October 16, 2003For the past few days, she spent most of her time in her London flat. Her flyball team played in Europe and the EBEE had sent her on some cases around the city. Twice, she met with Sonylla, Panjik and Emery in a Pixie-run inn located near Tremblant.She sat on the foot of her bed, listening to her voicemails, just like when she started seeing Frank. It was full when she got back from the flyball field in Bulgaria. Part of her wanted to disconnect it and throw it across the room. She didn’t like the tears coming down her eyes as she listened to them. She didn’t know how to handle them. She hated the situation more than he did.She missed him. She needed him.Another part of her, however, didn’t want to send him the wrong message. She loved him, even if she didn’t understand it. She didn’t want him to think she left him just like that. She hoped that when it was over and the danger had dissipated, he would forgive her and get back to her.She knew however that it probab
October 24, 2003Frank returned home in the middle of the night from a concert, where he had been interviewing the band. He knew that Coralis had a game in Europe that day, but his sister told him that they would be playing at home on Saturday. Coralis and Sebastian usually head back right after their game when they played home next, so he was hoping she’d be home.But she wasn’t. He looked at the time. He wanted to call Stephanie to see if Sebastian was home, but at 3 in the morning, he figured that his sister was probably asleep and he didn’t want to wake her up. He looked at his empty glass of whiskey in the middle of their living room table and the half-empty bottle next to it. He sat in front of it and filled his glass, hoping that it’d help him get some sleep.He missed her. He needed to know if she was okay. He wanted to believe she didn’t leave him, but it was becoming more difficult to hold on to that idea. He needed to know that she was still with him, that he was still in h
October 30, 2003 – 17:00Frank pulled by the sidewalk in front of Victoria’s apartment. He was about to text her that he was there, but he saw her walking out of her door, so he closed his phone and dropped it in the glove box next to him.“Ready? Didn’t forget anything?” said Victoria when she climbed into the backseat and fastened her seatbelt.“As ready as I’ll ever be, and yes, I’ve got everything I need. I’m super nervous, I’m not gonna lie, but I need to do this. Thanks for getting me in.”“As if I would want to miss that. Plus, they’re playing The Imperialists, you couldn’t have picked a better game to do this. Her three musketeers will witness it.”“Her 3 musketeers?”“That’s what I used to call Coralis, Gus, Erik and Henry at school. Gus may not be there, but Sebastian makes a better one now.”Frank and Stephanie laughed.“I can see the analogy,” said Frank.“Sebastian convinced him that he wanted tonight’s game. Frank wanted to do it last Monday, but a game against Russia… l
October 30, 2003 – 18:36Frank got up his seat and followed them. He tried not to think about what he just heard and focused on what he needed to accomplish. He knew that they would have a lot of catching up to do when they would finally be able to talk.They took him to an entry point of the field and stopped there. As soon as the siren announced the end of the first period and both teams reached their field entry point, the announcer silenced the crowd.Both teams stopped where they were to figure out what was going on. The stadium staff standing next to Frank ushered him to go to the middle of the field. They weren’t at ground level, but he saw a gangway forming from where he stood, leading to the middle of the field. Everyone stared silently at him.Coralis was shocked and confused. She wasn’t expecting to see Frank standing in the middle of their field. She looked at Sebastian, wondering if he knew what he was doing there. Sebastian was sporting a wide grin on his face and she fr
October 30, 2003 – 19:06“Aww, that was quite the unexpected moment, ladies and gentlemen. We should apologize for the longer intermission, but we won’t. Tonight, history was written in front of your eyes, as…”Frank felt he was on cloud 9 while returning to the team’s box. She said Yes. That alone was a victory. He figured that realistically, she probably wouldn’t be going home with him that night, but she was still his. In the end, that was all he needed to hear.As far as he was concerned, he and Coralis were now engaged, that was what mattered to him at the moment. If that meant 24/7 bodyguards, so be it, he didn’t care. They would figure this out, together. He didn’t lose her.The stadium staff stopped by the team’s box entryway and he got in. The people in the box ignored the game and awaited their turn to hug and congratulate him.“I knew she wouldn’t tell you no!” said Victoria, as she passed her arms around him. “I’m the one here who’s known her the longest. Didn’t I tell you
October 30, 2003 – 19:46Vectan closed and warded the room to prevent intruders. Vallia turned to the furnace behind her and opened its door. Flames could be seen inside. A small copper pot was in the middle of the flames and Vallia placed a ring-shaped branding iron in it.“Blue Thunder, you may not have been raised among us, but you are a full-blooded mage well-versed in our laws and traditions. You know why I am here with agent Vallia Bilard,” said Vectan, looking at Coralis before turning his attention to Frank.“Considering where we are and what M. Frank McNally had said, I did not need to ask if revelation had been done and we can reasonably conclude that he is here on his own free will. I did explain to him what was going to happen and he was aware of our laws and traditions about mating and marriage,” said Vallia.Coralis looked at everyone. She knew there was no going back. She and the three men behind her wore their flyball uniforms, but it didn’t matter.“M. Frank McNally,
