Everview (on hold)

Chapter 2

 The void was dark. I could see lights blinking in and out in the distance as people summoned and stored objects in the void. Then the black flashed away and I hit the ground. Hard.

My knees crumpled and I collapsed. Thankfully, the street was unusually empty, so no one saw me. I pulled myself up and hobbled myself over to Charms & Potions.

Located on Alpine Way in the middle of Everview, Charms & Potions was the best place to buy potions and charms of any kind. With unique and fresh merchandise of our own creation, we crushed the competition as soon as we opened.

After we escaped the Maze, we went to Everview, one of the biggest magica only cities on earth since we knew the Council of Magica would be watching our families. Lots of Magica chose to live among humans, but most lived in one of the many human free cities scattered around the globe. Humans couldn't feel a Mytica's signature unless they were aware of the supernatural world thanks to a powerful spell,

Astrid became a bounty hunter and I soon followed. Even though they had tons of magic and I was a human, they all depended too heavily on their magic and were most of the time not as good with weapons as I was, which gave me an advantage. Especially since I had all sorts of powerful potions.

When we had gathered enough money, we decided to put our charm making and potion brewing skills to use. And, thus, how Charms 'n Potions was born. 

I leaned against the wall next to the shop, trying to regain some energy before I faced Astrid. I could see the look of relief on Astrid's face every time I came back from a hunt. Anyone else would think it was just a friend being happy her friend was safe, but it was more than that.

I was a human. I had no magic, and no matter how good I was with weapons or how many potions I had, nothing would replace magic. Astrid was worried that someday, I would have to face an opponent I couldn't defeat. And honestly, I was worried too.

 But there was no point worrying about something that I couldn't control, Pushing off the wall, I stepped towards the glass door, peering through it. Seeing the empty shop, I strode across the street over to our neighbors, the Bookworm Bistro, hoping Astrid would be there.

Whenever business was slow, we would hang out here with Naiomi and Kyle, the twin teleporters and co-owners. Thanks to the detection charm Astrid had put on our building, we safely leave our shop unattended.

The bell jingled as I opened the door, the familiar sound comforting, and a group by the bookshelves looked over.

"Hey Riley! How'd the hunt go?" Naiomi greeted me with a cheerful expression as I approached the trio, only for it to fade to sympathy when she took a closer look.

"Not too good then." Astid said with a frown, she could tell something was up.

I nodded.

"Want some coffee?" Kyle offered.

"Sure," Kyle stood up and walked behind the counter, fixing up my usual mocha. Hopefully it would keep me awake for a few more hours.

I felt like a truck had run over me. The half of my potion I drank might have stopped the demon's lights from killing me, but it didn't completely stop the delayed effects.

"What happened?" Naiomi questioned, her eyes scanning me over. "You seem more tired than how you normally are after a hunt."

"The demon was just really strong, so it took awhile for me to take him down. It was worth it though. He won't be eating anyone for a while." I smiled. Naiomi seemed to buy it, but wanted to ask more questions. She loved hearing my stories of my hunts, but before she could ask any further, the door opened, sending in a gust of wind through the Bistro, and a group of women in their 30s sauntered in.

As she rose, Naiomi shot me a look that said, "tell me everything later" and then she was behind the counter, taking their orders.

"You ok?" Astrid asked quietly as Kyle brought my drink over.

"Thanks," I flashed a grateful smile at Kyle as he placed down my steaming hot mocha before he went back behind the counter with his sister.

"Rest up, you look tired" I nodded and he left to whip up some pastries. 

I took a sip, enjoying the chocolatey flavor Bookworm Bistro was known for.

"Naiomi's right you know, you don't look so good." I glanced down at my ripped, blood stained shirt and black pants that were coated in dust and splinters from earlier. I pulled my braid in front of my eyes only to see the dark brown strands almost completely caked in dust and bits of tree. I sniffed my hair and winced, my hair smelled like smoke.

"Eugh, gross" I threw my braid behind my shoulder and sneezed.

"I didn't mean that. You're fidgeting less than usual and you look worried. Did something happen with the demon?" I sighed, It was impossible to hide something from her.

"The demon," I glanced around while taking a sip of my drink. When I confirmed that no one was within earshot, I continued. "Knew my name, my real name. And he called me the last half blood."

Astrid's worried expression vanished and her eyes hardened.

"He knew your name?"

I nodded, wringing my fingers. Astrid stood up and strode over to where Kyle was blending some ingredients behind the counter.

She leaned in and whispered something into his ear and he nodded. Turning around, she waved to Naiomi and walked back to me.

"Come on, I told Kyle I was going to help you with a potion." I nodded and stood up, picking up my latte and waving to the twins.

As we climbed up the stairs next to the bistro leading up to our apartments, I spoke.

"What's a half blood?" I asked, hoping she might know.

"I don't know, Naiomi might know," I sighed. I would have to search for answers about half-bloods the hard way. I didn't want anyone who didn't need to be involved, involved.

We stayed silent until my apartment door was shut safely behind us. 

My apartment was small, only 3 rooms, a bathroom, bedroom and a kitchen/dining/living room combo with thin walls.

We lived in the apartments above the shop like most of the store owners on the street. The buildings on Alpine Way, named after the Alpine tree that used to loom over the town, were only 3 stories high. C & P was on the bottom floor. Astrid's apartment was below mine on the second floor. 

Astrid plopped down at the dining table as I marched past the bathroom to my small bedroom.

"We can figure out what a half blood is later. We need to know how the demon knew your name and who sent him."

"I've been thinking about it ever since I got back. The Council doesn't use demons and I can't think of a reason why a demon would know my name. Maybe he knew my name from when everyone was hunting us for our bounty, but then how would he know I am Jacklyn Winters. We have our Masking and Concealment charms!" Pushing the door to my room open, I strode across my small bedroom to the wardrobe and started digging through it, searching for another leather jacket and shirt. The ones I were wearing now were ruined. My pants were fine, though dusty, but it would come off in the wash.

"And why aren't there any demons searching for me? Honestly, I feel left out." She joked, from the living room. 

You would stand a better chance than me

"Something probably happened with my protection charms, maybe the magic got cut off or something. I killed the demon and there weren't any others. Whoever sent him probably thinks the demon was killed by a regular bounty hunter, so we should be fine." I reasoned, switching my ruined shirt for a Ravenclaw t-shirt.

"Still, we should prepare to leave at any time."

I sighed.

"Yeah. Just in case." 

OoOoO

I still have to write a few more chapters until the Meeting Derek chapter matches with the plot, sorry! 

Alaska is the only state whose name is on one row on a keyboard! 

~Nick