6. Catching Up
Catching Up
Rez
It’s a mutual understanding that talking about my and Levi’s handicaps is an off-limits topic for now, so we turn towards what all of us have missed during our time apart.
I curl up on the sofa, but this time Dad insists on trying to mitigate my symptoms. The yellowish glow from his hand warms and calms the rolling nausea of my stomach.
The light blue glow of his left hand over my forehead slowly cools my temples, and I suddenly want to rest my eyes.
“How are you feeling now, sweetie?” Dad whispers, trying not to disturb JP’s explanation on meeting Anwen before falling to Hell.
“A lot better, thank you,” I answer lazily, covering a yawn.
“Take a nap while you can. If we need you to clarify something, we’ll wake you or ask when you wake up,” he reassures me before kissing my forehead like he did when I was a child.
I drift to sleep for a few hours, and when I wake up, I ask for a recap of what I missed.
During my snooze, the Leaders of Nova and my father caught up on how we ended up in Hell, Adam’s escape, Captain Brooks’ involvement, and Cain’s release, which, if I had to guess, made it uncomfortably obvious that Zeke is a Necromancer, but no one reacted or questioned further as far as I know.
Lilith’s strange and erratic behavior was explained, and they completely agreed with L.A.M.B.
’s mention of her delicate state. Lynx did disclose that his family was guarding the gate to the Trail of Worth, but he didn’t go into any further details.
Given all the horrors we faced, we are granted the relief of not having to relive all the gruesome details of the levels and safe houses that we came across, but once they catch me up, we do touch on what we suspect happened in our calculations.
“Time didn’t stop during your safe house stays as you had hoped, and those hours that you had to recover still ticked on against you,” Major Abernathy guesses. “It’s the only thing that adds up to the correct timeline now.” He nods, and the other leaders agree.
“Well, that does explain the strange looks we received when we popped up from Hell,” Lynx snorts.
“Yep, so what happened here?” Chester asks, leaning forward, his arms resting on his thighs.
“Yeah, how did you handle King Elverson?” Moni asks, sporting her neon green shade, her excitement to learn what she missed evident. She grabs a coffee from her S.I.N. box and lands on Chester’s shoulder, mimicking his stance. It’s kinda cute watching them.
“I bet he lost his shit when you told him the ceremony was off,” Ryker murmurs under his breath.
“The only person who lost their shit was Emer. We had to shut down the Flower Room for a few days so the Brownies could repair the damage.” Matthew clears his throat before continuing. “The strange part was how King Elverson was digging for information, and nothing he asked was on Levi.”
My stomach suddenly drops and rolls at that information, and when Matthew’s eyes meet mine, a groan slips from my lips.
“You’ve got to be kidding, right? My life can’t suck this much.” Looking at Dad, I complain, “Did I get hit by lightning as a baby? Or get cursed as a newborn? Or are we sure this is the life I should be living? Did I switch bodies with someone by accident?”
“Sorry, sweetie.” Dad chuckles, giving me a pitying look.
“What do you mean, what kind of questions?” Knox inquires, his eyes piercing Matthew as if he’s prey he’s sizing up to take down.
“Well, since I was invited into the room with him and Emer, I could hear Emer’s questions rattling off in the back that were more or less accusing Rez of being the reason behind Levi not being there, so, of course, Elverson parroted those questions—asking if Rez was the reason, what type of Supe she was, her background, when Levi was coming back.
He wanted to meet with you, Rez. Practically demanded it. ”
Supe… might as well call me what I am now: Human. Pfft.
Three distinctive growls rip through the room before Chief Cloak growls back, “Enough,” exhibiting his power, and everyone quiets down. “We didn’t give up any information. Besides, it’s classified,” Chief Cloak huffs and gives Knox a sharp glare.
“Plus, you’re a student here. There’s no need for him to know that information, and I told him as such.
But the fact that he was asking is telling,” Dean Caldron warns, just as a puff of smoke appears out of nowhere and a small piece of paper lands in his hand.
He quickly looks over the contents and smiles.
“Aww, it seems we will have a few special guests at our meet-and-greet,” he announces, clearing his throat before looking at our lemur shifter.
“But to answer your question, Chester, there were a great deal of things that you missed this year.”
“We had to hire more security for the increased Rebel attacks since I’ve lost some shifters from my pack,” Chief Cloak growls as he rubs his jaw.
