Author's Note: Guess who shows up now...

Chapter Five

Fletcher Renn

A week or so had passed since Achilles had traveled to China Sorrows' library, met Valkyrie and Skulduggery, and picked up a copy of Gordon Edgley's book. When he had first returned, Cameron laughed heartily when Achilles admitted how he had acted around the most beautiful woman in the world. He also told them that he'd met Valkyrie Cain, and they felt this was a good first step in the magical community. He had omitted the bit about Skulduggery Pleasant, but he had a feeling they knew either way, considering the way Emmett had acted. A bit standoffish, and a lot reserved.

In the past week, Achilles had read the book cover to cover. Though a publisher would classify it as fiction, Cameron and Emmett assured that everything the characters were saying and doing was entirely accurate, in terms of teleportation. The Teleporter in the story inspired by Emmett, a man named Emanuel Falcone, met an untimely demise at the hands of an evil sorcerer. But such was typical of the late Mr. Edgley, and so Achilles wasn't caught too off guard. He just hoped Emmett didn't take it personally.

At this point in his training, Achilles was more advanced than ever. As long as he'd seen the area he wanted to teleport to even once, in person or just images, he had about a ninety percent chance of making it there. Teleporting inside of unfamiliar buildings, however, still needed some practice. But Emmett felt this to be a skill not entirely necessary.

"The magical community already has some trust issues with Teleporters," he had said. "The fewer buildings you show up unannounced in, the better." Achilles had shrugged it off; maybe it really wasn't that important.

He had returned to China's library only once since the first time, to return the book. He had made it in past the tall man, gotten the book back to its shelf, and was about to teleport back to Light's house when China walked over, stopping him. She asked for some more information about who he was and what exactly it was he was doing.

Achilles did much better this time. He managed to say, "Cameron Light… Emmett Peregrine… book… Edgley…" before going all slack-jawed, and China had to walk away. He had teleported away, more embarrassed than the first time.

Today, Achilles arrived at Light's home, as usual. He called out. No one answered. He walked a bit further into the home of his teacher. The TV was off, the door shut tight at the front of the house. Light's coat and hat were off the rack in the hallway.

"Cam?" he called out. "Emmett? You two here?" No response. He began snooping a bit, moving about pieces of mail and yesterday's newspaper. He made his way into the kitchen, and saw something on the fridge. A note, with Light's handwriting scrawled onto it, taped onto the white refrigerator. He walked over quickly.

"Achilles," he read aloud. "Went to meet with someone. Teleporter. Prospective student." Achilles' eyes widened in surprise. Another Teleporter to be taught by Light and Peregrine? That was… amazing! Cameron and Emmett were excellent teachers, and great people, but… it had been quite a long time since Achilles had had someone he could truthfully call a friend. Perhaps this new Teleporter would prove to be just that. "If you want to tag along, meet us just outside Temple Bar. Cameron." Temple Bar. Achilles had been there once or twice. He set the note down, and, with a grin on his face, disappeared from the kitchen

Achilles arrived in an alley in the Temple Bar area. Even during the day, the place was a hub for activity. Many signs for pubs and nightclubs were displayed, but most were not illuminated, as it was only about noon. People walked to and from on the streets, several musicians were playing for tips. Achilles dropped a bill in the guitar case of a man playing a rather good rendition of "La Bamba."

Achilles pulled out his cell, and dialed up Light. "Hello?" he answered.

"It's me, I'm at Temple Bar." Achilles said.

"Me who?"

"Are you serious? Achilles, who do you think?"

"Oh, Achilles! Good to hear from you. Where'd you say you were?"

"I'm at Temple Bar, Cam! Outside a pub called 'Lefty's.'"

"Oh I love Lefty's! Amazing fish and chips."

"Cam, focus," Achilles said, slightly irritated. "Your note said you and Emmett were meeting…" Achilles quickly looked around, to make sure no one was within earshot. Anyone around was focused on the guitar player, who had switched to "Twist and Shout." "Another Teleporter."

"Aye, that it did," Cameron said.

"Well where are you?" Achilles asked. Suddenly he felt two hands on his shoulder, and he spun around to find Cameron and Emmett standing just behind him.

"Here," Cameron said. Achilles resisted the urge to punch him. "We're trying to find the boy."

"You don't know where he is?" Achilles asked.

"He's a Teleporter," Emmett reasoned. "We don't know where each other are, half the time. We've never even met this boy personally. Just heard from a few Sanctuary workers that there was a teenager teleporting around Dublin, and we were sure it wasn't you."

"Well how do you suppose we'll find him?" Achilles asked. Just then, there was the sound of a door being flung open, and the three Teleporters turned their attention to the front of Lefty's pub. A large, burly man was tossing a younger boy onto the street.

