"Here's where you're going." Magis rifled through his handful of papers and pulled out a sketch. It showed a magnificent Greek temple at the height of its glory.
"Where's that?" Kade impulsively tried to grab the page for a closer look, but since his flesh and blood were lying on the pavement a few feet away, his spirit-hand went right through the paper.
Magis smirked. This guy didn't learn too quickly, did he? "It's in Greece."
"Oh... are they letting ghosts through airport security these days?"
"You're spirits. You don't have to worry about that kind of thing." Magis said, addressing Paris. Clearly she was the brains of the outfit.
"...do they make you check them with your luggage? Because I'll admit, I've always wanted to ride on those conveyer belt-things..."
"Kade, give it a rest." Paris said. She never thought she'd see two personalities that clashed worse than hers and Madison's, but this pair had them beat. She turned to the wizard expectantly.
He cleared his throat. "Since you're spirits... you're not bound to the physical plane of the earth anymore. Basically, you can go wherever you want. Try it," he suggested. "Wish yourselves somewhere... like up on the roof."
"NO," Kade protested vehemently. "That's how this all started. Running around on the roof."
"Yeah, I'd like to avoid the roof." Paris agreed.
"Okay... around the corner, then."
Paris pictured herself standing, uh, hovering around the corner Magis had indicated. Remembering what he'd said about not being bound to a plane, she instead thought of herself floating free, able to go wherever she willed. Specifically, around that corner.
Kade's jaw nearly hit the floor as it had so many times that evening. Magis grinned-- he couldn't help it. That was cool. The girl's form had just blinked out and re-appeared a few yards off. Quickly the grin twisted itself into a smirk. "Having trouble? Just picture yourself around the corner." Or in hell, he added silently.
"I'm fine." Kade growled, his eyes squeezed shut. Still nothing happened.
"Hm. Do you have ADD? I bet you had trouble understanding the Keltra too, right?"
The dark-haired boy replied by disappearing.
"What do you know," Magis said to himself.
"Hey, it worked!" Kade said triumphantly as he and Paris drifted back over. "All I had to do was imagine getting away from you."
The boys glared at each other. "Come on, children." Paris sighed. "So, we just whisk ourselves to this temple place?"
"Yeah. Just make sure you're concentrating real hard. Then... you'll just float through the temple until you find the Orb. That's all. I'll have you back in bodies in no time."
"Have you done this before?" Kade questioned.
"Of course not. But... I imagine it won't be any harder than that," he finished lamely.
"Alright, let's give it a shot," Paris said. "Hey..." she turned back to Magis. "After all that, I don't think we even got your name."
"Oh..." Magis blinked. She was right. How quickly we forget our manners when there are supernatural creatures to deal with. "Magis."
"I'm Paris," she smiled. "And this is Kade."
Kade did not smile.
"Well... good luck, Paris and Kade. Take a good look around here... it'll probably help you get back."
After studying her surroundings, Paris disappeared again, followed shortly by Kade. Magis could only hope they ended up in the right place. Then again, it wasn't as though they could get hurt. He vaguely wondered if he should hide the bodies before they created a panic.
Paris was fairly certain she wasn't anywhere near the school anymore, but that was all she was certain of. It was dark. Really dark. Most people haven't experienced total, complete darkness before... there's always something; light from a crack in the door, the glow of someone's watch. Here there was nothing. Paris might be blind for all she knew.
But then... she reflected, if she really had made it to somewhere in an ancient temple, the darkness would make sense. These would be in ruins by now, Magis had pointed out. Even when the temple was in use, it had been shelter to a ridiculously powerful object. It wouldn't exactly be in a heavily-trafficked area. Point was, the inside of this building couldn't have seen so much as a spark in centuries.
Then again, there was no reason to believe she was inside of a temple. Paris's sense of touch as well as sight was gone. She had no way of knowing if what she was standing on was made of rock, earth, or Jell-O. She could wave her arms around, but how to tell if she hit anything? It was all the same to her. Boy, did she take her fingers for granted sometimes.
