The group was silent as they walked down suburban roads. James kept an eye on Lucy, while Cosmo scouted the area ahead. She had provided directions to a close friend’s house, but beyond that she had been mute. Her friends were also mute; however, while Enchanted they didn’t have a say in the matter. The group was no longer cloaked in Seeming as they made their way to safety.

Yilin wasn’t wrong, but damn I wish he hadn’t been so vague. What am I meant to do with a bunch of instigators? They can draw crowds and agitate, sure, but there were no set rules of engagement; their de facto leader panicked and incited a riot; furthermore, not a single one of them appears to have a grasp of dealing with the police appropriately! If I hadn’t of arrived the Militant faction would have quashed all of them, failing once again to achieve anything. I thought she was smarter than this; what were you thinking Luc?

James eyeballed his little sister. Nearly his own height now, she had grown a lot since he knew her as an eight-year-old. Long brunette hair cascaded down to her shoulders, their Dad’s lightly-tanned skin, she was a refined woman. Older, taller, resourceful, she had grown-up in his absence to be the striking figure he always knew she would be. And yet, James couldn’t help but treat her as the bossy little misfit he once knew.

Mum and Dad will have a fit when I tell them what happened, if they aren’t having one already. Damn, would the riot make the radio? Or did I get them a proper television last New Year?

…

I’ve been away for too long.

Despondent, James walked on. They neared an intersection and wordlessly Lucy pointed left. They trudged on. James debated removing the Hypnotic Patterns from the others, but decided quiet was the safer option out in the open. Cosmo sent James cool and calm emotions, so he felt content with the situation at hand.

How in the nine-hells am I going to manage this lot?! The mage has potential but she’s still a Rogue, and most likely self-taught and more likely unwilling to work with the stranger who Enchanted her. By the Towers, I hope Luc’s friend can send Mum and Dad a message once we get to her place. It is way too late to get caught breaking curfew.

Lucy slowed to a halt before one of the larger houses on the quiet street. It was a two-storey building sitting behind a squat concrete fence. The houses next door had raised their own fences to block the sides of the building, hemming in the concrete abode. It appeared a weird sight to James. The building was pretty bare, with steel scaffolding and coloured-wires lining the front of it. There was a garage door on the right hand side of the building, but overall it was very bland. If not bland then James would have called it reductive, but constructive nonetheless.

Once everyone was together, Lucy walked to the front door and knocked. Cosmo returned to James, receiving scratches behind its now canine ears. James motioned for the Baku to return to his satchel, but he left the top off it so his friend could see.

Step echoed from inside the house, responding to Lucy’s knocks. The front door reverberated from the thud of footsteps, weakly made compared to the concrete exterior. The hinges, were shiny new, but their appeared to be scorch marks around where they were placed on the doorframe. The door opened to reveal an auburn-haired woman, dressed in tradesman overalls.

“I told you Lucy, it was never a good idea going to-” The woman froze at the sight of the escapees.

“Jenny can we please…” Lucy pleaded.

Minor cuts and abrasions were evident in the dim light. James himself was a ghoulish visage, left looking like a spectre from his magic and Cosmo’s negative drain. He smiled. The woman, Jenny, shivered.

“Come in, come in. I see it went as I anticipated, damn fools. Quickly now! Don’t need the neighbours complaining to no coppers that I’m harbouring you lot.” Jenny opened the door and ushered them inside. She eyeballed James as he walked past. He nodded his thanks. The trailing Enchanted followed closely behind him.

Jenny scouted outside before shutting the door, the group making their way inside. The house was well ordered. There were few decorations or ornaments on the walls, but there was an overwhelming sense of organisation and sterility to the place; indicative of Jenny’s character, James was sure.

The house was divided by a single hallway, that led the group to a comfortable living room. There were a few old couches, Lucy collapsed on one. She sunk a few inches into the couch she sat on, entrapped by old suede pillows and held up by old springs. James dusted an old armchair off before sitting down. It smelled of mould and grease, but James dealt with it.

Jenny strode into the room and stared at the Scanlan siblings. The Enchanted stood to the sides of James, their leader fighting slightly as she regained her mana.

“What’s with them?” Jenny asked. She stared at James.

“Are we safe to talk?” James replied. Jenny narrowed her gaze. Lucy nodded to James, and he snapped his fingers to break the hypnosis.

The six freed from the Enchantment barely moved. Jenny peered at each of them, still surrounding James’ chair before leaving to enter a side room down the hall. She returned with a large wrench.

“Okay, Mage,you have some explaining to do.” The righteous anger that emanated from Jenny’s voice intrigued James. He had forgotten the last time someone had threatened him so openly. He sighed, enjoying the sensation of sitting down after the ordeal of the last two hours.

