The Stronghold 2: Immortals

Tea Or Coffee?

Trinda banned us from going up to work the next day so Brian and I sat downstairs discussing how best to approach the murdering-alien-creatures situation with Velena following along in her head. I was quite pleased at how the symbols had turned out but part of me was still trying to puzzle out why I'd given Brian a wolf and a moon. Sure, it looked awesome and could pass as an actual tattoo, but I wanted to know why that design specifically. I wasn't giving myself any answers and so I concentrated on the potentially deathly threat that was facing us. Loki hadn't visited again while I slept on the sofa so I was stumped.

"Seeing as we've been given the day off work, why don't we go out?" I suggested at last. "Blade mentioned something about a coffee shop and I still have to explain to my friends. My phone has been going haywire but I've been ignoring them."

"You really need to talk to them before a search party is organised," Brian said. "I'll show you the way." He stood up and I pulled his jacket off the hook using shadows, handing it to him without even sitting up. 

"You do actually need to come along," he said. "It's about a twenty minute walk from here."

"I still need to phone my friend," I pointed out. 

"It's only a ten minute drive by car."

"She's at the opposite side of the city!"

"The good thing about the coffee shop," Brian said slowly, "is that it is a ten minute drive from anywhere in the city. Trust me. I calculated it."

"Oh, well if it involves maths," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Math," Brian corrected.

"Maths," I frowned.

"Math," he insisted.

"Maths," I said, standing up.

"Math," he said, taking a step forwards so we were about two inches apart.

"Maths!" I pressed.

"Math!" he snapped.

"Maths!" I yelled.

"Math!" he shouted.

"Mathe-bleeding-matics then!" I cried, giving up. "Let's just go."

*

As we walked I phoned the person I had decided would be best to talk to; Emmi. If we were dealing with creatures and she decided to help, as I was hoping, then her animals would be best to fight them if it came to it.

On the first ring the phone was answered. "Shaade, where the hell did you go?"

"I got attacked then semi-kidnapped," I replied. 

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine."

"So why are you phoning me?"

"I need you to go somewhere," I said. "Pridian Coffee Shop. It's apparently a ten minute drive away from the Stronghold, according to Junior here."

"Junior? Who's that?"

"An American codebreaker."

"What?!"

"I'll explain everything at the coffee shop. Be there and sit outside. Ciao." I hung up and put my phone away, speeding up to catch Brian. He walked surprisingly fast and I couldn't risk losing him; he knew where we were going, I did not.

"So who did you call?" Brian asked as I paced alongside him.

"Emmi."

"Pokemon girl?"