In his hands Veketh held the key to Javier's resurrection.
Marina had handed over as many documents on his enemies as she could manage. Veketh didn't expect so much reading but the stories told were enlightening enough.
Javier Cuentas was the bastardo that created the Roseblood Gang back in 1906 as a rebellious anti-governmental bandit organization. He was your typical young man disgruntled by the poverty of his small town. He rallied locals and robbed trains built on the dime of the poor to fight back. His number eventually reached over one hundred loyal banditos raiding the countryside.
Javier opposed the Porfiriato, the rule of Mexico by Porfirio Diaz. After almost uninterrupted control since 1876, Diaz's policies ranged from reformative to violent and led to radical changes across the country. While the country had engaged in numerous international enterprises, while banditry was being curbed, many of the people had been subjected to the harshest of conditions. Children became laborers for his grand vision and this among other things ignited Javier's interest in anything to destroy his perceived enemy… Even occult practices were known to him and his eight closest comrades.
Of them, they all had varying skills. Jebediah was a former man of Mormon ilk who had been exiled from the small town he'd been in due to an affair with a local girl. He was the expert on farming and writing the words of Javier's speeches for distribution.
Miriam and her husband Varran were foreigners from Italy who had adopted fake names after being caught up in a bank robbery in the States. They were the experts on infiltration and subterfuge, a great boon for Javier's sometimes illiterate team.
Darren and Ariel were close friends; Darren fancied himself an expert gun shooter and had been driven from his home after killing his abusive father in a one-sided duel. Ariel was a violent young woman who had killed her fiancé after he tried to abuse her. They were the muscle and they provided the pain Javier wanted.
Arvic was a renowned gambler and cheat; many a times he'd been driven from poker saloons due to his cheating ways. The smooth information dealer was renowned for his many drops of intel that led to massive gains for the gang.
Seventh was Javier's first wife Esmerelda, a Spanish-born girl who moved to Mexico City in her youth. She came across Javier singing one day and followed him to the ends of the earth. Little did she know how soon the ends found her.
Javier and his men jumped the gun in 1908. They were among the first to rebel against Diaz's dictatorial-level authority over Mexico. They were among the bandit camps raided by Diaz's northern commander Bernardo Reyes. Reyes and his skilled soldiers devastated the camp but an accident led to Javier's young wife and child being killed.
The survivors holed up in nearby cave systems where the seven Roseblood Gang members signed a formal pact with the demons and swore revenge.
The ninth member of the elites fled to live a quiet life.
Javier had suggested it was his aid that led to the beginning of the Ten Tragic Days. On the first day, Reyes was gunned down mercilessly when someone discovered the civilian disguises of his co-conspirators.
The truth mattered not. Diaz's power had been broken by then and Madero fared no better.
Veketh hated how he knew what came next. The ninth member was Charles Briggs, a former private of the United States army who was discharged due to suspected thievery. Charles didn't do it though; he was framed by a jealous superior officer.
Luckily, Charles avoided participation in World War 1 until the end of it when he dutifully served after clearing his name. Sergeant Briggs came home in 1919 after serving in France and later Africa. He settled down and married.
"Father… You didn't mean for this to happen, huh?"
That was why Javier had come to his family. It wasn't random chance; Javier had wanted Veketh to rejoin the Gang for his father's honor. When Veketh refused… His family was taken from him just as Javier's was.
Sure, Veketh pitied the freedom fighter who went wrong. It was hard not to.
That was why Veketh had to end their curse. Javier had retired in the end. He had retired from his own damn gang to start a family. How DARE he have what he stole from my own two hands!? I'll revive him and then I'll rend his soul from this earth! Not even Hell is enough for what he did to us!
Tazrun was my fault, sure. I dragged him along. The Eight of Blades died because of me. Only Erinea remained and Lily's plan she and Marina made would end in her dying; dying for my sake even after I caused her brother's death.
What had the history lessons taught him? The origin of the Cuentas family magic wasn't any one point. Javier's grandparents had left the gift behind when they had narrowly escaped from American raiders in the Mexican War. Javier's mother lacked the gift. It was a miracle Javier tapped into it that lonely night he lost everything.
The plan for now was easy. He would give the siblings the key to reviving Javier, an old black box filled with century-old photos of his first wife and an incantation to revive him. Once Javier was back, he and Marina would destroy the siblings.
That was her plan. Veketh was planning beyond that and he needed several people on his side. That was why Veketh pushed Marina to give Luke an out. If Veketh saved Erinea's life, she and Luke could rig the game in his favor.
"How are things coming?" Donavihk shimmered in behind Veketh. "Lily's onboard. Even Vake said he'd spare the siblings if it meant killing the boss."
Veketh eyed the box in front of him. "Vake needs to give this to the siblings. I can't involve myself directly. I have Old Valentine to deal with."
Donavihk walked up and gripped the box. Veketh asked. "She probably knows, right?"
"I wouldn't put it past her. Maybe she's seeing what we'll do in this situation she's gotten us into." Donavihk shrugged and spat his cigarette out onto the cave floor. "She's in for a rude awakening."
"I do hope so…" A sickening voice shook the cavernous walls. Donavihk and Veketh turned, expecting a horrible monster.
All that stood in the hallway was an old man, bent over and not more than four feet tall, gripping a cane. "Those Diamond Ones will be useful to me someday, perhaps…"
Donavihk readied himself. "What do you want, old man!?"
"I just came to observe the broken seal here." Zhou walked between the two demons towards the inner chamber. "Is that alright?"
"You mean the chamber they got Silas from?" Veketh asked, having heard about his origins from Lily.
Zhou grinned with devilish black eyes, sending shivers down their spines. "Indeed. Such an old demon like him must be more than meets the eye, don't you think?"
…
Vake lazily threw away the magazine he had been holding. It's damn cold out here.
A pale humanoid creature crawled into his peripheral view. "Well? Did you kill one yet?"
The being shook its head. "Not yet, Master Vake. We are trying our best!" Its voice was wrong; the vocal chords seemed unable to produce perfect human speech.
"Bah. What should I expect from you weaklings!? Infiltrate the group as planned! Attacking out of nowhere when the kid has a familiar was dumb from the start!" Vake waved his hand and the creature leapt into the darkness. "Guess I'll have to bring out the big guns."
The cold wind blew over the small clearing he stood in. At his feet lay the dead, half-eaten remains of Alyssa, cousin to the Cuentas family. Unfortunately for her, she and her brother Ramiro never made it. Then again… Maybe they would in some form… Hahahaha!
…
Geiney worked fast but as efficiently as he could in the given circumstances. The medical kit was open and had a few cleaners out with a nipple attached to each end. Geiney worked to get the abdominal gauze pad on Lea's side.
Lea was on the ground curling up on his uninjured side. He watched as Geiney worked; the panicked scowl never left his face. Geiney had cut off Lea's shirt using scissors from the medical kit he had brought with him to get to the wounds, not wanting to injure him further by manually taking off his shirt. The leftover shirt was now serving a different duty as a makeshift pillow.
The bleeding was controlled but thanks to the lessons provided by Luz he knew Lea would need stitches. Thank god for my sister's lessons in survival, Geiney thought. Geiney's objective was just to patch Lea and get him to Luz's aide. She could finish by stitching him up if Ailyn still hadn't responded.
Geiney muttered to himself, narrating where he thought he saw the next tool he needed. He found the medical tape and pulled on the end really hard which made him lose the grip on the tape. The tape fell to the ground and rolled into the dirt. Geiney cursed as he pulled the roll back and tried to wipe the dirt off to no avail. He angrily ripped out another section and sliced through it with his scissors.
"Hey," Lea reached out and cupped his hand over Geiney's, which made the boy stop, "It's okay." He soothed.
