Chapter 25
Conviviality
“Camaraderie is a single soul dwelling in two bodies.”
~Aristotle~
The joviality filled the room with the carefree mirth of the teens. For the first time in a while, they could laugh together.
No secrets, no lies…
They were just kids for the day.
Exsavior gawked over the squared machine that gave off colorful moving pictures. He had seen the television before in David’s home, but at the time he was too preoccupied with pending issues.
“Exsavior, how are you just noticing this now?” David was beside himself with fits of hilarity, as he rolled onto his back on Mia’s bed.
The ignorant werewolf, who was crouching on the soles of his feet, moved his face close to the glass screen. Inches away from it, Exsavior regretted the act when the brightness weakened his sensitive eyes. He flinched and moved back, his vision feeling blurry.
There was a short pause on his part, when a band came onscreen.
“Oh, I love this song!” Isabel exclaimed with glee.
It did not take long before she was floating around the room, dancing and singing to their tune.
“I’ve been tryin’ to do it right….I’ve been livin’ a lonely life…”
David, in attempts to liven up the room further, took the remote and increased the volume. Isabel smiled with warmth, feeling overwhelmed with the song as she grabbed David’s hands from the air.
“Whoa..!” he exclaimed while laughing at himself. No matter how hard he tried, he could not avoid fumbling around with his feet every time Isabel swayed with him.
He danced awkwardly with her flight and Exsavior stood and smiled at the adorable gesture.
“So show me family, all the blood that I will bleed!”
A beautiful voice broke through Isabel’s words and giggles, and Exsavior could not help but feel stunned by it—they all did. The three teens beamed with joy at their friend’s voice.
“I don’t know where I belong; I don’t know where I went wrong, but I can write a song. I belong with you! You belong with me, you’re my sweetheart…” Mia walked in her room with the glasses of soda she had promised them. The song that played on the television caught her ears and she decided to join in.
“(Hey!)” Isabel sang after every verse. She said the word loudly, making David move brusquely.
Mia’s voice was like no other; it beat the tune of any bird and lived up to the standards of an angelic melody. A calming sensation flowed with each word she sang, making them feel the emotions that were laced behind them.
She was truly an angel.
“The Lumineers are awesome!” When the song concluded, Mia giggled towards her friend’s action.
She put down the glasses on the small end table, and Exsavior spoke. “Lumi—neers?”
“They’re a band. They sing and make music.” Mia explained, watching him curiously.
Exsavior was about to say something, when someone else broke their attention.
Voices were heard coming from door.
“…And stay out, ya weirdo!” Lynn’s voice echoed in anger as the sound of the door slamming shut resonated throughout the apartment.
Her fuming stride took her to Mia’s room. “Mia, we need—” but she never finished the thought when her eyes fell on everyone in the room.
Isabel, Exsavior and David delivered the same glance right back at her; they watched her, interested to see her reaction.
“Great, a witch and two werewolves…that’s just what I need in my home!” Lynn massaged the bridge of her nose out of stress. She felt her pocket vibrate as the sound of her ringtone demanded her attention.
Just another issue she had to worry about.
In haste, the cellphone was brought out to view and without looking at the number, Lynn turned it off, ignoring the call completely.
“Lynn, are you ok?” Mia asked with genuine worry.
Her older sister sighed. “Yeah, I’m fine. The Covenant has been trying to get a hold of me—nothing major really.” Lynn stressed out the word ‘Covenant’ in attempts to get a scare out of her visitors.
Nevertheless, the dismissiveness in her tone was what really caught their attention, but it was not as convincing as she wanted it to be.
“Ah, I’m glad you’re all here!” The instant everyone stopped talking, another person appeared before them. Similar to how Isabel and the rest had traveled before, Locke emerged from what they assumed to be the ‘in between.’
His figure materialized in the center of the room, capturing all of their attention.
“What the hell! How did you get in?” Lynn exclaimed with narrow eyes and a glare meant only for the trickster.
During all this, Isabel sat herself down next to David on Mia’s bed as Exsavior remained standing. Mia also remained upright, at the side of her berating sister.
“That’s not important. What is important is that you all seem to be the only Immortals willing to fight against Ezekias. Because of this—” One minute, his vision was plastered on all of them, and the next it was obscured by a redheaded female.
“The hells it’s not! What are you talking about, Immortals? I’m human dumbass.” She yelled at him.
Locke lifted an eyebrow at her. “You most certainly are not.” The comment made Lynn grumble, but she did not refute.
Silence crept into the room.
“Wha—what do you mean? Is my sister an angel too?” Mia asked in high hopes.
