by Peri Akman
Kole giggled. “You’re right. I’m not. But you forget—I have healing magic, and will probably have it until we leave the city.”
“You can’t heal a dead person!” Quinn yelled.
“What yeah you—oh.” Kole muttered. “So uh, full honesty, here?”
Quinn frowned. “What?”
“I might have an ace up my sleeve. One I can’t legally have. The fact that the demon just melted after eating my leg off? That… doesn’t normally happen.”
“I just thought that was because of your skin disease,” Quinn said, shrugging.
Kole laughed. “Yeah, that skin disease that Travitz isn’t supposed to know about, remember?”
“Oh…” Quinn trailed off. “I don’t really see how the two are related, but okay.”
“Just… trust me Quinn, it would have been fine. I’m a hotheaded idiot but… you were never in danger,” Kole said with a sense of finality. “And you should be very proud of how you fought. With a bit of practice, you could be one of the strongest warlocks in all of history.”
Quinn gave a cough of sheer disbelief. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Quinn, summoners are rare. With enough research and field work, you could hypothetically make anything. Sure, it won’t last forever, but the possibilities are limitless,” Kole insisted.
Quinn gave a cough and a laugh. “I… wow. It…” His breathing hitched.
He sprawled out on the grass and took a deep breath.
Strongest warlock in all of history…
It was a pretty nice title, he had to admit.
He shut his eyes and smiled. Water was pooling around his eyelids. He was tearing up now? Whether it was it from the stress of the fight or from the revelation, he couldn’t tell. He didn’t really care either. Kole was right. He was alive. He was safe.
“Don’t get too big of a head, Quinn. You didn’t do amazingly well or anything. You did… well if you want to hear a joke, you were absolutely and respectably the middle of the road.” Kole said, interrupting his thoughts.
Quinn snorted. “I won’t, I won’t. I’m far too stressed to become egotistical.”
The two stayed in the field for a bit longer until they regained their strength.
Chapter Thirteen
Quinn and Kole returned to Shorne to find an empty apartment. After moaning on Kole’s part, they walked back down the stairs and headed to the hospital.
Sure enough, Doctor Travitz was in a private room, sitting in a chair as Sennta rested in bed.
He was pale and far bonier than before. He had a few tubes of plastic sticking into his arms. The room was darkened and soundproof.
It made Quinn’s heart sink. He felt sick. Sennta was alive, but he didn’t seem healthy. He certainly wasn’t moving much.
One week after another passed in cold silence.
The first day, Kole hadn’t even been worried, said that Sennta was dehydrated, probably overly stimulated, and would wake up shortly.
After three days, Kole did not make such claims. She even stopped ranting.
The two still worked shifts at the hospital, and still stayed with Doctor Travitz, but it was more awkward. It was less of a job and more of a thing to pass the time as they waited for Sennta to wake up.
If he ever did wake up.
Kole spent most of her time at the local libraries, as well as at the central government stations. Quinn assumed she was looking for other jobs to take. Probably ones that were very far away.
In his spare time, Quinn stayed up on the roof, feeling bitter and practicing his magic.
He tried summoning food, and it tasted great, but it disappeared shortly after he started digesting it, leading to a strange situation of feeling full and then suddenly becoming far more starved than he was previously.
He tried summoning books that he had never read, but it only partially worked. The cover was perfect, exactly what he remembered, but the pages were blank.
He summoned money, and it looked perfect, but he wasn’t too interested in conning people.
Quinn mostly focused on trying to summon more than one thing at a time, but he had gotten mixed results.
As it turned out, he could summon “one” thing, but that “one” thing could contain many things.
He could summon a book, or he could summon a single piece of paper. Despite the book having more paper, he was incapable of summoning two pieces of paper individually.
He was able to summon a sword-holding case, complete with a dozen swords, but summoning two swords? Oh no, that was just impossible.
