#31
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And before he could continue blinking, there was more. Extreme personal infringement, physical -- he did mean physical, right? -- alterations, a gross negligence of his privacy, all these things done for essentially his sake. For his brother's sake and maybe Artemis's too. Something maybe he should be thankful for if he hadn't tunneled onto two single words. "THREE WEEKS?" His brother. Scared, maybe terrified, alone and quite possibly hurt. "YOU LEFT HIM ALONE FOR THREE WEEKS?" He was already pivoting, planting his foot and swinging before he was aware of the motion. Artemis predictably blinked out, leaving Andrew and his fist full of fury to windmill through the air and right onto the floor. But that was okay. Andrew kept right on ranting into the luxurious hardwood. "You bastard! You lied to me! You said we were going to get him! I had just enough hits left to get him out of there." Except he didn't. He had given those hits up for the trust of a ghost. Who had sobered him. Who cared. Maybe about his own head or whatever he thought Andrew could do for him but it was more grace than he had received in a long, long time. And Art had done the unthinkable. He'd gone through detox for him. "sh**," mumbled Andrew. "I'm sorry." The curses kept going in his head as he put one palm flat on the floor, then a knee, and then rose. He almost couldn't look Art in the eyes. "I'm sorry." His fingers splayed near his hips in peace, as if patting the air. It's alright. Everything's fine. I'm not crazy. I may still be a little pissed. He was free in every physical sense of the word. No shakes. No all consuming need -- for anything, even nicotine. But he still had the energy he didn't know what to do with, the need to satisfy it, somehow. And while his habitual method of flooding his body with toxins to quiet it still appealed to him, he was sober enough to acknowledge it was the stupidest of options. But his hands needed something to hit, to work or smoke or -- click. Grabbing the pen from the nightstand table, he clicked it then clicked it and clicked it, still mentally processing. Artemis had said something about running from a Tower. He wasn't crazy. Artemis wasn't a liar. All the unexplainable tension throughout his whole life had (possibly) been magic wanting to be tamed. Magic that was real enough that whatever crude potential he possessed was enough for reality-bending thugs to steal his brother. He tried not to think about it but he was a twin. It was there. The fear, the pain, the anger that Anthony must have felt be feeling. He continued to think in the present tense even as tears formed. He had to help him. No more waiting. Andrew tucked the pen in his ear and beelined to his clothes, pausing only a moment before deciding Art and maybe others had seen him naked already. He tore off the silk pants, paused again at the designer briefs -- what the heck? -- before freeing his old (and clean, hopefully?) boxers from his clothes now piled on a chair. "Let's go, then. You can tell me whatever on the way." Andrew looked up. It took him a moment to find Art. "You know where he is, right? He's alive." He couldn't put that last into question. They're twins. He would feel it if he were dead, right? Like an arm chopped off or something, according to the stories. "What do we do first?" Last edited by Cleokatrah; Dec 7th, 2017 at 09:53 PM. |
#32
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"I believe I told you before, I don't believe it is your brother they are after. He will last just as long as we, know as you pursue him. Not a moment longer. You, at least in their eyes, never stopped. Your brother is most definitely alive."he explained. "There are however some other matters of concern before we get to our destination. You are sober now so I know you are slowly coming to grips with things and can make a decision of your right... state of mind."he said with an emphasis on the latter.
Artemis looked at him very seriously."I need you to come to a decision."he explained. "About yourself, what you truly want to do about things. You and I both know the drugs weren't working, they were just putting off the inevitable. You have a gift in you, like it or not you have to decide on how you plan to use it." He walked with Andrew as he said it leading him through a large mansion estate and into a big hallway. On the walls were great big banners folded down. "One for each of the arcana, or magical element of a sort, that you could learn to tap into if you desire to do so."he explained. "Just like I did." Artemis showed a list of names on a plaque nearby. "The list of mages for my guild, your name could be here one day as well." Before Andrew could respond he motioned for him to follow him toward the back of the room. He moved a wall hanging tapestry out of the way and revealed a secret staircase which they traveled down. "That's the easy part of the conversation. This is the hard part."he said taking him down the spirals of steps until they reached the bottom. They were in a small wine cellar, but instead of wine there were books, very old books. "Welcome to the archive. These are the forbidden books, both books about exterior threats, magic too profane to cast, and lists ofour enemies. Look at this one."he said motioning to the book in the middle. As Andrew approached he saw the book was old but well cared for on the front was the picture of a Red Raven. "The Red Ravens, a dangerous faction of mages who wishes to use their powers for ill gain. I won't get into it now but look at the names on the list."he said gesturing to open the book and page forward. "Back about three pages."he said pointing to the location on the page. About halfway down on the page Andrew saw the name of his great grandfather. "It appears there is a family legacy, one that perhaps one of your later family members tried to escape?" Artemis explained. "I didn't know this until we got here Andrew, this is no bait and switch, but I believe now I know why they want you. They want to restore the family line and they are using you to do it. If you go there without training of any sort they will force you to their dark ways. So you have to ask yourself a few questions."he explained. "How do you want to use this power? Are you going to truly awaken to magehood or would you simply like to know how to keep in under control?"he asked and then followed with "How do you plan to take on these Red Ravens if you don't tap into the magic? Because we're going to need something, unless of course... well there is no easy wway to put it, they are going to attempt to demand it. Andrew. they want you to be a Red Raven, will you be able to resist?" |
#33
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More waiting. More listening. Pent up and Anxious, Andrew kept dressing while Artemis talked. It was weird how it wasn't weird anymore that he could literally stare through this guy and consider him somewhat a friend. Guess maybe that's what sharing a body could do to you.
