It was midnight, and I was roaring down the street on my new motor bike, black as the night. My long, wavy brown hair flew behind me. My brown eyes squinting in concentration as I turned.
I got my looks from my mother, I had been told ever since I could remember. I was a bit small for my age, so the bike was bit big for me. It had been a year since I first arrived.
The surface was different then I imagined it. Louder and noisy. But I got used to the noise; I lived in an old abandoned building in Lyon, France. I had been learning French at home before I had come, but it was still a bit rusty, and I had bad grammar. But most folk understood me.
My black leather jacket went down to my knees and was flapping in the wind and my blue jeans clung tightly to my legs. My leather boots went to the middle of my calf, and was held there by a silver buckle.
When I arrived, I didn’t realize what I had gotten myself into. France is the heart of the magical community. This is where Magic started, and this is where it will end. When I first arrived, I knew my dad would come looking for me, but I didn’t know he would send Hell Hounds. They’ve been hunting me down ever since I arrive, but I dare not leave France. I know the city by heart as if I’ve lived here forever! My friends and allies are here as well.
I parked my bike outside my temporary home. As I walked into the building, I could smell food. My best friend Elena was in the kitchen.
“JJ, is that you?” she called in her flawless French.
“Yes it’s me.” I replied.
She ran out of the kitchen, and greeted me with a hug. I had been away for awhile. The Hell Hounds had found me in Lyon, so I went to Paris for a couple days to set them of track.
“I was so worried about you!!!” She exclaimed.
Elena was in her late twenties or early thirties, I never asked. She was about 5’7 in height. Her plain brown hair was an inch or two past her shoulders. Her face was narrow and kind and she had large dark brown eyes. She had lived in France all her life, and had found me. She had saved me from the Hell Hounds more than once; they feared her because of her fantastic skills with water magic and after the third took it upon herself to take care of me. Believe it or not, Hell hounds can’t swim and hate water. Elena was not only a good friend, but a better mother than mine had been, even before she walked out on me and my father.
“So, what happened?” she asked, her eyes filled with concern and curiosity.
“I took off on my bike to Paris.” I replied.
“Did you have them after you the whole time?” She asked
“No, not the whole time.” I answered
“Well, now that you’re back, we can continue with your classes.” She said
She also took care of my education, when there was time. She was a teacher, so it wasn’t very hard. I was okay with languages, history and such... but math? I hated it. This was fine because Elena hated teaching it and was learning along with me. She was very caring and patient, especially with me. We were alike in so many ways, that’s probably why we got along so well, there was the occasional dispute or disagreement. But I owe her so much, so I could never stay mad at her for very long, and occasionally at all.
“Seriously!?! I just spent a couple days running from Hell Hounds and you still have math homework for me?!?” I said in disbelief.
“Fine, than tell me what happened?” She replied putting her hands on her hips.
“That was planned wasn’t it?” I asked shaking my head and laughing.
“Well, I had to think of something, didn’t I?” She responded jokingly.
I gave her a playful smack to the shoulder and motioned for her to sit down at the table in the dining room. I took a breath and was about to speak when I said,
“Do I smell smoke?”
“My food!!!” Elena Shrieked.
We both scrambled to the kitchen, as she then screamed,
“Get the fire extinguisher, they’re on fire!!!”
I ran to the cupboard and pulled it out and ran towards the oven.
“How does it work?” I yelled
With which she replied “You lived in Hell all your life and you never learned how to use a fire extinguisher??” she said in shock.
“Why don’t you do it?” I asked.
“I don’t know how either.” she whispered.
“You lived with your terrible cooking skills and didn’t learn how to use it?” I said in disbelief, then continued, “Isn’t there instructions?”
“Yes... but they’re in Italian.” She said
“You have got to be kidding me, we live in France, why are they in Italian?” I said giving her a questioning look.
“I have no idea?” She replied.
“Brilliant.” I then said, having no idea what to do, which is when I decided to scream.
At that second Vince, another one of my friends slammed open the door.
“What the Hell is going on here?” He exclaimed.
Elena stuck her head out of the kitchen.
“Vince, do you know how to use a fire extinguisher?”
“Of course.” He replied
“Well, get your butt in here and put out this fire!!!” she said sternly and somewhat loudly over my squealing.
He ran into the kitchen, grabbing the fire extinguisher as he went. He pulled a pin out of the top, unhooked a pipe that had a funnel on the end, squeezed the nozzle that was on the top and white foam shot out at the fire.
“God damn it Elena, what did you try to cook this time?” He said after he had put out the fire.
“How did you know it was me?” She questioned, offended.
“You have a terrible memory, and if it had been JJ, there wouldn’t be a house still standing.”
“Hey?” I said pretending to be hurt.
Elena just pointed and silently laughed at me, and I stuck out my tongue.
“Elena it’s not funny! You could have burned yourself to a crisp along with JJ!” He continued, his voice rising.
“Vince!” I exclaimed.
“Elena really you should be watching what you’re doing! I won’t be around all the time to save your forgetful ass!” He was yelling now, anger dripping on every word.
Elena looked up at him with her big brown eyes, almost in tears.
“I’m sorry Vince.” She whispered.
Vince saw her face and sighed.
“Elena, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell. I just don’t want anything to happen to you.” He said as he pulled her in for a hug.
She smiled and hugged him.
“Thanks for caring.” I grumbled jokingly.
Elena over Vince’s shoulder said:
“Aw, jealous JJ? She asked, back to her usual chipper tone.
I stuck my tongue out again, Vince just sighed. A few seconds later after the goofing off Elena looked up and asked the room,
“So, who wants pizza?”
“Me!!!” Vince and I replied, in unison.
While waiting, I look over at Vince. Vince had a calm face, handsome green eyes with a mop of messy brown curls he called his hair that matched his above average height and medium build. He was a sorcerer, and immortal. He looked about the same age as Elena, but I’m sure he was way older. He was from America, and moved here three years ago. While Elena called the pizza guy, Vince and I spoke about what would happen when the Hell Hounds figured out I wasn’t in Paris. Vince was helping me learn water, earth and air magic. I knew fire magic, and Necromancy (Death magic). My Necromancer ring felt cold around my finger. It was a silver dragon wrapped around a dark green gem, on my index finger. I played with it while Vince spoke.
“You have to keep them away from Lyon, okay JJ? Hey! Are you listening? JJ!!!” He said waving his hand in my face.
“Oh, what were you saying Vince?” I asked snapping back to the conversation at hand.
“JJ, you have to listen!!! Next, you have to go to Toulouse if they find you, okay?” He said quickly.
“Okay,” I replied.
Elena then called from the kitchen.
“Do you know any pizzerias open at 1 Am?”
“Call 334- 5675” Vince called back.
“What number is that?” I whispered to him.
“I have no idea but i wonder what their reaction will be when they get a call from a random lady at 1 Am!!!” He said laughing.
I started laughing as well. Then I heard screaming from the phone in the kitchen. Elena did some sort of shuffle/run into the dining room, the phone screaming. She pressed the hang up button and threw the phone across the room.
“That,” she said pausing. “Was just cruel.”
Vince and I high fived.
“But hilarious.” Vince added.
