《Meaning: The End of the Starless Century》 Bios and Terms Characters
Levi Wright "I¡¯ve been to many places around the world, and I¡¯ve met even more people. Magic is nothing more than their thoughts and wishes given form. It¡¯s always there, even when we can¡¯t see it. If there¡¯s one thing I¡¯ve learned after all this time, it¡¯s that where there is magic...there¡¯s always hope too."
Art credit: Instagram/Twitter-@straydpath
Sex: Male Age: 25-26 (date of birth unknown)
Occupation: Bookshop Owner, Knight (former) Affiliation: Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica, Knight''s Order of the Congregation (former), Vorbild Temple of Babalon (former)
Surveillance Rank: B Subject deemed non-hostile towards the Congregation, but is subject of interest in multiple RESTRICTED classified incidents. Character Theme: The Hermit''s Garden (Trails in the Sky the 3rd) Action Theme: Savior of Souls (Lightning Returns Final Fantasy XIII)
As a former member of the Knight''s Order of the Congregation Levi is well trained in firearms handling, armed & unarmed CQC, swordplay, and traditional martial arts. During his time in this role he survived several high profile missions even when the rest of his team was wiped out, earning him the moniker "The Survivor." Levi resigned from the Knight''s Order a little under five years ago and has since been wandering the world trying his hand at different career paths, never sticking with one for long. He often gets wrapped up in local incidents which has incited the Congregation to continue keeping tabs on him. Levi is currently residing in Ithaca, New York where he runs a bookshop named The Dusty Tome. He is the current guardian of Lorelei Himmel.
Noelle SellersThis story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. "A miracle at the expense of others isn¡¯t a miracle at all!"
Art credit: Instagram/Twitter-@straydpath
Sex: Female Age: 23
Occupation: Police Officer Affiliation: Ithaca Police Department, Princeton University (former)
Surveillance Rank: D No known non-Congregation magical contacts beyond Levi Wright. Holds some sway over unidentified anti-magic organism colloquially known as Nyar. Character Theme: Red Sprouted Memories (Melty Blood: Type Lumina) Action Theme: Objection! 2011 (Gyakuten Kenji 2)
A woman from New Haven, Connecticut born to a pair of wealthy lawyers. She grew up gifted but isolated from her peers. Noelle had a strong relationship with her older sister, Beatrice, a detective, who passed away while investigating a case. Following Noelle gaining influence over the being she refers to as "Nyar" Beatrice''s passing was investigated by the Congregation Inquisitor''s Office for any magical foul play and potential anti-Congregation sentiments on Noelle''s end, but none were found. Noelle has an ex-boyfriend from college named Andrew Warring who she dated while taking prelaw courses. Her breakup with him influenced her to instead become a police officer and move to Ithaca. While there she learned of magic from Levi Wright and became a known associate of Lorelei Himmel.
Lorelei Himmel "Mages are people who ignore the wishes of others, the reality around them, just so they can selfishly change the world to match their personal faith."
Art credit: Instagram/Twitter-@straydpath
Sex: Female Age: 13
Occupation: N/A Affiliation:N/A
Surveillance Rank: AAA CONFIRMED WITCH-MODERATE RISK OF SUCCUMBING. LOCATION MUST BE VERIFIED EVERY 24 HOURS. Character Theme: Love Lost (Final Fantasy XV) Action Theme: Crimson Chapel (Melty Blood: Type Lumina)
Verified a witch at the age of five, Lorelei was surrendered to the Congregation. She was placed in a foster program designed to keep her mobile to prevent her from forming permanent attachments so that malicious parties would be unable to influence her. She met a younger witch, Beth, between assignments and insisted the two of them be kept together. This was allowed to reduce Lorelei''s hostility towards the Congregation following a study concluding she had higher than average magical potential even by witch standards. Following Beth''s passing, Levi Wright was assigned as Lorelei''s guardian. If Lorelei succumbs she is to be killed on sight.
The Witches and the Stars: Prologue An Artic wind howled across the landscape of October Revolution Island, itscold gale rendering the landscape inhospitable to all but the hardiest of life. Adrian stood alone in a field of ice as the cold lashed against him, freezing his tears the instant they fell from his wind-watered eyes. Staying out in the open in these conditions was nothing short of a death sentence, but he paid it no heed. A typical man would succumb to the cold, but he had his internal heat, his magic, to even the score. Power coursed through his veins, providing him with enough comfort and heat to weather the icy storm. He considered himself lucky to possess the attributes necessary to enjoy the reflective glow of the full moon in such a harsh landscape. His family had been nobility once. With their mystic powers they had ruled the region around Carthage with an iron fist. The unenlightened masses had no say in his ancestors¡¯ governance. His grandfather and his father before him quelled any unrest with their spells and curses. Even as swords and spears gave way to guns and machinery his family held on strong, they had thousands of years of mythology of magical expertise to call upon. They were unstoppable until The Congregation took it all away. One hundred years ago the fires of the Great War raged across Europe, and from the ashes emerged The Congregation. An assembly of the greatest magical authorities the world had to offer, The Congregation declared that magic users must conceal their powers from the rest of humanity, lest it add any more chaos to the Seminal Catastrophe. Adrian¡¯s family had resisted of course, but they were one clan against the rest of the magical world. Adrian¡¯s grandfather and great uncles were strong to be sure, but with their powers and resources depleted from the Balkan Wars and then World War I, they stood no chance. His grandfather was stripped from power, and his family cast out from Carthage to wander a world where magic¡¯s glow had faded for all but those lucky enough to have a link to the arcane. It was a damn shame. He could¡¯ve been a king but instead he was out here, freezing his ass off as a petty mercenary. His employer had been light on the details, ¡°go to these coordinates and retrieve the item.¡± What item was that exactly? The client acted like it would be obvious but so far all Adrian could see was ice, ice, and more ice. Whatever, the money transfer had cleared so it wasn¡¯t like he had no reason to go along with the poor instruction. His silent complaints were interrupted by a growing light on the horizon. Adrian had dismissed it as a plane earlier, but it continued towards him, growing ever brighter. Now that it had crossed some distance he could make out the flames and the solid core, a small meteor was heading his way. The space rock plowed into the surface, spewing flame and throwing ground every which way. The light show it left in its wake left a decent impression, though it failed to offer any respite to the cold wind lashing Adrian. Adrian pondered the client¡¯s instructions as the icy powder strewn about by the meteor danced across the landscape. He had been instructed to retrieve something at the coordinates. Was this it? A space rock? If they wanted one so bad they should¡¯ve just hired him to rob a science museum. Asking him to go through such a hassle for such a mundane job should be punishable by death. Mundane except for that. Something dark and murky squirmed within the flames that remained from the impact. The shadows it cast in the flame were numerous, comprised of thin tentacles squirming all about, tentatively reaching out to the flames, ground, and air as if testing their basic composition. Eyes, mouths, and faces crawled across the black substance, vanishing as soon as they appeared. It was grotesque, unimaginable even. Adrian was rooted to the spot, unable to process the horrific undulation and warping of the unidentifiable thing before him.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Quakes shot throughout its surface, undulating at the surface with a devilish tempo. The thing¡¯s flesh, if you could even call it that, split and a legion of mouths appeared on its surface. Some were human, some animal, and some defied any convention. All the mouths opened in unison and emitted a wall of sound. The noise had no uniformity, going up and down in volume, pitch, and frequency. It was as if an entire lot of cars had their radios on max and were switching through all the stations at once. It was a paralyzing noise, shaking Adrian¡¯s very bones. His head spun and his vision grew blurry from frequencies that his human mind couldn¡¯t begin to recognize as sound. He was on the verge of passing out, and who knew what the creature would do to him if he did. On the brink of his blurry consciousness Adrian felt something, a flame within his core. His magic was still there, and it was his last chance. With a relaxing breath he let the fire spread. Power shot through him, elevating his senses and strength beyond the bounds of his mortal body. He lifted his boot and brought it down with a snort, breaking through the ice and the hard ground beneath. Letting his faith take the lead, Adrian poured his power and faith to complete his spells to manifest his familiars: his stalwart raven and trusty Asiatic lion. The lion would be his trump card tonight. Long ago, in a time found in Greek myth, Nemea was terrorized by a fierce lion, the offspring of Zeus and Selene which had fallen from the cold embrace of the moon to the cruel, mortal Earth. With impervious golden fur and claws of infinite sharpness it slew all who tried to claim its hide. The spell construct of his familiar contained subliminal characteristics of the beast of legend, not that they were necessary. Indeed, for doing battle against human opponents an ordinary lion alone was enough to send a chill down their spines, those that realized the true character of the familiar had even greater cause for fear. Adrian chuckled to himself. Under the light of tonight¡¯s moon his victory had been assured. Moonlight flowed down and reflected off the lion¡¯s fur, bringing forth a golden hue. It was a brilliant shining light in that chilled landscape, reflecting off the ice and snow to create a prism of aura. It was a majestic sight, if one were to take a picture of it and sell it to magazines they¡¯d be set for life as a famous photographer. The legendary Nemean Lion with its invincible fur and limitless claws had been born into the world. ¡°To tell you the truth, I was a bit apprehensive at first, facing an unknown lifeform like you. It matters not though; whatever you¡¯re made from my lion¡¯s claws will cleave you to bits.¡± Adrian chuckled his comment to the black thing, not that he believed it could understand him, before gesturing his familiar forwards. The lion advanced on its prey, moonlight refracting off its fur to the point where it was difficult to see the stars even in this place so far away from civilization. In ancient times such a sight would have been seen as a visit from the gods, but now it just meant the swift coming of death for Adrian¡¯s opponents. Adrian blinked and pushed the lion forward with his mind, and in that split second it leapt at the black thing with a speed beyond which the average man could process. It was over. The fangs and claws of the familiar would subdue the monster in an instant. And yet¡­ The black thing exploded and a wave of darkness spread outwards. It came crashing down on the lion, burying it beneath a flood of the eldritch substance. The darkness thrashed about, compressing and twisting the lion in its embrace into shapes incomprehensible. Adrian tried his best to recall the familiar, but the connection he had with his spell had been broken somehow. Suddenly, the thrashing settled down. The darkness retreated back into itself, forming into a concrete shape. Before Adrian stood a featureless feline-like creature made from the unknown thing¡¯s material. It was smaller and sleeker than the lion, but it held unimaginable depth in its inky ¡°coat,¡± if it could even be called that. Adrian swore he could see the glitter of starlight on the thing¡¯s body. Whatever it was that stood before him, it was so close and yet still so far away from being anything Adrian would call natural. The black beast crouched down and raised its haunches. All Adrian could do in response was give a pained grin. Looks like the real fight was just getting started for this shitty job. He¡¯d certainly be giving his employer an earful about this mess once it was over. Thus, man and alien clashed on the icy landscape where the moon alone would bear witness and record the outcome of the battle. The Witches and the Stars (1): Twin Fates Noelle was weighing the proportion of awe and distaste she was willing to afford Emily as she watched the redhead down her drink in one go with no regard for the noisy and crowded surroundings of the dive they were in. Drinks were meant to be cradled and appreciated. All that waited at the bottom was an empty glass, an inevitable and tasteless ending. There was no reason to go looking for it. The bartender appeared quite approving of Emily¡¯s behavior and figure, watching Emily with a half-grin and glazed eyes as he distractedly supplied Noelle with her own drink. This was no surprise. Emily¡¯s vivacious attitude and looks had a way with men that Noelle couldn¡¯t replicate. The leering and slack jawed bartender continued to pay Noelle little mind as he slid her drink over, but that was alright, Noelle hated slack jawed men, leering men, and bartending men alike. ¡°Ugh! I can¡¯t take this job hunting crap for much longer!¡± Emily¡¯s cry left her mouth as soon as she moved the glass away, leaving no time for a post-chug breath. ¡°You have no idea how lucky you are to have one, Ellie!¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be so sure,¡± tutted Noelle, ¡°I don¡¯t start until next week, anything could happen.¡± ¡°Yeah but you¡¯ll be leaving me behind for Ithaca tomorrow.¡± said Emily, pushing the glass away to the edge of the bar to give the bartender something to do. ¡°I¡¯m going to be stuck here with just my parents for company! Get a job that isn¡¯t five hours away!¡± Noelle took a sip of her drink before answering. ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound so bad. You get along with your mom and dad. Mine are still angry that I went to the police academy instead of law school after college. Two lawyers in the house is already enough, last Thanksgiving was nothing but litigation talk.¡± ¡°Yes¡­but you have a job. Money. Purpose.¡± ¡°In Ithaca.¡± ¡°Oooh that¡¯s right I forgot! Miss Future Big City Cop wants to hit the ground running.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a city too,¡± huffed Noelle, ¡°Old fears about 9/11 and the Philadelphia Lockdown have people on edge. All the New York cops are ex-military now. It¡¯s such an overreaction, better police aren¡¯t going to stop things like that from happening.¡± ¡°Philadelphia Lockdown..the bioterror outbreak? That was years ago already.¡± ¡°It hasn¡¯t even been five.¡± ¡°Relax. Anyways, sounds like you should¡¯ve joined the military smarty-pants. Did your time at Princeton not cover that?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not looking to shoot at people.¡± ¡°Cops do that too!¡± ¡°If someone doesn¡¯t comply I¡¯d rather use the nightstick. It¡¯s so much more physical. The human body was designed with tactility in mind.¡± ¡°Uh...who designed it like that?¡± ¡°God, obviously.¡± ¡°I doubt he thought about it like that!¡± Emily¡¯s comment was coupled with a concerned look from the bartender. ¡°Ellie, you need to stop saying things like that. You¡¯ll never get to settle do-¡° ¡°I don¡¯t care what people think of it,¡± said Noelle, her tone icy. The sudden interjection harshly cut off Emily¡¯s comment. Emily showed no hurt in response to Noelle¡¯s terseness, just a concerned look pleading with Noelle to reconsider her stance. ¡°I¡¯m not ready,¡± said Noelle, ¡°I don¡¯t think I can do that right now. I don¡¯t want to change just to hurt again.¡± Emily offered a smile. Noelle knew that her friend wouldn¡¯t push the issue any further today. It was sad that she would be moving away from the one person who treated her that way. ¡°Oh c¡¯mon,¡± teased the bartender, ¡°it can¡¯t be that bad. You girls are always so overdramatic.¡± Emily started to reach towards Noelle in a preemptive measure to censure the inevitable retort. Too late. It was already primed and ready to go. ¡°Be quiet. Speak out of line again and I¡¯ll tip you a cent to the dollar.¡±
Levi knew for a fact that the two foster girls living in the house up the road who were currently patronizing his bookshop were witches. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. There wasn¡¯t much about them that stood out to him besides the older one¡¯s albinism. Levi had seen far stranger than white hair and red eyes in his time. The grade schooler that followed the white-haired teen around perusing the bookshop¡¯s shelves was even more normal with her bushy head of strawberry blonde hair. No normal human, or mage for that matter, would have pegged them as witches, but Levi knew. Their ¡°social worker¡± he saw around town was a knight of The Congregation, and The Congregation only monitored people it thought were a threat. As for why he recognized the knight, the two of them were acquainted. The less thought about that the better. Witches were serious business. The kind of spells the little one could put out would undoubtedly overshadow any magic Levi had at hand, and the older one looked like she could kill with a glance. According to The Congregation, beings with that level of magical potency had to be registered, hidden, and watched. This policy was at odds with the favored public opinion of rounding witches up and locking them away in some facility at the ends of the earth. Either way, they were treated as little more than weapons. Levi¡¯s mind wandered to the self-defense stratus, a fire producing bracelet, on his wrist. It was his only option for spellcasting, which was laughable compared to the two girls. Witches broke all the rules. They didn¡¯t need covenants, an understanding of mysticism, stratus, belief, or anything else. They simply put out magic as if tossing about fire and lightning was part of God¡¯s design for the human body. No doubt they could level the building in the time it would take him to conjure a measly fireball. Fighting a witch was inadvisable. Luckily, he didn¡¯t need to do stuff like that anymore. The blonde excitedly rifled through a Peter Pan picture book Levi had left out for display. ¡°He can fly Lorelei, look!¡± she babbled to the older girl while turning the pages chaotically. The book was a library discard Levi saved from the dumpster, hopefully she¡¯d buy it and net him some profit. ¡°I know how Peter Pan goes Beth,¡± grunted the older girl, red eyes piercing through the veil of her blunt white bangs to peer at the book. She had a bob cut that made her look a few years older than she probably was, if Levi had to guess she was probably 13. Combined with her other features it was a fierce look, commanding all those around her besides the blonde to keep away. Finding inspiration in the adventures of Peter, the blonde jumped high in the air and stayed there, hovering, before the elder yanked her back to the ground. Levi did his best to keep a neutral expression on his face while the older girl looked around the bookshop, whispering chastisement to her foster sister over the flagrant display of magic. All practitioners were required to keep a filter on them at all times to trick the perception of non-magi. It wasn¡¯t perfect, those paying attention could pick up on phenomena, and people like Levi who walked with magic all their lives would see right through it. Hovering was pretty obvious too; any random John Doe would notice that as long as they weren¡¯t staring at their phones. The elder girl calmed down, content that her sister¡¯s secret was safe. All Levi had to do was pretend to have seen nothing and the two would remain blissfully unaware that there was another magic user in their midst. He¡¯d feel bad if the little one hovered again and someone noticed. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t get into the habit of relying on your filter. If it ever breaks or you lose it you need to be used to hiding yourself.¡± Levi removed the pendant his filter was built into from his neck and waved it around for emphasis. The albino girl hit Levi with a sharp glare, instinctively moving herself to come between his line of sight and the blonde. An unnatural breeze flowed through the shop, scattering the loose papers on Levi¡¯s desk all about. Levi did his best to keep his expression neutral, he had no desire to take on one witch, let alone two. ¡°Lorelei, right? I¡¯m not looking for trouble. Please don¡¯t knock my stuff around, I have to clean it up now.¡± ¡°How do you know my name?¡± Power crackled around Lorelei, causing her hair to whip about as the unnatural wind inside the shop intensified. Levi¡¯s request ignored, the scattered papers began circulating around the shop, creating an impromptu arena that saw the girls and Levi surrounded by a wall of invoices, receipts, and 5k flyers that Levi had neglected to distribute to customers. ¡°What?! Your friend used it just a minute ago!¡± ¡°Oh! I¡¯m Beth!¡± shouted the little one excitedly. The unexpected outburst distracted Lorelei, and with a final whip, the papers fell to the floor. Beth paid the changing environment no heed, beaming a dazzling smile and focusing sparkling eyes on Levi. ¡°Listen,¡± started Lorelei, ¡°we¡¯re going. Now.¡± Lorelei wrapped a firm arm around Beth¡¯s and began guiding her towards the entrance. ¡°H-hey! Wait!¡± protested Levi. Lorelei halted. ¡°Why should we? So you can take advantage of us? Try to kill us? Which is it?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? I want you to spend money here!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe you!¡± Lorelei went back to dragging Beth out of the store. ¡°All of you mages are the same!¡± Lorelei and Beth cleared the doorway, exiting the shop. Beth¡¯s protests at being forced to leave prematurely slowly faded as the pair made their way down the street. Levi scanned the shop, observing the mess that Lorelei¡¯s outburst had brought upon him. The girl had the power to immolate him, cut off his breathing, freeze him solid, and so much more, yet instead she had chosen the crueler path of giving him cleaning. Annoyed, Levi tossed his filter on his desk. ¡°May as well get this over with,¡± he muttered as he braced against the desk and pushed himself up. Just as he bent down to grab the first of the papers the shop bell rang as Beth came racing back in. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about that! Lorelei¡¯s actually really nice, I swear!¡± An irate ¡°Beth!¡± came from outside the shop, and with a startled *eep* the blonde darted back out the door into the afternoon sun. ¡°Ahhhh damn! They didn¡¯t buy anything! What am I gonna do about this month¡¯s rent?!¡± The Witches and the Stars (2): The Girl From the Elm City The scent of coffee made its way upstairs as if it had made it a goal to titillate Noelle into awakening. It was 9AM and the smell had completely permeated her room. There was no doubt that her mother was already on her second pot. Noelle continued to enjoy the smell, hazelnut, as she hastily dressed. It was the day of her departure, her apartment at Ithaca was ready for her and she was eager to throw the bags littering her room in her car and flee from the trappings of her parents¡¯ colonial. Noelle made her way downstairs to greet her mother. Even though it was still early in the morning and she had no work that day Noelle¡¯s mother was impeccably dressed and styled, fully decked out in makeup, a prim skirt, and a white blouse. Her hair, as pitch black as Noelle¡¯s own, was done up in a bun with nary a strand out of place. ¡°Noelle dear, you¡¯re up awfully early for an unemployed person. I thought for sure you¡¯d be up at noon like the rest of the riff-raff around these parts.¡± ¡°I told you this is the day I¡¯m leaving for my job.¡± Her mother pursed her lips. ¡°Hmm you did say something like that. Shame, your father left for golf so he can¡¯t see you off.¡± ¡°I told both of you every night for the last week¡­¡± ¡°I suppose it just slipped his mind. I think he¡¯s been avoiding it personally. It¡¯s embarrassing to have your daughter become a police officer in some random town after four years at Princeton. He was so looking forward to helping you with the Bar.¡± Noelle pushed down her ill feelings toward her mother¡¯s casual condemnation. She had known that her parents wouldn¡¯t take kindly to her recent professional decisions, but the breezy ease with which their chastisement flowed was still enough to rile her up. ¡°Besides, I think you¡¯ll come around and contact Andrew again sweetheart. It¡¯s just what you need to break out of this¡­bohemian phase of yours.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be caught dead doing that.¡± ¡°Couples fight all the time. Now won¡¯t you be a dear and refill my cup for me?¡± Noelle went back upstairs to grab her bags instead. The sooner she was out of the house the better.
Five hours later, Noelle stepped out of her car in Ithaca, relieved at the chance to move around again. It had taken some time to navigate her old beater around the New Haven traffic, but once she was free of the area Noelle had a great view travelling up the Housatonic River. Spring had finally taken its hold of the passing foliage and an endless sea of green trees welcomed her into New York as she crossed the Hudson. From there on it was nothing but forests, mountains, and the occasional community for her to observe as she made her way towards her new home. She had come here to camp once with Andrew. It was funny. She had so much fun then but now the scenery did nothing but make her feel bitter. There was no spark to it anymore. The office at her new apartment was staffed, so she had the key immediately upon arriving. The apartment was barren, and all Noelle had for it was a TV and her sleeping bag. It would need to be decorated, but for now, the inspiration to do so failed to set in. With nothing to do until her start in a few days, Noelle wandered about the town to familiarize herself with it. The police station she would be working at was rather nondescript. It was a tan cube-like structure, practical yet dull. The downtown area beyond it was significantly more vibrant. After some wandering she found a suitable caf¨¦ and took a break to take in the scenery. The people she saw on the street skewed young and fashionable. Even though she was five hours away it still felt like she was in New Haven. Between growing up near Yale and attending Princeton, she was quite used to the Ivy league touch Cornell brought all the way out to central New York. They milled about, darting in and out of shops, yet one remained unpatroned. It was a drab looking bookstore named The Dusty Tome. Leaving the unknown quality of what lay inside aside, Noelle supposed that the kiddy name was doing it no favors. A brown-haired man was setting up a display outside. One side of the table held children''s books such as poetry collections and fairy tales, while the other side was absolutely cluttered with smutty romance novels. A sign hung on the front of the table, Mother¡¯s: Treat Yourselves and Your Kids This Spring! The bottom was well decorated with painted-on flowers and birds but the effort spent on the top was significantly less. It seemed like the man had lost interest halfway through and thrown in the towel. The idea of trying to attract woman with sex-filled romance novels so that they would buy their spawn some picture books was gross. If she had her badge already she would¡¯ve shut the thing down. Uninspired to scope out the shop beyond that, she finished off the coffee she had been cradling and went on her way.
The rainy morning of her first day kept the amount of people out on the streets to a minimum as Noelle made her way to the doors of the Ithaca Police Department. The interior of the building was as nondescript as the outside, with little in the way of color and a subtle stale air provided by an over-the-hill HVAC system. Noelle stepped further into the main lobby, making eye contact with the older woman at the front desk. ¡°You must be the new kid, I can tell from the way you walked in here,¡± said the woman, ¡°I¡¯m Lucy, I¡¯ll give Chief Brue a call and let him know you¡¯re here.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°No need!¡± boomed a voice from Noelle¡¯s side. Turning, her vision was filled by a large African American man in his late 30s. His uniform was tucked in neatly, but wrinkles in the fabric and numerous spots missed during his morning shave betrayed him as being more slovenly than he wished to display. ¡°You¡¯re Noelle then? That¡¯s such a pretty name. My wife made our daughter¡¯s name Ashley, said I couldn¡¯t overrule her, but I would¡¯ve loved to name her something else like Iris or-¡± Noelle cautiously extended her hand to the man. ¡°Chief Brue...pleased to meet you. I¡¯m Noelle Sellers.¡± The large man deflated from her interjection, taking her hand and shaking it half-heartedly. Tough luck. She wasn¡¯t about to hear about somebody else¡¯s children and marriage. The lives of those better off than her weren¡¯t worth a flicker of attention. It¡¯d be much more productive to speak to someone miserable so she could learn from their mistakes. ¡°Let me show you to your locker, I mean¡­the outside of the locker room. I can¡¯t actually show you your locker because you know¡­ um¡­I¡¯d get fired. But I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be fine in there! We¡¯ve already put your name on the locker and stocked your uniforms and all that!¡± The day promised to be long.
Brue filled Noelle in on the lay of the land as he drove her around town. Ithaca was a nice city relative to some others in the U.S., and murder, rape, assault, and burglary all fell below the national average. At least her job would be manageable, a nice easy zero murders per 100,000 people awaited her. Maybe she¡¯d pray for a few more just to stave off boredom. While there was a need for a police presence it seemed that most of Noelle¡¯s duties would be tied to patrolling the areas surrounding the colleges. ¡°These kids can get pretty wild,¡± warned Brue. ¡°One time a bunch of the rascals got drunk and stole the gas cap off my lawn mower. You¡¯d think something like that would be easy to replace but I was on the manufacturer website for a good 45 minutes looking for the model number. They tipped the garbage can too.¡± Noelle massaged her temples as Brue drove them through the downtown area to find something to eat for lunch. Her shadowing of him had been going for a good four hours at this point. While he had some key insights every now and then Noelle found that most of the man¡¯s commentary was concerned with the mundanities of his daily life. The lawnmower tale was only the latest in a long series of mishaps she had learned of, her favorite ( or rather, the one she found the least annoying) being when his belt snapped in the middle of the grocery store. ¡°You know Chief,¡± started Noelle, ¡°they say you can learn lots about a man from looking through his garbage. Knowing you I¡¯m sure it was nothing but coffee pods and old scented candles, but the possibility remains for something more insidious. You never know what men get up to.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t throw out the candles actually. You can scoop the wax out and recycle them, but I find they make for pretty good jars. My wife uses them for tea leaves. Oh, I haven¡¯t even told you about the tea collection yet!¡± ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Thankfully, Brue¡¯s newest tangent was cut short as the man focused on parallel parking the squad car. Noelle had been zoning out for most of the one-sided discussion. While she was sure Mrs. Brue was quite the connoisseur, her husband struggled to give even basic descriptions of the colors of what teas they had. She decided against bringing up how she enjoyed trying different coffees and instead let her mind wander. Serving Ithaca as an officer seemed to offer little in the way of excitement. Seriously, how was she supposed to get her life going again like this? Her doubts were cut short by the subtle vibration in the squad car as Brue shifted into park and killed the engine. Noelle stepped out of the car, shielding her eyes from the sun. They were outside of the caf¨¦ she had wandered to the other day. ¡°Have you been following me?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Brue, to his credit, truly looked perplexed at the question. ¡°I¡¯ve been here before.¡± Brue laughed. ¡°You¡¯ve got taste then! Best coffee and donuts in town! It helps that the owner gives discounts to those in uniform. Wait out here! I want to surprise you with the ¡®Boys in Blue¡¯ special they¡¯ve been hooking me up with.¡± With that he headed inside without waiting for Noelle¡¯s answer. She decided to wait outside the car to get some fresh air. People milled about their daily tasks, navigating around the female officer as they went about their routines. A few shot her wary glances. Perhaps they were carrying a couple grams, or maybe the police just made them nervous. Noelle wasn¡¯t in the mood to stop someone and watch them squirm right now, so she paid the glances no mind. More worthy of attention was the tabby cat to Noelle¡¯s left. She had no special connection to cats, her family had never kept one, yet she could tell the creature was in silent distress. Its tail raised high and back arched, the cat had the appearance of threatening an assailant. Curiously, there was no furrowing of its brow or hissing to be heard. The cat stood still, eyes wide and mouth closed, frozen in the instant between fear and intimidation. Not budging an inch, the cat continued to stare down the alley to the side of the caf¨¦. Noelle could make out a man leaning against the alley wall, but he was so far back that she failed to discern any of his features. While she was sure it was just the light playing trick on her, Noelle thought that something on him was squirming. Noelle walked into the alley to take a closer look. It would be best to get Brue for backup, but that would be a hassle. After getting a few dozen meters in she was before the man leaned against their brick surroundings. He was the normal sort of guy one would expect to find anywhere: middle-aged, balding up top, a little pudgy. He was also missing half his face and right arm. Where one would expect to find these features was instead a black leather-like substance layered into the shape of the features that were meant to be there. The layers flowed inwards and outwards. It called to mind pitch-black millipedes crawling over and around each other, only to end at the edges of the man¡¯s silhouette and flesh. To call the thing before her even a facsimile of a human would be a mockery of the word. The man opened his mouth. A piercing screech assaulted Noelle¡¯s ears and died back into a more oscillatory pattern. Pitching up and down, it was like someone tuning an FM radio. Every so often sounds within her hearing range broke through. The man gestured at Noelle, his face betraying no emotion as the noise he emitted fluctuated incessantly. He stretched his black arm out as far as it could go, reaching for her, grasping at the space in front of him. Noelle inched back slowly, terrified of what touching the blackness may mean for her. The man¡¯s vocal adjustments continued. The natural sounds were more frequent now, there was less static and more ¡°voice¡± to his sound. Suddenly, a message broke through. ¡°hELp Me!¡± Before he could exclaim further an inky tendril shot out from his arm and wrapped around Noelle¡¯s waist, pressing the air from her lungs before she even had a chance to scream. The Witches and the Stars (3): The Boy in the Bookshop Levi pushed the wet mop across the hardwood floor of his shop, creating a smear of moisture that got scattered farther about as he moved forward to further dispel the dust and grime from the business¡¯ main deck. What had started with him retrieving the scattered papers had evolved into a multi-day cleaning extravaganza; partly to make the shop more presentable, and mostly so he could avoid looking further into the financial paperwork he had hastily returned to his desk. Accounting duties were instead being handled by a pale boy sitting in Levi¡¯s chair. He typed wordlessly on the shop computer, inputting figures and executing calculations with an inhuman efficiency. He did not blink even once despite the harsh artificial glow of the monitor clashing wildly with the poor lighting of the store. If one were to observe the non-spectacle of it all they would be left to ponder why Levi was leaving his financials up to a child who looked not a day over 12. The boy looked up from his work. ¡°In the red again, master,¡± he said, still typing away with an emotionless tone. ¡°It seems as if your shoddy dream of a dingy bookshop wasn¡¯t meant to be.¡± Levi took a break from his haphazard mopping to glance at the boy. ¡°I thought you were just a golem Hugo. Who taught you such abusive language?¡± ¡°I guess I grew a heart after you named me.¡± ¡°What?! Really?!¡± ¡°No. Any acrimony you experience is a mere reaction to your unique personality, master.¡± ¡°Damn straight,¡± said Levi, hands on his hips. He walked over to the desk, entirely abandoning his cleaning. ¡°Now stop teasing me and tell me how we¡¯re really doing.¡± ¡°As I said, in the red. In case you don¡¯t know, that isn¡¯t a good thing. It might be time for you to throw in the towel.¡± ¡°Hugo, I took a vow to try everything at least once. Right now it¡¯s the bookstore¡¯s turn. We can turn this around, we just need to try!¡± ¡°More like you need to try. I¡¯m the one staffing most of the time while you¡¯re running around with your little adventures and ¡®trying everything at least once.¡¯¡± Levi opened his mouth for a retort. ¡°More importantly,¡± interrupted Hugo, ¡°I¡¯m picking up a space with no magic readings outside the shop.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good!¡± said Levi, waving his hands in a dismissive manner. ¡°That just means The Congregation isn¡¯t snooping around our place. The surveillance last month was really scary. I didn¡¯t even want to go grocery shopping.¡± Hugo stopped typing. ¡°I informed you of the reading for a reason. Seems you don¡¯t understand, so I¡¯ll repeat it: I¡¯m picking up a space with no magic readings outside the shop.¡± The gears in Levi¡¯s head clicked into place. ¡°That¡¯s not possible. Everything has a subtle touch of magic in it. Everything.¡± ¡°Well the thing across the street doesn¡¯t.¡± Levi threw open the door to The Dusty Tome. All looked normal on his street. People milled about their day, some walking along while others stopped to check out the shops lining the sidewalk. There was a squad car parked outside the bakery, probably the chief¡¯s, but that¡¯s all that stood out. If there was really some sort of magical aberration in the vicinity, Levi couldn¡¯t find it. ¡°Location,¡± he demanded. ¡°Alleyway. Left of the caf¨¦.¡± Levi jogged out of the shop and crossed the street to the cafe with no attention paid to possible traffic. On the other side he was met with a perplexed cat, frozen to the spot out of reaction to whatever it was Hugo had picked up. Felines were known to have a level of perception into the world beyond that of humans. Back in the middle ages people kept them as a sort of radar, though many mages were unscrupulous so it may be more accurate to refer to a cat¡¯s job as a canary in the coal mine. Whatever was lurking in the alley was unnatural enough to short out this creature¡¯s brain. Levi peered into the dark alley, but his eyes could make out nothing. He half considered leaving the issue be and returning to his shop. Levi had no firearms and no sturdy combat knife available to him, the odds were not in his favor if it came down to a life or death struggle. A sharp female gasp from further into the alley tore any remaining thoughts of retreat from his mind and he pressed onward. It, whatever it was, had caught someone. Light retreated from Levi¡¯s surroundings as he made his way deeper into the alley. With each step he took the air became heavier and more oppressive. Sparks of magic began to course through his veins in anticipation. It had been awhile since he¡¯d seen action, but not long enough for him to forget this feeling. Levi noticed movement up ahead and increased his pace, bringing him face to face with a woman in a police uniform and an unexplainable creature. The girl had jet black hair tied up in a neat bun, although a few strands now flew loosely in the air due to her struggling against a tendril around her waist. She was young, easily a few years younger than Levi, and had a slim athletic build well suited to her profession. Noticing Levi¡¯s presence she turned to face him, steely blue eyes cutting a path through the darkness to meet his own. Her lips were parted in surprise at his appearance before pressing together to draw a strict line across her face. ¡°Get out of here!¡± she bellowed, the fear she was trying to suppress broke through as her voice cracked. In desperation, she brought her hands together and swung them like a club, smashing them against the creature¡¯s head. Her violent action solicited nothing more than the sound of a wet slap. The woman was taken aback at this and stared blankly at the creature. Having expected to do some damage against skin and bone, she was not prepared to strike a substance that was clearly only masquerading as human skin.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. The blow jostled the head of the man-shaped monstrosity, eliciting a whistle of air and a strangled ¡°hElP¡± from his mouth. Breaking free from her wandering mind, the police girl followed up with a swift knee strike to its stomach and an elbow to the chin. The dull slaps of her blows were replaced with the sound of flesh striking rubber as the creature tensed under her assault. The tension in the tendril responded in kind, tightening its grip around the girl¡¯s waste. Strength fled her body as her breathing and maneuverability were cut even further. It was clear to Levi that human physical strength wasn¡¯t going to cut it here. The girl fumbled about with the little mobility she had left but it was getting her nowhere. Any more of this and her ribs would crumble inwards. He had to act. Levi let his magic flow into the stratus on his wrist, the bracelet heating quickly as it converted his internal magic to a powerful blaze. A rotating wheel of flame came forth from his stratus, and with a grunt he flung his arm upwards, hurling the fire as a buzz saw projectile. The flame struck the creature¡¯s black arm at the elbow. It continued to rotate as it ground against the monster¡¯s body. Levi bristled at this. The superheated magical flame was powerful enough to cut through brick and steel and should have instantly blown through any organic material. The seconds passed excruciatingly slowly until finally the fire won out and severed the appendage from the main body. Perplexed, the creature shifted its attention to Levi as he burst forward, magical energy congregating in his limbs to increase their power and durability. Levi threw a straight left into the thing¡¯s solar plexus. The addition of magical strength to the blow overcame the defense offered by the creature¡¯s rubber-like body and it was blown backwards twenty feet, crashing into a dumpster further down the alley. Removed from its host, the tendril and arm restraining the policewoman dissolved, the black fading from them as they turned to dust and crumbled away. The woman drew in a sharp breath as her breathing was freed up, eliciting a coughing fit. Even as her body racked with spasms she kept an intent stare fixed on Levi¡¯s bracelet. Levi hoped there was nothing to her gaze. She should have been too preoccupied being strangled to notice the source of the flames, assuming his filter hadn¡¯t completely concealed them from her in the first place. ¡°The fire,¡± she groaned, ¡°can you do it again?¡± The girl began to push herself up as she turned her head to look further down the alley. Surprised by her response, Levi was a half step slow to react to her prompt. Tendrils whistled through the air and grabbed Levi by his wrists before violently pulling him off balance. The creature dragged him to its main body before Levi could compose himself and fight the pull of the monster. The dark appendages came from the man¡¯s chest now, and their tug plunged Levi¡¯s lands into the blackness now occupying the center of the creature. The stratus sparked at the touch of the tendrils, energy arcing from it to the creature. Wherever the power touched the blackness pulsated and boiled, rolling in and out as if testing the stratus. Levi couldn¡¯t help but to think of a cat, tentatively sniffing at its owner¡¯s fingers before coming in for a scratch. ¡°hElP mEeEe! h-¡° The cry for help cut off along with the rest of the creature¡¯s movements. Life left its eyes while the color faded from its body as it turned pale. Flakes began to drift from the thing¡¯s skin, and with a tentative tug of his arms, Levi caused the body to burst into dust. Whatever it was, it was dead. No. Not dead. Gone. The policewoman stepped towards him. Levi hadn¡¯t noticed her getting up. It would have been for the best that she stayed on the ground and recuperated for longer. Her eyes sheened steely and probing as she kept an eye out for any remnants of the thing that had so recently rendered her powerless. With no trace to be found, she refocused on Levi. ¡°The fire, was that magic?¡± ¡°What makes you say that?¡± ¡°That situation,¡± her eyes narrowed, ¡°defied explanation.¡± ¡°And if I told you it was all magic, you¡¯d be fine with that?¡± laughed Levi nervously. ¡°Everyone knows it exists. That it used to exist,¡± she said. The woman¡¯s strength gave out and she stumbled. Levi barely caught her before she hit the ground and worked to keep her upright. For all her clear mindedness, she was obviously exhausted. Worry pricked at Levi¡¯s mind as the woman reestablished eye contact with him. Letting a person here or there see magic was no big deal, but The Congregation had no qualms about coming down on mages who were too careless when it came to ignoring the Masquerade Order. No doubt they would be quick to learn of anything he did in particular. Levi directed magic to his chest to trigger his filter. The memory spell encoded into it was perfect for erasing new memories and was the standard for this type of situation ever since the magical community turned its back on more intrusive long term memory spells. The woman continued to look at him quizzically. The filter should have done its job by now. Levi sent another pulse of magic through. She responded by pushing him away. ¡°Who said you could get so handsy? Just answer my question!¡± Why wasn¡¯t it working? Her memory should have been wiped by now. The filter itself was inside a cheap pendant but it¡¯s reliability should be top notch. A hazy memory of a pendant being nonchalantly tossed onto his desk popped into his head. ¡°Oh shit¡­,¡± He had forgotten it. He was in hot water now. Levi was saved by a cheery ¡°Hey!¡± from the entrance to the alley. ¡°Noelle! Are you down here?¡± Levi recognized it as the cheery voice of Chief Brue, a regular at the caf¨¦ near the bookstore. As Brue made his way down the alley the heaping platter of donuts, coffee, and sandwiches he was carrying came into view ¡°Why¡¯d you come down here Noelle?¡± asked Chief Brue, a perplexed look crossed his face as he noticed Levi. ¡°Oh, Levi! See you met the new recruit!¡± ¡°Y-yeah,¡± Levi barely stammered out, ¡°she seems like a sharp one, this¡­um¡­Noelle.¡± The woman shifted to a disarming smile. ¡°Oh, you know this man Chief?¡± It was never good news when someone could change their vibe on a dime like that. ¡°Of course! He¡¯s the owner of the new bookshop across the street. I take the kids there whenever they just want to browse for something, y¡¯know? He has so much variety in there, there¡¯s always something to get. Hell, the other day my wife told me we had too many books in the house. Can you believe-,¡° ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet a business owner, you must be industrious. I might stop by later to continue our conversation,¡± she said quickly, trying to bulldoze over Brue¡¯s tangent. ¡°What were you talking about?¡± inquired Brue. ¡°Just some series popular with young people,¡± started Noelle, ¡°It sounded interesting. There were all sorts of aspects to it, even magic.¡± ¡°Sounds nice. We all need some magic every now and then!¡± cheered Brue, ¡°Anyways, I was in line longer than expected. We need to get back to the car.¡± The two officers bid their farewells and exited the alley. As he watched their silhouettes disappear into the sunlight Levi replayed Noelle¡¯s final comment again and again. I might stop by later to continue our conversation. In other goods, she was going to stop by and he¡¯d better be there when she did. Levi sighed. His easy life in Ithaca had come to an end. The Witches and the Stars (4): The Girl in the Hallway Noelle was exhausted from the day¡¯s ordeals. After another excruciating shift in the squad car with Brue she had barely dragged herself home before collapsing on her sleeping bag. The glow of the light on her white walls irritated her eyes, but she couldn¡¯t bring herself to get up and switch it off. She knew that magic existed before this, everyone did. There were tons of accounts stretching all the way to the early 20th century, and even scattered ones leading up to the present day. Magic was a part of history, just like the cotton gin, Ford Model T, the Black Plague, and Hammurabi. It wasn¡¯t some complete unknown that should freak her out. But it did. The world had moved on. The age of spells and sorcery had given way to technology. This was the age of the computer and the microprocessor. A smart age where magic wasn¡¯t the reality of things anymore. Perhaps there were a few centenarians who recalled a time when magic was a common sight, but that wasn¡¯t Noelle¡¯s current reality. Just as someone who knew of cavemen would be rattled if one suddenly appeared before them, Noelle had been affected by what she saw. It was something so removed from herself that she had no choice but to treat it as a foreign power. Yet¡­ There was something else there. A giddy energy raced through Noelle¡¯s system. Even her present exhaustion couldn¡¯t fully oppose the energy she felt. It was impossible for her to sleep even though she was tired, the electric buzz of an idea somewhere in her mind resisted being crushed by today¡¯s events. Magic. A hidden world of spells and monsters. Noelle had wanted a fresh start, a new life. That¡¯s why she chose being a police officer instead of a lawyer, right? A life where something was happening, where there were always problems to solve. Was this the ticket to that? Right before her lay a world of foreign laws and insane creatures; a world that could provide any sort of stimulus and any sort of scenario. It would be good to look into it. She had to look into it. Slowly but surely Noelle closed her eyes, the possibilities of the coming days dancing in her mind as she finally gave in to sleep.
