Chapter 4-

Actors, Investigators, and Psychics, Oh my…

Summery:

Jake and Ezekiel investigate the convention,

Ezekiel meets someone rather odd; and that's coming from someone who hunts down Magical objects for a living…

Notes:

Okay, disregard what I said in the last chapter…

This one ended up pretty long, but I really like it

Also, I may spend a bit too much time describing Magnus's, but, well…can you blame me?

Last thing, I was going to have a whole different scene with Jace trying to 'help' the case, but I ran out of space and I really want to get to the next part, so he'll just have to wait for a bit…

_Other-Other-Other-Other-Other_

"Will you stop laughing?" Jake grumbled for about the tenth time since them arriving at the convention…

Ezekiel shrugged,

He couldn't help it;

They were travelers from another universe, sent by an immortal former Knight of the round table, with the aid of a compass created by a Greek god, trying to track down a magical artifact at a freaking Scifi convention!

How could you NOT laugh?

At least Cassie had laughed about it with him…

She'd called this morning, because, well, of course she'd be able to figure out how to get them a way to communicate between universes, it was Cassandra, after all.

She'd started trying to explain how, but all he got was "It was so obvious…"

Followed by a string of complicated, multi-syllable words,

Half of which he was fairly sure she was making up…

He sometimes wishes she'd just stick with "It's Magic and Math and I'm Amazing",

that really was about all the explanation necessary,

The important thing was, it worked, and they now had a way to communicate with the rest of their team.

That was a bit of a relief really…

The idea of having no one but Jake to talk to for the entirety of this mission was a bit overwhelming.

Not that the idea of a few days of him and Jake alone in a motel room wasn't appealing

It was…

Actually, it was kinda far too appealing…

That was the problem.

See, he'd kinda had a slight (ridiculously huge) crush on the other Librarian from pretty close to the beginning...

When he'd first seen Jake he'd purposely NOT looked him over

He'd assumed he was just your typical close minded redneck and he really didn't want to have that drama

Some overly macho straight dude freaking out just cause another guy glanced his way…

Then he'd spouted off something about 14th century art and quoted some obscure writing from Bronte

It'd been so unexpended Ezekiel had to actually do a double take…

And that was all it took

He was hooked

Jake was just so unique:

He was very handsome; had a great smile and his eyes where gorgeous

And, okay, the kinda gravelly voice with the southern twang was WAY too appealing to be fair

He was also brilliant.

Ezekiel could listen to him talk for hours, he'd cover his interest well, but he still listened to every word

The man seemed to know everything about, well everything;

Art, history, literature, ancient cultures…the list just kept going

He'd even written several books and articles

Ezekiel had actually tracked down most everything he'd written.

The man was just fascinating

Unfortunately Jake just didn't see him the same way;

He really got the feeling the guy just saw him as a kind of obnoxious trouble maker

He kinda thought he saw him as a bit of a friend

At least he hoped he did…

But that was the most he figured he could really hope for from the other man.

The idea of sharing a room with his unrequited crush for who knows how long was somewhat nerve wracking to say the least…

At least if he could talk to Cassie he could vent…

She knew about his crush, had known for quite a while, actually.

He'd thought he hid it fairly well,

But Cassie was really perceptive and caught him staring just a bit too long a few too many times.

She'd finally just came right out and asked him,

It had totally thrown him,

He'd tried to deny it, rather worried how she'd take it (you really just could never tell with people sometimes)

But she just rolled her eyes, telling him she was about as straight as he was…

After that they'd become fast friends, it was such a relief having someone to talk to, someone he didn't feel he had to watch what he said around...

The only thing was, she kinda seemed to get it in her head that he actually had a shot with Jake, which was sweet, but pretty unrealistic.

I mean, just because the guy was bisexual, it didn't mean he was automatically interested in every guy.

He'd actually found that out not too long after Cassie and Estrella had got together…

He'd tired to ask, as casually as he could, if Jake had a problem with that, with two people of the same gender being together.

