Gadalik lay on his back, his striped blue eyes unblinking at the ceiling through the particles of dust slow-dancing within the sun-casted spotlight shining over him from the window above his headboard. Random scenes played in his mind, some memories and others imagined, neither staying long enough for him to recognize what they were; only the feelings attached to each one remained. There was a dull ache in his gut that he was starting to grow used to.
Despite the hours he'd waited for morning, now that it had come, the teen still couldn't bring himself out of bed. The longer he stayed put, the less he was willing to part with this small comfort before the day's inevitable start. His adoptive mother Glacia wouldn't wake for a while, at least.
Every little thing seemed louder in the silence. That's why Gadalik jumped at the sound of a door's handle turning, followed by the creaking of its opening from downstairs.
Silently, the boy slid off the mattress and retrieved his spook's staff from its place on the adjacent wall. Then he stealthily moved toward the staircase; the speared point of his weapon and its three surrounding claws glinted as he held it at his waist, aimed straight ahead. Below, he heard a man's faint groan, and was relieved when he recognized the voice as his practical-father's. "Gale?"
"Huh? Yeah… it's me," the bounty hunter confirmed. "Did I wake you…?"
"N-No," Gadalik answered, leaving his staff at the base of the stairs to join the other male in the living room. Gale had plopped himself on the couch, one hand clutching his left side, the other dangling over the armrest; the spare key to their home that Glacia had given him was on the floor as if he'd dropped it and didn't have the energy to pick it up. "Are you okay?"
"He got me good," the bounty hunter laughed, voiceless. "Think I need stitches…"
Gadalik swallowed with nervousness and went to fetch the first aid kit from the bathroom, returning to find his father slumped over with shallow breathing. The teen gently removed the man’s hand from the injury, followed by his maroon leather vest, and the white tank top, to reveal that his dark scarred skin, spotted with fresh bruises, was wrapped around his flank… and blood was seeping through.
When he cut through the wraps, he saw a deep gash that, despite having been cleaned before bandaged, was still open. The spook wiped it off, took a breath, and sutured it. Afterward he taped gauze pads over the stitches.
Gadalik threw away the old bloody bandages, then brought the vest and shirt--as well as his father's blue-violet scarf he hadn't needed to undress, just for good measure--to the hamper in the bathroom as he returned the first aid kit. He dragged the basket to the washing machine in the adjoining room and started the laundry. While there he took down a clean blanket folded on a shelf across from the machine, bringing it with him back to the living room to cover his father, then observed him until the man's breathing was normal.
This wasn't the first time he'd had to dress the bounty-hunter's wounds; at first, it was a relatively minor cut that Gale had instructed him through with Glacia's permission as a learning experience. However rare the cases, though, recently they'd been more severe, as if he refused to stop by for it unless he had no other option.
Glacia wasn't going to take this well--she never did--so Gadalik could at least soften the blow for his mother by making breakfast as a distraction for when they woke. He brought out the bread and syrup from the counter and some eggs and milk from the fridge, then sifted through the cupboards for a container of cinnamon that wasn't old and clumpy or carelessly left open from his mother's rare attempts at cooking. Once he found a shaker that was still sealed shut, he threw the others out, then put everything together.
As the French toast was cooking, he returned to the living room and again spotted the spare key on the floor. He picked it up with the intent to slip it back into his father's pocket–but something was already in it, blocking the way. Unable to access Gale’s other side since he was leaning against the armrest, Gadalik fished the object out; he'd replace it over the key so both would fit.
The teen's striped blue eyes widened when he recognized the item from the Enchanted Artifacts book he'd read a few days prior: a circular pendant with a stylized sun engraved on it, attached to a silver-chain necklace. This is a nullifier…! A stronger variant, too… Gadalik was both tempted, and scared, to try it on. Where did he get this?
He didn't have time to wonder as he had to keep the french toast from burning. After sliding them from the pans to the plates, he shut off the stove off to study the necklace. Nullifiers this strong outright prevent the wearer from using magic… At least until it's taken off.
Ever since his unintentional overuse of magic at the lake caused him to drown, Gadalik had planned to seek out a nullifier to prevent such a situation from reoccurring. He stared indecisively at the pendant. On one hand, a lesser variant would let the spook carry on his career without risking harming himself. With this variant, however, he could live a normal life outside of his work--free from the responsibilities his powers had placed upon him since birth… Free to decide his own future.
Gadalik nervously glanced toward the living room. His parents were still asleep, and asking permission to use it would mean waking his father, which he didn't want to do. I can always take it off, he reminded himself, so trying it on won't hurt anyone…
Without a second thought, Gadalik went upstairs to his bedroom and stood in front of the mirror on his closet door, using it to see the ends of of the chain as he put it around his neck. Then the green-haired boy hesitated, on the brink of changing his mind.
'...Figure out what you actually want--then just go for it!' Mira’s words echoed in his mind from their talk at the lake.
He breathed deep, and finally clasped the necklace.
Immediately, the pendant was drawn to the center of his chest like a magnet. He could feel his own energy gradually gathering there, leaving his extremities contrastingly hollow. The sensation grew stronger until he felt like his body was being torn inside out--by which time he panicked and struggled to lift the pendant off of him.
It wouldn't budge.
Weaker and more terrified by the second, he fumbled desperately with the tiny clasp, when his vision faded and lightheadedness overcame him. He blacked out.
"Are you sure about this, Trent…? Our son is only six years old…" A woman with light green hair and sky-blue eyes was seated on the bed, looking down with uncertainty at something in her hands.
Gadalik, overhearing his mother while passing through, stopped to peer into his parents' room from behind their partially-opened door.
"That's why he needs it, Vilodia," the black-haired man answered. "I can tell he has more power than both of us. Activating the spells without tags is no easy feat, especially after a seal. Giving it to him at his age will help him learn to control that power."
"But he's already struggling to control his power as it is… Having to adjust to this at the same time will make it more confusing. I think we should wait until he's older."
Trent's sapphire eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Alright. We'll wait until his tenth birthday. By then he can decide for himself whether or not to use it."
"...He's waking up," Glacia's voice faded in from beside him. "Gadalik? Gadalik!"
Her adoptive son opened his eyes, but everything was still dark. He propped himself up on the mattress with one hand and rubbed his eyes with the other.
"Are you alright?" Gale's calm but concerned voice came from the other side of his bed. "Glacia found you on the floor…"
Gadalik looked toward the sound. All of the colors around him were dull; everything blended into each other. "I-I can't see anything…"
"What?" his mother cried.
He reached for the pendant and was relieved to be able to detach it from his chest, but lifting it didn't improve his sight. "It's all dark," he repeated a bit more frantically. "I put on the nullifier Gale had and it--it's supposed to suppress my magic…"
Glacia's red irises bore into his. "Your eyes don't look any different," she reported. "Gale?"
"It is a nullifier," her boyfriend confirmed. "I sought it out for him after your letter said he was looking for one. I figured he'd know how to use it… I have the instructions, but they don't mention anything about blindness…!"
Despite the sunlight usually being enough to see in the room, the purple-haired woman moved to the switch by the door and flipped it on.
Gadalik winced from the sudden brightness. When his eyes adjusted, things were clearer albeit still rather monochromatic. The realization struck him. "Is… Is this how you see?" he asked his magic-less father.
Gale and Glacia exchanged an uncertain glance.
Their son got out of bed. Vision aside, he felt...lighter, as though a thickness in the air had been lifted. "It's--gone," he said quietly. "This is… great…!"
"What is?" his mother asked.
"Come on; let's go somewhere--anywhere! Let's go to a graveyard!"
"A… graveyard?" Gale echoed, raising his pierced eyebrow.
"Are you sure you're alright?" she added.
"I've never been better," the teen laughed. "My ghost sense is gone!"
"Wait--are you saying my house was haunted all this time?!"
"Not necessarily; I could feel them within a quarter mile, mostly just passing through--faint, but there nonetheless--and I had no idea how much they impacted me until now that I can't sense them anymore," he explained. "Oh, and I started breakfast earlier! But I'm not sure how long it's been sitting on the table… A-And the laundry!" He raced downstairs. They started after him.
"Gadalik--you were out for at least an hour and a half," the mohawked man informed him.
The teen froze. "Really…?"
