Brave New World

October22, 2011

Reynastepped over another large ruin of the once mighty Temple of Zeus at Olympia asshe navigated her way closer to what would have been the cella of thebuilding. Scratching the gauzy bandageover the inside of her left forearm, she wondered what actually happened to thegiant statue of the King of the Grecian gods. Her lips titled upwards wryly as she thought of an ancient Casteraccidentally making the gold and ivory statue vanish and not knowing where orhow to summon it back. It’s a completelypossible scenario.

Groaningin frustration as her arm began to itch even more, Reyna pulled back thebandage to look at the puffy, slightly red skin that was beneath. The ink of her latest tattoo glistened in thesun, and it reminded Reyna of the sticky substance that fake tattoos wouldleave. She had gained seven tattoos onthe inside of her forearm over the past year or so. Seven tattoos, seven contracts, seven Devils. Her latest contract had been with a Devilnamed Valac and was known for giving true answers, which Reyna figured wouldcome in handy. After rubbing the skinsoftly, trying to alieve the itch, she hummed under her breath and looked atthe two circles at the top, just under her wrist. She’d need to check in on Bub soon and reportto Sam on his wellbeing, lest the latter decided to check in on her.

Walkingfurther into the ruined temple, she took out her camera and snapped a few shotsof the slabs that used to make up the columns. Feeling a slight vibration in her back pocket, Reyna pulled out hercellphone and frowned slightly when she saw that Lokesh was calling. Sighing in resignation, she answered thecall. “Hello?”

“Hello? Reyna? Yes, hi, it’s Lokesh. How are you doing?”

“Umm,I’m fine, and you?” She asked, hopingthe pleasantries ended soon.

“I’m well, thank you. Now Reyna, I have some news . . . in regardsto Dunstan.”

Reynacouldn’t help the sigh that erupted from deep within her lungs, “What abouthim?”

“We’ve located him. He’s in D.C., and we’re planning on—on attackinghim. Soon. All of us; Marcus, Donny, and Jorge. We would like for you . . . for you to comewith us. We need all the firepower wecan muster if we want to successfully bind and capture Dunstan.”

“Youwant me to come back to the states and help bindDunstan’s magic?”

“Yes, it’s unfortunate that we’ve come tothis, but Donny and I believe this is the only way. He’s grown too dangerous to the public. Especially since his last attack on Congress.”

“Heattacked Congress? No, no wait, I don’twanna know.” Sighing again, she turned her face up to the sky and closed hereyes, trying to replace patience. “Iseveryone okay though?”

“Thankfully yes,” Lokesh responded, a bithesitantly. “So will you come back and help? We could really use you, Reyna.”

Pinchingthe bridge between her nose, Reyna ground her teeth together before replying,“No, Lokesh. I’m not coming back. I don’t—I don’t want to get involved. I just—I can’t, okay?”

“Are you sure, Reyna? It might be good for you, you know. To come and face him again. Maybe replace some closure in that regard.”

“No. No, Lokesh, I’m sure. I’ve—I’ve got to go now, okay? Let me know how it goes, I guess?”

“Of course. Be safe, Reyna.”

Takingthat as an official goodbye, Reyna tapped the end button on her new phone. A sick feeling settled in the bottom of herstomach and saliva began to pool into her mouth. Swallowing thickly, she walked out of theancient ruins and started back towards the nearby Elven community.

Ithad been over a year since the fiasco at the King campaign office. Once Melchiorn had shown up, Reyna didn’twaste any time gathering her few valuables from the brownstone—which wasthankfully empty at the time—and fleeing with Melchiorn to Europe. He had already been planning on visiting thecontinent, and had been blessingly calm about her joining him. So far the two had been to fifteen differentcountries, hopping from one Elven sanctuary to another.

Melchiornhadn’t pressed Reyna about what had happened that day, something she would beeternally thankful for, nor did he pass judgement on her for her actions or herlack thereof during the event in question once she finally mustered up thecourage to tell him everything. He’djust listened patiently, hummed during a few parts, and smiled at hersoothingly once she was finished with her story. It had been cathartic, telling him what shefelt that day, and how she still felt after the fact. Even so long after the event, Reyna stillsometimes woke up in a cold sweat after having a nightmare about a Fairykilling an innocent person. Sometimesshe dreamt of one of them killing her, but Reyna found the former ones worse.

Shakingher head as she made her way down a worn down dirt road, Reyna figured shemight as well check in with Bub. Quicklyreplaceing his name in her contacts, she pressed the green call button andlistened to the generic ring.

