Sidekicks ~5~

“Absolutely not” Flavio was undermining his statement with strong, very clear hand gestures. He did not raise his voice but that did not take any of the sharp edge off of his words. Even the tigers seemed to feel the change in his mood, suddenly appearing nervous, roaming through the cage in search for the cause of their trainer’s rash anger. This was not something they were used to. Flavio immediately lifted his flat hand, keeping constant eye contact with the dangerous creatures. He knew that it was time to get out of here and calmly approached the door where Celio was already waiting for him on the other side.

Less than ten minutes ago the magician had received another unexpected text message from an unknown number. Considering the contents of the text message there was really only one possible sender coming into question.

Could not be there last night.

Hope you’re still up for the deal.

Same time, same location.

We’ll meet in front of the building.

Now Celio was still clutching the phone between his long fingers, pointing at a specific line of the message, clearly trying to prove something to his best friend.

“Look, we don’t even have to go in there again. It says that right here”

Flavio shut the gate behind himself, crossing his arms, barely even looking at the phone. “Don’t you think they could’ve made that clear a little earlier? Like…I don’t know…maybe before last night?”

Celio sighed dramatically, almost as if he had been trying to explain this to Flavio for at least the tenth time. “It’s too late for that now. And this time they seem to be serious. I think they’re really gonna show up”

But Flavio shook his head hard and final. “And what then? You don’t actually want to buy a snake, do you?”

Of course, Celio had not thought about all this in great detail yet, but he was pretty good at making things up as he went along and was intending to do precisely this. “Maybe I’m not even going to talk to them. But I just want to see them, you know. We can just watch from around the corner…know what we’re up against…and then leave immediately…please…it’ll be fun”

“I’m sorry but…” Flavio turned to leave. “I’m out of this one” He hesitated for a second. “And you should be too”

But at this point, Celio’s mind had already been made up: He would refuse to just ‘be out’. Maybe tomorrow he would follow Flavio’s advice. But not today. And especially not tonight.

It had already been dark outside when he had left the circus, right after reassuring himself that Flavio had been, in fact, fast asleep. “Good night, tiger” He had mumbled lovingly, then he had added “I’m sorry” although he was not entirely sure what for.

Now he was only feeling a little lost out here without his best friend constantly nagging and telling him which way to go next. He may have been turning the wrong way once or twice, but he recognized some of the fading graffiti that was glowing underneath the white street lights. In fact, the club ought to be right around the corner.

Celio felt a grin spreading across his face and a sense of tingling pride puffing up his chest. That was until he nearly bumped into a hooded figure, shoulders colliding hard. The magician knew better than to complain out loud. This had not been the first rude person he had encountered tonight, after all. But this stranger seemed to be just as taken aback about the collision as Celio had been. They stopped to stare, shoving their hands deeper into their pockets. The magician was about to apologise when the stranger straightened their shoulders and disappeared farther into the darkness. Weird.

Celio did not take the time to give the stranger’s behaviour a second thought for he could already hear the thumbing bass vibrating through the air, confirming to the rhythm of his heart beat tightening up in his chest. Excitement was roaring louder than fear and the sudden rush put a bounce into his step that seemed completely out of place underneath this starless sky.

Like yesterday, there were no people waiting outside the club. According to his phone, he was right on time. Maybe the dealers were not. He did not expect an illegal exotic animal dealer to have a concept of punctuality.

About halfway into the alley, Celio could hear a loud clanking noise coming from the street, then the sound of glass breaking, followed by complete darkness. The street lamp that had scarcely shone its light into the alleyway had probably been damaged by some kids. Celio was more worried about the inconvenience of being unable to see his own hands, rather than about what kind of figures might lurk in the darkness. How was he supposed to find the entrance now?

In an awkward attempt to get the motion sensor around the door react to his movements, Celio did a little bounce while waving his hands, only to find that the darkness remained. He was struggling with his balance upon landing back on the ground. Quite amused about his own clumsiness, he chuckled softly until he could feel a cold hand firmly gripping his shoulder. He somehow expected this to be a joke, someone attempting to scare him and laughed awkwardly. The sound of his own laughter was echoing through the hollow soundlessness of the dark alleyway, distorting it further until it felt almost inhuman. No sound was emerging from the stranger holding on to him but his hand was clearly still there. Celio found himself squirming lightly; his mouth opened up and closed again, like a fish gasping for water.

“Very funny” Again, he tried to laugh it off, but the grip only tightened, making sure to leave a purple mark in the morning. “Ouch” Celio exclaimed, trying to free himself. “You hurt me”

Four more hands were suddenly approaching him from behind, grabbing his wrists and arms, twisting them in a rather painful way behind his back and holding them in place.

