by N M Thorn
When Eve started her show, she sealed all exits from the Quiet Waters Park with her magic. The spell Eve used wasn’t anything special – a basic blocking spell. But since it was supposed to hold only unsuspecting humans, it was working perfectly well. Technically, Eve wasn’t dead, so her spell was still holding, and no one could exit the park.
Besides that, they couldn’t let humans leave the park with all the memories of the supernatural stuff, magic and monsters. Usually, people who didn’t know anything about the existence of the world of magic, didn’t believe in the supernatural. Whenever they came across something out of the ordinary, they managed to find some rational explanation that didn’t involve magic, monsters and powers. But with everything that happened today at the Quiet Waters Park, even the best scientific minds wouldn’t be able to find a rational explanation.
Uri extinguished the fire dome and told Aidan that he would take care of the guillotine. It didn’t sound like a good idea to leave the blood-thirsty device in the middle of the park. Before Uri vanished with the guillotine, Gunz threw a last glance at the spine-chilling machine, thinking how close he came to experience the horrors of the Reign of Terror on his own neck.
Tessa was standing, staring down at her hands, expression of surprise still on her face. Gunz was familiar with this expression just too well. The same kind of expression he saw on his own face reflected in the mirror of his car after he pulled his friends out of the burning house. The house he set on fire, using his elemental power for the first time in his life. He remembered the chaos in his mind and the emotional turmoil he went through when the Fire Salamander in him reared its flaming head for the first time. He took a step closer to her, but Aidan beat him to the punch.
“Tessa,” called Aidan, approaching her, “thank you—”
“What are you thanking me for?” asked Tessa dryly, holding her hand up to stop him. “I’m not here for you, Ancient One. I’m here because I didn’t believe that you would do the right thing. Because I couldn’t trust you with Zane’s life.”
“Tessa, please, let me explain,” pleaded Aidan, the unconcealed pain in his voice making Gunz cringe inwardly.
But Tessa just gave him a dismissive wave of her hand, unwilling to listen to him. Turning away from Aidan, she walked up to Gunz and looked at him, like she was expecting him to say something. He remained silent, not quite comfortable with this whole situation.
“Are you okay, Zane?” she asked finally.
“Yes,” he replied, tense, “Aidan arrived on time. Tessa, you should at least hear him out. He’s a good man. Give him a chance.”
Tessa smirked, shaking her hand. “What is it? Did you develop Stockholm syndrome while he held you captive? This man betrayed you, Zane! What’s wrong with you? How can you just forgive something like this?”
“I understand why Aidan did what he did,” replied Gunz. “Understanding makes forgiveness a lot easier. You should try it sometime. Think back, Tessa. Since you were just a child, Aidan was always there for you. He trained you and protected you. You told me that yourself. After your mother passed away, he was the only person who was there when you needed help and support. Don’t you think that he deserves a second chance?”
“And for all these years, he lied to me,” said Tessa, her lips pressed in a resentful straight line.
Gunz sighed. She was a stubborn teenage girl and she behaved the part. It was driving him crazy. There was no way of reasoning with her, but he decided to give it another try.
“Now that you have power and magic of your own, you’ll see how hard it is to tell anyone about it,” said Gunz. “It’s hard to open up to people not knowing how they would react to what you’re saying. You’ll see. Maybe at that time you would find it in your heart to forgive him. Aidan loves you, Tessa. Did you know that he offered his life to Eve in exchange for yours? I think you’re making a huge mistake.”
It was all good for nothing. Tessa stared at him with slight interest in her dark eyes and then shrugged her shoulders. “I doubt that. But speaking of powers,” she said switching the subject away from Aidan. “I know that one of my parents was a Reaper, but controlling the lightening is not one of the Reaper’s powers. I need to find out who my other parent was. Missi thinks that knowing my background would allow me to understand and control my power better.”
“Maybe your father is Thor,” suggested Angel, flashing his bright smile at her. “The god of Thunder, you know.”
“And the mighty crow has spoken,” parried Tessa, rolling her eyes. “Do you even know who your parents were? Wait! Don’t tell me. I don’t think I what to know what you are, Angel.”
