He makes a quick motion pointing to the ground and then to the ceiling, which causes Salem's body to respond in kind, lifting off the floor and floating in the center of the room. Joker points towards the back. Salem's floating body goes over the desk and through the black drapes.
"I'll take care of him while you two head to the edge of the Black Forest." Joker gave his most devious smile to Kairo, whose face replied with scorn.
"Why the fuck would I bring her three
-because her mother and grandmother are summoners, and I need to know how much of them are in her." Joker cut Kairo's sentence short while turning on his heels to make his way to wherever Salem floated off. Kairo shot me a look full of disdain.
"For free." Kairo spat, stopping Joker at the drapes for a moment, causing him to relinquish a sigh.
"I'll tell you where to find Clown if you take Willow to the edge of the Black Forest." After hearing this, Kairo seemed to relax slightly.
"Deal." Kairo stomped his way to the front door, exiting the shop. I stood hesitating for a moment. Joker noticed this, sported a warm smile, and waited for my question.
"I'm not sure what a summoner is, but you only mentioned my mother and grandma was my father, something else?" The question seemed to plunge Joker into his memories.
"That's something you'll have to ask him when you see him." That was the most disappointing answer I could receive, and I don't think I did a good job hiding it, noticing this Joker cleared his through before speaking again.
"A summoner can summon a plethora of mythical companions from the Black Forest or even further... Your mother and grandmother are a particular sort that seems to have excellent deviations in their powers as generations pass." Joker couldn't hide his excitement, and honestly, I felt myself enjoying it, too. I could summon mythical beasts! One of my favorite RPG characters was often summoners, and now I'm off to get my own fire-breathing salamander.
"Is that all, Miss Rose?" I shifted my weight at the question.
"Can Titch not find my father?" He seemed to be anticipating the question, taking a deep breath before answering.
"No, he can not. Titch can only find people who are alive and also want to be found." My heart fell to my feet. My head felt like it was spinning as the room swayed under my feet.
"It's alright, Rose, your father is alive... Your mother may not have mentioned this, but your father and I grew up together. His family raised me, and we were bonded while young. I still feel him alive out there... Ah, speaking of bonding, you'll need this." Joker searched his pocket for a moment before retrieving a colorless woven bracelet and tossing it in my direction. I caught the accessory, turning it over in my hand.
"Since you've joined the Devils Advocates, you will have to contact the other members. Kairo will help you with that." The bracelet didn't seem special, so I quickly slipped it onto my wrist. It was pretty big for my arm at first, but similar to the scarf my grandmother gave me, it resized itself. After the resize, the bands changed. Some took a reddish hue while others darkened until black, leaving a few still hueless. The magical bracelet began to grow a charm that resembled a short blade dripping with a black substance that vaguely covered a red rose.
"What's the charm represent?" Joker eyed the charm a moment from across the room.
"It's your shadow weapon you obtained from the ring. It'll come in handy protecting yourself on jobs." The sound of rustling and groans from the back acquired both of our attention.
"Salem seems to be coming to any other questions you may have, Kairo surely should be able to answer. I'll work on fixing Salem up. You focus on bringing me back something interesting, Miss Rose." That devious smile returned to his face before he slipped through the black curtain, leaving me alone in the lobby. I turned and made my way to the exit.
Outside, Kairo stood at the bottom of the porch, smoking and angrily grumbling to himself. I made it down the wooden steps, approaching him. He seemed to be arguing quietly with something that floated about his head, making him turn as if it had appeared and disappeared around him.
"Kairo? You alright?" I asked pensively, watching him turn back and forth and mumble incoherently. There was no reply as he seemed deep in thought. I approached closer, now directly in his line of sight. He appeared to gaze past me or to the air around me. His left eye swam with an orange light while the other remained a usual hazel. More and more, he resembled a sleepwalker stuck in a trance. I snapped in front of his face and shouted his name a couple of times, making sure not to disturb anyone in the early morning. Irritation got the better of me. I grabbed his hand to pull him from his stupor. As I did, words of light filled the air.
Must return
Chase the rabbit
Was I here?
She was there.
Beware the queen & Cats ensnare.
A sense of panic and dread crept into my chest while urgency coursed through my veins, causing my heart to beat erratically. More words of light flooded my senses, overwhelming me until I let go of Kairo's hand. We stumbled back from each other. He seemed dazed and confused but was aware of his surroundings again.
"What the hell was that?!" I shouted, feeling very frustrated by the bombardment of unexpected mystical mishaps of the day.
"Oi... Could you see that?" Kairo's voice was shaky. He looked as if tears threatened to escape his eyes as he anticipated my reply.
"Yeah, the words, right? Who was where? What queen and cat? And why do I feel like running?" I managed to say between catching my breath. I felt like I just had a panic attack as the tightness in my chest started to loosen. Kairo glared at me before reaching his hand outward, causing a hat to appear. He put it on and made his way past me.
"Where are you going?" I asked while the sensations from the visions subsided.
"We are going to catch a railcar." He said, not breaking his stride as he walked. I, not wanting to be left behind, followed sheepishly as we made it several blocks to the nearest subway station. Me, still following behind him, watched as Kairo disappeared down the flight of stairs I followed, quickly catching up to him at the card swipe turnstiles.