Echo, p.24
Echo, page 24
Chapter 23: Locked In
Do you know how when you shake a water bottle, all the small bubbles get agitated and confused? The moment I saw Joe at my birthday party, I was the water.
"You look beautiful tonight," he said after Mayan had left us alone.
"How are you doing, Joe?" I acted normal. "I didn’t know you’re back in town."
"I missed it here." His eyes showed that it was me he missed.
"Do you want to hit the buffet?" I asked with an awkward grin. "I’m starving."
"Yeah, let’s go."
A jumble of thoughts ran through my head. Does he want us to get back together? Is he trying to be friends with me? Did he come for the cake? Joe sure evoked many mixed feelings, though we didn’t talk for long. The moment we stepped into the ballroom, Kirby screamed, "Stay out!" But it was too late. As soon as we were inside, the terrace door slammed shut behind us.
***
Two minutes before the doors closed, Heidi introduced Mr. Knight to another surprise guest, one that would wreak havoc on the evening. Mr. Knight hesitated before greeting the stranger, thrown off by the eyepatch and the purple coat. "It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Vettias."
"Please, call me Zaros,” he said, shaking his hand.
"How’s your mother, Detective?"Mr. Knight asked Heidi, who simpered.
"The cancer is completely gone," she said.
"Thank God," Mr. Knight spoke victoriously. "The doctors never saw this happening. It’s a miracle."
Zaros grinned. "Almost magical."
Meanwhile, Kirby was at the buffet. He took a whiff of the salmon mousse salad before scooping some. "I made a perfectly structured pyramid of food," he told Doyle, who had just returned from the garden and looked unamused by Kirby’s colorful plate.
"Echo will find this hilarious." Kirby munched on the shrimp appetizers. "Where’s she, by the way?"
"She’s talking to a man," Doyle said, tilting his chin down.
"What kind of man?"
"What does this question mean?! A man is a man."
"That’s not true," said Kirby gleefully. "I’m a spirit man. You’re a human man. Superman is a Krypton man. Zaros is a witch man－" As he rambled, he glimpsed a familiar face across the room. "Zza-ros, the witch man." The shrimp got caught in his throat.
"I see, Kirby. There are many types of—"
"Behind you." He coughed.
Doyle turned around to see Zaros, who met his gaze. Despite the distance, the music, and the loud chattering in the room, it seemed like he had been listening. He snapped his fingers, whispering a spell that slammed the doors shut. A dozen soulless soldiers emerged from behind the curtains.
***
In the far corner of the ballroom, a young woman peeked through the window and checked the time on her phone. She might have been waiting for a lover or feeling estranged from the crowd. We’d never know, for she was the first to fall that night.
She was too close to the windows when Zaros’s soldiers appeared—people of different ages and genders, dressed in unkempt clothes and holding weapons in their hands. Their eyes were shot open, unblinking, but aimless. When one of them saw her, they grabbed her by the arm and slashed a knife along her torso.
Everyone hollered at the sight of the blood. The musicians stepped away from their instruments and cowered to the back of the stage, and the woman was left to utter her last breath on the floor.
With pats and knives, the soldiers battled through the crowd. The guests scurried, searching for an escape, but all the doors were locked. The only hideout available was a tiny coatroom, and the only weapons were the silver cutlery from the buffet.
"What the hell?" Heidi shouted at Zaros. "You told me no civilians would get hurt."
"I changed my mind." He snapped his finger, teleporting away.
"Jackass," Heidi cried out. She grabbed the gun wrapped around her ankle and shot. Although her bullets didn’t kill the soldiers, they slowed them down.
***
As the room grew chaotic, I jostled through the crowd, looking for my grandfather. I spotted him from a distance. Mayan had stumbled on her dress, and he was helping her, but she screamed when a soldier showed up near them.
My heart cartwheeled, knowing I couldn’t get to them on time. I couldn’t stop the soldier from pulling Grandpa’s head down and bashing it with his knees.
"Grandpa!"
From the crowd, Doyle appeared. He grabbed the attacker, twisted his neck to one side, then snapped it to the other. But he was too late. Grandpa fell to the ground, nose bleeding and saliva drooling from his mouth.
