Chapter 9 Reunion

"Your house is pretty dope" Lester said, looking around at the gray sofas and the chandelier illuminating the room with candlelight, the fireplace cold and without flames. "Though it is a bit eccentric, have you ever considered redecorating?" 

Katarina glared at him, her dark eyes glinting dangerously. Lester found he could do nothing more than just look away very slowly. He'd already encountered one murderous woman and had barely made it alive, another one would be requesting a death sentence.

"I advice you to keep quiet till Sal gets here" Katarina said, glancing at her phone and then the door before giving him one last glare. "I'm already pissed at you as it is"

Lester scoffed.

"You're pissed at me?, I'm the victim here"

"Yes, the boy who was healed and can now move again instead of dying a gruesome and painful death is definitely the victim, I'm sure winning the lottery would be considered murder as well now, wouldn't it?"

"Well excuse a guy for wanting to be briefed before getting dragged into a life he never knew existed, my eyes were open for like ten minutes"

"Need I remind you that they would still be closed if Sal hadn't Healed you, he took a risk because that's what you do when someone you care about is in a position where he can't help himself"

"I know he cares about me, and I care about him, I love him, why the fuck do you think I'm here?"

She stared him down but didn't answer, she didn't look like she was completely convinced, but he didn't care to convince her. All he wanted was for Sal to be here.

"Besides" Lester continued when the silence became unbearable. "You don't need to remind me, I remember it just fine"

She gave him a look that he tried to decipher, was it pity he saw in her eyes? Or did he remind her of something she thought she'd forgotten.

"How did you find this place anyway?, the entire neighbourhood is Shaded" She asked, moving from her standing position and sitting on the gray sofa. Lester didn't move to sit, he stood and watched her, her inky hair was down her front, a beautiful contrast with her fair skin, the black tank top she wore hugged her body and her trousers clung to her legs, making them look almost elastic.

'Stunning', Lester thought.

"I met someone," Lester said, taking his eyes off Katarina's body and focusing on her face. Her eyes were already locked on his, her brows raised in surprise. "He helped me"

"Who?" She asked.

"A Shemer, like Sal" Lester said.

Katarina was about to ask another question when the door flew open. Cool evening air flew into the room, causing the candles above to sputter.

Lester turned, and before he even laid eyes on him he found himself in Sal's arms. Lester returned the hug reflexively, arms cording around Sal's neck and pulling him close. The memory of his dream flashed across his mind— Sal blinded by anger, Sal surrounded by blood— but he pushed it away. This was his Sal, strong, firm and familiar, loving, kind and caring, his rock, his universe, his lifeline.

'How did I ever think of leaving you?' Lester thought.

Sal answered, his familiar voice filling every space in Lester's mind.

'I would've never let you go'

"Sal, I…"

"Don't you dare apologize," Sal said. "You hear me?, I don't want to hear it, all that matters is that you're here and that you're safe"

They pulled apart, and Sal held him by the shoulders, a luminous smile on his face, a soft light in his eyes.

"Whatever else there is, we'll figure it out later okay?"

Lester hated to make him upset, but there were things he needed to tell Sal, secrets he couldn't keep from him.

"No, not later, now" said Lester. "I have to say it all now"

The light in Sal's eyes sparked into a blazing fire.

"Then tell me everything"

***

"Hell no!"

Sal sighed dejectedly. He thought things would be easier when Julika woke up, but taking care of her was incredibly harder. She had the stubbornness of a mule, and the determination of a five year old. It was like taking care of a five year old.

"Tell me Julika why you would not want my brother to stay here with you" Sal said.

She clutched the journal he'd given her tighter in her fist, looking down at the floor and playing with her toes.

"He's a boy" She said finally.

'What?', thought Sal. He tried to remember that she was still processing, still getting used to being fully awake and alive now. Besides she'd already gotten one big surprise by being told to stay inside, now he was telling her she'd gotten a new roommate, she had a right to be stubborn.

"I'm a boy" Sal explained. "Antony is a boy, you let us stay with you all time"

"Yes, but that's because I know you, I don't know Chester"

"Lester" corrected Sal. "His name's Lester"

She kept looking down at her toes, kept clenching the book harder and harder, clearly something was bothering her, something more than Lester being a boy.

