Nazareth Awakened - Chapter 02: Wives of Solomon

[TillForPie]

Gloria continues to look displeased with her accommodations. "I could have found myself something better than this." She stalks through the tiny apartment, casting appraising stares all around. "The bedroom needs to be lightproofed."

 

[Rubberneck]

Law ascends the staircase, cautiously watching for some meth head hiding in the shadows to jump out. They get to Agnasci's apartment without incident however and he looks around in a kind of awe. He was expecting the worst but was surprised to see that the interior was actually somewhat clean, unlike the inside of the other apartments he's been called to in the complex.

"So what needs to be done to make sure that you survive past dawn Gloria? Do I need to make a supply run for some opaque fabrics to hang over the windows or some tin foil or what?"

 

[GlassEye]

Harper, Thyrsus mage

[section]

Harper tosses a ratty duffel bag on the bed and opens it. He pulls out a box of black, plastic trash bags and a roll of duct tape. "There ya go." Turning to Law, Chance, and Agnasci he says, "I'll see you all in the morning." His eyes briefly lock with Agnasci's. "Good luck."

Turning, he leaves the apartment, walks down the stairs past the Tahoe and down the street. He knows a place not far from here where he can crash for the night. It's not the safest or the warmest but it'll do for the night.

​

[/section]

 

[TillForPie]

It's clear Gloria isn't going to be doing any of the work herself. She steps back out onto the walkway to stare into the night while the others prepare the room. It doesn't take long and when they're done the vampire gives their work an inspection. "Line the the edges of the closet with it, too. That's where I'll be sleeping." A double-layer of lightproofing seems like a good idea.

Eventually the room has been prepared to Gloria's satisfaction. The vampire remains icy with the others and if left to her own devices simply waits for sunrise and then heads into the alcove that's been prepared for her without initiating any further conversation with the mages that remain.

 

[Rubberneck]

Law watches as Harper bails on them, but doesn't say anything. The group has been rather distant and any trust that they had in one another seems to be failing quickly. He doesn't let it bother him though and gets busy at the task at hand.

Once they've finished he addresses Chance,

"I take it you'll need a lift home? I'm ready when you are. It's late and we have... Things to do in the morning."

 

[Mosier]

After the others depart, Agnasci considers trying to have a conversation with Gloria. She's completely uninterested in talking, which is understandable. She doesn't belong in a place like this, sleeping in the closet of a guy like himself. The indignity of it must be miserable. Anything he could say would just make it even more awkward.

"The key in the kitchen drawer is a spare," he says, in a tone that clearly doesn't expect an answer. "You can take it with you when you go out."

This wasn't going anything like he planned. But then again, things rarely did.

Agnasci climbs into bed and forces himself to sleep. He's eager for tomorrow's lesson, mostly for the chance to be away from his suddenly quite uncomfortable apartment.

 

[Shayuri]

Chance waves good-bye to Harper, then gives Law a nod.

"Bye, Agnasci," she says. "Bye, Gloria."

As she and Law go back to the car, she says to him, "It'll be nice getting back to some real magic after all this. We still gotta get a time and a place to get together and practice outside of Penrose's lessons. Any ideas on that?"

 

[Rubberneck]

Law starts up the SUV and responds,

"That's tough. Between work, taking care of my mother, magic lessons, and odd jobs Penrose sends us on I'm stretched thin."

With that he lets out a long yawn,

"This has been brutal keeping up with both lives. I'd just quit my day job but I'd still have bills. No amount of magic stops that."

 

[TillForPie]

Agnasci
Gloria inclines her head in a slow nod at Law and Chance when they leave. Once they're gone she swipes the spare key off the counter before heading to the bathroom. "I'm taking a shower."

She emerges a half-hour later, hair wet and clothes damp. Alone with her in the apartment it's impossible to ignore how beautiful she is, but there's no forgetting what she looked like when the mages first dug her up. It's only with stolen life that she looks this way. "I get the feeling you four haven't been at this too long," she offers after she finishes toweling her hair off in the hallway. "Don't feel too bad. Magellan was a rookie wizard when I first met him." She makes her way to the closet and fusses about with its contents, tossing some of what little Agnasci owns into the bedroom to make way for sheets and pillows. "God," she says as she straightens herself out for a moment. "He's in his 60s now."

 

[Mosier]

Agnasci"I get the feeling you four haven't been at this too long," she offers after she finishes toweling her hair off in the hallway. "Don't feel too bad. Magellan was a rookie wizard when I first met him." She makes her way to the closet and fusses about with its contents, tossing some of what little Agnasci owns into the bedroom to make way for sheets and pillows. "God," she says as she straightens herself out for a moment. "He's in his 60s now."

"You're right; we're all novices. Probably not even experienced enough to be called novices, to be honest. And thank you, by the way. It's hard to remember that everyone has to start somewhere."

His own comment sticks with him in the following silence. As he falls asleep, his mind turns over the scene at Mad Dog's party. The whole situation had been deeper than he could ever hope to see, let alone understand. No matter how far he reaches, he will never reach the end. There is no end. No beginning. Only layers upon layers of lies and illusions, piled infinitely upon each other. Even Pandemonium was yet another layer, perhaps no more (or less) real than the mundane world. The thought is troubling and uncomfortable.

Agnasci's sleep is plagued with visions of Gloria and a faceless old man he somehow knows is Magellan, even though the two have never met. The two are standing beside each other as the universe turns around them. Magellan is shriveling and aging, until nothing is left by a hollow husk, but Gloria doesn't seem to notice. The Mage crumbles to dust as Gloria stands there, not moving, showing no emotion, no reaction as days, nights, seasons, and years pass by in moments. Agnasci can't decide whether he envies her, or pities her. He watches her for hours, her gaze cast down, unflinching.

Suddenly she looks up, their eyes lock, and she screams. The sound is annoying and oddly familiar. He hates that sound, but it takes him more than a moment to remember why. All at once, reality crashes upon him like a wave, and he hears the scream for what it actually is - the alarm on his cell phone.

It takes him only a few minutes to get ready. Fifteen minutes after the alarm went off, he's closing the door behind him and heading toward Penrose's lesson.