143Amethystdawn: I'm so sorry for the long wait! I actually had this in my computer all ready to go but yeah, laziness and internet dysfunctionality made me post this a lot later... Hope you guys like this! Read and Review!
Chapter 18:
Ice looked around the café. She smiled. It was only her second day in the Mortal Realm and things were going great. She had a job, a house and her own personal guide. She gazed across the table with her light blue eyes. Was it really just her luck that she met someone like him? It was incredible to think that only a day before she had absolutely nothing.
"What are you smiling about?" Matt inquired after the waiter left. "Nothing. Just… thinking…" The goddess answered mysteriously. He raised an eyebrow. "Stop staring at me." She whacked his arm playfully. "I'm not! You're the one who was staring a while ago." He countered, mischief sparkling in his green eyes. "I was not!" Her cheeks blushed furiously. "Your face says otherwise." He pointed out.
"How long have you been an assassin?" The girl asked, changing the topic. The man shook his head but responded. "Longer than you have." She rolled her eyes. "Well that's obvious, but seriously." She looked into his eyes. "Hmm… well, I suppose it's been three years." He mumbled thoughtfully.
"How old are you anyway?" Ice cocked her head at him, pale blonde hair brushing her shoulders. The assassin idly thought on how cute she appeared. "Nineteen" he replied simply. Her heart beat faster. He wasn't that much older than her.
Out of the blue, the waiter appeared, bearing food and drinks. "Enjoy your meal, ma'm, sir." He placed the beverages and steaming dishes in front of them and left. The goddess stared at her plate. There was a lump of something, a roll of bread on the side and also what appeared to be a tiny cup of vegetables. "Go on, eat." Matt urged. "What is it?" She questioned, poking at the lump. "It's fried chicken, silly. You have to eat, you know." He shoved a piece of steak into his mouth. "From what planet do you come from?" He raised his eyebrow. She almost answered "Mystic World, Reign's Court" but thought better of it.
The girl forked a vegetable. She analyzed the whitish sauce on it. "It's called a salad, Carleene." The man informed her with a look of amusement. She popped the piece of lettuce into her mouth. It tasted a bit sour but she liked it. Suddenly, the assassin's expression turned thoughtful. "But where do you really come from, anyway?" The goddess almost choked. She quickly gulped down some cold water. "From an orphanage, of course."
The man rolled his eyes. "You know, I will eventually find out the truth whether you tell me or not." He continued eating. Ice snorted. "I really doubt it." She sliced the chicken meat and forked it, looking at it contemplatively. "But maybe someday, I might tell you…" she murmured softly. "Pardon?" The assassin looked up. "Nothing." She popped the piece of chicken into her mouth. "Hmm… this is actually pretty good." He shook his head. "Whatever you say, Carleene…"
They were eating in comfortable silence when they became aware of a person standing near them. They looked up. Matt almost spat out the soda he was drinking. He swallowed. "Hi, um, Mr. Quinn! How are you, sir? I, uh, we weren't expecting you." The goddess simply stared at her boss with wide eyes.
"Scoot over, Matt." Their employer smiled tightly at them, gray eyes colder than usual. The assassin complied. Mr. Quinn looked at the food they ordered. "I'm guessing this is charged to me?" He glanced at the shopping bag beside the girl. "And that too as well?" Ice was suddenly very intent on studying the woody pattern of the table. "Um, I, haha…" Matt cleared his throat. "Well, you see sir, all of these things are mission-related."
Mr. Quinn raised an eyebrow. "Do go on." The assassin glanced desperately at the goddess. "Er, well, the dress is for the upcoming mission. Yeah, and the food is… well, everyone needs to eat, right?" The eyebrow remained in place. Matt coughed. Ice was now focused on an invisible object outside the café window. "Uh-huh… and what is the reason for using my credit card?" Their boss inquired.
There was silence. "I took your credit card, sir. I'm very sorry." The goddess quietly spoke. The assassin blinked. What was going on? Mr. Quinn sighed. "It's very noble of you to take the blame, Ms. Copper, but I'm used to Matt's antics." He directed his attention to the assassin. "This is coming out of your salary." He stood up and gave the both of them a final glare. "Finish your meal and report back to headquarters." With that, he left.