The six around him began to position themselves, encircling him. The girl who acted as their voice and leader moved to stand just outside the corner of his vision. James turned to watch her. She sent him a glare that would make wyverns flinch. He responded with a curt smile.

Ignoring Jenny’s provocation, James addressed the girl. “If you speak, or attempt to inlay your voice with mana, or cast magic of any kind, and I have not directed you to, then I will Silence you and your friends and this will become a monologue, not a dialogue. Do I make myself clear?” His eyes were whirling orbs of hazel dust.

She nodded begrudgingly.

“Good, well then Ms…?” James turned to Jenny for answer.

“Grayson.” She answered. She stood only a metre from James; the wrench held with both hands to her side for an easy swing.

“Ms. Grayson, my name is James Scanlan. I am hear because my parent couldn’t contact my sister and feared something like tonight would occur.”

Lucy didn’t move. Her eyes were closed and feet up, lying length ways along the couch. Tired, frustrated, confused, thankful, James couldn’t tell what myriad of emotions she was feeling; but he had gotten the point across to the others.

He was here for his sister.

“Lucy, you never said your brother was a-a-a fucking mage!” One of the two boys shouted. He was tall, well over six feet, wide with an array of tattoos inked across his arms. The other boy of the group stood next to him. He was skinny and a little shorter than his gruff companion. He wore glasses and fidgeted with his hands, unsure of the situation. He appeared to echo his companion’s sentiment, flitting his focus between James and Lucy.

We don’t look that different from one another. Do we?

“He’s been out of state, Mitchell. No point telling you guys.” Lucy said. She had placed her arm over her eyes, hiding them from the pale-yellow lights on the ceiling.

“Is being a mage an issue?” James surveyed the room.

Jenny maintained her grip on the wrench, wary of the stranger. Gruff Mitchell huffed in annoyance; more likely from being kept out of the loop than from James being a mage. The other lad had stopped fidgeting, holding James’ glance, curious. They appeared similar ages to James. The difference in composure astounded the Dust-mage.

The three girls who he hadn’t been following had huddled together. Two of them, from James observation, were twins, but all three of them could have been university students. They didn’t appear wholly capably of anything but seeking safety and rest for the night. The look of terror they gave James

So young, and yet, so angry and so scared. Fuck, so am I, and I’m not that much older. At least they aren’t specifically angry at me, but the night has taken its toll on them. They aren’t ready for what they attempted to incite tonight. They aren’t ready for me.

“Well then. Ms Grayson, thank you for accepting us into your home. We may-” James was cut off.

“Mitchell, take Phineas and the girls home.” Jenny ordered.

“But Jen, it’s-”

“If you don’t think you can get home stop by Damien’s. He’ll take you sorry lot in. Just get out. You stay Kiara.” With Jenny’s demands made, the gaggle of girls and guys began to amble out of the house. The young Enchantress remained. Jenny’s wrench remained ready.

“You three,” Jenny waved her wrench over the Scanlan siblings and young Enchantress, “have some explaining to do.”

________________________________

The aroma of tea wafted through the living room. James reclined, enjoying the Melbourne Breakfast brew Jenny had provided him. Lucy had her hands wrapped around her own mug, sitting up right. She had asked for lemongrass and ginger, a late night favourite of hers. Jenny made herself coffee, while the young Enchantress - Kiara Dissanayake - had stuck to water.

Odds are, her throat is sore from overusing her mana to inlay it with persuasive qualities. A powerful talent, yet she possesses such a distain for the Tower; I need more information. It’s all too messy.

Cosmo had escaped James’ satchel and was lapping up his own brew. It was peppermint tea, an interesting choice for a Baku. Jenny had been startled when James had introduced the Baku to the group, but the cheshire grin it gave the girls endeared itself to the group. Lucy, unfocused, scratched it behind the ears.

Cosmo was excited by his more-corporeal form, having maintained much of the essence donated and stolen from the night’s antics. James appreciated the loving emotions Cosmo emanated; it aided the rooms atmosphere. James was a little perturbed by the telepathic feeling of being scratched though.

“So, you lot went through with the rally. Failed to close up shop by curfew. Incited a riot when the cops rocked up. Then was saved by Lucy’s absentee mage-brother, escaping a night in a cell with a hundred other poor sods. Have I got the gist of it?” Jenny probed.

James recoiled from the ‘absentee’ label, but nodded at her assessment. Lucy had spilled the story, stared down into her mug now she’d finished delivering it. Kiara continued to watch James; a whirlwind of emotions visible in her eyes.

