"What are you doing?" That was the first thing Ian asked when he walked into the kitchen and found Kate sitting next to an open fridge.
"I'm hot," Kate replied.
"Uh huh, well I am too. It is a very hot day. But you see..... it's not good to have the fridge open in hot weather! It will make the food go bad."
"....Got any better ideas, smart one?" Katie she asked, half glaring at him.
"Yeah. Go turn on the air conditioning. I was gonna turn it on before I left this morning but I forgot. I thought you knew we had one."
"I live here for a few months and you expect me to know everything?" She got up and closed the fridge, annoyed.
"It hasn't been a few. It's been five. And it is only the beginning of April. This massive heat wave is weird." Ian sat down at the table and picked up the newspaper.
"Yeah, well, so is everything else. Where is the air conditioner?"
"Basement." Ian turned a page. "Alright...... the funnies."
Katie rolled her eyes and went down stairs. Soon she came back up. "Alright, turned it on. Hand me the advice column?" she asked, sitting down at the table next to Ian.
"What for.....? Oh look! Garfield whacks another spider! Ha!"
"You need help." Katie reached over and grabbed the page with the column and started reading.
Ian didn't pay any attention to her. He kept reading the paper, totally oblivious to anything that was going on around him. Until he realized that the house didn't seem to be getting cooler. ".....Are you sure you turned on the air conditioning?"
She shrugged. "Your house."
Ian got up and whacked Katie with the newspaper and then headed for the basement. Once down there Ian checked the machine. "Well.... it's on..... and it seems cooler down here. But it should be going through the whole house. Maybe it's just running a little slow." Ian shrugged and went back up stairs.
But as the afternoon went on, it got hotter. "Man! What is up? Let's turn on the news and see what they say."
Katie sighed. She was watching some documentation on the sea. "Fine..." She turned on the news.
"Folks, we advise you to stay inside. This heat wave has become dangerous. Many have been fainting and others being dehydrated. There don't seem to be any sunburns though. The sun isn't very bright...... that's what's odd. Also, reports of fires starting have come in. Trees and bushes have just burst into flames. We think that the heat is causing this. Again, please stay inside and try to keep cool. We will have more on that later. In other news— "
Ian muted the T.V. "This doesn't sound like an average heat wave. The sun doesn't seem to be the cause."
"Sounds... oddly demonic, if you ask me," Katie said, leaning back and looking up at Ian.
"Yep..... I say we check this out. People if this gets worse, people could die. And it has also been said that heat can make people go crazy if it gets hot enough and they can't keep cool."
She groaned slightly as she got up. "What type of demon can even make a heat wave… or would want to, for that matter?" Katie asked herself more than Ian as they walked up the stairs.
"I have no idea. But we will find out, and then vanquish him.... or her..... or it." They reached Ian's room and he took the BOS and opened it while sitting down on the bed.
After a couple minutes of searching through the book, Katie got frustrated. "There's nothin in there!" she exclaimed.
Ian turned another page. "Oh really? Look at this." Ian pointed at the page. "Magma Demon. This demon can create massive waves of heat throughout long distances. When concentrated on something, this demons heat attack can vaporize objects and people. Level three danger rating, this demon should be avoided if possible."
"Apparently it can't be avoided."
Ian sighed. "Nope.... well let's scry for him and then send him to where it's really hot." He gave Katie a look. "And no, it's not Florida."
"Hawaii, then?"
"No! Hell, Kate! Hell."
"....Right. That's what I meant."
Ian glared at his sister and then got up. "Can you go get the crystal and map?"
Katie gestured slightly and the crystal and map came over from the dresser to land on Ian's lap.
"Tsk tsk.... using magic for personal gain."
"Just scry, will you?"
"Fine." Ian picked up the crystal and began to rotate it over the map. "Ok....I got nothin yet. Nothi-" The crystal then made a sharp pull and landed on the map. "Ok. We got something." Ian looked at the address. "He is pretty much in the center of the city."
"Great. So we may have to fight in public?"
Ian shrugged. "Maybe not. The news reporter said to stay inside." Ian got up and put the crystal and map away, but not before copying down the address. "Ok, we know what kind of demon this is, but we don't really have any idea how to stop him. I'm not sure if we can just vanquish him with my power.... maybe we should make a few spells and potions just incase."
"I'll make potions, you make spells. You're better at the whole rhyming, thinking... thing." Katie got up and walked back downstairs.
Ian got up and followed her, taking the book with. They went into the kitchen and Ian sat at the table while Katie got out a pot for some potions. "Ok..... spells." Ian got out a note pad and began to write some things down. "What potions are you planning on using?"
