The two tore through the streets of the shopping district, passing by confused patrons. It seemed the commotion hadn’t quite reached outside the fountain yet, which was for the best. The last thing the city would need was widespread fear over a resolved Shade attack. Tairan had known only peace for decades so sudden, large amounts of negativity was something they weren’t prepared for.
Deep in the residential quarter was their home. It stood large and tall, being one of the bigger houses in the district. Its white and burgundy trim reflected the afternoon sun. At the front was a porch with a beautiful lawn and garden. Beside it there was a car parked in the drive-way, a rarity with any family, but a necessity for a household with a doctor. The property was fenced off with a black metal gate, which Daniel opened.
“You know, they’re going to find out.”
Daniel tutted, “My dear sibling, that’s why I ran! I can explain to them first, so when they find out the reason afterwards they’ll be fine with it.”
“Right,” Damien rolled their eyes with a knowing smile.
Daniel took out his key and unlocked the door. Inside the two were immediately greeted by their parents. While their father had a look of concern, their mother stood firm with her arms crossed and a rolled up newspaper in hand. Her eyes were narrow and focused on Daniel, who stood ridged in fear.
Damien leaned over to their brother smugly, “Forgot we had a phone, didn’t you?”
He laughed nervously, “You know, sometimes I forget those things exist.”
The blonde woman stomped over to her son and thwacked him over the head, earning an ‘ouch!’ from Daniel, “Property damage again! You destructive child, soon I’ll get you to start paying for it all!”
“Claire, h-honey,” the father stammered nervously from behind, “you shouldn’t be so hard on him…”
She turned back and shot him a glare, “Don’t be so soft on him, Charles!” She turned back with another paper strike, “This is why your teachers want you to take a fifth year! You must learn restraint!”
Daniel ducked under another attack and rose his hands up, “H-hey, c’mon mum! There was a Shade!”
“I told you to use a weaker spell!” Damien chimed in, “You nearly hit me and that girl!”
Claire gasped, “I didn’t hear about that!” and rushed to Damien with a tight embrace, “Oh, my poor baby!”
“M-mum, please!”
“It’s not like they would’ve gotten hurt, they were both human...” Daniel grumbled, not daring to raise his voice further.
“Daniel,” Charles spoke calm and sternly, “you should learn to never assume that when defending people. If there had been a Nephilim in that plaza they could’ve gotten seriously injured.”
Daniel looked like he wanted to argue, but sighed in defeat instead, “Yeah, I guess.”
Charles chuckled and patted his son on the back, “Come now, I know my genius mage knows the basic spells at least. They’re not as flashy, but surely that would have been enough.”
Daniel shook his head, “No way, that thing was too big, the basics wouldn’t have taken it out so easily.”
“What do you mean?”
Damien, now released from their mother’s loving embrace, added, “Yeah, it was an arachnid breed, and one of the stronger ones too. It was easily twice my size.”
Claire looked to Charles with concern in her eyes, “How could it have gotten so far into the city…”
“The girl it attacked wasn’t sure where it even came from. She said it just appeared from the shadows.”
Charles furrowed his brows in deep thought, “Hm, that is quite strange…”
Daniel looked to his father, “Do you have any ideas?”
He chuckled, “Unfortunately I don’t think any amount of my Demonology research could figure that out. We’ll just have to leave it to the guards to find the hole it crawled through.”
“Do you think that’s all it is?” Damien questioned with concern.
“Of course, no question.” Charles gave his children a reassuring pat on the back, “Now, we were just finishing with supper, mind helping us set up?”
“Sure!”
Damien bound after Charles to the kitchen. Claire made to follow before Daniel said, “You guys don’t need to protect Damien so much anymore, you know? They’re a lot better now than back then.”
His mother turned to him with a smile, “Whatever do you mean?”
Daniel spoke up, “I saw the looks you and dad gave, you both know that Shade attack could mean something more serious.”
Claire sighed, “We’re not trying to hide anything, dear. We just don’t want them worrying about something that isn’t a problem.”
“That may not be a problem,” Daniel corrected, “You used to be a Slayer, mum, you know we shouldn’t rely on maybe’s for safety.”
She paused in thought before turning to him with a stern expression, “I know, but we’re not out in the wilderness. Tairan has known peace and protection for decades. This isn't the first Shade to get in and it won't be the last. Please, just let the city do their job.”
“What if they can’t?” Daniel pushed. He was always one to dislike the unknown. For most that attack would seem trivial, something to brush off. However, he had a feeling in his gut that there was something else coming.
Before Claire could respond Damien peeked around the corner of the hall, “Are you two coming? The food smells great!”
“Coming dear!” She called back happily before lowering her voice, “If you need to vent your worries, we can talk tomorrow. After all, you’ll be spending the whole weekend grounded.” She finished rather smugly before walking off.
It took Daniel a moment before her statement clicked, “Wait, grounded? Oh c’mon, I was gonna go to a party!”
“You can go if you pay for the damages first,” She yelled from the dining area.
“That’s not fair! Gimme a few years instead and I’ll pay it back in full with my badass Slayer money!”
The remainder of the evening went as it normally would. The Glynn family sat around the table eating their dinner while talking about their days. Conversation was short as the late hour drew closer, and together they cleaned up and made for bed.
Even with the sun setting, Daniel could not sleep. He laid in bed, his mind racing about what had happened that afternoon. Shade attacks weren’t an impossibility, but they typically happened around the entrances. Never had one attacked within the residential shopping district, to the point those areas lacked any kind of patrol. For it to get there without being detected, especially that size, it just shouldn’t have been possible.
Frustrated he bolted upright and glared at the window, “There’s got to be something…” A knock on the door made him jump, “Yeah?”
The door creaked open and Damien slipped inside before closing it gently.
“Damien? I thought you were studying.”
They walked over with gentle steps before stopping with crossed arms, “I was going to, but someone left my schoolbag in the plaza.”
Daniel cocked an eyebrow, “Why did you leave it behind?”
“W-what? No, not me!” Damien stammered, “You did!”
“I didn’t have it though.”
“I left it with you when I ran off to attack the Shade!”
“You did? You didn’t say anything about it.”
“Gah, that’s besides the point,” Damien huffed, “I need it to study, it has all my books.”
Daniel feigned a yawn, “You can get it tomorrow. It’ll probably be at the guard headquarters.”
“But what if they didn’t pick it up?” Damien countered.
“I mean, it had your name all over the notes inside, someone probably grabbed it and will give it back. For now just go back to-”
“It could still be there.”
“Then... it’ll still be there in the morning?”
“Argh!” Damien growled in frustration, “I’m trying to say I’ll sneak out and check out the plaza with you!”
Daniel simply stared at his sibling dumbfounded, “W-wait, I wasn’t gonna-”
“Brother I’m not an idiot, I know how you get when something doesn’t make sense. I know you’d be antsy enough to go investigate, even at this hour.”
Daniel hesitated, caught off guard by being called out so easily. Finally he sighed, “Okay you got me, but I can go alone. I’ll just be there and back, easy.”
Damien shook their head, “No way, what if there is something there and you get attacked?”
“So? You know how powerful I am, I’ll be fine!”
Damien folded their arms again, “Mages are sitting ducks when they’re alone, or do you keep forgetting.”
A pause.
“You… make a fair point.”
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