by N M Thorn
“Are you out of your goddamn mind?” Missi squeezed her shoulder, leaning closer to Tessa’s ear. Tessa could feel her warm breath touching her skin. “First of all, you shouldn’t be here because it’s too dangerous. You can get hurt or killed. Second, if you are stupid enough to even come close to a demonic assembly of two powerful demonic factions, you shouldn’t be doing it alone! And the last but not least, you are a member of the Guardians now. You shouldn’t be doing anything without notifying them first! Do you want to get expelled?”
Tessa looked at Missi over her shoulder, her eyes round. “You’re not gonna tell them, Missi!”
Missi rolled her eyes. “Fine, I’m not going to tell them, but this is the last time I’m covering for you. You have to understand—the Guardians are like a military organization. There is a chain of command and you need to respect it and follow their rules.”
“I hate rules,” muttered Tessa.
“Then why did you beg me to introduce you to the Order? I told you that you’ll have to abide by their rules,” growled Missi, squeezing her shoulder harder. “And Tessa, didn’t they start teaching you how to shadow your own magical energy yet? I could feel your presence from a mile away.”
“Yeah, Professor Montgomery started to teach us last week. I hate her… such a... ugh… stick in a mud,” muttered Tessa.
“Ah, Tessa, you’re behaving like a child! You must learn! You have an extremely strong magical energy signature. You must know how to hide yourself,” replied Missi, throwing her hands in the air, frustrated. But then stilled for a moment looking somewhere over Tessa’s shoulder and added, “I’ll deal with you later. If we survive, that is.”
Tessa followed Missi’s gaze and her heart pounded. The men she was observing earlier were no longer at the edge of the parking lot. They were standing right in front of them, staring down at them with malicious smirks on their faces. The reek of their demonic energy invaded her senses and her stomach churned.
“Well, well, well,” sneered one of the demons, “what are two nice ladies like yourselves doing in a dark alley, hiding behind the garbage, eh?”
“I lost something here. We were just looking…” mumbled Tessa, lamely.
The second demon snickered and seized Tessa’s arm, pulling her up to her feet. “Let’s see if we can help you find whatever you lost. Let’s go, both of you.”
A loud group of demons came out to the parking lot. A few demons noticed their friends standing in the alley and headed toward them. Tessa felt chills running down her spine. Only the two of them and at least ten demons. The odds definitely weren’t in their favor.
Escorted by the two demons, Missi and Tessa walked toward the bar. The demons opened the door for them and pushed them through. As soon as they crossed the threshold, the heavy stench of alcohol and cigarette smoke hit them like a sledgehammer. Tessa coughed, cleared her throat and checked the bar.
It was relatively dark, and a thick curtain of smoke was hanging under the ceiling like a dirty gray cloud. It was hard to say exactly how many bodies were crammed into the limited space of the bar, but from the first observation, it looked like there were at least twenty demons there if not more. The nauseating stench of sweat mixed in with marijuana smoke made her stomach heave, and she swallowed hard.
The demons led them through the crowd toward a man and a woman that were sitting at a far table, discussing something. The woman was in her late fifties with long gray hair that was braided in a few greasy braids. The man was probably half her age, with a thick mane of dark hair and penetrating dark eyes. As soon as Tessa and Missi approached the table, both demons fell silent, observing them with their icy eyes.
“We found these two in the alley behind the bar,” started one of the demons. “They were hiding behind the dumpster, watching me and Ricardo, I bet.” He waved at the second demon. “They’re probably just some stupid human bitches. I didn’t feel any magical energy about them. But still… better safe than sorry.”
The woman got up and slowly walked around Tessa and Missi. She made a full circle and stopped a foot away from them, placing her hands on her oversized hips. The woman was a little overweight, but she didn’t feel shy to squeeze herself into extremely tight leather pants that were at least two sizes too small and put on a shirt that was barely reaching down to her bellybutton exposing her aging skin with a web of stretch marks. The leather vest with the gang name on it wasn’t helping to avoid the overall fashion disaster.