The girl sighed in frustration. Part of her wanted to blame the wizard, but the truth was that none of them had thought this through too well.
"Paris...?" At least she could still hear.
"I'm here, Kade."
"It's really dark."
"Yes it is, Kade."
"How the hell are we supposed to see an Orb?"
"I have no clue..." Magis had made this sound so simple.
"We've gotta go back... there's nothing to do here, wherever this is. I knew that kid was full of shit."
"And do what? We'd be back dealing with Sage and everything... I don't want any part in that."
"Neither do I, but what's the alternative? Unless the Orb is gonna come when we call it..."
"Listen, don't you think of a magical orb as a pretty, glowing thing?" Paris couldn't believe she'd just uttered that sentence. "Maybe if we... wish ourselves or whatever, to the Orb itself we'll be able to see it?"
Kade grimaced. "I hate messing with that. I think I have trust issues... how do I know for sure I'll end up where I want to...?"
"Let's just try it, okay? If it doesn't work, just think about the school again." How hard to sound reassuring when you can't see the person you're speaking to.
"Fine..." Trying to lighten the mood, Kade continued, "Then again, the whole not being tied to a physical plane thing is pretty handy. Think about it, Paris! We could go anywhere! Screw the school for a few hours, let's go to Vegas! I've always wanted to try a slot machine!"
"And how would you pull the lever?" Paris asked.
"...Oh."
"C'mon, Kade." Focusing her thoughts on a small, cute glass ball emitting a soft glow, Paris vanished.
And re-appeared in another chamber, small and un-extraordinary except for a pedestal in the center holding a cute glass ball emitting a soft glow.
"Hey," Kade said from behind her. "You were right... You're good at this magis thing. But Paris, I just realized when you said that about the slot machines..."
"Yeah?" Paris prompted, drifting up to the Orb.
"...How are we gonna pick it up?"
She turned to look at him, the triumphant glint in her eyes snuffed out. "...Crap."
"Damn," Kade agreed.
But before the pair could delve into another bout of frustration and despair, a sound was heard from the next chamber. Yes, a sound. More specifically, a sharp, crunching sound, as if someone had stepped on something, well... crunchy.
Paris's and Kade's eyes locked now that they could see each other. What the hell was still kicking in here to make noise!
"...Shall we check it out?" Kade suggested.
"We're ghosts, right? Nothing that can hurt us..."
Nodding in agreement, the two floated over to and through the pair of ornate, ceremonial looking doors. With the Orb's glow behind them, there was nothing to greet them in the new chamber but more absolute darkness.
Suddenly, a flame shot out of the darkness, illuminating the face of
"Sage!" Paris said incredulously.
"Paris!" the girl replied, as if she often ran into her classmates in Greek temples.
Kade felt as though his face would be frozen in an expression of permanent disbelief-- or would it? It wasn't as though he had muscles to speak of. He didn't even bother spluttering in surprise anymore. It was easier to just sit back and wait for an explanation.
"I thought I'd find you two here," Sage said, sounding almost relieved.
"'Cuz where else would we hang out after school?... Wait... Madison isn't here, is she?" Kade glanced around uneasily.
"Of course not."
"So, uh..." Paris said, after sensing that Sage wasn't about to explain anything. "How did you get here?"
"I have my ways," she replied mysteriously. "Magis isn't the only one who knows what he's doing."
As if to prove her point, Sage turned her fingers around the small flame that was their source of illumination. It seemed to feed on nothing but the air around it. As Sage twitched her fingers, pulling on invisible strings as if to coax the flame to spread itself out, the light grew until Sage was holding a fair-sized fireball. Kade watched, impressed in spite of his general frustration with all things magical. He was willing to bet Magis couldn't do anything this cool.
Now Paris could see that this chamber was much larger than the one she'd just been in with Kade. The newly-grown fire only lit up a small part of it-- it was easy to see the ceiling rose much higher and the walls continued around to form a huge circle.
