A shock for a fool

I fiddled around with my bracelet, trying to open my door. The hallways were dark and quiet around me.

Most good little students were sitting in classrooms, listening to all of that bullshit they'll never use. I was pretty skeptical about this whole system, but I guess I never imagined I'd end up in an actual school. Before my problem years, I was home schooled: basic maths and stuff, so I wouldn't get cheated in the store. After that, my flames appeared and my parents sent me off to the frozen buttend of nowhere to learn all sorts of magic. And self control…

Nearly bending the jewelry I still couldn't get the damn thing to work. Frustrated, I pushed on the handle and the door loudly crashed open and into the shoe rack behind it. Surprised, I jumped back into the shadows in the hallway, and hopefully out of the reach of anyone lurking in my room.

Why was my door open? I'm pretty sure I closed it before I left.

I stilled my rushing heart as best as I could and extended my aura into the darkness. I slowly felt around for the furniture, hoping I remembered every single detail. It was much easier to hide your aura than your physical body.

I felt something. It was a natural shape full of soft curves, unlike any shelf or table. It was a woman.

The intruder was close to my bedroom, standing in place. No doubt she heard the crash moments ago, and before she came to investigate I had to come up with a plan. The darkness that hid me so well was now a pain, as the smallest of flames would shine though it like a lighthouse, giving away my position.

The woman started moving, slowly, like she couldn't see in the dark. This took most supernatural beings off the list, except for a couple kinds of fairies and a blind race of cave dwellers.

I think I'm dealing with an ordinary human.

I've put all my money on this one thought and summoned a sparkling flame inside the kitchen, away from the door. The woman turned, and I jumped into the entry hall, ready to strike.

She spun towards me with something in her hands, aimed at me. I jumped again without thinking, to escape whatever she was holding. But as I tried to reach the living room, my feet got caught on the loose shoes, making me tumble.

The woman's reaction was quick. I felt a sudden shock wave pull every muscle in my body before vanishing with some smoke and a strong smell. The metallic remains of the taser guns' bullets slid down my thigh, burning a smelly brand into the carpet.

The woman panicked and kept clicking the taser's trigger. Stupid mistake. I fought to control my muscles, but the shock still had them in painful spasms. Catching the edge of my jacket on the rack I pulled myself up, barricading the door. I shielded my eyes and punched the light switch.

Looking at the intruder, it seemed like I was right. She looked like an ordinary student, except for the tight black leather clothing which made her look like an extra from a spy movie. She was still firmly holding onto the gun, giving me the deer in the headlight look. Her hair was carefully tucked into a black beanie, eyes dramatically lined.

I thought I had a couple seconds before she recovered from the sudden change in lighting, but her body shuddered and then collapsed, letting the taser fall and slide under the sofa.

It took me nearly an other second to detect the magic that caught her. The feeling of frosty cobwebs were familiar, but still unpleasant.

"I wasn't expecting you." I said to J coldly as he casually climbed in from the window.

"I bet you weren't expecting her either." He knelt beside the girl, checking for her pulse. "But you're such an interesting character, Avalynn. Looks like everyone wants a piece of you."

For some reason his voice gave me the chills. It was different. More distant than normal. I circled him and the girl, keeping just far enough of the furniture that I could ignite if necessary.

"What's going on, J? I doubt you came all the way here just to save my ass. Which didn't even need any saving, just for the record."

J sat down on the bigger sofa, putting his sneakers on the coffee table. I hesitated. Should I move the unconscious girl out of the room? Will I need her for… assurance?

"Don't bother Sparkles, our sweet Cassy won't remember a minute of this." J poked at one of the chairs just across him. I sat down.

"Now what J?"

"January, Ava. Right now you're talking to January Blackblood, chief of Intelligence." He smiled. "That is both a boast and a threat."

I had some vague memories about a Vampire Intelligence Agency, but I've always assumed Elessa was the head of it.

"Question's still the same, January Blackblood." I was too pissed about the whole thing with Fia and the break in to care about J's little power play.

"Well, you don't seem… nervous."

"Why would I be? You figured something out, you'll ask me about it, I'll either tell you or leave. It's not like you can force me to say anything. If I feel the slightest push of your domination I'll burn you to a crisp. No hard feelings, just these last couple hours left me a bit trigger happy."

J adjusted his smile like others would a crooked tie. It was mostly for appearance's sake.

"You know, I really, genuinely liked you at the beginning. You made Lizzie so happy." He started, still keeping his eyes on me. "But then I started to notice the small mistakes. Like how you told her your flames are basically useless, then boiled away half of an Olympic-size pool in a couple hours. Or how you knew how far the fire station was. It's two roads down, yes, but only if you take the shortcut on the Fourth. That's not something a Greenlander would know."

"Maybe I'm just really into firemen." I snickered, but he continued.

