Chapter 9
Ash checked to make sure that his Queen was fast asleep, his only objective being to get out of there as quickly as possible.
She held many questions for him when he returned earlier that day, conservatively rubbing his neck. It was hard for him to hide his anxiety as he tended to her needs, looking forward to the night's events. She definitely caught onto his off behavior, but thank the Lord that she didn't voice her concerns.
Now, with her day over, his could begin.
Quietly opening the glass doors of her chambers, the angel stepped onto the balcony, pausing for a moment to admire His handiwork painted across the glimmering sky. His glory was something that would always cause him to pause and just soak in His magnificence.
A deep breath.
Climbing up to the railing, he stretched his wings and took off into the beautiful night. With the grace of a cat and speed of a falcon, Ash could not help but feel like the embodiment of perfection in that moment. The beauty of God's natural creations of the Earth could only truly be appreciated by His servants, and he gazed with reverence at the forests that zoomed past him.
He couldn't recall exactly where his target resided, but then again, the angel wouldn't find him if he didn't want to be found. Closing his eyes, he focused all of his senses into trying to detect their signature. The further he flew past London, the harder he reached out. The foliage seemed to stretch forever like a verdant ocean, so much so that his mission is akin to finding a needle in a haystack.
But he wouldn't be deterred so easily.
...There. He almost missed it, but there was no doubt in his mind: an arcane pulse.
Dipping slightly to the right, he focused magical energy into his hand to announce his approach, but there was no way his target wasn't already aware of his presence. The fact that he had felt his essence at all said that they purposely gave him a trail and was willing to entertain him.
The magical energy grew almost overwhelming as he neared, all but crackling in his ears. Ash landed as close as he dared, and he was greeted with a suspicious clearing within the otherwise dense forest.
Before him, a familiar man materialized from thin air. They made eye contact for a moment, and he sported an easy smile.
"Come in," he beckoned.
Walking into the clearing without looking back, the hologram disappeared past a certain point. Not wanting to lose his guide, Ash swallowed his sudden hesitation and followed after him.
No, he chastised. You need him.
He couldn't suppress the shiver as he crossed the barrier, nor his gasp of surprise when he was greeted by a looming, enormous mansion. In fact, he realized that it shouldn't even fit in the size of the clearing without overlapping huge towering oaks that would have impeded a building of this measure.
"Close your mouth," the projection chuckled. "You'll catch flies."
"It wasn't this large last time I was here," he muttered, voice hoarse. The man raised an eyebrow at his rasp, but if he was curious he didn't act on it.
Walking up to the gargantuan doors, he tapped the handle with a glowing fingertip. Reacting to his magic, the entrance slowly opened before them, revealing the grand castle within.
"Well," he mused, fluttering inside. Ash trailed behind like a lost dog. "I've had some time to redecorate."
The angel froze at the sight of a mystical dryad approaching the two. With the torso of a beautiful woman and the four-legged body of a doe, the enchanting creature stared at him behind her lenses with disdain, raising her nose and crossing her arms. Her garb was rather strange, too - she was dressed in a rather masculine suit, tailored to her unique body shape.
He was reminded yet again that he was quite literally walking into the lion's den.
"Ah, Perry! Just the one I wanted to see." The magician's projection clapped his hands cheerfully, oblivious to the daggers she was shooting at his guest. "Please take Ash to Lab 431B."
"Lab?" the angel questioned, his imagination filling him with dread. His companion laughed at his concern.
"I'm just taking notes. I would assume you'd want to talk face to face… unless, you would like to volunteer for an experiment?"
"No, thank you," came the quick response. The mage pouted for a moment but smiled afterwards, unfazed.
"Suit yourself. See you soon!"
He disappeared in an instant. Ash had blinked and he was already gone, leaving him with the sneering dryad as his guide. Refusing to even acknowledge him, her hooves clattered on the marble floor as she turned around, trotting down the left hall. The angel struggled to keep up with her unrelenting pace.
One dizzying teleportation later, they soon found themselves before a door that looked like every other in the hall. A sheet of paper hung beside it, depicting a foreign language in elegant script. A golden plate labeled "431B" was nailed to the mahogany wood.
The two lingered before it. No noise could be heard on the other side. The angel, remembering his manners, turned to thank the woman, but she was already turning the corner and vanishing from his sight.
Sighing and steeling his resolve, he turned the gilded knob and entered the room.
Ash was greeted with the same man as before, though this time hunched over a table with his back turned to him. The only difference being that this one was evidently not a projection as his presence was far more evident. A white coat draped carelessly at his elbows and a mess of soft, ivory hair fell to his knees. Furious scribbling could be heard, the man too engrossed to realize that his visitor had arrived.
The angel coughed into his hand. The man's writing paused, and he turned to face him with a glowing smile.
"Ash!"
"I need your help," he stated abruptly before any chance that they could go off topic.
The magician pouted at his exclamation before humming into his hand in mock contemplation, giving him an expectant look. "I would love to help, but…"
Growling, the angel turned, putting his wings within arms reach of the other man. "Yes, I remember."
