Trouble

I was shocked to face Louisa when I opened the door. She had Alex and Ellie with her.

“I didn’t want them with me, but they insisted,” Louisa said as she barged in rudely, not taking her shoes off.

I saw Ellie silently forming the words ~she’s pissed~ while taking her shoes off.

“Do you have any idea what a psycho Marcus is? I want you to tell me what you’ve done, and I want you to tell me now!” Louisa said.

My hands were trembling. I shoved them down my pockets, hoping that they wouldn’t notice.

“I didn’t mean to worry anyone, I just got distracted. I got an opportunity to go to Marcus’s birthday party,” I answered, not daring to look Louisa in the eyes.

“What’s with the hair?” Ellie asked, breaking the awkward silence.

“I dyed it to match my date for the party,” I answered, still studying the floor.

“You went alone, with a warlock, without telling anybody, to our currently most wanted enemy’s birthday party,” Louisa said in disbelief.

“While we were all on standby, getting ready for another big battle, you went to have fun, on Marcus’s birthday party,” she continued, sounding furious.

“No, I didn’t go to have fun. I went to get intel. We have to be smart about catching him. Otherwise, he will just teleport away again,” I defended myself in panic, looking up at Louisa.

Her words made it sound very bad.

“Well, then tell me! What did you find out?” she asked, folding her arms.

“I found out he’s trying to reawaken Morgana Nord and bind her spirit to a demon, and that it’s proven difficult, so he’s planning on waiting until the solstice,” I informed Louisa.

She looked puzzled.

“Well, to be honest, I probably need to look up Morgana Nord. I’m not good with history,” she admitted.

“You’ve been a damned fool, but you did good. Unfortunately, I don’t think the council will agree with me,” she added.

“How bad is it? Why can’t she come to our headquarters?” she asked Ellie and Alex.

I understood she was referring to the energies she couldn’t feel.

“She reeks of magic, like she’s connected to the arcane. She’s really going to need a cleanse. Maybe a discreet one,” Alex answered, looking puzzled.

I definitely gave off a strange energy.

“It’s too late for that,” Louisa told Alex.

“Since you didn’t show up yesterday, you have been called to a disciplinary hearing. They might want you to get transferred and definitely cleansed,” she informed me.

“The Dux Umbra also still wants to speak to you privately.”

“Transferred to where? Both Ellie and I were transferred to the X-squad after a disciplinary hearing,” Alex said, amused.

“I didn’t have to stand before the council,” Ellie mumbled.

“To another country,” Louisa said plainly. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

“No way, her parents are our biggest sponsors. They probably won’t dare,” Alex pointed out.

“Yes, you are probably right. I don’t think they will transfer her either. They will threaten with it, but will probably be satisfied with suspension, and they are going to want to do a cleanse to stop any possible corruption,” Louisa said.

“I see you’ve had a visitor, the warlock you’ve been seeing?” she proceeded to ask.

I nodded. Lying to Louisa was pointless.

“I really do hope he really is on our side. Just be careful, Bella, and remember! Don’t drink any potions. You never know what’s in them,” she lectured again.

I couldn’t help but blush. I had already had several, and she was definitely going to try to get me to tell her about Erik the next time we talked.

“Perhaps we should get back to the headquarters. You need to forward this information,” Alex suggested.

“Yes, good point, Alex. We should hurry,” Louisa agreed.

“Not me, I’m staying for the tea,” Ellie said.

“Well, goodnight then, Bella. Enjoy your night,” Louisa said cryptically before she departed with Alex.

I told Ellie everything that had happened at the party, and about Erik. She looked at me a little strangely when I told her we were dating.

“So Bella, you know who Erik really is, right?” Ellie asked skeptically.

“Yes, Marcus’s brother, and he works for Damion,” I answered with a shrug. She buried her face in her hands.

“He is much more than that. He is Damion’s right hand and an archmage. He is one of the strongest warlocks we know of. Much like Aurora. I thought you knew,” Ellie explained.

“That’s why he laughed at me when I was surprised that he worked for Damion,” I said as realization sank in.

I felt a little shocked.

“I learned that he is powerful, but I didn’t know he was an archmage,” I admitted, feeling both embarrassed and a little overwhelmed.

