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Chapter 6-
A Toast To What's To Come
Chapter Complete!Simon goes home and tells Kevin about his day
Magnus and Raphael do a bit of work on the case off the books…
*~********~*~********~* Simon-Simon-Simon-Simon-Simon *~********~*~********~*"And oh my god! You should've seen it! I thought Magnus was cool yesterday but, dude; that was nothing to actually seeing him in action. His power is just crazy…it's like an extension of himself- I've never seen anything like it.
No wonder people are so intimidated by him, I couldn't imagine him like really angry, ready for a fight…I mean I could but I'm pretty sure that'd give me nightmares."
Kevin nodded quickly, eyes wide,
"Man I bet."
Simon nodded back excitedly, bouncing a bit, taking the last bite of his dessert before setting it on the end table next to his side of the couch.
"Right…Oh! And Raphael… Wow! He was so awesome. He's really smart and he was really impressed with my idea that maybe the brands were supposed to be protection...and he really liked working with me too! Said it was the first case he'd ever worked on and it was good to get to work with an expert on it!
Meaning me!
I mean I know I'm not, like an 'expert' but it was really cool he thought so…I did tell him I wasn't but he said he disagreed and he said as good as I did mediating between Alec and Magnus I should probably be a negotiator…
Then he s-"
"Umm Si? You're kinda talking about him a lot…like this is the fifth time you've mentioned him since you got home…
You do remember what we were talking about this morning…
Right?
He's the head of the Brooklyn Vampire clan- one of the most infamous clans in existence. He's one of the most feared Vampires in the country. I get that he's really charming and good looking and everything. The guy's said to be near irresistible.
But he is also very dangerous, and like you said very smart. I really hate to think what would happen if he found out what you actually are."
Simon sighed, nodding faintly deflating a bit,
"Yeah…I know. It's just kinda hard. I-I really think he might like me, and I know I've heard a lot about him but…I don't know. He wasn't anything like what I thought. He was kind and funny in a sarcastic, kinda dark way. He seemed really open and sincere, honest…
I even think he might have been kinda nervous."
Kevin quirked his eyebrow
"Huh? What do you mean he was nervous?"
Simon shrugged, settling back a bit on the couch, getting a bit of a bright smile,
"Well we were talking- he's really easy to talk to- and it was after you called and he kinda thought that we were a couple cause of the way we were talking. I told him we weren't, that you were just my best friend and trying to explain that yeah, I love you but I'm not IN love with you and…well, you know how I get rambling.
I really didn't think he'd get it, or even be able to follow, but when I finally ran out of breath and shut up he just smiled kinda softly, and nodded.
Said he got it- you were my Magnus."
Kevin perked up a bit at that
"Hey cool! I'll take that."
Simon laughed brightly nodding
"Figured you'd get a kick out of that…so anyways, he said that they're really close, that he really didn't know where he'd be without him-actually he said he did and he was the only reason he was still standing today…which I SO want to know more about that cause I knew they were close, but I really didn't realize it was like that…
I mean I don't really think I heard anything about him from before he took over the Brooklyn Vampire clan, but it seemed l-"
"Uh…Si? You're getting kinda sidetracked."
Simon shook his head, giving a sheepish smile,
"Oh right…sorry, so what was I-?"
Kevin chuckled giving him an indulgent smile, rolling his eyes affectionately,
"What made you think one of the most notorious Vampires in recent history was nervous?"
"Oh yeah! So, anyways, we were talking about all of that and I told him I was really glad he had Magnus cause it sounded like he REALLY needed him. And he smiled-it was a really, really great smile- and said that he was glad I had you and that he'd really like to meet you, and I said I'd like that too a-"
"Wait, What!? I don't want to meet him! You didn't invite him over or anything did you? Oh my god w-"
Simon rolled his eyes, shaking his head,
"Dude, chill. It's fine…we were just talking he's not going to just drop by. But unless we have the case finished before you get back you're probably gonna end up meeting him. But I'm telling you, it's okay, he's nothing like we've heard.
You guys even have a few things in common…"
Kevin blinked, shaking his head,
"Uh, doubtful. What could I possibly have in common with The head of the Brooklyn Vampire clan?"
