Chosen Chapter 11: House Party

Part 1

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As the sun began to set over the city of San Francisco, Billie, Violet and Duncan appeared in a small alley through the use of a teleportation potion. Billie frowned as she realized she had appeared in the middle of a dirty puddle. As if she wasn't annoyed enough already. She wanted to get back home, to their brand-new and clean house. They had no time for demon hunting, as tonight was supposed to be their housewarming party. In fact, it was supposed to start in less than two hours and she still needed to shower and get ready, which would take at least that long. She had not even picked out an outfit yet.

"Can we just get this over with?" Billie remarked annoyed. "Why did you have to get a stupid premonition anyway?"

"Sorry, I can't help it." Violet replied. "I'd rather be at home getting ready too. I've been stressed out all day. I can't even remember if I bought enough chips."

"Vi, the entire kitchen is stuffed with snacks." Duncan noted. "We'll be able to survive a year on that."

"Well, I just want the party to be perfect." Violet said. "This is the first time I've thrown one."

"Relax, I am sure that once we'll vanquish this demon, we will have a perfectly normal, fun night." Billie said.

"Billie! Don't jinx it!" Violet called out. "Quick, knock on wood."

"Oh please, I don't believe is such superstitions." Billie replied. "But if it makes you feel better." She walked over to a wooden fence and knocked on it three times. "Better now?"

"Hopefully." Violet said.

"Can we get back to business now?" Duncan asked. "What can you tell us about this demon?"

"I'm not sure. It all happened so fast." Violet replied. "I remember seeing a lot of darkness, like it was created from shadows. I saw a young boy in trouble, as something began pulling him toward the darkness."

"A shadow demon?" Billie suggested.

"Could be." Duncan replied. "All I know about them is that they are often used as messengers. I don't remember them ever attacking innocents. If it is, it must be being controlled by something else."

"Great, so now we're already up to two demons." Billie remarked annoyed.

The Chosen went further into the alley and crossed a corner. Billie spotted a teenaged boy, about fourteen, further down the alley. He was spraying graffiti on the wall and was wearing large earphones through which Billie could hear music playing. The music was so loud that he did not even notice them.

"Is that the kid?" Billie asked.

"Yes, I remember seeing the graffiti." Violet replied.

"Great, so now all we have to do is wait for the demon to appear." Billie said. "I hope he hurries."

"You want the kid to get attacked?" Duncan remarked with a frown.

"No, of course not." Billie replied. "I just want to get this over with and enjoy our evening. Don't you want the same thing?"

"I guess." Duncan said. "Speaking of which, you know I invited the twins, right? Is that going to be a problem?"

"Hey, you can invite whoever you want." Billie replied casually. "I mean, they only tried to kill us once, so that's not a big deal."

"Billie!" Violet called out.

"Oh, relax, I was only kidding." Billie remarked. "Please, if anyone knows about making mistakes, it's me. I've made plenty of them."

"Who did you invite, Violet?" Duncan asked.

"Obviously Arthur, and I considered asking my parents, but I decided against it." Violet replied.

"Why?" Billie asked.

"I don't know. I guess I was worried about them discovering about the whole magic thing." Violet said. "And I haven't exactly told them about Arthur yet either. I don't know what to say. What if they ask what he does for a living?"

"You tell them he's a history teacher." Billie replied. "Just don't tell them about the magic part."

"Right, I guess I was just nervous." Violet said. "I've never had to introduce a boyfriend to my parents before."

"You can't keep avoiding them." Duncan said. "You've built a whole new life here. Don't you want them to be a part of it?"

"Of course I do." Violet said. "But I'd rather take it one step at a time."

"Speaking of family, what about your family, Duncan?" Billie asked.

"Oh, I invited them." Duncan replied casually. "I just know none of them are going to show up. My parents prefer avoiding me, so they can still pretend I'm everything they hoped for. You know, instead of their embarrassing gay son who ran off to mortal college."

"Right." Billie said awkwardly.

"Guys, I think something is happening." Violet suddenly said.

Billie turned and peeked around the corner. The kid was still working on his graffiti while listening to his music. Behind the kid, a shadow in the wall started to move. It swirled like a vortex until an opening appeared. A young man with eerie pale skin and black hair appeared, dressed entirely in black. He extended his hand as he walked toward the kid.

