Melchior swung the wooden practice sword hard, each strike as fluid as if he was water. He'd tried sleeping but it seemed Hypnos, the greek god of sleep, had refused him any rest, instead he kept remebering Casmir in his last moments.
Tell Sal that I care for him, that I have fallen and will continue to fall, can you do that for me?
Melchior had agreed, but he felt he should have declined, he should have been plain instead of swearing that he could. But how could he have said no?, how could he have denied Casmir the one thing he requested, the one thing he desired most.
"Coward" muttered Melchior.
He stabbed the practice sword forward, the air hissed with energy.
"Liar"
He slashed the sword downward, his veins were suddenly sizzling with that same overwhelming power.
"How could you?"
His brain buzzed, his hands simmered with heat.
"How could you!" he screamed and as he did lances of green electricity shot from his body, arching its way across the mat and charring it, the smell of burning plasic filling the room. The air crackled as his magic responded to his emotions and he fell to his knees and screamed in anger and frustration.
"Melchior!" Bloom yelled from the doorway of the training room.
Melchior didn't turn, he stayed on the floor, and seconds later when Bloom knelt behind him and her hands encircled his body he wept while clutching her, unable to keep his thoughts from leaking through his lips.
"I failed him, I failed him, I failed him"
***
Sal woke up groaning from a dark and dreamless sleep, his body felt stiff with exhaustion, his hands and legs protesting as he commanded them to move.
They didn't.
He sighed and turned, the mattress on the floor was empty, the sheets he'd given Antony the night before folded neatly at the foot of the mattress. He still couldn't believe that his demigod half brother was living in his apartment with him and his best friend, a few days ago the only family he had was Lester and he'd only feared losing him to Boulder, now he had a brother and an array of supernatural friends, all of which he was now scared of losing too.
He shook his head vigorously to settle his thoughts, he had a hunt to complete, today they would find the last person on the list, today he would have all he needed, and then he would decide what to do from there.
He smoothed his hair back and, finally gaining the strength to move, he stood from his bed, being careful not to topple back from sheer exhaustion.
After he took a shower and dressed in his tunic he walked out of his room and down the stairs. Immediately he shut his bedroom door he heard laughter floating from the kitchen and smelt the fresh scent of newly baked bread.
On reaching the kitchen he was met with a very disturbing sight of Antony and Lester both wearing matching white aprons, both their long hairs bound up in buns, dancing and belting out Alessia Cara songs as though they were holding their own private concert. On the kitchen counter was a steaming loaf of bread, three cups of coffee placed side by side, and a jar of peanut butter and strawberry jam open with butter knives sticking out of them.
Sal resisted the urge to laugh, then Lester looked at him and belted a pitchy; "Morning Sal", so he had no choice but to at least smile.
"Morning Lester" Sal answered.
Antony kept on singing and simply waved.
"Have some" Lester offered.
One cup of coffee and four PB&J sandwiches later Sal walked out of his apartment, looking back once at Antony and Lester grinning back at him, before shaking his head and then closing the door.
He had no idea what those two had in mind for the day but he was sure it wouldn't be too dangerous to let Antony enjoy the Mortal World for a few hours.
He pulled out the scroll and looked at the last name, this one glowing a very bright gold, the name was Marcus. There was no other name which puzzled Sal as greatly as this one did, this was the only Shaded being on his list who didn't have a last name, meaning this one was different somehow.
For a split second Sal thought of going by himself, all he needed to do was work his magic, conjure a portal and go to where he needed to go. He didn't want anyone else to get hurt if he could help it, especially if finding this one would be different from finding the others.
But then again he needed his friends, they had become more than just necessary assistance, they had become a sort of anchor. And with Casmir gone he needed them to hold him down more than ever.
He took out his wand and slashed the air, the portal opened and Sal took a minute before he stepped in.
He emerged in front of Katarina's house, and, much to his surprise, they were all there waiting for him.
Katarina had bunched up her hair in a messy ponytail and her magical pins were placed more as a necessity than an accessory, her dark eyes were more alert than alight, though she hadn't noticed him, and she leaned her back against the door with her hands balled into fists in the pockets of her black trousers.
Melchior, who sat on the steps, had a shortsword strapped to his waist and a serious expression on his face with his hands folded in front of him. He avoided Sal's gaze completely and his ocean eyes seemed very faraway, yet they gleamed with a danger Sal had never seen before.
Only Bloom looked the same and only she acknowledged Sal as soon as he emerged, she nodded in greeting and then cast a worried glance Melchior's way.
"Guys.." Sal started
Katarina turned to him as soon as she heard his voice, and she pushed against the door and walked down the steps.
