I sit on my bed, trying to get my head in the right place before our attack. It's mostly successful, but that kiss keeps creeping to the front of my thoughts. The feel of her lips on mine, her scent, the closeness, the sounds… I didn't know I wanted it all so much. I laugh to myself about the growl that slipped out of me. I had put off talking to her. It’s possible that I knew how she felt and was subconsciously trying to keep her at a distance. I didn't want her to think she owed me anything.
Nothing about what happened in the hallway felt forced or like a repayment. That was all desire, and it felt good. The lingering memory brings a smile to my lips. Brimstone is lying on the floor next to my bed and looks up every time I get a surge of emotion.
A knock draws my attention, and I'm pulled back to my dull anxiety-filled reality. I get up and open the door. Eph walks in without invitation.
“Please, come in,” I say.
He looks around my room for a moment then turns. “Your ma and I've been talkin' a lot,” he says.
“Okay,” I say, drawing out the word.
“She's real worried about ya. I'm worried about ya too. I like ya, Mike.”
“I know she is, and thanks. I like you too.”
“Wasn't lookin' for that, but it's good to know. Now, I like your mother,” he says and I groan.
“I don't . . . care about that, man. You don't have to tell me–”
He puts up a hand. “Let me finish.” He starts again. “I meant that I care for your mother. And I told her if she needs anything from me, she's got it.”
“Can you tell me how you know her, and what's going on with the name thing?” I ask.
He chuckles at my question and shakes his head. “No, I won't be tellin' her business. She can work that out with you when she's ready. What I can do is give you somethin' to help in your fight. As soon as it looks like we've got everything under control, I'll tell her to come help you–not that she'll need the prompting. But if that comes too late and you need help before then, take this.”
He hands me a small metallic looking rod. There's a thrum of energy coming from it. It feels like it's vibrating in my hand.
“Is–Is this a magic wand?” I ask.
“Essentially, but the word 'magic' is kinda redundant when you're talking to someone versed in the creation of things like these. I've stored up a lot of energy in this. If you're in a pinch, focus it on him and let loose.”
“How?”
Eph goes over to the window near my bed and opens it. The cold air seeps in quickly as the curtains rustle from a gust of early winter breeze.
“Do you feel the energy in it?” he asks.
“Oh yeah,” I say excitedly.
“Come over here and point it out the window, and aim up.”
I follow his instructions.
“Now, add your own energy to it like it's an extension of your body, and command it.”
“Oh, that's easy. Kinda like with my void power,” I say, willing it to fire off some of the stored energy. There's a loud booming report from it, and Brimstone jumps to their feet. The kickback from the ray that comes out drives my hand into my hip. The beam continues as my hand is forced down further. The line of energy sears into my neighbor's roofing before the expulsion cuts off.
Oops.
I set the wand down on my dresser immediately and look at Eph, abashed. We both turn toward the smoking line on the neighbor’s roof. A light comes on upstairs and I quickly shut the window and turn off the light. Eph runs out of the room chuckling to himself. My poor neighbor is already suspicious of me. I’ll have to get that fixed for him. I peek at him from the side of my window while he looks around the upstairs room for where the sound came from. I watch him scratch his head before glaring in the direction of my house. He shakes his head and turns off the light again. I let out a puff of breath and slink back to my bed, lying down. I'm not sure if it's the mental exhaustion or the fact that we have a plan and a path forward, but sleep takes me almost immediately.
My morning comes too soon. The rest of the night passed in a blur, and while I may have fallen asleep quickly, the quality of sleep was lacking. I just couldn’t stay still. There's far too much happening to get the meaningful sleep I desire. Anna is staying in a room in the new basement, so close to me. I thought about going downstairs to talk to her more.
But that might’ve led to no sleep.
If I was lucky.
So I didn’t go and, instead, I slept fitfully. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I try to have a talk with my other half before we leave. We need to make sure we're in sync. I nudge him in our neutral headspace.
Are you ready for this, man?
Yeah . . .
Confidence is what almost killed us last time. Don't underestimate what a healthy amount of fear can do for you–as long as we're not paralyzed by it.
Call it what you like, as long as we're 'prepared' for this to go badly, I'm here with you.
(Brimstone prepared,) my Hound says.
“You can hear us?” I ask them.
(Yes, Brimstone hears Mikes)
“Mikes? Hm, I guess if they hear you too, it could get confusing. What can Brimstone call you?”
He starts, but trails off.
“We'll start with Other Mike.”
It's quiet for another moment before he speaks.
It takes me a minute to get dressed. Mostly because how do you pick an outfit for going to fight wizards? Especially when you know your clothes will just burn when you transform? It doesn't seem like a 'basketball shorts and a tee' kind of day, but I like my clothes. I suck it up and just wear a black t-shirt and some jeans. It's my usual fare, so I might be okay to part with one set of the outfit.
“Alright Brimstone, let's go see if everyone's ready,” I say as they trot out the door behind me.
