"So, how are you going to explain the whole vampire spell-casting situation to your gang friends?" Luke asks. If there was any time to gather my thoughts, it would be while we're on a road trip. "I'll tell them it was a prayer. My version of a mental breakdown. They'll have no choice but to accept it."
"Good idea. What about Saiya? Now that she knows about supernaturals, isn't this all pointless?" Delilah raises another question. "This isn't for Saiya, it's for Jason. It's clear that Soren cares about him. And also, she has no life, so there's that." I flick Luke a middle finger from the passenger seat. He returns it with a cheeky smile, with his head sticking out from the back seat. "Soren, I say this with all the love and care. Don't get attached. It's a losing game."
Delilah reflectively looks out into the distance with a hard expression on her face. "So when are you going to tell us who hurt you?" Luke completely disregards the mood shift. "That's a story for another lifetime." Delilah bluntly brushes him off again. An awkward silence falls upon us. "I know we're deep into this supernatural stuff, but let's forget about it for the duration of the ride," I say, and follow up by turning the radio up.
The next few hours of the ride are spent with the three of us switching roles between driver, passenger-princess, and DJ. We stop to use the bathroom and buy snacks along the way. "So I put my hands up and play my song, the butterflies fly away!" Luke screeches with a pack of gummy strings as his pretend microphone. "Nodding my head like yeah! Moving my hips like yeah!" Delilah holds a solid note, looking as unserious as ever with goofy shades on her face. "So I put my hands up and play my song, I know I'm gonna be okay!" I pitch in, and then we all join together. "Yeah, yeah, yeah-e-yeah, it's a party in the USA!" We sing until we can't anymore.
After a while, I'm pulling into the parking lot of a hotel. We all take our bags and head upstairs. It was a simple pack since we'll only be here for a day and another upstate. "I'm so exhausted," Luke's low raspy voice can barely be heard. "That makes one of us. I'm somewhat of a nocturnal creature." Delilah smiles with rearing energy. "Actually, that makes two of us. I can barely see right now." I rub my eyes to try to clear my vision, but no luck. "You two settle in, and I'll come back later." Delilah wastes no time setting her things in place and leaving the hotel room. Luke and I barely look at each other before passing out.
~~~
"The warehouse is only a few minutes away. I don't understand why this would be the last known location of Jason's adoptive parents." I think aloud. "The better question is, how was Keith able to find this place? You're telling me Jason's bio parents could escape supernatural creatures but not some secret black agent?" Luke skeptically asks. "That's probably the very reason why Keith was able to find this place. Supernatural creatures aren't likely to know the full capability of electronics, and investigators like Keith, who have connections. It's unlikely that they would be able to cover every trail. That being said, Keith did say that he normally doesn't give information half-cooked, so this case was probably tough for him. I don't ask Keith how he does what he does. All I'm grateful for is the information. It's invaluable."
~~~
It isn't long before we're parking on the side of the road across from the warehouse. We figured it would be too reckless to get so close without knowing what could happen. "The moment of truth, I guess." Delilah exhales before walking across the street. Luke and I are close behind. The chances of there being a car nearby are slim to none in such a desolate place, but that doesn't stop Luke and me from looking both ways before crossing the street. The one-story warehouse is rusted and slowly deteriorating. Its metal exterior has to have seen better days. The closer we get to the place, the worse the smell of rust and rot gets. "I think we ought to be more worried about catching something other than supernatural creatures," Luke says in disgust. I can't help but agree.
What looks to be the outline of the pavement that led a path to the warehouse is now overrun by overgrown plants and weeds sticking out from every nook and cranny. We reach the entryway, which is a huge metal door that appears to be rusted shut. Delilah twists the knob, but it barely budges. She then keeps her right hand on the knob, presses her right arm against the door, and presses her body weight against it. "Yeah, De, I don't think that's going to work." Luke's statement is quickly shut down when Delilah's horns and tail come out, and she uses her succubus strength to completely take the door off its hinges. "You were saying?" She remarks without looking back.
