‘Look at the time where is he?’ Ste tapped her foot.


    I groaned, ‘I have no idea.’


    ‘We can’t keep waiting. It’s gettingte.’


    Her foot tapping was ying on my nerves. We’d been waiting for Daylen to show up for hours. The sun was setting and not even a letter of exnation popped up.


    I shook my head and paced to the door. He yed me. He promised he’d help me find my sister and he wasn’t anywhere to be found now. Something shier must have popped up and he decided I was as good as a carton of expired milk.


    ‘We should just go. We’ve wasted enough time as it is.’Content is ? by N?velDrama.Org.


    ‘Yes, first you need a disguise.’


    ‘Why?’


    ‘You’re not from here and you need to look like you fit in. We’re not chopping your hair, but it has to go in a braid. You need leather lots of it. If anyone asks you’re a witch from the Gregory n. That’s my n.’


    ‘It is necessary?’ I scratched my head.


    She bobbed her head, ‘Completely. We don’t want unnecessary attention.’


    Twenty painful yelpster my hair was in two braids. I had ck lipstick on, a short leather skirt and ankle boots. Ste gave me one of her wands and badge with a little oak tree on it.


    The eyeliner around my eyes made them pop. My skirt was too short it made me shiver. How was this not drawing attention?


    ‘This is way better than draping you understand a hideous cloak.’ She smirked.


    ‘Are we headed to Callista’s za?’


    Ste locked the door behind us. She pulled out her wand and uttered a spell then tucking it in her boot.


    ‘No, I found someone better than those ghosts.’


    They didn’t use cars in the mage dimension. I half expected to see someone zip through the air on a broomstick. I was not sharing that thought with Ste.


    Horse drawn carriages filled the roads instead. Men and women on horseback caught my attention. There were cyclists on normal bikes too.  It was always dark in the mage dimension it was day, though little did the sun shine. It was like a storm cloud was constantly hovering over the dimension’s head.


    ‘It’s not always this way. Thest few weeks have been bad. The goddess Sophia gives life and light. The more she suffers the elements feel it too.’


    ‘That’s horrible-Wait-‘


    I paused. Across the rocky roading out of a store with a backpack strapped on his shoulder.


    ‘No way,’ Ste gasped.


    ‘Alfie!’ I waved.


    ‘You don’t just wave at people!’ Ste pushed me out of the way.


    ‘I know him.’


    ‘You didn’t know he was a mage and for all we know he could be one of the nasty ones.’


    I nted my hands on my hips,  ‘Don’t be so paranoid.’


    I looked across the road and Alfie stared at us quizzically.  He skipped across the road and approached us as if we were deer.


    ‘Artemis?’ He blinked. ‘What are you doing here?’ He looked between Ste and I.


    ‘Can we move this pleasant meeting along?’ Ste grumbled.


    Alfie scanned the block and nodded. ‘We should get inside. I know a ce.’


    ‘We’re actually going to Hangman.’ Ste said.


    ‘Hangman?’ Alfie’s brows shot up. ‘That’s no better than standing around on the street.’


    Ste rolled her eyes, ‘We’re meeting someone important if you don’t mind.’ She dragged me away.


    ‘Ste!’


    ‘What? Don’t you want to find Rocky?’


    ‘Whoa… what happened? Artemis I tried calling you yesterday, but you never answered.’


    I looked at Ste then at our surroundings. The roads were busy, but the streets were quiet too quiet it felt ominous, like the walls were watching us.


    We decided to head to the raggedy bar. I’d never go into a ce called hangman if it wasn’t life or death. Ste grumbled the entire way.


    ‘He doesn’t need toe.’ She muttered.


    ‘Look Ste, it’s hard to trust people these days. If I didn’t know Artemis I wouldn’t be here.’ Alfie said.


    Heat rushed to my cheeks and I remembered our kiss at the restaurant. I didn’t even eat.


    ‘What are you anyway?’


    ‘A witch.’


    ‘What n?’


    Alfie looked at the door of the shady bar and took a step back.


    He pulled up his jacket sleeve. He flexed his muscles and two wings drew themselves on his arm.


    ‘A ncus.’ He pulled his sleeve down quickly.


    Ste’s eyes went wide.


    ‘What’s a ncus?’ I asked.


    ‘Shh… not too loud. We’re kind of on the low.’ He chuckled nervously.