Jake had got really defensive, more than used to the tired assumption that he's some close-minded bigot.

Apparently, the way Ezekiel had asked he'd got the idea that Ezekiel, in actuality, was the one with the problem with it…

He'd been half way through reading Ezekiel the riot act about those narrow-minded views when he'd stopped, shocked when Ezekiel burst out laughing.

When he'd caught his breath he'd explained it and they'd all had a bit of a laugh.

Since then things had been better between them,

Ezekiel didn't feel like he needed to be so on guard around the guy, at least.

Still, just because the guy was into other guys it didn't mean he would be interested in Ezekiel.

He thought he had just as much of a shot with him as always

Which was none...

Anyways...

"Sorry, it's just crazy. Can you imagine what these people would think if they knew?" he asked Jake eagerly

Jake shook his head, rolling his eyes slightly.

"I imagine half would think you were talking about a show and ask when it aired, and the other's would think you were insane and try to get you to the nearest psychiatrist…

Now can you focus, just a bit?"

Ezekiel laughed, with a bit of a shrug

"Yeah, fine, I got it…I'll stop having fun and be as boring as you…" he finished with a smirk and a wink

Hey, he may not have a shot with the guy,

But that didn't mean he couldn't have a bit of fun teasing him…

_Other-Other-Other-Other-Other_

Well, this was a bit harder than expected…

They'd now been at the convention for nearly five hours and still hadn't found any evidence, of anything….

No clues to the artifact,

No clues to the identity of whoever brought said artifact here,

And no clue to even finding out where to begin looking…

Ezekiel wondered briefly, if, in their world, Magic actually helped them find the artifacts, because it just seemed totally different here.

Trying to find something odd and out of place at a scifi convention was like a never-ending game of 'Where's Waldo'; only you don't even know what 'Waldo' looks like and it's just a sea of those weird red and white stripped hats and sweaters…

Or something,

He'd been here too long; there was a chance that he was slightly losing it…

The novelty had long since worn off…

I mean, really how do you even begin to track down a mystical object in the middle of a Scifi convention?

It could be anything, being used by anyone…

It was even hard to tell who was actually affected by the artifact, and who was just role playing or in character,

Or just WAY too into a show…

He'd been trying to talk to a guy for, like, half an hour who seemed genuinely convinced he was a Wookie, complete with only speaking in growling sound effect kinda things,

Before Wookie dude noticed the time and rushed out to make it home before his mom so she wouldn't be mad at him for being late…

The dude was older than Jake…

After the Wookie thing, he and Jake had decided to separate and search on their own, figuring they could cover more ground that way…

Or maybe Jake was just getting fed up with his constant running commentary…

He was going with the first option

As of yet he hadn't found anything of real significance

He'd talked to a few people who might have been affected, but he really wasn't certain,

And it wasn't like you could just look for someone messing with something odd;

It seemed half the people here had some kind of prop or accessory or the like that could be an artifact,

It'd really help a lot if they at least knew WHAT the artifact was;

They thought the most likely option would be a piece of jewelry or something similar,

Something small, and unassuming

But here?

You could hide anything and it not seem out of place.

He'd passed five people with sonic screwdrivers, about a dozen with some kind of 'ancient' looking weapons, no less than thirty 'magic' wands, and more cheesy, 'mystical' trinkets, talismans, and charms than he could even begin to count.

It was just all so much…

He didn't know if they would be able to solve this, it just seemed impossible

He shook his head slightly, coming back to himself.

Forget that

He was Ezekiel Jones.

He was the best thief in the world, he worked in a magical library and protected the world from Magical objects that could wreak havoc. He was a Librarian, damnit…

"Impossible' was his normal day.

Alright, he was back… onto the investigation,

They hadn't found anything, but as of yet they also haven't really looked everywhere…

If whoever took the artifacts came to this convention purposefully (and they would have had to as you needed tickets and everything to get in) than they want to be here for a specific reason.