“Hello?” His deep voice answered.

“Hey,Bub, it’s me. How’re you doing?”

“Reyna? Hey! Good, good, everything’sgoing good. I’m actually almost donewith physical therapy!”

Reynacould hear the smile in his voice and felt a smile grace her own lips inresponse. “Really? That’s great, Bub! How much longer do you got left?”

“Umm, three more weeks, I think. Definitely less than a month. And, um, well . . . that’s not my only goodnews.”

“Oh? What’s up?”

“I, uh, I’m engaged.”

“Shutup!” Reyna exclaimed. “You’re lying! Who the hell did you get engaged to? How the hell did you manage that?”

Bublet out a nervous laugh, “Well, hername’s Hannah, and she’s a nurse on my floor. Not my nurse, of course—that’d be weird—but, well, yeah, that’s how.”

“Ohmy god. Sam’s gonna kill you!” she teased. “When’s the wedding? How’d youpropose? Wait, how did you propose? Did you evenhave a ring to give her? Bub! Pleasetell me you had a ring! Oh, god, haveyou even gone on a date withher? Wait. She’s not, like, pregnant is she?”

“What?” Bub asked, sounding quite shockedat the idea. “Of course she’s not! And yes,Reyna, I did have a ring, thank you very much. My, uh, dad gave me my grandmother’s. Well, Imean . . . you know. And yes, we’ve goneon dates. Jesus,” he sighed, “if you’re being this dramatic I can onlyimagine how Sam will be.” He mumbled, “Anyway,we haven’t set a date yet, but you’ll come, yeah?”

“Duh,” she responded with a roll of hereyes. “Have you guys started planning itat all? Like, were you thinking a summerwedding, maybe? Those are popular, soyou might wanna wait for, like, fall or something. You have to send me a pic of her, too! Oh this is so exciting! I can’t believe it. You’regetting married! Wait, have you toldSam yet?”

“Ah, no, well, not yet. You’ve kinda been our main method ofcommunication since, well, you know. So. . . I was kind of hoping you’d tell him?”

“Me? You want meto break the news to Samyaza that hisbaby brother is getting married? Really?”

“Ahh, yes. Please.”

“Ugh,fine, but consider this my engagement gift, all right?”

“Thank you!” He practically sang.

Then, after somebackground voices were heard, quickly said his goodbyes and left Reyna to callSamyaza. Laughing incredulously, shecould hardly believe that the great Demon Lord Beelzebub would soon be gettingmarried to a mortal woman. Oh, what a funnyworld it was. Diverting from the wornpath, she found a cozy, secluded spot to summon Sam without being disturbed orcause a panic. Finding his symbol on herarm, Reyna pressed her index finger onto the mark, then placed the same fingeronto a boulder that sat underneath a tree. The symbol copied itself from her arm to the stone and began to sizzlewith the power of a summons.

“Who dares—oh, Reyna, it’s you.” Sam cut himself off, which Reyna thought wasa shame. His ‘I am Demon, hear me roar,’voice was always amusing to listen to. Especially when it wasn’t being used to threaten her. “What do you want?” He asked snidely.

“Hi to you, too,Sammie.” She greeted, her lips nowpulling back into a dry grin. “I’ve gotnews from Bub.”

“Bub? Is he okay?” He asked, his large white eyes growing larger as he leaned in closer tothe invisible barrier between them.

Waving her hand athis worries, she assured him, “Yes, yes, he’s fine. Better than fine, actually. He’s getting hitched!”

“What does that mean?”

“Uh, really? It means he’s getting married!”

“What? To who? I do not approve!” He growled,eyes narrowing into slits. “No, nuh-uh,he’s not getting married. Nope.” He shook his head, reminding Reyna of a childin complete denial.

“Approval or not,wittle-Bubbie-wubbie is getting married. To a girl named Hannah, in case you wondered. She’s a nurse, and that’s all I got,really. When he sends me a picture ofher, though, you’ll be the first one I call. How’s that sound?”

“He’s reallygetting married?” Sam asked in aslightly whiny voice. “This is toosoon. He’s barely been living in yourworld for a year. How could he beconsidering marriage? It’sridiculous! I don’t like it, Reyna. Youhave to tell him he can’t.”

“What? No way! First, it’s not my place. Second,he wanted to live like a human, and getting married is pretty human. He seems really excited about it, too, sodon’t you dare ruin this for him, Samyaza!”

“But he’s soyoung!”