“I don’t know if it was retaliation or something else is in the bigger play, but we didn’t have any new elves that enrolled in Purgatory this school year,” Dean Caldron explains.
“We’ve had demon possessions in some of our shop owners around Nova, so that has been a fun situation to handle,” Mayor Abernathy chuckles to himself.
“Besides, the occasional student becoming ill or the case of the Sulks' appearance, it’s been a quiet school year without you, Miss Taylor,” Dr. Steinbeck adds in with a slight smile as he continues to type on his tablet.
“Hilarious, doc,” I mumble.
It’s funny how it’s ironic. When I first got here, I was completely in denial about being a supe, and now, with the possibility of being a human in the supe world trying to survive…
I can’t imagine being a human anymore. Magic is a part of me, it’s who I am now, and I still have so much more of me to discover.
A loud slurping sound echoes around the room, and all eyes travel to Moni as she tries to suck up the last of her coffee.
She freezes for a moment before her eyes go wide, and her bark turns to glitter, showing her shock.
She frantically rips off her coffee lid and licks it, upending the cup and shrinking to allow the cup to engulf her as Chester quickly catches it.
“There’s none,” she whines. “Not even a drop. Oh wait. Nope, that’s a stain in the cup. I’m out. I’m truly out. I… I’m… I’m out of my sweet Nectar of Life!” she wails, flying back out of the cup, exposing deep orange bark, which I’ve never seen on her.
“You okay, Moni?” I ask, wondering if she’s going to explode or become a powerful vacuum with this new development as I sit up. Who knows what her new color means?
‘JP! What do we do with this color?’ I mentally scream, slightly freaking out. I don’t remember the shade they said Moni turned when she was about to Hulk out, but this could be it.
“You’re out of coffee?” Matthew asks, looking pale. “Maybe we should call it a day?” he suggests. Mayor Abernathy grabs his attention as the leaders talk quietly, while JP leans over the back of the sofa and whispers into my ear.
“Relax, she’s not about to explode. She’s depressed, although being without her coffee is a problem,” he warns before kissing the nape of my neck, causing chills to race down my spine.
“No, I’m not okay, and yes, I’m out of coffee!” she cries out, popping up to her normal size. “I’m dirty, and I want my treehouse,” she whines, pulling at her leathers. Chester guides her closer for a hug, and she melts in his arms.
“Look, there are a lot of festivities this weekend that kick off the beginning of The Gauntlet. So you should go home and rest while you can,” Mayor Abernathy says, standing from his chair and straightening his tie.
“Yes, tonight through tomorrow morning, the other schools will be arriving, and tomorrow there will be an assembly to go over the rules along with a meet-and-greet,” Matthew explains while getting up and conjuring a portal with his stone in the middle of the room, not even giving Dragon a second look.
“I do believe one of the schools has already arrived, so you may see them around town.” Turning to the other leaders, he continues.
“And we should check out the hidden room in the basement.”
“Agreed,” Chief Cloak snaps, standing and cracking his neck and knuckles.
“We need to find out what’s been going on in that room and see what kind of Demon was down there.
” He turns and gives us all a pointed look.
“If you see Captain Brooks, let me know ASAP. I’m proud of you all for discovering his allegiance with the Rebels, but he’s extremely dangerous.
” He makes eye contact with each of us. “He’s been missing for a few months, and I originally thought he was taken, but with this new intel, I’ll be calling off the search.
” With that, he turns, and Nova’s portal in the basement of the Hub appears within the swirling pool of Matthews portal.
I wait for any tingling sensation to tell me there’s something wrong. A premonition? Isn’t that what Knox called them? But there’s nothing.
But then again, would I even be able to tell anymore since I’m practically a human again?
‘Breathe, Rezzi-bear.’ Lynx reminds me, and I blink, coming back to the room.
“We’re off to Sparks. Come on, Chestie,” Moni urges, grabbing Chester and pulling him into the portal. Knowing her, she’s going to turn right around and portal into Nova and straight to her caffeine fix.
“Well, I guess we know where her priorities are,” Ryker chuckles as he stands and stretches.
A loud rumble comes from my right in the remaining silence, and we all look at Zeke as his cheeks pinken.
“I might be a little hungry,” he admits with a fang popping out.
“Let’s get you some food,” JP starts, reaching for his hand. “Let’s see what the cafeteria has for now, and I promise to make us a late-night snack.” He winks at Zeke but turns to address all of us. “Is that alright with everyone?”