Warmth Beneath the Dusky Skies

11, Stained Reflections

"So," Regina began, "everyone's all accounted for? I'm going to seal up the place."

Katherine punched the air. "Go ahead, Miss Han."

Nodding, Regina pulled out a talisman from a small leather case and slapped it against the door. The talisman radiated a soft emerald glow, reacting with the other talismans plastered within the condo unit. As the light subsided, Regina went back to the living room where everybody else was seated.

"What did you do?" Adrian asked. "I can't sense anyone from outside."

"I isolated my condo unit with a closed space. You wanted privacy, right?"

"So you can even do something like that, huh? I thought you were only into aromatherapy and other medicinal stuff."

"It pays to branch out every now and then." She held up her leather case as she put her free hand on her hip. "That said though, I can't take all the credit. I've made a lot of progress with spatial magic thanks to Mariella."

"Oh shucks, it's nothing!" Mariella replied, sitting on the sofa armrest beside Richelle.

"Wait. You know each other?" Marice asked.

"Why yes," Regina replied, fishing out her phone from her arm pouch. "He's been a customer of mine for over a month already. Small world, eh?"

"So you're just letting in a wraith-possessed guy into your emporium without even knowing?"

"A wraith, you say?" She nodded to herself with a grin as she made her way back to her chair. "I've always known something was off about him since my usual charms don't react to him in the slightest. Now I'm even more interested in this little secret of his."

He shrugged. "It won't be that much more than what you guys already know, I'm sure."

"Then I'll get straight to the point," Marice said, leaning forward. "What exactly is that wraith hiding from us? We know that another entity is within you, but we're not quite sure what it is."

He made a hesitant glance to the side before standing up. "Maybe it's better if I just do this instead."

"Uhh, why are you stripping?" Liza asked as he began taking off his jacket.

Regina looked up from her phone's screen. "Wait... isn't that...?"

As Adrian completely removed his shirt, Marice shot up from her seat upon recognizing the blackened sigil marked over his heart. "Th-That sigil! Where did you get that from?"

Surprised from her outburst, Adrian looked down at his chest. "N-No idea. Cristina was the one who cast the sealing spell on me..."

"Then bring her out here!"

"What's the rush, Marice?" Liza asked. "That symbol must be really important if it got that much reaction out of you."

Mariella stopped fiddling with Richelle's hair and took a closer look at it. "Waaait... I've definitely seen this before," she pursed her lips, rubbing her chin with her thumb and index finger, "but where?"

"It's your grandmother's personal sigil," Marice replied.

"Ah... right! I forgot!"

She turned her attention back to Adrian. "Well? Is she coming out or not?"

He smiled, eyes glowing crimson. "Sorry, Cristina. The council demands your presence."

Enveloped in a misty aura, Adrian muttered a spell under his breath. And in the next moment, a vortex of ether formed over the coffee table, eventually materializing into a human silhouette. The shadow faced Adrian, leering at him with fiery intensity.