Chapter 10: Dees [Insert Joke]

I click Yes, and a glass sphere appears in my hand. Mist coalesces inside of it, making vague shapes that catch my attention, “What’s this?” I ask.

“It’s the information you traded for.” She says, slipping off the desk to move back to her seat. “Crush the sphere in your hands, and voila. Information straight to your brain.”

I twist the sphere in my hands, examining the glass. “I thought you were just going to tell me.”

“You can’t expect me to keep all my knowledge up here.” She taps her head, “Plus, this makes it easier for the buyer to remember. Go ahead and crush it, it won’t hurt you.”

I crush the ball, and it turns into mist in my hand. The mist absorbs into my skin, and I feel as it travels up my arm and into my brain.

General Info: Scott Monroe

Age:29

Lvl: 2

Class: Manipulator

Mana: N/A

Psi: 400

Sponsor: Set

Titles: Beta Tester, Murderer, Control Freak, Watched By The Gods

Special conditions: Sociopathic

Physical Condition: Healthy

Physicality: Normal 45%

Brilliance: Doctorate 84%

Equipment: .44 magnum Revolver(unique)

My face scrunches at a slight irritation. So it turns out the god Set is behind the man finding me. Bleh.

Note to self: Kick Set’s ass.

“Talk about creepy.” I mutter. “Manipulator class. Murderer and Control Freak titles… He sounds fun at a party.”

Taylor shrugs. “There’s a reason the price was cheap.”

“Thanks Taylor. I think I have some more preparations to do.” I stand up, pushing the chair back.

“Anything for my best customer!” Taylor pauses, her smile disappearing to something unreadable. “Be careful Elena, this is only the beginning.”

“I do love good beginnings.” I say, turning and walking to the door of her shop. I pause, my hand on the doorknob. “I have a feeling this one is going to be explosive.”

The door opens with a jingle, and I make my way back to my room, whistling to the tune of “I’ve been working on the railroad”.

My bed is exactly the same as I left it, and I sit on it with a creak as I pull up a familiar screen.

Upgrades Add Structure Traps And Defenses Decorations

I click on Traps And Defences, bringing up the next screen.

Traps

Alarms

Guards

Walls

Reinforcements

I click on alarms, and spend 6 gold to buy an alarm that detects Monsters and unapproved Beta Testers.

Then I make my way to the Guards tab.

I scroll through it, looking for anything that catches my eye. From dragons, to golems, all kinds of creatures pop up.

My finger pauses over one that catches my eye.

Faerie: Electric 23 gold

A race of fae that comes from the planet Eldrazi. These faeries are intelligent beings with control over electricity. Useful for subduing unwelcome guests and happy to work for nothing but the occasional sweet.

I instantly purchase, clicking yes on the next screen pops up. If you look at any myth, you don’t want to mess with faeries. It’s bad juju.

“Hello.” A quiet voice says from behind me.

I turn around, tilting my head slightly as I study the small creature flying in the air behind me. She pats down her golden hair which was starting to frizz out, then turns her blue eyes back to me.

“I said hello.” She says.

“I know.” I answer, smiling at her, “You just surprised me a little bit.”

“Oh. Well you surprised me too!” She turns away from me to study the room. She flits over to the bed, moving faster than a hummingbird. The opaque wings on her back don’t seem to move, except for a slight flutter. “When I signed up to be a guard, I didn’t think it would be on a beta world” She flies back to me, lifting up my hair to study it. “You’re pretty.” She says, then flits back to the bed and sits down on my pillow. “Then again, I didn’t think that I would actually be getting any work. Dragons are all the rage. Tch. Stupid dragons, they think they’re so special because of those shiny scales. Some people actually had to work for their power, y’know?”

I laugh and sit on the edge of the bed. “What’s your name?”

“You can call me Dee. What’s yours?” She jumps off of my pillow and looks me in the eyes.

I pause before I answer, something in her eyes giving me warning. “Is it dangerous to give my name away?’

She looks up at me with a proud grin, “Of course! Your name is how people know you’re you. It helps spells find you and gives them purchase.” She puffs up her chest, “But you can trust me, just as I trusted you. Dee is part of my true name. If you wanted to, you could try and use it against me. But! I am a guard of your home, I have no wish to harm you, just as you have no wish to harm me.”

