After Adam and Eirik's departure, Lucia had sought shelter in the cool argent shadows of the café's dining room, lifting one of the plush blue cushions of a booth to retrieve her purse and one of the purple balls of yarn inside it, resigning herself to thinking about what had just happened as she added another inch to the scarf. From what she had gathered, she, her two best friends a lovely boy she got on well enough with, and one she knew by sight(it was still undeclared whether she was pursuing his company), had the power to warp the natural world and possessed what she understood to be supernaturally magnified senses and strength, in Adam's case, that the supernatural seemed to comprehend horror, wonder, and all ambiguous states in between, and that her father may suffer a coronary when he saw the water bill.
Turning over her palm, she envisioned the December sky, somber and grey, dark clouds swollen with snow and freezing gales slicing across the shriveled brown grass, hoping to coax these images into a spell she knew inherently or even the meager ghost of snowflakes as evidence the last two hours proceeded as they did. Head pulsing from the exertion, she exhaled as if to encourage any Magick to manifest, but the air remained placid and comfortably cool, the same results generated when she tried various gesticulations to channel her new abilities, only managing to knock her knitting needles off the table. Reluctant to continue experimentation without further information or guidance (after all, what happened if her endeavors were successful and she encased the entire dining room with ice? The only suitable place to even attempt additional spells, she decided, was the meat freezer until further notice), and with only four people she could confide her questions in she pulled out her phone and texted a quick message to Addie, Kat, and Eirik pleading for answers to dispel her mental turmoil. The owl clock on the wall leading to the kitchen rang four times, declaring preparations for the dinner hour had begun, and there would be a sink of dishes for her to wash as well as customers (all 20 of them) to serve, and she stowed away her knitting needles, slipping her phone into the pockets of one of her skirts awaiting a reply, then withdrew to the kitchen to help.
It seemed her previous attempts to generate even a sprinkling of snow weren't as fruitless as she believed, merely delayed by a few hours. She had been standing at the sink doing the last of the dinner dishes and mulling over the afternoon's strange affairs when her gentle, repetitive motions were betrayed by whatever the mass of water had awakened within her, her hands shaking as the glass in her fingers was soon sheathed in ice. Blanching in disgust, she turned the hot water taps to their most torpid, steam rising from the sink to thaw it till the thick ice dribbled away, continuing to clean the remaining dishes in a mist of near-boiling water that made her father wince in pain when he washed his hands in the stream. Despite this, her small hands were the same pale, almost translucent white after she finished without a blotch of red skin or shriveled crease on her soaked hands- even her mauve nail polished was unblemished, and she didn't feel the usual surge of heat that came from having submerged her hands in the hot suds for so long. Perhaps it was an effect of her powers, tolerance of frigid chill and searing heat? Did Eirik have the same tolerance given his command over the volcanic? The rest of her evening passed with little noteworthy, nocturnal reading and art disturbed only by a peek at her phone awaiting anything from the three and melancholic sighs when there were no new messages. Around two, she conceded defeat to her drooping eyelids, turning off the bedside lamp and curled up in bed, checking her phone one final time and squealing in excitement when she saw Eirik had replied with the assurance he'd be available for questions, Kat and Addie dropping in with the suggestion they meet at the cafe in the morning.
Temperate and clear morning came, though the vermillion skies presaged blustery winds and rain,and in anticipation, Lucia stowed a rain umbrella inside her crocheted bag, the largest purse she owned. Eirik was due at the cafe around noon, and while Kat was guaranteed to shuffle in not long after, Addie had little regard for agreed-upon times and was bound to be fashionably late if not chaperoned by the ash witch, and Lucia's mind echoed the atmospheric instability as she waited. Down in the cafe, the owl clock rang hooted eight times, and the silken scent of another pot of coffee mingled with fried eggs and breakfast pastries diffusing through to the living quarters, the Silver Moon Cafe operating from six in the morning to eight in the evening, barring a break after lunch, and reasoning the hands counting down to relief would tick faster if she was taking orders, she made her way downstairs for the next few hours. For two hours she waited on the small breakfast crowd, brought dirty dishes to the sink and swept the outside, though she refrained from the back alley of the cafe, not wanting to endure a repeat performance from the Ravenous Holothurian should it still dwell in the plumbing, at least not without even Adam for reinforcement. Despite this precaution, trouble of the Mundane variety came along around eleven, not an amorphous aquatic abomination or ornery customer, no, trouble came strolling in from the back, standing six foot tall and clad in a chambray shirt, lion's mane of blonde hair tied back at his nape
Hei hei, Luce! " came a familiar lilting tenor that made her blanch from where she sat reading by the door. Her wintry Magic seemed to be firing off intermittently, leaving a fork encrusted with ice, and she hid this under her book as Roger came in through the door leading to the Talvinen's living quarters
"Good to see you too, Roger, did you come to do a drop-off?" she asked, eyes drawn to the duffle bag over his shoulder, heart once more commencing its panicked tempo.
"Mom and dad let me come stay with you for a few days," he replied as she conceived an escape. "There's not a whole lot they need me to at home." "Well, that's nice...it's always fun to have you here," she collected her bag and cast a syrupy smile Addie would envy towards her cousin. "Actually that's good that you're here, Roger, I wanted to go out with Kat and Addie! You can handle the lunch rush, right? Excellent! I'm going to change and go out!"
But..."Roger stammered as Lucia dashed past him, moving so fast her feet seemed to not touch the floor, and he sighed, crestfallen as he was left alone not only by Adam but his own cousin the empty cafe. Sighing, he pulled his headphones from his jeans and turned on his music player, scrolling through his songs and selecting one(Future World, by Helloween was what he landed on),reasoning he may as well settle into the guest room and then go to work in the café.
Lucia stepped out onto the roof of the cafe, parasol tucked over her shoulder to ward off the fiery glare of the late morning blaze, waiting for her heartbeat to descend from its frenzied pattern to its standard skittishness before reflecting on recent affairs. The roof was her choice of refuge as she could spot any monsters on the ground and neutralize them from above, and she reasoned if her powers comprehended all that was wintry, and if she was capable of flight, she could intercept any airborne horrors. She also had one of the cafe's brooms for whomping monsters lest her Magic fail, though for now she hid behind the air conditioning unit on the roof and pulled out her phone to update her friends. have bad news, I'm afraid; Roger is in town for a few days! He's probably realized something's wrong, Lucia typed out to the trio, or duo rather, as Addie was likely primping, relieved to see Eirik's orange avatar light up and three dots wiggling as he typed, assuring her he'd be there and bring Adam, as he had something to show her.
Worries allayed somewhat, she sighed once more, stepping from the shadows to marvel at Main Street below, wondering what it would be like to swoop around the church steeples and rooftops of downtown Brighton, smiling at the notion before her admiration was disturbed. Behind her the air shifted as if someone (or something) had spawned from nowhere. Trembling, broomstick primed for whomping given her inconsistent Magick, she steeled her nerves peeked over her shoulder to see the horror of nothing but the rooftop. Despite the absence of the monstrous, there was the stench of unwashed nether regions that had her turning an unattractive green, and when she felt thin fingers through the tips of her plaits, she shuddered, spinning on her heels and whirling her broom around, striking something solid and organic, the scene before her quivering with motion as a gangly figure in black materialized upon contact and grunted in pain. She screamed as the figure stumbled back, rubbing his sore thigh and cursed as his presence was acknowledged, and as when facing down the Ravenous Holothurian, the words she knew inherently were on her tongue as she thrust out her hand. "Icy Jewel!"
Glowing sapphire Magick flared around her small arm as she thrust it out, a barrage of blue and white fragments of ice with sparkling facets fell upon the figure, who cursed and clutched his chest where she had struck him, and with another shimmer of the air he was gone.
----------
"Well it's certainly possible," Eirik answered as he and Adam wandered their way down Main Street on a return pilgrimage to the Silver Moon Café,(Adam had blessed it with the rude epithet of The Pimply Moon Cafe until Eirik chided him)ready to help Lucia.
"But what sort of Magic someone has isn't affected by what the rest of their family has, so Roger won't be an ice wizard?" Adam recalled, snorting at the notion of Roger Nieminen, tall and rugged as a 14-year-old could be, flitting amidst dainty snowflakes like Lucia, then recoiling, revulsed at the idea of someone with his solid frame wrapped in the flowing, diaphanous layers of silk and cotton his cousin favored. "Good thing, too, he doesn't have the girlish figure for it!"
"...I suppose, but yes, just because Lucia has them doesn't mean he's automatically going to have ice and snow, or water and wind-based powers," Eirik acquiesced for what wasn't to be the last time around Adam. "Though Roger Nieminen is no idiot-I'm sure he's getting suspicious, given that you're spending more time with me when I wasn't part of your immediate friend group until a few weeks ago, and that you missed him the last time he was in town; normally you and the others jump at the chance to spend the day with him.