"Listen, punk," the man was saying, his arms crossed in a menacing sort of way. "I don't know how you got in past security, but you're not eighteen. And since you refuse to show any ID that proves you are, I have to kick you out. Stay away from the pub scene, kid." He said, before shutting the door with a thud. Achilles raised an eyebrow, and turned to face his teachers.

"He's got no idea how the kid got in there…" he said. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Lefty's needs to hire better bouncers," Light said, nodding as if they were agreeing on this. Emmett smacked his shoulder with the back of his hand.

"Stop," he said, eyes narrowed. He turned to Achilles. "Good eye. That'll be him, alright. Let's go, before he teleports away." The three Teleporters moved in on the boy, who was brushing himself off as he got up off the ground.

As the three approached, Achilles got a better look at the boy. He was rather tall, and looked maybe a year or two older than Achilles himself. He wore jeans, and a tee shirt. His hair, sandy blonde, was stuck up in the front, in all sorts of strange angles. And when they reached the boy, Achilles blurted;

"Dude, what's up with your hair?" The boy cocked an eyebrow at Achilles, and Emmett smacked him gently on the back to chastise him. "Uh, I mean… hello."

"What d'you lot want?" he asked. English accent. "Come to laugh at the boy that couldn't get in to the pub? You can save your breath. There're a lot of pubs around here."

"We're not here to laugh at you," Peregrine said, stepping forward. "We just want to talk."

"What about?" the boy asked, taking a step backwards.

"Do you ever feel… strange?" asked Emmett. "Like you can do things no one else can? Like you have a secret to keep? A secret very… strange?" The boy took another step back, holding up his hands.

"Listen, I don't know what you're talking about," he said. "But I really have to get going, so—"

"We know you can teleport," Cameron said. Achilles and Emmett looked at him in shock. What was he doing?! They weren't even positive if this was the boy or not. He might've just blown everything! But then, Achilles, turning back to the boy, saw a look in his eyes. A look he knew all too well. This boy was about to teleport. And so, just before he did, Achilles reached out and grabbed his wrist, then they disappeared.

When they arrived at the boy's destination, Achilles found himself in a large hotel room. The place was huge; big couch, armchairs, a king sized bed, and a flat screen with an Xbox hooked up to it. It sure beat the motels that Achilles stayed at.

"What?" the boy asked, reeling back in shock. "How'd you catch me? No one catches me!"

"Now do you believe we know a thing or two about your situation?" Achilles asked. "Look, don't teleport away, okay? We just want to talk. I'm Achilles." He held out a hand. The blonde boy looked at it tentatively for a moment, and then grasped it.

"Fletcher Renn," he said, giving a cocky grin. "So… what, are you guys like, cops or something? Because you don't look old enough to be a cop."

Achilles' mind flashed to Valkyrie Cain, a year younger than him, but he didn't say anything. "No, not cops. We're people like you. Teleporters. Those two guys have been training me. They think they can help you." Fletcher Renn waved a hand, before teleporting onto the large bed, effectively messing up the sheets.

"Not interested," he said airily. "I'm doing just fine on my own, thanks." Achilles strolled over to the bed, and sat on the edge of it. He put his head in his hands. Another Teleporter. And one around his age, too. After a life of home schooling, he was really looking forward to having someone around his age to pall around with. "You okay, mate?" Fletcher asked, noticing Achilles' posture.

"Uh, fine," Achilles said, grinning. "Hey, where are we, exactly?"

"Grandeur Hotel," Fletcher said. "Why?" In response, Achilles pulled out his phone, and typed a quick message to Emmett. He turned his attention back to Fletcher.

"You been staying here long?" he asked.

"Since I've been in Ireland," Fletcher said. "Why, where do you stay?"

"Cheap motels, mostly." Fletcher chuckled.

"You really don't get the point of this whole Teleporter thing, do you? We can be wherever we want, whenever we want. Why settle for any less than the best?" That was… arrogant. But, at the same time, he had a bit of a point. Why shouldn't Achilles be spending his times in grand hotels instead of crappy motels? But he didn't have time to think about this, as just then, Cameron and Emmett appeared in the room.

"There you are," said Emmett, walking over. His foot caught on one of Fletcher's discarded shirts, and he fumbled around. Achilles and Cam made a visible effort to hold in their laughter.

"Smooth," said Fletcher sarcastically. "Now, if you don't mind, can you all get out of my room? I wanted to watch some quality daytime television."

"Boy, you have to listen," Emmett said.

"Fletcher," Achilles said quickly. "His name's Fletcher Renn." Fletcher winked.

"Okay then, Fletcher," said Emmett, growing slightly impatient. "You need to listen to us. My name is Emmett Peregrine, and these are my associates Cameron Light and Achilles Blink." Achilles had no idea he was an 'associate.' That was nice. "We need to speak with you."

