Shrunken

Chapter 46

  Seto appeared at last from a burst of violet sparks, one arm against the wall as he fought back a wave of exhaustion. He took a few slow breaths, then a sigh of relief when he found himself in the familiar musty yellow hallway. The spell had been a risky one in his state. One wrong move with an uneasy mind and he'd end up in a different country, or stuck halfway in solid ground. But he used it anyway; he had already been gone too long.

  This became apparent when he guided himself through the winding labyrinth of a hallway and found his best friend pacing around with a phone in hand. His contorted face was an unusual whirlwind of emotion: frustration, fear, and a held-back sliver of sadness. Seto approached him when his back was turned and placed a hand on his shoulder. Brice whirled around, eyes wide.

  "Seto!" he cried, his voice full of relief. He wrapped the battered sorcerer in a bone-crushing hug. "Oh my God! What the hell happened?! Are you okay?!"

  Before Seto could get a word out, Brice pulled him away by the shoulders and punched him. "You scared us, you ass! We thought something happened to you! Tyra was up all night worrying about you guys! And I had to listen to it!"

  Guilt struck Seto's heart at the mention of Tyra. He rubbed his shoulder and tried once again to speak, but Brice hugged him again. "Stupid piece of shit," he grumbled. "Making us think you were dead."

  "I'm sorry, but I did what I had to. And there was no time to think of a plan," Seto said. He couldn't help the smile on his face from seeing his friend again. "I almost was dead, matter of fact."

  "I can see that." Brice gestured to the destroyed cloak that hung limply from Seto's shoulders, splattered with blood and mud, shredded holes revealing scarred pale skin. "But I don't see anything wrong with you. Well, besides looking like you got caught in a tornado. What happened to your hair? And your face? Jesus, is that blood?"

  "It's a long story," Seto replied, self-consciously touching his filthy tangled hair and pinching closed a large hole in his cloak that revealed part of his chest. Only now did it occur to him how wild and torn-up he might look, despite being perfectly unscathed. "Why did you guys think I was dead?"

  "Well, first of all you were gone all night," Brice snorted. "Second, after you left, Angel was reported missing. They never bothered to figure out you were gone. But anyway, we knew you'd be his main target after what we did to him and Tyra was in hystrics."

  He locked a searching gaze on him. "Did you run into him? Did you kill the cat?"

  The sorcerer stiffened, gnawing his lip. "Yes and no, but-"

  "Wait a minute, where's Kay?"

  Seto sighed, emotion welling in his chest, and shook his head. 

  "She's gone," he murmured.

  "WHAT?!" 

  Brice's blue eyes were wide with horror. "What happened?! Is she dead?!"

  "I-I don't know. She was taken by someone else. The person that saved my life, not Starr. I don't know where he went and I can't track them down. He could be anywhere."

  Brice looked at him in shocked bewilderment, then his face curved into a scowl. "Should I want to kill him or thank him? Or both? He saved you and stole her? What the hell! Who was he?" He grit his teeth furiously. "Who the f*ck does this guy think he is?"

  "Like I said, it's a long story. I don't know who he was, but thanks to him, Angel is dead. Or... kind of dead. I think? Half-dead? I don't know..." He wasn't sure he understood quite how the death of a hybrid worked after watching Angel's transformation. He shook his head when Brice stared at him blankly. "I-It's complicated. I'll explain everything later. How does the potion look? Where's Tyra?"

  "I did what you said with the valve and it turned clear. If it's not supposed to look like that, I swear I didn't touch it." Brice held out his hands in defense, perhaps expecting a giant wrath of angry inferno from his smaller sorcerer friend.

  Fortunately, Seto's month-long worry melted away and he smiled. "No, that means it's perfect. Clear means it's cooled and settled. It's finally done. Thank God."

  Brice pumped a fist like he earned an achievement. "Yes! Did something right!" he said with a grin. 

  "Tyra's asleep in the room. She didn't really get much rest last night." The blond turned to open the door, then looked back over his shoulder. "You... might wanna clean up a bit before wakin' her up, though. I wasn't kidding about the tornado thing, wild man."

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