" And if it's weird seeing the two of us hanging out together, what would he think of me and Lucia? The two of us are polar opposites," Adam, capable of a valuable insight once in a blue moon, observed. "I don't think he'd expect his own cousin to be a witch who can make it snow in the summer, but he probably knows something ain't right."
"We can't keep it a secret forever though, no matter how convenient it would be" Eirik pointed out." Eventually, we'll have to tell him and your other friends, if no other Mundanes."
"Yeah, but we can cross that bridge after a sandwich, right? " Adam admitted as the two arrived at the Silver Moon Cafe, and given that the brunet's teeth disagreed with the brick and the wood of the exterior, entered it in search of softer, tastier foods. "Lucia! I'm home!!!"
He startled when the only response was a certain nasal cry he had gone without hearing for a week. "Man the harpoons! It be the Midwestern Land Whale!" "Low hanging fruit, Jake," Adam snickered, storing Land Whale away in the compartment of his brain dedicated to insults before repaying the smaller boy's compliment in turn." But then again, that's about all you can reach, right?"
"Are you calling me short?" Jakob Komorowski, who hardly stood five foot four, scowled from where he and his somber twin Gregory, Buford Thibodeaux, and lest his eyes deceive him, the ratty fedora of Timothy Dombrowski occupied one booth, Kat and Addie off in their usual corner ogling something (or someone) in a magazine. In spite of his fierce temper, Jakob's unimpressive stature was something he took little issue with as he bobbed his head from side to side in agreement with Adam's assessment, and gave a braying laugh." Then your eyes are working fine! I am short!"
"And you got a mug that'd make an onion cry!"
" Damn straight!"
"What are you bunch doing here? This is too classy of a joint for you bunch to be caught in!" Adam joked, yearning to take a seat with his Mundane friends for just a moment, searching for Lucia in his periphery sight.
"Roger's uncle owns it, didja know? Me and Buford and John Hammerberg were at the Mill Pond and we were going to the Yum Yum Tree but we saw him sweeping the sidewalk ! Anyhow, I should be asking you that question! Where have you been the last two weeks, man? You had so many good plans for summer and then you bail on us! "
"Yes, well mom also has plans to make me her one man landscaping crew and errand boy," Adam tried to grimace, praying his lie would suffice. " But don't worry, next goulash night at the Komorowski's, I'll be there!"
"How'd you find out about this place then?" Buford asked, attempting to walk a ketchup packet over his index finger.
" Eirik's idea, he's friends with Lucia Talvinen, whose parents own the place! She's in our grade, you've probably seen her? About five foot tall, long, white blonde hair, dresses kinda weird..."
"At least she hasn't been wearing the same Hawaiian shirt since the fourth grade," Gregory Komorowski, Jake's junior by 6 minutes grumbled, brushing back his shoulder length hair and staining a few of his muddy brown tresses black from the charcoal stick in his palm, and he scowled into his sketchbook. "I only came with you guys so I could see her and what do I get? Stuck with the ugly cousin!"
"Lucia's upstairs getting ready to go out, I guess she wanted an off day," Roger sighed, Gregory perking up. " But that was half an hour ago and she still isn't done. Girls…
" She's still here in this building though?
" Unless she flew off the roof or something; even if she went out the back she'd still have to loop around the side of the building and I'd have seen her. Ah well, I know how to work the register well enough to fill in, so you're stuck with me till she gets back!"
"What are you doing here anyhow, Roger? Don't you normally have your hands full at the farm?"
"We're all caught up with work, so my parents let me go stay in the city with my aunt and uncle for a few days, "Roger said, distributing menus to the lot ."Believe it or not, Adam, I do miss all of you during the summer."
" Yeah yeah, how about some grub, bub? I haven't eaten anything all day!" Tim spoke up, fedora bobbing with every word, Roger rolling his eyed in mock irritation before pulling his notepad out.
"Cover for me," Adam said to Eirik as he moved towards Addie and Kat's booth as if to talk, elucidating when he got within earshot of the two.
"What? They're your best friends, Adam, I'm more of an acquaintance with everyone but Gregory and Roger, if anything, they'd believe you if you were to go to them."
"Like you said, Roger's no dummy and he knows me well, he knows when I'm lying, and I'm neither smart or savvy enough to create a convincing alibi," Adam murmured." But you are! We've got to get Lucia Talvinen on our side and I can't exactly sneak her to Ore Creek with Roger around!"
"Where do you want to take me?" Like a violet specter, Lucia had appeared, broomstick in her hands (though she thankfully had the good sense to speak too quietly for Roger to hear), and for the second time today, Adam startled, wondering how he could miss a girl so distinctly clothed in her vibrantly patterned smock and layers of clicking jewelry.
"Oi, I thought you were going out!" Roger accused, appearing from the kitchen pushing a cart of sandwiches and drinks.
" Oh I am, they wanted me to wash some dishes before I went and sweep up the pantry a bit. Kat, Addie, are you ready?"
"One second!" Addie giggled coquettishly, pulling her compact from her bag and feigning occupation with her eyeshadow, beckoning the three other Supernaturals towards her realizing the distress in her friend."Alright, what happened? Something's bothering you."
"I was on the rooftop and there was…something with me," Lucia, waiting for Roger to return to the kitchen whispered." It was invisible but definitely solid, more solid than that amoeba in the alleyway, because I hit it with the broom and it turned black briefly and then I ran inside and locked the door. "
"That is weird,the only way up onto your roof is through the apartment or up the fire escape,but and you'd know if someone tried that." Kat agreedd." And there's no way you could bring one back there without having to go in front of the café and I haven't seen anyone with a ladder"
"It was as if he materialized out of thin air and then teleported somewhere afterwards," the ice witch continued." He seemed to be lying in wait to ambush me,but I think I spoiled his plans when I hit him with the broom,and he fled. I also have another spell for my arsenal,so that'ssomething,I guess."
"Oooh well done!"
"I don't know who could teleport and turn invisible though,"Kat murmured,and the hamster wheel in Adam's brain began to spin as he exclaimed."Koltrast! He probably knows there's a witch living here! "
"But he's on our side,I think,"Eirik shuddered at the memory of the warlock."I don't see any reason why he'd do something like that knowing the consequences. "
"Is he one of your mentors?"Lucia asked,and he nodded."Yeah,he's a grumpy old warlock who doesn't like to talk to anyone. I guess he's smart though,and pretty strong;Octavia's the other,she's a bit nicer though."
He tugged his phone out and punched in Edgar's number,cursing his thick fingers pressing into two of the keys at once only to receive a robotic female voice announcing Edgar was unavailable (probably hanging with the bats in the rafters till nightfall) and he had yet to set up a voicemail.'Damnit Koltrast,pick up your phone!'
"He isn't answering, if I had to guess he probably let the battery drain or forgot where he put it again.Ah well, I can take you to Ore Creek Crossing and answer your questions by myself, let's go!".
"Hold on handsome, you're not going to Ore Creek Crossing alone!"Addie tugged on the twine bearing his shrunken zweihander, her spare hand on her hip in a pose reminiscent of Octavia. .
" Huh? "
"I'm coming with you ,darling,whether you like it or not! You need someone who knows their way around Ore Creek Crossing! You're still a newbie,after all,and I've known her for longer! Eirik and Kat can stay and have a nice little chat with your friends!" .
Adam blanched, then blushed as Addie batted her eyelashes, but Kat was the first to challenge this, Lucia already acquiesced to being taken somewhere and to respond as necessary.
"No,Addie,you should stay!"Kat protested, a whimper in her husky voice."You're the one the boys want! What if they call me names?" .
Adam commended her in his mind for admitting the cruel truth as he eyed the two arguing girls, Lucia unwilling to stand between her two friends given her inexperience. The world had blessed Addie generously in beauty, and in addition to her forest green doe eyes and supple figure, she seemed granted the privilege of wearing her green dress tighter and shorter, her heeled boots a smidge higher, and her makeup heavier than most girls her age,and she revelled in the audience of boys who gravitated to her between classes; while Adam's group of friends still regarded the opposite sex with the same attitude given to a mother or sister, she could have the motley bunch of boys enraptured with a flick of her wrist. Meanwhile, Kat,stout, broad-shouldered and thick-limbed,in shapeless, earth-toned overalls suited for either men or women,was apt to elicit nothing more than a few grunts of acknowledgement or insensitive comments in the crueler, something the ash witch was well aware of, and though he knew none of the others would say anything insensitive deliberately, he also knew they had a rougher sense of humor and one bawdy comment could reduce her to tears. Then again, Eirik, Roger, and Gregory were there to curtail them from anything too crass... .