So as long as his brain was able to place it at “one” he could do it. It was harder to trick than he thought. Even when he was able to do it, as it turned out, summoning a lot of things at once in a slightly small space was… annoying, at best.
They would just fall on the ground, clatter about. One time he made the mistake of summoning “a rock-holding bag” and couldn’t find it until it landed on his head with a very painful thud.
On the bright side, all the rocks that poured out of the bag were tiny and pebble-like.
He summoned a giant ruler once—which was a mistake, because it didn’t do the job of measuring.
So instead he tried to summon a really tall, really sturdy ruler that had the biggest number upright and was in fact accurate and upright. It took him the better part of a day to be able to actually summon it in the way he wanted, but once he was successful, he was able to use it to estimate his range—
Three feet. He could summon something three feet away from him. If he stretched his arms out, then it was the tip of his fingers that mattered, not his core.
On the bright side it meant he didn’t actually need to touch someone to put them in boxes. On the downside, he had had no luck boxing the pigeons on the roof, even when they were less than three feet away. Once other living creatures got into the mix, things just got messier and more complicated.
He had fun with some frivolities. He summoned up clothing, trick mirrors, perfect wooden sculptures of fantastical creatures. It was… fun. Like his own little clubhouse, only it disappeared the moment he wanted to do something new.
Kole also helped with some exercises, when she wasn’t off on her own adventures. She would take a unique object, show it to Quinn, hide it in the house, and make him find it.
Quinn found himself accidentally summoning the object in every hiding spot he searched. It was frustrating, and more exhausting than he could have possibly conceived.
He had initially made plans to see Sennta, but he never followed through. Going to see the guy kind of scared him. Like it would jinx the whole process. As long as Quinn didn’t see Sennta, he could pretend that he was getting a lot better, and it was only a matter of time before he woke up. Going would confirm he was wrong, and Quinn didn’t want to confront that.
If he didn’t go, the problem didn’t seem as real. It was like Sennta was just busy, and not in a coma.
Did that make him a terrible person? He felt like it made him a terrible person. He bought a new set of sunglasses for Sennta. This time he just gave them to Doctor Travitz, who thanked him politely. It wasn’t the feeling he was looking for, which disappointed him. Which in turn made him feel guilty for being disappointed for as something as stupid as not getting a thanks for a gift.
He had been selfish. Or at least… he felt selfish. It was possible that all of these annoying emotions had to do with situations he hadn’t encountered before. His brain just decided to give up, throw his emotions on the floor, and say “you pick it up!” and there he was, standing in the room, not picking them up.
Quinn continued his flurry of practicing, work, and avoiding any internal understanding of what he experienced that day with the demons and Sennta until the last day of the week, when he was woken up at the oddest hour.
By rocks hitting the window.
Doctor Travitz stirred, and Quinn hurried to the window to yell at the pranksters, or summon something and drop it, like a bucket
of water.
At that moment, it occurred to Quinn that it was perfectly possible for him to get wet with summoned water, and then have it completely disappear, and thus not be wet.
He didn’t know what that information would ever be used for, but it had to be useful for something. Something.
However, it was not pranksters or troublemakers at the window. It was Kole, with the carriage and homunculi in tow.
She motioned for him to open up the window. He did. She conjured something in her hand, and chucked it at him.
It hit him, and he tried to close his hands around the ball to catch it, but instead it hit him in the nose. Quinn tried to not make a loud noise, resulting in a near-squeak coming out of his mouth.
He picked up the ball. Written on it in big letters was:
LEAVE MONEY ON TABLE
WE ARE LEAVING TONIGHT
Quinn’s eyes bulged. Now? Right away?
There had to be more to it than just that.
He summoned up a piece of paper, with the word “why” on it. He dropped it, and watched it gently flutter to the ground. Kole viciously snagged it and barely glanced at it before chucking another ball at him.
This one he caught.