The young man also got up but remained standing behind the table. In his looks, he was the complete opposite of the woman. He was also dressed all in leather, but every article of his clothing was well matched and fitted for his athletic body. He looked like one of those “untamed” bikers from the covers of romance novels.
“Humans?” asked the woman and without waiting for anyone’s response, she hooted laughing, displaying her yellow teeth stained by coffee and nicotine. “I don’t think so. Guardian Bitches—that’s what they are. I’m glad you brought them here, Samuel.” She glanced at the young demon over her shoulder and he gave her a light nod. “Samuel, Riccardo, take them behind the bar and kill them.” She thought for a moment and added, “Take a couple more men with you.”
Tessa felt demons seizing her arms, twisting them behind her back and pushing her forward, through the hooting crowd of demons. At this moment, she wasn’t really scared. The adrenalin was pumping through her system in expectation of a fight and her cheeks were flushed with excitement. She glanced at Missi, waiting for a signal to get things rolling. Missi shook her head no and gave her a warning stare. It was obvious that she didn’t want to start a confrontation in the confined space of the bar, surrounded by multiple demons.
As they were walking, the demons were groping and pinching them, throwing lustful glances at them and exchanging dirty jokes. Tessa was on the verge of blowing up. If I feel another hand on my—
“Hey sweetheart, it’s a shame to dispose of such a beautiful ass without having a taste first,” screeched one of the demons and slapped Missi on her ass. “Let’s play, sweet cheeks, I’ll show you the real magic.”
All this time Missi was gritting her teeth, doing everything to keep her cool, but that slap did it. Her reaction was explosive. She let go of any control and her body shimmered with the blue glow of her magic. She hissed something, and a powerful blue ray of magical energy erupted from the open palms of her hands, burning through the demon that had the stupidity to slap her. The demon screamed, his eyes bulging in terror, his body surrounded by the blue light of her magic. He made an attempt to abandon his body, but Missi’s magic locked him in. In a heartbeat, the body and the demon disintegrated into a pile of dirty dust on the floor.
“Ignius!” roared Missi, spraying the demons with a fire blast. As a couple of demons shimmered out of their burning bodies, Missi turned to Tessa and yelled, “Tessa, why are you standing, girl. Do your thing!”
“I thought you would never ask,” muttered Tessa and raised her arm up in the air, channeling her power.
The lightning broke through the ceiling connecting with Tessa’s hands and a mighty thunder made the walls of the bar tremble. She redirected the flow of the electricity, forking it into a few lightning bolts and hit three demons at the same time. The demons convulsed, their bodies twisted by the electric charge. A moment later, they were gone, both the body and the demonic essence destroyed by the lightning.
All the remaining demons shouted at the same time and sprang into action, charging Tessa and Missi from every direction. Missi hissed some kind of spell and a shimmering blue shield conjured by her magic surrounded them. The demons hit the shield and bounced back, unable to break through.
“Let me pass!”
Tessa recognized the young demon that was talking to the older woman when they were first brought in. The crowd separated, allowing him to come through. He touched Missi’s shield and his lips stretched into a semblance of a smile that could be better described as a menacing sn
arl. He put his hands on the shield and closed his eyes, focusing on the dark magic he was wielding. Darkness started to spread around his hands, slowly devouring Missi’s shield.
Missi moaned quietly as it was becoming too hard for her to keep the shield up. She threw a desperate glance at Tessa, her face strained with the effort of fighting the dark spell. Tessa had no illusions. As soon as Missi’s shield would crumble, all the demons would attack them at once. The sheer mass of their combined weight would push them to the ground immobilizing them. They wouldn’t be able to channel their magic or do anything, as the demonic energy would poison and suffocate them. The demons would beat them, bite them, and tear them apart, mercilessly crushing their bones. And once they were helpless, sprawled on the floor in a pool of their own blood, they would kill them in the most sadistic way.