Sage, evidently satisfied with the size of her fireball, crossed to the wall, picked up an ancient torch, and lit it. "That's enough light," she said to herself, replacing the torch in its bracket.
"No more magic?" Kade asked.
The witch shook her head. "I need to save my energy."
"For what...?"
"What was that you stepped on when you came in, Sage?" Paris swooped over to where the girl had appeared. "It sounded-- oh. OH, MY GOD."
"Hm?" Sage wandered over.
"Mother of PEARL," Kade was at Paris's side in a second. "That's a FREAKIN' skeleton."
"Oh, yes. There are several in here... you didn't notice?"
Kade turned and shot Paris a "What is wrong with this girl?" Look. Paris was still staring down at the skeleton. She knew, what with the gaping eye-holes and everything, skeletons usually didn't look too peaceful... but something gave her the feeling this person had had a violent death. Maybe it was the short sword it still clutched. Or maybe it was the fact that the bony digits of the other hand were dangling inside the rib cage. All in all, it seemed to be still writhing in pain.
"How did they die?" Paris asked softly.
"You mean you didn't meet the temple mascot yet, either?" Sage chuckled. "You two didn't do a very thorough job of exploring."
"We're not here to explore." Kade said, anger getting the better of him yet again. Why were all mages so obnoxious! "We're getting the orb-thing so we can get out of here and GET OUR BODIES BACK."
"I figured as much."
"Temple mascot?" Paris questioned, more concerned about what else the temple was hiding.
Sage moved off into the shadows, beckoning Paris to follow. The other girl was a bit apprehensive until she remembered she was a ghost-- amazing how easy that fact was to forget. Surely she wasn't going to meet the same fate as those poor Greeks. Besides- if Sage wasn't afraid, she sure as hell wasn't going to be.
Paris could make out a hulking shape now... and now that she was concentration on it; a deep, slow, steady sound... almost like... breathing!
"That thing's still alive?" she exclaimed.
"Why not? This temple is soaked with magic- it has a way of preserving things." Sage said. "Notice how all those bodies still have most of their armor. The guardian's been asleep for centuries and centuries."
"Bet it'll be hungry when it wakes up." Kade noted. Sage let out an odd sort of chuckle.
"It won't be waking up," Paris said with a shudder. "What is it, anyway? I think I see wings... a dragon?"
"Not a dragon." Sage scoffed. "So un-original. It's a manticore."
"Manti--?"
"Man's head, lion's body, scorpion's tail. Quite dangerous."
"You don't say," Paris commented, deciding she's seen just about enough of this creature.
"Well, I learned something new today," Kade began, also drifting away from the beast. "Several, actually. Way more than I ever wanted to know about wizards, 'smatter of fact. I really don't need to hear about their pets. So. Last time I saw you, Sage, you weren't even too happy with us. Now we're buddies enough for you to come down to Greece with us and chill in the temple? What's the deal? What are you doing here, Sage?"
"Relax, Kade." she replied with a laugh. "I want to help you."
"But-- ferrets--"
Sage burst out laughing. Paris blinked. That was the biggest display of emotion she'd ever seen from this girl. "You really think I'm still concerned about a prank! Come on... don't you think we all have more important things to worry about? You two are ghosts... I'm trying to get away from the Keltra."
"What do they want with you, anyway?" Paris asked, curiosity getting the better of her.
"I'm not sure..." Was that a glint of fear in Sage's eye? "All I know is that the Keltra are purest evil. I won't stop at anything to escape from them."
"You still didn't answer my question." Kade pointed out.
"What am I doing here?" I needed to talk to you... to make a deal."
"NO DEALS." said Paris and Kade in unison.
"You don't even have to do anything!" Sage said, a little taken aback. "Just listen... the Keltra are around because of me. It's all my fault this happened to you." She took a deep breath. Paris figured it was hard for her to project such kindness at her former enemies. "I want to help you."
"Yeah? Like, compensation...?" Kade considered this. "Sure, I guess a few hundred wouldn't be uncalled for."