“Hardly,” Reynamuttered, “Just be happy for your brother, okay?” She added after she saw the his eyes narrowagain. “You can be, like, his best manor something, too! We’ll pick out anice, unoccupied body for you to go in. I can even be your date.” Shesaid with a waggle of her eyebrows. Thankfully he seemed to relax at her words.

Samyaza was silentfor a moment longer, “He’s really getting married?” He asked again. Patiently, Reyna nodded her head and waitedfor the acceptance to sink in. Samhummed thoughtfully, then gave an almost jerk like shrug. “Fine,” he grumbled, “I guess then he had myblessing. She better be worth him,though. If she’s not I’ll—”

“Yeah, yeah,”Reyna cut him off, “You’ll do something more horrible than words can describeto her. I know.”

Samyaza grumbledat her dismissal, but didn’t say anything further. After checking that there was nothing else,he scratched at his own seal, successfully breaking it and disappearing fromReyna’s sight. Brushing off his abruptbehavior—because that was nothing new—she started back on her originalpath.

Reyna stopped at afew more ruins along her way back to the Elven community. She’d gotten plenty of pictures of temples,statues, and descriptive plaques. Enough to spam a Facebook page feed. If she had a Facebook, that is. She couldn’t wait to show them all off toJared once she returned to New York. She’d kept in touch loosely with her friends while gallivanting acrossEurope with Melchiorn, but only with a few phone calls here and there. Nothing too substantial. It was hard at times, but Reyna couldn’timagine staying state side after her fall out with Dunstan. Neither he nor any Fae had come after her,but she still felt on edge whenever she was on her own. Almost as if someone was watching her.

She at least feltconfident that if someone did try and attack her, she’d be able to defendherself. Reyna had used her year awaywisely, researching and practicing unorthodox forms of magic to give herself anedge. Her sights were currently set onvisiting Africa to study the birthplace of magic in more depth. For now though, she was content to journeyalong with Melchiorn and learn about his people’s culture and their own brandof magic.

By the time Reynamade it back to the sanctuary in the dead center of Mount Olympus NationalPark, the sun was almost completely set. The lack of the sun’s rays and their heat caused her body to shiver andtremble. Pulling her hoodie closer,Reyna hurried to her bedroom so she could snuggle up in some comfy pajamas andcurl into bed with a nice book. It wouldbe next to impossible to replace Mel at this time of day, and even if she did he’dmost likely be in a meeting with some other Elves, so Reyna didn’t even bothertrying to replace her friend. The odds werealso in favor of Melchiorn having gone to bed already. Elves weren’t all too fond of moderntechnology because of its negative effects on the environment, so they livedquite simple lives. Rise with the sun,rest when it sets, that sort of thing. They didn’t even have pens in the sanctuary! Reyna had been disturbingly shocked and awedwhen she found out every book in their libraries had been written by hand, andwith an inked quill no less. That took atype of dedication Reyna wasn’t sure she had.

Reyna wasn’t sureexactly when she fell asleep, she’d been reading by the light of her own magic,and the last time she checked her cell phone for the time it was just past ten,but the next thing she knew she was being rudely awaken by the shrill ring ofher phone. Blinking her bleary eyes, shereached to her side table and winced at the screen’s bright glare as the nameMarcus appeared. Rubbing her eyes, Reynacould see white dots behind her eyelids and let out a pathetic groan. It wasn’t even six in the morning. Why was Marcus calling her? It had to be close to midnight his time. Shaking her head, Reyna answered with agroggy voice, “Marcus?”

“Reyna—Reyna?” Marcus’ shrill voice filtered through thephone.

Sitting upstraighter, Reyna felt completely awake now. “Marcus? What’s wrong?”

“Reyna,” he stopped and Reyna heard himhold back a sob, “Oh, God, Reyna. I—I need you to come h—home, please. Please, please, please, just come back home.”

“Marcus? Marcus, tell me what’s going on? Are you okay?”

Another sob couldbe heard, making Reyna feel even more on edge. “Yeah, yeah I’m okay. It’s—It’snot me. I mean—Reyna, oh God, Reyna,Lokesh’s dead!”

For a second theworld stopped. Reyna’s heart sunk lowinto her stomach, a soft humming sound filled her ears, and her hand spasmed sohard at the news she almost dropped the phone. “What?” She heard herself ask.

“Please, Reyna, please, please just comehome. I can’t—” he broke off withanother muffled sob and just like that the world began to spin again.