"Acid, bright light, those boom ones for me... stuff we might need." She pulled down jar after jar of ingredients. "Alright... This... One of these..." she said, talking to herself as she put stuff into a pot that was on the stove.
After a few minutes of working Ian stood up. "Ok. I have three. Two offensive and one defensive. What have you got done?"
Katie pointed to a bottle with a yellow liquid. "Bright light." She pointed to bottle after bottle, naming the things they did. "Acid. Boom. Smoke. Two offensive and two defensive."
"Can you make one that acts like your freezing power? Just incase that your power won't work against him?"
"Sure." She had studied the potion making, and was getting pretty good at it.
A few minutes later there was a small burst of smoke from the pot. "Done!" She put the potion into two bottles, keeping one for herself. "Take one of each," she told him, grabbing 4 bottles, one of each. "By the way, what do your spells do?"
Ian took the potions. "One sets a temporary shield around us, another turns people into stone.... and the last one will.... well melt them I guess is the best way to say it." Ian wiped some sweat from his head. It was still getting hotter. "Well we better do this quickly. Or else I am just gonna go up in flames."
"Please don't. I have no idea what I would do without a brother." Katie grinned crookedly and started to walk toward the front door, grabbing her keys off the peg on the way.
Ian hurried after her, wanting to get this all over with very soon. The two got into Katie's car and Ian immediately turned the AC way up. "Ok. Start driving. I'll direct you to the address."
Katie nodded and backed out of the driveway, turning left. "Got a plan?"
"Well we find this demon, throw some potions, say some spells, and hope that he leaves in a puff of smoke..... or a flash of light..... or a big explosion. One of those."
"No duh. Turn right?" Ian nodded, and Katie continued, "I was talking about if we find him somewhere we can't 'hide', if you get what I'm saying."
"Uh..... you mean from the public or from him?"
"...Public."
"Well we will just have to hope that the demon is in a place where he can't really be seen. And if there is anyone else around.... we freeze them. Turn here." Ian pointed left.
They arrived close to where the crystal had said the demon would be. The heat had been getting worse as they got nearer and nearer to the center of the city. And no it was just unbearable. Ian felt like he was going to burn up. He wanted to go home and jump into a tub of ice cold water. But they had to destroy this demon first. Kill him and the heat would be gone. Kate and Ian got out of the car and looked around.
"There is no one here. The place is deserted. Good thing too."
Ian then nodded in the direction that the massive wave of heat seemed to be coming from. "That way." The two walked forward and then around the corner. The air seemed thick. You could cut a knife right through it. Ian looked down a small side alley. And there was a large demon. Standing with his arms and palms out to his side. Heat was just wafting off him.
The demon did not seem to notice Ian and Katie. "Well," Ian said, "Let's finish this." He began to walk forward, but stopped when he saw something strange happen. The shadow of a trash bin seemed to be moving.... yet there should not have even been a shadow. There was no light shining on it to create one. The shadow then rose up and shifted into the form of a man.... and became whole, and real. Ian backed up and pulled Katie with him and back around the corner a little so as not to be noticed. They then watched. The other demon stopped what he was doing and turned. "Who the hell are you?" he asked.
"I am a shadow thief," said the new comer. "And I have come for your shadow." The Magma demon looked confused.
"What are you talking about? What do you mean?" The Shadow Thief just smiled and the held up his hand. The other demon's shadow wavered on the ground and then leapt up. It hung in the air for a moment, a dark blob, and then it was sucked into the Shadow Thief's hand. He then turned and pointed. The shadow leaped out of his finger and hit the ground. It then moved.... shifted.... and shaped itself. It grew large.... and became a shadowy mirror image of its former owner. It was slightly transparent, but it's eyes were solid. They were a dark and evil red. The Shadow Thief looked at the Magma demon.
"Your shadow is now my slave. And I turn him against you.... now." The shadow threw its hand up and pointed it at the Magma demon. The air rippled between them as an immense discharge of heat was sent out. It hit the Magma demon and he screamed out as fire engulfed him. Then all that was left was some smoking ash.
"Oh my god....." Ian said, but a little too loudly.
The Shadow Thief looked right at him. "Ah..... good. You're next."
Ian stood straight. "Kate, run! Back to the car!"
"You're kidding, right?" Katie pulled out the potions. She threw the bright light one while looking away. "Spell!"
Ian pulled out one of the note pad pieces of paper and read. "We call upon Medusa's bones, turn this demon's flesh in to stone." Just as Ian said it the demon changed back into a shadow and rippled across the pavement. He changed again, right in front of Ian and Kate. "Say bye bye to your shadows." He held out his hand and Ian and Katie's shadows leapt up in into his palm.
"Now your shadows are mine. They will be evil.... and they have your powers." He laughed and let the shadows loose. They formed into shadowy figures of Kate and Ian.