Geiney managed a small frustrated chuckle, "It's not okay...You're hurt, there's Skinstrifers after us. God knows how many there are and I just found out that one of my friends is actually the family pet! And my familiar!" Geiney ranted. He grabbed the clean piece of tape and stuck it on one of the top lengths of the gauze pad. He ran his fingers over the top of the tape, making sure it was perfectly placed on Lea's flesh.
"To make matters worse, Ailyn is nowhere to be found! She should have been here by now!"
Geiney looked up at Lea. This was the first time their gazes met since they were attacked. The other's eyes showed that he was in physical pain, but he was holding strong. Geiney couldn't fathom how he ended up in this situation. Geiney's emotions died down and he looked at Lea with sad eyes.
"Does it hurt?" Geiney gestured at the gash running on Lea's side; the one Geiney was trying to patch up. It looked worse than it actually was.
"Not really. That solution you gave me numbed my side. I still feel this throbbing dull pain. It's uncomfortable but I can manage. I'm a tough kitty." He winked at Geiney and for the first time Geiney smiled.
"I'm going to finish up, okay? I won't take too long. You're going to feel some pressure but it won't last. I promise."
Lea nodded. Geiney continued to place tape over the lengths of the gauze. When he was done he made sure that the tape covered the edge of the gauze pad completely. He noticed some blotches of blood already. This would be a temporary fix until they could get to Luz.
That is if Ailyn hadn't showed up yet. He was confident his sister would be able to help. Geiney wouldn't know what to do if his sisters couldn't help. He trailed off thinking where the nearest hospital was.
When Geiney was done patching up the other smaller injuries, he gave a small nod to Lea. Geiney took off his jacket and covered the injured male's bare chest.
Lea murmured his thanks before snuggling into the jacket. Geiney grabbed his water bottle from his bag but then realized there were only a few drops left. Geiney turned and rummaged through the med-kit until he found a tablet packet labeled Iodine and another that read Vitamin C.
He instructed Lea to stay there while he went and refilled the water in the stream. When Geiney came back he bit the package open and popped in the quarter-sized tablet. The tablet began to dissolve immediately. Geiney closed the lid and shook the bottle well. Afterwards he opened the other packet and popped in two orange colored tablets.
"What's that for?" Lea inquired.
"The first tablet purifies the water from the river. It releases iodine into the water which kills most pathogens. The second tablet is Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin C. That just makes the water taste better and it's better to have it in your system what with your injuries." Geiney explained like it was second nature.
"You're one smart cookie." Lea chuckled.
Geiney shook his head, grinning. "My sister. Because she went to medical school, Luz taught me how to manage a bleeding victim. In case I ever ended up without a Whitelighter. I have her to thank for that. I don't know what I would have done if she hadn't taught me."
"I'll thank her, too." Lea smiled.
Geiney handed the bottle to Lea and instructed him to drink. Lea tipped the bottle to his lips and began drinking.
Silence lingered while Geiney picked up the supplies and stuffed everything back into his bag. With Lea patched up, all they needed to do now was journey the rest of the way back without getting attacked. Geiney subconsciously patted his own injuries. Geiney's injuries were still fresh with blood. They thankfully weren't as severe. Several had clotted already enough to where the blood flow had stopped while the last few scrapes still bled a tiny bit down his arms and legs.
"Finish the water." Geiney instructed, "You're gonna need it once we start the trek back. The Vitamin C along with the patches should last you long enough to get to my sister. I just wish I knew where Ailyn was."
Lea swirled the drink in his hand and drank. Geiney watched him; he knelt in front of the injured anthro.
"So," Geiney started, not sure what to ask, "How did you become my familiar?"
"Because you cast a spell, dummy." Lea answered, "The spell called out to me. I was coming to see you anyways when I felt the sensation of a pull. So I went to your house and found you asking if I was your familiar."
"The spell actually called out to you?"
Lea nodded.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"Because I wasn't sure if I should. The spell you cast was meant for me to protect you. I didn't want to make you think of me any different than your familiar. Besides, if I told you then we would have a jeopardizing relationship because you would try to protect me, right?"
Geiney shook his head, his eyes glossing over, a warm sting of tears in his eyes, "Because that clearly stopped me. I still failed to protect you."
"Hey, I'm the one who should be protecting you, remember? That's what a familiar is. A protector and guide to their charge. I thought you read your spell book?"
Geiney paused, "Wait. You said you were coming to see me that day I cast the spell. Why?"
"I was fascinated with you, I guess. It turned out I was right." Lea's eyes widened as he had slipped up, "I mean, it wasn't like I meant to spy on you or something. But then the spell called out to me and then I was in your house and I couldn't leave things as they were. I was forced to be your familiar whether I liked it or not. And I had to stay because my cover would—"
"Wait! We showered together!?" Geiney realized. Geiney admittedly was too lazy to give Jasper a bath in his own time so he would bring the cat inside with him to give him a bath, killing two birds with one stone.
Lea blushed and looked away. Geiney followed suit, feeling somewhat betrayed. Lea finally looked over and saw the young man twiddling his thumbs to pad the silence out.
"I mean, you have a handsome body..." Lea commented.
"Lea!" Geiney squeaked.
"Those jocks at school have nothing on you."
"Lea." Geiney hid his face in his hands. "Don't."
"I've seen them naked at school. There ain't nothing to brag home about." He shrugged.
"Oh, my god! Lea!" Geiney shouted, muffled by his hands.
Lea laughed despite all the pain for a moment. He then groaned in pain and Geiney shook off his embarrassment.
Geiney looked around, "Okay, respite is over. Can you stand?"
Lea looked up at Geiney who stood over him and nodded.
With some help, Geiney managed to support Lea with his own body. Lea leaned into Geiney, struggling to maintain his upright position. Geiney wrapped one arm around Lea's waist while he draped Lea's arm around his shoulder.
"These creatures are going to be a nuisance if we're not careful. I don't think I can fight another horde like the last one. There were so many..."
Geiney looked around and started the trek with a careful step. Lea followed his lead.
"I'm a cat remember? I'll lend you my ears. I can hear five times further away than you." They took a few steps. "We're clear for at least a half mile." He groaned.
"Then let's get to the end of the trail. No use going backwards if those things are waiting for us the way we came. Not that we'll be able to make it up the steep hill. Might as well follow the river and see where it leads us."
"Stay in between the river and the trail. I think there's a break where we can go back to camp that way."
"How do you know that?" Geiney asked.
"I studied your map in cat form..."
Geiney paused as he observed how far he'd have to drag Lea. "How about we take a rest first? I don't want your wounds to reopen."
Lea sniffed the air. "Nothing's nearby. I sure could use a cat nap."
"At least you're not feeling that bad if you can make jokes like that." Geiney breathed for a moment as he felt a small sense of normality.
"Hey, look!" Luz pointed at the disturbed trail with her flashlight. By the time the sisters had arrived at the approximate radio location, it had grown dark. The ground looked like someone fired a cannon ball over and over. Luz knelt down to examine the dirt.
"Geiney was here."
"Yeah. But where is he?" Sara looked around. She pointed her light around her. The tall brush was disturbed in some places. She had noticed the tall brush disturbed a short distance back. She swept the light back and forth trying to decipher what exactly happened with Geiney.
"I have a feeling they were running for a while. The distance from here to the pointed rock formation has to be at least a thousand feet." Sara deduced, "The tall brush was disturbed from the rock formation down to here. But if you look over there," she pointed further down the dirt path. "That path remains undisturbed."
"The trail ends here..." Luz confirmed.
Sara turned to the most disturbed wall of brush. She examined the V shaped opening and pushed some brush aside.
"It's also possible he went down this way." Sara frowned.
"But the maps show that's a ravine. Geiney would've fallen down a steep side. He could be hurt..."
"Or he used it to get away from those things. This brings up an interesting question. Where are the creatures he panicked about?" We saw nothing on the way and we see nothing now."
Luz dismissed the thought of an elaborate prank on Geiney's part immediately. "He wouldn't make that up though. There was panic in his voice when he radioed us. He was under attack for sure." She took out the neatly folded map from her pocket and opened it up. She set the map on the ground and used a couple of nearby rocks to weigh down the corners. Sara walked over and shined down her light at the map.
