Babysitters Club (Immortal Elements World Series Book 1)

by Emrys Apollo

  “We need to go.”

  -

  Dominic’s phone chirped as Giselle sent him a message that she was almost done with her class. He smiled to himself and he sent her a cute photo he’d taken on their balcony of a little bird. They were always sending each other bird pictures from around the castle gardens and the city, and now it was her turn.

  His daydream was interrupted by Brett and Matthias barreling into his room. He watched them unpack a few items for Giselle as they addressed him.

  “Where’s the Princess?”

  “At school,” Dominic said as he got up from leaning against the wall. He stowed his phone in his back pocket and met Brett’s gaze. “What’s happened?”

  “Something weird,” Matt said as he arranged the candy and soda on Giselle’s desk next to her notebook. “We saw a strange woman, but she vanished.”

  “A strange woman?” Dominic’s mind immediately flicked through the pages of memory to recall that final conversation with Briggs, and a lump formed in his throat. What’s happening?

  Was it Grodo?

  “She looked gross,” Brett said. “Like, really gross.”

  “Her vibes were disgusting,” Matt said. Dominic exhaled slowly through his nose as he took in the information.

  “Thank you for bringing that for her,” Dominic said smoothly as he met both of their eyes. “I’m getting Lance and Marcus and I’m going to gather her now.”

  Matt and Brett shared a look, and they both turned back to Dominic with a touch of mania in their eyes. “We’re coming with.”

  “If you see the woman again, call her ‘Grodo’,” Dominic explained. “If she responds to the name, we’ll at least have something to work with.” The two men nodded and followed Dominic out as he went to grab Marcus and Lance. Together, the five of them formed that day’s Babysitters Club, and off they went back into the streets of St. Leon.

  It was much darker out now, and it felt more like twilight than a few hours past midday. Dominic and the others were quick down the streets, their footsteps echoing lightly against the stone walls of shops and apartments and townhouses. The University was a lovely sight, for its bell tower and its school housing and its auditorium all cloaked in ivy for the season.

  Lance and Marcus flanked Dominic while Brett and Matt got on either side of their Prince as they walked into the campus square. Giselle was now in the dining hall getting a snack, according to the latest text on Dominic’s phone. The Prince lifted his head as he kept his phone in hand, his eyes darting about as he identified the library and the dining hall next to it. He thought of how this was a smart formation, with Brett and Marcus both sharing the Element of Fire, while Matt’s Ice would pair well with Lance’s Water. It certainly helped that they were couples too, as they fought harder to defend one another.

  Giselle emerged from the dining hall with her tablet in hand and a small yogurt drink in the other. She gave Dominic a quick wave and downed the rest of her drink, tossing the remains in the trash can nearby. He was at her side in seconds and the sky rumbled above, a warning that rain would soon follow.

  “We need to go,” Dominic said. Giselle looked up and nodded. She sensed the urgency in his voice and took his hand.

  “What’s happened?” Dominic shook his head.

  “Later.” Brett and Matt took the front while Lance and Marcus stayed behind their Prince and Princess. Lightning flashed and Giselle gasped softly in awe as they walked, and then she gasped in horror as the woman appeared in the street before the Gods.

  “GRODO!” Matt screamed it at her, and the witch took a step back, startled. She stood up straight, limp hair straggling down over her chest as she puffed herself up.

  “That I am,” she said. Her blackened teeth showed as she sneered at Giselle. “And you’re going to be mine, sweetie.” Giselle snorted.

  With a flick of her wrist she drew a ball of magic and shot it, and it went straight through Grodo’s neck. The witch gasped and gurgled as blood spurted from the wound. She clutched at it and blood spilled over her finger tips and down her wrist. With a thud she fell dead and Giselle breathed out.

  “Well done,” Brett said and Matt barked out a laugh.

  “Sorry, we could have used her,” Giselle said apologetically. “She could have told us a lot…”

  “She was a demigod hell bent on kidnapping you,” Dominic said. “She was the Order’s puppet master, if what Briggs said is right.”

