What Side Are You On

"So why are we going here now?" Bryce asked. Kendra looked at him and Lee was next to him in the backseat. Could they just not trust her instincts for once?

"Because I just have a good feeling that we might get something here. I found it when looking around the other day. Besides, we aren't on duty to go into the mountains until tonight." She said and parked the car on the side street.

Bryce got out with Lee and they closed their doors to look across the street at the small shop that was snug between two other buildings. There was just a weird symbol above the door and none of them knew what it meant. Kendra was the only one that was smiling as she walked up to the door and went inside, the other two following. Almost immediately a voice sounded in greeting.

"Hello, what brings you here?" Kendra looked around the shelves and then at the old man that was standing there. Instantly she knew that he couldn't see her, yet she had the odd feeling that he could. Behind him was a young girl and not far from her a young boy. They were obviously related. If you wanted obscure magical things, or to find them then you needed to go to someone that dealt in obscure magical things. To Kendra, it was pretty simple, and had found this place with a bit of research.

"Just curious really. I see that you have a lot of old artifacts in here, and books. Do you have a lot of customers?" She asked moving around and looking. Lee and Bryce doing the same.

"Don't touch that." The old man said gesturing at Lee. "It's cursed."

"Oh," Lee said putting her hand down and moving on.

"Some here and there, most aren't interested in what I sell." He stated dismissively.

"So why stay open?" Bryce asked. Taking in the old man's looks and dismissing him as crazy.

"Because there are those that do, and I have my loyal customers." Kendra moved over to him and brushed him. She instantly felt the energy and power in this man he was the real deal. She just moved on like nothing had happened.

"You could have just asked. I wouldn't have lied." He said turning to her, knowing what she did. The two children had moved to sit behind the counter staring at the others. They had very penetrating stares and she had a feeling that they were the real thing like this man. It excited her, she always liked meeting new and different people, like the world still held surprises.

"Asked what?" Kendra asked innocently.

"If I was something more than human." The other two looked at the old man and he smiled.

"Oh come now, you didn't think that I don't know what you are doing here? That just because I'm old means I'm useless?" The other two said nothing. "Looks like Xerxes is right." He mumbled.

"I don't think you are useless," Kendra said not sure about the name he mumbled.

"I didn't mean you dear. But you aren't really human yourself now are you?" He said moving over by the counter and the other two were talking quietly.

"No, I'm not. My guess is you are a mage."

"My guess is you are a homunculus." He said and she moved forward. Kendra had a surprised look and couldn't hide the slight eagerness. Was this why she felt drawn here, what if he had answers? How did he know that? No one knew that, she didn't even know what it meant to be what she was and he picked it out so fast. She glanced at the others but they seemed to be rather interested in some of the objects rather than the man. They did not see him as a powerful threat, Kendra recognized the power though. He could not hide it from her. The other two were human and didn't seem to pick up on his level of power.

"You know what I am?" She asked excitedly, no one ever knew what she was if they guessed she wasn't human.

"I don't like others prying into my business." He said and made a motion. Both Lee and Bryce stood stock still and had a sudden glazed look in their eyes.

"Much better." It truly did speak of his power to do that. Now she was very intrigued and leery. He better not be doing something to them. Though she didn't feel any malicious air. Guess they should have thought better about just entering some mages shop. This man was the real deal, not some fake.

"What did you do to them?" Kendra asked moving over by them. She was a bit worried for them, this didn't look good. Maybe he wasn't as good as he felt.

"They are hypnotized, simple, and effective. They won't remember a thing, and I'm not interested in what you people do. I'm not in this business to capture creatures. They belong free in the world, but I sense that you are confused even if you don't know it." Wasn't this an interesting turn of events? Not sensing ill will she just kind of studied her coworkers for a moment. Maybe she should feel bad for not being upset, but she wasn't. Guess she was feeling more like the captive today than an equal with these two.

"Maybe a little. Are they going to be okay?" She asked waving a hand in front of their faces, the girl giggled a little.

"Fine, just a little memory loss. If you come back to this shop you will come without them. I like to just get on with it so we can move on with our day." She just looked at him. She wasn't sure why he still chose to talk to her, but she had a feeling that he knew more than she did, that she wasn't going to say anything about what was spoken here. Kendra wanted to come and they hadn't, and he could have a lead for her.

"Well I'll get to the point then, I'm looking for others in the city. Dangerous ones that need to be taken care of and we are also looking for something that we aren't sure what it is." He moved and said something to the children in a language that Kendra didn't know. Though his look at her seemed like he did not believe that was her real reason. He thought it of the humans behind her, not of her though.

"You came here Kendra who has no last name, because you were drawn here just like the others that stumble into my shop. I find it fascinating that it was on the same day that he came in too. Seeing that you are homunculus."

"Who came in?" She asked. What was that supposed to mean and who was this cryptic old man that she had yet to get the name of?

"Your friends here," he said seeming to ignore her question. "they are under the impression that humans are superior and this world belongs to them. You realize that it must be shared. Tell me do you like the cage that they put you in or the leash they have on you?"

"I'm not…" Kendra started, "No." She said with a sigh and looked at Lee and Bryce. She'd come here on a whim. The other day when they had been looking for the nests, they'd passed this place and she wanted to go in instantly. Like this place had the answers. She'd looked it up and there wasn't anything on it but that it was a shop for mystics and gypsies. That if you were looking for hard-to-get occult items this was the place. Kendra's internal radar told her to go.