Tears gathered in Tessa’s eyes, but she pushed them back. She wasn’t going to give up without a fight. She connected to her power. Without really knowing what she was doing, she collected as much power as she could in her body. The air around her was thick with electric discharges. Her hair, charged with static electricity, rose, surrounding her face like a dark halo and lightning zig-zagged in the depth of her brown eyes.
“Missi, drop the shield,” said Tessa, and she didn’t recognize her voice, there was so much strength and self-assurance in it. “Drop it now!”
Missi looked at her and her mouth shaped into the letter “O”.
“Now!” barked Tessa. Missi nodded letting go of her magic.
It happened exactly as Tessa expected. As soon as Missi’s shield was gone, all the demons pounced on them. But Tessa was ready. She wasn’t sure why she was doing it, but somehow she knew that it was the right thing to do. She dropped on one knee, firmly planting her right hand on the floor, and extended the left hand up. The thunderstorm rolled over the bar as the bright lightning connected with her hand. At the same time, the roaring waves of an earthquake spread around.
The ground quaked as a horrifying lightning storm ravaged the bar. The bolts of electricity forked and zig-zagged, striking through every single demon who was still inside. Tessa screamed, throwing her head back as she allowed her power to take her over completely. She rose in the air, levitating under the ceiling, her body surrounded by the crackling white glow of electricity. The earthquake grew stronger and a deep dark fracture slithered through the wall and then through the ceiling.
A few minutes later everything was over. Not one demon survived the storm. Tessa let go of her power and lowered herself to the floor covered in dirty shreds and ashes—all that remained of the leaders of the two powerful demonic factions. The earthquake ceased, and the thunderstorm was gone. Feeling drained, Tessa sat down on the dirty floor, propping her elbows atop of her knees and sighed.
Missi dropped on the floor next to Tessa, staring at her like she’d never seen her before. “How did you do that?” she asked, her voice hoarse.
“I don’t know. I had no idea that I could do all that… I knew that I could kind of control electricity, but an earthquake?” Tessa sighed, feeling too tired to talk. “I have all these scary powers and I have no idea where they come from or how to wield them properly. I am so stupid, Missi… There is nothing I can do right. You were right. I need to take magical education more seriously…”
Missi got up and offered Tessa her hand to help her up. They walked out of the half-demolished bar together. October in Chicago was pretty cold, and Tessa shivered in her thin jacket.
“I wish I could tell you that you will have a chance to learn more, but something tells me I won’t be able to cover your complete lack of discipline and disregard to the Guardians’ rules this time,” said Missi with a sigh. “Most likely, they will expel you and demote me into a Witch. I just recently passed the test and was qualified as a Mage, first level. They’re definitely going to demote me after this mess.”
“But how will they find out?” asked Tessa, her chest tightening with anxiety. “I’m not going to tell them anything. And it’s also in your interest to keep your mouth shut.”
Missi laughed mirthlessly. “Tessa, you really need to listen during your lessons. We don’t have to tell them anything. They already know. By the time we reach headquarters, they will have a welcome party ready for us.”
“But how?”
“Any time you use your magic or elemental power, you release magical energy. The more powerful your magic, the stronger the magical energy spike is. Between the two of us, the energy spike was so strong that it was probably felt in Australia…” Missi sighed. “Besides, a thunderstorm in October and an earthquake in Chicago? Trust me, they know.”
“But we didn’t do anything bad, Missi. It’s opposite—they should be grateful to us. We destroyed two influential demonic factions. We wiped them all out of existence in one hour!”
“First, we didn’t destroy two demonic factions. We just killed a few of their leaders. The demons that belonged to these two factions are still out there. Now they will join the other factions, making them stronger. So, in reality, we did more damage than good. Second, we both broke some major rules and like I was explaining earlier, Guardians are a military Order and they don’t take disobedience and disregard to rules lightly.”