Swinging her legsoff the bed, Reyna held the phone between her cheek with her shoulder as sherummaged around the room for some clothes. “Okay, okay, Marcus? I’m leavingnow, okay? I’m not going to hang up thephone, though, okay? I’m not leaving youuntil I step onto a plane, okay?” Spinning around several times until she finally found a suitable shirt,Reyna then began stuffing all her belongings into her suitcase. “Just—just try to, ah, calm down, okay? Take some deep breaths for me, Marcus. Where are you right now? Are you—are you at home? Are you somewhere safe?”

Placing the phoneon speakerphone so she could better multi-task, Reyna waited with almost baitedbreath for his reply as she continued to shove items into her bag andfrantically look around for anything she might’ve missed. “Yeah—yeah,I’m safe. I’m w—with Donny andJorge. We just, we just, ah—oh God, Reyna, it was terrible.” His throat hitched again, sending Reyna intoa mild panic attack. Pulling out a Swissarmy knife, she pricked her thumb with the point and smeared the fresh blood ontwo of her tattoo circles, closer to the bottom.

“Go on,” sheprompted Marcus carefully as her arm began to burn. From the shadows of her room two Devilsappeared. Their bodies were black andsleek. If it weren’t for their glowingeyes, Reyna wouldn’t have even known they were there. “Findmy friend Marcus,” she hissed at them, “watchover him and whoever he’s with until I get there. Understand?” They nodded and skulked off, back into theshadows. She’d deal with their paymentlater. “Marcus?” She prompted, double checking the room onelast time. “You still there?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m—I’m still here. I don’tunderstand what happened, Reyna. Thisshouldn’t have happened.” He endedwith a whisper.

Taking the phoneoff speaker, she brought it back up to her ear and asked, “What did happen?”

Marcus shudderedout a sigh, “We went to bind Dunstanand—and he was waiting for us, I guess. There were Fairies there, and some Vampires, too. God, Reyna, it was so bad. I can’t—I don’t—it hurts to think about.”

Reyna’s magicburned through her veins. She could feelit pushing against her skin, itching to be used. She’d skin Dunstan alive if he even laid afinger on Marcus. “It’s okay if youdon’t want to tell me, Marcus,” she told him, though through clenchedteeth. “Just stay on the phone with me,okay?” She wondered if her Devils werethere already, and whether or not they’d been spotted.

“No—no, Reyna. You need to know. Dunstan, he—we got him. We bound him—bound his magic. He got away though, with some Fairies, Ithink. I’m not—I’m not sure,” hepaused again to take in some unsteady breaths. “I don’t know—I don’t understandwhat happened. One minute Lokesh wasfine, then the spell ended and he just collapsed! Reyna, I don’t know what to do.”

“It’ll—it’ll beokay, Marcus,” she said softly, not completely believing her own words. They seemed like the right words to saythough. “I’ll be home soon, okay?”

As promised, Reynastayed on the line with Marcus until she stepped onto her plane at 11:15A.M. It was the earliest flight shecould get onto, and ten hours later, she landed at JFK airport. Even though for her it was past nine in theevening, thanks to the time difference, it was only two in the afternoon whenshe stepped off the plane and back onto U.S. soil. Feeling jetlagged, but determined, Reynahurried her way out of the airport and into a cab with strict orders to driveas quickly as the driver could without being pulled over.

By 3:30 Reynaarrived at Donny’s apartment where Marcus told her to meet and had to forceherself to wait for the elevator instead of racing up the thirty seven flightsof stairs. The elevator let out acheerful ding when it let her off on the penthouse floor. The sound grated on Reyna’s frayed nerves,but when she saw the defeated looking forms huddled together, her mind blankedand she ran full speed until she collided into Marcus.

Not one to be leftout, Jorge’s arms soon curled around both their forms and the three of themheld on to each other like they were the last life line. One of Reyna’s fists clutched painfully tothe back of Marcus’s shirt, and she was sure if she pulled just a bit hardershe’d rip the fabric. Her other handcurled around Jorge’s neck and stroked at the long strands of his deflatedgolden hair. Marcus tucked Reyna’s headunderneath his chin and held her as close as he could while simultaneouslytrying to wrap both his arms around Jorge’s waist as well. Jorge, will his long limbs, was able togather both his friends close to his chest, arms around Marcus’ shoulders withReyna squished in between. The threewere so entangled, Reyna was no longer sure where one person began and theother ended. Not that she minded. Her eyes were closed and she tried to holdback tears and a sob caught in her throat. She could feel Marcus’ body tremble with sadness and fear, and thescruff of Jorge’s chin as he moved to press a comforting kiss to the otherboy’s cheek.

