He was just an ordinary boy. No superpowers, no magic, no great destiny, and even if he had, he had died far too soon for any of it to manifest.
He scowled down at the small body at the base of the ditch, annoyed at his own thoughts on the matter. This was reality, not some children’s tale where children get swept up in adult matters and solve all the world’s problems, defeating bad guys with powers they knew nothing about and walking away with a few battle scars and a mind well intact. From what he could see, the boy probably died with a broken mind from being tortured for so long.
The crunch of gravel, undergrowth and fallen leaves was a low white noise behind him, the drone of voices filling in the silence when bodies stilled. Some of the crunching grew louder as someone approached but he didn’t remove his gaze from the body below. “The rangers are here,” an all too familiar voice spoke off behind his left shoulder. The crunching stopped just out of sight on his left, emphasizing his lack of response. “You don’t have to do this one, Vex. I can call and see if-”
“You know you can’t ask her in on this one,” he cut in, voice low and barely carrying between the two of them. “This case would kill her.”
“This case is killing you, too,” the other pointed out, voice careful, light. Even without looking at them he could see the patience and content they simply radiated at all times, a saint among men if he had ever seen one. “Even if it is not in the same way as her.”
He finally caved and met their gaze. It was kinder than he cared for and his scowl deepened. “Don’t call her. I haven’t died yet.”
The other huffed a breath of a laugh, that soft, always present smile spreading wider at his dark humor. “You don’t get to die on me any time soon.” The other stepped passed him, placing a foot on the first eroded timber that marked the start of the makeshift stairs. “Come on. Before we lose any more evidence to the incoming weather.”
He moved to follow as his gaze went skyward briefly. The canopy was thin at the edge of the ditch leaving him a half decent view of the gray sky overhead. “Hopefully the rain waits for us to finish.”
The timbers marked the front of each earth-filled step that hugged the wall of the ditch, a branch off of the trail they had been on that crossed the base end of the ditch and down the rest of the slope on the other side. Annoyance flittered through his chest at being forced to walk down the side of the ditch away from the body only to back track along the ditch’s valley but he wasn’t a park ranger and the surrounding forest was government protected.
The other greeted the two park rangers waiting for them where the stairs turned into the level trail, introducing the both of them. He paid just enough attention to catch that they were to follow one of the ranger’s specific steps through the underbrush and that if they wanted to check anything, to ask the ranger where to move. He gave a grunt to affirm he understood when asked; he gave the other a flat look when they glanced his way as their guide started off into the underbrush.
The trek was slow going but they made it to the boy’s body just fine. The other kept up some dialog with the ranger while taking pictures of the scene. He let their voices becoming droning background noise as he looked up the side of the ditch.
Not a single footprint to be found, not that he had been expecting any; they had already guessed the boy’s body had been literally tossed into the ditch from viewing it from the top and the single imprint two-thirds of the way down and the subsequently smashed vegetation was proof to that. Silence settled brief between the other and the ranger and he took the opportunity to ask the other as they straightened. “All set?”
“Yeah,” slipped off their tongue but the word wasn’t completely solid. The other’s gaze was still on the hillside, camera held near their chest as if they wanted to take more pictures. Unease filled his chest at the sight.
“Gallows.”
The other blinked and their gaze found his. It took less than a second but he noticed that short moment of the other reorienting themself. A frown pulled at his expression unbeknownst to him as they offered a cheeky smile. “I’m good to go,” they confirmed before looking to the ranger. “We’ll follow you.”
The ranger nodded. “Watch your step on our way back,” slipped from the ranger’s lips as if by rote.
The trek back seemed shorter. He stepped back onto the trail and immediately started up the steps. He heard the roll of chatter before someone’s hurried steps chased after him.
“Thoughts?” the other asked, settling somewhere behind his left shoulder.
His gaze moved to the boy’s body. “I think this is stupid.”
There a breath and if he knew the other as well as he was sure he did, they had given a soft chuckle at that. The words they spoke held the smile for it, at least. “Besides your thoughts on the park’s restrictions.”
There was glint of light at the edge of his vision and his gaze flicked skyward in time to catch the tail of lightning several mountains away. “If this is truly tied to that case...” He didn’t realize he had come to a stop until the thunder - faint and short - rolled over them. “If it is, I’m not sure we’re equipped enough to handle it.”
He started back up the stairs. Gallows followed him; the distance between them was like a physical weight on his back left of his spine. “Don’t sell yourself short, Vex. You’re more prepared for this than you think.”
