The Frosted Files:Open Eyes

//Chapter 5\\

    As we walked, I figured out how to turn the magical shield off. It was pretty much the same as starting it up, just in the opposite direction - willing it away, to disappear and be tucked back into wherever it came from.
    Unfortunately, I didn't get any return of energy, no lifting of weariness off my shoulders. This magic stuff is a scam. However, I did get to walk around without a large glowing disk by my side, so that's good for not drawing attention to myself and the wizard walking on air beside me.
    After the plant beast had been "freed of it's curse", as Adrian put it, it began to dissolve into a clear gelatin-like substance. Adrian called it ectoplasm, like from The Ghostbusters. After the thing dissolved, we collected my purchased goods and decided to go back to my home, The Compound.
    Well, I decided to go home. He decided to follow.
    The Walmart I had been attacked at was only a few city blocks from The Compound, so I walked home, leaving the police cruiser behind. Hopefully Fellows wouldn't get given too much hell for that - it's not like he could do anything about it, of course. Adrian didn't seem to mind walking, either.
    "So, why exactly have you helped me? And don't say 'a future investment' again, because wizard or not, I'll shove my revolver barrel up your ass and let loose."
    Adrian chuckled at that, and I swear he walked a little higher in the air.
    "That's pretty much it, actually."
    "Oh, bullshit."
    "Then go ahead and try me, Frost. Give it your very best shot, a full bodied sucker punch to the face. Go on," he spread his arms and smiled, staring at me expectantly.
    I was about to let my nanotech spread out along my body out of frustration, but Adrian spoke again.
    "And after that, I'll give it back sevenfold."
    Sevenfold. That sounded like hell, considering my best hit, so I decided to attack with sarcasm instead.
    "What are you, a bible? Did the man upstairs send you to deal with my damned soul?"
    The sunlight of the afternoon sun seemed to flare up a little brighter, and the wizard said nothing. That in and of itself was off putting, to say the least. This guy scared me.
    We got to The Compound after a few minutes, the large building looking like a modern take on a castle - high walls with stone and wood detailing in dark colors, tall windows in various shades of rose, black, and white. The black wrought iron gates and fencing held various detailed snowflakes through the metalwork, and opened automatically upon us arriving - there were cameras at every stone interval of the fence, and the intervals came every ten feet.
    The front yard was relatively small - The Compound wasn't quite on the outskirts of town, but it wasn't in the middle either, where buildings had to be taller than they were wide.
    I opened the door, and held it open for my guest.
    He didn't go in.
    "Are you coming?"
    "Invite me in."
    I blinked. "What?"
    "Invite me in," he said, again.
    "Why?"
    "Guest rights, Frost. To enter without explicit permission of someone who lives in a home would be forfeiting guest rights, and therefore a large chunk of my power. I assume you and your loved ones will have questions, so I ask again: invite me in."
     Guest rights, huh?
    "Does this rule apply to everything magical?"
    "Most beings, yes."
    "Good to know. Alright, Adrian so'Wyllt, I invite you into my home as my guest."
    He finally went in, exhaling a small breath he had been holding.
    The jingle of Apollo's voice came from down the hall, where the kitchens sat.
    "Fate! You had a package come in today, I set it on the front table!"
    I heard the crash of some metal bowl fall, followed by a string of curse words that would come from a pirate's daycare teacher.
    Looking to the little table in the entryway, I noticed a package roughly book sized tucked between two potted plants. I grabbed it and made my way towards the kitchen, and Adrian followed behind me.
    Apollo stood at a counter, flour smudged on his face and in his sunshine hair. He had a whisk, a basic manual wire whisk, in hand, and was whipping away at some kind of batter. We cooked together sometimes, and I still couldn't see why he preferred manual tools over the high end automatic ones we owned.
    Well, I guess I could. The revolver in my pocket sat heavy, the well worn and relatively ancient metal calming me just by being nearby. It was my oldest possession, next to my brother's ring on the coord around my neck. Sure, I could use one of the newer models that my coworkers used - but it just wasn't mine.
    Setting the package on a table, I pulled a chair out for Adrian and went over to Apollo, kissing his forehead and wiping a bit of flour off his cheek.
    "Messy as always, Sunshine," I said with a smile, holding up my now flour coated fingers.
    He looked up to me and smiled, eyes full of light and love.
    "Well, duh, this cake isn't gonna bake itself. You got the frosting, right?"
    I set the bag on the counter beside the bowl, smiling wider.