  “Oh,” Giselle said softly as she looked at the corpse. She seemed uncertain suddenly, and regretful, and Matt and Brett gently shook her out of it.

  “Hey, no matter what, this woman declared herself your enemy. She was going to take you and you defended yourself,” Brett said as he clapped her on the shoulder.

  “And she was armed,” Matt said as he examined Grodo’s sleeves. There were knives hidden there, no doubt to slash and incapacitate. Giselle took a step back away from the corpse, but she still seemed unsure of herself.

  “I…” Giselle didn’t know what to say. She took a second to compose herself. “We need to call the um… well, I guess the Chancellor’s Office…”

  “Chancellor Hadrian,” Marcus said. “Was sworn in two days ago.”

  “Oh, yeah,” everyone else said in unison. Giselle watched it on the television in her and Dominic’s bedroom. She spoke to the man on the phone even, and he’d been very nice.

  “I’ll make the call,” Dominic said. “And we hope she was telling the truth.”

  CHAPTER V

  Marcus and Lance looked on as Giselle sat giggling between Mica and Delaney, all three girls under a thick blanket as they rested on the couch. Cheese bread with sliced garlic and savory meat pies baked in the ovens along with trays and trays of pasta covered with more cheese. Delaney held out her phone with another meme and Giselle and Mica were in hysterics.

  “I don’t get memes,” Lance said.

  “How are you old?” Marcus stuck his tongue out as Lance shot him a look. “It’s pictures with words, dude.”

  “Not the ones they’re laughing at,” Lance said. “They’re literally crying over pictures of a meatball.”

  “It’s a spicy meatball!” All three girls yelled in unison and then they were in hysterics again. Lance threw up his hands.

  “See? I don’t understand it at all!” He heard Dominic laugh from the kitchen and sighed cartoonishly. Marcus chuckled and promptly pulled out his phone so he could send Lance a meme of an old man elf yelling at a chicken.

  “It’s alright my love, I’ll get you caught up eventually,” Marcus teased. Lance managed a smile and he turned around as Dominic pulled out the first tray of bread. He and Marcus decided to be generous and they brought out a basket of warm bread for the girls, and he grinned at Giselle’s little gasp of delight.

  “You made it, hon, you get first dibs,” he said. Dominic brought out a ramekin filled with red sauce, which Giselle had made a ton of and frozen a few months prior. The sauce was delicious with the bread, and all the Gods came to eat in the large kitchen as more and more of the food came out of the ovens.

  Everyone was warm and comfortable, a soft celebration beginning as a few bottles of wine and champagne came out. As the Elementals consumed the hot food, Giselle got to work and she produced a few large salads of cold pasta dressed in oil with cubed cheese and sausage sliced thin and ham and olives, and she sliced up more cheese and sausage and laid it all out on a great board with little bowls of prunes and dried pineapple and dates and dried mango, and she put bigger bowls out with cherries and grapes cold from refrigeration. The alcohol began to flow heavier as Nivia retrieved several bottles of berry cordial, and more was brought out in short order.

  Hard apple ciders went round and the Princess downed one after stirring in some berry syrup, while Marcus and Lance shared one, both eager to get started on the harder stuff instead. Trax went straight for tequila and Dominic straight up gave Giselle an edible. The rest of the Gods watched in awe as she casually ate th
e entire frosted brownie in one go, and it wasn’t small.

  “Babysitters Club is on duty tonight,” Lance said and Marcus immediately burst out cackling. This was going to be a trip.

  “She deserves it, she’s been through a lot of shit lately,” Marcus said as he grinned and leaned back in his seat at the long table. Babysitters Club was the best thing ever, as far as he was concerned. Giselle was the Gods’ perfect little dork, and she amused Marc beyond end.

  “I don’t disagree,” Lance said. “How are you feeling?”

  “Hmm?” Marc met his partner’s gaze. He took in a breath and nodded as he understood what Lance was speaking of. “I’m alright. I’m unsure about that witch Giselle killed, but no matter what she took out an enemy.”

  “Yeah,” Lance said. He smiled and reached across the table to take Marc’s hand. “And no matter what, we’re in this together.”