Suppressing a shiver, Ash allowed him to stroke his wings in appreciation. "What a fine specimen…"
"Hurry up already." Taking a seat, he faced the door and tightly gripped the chair to brace himself. Clicking his tongue at his impatience, the mage plucked the first feather, eliciting a yelp from the heavenly being. They continued like that for what seemed like an eternity to the angel until his assailant acquired their previously agreed amount. Satisfied, he gathered the soft plumage in his arms and bound them with the twine he had on the bookshelf.
"So," he sang cheerfully, setting the bundle on the table and crossing his arms. "What can I help you with?"
Ash wiped a few tears of pain from his eyes. He went through too much abuse this week.
"Uh… yes. Right." The moment he tried to mention the traumatic incident, however, his tongue refused to cooperate, and to his horror the dignified angel spewed out incoherent words like a newborn babe.
"Pardon?"
Frustrated, he tried again, only to result in the same jumbled mess of unintelligible speech. Growling in frustration, he grabbed his host by the shoulders, shaking him violently as if he could force the explanation into his brain.
The wizard grabbed his face so tightly Ash thought bones would break. "Stop, you idiot!"
Prying open his jaw, much to the misery of the angel, he pulled his tongue into the artificial light of the room. In response to his touch, the seal bled into existence, and the wizard whistled at its obvious complexity.
"Who did you piss off?" he mused, impressed.
Ash frowned in irritation, unable to respond both because of the tight grip on his tongue and the seal. The mage released his hold after getting a closer look at the delicate design, lightly slapping his cheek in condolence.
"We'll talk price later. I'll need some time to release the seal first, then you'll explain the mess you got into."
"Alright," he muttered petulantly, rubbing his abused face. "Can I go?"
He winced at the sharp bark of laughter, and the magician pat his head in a placating manner. "I need to sketch it first, so open your mouth and keep it open."
He hummed in appreciation as the angel complied, pulling out a fresh sheet of parchment.
"Also, I'm not entirely sure how many layers your friend put into this, so we'll be seeing each other a lot more while I decode each one."
The angel let out an audible groan. Damned witch…
Seir sneezed, jolting her awake.
Rubbing her nose, she picked up the book she'd dropped, mildly upset that she'd lost her place. Someone must be thinking about me.
"...You can't."
Placing the sketch inside a spare tome, the magician cast his guest a questioning gaze. "Why not?"
The angel rubbed the back of his head. His suggestion to tag along in his daily life made him anxious. It would undoubtedly speed up the decryption process exponentially, but how would he explain his presence to anyone - most of all his Queen?
He felt he knew the mage fairly well. He was spontaneous, laid back, and charismatic to a fault, which could interfere in his off work should he come along. Furthermore, the last thing he could ever imagine him doing was conforming to the strict lifestyle of servitude, which would only cause him more trouble if he didn't take the role seriously.
"You're quite clueless," his host chuckled, looking at his concerned expression. "I'll just remain invisible and work in your room until I actually need to test something on you."
Ash blinked, then sighed in relief. "That would work. I'm just not so familiar in the magical arts…"
"It'd be a sin if you were," he jested, sweeping his eyes across his bookshelf. Pulling several out, he set them on the table and withdrew the sheet that he was working on before the angel barged in. "Are you free to meet tomorrow? I would like to finish some things before we proceed."
"Of course." Relieved to know that his predicament would be taken care of, he stood up from his seat and smoothed any wrinkles from his pristine suit. For the first time that night, he genuinely smiled and held a hand out to the magician.
"Thank you, Merlin."
The mage smiled in turn, firmly shaking his hand. "Of course. Pleasure doing business with you."
With a wave, Ash exited a room. Though, deciding it best to avoid encountering any of the mage's familiars, he took off from the closest window, with the wizard seeing him off to ensure he wasn't obliterated by the barrier.
The angel now gone, his lips melted to their normal indifference. Turning back to the lab, he shut the door behind him and withdrew the tome he had put away a few minutes prior, flipping to the loose page containing the intricate conundrum of Ash's seal. The delicate swirls and strokes taunted him, and the longer he stared at it, the tighter his grip on the leatherbound book became.
He already knew who the angel had run into. Her name was written all over her work.
Merlin let a self-deprecating smile form on his features, not daring to touch the mockery of such calligraphic mastery that he'd hastily scrawled on the parchment.
I suppose it's finally time.
Author's Note (Ch. 9):
Shadowing: Calculated ;P That will be explained in the future!
-The mechanics of sealing are similar to fuinjutsu in Naruto (if you're familiar with it), in which the magician can put an infinite amount of layers depending on their intentions. However, more layers means a greater chance of failure due to having extraneous, unnecessary formulae. Like computer coding, excessive layers opens more opportunity for mistakes. A true master can manipulate seals into whatever they want using as many or as few layers as they please.
-We'll be returning to Seir and our favorite angry child next chapter!