Chapter 3

𝙸𝚗𝚟𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚐𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙳𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑

"You're a Copper Watcher, the lowest ranked. I'm a bit higher on the food chain than that." Max accepted his answer. It made sense, mostly. How come Proctor could just toss him a ring and claim him a Watcher?

"I've been meaning to ask, Proctor. Boss? Do I call you Proctor or Boss?"

"Whatever you want." Proctor waved away the supposed formality.

"Okay, Proctor. Are you an Elemental Mage? Cause you stopped time and crossed space to talk to me, but you also shot off pure mana." Max asked as he pointed at a tree and whispered, "Impetu."

"I don't really fit within either parameter, Red." Proctor blows out some smoke, "I'm strong enough that the Mage Class system… well, it's useless to try and define me by it."

Proctor walked over to Max and flicked away his cigarette once more. He then leaned forward, "Don't make any sudden movements. We're being watched by a pack of werewolves."

Max whispered back, "Can't they hear us, then? I thought they had amazing hearing."

"No. I put up an Anti-Audio barrier when we arrived. There's no point in putting up an Anti-Sight barrier, as most Preters can smell or sense magic." Proctor then backed away, a small smile forming, "I'm gonna shoot you now. Impetu."

"Tego." The bright blue shield managed to stop the magic marble, "At least you warned me."

"Impetu Maxim." Around twenty little blue marbles floated in the air behind Proctor.

"Shit. Tego." Max put up his shield as Proctor snapped his fingers. The twenty-something blue marbles crashed against his shield, shattering it and colliding with him.

Max gingerly touched his bruised chest, "That fucking hurts."

His shirt was riddled with holes as he sat in Proctor's car. He didn't even dare put his seatbelt on, as the pain when he tried was almost unbearable. Proctor handed him an extra suit which somehow fitted him perfectly. He got changed in the back seat as they exited the forest.

Proctor laughed at him, "Maybe if you learned to block better, you wouldn't have been injured so bad."

"Oh, so it's my fault that you summoned so many tiny balls of death, is it?" Max retorted with an indignant expression.

"Didn't the book go over this stuff? I for sure thought it would explain Shields, Healing, and Body Enhancement Magic." Proctor glanced over at Max as he weaved through lanes, heading towards the Aster County Sheriff's Station.

"Have you read that book? It doesn't explain how to use Magic at all. It's all theory and what Magic might be able to do. It's even missing two elements." This caught Proctor's attention.

"It's missing elements? How can you be sure?"

"It's either that, or the book is wrong. It says there are 20 Elements, but only details 18 of them and Pure Magic." Proctor raised an eyebrow.

"Strange. I haven't read the book, no. It's not in a language I can read. That's why I gave it to you. Because you, as a GodSpawn, whether you like it or not, have access to unique Magics, Artifacts, and information." Proctor pulls into the Sheriff's Station parking lot, turning off the engine. He turns to Max, "While we're in there, don't talk unless you have to. They only have to give us so much cooperation."

"Yes, sir." Max joked, to which Proctor just got out of the car. Max followed, climbing out of the passenger seat and looking around the parking lot. There were 50 police cars, and a couple civilian cars.

"Red, come on." Proctor called from the door of the Station.

"Coming, Proctor. Something just feels off." Max took one more glance at the parking lot and entered the station.

"You must be OW Proctor." Jake's dad and the sheriff of Aster county, Orwel, held out his hand to shake.

Proctor shook his hand, "And you must be Orwel Rothwell. Alpha of Aster."

This caught Max by surprise. Does that mean Jake's a Werewolf, too? That makes sense actually. He never goes out on full moons.

Orwel looks at Max, then at the ring on his finger. He didn't say anything about it, but gestured for the two to follow him, "We found her in West End, her throat was ripped out and her heart was missing."

"West End?" Proctor questioned.

"It's a cave in the southern part of town where Doc Holiday and some of the other Immortals were found buried." Orwel answered. Max noted mentally that he needed to ask Proctor about that moniker later.

"Oh. Continue." Proctor then glanced at Max, "Are you writing this down, Red?"

"Should I be?" Max furrowed his brow, glancing to Orwel.

"Here." Proctor handed him a notepad. On it were some words already written. Max looked at it, "Can I be excused for a second?"

Proctor glanced at him, allowing him to go.

Max walked out of the office and over to a brunette deputy who was typing on her computer. He read what was on the notepad once more, "Excuse me, deputy."

She turned and looked at Max with a smile. She then lost her smile when she saw his ring, "How can I help you, sir?"

"Please, call me Max." He said as he pulled out a pen from his pocket, "What can you tell me about the murder?"

"Murder? It was an animal attack, right?" Max studied her eyes, they glowed dimly as his ring moved past them with the movements of his wrist.

"Can you account for the whereabouts of your whole pack that night, and the night before?" She nodded and grabbed a card from her desk. It was a business card for a bar not far from the station.

"Not all of us can be police officers, so some of us run a bar not too far away. We go there almost every night." Max took the card sticking it in his pants pocket.

