"A band?"
Ayla Leyo placed a hand on her hips, the creases of her blue eyes crinkled as she gazed down at the booth where Soraya and her friends sat.
"Jai mama," Rhys' crimson eyes glowed while flashing his mother a small smile. "Musica no utai est."
Soraya gripped the napkin in her lap, wringing it into a knot. The smell of spicy, sizzling meats and vegetables filled the air of Yohai Steakhouse, causing the girl's mouth to water.
"Venokoto yi pokimas? Quaeso?" Rhys asked, his ears perking up.
"Vos va bilisimo est," laughed Ayla. "Your father and I have to meet with Soraya's uncle before we can let you boys go, alright?"
Rhys and Ujuu gave their mom a thumbs up in reply.
"And Soraya..."
The girl froze at Mrs. Leyo speaking to her.
"I trust my son's judgement on character, you must be special if he likes you," she smiled. "And no need to be intimidated by me."
"O-okay," Soraya stuttered, blushing profusely while Ayla walked back to the kitchen.
Rhys took Soraya's hand into his own and stroked it with his thumb. "You're fine," he whispered, kissing her cheek.
Jacquelle rolled her eyes. "My dad would like you too..." she muttered under her breath in such a quiet voice that Soraya wasn't sure if she heard the blond properly.
"Salutem!"
Zaruna sped over to their table, giggling when Ujuu formed the shape of a heart with his fingers and pointed at her.
"Love you too," she winked. "Did your muzzer ahvedy take everyvon's orders?"
"She did indeed," Ujuu confirmed.
"I heard someting about a band?" Zaruna cocked her head, her magenta ponytail swishing across her white apron. "I can sing and play ze lyre, you know..."
"Jai! You should absolutely join us!" Ujuu's candy apple eyes sparkled as he gazed with adoration at his girlfriend. "We would sound so good with you-"
"It depends on how much room Soraya's uncle has on his ship," Rhys cut in, frowning at his brother. "We'll ask him if you can come along, but there are no guarantees."
"But adding harmonies would make us sound much better, plus, more hands on deck makes sense," Ujuu pushed back, much to everyone's surprise. "We all need to be prepared for what lies ahead."
Zaruna noticed the tension rising between the twins and grimaced. "I do not vant to cause trouble... I vill be back vith your food and drinks shortly..."
When the Rosinkin girl disappeared around the corner, Rhys shot Ujuu a glare.
"Bro, what gives?"
"I'm serious about her joining us, or at least giving her the option to," Ujuu rapped his fingers against the table. "If she knew what was happening, she wouldn't ever be taken by surprise if things did go wrong. I'd rather have Zaruna as a teammate than a damsel in distress we'd have to save..."
Ujuu reached a hand across the table towards his brother. "Zaruna would be upset if we kept her out of the loop. You and I both know how much it sucks to be an outsider, why turn around and do that to her?"
Rhys mulled over his brother's words before clasping onto his brother's palm. "You're right, igo no fratello. Zaruna is trustworthy."
"Let's invite her to the beach with us," Moiya suggested in a hushed voice.
"We'll fill her in on everything," Soraya added while giving Rhys' hand a gentle squeeze. "The more, the merrier."
Jacquelle pouted, folding her arms over her chest. "Fine, I guess..."
* * *
The night sky was filled with fog, the moon obscured by large, billowing clouds overhead. The sand beneath Soraya's toes was cold, and the ocean waves crashing onto the shore were taller and louder than normal.
Jonathan Marlot had turned into a shadow and circled the perimeter of the beach to make sure they were completely alone. Both he and Soraya couldn't risk being caught using their demonic powers or else MagiCorp, Azakua, and every other country within Etheria would be after them.
Although Soraya was waiting for him to return with an all clear before fusing with Zaruna, she and her friends had explained the situation to her.
Despite Soraya's story sounding absurd, even to herself at times, the Rosinkin girl remained calm and serious, treating the information presented to her as facts.
"So, you ah perhaps both an angel and demon?" Zaruna queried, studying Soraya over with her tourmaline gems.
"I could be, but I'm not entirely sure."
Jon's dark silhouetted form rose from the ground before them, his blood-red sunglasses glowing despite the lack of light.
