“Good evening, you may call me Adrian. Don’t bother naming yourselves, I have no need to know them seeing as how I’ll be killing you in short order.”

Levi was no stranger to death, as were most people if you thought about it. There were tons of threats milling about each and every day that could snuff a life out. Heart attacks, car wrecks, disease, and so much more could put people under; but even with the freak randomness of it all, to hear a promise of death from a stranger in a casual tone still made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

In the world of magic battles to the death were more commonplace than in your average American town. Mages were a prideful and neurotic lot, always fearful of a potential downfall to themselves. It was a natural consequence of spell construction. Spells were dependent on the faith of the user, so all of them came out differently. There was no telling what anyone was capable of when it came to sorcery. Sure, you could take a guess based off some broad stroke assumption, but each spell was ultimately exclusive to its user in one way or the other. The world of mages was harsh, and constant vigilance coupled with moral disregard was the only surefire assurance of survival.

The raven cawed and spread its wings. Ravens were commonplace in the mythology of multiple cultures, it would be near impossible to discern its purpose without letting Adrian make the first move. Would Levi allow Adrian to attack or should Levi rush into the unknown? What an unfortunate scenario to be stuck in.

“Well then…shall we begin?”

There was a flash of phantasmal light and a new bird sprung forth from the void, a vulture. The raven settled back to its perch while the vulture cried and began to fly about.

I get it now…a psychopomp.

Psychopomps were the grim reapers of mythology, ferrying souls to the afterlife. For the Egyptians there was Anubis. For the Greeks, Charon. Regardless of culture there was a deity tasked with guiding the deceased to the afterlife. Over time several animals were tied to the concept, ravens being one of them. In this case it seemed Adrian was utilizing the raven to aid in the summoning of familiars. It was a simple job for a being tasked with being a mediator between the conscious and unconscious, or rather, the surface realm and the spiritual realm.

By believing in the concept of his psychopomp familiar and using it as a gateway to summon other creatures, Adrian had constructed a spell that allowed him to call forth familiars he lacked the belief to control alone. It was a clever bit of magic.

Knowing its function did Levi little good.

The raven wasn’t a direct threat, but Levi was still in the same position he had been in a moment ago. The screeching vulture was the man’s weapon of choice against Levi and Noelle, and Levi still had nary a clue as to what form of offensive magic the bird represented.

The man started forward. Levi raised his internal magic defensively, but it was a miscalculation. Noelle was the closer target, and Adrian was closing in fast.

Her hand went to her waist, flipping her shirt. She had a concealed Smith & Wesson neatly tucked away in a holster.

That might not be enough, but at least she’ll drive him off her for a moment.

Except she didn’t. She hesitated for a moment, hand hovering over the grip, before charging forward instead. She darted to the man’s side and reached for his arm, clearly going for a standard police takedown.

“You idiot! He’s using magic! He’s too strong to knock over!”

Adrian swatted away Noelle’s arm like it was a gnat as the vulture cried in a jeering manner towards her in response to its master’s display of strength. It was a mercifully light blow. The man could have opted to cripple Noelle with a single blow, so just knocking her away was lenient of him.

The hand Adrian knocked away began to contort in mid-air. There was a sharp snap and a cry of pain. Noelle’s wrist had been broken.

“AAAHHHHHHH!”

Levi rushed to her side. What the hell had happened?! It wasn’t as if Noelle had been knocked over and landed poorly, her perfectly healthy wrist had broken in mid-air absent of force.

Damn! Was that his spell?! I can’t tell how it works just from that!

“GUUUAAAGHHH!”

The sudden rush of pain had Noelle writhing on the ground clutching her wrist. While it looked like the damage was limited to a broken bone, she was surely down for the count. Levi would have to resolve this alone.

He jumped up and sent a fierce roundhouse towards Adrian’s head. It was an unideal attack that left Levi overly committed, but he was hoping the unexpected move would throw Adrian off. The larger man blocked it with ease and aimed a punch at Levi’s exposed ribs in reprisal. Levi blocked with his elbow and was forced a step back by the man’s enhanced strength.