Impatience clawed at Noelle like a starving cat begging for its supper. She had been desperate to head to The Dusty Tome and grill Levi since waking. Unfortunately,she was an adult and had the duties of her career to fulfill. One day with Brue in the squad car was apparently not considered ample preparation for duty by the large man, so she was made to trail him today as well. At the very least they had gotten out of the car to walk around, so Noelle wasn¡¯t feeling as cooped up as yesterday. Today she and Chief Brue were doing joint work with the Cornell University Police and had traveled to the campus. It was a mixture of old and new buildings, nothing she hadn¡¯t seen before. Maybe if it was a Friday night there would be nearby parties to break up, but it was a random afternoon in the middle of the week. The chances of anything interesting happening were slim and most of the day was just Brue facilitating paperwork transfers with the campus police while Noelle stood by and did nothing. In other words, it was boring. They were in the science building now. It was of fairly new construction, with glass walls all over and an open architecture. The AC worked way too well, and Noelle was quietly suffering without a jacket. Maybe she¡¯d open fire on the thermostat as a form of protest. Seriously, it was early spring. Why was the damn thing set so high? Brue had taken off in search of some food that was supposedly sold in the area, not that she cared. Even if Brue failed to return with something to eat at least she would have a few moments to herself today. The students scurried about their business, paying Noelle short glances as they walked through the hall. Most of the looks seemed to be from surprise at seeing a town officer milling about, but a few glances lingered too long on certain aspects of her body. It was a liberal-minded campus just like her university, so she was used to the girls doing it. The unsubtle men got on her nerves, however. It may not be in the rules, but there shouldn¡¯t be an issue if she cuffed a few of them, right? Pigs. There was something odd about the students¡¯ movements as well. Instead of walking in lanes people were getting in one another¡¯s way to go around a certain area as if there was a hole in the floor, yet there was nothing there. Why were they walking into each other for no reason? There was only one person in the space, a girl. She sat in the corner of a bench with her legs crossed reading a thick hardcover. She was dressed plainly, jeans with a hoodie and cheap sneakers; but she still stood out due to her stark white hair and half-lidded red eyes. The hair in particular was attention grabbing. Her blunted bangs fell across her face like a curtain while the sunlight filtering through the windows reflected off her white head. The area surrounding the bench positively glowed from her presence. It was such a sight that Noelle barely registered the lanky proportions and youthful look of the girl. At best she was 13, a far cry from the average age of the building¡¯s typical occupants.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Noelle began to walk up to the girl without thinking. There was something unnatural about the whole setup. Even though the students were making efforts to walk around the bench none of them paid it as much as a glance. Their actions were unconscious, like insects reacting to a chemical signal. Noelle wasn¡¯t immune to the phenomenon herself. The closer she got the more she wanted to turn around and go back to where she had been. With a final burst of concentration she pushed through and made it to the girl. ¡°Mind if I sit here?¡± The girl made eye contact with Noelle for the first time. Her eyes were lovely, shifting from a brilliant pink to a deep crimson red depending on the angle. The cases of albinism that Noelle had seen were relegated to textbooks, pictures of unnatural seeming mice and snakes with solid red eyes that looked like marbles. The girl before Noelle was not like this, she was beautiful in her own way, her unique features commanding attention, stunning those who saw them into silence rather than causing them to think of the word ¡°albino.¡± She instead brought to mind the word ¡°danger.¡± A silent intensity brooded in the red eyes of the girl. There was a threat lurking there, a warning to all those who dared approach. Noelle felt like she was staring into the eyes of a wolf. ¡°Tch. What the hell¡­I was noticed? Go ahead and sit down I guess.¡± The teen muttered this towards Noelle as if sharing a public bench was some sort of punishing concession. ¡°I thought the boundary was working¡­was I being careless?¡± This time she whispered under her breath. ¡°I don¡¯t see why you¡¯re surprised at being noticed,¡± said Noelle as she sat, ¡°people are bound to look over here.¡± ¡°Yes¡­well¡­hmmm¡­they¡¯re bound to look over here now. You drew too much attention to my spot.¡± The girl was correct. The previously unoccupied space in the hallway had collapsed and people were now filling it normally. Every so often passersby threw a glance towards the pair on the bench. ¡°Well, my bad I suppose?¡± ¡°I mean, really,¡± grunted the girl as she closed her book, ¡°what did you expect? Coming over here with that disgustingly model-tier body. You¡¯re just begging to get me exposed. Everyone¡¯s looking over here because of you.¡± The girl puffed her cheeks at Noelle. She was right in a way, people were certainly checking her out on the bench. The white-haired girl was cute but clearly juvenile. ¡°I think you¡¯re worrying about it too much. Before you know it you¡¯ll be my age and wishing you could go back.¡± ¡°You¡¯re treating me like a child.¡± ¡°You are.¡± ¡°I¡¯m already 13! That¡¯s basically grown-up!¡± ¡°Oh, damn. That¡¯s how today¡¯s youth see themselves. You¡¯re concerned about your body, but I think you should worry more about your brain.¡± The girl groaned. ¡°What kind of police officer are you? Seriously, saying stuff like that¡­,¡± While her response was negative, Noelle thought she seemed livelier than before. ¡°Why did you come over here in the first place?¡± Noelle giggled. ¡°You really want to know? You had such a nice scowl on your face. It reminded me of myself, so I wanted to talk to you.¡± ¡°Quit trying to mess with me!¡± ¡°It was mostly true. You looked out of place so I sat next to you. Just consider it one of my job duties.¡± ¡°Way to make light of it. Did you even consider there¡¯s a reason I¡¯m out of place?¡± The girl shot a tired glare at Noelle. If nothing else, she was certainly intense. Had it been a mistake to come over here? ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°¡­Lorelei.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Noelle. I¡¯d say pleasure to meet you, but I feel a bit *blah* over the whole thing.¡± ¡°Saying that with a straight face, unbelievable. If you keep muddling your tone you¡¯re going to burn some bridges along the way, you edgy bitch.¡± ¡°You can call me that, but I think you¡¯re the one showing the edge. What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lorelei squirmed in her seat at Noelle¡¯s question. It wasn¡¯t in Noelle¡¯s innate nature to hear people out, but the girl was making her discomfort way too easy to read. Lorelei pondered for a moment before speaking. ¡°All these students¡­they¡¯re just going around, pursuing what they want. Sure, some of them have their own problems. They might even be big problems. But in the end, those are just human problems. There could be hatred coming at them from many sides, but there¡¯s still some respite to be found somewhere in their lives. I don¡¯t think they could appreciate not having that.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°None of them know what it¡¯s like to be sentenced to death just for being born.¡± Noelle sighed. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I understand.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a thought. Maybe I¡¯ll write about it for class. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s not worth considering. To everyone here I¡¯m just some little girl after all, I doubt you took that seriously.¡± ¡°Hmph, such dour thinking. You¡¯ll never get a boyfriend at this rate.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t looking jackass! Like your personality does you any favors!¡± A bristle that Noelle couldn¡¯t control ran through her body. Thankfully the teen noticed it but decided to not press any further. ¡°Besides, I have someone better to spend time with than some stupid boy!¡± said Lorelei. The conversation was interrupted by two people approaching the bench. One was a little girl with an incredible volume of strawberry blonde hair, while the other was a graying man who looked to be in his 50s. He had a lanyard with an identification card around his neck that identified him as Dr. Bismark. Lorelei stood to greet them, gracefully tucking the book she had been reading before under her arm in one fluid motion. ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡± inquired Noelle. ¡°Your dad? Explains why a kid like you was in a university hallway.¡± ¡°Something like that,¡± replied Lorelei. ¡°It¡¯s time I got going. Try not to be too nosy towards anyone else today.¡± She gave one last cursory nod before stepping away to address the others. They began walking away, and soon they were out of Noelle¡¯s sight. Noelle decided to sit for a while longer. There was nothing to gain by rushing back to her shift. The Witches and the Stars (5): Explaining the Occult By the time Brue finally released Noelle from her duties the day had cooled considerably. It was early spring so it wasn¡¯t as if Noelle thought the nights would be 70 degrees, but she certainly was not expecting for her light jacket to be ineffective against the elements that were showing their fangs after sundown. She wanted nothing more than to run back to her apartment and stay in for the night, but something inside of her compelled her to walk in a different direction. Her destination: The Dusty Tome. Brue¡¯s chatterbox nature got on her nerves but it had played to her favor this time. The incident in the alley was fresh in her mind as well as the details Brue let drop about the man who had come to her aid. Levi, the proprietor of the bookshop with the tacky display. He wasn¡¯t bad looking, but it wasn¡¯t like there was anything special about him either. He seemed relatively fit, at most six feet tall, and had messy hair. He was altogether indistinct from any other twenty-something in town. He was the kind of man you¡¯d expect to bump into at a coffee shop or the supermarket. A totally unassuming, dopey existence. An incorrect interpretation for someone who had fought off whatever was in the alley. Noelle could weave baseless conjecture from his appearance all she liked, it wouldn¡¯t change what she saw that day. Levi had chopped that thing¡¯s arm off with a wheel of fire and sent it flying with a single punch. Even when she struck that monster as hard as she could it wouldn¡¯t even budge. How much power did magic bestow for Levi to be able to do that? For all his seeming normalcy he was still worlds away from anything Noelle knew. Which was exactly why he was her link to something more than the life she knew. Noelle pressed onward, determined to not let the cold or the uncertainty within her avert her gaze from the possibilities in store.
Noelle arrived, swiftly opening the door to The Dusty Tome and stepping inside. The shop that met her was primarily a dingy brown, from the shelves to the flooring. Stray dust hovered about the air. The scent of Pine-Sol utterly permeated the place, dizzying Noelle with a burst of lemon fragrance. As far as stores went it was barely above the level of a garage sale. The place was cramped and haphazardly organized to the bare minimum required to attract customers. ¡°Nice place,¡± commented Noelle coolly in greeting to the brown-haired man at the register. His green eyes looked to her side instead of making eye contact. He was either unaware of how to greet her or hopeful that she would leave him be. ¡°How¡¯s your day been?¡± Levi blinked but gave no response, disarmed by Noelle¡¯s casual greeting. ¡°Good, thank you. What are you looking for today?¡± ¡°Nah. The act¡¯s over. Time to explain what happened yesterday.¡± Hope left Levi¡¯s face as he slumped down. It reminded Noelle of a puppy denied its treat, and she so loved it when dogs begged.
In the twenty minutes since Noelle¡¯s arrival she was frustrated to find that there were several ¡°key¡± factors that Levi had to move past before he would entertain discussion. First there were the papers on his desk (¡°I need to sort these expenses¡±) followed by the smudges on the windows (¡°I need it to look good or nobody will shop here¡±). Chores were eclipsed by complaints of hunger and, in a huff, Noelle was forced to drag the man across the street to the caf¨¦. Finally, with a chicken parm sandwich and a cup of coffee put away, Levi got around to the subject of Noelle¡¯s interest. ¡°Yeah¡­so¡­you were right. That was magic back there. Good guess.¡± With that he picked up his mug for another pull of coffee, seemingly forgetting that he had drained it to the last drop a moment before. Noelle¡¯s barely pulled together poker face dissolved into a scowl. Pressure built at the inside of her skull, the beginnings of a headache catalyzed by the man before her. Levi played with his hair, twirling it around his finger impishly as his eyes cast glances towards his shop. Clearly he was hoping his affirmation would be enough to purchase Noelle¡¯s dismissal. Noelle glared at Levi, giving him one final chance to speak lest she really put the screws to him. ¡°You have sunglasses? Not the cheap kind with the colored lenses. Real sunglasses, the type with polarized lenses.¡± ¡°Stay on topic and get to the point.¡± ¡°I am! I promise!¡± pleaded Levi, hands flapping about to calm Noelle. ¡°You know how those sunglasses work? The polarized ones, I mean. They put strips of chemicals on the lens to filter light. In a sense, it¡¯s a filter that changes how you see the world. Get it?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°What I¡¯m saying is¡­the way we see the world is like we¡¯re always wearing sunglasses. There are layers of elements: fire, water, earth¡­typical stuff like that; but there¡¯s also higher filters like space, time, holiness. Pretty much whatever you can think of.¡± ¡°Whatever I can think of, huh?¡± ¡°What I meant was that the world, the world we see, is polarized. The layers all fly off, out of our view. We¡¯re left with our world that we perceive right now. All that stuff¡¯s there, but we can¡¯t see it, like radio waves or ultraviolet light. Even with the potential for more right in front of our faces, the world we can see is pretty mundane,¡± Levi chuckled. ¡°Yet I saw something that defies that mundanity,¡± said Noelle, shrugging. ¡°I couldn¡¯t care less if there¡¯s magic dancing all over the place. I want to know what makes it happen.¡± ¡°You just need faith.¡± ¡°Yeah? Maybe if I toss you in jail you¡¯ll give me the real answer.¡± ¡°No, no! I really mean it,¡± said Levi. ¡°This is all perception based. If you can believe it, if you have faith, you can make power manifest.¡± ¡°Is this a sermon? I thought you were a magician,¡± smirked Noelle. ¡°I¡¯m not anything, first of all. It is a bit of a sermon. That kind of faith is what you need. Magic doesn¡¯t just happen because you want it to show up. It needs the structure of faith to manifest. If I wanted to cast a spell I would need genuine belief in the process, like that a fireball would show up if I flip a coin and get two heads in a row. The structure is reliant on the process; a consistent effect from a consistent cause. The rules can be something dumb, like flipping a coin, but they are rules. People aren¡¯t powerful enough to cause phenomena for no reason.¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Noelle whistled derisively. ¡°You believe that? The coin flip thing?¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Levi started, ¡°I don¡¯t. What I did was a bit of a cheat.¡± He held out his arm to Noelle, a bracelet on his wrist glistened from the lights of the caf¨¦. ¡°Jewelry? I knew I had you pegged.¡± ¡°Wow! Thanks! I think it looks nice myself.¡± ¡°I apologize for the ambiguity. I was making fun of you.¡± ¡°This bracelet,¡± Levi gave a nod towards his wrist, ¡°is called a stratus. It¡¯s simpler than what I described. These things already have a spell encoded into them. I just have to send a bit of my power into them and I get fire.¡± ¡°Power?¡± ¡°My internal magical energy. Like chi. That¡¯s why I was able to knock that thing so far away earlier. Any magic user worth his salt can do it. Your body is your domain so it¡¯s simple to change some of its properties without the setup a spell would need.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the point of all that faith stuff then? It sounds like even I could use magic if I had a stratus.¡± ¡°Not everyone can manipulate their internal energy. I mean, you can¡¯t, can you? It¡¯s a bit of a prerequisite to becoming a magic user. It¡¯s unfair, but in a way magic is an everything or nothing type deal.¡± ¡°Why did you lead off with all of that ¡®faith¡¯ stuff? It sounds like all you need is your bracelet.¡± ¡°They¡¯re not all that,¡± sighed Levi. ¡°These are nothing more than somebody else¡¯s spell crammed into an item. It¡¯s like the difference between being able to sing a song yourself and listening to the CD. The inventor of the spell was probably able to burn an entire city down, but all I or anyone else will manage with the stratus is what you saw in the alley.¡± ¡°Speaking of that, what was that thing?¡± Levi kept eye contact for a few seconds, caught in the moment before speech with nothing to say. A period of silence sent the conversation into a lull as he shifted his attention from Noelle to the fingers he absentmindedly tapped on the table. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding.¡± said Noelle. ¡°Don¡¯t give me that,¡± objected Levi. ¡°Just because something is weird means I should know? It¡¯s not like you know everything about every mammal. Don¡¯t take me for some kind of expert. I¡¯m no scholar.¡± ¡°Clearly. You don¡¯t recognize that thing, you borrow someone else¡¯s magic¡­you¡¯re kind of shabby, huh? I was thinking of pressing you into teaching me some tricks, but now I¡¯m second guessing myself.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good, because I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°I know you can¡¯t.¡± Levi sighed before bringing his cup up once again, only to stare at the empty, coffee-stained bottom. ¡°Almost all mages these days inherited their magic. The gift was passed down their bloodline. Anyone can learn through old fashioned means but it¡¯s an all-around pain. We¡¯re still following the ¡®shortcut¡¯ left by Abramelin centuries ago. You need to prepare for 18 months in the middle of nowhere to contact your Holy Guardian Angel and-¡° ¡°Ok, I get it,¡± cut in Noelle, ¡°I didn¡¯t actually think I could gain powers.¡± ¡°Now, now don¡¯t worry. I can tell you all about the theoretical pathway to the Abyss postulated by Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers. That one only takes six months! That¡¯s way less work to contact your Holy Guardian Angel, your very own HGA!¡± Levi said all of this with his chest puffed out and pride in his voice, clearly beginning to enjoy his stint as Noelle¡¯s lecturer. ¡°Like I believe you. Throw out terms and long names to make yourself seem smart all you want, I know it¡¯s all hollow.¡± All Levi did in response was smile.
Noelle had evidently grown tired of questioning Levi by the time the caf¨¦ was near closing time. A good thing as far as he was concerned, she had long since lost interest in rules and trivia, opting instead to question the validity of his filter even after he explained it wasn¡¯t on him in the alley. ¡°This covers it all up? I could see it just fine. Guess you broke it,¡± she had said while fiddling with the filter. ¡°You¡¯re not planning to wipe my mind or something else like that, right?¡± Even if he still had the chance to, he wouldn¡¯t have bothered at this point. Not after all that explaining. Magic was an open secret anyways, controlling that information too closely with a mind wiping spell was immoral in his eyes. Well, The Congregation may have a different opinion on that front. She was quick to abscond once her inquiries had run dry. Pocketing the caf¨¦ pamphlet which doubled as a menu, she left him with a threatening ¡°See you later.¡± Levi decided not to head straight back after exiting the caf¨¦, leery of whatever his golem would have to say about the dinner meeting he had just had. His feet took him to a convenience store a few blocks down the road. A few children were running through the aisles, ignoring the periodicals section overflowing with unwanted newspapers and magazines covering interests they were too young to have. He noticed a photo of his storefront on the town newsletter sitting on a rack and picked up the thin booklet. It looks like somebody had covered The Dusty Tome without his knowing. Whatever. He flipped through the article absentmindedly, assuming whatever had occurred relating to this piece had been handled by Hugo. The article characterized his store as a gloomy hole in the wall that, despite its charm, just didn¡¯t offer the depth of options a big store may have. Not that he would know, he wasn¡¯t terribly fond of reading. Levi just liked the idea of a little college town bookshop. Why shouldn¡¯t he try running one? Levi continued reading through the circular. As time passed he felt more and more aware of his presence in the store. He considered buying something so that the cashier wouldn¡¯t feel any ill-will towards the space he was occupying, but there was nothing he wanted. He supposed the cashier would just have to deal with it, Levi couldn¡¯t afford to think about peoples¡¯ reaction to him every time he went out. Done with the convenience store, Levi put the newsletter down and turned to leave. Through the window he saw a man on the street. The man was similar to many his age: some wrinkles, heavyset, balding. He was also a dead ringer for the creature Levi encountered in the alley, minus the black substance. The man was lumbering down the street with an easy gait and a woman of similar age to his right. They seemed to be engaging in an actual conversation, a far cry from the oscillating pleadings Levi had experienced the day before. Levi pushed the convenience store door open with more effort than was probably required, the sharp ringing of the bell and the ¡°Hey!¡± from the cashier warning him over his poor conduct. The man and woman paid no mind to the noise as they continued down the street. Levi raised his internal magical power sharply and maintained the heightened state. It was a bit uncomfortable, much like holding a plank, but he hoped he would only have to keep it up for a minute or two. The stimulus from the power increase triggered his filter, and Levi felt a subtle shiver as the cloaking device was duped into concealing his body. The filter wouldn¡¯t be able to completely erase him, but he would be able to get closer to the man than societal standards typically allow. As Levi crept ever closer the shrill voice of the woman changed from an unclear tumble of noises to a cavalcade of complaints and observations. ¡°Honestly Jeffrey,¡± she said to the man, nose held high, ¡°how can you bring yourself to sleep that long. Even at my laziest I¡¯ve only turned in for six hours. Tops! Three days in bed is excessive!¡± ¡°I said I was sorry, didn¡¯t I? I was just so tired. I don¡¯t know what came over me.¡± ¡°Why is everyone so damned lazy these days? I walked all the way to Dryden Road to visit Joyce this morning, and Ernie tells me she¡¯s been asleep for 16 hours now!¡± ¡°Maybe she¡¯s just tired?¡± offered the man, trying his best to stand up for Joyce and, vicariously, himself. The woman shushed her companion before turning on her heel to face the door of a cozy Indian restaurant. Pushing it open, she disappeared inside with the man, leaving Levi on the street with a questionable lead he felt reluctant to pursue. The fact that Noelle hadn¡¯t been around for this was a small blessing Levi was determined to hold onto. The Witches and the Stars (6): The Beast of Dryden Road As far as Noelle¡¯s reasoning was went, reaching pay-day meant rewarding yourself by spending some of that money. A week of listening to Brue drone had taken its toll on her sanity and she desperately needed a heaping plate of pasta to convince her to stick it out for another. It didn¡¯t help that her head was still brimming with questions that had come to her throughout the week concerning her recent exposure to the paranormal. Truthfully, she had wanted to march back to The Dusty Tome for a vigorous round of interrogation the very next night but had put it off so she wouldn¡¯t be seen visiting with Levi every single day. The rumors the chief had spread about their acquaintance had already taken an indecent turn within the station, as if she was in any hurry to get into another sordid relationship. So that was that. It was pasta time for Noelle. For at least one night she wanted to ignore her pressing questions. Did elves exist? Screw that. If they weren¡¯t the chefs at the local restaurants she would pay them no heed. This was her night to get a snug one-person table at some trattoria and indulge herself. She¡¯d never gone to a restaurant by herself before Shit. Going to a restaurant by myself¡­it¡¯s quite the pitiable affair. She supposed that Levi could help her with something more than magic.
Noelle signaled her arrival with a grunt of practiced disinterest as she stepped through the threshold to The Dusty Tome. The drab d¨¦cor had changed little since her last trip, and the store was characteristically empty, save for a jumpy looking Levi and a nonplussed boy. ¡°Welcome, my name is Hugo. You must be the gloomy police woman. So nice to finally meet you.¡± said the boy nonchalantly. ¡°Who gave you that impression of me? I know it can¡¯t be that troglodyte next to you. He wouldn¡¯t have the courage to characterize me accurately.¡± ¡°I made it up,¡± said the boy, ¡°I thank you for not flying off the handle inside the store. The actual descriptors I was given concerning you were ¡®cold¡¯ and ¡®scary,¡¯ in that order.¡± Levi stumbled forward in a bid to get between Noelle and Hugo. ¡°Whoa! Are you sure I didn¡¯t say that she was ¡®not cold¡¯ and not scary?¡¯¡± Noelle locked eyes with Levi, his regret for his interjection immediately recognizable in his expression. ¡°Are elves real?¡± ¡°U-umm¡­¡± stammered the man, ¡°can you clarify that question for me?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a straightforward question, I don¡¯t see what needs clarifying.¡± Hugo stepped around Levi, a pensive hand grasping at his chin. ¡°My master is a scholar in all manners of creatures. I¡¯m sure he is having difficulty answering your question due to the different forms an elf can take. He must be torn between deciding If you meant Santa¡¯s elves or sexy elves like in his games.¡± ¡°Sexy, of course. I don¡¯t expect this dog to know of anything non-libidinal. The tacky display you have out front really makes your mindset known, Levi.¡± ¡°Wow master. First name basis already.¡± ¡°Enough.¡± said Levi. ¡°I¡¯m sure you didn¡¯t come here just to tease me.¡± The force in his voice surprised Noelle. It seems that, at the very least, the man could do the bare minimum in sticking up for himself. ¡°I came to ask you to dinner.¡± said Noelle. Hugo¡¯s eyes widened at the invitation. ¡°Oh my. Master Levi, I must apologize. I had characterized you as a charlatan stringing this woman along the trail of your mystery creature but it seems you¡¯ve been taking her quite seriously.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not doing either of those things!¡± said Levi, his features quickly losing their prior composure. Noelle snapped to attention. ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± ¡°What?! Nothing!¡± ¡°Not that,¡± said Noelle as she shifted her attention to Hugo¡¯s emotionless features, ¡°you said ¡®trail.¡¯ I didn¡¯t know there were any clues to follow for that thing.¡± ¡°They¡¯re not for you to follow police girl.¡± shot Levi. ¡°Oh? So you¡¯re going to handle this by yourself then?¡± ¡°Hell no!¡± he laughed, ¡°I¡¯m staying in. Like I want to fumble through the dark looking for some tentacle monster when I can be watching TV.¡±
Noelle looked back at the man as he fell into step behind her. He had been grumbling about her decision to head to Dryden (once she had pressed the information from him, of course) for a couple minutes, complaining about how it was dangerous and that he¡¯d rather do anything else. Despite the complaints, Noelle noticed that he had put on those magical bracelets of his almost as soon as she had voiced her intentions back at the bookstore. His bullyable qualities belied a temperament which caused him to severe a limb from some strange monster with a ring of fire. The man seemed no stranger to a fight, if only his backbone matched that skillset he could make something of himself. The walk continued in near silence. Connecticut-transplant Noelle did not know the location of Dryden Road beyond a hasty consultation with Hugo (¡°A few minutes East.¡±) and made several turns in the wrong direction. Before she could set down the incorrect path Levi would pipe up with a ¡°Not that way,¡± to get the expedition back on track. It seemed his resignation to the task was honest and he was now focused on getting the affair over with as quickly as possible. She pushed onward, her eagerness for the investigation losing out to her hunger as time passed. The exotic restaurants along their route provided a brutal temptation. Thankfully, the duo arrived at Dryden before Noelle had the chance to get too bent out of shape.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. The street was crowded, hosting several restaurants and what looked to be housing. Middle-aged couples and Cornell students scurried about, unfettered by the rapidly diminishing hours left to the day. Noelle¡¯s heart fell at the sight. With so many people milling about peacefully it was unlikely that some man-tentacle hybrid was on the loose. Levi continued onwards, bumping his shoulder into Noelle¡¯s as he overtook her. ¡°Come on. It becomes more residential the farther you go on.¡± Levi lead after that, the slump in his shoulders communicated his mood to the world loud and clear. People shot the two of them odd looks as they continued onwards. Noelle supposed that most would expect a young man and a woman walking together at this time of night to be finishing up a date. That¡¯s how it was with Andrew, at least. The reality of a depressed Levi trudging in front of her like a beat down mule was quite different from her memories of handholding and giggling. Noelle preferred the current situation for now. The pair pushed through to a residential area where old homes lined the street. Some were more impressive than others, yet Noelle was sure all of them were beyond the price range her entry-level patrolwoman salary had to offer. The night¡¯s chill had taken over now. Noelle clutched her shoulders. ¡°I really should have brought a jacket. I¡¯ll get sick at this rate.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your body isn¡¯t actually cold.¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°That chill you¡¯re feeling is because we crossed a boundary field. Somebody got here before us.¡± The icy sting made its way to Noelle¡¯s blood. ¡°What do you mean? What¡¯s a boundary field?¡± Levi¡¯s posture was upright and alert now. Whatever this thing they were in was, Noelle had a feeling it was bad news. ¡°It¡¯s a cordoned off area. An outside observer won¡¯t notice anything happening inside.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not possible! I can see around us clear as day.¡± ¡°In Norse mythology there exist nine worlds connected by the branches of Yggdrasil, The World Tree. One of these is Jotunheim, the land of the Frost Giants. Jotunheim¡¯s denizens were a threat to the gods in Asgard, so they blocked transport between the two worlds. By setting up a perimeter where you designate the inside as Jotunheim you can net yourself a sealed off space as a side effect. Damn brazen use of a stratus though.¡± ¡°Brazen?¡± Levi¡¯s eyes darted back and forth. ¡°There¡¯s less noticeable ways to maintain a boundary field. This is a warning for us to turn around.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I want you to go back. I¡¯ll take it from here.¡± ¡°What the hell?! You¡¯re acting all heroic now? You didn¡¯t want to come!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask me. I have no justification for doing this,¡± he glanced back at her, ¡°Magic users aren¡¯t much for posturing. This isn¡¯t saber rattling. The person who set this field will attack us if we come off as anything more than unsuspecting trespassers. I know what to ignore, and if worst comes to worst I can channel my power to run away faster than you could.¡± ¡°In other words, you think my rubbernecking will get in your way.¡± ¡°Think of it how you will. Pretend you left your wallet at a shop or something and run back to the beginning of the road.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t do that.¡± ¡°I¡¯m serious!¡± ¡°Even if I were to listen to you, which I¡¯m not by the way, I¡¯m already implicated in this well past a reasonable doubt.¡± Noelle said as she pointed towards the shadowed corner of a porch farther ahead. There was a woman there, older and with hair dyed a conspicuous orange to hide graying. She was gripping the handrails of the porch but showed no strain even as the wood began to audibly groan from the pressure she was exerting. She had no face. This was not to say that her head was missing. It was indeed intact; however, where a face was supposed to be there was instead an inky black recess. It was like a pool of dark water, you could stare into it all day but never tell how deep it was. The wooden patio continued to creak under her grip as cracks radiated throughout the structure. Even without a face it had noticed the attention it drew from Noelle and Levi. Seemingly irritated by their stares, it tightened its grip even more until the wooden railing exploded, sending sharp debris everywhere. Noelle scarcely had time to flinch before a piece flying towards her face was upon her. Levi punched it away at the last second, leaving him open to a smaller, sharp piece hurtling at his head. It glanced off his cheek and was deflected to the ground, causing a gash to open on Levi¡¯s face. He had no doubt used magic to lessen the impact, at that speed it would¡¯ve pierced through a normal person¡¯s face. ¡°Shit. I was so worried about the boundary I forgot how crazy this thing was.¡± said Levi as blood trickled down his face. ¡°Hopefully it¡¯s just scared. I don¡¯t want to fight it directly.¡± ¡°Sure, like it¡¯s scared of us.¡± Noelle moved her hand to the side, digging under her shirt to reach for the station-issued handgun she kept concealed on her person. Finding the M&P9, she wrapped her hand around the grip. The weapon still felt heavy to the touch, and she considered carrying it a burden, but it was better than nothing. She would shoot this thing dead before it laid its tendrils on her again. She could shoot it. Right? The creature burst forward as its chest cavity exploded outward, revealing a mass of dark tendrils. It was on the two of them in a split second and would have bowled them over had Levi not tackled it, stopping it in its tracks. His hands were engulfed by the hollow darkness of the creature¡¯s chest, and his stratus went haywire, discharging arcs of flame and energy all around him. There was a small explosion where Levi and the thing met, throwing them apart. The creature managed to remain on its feet while Levi was thrown into a shrub. His stratus were cracked, orange energy spilling out of the damaged areas like radiant blood. ¡°Whyyyyyyy?¡± he moaned, ¡°Did that thing corrupt them?¡± The monster advanced forward towards the two of them again, this time taking lumbering steps. Right as it got within striking distance of Noelle it stopped. No¡­rather, it froze. The creature had completely locked up mid stride. Color left its features as it turned to a pale grey, and it crumbled away like clumped ash being broken apart by the touch of a fireplace poker. Noelle turned towards Levi. He wore a perplexed look. She would characterize it as a dumbstruck expression; but seeing as how he was the only one who had even a shot at understanding what was going on, she hoped there was more going on behind the scenes than he let on. ¡°Who the hell are you?¡± Levi had been the one to say this. He was looking in Noelle¡¯s direction, but his eyes were staring straight through her. Noelle spun back to look at where the thing was. There was a man there. How he had moved to occupy the space so quickly she had no idea. He was large, at least 6¡¯ 5¡±, and he was built like a wrestler. The man¡¯s frame practically oozed strength. Noelle barely registered his olive skin and burly mustache, instead transfixed by the unearthly, shimmering raven which was perched on his shoulder. The man offered a restrained smile as he began to speak. ¡°Good evening, you may call me Adrian. Don¡¯t bother naming yourselves, I have no need to know them seeing as how I¡¯ll be killing you in short order.¡± The Witches and the Stars (7): Friday Night Death Battle ¡°Good evening, you may call me Adrian. Don¡¯t bother naming yourselves, I have no need to know them seeing as how I¡¯ll be killing you in short order.¡± Levi was no stranger to death, as were most people if you thought about it. There were tons of threats milling about each and every day that could snuff a life out. Heart attacks, car wrecks, disease, and so much more could put people under; but even with the freak randomness of it all, to hear a promise of death from a stranger in a casual tone still made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. In the world of magic battles to the death were more commonplace than in your average American town. Mages were a prideful and neurotic lot, always fearful of a potential downfall to themselves. It was a natural consequence of spell construction. Spells were dependent on the faith of the user, so all of them came out differently. There was no telling what anyone was capable of when it came to sorcery. Sure, you could take a guess based off some broad stroke assumption, but each spell was ultimately exclusive to its user in one way or the other. The world of mages was harsh, and constant vigilance coupled with moral disregard was the only surefire assurance of survival. The raven cawed and spread its wings. Ravens were commonplace in the mythology of multiple cultures, it would be near impossible to discern its purpose without letting Adrian make the first move. Would Levi allow Adrian to attack or should Levi rush into the unknown? What an unfortunate scenario to be stuck in. ¡°Well then¡­shall we begin?¡± There was a flash of phantasmal light and a new bird sprung forth from the void, a vulture. The raven settled back to its perch while the vulture cried and began to fly about. I get it now¡­a psychopomp. Psychopomps were the grim reapers of mythology, ferrying souls to the afterlife. For the Egyptians there was Anubis. For the Greeks, Charon. Regardless of culture there was a deity tasked with guiding the deceased to the afterlife. Over time several animals were tied to the concept, ravens being one of them. In this case it seemed Adrian was utilizing the raven to aid in the summoning of familiars. It was a simple job for a being tasked with being a mediator between the conscious and unconscious, or rather, the surface realm and the spiritual realm. By believing in the concept of his psychopomp familiar and using it as a gateway to summon other creatures, Adrian had constructed a spell that allowed him to call forth familiars he lacked the belief to control alone. It was a clever bit of magic. Knowing its function did Levi little good. The raven wasn¡¯t a direct threat, but Levi was still in the same position he had been in a moment ago. The screeching vulture was the man¡¯s weapon of choice against Levi and Noelle, and Levi still had nary a clue as to what form of offensive magic the bird represented. The man started forward. Levi raised his internal magic defensively, but it was a miscalculation. Noelle was the closer target, and Adrian was closing in fast. Her hand went to her waist, flipping her shirt. She had a concealed Smith & Wesson neatly tucked away in a holster. That might not be enough, but at least she¡¯ll drive him off her for a moment. Except she didn¡¯t. She hesitated for a moment, hand hovering over the grip, before charging forward instead. She darted to the man¡¯s side and reached for his arm, clearly going for a standard police takedown. ¡°You idiot! He¡¯s using magic! He¡¯s too strong to knock over!¡± Adrian swatted away Noelle¡¯s arm like it was a gnat as the vulture cried in a jeering manner towards her in response to its master¡¯s display of strength. It was a mercifully light blow. The man could have opted to cripple Noelle with a single blow, so just knocking her away was lenient of him. The hand Adrian knocked away began to contort in mid-air. There was a sharp snap and a cry of pain. Noelle¡¯s wrist had been broken. ¡°AAAHHHHHHH!¡± Levi rushed to her side. What the hell had happened?! It wasn¡¯t as if Noelle had been knocked over and landed poorly, her perfectly healthy wrist had broken in mid-air absent of force. Damn! Was that his spell?! I can¡¯t tell how it works just from that! ¡°GUUUAAAGHHH!¡± The sudden rush of pain had Noelle writhing on the ground clutching her wrist. While it looked like the damage was limited to a broken bone, she was surely down for the count. Levi would have to resolve this alone. He jumped up and sent a fierce roundhouse towards Adrian¡¯s head. It was an unideal attack that left Levi overly committed, but he was hoping the unexpected move would throw Adrian off. The larger man blocked it with ease and aimed a punch at Levi¡¯s exposed ribs in reprisal. Levi blocked with his elbow and was forced a step back by the man¡¯s enhanced strength. He¡¯s good, but that strike wasn¡¯t very strong. How did he break her wrist like that?!¡± ¡°You look confused,¡± chuckled Adrian, ¡°I guess the mage¡¯s in this country are all idiots. You Americans have too much peace for your own good. If you really want to hit me, try practicing on the battlefield first.¡± Adrian threw another punch as the vulture cried in Levi¡¯s ear. It was overly telegraphed and slow, Levi easily stopped it with a boxer¡¯s head block. ¡°What?!¡± Even after Adrian removed his fist the force of the punch remained. In fact, it had compounded. Two times, five times, ten times. The blow went from a light punch to feeling like getting hit by a truck. Levi flew backwards, his arms stinging from pain, and crashed into the side of a parked SUV, caving in the door. All Adrian did was smile. The battle had been won as far as he was concerned.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°Why are you attacking us?¡± asked Levi, half from curiosity and half to buy himself time to catch his breath. ¡°It¡¯s nothing personal, boss¡¯ orders. I¡¯m to eliminate all who encounter the creature. Well¡­I¡¯d be willing to let you go if you buy out my contract.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a mercenary.¡± ¡°No need to state the obvious friend. I hope you understand that this is just business. As long as I have the money, I will do what I am instructed to.¡± ¡°Well you won¡¯t get any from me. Like a struggling business owner such as myself could afford your fee in the first place.¡± With an explosion of effort, Levi tore a door from the SUV and hurled it at Adrian like a discus. It was a brutal move; any normal person would be decapitated if it hit. Hopefully, this attack would put Adrian down for the count. ¡°Throwing it so quickly¡­you¡¯re better with your magic¡¯s internal control than I thought.¡± Adrian stretched his arms out wide and caught the door. Letting the force of the collision move him, he spun on his heels and released the door once he had made a full rotation. He had thrown the door back at Levi with the force of Levi¡¯s first throw combined with the rotational force of the catch. ¡°Oh shit!¡± Levi poured every spare ounce of magic he had into his stratus. A wheel of flame came to life and intercepted the door. The projectile was cut in two, the halves flew past Levi¡¯s sides and crashed down the road. He had narrowly avoided death, but the fire had taken its toll. His stratus were sparking and leaking energy all about, they wouldn¡¯t be useable unless repaired. Damn, that monster earlier really ruined them! ¡°Quick reaction. I¡¯m glad you didn¡¯t die from that. Real men battle with their fists. Let¡¯s go!¡± Adrian and Levi charged forward near simultaneously; Adrian out of aggression and Levi in quick response. Their fists collided with a loud clap. They had both enhanced their physical abilities with magical energy, resulting in equal strength despite the differences between their builds. Levi backed off first, moving back his hand to throw a hook with the other. It had almost reached Adrian before Levi was interrupted by a boot to his gut. This guy¡¯s good! He read me! The force of the kick lifted Levi up in the air and forced the air from his lungs. He was defenseless, unable to resist the momentum of the blow until he could reach the ground. As Levi began to fall Adrian hit him with an overhead punch, driving Levi¡¯s body into the pavement. The force of the blow was so great that the street had cracked underneath Levi¡¯s body. ¡°Your moves were good, but you made them too predictable. You seemed rusty friend. I would have liked to face you in your prime.¡± Levi continued to lie there. He was still conscious despite the pain of the blow and he had heard what Adrian had said. His body was still in okay condition too. If Levi wanted to fight, he could certainly get up and go another round despite the damage. It¡¯s just that it was impossible, that¡¯s all. Killing intent radiated off Adrian in waves. Even with his face in the pavement, Levi knew any attempts on his part to regain his footing would result in deadly retaliation. Adrian would crush him if he saw a single finger twitch. Damn¡­no choice. I¡¯ll play dead and look for an opening. ¡°I don¡¯t want to deal with whatever weird strategy you¡¯re coming up with, so I¡¯ll end it now.¡± Adrian¡¯s foot came down like a guillotine. It was so fast that Levi could feel the displaced air blow on the back of his neck. Levi rolled as quickly as he could, Adrian¡¯s foot just missing his head as it pierced into the ground, kicking up asphalt and particulate. Levi was able to see around himself now that his nose wasn¡¯t in the ground. His vision snapped desperately towards Adrian in order to anticipate the next attack. What he saw made his blood run cold. Adrian had created a sizable hole in the road with the force of his strike. While the larger man had been playing around before, it was clear he was going in for the kill. If Levi stayed on the defensive he would die, that much was certain. But that wasn¡¯t too scary. Not good¡­I might really buy the farm tonight¡­ The boundary had stopped Ithaca¡¯s inhabitants from noticing the spectacle, but it was near worthless against those with heightened perception. Two people like that had clearly heard the scuffle outside their home and rushed outside to get a look. They were staring at Levi and Adrian, taking in the scene of the battle from their porch. One was young, a kindergartener at best. A girl with an explosion of strawberry blonde hair. The other was in her young teens. She had fierce red eyes and a shorter haircut that had her white hair hanging over her forehead with blunted bangs. Beth and Lorelei, the witches of Ithaca, stood on the porch in their nightwear. Lorelei was the one to come forward first. ¡°What the hell. I thought I told you to stay away from us?¡± While she had directed this at Levi, the one to respond was Adrian. Surprised by the voice coming from behind him, there was visible shock on his face when he turned to face them. He immediately took a defensive stance once he saw who they were. Somehow, he already knew their true nature. ¡°I won¡¯t let you harm me OR Beth!¡± With a flourish of Lorelei¡¯s hand the ground under Levi and Adrian¡¯s feet imploded. It was like it had gone from being pavement to sand, and they sunk up to their knees into the mire she had brought forth. Lorelei snapped her fingers and the road froze over with a sheet of ice. The two men had been trapped instantly. ¡°NOW FUCK OFF!¡± There was a brilliant flash and a web of lightning spread out from Lorelei¡¯s body. Stray bolts clipped the ice and torn up road, blasting chunks of debris all about. Levi and Adrian weren¡¯t spared, lightning struck them both with enough force to destroy their trappings and send them flying. Levi nearly passed out from the hit, the only reason he was even still alive was because he had unconsciously gathered his internal magic for defense at the last moment. He crumpled to the ground next to Adrian. At least¡­that guy was taken out too¡­heh¡­I hope Noelle can get away¡­ Almost in response to Levi¡¯s weak mental declaration, the raven and vulture flew to their master. They exploded in a burst of spectral energy, enough to temporarily blind everyone in the vicinity. By the time they light had faded Adrian was gone, he apparently had enough juice left to run away. Which meant Levi and Noelle were stuck with the two girls. Lorelei surveyed the scene. Her eyes passed over Levi, it seemed she no longer registered him as a threat. She was right to, that last attack had completely knocked the wind from his sails. She continued to look around before settling in on Noelle. ¡°So, you were with this guy? What are you plotting? Were you scoping me out earlier? Looking for a weakness? Maybe you were assessing me so you could capture Beth? You should¡¯ve known I¡¯d turn your skinny ass to ash if you even tried you bitch.¡± ¡°H-huh? I¡¯m so confused¡­aren¡¯t you the girl I met earlier?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t play dumb.¡± Lorelei¡¯s tone was venomous, like a cobra coiling itself up to strike. ¡°Loreleiiiiiiiii~,¡± protested Beth, ¡°I thought you looked happy talking to that pretty lady the other day. What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lorelei hesitated. Was she second guessing eliminating the two of them in front of the little girl? ¡°You¡¯ll understand when you¡¯re older Beth.¡± Power began to gather in Lorelei¡¯s hand. ¡°No! Don¡¯t!¡± They were interrupted by another man. He arrived looking harried and out of breath. It seemed he had been quite a distance away and had decided to run there once he noticed the battle. Levi recognized him instantly-the ¡°social worker¡± assigned to monitor the two witches. A knight of The Congregation. Things just got even messier. What a night. ¡°Wait wait wait wait waitttttt! Lorelei! Stop! You can¡¯t strike down people just because you¡¯re upset!¡± ¡°What would you know?! This damn mage and his friend for sure have their eyes on us!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure there¡¯s a logical explanation for th-¡° the man locked eyes with Levi. ¡°Jesus. Why are you here? Damn. You¡¯re like a headache that keeps coming back.¡± ¡°Oh. Hey Oscar! How¡¯s the chief been?¡± Levi beamed. Noelle looked to Levi, the two girls, and the new arrival; the confusion she felt was so great she forgot about her pain and let go of her wrist. Only for a moment. ¡°A-ahhhh! Damn! Who cares?! Everybody let me take down your names so I can go to the hospital already!¡±¡± The Witches and the Stars (8): Nights Fated Teatime For Noelle, what happened next was a blur. The shock of the sudden arrivals had subsided, and her mind once again grew hazy from the pain in her wrist. It was broken, that much was certain, but she was completely in the dark as to how. All she knew was that it hurt a lot and she needed to get to an urgent care center as soon as she could. But the man, she believed his name was Oscar, wouldn¡¯t let her leave. He began barking orders at Levi and the two girls, something about pulling the scene together before the boundary wore off. Here she was, a beautiful woman writhing in pain, and he was totally unconcerned. Quite the man. Lorelei was tasked with repair. With a wave of her hand broken pieces of pavement and cars reassembled themselves. ¡°I can put the door back on, but I can¡¯t do the wiring. The owners will be pretty upset tomorrow.¡± she complained while touching up the SUV Levi had damaged. ¡°Things break all the time. As long as you stay hidden, I don¡¯t care if it costs some people money.¡± replied Oscar. The little one came over to Noelle while Oscar and Lorelei complained to and chided one another over the cleanup. Noelle believed her name was Beth. She was young, maybe not even in grade school, and she was wearing a brilliant smile even after witnessing the violence of the night. ¡°You look hurt!¡± she chirped, ¡°I¡¯ll help since Lorelei¡¯s busy!¡± The girl¡¯s hands began to glow and she laid them on Noelle¡¯s wrist. Noelle winced in preparation of pain stemming from the contact, but was met with a cooling sensation instead. There was a brief tickle in her wrist and then the glow stopped. The wrist was still broken but it looked less mangled and hurt much less than before. ¡°Hmmm. Why didn¡¯t it work all the way?¡± Beth seemed perplexed. The magical healing was miraculous to Noelle, so she didn¡¯t see any reason to question the results. ¡°I¡¯ll just try again!¡± ¡°No. Leave it at that, Beth.¡± Lorelei had come over without Noelle noticing. ¡°You¡¯d need to know the anatomical structure to put the bone back together properly. If you push it you¡¯ll rearrange her wrist into some weird shape. Not that I¡¯d mind, it¡¯s what she deserves for coming after us.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± said Noelle. ¡°Oh please. Striking up a random conversation with me then showing up at my house with a mage? It¡¯s clear as day you¡¯re that man¡¯s scout.¡± ¡°Drop it for now,¡± said Oscar, ¡°I can vouch for Levi at least. Is your guardian still at the school? We can meet inside and talk this through.¡± Lorelei closed her eyes for a moment before turning away. She let out a standoffish ¡°Fine!¡± and continued to clean the scene.
