Chapter 32

       Martha had been trying to get in contact with me but I was ignoring her. Unfortunately, I wasn't going to quit the Protectors but after the way she treated me during the demon attack, I was going to handle this whole situation on my own.

       Well, with Jerome too.

       I just wasn't getting any help from the Protectors, even my family members. I loved them and everything but at times, I felt like they kind of agreed with Martha about me being one of the weakest members.

       I needed to prove that I wasn't. I just needed the chance, but Martha never gave me the chance.

       So I had to do this without telling her.

       I wasn't even taking my bow and arrows with me. They were still at the HQ and if anyone noticed they were missing, people would probably realize I was out doing something I wasn't approved to do.

       Possibly.

       At times, I seemed like the only Protector with a brain. 

       Jerome and I were going to have to do a lot of investigating if we wanted to find out which sorcerer was siding with Dirk. Whoever it was let the demons into Miami and could even possibly have everything they needed for the death spell.

       Before we could even do our investigating, we had to make sure all demons were out of Miami. We couldn't risk the sorcerer getting a hold on some demon blood.

       The only difficult part was me getting into the HQ undetected so I could check the map where we could spot where demons were roaming. Once someone saw me, I'd have to go see Martha since she had been trying to get in contact with me. 

       Thankfully, I could turn invisible so once I was in, it shouldn't be a problem. It was just getting in I was worried about. I couldn't exactly portal inside since someone would notice the portal just sitting there, even if I turned invisible before going in.

       At least it actually shouldn't be too hard getting into the HQ. One bright side of barely being sent on missions was that I knew every inch of the HQ from all the exploring I did. I knew just how to get in.

       I was just worried someone would have been standing by the entrance I took.

       Thankfully, nobody was there so as soon as I was in the HQ, I turned invisible and went to the Op Centre. Martha was there, looking at the map that showed the demons' locations. Ryder, Alan, and Orchid were all standing by here as well.

       Martha had her phone held up to her ear but she pulled it away with a huff. "I swear, that brother of yours is only making things more difficult for himself. He wants more responsibility as a Protector but he's not even answering his phone."

       Gee, I wonder why.

       "He's probably napping right now," Orchid said. "He naps a lot and when he does, it's very hard to wake him up even if his cell phone is ringing."

       Sure, let's go with that.

       "I hope so," Martha said. "Because if he's purposefully ignoring me, that's going to only get him into a lot of trouble."

       Please, when was I not in trouble with her?

       I walked over to the map, standing on the side that they weren't on. There was only one demon left, but it was moving around rapidly. It wasn't even in the same spot for a millisecond.

       "So how are we going to catch this demon?" Ryder asked. 

       "Well, judging by how fast it's moving, I'm guessing it's flying," Martha said. "That would mean right now, our best bet is to stand in one spot and wait for it to come before shooting it down."

       "Shooting it down?" Alan asked. "Great. The one thing Nolan is actually good, yet he's not here right now to help."

       Ouch.

       If I didn't care about being seen, I would have turned off my invisibility and told Alan to suck an egg but I really couldn't have Martha know that I was here. She would know for sure I was purposefully avoiding her, and me being invisible here clearly meant I was up to something.

       "Ryder, you're quite versatile with weapons," Martha said. "Do you think you'll be able to shoot it down with a bow and arrow?"

       "Well, I'm not as good as Nolan is because that's all he trains with, but I could try," Ryder said.

       Why did I feel like that was an insult hidden within a compliment?

       "Okay, great," Martha said. "Come on, let's go get you a bow."

       Martha and Ryder headed off and Alan decided to go with them so it was just Orchid left by the map. Since nobody else but her was in the Op Centre, I walked over and stood behind her before turning visible again. "Having fun?" I asked which, of course, made her jump.

       She then punched my arm. "Don't scare me like that! And you do know that Martha has been trying to call you, right?"

       "Oh, I know," I said. "I've been ignoring her calls even though I, you know, want more responsibility as a Protector."

       "Wait, how long have you been here for?" Orchid asked.

       "Not long," I said. "I got here just as she hung up her phone because I wasn't answering. By the way, remind me to tell Alan to suck an egg."

       "Will do," Orchid said. "But you shouldn't be here for long if you don't want to get into trouble."