Everyone else is awake as well, but they haven’t left their respective rooms. I can feel their energy and emotions when I walk downstairs, but the only one in the living room is Reggie, who slept on the couch. A nervous energy permeates the entirety of my place.
“What is it?” Reggie asks me as I stand at the bottom of the steps.
My Hound's wet nose nudges my hand, and I absentmindedly pet them.
“Just reading the energy here,” I say.
“This will be quite the undertaking. Everyone is making the necessary preparations. Are you prepared?”
“I've done all the preparation I can. All that's left is the doing.”
“Does your kind get . . .” he trails off before he purses his lips with a slight sigh and changes his words. “Are you nervous?”
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Nice save.” I say flatly. “And hell yes, I'm nervous. I have to lay siege to a wizard's guild, then have to go fight a demon. This is after I fought two and a half demons last year and fought a Hellhound the other day. I'm just gonna put this out there: I'm tired of being hounded by hell. I need a vacation, but I don’t expect it to let up anytime soon.”
“Hm. You suffer from the full range of emotions, don't you?”
“It's only human,” I say.
He smirks, but I can't tell which way his mind went there: 'But you're not human,' or 'Wow, I've been wrong.' I don't feel like getting into that debate, so I just meander into the kitchen. Eating sounds terrible right now, even though I probably should. I assume it would most likely make me nauseated. There's a rapid knock at the door, and Eph walks in. He's normally wearing a button down shirt, jeans with a belt and boots of some kind, but apparently his attire for battle is different. He's wearing a cloak of some of the darkest material I've ever seen. It's clasped around the neck with a dark metallic looking clip and hangs down around his calves. It billows oddly, even though there's no wind. It reminds me of how shadows clung to Christine when she used her powers.
The rest of his clothing is black, as well, and there's a small bag slung over his shoulder. He's got a few rings on–which I've never seen him wear–and a staff in his right hand that is almost as tall as his six-foot height. His white hair is pulled back, and his normally long and wooly full beard is braided in layers, keeping it closer to his face.
“Bringing out the full wizard regalia?” I ask.
“If there's ever a time for it,” he responds, inclining his head.
Vithar walks out of the door to the basement in his robes. They are enchanted and packed with seemingly endless places to hide his instruments. They catch under his foot as he crests the last step, and he tumbles into the living room, bouncing back up like nothing happened. His normal red whiskers on his chin are gone. His clean-shaven face makes him look oddly older, his features more angular, hawkish and harsh. The mop of loose red curls, however, softens the look as he eyes everyone.
“This man knows how to make an entrance,” I say, clapping as his cheeks turn pink.
“That wasn't supposed to happen,” he says, straightening his robes.
“We're aware,” Eph says. “You're gonna have to turn that into something better or replace it all together.”
“Why?”
“Because it marks you as a member of the guild–which you've denounced,” Reggie replies.
“Ah, that checks out.”
“The enchantment can be transferred to somethin' else or we can just try to turn that into somethin' else,” Eph tells him. “However you wanna do it.”
Mom comes downstairs while Eph talks with Vithar about the options. Her hair is braided close to her scalp until it flares out into curls at her neck. She's wearing a loose fitting square neck tank top that is colored in orangish-yellow, green and brown designs. At the waist, more of the same colored cloth hangs down with slits to either side, exposing what look like black spandex biker shorts underneath. The cloth hangs down, swaying just above her ankles, staying in front and behind her body and keeping the sides open.
“You know it's like ten degrees out, right?” I ask.
“Mobility is best. I'm fine,” she says.
“You certainly are,” Eph says, eyeing her.
“Dude,” I chide.
He shrugs. “A man has eyes.”
“A man doesn't need to leer,” I say. “It looks like you're about to turn into a wolf and whistle.”
“Sorry, Mike. Time and place. When are we getting that dinner Amara?” he asks.
I roll my eyes. “Alright, everyone seems dressed and ready.”
“Most of us are,” Mom says. She looks me up and down, and it's a fair statement. Everyone else is wearing their fantasy world finest, and I'm wearing my normal clothes.
“They'll just get burned away. This is as ready as I get,” I say.
“I told you,” mom says. Eph grunts and walks over to her, handing her a bracelet that she puts on. I glance back and forth between the two.
“What's this about?” I ask.
“Did you bring them?” Mom asks Eph. He nods and tosses me the bag he was carrying. The contents of it seem to be the same as what I'm wearing now.
“Seriously, what is this?”
“We made a bet, but I also asked him to make you some clothes. He asked what you'd like. I told him just what you normally wear.”
“I made 'em last night. They're enchanted,” Eph says. “Won't burn, but will give you some minor protection.”
My eyes bulge. “Are you for real?”
“Oh yeah.”
I squint my eyes suspiciously. “This isn’t another old man joke, is it? Are they gonna, like, burn extra fast or something?”
“No.” he says. “Honestly, go try 'em on and see for yourself.”
