Chapter 6:

What do I do now?

Another crack of lightening shot across the sky.

"A fight you can't put up," it snickered. I was in the back seat of the car, which visibly crushed by the creature which had begun making its way back toward me. It hissed and craned its neck. Its black eyes never once wavered away from me, never blinked, never moved.

Cassie's eyes were wide as she watched me cowering in fear as creature came ready to devour. Distracted, a bladed arm struck her across the abdomen and flung her to the floor.

"Cassie!" I yelped. Cody's dodged his attention to Cassandra who laid on the floor, still trying to defend himself with a battle between two. She slowly brought her back up and began sending bursts of honey glow to the monster that came closer to me. Weakly she stood back on her two feet and began hurling powerful blows all over.

Thomas moved his body with ease like a trained performance. His attention directly focused on taking down his target, sensing every move and meeting it with precise shots. He grabbed the monster by its white blade, snapping it off where it met flesh. With a cry of agony it whipped its tail around to strike him, but Thomas had grabbed it, wrapping it tight around its hand to draw it in closer. With one last jab, Thomas impaling it with its own body–the sharp bone that was once apart of it.

I took shallow breaths. The blood was quickly washed away by the rain. Thomas smiled with satisfaction.

He locked view with the one that was still on me. Quickly, he flipped back, snatching its head between legs and moving to holster onto its back. His arms tensed as he seized its jaw, forcing it to open wider and wider, placing his fingers deeper into its mouth avoiding the teeth. Cassandra shifted over to Thomas, her magic encasing all around him as he continued to rip the monster open.

I glanced over at Cody who had repeated Thomas' method of self impaling. They rain did nothing to hide the exhaustion that fell over his face as he surveyed the two monsters at his feet.

"Jamie," Cassandra called, looking like she would fold over in an instant. She limped her way toward me, taking seat in front of me and cupping my cheeks into her cold hands. "Eyes stay shut," she stressed, taking a shaky breath. Both our bodies shook as she weakly squeezed my hand. The rain continued outside and began to soften compared to the downpour that was moments before.

"I-" but before I could finish my pitiful apology and explanation Thomas stopped me. 

"It's okay," he said, moving in beside me and gently placing a hand on my arm. Cassandra closed her eyes and nodded her head, leaning back in the seat. Cody made his way toward the driver seat and peered back at us. His eyes seemed almost sunk in and the enthusiastic character I had met this morning had dulled away. I wondered if he would be like this all the time. 

"We can't go to the safe house now," Cassie stated. She sighed and motioned for Cody to continue back from where we came. "We have to go to your aunt margo, Jamie." 

---

The sky had suddenly stopped in it gloomy endeavor by the time we exited the beaten vehicle; however, a car with a broken windshield, sunken in roof, and long scratch running up and down the side were surprisingly the least of my problems right now. 

Cassandra brushed her hair back her pale hands, her earrings caught up into her mess of damp waves as she tried make herself presentable. She grabbed the inside of her t-shirt and began wiping the smudged mascara from under her eyes, only to make it worse. She grabbed Cody by the shoulders and began spiking his hair up and wiping the blood from his cheek. She turned to do the same to Thomas who quickly turned away from her, glaring. 

Despite the quick clean up it was still apparent we had been through something horrific, damp clothes, some blood splattered across the three of them, and the deepening bruises that appeared on Cody's forearm. 

We had walked in a tight group to the three story office building, my aunt being somewhere on the second floor in her private little office working away on the computer, no idea of the absolute shit show I had stumbled myself into. 

The woman who sat at the receptionist desk looked at us coldly, her icy blue eyes rolling at us as we approached her. 

"I'm here to see my aunt, Margo Fleming," I told her, trying to hold my composure. 

"I don't see your name on the list," she replied. Her loud keyboard smashing accompanied her every syllable as she spoke. 

"You didn't even ask for her name," Thomas remarked, moving closer to the desk where she sat. 

"I'm sorry I can't let you in the building," she looked at Cody and Cassandra, "and I'm going to have to ask you to leave before I call security," she finished and started to dial a number into the phone, picking it up. Thomas slammed his hand on the hookswitch, the phone beeping echoing into the air as she sat shocked. 

