Breaking Dawn
Weeks had passed since October's end. The sun begins to rise over Boston on a cold and snowy November morning. The tower is quiet, and down below the morning commute for most of the citizens had only just begun. A blanket of white covers the normally green grass of the Boston Commons, while the roads are soaked in slush. The skies themselves are thick with clouds, not enough to blot out the sun, but enough for that same sun to turn the normally blue skies to a crimson twilight hue as the city greets the new day.
Spades was still sound asleep, the blinds in his room shut closed, leaving him in total darkness. Though he slumbered, he achieved little rest. He tosses and turns, sweating and shaking, and his hands are clenched into fists. His breath is uneasy, trembling with each inhale as he endured another of his reoccurring nightmares.
The dream was always the same… It began with a verbal argument with his parents. There was a Christmas tree in the room. Presents were already beneath it. Cookies and milk still sat upon the coffee table as a gesture toward Saint Nick, even though none of them believed in him anymore.
This was supposed to be a happy time of year… and yet, joy and merry-making always turns to hatred and violence every year. Spades, only sixteen years of age now, is in the middle of a yelling match with his father.
The words are just a blur. The only thing that Spades can hear himself saying is, "Every f—king Christmas it's the same!! This is why I hate the holidays!!" He storms out of the house, letting the sounds of screaming and yelling fade as he walks away, leaving his home to calm down for an hour or so.
The walk to the park turns into a corrupted, distorted memory. The hours he spent down there went by in an instant. He soon found himself standing in one of the jungle gym towers, staring out onto the roads near by, watching car pass. A light snow fell from above.
Spades mutters to himself, "They never listen… My opinion never matters… They can all f—king burn in hell… I mean nothing to them."
As if on demand, less than a minute later, Spades suddenly hears the first of many faint sirens in the distance… A wave of paranoia begins to overwhelm Spades as the horrid banshee's scream slowly but steadily grows stronger. Though he tried not to, he inevitably turns his attention toward the horizon past the treetops, where he could see a plume of dark gray smoke rising in the distance. Then the sirens become louder, and louder; soon almost deafening in volume. A fire truck and an ambulance race by, driving up Spades's home street.
He hesitates at first, unable to believe what he was seeing. Finally he leaps from the jungle gym and runs. Part of him knew what was happening… The rest didn't want to accept it. A powerful gust of wind sweeps through the streets, and before Spades can blink, time blurs again.
Now, he is standing outside a building in flames… his home. Smoke billows from the windows, the roof smolders and warps in the heat, and the old tree in their front yard which towered over the house was now burning and crackling as the searing inferno licks at its limbs and leaves.
A police car blocks the road, stopping Spades from passing by. He yells and screams, desperate, but it felt as if no matter how hard he cried, his voice had become mute… Was no one was listening? Did no one care?
The worst of the dream had yet to come. Firemen began charging out the front door, evacuating the building. Spades heard someone yell, "It's coming down! It's coming down!"
Suddenly, a loud and startling noise screeches in Spades's ears.
"INTRUDER ALERT. INTRUDER ALERT."
The dream shatters in an instant. Spades immediately awakens from his slumber, his heart having unpleasantly skipped a beat in the process. The sound of security alarms going off throughout the building hurt his ears. Spades mumbles to himself, frustrated, "Who in the hell—?!"
He springs up from bed and grabs his cloak, running through his doorway to alert the others. "Titans! Emergency, everyone up!!"
Leyla, Zero, and Triard exit their rooms a split second after Spades gave the order. Leyla, who was still in her PJ's, rubs her eyes in exhaustion and asks, "What's going on?"
"Someone broke in, stupid!" Zero snaps at her.
Leyla glares at him, "F—k you! I'm tired!"
Triard groans, "Zero, shut up! Leyla, calm down! Spades, what's the plan?"
"Fan out," Spades tells them, "Seal the exits. I'll go to the control room and check the security cameras."
They obey their orders, scattering in various directions while Spades ran down stairs onto the main floor. He dashes through the corridors, heading for the center of the tower, when suddenly a doorway explodes in front of him.
The shockwave knocks him down on his back, but he recovers quickly for the ensuing fight. The blast came from the entrance of the tower's library. Two men in crimson cloaks scramble out through the passage and down the hallway.
Spades notices a book in their hands. He realizes they're being robbed, but for what? "No matter," he said to himself, "Patefacio prolixus porta of abyssus!!"