"You should have waited for me, or your mother; that whole process was risky to go through alone. Look at this"--he took out a folded sheet of paper from the pocket Gadalik had failed to reach earlier, handing it to his son–"at the bottom. It says to remove the necklace if the nullification process doesn't succeed after two hours, because suppressing too much magic could break the pendant. And if it breaks before the process is completed, you might never be able to use magic again."
"I'm sorry…"
"You'd better be sorry, young man," his mother chided. "The first thing you should have done when Gale got here was wake me up! But do you know what I woke up to instead? My boyfriend half-dead, and my son practically dying," Glacia huffed. "Now, I'm glad you're both feeling better, but breakfast and laundry are the last things on my mind right now."
Gadalik looked away guiltily.
"It's alright. I took care of the laundry once you had calmed down enough," Gale told him. Leaning in closer as if to keep his girlfriend from hearing, he added, "And the french toast was delicious."
"Gale!" she scolded him. "How could you eat while our only son was suffering?!"
"Hey, now; I knew he'd be okay. You were watching him at that time, after all."
The woman seemed flattered by that, but she was still in her 'mother-knows-best' mode.
Gadalik looked over the page. It stated that after the nullification process to sync to the wearer's magic, the synchronization will last until there's a new wearer. So I can take this off and put it back on without blacking out again, he understood with a slight laugh, then looked down at how to remove it.
If the wearer wished to regain use of their magic, warnings advised that the necklace be removed in a specific way: by first placing the pendant on the center of their chest, and second by attempting to channel magic into it. This will trigger the restoration process, which may take up to ten minutes. Do not remove the chain or pendant until the process is completed; doing so may cause a surge when their magic returns. Surges could result in an expulsion of magic that may be deadly to those in the vicinity and potentially incapacitate the wearer. "A surge?" Gadalik read aloud.
His parents stopped their banter to listen to him.
"I think that's what happened to me at the lake... I'll have to look into that. But, no, it doesn't seem like the necklace could hurt me--at least not if I remove it correctly." If I ever decide to remove it. "Honestly, I feel great."
"Well, that makes one of us," Glacia remarked.
"Two," her boyfriend corrected her.
"Not when I'm done with you, mister. You think it's okay to come waltzing in here bleeding to death?"
"...Would you rather I bleed to death outside?"
"No, I'd rather you not bleed to death in the first place!"
"Me too."
"Ugh, you're impossible," Glacia said, laughing lightly in surrender.
"Eh. I knew Gadalik could patch me up. Right, bud?"
"Of course," his son answered. He was still trying to adjust to having duller sight. Curiously, he picked up his staff, expecting the familiar edge to his vision which would allow him to differentiate between the dead and the living, but nothing happened. How much of my everyday life is tied to my magic...? He rubbed his eyes again in a last vain attempt to see better.
"Do your eyes hurt?" Glacia fretted.
"No… Everything just looks like I'm wearing brown-tinted sunglasses. I-I'm sure I'll get used to it, though." It's a fair trade off, I suppose… His thoughts were interrupted by a growl from his stomach.
"Want me to make us all something to eat together?" Glacia offered.
"N-no!" both of them urgently declined at once.
"I mean… I'm the one who ate the first time around. So let me make up for that by cooking more for you two," Gale reasoned.
Nice save, Gadalik silently congratulated his father.
"Alright, if you insist," she agreed.
Gale turned to open the fridge, then winced as he'd twisted slightly too fast and clutched his bandaged side from the motion. He was still for a second before he sighed and resumed giving them drinks as if nothing had happened.
"How did you get hurt this time, anyway?" she inquired. "Have some sort of epic battle to share?"
"If you mean a battle of wit, then sure." He placed peppers and onions on a cutting board and twirled a knife he'd grabbed from the dish drainer. "Long story short, I goofed off too long haggling a thief down on stolen goods--just for kicks, of course; I'd arrest him instead of paying." He chuckled, adding, "I got him down a hundred bucks before he recognized me--caught me off-guard with a knife and fled. He didn't get far, though."
Glacia spat out her drink, laughing. "Why am I not surprised?"
"Stolen goods… You mean the nullifier?" Gadalik asked.
"Yeah, that was one of them," his father answered. "I turned him in with the rest of the items and I requested to keep the nullifier as payment; Glacia mentioned you were looking for one, in her latest letter."
"There isn't much worth in a nullifier these days… People having magic itself is rare, let alone enough of it to need suppressing. Why would anyone buy it?"
"He was saying something along the lines of how only the strongest witches would wear them in the past, making it out to be some kind of symbol of power."
I never thought about it that way…
"Anyway, I underestimated how bad I was injured; wrapping it wouldn't stop the bleeding. I made it here in time for Gadalik to stitch it together, at least." He paused, then faced his son. "Thank you for that, by the way. You did great."
"Well… I did learn from the best," Gadalik replied rather bashfully.
Gale placed the plates of his famous omelets on the table, affectionately fluffing up the teen's striped green bangs with a proud head-pat as he passed. Glacia smiled warmly at the two.
Gadalik felt completely at ease for the first time in forever. Not just from the lack of his ghost sense, but also from the comfort his father's presence always brought. Sometimes he wished Gale would move in with them, but the blue-violet-haired man had stated before that he felt it his duty to clear the streets of criminals. I'm the same way about ghosts, he thought. Then his gaze drifted to the nullifier. At least, I used to be...
"Something wrong?" Gale asked.
His son snapped out of it and shook his head. "No. I was just thinking that I'm very grateful you went through the trouble of getting this for me. Thank you."
"Hey, when it comes to you guys, I'd go to the moon and back." He gave them a reassuring smile.
"Well, Mr. Spaceman, you'd better keep a first aid kit with you from now on," Glacia chided.
"Roger that."
"Mom has enough first aid kits to build a staircase to the moon for you," Gadalik joked.
Gale laughed, but Glacia tensed.
The teen tilted his head slightly with confusion at her reaction. "I was kidding... But you do have a lot."
She blinked, then let out a breath of relief. "You meant me?"
"Who else?"
His adoptive parents both looked at him expectantly. Gale purposely cleared his throat.
"Oh… Should we stay on the first name basis…?"
"I don't mind either way," the bounty hunter replied.
Glacia picked at her plate. "I mean… I don't mind it, either, but…with all of this talk of your birth parents recently, it can be a little confusing."
Oh yeah… Speaking of my birth parents, I dreamed about them, Gadalik remembered. But now probably isn't the best time to bring it up.
Gale looked between them. "Did I miss something?"
"The spook who revived me at the lake knew my biological mother," the younger male explained. "And since my magic has been coming in so unexpectedly, my heritage has been the topic of discussion as of late."
"I see… That's why you wanted the nullifier, then?"
"Yeah. I'm… still on the fence about what I want to do in the future. But as of right now, my powers are too unpredictable to be used safely; I'm not even sure what caused the surge at the lake. If something like that happens again, who knows what damage I could cause--to others and myself."
"It can't be worse than drowning," Glacia muttered.
"Well, I'd say death would be a bit worse," her boyfriend stated.
"That's what I said."
"Uh..." Confused, he turned to his son, who was very much alive.
Gadalik shrunk into his chair. "Clinically, I was dead… I-If only for a short time…"
"What?"
"She didn't tell you…?"
"She told me you'd drowned, but nobody said anything about dying…!" he exclaimed. "Gadalik, are you okay?"
"I-I'm fine," his son stammered meekly. "I'm still breathing."
Gale shook his head. "I can see that… But how are you feeling?"
He tilted his head slightly. "I told you both I feel amazing; my ghost sense isn't weighing on me--"
"Not physically…! I mean… that must have been terrifying…! And to know you actually died--"
"I'm alright," the teen reassured him. "I mean… Not much could've been done to prevent it at the time, s-so why dwell on it?"
Gale stared at him incredulously. Then his widened red- and blue-violet eyes shifted to his girlfriend.
"Trust me, I already went through the five stages of grief after I found out he died instead of just drowning, too," she said for the record. "That's why I trusted you to find a nullifier for him."
Gale sat back and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Then he laughed somewhat hysterically. "You… You're a champ, bud," he told his son, who shied away from the praise.
"He really is. And so are you, Gale--for always coming through for us," she said wholeheartedly. "All of his powers suddenly manifesting at once, though… I wonder if there's a reason for it."
"Hm… Gadalik will be eighteen in December," he pointed out. "That's barely two months from now. Maybe his age has something to do with it?"
