Chapter 6

Nolan

       Someone's up earlier than normal," Mom said when I walked into the kitchen at ten o'clock in the morning. I didn't even remember the last time I was actually out of bed this early, so I didn't blame my mom for saying that.

       "There's a lot to do today," I said, walking to the cereal cupboard and pulling out my favourite box. "That, and I barely ate anything yesterday, so I wanted to make sure I actually got breakfast this time before heading down to the HQ."

       "The lies," Alan said as he walked into the kitchen. "I bet he's just going to the HQ early to keep training so he could remain staying immune to charms."

       I rolled my eyes quite irritably. Were they not going to get over it? I really didn't want them to find out the true reason why I was able to be immune to Mae's charm and if they kept asking about it, it may come out. I may come out.

       "What's this about being immune to charms?" Mom asked as I poured my cereal into a bowl, then got some milk from the fridge to pour into my cereal.

       "Yesterday, we went to go meet with a sorcerer to get his help," Alan said. "He has a step-sister who's a siren and as soon as she walked in the room, you'd expect all males to be immediately charmed by her. But no. It was only me and Alan. Nolan wasn't, and he refused to say why."

       "I told you, I don't know why," I said. "Mae said it doesn't work on everyone, and I just so happened to be one of those people. Nothing more, nothing less."

       "Whatever," Alan muttered. "I'm heading down to the HQ early to work with my weapon. Grandpa said we may need it today."

       Once Alan was in the elevator heading down the stairs, Mom turned to look at me. "You know you have nothing to be ashamed of, right?"

       "What are you talking about?" I asked.

       "I'm talking about the reason you were immune to the siren's charm," Mom said.

       I looked down. "You know?"

       "I'm not blind, Nolan," Mom said. "Of course I know. You have nothing to be ashamed about. Come here." She held her arms out and I walked over to her, giving her a hug. "I'm your mother, Nolan. Nothing you say and nothing you do is going to change the fact that I love you."

       "I love you too," I said. I loved both of my parents equally, but I felt like Mom was the one I could talk to about anything. Most of my siblings were close to Dad, but I was close to Mom. "And thanks. I really needed to hear that."

       "And of course, I'm not going to say anything until you're ready," Mom said. "Just because I found out doesn't mean you're ready for everyone else to. Does anyone else know?"

       "Orchid does," I said. "I'm guessing Mae, the siren, does too. And Jerome, the sorcerer knows because he's in the exact same boat I'm in."

       "Is he cute?" Mom asked.

       "Mom," I said. "....Yeah, he is. And speaking of, I need to eat breakfast before heading down to the HQ since we have a lot to do today in finding out what is going on."

       I grabbed my bowl of cereal and a spoon before sitting down at the table to eat. Right after I took a bite, the alarm went off to signal we had to get down to the HQ. I didn't care, I was going to finish eating this first since I was already changed.

       As soon as Ryder, Orchid, and Tulip were changed out and out of their rooms, Mom turned off the alarm. "Wow, Nolan is up early," Ryder said.

       "I'm hungry, and the only thing more important than sleep is food," I said.

       Ryder headed down to the HQ with Tulip, but Orchid waited for me to be finished eating and in the meantime, she grabbed a quick snack. When we both finished, we headed down to the HQ where Grandpa, Ryder, and Alan were waiting.

       "Today is going to be a very important day," Grandpa said, leading us to the main area. "Ryder, Orchid, and Alan, I'm going to need the three of you to find a way to distract Dirk Wellington, the sorcerer is the most suspicious right now. He refused to say anything to Jerome and Nolan yesterday, and Nolan thinks he might have seen something that would point us in the right direction. I'm going to get Jerome and Nolan to go back to Dirk's while you three distract him."

       "Be careful when you're distracting him, though," I said. "To me, it seems like he has quite the temper, and he may seem smarter than you think."

       "Please, no one is as smart as me," Ryder said. "But just in case, I say we bring Mae with us. You know, to charm him if we're failing at distracting him."

       "Or so you could flirt with her even more," Orchid said.

       "Yeah, I'm pretty sure if we had to bring a werewolf with us, Atticus would be your first choice," Ryder said. "I'm just playing safe. So, Grandpa, would Mae be able to come with us?"

       "Sure," Grandpa said. "She already helped out so much with the vampire thing."

       I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket. "I'll text Jerome and get both of them to come here."

       "Why do you have Jerome's number?" Alan asked.

       "Why do I have anyone's number?" I asked as I texted Jerome. "To contact them, you  imbecile."

       "To contact them, you imbecile," Alan said in a mocking voice.

       It didn't even take ten seconds before Jerome and Mae showed up through a portal, and it reminded me that I was going to have to go through another portal again. Oh, the joy. I liked how fast I could travel places, but going through too much yesterday made me feel really nauseous. 

