Chapter 5

Jerome

       Travelling all over Florida through portals was getting a bit exhausting, but we really needed to find out who disguised the vampire attack as a werewolf attack.

       Supernaturals were supposed to stick together. We all never wanted to do anything that would make us turn on each other. 

       Years ago, there was a war between all the supernaturals, and we lost quite a few people. Since then, we were all determined to make sure we stuck together. Of course, there were a few rogue supernaturals, but all they did was kill humans. They never killed other supernaturals, or even put the blame on others.

       So why start now?

       It was eleven o'clock at night when Nolan and I used a portal to get to the last sorcerer in Florida. He was the one I was avoiding the most and I was hoping we would find something before so I wouldn't have to visit him.

       I guessed not.

       We stepped out of the portal in front of the penthouse the most annoying sorcerer lived in, and Nolan stumbled a bit, like he had been doing the past couple trips. I quickly grabbed his arm to prevent him from falling over. "Are you okay?" I asked.

       "Yeah," Nolan said. "I'm just....feeling a bit nauseous. Too many portals."

       I chuckled. "You'll get used to it. So, for this sorcerer, you're going to have to be extra careful looking around. You ready to go in, or do you want to take a breather first?"

       "I think I'm ready," Nolan said.

       "Alright," I said. "Just like all the other places, tap my shoulder twice when you're ready to go."

       Nolan nodded and used his Protector ability to turn invisible before I knocked on the door. It flew opened, and I felt like rolling my eyes at the laziness of the sorcerer, but I knew I did the exact same thing. Why get up and walk to the door when you can open it from afar?

       I walked in and the sorcerer immediately scoffed and rolled his eyes when he saw me. "Next time, remind me to check to see who's here instead of opening the door," Dirk said. "What do you want?"

       "I just have a few questions for you, that's all," I said, waiting a few more seconds before closing the door to make sure Nolan got in.

       "Questions?" Dirk asked. "What questions?"

       "I just want to know where you were last night," I said. "All of last night."

       Dirk raised an eyebrow. "Why do you want to know?"

       "You can't just answer the question?" I asked.

       "Not until me why you want to know where I was last night," Dirk said.

       I sighed, knowing he wasn't going to say anything. Dirk was a stubborn one, which was one of the many reasons I was hoping Nolan and I wouldn't have to come here. It was going to be a struggle getting information and if Dirk refused to say anything, I was going to have to find a way to stall while Nolan continued looking around.

       "Have you heard about the werewolf killings in Miami?" I asked.

       "Yes, I have," Dirk said. "And if you're coming here to ask me for help to track down the werewolves, the answer is no."

       "Me? Ask for your help?" I asked. "Don't be ridiculous. The reason why I asked where you were, because the killing was actually done by a vampire with a sorcerer using magic to make it seem like it was a werewolf."

       "Oh, of course," Dirk said. "Only you would immediately accuse me of doing something like that. I don't even live in Miami."

       "Yeah, I don't live in Montreal but I went there for lunch yesterday," I said. "That's what portals are for. And for your information, I'm not accusing anyone of anything. If you must know, I've been visiting sorcerers all over Florida. You're the last one, so no, I'm not accusing you."

       "Shockingly."

       "You know, the more you avoid the question, the more suspicious you're being."

       "What's the point of saying where I was? Would you believe me?"

       "If you give me an alibi. Like all the other sorcerers did."

       Dirk still avoided the question, though that was no surprise there. Even if he did have an alibi, he certainly knew how to push my buttons. "Why are you the one asking me?" he asked. "Isn't this some Protector Circle type of thing?"

       "I'm doing it for the Protector Circle since I'm the one who can use portals," I said. "It will take forever for them to talk to all the sorcerers in Florida, and we need to figure things out. Now are you going to answer the question, or are you going to continue putting more suspicion on yourself?"

       Dirk didn't reply, but it wasn't to divert the subject. Instead, he looked around for a bit before looking back at me. "Did you come alone?" he asked.

       "Did I come alone?" I asked. "What kind of question is that? Do you see anyone else with me? Seriously, the more you avoid the question, the more I start to think you had something to do with it."