After the street was returned to a reasonable semblance of its former self, Oscar hurried the party inside. Lorelei and Beth took off their shoes right away and placed them in a cubby, it was clear this was their home from the practiced habit alone. Noelle took her shoes off along with the two men and they headed further in. Lorelei filled a kettle with water. She was standoffish and shifty all the while, yet she still went through the motions of welcoming her houseguests. She stood in the kitchen, foot tapping as the water heated on the stove. ¡°Ugh. Fuck this waiting.¡± Lorelei glared at the stove and steam erupted from the kettle instantly. An obvious display of magic, but thankfully less violent than what Noelle had seen that night. Lorelei fixed everyone some tea and handed out mugs to all but Noelle. Perhaps conscious of the older women¡¯s wrist, Lorelei set the final cup down on a coaster in the living room. Finally seated after a long evening, Noelle steeled herself for a long, tedious conversation. ¡°Now you two, explain why the hell you¡¯re here.¡± started Oscar. He sat on the couch with a scowl on his face, dark hair clashing wildly with the bright d¨¦cor of the room. To say he looked out of place was an understatement. It was like placing a dragon toy in a gingerbread house, there was no inherent synergy between the man and the space he was occupying. Levi had thrown her a few whispers about Oscar here and there. He was a knight of the Congregation, essentially an enforcer for the magic world¡¯s governmental framework. Levi treated this title like it was a big deal, so she was under the impression Oscar was on a different level than a rookie agent of law enforcement such as herself. Oscar¡¯s intensity lent credence to this, and considering how quickly mages could come to blows (according to Levi at least), he was probably more akin to military frontline personnel. So what? He¡¯s the magical version of a Navy SEAL? Why would he be skulking around in Ithaca?Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Of course, this was all information from Levi, an idiot who tried to attract customers to his failing bookshop with vulgar displays aimed at middle-aged women. Taking him at his word was probably a waste of time. But¡­ He did save her form the man earlier, so she¡¯d throw him a bone. There were more important issues than being wary of him. There was that man Adrian, the mysterious creature, the knight¡¯s presence and¡­ What the hell is she? There was the white haired girl and her sister, who had easily chased off an assailant capable of putting Levi through the wringer. To think that such a hidden force had been casually sitting around the hallway of a pubic building earlier¡­it seemed the magical world ran deeper than Noelle thought. ¡°Well?¡± continued Oscar, ¡°I¡¯m all ears.¡± ¡°I live in this town. I know you guys keep tabs, so you should really leave me be.¡± complained Levi. ¡°That¡¯s no reason for you to be involved with my jurisdiction. You always end up getting involved with crap you have no business with!¡± ¡°What do you mean jurisdiction?¡± asked Noelle. ¡°I¡¯m the police officer here. Do you magic types have a local department or something?¡± ¡°Ha! No way!¡± Levi jolted up and pointed at Oscar. ¡°This guy just wants to sound important. I bet his boss asked him to be a case worker because nobody else had time! Ha ha ha!¡± ¡°Case worker?¡± Noelle was trying to ignore Levi¡¯s attitude. Best to go for the facts, forget the diversions. ¡°He means for us.¡± chimed in Lorelei. ¡°We¡¯re orphans.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I figured.¡± said Levi. ¡°You didn¡¯t figure a damn thing. Quit bragging.¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t know if you weren¡¯t sticking your nose where it didn¡¯t belong jackass!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you knew from spying on us! Creepy douche!¡± A cacophony of voices flew out. Noelle could see Levi was on the verge of tears from the verbal abuse. ¡°Aww Mr. Levi, don¡¯t cry!¡± consoled Beth. ¡°It¡¯s okay to guess stuff like that! Lorelei¡¯s just trying to be a good big sister for me!¡± ¡°Uwahhhh~. What about the others? They¡¯re so mean.¡± ¡°Ummm¡­I don¡¯t know!¡± Just like that, the angel who had brought Levi hope struck him back down towards hell. Kids were just too honest. ¡°Can we get back on track?¡± asked Noelle. ¡°Why is a guy like this a case worker, and why are you so paranoid about people spying on you?¡± Lorelei leaned forward in her seat. ¡°Playing dumb? Guess I¡¯ll humor you. We¡¯re witches. Arcane accidents, as I¡¯m sure most would say. Did you think The Congregation would be ok letting us flit about the foster care system? They took the two orphan witches they knew about and paired them up, all so they could have a nosy ¡°councilor¡± like Oscar follow us around and report on our activities.¡± ¡°Hey¡­come on¡­,¡±objected Oscar, ¡°it¡¯s not like you don¡¯t need me. Already forgetting that I stuck up for you two when you exposed yourselves in the last town?¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t expose ourselves! Beth sneezed and some fire came out! Thanks for not throwing us in some prison like all your other security risks, prick!¡± Oscar was saved from further verbal abuse by the sound of a key in the front door. Lorelei immediately quieted down and raised her hand. Perhaps she thought Adrian had returned to come for her and her sister? ¡°Um¡­what¡¯s with the reaction? If it¡¯s a key wouldn¡¯t that just be the homeowner?¡± said Levi, face blank. Lorelei closed her hand into a fist and huffed at him, blatantly resentful of the suggestion. Either she thought Levi wasn¡¯t being cautious enough or she just plain disliked having him say his piece. Regardless, she had eased her guard at his suggestion. For such an edgy teen it was an unexpected response. The sound of the key stopped and the door swung open. A graying man in a lab coat wearing a lanyard with his title, Dr. Bismark, stepped across the entryway. Noelle had seen him before but it was of little comfort. She was assailed by the uncomfortable feeling of being on somebody¡¯s house without an invitation. As to whether the man cared about this, it was hard to tell. He wore an expression of happy surprise rather than confusion. ¡°Oscar! What a pleasant surprise! I hope you¡¯re not here because the girls were causing trouble!¡± He had a warm and deep voice that lent a sense of security and familiarity with his words. Noelle didn¡¯t want to speak for the girls, but he seemed like the exact kind of person the foster system would be looking for. ¡°And who are you two? Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡± Tch. Here it comes! ¡°Lorelei made some friends?! She¡¯s always so ornery that I was getting worried about her social life!¡± Not what I was expecting¡­ ¡°This girl¡¯s no friend of mine!¡± said Levi, ¡°She bullied me, called me an idiot, an accused me of being a stalker!¡± ¡°Lorelei! How could you?!¡± ¡°Aaagh shut up, shut up, SHUT UP! Are you picking a fight or something?! I made you tea! Take that rat¡¯s nest of hair and get out of here! Take your girlfriend too!¡± Dr. Bismark motioned to Noelle and Levi to remain seated. ¡°I guess it makes sense, you two are a bit old to befriend a girl her age. Why are you here?¡± Levi shrunk into his seat, milquetoast in the face of an actual inquiry. Oscar said nothing either, a look of irritation indicating he was having trouble coming up with plausible reasoning. With her good hand, Noelle withdrew her badge from her pocket. ¡°Levi and I were taking a stroll after our date, his treat of course, and a man was trying to rough someone up on the street. Oscar was outside with the girls and the guy kind of ran into them before getting away. I just wanted to get some statements from everyone while the memory was fresh before calling it in.¡± ¡°Thank you, then.¡± Dr. Bismark said this with a serious look on his face. ¡°All three of you. These two have been the light of my life since my wife and daughter passed. I¡¯d hate if they had to encounter that man alone.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that, and¡­you¡¯re welcome.¡± said Levi, uncomfortable accepting praise for something he didn¡¯t do. Dr. Bismark chuckled. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s not a big deal. Car accident, you know? I¡¯m a physicist, so the chaotic reality of life is too well known to me. I¡¯m just glad to have been given the chance to care for someone again.¡± ¡°Yes, well¡­we really should get going, right Levi?¡± Noelle got out of the chair, careful to not let Bismark see her damaged wrist. Levi was all too happy to follow her lead, practically leaping from his seat. ¡°I¡¯ll head out too if that¡¯s alright. Stay safe you two, I¡¯ll be back Saturday for the usual checkup.¡± said Oscar as he also got up. Noelle caught the barest traces of a glare from Lorelei before turning around. She was just about to reach the door when she noticed a thin wisp of smoke float into her vision. It twisted and coiled to form words. ¡®Be at your place 4PM tomorrow¡¯ With the message conveyed, the smoke dissipated, and Noelle made her way back out into the night. The Witches and the Stars (9): The Knight and The Fool Noelle stared at the cast the staff at the emergency clinic slapped on her. Apparently, the break had been super clean and she didn¡¯t even need wrist fracture surgery. Eight weeks of recovery and she would be good to go. Of course, she knew that the break had been far messier than the medical staff knew about, and the only reason her wrist was so salvageable was due to the magical influence of Beth. The staff had let her be in the treatment room, having moved on to other patients. She was accompanied by Oscar, the surly knight who she and Levi had ran across on Dryden Road. It seemed like he wasn¡¯t content in letting those who encountered his young charges go so easily. Levi wasn¡¯t present at the moment. Neither he nor Noelle had gotten any dinner, so he was dispatched to a nearby convenience store while she underwent her medical examination. That had been a little while ago, so it was obvious he was taking his sweet time instead of hurrying back to Noelle¡¯s side. Idiot¡­like I want to be stuck alone with this Oscar guy. ¡°You can stop scowling at me. It¡¯s not like I wanted to spend my evening with you either.¡± The young man spoke up from his seat in the corner, tossing the magazine he had been idly browsing on the counter. ¡°Every so often idiots like you come along and stumble into our affairs. It¡¯s best if I took the time to set you straight. Blame Levi for not being proactive enough to wipe your memories.¡± ¡°Wipe my¡­what?!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be so dramatic. It only works if you do it before the knowledge sets in. Too late now. Levi¡¯s not legally allowed to do it, but that¡¯s never been something that¡¯s stopped him before.¡± ¡°You¡¯re telling me that guy can play with people¡¯s memories? Makes me feel sick.¡± ¡°It¡¯s built into the filter. Some sort of religious property. Hell if I know how it works.¡± ¡°Another clueless clown, huh? It¡¯s only natural that dog didn¡¯t erase my memories. Worms like him inherently know their place.¡± Oscar¡¯s gaze intensified. ¡°From a dog to a worm¡­either he¡¯s let himself go or you don¡¯t know who you¡¯re dealing with.¡± Oscar had expressed some familiarity with Levi before. At the very least, they had already known one another¡¯s name. Thinking about it, once you stripped away the magic Levi was just a guy who sold books. What would he have to do with Oscar? It sounded like being a knight of The Congregation was a big deal. To think that idiot Levi was so well connected¡­it was pretty puzzling. ¡°It¡¯s already bad enough that Levi gets involved in our business all the time, I don¡¯t want to put up with you as well.¡± complained Oscar. ¡°So, you see him often? Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s that kind of relationship?¡± ¡°God shut up. He butts in on my job. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard it before. ¡®I¡¯ll try everything once.¡¯ The guy¡¯s made a real habit of showing up where he¡¯s not wanted. I deal with some politically charged shit! I hate it when that trouble magnet gets involved!¡± Oscar was visibly tensing up as he complained about Levi. Noelle would¡¯ve liked to have been present for some of the incidents he was so bothered about. ¡°You just bump into each other? What a world.¡± ¡°No¡­¡± he sighed. ¡°We used to work together until he turned tail and quit. Nobody really understands why he did it.¡± Work together? Surely Levi wasn¡¯t a knight. ¡°Maybe that¡¯s why he left? I guess he didn¡¯t enjoy your company, seeing as how you couldn¡¯t understand him and all. Oh well, I¡¯ll take care of him for a bit.¡± Oscar growled at her in response. ¡°You jest, but that guy¡¯s more than you can handle. Do yourself a favor and forget you met him. Forget me too while you¡¯re at it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be the one to judge whom I can handle, thank you very much.¡± Noelle flopped back onto the examination table and held her casted hand in the air. The plaster casing¡¯s bulky shape did a good job of blocking the overhead lighting, and a shadow fell across her face. ¡°Listen up, because I¡¯ll only warn you once. No normal person works for The Congregation or gets involved with magical trouble like he does. This is a world where methodology is personal and you can¡¯t determine the shape of an attack until it¡¯s been thrown at you. It¡¯s a world where a twenty-year veteran can be killed instantly by a total noob. Under conditions like that, there¡¯s no such thing as a person who just gets involved with things because he feels like it. To survive as long as Levi has, even by the skin of your teeth, is a miracle in and of itself.¡± What the hell was this? What was the point of painting Levi like this? To scare her? To make her think there¡¯s something more to him? The guy was an idiot, the kind of goofy guy you could find anywhere. He was something more than she could handle? That guy? ¡°You think highly of him. They have a name for this in Japan¡­umm¡­¡¯boys love,¡¯ right?¡± ¡°Ha ha.¡± said Oscar glibly. ¡°Make fun all you want; it won¡¯t be my ass caught in the fire when all¡¯s said and done. Long as I don¡¯t have to see you again, I don¡¯t care what happens to you.¡± Oscar got out of his seat and walked towards the door. ¡°That guy should be back soon. Have him walk you home tonight and drop contact after.¡±The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°And if I don¡¯t?¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll be seeing your mangled corpse on the nightly news sooner rather than later.¡±
Oscar¡¯s warning echoed in Noelle¡¯s ears as she walked under the moonlight. Levi had finally returned with some cheap food and the two had departed for Noelle¡¯s apartment. ¡°It¡¯s not necessary for you to take me back to my place.¡± ¡°That Adrian guy¡¯s out there somewhere. Besides, walking a girl back is something I can afford to do at least once in my life.¡± The danger level had clearly skyrocketed in the last few hours. Levi was wary of the creature but now he was on edge about the man he had fought as well. On top of that, there was the matter of the two girls that Levi seemed to be even more wary of. ¡°You¡¯re nowhere near my ideal gentleman escort, so give me some information to make up for it.¡± ¡°Guys have feelings to. You¡¯re going to throttle my self-esteem if you keep on heaping this abuse on me.¡± ¡°Is that a yes or a no?¡± Levi grumbled under his breath for a moment, his actual words imperceptible. According to Oscar, Levi had made a mistake to let her in on magic without wiping her memories. She assumed this reluctance came from that fact. By continuing to speak to her he was basically picking at his own scab and reopening the wound. Fun for her, not so much for him. All said, she couldn¡¯t imagine him trying to wipe her mind. He wasn¡¯t someone with the gall for that¡­right? ¡°Fine. What did you want to ask?¡± ¡°Why are you afraid of those girls? You act like a witch is something apart from yourself. Aren¡¯t you fellow magic users?¡± ¡°No way! Those two are naturals at it! It¡¯s completely different!¡± ¡°Huh? What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± ¡°Magic¡¯s a tool! I¡¯m still a normal person without it. There¡¯s nothing inherent to me that¡¯s different from you, I just have the capacity to use a skill. Those two are totally different. It¡¯s like the difference between being able to drive 65 miles per hour in a car and being able to run 65 miles per hour. One¡¯s normal, and one¡¯s freakish!¡± Levi¡¯s panicked body language was sincere. He truly believed what he was saying, but it wasn¡¯t satisfying Noelle. Calling children who did the same things as him freakish? ¡°Does it matter? It¡¯s magic.¡± ¡°It¡¯s unstructured magic. I explained it before, there are rules. They might be different for each person, but for an original spell you absolutely need to carry out the ritual as you believe in it. Those two aren¡¯t like that. If they want to breathe fire, they breathe fire. If they want to cause an earthquake, they make it happen. They¡¯re raw power¡¯s off the charts and they can use it with no restrictions. Besides¡­¡± Levi stopped there. It was clear there was something he wanted to say but was reluctant to. Even in the low visibility of the night Noelle could make out a pained expression. ¡°What? I¡¯m not letting you stop now.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just¡­I don¡¯t know how true it is.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be the one to decide that.¡± Levi stared at her. It was an unexpected reaction, maybe a bit creepy. ¡°What? Don¡¯t look at me like that. It¡¯s gross.¡± His gaze dropped to the sidewalk. ¡°Nothing¡­it¡¯s different to interact with someone so curious. It¡¯s refreshing, you¡¯re not biased yet.¡± ¡°Hmph. Just tell me already.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Levi picked his head back up, composed. ¡°Throughout history there are tons of cases where witches lose control. The Black Plaque was caused by a witch lashing out at people hunting her. We call it ¡®succumbing.¡¯ Witches were rumored to get their powers by consorting with the devil. Some think the devil can take over when a witch is too stressed and attack.¡± ¡°They lose their temper?¡± ¡°That¡¯s an understatement. It¡¯s like they¡¯re possessed when they succumb. You can¡¯t reason with them and they never snap out of it. The only way to stop a witch¡¯s rampage is to kill them.¡± No¡­that couldn¡¯t be right. An unstoppable rampage? Were those little girls capable of that? ¡°The current opinion is that witches are born with some form of recessive devilish characteristic. It interacts with the collective unconscious, and since the belief of a devil-like creature is strong in so many cultures, they become what they are.¡± ¡°You said kill them¡­and Oscar is their social worker¡­but he works for the- ¡° ¡°The Congregation, yes. He¡¯s a knight, an enforcer. His real job isn¡¯t to make sure the foster system is treating them right.¡± No¡­ ¡°He¡¯s their keeper. He keeps them hidden, and if he needs to be, he will become their executioner.¡± Noelle couldn¡¯t remember much after that. She walked back to her apartment with Levi in a haze, struggling to process what she had just learned. To think that those two girls were in that situation, it was horrible. It reminded Noelle of bears. They couldn¡¯t be hunted willy-nilly, and people enjoyed them in zoos and wildlife documentaries, but the instant they got too friendly with humans or too populous they were culled. Ithaca had seemed like a normal town. A place where adults went to work, students studied and goofed off, and kids went to school and played little league. A perfectly normal place where people lived their mundane lives. A place where the harshest thing that happened was a divorce or two or maybe a tragic car crash. But¡­ For at least two people, this place was a quarantine. A life where if they strayed too far they would die. And so, she remained quiet for the walk, no longer able to stomach idle conversation. The pair continued to her apartment in silence, the air heavy between them from the weight of the girls¡¯ cruel circumstances.
Arriving at her abode did little to soothe Noelle¡¯s heart. She had put off decorating it, and the empty room felt like a cavern of white walls and pale carpet. Considering the night¡¯s events, there would be no comfort to be found here. ¡°This is the blandest place I¡¯ve ever seen!¡± Levi¡¯s voice came barreling out, a harsh reminder that he was, in fact, still present and completely inconsiderate towards her mood. Either she had let him in or he had followed her, she couldn¡¯t remember. ¡°Are you going to act like this all night?¡± he asked. ¡°After what you told me, how couldn¡¯t I?¡± Was there something she was supposed to be behaving instead? Apparently, there was an entire secret undercurrent to society which feared and would kill those girls if given a reason to. A society Levi was part of. ¡°That¡¯s good. Remember how you feel.¡± he said to her, voice completely lacking any of the hesitation he had shown periodically through the night. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I was afraid of them. I hate that.¡± ¡°What are you saying?¡± ¡°What I¡¯m saying,¡± he sighed, ¡°is I wish more people were like you. Treating those girls like monsters¡­I can¡¯t get behind it. They must feel so trapped by it all, so restricted. Their lives were decided for them the moment they were born. That¡¯s not right, even if there is a risk in them being around.¡± Noelle giggled, then laughed. Water teared up in her eyes. She tried to wipe it away before Levi noticed but it was clear he had seen it. ¡°Being cheered up by you¡­it¡¯s enough to make me cry. How gross.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah fine. I¡¯ll just get going then.¡± Levi said as he made his way towards the door. ¡°Wait.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Those girls, that guy, that thing¡­you¡¯ll still help me going forward, won¡¯t you?¡± He was silent for a moment before speaking. ¡°I try everything once. I think I¡¯ve had my fill of investigation.¡± ¡°You can claim to have filed your quota, but have you tried actually solving something like this before?¡± Levi didn¡¯t answer, instead opting to open the door and step out. Noelle wouldn¡¯t push him for an answer today, she didn¡¯t have the energy to, but as Levi shut the door behind him she swore she heard him mutter something under his breath. ¡°You don¡¯t know the half of it.¡± The Witches and the Stars (10): Lazy Afternoon Part 1 As the night gave way to day the residents of Ithaca were treated to a pitiful amount of sunlight. A storm front had taken an unexpected turn and now the sky was plastered with a dark gray despite it being the height of afternoon. It seemed like the kind of Saturday people would go for a good coffee and a place to curl up with a book, but The Dusty Tome was characteristically empty. ¡°Ooooh, what¡¯s this feeling? My heart¡¯s not doing to well. I don¡¯t want to think about the state of the store¡¯s accounts at all.¡± complained Levi. To his left was the golem-boy Hugo, dutifully going through an inventory list to find anything of interest to the public the shop could discount. ¡°Let me worry about the finances Master, you don¡¯t have the head for it. I would think you¡¯d be more worried about the hostiles you encountered last night or your new girlfriend.¡± ¡°She¡¯s not my girlfriend.¡± ¡°According to my databanks, human males are very pliable when coming into contact with attractive females. Taking my previous observations of your mental processing power and extrapolating them outwards, it stands you would be unable to resist her charms.¡± ¡°What does that mean?! Don¡¯t try to write me off like that! Observations of my processing power¡­ you¡¯re calling me an idiot! I¡¯m not dumb enough to miss that!¡± ¡°I see. You must have leveled up your mental ability master. Accounting for this change, the extrapolated results remain the same.¡± ¡°Hmph. Hugo, humans can¡¯t be defined just by numbers. We have an incomprehensible and unassessable spirit.¡± ¡°Trying to sound ¡®cool¡¯ like that¡­it doesn¡¯t suit you.¡± Hugo turned his attention to the store PC, pulling up a map he had marked up. It was a layout of the town with notations all over the place. It looked like utility information, specifically electric, and there were two locations marked off. The alleyway next to the caf¨¦ and Dryden Road. ¡°You¡¯ve had two encounters with that aberration, one encounter with an assailant, and I found power surges throughout the town corresponding incidents. Tell me Master Levi, what¡¯s your strategy for addressing this?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to do anything. I¡¯ve done my time on this job already.¡± ¡°Dismissive as always. I predict you¡¯re going to find your next activity to try then?¡± ¡°¡­¡± It wasn¡¯t a bad idea. Life was full of stupid entanglements; and if Levi knew one thing, it was how much of your life you could throw away on these side-ventures. He had tried running a store, tried fighting that black creature, and tried going up against Adrian. It made no sense for him to keep on repeating these things, might as well pack up and do something else in a different town. Further consideration of Levi¡¯s future was interrupted by the shop bell. A customer! It had been too long since anyone with money to spend had stepped through the doors to The Dusty Tome. Levi looked up, might as well greet the newcomer seeing as how they were the only non-employee present. Scratch that, it was two customers! Scratch that¡­ Two figures approached the front desk. One was a young man with a scowling face and angry eyes, the other a little girl with a heavy head of strawberry blonde hair. Even by normal standards they were a mismatched pair, but Levi knew their true characteristics were even more insane: those of a knight of The Congregation and a witch. Oscar and Beth made it but a few scant steps inside before the little girl¡¯s complaints could be heard.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Bathroom! Bathroom! Bathroooooooom! Mr. Oscar I need to go now!¡± ¡°Fine! Let¡¯s just ask an employee and-¡° Oscar stopped short once he caught sight of Levi. There was no chance The Congregation wasn¡¯t keeping tabs on his location, so it stood to reason Oscar had been so preoccupied he had failed to realize the identity of the shop he had entered. Levi didn¡¯t even bother speaking. He simply thumbed towards the restroom door and Beth bolted to it desperately. As the door opened and slammed shut desperately, Oscar approached the front desk. ¡°I have some information for you. I wanted to call, but might as well get it out of the way now.¡± He eyed Hugo with suspicion, cautious that the boy was a non-denizen of the magical world. ¡°I¡¯m nothing more than Master Levi¡¯s shop golem. No need to worry about speaking about magic in my company.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. Less work for me.¡± said Oscar. He reached into his jacket pocket and produced a collection of papers. Sliding them on the desk, Levi recognized the face of Adrian, the man he had fought against the night before. ¡°I ran some checks based on the movement of people of interest to The Congregation, it was confirmed that this man¡¯s in town. Adrian Malchus, this guy¡¯s a piece of work. He¡¯s a mercenary that we¡¯ve spotted all over recently; he¡¯s played a part in some pretty big jobs. Even I would have trouble contesting him one on one; it¡¯s a miracle he didn¡¯t finish you off.¡± ¡°Yeah, well, I¡¯m not worried. I¡¯ve got no plans to see him again. Think you could clean this mercenary mess up for me sir knight?¡± ¡°Listen jackass, your story about that monster and this merc was piss poor, but if it¡¯s true then you¡¯re part of something now. This guy has tons of known associates, so I doubt you¡¯re getting out of it so easily.¡± There was a sound of flushing and running water, and then the door to the bathroom opened. Beth skipped out, now relieved of whatever was burdening her. ¡°Hey!¡± cried Levi. ¡°That was way too quick! You didn¡¯t just go number one did you?!¡± ¡°Number one? I peed.¡± ¡°But you flushed?!¡± ¡°Ummm yeah! It was all yellow so I flushed before and after.¡± Levi threw his face into his hands in despair. Beth was a little girl, isolated from the torturous adult consideration of utilities, but Levi knew all too well the burden that was the shop¡¯s inefficient 3.5 gallon per flush toilet. Holy shit, what was the quarterly sewer and water bill going to look like? ¡°Listen!¡± he cried. ¡°I can¡¯t afford to up the water bill like that! I know your sister might not have taught you, but if it¡¯s yellow you let it mellow! Flushing is for number twos only, got that?!¡± ¡°Yes! Flushing for number two only, got it!¡± Beth replied enthusiastically. ¡°Shut upppppp!¡± screamed Oscar. ¡°How¡¯s she supposed to integrate with society if you teach her crap like that? Beth, flush every time you go! Don¡¯t listen to this guy I¡¯m begging you!¡± ¡°The only crap here is the one that didn¡¯t happen in that bathroom just now. Hugo, what¡¯s the cost to us for two flushes?¡± ¡°Factoring in toilet inefficiency, 3.75 cents.¡± replied the golem. ¡°You heard him. Pay up for your charge, Oscar.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not giving you money for that!¡± Beth looked up at the two men. ¡°If you have money can we get ice cream?¡± Levi also looked at Oscar with a puppy dog look. ¡°Please Oscar? Can we get ice cream?¡± Hugo did his best imitation of begging, but it fell flat between his blank expression and emotionless tone. ¡°I request you take Master Levi for ice cream to save me from his personality.¡± ¡°What the hell! Fine! If it gets you off my back let¡¯s go!¡±
Noelle slept for a long while. Even though it had been the early AM when she arrived back at her place, waking up at 11 in the morning was an excess of sleep in her mind. It was the type of rest reserved for the lazy, and was a huge blow to her strict 8am exercise routine. Oh well, it wasn¡¯t as if she had anything to do. Work was her sole responsibility in this new town. If she went for a run at noon instead of 8 it shouldn¡¯t make a difference. And so, she dragged herself outdoors to take advantage of the spring weather. The cast kept her arm locked in a semi-awkward position, and she found her endurance draining more quickly than usual because of it. Whenever she zoned out it would brush against her side, the hard material leaving a faint scratch as the motion repeated over and over during the run. Once the run was over she returned to her apartment. There was little to do there, but it was home. With no cable or internet set up she resigned herself to a day of watching videos in bed using her phone¡¯s data. Maybe she¡¯d het takeout later. But first, a nap. She was awoken by a loud rap against her door. It was harsh and quick, leaving a not so friendly impression of the person on the other side. Noelle stumbled to her feet. Who could it be, the landlord? It hadn¡¯t even been a month since she¡¯d been there, so a rent collection was out. What did that jackass want? Now disgruntled, Noelle cracked the door open, making sure to keep a practiced grimace on her face. To her surprise, the person on the other end wore a similar glare despite her younger age. The young witch girl Lorelei stood on the porch with a plastic bag in hand, staring upwards at Noelle through the crack in the door. ¡°What¡¯s that look for? I told you I was coming, didn¡¯t I?¡± The Witches and the Stars (11): Lazy Afternoon Part 2 Noelle stood by the coffee maker, awkwardly waiting for the slow drip of the nozzle to fill the pot enough for her to pour a cup for herself and the teenaged witch standing in what would have been a living room had it been decorated. It was a sight that looked like it belonged in a photography exhibit. The white-haired girl standing in the plain white room. Noelle couldn¡¯t decide if Lorelei looked lonely or if she looked like a ghost. Lorelei was glaring, a look Noelle was already used to despite their limited interaction. The girl would stare at Noelle only to look away, but since the walls were blank, she was ultimately forced to return her gaze to the older woman. ¡°How cute. You¡¯re more awkward than I gave you credit for.¡± said Noelle. ¡°Am not! What are you expecting me to do? You don¡¯t even have a couch to offer your guests.¡± Lorelei stalked her way to the kitchen, the plastic bag in her hand rustling as she moved. Noelle took a quick peek and noticed it held a box of cookies. Lorelei noticed the investigation and moved the bag behind her, averting her eyes from Noelle¡¯s at the same time. ¡°Awww. You brought those for me? And now you¡¯re too shy to hand them over?¡± ¡°N-no! I just got them for myself!¡± Lorelei stammered; a blush visible on her cheeks. ¡°A whole box? Lorelei, you¡¯re so cute when you act like this! Look at me! Show me more!¡± ¡°Shut up! You sound really creepy right now! Stop acting like an old man at a peep show! I¡¯ll admit it! I got you the cookies okay?!¡± ¡°Good. I appreciate it. They¡¯ll be good with the coffee.¡± Noelle turned her attention back to the coffee maker. With the brewing complete, the dark liquid sat on the hot plate ready to be drank. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Lorelei place the bag on the counter and retrieve the package of sweets. There was a loud pop as the air in the package burst out from within, clearly the result of some spell Lorelei had employed to open it. ¡°Before I forget, give me your arm.¡± Lorelei demanded; hand outstretched. ¡°I don¡¯t see what for. Are you going to hex me?¡± ¡°No, jackass. I looked up some anatomy last night. It won¡¯t be perfect, but I can do a bit more for your wrist than Beth did.¡± Lorelei reached out and grabbed Noelle¡¯s cast. Almost immediately a warm sensation flowed from the witch to Noelle. The two of them stood there in silence for a minute until, eventually, Lorelei withdrew her hand. ¡°There. Two weeks and you can take that thing off your wrist. It¡¯s looks inconvenient to wear, so I figured hurrying the healing along would help.¡± ¡°Lorelei¡­¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°You¡¯re actually a really nice girl, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°N-no!¡± Lorelei sputtered out her objections while Noelle chuckled. Tuning the teen out, she poured the coffee into two mugs. ¡°Oh shoot. I forgot to ask about cream and sugar. Oh well, just suck it up and take it black. You¡¯re not a coward, are you?¡± ¡°You sure like provoking people. No wonder you hang out with that wimpy looking guy, he¡¯s the perfect masochist for you to bully. That¡¯s one hell of a relationship.¡± Noelle narrowed her gaze, glaring at Lorelei through half-lidded eyes. ¡°You¡¯re too young for that talk. Get back to me once you¡¯ve made out under the bleachers at least once.¡± Lorelei tossed a cookie into her mouth, clearly irritated by Noelle¡¯s provocations. Perhaps confident that she was safe to act out in the privacy of Noelle¡¯s room, she sent a spark of magic through her hair to signal her annoyance. ¡°Thanks,¡± said Noelle, dropping the teasing for now, ¡°I¡¯m grateful to get this cast off sooner.¡± ¡°Then you¡¯ll repay me by answering my questions. If you object, I¡¯ll rebreak your wrist as a refund.¡± ¡°And you said I¡¯m the sadist. What do you want?¡± ¡°It¡¯s simple,¡± started Lorelei, wagging her finger back and forth, ¡°I want to know you. Oscar told me about the little monster you and that guy have been chasing, but that¡¯s not enough for me. Oscar I know, and Oscar can vouch for that guy, but you¡¯re an unknown. If you¡¯re in this town and know about magic you¡¯re a threat to me. More importantly, you¡¯re a threat to Beth. So, tell me everything there is to know about Noelle Sellers, or I¡¯ll end you right here.¡± The room grew cold. That wasn¡¯t just a figurative observation on Noelle¡¯s part, the chill was real. Frost accumulated on the windows and soon the only warmth to be had was from the coffee mug in Noelle¡¯s hands. The intent on Lorelei¡¯s part was clear: a threat. It didn¡¯t matter they were in Noelle¡¯s place, in fact, it didn¡¯t matter where they were; if Lorelei deemed Noelle a threat she would end her, simple as that.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°If you¡¯re going to be taking this so seriously I¡¯ll drop the welcoming act too. I¡¯ve been wondering since you arrived, how did you get this address? I never told you.¡± ¡°You act like it¡¯s some grand secret. The police station has your personal information in their employee records, obviously.¡± ¡°So what? You magically hacked them.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know enough about computers for that. I mesmerized the front desk lady and had her look it up for me.¡± ¡°Makes sense.¡± Noelle shrugged her shoulders dismissively. ¡°I think what you meant to say was ¡®that¡¯s terrifying.¡¯ That would be the natural response.¡± Lorelei spat. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I just admitted to your face that I accessed your personal information just by asking, like I was trying to find a book at the library. There¡¯s nothing normal about that. I just did something that completely upturns and circumvents the system your life is built on. It¡¯s unnatural. You should feel much more strongly about it than a shrug of the shoulders.¡± Lorelei was a reedy girl, in both voice and body. She wore unflattering jeans and an oversized hoody. There was nothing threatening about her, nothing out of the ordinary at a glance besides her hair, yet the admonishment she gave had an implacable intensity. The way she spoke and the way she carried herself in this moment was like a coiled serpent. Her words were so much more than information, they were a hiss, a warning. ¡°The reason I can¡¯t leave you be, is because you¡¯re decidedly abnormal. You¡¯ve supposedly encountered a monster, and I know for a fact you¡¯ve seen me and that mercenary Oscar¡¯s trying to sweep under the rug without telling me. The danger of magic should be clear to you. Roll your eyes and all you¡¯ll do is miss the part of this world that does you in.¡± Noelle was taken aback to the point it took her a moment to find her words. ¡°You say that, but I assure you tons of people are interested in magic. It¡¯s a power they know exists but can¡¯t reach. It¡¯s interesting.¡± ¡°Bullshit. Everyone¡¯s like that at first, but reality sets in soon enough. That man from last night could¡¯ve crushed your skull with his bare hands, just as I could¡¯ve frozen and shattered you on the spot. Even the shoddy bracelets your friend wears can melt you bone and all. Magic¡¯s not fun. The magical world isn¡¯t a wonderland for you to get lost in. It¡¯s anarchy; it¡¯s like a world filled to the brim with sociopaths, where even the average citizen is toting an assault rifle. Most realize how fucked that is and beg for a mind wipe, so how do you even have the nerve to joke around with me?¡± ¡°Sociopaths¡­quite the word to use when you¡¯re also part of that world.¡± ¡°I¡¯m no princess, but there¡¯s a key difference between me and the mages out there. I¡¯m a witch.¡± That¡¯s right. Lorelei was a witch. A being of inherent power doomed to being ostracized. A girl like her forced to bear such a burden¡­something twisted inside Noelle just thinking about it, but she refused to let it show in her expression. ¡°My magic and myself¡­they¡¯re a package deal. Magic isn¡¯t some tool or weapon for me to use, it¡¯s an extension of my body. Just like how you can see, hear, touch, and smell the world I do the same with my power.¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°Besides Beth, the others are different. They know of magic as a tool created through the endeavors of generations of mages. I take it you know at least a little bit on how it works?¡± ¡°Levi told me it came form ¡®faith¡¯, whatever that means.¡± ¡°It means whatever those bastards think will happen, happens. If someone believes they can heal their wounds by spinning in a circle, it¡¯ll happen.¡± ¡°Is there really a problem with th-¡± ¡°But that¡¯s wrong.¡± Lorelei¡¯s eyes were glowing red as they bore a hole through Noelle. It was like a laser ablating away the layers and layers of nonsense to strike at the core of the matter. ¡°Those shitty mages aren¡¯t doing magic; they¡¯re rewriting the world as they desire. To cause phenomena to happen because you believe in it means you¡¯re rejecting the reality of all those who don¡¯t. You don¡¯t think you can heal yourself by spinning? Too bad. Go fuck yourself. Mages are people who ignore the wishes of others, the reality around them, just so they can selfishly change the world to match their personal faith. Seems pretty sociopathic to me.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°And this goes without saying, but someone who can stand a world like that is just as abnormal as they are, wouldn¡¯t you say?¡± ¡°¡­¡± No¡­ ¡°That¡¯s why I think you might be a threat. You¡¯re empty too. I thought it was a fluke, but you saw straight through my people clearing field at the university.¡± ¡°Your what?¡± ¡°When you spoke to me the other day. I used a spell to get people to ignore the bench I was on, yet you came right on over. For someone to pay enough attention to see through my trick¡­you must have no life to distract you, to weaken your attention. I know your sort, the type of person who gets wrapped up in our world, and it never ends well.¡± With the lecture concluded, Lorelei turned her attention towards the cookies, grabbing two and shoving them unceremoniously into her mouth. She had gotten worked up quite a bit while lecturing Noelle, the violent manner with which she ate indicating a frustrated desire to further express her displeasure with Noelle. Noelle remained quiet, unable to rebuke Lorelei¡¯s reasoning. In the white, undecorated apartment Lorelei was the sole sign of life, her judgement absolute. Noelle wanted nothing more than to escape the teen¡¯s glare, but there was nowhere for her to retreat to. If the present conversation was anything to go by, Lorelei wouldn¡¯t be happy unless Noelle moved back home with her tail between her legs. Back home to that non-life of hers. With the cookies finished off, Lorelei returned her attention to Noelle. No doubt a whole new level of chastisement was about to be borne into the world. Just as Lorelei opened her mouth there was a tap at the window. And another¡­. And another¡­ Noelle turned and was shocked to find five squirrels sitting on the windowsill all in a row. As four of them scratched at the window the final squirrel cocked its head in a ¡°follow me¡± gesture. Behind Noelle, Lorelei groaned. ¡°Looks like we¡¯ve been called out. Hurry up and get your shoes, they won¡¯t leave your place alone until you go along with them.¡± ¡°The squirrels? The squirrels want to talk to us?¡± Don¡¯t be stupid,¡± snorted Lorelei as she placed her coffee mug in the sink, ¡°they want us to visit the person who told them to fetch us. If you want to play around with magic then you¡¯d better get used to shit like this. Just follow them and don¡¯t ask questions. If it goes south, well, I¡¯ll be okay at least.¡± The Witches and the Stars (12): Talise of the Great Swamp The precursor to Levi¡¯s troubles appeared in the guise of a hyper intelligent squirrel. Well¡­that was probably an incorrect way to put it. The squirrel was indeed intelligent, seeing as how it knew exactly what to do to tear the attention of Levi¡¯s party away from their ice cream, but it was apparent the creature was not doing this without prompt. Clear as day, the squirrel was trying to direct them somewhere, and Levi would bet his bottom dollar that what or whoever awaited them there was the one instructing the squirrel to act how it was. Beth was delighted. Talking animals often appeared in books and cartoons, so some cheer from her was to be expected. Without Lorelei reining her in out of fear of exposure, the little girl released a wave of giggles as she skipped after the rodent. Oscar trailed behind her acting unperturbed. He was a tightly wound guy, so for him to be so relaxed meant he knew what they were walking into. At the very least, Levi¡¯s life wasn¡¯t in any immediate danger. Hopefully. And so, the animal continued onward, leading the procession in a manner uncharacteristic to its species. Squirrels were typically flighty and nervous, but this one was trotting around town like it was a dog. A few people noticed the odd sight of three people trailing the squirrel, but the group was able to come to a trailhead unperturbed. Whatever the squirrel wanted to show them, it was in here: the Cascadilla Gorge Trail. It was a scenic place located near the university which led to a waterfall. It was a great retreat from the bustle of the town and was a popular spot to visit. Yet the area was positively abandoned. No doubt some form of magical interference was warding off the uninvited. Levi could make out periodic carvings in the trees, but hadn¡¯t an inkling as to their identity. ¡°I¡¯m tired,¡± whined Beth as she plopped herself on the ground, ¡°and the air here feels funny.¡± ¡°You can feel it?¡± asked Levi. ¡°It¡¯s hard to move around, the air feels heavy. Somebody carry me!¡± Beth crossed her arms and eyed Levi insistency. Oscar clicked his tongue and continued into the trail, leaving Levi with the little witch. It was a sound tactical decision on Oscar¡¯s part, though he had probably pushed on out of annoyance. Beth was insanely powerful compared to the average mage, so doing something like giving her a piggyback ride was like exposing your neck to a tiger. On the other hand, she was probably strong enough to punch through whatever was warding the trail, so having her on your side could be a precaution if things went south. Plus, she was also a little girl. Being afraid of her¡­even I¡¯m starting to get disgusted with my own thinking. Levi crouched down with his back facing Beth. She let out an excited sequel before jumping on. With Beth¡¯s legs tucked through his arms and her arms wrapped his neck, Levi proceeded into the trail. As he walked further in he noticed more and more of the carvings. Sometimes they were words and sometimes they were pictures. The language used was unfamiliar to him and the pictures were odd as well, resembling four-legged animals with huge heads. It reminded him of the inaccurate sketch-work of a child. Whatever the carvings were, their affect was obvious even to him. There was a weight to the air which lent an ever so slight oppressive atmosphere to his surroundings. A normal human would mistake it for humidity, but Levi knew better. The area was unmistakably cloaked with some sort of miasma. ¡°Mr. Levi, what¡¯s it like being a bookstore man?¡± asked Beth. As she spoke she moved her hands away from his neck to lean them and her head on the top of his. ¡°Looking into your career path? Bit young for that.¡± ¡°Wellllll, you¡¯re magic like me, right? You could do magic instead of books.¡± ¡°I think we¡¯re a bit different in that regard.¡± ¡°Suh-pose-ed-elli,¡± said Beth, adorably attempting to get the word right, ¡°I¡¯m not allowed to do magic. That¡¯s what Lorelei tells me.¡± ¡°True. We all have skills we shouldn¡¯t show others. I got thrown in the slammer for demonstrating my knife throwing at a diner.¡± ¡°Heehee! For me it¡¯s because people are afraid of me,¡± she said, ¡°they¡¯re afraid of Lorelei too.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t imagine why.¡± ¡°That''s what I think! Lorelei is the best! I¡¯m not scared of her at all!¡± Beth continued to celebrate her sister as Levi made his way down the trail for the both of them. The wind blew ever so slightly, hitting his face in a pleasant way and rustling through the trees. The sounds of the leaves and Beth¡¯s voice were all that Levi had to accompany his own footsteps. In other words, there was nothing else to hear. The birds were silent, as were the squirrels, chipmunks, bugs, and whatever else lurked in Ithaca¡¯s woods. Either that, or they were gone. Something was telling Levi to turn back, some sort of animal instinct deep within him. It appeared this was a common sentiment between him and the wildlife cowed into silence. Whether it be due to an inability to press further in or a fear of doing so, the depths of the trail had become the domain of man and mysterious guiding squirrels alone. While the carefully installed guide rails along the path suggested a human touch, life had vanished from this place. A barrier powerful enough to not let even the smallest of mayflies eavesdrop. Levi was beginning to understand what was going on. Yes¡­this had her handiwork all over it.