Is my birthday really that close? Wait… My tenth birthday… That present…! It still didn't feel like a good time to mention it.
"Aww…! Our baby's growing up," she gushed.
"Maybe a bit too fast," the man concurred. "He's matured so much over these last five years. I can't believe he's the same person as the twelve-year-old boy who was too nervous to say 'hello' to me."
"Ha, I can't fault him for that. You looked like a zombie getting thanked outside the police station: covered in blood and bruises," she reminisced. Playfully, she added, "Not quite so different than you look right now, actually."
"And you fell for me anyway," he retorted. They both laughed.
Gadalik finished eating and went to wash his plate.
"Do you still want to go to a graveyard?" Gale asked him.
"Hm? Oh--no," he chuckled. "That was an inside joke between me and Gretel. But… I think there is a place I'd want to go. And you both should come with me."
"What's our destination?"
"My old house."
His father seemed interested, while Glacia grew antsy.
"Have you been there before?" the man asked his girlfriend.
"Well...no," she answered. "I offered to take Gadalik there first thing after his parents died, but he was adamant about leaving everything behind."
"I see. Why the change of heart, son?"
"I just remembered what my birth-parents had said eleven years ago," the teen recalled. "They meant to give me something on my tenth birthday, but they had died a year before then. Whatever it is must still be there."
His adoptive-mother was fidgeting nervously. "Are you sure you want to go back after all these years…? Who's to say someone hasn't robbed the place?"
"That's impossible. With so many wards and barriers placed around it, nobody but my father’s relatives--and whoever they let through with them--can even get close to that house."
"Do you think they've held up after a decade?"
"They have for generations, so I don't see why not."
"W-Well… Are you ready to go back there?"
"Sounds to me like you're the one who isn't ready, Glacia," Gale commented.
"What? Of course I'm ready! Why, do you think I'm scared he won't want to leave his old house once he gets there? Because I'm not!"
"Huh?" Gadalik tilted his head, confused. "I'm only going to pick something up. I have an idea of where it might be, so we'll just grab it and go."
"But… I-I mean… You don't know what kinds of memories will be triggered when you're in there. I don't think any of us can predict what they'll lead you to choose…! I-I just… I don't want to lose you…"
"We don't have to go so soon," he said, kneeling on the floor so his head was level with hers since she was seated. "I'm perfectly happy with the nullifier Gale brought me. We can wait until you're more prepared to get whatever my parents left."
"N-No, don't let me hold you down," she sighed. "Just… promise me you'll come back…?"
He pressed his forehead against hers. "I promise."
They made it to his hometown by late afternoon. It was rustic, and the only thing that seemed to have changed over the years were the residents' ages.
"I didn't expect you to live in an old town like this," Glacia commented.
"Well... technically I didn't live in town. My ancestors built our home roughly half a mile from it. But since we're here, we might as well get some food and travel supplies," Gadalik offered.
"I'm game," his father said.
Although still getting used to his worsened sight, Gadalik felt energized. He couldn't slow from walking at a brisk pace, only stopping once he realized his adoptive parents were lagging behind. Eager to keep moving, he went back for them, just to repeat the pattern.
"I've never seen him like this before," Glacia remarked.
"Without a care in the world," Gale agreed.
"Hey, Gadalik! Is that really you?" an older man shouted to them. "It had to have been eight years since we've seen you around! Where have you been all this time?"
Gadalik squinted, rubbed his eyes instinctively, then remembered he was wearing a nullifier. "Reginald?"
"Ah, so you haven't completely forgotten about us!"
"I'm sorry for disappearing… M-My parents…"
"We heard… We thought perhaps you died with them, until we saw your ads in the paper over the years. Decided to follow in your folks' footsteps, after all?"
Gadalik's hand moved over the pendant around his neck. "I did. Taking a short break from it right now, though."
"I think someone was looking for you earlier," Reginald mentioned. "An older woman. Said she was looking for a spook who could use tagless magic–and you're the only spook from these parts that's still alive.”
"What did she look like?"
"Tall… thin… black hair." The elderly man rubbed his chin. "My eyes aren't as good as they once were. That's all I could make out."
"Could it be Jenny?" Glacia wondered.
"Janna," her son corrected his mentor's name. "And while the description matches, I doubt it's her; she wouldn't know we'd be here."
"Perhaps it's someone looking for anybody who can use tagless magic… A potential client?"
Gadalik swallowed uncomfortably, clutching his pendant tighter.
His father noticed. "You don't have to save everyone," he spoke softly.
The teen nodded, though still stared at the ground. That's when he spotted a shadow of something suddenly passing overhead: a vulture. It made a U-turn and disappeared above the trees and buildings.
I don't remember seeing vultures in the area… Peculiar.
"So who are these two with you?" Reginald asked.
"They've taken care of me since my parents died," Gadalik explained.
"I'm Glacia, and this is my boyfriend Gale," she introduced them.
"Is that so? Well, thank you both, then, for keeping this young one safe. I'm glad to see your face after all this time, Gadalik. Come visit more often, will you?" the old man said.
"Will do," the teen promised.
Similar interactions happened around every street bend. Surprisingly, he remembered nearly everybody's names. He was starting to feel like a child again, listening to his neighbors tell stories of their youth, even if he'd heard them countless times before.
"Young Gadalik used to play chess with me every Saturday. He never lost a game! Made me feel like a fool, he did," an elderly woman chuckled after striking up a conversation with his parents.
"You mean… you weren't letting me win?" he gasped.
"No! Was I that easy to beat?"
"W-Well…"
Glacia and Gale laughed.
When they went into a cafe, the burley middle-aged man behind the counter immediately recognized him, barking out, “You?! You've got a lot of nerve coming back here, you little troublemaker!"
Gadalik froze.
"Who's this?" Gale asked.
"That's… Henry…" his son answered sheepishly.
"Gadalik? A troublemaker?" Glacia seemed more curious than anything. She walked up the man. "What did he do?"
"Where do I even start?" Henry groaned.
"From the beginning," she said, sitting across from him on a stool. "I want every single detail!"
"Well, in that case… His parents would often go on spooks' jobs without him as a kid. They entrusted me to keep an eye on him while they were gone. Well, I run a business, and so figured I'd use that opportunity to teach the kid some responsibility, see? I started him washing dishes in the back...and let me tell you, he broke one every single time."
Gadalik tugged on his father's vest. "Let's get out of here…!"
"Hang on, bud. I want to see where this is going," Gale teased him.
"And so I figured, maybe he'd do better writing customer's orders down, and bringing it to them instead," Henry continued. "Well, did you know the kid's face-blind?"
"You are?" Glacia asked her son, genuinely shocked.
"Partially," Gadalik said defensively. "If it's someone I've been around often enough, I can recognize their face! I'm just bad with strangers'…"
"I can't tell you how many times he's delivered the right order to the wrong person. I even started numbering the tables for him, but when a couple moved tables after ordering, he nearly broke down trying to locate them."
"My poor baby," Glacia cried.
"Poor him? Poor us! Do you know how much he cost us in damages? I didn't even mention how many times he's managed to knock their glasses off of customers' tables when he gave them their plates!"
“Glacia?” Gadalik called after a few more minutes of embarrassing tales. “We should really get going…”
“Hm? Oh, go ahead. I'll catch up,” she assured him.
"Gale…!" Gadalik pleaded.
"Alright," his father gave in, letting the former employee drag him outside. "Where to now?"
"Let's just get to my old house so we can leave this town forever…"
"And Glacia? You know her sense of direction is bad…"
"She'll probably still be there by the time we get back."
"True. Lead the way."
Wanting to avoid being humiliated by anyone else, Gadalik took the back alleyway. It stretched farther than the main road, with a couple of bends, but the spook decided it was worth being out of sight.
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A shadow once again passed over them; it was that same vulture from earlier. Gadalik was somewhat captivated by it, watching as the bird landed a short distance in front of them.
"So… you're the witch I've heard so much about?" an unfamiliar voice sounded from behind them.
The duo both turned to see a svelte woman with pale skin and black hair garbed in a robe of the same color. She gave the boy an unimpressed once-over, then glanced skeptically at the vulture.
Gale looked expectantly at his son, who shrugged, not knowing who she was. "Who's asking?" the man answered.
"Oh, pardon me. My name is Luna," she said. "I'm also a witch, and that vulture is my familiar. There's a task I'm not powerful enough to complete on my own, so he led me to someone who can help. He's never been wrong before."