"Oh no," Ian said. The shadow Kate waved her arm and Ian and Katie were flung back. They landed on the pavement with a thud. "This.... is bad!" Ian shouted. He gestured sharply at his own shadow to blow it up. The shadow exploded and pieces flew all over, like black paint. But they just then reassembled and became whole again. "This is very bad!"
"I haven't noticed!" Katie said sarcastically. Shadow-Ian raised his hand and was about to blow her up. She flung her arm in his direction, causing him to hit the wall behind him. "Well, they aren't immune to all our powers." Once Shadow-Ian hit the wall, he spread out into a pancake shape and then recoiled back out into the street and reshaping.
"It doesn't seem like our powers work that well," Ian said.
The Shadow Thief looked down on Ian and Kate. "Well this has been fun, but I have chaos to create. I won't have to worry about you much longer anyway. Once the sun goes down, and you don't have your shadows.... you will vanish from this world. Forever." He laughed evilly and then held out his hand. The three shadows were sucked back in and then the Shadow Thief became a shadow himself and slid away. In a matter of seconds, he was gone.
"Well," Ian said, "this really sucks. But at least it isn't really hot anymore."
"Somehow," Katie said, while getting up, "I doubt that's the most pressing problem!"
"He said that we would vanish by sun down without our shadows." Ian looked at his watch. "It's about four now."
"So we have about two hours till we die? This is comforting." She walked back toward the car.
Ian followed her closely. "Well let's see..... there a shadow images of us that have our powers and seem..... indestructible, there is also another shadow with the power of a demon, and there is this Shadow Thief guy who might go on stealing more shadows. So....." Ian said as he got into the car, "What are our options?"
"We're screwed." Katie got into the drivers side and turned on the car. "But I guess we go look in the book," she said as she started driving home.
They arrived home and the two started up the stairs towards Ian's room. "The best way to end all this would be to defeat the Shadow Thief. But whenever we say a spell or throw a potion, he changes back into the shadow form and it doesn't affect him. Maybe there is something in the book on supernatural shadows." Ian grabbed the BOS off of his dresser and sat down on the bed.
"So we need something to keep him from turning into a shadow," Katie said, sitting down next to him.
"Well there's nothin to it," Ian said sarcastically. "Yet if the Shadow Thief isn't in the book..... do you think there would be something on shadows in here?"
"Maybe... Though I don't think so."
Ian set the book aside. "Then what is the point of going through that whole thing, trying to find something that prolly isn't there? I say we just make our own way of defeating this guy."
"Ok... Got any ideas, genius?" Katie grabbed the book and started to flip through it anyway, in hope she could find something.
"Hmm...... I think I might. Maybe we can use the bright light potion, but make it stronger, and cover a wider area. That way he wont be able to change into a shadow, because it wouldn't be able to exist in the light. So it would have to be a surrounding light...... Oh what am I thinking? That will never work."
She sighed in frustration, annoyed that the book didn't have anything. "You may have a plan there. We would need a spell, to get back out shadows, or destroy him, or whatever."
"And we have to do all this by sun down. Just great."
Katie nodded distractedly. She couldn't really believe this was happening. But it is, she thought. "Ok. So I'll make the potion." She got up and went down to the kitchen. The ingredients were still on the counter, so she started doubling the potion.
Ian followed Katie down into the kitchen. He sat at the kitchen table and stared at his hands. They seemed different. Maybe it was just the light.... but his hands seemed.... fuzzy. Ian shook his head and turned to Kate. "What do we do if this doesn't work? We need a back up plan."
Katie sighed and looked at Ian in the eyes, with sadness in hers. "If this doesn't work..." she drifted off, and went back to work on the potion.
"Then we wont' live to regret it," Ian finished for her. She nodded.
Katie finished making the potion a few minutes later. She came over to the table an set one of two bottles in front of Ian.
Ian took it. "Well, let's see if this works. It's almost five thirty."
Katie walked back out to her car and got in, her mind reeling with unpleasant thoughts. She hated those. Hurriedly, she turned on the car when Ian got in and started to drive to the center of the town.
Ian looked around. "We have no idea where these guys are. How are we going to find them?"
"I dunno... Do you smell smoke?" Katie looked out the window, looking for a fire, or more likely, smoke.
Ian sniffed. "Yeah.... I do. Where is it coming from?"
"There." She pointed to the left, and turned toward the building on fire. It came into view. "Uh... oh..."
Ian was looking the other way. "What?" He turned his head. "Oh god! No! Katie, stop the car!" Katie did and Ian jumped out. Ian's club was on fire. Flames engulfed it. And standing in front of the club was the shadow of the Magma demon, Ian and Katie's shadows, and the Shadow Thief. Katie ran after Ian, toward the demons. She froze the flames while running, and gestured at the Magma demon's shadow, causing him to lose concentration when he fell back.
