《A Witchstone Cursed (A Dark Portal Fantasy)》


 Chapter 1

    The Present...


    I closed my eyes with a sigh. In my hasty greed, I¡¯d done this to myself. I¡¯d effectively cursed myself.


    ¡°It''s not all bad,¡± the voice said in response. ¡°You''ve got me now, and I''ve got you¡­¡±


    The voice let out a deep, rumbling laugh and the shadow in the corner solidified. A shape emerged from the shadows and I sucked in a deep breath.


    Several Days Earlier...


    I might¡¯ve been nicer to Rick and Mrs. Rick had I known I would be invited into the magick world the next day.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t a negotiation,¡± Rick said.


    ¡°Sure, it is.¡± I smiled and leaned onto the counter of the Nightsbridge Stop ¡®n Shop, keeping his attention away from what my left hand was doing. ¡°Everything is a negotiation.¡±


    ¡°Hexana,¡± he said.


    ¡°Rick,¡± I said, batting my eyelashes and pouting out my lip. My left hand blindly felt around for some gum and slipped it into my purse. ¡°I¡¯m only asking for a one-dollar discount per ticket. You know how expensive those things are.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t set the prices,¡± he said. ¡°If I did, they¡¯d be cheaper.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but you sell them. You can sell them for a little cheaper. Right?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Rick shook his head emphatically. ¡°No, I can¡¯t. It¡¯s against the law.¡±


    ¡°What law? It¡¯s just you and me in here.¡±


    Beef jerky. Corn Nuts. Slim Jim. Directly into the purse.


    Gotta keep him talking for a little longer if I want to get a full minimart meal out of this, I thought.


    ¡°I just can¡¯t do it.¡± Rick shook his head sadly. ¡°You know you¡¯re one of my favorite customers. You even helped us catch that shoplifter last year. I¡¯ll forever be grateful for that, but I just can¡¯t sell scratch offs for cheaper than what they¡¯re marked for. That¡¯s not how it works.¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯re telling me that scratch offs never go bad?¡±


    Rick nodded. ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I¡¯m telling you.¡±


    News to me.


    I took a deep breath and sighed. Snowballs. Sticky buns. Big League Chew.


    ¡°Okay. How much did you say again? For the whole lot?¡±


    ¡°$41,¡± Rick said. ¡°Even.¡±


    He placed the scratch offs on the counter between us and waited. I took a deep breath and sighed, reaching my hand into my purse and rustling around past all the loot I¡¯d stolen as I tried to find my wallet.


    The crinkling of the cellophane paper as my fingers moved around it made an awful racket.


    Rick raised an eyebrow at me. ¡°You okay?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    I was not fine.


    The snowballs and sticky buns were directly on top of my wallet and I couldn¡¯t seem to shift either of them out of the way to get the wallet. Not without crushing one or the other that is.


    Stay strong, Hexana. Don¡¯t crush the treats.


    Frowning, I chewed on my lip as Rick watched me doing my best to keep the opening of the purse out of his vision. His eyebrows got a tiny bit higher, a fraction of a millimeter, with every second that elapsed. Soon his eyebrows would be on the back of his head and he would look like a monster. I didn¡¯t want to do that to Rick. Not me.


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    ¡°Hold on,¡± I said. ¡°Can¡¯t seem to find my wallet and it¡¯s that time of the month so my purse is filled with¡ª¡±


    Rick cut me off, waving his hands in my direction to shut me up.


    Works every time.


    I reached deep, twisted the wallet, and wouldn¡¯t you know it, but the snowballs popped out of my purse and onto the ground.


    I froze and the only thing that moved was my eyes peeking at Rick from the corners.


    He was still looking up at the ceiling, waiting for me to find my wallet and avoiding eye contact with any feminine unmentionables he didn¡¯t want to think about.


    That¡¯s perfect, that¡¯s fine.


    In fact, he probably missed the whole thing. I bent down, grabbed the snowballs off the floor, slipped them into my purse, shuffled around in the purse for the damned wallet, and stood back up.


    I was clearing my throat when I found myself eye to eye with Mrs. Rick.


    Pamela? Erin?


    I still don¡¯t know her name. All I knew was that she hated me. She¡¯d long suspected what I¡¯d been up to in the Nightsbridge Stop ¡®n Shop. Now, though, she had proof.


    She opened her mouth to tell her husband, but before she could get out even a single syllable, my hand shot out, grabbed her lips, and squeezed them together. Mrs. Rick¡¯s eyes went wide. I¡¯m sure mine did too.


    Neither of us had expected that move.


    Hexana, what are you doing? How are you going to explain this? Shoplifting and assault? Cool rap sheet, bro.


    Rick¡¯s brow knitted in concern. ¡°Hex¡ª¡±


    I just started rambling. Not even really knowing what I was going to say but trying to sell it. The name of the game was getting out of the store without getting arrested.


    ¡°Did y¡¯all see that segment on skin cancer last night? On the news?¡± I asked in a low, scared voice. I was still holding Mrs. Rick¡¯s lips together, but I was gesturing with my chin in the general direction of her lower lip. ¡°This is what it looks like. Right here. Rick, do you see this?¡±


    I brought Mrs. Rick¡¯s face over to him, surprised that she wasn¡¯t fighting back against me, surprised she hadn¡¯t whipped her face away.


    I guess the rumors about her are true: she¡¯s a hypochondriac. By the same token, I guess the rumors about me were true: I¡¯m a heartless bitch.


    ¡°Right there,¡± I said. ¡°Do you see it?¡±


    I let go of her lips and hoped my gambit paid off.


    Come on, come on, just let me get out of here without the cops being called.


    Mrs. Rick and I stared into each other¡¯s eyes.


    She¡¯s gonna to tell him I shoplifted the whole store.


    ¡°She shoplifted the whole store!¡± Mrs. Rick screamed.


    I whirled around and ran for the entrance. Luckily, no one was in the store, so I didn¡¯t have any other obstacles besides the screaming and howling of Rick and Mrs. Rick behind me.


    I hit the front door hard, stumbled out onto the sidewalk, looked left and then right, saw zero cops, and took off running. I made it around the corner and stopped, already out of breath.


    Don¡¯t judge me. It¡¯s not like I have to run a lot. It¡¯s not like I normally have to flee from minimarts, or steal.


    Okay, so that last part is a lie. Ignore that.


    I took a deep breath, pulled out the snowballs, and started munching on them as I walked. I made my way through the back alleys of Nightsbridge, my home since I¡¯d been born, a suburb just outside of Houston city limits.


    On my way home, my feet found a familiar path, bringing me to the theatre.


    I¡¯d essentially been raised in it by my father, Darren. It was boarded over now. Broken windows. Graffiti. It hurt me to see it like that.


    I sat on the curb the parking lot, staring up at it, wishing that it was mine, wishing that I could have my old home back.


    Squeezing the crystal necklace he¡¯d given me, I closed my eyes.


    When my father disappeared, he left me in the care of my aunt. The theatre had been one of his holdings and it had been willed to me, but first to her. What that meant was that she promptly sold it for the money.


    ¡°Your father may not have been good for many things,¡± my aunt had said, ¡°but at least he left me a pittance to take care of you with.¡±


    I don¡¯t think she knew what the word pittance meant.


    The theatre was one of the last physical things I could tie to my father, to any sense of family I had. My aunt, demon aunt that she was, had long since passed away. She may have been blood, but she was never family.


    I started in on the sticky bun and shook my head. One day the theatre would be mine. One day I be able to buy the entire lot the theatre was on.


    I had a plan: hence the scratch offs.


    My crappy job as a waitress at Luke¡¯s would never cut it, assuming I could even make it to whatever amount they were asking for the land.


    I didn¡¯t even want to think about the renovation that would get have to go into getting the theatre up and running again. Better not to think about it. I took a deep breath and sighed, finishing up the sticky bun and standing. I started walking again.


    How else can I get my hands on enough money for the theatre? I could rob a bank.


    I snorted.


    Rob a bank. Right. Sure, you could¡­


    I slid into my apartment like a ghost, not wanting the landlord to see me. I already knew what conversation would be coming next if he saw me.


    Where¡¯s the rent, Hexana? Why haven¡¯t you paid? Don¡¯t you have a job?


    The landlord was nice enough, but he was still a landlord.


    I flopped onto the tattered couch and dumped my bag out onto the coffee table. Snacks went sliding everywhere and there, at the center, was the grand prize: Every single scratch off I¡¯d asked for.


    I grinned.


    Rick had been so focused on his wife that he¡¯d forgotten he¡¯d placed the scratch offs on the counter. I hadn¡¯t forgotten this. Half the reason I¡¯d pulled his wife over for Rick to inspect was so that I could get closer to the counter and those sweet, sweet scratch offs.


    I took a deep breath and smiled with the theatre, and everything it would mean for me to own it, at the forefront of my mind.


    After pulling my lucky quarter out of its hiding spot, I bent over the pile of scratch offs.

 Chapter 2

    Nothing.


    I set the finished scratch off to the side and started scratching the second one.


    Zero.


    I scratch the third.


    Three dollars, a.k.a. nothing part two.


    I scratched the fourth, the fifth, the sixth, the seventh, and the eighth. All nothing.


    My grand total at the end? Three lousy dollars.


    Not the worst you¡¯ve ever done at scratch offs, but it¡¯s up there.


    After stacking the scratch offs, I picked up the pile and brought them over to the cabinet in the corner. I know it sounds like hoarding, but it¡¯s not. I just have to see it all before me. I need to see a physical representation of what I¡¯ve put on the line for the theatre.


    That¡¯s why I only keep the tickets that didn¡¯t make anything.


    I placed the losers into the cabinet and took a step back, staring at the stacks and stacks of lottery tickets. There were more piles than I cared to look at. I took a deep breath and blew it out, closing the cabinet as I did so.


    As soon as the cabinet shut there was a knock at my front door.


    I recognized the knock.


    My landlord, Tim.


    Shit.


    ¡°Hexana?¡± Tim called through the door. ¡°Hey, I saw you come in. Can we talk for a second?¡±


    I sighed. It could¡¯ve been worse. It could¡¯ve been the police.


    I made my way over the door and cracked it open. I wanted to make sure that Tim wasn¡¯t out there with the police.


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    Tim stood there in cargo shorts and a plaid button up. He gave me a goofy wave and I waved back.


    The wave transformed into a waggling middle finger as I closed the door, undid the chain, and rolled my eyes.


    I didn¡¯t want to talk to Tim today. I really didn¡¯t want to talk to Tim any day, but today was especially not a good day.


    ¡°Come in,¡± I said over my shoulder as I left the door open and headed back to the couch. Tim, always weird about stepping into other people¡¯s places, only came in several steps and stood in the doorway with the door wide open.


    Tim usually waited for you to speak before he would say anything, but I wasn¡¯t about to start this conversation.


    He stood in the doorway, shuffling his feet, not saying anything for several minutes.


    Finally, he got up the courage. ¡°Hexana?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Mm.¡± I grunted back at him, scrolling and tapping through my phone, hoping he would just walk away and leave.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if you realized, but rent was due two weeks ago?¡±


    I made a big scene of slapping myself on the forehead. ¡°No. Rent? Oh no. I forgot. I¡¯m so sorry, Tim.¡±


    I never looked up from my phone.


    ¡°Right,¡± he said. ¡°So¡­¡±


    He trailed off. He couldn¡¯t say it. He never seemed to be able to just outwardly ask for it.


    I cleared my throat and went back to my phone.


    Tim waited a couple moments and then tried again.


    ¡°So, can I get it?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Get it?¡± I asked.


    He nodded.


    ¡°Get what?¡±


    He licked his lips several times before he was able to squeak out the word, ¡°Rent.¡±


    I chewed on my lip and put my phone down. I turned back to him.


    ¡°Tim,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t have any money. I just got fired from my job. I¡¯m trying to find a new job as hard as I can. I pointed at my phone. That¡¯s what I¡¯m doing right now. So, I can pay you.¡±


    I was doing nothing of the sort. I was scrolling through Twitter, but he didn¡¯t need to know that.


    ¡°Oh,¡± he said.


    He¡¯s going to ask me when I¡¯ll have a new job.


    ¡°When will you have a new job?¡± Tim asked.


    I cleared my throat. ¡°Depends on when someone hires me. I think I¡¯ve got a decent chance to have a job by next week.¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± Tim said, ¡°rent was due two weeks ago?¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± I said, nodding. ¡°I should have a job by next week.¡±


    Tim opened his mouth as though he wanted to say something else but closed it.


    ¡°Right,¡± he said. ¡°I need it tomorrow.¡±


    My mouth fell open as he nodded and turned around, leaving my apartment and closing the door softly behind him.


    I blew out a breath. He¡¯d finally pulled it together. This was the worst possible timing.


    I got up, headed over to the door, and threw the deadbolt shut. I sighed. Tim was a nice enough guy, but I didn¡¯t have the money to give him. All my money went to scratch offs and food. Mostly to scratch offs.


    I did have a job. I just didn¡¯t like the idea of paying rent.


    Glancing down at my watch, I saw that I was late for said job.


    ¡°Fuck,¡± I hissed, running to the bathroom to get ready.

 Chapter 3

    I brushed my teeth as I checked myself out in the mirror.


    All here. 100% Hexana Covington, coming at you live.


    I spit out the toothpaste, rinsed out my mouth, and brushed my hair twice before running out of the bathroom and the apartment.


    I¡¯d been late for work so many times that the frantic sound of my boots hitting the concrete seemed normal now. As I slipped into my car, I sent up a silent prayer to the auto mechanics in heaven.


    Every day that I tried to start my car felt like a gamble: a real-life scratch off. I put the key into the ignition and twisted.


    Nothing.


    I caressed the steering wheel and whispered, ¡°Come on. Start for me. I know you can do it. I know you want to do it.¡±


    I twisted the key again.


    Nothing.


    I let out a guttural groan of frustration, grabbing the steering wheel with both hands and shaking it. I essentially ended up just violently shaking myself back and forth, rebounding off the driver¡¯s seat as I shouted in my closed car. With that little tantrum out of the way, I pull the keys out, got out of the car, and left.


    I was going to have to walk.


    Again.


    The walked to Luke¡¯s wouldn¡¯t have been so bad had I not had to deal with the oppressive Nightsbridge humidity. It¡¯s like walking through a dense stew. And in August, the month I was currently surviving through, I was getting a hefty dose of stew as I walked. I could already feel little pinpricks of sweat all over my body beginning to ooze.


    I pulled my cell out and checked the time.


    Oh, you¡¯re super late.


    There was no chance I would make it on time. I considered running, but when you live in a city like Nightsbridge, it¡¯s better to be late than to be completely drenched in sweat.


    On my walk, I kept glancing to my right, in the general direction of the theatre. I always knew where it was, could always feel its presence, even if I couldn¡¯t see it through the trees or around other buildings. It was always there waiting on me to come home. I just had to win it.


    Gotta swing by the Stop ¡®n Shop later today to get some more scratch offs.


    ¡°Nope,¡± I mumbled. ¡°Actually, you can¡¯t do that unless you¡¯re feeling like getting arrested.¡±


    I groaned as I realized my closest source of scratch offs was now a full mile away from my house versus four or five blocks.


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    Dammit, Hexana. You¡¯ve gotta think before you do dumb stuff like that again.


    I came around the final corner and there it was: Luke¡¯s Bar and Bookshop.


    It was a bar that also sold used books. Obviously.


    I don¡¯t know where Luke got the idea, but he thought it would be far more popular than it actually was. He¡¯d expected it to take the country by storm and that he¡¯d eventually be a franchise owner. As of yet, he could barely make ends meet with his current concept.


    I took a quick peek through the panes of glass in the front door and, when I didn¡¯t see Luke lurking, I opened the door and slipped in.


    ¡°Hexana,¡± a friendly, familiar, not Luke voice said from my left.


    I turned and smiled at Ted, Luke¡¯s son, cutie to the nth degree. If there was anyone in Nightsbridge I would for sure hook up with, Ted was the guy. Too bad he was ruled by a vicious shyness and an unbearable bashfulness.


    ¡°Teddy bear,¡± I purred, enjoying how the nickname made him blush. ¡°How are you?¡±


    Ted shrugged. ¡°The same. You?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t complain.¡±


    ¡°Not even about a phone that doesn¡¯t work?¡±


    I raised an eyebrow. Had Ted finally gotten the courage to call the number I¡¯d given him months ago? Did he even still have the number I¡¯d given him?


    ¡°I mean,¡± he blushed. ¡°It must be broken. You¡¯re late. So, you couldn¡¯t see the time?¡±


    I sighed.


    It made sense. A guy like Teddy and girl like me would never work. I would eat him alive and spit out the bones. Probably better that he didn¡¯t hit me up for a date. He wouldn¡¯t survive it.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said dryly. ¡°Phone¡¯s broken. It doesn¡¯t even ring.¡±


    Ted gulped.


    We held eye contact for a couple seconds and then he broke it, looking down at the bar and wiping uselessly at it.


    ¡°You know,¡± I said, feeling like I wanted to push things a little farther than they already were. ¡°You should make it ring sometime. I bet you¡¯d be great at that. Making my phone ring?¡±


    Here comes the stammering excuse about why he hasn¡¯t given me a call yet.


    ¡°I¨CI¨CI wasn¡¯t sure yet were to ask you out to. I don¡¯t know what your tastes are?¡±


    Typical.


    I gave him a wink and headed to the back, but not before calling after, ¡°Well, you¡¯re never gonna find out by not calling me.¡±


    The back of Luke¡¯s was my favorite part of Luke¡¯s. It served as the bookstore. Shelves upon shelves of worn paperbacks, all nestled together with seemingly no order. It was a chaotic set up, but something about the chaos spoke to me. Something about the chaos drew me in.


    Did I mention it was quiet? It was so quiet. All those books, no sound. Beautiful.


    Whenever I get the theatre back, I¡¯m going to have a book room just like this. Exactly like this. Shelves of paperbacks, none of them in any sort of order. I¡¯ll just take a nap in the center of it. Surrounded by silence and the smell of old books.


    I closed my eyes and allowed a smile to curl the corner of my lips.


    An angry holler broke the silence and shattered my smile into a scowl.


    ¡°Hexana!¡± Luke shouted from his office. ¡°You¡¯re late.¡±


    I came around the corner and stood in the doorway to Luke¡¯s office.


    Luke was a guy in his 60¡¯s who never met anyone he thought he couldn¡¯t boss around. You were either too late, or too on time. To clean, or too messy. There was no winning with him.


    ¡°Hey, Luke. Good afternoon to you too.¡±


    ¡°Is it a good afternoon?¡± He glanced at his watch. ¡°It¡¯s getting on closer to evening. And your shift started 20 minutes ago. Get out there. Sell some booze.¡±


    I opened my mouth to ask him for more hours but decided maybe now wasn¡¯t exactly the most strategic of times to do that. I grabbed an apron off the wall, tied it on, and left his office.


    Heading out to the bar, I started taking orders and serving drinks.


    I hadn¡¯t been on my shift for more than 10 minutes when it happened: the thing that would start the chain of events that would change the rest of my life and push me into the magick world.

 Chapter 4

    I¡¯d just set a drink down when I felt it.


    A pinch.


    Right on swell of my ass.


    It wasn¡¯t a vague touch, or brush. Something you could push away.


    It was a legit, hard pinch.


    I whirled around to stare at a group of guys sitting at a table. No one moved. They sat completely still, staring down at their beers.


    They weren¡¯t even acting normal. They weren¡¯t talking. They weren¡¯t drinking. They were all just sitting motionless. Then, all at once, every single one of them looked up at me at the same time and started laughing.


    My mouth fell open and I stormed into the back, whipped through the bookcases, and stood in Luke¡¯s office.


    ¡°What?¡± He asked, not even looking up from his papers.


    ¡°Some guy just pinched my ass.¡±


    He raised an eyebrow and looked up at me. ¡°Okay?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to do something about it?¡±


    ¡°No?¡± He shrugged. ¡°What would I do about it? I didn¡¯t see it happen.¡±


    ¡°Your employee is telling you that it happened. That should be enough.¡±


    ¡°Maybe in some places that would be enough, but not here, not for me. Lemme tell you something: if you don¡¯t show ¡®em who¡¯s boss, they¡¯ll walk all over you.¡±


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    I shook my head and held my hands up. ¡°Who, Luke? Customers? People in general? What the hell are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°Everybody wants everything all the time. If you let them have it, if you don¡¯t own your own life, how can you expect them to respect you?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t believe what I was hearing. Was he really saying that I deserved this?


    ¡°So,¡± I said through gritted teeth, ¡°let me be 100% clear. You¡¯re telling me to take care of this myself.¡±


    Luke crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. ¡°Gee. I guess I am.¡±


    We stared at each other for a long moment before he added, ¡°Take care of it yourself. There. Better?¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± I whirled around and stormed out of Luke¡¯s office, heading straight towards the bar.


    ¡°Teddy bear,¡± I said. ¡°Watch what happens, will you?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± he said as I poured a Maker¡¯s Mark into a glass and headed over to the table I¡¯d originally been serving before I got pinched. I placed the Maker¡¯s Mark down and the women who were drinking there looked up at me, confused.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I said. ¡°This is on the house.¡±


    And then it happened again. A hard pinch on my ass, only this time the guy had the nerve to twist. Like a titty twister, but on my ass. Who knew what the hell the guy was thinking.


    I whirled around, but Ted had already come around from the bar and was essentially running full speed at the table.


    He hit the guy in the chair closest to me, hard.


    The guy hit the ground with a smack and before he knew what was happening, Ted mounted him and started punching him in the face. One of the guy¡¯s friends picked up a bottle and hit Ted over the head with it. The bottle shattered and Ted went down. The guys panicked when that happened and ran, leaving me there on the ground with a now bleeding Ted who was no longer conscious.


    Luke rolled up next to us and glared down at me.


    ¡°What have you done?¡± he hissed.


    ¡°I did what you said. I dealt with it myself. This is what happens.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Luke snapped, ¡°and get your filthy hands off my son. You didn¡¯t deal with anything. You sent Ted in to do your dirty work for you.¡±


    I opened my mouth to argue, but before I got a chance, Luke grabbed onto my arm, gripped it tightly, and lifted me up. He forced me towards the front door.


    ¡°You¡¯re fired,¡± he yelled.


    ¡°I¡¯m what?¡± I pushed back against him.


    He slipped his hand into his pocket, pulled out some dollar bills, wadded them in a ball, and threw them at me. ¡°There. That¡¯s more than enough to cover your last paycheck. Get out of here.¡±


    I stood frozen.


    ¡°Get out!¡±

 Chapter 5

    Angry tears filled my eyes but, as I left Luke¡¯s, I refused to blink and allow them to drip down my face. I didn''t want anybody to see that I cared about the crummy waitress job so much that I was crying over it. Walking across the parking lot, I half-expected Luke, or maybe even Ted, to call out from behind me, to call out that they''d made a mistake, that I wasn''t fired.


    All I heard was the sound of my shoes against the cracked pavement. The sound of a bird in a tree somewhere far off in the soupy Nightsbridge air. The sound of cars passing on the street. Blurry cars I could only make out the colors of as I approached them.


    I stood still on the sidewalk at the far edge of Luke¡¯s parking lot, trying to figure out my next move. When you''ve just been fired from your job, what do you do? Do you go home? Do you go to a bar to get drunk?


    I''d worked a ton of jobs, but I''d never been fired. This was unfamiliar territory for me.


    I finally decided that a cooldown walk, an oxymoron in the swampy Nightsbridge heat, would be what was best for me.


    That was when I finally blinked and allowed the tears to drip down my cheeks. I didn''t bother wiping them off either. If my eye makeup ran, so be it. Let everyone see how upset I was. Let everyone see how much of a fuck up I was, how ruined my life was. I wanted them to stare at me, I wanted it to eat them alive from inside.


    Even though I¡¯d intended on walking around aimlessly, I still somehow ended up back in front of my father¡¯s old theatre.


    This time there was something different, though.


    There was something new.


    There was a Nightsbridge Realty sign on the building. A giant wooden placard nailed to the side of it, piercing its surface.


    For Sale. Inquiries are encouraged to call Nightsbridge Realty at¡­


    Great. The theatre was for sale. Why wouldn''t it be? I¡¯d just lost my job and the theatre, which hadn''t been for sale in over two years, was now on the market again. I mentally checked my bank account, negative thirty-seven dollars, and sighed.


    Wait.


    I had more than that, though. I pulled out the thirty dollars Luke had thrown in my face and stared at the For-Sale sign.


    Quick sharp images stabbed through my brain.


    Is this fate?


    I¡¯d just lost my job and my ex-boss had given me thirty dollars.


    This is fate. This has to be fate. What else can it be?


    I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Electricity rose from my toes, up my legs, and into my chest. My pulse quickened. I had been wrong about luck before, but this spoke to me. Deeply.


    It was happening. This was finally my moment. I¡¯d spent a lot of my life playing the lottery, gambling, doing scratch offs, but this right here, this was my big break. It had to be. I was going to get exactly what I''d been looking for all this time.


    What I wanted.


    What I needed.


    I stared up at the theatre, took a deep breath, and turned on my heel. My eyes scanned the storefronts on the street that edged the theatre. I already knew what I was looking for: fluorescent lights spelling out those magical words.


    Directly across the street, I saw them.


    Lottery Tickets in hot yellow neon.


    Perfect.


    I made my way across the street, carefully, not wanting to get hit by a car and ruin my chance. I actually smiled. My tears dried up and the corners of my mouth lifted. My feet felt light.


    It was happening. This was it. The moment I''d been waiting for. The time when everything would come together, and the world would deliver itself to me.


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    I pulled open the door of the convenience store and stepped inside.


    It was a convenience store I''d never been inside of before. Strange music played over the speakers: marimbas, some string instruments, some instruments I couldn''t place. I made my way to the counter. The clerk wasn''t there, but there was a bell with a sign next to it that read: Hit twice if in need of service. Thank you!


    I held off on hitting the bell. I wanted to think for a moment.


    Do you want to do scratch offs? Or do you want to do lottery tickets? Should you maybe do a kind of mix of both, to diversify?


    I laughed out loud and shook my head.


    Diversify. Me. Diversification. Sure.


    When it was fate that had given you thirty dollars after losing your job and the rent was past due, was diversifying your gambling really what you were looking to do? Did that make sense? Would fate appreciate that?


    No.


    My mind made up; I rang the bell twice. The clerk opened a door behind the desk in a Plexiglas enclosure and stepped in.


    ¡°How may I help you?¡± he asked.


    I bit my lip for a moment, took a deep breath. ¡°Scratch offs,¡± I breathed.


    ¡°Okay.¡± He raised an eyebrow. ¡°How many?¡±


    I placed my thirty dollars into the lockbox and pushed the box to his side of the Plexiglas.


    ¡°As many as that gets me,¡± I said.


    He nodded, counting the bills. ¡°You¡¯ve got a few options here. There are¡ª¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°You don''t understand. That thirty dollars is going to get me the theatre.¡± His eyebrow lifted a little higher than it had been previously. ¡°Pick whichever tickets you think are luckiest. I don''t care.¡±


    The man frowned.


    Gamblers are finicky creatures. Superstitions, methods, rituals, we all have them. I don''t know a single other gambler who¡¯s left their fate in the hands of someone else, but I was doing that. I was giving myself over to fate, over to the clerk. This was the moment it all came to. This would be my deliverance.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± he asked, glancing out the front window at the theatre across the street. ¡°How much are they asking for it?¡±


    How much?


    I shrugged. I hadn''t even thought to call the phone number.


    ¡°I don''t know,¡± I answered. ¡°The last time it was for sale I think they wanted $100,000 for it.¡±


    ¡°That''s all?¡± he asked, surprised.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°They''re selling it more for the lot than the actual building.¡±


    He nodded as if this made complete sense.


    ¡°Okay,¡± he said. ¡°Here we go.¡±


    He unrolled multiple spools of scratch offs, taking a plethora from here and there, mixing them all up, before slipping them into the lockbox and pushing them to my side.


    ¡°I hope you win,¡± he said.


    It was my turn to raise an eyebrow at him. ¡°Hope has nothing to do with this. This is fate. The theatre is mine.¡±


    He shrugged and walked into the back room.


    No faith.


    I left the convenience store, driven and near giddy, and made my way across the street to the theatre. I sat on the curb by the front door and pulled out my lucky quarter. That''s one ritual I always kept: I used the same quarter every time. It was a quarter I¡¯d found so long ago, obviously, under one of the seats in the theatre whose parking lot I now sat in. I¡¯d kept it hidden from everyone all these years and never spent it.


    I skimmed the rules on the first scratch off and started scratching.


    I didn''t win.


    It¡¯s fine.


    I started scratching the second one.


    I didn''t win.


    It¡¯s okay.


    I scratched off the third, the fourth, the fifth.


    Nothing.


    I¡¯ve got this.


    I wasn''t worried. I still had ten more scratch offs to do. I scratched through the pile, the entire stack of them, placing the losers, between my feet in a neat pile. They would obviously be going in the cabinet back in my apartment.


    I stared at the last scratch off and smiled.


    Obviously.


    It was always going to come down to that last one. Of course. I read the rules carefully before taking a quick whiff of the ticket, wanting to know if it smelled like fate, like magic. My thoughts were laser-sharp and present for this single moment in time. I took the quarter, blew off the silvery and gold residue from the previous scratch offs, and started scratching.


    My stomach dropped and my body went numb. I let go of the scratch off and it fell between my feet, perfectly on top of the stack of the other losers. Face down.


    You didn''t win.


    I closed my eyes and felt the quarter slip from my fingers. I heard the roar of blood rushing in my ears. It felt like I was floating in nothingness.


    I hadn''t won. I hadn''t won enough money to buy the theatre, to pay my rent, to save my life. I¡¯d placed my faith in fate, allowed fate to move me forward, and fate had laughed in my face.


    I took a long shuddering breath in and slowly let it out.


    It was only halfway out when the wavering shriek that was building in my chest erupted. I screamed into the parking lot, screamed at the theatre I knew I would never own, screamed at my wretched luck, screamed at my habit, at Luke, at Ted, at the man who''d pinched me, at everything and everyone in my life who I''d ever counted on who hadn''t delivered for me. I screamed at the life I was trapped in. I screamed up to the heavens and down to hell. I screamed for myself, and when I was finished all I was left with was nothing.


    Less than nothing.


    Negative bank account. A car that didn''t work. Rent that was due that I didn''t have. Zero.


    I stared down at the stack of scratch offs between my feet and realized it was the perfect analogy for my life, especially that last scratch off.


    It was what I was: a loser. A complete and utter loser. Something that had once held such hope, but whose hope had been scratched away entirely. Empty. Used. Worthless.


    The scratch offs blurred as tears filled my eyes and began to fall, spattering down like raindrops. Even the sound of my teardrops hitting those tickets sounded hollow. Like my life. I felt an awful desperation crawl into my chest and throat, ready to choke me.


    I''m not sure how long I sat on the curb crying onto those tickets with my head spinning.


    All I know is that I hadn¡¯t finished crying when I heard a familiar man¡¯s voice say, "Hexana?"

 Chapter 6

    I stared into a face that I''d known for a long time.


    Okay, so that¡¯s not the entire truth.


    It was a face that I recognized, kinda like you might recognize a building you drive by every single day of your life.


    It was kind of hard not to recognize Mr. Marsden. Nightsbridge is a fairly insular suburb and, when you have any sort of thing that sets you apart from other people, it becomes even more insular.


    Lebec Marsden was a dwarf with sandy blonde hair.


    He was the only dwarf I''d ever seen in real life and not on TV, so he was hard not to recognize, even if you didn''t really know him. People just knew of him.


    I''d grown up seeing Mr. Marsden and, more recently, I¡¯d delivered drinks to him at Luke''s.


    The thought of Luke''s almost brought another onslaught of tears.


    Not gonna cry, not gonna cry, not gonna cry.


    ¡°Hi, Mr. Marsden,¡± I said.


    ¡°How many times have I told you,¡± he said. ¡°Call me Lebec.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± I said. ¡°Lebec.¡±


    I would never wrap my head around calling him by his first name. I''d grown up knowing him as Mr. Marsden, and to call him Lebec was like calling him a name that wasn''t his own.


    ¡°Why are you sitting in a parking lot crying?¡± He held up a finger before I could answer. ¡°Let me rephrase: why are you sitting in the parking lot of an abandoned theatre crying over a pile of scratch offs?¡±


    When he said it like that, I knew how ridiculous I must look.


    ¡°I thought¡­¡± I started to explain what I''d been doing, how I¡¯d bought the scratch offs to win enough money to buy the theatre, but now, outside the grip that gambling held on me, it sounded so¡­


    Childish?


    Foolhardy?


    Ridiculous?


    ¡°Yes,¡± Lebec said. ¡°It definitely looks¡­¡±


    He trailed off in the same way I had. I couldn''t tell if he was making fun of me or if he was comforting me.


    My eyes narrowed.


    When in doubt, I tended to glare and clam up.


    Lebec, seeing my body language, cleared his throat. "So, what happened, Hexana? Really?"


    I opened my mouth to tell him to fuck off, to tell him I didn''t want to see him, to tell him I was done talking to him, done talking to anyone, that my life was ruined, over, done.


    That''s not what came out though.


    What came out was exactly what had happened.


    I told him about the man who''d pinched my ass. I told him about what Luke had said, told him about talking to Ted, about how Ted had seen the man pinch my ass again before getting in a fight, I told him about Luke firing me, told him about walking by the For-Sale sign on the theatre, thinking that the thirty dollars Luke had given me as severance pay was a sign from the universe telling me to buy scratch offs so that I could win enough money to buy the theatre. All that bad luck turned around by a single scratch off.


    Lebec just stood there through it all, not judging, but listening. It was a strange feeling. It was almost like talking to a rock.


    Lebec eventually sat down on the curb next to me, stretching out his legs. ¡°You know what I don''t understand?¡± he asked.


    ¡°What''s that?¡± I asked in return.


    ¡°I don''t understand why you ever worked at Luke¡¯s to begin with.¡±


    I opened my mouth to explain, to tell him that it was one of the few jobs I had available, that it was one of the only places I could work. That felt like a lie though, and for some reason I couldn''t bring myself to lie to him.


    I settled on saying, ¡°It''s a long story.¡±


    ¡°What,¡± he said, ¡°you have to wake up early to be on time for work in the morning?¡±


    I open my mouth to shoot something sarcastic back, but he was right. What did I care at that moment? No job, no way to make ends meet.


    I let out a deep sigh before speaking, spilling it all, even more.


    ¡°I¡¯ve always had this dream; this pull towards this theatre and I don''t know why. My entire life. My dad disappeared. When he left me behind with my aunt, he left that theatre to us, to her, to cover any expenses that arose in my care.¡±


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    ¡°Yes, yes.¡± Lebec nodded as though he''d heard the story before. ¡°I think everyone in Nightsbridge knows about your aunt and that theatre.¡±


    I cocked an eyebrow. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°She sold it for far less than she should have. It wasn''t the best move on her part. Maybe she was taken advantage of at the bargaining table, maybe not.¡±


    No one had ever told me this before. I''d always assumed my aunt had received a ton of cash in exchange for the theatre. Now, Mr. Marsden, Lebec!, was telling me was that she¡¯d received far less than it was worth.


