thoth
we spend all our time running for our lives, going nowhere

Thoth had never taken threats particularly well. Trading verbal blows was so much harder than just punching someone. The threats did at least feel somewhat manageable when they were directed at him because he was used to it and knew how to deal with it. It was when the threats were directed at other people Thoth cared about – especially people he deemed less able to defend themselves – that his vision went red. Emilia’s final comment made him freeze, not only for its accuracy but also its implications. She was right – if Danny and Cypress were under threat, Thoth would not be able to defend himself. And, if she was cold enough to murder one teenager in cold blood for the crime of existing, who was to say she wouldn’t just shoot his friends anyway once he was too dead to object?

The situation was spiralling out of control. Thoth bit his lower lip in a very Aura-esque fashion, fighting back against the tidal wave of rage, guilt and fear wrestling to overpower him. How were they going to get out of this one?

“There now.” Emilia picked up the teapot and delicately poured herself another cup of tea, clearly taking their collective silence as a sign that she’d won this little battle. “Friends make everything easier.”

Thoth bit his lip so hard that he could taste the metallic tang of blood in his mouth. He rested his elbows on the glass table and pushed his shaking hands through his hair.

“I’m sure we don’t need to resort to such macabre solutions,” Emilia reassured them. “I’m sure, once you have heard all of my persuasive arguments, you will take to your new life with enthusiasm.”

It was too much. Thoth snapped. He planted his palms on the underside of the table and stood up suddenly, thrusting the table – and all its contents – up and forwards, towards Emilia. Daintily cut sandwiches, teacakes and scalding tea flew everywhere and the glass top smashed all over the patio with a tremendous crash. Two dozen Auran agents, who must have all been keeping an eye from an invisible distance, appeared from nowhere. Thoth downed three of them with a jet of boiling water before they even got near him and swung a furious punch at the fourth, who had grabbed him by the shoulders. The punch never landed; a feminine hand with long, sunshine-yellow nails grasped his arm firmly and yanked it. There was an audible snap and Thoth let out a strangled yell, dropping the ball of water he’d been in the process of generating with the other hand. The liquid tumbled earthwards and smashed to the ground, splattering everyone in the vicinity.

Emilia maintained her grip on his broken arm, her face flushed with emotion and heat. Her perfect hair had tumbled out of its bun and her pretty yellow dress suit was soaked and stained with tea. Blisters were starting to form on her arms and neck, which were glowing bright red. Ignoring the pain in his arm, Thoth started to curl the fingers of his free hand into a fist, his eyes settling on her nose. He didn’t even have time to swing before Emilia yanked his arm again, twisting it vindictively. The colour fled from Thoth’s face as a burst of fiery agony shot through his body like a bolt of lightning. It was unlike anything he could remember experiencing before. The pain wrenched a brief scream from his lips and forced him to drop to his knees uncontrollably, shaking all over. One of the other agents grabbed him by the shoulders again but he barely noticed.

“Do not move!” Emilia barked at Cypress and Danny; a rather pointless directive, since they were already being held by half a dozen other agents between them. Thoth shot them a sideways glance, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes, biting his lip so hard that a trickle of blood emerged.

“Let them go.” His voice shook slightly from the pain. “I’ll cooperate. Just let them go.”

Emilia studied him. Nothing much was in focus apart from her murderous expression. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a smart phone. Time stood still for a moment as she tapped in the code to unlock it, scrolled through her contacts, selected one and lifted the phone to her ear. The person on the other side answered promptly.

“Wallace? Yes.” She said curtly. “You were right, it’s more trouble than it’s worth. Fire up the incinerator. Be there in ten.” She tapped the red button and gestured to the agents holding Danny and Cypress. “Get them out of my way. I’ll deal with them later. And you,” she rounded on another agent stood nearby, “go and get a wheelbarrow.”

A dozen hands grabbed Danny and Cypress and started dragging them back towards the house. Emilia reached over and pulled a pistol from the nearest agent’s hip, flicking the safety latch off with her thumb.

“I’ll cooperate,” Thoth repeated weakly as she pulled it up and pointed it at him, lining up her sights. That seemed unnecessary, given that the range was point blank.

“You won’t.” She answered shortly, scanning him, as though looking for the right place to aim.

Thoth couldn’t even deny that. He stared down the barrel of the gun, feeling his mind go uncharacteristically blank.

“Cypress!” He yelled. “Tell my sister – ”

His voice was cut off as the agents pulled Danny and Cypress inside and slammed the door. They dragged them through the room and down to the end of a corridor when the sound of a gunshot cracked through the air.

The agents paused, glancing at one another uneasily. A moment later, Emilia appeared at the other end of the corridor, striding towards them with a face as hard as a rock. She was barefoot and the lower part of her dress suit was now decorated with splatters of blood.

“Put them in the basement until her ladyship gets here.” She growled at the agents. “She can wipe their memories and we’ll throw them in the nearest orphanage. Nobody breathes a word of this to anyone.”