October 30, 2003 – 20:56Frank, Stephanie, Victoria, Hector and Jennifer stood behind the stadium, waiting for the team members to come out. Frank was hoping he’d be able to see Coralis. She told him she’d talk to him after the game, but she could still get called on some case right after the game.“You didn’t give her your ring, did you forget it after all?” said Victoria.“I have it with me, but I forgot about it when we were in that room. I don’t think I would have been able to give it to her anyway, she had to leave right after it was over.”“Might be better to wait a day or two, to leave time for the branding to scar,” said Hector.“Nah, unless the ring contains silver, there is no need to wait. My mother put her engagement ring back on her finger right after she received her branding,” said Victoria.Stephanie heard a text message notification from her phone and pulled it out of her purse to look at it. She read it and passed her phone to Frank.‘We will meet you guys at The Woo
October 31, 2003 – 00:30“I think someone is following us, but I’m not sure if it’s just someone going in the same direction or someone out for me. In about a minute, you’ll see a side road to your right. Turn there, drive about 50m and stop, then turn off all lights.”He nodded and glanced at her. He saw the side road she was talking about and turned left like she told him. He parked and saw a car slowly passing on the main road after he turned all lights off.“Seems like you were right.”“This area is heavily populated with weresquirrels. I don’t want to bring trouble to them,” she said as she got out of the car. “Stay here.”He wanted to get out too, but decided against it. He wanted to help her, but if a supernatural was indeed following them, he had to let her handle it and listen to her, even if he didn’t like it.She pulled the hood of her cloak over her head and walked slowly toward the main road, focusing on the energy scent she thought was following them. The scent was still
December 23, 2003 – 21:00 The Northerners were playing at home that night. When the game was over and she and Sebastian were about to take off to go home, Coralis received a call from Emma. She signalled Sebastian to wait and put the call on speakerphone. Emma was in a panic.“BLUE, can you come RIGHT NOW?”Sebastian suddenly got worried.“Where? What’s going on?”“Is Stephanie okay?”“Here at Red Crescent pack. Yes, Stephanie is fine. She left Healing Moon at 9 to go home. She’s not here.”Sebastian was relieved to hear that and swore that if Stephanie still wanted it, he’d complete their bond when he got home, even if he knew Coralis was probably right: the mark was a seal.“I’ll be on my way. I’m close by,” said Coralis, ending the call, and took off, Sebastian following her.“What do you think happens this time?” said Sebastian, as he was trying to keep up with her.“I don’t know, but I’m guessing she couldn’t reach out to anyone at the CMMA. Remember the last time they got a hol
December 20, 2003 – 00:15 (Scotland Time)Coralis closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She wanted to rip their eyes out and strangle them, but she knew these girls were humans, most likely heading to the same destination as she. She believed Frank when he said nothing ever happened with that actress, but she didn’t like these girls talking that way about her man.She was thankful to have her wrist binds so she wouldn’t break storefront windows by accident. Her eyeglasses only prevented her from using her eyes to direct her elemental energy and to camouflage their elemental colour but without her wrist binds, her elemental energy still leaked through her pores and she could still use her hands to direct it. She walked away and headed to the bar before she did anything to these girls and ended up in jail.Her flight landed in Montreal early morning. She had a game in Mexico in the evening but decided to skip practice time just so she could spend more time with Frank before she had to
December 19, 2003 – noon“There is still a hold on your name, right?” said Erik.“In Scotland? Why not in London?” said Henry.“Yes, but considering Blue Thunder is technically a citizen of England, she doesn’t have jurisdiction over me. I could still be walking into a trap, however, so I still made sure of that. Not sure why she wants to meet there, but I think it’s better there than in London. Even with a hold on my name, I’m not too keen on walking around the SIS headquarters. Taking my flight from Scotland instead sounds like a better idea anyway.”She tried to call Frank on her way to Scotland but got no response. She hoped he was still asleep and tried not to overthink it, but she was worried. As she was hovering above the meeting spot, Frank called her back.“That was you trying to call, right?” said Frank as soon as she answered.“Yeah, everything okay?”“Yes. I was in the shower. Wanted to take my phone in the bathroom just in case you’d call, but my scattered brain forgot it