"Stay with me, Grandpa," I cried when I finally reached him.
Doyle was about to say something, but more attackers came our way, and he had to fend them off. "Everything will be fine," I told Grandpa. I tried to move him away, but Zaros’s lock-in spell prevented teleportation.
"Echo," Joe called out as he ran towards us. We pulled Grandpa up to standing. Mayan and I held him in place till Joe pivoted around and carried him piggyback.
"Follow me," I said. I grabbed a few bottles of salt from the tables, and we headed to the stage where I asked Joe to lay Grandpa down.
"Here?" he asked in confusion.
"Trust me."
Glancing around, I saw people fighting and fleeing. Others were crippled by fear. It was a disaster, just like Tara’s wedding.
"Mayan, Joe, take the salt," I instructed. "Anyone comes near us, spray them." The two gave confused looks. They grew even more bewildered when the salt shooed the attackers away.
Think fast, Echo. While they covered my back, I thought about creating a barrier around the stage. A basic barrier won’t last long. I need something more robust. Something ritualistic.
I rummaged through my purse. Being a witch entailed that I carried a few items with me at all times, such as chalk and a lighter. I sat on my knees and drew a pentacle with an added smaller circle in the middle, then paused, scrutinizing my drawing.
Scratch that. I wiped off the chalk and drew an octagram instead, an eight-angled star enveloped by a big circle and enveloping a smaller one. "Against any harm, this spell will surpass...I mote it be."
I flicked the lighter and burned the drawing. The white powder dissipated, leaving a mark on the floor. A transparent shield surrounded the stage, glinting like a soap bubble. When I turned around, Mayan and Joe were gaping at me. So did the musicians in hiding.
***
"Everyone, to the stage," I shouted. As I hurtled among the crowd, I came across a soldier that pounced on an elderly man like a cat catching a mouse. She was a tall woman in athletic sweatpants and what looked like expensive sneakers. I almost felt sorry for the person she used to be before her soul was taken away, but that didn’t stop me from pulling her long ponytail, forcing her to let the man go.
She elbowed me in the chest, sending me reeling with a grunt. Given the crowd, attacking with fire or electricity would’ve been catastrophic. My only choice was physical combat.
I can't believe I'm doing this again. Memories from my fight with Doyle came to mind as I jumped at the attacker and restrained her from the arms. I felt her body writhing under my grasp, but she couldn't break free. It seemed the soulless soldiers had no supernatural powers. They were just regular people programmed to kill.
Concentrating, I conjured my dagger, which I had left at home. I stabbed the soldier in the back, and she stopped fighting against me. When I let her go, she loitered around aimlessly and dropped her weapon.
As expected, the daggers worked. I had prepared to fight Zaros’s soldiers but never thought I’d do it in a dress. While I thought about that, I glimpsed a man by the terrace. An attacker pounded on him with a pat while he shielded a little girl.
"Jackson?" By the time I recognized him, he had fallen to his knees, vomiting blood. The girl shrilled in horror. I ran over there and tried to stab the attacker, but he shoved me away.
A gunshot sounded. The attacker balked as blood gushed out of his torso. I took the chance and jabbed the dagger in his neck.
"Jackson, are you okay?" I cried out then looked over to Heidi, who had just shot the attacker. "Can you take him and the girl to the stage?"
"I want my mom," the little girl shrieked, so I turned to her with a comforting smile. "Don’t worry, sweetie. We’ll find your mom and bring her to the stage to see you."
"I need to find Tara," Jackson uttered in a weak voice.
"Jackson, you’re bleeding," Heidi said while inspecting his wound. "I’ll take you to the stage, then Echo and I will find Tara for you."
***
The soldiers banged on the shield, glaring at us like hounds hungry for fresh meat. Heidi, Doyle, and I had successfully brought all the guests to the stage, yet there was no sign of Tara, Ebba, or Kirby.
"Some of these people need a hospital," Joe cried out. "Mr. Knight too."
Doyle leaned closer to talk to me. "Can you unlock the doors?"
