Chapter 13

On Our Way

In Toronto, Canada in The Hazelton Hotel, Raymond was going through a lot of papers and documents at a desk. He was going through all the people that had magic that got murdered by the culprits he and the Spell Organization were after. The Spell Organization was something that anyone with magic could be in, which meant that whoever was in it is basically like a cop but instead they stop people from using the darkness of magic. The Spell Organization was located on a secret island, and it was hidden away from a lot and only people with magic could come on this island but if there were people that didn't have magic and were willing to keep it a secret because of certain reasons they had to take an oath that they would never tell anyone with no magic about this island. It's been around for centuries and it was very secretive.

Raymond was around his middle ages and he had a silver classic side pushed scissor crop, with a stubble, and amber eyes. He was very fit and healthy and even though he was pretty old he still did his job and he did it the right way. He was wearing a gray shirt with a long-sleeved flannel over it and it was unbuttoned and it had brown and red colors on it. He was also wearing a pair of dark jeans along with brown, laced boots.

The culprits that Raymond and the Spell Organization were after had been wanted for some time now and all the members had been dispatched by the council to different countries to find them. These culprits weren't that easy to find and they had no evidence as to where they could start looking. Raymond was sent to Canada with his partners, Sylvester and Stella to find the culprits and they were trying to find some hint as to where they could be hiding. Every day and night they would go to different towns and cities in Canada and they would also listen to the news to see if that would give them a clue. They haven't reported anything to the council yet and they've heard that neither of the other members had anything to report as well. The culprits were hard to find but they were also very dangerous.

It was somewhere around seven to eight that Raymond was still looking through all the papers and documents. He focused on what he could find and all he found out was that these victims were murdered and they all either had their necks broken, their throats slit, their body parts punctured, or they simply got shot in certain places. There were no signs or traces of fingerprints whatsoever. Raymond knew this was getting out of control.

He rubbed his eyes from looking at the papers and documents and even though he felt tired he didn't want to stop looking. No one in the Spell Organization had any idea what these culprits were planning on doing but they wanted to bring them to justice. Once they had them they were going to lock them away for a very long time.

Raymond turned around to look at Sylvester and he was sitting on his haunches on Stella's bed watching the news. There were two beds in the room and he chose the bed that was closest to the TV. Sylvester was a black American short-haired cat with green eyes. Sylvester was around his middle ages as well but he was much younger than Raymond. He was focusing on catching any news that was a clue to finding the culprits and Raymond didn't even think he moved an inch or even blinked his eyes.

"Anything yet, Sylvester?" Raymond asked.

Sylvester turned his head to look at Raymond and he shook his head. "Still nothing."

Raymond sighed and then looked back at the papers and documents. "How in spells name can these culprits be this hard to find? Where on earth could they possibly be by now?"

"Hard to tell, they could pretty much be anywhere by now. They've pretty much been to every place on this planet: Italy, Paris, London, Tokyo, you name it."

"Yeah, but they can't keep hiding for long. They'll eventually have to be found one way or another and right now no one is safe from them."

The front door then opened and closed and walking in from the hallway with a bag of food in her hand was Stella. Stella had a brunette bob with bangs and had hazel eyes. She was wearing a long tan coat that had dark brown buttons on it and a belt, along with a dark green turtle neck shirt, with a pair of jeans, and brown boots. Stella was a teenager and even though she was she had what it took to be a member of the Spell Organization.

She was also wearing a necklace like Raymond and while they both had round pendants, Raymond's was a purple color while Stella's was white as a cotton ball. Sylvester didn't have one because transforming into a different type of animal would only be difficult for him like other animals that have magic because trying to adapt into other animals would take a lot of time to figure out, unlike humans. Plus even if he did have one he would prefer his normal form.

"I got the food from Subway," Stella walked towards Raymond. "And before you ask, no, I didn't find anything." Stella looked through the bag and dug for Raymond's sub and as soon as she found the right one she gave it to Raymond. "Just like you wanted it." She then looked at Sylvester. "And I also got your plain old ham and turkey." Stella walked over to the bed Sylvester was on and sat on it and got the wrapped up ham and turkey from the bag and placed it next to Sylvester.

Sylvester looked at Stella. "Thanks." Sylvester looked back at the TV as Stella got out her sub that was wrapped up.