Tessa fell silent and Missi didn’t insist on talking either. They approached a small house that was hidden among taller buildings and stopped. The house wasn’t the actual Headquarters building. It was just a gateway connected by a bridge to the Guardians’ base. There were a few of these gateways in different parts of the city, but only Guardians knew where to look for them and how to use them.
Missi reached for the key. Attached to a keychain, there was a small round medallion that looked like a cheap, made-in-china trinket. No human would ever give it a second look. Missi took the medallion and touched the door lock with it, whispering an opening spell. For a moment, the medallion lit up with a soft golden light and the door swung open.
As soon as they walked through the gateway, Tessa realized that Missi was right. Two armed guards stood in the middle of the main hall and the Head Mage of the Guardians Council stood behind them, her hands on her hips, her eyes gleaming with fury.
“Please escort these two to the confinement chambers,” she ordered the guards, her voice shaking with fury. “The Council will deal with them at the morning assembly. 8 AM sharp.”
Tessa threw a terrified look at Missi as they both followed the guards.
Chapter 9
~ Aidan ~
Aidan walked outside the hotel and shivered. It was seven forty-five in the morning. The air was crispy cold and a chilly breeze from the lake wasn’t helping the situation. Aidan was wearing just a short-sleeve cotton shirt, and he regretted that he teleported straight to Chicago from the Church by the Sea. He should have stopped at home first to pick up some warmer clothes. Raoul’s grumpy state of mind didn’t help either.
“You teleported us straight to Chicago,” nagged Raoul, shivering in his black priest’s attire. “You didn’t even care if any humans would see you materializing out of the clear blue! You are reckless, Monsieur McGrath.”
“Monsieur?” repeated Aidan, slightly unnerved. “Yes, we’re in Chicago, since yesterday, in case you didn’t notice. And you decided to yell at me for that just now, Raoul? Where did you want to go, anyway?”
“To my sleeping quarters, at the Church,” muttered the Warden under his breath, glaring at Aidan. “At least I could get some money if not warmer clothes. I don’t have money to buy food. And we need to rent a car. You’re not going to be teleporting all over the city in the middle of the day.”
“Well, you are a wizard, aren’t you?” asked Aidan, giving Raoul an arched stare, a suggestive smirk on his face. “Do something about it. Get yourself some money.”
“I will do no such thing!” stated Raoul indignantly. His temper was rising quickly, and his French accent was getting heavier with every word. “Magic should not be used in vain, for mundane tasks or per
sonal gain. Didn’t you learn anything in your twenty-five-hundred years of life?”
“Sure, I did,” replied Aidan, a wide grin splitting his face. “I learned a lot of things and practiced all sorts of magic.” He crossed the street and stopped in front of a Bank of America ATM machine. He pulled his bank card out of his wallet and swiped it, navigating the touch screen. “I learned a new kind of magic too—it’s called ATM and Credit Cards. You should try it sometime. Very effective in getting money when you need it.”
Aidan took two one-hundred-dollar bills out of the ATM and folded them into his wallet.
“Aidan, I didn’t have my wallet or my cell phone on me when you teleported us,” said Raoul with a sigh. “I’m sorry. I’ve been bitching all morning. Usually I’m not such a pain in the ass.”
“Don’t worry, Raoul. I’ll take care of all the expenses. After all, you are here only to help me,” said Aidan, giving him a quick tap on his shoulder. “But something tells me that your bitching is not over. Now, we’ll be walking in this cold for about fifteen minutes to the car rental. I placed the car reservation yesterday, but we still need to pick it up.”
Following Raoul’s directions, Aidan drove to the secluded area in the depths of Deerfield. They passed through the forest. Even though it was early October, the trees were painted in gold and yellow. Living for so many years in South Florida, Aidan already forgot the breathtaking colors and the delicate scent of autumn. He lowered the driver’s window and inhaled deeply, ignoring the chilly wind. As the year was slowly approaching the turning point, there was something so sad and nostalgic about the fading nature.
They stopped in front of a large iron gate. As far as Aidan could see, a tall stone wall was running in both directions away from the gate. There were no guards or intercom system.
