Chapter 15 (T) - Recounting the Night

As I approach the house, a streak of orange jumps out the window, and runs down the street. A moment later, the front door bursts open and a man with a long red ponytail bursts through, yelling down the road after the fox.

“Cana, get back here, you little- ...Aaand he’s gone.” The man sighs. “Not again…”

I stroll up to him. “Hey, Zach. Lemme guess, Cana stole your lunch again?”

He groans. “Hit the nail on the head. And he’s cute, so he’s probably gonna get away with it, too. ...Ugh. I make all these security systems to keep him out of my lab, and then leave my lunch sitting right out in the open on the kitchen table. Gods, I’m stupid.”

I smirk. “Yeah, that does sound kinda stupid. How’d you make detective again?”

“Oh, shut it.” He grins. “Anyway, c’mon in. Guessing you’re here for Xander?”

“I just don’t really have anywhere else to be right now.”

“Suuuure.” He smirks back, and we both go inside. “Anyway, Xander’s upstairs. I’ll go get him for you. Help yourself to snacks, if the furball’s left us any.”

I snoop around the kitchen while Zach goes up to Xander’s room. There’s some cookies in the “Snack Safe”, so I unlock it and bring ‘em to the living room to eat on the couch. I hear footsteps from upstairs, and a minute later, Xander comes down.

“You okay, Xander? Your hair’s a mess, and you look really tired.”

His heartbeat quickens. “Uh- Well, I… I didn’t sleep much last night…”

“You couldn’t sleep?”

Zach strolls down the stairs after him. “He’s been worried sick about you.”

Xander’s heartbeat quickens again. “A-actually, it was just hard getting used to the arm again, after you reattached it...”

“If you say so.”

I sigh. “I’m flattered you were worried about me, but I’m fine! See, nothing wrong at all!” I snap my fingers, and have sparks run down my hand to show that my magic’s still working. ...Or at least I try, but the sparks don’t come.

“Umm… Why’d you snap your fingers?”

“My magic has abandoned me in my time of need.”

Xander smiles sweetly. Because clearly THAT was the epitome of humor.

“I can’t tell if that's a pity smile or not, but I probably deserve it if it is.”

“No, I- I actually thought it was funny…”

Zach sits in an armchair not too far from the couch. Xander realizes he’s the only one standing, so he sits next to me on the couch. I give him a cookie.

As Xander and I munch, Zach speaks up. “So, mind if I ask what the hell happened? Between the case I’m on and Xander’s arm, I haven’t had time to look into anything, or even read the reports. Like, I wake up one morning to find my brother’s dented his arm, you’re in a coma, and a fifth of the town’s on fire. What happened?!”

“Well, I dunno too much. I went for a walk in the woods at night, and some guy got attacked by someone and fell off a cliff. He wasn’t badly hurt, so I tried to get him back to town. But when we get back, we find some giant dragon thing with insane fire magic burning everything down. Then this guy pulls out some glowy magic shield thing and Mom’s missing sword, and jumps like fifteen feet into the air to stab its eye out.” Zach takes a sharp intake of breath. “Then it hit him with its tail and he got launched into a house. I freaked, threw some table out a window in the Knights’ Tower, jumped on the dragon thing’s face, and pumped magic through a sword in its other eye that apparently belongs to the princess of Gaela. Next thing I know, I’m lying in bed with Xander watching over me. So that’s what- ...Zach?” I pull my brain out of storyland, and see the look on Zach’s face. It’s way more intense than I’ve ever seen him look before.

“...This man you found in the woods. Could you describe him to me?”

“Uh, sure…? He had brown hair, seemed about my age, and looked a few inches taller than me. Oh, and he’s apparently freaking superhuman, or something.”

“How was he dressed?”

“Uh… I think he was in all black. Like, cloak, hood, pants, gloves, shoes, everything. No idea how he wasn’t boiling to death, especially with long sleeves and pants.” I catch Xander ouf of the corner of my eye, looking back and forth between us. His heartbeat’s accelerated again, but this time, Zach’s has too.

“Is there anything else?!”

“Uh… Well, he’s pretty thin. I didn’t really notice any other physical stuff. ...He did say his name was Jay though, if that matters. ...Why do I feel like I’m being interrogated?”

Zach starts. “Oh! Uh, sorry. It’s just… Well, what you said about him rang a bell.”

“Uh… What bell…?”

Zach looks at the ground for a moment, thinking. “...I can’t say too much. A lot of this is pretty confidential stuff. I could be in serious trouble if I say too much. ...But I guess I can say a few things. I guess to start, I should ask one more question. How familiar are you with the Shade of Daedalus?”