Chapter Twenty-Eight

City of Darkness

THE WAR BETWEEN the covens, Devlina, and the Gloom continued.

“Devlina raised an army of the dead from all the cemeteries in the Valley to battle Princess Auhaqa, Prince Fido, and Prince Màdàmaxo,” Mom read to me from a report from XAQ6 the next morning at breakfast. “Can you imagine, all those graves opening and the spirits of long dead Angelenos roaming the streets?”

“Sounds like a fright,” Barn said, eating his congee.

“Stay alert, boys,” Sean said. “You both have your PlasmXs on you?”

“Yes,” I said. “Always.”

“I won’t be home for dinner,” Mom said. “I’ll be at the Temple of Magic in Hollywood in meetings of the regional Còngréhassa. Do you boys want to have dinner with Austin’s parents?”

“Sure, Mom,” I said.

“You’ll be safe there.”

The League and XAQ2 were trying to keep the peace. Aunt Christine was locked in her library with her familiars, Pinky and Agamemnon, making potions, practicing spells, and placing runes around the house and gardens to keep us safe just in case the battle between the coven and Devlina spilled over to the Alliance. Uncle George and Austin’s parents were busy doing work for the League, coordinating tactical response teams.

XAQ2, the Macistráuto, busied itself setting up gramoras to protect Ordinaries, or, rather, protect them from the truth. If Ordinaries knew monsters were spilling ordinary blood, panic would ensue, violence would escalate, all-out war would erupt, like the Last Battle more than a century before. The Pácifimenta would fall apart; the Alliance break; and peace between monsters, Magicals, and Ordinaries end.

I shuddered, trying to imagine such a terrible scenario.

“The Macistráuto is doing a good job covering up the war between the covens,” Austin said at dinner. “Coach Silvestri told me that Satanists were responsible for digging up the graves.”

“Aye,” Barn said, “I heard Chastity Arredondo talking about the brush fire in the San Gabriel Mountains. Little did she know it was really a battle between Malloupus and Àzmadus. Ten thousand dead on both sides.”

“The fire was a gramora to distract the ordinaries.”

“Áucúitus attacked the library at UCLA, hunting down Máunadas who were holding seances in the basement, trying to summon their own dead to battle Devlina.”

“Yeah, the news said a lone wolf locked himself in the basement and threatened to kill himself unless the police brought him a thousand dollars.”

“To Ordinaries, just another day in the life of LA. Mayhem, pandemonium, and chaos.”

On the news, the war was nothing more than the daily mischief playing out in a metropolis of ten million people.

The next day, Austin and I decided to go surfing to distract ourselves from current events, the fear bubbling inside me of the series of monsters confronting me. Barn and Katie joined us for boogie boarding. Austin and I raced into the water with our boards. We sat waiting for the big waves. I looked around.

“Where are the Merpeople?”

“Aye, and where are the Volqeńus?”

“Merpeople love surfing, and wherever Merpeople are, you usually find fairies.”

I squinted up into the sunlight, seagulls circling above us. Katie and Barn were laughing while boogie boarding. I was thinking about the glass shards in Hong Kong talking to me, the stupid Raggedy Ann doll, the damn birds.

Victoria said there was a conspiracy to strip me of my powers, to sideline me, maybe kill me. I gulped. That was scary.

My great-great-grandma Evangeline transformed into the Áuqala when she died, ascending to live in Cassiopeia. Mom cast a spell to summon Devlina to punish Dad and along the way connected me to Devlina. If I was connected to Devlina, and Zid’dra offed Devlina, would that off me? And if that happened, would that affect the Áuqala? What if Zid’dra’s plan all along was to destroy the Áuqala so he could be the sole ruler of the universe? I shuddered at the possibilities. The universe would break in two, the balance between light and dark upended. Would Zid’dra remake the universe in his evil image?

No way. That sounded crazy. I was just one part in a huge puzzle making up the Shimmering, the Gloom, the Alliance, the universe.

“What are you thinking about, Eli?”

“My demise?”

“So dramatic, love.”

“I am dramatic, we’ve decided that. And you have a temper, Kangy.”

“Do not.”

“You’re funny to think you don’t have a temper.”

