Showtime

“He is definitely getting a lecture later…” Not even a minute after Kail left, Lunaira felt a shift in the air. No matter how many magicians she came across, her fascination with the flow of magic never ceased.

It was just fascinating how each person’s power was unique to the user, regardless of if the same spells were being used. It helped as an identifier to their personality as well, making it straightforward to tell friend from foe.

The albino felt it radiated off into the minimal wind that flowed through the canvas fabric, acting much like the vibrations of sound, Though very few could actually hear or feel it, she could.

Kail’s reminded her of snow, a silent, gentle atmosphere. It could turn deady within a moment's notice, yet still beautiful. A stark contrast to the rumbling storm that came when Marrow used hers.

Considering her tendency to release electricity when irritated, it only made sense that the teen had a strong affinity with lightning. She sat down next to her in a flash, her face was a scowl akin to when seeing a series of dark clouds grumbling in displeasure.

“Is this what you veterans do for a living? Lazed about after messing with some humans?”

Just how long had Marrow been watching her? Despite waiting, the temperamental teen didn’t hear Lunaira’s previous conversation. She certainly wasn’t teasing her like Dusty, or Coco would’ve in any case.

“Only the fun ones. Dusty would have had a conniption seeing the flowers being messed with. Between that, and his signs, we would’ve never heard the end of it.”

Her amethyst purple gaze dropped down below but smiled when she saw the individual in question by the entrance of the tent. He summoned a little ball of light, changing its color, signaling the time.

“Not Dante? He grows those flowers, doesn’t he?”

“He does, but smiles are his priority. If it were up to him, he’d just give them out instead of using them for decoration. I know Momo and Mama Ori are trying to get together a little shop to sell the extra when we stay in town for longer shows, but it’s still in the works.”

At that Marrow hummed, her attention sweeping the lower sections. From the corner of her eye, she noticed Marrow raise an eyebrow at her, confused. Resting her chin on her arms while contemplating her next choice of words carefully.

Lunaira found herself grinning as she laid her arms behind her back. With a jutting motion, she cracked her back, just in time for Marrow to find the proper words.

“Does everyone take the same roles when it comes to shows? What am I supposed to do?”

She should have known the girl would come to her for questions about how they ran things. They were supposed to do so earlier, but their time crunch resulted in rushed orders without much context.

The poor teen along with her cousin had looked so confused the moment Ori announced the jobs each of them had to do tonight. The albino raised her finger, circling it in the air slightly.

“We do rotations, so everyone participates in doing the less fun assignments instead of it being a petty series of squabbles. And well…as you heard earlier, you’re on standby.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Exactly what I said, dear Marrow. You’re standing by-or in this case, sitting by. Dusty, and Kail are doing it too.”

Marrow scrunched her face at her before pointing down towards the two boys in question.

Lunaira followed her line of sight, now catching the two boys prowling the lower levels of their tent. They were sticking to the shadows, far behind the masses of people nestled on the grassy ground.

“How is that standing by? It looks more like they’re stalking the place like creepers.”

It took everything in the performer to not burst out laughing. She wasn’t wrong, but she couldn’t afford to laugh. Even with her greatest efforts, biting her lips, those shoulders of hers still trembled, those entertained shakes taking a few moments to pass.

“Standing by’ means being prepared. If something goes wrong, it’ll be up to you three to adapt to the situation, especially when the majority of us are on stage.”

“I’m not…performing?”

“Do you want to?”

Marrow scrunched her face, ultimately saying nothing. Not that she needed to, Lunaira was able to see the tension coil around the younger girl’s body. The static charge in the air caused their hair to stand up slightly.

That didn’t bother Lunaira however, she wrapped an arm around her frail back. Almost immediately she was able to sense the ill mood ease off her companion’s shoulders.

Out of all the jobs they had, being the center of attention doing magic tricks was the one no one was forced to do. Especially since there were alternative reasonings behind its creation.

“If you wish to stay out of the spotlight, then you can help Mama Ori with caring for the animals or Dante with the decoration prep in the future. Just relax. Kail, and Dusty have done this enough where you don’t need to do anything.”

“I never said I didn’t want to… I want to be a part of this. I just don’t know what to do.”

“And that’s fine.”

“I want to earn my keep.”

Lunaira’s gaze softened while she sighed, plopping her cheek down on Marrow’s head. Honestly, sometimes it felt as though the older magician was looking in a mirror.

How many times when she was young, did she say the exact same thing to Mama Ori? Did she also have such passionate, determined eyes? Did she still have them?