December 19, 2003 – 09:00Coralis and Andrew entered the meeting room, dragging a restrained Xanita with them.“What is this?” said Alfredino.“Xanita Aza is the one who killed Minister Luke Massina and we sent a copy of our evidence to British authorities,” said Andrew as he played the video timeline assembled by Erik and Henry. “Do you want to handle her yourself, or shall I hand her to the authorities?”“It seems we owe you an apology, Blue Thunder,” said Rolland, watching the video.“The warehouse we searched never had any cursed weapons. It was merely a ruse Xanita used to get Blue and me away from the hotel. Want to tell me again how in gods worlds Massina’s murder got pinned on my apprentice when we were nowhere near the vicinity of his hotel?”Phraton tried to say something but Alfredino quieted him, using magic to shut him up.“JORGIE! Jorgie Fluk gave me that tip about that warehouse!” said Xanita, panicked.“Oh, we know about that, don’t you worry. Unlike you, he’s been mak
December 11, 2003“WHAT?”“I still need to find evidence to prove it or force her to confess, but I was right. Blum was protecting someone. Xanita never received a tip about that damn warehouse.”“That explains why Gus could never find anything relevant or suspicious about it, besides someone tampering with their security cameras.”“Basic human material wasn’t difficult to tamper with. We probably were the only two elementals to have ever set foot in there. Do you know if Sebastian is available tomorrow?”“I don’t know. We don’t have a game tomorrow, but lately, I talk to him only when I’m in my London flat. Only place I can talk safely.”“I’ll check with him then. Remember when Xanita said she had a call to take and came back with that so-called tip?”“Yeah, and thinking of it, she was also the one who sent us to that warehouse.”“She had been talking to Jorgie. Erik and Henry are on their way back to where you guys live, they’ve been a great help.”“Jorgie? The same Jorgie who’s bee
December 9, 2003Early in the morning, while Frank was busy preparing coffee, the doorbell rang. He stopped what he was doing and frowned, wondering who could it be.The bell rang again and again. Coralis came to his mind and he dropped the spoon of coffee grind that he was holding to rush to the buzzer. He pressed to unlock the door below and opened his entry door to find out who it was. Down the stairs, he saw Samantha, panting. She looked up toward him.“Hey, M. Blue! Sorry to show up at this time; I didn’t know where else to go.”“Uh, it’s fine. Come in,” he said as he let her in. “What happened?”“My mom just found out about me. She wasn’t supposed to be home, or I would have gone to Tom’s aunt probably, I don’t know. During the full moon, I can’t control my shift, but I can usually shift back just before dawn.”Samantha paused. She stood, her legs slightly apart and leaning over, her hand resting on her knees.“Your mother came back while you were still in panther form?” said Fr
November 23, 2003“If you must know,” she said, forcing herself to speak sweetly, “he does not reside in London. He is busy with work and I am obviously occupied away from him.”Behind her calm demeanour, she was raging. She knew that Rolland had something up his sleeves by letting her stay at her London flat instead of locking her up in a cell. She wanted to kill the guard and fly to Frank, but she knew doing that would make it worse for them. She had to let them think she was playing their hand, no matter how hard it was. She missed him.He let go of her cloak and she jumped down on her back porch. Once back inside, she activated a custom mute-ball before calling Frank. Her pager went off as soon as she put her hand on her phone. It was her contact from MI6.“Blue Thunder on the line.”“It’s been a while since we talked, you and I.”“Given the recent events, can’t say I missed you, no offence.”“Can’t say I blame you. A report recently came to us from Clear Valley, which contradicts
November 14, 2003Before she could leave the meeting room, a furnace appeared behind the elders. Rolland stood and grabbed the casting iron lying on top of it. Its tip was shaped like a small straight line. With his other hand, he took the can of silver that was next to it and sprayed silver on the casting iron tip.Watching Rolland make the preparations to bar her EBEE tattoo, she felt relieved. She would no longer be attached to the EBEE. She would be free.“It has been brought to our attention that you recently took a mate. Do you understand that mates are a distraction in our line of work and a potential weapon to be used against us?” said Rolland as he approached her with the casting iron.“I understand,” she said, looking at him as she wondered if he meant it as a threat.Rolland pressed the casting iron three times on Coralis’ skin, where her EBEE tattoo was. The three burned lines formed what looked like a triangle. Lines all intersected with each other, except that a line wou
November 7, 2003 – 22:30“There is a lot of truth in what Sebastian just said and it’s probably exactly what happened. Gods from above know how many traitors want Blue and me out of their way. Blue, I heard about the summon and I urge you, do NOT surrender, not yet at least,” said Andrew.“You know they will send the entire cavalry if I don’t and Frank would probably be the one who ends up paying the price. I can’t do that to him.”“We’ll find a way, we know you didn’t do it,” said Stephanie.“I see you’ve got company.”“I’m with Frank’s family for his aunt’s birthday.”“I’ll be brief then. I was with you at the warehouse that night, I know you didn’t do it. When Blum called me, I remember seeing cameras outside of it. Even if these cameras have been tampered with, we should be able to prove it and argue that it was a setup. We will then need to make sure that ALL five elders are present so that Alfredino and Phraton can’t have a majority.“That way you can appeal for time to clear yo