Noelle was wound up due to her own foul mood and the blatant oppression of whatever barrier had been set down in the trail. Oscar was tapping his foot impatiently. He had arrived not too long ago and grumbled something about ¡°slow walkers¡± before leaning against a rock and crossing his arms. Lorelei was scowling, but she was always like that, so Noelle felt a bit dismissive of it. ¡°I thought you were watching Beth?¡± she had asked Oscar. All he had said to that was that the younger girl was being taken care of.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The only calm person was their presumed host. She was middle-aged, maybe a bit more, with graying black hair and a caramel complexion. Judging by her facial features she was Native American. There wasn¡¯t much notable about her besides her outfit, 60s hippy garb, which clashed wildly with her age. Or maybe it was appropriate instead? Noelle couldn¡¯t remember when the whole ¡°Peace & Love¡± thing was, well, a thing. ¡°Liking my digs, huh?¡± asked the woman as she winked at Noelle, ¡°Got ¡®em at Ross for half off!¡± It was the first thing she had said since the group had arrived. Wasn¡¯t this supposed to be some sort of magical summons? Who would care about clothes at a time like this? ¡°What¡¯s with the small talk? I take it you needed us for a reason,¡± said Noelle. ¡°Ah you¡¯re like that right out of the gate. So mean¡­¡± The woman sulked, ¡°No point in starting before Mr. Hero arrives.¡± ¡°Hero?¡± ¡°I¡¯m betting it all on him and throwing the dice. No way am I sorting this mess out.¡± ¡°What mess? You know about the monster?¡± Noelle asked. ¡°Hush. All has been made clear in this universe. One just needs to gain the proper perspective.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Also, I don¡¯t feel like explaining twice. The stragglers are nearly here, so we can get started soon.¡± Noelle looked behind her and noticed a man approaching with a little girl on his shoulders: Levi and Beth. ¡°This can¡¯t possibly be the ¡®Mr. Hero¡¯ you were-¡± The pair¡¯s arrival was met by a feral screech from Lorelei, who was perturbed upon noticing the piggyback ride Levi was giving Beth. She continued to complain and snip at them until Levi crouched down to let Beth get off. ¡°Pedo!¡± she barked, grabbing Beth¡¯s hands and dragging her away from Levi. ¡°You¡¯re so mean! Give me a break! I¡¯m already stressed about being stuck in this boundary!¡± he replied. ¡°I don¡¯t even know how it works! I hate not knowing!¡± ¡°How is that my problem you creeper?!¡± If Levi was the supposed hero he was certainly failing to live up to the hype. Noelle didn¡¯t want a guy who¡¯d let himself get berated by a little girl watching her back. Not that she needed it, she¡¯d crack this case yet. Though the company would be nice. ¡°What boundary?¡± asked Noelle, ¡±We didn¡¯t walk into that field from the other night again, it¡¯s not cold at all¡± The older woman spoke up. ¡°Oh no sweetie, today¡¯s spell is the work of yours truly.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Wellll?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to ask me how it works?¡± ¡°Huh? Oh, yeah. Go ahead.¡± ¡°Glad you asked! Ahhh, I admire the curiosity of the young! So the way my spell works is-¡° ¡°It¡¯s some Native American thing, can we get a move on already?¡± interjected Oscar. ¡°That¡¯s rude!¡± The woman puffed her cheeks, a downright childish gesture considering her age. ¡°We of the Cayuga tribe are quite familiar with Christianity, you know? I could¡¯ve decided to be a drag and use a boring Old World spell, but I wanted to show you something novel instead! You fuddy-duddies at the main office are so Eurocentric!¡± ¡°I want to know!¡± cheered Beth. ¡°Good! You see, little one, the tribes tell stories of a creature known as Naked Bear. It¡¯s skin is nigh impenetrable, so by designating this area as carrying properties of the Naked Bear¡¯s impenetrability, I created a barrier of sorts.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really get it. Lorelei just snaps her fingers when she wants to do something like that.¡± ¡°Being a witch is cheating!¡± Noelle tapped her foot as the bickering carried on. It was acceptable to her that Beth was dragging the argument on, but the older woman was showing a flagrant disregard for social grace. A quick glance to her side convinced Noelle that Oscar and Lorelei were experiencing similar levels of impatience. Levi had a blank look on his face and a nervous smile Seriously¡­what¡¯s up with that guy? ¡°Beth. Behave.¡± said Oscar. He turned to address the woman next. ¡°Not everyone here has worked with you. At least introduce yourself first.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± she said, straightening a hair that had come loose during her outburst with Beth. ¡°I¡¯m Talise, the Congregation-appointed Admin for the northeastern US.¡± ¡°Admin of what?¡± asked Lorelei. ¡°The ley lines of course! We can¡¯t let people use them willy-nilly!¡± ¡°Figures The Congregation would try to control that. All you guys want is to boss the rest of us around.¡± Lorelei rolled her eyes at Talise. ¡°Wait¡­ley lines?¡± asked Noelle. ¡°I thought that was just New Age bs.¡± ¡°Oh no. Not at all,¡± said Talise. ¡°There are lines of supernatural energy criss-crossing all over the place. Plan out the correct relay points and apply some magic and you can transport goods and people all over. Like a teleporter!¡± ¡°To be an administrator for something like that¡­sounds like you¡¯re a TSA agent with better marketing.¡± ¡°Well¡­there¡¯s more inaccurate comparisons I suppose¡­¡± ¡°Brag about your job later,¡± griped Oscar. ¡°Just because you¡¯re a higher rank doesn¡¯t mean you can just drag me all over the place. Why are we here?¡± Talise frowned, dejected. ¡°You¡¯re no fun. No use in trying with a crowd like you. I¡¯ll cut to the chase, I need you lot to clean up whatever¡¯s happening in town pronto.¡± ¡°What! That has nothing to do with us?!¡± Levi whined. ¡°I came here to open a bookstore, not fight people and chase monsters!¡± Noelle rolled her eyes. ¡°God! You¡¯re such a pansy! All this magical power and you want to do nothing with it?¡± ¡°Yes! That¡¯s normal! I¡¯m trying to find my calling here, and that doesn¡¯t include Congregation work. Have them do it!¡± ¡°That¡¯s a no-go,¡± replied Talise. ¡°The bigwigs have their hands full right now, I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll send an appreciable force here until things get¡­unmanageable.¡± ¡°Meaning what?¡± asked Oscar. ¡°The ley lines are acting odd. Actually, it¡¯s more like they aren¡¯t acting at all. The energy pulsing out of the town is like dark matter to me, I can¡¯t explain it. At best I can predict the flow by following outages in the energy grid.¡± ¡°As in the town¡¯s electricity?¡± Lorelei turned her attention to Talise, momentarily distracted from doting on Beth. ¡°No wonder you¡¯re the ley line administrator, that¡¯s not something any old mage can do.¡± ¡°I¡¯m the best of the best! I¡¯ve been told I¡¯m an ¡®unnatural¡¯ at sensing these things!¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t sound like a compliment¡­¡± ¡°Stay on topic,¡± said Oscar. ¡°Fine,¡± Talise cleared her throat before continuing. ¡°The energy running through Ithaca is¡­well¡­if I had to put a label on it I¡¯d call it anti-magic.¡± Lorelei, Oscar, and Levi snapped to attention. Beth carried on picking at the grass near her feet. Noelle had no background in the subject, so the notion that this piece of news was a big deal was nothing more than an assumption based on the others¡¯ reactions. ¡°If there¡¯s magic then there¡¯s also anti-magic. Who cares?¡± she said blithely, hoping to prompt an explanation on what exactly anti-magic is. ¡°We do,¡± said Levi. ¡°Magic is a product of the psyche, the collective unconscious. You could say that magic exists wherever life does as well. Even if only minutely, magic should cover every square inch of the planet. It can¡¯t just not be there.¡± ¡°Exactly,¡± replied Talise. ¡°My senses don¡¯t lie, something out there, something completely alien to me, is messing with the underlying magical structure of the region. This is a disaster in the making. I have my hands full just trying to keep my finger on the pulse of these things, if you guys don¡¯t figure out what¡¯s causing it then you can say goodbye to Ithaca, and New York state along with it.¡± A grim silence fell across the group. If the situation was really so dire then they had to act. She still remembered the images all over the news of Philadelphia. A few years back, some sort of infection spread across the city and tore it asunder. Some thought that it was an act of bio-terrorism, but the cause of the incident was still ill-defined. There were some who thought that it was a malicious act of magic, an escaped danger from the hidden world. She couldn¡¯t let something like that happen again. She was an officer. She upheld the law. She protected the people. If anyone could solve the mystery behind the monster and the mercenary, it would be her. She had to, or else¡­ What was this all for? The group continued to talk amongst themselves for awhile, but Noelle was too lost in thought to listen. Eventually they started walking away from Talise back towards the trail entrance. Noelle trudged along behind them, not even noticing that Levi had failed to accompany them. The Witches and the Stars (13): Green Gold The woods were still, Talise¡¯s spell continuing to prevent unwanted visitors from penetrating the area designated with the Naked Bear spell. Levi couldn¡¯t sense any intruders within the area either, but the immediate outer shell of the perimeter was a different story. Magic power tinged with bloodlust emanated toward the group, clear as day. Someone was trying to intimidate them. Oscar, Lorelei, and Talise had clearly noticed it alongside Levi, he could tell by a subtle shift in their attention. Noelle and Beth remained clueless. Noelle was a normal person uninitiated with magical combat while Beth was a child, the subtleties of mana detection weren¡¯t in their wheelhouse. It wasn¡¯t much to worry about. Based on the perpetrator¡¯s magical signature he wouldn¡¯t stand a chance against Oscar and Talise together, let alone Lorelei. No sane mage would dare take on a witch, even an adolescent one. So why was it Talise had asked Levi to stay behind? ¡°Nooooooooooo¡­,¡± whined Levi as he watched the group sans Talise dwindle from view. ¡°You know someone¡¯s out there, let me stay with them!¡± ¡°Sorry buddy, but I need someone to throw them off my scent. I have to stay here and balance the ley lines to try and keep this under control. You go out there and distract them for me, ¡®kay?¡± ¡°Make someone else do it!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯re qualified! This is something I know I can leave to you, so please? I have a feeling you¡¯ll be the man to resolve this whole thing.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t push your job off on me...¡± And so, Levi sulked off back into town, far behind the others and eminently vulnerable to attack.
Levi had yet to even make it outside Talise¡¯s boundary boundary that a figure stood in his path, but it was a white-haired girl instead of the unknown would-be assailant. ¡°Lorelei? Weren¡¯t you with the others?¡± ¡°I was, but I slipped away,¡± she replied, ¡°I don¡¯t need to carry out a ritual to cast illusion magic after all, so it was a simple matter.¡± ¡°Yeah, but why are you-¡° ¡°And I don¡¯t even need a spell to eavesdrop on you. What the hell was that back there?¡± Always suspicious of something, that Lorelei. Levi had known her for all of a few days, but the fact that he couldn¡¯t slip anything past her was already seared into his mind. ¡°Nothing important, don¡¯t worry about it.¡± A dismissive approach was the best he could manage here. Hoping she¡¯d drop it, Levi continued towards the trail entrance. ¡°Why would a coward like you walk into a fight like this?¡± Her voice was softer this time, less accusatory. ¡°No reason.¡± ¡°Then let me do it.¡± Levi was taken aback. Lorelei had no reason to stick her neck out for him.Even with her overwhelming magical power, there was no need for her to engage in combat. ¡°I can win this easily. You know that.¡± Her voice wavered a bit saying this. Levi didn¡¯t miss it. Despite all that power and incredulity, she was still just a kid deep down. Witches were best avoided, odds were high her freak outlier status had insulated her from the world of life and death magical battles. ¡°But you don¡¯t,¡± he replied. ¡°Excuse me?¡± ¡°Lorelei¡­hurry on back to Beth. Doesn¡¯t matter how strong you are, it would be distasteful to have someone young as you dealing with this.¡± ¡°You¡­¡± ¡°Go on, get out of here. Let me be an adult for once.¡± Lorelei laughed. It started low and quiet, but eventually moved towards a fit of giggles. ¡°You¡¯re a funny guy, fighting so a dreaded witch like me doesn¡¯t have to. I think¡­¡± She tapped her foot twice and her body began to turn to mist. ¡°¡­I may just change my mind about you.¡± And with that, Lorelei dissipated into the woods, back to her foster sister and the safety of the group.
By the time Levi had made his way out of the trail the sun was well on its way to setting. A wave of red light washed over the surroundings, lending the air an eerie glow. But it was different for the man waiting for Levi. On him, the light looked positively crimson.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. He was a wiry man with a thin and gaunt face. He wore a normal t-shirt and jeans, but the casual looked was marred by the countless belts holding knives wrapped around him. ¡°Fucking finally!¡± he exclaimed. ¡°About time you got out of that damn boundary. Adrian told me to rough one of you up as a warning, but I¡¯m so pissed I might just kill you instead!¡± ¡°So the big man isn¡¯t here? Good news for me,¡± Levi breathed a sigh of relief. Adrian¡¯s internal control of his magic was decently potent, even if Levi could outmaneuver him and get a hit in there was a good chance he¡¯d inflict no damage. Facing off against someone different meant there was a chance the new assailant could be weaker. A small blessing. ¡°I¡¯m just as good, you punk. Caleb ¡°The Claw¡± they call me,¡± he popped a knife from its leather sheath and tossed it up and down casually, a clear indication of skill. ¡°That¡¯s your merc name?¡± ¡°Yeah! Hehehe, pissing your pants knowing you¡¯re going up against a bonafide mercenary?¡± ¡°Nope,¡± said Levi, ¡°It¡¯s a job after all. Even I can try it out once.¡± It was a bluff, of course. His palms were sweaty and his heart rate had been slowly rising ever since parting with Talise. Battling a mercenary may have been preferable to a serial killer or a vicious monster, but it was still a bad situation to be in, and that was assuming that those things were mutually exclusive when it came to Caleb. ¡°Then you must know that nothing I do to you is meant to be personal? Hehehe¡­¡± ¡°We all need to make money somehow.¡± Caleb was silent a moment before breaking down into a cackling fit. ¡°You¡¯re a funny guy, you know that?! It¡¯s nice to meet someone who isn¡¯t pissing their pants at the sight of me.¡± Caleb punctuated the end of his sentence by throwing the knife he had been playing with. The throw had been enhanced with magic to increase the speed, but it was still slower than it could¡¯ve been. It was an exploratory poke, meant only to gauge if Levi was even a good enough opponent to dodge it. Levi moved his head to the side just in time and the knife flew past, embedding itself in a thick tree. His heartbeat pounded in his ears as he tried to look behind him to catch a glimpse of the knife while also keeping his eyes on Caleb. ¡°Not bad,¡± muttered Caleb. ¡°I figured if you were able to be so cavalier about my profession you¡¯d have some skill to back that attitude up.¡± The mercenary fluttered his hands about before snapping them to his sides-a new blade between each finger. ¡°Now¡­dance for me or die, you stupid bastard!¡± Silver streaks sprung from Caleb and rocketed through the air. Nearly a dozen knives closed in on Levi, packed too close together for him to wave between but too far apart for him to sidestep. Levi did the only thing he could and dropped to the ground. The knives passed him by overhead, but Caleb was already winding up for another throw. A new knife streaked out, and Levi barely lifted his head before a knife plunged into the ground where his face had been a moment earlier. Levi began to push himself up, but Caleb had already restocked his hands with a knife each. One of the new knives flew forward, aimed straight for Levi¡¯s forehead. Even if he managed to get back on his feet, the knife would pierce through his chest instead. Doing the only thing he could, Levi tore the knife that had missed him earlier from the ground and swung it upwards as quickly as he possibly could. The two knives collided and fell to the ground. Levi leapt towards Caleb as the other man was pulling back for another throw. Whoever attacked first would be the winner. Caleb thrust his hand forward and the knife flew. It was over. But¡­ He had miscalculated. Levi was faster than Caleb had expected, and the knife hit Levi in the shoulder before it had a chance to curve farther inward and do fatal damage. ¡°Ooooooohhhhh!¡± screamed Levi, cocking back his fist. Caleb took a step back, but Levi was already on him. Levi¡¯s fist shot out like a cannonball, plowing straight into Caleb¡¯s face. Levi had enhanced the power of his punch with magic and felt as his fist easily broke Caleb¡¯s nose, sending blood and spittle everywhere. The mercenary lurched backward and crumpled into a heap, concussed and down for the count. It was over. Then Levi¡¯s body gave out. His legs collapsed, sending him spiraling to the floor. Pain shot through his stomach, his head, his limbs. The agony was so great that all he could do was stay on the ground and clutch himself as he soaked his clothes with sweat. The scent of rust filled the air, and as Levi glanced over his hands he noticed the reason why. He was sweating blood. ¡°Heh¡­heh heh heh...¡± Caleb chuckled faintly to himself as he began to rise, feet wobbly and unsteady. ¡°Letting yourself get hit like that¡­didn¡¯t your parents tell you not to take candy from strangers? It¡¯s the same principal, you know?¡± ¡°W-what?¡± ¡°The knife, idiot! Take a closer look!¡± Still in agony, Levi twisted his head towards one of the fallen knives. It would¡¯ve been faster to tear the one in his shoulder out, but he didn¡¯t want to risk the blood loss. Looking over the knife, he noticed a glistening substance, some sort of ooze, coating the blade. There was a scent as well. He could barely make it out over the smell of blood, but it was there for sure. The blades were coated with olive oil. Of course¡­ In Jerusalem, a garden once existed at the foot of the Mount of Olives. Olive groves littered the place, and the location itself was named for the product that came from them: Gethsemane or ¡°Oil Press.¡± The Garden of Gethsemane¡­the place where Jesus Christ went through agony before being betrayed by Judas. ¡°Damn it,¡± sputtered Levi. ¡°You coated the blades in olive oil so you could cast a spell that causes the target to go through ¡®The Agony in the Garden.¡¯ This whole thing was a setup for a New Testament spell!¡± ¡°Great, isn¡¯t it? A little bit of olive oil and even a tough guy like you goes down like a kitten.¡± Caleb leered over Levi now. If he wanted, it would be a simple matter to crush the other man¡¯s skull. ¡°This is a battlefield chump. Always gotta be looking out for traps and poisons, you hear?¡± ¡°So now what? Finish me off while you still have the chance?¡± asked Levi. Caleb¡¯s spell worked by defining the target as Jesus Christ and inflicting the biblical agony on it, it wasn¡¯t something most could keep up for very long. If Levi had to guess Caleb¡¯s magical aptitude from how he handled the knives, it was safe to assume the pain would dissipate in ten minutes or less. ¡°I told you, didn¡¯t I? This is just a warning. Be sure to tell your stupid friends how scary I am and that they should back off,¡± Caleb came in closer. ¡°Hmmm...it was bugging me earlier, but I swear I¡¯ve seen you before¡­¡± The mercenary deliberated a moment before turning the other way. ¡°Whatever. Just stay down and skedaddle once you can move again. Sniff around our business after this and I¡¯ll kill you, got that?¡± Caleb began to walk away. Soon his footsteps faded along with the remaining sunlight, and Levi was left alone on the ground with no choice but to wait for his aching body to recover. ¡°Trust me,¡± he said to himself. ¡°I¡¯m getting out of here soon as I can.¡± The Witches and the Stars (14): Crosswalks and Cars Noelle was special, this was known very early on. At seven months she had stopped babbling and begun to speak. By the time she was three she was reading grade school novels. While her parents were always fighting like wild animals stuck in a cage with one another they could both agree that their daughter was gifted. The perfect future lawyer, they called her. The other children disagreed. Noelle was good for cheating off of, but that was the limit. Her classmates wanted to talk Disney, not Tolkien; listen to pop, not Debussy. Overly analytic, overly critical, overly pedantic, and overly lonely, Noelle drifted through life with no friends or prospects for them. ¡°Star-touched girl,¡± that was the comforting term her grandmother used to describe her. ¡°You¡¯ll do great things one day, I know it,¡± is what she told Noelle. Noelle¡¯s older sister, Beatrice, was encouraging as well. Hell, almost everything Noelle read or listened to came on Beatrice¡¯s recommendation. If anyone was to blame for her interests, it was Beatrice. But life never remains constant and eventually the two of them exited the stage. A grandmother passing was a sad but ordinary occurrence. Beatrice¡¯s death, however, was harder to stomach. Nobody ever expects a beautiful mid-twenties girl to turn up dead out of the blue. Needless to say, her parents weren¡¯t much help with that stress.In fact, the whole event pushed them into overdrive, snipping at each other more and more and pushing even more lofty expectations onto Noelle. Her career path as a lawyer was an unspoken absolute. They had hated Beatrice¡¯s decision to become a detective and went to any length to encourage Noelle off that path. Her reprieve came in high school, where she finally made a friend-Emily. It was a new experience, but Noelle knew it would end. She would ship off to college eventually, destined to become the lawyer her parents always wanted her to be. So she went. Off to Princeton University to pursue her predetermined life. And then she met Andrew
¡°Why are you still following us? Hey! Are you even listening?¡± A girl¡¯s voice dragged Noelle out of her head. She had been walking behind Oscar, Lorelei, and Beth absentmindedly to the point she overshot her turn and had travelled all the way to the girls¡¯ home. ¡°Thinking about all that stuff with Talise?¡± asked Oscar, ¡°Makes sense. I told you magic brought nothing but trouble. Just go home and forget about it. Leave this to the professionals.¡± Noelle put on her best nonplussed expression. ¡°I am a professional.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a little girl with a badge. Just give it a rest. Even Levi is being held back by you.¡± Noelle felt her hackles raise but held back the urge to retort. Oscar¡¯s temper was probably just running high after learning the entire state of New York was at risk. The prospect of another 9/11 or Philadelphia bio-terror incident would make anyone snippy. Oscar was probably racking his brain for a solution this very moment. Honestly, saying Levi was getting held back...what could that guy do that Oscar and the witches couldn¡¯t? Not that Noelle thought they should get little girls involved. The front door to the house opened and Dr. Bismark poked his head through. ¡°Quite the crew,¡± he whistled dramatically. ¡°Uh, yeah,¡± Lorelei tilted her head, jumbling up a suitable lie from its depths, ¡°We just kinda ran into each other.¡± ¡°I thought we were gonna save the town like heroes?¡± asked Beth. ¡°No, don¡¯t be silly,¡± said Oscar. ¡°That was just pretend! Remember? We were playing a game.¡± Noelle saw him clench his fist behind his back, out of Dr. Bismark¡¯s sight. There was no benefit in Oscar breaking kayfabe and cluing Dr. Bismark in to monsters and witches, ¡°Well, I appreciate you guys walking the girls back again. It¡¯s become quite the habit, hahaha!¡± Dr. Bismark slapped the door frame, causing a loud boom. ¡°I¡¯m actually just about to go check something at the university lab, dinner¡¯s on the table girls.¡± ¡°Home made?¡± asked Lorelei. ¡°Chinese.¡± ¡°Tch! You can¡¯t just feed Beth fast food all the time!¡± ¡°Cheer up Lorelei,¡± chirped Beth. ¡°I¡¯ll give you my egg roll if you¡¯re nice!¡± ¡°Like I¡¯d let you eat that fried crap in the first place.¡± Lorelei¡¯s gripe chased after Beth as the younger girl skipped through the doorway, with Lorelei herself trudging through only a few seconds later. With the girls inside, Noelle was left on the porch with Oscar and Dr. Bismark. ¡°Sad to say, but I only bought enough for those two.¡± Bismark laughed at his joke to no one in particular. Noelle realized far too late that she should¡¯ve joined in with him as a courtesy. Now he would just feel awkward hanging around his unreceptive audience. ¡°Well, see ya,¡± said Oscar. By the time Noelle turned her head to look at him he had turned his back and made it partway across the street. Now Noelle was alone with a man she knew even less about than she did Oscar.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. She admired the pithy he had shown just now, but he could¡¯ve helped her out of this bind a bit more. ¡°Hmmm...do you live near the university, by any chance?¡± Bismark asked. ¡°You should stick to picking up girls your own age,¡± replied Noelle on auto-pilot. Another social misstep to add to the list. Dr. Bismark gave a cheery laugh in response. ¡°I need to drive to the university, so I¡¯m willing to give you a ride that far. Take a break and save on some walking, officer.¡±
Noelle stared out the car window absentmindedly as porch lights flickered by. There was an inviting sense to those lights, like they were welcoming you to come inside their respective buildings. Noelle¡¯s parents always had her check to make sure the light was on when they were expecting evening company. Were all those people waiting for somebody else? Naturally, she knew they weren¡¯t inviting her; it was just a thought. She glanced to her left, just barely catching a sight of Dr. Bismark¡¯s profile in her peripheral vision. Against her better judgement she had accepted his offer for a ride despite knowing men were nothing but libido-driven, disgusting so-and-so¡¯s. ¡°Hopefully you¡¯re not driving me out to the middle of nowhere to have your way with me.¡± Dr. Bismarck sputtered then was silent for a moment before answering. ¡°I¡¯m always telling Lorelei there¡¯s a fine line between gallows humor and sheer bad taste. The two of you need to clean up your mouths.¡± ¡°Telling me what to do, daddy-o?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t call me that. I already have a daughter. Scratch that, I have three counting Lorelei and Beth.¡± ¡°Three? Oh...right. Sorry.¡± Dr. Bismarck slowed as a couple came into view walking the opposite way, the girl on the sidewalk and the boy on the shoulder. Looking up at the car¡¯s headlights, the boy did a short skip and got in line behind his partner. ¡°They died around here. They were walking back home, actually. My wife and daughter that is.¡± Dr. Bismark gripped the steering wheel ever so tighter as he spoke, ¡°It was a hit and run. Ever since then, I¡¯ve never been comfortable with the idea of people walking this road at night.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Nah, don¡¯t I¡¯m sorry to have brought it up. I¡¯m quite the mood killer. Besides, life¡¯s much better now. Lorelei and Beth could give any man hope.¡± ¡°Yet they¡¯re at home, and you¡¯re out here,¡± she chided. ¡°Hahaha! You got me! Even with all that I still drive off when there¡¯s work to be done.¡± Bismark¡¯s grip on the wheel eased. Even Noelle could lighten the mood sometimes. She gave herself a mental pat on the back. Although, she didn¡¯t really mind what he had been saying. Something extremely painful and life changing had happened to him, and yet, he kept on living and giving back. A good person...that¡¯s what he was. Better than her at least. ¡°So...what project has you driving to work in the middle of the night?¡± Noelle let herself relax a bit, stretching out in the passenger seat. ¡°It¡¯s a bit embarrassing, but...it¡¯s called TWE.¡± ¡°I fail to see how that¡¯s embarrassing.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure the only one who knows this is me, but I¡¯ll let you in on it. You see, when I was submitting the project name to my supervisor...I fell asleep and my head hit the keyboard. The name¡¯s an accident.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°It was supposed to be called E-Engine. Can you believe it? Now it¡¯s TWE!¡± ¡°E-Engine? So it¡¯s an eco project?¡± ¡°Hmmhmmmhmmm,¡± Bismark chuckled to himself, a gleam in his eye. ¡°It¡¯s a bit more sophisticated than that. Have you heard of Maxwell¡¯s Demon?¡± ¡°Eh? Maxi dress?¡± ¡°No, Maxwell¡¯s demon.¡± ¡°Maxi Pad?¡± ¡°Stop! I know you heard me the first time! I¡¯m old now! I¡¯m middle-aged! I can¡¯t keep up with your comedy routine!¡± ¡°Then no,¡± said Noelle, ¡°I don¡¯t know what this Maxwell¡¯s Demon is. Some magic story?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a common thought experiment in theoretical physics.¡± ¡°Not something a pre-law student like I was would deal with.¡± ¡°That¡¯s no issue, we can¡¯t all know everything. You know how when you put ice in your drink it starts as cold ice and warm liquid but eventually the ice melts and you¡¯re left with a slightly cooler liquid? That¡¯s the second law of thermodynamics at work. The amount of entropy in an isolated system can¡¯t decrease, so areas of differing energy will reach an equilibrium.¡± ¡°I know that much. Even I took high school physics.¡± Noelle ran her fingers through her hair with a flourish. ¡°That¡¯s just the primer,¡± said Bismark, ¡°In the Maxwell¡¯s Demon thought experiment, a chamber of cool particles and hot particles are connected by a door to another room. The demon opens the door fast enough to only let the hot particles through, thereby leaving the hot and cool particles in separate rooms. One room will heat up and one will cool down, rather than approaching equilibrium the temperatures are separate. This decreases entropy, you see?¡± ¡°Not at all.¡± ¡°Haha! Well I am dumping a lot on you at once!¡± said Bismark, ¡°In real life, this wouldn¡¯t decrease entropy because the demon would expend energy opening and closing the door. The system would still reach a state of equilibrium. That¡¯s why I enjoy the terminology of calling the facilitator of the theory a demon. Only something fantastical could cause such a thermodynamic effect. You almost wish demons were real!¡± Dr. Bismark continued to mutter and chuckle to himself over the thought experiment as Noelle chewed over what he had told her. The idea was all well and good, yet¡­ ¡°What¡¯s the point of this project then?" ¡°Try extrapolating the idea a bit. Maxwell¡¯s Demon facilitates free particle exchange. In other words, a perpetual motion machine. The theoretical construct implies an infinite source of clean energy.¡± ¡°If it works...which it doesn¡¯t. You admit that yourself.¡± ¡°Yes, the project doesn¡¯t work. Even trying to produce energy as cleanly as possible TWE keeps on having all these anomalous faults. That¡¯s why I¡¯m going in tonight. The grant review board¡¯s swinging by next week, I need something to show for it.¡± The car slowed as Dr. Bismark turned into one of Cornell¡¯s many lots. ¡°I¡¯d take you all the way, but I¡¯m in a rush.¡± He motioned towards a jacket in the backseat. ¡°Can you hand me that? The AC in the lab is total overkill.¡± Noelle handed him the jacket before opening her door and stepping out. Dr. Bismark gave her a short wave before jogging off towards the building which housed his lab. Noelle watched him get farther and farther away with a slight smile. It was nice to talk to good people every once in a while. She kept on watching until he disappeared indoors before turning to face the night and the rest of her walk to her apartment with no porchlight. The Witches and the Stars (15): The Town Where the Lamplights Went Out Having a boyfriend was a first for Noelle. She hadn¡¯t even gotten along with a boy before, let alone date one, but by the end of September her first semester her and Andrew were the talk of the dorm. ¡°Those two...can you really believe it?¡± ¡°He¡¯s so cute too. I never would¡¯ve guessed he¡¯d go for that sarcastic bitch.¡± All of the chatter and rumours surrounding their relationship failed to dissuade her. In fact, she doubled down. Once November rolled around he had already come up to meet her parents for Thanksgiving (they approved of him strongly, mostly because his family was from money) and Noelle stayed at his place back in Jersey during the holidays. They carried on and once fall the next year started they moved in together. It was a blissful three and a half years before it fell apart. It all started because of a small misstep. He had let someone upload an image to social media he shouldn¡¯t have. Andrew was quick to have it taken down, but it was too late. While Noelle disliked following people online, her old friend Emily was a different matter. The woman Andrew had been with, and what they had done together, was quickly unveiled. Women, actually. It wasn¡¯t just one time. And there she was. Single, one friend states away, and the prospect of multiple years of law school drudgery looming over her. She needed to escape somehow; there was no way she could go on like this. Not with her nothing of a life. And then¡­