Simon shrugged
"Well- you both are nice to me, you're both smart, both brave, you both have best friends that drive you totally insane but you love anyways-"
Kevin tilted his head giving a sarcastic look
"No matter how hard it is when said best friend does something completely foolish, like develop a crush on, like, one of the scariest people in the supernatural world…"
Simon rolled his eyes, shaking his head
"Hey, I can't help it…and I'm telling you he's really not like that. I think there's a lot more to him than what everyone knows."
"Or he's just a really convincing lair and is good at wrapping people around his finger and gaining their trust. Tell me one thing that you know that's real about him…that shows he's not just trying to work you? Trying to get info or seduce you or whatever?"
Simon smirked, quirking his eyebrow
"He's Asexual."
Kevin startled, nearly falling off the couch
"What!? No way!"
Simon nodded quickly
"Yeah that's what he seemed nervous about. I'd mentioned you were Demi and he actually caught it and asked about it. I was surprised he recognized the term cause you know, most people don't, and I asked him about it and he kinda chuckled, glancing away, kind of worriedly and he said yeah he did know what it was cause it's pretty similar to being Asexual so he did.
And so, I know I don't always catch on right away but this time I did and I asked him if he was ace and he…he kind of nodded really faintly, god he almost seemed shy…" he trailed off, shaking his head, glancing over at Kevin giving him a kind of soft smile,
"It was so like how you were when you first told me. I know he really didn't know how I would react to it…man I just wanted to hug him and tell him that it was okay…"
Kevin's eyes went wide, he shook his head frantically, Simon waved him off
"But I didn't, I just told him cool, that I was pan. And he said…something really pretty in Spanish…which I don't know but it sounded really nice…and he said it was something good, and he looked really relieved and happy…and he was like really close for most of the rest of the day…"
Kevin tilted his head curiously
"What was it he said?"
Simon tried to think back
"Uhh…dude you know I'm like majorly bad at pronunciation and all that…umm…Esa s mrveavilloso I think…"
Kevin quirked his eyebrow,
"Eso es maravilloso"
Simon perked up, nodding quickly, pointing animatedly
"Yeah! That's it! What's it mean?"
Kevin smiled
"That's wonderful."
Simon absolutely beamed
"Aww…"
Kevin shook his head, before sobering a bit, giving a faint sigh,
"I think you might be right…he does seem to like you; but that doesn't change the fact that he's a vampire and you are basically a born hunter of all things supernatural.
I know you're not like that…but honestly if even half the things about him we've heard are true I don't know if it would be enough to convince him that you are different.
I just don't want anything to happen to you. I know you like him…and I agree it seems like there's a lot we don't know about him…
But you really need to be careful here, Si…I get that you like the guy, but a crush is not worth your life."
Simon nodded,
"I know that, and I will be careful...but you never know, it might work."
Kevin shrugged,
"It worked for spike and buffy..."
Simon smiled, perking up,
"That's true...before she died and he ended up working for her other ex...still I'll take it."
Kevin nodded, settling in,
"So what else did Raphael say?"
*~********~*~********~* Raphael-Raphael-Raphael-Raphael-Raphael *~********~*~********~*Magnus turned, shooting him a quick smile, quirking his eyebrow expectantly as he came through the door,
"Welcome back…did you get it?"
Raphael smirked,
"Please…the officer at the intake desk was a Llygoden-dyn; I think he actually squeaked when I came in, he all but ran out of the room…not exactly a challenge. Here you go." He tossed the small silver object to Magnus who caught it easily, holding it up into the light, examining the silver charm.
Raphael slipped over next to him, tilting his head curiously, looking over the small silver wing.
"So, why exactly did we need to steal a cheap silver charm from evidence lock up?"
Magnus held a finger up
"Not stole…borrowed. I just need it for a little while; we'll put it back in just a bit. I found this at the second scene, behind a stack of plywood. I could see it with the spell…it has traces of demonic power; I believe it belonged to the human working with the demon.
I can do a Barn bywyd spell. It won't show me everything, but we should be able to get a glimpse of them, see a few snapshots of their life, maybe even when they called the demon."
Raphael nodded,
"Go for it…let's see what idiot was so stupid and reckless as to summon a demon." He leaned back against the wall, making a 'go ahead' motion, Settling in…Magnus casting a spell was always a hell of a show.
Magnus carried the charm over to the table with the rest of the items for the spell, placing it to the side. He took a deep breath, rolling his shoulders, the familiar electric buzz of his Magic flickering up, filling the room. Reaching over he placed a small obsidian bowl in the center of the table.
