Synergy

Chapter Four

Laurel sensed a dark aura as she walked home from the metaphysics shop. 

At least she thought she did. Sometimes on dark nights like this, with a waning crescent moon covered by a thin curtain of clouds, one could think the felt things they didn't.

But this was more then a chill; more then a stray owl startling her in the night. It was a presents. Heavy and empty all at once.

Laurel turned slightly to looked over her shoulder, but she saw nothing. She chanted a protection spell and continued walking.

She was relived when the small bohemian cottage she shared with her warlock fiancé came into view. She had not yet shaken the feeling something was watching her. She knew now it wasn't just a feeling. Laurel chanted under her breath. Goddess Divine reveal what is hidden from my eye.

She turned again and saw it. A wisp of darkness and tattered cloak; she had a Shade shadowing her. Laurel wasn't completely surprised, she had gone to the shop for a sage smudge for this reason. She and her fiancé had had a nagging feeling all day that something was off in their energy field.

The two of them had placed a strong ward around their home as a precaution. After spying the Shade following her, she made a quick decision to head for the ward of safety and inform her fiancé she was being followed.

                                                                             *****

Equinox let his body fall on a chaise lounge. The terrace was dark and quiet but for the lapping of the distance waves. He took a long drag on his vape, the tingling sensation of mint and the floral notes of lavender filled his senses. That's what he liked about vaping the herbs, they filled his senses. All the hurt from his past with his unaccepting family, the struggle of trying to accept himself when no one else close to him would, the dark loneliness of being the black sheep of the family, the regrets of his love life--all numbed with every puff.

His mind traveled to the words that pursued him to the terrace. 

You might be surprised. Zander's voice echoed.

Equinox wasn't fond of surprises. In his experience they'd always been bad.

He was sure Zander was trying to be helpful, he was a very caring man. . .but the last thing he needed was his ex trying to matchmake out of guilt or whatever. 

Equinox let a thick cloud of vapor out of his mouth. It circled his head like a London fog, hiding his face from the night.

You might be surprised.

He had to get those words out of his head. False hope was an unneeded weight in his scarred heart. Equinox took out his phone and placed wireless earbuds in his ears. He pulled up his music and deafened himself with Muse songs.

He let the phone lay on his flat stomach and stretched out on the chaise, lazy and limp as a rag doll. He let the minted vape numb his senses and the heavy bassline of the music numb his mind.

                                                                        ****

The Shade saw the witch's cottage was surrounded by a strong ward.

Fuck.

It was a one-way ward, Light magick could leave through it, but Dark magick was blocked from coming in. If the Shade were to attack stealthily, if would take days to wear down that ward. He wasn't dealing with this. In a snap decision the Shade burst in a strong and obvious attack, sending a dense orb of Darkness from The Vortex sailing toward Laurel.  He'd deal with Nocturne's wrath later, but he didn't give a shit at the moment.