"Violet, freeze." Billie whispered.

Violet nodded and threw up her hands. The entire alley seemed to slow down. The kid froze just as he was spraying blue paint on the wall, causing drops of paint to float mid-air. The demon, however, did not freeze and turned to face them. As he noticed them, his face seemed to shift. His eyes turned black and his face became almost skeletal.

"Witches." He hissed.

"Try coming up with a more original response." Billie remarked.

Billie flung her arm and the demon was thrown back. Before he hit the metal fence behind him, a vortex of shadows opened and he disappeared. A shadow moved across the ground and disappeared behind them.

"That's no simple shadow demon." Duncan noted.

"And he is immune to my power." Violet added.

"Okay, so maybe we underestimated this." Billie admitted.

Violet screamed as a vortex of shadows suddenly opened underneath them. Billie instinctively levitated up in the air while Duncan pushed Violet out of the way. They fell on the ground and tried to hold on as the vortex began to pull them in. Duncan quickly conjured an ice axe and rammed it into the ground, allowing them to hang on.

"A little help here!" Duncan called out.

"I'm trying." Billie replied.

Billie looked around for a sign of the demon, but the alley seemed empty. Behind her, a vortex opened out of thin air and the demon launched himself at her. They fell down and landed on a rooftop, while Billie quickly spun around and leaped up on her feet. The demon rose to his feet as they stood across from each other.

"You have no idea what you're dealing with." The demon said.

"Then why don't you tell me?" Billie replied.

"You don't have time." The demon said as he nodded to the alley. "Your friends down there are barely hanging on. And once they are trapped in my world, they are lost forever."

"What do you mean, your world?" Billie asked with a frown.

"Where do you think my vortexes lead?" the demon replied. "To a place that feels like a living nightmare. Once trapped, you will never escape the darkness. You are lost forever."

"Sounds like a lot of bragging to me." Billie remarked, though she felt a bit nervous. She needed to get down to help the others.

"So then leave your friends and fight me." The demon replied. "Unless you're afraid."

"I think I'll do both." Billie said confidently.

Billie reached behind her back and pulled an athame from her belt. She threw the blade at the demon. As the blade spun, the demon opened another vortex and disappeared before it could hit. Billie turned around and jumped off the building. Using her levitation power to slow down, she landed on the ground close to her friends. Duncan and Violet were still hanging on, though the ice ax began to loosen. Billie quickly extended both her arms and pulled them back. Duncan and Violet were pulled toward her and rolled over the ground, outside the reach of the vortex.

"Impressive." The demon replied as he rose from the vortex. "But it's still not enough."

"Then how about you let me try?" Duncan remarked.

Duncan closed his eyes. An astral copy of him appeared behind the demon and held out his hand. A metallic sphere appeared in his hand, which he threw at the demon. It exploded in a flash of light and the demon was thrown from the vortex. Billie flung her arm and threw the demon against the wall. She then reached for another athame and used it to pin the demon to the wall by his hand.

"Potion." Billie said to Violet.

Violet nodded and grabbed a small potion bottle from her jacket. She threw it at the demon and it shattered at his feet. The demon screamed as he became surrounded by smoke and started to melt. Within moments, all that was left was a small puddle of black liquid, which evaporated. At the same time, the remaining vortex closed.

"Did we do it?" Duncan asked as his astral form faded and his real body woke up.

"I think so." Billie said. "How is the innocent?"

"Still frozen." Violet replied as she looked over her shoulder to check on him. "He will have no idea he was ever in danger."

"Great. Let's unfreeze him and get home." Billie said. "We have a party to get ready for."

The others nodded and Violet unfroze the kid, who continued with his graffiti like nothing ever happened. Billie walked over to where the demon was vanquished and picked up her athame, which had some black stains on it. That would need a good cleaning tomorrow. She grabbed another teleportation potion and threw it on the ground, teleporting all of them home. As soon as they left, a vortex of shadows opened and the demon appeared unharmed.

"A party, huh? Sounds interesting." He remarked before disappearing through another vortex.