Lynn sighed in frustration at the comments. “No, he means that technically, Templars are Immortals too.” Her eyes refused to look up at Locke as they fell to the ground in shame.
“There’s no need to be ashamed of it.” Exsavior voiced towards her, when he noticed the expression.
Lynn scowled at him. “Well I am, because I gave up my humanity.”
“Lynn…do you mean the llyrium?” Mia asked in worry.
Before anyone else could continue the conversation, Locke interjected. “Yes, the llyrium is a substance made from a witch’s mana. It’s what gives the Templars the abilities they have in exchange for their humanity.”
“The potion was first created by a witch to temporarily give humans access to their own souls,” Isabel added.
“Souls?” Both Exsavior and David felt themselves lost when hearing the information.
“Yes, mana, spirit energy and spirit pressure are simply the terms to express the powers the souls have. Every living being has a soul, and the ability to access that soul is what determines your supernatural gifts and if you’re an Immortal.” Isabel concluded the explanation, leaving both boys with a clear understanding.
“Yes well, we’ve deviated. What I wanted to say is that I think it’s important for you all to have proper training. If we’re to face that old bastard of course, we should hone our abilities at my place,” Locke stated. “Margery must be avenged, wouldn’t you all agree?”
Exsavior nodded, but spoke. “What exactly was the relationship between you and Margery?”
Locke’s eyes dimmed at the question. It was becoming a habit for Exsavior to ask the uncomfortable questions.
“Margery and I were very old acquaintances,” he said.
“How old?” David asked.
The grin that lavished the trickster’s face was unnerving. “If you want to know my age than just ask, I am around one thousand years old.”
Mia and Lynn choked back some soda and Isabel’s eyes widened.
“You can’t be serious,” Exsavior said in disbelief.
“I was part of a group of ancient Immortals. Were known as the Council, and our mission was—” before he could finish, Isabel interjected.
“To make sure the rules and the supernatural world was upheld with the most care.”
“Correct, you know your facts well for such a young witch.” Locke grinned but Isabel remained cautious.
“Margery was also a part of the group, and as you may all be suspecting, so was our famous old witch.” The comment made everyone present remain silent.
David, however felt the need to word his doubts. “Wait, if you’re so old, why can’t you just kill the old dude yourself? You must be powerful.”
Sighing at the question, Locke proceeded in answering. “Ezekias isn’t a pushover. Aside from that, we are bound by a pact from The Fade that prevents us from killing one another.”
“That bracelet of yours…it’s connected to the others isn’t it?” Isabel asked.
“Very observant, it is. The number of jewels is the equivalency to the amount of members in the Council, but—” There was a pause as he lifted the bracelet for them to see. Like before, there were only eight jewels, three of which were colored. “The colors indicate the ones that are alive.” His voice, for the first time, became very solemn.
Trying to break the awkward silence, he continued. “So you see if I were to kill the old witch, my jewel would self-implode. In other words, I’d die.”
“Then that means that Ezekias did not kill Margery,” Mia stated.
“No, but he must have used someone else.” Locke refuted the idea that maybe Ezekias had nothing to do with her death.
“But why did he want her dead?” Isabel asked, in hopes that someone would answer the question.
“He probably wanted control of her school,” Exsavior stated.
“The school does have a high amount of Immortals attending,” Lynn added.
“No, if he did want it, he would have taken it by force or by any other means. He wouldn’t have gone so far to kill her, especially since he loved her.” After Locke said the words, a gasp was caught in Exsavior.
“What?”
“Yes, they loved each other, or maybe it was one-sided. My conclusion, Margery was killed out of his own vengeance. After she left him, she and I became involved.”
“Geez, what is this, a novella?” The satiric voice of Lynn made everyone chuckle, including Locke, as he sighed in rendition. “Ok, fair enough. Now, we need to get you all prepared to battle this old man.”
“I don’t need training.” The defiance in Lynn’s voice dared him to oppose her, making Locke acquiesce. She stood with audacity before him, hands on her hips and a glare that would have killed him if it could.
“Well then, you can help train.” Locke grinned as he leveled his view to her face and patted her head.
Lynn almost growled in fury as she smacked his hand away, causing an uproar to commence between them.
“You arrogant pompous freak, why do you assume that you’re so capable?” She yelled after his form.
“I am quite capable my dear, of making all of your wildest dreams come true.” Locke left the room in his own satisfaction with his hands on the back of his head.
“Please, everything is imaginative with you!”
“Anything is possible if you simply believe, my dear.” He winked at her with a grin and Lynn scowled.
During the two’s bickering, Exsavior had taken the opportunity to remove himself from the group. He saw Mia’s open window that led to some sort of metallic unappealing balcony.