He kinda doubted someone could be so desperate to get into a scifi convention that they'd steal a magical artifact and hop universes just to attend…

Though some of the people he met today made him less sure of that…

Still, it was most likely they chose the event because it would cover whatever else they were working at.

If they were doing something untoward, they wouldn't be doing it out in the open, no matter how odd the 'open' was in this case…

That meant somewhere that not everyone could access.

That meant locked rooms, private rooms, places closed for maintenance, anywhere closed to the public.

Somewhere (thankfully) away from the masses, more secluded…

He made his way to the outer part of the convention, looking for rooms or other areas that were closed or in some way inaccessible to the throng of Scifi fanatics

They had multiple events going throughout the week so not all the areas were in use at all times

He actually completely missed the door on his first circuit around…

The entrance was blocked by a big cheesy standing poster type thing of some show with lasers and spaceships and a lot of really crazy characters and every neon color imaginable…

Hmm….

Seems promising...

The spot, not the show…that looked eye-scaringly horrible

Ezekiel waited until he was sure no one was paying attention then slipped quietly around the sign, quickly picking the lock on the door and slipping into the room…

It was a rather stark contrast to the noise, glaring colors and festivities of the outer part. It was very dimly lit, the only illumination coming from a few emergency lights scattered about that didn't seem to reach the corners, leaving much of it shrouded in shadows.

It seemed to be a type of storage room… it was rather musty and filled with all kinds of random props, decorations, costumes and assorted things one might used to prepare for various events.

The room seemed almost unsettling; it was dead silent, almost to an oppressive degree

He didn't think the walls should be that thick here;

They must have been sound proof…

He kept searching, but tried to pick up the pace just a bit,

He begin glancing through things, absently perusing a set of shelves filled to the brim with random books, statues and assorted knick knacks,

But he kept glancing around somewhat nervously…

He slipped out his phone, quickly texting Jake, telling him where he was and that he may have found something, and to come meet him here…

Not that he had, yet, but the creepy feeling could be a sign of an artifact

Plus, he just really didn't want to be in here alone for longer than he had too…

He didn't really like this room, he was alone, but it did not feel like it; he felt like someone was watching him, like there were eyes on him…

It was like a horror movie, the moment when you're waiting for the jump scare…

"Well, well, and just what might you be up to?"

Ezekiel startled, his heart skyrocketing, jumping about a foot in the air, before whirling around to see who had spoke

He froze…

A man was leaning casually against the wall, right under one of the lights, illuminating him perfectly,

He had his arms crossed in front of him and a slightly impish smirk directed at Ezekiel, one eyebrow raised,

The guy in question was fairly tall, probably just shy of six feet and, honestly, completely stunning

Not really Ezekiel's type in general, but still, wow

His apparently jet black hair was tinted in such a way that it seemed to gradually go from black to a deep purple, finally ending in a rosy almost pink shade.

It was fashioned into some kind of a slightly haphazard upswept style that Ezekiel didn't even know how you would begin to start.

It also had a bit of a shimmer to it;

Which seemed to be a running theme with this guy…

He had strikingly attractive features;

Deep brown eyes perfectly accented by seemingly expertly applied winged eyeliner and just the faintest bit of a pink shimmer, making his eyes seem even warmer…

There seemed to be a dusting of iridescent something or other along his high cheekbones, highlighting them and making them even more defined than they were already.

The look was capped off by a light, silvery violet pink lipstick, that really shouldn't work for anyone, but it somehow just fit the man completely.

He had a wide assortment of jewelry on; a silvery cuff type thing on his ear, about four rings, (Ezekiel vaguely registered that his nails were also painted a color that seemed to mimic his hair going from black to purple and pink, and still more shimmer) and no fewer than three necklaces.

Which were easy enough to see as he had about four buttons undone on the slim fitting, very expensive, very patterned shirt he had over top of black pants that were far too fitted to be comfortable and trimmed with silvery studs down the sides and along the pockets…

He also had on boots in the same rose color as the shirt and looked like they cost more than Ezekiel's computer.