He picked up the pen again just to click it some more while he followed Artemis into the hall. Well, a hall you could fit his whole former apartment in. Sh*t. His apartment. He hadn't paid rent and it was now overdue. Was there even anything he wanted in there? Staring at the banners and the plaque on Art's walls, all of his worldly possessions seemed small. Artemis said his name could be engraved there along the others; is that what he wanted? He reached out and touched the emblem on one of the banners, expecting to feel a thrill of secret energy or at least the thrill of something forbidden, but felt nothing. "Woah," he said, when the hidden staircase was revealed. Artemis traveled down them right away while Andrew hesitated through the first steps, repeating, "The hard part?" There was more? There was. The books. Old books. Tomb quality archives awaited them on the shelves. Holy sh*t. He touched the one he was directed to, turned its pages. It was an odd and disturbing sensation, his fingertip grazing inks that were halfway to ancient. And then, the name. For a moment, Art's words were nothing but blur. He had never known his great grandfather; his father refused to speak of him. Was this why? He sat down, and because there wasn't a chair readily available, his descent was long and clumsy but he was present enough to keep the bruising to himself and not the book. It sat on his indian-style legs, face up, a dirty list of names that wanted his entry. His thumb clicked once on the pen. "No. I mean... No, I can't. Join them, I mean." He closed the book slowly. "That's...not...even an option. Even if I thought I could hurt, or kill, or steal people like they do. If I thought I could do that to save him, he wouldn't let me. I know he'd rather be dead than...than...that." Andrew swallowed. The pen clicked. He imagined this was how Spiderman felt when having to choose between Mary Jane and the bus full of citizens. Or a soon to be amputee -- would you like to keep your legs or your arms? Decide now. "I know. It's alot." Art had floated down into a similar pose before him. "It's okay." Andrew looked up. Was it possible to look a ghost deep in their eyes? He tried. "You've gone on a limb for me. I get it. You've been more a friend than anyone has, for a long time. I want to do whatever it is you think I can do that will bring you back. Cause you were right about one thing. He's worth saving. I wasn't ever going to live a normal life anyway." "And before you ask me. Yeah, I'm sure." |
#34
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Artemis considered Andrew for a second taking him in, taking in every word he said and marinating in it as if it were the exocential fate of the world formed in one breath and him in his phantom form weighed its truth in the moment. In short for the first time since Andrew had met him Arty was truely judging Andrew, judging his intentions, judging his truth.
"I don't want you to do it because I'm asking, you have to want it. It isn't he only way, but its the way I know."he explained. "There are other mortals out there who fight the good fight, some better than others, but they do it. It isn't easy but the good ones find the bad things, the vampires, the ghosts, the demons come to form, and they keep the oblivious safe. Others think anything supernatural is evil and hunt mages just as they would a werewolf. There is a great big terrible world out there and if you go to the tower you will be painting a bullsye on your back..."he said. He then closed the book that they had been looking at it. "but, seeing the truth, awakening yourself will give you more power than you dreamed of... power over your own truth. So if you are ready I can start training you. The first thing we need to do though is to let you fully awaken. The drugs were stopping you, getting you clean was the first step. Now its time for you to embrace it...if you are ready, its time to find your tower." |
#35
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Did he say vampires? HOLY CHRIST HE JUST SAID VAMPIRES. Andrew stiffened, then blinked with all the flexibility of a light pole as Artemis topped the list with Werewolves and Demons. Demons. Andrew's courage danced around that notion, fueled by a litany of movie titles, and tried to duck behind the light pole. Resolution yanked it back out.
I'm doing this, he thought, as Artemi's darkening gaze continued to sift through his insides. You're not ready, it said. "Were you?" Andrew blurted out. "Ready, I mean?" Cause who could be? If the ghost's expression was going to fall any more somber, Andrew was going to pack him up and find him a lectern at a funeral site. Frowning, Art supplied him with a non answer. "My situation was very different than yours. They cannot be compared." Of course not. The pen in his hand began to clack his impatience. "Am I ready to get all buddy buddy with those things you mentioned? F***k no. Discovering some all knowing tower wasn't exactly on my list of things to do when I fell in bed last night -- or practically last night -- but here we are anyway." "But I'm ready to start living my life instead of wasting it. And if that means I get to be some firestarter a** kicker, even better. I've been going mad trying to stifle this voice all my life. So yeah, let's let it out. That is something I am more than ready for." Andrew gave Artemis a level look, almost challenging the apparition to find him unworthy. Last edited by Cleokatrah; Dec 23rd, 2017 at 02:16 AM. |
#36
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