I paced in my foyer. Everything that happened today was wrong. All of it. Who revived Damien? It made no sense. And how did he know to revive Vlad? Had he learned that spell? Who taught him?
I lifted my head. Someone else was behind all of this. But, as much as I wanted to believe it was Aidoneus, I knew it wasn’t. He was hard, but peaceful. He wouldn’t never conjure a plan like this.
I bunched my hand into a fist and rested it on the wall, putting my head down. Truth be told, I didn’t hate Aidoneus. Far from it. I envied him. He was everything I had wanted to be before I decided to dabble in dark magic and use it for evil. While I had softened due to my newfound second life, I still kept that outer shell; the tough guy who wouldn’t hesitate to kill you if you pissed me off.
“That’s not me,” I said aloud. I straightened again, resting my hand at my side. “Not anymore.” Aidoneus needed to hear it. I needed to apologize. He didn’t deserve my harshness.
But first, I needed to take care of more pressing business. I glanced outside. The sun was setting. I hurriedly teleported myself to the realm. I knew Morgyn, Jade and Aidoneus wouldn’t be there. But Damien may have been. I was going to put on an act. Act like my old self to him. Friends. Masters of chaos. I needed to get close to him to get information. Like an undercover cop.
I sat on a bench outside, just waiting. If he was here, he’d know I was too. I was so tempted to use my visions to see for sure, but dark magic was off limits, even for tame spells like that one.
Sure enough, after only a few moments in my own thoughts I saw a flash. Damien stood before me.
“You waited to be alone,” he said.
I grinned. “Perhaps I had a change of heart. Of course, I can’t tell the others.”
“Ah, so you see it my way.”
“Mhm. And I want to know how you’re alive. I’ve missed you. You are like a brother to me. It’s nice to see you again.”
He looked at me, skeptical. I felt my heart speed up. Was he onto me?
“Well, Marco,” he smiled. “I’ll tell you everything once I feel I can trust you again. After all, you’ve been running with them for years now. Became everything we said we wouldn’t.” He stood up. “Duel.”
I gazed up at him, feeling myself break out in a cold sweat. “D-duel? Why?”
“Don’t you like to fight?” He asked with a grin.
‘You’re breaking,’ I thought to myself. Stay focused.’ I cleared my throat. “Yes.” Standing up, I moved back. “Let’s go.”
I knew what would happen. He would attempt to use dark magic and be unable to. He was stripped of those powers due to our behavior before our banishment. While I could use mine, I chose not to. He clearly forgot that he couldn’t. This would enrage him. The last time he was enraged, he cursed the entire realm. I took a deep breath.
Our duel was short, resulting in his defeat. I used a few light magic spells that mimicked dark magic to fool him. Surprisingly, he didn’t get angry. He walked over and patted me on the back.
“Well, my friend, you’ve passed the test.” He smiled happily. “Come, I’ll tell you everything once we are at my house.”
I nodded and followed him, quickly glancing around to make sure no one noticed. I was in the clear. I let out a sigh of relief.
Once at the house, we sat at his dining room table. A woman came down.
“Hello, my dear,” she smiled, leaning down and kissing his cheek. “I’ve missed you.”
“I missed you too, Crystal,” he smiled back at her.
“Who’s your handsome friend?”
I glared at her.
“This is Marco. I’ve told you about him.”
“Ah, wonderful things!” She exclaimed, holding out her hand. “I’m Crystal, Damien’s girlfriend. It’s nice to meet you. I’ve heard so many stories about your adventures!”
I shook her hand. “What kind of stories?”
“Probably the best is how you two took over an entire realm.” She grinned mischievously. “It’s a shame that Jade bitch had to get in the way.”
I got defensive. “She’s not-” I stopped myself. “Y-yeah. That was…something.” I looked away from her, feeling sick to my stomach. She was under mind control. No sane outsider would ever think what we did was okay.
“Well, I’ll go make some coffee for you two,” she said before walking off to the kitchen.
“She’s lovely,” Damien beamed.
“Mhm,” I looked down at the table, drawing little circles with my fingertips.
“I’m sure you’d like to know how I’m back.” He spoke quietly, but triumphantly.
I looked up at him. “Yes.”
“I was called for a mission,” he said. “And I have to admit, your part was much easier, since you came to me instead.”
What?!
I glared at him. “Meaning?”
“I’ll get to that.” He held his hand up. “Morgyn Ember revived me.”
“What? How?” I was confused. Why would Morgyn do that?
“Vlad,” Damien said. “Our sworn enemy, hmm? Turns out, he’s not such a bad guy.”
I wanted so badly to roll my eyes, but I shut them instead. “I personally banished Vlad to his urn for eternity.”
“He found a way to speak from that urn, brainwashed Morgyn and had him revive me. I’ve learned your vision spell and have seen that Morgyn remembers none of it.”
I furrowed my brow but gazed at him, waiting for him to continue.
“Once I had been revived, Vlad called to me. Being bitter and angry about our loss for many years, I followed. Anyone on my side was a good ally. And I realized you had been revived but had started following…them.” he narrowed his eyes. “Like a sheep.”
