Strange Magic
The amount of times Jade had sworn on her precious 'scouts-honour', only to mock the fact that she wasn't a scout – and now she had gone to join the actual scouts… Valerie couldn't help but laugh at such ironic comedic genius.
It still made her laugh on her mid-morning break after she'd cleaned the entire collection of Ling-Dynasty antiques. Sat with a cup of tea and reading the newspaper that Tohru had finished with earlier, she was the picture of content. Well, she needed to be. After she'd awoken from her bout of unconsciousness at the zoo the other day, everyone had acted like they were stepping on egg shells around her. Even Nat. Valerie honestly didn't know what had happened to her – well, that was a lie, she had a hunch – and she wanted to keep her mind and everyone else's away from the subject as much as possible.
Hence, why she was reading the paper, instead of the second Lord of the Rings book that was stuffed in her bag. The subject of magic was a little tender on her nerves right now. But newspapers were boring. They gave nothing but the cold, hard dreariness of life; exaggerating the truth so far that it could be classed as fiction, but without any of the charm. The blatant fear-mongering was dull and annoying. It was exactly what she needed.
Yet even then, she flicked through most of the articles. More bad weather over the oceans – extremist Christians blaming the fault on sinners, again. Some poor old man claimed to be abducted by aliens. Homeless people in New York spreading stories of gargoyles. White supremacists in the south were gaining momentum. All the usual horrid tales that made one lose faith in humanity. So Valerie skipped more towards the back, to the less dramatized section.
One article caught her attention about a brilliant new home being built out in the middle of nowhere near the Rocky Mountains. From the concept art shown, Valerie loved the look of it immediately, and envied the life where she might be able to afford such a place. Secluded, quiet, loads of space to do anything and nothing. Beside it, was an ad for the local museum. Seems that a new Babylonian exhibit was soon to be showcased after a strange relic had been found out near Baghdad. Now that, Valerie knew she could afford.
Her thoughts were interrupted when a stack of books was slammed on the table next to her. Valerie screamed so loudly, she jumped into the air. Uncle scowled down at her. "You want to make Uncle deaf? Then quit that noise!"
Hand over her pounding heart, Valerie growled words under her breath.
Uncle pushed the books closer to her. "Chi-spell books need to be placed back in their proper order on shelves."
She went to stand and pick them up, but paused. Her fingertips traced the covers of the old books, fingering their worn cloth and faded letters. The subject was here and the urge to speak was on the tip of her tongue.
"Uncle," she forced out. "H-how is it I can do magic? I mean, that was magic I did in the zoo. Right? I-I couldn't do that before, so why–"
"Ah yes," Uncle nodded at length, as if just remembering a trivial thought he had pushed aside. "When Shendu re-wrote the Book of Ages, you were bound to him. Weren't you?"
Before Valerie could answer, he snatched up her left hand and exposed her palm. He stared at the scar that lay there like a sin proclaimed to the world. Valerie felt her stomach twist anxiously, a furious blush on her cheeks and neck.
"Uncle was afraid of this…"
Throat dry, she desperately tried to speak. "I-I can explain! I–"
"Under Shendu's influence you were forced to undergo the binding ritual."
Her words stopped in her mouth. Her jaw snapped shut. The impulsive liar resurfaced in her for a moment, and she decided not to correct Uncle on his assumption. After all, what good would it do to admit out loud that she hadn't been forced into anything. She had willingly gone along with everything, no mind control needed from Shendu. But to say that would mean she was more messed up then even she'd thought.
"But that was in the other reality. Technically in this one, I shouldn't even have this scar – it never happened here."
"No." Uncle shook his head gravely. "Some magics are so powerful, they transcend space and time. You and Shendu changed the very nature of yourselves when you were bound together. This power was brought through to this time."
Well… shit. "B-But, what do I do? How do I get rid of it?"
"Don't know."
Valerie gaped at him. "Wait, what?! There must be something!"
"Yes." He nodded and then held up a finger. "We do research!"
Nat wandered around the more… unpleasant streets of downtown San Francisco. She'd just really taken a stroll for the day, to try and broaden her horizons when it came to this place that it looked like she would be spending most of her time now. She was bunking in Valerie's new apartment, as she had done before. And whilst there was still this tension between them since she'd come back, Nat hoped that they might work past it. Despite her temper, she liked Valerie. The blonde just got on her nerves sometimes with her naivety and her compulsion to hush everything up.