“But hilarious.” She agreed, nodding and sighing.
Elena came and sat down, we all talked and laughed. Vince was watching Elena intently, stuck on her every word. I remembered the look in his eyes when I met him and introduced him to Elena. It was the same look now.
He had been crushing on her for a while now, and she had been crushing on him, but was better at hiding it. I was waiting for the day when one of them would say something. It was great to be back; I loved them both and had missed them terribly. But, they shouldn’t stay around me, it was too dangerous and something might happen. I would never forgive myself.
“So JJ, how was Paris? Did you do any sightseeing?” Vince asked.
“Yes Vince, between being attacked by Hell Hounds, and trying to survive, I managed to squeeze sightseeing into my schedule.” I replied.
“Did you try any not almost completely burnt food? Anything better compared to my cooking?” Elena asked.
“Yes and I invited the group of Hell Hounds to come and dine with me in a five star restaurant.” I said laughing.
I pulled out my phone, and played one of my games while I listened to them bicker. After coming back, this is the type of conversations I had. They asked me if I tried the food; saw the sights, as if I had gone on vacation instead of being hunted by savage beasts. But I guess it was a way of coping with the fact that I might not return.
The doorbell rang, and someone called from outside.
“Pizza!”
“Did you even order the pizza yet, Elena?” Vince asked in barely a whisper.
“No.” She whispered back.
She walked slowly to the door, and peeked through the window. Then suddenly an enormous Hell Hound Burst through the front door, sending Elena flying. Vince’s eyes filled with fear as he ran towards Elena and caught her before she hit the dining room table. He put her down, looked at her meaningfully and then pulled three small daggers from his belt and gave two to me. “Take your bike to Toulouse, and bring Elena with you!” He yelled over the vicious growling of the Hell Hounds.
“What about you?” I asked, I was honest to god, scared for his life.
Elena had bolted from Vince’s arms immediately and was busy sending bursts of water towards a second Hell Hound who had come through the hole where the door use to be. The Hell Hound was huge, it was approximately eight feet tall and its long tail was clubbed, perfect for knocking things around. Its eyes were red and it had enormous paws along with long jagged claws. Elena continued sending burst of water to its face. Vince was watching her.
“I will do anything to keep her out of danger, please, take her to Toulouse.” He said stiffly.
I looked Vince and he nodded, I attempted to go and get her, but a third Hell Hound had come through a newly made hole in the wall and began attacking me. Sending short bursts of water towards it I moved closer and closer until I was close enough to touch it and stabbed its left eye with one of the daggers. It howled in pain and swung its paw around wildly attempting to hit something. Black blood spurted in my direction and coated the side of my face. I groaned in disgust. The dark liquid poured down the enormous dog’s snout and dripped to the floor. It stopped squirming and a low growl grumbled in the back of its throat. I ducked and dodged all of its clumsy blows and as it lunged forwards again, I jumped onto it. Using my knife as support, I tried to regain balance. I pulled myself up and using its snout as a step I climbed onto its back, clinging to its bristly fur. Then, I pulled my knife out of its eye and used it to stab it in the back of the head, hoping it would kill it. Needless to say, it didn’t. It began shaking me like a bull trying to buck off its rider. I clung even tighter with one hand; I pulled the dagger out of the base of its skull and stabbed it again, pushing the blade deeper into its neck. The Beasts eyes gazed crossed and gazed up to the sky, and it fell silent as it dropped to the floor. I pulled the knife out of its neck and ran towards Elena. As another Hell Hound came through the hole in the wall, I paused, unsure what to do. Then, it hit me. I put my hands against the forehead of the Hell Hound cadaver, absorbing the dead power within. Then turned to the Dog that stood in my way. Holding my arms in front, I pushed the air gently and shadows flew from the ring on my finger. Sharp shadow arrows flew towards the Hell Hound and went straight through it. Its eyes also crossed and looked up at the sky. I saw the life leave its eyes. It fell to the floor with a thunk. I got closer to Elena. Blood dripped down her forehead, part of her shirt was dyed red and a long cut went down her left arm. I grabbed her hand, dragged her through the hole in the wall and we hopped onto my bike. Leaving Vince with the two Hell Hounds, we set off for Toulouse.
“I hope he’s okay,” I whispered to Elena, as we stopped for a rest under a large oak tree.
“I’m sure he’ll be fine,” she said back, but I could tell she was worried.
I reached for her hand and squeezed. She squeezed my hand back.
“How did they find us?” I asked.
“I have no idea, most likely another group sent by your father.” She replied.
We sat down backs to the oak and I rest my head on her shoulder.
“I’m glad he caught you!” I said,
“So am I.” She said.
We sat for a moment, and then I looked at her and remembered something. Though in the dark I could see the blood, it dripped down her forehead still, her arm was bleeding to.
“Elena, you’re bleeding.” I said in alarm.
“I am?”
I took off my jacket and ripped off a long piece of my shirt. I held it against the wound. She winced.
“You might have a concussion. Hold that there.” I said.
Then I took her arm in my hand and looked at it. The cut was deep; I could see a little bone. It looked cracked.
“Your arm might be broken.” I said.
“That explains why I’ve had a head ache and why my arm hurts.” She said with a sigh.
I put her arm down, sat up and reached into my bikes seat compartment to retrieve what was left of my med kit. I was used to fighting the Hell Hounds, Elena, not so much. I also knew many different kinds of martial arts and magic, while she only knew magic.
“Give me your arm.” I said.
She lifted it and I pulled out a long bandage and wrapped it carefully around her arm and pinned it with a safety pin. I took the piece of my shirt off her forehead, wet a cotton swab with a water bottle, also in the seat compartment and handed it to her.
“Hold that to your forehead.” I ordered.
She held it there and sighed. Then I laughed.
“What?” Elena inquired.
“But seriously you should have seen your face when that Hell Hound burst through the door.” I said laughing.
“Yes, a perfect picture for a scrap book. Too bad you didn’t catch it on film.” She answered.
“Actually, I did.” I said. Shoving my phone in her face. “It’s going on the internet tomorrow.”
Of course I didn’t actually get any picture or anything, but who says you can’t fool around sometimes?
“You wouldn’t?” She said trying to grab it with me.
“Oh, but I would.”
She spent the next few minutes trying to grab my phone. After ten minutes of wrestling for the phone, she sat up and leaned back. I rested my head back on her shoulder. Just before I dosed off, I heard her whisper goodnight.

I woke up early, or up with the birds as they say. Elena was still sleeping a couple feet away. I went to the bike; it was where I left it, Vince’s bike sat beside it. I pulled the food from under the seat from my last trip to Paris. As I walked to the other side to retrieve the daggers I jumped; Vince was sitting between the bikes.
“Merde! Vince, you scared me!!!” I exclaimed.
He said nothing, simply nodded. He had a look of pure terror in his eyes.
“Vince, are you okay? What happened?” I asked.
He looked at me and snapped out of some sort of trance, looked at me for a few seconds then registered that I had been talking to him and just said,
“Oh, I’m fine. I scared off the Hell Hounds but they may be back soon.”
“So we best get going. I’ll wake up Elena.” I said as I turned to get up.
He looked at her.