Sage stared at him. "I was going to give your bodies back."
"Magis is doing that," Paris put in.
"When you bring him the Orb, right? Which you're going to take to him, how?" Seeing she had them there, Sage continued. "Like I said, it's because of me that you're here. It's the least I can do. You don't even know for sure that Magis would be able to pull it off."
"And you can?" Paris said.
Sage gave her a smug smile. "Check over in that corner."
Paris and Kade looked at each other and shrugged. As they floated to the indicated corner, Sage bearing the torch behind them, Kade muttered, "Funny how everyone is falling all over themselves to help us."
"Think it'll continue when we're humans again?" Paris returned with a wry smile.
"There." Sage held the torch up.
Paris looked. Another pair of corpses... more unfortunate Greeks, no doubt. But wait-- these bodies still had skin. And hair. And all of their clothing... modern clothing, no less.
"Holy crap. It's us." Kade concluded.
"How...?" Paris said in wonder.
"I summoned them here. Still think I can't pull it off?" Sage smirked.
Kade gave her a big grin. "She's got a point. Dude's probably too incompetent for this, anyway. Come on, Paris. Let Sage do the mojo."
Paris snickered. The thought of having her feet touch the ground again was making her giddy. "Why not. Something for nothing? That's the best deal I've heard about all day."
"Excellent." Sage looked oddly triumphant.
Paris closed her eyes while Sage started in on the chanting and hand motions. Her ghosthood had lasted only an hour or two, but she couldn't wait to be 'alive' again. To be a participant in the land of the living, not just a spectator. Or a specter. Hah. To feel ground under her feet, breath in her lungs, a heartbeat in her chest.
The hard ground under her head. The cold, damp air in the ancient temple. The queasy feeling in her stomach-- apparently her body didn't appreciate being "summoned" across a few continents. But so what-- she was a real girl.
But there were strings attached.
"So I guess our business here is done." Sage said.
"Yeah, thanks." Paris picked herself up off the ground, stumbling a bit as if she'd just gotten off a boat. "So... are you taking us back to the school or what...?"
"Taking you back?" Sage said, that odd smile lighting her features again. "That wasn't part of our deal. I never said anything about taking you back, Marsik."
"You're going to leave us here!" Kade said in disbelief. Never trust witches. Never. He started at her, all inhibition against hitting girls going right out the proverbial window. He was going to choke a mode of transportation out of that witch with his brand new flesh-and-blood fingers.
"I have no choice," Sage said coldly, backing away. "It's unfortunate, it really is. But I told you... I'll stop at nothing to escape from the Keltra. They will not leave you alone. They'll keep using you to track me down... I just can't have that."
Kade stopped walking. Had Sage noticed she was backing right into the monster? Please let it eat her... he thought. But wait... we'd still have no way home. Damn.
The witch sat down on the floor next to the beast, and started stroking its oversized man's head as if it were the family dog.
"That. Is. So. Creepy." Paris managed.
"Don't worry..." Sage purred, running a hand through the beast's hair... or was it fur? Its eyes opened groggily, probably responding to the smell of human flesh so close by. So close... who was this foolish mortal who dared interrupt its sleep? Oh well... it would have a quick snack before going back to bed.
"You have the manticore to keep you company." One last truly evil smile and Sage vanished.
The manticore turned its gaze on the remaining teenagers.
The beast had been frightening enough asleep, but now, awake and alert, it was the stuff nightmares were made of. The body of a full grown lion, muscles rippling under its sleek coat, and the tail, instead of being topped with a cute little tuft of fur, looked more like something one would find on a scorpion. It curved around so that the tip hovered over the monster's head; a tip which fairly dripped with poison that couldn't be anything but lethal. To top everything off, the manticore's face was that of a human: huge, misshapen and grotesque, yes, but still a human face.
Kade seemed to be having trouble breathing... they'd gotten their bodies back just in time to enjoy a nice, painful death. Probably slow, too... he figured this beast would enjoy playing with its food, just like an overgrown cat.
