Chapter Text
It was one of those gray spring afternoons, rainy and miserable and cold outside. Inside, however, the Curia Cloisters were well lit and warm, though humid. Too warm, actually, for some of those currently located inside it. Hazel was taking advantage of her vampire escort, pressing against his side in a manner that she passed off as loving but that prompted a knowing smirk from Killian whenever the heat was getting to her. Greyson and Ker were both in light clothing once they removed their rain jackets, which was good enough for them. Killian and Aristide were in their suits, naturally, as was Noctus. The last of those was perhaps beginning to regret that clothing choice, but was doing a good job of hiding any discomfort.
It was yet another meeting of the Regional Committee of Magic. Elite Bellus had been unable to attend, due to a stomach bug going around House Bellus. Instead Hazel Medeis sat to represent the wizards, the fae Empress Leila, naturally, represented the fae, Alpha Greyson spoke for the shifters and Killian Drake for the vampires, as well as the newest representative, Noctus Mors of the elves. The audience was small and consisted of one Phillipa Sabre, King Rigel of the Night Court, Noctus’ friends Ker, Aristide, and Charon, as well as Queen Chloe of the elves, and one overweight hairless cat in the care of said queen.
They were also in a different room than normal, as their usual meeting room was undergoing repairs and upgrades. This room was smaller and tucked away from a lot of the bustle of the rest of the Cloisters. There weren’t many important items on the docket for today, and the weather conspired with that and the repairs to restrict the audience to the Committee members' closest people. There were a few others around somewhere, namely the Drake’s First and Second Knights standing guard outside the doors and wandering the nearest hallways. Two of the House Medeis wizards were with them, but not the redheaded vampire that provided some amusement in the form of protests against the wizards' familiarity with him. The fae empress’s steward and companion were around somewhere as well, currently hunting down some coffee for their beloved monarch.
The group hadn’t really settled down to business yet. Pip was introducing herself to Aphrodite, while Ker was keeping a distance so as not to scare the feline. But the sphynx cat didn’t seem overly bothered by the presence of werewolves, instead enjoying the petting she was getting from Chloe and Pip. It may have been a side result of belonging to one of the most powerful fae in the world, who insisted on dragging his pet to a number of places she could never have gotten alone.
“Why do you have the Paragon’s cat?” Hazel asked from her seat at the horseshoe shaped table.
“He needed to go somewhere for a few days, I guess? He didn’t say where, just that if Aphrodite was determined to betray him for me, she might as well enjoy my company while he was gone.” Chloe answered, holding her hand above the cat. Aphrodite was on her back, paws outstretched. She observed Chloe’s outstretched hand and languidly brought her front paw to rest lightly against it in her particular version of a high five. Noctus smirked at the pair from his own seat at the table.
“Better you than me.” Killian muttered.
Leila snorted. “With my magic, I feel like I’m higher up the list than you.”
“You are welcome to that dubious privilege. That cat barely qualifies as a member of the species.” There were a few snickers around the room in response to Killian’s statement.
“Okay guys, we need to come to order and try to get through at least some of this.” Hazel said, coming to her feet to try to gain their attention. She wasn’t that much taller standing, but the others brought their attention to her nonetheless. She had papers in her hand and opened her mouth to speak, but when she did it was both expected and… not.
“Leila, we haven’t even started, can’t your other work at least wait until Killian starts dragging his feet?”
“I can multitask, it’s fine. You’re doing great.” Leila waved her hand in a sort of shooing motion, her eyes never leaving her own paperwork.
Hazel’s face seemed to be warring between grinning and facepalming. She felt a deep sympathy for her mentor, Elite Bellus, in moments like these.
Before she could begin to speak again, the lights flickered. The electric lights went dark, and the magical globes on the walls slowly lit up. They bathed the room in a warm yellow light. Hazel waited a moment for them to reach their full brightness before she began to read off the various topics they were supposed to discuss today.
About halfway through the recitation they began to hear raised voices outside. They could pick out some of the voices, but none of the words. Pip moved to open the door and check outside, but when she tugged on the door it wouldn’t come. A feeling of foreboding was beginning to come over the group as Ker joined Pip at the door. She wasn’t able to move it either, and as she heaved on it the magical lights went out as well. The only light in the room now came from a skylight, roughly twenty feet above them. The voices outside suddenly went silent.