“What happened to her?” He asked, noticing the bandages.
She has a concussion, a possible broken arm and a long cut down her arm that will need a lot of stitches, I thought.
“She just had a bit of trouble with that Hell Hound.” I said
“Oh, she’ll be fine though?”
“Yes.” I said with a sigh.
She stirred in her sleep, he sighed and looked away. I knew that look, I knew what he was thinking, but I said nothing.
“Vince, are you okay?” I asked after a minute of complete silence.
“I think so; I have a few cuts and bruises here and there but nothing to worry about.” He paused.
“I think you should let Elena rest awhile longer, just in case.” He said.
I looked at him.
“Yes, you’re right. We should wake her.” He said as he got up slowly.
“Okay.” I slowly got up.
I stood there, and he walked over to her, and crouched down. He gently moved the hair from her face and stroked her cheek. In her sleep, she smiled and her hand reached for his. He then gently shook her and she woke up with a start. Forgetting where she was for a minute she saw him, her hand went for his and she moved closer to him. Her face frightened. Vince began to laugh, and she realized where she was. She smiled and punched him. They both realized she was still hold his hand and she let go and got up quickly. I began to walk away to get the extra food from the seat compartment. But before I turned Vince’s eyes and mine met and he smiled like he had just won the lottery, I smiled back. It could work, I thought, it could actually work. Elena caught up with me, she seemed quite happy as well.
“How are you feeling?” I asked.
“Fantastic!” She replied.
“You were thrown six feet into the air by a Hell Hound and almost landed on a table, you had to get away from the scene on a motorcycle, you have a concussion, possibly a broken arm and an extremely long cut down your arm and you slept on the ground with the base of a tree as a pillow and you feel fantastic?!?!?!” I said in disbelief.
“*sigh* yes.” She said.
“Okay.” I said though I knew the true reason why.
Vince had brought some bags with food so we had a couple dozen strawberries and ate them with the stale bread from the seat compartment. I then remembered what I told Elena the night before, that I had a video of her face when the Hell Hound burst through the door. I didn’t of course but she didn’t need to know that. So...
I walked over to Vince and whispered the plan into his ear he grinned and nodded. I moved back to my spot beside Elena. I signaled Vince to get ready.
“Vince, do you have your Iphone with you at the moment?” I asked.
I shot a glance at Elena and the fact that she hadn’t gotten my phone the night before hit her.
“No, you wouldn’t.” She said
“I will.” I said with a devilish grin.
Vince went to give me his phone but I shook my head. I silently pulled out my phone and pretended to email it to him. He caught on immediately and pretended to receive it. Elena got up to take it from him but he got up quicker and she chased him for it. I started to laugh. She tackled him down and had him pinned but for a split second looked at me. Vince took that opportunity to flip her unto her back. Her hands pinned on either side of her head and he held her hands there. His face was an inch from hers; you could tell Elena was holding her breath, her eyes wide in surprise and filled with hope. His face went closer, his nose almost touched hers. His face then became serious.
“I can’t do this, I’m sorry.”
The he slowly got up and walked away. Elena let out her breath and sighed. He brushed by me and I turned.
“Vince,” I called and he turned.
“What?” He said quietly.
“You shouldn’t do that.” I replied.
“Do What?” He asked.
“Show her affection and then stop.” I said.
“She doesn’t care.” He replied, I think I could sense some hurt in his voice.
“She does, look at her. You’ve broken her heart, it might be able to mend itself if you make a habit of this” I said pointing to her; she was now walking towards the bike. Her eyes filled with tears, her face expressionless.
“I-” His expression softened, he sighed.
“You know I’m right.” I said gently.
“I know, I know. How can I tell her?” He asked.
I looked at Elena, sitting on the ground, her back leaning against the tree, a tear fell down her cheek and hit the ground. She stared off in the distance, her mind not exactly here. She seemed off somewhere far away.
“I don’t know, but do it soon.” I replied as I turned back to him.
But he wasn’t looking at me, he was looking at Elena. He looked sad, and worried.
“Vince, we should go to Toulouse. I said sternly.
“What? Right yes let’s go.” He said.
He walked quickly to the bike and I went to get Elena. She still sat on the ground, though she had stopped crying a tear sat unmoving on her cheek. But she was silent her face looked carved from stone. I sat down beside her. I pulled a tissue from my pocket and handed it to her. She took it and wiped her eyes. She leaned her head on my shoulder and the tears started to fall again. She shook violently, and she cried silently.
“Shhhhhh,” I whispered to her gently. “Shhhhhh.”
“You’ll be okay, you’re okay.” I whispered. I moved the tear-dampened hair from her face and gave her a hug. I sat there with her until she had stopped crying. She looked at Vince and the tears started again. I pulled a second tissue from my pocket. She took it and wiped her eyes again. I knew that this would happen soon, I’d known for a while. But I worried about Elena. She was so sensitive, and might freeze him out for good if he did that again.
“Come on, let’s go. It’s okay, Shhhhhh.” I whispered.
She nodded wiped her eyes again and hugged me tightly. I didn’t pretend to choke or tell her to let go. I know she needed it.
“I’m okay; I am, really am I.” She said but her voice choked up. She was distracted, her grammar was wrong. She was very meticulous of her grammar. She was not okay, there was something wrong.
“Are you sure, Vince won’t-” I started.
“I’m okay, really. I just need to sit for awhile.” She said.
“Okay, I’m here for you if you need anything, anything at all okay?” I said.
“I will.” She replied quietly.
I helped her up and we made our way to the bike. I took out the keys and started it. Elena got on behind me; I pulled on my helmet and passed one to Elena. Vince walked toward me.
“I will meet you in Toulouse, L’hotel Albert, okay?” He said.
“Yes, I will meet you there?” I replied.
He walked towards the back of the bike, towards Elena. He crouched down to her level. Her face inches from his. She avoided eye contact, looking forward. He sat there for a minute, shot a scared, worried glance at me then turned back to her.
“Elena?” He whispered.
She continued to avoid eye contact; she glanced quickly in his direction but no direct eye contact.
“Elena, please, look at me. I’m sorry” He whispered.
She still looked away. He reached for her hand, she pulled away. He reached again; she let him take it. He held her hand to his face. Pulled something from his pocket, took her hand in both of his, put what was from his pocket in his hand and folded her hand closed around it. Took her hand again and raised it to his lips. He kissed her hand gently and moved her hand to his heart.
“I’ll always be with you, I will never forget you. I promise.” He whispered.
He kissed her hand again as she turned towards him. Her eyes filled with tears, he smiled at her and pushed the still damp hair from her face. A tear fell down her cheek. He wiped it away gently and she took both his hands in hers and held them against her face. She closed her eyes as he pulled her closer to him and kissed her forehead. He held her chin with one hand and held her face close to his.
“Stay safe.” He whispered.
He put her helmet on her head and put down the visor. He looked at me.
“Take care of her.” He said, in barely a whisper.
He turned away and got on his bike. He put the keys into ignition, and the engine roared to life. He pulled on a helmet and was gone.
“You okay!” I asked.
Elena nodded.
“You sure?” I asked again.
She nodded again.
We sat in silence.