“Well, one thing for sure – I’m no angel.” He chuckled, lying down on the ground and folding his arms under his head.
“How did Missi find you?” asked Gunz as soon as she turned back to him.
“She said it was easy. As soon as Eve stopped shadowing me, Missi sensed my presence,” explained Tessa. “After all, she is my Guardian. She came to the Elements Martial Arts at the perfect time. Anyway, Zane, I wanted to say goodbye. Missi and I are leaving.”
“Leaving?” asked Aidan, his voice slightly above a whisper. “When? Where?”
Tessa gave him a freezing once-over but answered his question. “We’re leaving immediately. I need to learn the truth about my origin. And Missi is going to help me. We’ll be going together. She wanted us to leave earlier, but I couldn’t leave Zane’s life in your capable hands.” She placed so much sarcasm in the word ‘capable’ that Aidan flinched and recoiled from her. Tessa ignored his reaction and continued, “So, when Missi sensed a powerful magical energy spike, we assumed that it had something to do with Eve. We came here as soon as we could.”
Aidan was about to say something, but Tessa turned away from him, making it obvious that her conversation with him was over. Gunz had a feeling that Tessa was not only avoiding Aidan, she was even avoiding saying his name.
With a light pop, Sven and Missi materialized next to her. Tessa approached Gunz and embraced him, softly kissing him on his cheek. Gunz seized her arms and gently pulled away from her.
“Tessa,” he said quietly, almost whispering, “I’m going to miss you. I wish I could help you in your search, but the truth is, Missi knows a lot more than I do. You have my phone number. If you ever need me, I’m just one fire portal away.”
“Thank you, Zane. But you have your hands full here.”
She gently caressed his cheek and he uncomfortably shied away from her touch. He glanced at Aidan over Tessa’s shoulder and frowned. Aidan looked like he was dying a slow and torturous death, his hands dangling powerlessly at his sides, his head bowed down.
Gunz sighed again. “Tessa, can you do something for me before you leave?”
“Sure, what is it?”
“Please, go to Aidan, talk to him,” said Gunz. Tessa’s cocked her head and crossed her arms over her chest resentfully. “Say goodbye. Give him some hope that maybe one day you will forgive him—”
“Zane, every time I close my eyes, I see you, unconscious and helpless, thrown over his shoulder as he delivered you to this monster,” hissed Tessa. “You could have died, and it would be him killing you, not Eve.”
“First of all, I can’t die. I’m immortal,” objected Gunz calmly. “Second, I wasn’t unconscious. I heard and knew everything that was happening. And Aidan had my consent. Tessa, please, don’t leave Aidan like this. He didn’t deserve it. If not for him, do it for me.”
Tessa chuckled, gazing at him with warmth. Her eyes glistened, and she looked like she was about to say something else but changed her mind. Instead she waved her hand goodbye. “See yah, Lizard-boy.” She winked at him and added softer, “Take care of the Ancient One. I have a feeling, he’ll need you.”
Here you go – no name again, thought Gunz as he nodded to Tessa.
She walked past Aidan and gave a quick hug to Sven and Angel, saying her goodbyes. Then she approached Aidan and halted in front of him
. He didn’t move, his face blank. Tessa gently took his hand and gave it a little squeeze.
“Bye, old man,” she said to him awkwardly, staring down at his hand in hers.
“Will I ever see you again?” he asked, speaking slowly and evenly like he was afraid that if he would show any kind of emotions, she would vanish into thin air or run away.
“I’m not coming back until I know who I am,” she replied, dropping his hand. “But I will come back eventually. And since you’re an immortal god, I’m sure our paths will cross at some point.”
“Tessa, I’m sorry—,” he started to say, but she smirked, holding both her hands up and he cut himself in mid-sentence.
“Don’t apologize to me, Almighty, apologize to him,” she said, jerking her chin toward Gunz and flicked her fingers in a light wave. “Catch you on the flip side, Oldie.”
She nodded to Missi and they both walked away from the field.