    It made sense. My aunt had never been one to argue for more. She¡¯d always wanted to take more for herself, but never to bargain. She was far more likely to steal something outright than to even approach haggling for a better price.


    ¡°So¡­¡± Lebec looked at me blandly. ¡°What''s your next step?¡±


    I didn¡¯t even try to open my mouth to answer him. The tears welled up in my eyes again, but I was too hollow at that point to even attempt to hide them.


    I shrugged: I don''t know.


    ¡°You don''t even have an idea?¡±


    My eyes narrowed. My first thought was that he was making fun of me, teasing me.


    He cleared his throat before continuing, staring up at the sky as he did so. ¡°I thought Hexana Covington always had a plan, always knew what her next step was.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°This is kind of getting into stalker territory.¡±


    ¡°Is it?¡± Lebec asked. ¡°I don''t mean for it to be.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± I nodded as though I completely understood his position. ¡°Well if you don''t mean for it to be, I''m sure it''s totally not stalker territory anymore.¡±


    The corner of Lebec''s mouth twitched, whether in a smile or with anger, I couldn''t be sure.


    ¡°Look,¡± he said. ¡°You were given a shitty deal, both in life and at Luke''s. What happens next is up to you. What are you going to do?¡±


    ¡°I don''t know,¡± I said.


    And I didn''t. I didn''t know what the hell I was supposed to do. I¡¯d worked at so many places in Nightsbridge I almost felt like I couldn''t go back to any of them, but over the next few days I''d have to at least try. I¡¯d have to talk to my landlord about rent, the electric company. I wasn''t sure what I was even going to do about groceries.


    The corner of Lebec''s lips quirked up again.


    ¡°What about this,¡± he said, scratching absently at his knee. ¡°What if you went back to school?¡±


    ¡°Back?¡± I asked. ¡°I haven''t been in school since high school. I didn¡¯t go to college.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    ¡°What would I even get a degree in?¡± I glanced down at the scratch offs. ¡°Game theory? Deviant psychology? Addiction?¡±


    ¡°I don''t know¡­¡± He trailed off, rubbing at his chin. ¡°What would you say if I offered you a chance to attend a school of hidden secrets?¡±


    I stared at him. I stared at the man like he was a fish telling me he wanted to read my fortune.


    ¡°I''m sorry, a school of hidden secrets? What would the subjects at a place like that be? Who killed JFK? Are aliens real?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Lebec snorted. ¡°Nothing like that. More like¡­¡± He sucked in his lower lip and chewed on it for a second as he thought. ¡°It¡¯s more like a place where people examine the hidden energies that make up the world around us.¡±


    Ah. This is about to be one of those girlboss MLM moments. Wonderful.


    I stood up. ¡°I''m not into crystal healing. Thanks, but no thanks.¡±


    ¡°Crystals?¡± he trailed off, confused. ¡°We don''t use crystals. We use witchstones.¡±


    When he said it, when he said witchstones, he said it so flatly that it felt like the truth. It felt like he was leveling with me, but that couldn''t be the case. How could it be?


    ¡°Your cult uses witchstones?¡± I asked, trying the unfamiliar word out.


    ¡°Yes,¡± he said, ¡°but it¡¯s not a cult. It¡¯s a school.¡±


    I sighed and decided to play along with him to see how far he was going to take it. What did I have to lose?


    ¡°What would I even do in this quote unquote school of hidden secrets?


    ¡°You would train,¡± he said.


    ¡°Sure,¡± I agreed. ¡°But for what?¡±


    ¡°For you it would be a vocational school. You would train for a profession in the magick world. That¡¯s magick with a k. Real magick versus that chintzy Vegas stage magic.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said. ¡°I''m going to stop you right there. I think you''re either too drunk right now to realize what you''re saying or maybe you''re too high. I don¡¯t know¡­ maybe your brain chemistry is a little off at the moment. What I¡¯m getting at is that I don¡¯t really know what your deal is, but something here is fishy. And it''s you.¡±


    Lebec shrugged. He looked across the street at the glow coming from the convenience store, the neon sign that said lottery tickets. I chewed on my lip and watched him.


    Let¡¯s see how much farther he¡¯ll go. If nothing else, at least I¡¯ll get a funny story out of it.


    ¡°Okay, so the magick world¡­¡± The way I said magick world was so overly sarcastic I wouldn''t have been surprised if Lebec had gotten up and left. ¡°You say I''m going to work a profession within this world, right? So, what would I do?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d be a vanisher," he said and shrugged.


    I mean, of course I¡¯ll be a vanisher. Makes total sense¡­


    He slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a black rectangle. He handed it over to me and I took it.


    It was a black business card. It was made of something heavier than paper, though. It felt almost like leather, but it was stiff. Stamped into the center, in silver shining letters and numbers was an address and a phone number. No name. No business. Just an address and a phone number.


    Weird.


    ¡°What is this?¡± I asked. ¡°A brothel? The place where you''re going to kidnap me?¡±


    Lebec laughed. ¡°It''s the place where if you want to take me up on that offer of being a vanisher, you should appear. Preferably tomorrow.¡±


    I chewed on my lip. ¡°Right¡­ tomorrow¡­ the magick world¡­ me, a vanisher¡­ sure.¡±


    Neither of us said anything for a while.


    ¡°A vanisher,¡± I said. ¡°So that''s what exactly? Someone who disappears a lot? An invisible woman?¡±


    Lebec laughed as though I¡¯d said the silliest thing in the world. Me. Not him.


    ¡°When an incident occurs,¡± he explained, ¡°a vanisher removes all traces of magick from the stick world. You would be helping to keep the sticks safe in the dark, to keep them from knowing that we exist.¡±


    ¡°We?¡±


    ¡°The magick world.¡±


    ¡°And the sticks would be who?¡±


    ¡°Sticks are people who don''t have any magick ability. Like yourself. So much of the entertainment available has made them believe that wands are necessary for the application of magickal spells, hence the reason we call them sticks.¡±


    ¡°So, I''m a stick,¡± I said.


    Lebec nodded. ¡°You are, until you become a vanisher.¡±


    ¡°If,¡± I corrected. ¡°So, I would basically be a cover-up artist?¡±


    I had a quick flash of the Men in Black movie but for magick instead of aliens.


    ¡°I wouldn''t go that far,¡± Lebec said with a grin. ¡°You¡¯re no artist. You haven''t even started. You''re not even a beginner at this point.¡±


    I crossed my arms and stared hard at him, trying to figure out why he was doing this, why he would lie to me.


    I shook my head. ¡°You¡¯re a sick fuck.¡±


    He stared back at me but didn''t say anything.


    ¡°What an asshole,¡± I mumbled, spinning on a heel and walking away from him.


    He called out after me. ¡°I knew your father.¡±


    I quit walking and turned around.


    ¡°He was part of the magick world,¡± Lebec finished.

 Chapter 7

    Somewhere, far away, a song was playing that I recognized. It was a song I knew by heart. Trent Reznor sang, and my head filled with confusion.


    ¡°Ow,¡± I moaned as I rubbed my eyes. Hung over didn¡¯t even begin to describe it. I could barely get my eyes open enough to see what time it was.


    ¡°Why do I do this to myself?¡± I asked the mattress, pressing my face into it and wishing the world away. The wish didn''t come true and the song kept playing. Groaning, I put one foot down onto the floor followed by the other. When I stood, my feet went out from under me. I hit the ground hard, my hip banging against the wooden floor, my elbow doing the same.


    ¡°Fuck,¡± I hissed, rubbing at my elbow. ¡°Fuck fuck fuck fuck.¡±


    I sat up, looking at the lottery tickets beneath me.


    I sat up, holding my head between my hands to stop the sloping world that swished left and right like a thick milkshake. I smacked my lips. My tongue felt like it had been dry for eighteen days and left out in the sun for an additional twenty.


    What did I drink last night?


    That was the weird thing though. My mouth tasted less like the aftermath of a night of binge drinking and more like I¡¯d licked the inside of an ashtray.


    I¡¯ve gotta be late for work.


    I froze.


    That¡¯s not right.


    I waited and it all clicked into place. I didn''t have a job. I no longer worked at Luke''s. I''d been fired and met Lebec in the parking lot of the theatre after burning through my last thirty dollars. The evidence of that thirty-dollar scratch off binge was being pressed into the floor beneath my ass.


    I narrowed my eyes, trying to remember what had happened in the parking lot of the theatre. I could get bits and pieces, but not the whole picture.


    Well, that doesn¡¯t make a whole hell of a lot of sense.


    I hadn''t been drunk at Luke''s.


    I hadn''t had anything to drink at the convenience store.


    I could remember the scratch offs but after that, after meeting with Lebec, a lot of the evening was a blur.


    Did he and I go drinking to celebrate/bemoan my firing?


    I shook my head. That couldn''t be the case. I¡¯d never lost my memory before from drinking.


    I took a deep breath and let it out. I needed to calm down. I needed to relax. I took in several deeper breaths, allowing myself to slowly relax, allowing myself to let my beliefs and thoughts about the previous night go.


    I wanted any memory that would surface to do so organically; I didn''t have to wait long.


    Lebec had handed me¡­ something.


    A card?


    The bible?


    No, definitely a card.


    I could see the silver writing on its black surface, but for some reason I couldn''t see what the letters or numbers said. I got up, being careful not to slip on the lottery tickets for a second time and searched the floor for my jeans.


    If I''d been given a card, it would be in one of the pockets. I looked under my bed, but nothing was there, nothing besides the regular, garden variety dust bunnies. I lifted my head too fast and was rewarded with a splitting shriek of a headache that felt like it was tearing my head into two halves.


    In the kitchen, hanging over one of the chairs at the small table, were my jeans. I made my way over, lifted them up, and slipped my hands into the pockets, searching for the card.


    What did Lebec say about the card? Why did he even bothered giving it to me?


    I remembered it was something strange, something¡­ otherworldly?


    Well that¡¯s just goofy¡­ Otherworldly? How drunk was I last night?


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    I let out a laugh. There was no card in my jean¡¯s pockets. Likely I''d never met Lebec, nothing had actually happened, and I was just hung over. I took a seat at the kitchen table and dropped my jeans onto the floor. I considered my options.


    I had no job and rent was due today.


    I had negative dollars, and rent was due today.


    I needed a job and fast¡­


    Wait¡­ Lebec. Didn¡¯t he offer me something last night? A job?


    No, not a job. He¡¯d offered me a position of some sort.


    I don''t know why that made more sense than him offering a job, but it sounded closer to the truth.


    ¡°Okay,¡± I mumbled to myself. ¡°At least we''re getting somewhere. I think¡­¡±


    Sitting at the table, I stared out the window above the kitchen sink. A slug made its way across the glass there, bringing me back to the parking lot of the theatre, back to the For-Sale sign there, back to Lebec offering me a place in a school¡­


    A school?


    I couldn¡¯t believe that. After high school I hadn''t done any more school.


    Why would Lebec offer something like that?


    That was something else. In my head, I kept referring to Mr. Marsden as Lebec. I''d always known him as Mr. Marsden so I couldn¡¯t figure out why I would ever refer to him as¡ªA sudden burst of a memory exploded in my mind.


    Lebec and me, standing in an alleyway somewhere, staring at a dumpster.


    I shook my head.


    Why would you be in an alley, with Lebec, staring at a dumpster?


    And why did I keep thinking of him as Lebec, not Mr. Marsden. What had happened last night?


    I got up and promptly sat right back down. Suddenly, I felt sick.


    ¡°What happened, Hexana?¡± I asked the empty kitchen. The slug which had just finished making its way across the window disappeared from view. ¡°What happened?¡±


    I stared at the fridge, wishing it was fully stocked, but knowing all that was inside was a half-eaten jar of pasta sauce.


    As I stared out the kitchen window, trying to remember what else had happened, the slug reappeared, heading in the opposite direction. I shook my head. It was quite the industrious little thing.


    Watching as the slug slowly made its way across the glass, another memory burst into my head, this one of an actual explosion: Lebec and I screaming with laughter into the night as a dumpster in front of us literally exploded.


    ¡°Dumpster explosion,¡± I mumbled. ¡°Why would I have blown up a dumpster?¡±


    I shook my head, trying to grasp at more of the memory but got distracted by the slug.


    ¡°Weird,¡± I muttered. I''d never seen a slug go back and forth in straight lines across a window. Sure, I''d seen them go in wavering lines, but perfectly straight lines?


    I shook my head. Everything was weird now, nothing made sense. Everything was a conspiracy. The slug made it to the other side before it turned back again at a sharp angle.


    ¡°What are you looking for?¡± I asked the slug, not expecting any sort of response, but also vaguely expecting it to respond. Based on all the weirdness that had happened within the last twelve hours, I wouldn''t have been all too surprised if the slug had answered my question.


    It didn''t answer though. It just kept moving.


    Another image from the night before burst into my brain. It was the same image of the dumpster explosion, but it was clearer.


    There was a sign on the dumpster.


    And I recognized the building the dumpster was behind.


    ¡°Oh no,¡± I mumbled.


    The sign on the dumpster said Property of Luke¡¯s Bar and Bookshop. Premises monitored by cameras. No dumping.


    The back of the building was Luke¡¯s. The dumpster was Luke¡¯s. For some reason I had an intensely realistic memory of blowing up a dumpster behind Luke¡¯s with Lebec, a man I barely knew.


    What the hell is going on?


    I ran over to the kitchen sink, suddenly feeling like I was going to throw up. Bending over and staring down the drain, I willed myself to keep it whatever I had in my stomach right where it was. When I was sure that I wasn''t going to throw up, I stood back up and stared out the kitchen window.


    The slug was gone, but the pathway it had left made a shape that I recognized. The way it had gone up and then down and then back and again made the shape of the letter M.


    I frowned.


    The slug had made a perfect letter M on my window.


    What the hell is going on?


    I slid down to the floor and sat with my back against the cabinets. Staring at the table, I shook my head.


    Am I going crazy? Am I losing my mind?


    I stared at the fridge, stared at the door, frowned.


    Why do your eyes keep going back to the fridge?


    I knew there was nothing inside it and I wasn''t hungry either.


    So why do you keep focusing on it?


    I swallowed and crawled over to the fridge on all fours. After I pulled the door open, the light inside flickered and then burned out.


    ¡°Great,¡± I mumbled. ¡°That''s totally not creepy.¡±


    I was suddenly covered in goosebumps, and not because the fridge was cold. I was covered in goosebumps because I could see something sitting on the top shelf.


    It wasn''t the pasta sauce.


    I took a shuddering breath and stood, looking at the object there.


    Holy shit.


    It was a black rectangle. It looked like a business card. I reached out for it, touched it with my hand, lifted it from the shelf.


    Holy shit.


    It was heavier than a regular business card. It wasn''t made of paper. It was made from leather or something close.


    Embossed in silver was an address and a phone number.


    I shook my head as I stared at it.


    ¡°Okay, so,¡± I said in a shaky voice, convincing no one in the kitchen. ¡°I dreamed parts of last night but not all of it. I saw Lebec¡ªMr. Marsden¡ªfor a little bit, he gave me a card, and then I came home.  Maybe there''s a gas leak in the apartment. Maybe this is what carbon monoxide poisoning is like¡­¡±


    You¡¯d be dead if it was carbon monoxide poisoning¡­


    I stared at the address and phone number, wondering what they were for, wondering what I was supposed to do with them. I flipped the card over, and my stomach fell to my feet.


    There were words scrawled there in shiny ink.


    I said the words aloud into my too quiet kitchen and everything stopped for me, everything from the night before came back at once.


    ¡°Become a vanisher in the magick world,¡± I whispered. ¡°It¡¯s what your father would''ve wanted.¡±

 Chapter 8

    As I stared at the shiny mucus path of the M the slug left on the kitchen window, I couldn''t help but think this entire thing was ridiculous.


    Become a vanisher. It¡¯s what your father would''ve wanted.


    Really? I was just supposed to take that at face value?


    ¡°Ridiculous,¡± I muttered. I sat at the kitchen table picking at my fingernail polish for a few moments longer as I tried to figure out what I was going to do next, what the correct decision was.


    Decision? There¡¯s no decision here. There¡¯s a card with something insane written on the back of it.


    Ever have a moment where you¡¯ve read or watched something and wished that what you were seeing was real life?


    That''s exactly how I felt in that moment. I longed for there to be a real magick world. I longed for there to be a place where magick existed, and not just existed, but thrived.


    It¡¯s what your father would¡¯ve wanted¡­


    I kept chipping away at my fingernail polish, kicking purple flakes onto the surface of the table, making a little fingernail polish pile, a tiny mountain of trash.


    Hadn¡¯t Lebec said something about my father too?


    I frowned. No matter how hard I tried to grasp at what he¡¯d said exactly, I couldn''t seem to do it. All I knew was that Lebec had said that he''d known my father had been involved in the magick world. In what way, I couldn''t be sure.


    I picked at my fingernail polish for another five minutes before sighing and shaking my head. I didn''t know what to do. I didn¡¯t know where to go. I stood up from the table, swiped my tiny Mount Everest of polish flakes into my palm, and opened up the cabinet below the sink. I tossed the flakes into the trashcan there and stared at it. The trashcan that is, not the flakes.


    The dumpster.


    There had to be proof, right? That was the one test, the one way I could examine what Lebec had said without making a fool out of myself. All I had to do was go to that alley behind Luke¡¯s and see if that dumpster was destroyed or not.


    Simple.


    An easy litmus test to determine whether the magick world was real or fake: a destroyed, exploded dumpster.


    If my logic sounds a bit off to you, that''s because it was. I was reeling. So many things in my life were changing, so many things I thought I knew were shifting beneath my feet.


    I headed to the bathroom, got ready, and, without another thought, headed out of my apartment.


    In the parking lot, I considered taking my car. I considered tempting fate and trying to get the damned thing to start.


    Ultimately, I decided it wasn''t worth it. The hassle, the heat inside, the frustration. None of it.


    I spun on my heel from the cursed car and started walking. I took the scenic route towards the theatre, hoping that maybe something else would jar itself loose in my memories once I stood in front of it.


    It didn''t take long to get there. And once I was there nothing rattled loose.


    The theatre looked exactly the same.


    The For-Sale sign was there, exactly in the same place I remembered it being: nothing new, nothing different.


    As I passed by the sign, though, something did catch my eye. Something shimmered on its surface. Something that stopped my forward momentum and made me take several steps back, to get the angle just right, to get the sun to hit the sign in exactly the right place so I could see what that shimmer was.


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    As I stared at the For-Sale sign, at the shimmering path traced out on its surface, I could make out a single letter. The letter A. It was in the same sort of mucus the slug had left on my kitchen window. It had been written in the same upright, strict lettering.


    An A and an M? Ma? Who is Ma?


    I shook my head.


    ¡°This just keeps getting better and better,¡± I mumbled before continuing on my way. As I walked to Luke¡¯s, I zoned out, not really thinking about where I was going or what I was doing.


    What¡¯s the magick world like? Is it wonderous? Scary? Both?


    If (big IF) it was even real.


    And why has it kept itself from the regular world for so long?


    A single word floated up from the depths of my memory.


    Stick.


    Lebec had said something about a stick.


    No, he called you a stick. He said that people who can''t do magick are called sticks.


    I snorted at that. It seemed like the magick world had its own sort of gatekeeping.


    Can''t wait to find out more about that¡­ Once that thought hit me, another thought hit me right after in a one-two punch. I¡¯m starting to buy into this.


    ¡°It''s not real,¡± I said under my breath. ¡°It can''t be real. I know you want it to be real, Hexana, but it''s not. Don''t get your hopes up.¡±


    Don''t get your hopes up: the thing my aunt had said to me over and over as I was growing up.


    Don''t get your hopes up, Hexana. Your father left you, remember? He¡¯ll never come back.


    Don''t get your hopes up, Hexana. No matter what you do in life, you''ll never go far.


    Don''t get your hopes up, Hexana. You''ll always be poor, alone, worthless.


    That last line was mine. My aunt had never said anything that outright destructive, but my own mind could be my worst enemy at times.


    I took in a deep breath and let it out.


    ¡°Don''t get your hopes up, Hexana,¡± I said in a quiet voice. ¡°The magick world may not be everything you¡¯re hoping it is.¡±


    Something about those words made me feel better. Something about the acceptance that something as ridiculous as the magick world might exist felt good.


    That all came crashing down as I rounded the corner of the alleyway behind Luke¡¯s.


    I could see the back of the bar, three blocks away. Behind it, sitting in roughly the same spot it always had, was the dumpster. I took a deep breath and sighed.


    ¡°Don''t get your hopes up, Hexana,¡± I whispered as tears started to fill my eyes. ¡°It was never real to begin with.¡±


    I walked down the alley in a daze, not wanting the dumpster to be real, wanting it to be some magickal trick, some illusion, but as I got closer, I saw that wasn''t the case. Right on the front of the dumpster, exactly where I remembered it, was the sign that read, as always, Property of Luke¡¯s Bar and Bookshop. Premises monitored by cameras. No dumping.


    I even went so far as to touch (gross, I know, I regret doing it) the side of the big metal dumpster.


    It was already growing hot under the Nightsbridge sun, the smell of trash inside baking in the soupy heat of Nightsbridge already wafting out.


    ¡°Fuck,¡± I hissed.


    ¡°Hexana?¡± A familiar voice asked from behind me.


    I whirled around. For a second, I thought it was Lebec''s voice.


    It was Ted.


    ¡°Oh,¡± I said. ¡°Hey, Teddy bear.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± he shot back at me. ¡°Hey, Hexana.¡±


    I rolled my eyes.


    ¡°Are you going to be a stalker?¡± he asked.


    ¡°What¡¯s it pay?¡± I asked back.


    He snorted out a little laugh then grew serious.


    ¡°Are you going to be okay?¡± he asked.


    He was by far the best person who worked at Luke¡¯s. He was someone you could count on; someone you could call in the middle of the night if your car broke down on the side of the road. He was the person who would drop everything to help you. Much like he¡¯d done to help me in the bar the day before.


    ¡°I don''t know,¡± I said. ¡°I hope?¡±


    ¡°What''s that mean?¡± His eyebrows lifted and came together in a look of earnest concern. It was so intense that it broke my heart.


    ¡°I don''t know.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry about what happened here. It wasn''t supposed to go like that. I didn''t think Luke would fire you.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°Me neither. How''s your head?¡±


    He twisted his head to the side so I could see it. I could make out the black lines of several stitches there.


    ¡°Ouch,¡± I said.


    ¡°It doesn''t hurt. It itches more than anything.¡±


    I let out a soft laugh. ¡°That''s annoying.¡±


    ¡°Kinda like a certain waitress I used to work with.¡±


    I rolled my eyes at him. He always could make me laugh when things weren''t going the way I wanted.


    ¡°I really am sorry that he fired you,¡± he said. ¡°I tried to talk to him, tried to convince him to hire you back, to change his mind, but¡ª¡±


    ¡°But Luke,¡± I finished.


    Ted nodded. ¡°But Luke,¡± he agreed.


    We both shared a depressing laugh.


    ¡°Anyways,¡± he said.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said and gave him a sad smile. ¡°Anyways.¡±


    I moved forward, not meaning to, not expecting to, but then my arms were around him and I was hugging him. ¡°Thank you for standing up for me. In the bar. And to Luke.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± he said in a soft voice. He put one hand on my lower back and placed his other on the back of my neck.


    There was something soothing about the heat there, something that made me melt, made me want to do more than just hug him, but then something already broken inside me killed that and forced it away.


    I released him and took a step back. I cleared my throat.


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said in a shaky voice. ¡°The job search continues.¡±


    Ted nodded, a sad look in his eyes. ¡°Hey, you could always work as a dumpster salesman.¡±


    My eyebrow lifted at that. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± He laughed. ¡°Someone blew it up last night. When Luke and I got here this morning, the whole front end of it was torn open and it was flipped over.¡±

 Chapter 9

    Ted spoke for a long time. The words kept drifting out of his mouth, floating over to me, and popping like soap bubbles before they ever made it to my ears and deeper into my brain. The only thing that kept repeating in my head was a simple phrase.


    The magick world is real.


    The magick world is real.


    The magick world is real.


    ¡°Hey.¡± Ted placed his hand on my shoulder. The physical touch uprooted me from thoughts that were slowly burying me alive.


    ¡°Hi,¡± I said in a completely bizarre voice.


    ¡°Hi.¡± He pursed his lips and smiled at me. ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°I''m fine. What were you saying?¡±


    ¡°When?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I''m a little hung over. The last thing I remember you saying before I zoned out was something about the dumpster exploding?¡±


    He raised an eyebrow and chewed on his lip. ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± It was the truth. ¡°I''m not okay, but I think I will be if you just tell me what happened.¡±


    Ted shrugged, not really the type to examine things deeper. ¡°Okay. So, when Luke and I got here in the morning the dumpster was split down the middle and flipped upside down. Kinda like someone had placed explosives in it or something.¡±


    ¡°Explosives?¡± I asked.


    Ted shrugged again. ¡°I don''t know. I guess. I don''t know what else would split a metal dumpster down the middle and flip it over at the same time.¡±


    I nodded.


    The magick world is real.


    The magick world is real.


    Magick is real.


    ¡°That''s¡­ strange,¡± I said, my way of being agreeable.


    ¡°That''s not even half of it,¡± Ted said.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Well, as soon as we got here this morning, we made a call.¡±


    ¡°A call?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, to sanitation, to get the dumpster fixed. Replaced. Whatever.¡±


    ¡°Right. That makes sense.¡±


    ¡°So, we call sanitation and five minutes later this group of guys shows up at the bar.¡±


    ¡°Five minutes?¡± Nightsbridge wasn''t a large suburb by any stretch of the imagination, but five minutes seemed like an insanely miniscule amount of time in which to answer a call and then show up.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Ted said. ¡°Five minutes and they came with a replacement dumpster, almost like they were waiting for us to call.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I mean the timing. The speed.¡±


    I nodded. It doesn¡¯t make any sense.


    ¡°You know what else was weird?¡± Ted asked.


    If he says there¡¯s a slug drawing letters for him, I will fucking scream.


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    ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°What else?¡±


    ¡°All three of the sanitation guys were wearing black.¡±


    ¡°Black?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Black. Black robes. Like, cloaks. At first, I thought they were looking for the Renaissance Festival. I was all ready to give them directions, but then they introduced themselves as Nightsbridge sanitation.¡±


    ¡°Weird.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, like I said.¡±


    ¡°What else?¡±


    ¡°They asked if we had any video surveillance.¡±


    My heart just about stopped at that moment. I was already sweating in the morning heat, but this made my sweat double in volume.


    Out of the corner of my eye, I glanced up at the camera mounted to the wall above the dumpster. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    Ted shrugged. ¡°Video. They wanted to confiscate it, I guess. To give to the police maybe?¡±


    I swallowed and did everything in my power not to make the swallow sound like a gulp.


    ¡°Did you?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Did I what?¡± Ted asked back.


    ¡°Did you give them video?¡±


    Ted snorted. ¡°You think a cheapskate like Luke actually runs video in that thing?¡± He kicked his chin up at the camera.


    Thank heavens for incompetent bosses.


    Ted was right. If Luke could cut a corner, he would. If Luke could cut eight corners, he would absolutely do that and then cut an additional five.


    ¡°So, no video,¡± I said, wanting to be crystal clear.


    ¡°No video,¡± Ted agreed and laughed. ¡°I kinda want to know what happened though. Like¡­ what did they use in the dumpster to make it explode the way it did?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I agreed, hoping my poker face was impenetrable. ¡°I wonder¡­¡±


    ¡°You know what else was weird about those guys in the cloaks?¡± Ted asked.


    I shook my head no. ¡°Besides the cloaks?¡±


    ¡°They kept whispering to each other and acting like they were examining a crime scene. Like they were detectives or something.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± I asked, trying to phrase it innocently. My voice cracked.


    ¡°Yeah. When I showed them the dumpster, and of course it was me, you know how Luke is, not wanting to talk to anyone in the mornings.¡± I nodded and Ted continued. ¡°Anyways I showed them out back, out here, and they all began circling the dumpster at the same time. They had their hands held out to it, like they were¡­ I don''t know, trying to force levitate it or something? It looked like something out of Star Wars.¡±


    ¡°Did the dumpster levitate?¡±


    ¡°No, Hexana.¡± Ted looked at me like I was insane. ¡°The dumpster didn''t levitate. They just held their hands out and walked in circles. There were also moving their lips.¡±


    ¡°Moving their lips?¡±


    ¡°Like whispering. But without sound. Like mouthing words but not actually saying anything.¡±


    ¡°As they walked around the dumpster with their hands out.¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Ted shrugged. ¡°Like I said, the whole thing was strange.¡±


    My mind raced.


    Are the people in cloaks the magickal police? Are they tracking the spell back to Lebec? If Lebec gets caught will he pull me into it? Am I an unknowing accomplice to an act of domestic magickal terrorism?


    ¡°Strange,¡± I said, and my voice cracked again.


    Ted raised an eyebrow. ¡°Right. Strange.¡±


    ¡°Anything else?¡± I asked.


    Say no, Ted.


    Ted snorted. ¡°Yeah. When they finally finished walking around the dumpster, they all came together in front of it. They stood there in a tiny circle, placed their left hands at the center of the circle and started walking counterclockwise whispering. Doing the mouthing words thing again.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you weren''t drunk?¡± I tried to give Ted a smile, but it sat on my face like a fraud.


    Ted didn''t smile back. ¡°I got this whole weird mystical vibe off them. Like they were¡­ I don''t know¡­ wizards? Or something?¡±


    A laugh shot out from my mouth before I knew what I was doing. It had a frantic, desperate sound to it. ¡°Wizards? That¡¯s crazy. That doesn¡¯t make any sense at all. Ted over here saying wizards.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Ted said, his eyebrows pulling together. ¡°I¡¯m not saying they were wizards, just that the way they were acting was strange and that they reminded me of wizards.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said through another forced laugh.


    My breath was coming out a little too fast. Everything around me felt like it was moving too fast.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said again, not meaning to, but not being able to stop it.


    ¡°Hexana?¡± Ted asked.


    ¡°I''m fine,¡± I said. ¡°Totally okay. One-hundred percent.¡±


    Not fine. Not okay. Not even two percent.


    ¡°Yeah, one-hundred percent.¡± The sarcasm in his voice dripped from every word. ¡°You sure seem it¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Stop repeating yourself, Hexana¡­ ¡°Yeah.¡± Oh my God¡­ I took in a deep, calming breath and let it out. ¡°Sorry if I''m being weird. I just lost my job, and now you''re talking about wizards and magickal stuff.¡±


    ¡°Magickal stuff?¡± Ted frowned. ¡°I just said that they reminded me of wizards. I never said anything about magickal stuff.¡±


    I swallowed, again trying to ensure that it didn''t come out as a gulp.


    ¡°Right,¡± I said. ¡°Wizards. Sorry. Hung over.¡±


    From the look on Ted''s face I could tell that the hung-over excuse was starting to wear thin.


    ¡°Right... Oh!¡± Ted snapped his fingers. ¡°There was something else.¡±


    Why? Why does there have to be something else?


    My heart started pounding again. I wanted off this wild ride.


    ¡°What''s that?¡± I managed.


    ¡°They gave me the weirdest card.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Ted slipped his hand into his pocket, rummaged. ¡°Check it out.¡±


    He removed his hand and held out the card to me. It was heavier than I would''ve expected. It wasn''t made from paper, but something leathery. There was a single number, a phone number, embossed at the center of the black card.


    It was the same phone number that Lebec had given me on the same type of card.

 Chapter 10

    I excused myself from the conversation with Ted as soon as it didn''t seem too suspicious.


    My head was a mess, a jumbled confusion.


    Someone associated with Lebec had delivered the dumpster.


    Before, I''d found this whole magick world thing to be something of a game that might keep my mind off the fact that I''d been fired the evening before. But now, in the soupy humidity of the Nightsbridge morning, I had a better understanding of what it really was.


    An opportunity.


    My mind fixed on the theatre, specifically that For-Sale sign nailed to its wall.


    I had a good idea there were opportunities to be had in the magick world and money to be made.


    Working as a vanisher has to pay better than a cocktail waitress, right?


    I walked back home in a daze, not bothering to go the longer, more circuitous route that would take me by the theatre. I didn''t want that to muddy my thoughts even more than they already were. There was something about what I was doing, something about making this decision for myself and not relying on chance for once, but doing it on my own, that was terrifying. If something went wrong, it would be my fault. It wouldn''t be luck''s fault, it wouldn''t be chance''s fault, it wouldn''t be fate''s fault, it would my fault and mine alone.


    You¡¯re probably thinking a bit dramatic, huh? In the moment that''s how it felt, how I felt.


    I''d never taken something into my own hands, never made a decision on my own that didn''t rely in some small part on luck.


    Once I made it back to my apartment, I looked around. I didn''t know when I''d be coming back. I didn''t even know if I¡¯d be coming back.


    I pulled off my sweaty shirt and tossed it in the corner before stripping down. I hopped in the shower and made it count.


    Are there showers in the magick world? They have to have those, right? They don''t just all smell, right?


    I didn¡¯t think I could handle a bunch of smelly wizards.


    Is that even what they¡¯re called? Wizards? Maybe they¡¯re called magicians? Lebec mentioned witchstones. Maybe they¡¯re all called witches.


    I wasn''t entirely sure, and my mind kept spinning out to orbit the different things I didn''t know, filling in blanks with facts that may or may not have been true.


    Once I was out of the shower, I opened my closet and pulled out a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. It was going to be a hot one and I didn¡¯t know what the rest of the day held in store for me. I went ahead and also grabbed a sweater, just in case we would be inside.


    We meaning me and the magick world.


    I let out a giggle and bit my lip. It seemed too good to be true, and that part right there, the realization that it seemed too good to be true, brought forth a familiar voice in my mind.


    Don¡¯t get your hopes up.


    I finished getting dressed and headed out to the parking lot. I looked at the address on the card Lebec had given me. I typed it into my phone, was given a route to the other side of Nightsbridge, of course, and got into my car. I turned the key in the ignition and the car coughed to life immediately.


    Don¡¯t get your hopes up.


    Pulling out of the parking lot, I waved at someone I knew, trying to pull back some of that excitement, some of that happiness I¡¯d felt in the apartment before hearing my aunt¡¯s voice in my head.


    It didn''t work.


    I drove in silence to the address Lebec had given me, my eyes darting everywhere but the road before me. I didn¡¯t want to think about how it would feel if there was nothing at the address. That seemed like something that would happen to me.


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    Given an invitation to something secret, something magickal, only to show up and it be an empty lot? Or a hole in the ground? Yeah¡­ that sounds about right.


    The image of the hole in the ground sparked another thought.


    Is Lebec going to kill me? I mean, he absolutely can. There¡¯s nothing to stop him.


    I pushed this out of my head.


    ¡°No,¡± I whispered in the quiet car. ¡°That''s not how it''s going to happen. You''re going to show up there and Lebec¡¯s going to be waiting for you. He''s going to lead you into the magick world.¡±


    As I rounded the final curve that led to the address, I sent up a silent prayer.


