Autumn & Winter (A Villains & Monsters Novella)

Chapter 2

Two years later

He was sound asleep in his house when it happened.

A push from within, nudge in no direction, an alarm with no sound. A shift. One that no one had felt since his own powers manifested.

Simon sat up and blinked the sleepiness away, trying to decide if the shift was real, or a part of his dream. He'd been having tons of weird dreams lately, and each time he explained them to his friends, they always told them to look for hidden messages within them. Adrienne, Luca and even Wylan were always the best at deciphering their dreams and making connections back to the real world.

As he rested back against the headboard, he made a mental note to ask them what it meant if flowers -- specifically lavender -- kept appearing.

-----

- A few days later -

"Did you hear that someone illegally brought down those buildings that they closed off?" Luca asked as he shuffled his deck of tarot cards. The sound of it was therapeutic, tying the overall comforting feel of his office altogether.

Simon raised a brow, sitting up so he was facing him from the comfortable bean bag. "You're talking about where the Mayor decided to build a new mall?"

"Yes."

"...And you're saying someone brought them down?" Gosh, he couldn't imagine the amount of explosives and free time someone must have had.

"Yeah, they say it happened suddenly. I wonder what they were thinking."

He shrugged. "They probably weren't thinking at all. Well, it's a good thing that the city was going to tear them down anyway. Does anyone think it was me?"

"The buildings were brought down, not burned down," he chuckled. "Anyway, how are you feeling?"

"Ready," he said almost too quickly. He was ready. The plan was going to be simple. Lure them out, exhaust them, bring them in and brutally kill them. As much as he wanted to take his time, a part of him itched to get it over with.

Getting rid of the heroes would be the first step in his plans. Then he'd take Kunross, then the world. No one would get in his way unless they wanted to burn.

"Gosh, Sisi, Tony and Austin were right. You are a bit fidgety. Anything else on your mind?"

"Not really." Simon stood up and went to the water machine in the corner. He grabbed a cup, filled it with ice and then some water. Like anytime he encountered ice, he grabbed a single cube and held it in his bare palm.

The chill of the ice against his skin felt good, but he knew it would be short-lived. The fire in his blood always worked too quickly, warming him whenever he encountered the slightest bit of cold. Within thirty seconds, the cube was lukewarm water in his palm.

It didn't bother him as much anymore. He was just thankful that his powers were back and stronger than ever.

"Gloves make it last longer," Luca commented as he observed.

"But gloves take away the feel of it," he said quietly as he sat back down on his bean bag. When he looked back at his friend, he saw that he was smiling at him.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing," he shrugged as he looked away. For dramatic effect, he loudly shuffled his deck again.

Simon raised a brow, and looked at him over his cup of water. "You want me to ask you for a reading, don't you?"

"You want me to want you to ask me for a reading, don't you?" he countered with his usual smirk, asshole that he was.