Jered's coat billowed in the wind. The rain was incessant, but his 'Telekinesis' warded it off, keeping him dry.
He had one week.
One week before they departed to Archiland for who knew how long. Rainey told him she had to prepare something for their journey. Whatever it was, he didn't know. But she looked rather excited, so he quite looked forward to it. He didn't know how to break the news to his mother, or his sister. Jane could be convinced. Jasmine was a bit more tricky to deal with, but she wasn't that unreasonable. Then there was Evelyn, who would definitely not be happy with him. It was a critical time where she needed his support, and he wouldn't be able to be there for her.
Jered hoped he'd be back before she delivered the child.
He wished there was an easier way, an easier solution so that his absence wouldn't be noticeable. But short of brainwashing or mind-fucking everyone into believing he never existed, to begin with, he didn't know of any other way. Needless to say, his school's attendance was about to plummet even more. It was not like it mattered; not to him. Jered had already come to terms that he had very little time for classes and homework.
In a burst of thick smoke, he disappeared.
He materialized a few seconds later in a well-off, familiar neighborhood. Naturally, he had a 'Low Conceal' applied. Jered took his time as he strolled, his feet slowly bringing him to a villa. It had been over a year—if you included Hell's time difference—since he last saw Kenny. He was not worried; Liam and Isabelle would have waited outside his house with torches and pitchforks if his friend was dead. However, Kenny never contacted him again.
Which was weird. After what he did, Jered was sure Kenny would have wanted to at least see his reaction, or profess more vows of love and some other bullshit like that. He could barely understand the mind of a woman, let alone that of a transgender. He 'Shadowport'ed through the gate and made it to the porch. He canceled his 'Low Conceal' and knocked on the door. The pitter-patter of the rain, and the occasional clap of thunder, was all he could hear.
Jered waited patiently, but there were no sounds of footsteps or voices. Even if they were being discreet and tip-toed around, he would have still heard them, "How weird," he mumbled suspiciously, craning his head to the side to look through the window. It was dark inside. He could have understood if it was due to a blackout, but there were no candles lit up. Everything was dark and silent. Eerily so. With a sigh, Jered phased through the door with his 'Shadowport'.
And then he understood.
There was no furniture around. Everything had been removed.
He slowly checked each room, but the result was pretty much the same. Except for Kenny's bedroom. When he got there, there was something he had left behind. A note taped against the back of the door, which read, 'I'm sorry...' it seemed to have been written in a hurry, because there was no trace of his friend's feminine handwriting in that scrawl.
They had moved away. And considering the amount of dust around, they made that decision right after he visited Kenny at the hospital.
"..."
Kenny wouldn't suddenly up and leave like that—not before playing another dramatic scene with him. Liam must have given the ultimatum.
It was probably better that way. Jered didn't want him to get caught in whatever madness his relationship with Archiland would have sown.
Since his only communication line with him had been cut, and he didn't know where they went, Jered resigned himself that he'd most likely never see him again. At least, not anytime soon.
He put the note back on the door and 'Shadowport'ed away.
----
"You're going away, again?"
That confrontation was inevitable. Jane and Jasmine were staring at him from the other end of the table. One had a frown on her face, while the other had her arms crossed and lips puckered into a pout.
"Yes, I'll start my working trip next week."
Jane grunted, "And you don't know how long you'll be away for?"
"I'm sorry. But this is important..." he said, mustering his best puppy look.
Unfortunately, it didn't work. Jasmine was more talented than him in that regard.
"What about school?" she asked, baffled, "What about your friends? W-What about us?"
He blinked, "If it's about money... I've already prepa—"
"It's not about money, you fool!" Jane snapped, her eyes wet with unshed tears, "You're leaving us again... again! You're always out on some trip... sometimes you don't come back for days, but I'm trying to be a supportive mother, so I never say anything about it. But it hurts, Jered. I want to see more of you around. You can't disappear right now! You fucking can't!"
Jered mulled over her words, formulating an answer that she could live with—but she didn't give him time. She shoved herself up and stormed out. He unconsciously stared at his sister, who stared back with equal intensity. Much to his surprise, there was no expression on her face. Usually, she'd be either smiling, blushing, or frowning.
"..."
"..."
Yes. That was rather concerning.
"Jasmine?"
She tightened her face into a contemplative frown, as if she was thinking about something very important and complex, "Jered... have you ever seen mom snap at you like this?"
He dug around his memory before shaking his head. He couldn't really recall a time where she aimed such an indignant outburst at him.
"She's not wrong. I hardly see you at home nowadays. And even during those rare moments you are, you never spend time with her. She misses you, bro. She wants to spend more time with you. You're her son, the only male living relative she deeply cares about."
The issue must have been grave if his sister, of all people, had to point it out to him.
"Is that so?" Jered didn't know what to say. He closed his eyes, arms crossed as he chewed her words over in his head. What could he possibly do about it? Abort the mission and stay home? Not a chance. He had promised it to Rainey—and honestly, it was something he wanted to do. There was no further excitement to be gained from AUC anyway. He was curious where that whole business with Rainey and Jerry would lead to. A path of destruction and death? A path of redemption? Maybe something else?
"You're still going to leave, right?" Jasmine asked softly. And despite the question, there was no doubt in her voice. A look in his eyes was all she needed.