  “Always,” Marcus said. They both turned their heads to watch as Giselle danced in the kitchen with Clara, the two girls giggling as they swayed. Dominic popped open some champagne and shared until the bottle was gone, and Marcus eventually got up and poured something nice and stiff for both him and Lance.

  The evening wore on and the Gods wore themselves out. Giselle, after a few hours of giddy glee, fell right asleep draped on a daybed in the sitting room adjacent to the kitchens. Her brother Terrence pulled a blanket over her and kissed her forehead. Dimitri toddled up to him after finally escaping the kitchen in the confusion, and he honked at Terrence to be let up onto the bed. The Puppeteer obliged, a chuckle on his lips as he placed the toy familiar on Giselle’s lap. She didn’t stir and the clown got himself comfortable.

  “I’m glad she had a better day,” Terrence said to Matt as the man brought him some water. “With everything that’s happened lately, all I’ve wanted for her is to have a good day.”

  “Her strength has returned,” Matt said. He caught Brett entering the sitting room out of the corner of his eye and grinned. “She’s a strong girl.”

  “Did we ever figure out why Briggs took his own life?” Brett changed the subject and Terrence swore he thought the room went cold for a second. Dominic sat on a chair near his beloved and he set his juice down. His face was still a little flushed from the alcohol but he’d largely sobered up.

  “No,” Dominic said. “When we got home I managed a call with Chancellor Hadrian. Morcia will resume it’s deal of protection with us immediately. We should start getting mission briefs again like any other guardian guild. Hadrian has no idea why Briggs offed himself.”

  “Probably because he was afraid of Grodo,” Matt said. “But that was for nothing, since Giselle handled her.”

  “It was surprisingly easy,” Brett said.

  “Too easy.” The mood in the air changed and Terrence slowly exhaled through his nose. He wished with all his heart that his sister might be free of this witch, for it meant that the Order of Shadows would likely fall apart again. They were always coming back with the same sigil of the raven with red eyes, even if their beliefs and leadership were far different. He prayed he was right. He prayed that Giselle might be safe. But Terrence was a God among other Gods; who could he pray to?

  “And what do we know about Hadrian?” Dominic and the others looked up as Brett spoke again. Matt went over to the couch he was sitting on and curled up in his lap, his head on Brett’s chest. Brett stroked his hair and kissed him softly, and Matt fell into a doze.

  “He was the mayor of a smaller city in Morcia, but I don’t remember the name of it,” Dominic said. “He won their emergency election in a landslide.”

  “Has Briggs even been buried yet?”

  “I don’t think they’ve even managed to dig his body out of the rubble,” Dominic replied. “If it wasn’t for Marcus, Lance and I would be buried under there too.”

  “That was insane,” Brett said. Matt made a noise and buried his face into his chest, and Brett kissed his head again. “He killed himself and then the whole building was blown to bits… none of this makes sense.”

  “We don’t even know what Grodo looks like,” Terrence said. “Was that really her?”

  “I fucking hope so,” Dominic said softly. Dimitri honked softly as Giselle stirred for a moment, and Terrence and Nic both turned to check on the Princess. She let out a little squeak and rolled over to go back to sleep, and then she was out again. Dominic stroked the top of her head with his fingers and sighed.

  “It’ll be okay,” Terrence assured him. “We’ll figure out what’s going on, eventually.” Dominic shrugged and leaned back in his chair. He wasn’t satisfied with that answer, and he knew Brett wasn’t either. There simply wasn’t anything they could do about it now.

  “It’s only a matter of time until the Order decides to make their next move,” Dominic said. He looked upon Giselle’s sleeping face and watched her for a few minutes. Lance and Marcus slunk into the room, the pair having vanished to attend to some… personal activities, which left the two with flushed faces and disheveled hair. Dominic hid a smile behind his hand as the two took up their usual guard duty at the door.

  -

  Marcus didn’t usually get smacked awake, but he also supposed it wasn’t exactly the usual to find half his friends away on a mission. Lance practically ripped him out of bed and the pair rushed out into the hallway, the mission brief glittering in white with black letters on the screen of Lance’s phone.

