Lola's POV
I looked back at Ken as Eve examined my hand, he hadn't moved but the red puffs of smoke had grown into small clouds that started to surround Ken. I wanted nothing more than to walk up to Ken and hug him and make the anger go away. I looked down at my still stinging hand it looked fine but moving it was not easy, I can't convince my body to get any closer to the smoke, which means I can't get any closer to Ken.
Uncle Ryan had finally woken up but was still slow moving Him and Eve headed down to the basement cells to hopefully escape the clouds that are growing, now both War and Death's smoke. Big billowing red and black clouds.
Ethan will have to drive me back to the house were Ken met his biological family, I don't know how my hand will react, or how long it will take to get back to normal. I know Ken will not be happy about contacting them but with Matt and now him in this state I can't think of where else to turn.
Finally at the abandoned house that Ken and Ethan both now have told me was fully furnished, I go to the back yard and lean on the apricot tree while I pull out the paper the old man left. It looked like a spell but I'm not sure what language it's in.
"Ethan, what language is this writing?" I held out the paper and Ethan stepped over to me
As he examined it he got out his phone and snapped a photo, I snatched it back "Hey, I didn't say to tweet about it."
"No, no I'm translating it, I'm pretty sure it's written in Korean since that's the nationality they said Ken was, but I can't read Korean. Can you?"
"No," I replied quietly and put my attention back to the paper in my hands.
"I must be wrong because my translation app isn't telling me anything." Ethan stared at his phone in shock.
"Well maybe it's an old dialect or something." I told Ethan still focused on the paper in my hand
"This app was created for keepers it has over 100 dead languages, the writing must not be an actual language." Ethan crossed his arms, it reminded me of when we were young and he would pout. I giggled at the sight of him. "It's not funny it's frustrating." But with his arms still crossed and a stomp of his foot he looked even more childish.
"I'm sorry," I managed to push out of my mouth as I uncontrollably laughed, "I'll stop, I'll stop." I crouched down and took a deep breath in trying my best to control my laughing. After a min of deep breathing I got myself under control.
"Are you finally done?" Ethan still looked annoyed and I knew if I looked right at him I would start laughing again.
"I'm ok now," I told Ethan with my back to him. "So what else are we missing?" I really wasn't asking anyone in particular, but I did really want an answer. "Ok let's start at the beginning. How did you guys know to come here in the first place?" I asked
"Well Ken had a blank piece of paper and he wanted to know what it said, because somehow Ella went into a trance and told him to go where the paper said." Ethan blandly laid out the story, so while his version was not interesting it did have a fact which is what he is best with.
"So how were you guys able to read the paper if it was blank." I asked
"Oh, yeah I put it up to a flame and then words appeared." Ethan recalled like he had momentarily forgotten that piece of information before. "Hey do you think it would also work for this?" Ethan asked with excitement as if he had made an outstanding discovery.
"Well it seems worth a try." I agree because I really don't have any better ideas. I run back to the car and grab a lighter, while none of us smoke a lighter is an essential tool when doing many spells, so I try to have one available at all times. I made it back to the apricot tree and without hesitation put the flam of the lighter behind the message.
The words didn't change but as I looked up at Ethan he had stopped moving as if frozen. Then from behind the apricot tree walked the old man I had seen before and the man in the suite. The magic that radiated from the old man was so strong I really feel stunned I had never even imaged meeting a human as powerful as him. He was defiantly not an angle or a devil but he had a magic level much higher than myself or any other keeper I had met.
The old man who was dressed in an elaborate robe leaned to the man in the suit, after he was done whispering he straightened his posture and nodded.
"My grandfather says not to be alarmed," the man in the suit began and as soon as he said those words I started to become very alarmed. My eyes jetted around my surroundings and only then did I notice Ethan still frozen in place. "We are in a time drift right now, I'm sure you have heard of them." The man in the suit continued to talk. "My grandfather doesn't speak English so I translate for him, but he says that since you have strong magical abilities you can communicate directly with him."
"How?" I asked immediately, I couldn't explain even to myself but I felt very comfortable with the old grandfather in the robe, not so much in with the man in the suit, he makes me feel slightly uneasy and I'm not sure why.
Before the man in the suit even said a word I was already taking steps closer to the grandfather in the robe, he held out his hands to me and while they were wrinkled and worn looking they were still very strong, with long fingers and a large palm. They didn't shake or waver as I placed my hands in his hands, as he closed his hands around mine my hands were engulfed by his.
"That's better," I could hear his voice but when I looked at him his lips weren't moving. "We can communicate well this way without a translator or any ease dropping."
I opened my mouth to talk and then realized I only had to think "So we are talking though telepathy?"
"In a way you see because we both possess similar magic we can easily talk, others might not be able to do this as easily." I could hear him clearly although his mouth never moved it was strange having a conversation in this way but I could feel that what he said was true, his magic although much more powerful than mine did feel familiar, " But down to business, you are worried about Death and War, correct."
I was startled that he knew, but this made things easier, now there is less to explain to him "Yes, we found Matt at a Motel drugged in a bath tub, he hasn't regained conciseness yet and he has a cloud surrounding him, my cousin is trapped in a bubble inside the cloud next to him. I can't figure out how to help them so that's why we came to you."
"And what happened to my grandson?" he asked
"Ken, was fine but he got really angry and then he seemed to freeze in place red smoke is starting to slowly seep from him and I can't get close because the smoke stings." I may have simplified my explanation a bit and I didn't want to mention he didn't want his family's help.
"It's alright it must be hard finding a new family, I don't blame him for not wanting our help." The old man told me with kindness and a hint of sadness in his eyes.
I sucked in my breath a little taken aback by his comment but I should have guessed since we are speaking to each other in our minds that he could see what's on my mind.
"Never mind that for now," the old man said "we need to get them all together."
"You mean the horseman, but we still haven't found Plague, and I don't know how long that will take." I didn't want to waist time and I had already tried every spell I could think of to try to locate the last horseman.
"Don't worry I know a way we can have Plague come to you, but in the mean time you are going to have to sedate the 3 other horseman."
"But I just saw Peter this morning and he was fine." I said
"And he will be fine unless he gets in an extreme emotional state."
"He's with my sister at the motel where we found Matt, there's no signal there, how can I get them back?"
"Don't worry I can help." He said and then released my hands.
As soon as our hands were no longer touching both the old man and the man in the suite were gone. I turned to look at Ethan and he was looking around.
"So are you gonna use that lighter or what, your just standing there." Ethan said it seems he was really frozen
"It's fine we need to get home now." I firmly said and started walking to the car.