I tried multiple times a day to convince that receptionist to patch me through to Kálmán, every time they had the same words about if I was giving them well wishes, to stop before they call for a cease and desist…and every time I tried to interject that it was not anything like that, but a scenario of dire circumstance to which he would laugh and joke that my editor was going to need to come up with another story to write about before he hung up. After the fifth call or so, he got upset sounding and simply told me to stop before my number was blocked by the company then promptly hung up. I took that as a sign that I needed to stop for the day.
The hospital had tried everything to get those shackles and muzzle of Cian, save for something drastic like amputating his hands and feet, taking them off then replacing his hands and feet, but after more magical identification and analysis was done on the cuffs…even that wouldn’t be enough, they were designed so that even if someone in them was able to remove their limbs, the cuffs would still bind them. They were also immune to like every single type of magic: they tried fire, ice, acid, force, thunder, lightning, necrotic, radiant, physical and everything else save for psychic, trying to put a dent nay a scratch in the metal…but nothing worked. Even when I walked up to Cian’s room to see sparks flying from an angle grinder being taken to them, more damage was done to the grinder than the cuffs.
“So…what makes this dude so special?” my best friend in the world, Sidney, asked. They were the first person I met here who was of the same realm of magic, so…we bonded quickly, they’re a khepri, one of the beetles that pushes the sun, if you ask them, there’s thousands of them and they all take turns pushing the sun. Sidney is a very unique person and nobody ever has a clear idea to weather they are male or female, but according to them, they got really hungry one day and ate their gender. They’re a very androgenous person: short messy black hair, slightly heavy black brows and eyes that are so dark green they nearly look black and have a sheen across them showing their compound nature. Their hair has these two cowlicks near the front and they wear their forelocks long to look like a beetle’s mandibles, they’re taller than you’d expect with narrow shoulders, wide hips and muscular legs, but entirely flat chested, flamboyant makeup, tons of color and heavily adorned from the collarbone up and down the arms to the nailbed with sacred geometry tattooing in gold, the geometric also mixed with elements of Egyptian hieroglyph and other symbols. We’ve known each other at least three decades, maybe closer to four. As they asked that, their pointedly wrapped their mouth around the straw of the mixed drink, sucking on the empty glass making the noise both pointed to the bartender and to me as that they wanted an answer.
Sidney and my other friend, Marie, had dragged me out of my flat because they were both worried about me. They are pretty much the only reasons I have a social life of any kind because they drag me alongside with them. I honestly, did not want to come out tonight, but with those two…you can’t say no, they will not take someone saying no to going out to a party without a very, very good reason and alas, me saying that I was tired and worked a long shift wasn’t enough.
I sighed before swirling my drink I little, “I…I don’t know myself.”
“How so?” they asked with a cocked head
“I’ve only been able to talk to him telepathically because of the muzzle on his face, the only person who knows how to take them off is the son of an archdemon of an entirely different pantheon, turns out his entire race was somehow imprisoned somewhere that nobody can either find or track or trace…its just…a lot.” I said as I rested my head in my hands. Sidney sighed before flicking my forehead making me flinch.
“This is the dude you found, right?”
“Yeah”
“So you got him to the hospital, there…you’ve done your part, leave the rest to the hospital and demons of that other pantheon. Why did you throw yourself into the mess?”
“Because I found him and feel partly responsible as to why he’s been in a coma for the past near week.”
“And why do you feel responsible?”
“Because I found him.”
“And what are you going to do if you get those things off him and he ends up being some sort of like apocalypse starting being who was being imprisoned for the greater good of the world?”
“I…I don’t think he could be something like that.”
“And why do you think that?” they asked, looking at me over the top rim of their heart shaped shades, the thick line of gold from the middle of their lower lip down all the way to the divot of their collarbone making their glare even more pointed, as did the diamond shapes centered under their lower lashes, the dots below their brow and the sun in the center of the forehead.
“He…in the memories he does have…what few and far they were, he…he’s not doing anything dangerous.”
“In those memories, yes…but what about the ones he doesn’t have?”
“I mean, I guess you have a point.” I said quietly, sulking back against my stool as I looked towards my drink.
“Well, if you need help from the son of Leviathan…you should have come to me in the first place” A voice added making me look over as the familiar face of Marie came into view, back from her escapade in the back alley for gods know what, she laughed softly before cracking her neck as she motioned for Sidney to scoot in, which the latter did. Marie sat at an angle as she widely crossed her leg so her ankle was on the other knee, resting an arm along the bar as she leaned back a touch to purposefully take up as much room as possible earning her a sneer from someone who’s glass she nearly sent off the edge of the table. She’s what some would refer to as an “Arizona goth” meaning, all black, but no sleeves.
