Faults

Chapter 31: Archie

Eight days have passed since we spoke with Klaus, Aster, and Trey. The reason we told Klaus we would see him again in two weeks is because we wanted time to scope out any other people that may be useful to us, as well as time to find Christian and Taylor's hideout.

So far, we haven't even started on finding that.

And, unfortunately for us and the Kingdom, nobody seems to be very helpful. Other than the four people we've found so far, we're pretty much alone in this. We still need to talk to them about the plan and what their roles will be.

Aydin and I are lying on his bed in silence, just enjoying each other's company when someone knocks on the door. "Any idea who that could be?"

"Not a clue. It's pretty late now," he responds, glancing at the clock. With a groan, he gets up and walks to the door. "I'll be right back."

"Alright," I say, my voice clouded with tiredness.

I hear the door open and Aydin yelps, following it up with yelling for me. "Archie!"

Something hits the floor with a heavy thud. I rush out of the bedroom and find Christian and Taylor standing over Aydin. As of four months ago, I regained my ability since I lost it while fighting Christian five months ago. I wave my hand, sending both Taylor and Christian crashing into the wall behind them. Unlike Christian, I'm able to develop my ability without using external magic.

Quickly, I pull Aydin to his feet and to my surprise, something hot hits me in the stomach. "What–?"

Taylor is laughing. Damn, he's gotten stronger. That, or he's using black magic now, too. I wave my hand, opening the door. "Get the fuck out," I growl, trying to pat down the fire on my shirt.

"We're not leaving just like that," Christian says.

My head is struck with a terrible headache, worse than any other I've experienced before, making me stumble backwards. Aydin glares at Christian and instantaneously, Christian punches Taylor in the gut. Aydin lets out a laugh as he steps over to me. He's gotten a lot faster since he regained his ability as well. I dare say that we're better than we were before we lost our abilities.

"What the fuck, Christian?" Taylor hisses.

"It was your goddamn brother," Christian returns.

Taylor turns to Aydin and lunges for him but Taylor is stopped in his tracks. "Dear brother, you're not the only one who's gotten much more powerful over these last few months," Aydin says with a smile. It's good to see him not standing down to Taylor anymore.

Christian snaps his fingers and Aydin yelps before falling backwards. What the hell was that? I bring a hand to my forehead, my head still pounding. I wave my free hand, throwing Christian out of the still- open door. "You two aren't very smart," I scoff.

Taylor lights a flame in his hand and launches it at me. I dodge it in time and the small ball of fire lands on the floor, burning the wood. I stomp on it to put it out and Taylor steps toward me, ready to throw a punch. Holding out two fingers, he's pushed backwards by my magical force. "Damn you," he grumbles.

He throws another bit of fire at me and this time, it lands on my thigh, spreading quickly. I pat it down once again, but it still manages to burn my leg. "God damnit," I mutter as I send Taylor out the door with a flick of my wrist. "Get out of here already."

Christian sits up–as he was lying on the grass, briefly unconscious. "Don't even try, Christian. I'll throw you all the way back to whatever hole you crawled out of if I need to," I say, standing in the doorway with my arms crossed.

"That won't be necessary. We'll be going now. Just know, we plan to be back rather soon," Christian says, his eyes gleaming in the moonlight.

I slam the door and lock it. They obviously came here with the intent to kill Aydin. They didn't seem nearly as aggressive towards me, which surprises me. I rush to where Aydin is lying on the floor. He's breathing but it's slow and labored. He's out cold.

"Aydin," I say, shaking him.

He doesn't stir. Shit, he's definitely going to be out for a while. I pick him up and carry him back to the bedroom. I set him down on the bed and take a seat next to him. I'll be damned if I don't stay here until he wakes up.

※ ※ ※

Aydin finally wakes up the next morning, wondering what happened and how I managed to get Christian and Taylor out of the house. I tell him everything from how Christian snapped his fingers to how easy it was to get them to leave. We discuss Christian's possible natural magic development as well as his use of black magic, and how snapping his fingers might be a new type of stun attack.

"We need to get Exitium back from them," Aydin says.

"I know. With their advancements in magic, that's on the top of our to-do list," I agree.

Aydin nods. "In addition to their shady magic, something is definitely suspicious about how easily they gave up the fight."

"They're planning something, but the question is, what?" I say.

Aydin shrugs. "I think we'll find out in due time."

"Unfortunately. Christian needs to be stopped as soon as possible. We've got to talk to Klaus right now, as well as Aster and Trey if we're lucky," I say, my voice assertive.

"At nine in the morning?"

I slide off of the bed. "Time is of the essence."

We run over to Klaus' house and knock on the door. A gentleman that looks to be in his sixties with stark white hair matching Klaus' and Aster's answers the door. "Hello, sorry to bother you so early. You must be Mr. Murray," I say. "Are your sons home?"

"Oh my, good morning to you, Your Highness. They're home, but most likely asleep. May I ask what your business with them here this early is?" he asks.

"I'm afraid that's classified, but it concerns your sons. I'm quite sure the information will be released eventually, but we really must speak to them right this instant," I press. "It's urgent."

He runs a hand down his face, looking rather distressed. "I'm extremely confused, but I'm not sure I have the authority to deny you access into my home."

"I'm not sure what the laws are pertaining to this situation, but I do know that this is a serious matter," I say. "Would you please let us in?"

Mr. Murray lets out an exasperated sigh. "I suppose it's no different than letting Trey come over this early. Come in. Their rooms are at the end of the hallway, to the right."

"Thank you so much, sir," I say as Aydin and I step into the house.

We walk to the end of the hallway and knock on the two doors at the end. "Aster?" I say.

"Klaus?" Aydin calls.

Neither of them respond, but to our luck, the doors are unlocked. I walk into Aster's room as Aydin walks into Klaus'. I shake Aster awake and his eyes cloud with fear when he sees me standing over him. "Archie, what the hell are you doing here?"

"We need to explain something to you and Klaus. Then we need to get Trey and Dakota," I explain hurriedly.

"Who even is Dakota?" Aster asks, rubbing his eyes.

I grab his arm and drag him out of his bed. "No time to explain that right now, we need to go."