"Now," Thomas asserted, "you're going to let us see Margo Fleming." He took the phone from her hand and dropped it down, staring intently into her eyes as they went blank and watery. 

"Yes, yes, of course," she quavered. She handed me an ID card with the word "guest" in bold black letters and a barcode on the back. "The elevator is to the right, second floor, down the hall and to the last left."

"Thank you." I nodded my head and we followed her directions. 

"Don't do that again," Cody snapped while waiting for the elevator. 

"We don't have time to play games now do we, Cody," he retorted and moved to his face. 

"You know the rules," Cassandra remarked, rubbing her temples.

"So do you," Thomas snipped back at her. She flinched, narrowing her eyes at what he implied with his tone. She curled her lips into her mouth then turned away as the elevator door dinged opened. 

"Whatever feud is happening right now it needs to stop," I remarked. Thomas laughed dryly and held my eyes in his. He smiled, a very sarcastic smile, almost insulting me and what I had pointed out. He rolled his eyes and leaned against the glass. 

"Who is going to tell her?" He looked at Cody and Cassie, head leaned back and eyes closed.

Ding!

The doors open to meet a browned hair woman about my height, digging through her purse. She looked up and I saw her dark colored eyes and warm smile that faded to concern. 

"Jamie? What are you-" my aunt Margo took in the people who surrounded me, our wet hair and shaken bodies colored with red. "Oh no," she whispered, placing her hand over her mouth and then over her chest. "Oh Jamie I'm so sorry baby."

"Margo we need you to open a portal," Cody asked as we headed back to her office. My aunt quickly locked her door and put a sign out front that said, "meeting." She sighed as she twisted all the blinds tightly shut, peeking outside her office to see if something had somehow managed to follow us.

"I can't do that and you know it," she answered taking a seat behind her desk. "As much as I would like to help you all I can't. I don't have magic to do it." 

"But Thomas could lift your ban Margo, and we could all go through right now," Cassie pleaded, kneeling next to her and laying her head onto her lap. My aunt moved her hand through Cassie's tangled hair and shook her head. 

"I don't want to lift my vow," she said, firmly. 

"Aunt Margo, we need your help, we were just chased down by a tiger who shapeshifter into two completely different people and by long sword creatures who didn't talk with their gigantic mouths and-"I blabbered on.

"Jamie, I know this is a difficult time-"

"But-"

"But nothing!" she yelled. She took a deep breath and fiddled with her thumb. "But nothing, Jamie. I should have stripped you of magic when you were baby, and there would be none of this now, would there Ms. Light?" she asked now with a much softer tone, looking down at Cassie. 

"Please, do it for the council- the people who have no choice," Cassie begged and stood back up to her feet. Cody cleared his throat, still placed in front of the door. 

"I know! Goddesses and Kings don't you think?" My aunt exclaimed.

"Of course Margo. I respect your vow," Cassie muttered, backing off. 

My aunt opened the top of her desk drawer and took out a blue smooth stone with the center missing. She held it in her hands and spoke, "Go to Jade Smoke Shop on 10th street, next to Dragon Chinese. There you will find another portal opener who can help you." She got up and hugged me tightly. She smelled sweet like vanilla, her hair like the almond mint shampoo she makes. She kissed my cheek and put the stone into my hand, squeezing it into my skin. She pulled me in once more. "I love you Jamie," she paused, "now you must make the rest of your journey alone." 

"I love you too," I told her with tears of my own in my eyes, her charm bracelet clacked together as she brushed them away. I hugged her once more, absorbing the last bits of comfort I would get. I would miss talking about memories of mom with her, her telling me stories I was too young to remember as we sat together curled up in a blanket outside on the porch swing with our tea and no one else but the stars to keep us company. Her eyes got soft and the crinkles on the sides of her eyes held so much joy. I wanted to thank her for all that she had done for me, all the times she held me tight as I sobbed myself to sleep when I first moved. Or when she would bring little plates of cut up cheese with crackers because it was of the few things I could keep on my stomach. My tears rolled onto her green colored blouse, leaving a darker hue on it as the last few months came unfolding from my mind. She pulled me off and looked back at me, fiddling with my hair and pushing it behind my ears. 

"Now go, quickly," she sputtered, wiping away her tears and shuffling us all through the door.