"I… wouldn't call myself a witch. I-I'm a spook," Gadalik stammered.
"Off-duty," his father added, standing protectively at the teen's side with a hand propped on the hilt of his sword.
"Ah, yes, I noticed the nullifier around his neck," she informed them. "Mind if I take a look?"
Gadalik hesitantly held it by the clasp near the pendant.
Luna approached him, her gaze shifting from the nullifier to meet his; her eyes almost seemed to look into his core.
Gale forthwith stepped between them, sword drawn. "What exactly do you need help with?"
She stopped and glared at the bounty hunter. "None of your business. Stand aside and let us witches talk."
Gale didn't budge.
"...Fine. We'll handle this the hard way." She turned around and rose her hand slightly as she began walking away.
Suddenly talons clutched Gadalik's shoulders from behind. Gale, who had been focused entirely on Luna, spun around a moment too late; the bird pulled the teen straight past him and to the woman, and during the time it took Gale to catch up to them, she gave a swift chop to Gadalik's neck, causing the kid to collapse as it dropped him into her grasp. She grabbed the nullifier by its chain; Gadalik gripped it to lessen the tightness around his neck as she twisted it.
"Make one move, and I'll kill him," Luna said, threatening to strangle her hostage.
Gale froze, sweat trickling down his temple.
"Such a lovely little nullifier," she commented, her slender form contorting to loom over the boy. "I wonder just how powerful you are to need such a thing?"
Gadalik's voice failed him. He looked pleadingly at his father, who could only watch lest he risk his son's life.
"You're a Karpritian child, aren't you," she noticed. "Well, half Karpritian, anyway. But your spook’s half is almost as impressive. Your blood could be used for many enchantments; if I don't end up killing you, I could make a killing off of you. Either way, I have nothing to lose. So," she turned to Gale, "which would you prefer?"
"Let him go…" the bounty hunter breathed, his sword held low but still at the ready. "Now."
She didn't seem fazed; rather, amused. "You speak as though you're in a position to be bargained with. Let me make things clear: if you don't walk away right now, well…" She twisted the necklace more.
“W-Wait,” Gadalik managed to say. The book he read at the lake was still fresh in his mind as he recalled what it said about blood pacts. “If I make a pact with you… will you let me go…?”
Luna seemed shocked by the offer. “Something tells me you have no idea how blood pacts work. If they’re agreed to under duress, they won't work.”
“I'll… volunteer it… willingly… if you let me go,” he tried again.
She laughed. “As if I'm stupid enough to fall for that.” She brought her attention to Gale once more. “The clock is ticking. Your move.”
The swordsman was clearly torn, weighing the risk to his son if he fought back.
"Run…" Gadalik choked.
"I'm not leaving you," his father argued. "I'll figure something out…!"
"Please," he begged, on the verge of passing out. His eyes darted to the hand he still had on the necklace.
Gale looked between them, then reluctantly backed up a few steps.
"K-Keep going…!" I don't know how far this will reach… he thought, remembering how his encounter with the lake-ghost ended. I can't risk him getting hurt. "As far--as you can…!"
The bounty hunter searched for a way around this; he could either chance fighting the woman who could easily take his son's life, or he could abandon his kid. Both options were bad, but death was the worst of the two.
"I'll be--okay…" Gadalik promised.
Gale hesitated a moment longer, his red- and blue-violet eyes trying to get a read on his intentions. Finally he released a breath, standing straighter and sheathing his sword.
His son nodded approvingly.
"You heard the boy. Run away so he can live," Luna instructed.
The man turned his back to them, looking over his shoulder. "This isn't over," he warned her.
She laughed as he reluctantly walked off, rounding the nearest building out of sight. "Usually they put up a fight even when they know it's futile. How sad it must be to know he cares so little about you," she said with mock-pity, slackening the necklace enough to let the teen speak freely.
"You're wrong…" Gadalik panted. "He cares enough to trust me…!" With that, he unclasped the nullifier; his vision brightened and sharpened as he quickly regained his powers.
...Far too quickly for his body to adjust to all at once.
"Are you insane?" she cried, leaping back. "You'll harm us both!"
…Just as he had planned.
Gadalik launched himself after her with unnaturally-boosted speed, taking her arms in each hand. Then he braced himself, feeling as though ready to explode.
Raw, directionless magic sparked from his fingertips. All at once, everything released in a bright blue explosion. He heard a scream, and his arms completely lost feeling just as they had at the lake.
By the time the light faded, Luna was nowhere to be seen. He couldn't think of what happened to her; exhaustion and numbness were replacing everything he'd expelled, and he hit the ground before he realized he'd been falling.
Gadalik felt the undulation of someone walking with him in their arms. Their scent was familiar, and comforting. "Gale…?"
"Bud?" came his father's answer. "How are you feeling…?"
"Tired… a-and sore... My hands are numb," he mumbled.
"Can you move them?"
Gadalik managed to make a partial-fist.
"Thank heavens," he sighed with relief. "You're going to be okay." Then he took on a more stern tone when he said, "You really could've hurt yourself, taking the nullifier off like that…!"
"I predicted this surge would be like what happened at the lake," Gadalik wheezed. "And it was--except there's no water for me to drown in this time--" He coughed dryly. His throat ached where the necklace had cut off his airways; it bothered him to swallow or breathe too fast.
"Hey, now… Take it easy."
He caught his breath. "That woman… What happened to her…?"
"I saw her escape just before the light of your power faded… I had been hiding behind the building until then. I wanted to catch her, but I couldn't just leave you there."
Gadalik hummed in acknowledgement. Gale stopped walking.
"Gale? I heard a scream and--what on earth happened?!" he heard Glacia exclaim.
The teen opened his eyes for the first time since waking, to find his mother staring them down. My vision is back to normal...
"The woman Reginald mentioned was there… and she's dangerous," Gale reported.
"What? Who is she?!"
"Luna… She recognized the nullifier and targeted Gadalik for it. But it sounded like she recognized him even without it. I heard her say something about… using his blood for spells...?”
Glacia was enraged by this. “Where is she?! I'll kill her!”
“She escaped… But right now, we need to take Gadalik somewhere safe.”
The boy closed his eyes once more and nuzzled into his father, who in turn held him more securely. "My old house…"
"You still want to go?" Glacia cried with disbelief.
"Well… it does seem like the safest option for now, if it's as protected as he says it is," the bounty hunter stated.
She couldn't argue with that.
They passed through the village, Gale keeping an eye out for Luna all the while, and entered the surrounding woods. There was a path worn down in the grass, which they followed for roughly half a mile.
Gadalik drifted in and out of sleep the entire way. Gale had kept a close hold of him the entire time, walking straight toward the door of the two-story house once they'd arrived.
The teen opened his eyes when his adoptive-mother crashed into an invisible barrier with a surprised yelp. "Only me and blood-relatives can pass through on our own," he reminded her. His practical-father set him down, and--unsteady on his feet but rebalancing--Gadalik reproached the outskirts of his property, reaching through the barrier to take her hand. With his physical contact, she was phased through.
Then the world seemed to tilt under him. The effects of this surge were worse than the last, mainly because he'd intentionally unleashed the entirety of his magic at once. Previously he took roughly an hour to recover, but he was at least fully conscious during that time. It was hard to stay up when every sudden movement made him dizzy.
"You don't look so good," she said, concerned. "Think you can make it inside on your own?"
I can try… He took a few steps forward, only to trip from not lifting his feet high enough.
She caught him. "Careful!"
He fell limp in her arms, his full weight bringing the woman to her knees to keep him from hitting the ground.
"Gadalik!" she cried, panicking when the boy was unresponsive.
"Relax; he'll be okay." Gale picked him up once more. "You have the keys, right?"
"Yeah…" she answered, retrieving them from the bag her son had packed nearly a decade ago. She paused, seeing a small notebook inside, among other very personal belongings.
"Glacia?" her boyfriend called from the porch. The second floor's balcony cast a shadow along the pathway between them, as if in an invitation… or a warning.
"This feels wrong," she confessed. "We shouldn't be here…"
"We can't leave him outside…"
"Err…" She drew in a breath, then took out the keys and turned them in the handle. They walked into a spacious wooden-floored living room furnished by a couch sandwiched between a couple of chairs across from the fireplace. The left wall was lined with bookshelves on either side of the kitchen's doorway, the right with music albums; a record player was in the corner. Disregarding the layers of dust that had gathered over the years, the place was extremely organized; not a single thing was out of place.