“Let’s go.” I said.
Elena nodded.
I put the keys into ignition and the engine roared.
“Hold on.” I said as I squeezed the gas.
Off we went for L’hotel Albert. I knew I had to be extra careful. I carried precious cargo. Vince would never forgive me if something happened to Elena, the love of his life. This was working, I thought, It was actually working. We began driving to Toulouse, stopping every few hours to rest. Elena was quiet most of the way. I tried to talk to her, but as the “sister” or best friend I couldn’t push her. I would wait until she came to me. She held whatever Vince had given her closely, always keeping it with her. I was worried about her, and Vince. If something happened to Elena, Vince would die of sadness and vice versa. I wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. So, we went on like this, and I waited for Elena to talk.

The nights on the way to Toulouse were, suspenseful and eventful. One night, Elena woke up screaming, she wouldn’t tell me why. I was so worried. Her condition is getting worse; I’m doing the best I can, keeping the wound clean and making sure she rests as much as possible. She said it was nothing. The next night, it happened again. She woke up screaming for Vince, tears streamed down her face. She was completely delusional. The next night it happened again, she screamed bloody murder, but wouldn’t wake up. I shook her awake, she was terrified. Sometimes she didn’t know where she was. She asked me to stay beside her instead of keeping watch. I didn’t protest, if she didn’t stop screaming, we would be caught. She slept, her head lying on my lap, I played with her hair to pass the time. She was acting like a child; it was like she was afraid of the dark or something. I couldn’t help but be worried. As we got closer to Toulouse, her dreams got weirder, but she was less delusional but just as scared. She started talking in her sleep. One night, when we were just outside of Toulouse, I heard her whispering.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it!” She cried.
“I still love you, Vince, don’t leave me. Please!”
I sat beside her again that night. We made it to Toulouse, unscathed physically, emotionally, Elena was not okay. It turns out Vince had given Elena a silver heart-shaped locket on a long silver cord. Engraved into the back were the words “I love you, yours forever, Vince”. She had finally said something. She put it on immediately and never took it off, ever. I found L’hotel Albert, Vince beat us there by two hours.
“You made it,” He started, “I was worried.”
He said it to both of us, but I knew it was directed at Elena. He pulled her into a hug, she smiled. He was about to lean in to kiss her when she pulled away. He was crestfallen, I could tell. I pulled him aside.
“Vince, she isn’t doing too well.” I whispered.
“What do you mean?” He asked.
I told him everything, the damage done by the Hell Hound, the dreams, the nightmares, the talking in her sleep and acting delusional. I told him everything except what she had whispered that night, I said nothing of that.
“Why didn’t you tell me before?” He asked angrily.
“I didn’t want to worry you.” I replied.
“You still should have told me!”
“I’m sorry Vince!”
“Why didn’t she tell me? Did she not trust me?” Vince asked.
“Vince, how could you say that? It has nothing to do with trust!” I said.
“Whatever.” He snapped and staggered after Elena.
Vince had gotten us a room; it had two beds and a fold out couch. Vince took the couch, so Elena and I each got a bed. The key was given to us by a plump women with a frog-like face, poufy bleach blonde hair and an over positive attitude. The Bell boy, a skinny kid with greasy brown hair, an eyebrow piercing, a dripping nose and girlfriend texting every few minutes carried the one bag that Vince had up the stairs with much difficulty. We were in the hotel, just relaxing. The couch Vince had to sleep on was an olive green, covered with cigarette burns and smelled of smoke. The cotton sheets of the bed felt rough and starchy. The pale white wash wall and the dark wooden door frame gave the room an interesting touch. The white carpet worn and though it had been washed many times, the holes burnt by cigarettes and the faint muddy footprints gave away its actual age.
“So how was the ride here?” Vince asked.
“Boring, but the scenery was beautiful.” I said.
“What did you think Elena?” Vince asked.
Elena looked up but didn’t meet Vince’s eyes.
“I agree with JJ.” She said.
The room was filled with tension. I was silent. You could hear discussions from the hallways.
“Well, did you know that all flies buzz in the key of F?” I asked.
Vince and Elena stared at me.
“Just trying to relieve the tension.” I said softly.
Then it was silent again.
“Anyone hungry?” I asked
They both stared at me again.
“Okay, I get you’re mad at each other. But really? It’s like we’re at a funeral! You got put your feelings behind you for right now, while we attempt to stay alive!” I said exasperated.
“Fine!” Elena snapped.
Our family of friends was falling apart; I let a tear fall down one cheek but wiped it away quickly. But not quick enough. Elena saw it.
“JJ, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.” She said after Vince had gone into the other room to sleep.
“Forget it.” I snapped.
I glared at her but when I saw her teary big brown eyes filled with grief. I just couldn’t stay mad. I walked over and hugged her. Both of us crying. I sat in her lap for a few minutes. She had her arms around me and I had my head on her shoulder.
“I love him you know.” She said after a few minutes.
“I know.” I whispered.
“I didn’t mean to snap at you either, I love you, and you’re my best friend.” She said, hugging me tighter.
“I love you to.” I whispered again.
We were both silent again. Despite all of the difficulties I fell asleep in her arms while she hummed in my ear.

I woke up the next morning to a knock at the door. Vince was sitting across from me and I was still on Elena’s lap, by the looks of the dark circles under eyes she had not slept that night.
“Room service.” A sugar-sweet voice called from the hallway.
“I’m not going this time.” Elena whispered.
“I’ll go.” I whispered back.
I walked towards the door and looked through the peep hole and backed up immediately.
“We need to get out, now!” I said quickly and so quiet that it was barely audible
“What was it?” Vince whispered back.
“The Room service.” I replied.
“Why do we have to go then?” Elena asked.
“I could sense old magic.” I replied.
“Which means? Vince asked.
“Room service.” The voice called again, it sounded annoyed.
I took a deep breath through my nose and shivered, no, it couldn’t be.
“The Sphinx.” I whispered.
“What?” Elena asked.
“Merde!” Vince said under his breath.
“We have to go.” I said.
“Too late.” The voice spoke, but it didn’t come from outside the door this time, we all turned towards the door. A thin woman stood there. She had flippy blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and a big white smile. She wore the costume of a worker here with a short mini skirt. Then, she didn’t. Her face stayed the same, but she now had the body of a lion, the eagle wings grew from her back. I jumped back, so did Vince but Elena was frozen with fear.
“Elena!” Vince tried to set a spell on the Sphinx, but it absorbed his magic. He ran towards Elena and pulled her back.
I stood there, and then remembered what Vince had told me. The Sphinx hates the cold. I inhaled and summoned water, a ball spun and splashed in my hand, and then I summoned air. I made the air colder and colder until I could feel it freezing my other hand; I held both hands closer and the water began to freeze. The snowball grew bigger and bigger. Then with a shove, the snowball flew at the Sphinx. The snowball hit her and exploded, covering her with snow. She screeched in agony as the cold ice sizzled against her skin. She was gone in an explosion of fire. Elena was crying, the tears poured down her face, and Vince held her tightly. He lifted her over to the couch, and she sat on his lap. She laid her head on his shoulder. She sat up, and leaned close to him, and kissed him. He grinned and she smiled sleepily. He kissed her back.