"Not another soul in sight, but I have a request for you, Soraya," he pointed at her left eye. "Use your spell to make sure there aren't any demons lurking nearby. I didn't detect anything, but we can't be too careful right now."
"Will do," Soraya took a deep breath in. "Telpathia."
The vision in her left eye turned pitch black, just like the previous times. She could see Jonathan's multicolored soul along with Rhys and Ujuu's flaming red orbs, Jacquelle's dark blue one, and Moiya's emerald green sphere.
"It's just us," Soraya reported. "But I can't see Zaruna's soul for some reason."
"Interesting..." Jon and Rhys murmured in unison. They glanced at each other, the Casmerahn boy frowning while Marlot looked entertained.
"Maybe, it's because you haven't fused with Zaruna yet?" offered Moiya, her hand on her chin. "It's the only reason I can think of."
"That makes sense, since your fusions don't seem to be perfect," Rhys joined in. "All of us have shared abilities because of you, so perhaps part of your soul is now inside each of us?"
A horrid thought hit Soraya like a ton of bricks. "Doesn't that mean Mülock can see you all too?"
Everyone's faces fell except for Jon, who chuckled.
"If Mülock could see your friends, he would've already attacked them," Jon circled Soraya, his eyes hidden behind his sunglasses. "I think you're tapping into a holier power with your fusions, they are nothing like mine..."
"What does yours look like?" Soraya couldn't help but wonder as she stared at Jon through wide eyes.
"You'll see when we start training..." Jon's fanged smile stretched to both sides of his mouth.
Soraya turned to Zaruna and offered her a hand. "Would you like to fuse with me?"
Within the peripheral vision of her right eye, she could see Jacquelle glaring at the ground while kicking up a small dust cloud of sand.
Please don't be jealous...
"Yes," Zaruna wrapped her finger's around Soraya's. "I vould be honored."
"Slevautza!"
A bright light exploded from their hands, enveloping both girls. A loud crack, like thunder, struck the air, echoing off the rocky cliffs surrounding them before the roaring of crashing waves drowned it out.
Soraya and Zaruna looked down at their dark skin and smiled. Soraya hoped their hair would be pink, but to her disappointment, it remained strawberry blond.
"Dang it!"
Zaruna's giggles escaped from their lips.
"Yuh hair color is beautiful too, igo no amicus."
Soraya shared her memories and experiences with Zaruna. Although time seemed to slow down to hours for the two girls, only a few seconds had actually passed by. Soraya then split her and Zaruna's souls apart so they fell away from each other and resumed their normal forms. Within Soraya's left eye, she could now see Zaruna's sphere encased in magenta flames.
"Are you kids ready to train?" Jonathan asked, his black coat flapping in a strong gust of wind.
"Ready!" all the students shouted in unison, each splitting their legs apart into fighting stances and holding up their tightened fists.
"There is only one objective..." Jon took off his coat, gloves and sunglasses before placing them onto a rock. "Make me say, mercy."
Marlot wore a simple white, short sleeved, buttoned up shirt with his black pants. "You are all on the same team..." He raised a hand and brought it down in front of him.
"Go!"
Rhys and Ujuu shared a glance, nodded and sped forward, unsheathing their long, thin claws while flanking Marlot from both sides.
Jon didn't even flinch when the boys pounced, flew through the air, and were mere breaths away from his face.
Oh no...
Soraya's gut twisted into knots as she wondered whether or not the man would use demonic spells to fight back.
"Slevautza!"
Jon's skin rippled and shook as if thousands of insects were scuttling beneath it. His torso, shoulders, and arms stretched and bulged, the cracking of bones and popped tendons filled the air while the buttons on his shirt burst open one by one, revealing a waterfall of blood cascading down his chest.
Rhys and Ujuu lowered their ears when they both landed on the sand, jumping backwards to avoid Jon's long, thin arms from touching them.
Jacquelle, Moiya, and Zaruna were horrified by the sight, their gazes transfixed on the blood flowing down Jon's arms and legs, watching as it pooled around him, seeping into the soft sand surrounding them. Everyone's hands rose to cover their noses when the overwhelming stench of iron filled the air.
"Help me!"
Soraya halted when she heard Norma's scream. She could see the outline of the therapist's head pressing against the skin on Jon's chest, her nose, lips and teeth breaking through his bloody flesh.