Indeed, the manticore was taking its time. It allowed itself a cat-like stretch, extending a set of impressive claws as it did so, and a yawn. That done, it turned its full attention to Paris and Kade. It took a few steps toward them with paws that looked like they should shake the earth.
Kade took a few steps backward, shoving Paris behind him as he did so. His plan was to bleed profusely as he died and maybe ruin the nice Greek tiles.
Paris almost smiled-- it was kind of cute how Kade was trying to be chivalrous. "I can't believe Sage would do this," she muttered.
Sage. Yes, this was all her fault. What with all the heart-wrenching terror, he'd forgotten his rage. But it was back now, a blazing white streak that made his temples pound. Trying to kill him for getting involved in something he'd wanted no part in... oh, he would show her.
Kade promptly tripped and fell backwards. He let out a yelp, noting that his downfall was a twisted skeleton.
"You wanna be nicer to those skeletons, Kade... we might be spending a lot of time with them." Paris said darkly.
"Not if I can help it." Kade saw what he needed-- this corpse was still gripping a sword. Thank God for those, what was it? Powers of preservation. "Ah. May I borrow this?" Without waiting for an answer, Kade pried the weapon out of the skeleton's hand. He then stood and faced the manticore.
Paris blinked. Kade was going to try to fight this thing off! Well... it was probably better than a lengthy game of cat-and-mouse. She wasn't about to stand around and play the damsel while Kade did the fighting, so she also bent over the nearest skeleton and picked up its long sword.
Then dropped it. Nothing doing-- it was way too heavy and awkward for her. She looked the skeleton over– maybe it had something smaller? All Paris found was a strip of leather with a pocket. A sling? Well... it wasn't sharp and pointy but it just might work. Seeing that the manticore was focused on the more apparent danger-- Kade with a pointy object-- Paris dashed around to flank the beast.
Kade gripped his new toy with both hands. No, he hadn't the faintest idea how to use a sword. His hope was to swing it and hit some vital area. All Kade knew was that he had to get out of this temple so he could get to Sage. If that meant killing this thing, then so be it.
The manticore quickly closed the rest of the distance between itself and the boy, its tail arched dangerously over its head. Kade held his ground, timed as best he could, and swung--
Nothing. He gave the beast a bad haircut, but nothing more.
Paris, meanwhile was in a familiar situation: getting her best friend out of trouble. Of course... "trouble" usually involved a detention slip, not a large, salivating beast... but still. She whirled the loaded sling around with a skill borne of a couple of track practices spent with the throwers.
Her aim was true-- the rock struck the manticore right in the back of its head. Not enough to wound it; just enough to distract it.
Kade breathed again. He straightened up just as the beast whipped around to face Paris. The scorpion tail whipped around also. Kade got his sword up just in time for the tail to meet it-- and slice cleanly in two.
The manticore let out a howl of pain and rage. It struck out with a paw in retaliation. Paris dived, but the claws grazed her side even so.
Kade looked in wonder at the piece of tail jerking and twitching on the ground before him. He didn't know how hurt the beast was, but at least they'd gotten rid of a weapon. No time for thinking, though-- the manticore was fully awake now and twice as angry. It was pursuing Paris, and she wouldn't last long.
Paris caught Kade's eye just as she ducked around a pillar. "Kade! The tail!" she managed.
He obligingly picked up the scorpion tail. His hands were immediately covered in venom and he prayed he didn't have any open cuts. What would Paris want with a great poisonous blade...?
Oh.
Paris and the manticore were playing hide-and-seek. Knowing he wouldn't get a better opportunity, Kade gritted his teeth and rushed the monster. Taking a great adrenaline-charged leap, Kade managed to grab a fistful of hair. The beast reared, but there wasn't much he could do. Clinging desperately, Kade plunged the tail into what he hoped was the beast's jugular.
