I opened the door to the hotel room and helped Bryson in to the closest chair. He winced, easing back as he sagged in the chair.
He'd been quiet during our long trek back through the woods. It'd been long one, night had already fallen.
"Nice place," Bryson said gruffly.
I ignored the comment and went through the bag on my bed, searching for the two cases.
One was a plastic pouch, a normal first aid kit that I picked up from a convenience store on the drive down. The other wasn't as normal. It was something my grandfather originally had. The one thing I had asked my parents for before the silence began.
I carried the wooden box and the first aid kit to the little table by Bryson. Pulling the other chair around so I could sit in front of him, I sat and leaned back.
"So, I'm not a doctor or anything, but I can patch you up at least. What hurts the most?"
Bryson rolled his good eye up at me. "My ego, mostly."
I stared at him a moment. Jay would kill me if he found out, but...
I reached into the cargo pocket on my leg and pulled out a silver flask. I set it on the table next to the wide-eyed Bryson.
He snatched it from the table. "What are you doing with that? How old are you anyway."
"Figures, I'm being nice, and you're going to card me?"
"You're a minor!"
"Right." I stood up, pushing the chair back. I reached for my grandfather's case, but Bryson stopped me.
"Thanks." He loosened the top and took a swig, and winced all over again.
"Yeah, whatever." I sat back down and smiled when he gasped with the afterburn of the liquor.
"What the hell do you have in there? Lighter fluid?"
"Well, that's one use for it." I flipped the latched on the case and opened the lid. Inside, the box was full of little vials, packets and powders. Most of them were unlabeled, but I knew them all by smell, color, or taste. I pulled a small vial of amber liquid and a packet out, setting them beside the first aid kit.
"What's all that?" Bryson asked after another swig.
"Probably better if you didn't ask."
It was Bryson's turn to grunt and look away. "Right."
I pulled some gauze out of the first aid kit and poured a little of the liquid from the vial on it. I leaned forward, moving to dab at his split lip.
He pulled away, "Ok, seriously, that stuff smells horrible. What in it?"
"It's a natural antiseptic mix with a few things that will speed up the healing process. Any more questions?"
"Yeah, did you really follow us all the way out here by yourself? Can you even drive?"
I started cleaning the wound on his lip, not too gently. "Who said I came out here alone?"
"Well, if you're not alone, where's the other person?"
"Does it really matter?" I finished with his lip, and stood, tossing the gauze in the waste bin. I grabbed a glass from the dresser next to the tv and poured the contents of the packet into it before taking my seat again.
"Pour some of that liquor in this," I said, setting the glass on the table. He did as I asked, and I motioned when he should stop.
I swished the glass around, mixing until the powder was dissolved in the liquor. Setting the glass down on the table, I went back to the case, digging through the vials for the last ingredient.
"So, what's out here that Seth had to come and see himself? Who is it that's going to help him?"
Bryson closed his good eye, and almost shrank in on himself.
"Look," I continued, finding what I wanted at the very bottom of the case. "I don't really care what's going on or who your allegiance falls to, but if Seth needs my help, I need to know as much as I can."
Bryson looked at me and sat up a little straighter. "I was a friend of Seth's father, who he, and I, up to a few hours ago I guess, were apart of Orion's Order."
I felt my eyebrows rise of their own accord. Orion's Order, that was pretty big.
"And Seth?" I asked.
"He found some of his father's stuff when he was looking for something to help his brother. I thought that they might help him, but I didn't think they would be like this. They've changed. I mean, it's been years since I really saw any of them, not since after Seth's father's death. I know things change over time, but this much?"
I twisted the top of the small bottle I'd dug out of the case. "So, what happened?"
"Seth and I got in yesterday, and they showed us around, but it was more like looking at a potential school or an orientation. They didn't answer any of his questions, kept brushing him off. I confronted Adrian, the guy you saw with me back at Seth's place, about helping Seth find his brother, but well, one thing led to another, I tried to get to Seth, to get him to leave with me, and this happened."
"Why do they want Seth?"
"He's got Orion's Knife. They have a leader again."
The door's lock clicked and opened, letting Jay in. He'd returned to his human form, but the dirt and leaves in his hair made it obvious that he'd been in the woods.
Bryson looked up at him startled.
"Bryson, meet Jay." I held the little vial over the glass of liquor and dissolved powder, and carefully let one drop fall in. The amber liquid turned green instantly. I flicked the glass with my finger, letting the high pitch ring echo in the room. The liquid turned dark purple.
I pushed the glass closer to Bryson, and he stared at it disgust.
"Do you think I'm really going to drink that?"
Jay laughed, "You better drink it, or he'll be pissed. That's one of the most expensive medicines in his kit." He turned to me and said more seriously, "And I hope for your sake the liquor you used was his."
I laughed a little, cringing on the inside as he walked back to the tiny bathroom in the back of the room. A few minutes after he shut the door, I heard the shower turn on.
Bryson had watched the exchange, carefully keeping his opinion to himself.
I pushed the glass closer to him again. "Just drink it. It'll make you feel better, and if we're going to get Seth out, you'll need the strength."
He picked up the glass, looking at the purple drink with disdain before downing it in one gulp.
"Gods, that was nasty," he said coughing.
I twisted the cap back onto the vial and stored it away in the case.
"Do you know where in the mansion Seth is? Is it possible to get to him?" I asked him.
"It won't matter unless we can get into the place." Bryson took a long swig from the flask. "They've got their own casters and keep a number of works spelled on the outer wall alone."
I stood, giving him a smirk as he looked up at me. "Leave the magic stuff to me. Protections are my specialty."
I slipped the wooden case back into my bag and turned back for the first aid kit. "Looks like we won't need this now."
Bryson's injuries were healing quickly, the swelling around his eye was almost completely gone, leaving allowing the dark bruising to show.
Jay came out of the bathroom, just in his jeans and drying off his short hair with a towel. Steam escaped from the small room. "Have we got a plan yet?"
I flopped on to my bed, pulling my duffle bag closer to rummage through it. "We go and get Seth out."
"Uh-huh, and how is that a plan?" Jay asked.
I found the little flip knife at the bottom of my bag, and the velvet bag of stones. I transferred them both to the cargo pocket on my jeans.
"I find us a way through their spells, and he leads us to Seth. How hard is that?"
Bryson laughed. "You?! You think that you can break through Orion's most powerful protective spells?"
I stood again. "Who said anything about breaking them? There are other ways around a spell."
Jay crossed his arms over his chest. "Are you sure you can do it?"
"Reasonably," I said, thinking about it. "I won't know for sure until I see what they've got up, but it can't be any more elaborate than my family's stuff, right?"
"Right," the avian said and rolled his eyes at me. He turned to Bryson. "You're apart of them, or were, what can you do?"
Bryson stood. "I can fight."
"You can fight?" Jay said, doubtfully, but Bryson held up a hand.
"Don't look at me like that. Anyone would be beaten as bad as I was if it was fifteen to one."
I stood, moving between them before anything got out of hand. "Let's just go and get Seth, right? Before he decides to go and do something stupid on his own?"
Bryson and Jay stood, continuing to stare at one another. I finally just moved past them and opened the door, stepping out into the night without them.
--------------------------------------------------
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed the chapter, please remember to comment and vote! <3
Next chapter will be posted Tues, Dec 19th!
~J.D.