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64. Uninvited Guests
🕑 Added 2025-03-21 13:00:17 +0000 UTCAlex's back slammed against the office wall, and he scrambled forward on his hands and knees. Not wanting to be a predictable target, he kept moving. He blinked rapidly to clear his vision since the light had temporarily blinded him.
The wind blew loudly, and he heard more pages flying around the small space. Now, though, there were many voices joining the chaos. Both of the intruders spoke in their strange language, and Alex could hear Olivia yelling something. Through the near wall, he could also hear Mark's muffled yelling as he made his way up the stairs.
Knowing that he needed to act fast, Alex looked around for something he could use—anything more powerful than the enhanced wind bolt ritual. He had to blink and squint rapidly to see as his eyes continued to adjust, but he saw Olivia slumped back against the wall, her head tilted to the side, and a small trickle of blood leaking from her temple.
The far intruder was kneeling over the prone form of Nox. He held his wand point down with both hands as if it were a dagger, shining yellow and ready to plunge into the shadow's side. The nearest figure turned his back to Alex, flipping through his main journal on the desk.
Alex saw his opportunity as a small patch of flaming carpet died out. He did something with the modified rituals that he'd never done before. He used [Mana Thread] to quickly lay down the ritual, though he positioned it so that the catalyst node was over the burnt carpet and ash and activated the explosive ritual he'd used so much within the Celestial Rift. Creating the ritual itself around the reagent rather than creating the ritual and then adding the reagent.
Another explosion rocked the room, and the percussion caused Alex's ears to ring. He tried to flex his jaw and pop his ears as he righted himself once again and cleared his vision. Loose papers whirled through the air with renewed vigor, and the heavy oak desk groaned as it settled on its side. The nearest intruder stumbled, caught off guard by the unexpected force and location of the explosion.
Their cloak was the only thing to be marked by the attack; otherwise, their strong barriers defended them from any actual damage. As they righted themselves from the force of the impact, their hood fell back. Alex’s breath caught in his throat.
Long pointed ears were the first thing to draw his attention. They were slender and sprouted from long hair and curved back after several inches. He saw elongated features and fair skin that seemed to almost glow.
An elf? What the hell? Here?
His mind raced with the implications. He'd seen a lot since the Rifts had appeared, but the large majority of odd sightings had been from within a Rift, not here on Earth. The only way it could be here was through a Rift break, which meant—
A sharp cry from Nox cut through his thoughts. The second intruder had recovered quickly, repositioning their stance over the shadow companion. Golden light blazed from the wand in their hand, and they raised it high, ready to plunge it down for a final strike.
Alex didn't hesitate, doing the only thing he could think to try and stop the intruders. While he didn't have much love for the shadow beast, he knew that it was bound to Olivia in some way, and anything he could do to deny the intruders was the right course of action in his mind.
He yanked Valtherion from his shoulders, the disguised amphiptere still maintaining his cloak form. In a smooth motion, like tossing out a net, he flung Val wide. The illusion spread through the air, casting a shadow over Nox's prone form.
Val, fly! Cover Nox!
Whatever the golden light was from the wand seemed to greatly affect the shadow creature. Alex knew that Valtherion was less likely to be affected, as he seemed completely unbothered by the initial blast that they'd suffered, and he also had the [Magic Resistance] passive.
Valtherion's form expanded, his illusion darkening the space beneath him as he spun and fluttered across the room. In an instant, Nox melted into the artificial shadows, disappearing from beneath the elf's slowly falling wand. With the dark beast gone, there was no further resistance under the wand, causing the golden weapon to push down and strike the floor.
Through the settling dust, Alex spotted his spatial pouch. The force of the explosion had sent it skidding away from the elf and across the damaged hardwood floor and carpet. It had stopped near the center of his now-ruined office.
I need my wand—or at least the reagents in the pouch.
He glanced up at the nearest intruder and saw him preoccupied, holding the thick journal under his arm as he bent to pick up the loose pages that had been lost in the blast. Alex activated [Feather Step] and launched himself forward. His feet barely touched the ground as he reached his destination in two steps, moving around a large piece of the stone wall. Smoke curled through the air and something that was burning caused his nostrils and lungs to sting with its acrid smell.
Alex skidded to a halt in front of the pouch and snatched it up, looking toward the same elf, noticing the way it tossed him an irritated glance. He found it odd how they were blindfolded but seemed to easily see their surroundings.
Fumbling with the pouch, his hands shook with adrenaline as he plunged his hand in to get his wand. The smooth wood was called to his hand through a thought of will. Triumph filled him as he pulled his hand out and began to flush mana into the wand, but his heart sank as he turned to face the intruders.