Luke whistles in astonishment. "I hope that never gets old," he grins. The air from inside is stale and thick with the smell of blood. Luke and I almost immediately break into a fit of coughs. "Who died in here?" Luke comments. "Be careful what you say. We may just find a body." I tell him. "We won't. There isn't enough blood in here. If anything, this is the right amount of blood one would need for a powerful spell, not a sacrifice." Delilah corrects us. "Should we be concerned that she can tell the amount of blood through smell?" Luke whispers to me. "You should be more concerned if I couldn't," Delilah responds despite the comment not being directed at her.
The light from outside is enough for us to see where we're walking, but not enough to illuminate the building. There are barely any windows in this place, and the ones that are here are so far up that they don't help much. Delilah keeps her horns and tail out. They're a darker shade of red than her hair. Without the flashing lights of the club she was in on the video call, it's much easier to see the details. Her tail looks sharp enough to cut as deep as a knife, and her horns rival those of a bull. The patterns on her horns are intricate. I can't quite make out what they are in the dim lighting, but they appear to be swirls.
Balls of fire suddenly appear in Delilah's hands. She splits it into three smaller ones and passes them to Luke and me. "They won't burn you unless you pose yourself as a threat. They'll follow you around and provide you with light." Delilah explains. "What constitutes a threat?" Luke says with big eyes, weary of the fire. I quietly laugh at the sight. "As long as you don't attack me, you're fine. Magic has a mind of its own until you tame it, so you should be cautious when dealing with it." Delilah justifies Luke's reaction. I look at the fire, and for a moment, I swear I see a smile. "Are these things…alive?" I ask. "Somewhat. They can't feel pain or emotions, but they can do as they please until tamed."
"So it wouldn't be weird if it smiled at me?"
"It's fire, it can't make facial expressions." Delilah deadpans me. "Well, excuse me, I'm a bit out of my element here." I defend myself. I side-eye the fire and decide to not give it another thought. It creeps me out. "So did you get the fire from somewhere since you had to tame it?" Luke asks. At this point, we all split up into separate directions to look for any clues. "No, all witches are born with magic, but once you summon it, it still has to be tamed. You can't just cast a spell and bend it to your will. It's a partnership between you and the magic you wield. If it deems you too weak, it'll burn you or flat-out ignore you. If it sees you as a threat, it'll scurry around doing whatever it wants and won't give you the time of day."
"But if they can't feel emotions, what's the reason behind their actions?"
"When you're in the realm of magic, you're constantly being assessed. It's simply their nature to attack or ignore you based on your ranking. And regarding the things they do, there's no intent behind it. If they burn a village, it's not because they didn't like the villagers; they were probably just roaming around, and they don't realize that they can burn the place down. They're mindless and don't think about consequences. They simply go on about their day."
And I was crazy for thinking that it smiled at me. I roll my eyes and keep moving. There isn't much to see on my end. Just a bunch of weeds and grass taking over the place. A few more minutes pass by before Delilah notes something. "There's some type of powder over here. I think it may be magic residue. It's a common leftover after casting a spell. Whatever Jason's parents were doing here, it definitely required the help of witches." Luke and I start walking over, but are quickly warned away. "Oh, shit. Run away!" Delilah screams. Her wings come out, but that's all I see before Luke and I are grabbed by our arms and flying through the air. It doesn't last long as a blast quickly wipes Delilah out of the air and Luke and I along with her.
We're sent flying forward before we fall with a hard thud. I try to break my fall and shield my head with my hands. I roll across the warehouse, being nicked along the way by rocks and plants. My ears are ringing, and the temperature in the room seems to rise. "Ugh," I groan in agony. Some of the skin on my arms and legs has been scraped off. My vision is temporarily blurry, but it starts to clear up. I try my best to lift myself off the ground, but my body feels like lead. Smoke fills the air, but it isn't thick enough to completely inhibit my vision.
"Soren! Luke! Are you guys okay?!" Delilah shouts from somewhere. "Over here!" Luke and I yell. A few seconds later, Delilah is in front of me with Luke hanging from her shoulder. "Shit, you're in bad shape," Delilah says upon seeing me. "Can't you just teleport us out of here?" Luke groans. "We have to get out of the warehouse first. Any more magic can set off more reactive dust, and we'll be dead before we escape. I look around me and notice that the balls of fire are gone.
