The Reckoning

He sighed, frustrated she wouldn’t say but he crossed his arms and shrugged “Alright….” He couldn’t make her, he had no right to know so if she really didn’t want to say then was nothing he could do, he just hoped she would be alright “But if you need something” he motioned to the scroll “Tell me” If she was in some kind of trouble or anything, he wanted to help her out and not just to pay her back for saving his life. He wanted to make sure she would be safe. He nodded when she said she was going to go but then turned quickly towards her when she fell, kneeling down beside her “Tristian! What’s the matter?!” What was happening now?! “Tristian! Hey, hey, you alright? Do you need me to call someone?” He didn’t have magic, so 911 was his only avenue.

When he saw the blood he panicked, sucking in a breath “I’m calling 911” He said quickly, starting to stand. Blood was now involved…this wasn’t good. Had she over done it with magic trying to help him? Did this have to do with the scroll? Neither? He didn’t know but he had nothing to help her, she obviously needed some outside help because she was lying on his floor bleeding.

He was up and about to grab the phone when she sat up and told him no. He paused, uncertain whether to listen to her or not. He quickly stepped towards her, phone in hand, and grabbed her to help her stand and keep steady “Tristian, you need help” He sighed when she protested the phone further and shook his head “Look at you. You need help, don’t be so stubborn. I’m not a medical doctor, I can’t help you and you obviously need it” When she began to crumble again he quickly put down the phone and used his other hand to keep her up, leaning her against him “Exhibit one…” He grumbled and simply just picked her up in his arms with a sigh “Stop trying to move just…let me get you to the couch myself”

He carried her over and gently put her down on the couch “Just lie back, take deep breaths” He was still thinking he needed to call for help. If she didn’t want a hospital fine, but she still needed assistance “At least let me call a school nurse”

He shook his head “You have nothing to be sorry about” Had she lost her mind? What could she be apologizing for? He sighed heavily and glanced away, not bothering to show his distaste on the fact she didn’t want any outside assistance. “I don’t think that’s a good idea…” He shook his head and looked back at her unhappily “Of course I’m going to worry. You can’t ask me not too” He had never seen anyone bleed from their eyes (that he could remember anyway) so it disturbed him and made him feel medical help had to be in order. But if she didn’t want it…fine. Stubborn girl, he had a feeling her arm could be cut off and she’d still tell people she was ok and just needed to sleep it off. She needed to try and take care of herself better or she would wind up seriously hurt.

He gave her a hard look “Why do you always do that? You speak as if your some huge burden to me” He didn’t like it, it irritated him. When had he ever made her feel like she was some insignificant speck that always got in his way? “You may stay here and rest as long as you need. Take my bed, it’s far more comfortable than this old couch. I can sleep here” And before she could even protest he was picking her back up in his arms and taking her to the bedroom “You’ll also have the privacy of the bathroom all to yourself.” He shot her a look “Don’t argue” He muttered before putting her on the bed.

He sighed “Tristian, you are never not wanted and I’m sorry if I ever made you feel that way. You don’t butt in. When you need help you need help, don’t feel bad for that or feel like you’re getting in the way” Maybe now he understood why she wouldn’t share anything with him, like the truth about how he got hurt or the scroll. How could she share things about her life when she felt she was a pain in his neck? She was ridiculous, there was no way in hell he was letting her stay on his couch when she was obviously going through something he thought seemed pretty serious. He had gotten some good rest apparently but she probably didn’t sleep well worrying about him all night, so she needed some real rest. I mean the woman was bleeding from her eyes for God’s sake.

He put her on the bed and covered her with the blanket then took a step back, ready to leave her alone so she could rest peacefully. But when she grabbed his hand he stopped and thought she was going to ask for something like, a glass of water or another blanket…not what she did actually ask for. Her gave her a funny look like she had to be joking, but it didn’t seem like she was “A…story…?” Uh he wasn’t really the story telling type….he stepped back near the bed and sat down at the edge, looking at her “Um…well…” He racked his brain then took in his breath “Ok, ok…um…once upon a time, there was a….a...elephant? Who, who lived in a zoo…ahh, yes, a zoo.” He made a face and let out a breath “And then, one day the elephant, um, found a peanut…but no ordinary peanut, no, aaaaa…..golden peanut” Yeah, he really sucked at this, but he was trying.

