The teenagers arrived back at the main lobby of HQ, which was nearly demolished by Dorian Priest.
Blood and rubble covered the landscape. Multiple agents were frozen in navy and silver hives as they floated in the bizarre constructs.
"Holy crap," Olivia gasped at the sight of her comrades in pain.
Scott knelt to help injured agents.
A green-skinned, short-haired brunette with a third eye on her head and two eyes with red pupils was cradled to the floor, while Scott helped her stand. This young lady was the captain's. secretary, Meredith Lust.
"Meredith, are you OK?" Jill floated to her.
"Where the bloody hell have you three been?" Meredith responded with a British accent.
"Good to see you too," Olivia retorted.
"Great, the captain's star loose cannon is sassing me. Bad timing, don't you think?"
" Zip it you two," Scott chimed in."
Wow, I can't believe I'm the responsible one."
"Neither can I," Jill said. "Meredith, what happened?"
"The sanctum got attacked," said Meredith." A man in a grey helmet and cape broke in and blasted most of us away.
"Priest was here?" Olivia asked.
"We tried to stop him, but he used strange blue creatures with horns to attack us. They moved so fast we could barely touch them, let alone fight back.
"Quick devils," Scott said.
"Where's Moss?" Olivia asked.
"Up there," Meredith struggled to point to his office." The sorcerer flew to his office while his pets attacked us.
"Nollax, look after Lust. Jill, come with me."
The two girls climbed the stairs to the captain's office, wondering what fate he suffered.
Olivia and Jill arrived at the captain's office. The entire office was ruined. Debris scattered everywhere.
"Priest, you bastard," Olivia uttered.
while simultaneously viewing the carnage of her superior's fortitude.
"The captain's one of the most powerful spellcasters in Parabola," Jill commented. How could anyone overpower him?"
Olivia knelt to examine the floor of the office, looking for any clues of what took place.
She reached for her pocket, pulling out a white leather glove and placing it on her left hand. She wiped her index finger, attracting dust on its tip and looked more in-depth at its content.
"Got something, Liv?" Jill asked.
"Maybe. Give me a sec."
Olivia reached for her other coat pocket.
This time pulling out a white, blank 8 x 12 card. She used the dust on her finger to draw her spell symbol on the map.
She knelt on the floor and placed the card on the ground softly before standing up in front of it.
"What are you doing?"
"Finding Moss."
Olivia held up her arms, pointing her palms to the ceiling and tilting her head upward.
"Secutus ostendit horas praeteriti,"
The drawing of her symbol flew red as the room began to spiral with red dust, blanking it from the outside.
The dust vanishes and red hollow constructions of Dorian Priest detaining the captain with his magic appear.
"The Captain was captured by Priest?" Jill said." But why would Priest come here?"
The vision of Priest showed it absorbed.
Moss in a green prism. Afterward, it searched the remains of the office for a hidden file.
"Durandam praebuit and ostentationem."
The imagery froze in place while Priest's.
construct held a file with a picture of a family of three clipped on it.
Olivia and Jill walked through the construct to get a closer look at the picture.
"Oh no," gasped. Olivia. She felt unsteady when she identified the people in the picture.
"Olivia is that?" Tears trickled down.
Olivia's cheeks and splashed onto her hand. "My family."
The constructs of her spell evaporated while the scarlet-haired detective trembled from exhaustion. But while Olivia stared at the picture, her famished body began to erode her magic.
"Liv, you need to eat," Jill said.
Olivia fell to her knees. She sobbed over the threatening dangers her parents and little brother faced.
Jill rushed through the wall. She reemerged, carrying an armful of candy bars.
The ghostly agent struggled to hold the
candies before they fell. Jill took several deep breaths.
"Liv, please eat."
Olivia and Jill heard loud, frantic footsteps below before Scott and Meredith appeared.
"What happened?" Scott asked.
"Priest captured Captain Moss," Jill explained.