“Now that really hurt” Celio kept complaining. Further struggles were put to an end immediately by a single punch. The magician could hear his own nose cracking underneath the iron knuckles. He cried out in pain, although this was definitely not the first time he had his nose broken by some bully. But this was something else. He could taste blood in his mouth. That was new.

“Shut the fuck up” Celio felt himself flinching, already expecting the next hit, but instead, the smooth voice kept talking. “Who are you?”

The magician did not dare to reply. Wasn’t he supposed to keep his mouth shut? He pressed his lips together hard. There was a sharp pain stinging through is upper lip. It felt swollen and torn.

A fifth hand forcefully grabbed him by his collar. “Answer me!”

Celio shook his head. “You just told me to shut up” For the first time he was not trying to be funny or smart. Naked fear was causing his brain and body to shut down, denying him to act appropriately. His remark was rewarded by another blow right into his face. Warm blood was trickling down from his eyebrow, forcing him to close his eyes in order to shield them from the red liquid.

“You think this is a fucking joke?” The hand at his collar was aggressively shaking him.

“What are you?”

“I’m a magician” Celio tried, but his voice had lost every bit of its ease. And now it was tainted by sheer terror and genuine fear for his life.

The voice hesitated, barely long enough for Celio to realise. “Don’t fuck with me, boy” The grip around his collar loosened. “There’s no way, you’re a wizard”

“I can prove it to you. Just let me go and I’ll show you some tricks” By now his voice had receded into a mere whimper. “…please”

But the hands were still holding him firm in place, bound to leave bruises wherever the strong fingers were pressing hard against his skin. For the first time, someone else was raising their voice, dangerously close to Celio’s neck. “He’s just a human, boss. I can smell it”

There was something sharp grazing the thin skin around his throat. Too small for a knife. Perhaps a fingernail. Then the first voice seemed to be coming closer. There was an unsettling cold emerging from the bodies confiding him.

“A human…” The voice repeated slowly. “That’s interesting. But just to be sure…” Celio could hear the smile in his voice. “Break his arm”

The sudden rush of adrenaline was providing the magician with enough energy to struggle against his tormenters, but he was shut down immediately by the sheer injustice of three people fighting against one. He could hear the bone breaking before he could feel the pain. But once the pain came, it was impossible to ignore. Thick and sharp it was jerking through his body, throbbing underneath his skin, dull and heavy. His scream was twisted with pain, echoing back from the walls. He wasn’t even aware it had been his own voice.

The voice was coming closer again. “Who sent you?”

“There must have been a mix up” Celio’s breath was short and sharp. The mixture of useless attempts to fight back and endure the pain had drained him out completely. Hot tears were smudging the blood on his cheeks. “No one sent me here”

There was a long pause, followed by a weary sigh.

“Finish him”

A sharp whiplash cut through the air. It was still dark when Celio could feel the silhouette in front of him suddenly stumble. He was miraculously swept off his feet, hitting the ground hard, hissing a spectacular collection of curse words underneath his breath. Neither the magician, nor the two figures behind his back knew how to react, but the confusion didn’t last long when unexpected roaring white lights were suddenly blinding them. Celio was unable to shield his eyes with his hands and the neon lights were only turning into flashing colours behind his instinctively closed eyelids. For a moment he actually believed to have died at the hands of those strangers, but the pain was still very much real. This was not what Heaven was supposed to feel like. There was still a throbbing pressure coming from his broken arm. His cheeks and lips felt numb and thick from the brutal beating they had taken.

Meanwhile his tormenters must have been just as startled by the lights and their leader’s downfall as he had been himself. The hold around his wrists and arms was still strong, but nothing else happened. Everyone seemed to be frozen in time and the sudden stillness felt quite unsettling.

As Celio was finally brave enough to open his eyes again, he could see a blurry shadow against the familiar neon lights around the entrance. His eyes needed a moment to adjust but when they did, the unrecognisable silhouette eventually took shape and Celio could see the red jacket, rows of polished golden buttons reflecting the lights, white pants, knee high boots, tousled hair…

Merely a few seconds must have passed since the unexpected visitor had made himself known, but time appeared to be passing in what felt like slow motion to Celio.

“What even…” The leader of the gang exclaimed, while getting back up. Celio was only briefly glancing to the man that was suddenly at his feet, before finally having a closer look at his best friend who appeared to have just saved his life. Incredible.