"Tell me what's really going on, you're the one who said you didn't want to be alone while we were gone"

"That's because I wanted to go with you" She looked up at him now, ruby eyes fierce like a blazing desert sunset. "I still do"

"Jules, we've talked about this"

"No we haven't" she said matter - of - factly. "You just told me what to do and gave me a present, expecting me to just agree with you, like I don't have a mind of my own, I don't think that's a talk"

'Damn she has a mouth' thought Sal. 'And a point'

"So you don't like the book?" he said.

"I didn't say that" She stood from her bed, leaving the book on the bed and holding his eyes, her face set in a stubborn scowl. "I'm saying I don't understand why you're keeping me here, telling me I'm not safe out in a world I watch you and the others live through everyday, it doesn't make sense to me"

"I know, but I just need you to trust me"

"I'm trying to, but I've been asleep for a long time, how you found me and why you chose to help me I don't know, and honestly I don't want to, but I need to know why I should trust you"

He wanted to tell her, gods knew how much it ate at him that he wasn't just saying it, but he couldn't. He hadn't forgotten what the Court said. 'We have seen it', Apollo had said, the memory of his voice, as grave as death, lingered in Sal's mind. 'In the past and in the future, the suffering, the wailing, the treachery'

Whoever Julika had been, whatever she had done, whatever she could still do, was buried deep down there somewhere, and as much as Sal wanted to tell her about her father and who he was before Sal killed him, he was afraid that might make her remember what evil her father had planted in her.

"There's so much you still don't know Jules, and I really want to tell you, but you aren't ready to know the truth yet" He moved closer to her and took her by the shoulders, looking painfully at the confusion in her eyes, hoping time would help her understand why he had to keep her in the dark. "I'm sorry, but the best reason I can give for you to trust me is that you just should, and I know it's ridiculous and not nearly enough but it's all i've got okay?, so just please, trust me"

She shook her head and turned away from him.

He let his hands fall off her shoulders.

"Fine" she said, she had her back to him, so that all he saw was the back of her head, her hair— which Katarina had cut and styled so that it stopped in waves at the base of her neck— shielding her expression from his view. "Chester can stay, it's not like I ever had a say in the matter anyway"

"Jules…"

"Just go, Sal, it's fine, I'll be fine" she said.

He knew it wasn't, and he reached his hand out to her, let it hover over her shoulders hesitantly, before he dropped it and walked away.

He turned back when he got to the door, hoping to say something to make it all better, but Julika wasn't looking at him, wasn't regarding him, and so he closed the door behind him and let her be.

***

The Portal glyph shone in the centre of the living room, but Sal was the only person present to see the portal unravel in a swirl of bright blue light. The static smell of magic filled the room like a rush of wind and Sal took a deep breath of it just to calm his nerves.

So much was going through his head. Julika being fully awake, Lester being attacked, the message he'd gotten on the wall. They were all connected, he could sense it, something was amiss and Julika was at the center of it.

Then there was the secret he'd kept from his friends, about Lucifer and the Court, about his own part in the tragedies to come, about the potential threat Julika posed to the worlds and realms at large.

'All this because you felt a little guilty' he thought, but he dismissed it immediately, the fact that he felt guilty and wanted to make up for it was a good thing, it made him humane, even though he wasn't exactly human.

"So where to first?" said Katarina.

Sal turned, startled at the sound of her voice. Katarina was standing at the end of the staircase, braiding her hair and then sealing off the end with a black band before tossing it over her shoulders, some stubborn strands still dangled down in curls, and Sal itched to push them behind her ear.

Katarina hadn't worn full Shemer's tunic, just an armour jacket, with a black top and trousers, her boots glimmered with silver runes, like splashes of glitter on the black leather surface.

"Fey Land" Sal replied, he had also not bothered with traditional Shemer's tunic. Just an armour jacket over a white shirt and a trouser and boots, his new wand was shoved in a holster at his belt, his rings encircled his fingers, though he usually forgot they were there until time came to summon Gemini. The Sensory pendant she'd given him rested at the center of his chest.

He hadn't taken it off since the night she left.

"Shouldn't we get Marcus first?, he's dimensionally closer you know" she said with that easy smile that made him want to smile with her.