I look at her thoughtfully, then match her grin. “My name is Elena Trudeau, just call me Elena.”

Her face grows serious as she bows with an elegant flourish, “It’s a pleasure to meet you Miss Elena.” She tries to hold the serious expression, but I can see the corners of her lips begging to turn into a smile.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well Dee.” I attempt to curtsy back, but I’m wearing shorts. I pretend I have a skirt and curtsy anyway.

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Dee flies back to the pillow she’d taken a liking to, and sits on it. “So, who are the bad guys I need to protect your home from? Who are the good guys that you do want inside your home?”

“My father’s name is Jacob Trudeau, my mother is Sarah Trudeau, and my sister is Elizabeth Trudeau. They can enter any time. Scott Monroe can never be allowed inside my home.” I pause, “Are just the names good enough for you?”

She nods. “As I said, your name is how people know that you are you.”

“Other than him, don’t harm anyone unless they try to harm me or my family. Or if they try and steal something.” I bite my lip, considering, “Or if it’s obvious I really don’t like them.”

Dee giggles. “I see that you have an alarm system. Perfect, can you give me permission to access it?” Her eyes look into space as she manipulates screens I can’t see.

Your (fabulous) guard has requested access to your Humble Abode’s alarm system.

Grant access?

Yes/No

I click yes.

“And yes, I am the best guard anyone could ask for.” She says.

“Do I need to pay you anything as a salary?” I ask.

She shrugs, making her way through more screens I can’t see. “You can pay me with honey. Lots and lots of honey. Aaaand, that should do it. Congratulations on your new guard-fairy!”

***

I tap my pencil against my notebook as I work through the problem in my head. I nod and write the answer down.

Dee sighs, her body splayed out on my pillow. She stares at me with glassy eyes as I work on my homework.

I look up at her, “If you’re that bored, you can watch something on the computer.”

“What’s a computer?” She asks, perking up.

I smile, and Dee shivers in fear.

I open my computer and turn it on. “This is youtube on autoplay. Don’t blame me for what you see.” I sit back in my chair to continue my homework.

Several hours later, Dee turns away from the computer with a haunted expression. “I couldn’t take my eyes away. It’s… it was just horrible. You people let kids watch that?”

I shrug, “That’s just how kids' shows are. Some parents just don’t realize what they put up there. There’s way more of that across the internet.”

“Internet?” I open my mouth to answer, but she puts her hands against my lips. “Never mind. I don’t want to know.”

I laugh and turn back to my biology textbook.

***

The next morning, I wake up to my alarm, while a half-asleep Dee shoots up from where she’d been sleeping on the pillow next to me. “Wh-what is that? Are we under attack?”

I turn the alarm off, and stretch. “No, I just like to torture myself every morning with loud noises.”

Dee looks at me in shock.

I chuckle tiredly, “I’m kidding. That’s just the morning alarm to get ready for school.”

I slip out of my sheets with a longing look behind me and get started on my morning routine. The morning goes like any other, except for a small faerie that follows me around through the house. My father doesn’t even see her as he yawns into his coffee mug.

Dee waves me off as I start my run to school.

I’m not sure if I’m ready to face off against Mr. Monroe, but I’ve prepared as much as I can. Plus, I can irrationally hope that he doesn’t show up to class today.

Unfortunately, my hopes are dashed as Mr. Monroe swaggers into the class.

I pull my gloves tighter as I stare daggers into the man’s back.

To my surprise, Mr. Monroe actually teaches history to the class. He completely ignores me, his spell landing over the class to call their attention to him.

Rose doesn’t show up, and I feel my heart twist.

The class ends, and Mr. Monroe immediately leaves the classroom. I stand up, and hurry to the front, but by the time I get there, he’s gone.

After all the buildup of our last encounter, I can’t help but feel disappointed. I mean, no epic fight? No showdown of powers? What’s a girl gotta do to punch a teacher around here?

Rose isn’t at lunch either, and some part of me starts to worry. What if this is his next move? I told her not to take off that bracelet.

The next class starts, but I’m distracted throughout. Finally, I decide on something, and walk out of the class mid-lecture.

“Bathroom.” I call out as the teacher calls out to stop me. I open the door, a bloodthirsty smile spreading across my face. If anyone did something to Rose, they’re going to be in for a nasty surprise.