"Okay, we're approximately here." Luz pointed at a spot on the map one finger length from the rock formation. "If he went down the ravine, the river flows with the trail. But the next opening would have to be..." She scanned the map carefully. Sara leaned in closer, taking in the lines of the map. There was a gap where the trail and the ravine met.
"There. It's about four miles down. The ravine ends and you can access the river from that opening. It's near the end of the trail. He would only have to walk a short distance to go back to the campsite."
"Then let's go find our baby brother." Sara cracked her knuckles, preparing for a fight if need be. The two siblings sprinted back in the direction of the campsite, hoping no one would awaken during their swift journey through the trail.
"There hasn't been any sign of the Skinstrifers." Lea notified his partner as they slowly made their way upwards. They were climbing up a hill that would connect to the end of the trail. In a few hundred feet they should be seeing the parking lot entrance, according to Lea's memory.
Geiney's mind was preoccupied with Lea. He had stopped being chatty a while ago and it was obvious he fought to stay awake. Lea's inability to walk after a certain point had made progress deathly slow. Geiney's anxiety rose every second they didn't make it back. Was the campsite still even intact? What if those monsters had attacked it by now? What if his sisters…?
No. Stupid. They could handle themselves. Right?
Lea bobbed his head, his eyes growing heavy.
"Hey, hey. Don't go to sleep, yet." There was slight panic in Geiney's voice, "Come on. We're almost there. You can't fall asleep on me just yet."
"But I'm so tired..." Lea complained.
"No! If you fall asleep I'm gonna have to carry you! I don't have the energy to do that!" Geiney whined.
Lea gave a weak chuckle, "We could sleep together." Suddenly his ears twitched and his head lifted up slightly. "There's something coming Geiney." Lea informed.
Geiney grunted angrily, "Why now!?" He led Lea to a nearby tree and made the boy sit down on the ground.
"Stay here..." He whispered.
"Like I can go anywhere..." Lea whimpered.
Geiney readied himself, crouched on the side of the tree away from the trail. When the rapid footsteps approached, Geiney lunged.
Sara evaded the take down and tripped Geiney.
Luz sighed, "Geiney!"
Geiney turned himself around and saw his two sisters standing there. He couldn't risk it, though.
Geiney summoned a wind ball from the ground and raised it. Luz and Sara gave questioning stares at Geiney.
"Your code names." He said calmly.
"Uh, Geiney? It's us. Your sisters." Luz took a step forward.
Geiney readied himself with the full intent to harm, "I said your code names, damn it!" He demanded.
There was a moment of awkward silence. Geiney's glare only hardened.
"Med Kinetic."
"Brute Force."
Geiney sighed in utter relief, "North Wind."
"...Hello Kitty..." Lea moaned.
Still not satisfied, Geiney pushed the wind towards his sisters. As the breeze moved their clothes and hair about and Luz reacted as if something got into her eye, Geiney finally sensed he was safe.
Geiney got up and went straight to the tree.
"I need Luz to patch him up."
The curious glances of his sisters grew when Geiney immerged from the tree holding an injured Lea.
"What is he doing here?" Sara asked.
"I'll explain at the tent. We have got to get him patched up. Ailyn's not listening to my calls."
Like an expert, Luz threaded the suture string to the curved needle and began to clean the wound. By this time Lea was near unconscious. The battle, the injury, the hike, and the loss of blood left Lea exhausted beyond his belief. Luz numbed his side and began working on the gash.
"Let me get this straight," Sara began, "The spell you cast weeks ago led Lea to the house where you found him in cat form. The spell actually worked and called out to him so he becomes your familiar."
"Without my knowledge." Geiney wanted to stress this wasn't his intention lest his sisters think ill of him.
"Skip to today, the two of you go on a hike where you get attacked by these weird creatures-"
"Skinstrifers." Geiney corrected.
"We don't know that for sure. You were listening to a scary story told by our uncle." Sara explained.
"I know what I saw." The glaring look from Geiney told Sara to drop the subject.
"Alright. These 'Skinstrifers' attack you, Lea is injured and both of you fall in to the ravine below. Because of the injuries 'Jasper' received from the fight, Lea dropped his animal form and turned back into a human. It is now that you understand Jasper was actually Lea protecting you as his familiar. Did I leave anything out?"
"Nope."
"We did not see any Skinstrifers on the way here." Luz reminded.
"Right. That still leaves the question 'Where are they?' We found your battle scars around the place, but that's it." Sara trailed off.
"They couldn't have disappeared." Geiney said.
"Unless someone picked them up. Clean up the mess." Luz thought aloud. She wielded the suture needle like she had been sewing up wounds her entire life.
"Why would they do that, though?" Geiney asked.
"Perhaps it's to make it harder to believe you." Sara answered; to her it was the only possible option that made sense. This was predicated on believing Geiney, to which she had no reason not to.
"Whatever the case, we now have Skinstrifers to worry about." Geiney sighed.
"All done." Luz announced. Geiney glanced at Lea's sleeping form. He had a pained expression through his closed eyes. He lay curled up on one side. Luz draped a blanket over the boy and placed the back of her hand on his forehead. She took a mental note of his temperature.
"He'll survive. But we better get Ailyn to heal his injuries. They're not life threatening but they can be at risk of infection." She washed her hands with the small bowl of water that they kept nearby for Lea's surgery.
"I'll try to contact her tonight. Hopefully she won't wait until morning." Luz grabbed some of the materials and turned to her brother. She lifted his shirt over his head and began cleaning the wounds off of his side and any cuts or scrapes on his face.
Sara's scowl softened when she saw the concerned look on Geiney's face. "He's going to be alright, you know." She tried to comfort him.
"Maybe if I was stronger, this wouldn't have happened."
The pause that followed covered the three siblings like a dense fog of unease. Even Luz pulled back to study his face.
"You did well, Geiney. Fighting multiple opponents like that almost alone isn't easy. We're just glad both of you are safe."
"I'm safe. Look at him!" Geiney spat. His glare darkened. "I should have protected him!" Geiney grumbled.
Sara placed a firm hand on his bare shoulder. "You did your best. We don't survive every battle unscathed. But just know that there wasn't anything else you could do. You fought well and did what you could. You both came out alive. That's enough for us."
Luz spent the next ten minutes cleaning the minor injuries Geiney received during the fight. Normally a crybaby, Geiney didn't feel the sting of the alcohol or the burning sensation left by the cleaning agents. He had calmed down but he couldn't feel anything other than doubt. He could've done more. He should've done more...
"All done. I'll go contact Ailyn. Sara, come with me." Luz motioned with her head. Sara got the hint and left the tent with her sister. Geiney was left wearing just his shorts. He had bandages covering his body; an art piece depicting the grim situation pressed upon him. He knelt down next to Lea and watched him. His eyes glossed over at the way Lea looked; beaten and bloody. The stitches were well sown and were lined up evenly, looking as if a machine had done the work.
Geiney reached out and moved some of Lea's hair out of the way.
"I'm sorry..." He whispered more to himself. Geiney grabbed his blanket from the corner of the tent and wrapped it around himself. He lay next to Lea and placed an arm around him.
Geiney thought about the whole event and replayed his sisters' words. They were right in the end.
"It was you who saved me." Geiney told the sleeping boy. "I swear I'm going to try harder to keep you safe. I can't let you down again, Lea."
Lea moaned in slight pain and curled himself deeper into a ball. Geiney placed a warm hand on Lea's cheek and after a moment, Lea calmed down.
"Ailyn... Where are you?" Geiney whispered. Geiney closed his eyes, the scent of rubbing alcohol, and antiseptic floated to his nose.
…
With Lea patched up, the next morning came way too fast for Geiney. His sisters were already up and helping cook for the rest of the family. It was nearly noon when Geiney finally woke up. He was met by Lea's bright eyes. Lea looked away, blushing.
