Young Writers Society

"Not a book club," Rew corrected. Agent Khaos seemed like he was feeling awkward. Rew wasn't sure how he could fix that in the moment, but he would definitely talk to him later to make sure he was doing alright - he wouldn't be the first socially uncomfortable person Rew had met. In the moment, though, he needed to clarify things. "The Book Club. It's a place that nonhumans hang out - usually the higher up ones. It's nice. The snacks are great, and the books they pick are pretty good, too."

Roxanne listened to the others talk.

So, they were going to see Athena. Roxanne had no idea if her aunt would recognize her if this was even the same goddess they were talking about.

"I was part of a book club," she said off-handedly. "That was a lot of fun."

"You had me at snacks," said James, "I'm sold. Let's go check out this place...although would they allow me because I, regrettably am 100% human?"

Rew mulled it over.

"Usually, no?" he guessed. "But you're not human right now, so they'll probably let you in the room. Kate, Roxanne, Autumn and Arthur might not be let in, but they might make an exception because they've all been affected by magic?"

He hoped they would. He didn't think it was a good idea to get separated. All the horror movies he watched that had that trope ended horribly. While Rew didn't think this was a horror movie, he was definitely limited like this - he wouldn't be able to do much to help.

Puck crossed his arms.

"We still have a problem," he pointed out. "We don't know where the club is. How are we going to track that down?"

Huh. That was a good point. Normally Rew would have just used a teleportation spell or a rift to get there, but he didn't have either one at his disposal right now. Still, not all the members had the same abilities as him. There had to be a way that they normally got there-

"Oh!" Rew exclaimed. "I know how to get there. Members get a mark on their souls that let them in. There's official entrances to the actual place the library is held in, but you can also get there from other libraries if you have that mark. So all we have to do is find this town's library, get the door open, and slip inside! As long as I'm thinking of the Book Club, it should bring us there."

"So we're going to storm a random town library as a variety of scary looking monsters to try and enter a place where some of us might not even be able to go," said James, "sounds like a great Halloween outing. Let's get this show on the road."

They did exactly that.

The group left the cemetery and started walking into town. It felt like the Halloweens that Rew remembered seeing last - there were kids wandering the streets dressed in costumes and armed with pillowcases. But there were more parents than he last remembered seeing with trick-or-treaters. Rew couldn't figure out the reason for that, but he shrugged it off. He was a little behind on Earth things right now. He had been spending much more time with Romi.

Still, there was one thing that was bothering him.

...Why hadn't anyone commented on their appearances yet?

Rew wasn't using any magic; he couldn't use it if he had even wanted to. There was no reason for anyone to be ignoring them or thinking that they were normal. Rew had actually been preparing for some kind of confrontation.

He glanced back at the group.

When his gaze fell on Puck, he saw he was concentrating hard. Rew suddenly remembered how Puck had used an illusion back at the tree earlier - he must have been using an illusion on the group right now.

As long as he didn't distract Puck, they would be okay.

But they did need something to kill the time with as they walked.

Rew thought for a moment, then asked the group, "What are you normally like?"

If the Book Club didn't allow humans, maybe Roxanne would make an exception. Her father was a god, so hopefully she would be given a pass.

Roxanne looked around, smiling softly at the kids in their costumes. They looked so excited, and they reminded her of her own trick-or-treat experiences. She had half a mind to join them.

But, she wasn't ready to answer why she looked like She-Ra. Thank goodness Puck decided to cast that illusion spell.

"What are you normally like?" asked Rew, glancing at the group. Roxanne started at the break in silence, but she thought for a moment.

"Mischevious, I guess," she said, "and rebellious. I've also been told I'm too reckless for my own good." She chuckled. "I've recently started college. Just this summer, I left the summer camp I've been going to since I was seven."

Rew gave a wise nod.

"I've always wanted to go to a summer camp," he said, envy and disappointment lacing his voice. "College would be fun, too. I've tried the summer camp thing before, but it didn't really work out - apparently, camping in the woods in the summer isn't really the same thing."

"Normally...well...that word tends to have multiple meanings with me usually, for now I'd say...I'm a bit of an agent...which is kind of obvious by the name, Agent Khaos...just your general...secret agent type shall we say...I think that should be enough to prevent me from spilling any confidential information...I mean I doubt that confidentiality technically applies to this world here seeing as I doubt anyone back home knows what's going on, but ehh...better safe than sorry." James flashed him a thumbs up, or his closest imitation with the claws on his hand.

Rew nodded again, turning around so he was still in the front but could face everyone now.

"That makes sense," he said, right as he walked backwards into a telephone pole. He winced a little, but didn't outright comment on the pain. Instead, he just sidestepped the pole and kept walking backwards down the sidewalk. "I can understand the confidentiality. I've had to keep secrets before, too."

“So have I,” said Roxanne, sidestepping the pole. “How long until we reach the Book Club?” she asked.

Rew crossed his arms.

"That's a good question," he said. He thought for a moment, tilting his head to the side as he narrowly avoided walking backwards into a street sign. "We're getting to the center of town, so it's probably only a few more minutes until we find the library!"