I laughed. He looked at me indignantly.

“You have the worst temper tantrums I have ever seen. The shower doors?”

He glared at me. Silent. His silent stare.

Austin continued staring at me. “It’s not going to work, Kangy.”

I removed my sunglasses and gazed into his eyes, smiling.

“BLEEDING PUPPY DOG EYES!”

We both laughed.

*

A FEW DAYS later, we sat beside the fire pit staring up at the stars.

“Senior year, mate,” Barn said, squeezing my leg. “Can you believe it’s our last year of high school?”

I stared up at the faint outline of Cassiopeia. “It’s crazy. Then college.”

We all grew quiet. I’ve never asked Austin where he was going.

“I’m thinking of going back to Hong Kong for university,” Barn said.

Austin nodded. “Me as well, mate. Want to be roomers?”

“Sure, sounds delightful.”

“What the fuck!” I exploded. Barn and Austin giggled.

“Oi, did you see the look on his face, mate?”

“Pure terror, mate.”

“Stop making fun of me!”

“Face it, bro,” Barn said, “you are so fucking lucky you met me when you were twelve. I mean, I put up with your idiosyncrasies and drama for four years until I ceded that duty to my cousin.”

“You are very lucky to know both of us.”

“This boy really needs us,” Barn said. “We act as the voice of reason to his neurosis.”

“Love, to fight his anger.”

“His neurosis, bruv.”

“Unbelievable, mate.”

“French Creole boys. So much Catholic guilt and theater in their heads. He needs us Chinese boys to keep him safe and sound.”

“Chinese are safe and sound.”

Barn frowned. “Don’t get ahead of yourself, mate.”

They laughed. I rolled my eyes. They thought they were so funny. Barn leaned over and began toasting marshmallows to make s'mores. Austin had never heard of s’mores.

“You are crazy,” I told him. “How have you never heard of s’mores? Surely they have them in Hong Kong.”

“You ever have Pi Dan?”

I shook my head.

“Then we’re even, mate.”

“You have senlàpso,” Barn said. “Thousand-year-old eggs in Auntie Cecilia’s congee!”

I stood up. The two of them were driving me mad. Maybe they were trying to keep my mind off the terror filling me. Or maybe they were tormenting me for fun. I never knew with those two.

“Anyone want a cola?”

Austin shot me a dirty look. “Rule number one!!!”

“I’m going to have one,” I said, crossing the backyard, sliding the glass door open, and stepping into the dimly lit kitchen.

Austin’s parents were in the media room watching Chinese soap operas, and the sound of the dialogue mixed with his parents’ laughter drifted into the kitchen. I reached into the refrigerator, grabbing three sodas.

Outside, Austin and Barn stared at the pool, not moving. The bluish water gently lapped the side of the pool. Stepping outside onto the grass, I asked, “Are you guys okay?”

“Go inside, Eli,” Austin said.

Barn agreed.

“Why?” I said, trying to balance the cold cans in my arms.

A shrieking sound filled the air.

Puxhàredo!

A monster from the Gloom. Not particularly fun to deal with on my last week of freedom before my senior year.

“Okay, what the fuck is that?” I said angrily.

The shadows from the dancing fire crawled across the grass toward me. I walked backward until I hit the sliding glass door. A figure rose through the flames, morphing into a very tall woman with pale skin tinged with green. Smoke poured out her nostrils. She growled at us.

“Oh my God, I smell shit!” I blurted out, covering my nose with my hand. I was in no mood to deal with another monster. “And look, it’s the Wicked Witch!”

“Screw you!” she said, spewing her horrible stench into my face. “I am a princess of his majesty Zid’dra—Princess Ahacaca!”

“Caca?”

“Ahacaca! I am your worst nightmare, Elijah.”

“Wow,” I said in a bored way. “Look, shit breath, what do you want?”

“I want Devlina! And you know where she is.”

“I have no idea where she is.”

“You lie, filth.”

“No, I’m not lying.”

“You helped her! Master is not pleased.”

“Look, this war is between Devlina and the coven. Leave me out of it.”

“Give me DEVLINA!!”

