That's So Wizard

Chapter 75 - A Peaceful Life

Among the shadows and stagnant air, something was miss—a tension, a rage. They felt it approaching up from the darkest depths. It was the woman with purple hair, and to contrast her face was more red than usual. When she reached the clearing, she took a deep breath and eyed over the other demons with struggling breaths.

She crossed her arms and tapped her toe. After she was finished looking too miffed to speak, she shot a glare to Skello sitting in the corner. "Even you stayed. At least there's that. I don't know what I expected from humans, but I thought they'd be more intelligent than that. But, no. They ran, and they'll surely get caught."

Ivar stood up. "What happened, ma'am?"

"Those three fools I decided to free from the Demon World... The ones gifted by the Elixir. They fled, and I have no clue where they went. I guess they want to die." She stepped past the line of her companions, eyeing each over as she went. "Ivar. What is it you want?"

"Freedom, ma'am. I want to destroy on Earth at my leisure."

"Fair answer. What of you, Rend?"

A toothy grin drew across the tiny demons face. He stood up, and threw his claws in to the air. "Across the land of elves, demons—"

She interrupted his catchphrase with a raise of her palm. "Nevermind. I forgot."

Just then, Zayna entered through into the cave to join them. Their eyes turned to her entrance, and the purple-haired woman glared like an unimpressed mother. She watched closely as the succubus made her way over to join the rest.

"Where have you been?" she asked her.

"Just getting some air. I didn't flee Hell to stick around in a hole in the ground."

The purple woman shrugged. "Fair enough. Tell me then, Zayna. What is it you want?"

She had to ponder for a moment. "The opportunity to live normally here, on Earth. Maybe with a true love at my side. We could get a nice house somewhere, and have children, and live a happy, ordinary life until we're an old married couple. What about you?"

Despite her questioning, she didn't exactly expect one to ask her the question in return. The woman took a moment to collect her thoughts, but spoke with certainty. "To give demons what they deserve, and to do what their king will not." She looked to Skello next. "You then. And don't say to collect kidneys."

The mans skeletal face rose up to an empty stare. "The same as her," he said as he brought a boney finger to point at Zayna. "A peaceful life. That's what I wanted. But now? There is no wanting. There's only a dark, blurry mess. I'm afraid I don't understand the question then, nor will I ever again."

She sighed and hung her head. It wasn't a great answer. It wasn't an answer at all. This was the team she had managed to collect after half of them departed on their own. So far, things weren't great, but they certainly could have been worse.

"You all know the plan," she said. "The one I concocted the other night. It's time for us to make a move, so like Zayna said, we don't end up hiding in a hole in the ground. We're demons. We deserve more than that. And so, I say we act tomorrow."

***

Eldrian gripped the handle of the pan, which sizzled with a delectable aroma—a breakfast of delicious eggs, both for him and his roommate. Said friend was sitting on the sofa playing video games. When the were finally finished, he slid them onto two plates and sat next to Kevin, eager to devour them.

"Thanks, buddy," Kevin said as he immediately dug in.

"No problem, Kev," Eldrian replied. He noticed his forgotten fork left on the counter across the room. With a flick of his wrist, it drifted through the air and into his grip. Then, the devouring begun.

"Your abilities are incredibly practical."

"Hey. You could stop them at any time, though."

"That'd be pretty rude. You just make me food."

They laughed together, and watched the static screen of the video game paused. Neither needed the entertainment, as they did so fine with one another, cracking jokes and stuffing their cheeks with lightly salted sunny-side-up eggs.

Time ticked slowly forward as the two friends continued about their day, trying not to become too obsessed with the serial killer they let get away not long ago. Eldrian had come to learn that in the secret world of magic, there was always something lurking, and one had to learn to strategically ignore it—demons, elves, spellbreakers, wizards, and more.

Kevin spoke up. "So, do you think it was really all right to let that Poppet girl keep the pendant that lets her control bodies?"

"I figure if she keeps it up, she'll get herself caught. Hopefully she's smarter than that."

"I guess."

A knock drummed on the door. Eldrian made his way over, and turned it open. Meanwhile, Kevin was around the corner, but he heard a gasp of terror, so he hustled over in aid of his friend.

What he saw he wasn't certain was an attack. The figure Eldrian was struggling against had her arms wrapped tightly around his body, and she was cuddling her head affectionately beneath his chin. Her body was hardly clothed, and her skin was dark grey. Immediately, Kevin recognized her as Zayna, the demon.

"Get in side before someone sees you!" Eldrian demanded.

"Anything for you, my love."

He released himself from her grip and slammed closed the door. His back leaned against it as he looked over the woman in shock.

"It was you," Eldrian muttered. "You were one of the demons that escaped. Lucy told us all about it. It's a huge deal, and we're supposed to be bringing them in!"

Zayna frowned. "Are you going to call her on me?"

"That depends. How did you get here, and why?"

"I'm not certain how she did it, but she freed me and a bunch of others. She wants to hurt people, my love. I don't want that. You know me. I just want to live a normal life with you."

He raised his hand dismissively. "Calm down with the my love stuff. You're going way too fast. Just tell me what her plans are then."

She nodded. "If I tell you what I know, do you promise not to call Lucy?"

Eldrian glanced over to Kevin, and saw his reaction of complete confusion. Neither knew what to do about the situation at hand.

"If you tell us," he started with a deep inhale. "And my friends and I can stop them, then we'll call Lucy to bring them in, and as long as you don't cause any trouble, I might not mention you. Only if you flee and hide for awhile. But this is only if you're telling the truth. If a person freed a bunch of demons and they want to hurt people, we need to stop that."

"I know!" She stared down between her feet. "I don't want to be a part of her plans, but she doesn't know that. We're already probably going to make a move soon. Tonight, I'm heading back to our hideout. They're going to make a move in America. Spokane, Washington. We're going to start attacking people until the government sends somebody."

Eldrian widened his eyes. "That's a bold move. Does she want the world to find out?"

"I think she's hoping the government doesn't, so they'll listen to her demands."

"Hunters will show up or sure then. But if we just let it happen, people could die before that happens. We can help, but then we could end up in the crossfire, and become arrested ourselves." He looked to Kevin once again. "What do you think?"

The boy fiddled with his magic bracer. "I think... Aegis Arcanum will want to help."

Eldrian thought about the others. Deena. Daveon. Renatta. Arlandria. A smile came to his face, and he gripped his friend's hand in a tight bond. That was exactly what he was waiting to hear. Not long after, he grabbed his phone to assemble the team.

Stay tuned for Chapter Seventy-Six - Attack of Titans!