"I can't get a hold of him, I spoke to Leah and she said she hasn't seen him since he Chose, she assumed he came straight to find me"

His last meeting with Marcus flashed across Sal's mind, he'd told Sal about his Choosing ceremony coming soon, had told him he would find Sal immediately after, and then they'd talked and laughed, and Sal had marvelled at Marcus, aging as he grew in power.

Sal's heart suddenly ached for his friend.

"I hope he's okay, he chose the Wild, Kat, by wolf standards he's a rogue"

"If it's the Marcus I remember he's probably fine," Katarina said. "Fight in the face of danger, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember," he said with a slight smile on his face. Marcus was definitely a fighter, there's no way he was in trouble, especially with the new control over his abilities, but what if he encountered a fight he couldn't win?

That thought process made the smile disappear from his face and he faced the portal once again, he wondered what was taking Antony and Casmir so long, he was starting to feel jumpy. He needed them all together, he needed to get this off his chest.

"Hey" came Katarina's soft voice, the warmth of her hand enveloping his fingers. She was by his side now, Sal hadn't heard her footsteps nor had he seen when she neared him, but the reassuring feel of her hands on his made him feel like everything would be okay.

She made him feel like everything would be okay.

"Stop stressing, it'll be alright" she said softly.

"I can't help it Kat" he whispered, turning so he could face her fully. The Portal reflected in her eyes, so it looked like her irises were bright blue swirling orbs. "First I find out Julika is alive, then Lester gets paralyzed and I kill the man I have worked for my entire life, and then Julika wakes up, and Lester Changes, and on the night he leaves me he gets attacked by a shedim. Julika doesn't trust me, and I don't blame her, cause it's not like I gave her a reason to. Everything's just awful, and it's all my fucking fault"

He exhaled with a sharp frustration and ran his hand through his hair.

"It's not your fault, how is any of this your fault?"

"You don't understand, I just…" He took a deep breath. "I thought the hard part was over, I thought everything would be fine after our last hunt, but everything is just so much harder, and complicated, and so fucking difficult. I feel like i'm drowning and nothing can bring me back up again, not even the need to breathe" He faced the portal again, staring directly into the light. "I can't breathe, Kat, and I don't think I deserve to"

"Why?, because you killed Percival?" Katarina asked.

"No, because I killed Julika's father"

She sighed and faced the portal with him, her hand still held his, and Sal didn't want her to let go.

"I don't know how to make it all better, and I can't promise it will be okay" She finally replied, just as the sound of footsteps came bounding down the stairs, Antony and Casmir's voices echoing down in the space between the steps. "But I promise i'll always be here to help you figure it out, you don't have to go it alone, I will not let you"

He smiled at her, just as Casmir and Antony reached the last step and walked towards them. It seemed both of them had turned on the charm for the other, and were discussing very animatedly as they neared the swirling portal.

"Sorry we took so long" Casmir said, he was wearing his armour outfit, though there was no belt of daggers at his waist, and his ring wasn't on his finger, instead he wore a silver chain bracelet around his wrist, probably a protection charm of some sort. "Antony was just telling me about riding hippocampi down in Atlantis"

"A very tedious sport if you don't have the talent for it, which, fortunately, I do" said Antony, he wore a black shirt and jeans, no armour of any kind, which bothered Sal a bit.

He looked from Sal to Katarina detectively, his gaze skimming over her hand on his, before rising and stopping at Sal again. Something indiscernible flashed in his eyes, like lightning hidden behind dark clouds.

"Is everything alright?" he asked.

"Everything's fine" Katarina said, she pulled her hand away just as quickly as she brought it over his and folded her arms, as if nothing had happened between them.

Sal sighed, avoiding Antony's eyes, and turned to face the portal.

He'd explain himself later.

"C'mon we've got to go, Lester will come later, I've left him with instructions"

"I'm sure Lester is very...capable" Casmir said. "But can we trust him with the angry teenage Phantom upstairs"

"Lester has a way with people, he'll handle Julika just fine" Sal fiddled with his Sensory pendant, tracing the smooth jewel over and over with his fingers, trying to calm his nerves. "What we need to worry about is having to convince the Queen of Fey Land to come back with us"

"Wait, Bloom's queen now?" Casmir said.

"There's so much we need to catch you up on" Katarina said.

"We'll do it on the way" Sal said. He dropped his hand to his side and curled his fingers into a fist.

Here went nothing.

