Orion's Coming

Magic is more than a gimmick.

The shop, despite it's highly out of the way location, was impressively presented. It was sleek and modern, the walls adorned with pictures of assorted bands and singers.There were several customers perusing the vast expanses of of CDs for sale, but Alex did not seem to be interested. Orion followed as Alex, Georgia and Semprini slipped past the crowd and made their way to the till at the end of the adjoining room. Nobody seemed to pay any particular heed as Brutus forced his way through the shop door and positioned himself out of the way. Orion felt slightly self concious as he remembered the massive sword that balanced so comfortably on his back, until he realized Alex was in a similar situation. A girl in her late teens stood at the till, smiling as the group approached. 

"Alex! There's a sight for sore eyes!" She said cheerily. Alex beamed at her as she sat on a small pink stool, which seemed to appear from nowhere.  

"You know me, I like to prolong wasting good guns." Her replied. She nodded and chuckled slightly. 

"Got that right. So what are you doing over here if it's weapons you need?" She asked curiously. 

"I've err...kind of lost my key. Any chance you can make me another?" He asked shyly. The girl laughed again, reaching under the desk for some unknown object. 

"Yeah, but it'll take five minutes or so. Is that okay?" She asked. 

"That's fine." He answered, For the first time, Orion noticed Georgia seemed to be clinging to Alex's arm, their hands interlocked and her body pressed against his. Feeling a tap on his shoulder, he turned to come face to face with Semprini. He wasn't even given the chance to react as she pulled him into an unexplained hug. 

"Honey, I don't feel well. Can we go please?" She asked in a gentle, warm voice. Orion was confused, but complied. Walking out of the shop, hands interlinked, he noticed a pair of men seemingly following them through the crowd, but he dismissed it as nothing. As they emerged through the shop door, Semprini snapped her head sharply upwards to look at him. 

"Sorry about the act, but I couldn't let them know we're onto them." She said, her voice changing to a more serious tone. 

"Let who know we're on to what?" He asked, utterly lost. Just as he finished, the men that he had noticed inside the shop stepped out of the door. 

"They're hitmen, though i'm not sure who they're working for. I saw them eyeing up Alex and Georgia as we walked in, and I noticed one of them had a SN380 handgun hanging from his belt. It's a typical assassin gun, packs quite a sting." She said. The men seemed to be catching up, taking long, powerful strides towards them, but Semprini showed no intention of speeding up. 

"So why are they coming for us and not Alex?" He asked in a low voice. 

"Because in there, they're surrounded by at least thirty people that know magic, a decent proportion of which will be carrying guns. We however, are just two people, so they stand more of a chance of winning when they strike. Plus, they probably knew we were with Alex and Georgia, so they're going to try and get us out of the way first." She answered. They rounded a sharp corner, and Semprini relinquished hand and looked at him. 

"Good luck, and try not to get shot up too badly." She said, the sound of footsteps getting louder with every second. She faced the corner, glaring. Orion pulled his sword from it's sheath, getting himself into a good position. 

"3...2...1." 

Perfectly timed, the men strode around the corner, guns in hand. Semprini lunged at the youngest of the pair, grabbing the pistol by the barrel. He snarled as she seemingly played into his hands, twisting the gun towards herself, but his smug satisfaction was short lived as she heaved downwards, taking the man down. He fired uselessly, the bullet hitting the ground and partially smashing the solid concrete on impact. The second man raised his gun to Semprini, but Orion was too quick, swinging his sword in a tight vertical arc and knocking the gun from his hand. He followed up with an elbow to the chest, which proved effective enough to knock the man off his feet. He cursed and Semprini yelped as the young male took a shot from the floor, the bullet skimming her ankle and tearing off a large chunk of flesh. She stamped down with her uninjured leg, but he avoided with a roll. Both men stood quickly and launched themselves backwards through the air, leaving a several foot long gap between the duos. 

"Not awful." The older jeered. His gun still lay on the floor, the barrel badly broken and the trigger fractured in two.  

"You, on the contrary, are awful. Who sent you?" Semprini asked, her words laced with anger. 

"You'll never know." He replied sharply. His companion laughed gruffly. 

Semprini wasn't impressed. 

Orion felt a blast of wind at is side as Semprini flung herself towards the hitmen. Flames coiled around her right arm like a serpent, and as she came closer, she brought her arm around in a curve and they whipped out brutally. The older of the two must have been expecting this, as a barrier of purple energy stopped them just millimetres away from impact. Semprini threw a second bout of wind at the blockade, forcing her backward and preventing her from impacting with it. Her feet hit the ground as the older male dropped his guard and propelled himself forward at her. The ground shook at the force of his blast, and even when he came into contact with Semprini he did not stop moving. They disappeared down a nearby back alley, and seconds later the sound of brick smashing could be heard. 

"My turn." The other man barked, bringing Orion back to the situation. The man's fingers sparked sinisterly with electricity as Orion tried to predict his next move. He flicked his wrist suddenly and a bolt shot out at Orion, which he only barely managed to deflect with his blade. A second bolt came at him, but this time he was prepared; he allowed the electricity to hit his left palm, focusing all of his magic into one spot. He fed the bolt through his arm, using his own magic to transport it around his body and release it at a devastating electrical blast from the tip of his sword. It hit the man square in the stomach, knocking him backward into an already damaged wall. The effect was only momentary, as he stood mere seconds later, brushing the brickwork from his jacket. 

"I really don't like you." He spluttered. His arm disappeared up the back of his suit for a moment, bringing into view a strange object as it appeared again. It seemed to be the top portion of a metal glove of sorts, with small protrusions on each knuckle.  He pressed it firmly against his right hand and, with a slight mechanical whir