       I still didn't get a reply. Instead, Dirk suddenly created a ball of energy and sent it towards the dining table. It hit Nolan, causing his invisibility to disappear and send him flying on his back.

       I hurried over to Nolan and knelt down beside him. "Are you okay?"

       Nolan nodded and reached for his head, and that was when I noticed a small cut there.

       "I knew I sensed another presence," Dirk said. "Mind telling me what he was doing?"

       "Mind telling me why you're still not answering the question," I said.

       "If I wasn't answering it then, I sure as hell am not answering it now with him sneaking around my penthouse like that," Dirk said. "Now get out before I get really mad."

       I helped Nolan stand up. "You know, this is just going to make you look worse."

       "I don't care," Dirk said. "I know where I was last night, I know I had nothing to do with those killings, and it doesn't matter what you think about it."

       I glared at him before making a portal, then leading Nolan through it since he seemed a bit dizzy with the small head injury. 

       When we got to the HQ, we ended up being right by Gene. "There you two are," he said. "How did it go?" Before either of us could answer, he noticed the cut on Nolan's head. "What happened?"

       "We got to the last sorcerer in Miami's penthouse and things did not go well," I said. "For starters, he refused to say where he was last night, and he ended up sensing Nolan's presence even though he was invisible. Sent a ball of energy towards him. I'll take him to the infirmary, and I'll be able to heal him."

       "Thank you," Gene said. "What's the sorcerer's name? I'll make sure we keep an eye on him."

       "Dirk Wellington," I said. "Where's the infirmary?"

       Gene pointed me in the direction, so I led Nolan to it. He carefully sat down on one of beds there. "This won't hurt, right?" he asked.

       "No, of course not," I said. "It's quick and painless." I gently rested my finger on top of the cut, letting it heal completely. "There. All done."

       "Thanks," Nolan said. 

       "So when we were at Dirk's, did you see anything there?" I asked.

       "Possibly," Nolan said. "There was a lot of books and paper on the table. I was getting a closer look at them when I got hit. What I did see was what looked like an open spell book, and the only word I was able to see before I got his was conceal. That may be something."

       "It's a better lead than nothing," I said. "We'll have to go back another time without Dirk being there to get another look."

       "Okay," Nolan said. "So, I have a questions about sirens. The more you get charmed by one, would you start getting immune to her over time?"

       "Oh, definitely not," I said. "No matter how many times you've been charmed, you'll still be affected the same. Family members don't get charmed by each other though. That'd be weird."

       "How aren't you getting effected by Mae?" Nolan asked. "She's your step-sister, right?"

       "Correct," I said. "Mine is the same reason you weren't charmed."

       Nolan furrowed his eyebrows. "And that reason is?" 

       I chuckled. "I'm pretty sure you know the reason. That was actually how I found out I was gay. My dad and Mae's mom have always been close friends and when we were first introduced to each other, Mae thought it would be funny to charm me. It didn't work, and she got mad. It was funny. You know, it's not just sirens you'll be immune by. Vampires too."

       "Oh, good," Nolan said. "There's this one vampire, Janelle. She keeps hitting on me and Alan and I'm afraid she'll try enchanting me one day."

       "Well, male vampires will still be able to," I said. "Just not female vampires. Does your family not know you're gay? Your brothers kept asking why you were immune to Mae."

       "Only Orchid knows," Nolan said. "And that's because she figured it out with the whole me not being charmed thing. I'm just not ready to say anything yet. Too much is going on."

        "Just take your time with it," I said. "Come out only when you feel ready. Just know that your family will still love you the same. I've heard about your family and how close you are. There's no way something like this will change how much they love you."

       "I know," Nolan said. "It's just....I don't know really. I can't. Not yet."

       "Like I said, take your time," I said. "And if you ever need anyone to talk to, I'll be here."

       Nolan smiled softly, and even a smile that small was the best one I had ever seen. "Thanks."

_______________

NOLAN HAS THE BEST SMILE IN THE WORLD AND IF YOU DISAGREE, YOU CAN FIGHT ME ABOUT IT. (ง •̀_•́)ง I WILL FOREVER PROTECT MY CINNAMON ROLL.

lol.