However, Flavio seemed to be just as confused about his accidental success as everyone else surrounding him. The whip he had used to swipe the man off of his feet was loosely lying on the ground now, his fingers clutched tightly around its handle. His face was grim, brows furrowed in surprise, lips slightly parted. He obviously wasn’t sure what to do next and before anyone could realise, it was already too late for the both of them to react properly.

The leader of the group had long gotten back up to his feet. He was at least one head taller than the two boys, dark haired with sharp features. Celio did not catch on to any more of his looks as he brutally lunged at Flavio with inhuman speed, slamming him against the wall. Celio could hear rips cracking, and a piercing cry of pain. He tried to wiggle himself out of the stranger’s grip, yelling something, but his voice was cracking mid-sentence. A fist came down on the back of his head. It made him feel dizzy and nauseous. “Stop it” His voice didn’t sound like his own. He wasn’t used to this kind of agony coming from his very own lips. Flavio’s cries of pain didn’t sound familiar either. He just wanted it to stop.

There was more blood now, sticking to Flavio’s hair and clothes. Some of it was dripping down from a wound at the back of his head. The leader of the gang was still repeatedly striking his best friend who did not stand a chance against the size and strength of this man. Celio didn’t want to watch but there was nothing he could do. The men behind him wouldn’t let him go, but they would not kill him either. Why didn’t they just?

His head was getting heavy, he felt like throwing up and the pain from his head and arm was slowly retreating into numbness. Right before his eyes fell close entirely, he could see another shadow emerging from the side. Suddenly, he was wide awake again, watching the dark shadow — about the same size as his attackers — throwing himself at the leader. There was a deep, inhuman growl coming from behind him and he was forcefully released from the grip, stumbling away, almost losing his balance in the process. Only briefly, he turned his head to see another shadow pinning down both hooded figures. His priority, however, was a different one.

Like a drunk, he staggered towards his best friend, lying right there on the cold ground, his eyes closed. He fell to his knees, his broken arm only loosely hanging at his side for it was impossible to move.

“Flavio” He yelled, resisting the urge to grab his friend by his shoulders and shake him awake. There was no response, but he was relieved to see his chest moving up and down. It was only a weak movement, almost unnoticeable, but it was there. He was still breathing.

“Idiot…” Celio huffed. A single tear came rolling down his smudged cheeks. “…you said you were done. You weren’t supposed to be here” He felt his hand shaking as he ran a careful hand through Flavio’s hair. Streams of blood were covering his face like rivers on a map.

His whole body was trembling now with sobs. “This isn’t funny, okay? Get up, you’re fine. I’m the one that gets to be punched, not you” He laughed, bitter and broken. “I thought we made that clear”

A dark shadow was cast on Flavio as the two men that had come to their rescue approached Celio from behind. Instinctively believing that they may be after him too, the magician winced and turned his head, only to look right into the faces of two masked men. The taller one of them was dressed in all black, the other in midnight blue. Celio had heard of them before, of course. He had wanted to believe that they were real. Under any other circumstances, perhaps, he would have gotten star struck upon meeting them now. Kneeling here on the ground right at those two men’s feet, he felt smaller than ever.

“You better get up and get out of here before the police arrive” The taller one of the two suggested in a commanding voice. He seemed quite unfazed by the situation and even though half of his face was hidden behind a dark mask, he seemed to be disgusted by the two boy’s existence. Celio had imagined the Wolf to be more heroic.

“I can’t…” He had not realised that he was still crying until he could hear his own shaky voice. “He can’t get up…he’s not waking up”

The other man — Celio knew him as the Nightingale — suddenly moved, playfully punching the Wolf’s shoulder. “What the hell, Ally. Don’t be a jerk, we just saved their lives” He stepped forward to offer Celio a friendly hand. The magician did not take it. He didn’t want to leave Flavio lying on the cold ground.

The Wolf huffed, glowering at both his partner and Celio. “We shouldn’t have done that, though. It’s their own fault. What the hell were you two doing here anyway? Have you any idea what you’re messing with? You better stay the fuck away from this, understood?”

The magician could not quite grasp the meaning behind those words. Everything seemed far away and blurry. He was nodding anyway, although he did not know what he was agreeing to. Again, his eyes fell on his best friend, unconsciously checking whether he was still breathing. This should not have happened. He imagined Flavio sleeping at home. The way he had right before Celio had left. He did not look peaceful now. His features were hardened and disfigured with blood. Any similarity between this lifeless body and his best friend felt wrong and twisted. They were nothing alike.

“Hey” Celio had not even noticed that the Nightingale had crouched down beside him. “We just called you an ambulance. I’ll bring you down to the street. They’ll pick you up there”

Then, after a moment of silence in which Celio did not response. “Your friend is going to be alright. Trust me, I’ve seen worse”