Riley's Box

Part 70

Jason nodded in understanding. 

"And what's our job?" he asked me. 

It only took me a moment, to figure out an answer for that question. 

"To distract the shadow spirits enough for them to not kill my friends," I said. "I won't let them hurt you." 

"Likewise," Jason said. 

I might not have been able to take down an entire shadow spirit army, but I didn't have to. 

There was only one left, and I would do everything that I could to ensure the Sins had the best chance of defeating it. 

"I respect the whole magic thing. It's totally awesome, but it's also kind of scary," Jason admitted. 

I felt my mouth twitch. 

"Yeah. I know. I used to wish that magic was real but now that I know it is...it's not quite so appealing anymore. It can be really dangerous, Jase," I said. 

Jason murmured in agreement. 

A silence fell between the two of us for a couple of moments, as we allowed ourselves to grow at peace with the quiet. 

Avidicci's voice soon broke that silence. 

"Magic can be scary, indeed, but it isn't quite so intimidating when you are strong enough to use it, and for the right reasons," he said. 

Jason and I both turned to him. 

"It is something that requires great wisdom. Without wisdom, one may feel tempted to use magic for the wrong things- for their own personal gain, for torment or destruction," he continued. "I'd like to think that the smartest magical beings are those that use their powers for good. That's exactly why myself and the other Sins have to be brave and stand up against the shadow spirits, so that we can use our powers for the good of humanity." 

After he had said that, Avidicci's mouth curved into a kind smile. 

"How are the two of you doing?" he asked. 

"We're ready," Jason said, squeezing my hand in his. 

"Always," I replied, squeezing his hand back. 

Avidicci gave a nod of his head. 

"I hope the both of you know that I care far too much about you to let anything bad happen to you," he said. "And as the leader of the Sins, it is my duty to ensure that we succeed on our task." 

"Which we will," Invidia said then, as she placed her book down on the bedside table and stood up. She met Avidicci's gaze with a friendly smile. "Of course, we will. If I'm being honest, we're more than ready for all of this," she said. "Besides, I have my saving the world outfit all planned out, now, so we have to be successful." 

I released a soft chuckle, and Invidia turned to me with a raised eyebrow. 

"I believe you, Invidia. I know that we can do this!" I said. 

Otius yawned, in the cutest of ways, as he entered the room. 

He glanced around at us all with a sweet smile upon his face. 

"How's everyone doing?" he asked, stretching his arms out a little. 

"We're good. Having a pep talk," I said. 

"A pep talk?" Invidia asked me. 

Jason nodded in answer. "Yeah! A pep talk is a talk intended to make you feel braver and more ready to do something." 

Invidia considered it for a moment, and slowly a small smile made its way onto her face. 

"Pep talk. Huh. I like it," she said. 

"I want to help my friends!" Otius said. "We can do this! I'm not leaving your side, Riley. I know I haven't known you very long but you're already very important to me." 

I felt myself smile at Otius' loyalty. 

So, I knew that we were ready. That meant that it was time for us all to make a little trip to track down the final shadow spirit. 

"Alright, everyone. Listen up. I have a plan." 

~*~**~*~

A few moments later, the Sins, Jason and I had left my house. 

I had told my parents that we were just going to hang out with some friends, but I had a feeling my father probably had caught onto what we were actually doing. He might not have known exactly, but he knew enough about the Sins by now to probably suspect that this involved them. 

We had only been walking for a little while, before I noticed that the man and his dog were heading in our direction. 

"Sir! You need to stop," I said. 

I felt Jason's hand on my shoulder. 

"Riley- what?" he asked. 

In response to that, I simply gave a nod of my head in the direction of the dog. 

"Oh," Jason said. 

"What's going on?" the old man asked. 

"Sir, that's not a dog," I said. 

"What do you mean it's not a dog? How could you say that about Tiffany? It's clear as day that she is a dog," he said. 

"No-" Jason went to say, but before he could finish his statement, the dog transformed into a female shadow spirit right in front of our eyes. 

The man stumbled backwards, with eyes round with horror. 

"Okay," he said, managing to find his voice despite his fear. "So, maybe you were right." 

"Sir, run!" I yelled. 

The old man didn't waste any time, in scampering away, as quickly as his legs could carry him. 

The shadow spirit sneered, as she looked around at us all. 

"What a shame, you've found me out," she said. 

"Stay where you are, Shadow," Avidicci said. 

She rolled her eyes. 

"I don't have a name, but if I was going to pick a name, it most definitely would not be 'Shadow'," she said, speaking with air quotations for the last part of her sentence. 

The shadow spirit soon seemed to work out what we were there for and so took a shaky step backwards, before running off down the street. 

We advanced quickly, as we followed behind her. 

After a few moments of running through the bitter breeze to catch up to her, we managed to cut her off at a dead-ended alley.