Chapter 2: Excitement at the Diner
"Okay, back to the gym," Millie said, clearing the table after lunch. They all groaned and went downstairs for another half hour of practice.
"Are we done yet?" Annie asked after the half hour of fighting.
"With this we are," Millie said. "Next, we have to have you practice with weapons." She then gave them each a variety of weapons, from swords to shotguns. After another crucial hour of that, they were each given a book to look through. Most were dealing with spells and potions or how to fight against certain demons.
"This is getting boring," David whispered to the others.
"It's been boring," Charles said.
"I thought being a magical witch would be more fun than this," Jordan said. As she said that, a tall, middle-aged man with brown, graying hair orbed in.
"Who are you?" Annie asked.
"I'm your new Whitelighter," he said.
"You're what?" Millie asked, just entering the room.
"The Elders have assigned me to these four as their new Whitelighter," he said
"They don't need a Whitelighter, so you go tell those Elders to mind their own business," Millie said, rather rudely.
"The Elders thought it best to send in a Whitelighter to give you a little help."
"They know I don't want their or a filthy Whitelighter's help."
"What does your mom have against Whitelighters?" Charles whispered to Jordan. She shrugged in reply.
"You want to know what I have against them?" she asked. "They're good for nothing…"
"Millie," the Whitelighter said. "Maybe you should put your dislike for the Elders behind you and stop taking it out on me."
"Elders, Whitelighters, they're all the same."
"Well, you have no say in what they order me to do, and I'm going to guide these four, young witches with or without your approval."
"You can go back to those Elders and tell them to keep their filthy mitts out of here."
"Fine, but I'll be back, you can be sure about that," he said, orbing away.
"Who are the Elders, exactly?" Annie asked.
"They're a group of powerful Whitelighters that assemble together to make certain decisions for good magic. They assign Whitelighters, make certain laws for the magical community, etc."
"And why do you despise them so much?" Annie asked.
"They took away my power," Millie said.
"What do you mean?" David asked. "You had a different power besides creating wind gusts?"
"I was once able to control all of weather," Millie said. "Yet the Elders thought it was too powerful for one witch to have. They took it away, and without it, I couldn't stop Betrix from killing my husband." This was the first time any of them had seen Millie sad. "In case you're wondering, Betrix is an upper level demon."
"When did this happen?" Jordan asked. "You said that dad left us."
"This happened when you two were only five years old. I didn't have the heart to tell you that he was killed."
"Who was their dad?" Charles asked.
"He was a Cowan that I fell in love with. His name was Richard. He accepted me for what I was and what our children would be."
"That's so sweet," Annie said.
"It was," Millie said. "But enough of that. We had a little distraction, but you four need to keep working. You're going to need this practice if you're going to be successful witches." The phone suddenly rang. Annie got up and answered it.
"Sorry, I got to go," Annie said. "So does Charles. We both have an interview down at the diner in Rigsburg." They had sent in applications a few days ago. Millie narrowed her eyes at them.
"Fine, go," she said. "But you'll do double tomorrow."
"Unfair," David said as they left.
"See ya," Charles said, leaving the house with Annie. They got into Charles' black car, which he had gotten after a visit back to his house, and drove to Rigsburg, which was about five miles away. It was a town of about one thousand people. They drove on Main Street, which had a few shops, a bar, and the diner. Charles parked the car along the street in front. They got out and went in. There were several booths that people were sitting in lined along the wall. There were a few round tables on the far end of the diner and a long counter spotted with bar stools along it.
"Nice place," Annie said.
"Sure," Charles said, unenthused. "Well, you can go first." She walked over to the door that said 'manager' and went inside. Charles sat down and ordered a Pepsi.
Fifteen minutes later, Annie came out with a smile on her face. She had gotten the job. She sat down at a stool and Charles got up and went in. He came out a little while later, pleased with himself. He had gotten the job as well.
"Looks like we'll be working together," Charles said.
"Looks like we will be," Annie said. "When do you start?"
"Right now," he said. "We have training today."
"Ooh, more training." They went in an employee room to put on their uniforms. They came out a few minutes later, ready to work. They had a guide there that told them what to do. The next two hours passed by slowly and each minute seemed to take an hour.
"This sucks," Annie said. As she said that, two men in black suits walked in. There was something strange about them. "Welcome, what can I get you?" The men said nothing at first, just stared at her.
"Coffee," one said, rather coldly.
"I'll have one too," the other one said. Annie looked at them curiously. They both went and sat in a booth.
"Charles, will you take those two their coffee?" Annie asked him, busy getting something for another customer. Charles picked up their coffee and walked over to the table. He set it down and instantly fell to his knees.
The two men had Annie and Charles trapped in an alleyway and was closing in on them. Charles picked up a pole and tried to hit one, but he grabbed it in his hand and threw it. He then formed an energy ball and threw it at Charles. The other one threw one at Annie.
"Sorry," Charles said, nervously. "Tripped." He swiftly walked back to the counter and grabbed Annie. "Those men are demons." Annie moved her head to look at them. "No, don't look."
"What do we do?" she asked.
"We need to sneak out of here." Charles looked at the clock. "Our shift's over anyways."
"We can go out the back," Annie said. She took a quick glance at the two demons. "They aren't looking at us, let's go."
"Can't you create an illusion of us staying here?" Charles asked.
"No, I don't have a good enough control of my powers. I could create something totally different and once I was out of sight of my illusions, it would appear that we disappeared in this air. I could totally expose us."
"Fine, let's go, quickly." They went through a pair of double doors. The demons noticed instantly, and got up to follow. Charles and Annie started to run.
"Hey, you're not supposed to be in here!" a cook yelled at the demons. One of them pushed the cook over with ease. Annie and Charles ran through one last door and emerged into an alley.
"Hey, this is the alley from my vision!" Charles exclaimed. "Run!" They both ran as fast as they could. The demons came out the door and saw them sprinting. They shimmered and reappeared in front of them. "How about an illusion, Annie?"
"I'll give it a shot," she said. She concentrated and felt the magic rise in her. She created an image of a brick wall between them and the demons.
"Nice try, little girl," one of them said. "We're very ready for your magic tricks."
"Uh oh," Charles said. "Time for plan B." He picked up a pole, but stopped, realizing it was exactly like his vision. "No, run!"
"What?" Annie asked.
"We can't overpower them, run!" They took off in the opposite direction, which led to a boarded fence. "Climb over."
"Easy for you to say," Annie said. The demons were closing in. Charles hoisted Annie up and then climbed over himself. "Why don't they just shimmer?" Then they appeared in front of them.
"You had to jinx it, didn't you?" Charles asked. "Just keep running! They can't do anything to us in public!" They continued running and tried to get past them, but one of the demons grabbed Annie and held her. He then formed an energy ball in his hand.