“I love you.” He whispered.
“I, um...” Elena paused.
I heard a cackle, and before I could even move. Elena was in the Sphinxes’ clutches once gain.
“My master needs, your Elena. We will trade you Elena for the Child.”The Sphinx stated without emotion, pointing at me.
“Vince!” Elena screamed and reached for him.
He reached for her, he grasped her hand for a split second before the Sphinx and Elena burst into flames and vanished.
“No!” Vince yelled as he dropped to his knees.
“We will find her Vince; we need to find a way into hell.” I whispered to him.
He nodded. I walked to the place where Elena had just disappeared. On the floor sat her locket. I bent down to pick it up. I held it to him, he reached for it and a tear fell down his face. We were going to find her, no matter what.
“Do you know any other Sorcerers that could help us?” I asked him.
He nodded.
“Okay, Vince, I know you love her and miss her, I do to but the only way to get her back is to help me find a way into hell. I escaped and didn’t think I’d be trying to get in again.” I told him.
“Right, I know who we can go to.” He said.
“Okay let’s go.”

“I know you know where she is, tell me! Tell me now!” Lousifer Jones, the devil in the flesh screamed at me (Elena).
“I will never tell you, for I don’t know.” I replied calmly.
They were sitting in his living room; my arms were chained behind me and my legs together in front of me. I sat on the floor, on the lush red carpet. A fireplace roared behind me, and Lousifer, JJ’s dad sat in front of me on a plush red armchair. My arm was burning, the pain was excruciating. I thought I had a fever, and my head was killing me.
“LIAR!!!” He screamed as he slapped me across the face.
I could feel a bruise begin to form.
“Jackie was with you and some other man,” He stated.
I smiled at the thought of Vince. His smile, the way he had kissed me, his bright green eyes. But he was gone, and I hadn’t said anything to him, he probably hated me. He said he loved me and I said nothing. A felt a tear fall down my face. I would probably die alone in this Hell hole.
“Awww, the little girly is crying!” Lousifer said and smirked.
But I didn’t hear him; I was off in thoughts about Vince. He had told me he loved me. Yet I had said nothing. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. He could never love me now. He had said he loved me, and I had said nothing. I couldn’t get it out of my head. Vince’s face after I stuttered was forever ingrained in my memory. I had disappointed him. I had dreamt about Vince, the night JJ and I had slept on the ground by the oak tree. I had felt him touch my cheek. I had felt him hold me tightly. But it had only been a dream, nothing more.
“Ugh! Tell me where she is you filthy mortal!” Lousifer squealed.
He held me closer to the fire, I was getting warm, and I could smell burnt hair.
“You’re Wife,” I said. “Had good reason to leave you.”
Sadness filled his eyes and he let me go and left the room. I let out a breath. My face was covered in soot. The cheek he had slapped was bleeding and the back of my head was smoking, my hair had been singed. I sat up and lifted my arms. I glanced over my shoulder and saw the fire go out as I summoned the water and sent it to the fireplace. I lay back down and rolled onto my side, closed my eyes, and thought of Vince.


“Are you sure about this?” I asked.
“I am sure.” He replied.
“You think he’ll help us?”
“I hope so.”
“And if he doesn’t?”
“He’ll try to kill us.”
“Fantastic.”
We stood in front of a cinema. The Cinémathèque de Toulouse, a Monster waited inside. Well, underneath actually. As we made our way to the front door. A frail old man with thin bright white hair left through the front door screaming.
“Cour! Sauve ta vie!” The man yelled. Run. Save your life.
He grabbed my shoulders and shook me.
“Sauvez votre vie, courir loin d’ici.” Save your lives, run far away from here.
“Let go of her, you creep.” Vince said grabbing the man by the shoulders and pushed him to the ground. I looked at him.
“There is a monster in there; he sucks the life from you until you have no life left. I suspect I myself only have a small amount of time to live.” He said.
What? I thought, what was he talking about? Would Vince really do anything to save Elena?
“Vince, what is he talking about?” I asked.
“This is the home of the Tró̱go̱n Zo̱í̱.” He replied.
“The what?” I asked.
“The Trógon Zo̱í.” He said again
“In French Please.” I replied.
“The Life Eater.” He said as he started walking towards the door.
“Wow, wow, wow, wow. You said shit about a Life Eater. The only thing that Trógon will help you with is suicide.” I said.
I grabbed his arm.
“Don’t do this.” I said.
“Trógon Zo̱í is a friend of mine.” He replied.
“Then why did you say he would kill us.” I said.
“Well… were more of, enemies but,” He started.
“Vince, if we get killed, we do go to Hell, but we’re dead, we can’t leave.” I said.
“I know, just trust me.” He replied.
“Fine, but if we die we have all eternity in Hell to yell at each other.” I replied.
“Bonne Chance.” The old man whispered to us. Good Luck.
Yes, we’d definitely need it.
As we made our way through the front doors and into the Cinema, the place smelled foully of old magic. I gripped Vince’s arm tightly in a vice grip. Phft, luck was all we had, whether it was good I couldn’t say.

“Vince, how many stairs are there?” I called down to him in disbelief.
“I’ll go with a lot.” Vince called back.
We had already passed fifteen levels. Apparently, Trógon Zo̱í likes his privacy. It was really dark, it smelled really bad and anything white was so old it was more of a gross yellow. With Elena gone, Vince was all business, no pointless excursions were made to eat really good food or try some really good wine, not that I drank but, the point was he was very attached to Elena and had been for a while. She was his goal; I hadn’t seen him smile since the Sphinx took her away from him. I missed her too. That motherly figure had been gone from my life for a while, and then had briefly come back. Then with a flash was gone again. I was sure; my father would keep her alive. But, who knows.
“Vince, now how many more stairs?” I asked.
“JJ, relax. There a lot more stairs. It is good exer...” He stopped as I interrupted him.
“There is an elevator, Vince.” I said.
“Seriously?!?!”
“Yep,”
“When’d we pass it?”
“Twenty minutes or so ago.”
“Merde!”
“Well, we could use that one.”
“Which one?”
“The one right in front of your face.”
‘That’s an elevator?”
“Yep.”
“I thought it was a fire escape.”
I went and pushed the elevator button and replied.
“Right.”
“I did!”
“Like there’s going to be a fire escape half a kilometre below the surface.”
“Right... we’re underground.”
“No really, Einstein.”
“Everyone makes mistakes.”
“Whatever.”
I pushed the elevator button again and the door finally opened.
“Yep, definitely a fire escapes.” I whispered
“You know what?” Vince replied.
“What?”
“You... just shut up.”
“Oh, you make me cry, aren’t you just Mr. Mean.”
“*sigh*”
The rest of the ride was silent, we rode down, down, deeper into the earth, and closer to what I thought would be our death. The elevator jolted, then stopped. But the doors wouldn’t open.
“Why do I have a feeling we’re stuck.” Vince asked
“ Maybe because we aren’t moving, darling.” I replied.
“Don’t use that sweet sarcastic, “My friend is crazy” voice with me JJ.”
“Oh, was I being sarcastic?”
“Quit it, JJ.”