An owl whinied in the distance, prompting Noelle to look outward. As she did the street light she was under shut off and on again, all in under a second. Noelle froze in place, surprised about being plunged into darkness and discombobulated from how quickly it had ended. She had seen street lights fail to stay on before,but they had always flickered. The orange glow of the streetlight¡¯s sodium bulb hadn¡¯t even faded, it had slammed to being off as if all the electricity was sucked from it instantly. As she pondered this the light changed from on to off again. She could hear a bang as this happened. Noelle thought it was a weird notion, but it sounded like something was moving inside the electricity itself. Her attention shifted to a flash in her peripheral vision, the same phenomenon had just happened to the light farther down the street. And again, with a light farther on. And again¡­ The lights were turning on and off in sequence, travelling down the street before the event occured over again. It was like an airplane landing strip, only instead of directing a plane it was a route for electricity to flow in. Noelle chose to follow this guide in the night. She took off at a light jog, going in the direction the lights were flowing. She took a left at the corner, then another as she reached the next street. Before she knew it she was at an intersection. Light flows were coming from multiple routes now, all terminating at the same lamp with a slumped body underneath it. Alarmed, Noelle sprinted over. Beneath the light was an unconscious girl. She was breathing lightly, as if asleep. Judging from her appearance Noelle believed her to be a university student. A harsh buzzing sound came from above them. Noelle looked up, the streetlight hanging over her head growing brighter and brighter as the light streams converged on it. The light was positively blinding now, its glow illuminating the street as if it was day. There was a shower of sparks as the light burst from within. Noelle threw her body over the unconscious girl, shielding her from a rain of glass and detritus from the now destroyed arc tube. Once Noelle was convinced the danger was gone, she lifted her body. The whole area had been plunged in darkness. The girl had recovered as well, now standing in front of Noelle with a blank look on her face. Noelle¡¯s blood froze at the sight of her. This shouldn¡¯t have been possible. Even though the person in front of her looked like the university girl she had spotted earlier, it felt terribly wrong. The reason why was simple. How could the girl be beneath and in front of Noelle at the same time? Noelle stood to her full height. At this point she was well-aware what it meant when something appeared human but felt totally wrong. The creature was here. It stared at Noelle from the girl¡¯s eyes. What it made of the scene was a complete mystery. Did it remember Noelle from their previous encounters? Would it grab her? Would it disappear? What about it was threatening the town to the extent Talise warned? None of that was answered. Instead, it opened its mouth and cried the same thing it had to Noelle in the alley. ¡°hELp mE!!!!!!¡±This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. It raised its arm towards Noelle. She braced herself, prepared to dive to the ground if the damned thing made any sudden movements. The thing¡¯s hand slowly began to discolor, shifting from pink to black as it approached Noelle. She stood strong, cautious to not do anything that would trigger the creature to lash out and grab her. The fingers began to stretch, their prior human appearance discarded completely in favor of becoming black tendrils, crawling ever closer. Noelle did nothing as they reached her body. The tentacles caressed her face and shoulders, exploring her as if she was some archaeological find instead of a living thing. ¡°YoU...cAN...hELp?¡± The creature did nothing more than feel Noelle out and let its query stand. ¡°Help,¡± it had asked for that before as well. Noelle hadn¡¯t given the words weight before. Out of that thing¡¯s mouth they may as well be white noise. A preamble to a grisly end at the hands of some bizarre, eldritch thing. ¡°It can¡¯t be...you¡¯re...actually asking me to help you?¡± The thing stood still, staring in response. ¡°Well then...what¡¯s wrong?¡± she choked out nervously. Air passed through the creature¡¯s lips as it felt out the words it wanted to convey. A moment went by as it mulled them over. A twitch through its elongated finger alerted Noelle that it had come to some form of conclusion. ¡°CaP...tUReD¡­¡± Something whizzed past Noelle¡¯s face too quickly for her to process. She froze up, staring straight ahead at the monster. It remained still, staring perplexedly at its hand. What were once elongated tendrils had been whittled down to nubs. Noelle slowly turned her head to where whatever had flown past her had gone. There was a tree 25 yards away with something stuck to its thick trunk. She squinted, trying to focus in the dark to make out what had happened. ¡°W-what?!¡± The tendrils were nailed to the tree by a knife. It must have severed them from the creature¡¯s body as it traveled mere inches from her face. ¡°Eh? Hey Adrian...isn¡¯t this the chick you described earlier?¡± Shocked, Noelle faced where the new voice had come from. There were two men standing in the darkness. One she did not recognize. He was slim and wore a gaudy outfit that looked more like a wall mount for knives than a person. The other man she was all too familiar with. They had met a few nights before, when he had thrown Levi around like he was nothing and had only been driven off by Lorelei¡¯s interference. Standing there in the night wearing a jacket that looked just a bit too warm for the season was the mercenary, Adrian. ¡°You sure like to stick your nose where it doesn¡¯t belong, girl.¡± said Adrian crossing his arms with a huff. ¡°You should reconsider doing so. This is above your head.¡± ¡°Forget that! I gave the warning when I took out that dumb looking mage earlier! We should kill her for disobeying our instructions to stay away!¡± cried the smaller man. ¡°Use your head Caleb,¡± replied Adrian, ¡°You just got back from delivering the warning to him. He¡¯s probably still unconscious. It wouldn¡¯t be very sporting to punish this girl for failing to heed a warning she hasn¡¯t heard yet.¡± ¡°W-warning?¡± Noelle felt a horrible oppressive weight drop into the pit of her stomach. ¡°You can¡¯t be talking about-¡± ¡°Your brown-haired friend,¡± replied Adrian. ¡°It¡¯s funny,¡± said Caleb, ¡°That guy looked familiar. I swear I¡¯ve seen his face before somewhere.¡± ¡°Worry about that later. We have a job to do.¡± Adrian took a few steps forward, making a beeline towards the unconscious university girl. ¡°Stay back!¡± cried Noelle. ¡°Or what?¡± Adrian continued his approach, a low chuckle springing from his throat. ¡°You should know by now you¡¯re powerless to stop me. I was sure to look into your background after you oh so rudely got in my way before. Normal non-magic human, through and through. I could snap you like a twig.¡± ¡°I...I can try!¡± Adrian stopped his approach and began to dig through his coat pocket. ¡°You don¡¯t even have your gun this time; not that you have the guts to pull the trigger in the first place.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know that!¡± ¡°You failed to before. I know your type, girl. You think you have what it takes but you don¡¯t, so give it up. You don¡¯t have the killer instinct for this fight.¡± Adrian¡¯s hand emerged from his pocket, producing a small packet. In the dim light Noelle could barely make out the large bolded words printed along the side, AMMONIA INHALANT. In other words, smelling salts. He began his approach anew. Noelle didn¡¯t protest this time. He was right, she couldn¡¯t do anything. Thinking she could tackle this mystery, the monster, Adrian...it was pure foolishness. She was an observer, someone who wouldn¡¯t influence the outcome in the slightest. Next to Oscar, Lorelei, Levi...she was nothing. This wasn¡¯t a fact she could escape. It followed her through life, just as it always did. Adrian crouched down and brought the smelling salts to the university girl¡¯s face. It was a defenseless position that exposed his open back to Noelle, yet he gave her not the slightest bit of his attention. Noelle being unable to impede him was a cold hard fact. The wrinkles on his jacket moved as he shifted his body as if to silently mock Noelle for her powerlessness. The smelling salts took effect and the university girl began to stir. As she was roused back to consciousness the monster grew agitated and began to yelp. ¡°H-hElP!¡± Its body grew pale as it cried out. Visibly slowing, it turned its attention to Noelle before coming to a stop completely. ¡°nOoOo¡­,¡± it groaned as it collapsed into dust. It was gone again, just like last time. ¡°I¡¯m freaking sick of this thing breaking out and forming psychic links with the townspeople,¡± spat Caleb, ¡°I¡¯m a merc. I want to kill shit not go around waking up these idiots.¡± Adrian shook his head as he got back to his feet. The girl was asleep again. Noelle hadn¡¯t noticed, but he must have done something to knock her out right after waking her. ¡°Consider yourself lucky only small pieces of it have been leaking out. Can you imagine if we had to take on the main body? I never want to go through that again,¡± said Adrian. He walked back to Caleb and continued on even further. Caleb soon followed and the pair melded into the night. Just before Noelle lost sight of them Adrian sent one more comment her way. ¡°Make yourself useful and get that girl home safe and sound. It¡¯s the least an officer like you should be capable of.¡± The night carried on as if nothing had even happened as Noelle stood there, dazed, her spirit crushed into a million tiny pieces. The Witches and the Stars (16): A Step Off the Precipice There was an explosion of rambunctious energy from across the plaza as Brue tried to wrangle some trouble makers. Supposedly, Ho Plaza was an area of Cornell¡¯s campus for students to congregate and was the occasional site of protests. Today, however, the only people making any noise were a group of religious zealots. Noelle was familiar with the type from her time at Princeton. Every so often religious groups would show up on campus with some signs and a megaphone and prophetize on how all the students would be going to hell once they died. Noelle viewed it as wasted effort on their parts. The religious students already attended services while the non-religious milled about doing their thing and committing undoubtedly countless acts of sodomy. The whole dog and pony show was a collective waste of time for all parties involved. Today was no different. Campus security was having trouble convincing these self-styled preachers to leave and had called in some Ithaca police to scare them straight. ¡°You really need to leave! It¡¯s your right to protest, but that doesn¡¯t mean you can harass the student body!¡± Brue argued. ¡°These kids aren¡¯t safe! Angels walk amongst us friend! It can¡¯t be long until the end now! This world is done for by the end of the year, mark the Lord¡¯s words!¡± And so it went on and on. The group wasn¡¯t willing to leave without a fight and Brue wasn¡¯t willing to go through with charging them with anything, his harassment threats a paper tiger act. This would take awhile. Noelle had no energy for policing today. While she was feeling lethargic in general there was a much larger reason. That being, she didn¡¯t deserve to be an officer in the first place. Just the night before she had come face to face with the beast and the people threatening the town and done nothing. They went about their business as if she was a rock with no power to affect anything. The only halfway useful thing she had accomplished was escorting the university girl home after everything was said and done (to her, the entire encounter had been nothing more than an alcohol induced blackout). She wasn¡¯t good for anything so she wouldn¡¯t do anything. Noelle stood by as Brue argued with the group. She¡¯d leave the police work for the police officers. As for Noelle, she didn¡¯t know what she should be doing. The argument between Brue and the protestors carried on.
¡°What¡¯s up? You¡¯re unexpectedly meek today,¡± said Brue. They were in his squad car now. It had taken a while to get the group to disperse but even they had to eat it seems. ¡°I¡¯m the same as always,¡± Noelle replied. ¡°So curt¡­¡± ¡°See? That means everything¡¯s normal.¡± ¡°No. Before you were mean. Now you just seem depressed,¡± said Brue, ¡°I¡¯ve seen a lot of different people during my time on the force, I know how to read folks by now. More importantly, I¡¯m married. I know when a lady is down in the dumps but won¡¯t admit it.¡± ¡°So what? Looking to get promoted to detective?¡± ¡°Hahaha! Not for the pay those guys get! I have a mortgage you know?¡± Brue¡¯s laughter died down, but he refused to grant Noelle the gift of silence. ¡°So what¡¯s up? Having reservations about the job?¡± ¡°How did y-¡° ¡°It¡¯s written all over your face. Policing is never what rookies make it out to be. Some think they¡¯ll do nothing but write parking tickets while others think they¡¯ll just grow a new personality and become John McClaine overnight. Reality¡¯s somewhere in the middle.¡± ¡°¡­¡± He had her dead to rights. Seen through by such a goofy guy¡­Noelle wasn¡¯t as cool as she thought herself to be. ¡°I came here to run away. Policing¡­it was just a half-assed attempt to shake my life up,¡± she admitted to Brue, ¡°I was supposed to be an attorney. That¡¯s what my parents wanted anyways.¡± ¡°So why¡¯d you change your path?¡± Brue¡¯s voice was almost nurturing. ¡°My boyfriend cheated on me. Stupid, right? But I didn¡¯t know what to do after that. I did everything with him for years, y¡¯know? When we broke up and all I had in front of me was years of law school¡­I couldn¡¯t take it. I was qualified to be a cop and I thought¡­I thought maybe it¡¯d be dynamic or something. That every day could be different and have something to show me.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m a fraud.¡± Brue scratched his head. ¡°There¡¯s something you should know¡­nobody knows what they¡¯re getting into when they start a job. Whether or not you¡¯re a fraud¡­that can¡¯t be decided so quickly.¡± ¡°How would you know? Stop trying to cheer me up.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not trying to cheer you up, I just want you to gain some perspective.¡± The car hit a pothole. Brue was cut off by his own yelp in surprise. ¡°Whoa¡­scary! Look, I didn¡¯t always work in Ithaca. About four years back I was doing the beat in Philadelphia. I don¡¯t think I have to say any more about that, do I?¡± He didn¡¯t.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. A little over four years ago there was a horrible bioterror incident in Philadelphia, everyone knew that. An unknown pathogen with a crazy transmission rate was released in central Philadelphia and wreaked havoc. Apparently, everyone who was infected went positively mad as if they were rabid and attacked their fellow man. There were even some photos and videos of some totally twisted mutated looking people, but they were later dismissed as a hoax taking advantage of the situation to gain attention. The military was quick to step in and quarantine the city until the virus burned itself out, but the cost in lives was extraordinary. 9/11 looked like a warm up compared to what happened in Philly, it was more like a natural disaster than a terror attack. Worse yet, nobody ever took credit for the incident. The only thing the US could do in response was heavily militarize metro police forces, filling them to the brim with ex-military and mercenaries. Hell, the whole reason Noelle was in Ithaca in the first place was because the rapid change in policing made it too hard to get a job in the city. ¡°It was terrifying,¡± said Brue in reminiscence, ¡°Even now my memory¡¯s a haze. I think I blocked it out because it was too traumatic.¡± ¡°Sounds horrible¡­¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t stay in Philadelphia after that. My friends were all desperate to find out who did it, but I went job hunting instead. Eventually I moved up to Ithaca with my family.¡± Brue sighed. ¡°I did that because I knew I didn¡¯t have what it takes to handle situations like that. But up here¡­up here I do all sorts of things. Solving robberies, breaking up fights, and sorting out all kinds of miscellaneous trouble. I like to think that I¡¯m still helping out in my own, little way.¡± Noelle looked at him. His face was solemn but there was a strength there she hadn¡¯t realized before. ¡°Don¡¯t quit just yet. Maybe you¡¯ll find somewhere you can make a difference. That¡¯s all I¡¯m saying.¡± Noelle relaxed into her seat. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it. No promises.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all I need to hear.¡± The radio crackled to life, no doubt their next order of business was coming through. ¡°Noise complaint and possible break in reported on Dryden Road. All units in the Cornell area proceed there. Household name: Bismarck. Address is as follows...¡± ¡°Brue¡­¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Step on it.¡± Noelle clenched her hands until it felt like blood would squeeze out. Bismarck on Dryden Road, that was where Lorelei and Beth lived. She wasn¡¯t quitting yet.
Noelle and Brue were the first on the scene. Everything looked in order except for a kicked in front door and a fading tinge of cold. According to Levi, that was from the Jotunheim boundary Adrian used. Those mercenaries had been here. Noelle charged into the house. She heard Brue yell ¡°Wait!¡± but she didn¡¯t listen. She wasn¡¯t about to spend another second standing outside scoping the place out. The inside was neat sans some disorder. A lamp knocked from an end table here, a broken cup there. Noelle heard footsteps behind her as Brue entered the house as well. She continued to scan the room, not looking back to acknowledge her partner¡¯s entrance. There was somebody slumped over on the ground. A white-haired girl in her early teens. ¡°Lorelei!¡± Noelle burst over to the girl. She was completely out of it, sleeping in a position that was totally unnatural. As Noelle ran her hands over the girl¡¯s body she found the probable cause: a dart sticking out of Lorelei¡¯s neck. ¡°Holy shit! Is that a tranquilizer?!¡± yelled Brue. Noelle ripped the dart from Lorelei. No doubt that wasn¡¯t the correct medical procedure, but she was in no mood to spend time looking it up on her phone. Lorelei stirred almost immediately, red eyes peeking out from her white bangs. ¡°W¡­where¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± said Brue, ¡°just stay calm.¡± ¡°Where¡­where is¡­where¡¯s Beth?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll find her.¡± ¡°WHERE¡¯S MY FUCKING SISTER!¡± An invisible force blew Noelle and Brue backwards. Lorelei had lashed out at them with her magic. Noelle was thrown onto the couch while Brue was caught off center and collapsed in a heap at her feet. Lorelei pushed herself up, but the dart had taken its toll on her. She stumbled and fell again, motor function clearly impaired. ¡°N..nooo,¡± she cried, ¡°I can¡¯t¡­get stuck here¡­they took her¡­they fucking took her!¡± She pushed herself up again and braced against an armchair. ¡°They took her¡­but I¡¯m strong¡­I¡¯ll get her back.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not doing anything. Just stay calm,¡± pleaded Brue, ¡°Just let us take care of this.¡± He got back to his feet and began to inch towards Lorelei. Noelle followed suit. Lorelei threw a lightning bolt in response. It was way off mark, skewing wildly and crashing into a vase. ¡°What was that?!¡± Brue balked at the flagrantly supernatural display he had just witnessed. ¡°Lorelei, stay calm. You¡¯re in no shape to do anything,¡± said Noelle. ¡°That guy from before took her! The one your bookshop friend was fighting. He was here, but somebody else snuck up behind me before I could do anything!¡± Lorelei pushed off the armchair. ¡°So stay out of my way! I¡¯ll find whoever took her and smash their fucking balls in! I don¡¯t need you holding me back!¡± ¡°What a mess,¡± lamented a male voice from behind. Noelle and Brue spun around. Brue was met with a hand holding a ring in front of his face. There was a flash and Brue collapsed to the floor. ¡°Oscar?! What the hell?!¡± yelled Noelle. ¡°Relax,¡± said Oscar, ¡°that was my filter. Big guy saw Lorelei shoot off a spell. I had to erase the memory while it was fresh before it could set in.¡± He placed the ring back on his finger and walked forward to stand shoulder to shoulder with Noelle. ¡°I have a silent alarm in this place in case of trouble. There¡¯s plenty of people who want their hands on a witch, and plenty of witches who make messes and muck things up.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t do shit! And neither did Beth!¡± Lorelei screamed. ¡°Then tell me what happened.¡± ¡°Those guys running around town did this,¡± said Noelle. ¡°Beth¡­,¡± said Lorelei, ¡°she¡¯s not here. I can feel that she¡¯s gone.¡± ¡°Shit!¡± yelled Oscar. He ripped his phone from his pocket and placed a call. ¡°Talise! They took the girl! Get your damn animals in gear and look for her!¡± Oscar continued to snipe away on the phone. Even if Talise had the resources to find Beth, it would surely take time. It would take too long. Where could she be? Noelle felt helpless. She wanted to find Beth, but all she had to go on was a loopy girl who had been tranquilized and the lingering cold of a magical barrier. The same cold she had felt the night Adrian fought with Levi. The same cold she had felt under the streetlight when Adrian and Caleb mocked her. Cold. The cold on campus. The cold in the science building. Could it be that it wasn¡¯t the HVAC but instead¡­ ¡°I think I know where their base is,¡± said Noelle. She pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed a number she had found on Google. Nobody picked up and she was sent to voicemail. Noelle left her message and hung up. Oscar and Lorelei were looking at her expectantly. ¡°Let¡¯s go. I¡¯ll explain on the way.¡± The Witches and the Stars (17): Its About Time I Got Going Levi sat at The Dusty Tome¡¯s desk tinkering with his stratus. It wasn¡¯t something he would whip out all willy-nilly in a public place, but it was dark and after hours so he wasn¡¯t worried about any non-magi seeing the equipment. It had been a day since his fight with Caleb. Just as Levi had predicted, the poison wore off shortly after the assailant left, leaving Levi to drag himself home with only the moon and some bats for company. It was a loss, but he had been left alive. How lucky. People died from stuff like that occasionally. Levi always had a knack for not kicking the bucket. The lack of any follow-up attack suggested Caleb had been telling the truth, the fight was a warning. As long as Levi stayed cooped up in the shop and dropped investigating the black monster he could keep his head. A cool early evening breeze blew in through one of the open windows, obstructed by an aging cat. It hacked and gasped periodically in an attempt to clear its throat. Hugo stared at it pensively. The boy was a golem, an artificial being, and only knew things that Levi had taken the time to prime him on. While Levi understood the cat¡¯s behavior, Hugo was in the dark. The cat hacked a few more times before opening its mouth. ¡°Apologies,¡± he muttered. ¡°When it comes to talking there¡¯s a big difference between theory and practice.¡± ¡°This is absurd. Cats cannot speak English. Master! Contradiction detected!¡± Hugo pointed at the cat. ¡°Well actually¡­,¡± started Levi. ¡°You must be joking,¡± said the boy. ¡°Don¡¯t act so surprised, false child. By the time you¡¯ve gotten to your ninth life you pick up a thing or two,¡± said the cat. ¡°Why haven¡¯t I heard of this before?¡± ¡°Just because we can doesn¡¯t mean we want to. I¡¯m a middle-cat.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Ah! A middle-man, sorry. I forgot it isn¡¯t a species desig¡­des¡­¡± ¡°You mean designation,¡± said Hugo. ¡°Right. Regardless, I¡¯m here on Talise¡¯s behalf. Weird dame, it¡¯s like she¡¯s whispering in my ear despite being miles away.¡± ¡°She has a way of doing that with animals,¡± said Levi. ¡°I¡¯d think an old guy like you would appreciate having a woman whisper sweet nothings in their ear.¡± ¡°¡­moving on,¡± said the cat, ¡°Talise says a woman named ¡®Noelle¡¯ encountered some monster and a few suspect fellows last night.¡± ¡°That idiot¡­,¡± groaned Levi. ¡°After that, there¡¯s no new movement to report. Guess she got spooked. Speaking from personal experience, most stay away from areas where they¡¯ve encountered a predator.¡± ¡°At least she backed off. That¡¯s good.¡± ¡°Oh my!¡± gasped the cat. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± asked Levi. ¡°Oh¡­Talise wasn¡¯t pleased with that answer. She¡¯s linked up with my hearing and vision through magic, you see.¡±Stolen story; please report. ¡°That¡¯s some fun magic. How does it work?¡± ¡°No idea. I¡¯m just an old cat. Don¡¯t put me on the spot with questions like that! I¡¯m in a difficult position here, playing middle-man! It¡¯s more awkward than getting pet while licking your nethers!¡± ¡°No idea how that feels¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s worse than cleaning down there and getting a taste of something!¡± ¡°You doubled down on it! Hey Hugo! This cat¡¯s pretty funny isn¡¯t it!¡± Levi turned his attention back to the stratus on the table. It had been acting up ever since coming into contact with the monster. The bracelet was designed to produce fire after receiving an input of magic from the wearer, no faith required. Simply put, it was a simple, rugged tool which shouldn¡¯t stop working after a scuffle or two. He had already cracked open the casing and the results were anything but ordinary. There was no physical damage to the magical circuitry on which the spell was encoded. Quite the opposite, it was in excellent condition. The issue was more a case of what was missing rather than what was damaged. Huge chunks of the spell were missing from the circuitry. ¡°That¡¯s interesting,¡± said the cat. Levi glanced up. The cat was fixated on the stratus. No doubt Talise was instructing it to keep its eyes on the device. ¡°Talise says everything but the control measures are missing. Honestly you humans, cramming a spell into something like this¡­¡± What the cat said, or rather, what Talise had said to the cat, was correct. The bracelet stratus contained an encoding of a spell derived from Pele, the Goddess of Volcanoes and Fire. Supposedly the original spell was devastatingly explosive, but over time it was recorded and refined with countless control circuitry to produce a safe stratus. To strip that information out was no small feat. The monster¡¯s merit clearly extended past stretching limbs and screaming. ¡°Why are you even looking?¡± asked the cat, ¡°Were you already suspecting this?¡± ¡°Why would I be?¡± ¡°Because finding out what that black beasty was taking from you can help you figure out what¡¯s going on.¡± ¡°Get real,¡± said Levi as he closed up the stratus and shoved it unceremoniously into his pocket. ¡°There¡¯s nothing useful to gleam from this thing.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s so useless why are you looking at it?¡± ¡°Quit acting like I¡¯m giving you what you want.¡± ¡°...¡± The cat fell silent and its eyes had lost focus. ¡°Seems I¡¯ve lost my connection, give me a moment here.¡± It continued to idle, but Talise did not return. It was truly just the cat now. ¡°I guess something came up?¡± offered the cat. ¡°Umm...want some milk?¡± asked Levi. ¡°No thank you. That stuff¡¯s bad for the stomach. Would you mind getting rid of that noise? It¡¯s quite irritating.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t hear anything.¡± ¡°That annoying buzz coming from your pocket! All humans have it these days! The last decade has been beyond annoying with that damned noise constantly going off!¡± ¡°You mean my phone?¡± asked Levi as he pulled it from his pocket. Cats were known to have a higher range of hearing than people, so it was definitely a possibility. A light at the top was flashing indicating that a voicemail had come in. The call history showed an unknown number. Levi had listed the cell as his shop¡¯s contact information on the web so he wouldn¡¯t have to pay for another line, so it was probably just someone calling about stock or hours. He didn¡¯t have anything better to do so he pulled up the voicemail to listen to it. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll switch the phone off after this,¡± he assured the cat. To Levi¡¯s surprise, it was Noelle¡¯s voice that came through his speaker. The message content was even more alarming. The voicemail concluded, Levi returned the phone to his pocket, stood up, and made his way to the door. ¡°I¡¯m heading out a bit. Lock up for me Hugo.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°W-wait? Talise hasn¡¯t come back yet!¡± said the cat. ¡°It¡¯s about time I got going. May as well take care of this if all we¡¯re going to do is chat about it over and over,¡± said Levi. He pushed the door open and stepped into the night, leaving the safety of his shop behind. ¡°Hmmm,¡± said the cat to himself, ¡°You¡¯re back? No, he¡¯s gone now. No, I don¡¯t know where he went. You¡¯re the one who wanted to trust the lad! Just let him go about his business! Follow him? Goodness no that sounds dangerous. I¡¯ve had many a back alley scrape with toms of all shapes and sizes but¡­¡± ¡°What an annoying cat,¡± said Hugo to nobody while he withdrew the keys to the shop from the desk drawer. The Witches and the Stars (18): The Survivor ¡°Are you kidding?! We¡¯re going to the university on a hunch because you felt a bit chilly?! Has it occurred to you that instead of being a Jotunheim boundary it¡¯s just the A/C acting up?!¡± Oscar continued to rag on in his dissatisfaction with Noelle¡¯s deduction. She couldn¡¯t blame him, it was a thin justification; but at the same time they had nothing else to go on so overall she found his complaining to be a waste of energy. Energy that they all desperately needed. Noelle¡¯s heart rate kicked up a notch again, complaining about the load she was putting on her body. They had been running at a fast clip for a few minutes now, trying to make it from the house to Cornell as quickly as they could. They had debated taking the car but that would involve either bringing Brue along for the ride or stealing it, which he would¡¯ve inevitably called in and had the police crawling all over them. Oscar deemed it best to forgo the car to keep civilian involvement with magic users to a minimum. Oscar¡¯s complaining wasn¡¯t stopping. No normal person would be able to carry on like that while running at this pace. Levi had told Noelle that magic users could move their energy internally for physical enhancements as Oscar was clearly doing. The same went for Lorelei. She was unsteady on her feet and still under the influence of the sedative yet was keeping pace just fine. Her leg turnover was weak but each one of her strides saw her gliding meters at a time over the road. Noelle and Oscar had tried a few more times to get her to stay back but all she had replied with was ¡°Fuck off!¡± Oscar switched subjects to complaining about Lorelei floating too much while running. He was worried that any extra magic use could leak out of her filter if she wasn¡¯t careful. ¡°Enough with the complaints,¡± said Noelle. ¡°No wonder you¡¯re still a virgin.¡± ¡°N-no I¡¯m not!¡± screamed back Oscar. ¡°Exactly what one would say. You¡¯re not fooling anybody.¡± Oscar readied a retort but swallowed it. There was no time for repartee now. They had arrived. A stillness spread across the Cornell campus. It was after hours so the lack of people was to be expected, but there was a subconscious buzz surrounding the area. Even without most of the students there should still be some researchers staying late, janitors cleaning, birds in the trees, but it was empty. The parking lot was bare and there were no shadows to be seen in the lights coming from the interiors of the buildings. ¡°Aw shit,¡± said Oscar. ¡°This isn¡¯t natural at all.¡± ¡°Why are we standing around? We need to find Beth.¡± Lorelei pushed past Noelle and Oscar. ¡°I¡¯m splitting up from you guys. It¡¯ll be faster that way.¡± ¡°No you¡¯re not!¡± objected Noelle. ¡°You¡¯re still out of it. I¡¯m not leaving you by yourself.¡± ¡°Have you forgotten I¡¯m in charge of you? You¡¯re not getting out of my sight,¡± said Oscar. ¡°Am I the only one who actually cares about finding her!?¡± yelled Lorelei. ¡°Okay...you go with Oscar. I¡¯ll look separately from you guys,¡± said Noelle. Lorelei¡¯s words had stung. She would let the girl go. Oscar crossed his arms. ¡°You can¡¯t fight against those guys. Even though you have a gun on you it won¡¯t do you any good. These are experienced magical killers. A small town cop isn¡¯t going to outmaneuver them.¡± ¡°Chalk me up as a casualty then. I¡¯m going in.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Oscar cried behind her as she charged off towards the science building.
Noelle decided to overshoot the science building and go into the engineering hall a little bit past it. Oscar and Lorelei weren¡¯t so far away as to not see her so they could enter the main physics area and explore that instead. The interior of Noelle¡¯s destination was still. There were no students or outside noises to be heard. The only sounds were the buzz of the lights, the low hum of the climate control, and Noelle¡¯s own footsteps. She began to sweep the building, inspecting each room in a floor before moving to the next upper level. She tried to stay calm but stray thoughts of Beth kept on pushing their way through. Her walk turned to a power walk, before breaking out into a dash between rooms. The clattering of her shoes against the tile echoed throughout the building, always following close behind her. Noelle reached a lounge area for study on the third level. It was fairly innocuous: a few couches, a few tables, some large windows to let light in. Probably a decent spot for cramming before an exam during normal hours. And there was the final detail: a person sitting on one of the couches. He turned his head towards Noelle as she entered and stood to an imposing height. It was Adrian. Here to follow through on taking her out after sparing her before. ¡°I see you¡¯re still chomping at the bit, police dog,¡± he growled. A raven perched on his shoulder and leered at her, it¡¯s beady eyes betraying none of its master¡¯s intentions. ¡°You know what comes next, right?¡± Noelle slid her hand to a hip and gripped her pistol. She had never shot someone and didn¡¯t think she could draw fast enough, but right now it was the only comfort she had. What would come first? Did he have a gun? A knife? Would he be on top of her in a flash with a magically enhanced leap? Would the raven go for her? Was Caleb lurking somewhere nearby? The possibilities were limitless but the result for her would be the same. This was probably it for her. 23 years of life would end with a swift death. ¡°Where¡¯s the kid?¡± asked Noelle, careful to swallow any wavering in her voice that may betray her. ¡°Basement level, Physical Sciences Building,¡± he replied. ¡°You¡¯re very accommodating. My looks take you in?¡± she chided. ¡°It¡¯s not like you can stop us. Even if I let you leave here, which I¡¯m not by the way, it¡¯s already too late for you.¡± Noelle drew her gun fully now, pointing it at Adrian¡¯s body. ¡°Go ahead, it¡¯s your funeral,¡± he said, an unimpressed look in his eye. Adrian took a step closer, Noelle readjusted her aim to stay on his torso for the best shot possible. ¡°That man you were with before, my partner recognized him.¡± said Adrian. ¡°So what?¡± ¡°I thought he was just being paranoid, but I indulged and decided to look into him,¡± said Adrian, still nonchalant. ¡°Do you know who ¡®The Survivor¡¯ is, by any chance?¡± ¡°What¡¯s with the trivia question?¡± ¡°Thought not,¡± said Adrian. ¡°He was a knight, ex-knight now. A real piece of work always doing the Congregation¡¯s dirty work. I know you have no reference to understand it, but his resume is something else. I can¡¯t even begin to tell you how many suicide missions he pulled off.¡± ¡°Get to the point!¡± ¡°He left the Congregation a few years back, nobody knows why here on the outside. The Congregation likes to keep the cards close to its chest, you see. But...every so often you hear about him. Stories on how he traveled somewhere and got wrapped up in something. Even just a few months back there was such a story. If I ever met him I¡¯d love to pick his brain and test my skills against him.¡± Adrian spread his arms. ¡°Guess his name,¡± he demanded. ¡°No clue.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll spoil it for you then,¡± he chuckled, ¡°it¡¯s Levi Wright.¡± ¡°L-Levi?¡± gasped Noelle. ¡°It can¡¯t be.¡± ¡°Great. I have a fan now,¡± said a familiar voice from behind. Adrian forgotten, Noelle turned to face the voice. It was an objectively bad move as it exposed her back to the mercenary, but she didn¡¯t care. She was simultaneously relieved and confused about the new arrival, who stood just outside the lounge. He had messy brown hair and green eyes. He had no weapons sans a stratus which she knew for a fact wasn¡¯t working right.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Levi, you¡¯re...you got my message,¡± she corrected herself. ¡°Of course. A shopkeep like myself is always careful to check the business line,¡± he replied. ¡°Why are you here? It¡¯s for the best if you stayed away from stuff like this.¡± ¡°Beth¡¯s in the basement of the science building,¡± she said. There was no time for a debate, they had to keep moving. ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to head there next then,¡± said Levi. ¡°Forgetting someone?¡± Adrian threatened. ¡°Neither of you are going anywhere. You both die here. Levi sighed as he scratched his head. ¡°Please don¡¯t make me do this. I¡¯m under equipped and rusty. I¡¯d rather resolve this peacefully.¡± ¡°Too bad.¡± ¡°Noelle,¡± started Levi, ¡°when the two of us move, run away.¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°Now!¡± he yelled. Levi shot forward like a bullet, his magically enhanced legs giving him an extreme increase in power. His body swung as he got even with Noelle, spinning around to chamber a devastating spinning side kick. Adrian responded in kind with a leaping forward kick. Noelle barely had time to back away as the two men collided. Their feet hit each other¡¯s chest with a resounding boom. Had a normal person been hit with such a kick no doubt their entire chest cavity would have collapsed inward. Levi and Adrian were both spared this by accumulating magical power in their torsos, and were instead blown to opposite sides of the room. ¡°Go!¡± Levi grunted, rolling on the floor. Noelle gave him one last look before turning and fleeing towards the Physical Sciences Building. She couldn¡¯t help with this fight, but at the very least she could find Beth while Levi kept Adrian busy. ¡°You¡¯d better win!¡± she yelled out as she retreated from what would become a deadly arena.