    My prayers are rarely answered, and I frowned at what I saw.


    Before me, in the middle of an empty lot, was a storage shed.


    I parked my car right next to it. The shed was barely six feet wide by eight feet long. My apartment was slightly larger, square footage-wise, than the shed was.


    I stared at it. A dusty shed in the middle of a gravel parking lot wasn''t my idea of magick.


    Something Lebec had said the night before came back to me. ¡°So much of the entertainment available has made them believe that wands are necessary for the application of magickal spells¡­¡±


    As I sat in my car and remembered what Lebec had said about sticks, I wondered if joining the magick world was a mistake.


    If it¡¯s not like what they show in the movies and in books, if it¡¯s something outside of that, it could also be something much worse.


    I chewed my lip.


    What if that¡¯s it? What if that¡¯s why no one in the stick world knows about it? What if it¡¯s kept from the stick world because it¡¯s so terrible?


    I stared down at my steering wheel. The faded plastic looked all too much of the stools in Luke''s.


    How much worse can the magick world be than what my life already is?


    Cocktail waitress for almost all my life, quitting almost every job I¡¯d ever had. Negative bank account. Rent past due. Father gone. No living relatives.


    I was no one and nothing and nobody in the stick world cared that I existed.


    I swallowed hard, trying to keep the tears back. I took a deep breath and stared at that storage shed, praying with all of my heart that inside was some method that would give me enough money that I could buy the theatre. So I could have it back. So I could have some piece of my father in my life again.


    Don¡¯t get your hopes up.


    Without another thought, I turned off my car, opened the door, and walked up to the shed. Little plumes of dust puffed up with every step, covering my shoes in chalky sediment before I even made it to the door.


    There was a little slot above the handle like those you see above door handles in hotels.


    I stared at the slot; I hadn¡¯t been given a key.


    I chewed on my lip and pulled out the card Lebec had given me, considering.


    It''s heavier than a regular business card. Is that because it¡¯s actually a key? To this door? Is the entire magick world dependent on hotel-style locks?


    I swallowed.


    Only one way to find out.


    I slipped the card into the slot and turned the handle. There was a click and the door opened.


    I tried to pull the key back out, but the slot in the door ate it. It disappeared inside like cash into an ATM.


    ¡°Welp, guess I''m not getting that back,¡± I mumbled, pushing the door all the way open and stepping inside.


    Did I examine my surroundings before I walked in? No.


    Did I pay attention to the door as I walked in? No.


    So, of course, it slammed behind me and I found myself surrounded by darkness.


    It would be so easy for Lebec to kill you right now¡­


    That was the thought I had before I saw that, at the center of the storage shed, something was glowing. Something edged in pale green light.


    I stood still, waiting for my eyes to adjust, not wanting to bump into or to trip over anything.


    You also don''t want to bump into anyone else who might be in this shed with you.


    I swallowed as my pulse beat against my eardrums in the silent shed.


    Hexana, stop.


    After I took a deep, calming breath, I moved forward towards the green glow. My eyes weren''t going to get much better than they currently were. As I stepped closer, the glow began to burn brighter. At the center of the shed stood a glowing rectangle almost as tall as me.


    Have you ever gotten into bed at night, turned all the lights off, laid there for a little bit and then turned your head towards your closet only to realize that you¡¯d left the light on inside?


    That''s what this was like. There was a door at the center of the shed and green, glowing light outlined it.


    As the glow edging the doorway grew brighter, it illuminated the interior walls of the shed.


    Covering the inside of the white walls were glistening black symbols I couldn''t make out. The symbols looked like circles with lines through them. Dots, constellations, rings. Strange squiggles bisecting entire galaxies.


    I glanced down at my feet and realized the same strange symbols were drawn onto the painted white floor. I glanced up and saw that there were more symbols on the ceiling as well.


    ¡°The magick world,¡± I whispered. ¡°Magick.¡±


    I reached my hand out to the door, feeling for the knob but not finding one.


    I panicked.


    There had to be a knob. It was a door, right?


    My hand touched the cool surface of the door, moving across it from left to right and then from top to bottom. There was no doorknob at all. I pushed on the door and nothing happened.


    Frowning, I walked around to the other side and saw what the problem was. What I had been looking at, what I had been pressing my hands against, was a solid piece of wood.


    On the other side, though, was a simple doorframe. No door.


    The glowing green light was originating from within that doorframe.


    I stared through a doorway within a simple shed at the center of an empty lot.


    Holy shit. It¡¯s real.


    I stared into the magick world.


    Taking a deep breath, I chewed on my lip for half a second, and made up my mind.


    I stepped across the threshold and into the magick world.

 Chapter 11

    An immense black and gold tile floor spread out before me as far as I could see. Exquisite and intricate patterned tile. Squares inside of circles inside of triangles inside of hexagons, all in spirals that made my head spin.


    Lining either side of this massive hallway were archways with columns holding them up, relief sculptures adorning it all. Faces, shapes, patterns, and symbols the likes of which I''d never seen in my life. People moved within this hallway and between the archways. They wore cloaks, leather jumpsuits, flowing dresses.


    It was like being thrust into a costume ball put on by a host who hadn''t determined the theme.


    Hanging from the ceiling were chandeliers. Each one held what looked like silver candlesticks, but no flame burned. Above the silver tubes glowed lights of all colors. Blues and yellows, reds and greens.


    It was like looking into a colorful kaleidoscope, but the light that these chandeliers cast was a warm yellow like late summer dusk.


    Dotting the hallway were several¡­ stations?


    The stations were golden boxes that stood hip high. The walls of the boxes were made up ornate golden filigree that glowed with multiple colors inside. The glow faded in and out over the entire spectrum of color.


    Each station had a slate black tabletop surface that was covered in deep channels of multi-colored crystals.


    Floating above each of these surfaces was a projection of light. Some of the projections were circular in nature, others oval, some were rectangular. They looked like floating computer screens.


    I frowned. That can''t be the case.


    The hallway reminded me of something. Back when I¡¯d still been in middle school, our class had taken a trip to the Basilica in Beaumont. I remembered walking into that place, seeing the massive towering ceilings and the intricate woodwork on the columns. That''s close to what this place reminded me of.


    A basilica.


    A cathedral.


    Something that had been built to strike awe in the hearts of all who entered.


    As I stared up at the strange chandeliers again, my mouth hanging open. There were lights even farther up. There were strange glowing constellations that were only in five different colors. Red. Green. Grey. White. Purple.


    The way the lights were set up, spinning around each other in a strange sort of orbit, reminded me of all the maps of solar systems we''d studied in science class.


    Focus, Hexana. You¡¯re getting overwhelmed. Lebec invited you to this place for a very specific reason. Stay focused.


    I took a deep breath, brought my eyes away from the hypnotizing ceiling, and focused on the task at hand. I was here to learn a trade. I was here to get the theatre back, to regain a piece of my past. In the distance I saw a cluster of people. Two of them wore cloaks: one green, one yellow, and the third wore some sort of full body leather outfit. This person was the same height as Lebec.


    Lebec!


    I breathed a sigh of relief. He was here. Of course, he was here. He''d been the one to invite me, so of course he was waiting to escort me to¡­ wherever.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    I made my way across the hallway, surprised that my footsteps didn''t make a single sound against the tile.


    You made it. You figured out the shed and the doorway and now you¡¯re here.


    I tapped Lebec¡¯s shoulder and smiled.


    The dwarf who turned around was a woman, not Lebec, not even close to Lebec. She fixed me with a harrowing gaze and raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Can I help you?¡± She asked this with a sneer and the two others who stood with her turned their heads to look at each other. I say they turned their heads to look at each other because I couldn''t really see anything inside the hoods of their cloaks. It was like they might not even have heads: they might be ghosts for all I knew.


    Are there ghosts here? Are there ghosts who walk among humans as though it''s completely normal?


    The woman snapped me out of it. ¡°Stick. Why have you interrupted my conversation?¡±


    My mind went blank. I was in a strange new place surrounded by strange people who I didn''t know. I wasn''t sure what to do next, what to ask. I sputtered out the first thing that came to my mind.


    ¡°Lebec,¡± I said, far louder than I meant to. I regulated my volume and continued. ¡°I was invited here by Lebec. He''s a dwarf. Do you know him?¡±


    The woman raised a single eyebrow and took a step towards me. I stepped back. There was something menacing in the way she approached.


    ¡°Right¡­¡± the woman snarled. ¡°Because we all know each other. Us dwarves. We all look the same.¡±


    My mouth fell open, this time not with awe, not with joy, but with horror. I''d been in the magick world for less than five minutes and already I''d managed to come across as a bigot.


    ¡°No!¡± I shook my head. ¡°No, that''s not what I meant. I''m sorry. I''m new here, I only saw¡ª¡±


    ¡°You only saw someone the same height as this Lebec you speak of. Then you assumed that I was he.¡±


    I opened my mouth to explain more, but the woman turned away from me and stalked across the hallway. Her two companions did not follow. One of them turned away and walked in the opposite direction while the final one turned to face me.


    I still couldn''t see what was hidden inside the hood of their cloak, couldn''t see their face.


    Maybe you¡¯re looking at a skeleton. At a skull¡­


    The voice that floated out of the hood was childish. Far younger and innocent than anything I would''ve expected. ¡°I know this is your first day, stick, but read the room.¡±


    And with that, the cloaked figure turned and glided away across the floor. I couldn''t make out any legs moving beneath the cloak and because of the weird acoustics in the hallway, I couldn''t hear them walking.


    I looked up and down the hallway, trying to figure out what I was supposed to do, trying to figure out where I was supposed to go. I was in a different world, a completely new world, and I was lost.


    I decided to do the opposite of what anyone who is lost is instructed to do.


    I started walking. Just frantically walking.


    I made my way along the hallway, pausing here and there to look at the golden computer things and the rectangles that floated above them.


    Each of these was solid in color and didn''t have any words.


    Of course.


    I¡¯m not sure how long I''d been walking in that hallway, panicked and a little scared, wondering if there was an actual exit to the place or if it was like a never-ending hallway in which I would perish, when I came across a mirror.


    I glanced into it, seeing myself reflected in that strange place and almost kept walking, but something made me pause. Something different about myself.


    I walked over to the mirror and stood in front of it, staring above my head. Surrounding the top of my head was an actual crown of light.


    It wasn''t an intricate crown, just multiple straight lines sticking up from my head at random heights. The light wasn¡¯t any particular color and every time I moved or twisted my head the colors shifted.


    I reached my hand up to touch the crown of light when a voice made me jump.


    ¡°There you are,¡± a man''s voice said. I ignored it at first, assuming it was for someone else, but when the voice said my name, I breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, someone who could tell me what I was supposed to do, where I was supposed to go. ¡°Hexana Covington. I''m your interfacer.¡±


    The man was so tall I had to put my head all the way back in order to see to where his cloak ended. Thankfully he didn''t have one of those empty hoods you couldn''t see inside of. He was easily visible. He was an older man, wrinkly, and his eyes were grey. He fixed me with a look that said I was wasting his time and that I''d better figure out how I was going to make that up to him.


    ¡°Can you show me where to go?¡± I asked. The question was so pathetic that I almost felt bad. This was an entire new world to me.


    ¡°Follow me,¡± the man said. ¡°I''ll take you to the office of Enrollment and Student Finances.¡±

 Chapter 12

    Wait. Did he say student finances?


    As I followed the cloaked man through the hallways, I felt sick in my stomach and knew right then and there that the magick world was too good to be true.


    I knew how this was going to end. I knew exactly what was going to happen. It was so like everything else that had happened in my life.


    You gained access to a hidden, magickal world, and now, as you¡¯re about to enter this world fully, you¡¯re going to be pushed out because of money.


    I had no money. I couldn''t pay to attend the school.


    What am I supposed to do? Take out a loan? If I take out a loan for a magickal school, do they take my soul as collateral?


    I let out a scared kind of giggle at this.


    The man in front of me glanced back. ¡°You okay?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, nodding as I smiled. Don''t get your hopes up, Hexana. ¡°Yeah. I''m fine.¡±


    ¡°Very well,¡± he said, taking his grey eyes off me and turning back to focus on where he was walking. He led me down the main corridor for a long time before he took a sudden right turn.


    As we walked through the archway, I stared at the doors lining the walls of the hallway. The doors were all different colors, shapes, and styles. There was no door combination repeated anywhere.


    We kept walking and eventually he stopped in front of a door that was wooden and looked as though it was rotting at the bottom. Tiny runners of green veins stretched up from the base and across the surface of the gnarled wood. The doorknob was black and shiny. It had a pebbly surface that made it look as though it was wet all the time.


    I didn¡¯t want to touch it.


    Something about the door turned my stomach. Something about it made me feel sick, worried.


    ¡°You okay?¡± Grey Eyes asked again.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I lied. ¡°I''m fine. Let''s go.¡±


    I reached my hand out to touch the doorknob, my mind screaming at me not to do this, not to touch it at all, but wanting the man to know I wasn''t scared, wanting to look like I fit in here. Before I got within even an inch of the doorknob, the man slapped my hand away.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I¡­ was opening the door?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a stick,¡± the man said. I stared at him blankly and he rolled his eyes. ¡°Sticks can''t open gateways.¡±


    I frowned.


    Gateways?


    Instead of asking any question that would further paint me as a newcomer, I nodded instead. I stood by the door, waiting as he reached his hand out, turned the knob as though it was a knob anywhere else, and pulled the door open. On the other side of the gateway I could see the inside of what looked like a jewelry shop.


    Glittering crystals lay beneath shimmering lights inside glass cases. At the far side of the room I could see a wall where there was a wooden grid that made up a sort of cubby system. Each little cubbyhole was only an inch by an inch, and every single cubby was filled with a crystal of a different color. As I stared at the wall, I tried to figure out how many crystals I was looking at.


    ¡°After you,¡± Grey Eyes said. I stepped across the threshold and entered the store.


    I was instantly buffeted with sounds, smells, even a change in temperature. I turned around to look out, to look back into the hallway, but the door was already shutting. Strangely, the door looked different. On the side that faced the interior of the shop, it wasn''t rotting at all. It was a perfectly normal door and the doorknob was the average type you''d see anywhere.


    I took several steps back from the door and turned, hearing, for the first time in what felt like forever, the sound of my own footsteps on the wooden parquet floors.


    ¡°Come in, child, come in.¡± The voice, a man''s voice, was coming from around the corner from where I was.


    I stepped into the larger room and to my right saw a man sitting on a stool behind one of the glass counters.


    ¡°Come here,¡± he said. ¡°Let me see you.¡±


    I walked over.


    ¡°So, you''re Hexana Covington,¡± he said.


    I nodded.


    He raised an eyebrow. ¡°Can Hexana Covington speak?¡±


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    ¡°Yes,¡± I said, clearing my throat first. ¡°Yes, I can speak.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± he said. ¡°Let''s go with that then. Let''s speak.¡±


    I nodded, and then caught myself. ¡°Okay.¡±


    Over the man¡¯s dress shirt and trousers, he wore a cloak that was unfastened. He was wearing it almost like a hoodie.


    ¡°So,¡± he said. ¡°What do you think of our world?¡±


    ¡°It''s nice.¡±


    ¡°Nice¡­ hah.¡±


    ¡°I mean,¡± I said, not wanting him to think I was downplaying how nice the magick world was, ¡°it''s far more than just nice. I don''t know what I''m saying. I''m sorry. To be honest it''s overwhelming. I don''t think I''ve ever seen anything so wonderful in my entire life.¡±


    ¡°That''s more like it,¡± he said, fixing me with a big smile. I noticed that several of his teeth had been replaced with black teeth that had designs carved into them. These designs were inlaid with gold. ¡°My name is Geist. And you can call me Geist.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said.


    ¡°So. You¡¯re attending the Bristlebloom School of Hidden Secrets training to be a vanisher with the Austerium, correct?


    I didn¡¯t understand half the things he¡¯d said but nodded anyways.


    ¡°Correct,¡± I said. ¡°Lebec brought me here.¡±


    Where was Lebec?


    ¡°Brought you here?¡± Geist asked.


    ¡°Well invited me. Gave me a card.¡±


    ¡°Ah,¡± Geist said. ¡°That''s nice. Unfortunately, Lebec has a habit of not explaining Bristlebloom or the Austerium to people before inviting them. Is that what happened? Did he not explain anything to you?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said, grateful to finally meet someone who was going to tell me something about the new world I was standing in. ¡°He didn''t tell me anything.¡±


    Geist let out a deep, booming laugh that made my shoulders jump up to my ears.


    ¡°That is so like Lebec. Here''s what you need to know. The Austerium runs Bristlebloom and neither is a charity. You will pay for your training. At the end of your training you will be offered a job. You may accept or decline this job. If you decline, another job will be offered. If you continue to decline jobs, you will eventually no longer be offered jobs. Does that make sense?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°In the meantime, you will not be able to leave the magick world until your training is complete.¡±


    My jaw dropped at this. My car. My apartment.


    ¡°Is that a problem?¡± Geist asked, watching me carefully.


    My car. My apartment.


    ¡°No,¡± I lied. ¡°No problem.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡±


    Where will I live? Where will I sleep? What will I do for food?


    ¡°I can see concern on your face, child,¡± Geist said.


    I nodded.


    ¡°Bristlebloom will furnish housing for you. They will furnish food as well. Do not be concerned. You will be taken care of.¡±


    ¡°What about money? Do I take out a loan or something?¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Geist said, shaking his head. ¡°We don''t do loans here. Debt doesn''t exist in the magick world.¡±


    I frowned.


    He let out another booming laugh. ¡°In the Austerium at least,¡± he clarified. ¡°In the magick world, sure, there''s debt everywhere, but it''s not like in the stick world. Most everything you''ll pay for upfront or you''ll barter for, trade for.¡±


    ¡°Trade?¡± I asked.


    He opened his mouth and started to explain more, but then I heard a strange sort of buzzing sound from above my head. I looked up, twisting to the left and right, trying to see where that buzzing noise was coming from.


    Geist laughed. ¡°It''s your crown. Your first class is about to start.¡±


    My eyes grew wide. ¡°My class? I don''t even know what class I''m in.¡±


    ¡°Don''t worry. It''s not as scary as you think it is.¡±


    ¡°I don''t know where to go. I don''t know what I''m supposed to do. I don''t know how I''m supposed to pay for any of this.¡± All of the emotions from the last hour bubbled up to the surface and broke over me in a huge wave, crashing down on me.


    ¡°Hey,¡± Geist said. ¡°Hey, little stick girl. It''s gonna be okay.¡±


    He didn''t know what he was talking about. He didn''t know my life. Things were never okay.


    I shook my head, tears coming, unable to stop them.


    ¡°Look,¡± he said, ¡°you''ll be given housing and as far as payment typically what happens is you take a job within the Austerium to pay off your education. You can do that, or you can work in the private sector. At a shop, much like this one, and make a little more money than in the Austerium.¡±


    I nodded. I didn''t have the first idea of how to interview for a job in the magick world. I barely knew how to interview for a job in the stick world.


    ¡°What about this¡­¡± Geist gave me an understanding smile. ¡°You can work for me. How''s that?¡±


    Sunshine breaking through clouds. ¡°You¡¯ll hire me?¡±


    Geist didn''t answer. Instead, he reached down under the case and pulled something out. He placed it on the glass counter in front of me.


    It was a bracelet that had three different colored crystals set into it. It was a silver bracelet. Very plain. No frills, nothing elaborate or ornate.


    ¡°What''s this?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Put it on,¡± Geist said. The buzzing above my head happened again, three much longer buzzes than the first time. My eyes grew wide and I looked at him.


    ¡°It''s okay. You still have two more sets of buzzes before you¡¯ll be considered late.¡±


    I nodded and put on the bracelet. Geist lifted his own arm. He had on a bracelet that looked much like this one. He put his finger over one of the crystals and closed his eyes. The bracelet on my own arm clamped down, not hard, but with enough pressure that it made me jump.


    ¡°When I have a job for you,¡± he said, ¡°that''s how I¡¯ll call you. The witchstones in your bracelet match up with mine.¡±


    ¡°Witchstones?¡± I asked. Lebec had mentioned those before.


    Geist waved his hand around the room at all the crystals. ¡°These are all witchstones. You¡¯ll learn about them in class. Don¡¯t worry too much about what they are right now.¡±


    ¡°How much do I get paid?¡±


    ¡°Depends on the job, but the base pay per job will be around ten k.¡±


    I gulped. ¡°Ten k? As in ten¡ª¡±


    ¡°Thousand dollars deposited directly into your school account,¡± Geist interrupted and raised an eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯ve been informed this is a good wage in the stick world?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°How do I find this door again?¡±


    ¡°Somewhere within the building that houses your living quarters will be a designated gateway room. Other gateways in the wild will be marked with a circle that has a slash. The bracelet is your key. So long as I''ve called you, you''ll be able to open any gateway to go through and end up here. You''re a stick, so unless you have a class or I¡¯ve requested your presence, none of the gateways will open for you.¡±


    I breathed a sigh of relief. One less issue I would have to concern myself with.


    I nodded. ¡°Thank you,¡± I said. "Really, thank you."


    Geist let out another booming laugh. ¡°No problem. Get to class.¡±


    I nodded and turned away from Geist. I made my way over to the door and turned back to look at the shop once more.


    Geist had come out from behind the counter and stood at the center of his showroom.


    ¡°Go on,¡± he said. ¡°Just turn the knob and pull it open.¡±


    I did as he said and saw that on the other side of the gateway was no longer that strange infinite hallway that looked like a cathedral.


    On the other side was a classroom.


    I looked back one last time and Geist urged me forward with his hand. I nodded, mouthed the words thank you, and stepped into my first magickal class.

 Chapter 13

    The classroom on the other side of the gateway was a teaching theater the likes of which I''d only ever seen on TV, like an old-time operating theater.


    The gateway I¡¯d entered through was at the very top of the theater. Stairways led down on all sides, terminating in a small circular stage at the center where Lebec stood waiting. There were probably five rows of seats from the top of the theater to the bottom and about twenty students scattered among the seats, no one sitting next to the other.


    Lebec''s eyes fixed on me and the corners of his lips pulled into a grimace that I assumed was a half-smile. If it wasn¡¯t a half smile, maybe he''d spoken to the dwarf I¡¯d so offended earlier, and this was something I would have to atone for.


    Library.


    The thought jumped into my head unbidden. The first chance I got, I needed to find a library and some history books. I needed info.


    I walked down the stairs and grabbed a seat. It was only once I sat down that I realized I didn''t have a pen or any paper. I didn''t have anything with which to take notes.


    I closed my eyes and swallowed. Hopefully the first class would simply be a class going over the syllabus for the semester.


    From the college classes I¡¯d seen on TV, I assumed that''s how most of the classes started off. The first class hopefully wasn¡¯t really anything other than an administrative class. Going over the rules, handing out the syllabus, talking about the required workload, the reading, menial things like that.


    As I was thinking through this, I started looking around the theater. The first thing that caught my eyes was the ceiling because there wasn¡¯t one. Above us was nothing but the night sky, filled with stars.


    Only the stars had strange colors.


    Frowning, I stared up at them, wondering what the colors signified. I stared up at the constellations there. Some of the shapes reminded me of the shapes floating above that infinite hallway I''d been in previously.


    This can¡¯t be a coincidence, right?


    Once I could tear my eyes away from the sky, I looked around the theater at my classmates. Almost all of them were wearing cloaks. My shorts and T-shirt marked me as an outsider. Frowning, I also noticed that none of the other students had the strange crown of lights that I did above my head.


    Why am I marked? Is that how the dwarf in the infinite hallway knew I was a stick? Is that how Grey Eyes knew I was a stick?


    I had a good feeling that was the case.


    Perfect. So not only do I stand out by what I''m wearing, but also by what''s floating above my head, actively marking me as not belonging. Cool. Great. Fantastic.


    Lebec glanced down at his watch, frowned, and cleared his throat.


    ¡°All right,¡± he said in a loud authoritative voice. ¡°Let''s get started.¡±


    He said this as if all the students had been talking to each other and making noise. The room, however, had been completely silent.


    ¡°Welcome to Vanishing 101. I know several of you are sitting in on this class as an elective for your adept training. Others of you are here strictly to learn the trade of vanishing. No matter which track you''re taking through Bristlebloom, you will be graded the same. You must attend classes. You must attend magickal crime scenes. You must attend.¡±


    Magickal crime scenes? That sounds a lot more intense than what I was expecting.


    Lebec continued. ¡°I think all of you are going to enjoy this class. Vanishers are one of the unsung heroes of the magick world. Vanishers act¡ª¡±


    There was a sudden loud bang at the back of the classroom as a door swung open and hit the wall. A disheveled guy wearing a tweed suit came in. He hustled down the stairs and took a seat next to me. I glanced over at him, at his messy hair, at his circular glasses, at his overly scratchy jacket that rubbed against my arm.


    I pulled my arm back so it wouldn''t touch me again.


    ¡°And that brings me to another point,¡± Lebec said. ¡°As this is the first class, I kept the gateway open.¡± He lifted his right hand and his fingers twitched in the air like he was playing the piano but only two or three notes. There was a bright glow that lit at his fingertips and then went out just as quickly. ¡°From this point forward, I will be sealing the gateway to this classroom every time class starts. Are we all in agreement on this?¡±


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    There were a few mutters, but mostly just nodding heads at this. The guy sitting next to me, the only person who''d been late, didn''t even seem to realize that Lebec was referring to him.


    ¡°As I was saying,¡± Lebec said, fixing the latecomer with the glare, ¡°vanishers are known in the magick world as indispensable. They¡¯re as indispensable as sanitation workers in the stick world. Without vanishers our way of life, our coexistence with the stick world, would not exist. Vanishers remove all trace of any magickal altercation, be it a simple fight all the way up to an assassination. The sticks do not know we exist because of the existence of vanishers. Vanishers interface with the stick world. They talk to sticks directly. They do the groundwork that we cannot do.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± the guy sitting next to me muttered, ¡°because sticks are so¡ª¡±


    He glanced up to the lights above my head and the look on his face told me everything I needed to know.


    Okay. So, the crown of lights designates me as a stick. Confirmed.


    ¡°What I mean to say,¡± the man tried to course correct, but couldn''t seem to get his thoughts back on track. ¡°What¡­ what I mean¡­¡±


    ¡°Sir,¡± Lebec called out from the center of the theater. ¡°Do you have anything to add?¡±


    The guy kept his focus on me, completely ignoring Lebec.


    ¡°I''m sorry,¡± he said. ¡°What I was about to say was insensitive.¡±


    I didn''t acknowledge this in any way shape or form. If I was the outsider here, I wasn''t going to make myself even more of an outsider by ignoring Lebec.


    ¡°Sir?¡± Lebec called out. ¡°Did you have¡ª¡±


    ¡°No,¡± the guy called out to Lebec, still looking at me. ¡°Nothing to add. Thank you.¡±


    Lebec grumbled but went back to his speech. ¡°Vanishers serve a dual purpose though.¡±


    His fingers traced several shapes in the air and above him the outline of a human materialized. It was like seeing a hologram only it was more real. There was a three-dimensional quality to the image, but it wasn''t entirely three-dimensional. It was just the idea of the shape.


    Lebec twirled his fingers and a second human shape appeared. This second human lifted their hand and held it out in the shape of a finger gun. Their thumb twitched and bright light shot from the point of their finger at the first person.


    The person who got hit with the bright light fell to the ground to form the chalk outline of a dead body.


    The shooter with the finger gun placed his hand back at his side, but now, at the point where his finger gun had been pointing, there was a shimmering green color.


    Lebec continued his lecture. ¡°When magick is used, lume is left behind as residue. Vanishers trap this lume, collect it, and dispose of it. Lume, and yes, I know some of this is not groundbreaking or even new for a lot of you, powers the Lumaverse. Our magick comes from lume. The gateways are powered by lume. Other plaines have different ways of using lume, different magick as we call it, but whenever we use magick, lume is expended.¡±


    I can¡¯t believe I didn¡¯t consider bringing paper and pen.


    ¡°The lume consumption process is always imperfect, however, and some is always left behind as a residue like this lume right here.¡± Lebec pointed up to the green shimmering where the man''s finger gun had been pointed. ¡°This is evidence that magick has been expended. Anytime magick is used, lume is left behind. When lume is left behind in the stick world, away from magickally warded and enclosed areas like Bristlebloom, it can be discovered by others.¡±


    I frowned. So many new words, so many new things I was clueless about.


    ¡°Others such as witches, those from the Shadow Vaile, etc.¡±


    Witches? The Shadow Vaile?


    I had no idea what he was talking about. I had to get a book, or five million books, and soon.


    ¡°You following all of this?¡± the man sitting next to me asked.


    ¡°Sort of,¡± I muttered back.


    He pulled out a weird sort of tray that was attached to my armrest and folded it over my lap. The surface of the tray was slate black and had those same witchstone channels running through it that I had seen at the stations in the infinite hallway. Light sparked to life and glowed above the surface.


    It was a keyboard and above that was a tiny translucent screen through which I could see Lebec.


    The man whispered, ¡°Type in any words you don''t understand. It''ll tell you what they are and give you links to other articles, deeper reading. It¡¯s a Lumadex. It¡¯s kinda like Wikipedia, but for magick.¡±


    A magickal Wikipedia. Thank God.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I whispered.


    I typed in the word witch.


    The screen spit back a long answer at me, but it all boiled down to one idea.


    Witches eat magick.


    I frowned at this. In all the stories I''d ever heard, witches had never been those who ate magick.


    I typed in the word wizard and got an opposite sort of answer.


    Wizard: those with an absolute mastery of one of the four magick abilities.


    I was about to tap ¡®magick abilities¡¯ when Lebec clapped a single time.


    ¡°Dismissed for two hours,¡± he called out. ¡°Go check in at your dormitory if you haven¡¯t already.¡±


    I looked over to the guy sitting next to me. ¡°Do you know where I can get a Lumadex? Are these readily available?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± he said. ¡°All the libraries have them. Your room should even have one built into the desk. Where are you staying?¡±


    I opened my mouth to respond that I wasn''t sure, that I didn''t know where the library was, that I didn''t even know what his name was.


    Before I got a chance to say anything though, the bracelet on my wrist clamped down and then relaxed.


    I glanced down at the bracelet and a strange little map shimmered into existence above the witchstones. I could tell that I was the arrow at the center of the map and there was a line leading away from the theater.


    ¡°Thanks for your help and it was nice meeting you,¡± I said. ¡°Gotta get to work.¡±

 Chapter 14

    As I walked through the hallways of Bristlebloom, my mind spun with thoughts of the Lumaverse and all the possibilities it opened.


    The only problem was that I wasn''t entirely sure what the Lumaverse even was.


    Even as I stared at the map and followed its directions, my mind focused on where I''d be staying that evening, what I would be eating.


    My stomach gurgled, but I ignored it. I didn''t have time to eat. I didn¡¯t even know where to go to get food.


    Maybe I could get some food at Geist''s, maybe he would already have food waiting there for me. I really couldn¡¯t be sure what was going to happen or what was expected, until I got there.


    I followed the map and made my way to the end of the hall where I entered a set of staircases, went to the bottom, exited, went around a corner, and twisted a doorknob. When I pulled the door of the gateway open, I was surprised to see a dark alleyway stretching out in front of me.


    I glanced down at my map again and, sure enough, I was where I was supposed to be. Looking to the left and right, I saw there were no doors anywhere else and walked through. The gateway slammed behind me and I found myself standing in an alleyway.


    I glanced up to see a darkened night sky. No stars, no weird constellations of spinning colors here.


    Water dripped somewhere. I lifted my foot and could see that the ground was wet beneath my sneakers. To either side of me, far closer than I would''ve preferred, were brick walls that towered up above. At the far, far end of the alleyway I could see warm, yellow light.


    I started walking in that direction, gradually growing more comfortable as the alleyway started to widen. There were cubes of stone as tall as I was here and there, doorways at random intervals. As I walked, I started to realize that there was no trash on the ground.


    For a dark, wet alleyway, I would''ve expected some sort trash on the ground, but there was none.


    Does trash just not exist here? Or maybe they have some way of making it vanish? This feels like a theme park.


    I kinda laughed to myself. I remembered what Lebec had said about vanishers. I couldn''t believe that I was about to become the magick world equivalent of a sanitation worker. There was nothing wrong with doing sanitation work, but it was definitely not a thing I''d ever expected to be. I guess I''d never expected to be in the magick world at all either, but that was an entirely different thing.


    As I passed by one of the many stone cubes, I heard a voice hiss from the darkness.


    ¡°Hexana,¡± it said. I turned and, from the shadows, a cloaked figure materialized.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± I asked, taking several steps backwards. ¡°How do you know my name?¡±


    The figure pulled the hood of their cloak back so that I could see their face. Grey Eyes stared back at me.


    ¡°Oh,¡± I said. ¡°Hi.¡±


    I glanced down at my bracelet and saw that the map had disappeared.


    Does that mean I¡¯m standing where I¡¯m supposed to be standing? Is Grey Eyes who I¡¯m supposed to be meeting?


    ¡°I¡¯m here for work?¡± I asked.


    Why are we meeting in a back alley?


    Grey Eyes handed me a small leather pouch. It was the kind of a pouch you''d see a bunch of marbles carried in, and that''s actually what it felt like was inside. I jiggled the pouch in my hand, started to open it.


    Grey Eyes placed a single finger at the top of the pouch and shook his head, clucking his tongue as he did so. ¡°The contents of this customer¡¯s purchase are not for you. They are for the customer. Please deliver this.¡±


    I frowned and narrowed my eyes. I wasn¡¯t sure how to tactfully broach what I wanted to ask so I just blurted out the question. ¡°What''s in it?¡±


    Grey Eyes clucked his tongue again. ¡°The contents of the customer¡¯s purchase are not for you.¡±


    ¡°Meaning¡­ you don''t know?¡± I asked.


    Grey Eyes fixed me with a sour smile. ¡°The contents of the customers purchase are not for either of us to know.¡±


    He said the last bit very pointedly so that I couldn''t miss what he was trying to convey.


    ¡°Right.¡± I bit my lip and sucked in a breath. ¡°Here''s the thing though: I''m not really into being a drug mule so I don''t know that this is for me.


    Grey Eyes scoffed at me. ¡°Right. You¡¯re a stick. Of course, you would think these were drugs. Not that it¡¯s any of your business, but these are witchstones.¡±


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    I still didn''t know what they were and hadn''t had the time to look up the definition.


    ¡°Witchstones?¡± I asked, hoping for something, anything.


    Grey Eyes rolled his eyes at me. ¡°You really are a stick,¡± he said.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I rolled my eyes harder. ¡°It''s almost like I have a crown of light designating me as such, isn''t it?¡±


    ¡°You''re lucky you work for Geist now. Killing a stick isn¡¯t a crime here.¡± Grey Eyes turned away from me and as he walked away, he called over his shoulder, ¡°If you weren¡¯t under Geist''s care, I would exterminate you like the vermin you are¡­¡±


    Grey Eyes disappeared into the darkness of the alley, back the way I¡¯d come, and soon I couldn''t make out the outline of his cloak in the shadows.


    I glanced down at the pouch in my hand, considered opening it, but just as quickly decided not to. I slipped the pouch into my back pocket and glanced down at my bracelet, hoping a map would materialize.