"You wanna come with me, Kat? You could-".
"Shoo,this is girls stuff, you wouldn't understand!" Addie huffed, pivoting with her manicured hands on her hips and pushing her tongue out at him in a juvenile emphasis before acknowledging Kat once more. "Kat, what have I told you about comparing yourself to others? You don't need too,and you've got another think coming if you think you aren't worthy . "They're all nice Mundane boys, a bit silly, a bit smelly, a bit rough around the edges, but their hearts are in the right places,and you've got Eirik and Gregory too, and Roger if he isn't washing dishes! The worst thing any of them would do is tell a fart joke!"
Watching this maudlin affair,Adam felt something stir in his intestines at the sight, not the usual ominous gurgle of lunch not agreeing and the cleanliness of his pants in danger,but something warm as he realized the two girls had an unlikely affinity towards each other.
Kat flushed even more,gazing out of the corners of her ashy grey eyes at the volcanic wizard, who had Adam's group of friends enthralled, then at Addie.
"Nobody is going to hurt you,"Addie ."Without me hearing of it! Now go on,knock them dead!"
Kat murmured something unintelligible and reluctantly shuffled towards the table,taking a seat between Eirik and Gregory.
"You're really up for helping me? You're both kind of overdressed for monster hunting,"Adam observed,the blonde rolling her eyes in response while Lucia shuddered at the thought of more monsters. " You know why I can afford to look like this and fight evil? I'm just that good!I'm ranked as the fourth best witch in my age group for a reason." ."
"Sorry boys, we're stealing this hefty hunk for a little while, but I'll bring him back,promise!"Addie,lashes aflutter, giggled in a syrupy manner as she wrapped both arms around Adam's shoulders,stroking above the junction between arm and socket,Lucia taking up position on his other side. Expanding on her words, Adam puffed his chest out and grinned brazenly,not believing he was about to say the following. " I've got two beauties on in my hands and a third waiting at the table! You're next,Kat!"
Kat turned rosy with pleasure at his statement,Gregory spluttering, and the other three boys agape as Adam strutted like an overweight peacock from the café.
"Oh, Adam, remember the afternoon at the Mortis House?"Roger had returned to chat."Well I was listening to it and I think I managed to isolate something! I was just talking with Jake and Buford and we came to the conclusion that you've got to hear it! How about we meet tomorrow..."
"Er,Rog? I think he's got something else scheduled then," Buford tried to smile,looking distressed." Apparently he's getting popular with the girls,he just walked out with your cousin and the prettiest girl in our grade!"
"Perkele," Roger muttered, his pearly blue eyes narrowing.
-----
" A hefty hunk? What was that about?" Adam blushed after they had left the café, sighing internally in relief that whatever deity he had yet to offend had granted his prayers that Addie detached herself from him, though said Providence hadn't extended to the aroma of dahlia perfume(Lucia's preferred scent of lilies and sugary pastries was less offensive)now soaking his shirt; he would have to intercept the daily laundry basket before his mother lest he face her inquisition.
"You needed a reason to leave, so I gave you one, and it's one you can use over and over again," Addie stated as they traversed the cobblestones, her hand scrabbling for his, but he instinctively stuck both in his back pockets, stepping away from her just a smidge and closer to Lucia,who had her hands folded behind her back listening in to their banter." And blasting monsters into oblivion is romantic, isn't it?"
"Where's this Ore Creek Crossing? "Lucia finally broke her silence,Adam relieved "And is it really plagued by monsters?"
"It's the Supernatural part of Brighton,think downtown Frankenmuth in the middle of the city;it's quite nice actually. I've only seen monsters on the edge of town in the woods."
Lucia puffed out her cheeks and frowned similar to Roger when he was thinking ,but she held her tongue once again,mulling over this and nodding,reasoning her judgement best held till she stepped foot in such a place.
"Adam! Wait up!" a voice from behind called before Addie could respond as two sets of legs approached, and Brynne and Cody from the Colosseum approached."I've been looking for you all morning!"
"You're Garrett's friends,right?"
"Friends?" Cody looked as if somebody had broken wind and he had the misfortune to stumble into the miasma.
Oooh,I know you! You're in the top 20 female fighters at the Colosseum,and you use a mace with mild ferrokinetic Magick!
" Thank you,Addie,it's very flattering.Anyhow,Adam,I don't think we introduced ourselves properly," Brynne said,bristling at how openly Addie spoke of their powers in front of a stranger till she sensed the Magick, Magick of a spellcaster's calibre pulsing from Lucia,and relaxed." I'm Brynne Cadwallader and this is Cody Braddock,my apprentice"
"I don't get to go on Colosseum quests until I'm thirteen in August," Cody smiled"But I can help,right?"
"Oh,and who's this?"
" Lucia Talvinen, I am apparently a witch with ice magick. You're Supernaturals as well?"
"I am,I fight with a mace and I have some power over iron, but not at the spellcaster level like you.I'm also part of leadership at the Colosseum in Ore Creek Crossing and one thing we do is help newcomers to the Supernatural, I'd like to help them get comfortable in our community."
Lucia nodded,still unsure on ."This is a recent development, less than 24 hours, so I'd like to know a bit more before I make my next move. "
"I dunno, if the Ravenous Holothurian oozing around the sewer came back with a vengeance I'm sure you could handle it!"Adam tried to encourage her,but she cringed in protest
" A Ravenous Holothurian? Those things are nasty, and they're invasive from the Pacific Ocean. "
"Yeah,it made water pipes in three businesses burst and it came out of the back spigot of the Silver Moon Cafe! She froze it though,which was pretty cool!"
Brynne pursed her lips for a moment,thinking and coming to the conclusion that talking about monsters and magick wasn't wise in Mundane Brighton."Tell you what,let's go somewhere where we won't get weird looks from pedestrians and continue this conversation. "
They walked the odd block to the Old Town Hall, loitering around the black iron lamppost,Brynne taking Lucia's hand and touching it to the staff."This will take you to the town square in Ore Creek Crossing."
The blonde nodded, a squeak elicited from her as the twisting streets and church behind the hall swirled distorted, yielding to the image of a wondrous world covert,and tentatively, she stepped through the portal admitting her to Ore Creek Crossing, followed by the others.
"Welcome to Ore Creek Crossing,"Brynne addressed her with a flourish."Established 1832,this is the third-largest Supernatural enclave in southeast Michigan with all the amenities to serve your Supernatural needs and more!"
"She's done the same speech five times,"Cody whispered behind his hand to Adam,who was watching Lucia intently to see if the fantastic city before her could coax even a meager smile from her full pink lips,and while her expression remained frigid,he reckoned there was a promising flicker of awe and wonder in her pale blue eyes as she took in the wandering cobblestone streets and wonderland of wood and brick,Magick seeping all around."So,what do you think? Nice?"
Lucia nodded,Adam watching the ever spinning hamster wheel in her head turn at a frenzied cycle as she thought. "It's very picturesque. What was it that you wanted to talk about,Brynne?
" Alright,something weird's happening,a lot of weird things actually,and it's been like this since the last day of school or so. "
Boy,that sounds familiar, Adam mused mentally, holding his tongue for her exposition." Supernaturals attacking other Supernaturals with little warning and fighting as if they're in a trance, only to have no memory of their past actions once they've been defeated. Monsters,a good deal of them dangerous and non native showing up here and in Mundane territory. "
"The barrier should keep them out, though," Addie commented,elaborating further for Adam and Lucia. "There's an invisible barrier between the Magic and Mundane worlds(I think it involves like, mild illusion Magic and a bit of memory alteration?)that keeps all things Magick from spilling out into the real world and conversely, Mundanes from entering our world,and while it grows weak in spots,the spells get renewed regularly
" Then that could explain the creature behind my parent's café,"Lucia offered." Is it possible this barrier,if it spans the Mill Pond area of Brighton, has a weak spot there?
"Well it's certainly worth investigating.The thing is,the spells were renewed at the beginning of June and should be good till next January. With all that's been going on,I think there's only one conclusion: the barrier between Ore Creek Crossing and Brighton,Michigan has been damaged beyond repair and whatever happens next won't be good.
"What?! "Adam,still entertaining himself with the idea of Roger,tall and blonde, whomping monsters behind Ore Creek with a broom,exclaimed in a tone he prayed incredulous enough for her tastes."That ain't good!
"It's horrible and I just don't know how to fix it,"Brynne moaned. "The other thing is Garrett Spitzer,I think he's under the influence of whatever's making people go crazy. He was behaving erratically earlier and muttering something about hunting you down like a wolf."