A hacking coughacross the room prompted Reyna to open her eyes and tilt her face to theside. Donny sat on a bar stool on theother side of the room, one had curled around a large, brown drink and theother holding onto the burned out stub of a cigarette. Flicking the dead cigarette into an ash trayfull of similar stubs, Donny wasted no time in lighting up a new one. He looked tired, with his eyes glazed anddistant. Reyna wasn’t sure if that wasdue to grief or the alcohol. Maybeboth.

“Reyna, how niceof you to grace us with your presence now . . . after all the excitement hasdied down.” Donny said with a slightslur to his condescending tone. Flinching away from his words, Reyna responded by holding on to Marcusand Jorge even tighter. “Those are yours, I assume?” He asked with a shaky wave of his glassfilled hand towards two unnaturally dark shadows near the windows.

Pursing her lips,Reyna nodded, “They are.”

He scoffed, “Applenot falling far from that tree, Isee.”

“Donny,” Jorge hissed. Donny shrugged unapologetically and returnedhis attention to his glass of scotch. This time she was the one to receive a comforting kiss from Jorge.

Not knowing whatto do, or what to say, they moved their entwined bulk to the couch. Once they were comfortable again, though, thethree of them curled into one another, refusing to stop touching each other forlonger than a second. Marcus’ head nowrested on top of Reyna’s chest, and hers rested on Jorge’s. Jorge’s rested against the arm of the couchand had pulled his two friends into his arms once more with Reyna restingbetween his legs and Marcus practically laying on top of her.

After a longstretch of silence, possibly an hour, Reyna asked, “What happens now?” She hadn’t meant for it to come out sobreathless, so filled with despair.

Marcus twisted hisneck so he could look up at her, “I guess we have to plan Lokesh’s—Lokesh’sfuneral.” Jorge’s arms tightened aroundthem when Marcus’ voice hitched. “Hedoesn’t—didn’t—have any family. Not inAmerica, at least.” He paused, thenadded, “Maybe we should try to replace his family? They should know.”

“Yeah,” Jorgeagreed, “That’s a good idea. We can—wecan, um, try to replace numbers and stuff in his house tomorrow or something. Even perform a tracking spell if we have to.”

Marcus smiledgratefully at Jorge before returning to his original position, his eyes glazingover as he looked out across the room. Reyna brought her arms up to tenderly run her fingers through hishair. She could feel his chest deflate as he letout a peaceful sigh. Biting her lip,Reyna felt like she had to ask, “And what about Dunstan?”

“He’s no longerany concern of ours.” Donny spat out,drawing the gaze of the three apprentices. “He’s the police’s problem now. We did our job. Well,” he saidwhile looking straight at Reyna, “most of us, anyway.”

Looking awayquickly from his all too judging gaze, Reyna felt her head rise down and thenup as Jorge asked the next question. “But the Fae took him, doesn’t that mean he’s still our problem?”

Donny took a deepswig of his drink, finishing it off and then refilling it, “Nah, they’lldiscard him quickly enough once they realize he’s useless to them.” He swayed slightly on the stool. “That’s what they do. Always have, always will. Doesn’t really matter though,” he added,taking a long drag from his cigarette. He paused for so long, Reyna turned her head to look at him again,wondering if he’d forgotten he was speaking. “Dunstan did enough damage. Youtwo will have a fun time cleaning up that mess.” He waved his glass towards Reyna and Marcus.

“What do youmean?” Reyna asked. Even though she couldn’t see Marcus at themoment, she could feel his chin digging into her sternum as he looked at Donny,equally interested.

“Oh, did I forgetto tell you?” He said with a dramaticgasp and flamboyant hand wave. “Mybad. You’re now a Sorcerer and Sorceressof the Council of Three. Cheers!” He raised his glass shakily before downing itin one gulp.

“What?’ Reyna couldn’t help herself, “But Dunstan andI—I mean, I wasn’t his—I don’t—”

“It doesn’t matterwhat you two went through, honey,” he condescended. “You were still Dun-Dun’s apprentice. Besides killing him, there was nothing eitherof you could do to change that.”

Reyna laid her head back down on Jorge’s chest,completely speechless. She felt Marcusstiffen on top of her as well. It wasone thing to be told you’d be something when you grew up, but somethingcompletely different when you actually became that thing. It was especially hoffic considering thecircumstances they found themselves in. One ascending through another death and the other through betrayal. Staring up at the ceiling, Reyna let out adeep sigh. Oh, what a brave new worldthis would be.