“I’m sorry but right now, this is your fault. This elevator could be rigged along with the set of never ending stairs, by your, Trógon “He is my enemy but I am sure he will help us” Zo̱í. So don’t tell me to stop being sarcastic.” I said.
We sat in the immobile elevator, dead bored. It felt like forever. It was getting too quiet.
“I don’t understand why my dad wants me back so bad.” I said, mostly to myself.
“Maybe he misses you.” Vince replied.
“I understand the Hell Hounds and all but sending the Sphinx to capture my best friend is just cruel, and low.”
More awkward silence.
“JJ, do you think Elena really cares?” Vince asked.
“I’m sure she does, I don’t understand why you don’t think she does.
She LOVES you!” I said.
“How can you tell?” Vince asked, “She wasn’t wearing the locket.”
“She was, on the way to Toulouse she held it to her heart every night. The night the Sphinx took her, she took it off, and she was freezing you out. She didn’t want you to know she cared.” I said.
“Oh,” He whispered.
Then, the elevator started moving again.
“Oh my god, that scared me.” I said.
We sat in the elevator a while longer. I thought about my dad, I wondered why he did this to me. He scared off my mother and took away my best friend. I don’t understand. The elevator doors finally creaked open.
“Bonjour, belle dame.” I low husky voice said from the opening. Hello Beautiful lady.
“Salut.” I said quietly.
“What might you and this weirdo gentleman be doing in my elevator of death?” He asked.
“We weren’t aware that this was an elevator of death.” I said as calmly as possible.
“Wake up the snoring man in the corner and come into the light.” He whispered.
I turned to Vince and he was sleeping silently on the floor of the elevator. I gave him a little shove.
“Vince, wake up.” I said.
“Wha- wha- what?” He said as he woke.
“Come on.” I said.
We got off the floor and walked slowly into the dark room. A little porcelain lamp was turned on, and there in front of us sat a large man, in a large, worn out, black arm chair. He had a thick brown beard and thick, long brown hair and cloudy grey eyes. His mouth; it was these thick, black sausage lips and the rows and rows of grey, rotting, triangular teeth that sat in the black, rotting gums. But, what scared me was the black, scaly forked tongue.
“Hello, Vince. Long time no see.” The man said, his voice booming.
“Trógon, this is JJ. Lousifer Jones daughter” Vince said.
“Hello Trógon, we need your help.” I said quietly.
“What help could I give the legendary devils daughter?” Trógon said with a terrifying grin.
“My father has lost it, I ran away but he sent the Sphinx to kidnap my best friend.” I said.
“So...” He said.
“I need to get into Hell, without dying, to save my friend.” I said.
“Oh, and what do you think I can do?” Trógon asked.
“I don’t know. Snap your fingers and bring us there! I’ll do anything to get her back.” Vince said.
“Don’t go getting saucy with me! It’ll get you nowhere.” He said.
“Please, Trógon, we will appreciate any help you can give us. Any at all.” I said.
“Well, I guess I could. You know, child you are so much like your mother.” Trógon said with a sigh.
“So you’ll help us?” I asked.
“Yes, I will help you, I know the way to a doorway down. But it is a long and perilous journey.” Trógon said.
“We will do anything to find her, anything.” Vince said.
“Alright, fine. I will help you, but I must ask something of you.” Trógon said.
“What do you want?” I asked.
“I will help you, if…” Trógon paused, and then continued. “…if you can help me save one of the damned souls from The Room.”
“I will do my best.” I replied.
“Then it’s a deal.” He said sticking out his hand.
“Then it’s a deal.” I said, shaking his hand.
If only I knew how to save a damned soul, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.

The man in black sat in the chair, mute, listening.
“She came to the surface awhile ago; we can’t have her roaming around France while we do nothing. We have a reputation to maintain.”
The Elders of the Council of Magic were meeting for the fourteenth time this year; twelve more meetings this year than usual. There were rumors, slight whispers that the infamous Jackie Jones, Lousifers daughter, had come to the surface. Arrangements needed to be made.
“We need to capture, contain and neutralize the threat!”
The Council of Magic had six members, one member from each community of magic. Ebony Kindle, her main magic fire was the representative of the fire magic community. Each community practiced a specific type of magic to discover new things, but most mages didn’t simply use one type. Ebony was furious that the issue of the Jones girl had been left until now. She sat in her usual chair on the far left of the table; near the man in black. Her brown eyes flared with agitation at the current situation, her short fiery hair splayed away from her pointed chin and triangular jaw.
“Honestly, we can’t sit here and watch her destroy our beloved cities!” She continued, her impatience growing by the second.
“How can you be blinded by her innocence? Sightings of enormous dogs in Paris, Lyon, Le Havre, Limoges, and Marseilles. Not only do they see the bloody beasts they find the cadavers as well. Who knows what Le Parisien will say and of course all the other damn newspapers out there. There have been sightings of the Sphinx in Toulouse. There was a supposed “gas explosion” in Lyon a week ago where three Hell Hound cadavers were found. Dewy is doing the best she can to cover up for this kid but it won’t work forever!” Ebony paused for a breath.
Dewy Addle, her job along with a few others is to convince the “typicals” they didn’t see what they just saw. Dewy was the best of the best and had her hands full trying to keep up with Jackie.
“We can’t let this go on any longer! I don’t see why-”
“Ebony, if you think you can run the council better go ahead... Otherwise keep your loud, obnoxious mouth closed before I close it permanently!”
Ebony was cut off by Desdemona. Desdemona Chaos, the representative of the Necromancer community. Her silky black hair falling past her shoulders, her shaggy bangs hanging just past her eyebrows. Her intense, deep green eyes calm, practically lifeless, but capable of not only hiding great emotion but showing it as well.
“Ebony, I get your anger, I do. But you gotta let it go with the winds of time! Let yourself go, let it all out. Let’s all let out our emotions by doing a few minutes of meditation. Ready? Breath with me, in and out, in and-”
“Kione sit down and shut up!” Desdemona snapped.
Kione Zephyr was the representative of the community of air magic. His hippie nature made him act like somewhat of a, well an idiot. His light, sandy brown hair fell shaggily to his shoulders, his cloudy grey eyes always intent.
“I agree with Ebony, the girl should not be left to roam free through the cities as if she is welcome. Her father destroyed her chance to come to the surface when he was accursed to live in the depths of Hell.” Philomena Gorge stated. Philomena was the representative of the community of water magic. She had shoulder length blond hair and watery blue green eyes. Her pointed nose and high cheek bones gave her an air of highness.
“I think everyone should just calm down, it will be much easier to deal with such stressful situations. Maybe some Tai Chi would work...” Kione said.
“For the love of god, Kione shut up! Nobody is in the mood for your endless chatter about being calm!” Desdemona snapped.
“What do you think Donovan?” Philomena asked turning towards him.
Donovan Bemire was the representative of the community of earth magic. He had dark brown hair that always fell in front of his dark brown eyes. He was always quiet, never said much. He was younger than all of the elders; he wasn’t an elder at all. He was only fifteen, turning sixteen. All the elders treated him like he was even younger.