Both elves were already moving toward the jagged hole they'd created in his office wall on entry. The night air whipped their cloaks around them as they prepared to leave from the second story. One of them—the one who had their hood knocked off by Alex's explosion—turned slightly, and his lips curled into a dismissive smirk.
Alex could see pointed teeth in the grin, and they shifted once more to leap from the wall. Their cloaks billowed, and his blood ran cold.
There, on the backs of their cloaks, was a symbol emblazoned in golden thread. It was one that he recognized. The same intricate pattern of a golden sun. The connection hit him like a physical blow as the pieces started falling into place as it was undoubtably the same one as on Rylan’s gear.
"Wait!" Alex called out, his voice hoarse from the smoke. The word had come out before he had any idea what he was thinking. He was driven by confusion and a need for answers.
The elves paused at the edge of the wall as their cloaks rippled in the night's breeze. Alex raised his wand as mana surged through the wand, but he hesitated. They hadn't actually attacked them—not really. Despite their overwhelming advantage, they'd only defended themselves, focusing only on searching through his office. Nox was the only exception to that.
They could have likely killed us, especially with how unprepared we were.
His wand lowered slightly as the realization hit him. With Olivia still dazed against the wall, Nox injured, and Val still maintaining his illusion, instigating the intruders into an actual fight could prove fatal. The grin on the creature's face told Alex that they knew it, too.
Without waiting any more, they both crouched and he could see a skill activate as they launched off into the night. Alex's wand still crackled with unused energy as they vanished and left him standing in the center of his wrecked office with the last of the papers fluttering to the ground.
"Alex!" Mark's voice boomed from the hallway. "We're coming in!"
"It's alright, come in!" Alex shouted back as he moved toward Olivia. "Sam, we need your healing!"
He reached Olivia as she began to push herself into a seated position, her eyes focusing slowly. Blood had created a thin trail down the side of her face, but the wound itself seemed superficial. Behind him, Valtherion dropped his illusion and flew back to hover near the two of them while pulsing feelings of concern through their bond.
"Their cloaks- What…" Olivia started and winced as she touched the side of her head. "What were they after?"
Alex glanced over his shoulder, impressed that she hadn't been conscious for half as long as he had, but she'd recognized that they were looking for something. "I—I think they were after my notes," Alex said as he helped her sit up straighter. "But they barely acknowledged us. It doesn't make sense."
Mark burst through the doorway, holding both his shield and sledgehammer. Sam was close behind him, and both of them moved into the room, surveying the damage with wide eyes. The hole in the wall let in a cold draft, which stirred the papers briefly back to life and sent a chill down Alex's back. His office, where he'd spent countless hours over the last two months studying and advancing his magic, lay in ruins around them.
Sam hurried to Olivia's side, and Alex could see his hands glowing green with nature mana. As the young healer worked, Alex's mind raced. The sun emblem, the elves' presence on Earth, their mission here to steal his work—it all connected somehow.
"Fucking Rylan," Alex spat. He stood and walked to the hole in the wall, looking out into the night.
I have no idea how any of this connects, but he's a central point.
"What?" Mark said as he stepped around a partially collapsed beam to join him at the hole in the wall.
"Rylan has something to do with this."
"You're sure?"
Alex nodded and couldn't stop his eyebrows from coming together in a vicious scowl. "Without a doubt. The intruders weren't human, Mark. And they both had the same sun logo on their cloaks that is on Rylan's fancy enchanted gear."
Mark sucked in a hissing breath. "The rings he wears?"
"Yeah, and the new amulet he was wearing that blocked my scan at the podium event—wait. Sarah?" Alex looked around and saw her kneeling down by Sam and Olivia. “Sarah, toss me the ring that I got from Rylan.”
She gave him an odd look. “It’s downstairs. I’ll go grab it,” she said, moving without asking questions.
"Wait," Mark interrupted. "You said they weren't human?"
Alex gave a grave nod and waited for his friend to work through the meaning of that fact. Sirens could be heard in the distance through the now-open wall of the office.
The implications of elves walking freely on Earth troubled him more than the theft itself. Something bigger was brewing, and somehow, Rylan was involved. Alex had a sinking feeling that this was just the beginning.
Sarah returned, holding the spatial item, and handed it to him. He looked down at the logo on it and felt his blood begin to boil again. There was no doubt. It was the exact same as the intruders’ cloaks. “I need to wake up Maelis and get him to look at the ring. Sam, reach out to your parents and tell them to stay in the Safe Zone for the next few days.”
And to think that I wanted to bring them here, thinking that they’d be safe.
“I need to talk with Edw-”
“Master Moore,” Edwin said from the doorway.