COME DOWN THE EVIL
STAIRS AND TALK
Crammed on the rest of the open space of the ball in small letters was “jerkfaceidiothead.”
Quinn reached into his pockets and pulled out whatever coins were in there. There was still one of the wanes he had tried to pay the street vendor with. He emptied his pockets of every last coin and quietly placed them on the table, which included part of Kole’s gifted money, and the rest of his multiple weeks’ worth of paychecks.
That was fair, right?
He hurried down the stairs, not making noise even when he was far away from the doctor.
“You couldn’t have told me in person?” Quinn muttered when he came face to face with Kole.
“And walk up those stairs again? You’d have to kill me first. I haven’t had pain-free legs in two weeks,” Kole snapped, grumpy.
“Then why now? Don’t you think this is all… rude? I know you had issues with Travitz, but you were still friends with her,” Quinn pointed out, his sleepiness beginning to leave him.
“There was an offered job at one of the posts. Well, it wasn’t offered, they were discussing it. I immediately jumped on it, asking for payment to help with the problem personally. The one issue is that we have to be there as soon as possible. So.” Kole shrugged and opened the carriage door.
“Why is this job so important that you had to fight for it?” Quinn asked coolly, expecting a very good answer.
“So you know how I was wrong about Sennta? Well, me being wrong is a travesty, so I figured the universe had to be wrong instead, and to some extent, I was right. There’s been an outbreak,” Kole said, gesturing to the carriage.
“An outbreak?” Quinn repeated in confusion.
Kole stomped her good leg in annoyance. “You definitely learned this in school, Quinn!” she snapped.
“Well, why don’t you tell me what it means, since you’ll get to hear yourself talk and prove your superiority over the schools. It'll be like a double win for you,” Quinn said dryly. However, he was indeed walking to the carriage. Whatever this was, it seemed to involve what happened to Sennta.
Kole made an audible scowl, clambered into the carriage, and snapped her fingers to get the homunculi going. Sure enough, as soon as the door shut, Kole launched into an explanation.
“All right, so monsters and demons are… different. Right? Monsters are mammal-like creatures, they breed here, they attack here, they eat here, they are basically animals that have been bred for the specific reason to want to kill us. Demons are different. They don’t… breed. They just kind of…... pop up. Randomly. Usually spots where they pop up will be active for decades, and spawn thousands, if not millions, of demons, before closing permanently. When they first pop up, the demons are tougher, stronger, and far more capable of devastation. And in the Prismatic Mountain Temple, there’s been an outbreak. So we’re going there.” Kole explained.
This did indeed spark a few connections in Quinn’s mind. Quinn laughed, despite himself.
Kole’s eyes narrowed. “What?”
“Nothing it’s just… kinda horrible, right? That there’d be an outbreak in a temple? Cause uh… you know?” Quinn trailed off, suddenly feeling foolish.
Kole groaned. “It’s all right, you can say it, just because I despise the religion with a burning passion doesn’t mean you have to.”
Quinn took off his cloak and sprawled in the carriage. “Well it’s just funny cause the whole… Prism religion was founded against the demons and monsters. Warlocks broke away from the Star Gods for that reason. So it’s a bit ironic that the place that’s supposed to be safe is, uh, you know not.”
Kole shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s not that ironic. I doubt it’s ironic at all. Interrogated demons have stated they have a head honcho, and while we can’t talk to monsters, the demons have told us plenty about the monsters’ “god” as well. Plus animal whisperers have had some minor success talking to monsters and confirming those opinions. And these facts? Been consistent for centuries upon centuries, since we first started writing down that crazy animals were trying to kill us. So no matter what, they clearly have their own head honchos, or their own weird religion, and they want to eat our tasty magic. Is it really some great coincidental irony that their breeding grounds center around where that magic is concentrated?”
Quinn nodded awkwardly. It felt like a separate answer to what he was saying, but it definitely cornered the situation. “That… makes sense.”