I felt myself getting angry but held back. “I did what I had to to get on their good side.”
“Seems like it worked too well, given your closeness with them.”
“That has nothing to do with this conversation.”
He laughed softly. “Fair. So Vlad and I have a deal.”
“What’s this deal?” I knew my time was dry, but I had started to get quite angry with this conversation and didn’t want to show it.
“With all due respect, I still can’t trust you enough with that information.” He stared off. “Just know that big changes are coming.”
“And where do I fit into this?”
“I was to recruit you in my efforts to execute this plan.”
I crossed my arms. “But if you don’t tell me what it is, how am I supposed to help you?”
He smiled. “I’ll tell you in due time. I need to fully believe that you won’t go back and tell your girlfriend.”
“She’s not-” I stopped myself and let out an exasperated “ugh.” I looked down. “She has nothing to do with this.”
“Are you going to continue to protect her even as we carry on with the plan?”
I gritted my teeth. “No.”
“Good.” He patted my back.
I continued to put on my act as we moved onto other topics. Damien seemed to fall for it more and more.
Finally, after awhile of mindless chatter, I brought up the original topic.
“What is your plan with Vlad?”
He smiled. “Revival.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Who else needs reviving?”
Damien tilted his head. “You don’t know her. But once she’s back, it’ll all make sense.”
Putting my act back on, I grinned. “How can I help?”
“Join me. Like we were before. Partners in crime. No more realm, practice dark magic, work with Vlad.” He held out his hand for me to shake, to seal the deal.
I looked at it and shook my head. “You’ll need an insider.” I was proud of myself for coming up with that on the fly. “It’s best if I remain there.”
He thought for a moment. “You know, you’re right. You could be of use to me, remain close with the others. They’ll never see you coming.” He grinned. “They trust you.”
Yeah, they do…
I stood up. I had to get out of there. “Keep me posted, alright?”
Damien nodded. “I knew you’d come around again.”
I grinned. “Always.”
As I stepped out, I shivered. But not because I was cold. Despite that all being an act, I felt like I was betraying my friends. But I couldn’t risk telling them. I had to keep all of this to myself. Including the part where Morgyn revived Damien. I shivered again and wrapped my arms around my body. This would all work out, right?
I thought of Jade. The last thing she needed right now was all of this chaos. She had a child now. She couldn’t just drop everything to fix things. I felt like people had mistaken my protection of her for something more. But maybe they weren’t wrong? I shook my head. No, stop that.
I am not a homewrecker.
I got home and stepped out onto the balcony. Gazing out over the water, I sighed. Tomorrow was going to be interesting, at the very least.
I wasn’t wrong. I swore I felt eyes on me all day, but when I looked, no one was there. As I was finishing up writing out a lecture, Aidoneus approached me.
“I heard you’d like to speak with me,” he said calmly.
I looked up at him. “I…what? I mean, I do, but how did you know that?”
“I have ways. What’s on your mind?”
I stood up. “I want to apologize for being a total dick to you.”
He smiled. “I thought maybe I noticed you were less green.”
I tilted my head. “Huh?”
“Envy. The color green is often associated with it.”
“Ah,* I nodded. “So you saw it was jealousy, huh?”
He laughed. “Yes. But honestly, you have nothing to be jealous about. After all, you have been credited as helping to create one of the hardest spells in any magic book. It’s a wonder you aren’t sage yet.”
I shrugged. “I am untamed. The current untamed sage was also responsible for that spell’s creation.”
He nodded. “And the lovely sage of Alchemy.” He glanced over as Jade walked down the stairs. “And there she is.”
I smiled a little. Aidoneus noticed. “Your envy wasn’t the only obvious feeling you give off.”
I sighed. I wished people would quit bringing that up. “It won’t happen.”
“Have you seen it?”
“I can’t conjure visions.”
“Create a light magic vision spell,” he suggested. “However, is that a vision you’d want to see?”
I cleared my throat. “I’m not in any hurry, to say the least.”
He grinned.
Jade approached me. “Hey, are you okay? You’ve been quiet.”
I glanced around. If Damien was watching me, this would be the moment of truth. Cold. Distant. Like you used to be. I had to remind myself to not be who I truly was. I had to put on this mask.
But I’d hurt her.
She smiled. “Hey, Earth to Marco?”
I laughed quietly, but immediately furrowed my brow. “I can’t talk right now. I’m busy.” I knew I sounded cold, but I had to. The sadness in her eyes didn’t help.
“Oh, well alright,” she smiled sadly. “I’m going to grab some lunch. Feel free to join me.”
I watched her walk away, torn and frustrated.
Aidoneus crossed his arms. “And what the hell was that?”
I sighed. “I recently discovered part of the mystery of why everything is going crazy. But I can’t tell her. And in order to get more information, I have to act like my old self.” I shrugged. “At least partially.”
He shook his head. “Is your friendship worth losing just for more information?”
I hung my head. “No, but we may all hit a roadblock if I don’t do this.”
