11am The little Cabin in the woods
Marci could not believe what she heard. Tales of Animal Kings and Magical powers.
Marci looked at Bai and William, sitting just a few feet from her. These gentle old men who have been the best friends you could have ever wanted were not even human. For the first time that Marci could remember, William looked tired. Marci looked over to Bai; he had stood in a long stretch. Marci could not believe what she was seeing. When Bai began to lower his arms, his clothes began to change. In a flash, his jacket was a dark purple, made of silk, his pants shifted to a clean black.
"So much better." Bai seemed pleased with himself. With a wave of his hand, a laundry bag appeared. With a heavy thud, the bag dropped to the floor. Reaching in, he pulled out a neatly folded pile of clothes that he handed to William. William mouthed Thank you. Bai looked over to Marci, he was sizing her up, and then with a little chuckle he pulled from pale bag a stack of clothes out. With a smile, he handed them to her.
"These have been magically upgraded."
"Upgraded?" Marci took the pile with the same caution seen when handling a dirty diaper.
"Nothing extreme, they are fireproof, cut proof, cannot get dirty, if you focus on them they can change from clothing to magical armor if you need protection from more serious threats." Bai explained while Marci unfolded the clothing. It was so very large, three x-large easy. Soft to the touch, finer than silk. The shirt was a gentle blue polo, the pants while they looked like black denim, felt just like the shirt.
"These look a little too big for me. " Marci said while handing the pile back to Bai.
William chuckled. "When you put them on, they will size to you. They also replace the clothes you are wearing."
"Of Course they do." Marci tossed the large polo over her shirt, and before she could even feel the cloth against her skin, it had shrunk to her size. Her dirty and slightly burned shirt appeared neatly folded at her feet.
"Okay that was cool." She sounded like a giddy schoolgirl. She slid into the pants, in the same magical fashion; her old jeans appeared on the floor neatly folded.
"Makes one wonder how you lived without magic all these years, doesn't it?" Bai seemed so very pleased with how accepting Marci was with these events.
"Word of warning Marci, these items while powerful are not unlimited in their use. How long they last will depend on the power they repel. But once they depleted, there is no recharging them." Bai warning made Marci less happy about them.
"So regardless of the threat still try not to get hit." Marci joked
"Exactly. And should you face a Shadow Demon, you may get one maybe two uses from them before they depleted." William said reinforcing Bai's point.
"So the charm you gave me earlier? Is it magical too?" Marci asked while touching the charm that sat around her neck.
"It is. One of the strongest of magic charms I can make. A onetime use, it can stop a fatal blow, or banish any evil from your sight for at least 24 hours. However, it comes at a cost. Once used you trade one year of your natural life. It will trigger on its own if you suffer a tragic death. To banish an evil force, you must hold the charm in your hand and command it. Simple say; I banish you."
"At the cost of one year of our lives?" Marci's jaw dropped in shock. How could give them such a gift without warning her the cost.
"One year of a natural life versus certain death is but a small price to pay" William said defending Bai, who looked heartbroken over how upset this made Marci.
"Do either of you have any magic to help Gwen?" Marci's voice filled with heartbreak.
"Not all Blessed share the same gifts, I can move between locations like you experienced, I am stronger than most mortals, I can create simple illusions, and produce simple items, like food, drinks, simple conjures. I am also very handy with a blade. My people were known as Red Caps." William conjured a knife that spun on the tip of his index finger.
"While I am more complicated than Dear William." Marci took note of Bai's tone, the way he said Dear William felt extremely personal, loving, like an old married couple, William clearly did not notice or chose not to notice.
"I conjure simple items just like him; however I am also the guardian of the last known Dragon Spirits. Before the veil divided the realms, mortals would call my people Demons." The old man looked saddened by the label of Demon. William gave Bai a good 'old boy pat on the back.
"Wasn't just the morals who thought that my old friend, but at least we know different now." William laughed.
Marci noticed how William's comment truly made Bai perk up.
