I fell in love with the city. I fell in love with the sounds and the sights and yes, even the smells. It was somewhere foreign and new and different, and I was out there, exploring and learning and most importantly, safe.
I had a job as a journalist for a local paper. The Men of Letters had taken my past work experience and gotten me something that I could even continue with in my travels, just writing whatever I want and seeing it published under the pseudonym Nyx. Alongside that, I went and learned from the Men of Letters. They had people who knew spells I only read about or hadn't even seen in the Bunker Libraries. I didn't even have to create a computer catalogue of them, they had a library-esque index already set up for me to search.
In return, I was to show them how I did what I did, how I was able to make up spells on the spot if needed, and how I thought through them. I could see the explanations not quite sticking, and in truth they didn't fully stick with me either. It was science and magic and a sort of mumbo-jumbo Frankenstein mash-up from my own head.
And with it came new ways to try and combat monsters. Field testing different spells I had only imagined working out, different ways of healing people. Testing which spells their predecessors had written out long before hand and quite simply had never gotten the opportunity to test. Not all of them worked, many blew up in my face, but those that did… It felt like straight up Hogwarts days. I was happy, here, genuinely happy. I was getting better, getting back in control of my powers. I was… I was just better, now. Better and happy.
Lonely, yeah, but happy. I was safe. I was doing good things. I was…
Yeah, I was lonely. I was still a bit of an outcast. It didn't matter that I was one of them, now, I was still a witch. I could still see the glares and sideways glances and the few of them that would clutch a cross or a star or some religious article just out of habit.
No matter how much I loved the change of scenery, the first two weeks were hard. Those were the days when people were more open about their apprehension. Nobody would speak to me unless required to. I was an American witch. I was different. I was foreign. I didn't belong, and they were just waiting for the moment I slipped up so they could complain and send me away.
I shouldn't have been surprised when one of them had a Hunter follow me. Lady Bevell. She was the one that tortured Sam and Dean. She wasn't really big on Americans as a whole.
The Hunter she picked to follow me, however, wasn't exactly as skilled as Sam and Dean were. I noticed him the day he started, and let him follow me around for the next week until I confronted him.
I led him in to a small alley, like Sam and Dean would've done, before pinning him against the wall. The knife he'd pulled once he entered the alley clattered to the ground. "Who are you?" I asked him, my voice calm as I held him there with my power. "And why are you following me?" He chose not to answer, not at first, and I rolled my eyes. "I'm not going to hurt you, you idiot." I muttered, letting him down. He fell with a sharp intake of breath, staring up at me in confusion. "What? You thought I would?" I asked, walking towards him. I picked up the knife he dropped, looking it over for a minute. The engravings were well done, and the blade itself pure iron. If he stabbed me with it, it would light my insides on fire.
Or at least it would, if I was a normal witch.
What bothered me, though, was it's age. Very well kept up with, something difficult to do with iron, but at the same time the work done on it was truly impeccable. The Men of Letters, however, liked to keep their things new. Someone inside must've sent him, yes, they order all the Hunters around, but they also tend to equip them better.
They didn't care if he quite exactly was prepared or not.
"Who sent you?" I asked. "I know it's Men of Letters, I work for them." That got some surprise out of the guy. "Oh yeah." I pulled out the pendant they'd given me, the one I wore around my neck as proof. "I'm a strange witch. Now I'll ask again, before I turn you in to Ketch, who are you, and who told you to follow me?" That made him physically pale.
"My name is Thomason Jones." He answered, his voice shaky. "Lady…" He took a deep breath. "Lady Bevell told me you were dangerous, and needed to be monitored."
"And she sent a Hunter because you're not Men of Letters." I answered. "And therefor harder to expose in case you are caught, as well as much more disposable to her." I shook my head. "That bitch!"
"Excuse me?"
"What?" I asked, offering him back the hilt of his blade. "Am I wrong?" Thomason just kind of stared at the blade, the weapon I was freely giving back to him. "I know you can't hurt me, and I also know that I won't hurt you, even if you try against me." I explained. "There's no point in me keeping this. It's obviously something that belongs to you, I'm guessing hunting runs in your family." When he didn't respond, just kept up that surprised look, I tilted the handle so I could see the edge of it. Initials were written on it, T.J., but they weren't new. They were carved there a long time ago.
"It was my grandfather's." He finally answered. "I was… I was named after him."
"Cool." He took it from me hesitantly, and was quick to sheath it once it was within his grasp. "Mind if I call you T.J. then? Thomason is just a mouthful."
"I… I guess?" I smiled brightly. "Great. Now I'm gonna call Lady Bevell."
