We did not plan for this.
That's my first thought seeing the gun. We had thought of a hundred different spells Wasp could use, but we hadn't realised he could have a gun.
How did we not realise he could have a gun? He had a gun in the dream too.
"Give me the elemental," he says to Cecil with victory in his voice. I don't think he's noticed me and Rachel on the top of the stairs yet with Flame.
Cecil point his wand at us over his shoulder, without looking back. First I don't realise what he's doing, but then Wasp looks at us. Or rather, he looks straight through us. Cecil has made us invisible. As long as we stay out of Wasps way and don't make noise, we're good. Or any kind of noise, for that matter. Which is easier said than done with an angry elemental in our hands.
Wasp blinks in confusion at the spot Cecil pointed at, meaning us, and turns his eyes back to Leea and Cecil.
"Where is the elemental?" Wasp says, now with a hint of annoyance in his voice. He's getting impatient, coming here waving a gun and only getting the reaction of Cecil pointing at nothing.
"We," Cecil says slowly but loudly, "Will never give you the elemental. The NALMC squad is on it's way here right now to arrest you. You've lost. You're going to jail. You blew it. You blew it bad. Do you really want to add shooting us to your charges?"
The gun goes off. Leea waves her wand, putting up a protection spell. She's too late. The bullet hits Cecil in the right shoulder and he falls. I let out a gasp. A too loud gasp.
Wasp looks up the stairs, at the point we're standing at. A look of realisation washes over his face. He knows we're here.
"Well, that just means I have to do this faster that I was planning," Wasp says, with a small smile on his face and takes a step in through the door. We take a step back as silently as we can, ready to run.
Then a football appears out of nowhere at the spot Wasp's head was a half a second earlier. Wasp falls and loses a hold of the gun. Leea rushes for the gun and grabs it from the floor.
The football that knocked Wasp out rolls gently into the kitchen door and stops. Tony appears in the what used to be a doorway.
"What the hell?" he asks, "I come home after a good weekend of games, and what I find is that the door has been blown up and there's a guy standing at it's place, shooting the people inside."'
Leea just stares at him, unable to answer.
"My ball did knock him unconscious, right?" Tony realises and looks down at Wasp, who really does seem unconscious.
I rush down the stairs with a huge noise that gets Tony to look up. And see nothing. Dammit, invisibility.
"It's me," I say, "I'm invisible. Don't freak out. Leea, do you know how to turn be back?"
Cecil moans on the floor, holding his shoulder.
"Ok, Leea, never mind. Call an ambulance. I can deal being invisible for a little longer."
Leea digs out her phone and dials the emergency number.
The squad from the NALMC arrives before the ambulance. They take Wasp away, and turn me, Rachel and Flame back visible. They work together with the soon after that arrived ambulance crew to get Cecil to the hospital.
Mom comes home a couple of hours after that, when I'm still explaining everything to the NALMC people and Tony with the help of Leea and Rachel. She's shocked of course. After all, our house doesn't have a door any more and there's quite a lot of blood on the hall carpet. We explain everything to her too, and after freaking out she calms down a little once the NALMC agrees to pay the repairs for the damage Wasp has caused.
The NALMC people also insists on taking Flame with them. That's when I start to cry a little again, and so does Leea. It's partly because they're raking Flame away, and partly just simple exhaustion. It gets a little better when Rachel promises to go back to Dublin with them and make sure that Flame gets back home to us as soon as possible. And anyway, some of the people are going to stay in town almost until Christmas in the hope to find some more elementals with Flame's help, just like we tried to. So we might still see them around before they go.
And then I really need to go sleep. Leea's too tired to go home, so she joins me in my wide bed.
We fall asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows.
~x~
It's the day of our big choir Christmas show. We're standing in the front of the hall at the music center of the town.
Everything is shiny and red and green and silver and gold. It smells like spruces and cinnamon and gingerbread. We're wearing ridiculous Christmas-themed clothes, but that's ok. We have the same kind every year. It's a part of Christmas for me, just as much as a decorated tree and presents.
We've saved our new Carol for the last, as a climax. The other songs are just normal, old, classic Christmas carols.
Just as the first notes sound of our own song, I spot Cecil in the crowd. His shoulder and arm are wrapped and held up with a cloth, but other than that he looks to be ok. I feel a pang on guilt I haven't been able to find the time to go see him in the hospital. Not that I didn't try
He looks at me with a happy smile on his face and nods.
I burst into carol.
_____________________________________________________________
~matu
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