Three Sorcerers and a Baby, Pt. 1 (2.2k Words)
Hello, I come to you with the first chapter of my Obey Me fic with my OCs. It is rushed and not very good, but I love it very much. Plus, you get to be in the story! That’s right, you are the MC that’ll appear in this fic. Pronouns are kept gender neutral, of course, but it’s still you. I hope you enjoy!
There’s very little someone can do to turn heads while walking through the city of London. Unfortunately, wearing a full armor suit while carrying a baby in a pink onesie is something that people tend to stare at. Centurion is aware of all the eyes on him as he tries to tug his cloak over the sleeping bundle in his arms to shield her from view, walking quickly down the street. “Oi, Centurion, where are we heading again? You haven’t told us yet, an’ that’ll be a problem if Zed or I get lost.”
The giant of a man sighs as the shorter of his two companions catches up to him, having to move at almost a jog to keep pace. “I told you, Morrison, if I tell you that, it could endanger Seraphina. I know they will not be able to capture me, but I do not know if either of you will be able to keep your mouths shut if the society catches you. We must prioritize her safety over our own until we reach Devildom.” Nathaniel sounds annoyed and offended when he responds, “What are you on about, mate? We care about ‘Phina just as much as you do–don’t we, Zed?”
“Sure, Mo, but neither of us could hold a candle to Mr. Perfect Soldier here, now could we?” The amused sarcasm in Ezekial’s voice is apparent as he strolls behind the two, thumbs loosely hanging in the pockets of his jeans as he scans the crowd for any familiar faces. “Phi-phi would never have survived with just us knuckleheads around.”
“Say what you like, but I know you two would not have made it out of the hotel room without me.” Ezekiel snorts at Centurion’s comment. “We would have eventually. You just got lucky that she wanted you to carry her this morning. I didn’t hear either of you complaining last night when she’d only settle if I was rocking her.”
“That’s because no one likes the night shift, innit? Plus, you’re the best at bedtime routine. You could get sleep too if you didn’t insist on singing her to sleep the first few weeks we had her, Zed.” Centurion tries to tune out their bickering as he searches for the next street he needs to turn down. “Says the person who was jealous when I got to feed her this mornin’. I told you she likes it when I make her bottle better–I got my special ingredient.”
“I swear to god, Zed, if you’re drugging our baby–”
“Quiet, Mo,” Ezekial immediately drops his joking tone. “We got two tails on us. How far are we from the meeting point?”
Centurion can feel his heart start to pound as he starts to speed up his walk. “We will get there in about 10 minutes at the pace we are going. Is there anyone in particular we need to worry about?”
“Don’t know, I don’t recognize either of them. Mo, you know the society better than I do, do you know ‘em?”
“Oh bloody hell, they sent Rundas and Anderson. Y’think we could throw them off the trail if we split up?” Centurion curses under his breath. “Regent’s Park, the Delphinium border in Queen Mary’s gardens. I can cover ground faster without you two needing to follow me, go.”
Ezekial and Nathaniel don’t argue, immediately splitting off from him in either direction in a dead sprint–Nathaniel has moved his back into his arms to mimic the bundled form of Seraphina. Falling for it, Anderson gives chase, leaving only Rundas as a threat. Centurion begins to run, praying fervently that the baby he’s carrying won’t wake up and cry with the change in speed and noise surrounding her. Nathaniel will be alright–the road he’d chosen to run down led towards Paddington Street garden, a perfect location for the Naturomancer. However, if Seraphina gives away that he’s the one carrying her, there’ll be very little he can do to stop Rundas. Ezekial seems to have also come to that conclusion, rejoining Centurion a few moments later with his bone knife in hand. Neither of them says anything, focusing entirely on dodging confused pedestrians as they come out onto Park’s Square.
The pavement under their street quickly turns to grass as the pair make a beeline towards the gardens–as they get closer, Centurion can feel the weak thrum of magic filling the air. They’re too early. The two men stop, both breathing heavily as Ezekial closes his eyes, most likely looking for any nearby deceased animals to pull to their defense. Centurion isn’t optimistic since the only animals he’s likely to find are pigeons and squirrels. However, a shout from Nathaniel breaks the Necromancer’s focus. “Quit standing there, you idiots, they’re both on me! We need to go now.”
Ezekial gives Centurion a side glance. “Now would be a really good time for your friend to show up, yeah?” Centurion grits his teeth, feeling the magic around him grow stronger at entirely too slow a pace. “He will be here.”
As if on cue, the portal opens, and Nathaniel blows past both of them as he dives through, Ezekial close behind. Centurion gives them both a few seconds before he throws himself through as well, turning so his back will be to whatever he lands on to shield the baby from the impact as he shouts, “Close it, Solomon!”
He lands with a loud clattering of armor on wooden floors. For a moment, everything is silent except for the panting of the three sorcerers. Then Seraphina, who had finally been startled awake from the dramatic post-portal impact, begins to cry. Centurion scrambles to his feet, automatically pushing the baby into Ezekial’s waiting arms–he’s the best at soothing her. Unfortunately, she continues to scream, tugging on one of his hair twists in distress. Ezekial doesn’t allow this to deter him as he begins to walk around in a circle, adding a bounce to his step as he coos to her. Freed of his parental duties, Centurion takes in their surroundings. It’s a large bedroom, with a desk covered in papers and walls lined with bookcases. The darkness outside the one window confirms to him that they are indeed in Devildom, and he lets out a sigh of relief before turning to their savior. “Thank you, master Solomon. Your portal came just in time.”
The white-haired wizard just stares at him incredulously. “You know, by now, I should know you’re not joking when you send me a message saying ‘I recently became a guardian of a half-demon baby who the Sorcerer’s Society is hunting and we need your help,” but I thought for sure you’d finally developed a sense of humor.”
