“ARRGH!” Luke growled in frustration “this isn’t working”

“it will if you give it time to work” Chang sighed “impatience never made anything go faster”

“you don’t know that for sure” The redhead grumbled as he unfolded his crossed legs. The two of them were currently in Chang’s basement, a completely bare room; where Chang was helping Luke gain control over his powers.

“it’s just…” Luke let out a breath “meditation isn’t exactly what I had in mind when you mentioned training”

“I get that” Chang spoke softly “but you also need to understand that I don’t care”

Luke could only blink in astonishment “look, this isn’t school and I’m not your teacher here” Chang shrugged casually “no one’s forcing you to learn this or help us on the front lines, but if you really want to fight side by side, you will have to suck it up and learn to control your powers”

Silence filled the room as the Spanish teacher waited for Luke to respond, but all the boy did was close his eyes and start breathing slowly and purposefully.

“I’m starting to like this kid” Chang thought to himself as he too started to meditate

XXXXXXX

“hah! Hah! Hah!” Daphne panted as she attacked the wooden dummy in front of her with her wooden sword.

When she had first started practicing martial arts as Phoebe’s familiar, she had told her dad’s she was just picking it up as a hobby; and they had gone ahead and renovated her entire basement into a gym.

“Sweetie!” Derek Tyler poked his head down into the basement “dinner’s ready”

“Be up in a *hah* minute” Daphne called back as her father ducked out. The Eurasian girl couldn’t help but stare at the wooden sword in her hand as she remembered the fight in Knowles house a week back.

“Need another tool for tight spaces” Daphne decided “maybe knives, or brass knuckles, simple gloves might be the most practical for those tight space problems…” she wondered as she dried down with her towel and headed up into the house.

“Why don’t you just say what you think Derek?” her other dad Jesse Stone’s high pitched voice rang throughout the house “You think I’m fat”

“I just said we should start going running together” Derek protested in resignation

“a few more reps wouldn’t hurt” Daphne took a sharp u turn and headed down the basement for another half hour.

XXXXXXX

Obie stared at the unlit candle he was holding and then at Phoebe who was reading intently from her spell book

The boy was currently sitting cross-legged in a magic circle that Phoebe had drawn in the room that was barely illuminated by a dozen candles

“Okay” Phoebe declared “let's do it” she started to form gesture after gesture with her hands, her gaze never leaving Obie.

“Can this spell go awry and kill me?!” The thought suddenly struck Obie at this moment but it was too late as Phoebe's hand were moving at full speed.

“REVEAL!” she declared and splayed out her hands towards Obie who tensed up in anticipation.

“...” Obie stared at the wick of the unlit candle as it glowed red and started to emit smoke, but didn't even turn into a full flame. “... what does this mean?”

“You, my friend! have very little magic” Phoebe sighed “like bottom of the barrel magic”

“Oh” Obie looked away in disappointment.

“But magic is only a small part of what we do” Phoebe tried to console him “even Chang doesn't have any magic, but we'd be lost without him”

“Thank you for trying to cheer me up” Obie sighed “and I know this isn't going to change anything, but I just... I was really looking forward to like flying up in the air and doing spells and all that”

“Once again, witches don't fly around in broomsticks” Phoebe deadpanned “actually witches don't fly, period.”

“Now that...” Obie wagged his finger at her “does make me feel better” the two chuckled

“Okay, now help me clean up this magic circle” Phoebe turned on the room lights and started to put out the candles “or else my mom will have a fit again”

“Aww man”

XXXXXXX

“Hey!” Ryuu gave a nod to Gabi who was carrying a corpse on her shoulders “how was hunting?”

“Same as always” Gabi despondently dropped the corpse of the middle-aged man onto the floor “went out, grabbed the first guy I saw and came back”

“You should be grateful” John too appeared as Tessa in her crow form swooped in from above and started to peck on the corpse “you at least get to go out hunting, we’re just cooped up in here all day”

“Why is that though?” Ryuu decided to finally ask the questions that had been bugging him

“Because boss used her own magic to shield this place from the witches magic” John pointed out the obvious “we told you this last week”

“No, I get that Ryuu agreed “why do we have to listen to her?”

The whole room went silent as the other three stare at him “…what?”

“Don’t!” Gabi growled as Tessa took her human form “Alpha is our leader because she’s stronger than all of us combined”

“she’s survived for over four hundred years” John slung his arm over Ryuu’s shoulders “and she didn’t do it by hiding out in a hole either”

“Plus, she knows a lot of chimera magic as well” Tessa added gesturing around the warehouse “so don’t think about becoming the alpha just yet”

“I wasn’t-” the komodo dragon stuttered out, shaking his head

“look” John pulled him uncomfortably close “I get that your inner animal screams that you wanna be Alpha, but use your human head to perish that thought if you want to live a long life” the two girls nodded as well as the four went back to devouring the dead middle-aged guy.

“But can’t we like make a case to her about fighting the witch and her coven?” Ryuu chose curiosity over self-preservation “I’m going insane staying cooped up in here”

The girls nodded sympathetically but John just chuckled “our days of being cooped up here won’t be long”

“John” Gabi turned to him “what do you know?”

