November 15th, 2019
June was a woman of the summer. She was born in it, and if she had it her way, it would be hot all year round. Snow floated down from the grey sky, getting in June's hair and making her feel marginally grumpy. Fuck snow, she mentally cursed. It's useless, cold as all hell, and just gets everywhere. The weather phenomenon in question crunched under June's boots as she walked down a busy sidewalk, which was lined with small shops and the occasional café.
She carried two bags in her hand – one from a local bookstore, filled with saucy romance novels that May adored, although she'd never admit it, and one from a strange little occult shop - the same one that June found the book of the Vishanti in. June had bought her sister a deck of tarot cards, and a set of quartz wands. The shopkeeper explained that they would "help her focus her magical energies," but June knew it was all bullshit used to sell tourists overpriced rocks. April was into this stuff though, and Christmas gifts transcend personal bias.
She expertly dodged people who were walking her way, weaving around several small groups of people. When walking in New York, you had to be quick and light on your feet - otherwise you ran a serious risk of getting ran into. A nearby store was playing Christmas music over an external speaker, filling the air with its annoyingly catchy tune that everyone knew by heart. She passed by the store, the music gratingly loud in her ears – and she stopped for a second. She could have sworn she heard the distinct sound of a portal opening, but it could have just been the music mixed with people talking. She mentally shrugged and took a step forward, ready to continue on her way.
That's when the screaming began.
June whipped around, dropping both of her bags. Her eyes grew wide with shock and dread as she saw the horror towering over the cars in the street. It was big, grey, and easily stood 20 feet tall. It looked like a strange mixture between a lizard and a praying mantis, complete with two folded arms that had a single, 6-foot-long blade starting at each of its wrists. It let out a piercing shriek as cars ran into its many thin legs, and it shuffled out of the way as drivers slammed onto their brakes and came to screeching stops.
Alright June, think. Small eyes, large antennae – it's a feeler, not a seer. Avoid claws. Legs seem to be a weak point. Thorax underside looks soft. She was running calculations in her mind as she ran towards the beast, ready to spring into action. And most importantly, keep it away from civilians! Her hands sparked with orange magic as she rushed at the monster, and her mind quickly ran through the incantation to conjure a sword and a shield. The creature swiveled its head in June's direction, and began to scramble towards her with a scream.
It wants the Book. Monsters were attracted to the book of the Vishanti, and its raw power acted like a beacon for all things magical. It was as if June was wearing a neon sign that said "Eat me!" at all times. But never before had a monster specifically hunted her down like this – at least, she assumed it was here because of her. She had the beast's full attention, and the distance between them was closed in a matter of seconds. The monster lashed out with one of its scythe-like claws, and June raised her conjured shield to block it, dropping down onto one knee so the blow didn't knock her back.
In a normal battle, the claw would have harmlessly bounced off her shield. But this claw tip went right through it, piercing the orange disc with a sickening noise of magic being broken – it sounded like someone was slowly tearing apart metal, and the sound was excruciating. It didn't break through the shield, and the claw was trapped in it, the point of the blade dangerously close to June's hand.
Shit, shit, shit! June threw her arm out, shaking the claw out of the shield, and whipped around, trying to get some distance between her and the monster. Her sword vanished, and in its stead, a long, curved arc of magic appeared in her hand – a bow to shoot with. The creature scrambled towards her on its 6 thin legs, but it skidded around a bit in the snow, bumping into stopped cars. It let out another scream, which was almost loud enough to drown out the screams of the civilians, who were desperately trying to escape the area.
June saw her chance – a stopped, empty car. With a strong jump, she leapt onto the hood of it and made her way to its roof. She quickly aimed her bow and pulled at an invisible string, and a bolt of orange lightning danced in her hand. She released the string, and the conjured arrow flew forward and hit its mark, right in the center of the creature's chest. It staggered a bit, then continued to rush towards June. The distance between them was closing – she had to keep moving.
Stephen! I need Stephen! Her mind raced as blood roared in her ears. She sprinted down the wintery road, dodging abandoned cars, with the monster hot on her heels. The noise of sirens wailed in the distance, but the emergency responders wouldn't be able to get their vehicles to the scene – the cars had created a pile up that stretched for a few blocks. There was no time to sling, the creature was fixed on her – and that's where she wanted its attention to be. If it was focused on hunting her, then it would be too distracted to eat civilians. There was only one way to contact Stephen while keeping the creature busy: a telepathy spell.
…
The winter's cold was kept comfortably at bay by the walls of the Sanctum Sanctorum. The cold sunlight filtered through the occasional window, and its usual silence seemed to create a presence of simultaneous peace and dread.
Stephen sat, or rather, floated, in his study. He levitated a few feet off the ground with the Cloak's magic. In front of him were several pieces of pure brass, which were also floating. Stephen's eyes were closed, and his hands were making several motions in sequence as he focused his magical energy into the brass. There was the noise of bending metal, which was unpleasant, but it wasn't enough to pull Stephen out of his trance. The hunks of metal began to be shaped, and Stephen clearly saw the end product in his mind: sling rings. He tilted his wrists and furrowed his brow as he focused, using all of his fortitude to imbue the metal with the magics necessary to allow for portals.
Stephen! Help!
The thought rang through his mind like a gunshot, and he let out a yell and fell to the floor. The hunks of brass hit the floor with dull thuds, and Stephen let out a groan. He felt the familiar touch of a telepathy spell in his mind, and he immediately recognized who it was.
June? What's wrong? At the thought of her name, several emotions colored his mind. Joy, fear, love, unease – they were laid bare for June to see. Likewise, June's emotions pulsed in the bond between them – Fear, anger, panic, desperation.