"And let's not forget how your masking and aural magics are so good the bloody head master of applied investigative magics was so oblivious to your snooping around on the upper floors, despite his magic surveillance, that he kept denying the whole thing until we showed him the camera footage."

"Why, is it against the rules to be there?" I asked, silently cursing myself for not noticing the cameras.

"No, but that's not the point." He quickly shut me down. It was his time to be a drama queen. "This "surveillance expert" then gave me a spell to break your shields. I thought I finally had you, but lo and behold, it only made you slightly sparkle for what, five minutes?"

"Wait, that was intentional?" I snapped at him.

"Yeah, but it's not like it had any effect on you. So don't cry about it."

"I felt cranky for days."

"Thirty-six hours and fourteen minutes before your barrier fully mended. Not even two days. Believe me, I counted."

I summoned up my badge, tossing it into his lap. He tossed it back to me, without even looking at it.

"Yeah, I figured out that much."

"I'm after the Reaper of Dreams?"

"Yeah, I got that as well. You're not very subtle."

"Then what the hell do you want from me?" I asked, confused. Did I do anything else?

"Oh, I don't even know. Some little things like how are you not on the Hunters' official list, as you clearly have the badge to show for it? Or how you're not in any schooling documents or training lists? Heck, I couldn't even find your bloody birth certificate, so I'm fairly sure I'm talking to a ghost right now."

The pieces suddenly fit together, and if I were religious, I would've insisted that I enlightened in this moment.

"That's 'cause you were looking under the wrong name."

"Avalynn Ferelith Krøth. I know, I'm not new to the business of fake ID's."

"No. It's Helfire. Or Arlafia. Depending on who you're asking."

For the first time during this conversation, J let his true feelings slip through in the form of some deep valleys on his forehead.

"What do you mean? You had a double… no, triple fake identity?"

"Not really." I shook my head. "Ever heard of a spirit incarnate?"

J was thinking for a couple seconds, but to my surprise, he eventually came up with an answer.

"It's that ritual Hunters do where they let a spirit take over a newborn's body."

"You're only half right. They do the ritual before birth. And the spirit only resides in the body. It doesn't take over anything." I explained. "Still, I'm surprised you knew about it at all."

"It comes with the job, I guess."

J finally relaxed, and put his feet back on the ground, leaning closer to me. Even his tone changed from interrogative to plain old curious.

"So, what can you tell me about… Arlafury, was it?"

"Arlafia. Helfire. And stop testing me. I'm not messing up my details."

"Old habit." He shrugged.

"Sure it is." I shook my head. "Nevermind. So, it's a funny story. Normally the spirits that would came are of bravery, or justice, or strength, or something like that. That's how you get your Wyatts and Justines and Andrews."

"You're not an Andrew."

"Yeah, Fia's a bit different. Not only is she the general of Hel's armies… as in the Norse place, not the Christian one. She was born from an affair between Hel, as in the goddess, and a volcano. Don't ask me for details, I still can't wrap my head around that one."

J stared at me for a bit, probably waiting for me to call psych or something. Unfortunately for him, I was telling the truth.

"I can't decide if you're insane or I am… I really want you to repeat everything again under spell just to be sure, but it's way too good to be made up."

"Feel free to double check anything I just said."

"Oh, I will, don't you worry." J's whole body shook from laughter. "Oh, I'll put Greg on it, he's such a mythology geek, he'll lose his shit."

"Same Greg as the poisonous…?"

"Yeah, that man's a fucking character… Ah, well, thank you for this, Ava. You made my day."

"So no further shenanigans?"

"I'll keep an eye on you, but consider it more for you protection than anything." He said, and got up, clearly aiming to leave the same way he came in.

"Wait, J. There's something I…"

"Yeah, you want into RA. Heard about it." He stopped halfway out the window, with one leg dangling over the edge. "I'll arrange some things. Expect the letter tomorrow."

"And one more thing." I quickly added before he could jump. "Who's the burglar chick?" I pointed at the unconscious girl on the floor.

"Oh, thanks for the reminder, I nearly forgot about her. Dear Cassy Simmons… the living proof that a good pair of boobs can get you into all sorts of places. She's one of Sin's concubines. Not the smartest one though."

"But why attack me?" I decided to ignore the concubine part for now. She could be a saint for all I care.

"She wasn't too happy about Sin leaving in the middle of…the night to help out a lost girl at some pool, I've heard." He smiled, and was about to jump out when he turned back once more.

"Avalynn, I don't know who's been working so hard to keep your records straight and keep you in school, but if you ask me, which you definitely should, they'd really deserve a nice reward. Or at least a cookie." J winked at me, and leapt out the window, only to teleport away in midair.

And I was left there, with a broken door, an unconscious girl and a healthy dose of what the fuck.