𝐏𝐔𝐋𝐋 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐑, r.c.

𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞

CHAPTER FIVE | MAGIC COPS
"Dysmenorrhea?" Randall and Hamish threw a baseball back and forth as Arden sat with her back up against Randalls side, his legs on the coffee table while hers took up the rest of the couch. She held the book in her lap, blocking the boys view of all the word definitions as she quizzed him.

"Severe period cramps." The boy had his left arm draped over the back of the couch as he used his right hand to catch and throw the ball.

"Have you heard from Morton yet?" The Carpio boy shook his head, letting out a sigh.

"Adenomyosis." Randall looked through his own book that sat on his lap, flipping through the pages to check for an answer.

"Have you at least checked on him?"

"Endometrial tissue in the urine lining. Why would I?" Lilith scoffed, looking at the boy sitting on the couch, glaring at him.

"Cause he's an untrained, rogue wolf." Randall chuckled, Arden feeling the boys chest move against her back.

"He's not a rogue wolf. If anything, he's an emotionally unavailable wolf." Arden chuckled against the boy, making Randall smile as she glanced over the pages in Randall's book. Hamish tossed the ball back to Randall, only for Lilith to snatch it out of the air.

"We don't know what he's up to. Or who he's talking to." Randall scoffed, slowly sitting up, Arden moving herself to sit up straight, pulling her feet towards her to sit crisscross.

"Like you weren't overwhelmed when you first changed." Lilith tossed the ball up in the air, asking what the boys point was. "He needs some time." Lilith looked at Randall and then Hamish, wanting to know what he had to say about all of this.

"We'll let him process a little longer." A sudden ring pierced in the four knights ears, grabbing all of their attention.

"Seriously, again?" Arden placed her hand on Randall's left arm, pulling him out of his stare down with the coffee table, giving him a smile. "You okay?" The boy looked at her, smiling when he saw her smile, nodding his head.

"Yeah, I'm good, cmon." The boy grabbed Ardens hand, pulling her up off the couch with him as the two followed after Hamish and Lilith, their hands still linked together.

"Quick patrol around the city."

"Twentieth times the charm."

..........

"Remind me why I haven't ripped his head off yet?" Lilith looked at the two boys, agreeing with Arden as the four of them watched Jack and two freshman from the order. Randall's arm was draped over Ardens shoulder, a beer in his other hand.

"Because we've been running all over town like idiots, trying to track down whoever is doing all this magic." Randall shook his head, not wanting to believe it.

"Ten bucks says it's some frosh testing out their first set of tarot cards." Arden and Lilith looked at each other, shaking their heads as Randall stood up.

"I can't remember it ever being this bad." Hamish sighed, leaning back against the wall behind his chair.

"You're kidding right? Every year, the new order recruits get a taste and start using magic on themselves." Arden thanked Randal as he placed a glass of water in front of her, placing her now empty glass bottle on the table as Randall sat down, his arm over the blondes shoulder.

"It's him. Look at him. Yesterday he's thrift store chic and today he's mister fancy pants."

"He's using a sigil. Gets whoever uses it whatever they want. I read about a few a couple weeks ago. It's the only way he could be getting all this expensive crap without any money. Unless of course, he won the lottery." Randall shrugged his shoulders as the four kept their eyes on the group.

"Maybe he's gotta do laundry." Hamish squinted his eyes as they watched Brandon, Gabrielle, and Jack talk.

"No, she's probably right. I mean it's magic, and the only one here that knows about magic is Denny." After joining the knights, Denny had read every book that was down in the basement, so she ended up picking up a few things. She only ever did magic if someone absolutely needed her to, the only thing she ever really did regularly was make the healing goop. Lilith was the only one really against it but she didn't have a say with Denny's magic because Denny never caused a ringing in anyone's head so Hamish didn't mind. "And those pants are fairly fancy."

"How is townie getting magic?" Randall sighed, his hand moving off of Ardens shoulder to fold with his other on the table.

"Yeah, I probably should've mentioned this before, but Jacks in the Order." Arden, Lilith, and Hamish looked at each other, Arden cursing under her breath.

"Shut the fuck up." Arden chuckled at the girl, slightly shaking her head.

"So he's in the Hermetic Order of the Blue Rose. That doesn't make him a bad guy."

"They're out sworn enemies." Randall sighed, leaning over the table to talk to Lilith quieter.

"Which is why having an inside man is going to be fantastic. Besides, we don't know if he's doing the magic or not. It could be thing one and two doing it." Hamish nodded as Arden looked back at Jack and his group. She knew the boy wouldn't get anything if it was only Gabrielle and Brandon doing the sigil. Jack had to be doing it too because he had gotten stuff that the two wouldn't help him get.

"We'll get confirmation."

"So we're magic cops now?" Hamish and Randall look at each other before turning back to Lilith.

"We've always been magic cops." Ardens ears perked up, turning her attention back to the group with a sly grin on her face as she crossed her arms over her chest, leaning back in her chair.

"I get to be the bad magic cop."