She blinked slowly, wincing, pressure building along the base of her skull. Did it crack? Was she dead?
No.
The world was stretched behind gauze. Everything was hazy. But she was still there, laying on the floor, SEE officer ahead, atop, closing something over a hand.
Gunfire, muffled. Gloves scraping against skin. Magic a sizzle. She stared. The mask was cracked—off. Behind, a face—pointed jaw, thick brows, messy brown hair. Eyes, hazel eyes—warped. Shimmery like opal. Unnatural. Her vision was coming into focus. He was bleeding from the skull. Fire, smolder. Smoke, not hers.
Something was burning—no, had burnt. Not the uniform. His face? Skin peeled, red, bubbling. He was fumbling, grabbing something from his belt, some metal band. A nullifier. No, no—
It’d block any magic outright. Thick, like a collar, around the neck.
It’d be over if he got that on her.
So she kicked. Her body didn’t feel like hers but it worked, leg colliding with the space between his legs. Unprotected. Force. Pressure. Dull. He fell to the side. She leaned forward, kicked again; more sensation in her legs, the slow tingle, the return, headache still there—she kicked his stomach. Iron panel, pressed in, shoved against his windpipe. He fell aside.
SEE agent sustained 10 points of damage.
SEE agent sustained 7 points of damage.
Current Health Points of SEE agent: 28/80.
Good. She rushed to her feet, staggered.
“You bitch! That…a low…blow…” He breathed, turning aside to get the gun; it was beside him. Jacinta stepped on his fingers. There was a creak, give of skin and flesh—then crunch. Bone, shattered.
She expected to feel more satisfied at the sound than she was. No, him writhing and screaming—she pulled away, glared down. The world was almost in-focus. Awake. She inhaled, exhaled; her knuckles cracked freely, painlessly, unlike the snapping bones beneath her foot a moment ago.
“If a kick to the nuts is enough to take you down, you should get a different job.” Jacinta’s voice was a cold, low hiss. She scanned his uniform and saw a camera attached to the chest panel. She grabbed a can and slammed it down. The officer winced; the camera unfurled to a mess of sparking wires and shattered glass.
She pointed at him. “Stay down.”
Intimidation increased 1%.
Sass increased 1%.
Sass? Was the Atlas being sarcastic?
“Jaci! Let’s go!’
Gregory was at the doors, shoving them open. Jacinta’s gaze lingered—no. They couldn’t afford to stay any longer. She nodded, strode towards him—
But the SEE agent’s hand wrapped around her ankle first. Jacinta tripped with a hiss, landing flat on the floor—she rolled around, kicked. Her sneaker’s heel smashed into his nose.
SEE Agent sustained 8 points of damage.
Current Health Points of SEE agent: 20/80.
His nose was now a faucet of blood. His eyes shimmered, narrowed.
“You not even going to try your magic?”
“No.” She snarled, jamming her foot into his face once more. Something cracked—cartilage, probably. She couldn’t help it; she laughed a little.
SEE Agent sustained 5 points of damage.
Current Health Points of SEE agent: 15/80.
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Sass increased 1%.
“My nose! Was that necessary?!”
“Yes.” She responded easily, moving to stand, grinning. “You should’ve kept your mask on. You’re more handsome with it.”
“Stop flirting and hurry up!” Gregory’s voice called. Right. Right. Jacinta glared at the man and followed Gregory out, wincing, pain pushing against her skull. Migraine, ugh—
Arrows, moving graffiti—there was a lamppost that swung like a flower in the wind. She pointed aside.
“We get off at Chinatown? Hopefully your apartment’s nearby.” She suggested, rubbing her temples, thinking.
“Yeah. Hey, don’t pass out on me now, alright? You can take a nap when we’re there…” Gregory grabbed her shoulder, giving it a soft shake. His fingers curled, squeezed. “You nearly got shot. So did I. You crushed the cameras, right?”
She nodded.
They turned a corner—alleyway. Arrow pointing forward. Chinatown? But—brick wall…?
She just walked through a mirror. Why was she surprised?