"To answer your question, we do not have the magic required to wake your sister. However, I do know someone I can ask. Tiamat I request your presences please." Bai bowed as he called to the Dragon Spirit. Tiamat appeared before Bai. The Dragon Spirit was small, no larger than a soda can. Golden main down its back, long golden whiskers, exquisite green scales the color of finely crafted jade.
"Master Bai" Tiamat greeted Bai with a bow; the spirits voice was delicate, soft, and very feminine.
"I was hoping you could help heal our friend?" Bai gestured to Gwen laying lifeless in the bedroom.
The little Dragon made her way to Gwen, she hovered, moved head to toe. You could tell she was assessing the damage.
"Most interesting." The little dragon said as she moved closed to Gwen.
"I can repair the minor damage to her body, but her mind, I cannot fix what is not there." Tiamat's words sent waves of shock through everyone in the room. No one seemed to notice how with Tiamat's words Gwen's body mended. Minor cuts disappeared, the bruising receded, even the little scar on her chin from falling down the stairs has a child vanished.
"What do you mean it's not there?" Marci did not attempt to hide the fear in her voice.
"I have no further explanation; her mind is not in her body. It is empty. Not Damaged, just missing. For all accounts, her body is able to get up and dance if it wanted to, her mind is missing." Tiamat said with a shrug.
"Thank you Tiamat." Bai gave a bow to the tiny dragon before she disappeared.
"How the hell is her mind just gone? Side note why did you wait so long to call on your tiny friend to help?" Marci was angry, sad, confused, just a mess over all this.
"Mortals are not supposed to know about magic, we are under strict restrictions on what, when, and why we can use our gifts. The price is steep if we don't follow the law." William answered for Bai who seemed upset by Marci's sudden anger.
"Law? You have your own police?"
"No, just one to enforce the rules we live by." Bai answered Marci
"One man enforces all the rules for how many of you Blessed?" Marci was face to face with Bai
"Yes one man, in this city. Detective Stone. He is older and more powerful then all of us. There are stories that say he was the first Blessed, the head of Mother and Father's army. He has slain, maimed, imprisoned, and de-powered more Blessed then we could ever track." Bai trembled with fear over just mentioning Detective Stone's history.
"Now Bai, it is not nice to gossip. " Detective Stone replied
"Long enough." Detective Stone replied to Marci's thought.
Everyone in the room froze in shock and terror. No one had notice him enter the small cabin, there was no car out front, and Jacob was still asleep out on the porch bench. Yet Detective Stone was standing in the furthest corner away from the door, like he had been there all morning.
"Ms. Marci, Bai is correct however. Should he had used any powers in front of the mortals at the hospital and been caught, I would have punished him severely." Stone's voice was empty of anything sign of emotion.
"Even to save a life?" Marci could not believe how uncaring Detective Stone was about all of this.
"Ms. Marci, we need rules to keep our kind in check. The rules are black and white. While he may have told you the tales of our past. What he failed to tell you is how after the divide the Blessed turned on each other. Left to find a new purpose in life many turned to murder, soul stealing, creating plagues, trying to break through the veil to punish man for the divide. Mankind who became trapped on our side of the veil became easy targets for the Blessed cruelty. The Blessed would even trick, lure, or drag mortals to our side of the veil just to make them suffer. So our kind needed a heavy hand to keep order." Again Stone's voice was just devoid of any emotion.
"Right now the press believe all of you perished in the fire at the hospital. It will be weeks before they find all the bodies. Stay dead. Stay out of sight. I do not know who targeted your sister or why. Until I can figure out how you all fit into this puzzle stay out of sight. Stay out of the city. William can you get your hands on a homestead stone?" Detective Stone asked while keeping his eyes locked on Marci.
"Aye maybe, but it won't come cheap or easy." William stepped between Detective stone and Marci, while Marci was much taller than William was, however it was still a kind gesture.
"And I may need to break a few of your rules to get one." That made Detective Stone break his gaze from Marci to William.
