Chapter 48

February 17, 2002 – 2:45

Sebastian turned around and looked at the commotion. A troll was charging Prince Charlie, a machete in his right hand, and Coralis restrained him just before he swung it at Prince Charlie's neck. She stood a few meters away, her left hand stretched out toward the troll. She was in the middle of the field, a crowd forming behind her.

"What's going on?" said Stephanie.

"I gotta go. Prince Charlie is getting attacked and Blue is interfering. I'll call you back later."

Sebastian hung up and ran to where people gathered to watch the scene. Stephanie called her brother. Coralis stood still, focused on the troll, her hand still stretched toward him. Prince Charlie had his back against a tree and cautiously stepped away. The troll looked at her, broke through the restraining spell and charged her.

"Sebastian just called me," said Stephanie when Frank picked up the phone. She was so anxious that she sounded as if she was panting. "It was over, and he was telling me that they'd be leaving soon, that he hadn't seen Coralis yet but that he'd tell her to call you before she leaves. She was okay."

"I hear a but coming, is she still okay? What's going on?"

"I heard a commotion behind Sebastian, and someone yelling 'Blue, no' in the background. I don't know if she's okay, he hung up soon after. He said that someone was attacking Prince Charlie, uh he is the heir of the Chicago vampire king, so I think she got back to their gathering spot while Sebastian was talking to me."

"I take that 'Blue' is Coralis? Sebastian mentioned that name a few times when referencing her. Is it like a code name or something?"

"I'm not sure exactly, but yes, that's her. She's known as Blue Thunder in the supernatural world, but I don't know the story behind it or why they are calling her like that. I asked, but she said it's a story she wanted to be able to tell you first when the time comes."

They both remained silent for a minute. Frank was absorbing what his sister just told him and Stephanie's mind was on what she heard over the phone before Sebastian hung up on her.

"What do you think happened?" said Frank.

"I think it's like the night when Mom got attacked by four dudes and she stepped in to fight them, and that somehow, she'll walk out of it as if nothing happened."

Coralis' left cheek was red and swollen as the troll collapsed on the ground, unconscious, his ribcage bleeding profusely. Suddenly, as two of Prince Charlie's guards were walking up to the troll, Coralis was thrown in the air and landed near the tree where Prince Charlie stood when the troll tried to attack him. She landed in her panther form, staring at a djinn advancing toward her.

She shifted back to her true form, still staring at the djinn. She pulled her wand out of her cloak, but it burned out before she could cast the spell she was about to throw at the djinn. She realized at that moment that the troll was in reality controlled by that djinn.

"This is not your fight, young mage, you do not have to fight this," he said.

"It became my fight, why are you doing this?"

"You're standing on the wrong side of the fight, step away if you want to stay alive."

Coralis brought her hands in front of her, palms toward the djinn, her right hand behind her left, a few centimetres away from her waist. Her eyes bored into the djinn's eyes. He tried to throw her in the air again but froze mid-movement, his eyes looking up.

"How in gods' world am I standing on the wrong side of this fight? The EBEE is supposed to be protecting humans against us. Tell me that I should be continuing the fight that my parents started, and you'll die before you realize what's coming to you."

Sebastian wanted to record the scene, using his hologram, just so he could show it to Frank, to prove to him that Coralis always stood on the humans' side, despite people wanting her against them. Just like he would never be able to walk away from Stephanie, even if she was human, he didn't want Frank and Coralis to walk away from each other. He pulled his hologram out of his cloak, but someone stepped in front of him, and they both stopped talking.

Coralis kept staring into the djinn's eyes. He tried to raise his hands toward her, but they froze. His eyes went up, and his skin started bubbling. Steam could be seen coming out of his ears. He tried to push back, but she held strong. The crowd saw her jumping a step back, but her eyes kept being locked into the djinn's as if she didn't register him pushing her back. 

The djinn's skin kept bubbling as if it was boiling. All the crowd could see, was Coralis staring at that djinn, and him looking up to the sky with his skin boiling, unable to do anything. The bubbles within his skin grew bigger and more consistent.

His skin turned into a yellowish colour, and the bubbles grew bigger. He was unable to move. Coralis was still standing in the middle of the field, her hands in front of her, above her head, the crowd behind her and the djinn facing her. A dark grey goo came out of his pores, which burned his skin as it slid down his body.

The crowd saw the outline of his skull and bones peeking through his skin, as the goo poured out of him. His skin and muscles were melting. Coralis stood still, her palms facing him, above her head, light coming out of her eyes. Prince Charlie's guards wanted to retrieve the troll's body, which was slowly healing, but they were distracted by that sight.

Gradually, his muscles and organs began dissolving, bits by bits. Coralis remained in the same position, her eyes shining brighter. Her hands split apart and she slowly brought them down beside her, palms facing the djinn, sporting a yellowish glow.

When the djinn was down to a pile of corroded bones on the ground, she collapsed on her knees, her palms on the ground. Her eyes were shut, but she was still conscious, face looking up. The crowd was silent.

She opened her eyes and got back up. She looked in Prince Charlie's direction.

"You okay?"

"I should be the one asking you that. I'm fine, yes, thanks to you, literally. What did you do to him?"

"I only turned his blood into battery acid," said Coralis looking back to the pile of corroded bones in front of her.

Sebastian saw someone running away from the scene. His hologram was still in his hand, turned off. By the time he had it in recording mode, that person was gone. He suspected that it was the EBEE agent he heard yelling when Coralis jumped in to defend Prince Charlie.

Eva walked to her and everyone spurred back into motion.

"Remind me to never wake up on your bad side," said Eva while looking at the djinn's bones.

"When you have a chance, call Frank," whispered Sebastian into her right ear.

She looked at him and he nodded. She turned to Princess Veronica.

"Mind if I borrow your phone for a minute? Uh, I'll cover the international charges if needed."

"Are you kidding me?" said Princess Veronica while handing her phone to Coralis. "As if I'll let you pay for that, you just saved my brother's life."

Coralis grabbed the phone from her hand and walked away from everyone. A lot of people were still looking at her, so Prince Hendrick raised his hand to grab everyone's attention. He addressed the crowd, his voice booming.

"Coralis? Is that you?" said Frank when he picked up the phone after the first ringtone.

"Yes… it's me. Sebastian told me to call you?"

"Are you okay?" he said, sighting. "I mean, you're alive, so I guess you are… but can you please come back to my place when you're done? Stephanie said I should come to a flyball game. I'm sorry, I'm rambling, but yeah… I still want to talk to you."

Coralis stayed silent for a moment. She didn't want Frank to see her that way, covered in blood, but she couldn't find the energy to argue with him. She was exhausted and relieved that he wanted to see her again. She opened her eyes and stared into the middle of nowhere.

"I'm fine, I should be heading back to Montreal soon, but the last thing I want right now is to frighten you more. Want me to pass by your place when I get back from London tomorrow, after dropping off my report?"

"No. I mean, yes, but come tonight. I still don't know what to think about what I've heard tonight, but I need to know more. You said you needed me to be able to handle what you are, let me see what you look like after work, even if it looks gross, so I would have an idea of what to expect if you were to move in with me, and we'll go from there."

"Fine. There is no way I am going to walk through your dorm building looking like I am right now, so expect Cheetah by your dorm window between 5 and 6 o'clock."

"Cheetah? Victoria's cat?"