I make my way to the front office, and find the office lady idly playing something on her phone.

She looks up as I enter, “Hello Elena, how can I help you?”

“Hi! Could you check in with the nurse, she’s supposed to have something for me.” I ask, putting on my sweetest smile.

“Of course, just a moment.” She pushes back from her desk and heads towards the back.

I glance at the other lady in the room who’s busy on a phone call, looking at the wall in the other direction.

I walk around the counter behind the office lady’s desk and click on her computer to open it. A quick click brings up student information, and I search up Rose Demor.

I skim the page until I find her address and her parent’s phone number, then I search up Scott Monroe. He’s not in the system.

I frown, then close the application. I leave the room, not waiting for the lady to return.

I type her dad’s phone number into my phone and call.

It goes to voicemail.

I try her phone next, and it also goes to voicemail.

I open the map app on my phone and type in her address. I frown at the distance I have to cover. This is one of those times that I wish my parents had gotten me a car instead of clothes for my sixteenth birthday.

I look out the window and see my salvation. Blake is leaning against his car, talking to one of his friends.

Leaving the building, I make my way towards the two boys.

Blake catches sight of me walking towards them and straightens with a curious expression.

“I need your car, preferably with you driving it.” I glance at Blake’s friend. He blushes as he catches my gaze. What was his name again? Daniel? Dillon? Something starting with a D. I’m sure. Probably.

Blake shrugs. “Sure thing. Just give me a minute.” He turns to his friend, opening his mouth.

I reach out and grab his arm, stopping him before he starts. “The sooner, the better. I have a bad feeling.”

Blake searches my face, and his eyes grow serious. “Sorry Damien,”

I knew it.

“It’s all good. Can I catch a ride with you guys, and you’ll drop me off after?”

I consider arguing, but seeing as Blake is doing me a favor and this is his friend…

I give Blake a nod, telling him it’s alright, “Come on. Let’s go.” I open the door to the backseat and jump in.

The two boys take the front seats, and I put the address into Blake’s phone.

They make conversation as we drive, but I’m too caught up in the twisting of my stomach to say more than two word sentences.

After twenty minutes, we drive up to a mansion, with the front gates wide open.

“That’s not right.” Damien says what we are all thinking.

One side of the gate is completely broken, as if something had busted it off of its hinges. The lights of the house itself are all on, but there’s no movement. We pull to a stop outside the gate.

“Give me a second.” I say, pulling Sheyla’s book out of my inventory.

I gather my psi and put it into the book, I am looking for something to stop bullets.

I open the book to a random page.

Stop Right There: Spell. A field is created in front of you. This field will hold things in place, using their momentum against them.

Warning: This field is easily broken by arcane energies

Requirements: 40 psi/minute

I study the spell, memorizing the shapes I need to twist my psi into. The boy taps nervously against the car, waiting for me.

I close the book, “You should take Damien where he needs to go. I’ll be fine from here.”

Blake shakes his head, but Damien is the one who speaks. “No way we’re letting you go alone in there.”

“I won’t leave you.” Blake adds.

I study the boys, then nod. “Do you have your dad’s gun?”

Blake nods, and opens the car door. The two of us follow him around to the back, where he opens the trunk.

He opens a compartment hidden by coats and pulls out a handgun. “It’s an FNX .45 semi-auto.” As if I have any idea what that means.

My eyebrows rise as Blake pulls out a second gun. “A Kel-Tek PMR-30, easy to use.” He looks Damien in the eye. “You've gone shooting before, right?”

Damien nods sharply.

“The safety is on. Leave it on, until we encounter trouble. Even then, leave it on unless someone else starts shooting.” He hands the weapon to Damien, who smartly keeps it pointed away from all of us. “Remember, it’ll be loud, don’t startle yourself.”

I stare at Blake with narrowed eyes. “Two guns? Who keeps two guns in their car?”

Blake shrugs. “It turns out my dad is useful for something. I also have a shotgun hidden in the back, if you want it.”

“Fuck no. I’ve never shot a gun in my life, and I’m not planning to start now.” I turn to the mansion. We’re a while away from the main road, but that doesn’t mean people won’t hear gunshots. I take a deep breath, readying myself for whatever is in that house.

I really hope that I won’t have to kill anyone.