“I agree with Ebony, and Philomena she shouldn’t roam the streets making a ruckus everywhere she goes. But I also agree with Desdemona and the Overlord, we shouldn’t punish her for her father’s mistakes.” Donovan finished.
“Thanks Donovan!” Desdemona said ruffling the boys’ hair.
“But we still need to debate what happens to the Jones girl.” Philomena said.
“She should be punished for her actions! I demand it!” Ebony shrieked.
“You have no right to demand anything!” Desdemona argued. “She is only a child!”
“You are blinded by her innocence, Desdemona. She is a demon from the depths of Hell. A half-breed.”
“But a child she remains.” A bold voice spoke.
The five of them turned towards the corner.
“We cannot, we will not punish a child for the doings of the mothers, or fathers.” The Overlord turned towards Ebony, who shrunk down into her chair.
“I will assign somebody, one of you four to work as somewhat of a double agent. You will follow the girl around, but without drawing suspicion. Become a sort of ally to the girl.” He said scanning the faces of the four members.
They all sat there, frozen like terrified rabbits. None wanted a task from the Overlord; to fail would be to lose all respect of the Overlord and all the elders. It was terrifying, and downright embarrassing.
“Ms. Chaos? Would you be up to the task?” He asked, he always used the English terms.
“Me? Are you sure? I mean, wouldn’t Donovan be a better choice, he is closer to her age and...” Desdemona said letting her sentence drift.
She was hoping she wouldn’t be chosen. But in her heart she knew, that he would pick her. He trusted her, more than the others. She was a bit of a rebel, and he respected that.
“I think you are the perfect choice Ms. Chaos, you should think more of yourself.” The Overlord said then he paused and continued.
“Do you accept?”
“Yes.” Desdemona spat out before she had a moments time to think about her answer.
“I will give you time to prepare.” He said.
Desdemona got up to leave.
“Ms. Chaos,”
Desdemona turned.
“Mr. Bemire, will be waiting to take your place if you fail.” The Overlord stated.
“Is that all your eminence?” Desdemona asked.
“I believe so.” He said.
She stepped closer to the door.
“Ms. Chaos, do not fail.”
“Yes your eminence.” She whispered.
She left the room and turned down the hall.
“You are all dismissed!” The Overlord snapped in a disgruntled tone.
Damn you Desdemona, she thought to herself as she walked down the hall to her apartment. Why did you agree to something that could destroy all respect you have, your career could collapse, you could be disowned by the council. But a little voice in the back of her head whispered to her.
He chose you, he trusts you, it said.
But I could lose everything. She argued back.
But think of what you could gain if you succeed, it said.
If I succeed, it will be difficult, she replied.
It will be a challenge, it said.
I don’t like challenges very much, she said.
But all the glory, it said.
I don’t need glory, she replied.
All the respect, it continued.
I don’t need respect, I have it already, she replied.
It’s the offer of a life time! It said.
That’s true, she said. But if I fail.
You won’t fail, it said.
That’s not very reassuring, she replied.
Je sais, Je sais. It whispered. I know, I know.
Then, the voice stopped talking. I just had a conversation with myself, Desdemona mused.
“I must be going crazy.” She said aloud to herself. “I must be going crazy.”

“So where are we going?”
We were riding in TGV train to who knows where. In the beginning Trogon was reluctant to see the sun again, but after a lot of yelling and a bit of violence we got him out of his hole. After maybe an hour, Vince had used is magic to give Trogon a temporary face, something that would make him stick out less. I had just woken up from a nap and was curious to where we were. Not that Trogon was saying much.
“We are going to see Desdemona Chaos.” He said calmly.
“So where are we going?” I asked him again.
“Le Havre.” Vince replied.
“Cool! Who are we going to see?” I asked Trogon.
He took a large breath in and sighed.
“Desdemona Chaos is one of the best Necromancer mages in all of France, maybe the best in the world.” Trogon grumbled.
“Oh.” I said. “How will she help us?” I asked.
“She has the maps to the catacombs under the streets of Paris.” Trogon said.
“How will she help us?” I asked again.
“The catacombs have a specific cadaver we need to reanimate in order to open the gateway into Hell.” Vince responded.
“Oh. But don’t we need an experienced necromancer to do that, creepy reanimation thing?” I asked.
“That’s where Desdemona comes in.” Trogon replied.
“Ahh. Now it all makes sense.” I said.
“It’s not that complicated Mme Jones; I am now wondering why you were said to be legendary.” He said.
So, the train ride was extremely boring. I must have dozed off again at some point because all of a sudden Vince was hovering above me shaking me telling me to get up.
“Vince! Stop it!” I said pulling his hands off my shoulders.
“We have to get off now!” He said.
“Why?” I said groggily.
“The council is searching the train for you, get up!” I said shaking me again.
“Okay, I’m coming!” I said practically jumping up.
The Council of Elders had been after me since I left a huge disaster in Paris; the cadaver of a Hell Hound, a restaurant destroyed and animated statues from the roof of the Notre Dame roaming the city. They had finally found me.
“Did they send the five?” I asked.
“No, just a few of their guards.” He replied.
I let out a sigh of relief. The guards were animated statues like the ones from the Notre Dame. Made simply from clay. Easy to destroy, but easy to replace.
“But they also sent a human leader. A man in a suit.” He said.
“No. It can’t be!” I said in dismay.
I ran to the window, the man in the suit was talking to the conductor. The detective. When I first came to France, he had been there. He worked with my father, but was a double agent with the Council of Elders. He glanced at the window. Our eyes met and he grinned. I leapt away from the window. I sighed, and took a moment to breath. When I looked back out the window he was gone. I relaxed, and sighed again. That’s when I felt two strong hands pin my arms behind me.
“You ‘av cost my boss a lot ‘o trouble missy!” A venomous voice hissed into my ear.
The Detective. He pushed me through the groups of people crowding around. Vince was being held by one of the clay guards.
“Let go of her you bastard!” Vince yelled trying to loosen the guard’s firm grip.
“Calm down, dear Vincent. The girl will be fine.” The Detective said in a mocking tone.
The Detective didn’t have a name, he was just the Detective. He was a head case. He didn’t have a face either. Well, he could have, but you’d never know. He wears a thin white linen mask over his face. No holes for his nose, eyes or mouth. The only way you could tell he was looking at you was because when he did, you could feel your blood freeze, cold would grip you. He had that affect on most people. He squeezed my arms tighter and I cried out in pain, I heard something snap.
“Let her go!” Vince yelled, trying to shake off the guard.
“Vincent, Vincent, Vincent relax my dear boy. The girl will be fine, unlike your girlfriend.” The Detective said grinning.
That proved too much for Vince. He shook some more, then grabbed the guards wrists with his hands. The clay shattered under his grasp and the shards fell through his fingers. He pushed the amputated guard into two others, all three shattered on the ground. He took one of the guard’s metal spears from the ground and skewered two other guards whom both fell and also shattered on the ground. The Detective, in shock loosened his grip. I pulled one had free and twisted around. I squeezed my eyes closed and punched. I winced as I heard the satisfying crunch of bone and felt his face cave in around my fist. The Detective cried out, letting go of my other hand. I turned, the man I had once feared lay on the ground crying like a little girl. I smirked, and turned back to follow Vince. The Detective grabbed my ankle; I turned and kicked him in the gut. He doubled over in pain.