"Well I hate to pour cold water on his fire but I'm not into that stuff. Where's the mutton head anyhow?"
"And that's the last thing-I haven't been able to find him since ten and he isn't answering his phone!"
"Funny,I got someone with the same problem."
"There was another incident today too,"Lucia broke in ." I was on the roof of the café and someone invisible touched me,though he materialized when I hit him with my broomstick and then he vanished."
Brynne's eyes bugged."Attacked? Did you see what he looked like before he disappeared?This isn't good,having rogue Supernaturals going after other people in Mundane Brighton!"
"I only caught a glimpse of him-he was wearing dark clothing and was on the thin side,and he had his hair under a hat."
" So wait,if you got attacked and your other friend isn't answering his phone and our other idiot is missing,"Cody trailed off,the rusted hamster wheel between his ears creaking as he thought. Slowly.
"I'd bet you lunch at the tavern he has something to do with this!"Adam snarled."Trying to use a new Supernatural as bait to lure me out?"
"I hope not,he's already on probation at the Colosseum for a temper tantrum,and attacking another Supernatural for no good reason will just add him another strike,"Brynne sighed.
"Isn't Garrett Spitzer just like,a lancer? Fighters don't have Magick of that calibre, it's a spellcaster ability!
"No,but I know a warlock who can teleport! "
"Not good-warlocks usually possess very potent,dangerous Magick,the kinds wizards and most witches wouldn't risk eternal damnation for,and are allowed to use weapons,"Addie finished,realizing what Adam had."And if the barrier started failing after the last day of school and you met him the day after…"
"Yeah! I'll betcha he probably has something to do with it!" the brunet snarled."Tall,skinny,all in black,showing up in early June and warping around downtown Brighton picking on other Supernaturals,it's gotta be him!"
"Though typically immortal Supernaturals have sworn to protect and guide in exchange for an extended lifespan,"Brynne tapped her chin."Granted there are rogue immortals but that seems unlikely."
"Why not ask around and see if anyone else has seen anything freaky?"Cody,able to produce the occasional insight offered,Brynne pronouncing her approval with a nod.
" You know,I read it in a book once that everybody knows all great adventures begin at a tavern,so let's check there first,"Adam said,heterochromatic gaze drifting towards the red-roofed structure,and indeed,Ore Creek Tavern,convivial in ambiance and a repository of knowledge Supernatural was their next destination.Brynne's final words aroused an inkling of doubt that Garrett was acting on his own accord or was the only culprit,after all, Edgar was the only Supernatural he knew capable of teleporting,but like Lucia, he contained his thoughts to his head
"One thing though,Adam?Garret Spitzer is an arrogant, stubborn, hotheaded, insensitive jackass sometimes-"
"Sometimes?," incredulous Cody interjected.
Brynne sighed."But he isn't evil-if we find him and he was the one creeping on Lucia,try not to hurt him too much. "
"And if it's Edgar?"
"Run and get reinforcements from the Colosseum knights; I don't think any of us could handle an immortal warlock,especially if he's as bad as you make him out to be."
Adam nodded,feeling the magick seeping from between the bricks and floorboards as he touched the wrought iron handle, acknowledged by name once upon entry,Lucia marvelling quietly.
"Adam! Pull up a chair buddy! We got extra food if you want it!"garrulous Isaac Ackermann, gangly,long-limbed and raven haired,called out from where he sat among other fighters from Adam's grade,including Peyton and Grant,kohl-rimmed chartreuse eyes aglow with mirth. Wielding a scythe of shadowy Plutonium Bisthmuth inlaid with pallid white onyx shaped in the likeness of bones and clad in all black, Adam would have thought him saturnine as Edgar for his morose weapon,or as ill-tempered as Garrett but Isaac was a blithe spirit with a skewed smile on his thin face. "Sorry man,not today.You see, I got someone on my mind,"Adam began,though he gravitate towards their table.
"Join the club!" Isaac again cackled,leaning into his scythe,not stopping till Grant slapped him upside the head."That's enough, you hyena. Adam,you've got a friend with you,is she a new Supernatural? "
"Good afternoon,Grant,everybody,Lucia stepped forward and dipped her head in greeting,waving shyly as some of the table offered the standard greeting or cries of recognition from previous classes." I suppose I am a new Supernatural, a witch with wintery Magick, but I'm still learning how to use it. It's a recent development, so I'm still adjusting; if it weren't for a (what were they called?)Ravenous Holothurian attack and Adam saving me, I would have never even known I had powers."
"And there's a weak spot in the barrier behind the Silvery Moon Cafe.Oh,and Roger Nieminen, her cousin, is probably a wizard so he might be in danger too!"Adam broke in,Grant understanding that elaboration on this was to be done later.
"Not to mention on the roof of the café today, somebody was up there with me; my Magick finally worked on them so nothing came of it, but it's still disturbing."
"That does make sense,I've heard from the Colosseum that there's bound to be an influx of new Supernatural to train,and I could get somebody to look into The Silvery Moon Café,"he tapped his chin,grimacing at Lucia's last statement."Ok, I'm definitely going to ask it be checked out.
"Cody and I also have a problem," Brynne interrupted. "You may have noticed we're down a nuisance?"
" Oh,that explains why it doesn't stink."
"Ackermann....">
"Garrett Spitzer, I think he's been consumed by the same madness going around as he was acting stranger than normal and seemed adamant he would find Adam here and do something to him, and given how well they get along, I don't think it's anything good. Add in Lucia getting stalked and it wouldn't surprise me if Garrett's hatched a plan to use a new, vulnerable Supernatural as bait to lure him, or anybody else with good intentions in and cause more mayhem. That being said,there's Adam's warlock mentor,who seems suspicious enough who I'm also putting on the list of potential culprits. Now,have any of you seen him or anything out of the ordinary?"
The six or so at the table shook their heads concurrently before Garrett spoke."No but I can let the Colosseum know that something's wrong. I'd love to help you but I have a mission after lunch. If we finish early and it's still a problem,I'd be delighted to accompany you. Attacking an ally shouldn't be allowed at Ore Creek Colosseum ,it makes us look bad.Best of luck to you,Adam, Brynne."
"And give Spitzer a kick where the sun don't shine!"
"That's the least I'll do to him,"Adam vowed, chortling a bit and nicking a handful of deep fried cheese curds as Addie returned from asking the other tables,all returning the same answer and the quartet turned to leave, only for Adam to bump into a surly Sage Lundquist, who was coming in with his group of wizards.
"Nyaaaah,"Adam recoiled, clutching Sage by the shoulders to steady him and picking up the blond's doorstopper of a book."Sorry,Sage!"
Sage bristled indignantly,though he held no umbrage with Adam and couldn't bring himself to snark at the stocky brunet,settling for a curt nod."Good afternoon to you too, Mr. Van de Groot."
"Oh good timing,Sage,you're just coming in,right? I have some questions-have you seen Garrett Spitzer or anything out of the ordinary,even by Ore Creek standards in the last two hours?"Brynne cut in.
The sole groan comprehending all that vexed Sage was enough of an affirmative for her, though he seemed to perk up at the sight of Lucia,and perhaps something other than a frown teased at his lips,Aidan picking up where he left off before the grass wizard could greet her." We saw your jerk heading to Slag Pond and he looked like he was on the warpath"
"And you did nothing even though there's six of you and one of him?" Brynne's face was ruddied with rage before she swallowed and sighed."Alright, we've got a lead. Come on, get a move on if we want to catch him!"
The five departed, Adam scrambling to keep pace with Brynne, whose surprisingly brisk cadence left him with an ache in his side, and when he was eclipsed by Addie strutting in her high-heeled boots, he vowed to visit the track at the Colosseum and invest in some endurance training. As they traveled, the cobblestones of the city's heart yielding to chipped, dingy stones interspersed with patchy weeds and flows of rough concrete spattered with the colorful remnants of potions, the picturesque winding roads full of brick and wood and color turning to bleak, grey architectural abominations of thick cement and monochrome brick, any struggling hints of Magick squashed between the staggering Brutalist monstrocities, and there was an actinic stench in the air. There was a river nearby that Adam prayed wasn't a tributary of the Mill Pond, as it's water was the same chemical-choked green of the Detroit River,where his father had taken him and his siblings out fishing for sweet yellow perch,usually coming home with a bountiful harvest of silver bass instead. He also noticed a sign resembling the one adorning the side of the bait shop near the Wyandotte boat launch declaring which species stocked in the river were acceptable to eat in regards to how tainted their flesh was,with the benthic catfish and carp deemed unsuitable for consumption and sheepshead hardly better,and he stared at the handful of anglers casting lines out from the shore, wondering what they intended to catch other than chronic disease.
