Chapter Two
Wyatt's drunken singing was annoying Chris to no end. Usually, his brother didn't get as hammered as more unrestrained people tended to do, but that day, he hadn't realized that he'd consumed enough for three men until it had been too late. Partly, it was Chris's fault, for not monitoring his older brother like he should have been. He knew that Wyatt was way more stressed out now because of his Twice-Blessed and Future King of Magic duties, coupled with college, demons, and the nasty last few encounters with the Seer they'd had. All of which added up to the most powerful being in the world deciding to set his troubles aside as he downed several drinks which contained a mixture that should not have been made.
In fact, Chris was surprised that his brother was still conscious. If he had drunk that much, he would have passed out long ago, and yet Wyatt was still awake and would not stop singing! It probably helped that Wyatt was quite a bit larger than Chris, so it took a little more drink to knock him out completely; and while Chris was grateful that his brother was still able to stagger along on his own, his job would be easier if Wyatt was smaller and lighter.
As it was, not only was the singing getting on Chris's nerves, but the weight on his shoulders was slowly increasing as his brother lost more and more of his ability to stay awake. "Row row row yer boat," Wyatt kept humming. "Merly merly life ish but a dream!" Chris had absolutely no idea why his brother had decided to start singing that song, but he couldn't claim to understand Wyatt's mind at the moment, especially in the state it was. In fact, Chris was glad that he was outside of his brother's head, considering the terrible hangover the poor man would have tomorrow. Chris was grateful he wouldn't have to deal with that himself!
He pulled Wyatt into an alley, hoping that it was empty. Unfortunately, it wasn't, and Chris sighed as he nearly tripped over a homeless man who lay asleep on the middle of the sidewalk. That meant that the young man would have to find another place to orb his brother and himself home, as they could not risk being seen by a mortal. Although the homeless man would probably have stayed asleep, there was no guarantee that that would happen, and Chris was nothing if not cautious!
Pulling Wyatt along a few more steps, Chris finally reached an empty part of the street. The fading streetlight overhead illuminated both the boys as Chris prepared to use magic. Outside the small circle of light, the older man from the party waited. His teeth were bared, and his silver eyes seemed to glow in the dark. He appeared to be waiting for something as he stared at the younger men.
A retching sound was suddenly heard, and Wyatt doubled up, holding his stomach. Chris was pulled forward too, and he tried to duck out of his brother's arm. Unfortunately, Wyatt was now holding him too tightly, so he was forced to watch as his brother expelled most of what he'd drunk. "Oh, great, Wyatt," he commented. "Just what we needed."
Wyatt ignored Chris as he finished up. He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, feeling too sick to realize what he was doing was terribly disgusting. He groaned and used his little brother to pull himself back into a standing position. "Chris," he mumbled. "I'm not feeling so good."
"Yeah, that makes sense," Chris replied, grimacing at the smell of his brother's mouth and the mess on the floor. "You did drink way more than you should have." His brother seemed to murmur an apology, which Chris rolled his eyes at. "Just don't do it again," he pleaded, before closing his eyes and preparing to orb out.
The brothers began to disappear in a swirl of bright orbs, making a faint jingling noise as they vanished. The man hiding nearby yelled and leapt forward, trying to catch the last lights as they twinkled out of sight. He was unsuccessful, however, and was left with only a handful of air.
A mist began to swirl out of the man's mouth, making him look as if he was exhaling a sort of vapor. The mist, however, seemed more solid and real as it twirled around the man's head and began to ascend. The strange silvery color glittered in the light from the streetlamp, and it rose to a certain height before it paused, almost watching the street.
A whizzing noise was heard, and the man blinked his surprised brown eyes as he felt something plunge into his chest. He collapsed face down, eyes still wide open, as the dagger that had stabbed him through his back destroyed his heart. A few fluttering breaths left his throat before he stopped breathing altogether.
The woman who'd rushed into the party stepped into the light. Under the lamp, it was obvious that she was not only extremely pretty, but she was quite young. She was dressed in dark jeans, almost black, dark leather boots, and a black shirt with a v-neck showing off some of her attributes. Her strawberry-blond hair was roughly cut and barely reached her chin, her brown eyes were deep but piercing. Both contrasted greatly with the soft features of her face.
The woman leaned down and pulled her dagger out of the man's back, wiping it clean on his clothes before using her foot to kick the prone body over. The dead man was forced onto his back, and the woman knelt down next to him, intent on one thing and one thing only. Quietly, she cursed the darkness for making it so difficult to see, and she pulled the man a little to her left so he would lie right under the light. Then, she peered into the man's eyes.
A breath roughly left her mouth. "Damn," she yelled. The man's irises were brown, and not the silver she was so desperately seeking. She had failed her task once again. Almost as if she'd heard something, she looked up, directly into the light, shielding her eyes with a raised hand. She noticed the last wisps of the silver vapor that had left the man's mouth only moments ago. Her other hand grasped the hilt of her dagger, and she pulled her arm back as if prepared to throw it.
The mist seemed to know what she intended to do, and it began to rise once more. It soon left the circle of light the lamp projected and faded into the darkness. The woman sighed, lowering her face as she stared at the dead man lying on the dirty ground. Carefully and methodically, almost as if she'd done it before, the woman tore at the man's clothing, pulling the coat down as if someone had held him back, and tearing the shirt as if someone had pulled him by it. She then searched in his pockets, finding a wallet. The card inside it said his name was Justin, and that he was only 34 years old. The woman dried a tear in the corner of her eye before pulling out all the money in the wallet and dropping it on the sidewalk.
Then, she walked away, leaving behind a body. The police would arrive eventually, and when they did, the cause of death would be determined as a mugging gone wrong. It was simple to fool mortals when they worked so hard to shield themselves from a truth they wouldn't understand.
-)-(-
A few feet away from the body in the streets, the mist was wafting along, close to the ground. It approached the sleeping homeless man, and seemed to hesitate slightly before continuing. It directed itself into the man's mouth and quickly entered, nearly pushed back by the foul breath that was being exhaled. As the mist entered the man's throat, he sat up, clutching at his chest. His blue eyes widened slightly before he blinked. When the lids of his eyes were opened again, the irises were a gleaming silver, the kind the other man's had been seconds before his death.
The homeless man stood up and walked over to the streetlight. He paused in the light, only inches away from the body. He sniffed the air, almost as if trying to catch a scent. Then, he set off with a brisk walk, seeming determined. He would not fail this time.
(A/N) Ooooh, creepy, huh? Who is the woman? What is the mist? How will the Halliwell brothers get involved? Why is the strange man following them? Yup, a ton of questions, and they will be answered very very soon!
Oh, and I was so excited about the reception the first chapter got. Thank you, you guys. Thanks to everyone who added this to their Faves, or their Alerts, those who even added me to their alerts. I'm so happy. Special thanks to those who reviewed: DarcieBiffo, tuxer, Fanycharmed, and a guest (I dunno who you are, but thanks!). Anyway, for those who don't know, I make sure to update my stories every Friday, so you have something else to look forward to besides the weekend! :) So, I'll see you guys next Friday, and if you enjoyed this chapter, make sure to leave me a review! Lemme know what you liked or didn't like! And I'll see you next week!