Stratos Aeros Author Page

By: Stratos Aeros

Studying in the grand pinnacle of knowledge that is the Elinham Library of Magicology, Aubrey leans back from the stack of books in front of her. Blinking and rubbing her eyes, she struggles to focus on the texts. Noticing it is getting quite late, she jots some notes down in her small notebook and wraps up her thoughts for the night. She has spent too many weeks on research as of late. 

“I guess Lost magic will stay lost for at least one more day.” She talks out loud to herself.

“It doesn’t have to stay lost, I could help you to unlock its secrets.” The voice is creepy and deep, sending a shiver down her spine.

Aubrey looks back at the man appearing out of nowhere behind her. She sees his grin surrounded by poorly shaven stubble. Despite his unkempt face, his clothes demonstrate an expensive taste and vast wealth. But none of his appearance distracts from the uneasy feeling developing inside of her. However, curiosity strikes.

“What do you mean it doesn’t?” 

“My dear, I am Lord Rexim Maddigan and you are looking at the possessor of Danu’s largest collection of magical objects and books. I pride myself on the occult followings of the nine disciplines.” His grin grows with the talk of his collection.

“And you have something that pertains to the Lost Guild? I thought they wiped all books about them from existence.” Aubrey starts to doubt his intentions.

“Yes, it is one of three of my most prized books. I can show it to you, but I don’t allow it to leave my home.”

“Not a chance am I following you home just to maybe see a book on the subject I’m after.

“Not even to discover the secrets of the most powerful magic?” He taps his fingers together menacingly.

With that notion, Aubrey turns away from the man. She can tell when a situation will go down hill quickly for herself. With her mind on defense mode, Aubrey grabs her bag quickly and walks away from the strange man. In her haste, she forgets to grab her research notebook. Lord Rexim grabs the notebook and holds it up.

“Miss, wait madam!”

As he calls out, Aubrey quickens her escape from the library wing and heads toward the front door. A dark sense of urgency fills her mind as thoughts of being followed come forth. She shakes her head to clear the thoughts and exits the library onto the well lit streets of the circle drive. 

Aubrey carries on walking towards her apartment. She does want to get home as fast as possible. Whether it is the fear of something following her or the pure exhaustion from working late hours, her pace quickens as she walks. Distracting herself, she ponders what kind of book the stranger could possess that would unlock the secrets of the Lost Guild’s magic.

Unbeknownst to her, a pair of eyes is tracking her as she walks down the streets and where she hopes is away from danger. The being hidden in the darkness of night follows along the streets limping along behind her. It stays just out of sight of Aubrey as she walks along. 

The feeling inside of her grows as she occasionally hears footsteps and a dragging sound behind her. Aubrey turns to look behind her but sees no one around. She takes a step backwards but keeps looking around, paranoid that someone is following her. She takes a breath and decides that the creepy encounter with Lord Rexim Maddigan has her on edge and this must be all in her head.

“Take a breath Aubrey, let’s get home.” She says it to herself out loud.

Turning back towards her apartment, she keeps the quickened pace as she walks. Every so often she looks back or side to side for any sign of danger. After a very fearful walk the next few blocks, she finally arrives outside of her building. She walks around back to the entrance closer to her apartment.

As the door shuts behind her, a man stands on the sidewalk peering at the door she just entered. Dressed in all black, the stranger blends into the darkness outside. He watches her walk up the stairs inside of the building, before he approaches the door. Waving his hand, the metal lock on the door clicks and allows him entrance to the building. 

The man sneaks up the stairs tracking glimpses of Aubrey as she makes her way up to the third floor. He lowers his mask over his devilish grin as he gets closer to his prey. Aubrey unlocks her door and heads into apartment three zero five. The man watches from the edge of the stairs, he lets the girl enter her apartment under the guise of safety before he steps up onto the third floor.

Throwing her bag onto the couch as she walks in the door. She feels instant relief come over her, home in her cozy apartment. Books are piled up on the table and little notes are clung to each one. She begins undressing as she heads to the bathroom. Her appearance is breathtaking but her home is a frazzled mess. Much to do with her life of constant travel and research as a historian of magic.

She walks over to the shower and turns the heat all the way up as the water begins to flow. Steam builds up as the water boils into the air. Aubrey wastes no time getting into the steaming shower so that she can wash away the weariness and concern from her night. 

The front door latch clicks far from her ability to hear it. Slowly the door creeps open and the man walks in with the evilest of intentions surrounding him like an aura. He removes his mask, and a young man in his twenties is hiding underneath. He is handsome but still seeks to take what he wants rather than charm it. 

A grin comes across his face as he slowly walks closer to the bathroom. His victim is helpless and unaware of the dangers lurking outside of her calming shower. The man reaches his hand out towards the kitchen and a knife floats over to him by the dark will of his Mechana magic. The same magic that allows him to unlock doors from outside. Perhaps someone should invent a magic proof lock in this world, but for Aubrey it is too late.

The man stands in the doorway of the bathroom with the same sick grin growing as he looks at the silhouette of his prey through the curtain. He clenches the knife in one hand and reaches out with the other. As his fingers come just in contact with the slick fabric of the curtain, he is jerked backwards. 

A hook shaped stick clutches the stranger’s shirt and drags him into the living room. As he regains his balance in the hall outside the bathroom, he looks up bewildered. His eyes widen as dozens of Aubrey’s stare at him from every direction. All of them with red glowing eyes and pale white skin. The man swipes at one of them with the knife but misses wildly. 

He looks up and sees a clear path to the open front door. As he glances around the room again, the images of the women surrounding him start to close in around him. They reach out and lunge in his direction. With a pained look on his face, the stranger darts towards the door and heads for the stairwell. 

At the edge of the stairs he sees a black shadow with razor sharp talons reaching towards him. He pivots towards the steps but trips over his own feet. The man falls forward rolling down the steps and crashes to the bottom floor with a thud. As he rolls over the last tumble, he lands on his back with a block look in his eyes. The knife plunged deep into his own chest.

Aubrey sings a happy tune as she comes out of the bathroom in a clean green towel. She feels the same sense of impending doom from earlier and glances towards the door. It is shut but she notices that the latch is turned to the unlocked position. Walking over she latches it and lets the feeling leave her mind.

Her eyes see her bag still on the couch where she tossed it. But then she sees her notebook laying next to the unopened bag. Perfectly unharmed and just how she remembers it from the library. Her mind wonders for a second how it got on the couch and out of her bag. She slowly convinces herself that it must have fallen out when she tossed it. Aubrey hits the light and heads to bed.

Outside, Lord Rexim Maddigan drags the stranger from the building using just the hook of his cane. He pulls the body into a dumpster behind the building and closes the lid. The man takes a moment to catch his breath from the labors and then smirks at his work. Lord Rexim looks up towards the window of Aubrey’s apartment and nods.

“One day you’ll join my collection and no one else’s.”