       "I know," I said. "Jerome and I just had to know where the demons are but thankfully, this is the last one. We need to take it out fast for reasons I'll tell you later."

       "Good luck with that," Orchid said. "Look at how fast it's moving."

       I looked back at the map where the glowing orb representing the demon was still flying as fast as it could. I stared at it for a bit before noticing something. "It's moving in a pattern," I said. "Not a pattern that has any significance but still a pattern. And it does pass by Jerome's place quite a bit. I bet I could take it out before Ryder does."

       "You do know this isn't come competition, right?" Orchid asked.

       "I know," I said. "Jerome and I were planning on taking down all the demons anyway. Which, again, I'll explain the reasoning later. In the meantime, I have a demon to kill. Can you do me a favour? Don't tell Martha I was here."

       "Why would I?" Orchid asked. "I haven't seen you here at all. You're napping at Jerome's."

       I smiled my thanks before turning invisible then heading towards the exit of the HQ. I had no idea how to make a portal yet and I couldn't text Jerome to get me since I left my cell phone back at his place just in case someone called me while I was invisible.

       I couldn't have my ringtone give me away and it was a good thing I chose to leave it since Martha did call me while I was in the HQ.

       I was going to have to walk back to Jerome's as fast as I could so I could get there before Ryder does. I really needed to show them I wasn't as useless as I thought I was.

       As soon as I got there, I said to Jerome, "There's on demon left. It has been flying around all over Miami in a specific pattern and actually passes by here a few times."

       "Really?" Jerome asked. "Wow, I'm horrible for not noticing. We could wait for it on my balcony."

       "Ryder is also probably on his way now," I said as we got onto the balcony. "I don't know if he noticed the pattern the demon was flying in but if he did, he could be here any minute since Martha asked him to shoot it down. And I really want to be the one to get the last one."

       "Well, you better hurry," Jerome said, looking over the edge. "Ryder and Alan are down there."

       I looked over as well, seeing my brothers on the sidewalk getting ready to shoot down the demon. I really should have just risked it and took my bow anyway. I didn't know if I could shoot it down with magic.

       "Get your magic ready," Jerome said. "One hit is all it should take to disintegrate."

       "Any specific spell?" I asked.

       "No, an orb should be enough," Jerome said. "I've dealt with these things before and that was all it takes. Just think back to our training. You did extremely well with your arm when you threw magic."

       "But you weren't really a moving target," I said. "You did move but not as fast as the demon is moving."

       "You can do it," Jerome said. "Ooh, think of how furious Martha will be when she finds out you took down the last demon with your magic before Ryder was able to do it."

       "I do like annoying Martha," I said before creating a magic orb, letting it hover above the palm of my hand. I kept an eye and ear out for the demon, waiting patiently for it to fly by.

       "To the left," Jerome said. "I see it in the distance."

       The demon really was flying fast because as soon as I looked to the left, it almost reached the building despite Jerome saying he could see it in the distance. It was close enough for me to hit it with my magic so I threw it towards the demon.

       My magic hit the demon, causing it to disintegrate right away with a loud screech.

       And because I liked being a pest, I looked over the edge of the balcony where Ryder and Alan were looking up since Ryder was about to aim an arrow at the demon. When they both spotted me, I gave them a little wave.

       "Nolan!" Ryder said. "I was supposed to take it out!"

       "Why would you take it out on a date?!" I asked.

       "I meant I was supposed to shoot it down!"

       "Oh, were you?! I'm so sorry! I'll make sure next time, I'm not faster than you!"

       Ryder glared at me. "You're also needed at the HQ! Martha wants you there!"

       "Sorry, I can't hear you! I think that screech burst my eardrums!" I then walked away from the edge of the balcony so Ryder couldn't tell me again to go to the HQ. I wasn't heading there yet.

       "Now that the last demon is taken care of, it's time to get investigating," Jerome said. "We need to find that sorcerer fast just in case they were able to get to a demon before the Protectors."

________________

i love nolan's sass so much <3

i honestly don't know how long this rewritten version will be lol. i'll try aiming for chapter 40 so i can get back to writing tribunal, though i'll have to rewrite that a bit since i'm going to hold off on the protector/experiment s crossover until later so i don't mess up either books, especially the beginning