What could such a powerful spellcaster possibly see in me?

“He would be much worse to hunt than Marcus, if we make an enemy of him, so be careful. Don’t make him think that you are using him. That’s why Alex and I have been so worried about you lately,” Ellie explained.

“He is letting me use him, but I think I really have fallen for him, Ellie,” I admitted, looking down at my hands, afraid to meet her gaze.

Ellie chuckled.

“Well, if you believe so. Just remember, me and Alex are here for you whenever,” she said.

It was so obvious she didn’t believe me and Erik would last. Well, only time would tell if she was right or wrong.

“We both know a little something about loving someone you shouldn’t. It’s more pain than it’s worth if it can be helped,” she added after a while when I didn’t reply.

I looked up at her, surprised. She was staring out the window, looking distant and thoughtful, like she was somewhere else.

“You love someone?” I asked, surprised.

It wasn’t at all unusual for her to leave the club with a stranger, and she often spoke about her conquests in general terms.

She flinched and looked at me, quickly smiling like her normal self.

“Old wounds, Bella. I shouldn’t have brought it up when I don’t want to talk about it. I just wanted you to know that we understand,” she chuckled, urging me to drop it.

I looked at her suspiciously.

“All right, I won’t pry,” I said, slowly widening my eyes at her after the last word.

She’d made me very curious. I couldn’t imagine Ellie craving romantic, sincere affection, but then again, there could be a reason behind that.

“Good. Now about tomorrow. I’m going to give you some advice. Despite what you feel, always stay loyal to our order. Do you understand what I mean?” she asked me seriously, shifting focus.

“I’m not sure. Why wouldn’t I be?” I asked, feeling confused.

“It’s hard to explain before you’ve lived through it, but the cleanses leave you feeling a little…vulnerable. And they might question your loyalty with the bold moves you’ve made. So just be loyal no matter what, okay?” she explained with uncertainty.

If Ellie was worried, it would probably be bad. I suddenly felt a little worried.

“But the worst thing that could happen is that I don’t get to work for a while, right?” I asked her, hoping she could stop this growing feeling she’d caused.

I just hoped the council didn’t know about Erik.

“Hopefully, Victor is more tolerant than many other Dux Umbra, or so I’ve heard,” she said, looking distant again.

I flinched a little at her calling him by his name. I’d never heard anybody speak of him so casually.

“Oh well, I just want it over and done with.” I sighed.

***

When I slept that night, I had another strange dream.

~

~I was running around on a meadow full of wildflowers. I was chasing and playing with a small child with dark curly hair. We were both laughing happily when I caught him.~

~

~

~Suddenly, it all disappeared, and I was surrounded by flames.~

~

~

~Before me stood a tall man—or should I say, a human-looking demon—with goat horns and huge wings.~

~

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~“Will you accept all of who you are? Or continue to be weak, and live in denial like the others?” the demon asked.~

~

~

~I was about to ask him who he was, but someone shook me awake.~

~

“Bella, are you all right?” Erik asked, sounding worried.

“What the hell, Erik?” I answered with a yawn.

“You were dream traveling. Your spirit was in another dimension,” he said.

“What?” I asked, confused.

“You were laughing in your sleep. It woke me up, and then you just kind of disappeared. What did you dream about?” Erik asked.

I hesitated for a moment. “A demon, I think,” I answered.

“What did it want?” Erik asked, sounding very serious.

“It just asked me if I will accept all of what I am,” I answered, confused.

“Interesting,” Erik said, looking at me curiously.

“Why?” I asked.

“What do they teach you about your origins?” Erik wondered.

“That we are descendants of demons, but sworn to protect this world from them,” I answered.

“You should ask Damion if you can study in his library. He told me what you umbras used to be, before you made a pact with the luci. Until then, if you dream of it again, just don’t interact with it, and it can’t harm you,” Erik said.

“We made a pact with luci?” I asked, confused.

We hated them. It didn’t make any sense.

“You should learn about it yourself. It was almost a thousand years ago,” he answered, yawning too.

“No way that I can sleep now. What do you know?” I protested.

“~Sleep~,” Erik said in the arcane language.

He chuckled and kissed my forehead as everything turned dark.