Raymond was about to unwrap his sub but he then heard the news reporter on TV and that got his attention. "Almost a week has passed and in recent news, the Kimler family has been reported missing along with a teenage boy by the name Holden Brooks," the female reporter said. "Police have been investigating the Kimler house and have found the inside of it to be damaged but they have found no sign of fingerprints or anything else whatsoever."

Sylvester looked at Raymond quickly with his eyes widened. "Raymond, I think we got something, you gotta look at this."

Raymond stood up and went to look at the TV and he saw the inside of the house and it looked disastrous with a lot of things broken or smashed. It was then cut to a couple of police officers at the front door talking to a man and a teenaged boy.

"The police have confirmed that they have been kidnapped and they have gone to question Holden's Father and brother and they have said that Holden left the house with Kassidy Kimler-who emigrated from America to Canada-so he could get some work done from school and they haven't seen him since," the female reporter continued. "The police have also found a jeep that was destroyed." It then cut to some police surrounding the jeep along with some people with cameras either recording or taking pictures and there was yellow tape surrounding the jeep that said police line do not cross. "They say it may belong to Kassidy's, although there is nothing of hers or Holden's in it and whether or not the jeep does belong to Kassidy, the police are doing all they can to-" before the news reporter can say anything else, Raymond got the remote and turned off the TV.

Raymond then looked at Sylvester and Stella. "Does that ring a bell to you two, Kimler?"

Sylvester and Stella looked at each other wide eyed and then back to Raymond. "I recognize that name," Stella said. "That family has magic that runs in the family… and since it does that means…"

"It means they must've been the next target," Raymond said not wanting to finish it off.

Raymond didn't feel hungry anymore. How could he possibly think about food now when lives were at stake here?

"Now it's strange though," Sylvester said with confusion in his eyes. "Whenever those culprits are involved they will usually kill their victims, but this time this family has disappeared and there were no dead bodies shown. What is it that they're trying to do?"

"I don't know," Raymond said unsure of this whole situation. "But this might be our only chance to find those culprits if we go to that house. I highly doubt we'll find that jeep but I'm sure we can find that house. We need to search all that we can find on it and if there's a possible chance any of the Kimlers are alive, they'll need our help."

Stella stood up and knelt on the floor and looked under her bed and then what she pulled out next was her laptop. She sat back on her bed and looked at Raymond. "You can count on me. I'm much faster at finding these sorts of things. If I'm going to do this though I'm going to need some coffee so I don't fall asleep."

"Alright, you search and I'll go get coffee."

"Shouldn't we tell the council about this?" Sylvester asked as Stella was logging into her laptop. "They might want to hear about this."

Raymond went to get his jacket on his bed and he put it on. "Once we find the house and try to gather all the information we need we'll tell the council. Right now we need to focus on finding that house. While I'm gone, Sylvester, watch for anything strange from near the window. For one night in my life, I would like it if no other people with magic got hurt."

Without waiting for a response, Raymond walked out the door.

Many wing beats away, the three Silverwings and the Brightwing were flying over the ocean. Kassidy was once again upfront flying with Marina while the boys were flying in the back. It wasn't that either of the boys wanted to be upfront with Marina, it was their flying that was keeping them in the back. For some time now they've been flying over the ocean and Kassidy could tell that the boys were struggling. She didn't bother to ask them if they were alright because she knew what their answer would be but sometimes she would look behind her to see how they were doing.

Since yesterday her arms and wings were still sore, but she had worse than this. Whenever she goes to the gym for a workout she would always be sore from working out so hard from the weights, dumbbells, and anything like that. Not that she would complain, far from it.

"I never thought I'd leave that island," Marina said. Kassidy looked at Marina and she had a warm smile on her face. She could tell she looked relieved of getting off that island after being on there so long. She was finally able to go somewhere else. Marina then looked behind her. "You do remember what an island is, right Shade? Body of land, surrounded by water."

Kassidy could hear Holden and Shade panting as they were trying to keep up with her and Marina. To all respect though, they were doing a better job of not falling way far behind like last time. Kassidy looked at the boys and she tried to smile the best she could. "Keep it up guys," Kassidy said enthusiastically. "You're doing great."

Marina looked at Kassidy and she whispered: "For a couple of Silverwings."

"Hey, I heard that," Holden shouted towards Marina.

Marina looked at Holden. "You should focus more on trying not to fall from the sky rather than talking like a douche you are."