"Slag Pond, the…industrial quarter of the city,home to the smelters,smiths,and potion factories,including Huron Valley Alchemical,one of the largest potion factories in Michigan." Brynne elaborated in a hushed tone mace out to deter trouble, while Cody had a golden kite shield and arming shield and Addie's fingertips twitched green with mycological Magick. Adam,who had been reminiscing on the last fishing trip over Memorial Day weekend nodded and unsheathed his own Zweihander, making another vow to ask Jake and Buford if they wanted to go fishing in the Mill Pond Lord willing he wasn't addressing his Supernatural obligations.
"How desolate,"Lucia murmured,curling her lip at the litter of cardboard and plastic,tentatively picking up a grease-soaked hamburger wrapper and resetting it in the nearest trash receptacle." I see nothing Magical about pollution and dilapidated buildings."
Adam felt a disturbance in the vicinity of his belly unlike that of poor digestion,as well as a compulsion to thrust burdocks up an unsuspecting,if not worthy pair of buttocks,sensing an obnoxious presence he joined Addie and turning to address it and once more his stomach had steered him right as the stench of arrogance and unwashed nether regions caused a buildup of bile in his throat." Hey,does Ore Creek have septic tanks or are they on a magic sewer? Cause something's backed up!"
"Sewers?"Brynne asked in turn,her pale face turning an unflattering green as she smelt it too, Cody thumping his chest and coughing.
"What is that awful stench?!"Lucia recoiled, her lovely face deformed with a nauseous expression as she pointed at something, Adam catching out of the edge of his peripheral vision ,beneath a frayed black beanie,the end of a familiar oily black, plaited rattail whipping around the corner.Said braid belonged to one rancid Garrett Spitzer, who was currently slinking like a thief down a back alley,and Adam glowered in his wake. This stealthy effort was futile thanks to his ludicrously voluminous black pants with their gaudy adornments of studs,chains,and straps, making what he had visualized as a magnificent display of sneakiness and grace to a clumsy waddle as if said pants were filled, and Adam snorted."What do you think?
" He isn't very bright,is he? It's not as if he's attracting all sorts of attention," Lucia observed, Brynne acquiesing with a sigh,running a hand through her hair ."Even in a Supernatural haven like Ore Creek Crossing, that'd be strange to see."
"He makes me look smart sometimes,"Cody mumbled, Brynne reaching up to pat him on the head.
"Well we're looking for something weird and we found something weird," Adam began,gulping down as great a breath of fresh air as he could before chasing after the greasy black rattail, telling himself if he could endure the state of the bathroom after his father had laid waste to it, surely he could survive a few rounds against Garrett Spitzer. Twisting and turning through the concrete labyrinth, he followed the lancer to a clearing of fractured asphalt beaten grey from the wind and snow,the weeds stuffed in the cracks standing knee high, Here, the sparse cinderblock structures seemed erected with haste, void of any ornamentation other than the characteristic fissures running parallel to fuzzy moss and roughly sawn hunks of particleboard adorning broken rows of small windows,and the crumbling bricks were laid unevenly with meagre swipes of mortar between them;at the heart of the desolate cul-de-sac Garrett stood sneering .Truth be told, no matter how malodorous, obnoxious, and ignorant Garrett was, Adam was relieved to see him rather than Edgar as he reasoned he could defeat the mortal lancer.
"It took you long enough,fatso!" Garrett sneered,the frostbitten yellow skin on his bare skin cementing him as Lucia's stalker,and the ice witch shuddered and drew close to the rest of the group,possibly out of fear,possibly out of revulsion at the lancers stench.
"Aaa,go soil yourself, Spitzer,"Adam retorted,striding up to him and standing chest to chest with the lancer and shoving his belly forward to knock him back,drawing a splutter from him.
"Please, brush your teeth or shut up! People down at the Tavern can smell your breath!" Addie stepped in front of Lucia and glowered,Garrett snarling and swatting at her."YOU shut up! This is between me and the lardass!"
"At least Adam doesn't have halitosis!" Addie taunted,turning on her heels in disgust, a swirl of sickeningly perfumed spores in her wake that had the lancer coughing and Adam sneezing.
"Let's get this over with,stinky," Adam grit his teeth, a prickle of warmth against his large palms as he furled his fleshy fingers around the thick,lustrous hilt of his Zweihander, while opposite, flakes of dead skin showered the pavement as Garrett wrenched an inconspicuous ring that turned in a tarnished lance of black iron battered and gritty in texture."You're on,fatso!"
"Very well," Brynne groaned before correcting her posture, standing her full 5 feet and four inches without espadrilles and gesticulating for them to move so she could step between them.
"I was hoping this could be settled peacefully but that isn't going to happen. Now, in a perfect world, you two would fight fairly-no hitting a man while he's down, no headshots, no hits below the belt, etc-but something tells me one of you isn't inclined to fight fair. If that's the case, Adam,Garrett,you two stand here, back to back,and you each walk ten steps,then turn around " Brynne lowered her mace to the ground, etching a line of soft,lovely orange Magic denoting their arena,and surprisingly, Garrett obliged, standing with his back to Adam, and the two took ten paces before pivoting, lance and zweihander drawn.
"Newsflash,tubby, you've got to be in shape to fight! You look like you only run after the taco truck!"
"And if I had a puss as ugly as yours,I'd shave my ass and walk down the street backwards!" Adam retorted with a taunt that had earned Jake a visit to the principal's office in the third grade.
"Try not to kill each other boys, it's 143 pages of paperwork at the Coloseum and there's all sorts of damage control that needs to be done."
"Oh don't worry, it's not gonna be much of a fight! I don't want to get lard on my lance!"
" Watch it,l I learned fighting from my father, who had me study the works of Larry,Curly,Moe,and Shemp during the long winter months of my youth,"Adam grunted,drawing another sigh from Brynne,and he rubbed the spittle and flecks of whatever Garrett had been previously noshing on(he had also confirmed Addie's assessment of Garrett's oral hygiene) furling his thick fingers best he could around the bulbous tip of his short nose and then coiled his other hand into a fist, hammering into the lancer's face.
" Plus,Ore Creek Colosseum hasn't had a single fatality from combat since the turn of the century! Cody, oddly astute,observed from the perimeter of the designated arena." How many days is that? 3650? Nah,that isn't right..."
"Cody, Addie,we are neutral parties,but should something go south, you two and I are allowed to step in," Brynne added, taking her place among the three. "I hate to say it, but maybe a few good punches and some shattered egos will bring them to their senses."
"Let's get this over with,Shitzer," Adam grit his teeth, but truth be told,he hesitant to wield his blade against his fellow man, regardless of how boorish their behavior or offensive their body odor, and he was tempted to recall his blade.
" Hey tubby, are you going to move or what? Guess it's my turn first!"Garrett,possessing no such discretion towards other men, sneered, charging towards Adam,." Not that it's going to be much of a fight, 'cause guess what? I'm the better fighter,vicious and dark and brutal and hungry for blood ,and I'm not afraid to kill,especially some fat loser! Jet Black Javelin, go!"
If it weren't for a fear of choking to death from simultaneous vomit and laughter at such a statement, it was Garrett careening towards him, lance aglow with a wicked obsidian shadow that had Adam wielding his own sword not as a blade but as a shield, striking the brittle iron tip with the flat side of his Zweihander and pitching the scrawny lancer to the side from the force,where he unfortunately rebounded. In this span, Adam had been thinking ( not very hard) about how other fighters such as the longbowman Grant or the brawler Peyton used techniques welcome to all of the same discipline, yet their individual attacks were distinguished by name ,akin to the incantations used by spellcasters. It didn't seem like something he knew inherently,as he conducted his fights successfully without calling his moves, and it had no bearing on his performance, but as Garrett rushed him once more, he concluded he would proceed improvising names for his attacks,asking Eirik later.
"Here's hoping all that time spent in front of the idiot box watching Saturday Night Rumble pays off,"he thought,catching Brynne assessing his skills from the side,her face inscrutable while Cody gazed rapt in awe,his fists curled in encouragement. And I don't want to disappoint the kid..."
Left shoulder shifted forwards in prime ramming position, Adam,with speed and agility unimagined for his girth,charged forwards,motioning as if to skewer the greasy lancer,who was tethered to the cobblestones with unprecedented terror,only to jink left and catch him in his bony backside with his foot, his vow to Isaac fulfilled.
"Yeah,whatever lardo ,that was a cheap shot"the older boy growled,staggering upright,Adam repaying him by thumbing his nose and smacking his head. "Piercing Chaos!"
