The Dangers

“Breathe in.”

“Heeeee.”

“Breathe out.”

“Haaaa.”

“Concentrate on the center of your chest. Imagine a point of light there.” Alex shifted around a bit, making sure to keep the towel Natalie was sitting on damp as sparks of flame drifted off her body close to the floor. “Can you see it?”

“Uhm… I think so.” Natalie’s brows scrunched, her hands opening and closing rapidly as she followed his instructions.

“It’s alright. Now, as you breathe in, imagine the flames on your body, traveling to that point of light. And as you breathe out, they exit the point. Can you do that?”

“Yeah… I can.” Natalie’s eyes stayed closed as her breath started to steady out. Alex quietly got up and started pacing around the room. Finished and unfinished paintings littered the surroundings. He stepped over some opened paint cans as he tried to calm himself down. Although he knew the basics around how Agents who had just realized their magical abilities were initiated, it was the first time he experienced it firsthand. But he pushed through, because Nats needed him. If she lost control, she would be just another cannon fodder Agent. Another one lost to Them. Another one he’d have to-

Alex paused, taking another look at her. The flames were slightly dimmer. His eyes shone as he watched her expel her breath, and the flames grew with her. The flames following her intention. He allowed a small smile to cross his expression before growing stern again.

In the following hours, he guided her slowly, letting her grow accustomed to the feeling of drawing the flames. By the time it reached midnight, she had finally reached the point where she could lock the flames within her. The excitement on her face made Alex’s heart grow even colder.

“Nats. I’m sorry.” Alex sat in front of her, grasping her hands.

Her excitement turned into confusion. “What’s wrong?”

Alex took a deep breath, before the words spilled out of him. “I’ve lied to you. I don’t work in private security. I’m part of the government effort to combat the supernatural threat. Majins.”

Her hands in his grip tensed, but the excitement in her grew even deeper. “Wow! You mean those monsters that started appearing around 10 years ago? Oh! Oh! Are you only telling me now because I’m magic?” She hopped into his arms, beaming up at him. “I always knew the hours you were working seemed a bit strange for private security, but don’t worry. Now that I have powers, we can do it all, together!”

“NO! Fuck that!” Alex tensed, before trying to calm down. He looked away, missing the disappointment that flickered across Natalie’s face.

“You don’t understand how serious the situation is. The monsters appearing 10 years ago is a lie. They’ve been around for much longer.” He checked the surroundings, peeking through the blinds, before continuing. “Majins. Monsters. The supernatural. Most myths and stories are based on them. But we’ve kept a tight loop on the information available to the public on how truly real they are. And the threat they represent.” His gaze landed on a particular painting of Natalie’s. A woman stood in front of a campfire, her hands reaching towards it. In the center of the campfire was a dark silhouette, reaching out. Towards her. “Until the Salem Witch trials, Majins were the dominant species on Earth. Humanity gained the upper hand through war. A very, very long war. War where war crimes were not the exception, they were the expectation. Without sparing women, or children.” He finally looked at her, and saw that the initial excitement had disappeared.

“The main target in humanity’s war wasn’t the combat ****, no. It was cutting them off from the roots. A massacre on all female Majins and their young.

They used witches, who were the offspring of female Majins and human men, as informants, and experiments.

Man-made plagues, assassinations, contracts with gods and devils alike for power. Whatever humanity could manage with their meager tools against the monsters. And once this was done, they attempted to kill off the tools too, to get rid of all loose ends. But they failed.” He walked towards Natalie, and pulled her into a hug.

“Somewhere in your heritage, is the bloodline of the female Majins. The government dresses it up by calling them ‘Magical girls’ when they enlist, but I need you to know the truth. This is dangerous. I don’t want… no. I cannot allow you to be used up and thrown away in this SHITTY FUCKING WAR!” He felt her shudder in his arms. Alex knew how horrible the reality was, so he allowed her some time to take it in in silence. Even still, he didn’t share what truly worried him. Not losing her to ****. No, he feared having to walk into that damp prison cell, and seeing her lost to him forever.

They stood like that, neither making noise. For minutes that stretched into hours.

“Thank you.” Natalie eventually muttered into his chest. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize how dangerous it was when I suggested working together.” She released him, before staring back up at him, her eyes still flickering between blood red and warm brown. “But I still want to help. You don’t have to do this alone. I don’t want to wake up one day… and find out you died fighting monsters, while I couldn’t help.” Tears pooled in her eyes. “Not knowing is one thing, but now that I know… I can’t let you be in danger alone.”

‘Fuck. FUCK. FUCKING SHIT.’ Alex’s expression flickered as negative emotions filled his chest. He opened and closed his mouth, but no words exited. As he stared into her eyes, he knew that she wouldn’t waver. She wouldn’t let him risk his life alone. He closed his eyes, pushing her away.

“Fine. Give me some time to think then.”

Natalie gripped the hem of her singed skirt. “O-okay. I’ll wait for you.”

Alex stared at the floor. None of the happiness for returning home for the day remained in him. How was he supposed to protect her?

‘I need to keep her off the files. So if she is in any danger, they won’t be able to track her to return her to duty. Maybe I could manipulate what missions she goes on. But.. Are there any easy missions anymore? FUCK! HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN NOW! Damn. It’ll be okay. I just need to figure out the best way to handle this.’ Alex rummaged through his work files, looking for loopholes. Anything that he could take advantage of. His head pounded, but he could barely register it. He took a break after browsing a particularly lengthy file, closing his eyes.

The scent of blood filled his nostrils. The pool of blood was spreading, covering the painting easels, climbing the walls. As he looked towards the source, he saw a naked woman, with flaming red hair, and blood red eyes looking back at him. A gaping hole in her chest. Her mouth silently whispering:

Master.

“FUCK!”

“Alex!? What’s wrong?” Natalie’s voice emerged from their bedroom.

Alex blinked his eyes, the vision returning to the ether.

“Sorry Nats. False alarm.” His nails dug into his skin, drawing blood.

“Okay. Come to bed soon. We can work it over together in the morning.”

Alex ignored her, returning to his laptop. He had to find something. Some way to keep her safe.

‘Fuck the AMD, Fuck the mission, and Fuck the Majins.’

‘I WILL PROTECT YOU!’