Holden rolled his eyes. "Real mature-" Holden panted more before continuing what he said, "and don't worry about me… I'm enjoying this. Really."

Marina looked away from Holden. "Whatever you say, human bat, but all I can say to you is, is that you should at least be grateful that you don't have stubby wings like Shade's."

Shade's ears shot up indignantly as he panted. "My wings aren't stubby!"

Marina looked at Shade. "Well, they're certainly not as long as mine," Marina said, flaring them briefly. Kassidy had to admit, they were pretty long and narrow. "It's a simple fact. The longer the wings, the faster you fly."

Shade narrowed his eyes. "Mine may be a little shorter," Shade said as he was panting, "but they're broader too, and that means I'm more flexible in flight. Kass even said I have a lot of advantages because of my size."

Kassidy was glad Shade remembered her telling him that and even though she was she felt that the bickering between the three of them was getting a little out of hand. Maybe a lot out of hand. She sighed irritated.

"Interesting," Marina said. "But up here on the high seas, speed's the name of the game, my little friend. And in that department, I've got the edge."

"Okay, guys," Kassidy said and the three of them looked at her. "I'm about this close of making one of you drink that seawater and unless you don't want me to do that then you should all be nice to each other and trust me when I say this. You don't wanna go there. Plus the sun's going to be up soon and we need to keep moving."

The three of them had their eyes widened, but then Marina smiled at Kassidy. "Huh, I guess you got a dark side to yourself."

Kassidy looked at Marina. "Can you blame me?"

"Well thanks for the update," Holden scoffed. "I feel motivated by that speech."

Kassidy looked at Holden and furrowed her brow. "Holden, I swear to god I'm not kidding. I'll even do it right now if I have to."

Then up high in the sky, Kassidy heard squawking. She looked up to the dark clouds and coming down from them was a single gull. The gull flew near them and it was laughing. Kassidy grunted at the sight of that gull. Even though she loved animals she wasn't one to have a gull as her favorite animal. Every time she would go to the beach she would hear the same squawking and it drove her nuts. The way Kassidy saw the gull was laughing was like looking at a drunken person after they had a few too many drinks and was trying to be funny.

Kassidy breathed in the salty air and tried to remain calm and then she breathed out. It's just a gull. It's just a gull.

"What's so funny?" Shade asked the gull scornfully.

The gull looked at Shade. "You guys are working way too hard!" The gull continued to laugh.

"Piss off, weirdo," Holden shouted towards the gull.

The gull continued to laugh and then flew back up high into the sky. Kassidy didn't blame Holden for shouting at the gull. She would've done the same thing but she knew better than to let her anger get out of control at a time like this.

Marina used her echo vision towards the sky and then after a few seconds she flew up to where that gull flew up and Kassidy looked at her confused as the boys continued to pant. Marina then disappeared into the clouds. She wondered what Marina was up to.

"Hey, guys," Marina shouted down from high in the sky. "Up here!"

The three Silverwings looked at each other and then they lifted up high into the sky to where Marina was and Holden struggled a little but he managed. They were then high over some clouds and that's when Kassidy got annoyed when she saw more gulls and she cursed in her head as she heard them laughing like they were crazy. Without wasting any time, the three of them kept flying to catch up to Marina. Kassidy could tell that the boys were getting annoyed with the gulls like she was.

She could feel her blood boiling and the fire creep through her and before the fire could get anywhere near as to erupt all over her body, Kassidy quickly did the same breathing technique and the same process. Kassidy hated doing this but she had to do this or things would get really crazy.

Shade looked at Marina with his brow furrowed. "You brought us up here to watch feeble bird tricks?"

Holden was looking at a gull that was staring at him and Holden looked mad. "What the hell are you looking at, bird brain?"

Without responding, the gull glided away from them.

Kassidy looked at the boys. "Will you two calm down? As much as I don't like this, Marina must've brought us up here for a good reason."

"Kass is right," Marina said. "Now just hold out your wings."

Marina stopped flying and instead let the wind do the rest of the work and she was miraculously gliding like those gulls were. Kassidy took note of what Marina did and made sure she did the same thing. She stopped flying and she made sure to spread her wings wide and as soon as she did she was gliding like Marina was. Kassidy sighed in relief as she could relax her aching muscles.

She then looked at the boys. "Guys, come on. It's very easy. Just do what we're doing."