"I have to," he said, and it was the truth, "I promise I'll spend more time with you after I'm done."
She was not convinced; he was expecting that.
"I know of your magic stuff, Jered. So I can... kinda... accept it. But mom doesn't know..." Jasmine continued with a small smile, "It's natural that she's upset you're leaving. Oh, she's undoubtedly happy that you're working so hard and pursuing a career, but she still misses you. And so do I, you fool," she said that last past with a wrinkle of her nose.
He huffed out a chuckle, "You're right..." he slowly got up and headed upstairs, where his mother was.
The door of her room was ajar. Perhaps it was a premeditated move, knowing that at some point he'd chase after her. Through the narrow gap, he could see her back. She was sitting at an angle where not even the mirror could reflect her face—not that he needed to see it to know she was crying. He had to approach the situation carefully, lest he said something wrong and fucked up.
If only he had his father's acumen when it came to consoling crying women.
"Mom?" he called out.
Jane sniffed, turned around to glimpse at him, and then ignored him, "..."
He sat next to her, "I'm sorry..."
She wiped her face with her hands, "It's okay... I'm just being dramatic," she laughed it off, "I'm happy for you, son. Really. It's just..."
"It's just that I've been an idiot," he returned with a smile, "Jasmine pounded some good sense into me. Who would have expected her to be the voice of reason anyway?"
Jane's smile had a touch of amusement, "She takes it from me."
"Oh, she definitely does," he readily agreed, "I admit I should have talked it out with you first, instead of making such a rash decision, without thinking of the consequences. Can you forgive me?"
"You silly," her wet lips trembled as she reached out and pulled him into her bosom, "There's nothing to forgive. I'm also at fault... I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. You didn't deserve it. It was the heat of the moment."
Jered hugged her back, breathing in her scent, "Let's say we're both at fault. We could have handled this way better."
She didn't let go of him, "Yes, we could've..."
A comfortable stretch of silence followed before Jane pulled back, holding him at arm's length. She was staring deep into her son's eyes, feeling something different. She was not someone who noticed subtle changes. However, Jered had a dramatic, and almost intangible, change since she last saw him—which was not that long ago either. His face was sharper, more refined. His eyes had an intensity that she could almost see her husband again in his face.
"You've changed..." she said slowly.
"Who doesn't?"
"Right..." she released him, a slew of thoughts in her head, "Jered... I demand some quality time with you once you return. Got it?"
He smiled, "Yes, ma'am."
She returned the smile with one of her own.
----
Evelyn chomped on a spoonful of ice cream. She was buried on the couch, legs crossed. She was wearing a bleached, loose, white t-shirt and no pants. Her hair was bundled up into a bun. She looked like she had neglected herself, but even so, she was still dripping with sexiness. Jered had just told her of his upcoming journey, and he hoped—though he wasn't really expecting it—that she'd see his decision through a more logical viewpoint.
Which was pretty illogical since he didn't give her a good reason as to why he had to leave. While Rainey didn't say it out loud, he assumed that she didn't want him to telltale her plans to people not in the know. And Evelyn, for all of the amazing sex, was not in the know.
And while the trip was still a week away, he told her he was going to get a training session in before departing. Just to make sure he had a good grasp of his spells, especially his newest one, 'Green Flames of Greed'.
She had a 'You gotta be kidding me' look on her face, which was perfectly reasonable.
"It won't take long," he reassured, "It's something important, and can't tell you what it is. I'm sorry about that, and I'm not asking you to be understanding. But I've made a promise to help someone do something, and if I back out now... it would cause quite the problem."
Evelyn massaged her head, feeling the first signs of a headache, "Jered... I... I told you I can do this by myself..."
"I'm not running away," he said, a bit angry that she'd insinuate something like that.
"That's not what I meant," she said sharply, "I'm a grown-up woman; a Magician one at that too. I have pain-relief spells for when the contractions start. I'll be fine... what I'm worried about is whether you'll make it in time..."
"You're talking about the baby?"
She nodded.
"Isn't that still half a year away though?"
"Usually... yes," she pursed her lips inward, "But I have this nagging feeling that ours will be born prematurely."
"..."
Jered couldn't ignore what she said; not when he knew that he was not fully human, and the child wasn't going to be one either.
"I see..."
She sighed, "I don't know why... or how. Children of Magicians are special, yes, but they can't influence the cycle of birth like that. See what your sperm did that to me?" she ended with an accusatory tone, though the smile on her face told him she didn't really mean it.
"Alright. I'll take the blame for this one," he said appeasingly.
"You better," Evelyn pointed the spoon at him threateningly, "Also... when you go there, don't you dare check out other girls."
"Oh, jealous, aren't we?"
"Very," she didn't deny.
He laughed, "Aye aye. Whatever you want."
When she saw he was about to head out, she scuttled off the couch and grabbed him, pulling him into a searing kiss that would have knocked the socks off of anyone. Jered found his tongue on the receiving end of Evelyn's affection. He didn't know she could be this passionate when kissing. Normally, she'd start with a peck. But now... she went straight for his tonsils, as if she was trying to force her tongue down his throat.
"Come back as fast as you can," she breathed out when they pulled back, "I'll miss you..."
"I'll miss you too."
Jered wiped his lips with his thumb and 'Shadowport'ed away