Across the Veil: Open Eyes (Book 1)

Chapter 23: Waiting Game

"Where's Memphis?"

Moira took a moment before meeting Celeste's eyes. "He... was stabbed with a dagger made from a Dragon's claw." she said at last.

Celeste paled, "What? Ancestors..."

"He's not dead." Moira said quickly, earning confused looks from everyone in the room. Dragon's teeth and claws were lethal to Magicals. The power of a Dragon-based weapon, aether as it was called, consumed magic. A Magical would basically be consumed alive by the aether if they were stabbed. Like an acid eating away at paper. That wasn't what happened to Memphis though.

Moira explained what had happened when Memphis was stabbed. The idea of him bursting into a ball of energy and then imploding made little sense to the Magicals in the room, even less to Willow.

"He was... banished, kind of. Demon's aren't Magicals. They work with aether, not magic." She explained, eyes ghosting over everyone in the room, "Whatever the blade did to him... His body is gone but as a Demon he still exists. It might take him some time before he can project himself into this world again though."

"Any idea how long?" Bruno asked.

Moira shook her head, "Hours? Days? Weeks? I don't know. I've only seen something like this once before... But they were a bit different."

"How so?" Blake asked.

"They had a body to regenerate." Moira said simply.

"Wha-? That's insane. What kind of creature can do that?" Blake gaped.

Moira shook her head. She wasn't going to say more on the matter. She spoke again, her voice loud and clear, "Men- Memphis will be back... But in the meantime we have a new problem to deal with. I know where the Hunters are. It seems some of the Hunter leaders have gathered to plan their moves for wiping out Magicals within the city. They rented out the first floor of a lodge just outside of the city. It's quiet and isolated... But the place is guaranteed to be guarded. With so many Hunters able to pick up on magic, none of us could get close to it without being spotted..."

"What about me? I'm not a Magical." Willow said.

"I can't send you in there alone." Moira said, "Even if you got in... If something happened I couldn't be certain that I could help you. A few simple Hunters? I can handle that. Hunters with experience who can use their blessed emblems? With some help, sure.... But a whole lodge of highly experienced, trained Hunters? I don't have that kind of power-" Moira paused, eyes widening slightly. "Wait." she breathed. Her eyes lit up as she spoke to herself, "I got an idea... Osriel is going to kill me."

"Osriel?" Willow asked. That was a completely new name to her.

"Uh?" Moira looked up, "My, uh... Grandpa?" She saw the skeptical looks on everyone's faces. She let out a small, slightly nervous chuckle, "An old friend who I've worked with in the past... He's kind'a family to me I guess... Wouldn't admit it, I think... But he's kind'a like an Uncle."

"Why would he be pissed? Are you thinking of doing something dangerous?" Willow asked.

Moira paused, thinking for a moment, and then shrugging, "Considering it's me? Probably not dangerous... But I'm going to need Memphis for this, and that's going to piss Osriel right the hell off."

"What if Memphis isn't back before the Hunters leave?" Celeste asked. A good point. If Moira needed Memphis, then he had to come back in a hurry.

"They are in town for two more days while the rest of the higher ups fly into the city from other places across Canada." Moira explained simply, "If... If Memphis is not back by then... I will need to alert the Courts in the province as fast as possible. I might be able to call Osriel for help, but I can't guarantee how fast he could make it here, if at all. I can't reach him at all for some reason." Her brows knit, "If Memphis isn't back, we need a new plan. I'll alert the Courts and see what they can do. At that point I may be staying in Ottawa to protect the city, or I might be called back to Port Edwards. I don't know right now."

"So, we just wait?" Savio asked.

"For now... Yeah."