"It’ll take time," I said, battling with the idea of healing Grandpa using magic. What if I'm drained and can't unlock the door? How can I heal my grandfather and ignore everyone else who needs help? The right thing to do was unlock the door and get everyone to the hospital as soon as possible.
"Give me the dagger." Doyle opened his hand out. "I’ll stall."
I shook my head. "I won’t let you fight these things alone."
"I have fought worse," he said with confidence.
"I’ll come with," Heidi broke in. "It’s my fault all this is happening."
"I should go with you, Echo," Joe said. "I don’t know what’s going on, but I must protect you."
"She does not need your protection." Doyle expanded his chest and relaxed his posture, giving off a dominating vibe. "You’re a doctor. Stay with the wounded."
The two men exchanged bitter looks that spoke more than words could. Joe shifted his right leg forward, barely restraining himself from launching at Doyle.
"Joe, stay," I said, putting an end to a potential squabble. Lives were at stake. It wasn’t the right place or time for a juvenile showoff.
***
Doyle was the first to leave the stage. Out of the shield, he darted, distracting the soldiers and giving Heidi and me a chance to sneak out.
I stood in front of the locked door, trying to figure out the spell Zaros used. Deafened by the sound of the gunshots, I pressed my hands to my ears. Heidi held her gun like it was a part of her arm. With her sharp eyes, she hunted the soldiers, sending them away.
"Never seen a witch with a gun before."
"I’m a cop first, witch second." She pulled the trigger. "Not all of us were born with noble magic."
"Funny," I said with a hint of exasperation. "Aren’t you the one who invited Zaros in the first place?"
"Don’t think you’re better than me." She shot me a glare. "You think you know everything? You think—" Her jaws shook. She loaded her gun and continued to fire at the approaching soldiers.
I examine the locked door. Without identifying Zaros’s spell, I can’t reverse it. Should I use Dark Magic? Or is there another way? Instead of reversing the spell, how about I focus on returning the door to its original state. Isn’t this what The Magic of Recreation does?
"Grimoire," I called out, and my book appeared. Its colors had changed again to show a mix of gold and black. It opened to a blank page on which I invoked, "For this lock, there shall be a key. This is my will, so mote it be."
From the page emerged a beam of light in the shape of a key. Gliding in the air, it crashed into Zaros’s lock, blowing it up with an intense flash of light that forced me to look away.
"It’s open," I told Heidi. "Call the ambulance. I’ll go help Doyle."
***
At the time of the attack, Tara and Ebba were on their way back from the restroom. When Ebba glimpsed a familiar face, she pulled Tara by the arm and forced her to hide underneath the hallway stairs. "Th-this man with the g-green s-scarf," she whispered. "He works-s for Jivaros."
Towards the main entrance, Zaros strode, followed by two soldiers, who dragged someone on the floor.
"They’re taking Kirby," Tara whispered, horrified. "What are we gonna do?"
Ebba bit her lip and pressed her hand to her chest. She had promised herself not to use magic again, but Kirby was in danger. "I c-can wake him up," she said before muttering a spell. Instantly, blood came out of her nose.
"You okay?" Tara asked as she took Ebba’s hand.
Ebba nodded and continued to chant.
"I’ll call for help." Tara pulled out her phone and typed something; meanwhile, Kirby was starting to gain consciousness.
“Let me go,” Kirby cried out and clutched at the carpet underneath him. He wriggled, trying to free his legs from the soldiers’ grasp. The wrestling didn’t last long, for once Zaros stopped walking, the soldiers released Kirby and stepped away.
***
Finally, the old opponents stood face to face—the fallen spirit versus the witch, the good brother versus the bad.
"What do you want from me?" Kirby asked, his eyes twitching.
"You took something of mine." Zaros pointed at his eyepatch. "I must take something of yours."
"Are you going to glue it in?" Kirby balled his hands. "To go with the purple coat."
"You’re a funny man, aren’t you?" Zaros smirked and inched closer.
Kirby wondered why the witch hadn’t used his magic to heal himself. Losing an eye may have enraged Zaros, but he seemed to have fed on his wrath. He wouldn’t give it up for an eyeball, would he?