"He's after them," Olivia uttered.
"After whom?" Meredith asked.
"Her family," Jill answered." Olivia cast a spell to see where Dorian Priest took from the office and find Captain Moss.
But she lost too much stamina from her earlier fight to maintain the spell.
She must eat."
"He knew." Olivia continued." He
lied."
"Liv. Look at me," Scott rushed to her side, pulling her line of sight to him. He bent down." Let us pull it together."
She wiped tears from her face and cleared her voice.
"Give me a bar," Olivia said.
Scott handed her multiple candy bars.
Olivia unwrapped them, consuming bar after bar.
"Is she going to be okay?" Meredith asked.
"I was talking about you."
"What?"
"Using your astral form to phase solid objects could exhaust your stamina. Doing it too much and …,"
"I'm fine, Meredith," Jill said." Let us worry about Olivia,"
"Olivia is fine," she announced after
finishing her snacks." But next time, skip the chocolate chip. Go for peanut butter."
"You're welcome, snob," Jill smirked at her.
Scott smelled the air in the room, sensing a strange presence.
"Someone's coming," Scott warned." Meredith, get in here."
Meredith ran into the office with the others while they waited for the visitor.
Outside of the doorway conjured a swirling sphere of orange energy, rippling through the air.
Out from the swirling sphere emerged Sam Ethol. His body slouched. His left hung torso was stained with blood. Sam carried the dagger that Olivia gave him.
"Sam?" Jill asked.
"We're all going to die," Sam whispered.
The bleeding voodooist held his arm while Scott and Meredith ran to his side.
"Easy, Sam," Meredith said. She and Scott helped him into the office.
"Let's give him somewhere to rest, Liv," Scott said.
"I can handle it," Olivia answered.
She turned to the cracked desk within the office and extended her hand towards it.
"Quod desk in lecto tricliniari sedet transform,"
The shattered desk began to glow with a red, green light as the pieces from its destruction transmitted into a plush, blue sofa.
"Surprised Moss never put that in his office," Scott joked.
"Save the comedy act, Nollax." Jill insisted.
The two agents laid the injured voodooist.
on the sofa gently. as Olivia ransacked the crushed file cabinet on the floor.
"Liv, looking for something?" Jill asked.
"This," Olivia pulled out a bottle of green liquid and ran to Sam. Feed him this."
Olivia handed the bottle to Meredith and unscrewed the bottle cap before pouring it down Sam's mouth.
Sam gulped down the contents of the strange vial. His wounds slowly healed. The blood splattered on his body dissolved.
"What was that?" Scott asked.
"Phoenix blood."
"The captain keeps a stash of them in his office in case he is required to fight. "Meredith explained." But how did you know it would be there, Cult?"
Olivia glanced away before looking back at Meredith.
"I, um, might have snuck into his office a few times whenever I got into hot water with an assignment," Olivia explained.
"That's against the rules."
"Meredith, not now," Jill said." He's coming to,"
Sam's eyes opened wide. He pulled himself up from the sofa. He stared at the tattered office.
"Captain?" Sam yelled.
Scott and Meredith pinned his arms to the sofa. They struggled to calm him.
"Agent Ethol, it's us. Agent Lust and
Agent Nollax," Meredith said.
"The Captain, where is he?"
"We're trying to figure that out." Olivia said.
"Cult? You must get out of here. Stop him."
"I know," Olivia picked up the dagger from Sam's coat pocket and dusted it off. "But you must tell me how Priest got into the sanctum? What's the story behind this dagger?"
"The captain spoke of an omen," Sam answered." It involves this dagger and your family."
"Why is Priest after my family?" Olivia asked. She waved her hands around Sam's vest.
"I don't know, but Captain Moss gave me the dagger to hide while he went back to fight the intruders. He told me to take it to the human world if he couldn't stop them."
"Where in the human world?" Scott asked.
"Buffalo, New York."