The staircase began near the front door. Unable to find a bedroom on the ground floor, Gale carried the teen upstairs.
Glacia didn't follow right away. She wiped the seat of a chair clean and sat down, looking at the notebook. It was titled Gadalik's Spook Book in a child's handwriting, decorated with wizardly stars and swirls. Curious, she opened it.
There were drawings of rectangles with vague markings in each one. 'Wards' was written at the top, along with notes detailing their effects. 'Stronger ones feel heavyer.' That last word was crossed out, with 'heavier' rewrote under it.
She turned the page to find more of the same, except with different labels. Then it had a page of notes on different ways to activate them.
'Focusing magic into the tag can boost its effects.
‘It didn't work for me yet, but I'll keep trying!
'Wards are the easiest tag to activate, but I still can't do it…
'IT WORKED!!!'
She smiled and flipped through the book, noticing how the handwriting and spelling improved over the course of it, with the notes becoming more in-depth and the drawings neater. Halfway through, on the right-hand page, it read,
'Everyone agreed to let me put my knowledge to use on my first mission, but now Mom and Dad are saying I can't come with them to the river because they don't want me to get hurt. But I told them that if I have to stay with Henry again, that would hurt me worse than any ghost! They seemed to consider it after that. I'll detail the trip when it's over.’
She turned the page and felt a chill run down her spine when it was blank; that was the last thing written. The realization that his first mission was his parents' last was heartbreaking. Closing the book and fumbling to fit it back in the bag, she left it on the chair and ascended the steps toward the second floor.
A few photographs lined the walls parallel to the staircase: one of a man with long black hair tied back in a ponytail, and a woman with light green hair in a pixie cut. Her eyes were sky-blue and his were sapphire. She removed her crown and held it to her heart to pay respect.
Then there was the little boy with them: light green hair with a darker stripe from front to back; medium-blue eyes with a sky-blue stripe horizontally through his pupils.
They seemed to have traveled a lot; each picture was taken at vastly different locations, and Gadalik had been dressed suitably for each environment.
“There you are,” Gale greeted her from the top of the staircase. “Everything okay?”
She shrugged. “How's Gadalik?”
“He's still out, but he looks a lot more comfortable to be in a bed.”
Glacia stopped to look at a photo of the young spook crouched on his belly in the mud, his hand outstretched toward a pond to offer worms to a frog.
He followed her gaze. "As much as he's changed over the years, it looks like his heart's stayed the same," Gale remarked, descending the steps to her level.
"He seems so… happy," she told him. "So why do I feel so sad…?"
The man embraced her with one arm. "That's natural,” he assured her. “It's hard… knowing that we can't compare to them. Maybe we are as good as they were, but we're still… different. You're not alone, wondering if he'd be happier if he had his birth parents instead of us."
She fully leaned into the embrace. "You've had those thoughts before, too…?"
"Yeah… But the fact is, we're the ones here for him now--not them. And he loves us just the same."
"...You're right." She returned the hug.
They held each other for a moment longer before going back to the living room toward the couch… then pausing, deterred by the surrounding dust and spiders of the formerly-abandoned house.
"Maybe we should clean the place before our son wakes up," Glacia suggested.
"You? Clean?" he gasped with mock surprise. "Who are you, and what have you done with my girlfriend?"
She playfully popped him on the shoulder. "It's the least we can do."
Gadalik awoke lying on his childhood bed made up as best as it could be with the blankets they had packed. He was well-rested but also on-edge upon feeling a far off spirit, especially since he wasn't used to the sensation anymore. He sat up, surveying his old bedroom for a distraction from it, shocked by how immaculate it was: the floors had been swept and mopped, the furniture dusted and wiped… Everything seemed smaller than he remembered.
Then the teen noticed the nullifier on the nightstand. Luna's attack instantly flashed before his eyes, and he placed a hand over his bruised neck.
Who goes around hunting witches for their blood in this day and age? Are there others she's after? Are all of the victims pure-bloods? Just how common are they--and are there more hunters? What if she's hunting me specifically--what if they all are?
Should I keep wearing the nullifier? What if they recognize it and target me if they aren't already? No–Luna had been asking the villagers about me even before she saw the nullifier… That means word of my heritage has been spreading.
If there are more hunters, I'm no match for them… I can't rely on a surge to combat them when it also incapacitates me. And I can't voluntarily cause a surge in the first place without the nullifier--but I can't wear the nullifier if they'll recognize it…!
There's nothing I can do--I… I can't--I can't ever protect myself or anybody I care about…! Why? Why am I… so… useless…?!
"Bud?" Gale said quietly as he walked in to check on his son, only to find him hyperventilating between stifled sobs with a hand clutching his throat. "H-Hey, now, it's alright! Deep breaths…!"
Gadalik gasped in a half-successful attempt to comply. His mind still raced with questions and glimpses of memories from the assault... But worst of all was the shame of how helpless he'd been in the situation, and how he was unable to prevent it from recurring. Feeling sick to his stomach, he scrambled off the mattress and stumbled into the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet before he puked.
Gale had rushed to console him, then hesitantly watched from the doorway, unsure of how to help.
The teen tried to regain control of his breathing, still wheezing with each deeper breath from nearly being strangled, and now through a burn in his throat from the bile that he'd thrown up. Why am I reacting like this now? I was fine when we got here! Why does this keep happening? What's wrong with me...?!
"Gadalik…"
I need to calm down… But how…? That's when he remembered the conversation he'd had with a previous client. The red-haired girl had mentioned that intrusive thoughts were like a fly; engaging with it only prolonged its stay. Just stop giving it attention… Let it go away on its own.
The younger male looked for anything to take his focus instead. The cleaned floor beneath him was shining reflectively, but it wasn't enough to distract him from the dread he felt.
A hand gently rubbed his back; he jolted out of reflex, then relaxed some, focusing entirely on that single point of physical contact as a reminder of what was real in the moment. The floor felt cold beneath him, too, while the air was somewhat humid. Although still trembling and somewhat panting, he managed to slow his breathing and allowed himself to fall back against his father who was kneeling behind him.
"Everything will be okay," Gale murmured.
Minutes passed, and the tension and trembling ebbed to be replaced by exhaustion.
"How are you feeling…?"
"...Better," the boy replied honestly. "Thank you…"
"Is… Is this what happened at the mansion a few months back...?"
He froze. There's no denying it… "Y-yeah…"
"Does this happen often…?"
"Not a lot--but… sometimes. U-Usually from minor problems; not normally this bad." Gadalik sighed. "I don't know what comes over me."
There was silence for a beat. "...Does Glacia know this has been ongoing?"
"I'm scared to tell her… You were with us for the last few doctors she forced me to go to, after what happened at the mansion--only for them all to say I'm in good shape… It… It can't be helped."
Gale gave a faint hum. "Maybe… you were seeing the wrong kind of doctors."
"Huh…?"
"If it was a one-time occurrence, they'd probably be right. But… I've never seen you that bad before. It was scary, even for me; I can see why she'd be so determined to get you help. I just think… if it has happened so often, perhaps we ought to find a specialist."
Gadalik shrugged. "There's been enough normalcy between episodes not to warrant one… And someone told me a method to calm myself; I just didn't remember it until now. If I can't control it next time, I'll consider going. Until then, well, I've seen enough doctors for a lifetime."
Gale patted his head before standing and helping him to his feet.
"You really fixed the place up," the spook remarked.
"Sure did. Not just me, though," his father answered.
"Glacia, too?!"
He nodded, chuckling at his son's shock. "I know, right! Come on; let's thank her for helping."
The woman was on her knees by the empty open refrigerator, scrubbing the inside of it.
"Mom?" Gadalik called, then caught himself. "Err, Glacia? You don't have to worry about the fridge--"
"Don't stop me now; I'm in the zone," she interrupted.
"I've never seen her so focused on something in my life," Gale remarked.
She finally finished, and they each took a trash bag she had filled and hauled it to the dumpster out back.
"That's the last of it," Glacia announced. When they went back in she plopped herself down on the couch. Gale sat beside her, and Gadalik remembered the whole reason they had come there in the first place.
"If I recall correctly, the present should be in my parents' room. I… was never really allowed in there," the spook admitted. "The thought of going inside just feels wrong… even though they're gone."