Grabbing Kirby’s collar, Zaros made his other into a fist, leaving one finger free. He raised it, preparing to take his revenge.
As the finger came closer, sweat poured down Kirby’s face. Without his powers, Kirby was only a guy—an ordinary, helpless guy. Yet he had a reason to fight, to resist. He couldn’t watch over his loved ones with only one eye.
"I’m more than a funny guy, Zaros," he said. His long-time grudge coated his voice. He reached for the dagger in his pocket and pressed it into Zaros’s thigh.
"You pest," Zaros shouted with a grunt.
Pointing his finger, he whispered a spell that didn’t work. "What’s this thing?" He peered at the dagger hanging from his leg, but Kirby gave him no time to remove it. He launched at him with a punch in the throat and another in the face.
With a fist as hard as steel, Zaros punched back. Kirby’s head recoiled. A tooth flew out of his mouth along with a spat of blood, but there was no time to wail in pain. Kirby had to fight back, to kill or be killed.
Exchanged blows echoed in the hall as the two men lost themselves to their rage. The buffalo-sized Zaros fell on top of Kirby and strangled his neck. Kirby coughed and wheezed. He heard his friends, Tara and Ebba, scream his name.
"Good. Your friends are here," Zaros said, tightening his grasp. "I’ll make them watch as I kill you."
Kirby coughed some more. Just when he was about to give out, the front door slammed open with a blast that drew everyone’s attention.
"Let him go." Vanna breezed into the hallway. The amulet glowed around her neck.
Zaros came to his feet. Turning to the incoming opponent, he grumbled, "You have Viessa’s amulet."
"It was never hers," she replied.
The two threw their hands up, attacking with fireballs. The guttering fires held against each other, sputtering then vanishing into thin air.
"Young girl," Zaros smirked. "You and I are a lot alike."
"I’m a ninety-eight-year-old spirit of light," she said in her unamused tone.
"I don’t see any light in you." He snorted
"Paralysis Bolt." The two chose the same attack again, and again, the attacks canceled each other.
"See?" he asked, smugly. "We’re two faces of the same coin."
"Magic Blast," the two chanted.
Kirby never expected his sister and Zaros to choose the same attack for the third time. With that, the two disappeared from the room. "Vanna," Kirby called out in a weak voice as the sirens wailed. The ambulance had arrived.
***
I watched the city through the glass wall of the hospital corridor. The lights beneath me seemed faded, almost ghostly.
Tara wept. Ebba sat by her side in the waiting area. I wished someone would comfort me too. Although I was standing tall, my hands shuddered with fear.
"You’re worried about Mr. Knight," Doyle said as he came from behind me and offered me a tissue.
"They said he might not make it." I wiped my tears away, though they kept seeping down. "I have never been more afraid."
Doyle gazed at me with eyes full of kindness. In a moment, I found myself sinking into his arms, my head resting on his chest and my hands clutching his shirt. Did he pull me close? Or did I? I never knew who initiated the hug. All I knew was he sheltered me. I felt safe in his arms—no hint of malice in his gentle touch.
Chapter 24: Two Faces, Same Coin
The seagull called as it disappeared into the horizon, waking Zaros up from what felt like an eternal sleep. He half-opened his eye, blinded by the blazing sun. Stretching his back, he inhaled the salty air of the ocean then sat up, abandoning the soft mattress of sand beneath him.
As he roamed the empty shore, he wondered how he got there. An unusual glow caught his attention. On the sand, a girl with purple hair lay.
"Are you okay?" Zaros cried out as he hurried to help her.
The girl looked at him, and his heart skipped a beat. Had he believed in fallen angels, he would’ve thought she was one. Her purple eyes sparkled like stars in the galaxy, and her face glowed with both innocence and apathy.
"Where am I?" she asked. "Who are you?"
"I’m guessing you too have lost your memories," he said, extending his hand to help her up.
"It appears so." She rose, letting his hand hang. "My name... Do you know what my name is?"
Zaros drew a nervous grin.
"I must find my name," she muttered, heading to the forest behind them. The trees had formed an archway that looked like an entrance to an unknown path.
"Wait," he called out. "Until we remember who we are, I propose we walk together. Team up."
