13 What Can You Do?

Gray finished the last bite of his food just as Milo opened the door to lead Mr. Kinoshi away.

"How about we go over to my place and have some drinks?" Milo offered brightly as he ushered the teacher out the door. "I'm sure my father would be glad to have a nice chat with you!"

"M- m- mage," was all Gray heard that came out of the middle-aged mouth as he was led out the door. "A m- mage..."

The door closed shut, leaving Gray with the two high schoolers in his apartment.

The food helped a lot, giving him enough energy to keep himself awake and aware of his surroundings.

He winced and clutched his chest as he felt another stab of pain shoot through his body. Hell, this was worse than the times he'd obtained his previous elements. Even the time when he felt his insides burning out after attaining the pyrokinetic ability wasn't as bad as the constant, insufferable jolts of pain he was receiving from the ice core.

Perhaps being knocked out until the process ended would've been better.

Emrys slid into the stool next to him and cast him a look of doubt.

Gray huffed. "Why didn't you guys leave, yesterday?" he asked.

He pursed his lips and lay his hands on top of the table. "Well, no one wanted to go home...and you were still passed out, so Milo thought it would be okay if we stayed," he answered.

Gray looked down at his hands. "Then, what happened last night...you saw that?"

"...Yeah. Me and Jade."

Gray shifted his gaze and glanced at the boy next to him. With one look, he could see that he was itching to say more, restless. He snorted and looked back down at his hands. "Ask away," he said simply.

Emrys chewed on his lower lip, his eyes darting back to the wall behind him every few seconds. "How'd you save me?" he asked uncertainly. "I was sure I was as good as dead."

"Simple. I transferred my energy to you to keep you alive, then I healed your internal injuries and stabilized your core."

From the corner of his eye, he could see the kid open and close his fingers, staring at them with confusion. "Oh...well...thank you," he said.

Gray flinched involuntarily and looked away. Thank you? Hell, he almost killed him. "For what?" he asked.

The kid blinked at him. "For saving me, of course! And for helping me get a start with my powers."

Gray wrinkled his nose at his response in surprise. Then he let out a breath, a bit relieved. This kid didn't even seem to hold the slightest bit of grudge against him for what happened.

But was that good or bad? If he didn't come up with that stupid idea, then they wouldn't have had to go through all this trouble.

"Hey, Gray..."

"What?"

"You look horrible."

Gray smirked. "Yes, I know."

"No, seriously," Emrys pressed, a bit frustrated. "You look dead. After yesterday, you were either passed out or barely holding on. What the heck is wrong? How can you suddenly use my powers?"

Gray paused. So it comes to this, huh? He sighed and placed his arms on top of each other on the table. "Just think of me like a malfunction in the system, kid," he said. "Don't think too much about it. I already told you...I'll be fine in a couple of hours once the new power adjusts with the others..."

Emrys scowled and rose up from his seat. "But I just want to know how! What did you do?" he argued.

"I didn't do anything, okay?" Gray huffed. "It's just how I am! If I'm exposed to a certain level of one's power for an adequate amount of time, that ability becomes mine, whether I wanted it or not. I can't do anything about it. If you want it back, I can't do anything about it either...I never asked for this."

Emrys stepped back, regretting asking the moment he saw the defeated expression on Gray's face.

"R- right, sorry..."

_______________

Four figures of the underground sat around a table at the back of the bar, shooting each other intense looks. The lights were dim and purple, and the DJ's faint music could be heard playing outside their closed door.

"Old Man...are you sure what you're saying is true?" Jax asked with a low voice. "Are you really sure? We can't act rashly, especially with Cereus watching us closely."

The old man whirled on him and narrowed his eyes. For once, he wasn't drunk, and he'd refused every drink that came by their way the entire time they were inside the bar. "Let me ask you, who, out of all the people that we know, has the guts to call me a drunkard?" he hissed.

Titus darted his eyes about the little table. "No...no one," he remarked.

"And why is that?"

Titus swirled the ale and ice around inside his glass. "Because you are a mage who can whoop their asses if they piss you off. They are scared of you."

The old man leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "So who do you think is the one that was bold enough to rat me out to the cops?" he inquired.

Clay straightened up. "There's Cereus," he guessed. "Maybe he would do it."

Titus elbowed him while the old man shouted, "Bah! That man couldn't care less about me! Besides, he is not that stupid. Revealing one of us would put the entire underground on the line!"

"So you're saying it's Rune?" Jax asked again. "Are you sure?"

The old man slammed his fist down on the table, jostling the drinks and making the three men jump. "Who else would it be?" he shouted. "I already told you, he is not dead!"

Clay nodded frantically. "Of course, we don't believe he is dead either! But what is he doing?"

Titus rubbed his chin thoughtfully and took a sip of his ale. "I remember that the poster stated that there was a reward for whoever knew about the tattoo...maybe he needed money?" he reckoned.

Clay wrinkled his nose and crossed his legs, leaning back into his seat. "Money? Rune is almighty and is a criminal just like us. Why didn't he just rob a bank?"

The old man knocked him over the head and jabbed a finger in his chest angrily. "Rune rarely involved himself with the public, have you forgotten?" he cried out. "He maintained order within the organization, handled internal affairs, and took care of the Mage's Association when they came for us! Robbing banks aren't something he would do! If he needed money, we would provide it all!"

"Ay, ay, calm down, grandpa," Clay said nervously with his hands up in surrender. "I'm sorry!"

The old man huffed and plopped down in his seat with his arms crossed. "Without him and Zeke, we've barely been able to keep peace within ourselves..."

He scowled as Cereus popped into his mind. Maybe Cereus didn't think so, but as long as he is the leader, the organization will be bound to fall apart.

Jax slammed his glass on the table, drawing all the attention to his direction. "From what I see, I don't think Rune has any intention of coming back," he announced.

Titus turned on him, doubtful. "That's not possible! Why wouldn't he come back? We practically raised that kid!"

Jax shook his head. "It's been three years, and all he'd done was to report the old man to the cops. He didn't even come when Cereus had Fox and his followers assassinated two months ago."

"Maybe he just needed some time to himself," Titus reasoned. "After all, he's like, what? Twenty-three years old?"

"Twenty-four, now," Clay corrected with a sip of his beer. He licked his lips and smiled deviously. "Maybe he's found a girlfriend!"

Jax rolled his eyes while Titus snorted. "So how do we find him, assuming he is here in Cille?"

The old man mustered a smile and leaned back in his seat, an excellent idea yet horrible one brewing inside his mind. "Of course, if we can't find him, we make him come to us!" he said simply.

The three men in front of him shared a look. "How?" they asked.

He flashed a grin. "What better way to lure out our baby monster than to wreak havoc on the streets?" he said.

He rubbed his hands together excitedly and gestured at Jax to pass him a beer for the first time since he'd entered the bar hours ago.

He swiped the bottle from his colleague's hands and popped open the lid, taking a huge gulp.

"This drink marks the start of our first little war against Rune...the first in three years!"