    Thankfully, one did.


    I was supposed to walk out of the alleyway, hang a right onto the street there, at least what looked like a street because for all I knew it could be a river, and then take a left. The delivery location would be at the end of a tiny road.


    Easy.


    Okay, Geist, I¡¯ll deliver your package, but you and I are going to have a talk about Grey Eyes.


    I walked to the end of the alley, thinking about what Grey Eyes had said, considering whether or not what he told me about killing sticks was true.


    Who would notice if you disappeared? Who in the stick world would even realize that you¡¯re missing?


    Ted would just assume I''d moved, gone somewhere else.


    Luke wouldn''t remember me.


    I had a few friends, but none that I actively hung out with anymore. We mostly drifted apart as they took professional jobs, had kids, got married, moved on with their lives; while I continued my little hobby, my habit, my gambling for the theatre.


    When I got to the end of the alley, my mouth, for like the eighteenth time, fell open.


    The street the alleyway fed into went in either direction for as far as I could see. Lining the street, on either side, were massive skyscrapers. Floating from one side of the street to the other, like lazy jellyfish, were bright paper lanterns of different colors. They cast a yellow glow over the street.


    No cars moved in the street; it was chock-full of carts. Vendors stood behind these carts, selling food, selling witchstones much like the ones I''d seen in Geist''s store, other trinkets.


    As I stood at the mouth of the alleyway, gaping out at the street before me, I felt a dumb smile drift onto my face. It was a night market.


    I glanced at my watch. It was the middle of the day.


    I glanced back up at the sky, at the darkness there, and it made no sense. How could it be night when it was 2 PM?


    I stepped out onto the street, trying to blend in with the bustle of people moving here and there. Everyone wore cloaks except me and no one else had a crown of light above their head.


    Off to my left was a cart filled with scarves that wafted in the breeze, only there was no breeze. The scarves there, multicolored, glowing and vibrant, slithered as though they were possessed not just with the wind that was lifting them, puffing them out, but also something intelligent and alive, reaching towards everyone who passed by.


    I didn''t know what they were and didn''t want to.


    I hurried away and saw that on the surface of the next cart there were multiple squares of paper. The squares looked like origami paper, and as I stepped closer the paper folded itself, lightning fast, into the shapes of two wrestlers. The two origami wrestlers began grappling with each other, flipping each other over, each trying to pin the other.


    Other sheets of the square paper folded into giants, into dragons, and these attacked the two wrestlers, turning the surface of the cart into a melee as more pieces of paper folded into other shapes, other fantastic beasts, that attacked one another. I kept moving as from all around me came the sound of the vendors calling out their wares, calling out what they were selling.


    ¡°Arcane trinkets!¡±


    ¡°Cursed jewelry!¡±


    ¡°Blank witchstones. Blank witchstones. Empty witchstones. Empty witchstones.¡±


    Witchstones can be empty?


    I added this to my growing knowledge of the magick world.


    The map on my bracelet instructed that I turn, and I did so, moving up a quiet side street. This street only held a few people. Everyone here seemed to be making a point not to notice anyone else. The carts and the vendors were unobtrusive. No one called out to the passersby, everyone minded their own business.


    At the very end of the tiny side street was a little shop. Hanging from above the shop was a sign, but I couldn''t read it as it was just a blank shingle of black wood.


    I tried to turn the knob of the store, but it didn''t move. I glanced down at my map and saw that the map was gone.


    I was where I was supposed to be.


    I knocked on the door, not really sure what I was supposed to do as my eyes drifted over to a storefront farther up the street that looked abandoned.


    There was a black heart burned into the bone white wooden shingle hanging above its front door. The heart was upside down.


    Something about that symbol was familiar, something about it reminded me of my father for some reason. Frowning, I stared at it until the sound of the door opening in front of me brought my attention back to the job.


    I turned to see a hand reaching out from the tiny sliver the door had been opened. The hand opened its palm and waited there.


    Not knowing what else to do, I placed the pouch I''d been given into the open hand and the hand shot back inside the door. The door slammed in my face and I was left standing there, wondering what the hell had just happened.


    I hung around for several minutes before I slowly backed away, not really sure what else to do.


    I moved up the side street and back onto the main thoroughfare, hanging a right and heading back towards the alleyway I had first entered.


    My eyes scanned the crowd, looking at the people, the vendors, the carts, taking it all in, taking in this brand-new magickal world.


    I hadn¡¯t made it very far down the main thoroughfare when a low rumble shook the ground beneath my feet. The rumble turned into a growl that turned into a roar as a blast shot out from behind me.


    I turned in that direction and saw a bright column of light tearing up into the night sky. The light was a dark, bloody red that bathed everything with its hue. I stared at my now red hands, at the now red faces of the vendors and the other people on the street.


    Some of them were screaming.


    Some of them were moving towards the bloody light.


    Others ran.


    No two reactions were the same and I wasn''t sure what I was supposed to gather from all of it. I didn''t really have time to think much more about it as I felt the crown of light on my head buzz, bringing my attention back to my real purpose.


    My next class was about to be in session.


    I turned to the nearest marked gateway, took a deep breath, and opened it.

 Chapter 15

    As soon as I stepped through the gateway, I was back in the classroom.


    There were only two people. Everyone else must have still been moving into their dorms, grabbing a bite to eat, dawdling, socializing. All things I wish I could''ve been doing had my financial situation dictated otherwise.


    I walked down the stairs and grabbed the same seat I¡¯d been sitting in for the previous orientation class. I sat there staring blankly at the stage, my mind wandering back over what had just happened in the Night Market.


    I¡¯d heard a loud lightning crack and then seen a bloody red light flash up into the sky.


    Maybe that¡¯s how the magick world celebrates? Maybe that red light shooting into the sky was more akin to fireworks than something else? Hell, maybe that happens every hour to mark the hour like a magickal bell tower.


    I could tell myself that all I wanted, but the looks on the people''s faces on the street said otherwise. There had been real fear and real concern over that bloody red pillar of light beaming into the sky.


    As more students filtered in, I found myself examining each of them in turn. They all wore cloaks.


    Is there a cloak shop in the area where I can buy one so I can at least sort of fit in?


    I also noticed something else: the cloaks were all solid colors. There were no multicolored cloaks.


    I frowned. Is this a magickal culture thing I don¡¯t know about?


    Lebec made his way down the stairs. As I glanced around at the students assembled, I noticed that Mr. Scratchy Suit who''d sat next to me, who''d shown up late the previous class, wasn''t in attendance yet. I wondered if Lebec was really going to lock down the classroom gateways and bar latecomers from entering.


    Lebec arranged some things at the center of the class, going about the regular administrative work that teachers always do before class starts.


    What am I going to do about housing? Where am I supposed to stay?


    I had no idea how to get to the dorms, or even what room I''d been assigned.


    Are rooms assigned? Do you pick your room? Are there roommates? Or are the rooms private? What about the bathrooms? What about towels? Soap? Is there a store where I can buy¡ª


    ¡°Class,¡± Lebec said in way of a greeting. ¡°Welcome back. Normally we wouldn''t start with in-the-field work, but it just so happens that an event has taken place in the Night Market which will allow you all to gain some valuable first-hand experience of what vanishers do in the field. This event has taken place within a warded area, so our presence will not alert any sticks to what happened.


    ¡°Now, before we go, I need to explain a thing or two about vanishers. While vanishers not only remove traces of magick from the stick world, they also investigate lesser crimes in the magick world. The Austerium reserves adepts for higher crimes and contracts vanishers to investigate lesser offenses.


    ¡°That''s another point I need to clear up for all of you. Vanishers are contract employees. You¡¯re being trained by the Austerium, but you don''t work for the Austerium. You''re not an Austerium employee. You''re an independent contractor.¡±


    I''d heard that line before. Independent contractor just meant easier to fire, more expendable, no benefits.


    Lebec continued. ¡°Additionally, you''ll be able to take jobs outside of the Austerium. Think of yourselves as almost private detectives in some sense. Your reputation will mean a great deal. People will come to you if you do right by them. Their friends will come to you. You will become an important piece in the magick economy.


    ¡°For petty grievances, the Austerium does not get involved. That''s where vanishers come in. You will investigate, you will find out what the person who''s hired you wishes to know. You are licensed by the Austerium. There will be a code of ethics you have to follow. Those of you who stray outside of this code of ethics will be strictly reprimanded.¡±


    Lebec fixed all of us with a glare. ¡°I want this to be clear for everyone. The Austerium will go to any lengths in order to punish¡ª¡±


    The door at the back of the class banged open and I closed my eyes.


    Lebec hadn''t locked it and I knew exactly who''d slammed it open. The seat next to me was jostled.


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    ¡°Hi,¡± the guy from before said in a quiet voice. ¡°How¡¯s it going? I didn''t see you in the dorms.¡±


    Lebec was staring at the guy and I was staring at Lebec, doing everything in my power to keep the focus on his tardiness, not myself. I didn''t need any more of a reason to stand out. I also noticed something else in that moment.


    The guy sitting next to me hadn''t been wearing a cloak before and he wasn''t wearing one now. He and I were the only ones.


    He was wearing different suit, though. Still a scratchy tweed number that looked much older than the guy did. The jacket was patched on the elbows.


    ¡°Sir,¡± Lebec called out across the classroom. ¡°Will you continue to arrive late?¡±


    The guy seemed genuinely surprised that Lebec was addressing him. He turned his eyes down to the dwarf at the center of the class.


    ¡°No sir. I was helping someone move in. I was doing my utmost to give the Austerium a good name, to let others know how friendly and helpful the Austerium can be.¡±


    ¡°I would prefer that you not do that on my time,¡± Lebec said. ¡°I would prefer¡ª¡±


    The guy interrupted Lebec. ¡°The student was from Akademi.¡±


    There were several gasps in the room and several mouths fall open.


    I frowned. So what? So, there was another kid from an academy. Big deal. Who cares?


    Lebec, however, seemed to care. He swallowed his words.


    ¡°Well,¡± he said. ¡°We want to make sure that all of those from other plaines understand how helpful Nidema can be.¡±


    The guy sitting next to me gave an almost imperceptible nod to Lebec.


    The dwarf swallowed again and licked his lips.


    What¡¯s academy and what on earth are these two talking about?


    I pulled up the Lumadex attached to my chair and typed in the word academy.


    The Lumadex auto corrected the word to Akademi and gave me a definition that made me frown.


    Akademi is one of the twelve major plaines that make up the Lumaverse. They use life magick that is strictly contained within books.


    I tapped the word plaine.


    A plaine is an entire, self-contained universe. You are currently within the Nidema Plaine, specifically on the planet Earth within the Nidema Plaine. The major plaines number twelve and are as follows in alphabetical order: Akademi, Elichor, Iridi, Lund, Meraki, Nidema, Orchis, Puul, Simula, Unia, Vexio, Zelania.


    Additionally, there are an infinite number of shards, or smaller plaines.


    These plaines and shards are what make up the Lumaverse.


    ¡°Kind of a big deal,¡± the guy sitting next to me whispered once he saw what I was reading on the Lumadex.


    I gave the guy a subtle nod, still not wanting to get on Lebec''s bad side. Although, based on the way Lebec had responded to the man''s mention of Akademi, maybe it would be advantageous if I got in the guy''s good graces. Maybe it would be good if we got to know each other. Maybe there would be an opportunity there later, some way that he could help me.


    He seemed all too eager to do so, but I didn''t know why. I didn''t know what his motivation was for helping me.


    You¡¯re probably saying, ¡°Because he¡¯s obviously interested in you, Hexana.¡±


    Yeah, well¡­ I was clueless. Sorry. I guess that should¡¯ve been clear then, but it wasn¡¯t.


    Lebec cleared his throat and started speaking again. ¡°As I said, current events have provided us a unique teaching opportunity. Everyone collect your things and follow me.¡±


    Everyone stood. No one collected anything as there were no pens or paper to be seen in the classroom. The guy who¡¯d been sitting next to me glanced over.


    ¡°What''s he talking about?¡± the guy asked.


    ¡°Apparently there was some sort of incident that we¡¯re going to investigate while watching licensed vanishers investigate I guess?¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± the guy said. ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, giving him a shrug, kind of wanting him to quit talking to me.


    The guy nodded as though he¡¯d heard my thoughts and my wishes.


    Can people in the magick world read minds?


    That was a terrifying thought that I pushed very far away.


    Lebec moved up the stairway closest to me and I filed in with the other students, following him as he made it to the top of the classroom and opened one of the gateways there. We walked through the gateway with him and found ourselves back in the Night Market.


    The vendors no longer looked scared: they were back to selling things. When they saw our class, our little group of cloaked figures, they started shouting out even louder at us.


    ¡°Witchstones! Get your witchstones!¡±


    One vendor caught sight of me and pounced.


    ¡°Cloaks!¡± the young woman practically screamed in my face. She was my age. ¡°Would you like a cloak? You''ll blend right in! No one will even know that you¡¯re a stick if you''re wearing a cloak!¡±


    ¡°She''s lying,¡± Mr. Scratchy Suit, still beside me, said. ¡°They¡¯ll be able to see the crown through the cloak.¡±


    ¡°Only in warded areas,¡± the woman cried out in response to this before spitting at his feet.


    He rolled his eyes. ¡°What, are you mad that I took your little grift away?¡±


    She stuck out her lower lip like she was going to pout, but instead she reached her hand up to her lip and slipped a finger in. She fished out a clear crystal that looked like glass.


    It¡¯s a witchstone.


    The woman slipped this witchstone into her pocket and shook her head. Her voice was now much quieter.


    ¡°Made me waste a witchstone,¡± the woman said. Her voice was now coming out far more like an old woman''s than it had when the witchstone had been in her mouth. The young woman¡¯s smooth face broke out into racing lines of wrinkles that tore across her face as though someone had put their hands on both side and squeezed.


    The guy shrugged. ¡°Not everyone''s a mark here.¡±


    The woman spat again, and I saw that her mouth was completely devoid of teeth.


    ¡°Stay together,¡± Lebec called from up ahead, specifically to Mr. Scratchy Suit and me.


    We made our way back to the group and followed them up the street. When Lebec took us down a side street, my stomach dropped.


    We were walking down the same street I''d walked down earlier.


    We were headed towards the shop at the very end of that street. The same shop where I''d delivered the pouch Grey Eyes had given me.


    The shop where I¡¯d delivered that pouch was no longer there.


    In its place were destroyed ruins.

 Chapter 16

    From what I could tell, it appeared that the shop had been lifted off its foundation turned upside down, and then crushed down.


    Wood, glass, and brick radiated out from where the storefront used to be.


    ¡°Hey.¡± Mr. Scratchy Suit frowned as he looked at me. ¡°They¡¯re walking away from us.¡±


    He was talking about the rest of the class, but I was still trying to breathe, trying to process what I was looking at.


    I gulped.


    This seemed worse than bad. Had I been seen? I must''ve stuck out like a sore thumb with my crown of light. Someone had to have seen me delivering the pouch to the store. Someone had to know.


    My eyes shot to either side, searching for parted shades, any swishing curtains, any eyes peeking around the corners at me. For any store owners ready to burst out of their storefronts, ready to point their fingers at me, to report me.


    ¡°Hey,¡± Mr. Scratchy Suit said. ¡°Hey, you''re not looking so good.¡±


    ¡°What''s your name?¡± I asked, trying to keep him distracted, trying to keep his mind on something else.


    ¡°Me?¡± he asked in response. ¡°Didn''t we already introduce ourselves?¡±


    ¡°No. What''s your name?¡±


    ¡°Flin,¡± he said, and then he sighed. ¡°F. L. I. N. Flin.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Captain Spelling Bee. Do you always spell your name?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Only for the people who matter,¡± he said, and gave me a cockeyed grin.


    ¡°Right,¡± I muttered. My mind was less on Flin and more on the destroyed shop.


    Something else bubbled to the whirling surface of my thoughts.


    Am I a terrorist now? Is that what this means? Am I responsible for magickal terrorism? Is that a thing here? Did I just make it a thing?


    ¡°Flin,¡± I said in a voice that didn''t sound like my own. ¡°Is this normal?¡±


    ¡°Introducing yourself to others? Yeah. It''s normal. What''s your name?¡±


    ¡°Hexana,¡± I said.


    Flin snapped. ¡°Like the fairytale.¡±


    ¡°Fairytale?¡± I''d never heard any fairytale with someone named Hexana in it.


    ¡°Yeah. Everyone in the magick world pretty much grows up hearing the Hexana fairytale.¡±


    Oh, for fuck¡¯s sake¡­ I¡¯m named after a fairytale?!


    ¡°That¡¯s nice,¡± I said, making a mental note to investigate the Hexana fairytale at some later point in time when my thoughts weren¡¯t consumed with whether I was a terrorist or not.


    Flin and I caught back up to the rest of the class and watched as men in green cloaks sifted through the wreckage. They did this without ever actually wading into the destruction.


    They stood in a semi-half circle in front of the destroyed building. Each of them traced shapes in the air, examining pieces of wood that floated up and away from the main body of wreckage in response to them. When they were finished examining them, they deposited the inspected pieces in a pile off to the side.


    Another group of men and women stood around this pile. These people wore goggles with completely opaque lenses that were edged with leather.


    Around their wrists, both wrists it seemed, they wore leather cuffs studded with clear witchstones. They bent over the wood, tracing their wrists above and around the wreckage like it was a crackling campfire they were using to keep their hands warm.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Lebec said, lifting both of his hands and motioning everyone to come closer to him. ¡°The adepts are examining the wreckage for any signs of curses or any other sort of ambushes. Off to the side,¡± Lebec gestured to the goggled people with the leather cuffs, ¡°are the vanishers. They¡¯re using magickally imbued leather cuffs that absorb the lume left behind from the magickal incident that occurred here.¡±


    A girl raised her hand.


    ¡°You don''t need to raise your hand,¡± Lebec said. ¡°We¡¯re not in class right now. You can simply speak.¡±


    ¡°What do they do once they absorb the lume?¡± the girl asked, her voice quite a bit higher than I''d expected it to be.


    ¡°That''s a very good question,¡± Lebec said. ¡°Every vanisher is given two numbered cuffs. These cuffs are studded with empty witchstones. A vanisher will absorb lume into these cuffs until all the crystal are opaque. Once the cuffs are full, they will return them to the Austerium and exchange the full cuffs for a new set of empties. The Austerium will repurpose the lume harvested within each of the cuffs. To be reused.¡±


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    ¡°In other witchstones,¡± the girl said.


    ¡°Right,¡± Lebec said. ¡°In other witchstones, experiments, and research.¡±


    So many things were happening right now, so many words I didn''t really know the definition of. I had to get some sort of handheld Lumadex with which I could figure out what these words meant as they came up otherwise, I would never be able to follow a single conversation.


    ¡°So,¡± Lebec said, ¡°what we think happened here?¡±


    I looked down at my shoes but saw a boy off to my right raise his hand.


    Lebec shook his head.


    The boy lowered his hand and spoke. ¡°It looks like a magick grenade went off.¡±


    There was something in his voice that spoke of money and entitlement. He sounded as though he believed whatever he said was the correct answer, simply because he''d said it.


    ¡°Magickal grenade.¡± Lebec rubbed his chin. ¡°Possibly, but not likely. Had that been the case there would''ve been wood scattered all the way back to Main Street. As you see, wreckage is only apparent immediately around the site of the incident.¡±


    ¡°Maybe the adepts already took those pieces of debris and gave it to the vanishers,¡± the boy suggested.


    ¡°Not likely,¡± Lebec said. ¡°Any debris they would''ve taken from farther away would''ve been placed in a sack beside the larger piles of debris the vanishers are now working through. The adepts would''ve wanted to keep that debris separate from the main wreckage.¡±


    The boy deflated, but there was something to the slump of his shoulders that made me believe that the boy thought Lebec was wrong and he was right.


    ¡°Any other observations?¡± Lebec asked.


    No one said anything and Lebec fixed his eyes on me.


    Oh god. Don¡¯t do this. Not me.


    Before he even said anything, I already knew what he was going to do: the one thing I absolutely hate that teachers do. He called on me even though my hand wasn''t up, even though I wasn''t trying to speak, even though I didn''t really have a thought in my head other than my own survival.


    ¡°Hexana,¡± Lebec said. I was instantly reminded of what Flin had said about my name being used in a fairytale when several of the other classmates turned to see who he was referring to. Once they caught sight of me, several of them looked at each other and snickered. ¡°What are your thoughts on what happened here?¡±


    Does he know? How can he know? How could he know?


    ¡°Uh,¡± I said, not a great start. ¡°It looks like someone picked up the house, turned it upside down, then slammed it down.¡±


    There were several other snickers at this, but Lebec raised an eyebrow. ¡°An interesting theory. Why do you say that?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± I said in a quiet voice, ¡°the roof is at the bottom of the wreckage pile. Look at the shingles poking out everywhere underneath the heavier beams. Everything, including what little furniture you can see, is upside down. Had the place exploded, sure some of it would''ve been upside down, but not all of it. Look at that chair specifically.¡±


    I pointed out the chair I meant. The chair was completely made of some sort of metal. The back of it was bent away from the seat and two of the chair legs were folded across the bottom of the seat while the other two were folded out away.


    ¡°I see what you mean,¡± Lebec said. ¡°Look at the bed. The box springs are crushed on top of the mattress.¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°Good eye, Hexana,¡± Lebec said and I wished he would quit saying my name out loud. Those in the class who¡¯d been snickering now glared.


    Great. I''ve gone from being an outcast stick to being the brown nose with a joke of a name.


    ¡°So,¡± Lebec said, looking at the others in the class. ¡°What sort of magick could have caused this? As you all know there are four types: life, death, bone, blood. Which of these four would''ve caused an incident of this magnitude?¡±


    ¡°Life magick,¡± most of the class mumbled.


    ¡°An interesting observation which will more than likely prove to be correct, but why ask, when we can just find out?¡± Lebec opened his cloak and pulled out a pile of the same style of goggles the working vanishers all wore. He handed them out to us, and we all slipped them on.


    When I first slipped mine on, I thought they were broken, or malfunctioning.


    Flin whispered under his breath to me. ¡°Give it a second. These goggles were just made, and they haven''t acclimated to your body. The magick has to warm up.¡±


    I nodded but figured he couldn''t see me nodding as the only thing I could see was darkness.


    After a few moments though, something happened. The goggles began to show something else. It started as a flickering light, a faint glow directly ahead of me. I could see green light being emitted, traced, and realized this was the lume left behind by the adepts who were picking up the main bits of wreckage.


    These green covered pieces of wreckage flew over to the right and were placed down where they promptly disappeared, almost as if they were erased out.


    That¡¯s gotta be the vanishers absorbing the lume.


    There was something else though¡­ Something at the center of the wreckage was glowing in a different color. A red pulsing heart of light.


    Several of my classmates must''ve seen it because I heard gasps.


    It was surprising, but I didn¡¯t think it was shocking enough to gasp at.


    ¡°Blood magick,¡± Flin muttered to himself. ¡°Interesting.¡±


    ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Because practicing blood magick is banned,¡± Flin said. ¡°After the culling, blood magick was prohibited.¡±


    ¡°The culling?¡± I asked.


    ¡°We don''t have enough time. Suffice it to say those who practiced blood magick were summarily executed and the use of blood magick was banished after that point.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± I said. ¡°So, there was a blood wizard genocide.¡±


    ¡°Some wizards died, yes, but the majority of those who died were casters.¡±


    ¡°What''s the difference?¡±


    ¡°Wizards are much more powerful than casters. They¡¯re strong in a single style of magick. Casters are more varied in their magick abilities, but far less powerful. As in exponentially less powerful.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Okay. So how does blood magick work?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Blood magick allows the caster or wizard to take control of others, to bend them to their own will. It''s a dark sort of magick and seeing it here, seeing that amount of lume, indicates that there is an active blood wizard who has access to this place.¡±


    ¡°Okay, class,¡± Lebec said. There was nervousness in his voice now. ¡°If you could all remove your lume goggles and return them to me, we¡¯ll head back to Bristlebloom. Get yourselves settled in your dorms. Classes will resume in the morning. I must also request that none of you speak of what you have seen here. I did not realize the gravity of this incident. Your silence is appreciated.¡±


    As we walked back, I felt the bracelet around my wrist clamp down.


    I¡¯d wondered when Geist would call me back.


    Is he a blood wizard? A blood caster? Were those things in the pouch I delivered blood magick bombs?


    I didn''t know what was possible and yet there I was trying to figure it out. As the class made their way through the Night Market, I slipped away, found a marked gateway, and stepped through.

 Chapter 17

    I fully expected to be back in the dark alley to meet with Grey Eyes, but instead found myself in Geist''s shop.


    I was a bundle of nerves, of energy, of high-powered paranoia.


    Geist sent me on an errand to destroy that store, and I''d done his bidding without question.


    It was only then that I really considered that pale hand that had reached out from inside the storefront to receive Geist¡¯s pouch and disappeared back into the darkness.


    Was that person inside the store when it was destroyed? Had I destroyed that person?


    Lebec hadn¡¯t mentioned any casualties.


    My shoulders jumped when Geist called to me from around the corner. ¡°Hexana. Come in. Come in.¡±


    I made my way into the main room of the store and turned.


    There¡¯s only one door in here. The only door is the gateway you just came through.


    Something clicked in my head.


    You¡¯re effectively trapped. If Geist wants to keep you here, you won¡¯t be able to open the gateway.


    I swallowed and put on my best cocktail waitress smile for Geist.


    ¡°Hi,¡± I said. ¡°I just got finished with class.¡±


    ¡°I heard,¡± Geist said, and I couldn''t help but frown.


    How did he hear?


    It had been literal seconds after Lebec had released us that the bracelet around my wrist had paged me. Same as the first-time class had ended.


    ¡°What,¡± Geist said with a pouting look. ¡°You didn¡¯t think I would have eyes everywhere?¡±


    This isn¡¯t right. Why would the person in charge of finances and student housing have eyes everywhere? There¡¯s something wrong here.


    It didn¡¯t seem like the right moment to bring it up, though. I wasn¡¯t sure that confronting a man who had me trapped in his shop was the best option.


    ¡°So, how was class?¡± Geist asked.


    ¡°I''m learning stuff.¡± I let out a sigh. ¡°There''s so much I don''t know. Half the words that people are saying are new words to me. I don''t know what they mean. It feels like I''m listening to people speak in a foreign language.¡±


    I was still on guard, but it felt good to voice my frustrations.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Geist agreed. ¡°That must be¡­ infuriating.¡±


    ¡°It is.¡± I paused for a moment, considered. ¡°I have a question.¡±


    Geist raised an eyebrow and his face took on an almost stricken look.


    I chewed on my lip. ¡°I was wondering if you could tell me where the dormitories are, where I''m supposed to stay.¡±


    His face relaxed. He''d thought I was going to ask about the delivery and possibly the subsequent explosion. He had been bracing himself for it.


    Not a chance.


    ¡°Oh.¡± Geist plastered on a smile. ¡°Well, that''s simple. As soon as you''re finished here, I¡¯ll send you on your way, directly into the dormitory. There you''ll find your name on a placard outside your room. It''s all very simple.¡±


    ¡°I''m sure it''s very simple to you, but for a stick like me¡­¡± Gotta play up the na?vet¨¦. I¡¯m just a silly little stick girl. ¡°For a stick like me, it''s scary. So many new experiences, so many new, confusing things and events.¡±


    Geist nodded, a look of complete fatherly understanding gracing his face.


    If he thinks of me as a daughter, maybe he¡¯ll let me leave.


    ¡°Yes,¡± he agreed. ¡°I can see how this new experience would be troubling. You''re a tiny insignificant fish in a very big lake, an ocean really, and you need the protection of much larger fish in order to survive.¡±


    Both the general idea of what he was saying, as well as the very specific knifepoint he was holding against my stomach registered.


    ¡°I understand,¡± I said. I¡¯m not a threat to you.


    ¡°Do you?¡± Geist cocked an eyebrow and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms across his chest. ¡°In time, we¡¯ll see.¡±


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    He said this completely flat, as though I was nothing more than an animal he was examining and deciding whether to keep me or not, or if he should go ahead and put me out of my misery. Permanently.


    ¡°I wonder if you could help me with something¡­¡± he said. Before he even asked, I knew where this was going to go. Lebec''s last words rang in my ears as Geist asked his question. ¡°I heard that your class went on an excursion. Tell me, where did you go?¡±


    He already knew exactly where we went, and I also had a good feeling that he knew that Lebec had told us to keep silent about what we''d seen, what we''d experienced at the site.


    ¡°Well,¡± I began, balancing on the knife¡¯s edge between Lebec and Geist. For all you know, Lebec might know what Geist is doing here. Lebec might have ears in as many places as Geist seems to have eyes. ¡°We went and examined a magickal incident. That''s what you call them, correct?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Geist brought his hand up and twirling it in front of himself: get to the point. ¡°What else?¡±


    I swallowed. ¡°We watched adepts work the scene and vanishers collect the lume they found on the wreckage.¡±


    ¡°What color was the magick?¡± Geist asked.


    ¡°What color was the magick?¡± I repeated.


    ¡°The lume,¡± he clarified. ¡°The lume residue. At the epicenter. What color was it?¡±


    This is the moment. I can tell the truth, tell him what I know, and betray Lebec''s confidence or I can lie to Geist and possibly face whatever consequences a magickal being can delve out onto a stick.


    Grey Eyes¡¯ words came back to me: If you weren¡¯t under Geist''s care, I would just exterminate you like the vermin you are¡­


    If I ever fell out of Geist''s good graces, assuming Geist wasn¡¯t a hands-on type of person, I had a good idea the next person I''d see would be Grey Eyes.


    I took a deep breath before I finally spoke. ¡°It was red.¡±


    ¡°Red?¡± Geist smiled, the corners of his lips twitching.


    Is he overly excited at the news? That blood magick was used? Or is this something he hadn''t realized, something he''d been unaware of?


    ¡°Well,¡± Geist said, ¡°that''s unfortunate.¡±


    ¡°That''s unfortunate?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes. Yes, it''s unfortunate,¡± Geist said absently. He cleared his throat. ¡°It¡¯s also unfortunate that the witchstones the poor professor was researching were destroyed. I¡¯m sure the Austerium will get to the bottom of what went wrong.¡±


    ¡°That was a professor?¡± I asked, remembering the pale hand.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Geist frowned. ¡°He was a stonebreaker.¡±


    ¡°A witchstone¡ª¡±


    Geist cut across me. ¡°I believe it''s time for you to head to the dormitories.¡±


    ¡°Can ask a question before I go?¡± I asked.


    Geist dipped his chin.


    Should I ask what a stonebreaker is or¡­


    ¡°What was the culling?¡± I asked.


    Flin had already given me the broad strokes, but I wanted to see what Geist''s take on it was. They say history is written by the victors, and if Geist had me deliver blood magick, if he was a blood caster or blood wizard, I had a feeling he might feel differently about the culling.


    ¡°Why¡­¡± Geist fixed me with a cold look. ¡°It was one of the worst moments in magickal history. Any moment where you slaughter the lives of thousands is a dark moment, be it good lives or bad lives. The loss of that amount of talent was untenable.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°I was told a great many blood wizards and casters were killed.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that is true.¡±


    ¡°If so many of those who cast blood magick were killed in a genocide, how did blood magick find its way to that storefront?¡±


    ¡°A very good question, indeed,¡± Geist said. ¡°Just because many were slaughtered, doesn''t mean all were slaughtered. Many fled the Nidema Plaine before, as well as during, the culling. They settled in a new place.¡±


    ¡°A new place?¡± I asked.


    ¡°A new shard. These are all rumors, mind you, but it is said that many of the most powerful blood wizards and casters were already gone when the culling occurred, which means, if the most powerful blood wizards are now living on their own shard, for this many years, that there are sure to be more blood casters and wizards than we realize. I believe some of them are even living amongst us in silence.¡± Geist cocked an eyebrow at me. ¡°It''s surprising, is it not?¡±


    I let out a nervous laugh. Is Geist telling you that he¡¯s a blood wizard?


    ¡°Everything that I find out in this world is surprising,¡± I said. ¡°I didn''t even know blood magick was a thing until twenty minutes ago. Seems like I can say that every twenty minutes too.¡±


    Geist laughed.


    ¡°Yes,¡± he said. ¡°I suppose it''s like being a child again. Absolutely everything that you hear or learn is as if for the first time.¡±


    ¡°It''s like that exactly. I have another question if you don¡¯t mind.¡±


    Geist nodded, although this time he looked irritated. ¡°Last one and then you need to get back to your dormitory. I have business affairs to attend.¡±


    ¡°It''s about witchstones,¡± I said. ¡°Can sticks use witchstones?¡±


    The irritation on Geist¡¯s face transformed into a cat-who¡¯d-caught-the-canary smile. ¡°Sticks can use any witchstone they find, the only problem being that a stick¡¯s body is unable to process magick in the same way that a caster, an adept, or a wizard is able to.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°You can use any witchstone you wish, but there''s a cost.¡±


    ¡°And that cost is what?¡±


    ¡°Ten years at the baseline,¡± Geist said.


    I laughed. ¡°Ten years? What do you mean ten years?¡±


    ¡°Ten years off your life. Instantly. Use a witchstone and the minimal amount you¡¯ll age is ten years. There''s a cost to every caster and wizard, but the costs are nominal, borderline fractional for wizards. For casters it''s a little more, but unless the witchstone contains a very, very powerful spell, it''s likely to do little to no damage at all. Adepts can use witchstones as well, but the damage they take approaches the same amount as a stick.¡±


    ¡°So, you''re saying that by just using a witchstone, I¡¯ll instantly age ten years?¡±


    ¡°At the baseline,¡± Geist answered.


    ¡°You keep saying keep saying baseline. What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I mean that ten years is the baseline cost to you for using a witchstone containing a very basic spell. If you used a witchstone that contained a spell to say¡­ I don''t know¡­ levitate a single other person, you would instantly age ten years. If you used a witchstone containing a spell stronger than that, the number of years you would age would increase.¡±


    ¡°So theoretically there could be a witchstone so powerful that I would die instantly if I used it?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Many such witchstones, but that¡¯s what scryers and stonebreakers are for.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s a scryer?¡±


    ¡°I said one question and I think you¡¯ve used up your quota. You''re in school for this anyways. I think you''ll find a wealth of information in the library. Now, if there''s nothing else, and there better not be, I think we''re finished here.¡±


    We¡¯re not finished at all. ¡°Okay.¡±


    Geist turned his back to me, and I stood there awkwardly for a moment, unsure if he was going to turn back around or if I was just supposed to walk away.


    My stomach growled and decided for me.


    I walked back to the gateway. When I pulled the door open, I saw into the place I would be living for however long it took to become a vanisher.


    The school dormitories.

 Chapter 18

    You can¡¯t spend time worrying about Geist. Focus on the dorm. Besides, everything is probably fine. You¡¯re probably just overreacting.


    My dorm situation. My food situation. Those were more important. My stomach grumbled in agreement.


    When did you eat last? The day before?


    I wasn¡¯t sure.