But back to the matter at hand, Nat marched past a group of unsavoury looking youths. They cat-called, shouted obscene things her way but she ignored them. With all the heat she was packing under her jacket, she really didn't need to worry about getting mugged. She just carried on walking, determined to enjoy herself. A young woman just out for a stroll through the city, not looking for any trouble, not seeking demons of any sort.
Okay, that last one was bullshit.
The best prey came when you weren't actively looking for it. So Nat pretended not to look for it.
And then it happened.
She went past signs for a junkyard a couple blocks away, and turned to walk past an alleyway, when she heard it. The tell-tale tingled at the bottom of her neck quivered, and then she heard the voice.
"Ah!" came a quiet hiss. "I can't get it… out of my head!"
Nat immediately pressed herself against the wall. Her footfalls were silent as she tried to edge her way closer to corner and slip into the alley. Holding her breath, she carefully poked her cheek around the lip to peer inside.
Drago was in the deepest part of the alley, pressed into the corner, sat on top of a dumpster. He seemed determined to push himself into the darkest shadows to remain undetected. Rubbish and other refuse littered the ground – it was obvious no one would come looking in this pit. His three cronies were absent. The demon in question had his head buried between his bent knees, claws digging into the back of his head as if he had a headache he was trying to claw out.
Nat retreated back in order to gather herself. As quiet as she could be, she reached into her jacket for one of her throwing stars. Eyes darted left and right, but the cracked and dirtied street was deserted, good. If she was quick enough, she might be able to catch the demon by surprise and put an end to this nightmare for all of them. Others might have balked at her resolve, but Nat knew her duty – it had been ingrained into her since she'd been old enough to want anything. She had to use anything and everything at her disposal to keep innocents safe, it was her job.
Her toe crept towards the corner, when she heard Drago speak again, and she froze, desperate to not let him catch her.
"Get it out!" he spat under his breath. "It's like a song stuck in my brain – can't shut it up! What is it?!"
He growled loudly. Nat heard the metal of the dumpster give a loud squeal as the metal was dented. Drago grunted when the 'bang' of a fist on stone resonated through the alley. The demon panted, his frustration and turmoil in every breath.
With him so distracted, Nat knew she would have a perfectly good shot. But still she hesitated, something inside her wanted to know more.
Suddenly, Drago let out a groan – a sound filled with pain and exhaustion. "You'd know what it was, Mom."
His voice was so quiet, so… small, he almost sounded like a normal human being. It was as if all the demon-tones in his vocals had vanished. It made Nat's brows furrow. She hadn't expected this.
An angry bitterness rose in his voice. "The Chans won't get the better of me. I'll beat 'em. Whatever it takes… 'The sins of the father are to be laid upon the children.' … Yeah, I can use that."
A phone buzzed. For one horrible moment, Nat thought it was her own. But she felt no vibration in her pocket. She heard Drago curse and then the beep of a button being pressed.
"What!?" he snapped.
"Yo, D, yo comin' back dog?" she heard Strikemaster Ice whine. "We got peperoni, four cheese, or spicy-sizzler."
"I can't leave you idiots for ten minuets," Drago muttered. A pause. "I'm on my way. Save me the spicy."
A flurry of movement, the bang of feet on metal then stone. Nat threw her head to look, to catch a glimpse, but the demon was already a black blur as he vaulted over the back wall and was gone.
The slayer slumped against the wall, not sure whether to be annoyed that she'd missed her chance, or confused by what she heard.
Another buzz. This time from her pocket. Fumbling she fished it out and tried to control her voice as she spoke into it. "Hello?"
"Nat?" came Valerie's voice. "Err, could you come back to the shop a minute? I think you might wanna have a look into all this."
Nat didn't ask for her to specify. She simply hung up, walked into the road and called down the first cab that came into view.
Valerie was looking anxiously at the list of scrolls and volumes Uncle had piled on his desk when Nat came into the shop. The demon slayer looked a little out of breath, and her green eyes wouldn't look at her. She seemed a little… disturbed. What had –
"Valerie," Uncle said sharply. "Sit in this circle."