The boys looked at each other unsure and were a little hesitant but they did what Kassidy and Marina were doing and they almost fell all the way down but they regained their flight and Shade spread opened his wings all the way out and managed to glide. Shade smiled with delight. "Oh, wow!" Shade laughed and he looked at Kassidy. "You're right, this is easier!"

Holden grunted annoyed and he tried again and he almost fell all the way down again but luckily he regained his flight again and as soon as he did, he did what the others did and he was gliding. Holden's eyes were widened in surprise but he then smiled. "Holy crap, this is awesome! I can't believe how much easier this is!" Holden looked at Marina. "You certainly have your way around things."

Marina smiled at Holden. "Yeah, it was pretty clever of me."

Holden's smile turned into a sarcastic one. "So, you say you got an edge when it comes to the high seas. I bet I can beat you in a race."

"Ha! I've flown more than you have and I bet you that my more experienced flying can beat you in a race."

"Speak for yourselves," Shade said. "I bet I can beat you guys in a race and even though I'm short I feel confident in winning."

Kassidy smiled at the three of them. "Say what you wish, but I think I can beat all of you with my flight. I'll be so far ahead that none of you will see me winning."

"Well, we'll just see who wins then. Wanna race?"

"You're on," Marina said.

"You guys are so going down," Holden said.

"In your dreams," Kassidy said.

"Okay," Shade said and all of them looked forward and were ready for some wild action. "One… two-"

"Three!" Holden took off and glided ahead of the three and they looked at him with their eyes widened.

"Hey," Marina shouted towards Holden.

"Hey, no fair Holden," Shade shouted towards Holden.

Holden laughed and he looked back at the three. "Last one to finish has to eat some grass!"

Kassidy smiled and was ready to race. "That ain't going to be me!"

The three of them glided after Holden and they raced and as they did they laughed and smiled wide. Kassidy's smile was so big that she began to glow and as she did, Holden saw it and he squinted and as he did, Kassidy glided fast passed him. They continued to race until they were out of energy.

"Will you move it?" Goth was getting impatient with how much time was being wasted. He and Throbb were crawling through tunnels for a while on metal surfaces and he regretted not going first, seeing as though he was much faster than Throbb was. "In the name of Zotz, do you want your freedom or not?"

Throbb had his ears down as he continued to crawl. "Sorry, Goth."

"You want my forgiveness? Move faster and maybe I'll forgive you, so move it!"

Throbb picked up his pace and he and Goth continued their search for some sort of entrance to get out through. They were using their scents of smell and hearing and Goth hoped to catch any familiar scents of the jungle but there was no trace of it. Never mind that, he thought and continued to crawl.

As they were crawling, Goth's ears tilted forward when he heard a sound. It sounded fast, and there was deliberate chopping and it sounded very loud. It wasn't anything like Goth had ever heard in his life and he didn't like the sound of it.

As they rounded a corner, Goth could feel the air blast in his face-even when Throbb was in front of him-and it made him squint his eyes. Throbb stopped in his tracks and Goth narrowed his eyes and wondered what could possibly be stopping Throbb right now from crawling any further? He looked over Throbb's shoulder and his eyes widened at what he saw. At the end of the tunnel, beyond a mesh screen, was a huge twisted blade spinning. It was big and huge enough to even injure someone, including them.

"What is that?" Throbb asked.

Goth looked at Throbb and so badly wished he could kill him right now. "Do you think I know everything about humans? It's some kind of trap to keep us inside."

"It'll cut us to pieces!"

Goth ignored him and instead shifted his focus back on the spinning blade. Beyond that blade was the night and he wouldn't miss his chance of getting out of here, seeing as though this was their only option. He would not let some human-machine stand in his way. He focused on the revolving blade, listening carefully. The metal mesh was not finely woven; they could get past that with their wings closed. But the blade… It spun in a circle at the end of the square tunnel, leaving a small crescent of free space in each of the four corners. Goth quickly measured the distance in his mind.

"Squeeze through," he told Throbb.

Throbb looked at Goth like he was crazy. "What?"

"In the lower corner, you can squeeze through. The blade won't hit you." He absolutely wasn't sure of this, which was why he wanted Throbb to go first.