~ Zane Burns, a.k.a. Gunz ~
The night fell over the empty silent park, concealing the last traces of the magical battle. The cool evening breeze touched Gunz’s hot skin and he sucked in a deep breath, enjoying his newly acquired freedom and the fact that another dangerous demon was gone from this world. Angel and Sven vanished from the field and Uri was still gone.
Aidan glanced at him and a lighthearted grin split his face. The haunted expression was gone from him eyes and he seemed to be finally calm. Possibly he was just wearing a well-manufactured poker face, but Gunz didn’t think so. He smirked back, completely understanding the way Aidan probably felt now. He didn’t want to see Aidan demolished and down, and he definitely didn’t want to hear him apologizing again. When he told Tessa that he forgave Aidan, he truly meant it.
“You’re probably ready to drop,” said Aidan, “but do you mind giving me a few more minutes of your time?”
Gunz nodded, wondering what this was all about. Aidan put his hand on his shoulder and snapped his fingers, teleporting them into his martial arts school. They materialized in the middle of the dojang floor. With interest, Gunz noticed that Uri, Angel and Sven were already there. They were sitting on the mats but got up as soon as they appeared.
“Uri, any problems?” Aidan asked, lowering himself down to the mats tiredly and gesturing for all of them to sit down.
“No, no problems,” replied Uri with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Your stepmother decided to get creative. It took me a while to figure out where she borrowed that guillotine from. Anyway, I returned it back to the Musée D'Orsay in Paris. Luckily no one noticed that it was gone. Tell me, she couldn’t just take a modern 9 mm and shoot him between his eyes in the middle of the crowd?” He winked at Gunz.
“Well, where is the fun in doing that, Uri?” asked Aidan, shivering like from a cold wind. “Eve always had a thing for theatrics. But today, for the first time in the last couple millennials, I was glad she did. If Eve did what you said, Uri, we would end up with hundreds of dead humans and a torn veil on our hands. And an extremely pissed Fire Salamander on top of all that.”
Gunz knew that Aidan was joking about the extremely pissed Salamander, but the fact about hundreds of dead humans and a torn veil wasn’t a joking matter.
“Yeah, I already know,” he said, bowing his head to his chest, “I’m a weapon of mass destruction. And you were probably right, Aidan. I shouldn’t be anywhere next to humans. I thought it would be enough if I learned how to suppress my fire energy, but now I can see that it’s not. It’s not about me controlling my power. It’s about others using it against my will to murder innocent people. I don’t think I can live with that. So, I thought, I’d go back to Kendral. Kal told me that there was always a place for me in his domain.”
When Gunz finished speaking, he was expecting to see relief on Aidan’s face and hear that he agreed with his decision. But Aidan didn’t say anything. No one did. Complete silence hung in the dojang, lingering over his head like the blade of that guillotine.
“I was wrong,” said Aidan finally. His voice reverberated from the tall ceiling in the silence of the school. “I was wrong and I’m not afraid to admit it. This is the reason why I asked you stay a few more minutes. So I could to do something I should have done from the very beginning.” He turned to his friends and they all nodded. “Let’s start with Uri.”
Uri got up and unfolded his fierce wings, his whole body glowing with his strange golden fire. He nodded to Gunz and extended his hand. Gunz got up and shook his hand, still wondering what Uri was and once more confirming his suspicion that the fire Uri was wielding wasn’t an elemental Fire.
“Allow me to introduce myself,” said Uri losing his rolling Russian accent, a soft smile playing on his glowing face. “I’m Archangel Uriel.”
Gunz stilled in shock, gaping at Uri with his mouth open. One thing was to know that the world of magic was real with its powers, demons, ancient gods and fair folks. But the realization that the angels and archangels were real was a revelation on a completely different level. So, if angels were the real thing, does it mean that God with the capital letter G was real too? And Lucifer, come to think of it…
A light snickering from the rest of Aidan’s crew brought him out of his state of shock. He blushed and smiled uncomfortably. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to stare, it’s just you don’t meet a real angel every day, you know.” Gunz chuckled, scratching the back of his head. “So, you are the angel of Wisdom, eh?”