Next he grabbed a slender green bottle, a blood red one and a deep midnight blue one, quickly adding the contents with practiced ease, the liquid swirled and bubbled, mixing together into a brilliant electric blue.
After that he grabbed a small crystal flask embellished with odd engravings. Carefully tilting the flask, adding a thick odd smelling, golden liquid, pouring counter clockwise before making a few complicated movements making a design that nearly looked like a Celtic cross floating on top. The ingredients began to hiss and bubble, churning.
Lastly he reached for the bowl setting on the side of the table, taking a pinch of an odd mixture of blackened herbs, sprinkling it evenly over the surface of the roiling, churning liquid. It snapped and hissed, a deep reddish violet smoke billowing up covering the top of the table in a thick churning cloud.
He tilted his head, cat eyes flashing, raising his hand, making a few elegant, complicated movements. He took a deep, centering breath, voice starting up, soft and melodic, magic flowing into the odd, lilting words of a long forgotten language, so softly Raphael couldn't even make them out.
The smoke shimmered and churned, seemingly moving with the rhythm of the words. Magnus's eyes flickered, taking on a soft, ethereal glow. The smoke began to swirl, flickering, condensing more and more, slipping back on itself back into the bowl. Magnus raised his hand, the smoke followed, spiraled up into a column above the bowl, undulating and flickering, faster and faster. Magnus finished the last word of the spell with a sharp snap of his fingers. The Smoke instantly turned to fire; brilliant, incandescent unnaturally deep blue flames, flickering and flashing, hissing and popping.
He reached over, grabbing the silver charm, lifting it close to his lips, whispering something, eyes glowing brightly. He blew on it, a shimmering violet vapor slipping from his lips, curling about the charm.
Raphael shook his head…over a century of this and he's still kinda blown away by it.
Magnus held the charm lightly between his thumb and forefinger, extending it out towards the edge of the brilliant blue flame, until the very tip of the wing touched the edge of the column of fire.
Instantly the fire began to change, turning from a deep near midnight blue to an electric neon cerulean shade, shimmering images beginning to appear. At first they were just bare flickers, just a shadow of an image, but slowly they became more defined, snapshots and small movie like images, shimmering into focus one by one, like a clip show. With them you could feel a wave of emotions, and hear whispers of sounds, and voices…
A young girl, maybe eleven, with wild dark hair crying, feeling lost and devastated. A young man, clearly her brother, just a bit older than her trying to comfort her, wrapping his arms around her, telling her it would be alright…they would be alright, even though he really didn't believe it himself.
The siblings setting in what looked like a judge's office, nervously clutching each other's hands.
-Raj, you're just barely eighteen, you can't-
-Sir, I know I'm young, but I can handle this, I can take care of Divya, can take care of both of us…please…w-we just lost our parents, don't make us lose each other too…- he pleaded, eyes wide and desperate
Raj sitting in a small, kind of dingy apartment, his sister curled up on the couch next to him fast asleep, worriedly pouring over a pile of bills, reaching over, idly fiddling with the keys, with the small set of charms glancing back at his sister.
Raj, about a year or so older, setting nervously in an office in an ill fitting suit on what looked like a job interview, holding his keys, nervously rubbing the little silver wings like a good luck charm, trying so hard to seem self assured and confident…
The girl- Divya- now a teenager, happily chattering on about school while they fix dinner together, smiling and laughing.
Oh please be alright, please be alright...oh god please be okay...
Repeating the mantra all the way to the hospital, eyes wide and fearful rushing through the doors, spotting Divya sitting on the edge of the hospital bed slightly pale, clearly shaken. Her hair was a mess, outfit splattered with splotches of mud and dirt, a slight scrape on her cheek and an angry red welt on her left arm...
He gasped
"Div-what Happened? Are you okay?"
She jumped up, flinging her arms around him, before hissing in pain, pulling her arm back, cradling it protectively. She nodded, shakily
"y-yeah...I don't know…I was out for a walk over by the old Keas bridge, just kind of exploring and I saw some weird...something over by the water. I didn't know what it was so I climbed up to get a better look and- I-I guess I lost my grip, I fell, kinda caught my arm on something...I'm okay though...
It just really scared me."
"You're sure...you are okay?"
She took a deep breath giving a faint nod and a reassuring smile that didn't quite reach her eyes...
"I-I'm sure...can we just go home?" She asked quietly
He nodded, slipping his arm around her protectively,
Hmm...she's still at it...