"Good you're here" she said. "I've locked up, we're ready" she gestured at the scroll in his hand, "who's next?"
Sal shook his head, he knew they weren't going to like it, but he felt it was for the best.
"I think you guys should..."
Katarina raised a hand and Sal found himself shutting up.
"I'm gonna stop you right there" she said.
"Come on, Kat" he said desperately. "Just listen to what I have to say"
"We all know what you have to say" Bloom said, her eyes were set on his, the earlier warmth of greeting completely evaporated, "you want us to let you complete this hunt on your own because you are afraid to see us get hurt, is that not so?"
Sal was about to speak when Katarina raised her hand again.
"I think you need to be reminded" she said. "That it is not in your place to decide for us"
"I wasn't trying to, I just thought...."
"What?" Katarina challenged. "That now my brother is dead we will just run away, give up!"
There was a bitter determination in her voice, one that Sal dreaded hearing. Sorrow shouldn't be her motivation, grief shouldn't be her reason for fighting.
"Kat...." Sal said, his voice a bit softer.
"We are not going anywhere Salome" Melchior said. "We will fight with you till the end, no matter what that end may be"
Sal looked each of them in the eye, feeling each of their emotions burn as he peered into their souls. They were all angry, they were all looking for a way to let out that anger, and completing this hunt was the only way they felt they could do it.
"Alright then" Sal said finally. "Let's go"
He turned and with a slash of his wand a portal began roaring to life as soon as the glyph shone and faded.
"Where exactly are we going?" Katarina asked as they came down the front steps.
"The Sambisa" he said casually.
"And where is that exactly?" Bloom asked.
He smirked and put one foot in the portal.
"You'll know soon enough."
***
"So the Sambisa is a forest on another continent in your world and you couldn't just say that" Bloom said.
Sal turned to grin at Bloom but couldn't really see her face, only the light glow of the bangles on her arm were visible under the canopy of trees over their heads that blocked the silver shin of moonlight completely. The forest itself was thick with tall trees and their large trunks, there was still the rustle of fallen leaves and the sound of cool midnight breeze moving in and out of branches. Insects trilled, animals moved silently, the beating wings of bats resounded. All of that coupled with the darkness made everything uncomfortably creepy.
"I didn't want to ruin the fun" Sal said.
"There is nothing fun about this place" Kat complained.
Sal smiled a little, but couldn't keep it on, it felt wrong to smile now, just a day after Casmir died, Casmir had been the one to keep the smile on all their faces.
"Just hold on, we're almost there" said Sal.
He looked again at the Finding glyph on his right arm and felt the familiar tug in his stomach. He had his wand in hand and drew a Daylight glyph, a single star, on his left hand. It immediately shone as a ball of light emerged from his palm and floated in front of him.
"You're getting better" Bloom said as she fell in step beside him.
"Thank you" answered Sal, the tugging grew stronger the closer they got.
"Doesn't it overwhelm you" Bloom asked. "the knowledge you possess?"
Sal shrugged.
"It should, that's what the Court wanted, but Lucifer prevented all that, he placed a kind of magical filter in my mind so the information doesn't overwhelm me, if it's taken out my mind would slowly detoriate and I would be driven completely insane"
"That would be very unpleasant" Bloom said.
Sal chuckled.
"Yeah, I guess so" he said.
There was silence after that, the only sounds were their boots as they marched on the forest floor and the forest itself, the sounds it produced making it seem like a living entity.
Soon they burst out of the trees and emerged on a single paved road that seemed to cut through the middle of the forest. With the light of the moon now shining above them Sal dispelled the ball of light and looked at the Finding glyph on his arm, it had faded completely.
"We're here" Sal said looking around at the long, lonely road.
"And where exactly is here?" Bloom asked.
Sal didn't know exactly, the beacon had led him here so whoever he was looking for should be here.
"We're lost, aren't we?" Katarina said.
Sal was about to argue that they weren't lost but Melchior spoke.
"I can see a shining light up ahead, maybe that is where we need to go."
It was the first thing he'd said since they walked through the portal and his voice came out hard and cold, nearly lifeless. It seemed he was feeling Casmir's absence much more than any of the rest of them were. Sal looked at Melchior but Melchior wasn't looking at him, his hand was outstretched and his finger pointed south.
Sal turned to the direction Melchior pointed and saw that there was indeed a light not to far from them, a mixture of blue's and red's and a glaring white.
"Let's go toward the lights then, but be alert, god only knows what's out there"
As they neared the lights Sal couldn't help feeling that something was wrong, the road was too quiet, and it felt unnatural that it was only their footsteps they heard, even the night had it's sounds, but on this long stretch of road there were none.