"As you've probably already guessed," Cameron said. "You're one of us. A Teleporter. A sorcerer. You've been given an amazing gift; the gift of magic. It's something very few people can do, and even fewer of those people are Teleporters, like yourself. Emmett and I would like to extend an invitation to join us in training."

"Achilles here has been training with us for a few months now," Emmett said, gesturing to Achilles. "His teleportation range has increased exponentially, and if you'll just—"

"Look, that's really nice," Fletcher interrupted. "But I'm fine. Don't need training or anything." Emmett raised an eyebrow.

"Really?" he asked, skeptical. "How far can you teleport? A few meters? Kilometers? Can you cross the world in the blink of an eye?" Fletcher said nothing. "Can you visit places you've never been, just by thinking about it? Can you—"

"I'm sure we could spend all day discussing what you can or cannot do, Fletcher," Light interrupted. "But the fact of the matter is this; you are magical. It opens all new doors. You can come and join our magical community, the side of life most people never get to know even exists. A world of wonder and awe!"

"Over-selling it…" Achilles muttered.

"It's your duty as a mage to join or world," Light continued. "And our duty as senior Teleporters to help you on your way." Fletcher seemed to be thinking about it for a moment, before standing, walking over to a pile of clothes, and pulling on a jacket.

"Thanks but no thanks," he said. "I'm doing fine on my own. I don't need to join some 'magical community'."

"Wait!" Achilles said, just before Fletcher teleported away. "What else are you going to do?"

"I'll stick around for a while," he said, shrugging the jacket on over his shoulders. "But just because I'm around doesn't mean I want to join you. You all better leave me alone." And with that, he was gone.

XxXxX

"Well that proved to be an enormous waste of time!" Emmett said sourly from his seat in Cameron's blue Ford. Cam had brought it along with the plan of escorting Fletcher to Cameron's house, and getting some more time to speak with him on the drive. Now, however, Cameron drove only Emmett and Achilles. Achilles, for his part, didn't like sitting in the back. He felt stupid back there.

"It wasn't an entire waste of time," Cameron said, hands on the steering wheel. "We do know the boy's identity. It shouldn't be hard to keep tabs on him, even if he is a Teleporter. No, we don't have a new student, but we shouldn't look at the day as a total loss."

"I'm not even sure I'd want to train that boy at this point," Emmett muttered. "Even for a Teleporter, he was too cocky, too arrogant. I mean, I know some people find you and I to be a bit cocky, but that boy…"

"But isn't this dangerous?" Achilles asked, leaning his head forward between the seats. "I mean, having some kid out there, teleporting all over town. Don't you think it'll arouse suspicion?"

"If that happens," Emmett said. "The Sanctuary will need to restrain him. And, since he's a Teleporter, they'd probably call us to do it. If the boy becomes a threat to the magical community, he'll be dealt with." Just then, Emmett's phone beeped. He read the message, and then sighed, and turned to Cameron. "Cam, I just got a message from Crux. He wants to see us. Something about Devon."

"You go, I'll catch up," Light said. "Got to get my car back, right? By the way, did Crux say anything about the comment I made on his comb over?"

"No," said Emmett.

"Shame, I was hoping my encouragement would help him change his hairstyle."

"What encouragement? You said 'that comb over looks stupid, Remus', and then teleported back home."

"I sure have my moments, don't I?"

"Goodbye, Achilles," Emmett said, turning to face his protégé, before teleporting out of the moving car. Achilles teleported from the back seat to the passenger side. Much better. The two sat in silence for a while, and Cameron fiddled with the radio while Achilles looked out the window.

"Look, Achilles," Cameron said eventually. "I've never really been the best with guessing people's emotions, but right now I'd say you were either feeling let down, or hungry. Are you hungry?" Achilles looked to Cameron, and shook his head chuckling.

"It's just…" he said, trying to find the words. "When I heard that you two were looking for another apprentice, someone around my age, I got really excited, you know? I haven't had someone my age to talk to in forever, and I figured if he was a Teleporter, we'd have a lot in common. But then we met him and…"

"And he's not going to be our apprentice," Cameron continued. "Not to mention he was kind of an ass." Achilles laughed. Cameron Light, to his credit, always knew what to say. The two arrived at a stoplight, and Cam turned his attention to Achilles. "Listen Achilles, someone doesn't need to be your age to be your friend. I'd like to think, after these few months, you've come to think of me as a friend."

Achilles thought for a moment. For the past few months, Cameron and Emmett had been some of the only people he ever interacted with. They both treated him well, not to mention as an equal. They never patronized him, or talked down to him. Yes, Achilles considered Cameron (and Emmett) as a friend. But it was more than that. At this point in life, they were both like… father figures to the young boy.

But Achilles didn't say this. He just nodded and said, "Thanks Cam." Cameron nodded knowingly.

"And Emmett and I will be here for you, whenever you need a friend, teacher, mentor, sparring partner, or anything else." Achilles nodded, and with a smile, teleported away.