       "Sorry we took so long," Jerome said.

       Alan furrowed his eyebrows. "Nolan literally just texted you."

       "Yes, and we would have been here a lot faster if Mae wasn't being lazy," Jerome said.

       "Don't blame me," Mae said. "You were the one laying on the couch."

       "Anyway," Orchid said. "How are we going to distract Dirk? Let alone get him out of his house? If he refused to say anything yesterday about where he was, he definitely won't want to talk to Protectors."

       "Ooh, I know," Jerome said. "Dirk and I don't get along at all, so you could say you want to talk to him about me. Maybe say you think I'm the one who had part in the killings. He'll love to talk about how much he hates me."

       "Okay, we'll try that," Ryder said. "But let's not meet him here in the HQ. If he really did have part of it, I'd rather him not be here and scope out the area if he's onto us. One more thing. How on earth are we supposed to get a hold of him to ask him to meet up?"

       "I have his number, unfortunately," Jerome said. "Pass me your phone. I'll put it in there."

       Ryder gave Jerome his phone, and Jerome put Dirk's number in there. After, Ryder called him and explained he was from the Protector Circle and wanted to talk about Jerome, and Dirk apparently agreed, so Ryder gave him a meeting place.

       He hung up and Orchid said she would text me when Dirk was with them so Jerome and I could head over to his penthouse.

       After they left, Jerome told me that I might want to bring a weapon with me just in case Dirk got back before my siblings could warn us, or if Dirk really was behind the killings and we found out the vampire behind it as well and had to track them down.

       Jerome and I headed to the training room so I could grab my weapon. Tulip was there, training with Dad. When she saw us walk in, she said, "You're Jerome, right?"

       "I am," Jerome said.

       "Good, good," Tulip said.

       "Alright, what's up with you, Tulip?" Dad asked.

       "Nothing," Tulip said in a singsong voice. "Can I go on a mission yet, Dad?"

       Dad snorted. "No. You're only nine."

       "Age is just a number," Tulip said.

       "Yes, and nine is such a small number," Dad said. "You're not going on a mission this young."

       Tulip huffed, and I chuckled before heading over to the weapons and picking up my bow and quiver. 

       "So, where are you headed off too?" Dad asked as I placed the quiver on my back.

       "A sorcerer's house," I said. "We might have a lead."

       "Can I come?" Tulip asked.

       "No," Dad said.

       "You're mean."

       "And you're slacking. Get back to work."

       Tulip stuck out her tongue at Dad before getting back to training.

       Jerome and I waited for Orchid to text me that they were now with Dirk and once she did, Jerome created the portal to take us to Dirk's penthouse. I took a deep breath before stepping in, but that didn't stop me from still feeling nauseous when I reached the other side.

       "I need to get used to that," I said.

       "You okay?" Jerome asked.

       "Yeah," I said. "We should get this done as fast as we could."

       Jerome nodded and used his magic to open the door. The first thing I did when I was inside was head to the dining table where all the books and papers were, only to sigh when I saw nothing on them. 

       "Do you remember what the book looked like?" Jerome asked.

       I shook my head. "Even if I did, I probably wouldn't have remembered. I have a horrible memory."

       "Don't worry, we'll just have to look for it," Jerome said before he headed to the bookshelf. Instead of taking each of them off with his hands, he made them levitate towards him and flip through the pages itself.

       "Really?" I asked.

       "What? I don't want my finger prints on them. Besides, this is faster and we need to be fast just in case Dirk realizes he's being set up or something. Look around to see if there are any other bookshelves."

       I did, but the one Jerome was at was the only one in the penthouse, so I decided to look and see if any books were left out. I didn't see any books, but I did see a to do list, and at the top crossed out was Call Cheryl.

       I walked back to Jerome. "Do you know a Cheryl?"

       Jerome stopped looking at the book floating in front of him and set it done before turning to face me. "That's his girlfriend. And I'm fairly certain she's a vampire."

       "A sorcerer and vampire couple," I said. "That makes Dirk look even worse."

       "It does," Jerome said. "I just need to find that book for proof now. Are you sure you don't remember any details about it?"

       "It was opened, so I couldn't see what the cover was like," I said. "It looked pretty thick though. Just keep looking."

       Jerome got back to work trying to find the spell book I saw yesterday. He stopped at a pretty thick book that he had opened. "Is this it?" he asked.

       I got closer to look at the book, seeing the word Conceal. "Yeah, that's the one. Is it a spell that would be able to make the vampire kill look like a werewolf?"

       "It is," Jerome said, scanning the spell. "This spell can basically make anything look like what you want it too. Things aren't looking good for Dirk."

       I took my phone out of my pocket and took a picture of the spell. I was about to put my phone back in my pocket, but I got a text from Orchid.