He’s good, but that strike wasn’t very strong. How did he break her wrist like that?!”

“You look confused,” chuckled Adrian, “I guess the mage’s in this country are all idiots. You Americans have too much peace for your own good. If you really want to hit me, try practicing on the battlefield first.”

Adrian threw another punch as the vulture cried in Levi’s ear. It was overly telegraphed and slow, Levi easily stopped it with a boxer’s head block.

“What?!”

Even after Adrian removed his fist the force of the punch remained. In fact, it had compounded. Two times, five times, ten times. The blow went from a light punch to feeling like getting hit by a truck. Levi flew backwards, his arms stinging from pain, and crashed into the side of a parked SUV, caving in the door.

All Adrian did was smile. The battle had been won as far as he was concerned.

“Why are you attacking us?” asked Levi, half from curiosity and half to buy himself time to catch his breath.

“It’s nothing personal, boss’ orders. I’m to eliminate all who encounter the creature. Well…I’d be willing to let you go if you buy out my contract.”

“You’re a mercenary.”

“No need to state the obvious friend. I hope you understand that this is just business. As long as I have the money, I will do what I am instructed to.”

“Well you won’t get any from me. Like a struggling business owner such as myself could afford your fee in the first place.”

With an explosion of effort, Levi tore a door from the SUV and hurled it at Adrian like a discus. It was a brutal move; any normal person would be decapitated if it hit. Hopefully, this attack would put Adrian down for the count.

“Throwing it so quickly…you’re better with your magic’s internal control than I thought.”

Adrian stretched his arms out wide and caught the door. Letting the force of the collision move him, he spun on his heels and released the door once he had made a full rotation. He had thrown the door back at Levi with the force of Levi’s first throw combined with the rotational force of the catch.

“Oh shit!”

Levi poured every spare ounce of magic he had into his stratus. A wheel of flame came to life and intercepted the door. The projectile was cut in two, the halves flew past Levi’s sides and crashed down the road. He had narrowly avoided death, but the fire had taken its toll. His stratus were sparking and leaking energy all about, they wouldn’t be useable unless repaired.

Damn, that monster earlier really ruined them!

“Quick reaction. I’m glad you didn’t die from that. Real men battle with their fists. Let’s go!”

Adrian and Levi charged forward near simultaneously; Adrian out of aggression and Levi in quick response. Their fists collided with a loud clap. They had both enhanced their physical abilities with magical energy, resulting in equal strength despite the differences between their builds.

Levi backed off first, moving back his hand to throw a hook with the other. It had almost reached Adrian before Levi was interrupted by a boot to his gut.

This guy’s good! He read me!

The force of the kick lifted Levi up in the air and forced the air from his lungs. He was defenseless, unable to resist the momentum of the blow until he could reach the ground. As Levi began to fall Adrian hit him with an overhead punch, driving Levi’s body into the pavement. The force of the blow was so great that the street had cracked underneath Levi’s body.

“Your moves were good, but you made them too predictable. You seemed rusty friend. I would have liked to face you in your prime.”

Levi continued to lie there.

He was still conscious despite the pain of the blow and he had heard what Adrian had said. His body was still in okay condition too. If Levi wanted to fight, he could certainly get up and go another round despite the damage.

It’s just that it was impossible, that’s all.

Killing intent radiated off Adrian in waves. Even with his face in the pavement, Levi knew any attempts on his part to regain his footing would result in deadly retaliation. Adrian would crush him if he saw a single finger twitch.

Damn…no choice. I’ll play dead and look for an opening.

“I don’t want to deal with whatever weird strategy you’re coming up with, so I’ll end it now.”

Adrian’s foot came down like a guillotine. It was so fast that Levi could feel the displaced air blow on the back of his neck. Levi rolled as quickly as he could, Adrian’s foot just missing his head as it pierced into the ground, kicking up asphalt and particulate. Levi was able to see around himself now that his nose wasn’t in the ground. His vision snapped desperately towards Adrian in order to anticipate the next attack.

What he saw made his blood run cold.