"Maybe there's another way out." Throbb smiled nervously and Goth just scowled at him. "I mean maybe there's a safer way we can-"

Goth shoved his bared teeth in Throbb's face and Throbb looked at him nervously. "You'll do what I say," he hissed. "Or by my god damn bloody soul, I will kill you right here on the spot."

Goth put his claws near Throbb's face and Throbb gulped. Of course, Goth was only lying but he knew Throbb was afraid of him so it wasn't hard to make him do things. Without saying a word, Throbb slunk down the tunnel. Wings squeezed tight against his shaking body, he neared the mesh screen. He pushed halfway through, and came to a sudden stop, staring at the whirling blade as if he was forced to watch it for hours.

"It's too fast," he called back over his shoulder. "It's going to suck me in."

Goth growled. "Do it!"

"I can't."

Goth darted forward and bit Throbb's leg and Throbb yelped, causing him to lunge forward. Goth listened as the huge blade cut swiftly through the air. Throbb cried out in terror as the tip sang past him, slicing a patch of fur from his shoulder. But he was through.

Goth's heart leaped. He hurried forward, squeezed through the mesh, and let out all his breath. The blade was so fast it created a whirlwind effect. He stiffened against its pull, listening to the blade in his mind's eye.

He sprang forward and as he did the blade's passage was like a thunderclap, blinding him in one ear and he then landed on all fours. He made it through unharmed and he was suddenly outside.

Goth stood up and he dusted his forearms. "Uh, Goth?" Goth sighed annoyed and he looked at Throbb and Throbb was looking around him confused. "Where's the jungle?"

Goth looked around and as he did his heart started to pound wildly as he could see clearly that there was no sign of the jungle. Instead what lay before them was a galaxy of bright lights spread out dizzyingly before him, steep canyons and deep glowing rivers of sound. Huge stacks of stone and light towered all around them. Goth rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't hallucinating and then looked again, but no, he wasn't. It was all real. He expected the jungle to greet him, the familiar sights and smell of dense rain forest, the sound of his colony, but instead, he was greeted with unfamiliar territory.

This landscape was beyond anything he's ever seen in his life. The noise from below was almost overwhelming, making his vision blur and pulse. He could only make out a haze of movement.

In a panic, he gazed up at the stars. He did not recognize a single one. They were all different. And where was the moon? Goth lifted into the air and he spiraled high, hoping he would see the jungle on the endless horizon. But the lights spread on endlessly. He could not even see the glow of the sun. That would at least have given him a sense of direction. Maybe, he thought in panic, there's no sun here, no west or east, north, or south.

"Where are we?" Wailed Throbb, from down below on the stone he was on.

But all at once the moon appeared from behind a bank of clouds and Goth's heart surged with relief. This was something he recognized, with all its familiar bumps and creases. Goth then flew back down and landed near Throbb. "The humans must have taken us out of the jungle," he told Throbb. "They've taken us north." He'd heard so many stories, terrible stories.

Goth then felt the wind, but it wasn't a warm breeze. Instead, it felt bitterly cold against him and he felt himself shiver and Throbb was shivering as well. Goth covered himself up with his wings and as did Throbb and they shivered violently as another gust of cold wind blew in their direction. The jungle was never this cold. His hatred for the humans could only double as he growled at the coldness.

"It's so… cold," Throbb said shivering. "Maybe we should go back inside."

"What?" hissed Goth in disgust. "To our prison?"

"It's warm at least…"

"No, I'm going back to the jungle. Go back in there if you wish, but I'm going back to the jungle with or without you."

"But it's free-"

"Shut up!" snapped Goth.

He looked around him and he knew he needed a plan if he was ever to return home again. But if he was to return home he needed more food. Food to keep him warm. He took off-not caring if Throbb followed or not-and then he cast his powerful sonic eye over the peaks of the city. The echo brought him back an image of birds roosting on the ledge of a high square tower. Pigeons. Plenty of meat on them.

He flexed his claws and plunged.

A/N- Yes! I finally got this chapter in and I know it's been like a couple of weeks but I finally got this chapter done. Like I always say, the reason why I won't be posting a lot is because of either school or basketball, but I promise to keep posting these chapters.

So those are the new characters, Raymond, Sylvester, and Stella and they'll be important throughout the story. I'll be honest right now, I think I'm going to be having a lot of chapters in this story but I hope that won't be a problem. Plus I do love writing. Well, that's all I wanted to say and the next chapter will be out soon.