’s as unbroken as a wild mare.”
Noelle returns her hand to Amaya’s neck. “I’m sure you’ll appreciate the challenge as much as I have. She responds only to me; she’s my favorite. You won’t have an easy time negotiating with me for her.”
The Ram looks at them both appraisingly. He leans forward and places a leather-clad hand on Amaya’s bare thigh. She shoves his hand away and scoots closer to Noelle’s seat. She can tell her rebelliousness has stirred something in The Ram, some dark and sinister need. “What do you call her?”