"Uhh…hi?" Ezekiel said, rather at a loss for words (That was about a first)

The man gave a bit of a warm chuckle

"Hello dear, enjoying the convention?" he asked with a bit of a smirk

Dear? Did this guy think he was someone else or something?

"Yeah, it's uh, it's great, you?"

"Yes, I rather am…it really is something else. It does seem to be a bit much though

Therefore I decided to slip into a locked, inaccessible room for a few moments of peace from the chaos…" he tilted his head slightly, flashing a bit of a charming smile

"Imagine my surprise at finding someone already beat me to it…"

"Uhh…well…that's…" Ezekiel trailed off, for once at a loss for an excuse, before something occurred to him…

"Hey, wait; how did you get in here? The door WAS locked and I kinda doubt they pay well enough at this place for an employee to be able to afford to dress like that; so what are YOU up to?" He finished, raising his own eyebrow right back

Two could play that game…

The man gave a somewhat surprised look, followed by a rather delighted laugh,

"Oh, you're fun…"

He pushed himself away from the wall, casually moving closer

"I imagine I got in much the same way as you, sweetheart, I picked the lock"

Seriously, did he think he was someone else?

"Well then, you're not supposed to be here either… maybe we just forget we saw each other?" Ezekiel offered, really hoping the guy would take him up on it…

There was something about the man's gaze that was a bit disconcerting

It wasn't like he was checking him out; it was more like he was sizing him up…

Like he was reading everything

Like he could read everything

He didn't really know how to respond to that.

Honestly, it kinda freaked him out…

The man chuckled again, shaking his head slightly

He reached into his front pocket, pulling out a bright green laminated card. He held it up waving it back and forth slightly

"I'm afraid you are rather mistaken, darling…

This gives me access to all areas of the venue. I am allowed to go wherever I so choose.

I imagine they may be a bit touchy about the whole breaking and entering thing, but I've got myself out of far worse, this is really nothing…

For me, anyways…" he finished, raising his eyebrow, in a half playful, half challenging look

Ezekiel gulped slightly

Okay, seriously, how the hell was he able to pull off intimidating so perfectly dressed like that?!

The guy was covered in purple, pink and sparkles for heaven's sakes!

Maybe HE had the artifact… they did think it was possibly some kind of jewelry,

Cause, that really narrows it down…

"Sorry Jones, door took me a minute, you coulda just left it unlocked, you know. So what'd you find…oh…h-hello" Jake started, losing the sentence midword when he caught sight of the other man.

"Well, hello there" Sparkly man (that's what he's going with) practically purred, glancing over Jake rather appreciatively

Jake blushed slightly

Okay, that was enough…

"Never mind, we're just gonna go…" Ezekiel started, grabbing Jake's arm and starting for the door

"Actually darling, I would really prefer it if you, or your handsome friend, would be kind enough to explain just who, exactly you are and what you were up to …"

"Well, too bad…" Ezekiel snarked

And again with the chuckling…

He wasn't that funny, damnit

"Oh, sweetheart, you are just delightful"

"Okay, enough of that…stop calling me those things, it's weird…"

He smirked, again, giving a totally fake, innocent, too wide eyed look

"Well, what am I supposed to call you then?"

"I'm Ezekiel, he's Jake, and we're leaving" he finished grabbing Jakes arm again somewhat harder

"Okay…good to know actual names to give the detective working the case with me… thanks so much, Ezekiel Jones"

He and Jake froze mid-step, Jake giving him an exasperated look,

"Really Jones?!"

"Sorry!"

"Well, now in all fairness, he just gave me the first name… you gave the last.

You slipped up just as much as he did" Sparkly man said with, what he could tell without even looking, was a smirk and eyebrow raise…

"Thanks" Ezekiel said sarcastically rolling his eyes

"No problem, sweetheart"

"Will you stop that?!" Ezekiel demanded whirling back around

"No, probably not; your reaction is far too fun…" he said with a grin

"Okay, listen here Sparkels-" Ezekiel started but was cut off with a laugh that was bordering on a giggle

"Sparkles? Really?"

