Balance of Light

Stage One of the Plan

"We were looking at it all wrong," Nyxium explained. "We were looking at how to get rid of Karine, but we don't need to get rid of her, at least in that sense."

"So what do you suggest?" Richard asked impatiently.

"We get them to divorce!" Nyxium yelled excitedly. "If she's not around, she won't be able to whisper to him and the spell will fade!"

"You're a genius!" Lithium squealed, just as pumped up as his friend. "I mean, Richard told us that no one really approved of the marriage at the rink, right?"

"Right!" Richard agreed, eager to hear the plan.

"What if there's a little trouble in paradise, if you know what I mean," Lithium winked, and Nyxium nodded in agreement.

"Give me a second," He said, pacing. The room was dead silent as he muttered to himself, deep in thought. It was a full five minutes of tension before anything was spoken.

"Got it!" He snapped his fingers. "And be warned, my plan involves a second wedding, fake identities, and a little party crashing."

As Nyxium explained his plan in full depth, occasionally interrupted by someone piping up to give their own addition to the brilliant scheme, someone else was also bathing in the brilliance of their own strategy.

Karine grinned widely to herself, and although to outsiders the grin could've been aimed at the show, it was so full of malice that no one dared to meet her eye.

To her, the idea of World War Three seemed like a nice idea. In fact, it may of been what she was planning. The first two World Wars had been some of her proudest moments, and when peace finally took back control, she was ruined.

Thanks to those two upstarts. She scoffed mentally, thinking about Nyxium and Lithium. She couldn't believe that Richard, one of a million people, happened to meet the primordial duo.

Anger rose in her as she thought of her and Nyxium hanging out together, and her claw-like fingernails dug into the arms rests. Being one of the most prestigious opera houses, the seats were made of rich velvet. However, nobody was willing to approach her to ask her to stop damaging property.

She thought back to her private conversation with Nyxium in the roller rink earlier, a conversation she could barely even believe he agreed to have. Just thinking about it filled her with boiling rage and another feeling she wasn't as familiar with.

That arrogant prick. She thought bitterly. But she became her own version of happy when she brought her thoughts back to her plan.

She had Jonathan wrapped around her finger, and he would do anything she suggested. Richard wouldn't be much of a problem, considering she was a minor who didn't know anything besides the mortal aspects of the world, and she wasn't even worth the whispering.

If anything, Karine would just toss her to the nearest boarding school and forget her existence. The only reason she was still around was because it was funny watching her trying to get her father back on her side. She was half tempted to tell Richard that her father was no longer in possession of his own free will, but this little game was so much more fun.

Karine laughed along with the other audience members, but while they laughed at the humorous comedy playing in front of them, Karine laughed at the prospect of what she had planned. And if anyone else knew what she was planning, they wouldn't be laughing.

The plan that Nyxium had devised was very grand, and would have to start immediately. It was Richard who would initiate the stage one, and all she had to do was make a few phone calls.

Nyxium had drilled her on the best physiological phrasings, and almost every conversation went a little like this:

Richard: Yeah, I just feel like Karine and dad didn't plan too well. They should've waited longer.

Person: Yes, I agree.

Richard: But now they've been married for a while, and I feel like they should have an actual wedding. The 'official' wedding felt rushed.

Person: ...I'll have to bring that up.

Richard and Nyxium's combined skill made it easy to convince a wide range of family members to talk to Jonathan, even though they thought Richard called for purely conversation purposes. That was the easy part, and now they had to wait.

"Here's my phone number," Richard said, scribbling it down a scrap of paper. "I'll call you when dad mentions anything. Are you sure he'll do it?"

"Family pressure always wins," Lithium reassured. "Especially if you support the idea. Remember, you know nothing."

"Hey, I may not be the best in school, but I know some things!" She defended. Lithium laughed, and Nyxium slapped his forehead. "Ohhh... sorry, small misunderstanding. Yeah, I know nothing."

"We're screwed," Nyxium groaned. Lithium grinned.

"Stop being so negative!" He chided. "Look on the bright side! If all of humanity dies, you won't have to deal with her."

"Hey!" Richard shouted defensively. Fleur's laughter was audible through the open doors leading to the porch. She almost fainted when she saw the poor state of the flowers and immediately took to tending them.

"Before you guys leave, let me get you a snack or something," Richard offered. "Rich people have an abundance of food."

"If you insist," Lithium pretended to be disappointed, but when Richard offered him a piece of cake, his eyes lit up like the North Star.

"Thash shmoo," He mumbled through a mouth of red velvet cake.

"So, do you guys always look like teenagers?" She asked.

"No," Nyxium replied, deciding to explain since Lithium was otherwise occupied. "It's kind of complicated, but we can make ourselves look any age. However, we can't make ourselves look like other people, if that makes sense."

"It kind of does," Richard shrugged.

"Demons can change their appearance," Lithium volunteered as he licked the icing off his plate.

"Oh," Richard replied, lost in thought. "Anything else you guys can do?"

"This," Nyxium smirked, shifting into his favorite form of a black hawk and flying out of the balcony. Fleur smiled and waved as he headed out into the city, probably to practice skating so he wouldn't be useless next time.

"Does he do that a lot?" Richard asked, shocked.

"Yep," Lithium nodded. "Got any more cake?"