"Hear me well dwarf, I grant you safe use of your gifts in defense of life, yours and theirs. Should I find out you harm a mortal, or be directly related to the death of a mortal, or expose our very existence, I will kill Bai and de-power you so you can live out the rest of your days like an out mortal man." Detective Stone's words made Bai gasp and William flinch.
Detective Stone looked over to Gwen, then back to Marci,
"I will find out why this is happening to your sister. Until then trust Bai, William, and Jacob to keep both of you safe. You could not have a better team of protectors. Unless it was me of course." Stone disappeared before Marci's eyes, not like how when William blinked. When William blinked, you could feel the room fade and the gap between locations. When Stone disappear, he was gone. No warning, no sense of magic, he just disappeared.
"I do believe that is the nicest thing he has ever said about us" William jested.
William's joke did little to ease the tension in the cabin.
"What is a homestead stone?" Marci inquired.
"A stone used to hide within. Think of it like an RV. Once I get one, the four of us can stow in it, while Jacob carries it in his pocket. Will be undetected by just about all Blessed."
Marci just stared wide-eyed at William.
"Marci dear, you need some rest." With a wave of his hand William made the old wood stove disappear and the love seat expand to a couch large enough for her to sleep on. Bai manifested some fine pillows and a blanket. Marci was far too tired to argue. William turned to Bai,
"Will you be fine on your own old friend?" William words carried an honest concern for his dear friend.
"Of course; I'm going to rest too, but I will make sure the spirits watch over us while I do." Bai replied with a smile.
William blinked out of the small cabin. Marci laid on the couch, the pillows so cool and soft; before she passed out, she could have sworn she saw a concern on Bai's face.
Gwen continued her journey in the deep darkness. She was feeling so defeated, with no sign of escape she fell to her knees and began to cry. She missed her sister, foster or not Marci was her sister. She missed William and Bai.
{I cannot give up; I need to get back to my family} Gwen wiped away her tears; she could see light in the tear on her finger. The nearly invisible tear was reflecting light, like a mirror. Gwen looked puzzled at the little pool of water on her finger; she stood and leveled her finger with her eye. Slowly she turned in a circle. Watching the light in her tear get brighter in one direction and die out completely in the other. Then it dried up, absorbed into her skin as tears often do. Had she dream the light? Gwen blew a spit bubble reminisce of a small child first learning they can create spit.
{So gross} the spit slid into her hand, she looked closely and saw nothing.
{Am I going mad? On the other hand, maybe just my tears work.} Gwen pressed her index finger to her cheek, forcing the fatty part of her cheek between her teeth and bit hard. Blood pooled in her mouth and tears welled in her eyes. Gwen collected the tears in her hand; in the puddle, she could see a trail of light leading to a door.
{Door? I am going mad. However, what do I have to lose? } Gwen followed the light trail in her tears, after a short trip she was standing where her tear depicted a door, yet in the darkness, no door was before her.
{I am off my damn rocker.} The pool of tears had begun to shrink in her hand. While she saw no door in front of her, clearly in the fading tears there is a door in front of her. With a deep and heavy sigh, Gwen closed her eyes and reached for the doorknob. She could feel the cold firm knob in her hand, smooth, felt like polished wood. Gwen opened her eyes, then the feeling disappeared as her hand collapsed into a fist.
{I swear I felt it} Gwen closed her eyes again and reached for the doorknob. Again, her hand found a smooth, cool, wooden doorknob in her hand. Keeping her eyes closed she turned the knob and gave a push. In an instant she was falling, weightless in the air. Gwen began to scream, she saw nothing but emptiness and felt like falling from a roller coaster. Picking up speed, her heart broke.
{OH MY GOD! I am done; I am dead. It is over for me. Forgive me Marci.} Gwen hit something hard. With a force that reminded her of a car accident, like the one Marci and she suffered when they first moved to the city. Pain radiated through her body. She choked on her blood. She no longer had a single thought in her head.
End Chapter 18