    As I walked down the hallway, I looked at the placards next to each of the doors. Most of them were blank. In fact, all of them were blank except for the nameplate with my own name. I started to open the door when someone called out to me from my right.


    ¡°Hey! There you are.¡± It was Flin. He walked up, glanced at the door, and then back to me. ¡°Nice.¡±


    ¡°Is it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I mean the rooms are fine,¡± he said. ¡°They¡¯re basic, spartan even, but they fit the bill.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I mean that we''re here to learn a trade, well, some of us are. I''m not. I''m training to be an adept so the vanisher class is less of a trade training program and more of an academic class.¡±


    ¡°So, you can do magick.¡±


    ¡°Yes. I have the requisite skills to be an adept. We¡¯re fairly rare. Primarily possessing¡ª¡±


    ¡°Primarily possessing?¡± I laughed. ¡°Did you memorize the definition?¡±


    Flin laughed. ¡°Right. I''m sorry. I teach a class on the side.¡±


    Is he a teaching assistant?


    ¡°What class?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Gateway theory.¡±


    ¡°Gateway theory,¡± I nodded. ¡°Sure. Seems complicated.¡±


    Flin raised his eyebrows. ¡°You have no idea. Anyways, sorry for speaking to you like you were my student. What I meant to say was that adepts are just¡­¡±


    He frowned and thought.


    ¡°What?¡± I nudged. ¡°Adepts are just what?¡±


    ¡°Gimme a sec. I''m just trying to figure out how to put this for someone who hasn''t grown up in the magick world. For someone starting from zero.¡±


    I waited, thankful that he was going to explain to me like I was five. I was tired of listening to explanations that had prerequisites I didn¡¯t possess.


    ¡°So, adepts¡­¡± He started again but then frowned. ¡°Okay, let''s start at a fuzzy version of the beginning. There are four types of magick, right? Bone, blood, life, death. At the very bottom of the totem pole you''ve got sticks. No magick. Above them you have casters. They¡¯re good with a variety of magick. Some are a little stronger, some a little weaker, but, you know, just general type stuff. Most casters tend to use witchstones instead of magick. Above casters you have adepts. Adepts are people who have two magicks that they''re strong in. These magicks tend to combine and make them ideal for learning battle magick.¡±


    ¡°Battle magick?¡±


    ¡°It''s really complicated to describe but suffice it to say adepts are the ones casting spells at each other and dueling in your typical stick movies and tv shows.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    ¡°And wizards are above adepts. They¡¯re super powerful in one style of magick while the other styles are still present, just at a lesser degree.¡±


    ¡°Oh okay,¡± I said. It made sense that way.


    ¡°So, you''re an adept,¡± I said. ¡°You''re learning to duel other¡­¡± I frowned. ¡°Other adepts?¡±


    ¡°It''s a little more complicated than that,¡± Flin said. ¡°Just like in the stick world, there¡¯s an entire underbelly of magickal crime. Adepts are the ones who deal with criminals.¡±


    I snapped my fingers. ¡°You''re a cop.¡±


    Flin frowned at this. ¡°No. I''m an adept.¡±


    I rolled my eyes. ¡°Come on. You''re a cop. You make sure people don''t break laws. You enforce laws.¡±


    Flin started to argue this but then stopped. ¡°Yeah, well I mean¡­ Oh. Yeah, I guess I am a cop. Well, a cop in training at least.¡±


    I nodded and sighed.


    It¡¯s just like you to make friends with a cop. That''s all you need: a cop standing over you, watching your every move.


    ¡°I can show you around your room,¡± Flin offered in the silence that stretched out between us.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    I raised a single eyebrow, reached my hand out to the doorknob twisted it, and opened it. I fixed him with a withering look and then glanced into the room.


    ¡°Do you really think I nee¡ª¡± and that''s when I realized the room wasn''t set up like a normal stick room. The room was completely empty.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Flin said, looking into the room as well. ¡°Bristlebloom and the Austerium tend to use magickal rooms so if someone ever needs to shift departments, or dormitories, they can do so instantly without having to worry about moving furniture.¡±


    Flin and I stepped into the room and he brought me over to the center. There, set flush into the floor, was a clear witchstone the size of a manhole. Carved into the surface of the witchstone was a circle divided into three equal parts. Within each of the little triangle pies of the circle were different symbols.


    ¡°What do the symbols mean?¡± I asked.


    ¡°They¡¯re the symbols for life, death, and bone magick,¡± he answered.


    ¡°No blood?¡±


    Flin gave me a grimace and shook his head no.


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said.


    Flin cleared his throat and stepped onto the seal. He looked at me and I could hear the teacher voice slip back in. ¡°This seal is powered outside of the room. It''s not like a witchstone. It won¡¯t hurt you. It won¡¯t even affect you.¡±


    ¡°If it''s powered from outside of the room, where does the power come from?¡±


    Flin shrugged. ¡°I haven''t really ever considered that. My expertise is in gateways, not seals.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said.


    ¡°So, what you do is you stand on the seal, you close your eyes, and you imagine what you need.¡±


    ¡°And it can be anything?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No. It can''t be living. It can''t be organic. It has to be something inanimate.¡±


    ¡°What about food?¡± I asked.


    ¡°That''s a different thing. We''ll go over that in the second. Stand on the seal though.¡±


    I stood on the seal and closed my eyes.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Flin said, ¡°let me step out of the room so you don''t injure me, and you can get started. All you have to do is close your eyes and imagine¡ªwhoa.¡±


    I opened my eyes and saw the furniture from my apartment now in this room.


    ¡°That was fast,¡± Flin said. ¡°How did you do that so quickly?¡±


    I shrugged.


    Flin frowned, staring at the furniture. ¡°I would''ve had to think about each piece of furniture, but you did that so quickly that¡­ How long have you had all this?¡±


    I shrugged again. ¡°Since I was a little kid.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm,¡± Flin said. ¡°That must be the case. Most of us in the magick world don''t keep furniture for very long. That must be why it was so easy for you to call this to mind; you have a unique relationship with these objects.¡±


    ¡°So,¡± I said. ¡°Now that my room¡¯s in order, food?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± he said. ¡°Just follow me.¡±


    I stepped off the seal and followed after him down the hallway.


    ¡°Do you have to do that with the furniture every time?¡± I asked. ¡°Or will it stay there?¡±


    ¡°You essentially just transported all of that furniture from wherever it was to here. It will stay here until you move it again. Most of us, magickkind, would''ve created something out of scratch. We would''ve basically built a construct out of lume. You did quite the opposite by bringing real objects here.¡±


    ¡°So, is the furniture you make different? I mean you have to create your bed every time you want to go to sleep?¡±


    ¡°It''s a little more intricate than that, but yes we create things with lume and just as easily wipe them away. The seal at the center of the room makes it simple to do. It absorbs the lume back within it and someone else can use it if they need to. The lume that is, not the bed.¡±


    ¡°Wow.¡±


    At the end of the dormitory hallway, we faced multiple flights of stairs, and began to descend.


    ¡°So, what''s with the nameplates next to the doors?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Oh. They¡¯re just names.¡±


    ¡°All the ones I saw were blank though?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Flin said. ¡°As a matter of privacy students can only see their own name.¡±


    ¡°There were two plates next to mine. My name was on one and the other was blank. Is someone else staying with me?¡±


    I could tell by the sudden hitch in his shoulders that the answer was no and that something was wrong.


    ¡°No,¡± Flin said. ¡°No, no one will be staying with you.¡±


    ¡°Does everyone else have a roommate?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I believe so.¡±


    ¡°Why don''t I?¡±


    Flin stopped walking. ¡°The magick world is open to many things, but it still hasn''t fully wrapped its head around integrating with sticks.¡±


    I''d been segregated and hadn¡¯t even realized it.


    ¡°So, magickkind is racist? Against sticks?¡±


    ¡°I don''t know if racist is the correct word,¡± Flin said with a finger on his lip. ¡°Magickist maybe? I''m not sure what the term would be. But yes, magickkind is definitely elitist.¡±


    ¡°Well, that''s disappointing.¡±


    ¡°I agree,¡± Flin said.


    Well¡­ At least you won¡¯t have to share your furniture with anyone.


    He showed me down to the cafeteria and how to work the food cauldrons.


    They worked in much the same way the seal in my room had.


    The strange thing was that they looked nothing like what I expected a cauldron to look like. It was just a box with a seal in front of it. You put your hand on the seal, closed your eyes, and imagined what you wanted to eat. Then the food would appear.


    We did this and took a seat.


    As I ate, I peppered Flin with questions. ¡°Are you eating food made out of lume and am I eating food that I''ve transported here?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± he answered. ¡°You¡¯re more or less broadcasting your thoughts to someone who makes the food and delivers it to the box.¡±


    ¡°But it''s instantaneous,¡± I said.


    ¡°Yes, the workers who are making the food are working in a warded area of the Shadow Vaile.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°The what?¡±


    ¡°The Shadow Vaile.¡±


    ¡°And that is¡­ what exactly?¡±


    ¡°a very deep and broad subject that I neither have the time nor expertise to delve into.¡±


    We finished eating and Flin showed me to the library. He showed me where the books on vanishing were as well as where an entire cluster of Lumadex stations were.


    ¡°Have fun,¡± he said.


    I nodded. ¡°Why are you helping me? Why are you helping a stick?¡±


    A stricken looked flickered across Flin¡¯s face. He bit his lip as though he was trying to decide on something. Eventually, he shook his head. ¡°That''s another story for another time. Ask me again and I''ll tell you. For now, just get caught up. You''ve got a lot to learn.¡±


    If anyone else had told me I had a lot to learn, I would''ve taken it as a slight, but the way he said it was so genuine that I could only nod my head in agreement.


    I truly did have a lot to learn. A metric ton.


    I started out by searching random words and phrases I¡¯d overheard that day, not really focusing on any one subject.


    My mind kept drifting back to that store though. Not the store that had been destroyed, but the one on the same street that had pulled my attention while I was delivering Geist¡¯s package. The one with the upside-down heart emblazoned on its hanging sign.


    I tried to figure out how I was even supposed to find out anything about the store when I knew neither the store¡¯s name nor its address.


    Eventually I found a massive tome in the library on symbols and flipped through it page by page. After about thirty minutes and on the edge of giving up, I found the symbol that that I¡¯d seen on the white sign hanging in front of the shop.


    The shop¡¯s name was Blackhart and my mouth fell open as I read the brief description of the shop:


    For centuries, Blackhart has been the preeminent witchstone and arcana dealer in the magick world. It is said that this shop can only be held by a Covington.

 Chapter 19

    I spent most of the evening trying to find another mention of Blackhart or Covington. I kept going back to the original book, reading what it said below the symbol, thinking that there must be a mistake.


    It must be a different Covington.


    I was slightly excited, sure, but I knew the odds that Blackhart was mine, that Blackhart had been my father''s at some point, were slim.


    I didn''t know any Covingtons in Nightsbridge, but that didn''t mean that in the wider magick world, that in the Lumaverse, that on all the other plaines and shards, there wasn''t another Covington being referenced.


    Something about that didn''t feel entirely correct, though.


    You knew that place and that symbol. You felt a pull towards it. That can¡¯t just be luck, can it?


    But maybe that''s exactly what it was. Maybe it was luck. Maybe it was fate that Geist sent me down that little side street and to a place where I would actually see Blackhart, be in its vicinity, know that it existed, and feel the pull of my birthright.


    Once I''d given up in the library, once I couldn''t read a single sentence more without my eyes going hazy and cross-eyed, I headed back to the cafeteria. I grabbed some food and took it to my dorm room to think quietly. I ate and, when I was finished, I set the trash on the floor in the realization that I hadn''t seen a single trashcan in Bristlebloom or the Night Market. Not in the hallways, not in the cafeteria, not the library, and least of all in my room. The trash would have to wait there for now.


    I lay back on my bed, the familiar springs in the cheap mattress digging into my back as I thought over everything that I¡¯d learned that day. My first day in the magick world and I''d already gone to class twice, gotten a job, and now, after eating and studying, was going to sleep. This was my new daily life.


    I was a new person, reborn, someone I barely even recognized. I was thinking it would be nice if I could find a handheld Lumadex when my eyes slipped shut and I fell asleep.


    I had a dream that my landlord was demanding money, that he wanted me to pay, but all I could pay him with were witchstones. Clear witchstones.


    I opened my mouth to tell him this and witchstones fell from my lips, blocking the words. He somehow, in that dream sort of way, could still hear what I was thinking, what I was trying to tell him.


    He shouted that a man couldn''t eat on witchstones alone and grabbed my wrist.


    More witchstones fell from my nostrils and my tear ducts in addition to the steady stream falling from my mouth. He screamed that he would tear the rent out of me if he had to because he would be paid. He grabbed my wrist even harder, squeezing there until I felt the bones rubbing against each other, until I felt them begin to break.


    Then I was out of the dream, but I could still feel his grip on my arm. It wasn¡¯t as hard as in the dream, nowhere near as hard, but I could still feel his hand squeezing around my wrist. I reached down to rub my arm and my hand brushed the cool metal of the bracelet. I sat up quickly.


    Geist is paging me right now for a job.


    I glanced over at my alarm clock and immediately shook my head.


    There were no plugs in the room, so I hadn''t been able to plug it in and my phone had died earlier in the library, so I had no idea what time it was.


    I got up, slipped on some clothes, and headed out of the room. The hallway was almost completely dark. A single floating witchstone near the ceiling shone down light every fifteen or so feet and gave the hallway the illusion there were rivers of sheer darkness in between each small stepping witchstone of illumination. Part of me expected Grey Eyes to slip out of the shadows, to slip into the light right in front of me.


    I chewed on my lip and crossed my arms across my chest, every single one of my footsteps making me jump out of my skin.


    I pushed the thought of Grey Eyes away and made it to the staircase. I headed down to the gateway room and picked a door at random. It¡¯s not like my choice mattered.


    A red door with a golden knob at the very center. I twisted the knob, pushed open the door, and stepped into Geist''s shop. I closed the door behind me and caught the scent of Pine cleaner. Glancing down at the floor, I noticed that the wooden parquet floors were even shinier than I¡¯d previously seen them.


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    Does Geist clean them himself, or does he hire someone else to clean them? You don¡¯t even know what his shop is called. Does it have a name?


    I made my way in, noticing that the lights at the center of the showcase were dimmer.


    Geist was in his usual place, sitting on a stool behind one of the cases of witchstones.


    I glanced over at the wall that held the wooden cubby system and wondered how many witchstones he sold, or if the ones in the cubby were part of a private collection.


    There was one witchstone that caught my eye this time.


    Is that a new one?


    The witchstone made itself known in that it didn''t sit on the bottom shelf of its little cubby like the others did. This witchstone floated, equidistant from both walls of its cubby as well as the ceiling and the floor. It didn''t move, it just hung fixed in the air. It was confusing to look at.


    Was that there the last time you were in here?


    I could remember examining the cubby system before, but I couldn''t remember any of the witchstones floating. Then again, I''d been pretty much in shock at that point from sensory overload. I''d already seen things I couldn''t explain, so maybe it just didn''t register.


    ¡°Hexana,¡± Geist said. ¡°I hope I didn''t wake you.¡±


    I had a feeling Geist knew that he¡¯d awoken me, that he knew exactly where I''d been and what I''d been doing when he paged me.


    ¡°I was asleep,¡± I said, not bothering to hide it or make him feel better. ¡°I have class in the morning.¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Geist said. He raised an eyebrow. ¡°I do hope you''ve been studying. Our library is rival to none.¡±


    He fixed me with a stare.


    ¡°Is it better even than the magickal libraries in Akademi?¡± I asked


    The corner of his lips twisted up into a half-smile. ¡°Those are a different sort of library entirely. Probably the sort which wouldn''t take kindly to you entering or opening a book within.¡±


    ¡°You mean the people wouldn''t take kindly to it?¡±


    ¡°No. The books wouldn''t take kindly.¡±


    I stared at him. Is he being literal or is there something else to what he¡¯s saying?


    ¡°Anyways,¡± Geist said, interrupting my thoughts, ¡°I have a job for you.¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°Well,¡± he said. ¡°Two jobs, actually.¡¯


    ¡°Two jobs at once?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No,¡± Geist said. ¡°No, it''s not like that at all. This is a choice. This is a decision.¡±


    ¡°Okay. What''s the decision?¡±


    ¡°On the one hand,¡± he placed a pouch on the glass case in front of him, fixing me with a stare, ¡°you can deliver this. It''s very easy. There''s nothing hard about it. Thus, the payment isn''t that much.¡±


    I knew the payments I was receiving and the amount of money I¡¯d made from my last job were far more than what I''d made in the stick world.


    ¡°The other option¡­¡± He smiled at me. ¡°The other option would allow you to make far more money, almost triple the amount.¡±


    My heartrate picked up.


    Triple? That¡¯s a ton of money.


    I calculated the figure in my head. I could probably afford to buy the theatre with that amount of money.


    One job and I could own my father''s theatre.


    ¡°It''s a difficult job though,¡± Geist said. ¡°Very difficult, and I''m not sure if you''re up for it.¡±


    ¡°Just tell me where to deliver whatever it is,¡± I said, ¡°and I''ll do it.¡±


    ¡°Oh, for the amount I would be paying, it wouldn''t be a simple delivery job. This is something different, something your father was exceptionally skilled at.¡±


    ¡°My father?¡±


    ¡°Did you know that he and I worked together from time to time? I swear I mentioned it.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Strange. Do you know what your father''s expertise was?¡±


    I shook my head.


    ¡°Stonebreaking,¡± he said.


    I raised an eyebrow at this. ¡°Stonebreaking? What¡¯s that? Hitting a witchstone with a hammer and watching it break? Doesn''t seem that difficult.¡±


    Geist laughed at me. Openly, outright laughed at me. There was nothing good-natured about it.


    When he recomposed himself, he said, ¡°Stonebreaking is a little more complicated than hitting a witchstone with a hammer.¡±


    ¡°So, what is it?¡±


    ¡°You''ve heard of reverse-engineering, yes?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    ¡°Every witchstone is like a code. All of them contain varying sources of lume which combine to make the magick within. Take that wall of cubbies over there. There are massive numbers of spells within each of those witchstones. There are mixes of all four magicks, in varying degrees, in varying spells.¡±


    It seemed like he was describing something along the lines of chemistry. Magickal chemistry. Combine elements together and from those elements come new things.


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said. ¡°I follow.¡±


    ¡°Stonebreaking is simply taking a witchstone whose function no one knows and determining what sort of magick lies inside along with its purpose. The icing on top is determining how to activate it.¡±


    I laughed. ¡°How would I be able to figure any of that out? I barely know anything about the magick world.¡±


    ¡°Oh, it''s risky, but your father was the best. I assumed he might''ve left behind some of his tools of the trade, things he''d invented to assist him in stonebreaking. You know, things the rest of the magick world is without.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°No, no I don''t think he ever left me anything like that.¡±


    ¡°A pity,¡± Geist said. ¡°Well, if you do ever find any sort of material he''s left behind, any sort of tools, let me know. I''ll let you walk in your father''s footsteps. I''ll let you move through the same world he did.¡±


    There¡¯s another world? A deeper world?


    ¡°What¡ª¡±


    ¡°Deliver this,¡± Geist cut me off, tossing the pouch sitting on the case in front of him in my direction. ¡°Your payment will be deposited as per our agreement.¡±


    I recognized a power move when I saw one. I tucked the pouch into my back pocket and turned to head out of Geist¡¯s shop, not really knowing where I was going.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be going back to the stick world for this one,¡± Geist called after me. ¡°Someone will meet you there with a second package. Both are headed for Nightsbridge.¡±

 Chapter 20

    Even though I¡¯d declined, I couldn¡¯t get my mind off the stonebreaking job. The seed of the idea had been planted and was growing at a decent clip.


    The idea of following in my father''s footsteps was exciting.


    If I take up the family mantle of stonebreaking, I¡¯ll be closer to him than ever. Maybe even closer than if I buy the theatre.


    The theatre.


    That was another thing. Now that I was headed back to Nightsbridge, I could find out if anyone had put a bid on it yet. I needed to know what the situation with the theatre was. Just being away from it for as long as I had felt like I¡¯d betrayed my father¡¯s memory in some way.


    As I stepped through the gateway and back into Nightsbridge, I breathed in the night air. I still didn''t know exactly what time it was and had no way of checking. I didn¡¯t even know where in Nightsbridge I was. It took me a moment to get my bearings as I looked around, trying to figure out which streets were where.


    ¡°Hexana,¡± someone hissed from the shadows. A familiar voice. A voice edged with ice that I knew all too well.


    ¡°Grey Eyes,¡± I responded. I still didn¡¯t know what his real name was, and I wasn¡¯t sure that I really wanted to know, either. ¡°Long time no see.¡±


    It been less than twenty-four hours, but it felt longer.


    There was a chuckle from my left and I turned in that direction. Grey Eyes materialized out of the shadows and stepped forward; his dark cloak bunched up around his face.


    ¡°It''s kind of warm to be wearing a cloak, isn''t it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Environmental temperature makes no difference to me,¡± Grey Eyes said.


    ¡°Yeah?¡± I asked. ¡°What about global warming? What''s your plan when the magick world is underwater?¡±


    Grey Eyes laughed. ¡°Do you think a simple thing like water matters to magickkind? To the magick world at large? Do you not think we have already planned ahead, already foreseen the dangers and dealt with them?¡±


    ¡°Must be nice¡­¡± It was something I hadn''t thought they''d taken care of, but now that he said it, it made sense. They had the means to avoid it, much as we did, but I had a feeling that magickkind was working on a much longer timescale than the sticks were. I¡¯d read in the library that wizards live for hundreds of years.


    ¡°Right,¡± I said, not really knowing what else to say. ¡°I was told you had a package for me.¡±


    Grey Eyes grunted in agreement. ¡°You know the antique shop on Fifth Way Alley?¡±


    I stared at him. Fifth Way Alley? Since when were alleys listed like streets? I''d lived in Nightsbridge my whole life and never heard of an alley designated as anything other than ¡°that alley behind¡± whatever store was in front of it.


    ¡°Uh. Fifth Way Alley?¡± I asked.


    Grey Eyes rolled his eyes. ¡°Yeah,¡± he said, as though I should know exactly where it was. ¡°Fifth Way Alley. You did grow up here, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°I grew up in the stick world. Not the magick world. I don''t know what Fifth Way Alley is.¡±


    Grey Eyes sighed. ¡°It''s parallel to Carson''s Way.¡±


    Fifth Way? Carson''s Way? What¡¯s he talking about?


    ¡°Look¡­¡± I rubbed my eyes in the humid heat. It had to already be at least 80¡ã out. Mid-eighties more than likely. ¡°Tell me the stick version of what you''re saying. I don''t know either of those streets. What stick world street is nearby?¡±


    ¡°There''s a bar,¡± he said. ¡°Right in front of the alley. I don''t remember what the name of it is. I don''t drink in stick bars.¡±


    Something in my stomach turned and I knew, immediately, which alley he was talking about.


    ¡°Luke''s,¡± I said. ¡°Luke¡¯s Bar and Bookshop.¡±


    Grey Eyes shrugged. ¡°If you say so.¡±


    It had to be Luke''s. Its address was on Fifth Street, so it made sense that Fifth Way Alley was the alley behind Fifth Street, right?


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    ¡°Okay. So, Fifth Way Alley¡­¡±


    Grey Eyes just stared at me.


    ¡°What else?¡± I asked. ¡°That alley¡¯s fairly long.¡±


    ¡°There''s a clock.¡±


    I raised my eyebrows at this. ¡°A clock? Great. A clock. That really clears things up. Thanks.¡±


    Grey Eyes stared at me blankly.


    ¡°I''m sorry.¡± My eyes narrowed. ¡°What I meant to say was that doesn''t make sense at all. There are no clocks in that alley. I would''ve noticed a clock mounted to one of those walls. It would''ve stuck out like a sore thumb.¡±


    Grey Eyes¡¯ mouth did a curious thing. The corners turned up. He opened his mouth and let out a bellow of laughter.


    Wonderful. Your second time to get laughed at tonight. Two for two. Fantastic.


    ¡°The clock,¡± he said between guffaws, ¡°is a drawing. It''s not a real clock. That would attract attention.¡±


    ¡°But a drawing of a clock stuck to an alley wall wouldn''t?¡±


    ¡°It''s done in chalk. Look down by the ground. You''ll see it.¡±


    ¡°And this chalk clock I''m supposed to find, what do I do when I find it?¡±


    ¡°Stand with your toes touching it. Right against the wall, and then you''ll know exactly what to do.¡±


    I sighed. ¡°Stand with my toes against the wall in a back alley in the middle of the night? Sounds like an exciting new way to get mugged.¡±


    ¡°Mugged? What''s that?


    I sighed again. ¡°Probably something you''ve never had to worry about. Don''t start now.¡±


    Grey Eyes didn¡¯t respond.


    ¡°Right. So, I¡¯ll step right up to the wall, put my toes to the little chalk clock down at my feet, and everything will just make itself known to me?¡±


    Grey Eyes nodded, tossed a little pouch at me, and smiled.


    ¡°You''re really helpful. You know that right?¡± I asked him.


    Grey Eyes took several steps back into the shadows, and before I knew what had happened, his form was gone. Frowning, wanting to see for myself, I stepped in the shadows as well.


    He¡¯s gone.


    I made a mental note to look this process up in the library later. I wanted to know how he¡¯d done it.


    I slipped the pouch into my back pocket, next to the one Geist had already given me, and walked out of the alley.


    There might be some sort of magickal storefront in the alleyway behind Luke''s. When Lebec had demonstrated his magickal ability on the dumpster, maybe that¡¯s where he went to hide.


    I looked in either direction, realized I was on First Street, and started walking towards the alleyway that was behind Fifth. It was a short, uneventful, and sweaty walk.


    I entered the alley at the wrong end, the far end, and had to walk all the way down.


    Past Luke''s.


    I glanced at the dumpster and the door that led inside the bar.


    I kept walking.


    There was nothing for me there and I felt nothing for the place.


    I made it about twenty feet down the alley before I noticed the clock. It was just as Grey Eyes had said. It was only about an inch by an inch, but you could still make out its white form in the darkness.


    It was a simple circle with an hour hand pointing at eleven o¡¯clock and the minute hand pointing down at the six. There were no numbers on the face of the clock.


    Honestly, if I¡¯d chanced across this before being told about it, I would''ve just assumed it was some weird stain or scuff mark on the wall. If I''d really noticed it, I probably would''ve just ascribed it to someone¡¯s drunken drawing: nothing more than a random chalk doodle.


    Let¡¯s try this out¡­


    I stepped up to the wall as Grey Eyes had instructed. I made sure that my toes were touching the clock and then it happened in the blink of an eye.


    Two blinks of an eye.


    I blinked several more times and each time that I blinked the image before me clarified a little more. There wasn''t a brick wall in front of me at all. Down at the bottom, where my toes touched it, sure there was, but directly in front of me there was nothing.


    There was a hazy veil, something that gave the illusion there was a brick wall there. I reached my hand out and felt the hardness of the brick wall. Even though I could barely see it, I could still feel it.


    I pushed a little harder and my hand, feeling like it was still touching brick, slipped right in and through.


    This was something more than just a visual illusion.


    Great conclusion, Hexana¡­ maybe because it¡¯s magick?


    I had a feeling I could stand in the alley all day, tossing a tennis ball against this illusion, and the tennis ball would bounce back to me every time as though the wall was real.


    It wasn''t until I¡¯d activated it and I¡¯d placed my toes at the clock that the illusion could be seen for what it was: a temporary wall, something insubstantial, something you could move through. Without another thought, my other hand already through the wall, I stepped in and across.


    When I was on the other side of the illusion, I turned around to look back at where I¡¯d come from. I could still see the faint outline of the bricks. I could still see the alleyway behind and the stick world waiting there, being secretly watched by the magick world, by me.


    ¡°Hexana?¡± A familiar voice asked.


    I closed my eyes and shook my head. Starting to get real tired of familiar voices saying my name like that.


    I turned around and faced someone who I¡¯d known of all through my childhood, a man who owned an antique shop on the other side of Nightsbridge. An antique shop that only operated during strange hours. On Mondays it was open from 9 AM to 11 AM. On Fridays it was open from 1 PM to 2 PM.


    The rest of the week? Closed.


    Growing up, there''d been plenty of gossip over how the owner, an older man with a bright grey streak, could possibly have been able to pay his bills. Lots of people in Nightsbridge said that he came from money and his inheritance paid for the shop. They figured he''d been willed the place with a trust large enough to pay for the shop until he was long dead. People said he was friends with my father.


    I didn¡¯t really know what to believe, but now I understood something vital. Looking behind the man I knew so well and into a place I''d never been, I realized that the antique shop was nothing more than a front. It was something to give the man before me a reason to be seen about Nightsbridge.


    The man''s genuine business was behind him.


    ¡°Mr. Carson?¡± I asked.


    Mr. Carson nodded, and his eyes creased in accompaniment with his smile. ¡°I suppose if you''re here, you finally crossed over.¡±


    ¡°Crossed over?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Into the magick world. To follow in your father''s footsteps?¡±

 Chapter 21

    Vases floated in the air behind Mr. Carson, moving slightly as if rustled by a breeze. Mingled in with the vases were glass spheres of varying sizes along with a variety of knives and vials holding strange-looking things.


    When I could finally tear my eyes away from all the objects, I asked, ¡°Are you a wizard?¡±


    Mr. Carson laughed. ¡°Heavens no.¡±


    ¡°A caster?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± he answered and then paused for a moment. ¡°Well, yes, but not in the way you mean. I¡¯m a scryer.¡±


    ¡°A scryer?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Mr. Carson said. ¡°Closer to an adept than a caster. We¡¯re really only able to do one thing.¡±


    ¡°What''s that?¡±


    ¡°We''re able to read a person and determine how old they¡¯ll be when they die.¡±


    I frowned this. ¡°You can tell me when I¡¯ll die?¡±


    ¡°It''s a little more complicated than that.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± I shrugged. ¡°Why wouldn''t it be?¡±


    ¡°I can tell you at what age you would die of natural causes if you lived a perfect, healthy life. So, if you start smoking now, I''ll still give you the same age, but you''ll end up dying earlier because of your smoking.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± I said. ¡°So, the age thing doesn''t take into account random events. Car accidents.¡±


    ¡°Correct.¡±


    ¡°So¡­¡± I chewed on my lip. ¡°I''m not trying to be offensive, I''m a stick, you understand that, so if my question¡ª¡±


    ¡°Out with it. I''ve been asked far worse by far better people.¡±


    I laughed at this. ¡°Right. So, what''s the point of knowing the age I¡¯ll die if it doesn''t matter.¡±


    ¡°Witchstones,¡± Mr. Carson answered. ¡°It''s mainly for calculating witchstone usage.¡±


    I frowned at this. ¡°I don''t follow.¡±


    ¡°Well, let''s say I scry the age that you die. Let''s say for whatever reason you die at eighty years old, given perfect health.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ you''re, what, twenty right now?¡±


    ¡°Twenty-one,¡± I corrected.


    ¡°We''ll just say you''re twenty to keep the math simple. You¡¯re twenty and given perfect health you¡¯ll die at eighty. The baseline of years you will instantly age for using a witchstone is ten. So¡­¡±


    He raised his eyebrows at me


    ¡°So¡­¡± I did the math. ¡°I can use six witchstones before they kill me.¡±


    ¡°You can use six witchstones with extremely basic spells. If you start using anything powerful, that number six changes drastically. You might only be able to use one medium strength witchstone, and then start on the second one when halfway through you hit your natural life span and die.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°So really, this is less important to me and far more important to regular casters.¡±


    Mr. Carson shook his head. ¡°Witchstones don''t really affect the lifespan of casters. Magick does. You''re thinking of adepts. If adepts use witchstones and if sticks use witchstones, it affects their lifespan.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Got it.¡±


    ¡°Would you like me to tell you the age at which you''ll die?¡±


    I smiled. ¡°I''d rather not.¡±


    ¡°Very well,¡± Mr. Carson said. ¡°I believe you have a package for me?¡±


    I handed him the pouch Grey Eyes had given me and stood there waiting. He opened it and dumped several witchstones out into his palm. After examining them in the light, he slipped them back into their pouch.


    ¡°This will do. Now that our business is complete, did you want to sit down, have a bite to eat maybe?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I shook my head. ¡°I have school in the morning.


    Mr. Carson''s eyebrows lifted at this. ¡°Where are you taking your schooling from now, Hexana?¡±


    I laughed. ¡°Bristlebloom. I''m training to be a vanisher.¡±


    ¡°That''s an important job. Are you enjoying your studies thus far?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re okay. I just started yesterday.¡±


    ¡°And already you''re working. My, my, my. Prices for Bristlebloom must''ve increased since I attended.


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    I shrugged. I still didn''t know how much it cost, but I didn''t want to think about it.


    ¡°Well,¡± Mr. Carson said. ¡°If there''s nothing else.¡±


    I''m not sure what made me ask it, but something about how easily Mr. Carson blended into the stick world bothered me.


    ¡°Why do you run the regular shop?¡±


    ¡°The antique shop?¡± Mr. Carson asked.


    I nodded.


    ¡°Well¡­ I run the antique shop more to collect things than as any sort of service.¡±


    ¡°But why?¡± I asked. ¡°The magick world has so many other things you could collect. I would think they would be more interesting than anything from of the stick world.¡±


    ¡°That''s where you''d be wrong,¡± Mr. Carson said. ¡°The things made, antiques especially, are made with a delicate craftsmanship the likes of which magickkind cannot achieve.¡±


    ¡°I don''t follow. I thought you could make just about anything you wanted with the right spells.¡±


    ¡°You can,¡± Mr. Carson agreed, ¡°but magickkind isn''t hands on. Almost all of them have lost the taste and ability to craft things, to make things by hand. You''ll see a great many things, a great many trinkets that are perfectly cut out, but they''re all cut out in the same way.¡±


    So the things in the magick world were mass-produced, lifeless things, not given to any sort of personal care or love or even attention. Just blindly produced. ¡°Your antique shop is really closer to a trophy room than anything else?¡±


    ¡°I wouldn''t say it''s a trophy room,¡± Mr. Carson said. ¡°I''m not celebrating anything. Like I said previously, it''s more of a collection. It''s a place where I can go and enjoy the silence, enjoy the quiet of the stick world¡¯s own magick. I think that''s the magick of sticks. That silence.¡±


    I had no idea what he was talking about, but instead of trying to get to the bottom of it, I asked him something else. I asked him something closer to my heart.


    ¡°What do you know about Blackhart?¡±


    Mr. Carson smiled at me. ¡°I know that your father owned it. I know that his father owned it before him. I know that a Covington has always owned Blackhart and that Blackhart only opens for a Covington.¡±


    ¡°How does the store stay there though?¡± I asked. ¡°My father''s been gone for so long. How can the store still be there? How has it not been sold?¡±


    ¡°Properties in the magick world don''t exist as they do in the stick world. When you buy anything, you own that thing. Just because you''re not using it or you''re not alive, doesn''t mean it is no longer yours. It follows bloodlines. Blackhart is as much yours as it is his. By the way, didn''t something happen over by Blackhart the other night? I heard grumblings.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± I said. There were plenty in the area who knew a shop had been destroyed. I didn''t have to tell him anything that they wouldn''t already know. I wouldn''t tell him about the core of red lume my class saw.