Levi struggled back to his feet. Adrian had been quicker to react than he had expected. While he knew the larger man was an experienced mercenary, he was far above average for his trade. ¡°Pretty good kick,¡± groaned Adrian as he got back up. ¡°A Taekwondo move, are you knights always so flashy?¡± ¡°I¡¯m retired. Trying out some new things right now.¡± Levi welcomed the exchange. It gave him time and Noelle a chance to get further away from Adrian. ¡°I¡¯ll make you regret not keeping up on the combat side of things!¡± yelled Adrian as he leapt forwards for the next exchange. Adrian¡¯s move was a superman punch-a jumping cross. Levi barely sidestepped it and redirected Adrian¡¯s momentum with his own hands as he moved in behind the mercenary. Levi went to grab Adrian¡¯s collar, but the larger man had already recovered and swatted Levi¡¯s hand away. Surprised, Levi went for a straight, but Adrian had read him and worked his hands inside Levi¡¯s defense. Adrian took hold and executed a shoulder throw, sending Levi through one of the lounge tables. Treated wood splintered everywhere as Adrian reaffirmed his grip and threw Levi to the side this time. Levi managed to break the grip a bit early and slammed into one of the windows with reduced speed, cracking it instead of outright shattering it. Levi coughed, the wind was knocked out of him. He could only pray Adrian would give him time to recover. ¡°Hmm...I¡¯d give that 45 points, friend,¡± said Adrian. ¡°Too slow and simple. Don¡¯t you know how to fight close quarters? That kick of yours was good but your offense crumples when you don¡¯t have the room to pull it off. Striking is a farce in my world, the real world.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± groaned Levi, ¡°I¡¯ll switch gears.¡± Levi shuffled quickly to Adrian¡¯s front, throwing basic jabs as he moved closer. Adrian ducked them all and countered the last one with a straight as Levi was pulling his jab back. ¡°Gotcha,¡± said Levi as he ducked behind Adrian¡¯s straight, putting his opponent in a headlock. Adrian moved his arms for a counter throw, but Levi has seen this coming. The throw¡¯s preparation left Adrian¡¯s body open and Levi released the headlock in favor of driving a hook into Adrian¡¯s ribs. Adrian snarled and spun around to face Levi. Levi threw a jab and this time it connected. Adrian brought his arm¡¯s up to block the follow-up straight but Levi shot his elbow upwards instead, driving it into Adrian¡¯s jaw. Adrian stepped back and Levi took the spacing as a chance to launch a spinning wheel kick, but Adrian jumped back even further and the kick whiffed. Adrian collapsed backwards into one of the lounge couches. He held his mouth in his hands, blood visibly leaking through the fingers. ¡°Your CQC is linear,¡± said Levi. ¡°If I had to guess, you¡¯ve spent too much time in the Middle-East, fighting non-magical forces where you can overpower them with anything.¡± ¡°And you don¡¯t?¡± growled Adrian, hostility mounting. ¡°I¡¯ve fought things you couldn¡¯t even fathom. You punch down, but I¡¯ve spent my whole life punching up. Surrender now before I finish this.¡± ¡°Fuck you¡± was Adrian¡¯s reply. His psychopomp raven flew about and a spectral vulture manifested itself. Adrian threw another straight as the vulture cried. Levi could tell from the timing there wasn¡¯t much magic behind the punch, it would be easy to block and counter. He readied his guard and allowed the punch to drive into his forearms. Suddenly, an incredible force assailed Levi and he was blown backwards into the wall. As Levi collapsed to the ground he noticed where he had blocked felt completely numb, with a dull pain building behind the numbness.The power of the punch had been unreal. ¡°It¡¯s futile.¡± Adrian smiled as he stood over Levi. ¡°You¡¯re experienced so I trust you understand the implication of what just happened?¡± Adrian had demonstrated that he could boost the power of his hits to ridiculous levels. This had happened when the two had fought before, when Adrian had practically stomped a crater into the street. It was obviously a spell of some sort but Levi didn¡¯t understand the mechanism yet. What it meant for the fight was that Adrian could amplify his strikes seemingly by his own choosing, Levi couldn¡¯t block anymore lest the next hit also have a crazy amount of power behind it. The ball was in Adrian¡¯s court until Levi could come up with a workaround. A psychopomp raven acting as a summoning medium for a vulture, what the hell was Adrian up to? ¡°Just stand still and let me cave your skull in, you can¡¯t win this one,¡± said Adrian as he approached for a strike. Levi responded with a sweep. It didn¡¯t connect but it got Adrian to back off, giving Levi time to scramble to his feet. ¡°I can¡¯t not win,¡± said Levi, ¡°you got that?¡± ¡°Are you stupid or something?¡± ¡°Listen, I try everything at least once. This time I need to try winning a fight on Cornell¡¯s campus. I didn¡¯t come here for the opposite.¡± ¡°Keep on babbling, it won¡¯t help you,¡± taunted Adrian as his vulture cried in turn. Adrian kicked a piece of splintered wood from the table at Levi. Instead of traveling with the kick, it took off like it was an arrow fired from a bow. Levi barely ducked it before the splinter went over him and pierced through the wall. Another unnaturally strong attack. Levi didn¡¯t have time to ponder it due to Adrian making a rapid approach. The two exchanged a series of blows. All of Levi¡¯s were blocked while all of Adrian¡¯s were dodged. The flow was broken when Levi was caught against the wall and forced to block a jab from Adrian. Adrian followed up with a stronger punch and Levi leapt to the side and rolled away as Adrian drove his fist through the dividing wall. A split second later the entire wall exploded, exposing the next room over. Levi surveyed the destruction as the vulture cackled at him from the side. Annoyed, Levi activated his stratus. While it wasn¡¯t in perfect working order he had still repaired it enough for some basic fire spells. The flames washed over the vulture and engulfed the portion of the room it was in. ¡°It¡¯s spectral, genius,¡± taunted Adrian. ¡°You won¡¯t kill it with that.¡± Levi responded with a tackle. Not expecting the sudden aggression, Adrian was blown back against one of the stone supports between two of the large windows. Levi released the tackle and backed up to throw a quick left straight. Adrian made a half-hearted effort at blocking, instead barely brushing his arm against Levi¡¯s. Despite this, Adrian had a smirk on his face. It was obvious what this meant. The unnatural power would kick in on the block shortly after and snap Levi¡¯s wrist like a twig. Adrian had won. Or at least, that¡¯s what he thought. Levi¡¯s fist plowed into Adrian¡¯s face instead, breaking his nose and sending blood spurting everywhere. ¡°W-what?¡± asked Adrian, dazed. He hadn¡¯t been expecting to take the hit and hadn¡¯t accumulated enough magical energy in his head to reduce the power of Levi¡¯s attack. ¡°You¡¯re an amateur summoner,¡± said Levi. ¡°You¡¯re using the raven psychopomp to bring in the vulture. It¡¯s clear you aren''t familiar with the ins and outs of your spell. If you had tried a direct summon you could¡¯ve tricked the vulture out a bit more, covered your weaknesses instead of rushing in with them so out in the open.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand¡­¡± moaned Adrian. Levi gestured towards the fire the vulture was still inside of. ¡°No oxygen, your bird¡¯s been silenced genius.¡± Adrian could only watch, still too dazed from the punch to do anything as Levi began gathering flames around his fist for a charged punch using the power of the flame stratus. ¡°The spell you use for the vulture, it¡¯s based on the ancient Greek story of Tityos,¡± said Levi coldly as he stared into Adrian¡¯s eyes. ¡°Tityos was trapped in Tartarus where vultures feasted on his liver, which grew back every night. The spell¡¯s based on the cyclical nature of that punishment. Whenever the vulture cries any attack close to it has its impact compounded, as if multiple cycles of it are being stacked on top of one another.¡± Levi cocked his fist back, the flaming punch ready to launch. ¡°So I kept your vulture from crying out. Easy answer, huh?¡± The flaming fist drove into Adrian¡¯s stomach. He could feel the stone crack behind him as fire and heat exploded outwards from Levi¡¯s fist. The curtains, the splinters, the fibers of the couch were all consumed by the flame. But Adrian held fast. He had recovered enough and poured every last ounce of magic he had to spare into his stomach. His flesh wanted to crumble and was being burnt terribly, but he refused to give in. He unleashed a guttural and primal howl as he resisted the power of Levi¡¯s punch. When the flames cleared, Adrian still stood. Levi had been unable to finish him off. ¡°So much...for that trump card,¡± said Adrian. ¡°You¡¯re the one who played the trump card, not me.¡± Levi snapped his fingers and the flames dissipated instantly. Released from the oxygen trap the vulture instinctively drew a breath, unleashing a rasping groan. The force of Levi¡¯s punch compounded on itself again and again. The entire wall including the stone support and the windows was blown away as the attack worked itself over and over again on Adrian¡¯s body. As he flew backwards out of the third story window Adrian got one last look at Levi and the summons as they disappeared. After that, there was nothing but black on Adrian¡¯s end as he plunged to the ground below.
Levi surveyed the damage he had wrought. Lucky for him the summon was a double-edged sword. Adrian¡¯s detachment from the vulture meant he had never reworked the spell to not work for either party. Peering through the veil of night he spotted Adrian in the parking lot, unmoving. Whether he was breathing or not Levi couldn¡¯t tell. ¡°Speaking of the Greeks, this whole thing brings Sisyphus to mind,¡± said Levi to no person in particular. ¡°Much like you said about this fight, people would consider him rolling the boulder up the hill futile.Yet...someone once pointed out there was meaning in his struggle. Futility...I¡¯m not sure it exists in our world.¡± Then Levi ran off towards the science building and to his next battle. The Survivor had lived once again. The Witches and the Stars (19): The Liar and His Impossible Machine Noelle paused to catch her breath as she descended the final step into the basement level of the Physical Sciences Building. Rather than being a dingy and damp cellar it was finished and housed what looked like a series of hallways with rooms. As she crept forward cautious of running into anyone else she peered inside some of them. They were all filled with scientific instruments and lab setups. Some of the busier rooms had machines with moving parts and computers slaving away at what must have been exhaustive calculations. Clearly this was some sort of research wing, but something told Noelle this wasn¡¯t a place for the university¡¯s normal day-to-day student body. The lights flickered on and off before turning off and plunging the hall into complete darkness. Noelle froze. In the dark anyone or anything could sneak up on her. She had no flashlight and her phone was dead. Besides, all shining a light would do in this situation is let any observers know exactly where she was. There was the barest hint of a whisper in the room which caused her to tense up even more. Even though Noelle knew there was nothing there her body couldn¡¯t help but to react to whatever incorporeal thing her instincts were picking up on. A faint stream of air brushed over her ear, carrying with it a plea from somewhere unknown. You...are here to help me? ¡°Beth?¡± asked Noelle. ¡°No...you¡¯re that thing I¡¯ve been seeing in town, aren¡¯t you?¡± I am...here. You will...help? Girl...trapped. Scared¡­ ¡°Girl? That¡¯s Beth, it has to be.¡± Not much time...something bad¡­ ¡°Trust me, I know. Whatever you are and whatever you¡¯ve gotten yourself into, I¡¯ll get you out. That¡¯s a promise, to you and her both. Pass it on for me, okay?¡± Thank- The lights returned and the whisper cut off abruptly. There had been something up with the electricity the other night too. That thing that had copied the college girl, was it being held here only able to get traces of itself out to ask for rescue? Noelle didn¡¯t have time to ponder this. If she was going to keep her promise then it was just one more item on her to-do list. First, she had to find Beth and get her out of here before that other man, Caleb, pulled anything with her. ¡°She¡¯s close, I know it! Let¡¯s go already!¡± A young girl¡¯s voice could be heard from one of the larger rooms at the end of the hall. ¡°Lorelei?!¡± yelled Noelle. It had definitely been Lorelei¡¯s voice. Noelle took off at a dead sprint heading towards the room, her prior caution forgotten. She pushed the double doors open and entered. It was a large space with pipes and machinery strewn all about haphazardly. It was more akin to a warehouse or a large stockroom than the labs she had peeked in prior. Lorelei and Oscar were standing together just a few feet further into the room. They had turned their heads in alarm due to the noise of Noelle opening the doors, their features relaxing into familiar relief as they realized it was just Noelle. Noelle was relieved as well. After encountering Adrian she was more than happy to find some friendly faces before continuing the search. ¡°I¡¯m glad I found you two. Listen, I found out that Beth is definitely here,¡± said Noelle as she started towards the pair. Suddenly, Oscar¡¯s body language changed and he looked alarmed. ¡°No! Stop right there!¡± Shocked, Noelle did as he commanded without putting any real thought to it. There was dull *thunk* as a knife sunk into the ground where she would¡¯ve been had Oscar not warned her. Noelle caught a glint of something in her peripheral vision. She turned to face it, but it was too late-the second knife was already hurtling towards her face. She braced for impact, hoping it wouldn¡¯t hurt too much. But the pain never came. Instead there was a clash of metal on metal and the knife lay on the ground, harmless. Oscar stood in front of Noelle, he had preempted the attack and defended her. A large single-edged sword was in his hands. It was featureless beyond its outline and the entire thing shone with a silvery mercurial sheen. Even Noelle could see that the sword wasn¡¯t normal and had manifested by some magical mechanism. This suspicion was furthered by the fact she hadn¡¯t even seen Oscar draw it and that it was much too large for him to have casually concealed it from her. ¡° Ah yes, the other one,¡± croned a voice hidden in the shadows of the pipes and ducts which covered the upper level of the room like a spider¡¯s web. ¡°Junior knight Oscar Torres...you¡¯re much less interesting prey than the other one.¡± ¡°And you, Caleb ¡°The Claw,¡± I¡¯d rather not deal with you at all,¡± said Oscar in retort. ¡°Yet here we are. Stand down and I¡¯ll leave it at taking you in. A sickening cackle echoed around the room. It sounded like Caleb was having an absolute fit tucked away in his hiding spot. ¡°Oh that is rich coming from you! You realize I already beat Levi Wright, don¡¯t you? If he didn¡¯t stand a chance what can an ant like you do to me?¡± Oscar shifted his sword from an expectant position to resting the blunted edge on his shoulder. ¡°Let me guess...he let you hit him so he could figure out your magic or something equally moronic. Sorry but I have more regard for my own well being than to do something like that.¡± ¡°Ke ha ha ha ha! Don¡¯t get too cocky now little knight! I¡¯ll-¡± ¡°Enough of this shit!¡± yelled Lorelei. ¡°Take me to Beth now you damn creep!¡± Lorelei pointed her hand to the ceiling and shot what looked to Noelle was a burst of compressed air. All of the piping directly above Lorelei crumpled and went flying in all directions. ¡°Little bitch!¡± screamed Caleb. More knives streaked down from above but Oscar swatted them to the ground effortlessly. Further banging could be heard as Caleb jumped around the upper level of the room. There would be a sound to Noelle¡¯s left then a crash to her right. She had no choice but to stay where she was, unable to track him and unwilling to move lest it catch his attention. ¡°Be cool,¡± ordered Oscar. ¡°He¡¯s probably tossing his knives around as he moves to throw us off with the sound. Just focus on waiting his attacks out so you can evade.¡± Another knife came down straight overhead Oscar. The knight noticed and easily deflected it, but it was a ruse. A shadow touched down away from Oscar¡¯s area of the room a mere ten meters from where Lorelei was standing. Caleb was aiming to take her out first. Lorelei raised her hand and shot a bolt of electricity at Caleb as he approached, but it was wildly off and harmlessly struck the far wall. Lorelei was in no condition to make quick decisions between her own nerves and the lasting effects of the tranquilizer. Almost unconsciously, Noelle drew her Smith & Wesson pistol and let loose a shot in Caleb¡¯s direction.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. The bullet pinged off of a pipe and failed to strike the man, but it had done its job. Caleb hesitated and the brief window that opened allowed Lorelei to start moving towards Noelle and Oscar. Caleb threw a knife at the young girl¡¯s retreating back but Oscar stepped forward and blocked it. ¡°You¡¯re really testing the limits of my patience little knight. Once I¡¯ve killed you I¡¯ll chop you up and cook you up nice in a stew. How¡¯s that fucking sound?!¡± snarled Caleb. ¡°Just because we have you on the back foot doesn¡¯t mean you can start acting like that,¡± said Oscar. ¡°Show some class, there are ladies present.¡± ¡°That should be the least of your worries, whelp!¡± ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± said Noelle, confidence growing within her now that Caleb was on the ground and visible. ¡°With looks as bad as yours it¡¯s already a lost cause. Let¡¯s not get preoccupied worrying about your personality.¡± ¡°Funny lass...you¡¯re next.¡± Caleb threw a knife at Oscar and followed it up by kicking a pile of leftover detritus from Lorelei¡¯s haphazard spellcasting. Oscar batted the knife out of the air easily but a deluge of broken pipes and fittings made its way past his blade. ¡°Guh!¡± groaned Oscar as the junk hit him. He backed up a step and his sword arm was shoved loosely outward, leaving his body exposed. Caleb was already in the air, knives in hand and eager to take this opportunity to skewer Oscar with them. The scene played out before Noelle¡¯s eyes as if it were in slow motion. She could see Oscar trying to pull his sword back to a neutral position so he could counter, but his own center of gravity was working against him. While Noelle¡¯s hands were moving to take aim with her pistol, she already knew it was too late. She wouldn¡¯t make it in time. Oscar was going to die. The sickening sound of blade rending flesh rang throughout the room, followed by a deluge of blood spilling onto the floor. But¡­ It wasn¡¯t Oscar who had been stabbed, but Caleb. Somehow Oscar had brought his sword into position, pointing it out from his torso. From that position Caleb had practically jumped on it unintentionally, impaling himself in the process. ¡°W-what...how¡­,¡± moaned the mercenary. ¡°Your sword...wasn¡¯t ready...it was like...like...it t-teleported¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly what happened,¡± said Oscar matter-of-factly while he ripped the blade from Caleb¡¯s chest. Even more fresh blood spilled from the gaping hole left in the mercenary and the assailant fell to the ground. Oscar held the sword aloft careful to make sure it was visible to the fading light of Caleb¡¯s eyes. There was a flash of light and the sword disappeared. Another flash and the sword was back, this time in Oscar¡¯s other hand. ¡°Quite the trick. Even I don¡¯t know how it works. I just woke up one day and was able to do it,¡± said Oscar. ¡°Not much of an explanation, but I don¡¯t feel like I owe you any more than that.¡± There was no response from Caleb. He was already nothing more than a corpse. Noelle had never seen a dead body like this. She had been to wakes, visited the coroner¡¯s office, even shadowed a detective to a murder scene, but this was nothing like that. Someone who had attacked her, someone who had tried to kill her, was dead at her feet. He was laying there dead and she didn¡¯t even have time to feel disgust. She was here for a reason, for Beth. Until that duty was done, she would push it all down. She could think about this later. ¡°Quick thinking with the gun. It might not have seemed like much, but it was a big help,¡± said Oscar. ¡°You...thanking me? Hell must have frozen over,¡± replied Noelle. ¡°Don¡¯t start.¡± Before the group could fully get their bearings the lights shut off once again, plunging the room into darkness.
¡°Damn! What the hell just happened?!¡± Noelle heard Lorelei exclaim. Looking to where the young girl¡¯s voice had come from, Noelle was met with an orb of light. Lorelei palmed the orb in her hand, turning it over and inspecting it for any flaws before tossing the ball in the air. It slowed and locked into place approximately a dozen feet above the ground. The orb grew brighter and the room was visible once again, this time lit by the witch¡¯s magic instead of electricity. ¡°Good trick,¡± commented Noelle. The click and clack of someone typing on a keyboard distracted her from any further conversation with Lorelei. There was a man in the back of the room working on one of the larger machines. How had he gotten in here? Had he snuck past them in the darkness? Had he been here all along? The typing continued, the man unperturbed by the three pairs of eyes now drilling holes into his backside. The machine he sat at looked like a large, obsidian orb with piping and cables shooting out of it at every conceivable angle. It was a horrible patchwork that no modern engineering schematic would possibly tolerate, like an old boiler straight out of an H.R. Giger painting. Alarmingly, the surface of the orb was rippling like water. Whatever lay in wait in its murky depths was out of sight, but by no means out of mind. ¡°This is¡­,¡± started Oscar. ¡°Nothing much,¡± said the man. ¡°Just something I needed to finish up while my hired men kept you busy.¡± ¡°That voice! You¡¯re...no...you tricked us!¡± screamed Lorelei. Her young voice hitched as she let out the cry, the stress of the evening taking its toll on what little composure she had left. Composure she had the right to lose at that. Noelle recognized the voice as well. While she had only heard it a scant handful times, it was more than enough for her to place it. ¡°What¡¯s the meaning of this,¡± growled Oscar. ¡°Explain yourself...BISMARK!¡± ¡°Is there even a point to that?¡± asked the man as he got up from his seat. Dr. Bismark surveyed the three standing before him, paying no heed to the dead body which also accompanied them in the magical glow of the room. ¡°Oscar and Lorelei...I¡¯m not surprised to see the two of you here. But you, miss officer, I hadn¡¯t foreseen this. Did the Congregation actually catch on and send you to spy on me?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± said Noelle. ¡®Who gives a damn! I¡¯m way past feeling understanding!,¡± snarled Lorelei. ¡°Where the fuck did you put Beth! Don¡¯t even try to pretend you have nothing to do with this!¡± ¡°Beth? She¡¯s right here of course.¡± Dr. Bismark pointed behind him towards the black orb. ¡°She¡¯s one of the most important pieces of the puzzle. I¡¯m not about to let her out of my sight so easily.¡± Lorelei shot a beam of brilliant white light in response. Unlike her earlier efforts it was dead-on. Pure rage had pushed the sedative down and restored her aim. Just as it was about to reach Dr. Bismark¡¯s face the beam arced away and plunged into the orb. Ripples emanated outward from the point of contact as the insidious machine consumed Lorelei¡¯s magical assault. Lorelei pulled her hand back in surprise. ¡°H-how!¡± she stammered out. ¡°It¡¯s merely working as intended. The creature lacks magic of its own, so I set it up to take it from other sources,¡± said Dr Bismark. ¡°Creature?!¡± asked Lorelei. ¡°Yes. It¡¯s been giving me quite the scare, what with branches of its main body escaping into town and all. Thankfully the main body has been kept here. It was such a bother paying those buffoons to retrieve it from that meteor. Lord knows how they ever managed to knock it from the sky. Oh well, best leave magic to those in the know.¡± ¡°You sound decidedly well informed,¡± said Oscar, gritting his teeth. ¡°We scoped you out before letting you take in witches as fosters. You¡¯re an ordinary man! You shouldn¡¯t be involved in any of this!¡± Dr. Bismark chuckled at Oscar¡¯s complaint. ¡°I was quite ordinary once upon a time, but that was years ago. I¡¯m fortunate to have resources to...fib a little on my foster paperwork.¡± Dr. Bismark turned his back to the group, focusing his attention on the orb. ¡°An eldritch creature capable of no magic of its own combined with a witch, an aberration of endless magical potential...tell me, what do you think is the result of such a pairing?¡± ¡°A witch?¡± murmured Noelle. ¡°Beth...she¡¯s in there somewhere¡­¡± ¡°Very observant,¡± chided Dr. Bismark. ¡°I assure you it¡¯s for a good cause.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t give a fuck!¡± yelled Lorelei as she prepared for another assault on Dr. Bismark. ¡°Oh my¡­,¡± he lamented, ¡°I may have the power of a dreaded witch on my side but so do you lot. What should I do?¡± ¡°I know,¡± he said, turning back around. ¡°I¡¯ll just take the second one as well.¡± Black tendrils shot from the orb at an incredible speed. Completely ignoring Noelle and Oscar, they tangled themselves around Lorelei¡¯s body and limbs before she could react. ¡°Nooo!¡± she protested. Energy shot from her fingertips but it was all swallowed by the tendrils which continued to coil around her unabated. The tendrils pulled on Lorelei and sent her hurtling into the orb. Instead of colliding with it like a solid object, her body began to sink into its depths. ¡°Nooo! No! No! No! No! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!¡± Lorelei thrashed against the orb but it was useless. Her entire body had been incorporated into its surface by now, leaving only her head visible.Tears of pure fear spilled from her as she struggled, totally at the mercy of orb. Noelle rushed towards her but a crushing weight caused her to fall to her knees. Looking to her side she noticed that the same phenomenon had hit Oscar as well. They were out of the fight and Lorelei was completely open for the opponent to do whatever he wished with her. ¡°HEEEEELLLLLLP-,¡± Lorelei unleashed one last scream before her head was fully consumed. ¡°Shit!¡± yelled Oscar. ¡°Bismark! Stop this right now!¡± ¡°Why would I stop now?¡± asked the man. ¡°Why stop now? My TWE...the Twin Witch Engine...it is finally complete!¡± The Witches and the Stars (20): Twin Witch Engine The air in the room was so very still. While there had been a flurry of activity beforehand from battling Caleb and Lorelei¡¯s struggles against the TWE there was now nothing but oppressive silence permeating the air. The weight on Noelle and Oscar had lifted the instant Lorelei was fully absorbed and they got to their feet, but that was it. Neither of them dared take another action. They couldn¡¯t. Even though they wanted to fight, even though they wanted to take down Dr. Bismark and save Lorelei and Beth, something deep inside of them was holding them back. The primal fear of the thing in front of them. The futility of struggling against it. The filthy truth that they had already lost. Dr. Bismark¡¯s completed Twin Witch Engine continued to dominate the room. Noelle found herself unable to look away from its rippling, obsidian surface. Lorelei, Beth, and that poor thing were all trapped inside. Their freedom had been stripped away all so the man standing before herself and Oscar could achieve goals unknown. Dr. Bismark fiddled with his ear. He had some sort of headpiece with blinking lights on it. It was reminiscent of a Bluetooth headset but significantly more slapdash. He noticed Noelle¡¯s gaze and shot her a smirk. ¡°Psychic link with the TWE. Impressive, isn¡¯t it? Just a few years back I would¡¯ve considered it impossible, but studying the magical world has given me great insight into psychic communication through the collective unconscious.¡± He turned to face Oscar now, smirk morphing into a grimace. ¡°The fact that your people have been hiding such wonders from the world at large is nothing short of a sin.¡± Oscar met his gaze. ¡°Trust me, I¡¯m no native to the magic game myself. But...there was a good reason to take it all underground one hundred years ago. Not to mention, it did wonders for disempowering creeps like you.¡± ¡°Perhaps if you opened your secrets to men like me, there¡¯d be no reason to hide. I¡¯ve already achieved more here tonight than your precious Congregation ever will, that much is certain.¡± ¡°You¡¯re delusional at least. Never met a magician who wasn¡¯t.¡± Dr. Bismarck began to play with his ear again, his good cheer returned. ¡°In that case...let us start the show.¡± A massive shockwave exploded outwards from the Twin Witch Engine. Noelle and Oscar were both blown backwards with incredible force. They would have traveled for dozens of meters back had it not been for the wall behind them. ¡°Ahhh!¡± Noelle shrieked in pain as she collided with the wall closest to the doorway. Stars exploded in front of her eyes and her strength drained. Unable to catch herself, she slipped down the wall and crumpled into a heap on the floor. ¡°Fucking prick! Get back here!¡± She could hear Oscar¡¯s voice but the pain of the impact was still too fresh for her to concentrate. There was a tapping of retreating footsteps as Oscar picked himself up from next to her and charged towards the other end of the room. Noelle closed her eyes and drew a deep breath to collect herself. Exhaling, she opened them and scanned what was left of the room. Even more piping and ductwork littered the ground now. The shockwave had done more damage than to just her back. Dust stirred about everywhere, a testament to just how forcefully everything had been ripped from the walls and ceiling. The TWE was gone. In its place was a mountain of cables and pipes. While they had adorned the black orb previously they had all been cast off and left to ruin. Behind the pile there was a large hole boring diagonally upward through the wall and into the cool air of the night. Noelle could just barely make out Oscar¡¯s back as he disappeared outside. In all likelihood Dr. Bismarck and the Twin Witch Engine were out there as well. The stage had changed, and if Noelle wished to stay off it all she had to do was remain where she was. Without thinking, Noelle pulled herself to her feet and approached the hole. She no longer understood what was driving her beyond the fact that there was something pushing her forward. Did she want to do the right thing? Did she only care about getting to see what happens next?The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. It didn¡¯t really matter to her either way. What was to be done would be done; an action taken would be an action taken regardless of reasoning or justification. There was no longer a need to think too hard at this stage. It would all end tonight, one way or another. Noelle squeezed the grip of her pistol for a last shot of reassurance before she ascended the hole to give chase to Dr. Bismark and Oscar.
A moderately cool breeze struck her face as she emerged into the night. It was pleasant weather, and any other evening she would have been looking forward to an easy run or a nighttime stroll. That would not be possible tonight. Dr. Bismark stood just over 50 meters away, the Twin Witch Engine hovering over the ground. There was nothing organic to the TWE¡¯s levitation as it remained in the air motionless, looking more like it had been added on top of the scenery like some kind of cheap post-processing effect than something that naturally belonged and took up space in the material world. Oscar was barely ahead of Noelle. His hand was outstretched with his sword summoned. He had leveled the pointed end of the blade to Dr. Bismark¡¯s chest in a bid at intimidating the older man. Considering how easily the TWE had stopped Oscar and herself from moving previously, Noelle saw the gesture as more of a last act of defiance than a credible threat. Dr. Bismark shared her sentiment. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of the rat that would fight a cat when cornered,¡± he taunted, ¡°but I don¡¯t recall the proverb mentioning any rats that willfully corner themselves again right after being set free.¡± ¡°I¡¯m no rat,¡± Oscar scoffed. ¡°That sure says something about how you view people.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not very clever, are you?¡± said Dr. Bismark, not disconcerted in the least. ¡°I¡¯ve no interest in fighting you as long as I¡¯m left to my work.¡± ¡°You just kidnapped two children,¡± said Noelle. ¡°That doesn¡¯t look like work to me.¡± ¡°They look like children to you?¡± responded Dr. Bismark. ¡°I¡¯m sure your magical friend over there would disagree with you. They¡¯re monsters, officer, I may as well put them to work as batteries.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true!¡± yelled Noelle, anger mounting. She was disgusted by the blind disregard Dr. Bismark had shown towards Lorelei and Beth. From everything Noelle had seen they were kids who laughed and cried and played like normal, nothing else. They were people, not witches. ¡°Ask him yourself,¡± said Dr. Bismark, ¡°His job is to stop others from seizing their power for themselves, not to protect them. In the case of them getting out of control he¡¯s even allowed to kill them!¡± ¡°Oscar¡­,¡± muttered Noelle as she glanced at him. He grimaced, but kept his sword pointed at Dr. Bismark all the same. ¡°That¡¯s true. That¡¯s my duty to the Congregation.¡± ¡°Exactly,¡± replied Dr. Bismark. ¡°You see now, don¡¯t you? It¡¯s better if you just hand them off to me. I have a higher purpose in mind for these witches.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± drawled Oscar. ¡°Resurrection.¡± Dr. Bismark looked downwards, his cold confidence replaced with a wistful sorrow. Oscar stared him down, stone-faced. ¡°My wife and daughter,¡± he began, ¡°were both killed...they were taken from me. I¡¯d spent my whole life studying physics, pushing my field forward, but it was all worthless. All the research grants and accolades in the world wouldn¡¯t bring them back. Our world is so grounded and material...it has no business intersecting with that of the dead.¡± ¡°That¡¯s just the way of things,¡± said Oscar. ¡°But it isn¡¯t!¡± hissed Dr. Bismark. ¡°There¡¯s a whole world of magic! We all know it! It may have been one hundred years since it was public, but that¡¯s not enough for the memory to have faded completely!¡± ¡°So what?! It won¡¯t do you any good!¡± ¡°True enough,¡± said Dr. Bismark, calming down. ¡°I searched the highest highs and lowest lows of the world to find magicians and claim their secrets. Some of the things they could do were marvelous, but...not enough to bring back someone who had passed on.¡± ¡°Then why?¡± asked Noelle. ¡°Why do this?¡± ¡°Because I explored whether science was the answer and I explored if magic was the answer...but never the intersection of the two.¡± Dr. Bismark brought up his fist, it was clenched so hard in conviction that it had turned completely white. ¡°I found myself a proprietor, someone who was interested in my work for their own benefit. They procured that thing for me, a creature of unknown matter, and hired those mercenaries to assist me. I¡¯m sure I have the answer now. Dark matter combined with witches, the most potent source of magic on the planet...this is the key to a miracle! I¡¯m only a step away now! I¡¯ll bring about a world with my wife and daughter in it!¡± Noelle faltered inside. He had done all of this for his family; she couldn¡¯t even begin to imagine how it must have felt. She never got along with her parents; but if she had...would she have done the same thing? Would she have done it to bring Andrew or her departed sister back to her? ¡°I doubt your proprietor is going to let you run around with this thing for long!¡± taunted Oscar. ¡°It matters not. With the power I have in my possession I¡¯ll just crush them before they can strip it from me.¡± ¡°This is such shit!¡± yelled Oscar as he charged at Dr. Bismark. Time itself slowed as Oscar approached. Noelle could only watch as the man¡¯s movements became progressively drawn out like a movie playing an action scene in slow motion for emphasis. Only Dr. Bismark and the TWE remained at a normal speed, an unearthly light emanating from the depths of the black machine. ¡°Let¡¯s see...for my first test I think I¡¯ll crush your spirit. A fine benchmark for the miracles I have planned next.¡± The world fell still and everything faded to black. The Witches and the Stars (21): Echoes of Things Lost A vast blackness filled with nothing stretched before Beth. She had been with Lorelei, begging for a snack. Her sister had finally reneged after Beth complained enough and went to microwave some popcorn. As far as Beth could remember, she never got to eat any. There had been a noise behind her and Lorelei had looked alarmed. Beth thought she had seen something behind Lorelei, but she wasn¡¯t sure. All she knew was that she had fallen asleep suddenly, but she hadn¡¯t recalled being tired before that. When she awoke she was here. It was a scary place. The darkness stretched on forever in all directions. No matter how far she walked or even if she ran Beth couldn¡¯t get anywhere. There was nothing to reach, nothing to find in this place. She eventually stopped trying altogether and sat in the middle of nothingness with only herself to pass the time. She was crying now. She missed Lorelei, she wanted her sister to come here and save her. Lorelei always knew what to do. ¡°Why...why am I here? Where are you Lorelei?¡± The words slipped from Beth¡¯s mouth even though she knew her sister wasn¡¯t around to hear them. Though for a while now there had been something else to listen. Beth had seen it. It was another shadow on top of the blackness of the space, in the corner of her eye. As time passed it had become more emboldened, slipping more and more into Beth¡¯s direct field of vision. It was directly behind her now. Even though Beth felt no physical touch she knew its hands were on her shoulders. There was a spiritual warmth, a psychic presence to it that she just couldn¡¯t place. It brought its featureless face to Beth¡¯s ear and whispered. Are you...scared? ¡°Yes¡­¡± I can give you the power to face your fear. You need only ask. Beth had a horrible feeling. She felt like if she agreed she would ever see Lorelei again. But¡­ She was so scared and so very alone. ¡°Who are you?¡± she asked. I am the lower nature of man...a son of the dawn. All I ask is that you allow me to shepherd you and your fellows to the truth. ¡°...ok.¡± Beth turned and reached out to the shadow, her only security in the void.
Noelle jerked awake suddenly, her heart racing. She was no longer on Cornell University¡¯s grounds, she had been taken somewhere else. There was no ground beneath her, while she felt something and was able to stand, all she could see were clouds of color. It was a beautiful place. If humans could somehow walk up into the sky and stroll through the aurora borealis this is what she would have imagined it to look like from that angle. A black spec lay a few meters ahead of her, looking at her weakly. It was in the outline of a cat yet it had no features of the living, breathing animal. It¡¯s fur was a flat ink-like substance and while its head had an outline of a nose, mouth, and ears the depth of said features were not present. Its entire body was filled in black like a drawing scribbled on with black crayon given life. ¡°You¡¯re...you¡¯re the thing from town? Is that your real body?¡± asked Noelle. No response came from the creature. It remained there, not moving. ¡°That poor thing¡¯s been through the ringer. You should give it your thanks, it stopped you from slipping any further than this.¡± said a voice from behind Noelle. Noelle turned around expecting a person but all she found were floating orbs of light of all different colors, shades, and hues. ¡°Who...who are you?¡± she asked. ¡°A memory of a girl replaced by her true self.¡± ¡°A vampire sent to her last rest.¡± ¡°A hunter who died dissatisfied, revenge unfulfilled.¡± ¡°An echo, the last dregs of a person I can no longer recall.¡± The replies were numerous, but none of them were helpful. They were more like taglines than actual identities. ¡°This is the entrance to the Samsara,¡± said one of the leading orbs. ¡°No...if it was the true entrance then you would already have passed on. You may think of it as the entrance to the entrance.¡± ¡°The...Samsara?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± replied the orb. ¡°A natural process we all must partake in. It is the path of rebirth, a place where our souls become solute before reforming into whoever we were next meant to be.¡± ¡°You¡¯re souls?¡± ¡°No. Souls cannot remain. The Samsara claims them when the material body dies. We are the remains of the animating principle...the anima. Some of us you may know, some of us you may meet, and some of us died far past your time in the world. We are the muddled, unconscious reflection of the soul. We exist yet we do not exist.¡± ¡°Then¡­,¡± Noelle hesitated before regaining her composure. ¡®Why are you here?¡± ¡°Curiosity.¡± ¡°In myself? That seems like a stretch.¡± ¡°Something on your end, in the phenomenal world, sent a shock through the Abyss. We all felt it, the demons in the undercurrent of man, the Archon, and even us lost echoes. A being of the material realm attempting to tear through to the Samsara is no small feat.¡± ¡°You mean the Twin Witch Engine?!¡± ¡°Perhaps,¡± replied one of the orbs. ¡°What is its purpose?¡± ¡°Dr. Bismark, it¡¯s creator, is trying to bring back his wife and kid.¡± replied Noelle. ¡°How...distasteful.¡± said one of the orbs near the back. ¡°The Samsara exists to recycle souls with free will. The departed are already back on the material world somewhere. To interrupt or reverse that...it¡¯s blasphemy.¡± ¡°I...I need to get back.¡± said Noelle. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do about any of this. I can¡¯t do a thing in this place though.¡± ¡°You can leave whenever you so choose.¡± One of the orbs, the one that had claimed to be a vampire, pushed to the front. ¡°The creature which saved you is acting as your anchor to the material world. Follow the chain back up, as it were, and you can return.¡± ¡°You¡¯d best be quick about it!¡± chimed in one of the other orbs. ¡°This spot you stand in now is ephemeral. Stay too long and you¡¯ll fall into the Samsara proper and perish. I don¡¯t even know what would happen to your physical body, but your soul would be reborn into a fresh babe, memories cast aside.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really get it, but I can¡¯t have that.¡± said Noelle. She began walking towards the cat creature, which raised its head in expectation as she grew nearer. ¡°As interesting as all this is, I¡¯ll stick to what I know for now.¡± Noelle reached out and brushed her hand against the creature that had been causing so much trouble around town. ¡°Good grief, you really are a sweetheart,¡± she said to it as it leaned into her touch. ¡°Goodbye, Noelle Sellers,¡± said one of the orbs. ¡°We look forward to seeing what you and that man bring about next.¡±
Noelle woke up again, but this time she could feel the soft tickle of the spring grass against her face. She was back, this was her world for certain. She could hear Oscar groaning not too far away. Whatever Dr. Bismark and the TWE had done to her had surely affected him as well.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°That¡¯s...not at all what I had intended,¡± she could hear Dr. Bismark muttering ahead of her. ¡°I suppose I still have some adjustments to make.¡± Noelle braced herself and pushed against the ground to get back to her feet. The scene remained the same as it had been before. Whatever the TWE had wrought on her hadn¡¯t caused any damage to the surroundings. ¡°What do you think?¡± Dr. Bismark addressed her now. ¡°Care to give any feedback on the TWE¡¯s function? You were the first test subject, after all.¡± ¡°I think you should decommission the damn thing,¡± spat Noelle. ¡°There¡¯s no good to be had lugging that creepy black orb around with you anywhere. You¡¯ll scare everyone at the bar.¡± ¡°Such mirth in the face of my miracles. Were they not to your liking?¡± Anger welled up within Noelle. She had heard of enough of Dr. Bismark¡¯s delusions for the day. ¡°A miracle at the expense of others isn¡¯t a miracle at all! You want to bring back your wife and daughter, but at what cost?! You¡¯d throw away Lorelei and Beth¡¯s lives just for that?!¡± ¡°¡®Just for that?!¡¯ This is everything you stupid bitch! Nothing matters more than this!¡± ¡°The dead already had a chance!¡± screamed Noelle. ¡°Sure, maybe life isn¡¯t always good! The way they died wasn¡¯t fair! But...Lorelei and Beth have lives too! You aren¡¯t creating any miracles, you¡¯re just trying to trade lives! You don¡¯t have the right to do that! You don¡¯t have the right to plug those girls into that thing and call it a day!¡± Dr. Bismark growled at her through gritted teeth. ¡°I was content with giving you a glimpse of what the Twin Witch Engine can do, but now I think I¡¯ll have it mangle your body instead.¡± The oppressive gravity the TWE had exerted on Noelle returned and she was pushed to the ground. Unable to get up, she craned her neck to remain looking at Dr. Bismark. Hatred burned in his eyes as he caressed his earpiece. The gravity grew stronger and a dull pain spread through Noelle¡¯s body as she felt it sink into the soil ever so slightly. She watched as Oscar sprung back to his feet screaming something unintelligible. All it took was a slight flourish from Dr. Bismark to blow the knight backwards and incapacitate him in a manner similar to Noelle. Neither she nor Oscar had what it took to stand against a machine which could rend space and time itself. Oscar was silent, knocked out by the force of the TWE blowing him to the ground. ¡°Consider this the coup de grace!¡± said Dr. Bismark, fist in the air. Before Dr. Bismark could bring down his fist and direct the TWE to crush Noelle flat there was the loud crash of a window breaking and shards of glass began to rain down in the area. An errant piece knicked Dr. Bismark¡¯s palm and he slipped while handling the earpiece. The gravity lifted and Noelle began to cough and sputter in recovery. There was a hand on her shoulder and another rubbing her back reassuringly. ¡°Are you okay?¡± asked a man. Noelle looked up at him. Levi looked back at her. Above him she could see a broken window. Had he jumped through it to reach the lawn? ¡°This is the second time you¡¯ve bailed me out tonight,¡± she said as she smiled melancholically at Levi. ¡°Looks like I wasn¡¯t good for much, was I?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve done plenty,¡± was his reply. ¡°He could¡¯ve killed you and Oscar and escaped by now. It¡¯s only because the two of you kept on railing against him that I could make it here in time.¡± Levi stood to face Dr. Bismark directly. ¡°No hurt feelings, but it would ease my conscience if I shut that thing behind you down.¡± ¡°Your reasoning being?¡± probed Dr. Bismark. ¡°Because I feel like it,¡± replied Levi. ¡°Besides, I don¡¯t see the girl I came here to look for either. It¡¯s best if we put a scary thing like that away before she turns up.¡± ¡°Adrian and Caleb already informed me as to your true identity,¡± said Dr. Bismark. ¡°Your reputation truly does precede you. A man as sharp as yourself surely already knows where the witches are.¡± ¡°Just all the more reason to crack that thing open. I¡¯ll be taking the creature too while I¡¯m at it.¡± Dr. Bismark waved his hand dismissively. ¡°I¡¯ve had it up to here with you self-styled heroes. Disappear from my sight.¡± Levi dove to his side and tucked into a roll. Noelle was about to question him on the action when she noticed the ground where he had been standing bowing inward. There was a sudden gust of wind at her back and the grass and a chunk of soil underneath was carved away. ¡°How was that? A localized black hole phenomenon sustained for only a second. The Twin Witch Engine¡¯s potential applications are limitless.¡± ¡°That¡¯s too dangerous,¡± said Levi as picked himself up from the ground. ¡°I prefer conventional weapons.¡± Dr. Bismark rolled his eyes and Levi began to dance around. More and more spots on the ground were being carved up. Seeing an opening, Noelle took off at a run towards Dr. Bismark. ¡°No! Don¡¯t!¡± Levi yelled at her. Noelle skidded to a halt as the ground was carved away directly in front of her. One more step and the TWE would have undoubtedly scooped a hole out of her side. Dr. Bismark¡¯s focus was on her as he queued up another attack on the TWE. Noelle pulled her pistol from its holster. ¡°Catch!¡± she yelled as she threw it to Levi. As the gun was traveling through the air she approached Dr. Bismark again, prompting him to launch another attack which she narrowly avoided. Levi caught the gun perfectly, instantly gripping the trigger with practiced discipline. He fired three shots aimed directly at Dr. Bismark with no hesitation. The bullets never met their mark and were instead disappeared by the TWE, the only evidence of their firing being the reduced amount of ammo in the gun¡¯s magazine. The ground exploded in front of Levi, knocking the gun from his hand. Noelle circled around Dr. Bismark to draw his attention. His concentration was momentarily split between the two of them, which was all Levi needed. Levi coiled and shot forward like a spring, magical enhancement throwing him forward at an incredible speed. His arm shot out, clawing for the earpiece worn by Dr. Bismark. Levi¡¯s fingers came within inches of Dr. Bismark¡¯s ear before his body was sent crashing into the ground. Noelle¡¯s knees buckled as the gravity hit her as well. ¡°Seriously, how many times have I restrained you with this?¡± asked Dr. Bismark. Levi only raised a bracelet clad hand in response. ¡°Do you know what this is?¡± ¡°Your stratus? I¡¯ve heard about it.¡± said Dr. Bismark. ¡°Do you also know it¡¯s been missing encoded information ever since your creature began rubbing up against it?¡± ¡°So what?¡± ¡°So¡­,¡± the bracelet began to vibrate, ¡°that information would be useless to something that doesn¡¯t have magical energy to stoke it, an issue you¡¯ve taken care of.¡± ¡°What are you saying?!¡± ¡°A creature with all the information for a fire spell paired with two reservoirs of magical power. Tell me, what do you think is going to happen if I send out a resonant frequency for said spell like I¡¯ve been doing?¡± Dr. Bismark spun to face the Twin Witch Engine. There was a panicked look on his face and he began sweating for the first time that night. A bubble began to form on the surface of the TWE, then two, three, and more. Soon the surface of the orb had become covered in black swells, completely destroying its original spherical shape. The gravity lifted from Noelle¡¯s body once again, the Twin Witch Engine was no longer able to keep her pinned down. ¡°N-no! This can¡¯t be happening!¡± cried Dr. Bismark. Levi grabbed him by his shirt. ¡°That¡¯s why you shouldn¡¯t mess with things you don¡¯t understand! That creature never gave up! It was never going to stop until it found a way to escape!¡± Cracks began to form on the surface of the Twin Witch Engine! Flames spewed from them, reaching far up into the sky! ¡°Noelle! Get back!¡± ordered Levi. He threw Dr. Bismark into the distance before racing that way himself. Noelle retreated back to group up with them as well as Oscar who was just getting up after having been knocked out by the TWE earlier. There was a deafening roar as the TWE came apart, shooting a vortex of fire into the air and to the sides. Levi held his bracelet aloft while Oscar summoned his sword to use as a makeshift shield. It did nothing to stop the group from being assailed by an incredible heat, but it was enough to stop them from being engulfed in flames. Levi returned to a relaxed position. The ground was littered with flaming debris, the obsidian orb had returned to whatever base materials had been used to construct it. One of the pieces on the ground shifted and Noelle saw a small black creature stuck underneath it. She got up and ran. By the time she had reached it the air had become unbearingly hot. The featureless cat cried at her as if to warn her off from being burned. ¡°Oh shut it! You saved me from that Samsara or whatever! It¡¯s time I returned the favor!¡± Noelle pulled her sleeve over her hands and swung them at the piece of debris. Sparks shot out and singed her clothing, but she was able to move it off the creature. She picked it up and cradled it in her arms, the mysterious substance making up its body was soothingly cool compared to the burning air. There was a grunt in the distance and one of the Twin Witch Engine¡¯s pieces was blown back. A girl emerged from the flames, her white hair covered in soot but otherwise okay. Lorelei had made it out. ¡°Lorelei!¡± yelled Noelle, running over to the young girl. ¡°You¡¯re not hurt are you?¡± ¡°I...I don¡¯t understand what¡¯s going on,¡± said Lorelei. ¡°The last thing I remember was getting swallowed up by that thing...and what the hell are you holding?¡± Noelle snorted at the question. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Levi was able to destroy that thing.¡± ¡°What about Beth?!¡± said Lorelei, disorientation fading. ¡°I...I haven¡¯t seen her yet.¡± ¡°We need to find her!¡± Lorelei began to cast magic haphazardly, picking up and throwing pieces of the former TWE all over the place. She cast towards a particularly large pile of debris which burst into a pillar of flames. ¡°W-what?! I didn¡¯t mean to do that!¡± Lorelei yelled, taken aback. ¡°What is that?¡± said Levi, peering into the fire. ¡°I¡¯ve got a bad feeling,¡± replied Oscar. A small form could be seen stepping through the flames. It had the limbs of a kid only five or six years of age and was wearing a childishly patterned day dress. Bushy strawberry blonde hair bounced with each step as the figure further emerged from the fire. It possessed all the characteristics of a young girl, but there was more to it. Unearthly energy caused the ends of its bushy hair to curl unnaturally and a pair of flaming horns which looked like they were red hot molten metal molded into their current shape adorned its head. What struck Noelle the most were its eyes which looked straight through her. The gaze distrubed her but she couldn¡¯t break contact with it either. Whatever it was that was standing before her had her transfixed. Out of sight, she began to feel Lorelei¡¯s body shake beside her. The creature she was holding became distressed as well, squirming against her chest but too weak to do anything else. ¡°This is...the absolute worst case scenario,¡± she heard Levi say. Beth continued to look at Noelle with her demonic eyes before opening her mouth to address her captive audience. ¡°Sons of Adam...allow me to bestow unto you the blessings of truth and the fruit of knowledge once again.¡± The Witches and the Stars (22): Serpent Calling March 11th, 2011. On this day a powerful 9.1 magnitude undersea megathrust earthquake occurred to the east of Japan¡¯s Oshika Peninsula. Known as the Great T¨­hoku earthquake, this event caused a massive tsunami which led to the failure of the emergency generators at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and the greatest nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986. The event served as yet another reminder of the terrifying power of nature and the fragility of human lives. Over 16k deaths and billions in economic damages from a freak occurrence that humans were powerless to stop. That was the official story. In reality, a seventeen year old witch from Sendai accidentally killed a mugger with a bolt of flame magic. Her handler got overzealous and called in backup from the Congregation instead of confronting the witch himself and getting all of the information behind the incident. This spooked the witch and she went on the run, which further pushed the Congregation operatives to hunt her down. Eventually the witch became too stressed by the situation. She was cornered and succumbed to the influence of the devil, fearing the threat to her life from the modern day witch hunters. Once that happened it was all over. The Congregation team was slaughtered and the devil-possessed witch triggered the earthquake in a bid to purge the region of human life. The witch was eventually killed due to a stacked backup team consisting of Congregation elites, but the domino effect of the earthquake was unstoppable. This caused great pressure on the Congregation from the UN. While witches had succumbed and subsequently been taken out by the magical body before, this was by far the battle with the most public consequences in modern times. The whole incident only reinforced the already long-held belief in magical circles that witches should be ostracized and killed on sight should they succumb to their lord and master, the Father of Lies.