"Well I don't know what to call you, and it kinda fits and I thought it might piss you off, so…" he shrugged, glaring slightly

He laughed again, shaking his head, but the smile he got was friendlier

"Or you could just call me Magnus, as that's my name"

Ezekiel raised his own eyebrow slightly

"Is Sparkles really any worse?"

"You may not want to pull at that thread so much, Ezekiel" Magnus came back in a slightly teasing tone

Jake chuckled slightly

Ezekiel glared

"Sorry, he does kinda have a point…"

Spark-er, Magnus raised his eyebrow, turning to face Jake tilting his head slightly,

"I don't know, a unique name, to me, usually leads to a person being pretty unique and interesting themselves…

I've never met another Magnus; I don't recall an Ezekiel…

I've met at least three Jakes this week."

Jake looked flummoxed

It was a good look

Okay, maybe if he wasn't hitting on Jake, this Magnus guy might be all right…

Magnus shifted his focus back to Ezekiel, seeming more curious then accusing now at least

"I'd really rather not get you guys in trouble, you really seem quite fun… but I am working a case at the moment and I cannot ignore a suspicious person just because I happen to find them entertaining…

So I really must ask you again, what were you doing in here?"

Okay, he had this…

"It's fine, we're Librarians" Ezekiel tried, confidently,

Jake was rolling his eyes…

Hey, buddy, either pitch in with ideas or keep your opinions to yourself

It usually worked

Magnus gave a slightly sarcastic look "Okay, good for you, though you're lying a bit, but I didn't ask what your occupation was, I asked what you were doing here?"

Okay, apparently in this universe that didn't work so much….

What else could it be?

At a scifi convention for movies and shows…

"What I mean is that's what our characters are called, were actors for a new show.

It's Called Librarians…it's a kinda fantasy show with people called Librarians who track down Magic stuff that's threatening the world"

Jake's eyes are wide and he is shaking his head frantically behind Magnus's back indicating for him to shut up

Once again, help or keep the commentary to yourself

Magnus tilted his head slightly, looking vaguely interested

"Hmm…sounds fairly interesting…Too bad you are still lying…"

Okay…he didn't really want to go here but…

He pointed vaguely towards Jake, "He's my boyfriend and we just looking for a place we could have a few moments alone"

Jake made a shocked, slightly strangled sound

Ezekiel rolled his eyes,

The guy had no poker face whatsoever, maybe it was better that he wasn't trying to help…

"Good attempt, believable, only you'd have absolutely left the door unlocked for him… care to try again?"

"We're actually on-"

"Still lying… don't even bother finishing the sentence, next?"

"See, I'm a huge fan of-"

"No you're not…try again"

"Well Jake is a fan of-"

"Nope, he's not"

"Damnit! Stop that, it's obnoxious as hell!"

"Hey, that was the truth…not what I asked, but the truth at least. This really is quite fun…"

"So glad I could entertain you" Ezekiel snarked

"Lying again"

"Damnit!"

"Magnus, he's just, I- well, I really don't know how to finish that sentence that's something other than 'he's Ezekiel' and shrugging…

Anyways, I don't know why he's trying so many crazy lies…

We're here for the same reason as you; we're investigating the disappearances and strange behavior" Jake cut him off before he could make it any worse…

Magnus smiled, it was calculating again

"There it is, finally something truthful… So, I suppose if you are investigating you're not a part of it...do you work with a department, or are you private investigators?" he asked curiously

"We're PI's we were hired to investigate by the family of one of the people who disappeared…" Jake answered

Magnus nodded, looking somewhat concerned, "Then it is possible that you have made more progress than I have at this…

I have yet to find anything indicating anything more than people leaving voluntarily,

And, really, Scifi fans getting carried away and too into their characters isn't exactly hard evidence-"

Ezekiel nodded frantically "that's what I said too! But it really does seem like something is going on here"

"We actually think that it's possible that the people who have been affected may have came into contact with something…perhaps a toxin or something that is messing with their perception of reality" Jake ventures

"Hmm… that is an interesting theory. Do you have any actual proof, as of yet?"