"Wait!" T.J. shouted as I pulled out my phone.
"What?"
"You… You're calling Lady Bevell." He said. "Not Ketch or Mick or the Old Men?"
"Of course not." I said. "Bevell is the one that told you to follow me, right? Probably told you I was dangerous and not to be trusted as well?" He nodded, slowly, almost as though he was still a little dazed. "Then it's her problem with me, not anyone else's. I'll call her."
"She…" He took a deep breath. "She won't be too kind to me when she learns you found me out."
"Please, she was probably wanting me to hurt you." I muttered. That got another round of wide eyes. "She didn't equip you, did she?" He shook his head. "Just told you it would be a basic witch tracking?" A nod. "And what did she promise in return?"
"To help me join the Men of Letters." He answered meekly.
"Yeah, that's a not gonna happen scenario." I said. "Bevell has been trying to get me out since I showed up. She was just using you." I watched as his face fell. "Sorry."
"So… I won't be allowed to pledge?" He asked. "I won't get to learn how to become a Men of Letters?" I shook my head.
"Not with Bevell's offer." I answered. "Sorry about that." T.J. lowered his head, looking defeated. That's when I really took a good look at him. His skin was dark, with just a bit of olive mixed in, and his hoodie was a faded navy blue. He wore lighter colored jeans, ones that contrasted heavily against the rest of him, but in all honesty his hair reminded me of Billie's. A little wild and unruly and determined to not be tamed.
But he also looked nice. Kind. Eager. About the same age as me.
"Thank you for telling me." He finally said, removing me from my thoughts. "I guess I ought to go back home now."
"Hold on." I stopped him, forcing him to look back up at me. "How old are you?"
"Twenty-one." He answered.
"You should go to college," I stopped for a second myself, correcting the words. "Sorry, university. Or travel. Or just get out of the Hunting life in general."
"It's the family business." He answered. "It's what my father did and his father and his father before him. It's just something we all do." He shrugged. "I don't know what else I would do, and university isn't quite for me."
I thought on that for a little bit. "You said Bevell would try and screw you over, right?" I asked. He nodded. "I'm gonna fix that for you real quick." I still had my phone out, and I had her number. I dialed it quickly, and waited for her to respond.
"Kylie!" She sounded like she had to force herself to be happy. "What a pleasant surprise! How has your afternoon been?"
"Quite interesting." I responded. "I just met this great guy, and I wanted to tell you all about him!"
"Really, as much as I'd love to talk about boys with you, dear girl," I gritted my teeth at that. "I'm afraid I have important Men of Letters business to attend to."
"You mean like lying to a Hunter and having him tail me?" I asked. There was silence on the other end of the line, and T.J. frantically waved his hands in a "NO" fashion. I disregarded him and kept talking. "Oh yeah. I've known since he started." He stared at me, confused, and I put a hand over the phone to speak to T.J.. "What?" I asked. "You stared too much, your footsteps were in line with mine, and you continually left maybe two seconds after I did. You really need to give it a bit more time to seem natural about it." I turned my attention back to the phone. "In any case, I'm not hurting or killing him, however I do believe you promised something to him."
"I don't have the faintest idea what you're talking about." She finally said. I raised an eyebrow.
"Sure you don't. Now I can either call Mick and let him know that this is how you treat new operatives," I left a pause for her to answer. She didn't, so I continued. "Or you can do two things for me. Keep your promise to Thomason here, and leave me the hell alone. We're on the same side, I work with you, get over it."
There was silence on her end for a long time before she finally spoke. "Fine." She gritted out. I will… Send in my letter of recommendation for Thomason Jones to begin his formal training."
"Thank you!" I cheered, my voice dripping with sickly sweet happiness. "I'm so glad we finally understand each other! Oh, and one more thing." I added on. "Try anything like this again with me, and I won't bother with a courtesy call. I'll just go straight up the chain to your superiors." I hung up on her, smiling an actual victorious smile at Thomason as I pocketed my phone. "There. You've got a chance, now."
"How did you do that?"
"I'm a very snarky, very determined American woman that has a problem with authority and bitchy managers." I stated. "There isn't really a lot she could do that I wouldn't figure out a way around. Besides, she's already on thin ice." I watched as T.J. worked through what I was saying. "Getting caught for this can't really help her, can it?"
"Who are you?" He asked.
"Kylie." I offered a hand, and after a moment's hesitation he shook it. "Kylie Dillinger, American witch."
"T.J., I guess." He said, offering me a confused smile and nod. "British Hunter and now, apparently thanks to you, initiate for the Men of Letters."