Greyson rose from his seat and joined the others at the door, and Pip and Ker made way for the powerfully built werewolf. He inspected the door, looking for a weak spot, before bringing his heel up in a kick next to a doorknob. He flinched on contact, but the door didn’t.
“It’s magically reinforced.” Killian noted dryly.
“You don’t say.” Greyson muttered, but half the Committee still heard him.
All eyes had been on Greyson’s efforts, so no one quite caught where the figure came from. Whoever it was was cloaked in silver, and moved to the center of the half-circle table. He held in his hand what looked like a crystal ball, or possibly a very large gemstone that flickered with magic. The magic users present - Hazel, Leila, Rigel, Noctus, Chloe, Charon - could sense the flavor of the ancient elven magic it held.
Most of the committee was bristling by this time, several with hands on smuggled weapons or summoning magic. But even those that might have struck first were hesitant to make such a preemptive strike in front of all of the others.
A domed barrier sprung into existence around the figure, reeking of the strangest mix of elven magic and draconic. He flung back his hood, revealing the telltale long elven ears. His skin was a dark ashy gray, his hair white-blond. His dark green spiral eyes settled first on Noctus, with a smug grin spreading over his handsome young face.
“Dark elf.” Noctus murmured, half to himself. “Who are you?” He demanded, reaching into his pocket realm and pulling out a longsword. His armor hadn’t even fully appeared before the stranger made his move.
An arcane word sprang from his mouth, the magic echoing in the air strangely as the crystal ball shot a focused beam of magic at Noctus. A light seemed to spread over the half-armored elf, freezing him in place. As it finished, Noctus’ form went clear as crystal, a detailed statue of an elf king. And then it disappeared.
“What did you do?” Chloe yelled, reaching for Destruction. Charon and Aristide’s hands came up, each holding a gun. Killian was only half a second behind them, and Rigel’s butterknife sword was half transformed before the sentence was finished. Magic gathered around Leila and Hazel’s hands, and Ker and Greyson each strode determinedly towards the barrier.
“Ah, the Shadow. Immune to all harmful magic. Don’t worry; this won’t harm you. But you bonded to Noctus, and through him, we have you!” The elf declared, and another ray of light shot out. The first missed as she transformed into a cat and darted for the barrier. But the second would have had a hard time missing, as in the few seconds it took to fire again she closed the distance and had Destruction in mid swing. The ancient weapon’s woo-woo sound was cut off as it and Chloe faded to crystal.
The elf cleared his throat uncomfortably and stepped back from the weapon, which had only been stopped just in time. Well, just in time for him. Then he startled as bullets bounced off of the barrier, but his smug grin returned when nothing made it through.
Hazel, meanwhile, had been looking around the room. She used her magic to shoot lightning at the skylight in an attempt to make a way, any way, out of the room. But the glass held, and the lightning was absorbed. She grumbled and turned her attention back to their attacker, who she deemed altogether too confident.
Pip had tapped her Wolf’s Kiss magic, and it settled on Greyson and Ker, to Ker’s surprise and delight. Both began whaling on the barrier, but while it shook under the assault it held. That is, it held until three bullets sheathed in blueish magic punched right through it, leaving tiny holes in the shell. The elf ducked in panic, and two more bullets broke through before another beam enveloped Charon, whose teeth were clenched in the concentration necessary to coat the bullets with his magic.
“Hey,” Killian muttered quietly to his wife. “Can you do that?”
Her eyes squinted in consideration. “I can try.”
“Try.” He said, digging through his pockets for the tin of mint ward-breakers he hadn’t had to use in months.
“Why are you even doing this?” Pip demanded to draw the elf’s attention to her. The hunter could do little else to help in this situation. Her strength was paltry next to the werewolves and vampires, and her magic was best used either as a help for allies or in preparation for battle.
“Oh no, don’t invite him to monologue, we’ll be here all day. And I’ve got a date with Queen’s Court coffee I really don’t want to miss.” Leila interjected, her magic growing in a patterned circle around her feet.
“Your wards won’t help against this, your majesty.” The strange elf warned, just before another beam took the fae queen. “As for why, well, can’t you think of a few reasons why we might want to take all of you out? You’ve all been causing us quite a bit of trouble. Getting in the way, taking out our people, refusing to just. Give. Up. And. Die!” He spat out the last words with a vehemence at odds with the casual smugness he’d been displaying so far.