Do you know how when you shake a water bottle, all the small bubbles get agitated and confused? The moment I saw Joe at my birthday party, I was the water.
"You look beautiful tonight," he said after Mayan had left us alone.
"How are you doing, Joe?" I acted normal. "I didn’t know you’re back in town."
"I missed it here." His eyes showed that it was me he missed.
"Do you want to hit the buffet?" I asked with an awkward grin. "I’m starving."
"Yeah, let’s go."
A jumble of thoughts ran through my head. Does he want us to get back together? Is he trying to be friends with me? Did he come for the cake? Joe sure evoked many mixed feelings, though we didn’t talk for long. The moment we stepped into the ballroom, Kirby screamed, "Stay out!" But it was too late. As soon as we were inside, the terrace door slammed shut behind us.
***
Two minutes before the doors closed, Heidi introduced Mr. Knight to another surprise guest, one that would wreak havoc on the evening. Mr. Knight hesitated before greeting the stranger, thrown off by the eyepatch and the purple coat. "It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Vettias."
"Please, call me Zaros,” he said, shaking his hand.
"How’s your mother, Detective?"Mr. Knight asked Heidi, who simpered.
"The cancer is completely gone," she said.
"Thank God," Mr. Knight spoke victoriously. "The doctors never saw this happening. It’s a miracle."
Zaros grinned. "Almost magical."
Meanwhile, Kirby was at the buffet. He took a whiff of the salmon mousse salad before scooping some. "I made a perfectly structured pyramid of food," he told Doyle, who had just returned from the garden and looked unamused by Kirby’s colorful plate.
"Echo will find this hilarious." Kirby munched on the shrimp appetizers. "Where’s she, by the way?"
"She’s talking to a man," Doyle said, tilting his chin down.
"What kind of man?"
"What does this question mean?! A man is a man."
"That’s not true," said Kirby gleefully. "I’m a spirit man. You’re a human man. Superman is a Krypton man. Zaros is a witch man－" As he rambled, he glimpsed a familiar face across the room. "Zza-ros, the witch man." The shrimp got caught in his throat.
"I see, Kirby. There are many types of—"
"Behind you." He coughed.
Doyle turned around to see Zaros, who met his gaze. Despite the distance, the music, and the loud chattering in the room, it seemed like he had been listening. He snapped his fingers, whispering a spell that slammed the doors shut. A dozen soulless soldiers emerged from behind the curtains.
***
In the far corner of the ballroom, a young woman peeked through the window and checked the time on her phone. She might have been waiting for a lover or feeling estranged from the crowd. We’d never know, for she was the first to fall that night.
She was too close to the windows when Zaros’s soldiers appeared—people of different ages and genders, dressed in unkempt clothes and holding weapons in their hands. Their eyes were shot open, unblinking, but aimless. When one of them saw her, they grabbed her by the arm and slashed a knife along her torso.
Everyone hollered at the sight of the blood. The musicians stepped away from their instruments and cowered to the back of the stage, and the woman was left to utter her last breath on the floor.
With pats and knives, the soldiers battled through the crowd. The guests scurried, searching for an escape, but all the doors were locked. The only hideout available was a tiny coatroom, and the only weapons were the silver cutlery from the buffet.
"What the hell?" Heidi shouted at Zaros. "You told me no civilians would get hurt."
"I changed my mind." He snapped his finger, teleporting away.
"Jackass," Heidi cried out. She grabbed the gun wrapped around her ankle and shot. Although her bullets didn’t kill the soldiers, they slowed them down.
***
As the room grew chaotic, I jostled through the crowd, looking for my grandfather. I spotted him from a distance. Mayan had stumbled on her dress, and he was helping her, but she screamed when a soldier showed up near them.
My heart cartwheeled, knowing I couldn’t get to them on time. I couldn’t stop the soldier from pulling Grandpa’s head down and bashing it with his knees.
"Grandpa!"
From the crowd, Doyle appeared. He grabbed the attacker, twisted his neck to one side, then snapped it to the other. But he was too late. Grandpa fell to the ground, nose bleeding and saliva drooling from his mouth.