He laughed when she did and gave her hand a little squeeze “Yes, a magical golden peanut. It will be a very interesting story…once I figure out what the golden peanut does” He gave her a warm smile and laughed some more when she let him off the hook about telling her a story. Good, because probably it would just be a rendition of Dumbo but with a golden peanut that made him able to fly. “Alright, sleep well” He murmured, going very still when she touched his face. He gazed down at her for a few moments, enjoying her hand on his face far too much before he turned away, got up and went to the couch. He was used to being up this early but his body begged for more rest. So he laid on the couch, throwing a blanket over him and allowed his body to relax and fall asleep….for about twenty minutes only. Soon the phone rang and Khalid had to roll himself off the couch and run off to see Misha because shit could never just be peaceful apparently. He was gone pretty much all day, and was just returning back to his room when he heard the scream.

He quickly finished opening the door and ran inside and to the bedroom. Seriously?! What was it now? Demons and Elders and screaming Tristian, oh my! He rushed into the bedroom and to the bed, sitting down beside her and grabbing her hands “What is it?! What’s wrong?!” He looked around the room for any sign of danger then back to her.

He stared at her in confusion when she started talking about some dream she must have had. Wow…the day after Halloween seemed even more screwed up then Halloween itself “Sounds like a Halloween wet dream…” He muttered, wondering what in the world she had been dreaming about. But suddenly she was throwing herself at him, her whole body shaking and he suddenly realized how scared she really was by what she had seen. Wow, she was so freaked out and he hadn’t even been the one to give her the nightmare…it had to have been pretty bad. He put his arms around her and drew her close against him, gently beginning to stroke her hair to try and soothe her the best he could.

“Hey, hey, hey. It’s alright. Your fine. Everything’s alright” He murmured, kissing the top of her head “You’re not going to die” Why would she say something like that? He had never seen her so freaked out before. He smiled and looked down at her “You think I’d ever let you die? Come on. Your stuck with me” He whispered then playfully pretended to bite at her neck, just trying to get this scary spell to break on her.

He frowned “Right that scroll thing…I tried to find it when I woke up but I didn’t see it.” Hamilton had had it first, maybe the damned cat had gotten to it again. He was still lost though why she thought the scroll was connected to some nightmare she happened to have “Tristian, we had a stressful night, you probably just-“ He was trying to talk over her to calm her down and get her to chill, because apparently playfulness was not allowed. When she mentioned the markings however he stopped and gave her a intrigued look “I’ve only ever had marking on my face when I lived in Egypt…you saw that?” Why did she see that? What exactly had she seen, because her blabbering didn’t make too much sense to him. He moved back when she got her bag, continuing to sit on the bed and simply leaned forward and rested his arms on his legs.

He watched her with a sigh as drew something, shaking his head “Tristian…what are you doing?” After everything with Misha and before that the demon…he just wasn’t in the mood. When she finished and turned it to him he quickly snatched it and stared at the face, his face falling and then something strange entered his eyes….fear. He stared at it then looked at her “You saw him in your dream?” He demanded then quickly stood and went into the living room “Hamilton!” he growled “Where’s that damned scroll!”

When she spoke of a woman that looked like her, he knew. He knew what she had seen and what it was about but he didn’t want to admit it. Deep, deep down he was hoping this was just a bad dream or had to do with something completely different. Tatia. He knew she was speaking of Tatia, he had never met anyone before that looked like Tristian after the priestess, especially not anywhere around that time period. The drawing just solidified his fears and he suddenly felt like stabbing himself in the gut with a hot poker, because it would be ten times better than this truth. He clutched the drawing in his hand and when he spotted Hamilton he cursed at the cat and stomped towards him, but the sly crème cat seeked quick refugee near Tristian instead of dealing with its master’s anger. Khalid wanted to kick the cat but he didn’t and instead just snatched the stroll from Tristian and opened it to read.

His eyes roved over the words, then he cursed and threw the scroll in frustration against a wall. How could this be happening?! This could not be happening! Why of all things was that Tristian’s punishment for using blood magic?! Of all things fate could have used as payment! He ran his hands through his hair, all but ripping it out as he paced back and forth. He then stopped and looked at her, dropping his hands “The woman you saw was Tatia. She was a priestess long ago, and yes, she looked just like you” He then sighed heavily, gritting his jaw for a few moments “The man…that was my brother. He was created before Devika and I. His name was Amon…and he was never supposed to get out of his prison”

He didn’t want to talk about it, he just didn’t want to get into all that mess…but if she was having dreams about Amon all the sudden because he had gotten out of his prison, well then, she needed to know now didn’t she? He nodded slowly “Uh…well, yes, that’s exactly it it seems.” He was still rampaging with anger but he stepped towards her “I buried my brother in the sands of the desert. Even if he’s emerged he won’t be here anytime soon. He won’t know where to find me. Were safe” Yes, of course…of course they were safe. They had plenty of time to figure this out before Amon was a true threat. Well, he was a threat to everyone he met until he got here but not to them and that’s all that mattered.