Pinpricks shot up his back at those words but it wasn’t the words that made him stop and turn a wide, concerned gaze on the other; it was the way the words moved through the air, how they sounded off, and one look at the other confirmed his instinct.
His hands shot out before he even fully registered what he was seeing. Gallows collapsed into his chest, tremors coursing through the other’s body so severely he was certain his arms would become numb from it. Something brushed his cheek and despite knowing fully what it had been, he hadn’t heard the weapon fire. Instinct slammed his side into the ditch wall. There was shouting somewhere over his head but his attention refused to focus on it. There were five people at the bottom of the steps - alive, breathing, moving bodies - and he almost barked down at them to get the boy’s body.
Logic got the better of his tongue.
Screw the case. If they lost the body because of some nutter, then fine, but they weren’t going to lose any living personnel if he could manage it.
The ranger that had been their guide looked up at him, meeting his gaze.
He waved the ranger towards him, his heart in his throat as he realized he was asking someone to risk their neck for him. There wasn’t a hint of hesitation as the ranger darted up the steps, hunched over and close to the ditch wall. As soon as the ranger was practically on top of him and the other, he hissed, “I need your help getting Gallows back down the stairs.”
The ranger gave him a brisk nod. No question, no challenge, just complete obedience for his one request. The ranger gave Gallows a quick glance over before tugging the other up as he pushed.
There was no noise from the other. Concern flooded him as he realized they were unconscious.
The ranger glanced towards the top of the steps as he got his feet under him, taking some of Gallows’s weight. He waited, watching. There was no signal but he knew the moment the ranger decided it was safe to move. As one they quickly made it down the stairs to the small group still huddled there. Unknown hands reached out for the other and it was all he could do to not bat them away. Words were thrown about. He heard none of it as he turned his gaze to the top of the steps.
“Bastards are going to light the whole forest on fire.” His gaze snapped to the ranger now at his side, the one that had been their guide. Those eyes met his again. “We can get you and the other agent out of here but it’s not a fast route and your friend needs serious medical attention as soon as we can get it to them.”
“Any of yours know how bad it is?” he found himself asking.
Those eyes narrowed so minutely, he was surprised he caught it. “Yes, and the sooner they get serious medical attention, the better the meager chances of survival are.”
Something exploded and they all ducked. The ranger covered him, hissing some profanity. He peeked from the crook in his arm up at the ranger and saw that while the ranger had covered him with their body, their gaze was focused at the top of the ditch. From his angle, it was almost as if the ranger’s eyes had turned a molten color, like lava or fire, but when the ranger looked down at him, they were a normal, almost amber brown. “I need you to trust me.”
Confusion rushed through like adrenaline. “What?”
The ranger’s eyes narrowed but it wasn’t in annoyance. It looked almost calculated. “If you want the other to live, I need you to trust me.”
Bewilderment took over the confusion. “I do as much as I-”
He didn’t get to finish his sentence. A hand latched around his arm and forced him to stand as the ranger pulled away. The ranger dragged him closer to the small huddle. He was released at the group’s edge.
The ranger pointed towards the other end of the trail, the one that went down the slope on the other side of the ditch’s end. “Get everyone over to that side and down a hundred meters. Casey, I need you with me. We’re mitigating as much of the remaining damage as we can.”
Outside the other ranger that had been with the guide earlier, the other three were strangers to him. It was one of the strangers that spoke up. “What of the two officers?”
“Not a cop” he corrected out of habit.
The ranger that had been his guide caught and held his gaze. For a horrifying moment, it felt like this stranger could see his very soul and he tensed at the implications that thought left behind. “We can trust them.” The ranger dropped his gaze to look at the one that had spoken. “Heal the injured one and make sure the other keeps his head down.”
A different voice piped up, a frantic edge to their heated words. “You can’t be seriously considering exposing-” They cut themself off before they finished their statement.
The ranger glared at the speaker and he swore he heard a growl under the ranger’s next words. “We can trust them.” This time the ranger’s eyes were a molten color. “At minimum, he’s already aware of it. To what extent can be discussed later. Now go, before they notice we’re down here.”
One of the strangers grabbed his arm and pulled him along down the trail. He glanced back seeing the two rangers he had been introduced to had remained behind. As the ridge came up to block his view, the context of the conversation finally clicked.
These people were of Magic.
A Dark And Stormy Cliche
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