It was small and cramped with a staircase that led up and one that led down to the streets. He found it odd that a balcony would have stairs, but then again, the humans did call it a ‘fire escape,’ so it wasn’t the weirdest thing.
This was the moment he needed, a little alone time to ponder over things. He smiled to himself, as his vision found the immediacy of the night sky. Margery was gone, but what she left behind was what she wanted.
‘You did it Margery; you took care of another Immortal who was lost.’
Sitting down on the bareness of the metal, he crossed his legs and relaxed.
‘Hey Dad, Mom, Alex, uncle Rigel, I just wanted you all to know that I’m doing ok. It was hard at first, but I think things might be looking up. I’m trying you know…’
A warm touch seeped through his back as he felt an arm wrap itself around him. It was shy at first, but he lifted his hand and placed it on top to prove that it was welcomed.
Mia laid her cheek on his shoulder in a show of affection. “What are you thinking about?” she asked, softly.
His beam could have made the shine of the stars envious. “Just thinking about how different things are now in regards to the first time I came here.”
She laughed. “I know what you mean.” There was a slight pause on her part.
“Is there something wrong?” he asked.
Moving to sit at his side, she looked at him. “Where are we in terms of…you know…?” Her cheeks went warm, and he touched them.
“I adore it when that happens,” he said with a smug grin.
Mia scowled playfully. “Exsavior…” but she could not finish the thought. Her hand grabbed his, and he felt his heart jump.
Exsavior stared into her eyes, her green jittery depths that captivated him. He did not even realize that his face was drawing near, as if she willed it just by watching him. The palm of his hand tenderly cupped her soft warm cheeks, and when the gap was no more, her eyes went shut. He allowed the blissful darkness to control his own vision, when his lips eagerly found hers.
He wanted the feeling; it was intense, more than anything he had ever felt, for hers were mixed into his heart. The bloodline he possessed allowed him to delve into the reaches of her heart. Exsavior’s lips, contracting and swaying with Mia’s, were nothing in comparison to how he felt his body. She passed on every emotion—the warming of her heart melting his own, her affection kissing his soul, and the nervousness that he found endearing. It was that sensation he enjoyed; it danced with his body, trying to learn as they went.
The demanding need of air, forced her to break away, and Exsavior moaned in lament when the feelings were stripped from him.
Mia giggled at him, their proximity remaining the same. “I wish you didn’t have to go tomorrow,” she said.
“My only wish right now is to remain frozen in time with you by my side.” It took everything in her power not blush again.
He sighed, as Mia laid her head on his shoulder to stare up at the sky. “How about we do something when we both get back from our trip?”
Exsavior became curious. “You’re leaving?”
“Yeah, I guess I forgot to mention. Lynn tracked down the address of this woman named Daisy d’Aerie. I was coming here to tell you about that; apparently the woman vanished into thin air at the funeral.”
“Be careful, she could be dangerous.”
Mia grabbed hold of his waist and gave him a squeeze. “I will. Lynn is strong, so no need to worry. I just hope David doesn’t get lonely.”
“Isabel spoke to him. She explained that it was necessary for her to accompany me to the Sierra Reserve. I would love for him to come, but that might put him in unnecessary danger.”
“I hope you don’t get in any danger,” she said.
Exsavior smiled. “Don’t worry, Isabel is strong.”
Mia giggled. “Did you just make a joke?”
They both laughed at the comment. “I am not humor impaired, but honestly, she is one tough girl. Though, I would never let her protect me.”
Mia rolled her eyes playfully. “Ok Mr. Macho, let’s forget about that for a while. Tell me more about the stars.”
Exsavior grinned and proceeded in pointing at the sky. They basked in each other’s presence for the rest of the night with high hopes of it never ending.
~~~~********~~~~~~~~********~~~~~~~~********~~~~~~~~********~~~~~~~~********~~~~~~~~******
The next day was hotter than they had anticipated, and it added to a certain blonde witch's annoyance.
“Dammit, it’s so damn hot, and all the bugs,” Isabel whined as her hand collided with her forehead. The sound of sweat, slapping against her skin, irked her every sense. “Yuck! This is too big to be a mosquito.” She complained in disgust, while whipping away the nasty essence of the bug she killed.
There were sounds of rummaging all around the forest, as the leaves and trees were unsettled. It was a dense forest—humid and arid—making the means of traveling by car unfeasible.
“Exsavior, stop running around like a child!” she yelled in anger. Her voice echoed throughout the woods, and it made the rummaging stop.