"Good morning, Geiney." He muttered.
"Morning." Geiney said, groggily. He yawned. He noticed Lea's stare was somehow different; almost content.
"Did Ailyn come heal you?"
"No. Luz kept checking in on us, though."
"I was worried about you." Geiney admitted.
"I was more worried about you." Lea replied.
"I'm glad to know you're safe now. But we have Skinstrifers to worry about. We have to be careful today."
Lea nodded, "We should be fine. I'll be on the lookout. I'll be in cat form today, so I'll always be near you."
"I'll be watching over you this time."
Lea laughed a little, "Is that why you're cuddling me?" Lea teased. It was then that Geiney realized how close he actually was to Lea. He had an arm draped over Lea's bare torso, and Lea had his hand over Geiney's exposed chest.
Geiney blushed and squeaked at how he ended up in such a predicament.
"I mean... You're warm?"
"And you smell good." Lea smiled. Geiney suddenly felt like was going to die of embarrassment.
"Well hello, Kiddo!" What took you so long to get up?" Uncle Felix asked him.
"I uh, felt really tired so I wanted to sleep in." Geiney gave his uncle the half-truth.
"What time did you get in last night?" His uncle asked him.
"Really late. I got lost and I had a hard time finding my way back."
Uncle Felix suddenly looked worried, "Are you okay? Damn it, I shouldn't have left you alone."
"No, no. It's okay, uncle Felix. My sisters found me on the way back. Apparently, I wasn't too far from the end of the trail." Hoping his technical truths would sate Felix's curiosity, Geiney beamed; the smile didn't quite feel right on his face though.
Felix looked Geiney over, "And you are sure you're okay?"
"Completely fine, now." Geiney laughed, "You worry too much, uncle Felix."
"Gotta keep an eye out for my favorite nephew." He gave Geiney a hug.
"Why don't you talk with the rest of the family? Maybe you'll find something in common with the lot of them." Felix decided to push Geiney to socialize after the hard night he must have had.
"Will do!"
"Hey, there's the sleepy head!" Uncle Felix pointed at Geiney with a beer can in his hand.
"Hi, uncle Felix. Hi, aunt Melinda!" Geiney greeted. 'Jasper' meowed.
"Hey, there, kiddo." Aunt Melinda greeted him.
"How's it going?" Geiney asked as he sat at an unoccupied green collapsible lawn chair.
"Here's a Coke." Uncle Felix handed the boy a cold Coke can. Geiney thanked the man and snapped the tab open, taking a sip.
"We heard you went camping and got lost." Aunt Melinda started the conversation.
Geiney nervously laughed, "Yeah, I did. I wanted to keep hiking. Uncle Greg wasn't feeling too well and headed back. In the end, I wasn't too far off the end of the trail anyways. My sisters found me."
"Well, that's good. You guys arrived late last night. I was started to think you guys hadn't come back at all." Uncle Felix continued.
"No, I'm all good." Geiney smiled.
"Thank goodness you're safe. We would have gathered everyone to come looking for you if you hadn't come back." Aunt Melinda said.
"With that body? You wouldn't make it five steps. You'd be better as radio control." Uncle Felix joked. Geiney's eyes widened. Aunt Melinda elbowed him in the ribs. He groaned from the pain.
"What was that? You couldn't even catch your nephew and he's a toddler. All he does is crawl." She turned to Geiney, "You should've seen him. This old man was all out of breath looking like this," She demonstrated by jogging weakly and over exaggerating her breathing. Uncle Felix laughed and shook his head no.
"You can't justify that! Your back was turned when he ran around the yard like twenty times. You're just sitting there gossiping with the other giant mothers. You guys could be the fat golden girls." Uncle Felix laughed heartily.
Geiney tried to hide his laughter by petting Lea and hiding his face.
"Uh huh. Fat golden girls? You wanna join. 'Cuz you got the boobs and the stomach for that." She swatted him on the stomach; the action caused his belly to jiggle. Geiney couldn't hold back his laughter.
"This isn't fat! It's muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. That's why I weigh two hundred." He laughed triumphantly, playfully punching himself in the chin.
"Call it what you want, honey," She exaggerated, "but when your stomach ripples like the Pacific Ocean that is called fat."
"And the fault is yours. Because you always feed me like I'm going hungry." He tried to defend herself and they began talking over one another. Geiney focused on his uncle's words. "I tried to tell you, 'No, I'm not hungry'. But what do you do? Feed me anyways. I'm fat because of you."
There was a moment of silence.
"Fine then." Aunt Melinda turned her back towards him, crossed her arms over her chest and held a devilish grin on her face. "I'll stop feeding you then. You can cook by yourself, right?"
Uncle Felix's eyes widened in realization; he did not want to go through life without her cooking. He stuttered finding the right words to say.
"I mean, it's not all bad." He flinched at his own words, "It's not bad at all. I'm just saying if I'm not hungry, then I'm not hungry"
"Fine then. Cook for yourself." She winked at Geiney. Uncle Felix dramatically got on his hands and knees.
"Don't do this to me, sweetie! I'm not worthy to be your husband. You are a wonderful cook! Please don't stop cooking."
She laughed triumphant, "Give me a beer and I'll think it over."
Obediently he opened the drink cooler nearby, pulled out a beer, snapped the tab open, and handed the beer over to her.
"Alright. You are forgiven."
"I still get to eat!" He ecstatically cried.
"Nah, you cook by yourself when we get home."
Uncle Greg looked broken and his eye twitched. Geiney looked away from his poor uncle's misfortune...
…
Varland eyed the cutesy little paranormal team wandering the streets of Old Valentine. Chief Robert had brought them out this far and it was time.
Dropping to the ground, Varland targeted the easiest prey.
…
Setzer wandered the alleyways with a bored expression on his face. Angela was at his side, happily chirping along to the sounds of the small birds inhabiting the abandoned buildings. "I'm booooored! When will something interesting happen to us!?"
"Would ya quit complaining already? If nothing happens, it's good, right?"
"What about hazard pay!? We'll get paid more if we do more, right!?" Setzer paused. "I'm certain we'll be put to use before the day's out."
Angela glanced down the alleys at the intersection they had reached. "Honestly, what could happen in the abandoned part of the old town with high crime rates?" When Setzer gave her a dead pan look that chilled her bones, she paused. "Okay, I know, but supernatural, not drug lord related."
"Why are we doing this!?" A shout from further ahead startled them both.
Gunshots grabbed Angela's attention. Turning to Setzer she grinned. "Another correct prediction, huh? Let's get that hazard pay!"
Setzer hesitates in the intersection. "But I don't have a bulletproof veeeest!" He gets dragged along by Angela, shouting at the top of his lungs into what he suspects is a total warzone.
…
Ruby stalked through the empty streets. "I heard a dealer's been spotted around here earlier."
"Your fun idea for a follow-up to a diner date is to rough up gangsters?" Luke sounded completely out of the loop. "I get that I used to run around fightin' demons here, but… I mean, using powers on people's a bit different."
"I don't consider drug mules that shoot up small towns for street cred people." Ruby's dark red eyes glowed in her furious response and Luke looked away, his face a bit redder than it was before.
Under his breath, Luke muttered something along the lines of 'hot and feisty' and followed along silently.
Noticing small movements in the darkest alley she had found yet, Ruby knocked the wind out of Luke as she slammed him into a brick wall, dropping him to the ground. "Stay down and quiet!"
Luke cried into his hands as he rubbed his aching stomach. "Christ, woman…"
"What was that!?" Gunfire erupted in their direction from the startled dealer.
"I told ya to shut yer trap!" Ruby jumped to her feet and sprinted forward, dodging one bullet and sliding underneath the next three before delivering a hard upward kick to the gunman's face. The buyer stepped back, his police badge falling to the ground.
