[ Unknown Cavern ]
"Council, if I may?"
Along with the call, a lone drop of water bounces through rocky walls, hidden within the unseen outskirts of Keystone. Morgan perks up, her eyes breaking from Victor's book on "Egyptian Rites" to a sudden blonde by her side. Her shoulder-length hair and slicked-back bangs shine among the glow of battery-powered lanterns around.
Receiving the French woman's gaze, her hand swiftly clasps in front. "Forgive me. I just wondered whether it would be better for you to study the book at our hub in downtown instead of staying here."
Morgan blinks, her hand subconsciously brushing against a book she was given by her. "Luna, is it?"
"Yes, council."
Her eyes squint. "While I appreciate the concern, why are you still here? I believe you said you worked at the hub here as a bartender?"
Luna shuffles a bit. "Well, Nico ordered that I remain while he was out."
Silence wades in among a few plinks of water in the distance. With it, Morgan stares flatly before breathing in. "You know that's unnecessary, right?"
"Uh... even so, I'm here."
Morgan hums lightly, tapping the book. "Well, I suppose company is appreciated, but are you saying you don't like cool and damp caves?"
Luna thins her lips. "I don't particularly mind them, but to stay in them for this long..."
"It's not that bad though, is it?" Morgan grins, motioning around. "Besides, we spent a considerable amount time to get it furnished. Isn't it a waste just to leave because it's not 'ideal'?"
Luna sighs, her shoulders slump. "If you insist, council."
"Wow, you just gave up there. Also, please call me Morgan."
"As you say, Morgan."
Morgan frowns by the stubborn, rigid tone, but doesn't object further. She leans back in her wooden chair. "Okay, but for real, there's a better reason for me to be here."
Luna cocks her head while Morgan lifts a finger. Like she showed Marlin, a yellow flame burst up, idling at the tip. "You see, a normal fire thrives in a hot environment, but the goddess' fire does so in damp and cool one. Much of my reach and arrangements do better as a result."
The blonde flinches, her eyes snapping wide. "A...Ah, of course! How could I forget?" She hurriedly bows. "Sorry, I should've kept the goddess' fire in mind with your intent!"
"No, no, it's quite alright." Morgan chuckles, eyes locked to the flame. "It's often overlooked, but the bigger question is why it's like this. It shakes and spread like any other flame, yet its nature is completely opposite... well, if used correctly, that is."
She flickers back to Luna, grinning. "But, even if that weren't the case, what's wrong with just wanting to live in a cave? Are you looking down on hermits?"
Luna straightens, shutting her eyes. "N-not at all, I love caves!"
"Really convincing one-eighty there." Morgan snuffs the unsolved flame with the closing of her hand. "Anyway, where is Nico? He should be back by now."
"He is visiting Marlin as I understand."
"I know that, but I believe I recommended him to observe. It shouldn't take him out this long." Morgan's brows deepen. "If he somehow goes beyond that..."
She buries the thought and stretches her hands forward instead. "Well, since you're here, let me pick your brain. What do you think of Victor and this book?"
Luna leans forward, switching to the book on the table. "I'm not sure. All I know is that it was written when the former council was a professor in Egypt. I've never met the man, so the only thing I've heard is of the split with the council like others have."
Morgan shakes her head. "Split is an understatement, my dear. In any case, we know Lecia disappeared a day after checking this book out, so there has to be some relation."
"A trigger through hidden pages, perhaps? If that is the case, I would be worried about you."
Morgan scoffs, waving. "If Victor ever anticipated me reading his book, and wanted me dead, it would have already happened. There is something though. I can tell it was imbued, and it might be that every copy is like this."
"Will you perform a drawing upon it?"
"Now that could harm me." Morgan groans. "We don't know what Victor is thinking, but if he helped Lecia escape death, trying to analyze his copies could backfire..."
A pause lingers before a smirk crosses her face. "That was a pun. I definitely intended that pun."
"Pfft—" Luna has nothing to prepare for the abrupt drop in focus. "Yes, coun...I mean, Morgan."
Morgan tilts her head. "Huhu... See? While English is still unfamiliar on my tongue, I can at least recognize these things, you know."
"I'd say you're doing well."
"Hehe, flattery will get you nowhere, mademoiselle." Morgan then clears her throat. "Now, if there's nothing else you know about this book or Victor, let me try reading you instead. Outside our Order and bartending, surely you have other matters... like a date, perhaps?"
Luna flinches, then glances away. "I... I don't see how that's relevant."
"I'm fucking bored reading this book."
The blonde's lips break before she sighs. "Actually, I do have a date, but that's for tomorrow." She hesitates for a bit before returning to the council woman. "If we're on this topic, can I ask for some advice?"
Morgan raises a brow. "Me? On dates?"
"Well, I realize this may be overstepping, but I figure that you would have experience considering..."
The French woman grins. "Considering I am old?"
"N-no! That's..."
"I joke, of course." Her eyes shine a bit before slumping. "Sadly, I may be French, but love is simply not in my language."
Luna frowns. "You...haven't loved anyone in all your years?"
Morgan scoffs easily with a wave. "Oh, plenty, but loving someone you already have is different from the search for a new one. I'm just saying I'm the worst to give advice given my...well, unique circumstances."
Without clarifying further, she winks. "Although, if you're as stiff to me as you are to your date, you won't get far~"
Luna stares flatly. "Respectfully, this whole meeting can't even begin to compare."