Evidently, the guess was a good one, because the manticore gave another howl, higher this time as if in pain. Kade let go, fell to the ground, and tried to avoid being trampled. The poison worked quickly-- within a minute, the temple guardian was on the ground giving a few last twitches.
Kade sat down hard. He felt they'd won a big victory-- against the manticore, obviously, but also against magic in general. Hell, they'd been screwed with all day and they'd finally gotten a little payback.
Paris was coming towards him, looking drained but happy. "God, Kade... you're a mess!" she observed.
Kade looked down at himself. It was true, he was covered in blood, most of it the manticore's, and leftover venom. "C'mere, you," he said, crossing to his friend with a mischievous glint in his eye. He then flung his arms around Paris, squeezed her tight, and ran his venom-covered fingers through her hair.
Paris squealed and pushed him away.
"Aw, c'mon..." Kade said, still laughing. "You look good in blood."
She made a face and flung the leather sling at him. "I'd love to have a blood-fight and all, but can it wait 'til we get home?"
At this, Kade's face fell. "How? We have no wizards and we can't whoosh anymore... Are we gonna walk?"
Paris looked thoughtful. "We have no clue how to get to a town... even then, we'd be stuck there for weeks. I thought we'd try the Orb."
"But we're not magical."
Paris scoffed. "You just killed a manticore, Kade. You don't think you can get a little glass ball to do what you want?"
"Well, when you put it that way..."
Magis had spent a very boring evening sitting on a curb behind the school. Unsure when Paris and Kade would be back, he didn't want to leave, so he'd been forced to camp out there, earning odd looks from the occasional passerby. Good thing he'd arranged the bodies to look as if they were taking a quick nap.
Until they'd disappeared.
Now Magis was pacing back and forth, wondering. Were they human again? Had the Keltra caught up with them? How could they get back? Magis's imitation of a worried parent continued for quite a while until the duo re-appeared once more.
"You're back!" he gasped. "And-- you're... solid. What happened!"
Paris was surprised to see Magis looking so panicked. Could it be he was actually... concerned? Even about Kade! "Um," she said, unsure where to start. "The Orb brought us... it wasn't too hard, really, just like whisking ourselves somewhere when we were ghosts. Yeah. Here it is," she handed him the Orb un-ceremoniously.
Magis took it, but barely gave it a glance. "How'd you get your bodies back? And why... why are you covered in blood?"
"Sage," growled Kade. "We have to find Sage. Now."
Paris nodded her agreement.
"Why is everyone looking for Sage!" Magis cried in exasperation. Why was he asking all the questions now?
"Sage showed up and did the spell," Paris said, trying to explain as quickly as possible. "But she tricked us. She didn't want us contacting the Keltra, so after she turned us back, she sicced a manticore on us and left."
"But you escaped?" Magis said incredulously.
"We killed it." Kade said with a toss of his head. "And that won't be the last thing I'll kill tonight."
"Now we want revenge on Sage," Paris said determinedly.
"Our business with you is done," Kade turned to Magis. "You got what you wanted. We just want Sage. So unless you want to whisk us there with that ball, you can get out of here."
"Uh, sure. Sure I'll take you to her. I have to pay you back for the Orb somehow." Magis was a little taken aback by the cold-blooded rage emanating from the pair, especially Kade. "But wait. You said Sage restored your bodies. And she transported herself to the temple? Did she use anything? Like another Orb? Or anything?"
"I didn't notice anything on her," Paris shrugged.
"And the Keltra are looking for Sage..." Magis trailed off. Paris looked puzzled and Kade was looking very, very impatient. An odd expression crept over Magis's face. The expression of someone who is getting an idea and not liking it at all. "Listen," he said urgently. "I'll send you two to Sage. I have to check something. I'll meet you there."
Kade looked like he was about to protest, but Magis simply waved them both over. "Make sure you're focusing on Sage." The wizard clutched the Orb tightly, muttered something, and yet again, the pair vanished.
Paris and Kade stood on a sidewalk, staring up at some random suburban house. Paris put her hands on her knees. She was getting a little tired of being zapped from one place to another, whether it was across continents or across town. Plus she'd been running on adrenaline half the day. It was starting to take its toll on her.