"Great to meet you." I said, withdrawing my hand. "Have a nice day."
"You're leaving?" T.J. asked as I strode off.
"I have to get back to my apartment." I said, still walking. "My hellhound is waiting for me." A second later, T.J. was walking beside me.
"You have a hellhound?" He asked. "The Men of Letters let you have a hellhound?"
"Yeah." I nodded. "I proved that she won't hurt them and that the ingredients gained from her being around and pretty damn tame are actually extremely beneficial."
"So you just happen to have a hellhound? And it doesn't frighten you?"
"Not really."
"And you're a witch?"
"Yeah."
"Does that mean you're going to hell when you die?" He asked. "We've encountered demons that were witches or warlocks before their passing."
"That's actually a good question." I said. "I've got angel grace inside of me, so I've never actually had to pledge any allegiance to a specific demon or to Lucifer and whatnot, but at the same time I was trained by the King of Hell, whose mother is a witch, so I guess it could go either way."
"You… You…" T.J. sounded pretty confused. "You have angel grace?"
"Yes."
"And a demon has a mother?"
"Yes."
"Who is a witch as well?"
"Yes."
"Does the other witch have angelic grace inside of her as well?"
"Nope."
"And this said demon is the King of Hell?"
"Yes."
"The King of Hell has a mother?"
"Don't most demons and people in general?"
"Does that mean he isn't Lucifer?"
"Correct."
"And the King of Hell trained you to be a witch?"
"It was pretty desperate circumstances." I admitted, rounding a corner. T.J. followed beside me, looking as though his head was swimming. "Lucifer had just tried to kill me, and God's sister was a pretty big threat."
"Hold on a tick." T.J. said. I stopped, turning to face him. "Are you playing a practical joke on me?"
"Do I look like I am?" I dared him, raising an eyebrow.
"Dear God…" He muttered. "You're not."
"Welcome to the American world of Hunting." I muttered. We were almost to my apartment.
"I… I have more questions." He said.
"And I have a hellhound waiting two blocks down and twelve floors up for a bit of outside time and a burger." I responded. "So unless you're willing to put up with all of that, I'll see you in training."
"I'm willing to put up with everything." He answered quickly. This shocked me.
"You're a Hunter." I reminded him. "And she's a hellhound."
"Will she…" He struggled to find the appropriate words. "Will she bite me?"
"Not unless you try to kill her."
"Then I think it will be manageable." He said. "As long as you aren't bothered by my prying."
I thought on that for a few moments. For the past two weeks, all my life had been was go to Men of Letters, go back to apartment. No outside friends or socializing, people weren't quite warming up to me enough for that. I had no friends here to talk with, and in all honesty calling Crowley wasn't something I was ready to do just yet. I didn't have a number for Billie, and I knew if she just showed up at my summoning alarms would go off like crazy. That was why Karma had stayed at the apartment. I was still working on getting the engravings right on her collar so that she WOULDN'T call down Ketch and a squad of Hunters that quite simply just wouldn't know.
I was actually taking her out for a walk to test some new ones. Ketch would call if I set off alarms.
"No." I finally said. "No, I… I don't mind." I clarified. "I wouldn't mind a friend."
"I've been following you for the past week, and you want me to be your mate?" He asked. I shrugged.
"Has anything I've said to you or done so far make you think I'm a normal person?" I asked in response. I could see him mull it over for a moment.
"Fair enough." He conceded. We resumed walking back towards my apartment, talking the whole way.
That was when things started looking up, when I really started enjoying being in London. Word travelled fast around the Men of Letters too, including the rumors that I had put Lady Toni Bevell in her place and that I had gotten a Hunter in as an initiate. This created a definition for whether people approved of me or wanted my head.
I was thankful that more people appreciated me for that versus those that didn't. Apparently Bevell pissed off a fair amount of people, and they were all happy that I hadn't taken any of her shit.
And I had a friend with me, now – T.J.. He got put with me for training, now, as my partner. It was smart for trainees to work in pairs, so that they had another to learn from with different ideas as well as someone to watch your back and make sure you didn't get killed.
It was almost like having a permanent lab partner for classes, and one that I could easily get along with. If there were different charms or spells I wanted to field test, T.J. went with me as backup. If it was Thursday night and pints sounded good, we went and snagged some pints. If it was a Sunday afternoon and I was taking Karma for a walk or training with her for physical defensive situations, T.J. came as well and gave critique. I set him up with glasses so he could see her after that first day, because it was obvious T.J. intended on being around after then.
He just kind of… Kind of stuck around, and it was honestly exactly what I needed. A friend to help me adjust.