"Stay with me, Grandpa," I cried when I finally reached him.
Doyle was about to say something, but more attackers came our way, and he had to fend them off. "Everything will be fine," I told Grandpa. I tried to move him away, but Zaros’s lock-in spell prevented teleportation.
"Echo," Joe called out as he ran towards us. We pulled Grandpa up to standing. Mayan and I held him in place till Joe pivoted around and carried him piggyback.
"Follow me," I said. I grabbed a few bottles of salt from the tables, and we headed to the stage where I asked Joe to lay Grandpa down.
"Here?" he asked in confusion.
"Trust me."
Glancing around, I saw people fighting and fleeing. Others were crippled by fear. It was a disaster, just like Tara’s wedding.
"Mayan, Joe, take the salt," I instructed. "Anyone comes near us, spray them." The two gave confused looks. They grew even more bewildered when the salt shooed the attackers away.
Think fast, Echo. While they covered my back, I thought about creating a barrier around the stage. A basic barrier won’t last long. I need something more robust. Something ritualistic.
I rummaged through my purse. Being a witch entailed that I carried a few items with me at all times, such as chalk and a lighter. I sat on my knees and drew a pentacle with an added smaller circle in the middle, then paused, scrutinizing my drawing.
Scratch that. I wiped off the chalk and drew an octagram instead, an eight-angled star enveloped by a big circle and enveloping a smaller one. "Against any harm, this spell will surpass...I mote it be."
I flicked the lighter and burned the drawing. The white powder dissipated, leaving a mark on the floor. A transparent shield surrounded the stage, glinting like a soap bubble. When I turned around, Mayan and Joe were gaping at me. So did the musicians in hiding.
***
"Everyone, to the stage," I shouted. As I hurtled among the crowd, I came across a soldier that pounced on an elderly man like a cat catching a mouse. She was a tall woman in athletic sweatpants and what looked like expensive sneakers. I almost felt sorry for the person she used to be before her soul was taken away, but that didn’t stop me from pulling her long ponytail, forcing her to let the man go.
She elbowed me in the chest, sending me reeling with a grunt. Given the crowd, attacking with fire or electricity would’ve been catastrophic. My only choice was physical combat.
I can't believe I'm doing this again. Memories from my fight with Doyle came to mind as I jumped at the attacker and restrained her from the arms. I felt her body writhing under my grasp, but she couldn't break free. It seemed the soulless soldiers had no supernatural powers. They were just regular people programmed to kill.
Concentrating, I conjured my dagger, which I had left at home. I stabbed the soldier in the back, and she stopped fighting against me. When I let her go, she loitered around aimlessly and dropped her weapon.
As expected, the daggers worked. I had prepared to fight Zaros’s soldiers but never thought I’d do it in a dress. While I thought about that, I glimpsed a man by the terrace. An attacker pounded on him with a pat while he shielded a little girl.
"Jackson?" By the time I recognized him, he had fallen to his knees, vomiting blood. The girl shrilled in horror. I ran over there and tried to stab the attacker, but he shoved me away.
A gunshot sounded. The attacker balked as blood gushed out of his torso. I took the chance and jabbed the dagger in his neck.
"Jackson, are you okay?" I cried out then looked over to Heidi, who had just shot the attacker. "Can you take him and the girl to the stage?"
"I want my mom," the little girl shrieked, so I turned to her with a comforting smile. "Don’t worry, sweetie. We’ll find your mom and bring her to the stage to see you."
"I need to find Tara," Jackson uttered in a weak voice.
"Jackson, you’re bleeding," Heidi said while inspecting his wound. "I’ll take you to the stage, then Echo and I will find Tara for you."
***
The soldiers banged on the shield, glaring at us like hounds hungry for fresh meat. Heidi, Doyle, and I had successfully brought all the guests to the stage, yet there was no sign of Tara, Ebba, or Kirby.
"Some of these people need a hospital," Joe cried out. "Mr. Knight too."
Doyle leaned closer to talk to me. "Can you unlock the doors?"