"We got a cop!" As the gunman shouted and cradled his broken nose, several doors opened up and armed men from every doorway, all dressed in loose clothes or burglary masks stepped out, wielding crowbars, knives, handguns, and even one giant man with a machete.
The machete man shouted out over the rest of them. "Kill the both of 'em!"
The cop stood and took point in front of Ruby, "Please run, young lady. I have this."
Luke slinked over stealthily, picking up his dropped wallet and badge. Aaron Burns, huh?
…
"So where did Matthias meet you?" Kage decided to open up a conversation with Arris over the awkward quiet of the west side of Old Valentine.
Arris snorted and continued onward.
Kage sighed. "Not much of a conversationalist, huh? You sure walk on two legs like a champ."
"And you've learned to bathe. Impressive." Arris's retort surprised Kage enough. "Are you watching our rear?"
"Feels like you should be doing that considering that…" The joke about horse ends fell on his lips after Arris delivered a hard glare. "I just like to know my coworkers."
Arris glanced down an empty alleyway and into a small empty lot at the center. "Check that spot out, would you?"
…
Officer Burns moved towards the nearest of the attackers, a burly man wielding a crowbar, and went to draw his gun. A guy from the right quickly stepped in and slammed the officer in the side with a baseball bat, sending him sprawling.
Ruby grinned and ran forward, vaulting over the bat swinger and delivering a hard kick directly into the burly man's chest. His entire chest caved in a little and he spat blood as he dropped backwards. Gripping the crowbar, Ruby pulled the second guy forward and headbutted him. He dropped to the ground and Ruby curbstomped him with her heels to the temple.
Luke ran out when one of the gunmen took aim and gripped his gun arm, twisting it back and snapping it at the joint before kicking the gun to the officer and slamming the disarmed man headfirst into the wall of the alley.
"See, like that!" Ruby excitedly quipped before running at two of the other gunmen, ducking underneath them as they fired on each other, one striking the other in the shoulder before getting his gun hand shot. With flourish, Ruby spun upwards, using her legs to swing the two men at the ground with one wide arcing motion, the cracks resonating loudly.
The last gunmen raised his handgun and aimed for Ruby's back but a bullet rippled through his arm. Officer Burns shouted for the man to drop his weapon. The man turned on Burns and fired and only just missed when Luke knocked Burns down before the bullet shattered his clavicle.
Stumbling back into the wall, Luke gripped at the bullet and pulled it out, screaming as it tore through skin and pieces of bone. "Gotta shield my body more, huh?" Jumping forward, Luke sprinted for the frightened shooter.
The next two bullets would have met their mark if a shine didn't appear over the young man's body and stopped them dead in their tracks. Time to look cool-Ah shit!
The gunmen threw the gun itself, clocking Luke in the head. Luke shouted in pain and grabbed his forehead while Ruby calmly choke slammed the gunmen to the ground.
One of the two knife-wielders charged Burns from behind but Setzer of all people tackled him to the ground, hitting his head on the ground and nearly blacking out from the pain.
Before his attacker could retaliate, a swift kick from Angela sent him flying into the blade of the other drug dealer. As he shouted and let go, watching his partner slink to the ground, Angela leapt over and, gripping his shoulders with her bird legs, flipped him over her midair before turning them back to normal feet and watching the momentum push the man through a second-story window, the loud crash and glass shards shooting inwards an amusing sight.
The machete leader watched his entire gang get effortlessly destroyed and couldn't find a curse word to match the sensation he had been forced to endure. Instead he jumped forward, hoping to strike the girl who started the massive defeat in the head with the machete.
"Attackin' a lass without her attention's the worst sin a man could 'ave." A strange voice came from the young man as he grabbed the machete with his bare hand, the blood leaking from his palm. With enough force, the machete shattered, the steel pieces falling to the ground. "You had one chance." With his eyes a gleaming red, the last thing the boss thought before his body was torn asunder was the overwhelming fear of this inhuman monster.
Wiping the blood off of his arm, Luke turned to face Ruby. She was giving him a knowing yet indiscernible expression. "I uh… Well, he sort of pissed me off, so I…"
Officer Burns struggled not to puke as he witnessed the end of the boss to the little gang he'd been casing for months now. "Well, Albert Gotten, looks like your organ-dealing days are done." Without another word, Burns began radioing for backup.
"Well, thanks for the assist, I guess?" Luke approached the officer but the gun drawn immediately stopped his stride. "Hey, I got dragged into this by that one."
"I didn't know an officer was on-duty." Ruby mumbled with a huffy glare directed squarely at her date.
Burns holstered his weapon reluctantly. "Identification, you two?"
Luke sighed. "The first time I've run into cops in this part of town had to be today of all days?"
Angela walked over. "Excuse me, Officer. Angela Bainston, from the special branch Chief Robert just contracted for integration into your ranks. I know the girl in question. Her dad's a member of our branch. I can contact him."
"You mean the Bloodworth kid? This isn't the first time she's been found involving herself in scuffles out here, then?"
"Far from it. As for the guy, you can have him."
"What!?" Luke exclaimed from behind Ruby. "I'm too pretty for prison!"
Ruby said nothing, instead giving him a suspicious glare. "He's only here because of me, Angela. I'll take responsibility for him."
"In that case, I suppose it'll be fine. I guess I have to thank you both. Well, all of you really. I guess I was in over my head today." Glancing around at all the guys they just straight up beat the shit out of, Burns faced Ruby. "Ever considered police work?"
Ruby blushed slightly. "U-uh, no. Why?"
Burns folded his arms. "That was some impressive work. Self-defense like that isn't what I'd expect from young people like you."
Luke pulled Angela aside for a moment. "Did uh… Did he see the bullet thing?"
"Oh, your magic? I doubt it. He'd have mentioned it by now, don't you think?" Angela glanced over as Ruby tried to hide from Burns' endless interrogation by standing behind the nearly-concussed Setzer.
"So you guys are… Well, I saw your foot trick." Luke realized how awkward that might have sounded and glanced down at his feet. "What's he do?"
Angela noticed Setzer pull out tarot cards and try to convince Ruby to let him read her future as an officer while Burns watched on with an amused face, both at his enthusiasm and her panicked attempts to politely turn him down and faced Luke. "His best."
…
Kage quietly exited the small spot in the center of the alleyway with a confident smirk. "I ain't found shit."
Arris thanked his plan for getting some measure of quiet. As he slowly exhaled, he smelled something in the air. "Kage, they're here!"
"You can smell me?" Varland dropped down in front of the man as he shifted into his centaur form. "Don't go exposing the magical world so flippantly, beast."
"Say your prayers." Arris crafted a bow out of the wind around them, forming several arrows at his side of ice condensating from the water molecules in the air. "Try this!" Quickly nocking his bow, Arris unleashed the first bolt.
Varland swung upwards with a shield made from fire magic, watching the ice melt away. "Nice try!"
Kage surprised the demon by sprinting forward and slinging his foot directly into Varland's chest, winding the demon and sending him flying. Varland stood his ground and landed on his feet before throwing his shield at Kage, singing the man's hair as it sliced through the top of his shoulder. As Kage wiped the burnt hairs and fabric off the side of his arm, his grin widened. "You wanna play with me!?" The last word corrupted at the end as his entire body exploded in fur and energy.
Varland eyed the kitsune looming before him and laughed. "The convention isn't in this town, I'm afraid. Time to put the animals to sleep!"
…
"Dad created a paranormal team for the chief?" Ruby's wide eyes told Angela everything. "I mean, I know he's talked about joining the force before, but I always thought he was kidding."
Angela shrugged. "Guess he was bored living off his inheritance and interest money. Most people want to work after they retire for a while, ya know?"
"Bah, yeah right! The second I retire, every day's on vacation, yes!" Setzer countered her assertion with little actual thought. "I mean, it's not like I have anyone to live for yet… But the cards tell me I'll find someone soon!"