“Yes, I am,” confirmed Uriel. He dimmed down his fierce glow and his mighty wings disappeared. “You probably noticed that my fire wasn’t elemental by nature and I thought that you’d figure it out. The meaning of my name – Uriel – is Fire of God.”
“I would have probably figured it out sooner or later,” said Gunz. “It’s just the thought that angels are walking among us, never crossed my mind.”
“Everything is real. Anything your mind can hardly fathom is real. Just get used to that idea and your life in the world of magic will be a lot easier and safer.” Uri laughed and sat down, waving at Angel. “Your turn.”
Angel got up slowly and as he was rising, his appearance began to change. His black hair got longer, falling over his shoulders, down to the back of his black trench coat and giant obsidian wings sprung behind his back. The eerie magical energy of Death washed over Gunz and he involuntarily took a step away from him.
“Are you the angel of Death?” asked Gunz.
Angel chuckled and shook his head no. “I know my wings promote the name,” he replied, expending his black wings, “but I’m no angel. Just the Death.”
“Just the Death,” echoed Gunz flabbergasted. “One of the four horsemen?”
“No, that was my evil twin,” said Angel snidely, with a wide grin on his face. “Just kidding. Yeah, that would be me, but to tell you the truth – I don’t enjoy horseback riding that much. Nowadays I prefer my Ferrari. Over six hundred horses in one beautifully-streamlined body and no saddle sores.”
“I wondered how a modest martial arts instructor could afford driving a Ferrari,” asked Gunz with a touch of sarcasm. “Doesn’t the IRS come knocking on your door?”
“I pay my taxes,” said Angel, laughing. “Me and taxes are like this.” He crossed his fingers tightly, showing his hand to Gunz. “We’re the only sure thing in life, don’t you know? So, once in a while, I knock on their doors. And it’s a lot scarier… well… at least I hope it is.”
Angel morphed back into his everyday appearance and sat down. Gunz gaped at him, wondering what the Death and Archangel were doing working at a small martial arts school in Parkland, Florida.
“Wow, Aidan. You have the Death, the angel of Wisdom and a Russian deity on your payroll,” said Gunz, raking his fingers through his hair.
Aidan cracked a guilty grin. “I guess you met Svyatobor already,” he said. Sven’s eyes lit up with phosphoric light as he tittered. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have sent this trickster after you.” He scratched the back of his head. “I wasn’t thinking clearly
at the time. I should have expected that after a few tours of duty, you would have some messed up memories.”
“Yeah, he made quite a mess for me… and out of me,” admitted Gunz, cringing inwardly as he recalled all the painful visions that Svyatobor brought forth with his magic.
“Anyway, Zane, I believe, I’m speaking for everyone here,” said Aidan, waving his hand at his divine motley crew, “when I say, don’t leave. Work with us.”
This night is full of surprises, thought Gunz. He remembered the first time he crossed the threshold of Elements Martial Arts and the icy welcome Aidan threw in his face.
“You want me to work for you?” he asked, doing his best not to let any sarcasm through.
“Not for me,” objected Aidan, putting an accent on the word ‘for’. “I believe you already have a job, working for the FBI. I’m offering you to work with us. After all, what we do is in line with what Agent Andrews is trying to accomplish anyway. He’s been on my ass for years, trying to figure out what I am and what my goals are. I’ll come clean to Agent Andrews and our alliance would be beneficial to both sides.”
“Thank you, Aidan… guys,” said Gunz, feeling a little uncomfortable. “I’m grateful for your offer and it would be my honor to work with you all.”
“Why do I feel like a giant but coming up?” muttered Sven, grinning.
“But the last few weeks taught me a humbling lesson,” continued Gunz. “Kal was right. I’m not ready to walk this world. I need to go back to Kendral and learn more about my power, and I definitely need to know more about magic. All this time I was trying to fit in, be a human in the world of humans. Instead I need to learn how to be the Fire Salamander, living surrounded by humans.”