"It’ll take time," I said, battling with the idea of healing Grandpa using magic. What if I'm drained and can't unlock the door? How can I heal my grandfather and ignore everyone else who needs help? The right thing to do was unlock the door and get everyone to the hospital as soon as possible.
"Give me the dagger." Doyle opened his hand out. "I’ll stall."
I shook my head. "I won’t let you fight these things alone."
"I have fought worse," he said with confidence.
"I’ll come with," Heidi broke in. "It’s my fault all this is happening."
"I should go with you, Echo," Joe said. "I don’t know what’s going on, but I must protect you."
"She does not need your protection." Doyle expanded his chest and relaxed his posture, giving off a dominating vibe. "You’re a doctor. Stay with the wounded."
The two men exchanged bitter looks that spoke more than words could. Joe shifted his right leg forward, barely restraining himself from launching at Doyle.
"Joe, stay," I said, putting an end to a potential squabble. Lives were at stake. It wasn’t the right place or time for a juvenile showoff.
***
Doyle was the first to leave the stage. Out of the shield, he darted, distracting the soldiers and giving Heidi and me a chance to sneak out.
I stood in front of the locked door, trying to figure out the spell Zaros used. Deafened by the sound of the gunshots, I pressed my hands to my ears. Heidi held her gun like it was a part of her arm. With her sharp eyes, she hunted the soldiers, sending them away.
"Never seen a witch with a gun before."
"I’m a cop first, witch second." She pulled the trigger. "Not all of us were born with noble magic."
"Funny," I said with a hint of exasperation. "Aren’t you the one who invited Zaros in the first place?"
"Don’t think you’re better than me." She shot me a glare. "You think you know everything? You think—" Her jaws shook. She loaded her gun and continued to fire at the approaching soldiers.
I examine the locked door. Without identifying Zaros’s spell, I can’t reverse it. Should I use Dark Magic? Or is there another way? Instead of reversing the spell, how about I focus on returning the door to its original state. Isn’t this what The Magic of Recreation does?
"Grimoire," I called out, and my book appeared. Its colors had changed again to show a mix of gold and black. It opened to a blank page on which I invoked, "For this lock, there shall be a key. This is my will, so mote it be."
From the page emerged a beam of light in the shape of a key. Gliding in the air, it crashed into Zaros’s lock, blowing it up with an intense flash of light that forced me to look away.
"It’s open," I told Heidi. "Call the ambulance. I’ll go help Doyle."
***
At the time of the attack, Tara and Ebba were on their way back from the restroom. When Ebba glimpsed a familiar face, she pulled Tara by the arm and forced her to hide underneath the hallway stairs. "Th-this man with the g-green s-scarf," she whispered. "He works-s for Jivaros."
Towards the main entrance, Zaros strode, followed by two soldiers, who dragged someone on the floor.
"They’re taking Kirby," Tara whispered, horrified. "What are we gonna do?"
Ebba bit her lip and pressed her hand to her chest. She had promised herself not to use magic again, but Kirby was in danger. "I c-can wake him up," she said before muttering a spell. Instantly, blood came out of her nose.
"You okay?" Tara asked as she took Ebba’s hand.
Ebba nodded and continued to chant.
"I’ll call for help." Tara pulled out her phone and typed something; meanwhile, Kirby was starting to gain consciousness.
“Let me go,” Kirby cried out and clutched at the carpet underneath him. He wriggled, trying to free his legs from the soldiers’ grasp. The wrestling didn’t last long, for once Zaros stopped walking, the soldiers released Kirby and stepped away.
***
Finally, the old opponents stood face to face—the fallen spirit versus the witch, the good brother versus the bad.
"What do you want from me?" Kirby asked, his eyes twitching.
"You took something of mine." Zaros pointed at his eyepatch. "I must take something of yours."
"Are you going to glue it in?" Kirby balled his hands. "To go with the purple coat."
"You’re a funny man, aren’t you?" Zaros smirked and inched closer.
Kirby wondered why the witch hadn’t used his magic to heal himself. Losing an eye may have enraged Zaros, but he seemed to have fed on his wrath. He wouldn’t give it up for an eyeball, would he?
Grabbing Kirby’s collar, Zaros made his other into a fist, leaving one finger free. He raised it, preparing to take his revenge.
