There is Power in Death

Chapter 18

I go through my morning routine. When I finish I go to see if Al if ready, but they're still fast asleep.

"Al, wake up. I have to get to work," I try shaking him but it's no use, "Alegra! Get up!"

"Huh? Alex? What time is it?" they sit up groggily and wipe their eyes.

"Time for me to get to work. You have to get up or I'll be late!"

"Ah, right, okay."

I hear my doorbell ring and go to answer it as Al starts getting ready.

"Good morning, Benji."

"'Morning, Alex. Are you ready?"

"I am, but as for Al," I nod down the hall, "They didn't wake up early enough, so now they have to get ready faster than usual. I'm making them rush."

"And I did just that! See, I'm all ready!" Al pops in.

"Your shoes are untied, your jacket isn't buttoned up, and where did your pocket watched go?" Benji points out.

"I- ah- well," Al runs off to find her pocket watch and end up tripping on her still untied shoes.

"I swear, he can be so childish, despite being older than us."

"Wait, she's older than us?"

"Yeah, but only by a year."

"I didn't know that. That's cool."

Al comes back in, his clothes and shoes fixed, and his pocket watch back on hand.

"I'm ready! Let's go!"

"Sounds good!"

We head downstairs as Benji and Al talk about this and that. When we walk through the lobby, other Phanters stare. I guess this would have happened yesterday if none of them had to recover. It's easy enough for me to ignore them, but I notice Benji starting to get shaky.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just not used to people staring at me."

"It'll be okay, they're not doing any harm."

"Right."

I can tell that they're getting uncomfortable, so I glare at several Phanters, who immediately look away. I've been practicing my glare for years, possibly the only thing that I've accomplished, aside from being born into a popular and rich family.

We head to the door where Talan is waiting for us.

"Hey, where's Maddy?" Benji asks him.

"Late. Not sure why."

"Well, I guess we should wait for now," I say.

"Mr.Silvia wanted me to give you three a message. He said it would be best for you guys to get a place in the living world. There are quite a lot of Phanters living there, and he's thinking of moving HQ there. It would be more convenient if you lived together because of your link."

Al yawns, "That sounds fun."

Benji and I nod in agreement, and Talan writes something down on his clipboard.

"Hey, are you able to teach me that ancestry line illusion?"

"Yeah sure."

Talan and Al seem to be getting along much better now. Talan started treating her differently when he learned that they weren't actually related. Does he have some sort of personal vendetta against his relatives? I ignore them and tell Benji the events of my dream. They seem surprised when they hear the fact about murder. Before we can continue our conversation, Maddy shows up.

"Hey, guys. Sorry for being so late, I got stuck listening to rumours and such. You guys are the center of attention. How are you three fairing?"

"I hate it," Benji mentions.

"I'm used to people staring and starting rumours about me, so I'm fine."

"I love it! This is the only time I've had people's eyes one me," Al exclaims.

"People were looking at you all through yesterday."

"You have made a very fair point, but there wasn't as much that were actually looking."

"We're wasting time. We don't want to be more late than we already are. We'll be pairing up with another group."

"Won't they be scared of you?"

"On normal circumstances, yes, but I have a a disguise. I use it quite often when I'm healing and go by the name Atlas, so please call me that. They might have questions about why Alex is working without his mentor, so just tell them that I'm off on a different job for today and Atlas is working as a substitute for me. We should also mention the link to them."

"Sure."

Talan changes his appearance. His hair is now shaved on both sides and a crimson red on the top. His eyes are the same colour, but now he has fangs and freckles. I can't see how his clothes changed because of his uniform. 

The portal is on the backside of the building, and there are two Phanters waiting for us.

"Hello, Maddy, Atlas. Good to see you. Have you briefed the apprentices yet? Oh? Why isn't that one with his mentor?"

"My mentor is currently covering matters with the boss, so Atlas has been assigned to substitute," I shake the guy's hand, "My name is Alex, It's a pleasure to meet you."

"My name is David, and my quiet apprentice is Oliver. Don't expect him to talk much. Who's the guy in the suit?"

"That's Al, he doesn't work as a Phanter. He is here to talk to Benji and Alex about a more personal matter, and was sent by the higher-ups," Maddy answers. Her acting skills are better than I would have expected.

"Have they been briefed?"

"Not yet."

"That's very convenient. I was about to brief Oliver."

He tells us that we were chosen to scout for demons in the living world. When he mentions that, Talan hands me a note. It says that I shouldn't use my full power while I'm around them, and that I should refrain from reaping any souls for today. We go through the portal and see a wreckage of buildings. There are machines everywhere that look like they haven't been used in years. As I'm looking around I notice that there are no wandering spirits here. It's completely deserted at a first glance, and then I sense it.

"Look out!" I yell as several demons start coming out from behind different piles of ruins and machines.

David and Oliver jump out of the way as the rest of us stand our ground. Talan is the first to react as he jumps into battle. Benji and Al do the same, despite Al having nothing but their shape shifting magic to defend herself. I jump into action with them and Maddy stays back with Oliver and David.

1023 words

A/N: I hope switching between Al's pronouns wasn't that confusing, and am sorry if it was. Regardless, I won't stop switching between his pronouns.