       He's coming back.

       "That was fast," I said. "Dirk's on his way."

       Jerome put the book back but before we could leave, a portal was created in the middle of the room. Without hesitation, I grabbed Jerome's hand and projected my ability on the both of us so we were both invisible before I pulled him away from the bookshelf.

       Dirk walked out of the portal, looking quite fed up. He was facing our direction, but he turned away and walked to the kitchen.

       "Does he not see us?" Jerome whispered.

       "No," I said. "Thankfully, I can use my ability on someone else as long as we're touching. And we don't have to worry about whispering or anything since he can't hear us. We should find a way to get out of here though before he senses our presence like yesterday."

       Almost immediately after I said that, Dirk stopped what he was doing and turned around. He looked around, and I knew he sensed our presence. We just had to be careful not to let him hit us with magic.

       He sent a ball of energy in our direction and while it missed us, we had to dive out of the way, which caused Jerome and I to actually release hands and make him visible again.

       "What the hell our you doing in my penthouse?" Dirk asked. 

       "I left something here yesterday," Jerome said.

       "Yeah, right," Dirk said. "I should have known something was up when that female lookalike of your friend showed up to the meeting."

       I sighed. We should have thought of that. Orchid and I looked a lot alike, and a lot of people who see us immediately know we were siblings.

       "Not only that, but a siren showed up too," Dirk said. "I am so lucky I put a temporary immune spell to charms when I saw her. I'm not an idiot, Jerome. Why are you really here?"

       "Well, it depends," Jerome said. "You still going to refuse to tell me where you were two nights ago?"

       "I don't have to tell you," Dirk said. "Where's your friend? I sense another presence."

       "Could it be your own?" Jerome asked. "Anyway, that doesn't matter. What matters is how I'm leaving. Now."

       Jerome was about to create a portal, but Dirk used his magic to push Jerome up against the wall. "You're not leaving that easily," Dirk said. "I want to know what you're really doing here."

       I stood up, tempted to use my bow on Dirk. It wouldn't kill him, after all. I never felt comfortable with killing someone, so my weapon was specifically made so it would only temporarily stun whoever I struck with my arrows.

       "I think you and I both know," Jerome said. "You're making things worse against yourself for not saying anything."

       Dirk's magic got harder for Jerome to move. "How many times do I have to tell you that what I do is not your business? I had nothing to do with those killings, and I don't have to prove myself to you."

       I was doing it.

       My invisibility faded as I reached for one of the arrows sitting in the quiver, and Dirk didn't have enough time to react before I aimed the arrow with my bow and struck him right in the shoulder. He cried out in pain, and Jerome fell to the ground so I hurried over to him.

       "Are you okay?" I asked and he nodded before making a portal. 

       I helped him stand up, and we quickly got in and ended up back in the HQ. Jerome closed the portal and released a deep breath. "I am now ninety-nine percent sure Dirk is behind this," Jerome said.

       "And I have a feeling he's going to go into hiding or something," I said. 

       "Probably," Jerome said. "Don't worry, we'll find him. You know, as much as I didn't like being pinned up against the wall, I like going on these missions with you. It's a lot more fun than sitting at my house, and it really helps that you're a quick thinker."

       "I'm not that quick of a thinker," I said.

       Jerome raised an eyebrow. "Really? You didn't hesitate before using your ability to making the both of us invisible, and you also hit Dirk with an arrow really fast. I didn't even see it coming, and I knew you were there."

       "A lot of training helps, I guess," I said.

       "Well, if you ever need help on a mission, I'll gladly volunteer," Jerome said. "I kind of feel involved now that it's almost certain Dirk is part of the killings. And having a sorcerer on your side as its perks."

       "True," I said. "You know, I'm going to make sure you're the first one I ask on missions now. That way, I don't have to deal with my siblings flirting with other people."

________________

But Nolan, you'd be flirting with Jerome. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° )

I've never had a TV show take over my life as much as Shadowhunters is. I finished the show in two days AND IT'S STILL TAKING OVER MY LIFE. (idc, shadowhunters is amazing and malec 4 life)

Lol, this chapter ended up being a lot longer than I thought it would. Almost 3000 words. cx And that's how long my short story has to be for school lol. 

I keep finishing chapters right before midnight when the internet is 'supposed' to shut off. I guess I like living on the edge oops. (it hasn't shut off for the past two nights, but i turn my laptop off anyway so my dad thinks it is)(i outsmart him all the time)(imagine if he came across this)

Omg, and he actually knows the website I write on. Whenever I talk about it to my family, I refer to it was the writing website, but when I was getting him to fix the internet on my laptop, he actually googled Wattpad and I'm like omg busted. Thankfully he was trying it on Firefox, and I wasn't logged in on Firefox. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° )