"Using tarot cards for your love life is a bit… sad, don't you think? Where's the surprise of just running into the rest of your life?" Angela turned to face Ruby and Luke. "Do either of you know what I'm talking about?"
Luke grinned sheepishly. "I mean, maybe?"
"Are you serious right now? I didn't take you for such a hopeless romantic." Ruby rolled her eyes.
"I wouldn't say I'm hopeless." Luke looked away. "If my dad found someone he was happy to die loving, I've got a shot, don't I?"
Ruby wanted to respond but the silence that grew became too much for her to break.
Setzer walked over and clapped Luke's shoulder. "Sounds nice! Where's the lucky girl now!? The woman of his dreams must be enchanting indeed!"
Luke couldn't answer. "I… She's been gone a week or two now."
"Well, that's weird. It's not like she abandoned you, right?"
Angela noticed the downcast look in Luke's eyes. "Setzer."
Setzer continued unphased. "I mean, what kind of woman would have her own husband die and not spend the time after with her own kid!?"
"Setzer!"
"Imagine how distraught her son would be if she died before they could reconnect! The tragedy of it all would break even the strongest of hearts!"
"Shut up already!" Angela slammed her foot into Setzer's ankle, knocking him prone.
"Ah! My one weakness!"
Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Your Achilles ankle?"
"Who? No! Pain!" Setzer curled into a ball and tried to rub the ankle until it felt better while Luke solemnly stood in an even worse silence than before.
Ignoring them, Angela rested a hand on Luke's shoulder. "I'm sorry. I know how awkward family life gets when tragedy happens. You never know how they'll handle it."
Setzer glanced down and noticed the watch he wore was blinking. "Angela, we're needed."
"Oh, I wouldn't worry too much." Angela, Ruby, Setzer, and Luke all turned to face Varland as he dropped the unconscious Kage to the dirt. His clothes were torn and he was covered in scratches and burns. "I put the mangy mutt down and took a trip to the glue factory. Now it's your… Oh, what the hell are you two doing here!?"
Luke cracked his knuckles. "A Roseblood Gang member here of all places? What are you after!?"
Varland snarled. "I came to wipe this pitiable pathetic puny paranormal parade clear off the face of this Earth. Nothing pisses me off more than people like that Chief thinking they can interfere in matters they should know nothing about!"
With a wave of his hand, fire erupted forth. Setzer jumped back and reached for his tarot cards. With a small gesture, the fire burned through a rope holding a flower pot. The pot crashed into Setzer's exposed head, knocking him out cleanly and covering his box of cards in dirt and dead lilies.
Angela frowned and quickly transformed into her full avian form, taking to the sky. With her feet, she slowly formed a ball of wind and shot it forth. It exploded into several razor-sharp blades on contact with Varland's fire, putting it out and shredding his right arm.
"You little sneak!" Varland jumped above her and froze the water in the air before pushing it downwards. Angela burst through the ice and craned her body up to strike Varland's rear with her outstretched leg, sending him falling.
Creating a slide of ice, Varland slid downwards and opened fire literally over Ruby and Luke's position.
"You dick!" Ruby stomped the ground hard enough for cracks to appear and jumped back, shooting electricity into the air. The lightning coiled around the fire and forced it into Varland. Unable to dodge, Varland redirected the power back.
Luke waved his hand to create a small shimmer in the air. With a few seconds, he retrieved his weapon of choice for this bout. Removing a deck of cards and a familiar whip, Luke pocketed the cards and stretched his arm before whipping the air.
A pocket of purple energy surged forth, destroying Varland's redirected attack and cutting into him. As the corrosive energy, forged from a magical toxin Barath had imbued the weapon with, the demon could feel his healing energy being mitigated to uselessness.
"Using a weapon made from the soul of an Eight of Blades member, huh? Would be more effective if the soul in question was subservient to you."
Luke hesitated. Varland knew he'd done the mental training then? Luke was far from finished. Only when he was done could he truly begin the witch training Ailyn had started him on.
While distracted just long enough, Angela struck from above, plowing her foot into Varland's neck and sending him plummeting. Unable to correct his descent, he focused on clearing the landing zone by freezing the ground below.
Ruby jumped upwards with fire in her eyes. "You wanna interrupt my date that badly!?" With a hard right, Ruby destroyed Varland's equilibrium and sent him cascading into a rooftop with a magically-infused punch that saw him bounce off of one rooftop only to crash into the next building, slamming hard into the ground below.
Barely able to stand, Varland shimmered out of the area, having learned what Miria already had.
Don't stand in her way without backup.
…
"So you're embarrassing the rest of us now too?" Miria was laughing as Varland struggled to force the healing his body had been unable to manage for so long. "Did you even try that hard?"
Varland glared at the ex-lover he had grown to loathe. "I managed to assess their abilities pretty well. Three of the four paranormal team members went down. I just didn't expect the two kids to show when they did."
Lily jumped over. "Did you even kill one?"
"No, there was no need. The first two went down pretty easily and the third was pathetic even by demon grunt standards. Just send the grunts after them."
"If they keep getting allies, we'll need more of our own. Veketh's little side gig might be necessary now." Lily clicked her tongue. "The Roseblood Gang has sure been disappointing. Jebediah, Arvic, Ariel, Darren… Over half of you have been taken out without much effort on their part."
Miria challenged her authority. "You're not even a fighter. You're off killing randoms in the bed sheets off the streets."
Lily grinned proudly. "Of course! I'm getting ready to raise my own horde of minions! You just don't understand love magic, huh, kid?"
"I'm no child, wench!" Miria began charging a fireball in her free hand. "I'm over a hundred years into the harshest training you couldn't even comprehend!"
Varland offhandedly added. "And you sure do look it."
Grabbing his collar, Miria tossed Varland to the ground and stepped on his ankle hard. "Quiet!" Rearing back on Lily, Miria raised her hand again. "I didn't get this far 'cause my boss got a nice deal with some master of illusions like yours did! Maybe I should just take you down myself!"
Lily shook her head. "You think it's worth dying to find out?" Shaking her head, Lily turned to the doorway behind her. "Don't worry about them, hun. They're just blowhards."
The girl standing behind Lily looked away from her. She was pale white; she was clearly malnourished. Her slender figure was frail and her eyes were lacking in color. Her red hair was long and ragged; every part of her body that was visible was covered in bruises or other marks.
"What on Earth happened to her…?" Varland found himself disgusted at the sight. "No, really…"
"She's from a bad family in Old Valentine. I found her half-dead in the streets; decided she'd make a fine apprentice." Lily reached over towards the girl. Though she recoiled, she stood still after, allowing Lily to run a hand through her hair. "Poor thing. I think we'll be visiting her family tonight. Won't we? What's your name anyways?"
The girl whispered to Lily so lightly she had to lean in to hear. After a gesture to repeat herself, she did so with some force. "S-Sara…"
Lily shook her head. "I don't know what got you two into this kinda life." Facing her companions, Lily lowered the guarded stance she always had. "I won't understand that much but… Let's just say I'm not that new to the game. I was there for the heyday of this country. It's full of shit. I hated bein' property of that jackass husband of mine. What I got for killing him? What I was handed for protectin' my kids from their beatings!? Slap on the wrist. They thought it was miraculous I could even manage to kill that brute mine worker."
Sara looked up over at Lily with an empty stare. She was acknowledging the words on some level but they just couldn't seem to reach just yet.
"So I did it again. I found some guy willin' to cheat. I dated him, took him to a nice hotel… and I carved him like a jack-o-lantern. Ended up making a name for myself you know? It was pretty easy getting away with it back then. Female killers, you see, they mostly use poison. When they saw my crimes; why, it had to be a man."
Varland folded his arms. "That's rough. We're just freedom fighters."
"What freedom are you after?" Miria growled at him. "The world is ours and here we are making bullshit contracts because some jackass signed us all up. Why are we still here!?"
