Post by StoryGirl83 on Jun 26, 2011 23:41:30 GMT -5
Chapter Twenty-Two – Internal Strife
Brianna was waving a scrying crystal over a map. She looked very tired.
“Maybe a bigger map,” Aka suggested.
Brianna glared at her. “You want to do this?”
Aka wrinkled her nose. “You know I can’t.”
“I can take over for you, if you’d like,” Wyatt suggested.
“It wouldn’t matter,” Brianna informed him, dropping the crystal on the map. “They’re not in San Francisco. And they’re not in the surrounding area. They’re probably in the underworld.”
“That’s a big leap,” Wyatt reminded her amused. “After all, we may think San Francisco is the whole world, but it’s not really true.”
“Maybe so,” CT announced coming in, “but I did use a globe and whenever I got something it was always here, in this area. So they’re around or they’re in the underworld as she suggested.”
Wyatt looked at the three of them. “If you two are witches, what are your powers?”
“Empathy,” Brianna informed him with a shrug. “You are seriously uptight, by the way.”
“I’m not used to this,” he informed her.
She glanced around. “This what?”
“He means your relationship with Max, in case you are curious,” CT informed her. “And the fact that I’m part witch, part demon. They make him nervous.”
Wyatt frowned, his eyes narrowing.
“Why?” Brianna looked Wyatt surprised. “After all, his best friend is a demon and he’s a witch.” She paused and looked over at CT with a glare. “And what relationship with Max do you mean? We’re barely speaking to each other. Why does everyone assume we’re dating or something? Even Devia called him my boyfriend. We’ll in case you missed that, I’m not dating . . . Max.” Her voice had been escalating with every word until she noticed Max standing in the doorway.
For a moment there seemed to be hurt in the man’s eyes, but it was gone almost before anyone noticed, but CT noticed it and interpreted it correctly. Wyatt saw it and wondered. Aka was perhaps more watchful than one might think, but in that moment her back was turned and she knew nothing of what went on.
And Brianna only saw only what she wished to see and pain in her friend’s eyes was not one of those things. She did recognize that she shouldn’t have said that quite the way she did. “You know what I mean, Max. Don’t you ever get tired of everyone assuming we’re dating?”
“Is that what they think?” he asked in a monotone. “Because it’s not or at least not from what I see. It’s not that they think we’re dating. It’s that they think we should be.” He glanced at CT before looking back at her. “And they’re wrong. You should never date me.” Without waiting for a response he turned around and left the room.
CT scowled. “He was here for a reason. I’ll be back. Aka you know what to do about the scrying.”
“But I can’t scry,” she protested.
CT shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. They,” he waved his hand at Wyatt and Brianna, “can and you know how to deal with the map issue.” He headed for the doorway.”
“Wait.”
CT turned to look at Wyatt. “Yes?”
“He said she shouldn’t date him,” Wyatt pointed out in a voice low enough that Brianna couldn’t hear him. “Did he word it that way on purpose?”
CT looked at him for several seconds, debating how to answer. Finally, he dipped his head in a quick nod and left the room.
Wyatt turned his head and looked at Aka. “He said you know what to do about the scrying. Do you?”
Aka sighed. “Yeah, sort of. I’ll be back. I need to talk to his dad.”
“You could just bring his dad here,” Wyatt suggested as he walked over to Brianna and her scrying crystal.
Brianna glared at him and pulled the crystal away.
“She’s kind of possessive of her witchcraft,” Aka commented. “Since the rest of us don’t have any, it’s her thing and she doesn’t like others to interfere.”
“What about CT?” Wyatt asked confused. “I thought he was a witch, too.”
“Yeah,” Aka agreed hesitantly, “but he . . . it’s complicated. Sean’s the only witch influence any of us have. B . . . CT simply doesn’t spend that much time with Sean, so he doesn’t really know that much about his witch half. He . . .” she laughed as she finished, “. . . is miserable when it comes to trying to cast a spell, so instead of trying to learn better, he just let’s Brianna deal with that stuff. His witch power is one of those they call a nonactive power, so between the two, he’s pretty sad when it comes to witchcraft.”
“That’s not really true you know,” Brianna interrupted. “Since magic came back and he actually had access to his powers, again, he’s used that nonactive power to save our lives more than once and the lives of those we protect.” She gave Aka a look. “A little like your nonactive power. It’s quite useful. It just can’t be used to injure an enemy.”
Aka chuckled at that. “As if yours can.”
“I never claimed it could,” Brianna reminded her. “I’m well aware that my power is nonactive. I eagerly await the day we fix CT.”
Aka laughed harder. “Yeah, what will he be left with?”
“You have too much time on your hands,” Toby informed them as he entered the room. “I believe CT had something for you to do, Aka.”
“On it,” Aka grinned as she vanished in dark orb lights.
Toby shook his head. “It amazes me how fast she get’s sidetracked.”
“She wasn’t sidetracked,” Brianna informed him. “She just knew it was pointless.”
“It’s what CT asked her to do.”
Brianna rolled her eyes. “Do you always do what he tells you to?”
The quick shake of Toby’s head had Wyatt biting his lip to keep from laughing.
“And I suppose you don’t have someone who you would follow pretty much without question?” Brianna queried. “Your parents? Your brother? Your best friend?”
Wyatt nodded slightly. “I see your point.” He raised an eyebrow at her. “You?”
Her eyelids fluttered closed, her head bows slightly away, and her teeth nibbled at her lips. When she opened them and looked up she said in a whispered voice, “Max.”
Toby looked at her startled. “Are you kidding me? You would . . .”
Wyatt pulled him around to look at him causing the words to die on Toby’s lips. “Really? Why?”
Toby frowned, not sure what the question was.
“If she trusts him,” Wyatt commented looking at him confused, “your friend, why should you question that?”
“You don’t know Max,” Toby reminded him. “He doesn’t always think rationally.”
“And when it comes to her?”
Toby frowned and his breath hissed between his teeth. He nodded. “Yeah, okay. “
“Tell me something,” Wyatt requested letting Toby go. “Do you usually lose your temper?”
Toby shook his head. “No, you’re special.”
Wyatt chuckled. “I am pretty sure I can take that to not be a compliment.”
“You got that right,” Toby agreed.
“Did you have a reason for joining us?” Brianna asked, sounded a might impatient.
“His friend,” Toby announced pointing at Wyatt, “decided to go check the underworld for clues. Doesn’t he realize they eat nice guys for breakfast?”
“I don’t know,” Wyatt commented thoughtfully. “He pretty much lived there for about four months. I think he’ll be fine. Is he looking for something specific?”
“Their identity to start with,” Toby admitted, taking in Wyatt’s words, “and maybe their location.” With a curious look at Wyatt he asked, “You think he can?”
Wyatt shrugged. “He didn’t do so well with the last demon he tried to track there, so who knows. Stranger things have been known to happen.”