"That's how we feel being in this house," Glacia laughed.
"Really?" Gadalik was taken aback by the news. "I'm sorry… I-I didn't mean to make you feel that way… I just wanted you two with me, wherever it is I'll go."
"Aw... Don't apologize. You're such a sweetheart," she gushed, stretching her arms out. "C'mere."
He moved in and hugged her, then recoiled without fully breaking the embrace. "Oof, you're all sweaty," he teased.
"Me? No-o… You're the one who's sweaty… now!" she giggled and squeezed him tighter.
"Gross! Let me go," he laughed.
"Never!"
"Gale, help!"
His father went straight to tickle her exposed armpits. She squealed and released their son to playfully tackle the man against the couch.
"Run!" he melodramatically cried to Gadalik. "Save yourself!"
The teen gave a huff of laughter before racing up the stairs. He hesitated at the door of his birth-parents' room. Drawing in a breath to prepare himself, he turned the handle, and it creaked open on its own.
It had been cleaned just as the rest of the house. Although scared of what he'd find in there, he lightly pushed it open the rest of the way and pictured the scene in his dream. The layout of the room was almost exactly how he'd remembered it, despite only ever viewing it from the doorway.
He sat down on the bed in the same place Vilodia had in the memory. The available places to put things from this position was limited. He checked the nightstand's drawers to find nothing unusual. The underside of the bed was bare.
He hummed thoughtfully and went to the closet. The inside space was divided in half, the right side being Trent's and the other Vilodia's, both organized by color and type. Gadalik took down a shirt from the right side, and compared it to the plaid flannel he was currently wearing. Dad's clothes are still too big for me. He replaced it and took down one of Vilodia's. Just my size, albeit shapely. Guess I know who I take the most after, he thought, half-grinning, before putting it back.
Then his gaze was drawn to the top shelf of the closet. That was the perfect place a parent could put a present to prevent its premature opening.
Just as he suspected, there was a suspicious shoebox that required him to stand on the tips of his toes to reach. Something rattled inside as he brought it down and removed the lid:
A wooden bracelet.
Gadalik immediately recognized it as a spell booster--a lesser variant than the one he would've been awarded had he not drowned at the lake.
Lesser is better, he decided. He went back to his room and rummaged through the bags they'd brought for their journey. He took out his notes from the Enchanted Artifacts book and skimmed them, rereading the page he'd written about compatibility between enchanted items.
He was hoping it would just lessen the nullifier's effectiveness, but alas, the nullifier would completely cancel out the booster. Gadalik thought it over.
This means I can wear the booster alongside the nullifier, so whenever I take the nullifier off, I can use the booster to fight if necessary.
Still, he felt a sense of unease from his lack of preparation for another attack. Pocketing the pendant, he put the bracelet--which would only work if he used his magic--on his left wrist, then headed back downstairs to show it off.
"It's lovely!" Glacia complimented it.
"What does it do?" Gale wondered.
He briefly explained. "If there's ever an emergency, I can rely on this instead of a surge," he concluded.
"That's great! So when should we head back?" she asked.
"Oh." The unease grew; going outside scared him with Luna--and whoever else there may be--waiting to kidnap or kill him. "Uh… Maybe we should lay low here for a while."
Glacia tensed. "How long is a while…?"
"A few days, maybe. Between what we brought with us and what we bought in town, we have enough food to last us. Besides, this is… nostalgic. It's nice to be back here after all this time… I could get used to it again."
She fidgeted nervously. "You'll still come home with me, won't you…?"
"Huh? Of course…! I promised, didn't I?"
"Well, yes, but… Things change, even if you meant it in the moment," she replied, growing more distressed by the second. "It already changed; you said we'd just grab the item and go…”
“I know, but Luna is still–”
“Now, days might turn to weeks, and weeks into months until I'll never see you again…!"
"Glacia," Gale called gently, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. She held her breath to listen. "Gadalik will be eighteen in December. That's legally an adult. We should respect whatever choices he makes, even if it means we need to let him go someday."
"He's nowhere near an adult!" she snapped. "He's seventeen--teen, as in teenager. Who cares if he'll 'legally' be an adult in two months--he's still a child… my child! If you want to bring legality into this, you're not even his father!"
Gale's breath caught in his throat.
Silence befell the room, save for Glacia's shaky breathing as she tried to calm down. Then she covered her mouth as she realized what she'd said. "Legally," she repeated. "You're not legally his father. My point was that legality doesn't matter…! I didn't mean it that way…"
"Y-Yeah," Gale murmured, but didn't make eye contact.
"I'm sorry…"
"Don't worry about it," he quietly assured her.
"...I'm not going to leave you," Gadalik spoke up. "Either of you. When I ever move out, I'll still visit, and you'll both still be my family."
His parents remained silent, his father distraught and his mother ashamed. The teen looked between them helplessly.
Then Gale heaved a sigh and headed outside.
"Where are you going?" Glacia cried.
"To get some air." He closed the door the slightest bit too harshly between them.
Glacia buried her face in her hands, hunched forward on the couch with her elbows on her knees. "I really didn't mean it that way…"
"I know," Gadalik said. "I'm going to go talk to him." He stepped outside.
The man was leaning on the railing of the porch, gazing into the distance. His long blue-violet scarf was blown back by a light breeze.
"Are you alright…?" Gadalik asked gently.
He glanced over his shoulder at the spook. "Yeah," he answered halfheartedly and looked back at the scenery.
Gadalik moved beside him.
"You know I love you guys...right?" Gale said. "You shouldn't need papers to prove that…"
"Of course," his son responded. "Nobody said you did. I know how much dedication our jobs require; it's hard to find the time."
Gale tensed. He opened his mouth to answer, then shut it and rested his forehead in his hand.
"What's the matter…?"
"N-nothing, bud. I just… want to be alone right now. I have a lot to think about."
"...I understand." Gadalik respectfully left him to go back inside.
"How is he?" Glacia asked.
"Not so great…”
"I really am sorry for getting so worked up… You have to understand that you guys have nearly died so many times before, and… you actually did die at the lake, even if Benson--err, Vincent--revived you. Now your birth parents have become a reason I might lose you, and… I'm trying to be accepting of it all, but it's still terrifying. And I know Gale feels the same way… I shouldn't have said that to him. But it is partially his fault that he never legally adopted you when he had the chance, so he can't blame me completely for saying that."
"What do you mean…? I thought he was just too busy to get the chance to…"
She froze, as if she never meant to reveal that. "That's… part of what I meant by ‘partially.’"
"So what's the other part…?"
"He, uh… W-Well, I mean… It's kind of the same reason he won't move in with us. He's not ready to sacrifice his career for a family; not even for me. No marriage, no adoption, no settling down until he's retired… whenever that may be."
"I see…" Gadalik looked toward the door, unable to shake a feeling of betrayal. Paperwork won't stop him from being a bounty hunter… There must be some other reason why he wouldn't want to go through with officially adopting me.
Luna's words echoed in his mind: "How sad it must be to know he cares so little about you."
What if I was wrong…? Was he really okay with leaving me? Gadalik felt that familiar dull ache in his gut return. He stood and dragged himself upstairs to his room, shutting the door behind him.
He lied down, curling up on his side, staring at nothing.
The events of that day replayed in his mind, becoming warped within the new context that his father didn't want him.
Evening turned to night. By this time Gale had come back in, acting as his usual self, and made supper. Athough Gadalik didn't have an appetite, he tried to eat as much as his stomach would hold just so it wouldn't go to waste while the adults were cheerily chatting. He couldn't focus on anything--not that he felt motivated to in the first place; his body was practically functioning on autopilot, and eating only worsened the persistent ache.
Eventually Gadalik excused himself from the table.
"Where are you going, bud? You barely touched your food," Gale said, concerned.
The younger male looked him in the eyes in an effort to distinguish any sincerity there, but again couldn't concentrate and gave up. "To my room… I'm not feeling well."
"Are you ok?" Glacia immediately got up and placed the back of her hand to her son's forehead. "You have a slight fever…"
I do…?
"I packed medicine in my bag," she stated. "Let me go get it."
As she left the kitchen, Gale started as if to check on the teen as well, but Gadalik retreated a step from him. The man didn't pursue him further, respectfully giving him space.