Behind him, a fiery rip between dimensions opens up, and from within darts a small swarm of imp-like demonic creatures. The unbearable shriek they let out upon their assault was comparable to iron nails scraping across a chalk board. To the unaccustomed ear, it would send chills down one's spine. Spades however stood firm while his opponents covered their ears.
The imps swoop past Spades, gliding along the walls and floor before mauling one of the men, scratching and biting him in every conceivable place they could.
The man goes down—yelling in terror—but his accomplice turns around and draws a sword to slash one of the imps through the wing.
Spades watches as the poor imp cries out in agony and turns to ash. The blade must have been either made of silver, or blessed in some way, perhaps enchanted. Spades focuses upon their aura. It was no holy blade, but it had a strong sense of dark energy. The magic that surrounds the sword is as crimson as the capes that the two men wore. It glows like the twilight of the day's morning skies.
The men would easily dispatch the rest of the imps, as they were weak creatures meant only to distract them. Though by the time their attention was again on Spades, he had already begun his follow-up attack.
"Incendia tentatio!!" Spades roars out as bright orange fireballs appear in both hands. He whips them across the room, detonating them on either side of the two men, figuring the shockwave would subdue them without actually killing them.
Instead, the older of the two men chants in a deep voice, "Azarath metrion zinthos!"
A dark orb surrounds the two thieves, protecting them from the explosion.
Spades's eyes open wide with disbelief. That was Raven's spell! How did these men know it? Still, undeterred, Spades attacks for a second time, "Incendia tenatio!!" he yells again, this time fusing the two fireballs into a single, much larger strike. He launches it at the thieves for his second blow.
"Lord Trigon servos nos!" the elder man calls in retaliation. The orb turns from black to bright neon red, absorbing the fireball, completely unscathed.
Spades feels his aggravation setting in. They had defended against both his attacks now, and unfortunately fire and air attacks were really all that he had. With little choice, however, he'd make another attempt to summon demonic help. "Patefacio prolixus porta of abyss—"
"Incendia tentatio!" the man bellows again. The defensive orb shrinks and melds into a raging fireball, which holds perfectly still for a split second before a flick of his finger sent it rocketing toward Spades.
Spades's summoning spell is cut short. He crosses his arms together and braces himself for the impact. It's a direct hit, striking Spades in the chest, to send him hurling back through the hallway.
The explosion felt like a pile of bricks being dropped on his chest. While the impact leaves him breathless, the flames severely scorch his normally fire resistant clothing. He collides with the wall at the end of the corridor, striking his head on the plaster with enough force to dent it. The last thing he remembers is landing on the floor… then everything turns black.
Some time later, Spades begins to stir as someone shakes him gently. "Jeremy?" calls a familiar voice. He opens his eyes to find Leyla kneeling over him.
Triard was there too, as was Zero. Triard is standing close by, though Zero was down the hall swinging his fists in the air and kicking his legs as if fighting.
"And then we were like—POW! And they were like, AAHH!! And I was like, 'DIE b*tches!' And you were all—BLEH." He makes a silly face with his tongue out and eyes crossed, and then he falls over on his back.
Triard rolls his eyes, "Zero, we never even saw them."
Zero blatantly lies, "I saw them! I fought them!"
Leyla growls in annoyance. "No, you didn't!"
"Yea I did! I saved Spades! Tell 'em Spades!"
Spades says, "They robbed me." He wasn't going to take sides in this pointless bickering. "They were not out to harm any of us. Otherwise they'd have killed me."
"What did they steal?" Triard asks.
Spades stands up, briefly checking himself for injuries. Aside from some bruises, he felt fine. "I'm not sure," he replies, "I saw a book in their hands and they were leaving the library. I'm not sure what value they might have in a mere book, but if they went through all this trouble to take it, there must be a reason."
Zero aimlessly states, "I'm hungry. We should have breakfast first."
Triard and Leyla both shoot him a glare for being so off topic. On the other hand, Spades humors him, "No, he's right. We're not much good if we can't think straight on an empty stomach."
Triard gives Spades a strange look at first, but soon surrenders the debate. He caught the hint that Spades had given them, so he decides he may as well get started in the kitchen.
Leyla meanwhile was more concerned with Spades. She asks him again, "Are you sure you're ok?"
"Yea, I'm fine, there's nothing broken, I'm not bleeding… and my clothes took most of the damage—I think." He still peels back his sleeves to check himself for burns, and surely enough there were blisters on both his forearms. "… Oh sh*t." Now that he's aware of his injuries, the sting of the burns began to spread across both his arms. He winces in pain and tries to avoid yelling. Until now, the shock and awe of the fight left him oblivious of any pain.