    ¡°What happened?¡± he asked.


    I shrugged. ¡°The building at the end of that street was destroyed. It looked like it been flipped over and pushed down.¡±


    Mr. Carson nodded. ¡°Yes,¡± he said. ¡°Yes, that''s what I''d heard. What sort of magick was used? A spell of that nature must''ve left some sort of residue, I assume.¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°Yesterday was my first day,¡± I said, trying to come off as wanting to be helpful but mostly oblivious. ¡°I''m not really sure. I''m new to all this.¡±


    Mr. Carson smiled. ¡°Of course, you are. Forgive me for prying.¡±


    ¡°No, it''s no problem. I did have a question about my father.¡±


    ¡°Ask away.¡±


    ¡°What did he sell at Blackhart?¡±


    ¡°Witchstones and arcana, I assume.¡± Mr. Carson shrugged. ¡°I never stepped foot inside the place, so I don''t really know. I do know that he worked for the Austerium in addition to working in the private sector, but I don''t know what he did.¡±


    ¡°Neither do I.¡±


    ¡°You know¡­ there were only two things, three things if you include yourself, but two things, he really talked about. He talked about Blackhart, how much he loved the place, loved working there; and how much he loved the theatre.¡±


    ¡°the theatre?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes, I know he passed ownership to your aunt and that she sold it, but that theatre seemed to be his crown jewel. That surprised me. It always seemed like such a heap, such a wreck of a place.¡±


    Something about the way Mr. Carson spoke of the theatre raised my hackles, made me want to defend it, made me want to slap the words from his mouth. I stomped my feelings into the ground.


    ¡°You know,¡± Mr. Carson said, chewing his lip, ¡°Nightsbridge Realty is selling it, right?¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    He winked. ¡°That company is owned by a local who¡¯s magickkind. I believe he mentioned that it''s come up for public sale.¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°I¡¯m good friends with one of the agents,¡± Mr. Carson said. ¡°I could always call him and see how much it''s going for, if you¡¯d like¡­¡±


    My eyes widened at this. ¡°Could you? I would really appreciate it.¡±


    Mr. Carson pulled out a cell phone, tapped the screen several times, and put the phone up to his ear. After a moment or two of waiting, he smiled.


    ¡°Jake,¡± he said. ¡°How are you doing this morning?¡±


    I still didn''t know what time it was, but it had to be at least three or four in the morning based on how dark it still was.


    Mr. Carson nodded at whatever Jake said from the other end of the phone.


    ¡°Yes, yes. Everything''s fine. I was wondering¡­ how much is the theatre going for?¡± He rolled his eyes at me. ¡°No, simply curious. I might have a client for you. Just checking for them.¡±


    Mr. Carson ended the call and smiled at me. ¡°Well, that was surprising.¡±


    ¡°How much?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Jake said it''s only going for $50,000. Surprising, is it not? Seems cheap, right?¡±


    Mr. Carson had no idea how cheap it actually was. All the other times it had gone up for sale, the price had been in the hundreds of thousands. Now it was only $50,000? The price of a brand-new car? I was getting $10,000 per job from Geist, which meant it would only take me three more jobs before I''d have enough money to pay for the theatre.


    It¡¯s within my grasp. I¡¯m almost there.


    ¡°Are you okay, Hexana?¡± Mr. Carson asked. ¡°You seem to have lost some of your color.¡±


    ¡°I''m fine.¡± I was not fine. My heart raced.


    Mr. Carson prattled on about Nightsbridge and how good it was to know someone else from the area that was in the magick world. Ten minutes of this small talk went by before I heard strange tones playing from Mr. Carson''s pocket.


    He pulled out his phone and frowned when he read the display.


    ¡°Jake''s calling me back,¡± he said. ¡°I wonder why.¡±


    He glanced at me and I shrugged. I had no idea why Jake would be calling him.


    He brought the phone up to his ear. ¡°Hello there, Jake.¡±


    He listened to what Jake had to say for several long moments before he sighed.


    ¡°Okay. I understand. Thank you for letting me know.¡±


    He hung up the phone and looked at me.


    ¡°Someone just put in a bid. Apparently right after I got off the phone with him, someone called and placed an extraordinarily high bid.¡±


    I closed my eyes. I¡¯d been so close. The theatre was nothing more than sand in my fingers that had just washed away in a torrent.


    ¡°How much?¡± I asked, my eyes still closed.


    ¡°$400,000,¡± Mr. Carson said. ¡°From a development company. They''re gonna knock the theatre down and put in a high-rise condo.¡±


    I felt as though I was sinking into the earth and into an early grave. I took in a deep breath and let it out, refusing to allow tears to fall from my eyes. $400,000 was far more money than I had. I would have to take too many delivery jobs from Geist to make an amount high enough to outbid the development company.


    You came this close to having the theatre and look how quickly it slipped away.


    At the back of my mind, something gently poked and prodded.


    Reminding me.


    Whispering to me.

 Chapter 22

    ¡°Hexana?¡± Mr. Carson asked. ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± When I glanced up, I didn¡¯t really see him. I looked through him and saw what I was going to have to do.


    The theatre.


    I needed it.


    I had to have it.


    I considered my options. Both of them. I considered where fate had delivered me. The lottery tickets. The scratch offs. I swallowed.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± I said, snapping out of it. I knew what must come next. ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s been a long, never-ending day. A lotta stuff has happened.¡±


    Mr. Carson nodded as though he understood, but also as though he didn''t entirely believe me.


    ¡°Anytime you need to talk,¡± he said, ¡°just swing by. You know how to enter now. If I''m not at the shop, I¡¯ll be at my other one. Like I said, anytime.¡±


    I nodded and turned on my heel. I took two steps before I stopped and turned back around.  ¡°Do you have a gateway I can use?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± he said. ¡°Right this way.¡± He led me down a side hallway to a room with a single door in it. ¡°Do you have a pass?¡±


    I held up my wrist, jangled my bracelet. ¡°I should.¡±


    I reached for the gateway¡¯s knob, twisted it, and saw the inside of Geist''s shop. As the door closed behind me, I felt relief that I didn''t have to look at the concern in Mr. Carson''s eyes any longer. He probably had an idea that I was about to do something foolish, a thing I couldn''t take back.


    Geist sat on the same stool as always, behind the same glass case of witchstones. As I made my way over, he said, ¡°Hexana. How did the delivery go?¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± I said. I took a deep breath and let it out. ¡°Listen¡­¡±


    Geist smiled at me. ¡°Before you start, I just wanted to say it was silly of me to offer you that stonebreaking job. I''m sorry. That was far outside your expertise and I never should''ve done it. Once you finish your schooling, maybe then we''ll talk about something along those lines.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± I glanced over at the cubby, my eyes fastening on that single floating witchstone, and then back to Geist. ¡°So, you said my father used to do stonebreaking?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Geist answered. ¡°Often. For me. For the Austerium. For others. You know.¡±


    ¡°What do you know about Blackhart?¡±


    Geist smiled. ¡°What do you want to know?¡±


    ¡°It''s mine, correct?¡±


    ¡°That''s what they say,¡± Geist said, ¡°it''s to stay within the Covington bloodline, so yes, I assume it''s yours. The lab where your father did stonebreaking is inside it as well. Allegedly, that is. He always kept the lab¡¯s location a secret.¡±


    I nodded, took a deep breath, and jumped headfirst into my gamble.


    ¡°I gained access to it,¡± I lied.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Geist asked, a single eyebrow lifting. ¡°Did you now?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± I said. ¡°I gained access to my father''s tools.¡±


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    Geist didn¡¯t say a word.


    ¡°His stonebreaking tools,¡± I clarified.


    ¡°Did you¡­¡± Geist said blandly. I could tell that he didn''t wholly believe me, but staring deep in his eyes, I could tell that he wanted to believe me.


    ¡°I did,¡± I said.


    ¡°So¡­¡± He left the rest of the question hanging in the air between us, pregnant with meaning.


    ¡°So,¡± I responded with the tiniest of nods. The words I said next fell out of my mouth and onto the table between us. ¡°So, I''ll take that stonebreaking job.¡±


    Geist chewed on his lip for half a second before a grin ripped across his face. The grin hissed that this was exactly what he wanted. The grin gloated that this was what he''d expected me to do all along. Something about that grin made my stomach twist and roil.


    ¡°Good,¡± he said. ¡°That''s very good, Hexana. You know, if you successfully complete this job, if you successfully break this witchstone, you''ll have done the Austerium a great favor.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± I asked.


    Geist nodded. ¡°Yes. In fact, you''ll be able to write your ticket into any job in the Austerium that you want.¡±


    ¡°Any job?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No, not any job exactly, but any job that''s available to a vanisher or a stick. Absolutely.¡±


    I smiled. I''d always wanted to be able to write my own ticket, to be able to move through the world however I wanted. Now, Geist was promising me I would be able to slip through this world in which I didn¡¯t belong, the magick world, and all I would have to do is what my father was so good at.


    That was all nice and good, but I still needed to be able to make enough to buy the theatre.


    ¡°So,¡± I said, trying to figure out a delicate way to broach the subject of money. ¡°How much does the stonebreaking job pay?¡±


    Geist shrugged. ¡°What would you say to $500,000?¡±


    My eyes popped wide at this. He''d said that the job would pay very well, but I¡¯d had no idea exactly how much he meant. I frowned, wondering what my father had done with all the money he''d made. If he¡¯d been working with Geist, with the Austerium, and with others for years, he had to have easily made a million. Per year. No problem.


    ¡°What''s wrong?¡± Geist asked. ¡°Are you wondering about your father''s money?¡±


    Why didn¡¯t you look up whether or not people can read minds, you lummox¡­


    ¡°Yes,¡± I said. ¡°I am.¡±


    Geist smiled. ¡°From what I was told, he gave all of his money to your aunt, the one who raised you?¡±


    I shook my head at this.


    That couldn''t be the case. We''d lived in squalor. She''d sold the theatre in order to fund her raising of me. Compared to the people I was in school with, I''d never seen them have less than us at any single time. They¡¯d always had more. More expensive things. Clothes, phones, whatever. My aunt had always driven the same beat-up car.


    I didn''t know where all my father¡¯s money could possibly have gone to. My father couldn''t have given her all the money he''d made. It didn''t make sense.


    ¡°Anyways,¡± Geist said, ¡°the witchstone. The witchstone in question.¡±


    He got up from his stool, the first time I''d seen him stand. He was so much taller than I was. It was almost like he unfolded when he stood to tower over me at almost twice my height.


    He moved towards the wall with the cubbies. He glided in an elegant sort of way that completely disarmed you and made you forget about how tall he was because of how effortlessly he walked across the room to the wall. He reached out long, delicate fingers and plucked the floating witchstone from its tiny cubby. He held it in his palm and, when he opened his hand, it floated above his skin. It floated up to maybe half an inch above his palm then froze, just hovering.


    He came back over and held out the witchstone to me.


    ¡°Here it is. This is the witchstone. This is what you need to stonebreak.¡±


    I held my hand out and he tilted his own hand above mine. The witchstone slid through the air, dropping towards my palm, and stopping its descent right before it hit my skin. I closed my hand around the witchstone, felt it forcing my fingers away with light pressure, but nothing strong enough that would make my hand open. I relaxed my fingers and opened my hand, and the witchstone once again floated there.


    ¡°Well,¡± Geist said, raising an eyebrow. ¡°Get to work.¡±


    I nodded.


    My thoughts themselves floated around the theatre, around the magick world, around Blackhart.


    That was the first place I was going. Back to Blackhart. To gain entrance to my father''s legacy, to stonebreak this witchstone, and to become the person I always knew I could be. Someone with purpose. I took in a deep breath and let it out.


    Geist smiled at me. ¡°Good luck,¡± he said, and in those two words there was the tiniest hint of a challenge.


    I nodded. ¡°Luck,¡± I repeated, turning on my heel and moving back towards the gateway.


    Geist called to me from behind. ¡°I suppose you''re headed back to Blackhart?¡±


    I turned and looked over my shoulder, gave him a nod, and turned back towards the gateway. I felt the bracelet around my wrist clamp down and then relax. I figured that''s how the pass was given. I pulled open the gateway, saw the Night Market before me, and stepped through.


    I made my way, step by step, towards my future.


    Hexana Covington.


    Owner of Blackhart.


    Stonebreaker.

 Chapter 23

    The Night Market smelled like warm apple cider on a crisp fall day.


    I made my way through the main thoroughfare in a daze, thinking through what I¡¯d gambled with my lie and what was to come. In my pocket I touched the witchstone Geist had given me.


    What do you do, little witchstone? How do I break you? How do I learn your secrets?


    I made my way down the small side street Blackhart resided on. Everything on the street looked as though it was back to normal.


    As back to normal as such a weird street in the magick world could get.


    The people who walked along it, far fewer than on Main Street, still stared down at their feet and avoided making eye contact with anyone else. The vendors still huddled in the shadows. At the very end of the street, where there should have been wreckage from the shop that had been destroyed, was a new shop.


    All traces of the previous shop were gone, and a completely new building stood in its place. It blended in perfectly with the buildings to either side, the color matching exactly. There wasn''t a shingle hanging above the door yet, but there were lights on inside and occasionally, I could see figures moving past the windows.


    I frowned. You don''t know the names of any of the streets here.


    To be honest I didn''t know much about the market itself.


    Why is it always night here? How does anyone find any of the shops? How big is this place?


    The main street looked as though it extended far into the distance with numerous side streets and back alleys. The skyscrapers that lined either side of the main street extended up to the sky and, way off in the distance, I could just make out a strange sort of wall dotted with weird and different colored tiny squares, rectangles, and circles.


    I didn''t know what it was or what it was supposed to represent.


    Maybe it¡¯s a monument? Or a shrine?


    I shook my head at my overwhelming ignorance of this place and continued on my way. I came to a stop before Blackhart and stared up at the strange shingle hanging above it. The Blackhart symbol felt like home. I didn''t understand why, but something about it gave me comfort.


    The building for Blackhart was different than the buildings to either side of it. Whereas all the other buildings shared the same sort of structure and brick color, Blackhart was entirely black. The front door was bright white down to its doorknob. It was a strange thing to look at: this completely dark building with a single shining door that reflected the lights around it. It looked like a black chunk of volcanic rock sitting between all the other brick buildings.


    ¡°Blackhart has belonged to the Covingtons for centuries. Blackhart will always belong to a Covington,¡± I mumbled under my breath, not really sure why, but hoping the words were somehow magick enough to enable me to open the door.


    I reached my hand out, grasped the knob, and twisted.


    Nothing happened.


    The knob didn¡¯t budge.


    I was surprised to find the knob felt warm, though. Frowning, a sudden image of a roaring fire engulfing the interior of the shop slipped into my mind.


    Stop. Relax. There¡¯s no way there¡¯s a fire on the other side. You¡¯re overreacting. No one can get in.


    From what I''d heard, Blackhart had been closed for years. There were no windows to be seen. It was just a solid black wall with a white door.


    As I examined the doorknob, I realized there was no keyhole.


    Stranger and stranger.


    I tried to twist the knob in the opposite direction, but, once again, it didn''t move.


    Frowning, I tried something else. I pushed the knob in, hoping that it would click in and the door would just open.


    It clicked in, but then it clicked right back out.


    I tried leaning against the door, futilely hoping that I¡¯d solved it, but the door didn''t budge. I twisted the knob again and this time it twisted easily.


    In fact, it spun completely as though it was a well-oiled wheel on a skateboard, as though it was attached to nothing.


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    It spun easily in both directions.


    I sighed.


    This is going nowhere, and you might have just broken the doorknob to the building that¡¯s supposedly yours. Wonderful.


    I looked down at the big white knob, slowly turning it and examining it as I did so.


    For the first time I noticed that there was a dot on one side. It was a black dot, no larger than any of the dots on a pair of dice, and perfectly circular.


    The dot was there for a reason.


    Has to be.


    Frowning, I spun the knob to the right and to the left.


    What if the knob is some sort of secret combination lock?


    I bent down a little, tried to see if there were any numbers on the surface of the door to either side of the knob.


    There were no numbers. No letters, either.


    Frustrated, I spun the knob as hard as I could, seeing if it would continue to spin forever or if it would eventually stop. I couldn¡¯t keep track of how many revolutions it spun before something slipped lose in my memory. Something from when I was a child. It was a simple rhyme my father had taught me.


    ¡°We call this the oil extractor¡¯s melody,¡± he''d said. Sure, it was a strange title for a rhyme, but I was a little kid and the dance that went along with the rhyme was so goofy I couldn''t help but enjoy myself while reciting it and dancing. ¡°Two to the left. Two to the right. Click in, click out. Click in, click out. Throw it to the ceiling.¡±


    Everything about that rhyme now seemed like it was made for Blackhart, minus the throw it to the ceiling line, but what the hell did I know?


    I followed the rhyme to a T, spinning the doorknob twice to the left, counterclockwise. Then to the right, clockwise. I clicked it in and out, once again, and then, holding the knob in both hands, I tried to throw it up at the sky.


    The knob tracked upwards, but more like it was attached to some sort of lever. This lever moved the knob up and into the door, the surface completely absorbing the knob until it no longer existed.


    The white door shifted colors, turning completely black to match the exterior of the building. I put my hand out, fully expecting my hand to slip through the door, to slip through as it had in Fifth Way Alley at Mr. Carson¡¯s shop.


    The door didn''t do that, though.


    It slid back a foot as though it was as light as a feather, then it didn''t move any farther. I pushed harder, but it didn''t budge.


    What am I doing wrong?


    With both of my palms pressed to the surface of the door, I tried to push up, thinking it was like one of those metal doors that rolls down over businesses on the street, covering the entire storefront in a protective shell of metal.


    The door didn''t budge.


    I tried pushing it to the left and to the right.


    The door didn''t budge.


    With a heavy sigh, I brought my hands down to my sides and, as I did so, my fingers slightly dragged along the surface of the door.


    The door melted into the ground.


    I now stood before an opening into Blackhart. I took a step across the threshold and the door behind me slid back up of its own volition.


    Before it did, though, I saw a man in a white robe walk past the opening. I felt a little nervous, but he didn¡¯t appear to pay me any attention. I turned around and faced the interior of the shop, staring at strange candles with flames burning in different colors. They dotted the walls. By their light I could see that the floor was much like the flooring in Geist''s but more magnificent.


    How long have these candles been burning? Is someone here? Are the candles magickal?


    ¡°Hello?¡± I called out.


    There was no answer.


    The wooden parquet floor beneath my feet was so much more elaborate. So many more pieces had gone into making it with woods of all colors.


    At the center of the showroom, at the center of Blackhart, was a huge and slowly rotating sphere of witchstones. The rotating sphere had to be at least two stories high and made up of hundreds of witchstones, maybe thousands. Down at the floor, directly below the sphere, were what looked like multiple golden rings tied together with silver chain.


    I made my way over to the rings, picked them up off the floor, and looked at them. There were ten in total, five on each of two chains. Feeling possessed with some sort of forward momentum, I slipped the rings onto my fingers.


    As I flexed my fingers, the sphere above me responded. Waves broke out across its surface.


    I brought my hands together, interlacing my fingers and the sphere compacted down so that there was no space between any of the witchstones.


    Bringing my hands out wide expanded the sphere, giving it the maximum amount of space between every single witchstone so that the lowest it went was directly above the floor and the highest it went was to the ceiling.


    I allowed my hands to drop to my sides, watching as the witchstones slowly rotated around me. They were segmented by color, giving the sphere the appearance of a shimmering rainbow gradient of hues.


    I pointed at a single witchstone and the sphere stopped moving. The witchstone I¡¯d pointed at floated towards me, stopping directly in front of my face. I plucked it out of the air, tossing it between my palms. Smiling, I tossed it up and watched as it floated back to its original position.


    You own this place!


    I let out a shriek of pure joy, a cackling laugh. Things were going right. This was all going to work. I had Blackhart. It was all so natural. I was going to get the theatre, too.


    I slipped the rings off my fingers and placed them back on the floor.


    Don¡¯t get your hopes up, Hexana.


    With my aunt¡¯s voice lurking in my thoughts, I examined the rest of the room and found strange little cubbies and even stranger little cabinets built into the walls. I also found an out of place rectangular outline on the wall at the far side of the showroom.


    I tried everything I could think of to get it to open, thinking it might be a door of some sort. Knowing how I''d first opened the door to Blackhart, I considered the second part of the oil extractor¡¯s rhyme. I considered the dance that went along with it.


    Standing before the door, feeling ridiculous, I hopped twice on my left foot then twice on my right. I hopped backwards then forwards, backwards then forwards, and then jumped as high as I could.


    The rectangle before me stayed where it was, but I did notice a strange sort of breeze puff out to touch my face.


    I had good idea that I knew what I was looking at.


    I reached my hand out to touch the surface of the rectangle and my fingers went right through it. I stepped across the now recognizable barrier and looked around.


    This is my father''s secret lab.


    I stood in the lab where he¡¯d done all his stonebreaking.

 Chapter 24

    I breathed in deep and let that breath out. The near constant fluttering in my chest suddenly stilled. My shoulders relaxed.


    Hope. A thing I had never truly felt. Real hope that everything was going to work. Hope that I would be able to do this borderline impossible job.


    Everything was going my way.


    All the numbers were coming up seven.


    You might be asking how I knew I was even standing in a lab at all. Well, it was clear: there were test tubes. Lots of them. None of them held liquid. Instead, most of them held witchstones of varying colors. The tubes were everywhere, and it seemed clear: lab.


    There was something else about the place I couldn''t quite place my finger on.


    There was a smell. A smell that I recognized. It wasn''t the smell of my father, either. It was something else. Something familiar that from my childhood.


    Have I been here before?


    Have you ever I been in another room that smelled like this?


    I thought back to the chemistry lab in high school, but that was quite different. That was an almost medicinal smell, whereas this one smelled almost like¡­ what, a fair? A county fair?


    No¡­


    That was close, but not quite right.


    Shaking my head, I pushed my semi-obsession with the smell away as the pressure of the task at hand started to weigh down on me.


    I could feel the witchstone in my pocket. I could feel it reflecting my own heat, reminding me it was there and that it was my key to getting everything that I wanted in my life.


    Sitting on a table off to my right was a strange little device that looked like a cell phone. It was in the shape of a phone, but it was a solid piece of slate-black rock. It weighed almost nothing and, when, I picked it up nothing happened.


    Maybe it was a tiny cutting board of some sort?


    I turned it over and saw a tiny seal at the center. A clear seal.


    Please be what I think you are. Please be what I think you are.


    Smiling, I placed my thumb over the seal and light blossomed from the opposite side. I flipped it back over and realized my guess had been correct.


    A handheld Lumadex.


    My eyes grew wide and a grin broke across my face. I finally had what I''d been looking for: a portable device that could tell me about the magick world.


    Whatever I wanted.


    Whenever I wanted.


    I took in a deep breath and let it out. I couldn''t believe my luck.


    I flipped the Lumadex back over, pressed my thumb to the seal, and the light died. I would come back to it. There would be plenty of time later to examine all the secrets the magick world held, all the secrets the Lumaverse contained.


    Three bowls sat atop another table. The bowls were matte black and felt porous, almost as though they were made from volcanic rock. They were rough to the touch and reminded me of the feel of dry skin against a microfiber cloth.


    Gag.


    I immediately wanted to go moisturize my hands.


    On another table was a pair of bright blue gloves. Eye-wateringly blue.


    I avoided touching these as I didn''t know what sort of residue might be on the fingertips.


    Those vanisher goggles would come in handy right about now.


    I would come back to them at another time.


    On the far side of the lab, I found a closet. When I pulled the door open, I just about jumped out of my skin.


    The back wall of the closet was a floor to ceiling mirror.


    Relax. It¡¯s just your reflection.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    The closet was empty save for an old, musty parka hanging from a peg on the right. It took only a moment to realize that more of that same smell I recognized from earlier was emanating from the closet.


    The layout of the closet didn¡¯t make sense.


    There were no clothing racks, no shelves, nothing. It was just a tiny empty room with a mirror. I stepped in and closed the door behind me.


    I¡¯m still not sure why I did it. Maybe I thought that if I closed myself inside that small space, the smell would intensify, and I would remember what the smell was.


    Faint light filled the closet from behind me. I slowly and cautiously turned back from the door to face the mirror and my mouth fell open. I was staring out into a lobby I knew all too well.


    The smell immediately hit home.


    The smell was stale popcorn.


    Mingled with a slight mustiness.


    And age.


    It was the smell of a theatre.


    A movie theatre.


    The theatre.


    Through the mirror, which appeared to be two-way glass, I could see into the lobby of the theatre. Blackhart had a direct connection to the stick world.


    The lobby doors of the theatre were off on the left, mostly boarded, but through a window covered in mesh I could see a bird was perched just outside. I watched it for several moments, but it never moved.


    Is the bird some sort of illusion, some sort of magickal painting?


    Nothing moved on the other side of the mirror, though.


    I could just make out the roof a car in the street directly outside. Farther away, there was a person mid-stride on the opposite sidewalk. Frowning, I put my hand up to the glass and my hand slipped right through.


    There was an almost sucking sort of feeling, like I was being pulled into the theatre, and before I knew it, I was standing on the other side of the glass.


    The bird in the window chirped, its head twitched in my direction. The car drove past. The man on the sidewalk continued on his way, moving out of my sight.


    My breath came in quick fits.


    What¡¯s going on? Why is everything that was frozen now moving?


    I took a deep breath and turned back to face what I''d walked through.


    The door was nothing more than a nondescript column off to one side of the lobby.


    I lifted my hand and watched as it slipped into the column. Again, I felt that same strange pull, felt myself pulled into the column, into Blackhart, into my father''s secret lab.


    Once again, before I knew what was happening, I was back in the closet.


    I turned around to look through the double-sided glass and saw the roof of a new car out on the street, completely frozen. I inspected everything else I could see through that mirror, trying to understand what I was looking at, trying to figure out the trick.


    I could see a man on the opposite side of the street pushing open the door of the very same convenience store I¡¯d bought all the scratch offs from in my attempt to win enough money to buy the theatre. He had the door halfway open and was staring out the glass, but he wasn''t moving. A thought flashed that this all must be a practical joke, people making some funny video. That thought vanished when I then saw, directly above the car, something that made my mouth fall open.


    A bird in midflight. Just hovering there, its wings outstretched.


    I swallowed hard and turned my back on the mirror to open the closet door. After stepping out, I looked back in at my reflection, no hint at all about what lay on the other side of the glass.


    I strode toward the Lumadex, powered it on, and stared at it.


    What do I even look up? Time? Frozen time? Halted time?


    I didn''t even know. I didn''t have the words to describe what had happened in the closet. I didn''t have the magickal vocabulary to describe what I''d seen, what I''d experienced.


    If you buy the theatre, you¡¯ll own a permanent gateway¡­


    My mouth fell open.


    You didn¡¯t need a pass.


    The gateway that existed at the back of that closet connected from the magick world to the stick world. I hadn¡¯t needed a pass to move in between the two worlds. I could exist in both, if only I owned the theatre.


    I felt the pressure ramp up.


    I could figure out the time thing later.


    Does the magick world pause as well?


    I could figure out why the stick world on the other side of the two-way mirror seemed to pause whenever I was on one side, but not the other.


    Focus.


    I swallowed hard and set the Lumadex on the table after powering it down.


    That¡¯s why the theatre was so important to him. That¡¯s why he kept even though he talked about how much money it was losing. It¡¯s a permanent gateway.


    It allowed him to move between both worlds with ease. He essentially owned his own gateway, a private gateway, and he didn¡¯t need anyone else¡¯s help. I wondered how many people owned private gateways.


    Mr. Carson owned one.


    That¡¯s not true.


    Mr. Carson owned a gateway, but the thing that connected Blackhart to the theatre was different. It was a gateway that only went to one place. Mr. Carson''s gateway was a regular gateway. It went wherever a pass granted access to. I frowned, considering what sort of mechanics had to be involved.


    I would have to ask Flin about this. It was right up his alley. Gateway theory, right?


    Later. You need to get to work on the witchstone and get the money right now.


    As the excitement of what I was about to do built, I searched my father''s lab for anything I could find that might help me with my task. It didn''t take long.


    There was a drawer connected to the table those strange bowls sat upon. When I pulled it open, I recognized my father''s handwriting immediately on a notebook inside.


    Penciled on the cover, in my father''s handwriting, were the words:


    Stonebreaking: A Primer


    By Darren Covington


    First Draft


    I placed the notebook next to the bowls on the table and flipped it open. I leafed through the pages, skimming over the introduction and the bits about the ethics of stonebreaking. I also skimmed over the warnings, trying to find the meat, trying to find the how-to¡¯s.


    I was raised on the Internet. Typically, I would just want to know what steps I needed to do the thing, not really caring where the steps came from.


    But there was something about this that made it feel like my father was essentially walking me through this process, step-by-step, in person. Like he was there beside me.


    I flipped through the pages and found the one I was looking for.


    Step one: Place the witchstone on a grounded table within the containment area.


    I smiled. It was time. It was time to take the theatre. It was time to take what was rightfully mine. I squeezed the crystal hanging from the silver chain around my neck.


    I¡¯ll make you proud, dad.


    I started stonebreaking the witchstone.

 Chapter 25

    ¡°Place the witchstone on a grounded table,¡± I read under my breath, ¡°within the containment area.¡±


    After scanning the room, I saw nothing that looked like a containment area.


    The next step, according to the notebook, was to place sounding bowls on either side of the witchstone. Apparently, a stonebreaker couldn''t be sure how many bowls would be necessary to dispel any curses or excess energy contained within the witchstone.


    There was a tiny drawing that looked like the bowls already sitting on the table.


    ¡°Easy enough.¡± I pulled the witchstone out of my pocket and placed it next to the porous bowls. It floated just above the surface of the table.


    Step three: Pick up the witchstone using the containment gloves¡ª


    I glanced over at the bright blue gloves that sat on the table across the lab. I grabbed the witchstone and walked toward them.


    This table must be the containment area.


    I set the witchstone down, at least as well as you could set down something that floats. I brought the sounding bowls from the other side of the room to the new table. The bowls clicked as I set them beside the witchstone. My fingers felt immediately clammy once the gloves were on. As soon as I touched the witchstone with my gloved fingers, a faint blue glow of an outline traced itself on the table.


    Okay. This must be the containment area.


    The witchstone quit floating. It touched down onto the surface of the table with a barely audible click.


    Four translucent blue walls of light appeared and surrounded the witchstone. A ceiling of white light connected all four walls, illuminating the surface below.


    Have you ever seen one of those enclosed spaces with holes that have gloves attached where scientists can work with dangerous chemicals or pathogens? This was a lot like that, just with a heavy coat of magick.


    Of course. A magickal containment system. That makes sense.


    The next step in my father¡¯s notebook indicated that I should cover the witchstone with one of the sounding bowls and leave it there until it stopped shaking. I picked up one bowl and did as instructed, placing it over the witchstone and watching.


    At first nothing happened.


    At first, I thought I''d done something wrong, not activated the bowl in some way.


    Maybe he skipped a step. Maybe he knew something I couldn¡¯t and left it out, not realizing his stick daugt¡ª


    That wasn''t the case, though.


    The bowl started vibrating.


    It only rattled a little at first, but then shook harder as though it was caught up in a targeted earthquake. It shook against the table, vibrating to the left and to the right, spinning in a circle and doing everything but flipping over to reveal the witchstone below.


    The vibrations eventually slowed and then stalled. Gradually the bowl stopped moving altogether.


    I glanced over at the notebook and read the next instruction.


    Continue with sounding bowls until vibration does not occur at all.


    Grimacing and leaning away, sure something terrible would happen, I angled up the sounding bowl covering the witchstone and peeked inside.


    My jaw dropped and I flipped the bowl over so I could get a better look.


    The interior surface of the bowl was covered in thick, chunky crystals. There were three specific colors present and they mingled together like colorful ink dropped into water, clouding through each other.


    There was a dark blue.


    There was an even darker purple.


    And then there was a bright yellow: a toxic, neon yellow.


    I''d been told what the four primary colors of lume were, but no one had mentioned these colors.


    I set this bowl aside and picked up the next one. I covered the witchstone just as I had previously done and, this time, there was no gradual buildup to the vibration at all.


    The sounding bowl immediately erupted with activity, vibrating and shaking, moving across the table and hitting the containment wall, vibrating in a corner there, trying so hard to escape containment.


    Thank the heavens for this containment field.


    Just as quickly as the sounding bowl had started its terrible shaking, it stopped.


    There was a violence to the ceasing of activity, an almost murder of movement that caused me to suck in my breath.


    Stolen story; please report.


    I stretched my hand out and reached for the sounding bowl. Before I could touch it, however, the movement erupted again. It shook across to the opposite side and toward the opposite containment wall. Then the sounding bowl shot smoothly towards the wall directly in front of my face, toward the space between my gloves.


    I stared, shocked, at the bowl as it slammed against the wall closest to me over and over before it suddenly quit.


    My heart pounded and sweat trickled down my back.


    I took a deep breath, not wanting to reach out. I was afraid of the bowl now. Afraid of the witchstone. I double-checked the notebook before returning my gaze to the upside-down sounding bowl.


    As far as I could tell, I hadn''t skipped a step, hadn''t jumped ahead at all. I waited for at least five minutes before I reached for the bowl.


    I half-expected it to flip over on its own and reveal some sort of magickal monster, all teeth and terror, ready to devour my face.


    That didn''t happen.


    When I flipped over the sounding bowl there were even more crystals than I¡¯d seen in the first bowl. Their needle thin points gleamed beneath the magickal light shining down on them.


    The colors were the same, though: purple, blue, and that toxic yellow.


    I picked up the last sounding bowl but paused for a moment to examine the witchstone. I squinted to see if I could make out any difference in it but couldn¡¯t.


    When I covered the witchstone with the next sounding bowl, I really leaned back from the containment area. I fully expected the bowl to lurch with activity, to burst with movement, to more intensely attack the walls. But, instead, it was completely still for several moments before giving a single, solitary jolt.


    That was it.


    After that jolt, it didn''t move. It was completely still.


    I waited for five minutes.


    Ten minutes.


    Fifteen minutes.


    When I was mostly sure that it wasn''t going to lurch to life, that it wasn''t lying in wait¡ª


    Lying in wait? Do you think it¡¯s alive? Do you think the witchstone has something living within it?


    I honestly wasn''t sure.


    The way the bowl had attacked the wall closest to me gave me the idea that whatever was inside knew that I was there, but that didn''t make sense.


    Aren''t witchstones inert objects? Just some glass or crystal filled with a spell?


    I didn''t entirely know.


    There was so much I didn''t know, but with my father''s notebook, I could do my best and that''s all I could do. I glanced at the notebook again and re-read the instructions.


    Continue with sounding bowls until vibration does not occur at all. Use as many sounding bowls as it takes until no crystals are seen inside the bowls.


    I flipped the third bowl over and saw that there was only a single crystal, a tiny thing. No more than a speck of dark blue at the center. This crystal was dark blue.