“Don’t touch me.” I said spitting in his face.
I turned after Vince; he was climbing onto the roof of the TGV train. I sprinted after him. The train started to move, I ran faster. Vince reached out to me. I jumped and grabbed is hand. My feet slipped on the shiny silver exterior of the train. Vince grunted as he pulled me up. We both fell on to the train, heaving. The Detective tried to run after the train, one arm trying to stop the bleeding from his nose, the other waving at the driver to stop. When the train didn’t stop he began to curse. Blood poured down his face. That would take awhile to heal, I thought.
“That was extremely close!” I said between breaths.
“I’d prefer we don’t let it get that close again.” Vince replied.
“If we can help it.” I added.

Vince forced a grin. But it wasn’t over yet. Behind me I heard a thunk. I turned to see one of the guards kneeling on the roof of the train, leaving an indent in the smooth surface.
“Vince!” I said quickly, jabbing him in the ribs, as another guard hit the shiny surface of the train.
“What?” He said gruffly, but jumped to his feet when he saw the guards.
He cursed under his breath. It would be an easy win, if we weren’t exhausted. We hadn’t slept for days, finding Elena was Vince’s top priority, way above sleep. The guards made a move to attack when fear took hold of me and I bolted in the opposite direction. I slipped and tripped over the smooth metallic surface of the train. I could hear the tired thunking of Vince’s feet on the roof behind me, and the sound of the guards a little farther behind me. They were gaining, and I was losing speed fast. I was doing everything I could to stop me from fainting. I couldn’t stop think about how exhausted I was. My foot faltered and my ankle twisted. I fell to the roof of the train in pain. My ankle screaming, my leg burning. As Vince stopped and turned in front of me to protect me, a black shadow arrow flew through the guard the nearest to us. I saw its dusty soul leave the clay ashes and fly off back to its master. Then a second set of black shadow arrows pierced the guards abdomen, its dusty soul followed the one before it. Vince and I stood there, frozen. Hoping that whatever had just killed those guards was on our side. Another Necromancer would be nice, I thought. A grunting sound came from the other side of the train. I gripped Vince’s arm tightly and he put his other arm around my shoulder protectively. Trogons sweaty face peered over the side of the train. I had wondered where he had gone. He pulled himself over the side, lay on his back heaving.
“Give me a minute.” He said, between breaths.
We sat there for a few minutes, letting Trogon catch his breath. I let myself relax. Trogon lay on his back, huffing and puffing. As his breathing leveled, questions came pouring out of me.
“Trogon! Are you okay? What happened? Where did you go?” I stopped myself to let him think.
“I’m fine. But we need to get out of here. The council has your whereabouts; they won’t stop until they find you.” He said.
“That’s not good, is it?” I said.
“No, it’s not.” Vince said with a sigh.
“Can we get off the train now?” I asked.
Trogon looked at me and just shook his head.
“Why not?” He said.
He jumped to the ground speeding past us. Me having an injured ankle, Vince helped me down. He jumped off and used air magic to slow our descent. Once on the ground, Trogon continued to answer my questions.
“But, I got us someone on the inside, I went for help.” Trogon said.
“Who?” Vince asked.
“Me.” A voice said.
I turned and on instinct backed away. I was one of the council, I recognized her from previous encounters with the five. She was the Necromancer Elder. She had long black hair, her shaggy bangs hanging just past her eyebrows, almost covering her big green eyes. Desdemona Chaos.
“You!” I spat. “Of all people he went to you.”
I remember the day when they had caught up to me in Paris; she had killed an innocent bystander because she had seen magic. She could of had a family, people who missed her now.
“I refuse to work with you!”
“Let’s not be rash.” Trogon said.
“I refuse to be near her! Tu es une garce ! Tu l’as tué ! Fille de pute ! » I screamed in her face.
She was taken aback; her eyes wide. Vince pulled me aside.
“JJ, she could help us.” He whispered.
“How many lives?” I asked.
“What?”
“How many lives, have to be ended to save one person?” I asked him.
“JJ, this is Elena we’re talking about. We can’t leave her there.” He replied.
“We won’t, but you know how she can’t stand killing, I want to respect that, and the families we’d be saving if we walked away.” I said.
“No, I can’t. I won’t leave her in there any longer than I have to. Please, JJ, I can’t do this without you.” He said.
“Fine. But don’t expect me to be happy about it.” I snapped.
“Thank you.” He whispered.
“This is Desdemona Chaos.” Trogon said.
“I know who she is.” I snapped.
“Thank you Trogon, but I prefer Des.” She said
I turned back around to continue talking with Vince.
“Are you going to introduce yourself child?” Desdemona asked.
“I am no child to you. Mme Desdemona Chaos, its Jackie, Jackie Jones.” I said.
“Oh, I didn’t realize,” She said.
“I honestly don’t care.” I snapped back.
“I’m sorry if I’ve offended you in any way.” She said confused.
“I don’t need your apology; don’t we have a human cadaver to reanimate?” I asked Trogon.
“Yes, we do.” He replied.
“Well, then let’s get on with it!” I said.
Desdemona stood there, speechless. I couldn’t believe Vince was actually getting me to do this. She had killed millions to strengthen her own power. I just thought about how much Elena needed us and kept going. I wondered how she was, if she was okay.



I was tired, so tired, but too scared to fall asleep. While I lay here, on this carpet of JJ’s old home, I wonder how she grew up. What were her parents like, before her mother left? There were very few photographs, of course it’s not like there was a nice park to take pictures at down here. That’s how I waste time away, day dreaming. I dare not sleep, the dreams would come back, and JJ wouldn’t be there. I wished that Vince could be here with me. I missed him terribly. He said he loved me, I love him to, I do. But it went by too fast, I wasn’t expecting it. I had nothing to say. Well, I did but-
My thoughts were cut off by the stomping on the stairs above me.
He’s probably drunk again, I thought, Where ever he gets his alcohol; I have no idea seeing as we’re five million feet underground. But whatever it was, it was strong because the stomping upstairs usually meant he was dancing. This meant he was really drunk. This meant later, most likely tomorrow, he’d be so hung-over I wouldn’t see him for a week. Not that I was complaining. I finally get why JJ said he was scary, he was. His eyes were terrifying, and they’d glare at you and somehow read your mind.”
More thumping came from upstairs, what was going on? I got up and followed the thumping up the stairs. I was no longer a prisoner, mostly a visitor. I’d roam and he’d be drunk or hung-over upstairs. I stood in front of his bedroom door and listened. He was, laughing? This was strange, very strange. I slowly pushed open the door and looked in. He turned to me and grinned.
“Come in, come in my dear!” He said as he ushered me in.
I was confused, I had never come up here before, it was... odd.
“Rebecca? Why are you so shy?” He asked me.
Rebecca? I’d heard the name before, JJ talked to me about her...
“Come sit with me darling!” He motioned for me to sit.
He thought I was his wife! This was not good, considering what it could lead to. Oh, where is JJ? Where is Vince? Why am I stuck here without them, my family? I hoped they would find me soon.