Post by StoryGirl83 on Mar 19, 2011 1:05:19 GMT -5
Chapter Three – Recognition
Flashback
The back room at P3 was dark. Chris orbed in with Toby, the light of the orbs lighting up the air around them. He let go of Toby and walked over to the couch and sat down. With a flick of his hand the light switched on. “Have a seat. You aren’t leaving here.”
“What do you mean?” Toby asked, eyeing the door cautiously.
“There is an anti-orb spell on this room.”
“I can still shimmer,” Toby reminded him, unconcerned.
“Isn’t that over kill?” Chris asked, slightly amused. “And no you can’t. My brother has a friend who can shimmer and he can’t shimmer out of here.” They had tested that theory the previous week. “The only way out is the door and it is kept locked.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Toby admitted. “I’m not leaving anyway. CT’s word is law.”
“And CT is one of those with you today?”
“Yes.”
“The half-witch?” Not that too many witches qualified as anything else, but presumably he was half something demonic or otherwise evil.
“Yes.”
“And what did he tell you to do?” Chris asked curious.
“To see to it that the demons Aka saw don’t get whatever it is they want,” Toby informed him.
Something was tugging at Chris memory, something about Toby, something about the name Aka. He’d met Toby before, but when and where? He pushed the thought aside and continued asking his questions. “Demons fighting demons? That’s not a very common practice anymore.” If anything, the underworld couldn’t afford the loss of man power.
“How would you know?” Toby scoffed a little. “Do you go to the underworld?”
“Sometimes,” Chris informed him, neglecting to mention that it was pretty much all in another time line where things had been very different, where he had been a different person.
“Oh,” Toby looked at him surprised. “But you’re obviously not a demon.”
“Yeah.” There was challenge in his voice as he added, “So?”
“Fine,” Toby shrugged. “I don’t get it, but fine. Let’s get back to the topic of the demons at the restaurant.”
“What demons?” Chris tried to remember anyone else that he had seen who might be demonic, but then if they looked demonic, they wouldn’t have been there. “Besides you and your friends?”
“Yes, besides us,” Toby agreed, even if he did sound a little agitated. “And only four of us have demonic blood.”
It was an odd comment that caused Chris to raise his eyebrows and ask, “Who isn’t demonic?”
Toby shook his head. “You don’t get it, do you? Who is and isn’t demonic among my friends isn’t the point here; it isn’t important. The point is that we are on the side of good and one of my friends saw three demons enter your mom’s restaurant shortly before you chased us out.”
“In that case, tell me about these demons,” Chris requested.
“I don’t know much,” Toby admitted. “They’d only just shown up when your mom froze the room . . . that is what happened, right?”
Chris was surprised that Toby had noticed considering the spell the red-headed witch had cast, but he nodded. “Well, tell me what you do know.”
Toby sighed. “All Aka said before everything happened was that they were definitely demonic and that their auras, unlike Max’s, weren’t good.”
“Their auras?”
The conversation dropped as they noticed a couple headed their way. Both had black hair. His was short with a slight bit of a wave at the tips. He was waving his hands around, apparently trying to explain something to the young woman with him.
Her hair was longer, past her shoulders, but almost the exact same shade as his. While his skin was light, hers was almost pure white. Her eyes were off, her pupils a little larger than normal, but at this distance, no one could tell. She was laughing as she listened to what her friend was saying. As they passed the picnic table she stopped suddenly. When her friend kept walking she exhaled swiftly and in a commanding voice said, “Freeze.”
The young man stopped moving instantly, not even moving his head to look at her. The move was either one of absolute trust or one of magical restraint.
She young woman looked around. Spotting the four at the picnic table she looked them over. After a few seconds a smile spread on her lips. “You have about six feet so just don’t go any farther.”
Disproving the idea of magical restraints, he relaxed visible and turned around to face her. “So what did you just save me from, Aka?”
The young woman, Aka, replied deadpan. “Anti-orb zone.”
Five sets of eyebrows rose at the confident words. Her friend laughed them off. “Then, I’ll just . . .”
“It’s just a name, Toby,” Aka interrupted, not wanting him to finish his sentence. She frowned as she added. “There’s none.”
With an exaggerated sigh at her cryptic words, the young man, Toby, replied. “We’ll just go around.”
“Not if you intend to get home,” Aka rolled her eyes at him. “It’s too big for that.”
Toby looked past her at the group at the picnic table. “And them?”
“All magical,” Aka replied without hesitation. With a grin she added. “Good magical.”
“Fine.”
Not able to stand it any longer, Chris called out to them. “Hey, what do you know of that thing?”
Aka gave him a shrug. “Avoid it.”
“Can’t,” Chris admitted. “Already been in.”
Aka’s dark eyes widened. “Okay, whitelighter. Get back in before your powers are gone for good.”
How does she know? Chris tried to keep his stunned response to himself. “What makes you think I’m a whitelighter?”
She shrugged, again. “Fine.” She looked at him closer, or as close as she could from several feet away. After a few seconds, her already wide eyes, grew wider, realization setting in. “Elder.” The one word sounded almost as stunned at Chris felt. “I’m guessing half.”
Chris looked at her surprised. Does she see that just by looking at me? I didn’t think I looked any different than anyone else and she seems to know I’m half elder. How? Pulling his thoughts together, he inclined his head at the battle field. “What is it?”
“That?” Aka looked toward the zone. Her eyes were unreadable, even to Toby. “It’s an anti-orb zone.”
“What’s that?” Chris wanted more than a name. She’s already said the name.
“Nothing you’ll ever find in a book,” Aka admitted. She looked at him, considering.
“Aka,” Toby called, “I think we’d better leave before you say something you regret.”
Aka raised an eyebrow at him. “I don’t regret things I say.”
Toby groaned. “Okay, before you say something I regret.”
Aka rolled her eyes, but after an apologetic look at Chris walked away in the direction they had come from.
That was him, Chris realized, startled. He was with that girl who warned us about the anti-orb zone back in February. Were these auras how she knew about that? “I remember meeting you before,” Chris commented. “That girl with you. Was that Aka?”
Toby smiled. “The anti-orb zone, right?”
Chris nodded.
“She was so worried I’d say something about being able to shimmer,” Toby informed him with a chuckle. “We try to keep a low profile as best we can, play up the demon or warlock sides when in the underworld. When around good magic we play up witch sides and abilities to orb . . . even if we don’t mention it’s dark orbing.”
“And what are you playing up now?” Chris wanted to know.
Toby shrugged. “I’m not playing up anything. If I was, I wouldn’t tell you that I was a demon/darklighter mix. It would be counterproductive.” He clucked his tongue, thinking. “I guess with you and yours the rule is something along the lines of avoid and don’t lie.”
Chris frowned and got up from the couch. “Why on earth would anyone have a rule like that in place? I can maybe understand one or the other, but why on earth would you have both?”
“You’d have to understand some things that I am not prepared to tell you,” Toby admitted. “And there is nothing in there that says I can’t avoid the questions.” He sighed. “Look, there are demons that were in your mother’s restaurant and they weren’t there for dinner. Aka’s the one who saw them and the one who saw their auras. I almost didn’t see them, because of your timing. And unless they were wearing those suits again and maybe not even then. Either listen to what I have to say or let me go, because my presence if pointless if you are just going to do nothing and possibly get killed in the process.”
Chris heaved in several breaths as he thought about this. “Fine, I’ll play along. Let me call my mom and then we’ll head to my place. I’m going to want my brother’s help with this.”
“Play?” Toby mumbled, shaking his head. “I suppose I’ll take what I can get. Just don’t let your playing get someone killed.”