"It's time for a little reunion"

***

They never did get to fill Casmir in on the way to Fey Land, mostly because they'd been tossing and turning in the whirlwind of an interdimensional portal, not much room for conversation when you're hurtling your way through a hole in space and time, literally breaking through the barriers between the worlds to get to your destination. 

Casmir was the last to tumble out of the portal.

The first thing he felt was the cold— biting, slicing, and surprising considering they'd been coming from a hot day in Philadelphia— before he crashed into a large pile of snow. He jerked up both in surprise and panic, taking in deep sharp breaths of harsh air as a pair of arms raised him to his feet.

"Casmir, calm down" came Antony's voice. "Are you okay?"

Casmir nodded, he'd forgotten how dizzying it was to travel through portals, to be blinded by the light, and then emerge on the ground, or in the sky, of another place entirely.

"I'm f—"

He vomited into the snow.

It seems he'd forgotten how to do that as well.

"Easy there buddy" Antony said, as Casmir came upright again. He produced a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to him.

Casmir took it, grateful and wondering why Antony had a handkerchief to begin with.

"Thank you" he said as he raised his head. Sal and Katarina were looking at him worriedly, but he gave a thumbs up and smiled. "I'm fine, nothing like a little puke in the snow to start your journey right?, which begs the question, why is it snowing?"

Sal smirked at Casmir and took out his wand. He traced the Warmth glyph in the air, the image of a hearth, and a wave of heat immediately spread out and engulfed them, pushing through the cold air in ripples.

Casmir closed his eyes and sighed in relief as he felt it. The cold was beginning to get to him, his fingers already shaking and going blue with hypothermia. That's how cold it was.

"It's Bloom" Sal said, his eyes squinting into the distance. Snow coated the shoulders of his armour jacket like crystal dust, it was nearly invisible against his silver hair. "Fey Land's conditions are as a result of whoever sits on the throne, it's responding to her"

Casmir surveyed the field that had been lush with grass the last time they were here. Now it was a blanket of snow, the large expanse of water completely frozen, from the shores before them to the Capital on the other side. The Capital itself was like a city of ice, pin pricks of yellow, orange and blue light shone from the buildings, and the Crystal Palace looked like a structure carved out of an iceberg.

It still had that unearthliness about it that made everything stand out in near perfect detail, in fact it made Casmir want to sit in the snow and start painting, but if this is what Fey Land was with Bloom on the throne, what did it say about her?

"Are you guys seeing that?" Sal said, he was still squinting into the distance, looking at something that seemed invisible to the rest of them through the pelting snow.

"See what?, what are we supposed to be seeing?" Antony asked. 

Sal didn't answer, instead he looked down at the Sensory pendant dangling from his neck, now pulsing with blue light, and then he called Gemini, and they erupted in his hands in a flurry of blue fire. 

That wasn't a good sign.

Casmir helplessly peered through the snow, looking for danger, and suddenly wishing he still had his vampire senses. He felt blind and useless, even as Katarina called her quiver and arrows, and Antony called his trident, both moving to stand protectively in front of him. 

The snow was falling harder and faster than before, pelting fast and sharp in the manner of rain, like a snowstorm was brewing. Wind howled in their ears, and the air was suddenly electric. Casmir thought he could smell ozone and lightning, with a slight, familiar tingle in the air. 

And then it struck him. 

Magic.

Wild magic. 

"Stay together" Sal yelled over the sound of the wind, his hair was fluttering in the wind like a sputtering silver flame, his eyes and pendant were the only thing Casmir could see through the haze, both burning bright blue like balls of starfire.

Casmir edged closer to Katarina and Antony, making sure to be aware of both of them in front of him. 

'Stay together' he recited. 'Just stay together and everything will be fine'

Suddenly the snow stopped, like an answer to prayer, and the snowflakes dispersed like a mist disturbed by a slice of wind. Casmir thought the worst was over, but as he lifted his eyes he saw that he was terribly wrong. 

For standing before them was an army. 

They all took a step back out of shock, all of them save Sal who stood firmly in position, swords clenched tight in his fists, his entire body taut and ready to spring into action.

Casmir coudn't tell how many they were from where he stood, but there were at least up to two dozen Fey standing at attention, ranging from tall, pointy eared elves wielding shining spears of aionios to colourfully winged fairies hovering over the procession with white wild magic dancing over their arms like wisps of mist and smoke. They were all adorned in the United Courts armor of gold and white metal, the United Courts symbol engraved boldly in the center. 