"I won't leave this alone after losing them." Varland decisively answered. "Jebediah, Arvic, Darren… I won't leave their memory to rot! I'll finish the job, kill that idiot son of Briggs, and save them from the blade!"
Lily watched the two bicker and shook her head. "We all have a reason to be demons, you know? I was found out and the victim choked me to near-death. I was lucky some demon was wandering the back roads when he found me. The first thing I did when I came back was finish the job."
"If you're some fighter for the downtrodden, why are you killing the targets you've been then, Little Miss Perfect!?" Miria once again put distrust on her associate.
"Killing a former partner's kid's family is low, even for trash like you." Lily stepped forward and shoved Miria into the wall, gripping her throat hard. "You aren't fighting for freedom. You two were garbage long before you played political games and got your team killed! Open your damn mouth when you're clean!"
Varland grabbed Lily's hand and ripped her hand off. "Don't you touch her like that."
Lily opened her mouth to argue further but stopped, moving her hand back. "Don't act like you're on good terms, either. You need to work together."
"So what's the plan with this kid then?" Varland tried to offset the tension in the air.
"She's going to learn what I did when I started out. She's dead to the world anyways. Who cares what happens to her now? Her own family said that. Who cares if this girl dies in the streets if she's the one who ran away?" Lily walked over to Sara and placed her hand on her shoulder. "Well I do."
Miria wanted to bite back one last time but in the end, she really couldn't try when Lily was so deadset on this. "Maybe don't damn her to our level then. It's not much of a second chance if you just go to hell in the end."
Lily eyed Miria and considered her words. "Well, I don't decide how far she goes or where. That's all her."
…
Kage rose to his feet and smiled at Angela as she helped him. "Thanks, kid. I didn't think our first target would be so damn powerful."
Angela smiled back and left him wobbling on his feet. "We had some help."
"Oh, these two?" Kage's fox ear twitched as he curiously sniffed in their direction. "Matty's kid?"
Ruby stepped back. "I'm sure my dad would kill you if he heard that nickname."
Kage laughed. "Doubtful. He came up with it."
"As a joke, I'll bet."
Luke watched the two silently, not wanting to get into more trouble.
"You… smell like a demon. Not exactly, but close." Kage hesitated to go further than that. "What's your story? Why are you even together today?"
Before either could answer tactfully, Setzer strolled up between them and grabbed them, pulling them in for a group hug. "They're a cute new couple, of course!"
Setzer's immediate fall to the ground precipitated by a hard elbow from Ruby ended his tirade before it really began. "Stop making it out to be so much. I literally was dared to do it. We're NOT a couple."
"Oh." Angela paused. "Um… That's…"
Luke waved his hand. "No, I got told already. It's… It's fine." Angela could tell it sure as hell wasn't but decided to leave it there. "I was just a normal guy but… I found this." Pulling out the absorbing Athame Silas had upgraded not too long ago, he twirled it in his fingers before nicking his thumb. "Ah, shit!"
"Where did you get that?" Ruby walked over and picked it up. "These markings are… familiar."
"Some scrub demon carried it around. He tried to kill Geiney, even. Well, we got jumped by another demon in an alley, Charlie and I… The rest is history." Luke slowly reached for the blade and after having been stumped by her own dubious memory, Ruby handed it back.
Arris walked over nursing a deep wound on his left side. He had bandaged it by now and reverted to his normal form. "So the decrease in demonic activity over the last months or so was you?"
Kage's eyes widened. "Ya know, I did notice them treadin' carefully even before Halloween. Did you really do all this?"
Luke tried to play it off. "They're mostly weaklings. Even absorbing them didn't do me favors. Until I learn the basics, I can't master anything. That's why I'm training with Geiney's Whitelighter."
"The Elders might grant you one if you stay the road to good." Angela added. "A few of my family have them and they're not even witches. I guess the oldest customs they have are starting to wear a little."
Arris's gruff voice cut through. "Considerin' how many witches have been killed lately, I won't doubt it. Seems the Elders are getting ready for another Magical War. Maybe even bigger than the ones from before, you know?"
Kage's ears raised high again. "You look into that stuff, Arris?"
"If things go badly, we'll all be dragged into that mess." Arris was wiser than he initially let on and Kage found himself impressed. "I joined this group in hopes of making ties I could call on in case of an emergency."
"You're trying to be a social butterfly then?" Setzer stood up. "I mean, I want recognition and experience in this world so…"
Luke pulled out the cards and handed them to Setzer. "Here. This deck belonged to a gambling fanatic. Just don't play around with them."
Arris raised an eyebrow. "You're handing a magic-infused deck to a normal guy?"
"I learned magic. Why can't a clairvoyant? Besides, he stopped being a civilian when you dragged him into this mess. Varland won't stop until we're all dead. Him, Miria, their boss…" Luke realized he said too much and sighed. "I don't know much more about them. I haven't run into them in a bit. I might know a location they hang out at but… Well, it's suicide to just charge it unnecessarily."
Kage decided to keep the mood going. "I think this will be fun. That's why I'm sticking it out. I get to work for the community, too!"
"What about you?" Ruby asked the quietest one there.
Angela blushed and hid her face behind her wings. "Um, it's just… I want to be useful to Chief Robert… He saved my life when I was young."
Setzer patted Angela on the head. "Aw, that's a cute bird."
Angela almost didn't hit him. When he made a joking bird noise, she kicked his shin and confirmed it was indeed his Achilles.
…
"How have you handled it so far?" Charlie looked up at Sherry, sitting across from him at the picnic table outside the high school. He had been lying across one side with headphones in when Sherry had nudged him multiple times. "This new life of yours?"
Charlie took out his headphones and placed his cracked-to-hell phone on the table. "What did you say?"
Sherry puffed up her cheeks. "Listen to your friends once in a while, jeez!"
"Sorry. I was listening to music."
"You're rude!" Sherry folded her arms and glared at him. "Your friends are right to bully you."
Charlie paused. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, I don't deserve what Luke does to me. And only half of what Geiney does."
Sherry rolled her eyes. "I was asking what you thought of this new life of yours. The world you've been introduced to has to be scary, right?"
"Yeah, it is. Shera thinks I can handle it pretty well though." Charlie smiled at the thought of her before hiding it behind a blank look. "I have so far."
"It's just that… You don't have to get involved." Sherry observed Charlie's body expressions and gauged her words reactively. "I'm glad you're in the know and we can share our concerns with you, really. If it wasn't for your quick thinking, none of us would be here. At least, as safe as we are right now."
Charlie shrugged off her compliment. "I just did what I had to."
Sherry's agreement came with hesitation. "Yeah, but not everyone does. I just… I'm afraid you'll get hurt. Unlike other witches, you and Luke have no magical families or roots to fall back on. In the end, outside of your friends, you're alone."
"I have you guys." Charlie quickly rebuked her. "Isn't that enough?"
"That's…" Sherry paused. "Yes, we do have a small community built to last now. But realistically, a major threat like the one we're risking facing now might just outdo us. If even one of us died, it would drastically affect our survival rate in the future."
Charlie thought about it. "If we lost Ruby or Shera… Could we manage?"
Sherry was thankful he saw reason. "Exactly. Lea is fine in a fight but he's not that experienced. I mean, I'm the worst out of the group, you know? I can't control my powers and my parents have to see me as a burden."
"I don't think so." Charlie tried to phrase what he felt succinctly. "I got involved in this because of our mutual friend and… He and I had rough times when we first met. He was an abrasive, selfish, thoughtless asshole."
"Really?" Sherry hadn't considered Luke that kind of person at all. "What changed?"
Charlie's pause left Sherry on the edge of the picnic table seat she was seemingly glued to. "He fell in love with someone. Long distance and all that. In the end, didn't work out. He made a pretty bad mistake and cut communication with 'em."
Sherry frowned, thinking of what that would be like. "Why would he ever do that?"
