Free Homeward Bound (Journeyman Book 1) by Golden Czermak

chirping, followed by another, then another. Soon they were all sounding off, the instrument panels flared up like slot machines as Joey rushed over to see what was going on. He quickly scanned over it all, not knowing where to focus until the flickering amber light on the smallest radio drew his attention. His heart was in his throat as he flipped over the comm switch and listened.
    “Oh damn!”

 
     

     
     
    SHORTLY AFTER, JOEY BOUNDED downstairs, rounding the corner into the kitchen. The smell of bacon greeted him along with the pleasing warmth from the wood burning stove. His pleasant mood was short lived when he noticed a similar sight to the night before. This time there were no silhouettes.
    Gage clearly stood behind Adrienne with his hand on her hip. He gently rubbed it before leaning in to give her a peck on the cheek. Nabbing a glass of water, he headed over to the breakfast table and sat down.
    “Ah there’s my man!” Gage said, smiling large.
    Joey nodded, giving a half-assed grin in return before walking over to the cabinets himself.
    “Excuse me,” he said to Adrienne as he reached over for a large tumbler.
    “Morning there J,” she said happily. Her mood was quite elevated as well.
    “Morning,” he replied lightly, filling his glass to the brim with pulpy orange juice. He popped the container back in the fridge and kicked the door closed with his foot.
    He took a seat across from Gage, visibly excited. Guzzling down most of the juice, he then thrust his elbows on the table, hands gesturing at a hundred miles per hour, narrowly missing the glass with each pass.
    “Guys! Get this! The channels are lit up about the Noctis. Like all of them… even Gold!” he shouted energetically.
    Adrienne nearly dropped her spatula. Setting it down, she turned to face Joey. “Really? That hasn't happened in a little while. Never too soon though, if you ask me.”
    He nodded. “Yeah, last time it happened was the Incursion of 2010 and before that way back during World War II with the occult stuff the Nazis were dabbling in. Dark times, the both of them.”
    Gage appeared at a loss. “The… Incursion? My bad. I guess I’ve been so wrapped up in dealing with these damn red eyes since getting introduced to this world I forgot to attend my supernatural history lessons.”
    Joey’s face lit up like a beacon. “Well -” he began.
    Adrienne jumped in before he got anymore out, picking up her utensils. “The Incursion was a huge deal for the Journeymen five years ago. You know that the Order is far from perfect these days, a lot of that due to major losses in numbers. A lot happened gradually but most occurred during the Incursion. It all started when there was some internal strife amongst the powers that be on the Council -”
    “When isn't there?” Joey horned in.
    “And one of them,” she continued, “feeling as though his voice was being suppressed, went rogue. He was a powerful archmage, a human named George Thurston. He had some pretty wild ideas on humankind and how we fit in the hierarchy of things.”
    “Yeah,” said Joey, crossing his arms. “Right on top with the any supernatural at the bottom of his grimy boot. Didn't do much for the relations between them all. The wiz then had the bright idea he should steal away with the Grimoire of Shadows from the deepest recesses of the vaults. The shit stored in there you just don't mess with; they're locked away for a host of reasons, none of them good.”
    Adrienne loaded their plates with hot bacon from the pan. “He used the book and coupled it with his own magic in an attempt to gain more power for himself, enough to try and punish the Journeymen for what they'd supposedly done to him and bring his vision of an enslaved supernatural world to fruition. However, his plans backfired when he found a complicated spell that could open a doorway to ultimate power and used it.”
    “Which was his dumbass move number two,” Joey interjected. “Those