Delilah lifts me from the ground, hoists me by my waist, and starts to fly out. We're about to reach the exit when a shadowy figure blocks the exit. Its upper body looks human-like, but after the waist, it doesn't have legs. The rest of its body joins in a clump of black, like the tail of your stereotypical ghost. Its arms are long, and it has talons for nails. Its purple eyes pierce through the darkness and into our souls. My stomach instantly starts to cramp.
"Okay, guys. We're in some real danger, and I can't guarantee that we will make it out alive. That is a shadow hunter, and they feed off of magic. Whoever is behind all of this has set up a trap for anybody with magic who would try to follow. First, they left reactive dust that is triggered and explodes when it comes in contact with magic. They linked this to another spell that released shadow hunters, so when the reactive dust is set off, it's quickly followed up by shadow hunters, preventing any magical creature from escaping. Lucky for you guys, you're human. You can make it out of here."
"What about you?" Luke frowns. "I'll be fine, trust. But I'm going to have to release you guys. Can you make it on your own?" Luke and I nod our heads. Between the burns from the explosion and cuts from the fall, I'm not so sure that I can make it, but I reassure her anyway. Delilah sets us on the ground and flies away from the exit and towards the upper windows. The shadow hunter quickly follows her in pursuit, giving Luke and me the chance to escape. I shakily stand and shuffle my way to the door. Luke is in no better shape than I am. He can barely walk. Since there doesn't appear to be much external damage on his part, I can only assume he crashed into something that bruised him. I'm still slower than Luke, so he stops and waits for me. He grabs my hand and we shuffle towards the door together. We don't make it far before another shadow hunter appears. Or should I say huntress? This one has breasts, so it's definitely different from the other one that's chasing Delilah.
"Why is she heading over here. I thought they only went after magic?" Luke comments. Shit, Delilah's necklace. 'I can help you,' A familiar distorted voice says from the shadows. "Not really the time," I say under my breath, knowing they will hear me. 'I can lead the huntress away from you, and in return, you give me your body.'
"Yeah, and what can you do about this?"
'Since I don't have a physical body, I'm pure magic, which means I'm way tastier than that necklace of yours. All I have to do is stop suppressing my presence. It'll draw the attention away from your necklace.'
"All I have to do is throw the necklace out. I don't need you."
'And have the necklace potentially trigger reactive dust? I think not. The necklace itself is magical. That's how it's able to hold magic in the first place, so all it has to do is touch a bit of reactive dust and the place goes boom.'
Fuck! I bite my inner cheek in distress. The shadow huntress wastes no time coming after Luke and me. I quickly push Luke away. The huntress doesn't make contact with either of us. That doesn't matter since it takes a quick U-turn and flies straight for me.
'Tik tok,' The shadowy figure taunts me from the seclusion of the shadows. "One time. You only get to take over my body once,"
'Whenever I want,'
'Once a week, whenever you want for a month as long as you promise to not harm anybody or my body,"
'Whenever I want, however I want, however many times I want,'
"I'd rather die," I hiss. I prepare for impact and look Luke in the eyes. He's scrambling to get up, the blow he took from earlier disorienting him and hindering his speed. "You know I love you," I wink at him. Tears swell in his eyes, and he forces himself up, but he won't get here in time. I know he won't. I guess time really does seem to stop when you're about to die. My life doesn't flash before my eyes, and I don't make wishes to my loved ones before my demise. Ha, this is the second time I've felt this way. The first time, as I recall, I thought of all of the things I never did. The should've, would've, could'ves. And my last hope was that Jason would catch me. Even now, a part of me wishes he could whisk me away and prevent me from dying again, but that's not possible. We're separated by hundreds of miles, and our bond has been severed. So why am I still clinging to this hope that he'll be there?
'I'll take your proposition. Once a week, whenever I want, and I won't injure anybody or your body, but you can't tell anybody about our deal, and I want it for two months. Got it?' I'm not ready to die yet. I'm not! "Fine, we have a deal." The figure emerges from the shadows and shakes my hand. An eerie grin captures its face, and I almost wish I had accepted death.