In a whisk, the loud thundering steps of a running wild animal rampaged in her direction. Each thump felt as if it was a stampede, either that or the beast was big and heavy.
Isabel stood her ground in annoyance, she did not even bother look in the direction where the sounds came from.
In one instant, Exsavior appeared before her. His giant raven wolf form towered over her like an overgrown pup. The pink tongue fell to the side of his snout and he embraced the urge to gawk at her.
“Isabel, this place is amazing! Trees, grass, the bright sky, and the smell of moon flowers, it’s all so surreal!”
Her discomfort was blatant; Isabel was hot and sweaty, insects were gnawing at her skin, and the leaves and foliage kept getting in her hair.
In a nettling fashion, she handed the spare clothes to the giant wolf. “Just put these on. We’re here on business, remember? Not for fun.”
Exsavior groaned and shifted back to his human form, making Isabel turn her gaze elsewhere. He put on his clothes in haste, unable to contain himself.
“There I’m dressed, be back in a bit,” he exclaimed in excitement.
Isabel turned with a rapid motion to face him but saw no one. “Damn you Exsavior! Margery wanted you to come here on business!” she yelled, but to no avail.
Isabel grumbled to herself, and followed the best way she could. The sight of her small form from below continued to disappear, until Exsavior could not see Isabel anymore.
It was natural for a werewolf to let loose in a forest as dense as Glendale National Park. Of course, he knew that for Margery he needed to complete the mission. That was her last request of him, and it was painful to realize that they’re parting wasn’t the best.
‘Never thought I’d come here, but then again…the last events were a bit of a shocker,’ Exsavior thought, as he jumped from tree to tree in a cat-like manner.
It had taken Isabel at least one hour to drive them to Glendale, the very same city where Margery’s funeral was held. Locke had taken care of that, finding her body and making sure that the humans did not find anything suspicious, which led him to choose Glendale as her resting place. The city was an hour away from any evidential site that could connect her to the other cemetery. Nevertheless, whether Margery was connected to what had happened was a different story.
The current task was to reach The Sierra Reserve. Exsavior was worried at first, but the thought of Mia waiting for him back home, gave him all the resolve he needed. Apparently, the Reserve was secluded to an extent that humans avoided it altogether. It was indeed beyond the thickness of Glendale National Park, high up in the mountainous regions just as he was told.
“Toushiro!” Right before Exsavior’s eyes, a small sandy blonde haired boy emerged from the trees. He clashed with Exsavior’s speeding body, but before he lost his balance, Exsavior grabbed hold of him.
Out of sheer instincts, the boy started to fight against him, but Exsavior jumped towards another tree in order to recompose his balance. He did not even see the young girl who also landed on the branch.
She gasped, and tripped on her own feet, causing her to fall off. Exsavior moved quickly, and swooped down to catch her. The boy never ceased his grumblings, since he was being held like a trash bag by the collar.
The young girl’s slender body fit into his one arm as if a key to a lock. Exsavior made sure to hold her firmly in place until he landed on the ground.
“Let me go you jerk!” the young boy yelled.
Exsavior scoffed and put down the girl. She was thin, bearing a delicate appearance. Her jet black hair that fell at the middle of her back adorned her porcelain face in an almost flawless fashion. The clothes she wore told Exsavior that she was a part of the Sierra Reserve. They were of a different material, as opposed to the everyday clothing you see on humans.
She had a small wool-like knitted poncho that covered her chest with patterns of grey and brown. It was decorated beautifully and it went well with her translucent silky long-sleeved white garment that she wore as a top. Her ankles had two fluffy bracelets that Exsavior remembered well—they were similar to his sister’s. He also noticed her bare feet which told him she indeed was of the First People. Lastly, the girl’s grey skirt had the same patterns as the poncho and it was loose enough for her to move about like Exsavior had.
The most notable thing that she had, aside from the furred bracelets, was a beautiful white star flower in her hair.
“Dude, are you ever gonna let me go?” the kid who went by Toushiro, exclaimed.
Exsavior chuckled, and stared at the girl. She moved back an inch, her face resembling an action he knew all too well.
“I have a feeling if I let him go, he’ll run off.” There was laughter in his voice. “My name is Exsavior by the way,” he said as he bowed.
“My—my one and only…” It was a low remark, but Exsavior heard it nonetheless. It confused him and when he lifted his stare to her, he noted how her cheeks were flushed further.
“Pardon?”
“Oh—I mean—uh, my name is Jasmine,” she recomposed herself the best way she could and stiffened her posture. Her eyes feigned defiance. “…and I am the Flower Maiden of the Mountain Wolf pack in the Sierra Reserve, daughter of Alpha Haldus.”