    "Hm, what icing? What's icing? Was I supposed to get icing?" As I said this, I got the can out and opened it, licking the pulled-off seal.
    Apollo scrunched his nose up in a scowl, but kept his smile on, then looked over to Adrian.
    "Welcome! You're free to stay for dinner, if you want," he said with the absolute brightest smile I've seen on a human in a while.
    Adrian smiled and did not reply verbally, but nodded.
    As Apollo went back to his craft, I walked over to sit next to Adrian, my eyes lingering on the Apollo a bit longer before I sat down.
    When I looked away and to Adrian, however, his face was a mask.
    Like, literally. He had a mask on. I have no idea where it came from, but it was one of those black half-masks comic book superheros wear.
    "Don't ask about the mask."
    "Okay then. Why did you follow me home?"
    Adrian nodded towards the package that sat in front of me.
    "Alright then, I guess I'll open it. It's not a bomb or anything, is it?"
    He shook his head.
    I nodded and began to unwrap the package, revealing a lift-lid box, which I opened, too.
    Inside sat a revolver.
    It was the same make and model as mine, and had a similar paint job on the grip, only this one was chipped with miscare.
    Apollo had painted my gun in college. He had also painted the gun of a friend - the man whose goon had tried to kill me, Locke Flintwood. This was his gun.
    This was his gun.
    Oh, gods. That's not good.
    Locke carried it everywhere, much like I did with mine. For him to not have his gun meant that either something has happened to him, or he is declaring war on Frost Incorporated.
    Both options were scary, for their own reasons. If something had happened to Locke, then someone else may have taken his place as the leader of the Bolts. That may cause unrest in their territory, due to new gang related systems arising.
    Alternatively, if he was just declaring war on us, it meant he had something planned, which meant he was a step ahead of me. I didn't like that very much.
    I leaned back in my chair, running a hand through my hair before leaning my elbows on the table.
    "You said I'm a future investment, aye?" I asked Adrian. He nodded.
    "Then what's this mean?"
    He didn't respond.
    "You could at least speak. Maybe counter my godly sarcasm with some quick witted remark."
    Again, he did not respond.
    I sighed and rested my forehead in my hands, elbows still on the table.
    If this kid really could see the future, he likely didn't want to say anything for whatever reason. While it was annoying, I understood, kinda. I mean, I've seen The Matrix before, so I figured it was something along those lines.
    "Pretty much."
    He hadn't talked in a while, so it really surprised me when his voice sounded so hoarse.
    "Do you want some water or something? We have soda, if you'd prefer that."
    He swallowed, and shook his head. "It's not that. Don't worry, I just feel something concerning nearby. Probably nothing, or not here. What's for dinner?"
    I groaned inside when he asked that, as it meant he actually intended to stay for dinner.
    Apollo perked up from his cake batter mixing. "Roast beef with veggies and mashed potatoes. They're my gran's recipe."
    You know when you send a 'lesser than' sign next to a three in a text message to make a heart? That's how Apollo's voice sounded, like an emoticon heart.
    I turned back to Adrian.
    "Answer me one question, or you can leave without food."
    It looked like he was debating whether he should get up or not, but he nodded.
    I leaned forward, and tried to catch his eyes. He kept eye contact brief, and I remembered what happened earlier between me and the chloro-fiend.
    I didn't want to do anything magic related, not in a direct sense, at least, so I took out the chain bound rings.
    "You mentioned before how this had belonged to someone else. Who did it belong to? And don't just give me a name, tell me what they do."
    Adrian closed his eyes for a second and sighed before opening them again. "They used to belong to Alex Animo, the Champion of Summer."
    I had no idea what that meant, what that title meant, but the way he said it made it sound like a very big deal.
    Flipping on my glasses, I did a quick name search of this Champion of Summer, which came up empty.
    "And is that a birth name?"
    Adrian shook his head. "No more questions, not here or now."
    I rubbed the bridge of my nose, but nodded. "Alright, alright. No more questions. For now."
    I stood up to grab a drink, and the ceiling fan cut out.
    Cursing, I tapped the earpiece built into my glasses.
    Adrian looked up. "Ah, sorry. Magic can mess with things, sometimes."
    A second later, a buzz came through the tiny speaker. "Whatcha need, boss?"
    "Hey Tony, could you come up and take a look at the kitchen's ceiling fan?"
    "Right on it."
    I swung open the fridge door and grabbed a few bottles of some local microbrew, setting them on the table. Adrian didn't touch his, so I shrugged and popped the cap off mine and downed a drink.
