Post by StoryGirl83 on Jun 27, 2011 0:50:52 GMT -5
Chapter Five – Asking for Help from Dad
Much as Sean McInnis loved his daughter there were days he was glad that she was an only child. He’d gone into her room to wake her and found a giant map of what looked to be a massive organization of tunnels and caverns, a scrying crystal, and no Brianna. It was the kind of thing that worried a father.
He’d tried her cell phone, but hadn’t been surprised when he’d gotten nothing. He suspected that his daughter was a long way out of her carrier’s range.
An hour later he was staring down at soggy cereal. If he had any way to get the location pinpointed on the map, he would have gone. As it was he was going to have to trust his daughter and although he knew she was good at what she did, it was hard for a parent to just sit still while their child went hunting for evil.
“Sorry, I’m late,” a voice behind him proclaimed sounding a little winded.
“Where have you been, Brianna?” Sean asked concerned as he turned around.
“Underworld,” Brianna announced. There were few secrets between father and daughter, but the biggest one was about to be the main point of discussion. “Remember out guests yesterday,” she added as she grabbed a bowl and cereal out of the cupboard.
“The two Halliwell boys and their friend,” Sean commented, remembering. “What about them?”
“Yesterday we went to The Manor, the restaurant not the home, for dinner,” she informed him. “CT was in one of his moods,” she added with a chuckle. “You know how he gets sometimes. We barely got our food ordered when Aka say dark demonic auras.” She poured her cereal into the bowl and sat down.
“Only you five with have to quantify that a demon has a dark aura,” Sean retorted. “Of course not too many people can see those auras in the first place.”
Brianna picked up her spoon and toyed with it. “True, but there are other people that realize there are good demons out there. It’s a very small group, but they do exist. You saw the Halliwells’ friend. He’s half demon apparently, so they get that, too.”
Sean smiled. “Yes, but none of this is new. Why were you in the underworld, Brianna?”
She frowned. “Apparently the demons we were looking for went into hiding as soon as they did . . . something. We don’t know what. Now, one of them is in some sort of isolation chamber to keep him from infecting others. Apparently he’s chronically depressed and suicidal with a touch of paranoia in the mix just for ‘fun’. I haven’t located the other two, but they can’t be allowed to stick around.”
“This isn’t normal for you,” Sean commented looking over at his daughter’s face. “You tend to avoid these types of battles.”
“Doesn’t mean we don’t fight them if they come to us,” she shot back. “CT said they tried to kill someone. And Toby said they tried to poison some people. We can’t let them keep this up, even if Max is being weird about it all.”
Sean looked at her surprised. “Have you talked to him? Max is usually the first one to want a fight.”
“Maybe in a fist fight,” Brianna laughed. “Max doesn’t much care for magic, and since like CT and I, he hasn’t had any for years, it’s never meant much to him. And unlike CT and I, he doesn’t even have spells.”
“Are you saying Max doesn’t use magic?” Sean asked her with a look of disbelief.
“Shimmering,” she said thoughtfully, “though it was really funny watching him learn it. He uses magic, he just prefers not to. He thinks that magic has the potential to turn him into his father.”
Sean considered this and decided not to comment. Brianna had something to say. He would let her just talk.
“I don’t understand why he doesn’t want to vanquish those demons,” she commented, getting back on track, or what appeared to be on track in Sean’s mind. “Usually he doesn’t have a problem with that. Usually that’s reserved for snake demons, usually River.”
“River,” Sean mumbled the name, thinking. “That’s the psychotic seventeen-year-old that broke into the chicken farm to eat raw chickens?”
Brianna was silent for several seconds. When she did speak it was with one word. “Yes.”
“And if I remember correctly, Max likes to eat raw chicken eggs?”
“Yes.” She paused a second before adding. “He likes other types of eggs, too. It’s just chicken eggs are more accessible.”
Sean shuddered.
“I know, it’s odd,” Brianna admitted. “I need your advice, Dad.”
Sean looked over at her. “What’s the matter? I mean besides the fact that you are obsessed with Max Keegan.”
“Haha,” Brianna replied sarcastically. “No, I’m not sure what to do about these demons. I can’t ask my friends this time.”
“Why not?”
“Max is caught up in something to do with an attack yesterday, snake demons he thinks,” She informed him. “Aka’s not really a great help in a fight. She can tell you who the bad guys are, but she can’t do anything about it. Something is very wrong with CT, but I don’t know what. Toby followed him home yesterday and I haven’t heard from either of them.”
“Have you tried going there?”
“Are you kidding me?” Brianna stared at him. “Do you have any idea where they live?”
Sean shook his head. “No, you won’t talk about that.”
She signed. “Well, let’s just say it’s not people friendly. I haven’t mastered my blinking ability to that extent. I can get across the room, but there . . . forget it. Max can’t get their on his own either. No, I have to wait for them to contact me. And not a one of them owns a cell phone.”
“Does even one of them have a job?”
Brianna looked down for a second, trying to hide a snigger. “No.” She shook her head as she looked back up. No, they most certainly don’t have jobs. What would they need them for? "Max lives in the underworld and occasionally on the couches within our coven. The others . . . let’s just say cell phones would be pointless there.”
“All right, so your friends aren’t available,” Sean admitted. “I’m glad to help, but I am surprised to be asked.”
Brianna nodded. “I know I never ask. But you are the one who knows, aren’t you?”
“I don’t know that I’d go that far,” Sean joked, “but I have practiced magic a lot longer than you have, Sweetie. Why don’t you tell me everything you know and I will see if I can help?”
Brianna exhaled slowly. “Well, I couldn’t just let them get away, so when everyone left last night, I decided to keep looking.”