I jump up the stairs and into my room like a kid with a new game to play. The pack has a black t-shirt, a pair of dark jeans, a belt, a pair of socks, a pair of sneakers and something I can't make out at first. I grab it and inspect it. It's in a small circle and looks like a curly strip of shaved metal. I pinch it with my fingers and pull, finding that it's flexible. It straightens out and holds its position, looking like a slap bracelet. So I slap it against my forearm. It bends to conform around my wrist, then seals. As soon as it does, a thrum of energy covers my body. Normally, this would be sending some pretty serious warnings to my senses, but it feels like it's my energy–this must be the protection part. I don't like that it sealed itself, but it seems okay for now. I can ask about how to get it off later.
I strip out of the clothes I’m wearing and put on my new set. There are no boxer briefs that I usually wear–I assume because Eph didn't want to make those–but everything else fits perfectly. This is probably the most comfortable outfit I've ever worn. I love magic.
Well, I love magic when it benefits me.
Wanna test this out with me, Other Mike? I ask. He exhales a long breath before he speaks. It’s definitely just for dramatic effect, because he doesn't breathe separately from me.
Our combined power spreads through us, and the burn takes hold. The outfit increases in size with us and stays just as comfortable. The flames that dance across our body only spread across the exposed skin on our forearms and head. We crouch down, unsure if the flames will score the ceiling. There's a knock at the door while we check ourself out.
“Yeah?” we say to whomever.
“Hey Mike,” Anna walks in and freezes, staring at us. We start to shrink down, but she puts out a hand. “Wait, you don't have to.” We stare back for a brief second, then return to our larger stature.
“This is you too, right? You're still here?” she asks, taking a few steps closer.
“Yes,” we say. “But don't get too close. These flames aren't just for show.”
She gets about two feet away before she starts to turn her face away from the heat. “Are you always on fire like that?”
“This is us when we're burning. This is how it's always been for us.”
“The way you talk definitely makes it seem like this is a Venom thing,” she says, calling back to our previous discussion and studying our features. “You look like you're made of lava.”
“Is it what you expected?” we ask.
She got a small glimpse of us when we confronted Gnat, but this is the full visual. The expression on her face tells me she's considering her words. She scrutinizes us up and down and focuses on the horns on our head.
“It's definitely something I would think if someone said demon or devil.”
“Does it scare you?”
“If you were coming after me? Definitely. But when you're just standing there looking at me, it's more . . . Imposing? Oppressive? I feel like I'm in trouble, like, inside. Like my head is telling me there's something I should be doing.”
“Like running?”
“Sure, something like that,” she says. “But it doesn't change anything. I just wanted to see you again before you go. There's not much I can offer but my support, but you have it. Be as safe as you can, and come back in one piece.”
“That's the plan,” we say, and extinguish the burn. She watches the process and looks me up and down again after I've returned to my unaltered self.
“Are you still hot?” she asks.
“Always,” I say with a sly smile.
She rolls her eyes. “You know what I mean.”
I pat myself down and the clothes feel cool to the touch. I don't know if my skin is hot though. “The clothes aren't, but if my skin is, I can't feel it.”
She moves forward and reaches toward my face with her hand. Tentatively at first, like she’s testing a stove for heat, then she touches my cheek.
“That's amazing. You don't feel any warmer than you did last night, even though you were just on fire.”
I shrug in response, and she pulls her hand back.
“Are you staying here?” I ask.
“Yeah, it sounds like that Raul guy might try to get me if I leave. I've seen enough shows and read enough books to know how that goes.”
I sigh with relief. “Yeah, he definitely would. We've got to go soon. Try not to be around Reggie too much if you can. I'm not sure what his endgame is, but he's hopefully gonna be in contact with us while we're doing this.”
She doesn’t seem to be listening and checks my arm for heat too. I must be at an uninteresting normal temperature because she pulls her hand back again, but I grab it and pull her close.
“Be safe. I'll do my best as well,” I say, looking into her eyes. “I definitely want to come back and explore this more.” She lays her head on my chest and we embrace briefly before pulling away. She stands on her tippy toes and kisses my cheek. Without another word, she leaves the room.
I check my clothes quickly for any sign of distress from the burn. Amazingly, they look completely unchanged. I grab Eph's other gift from my desk and push it into my front pocket. It continues going in until the wand completely disappears. I press on the outside of the jeans and don't feel it. I reach in and my arm continues to go down into the pocket up to my elbow. These pockets are bigger on the inside. He added a minor interdimensional space to the jeans.
I could kiss that man.
I leave my room and hop down the stairs.
“Well?” Eph asks before I have a chance to say anything.
“Works great, man. Thanks, both of you.”
Eph grunts and Mom smiles.
“We'd better get out there,” he says.
I can feel Vithar's nervousness and put a hand on his shoulder.
“Hey, man. You ready?”
“As I'll ever be. Let's get this over with.”
Eph hands out a few little objects. “Put 'em behind your ears. We'll test 'em on the other side.” He rips a hole open in the air in the middle of my living room and steps into it as we all filter through behind him.