“Fine. She’s at 66669 Sandy Canyon Road, Beverly Hills. You need the phone number?”

She grabbed me by the throat, lifting me off the ground. “I want her dead. She killed my sisters.”

I summoned a dagger from thin air and held it to her neck.

“I can kill you!”

She dropped me.

“You have magic!”

“Duh.”

“We got rid of that.”

“No, you didn’t.”

“That explains it all. As you grow stronger, she grows stronger. When you went looney tunes, she faded and almost died. Then you bounced back, asshole. And now she is growing stronger and killing us!”

“I know of your sick plot against me. It didn’t work. And maybe I am getting stronger, but you aren’t going to hurt me or Devlina. She can take care of herself. So I urge you to get the puxhàredo out of here before we destroy you!”

“Housà!” Austin and Barn chanted.

“And anyway, Devlina is Zid’dra’s first wife. And if you knocked boots with him, that’s bigamy, and illegal.”

“Don’t you dare judge me, boy!”

I turned my face. “Jesus, get a mint!”

“I need to kill you. To stop her.”

“Look,” I said, “you can’t command or compel me, okay?” I tossed the dagger, in favor of using my PlasmX.

Ahacaca retreated. “Someone wants to fight!”

“Yeah, let’s rumble!” I leapt into the air, lifting my PlasmX over my head, eyes focused on her head, my body charged with energy. I would slice her in two.

Ahacaca laughed and twitched her head to the left, sending me flying across the backyard, crashing into the cypress trees lining the wall. The air left my lungs. I slid to the ground, and my PlasmX flickered and dropped from my hand.

Austin gazed at me, shot me the peace sign, then launched himself at Ahacaca. She sidestepped him. He did a somersault and flip and landed on his feet facing her.

“Oh, look who thinks he’s some Olympic gymnast!”

Austin growled, shouted “Housà!” and leaped at her, his fists out. She sidestepped him, falling onto Barn’s legs, which connected with her torso, then sent her flying across the grass, rolling several times, and collecting grass and dirt as she spun. She landed on her back, muttering about disrespectful youth. Austin landed above her.

“Hiya, Cacaface!”

“Shut up!” Ahacaca lifted a hand and sent Austin spiraling skyward. I shook my head, stood, and summoned several knives. A twist of my hand and they shot at her at dizzying speed, impaling her against an old oak tree in the center of the yard.

Barn sauntered over to Ahacaca. “Looks like the disrespectful youth have you in a bind.”

“I will end you!”

In a flash of smoke, she disappeared. Barn coughed and waved the smoke away with his hand. I joined him. “Where did she go?”

Austin floated back to join us.

“We scared her off!”

As we fist bumped each other, a cloud of smoke rose from beside Cecilia’s prized petunia beds.

“Yoo-hoo!” Ahacaca called to us. “I’m still here, and now I will end you stupid jerks!” In a flash of red light, she morphed into a giant saw blade, spinning toward us, eating up the grass.

Austin leapt over her. I bridged Austin’s energy and increased my magic. I waved my hands, sending the saw tumbling into the pool.

“Disrespectful youth!” Ahacaca shrieked as the water in the pool turned bloodred and boiled away.

I stood at the edge of the pool, watching the last of the water evaporate.

“Shit, that was totally legit.”

“Bleedin’ ace!” Barn said, bounding over to the side of the pool. “You offed that monster!”

“My powerful, Eli,” Austin said, putting his arm around me and squeezing me. “So cute and cuddly and fierce!” He tucked me under his arm, chuffing.

“Ay yah!” Austin Sr. called from the sliding glass door. “What was all the noise?”

“Um, well, Dad, we had a devil woman here trying to kill my Eli,” Austin called over his shoulder. I leaned up to kiss him on his cheek.

“You killed her right, son?” Cecilia said, holding a cup of tea. Austin shook his head. “Eli killed her.”

“Oh, good for you,” Cecilia said. “My three boys are Coaugelos, after all!”

“Only problem, Dad,” Austin said, “the witch ended up in the pool and her evilness reacted with the water and now it’s empty.”

“Bollocks,” Austin Sr. complained. “Water is expensive. You know how much it costs to fill a pool in La La Land?”