The Sanctuary looked nothing like the seat of a magical government. Actually, it looked a lot like an office building. An office building without any windows. And with rather eerie angel statues everywhere, including one at the entrance which made her jump and squeak and clutch at both Stephanie and Des's hands.
She couldn't quite muster the nerve to look away from it until they were all the way down the hall. Who knew what sorcerers could do? Maybe they actually could make time-travelling angel statues.
Occasionally they passed a tired-looking staff-member, including what Stephanie called the Administrator (who was apparently some kind of personal aide to the Council of Elders). Administrator Tipstaff had told them that two of the 'Elders' were in one of the security training rooms. No mention of magic was made at all, and Tipstaff barely gave them a curious glance. Aside from the minor angel-statue startle, the Sanctuary was surprisingly mundane.
Right up until they walked into the training room just in time to see a gold-glowing man destroy someone with a blast of light. Melissa let out a cry and jumped back, dragging Stephanie behind her and reaching for Desmond's hand again at once. Shaken, she couldn't quite tear her eyes off the glowing man enough to actually look at the very attractive young man who had approached them at a fast clip.
"I'm okay!" someone called, and a moment later Melissa saw another man, identical to the one who had dissolved, waving at them from across the room. "All good! I'm okay!"
He began making his way across the floor toward the man who'd just destroyed him. "Is that man glowing?" Melissa asked shakily without able to tear her gaze away or answer the handsome man's question. In fact, her grip on Des's hand was rather tight. "Why is that man glowing?"
The man had turned toward them, in fact. His eyes were lit up gold, and the light simultaneously flowing around him as if he was a stone in a river and cascaded around him like he was the source of a spring. It was beautiful and so indescribably magical that Melissa felt every hair on her body stand up on end with the eeriness of it all.
"Hey, Sol, don't you think you'd better turn off your lightbulb now?" suggested the blond man who hadn't actually dissolved, taking his arm.
"I'd love to," said Sol, tilting his head at the blond without shifting his gaze, "but I'm not entirely sure how."
"Think of a wonderful thought," Gabe sang quietly with a little grin, "any merry little thought. Think of Christmas, think of snow; think of sleigh-bells, off you go!"
Melissa snorted and then started laughing. It had an edge of hysteria, true, but all of a sudden all she could see was a man covered in pixie-dust just like in the Peter Pan cartoon.
"Hilarious," 'Sol' said dryly. "Excuse me a moment while I find the 'off' switch."
Melissa didn't see what he did. He closed his eyes and took a breath, and maybe he relaxed. Either way, a moment later the light stopped falling around him. It pattered to the floor in a light rain, and the wash of it at his feet rolled outward in a gently vanishing ripple. When he opened his eyes, the glow was already mostly gone, even though it didn't keep his oddly blank gaze from remaining eerie. Melissa caught her breath, knew her eyes were wide, and still couldn't quite stop staring.
"Is this the sort of thing you do every day?" she asked Stephanie a little dazedly.
no subject
She couldn't quite muster the nerve to look away from it until they were all the way down the hall. Who knew what sorcerers could do? Maybe they actually could make time-travelling angel statues.
Occasionally they passed a tired-looking staff-member, including what Stephanie called the Administrator (who was apparently some kind of personal aide to the Council of Elders). Administrator Tipstaff had told them that two of the 'Elders' were in one of the security training rooms. No mention of magic was made at all, and Tipstaff barely gave them a curious glance. Aside from the minor angel-statue startle, the Sanctuary was surprisingly mundane.
Right up until they walked into the training room just in time to see a gold-glowing man destroy someone with a blast of light. Melissa let out a cry and jumped back, dragging Stephanie behind her and reaching for Desmond's hand again at once. Shaken, she couldn't quite tear her eyes off the glowing man enough to actually look at the very attractive young man who had approached them at a fast clip.
"I'm okay!" someone called, and a moment later Melissa saw another man, identical to the one who had dissolved, waving at them from across the room. "All good! I'm okay!"
He began making his way across the floor toward the man who'd just destroyed him. "Is that man glowing?" Melissa asked shakily without able to tear her gaze away or answer the handsome man's question. In fact, her grip on Des's hand was rather tight. "Why is that man glowing?"
The man had turned toward them, in fact. His eyes were lit up gold, and the light simultaneously flowing around him as if he was a stone in a river and cascaded around him like he was the source of a spring. It was beautiful and so indescribably magical that Melissa felt every hair on her body stand up on end with the eeriness of it all.
"Hey, Sol, don't you think you'd better turn off your lightbulb now?" suggested the blond man who hadn't actually dissolved, taking his arm.
"I'd love to," said Sol, tilting his head at the blond without shifting his gaze, "but I'm not entirely sure how."
"Think of a wonderful thought," Gabe sang quietly with a little grin, "any merry little thought. Think of Christmas, think of snow; think of sleigh-bells, off you go!"
Melissa snorted and then started laughing. It had an edge of hysteria, true, but all of a sudden all she could see was a man covered in pixie-dust just like in the Peter Pan cartoon.
"Hilarious," 'Sol' said dryly. "Excuse me a moment while I find the 'off' switch."
Melissa didn't see what he did. He closed his eyes and took a breath, and maybe he relaxed. Either way, a moment later the light stopped falling around him. It pattered to the floor in a light rain, and the wash of it at his feet rolled outward in a gently vanishing ripple. When he opened his eyes, the glow was already mostly gone, even though it didn't keep his oddly blank gaze from remaining eerie. Melissa caught her breath, knew her eyes were wide, and still couldn't quite stop staring.
"Is this the sort of thing you do every day?" she asked Stephanie a little dazedly.