"Alright?" Kade said, concerned, although Paris knew he couldn't be feeling much better.
"Fine. So I guess this is Sage's house, huh? Do we just do a battle-cry and burst in?"
"I guess so. The whole stalking and killing people thing is a little new to me."
Kade seemed to have lost some enthusiasm. For all his talk of revenge, Paris knew he wasn't cold-blooded, and she had no idea what would happen when they actually came face to face with Sage.
"So... where do your parents think you are?" she said after an awkward pause.
"Probably at your house." He shrugged. "Yours?"
"Same."
"Think they suspect we were in Greece?"
"...Probably not."
At that point, the front door burst open and a girl came out. She turned back towards the house, yelling "Come on!" to whoever was inside. Kade tensed and Paris grabbed his arm. "That's Madison."
"So what," Kade said, striding forward.
Madison, noticing the two figures, rushed out to meet them. Seeing Kade and Paris, her eyebrows lifted and she stopped short. "Get out of here," she said forcefully, eyes narrowing. "We don't have time for this."
Kade opened his mouth, but Paris beat him to it. What the hell-- Madison was always good to vent her anger on. "Make time. Your friend tried to kill us earlier, Madison. Understand? Do you understand that, Madison? Hell, you two couldn't let a couple of ferrets go. You think we're just going to let this go?"
Madison took a couple of steps closer to Paris so that she was towering over her. Paris briefly wondered where she'd gotten the guts to do this, then decided it probably had to do with the mythical beast she'd just faced down. Madison, next to that? Small potatoes.
"I said, get out of it, Marsik. You can't possibly understand the danger Sage is in."
"Do you?"
Madison's expression changed slightly, then Sage came bursting out of the house. Both Paris and Kade started toward her. Madison side-stepped to block Paris, and when Paris tried to shove past her, she landed a perfect right hook to the smaller girl's head.
Just as Kade was trying to decide whether to throttle Sage, attack Madison, or go to Paris, Sage let out an ear-splitting shriek. Vaguely aware that this was the oldest trick in the book, Kade turned around anyway.
The Keltra had arrived.
They didn't stop arriving, either. First one, then half a dozen were crowded onto Sage's lawn, all silent and unmoving. Madison rushed the closest one, and almost quicker than Kade's eyes could register, the hooded figure whipped a club out of its robes and bashed Madison across the face with it. The girl disappeared faster than she could crumple to the ground.
Kade looked around wildly, shaken and completely at a loss of what to do. Sage had her eyes closed and was almost glowing-- about to perform a spell, he guessed. She opened her eyes once and met his-- almost pleadingly-- before the other hooded figures swarmed in and surrounded her. Kade was shunted to the side. He made no move to help either Sage or the Keltra-- just stood and looked on.
In a flash, Sage was encased in a transparent bubble, floating a few feet above the Keltra's heads. Her mouth was open in a silent scream and she made a violent hand gesture, perhaps the culmination of her spell. Energy burst from her body, only to ricochet off the sides and rebound on her. She slumped to the floor of the bubble as if dazed. A couple of the Keltra chuckled (one of the most horrible sounds Kade had ever heard) and seconds later, the entire company was gone.
Kade flopped down on the grass. He'd failed-- at what, he wasn't quite sure. Should they have tried to save Sage? If only so he would've gotten revenge? He wasn't sure how to feel. The Keltra had obviously kidnaped the girl for some unpleasant purpose. Should he be happy about that or not?
"Magis!" Paris exclaimed.
Great. Just who Kade wanted to see.
The wizard came sprinting over, panting and disheveled, a different person than the collected young man they'd been talking to all evening. "I saw the whole thing," he said, shaking his head. "I was too late... all this power," he indicated the Orb he held, "and it was completely, utterly worthless."
Paris looked alarmed. Kade noted that she would be sporting quite the impressive shiner for a few days. "Why... what would you have done?"