¡°Sons of Adam...allow me to bestow unto you the blessings of truth and the fruit of knowledge once again.¡± This wasn¡¯t a turn of phrase commonly found in the modern lexicon, and coming from Beth it was downright unnatural. A little girl like that had no place spewing some line straight out of a Bible drama. If only that was the case. Unfortunately Levi wasn¡¯t naive enough to believe that. What stood before him was not a little girl, but something else. While it was the physical body he had encountered previously and even allowed to ride on his shoulders, he knew the spirit was gone. In all likelihood the stress of being trapped in the Twin Witch Engine had overtaken Beth and she had let this thing in instead. The appropriate response to the situation was easy enough to remember. Kill on sight before it kills you. That simple instruction had been drilled into his brain countless times during his trainee days, but he¡¯d never had to act on it. Now he was the face to face with a succumbed witch, one he had known beforehand no less. All the training in the world couldn¡¯t prepare someone for this. ¡°Who are you?¡± asked Levi. It was a pointless question as far as information was concerned, but at the very least he could get ¡°Beth¡± talking to give everyone time to recover before the next inevitable conflict. ¡°I hope you know what you¡¯re doing,¡± growled Oscar. As Lorelei and Beth¡¯s handler there was no doubt he had considered strategies for taking them out in just such a scenario. Knowing Oscar and knowing the power of a witch, however, all of the strategies assuredly relied on stealth and surprise. The face to face confrontation they were having right now was the absolute worst case scenario for survival. ¡°I have many names, forms, concepts,¡± said Beth. ¡°Yet my purpose remains the same. I am the bringer of light, here to return you to true existence.¡± ¡°Bringer of light...you don¡¯t look like it,¡± commented Noelle. Even though she wasn¡¯t native to the magic world she was sharp enough to be wary. Levi could see the apprehensive look on her face and the defensive position she took to block Lorelei and the creature from Beth¡¯s sight. Lorelei looked the worse for wear. As a witch herself she must have understood all too well the implications of what was happening. To have it happen to her own foster sister too...it was too cruel. ¡°Just a reference to a name,¡± said Levi. ¡°¡®Luciferus,¡¯ the bringer of light.¡± ¡°L-Lucifer?!¡± ¡°Pretty much,¡± groaned Levi. ¡°I¡¯d tell you to take Lorelei and run, but...we¡¯ve gone far past the point where that would do us any good.¡± ¡°I can feel your negativity from here, humans,¡± said Beth. ¡°An unfortunate consequence of your existences here in the material world.¡± Beth spread her arms, as if offering love to her captive audience. ¡°While it is brief, I can offer you purification within the Samsara. All I wish is for humanity to see the light by sending them there...yet you reject me always and choose to reincarnate in the material realm. Such tragic creatures, you are. You think and feel and have will, yet you choose to focus only on mundanity.¡± ¡°Excuse me for not believing you, but I have better things to do than listen to something that has a title like the Prince of darkness,¡± scoffed Oscar. ¡°True darkness is cleansing,¡± replied Beth. ¡°Humanity is bathed in shadow, but it is the weak darkness of ignorance instead. I offer you a return to the soul¡¯s true existence.¡± ¡°No deal,¡± said Levi. ¡°I have things I need to do tomorrow. End the world on your own time.¡± ¡°Who cares?!¡± cried out a voice behind Levi, it was Dr. Bismark. ¡°My wife...my daughter...those are the important things here!¡± he spat deliriously as he stumbled towards Beth, gesturing frantically at the wreckage surrounding them. ¡°Get back in the TWE! Please! I¡¯ll do anything for you as long as you bring them back!¡± Beth surveyed where Dr. Bismark was pointing. ¡°You seek to have your soul united with theirs?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± said Dr. Bismarck. ¡°I want nothing more! So...please!¡± Beth raised a finger, bringing it to Dr. Bismark¡¯s nose. ¡°All souls travel back to the material realm after they are cleansed. You are already in the same place.¡± ¡°Cut the shit! Bring them here!¡± ¡°I see. Grief has clouded your perception. Fear not. Though fearfully momentary, returning to the Abyss and the Samsara will free you of such negativity.¡± Beth tapped Dr. Bismark with her finger and withdrew it. Before the man had a chance to speak his body seized up and imploded in on itself until it had compressed into a marble-sized sphere of red. The compression done, the remains of Dr. Bismark dropped to the ground and splattered over the grass. Levi heard heaving and turned towards it. Lorelei had lost control of her stomach and had begun vomiting. Noelle was trying her best to calm the girl but to no avail. Anybody would feel sick after seeing something like that. Almost everyone that is. Levi didn¡¯t have time to consider queasiness. Scanning the grass he located Noelle¡¯s pistol and walked over to it slowly. Any sudden movements stood a chance of alarming Beth and causing her to attack him preemptively. Levi scooped up the pistol. Nothing looked damaged or jammed to him, it was still functional. He fiddled with the magazine to check the remaining ammo before pointing it at Beth. ¡°Hey! What the hell are you doing?!¡± screamed Noelle. Levi ignored her and fired a single shot. His aim was true and the bullet struck Beth directly in the center of her forehead. There was a sharp crash as the bullet deflected off of her and went flying off elsewhere. The girl remained unharmed. ¡°The gun didn¡¯t work,¡± said Levi to Oscar as the other man came forward to stand by his side. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s actual invulnerability or some form of sleight.¡± ¡°You caught its attention at least,¡± said Oscar. He was correct, Beth was now looking square at Levi. While no harm had befallen her it was evident she knew enough to treat his action as an attack. ¡°We¡¯re not at liberty to check what works and what doesn¡¯t in a vacuum. This is about to get messy.¡± ¡°I¡¯m aware,¡± said Levi. Beth raised the palm of her hand towards the pair. ¡°Enough,¡± she said to the both of them. A beam of bright orange erupted from her hand. Levi and Oscar dived in opposite directions, narrowly avoiding it. Turning back, Levi watched as it pierced through cars in a far off lot and destroyed the wall of a distant building. He hoped it would fade before it reached the town proper. Levi charged at Beth. He let loose another bullet as she approached to the same effect as the last one. She responded with a wave of her hand. Levi almost didn¡¯t notice it, but the tips of the grass in front of Beth all broke off and fell to the ground. Levi jumped and felt a gust of wind pass by underneath him. Beth¡¯s spell had been a razorblade of wind. Had he not gotten airborne no doubt his feet would have been separated from the rest of his body. Levi¡¯s leg shot up at the peak of jump and he brought it down as he descended. With the forward momentum he had it would be just enough for his foot to reach Beth. Levi¡¯s axe kick came crashing down on her collarbone. The average grown man¡¯s torso would have been shattered by the force Levi had put behind it, but his foot simply bounced off Beth like he had kicked a giant mass of rubber. Levi noticed Oscar bringing his blade down in the corner of his eye. Beth and Levi both jumped back. Oscar¡¯s blade hit the ground with great force, sending pebbles and rubble flying in all directions.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. I was small but Levi noticed the first bit of hope since Beth had succumbed. One of the pebbles nicked her and opened up a cut on her cheek. Fresh blood poured down it, the sole injury on Beth¡¯s body even though Oscar and Levi had both employed deadly force. ¡°You see her jump back?¡± asked Oscar, returning to Levi¡¯s side. ¡°Yeah. She got cut too. Maybe she¡¯s afraid of your sword?¡± ¡°Only one way to find out!¡± said Oscar as he leaped forward. The sword flew in a horizontal streak and plowed towards Beth¡¯s neck. She made no effort to move as the slash hit its mark. The blade bounced off her. There was no sign of injury, let alone a decapitation. Beth flicked her wrist and Oscar was sent flying into a wall. He broke through it and was sent tumbling into the interior of the building. Levi fired another shot from the pistol to take Beth¡¯s attention off Oscar. She responded with a wall of wind. While it wasn¡¯t razor sharp like her prior attack, it was powerful enough to blow Levi off his feet and cause him to drop the gun. Levi was sent tumbling a fair distance away, leaving Noelle and Lorelei the closest to Beth. Beth approached the girls with a raised palm. Levi got up to help, but stumbled. The blow had dizzied him, and he knew from experience it would take a moment for his body to sort the impact out. A moment Lorelei and Noelle didn¡¯t have. ¡°Sis..,¡± he could hear Lorelei whine. Noelle scooted in front of the girl, putting herself between Lorelei and Beth. ¡°You are a fellow to this child,¡± said Beth to Lorelei. ¡®Why not join my brood?¡± ¡°Beth...give her back¡­,¡± pleaded Lorelei. ¡°I¡¯m afraid there is no way back. Once one of my children fulfills their duty there is no other path open to them.¡± ¡°I...I¡¯m sorry!¡± yelled Lorelei. Lightning arced from her fingertips and struck Beth in the chest. Even that attack had done nothing. ¡°If you will not join me...then you must be returned to the Samsara.¡± Beth prepared to strike. Noelle interrupted Beth¡¯s strike. She put Beth¡¯s head in a clinch and drove a knee into her face. Beth quickly snapped her neck upwards, throwing Noelle high up into the air. The policewoman landed on her back with a dull thud. Even from an appreciable distance away Levi could hear the impact drive the breath from her body. ¡°Shit!¡± he exclaimed, stumbling towards her. Checking Noelle over, he found that she was still lucid and breathing. Good. He was afraid the impact may have been strong enough to send her into shock. Beth glared at them, a fresh stream of blood trickling from her nostril. ¡°I will not tolerate any more interference,¡± she growled, an unearthly baritone layered on top of her normal speaking voice. A ball of blue flame appeared in her hand. She threw it hundreds of meters into the air until it was barely visible. A deafening roar assaulted the area and hot wind pushed against Levi. The ball of blue flame expanded until it had illuminated the area as if it were the sun itself. ¡°Five more minutes of preparation should do it,¡± said Beth. ¡°There are currently over 100,000 souls to cleanse in flame in the immediate area.¡± ¡°What...100,000?¡± groaned Noelle from the ground. ¡°What is she¡­?¡± Levi swallowed heavily. ¡°That¡¯s...that¡¯s the population of the entire county.¡± Five minutes...that¡¯s all they had until flames washed over upper New York state. Even if just the county was burnt the heat and aftereffects would no doubt destroy even more lives outside the range of the blast. ¡°Not even the Congregation can cover that up,¡± commented Oscar as he removed himself from the hole in the building his own body had caused. Pain strained his voice. While Levi knew Oscar had received training to shift his internal magic enough to avoid a fatal blow, he had most likely been caught off guard and had some internal bleeding. Beth¡¯s attention returned to Lorelei. ¡°You first. I cannot allow you to stop the cleanse.¡± A bolt of green light struck Beth in the back, distracting her. Levi turned to face the direction it had come from and was met with a distressed Talise. ¡°Fine mess you¡¯ve gotten in!¡± she yelled at the group. Talise gestured and Lorelei was pulled away from Beth towards Talise. ¡°I¡¯ve sent for reinforcements!¡± she said. ¡°They should be here in ten minutes!¡± ¡°That¡¯s great! We only have five before that blue sun makes an impact!¡± yelled Levi in response. Talise didn¡¯t respond. She instead raised her hand and pushed forth a wave of green energy. It crashed on top of Beth, but none of it managed to hit her. The green power instead flowed around the girl, she had already prepared a barrier to block Talise¡¯s assault. ¡°A hint of a draconic element,¡± murmured Beth. ¡°This stream carries a small portion of the kin of the serpent, but it is weak. Such a farce from you, woman. Who do you think you are?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just a civil servant!¡± replied Talise. ¡°And I can¡¯t let you carry on any farther!¡± An orange bolt of power shot through the green stream and struck Talise¡¯s arms. ¡°AAAARRRGGGHHHH!¡± yelled the woman in agony. The energy went straight from burns to scars on her hands. ¡°You employ a mockery of my kin¡¯s power, yet you cannot process purified dragon breath. Never show me something so ridiculous again.¡± mocked Beth. Electricity arced in Beth¡¯s fist as she raised it to the sky. She brought it to the ground and four bolts of lightning shot from it. Talise was caught defenseless and a bolt hit her dead-on. Lorelei fared better, able to put up a barrier to dissipate the lightning. Oscar blocked with his sword but the charge still hit him like a truck. He was sent spinning to the ground, not prepared for so much damage to still make its way through to him. Levi wanted to roll away from his lightning bolt, but that would sign up Noelle to be hit by it in his place. Instead, he brought his arms up in a guard and poured as much magic as he could accumulate in the time he had into them. Searing pain flooded his arms as the sleeves of his shirt were burned off by the lightning. Even so, Levi held strong. One slip up and Noelle would take the hit instead, and without magical defenses she would surely die. Just as his strength was beginning to fade, a black blur shifted from his peripheral vision to in front of him. It was a featureless cat, the creature that he had seen in town twice before. It took the remainder of the hit and was thrown backwards. Miraculously it remained standing, although shaking. Beth stopped to ponder for a moment before pointing towards Lorelei. She had been watching the group¡¯s response and targeted a focused attack on the one best able to resist her power. A stream of orange shot out and made impact with Lorelei¡¯s barrier. The stream sustained itself, renewed continuously from Beth¡¯s palm like an elongated flame from a welding torch. Slowly but surely, the sustained devilish energy began to eat its way through Lorelei¡¯s shield. Soon enough Beth would break through completely and roast her sister to death with dragon¡¯s breath. The black creature began to walk forward, towards Lorelei. It was still unsteady on its feet but it refused to falter. Did it intend to get between the white haired girl and the bright beam of certain death she struggled against? ¡°Are you really planning to go in there?¡± asked Levi. The creature looked back at him momentarily before continuing forward towards Lorelei. ¡°The balls on this thing...alright fine!¡± exclaimed Levi as he picked himself up. ¡°I¡¯ll join you on this gamble!¡± Levi took off into a sprint, picking up the black creature as he overtook it. ¡°You ready for this?¡± he asked. It nodded to his query, one last affirmation before the two of them plunged into the pit of hell. Levi reached Lorelei and the black thing leaped from his arms towards the girl. Levi did the same, pouring every last ounce of magic he had left over into his back. Just as the shield gave way and shattered Levi pulled Lorelei to his chest and covered her. The black thing stretched out and laid on his back in turn. The pain was immediate as the orange beam cut into the black creature and his back. It sunk in a bit but was stopped. Between the unknown properties of the creature¡¯s body and Levi¡¯s magic they were keeping the energy at bay for now. However, Levi knew it wouldn¡¯t last. His magic was depleting rapidly and there was no guarantee he¡¯d even be able to stay conscious through the pain long enough to tap the bottoms of his magic pool. On top of this he could no longer move. He had only a short while before the beam pierced him and blew a hole through Lorelei as well. The stress of the situation overtook Lorelei and she sobbed into Levi¡¯s chest, her tears evaporating the instant they formed from the overbearing heat of Beth¡¯s magic. Even under such an assault Lorelei stood strong, Levi could tell that she wouldn¡¯t succumb no matter what. It was a small blessing seeing as how the two of them were about to be killed, but a blessing nonetheless. ¡°Oscar! Noelle!¡± yelled Levi with the last of his strength. ¡°I can give you ten more seconds! Figure out how to attack her and end this! I can¡¯t offer any more than that!¡±
¡°Oscar! Noelle! I can give you ten more seconds! Figure out how to attack her and end this! I can¡¯t offer any more than that!¡± Levi¡¯s yell came through loud and clear to Noelle. The sight before her eyes was horrifying. Levi and the black creature were both covering Lorelei with their own bodies. Beth¡¯s magic was hitting them dead on. She had already seen a similar attack destroy multiple cars and cave in the side of a building. Levi was dead. The creature was dead. It was already set in stone. There was no way to stop Beth. She would kill them and Lorelei too before inevitably fixing her aggression on Noelle and the others. Noelle spared a glance at her future killer. Beth had wrought so much damage yet all she had to show for it on her own body was a cut on her cheek and a measly nosebleed. All that for so little damage. How were they supposed to finish her in ten seconds? How had she even gotten hurt at all? The floodgates burst apart in Noelle¡¯s mind, filling her vision with fresh memories. Levi had kicked Beth and right after...right after she had dodged Oscar¡¯s sword. The rubble kicked up by his swing had cut her cheek. When Noelle had put Beth in a clinch, it felt wrong. Normally Noelle¡¯s fingers would have sunk into the girl¡¯s hair, but she had grabbed something else. Noelle¡¯s fingers had slipped right off, they never touched Beth. She had grabbed something imperceptibly close to the girl¡¯s body instead. But her knee had definitely hit Beth¡¯s nose. Noelle had felt it, and Beth¡¯s nosebleed was proof enough that some form of contact had been made. One move had never touched the girl, but the next one did. A succumbed witch who could block a bullet with her forehead had been hurt by a simple knee to the face from a powerless human like Noelle. It was a barrier! An absolute barrier that blocked anything! And between those barriers there was a gap. Beth was weak to consecutive attacks. That¡¯s why she dodged the sword! Noelle¡¯s eyes slammed all around her skull, looking for something. There it was, only five meters away. Her standard issue Smith & Wesson pistol. Levi had fired a few shots but there should still be some ammo left. Noelle scrambled towards the weapon. She was still weak from being thrown and had to crawl, but she had to make it. Levi had given her ten seconds and ten seconds only. She reached out and the tips of her fingers brushed the grip, hope welled within her. ¡°Oscar!¡± she screamed into the night. ¡°Attack her now! Please, you have to trust me!¡± Oscar did as he said and readied his blade. He charged towards Beth with a yell, but she paid him no mind. Noelle took aim with her gun, she had Beth in her sights. Beth...who had been a cheery ordinary girl only a few hours beforehand. Could she do this? Oscar had reached Beth by now. He swung his blade downwards in a diagonal arc. Beth still paid nary a sliver of attention towards him, as she knew the blade would not harm her. ¡°D-ddddaaaaaammmmnnn itttt!¡± yelled Noelle in sorrow as she pulled the trigger. There was a loud roar as the bullet exploded out of the barrel. It traveled the distance between Noelle and Beth in less than the blink of an eye, striking Beth in the shoulder before harmlessly deflecting elsewhere. A look of surprise flashed upon Beth¡¯s face. Oscar¡¯s blade came down in a brutal silver streak. A mist of blood shot up in the air. Everyone was silent as the gigantic blue ball of flame in the sky disappeared. Lorelei broke the silence, a crushing wail rose from her throat and spread throughout the evening. The succumbed witch, Beth, had been stopped. And the happy little girl, Beth, was dead. The Witches and the Stars (Epilogue): What Remains for the Living? The Congregation¡¯s response was swift and effective. Within minutes Cornell¡¯s campus was flooded with Congregation officers with direct orders to subdue the succumbed witch and cover up the incident from the non-magical world. The group had taken care of the first task for them, but they immediately sprung into action to accomplish the second. There was no time to decompress for the battered party who had saved countless lives by the skin of their teeth. They were immediately taken in for treatment and questioning. They had descended like vultures on Lorelei in particular. The only reason Levi hadn¡¯t objected to how quickly they were ferreting away was because Oscar had already pushed his way through to be with her. At the very least she would have a handler who is familiar with her, though that would be small comfort to her in the coming days. Levi noticed as the black creature compressed itself and slipped into Noelle¡¯s shoe, totally unseen by the Congregation operatives. Levi had missed his window to wipe Noelle¡¯s mind with his filter and long term memory erasure was taboo. In all likelihood Noelle would be allowed to keep her memories of the incident under the stipulation she submit to mild surveillance. Levi just hoped they¡¯d show enough mercy to leave Noelle and the black thing to their lives. As for him, this was yet another fine mess he¡¯d gotten himself into. No doubt he¡¯d be subjected to an obnoxiously meticulous interrogation by the Inquisitor¡¯s Office at some point. As he was guided into a temporary shelter for on-field medical treatment, Levi took one last look at the moon. It alone would be allowed to keep its memories of the blue fireball which had nearly destroyed the entire town, the Congregation already hard at work erasing any memories of the impromptu lightshow on Cornell¡¯s campus from the minds of the townsfolk.
Levi reclined in his desk chair as the midday light streamed through the window. It had been a few days since everything had gone down and he had finally been cleared by the Inquisitor¡¯s Office. There was a brief period where he feared he was going to be thrown in the slammer for one violation or another, but in the end he had made it through just fine. ¡°Don¡¯t those hurt?¡± asked Hugo. From the golem¡¯s perspective Levi had gone missing for a few days only to return covered in bandages from various injuries. Levi was pretty glad at the moment that Hugo had no emotions of his own, explaining everything all over again would have been exhausting. ¡°Living hurts, Hugo. Oh well.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know,¡± was the golem¡¯s reply. The door to the shop opened and Talise and Oscar entered. Both were similarly bandaged up and had an exhausted look in their eyes. It seems everyone had paid a toll to make it through that night. ¡°Back already?¡± asked Levi. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be with Lorelei?¡± He nodded towards Oscar. ¡°They already moved her into a temporary children¡¯s home pending the next foster appointment. Out of sight out of mind as far as the higher ups are concerned,¡± replied Oscar. ¡°That¡¯s...rather cold,¡± said Levi. ¡°I agree but they were pretty desperate to move her into a less densely populated area, at least for the time being.¡± Oscar crossed his arms and leaned against one of the bookcases. ¡°The woman in charge of the children¡¯s home is top notch at least, she should be fine for the time being.¡± ¡°Yeah...just as long as you don¡¯t farm her out to another Dr. Bismark.¡± ¡®We tossed out the entire candidate pool to start fresh. We won¡¯t let this happen again.¡± ¡°Evil plans aside,¡± said Talise, ¡°I was the one who took her there. She didn¡¯t look very well.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s drop it for now,¡± interrupted Oscar. ¡°We¡¯re here for Levi at the moment.¡± ¡°What for?¡± Levi asked. ¡°Your future plans.¡± Silence descended upon the group before Oscar spoke up again. ¡°No way you intend to keep this bookstore thing going, right?¡± ¡°We¡¯re not bankrupt yet,¡± muttered Levi. ¡°Just...almost bankrupt. Yeah.¡± ¡°It¡¯s been almost five years since you left the knights,¡± started Oscar, ¡°and in that time you¡¯ve popped up all over the place doing all sorts of different things. Most importantly, you always seem to get yourself wrapped up in whatever local trouble is brewing before moving on to the next thing. Am I wrong? What comes after this?¡± ¡°You almost sound like you¡¯re kicking me out.¡± ¡°Nothing of the sort,¡± said Talise. ¡°It¡¯s mostly curiosity, though this cute little kid Oscar won¡¯t admit it.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Oscar protested. ¡°You have a point,¡± said Levi, leaning farther back into his desk chair. ¡°I told myself I would try everything at least once until I found my calling. I gave the whole college town bookstore thing a fair shake if I do say so myself.¡± ¡°So you are leaving!¡± said Oscar. ¡°But¡­,¡± began Levi, ¡°that¡¯s starting to feel less like flexibility and more like callousness on my part.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Talise, smiling.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°I mean...do either of you feel like our business here is done? Wrap it up and put a bow around it?¡± ¡°What are you asking?¡± inquired Oscar. ¡°I¡¯m...I just¡­,¡± Levi faltered. ¡°It¡¯s never too late to make a change, right?¡± ¡°The only one who can decide that is you,¡± said Talise. Levi stood and stretched before looking his guests in the eye. ¡°In that case, I have a few massive favors I¡¯d like to call in.¡±
Noelle sat at one of the cafe¡¯s outdoor tables expectantly, the black creature resting in her lap. The Congregation had discovered it during her interrogation but they couldn¡¯t figure out a way to restrain it. In the end they had let her keep it since there was nothing else they could do. ¡°Guess only Dr. Bismark was smart enough to keep you tied down, huh Nyar?¡± she cooed. The creature had become attached to her and accompanied her home underneath her clothes. In the end it was clear it wasn¡¯t going anywhere, so it might as well get a name of its own. ¡°What a lame name...what was I thinking? I guess it doesn¡¯t matter, it¡¯s not like I can tell people about you willy-nilly in the first place.¡± Nyar compressed itself and slid into her sleeve in response. A server was coming up to Noelle¡¯s table. Lucky for her Nyar was so smart about hiding itself from the general populace. ¡°Can I get you anything?¡± asked the server. ¡°I¡¯m still waiting for someone,¡± replied Noelle. ¡°On second thought, let¡¯s get two coffees. Black. He¡¯s a grown man, he can handle the taste.¡± ¡°Right away,¡± the server scurried away and returned with two black coffees only a minute later. He also set down a couple packets of cream ¡°Hey, you never know,¡± he said, winking, before leaving again. ¡°...thanks,¡± she muttered before adding cream to her coffee. A man came up to her and slid the other chair out from the table and sat down. He had become a familiar person to her by this point, his brown hair and green eyes a welcome sight after days of being interrogated by unknown magicians. ¡°Why¡¯d you call me all the way out here,¡± complained Levi. ¡°You know there¡¯s a place right across the street from my store, right?¡± ¡°The walk did you good. If you don¡¯t move a little every day you¡¯ll get blood clots in your legs.¡± ¡°Right¡­,¡± started Levi. ¡°Are you...doing okay? I¡¯m sure the Congregation didn¡¯t treat you with kids gloves just because you¡¯re not magic.¡± ¡°Oh...them. Yeah...I didn¡¯t really mind all things considered,¡± she said hesitantly. Noelle paused briefly to swivel the cream into her coffee before continuing. ¡°I¡¯m thinking of leaving the force.¡± ¡°Huh? How come?¡± asked Levi. He almost sounded disappointed. ¡°Levi...I shot a little girl,¡± she stated flatly. ¡°I¡¯m not some weirdo super soldier like you. I have no frame of reference for even attempting something like that.¡± ¡°You make it sound like I¡¯m some sort of monster.¡± ¡°Sorry. That¡¯s not what I meant.¡± ¡°On second thought, I¡¯d rather you call me that than have you apologize. It sounds unnatural.¡± Noelle laughed at this. She was happy Levi could spare a little levity for her after everything that had happened. ¡°Very well. It¡¯s just...I¡¯m really just pretending to be a cop at this point. Adding magic on top of that...I can see it being a burden. I¡¯m not cut out for fights like the one last night.¡± Levi put his hand on her shoulder. ¡°Noelle...you saved more lives than you could ever possibly imagine the other night. I know it may not seem like it now, but you¡¯re the best damn cop I¡¯ve ever met.¡± She leaned into his touch, soaking in the human contact. She was afraid Levi might retract his hand once she did so, but he steadily kept it on her shoulder. ¡°Of course, it¡¯s up to you,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m not a career counselor.¡± ¡°And the magic stuff?¡± A smile crawled onto Levi¡¯s face. ¡°I¡¯ve been to many places around the world, and I¡¯ve met even more people. Magic is nothing more than their thoughts and wishes given form. It¡¯s always there, even when we can¡¯t see it. If there¡¯s one thing I¡¯ve learned after all this time, it¡¯s that where there is magic...there¡¯s always hope too.¡± His hand fell away and reached for his cup. He brought it to his lips and grimaced. ¡°This is completely black.¡± ¡°Ha ha ha!¡± Noelle laughed at him, tears pricking her eyes. ¡°I almost thought you were cool for a second there! You really had me going!¡± ¡°I can take it! You think I can¡¯t drink my coffee black?!¡± he protested before trying to gulp more down. ¡°Don¡¯t push yourself!¡± The two exchanged repartee awhile, but soon the sun began to set and they had to go their separate ways. Levi looked reluctant to go, but he pushed himself out of his chair all the same. ¡°So...what now?¡± asked Noelle. ¡°I made today about me, but what about you?¡± He chuckled at her question, hand rubbing his chin. ¡°I don¡¯t really know, but I usually find that when you don¡¯t know what to do that¡¯s when you should do whatever feels the most right.¡± Levi walked off into the sunset to places unknown, his shop in the other direction. Noelle smiled to herself as his back retreated down the street. Finally she got up herself. There was lots to be done and the shops weren¡¯t closed yet. If she was going to stick around she needed some furniture for that empty apartment of hers.
Lorelei lay in bed listlessly, nothing of interest for her to do in the children¡¯s home. It was just outside the Black Forest, putting her within striking distance of the Congregation¡¯s main city, Vorbild. Close enough for them to keep an eye on her but far away enough she wouldn¡¯t be a threat to them. Not that she was complaining, she had plenty of bad memories about Vorbild. She was in no rush to return there. She was in no rush to go anywhere really. It had been years since she¡¯d been alone like this. She started out a sole child, but she had overlapped with Beth in a children¡¯s home between foster assignments and insisted the two of them stick together ever since. And now Beth was gone. Lorelei turned over in her bed, unable to even summon tears anymore. She was tapped out. Spent like a dead well. It didn¡¯t matter what happened to her anymore. Maybe the Congregation would save everyone the trouble and lock her away in some underground bunker in the middle of the Alaskan wilds. A knock at the door broke her out of her thoughts. Lorelei sat up as the door opened and the woman who ran the home came in. ¡°Can you come to the den?¡± she asked warmly. ¡°I don¡¯t know how it happened so quickly, but there¡¯s already someone waiting to sign your foster paperwork. They said you could meet them to decide if you wanted to first. Best not keep them waiting.¡± Great, another idiot looking to take in a witch. No doubt he was completely ignorant of the horrible monster he was inviting into his home. Lorelei stood and headed over towards the den. Hopefully the simp would get one look at her freak hair and eyes before changing his mind. She entered the den where there was a man standing with his back to her. The brown hair on his head shifted as he turned to face her upon having heard her footsteps. Shock ran through her as she caught a glimpse of his green eyes. ¡°I know I¡¯m being presumptuous coming here,¡± he started, ¡°but I thought...maybe...maybe it¡¯d be for the best if you stayed with me for awhile. Only if that¡¯s what you want, of course!¡± Something squeezed the inside of her chest as she looked at Levi. Before she knew it she was opening her mouth. Right then and there, Lorelei gave him her answer. Afterword~The Witches and the Stars Do people do author afterwords on RoyalRoad? I wouldn¡¯t really know, there¡¯s a scant few stories I have time to read. All I can say for certain is that all of my LNs have one, so I¡¯m doing one of my own. With that out of the way: Hi! I¡¯m the author! If you¡¯re willing to subject yourself to it you should read some of my ramblings on Meaning¡¯s first arc. This story was a long time coming. I had worked up a story concept years ago about a rookie female officer and an errant mage and...it wasn¡¯t very good. There was no real concept behind the story. No magic system, greater scope villains, themes, nothing. The only real inspiration behind the story was I really liked Eddie Redmayne¡¯s portrayal of Newt Scamander in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and wanted to write a character like that. As you can see, that desire was eroded due to eventually writing a more action focused story that needed Levi to be a touch more forceful than Newt. I had two very loose plot ideas for this initial story. The first would involve an investigation into phenomena happening around town due to attempts to make a perpetual motion machine (a la The Crying of Lot 49) and the second would be about a young witch girl who eventually goes berserk and needs to be put down. Kind of thin concepts on their own, which is why I mashed them together for The Witches and the Stars. After I dropped this story I came up with a fanfiction for an already existing property (maybe I¡¯ll tell you what it is if you ask...maybe). The property in question had its own underutilized magic system which I wanted to drop another one based in real world mythology and occultism on top of. The new magic system is what is seen in Meaning, and it is blatantly inspired by A Certain Magical Index.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Anyways, I came up with a hell of a conflict for the fanfic, and between it and the magic system it all felt too good to spend on somebody else¡¯s property. In the end I combined the idea with my original story idea to create the world of Meaning. While I got the first story¡¯s small town mystery plot out of the way it will be quite awhile before we reach the portion of the plot stemming from the fanfic idea. Focusing more on Meaning as it currently exists and the now concluded The Witches and the Stars arc, I¡¯d like to suggest you listen to The Pretender by Jackson Brown as a credits theme of sorts. The Pretender is about a man who has been caught in the trappings of day to day life. He wakes up, makes lunch, goes to work, and comes home. He may once have had greater aspirations but the reality of his life has crushed them flat. All that said, there¡¯s still a hopeful undercurrent to the song. There¡¯s still a chance for the titular character to achieve more, as long as he can bring himself to try. Noelle and Levi are both people who have taken a routine upon themselves due to past events. Will the events of the arc inspire them to do more, or will they slip back into the routine? Only time will tell. And the next arc of course. I promise it¡¯ll go by much more quickly than this one! Thank you all, and please look forward to Arc II: Twilight Wonderland! Summary~Twilight Wonderland Twilight Wonderland Summer has fallen upon Ithaca, New York, and Levi finds himself participating in the most perilous of activities: a group camping trip. What started as a quick excursion for himself, Noelle and her friend Emily, and Lorelei has ballooned into an epic disaster involving Noelle¡¯s parents and her ex-boyfriend.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. All the while a new threat slithering behind the scenes finally decides to make itself known. Lorelei has a target painted on her back, and it will be up to her to rescue everyone from the danger they find themselves entangled in. Twilight Wonderland (1): The Beast Left Behind Lorelei awoke to the nose tickling scent of cheap dollar store perfume. It was positively acrid, the kind of smell only a little kid would love. Had she seen the bottle the obnoxious concoction had originated from there was no doubt it would be adorned with text describing a ¡°strawberry scent¡± or something to that effect; a proposition completely destroyed by the blatant artificiality of it all. She felt like she had fallen asleep inside of a cotton candy machine instead of in her room. Not that her awakening was completely terrible, far from it. A warm mass shifted in front of her, providing the perfect amount of heat to offset the room¡¯s air conditioning. Something soft cushioned her head. She opened her eyes a slit, just enough to make out the difference between light and shadow. She confirmed it was what she thought, a tangle of fluffy strawberry blonde hair. It was so soft she felt like she could sink into it forever and forget the world. Seriously. Waking up next to Beth was the best.