    Relief filled me. The sounding bowl had absorbed all the energy in the witchstone. I didn''t know what I would''ve done had it filled the entire bowl. I didn''t know where more sounding bowls were in the lab. With the dispelling process over, I slipped off the gloves and grabbed the notebook.


    The containment walls and ceiling dissolved and the witchstone retook to its floating.


    I flipped through the pages, skimming the pages for any mention of the three colors I saw in the bowls before me.


    I found a strange entry on the back page. This entry wasn¡¯t written with the neat and precise handwriting from the rest of the notebook. It was scrawled there in jagged letters, looking like it had been written in a hurry. It was still my father¡¯s handwriting, though.


    I found the Builder¡¯s Stone. Blue, purple, and yellow. This witchstone will change everything for the stick world. It will bring everyone onto the same playing field.


    I stared at my father''s note. A smile curled the corners of my mouth.


    My luck is holding. I¡¯m on a hot streak.


    The Builder¡¯s Stone. That''s what this witchstone was.


    I had no idea what that meant, but at least I had a name. I had something I could look up in the Lumadex.


    I grabbed the tablet, powered it on, and started searching. I looked up builder, I looked up Builder¡¯s Stone, I looked up purple lume, blue lume, and yellow lume. There was no entry on blue lume, but there was plenty of info on purple and yellow.


    Yellow lume indicated a curse.


    Purple lume was an indication of Astra. Typically, it was only seen when a witch had recently eaten lume in an area.


    The Builder was the person who had created the connections between plaines in the Lumaverse. The thing, the being, the master entity then severed those connections, plunged plaines into darkness, and created the shards from broken plaines.


    I even found an entry for the Builder¡¯s Stone.


    It seemed to be some sort of myth. A kind of witchstone fairytale.


    Legend had it that the Builder¡¯s Stone granted whoever used it the power of a wizard, be they a caster, adept, scryer, or a stick. It allowed anyone to use the witchstone and gain the abilities of a wizard.


    Staring at the floating witchstone on the table, I understood why Geist said it was so rare and why he¡¯d said no one had been able to break it.


    Why did my father write about it at the back of his notebook if Geist owned it? How did that happen? Did my father try to stonebreak this for Geist, realize what it was, and then return it to him?


    Frowning, I ran over my options.


    I could return the witchstone to Geist, act like I didn''t know what it was or how important it was.


    What would even be the point of that?


    I could keep the witchstone for myself, try to find some sort of black market, sell it, and make a ton of money.


    I''d more than likely get fleeced if I did that. I didn''t have any connections in the magick world and no one in the stick world would believe me. I¡¯d be like the guy selling magick beans to a guy named Jack, promising untold riches.


    I''d be laughed at.


    I could tell Geist what the witchstone was. I could be honest. I¡¯d broken the witchstone. I knew exactly what it did. I knew its power. I could take the money and I could buy the theatre. I would then have a permanent gateway into Blackhart and the Night Market.


    The last option was also a serious contender: I could take the witchstone and use it myself. I could gamble on myself. I could become a wizard, that rare breed who towered above all magickkind.


    You are on a hot streak¡­


    I could go from being a zero in the stick world to being at the top of the food chain in the magick world.


    If I was a wizard I would live for hundreds of years. I would have the ability to use magick. I would lose that crown on my head that marked me as a stick, a permanent outsider.


    I took a deep breath and let it out, rereading the Builder¡¯s Stone entry in the Lumadex.


    It is said the way you activate the Builder¡¯s Stone is by slipping it under your tongue. That is all. Once you do this, the power of wizards shall be yours.


    Staring down at the witchstone floating on the table, I smiled. A familiar high of giddy anticipation flooded my veins.


    I could have the power of a wizard. And when I did, what could Geist possibly do to me?


    He wasn''t a wizard.


    I smiled even wider. I knew exactly what I was going to do. It was so clear.


    I picked up the witchstone and stared at the ceiling.


    ¡°Here''s to luck,¡± I whispered. ¡°Here''s to fate.¡±


    I glanced back down at the witchstone, looked deep into it, and saw a faint purple glow.


    I was going to become a wizard.


    I slipped the witchstone under my tongue and closed my eyes.


    If you¡¯ve been paying attention, then you know that I¡¯ve never been truly lucky, and fate has never been on my side¡­

 Chapter 26

    A bright flash of light.


    Spinning.


    Darkness.


    Two purple eyes glaring at me through the black.


    Yellow liquid pouring down across my body.


    Nothing.


    Silence.


    I gasped in terror, my eyes fluttering open as I stared at the ceiling of my father''s lab.


    Somehow, I was laying on the ground, my back screaming.


    My eyes ached and it felt like something sharp was digging into the backs of my eyeballs deep inside my brain. I covered both of my eyes with my hands and tried to sit up. As I did, the room lurched to the left and to the right, back and forth, endlessly.


    I turned to the side and threw up, that lurching feeling never stopping as I did so. Squinting my eyes, I examined my surroundings. Everything that had been on the worktable was now scattered across the same place I was. The floor.


    Surrounding me, everything was either shattered or pushed all the way back to the walls and the corners of the room.


    Looks like something exploded in here.


    I stood up, searching the tabletops for my father¡¯s notebook, trying to find the Lumadex, hunting for the Builder¡¯s Stone that had been in my now empty mouth. Shattered remnants of the test tubes were everywhere.


    The sounding bowls with their colorful crystal-coated interiors were completely intact, tossed into a corner like they were discarded stuffed animals. And below them¡­


    No. Please no!


    Below the sounding bowls I saw a chunk of the Lumadex. Only part of it, and the part I saw had deep gashes running across the surface like something with sharp claws had lashed out at it.


    I couldn''t find any evidence of the Builder¡¯s Stone. I looked everywhere. I knew what a spent witchstone looked like, what an empty looked like, but I couldn''t find anything approaching that in the lab.


    Maybe some stuff blew out onto the main floor.


    I exited the lab and went out to the main showroom of Blackhart, looking everywhere.


    What happened?


    The sphere of witchstones still slowly spun at the center of Blackhart, not appearing to have changed in the slightest. Across the room, I saw a mirror. I saw my reflection. The crown of bright lights above my head, marking me as a stick, had disappeared. It was gone.


    A smile tugged at the corners of my lips.


    It had been worth it. I was no longer a stick. The proof was staring back at me from the mirror.


    ¡°It worked,¡± I whispered. ¡°It actually worked.¡±


    Something had finally gone my way.


    I¡¯m a wizard now.


    I would be able to do whatever I needed to ensure that the theatre stayed under my control.


    You don¡¯t have the money to buy the theatre.


    Like money mattered anymore. I didn¡¯t need to buy the theatre. I could threaten anyone who showed even the slightest sign that they wanted to take the theatre.


    You could probably rob a bank and get away with it. Buy the theatre that way.


    I flexed my fingers and wondered how being a wizard worked, wondered what I would need to do in order to cast my first spell.


    I walked to the center of the showroom and stood beneath the slowly rotating sphere of witchstones.


    I scoffed at the chained rings that lay at my feet. I didn¡¯t need them. I had magick now. I was a wizard and the world would bend to my will, not vice versa. I traced my fingers through the air and spread my fingers wide to make the sphere move on its own accord.


    The sphere didn''t budge.


    I frowned. Uh, Okay. So that didn''t work.


    I glanced over at the mirror again, making sure the bright crown of light was gone and not just dimmer for the moment.


    There was no crown, but I did have several large shards of glass in my hair. They looked more solid, like maybe they were shards of the Lumadex?


    I lifted my hand up and gingerly felt around, not wanting to cut myself. What I felt beneath my fingertips was something hard, something foreign, something connected to and sticking out of my head.


    My stomach gave a little lurch.


    Maybe when you passed out some of the Lumadex embedded itself in your skull. Maybe you¡¯re injured.


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    I pushed this thought aside.


    Wizards must have to have some way of protecting themselves, right? Some way of healing themselves?


    I touched the hard object sticking out of my head, gripped it, before realizing it had a perfect twin on the other side.


    I ran my finger along the edge of one of the shards embedded in my head and just as quickly brought it away. Staring at my finger, I shook my head.


    So sharp you barely felt it.


    Blood welled from a deep slice on my right pointer finger.


    I popped the finger into my mouth, sucking on it, as I walked over to the mirror to better inspect what was happening with those things in my head.


    As I got closer to the mirror, my blood ran cold. Nothing had embedded itself in my skull. Unless two perfectly symmetrical objects had flown out from the Lumadex and embedded themselves in my skull.


    I swallowed.


    Horns.


    I was looking at horns. I was looking at horns protruding from my head. Sharp horns, horns that could cut flesh, and had. My flesh.


    These weren¡¯t horns in the traditional sense, though. There were no ridges or curling. I didn¡¯t look like a reindeer or a ram. The horns were probably only an inch and a half tall and looked just like the tips of knives, although a smidge thicker, sticking out of my head about an inch or so back from my hairline and about five inches apart.


    My upper lip curled back at the horns¡¯ bone white coloring. An image of teeth growing out of my head popped into my mind and my stomach churned.


    Is this what being a wizard is? Having horns?


    The worst part of it all was that I couldn''t even look that up now. My Lumadex had been destroyed. I''d had it for less than an hour and now it was gone.


    Staring at my reflection, I saw that something else had changed.


    The crystal at the end of the silver chain my father had given me so long ago was shattered, only a vague chunk left where it had been mounted.


    I shook my head as I tried to figure out what I was supposed to do next.


    Lumadex destroyed.


    Builder¡¯s Stone vanished.


    Horns erupting from my head.


    What now?


    Suddenly, my idea to use the Builder¡¯s Stone didn''t seem like the best of ideas. Suddenly, it felt like I may have made a huge mistake, one I might not recover from. With the witchstone gone and no Lumadex to instruct me as to what I should do next, what was I supposed to do? Where was I supposed to go?


    Geist will be expecting you.


    Any gateway I went through out in the market would more than likely return me right back to Geist''s location.


    I couldn''t hide from him. I couldn''t hide from the Austerium. As far as I was concerned, they were the same.


    After taking a deep breath, I let it out in a shuddering sigh as tears came to my eyes. Tears of confusion, of concern. I hadn¡¯t thought this through.


    ¡°What do I do now?¡± I muttered to myself. ¡°What the hell am I supposed to do now?¡±


    From behind me, a deep voice whispered, ¡°Crying won¡¯t help.¡±


    I whirled around. My eyes scanned Blackhart but didn¡¯t see anything.


    ¡°Who said that?¡± I asked the empty room.


    No one responded.


    I¡¯d grown horns and now I was hearing voices.


    Perfect. Just my luck. Every time I trust something, it lets me down. Always.


    ¡°Hello?¡± I tried again in the empty store. When again I stood in silence, I turned back to the mirror and my eyes crawled up to the horns.


    How much longer are they going to get? How much more will they grow? Am I going to look like a reindeer?


    If they started growing, I would have to grind them down, or file them, or clip them¡­ something.


    I didn''t know anything about the keeping of horns. I didn''t know anything about the growing of horns either, for that matter, or much about the Lumaverse, or the magick world, or the Builder¡¯s Stone, or if I was even a wizard, or¡­


    I shook my head with another long sigh.


    ¡°What am I supposed to do?¡± I asked my reflection.


    The deep voice returned. ¡°If I were you,¡± it said and I whirled around, trying to see where it was coming from, but unable to place it, ¡°I might wonder what I had become, and what else I could have unleashed.¡±


    Has something else been unleashed? Is that possible?


    Anything was possible as far as I was concerned. I didn''t know what the limits of the magick world were.


    ¡°You might want to refer to that convenient notebook of your father''s,¡± the deep voice said.


    It was coming through the doorway of the secret lab, drawing me in, but I couldn¡¯t seem to stop my feet from moving in that direction. I couldn¡¯t come up with a good enough reason not to. The voice was right. I should probably inspect the notebook and find out if there was something I''d skipped, something I''d overlooked.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Oh,¡± the voice said, ¡°we¡¯re going to become good friends, you and me. We¡¯ve quite a way to go. Many conversations to have. Much time to spend together.¡±


    ¡°What is this?¡± I asked.


    When the voice answered, I could tell that it was smiling. It was amused with what I''d asked.


    ¡°This?¡± the voice asked. ¡°This is Blackhart. It''s your father''s. Well, it''s yours, for now, assuming you''re not going to be exiled from the magick world.¡±


    ¡°Exiled?¡± I asked, realizing what this might look like to anyone else. A girl with horns stumbling around a destroyed lab, looking for a notebook, and having conversations with herself.


    ¡°I didn''t stutter,¡± the voice said.


    ¡°Can you be exiled from the magick world?¡±


    ¡°I was, long ago.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re exiled?¡± I asked, finding the notebook but not opening it yet.


    ¡°Into that witchstone. I was something to behold in my time, something, someone.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± I asked. ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter.¡±


    ¡°What are you now?¡±


    ¡°Your familiar.¡±


    ¡°And a familiar is¡­ what exactly?¡±


    A laugh erupted from the corner where a dark shadow was moving. A thick, inky shadow without form. It stretched from the floor all the way up to the ceiling, but there were no defined edges, no eyes, no teeth. Thankfully.


    ¡°Don''t worry about what a familiar is right now. I believe you''re looking for your father''s notebook and you found it. You might want to open up to the second page.¡±


    I did as the voice suggested, not having any reason not to. On the second page there was a warning. My father''s neat manuscript spelled out the following sentence:


    Beware of cursed witchstones. Any witchstone containing a curse is likely to be indecipherable in regard to stonebreaking to all but the most astute.


    ¡°The Builder¡¯s Stone was cursed?¡± I asked.


    ¡°What color does yellow lume represent?¡± the voice asked in response.


    I closed my eyes. ¡°Yellow is a curse. But¡­ but at the end of the notebook it said that the Builder¡¯s Stone was yellow, blue, and purple. I saw all of those crystals in the sounding bowl.¡±


    ¡°So, you did. Unfortunately, you didn''t fully dispel the curse. You didn''t fully read the instructions your father left regarding stonebreaking. Read the rule about vibration.¡±


    I flipped to the page and reread the rule aloud.


    ¡°Continue with sounding bowls until vibration does not occur at all. Use as many sounding bowls as it takes until no crystals are seen inside the bowls.¡± Shaking my head, I glanced up to the dark corner. ¡°But I used those. I used the sounding bowls. The very last one should have dispelled the curse, right?¡±


    The voice laughed. ¡°Read the rule again.¡±


    Frowning, I bent my head and did as instructed, this time the key points of the rule registering. I had assumed that when I saw that single, tiny crystal in the last bowl that the Builder¡¯s Stone was depleted. Apparently, the curse couldn''t be said to be successfully depleted until an empty bowl was returned.


    I closed my eyes with a sigh. In my hasty greed, I¡¯d done this to myself. I¡¯d effectively cursed myself.


    ¡°It''s not all bad,¡± the voice said in response. ¡°You''ve got me now, and I''ve got you¡­¡±


    The voice let out a deep, rumbling laugh and the shadow in the corner solidified. A shape emerged from the shadows and I sucked in a deep breath.

 Chapter 27

    Back To The Present...


    The creature that materialized from the shadows was not at all what I expected.


    The creature that appeared was a cat.


    Miniature in size. Diminutive, only four inches tall.


    It sat just outside the edge of the shadow and licked at a paw as its blank eyes stared at me. I say they were blank because there were no pupils. The eyes glowed with a soft white light edged in faint yellow. The cat¡¯s fur appeared black at first, but the color shifted to a deep, dark purple, then to a midnight blue, then a forest green, and back to black. Throughout all the color shifts, there was a base of shimmer like the cat had rolled in glitter at some point.


    I couldn''t tell where the cat¡¯s mouth was, but its ears stuck straight from its head like horns.


    There was one other feature, one other thing that made me understand there was no way this was a regular cat: its tail was striped and came to an arrowhead point.


    You know those cartoony illustrations of the devil? You know how they have that kind of pointy tail? This cat had a black and white striped tail that ended in one of those triangles.


    Is it sharp? Can it hurt me?


    ¡°What are¡ª¡± I started to say, but the cat burst into a writhing puff of smoke and disappeared. The next thing I knew there was a light weight on my left shoulder, and it was whispering into my ear.


    ¡°I thought¡­¡±


    I turned to the left, but the cat proofed into smoke again and whispered into my other ear


    ¡°We¡¯d already gone over this. What I am should be fairly obvious by now.¡±


    I turned to the right and the cat proofed into smoke once more. I turned my head back and forth several times as I tried to find where the cat had gone and, with dawning horror, saw something float across my vision. Something twitched from the left to the right in front of my eyes.


    The black and white striped tail.


    The miniature cat was sitting on my head.


    I jerked, my hands flying up to the top of my head, but all I managed to do was cut my hand against my horns.


    ¡°You have to be careful with those things.¡± The cat appeared, on a table not too far away. ¡°They¡¯re dangerous. Do you need an adult? I''m not sure you should be operating heavy machinery with a pair of those.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I asked. The voice, the mannerisms, everything had changed from when the cat had been the shadowy figure in the corner. Now everything was different.


    What happened? What the hell is going on?


    ¡°I see the confusion,¡± the cat said in a singsong voice. ¡°Someone''s confused.¡± It disappeared again and reappeared on my shoulder, whispering into my ear. ¡°It''s you.¡±


    I, once again, ridiculously, turned my head in that direction. The cat, of course, disappeared off my shoulder and reappeared back on the table.


    ¡°Stop,¡± I said.


    ¡°Which part?¡± the cat asked.


    ¡°What do you mean which part?¡±


    ¡°You said stop. Which part am I stopping? Being a cat? Being a mostly girl cat?¡± She showed me a mouthful of needle-sharp teeth in what I could only assume was a smile. ¡°Because I can turn into something else if you''d like. I can turn into something so much worse.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said, not wanting to even see an inkling of what that would look like. ¡°I just mean slow down. This is all coming a little fast.¡±


    ¡°That''s what happens when you play stonebreaker with a witchstone you have no business touching. Didn''t your mom and dad ever tell you not to do witchstones?¡±


    ¡°Do witchstones?¡± I chewed on my lip. ¡°Like drugs? Are witchstones drugs?¡±


    ¡°I think you hit your head harder than you realize. You¡¯re not making any sense little horned girl.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± I just wanted the cat to shut up for a second. Just wanted her to be quiet so I could think. ¡°What''s your name?¡± I finally asked.


    ¡°Oh. So, we¡¯re doing small talk now? Okay. I can do small talk.¡± The cat cleared its throat and its fur shifted to a deep, shimmering purple even though its tail stayed striped. No matter what color she changed to, the striped tail seemed permanent. She spoke with an affected British accent. ¡°Well, my dear, you may call me Silvurn.¡±


    ¡°Silvurn? Is that supposed to be a name?¡±


    ¡°Of course, it''s my name,¡± Silvurn said. ¡°What were you expecting it to be? Becky?¡±


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°Becky?¡±


    Silvurn adopted a valley girl accent. ¡°Oh my God. Your name¡¯s Becky too. Wow.¡±


    Silvurn¡¯s fur slowly faded back to iridescent, inky black.


    ¡°I just mean that¡­¡± I sighed. ¡°I don''t know what I meant.¡±


    Silvurn¡¯s accent vanished. ¡°Not a particularly strong way to start off the small talk section of this program. This is where I ask you your name, in keeping with social norms. So?¡±


    ¡°Hexana Covington.¡±


    ¡°Hex. Fantastic. Hi, Hex.¡±


    ¡°Not Hex,¡± I corrected. ¡°Hexana.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Silvurn said. ¡°Hex. Got it.¡±


    ¡°Sure thing, Silvy,¡± I snapped back.


    ¡°Hold on,¡± Silvurn said. ¡°That''s not my name.¡±


    ¡°Yeah and my name is Hexana, but what are you gonna call me?¡±


    ¡°Hex?¡± Silvurn said, showing me that mouthful of needle teeth again.


    ¡°Then I''m gonna call you Silvy,¡± I said.


    Silvy sucked in a quick breath, considering it. ¡°It''s worth the pain, I think. Hex is a killer name. How can you not like that?¡±


    ¡°Growing up,¡± I said as though it should have explained everything. ¡°Hearing people say they were constantly going to put a hex on me, or that I was a hex put on other people.¡±


    ¡°I''m not seeing the downside here. Come on. Cast a hex? Sounds like some good quality magick fun to me.¡±


    I sighed. ¡°So why is your tail striped?¡±


    Silvy suddenly looked miffed. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I mean why don¡¯t the stripes on your tail change colors when your fur does?¡±


    Silvy grunted. ¡°I don''t want to talk about that.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so there is a story,¡± I said.


    ¡°I said I don''t want to talk about that!¡± Silvy turned her head away from me and pouted.


    ¡°So, what exactly are you?¡±


    Silvy turned back to me and her glowing eyes changed shape. Without having the pupils as a reference, it took me a second to understand what I was looking at, but when I got it, I frowned.


    ¡°Did you just roll your eyes at me?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Did you just ask me another ridiculous question?¡± Silvy asked in response. ¡°Chances are more likely than you think.¡±


    ¡°What are you? Just answer the question.¡±


    ¡°How do you not know this?¡± Silvy asked. ¡°We''re in the Shadow Vaile and you don''t know?¡±


    I frowned at Silvy. ¡°What do you mean we¡¯re in the Shadow Vaile?¡±


    Silvy let out a giggle and floated up from the table. In the air, she rolled onto her back and turned her head to look at me, her striped tail swishing back and forth, that point slicing through the air like a knife. Her eyes slowly began to rotate clockwise around her face. ¡°Blackhart exists in the Shadow Vaile. I thought all you Covingtons knew that.¡±


    What is this thing talking about?


    ¡°I¡ª¡± I started to say something but remembered that strange door in the closet that led into the theatre. When I had looked through it, the world outside had looked as though someone had pressed the pause button.


    ¡°That can''t be the case,¡± I said. ¡°I thought the Shadow Vaile¡­¡±


    Silvy floated closer to me, slowly doing a loop-the-loop in the air. As she did so her glowing eyes did their own loop-the-loop on the surface of her face. She flashed her teeth in a smile. ¡°Are you a little lost?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°Something like that.¡±


    ¡°Okay, so you don''t know anything about your family, you don''t know what you''ve become, and you don''t know what I am. Let''s start with the easy things first, what I¡¯ve already told you: I am your familiar.¡±


    ¡°My familiar?¡±


    Silvy sighed. ¡°You don¡¯t even have a basic knowledge of the Lumaverse? Really?¡±


    ¡°I just found out about the magick world yesterday. Or maybe the day before. Whatever.¡±


    ¡°Whatever indeed. Very well. I''m your companion until you die. You and me, babe.¡±


    ¡°Babe?¡±


    ¡°You are a child, are you not?¡±


    ¡°I''m twenty-one.¡±


    ¡°I''m 578. So, like I said, you''re a child.¡±


    I opened my mouth to correct Silvy, to correct the familiar, but closed it instead. ¡°Fine. I''m a child.¡±


    ¡°Nice. That wasn''t difficult at all.¡±


    ¡°What was in that witchstone?¡±


    ¡°Me,¡± Silvy said. ¡°Well, a different version of me. That stupid protection witchstone that you were wearing did something to my magick as I came through. You shouldn¡¯t be alive right now.¡±


    I looked down at the necklace my father had left me.


    It was never a crystal. It was a witchstone. This whole time and I never knew.


    It was shattered now though.


    ¡°You¡¯re a curse,¡± I said.


    ¡°I consider myself a gift and a curse. I think that''s a fine distinction right there, a distinction you should pay attention to.¡±


    ¡°So, the witchstone was cursed. It wasn''t the Builder¡¯s Stone?¡±


    Silvy had been spinning in circles but now completely stopped, upside down, and dropped down to the table in front of me. She fell, cackling, on her head and her back.


    ¡°No,¡± she said between laughs, ¡°no, that wasn''t the Builder¡¯s Stone. You would have magick if it was. I wouldn''t be here if it was.¡±


    It was never the Builder¡¯s Stone. I¡¯m not a wizard and don¡¯t have magick. I activated a cursed witchstone and cursed myself.


    ¡°What was that witchstone supposed to do?¡± I asked sullenly.


    ¡°I''d say it was created to kill whoever tried to stonebreak it or use it for that matter.¡±


    I sighed. I had to get back to Geist''s. He would know what to do. Someone had given the Austerium a witchstone whose sole purpose was to kill the person who used it. I had to let him know, had to warn him. I took in a breath and realized that my teeth were chattering.


    ¡°Cold?¡± Silvy asked.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I hadn¡¯t been cold earlier. ¡°Is it cold in here?¡±


    ¡°Honestly, the Shadow Vaile is warmer than any of the plaines or shards,¡± Silvy said. ¡°Although¡­¡±


    The corner of her mouth pulled back as though she were embarrassed for me about something.


    ¡°Although what?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Although you might want to find something to keep you warm in general. I have a feeling you''re going to be cold for a long time.¡±


    ¡°What''s that supposed to mean?¡± I asked. Silvy started to answer, but I cut her off. ¡°Not now. I need to go find Geist. I need to figure out what the hell happened. I need to warn him. I need to warn the Austerium. I may have failed, but at least my failure can help them.¡±


    Silvy started laughing again. ¡°That''s the silliest, most noble thing I''ve ever heard a person say. Congratulations. I''ve lived a long time, but that took the cake.¡±


    ¡°Whatever,¡± I muttered.


    I went back to the closet that held the door into the theatre and pulled out the musty, heavy green canvas parka. The hood was lined with fur. I slipped it on, instantly feeling a tiny bit warmer, but not entirely. I pulled the hood up over my head, wondering if my horns would slice through the material there and hoping it was strong enough to withstand the blades poking out of my head.


    Thinking more about it, I decided not to wear the hood. I pulled it back and let it just hang off from the back of my neck. After that, I found a first aid kit and bandaged up both of my hands from where I¡¯d cut them on my horns.


    When I glanced back around the lab, Silvy had disappeared.


    ¡°I''m in your hood, dork,¡± her voice came from behind my head. ¡°It''s warm in here. Go! Mush!¡±


    ¡°I''m not your¡ª¡±


    ¡°Mush!¡± Silvy called in her tiny voice. ¡°Mush! Mush!¡±


    I took a deep breath and let it out. Geist would know what to do. Geist would help me. And if he didn''t, Lebec would.


    The chill grew worse as I left the lab and made my way to the front of Blackhart. There, I opened the door onto the Night Market.

 Chapter 28

    When I opened the door, I felt a wall of cold press against me.


    The chill didn¡¯t abate in the slightest as I stepped out of Blackhart and into the Night Market. Frowning, I pulled the parka around me a little tighter and turned back to check the door. It had already reappeared in its original position.


    Up the road a way, I saw the man with the white robe who¡¯d walked past the entrance to the shop. He wasn¡¯t that far, and I had been inside Blackhart long enough that he should have made it to the end of the street and around the corner ages ago.


    ¡°I think that man is spying on me,¡± I said under my breath.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Silvy whispered back, nestled deep in the hood behind my head. ¡°Why would you think that?¡±


    ¡°I saw him walk past the entrance to Blackhart when I first went in.¡±


    Silvy let out a long, annoyed sigh before explaining in an even more annoyed voice.


    ¡°The lab inside Blackhart is in the Shadow Vaile, Hex. When you''re in the Shadow Vaile time moves slower outside.¡± Silvy paused for a moment before continuing. ¡°Well¡­ that''s not entirely true¡­ time moves much faster in the Shadow Vaile, but because of that it seems as though, outside of the Shadow Vaile, that time is hardly moving at all. That man''s exactly where you left him when you entered the lab in Blackhart, unless you exited at some point.¡±


    I started to argue but didn''t know what to say. Instead, I started walking and Silvy crawled out of the hood to perch on my shoulder.


    She whispered in my ear, ¡°You might want to pull the hood up over your horns.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°You never know when a witch might be around.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Silvy chuckled. ¡°Yeah,¡± she said. ¡°I can just imagine you seeing someone else with horns, them seeing you, them not knowing you, and you outing them.¡±


    ¡°Outing them?¡±


    ¡°Only witches can see each other''s horns,¡± Silvy whispered. ¡°And nobody likes a witch, except for other witches.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked.


    ¡°What aren''t you getting? Witches are banished from all major plaines and from most of the shards. Belladonna is the only shard where they''re allowed to exist and thrive, but that doesn''t stop them from infiltrating other plaines and shards.¡±


    What is Silvy saying? That I¡¯m a witch?


    I felt like I was drowning.


    ¡°Why do you think you''re so cold?¡± Silvy asked. ¡°You''re not in the Shadow Vaile anymore.¡±


    ¡°Is it only the lab that¡¯s in the Shadow Vaile?¡±


    ¡°For your purposes, yes. That¡¯s not entirely true, but as far as time moves, yes. The lab is the part of Blackhart that¡¯s most in the Shadow Vaile.¡±


    ¡°Can I eat magick?¡± I asked.


    Silvy laughed. ¡°You''ve got the horns, but you don''t have any of the witch abilities. You¡¯re a half-witch. You''re basically a vanilla witch.¡±


    ¡°A vanilla witch?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Silvy sighed. ¡°Don''t worry about it.¡±


    I shrugged and kept walking.


    I¡¯m not even a real witch. I¡¯m a half-witch. I have the horns, but not the powers. I am the worst of both worlds.


    I couldn''t wrap my head around the fact that I was something different than I¡¯d been not even an hour before. I was altered yet my place in the magick world had taken a nosedive. I hadn¡¯t known things could get worse for me than being a stick.


    I tightened the hood around my head, hiding those cursed horns as I walked among the cloaked magick users.


    You finally got a cloak of your own, Hex. Even if it¡¯s only a parka¡­


    Without the crown of lights marking me as a stick, I got far fewer looks and outright stares. I fit in. For once.


    What if they find out what you¡¯ve become, though?


    ¡°What do they do to witches?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Not sure what¡¯s changed. It''s been a long time since I''ve been out in the world.¡±


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Where did you come from?¡±


    ¡°Where all familiars come from: The Shadow Vaile.¡± Silvy floated off my shoulder and flew through the air, landing on the shoulder of the cloaked figure walking in front of me. She turned back to face me. ¡°I''m not sure which was worse, being cooped up in that witchstone for all those years or now being saddled with a half-witch.¡±


    ¡°Be quiet,¡± I hissed. ¡°Someone might hear you.¡±


    The cloaked figure in front of me turned around and I froze.


    The man stared down at me. ¡°May I help you?¡± he asked.


    I pulled the hood tighter around my head and my eyes drifted up to see Silvy sitting on the man¡¯s head, curled up into a ball with her paw dangling right in front of his right eye.


    ¡°Say¡­¡± A smile played at the corners of her mouth. ¡°Should I pop his eye out? I bet it¡¯s delicious. I bet it tastes like a grape.¡±


    My heart sank. The cloaked man was going to kill me. There was no doubt.


    ¡°No,¡± I said.


    The man cocked an eyebrow, shook his head, and turned away.


    Didn¡¯t he see Silvy? Does Silvy have no power over him?


    Silvy floated back to my shoulder. ¡°You''re no fun, Hex, and I think we could have a lot of fun here, you and me. I think we could make a lot of friends.¡±


    ¡°Was he not able to see you? Or hear you?¡±


    ¡°No one can unless I want them to.¡±


    ¡°Can I command you to do anything?¡±


    Silvy snorted. ¡°You can command me to do anything you want, preferably getting a taste of that sweet, sweet magickal blood. I''m so thirsty, Hex. Just let me have a taste. Just a little bit.¡±


    The way Silvy was begging made me think she was only teasing, but there was also a note of seriousness running beneath her words. She absolutely wanted blood, and if I told her yes, even jokingly, I had a feeling she would attack someone.


    Then what will happen? If she does that, will she turn into something else? Is she like a gremlin?


    ¡°I don''t like this,¡± I said. ¡°I don''t like not knowing anything about you, about¡­ myself.¡±


    ¡°Gosh,¡± Silvy said as though she was talking to a child. ¡°If only there was a way you could find out the answers to questions. If only there was a way you could look up what you don''t know.¡±


    ¡°I don''t have a Lumadex. I don''t own one. I don''t even know where to buy one.¡±


    Silvy laughed. It came out as more of a giggle than a laugh though.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± She lifted her front left leg and flicked her paw off in a direction to my right. ¡°Seems like that would be a good place to start, right?¡±


    I glanced in that direction and saw two bright windows pouring warm light onto the street. Above the door between the windows was a shingle that read Coffee and Content.


    ¡°Coffee and Content?¡± I asked. ¡°Like drink coffee and be content? How''s that gonna help?¡±


    ¡°No, you child. Coffee and CON-tent. All the tables and all the surfaces are Lumadexes. Just walk in. Grab a coffee, let me have some, and... well actually let me have all the coffee. In fact, why don''t you wait out here. I¡¯ll go in, drink the coffee, come back out, and we can still be in the same predicament. How''s that sound?¡±


    ¡°Terrible,¡± I said.


    ¡°Then go in,¡± Silvy groaned. She lay on her side, hanging off my shoulder as though I was the worst person in the world.


    Shaking my head, I entered Coffee and Content.


    It was as she said. Lumadexes covered just about every surface and glowed with light. Most of the people in the caf¨¦ ignored the Lumadexes, though. Instead, they seemed to be focused on enjoying their¡­


    What are they drinking?


    The girl to my right held a coffee cup in her hand, a coffee cup made of clear glass, but at the center was a single globe of liquid just floating there without touching any of the glass. She took a straw and slipped it into the globe, took a single tiny sip, then removed the straw, and returned it back to where she¡¯d gotten it from: a blue test tube. I watched, surprised and captivated.


    I looked at the glowing lights of the menu as I approached the counter, but only a few of the words made any sense to me. I also realized I didn''t know how to pay, that I had no idea of how to buy anything in the magick world.


    ¡°Hi,¡± I said to the barista.


    She had a septum piercing, and, beneath her left eye, it looked like five dots tattooed in porcelain blue ink.


    She stared at me and raised an eyebrow. ¡°What¡¯ll it be?¡±


    ¡°I''m sorry,¡± I said. ¡°This is my first time.¡±


    She nodded as though this was a common occurrence. I had a feeling it was anything but a common occurrence, though.


    ¡°So, what''ll you have?¡± she asked.


    I took a deep breath and let it out, shoving my words into the sigh. ¡°I don''t know how to pay.¡±


    The girl snorted. She tapped several things into a Lumadex type of device to her right and a three-dimensional box of light appeared on the counter in front of me. It looked like the containment field I''d used when I tried to dispel the curse from what I had thought was the Builder¡¯s Stone.


    ¡°Just put your hand in it.¡± She might as well have just rolled her eyes at me.


    I slipped my hand into the glowing light box and it went dark, going completely opaque. It was a terrifying moment. One second, I could see my hand through a filter of blue and green. The next second, the box was completely black. It looked like my hand had been cut off at the wrist, everything else embedded in a block of black ice I couldn''t see inside of. Almost as fast as it went opaque, it cleared, and I could see my hand again.


    ¡°Not sure how much money you have in your account, but you have enough to cover our most expensive item.¡± She pointed at something that appeared to cost seventy dollars. I had no idea if the dollars were United States dollars or something else.