Meanwhile in the Mystic World, things were going well for Amethyst.
A pair of cat-like purple eyes scanned the area suspiciously. Just as she thought, abandoned. Red lips formed a smile. Silently, she stepped out of a portal of shadows, pulling her companions along. The portal shut and folded upon itself 'til it was no more.
"Well this is convenient." The sandy-blonde angel commented, looked around. White walls that were almost blinding in their purity surrounded them. A large bronze door with intricate locks stood behind while a pair of plain metal doors waited before them. They were right in front of the Portal Room.
Amethyst walked over to the doors. "Porta ve ciquh" A transparent green-tinted keypad materialized in front of her. She sighed. She should have known. Only Reign could open the doors without a code. "Fantasy, what's the code?"
The dream goddess blinked her big blue eyes at her friend. "What code?" Amethyst ran a creamy hand through her wavy dark brown hair, resisting the urge to pull at it. This cannot be happening. "Please tell me someone knows."
"Can't you just zap at it or something?" Charm suggested, limping towards the night goddess as gracefully as she could. Unfortunately, she had fallen off-balance. Strong hands caught her. Green eyes looked up to meet a pair of gray orbs.
"No, I can't just zap at it or something" The night goddess mimicked. "Because my powers are officially drained in creating a temporary portal to get all of us here in one piece and making sure no one interfered with the spell!" She glared at the blushing auburn-haired goddess who was being assisted. "I need half a day to recharge." The purple eyes looked at each of them. "So someone in here better know what the code is or I'll personally kill all of us before Reign arrives to do that himself."
The beauteous goddess leaned heavily on her companion. "Do you know, Cressin? You worked with Angelicus and you must have guarded this place at some point." The angel adjusted his weight, trying to make the both of them comfortable. "Let me think."
Amethyst tapped her foot impatiently. "wib…" The night goddess faced the keypad and pressed an odd-looking symbol. "You better be right." The angel nodded. "dybs…" Another symbol.
Fantasy's eyes widened as she heard sounds outside the white room. They were coming. "Hurry!" she told them. "shev…" The night goddess pressed a button. There was a loud click from behind. The chains around one lock began unwrapping. "They're unlocking the door!" The dream goddess's tone rose in panic.
"Last one." Amethyst's finger was poised in the air. "Um… give me a sec…" The angel mumbled. "We don't have a sec!" Charm hissed at him. He only gave her an angry glance. "Don't pressure me. It's not helping."
Another loud click was heard. A different set of chains unwrapped. "Hmm… was it lysor niem?" Cressin wondered out loud. Fantasy made an arm gesture. Immediately, a stone wall appeared. It wasn't much but it may buy them some time.
"niem" The angel finally declared. "Are you sure?" The night goddess asked. He nodded. The last lock clicked. Amethyst pressed the button.
The metal doors opened. A portal lied inside waiting for them, its sucking force pulling them slightly towards it. "Let's go." The night goddess grabbed Fantasy's hand just as the wall behind them collapsed. Without hesitation, the pair jumped in. Charm gripped the angel's arm tightly as she hobbled towards the portal.
"You!" The goddess turned her head at the sound. The military commander stood with a heavy sword by his side and a few companions. "Don't you dare go in!" He raised his weapon threateningly. Cressin pushed a few buttons on the floating keypad quickly. "Sorry Angelicus, I don't take orders anymore." With that he scooped up the goddess and jumped into the portal. The floating keypad vanished.
"No!" The angel god tried to stop them but the portal doors had closed. "Porta ve ciquh" Nothing happened. "Porta ve ciquh" he repeated. No transparent green keypad appeared. He threw his sword down in frustration. Damn Cressin. He must have activated the emergency shut down code. They won't be able to open it for a while.
"What now, sir?" One of the soldiers asked. "We report back to Reign." He sighed. "He's not going to be too happy when he hears of this."
Amethystdawn: I'd like to thank all of my lovely reviewers. As usual, your patience amazes me. Summer vacation is a-coming and I'm hoping I'll have some inspiration since I think I'll be having a lot of time for writing. God bless all of you! hugs