  “What’s happening?” Marcus blinked and rubbed his eyes as he stumbled down the hall behind Lance.

  “Another explosion in Morcia. The Order attacked Limerick, a small town outside Whitewater,” Lance said. “They took more kids to recruit.” Multiple Elementals, including Dominic, ran around the pair as they raced to the transporter down on the second floor. Marcus shook himself awake and continued to follow Lance as they went to Giselle’s room. The Princess sat up sleepily in her bed and Lance went to her side.

  “You’re alright, dear,” he said quietly to her as she pulled out her phone to look at the briefing. “The others will handle it.”

  “Mmm,” Giselle said. She wore a worried expression on her face and Marcus had a bad feeling in his stomach, a little pit that wouldn’t go away.

  It’s always like this, Marcus thought as he perched on the edge of the chaise. Whenever shit goes down it always happens all at once.

  They heard nothing for hours, and no matter how many times Marcus read through the mission briefing he couldn’t figure out how to fit it into the puzzle. What is the Order up to now? Maybe they were trying to draw Giselle out?

  Neither Lance or Marcus had any kind of solution. They watched over Giselle as she slept, both of them hoping that all this might blow over soon. It wouldn’t.

  “So,” Dominic said as he returned at sunrise. He was unharmed but dirty, his suit covered in ash. Giselle tried to go to him but he kept her at a distance until he could shower at the very least. “That wasn’t Grodo.”

  “What do you mean it wasn’t Grodo?” Giselle followed him into the bathroom and then back out again several minutes later, and Marcus and Lance both sat on the chaise lounge as they watched her.

  “What did you see, Nic?” Marcus watched his friend as Dominic toweled his wet hair and tossed the cloth aside. Dominic sighed and he leaned against the wall for a second as Giselle picked up after him.

  “The Order is doing everything they can to fuck with us, I can say that for sure,” Dominic said as he went and found a sweater in his closet. He returned with it halfway over his head and he continued talking as he pulled it on. “I’m fairly certain that the Order had an in with Briggs. Hadrian showed up after we did and told me all kinds of shit.” There was an edge to his voice. Giselle didn’t bother to shower and opted instead to use a cleaning spell, and her magic danced around the room as the bed made itself and the balcony doors gently opened to let in a breeze.

  “What happened?” Giselle was firm with her quiet but husky voice. “Tell me everything you know.” She s
at Dominic down in a chair and sent Jonathan a message asking him to get them some coffee, even sending him money through her phone. Giselle drew her robe about her as she sat on the chaise and sighed softly.

  “Limerick’s town hall was blown up. The Order had an in with Briggs, and he lied about not knowing Grodo. Apparently he’d been selling them government weapons,” Dominic said. Marcus tensed up and Lance calmed him by squeezing his hand.

  “So what you’re saying is the Order is armed, there’s a demigod witch after me, and the man who was supposed to be our ally destroyed all evidence and then took his own life,” Giselle said as she put everything together in her mind. For all the times she ever seemed slow, she made up for it by being equally terrifying in controlling 10,000 thoughts at once. Lance connected the dots slowly as he felt Marcus grow hot next to him.

  “Yeah,” Dominic said. “That one witch we thought was Grodo was someone pretending to be her.”

  “What the fuck,” Marcus said, and that was enough.

  CHAPTER VI

  Will lay draped across his bed with a newspaper open before him. His head was resting in the palm of his hand as he casually flipped to the next page. He felt a weight on the bed and looked up as his glasses were removed from his face. They weren’t for seeing, but rather quick reading. Will blinked and looked up, and he was surprised as a pair of lips met his.

  “Mmm,” he moaned softly into the kiss as Conrad pulled Will into his lap.

  “I was looking for you,” Conrad said. “Did you hear about what happened in Limerick?”

  “Yes,” Will said. He couldn’t believe it. After weeks of suffering and weakness, his sister’s battle against that one freak led them all the way back to square one. The Elementals were no farther in their seemingly endless fight against the Order of Shadows, and if anything, they were only further behind. Will sighed and Conrad rubbed his back.