Nine Swords

Silas smiled slightly at Elania's words and nodded as she gave him a brief rundown of the situation.

"So... an agent is missing here in New York. I get the feeling this won't be an easy Grab and Go type mission." he thought to himself.

As thoughts continued to move rapidly through his mind, Silas found himself wondering how the assailant at the docks knew the team would be there. He was too well prepared for just a "right place at the right time" scenario.

Alex stepped up behind the small group, hand clutched over his chest. Pain obviously still affected him from the hit he took. Hobbling up to the group, he set himself against the railing of the bridge.

"There's no such thing as a "Grab and Go" mission," he said, panting between words.

"Dear God...what the fuck did he really hit me with?" He pulled his shirt out by the collar, looking down at his chest.

Elania looks up from her phone as Alex shows up, speaking to the group.

"Blood Magic it look like to me, not the happy make you better kind either... our destination is Kingston New York, about 40 miles north of here on highway 87. The hotel where our lost agent was last seen should be our first stop."

Elania taps away at her phone once more, then puts it to her ear.

"Hello there, I need to reserve a rental car, preferably an SUV if you have one."

Hearing someone reply to his thought caught Silas by surprise. He turned to see who it was and saw that Alex had arrived panting and pulling at his shirt. Knowing it was Alex who heard his thought made him feel a little better. It was still a little disconcerting, but he could deal with that.

The enterprise SUV is arranged to pick up the group at the address you provide within the hour. There is an awkward silence from some of the group as they consider what they have just been through.

*

As the team stands looking around at each other, and man in a grey-plaid shirt and bluejeans turns the corner. You instantly recognize him as the man that attacked you from the loading docks - his hands are raised high.

"Hi there, don't attack me - my name is Archedemus. Don't be afraid."

SIlas looked up quickly when he heard the unknown voice speaking. The first thing to cross his mind was, "Not again!"

Seeing who was approaching put Silas on edge again. His red eyes began to glow violently and sparks of electricity could be seen flowing around his hands as he spoke to the man who had attacked the team.

"Not real smart, mister. You shouldn't have followed us here. You may have caught us by surprise before, but not this time". You could hear the warning and determined tone in Silas' voice as he spoke.

Silas took single step and vanished in a flash of light, when he reappeared he was standing between the team and the man in the grey plaid shirt. Everything around Silas became charged with electricity, the smell of ozone was unmistakeable.

The lightning crackling in Silas' hand shot out and hit the ground in front of the would be attacker leaving a scorch mark where it hit. A warning shot to let him know he shouldn't come any closer.

Elania had been previously, craning her neck around, looking for a public restroom she might be able to use to wash out her eye, before the man in the plaid shirt arrived. Before she could speak, Silas took action. She did not exactly disapprove, however she also did not want to see a repeat of what had just happened before. Still, she found it very bizarre, his mannerisms, the arms raised, the "hi there..."

"You, you had better be explaining yourself and fast. Or there will be more trouble. And after that bit of trouble is over, you will hear from Venice. Get to talking, we have a car coming."

At this point, while listening, she removes a bottle of water from her purse, and begins to pour some of it into a cupped hand, trying desperately to clear the blood from her eye.

*