ㅤㅤIn another swirling flurry, they were transported into the city limits within seconds. The streets were empty, and they were simply just a block away from the jewellery shop. Neo stumbled again before steadying himself, shaking his head as he muttered some obscenities towards teleportation magick. Then, without waiting for Christopher, he bolted down the street towards the shop. Christopher moreso walked a bit more leisurely than needed.
ㅤㅤWhen Neo stopped outside, he glanced through the windows, spotting the scene. There were people, but they weren't moving. Staring at displays, standing at counters, but not talking or showing any sign of life except for the slight swaying back and forth and soft breaths that escaped them. When Christopher made it, he seemed just as disturbed by the scene as Neo.
ㅤㅤ"She knows we are here," The prince announced.
ㅤㅤWith that, he opened the door and made his way inside, and Neo followed after him. Neo didn't exactly like Raemith, but he had still grown some sort of attachment to him. Something felt different when he thought he might have been in trouble. Besides, he told himself that if something happened to a guard and it was because of Neo, Christopher would never let him hear the end of it.
ㅤㅤNeo swivelled in a circle in an attempt to see if he could maybe find Raemith standing immobile amongst the shelves and glass cases, or Alexandria doing her creepy mind control voodoo magick on someone. Unfortunately, he saw no one he recognised. Christopher waved a hand in front of a customer's face, and they seemed to see him before smiling and looking back at the case drearily.
ㅤㅤ"It's a projection, of some type," Christopher said. "These people don't realise that their mind's time has stopped. The people are real, but this is basically a live picture of the moment before Raemith entered the store. Meaning, she is somewhere within these confines." He brushed his beard thoughtfully. "She is powerful for a dead woman."
ㅤㅤ"Well, she's not very good at being dead, is she?" Neo muttered.
ㅤㅤWith that, he walked over to the counter. He ignored a man standing on the other side as he briskly hopped over it, heading straight for the only other door besides the entrance into the shop. He felt an odd surge of anger - first this woman controlled him like a puppet, then she snatched Raemith from under his nose? What was her goal?
ㅤㅤChristopher was behind him, but he climbed over the counter more gently. Neo opened the door and made his way inside, letting Christopher in behind him, but nothing could prepare him for what he saw. It seemed to be a break room with another room attached, but the objects within, such as tables and chairs, seemed to be thrown along the sides and to the floor.
ㅤㅤAs if by coincidence, or perhaps it was some messed up kind of luck, Raemith was laying on the floor and curled up in pain. The woman, Alexandria, seemed to have just gotten up from in front of him, eyes full of anger and a dangerous gold while a hand was outstretched towards him. She seemed even more enraged when she saw Neo, but was shocked into stillness when she spotted Christopher behind him.
ㅤㅤNeo cursed, completely disregarding her and running over to Raemith. He grabbed the guard under the arms, pulling him away from Alexandria. Reaching the side of the door, he dropped the beefy man on the ground, who was still whimpering and shivering. It was the first time Neo had seen a demon, or even a half demon, teary eyed.
ㅤㅤ"I-I thought you were dead!" Christopher said to the woman.
ㅤㅤShe didn't seem to care about the revelation. "Why are you with him?!" She shouted, staring at Neo in what could have been fear. "He's a murderer! I... I told him not to return!"
ㅤㅤThen, Christopher said something unexpected. "He's not a murderer!" He yelled, a flurry of snow starting to swirl around and whip up papers. "And you're a liar! If you told him not to return, then he wouldn't have. Not to mention you're supposed to be dead!"
ㅤㅤ"Is that really the important thing right now?!" Alexandria seethed.
ㅤㅤ"Frosty!" Neo yelled, and Christopher looked at him. "You can have your reunion later, get her to stop!"
ㅤㅤHe motioned to Raemith, who seemed to actively fighting the control over his mind. It didn't prove very successful, which seemed to finally snap Christopher from his self-absorbed panic of realising his childhood friend and tortured companion was alive. His striking pale blue eyes glanced between all three of them before finally resting on Alexandria.
