Josh had laid out several dishes, steaming, colorful and fragrant. Elliot sat in front of them like a king at a royal tasting ceremony. He dipped a spoon into the first stew, swirled it, tasted it and his face melted in pleasure.
Kai, leaning against the wall and nodded in approval as well.
Even he had to admit it. Josh cooked like a man blessed by the gods.
Elliot sighed dramatically.
"It's incredible, Josh, really… but,; I just don't think it's Fillory enough."
Josh crossed his arms immediately.
"Fillorians eat boiled mutton, Elliot. Boiled. Mutton. We need to introduce them to actual food."
"This is their world," Elliot countered, rubbing his forehead. "We need to meet them halfway, don't you think?"
Kai rolled his eyes so hard it nearly echoed.
Josh pointed at the table. "Half your recipes are garbage. If we 'meet Fillory halfway,' everything will taste like garbage."
Kai, walking past them, muttered, "And this is why monarchies fall."
He slipped out into the hallway, letting the argument fade behind him.
Fen stood there, staring straight ahead, like she was trying not to blink at something only she could see.
Kai slowed.
"Hello, Fen."
She jerked slightly, then forced a smile.
"Oh, uhhh hello. How are you?"
"I'm good." He touched her arm gently. "But why are you out here all alone? Shouldn't you be resting?"
Fen swallowed.
"Oh, no, I was just… um… taking a walk. Fresh air. Good for the baby."
Kai smiled reassuringly and nodded. "Alright. Make your way somewhere comfortable then. Take it slow."
Fen walked off.
Kai's smile dropped instantly.
'Right. She definitely saw one of those pesky fairies.'
He tried to feel for any lingering magic, but all he sensed were weak, fleeting blip and it was barely noticeable.
He tapped his foot on the ground, sensing for vibrations, for anything out of place.
Nothing.
He exhaled sharply.
"Oh well."
If something wanted to hide from him… it was doing a very good job.
——————————
Kady, Penny, Julia, and Marina stood frozen at the doorway.
The apartment was a nightmare.
A ritual circle smeared on the floor. Blood splattered across the walls, dripping down in streaks like someone had thrown buckets of it.
Kady whispered, "Shit…"
Julia stared, color draining from her face.
"Oh my God."
Travis, pale and shaking his head as he moved around before he ,nodded.
"Yeahhh… that god definitely did a lot here."
Julia stepped forward carefully.
"How the hell did this happen?"
The four of them looked up.
Marina muttered, "This was a protection ritual… something meant to keep malevolent creatures out."
She crouched near a burned sigil. "She must've tried to reinforce her wards. The ritual clashed with her protection spell… and instead of protecting her, it exposed her."
Penny grimaced.
"Now you get why Kai was so damn adamant about sealing or killing this son of a bitch."
A drop of blood hit the floor.
They all looked up and froze.
Anya hung from the ceiling, her body twisted and inverted, organs pulled outward, like something had turned her inside out and pinned her there like a grotesque tapestry.
Raynard's mark no doubt.
Kady stumbled back. "Oh my God"
Julia covered her mouth and threw up to the. Penny looked away, jaw tight. Marina's eyes narrowed with a vicious spark.
Travis whispered, "This… this is what he does."
————————————-
It had been a while since Senator John finally woke up in the infirmary. Alicia had been the one to sit beside him, explaining everything. Starting with the events that brought him here, the danger outside, and the danger because of him.
Now he paced the room restlessly, running a hand through his hair.
"So… you guys want my help in capturing him?" John asked, voice tight.
Alicia nodded. "Yes."
Fogg, who stood off to the side like he'd been there for hours already, sighed.
"We've known about you for a long, long time. But because of your heritage, we couldn't approach you. And besides…" he gestured loosely, "I didn't want anyone getting blasted to bits just for upsetting you."
John stopped pacing. "Now what?"
A voice answered from the doorway:
"Now we find your bastard murdering father."
John turned to see Kady entering, followed by Julia, Marina, Penny… and a guy he definitely didn't recognize.
Fogg eyed the stranger.
"And you are?"
The man lifted a hand awkwardly.
"Oh—uhh, I'm Travis. I'm with Kai. He's my boss."
Fogg closed his eyes like that explained everything.
"Of course he is."
Then he squinted at Travis.
"And I assume you're the same as he is?"
Travis chuckled nervously. "Uhhh… something like that, sir."
Julia stepped forward.
"He killed again."
John stiffened. "What?"
Marina leaned against the wall, completely unbothered.
"Well, your father literally turned an innocent woman inside out. So there's that."
John's face crumpled. "No… no, no—"
Fogg pointed a finger at Marina.
"Maybe you shouldn't antagonize and upset the literal god-spawn capable of eviscerating my students, Marina."
John swallowed hard. "Why? Why would he do that?"
Penny shrugged. "Probably for fun."
Kady: "Definitely for fun."
Alicia sighed.
"Most gods are like that. Myths say humans are nothing to them. They see us mortals as toys to break when they're bored."
Julia looked up suddenly.
"Your grandmother."
Everyone stared at her in confusion at what she meant by that.
She continued, "Kai said he's like this because of her."
John blinked. "My what?"
"Persephone," Julia said quietly.
"What??" Kady asked in shock.
Fogg let out a bark of laughter, then wheezed for a full minute before wiping his eyes.
"Ohhh, that boy. And pray tell, how did he know that the literal wife of the god of the underworld is the mother of that god?"
Julia winced. "I… don't know."
"Right," Fogg muttered. "Well, if that's the case, then I think I'd like a drink."
THUD.
A massive impact shook the entire building. Alarms erupted, red lights flashing as the wards lit up.
Fogg stared at the ceiling.
"I'm not a betting man, but if I were to put my shade on the line… I'd bet that was the god coming for his spawn."
Travis swore.
"Shit, where's the boss when you bloody need him?"
He looked around desperately.
"Alright, anything we can do?"
Fogg snorted.
"Against a god? It's only a matter of time before the wards come undone."
Marina asked, "What about a banishing spell?"
"To cast one," Fogg said dryly, "we'd have to drop the wards and face the god directly. And even if it works, which I sincerely doubt, the odds of all of us dying remain extremely high."
Alicia suddenly froze as she looked to the side and noticed someone missing.
"Uhhh… guys?"
Everyone turned.
"John's gone."
Kady: "No. No, no, no—"
Travis: "Shit!"
He sped out instantly, a blur down the hall.
He didn't have to go far.
John was already halfway through the wards, stepping through like they didn't exist.
"Motus!" Travis shouted, and the spell slammed into John, halting him mid-step. Travis grabbed him, pulling him back with all his strength.
But the moment he touched him, he felt a crushing, unnatural repulsive force pushing against his spell.
John turned, voice cracking.
"Let me go! If what you all said is true, then I'm a danger to all of you! You need to let me go!"
Travis gritted his teeth, barely holding on.
"Yeah—well—that's not up to me. I can't displease the boss. And between him and your father, I'd rather not piss off my boss!"
"Be that as it may—LET. ME. GO."
John's eyes flared a brilliant, searing golden yellow.
The force that exploded outward hit Travis like a freight train.
He was airborne before he even realized it, crashing hard into the courtyard dirt, everything going dark.
When he finally opened his eyes, Julia and Alicia were crouched above him.
He groaned, pushing himself up.
"Damn… that was hard."
He looked around frantically.
"Where—?"
Penny teleported to them in a blink.
"They're both gone."
Travis stared upward, defeated, then let himself fall back to the ground.
"…shit. The boss is not gonna be thrilled."
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