They had more intel.

Isaac ate quickly and downed his coffee, setting aside the remnants of the fast food and staring down at the Wraithrider. He could see the faint lines where the power traveled through it, originating at the core and running down the fingers and around to the palm. It was passively warm, but when he focused with it on his hand, he could feel it hum, and the warmth would spread through his hand and arm.

Aoife appeared next to him, literally appearing from nothing. “Is it not functioning?” She asked, leaning close.

Isaac stared at it, focusing, and watched the lavender magic pool in the palm. Aoife made a sound somewhere between a yelp and a chirp, blinking rapidly. “Are you okay?” He asked, reaching for her with the Wraithrider. His gauntleted hand landed on her arm, but he didn’t notice it as strange.

She blushed. “It was just… strange. I haven’t powered a spirit device in a very long time, I had forgotten how it feels.” She looked down at Isaac’s hand, smiled softly, and laid her hand atop his. “I’m fine.”

Ophelia sat heavily at the dining table, chugging down coffee. “Okay! So, how are we going to go kick Declan’s ass?”

Torik joined her, but instead of coffee he had water. He perched on his chair, crouching on the seat like he didn’t know how to sit. “He knows that I know where his base is, so if we want to find him there, we need to go soon. However!” He said as Ophelia opened her mouth to say something. “However, he’s most likely going to be more defended there. It’s a gamble. If we wait, he’ll either be cleaned out, or… there might be some interesting clues left behind.”

“Or,” Tyler said, sitting down with a reasonable amount of coffee, “He digs in his heels and fortifies. Waits for us to come to him.”

“Could I use this Wraithrider to fight?” Isaac asked. “I did some kind of blast with it this morning…”

Aoife nodded affirmative. “I could teach you how to use it. It is my specialty, after all.”

Jade shot Isaac a Look over the table, raising her eyebrows.

“I guess that all depends on if we’re planning to strike sooner or later.” Tyler set his laptop on the table. “I’ve been chatting with people back at the AWIO, and Cassius, our Defense Captain, has said he can supply us with backup.”

“You people just have a militia on standby?” Jade asked, a dubious eyebrow raised.

“Not a militia, per se,” Tyler replied with a laugh. “But we have people trained for situations similar to these. Declan Grimm is not someone that we want hanging around, and we’re willing to dedicate some hefty resources to putting him behind bars.”

Jade made a choked sound and barely refrained from spraying coffee over the table. “Shit, I called the cops! Oh, fuck!”

Tyler laughed uproariously. “Oh, you’re fine. We sent people out to clear up the scene, they talked to the cops. We’re all good.”

Jade deflated. “Oh, thank fuck.”

“So.” Torik said, spreading his arms. “What are we doing? Striking fast and risky, or safe and unlikely to produce results?”

Ophelia groaned. “As much as I’d love to go now, it’s not smart.” She scratched her shoulder absent-mindedly. “I wanna kick his teeth in, but he’s tougher than I remember. And if he has more goons with Wraithriders… it was almost over for me this morning. It was kinda scary.”

Isaac reached over the table to hold her hand. She gave him a weak smile. He turned to look at Aoife. “I want to learn how to use the Wraithrider.”

The ghost nodded. “Then it will be done. I will begin teaching you.” She smiled. “And I can assist anyone in training. My backyard isn’t the most ideal place to do so, but no one will think odd of it, and I do have some weaponry to distribute if anyone needs.”

“I could use a weapon,” Torik said. “I’m good with hand-to-hand, but I have yet to get my hands on a good sword since I left the old world.”

“And I’d like something to defend myself,” Jade said with a sigh. “I am a small, weak woman. If I try to punch someone my arm will snap.”

“I can teach you to point and shoot, but I think…” Tyler waved his hand and a dark wave pulsed out from his hand. “You’d make a good spellcaster. Hard to tell your specification, but you have a big mana well.”

“Magic sounds pretty rad,” Jade said with a shrug. “I’ll take it.”

“Then it’s settled, I think,” Torik said. “We should take the rest of the day to relax, then start training. After we’re all ready, we go to their place, see what’s up. Sound good?”

There was a consensus of affirmative mutters.

The winged demon clapped his hands. “Great. Break!” He flipped backward out of his perching pose, then sauntered toward the back door. “I’m gonna go lay in the sun like a lizard and hope I’m not sore when I get up.”