“You will…in due time. For now, be my eyes and ears. Watch over the audience and if things go wrong, turn to Kail and Dusty. They will know what to do.”

“You make it sound like you’re expecting trouble.”

“That’s because I am.”

“Is it…like before? Like how it was back There?”

Lunaira felt Marrow stutter out a breath. It was shaky. And for a moment she wasn’t sure how to answer. This…was the topic she had expected Marrow to interrogate her about when Kail left.

She had assumed her latest recruit wanted to know why she was out alone on the streets two weeks ago. Why she had her knife coated in light magic, attacking staggering people with a barrier keeping outsiders out. She had been preparing herself as much as possible for it.

Yet she still felt a spike of panic, a difficulty in how to answer. In the end, she just had to say it. It was better to warn her now, then leave her in the dark, unsure and unprotected.

“Yeah. There’s something wrong with this town. The people aren’t like how they should be.”

“How so?”

“How much do you know about magic, Marrow?”

“Very little. Graves and I were the only ones in our family that showed signs of having it.”

It was no wonder the tempermental teen had so little control of it then. Neither of them had any sort of teacher or education on it, let alone how to manipulate it. The fact that she was able to teleport up to where Lunaira was hiding away was quite a feat.

That most definitely had to be rectified in the future, but for now, Lunaira had to keep her answer as simple as possible. It didn’t help that they were going to begin soon. First, she pointed down to the family she had been interacting with.

Specifically, the little girl, Imimi, who from the looks of it was still babbling with a smile across her dimpled cheeks. It was tempting to snatch up the happy girl again just to see her reaction.

“Focus your gaze on those three down there. Concentrate on looking for their spell seed.”

“Spell seed?”

“Yes. All living beings have some bits of magic running through their veins. It’s the amount they’re able to store in their bodies, and how it can be used that determines what race they’re categorized in. All that magic is stored in what’s called a spell seed. It’s nestled just in front of your heart, in your ribcage.”

“So, it’s what? That little glowing orb in their chests?”

“That’s right.”

“Do we need magic to survive?”

“Technically no. Like I said, all living things are born with it. For magicians, it’s important because that’s how we’re able to summon our powers. That’s not how it is for humans. Most aren’t even aware of it, because their magic is so low.”

“So, if something happened to where we lost our spell seed, then we’d be human?”

“You got it, and before you ask, yes, it can work the other way around. Though it’s much easier to lose magic than it is to increase the capacity to use it.”

“Ok…so what’s wrong?”

Lunaira’s mouth tilted downwards, turning grim as she pointed to the family once more. Imimi and her parents were still talking in hushed tones to each other. Completely ignorant of the pair watching over them. A blessing if she was asked.

The black coated nail pointed just a tad off to the side, to the family’s neighbor. Contrasting the pure white orbs to that of a shriveled, gray lump.

“I said we technically don’t need magic to survive…but Supernaturals do. They feed off their victims by attacking their spell seeds. If left be, the end results in either creating more Supernaturals or the victim dying without warning.”

Marrow paled hearing that. Though she had no proof, Lunaira thought she saw something flash in her seat-mate’s eyes. For a brief second it made Lunaira wonder how Marrow managed to survive on the streets with her cousin for as long as they did.

She wasn’t sure how long or far the two traveled, but they had met in Silverthine. It was a beautiful city, named after the silver trees, which thrived there, however it also had a thriving Supernaturals population.

It took a good month or so with Lunaira hunting every night on top of their shows before her and Ori felt even remotely comfortable leaving. Personally she thought it was still maddening that no one was even remotely aware of just how many of those things prowled the shady streets.

Still, the purple orbed woman decided to save those thoughts for later. Suddenly, she could feel Ori’s gaze on her, her tattoo binds tightening slightly being confirmation of that. The show was going to start soon. So, she shook her head, returning to her previous trail of thought. Focus.

“That family is probably one of the few individuals here with their spell seeds untouched. Everyone else have dim outlines with a grayish tint, their seed faintly resembling a prune.”

“How does it kill people then? You just said we don’t need magic to survive.”

“They’re poisonous. The spell seed actually helps the body’s immunity system function. The magic made and stored within it acts like a final line of support to keep you alive. No spell seed means no magic. No magic means your body will struggle more with dealing with life threatening injuries, or illness. Add the toxins from Supernatural to a lacking immune system…and the results aren’t good to say the least.”

That was all Lunaira could really explain to her, not that it even answered the questions that were still going through her curious newcomer’s head. Her time was up.

She stood up as the embers that illuminated the lanterns were suddenly snuffed out. Their world swallowed in a blinding darkness.