“She had me call the triad” the Puma’s declaration was met with gasps from the girls and confusion from Ryuu

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“what’s the triad?”

“Three dangerous and effective chimeras” Gabi grinned evilly “those guys have a couple of witches under their belt already”

“So, she’s called them down to team up with us?”

“Oh no” John shook his head “those three don’t play well with others; if they’re here its cause she wants them to take care of our little witch problem all by themselves”

“But why though?” everyone turned to look at Tessa “why not let us take care of them?” her question was met with shrugs from the others

“We can only speculate” John declared “and sit back and watch as the witch and her coven dies at the hands of the Triad”

XXXXXXX

“ughh!” Obie sneered upon sniffing the food on his tray “my socks smell better than that”

“And with that pleasant image I’m done with my lunch” Daphne put down her spoon and pushed away the tray.

“c’mon it’s not that bad” Phoebe took a bite of the meatloaf and with effort chewed and swallowed it down “totally edible”

“Man, it must suck to be you guys” Luke chuckled after having devoured his ham and pastrami sandwich

“I’m starting to feel your mom had the better idea to pack your lunch from home” Daphne admitted

“Oh no, that’s all Luke” Obie refuted “he’s been making his own lunch since…”

“Ever since I could” Luke laughed it off “I’ve always enjoyed cooking, plus what I make is way better than the food they’re serving here”

“Did you see what Jamie Miller was wearing today?” Phoebe suddenly changed the subject

“That retro jacket” Daphne nodded “she says it’s vintage, but I don’t buy it”

“Well, who would? I mean…” the girls continued to gossip, shifting the topic away from food for the rest of the lunch break.

“Hey!” Obie ran up to Luke as they exited the cafeteria “sorry about… y’know”

“it’s fine” Luke shrugged “we’re friends with them now, and hang out with them all the time, they’re bound to know sooner or later”

“Still I-”

“Look man” Luke cut Obie off “I know that you want to save me the embarrassment but it’s fine, my mom is who she is, nothing to do about it” Luke gave his friend a side hug, and walked away before Obie could protest

XXXXXXX

Luke carefully looked around, keeping his eyes peeled for anything that might suddenly come at him

“Hey!” Luke jumped and twisted around, ready to punch whoever was attacking him

“Easy up cowboy” Phoebe chuckled, pulling her beanie low, she was dressed to disappear, jeans, jacket, and beanie, all black.

“Sorry, I’ve never been patrolling before” Luke looked mollified “or even thought about the term patrolling until a fortnight ago”

“Excited I see” the blonde girl chuckled as Luke relaxed his stance with a mollified expression. “Pro tip, if you don’t wear a yellow and blue Hawaiian shirt, the chimeras will have a lesser chance of spotting you”

“Duly noted” Luke grinned back “just glad Chang is finally letting me patrol with you”

“Well, you are able to throw balls of shadows at will” Phoebe pointed out “plus I’m sure Daphne will be glad for the break”

“Cool, so how do we do this?” Luke shook his shoulders, loosening them

“We first go through Sylvan Street then Drunkyard, and then Elsewhen, the three nightlife hotspots” Phoebe explained “if any chimeras are around, I’ll be able to sense them”

“And then we-” Luke threw an uppercut at the imaginary chimeras

“Pretty much” Phoebe chuckled “you ready?”

“Hell yeah!” Luke pumped his fist “let’s kick some chimera butt”

XXXXXXX

“Well, that was a big dull dud” Luke scowled as he and Phoebe walked through the silent Aurora Street.

“It do be like that sometimes” Phoebe declared with a straight face.

“Don’t even” the redhead grumbled in response and the two continued to walk in silence for a bit more before Phoebe decided to break it.

“Do you mind if I ask about your mother?” the blonde girl spat out hurriedly, as if she was afraid Luke would actually hear her.

“She has a drinking problem” Luke replied without preamble, he had already decided that he wasn’t going to hide his situation, so there was no hesitation in answering her. “I’ve pretty much raised myself ever since middle school”

“I’m sorry” Phoebe didn’t know what else to say

“It is what it is” Luke shrugged “because of Dad’s army pension we got a roof over our heads, never really went hungry, never went cold, it’s all right”

“But still…” Phoebe bit her lip “doesn’t it feel… too much to handle alone?”

“it’s the only life I’ve ever known” he shrugged “and I’ve lived it well enough to know tha-” Phoebe’s hand over his mouth cut him off. Glance over to see the tensing of her face and shoulders, Luke instinctively knew that something was about to happen.

“Ha!” Phoebe pushed Luke who used the momentum to jump away to the side as Phoebe did the same to her side, just as a brown blur flashed through where they stood.

“Not bad” a voice declared as the brown blur halted to a stop “not good enough to live, but not bad either” the brown blur turned out to be a chimera, a burly one with brown fur all over his face and upper torso that could be seen from his flannel shirt, and the horns of a ram.

“Stop playing around” a female voice called out and then Luke felt something pass by an inch from his face as a shriek was heard.