"Of course not. You are a rare species you know that? Incredibly rare. The humans you let keep you don't even know. I can tell you have not yet made a choice and are lost. When you decide to find your way I'm happy to talk with you." Kendra eyed him.

"Well I can't be that rare, I know of two others, though one is dead now, and the other a vampire."

"Too bad, vampire what a waste." He said. "Anyways, you are rare. They don't even know, what a perfect little package you are. Like I said decide your path and then we'll talk. The nests that you are looking for will be taken care of shortly by a friend." He informed her and waved her off.

"She looks so normal." The boy said.

"Well of course, why wouldn't she?" The girl said indignantly. Kendra looked at them but they pretended to be suddenly busy. She was curious but refrained for a moment from asking what they meant. Instead, she turned back to this mage. She glanced at her hypnotized team, for a moment Kendra thought about just running out the door. Away from all of this, but didn't. Right now this felt like the only purpose she had. Without her, so many more of the creatures they sought would have died.

"What do you mean? Where are they then, and do you know about a man that can start fires? He might be traveling with some sort of large creature."

"Sorry no." Kendra didn't know how, but she knew he was lying instantly.

"Are you sure about that? I was hoping you could help us, we are going after those that are dangerous."

"Maybe you should reroute your efforts to catching those that are bad in the human world. Seems to have a lot more than here." He moved forward and touched her forehead. A kind of chill went through her. He didn't seem to feel that her questions were that important to answer obviously, and she wasn't sure what he'd just done.

"Ah, you are a young one yet."

"I'm twenty-seven, not that young." He gave a laugh and said something to the children who seemed to be listening intently.

"Oh no, no. You don't even know the simplest thing about yourself, do you? Then again how could you, homunculi always suffer memory loss when they die." She was getting annoyed that he talked about her kind of like he knew them well. Yet was not sharing details with her.

"What?" she asked completely forgetting Bryce and Lee who stood like zombies. "I've never died."

"Of course you did, you age like a human and then die and then are reborn. I'm sure that you were found near some body of water, just an infant. Probably thought to be a baby abandoned by your mother. You are a lot like the phoenix. But reborn in water, the substance of life." She stuttered for a moment at the correctness of that.

"No, that can't be true. One of my kind burned himself to death."

"Oh well, that's unfortunate. I only know of two species that can live through fire unharmed. One is the phoenix itself, though if I remember I think the homunculi will still come back until it assimilates another species into itself… so there's hope for him yet. And since the other is now a vampire, it can never be a homunculus again, such a wasted species to pick." He shook his head.

Kendra was so confused but interested, this man knew what she was and no one else knew a thing about her. Suddenly her love of the ocean made sense. It was where she was found, where she was born apparently. He could give her answers to things, but then again…. She was still stuck in a cage. She should really be worried about why she was trusting the things he said so quickly.

"So, when I die I'll appear somewhere? No matter how I die?" She wanted to know. She wanted answers and screw the rest.

"From what I have been told yes, but that doesn't matter right now. You," He pointed behind her, "And your friends have been noticed. Humans are going to get a shock soon. The supernatural community will only take so much before they turn and come at you in full force. It'll start subtle at first and then it'll rip through them like a knife through skin." This brought her back to the reason that she had wanted to come here in the first place.

"Then help us."

"I'm sorry, but I was already asked. I already picked my side when push comes to shove. A very good friend has earned my respect and trust above anyone else. Are you sure that you are on the right side?" He asked her.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Kendra didn't sound as sure all of a sudden as she had five minutes ago. Was he doing something to her?

"Because you are going with the only thing you know." He looked at her. "Do you see that crystal there?" He asked pointing and she looked at it. It rotated slightly seeming to be held up by nothing, but there was a soft glow to it.

"Yes."

"That is a very precious and powerful gift. That is the man you are looking for, but that is about as close as you will get to him until he decides otherwise." Kendra looked at the crystal, it didn't seem all that important, but appearances were deceiving.

"What is it?"

"Nothing for you I'm afraid. When you decide who it is you are, come back and talk to me. Until then I would appreciate it if you stayed away from here with your friends." With that, he touched her forehead and there was a flash.

Kendra sat in the car and was sitting in front of their lodgings. The other two were in the back seat. She just sat there for a minute thinking, where had she come from? Why were they sitting here? Then her memory started to come back. Though as the other two started to talk it was clear her memory and their memory were very different.

"Well, that was useless," Bryce said getting out of the car. "Just a crackpot old man like I told you." He said moving up the steps to the building.

"But…"

"Don't worry Kendra, it was worth a try. Most times old timers know things, he was just a bit too senile to remember anything worthwhile.

"But…" She said opening her door to follow them completely confused, they didn't… remember? What a random encounter and she didn't know how she felt.

"We need to get ready to go out." He said and Kendra jogged up to them and opened her mouth to correct them. To tell them that they had been manipulated, but she stopped. Normally she wouldn't hesitate to tell them, but for some reason, she felt that if she did she was proving the old man right in some way. It felt like she would be lying to herself. She didn't know why she felt this way, but she did. Instead, she just moved up behind them and into the building. Who was that mage? What did he know about Kendra or the mystery being they were searching for? Kendra was just lost in her thoughts as she went up to her room.