Glacia came back with a couple of capsules in hand, offering them alongside his refilled cup from the table to the spook, who obliged. "C'mon, let's get you to bed," she beckoned him afterward, keeping a hand on his back as they ascended the stairs to be sure he wouldn't fall.
Once in his room he sat on the mattress as his mother unpacked a washcloth and dampened it at the bathroom sink to place on his forehead. Normally he would protest her doting on him, but he couldn't bring himself to care in his current state. After he was settled in bed she turned the light out and left with the door slightly ajar.
He drifted in and out of sleep throughout the night, catching sight of Glacia checking on him every couple of hours. Gale never stopped by.
Sunlight filtered through the dark blue window curtains. Gadalik watched it glow brighter as the hours passed. Glacia should be waking up soon.
As if on que, he heard someone push the door open. "Are you up…?" His adoptive mother's voice was quiet so as not to wake him if he weren't.
With his condition hardly improving overnight, and having no willpower to climb out of bed, Gadalik remained silent until her footsteps were out of earshot.
After perhaps a half-hour, he forced himself to sit up. There was a toybox against the wall directly in front of the bed. His closet was adjacent to the bathroom, the door still slightly open from when it was cleaned. Then he turned away, repressing his desire to go through his old belongings; he'd made his mind up about only moving forward since his birth-parents died. Everything he currently owned, he'd either bought himself, or was given to him by Glacia or Gale, save for his dark green spook's robe that used to be Vilodia's; a hand-me-down to help protect him on his first mission with them.
Gadalik didn't want to be reminded of that. It was pointless to dwell on the past. Pointless… and painful.
He left his room to head toward the kitchen, when he heard Gale's voice responding to Glacia's, and paused before the staircase. The thought of being around the man suddenly made him nervous. He began to return to his room, back on autopilot, when he wound up at his biological-parents' door. He debated with himself whether or not to go in now that there was no reason to do so.
He found himself inside regardless. The family pictures he'd purposely been ignoring finally caught his eye, and he couldn't look away. Sitting on the bed, he held the one on their nightstand, wherein he was a six-year-old holding up a plastic staff with Vilodia and Trent crossing their real ones with his. He remembered posing for that picture, the child being jealous that he hadn't a real staff like they did, but otherwise happy to be included at all.
I wish I could ask for your advice… he thought, then gave an amused smile. Heh. How awkward would that be for my old dad to help me with my new one? The corners of his mouth dropped. Gale's… not… my new dad. Maybe I should respect that he doesn't want to be… But it still just… stings.
Gadalik set the photograph face-down where he'd found it and hugged their pillow, tightly shutting his eyes. I don't know what to believe anymore… And I can't just ask Gale; how would one discuss something like this without stirring up drama?
The room seemed to get smaller around him. Little things from the past grew bigger until he couldn't ignore them; memories of his childhood resurfacing. Refusing to acknowledge them, Gadalik wiped his eyes and stumbled into the hallway, rushing down the steps.
"There he is!" Glacia greeted him from her seat on the couch. He froze at her greeting.
"Feeling any better...? I made breakfast if you're hungry," Gale added from beside her.
Gadalik stared at the two for a moment. Pained by the thought of being unwanted; ashamed for doubting the man who'd been a part of his life for nearly six years; the newfound grief of his birth-parents; the lingering sense of distant ghost; the ache in his gut worsening… It was all too much. He quickly became overwhelmed and blindly ran outside to escape it all.
"Bud?" Gale called worriedly after following him to the porch.
No! I can't take being around you right now! The younger male fled into the surrounding woods, subconsciously following an old route he used to take as a child until he was certain he couldn't be found. Exhausted, he rested his back against a tree and slid down it to the ground. The sounds of rustling leaves and birdsong came into focus once he'd started to calm, the ache fading.
"Are you alright…?" a soft voice added to nature's music.
Gadalik looked up to see a girl his age with light brown hair just past her shoulders. Her hazel eyes were gentle as she leaned forward with her hands on her lower thighs to get a better look at him, but he then faced away.
"It's...been a while since I've seen anyone out here," she continued, straightening out her long pleated skirt and sitting on her knees beside him. "My name is Melody. What's yours?"
"...Gadalik."
"Oh, I've heard about you! A witch hybrid with pure magic; the first discovered in his generation. This is your hometown, isn't it?"
That got his attention. "How did you know that?"
"You've become somewhat of a tall tale in my town a few miles away. Your parents were reputable spooks, after all--and their house is less than a quarter of a mile from here."
Is that why Luna knew where to search for me?
"You're younger than I thought you'd be," Melody went on. "Rumor has it you're a six-foot-tall muscular guy. But… I'd guess you're maybe five and a half feet tall. You do have a bit of muscle though."
He couldn't stifle a laugh. "Is that what people are saying about me?" At least I won't have to worry about getting recognized outside of my hometown, then.
"It's… nice to know you're mostly average. Who knows, maybe an average girl like me could turn out to be something special too."
"I wouldn't call being a witch 'special.' I don't even consider myself a witch... especially since these powers are new, and I don't have mastery over them yet." He felt for the nullifier still in his pocket for security.
She shrugged. "Still beats getting overlooked by your peers for being normal. Even though I used to live far away, I often wander here to reflect on my life, hoping to find something worth seeing in myself…"
"You're already worth seeing," he said as a matter of fact. "It's not your fault others don't acknowledge that."
"But it is, isn't it? I mean… People recognize you, because your powers make you stand out. I don't have any."
"Being recognized by people isn't as important as having connections with them. Sure, you know my name… But we're still strangers."
"Then I'm still in a pickle. I don't know how to connect with others, either."
"How so? You had no trouble approaching me, even though I was a bit standoffish."
"Well, it's more like a specific person I'm trying to connect with. It's easy to initiate conversation with someone when they're obviously in need," Melody pointed out. "It's not so easy when I'm the one in need…"
"Oh, man. I know what you mean…" He sat back. "So much has been happening lately, that I'd rather run than confront the people involved."
"I understand. How can you talk to people about your problems if they're part of your problems…?"
He thought for a moment. "Well… problems between people won't get solved unless they talk to each other," he realized. Then he face-palmed. "What am I doing…?"
She smiled. "You're helping me, that's what. Thank you."
"No… Thank you, for reaching out. I needed someone to talk to, same as you."
"I'm going to tell him how I feel… Hopefully it's not too late."
Why would it be too late?
As if in answer, her body lifted off the ground and she flew off.
A ghost…? He chuckled. I should've known…
He stood and wiped the dirt from his pants, deciding to ask Gale directly about his decisions. Just as he'd begun walking off, he heard a sound behind him. "Melody?"
He turned in time to see a tall figure garbed in black lunging for him. Out of reflex he swung his left hand out toward it; a shield far bigger than he'd intended was summoned between them.
It dispelled after the impact. It was then that he remembered the booster worked at the cost of shortening the duration of each spell. I can just summon more, he concluded.
The figure regained balance after being deflected and the hood of her cloak fell back. It was Luna, as he suspected.
"I'm not going to let you hurt anyone," Gadalik said just loud enough to be heard.
"Insolent brat," she cursed. "Using a ward spell but not letting your target be warded off is smart, I'll give you that. If I hadn't been wearing my protective robe, you probably would have blown my arms off, for sure."
Was I really that dangerous…? No–she must be lying to mess with me. "Why are you after me? What do you intend to do with my blood?”
"Enchantments. I make items with abilities that can't be bought at hex shops. I have all the creativity in the world! My wares are one of a kind. What I lack, though, is enough natural magic to keep myself in business. That's where other witches like you come in."
Gadalik swallowed hard through his still-sore throat. How many others has she kidnapped or killed…?
He didn't have time to fully digest that before she suddenly slashed at him with a machete in her hand. He once again blocked with a summoned shield, but it dispelled all too soon and she came within inches of slicing his throat in her next move. I can't get a consistent time frame of how long the spells last with the booster…! Can I force it to stay active?
Her blade increased in length to a short sword. Gadalik summoned another shield and this time continuously output magic into it. The shield turned into a bubble around him, identical to that of a shield tag's spell.
It quickly began to flicker out of existence as she struck it.
No! He forced himself to keep a steady flow of magic to sustain the spell, when after a few seconds, the bracelet burned his wrist and he let out a pained cry; the bubble expanded, then burst, the force knocking Luna a fair distance away. Gadalik fell weakly to one knee, clutching his hand.