"I should've stopped them. I can't believe I was so stupid-- I didn't even realize... until you told me everything Sage could do..."
"Magis. You're not making any sense." Paris laid a hand on his shoulder and steered him over to where Kade was sitting. "Sit down and tell us what happened. What did you realize?"
"It doesn't matter. Nothing matters now..." Magis said with his head in his hands.
Kade, feeling the need to occupy himself, started attempting to brush the blood off his clothes, only to succeed in further ruining his shirt. "Still. I for one would like to know what the hell just happened."
Magis seemed to be deep in thought and didn't reply. Paris gave him another tap on the shoulder. "Magis. What happened to them? Sage and Madison, I mean."
"Sage was taken by the Keltra," he replied with a heavy sigh. "Madison... Madison is well... dead."
"Ding dong, the bitch is dead," Kade muttered under his breath. "But I'll repeat," he said, for all to hear this time, "What the flying fish just happened?"
With a shake of his head, Magis came back to the present. "It's a long story."
"We've got nothing better to do." Paris pointed out.
Kade stretched out, his head resting on his hand. It would appear he was trying to make himself comfortable. "Aha. Story time with Magis."
Magis nodded. "I guess you've got a right to know. Especially now that... well..." He took another deep breath and sat up a bit straighter. "It began... eons ago, really. Near the beginning of time."
Kade snorted. "You have to go back to the beginning of time to explain why some hooded freaks are after Sage?"
Magis looked at him evenly. "Yes."
"Okay, then." Kade said with a shrug.
"There was another dimension... I suppose you could call it an alternate dimension... The Keltra, or the hooded freaks if you prefer, lived there with the Gegma, their slaves. Keltra were magic users. As you've seen, they had awesome powers..." Another pause. Magis seemed to be thinking again.
"Psst..." Kade stage-whispered to Paris. "This is like being at the movies!"
"But without the overpriced snacks." Paris said. "I could really use some popcorn."
"We can mock the story and no one will tell us to shut up!"
"Shut up." Magis glared at them. "At some point, a Gegma managed to steal a spell book. She shared it with the others... and the Gegma began to learn magic in secret."
"But stealing is bad," Kade protested. "Are you sure the Keltra are the bad guys?"
Magis went on, trying to be oblivious to the mockery. "Eventually, their power surpassed even the Keltra. They performed a ritual: one Gegma used her powers to open a gate to the Earth dimension... The Gegma escaped to Earth and sealed the Keltra in the original dimension..."
"But not for long," suggested Paris in a dramatic narrator voice.
"...But the seal wasn't perfect. Every few centuries when the planets were aligned just so, or something like that--"
"Or something!" Kade exclaimed in feigned amazement. "I thought you were Information Guy."
Magis stopped short. It seemed the commentary was finally getting to him.
Giving the Orb a squeeze, he muttered something under his breath and twitched a finger at Kade. Kade had that look on his face that meant he had a clever response on the tip of his tongue. "Mmph —- Mm!"
Paris looked highly amused. Magis allowed himself a smirk before continuing. "That's much better."
"Mmph." Kade protested.
"So, every few centuries, the Keltra were able to break through the seal, but only for a short period of time. See, their goal was to perform the ritual in reverse and regain their domination over the weaker race. But to do that, they needed a Gegma."
"Which they couldn't get because all the Gegma were on Earth?" said Paris. Kade appeared to be trying desperately to pry his jaws open.
Magis nodded. "The Gegma were safe here. They isolated themselves for a while, but when their numbers started to dwindle, they mingled with humans. Gegma blood ran thinner and thinner; now there are few who even possess it... Understand?" This was directed mainly at Paris, as though he didn't much care whether Kade understood or not.
"Still waiting to see where this fits in with us and Sage, actually." Paris said.
Magis looked mildly embarrassed. "I guess I left out the whole point, didn't I?" He took the silencing spell off of Kade while he spoke.
"Now the Keltra have their Gegma and the world as we know it will shortly end."