He charged Adam once more with his lance held parallel at his side and engorged with clutching shadows coming too fast for Adam to elude with his usual finesse, though with a stumble, shuffle and a cry of "Woob woob woob woob woob!" for good measure,he dodged, though on his last step he lost his balance as the lancer honed in on him. "Nyah!"
"Demon's Spear!"
"Alright,I really don't like him,but I don't want to kill him,just knock him out,"he thought,returning to his Zweihander for reinforcement and raising it to counter,shielding himself enough."If you've got something that could do the trick,now would be the time to show me."
Tarnished black iron held in bony,unwashed fingers and burnished gold in a thick-fingered,sweaty grasp rushed towards each other,or rather approached each other at moderate speed for the final blow,and Adam decided to gamble on his previous musings ."Hey Garrett, if you want to be dark and evil,that's cool! I'm going to be the light and good bringing victory and peace! SHINING GOLDEN SLASH
Tossing the hilt of his Zweihander between his hands for good measure,Adam swung at Garrett,the tip against his pimply nose,gawking as Magick,glistening crimson and gold and molded in the shape of his blade sliced through the lancer,doing no grievous harm but sending his back arched and a strangled splitter of pain from his chapped lips,and he collapsed on the chipped concrete,defeated.
"There,you got your stupid fight, you lost, I really don't care, now if you're done being a moron for the day,I have to...I have too," growled Adam,triumphant, yet vexed that not only was his initial endeavor had been postponed for something so trivial, but he couldn't recall what it was that lured him to Ore Creek Crossing in the first place. Among more insignificant grievances, his fingers were apt to have Garrett's residual oils and stench upon them, which combined with Addie's scent left him smelling like dung dropped in the middle of a flower bouquet. "Damnit what was it?"
Despite his loss, Garrett was in good spirits,cackling and sneering, hazel eyes stained a sinister crimson as he bounced an inconspicuous white ball that shone with the swirling colors of a rainbow."Get a load of this,lardass!
" Hey! Apeirocytes are like illegal for anyone under 18!"
"What's a parasite?"
"It's like,A monster generator that can be set to spawn monsters until the amount of monsters it's set to is reached. The Colosseum has them too."
The lancer laughed and hurled his pimply,mesh-covered gloved hands in the air with a cackle as the earth trembled, Adam imagining Eirik summoning quakes close by,and then from everywhere the monsters came,beasts molded in imperfect shapes of men and horrifying in quality and number.Hordes of acephalous men with globular, bile colored eyes upon their breasts and a putrid black pustule of a maw inlaid with raggy teeth in place of their belly as their only characteristic, mingling with moldering ghouls marching with their teetering cadence , while mutilated, crumbling, yellowed skeletons draped in moldy slabs of flesh and corpulent worms dragging churned earth in their wake.
" Blemmeyes? Ick,zombies? Ick,Ghouls? Double ick"
"Relatives of yours,Spitzer?"Adam asked,wishing Eirik was near to burn away the monsters and the clammy ambiance with his volcanic Magick,or Edgar,with his affinity for the dark and shadowy horrifying the horrors into obedience;even the wily Octavia would be a boon with her experience and tricky ways.
"We engage now?" Cody tapped Brynne, and she nodded, mace over her shoulder as he held high his shield,gulping,Lucia blanching and drawing close to Addie.
"Right," Adam nodded with none of his usual charming bluster,artificial smile on his face."Did someone order monster dust?
He shuffled his Zweihander between his hands before swinging it at the nearest lumbering headless beast(a Blemmye, if Addie's commentary was accurate ) and cleaving it in two,only to shout when a caustic splash of aquatic blue Magic nearly pelted him.
"JUDAS PRIEST! ,he bellowed,appropriating one of the Catholic Jake's favorite obscenities and one of Roger's favorite bands, leaping back and recalculating,recognizing the attack as the same from a week or two ago during the Vampire Vine incident.Man, Eirik should've been here ,he'd know what to do!
"Up there!"Addie,who up until now was abnormally quiet in her evaluation of Adam until now, shrieked, pointing to a group of fifty or so objects aloft. Five airs of eyes followed her manicured fingernail to see the monster . "They're a school of Watery Opthicthytys!"
The aforementioned Watery Opthicthtys resembled an eye drenched in optic fluid and constrained by no orbit with bulging red blood vessels threaded across the milky white sclera, vivid cerulean irises airborne courtesy of fluttering salmon-colored fins on either side of it as well, and from each of them depended barbed tentacles that undulated on the breeze.
"They're too high up for us to get to them from here "Brynne assessed, whomping another zombie into slime."Addie,do you have your broom on you? You and Lucia are the only ones capable of an airborne attack unless we get lucky."
Lucia began to protest that she wasn't fond of heights,but Addie nodded and reached into her purse to fetch a small trinket the size of a toothpick reminiscent of Adam's own Zweihander,and after a quick gesticulation it transformed into a broomstick she mounted side-saddle in the interest of modesty the ice witch gingerly climbing on behind her and shuddering."Here we go!"
"Not comfortable flying yet? That's ok,I don't mind the company!"Addie giggled as she kicked off,Lucia's fingers clamped around the shaft as they ascended
The school of Opticthysts pivoted at the sight of the interlopers in green and purple,and Addie raised her right hand high to cast a spell,dipping between writhing tentacles and bursts of the same caustic liquid."Hey,watch it! You wouldn't hit someone as pretty as us,right? Oh, you would? In that case…Lovely Contagion and Destroying Angel's Blight! "
The closest Optychthys hurled it's tentacles at Addie, though it hadn't cataloged the bulbous mushrooms speckling it's vibrant appendage, and Adam watched rapt as the eye in the sky writhed in internal distress, sclera soaked with crimson before the entire thing shriveled up in a discharge of grainy powder daubing all like it in close proximity,and while Adam had to avert his gaze lest the nearest beige Sandy Creeping Mantrid land a spiked forearm on him,he was sure she was quickly clearing the optic horrors."Huh,she really is that good....
"Please work,"Lucia pleaded to whatever omnipotent force Adam sought on occasion and rewarded with that little subconscious whisper announcing a new spell."Let's try… Shimmering Silver Gale!"
She shot out her hand, Magick rushing through her as she cast a frigid gust of air that swept through the school of Opticthysts,knocking a file of them gyrating and off-kilter before sheathing them in a craggy skin of ice. Seconds later,the ice quivered,torn asunder by the myriad of cracks tracing across the surface and a sparkling rain of blue and silver drifted away as Lucia bobbed steady in midair."Ok,this is alright,I guess."
"Impressive long-range attack,miss Talvinen,"Brynne complemented,Lucia blushing and somewhat emboldened by success."Ferrous hammer!"
Mace ranged at the nearest Mantrid,crescent-shaped forearms poised for slashing, she obliterated the arthropodan abomination with one good wallop.
"You'd better not run for cover!Radiant Orion's Light!"Cody thrust his golden arming sword,awash with light towards a soon shrieking zombie, searing and slicing away the moldering remains in a shimmer of gold and white.
"Addie! New plan! We need you down here!" Beyond hollered up. Addie was indeed making short work of the Opticthys, crumbly monster dust and viscous optic fluids cascading down onto the cobblestones,and reluctantly, she descended to help the rest of the three."i know you're doing good but we're getting clobbered! Lucia can handle them."
"Aww,I was having fun,"Addie groused half-heartedly, but clutched the broom handle and began to descend,Lucia protesting as the wood slid out from under her."You got this,Lucia!Lovely Contagion!"
The ice witch gave a squeak of contest that she'd fall as Addie left to cast her fungal spells on some of the creatures below only to bob nervously in midair,blanching as the Opticthysts roused,rounding on the waifish intruder, and trembling, she stretched out her hands ."Go away! Twinkling Crystal Blizzard!
Above the battle the atmosphere cooled and darkened frosty and black as a Stygian winter's night, bright aurora slicing through the shadows, and undaunted from knowlege of what was to come, Lucia hovered on the amidst the flurries, an unfathomable glower upon her face reminiscent of Edgar's blunted stare. Raising a hand daintily,she gesticulated towards the nearest Opticthyst,battering it with a blustery chill heavy with shimmering ice and snowflakes till it was sheathed in cool,sparkling white. Furling her fingers into a fist, the Opticthyst quivered from it's cocoon of dusty snow and speckles of ice, a sprinkling of wintry white sloughing off with each tiny quake as hairline cracks unfolded all across it. She released her hand and the socketless eye convulsed one last times before rupturing asunder in a deluge of sparkling mist scattering itself over Garrett, and flipping a braid over her shoulder, she held her hand out to the next nearest eyeball."Go away evil eyes!"