    Tony came in with his toolbox in hand, and stepped towards the table. Adrian, who had been looking around at the kitchen, saw Tony and let out a little yelp, his knees hitting the underside of the table. Tony didn't notice, but I did.
    "What, don't like mechanics or something, oh powerful wizard?"
    Adrian looked between me and Tony again, who had pulled a step ladder from beside the fridge that was usually reserved for Apollo and the top shelf. "Or something."
    Right. Avoidance. So, the wizard was afraid of me and my italian mechanic.
    "Not you, Frost. Just-" he nodded to Tony, who was now atop the step ladder, looking at the fan, and standing but a few yards away.
    He seemed uncomfortable still, and I needed information still.
    "Tony."
    "Yes, boss?" He asked, looking down at me. He wiped his brow, leaving a grease smudge over his eye.
    "Go ahead and go back down to your quarters, I've been meaning to replace that old fan anyway."
    "Alright, boss. See you tomorrow."
    "Thank you, Tony."
    He got off the step ladder and set it back beside the fridge, taking his toolbox back out and away from the very nervous wizard, who visibly calmed when the mechanic left.
    As I was taking another drink, trying to think of how I could get information out of Adrian, Apollo came over with a plate of various fruits, setting it down between me and the wizard.
    "Oh, grapes, my favorite," Adrian said, grabbing a bunch and biting one off the stem. He looked like a greek god when he did it, too.
    Personally, I didn't care much for fruits and vegetables, other than what came on a burger at fast food chains.
    "Fate, love, have some fruit. Strawberries?" Apollo picked one up and popped it in his mouth, looking at me expectantly.
    I groaned, and picked up an uncut lemon.
    "You can't live off of Burger King and alcohol, Fate." He sat in the chair next to me, and took my hand, looking me in the eyes. "Please?"
    Something about the situation triggered something else, something from the same place the shield came from. I felt myself start to fall into his eyes, the same way I had fallen into the chloro-fiend's, and I quickly looked away. Adrian was looking between us, his own eyes wide.
    I set the lemon down and grabbed a strawberry, taking a bite, and pulled my hand away from Apollo's.
    "Frost? Could we discuss some business deal in the other room?" Adrian asked, rising and walking into the next room over, one of our living rooms.
    I watched him leave, then turned back to Apollo, and grabbed a few more strawberries.
    "They're not too bad, I guess. I'll be right back, sunshine." I rose, kissing his golden locks, and followed Adrian. Apollo made a small huff as I left, but stayed behind.
    As I came into the living room, Adrian slammed a throw pillow into my gut, which I caught. "What was that?"
    I threw the pillow back onto the couch. "What was what?"
    "That- that thing you call 'Tony', with the toolbox!"
    The wizard was speaking nonsense now, it seemed.
    "Wha- Tony is my friend, Adrian. He has lived here for many years-"
    "He's lived here for years? And you're only just now getting into the supernatural world? How in the hell has a Forte been here this long without you-"
    "A fucking what?"
    "Oh my gods, Frost, do you not know basic latin? Hoc excors morietur stultus mortem, quomodo ille non mortuus?"
    He was pacing now, back and forth in the air, running a hand through his white hair over and over.
    "Why is this such a big deal? Sit down, for Chri-"
    "Do not incite that warlock-wannabe-wizard's bloody name!"
    His voice came out in a yell at that last bit, and he looked the most provoked I had ever seen him in the short time since I met the air-walking wizard.
    The click of gunmetal sounded in the silence that followed his short outburst.
    "Outside. Now." A deep voice said, laced with a thick russian accent. I turned and saw the doorway filled with a man who stood a head taller than me, dark clothes casting shadows into the room. He held a large semi-automatic rifle, one made by my very own company, and had it pointed at Adrian.
    "Ah, Vlad, nice to see you buddy. Me and this wizard here were having a little chat."
    The russian didn't budge, but motioned towards the patio door with the rifle. "Outside. No fight inside, house rule."
    I started to protest again, but Adrian held up his hands in an 'I surrender' gesture. "It's okay, this is my bad, I was a bad guest. Let's go, Frost," he said, walking out the door. I rolled my eyes and followed, and Vlad followed after me.
    Before I could get fully out, however, I heard a familiar subsonic growl.
    A moment later, another joined it.
    Then another.
    The hedges that surrounded this little patio space began to writhe, and I quickly counted twelve sets of bloody red, rage filled eyes.