Paul was thinking up ways to track down Ethel, but nothing good popped up. Honestly if Eddie was having trouble doing it on the computer anything he thought up would be already tried. It was a better use of energy to just go to school and pay attention. Autumnvale High hadn't been his favorite place to be especially because Quinn was still avoiding him.
He wondered if he should try to reach out again. Lunch would arrive and Quinn no longer sat with the group. He ate alone in the corner. Paul decided to try and sit with him.
“No man, go away. I don't wanna hear anything from you.” Quinn said to him as he sat at the lunch table.
Paul disregarded what he said and stayed seated. “Man, I am sorry Quinn. I wanted to tell you. And I should have. I can sit here and make excuses but I can't change that I messed up. A part of me didn't want to be the bearer of bad news. “
“I was her boyfriend longer to her dead than I was to her alive.” Quinn replied.
“I can't fix that. What I can tell you is Thalia convinced her parents that she won a full ride at a fancy private college prep school. At least you won't have to see her.”
“Thanks I guess. I mean I don't know. At the end of the day she is still dead. I guess anger was my way to grieve with this loss. I needed a separate person to put that off on because I feel guilty that I couldn't save her. But it wasn't my fault I was a normal teenager going up against the supernatural. I didn't have a chance.” Quinn explained.
“Wow, that was pretty insightful.” Paul complimented.
“Melissa lectured me about my closing myself off.”
The pair started talking again. After a few minutes they joined their usual table. That was one problem down. Now they can focus on Ethel. The table discussed any ideas they had. Some were better than others.
The day continued on like normal. Paul had a shift at The Fireside Tavern. It went smoothly. The place was super busy. He also got to be a server for the night as well as busboy and make some good tips. That night's sleep was easy. It was definitely needed, because Saturday morning Mr. Everald wanted Paul to come to hunter training with Aiden. The idea seemed like a great one even though he had no idea what that entailed.
He showed up promptly to the Carlyle brothers’ house and followed the sounds of talking into the kitchen. Mr. E and Thalia were there cooking food.
He interrupted, “Oh I get breakfast?”
“Yeah teenagers learn better on a full stomach, Aiden will be here any minute. You two eat and meet us in the backyard.” the teacher instructed.
Aiden arrived and the two would eat and chat. During this conversation Paul would find out Thalia didn't just show up early, she spent the night. It made him happy to see people finding something good in all of this. The boys went out back to see what they set up.
Training wasn't what he expected. They started off normal with cardio and muscle training.
“You're going up against things with super strength and super speed. You won't be able to match that but it'll help a little if you're in shape.” Mr. Everald explained.
Next was weapons training. Thalia and Fergus first taught them how to throw a knife. Paul was terrible at this. He then got to work with a crossbow. He was better with that. They even made him fight Aiden with a foam sword and shield. Which made him silly.
Mr. Everald told them. “Yeah I'm not giving you real swords yet. Maybe wooden swords next. But this is just to get you guys used to it. Work on your reflexes.”
Thalia walked up, “Okay give them to me. My turn.”
Paul was a little afraid of what she wanted to teach them. There was no way he could do anything with a dead body. Aiden was hesitant as well.
“What are you teaching us?” Aiden asked.
“Don't worry guys. I want to try to teach you basic small stuff. It is gonna be hard and you guys may not be able to do anything. But human can learn little things. So I want to try two things. One, open a locked door. Two, kind of like a flashlight spell but it comes out of your hands.”
“Why the second one? My phone has a light.” asked Aiden.
“We decided that one, because if you're ever in close with someone that will kill you, you can blind it and run away. Locking and unlocking the doors you need to.”
Aiden raised his hand. “Things with super strength can knock down doors.”
“Would you just, come on, go with her.” Their teacher instructed.
Paul was relieved there was no dissecting bodies. The things she listed seemed easy enough and even helpful. They walked over to the locked door and she instructed them to grab the doorknob and focus only on the doorknob, then say cincinno infectum facti. Both the boys failed. They tried it dozens of times and nothing. It was getting frustrating
“I hate this door.” Paul said to the group.
Aiden added. “What does that phrase even mean?”
Thalia smiled and softly laughed. “Cincinno infectum facti, it is latin for lock become wet.
“Why don't we try the opposite.” Mr. Everald suggested.
