Chapter Text
There was a monster nearby.
The signs were all around Alex as he walked through the moonlit alley. There were large claw marks dug into the brick walls beside him. In the air, a foul, sulfuric scent lingered. The clues, however, only told him where it had been, not where it had gone.
The loud scream solved that problem.
Alex sprinted down the alley and made a sharp turn. Baltimore, like other old cities he’d been to, had alleyways that fed into other alleyways. This one was poorly lit, and Alex had to be careful not to trip on the crumbled concrete. He didn’t want to fight with a broken ankle again.
Another scream cut through the summer air. Alex made another sharp turn to run into a clearing flanked by broken down houses. He saw a man whimpering against a wall. The man had on a gray business suit that was torn at the arms.
At first sight, the man seemed like he was alone, but Alex knew that wasn’t true. The low steady vibrating in his pocket assured him of that. He stalked towards the cowering man while watching his surroundings.
Alex reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded, black dagger. Its vibrations grew stronger as he released it to its full length.
“Wait, stop!” The man screamed as Alex revealed his weapon.
Alex simply shook his head and put a finger to his lips.
“I don’t—” the man began but was cut off when something snarled. Alex smiled as he turned to face the monster.
Prowling towards them from the other end of the clearing was a horse-sized lizard. It had a spiked tail and overgrown teeth that dripped with green liquid. Its scales constantly changed color as it approached, never taking its three eyes off Alex’s dagger.
Alex stared down at his opponent—the monster—the demon—the djinn .
“Damn, you stink,” Alex said as he raised his dagger.
The djinn lunged, and Alex jumped back as the lizard tried to slice at him with its claws.
“Almost,” Alex goaded as he back-peddled away.
The creature blinked before charging at Alex the exact same way it had done before. Dumb move, but Alex never expected high level thinking from djinn. As it brought its claw up, Alex crouched and sliced at its underbelly. Instead of blood, blackish mist seeped out of the cut as the djinn writhed in pain and fell to the ground.
Alex huffed and raised his blade over the djinn. The monster’s scales changed color until it blended into the cracked pavement of the ground. Alex raised an eyebrow.
So that’s why he hadn’t seen it before.
A smile crept onto Alex’s face as he brought his blade down. He felt it go through and the djinn reappeared with a knife through its head. The monster dissolved completely into black mist.
Before the darkness could dissipate, Alex pulled out a dime sized, purple stone. He held it out and the mist was sucked in. In seconds, the djinn was gone, and an encircled hexagram appeared on the stone.
Alex turned to face the cowering man on the ground. His eyes still looked like they were on the verge of bulging out, but it seemed more out of shock than horror.
“You…. You killed it,” the man said.
“I noticed,” Alex replied. He smirked as he put his dagger and stone back into his pocket. “You all right?”
Instead of answering, he continued to stare. “You’re… you’re a magi, right?”
Alex’s smile vanished. He turned on his heel and walked away. “Yeah, whatever, you’re safe now so I’m sure you can find your way.”
Intellectually, Alex knew he shouldn’t have been mad. The common world view was that djinn were invincible to humans and their weapons. That only magi could kill them. That knowledge, though, didn’t stop him from scowling as he left the alleyway and entered the street.
The area was bustling with life. Hordes of people gathered around as street performers were doing a play. A woman who was clearly playing a magi stuck out her hand towards a man wearing a demonic mask that designated him as the story’s djinn. A large fan next to the woman turned on, blowing the man to the ground. The people cheered and recorded on their phones, somehow entertained.
As Alex walked, he noticed similar performances around the city. They were either outright plays or songs. All of them celebrating humanity’s magi protectors. His scowl grew.
Alex walked away from the busy street and saw sight of his motel. The two-story building was decrepit with patchy walls and a crumbling parking lot. He went to the second floor and unlocked the door to his room. There, a gruff, older man sat in front of a desk. Blond, graying hair patted his face and head. He was wearing a black tracksuit as he tinkered with some small device.
“How was the walk?” Walter greeted without facing him.
Alex walked past and fell on his bed. It had an ugly pattern of pastels that matched both the floor and walls. “City’s full of magi lovers and low class djinn. I’m over it."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the purple stone. It hummed in his hand. “I found one djinn with camouflaging powers, though.” He tossed it at Walter. “Here. I’ve always wanted an invisible sword.”
Walter stopped his tinkering to catch it before inspecting. “Which is it? Camouflage or invisibility?”
“Whatever I said first,” Alex answered, rolling over to his side.
Walter made a small mumble as he tossed the stone to the desk and went back to his tinkering. The device reminded him of an old-school cell phone after he saw a small antenna.
“You’re making a communicator…” Alex guessed. “That’s what we’re doing here? Contacting someone?”
“Did you notice the festival going on?”
“Deflection it is,” Alex sighed as he looked out the window. He felt his tiredness creeping up on him.
“You shouldn’t go hunting too carelessly. There are already two magi living here. The people are celebrating because there’s about to be a third. From the Dragon family.”
Alex sighed as he stared at the Baltimore skyline. “Then finish your business so we can leave…”
His voice trailed off as he saw a fiery, multi-colored light shoot up into the sky. It reached a couple of feet into the air before it arced down and fell back into the city.
“See something?” Walter asked as he put his device down.
Dozens of fireworks started to explode in the sky and Alex shrugged before heading to the bathroom. “Just a failed firework. Anyway, do what you have to do so we can leave. I can already tell this city is going to be boring.”