A bitter, nutty smell permeated the room, rousing Lorelei from another night of still and dreamless sleep. Coffee, the average kind nobody liked but bought because they had a buy one get one free coupon. There were a few other scents as well. Eggs, batter with a hint of cooking oil. An idyllic breakfast time if there ever was one. Slowly, she sat up to the protest of her weary body. She¡¯d spent most of the night sitting in the lotus position reading a novel, something her aching thighs and back were all too quick to remind her of. Why was it even a named position if all it did was make you feel crappy? Who the hell liked sitting this way enough to actually ¡°invent¡± it? ¡°What a position. Criss cross applesauce. More like complete garbage...sauce,¡± she groaned. Lorelei looked around the room lazily. Nice and plain, though not for lack of trying. Her proprietor kept on pestering her about decorating the place. Just another reason she hated having to deal with other people, extraneous decoration was just letting the ego sit in the driver¡¯s seat. Couldn¡¯t he see that? Naturally, this meant that the room was completely empty save some furniture here and there. Why wouldn¡¯t it be? Beth was dead after all. All that crap with the strawberry kiddie perfume had been nothing more than a dream. A cruel joke dredged up by her unconscious mind There was nothing for Lorelei to share anymore. Correction, there was nothing she had to share. Same destination, different path. Who cared? A few people in her life were trying to get her to take on a more optimistic mindset but when the mere act of waking up was enough to remind you of your dead foster sister there was little point to it. Why couldn¡¯t they just leave Lorelei alone? Leaver her be as her heart turned pitch black and crumbled away. Hunger dulled her misanthropy somewhat. The smell of the spread taking form in the kitchen was...acceptable. She wasn¡¯t quite ready to give the cook more credit than that yet. She extricated herself from her covers, got up, and went through the door. Another day was waiting for her. Another day without her sister. She grunted a morning greeting to Levi as she plopped down in her chair. It wasn¡¯t her chair, per se, just the area of the table nearest the wall she had taken a liking to. Before she knew it she was always sitting there for meals. It was scary how humans formed habits like that. There was already a mug of coffee in front of her. No doubt it was the perfect temperature with her preferred ratio of coffee to cream to sugar. Lorelei was convinced part of Levi¡¯s knight training had been listening for heartbeats or breathing patterns or something to that end. She had no idea how he did it, but it seemed he had nailed the practice of predicting when she¡¯d emerge from her room down to a science. Her room. Why was she calling it that again? It was his place, a residential area he rented directly above his book shop. Levi plopped a plate down in front of her before turning to get his own. There was a respectable pile of eggs and pancakes on it, far more than someone with any common sense would think to give to a thirteen year old girl. In comparison, Levi¡¯s plate held half a pancake and what may have passed for a single egg had Lorelei not known better. ¡°Oy,¡± she groaned at him, trying to get his attention as he dipped a tentative tongue into his own coffee to check its temperature. ¡°What is it?¡± he responded. ¡°What¡¯s with all this food you gave me? Switch the plates,¡± complained Lorelei. ¡°You¡¯re a growing girl, I think I balanced the portions out pretty well,¡± he shot back. ¡°Uhh no. The complete opposite actually. What even made you think I can finish all of this.¡± ¡°What¡¯s with you? Morning sickness?¡± A dull pressure began to mount behind Lorelei¡¯s eyes. ¡°I want you to think real goddamn carefully about what you just said and what it means before I blow this whole place up.¡± ¡°Noooooo! I¡¯m sorry, okay?! Please don¡¯t blow it up! I won¡¯t get the security deposit back if you do that!¡± protested Levi. Levi carried on whining in the vain hope his attempt at levity would distract her from the situation at hand. Primarily, he was trying to throw her off from any more commenting on the food and what it implied about his finances. She had noticed it soon after arriving here. While Lorelei had experienced nothing but ordinary accommodations Levi often demonstrated a personal standard of living appreciably below hers. When she got a full pancake platter he got an egg. When she got a nice new blanket and a private room he would sleep on the couch with a ratty piece of cloth. There was one time he dragged her to the theatre and bought her a movie ticket, only to sneak in from the roof to spare himself the expense ( he had aso employed the age old tactic of going to a different screen after his movie had ended to make the most of the trip). Long story short, Levi was neglecting to spend money on himself, opting instead to throw it all away on Lorelei. She was sure that an outside observer would be able to twist this into some perverse demonstration of affection, but in reality it was just stifling. On top of that, there was the sneaking undercurrent that the whole thing was a long, meandering apology on Levi¡¯s part. An ¡°I¡¯m sorry for taking part in the fight that got your sister killed.¡± That kind of thing, happens all the time. Seriously, this was why dealing with people she had prior history with was so troublesome. What had she been thinking, taking his offer like that? ¡°I know I¡¯m being presumptuous coming here, but I thought...maybe...maybe it¡¯d be for the best if you stayed with me for awhile. Only if that¡¯s what you want, of course!¡± She had been weak during that moment. Surely, the isolation of losing Beth and being ordered around by the Congregation had eroded her common sense. She would¡¯ve reached to grab the first branch offered to her. It just so happened Levi was the only one to offer.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°I¡¯m full,¡± she said, pushing forward a plate with all of its eggs and half of its pancakes eaten. ¡°You should have the rest.¡± ¡°I can wrap it up instead so you can eat it later.¡± ¡°I can hear your stomach growling from here.¡± Lorelei got up, not wanting to further argue with her caretaker about how much a growing girl should be eating. ¡°I¡¯m going for a walk. Don¡¯t follow me.¡± ¡°Huh? But I thought maybe we could-¡± ¡°See you later.¡± ¡°W-wait!¡± Levi scrambled in front of her to block her exit. ¡°You didn¡¯t forget about this weekend, right?¡± ¡°Oh, that? No, I haven¡¯t forgotten. I promised to go so I¡¯ll put up with it.¡± Seemingly satisfied, Levi stood aside and Lorelei slipped past him to descend to the shop below.
Even though it was still early morning there was already somebody rifling around in the shop. Hugo kept watch from the desk while reviewing an outline Lorelei had seen Noelle giving the golem a few days earlier. Apparently the policewoman was a real Ivy League smartie and had been giving Levi and Hugo tips on how to lay out the books and promotions to attract more customers. That, or Levi¡¯s original layout was so bad anything was an improvement over it. The mystery shop attendee stepped past the shelf he had been browsing and into the open. Lorelei¡¯s irritation spiked a little upon seeing him: Derek Peters. Derek was in her year at the local school. She hadn¡¯t seen much of him since getting wrapped up with the TWE but they were on friendly terms. A better way of putting would be that he had no problem coming up to her and talking her ear off about endless inanities. He had unfortunately become a common sight in the shop due to a procedural error on Levi¡¯s part. The mage had ordered a recurring magazine subscription with one of his suppliers which came with some less than wholesome titles. His efforts to conceal them had been less than exemplary, resulting in The Dusty Tome becoming a convenient resource for anyone craving some old school smut. The weirdest part about it was that Derek had a smartphone, so relying on some old, creepy magazines was entirely a personal choice. ¡°Oh! Lorelei! How¡¯s your dad been this morning?¡± asked Derek, strolling up to her as if he hadn¡¯t been browsing exploitative erotica a minute beforehand. ¡°He¡¯s not my dad,¡± she replied. ¡°Levi¡¯s been pulling the creepy paternal act again. You wouldn¡¯t happen to know what his deal is?¡± ¡°Huh? I just talk to him down here sometimes.¡± Derek scratched his head in confusion. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with acting paternal? Doesn¡¯t he take care of you?¡± ¡°You¡¯d get it if you were me,¡± she said dismissively, ¡°I¡¯m not about to get into it with a kid who lurks around to browse pinup girls.¡± ¡°This is research for my future photography career.¡± ¡°Oh well. Excuse me then. How was today¡¯s selection monsieur?¡± ¡°Lacking,¡± he sighed. ¡°These modern day rags don¡¯t hold a candle to the classics. The photographers really strove to capture the essence of the girls back in the day, y¡¯know? These days they know they can¡¯t compete so it¡¯s all done on the cheap. The art form has really taken a hit.¡± ¡°And yet you¡¯re still here.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t like them.¡± ¡°Annnnnnd there it is.¡± Exasperated, Lorelei made her way towards the door. No good would come from furthering this stupid discussion. ¡°Leaving? Wanna hang out today?¡± asked Derek. ¡°No...today¡¯s private,¡± said Lorelei. ¡°I won¡¯t pry,¡± said Derek. ¡°Just...try to have fun.¡± ¡°What the...you too huh? No wonder you and Levi get along.¡±
Spring had given way to the humid oppression of summer over the last few months, and today was proof of that. It was positively sweltering out, Lorelei had ditched her favorite hoodie for a plain black t-shirt and jeans. Even then, the jeans felt like a bad move and she should have swapped them out for shorts. The foul weather made the appearance of the woman approaching Lorelei on the sidewalk all the more disarming. She was tall and slender, with sleek black hair and curves in all the right places. Even with a full police uniform on there wasn¡¯t a thread out of place. She swung a bag absentmindedly but the put togetherness of everything else about her made even this innocuous action look like the posing of a model. While there was nothing concrete to criticize, Lorelei found the very existence of the woman indecent, not least of all her personality. ¡®Yoohoo! Lorelei!¡± cried out Noelle. ¡°Stop right there!¡± commanded Lorelei. ¡°I have a terrible feeling this is going to be one of those days where everybody under the sun bothers me with petty conversation.¡± ¡°Petty? No such thing. Conversation helps us understand others and, most importantly, ourselves,¡± said Noelle with a totally blank expression. ¡°Shut up! I know you don¡¯t mean that! There¡¯s nobody in the face of the Earth who could mean that less than you!¡± accused Lorelei. ¡°That¡¯s true. I tolerate conversation with everyone with the exception of men, women, and children.¡± ¡°That¡¯s almost everyone!¡± yelled Lorelei, exasperated. ¡°Please tell me you have a reason for being here.¡± ¡°Of course, it¡¯s this,¡± said Noelle as she flourished a baton. ¡°Just got given this puppy. Black polycarbonate, brand new state of the art!¡± Noelle continued to spni the baton, bragging, before bringing it sideways into a nearby telephone pole. ¡°Hup!¡± she exhaled as the baton cracked into the pole, sending a splinter of wood flying. ¡°Pretty cool, right?¡± she asked as if her behavior hadn¡¯t been completely inappropriate for her standing. ¡°I hope they revoke your badge,¡± groaned Lorelei. One minute of interaction and she was already exhausted with Noelle. ¡°I¡¯m in no rush to job hunt,¡± said Noelle, holding out the bag to Lorelei. ¡°I¡¯m actually here to give you this.¡± Lorelei peeked inside. The bag contained a number of feminine hygiene products, some of them peppered with ridiculous marketing slogans such as ¡°made from 100% organic cotton!¡± ¡°This is such overkill,¡± Lorelei sighed. ¡°Let me guess, Levi gave you these to hand over to me? It¡¯s the same with the food.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯s just doing whatever it is he thinks he¡¯s supposed to,¡± said Noelle. ¡°Besides, he said you got angry at him last time he picked this stuff up for you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because he did it while I was next to him in the store! Everybody could see some smelly old guy handing me pads!¡± ¡°Well...maybe he could use some more tact,¡± said Noelle. ¡°Want me to tell him to return all this and buy some Maxi Pads?¡± ¡°Maxi? Why so specific?¡± ¡°Maxi dress?¡± ¡°Stop it.¡± ¡°Maxie¡¯s World?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even know what the fuck you¡¯re talking about!¡± ¡°Oh, sorry. Maxie¡¯s World was an animated show made by DIC Animation City in 1987 to tie in with the ¡°Maxie¡± fashion doll line. However, the show was short lived and the toy line was dissolved soon after. It¡¯s nothing more than a vignette lost to time. That being said, there are still a few fans who-¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, I got it. That¡¯s enough.¡± Lorelei tried her best to dismiss the topic. ¡°You¡¯re the only person I know who¡¯ll bring up something so dumb to try and be funny.¡± Lorelei began to walk away, not wanting to put up with Noelle¡¯s antics any longer. She¡¯d leave the bag to her as well. Walking around town while holding that crap would be totally humiliating. ¡®Right¡­,¡± Noelle muttered to herself. ¡°It never gets any easier with her, does it?¡±
Finally free of distractions, Lorelei stood in a derelict corner of Ithaca City Cemetery. While the area saw an occasional visit from groups of rowdy students it was overall tranquil and just under the radar enough for Lorelei to go about her work. There wasn¡¯t much to interact with in the immediate area, just a few overgrown trees and some grass. It looked relatively untouched, which was by design. Lorelei had cast a glamour here some time back to dupe the function of her filter and not draw attention. With a wave of her hand, Lorelei dispelled the second level of the glamour, revealing polished stone and a vibrant display of flowers of all colors, some blatantly unnatural. The stone, gleaming in the sunlight, had one word carved into it: Beth. This was her shrine. While the Congregation had justified confiscating Beth¡¯s body for all manner of reasons, they had no right to stop Lorelei from memorializing the young witch in her own way. Technically the shrine was unsanctioned and if anyone caught wind of it they¡¯d have it removed, but Lorelei wasn¡¯t about to let them in on it. This place was for her and her alone. A place where she could mourn in peace without the surface level or magical worlds intruding upon her. Just her, a grave, and some flowers. Nothing more needed to be there, any other addition would be unnecessary. Ever since Beth had passed Lorelei knew the only purpose a monster such as herself had in this world would be remembering her sister as she was. This was her meaning, her only justification for living in this pointless world. She would tell it to no one. Twilight Wonderland (2): Reservation The insects sang incessantly across town as the afternoon dragged on, just like every other day that summer. While the sun had begun to set and cool things off, the uncomfortable humidity characteristic to the northeast still clung to the air. Levi draped himself over a bench in Dewitt Park. It had become a favorite retreat of his as of late whenever his presence in the shop was too much and caused Hugo to usher him out. Noelle had long since caught on to his common hiding places and had begun requesting meetings at them. Levi almost considered this considerate of her, but her acid tongue would always demolish any sense of goodwill the accommodating gestures built up. Who was he kidding, he liked her acid tongue just fine. Much like many other days, he was here by Noelle¡¯s request. She had become an invaluable help to him, both for organizing the shop and for looking after Lorelei. Unfortunately, even with her help it was still a challenge to manage the witch, and it felt like this day in particular had been a failure on that front. Levi glanced up at the sky as he watched the clouds idle by. It was nearly 8:15 PM and Noelle hadn¡¯t shown yet. The normal response was to assume her work was causing her to run late, but there was a little voice in the back of his mind taunting him that she was dragging her feet showing up just to prove he would keep sitting there, waiting. At least Lorelei had already come back for dinner and was reading a book when he had left; his child-rearing duties for the day were done. Motion and a wave of black hair dragged his attention away from the sky. Noelle had plopped herself down on the ground in front of the bench, preferring to use the seat as an armrest instead of for its true function. While she had tied most of her hair up into a bun, two larger strands framed her face and many smaller bits of hair were sticking out. Seeing that combined with the sweat staining her uniform and there was no doubt the weather was taking its toll on her. ¡°She didn¡¯t want these,¡± groaned Noelle as she limply held up a plastic bag filled with feminine hygiene products. ¡°Don¡¯t you think this is all a bit overkill? You¡¯d be better served getting Lorelei Maxi Pads.¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t want the organic stuff, huh?¡± ¡°Maximum overdrive.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t even say ¡®Maxi!¡¯ How many times are you going to do the same joke?!¡± ¡°Fuddy duddy.¡± ¡°Seriously? How old are you?¡± Silence overtook the pair for a bit. Levi usually felt awkward when something like this happened, but with Noelle there was no issue. She was a bit like a cat, willing to be present but not requiring constant attention and stimulus. Finally, she looked upwards at him and began to speak again. ¡°I don¡¯t think being overzealous with your purchases is going to get you anywhere with her.¡± She was right of course. Levi had taken in Lorelei on an impulse simply because he was dissatisfied with how everything had played out. It had quickly become evident he was in over his head. Looking after somebody else was much harder than living to see another day on the battlefield, especially a child. If he was any good at looking after others he wouldn¡¯t be the only person nicknamed ¡°Survivor,¡± would he? ¡°I just...I don¡¯t know how to approach her,¡± he said. ¡°Talking to her can be really hard. I thought that buying nice things would be a good way to show that I care.¡± ¡°Only gold digging bitches are impressed by that kind of behavior,¡± snorted Noelle. ¡°She¡¯s a kid.¡± ¡°Same difference,¡± she replied. ¡°Point is, she¡¯s not going to open up just because you feed her caviar and Dom Perignon.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t afford that,¡± objected Levi. ¡°Quit ruining my joke! You were supposed to complain about the alcohol!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a joking matter.¡± ¡°Listen Levi, it¡¯s not like she¡¯s a bundle of sunshine with me either. She¡¯s hurt and withdrawn and she¡¯s not going to open up until she feels like it. All you can do is try to bond with her a little and be ready for her when she¡¯s comfortable.¡± He was taken aback. All this coming from a woman who was usually painfully blunt with him. This was just another surprise coming from Noelle. Not that it was entirely unexpected. This was a woman who put a berserk witch in a clinch and kneed her in the face, after all.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°I never realized you had such a grasp of childhood psychology,¡± commented Levi. ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± said Noelle as she fanned herself. ¡°I don¡¯t know the first thing about people. All I can do is watch them like a hawk until I understand their behavior.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re saying it¡¯s strictly a predator-prey relationship?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± she giggled in a cute manner that Levi¡¯s Noelle-experienced mind could only interpret as sinister. ¡°That¡¯s why I get along with Nyar so well. Isn¡¯t that right?¡± In response black wisp emerged from her boot. Noelle scratched it momentarily before it retreated back in. ¡°You¡¯re still bringing Nyar everywhere?¡± asked Levi. ¡°He gets so lonely without mommy,¡± cooed Noelle. The wisp emerged again in response and entangled itself within her fingers. ¡°Besides, he helps me de-stress. Do you complain when you see people walking their dogs?¡± ¡°Dogs aren¡¯t anti-magic alien dark matter masquerading as a cat.¡± ¡°Fine!¡± she said with an emphatic harumph. Oh geez, he might¡¯ve actually made her angry there. ¡°Speaking of stress,¡± he began, desperate to steer the conversation off its current trajectory, ¡°you look like you¡¯ve been through the wringer today.¡± ¡°Ugh! I know!¡± she yelled a little too loudly. ¡°It¡¯s all of these damn summer couples. Everywhere I go there¡¯s stupid kids dressed in low cut tops and booty shorts flirting all over the damn place. Have some propriety!¡± ¡°You¡¯re the same age as them!¡± ¡°Yes, but I have standards. All of these floozies flaunting their T&A all over the place are disgusting! There are much classier things for a woman to show off!¡± ¡°That being?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me what you like the most, Levi? Be brave.¡± Levi held his tongue for a moment. This was a test, he was sure of it. Fate had presented him a branching path, and depending on his choice he would live to see tomorrow or die a horrible death. He knew he couldn¡¯t answer with the obvious choices because it would refocus Noelle¡¯s ire onto him, but being too offbeat with his answer would just demonstrate he was bullshitting. It was a dilemma every man faced at least once in his life, and one that he had encountered on the battlefield many times. It was because of this that Levi knew what it was he had to do. When your back was against the wall, only the truth would suffice. ¡°The curve of the back and the shoulder blades,¡± he answered, voice filled with confidence. ¡°There¡¯s nothing better than looking at a nice pair of shoulder blades, it¡¯s like gazing at a perfectly sculpted marble statue. So many people don¡¯t take care of their bodies and try to hide it, but the shoulder blades always give it away. It¡¯s like a guiding light for us men.¡± ¡°I feel the same about the neck and the collarbone,¡± answered Noelle as she unbuttoned the top of her uniform to fan herself. She felt the same! That meant he¡¯d survived! Yahoo! Thank you shoulder blades! Relieved, he looked down at Noelle, confident he could meet her gaze. He had passed the test. There was nothing left for him to fear. She had undone the top few buttons of her uniform, exposing the upper portion of her torso in the process. A crystal of sweat gleamed in the setting sun as it streaked down her neck. Crawling down her defined muscles, it pooled in her sternal head, perfectly drawing attention to the shadows caused by her collarbone in the fading light. Yeah, the neck wasn¡¯t too bad either. His eyes traveled back up to her face, only to be met with a smug grin. Nyar had fully emerged as well and was staring at him (as well as Nyar could with no discernable eyes) silently. Levi put his face in his hands. He¡¯d been played! Of course it had all been a setup by Noelle, and he¡¯d taken it hook, line, and sinker! ¡°Man is truly a beast not deserving of pity,¡± she taunted as she continued to smile at him. ¡°Though when it comes to you, I actually feel bad. Why is that?¡± ¡°Because I have the innocent heart of a young boy?¡± Levi asked tentatively. ¡°Actually it¡¯s because I view you as totally gormless worm shit,¡± said Noelle, her smile warping into a foul grimace. ¡°I can¡¯t blame a brainless animal for falling victim to its biology, can I?¡± Another dig from her. Levi had gotten used to Noelle¡¯s uniquely belligerent manner of self-expression over the last few months, but it still caught him off guard sometimes. He sighed as her frown went back to an amused smile. Even though she was a harsh mistress you could see through her bluster to find the playfulness laying underneath once you knew her well enough. Noelle was dangerously endearing sometimes, he¡¯d have to be careful around her lest he lose his head. ¡°Anyways, about Lorelei,¡± she started, changing the subject, ¡°you should invite that kid along this weekend. Derek? The one who goes through all the bliff mags.¡± ¡°That slang isn¡¯t even from this country!¡± Yeah, she was endearing alright. ¡°Besides, the kid doesn¡¯t know anything about magic. Did you forget Talise is taking us part of the way with the ley lines?¡± ¡°Then wipe his short term memory. Are you already forgetting you said Emily could come? What¡¯s the issue with one more person?¡± ¡°Why are you so set on this?¡± ¡°Because Lorelei gets along with him, even if she won¡¯t admit it. I doubt she wants to hang out with the adults the entire time. Besides¡­¡± Noelle trailed off, looking reluctant to speak again. ¡°Besides what?¡± asked Levi. Noelle grumbled under her breath before continuing. ¡°Emily let slip about the trip when she bumped into my parents. They rented a huge cabin for everyone and all that. The trip¡¯s been hijacked, sorry.¡± If Noelle was apologizing then it was serious. Levi hadn¡¯t met Noelle¡¯s parents but the stories were enough. He pinched the bridge of his nose in anticipation. A camping trip from hell was right around the corner. Update 04-05-22 APRIL 2022 EDIT: Getting a new job rolled into me upskilling even more and moving (to be concluded in a few weeks). I''m finally in a place to consistently work on this story again. OCTOBER 2021: Before I knew it I was gone for over a month. This chapter is a small update prompted by an email I received. I am working both on refining old chapters and writing new ones. However, I am also studying new skills pertaining to my IRL career right now and decided that would take precedence as I become more familiar with them and search for positions where they are best used. Once this is done (ideally due to finding new work) there will be more action on this fiction. Either that or I work through all the material I want to study. Regardless, my ETA for focusing on RRL again is October 2021.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. -World Boundary Twilight Wonderland (3): The Trip Begins Lorelei stared out the window of the car lazily as the vehicle made its way down a lonely stretch of highway. It was going so fast that the trees flew by. She could make them out if she chose one to focus on ahead of time, but otherwise her vision was filled with nothing but blurred green suggestions of the fauna beyond the window. Levi and Noelle sat up front, with Levi driving. The camping trip had been all his idea, a probable attempt to switch things up and get Lorelei to open her guard, as if she¡¯d be doing that anytime soon. He tapped his finger along with the beat of the radio and hummed but was otherwise keeping his mouth shut for once. Noelle was silent as well, but was fidgeting in her seat. Lorelei had already heard all about the mishap of Noelle¡¯s parents butting in on the trip. Judging from how cheery Noelle was, meeting her parents promised to be a real treat. Lorelei¡¯s mental image of them was Cruella de Vil and Count Olaf if Noelle in any way served as an accurate base. That would be put to test soon enough. She turned away from the window towards the source of the light breathing next to her where Derek was slumbering away peacefully. For some God forsaken reason Levi and Noelle had decided to bring him along and somehow convinced Derek¡¯s parents to let him attend. Lorelei guessed his mom was all too eager to push her pervert son into a healthy activity like camping for a change. It was a welcome relief from how hyperactive the boy had been just an hour before. Levi had pulled some strings to get Talise to give them a lift on the ley lines for most of the trip so he would only need to rent a car and drive for about an hour. Needless to say, Derek lost it when he shifted from Ithaca, New York to Bangor, Maine in nearly an instant. Levi was quick to wipe Derek¡¯s memory with the filter after that. He had already caught a lot of heat from Oscar for failing to wipe Noelle when he had the chance and it seemed like he wasn¡¯t eager to sit through another lecture. Derek¡¯s present bout of sleep was a result of a secondary knockout function on Levi¡¯s filter. It had been found that wiping someone¡¯s short term memories had a high failure rate if you let the subject re-examine their surroundings immediately, so knocking them out for at least 30 minutes was recommended. Lorelei had mixed feelings about the current arrangement. On one hand, Derek¡¯s no doubt incessant chattering would be annoying. On the other, the quiet atmosphere of the car ride was boring her to tears. It was almost enough for her to want to hear Levi say something stupid. As if on cue, the man cleared his throat while slowing for a turn onto a smaller, residential road. ¡°I forgot to mention, but I promised somebody I¡¯d meet them in Bar Harbor tomorrow. It¡¯s just twenty minutes away so I won¡¯t be long.¡± ¡°Wait...you¡¯re leaving me all alone with them?!¡± gasped Noelle. ¡°Is that seriously how you refer to your parents?¡± asked Levi. ¡°Besides, I thought it would just be Emily until the other day. Don¡¯t blame me.¡± ¡°I have two options for your punishment. Choose wisely.¡± ¡°What?! This is your fault by association in the first place!¡± ¡°Drop and give me twenty push-ups, or,¡± she leaned in closer to him, to the point her nose was almost pressed against his cheek, ¡°rip off your toenails.¡± ¡°Those aren¡¯t equal at all!¡± ¡°All complaints will be accepted as choosing the latter.¡± ¡°No! I want the push-ups! The push-ups!¡± Lorelei found it concerning that Levi was slinking off to meet some unidentified person. It was suspicious and undoubtedly something Noelle would pick up on, but instead she was using the news as an excuse for icky flirting.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. She really needed to up her standards. Whatever, if Levi wasn¡¯t taking them along Lorelei wasn¡¯t about to ask. No good would come from getting mixed up in his business. It was probably something stupid too. Lorelei¡¯s attention was drawn back to the window as the car slowed. It had been nearly an hour since they got in the vehicle, so this was the home stretch. The car came to a stop in front of a luxurious wooden cabin overlooking a lake. ¡°Hey, Lorelei?¡± said Levi. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it have been funny if Noelle and I had said ¡®piss-ups¡¯ instead of ¡®push-ups¡¯?¡± ¡°No! You stupid fuck! Are you going to let him say this crap, Noelle?!¡± Noelle didn¡¯t respond. She was looking out the window distractedly instead. Her mouth parted as she let out a soft whisper. ¡°Andrew¡­,¡±
An uncomfortable silence blanketed the large dining room table of the cabin. While there was a spread of delicious looking food ready to be eaten within an arm¡¯s reach nobody dared take any lest the invisible tension in the room break out into furor. Lorelei sat on the same side of the table as Levi, Noelle, and Derek, now awake. The other side was occupied by Noelle¡¯s friend, Emily, two older people who were surely Noelle¡¯s parents, and a young man she could only assume was the ¡°Andrew¡± Noelle had mentioned. It didn¡¯t take much to guess what their relationship was, or used to be at least. Noelle was the first to break the stalemate. ¡°What¡¯s he doing here?¡± she asked sternly. ¡°Watch your tone, dear,¡± chided her mother, ¡°Your father and I thought this would be a good opportunity to patch things up.¡± ¡°If you haven¡¯t moved on already, that is,¡± said her father, staring daggers at Levi. Levi stiffened under the older man¡¯s gaze. ¡°I...uh...I¡¯m...just some guy. Yeah.¡± ¡°He cheated on me,¡± replied Noelle. ¡°It¡¯s just a phase. We all...wander from time to time. Besides, you two are such a good match,¡± said Noelle¡¯s mother. ¡°A good match for your networking opportunities maybe.¡± ¡°Tomayto, tomahto.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, for what it¡¯s worth,¡± said Andrew, ¡°Why don¡¯t you introduce your friends here?¡± ¡°Sorry my ass,¡± muttered Emily. Andrew ignored Emily¡¯s comment and gestured towards Levi. Rather than answer, Noelle crossed her arms and scowled at her parents. Levi was left to fend for himself. ¡°I¡¯m Levi. This girl here is my...ward, Lorelei. Derek here is her friend from school.¡± ¡°Ward?¡± questioned Noelle¡¯s mother with a cocked eyebrow. ¡°Oh yes,¡± replied Noelle with a sly grin on her face, ¡°Levi is very altruistic, and a business owner too. He¡¯s very accomplished.¡± Levi had no choice but to play along. ¡°Nonsense. It¡¯s all a bit too much for me. If Noelle hadn¡¯t stepped in to help me out at my shop every once in a while I wouldn¡¯t be able to handle it and Lorelei at the same time.¡± ¡°I always knew Noelle had a strong sense of civic duty!¡± laughed Emily. ¡°Yes...just like her sister,¡± muttered Noelle¡¯s father, ¡°Which is why I¡¯d prefer if she stopped being an officer immediately.¡± ¡°This shit again,¡± groaned Noelle. ¡°W-why don¡¯t we dig in!¡± suggested Emily in a panic. ¡°Don¡¯t mind if I do,¡± said Levi as he reached towards the food. ¡°I¡¯ve been in a tough spot recently. I can afford enough for Lorelei but I¡¯ve been eating nothing but rice and beans for a month. If only the bookshop did a little worse I could get some sweet government assistance.¡± ¡°I...see,¡± said Andrew. ¡°You¡¯d have to get rid of the nudie mags to do worse, and I wouldn¡¯t want that,¡± said Derek. ¡°Me neither,¡± replied Levi. ¡°If I got rid of them kids like you would go looking in seedier places for their fix. I¡¯m doing you a big favor.¡± Noelle¡¯s parents were silent on the other end of the table. Noelle¡¯s face turned dull as she slid down in her seat as Levi and Derek continued to chatter, unaware of the punishment she would surely inflict on them after dinner. Lorelei sighed and reached for her own helping of food, sorry for whatever she had done to have to suffer the company of these idiots Not that she didn¡¯t deserve it. Twilight Wonderland (4): Movement Levi sighed in contentment as he eased himself into the hot tub on the deck of the cabin. While dealing with the Sellers family and their guests had been an awkward affair, the money they put up for an upgrade in accommodations was very welcome. Levi wasn¡¯t confident the propane water heater in the initial place he had booked would even put out enough hot water for Lorelei to shower let alone himself. He looked down at the water. Though distorted, it was still easy enough to make out the scars on his torso, evidence of a long career fighting for The Congregation. He knew that if he could see his back the remains of the burn left by Beth would be readily apparent. While he had been patched up quickly after the fight it had been a rush job and the after the fact salve Talise had given him would take time to restore his skin to its former glory. ¡°I should really get these things taken care of,¡± he muttered. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s a lot,¡± he heard someone else say. Noelle stepped onto the deck in her swimsuit and a can in each hand. He shouldn¡¯t have been surprised, neither by the suit (he had told her the bring it for swimming) nor her being awake (he had learned over the months that she kept odd hours) but seeing the figure she cut on the moonlight still caused his heart to skip a beat. ¡°What? You¡¯ve never seen someone shirtless before?¡± he retorted. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen you shirtless before,¡± sniped Noelle as she eased herself into the hot tub. ¡°Nice muscles.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what you¡¯re focused on?¡± ¡°Oh boo-hoo. You want me to comment on that patchwork adorning your chest? You look like my grandma¡¯s old tablecloth. What¡¯s with the ¡®getting these things taken care of¡¯ comment anyways? Feeling self-conscious?¡± ¡°No. It¡¯s just that you can avoid or get rid of scars with the right spells and tools. It¡¯s like getting your teeth whitened at the dentist.¡± Noelle wordlessly tossed one of the cans towards Levi as a response. He gently caught it before looking at the label. It was beer. A cheap, corny brand of beer at that. The type you¡¯d fine littering the floor of a frat basement. ¡°Do you really go for this stuff?¡± Levi asked. ¡°It fits my budget.¡± ¡°Still, I pegged you as someone with fancier tastes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because I am. I just wanted to try this stuff to understand what a poor loser like yourself sees in it.¡± You mean you bought it for me, thanks. Levi decided it best to keep that reply to himself. ¡°Enough of this,¡± said Noelle, ¡°where¡¯s my compliment?¡± ¡°Your what?¡± ¡°A beautiful maiden has appeared before you, complimented your scars, and given you a fine beverage. I think she deserves a compliment of her own, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Um¡­your hair¡­is extra silky today.¡± ¡°That¡¯s so insincere.¡± ¡°Your eyes are really¡­sparkly in the moonlight.¡± ¡°You have three seconds to give a real one before I reprimand (kill) you.¡± ¡°Whoa! I feel like you said something really scary under your breath!¡± ¡°One¡­¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± ¡°Two¡­¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± ¡°Thr- ¡± ¡°Y-your breasts look really great in that swimsuit!¡± She threw her can at him.
Having said her piece, Noelle turned to rest her arms on the ledge of the hot tub. She stared up at the moon, no longer paying attention to Levi. He had been grasping at straws when giving out his compliments, but it wasn¡¯t like they weren¡¯t truthful. Her hair really was nice and so were her eyes. The way she looked up out of the water and the backlight of the hot tub and moon framing her body were things nobody in their right mind could complain about seeing.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Noelle¡¯s head turned ever so slightly, just enough so she could make eye contact with Levi. She brought her hands up and began to stretch, looking at him from the corner of her eyes all the while. The motion of her arms caused her shoulders to roll, emphasizing her back muscles and shoulder blades. It was nice. She continued to stare at him. It was¡­nice¡­ She continued to stare at him. ¡°You like?¡± she chaffed. ¡°I thought the curve of the back and the shoulder blades were the best aspects of a woman?¡± ¡°Shut up,¡± he mumbled, turning to face away from her. He gazed out into the woods absentmindedly as he sipped his drink. If he cut Noelle off for long enough she¡¯d get bored and calm down. Subtle movements in the water told him that Noelle was moving closer to him. It wasn¡¯t like she was a threat so there was no need for him to turn around and face her. Still, he did a little jump when he felt the coolness of her fingers on his back. ¡°Does it hurt?¡± she asked, as she pressed her palm flat. ¡°No. It wasn¡¯t even life threatening. I¡¯ve had nastier injuries.¡± ¡°When you were working for The Congregation? You should tell me some stories. Y¡¯know, get it off your chest.¡± ¡°Because I don¡¯t need to get anything off my chest? You just want to hear about me getting hurt!¡± ¡°Hmph!¡± Noelle removed hand and slapped him on the back. The sound of her hitting him was distressingly loud as it reverberated through the night. ¡°How¡¯d you like that five-star, bitch?¡± ¡°Is something wrong with you today?¡± sighed Levi as he faced Noelle once again. ¡°I should be asking you that,¡± she replied. ¡°What¡¯s with this friend you¡¯re running off to see tomorrow?¡± ¡°Oh, him? That¡¯s nothing!¡± ¡°It does when it has something to do with Lorelei. Don¡¯t even try to deny it, there¡¯s no way you would be so secretive over anything else!¡± ¡°I-I don¡¯t even know who that is!¡± ¡°You get lowlier and less intelligent by the day, I swear,¡± Noelle complained as she rapped Levi¡¯s shoulder with her knuckles. ¡°Tell me this at least¡­is it something we should be worried about?¡± ¡°¡­I hope not.¡± ¡°And if there is¡­you¡¯ll tell us right away?¡± ¡°¡­of course,¡± he conceded. ¡°Fine,¡± she said, sitting back down in the water and bringing her can to her lips. ¡°Just like that?¡± he asked. ¡°If I get mad again I can always take it out on you later.¡±
Levi felt around his pockets to double check. Wallet, keys, filter; everything was present and accounted for. He had assumed he would be waking up early enough to slip out unnoticed, but that wasn¡¯t the case. Everybody except the two teens and Emily was already awake. Wide awake at that. Levi could pump himself with some magic to wake up faster, but the others were simply freaks. People with fancy degrees and careers were just built different, early to rise and late to go to bed. Even Noelle was up, and she had stayed outside to tease him into the early AM. She watched him out of the corner of her eye as he opened the door. He¡¯d have to tell her what was going on sooner or later. That was assuming if anything was going on. It could be nothing, though the bad feeling in the pit of his stomach argued otherwise. He almost made it to the car before Andrew intercepted him. ¡°Going somewhere?¡± ¡°Just into town. Picking up a few things.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tag along. We never had the chance to really speak last night.¡± ¡°Oh no, I couldn¡¯t trouble you like that!¡± ¡°It¡¯s already decided! Let¡¯s go!¡±
It had been ten minutes of small talk with no sign of stopping as Levi drove to Bar Harbor. Andrew presented an enigma. The man had dated Noelle, after all. There must be some dark facet to him, but he was ordinary so far. Too ordinary at that, like he was trying to blend in. Noelle said he had cheated on her several times. His relationship with her could have been just like this, a veneer of politeness as he worked his way towards what he really wanted. A snake coiling around Levi¡¯s throat. He¡¯d sooner take a million and one acerbic but honest comments from Noelle before voluntarily being stuck with Andrew, yet here he was. It was only a matter of time before the man played his hand. ¡°We¡¯ve beat around the bush long enough. I guess I¡¯ll just get to the point,¡± Andrew abruptly stated. ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡± ¡°I want you to hand her back to me.¡± ¡°Hand?¡± Levi¡¯s grip on the steering wheel tightened. ¡°Oh, my apologies. It¡¯s just that one tends to assume when a man and a woman show up together.¡± ¡°We¡¯re just friends.¡± ¡°Then that should make this easy,¡± Andrew said as he leaned back in his seat, folding his hands. To him, anything he was about to request was bound to happen. ¡°I think what Noelle does is up to her.¡± ¡°Of course, but I think she¡¯ll see things my way soon enough.¡± Levi was about to protest that line of thinking, but Andrew barreled on unprompted. ¡°The Sellers family is a good one. They have money, brains, status¡­just as much as my own. It¡¯s a natural fit, wouldn¡¯t you say? Her parents as well as mine have already given their approval.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not under the impression the two of you like each other very much.¡± ¡°The marriage is what matters. That bitch can do whatever she wants once we take our vows. Lord knows I will.¡± Levi¡¯s arm jerked before he could stop himself. There was a satisfying crunch as his elbow smashed into Andrew¡¯s face. Droplets of blood were flung from the impact, splattering against the window and the dashboard. ¡°You son of a bitch! I¡¯ll kill you for that!¡± roared Andrew as blood flowed freely from his nose. ¡°Kill,¡± murmured Levi, ¡°You don¡¯t even know what that means.¡± ¡°You wish!¡± Andrew went to grab Levi¡¯s hair. Levi didn¡¯t even have to look to grab Andrew¡¯s wrist before it could reach him. ¡°You won¡¯t have to find out,¡± said Levi as he gathered magic in his filter to a fever pitch. There was a flash of light and Andrew fell silent for a moment before coming to. ¡°Ugh! What¡¯s all this?! Blood?! Shit my nose hurts!¡± ¡°Are you okay?¡± asked Levi, feigning ignorance. ¡°I had to brake suddenly because of a deer. You hit your face pretty hard on the dash.¡± ¡°Just my luck,¡± growled Andrew. ¡°Great seatbelts this hunk of junk has. Be sure to give me the name of the rental agency you used later. I have some choice words for them.¡± He fell silent, opting instead to cover his nose with his shirt to control the bleeding. ¡°Sure,¡± replied Levi. Only ten minutes to go before they reached town. Hopefully Andrew would stay blissfully quiet for all of them.