He knew who these were, the Gentry Fey of the Royal Court, one of the fiercest armies in all the realms. They were known for their ruthlessness, their precision in battle, and their penchant for showing no mercy. 

Casmir gulped hard.

"State your name and business outsiders" said a deep voice from within the ranks with that native Fey intonation that echoed with authority. It shook Casmir to his core.

And yet, Casmir felt it wasn't the sound of authority that was doing that to him.

It was something else, something deeper.

"Salome Nightshade" Sal spoke, he had recalled Gemini now and was standing with both arms behind his back, probably to show that he was of no harm to them. Katarina and Antony followed his lead and lowered their weapons, though Casmir could feel the tension emanating from both of them. It seemed he wasn't the only one that was aware of the Fey standing before them. 

"My companions and I have come to seek audience with the Queen" Sal said. He'd changed his voice so that it had the lilts of the Fey tongue, it both scared and fascinated Casmir how naturally it came to him. "I assure you we mean your land no harm"

"Salome Nightshade you say" came the voice. "The Phantom Killer?" 

"Phantom Killer?" Casmir whispered. "Is that what people are calling him now?" 

"To the people of the Other Worlds, he's a hero" Antony said.

"Why?, because he killed Percival?" 

"Percival's death shook the entirety of the Other World" Antony explained. "He was feared by many across the realms, he'd never touched the Mortal World though, that's why we never heard of him, not until Sal"

"Now he's gone" Katarina said. Casmir couldn't miss the smile in her voice. "And that's because of Sal" 

Casmir looked to Sal who didn't seem the least bit moved. Did he know that's what Shaded beings were calling him?, Phantom Killer?

Casmir recalled Sal's warm hand on his shoulder, Sal chuckling silently at his jokes, Sal plummeting through the air without a care in the world. Sal with all the fierceness of his love and delicacy in his beauty. 

Sal, the Phantom Killer. 

"It seems my reputation precedes me" Sal said, his voice as calm as lake water. 

"Indeed" replied the voice. "Though it is not by said reputation I know you by"

"What is he talking about?" Casmir asked.

"I have no idea" replied both Katarina and Antony.

As if to answer his question the small army of Gentry Fey parted and someone stepped forward from their midst, wearing the same white and gold armor but with a white cape flowing behind him, the indication of a higher ranking. 

He was a handsome man, with all the intrinsic details of Fey beauty, like he was a painting or a sculpture. He stood tall, proud and upright, his bright golden hair that had been left exposed was now dusted with snowflakes. He had a radiant smile on his face as he surveyed the group, his arms folded across his chest, and something bright and shiny rising up his neck. Scales, maybe?

"You've got to be fucking kidding me" Antony said, he had a smile on his face, and so did Katarina. The tension in the air had disappeared. "Is that who I think it is?" 

"I can't believe it" Katarina said. 

"What?" Casmir asked, frustratingly confused. "Who is that?, c'mon guys I feel really left out right now" 

"Sal" said the golden haired soldier as he walked forward with his arms spread wide. He enclosed Sal in a huge bear hug, which Sal, to Casmir's surprise, readily returned. Gone was the readiness to spring and attack. 

"I am so happy to see you, and it's a good thing you have come too" He raised his eyes and they flashed blue-green with excitement. Something about them made Casmir's heart beat a bit faster. He knew those eyes.

"I see you've brought the rest, the fierce Katarina, beautiful as always, and Antony, my liege and saviour, and…"

His eyes locked on Casmir's. 

They widened with a flurry of instantaneous emotions— shock, confusion, unbelief, then joy, unmistakable joy— and that's when it struck Casmir. 

Those ocean eyes, glistening with tears as they stared down at him, one cool hand in his hair, another cool hand on his cheek. Pain, so much pain, and yet his touch somehow made it better. 

"Could you do me a favour Melchior?, just this once"

His voice answered, broken with sadness, so young, so innocent, and yet…

"Speak to me of any desire Casmir, and I will grant it." 

That voice, that voice was all he'd been running back to, that voice was what he kept pulling himself towards, that voice was what kept him from accepting the End. 

That voice.

"Melchior"