He wants to respond, indignancy starting to bubble up in his chest, but suddenly the door is thrown open, revealing a human wearing a uniform very similar to Solomon's, accompanied by what appears to be two Angels. “Solomon, are you alright? I heard…”
Their voice trails off as they take in the bizarre scene in front of them. Solomon immediately runs over to them, and Centurion swears he can see sweat forming on his old master’s forehead. “MC, I swear I can explain. This is–”
The other human, MC, holds up a finger, and Solomon’s mouth shuts with an audible click of teeth. “I don’t want to know what you’ve gotten us into until our guests are settled and the baby has stopped crying.”
Solomon nods, hurrying to pull out his desk chair for Nathaniel as Centurion stares at MC with fascination. “In all my years of knowing Solomon, I have never seen anyone able to order him about without a fight.”
“Oh, shut it, Centurion,” Solomon growls as he stalks past him out of the room, most likely to retrieve more chairs. The taller of the two angels, a gentle-looking man with warm blue eyes, steps towards Ezekial, who instinctively shies away from the stranger. The angel holds his hands out in a placating gesture. “My name is Simeon, and I’m one of the Seraphim–I mean no harm to you or the child. What can I do to help calm her?”
Ezekial looks to Centurion, who nods, before returning his attention to the angel. “I know you probably don’t have formula on hand, but if you could get some, warm it up, and add a few drops of vanilla, that’d be perfect. She’s still too young for cow’s milk.”
“Vanilla? That’s your big secret, Zed?” Nathaniel sounds outraged at this discovery, and Ezekial smiles sheepishly. “It’s how my mom got my little siblings to drink when they were fussy. Phi-phi seems to like it.”
“That’s cheating!” Before the argument can devolve further, Simeon cuts in. “I’m sure Luke and I can find something. Come on, Luke.”
This last statement is directed towards the other angel, a younger boy with blond hair, big blue eyes, and an almost-comically serious expression on his face. Both angels leave the room, leaving the three sorcerers with MC, who looks at them reproachfully. “There is a good reason for this, right? I mean, you didn’t just break into Solomon’s dorm room or something like that?”
“Of course not. I was an apprentice under Solomon a long time ago, and I called him for help.” MC looks slightly relieved, but concern fills their eyes. “Help with what?”
“That’s a long story.” They seem content with that answer, for now, instead sticking their hand out towards him to shake. “I’m MC, the other exchange student from the Human Realm.”
Centurion goes to take their hand but recoils immediately as he catches sight of the familiar tattoo on the inside of their wrist. “You’re a member of the Sorcerer’s Society?”
They look at the tattoo with surprise, as if seeing it for the first time. “Oh! No, I just went through the exam to get my license. I was Solomon’s apprentice and his friend. Since he doesn’t seem welcome there, that’s not a place for me either.” Centurion allows himself to relax, which they seem to notice. “I guess they’re part of why you needed his help.”
Nathaniel answers for Centurion, “More like the whole reason. This was the only place where ‘Phina would be safe.” MC’s brow furrows slightly. “And ‘Phina’ is the baby?”
“Seraphina. These two never call her by her full name.” Ezekial snorts. “Because it’s pretentious and long. I don’t know what we expected when we let a guy named Centurion name a baby.”
“Why wasn’t Seraphina safe? What could they want with a baby?” Centurion weighs how to answer carefully. “Because they want her dead.”
There’s a clattering of plastic on the floor–Simeon had returned with the bottle, which he dropped upon hearing those words. Luke scoops it up, pushing past Simeon and walking up to Ezekial. Centurion can see the concern in his eyes as he holds out the bottle of formula. Ezekial takes the bottle with a smile, cooing to Seraphina again as he holds it to her lips. Luke continues to hover next to him, watching the baby eat, which doesn’t escape Ezekial’s notice. “Do you want to feed her?”
“Yes! I mean, I’d enjoy that, thank you.” The sorcerer and the cherub walk over to Solomon’s bed, both sitting down so Ezekial can carefully place Seraphina in his arms. Simeon seems like he appreciates Ezekial’s gesture, but his expression is still predominantly horrified. “Who could want a baby dead.”
Nathaniel scratches the back of his head awkwardly, and Ezekial avoids eye contact, focusing on teaching Luke how to hold the bottle properly. Centurion expected this, but he’s still disappointed at the display of cowardice. “She’s half-demon. They tasked us with testing her magic abilities–when they weren’t as strong as the Society wanted, they declared her an abomination that needed to be killed.”
MC’s face twists to one of pure rage, and Simeon hurriedly places a hand on their shoulder in a calming gesture. They shake him off, turning to Solomon, who had just returned with two more chairs. “You knew this was happening and you didn’t tell Dia?”
The great sorcerer Solomon the Wise shrinks under this human’s gaze, mumbling something about how he was going to get around to it, and MC doesn’t seem convinced. “You have a pact with his butler! There’s absolutely no excuse for not telling him. You know he would have sent Lu or Beel to bring them here, if not me and all of the brothers, to keep them safe!”
Centurion realizes with a start that they’re referring to the seven lords of hell, and he decides he can tolerate this bizarre human who calls two of the most powerful demons in existence ‘Lu’ and ‘Beel’, refers to the ruler of Devildom as ‘Dia’, and makes Solomon cower like a scolded child. MC stops their tirade, taking a deep breath before turning back to the three slightly-stunned sorcerers with a sweet smile. “I’m sorry for Solomon’s stupidity. When you’re ready, I’ll take you to Dia so we can sort out somewhere to stay for you all.”
All they can do is nod–it’s obvious that this human is in charge down here, and Centurion has a feeling that MC can be trusted when it comes to Seraphina’s safety.