Monster! At Church and Thomas! No time, civilians in danger! Stephen and June's shared mind flashed with images and concepts – the beast, the location, the fact that it was fixated on the Book. Stephen knew it all within a second.
On my way. Resolve and anger steeled his mind – a monster, attacking June? Protectiveness roared up from within in, and he suddenly became very aware that their minds were still linked. Flattery and amusement hummed for a second on June's end, but it was quickly replaced by fear as the beast used its thick, long tail to send a car flying towards her.
Stephen jumped up and pulled his sling ring from his sash, and quickly slung to June's location. The cold air was a bit of a shock to his body, and the noises of screaming, sirens, and the monster screeching assaulted his senses. Stephen looked at the beast, magic sparking in his hands, ready to fight.
Roj-mal. He immediately identified the beast, and dread filled his heart. These things were from dimension 1678, and they were not only powerful – they made magic of their own. Death touch.
The thought made both him and June freeze. This monster was an apex predator, and was an unstoppable force in its own dimension, all due to the magic that rested in its claws. Death touch was a spell that occurred in a small handful of known magical predators. Its name was quite literal – if you were hit by something with death touch in a vital area, death was near instantaneous.
Lives are on the line. June's worry poured over their mental link.
Keep your distance. Make sure it doesn't touch anyone with those claws. Stephen did his best to remain calm to reassure June, but he couldn't hide the feeling of dread he had in his gut.
The Roj-mal didn't even seem to notice Stephen, as its bulbous eyes kept fixed on Juniper. This was his chance – Stephen acted quickly, sending blasts of magic towards the monster. The light hit the Roj-mal and knocked it backwards, making it crush two cars underneath its weight. Its legs flailed helplessly as it struggled to right itself. June took the opportunity, sending several conjured arrows into the soft flesh of the Roj-mal's underbelly. It let out a screech and flailed harder as purple blood leaked out of the arrow wounds.
The tail of the beast was long, and June wasn't fast enough to dodge its swift blow. Pain exploded through their mental link as June was knocked off the car she was standing on, and it intensified when she landed on the pavement, her head hitting the concrete with a sharp 'thwack!' Stephen visibly staggered as the pain crossed into him due to the mental link, and spots appeared on his vision. June was disoriented, confused, and bleeding.
The noise of the monster righting itself onto its legs seemed far away in Stephen's mind as he used the Cloak's magic to quickly fly over to his comrade. Worry bounced between them as he rushed to her. June's vision was blurred.
Occipital lobe damage. Concussion likely. Stephen mentally registered her injury as he bent down to help her up.
Stephen. Stephen. Stephen. June's mind repeated his name as several blurred images of Stephen bent down towards her. In that moment, nothing else mattered. Their mental link resonated, sending their flooding emotions into each other's mind. There was no monster, no screaming, no battle. For a moment, the only thing that mattered was that Stephen was here, and he was going to help her back up. The thought of Stephen helping her sent warm waves of affection and attraction across their mental link, and they found themselves momentarily lost in the sensation.
The three Stephens morphed back into one as June stood up. Reality weighed back in on them – there was a Roj-mal on the loose, and they had to kill it. There was no time for rest, no time for worry, and there was definitely no time for getting wrapped up in each other. The decision to shove down those romantic emotions they felt was mutual.
Don't talk about it. June wasn't sure if the thought was hers or Stephen's, but it didn't matter. The Roj-mal was back on its feet, and it roared at the pair of sorcerers.
Let's finish this. Stephen thought, and June nodded.
Let's. They both conjured up weapons – Stephen made a fiery whip, while June held a conjured bow. She attacked first, sending a volley of magical projectiles straight into the monster's chest as it closed the distance between them. It was close – too close. Stephen lashed out with his whip as the monster raised its claws to strike at June, and he made the magical energy wrap around the blades, binding them. He used Cloak to fly up in the air, pulling the claws upwards with him. The monster screeched in fury and struggled against Stephen's restraints, and June used the opportunity to send several magical arrows into its scaled chest.
The beast roared once more, this time in pain, and thrashed its tail and body wildly, trying to get its claws free. The Roj-mal swiveled its head towards Stephen, and flared its set of mandibles open as it hissed at him.
June! Finish it! Stephen couldn't hold the creature for much longer, the physical strain of maintaining such a powerful binding spell was becoming too much, even for his fit body. June readied her conjured bow once more, taking aim at the beast's head.
Then Stephen's spell broke.
It all happened within the blink of an eye – the monster summoned all of its strength and tore through his spell, and with frightening speed, lunged upwards at Stephen. Surprise and panic filled both of their minds, and June let out an arrow towards the monster as it leapt towards Stephen, claws raised to strike. The arrow missed, flying right behind the Roj-mal's head. The Cloak tried to pull Stephen out of the way, but it was too slow.
The creature plunged one of its massive bone claws right into Stephen's chest, impaling him. Screaming, burning agony filled June's mind, and both her and Stephen let out a scream in unison. Stephen struggled against the claw in vain, and then went limp. Nothingness filled June's mind - the lack of Stephen's presence was devastating, and she had never felt so alone in her entire life. The monster flicked its arm outward, sending Stephen flying. He hit the ground with a sickening thud, his body completely limp. June's mind was spinning, trying to make sense of the situation. No matter how many scenarios ran through her head in a second – he's just unconscious, the monster's magic cancelled out the telepathy spell – there was no denying the reality that was weighing on her mind, crushing her under its weight.
Stephen was dead.