Leyla's eyes go wide seeing the wounds. "Come on, you." She pushes him from behind, getting Spades to his feet to urge him down the hallway. She brings him to the medical center.
Spades resists at first, but as the stinging turns into painful burning, and blood begins to drip from his sleeves. Though having a high tolerance for pain, Spades knew that the adrenaline in his system would be gone soon. Consequently, he'd be in agony in minutes. He hurries down the hall with Leyla until reaching a hospital-like room before the pain reaches that point.
An hour passes, and after several applications of painful disinfection chemicals, Leyla began to wrap bandages around Spades's arms. They had cut his sleeves off and removed them in order to properly treat his wounds. His cape is left on a coat hanger near by.
As Spades sits on a sterile white cot while Leyla wraps the surgical tape around his left forearm until the wound was completely concealed. He thanks her for her help before standing again. His right arm had already been patched up minutes earlier. Without the raw air sweeping across his sores, that once agonizing burn had dulled to a tolerable, though constant throbbing.
Leyla checks the bandages for any loose ends. "They staying on ok?" she asks.
Spades flexes his arm a bit, inspecting the patchwork himself. "They seem fine to me."
Leyla smiles, "That's good… You ok otherwise?"
"I should be. I mean, I got some bruising, but otherwise I'm fine."
"Want any ice or pain-killers?"
Spades chuckles, "I'll be quite alright," he insists.
"Oh, I forgot something!" Leyla gasps, sounding nervous.
Spades blinked and gave her a look of confusion and worry. "Wait, what?"
She holds up his arm and kisses the bandage, and then smiles again.
His concern instantly fades, and instead he laughs, "Oh. That. Heheh, thank you." As cheesy as it was, he found it cute. At the very least it was heartwarming, allowing him to ignore some of his stress over the morning's events.
Just then, Triard walks into the room. "Sup Spades."
Spades nods to him, "Not much. You?"
"I got some info on the book those guys stole, and I think we have some usable camera recordings in the tower's security system."
"Oh well… If we know what they took, maybe we can track them. So, what is it?"
"One of your books."
Spades rolls his eyes, replying in a sarcastic tone, "No sh*t, one of my books? But seriously, which one of my books?" He pauses for a moment, "… Sorry if I sound like an ass. I'm just a bit stressed."
Triard nods, forgiving him, "It's called the Mysterium Tremendum."
Spades raises an eyebrow, "I can't even read that book. It's written in Latin… Like, dead Latin—Archaic Latin. I can't even use an online translator for it."
"Well, they stole it," Triard says.
Leyla speaks up, "Wouldn't something that old be worth a lot of money?"
Spades shrugs, "Probably. To whom, I don't know. Any ideas?"
Triard states, "Those who fancy oddities might buy it just for the sake of buying it… Or some Goth kid who thinks they know Wiccan magic crap."
"Yea, but imagine the price on it. That book is an incredibly old artifact. Lucifer himself gave it to me when he gave me the throne to his kingdom. It's supposed to break down barriers and unlock secrets that, frankly, we 'mortals are just better off not knowing more specifics on,' from what I know."
Leyla groans, "So it's one of those books."
"Yea," Spades too was displeased, "Another book of ancient cult nonsense."
Triard smirks and teases, "You're one to talk, Spades."
Spades glances at him, "Perhaps, but you do not see me summoning—" he pauses again, "… Actually, forget I said anything." He had almost forgotten he had used demon summoning just a couple hours ago to battle those hooded men. Spades felt like a hypocrite. In an attempt to change the topic, Spades asks, "So where's Zero then?"
"Eating," Triard replies simply.
Leyla's belly let out a growl. Her cheeks reddened when Triard and Spades both look at her stomach. "… What? I'm hungry too!"
Spades manages to smile and laugh again, "Let's get something to eat then." He turns to Triard though, a more serious tone now, "However, I want an investigation to begin immediately after breakfast. Contact Boston Police Department and inform them of the robbery."
"Why though?" Triard asks, "…With all due respect, they don't exactly like us."
"I know," Spades admits, "But while we uphold the law, we are not official law enforcement. We can only help. We cannot take matters into our own hands, not yet, not until we show them we can be trusted. I don't need a repeat of what happened at Salem."
"Ok," Triard responds. "See you later." And with that, he exits the room.