Looking behind him he saw a dark haired brown skinned woman in a purple dress rolling on the ground, and leapt back beside Phoebe “thanks” he realized she had sent a spell to stop the woman from killing him.

“No problem” Phoebe didn’t take her eyes away from the man and woman, just as another tall and lean man in a suit, with snow white fur all over his face, appeared from the shadows beside the woman.

“Finish them” the tall man sighed as he pulled out two bone like knives.

He and the woman, who now had yellow glowing eyes and animalistic nails on her fingers jumped towards them, while the Ram man charged from the side.

Phoebe immediately raised up a shield of blue light to block the tall man and the woman, while Luke faced the charging Ram man and bent low, sweeping his leg in his way.

The brown furred man jumped to avoid the leg sweep, and landed lightly on his feet, only to be hit by a ball of shadows onto the back of his head, making him stumble. These balls were made of shadows but hit as hard as a wooden ball would.

“LUKE!” Phoebe screamed as the other two were pounding on her shield with their claws and knives with all their might; enough might to send her down to one knee.

“Shit!” Luke threw another shadow ball at the woman and hit her right into the side of the face, sending her into the white furred man, allowing Phoebe the window to let down her barrier and rush to his side.

“Who are these chimeras?” Luke formed another ball of shadows in his hand “they’re not from Ryuu’s gang”

“Why don’t you ask them” Phoebe snarked as the three chimeras regained their bearings and attacked again, but this time Phoebe and Luke were prepared.

Phoebe raised her barrier again to keep the three at bay while Luke threw shadow ball after shadow ball, to keep them from being able to pin them down.

“We can’t keep this up forever” Phoebe panted

“I’m *huff*open to *huff*ideas” Luke too was running short of breath.

“I can to an escape spell” Phoebe admitted “but you’ll have to hold them back for a moment.

“okay” Luke stepped in front of her as she let the barrier down. Phoebe immediately placed her thumb under her collar where she always carried a small blade, and ran her thumb against it to cut the flesh open.

Luke formed a shadow ball in each hand, but instead of throwing just slammed them into the faces of the brown furred man and white furred man, and then threw out his foot right into the stomach of the woman

Using her blood Phoebe drew the required rune on her left palm just as Luke had pushed the chimeras away for the moment.

But before Luke could breathe in respite, the white furred man jumped back to his feet and drove a knife into Luke’s stomach.

Luke stared at the knife and then at the man, before feeling himself being grabbed from behind as darkness swallowed his vision.

Phoebe had grabbed him and pulled him back as she slammed her palm onto the road to cash the earth opening spell.

“wait” Luke realized that it was dark but he wasn’t unconscious, instead he felt damp on his back with a rank odor assaulting his nose. the road had given way into the sewer below it and closed up behind them

“You, okay?” Phoebe’s face appeared along with a small flame that was dancing on the tip of her index finger.

“What happened?” Luke stared down at his yellow Hawaiian shirt that was forming a maroon blot from the blood.

“Earth escape spell” Phoebe panted out “I’ll explain later, first, let’s go to Chang’s”

“But what about those three?” Luke staggered back to his feet.

“we’re outnumbered, and you’re hurt” Phoebe pointed out

“But what if they kill someone else? Someone innocent?”

“They won’t” Phoebe started walking as Luke followed her “They knew who we were, they came after us when there was no one else around. They don’t want to feed on people; They wanted to kill us”

XXXXXXX

“I should’ve been there with you” Daphne sighed hotly; they were all currently gathered at Chang’s home.

“Even they we wouldn’t have much chance” Phoebe assured her “they were prepared and precise, we didn’t have any chance to retaliate”

“So, there’s a whole new chimera gang in town?” Obie turned to Chang who was browsing through his books.

“Maybe…” Chang didn’t even look up, so Obie turned to Luke.

“How are you dealing?”

“Mostly fine” the shirtless Luke pointed towards his stomach where the knife wound wasn’t open anymore, but the place where it had struck was still raw.

“Your healing is like, next level” Daphne remarked

“Yeah; but so is the pain of being stabbed in the stomach” Luke chuckled, making Daphne crack a grin.

“Got it!” Chang’s shot made everyone jump.

“The three you encountered were the triad” Chang handed the book to Phoebe as the others peered over her shoulder. The illustration was that of a noble looking woman baring her fangs, one man in a suit with ram horns on his head, and another with large deer antlers.

“Looks mostly right” Luke guessed the white furred man was the one with the antlers.

“Who exactly are the triad?” Obie turned back to Chang as did the others.

“Three chimera mercenaries” Chang poured out a cup of tea for himself. “Working for the highest bidder”

“It says here, they’ve killed witches before” Phoebe read from the book

“So, Ryuu’s gang hired them to kill us” Obie deduced

“Looks like it” Chang sighed “These three are no joke”

“And they’re called the triad?” Daphne nodded, feeling the itch of battle

“they’re referred to as that sometimes” Phoebe continued to read from the book “but they call themselves, the Wolf, Ram, and Hart”