"Guess he made a mistake and they fought. He was scared, so he sort of… dropped off." Charlie knew Luke would be pissed if he knew he was talking about this. "After that, he began to change. Work things out with his friends. It was rough growing at first, let me tell ya. Even now, he's still an asshole to me at times."
"What made you stick by him?" Sherry asked, genuinely surprised at how deep their conversation had gone.
Charlie wondered to himself whether he should talk. In the end, he decided to. Only fair, after all. "I screwed up big time with our friends. I mean, I do all sorts of things now and then. Sometimes I would lie just to see if I could get away with it. Other times I'd fly off the handle in a rage or hold things against people. A lot of times, I hurt them real bad with phrasing and words. I never saw Luke more hurt than… Than when I implied that I didn't care how he felt. I was trying to say that I wanted to change for someone and that only they made me feel like I could… But he'd been tryin' and encouraging me for months, even years by then… The look in his face when I said that… I mean shit, I had two feet straight down my throat."
Sherry grabbed the water bottle next to her and sipped from it, listening intently.
"I thought to myself that day. 'I lost a friend.' The argument itself wasn't even with him. I… I had made a careless mistake that day with my choices and I hurt two close friends dear to me. The whole time, Luke was just… He was trying to sympathize, trying to be the middle ground. He was afraid to confront me directly. He's like that, you know? He's got so little self-esteem, he takes every mistake he makes as unforgivable.
So when I said that, even after all he'd done, the way I phrased it… He broke down, screamed at me that I was a selfish idiot who never cared about how he had tried to help me… and… and he ran to upstairs in the house we were in and he collapsed in a crying heap. And I was left, my two heartbroken friends who were struggling to deal with me, probably not expecting that I'd break his will."
"Charlie… I'm sorry." Sherry placed a hand on his and held it.
Charlie shook away the small tear in his eye and smiled despite himself. "I mean, he forgave me. He kept trying. We fight. He sometimes relies on me and me on him. He still feels guilty, even when he tries his best to make up for it… Honestly, I first thought he was an annoying loud guy, if not passionate. But…" Charlie nodded to himself with fervor. "Look no further for someone that will give you his best, even if he gets down sometimes."
"How's he and Geiney?"
"Same way, mostly. He hates relying on Geiney for help at all. Really hates himself when he feels it's too much." Charlie admitted freely at this point. "He's been worried Geiney puts too much of himself into work and… Well, he respects his wishes. He wants Geiney to succeed. You know, with whatever he decides to do. Luke's just terrified he'll lose him somehow; either to this magical world business… or that Geiney won't make time for him anymore."
Sherry hid her expression well, thinking on what Lea had said about Geiney's work ethic. "Geiney cares a lot about his family and he loves working hard to better himself through training. I can see he sinks a lot of time into that."
Charlie continued. "Hell, Luke only found powers by killing demons with an Athame he found that absorbs power. We broke into his house; his idea, I assure you. Luke wanted to take something so Geiney would ask him and they could talk… He was seriously that lonely. He'd do anything at all to get an excuse to spend more time with him by that point… Even edit his homework when he had it."
"Sara played a part in that right? She works Geiney hard. For his sake of course, but still."
"When he got the powers from some Jew-hater demon, he put them to work to get Geiney time off." Charlie glanced down at the empty extra sweet tea bottle he bought from the gas station down the road from the high school. "He risked his life so Geiney could get a vacation. When he found out about you guys… He felt he could belong. He had a place he belongs to. Now that his dad's gone, he needs that. I couldn't do it by myself… Honestly, I felt useless."
Sherry shook her head and stood from her seat. "I'm glad I got this talk with you. Lea's out with Geiney and… It's been lonely without him."
Charlie smiled up at her. "They should be doing fine themselves."
"Yeah, I hope so." As she turned to leave, she about-faced. "Charlie, I want you to know that I don't think you're useless at all."
"That so?" Charlie spoke almost to himself.
Sherry excitedly nodded. "I'm certain of it! Anyways, let's talk again. Tell Shera I said hi and tell Luke to come talk sometime."
Charlie opened up his broke-ass phone. "Sure. I'll text him now."
"Alright. See you around, Charlie."
"Peace." Charlie gave her the peace sign as she left on her merry way, having learned more about the trio than she had anticipated.
She did wonder how much Shera already knew about them.
…
Ruby wasn't prepared as she ascended the steps to her home. Luke had gone home escorted by Angela personally and Setzer had kindly walked with her to her house to meet with her father and discuss the day's events.
"Honestly, I don't need an escort." Ruby complained as she reached her front door.
"Look, better safe than sorry, alright?" Setzer was eyeing his new playing cards gifted to him by Luke. "Alvomith, huh? Weird name; must be foreign."
Ruby exasperatedly replied. "Or demons make up shit. Can you go home now?"
Setzer frowned, looking hurt. "I'm just trying to help. I'm not going to bite."
"Haha, very funny." Ruby bared her fangs and turned for the door. "Don't get yourself killed, Setzer. You may not be much help, but you at least make us feel better about ourselves."
"Sure thing, Miss Bloodworth!" He smiled and gave thumbs up in approval before realizing her biting remark. "Hey!"
Ruby was already inside, walking through the second set of doors into the main foyer. Standing at the edge of the staircase leading to the second floor was her father dressed in regal attire. "Daughter dearest, may we have a chat?"
Ruby sighed and stood still in the center of the room, glancing upwards at the decorative chandelier looming overhead. "I know, I messed up. I not only dragged a friend into a war zone, I nearly got a cop killed in the line of duty. Frankly, I think Chief Robert should send you to clean up all of Old Valentine before the whole place gets overturned by demons."
"The evils of humans are to be handled in kind, dear." Victoria descended the stairs in a beautiful black evening gown, a backless dress that shimmered on the bottoms like stars made out of the blackest of fabrics.
"No wonder our town never gets anywhere. I thought you believed in interventionism, anyways. Isn't that why you made the paranormal team with the Chief?" Ruby stood her ground even with her imposing father.
Matthias stirred his drink in the martini glass he now held aloft in front of him. "Robert's a dear family friend, Ruby. He's your godfather, don't you know?"
Ruby groaned. "Told a million times, Dad. I just figured I'd end the day with a little… Justice."
"You mean your date?" Matthias raised an eyebrow and Ruby hid her face beneath the scarf she had adorned herself in when she reached the front door; a velvet red one made of soft wool.
Victoria's eyes shot open. "Really? Who's the lucky boy?"
Matthias turned to his wife and gave his daughter a smug grin of satisfaction. "The boy Geiney's friends with. Luke, was it?"
"Oh. That demon-hunting child?" Victoria turned her nose up. "He dares step into our domain so flippantly?"
"Hey, I asked him!" Ruby defended. "It was a dare, that's all!"
"If that were the case, I'd leave it." Matthias continued egging his daughter on. "If you trusted him so little, why did you drag him along with you?"
Ruby pouted. "He messed it up anyways."
Matthias shook his head. "At least he somewhat abides the rules of no contact. Then again, his one-time breaking it didn't end well."
"What?"
"He tried to heal his father from his collapsed lungs." Matthias answered her directly. "Sadly, the Roseblood Curse coursed through him and it killed his father upon contact."
Ruby's eyes widened. She remembered how Luke had talked about it before; blaming himself. Was… Was he really responsible!?
Victoria turned to her daughter and approached her. "It's a tragedy, Ruby. He had no ill will in his actions. That being said, he's reckless. Much like you, I'm afraid."
"I don't need the third degree!" Ruby took a stance, lowering herself in an attempt to ready herself for a quick escape.
"No need to be so defensive." Matthias spoke behind her, causing her to panic and jump five feet before turning to meet his gaze. "I'd like to meet him later, if at all possible."
Ruby's brow matched her incredulous stare. "Wh-why?"
Matthias chuckled lightly. "I figure since you'll bring him home one day at this rate, might get it out of the way now."
Stomping her foot and yelling as loud as she could manage to the point one of her father's servants peeked in, she wailed. "DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!"
…