Thalia unlocked the door and instructed them to say the words cincinno fiet lapis. They did that a dozen times but no such luck. They were told to just practice at home. The group moved on to the light spell. They went into a room and turned off the lights. Thalia told them to focus and say “lux incipere” which translates to light begin. The boys took turns. Paul was getting frustrated. Focusing wasn't his strong suit to begin with.
Paul tried to clear his head and focused on one thought, it could save us. He repeated it over and over in his head. It happened. It was only for two seconds but there was a spark. The group celebrated.
“What were you thinking about just then?” Thalia asked.
“I kept repeating in my head, it could save us,” Paul explained.
“Good. People get power from different things. Hate, revenge, greed, love. You guys will need to focus on the why of it all.” Thalia explained to the teens.
They were dismissed and given a schedule of when to go back and instructions to keep trying. Paul had no desire to dive into the magic world. But he did think it would be cool to try to learn somethings. He also wanted to make a truth stone.
The next day Paul and Aiden went back even though they weren't scheduled. This time they brought Quinn with them. Mr. Everald was surprised to see them. He let the three in and let them use the weapons to train. Paul even got the hang of knife throwing, although it only stuck in the board a quarter of the time and his aim was awful.
The following school day was fine although his body was sore. Also he can successfully lock a door using magic as long as he is standing right next to it with no one pressuring him. No such luck unlocking a door yet. There was a response from Eddie but it was to tell him he couldn't get anything more.
It was Tuesday night and Paul was studying for a science exam on the kitchen table when his mother came home from grabbing food with a friend. She looked so happy when she got home. It made Paul happy too. He wanted the best for his mother.
“What did you crazy kids get up to this evening?” he asked his mother.
“Margaritas and way too many carbs.” she responded. She placed a plant on the table and hung her coat in the chair. Paul started to check it out. It was a cool color purple. He asked, “What's with the plant?”
“Oh Kathleen showed us the coolest plant shop. They have plants you've never seen. This one is a purple coleus plant. Looks cool right.” she responded.
There was a shop card sticking out of the dirt so he grabbed it to read out loud. “Hope this plant is happy in your home thanks for stopping by Ethel's.”
No, he thought to himself. There is no way the universe put this pot in front of him. He took the card and put it in his pocket.
“Did you meet who ran the shop?” he asked.
“Uh yeah, just some lady?” his mom responded.
“Did she name the store after herself or just picked a random name?” questioned Paul.
“I didn't ask,” Grace said with a slight laugh. “Why do you ask?”
He said, “Oh just curious.” He hugged his mother before she went upstairs. He called Zane but there was no answer. Next he tried Thalia and Mr. Everald and still no answer. He paused to think. It was dark. They can check it out tomorrow in daylight after he calls Eddie. He should just finish studying and then go to bed.
A part of him wanted to do that but he couldn't. If he left now he could get there before closing and snap a photo of her. Then at least he could show everyone to see if they recognized her.
“Hey mom imma go grab a shake with Melissa I'll be back in like an hour.” he yelled.
He grabbed his keys and jumped into the car. The shop was close to main street so there’d be other humans around. Certainly a bad guy wouldn't want to kill him with witnesses. The street was more secluded than he wanted but that was okay. He didn't plan on confronting her and doing anything crazy. Just recon. Unfortunately the shop was closed.
“I guess she closed early.” he said out loud to himself.
Paul decided to go check the shop out. He drove away to park. He walked back through the alley to find the backdoor. If he could magically unlock the door it would be a sign that he should go inside.
He placed his hand on the doorknob and tried to focus, he said the words cincinno infectum facti and click! The door opened. Of all the times to succeed this had to be one of them. The time that leads to a crime. He stepped in and looked around for cameras. There were none in sight. He headed to the back of the shop. There with a computer and a desk he decided to search them both. Hopes of finding a file labeled evil plan was not high.
Nothing was there. Just stuff about plants and invoices. A few more minutes were spent looking around but he didn't find anything. Maybe it was just the name of a store he thought to himself.
He exited the shop and tried to lock it back up with magic.
“Cincinno fiet lapis” he whispered.
Down the alley he went, he was glad he didn't call Aiden or the twins because it would have been a huge waste of their time. As he walked down the alley he felt a pressure in his lower back. That pressure became pain. That pain became intense pain.
Paul had never felt something that hurt so bad. He cried out but no one was there to hear him. As he dropped to his knees he felt a hand on his shoulder. “You could have walked away.” a voice said. He felt a second sharp pain.
Paul passed out.