When she had another vision he moved quickly to her and put his arms around her to try and keep her steady “Tristian? Breathe! It’s alright” Tatia had visions though he never remembered them being like this but then again, she had been used to them. He helped lower her to the floor after the vision passed, running a hand through her hair “What did you see?” He asked, wanting to know what it was, if it had to do with Amon again. But why was she having these visions? Had to do something with Tatia, that was for sure.

He tried to hold her down when she wanted to scramble away, but she was a lot stronger than she looked damned little woman and she got away from him. He sighed and stood quickly “Tristian! Just…sit the hell down, would you? Take it easy before you explode!” He stared at her like she was nuts when she turned on the TV, wondering why in the world she thought this was the proper time to watch television. What? I Love Lucy was going to solve their problems? He turned to the screen when she stopped on the news channel, tuning in since she seemed so interested in this story, at first not seeing what was so important about this news but then it slowly dawned on him and he stared at the screen “They found him” He whispered in shock “I never thought…” He had never thought they’d find Amon, ever, but apparently those persistent little archeologists did indeed uncover him.

His brother was here. It wouldn’t be long before he found him. He and Devika always ended up finding each other, it was a part of their bond…Amon would sense them as well nearby. Shit. He looked to Tristian “You need to go home and pack your bags and get the hell out of town” He told her forcefully “Now. Right now. Get out, go pack and I’m buying you a ticket to Italy or wherever you want to go, but you need to leave until I solve this problem. Amon can’t see you”

Really? She was going to argue with him right now? Not funny “Yes, you are going home because you can’t be here” What part of that did she not understand? She was obviously freaked out about Amon and he was giving her a free get out of jail car, so why did she want to stay? When she just stood there stubbornly he stepped up to her and got in her face “Tristian” He said with eerie calmness “I will throw you over my shoulder and pack for you and tie you to that plane if I have too. Let’s do it the easy way, shall we?” He shook his head at her and snorted. “I won’t die, I’ll be fine. What I don’t need is for YOU to die” He snapped.

“You’re not Tatia. Tatia was ten times stronger than you, absolutely powerful and she still died from doing the spell! I let her die helping me put my brother away. I don’t need you because I can’t use you for anything against Amon. To do the spell she did…you don’t have an ounce of that power. So your useless and far better off away from here. I will figure out my own way to seal Amon again or kill him and it won’t involve you” He stared at her for a while then took a step back “Understood? Now were going to go pack your things”

“Funny…because you are leaving” This wasn’t some simple argument where someone could win or lose, this was him telling her what was going to happen. He let her continue to talk just to amuse her, but nothing she would say would convince him to change his mind “She couldn’t actually” He told her, crossing his arms as she went on and on. He then growled and looked ready to punch something “He doesn’t know you exist! You’re safe! He can’t come after you if he doesn’t know you’re alive!” He shook his head and stepped back towards her “And I cannot let YOU die! So you’re going!” And with that he picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder like a rag doll and started for the door.

“D’artagnan can help me. Evelyn can help. You know you’re not the only witch I know, right? I can get someone else to help because you cannot help without getting yourself hurt or worse. So just shut up and let me handle this. This isn’t your fight to begin with”

He appreciated her concern, but he knew the risk of her getting hurt was far more than him. He had dealt with Amon before. He knew how to fight him, knew his moves and his capabilities and how he thought. He could handle him, maybe not easily, but he could. Tristian was clueless. A few visions didn’t make her an expert or prepared to face Amon. No, she needed to get away and be kept safe until he could lock his brother away again…no. Kill Amon. No more prison, it obviously didn’t last forever. Something more permanent was needed and that was death. He had wanted to kill him the first time around but Tatia had convinced him otherwise. Now? Now he was doing it his way. It wasn’t his fault she was so easy to throw over his shoulder, she just was, but apparently she was getting to wise about his game.

When she locked the door he growled, trying to turn the knob and unlock it, then just went to hitting it and trying to yank it open…but nothing. Her struggling frustrated him and he sighed impatiently, all but dropping her to the ground and turning around to look at her ”Open the door” Did he have to go all badass on her? Because damn it he would! “Amon is a threat to the school, so Evelyn will have no choice to help if I ask of it. And you know, I may be hated by like, everyone, but I’m also very feared. I have lists and lists of people who will help me out of fear. They don’t need to like me, and that includes witches” He crossed his arms and glared at her so harshly it was a surprise he didn’t light her on fire with his anger “Fine. You obviously need more convincing then. Fine” He lowered his arms “Will just talk to Tatia herself. You’re her descendent. She won’t let you do anything stupid.”