She loves massive heels, boots, tons of jewelry and all dark makeup. Her hair was currently dyed cobalt blue matching her brow and cut into a rather choppy, did it herself, undercut fauxhawk/mullet hybrid, though it didn’t look bad, slitted brows matching cobalt, nearly a mask of black shadow and liner smoked out to her hairline, heavy piercings about her face and person and piercing fake looking sea foam green eyes with slit pupils surrounded by thick fans of fake bat wing shaped lashes, line of liner made gothic elements around her eyes and around her face, but because of where we are, that being a nonhuman establishment: from her temples coiled a big pair of black metallic ram horns, ears pointed nearly straight back to the base of her skull, huge claws adorning her fingers and a pair of fish fin like wings nestled against her back with a long tail hanging partway in the walkway in front of the bar, ending in a flat fluke like shape, thick gills visible on her choker lined throat and a forked blue black tongue as she spoke, small bundles of fins and spines were visible throughout her hair and made a crown just past her hairline with long tendril like pieces of near jellyfish like tentacles hanging lower onto her chest starting cobalt and fading to sky blue, with the Shade that would just look like feather extensions and because of the low light of where we were, the sky-blue bulbs at the end of her tendrils glowed softly akin to an angler fish and as she talked, showed very similar teeth that are extremely thin, long needles for teeth in multiple rows that made everyone question where they went when she closed her mouth.
Her claws were painted black and chipped horribly, left long so they curled a near inch or so past her fingertips letting them retrain their natural sharpness, black lipstick softly smeared against the edge of her maybe fifth double-whiskey and around her lips a little from her habit of making out with whomever would let her even if she had no idea who there are, I’ve seen her just dancing with someone and start making out with them without a word shared between the two. That kind of makeup made sense though paired with clunky combat boots with too tall of heels for someone to walk normally in, the platform and heel shelled in clear acrylic and filled with some kind of liquid and glitter, destroyed black jeans that looked sewn on her and were more holes than solid fabric and a cropped fishnet shirt with a buckle and belt covered vest over it pushing her rather gratuitous chest to the foremost, as did all of the scales that washed across her person; black, pearl and a dark, dark ultramarine blue. Motes of bioluminescence glinted about her person in various shades of blue and white, as the lights around us moved her eyes reflected back a milky green-white tone like an animals and her features were far, far too sharp and angular for a humanoid face like she has. She…likes to show off her figure, if someone tells her to cover herself up, she only shows more.
“What do you mean?” I asked
“Dude, please…I may have been born and raised here on the west coast back when I washed up ashore those few centuries back and hatched myself in the middle of downtown L.A, but…still…I’m a fuckin’ sea dragon…you think my kind…don’t know about our god-king?” she asked as she reached over to grab a drink from a passing waiter’s tray, not even caring that it wasn’t one she bought, ordered or anything else, just…grabbed it off a passing tray and when the waiter snaped his head towards her, she just growled loudly making him scuttle off as she laughed then down the drink in a few swallows and set the glass down with a moment of hesitation, she’s…thrown glasses before just because. I can’t tell you how many places she’s gotten us thrown out of because of her all-around horrible attitude. She has the pompousness, the power and absolute narcissism to the point that nobody questions her draconic blood, everyone knows she is one at first glance, purely by her personality.
“God-king?”
“Kálmán Varga…God-Prince if you want to be technical” she said with a shrug before just sliding her glass towards the bartender who looked…less than thrilled to give the dragon more alcohol or in distain of fueling her…unsavory personality. “The man’s the god of all oceanic predators and prince of the oceans…what being of the sea and or water doesn’t have some kind of tie to him. I’m shocked you didn’t come to me first when you learned you needed an in with him.” she added as her vision however occupied by someone behind me whom she was looking at like how a starving person would look at a free endless buffet. She looked back towards me like she had to physically remind herself that she was having a conversation with me. She laughed softly before licking her lips as her head rolled back towards to look behind me, “March…I’ve got work for the rest of the week, but Sunday, Sunday I’ll be over at your flat and I’ll get you an in with Varga.” She added before standing, clapping both mine and Sidney’s shoulders a touch too hard, “Daddy found something she likes!” she added before growling this hissing, warbling growl and sauntered off towards a fairy man who looked quite…terrified upon seeing her before very quickly warming him to her.
“Why are we friends with her?” Sidney asked watching Marie over my shoulder, “Aside from the fact that she’s like…super fun to be around, loaded beyond belief and quite powerful of a ride or die? She’s so…loud, brash, violent, an all-around douche and crude…I mean, she’s all, but literally eating that guy with her eyes. I feel sorry for the guy whenever I see her cart someone off…that dragon…is not one with easily escapable clutches, both of us have seen people try and fail.”
“We’ve known her for decades, Sid…and every day I ask myself that exact same question.”
“Well, sounds like Sunday…Nomarch Aswad, son of Anubis has a meeting with the son of Leviathan.” Sidney added with a laugh.
“Well…lucky me” I added before clinking my new drink with theirs.
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