"Go Lucia,go!" Adam cheered from below, wondering if a triump in the skies would be sufficient in tempting her away to the Supernatural side, as one by one the school of Opticthysts burst into snowfall. By his side, Addie was proving her boasting reasonable as she sashayed towards Blemmyes, ghouls, and zombies alike and reducing them to mealy dust with toxic fungus, clouds of spores, and flirty comments, Brynne clobbering her fair share of monsters with a strength greater than her size suggested ,and even the newcomer Cody was hacking his way through a good deal of Blemmyes while guarding against some particularly tenacious Mantrids with his kite shield. Radiant Orion's Light and Lugal Reinforcement!"
Adam paused to watch Cody's shield gleam gold and bright,growing tenfold in size to form a barrier against a rumbling charge of ten Blemmeyes, lowering it only to skewer the legion of ghouls behind him with his sword.His brief inattention was a mistake,as a nasal cackle on breath tainted with halitosis came from behind as his vision warped and went momentarily dark at the peripheral,hairs standing erect on his neck "JET BLACK JAVELIN!"
"GARRET DEVLAND SPITZER,YOU DID NOT JUST ATTACK ANOTHER SUPERNATURAL! YOU WAIT TILL I GET YOU BACK TO THE COLOSSEUM,YOU'LLBE ON PROBATION TILL YOU DIE!!! " Brynne screeched,rushing to whomp him on the head,but she was cut off.
With a cry from aloft of "Icy Jewel!", scintillating crystals sapphire and white swirling on a frigid gale covering the eroded concrete in a layer of ice right beneath Garrett's toes, Adam was spared the attack,and he glanced up to see Lucia freezing monsters below on the other side of the field,raising a hand in thanks.The greasy-haired lancer's ankles slid over his head as he scrabbled for something to clutch in support,squawking and swearing when he fell once more on his bony rear,head cushioned by a thoughtful fall of snow. That brittle wrought iron lance slipped from his moist fingers and into the skeletal white grasp of a new challenger,Adam cheering as he saw who had arrived. Rebounded from his fall,Garrett squeaked in trepidation as his hazel eyes swept over the snakeskin boots, roaming up the longest legs he'd ever seen grace Ore Creek's cobblestones, past the leather trousers and Knight's of Jericho shirt until he was staring up at an angular face wreathed in a halo of long ash blonde hair, his gaze retreating from the bismuth halberd pointed at his pimply nose with one hand while his own lance was secured in the stranger's other hand.
"Here's a hint boy, don't go around starting fights," the blonde giant snapped, eyes grey and cold as a winter's day behind jade colored glasses, Garrett yelping the halberd illuminated an unearthly indigo;his own meager Magick drawn from the darkness was pathetic compared to that of a warlock."You'll eventually start one you won't finish!
Garrett whimpered,scooting backwards on his bony bottom until he collided with something solid,gazing upwards at a figure sparkling gold and white in the June sun,a nauseated scowl on her plush lips as she gave him an irritated kick with her high heeled boots." On second thought,you wouldn't taste too good, too greasy and not enough meat on your bones."
"Koltrast, Octavia! Boy,I'm glad to see you two!"
"Good to see you too, polpetto ,it looks like we got here in time. Your friends at the tavern were very nice and filled us in,it seems you were looking for a pest and you found a pest."
Brynne's mossy eyes widened,her tone hushed and reverent in the company of the newcomers,Magick exceeding that of her peers radiating off the pair."There's something different about you two,you're overflowing with Magick! Are you the immortals Adam speaks of?"
"In the flesh, my dear,"Octavia preened."Aren't we just amazing??"
"Ready for a few more skidmarks in your boxers,boy?"Edgar crowed as all around Garrett bobbed the same preternatural lavender flickers of light he had used to frighten Adam and friends upon their first excursion to the Mortis House,the arrogant lancer cowering with flailing hands raised.
"Uh,guys? Can you wait to tear Spitzer a new one? I don't think I can hold the monsters off for much longer,"Cody begged,the enormous light shield born by his command of Lugal Reinforcement flaking away with each thrashing from the flank of grey,craggy Stony Creeping Mantrids.
"Hmm,of course,"Koltrast murmured,grey eyes hooded,regarding the monsters with his standard insousiance (though Adam reckoned his monotone had a meager hint of warmth to it),and Octavia readied her whipsword."Take a good look,this is how a master of darkness and polearms handles himself!Haunted Twilight's Gloom!
Neither warlock or spider thief could lay claim to the first attack as a red blur dashed forwards under Koltrast's elbow and half a dozen Rocky Creeping Mantrids were felled in a series of percussive booms Adam felt in his bones." GIGA DYNAMITE PUNCH!!!"
When the whirling maelstrom of industrial debris and dusty Mantrid fragments came to a halt,there stood a victorious Peyton Farrell with her iron-sheathed fists held high."Yahoo! heads up,Adam! I'm gonna catch them all if you don't get your butt into gear!
"Peyton! I'm glad to see you!"
"Our mission- Sagittarian Arrow! ended earlier than expected and on the way back to the tavern Isaac spotted the school of Opticthysts,but it seems you took care of them," Grant shot off a volley of red-feathered oak arrows that split into many and cleared away a half dozen zombies."It's my obligation to help a fellow Supernatural, especially when he's outnumbered. With this many opponents,let's see....… Jupiter Meteor Strike!
Grant nocked a thick arrow with a tin point and fletching of burnt orange and blue,summoning a bombardment of piercing red lights that took out another dozen ghouls.
"I had a hunch things were gonna get hairy,"Isaac chuckled,readying his ossein blade and giving it a few sweeping cuts for good measure,then bellowing. "Creeping Dusk!"
As with Garrett, Isaac had some command over the darkness,summoning a tenebrous indigo miasma threaded blood red and smoky black when he swung his scythe descending over a quarter of the remaining Blemmyes, and obfuscated, he delved forwards to slice them all to pieces.
Elsewhere were Sage,Aidan and the other half a dozen wizards from earlier dispatching monsters with simple gesticulations and a dazzling rainbow of spells, Blemmyes,ghouls and zombies reduced to pallid crumbles of dust dispersing in the breeze, though Adam could only turn his head momentarily to avoid being bitten by a ghoul.
"Oh very well, let me bookmark my place…" Sage huffed,sliding his green silk bookmark into the doorstopper he had been reading earlier and stowing it away under one arm,then raising his other hand as green Magick began to coalesce around his wrist . He curled his lip in disdain at the festering zombies and ghouls,their unhinged jaws heavy with thick yellow saliva, the fetid,rotten undead the antithesis to his Magick born from all things green and fresh and alive." What revolting creatures. Blooming Viridian!"
Beckoned at his command was a thatch of verdant,knee high grass to snare legs clutched to bones by snapping sinews,thorn riddled vines and broad ferns tangling around dangling arms, and golden sunflowers drinking up the zombies poisonous juices till they shriveled into dust and a patch of scraggly grass clutching the concrete ."Absolutely selfish and repulsive, reanimating when those nutrients could be returned to the soil to nourish new life."
"Tick tick tick BOOM!" quivering Aidan gave a deranged giggle,blue eyes twitching warningly,and he shot out one bandaged wrist at a shrewdness of approaching Blemmyes, thin fingers with scraped knuckles flickering and flaring with red,yellow and blue sparkling shots of energy "Fire in the hole! ROMAN CANDLE CANNON!!!"
A percussive blast great as thunder emanated out from the vibrant, multicolored ejaculation of flickering light,another Blemmye exploding with every roaring flash,Aidan giggling madly and raising his arms gleefully.
After dispatching the acephalous men,he dashed towards a group of ghouls, arms outstretched behind him to enhance his speed,subsequent spell swelling on the tip of his tongue only to decay into an incoherent yelp as he stepped on his own untied shoelaces and pitched towards the cement"Comet B-ARGH!!!"
As he fell ,moss green eyes rolled skywards and Sage snapped his fingers to coax forth a girthy vine from the cement to pull the redhead upright, and he stumbled,then steadied himself,raising a hand in appreciation. "What am I going to do with you,Aidan?"Sage moaned, and Adam chuckled at the two as he kicked away a Mantrid's slicing forearm,then ramming his elbow,then fist into it's midsection before remembering he had a Zweihander,and promptly cut down the other four nearby.
He stopped completely when Josh,with his curious papyrokineses came forward for the remaining Armored Gravel Borers; while Adam could understand dominion over plants and fire,even explosions to an extent,mastery of paper Magick was something he struggled to comprehend , and he was curious to see how someone fought with a substance so frail"Try this! A Thousand Paper Cranes!