"Huh? Even if I am your superior, I'm still the same as you. Come on, relax!"
"Surely you jest."
Fwooo!
As if to emphasize the situation the blonde has to deal with, a fire cuts in from the corner of their eyes. Rising into a pillar from the rocky ground, it crackles, spreading a green hue against the women and their stone surroundings. Their heads turn swiftly to face the arrival of a large silhouette within.
"Finally!" Morgan lifts off from her seat. "Nico, I trust everything went—"
Her words are caught.
In the next breath, her hand immediately tightens along the edge of her chair. Reflecting in her dark eyes, sizzling smoke emerges from Nico's gray suit as the green fire dies down around his feet. His whole body blends into the roughness of the dark cave.
"Mor...gan."
He's charred.
Luna throws a hand to her mouth, her hazel pupils shrinking. Opposite, Morgan steadies herself for a few seconds.
"...Nico."
Slowly, her gaze softens at her crusted helper.
On its own, the goddess' fire does not burn, but invoked incorrectly, there have been a few cases where this fire can show its danger like one would expect. Except, such drastic rise in temperature doesn't happen from a mere slip of the tongue.
No, there had to be a struggle.
Morgan steps forward calmly. Among the burnt smell of flesh and heat that countered the cool surroundings, she reaches a hand up, touching his cracked face.
Szzzz...
Her hand burns, but she doesn't jerk back or scream. Only a flicker of pain spreads through her face before she shuts it all down.
"What happened?" she maintains.
Nico's glazed eyes twitch. He can't see anymore, but to the one who received him... who saw something more in him, his crisped lips can only rise.
"Remn...ngh!"
SHAAAAAAS!
Then, he falls.
A ring of red sprays out from his shoulder down to the opposite end of his torso, staining Morgan across while his body collapses into two. Falling to the ground, he's easily absorbed into the shadows of the rocky terrain where lanterns fail to reach.
Morgan stands frozen in place, her hand stretched out where she shared Nico's pain for tiniest of moments. Behind, Luna chokes, gasping in her hands as she watches a pool of blood spilling into view, circling the council woman's feet.
They hold themselves in silence.
Drips of water deep within the cave echoes out, mourning the loss with its natural resonance. After the tenth or so drop, Morgan lowers her hand back to her side.
"Luna... please inform our members through the proper channels," she orders, her voice leveled.
The blonde shivers, her stomach threatening to erupt. If it weren't for the fact she can't see Nico's body anymore, she might've had just lost it all right there.
At least, that was the case until Morgan turns.
Highlighted by the lanterns better, her dress and chin drip with Nico's blood. All the while, her dark eyes and lips lift.
"It is...unfortunate, but our Brother has sacrificed himself for a truly great moment in our history." Her eyes close to a smile, offering a bloodied hand. "Luna, will you join me in Nico's place?"
"Urp...!" Instead of answering, Luna promptly twists away, her stomach turning inside out as she bends forward, adding a different mess on the floor.
Morgan's smile falls as she twists her lips to the side. "I'm guessing that date will have to be rescheduled."
Luna's answer only comes with more heaves.
══════════ ∴ ══════════
[ Cheyenne, Wyoming ]
Mike stands in a town close to the Wyoming - Colorado border, void of mountains in the distance that he saw back in Denver. While the numbers run up the meter from the gas pump as it fills his tank, he absently watches the long stretches of concrete throughout.
"Damn it, this is depressing."
From the past, Lecia's grumbles mirrors his thoughts.
"I get it. Not all places can be full of spectacle. Even some of the places we dug up didn't have much to rest our eyes on. It would be good to quickly figure out what history lies behind the Earth so we can spend our time efficiently. What do you think?"
Of course, he agreed. That's part of the reason he encouraged Lecia to start her own business, applying her archaeology passion into technology.
His grip tightens on the gas pump handle.
'She should have buried that book.'
Saying the obvious now won't help. Mike knows that as soon as they were able to light the colorful flames of an unknown force, it was too late to take back the announcement to the world.
Whatever the case is now, he prays Lecia is safe.
He prays his family will remain safe.
With the accident and her disappearance following Lecia on the news, Jessica quickly learned why her husband was so alarmed. It gave him an excuse to travel again.
He can see still her worried expression. Did she perhaps know that he still cared for his colleague or worried about his safety?
"Fuck..."
What can he do?
At the same time, the gas pump clicked under his heavy breath. With his tank full, he removes the dispenser and pulls out his keys from his pockets, eager to get a move on. Just before he makes the turn to the other side of his car, his phone buzzes.
Swallowing, he raises his phone. A small hope lights in him that it would be Lecia, somehow alive and well. He knows it too good to be true as he sees screen display "Rachel".
She's probably checking up on him.
Taking a deep breath, he taps his phone while sliding into the driver seat. "Yes, Rachel?"
"..."
"Yes, I'm fine. I'm near the Nebraska border. I arrived in Denver just two hours ago."
He starts the engine while listening to the astronomer, but slowly, his brows rise. "Safe... safehouse? Why are you asking about that?"
"...!"
"WHAT!?"
Mike leans forward, his eyes snapping wide. His heart beats like the engine rumbling. "They're... They're called The Order? Wait, step back. How do you know this, and why is it that you're asking for shelter. Are you compromised?"
As Rachel is about to explain, her voice gets cut off. Mike stares blankly, his fingers digging into his knees before a new female voice enters his range.
He listens, his jaw slowly hangs. "You're... the summon?"