As the finger came closer, sweat poured down Kirby’s face. Without his powers, Kirby was only a guy—an ordinary, helpless guy. Yet he had a reason to fight, to resist. He couldn’t watch over his loved ones with only one eye.
"I’m more than a funny guy, Zaros," he said. His long-time grudge coated his voice. He reached for the dagger in his pocket and pressed it into Zaros’s thigh.
"You pest," Zaros shouted with a grunt.
Pointing his finger, he whispered a spell that didn’t work. "What’s this thing?" He peered at the dagger hanging from his leg, but Kirby gave him no time to remove it. He launched at him with a punch in the throat and another in the face.
With a fist as hard as steel, Zaros punched back. Kirby’s head recoiled. A tooth flew out of his mouth along with a spat of blood, but there was no time to wail in pain. Kirby had to fight back, to kill or be killed.
Exchanged blows echoed in the hall as the two men lost themselves to their rage. The buffalo-sized Zaros fell on top of Kirby and strangled his neck. Kirby coughed and wheezed. He heard his friends, Tara and Ebba, scream his name.
"Good. Your friends are here," Zaros said, tightening his grasp. "I’ll make them watch as I kill you."
Kirby coughed some more. Just when he was about to give out, the front door slammed open with a blast that drew everyone’s attention.
"Let him go." Vanna breezed into the hallway. The amulet glowed around her neck.
Zaros came to his feet. Turning to the incoming opponent, he grumbled, "You have Viessa’s amulet."
"It was never hers," she replied.
The two threw their hands up, attacking with fireballs. The guttering fires held against each other, sputtering then vanishing into thin air.
"Young girl," Zaros smirked. "You and I are a lot alike."
"I’m a ninety-eight-year-old spirit of light," she said in her unamused tone.
"I don’t see any light in you." He snorted
"Paralysis Bolt." The two chose the same attack again, and again, the attacks canceled each other.
"See?" he asked, smugly. "We’re two faces of the same coin."
"Magic Blast," the two chanted.
Kirby never expected his sister and Zaros to choose the same attack for the third time. With that, the two disappeared from the room. "Vanna," Kirby called out in a weak voice as the sirens wailed. The ambulance had arrived.
***
I watched the city through the glass wall of the hospital corridor. The lights beneath me seemed faded, almost ghostly.
Tara wept. Ebba sat by her side in the waiting area. I wished someone would comfort me too. Although I was standing tall, my hands shuddered with fear.
"You’re worried about Mr. Knight," Doyle said as he came from behind me and offered me a tissue.
"They said he might not make it." I wiped my tears away, though they kept seeping down. "I have never been more afraid."
Doyle gazed at me with eyes full of kindness. In a moment, I found myself sinking into his arms, my head resting on his chest and my hands clutching his shirt. Did he pull me close? Or did I? I never knew who initiated the hug. All I knew was he sheltered me. I felt safe in his arms—no hint of malice in his gentle touch.
Chapter 24: Two Faces, Same Coin
The seagull called as it disappeared into the horizon, waking Zaros up from what felt like an eternal sleep. He half-opened his eye, blinded by the blazing sun. Stretching his back, he inhaled the salty air of the ocean then sat up, abandoning the soft mattress of sand beneath him.
As he roamed the empty shore, he wondered how he got there. An unusual glow caught his attention. On the sand, a girl with purple hair lay.
"Are you okay?" Zaros cried out as he hurried to help her.
The girl looked at him, and his heart skipped a beat. Had he believed in fallen angels, he would’ve thought she was one. Her purple eyes sparkled like stars in the galaxy, and her face glowed with both innocence and apathy.
"Where am I?" she asked. "Who are you?"
"I’m guessing you too have lost your memories," he said, extending his hand to help her up.
"It appears so." She rose, letting his hand hang. "My name... Do you know what my name is?"
Zaros drew a nervous grin.
"I must find my name," she muttered, heading to the forest behind them. The trees had formed an archway that looked like an entrance to an unknown path.
"Wait," he called out. "Until we remember who we are, I propose we walk together. Team up."