    ‘Low? More like extinct. No one’s heard of them in years.’


    Alfie scratched the back of his head.


    ‘Are you sure you want to go in there?’ Ste asked.


    I looked at his well sculptured face and the sses in front of it. There was a hint of uncertainty.


    ‘It’s cool. You guys have to exin to me what’s going though.’


    We walked inside and I was smacked in the face with the stench of week old alcohol and cigarette smoke with an odour I hoped wasn’t piss.


    ‘This ce is disgusting,’ I muttered.


    Alfie gripped my hands and pulled me close. The men in the bar had to be two times his size. These men had legs the size of oak trees and arms capable of pushing cars to the other side of the street. Their scars and tattoos didn’t make them the more friendly looking people. Compared to them Alfie just looked like a six foot college student. Though, I didn’t know the greats of his power. It gave me chills the way he clenched his jaw and stared straight ahead as if there weren’t people that couple rip us apart if they chose to.


    ‘I’m looking for Hul,’ Ste ced her hand on the counter.


    ‘You thedy going to fix the jacked up fridge? It’s about time. I’m drowning here can’t keep anything cool.’


    I stared at Ste. A sly smirk yed on her lips. She followed the man with pointed ears a face as battered as the rest of them. Alfie squeezed my hand. Hul took as to his much cleaner kitchen that had a chef and a waiter lingering in it.


    ‘Where are you’re tools? How are you supposed to fix it?’ He growled.


    Hul only reached up to my armpits, but I was sure his bite was nothing to mess with.


    Ste pulled out her wand. The chef tossed his hat and stumbled out the back door followed by the waiter.


    Hul took a step forward. Alfie pushed me back.


    ‘You don’t want a fight sweetheart.’


    She waved the wand around the kitchen.  The ground shifted beneath us and the doors clicked shut.


    ‘I didn’te here for a fight Hul. I came for information on a missing girl.’


    ‘What do I look like the mage police department?’ Hul threw his hands up.


    ‘Cut the crap. You know how the channels work. Where do all the kidnapped victims go.’


    ‘Even if I did, do you know how many girls are kidnapped a day in the mage dimension? Thousands! How would I know your girl?’


    ‘Word about a mage kidnapped from earth would spread, nicely don’t you think?’ Ste shot back.


    Hul rubbed his chin and leaned against the busted fridge.


    ‘Earth you say…’


    I snuck out of Alfie’s hold and appeared in front of Hul. His eyes were like two ck marbles.


    ‘Please, she’s… special. She’s the only family I have left.’ I pped my hands in front of myself.


    Hul looked me up and down. It wasn’t irritation on his face, but curiosity. He fixated on my face as though he were looking at much more than what was there.


    ‘What did you say your name is?’ He asked.


    I looked at the others, they shrugged.


    ‘Artemis-‘


    ‘Artemis… have you ever heard of the power of discernment witch?’ He looked at Ste.


    She lifted her shoulders, ‘Yeah,  the power to recognize another’s energy-why does everyone call me witch all of a sudden?’


    Hul turned his gaze back to me. His hand trembled close to my face. I took a step back.


    ‘You’re wrong. She isn’t the only family you have left if I’m right.’


    ‘What are you talking about?’ I looked at Ste.


    Where did she find this guy?


    ‘Did you grow up with a man named Arke?’


    I shook my head, ‘My father’s name was Archer. He was killed.’ I swallowed.


    ‘That bastard. He’s real name was Arke. An Olympiad god who fled the sky when it was under siege. He carried a baby with him. He said he was her protector and needed safe passage to earth.’


    ‘Olympiad-‘ Ste gasped.


    ‘No! Of course not! He was my father and the only thing impressive about him was his incredible power of getting himself into shit loads of trouble. Ste, where did you find him? He has no idea what he’s saying.’


    My hands trembled. My legs slowly turned to mosh. Dad wasn’t special. He wasn’t a god. He wasn’t even a role model.


    ‘I worked at the elven boarder for over thirty years. I remembered him because the war Olympiad fought was deadly and the winter that followed was worse. Two gods left Olympiad with babies. The guardian and the child were never found presumed dead. I could never forget a trickster like him.’


    ‘You can’t be sure I’m that child!’ Tears sprung from my eyes.


    ‘Then there’s still a fat chance you belong in the sky. I can feel it. You’re no mage darling. You’re a goddess.’