Max looked over at Proctor who walked out of the sheriff's office and gestured for Max to follow him out. Max said goodbye to the deputy and walked out behind Proctor, "What did she say?"

"They were at," Max pulled out the business card, "This bar that night and the night before. They run it, so I'm assuming they'll all have the same story."

Proctor took the card and looked it over, "Alright, we'll go there tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? I'm supposed to go fishing with my dad tomorrow." Proctor glanced at Max and got in his car.

Max got in the passenger seat, as Proctor started the car, "Your dad? The one who hates you so much he named you Maximilian Redford?"

"My dad doesn't hate me. My mom's the one who named me." Max joked, earning a short laugh from Proctor. Putting the car in reverse, Proctor pulled out of the station parking lot.

"Oh, Proctor. Were Wyatt Earp and the Immortals Preternaturals?"

"No. Not most of them."

"Most?" Proctor didn't answer.

When they pulled up to Max's house Proctor spoke, "Keep the suit. But, make sure you're ready Monday afternoon. Also, make sure you grab your clothes out of the back of my car."

Max grabbed his clothes and went to his room. Neither of his parents had arrived yet, as it was only twelve-noon. Max checked his phone, which he had silenced earlier in the day.

He had fourteen missed calls from Jake and a text. Max pressed 'call' and put the phone to his ear.

"Max, god, finally." Jake's exhausted voice came from the speaker.

"What did you need to talk about, J?" Max asked as he took off his new suit, holding the phone to his ear with his right shoulder.

"You're a goddamned Watcher? Since when? For how long? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Since this morning. And, I didn't tell you because I'm new to this whole Preternatural shit. I didn't know if you were human or not." There was silence on the other end of the line as Max put on a new set of clothes.

"You're new to this? Proctor didn't just walk up, hand you a ring and say 'You're a Watcher now' did he?" Jake joked. Hearing the silence, he spoke more seriously, "Did he?"

"Yeah. Kind of." Max revealed, hearing a gasp of surprise from Jake.

"Wow. Okay. I, uhm, don't even know where to start."

"Max, I'm home. Let's get going." Helen shouted from downstairs.

"I've gotta go, J. My mom is buying me a new phone. I kind of broke my screen. Don't do anything stupid." Max hung up and began walking downstairs. His phone went off again.

He answered, "Proctor? Is something wrong?"

"Wrong? No. I just realized I forgot to tell you how to hide your ring. If you want to hide your Watcher Ring, you can simply imagine it disappearing. Doing so will cause it to vanish, but it will still be there physically." Proctor hung up when he was done.

"This guy. Hanging up without letting anyone else speak." Max looked down at his copper ring and imagined it disappearing. It vanished, but he could still feel it on his thumb.

Max walked downstairs, where his mother was waiting. She smiled at him and opened the door, "Let's go get you a new phone."

Max noticed her glance at his phone, a bit of disappointment in her eyes. He stuck his broken phone in his pocket and walked outside.

He got into his mother's white Escalade and waited as she brought out Duke with her. Duke jumped into the cargo area of the car, and laid down.

"I figured we could go to the park after we're done, it's supposed to be beautiful for the rest of the day." Helen said as she climbed into the car and pulled out of their driveway.

"Mom, it's 30 degrees out right now." Max said as he rubbed the invisible ring on his thumb.

"So it is. It's good for Duke to get out in the cold every once in a while." She smiled and Max just agreed.

"Alright, mom." Max leaned his head against the window, watching as the town passed by them.

They went to the store and bought Max a new phone, which took about 45 minutes. He came out of the store with a new phone, phone case, and screen protector.

"Don't break this one, kiddo." Helen joked as they got in the car that was already running. They had left the car running for Duke, as they couldn't take him into the store.

"Alright, to the dog park now?" Max looked back to the dog leering at them over the back seats.

"Actually, I just got a text from your father." Helen interjects, "We should head home."

"Uh, alright." Max felt something was wrong, but he couldn't quite place his worry on any specific thing. Duke looked at Max through the rear view mirror, seemingly gazing through him.

The dog laid his head down as Helen pulled out of the parking lot and drove towards home.

When they got there, Helen went inside whilst Max got Duke out of the car. The dog jumped down and ran inside through the open door.

Max closed the back of the car and went inside, closing the front door of the house behind him. The house was eerily silent.

"Mom? Dad?" Max asked loudly.

"In here." James' voice came from the kitchen, sounding a little heavy.

"Uh, alright. Be in, in a sec." Max replied. Quickly making his way upstairs.

He searched his room for anything out of place, but found everything where it was supposed to be. Pillows on the bed, same with blankets. Towel on the rack. Shoes in their cubbies. Computer; on table.

Books; the magic book was missing. Shit. He pulled out his phone. Then he paused. Should he tell his new boss that his parents found his book of magic that only GodSpawn could read?

Wait. Could one of his parents read the book? He contemplated in his head whether it was worth losing his new status as a Watcher. Proctor was definitely going to find out anyway, so he should probably tell him out right. Right?

He hit Proctors name in his contacts and clicked the call button. The line clicked after the second ring, "What do you need, Red?"