Centum Malediction

Chapter 6-7

Wednesday, September 29th. 2010

Michael and his sister Abigail sat in the back seat of the car as their dad drove them home. Normally Michael would sit in the front seat with his father but Abigail had seen a lot she shouldn't have. She was understandably terrified. Even Michael was revolted at some of the things he saw. Their dad was silent as he drove. Whenever he was quiet, it meant he was angry. There was still so much to explain, and the fact that Michael refused to tell him anything at the hospital wasn't helping the situation.

By the time they made it back to the house Michael could practically see the steam erupting from his ears. The moment the front door was closed dad couldn't wait any longer.

"Tell me what happened now!" He yelled staring directly at Michael. Abigail held on to Michael's shirt for support as she stood next to him. She was always afraid whenever dad was this mad.

"Okay, let me explain." Michael began. He didn't even know what he was supposed to say. He had been missing for an entire day and brought Abigail with him. The house was still completely trashed from when Fiona's men raided it. "Men invaded the house, they were after me. I took Abigail and we ran to Chelsea's house."

"What kind of men?" His father didn't seem to believe him for a moment.

"They were with Hyakume industries and came after Michael cause he's a mage." Abigail blurted out. "But it's okay now, I think."

"What?" Their father gave Abigail a confused look.

"Hyakume industries is a company that researches the supernatural and try to protect the world from demons and stuff. Ever since I broke the seal at the museum I've been battling the spells with some friends." Michael didn't know what he was saying anymore. He knew there was no way his father would believe them. A demonstration was in order.

"Enough of your lies!" Dad yelled. "Though I have to give you points for creativity." He added on in a much calmer voice.

"Drakin." Michael held his hand out with his palm open. A small ball of fire ignited in his hand. Their father leapt backwards at the sudden ignition.

"How did you do that?" He asked.

"Magic!" Abigail replied desperately.

"So, you've been learning magic tricks then?" Dad's anger was almost completely replaced by sheer confusion now.

"No, real magic." Abgail shook her head.

"It's true." Michael explained. "You see when we took a field trip to the museum I accidentally disturbed an ancient power and unleashed a torrent of magic on to the city. Since then I've been working hard to clean my mess up."

"What does that have to do with the men that broke into the house?" Dad still didn't seem to believe them.

"They were part of a corporation called Hyakume industries that deals with the supernatural. Let's just say there was some major corruption and due to that corruption they had sent a squad of men to kill me." Michael explained.

"That's why we had to run." Abigail replied. "It's where we've been all day. I didn't know about most of this until today even though I have some magic too." With that Abigail cast her Jinshu spell lifting a spoon from the ground near the table in the living room to her hand.

"You got Abigail involved in this mess?" Dad gave Michael a glare.

"No, I got myself involved." Abigail countered happily.

"I would never do anything that could hurt Abigail you know that." Michael quickly added on. Abigail was surprised at Michael's caring proclamation.

"Okay, so these men are still after you then I take it?" Dad asked. "Cause I've been worried sick about you two all day."

"No, I was able to talk with Fiona. She's with them. It was a  misunderstanding that's been taking care of. We're all going to work together now." Michael explained. He greatly downplayed the part about the guns and the fighting. His father didn't need to know every detail.

"So this explains all your bizarre behavior recently then?" Dad said mostly to himself. He took a seat on the couch and placed his face in his hands thinking. "I don't know what to do about this. I mean magic, supernatural stuff, sounds like something from a kids book." He admitted.

"I'm sorry to worry you." Michael sat down next to his dad. Abigail took the only empty cushion on the end of the couch. "I'm taking care of it now. With any luck this could all be over by tomorrow."

"I suppose I can't really stop you from going back out there." Dad relented. "Just take care of yourself."

"Don't worry, I'll help him!" Abigail stated loudly.

"No!" Both Michael and his father yelled quickly.

"I can't put you in any more danger Abigail. You can come to the meeting after school tomorrow, but that's it." Michael quickly added on.

"What meeting is this?" Dad asked.

"Tomorrow everyone involved in this will be gathering after school to discuss what to do next. Then Alexander, Fiona, Lom and I will combine our skills to find the seal where all of this magic came from and return the spells for good. With any luck we can put this mess behind us sooner rather than later." Michael explained. "I don't like this anymore than you do dad. But soon it will all be over."

"It better be." Dad responded. "I don't understand all of this. But I don't want my children in danger anymore."

Michael spent the rest of the night explaining to his dad all he knew about magic and all that he had been through. Abigail sat there quietly and listened too. He bypassed the parts where he was close to death in an attempt not to worry him. His father chimed in saying it explained a lot, in particular why he and Chelsea kept winding up in the hospital. Michael kept reminding his father that he didn't like the idea of chasing after magic any more than he did.

Dad bought the idea of magic fairly quickly after a few more demonstrations. Thankfully Michael's father always had an open mind about such things. Michael knew he believed in ghosts, but this was next level. Once dad had enough he went straight to bed, part of him still in doubt from everything Michael was saying.

"Did all of that really happen?" Abigail asked.

"I toned down some of the severity, but yes." Michael nodded. He obviously left out the part about injuring Damien and killing Prae. "You're going to have to tell me what happened with you too."

"I'll explain it all, but later, I'm sleepy. It's been a long day." Abigail replied. Michael wasn't sure if she was avoiding the explanation or if she was really tired. He decided not to push her. He was exhausted too. They had both used a lot of magic in the fight against Fiona and her miniature army and the next day was going to be even more exhausting. He agreed to go to sleep and the two of them made their way to the bedroom.

Michael hoped the amount of things he had to think about would have distracted him from the guilt of killing Prae, but it was the only thing on his mind the moment he closed his eyes. He knew visions of her would haunt his dreams, potentially forever.