ㅤㅤ"Lexi, please," Christopher spoke, the snowy blizzard starting to calm. "Your brother... Neo didn't kill him. I did!"
ㅤㅤShe froze - it could have been literal with Christopher's powers, but she was just standing there, staring at him shock. A gasp escaped her lips as it all ceased. The snow settled as Raemith stopped panting and shaking. He whimpered and covered his face, curling into Neo's lap and whispering something, but Neo couldn't quite hear him. The bodyguard wasn't sure how to react.
ㅤㅤ"Gods be damned," He mumbled. "Rae, I told you not to say anything stupid - what the hells happened?"
ㅤㅤ"Oi..." The guard gasped, struggling to speak. "Oi asked what she'd done to ye... and she... got mad..."
He shivered again. "I saw it all again... All of it... The beatings Oi got...."
ㅤㅤ"You..." Alexandria began, almost too stunned to speak. "You what?"
ㅤㅤ"Please," Christopher took a step towards her, and she retreated back, so he stopped. "Tell me what happened. We just want to talk - we're not here to hurt you. I'm not here to hurt you."
ㅤㅤShe glanced to the side at Neo, glowering silently. She seemed to see through the deception. "I want to hear it from him that he won't lay a hand on me."
ㅤㅤNeo stared at Raemith in his lap. Something about how broken he looked, the way he was curled up in terror... made a piece inside of Neo snap. He slowly looked up, not realising the white iris of his black eye was glowing red. Black tendrils of billowing smoke wrapped around his arms, careful to not touch Raemith, coiling from his shoulders and slithering around his gloved fingers. Either he didn't notice them, or he didn't care.
ㅤㅤ"I didn't have to lay a finger on him," He said slowly, a female's tone overlapping with his. It seemed even darker and scarier than he already was.
ㅤㅤThat was her cue. Her face faded from confidence into terror, and her eyes began to glow gold as she looked at Christopher. "I'm sorry, old friend," She said, her voice shaking along with her hands. "But do not come after me when I walk out that door."
ㅤㅤWith that, Christopher's knees buckled and he fell to the ground. She strode towards the door quickly, and whispers engulfed Neo's mind. Kill her. Make her pay. Destroy the witch. He could barely hear anything, or see for that matter, his vision red. However, when everything cleared and he had vision return to him, she was... gone, and Christopher was shaking his shoulders.
ㅤㅤHe was scowling. "Neo!" He shouted. "What the bloody hell was that?!"
ㅤㅤBy the time she had disappeared, so had the smoking tendrils racing along his skin. Neo stared at the ground, clenching his gloved hands into fists. He felt something on his cheek and reached up, touching under his eye and pulling back to inspect. Something had been leaking from his peculiar eye - not tears, but... a black substance. Almost like blood.
ㅤㅤChristopher looked down at his hand, gritting his teeth. "Dammit... You're getting worse. Come on, we need to get you and this one home."
ㅤㅤMeanwhile, Raemith seemed to be coming to, the half-demon groaning with his hand to his head as he sat up. "Bloody hells, Oi can actually think ta myself now."
ㅤㅤNeo wiped at his face, staring at the black on his flannel's sleeve. It sizzled before losing its power and fading into just dried liquid. Mumbling something even he couldn't comprehend, he waved Christopher off before shakily getting to his feet. Steadying himself on the wall, he glanced outside to see people slowly coming to. He looked at Raemith, and then to Christopher.
ㅤㅤ"Teleport?" He half whispered.
ㅤㅤChristopher rose, helping Raemith up before putting hesitant hands on both Neo and Raemith's shoulders. The three of them were wrapped in a flurry of white, Neo's last sight of the store being the swinging front door - the only sign that Alexandria had even been there in the first place. Then, in one swift blink, it was all gone.