A thick fog had spread throughout the city since morning and there was that harsh, smoky scent in the air. It took me about an hour to get there on foot, but I found myself in Iulius Park at nine with a score of questions.
It was empty and silent, no wind to rattle the branches, nor any people wandering about. Usually there'd be at least a couple of people around, even if just passing through.
I started walking around to find Helen and kept off the wooden pathway at the edge of the lake for fear of slipping in. The air was wet and cold enough.
Finding her wouldn't be easy. I drifted through the empty park, doing my best to spot Helen in the fog. She hadn't given me a specific location for our meeting. It wouldn't have normally been a problem, the park was fairly small, but the fog was far too dense. Maybe she'd be under a lamppost at least.
That note had been on my mind the whole day, but it was far too short and I knew far too little about Helen to be able to piece anything together. Wasn't even sure I should meet her, but there was something about the whole thing that felt off. She was scared.
Sorcerers aside, something was happening to her, that much was obvious. While I did complain to Roland about the girls asking for ghostbusting services, I had done my best to help them. Whatever Helen had gotten herself into, there might have been a way for me to help.
I noticed someone underneath a lamppost and rushed to them, but I realized something was wrong. The air's smell changed to hazelnut and I knew exactly who it was—precisely the last person I felt like dealing with.
This time, Taire's auburn hair was caught back and she wore a black swimsuit. Her hands were raised and her upper body swayed in the absent wind, somehow making rustling noises, in defiance of logic. Was she pretending to be a tree?
"My Voice," she said, turning her blindfolded face toward me, "I'm glad to find you here."
Yeah, like you didn't know exactly where I was.
"Likewise, my Goddess," I said with a slight bow. It was incredibly annoying how she kept swaying even when talking to me.
"I would like you to do something for me," she said and stopped her movements to face me, though her hands were still raised, as if praising a forgotten sun. "If you don't, I'll break your arm."
I groaned. Exactly what I needed right now. I couldn't go on any of Taire's stupid errands, I was already running late because I couldn't find Helen.
A groan shook my throat before I could stop myself. There's only so much crazy I can deal with in a single day and Helen might actually need my help. Screw Taire and her stupid errands.
"Give me a break, I have to meet someone, I can't—"
Taire didn't let me finish. She grabbed my injured right arm in a steel grip and started twisting it. I fell to my knees in an instant and tried pulling my arm away but she was insanely strong. The pain of feeling my arm twist further and further from its natural position made me yelp.
"No, no, not that kind of break, dammit," I said, almost out of breath from the pain, "I'll do it, I'm sorry, I'll do it."
She released me and I stayed there like that, on my knees, rubbing my aching arm. Loan sharks shaking me for money were kinder than her. Could I switch to a different God, please? I don't particularly like how this one makes me bow before her.
"Very well, punk, your task is to avoid dying at all costs. If you don't, I'll—" she said and paused for a moment. You'll do what, exactly?
"Either way, fulfill your task," Taire said, and with that the hazelnut scent was replaced by the smell of the fog. I didn't need to look up to know she was gone. Of all the stupid requests she'd had for me, that one must have been the stupidest. The most ominous as well, especially given why I'd come to the park to begin with.
After a while, the pain receded to a dull ache and I managed to get to my feet and start looking for Helen again. Fifteen minutes late, but I eventually found her waiting on the pathway, just in view of the mall. As we got close enough to see each other's faces, she visibly relaxed and gave me half a smile. Worried and anxious, yet she was still so beautiful.
"I'm sorry I'm late. I was," I said and paused for a moment to rub my aching arm, "delayed."
"It's quite alright," Helen said and motioned for us to move. "Shall we take a walk?"
We did. We walked farther along the pathway in silence for a minute or so. It wasn't oppressive silence or anything. It felt like a prelude, like she was letting the silence speak for her until she could arrange her thoughts.
"I'm sorry I called you here so late," she said, her eyes glued to the pathway just ahead of her. "I've tried everything, but nobody would help me. They're too afraid. You're the only one I haven't asked yet."
It was kind of annoying that I was the last person on her list, but I wasn't sure why exactly, all things considered.
"Sorry, I don't understand," I said. "You said sorcerers are trying to kill you. Could you maybe elaborate on that? I'm not really clear on what that means."
Helen stopped and I turned to face her. "Sorcerers of the Quartet have tried to kill me," she said, looking confused. "What do you want me to explain about it?"
"Well," I said, "how? How did they try to kill you, how do you know they were sorcerers?"
"They used magic, Alex," she said. "They used magic in a way that would end with me not drawing breath. It obviously hasn't happened yet, but I need help. Nowhere is safe for me anymore, there's nobody—"
Helen stopped and looked over my shoulder. Two dark silhouettes were making their way toward us, their features becoming clearer with each step they took.
"No," Helen said in a whisper, "they're here."
I looked the two over as they got closer. One of them was a tall man, about a head taller than me, with long, dark hair caught back. The other was a woman with short, wild hair dyed blue. She was just a bit shorter than me, about as tall as Helen. They both wore charcoal gray trench coats and took another few steps until they stopped a couple of meters away from us.
Before anything else could come to mind, I got between Helen and the two. I don't know about magic, but it seemed Helen really was being targeted and there was no way I'd sit by and let them have her.
The man crossed his arms and looked me over. "Who's he? I haven't seen him before. Think he's a freelancer or a simpleton?"
The woman narrowed her eyes and started looking me over. "He looks like a simpleton, I think."
"Yeah?" I said. "Well, you two looks like plebs."
"Right," the man said, "walk away, simpleton, this does not concern you."
My hands were shaking, my breathing fast, but my thoughts were clear—maybe even clearer than usual. Walk away and let them have Helen? Yeah, no chance. I didn't know who these people were, but I did know I couldn't live with myself if I didn't try to protect her.
I grabbed Helen's hand, my eyes fixed on the two in front of me. "Run, I'll keep them busy."
The wild-haired woman grinned and gave me a slow clap, while the man just watched us without expression. Helen squeezed my hand, moved closer to me, and whispered a soft "no, I can't leave you behind" in my ear. If I wasn't shaking, that would have made my knees go weak.
"Whatever, no witnesses," he said and both of them reached into their long coats. It's not often I feel thankful to my crazy Goddess, but this time was and exception. Had she not inoculated me with randomness, I might have been a bit... befuddled. The reason being that they pulled out a longsword each.
I didn't get much time to take it in before they whispered something and their swords caught fire. If the swords were unexpected, the fire was outright insane. Well, Helen was right about them being sorcerers. Now what?
"Let's not kill him," the woman said, her features distorted by the hot air rising from her sword, "I kind of like him."
"Really, sis," the man said with an exasperated look, "a simpleton?"
The woman shrugged, "I don't want to marry him."
"Alright," I said, "the next one of you two highlanders to call me a simpleton gets a bloody nose."
The woman burst into laughter and her brother turned to her for a moment. It seemed like that was the moment Helen was waiting for because she raised her hand over my shoulder and whispered a few words I couldn't make out. A powerful gale picked up some dead leaves and blew the two sorcerers back. They slipped as they tried to regain their footing and dropped their swords in a pair of loud clanks. The fire went out of them.
Helen grabbed my arm and started pulling, but she didn't have to. I was already running right beside her.
So, magic is real. Weirder things had happened. I could make so much fun of Roland, at least. We just needed to make it out alive.