They continued on, forward: slowly, slowly, through brick. The wall came apart; blast of air, and they were in a crowded street. A and B health score signs along restaurants; red-glazed ducks swinging behind glass. Brick, smoothed marble, shaved concrete; Mandarin and Cantonese symbols and English all together, and—
Crowds. Chinese spoken in hushed mutters. Car honks in the distance. It was afternoon, hot; sunbaked along the streets. Smell of fresh dumplings: pork, chives, wrapper-steam, pleasant; cigarettes, men huddled in a corner, lifting smoldering sticks to their lips, acrid burnt tobacco; and cars, gasoline—unpleasant.
More crowds. They turned corners, passed through. Jacinta ducked her head, pressing her palm against her forehead. A welt had already formed.
Corners, red brick above—small apartment windows, crowded streets. Tourists, selfie sticks. More, more—the noise was deafening. Jacinta wobbled, but Gregory’s gaze was on her every few moments. He held her for a moment, steadied her, before they turned yet another corner and there—apartment building. His home above, third floor. He took out his key, they stepped in—elevator up, a scary, old thing made of wound metal; she propped her head against the wall as it raddled up, up, painstakingly slow. Eventually it stopped; Gregory opened the door, strode out; she followed. Several doors, narrow hallway—key lock, twist, push—open.
He lived alone, save for the girls, guys, and whoever else that he dated and kept around for a bit. He was open, happy, free; she …not so much. His home was just as zany as his life was. She saw it as lavish. To others, it’d be gaudy—multicolored string lights hung everywhere, random movie posters, signs, art pieces, masks; even a (fake-) gold gargoyle flying off the top of a cabinet, the statue of a horn-headed Eshu beside it. It was a purposeful clutter; not messy, just busy. Her vision didn’t help—everything far from her lacked definition.
She slid off her messenger bag and collapsed face-down into his fake-snake leather couch, sighing. The blood was dry; it wouldn’t stain. Hopefully.
“I…think I’m gonna take a nap.” Jacinta sighed, voice muffled by the fabric. She reached up and pulled a blanket over herself, twisting her head to the side. Gregory’s white shirt was bloomed red, shiny.
Wait.
Her eyes widened. She pushed herself upright with a wince, then moved to stand—
“No. I’m fine. It just grazed my shoulder. Rest, Jaci—you need it. I got this covered. You like Hawaiian pizza, right?”
“With jalapeños too.”
“You monster.” He chuckled, but it was a little strained. He was scratching his hand. “Alright, half your…sad way, and I’ll have my delicious half. Rest up.”
“I seriously can help. You sure—”
“Yes.”
Jacinta sighed, shoulders sinking, and nodded. “Alright, I really owe you after today. Thanks for double-saving my ass.”
“Well, it was my greed that got us into that mess. But I found us some cool stuff…and some good things to sell.” She nodded and kicked off her shoes, flipping onto her back. She checked the time. Pill time. The cheap, general meds; they hardly helped her, but she needed something. Stupid health…
Gregory returned with a plastic bag of ice and a shot of a healing potion with tea. She downed the drink, grimacing—tasted like far-too-bitter green tea, oversteeped and harsh, then set the ice on her head, mumbling a thanks.
Greg took the cup off her hands, nodding. “And don’t forget. Your gran’s…kinda gone too.”
Her expression fell. She faced away, shutting her eyes. “Apparently Doña or Don, one of them, was involved in something secret. Passage Portals…I mean, they take a whole coven to make, right? Let alone how illegal they are…I just kinda can’t believe that she blindsided me like that. Literally! It involved sight and—some weird ritual. She…I guess I can theoretically talk to her later, will her spirit back to this realm in a séance or something.”
She hoped that the SEE officers didn’t destroy it. An image returned to her mind: the guy on the floor, his opaline eyes. He had to be human; all SEE agents were, but—
Weird. It was weird.
“Passage portals definitely take a whole coven to build. But we’ll probably need more than you, me, Mei, and the twins when it comes to actually making it, even for a localized one.”
Jacinta chuckled. “Baby coven, huh?”
“I told you we should try to expand…and if you need a person who specializes in necromancy, I got a gal.”
“You always have someone.” She would’ve rolled her eyes if she wasn’t trying to keep them shut.
“I’m a well-connected guy. Anyway, rest. We’ll talk more in a few hours, and I can tell you more about the Atlas.”
Jacinta’s body eased. She nodded to him, sighing.
“Thanks again.”
“Anytime. Well—let’s not do this anytime again, please. But you know what I mean. Rest well.”
Jacinta shut her eyes, sinking against the sheets.