They finally got to the lights, up close it was almost blinding but Sal saw even through the glare of white that it was a vehicle. A white pickup truck stood as if parked at the side of the road. Police sirens of red's and blue's swirled on the roof of the car and shone in the darkness. The head and tail lights, which were the brightest lights Sal had ever seen, were on. The doors were open and the hood of the truck was steaming, the smell of burning filled the night air.
Sal felt a cold feeling run down his spine.
"Someone died here" he said.
He rushed towards the car, the footsteps of his companions following behind him, his pendant glowed brighter as he advanced forward, his mark burning as the aura of death surrounded the car like a cloak. As he got closer he saw a hand dangling out from the open door, he knew just from the stillness that the body was lifeless, he walked forward and reached the passenger door.
It was a soldier, the uniform and sigil on his chest said that much, but Sal had no idea what he looked like.
The body had no head.
All that was left was a stump where the head should have been, blood dribbled frrom it and trailed it's way down into the soldier's uniform. On the driver's seat there was a full body, though it was riddled with claw and teeth marks, the soldier was a female, her hair was cut short, her eyes lifeless and open as she stared at her stomach and the contents that spilled out.
"Oh my" Melchior exclaimed.
Bloom shook her head and walked away.
"Who would have done this?" Sal whispered, his stomach turning as he faced the gore before him.
Katarina was beside him in an instant, she beheld it with practiced ease, her eyes roaming the bodies for clues.
"Werewolves" she said, her voice was almost a whisper. "They were killed by...."
Sal felt the hairs stand up on his neck, and before Katarina could finish speaking he turned immediately, his hand reaching for Kyrona and pulling it from it's sheath.
Standing in front of them were two large wolves, they both stood on all fours, both their golden eyes glaring at Sal and his friends. One of them had coffee brown fur that rustled under the gentle breeze, the other had black fur with flecks of white in it, sleek and matted down, unresponsive to any external influence, both their mouths dripped with blood, their furs stained with it. The one with black and white fur stepped forward and growled at Sal, their eyes fixed on Kyrona.
"Sal, I suggest you put down the sword" Melchior said. "Perhaps they only want to talk"
Sal shook his head, his grip on Kyrona was tight.
"They killed these people, Melchior, they're dangerous." Sal said.
Melchior stepped closer to Sal and placed his hand on Sal's arm. It was gentle, so gentle Sal was tempted to sheath his sword immediately.
"The beacon led you here, did it not?" Melchior asked. "You may be getting ready to slaughter the people we're supposed to meet"
Sal hesitated. Melchior had a point, these wolves were probably the key to finding Marcus, hell one of them could be him, but still they had killed mortals, Sal's gut didn't totally agree with that. Nevertheless he nodded and lowered Kyrona.
Melchior nodded back and walked forward a bit, the shortsword at his side slapping against his thigh.
"We mean you no harm" he said, his voice as still and calm as lake water. "we are only in search of someone, so please, kindly Shift so we can be able to speak with you"
The wolves faced each other, then they faced the group and growled.
From the trees that surrounded them wolves began to emerge, their furs different shades of black, gray and brown, all their eyes glowing with the same golden, canine light, all their teeth bared in vicious snarls.
"Please" Melchior pleaded and walked closer. "We only want to ask a few questions"
"Melchior stay back" Sal warned, Kyrona at the ready.
"They just need someone to understand them." He took another step closer, his hand outstreched.
"Melchior please don't go any closer" Bloom cried, her bangles glowed and elongated into a shining whip.
Melchior kept on moving, until he placed his hand bravely on the brown wolf's fur.
"We only want to talk" Melchior repeated, as he pushed his hand through the wolf's fur.
The brown wolf closed it's eyes in delight and then looked to the black wolf as if for permission. Sal could tell there was an understanding that passed between them, and before anyone could speak a word the brown wolf pounced. In the blink of an eye Melchior was gone, and so was the wolf.
"No!" cried Bloom.
Sal prepared to go in pursuit but he was immediately surrounded. The sea of wolves blocked his path so he could neither see Melchior nor could he reach him.
A thick, blinding panic came over him, and before he knew it Kyrona was raised and shining in his grip. He needed to get to Melchior, so he did the the only thing he could think of in that moment.
He charged.
***
Melchior had never felt so weightless in his entire life, as the brown wolf's jaws clamped on the hem of his armour and lifted him into the air effortlessly. They both soared and then landed, the brown wolf gracefully on all fours, far away from the wall of werewolves that surrounded the others. The wolf glared at Melchior, razor sharp teeth bare as it let him down on the floor.
"Please, don't eat me, I just want to talk." Melchior begged.
The wolf tilted it's head and looked at Melchior questionably.