Ezekiel shook his head, groaning slightly

"No, I thought it'd be a lot easier than this, but trying to find someone acting weird or too involved at a Scifi convention is about impossible…it'd be harder finding someone NOT doing that"

"That is quite true. Truth be told I didn't really think this would amount to much, I really only took the case so a friend of mine would get to attend, as he had his heart set on it…

He's around here somewhere, dragging his boyfriend around to, no doubt, every last stand…" Magnus said with a dismissive wave towards the actual convention

"So, you have a team investigating here with you?" Jake asked

Magnus nodded "Yes, Head detective Alec Lightwood is here with me, helping with the investigation. I assumed if it turned out to be something of importance it would be better to have the backup,

As Simon is currently busy fangirling over every last event, and Raphael is busy being dragged to every last event, I needed a bit more help.

Simon, the friend who wanted to attend so badly, is actually a quite skilled detective in his own right, well, when he isn't bounding around a scifi convention like an overly excited puppy.

Raphael is my best friend and helps me run my agency, he is also Simon's boyfriend and I do believe he may be plotting at this very moment how to get back at me for getting him dragged around this place…

Though, he does plot quite often, so that's not of much concern, Simon will distract him before it gets too bad…" Magnus finished rolling his eyes with a slight affectionate grin

"Your agency? So you're a PI as well?" Ezekiel asked curiously, ignoring the slightly odd descriptions of his backup…

Maybe, despite the sparkles, he was the grounded, reasonable one of the group

"No, actually I'm a psychic"

Or not...

Jake and Ezekiel glanced at each other

"Oh, okay…uh… how long have you been a psychic? And do you happen to remember where all you've been today?" Jake asked

Magnus laughs, rolling his eyes before reaching in his pocket and producing a small, deep purple, somewhat iridescent card, handing it to them

"I'm not delusional or being affected by whatever is affecting the other patrons…

I own Enigmatic Investigations; it is my Psychic Detective Agency.

It is completely legitimate. I work as a civilian consultant for the SBPD as well as accept cases brought to me privately"

Ezekiel looked over the card, kind of impressed; the guy definitely had flare…

"Now, as you gentlemen are a rather long way from home, perhaps you would like to team up, maybe share information?"

Ezekiel startles slightly, nearly dropping the card, wondering briefly if there was a way to block psychic energy or whatever…

He knew they had things at the library, but they didn't bring anything with them.

They didn't think they'd need it

It was a universe devoid of Magic, didn't 'psychic powers' fall under that category?

"H-how do you know we're not from here?"

He raises his eyebrow yet again

"Psychic, darling…

Though, in this case, your accents rather give it away as well" he finishes with a cheeky grin

Ezekiel bursts out laughing, shaking his head,

Oh man, he can't believe he fell for that

He glanced over at Jake, who shrugged slightly

Ezekiel turned back to Magnus

"You know, I think that might be a good idea; the more help we have on this, hopefully the faster we can get this solved and get back home"

Magnus gave a beaming smile

"Wonderful; now, why don't we get out of here and regroup, I don't think we are likely to solve the case hiding in a storage room"

With that he turned starting back the way they came,

"So, you guys said something about a toxin…" Magnus asked as they made their way back to the door…

None of the three noticed the slight flicker of movement in one of the darkened corners,

Or the faint glimmer of eyes tracking their movements…

_End Of Chapter/Notes_

Okay, so fair warning were gonna ramp up to the crazy kinda fast

Just remember, I have a fix, I promise

{My favorite parts of this is my last like cause it kinda creeps me out, Ezekiel's run of attempted lies, and 'Sparkels'}

So what do you guys think?