After leaving Julia's apartment, Kai was heading back to Brakebills when a thought crossed his mind. He turned sharply and vamp-speeded across town toward a location he'd scouted earlier one of the hedge witch hideouts, disguised as an old record store.
From a rooftop across the street, he observed the store. The sign read Closed, but he could hear multiple heartbeats inside and underground. One person was at the counter. Kai tilted his head, considering the irony of hiding chaos behind vintage vinyl. A little poetic.
He scanned the area for somewhere to change into something less noticeable, then changed his mind. He cast Invisique, vanishing from sight, shimmering subtly with every step as he strolled casually toward the shop.
He circled the building, noting the thickness of the wards. "Sturdy enough," he muttered.
Back at the front, he bent down, picked up a few pebbles, rolled them in his hand, then smiled. "Destruccive glas stav enfala. Destruccive glas stav enfala." He then flicked the pebbles forward after casting the Reinforced Boundary Destruction Spell: A spell that utilized raw magical power to break through or reverse a complex imprisoning spell placed on a building. And in this case it's the wards.
Inside the shop, the guy behind the counter frowned as the ground vibrated. A low tremor shook the vinyl shelves. Discs began to fall. He looked up just as the air shimmered at the storefront. "Oh shit…"
The glass exploded.
The blast sent him flying backward into the racks.
Groaning, he looked up only to find a pair of Jordan 1s planted firmly in front of his face. As his eyes trailed upward, he locked eyes with the boy who had hexed his boss.
"Well helloooo," Kai said with a half-smile. "What are you doing down there, champ?"
The guy raised his hand to cast, but Kai vamp-sped, grabbing his throat and slamming him hard against the wall. His voice dropped, calm but deadly.
"Try anything… and I'll rip your throat out. Do you understand me?"
The guy nodded quickly.
"Good," Kai said, voice polite now. "Where's the entrance?"
The guy's eyes darted to the right. Kai followed the gaze.
—
Downstairs, Marina and a small group were busy. An Asian guy carried a bowl filled with glowing green liquid and a rope soaked in something unidentifiable. He turned toward the ritual area as another guy knocked over a stack of books.
"Where the fuck is Pete?" Marina snapped.
"He's not back yet," said the black guy with dreads.
Before she could respond, the ground rumbled.
The Asian guy's voice trembled. "What the fuck is that?"
Marina's eyes widened. "That's the wards."
A second later, the upstairs door burst open.
Kai walked in.
Marina's jaw clenched. "You."
Kai offered a small wave. "Good evening, Marina, I trust you have been well?."
He strolled in, eyes scanning the room. His gaze landed on her hand which was as expected smooth, clean, no trace of the hex rash.
"I see you've found your way around my little spell," he said.
She scoffed. "Wasn't easy."
Kai stepped closer. "I wonder, though… how did you manage it, did you simply find someone else to dump it on or are you just that good?"
As he got nearer, the Asian guy lunged forward, casting.
Kai flicked his wrist. The guy flew back, smashing into the wall his thigh impaled on a mounted horn.
He screamed, "Aaaahhhhhhhrggggggg".
Kai snapped his fingers and silenced the man. The man slumped, unconscious.
The black guy with dreads shouted and began casting. Kai turned and wordlessly cast a maim spell. Both the man's legs cracked and folded under him as he collapsed, howling.
Kai kept his eyes on Marina, who slowly backed away.
"You're very resourceful," he said, voice low.
Her breath caught. He stroked her cheek, then grabbed her neck, pulling her so close he could feel her breath.
"But I'm not here for that," he whispered. "You stole something from a friend of mine. How do I reverse it?"
Marina smiled… then laughed.
"You can't," she said.
Kai frowned. "And you think this is funny?"
"A little, yeah," she said. "Julia's toy? His memories weren't repressed. I removed every part of his mind that remembered you all… and then I destroyed them."
Kai exhaled through his nose, disappointed. He was hoping it was a suppression spell something reversible or absorb the magic that was casted on him. But this? Gone. Burned from James's mind forever.
Marina moved herself closer now, voice soft. "Kai, you're wasted at Brakebills. Join me. Imagine what you could do what we could do together."
She reached up, ran her tongue along his lips, her blue eyes locked onto his, one hand sliding low toward his groin.
"Oh Marina…" Kai said quietly, a grin playing on his lips. "The fun we could've had… if only you didn't hide behind deception."
"What—?" she began, confused.
Kai snapped her neck in a flash.
Everyone in the room froze.
"You… you killed her…" someone whispered.
Kai turned, casually walking to the door. "Not exactly," he said. "That's just a golem."
He paused at the threshold. "You were just bait. Your real boss… well, I think she's far from where I can reach her."
He vamped out.
—
Back at Brakebills, in the Physical Kids Cottage, the first thing Kai heard was Quentin's voice: "You were in Fillory?"
He was holding a book in front of Penny with two ram symbols facing each other.
"You were in Fillory," Quentin repeated.
"Stop," Penny groaned. "Fillory's just a…"
"Did you see animals? Did they talk to you?" Q asked, eyes lighting up.
Kai rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath. "Is he really doing that?"
So, penny finally astral projected to fillory.
"I was in some dungeon," Penny snapped. "You hobbit-loving freak. What's wrong with you?"
Kai finally stepped into the room. "Geez, guys. What's with all the commotion?"
Kady turned. "Apparently, Penny teleported to Fillory."
Kai dropped onto the couch. "Wait, seriously?"
Quentin nodded. "Yes! And there are no hobbits in Fillory but that's not the point. The crest…" he pointed to the drawing "this means he was in a castle built by Fillorian dwarves."
Penny groaned. "Kill me."
"Careful what you wish for," Kai muttered.
Quentin pushed on. "That place is filled with incredibly magical artifacts."
Kai raised a brow. "Incredible like… good incredible or 'oops, we all died' incredible?"
"Exactly," Penny muttered. "Because yeah, the Beast is super magical. Maybe he does birthday parties too."
Quentin froze. "Wait… the Beast is in Fillory?"
"This was a waste of time," Penny grumbled.
Kai blinked, thinking. 'Yup. Probably soaking in the Wellspring.'
Alice finally spoke. "I think you should listen to Quentin. You didn't travel there by choice, did you?"
Kai leaned forward. "So, you don't know how to control it yet?"
"Nope," Penny grunted.
"Next time you could land somewhere worse than the Beast," Kai said. "You know, like some psychotic plane crawling with skin-hungry shadows."
Alice nodded. "Then educate yourself. Nobody knows Fillory better than Quentin. What if you get sent back?"
Kady looked at Penny. "She makes a point."
Penny sighed. "Alright, fanboy. Tell me what the books say about not getting my face eaten."
Kai scoffed.
"What?" Penny snapped.
"I don't think you'll have much luck on that front."
Quentin agreed. "The Beast's not in the books."
"Then how'd I see him?" Penny barked. "I looked him in the face."
"The Chatwins mostly got chased by this witch," Quentin explained. "The Watcherwoman."
Kai groaned. "Yeah, that's helpful."
"She plants clocks in trees," Quentin added.
"Okay," Kady said, deadpan. "I take it back. This is a waste of time."
Quentin snapped. "The books are for kids! Maybe they left out the part about the eye-ripping monster, I don't know!"
"Okay, we're done here," Penny said. "You love Fillory? I hope you get to go. I really do."
Kai stood. "Be careful what you wish for… it might come true faster than you think."
He left the room as well, Alice moving to console a frustrated Quentin.
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