The air trembled in caution before a sedge of white cardstock cranes a hands width in breadth numbering a thousand hovered midair awaiting Josh's command. With a swish of his arm the multitude of paper birds arose in a frenzy and one by one dove in a curlique towards the final Armored Gravel Borers,battering them and unfurling to entomb the craggy beetles in cardstock,and when the paper dissolved only a mound of dust drifting lazily away ."Ha! Paper beats rock!"
…I guess it does!
"Alright,good work gang!"Grant,the default leader of the youngsters,declared,fingers curling over the Blemmye bite on his lower calf,though he surrendered authority to the immortals,curious at what they'd do.
Long in the legs and saturnine in expression,Edgar was certainly commanding in bearing,but magnetic,silver-tongued conversationalist he was not,content to yield his words to the glib Octavia.
"Well,aren't you going to say a few syllables, Edgar?",Octavia, not passing up a chance to shatter the warlock's stoic facade.
Me?! You've appointed yourself leader,you do it! I don't do public speaking!"
"Nah,not feeling it today. Why don't you handle it?"
"Your audience awaits you,signore Koltrast."
"Helvete..."Edgar murmured,blanching, then he tucked his shaking hands behind his back, posture taking on an almost regal stiffness,hooded myopic grey eyes examining the thirty odd youths with his standard insouciance,the hamster wheel in his brain whirling in overdrive. When he spoke,he was soft and slow in cadence,making a conscious effort to enunciate every syllable and keep from stuttering lest he be forced to repeat himself,though managed to hold the attention of the group."Right,thank you all for coming out to help.Now,is there anybody gravely injured? If not, is there anybody capable of rendering first aid for mild injuries or who is willing to help them to the Colosseum for treatment?"
"I c-can, " Sage,terrified of crossing the imposing warlock,spoke up,some of the weeds burrowing through the weathered concrete withering away lifelessly,indicative of his true feelings. There were a few meagre injuries-Peyton had broken the skin on both shins, Grant clutched his elbow in discomfort and a brunet fighter Adam recognized from school was limping
"Very commendable,carry on.If need be, I have past experience and will help if you desire."
"It's ok Sage, I got a first aid kit at home,"Peyton announced with her usual brazen smirk,brushing her thumb across her nose."Besides,no pain,no gain,yeah?"
"Mine is probably psychosomatic,"Grant admitted,attempting to let his injured arm lie casually at his side like it's twin."If anything,an ice pack will fix it."
Edgar paused,confusion and any other emotion comprehended in a single quirk of his left eyebrow before he folded his hands behind his back and continued."In that case,you all may go enjoy the afternoon as you wish,it's a beautiful summer's day and any peace should be cherished.Any points either of us Immortals have earned we will happy relinquish to be divided among you, Lord knows we've both had lifetimes of missions. I only wish to retain you bunch ( he gestured to Brynne,Garrett,and Cody) and the Van de Groot's group. The rest of you are dismissed,go have fun while you can. Thank you again, and God bless."
The rest of the Supernaturals indeed dispersed with tepid farewells and a few whispers indicating discomfort in the company of a warlock,though Edgar had a few defenders. Granted,Aidan was a scatterbrained ditz at best and an impulsive imbecile at worst, so his statement of "I dunno,he seems nice enough!",was hardly reassuring ,though Isaac,sensible by comparison, concurred."Hey,one warlock is one warlock,they aren't all obsessed with dark magick! I have a scythe and I'm not exactly the grim reaper now,am I?"
When they had cleared out, the warlock turned his focus up to Lucia hovering timidly overhead thirty feet."It's ok,witchling,you can come down. I'll catch you if you fall."
For a second,Lucia faltered,still somewhat wary of the immortals given her previous dealings with the Supernatural,though prudence soon gave way to obedience and sensibility, and tentatively she descended,landing in a position resembling a ballerina's,though with tremble rather than poised elegance,allowing Octavia to hold her hand steady as she adjusted to the concrete,then skittered off towards Addie.
"What,are you going to kill me or something?" irascible Garrett,truculence curtailed briefly in the company of the immortals but revived as son as Lucia was in earshot,sneered,though a glare from the redoubtable warlock silence him him.In his taunting,he didn't see Octavia close her eyes and exhale,collapsing down into a fuzzy spider nor hear Lucia's gasp at the metamorphasis or feel a tickle from her fuzzy scuttle as she looped his wrists in strings of diaphanous silk,incongrous finery against his oily,pockmarked skin.
"Tempting as it is,I hold no authority in this jurisdiction,though do believe I will turn you over to those who do and let them decide. I'd imagine some sort of suspension and parole will be in order.One thing I can do though is..."
That unfathomable glare landed on Lucia, pearly blue gaze canted up through her long,curled lashes,and she shyly picked up the end of one of her plaits to run her fingers through."I believe you owe the witchling an apology for stalking,assaulting, and frightening her. Miss Lucia Talvinen,correct?"
"Good,your friends at the tavern were right. It's only polite we know each other's names it won't do to call you witchling if you're going to be a part of the team. I think you'll do quite nicely with your powers."
Lucia gazed up at Edgar as if in appraisal through her long lashes, admiring Octavia in her tawdry gold ensemble and then staring down at her boots,approving evaluation betrayed in her ruddied face. Garrett snorted Adam felt a curlique of hope,wondering if the aloof Edgar's penchant for black leather trousers and long hair and vivacious Octavia's glittering finery and ebullience would suffice to tempt her away from Mundane duties.
"Laugh all you want, that's another charge on your rap sheet,"Octavia spat, with none of her usual frivolous gesticulations or bewitching tone."What you did was unjustified and I can't imagine the Colosseum authorities will look kindly on you!"
"Which is what I've been trying to tell you for the last two years! How hard is it to play nice?!"Brynne chided Garrett,punching him in the nose and Adam reckoned he saw a meager smile on Lucia's lips as the lancer flailed."Don't be such a violent idiot!"
"Cut it out!" Garrett wailed,wriggling in his bonds and trying to spread his arms apart, pathetic tone his having no favor with Brynne. Octavia gigged as her spider's silk's fleecy shine belied it's strength,and the threads refused to yield to his motions till he conceded his ignonimous defeat."Fine,I'm sorry the midget got scared over nothing."
"GARRETT!!" Brynne bellowed,raising her mace,and Edgar responded in disapproval as well though any emotion was betrayed only a lone quirk of his eyebrow as he extended his halberd in front of Garrett."As much as he deserves it,that is also uncalled for. Save that rage for the next tournament. Witchling,what do you think? Is he absolved for today?"
"I-I guess.."
"That works out! I I think that's enough excitement for one day,"Octavia giggled,crossing her hands behind her head and giving her raven hair a fetching toss before she glowered at Garrett."Now Mr. Koltrast and I are going to take you down to the Colosseum to see about your punishment!"
Edgar nodded briskly,producing one of his various black notebooks as well as the usual curios that accumulated in the hammerspace, his standard blue headphones and music player,a pair of dice and a bag of nonpareils, taking inventory of these and selecting a green one to swallow as there was a surplus of that color ,and finally a ballpoint pen with four possible cartriges,giving the end a nibble and then documenting something,perhaps a record of Garrett's turpitude.Octavia in her intrusive curiosity inched closer to see what he was scribbling only for him to close it and then grasp Garrett's wrist,gesticulating to her to take his other,Brynne and Cody flanking them.
"Let's go,Spitzer,we don't have all day,"Edgar crowed, jerking at the skinny wrist in his arm."We're going to get you to the Colosseum even if I have to drag you across the cement!"
"I would normally never agree with him,but he's right, get a move on! I don't want to hold your hands more than I have too,you've got enough grease on you to keep a McDonald's running and it's clogging my pores ,"Octavia gave a standard theatrical grimace of revulsion and she too tugged at his arms
"And I guess I gotta get back to the cafe before Roger gets suspicious, "Adam sighed, knowing well that the clever blonde had already concluded his endeavors were questionable.
"Then go to your friend,while you still have him,we'll continue this later. The Mortis House is still an active construction zone, so how about we meet back at the gate to Ore Creek Crossing tomorrow and continue this? I have to get back to work if the siding and insulation is going to get done before fall. And as for you,Spitzer,get your ass into gear!"
" Adam," the brunet had been watching Garrett shuffle listlessly between Edgar and Octavia,and he blanched again as he heard his name from Lucia,though the usual frost he was accustomed to was now soft and demure."If you want,I may be able to arbitrate your trouble with Roger,he usually listens to me."
" Really?"Adam,perplexed at her sudden amiability asked.
"Yes,well,it's only proper for me to repay you in turn for all that you've done to help me,"Lucia was not only warmer in tone and unless it was the murky skies above refracting the light, her lips may have angled upwards into a weak smile. " Now let's go back to the cafe before the rain hits, Roger's waitng for us."