Xxx

At Magic School, Arthur sat in his office while going over his notes from the expedition. Combined with the information with Professor Whitney's journal, he had enough to publish about the discovery. Even though it was what the professor wanted, he still felt conflicted about it. So many people had died trying to discover the truth behind the valley, and now they knew. Except the expedition had raised as many questions as it had answered. Who the hell was Bryant and who was he working for? What did they need the Staff of Magnus for? The only thing Arthur knew for sure was that Bryant was a Wizard. All of it had been connected to the Wizard race. He had been searching for his origins for years, but know he wasn't sure he wanted to know. After all, what if the answers he got were not the ones he wanted?

Arthur checked his watch and cursed. It was almost time for the housewarming at Violet's. And he had once against lost track of time. He had not eaten since this morning and he really needed a shower. He quickly put away the journal and left the office. As he entered the hall, he nearly bumped into a teenaged kid. Probably a student.

"Oh, sorry." Arthur said as he looked at the kid. "What are you still doing here? Classes ended hours ago."

"I'm not a student." The kid replied. "My name is Kevin. I'm an Elder."

"Oh god. Excuse me." Arthur quickly said.

"Don't worry about it. I hate being treated like an Elder." Kevin replied. "Everyone is far too polite and careful. That is why I prefer to blend it."

"I can see that." Arthur noted as he looked at the hoodie and jeans he was wearing.

"Yeah, I hate those robes. Far too breezy, especially up there." Kevin remarked.

"So can I help you with anything?" Arthur asked.

"Actually, I am looking for Leo, but it seems he has gone home already." Kevin replied.

"It is important?" Arthur asked.

"Yes, I shouldn't be taking about this to anyone, but something big happened." Kevin said. "The Tribunal was destroyed."

"What? How is that possible?" Arthur asked shocked.

"That is what I need to talk to Leo about." Kevin replied. "After all, he, Duncan Phillips and those warlock twins were the last to see them alive."

"Wait, you're not suspecting them, are you?" Arthur asked concerned.

"I'm not." Kevin replied. "But some of the Elders are not so sure. I personally think they're being idiots. Let's be honest, even if the twins wanted to kill the Tribunal, they are nowhere near powerful enough."

"Powerful, right." Arthur noted as the image of Bryant and the staff popped up in his mind.

"Something wrong?" Kevin asked with a frown.

"No, just thinking about the consequences." Arthur quickly said, even though he was actually thinking Bryant and his mysterious boss might be involved. "What about the exposure risk?"

"The Grand Design will find a way to balance itself." Kevin replied. "To be honest, the Tribunal overestimated their own importance. The world will still function without them and their Cleaners."

"I see. How will you proceed with the investigation?" Arthur asked.

"For now, I can't say too much about it." Kevin replied. "The Elders want to keep it on the down low for now, until we know more. Can I count on you to do that?"

"What about the Chosen?" Arthur asked.

"Considering their connection to the twins, the Elders want to be careful." Kevin replied.

"I understand." Arthur said. "I will keep it to myself, but I am not lying to Violet if she asks."

"I understand." Kevin replied. "Now I should get going."

"Yeah, me too." Arthur said.

Kevin nodded as he disappeared in a column of orbs. Arthur wondered if he should have told him about his suspicions about Bryant. Since the Staff of Magnus was locked away the ancients, it had to be powerful. Perhaps powerful enough to destroy the Tribunal. But killing them could not a goal, it was more like the means to an end. There had to be more going on. And until he knew what, there was no point in telling the Elders.

Xxx

Billie could not help but smile as she emerged at the top of the stairs in her new house. Dressed in a beautiful blue cocktail dress, the blonde was proud of the house she and her friends now owned. Since she had fallen in love with the house the moment she saw it, it truly felt like home. And with any new house, it was tradition to throw a housewarming party. She had invited everyone she loved, or at least, everyone who was still there.

"No, no, no." Billie quickly said to herself before she got emotional. "Tonight is going to be a fun party. A fresh start. I am not going to get all sad about the people who can't be here."

Billie headed down the stairs and went into the kitchen to set everything up. As she did, a vortex of shadows opened in the wall and the demon from before appeared.

"This will do nicely." The demon said as he looked around. "They will have no idea before it is too late to escape."

The demon closed his eyes and held out his hands. He turned to shadows and began covering the entire room. The shadows then faded into the walls, merging with the house completely.

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