Adrian had created a sizable hole in the road with the force of his strike. While the larger man had been playing around before, it was clear he was going in for the kill. If Levi stayed on the defensive he would die, that much was certain.

But that wasn’t too scary.

Not good…I might really buy the farm tonight…

The boundary had stopped Ithaca’s inhabitants from noticing the spectacle, but it was near worthless against those with heightened perception. Two people like that had clearly heard the scuffle outside their home and rushed outside to get a look. They were staring at Levi and Adrian, taking in the scene of the battle from their porch.

One was young, a kindergartener at best. A girl with an explosion of strawberry blonde hair.

The other was in her young teens. She had fierce red eyes and a shorter haircut that had her white hair hanging over her forehead with blunted bangs.

Beth and Lorelei, the witches of Ithaca, stood on the porch in their nightwear.

Lorelei was the one to come forward first.

“What the hell. I thought I told you to stay away from us?”

While she had directed this at Levi, the one to respond was Adrian. Surprised by the voice coming from behind him, there was visible shock on his face when he turned to face them. He immediately took a defensive stance once he saw who they were. Somehow, he already knew their true nature.

“I won’t let you harm me OR Beth!”

With a flourish of Lorelei’s hand the ground under Levi and Adrian’s feet imploded. It was like it had gone from being pavement to sand, and they sunk up to their knees into the mire she had brought forth. Lorelei snapped her fingers and the road froze over with a sheet of ice. The two men had been trapped instantly.

“NOW FUCK OFF!”

There was a brilliant flash and a web of lightning spread out from Lorelei’s body. Stray bolts clipped the ice and torn up road, blasting chunks of debris all about. Levi and Adrian weren’t spared, lightning struck them both with enough force to destroy their trappings and send them flying. Levi nearly passed out from the hit, the only reason he was even still alive was because he had unconsciously gathered his internal magic for defense at the last moment. He crumpled to the ground next to Adrian.

At least…that guy was taken out too…heh…I hope Noelle can get away…

Almost in response to Levi’s weak mental declaration, the raven and vulture flew to their master. They exploded in a burst of spectral energy, enough to temporarily blind everyone in the vicinity. By the time they light had faded Adrian was gone, he apparently had enough juice left to run away.

Which meant Levi and Noelle were stuck with the two girls.

Lorelei surveyed the scene. Her eyes passed over Levi, it seemed she no longer registered him as a threat. She was right to, that last attack had completely knocked the wind from his sails. She continued to look around before settling in on Noelle.

“So, you were with this guy? What are you plotting? Were you scoping me out earlier? Looking for a weakness? Maybe you were assessing me so you could capture Beth? You should’ve known I’d turn your skinny ass to ash if you even tried you bitch.”

“H-huh? I’m so confused…aren’t you the girl I met earlier?”

“Don’t play dumb.” Lorelei’s tone was venomous, like a cobra coiling itself up to strike.

“Loreleiiiiiiiii~,” protested Beth, “I thought you looked happy talking to that pretty lady the other day. What’s wrong?”

Lorelei hesitated. Was she second guessing eliminating the two of them in front of the little girl?

“You’ll understand when you’re older Beth.”

Power began to gather in Lorelei’s hand.

“No! Don’t!”

They were interrupted by another man. He arrived looking harried and out of breath. It seemed he had been quite a distance away and had decided to run there once he noticed the battle.

Levi recognized him instantly-the “social worker” assigned to monitor the two witches. A knight of The Congregation. Things just got even messier. What a night.

“Wait wait wait wait waitttttt! Lorelei! Stop! You can’t strike down people just because you’re upset!”

“What would you know?! This damn mage and his friend for sure have their eyes on us!”

“I’m sure there’s a logical explanation for th-“ the man locked eyes with Levi. “Jesus. Why are you here? Damn. You’re like a headache that keeps coming back.”

“Oh. Hey Oscar! How’s the chief been?” Levi beamed.

Noelle looked to Levi, the two girls, and the new arrival; the confusion she felt was so great she forgot about her pain and let go of her wrist.

Only for a moment.

“A-ahhhh! Damn! Who cares?! Everybody let me take down your names so I can go to the hospital already!””