"Get me out of here!" she cried, her sobs turning Soraya's blood cold.
"If I touch your skin, you'll end up like her," Jon growled at the twins, his blue, red, and green colored eyes dancing like a lit fireplace. "You might want to rethink your strategy, children..."
If only we had magic...
Soraya paused and glanced at Jon's elongated, red stained hand, where the Earth Magic tattoo was still etched into his skin.
Of course!
Soraya memorized the pattern and inched her way closer to Jon, who was swinging his arms at the twins. Judging by how slow his movements were, the girl could tell he was holding back on his full speed and strength.
"Everyone!" Soraya yelled, catching the attention of all five of her friends. "Fuse with me!"
The twins regrouped with the girls, and they clasped onto each other's hands.
"Slevautza!"
A beautiful, multicolored light, shot from Soraya's heart, surrounded the kids and absorbed them all into herself.
"I need to teach you all how to harvest magic."
They lifted their hand, which was as black as midnight, and held it up, so the palm faced Jon. Soraya pulled up the image of the Earth Magic tattoo into their minds.
"Imagine this wrapping itself around our arm."
Together, they took the Earth Magic from Marlot, the design lifting and vanishing before reappearing on their wrist.
"Voah, vhat I've read ahbout how magic vorks... all lies!" Zaruna's surprised thoughts rang within their head. "I never knew ve could carry it on ah skin, I thought it only vorked vile on inanimate objects!"
"Jai," Ujuu said through their mouth. "MagiCorp doesn't want everyone knowing the real methods."
"Let's try it out," Jacquelle grinned, curiosity welling up inside.
"Well done!" cackled the demon hybrid, interrupting the fusion's conversation. His body snapped, crackled, and twisted as he shrank back down to his normal size.
"We shouldn't waste that Earth Magic since we'll probably need it for later, so..." Jon bowed, tipping the edge of his black hat with blood stained fingers. "Mercy."
Soraya split their six souls up, and the children tumbled away from each other, each of them carrying faded Earth Magic tattoos on their arms.
"Sorry, I have to take that back," apologized Jon as he held out his bloodied palm. Each tattoo lifted off the students and reformed on the back of his hand. "Can't have MagiCorp seeing that or we'll all have bounties on our heads."
"Aww!" pouted Jacquelle. "I was really looking forward to using that..."
"Soon," Jon promised. "Just not tonight. If we ruin the landscape, our training spot will be discovered. I'll bring a different elemental magic for us to start with for our next session."
"You went easy on us, didn't you?" Rhys said, eyeing the man with suspicion.
"Of course, it's only the first class, I simply wanted to give you all a taste of what it'll be like battling demon hybrids."
Marlot put his red sunglasses back on. "It's important we stock up on magic and weapons that work from a longer range. One simple touch of skin could very well mean the end of your life, or the beginning of a never ending nightmare."
"I wasn't useful at all!" Jacquelle huffed, stomping her foot into the sand with all her might. "I didn't know what to do!"
"I feel the same way," Moiya sighed, patting the blond's back. Zaruna nodded in agreement and hung her head.
"Don't beat yourselves up over that," Jonathan gazed at the three of them over the rims of his sunglasses. "You were all powerful together, and I'll bet this was the first time any of you saw something that disgusting and scary in real life, right?"
"If it makes you all feel any better, my brother and I couldn't do much even though we have built in claws," Ujuu laughed sheepishly.
"These aren't normal circumstances," Rhys added. "We're dealing with another magic system from an alternate dimension in addition to Etherian magic. You can't be hard on yourselves, it isn't fair."
"This is precisely why we'll be training as often as possible, to prepare for the worst case scenarios," Jon put back on his cloak and gloves. "You'll all do better next session and continue to improve, you'll see."
His skin shivered again and his hair grew longer, his skull and jawbone creaked and groaned as they took the form of Ms. Whisper's facial features.
Norma's high-pitched voice replaced Jon's calm and mellow tone. "Time to escort you children back to school from," Jon made air quotes with his fingers, "Matumi Beach."
Soraya's insides were squeamish at the reminder of the therapist's soul residing within the demonic hybrid, but she was grateful that Jon was protecting them, even if he did use horrifying methods.
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