Divya's been staring at her phone for nearly two hours, forehead scrunched in concentration. She's never like this- whenever they're both home she always insists they stay off them, that family time was more important...
She'd been odd the last two weeks...
Maybe her fall shook her up more than she's letting on?
Raj glanced over tilting his head curiously,
"Everything alright?"
She nearly seemed to startle, glancing up from her phone,
"W-what? Oh umm, yeah...it's fine. I was just looking up something for a project at school- sorry...I'm done
So how was work?" She asked rather quickly, locking the phone, slipping it back in her pocket.
The two siblings sitting at dinner eating quietly...Divya seemingly lost in thought, feeling nervous and worried
Raj tilted his head,
"So how was school today?"
She almost seemed to startle, looking up at him,
"Hmm, sorry what?"
"How was school?"
She shrugged faintly glancing back at her plate
"It was fine," she said softly,
"Umm...I-I'm full...I have some homework I forgot about, I really need to go get started on it."
"Oh, uh...o-okay."
She got up quietly leaving the table, raj watched her go...gaze full of concern.
Okay...I shouldn't do this... She's your sister you trust her. This is an invasion of her privacy...you are not going to snoop...
You're not...
Oh he'll...he grumbled opening the door, glancing around the room. He quirked his eyebrow at the various cups and pitchers of water setting about. Something was definitely wrong...Divya never left dishes about her room; she always kept it neat and tidy. Along with the pitchers there were books and stacks of papers everywhere.
He moved over to one, curiously looking over a few of the pages...
How very strange, they were Sketches-dozens of them- of an odd creature with dark greenish black armored like skin too many legs and a wicked tail. He slowly placed them back on the desk.
He turned slightly, opening the laptop on the desk, going up to history...
What the...
There's page after page of odd articles about cryptozoology and unknown creatures, searches on animal stings, and after effects, photos of welts like she had a few months ago, and some scans of the creature sketches posted in a few groups asking what it was,
Okay not what he was expecting, what a-
"Raj? What are you doing? "
He startles, whirling around, she's standing by the door,
"Oh uh-hey, your home early w-"
"What are you doing going through my room?"
"I was j-"
"Spying on me? How could you do that?!"
"I-I just wanted to know what's wrong- you've been so quiet an-"
"It's none of your business! I'm not a child anymore; I don't need you to solve my problems! I have it, I'm figuring it out!"
"But what is-"
"Just drop it damnit!" She all but shouted, eyes flashing angrily, making a sharp gesture in emphasis,
A sudden crackling sounded, the laptop jerking violently out of his hands, flying across the room, smashing into the wall, flames erupting.
"Oh damnit!" She exclaimed quickly reaching over grabbing one of the nearby pitchers pouring it over the flames,
Raj stood frozen, staring uncomprehendingly, trying to take in what's going on.
"Umm...w-what just happened?" He asked, looking her over nervously,
She deflated, sighing, giving a faint shrug,
"I don't know...but it's been happening a lot..." she trailed off, looking up at him eyes wide and worried, taking a deep breath,
"Okay so when I was at the bridge…"
Raj sat rigid on the couch trying to comprehend what Divya had said... she was stung by something, some kind of creature that shouldn't exist...
She's been feeling odd, off, and strange things have been happening- objects moving or bursting into flames whenever she got upset. Seeing things that shouldn't be there.
There had to be some kind of explanation, some way to fix it... some kind of help...he glanced down at the keys, at the wing charms...
Hmm...
Raj took a deep breath, kneeling down, trying to draw the symbols right…this was insane…a long shot…and completely out there…
But so was a bizarre creature with a stinging tale that made things burst into flames whenever someone got angry…
They needed help…he didn't want to tell Divya…it probably wouldn't work anyways, he didn't want to get her hopes up…
I mean really…even if he did research the symbols and everything what are the odds an angel actually would answer his call?
Magnus gasped, shaking his head, dropping the charm, glancing over at Raphael in surprise, the Vampire staring back at him with an equally shocked expression…
Well…this is a hell of a lot more complicated than they thought.
*~********~*~********~* _End Of Chapter Notes_ *~********~*~********~*Llygoden-dyn = Mouse-Man
Life View= Barn bywyd
Okay, I'd originally planned on them talking about the guys but the flashbacks ran away with me…we can focus on the case a bit, right?
Anyways…what do you think?
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