Greyson shoved his fingers in the holes left by the bullets and began to pull. A small piece of the barrier, a bit between three bullet holes, crumbled in his hands. He shoved his hand in again and Ker took the other side of the hole, the two of them trying to peel the barrier back. The ray shot out again, freezing Pip. Her magic faded, and Greyson growled deep in his throat before trying to redouble his efforts. And they were making progress, it was beginning to split.
Rigel leapt, stabbing his sword through the small hole in the barrier and forcing the elf to leap back to avoid the blade. Rigel stepped back, waiting to see if the wolves could make the hole bigger still. The next beam took Greyson, but Ker managed to break off another bigger chunk of the barrier from the edge before one took her. Then three bullets smashed against the edge of the barrier, but none of them made it through. They were followed up by a thrown mint, that shattered on impact.
“I can’t aim and keep the magic up at once!” Hazel said, frustration coloring her voice.
Killian came up behind Hazel and put his arms around her, taking hold of the gun. “Then I’ll aim, you just magic.”
“Apparently killing you all is too difficult.” The strange elf announced to the room, sizing up the remaining occupants. “So we’ll settle for trapping you. Enjoy the walk through memory lane, the way it should have been. Over, and over, and over until we get around to a more permanent solution.”
Rigel's gaze met Killian's, and he nodded once. His hand darted forward to release a dagger. "Aer!" he snarled, the shout bringing the strange elf's attention to him, and away from the vampire-wizard duo. The fae king followed the resulting explosion up with a leap, and his sword pierced through the place where his dagger had struck.
The ploy worked and the next beam took the fae, buying just a little bit more time for Killian and Hazel. The vampire emptied the rest of the clip, most of the bullets making their way through the hole. Hazel managed to magic a couple of the bullets but not all of them. The elf swore as he tried to avoid the bullets and held his hands up in a futile attempt to ward them off. But his hands held the crystal prism, and one electrified bullet glanced off of the crystal and nicked the elf’s shoulder. The elf screamed and shot a ray that froze Hazel. He then gasped and looked dubiously down at the now slightly cracked crystal.
Killian growled deep in his throat as his copy of Hazel’s wizard mark faded, then rushed the barrier. His movements were quicksilver, and he scooped up several mints into his hands. He slammed into the barrier, and clawed at the edges of it. He wrenched at the weakened shield, not even noticing as the edges cut deep into his fingers and palms. The mints allowed him to pull away and dissolve enough of the barrier to get his head and shoulder through before the next ray of light took him. He spat angrily in the elf’s face before it trapped him completely. The elf straightened and stood once the vampire disappeared, regaining his composure.
“And as for you…” He began, turning to Aristide. The blind vampire fired, again and again as he stepped closer to the barrier. His face was grim, but even though he couldn’t see all that had happened he appeared determined. The elf ducked behind the intact edge of the barrier until he heard the telltale click of the empty cartridge, at which point he stood again.
When the clip had emptied Aristide pulled a pair of daggers and threw one. It flashed through the hole, and the elf yelped as he dodged. Aristide seized hold of the barrier, and realized that he, narrower in the shoulders and leaner than Killian had been, could slip through. He scrambled through the hole, crowding the elf in the small space. He growled menacingly, unfocused eyes glowing red as the predator for the first time in recent history came to the surface.
The elf pulled his own magic into use, and dodged Aristide’s semi-blind attempts to catch hold of him. He grabbed the back of the vampire’s neck and smashed his face against the barrier, his dark green magic spreading and holding Aristide. He stepped back, then realized that the vampire was still fighting, and the magic was only just keeping him in check.
“I may be blind, but that doesn’t mean I’m helpless.” Aristide spat the words out. “Finish it, elf, or I will finish you.” The elf scowled, and the crystal flashed one more time. He let out a long breath as the tension began to fade.
He jumped as a loud screeching noise startled him, and the crystal flashed before he realized that it was a cat yowling. Admittedly the creature didn’t look quite like any cat he’d ever seen, but still, had anyone been there to look they would have seen the chagrined expression that flashed across his features. He glanced around the room, on guard once again, before determining it was empty, and that it was time to go. He looked down at the crystal, just slightly cracked from all the recent excitement, and thanked whatever forces he followed that it had held.