i'll be there | cyan [c]

♕ | mags

A/N: this might be super long. i've got a lot to get across in this chapter, so.
ALSO: my top 3 stories are The Other Side, Dark Light, and Little Monster. BECAUSE I STILL HAVE PEOPLE COMING TO MY ACCOUNT TO READ THOSE IN SPECIFIC: i'm considering bringing one back.

LISTEN THO.
i could continue LM right where it left off.
i could write a sequel for Dark Light (because of how i ended it)
and i could come up with a spin off for The Other Side.
ONLY IF YOU GUYS WANT, THOUGH. because i know sequels/continuations rarely do well. i'm rarely motivated when i only get like 6 votes and 2 comments on shit- so you've gotta understand that i'm only continuing shit if it's worth it. tell me what you guys want. and if none of that sounds good, suggest me shit. what do you wanna see?
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     Ryan sprung at me the second I walked through the door. He might be small, but he's strong as fuck apparently, because he knocked me right off of my feet. Hitting the floor knocked the wind out of me, and for a second, my ears were ringing.

     He had tears in his eyes, and his lower lip was wobbly. He looked so upset.. "You left me all alone!" He cried, "Vinny isn't waking up, why isn't he waking up?" He sniffled unhappily. I took shaky breaths, looking up at him. He was sitting on my chest, but I barely felt him. I barely felt anything.

     I stole a glance at Devin. He had his hands on Vinny's unmoving chest, just staring at him. Staring at him like maybe if he did it for long enough, he'd start breathing again. Come back. Anything. I couldn't tell who was paler; Devin or Vinny.

     My heart beat was shockingly slow and rhythmic. So slow that it was almost unnerving to feel the repetitive thump, thump, thump of it. "I-.. I'm sorry," was all I could say. Ryan looked so.. I don't know. He wriggled off of me, bounding over to the couch and flopping down on it. He seemed disappointed. Shifting forms, he curled himself up and used his tail to cover his eyes. I could have mistaken him for a cat if I didn't know better.

     I just laid on the floor a minute before forcing myself to my feet and walking to the kitchen to see Devin. His makeup was a disaster; obviously he'd been crying. I glanced at Vinny's lifeless body and winced. His arms were charred black, veins looking like someone had injected him with ink. Blood seemed to have trickled from his mouth and nose. I looked away, then. "I'm sorry," I said. I don't know if I can ever stop apologizing.

     Devin waved a hand and straightened himself out. He hopped up to sit on the counter, crossing one leg over the other. "It isn't your fault." He said bluntly, glancing at the clock. I scowled a bit as I looked at it. For a second, it looked like it was melting. I pinched my arm to make sure I wasn't dreaming. I wish I was.

     I shook my head. The hands of the clock were spinning wildly, and Devin, almost, seemed amused. The only word that came to mind was that name that everyone's been tossing around. Mags.

     "Devin..?" I spoke softly. He looked at me. "Who's Mags?" I inquired. Devin closed his eyes. "A cry for help on my part. We're in a pinch- he's got to be the oldest warlock residing in the United States at the moment. He's older than me. Older than Ashley.. Older than everyone I know combined. And if he can't help us," He trailed off. "If he can't help us, Chris, start saying goodbye to the sunshine and books life. All you and anyone else- myself included,- is going to see is fire and brimstone."

     The door flung itself open and slammed back against the wall, and I wondered for a moment how the hinges were still in tact. I swallowed thickly. The noise had sent Ryan scampering to my side and he shifted, back into a human form. Ears and tail still prominent, of course.

     "Magdala Cohen-Priest," Devin chimed, trying to sound cheerful. "What a pleasure to see you again." He said. It took me a moment to even register Mags, though. His appearance was something I definitely wouldn't have expected.

     In the frame of the door stood someone who looked so.. unusual and new. Mags was taller than I expected- probably almost six foot. His hair was a strange shade of grey, skin almost porcelain. A scarf was wrapped around his neck, and he wore a sweater that almost reached his knees. In spite of the fingerless leather gloves he wors, I could see a variety of rings decorating slim fingers. Including one that looked like a wedding ring.

     His eyes were an emerald green- like Ryan's. The bridge of his nose had a post through it- I've never actually met anyone with a bridge piercing until just now. I couldn't look him in the eye, though- I wouldn't know which ones to look at, given that the fact there are four.

     What had to have been almost surprising as his four eyes- which, might I add were all ringed with eyeliner and, by the looks of it, green and black glitter- was his voice. It was soft, but it was strong. His voice was almost comparable to Angelo's. Almost.

     He tilted his chin up, looking Vinny over curiously before striding over. "Actually, it's just Magdala Priest now," he corrected. "Mags." He added before saying, "It's been a minute, hasn't it? The last time I saw you," he said, and I thought he had been talking to Devin, "was when you almost crashed your mother's car during that snow storm around.. ten-ish years ago," he said, all four eyes locked on me. "You got taller." He said bluntly before looking to Devin.

     I blinked. I've never met him, but he sure seems to know me.

     "What happened to this one?" He inquired, running a finger along Vinny's charred arm and examining the black dust left behind on his finger. He narrowed his eyes, mouth twitching, but said nothing. Before Devin could explain, Mags leaned over Vinny and smacked a hand down on his chest. Less than a second later, Vinny sat bolt upright, gasping and spluttering and coughing in a fit, eyes glossy and wide. "That's better," Mags sounded bored.

     Devin's eyes looked like saucers, and mine must have as well. Mags scowled at us. "Did I say something strange?" He asked us, sounding genuinely curious. Stammering away, Devin pulled Vinny into a tight hug. "You just- It was that simple for you?" He sounded exasperated.

     "You just brought a dead guy back to life. He was dead. Like. Ten seconds ago, and you just-.." I trailed off. I didn't mean to sound ungrateful or anything, but Hell.

     Snorting and laughing, Mags rested a finger against his lips. "Silly, silly, silly. Silly and stupid," he mused. "I can't resurrect the dead, but if someone isn't dead, waking them up isn't a problem. I do suppose I'm just quite old- I can understand how none of you saw through that. You must be easy to bamboozle." He said.

     My jaw had to have dropped, and it was around that point that I realized I was squeezing Ryan's hand- probably a bit too hard. I loosened up my grip, clearing my throat and trying to speak without my voice wavering. "He wasn't dead, then..? He wasn't breathing.." I trailed off.

     Mags sighed. "Christopher," he half-whined at me, "all you would have had to do was touch him. You could have seen it. As for you," he snapped a finger in Devin's direction. Dev was still coddling Vinny, "you wouldn't have known. The purpose of the hex wasn't to kill the wolf," he said, "it was to make you think he was dead. You would have buried him, and he would have woken up six feet underground." He stated, "That's rather silly."

     "Silly?" I deadpanned, wide eyed and baffled. "Silly? Who would do something like that?"

     Mags grumbled something that sounded vaguely like a name, but I couldn't make it out. He twisted the wedding ring around his finger and shifted. "What was it that you needed, exactly?" He questioned. Devin pursed his lips and quirked an eyebrow, petting Vinny's hair. Vinny looked worn out, half asleep with his chin on Dev's shoulder.

     Ryan wrapped his arms around my stomach and hugged me tight as Devin spoke. "Before anything else, you owe Chris an explanation." He stated, "And an apology."

A/N: predictions? eh? (mags is an OC. i'll have a few OCs in this, just so you know.)