With a piece of chalk, Uncle drew a perfect circle, along with several Chinese characters along the outside. When he was finished and stepped back, Valerie tiptoed into the centre and slowly sat down, as if she feared being consumed by fire at any second.
"What is this?" Nat asked tensely.
Uncle shrugged as if everything were normal. "See if Valerie has demon magic."
"What?!" Nat's eyes bulged.
Valerie panicked and quickly held out her hands as if to stop anything else from moving. "No! No! It's not like that! It's – OW!"
She rubbed her head where Uncle had smacked her with two fingers. "Pay attention! Focus inside. Close eyes, feel chi. Feel Shendu's spirit inside you. And pull it outwards."
Valerie did as she was told, and made the conscious choice to not tell Uncle that Shendu had taught her all about harnessing her chi in the other reality. But would the same rules still apply in this dimension? Focusing inward, she searched the deepest, darkest part of her mind. Deep down as if at the bottom of the ocean, where light never reached, she found something slithering and stirring. It was actually quite surprising how easily she'd found it. But then again, Uncle had said the circle was designed to enhance one's chi-focus. She reached for it, half afraid, half drawn in. Whatever this thing was, in her mind it was massive, unending, dark and dangerous.
She broke the trance, her worried eyes snapped onto Uncle and Nat. Her throat was suddenly too tight as she swallowed. "What if… what if I can't… What if I hurt you two?"
"Uncle not silly apprentice," the old man sniffed and brandished his puffer fish. "Always use protection."
Her heart still wouldn't stop pounding, but closed her eyes again.
In her mind, she found the swirling mass again. She reached for it, and felt the presence slither across her flesh to embrace her. It dance along her skin, caressed her soul, every part of her that it could reach it embraced. It was like a dog that she'd shut away for too long, just happy to be reunited with its master. The scar along her left palm tingled with crackling energy. Valerie felt the fire of the entire world melt into her core, and left her breathless and energised all at the same time. It was both pain and ecstasy, a fulfilment she suddenly realised she was empty without whenever she denied it. But such dizzying power frightened her. She didn't want it all, it was too much, if only she could have just a little bit, a taster, not so full on –
White light and scorching heat blazed at the back of her eyes. She cried out, the pain rippling back through her brain and across her entire body. She tried to open her eyes but was completely unseeing. Panic engulphed her, and she tried to worm away, to shake it off but nothing responded. She was helpless.
Images assaulted her mind. Muscles cramped and seized. Sensations, sounds and sights buzzed through her skull until she thought she would vibrate out of existence. She saw blood dashed onto the ground, storm clouds rumbled overhead and cast a dark shadow over a cold world. A gale of wind seemed to have a voice that shouted a mournful call. A mountain in the distance morphed into a drop of water which slid into a stone chalice. All the while a strange noise, like a marvellous yet horrid voice sang somewhere in the back of her mind, a noise that cut through her, an endless loop in her head she couldn't get rid of. The images came faster, like someone had pressed the skip button on the remote. A sword. A scream. A beat of wings. Endless coils. An ocean boiling over and bursting. And the last she saw was a pair of brilliant blue eyes glaring back at her from the abyss.
Valerie came back to the world of the living with a gasp, as if she had been drowning. Funnily enough, she could even taste the salt water burning the back of her throat. She gurgled and spat and crawled out of the circle, her body heaving and shaking.
Uncle and Nat helped her up and calmed her down, though it took a while. Finally, once the trembling had subsided somewhat and she was able to focus, she saw their worried faces peering down at her.
"I-I-I don't know what happened!" she stammered, voice raw. "I saw so many things! There was something watching me – I know it was, I saw it's eyes! And there was this music… I couldn't get it out of my head."
"I found Drago today," Nat whispered, almost to herself. When Uncle and Val looked at her sharply, she nervously elaborated. "He didn't see me. I heard him say something similar – I think he hears the music too."
Valerie shook her head, her mind finally back to work and spinning at a million miles an hour to try and catch up. "Something's not right, nothing's adding up – not since the chi stars. Nothing makes sense. There's some secret component, something we're missing."
"But what?" Uncle asked.
"I…. I don't know."