Then it began to Shift, bones crackled like embers as the fur began to peel back, the claws and teeth retracted, the snout began to sink and the eyes changed from a glaring gold to a soothing caramel.
The man that stared down at Melchior was large and muscular, he had very dark skin and scars across his broad and bare chest, he was strong and held Melchior down firmly despite all his struggles, he eyed Melchior steadily and Melchior proceeded to do the same and saw that the man was completely naked.
"I won't eat you" The man said, his voice deep, his accent thick. "I hate fish"
"Praise Poseidon" breathed Melchior.
"You said you wanted to talk" the man said.
"Yes, my friends and I, we are looking for someone, he led us here"
The man didn't look convinced and Melchior gulped, calculating different ways to kick him in the balls and run.
"Who?" The man asked.
"His name is Marcus" Melchior answered.
The man eyes widened, clearly the name had some sort of significance to him, but before Melchior could ask any further questions the man turned abruptly and growled, his eyes taking their golden hue once again.
"Your friends are hurting my pack" he said.
"They must think I'm in danger" Melchior said.
"Why would they think that?"
"Perhaps it's because you fucking ambushed me, tekniske"
The man looked to Melchior once again in confusion but Melchior wasn't about to tell the carnivore pinning him down that tekniske was Fey for wild mutt.
"Get off me", he said instead, "we need to let them know I'm alright"
The man nodded and leapt of Melchior towards the rest of his pack.
Melchior shot to his feet and followed him, the sound of snarls and howls increasing as he got closer to the chaos.
He soon reached the man's side and what met his eyes was terrifying.
There were wounded wolves everywhere, some in their naked human forms, other's in their full wolf forms, the road was painted red as though it had rained blood, limbs lay in different places, paws and legs and arms alike, and in the middle of it all stood his friends.
Katarina kept shooting arrows, their tips glowing with magical energy, striking wolf after wolf and sending bright red blood out in sprays. Bloom was dancing with her whip, slicing through fur and fending off wolves, her eyes searching for something, someone, in the midst of all the fur and blood and violence. And then Sal, his eyes burning blue as his body moved with deadly intent, he struck without hesitation, Kyrona humming in his hands as he swung it, and sizzling as the silver burned through whatever unfortunate werewolf was in it's path.
The man growled in protest and Melchior agreed with him. Though Melchior was touched that his friends cared for him this had to stop immediately.
"Bloom, Kat, Sal, stop!" Melchior cried.
Bloom immediately turned to his direction, her eyes wide with relief, she narrowly dodged a leaping wolf and flung herself towards him. Katarina who somehow got herself perched on the pickup truck stared at Melchior and he swore he could see a tear trickle down her eyes.
But Sal kept on fighting, his expression fixed in anger. He'd gone berserk, even the wolves were terrified and began to whimper and back away, all moving in unison behind the black and white wolf who stood unfazed as Sal approached them.
"Salome that is enough!" called Bloom.
Sal turned and Bloom visibly flinched, his eyes were cold and dangerous, blood had splattered his hair and tunic and Kyrona was dripping with it, he didn't seem to have heard her, he looked like she had interrupted his fun.
"Sal, look, Melchior is okay, he's alright" Katarina said.
She pointed at Melchior and Sal looked in his direction, his eyes wide as they settled on Melchior and returned to their duller blue.
"Melchior" he whispered.
Melchior nodded, trying his best not to show any signs of fear. He wasn't very good at it because Sal's brows scrunched in confusion and worry. He looked around him and his eyes widened in horror.
"Oh fuck" he swore, as his grip on Kyrona loosened, and it clattered to the floor.
Melchior didn't know what to say, the man at his side was speechless, and the rest of the wolves were snarling behind the black and silver wolf, who still remained very calm.
Just then running footsteps were heard coming from the forest, and everyone turned, confusion written on all their faces as the footsteps got closer, panting breath following as whoever it was approached.
Bursting out of the woods was a twelve year old boy, he was light skinned and his hair was a pale blonde, his eyes bright and golden, smart and intelligent, mischievous and cunning. He wore a pair of bright blue shorts and his feet were bare on the ground.
As he came to a stop he rested his hands on his knees, his breath coming out in short huffs and puffs, his tails, about seven of them, swinging from left to right and back again behind him. As he spoke he spoke with a unique accent, one Melchior had never heard before, as if the boy was used to speaking in a variety of ways, so much so that when he spoke, he spoke in all those ways at once.
"It is them", the boy said in between breaths, "they are the ones that I saw in my dreams"
Melchior turned to the man who was staring at him in turn.
"Who is that child?" Melchior asked.
"That child is my son" The man said. "And his name is Marcus."