“Suit yourself,” he shrugged. “But you know it’s a mistake. Don’t be upset when everything crashes down.”
I nodded, still looking at the floor. I gripped my arms with my hands, thinking about my best course of action.
“I have to go,” Aidoneus said. “Think about what I said.”
I nodded. “I am. Thank you.”
As he walked away, I gathered up the papers I had written. I headed upstairs to give them to Morgyn.
“Thanks, Marco,” he smiled.
I gave him a slight smile and turned away again without a word. I headed back downstairs. On the last step, there was a bright flash in my face. I jumped backwards and caught myself with the railing.
“Jeez, what the hell?” I growled. I stepped off of the stairs and started to walk toward the kitchen. Jade was there, but talking to someone. I hoped I could slip by unnoticed.
I didn’t get far before Damien was in my face.
“Marco.”
I jumped back. “Jeez! Could you maybe not get right in my face like that?”
He folded his arms. “You know, I’d thought you’d join me.”
I narrowed my eyes. “I am. But we agreed I’d put on a facade while I’m here.”
He laughed. “Do you think I’m stupid or blind?* His face turned to anger. “Your facade is for me. This isn’t you. You’re weak. Acting pathetic. And for what? Because you have feelings for the poly girl?”
I growled and got in his face. “I’m fed up with people thinking I love her! I don’t! Stop bringing her up! She has nothing to do with this.”
He laughed. “She has everything to do with this. I know it, you know it. She knows it too. Even Caleb and Morgyn are noticing it.”
I put my hands up. “Then I’ll walk away right now. I’m not a homewrecker. If I’m causing problem, I’ll leave.”
“Join me.”
“No.”
He stepped closer. “Join me.”
“No, Damien! I’m not going to play your sick game, and I won’t let you manipulate me.”
He weaved magic between his fingertips. “The great thing about manipulation is that it comes in many forms. It’s a shame you’ve forgotten that along with that dark past of yours.”
“You can’t use dark magic here.”
“That doesn’t matter. Manipulative light mischief magic exists as well. You won’t know how, or when, but it will find you.” He blew on the magic and it floated away. “And there it goes. Let’s see what happens when it find you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh Jesus, just shut up.”
He shrugged. “Very well.”
In another flash, he was gone. I sighed.
“So fucking extra.”
I shuffled my feet while walking into the kitchen. Jade was gone. I sighed. I’d catch up with her later to apologize. My plan was ruined anyway, so there was no need to act like a jerk.
The rest of the day seemed to drag. I acted like I was writing more lectures, but I was taking notes, piecing everything together. Who was the other person they wanted to revive? Who were they targeting with that person? What was Vlad’s goal? As I was about to leave, I saw Caleb. It wasn’t too strange to see him here, especially on the days Jade brought Orion to work.
Caleb approached Jade and Morgyn. Jade was holding Orion, who seemed to want Caleb. So she passed him over. Aidoneus walked over to them, striking up a conversation. Jade walked over to a nearby bookshelf and I decided to talk to her.
“Hey,” I said quietly. “I won’t keep you long, but I wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier.”
“Nah, it’s fine!” She smiled. “I just figured you were stressed. No need to apologize!” She placed her hand on my shoulder.
I opened my mouth to speak again, but suddenly felt really dizzy. She seemed to be feeling the same. We just gazed at each other for a moment, the world around us spinning violently and getting darker until it faded to black.
As I regained my vision, I felt arms around me. Oh, Jade had hugged me. I smiled and hugged her back. That was weird. What happened?
“What the hell, Marco?” Caleb shouted, furious. When I looked at him, he and Morgyn were glaring angrily at Jade and I, and Aidoneus looked shocked.
Jade let go of me and followed my gaze. She approached Caleb.
“What’s wrong, my love?”
“What’s wrong?” He glared at her. “You do that and then ask what’s wrong? You didn’t even try to hide it!”
What the hell? What was Caleb on about?
“I…hugged him,” Jade opened her arms, exposing her palms in confusion. “Like I have a million times before without issue.” She seemed frustrated. I didn’t blame her at all. What the hell happened?
“Is this a joke?” Morgyn asked, walking up to her as well. “Did you not see us standing over there? Or was that the point? You wanted us to see?”
Jade was getting visibly angry. “What are you guys talking about?”
“I second that,” I said. “I don’t understand what the big deal is.”
“We trusted you,” Morgyn hissed. “What were these last four years? A courtship?”
“Is that what this is about?” I barked back. “Still holding a grudge or something? And everyone around me keeps trying to play this idea that I love Jade or have some type of feelings toward her! I don’t! Now everyone just needs to back up and leave me be! Jade is my best friend! Stop assuming we are more than that!” I didn’t mean to go off, but I was tired of hearing that.
“Are you serious right now?” Caleb growled. “Your actions clearly speak louder than your words here.”
Annoyed with their assumptions, I walked away. I couldn’t hear any more. I didn’t want to snap again. I sat down at a desk, still able to hear the arguing from outside the kitchen. I tried to block it out.
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