"Foolish child… Do you not know how to use a booster?" she laughed at him. "All it does is compress your existing magic into each spell. Think of it like bending a garden hose; when it's released after, the water pressure is higher, but it doesn't give you extra."
She's right… I should've practiced to figure that out beforehand. I just didn't expect a fight so soon... That was his method of learning, despite the negative repercussions it sometimes resulted in. The teen tried to stand but his strength wasn't recovering as quickly as it usually did, and Luna was much faster as she ran at him. Gadalik closed his eyes and braced himself.
Then he heard her blade meet steel; Gale had parried her sword with his own, driving her away from the boy and standing protectively between them.
Gadalik released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, then managed to get to his feet. Seeing the older male stand, back toward the spook, long scarf swept by the wind and stance assumed so many times that it seemed natural… It was a wonder why Luna wasn't deterred. "Dad--err… Gale...? H-How did you find me...?"
"I find people for a living," the bounty hunter reminded him.
The woman darted at him with a swing of her sword. The instant Gale moved to parry it, her blade shortened out of his reach, then extended again for a stab under it while he overbalanced.
"Look out!" Gadalik cried, grabbing the scarf and pulling him out of her reach.
"Th-thanks, bud," he breathed. "An enchanted sword… I haven't seen one like this before."
"I-I can help," Gadalik said. "Alternate between close- and long-range. I'll let you know when there's an opening."
"Got it." When he'd move close, her blade shortened to avoid his, then lengthened, but he was prepared and leapt back; her sword lengthened more to compensate the distance between them. That's when Gale moved in close with a stab, which she barely managed to dodge.
Gadalik counted the seconds between when--and how many times--it transformed. Every enchanted item has a limit… If I'm right, she can't change it consecutively more than three times without needing to let it 'recharge' for ten seconds. The numbers are consistent. Now we wait.
This time her blade changed to a longsword instead. Gale dodged, focusing on her rather than her weapon so he could predict when it might change and how.
As he swung again, she shortened the blade, but he was aiming toward the hilt this time so he'd hit it regardless of length. She noticed and leapt out of his reach, lengthening her sword to keep him from pursuing.
"Now," Gadalik directed. "She shouldn't be able to change it!"
Luna gasped through her teeth at that reveal.
Gale used that moment to disarm her. The enchanted sword reverted to a knife as it was knocked out of her grasp… only for a familiar vulture to swoop down and catch the weapon in its talon. The bird brought it back to its owner.
Luna grinned, then pointed to Gadalik, her long sleeve falling down to her elbow from the motion to reveal the dark bruising his surge had caused on her arm.
Noticing it, Gadalik was overcome with guilt for having harmed her after all. The knowledge that he would have maimed her if her garments weren't enchanted made it worse. His hand tightly clutched the nullifier in his pocket, his mind playing out scenarios of how badly his surge could have resulted in for those around him. He felt his breaths quicken and everything else went out of focus.
"Gadalik, move!" Gale shoved him to the ground just before the vulture reached him; the bird missed, followed by a wind from how close its claws had come to raking him.
The spook lay stunned from the impact for a few seconds.
"Sorry for pushing you," the man apologized. "I know you can't run with that beast after us... But you can't freeze like that, either; they'll kill you. We have no choice but to fight."
"I can't," Gadalik said. "What if we end up maiming or--or even killing them…?"
"What do you think they're trying to do to us? We do what we must to survive. If that means having a bodycount, sobeit."
Gadalik shrunk against the earth. "I-I don't want anyone to get hurt…!"
While Gale hesitated from his words, Luna thrust her blade at him and he was forced back into the fight.
That's when Gadalik noticed the bird was diving at them from behind. He got up and tried a ward spell; harmless since there was no physical contact. While the current of magic repelled it for a short time, it kept coming back.
The teen couldn't keep this up forever. He ran to Gale's side, stretching a hand out at both Luna and her avian familiar. "Stop!"
With that word came a spark of magic--and to his surprise, they were stilled… though not of their own volition. While still conscious and unharmed, they both dropped, immobilized.
"...What did you do?" Gale asked.
"I-I don't know… A stun spell?" the younger male guessed.
"In that case, let's confiscate her weapons and bind her hands before the spell wears off."
Gadalik did as told. Once again his attention was drawn to the unsightly bruises he'd given her. "Do you… really think it's okay to kill people…?"
He tensed. "If it's kill or be killed, there's really no other option if you want to live."
"Have you killed anyone before…?"
"...Yeah." He looked away. "There are some truly evil people out there. Perhaps I don't have the right to decide who should and shouldn't live… but if you want to know if I regret killing them: I don't."
The kid gulped.
Gale pulled her weapons' satchel over his right shoulder, and Luna over his left, facing behind him. "Bring the buzzard with us to town. We're turning them in."
Just before they made it to the sheriff's office, her familiar suddenly struggled wildly until Gadalik couldn't keep hold of it.
Before Gale had a chance to react, it pecked its owner's hands free; Luna kicked off of his side to launch herself out of his grip, snapping the strap of her weapons' satchel in one smooth motion. She bolted.
Gadalik started after her, then turned back when Gale had fallen to his knees, clutching his side and breathing hard. The teen recognized that as the stab-wound he had sutured the previous morning; she must have reopened it.
"I'm alright," the mohawked man assured him. "It's just… sore…" After a moment, he managed to stand up, then looked in the direction their former captives had fled. They were nowhere to be seen.
The two returned to Gadalik's childhood home. The spook stopped before the door.
Gale rested against the porch railings, still with a hand on his side. "What is it, bud?"
"Can I ask you something…?" he replied.
"Go for it."
"Glacia and I… Are we… holding you back…?"
"What? Not at all! Why would you think that?"
"It's just--I know how important your job is to you. You… don't have to let us get in the way of that."
"You're not in the way, and you're not holding me back," the man assured him with pure resolve.
Gadalik looked away uncertainly.
"Alright, bud. Talk to me. What's this really about?"
He drew in a breath for courage. "Papers aren't needed to prove anything, and that's not what I'm worried about," Gadalik began. "I just accepted that you were too busy to find time to officially adopt me. But… you did get the chance–and you didn't take it. Do you not… want me as your actual son...?"
Gale let out a short breath, seeming genuinely hurt by that suggestion. "Bud… Gadalik… You and Glacia mean more to me than my job. That isn't it at all…!"
"Then… what is…?"
"I…" He sighed, looking down guiltily. "I'm not as perfect as you guys think I am. The less you see of me, the better; that way you'll never find out how vastly unprepared I am for relationships and fatherhood."
"Are you kidding me…? You've always been good to us…!"
"I try… And I love you both more than anything. But there's so much more to these things than the surface level… I tried to keep it there, but it naturally progressed and I--I'm scared… Scared that by making things official between us, you'll see the parts of me I try to hide, and it would ruin what we currently have."
Things like a bodycount…? "Gale…"
"After the way things ended in my last serious relationship, I never planned to be in another until I met Glacia. And unlike her, I never planned on having kids, either. I… I still don't."
"She planned to...? Has she said she wanted kids with you?"
"We've talked about it before. You're our kid; Glacia and I have been careful to make sure you stay our only. But she did mention that if she never adopted you, she would have wanted kids with me. And… I just… don't know how to be a father, or a spouse."
"What makes you think that…?"
"I have a hard enough time keeping myself alive, let alone a family. I don't know how to help when you're anxious, or sick, or hurt… I never know when I should comfort you or when to give you space…" He breathed. "Everyone depends on me to protect them--but when you were held hostage, Gadalik, I couldn't do anything to save you."
"But you did do something to save me," Gadalik argued. "You trusted me. If you had tried to fight her at that time, I'd surely be dead right now."
Gale didn't meet his gaze.
Gadalik exhaled through his nose. "You don't know how to help with everything else, because you haven't been given the time to learn. Glacia only knows because I've lived with her for almost nine years now, and she's still learning; we all are. That's what having a family is about. Of course we'll all make mistakes… We all have a past, or problems that maybe we'd rather not share right away. But if we truly love each other, there's no problem that we can't learn to work through...together."
He was silent for a moment to process that. Then he let out of a huff of laughter. "You make a compelling argument."
"And… for the record," the teen continued, "I think you're a great father."
Gale finally looked up at him, his eyes watered slightly with relief to hear that, even if he wasn't fully convinced. "What say we make it so, legally…?"
"We can… when you feel ready."