The Shadow Thief turned. "You again!" He then motioned Shadow-Ian and Shadow-Katie to attack. Ian came up against his own shadow. Ian threw a punch, but it just went right through.
"Uh oh..." Ian's shadow grabbed his arm and swung Ian around. "WhooooOOOOAAAAAHHHH!!!" The shadow let go and Ian flew through the air, landing on the hood of Kate's car.
Katie found it weird to be fighting herself. She had already tried a kick. It went through the shadow, much like a ghost. Cursing, she tried using telekinesis on her shadow. Luckily it worked, though it only made the shadow fly back a couple of feet. Then Katie remembered she had three, no, four, potions in her pocket. She drew out the acid one and threw it at her shadow. The potion went right through and crashed against a wall, burning a hole through it. "Damn." Katie's shadow got up and rushed her, throwing her to the ground... hard.
Ian rubbed his head and rolled off the car and onto his feet. Katie's freeze had worn off and the club was flaming again. Ian's shadow was coming towards him. The shadow raised his transparent hands and gestured with them. "Ah!" Ian ducked and the windshield of Kate's car shattered. "Oh you better hope that she has insurance!" Ian walked towards his shadow and they circled each other. That was when Ian noticed something.
His hand.... it had gone from fuzzy.... to transparent! Ian was fading. Sundown was drawing nearer and Ian would soon vanish forever. As Ian watched, his hand disappeared. His other hand began to fade as well. His whole body was beginning to become see through. "Kate! We have to end this now!" Ian looked down at his legs. They were disappearing, like they were being erased by a giant pencil.
Katie looked down at herself. She gasped in surprise and fright when she realized she, too, was becoming transparent. "We have to vanquish the demon!"
"But what do we do after we throw the potion?! We don't have a spell!"
"I thought you made one!"
"No, I didn't! I wasn't thinking." Ian shook his head. "But there is no time! Throw the potion!" Ian took out the one he had, but his hand disappeared and the potion fell to the ground and broke.
FLASH! Ian fell back while shielding his eyes with his arms. "Katie! Throw your potion!" She quickly threw the potion before her hand became transparent. A bright light, like looking at the sun, appeared.
"AH!" The Shadow Thief screamed and shielded his eyes. They only had a few precious seconds. Ian's mind was racing. He stood up and tried to think of a spell. His body had now faded, all the way up to his shoulders.
"Where there are shadows, there is light, we vanquish thee with our might, evil being.... we have won this fight!" Ian's head was all that was left. The Shadow Thief yelled out in pain and exploded in a wave of darkness. Ian could see his vision going blurry. But just as everything was about to go dark, Ian's vision suddenly cleared. His body was reforming! After a moment, Ian was whole again. The sun had set. And Ian's club was still in flames. Ian ran over to Kate. "We have to do something!"
"The only thing we can do is call the fire station! I can't freeze the flames; it won't help." Katie ran back to her car, noticing the broken windshield. "Damn," she said, as she grabbed her cell and called 911.
Ian looked down. His shadow had returned, and was flickering in the light from the fire. Then Ian heard a groaning. He looked up and there was the shadow of the Magma demon. He was shifting and bubbling. Then he exploded, and was gone. "I guess since the shadow had no one to return to, it was destroyed." Ian looked back at his club. Fire was everywhere. The fire department wouldn't get here in time. It was over....
Katie sighed when she looked back at the club. It looked like hope was lost for it. She walked over next to Ian. "I'm sorry," was all she could think of saying. She put a hand on his shoulder comfortingly, knowing how hard he had worked on the club.
"Yeah..... it's ok. I worked so hard to get this place up and running. But hey, if I did it once, I can do it again." Ian sighed and sat down on the pavement. "At least we are here to rebuild it. Instead of being erased from the face of the earth."
Katie nodded. "Right." She sat down and watched the flames take over the club.
The fire trucks arrived, but all they could do was put out the last bits of the fire. The club was gone. Ian stood up. "Let's go home..." Ian turned and started to walk towards Katie's car.
Katie just nodded again and went over to the driver's side of the car. There was a tan cat by the tire. "Hey kitty..." She knelt down and carefully picked him up. "Ian!" she exclaimed as she stood up, showing him the cat. "Can we keep him?" she asked in her babyish voice, obviously trying to cheer him up.
Ian looked at the cat. "..... It just better be house trained." He smiled slightly and got into the car, brushing glass off of the seat.
Katie got into the car, grinning happily. She turned on the car and drove off towards home, leaving behind King's Corner in the last light of day.