106 Welcome To My World

After crushing their magic, I turn to Bolin and say, "Let's head back to my world so I can finish tying up loose ends." Bolin frowns and asks, "This isn't your world?" I blink before shrugging and saying, "Yes and no. This is the human world; my world is tucked away in a magical fold within this one."

Bolin narrows his eyes, probably trying to understand but I can't possibly expect him to. It's hard to even explain other supernaturals of this world, how can I explain it to him? I turn to Aston and ask, "Are you returning with me, or do you have other things to attend to?"

Aston quickly answers, "I'm going back with you. I only came here to protect you. My job is done." Bolin's eyes narrow dangerously as I say, "Okay, let's go." I walk over to the nearest door and push my magic into it.

As I open the door, Vance leans over and whistles as he says, "Now that we're all buddy, buddy... does that mean I get an invite to the Christmas party? I would love to say that I was the first Vampire to ever go to the Witch's realm!"

I ignore him completely as I reach out and grab Bolin's hand. I step through the door with him as Aston closely follows behind us. As soon as we step through the door, it slams shut and disappears.

As I lead him to the long hallway, Bolin looks up at the floating candles with interest. When I reach Vanir's office, the door recognizes my magic and opens itself in a form of welcoming. Vanir looks up from his paperwork and instantly stands up when he sees us.

He takes his reading glasses off as he says, "Dear gods... you two look rough. What the hell happened? Wait, isn't he from..." As soon as we step into the room, the door shuts behind us and a privacy spell is engaged.

I nod and say, "It's a long story and yes, this is Bolin. He came because we got a little caught up. Before we go any further, how many Artifacts are there?" Vanir blinks, a little taken aback by everything but he says, "I'm not entirely sure. The archives should have all of them listed. Why are you asking about them?"

Bolin looks around the room with interest as we walk over and sit down on the leather couch. Aston plops down on the other side and leans his head back in silence. I sigh and say, "I want to destroy all of them. They should have been destroyed a long time ago."

Vanir seems conflicted by this as he says, "Wait, wait, wait... I understand what you mean but they're a part of our history. Why do you want to destroy them all?" I give him a hard stare as I say, "Beatrice had a Dark Artifact in the form of a small black pearl. It took us a very long time to find our way out. I almost didn't..."

Realization flickers across his face as he says, "Oh... I see. Maybe you're right. I wanted to preserve them, but it seems like it's doing more harm than good. If you had a hard time getting out... that means anyone else wouldn't have made it."

He looks between Aston and I with worry before saying, "I'll leave it up to you then." I nod and ask, "How are things on your end?" He makes a sour face before saying... "I think I know who it is, but I need to confirm a few things before knowing for sure. What happened with Aiya's parents?"

A dark smirk suddenly appears on my face as I say, "I made a small transaction with the local Vampires." Vanir waits for the rest but when I don't say anything more, he nervously swallows and softly asks, "You gave them to the Vampires?"

I nod and say, "Right after crushing their magic so there's no chance of escaping or causing problems in the future. In Aston's words, they've become juice boxes." Aston, who was still staring up at the ceiling, snorts with laughter at the comment.

Vanir swallows hard as he lightly rubs his neck and says, "Remind me to never cross you..." I give him a knowing smile as I say, "I'm tired and I need a shower so I'm going to head back with Bolin for the time being. Let me know if you need help. I want to resolve this quickly. Now that they know we're on to them, they will try and run."

Vanir looks a little worried as he says, "I think they've already started making moves." I watch him closely before asking, "Do you need my help with this? You know I don't mind." He shakes his head and says, "I know, but I owe this to you! I owe this to you and your grandfather. This happened right under my nose, this is now personal for me. Don't worry, I will find them and bring them before you."

I watch him closely before sighing and saying, "Vanir, you know you're like a second grandfather to me. I don't blame you or think it's your fault at all. You don't owe me anything. You don't have to do this alone so if you need my help, don't hesitate to ask."

He gives me a warm smile before saying, "I appreciate it, child but this old man is tougher than he looks." He winks at me causing me to smile. I nod and say, "Then I'll leave you to it." I turn and look toward Aston before asking, "If you had the chance to wield magic, would you take it?"

Aston's breath catches as he freezes. His head jerks up as he stares at me with wide eyes. Silence hangs in the air before us as he hesitates to say, "It's impossible though... I was born without magic." I give him a knowing smile as I say, "There's where you're wrong. You have magic, you just don't have the ability to wield it."

Aston looks over to Vanir, but Vanir shakes his head saying, "I don't know."

Aston looks back to me with deep seeded hope burning within his eyes. He softly asks, "Can you really make it happen?"

My knowing smile turns dark as I say, "You saved my life, and more than once at that. I can make it happen."