Winx Club: Dark Magic (Season 4)

II: The Wizards of the Black Circle

The sky was particularly dreary the afternoon Aiyana walked home from the police station. It seemed like the weather had been nothing but bleak lately, and today proved no different. With nothing for miles but a mess of gray, angry-looking clouds, Aiyana only hoped this downward weather trend wasn't a bad omen, considering she had just finished handing in her application for the police academy. With the written exam coming up in just a few short months and the physical assessment only days after that, Aiyana was just itching to get home to change for another intense run, then to fall asleep in the middle of a too-long session of pouring over her textbooks. The clock was ticking, and she had to be ready. 

She turned the corner onto her street, and as she did, that volatile power within her shifted. It almost felt as if it was yanking her backwards, trying to keep her from going any further. Though unsettled, Aiyana did her best to shrug it off and continued on, but a sinking feeling had settled in her stomach as though fearfully waiting for something bad to happen. 

The red brick of her eight-story apartment building was within view when a man crossed her path. Very deliberately, she thought, as he did just emerge from a dead-end alley and seemed to have his eyes fixed very carefully on her. The man was a good foot or two taller than her and looked to be in his mid-thirties with shoulder length red hair, a goatee, and unnaturally pale skin. She took notice of his strange love for black leather, as evidenced in his attire. His eyes were narrowed as though in concentration, and his lips pulled at a sly grin. He only took four steps after exiting the alley before stopping directly in Aiyana's path, arms folded over his chest. 

Aiyana gave a curious -if somewhat apprehensive- look as she made to duck to the road side of the walk to avoid him, but her body collided with another. She stopped and took a step back from the second stranger -another man of similar height with blond hair and a wide-brimmed hat- who had appeared out of nowhere. Was she really just that oblivious that she hadn't seen him until nearly running him over? It seemed wildly unlikely, but then again, what other explanation could there be? She opened her mouth to apologize for her ignorance, but the redheaded man spoke before she had the chance. 

"You seem in a hurry to get somewhere." There was a hint of humor in his words, like he found his observation amusing. 

Aiyana took another step back from the blond man with the hat and turned to the first man. "Just trying to get home," she shrugged, allowing her annoyance to sound in her tone, then made to walk between the two strangers. 

But the redheaded man put a hand up in her way, so close that he might have hit her had she not pulled back as quickly as she did. "Why don't you stay?" he said.

Aiyana paused again and gave the man a highly suspicious once-over. "Look, I'm just trying to get on with my day. Is there something I can help you with?"

"Now that you mention it, yes, there is." He grinned as he spoke and made eye contact with the second man -his accomplice, it seemed- like they were sharing in the enjoyment of some inside joke only the two of them knew. 

A third man joined in behind Aiyana. "We've been looking for you for a while now, Aiyana." 

Her muscles tensed as he said her name. She turned to see a third and fourth man, both dressed similarly to the first two, had appeared and now boxed her in. Where in the world had they come from? She hadn't heard anyone else approach, and they seemed to have just manifested from the air itself. 

"How do you know my name?" she demanded, eyeing the third man -this one boasting a brightly colored mohawk and chains dangling from both his sleeveless shirt and pants. 

He only smiled at her.

"You have something we want, Aiyana," the redheaded man said, teasing her with her own name, pleased to know who she was while she hadn't the faintest idea about any of them.