Marcus/Rocco
Nobody answered.
Mostly because none of us had any idea where to start.
Darren and Livia stood near the entrance of the
parking structure, looking like reality had personally offended them. Which
honestly is fair.
A few minutes ago, there had been a glowing tear in
space. Demons, weapons, a fight, and now everything was gone.
The only evidence left was the destruction scattered
around the concrete floor and the weapons with blood in our hands.
Darren looked at me. Then Callie. Then everyone else.
Then the spot where the tear had disappeared. Then back at me.
"I think," he said carefully, "I'm having a stroke."
Noah snorted. Riley elbowed him.
"What?" Noah said. "That was funny."
"It wasn't."
"It absolutely was."
Darren blinked. "Why are they acting like this is
normal?"
"Because they're idiots," Callie muttered.
"Because we're alive… and it's our coping mechanism."
Noah corrected.
"Debatable."
"See?"
Livia stared at all of us. Then slowly looked toward
Callie. "You're carrying a whip."
Callie looked down. "Oh." The whip was still in her
hand.
Right. That wasn't helping.
The silence returned. Long, awkward and painful. Then
Darren pointed toward me.
"Ro- Marcus."
I winced. That tone never led anywhere good. "What."
"What?"
"That's what I said." Darren looked seconds away from
strangling me. "What was that?"
I glanced toward Seraphina. She immediately pretended
not to notice.
Traitor. Absolute traitor.
"I'm still waiting."
"You haven't asked a specific question."
"You kidding me, right?"
Riley started laughing. Even Livia looked annoyed.
Darren rubbed his face. Then looked directly at me.
"What were those things?"
There it was. The question. The one we'd been
avoiding. The one we eventually knew would happen.
Because apparently the universe had decided subtlety
wasn't necessary anymore.
Nobody spoke. No immediately.
Seraphina sighed. A long-tired sigh.
The kind that suggested she'd already accepted her
evening was ruined. "We should leave."
Darren blinked. "That's your response?"
"You're standing in the middle of a supernatural crime
scene."
"A what?"
"We should leave."
"That didn't answer my question."
"No," Seraphina started walking toward the exist. "It
didn't."
Ten minutes later we were back at Seraphina's
apartment. Darren and Livia had spent the entire drive demanding answers.
Nobody gave them any.
Which only made Darren more determined. And
unfortunately for everyone involved, Darren was incredibly stubborn.
The second the apartment door closed behind us, Darren
rounded on me. "No."
I blinked. "No?"
"No."
"That's not a sentence."
"No more dodging." Unfortunately. That was fair.
Livia sat on the couch. Still looking shell-shocked.
Callie sat beside her. Neither had spoken much since arriving.
It clearly wasn't going well tonight.
Darren crossed his arms. "Start talking."
Noah immediately moved toward the kitchen. "Good
luck."
Coward. Riley followed him. Even bigger coward.
I looked toward Seraphina. She looked back. Then
toward Callie.
Callie looked equally unhelpful. Fantastic.
I was surrounded by traitors.
Eventually Seraphina stepped forward. "What you're
about to hear stays here."
Darren immediately pointed toward the apartment.
"After what I just watched, I don't think that's going to be difficult."
Seraphina nodded. Then she began. Not quite
everything, but enough.
The tears, the creatures, the realm tears and the
responsibility of stopping them.
By the time she finished, nobody spoke. Again.
Darren and Livia just stared. Then Darren laughed.
Once. Short and disbelieving. "You're serious."
"Unfortunately." Hs gaze shifted around the room.
Looking for a joke. A punchline. Anything.
When he didn't find one, the realization settled. This
was real. Every bit of it.
"That explains a lot."
Everyone looked toward him. Darren leaned back, still
processing. "Actually," he laughed again. "That explains way too much."
"What does that mean?" Riley asked, popping back in.
Darren looked between me and Callie.
"You were dead and you were missing. And here you guys
are completely fine."
Well, that's one way to put it.
Then he looked at Noah. "And you enjoy getting into
fights knowing you'd lose."
Noah looked offended. "That's only because your
asshole friend Bryce constantly started it."
"Those don't count."
For the first time all night… Livia smiled slightly.
Then her eyes found Callie again. The smile faded slightly, neither still
seemed to know what to say.
The conversation lasted another hour. Questions.
Answers. More question. More answers.
Some things explained. Most weren't. certain secrets
remained secrets… like the bracelet. Especially Valen.
Eventually Darren leaned forward. Something thoughtful
replacing the shock.
"You've been tracking these tears."
Seraphina nodded. "I have."
"Across the city?"
"Yes."
Darren frowned, looked toward the map again. Toward
the dozens of pins covering the wall. Toward the notes. The locations. The
patterns.
His expression changed. I recognised that look.
Problem-solving mode.
Dangerous.
"What?"
Darren looks toward me, then the map again and smiled.
And suddenly, I didn't like where this was going.
"I think your system sucks." The apartment went
silent. Noah nearly choked on his drink. Callie and I looked towards Seraphina.
While she just stared. "Excuse me?"
Darren stood. Walked toward the map. Studied it. Then
pointed. "There." another point.
"There." And
another.
"There." Nobody interrupted him.
"You've been treating each tear like an individual
event."
Seraphina's eyes narrowed. Darren continued. "But
they're not..."
The room grew quiet.
He pointed toward several locations. Drawing invisible
lines between them. Creating a pattern nobody else had noticed. Not even
Seraphina.
"…they're connected."
Seraphina looked genuinely interested. And I finally
realized Darren wasn't just smart, he was scary.
Across the room, Valen watched the exchange with
amusement. Then he glanced toward me. A slow smile spreading across his face.
"Well." I sighed. "What now?"
Valen folded his arms. "Your friend may prove
considerably more useful than expected, Rocky."
And somehow…
I had a feeling he was right.