Trails of The Grail

[Shwa]

 

Location:  Redmond, Seattle

Desmond made it back to his family's safe house in the early hours of the morning, having little rest from his researching and deciphering of information he obtained from the safe house of the Witch of the Wilds.  Though he may have been too late to stop the destruction and murder of their kin, he was able to secure several documents and talismans that would have raised too many questions had the normal police obtained them.  Questions Desmond already had forming through his thoughts as he flipped another frayed page of Lady Morrigan's grimoire, the only items worth keeping after finding through the blood and charred remains of the house in the woods.  Memories and incantations were saved here, time and effort put into a single leather bound notebook worth knowledge any mystical user would literally kill for had they the chance to do so.  However, Desmond could only understand the spells, written in old arcane texts and script, the symbols would have to be for his sibling to decode and understand.  That; was her specialty.  Desmond closed the book with a shaken sigh, his nerves shot from the failed mission for answers, seeing the end result in person was not comforting to the man either.  Still, for the past year, more and more of their kind have been either hunted by an unknown entity, or have gone into hiding.  Those who've hid have stayed so, or have met their fate with this ominous presence searching for their mystical auras.  The weary man rubbed his eyes some, the mornings light reflecting off the windows gave him little comfort, for the time his body has spent pushing itself beyond his physical needs for rest and nourishment finally began to take its toll.  The man stood from his chair, stretching the sleep away from himself as best as he could, moving towards the kitchen to make some tea for his expected guest.  Taking out the pots and kettle from their hiding places, Desmond worked swiftly to make his beverage when the slightest sound could be heard from below on the second floor of the town home.  Ever so silent to the untrained ear, but it was enough for the man to set his pot on the burner before grabbing one of the filet knives from its collection block.  Ever so slowly Desmond made his way towards the chairs, for his large and heavy frame, he was quite light on his feet when the need arose.  

"How interesting, an intruder at this time of day?  I didn't think leeches could out while the sun is up....."    The man carefully made his way downstairs to see the front door closed and locked as it was before, however there was a movement to his left that made the man react.  Switching the knife to his other hand, a swift upward movement collided with metal with a large scraping clank sound, confirming Desmond's thoughts of an intruder.  Before the man was able to react, a powerful kick to his sternum sent the taller mystic flying backwards towards the side closet, the crash along breaking the door as Desmond gripped what he could to stay standing.  Peering upwards he could see a black object spinning towards the floor before being caught by a slender and small hand, and with lightning speed, it was pointed towards his weakened frame once more.  Now, in front of him, two pistols were pointed and ready to take his life, leaving Desmond starring helplessly.  

"Reckless as always, I cannot believe you."  The familiar voice, stern and scolding, brought a smile to Desmond's lips as he continued to huff for air.  Standing straight and now towering over the small feminine figure.

"You know...you could have just, oh I dunno, not done that" Desmond smiled as he finally caught his breath; the female took of her hat and stared upwards to her opponent.  Her eyes telling Desmond she was not in the laughing mood. 

"You could be more careful with everything that's going on lately.  You're too clumsy and forgetful, and I don't have time to pick up after you Desmond" The female holstered her two pistols and sighed.

"Harvest we're not here to argue; and I'm not in the mood to deal with your brick wall tactics.  Now come here and give your brother a hug!"  Smiling wide and standing straight, Desmond extending his arms for the open invitation, until jingling could be heard as Harvest held a set of keys on the end of her index finger, same scowling look pinned on her face.  Desmond peered at his own key chain and froze with a smile on his face.

"You left it on the lock again idiot."  Harvest narrowed her eyes before tossing them at her elder sibling, grabbing her suitcase and heading upstairs leaving the stunned man in silence.  "And you left the tea on the stove too long, it's overflowing!"  The shout brought Desmond from his phase as he ran back upstairs into the kitchen with great haste.  The two siblings enjoyed a quiet breakfast with one another, quiet being the term of the day as they nibbled and drank their fill of tea with an assortment of fruits and cheeses, slices of bread to compliment the light meal.  There were not words to ask about one or the others health, well being or current condition, both were stressed beyond belief with their current situation.  The added stress from everyday "normal" life was enough to make either snap.  But, their silence was a small token of their family time and bonding from growing up in this weird tradition.  Desmond thought it might be fun to reminisce by tapping on the coffee table, their sign of Morris code.  Harvest looked at her brother from across the table, shaking her head with a small smirk forming at the corner of her mouth.  "You'll never grow up will you?"  She huffed with content.  

"Some things you never forget."

"Agreed, but we'll joke around later.  Let's go over what we know now."  Harvest placed her cup on its dish, Desmond sigh.

"Straight to business as usual."

"Someone has to be responsible."  Harvest quick reply made note she was serious.  Desmond didn't argue any further.  "This is the third finding of slain mystical and magical users we've encountered in two months.  Hearing about the recent one....means something big is happening brother.  I think we can finally toss the idea these are random attacks, we've even spoken with werewolf and vampire covens near the sight of all three attacks, they haven't senses anything out of the ordinary until it's all said and done with  All reports are the same, no evidence, just bloodshed.  It's weird their only attacking human mystics; but with the treaties we have in place with other creatures, they can offer no aid."  Harvest took hold of the dusted grimoire her brother was reading prior to her arrival, scanning the pages she could make out.

"Even if they were able to assist, I doubt it would make much of a difference.  With what I saw at the last sight, it was a straight-up slaughter.  Even if some of those offspring were new, there were some well experienced.  I sensed the magic flowing through the decay; those who fell were powerful indeed.  Even the barriers put in place to protect the lands were left unscathed, so that means we do have a semi-mole in our family or someone out for blood."  Desmond piled his bread with cheese and grapes before taking a bite, Harvest merely nodded as she scanned the notebook.

"In any case, that's three safe houses down and more bodies piling up.  You came back from Milan not too long ago, any word over there of incidents similar to this?"

"Not a peep from what I’ve been able to gather.  I did send note during my flight of the disturbance, they'll be in contact with me if anything similar pops up."

"Still, the first happened in Pennsylvania, a family of four.  The next was in Minnesota, a witch coven of 10, burned and hanged.  Now the Colorado wilderness safe house run and operated by this....Lady Morrigan, and she wasn't present during the raid.  Lucky her..."  Harvest hissed under her breath, she made no attempt to hide her anguish from a familiar face.  "What I'm getting at, is even though the attacks seem random, a trail from the East to West is laid out."

"So, think whatever or whoever would come here to us?  That's a bit of a stretch without proof dear sister."  Desmond reclined in his chair somewhat content, yet troubled.  

"You can shovel for proof; I'll take action when I sense danger.  Right now, I'm not feeling safe in my own home."  Dead silence once more at the two exchanged glances.  Desmond merely nodded in compliance with his siblings words.  "I have a few ideas on..."

"Your bed and room have been made ready; you're going to get some rest first.  Then, you can be all gun-ho military killer later.  No arguing with me either Harvest."   Desmond rose from his chair and began to gather the dirty dishes.  The grunt from his sister made the man smile as she rose from her chair as well and gathered her things; she took the grimoire with her along with the bags she brought. 

"You need your sleep as well.  I'll see you at dinner time most likely."  Placing a quick pat on his shoulder, Harvest made her way to the spare bedroom to settle in, Desmond finished the dishes sometime shortly after and retreated to his quarters for some rest.  
        

 

Edited October 21, 2015 by Shwa