“You know you can go back to sleep, right? I assume I woke you up.” Kole said abruptly and without warning.
Quinn shrugged. “Nah, I’m awake now. Good job on that. How far away is the temple?”
“Depending on the monster density, three to six hours?” Kole pondered. “And I haven’t interacted with Sennta since a week ago, so I don’t really exactly have his senses. Good thing too, those powers made me want to gnaw my skin off. Point is, I won’t be able to see anything coming beyond normal-person sensing skills.”
Quinn nodded casually. “We just stick to the major roads, like you’ve said.”
Kole eyes narrowed slightly, most likely from smiling. “Going to a monster infested mountain top, and you’re completely casual about it. I have either been an excellent or a terrible influence on you.”
“You were right,” Quinn muttered. “I got used to it. It’s been two weeks and I got used to it. You monster.”
Kole gave another giggle. “Told ya. No need to be so melancholic about it.”
“Not melancholic about that. Melancholic about leaving Travitz and Sennta. Is it weird that I felt closer to them than I ever felt with any of my classmates?” Quinn asked, his heart feeling heavier than normal.
Kole nodded. “That’s valid. You and Sennta were obviously close, but that’s kind of the life you’re gonna live. By the time this is all over, you’ll know countless people. I prefer it, honestly, means I don’t get sick of anyone, but you can always settle down once you become a warlock.”
Quinn smiled faintly. “Yeah. That’s a plan.”
The two talked idly of politics and other such nonsense until they were out of the city. From there, Quinn napped, and Kole took rounds sitting on the top of the carriage, to watch out for monsters.
It was bright and sunny out when they hit two guard posts right smack dab in the middle of the road. They were small, connected, and rather shabby. Quinn couldn’t even see anyone in the posts, except for a single solitary guy.
The carriage slowed to a stop when said solitary guy walked out, flagging them down.
Quinn groaned. Not again. He really wasn’t in the mood to be held up for pointless arguing.
“Please don’t antagonize this one,” he muttered to Kole.
Kole gave a barking laugh.
“You say that as if I have a choice in the matter.”
She placed a hand on his shoulder and rolled her eyes. Annoyance, but it seemed like she was going to be good this time around.
The man was younger than the last guard they interacted with, and taller than the both of them. His most distinguishing feature was his giant walrus mustache. Quinn couldn’t even see the man’s mouth, although the rest of his jaw seemed to indicate some sort of scowl.
This one noticed the homunculi right away, as evidenced by his calling of the name of some Star God in surprise.
Kole got out of the carriage, Quinn quick to follow. Kole gave a bit of a silent awkward wave.
“What in Alamiel’s name is THIS?” he cried out, gesturing at the clay horse and driver.
“Homunculi,” Kole replied simply. “Magic things to transport magic people. We’re warlocks. Going to the Prismatic Mountain Temple. You know. Where the warlocks go.”
Quinn winced ever so slightly.
The guard’s eyes narrowed. “Sorry, direct orders, no one is allowed in or out. Now leave.”
Kole stomped her stick on the ground, and a form appeared, which she made the motion to hand to him, but was stopped by him jumping back several feet, and withdrawing what appeared to be some sort of wooden club.
“What in the gods is THAT!” he yelled, in a defensive position.
“It is my form. Signed by the officials in Shorne. To approve me. A warlock. To go to the temple. To stop the demons. So you don’t die.” Kole said in a slow voice that Quinn could only assume was an inch away from turning into mockery. She extended the form out.
He snatched it away, and stared at it, his eyes narrowing. “How do I know this isn’t forged, eh?”
“I don’t know. I’m a warlock sent to beat things with a stick. Not an expert in government paperwork,” Kole replied dully.
He took a few steps closer to Kole. He practically towered over her. It seemed to be a skill he had.
“And what could a lousy cripple like you do to stop the demons?” he said slowly as he lifted up his upper lip, baring his teeth.