The enchantress was an enigma to James. A mage with a reservoir of anger so vast she’d rather incite violence than diffuse a situation to fight another day. She was striking, her hair lustrous like onyx stone, framing her handsome features. It had flared behind her as she’d delivered her impassioned sermon, picturesque of an old-school priestess or sorceress from history. Her strong eyebrows were conduits of emotion, expressing distaste for mages and a ferocity in pursuing the elevation of her peers; she was the idyllic apprentice for Madam Ouvrier’s work. And yet, she was here all alone, a wolf wishing to lead sheep.

What is your story Kiara?

“It was meant to be different. We need the attention, otherwise it’s all pointless Jenny. It’s all fucking pointless.” Lucy said. The mug in her hands caught her tears. A continuous drip, drop, drip, drop, that paralysed the room. A moment of thought swept over the room.

“I won’t apologise. It was just.” Kiara said.

James turned to face her. Her eyes held his, defiant. He raised his eyebrow, then sipped his tea. She balled her hands into fists, shaking. Her emotions whirled caught in a typhoon of insecurities and powerlessness. James placed his mug down, internally rebuking himself from pushing the girl. She didn’t deserve to be patronised. At least, not by him.

“Now, now, just because something was ‘just’ doesn’t mean it wasn’t wrong.” Jenny intoned. She was a hard woman. James was no stranger to a social-groups rock, and while Jenny possessed misgivings towards the group’s goal, she was most definitely an authoritative figure in their lives.

She stood and grabbed tissues from the kitchen, handing them to Lucy. She thanked her. Her red eyes did not show weakness or guilt or remorse for the night. She was angry.

“Girls, this is a lesson I didn’t want you to experience. I love your little faction for change. Mitch and Phineas are smart men but being smart ain’t gonna cut it. The twins’ propaganda posters and flyers are inspirational, and Carrie’s band spreading the word is phenomenal. But, that’s not going to cut it. Kiara you are the most gifted of the lot, Luc your speeches are exemplary; together you two can bring grown men to tears… But that’s not going to cut it.” Jenny paused. She basked in the silence. Her hands were direct and manipulated her speech to gather the room, to focus it. And with her audience hooked, she delivered the brutal truth.

“We, are NoMs. Raised by, live with, and will forever go on to be, nothing more or less than, NoMs. Accept it.” A mug shattered. Jenny reached with a calloused hand for her wrench.

James stood, angry. Cosmo gave a low whimper, distracted by his master’s emotions. James stood, between the girls and Jenny. He uttered one word.

“No.”

Lucy stared at her eldest brother. A war of pride and cynicism waged within her. Her brother stood stalwart, combating Jenny’s speech with his presence alone. His breathing was shallow, his breath visible from the broken tea’s warmth.

Kiara remained silent; eyes wide open. She observed to the mage before her. Sceptical, cynical, James didn’t care what they thought; the weight in his heart had proven too much.

“Ms Grayson, I respect your view. But I cannot accept it. I would not be here if I could accept it. These girls would not inspire hope and raw emotion in hundreds of others if we could accept it. I am sorry for anger, when you’ve shown us hospitality, but no. I will not accept it.” Jenny eyeballed the Dust-mage.

His once marvelous navy suit had begun to show signs of wear. His eyes held specks of hazel, hypnotic as if they moved with this man’s emotions. His oxfords, no longer shined, were scuffed and damaged from the nights escapade; he had work hard. Her stance softened. She smiled.

“It’s alright. It was just a mug. I’ve said my peace.” Jenny returned the wrench to the coffee table that divided the seating, and reached for the broken shards.

“Allow me.” James murmured a brief incantation and the pieces were swept up onto the table. Each of the broken shards held by a tendril of Dust. Slowly the tendrils reconstructed the shattered mug, filling any gaps with Dust. Cosmo levitated to the once-broken item and breathed over it. The lines of fractures were glazed over. The mug, now possessing a rough matte appearance than its once smooth ceramic, was whole.

“Thank you.” Jenny said with respect. She considered the state of the escapees. Cuts has bandaged, the tea had helped with their jitters; tension remained within the group, but it had been managed for now. “Kiara there is a spare bed down the hall, first door on the right. My workshop is to the left, and I will know if you enter it. Don’t. Scanlans, you two can take the couches. I don’t have much food, but just grab water from the tap. Bathroom is the second door on the right, down the hall.”

“Thank you, Jen.” Lucy said. James nodded to their host.

“Just count yourselves lucky I’m so kind hearted. G’night.” The echoed her sentiments and made themselves comfortable with the sleeping arrangements. Kiara followed Jenny down the hall before turning to the right. A loud clunk of a lock echoed down the hall.

Lucy turned away, facing the back of the couch. She had latched onto Cosmo and embraced the ethereal beast. James felt telepathic purring from the Baku.

Time for some shut eye. Cosmo, please keep the nightmares at bay for her; she needs the rest.

James received confirmation from his friend, before drifting off to sleep.