Most of the heads in the room turned to him, save for Olivia, who seemed to be moving slowly. Alex noted how composed Edwin seemed, looking around at the destruction of the room. For some reason, it helped him center himself as well.
“Edwin. Reach out to someone about fixing this.” He gestured at the enormous hole in the wall as he stomped on a few of the smoldering parts of the carpet. “Let’s get it fixed quickly. I know I should have done this sooner, but it’s really time to start getting this place fortified magically. There’s just been so much going on, and I wanted to do it myself, which is stupid. If I’m busy, I should have just had someone else do it.”
“Don’t be too hard on yourself,” Olivia said as she sat up straighter against the wall. “Those guys were way too strong. Everything we threw at them didn’t even seem to affect their shields. I doubt whatever meager magical defenses the AG could have helped you put together would last against them. Did you see their levels?”
Alex shook his head. “No, they were both blocked. Like Rylan was before. I don’t know if it was an item or their levels were just that high, but seeing how strong they were, we’ve got to assume that they’re at least D Rank.”
Mark cursed in response.
“Look, we need to move quickly. Sam, make sure Olivia is good and then talk to your parents. Edwin, find a crew to start repairs. Val and I will charge the amulet as quickly as we can to get Maelis to look at this ring and see if he knows anything about this.”
“Alex, I really feel like we should reach out to the Hunters about this. If there are D Rank sentient monsters walking around and attacking people or stealing things…”
Alex nodded. “I think you’re right. Just let me talk with Maelis first. You and Mark see if you can help me dig through the office for a few minutes and see if we can find anything of theirs. I hit one of them pretty well with the explosion ritual and messed up their cloak pretty good. We can figure out what to do after that.”
“I need to talk to Elana,” Olivia said firmly.
Alex nodded again, though his brow creased further at the thought. “Yeah. So do I.”
A flash of red and blue lights swept across the ruined office walls through the gaping hole. Alex moved a bit closer to the edge and could easily see a patrol car coming up the long driveway.
“That was fast,” Mark said from beside him. “A little too fast.”
Alex watched the vehicle approach and felt that the lights were unnaturally bright. He glanced at Mark. “They had to have been nearby already.”
The car stopped, and a young officer emerged. Her head was tilted back to look at the study on the second floor. Her eyes were wide, and they dropped quickly as they locked with Alex’s.
Activating [Feather Step], Alex lightly stepped through the large hole and easily dropped the two stories. He landed softly beside the startled officer, who took a step back.
“I- Officer Jamson, Hunter’s Association liaison and law enforcement officer.” She swallowed hard, and her gaze darted between Alex and the room he’d drifted down from. “We detected a significant amount of mana coming from this area… and well, the explosions were concerning enough that I was asked to come check on the situation.”
Mark’s voice carried from above. “You were monitoring this area?” Alex could hear a smacking sound and then Mark’s mumbled protests. “Ow! Hey, no, you stop it. I’m jus-” His voice cut off as he stepped back from view, no doubt talking with Sarah.
“Standard procedure for zones with high-level Awakened.” Officer Jamson’s words came quickly and carefully, like someone speaking to a large animal. “When we registered the explosion, we knew you were the only thing in this direction.” She straightened her shoulders. “I came to ensure everything was secure.”
Alex noted the slight tremor in her voice and the way she kept a careful distance. It struck him as a bit odd. “Just a training accident. I was testing a new ritual.”
“Of course, sir.” The officer nodded quickly. “I’ve heard about your… experiments.”
“You have?”
“Well, just stories. But, if you’re sure there’s nothing I can do for you- then I’ll be heading back to the Safe Zone.” Jamson took another step back toward the car, with her eyes lingering on Valtherion, who had followed Alex down and now hovered protectively near his shoulder. “If you need any assistance…”
“We have it handled,” Alex said. “Thanks for checking.”
After the patrol car disappeared down the driveway, Alex leaped back up to his office. Sarah turned to him and asked, “Why didn’t you tell her what really happened? I thought we were going to involve the Hunters?”
“We will,” Alex said, moving to gather some more of the scattered papers. “But on our terms and through your contacts, not a random officer. We need to talk to Elana first and find out what she knows about her brother’s connection to all of this.”
Mark helped him collect the papers. “I still feel weird that she was here so fast. Is the house under surveillance or something, Sarah?”
“What? No— well, not that I know of. But they’re definitely aware of us being out in this direction. I feel like that was obvious after they came a few weeks ago and seemed to know about Alex all too well. Explosions off in the distance, even if not in the Safe Zone, are probably pretty concerning.”
Alex shrugged. “It doesn’t really matter.” He pushed the thought aside. They had more pressing concerns than how local law enforcement viewed him.
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