    Magickal dollars? Are dollars in the magick world magickal? Are they even dollars?


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said, unsure of what I was doing. ¡°I''ll have¡­¡±


    Silvy draped herself over the barista¡¯s shoulder, her head lolling to the side, her tongue hanging out like she was dying of thirst. Her tongue was black.


    ¡°I''ll have whatever she''s having.¡± I pointed over my shoulder to the girl with the globe of liquid in the transparent glass mug.


    The barista squinted in that direction, saw what it was, and nodded. I stood at the counter as she started to walk off. She turned back at me. ¡°You can go sit down. You''ve already been charged. It''ll show up at your table, wherever you sit. Go wild.¡±


    I went over to a table and took a seat, the Lumadex there glowing to life. I started searching on the Lumadex, trying to fill in the infinite blanks I had about the magick world and what had just happened to me.


    It was like trying to seal the hull of a sinking cruise ship that had been shot through with the holes from a million bullets.


    I searched witches. The Shadow Vaile. Blackhart. Covington. Wizards. Familiars.


    Everything Silvy had told me was true. Everything she''d said was correct.


    I¡¯m a witch. I¡¯m a creature banished from my own plaine.


    I stared at the entry before me that described the Belladonna shard, not even realizing that my coffee had arrived many minutes ago, or that Silvy had consumed the entire thing.


    I was so lost in the Lumadex that I didn¡¯t even notice someone had sat down next to me.


    ¡°You¡¯re in trouble, Hexana.¡±

 Chapter 29

    Why is he here? Is he tracking you?


    After taking in a deep breath and holding it, I let it out.


    No one is tracking you. Everything is fine. Calm down.


    I cleared my throat.


    If everything is fine, why did he say that you were in trouble?


    That seemed like a good place to start.


    ¡°Flin?¡± I squeaked, my voice cracking. ¡°What?¡± I tried to make it seem natural, like it was just a progression of the conversation.


    ¡°I was just joking,¡± Flin said with an easy smile. ¡°You''re not in trouble. What could you have done that would''ve caused you to think you¡¯re in trouble?


    Silvy materialized between us on the table, looking from him to me and back.


    ¡°He''s cute,¡± she said, and I felt my cheeks flush with warmth. She didn¡¯t miss my blushing. ¡°Oh, so you think so too. Nice.¡±


    ¡°It''s not like¡ª¡± I started to tell Silvy before I realized what I was doing.


    Flin raised an eyebrow. ¡°Not like what?¡±


    ¡°Nothing,¡± I covered. ¡°I haven''t been sleeping very well. I¡¯m very behind in the magick world. I''ve had a lot to catch up on.¡±


    ¡°And still,¡± Flin said, ¡°even as you¡¯re drinking coffee, or drank your coffee I should say, you¡¯re studying. It''s impressive.¡±


    If you only knew the half of it¡­


    ¡°Yeah, well. There''s a lot to catch up on,¡± I repeated.


    ¡°Ask me anything you need,¡± Flin said. ¡°I''m here to help.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll bet he is,¡± Silvy said. ¡°Ask him about the Dark Aftermath. Ask him what sort of world believes it¡¯s okay to commit genocide. Ask him what sort of progressive world completely shuns witchkind onto their own shard. Ask him those things. I''d love to hear the answer from his pretty little mouth.¡±


    I had no idea what Silvy was talking about, but I had no intention of asking Flin about any of those things. They all sounded so antagonistic.


    ¡°What do you know about witches?¡± I asked instead, leaning for a more general subject.


    ¡°Lots,¡± Flin said.


    ¡°Are you born a witch? Or do you become a witch?¡±


    Flin laughed. ¡°Is that why you''re wearing a hood? You''ve become a witch?¡±


    I tried to laugh as well, but it sounded forced.


    ¡°Show him,¡± Silvy begged. ¡°Show him. Please. Not that he could see, but I bet if you took his hand and put it on your head, maybe impaled his palm just a little bit, he would believe you. Then I could taste his blood. Everyone wins. Let''s do that. Sounds like a great idea.¡±


    I ignored this.


    ¡°If a witch breeds with anyone, they create a new witch,¡± Flin explained. ¡°No matter what, 100% of the time, their offspring ends up being a witch. A wizard, adept, stick, whatever. Offspring is always a witch.¡±


    ¡°So, witches can''t be made.¡±


    ¡°What, like a vampire?¡± Flin asked. ¡°You get bit by a witch and then become one yourself?¡± He gave it some thought before continuing. ¡°I''ve never heard of anything like that happening, but that doesn''t mean it hasn''t happened before. My expertise is in gateway theory, though, not witchlore.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said, my mind snagging on that. ¡°Are there any gateways that are permanent?¡±


    ¡°Every gateway is permanent until it''s not,¡± Flin answered.


    ¡°No, I mean are there any gateways in existence that only open to one place, and one place only.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Flin said, ¡°but they''re exceedingly rare. For something like that to exist, it would have to exist in the Shadow Vaile.¡±


    I nodded. Blackhart¡¯s lab was in the Shadow Vaile so it made sense why the door from there would permanently open into the theatre. ¡°So theoretically, a gateway could exist that opens between the Shadow Vaile and the stick world?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Flin answered with a frown, ¡°but I don''t know why anyone would create such a gateway. What would be the point?¡±


    To easily allow my father to move between the stick world, where I was, and Blackhart.


    ¡°What can you tell me about the Shadow Vaile?¡± I asked. ¡°Could you and I visit sometime?¡±


    I tried to make the last bit sound na?ve, doing my best to pull out the maximum amount of info out of Flin that I could.


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°We could,¡± Flin answered, ¡°but we¡¯d both probably end up going insane.¡±


    ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°The Shadow Vaile corrupts everything it touches.¡± As he explained, Silvy floated up in front of his face and slowly spun in a circle, her head shifting from his face to my face and back. ¡°Everything that the Shadow Vaile touches, it corrupts. If a stick were to stay in the Shadow Vaile, if you, for example, were to stand in the Shadow Vaile for any amount of time, you would start seeing things. You would start hearing voices.¡±


    I stared at Silvy, wondering if that''s what this actually was. Maybe I wasn''t cursed. Maybe I didn''t have horns on my head after all. Maybe it was all just a hallucination.


    Flin continued, not noticing my momentary hope. ¡°You could exist within a shadow bubble, for a short amount of time, but nothing extended.¡±


    ¡°A shadow bubble?¡±


    Flin took in a breath and sighed. ¡°This is a little outside the realm of what we¡¯re talking about, but you can create a shadow bubble if you have a shadowstone. It¡¯s a tiny bubble containing the Shadow Vaile.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± I said, giving him a shrug as if this was all too obvious. ¡°A shadowstone. A shadow bubble. Of course.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± he said, either not picking up or just outright ignoring my sarcasm. ¡°It''s a type of witchstone, but different. It activates when it touches the ground after leaving your hand. It creates a little bubble around wherever the stone hits. Within that bubble is the Shadow Vaile.¡±


    ¡°Meaning the rest of the world essentially stops as you move in that bubble?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Exactly. Vanishers use shadowstones almost exclusively. It''s an effective way to examine magickal crime scenes and keep the scene fresh while the perpetrator might still be in the area. Think about it, you can do all your examination, take all the evidence, while time is essentially stopped outside the bubble. It¡¯s especially good in the stick world. Things can be cleaned up before the sticks even know something was wrong.¡±


    I thought back to the crime scene I''d watched the vanishers work.


    ¡°What about the scene in the Night Market?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The one we watched?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°Why wasn''t a shadowstone used on that?¡±


    ¡°Too big. Too risky.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean too big?¡±


    ¡°Shadowstones are rare,¡± Flin said, ¡°and the bubble they create is fairly small. To fully cover a shop like the one that was destroyed, the bubble would have to be massive.¡±


    ¡°So, what you''re saying is heavy destruction can''t be contained within a shadow bubble?¡±


    ¡°I mean it could be, you would just have to find a large enough shadowstone. You could also piece together a bunch of smaller stones to make a sort of Venn diagram of coverage.¡±


    ¡°Ask him about me,¡± Silvy said, curling up on top of Flin''s head. ¡°Ask him about familiars. I''d love to know what he says.¡±


    Shaking my head, I rolled my eyes. ¡°And what about familiars?¡±


    ¡°Familiars?¡± Flin raised an eyebrow. ¡°Those are just myths.¡±


    I stared at Silvy and cocked my head to the side. ¡°That¡¯s what I thought.¡±


    Silvy rolled her eyes and started swishing her striped tail beside Flin¡¯s ear. Flin, following my eyes, looked up with comic confusion.


    ¡°Something in my hair?¡± he asked, his hand lifting and slipping through Silvy as though she wasn¡¯t even there.


    Silvy giggled and rolled onto her back.


    ¡°So,¡± I said, trying to focus, ¡°assuming familiars were real, where would you find them?¡±


    ¡°Probably the Shadow Vaile,¡± he said.


    ¡°The Shadow Vaile? How do you figure?¡±


    ¡°Where else would they be?¡±


    ¡°You think they''re born there?¡±


    ¡°Born, created, whatever, sure. I mean we¡¯re all just guessing here. Like I said, familiars don''t exist.¡±


    Silvy floated up from his head and slid down the front of his face. Her black and white striped tail slowly squiggled behind her, darting towards the underside of Flin''s nose. It tickled the underside, swishing back and forth. Thankfully, Flin didn''t notice.


    Maybe this is all just a halluc¡ª


    Flin sneezed out of nowhere.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± he said. ¡°It felt like something was tickling my nose there for a second. Weird.¡±


    Silvy slowly turned to face me and she smiled, her head turning to the side as she looked at me.


    I sighed. Okay. Not a hallucination. This is very real.


    ¡°Hey,¡± Flin said, ¡°would you want to get a drink sometime?¡±


    ¡°Oh, holy shit. It''s happening,¡± Silvy said. She brought her two front paws together like she was clasping her hands in front of her chest. ¡°Please say yes. Please? Pleasepleaseplease?¡±


    ¡°I don''t know,¡± I said. Not only taken aback by the suddenness of the question, but also with the excitement Silvy seemed to be showing in Flin. I didn¡¯t trust any of her requests.


    ¡°Magickkind does that too, you know,¡± Flin said. ¡°Go out for drinks. Dates. Friendly meetings. Whatever.¡±


    ¡°Please,¡± Silvy begged. ¡°Please let me taste his blood. Please.¡±


    ¡°I don''t know,¡± I stammered. ¡°I''ll have to think about it.¡±


    Flin nodded. ¡°Is that the stick way?


    ¡°Yup,¡± I said in a voice that sounded way too loud. ¡°That''s exactly what it is. We like to think. Love to think.¡±


    Flin shrugged and nodded. ¡°Okay. Here.¡±


    He slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a business card. It listed his name, the Austerium, and his department. It also had a phone number below it.


    ¡°Call me,¡± he said. ¡°Anytime. We''ll go get drinks, talk some more about the magick world. I''m sure that there''ll be plenty of time for questions.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°Questions.¡±


    An awkward silence expanded between us. All the while Silvy was looking increasingly gleeful at what was taking place.


    ¡°Okay,¡± I finally said, ¡°well I''m going to head back to the dorms, get some sleep, and get ready for class.¡±


    Flin nodded. ¡°Have a good one.¡±


    Without another second of hesitation, I stood up and left Coffee and Content. I didn¡¯t know if Silvy was following me, I had a feeling she had to, that she was tied to me, but I was kind of hoping she stayed back in that coffee shop.


    I hadn¡¯t walked far when I heard her voice whisper to me from inside the hood of my parka. The hood that was still covering my horns. She had to be deep inside it, curled around the back of my neck.


    ¡°So,¡± she said. ¡°Where now?¡±


    It was a good question.


    I wanted to go to Geist. I wanted to see if he could help me, but I also didn''t want to show up empty-handed.


    Without even realizing where I was headed, my feet led me towards Blackhart. I had a tiny bit of an idea, just a simple thing really.


    I was now able to access all the witchstones within Blackhart and there had to be one that looked like the Builder¡¯s Stone. And seeing as the Builder¡¯s Stone wasn''t even the real Builder¡¯s Stone, I had an idea that I could replace it with a replica and save face.


    I just needed to find a witchstone with the same coloring, the same weight, the same shape, and I''d be set. I could find one in Blackhart and return to Geist, tell him that I wasn''t able to do it, that I¡¯d bitten off more than I could chew. Me being a silly stick and all¡­ Then I could just keep living my life, existing in the magick world while hiding my horns and hiding Silvy as long as I could.


    I turned down the little side street that led to Blackhart and had only taken a few steps when I felt a strong hand clamp down on my arm.


    I whirled to see at who¡¯d grabbed me, fully expecting it to be Flin.


    I was ready to give him a lecture on why he shouldn¡¯t grab people like that.


    It wasn''t Flin, though.


    ¡°Geist wants a word,¡± Grey Eyes growled.

 Chapter 30

    Grey Eyes got me to Geist''s much faster than I wanted. I had barely any time to consider my options.


    Options? What options¡­


    Now, standing in Geist''s shop, standing before him as his eyes crawled over me, I felt the horns on my head rubbing against the fur lining of the hood. I felt Silvy wrapped around my neck and snoring softly. Oblivious. As though what was happening right now was not important in the slightest.


    ¡°So,¡± Geist said, raising an eyebrow. ¡°Tell me what you found.¡±


    ¡°I haven''t had enough time.¡± I tried to account for the time that had elapsed since I''d left Geist''s.


    Two hours? Maybe three?


    Maybe far less. The time I¡¯d been inside Blackhart¡¯s lab didn''t really count. To anyone standing outside, it would''ve appeared that I walked in and then walked right out.


    I felt Silvy stir, heard her voice in my ear. ¡°Tell him you¡¯re a witch. I want to see his face.¡±


    I shook my head an almost imperceptible amount, but Geist caught it.


    ¡°No?¡± he asked. ¡°What exactly are you saying no to?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡± I glanced over at Grey Eyes who stood a short distance away, glaring at me.


    ¡°So. What did you learn?¡± Geist asked.


    ¡°I didn''t learn anything,¡± I lied. ¡°I was only in Blackhart for a second before I realized that I didn''t have the expertise or knowledge to do what you asked.¡±


    Geist leaned forward on the glass counter, the fingers of his hands interlacing beneath his chin. ¡°I know what¡¯s hidden inside of Blackhart.¡±


    And just like that I knew I was caught. I took a deep breath and let it out.


    ¡°It wasn''t the Builder¡¯s Stone,¡± I said.


    ¡°The Builder¡¯s Stone?¡± Geist''s eyebrows lifted. ¡°I never said anything about a Builder¡¯s Stone. What did you find?¡±


    ¡°Nothing. It was cursed. I''m cursed now.¡±


    Geist stood up so suddenly that it took my breath away. One second, he was sitting, the next he was fully upright, and I¡¯d barely seen him move.


    ¡°Whoa,¡± Silvy said into my ear. ¡°I bet his blood would taste delicious. Did you see that speed? Let me have a taste. Just a bit. Only a tiny bit.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I said to Geist.


    ¡°Sorry?¡± He clenched a fist. ¡°You''re sorry?¡± He clenched his other fist. Then, letting out a roar of primal rage, he brought both of his hands above his head and slammed them down on the glass case in front of him.


    The glass shattered and exploded in a shockwave, blowing out into the shop, embedding deep in every surface. I turned my back, my face away, hoping the parka would catch the brunt of the glass. My back and legs lit up with fire as it felt like I was being pelted with steel marbles.


    ¡°You¡¯re sorry,¡± he repeated in a soft voice as I turned back to face him. He was once again sitting down, once again completely composed. Grey Eyes, standing beside me, sputtered. He let out a deep choking noise and I slowly turned my head. Grey Eyes fell to his knees, blood dripping from everywhere it seemed. Red stained his cloak and spread. The man fell to the ground at my feet and his blood pooled out around his body. It looked surreal, like something animated on the big screen.


    My mouth fell open.


    I''d never seen anyone die before. I''d never seen a dead body. I''d never seen that much blood.


    Silvy hopped off my shoulder and pounced into the pool of blood and, although none of the liquid even rippled in the slightest, I pulled away. I expected it to splash onto me like a rain puddle a toddler had jumped into.


    Silvy pranced over to a section of the spreading blood obscured by Grey Eyes¡¯ body and started lapping up the hot liquid like it was milk from a saucer. My stomach roiled and I turned my attention to Geist.


    There was a question in my mind, one that I was afraid of asking.


    Geist answered it for me with a sigh.


    ¡°I see you found your father''s parka.¡± He sneered at the parka I wore. ¡°I always hated that thing. It always made it so easy for him to shrug off just about anything.¡±


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    I looked at my arms. I looked at my legs, which were exposed. I wasn''t bleeding at all. I¡¯d felt the glass hit my back and legs like steel shot but surrounding me on the wooden floor in a perfect little circle, was a thick pile of glass shards. I stood inside a pristine circle that contained no glass. Purple spots were already beginning to form across my exposed shins and thighs.


    ¡°Ah,¡± Silvy whispered into my ear, appearing there without warning. ¡°I was wondering why the parka was glowing when you pulled it out.¡±


    ¡°I didn''t see any glow,¡± I mumbled.


    ¡°Why would you have?¡± Silvy laughed. ¡°You¡¯re not from the Shadow Vaile.¡±


    ¡°Glow?¡± Geist said, his ears better than I realized. ¡°You didn''t see what glow?¡±


    ¡°Nothing,¡± I said. ¡°Nothing.¡±


    ¡°You used the witchstone.¡± He shook his head. ¡°I had higher expectations of you. I thought you would be able to stonebreak it.¡±


    I opened my mouth to disagree but closed it instead. Nothing I could say would make this better. Nothing I could say would fix it. I had to put my fate in his hands. I had to trust in fate.


    He must have dealt with curses before.


    ¡°Understand that the Lord Wizards of the Twelve Major Plaines will crucify you for this,¡± Geist said in a threatening voice.


    ¡°Kinky,¡± Silvy whispered into my ear. ¡°I''d love to see the Lord Wizards do that.¡±


    That¡¯s when the tears hit. Through this entire process I hadn''t cried once, but it was then, hearing my familiar say that she couldn''t wait for me to be crucified by the Lord Wizards, that I started crying.


    I didn''t know what to do.


    There were no avenues of escape.


    I fell to my knees. ¡°Please,¡± I begged. ¡°Please, don''t.¡±


    Geist looked down at me, shaking his head. He drew in a deep breath and let it out.


    Then he started to laugh. There was a sick quality to it, like he knew something I didn''t, like he was keeping something from me.


    ¡°What?¡± I whined. ¡°What''s funny about this? I''m just a stick. I don''t know what I''m doing. My father¡ª¡±


    ¡°Your father was a moron,¡± Geist hissed. My tears kept coming and I felt like I could barely breathe. ¡°Your father was the Austerium¡¯s golden boy, but they never understood what he was. I did, though. I understood what that traitor did, how he worked.¡±


    What is he talking about?


    ¡°Your ridiculous father was always inserting himself into my affairs and the Austerium''s affairs. Did you know that he and I were classmates?¡±


    ¡°The plot thickens,¡± Silvy whispered from inside my hood.


    ¡°The Austerium always gave him the choicest stonebreaking jobs. Do you know what they called him?¡±


    I shook my head. I had no idea.


    ¡°They called him Lord Stonebreaker. Lord. The Austerium called him Lord.¡±


    I didn''t really understand why that was such a big deal, but apparently it was.


    ¡°Lord Stonebreaker,¡± Geist scoffed. ¡°Do you know what they called me?¡±


    Silvy whispered a suggestion into my ear. ¡°Ask them if they called him Lord Stonebreaker¡¯s servant.¡±


    ¡°They called me Lord Stonebreaker¡¯s servant!¡± Geist almost screamed at me.


    Silvy erupted. ¡°I knew it! Oh my god, I nailed it. Did you hear that? I knew it. God, I''m good.¡±


    A black shadow shot out of my hood and over to Geist, spinning in circles around his head before landing on his shoulder. ¡°I knew it,¡± she crowed as she danced on his shoulder. ¡°I knew it. I called it. Gimme a high five, Hex.¡±


    I shook my head.


    ¡°Oh,¡± Geist said, oblivious to my familiar but not to my head movements. ¡°You don''t think that''s what they called me? Never to my face, obviously, but they said it behind my back. Plenty.¡±


    ¡°I''m sorry.¡± I didn¡¯t know what else to say. ¡°I''m sorry they treated you like that.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re sorry?¡± Geist asked. He let out a deep, booming laugh. ¡°No. No, I don¡¯t think you''re sorry yet. You''re gonna be, though.¡±


    I took a step back.


    Geist shook his head. ¡°You dumb stick girl. You absolutely obsessed-with-your-father, stupid ass stick girl.¡±


    I had no idea what he was talking about.


    ¡°Four-hundred thousand,¡± he said. He stared across the shop at me with an eyebrow raised. ¡°Four-hundred thousand dollars.¡±


    I frowned.


    ¡°It''s a pittance, really,¡± he continued. ¡°That''s all it will cost me to wipe away every last remnant of your father''s existence.¡±


    He¡¯s talking about the theatre.


    ¡°Wait,¡± I said. ¡°You''re the one who put in the bid?¡±


    ¡°Of course, I am. How else did you think it would work? Did you think that bid just magickally happened all by itself? Didn¡¯t you think that maybe it was a bit coincidental?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± I closed my eyes, wanting it to not be true, needing it to not be true. ¡°Why would you do that?¡±


    Silvy hopped from his shoulder onto his head. ¡°Because he was Lord Stonebreaker¡¯s servant. Weren''t you paying attention? It''s like I''m the only one watching this soap opera.¡±


    I shook my head.


    This isn''t happening. This can¡¯t be real.


    ¡°You know what the real plan was?¡± Geist asked.


    I shook my head.


    ¡°I was going to give you the theatre. I bought it for you, and I was going to give it to you once you broke the witchstone, but you used it instead of stonebreaking it. You used what you thought was the Builder¡¯s Stone, and now I have to explain to the Austerium, without any evidence mind you, that the Builder¡¯s Stone wasn''t actually the Builder¡¯s Stone. Do you know how long they''ve been waiting for a decent stonebreaker to test that witchstone?¡±


    Silvy looked at Geist and then at me. ¡°Why would he trust you, a stick, if they''d had it for so long? Seems fishy.¡±


    I ignored Silvy. My familiar had just gotten here. She didn''t know what was happening. She didn''t know what was going on and the stakes involved. I had to save this. This was my last chance to survive not just in the magick world, but in the regular world too. I needed this.


    I breathed out a sigh. ¡°What if I bring you another witchstone? A witchstone from my father''s collection.¡±


    Geist raised an eyebrow at this. ¡°You would take me to Blackhart and allow me to select a witchstone of my choice?¡±


    ¡°This seems like a bad idea,¡± Silvy said. ¡°Look at his face, listen to how he''s talking.¡±


    ¡°Shut up,¡± I hissed, and then immediately spoke to Geist, not allowing him to focus on the shut up. ¡°Yes. Yes, I will. Any witchstone.¡±


    Geist''s lips curled into a jagged smile. ¡°Okay,¡± he said. ¡°Well, let''s make a deal. You allow me entrance to Blackhart to choose a witchstone, any witchstone, and I''ll keep this from the Lord Wizards.¡±


    I agreed. ¡°Any witchstone.¡±


    Geist glanced at his watch. ¡°You''re due in class now so you¡¯d better get there. I have a meeting with Austerium officials, and I want my witchstone now. How do I get into Blackhart?¡±


    I paused for a moment, considering I really trusted him or not.


    You have to stay in the magick world. You must.


    Pushing all reservations away, I told him how to get into Blackhart and he nodded, giving me a smile.


    ¡°This will be our secret, Hexana,¡± he said. ¡°Now get to class.¡±

 Chapter 31

    I walked to the gateway in Geist''s shop, sending up a silent prayer of thanks to whoever was looking out for me.


    Geist had just killed someone, so not only was I escaping a murder scene but, from what he¡¯d led me to believe, I''d still be able to stay in the magick world. Sure, I¡¯d probably given up a valuable witchstone, but right then the only thing that mattered to me was staying where I was: treading water in my new world.


    Every bone in my body rebelled against the idea of leaving the magick world.


    It suited me. It felt like I belonged. It felt natural even though it was unfamiliar. I couldn¡¯t leave.


    You don''t belong. You have horns now. So many things about you have changed. You don¡¯t even act like yourself anymore. Who have you become?


    I pushed these thoughts away and walked through the gateway. When I got to the other side, I frowned.


    I¡¯d exited Geist¡¯s shop, but I wasn''t in Bristlebloom. I wasn''t in class. I was standing on a sidewalk in the Night Market. Frowning, I looked around.


    ¡°This seems bad,¡± Silvy whispered from inside my hood.


    ¡°Shut up, Silvy,¡± I hissed. A man in a cloak who happened to be walking by at the time glanced in my general direction and gave me an annoyed look.


    ¡°What about him?¡± Silvy asked, nodding in the direction of the man who¡¯d just passed. ¡°He was rude to you. Maybe I could just taste his blood? Just a little?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°You''ve had your fill.¡±


    ¡°Lady,¡± Silvy said, ¡°you don''t even know what my fill is.¡±


    It was a good point, a scary point. One I didn''t want to delve into at the moment.


    ¡°Why am I here?¡± I asked instead.


    ¡°Oh. You¡¯re an existentialist now? I¡¯ll go down this wormhole with you. Why are any of us here? What is this world and why?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said, shaking my head. Silvy was distracting me and I had stay focused.


    ¡°I mean why am I here? In the Night Market, and not in Bristlebloom?¡±


    ¡°Huh,¡± Silvy grunted.


    ¡°What?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Nothing. I think you''re gonna find out though.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°I''m surprised you trust Geist.¡±


    ¡°Why shouldn''t I trust Geist? He works for the Austerium.¡±


    ¡°You think that makes a difference?¡± Silvy cackled so loudly in my hood that I had to squeeze my eyes shut. ¡°You think that if someone belongs to an organization, they¡¯re automatically good? That the belonging part is what makes them good?¡±


    ¡°I don''t know,¡± I turned around to face the gateway I¡¯d come through. It was a black door with a silver knob. I reached out and tried to twist the knob, tried to go back through. I figured if I was supposed to be in class, it would open and allow me to go through to Bristlebloom.


    That didn''t happen. The door didn''t budge. The knob didn''t even move.


    ¡°Oh no,¡± Silvy said with faux concern. ¡°If you can''t get a gateway to open, what does that say about your future prospects of leaving this place?¡±


    ¡°Shut up.¡±


    ¡°I''ve got a feeling you''re gonna need to find some vitamin D. This place never sees sun and, lady, if you''re stuck here, neither will you.¡±


    ¡°Shut up, Silvy.¡±


    ¡°Hey, I''m just trying to be helpful.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not being helpful.¡±


    ¡°I think I''m being a little helpful.¡±


    ¡°You''re not.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Silvy said. ¡°Suit yourself.¡±


    I felt the weight around my neck vanish and suddenly I was alone in the Night Market.


    Finally.


    I took a moment to sort out my bearings, but once I did, I headed straight towards Coffee and Content, hoping that Flin was inside. He could help me. He was a teacher at Bristlebloom, so he had to have some idea of what was happening and why I¡¯d ended up here.


    But even as I walked toward the coffee shop, I knew he wouldn''t be there. He''d be in class, the class I was supposed to be in. And as soon as I opened the door to the coffee shop, I could see that he wasn''t there. The barista from before glanced up from behind the counter. She raised a single eyebrow and stared.


    I held my hand up in a sign of no thanks. She held both her hands up in a sign of what the fuck are you here for then?


    I closed the door and stood on the street, not really sure where I was going next.


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    I just started walking, allowing my feet to lead me, allowing my subconscious to take over and direct me where it thought I should go. As I walked, I couldn''t help but think about what Silvy had said.


    Did I really give a stranger complete access to Blackhart? Did I really just¡ª


    Something else clicked in that moment.


    It was a thing Silvy had said when I¡¯d first met her. The store portion of Blackhart was at least partially in the Shadow Vaile.


    And from what Flin had said the Shadow Vaile altered people, corrupted them. So, what was it going to do to Geist? If he entered Blackhart, what would happen to him? What would it turn him into? I got a sick feeling in my stomach, a sick twisting, and started heading in the opposite direction I¡¯d been going. I started heading back to Blackhart. I needed to see if he was okay. I needed to warn him at least and, if I could supervise what he was doing, so much the better. I could also have him figure out what had happened with the gateway in his shop.


    As I rounded the corner of the side street where Blackhart was located, I saw a group of people at the far end of the street. They were clustered around the new shop that sat where the destroyed building had been. I saw Lebec standing off to one side, gesticulating at the building. I saw the back of a taller person with sandy blonde hair and a scratchy tweed jacket. I breathed a sigh of relief. Flin.


    I¡¯d found my class. In fact, when I''d walked through the gateway, it had deposited me exactly where I needed to be, I just hadn''t realized that I needed to do some walking to get there.


    I walked up to the group, but my eyes kept darting to the right, to Blackhart, and I wondered where Geist was, if he¡¯d already entered, and if he had, what was taking so long. I stood next to Flin, who looked down at me and then quickly averted his eyes back to Lebec.


    So that¡¯s weird.


    Every other time I''d seen him, he¡¯d been welcoming. In fact, not too long ago, he''d given me his phone number.


    Is this some sort of weird magick boy shyness? Is he embarrassed he gave a stick his number?


    I didn''t know, didn''t want to know, was worried that something deeper was going on.


    Lebec eventually noticed me standing beside Flin and gestured for me to step forward.


    ¡°So glad you could join us,¡± he said with a look of severe disapproval. I started to say something, started to give the man an excuse, but he continued before I could. ¡°I''m not exactly sure why you would''ve shown up, though.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I asked. My mouth fell open. He was talking to me as though I didn''t belong in the class, as though this class wasn''t the one I''d attended the previous day.


    ¡°Well,¡± Lebec said, a disappointed look on his face. ¡°Do you want to tell the entire class what happened? Or do you want to talk about this in private?¡±


    Oh my God he knows. He knows that I¡¯m a half-witch now. He knows about the witchstone, about the horns, about Silvy.


    Silvy chose that moment to reappear around my neck.


    ¡°Did you miss me?¡± she asked in a quiet voice. She caught sight of Flin. ¡°Oh. Cute boy is back. Nice.¡±


    I did everything in my power to ignore her. I kept my focus on Lebec, on his strange statement.


    ¡°I don''t understand,¡± I said. ¡°This is my class. Why wouldn''t I be here?¡±


    Lebec took a deep breath and let it out. ¡°I took a risk on you. I wasn''t sure that you belonged in the magick world and I wasn''t sure that you belonged in Bristlebloom. There was something about your past, something about your father, which gave me a bit of reservation. Unfortunately, you delivered tenfold on that reservation.¡±


    ¡°I don''t know what you''re talking about,¡± I said. ¡°I don''t know what you mean.¡±


    ¡°Don''t you?¡± he asked. ¡°I would think a good scammer would know when they''re caught.¡±


    Scammer? What the hell is he talking about? I''ve never scammed anyone in my life. Stolen? Sure. Lots. But scammed? Never.


    ¡°I think there''s been a mistake,¡± I said. ¡°I think you''re thinking of someone else?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Lebec said, nodding his head. ¡°I''m sure that I am. I''m sure that I¡¯m completely thinking of someone else. Geist just made a mistake. Geist just accidentally got the name wrong, a name like Hexana attached to a name like Covington.¡±


    Geist told Lebec that I scammed him? What¡­


    I could see all the pieces before me, but they hadn''t snapped together yet, they hadn''t come into focus. I was still grasping.


    Silvy seemed to understand exactly what had happened and started giggling from around my neck.


    ¡°I don''t get it,¡± I said. ¡°What did Geist tell you?¡±


    Lebec sighed. ¡°He told me what you did, how you lied to him.¡±


    ¡°What did I lie to him about?¡±


    ¡°About being a stonebreaker? About your father teaching you stonebreaking.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°It wasn''t like that at all. He gave me a witchstone to stonebreak, sure, but I never scammed him.¡±


    ¡°Really? Because he said that you went back to him and told him that the witchstone he''d given you was the Builder¡¯s Stone. He said that you told him you wanted an unfathomable amount of money in exchange for the return of the Builder¡¯s Stone.¡±


    Several of my classmates gasped. I don''t know why they gasped, but even Flin seemed to be looking at me out of the corner of his eye, confused. Shocked. Something else.


    ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°I never told him it was the Builder¡¯s Stone. He thought it was the Builder¡¯s Stone. He told me that.¡±


    Did he actually tell you that? Or did you read it somewhere?


    Things were getting confused.


    ¡°Hexana.¡± Lebec spat the word out in pure disgust. ¡°The Builder¡¯s Stone is in the possession of the Lord Wizard of Nidema. He is the keeper of the Builder¡¯s Stone. Everyone in the magick world knows exactly where it is.¡±


    The pieces slowly started to shift and click together. The things Geist had told me, the things Silvy had warned me about. If Geist had given me a witchstone with the distinct appearance of the Builder¡¯s Stone, knowing that I was a new student and a stick, he probably knew that I would believe it was the Builder¡¯s Stone and I might try to use it. That I would end up getting cursed.


    But why you? Why would he do this to you? Why would he allow you to get close to him?


    My gaze slowly shifted to Blackhart and everything clicked into place.


    The stonebreaking of the fake Builder¡¯s Stone was never the real job.


    Cursing me was never the real goal.


    Gaining access to Blackhart was.


    I had just allowed a complete stranger, someone who''d lied to Lebec about me, someone who¡¯d taken advantage of me, into Blackhart.


    I started moving towards Blackhart, but the building erupted before I even made it two steps. The black bricks shot straight up into the sky in a swirling vortex, a blazing beam of red light at the center.


    ¡°Pretty,¡± Silvy purred.


    Before I knew what was happening the bricks were falling onto the street, hitting the cobblestones, and exploding in sprays of sharp rock. Several of my classmates screamed, ducking and covering their heads while others ran. Lebec traced shapes in the air and a green, curved seal enveloped the students who stood near him.


    Once all the bricks had fallen, Lebec dissolved the seal and jumped into action. He barked orders to my classmates, telling them to lock parts of the street down, to not allow anyone to enter or exit. He sent other classmates to the neighboring streets, and then he locked eyes with Flin.


    ¡°Flin,¡± he said, ¡°escort Hexana from the Night Market. Escort her out of the magick world and back to Nightsbridge.¡±


    ¡°Wait,¡± I said, staring at the empty place on the street where Blackhart had once stood. It was the destruction of my father''s legacy, the Covington''s legacy. It was all gone. My place in the magick world. My father¡¯s place here. It was over.


    ¡°Please,¡± I said when no other words came to mind.


    ¡°She''s expelled from Bristlebloom,¡± Lebec said, ignoring me completely. ¡°And her invitation to this world is rescinded.¡±


    Told you not to get your hopes up¡­


    In all the commotion, I didn¡¯t feel the bracelet Geist had given me fall to the cobblestones.

 Chapter 32

    Flin didn''t say anything as he escorted me to the nearest gateway.


    No words of encouragement. No words of hope. Nothing.


    The sounds and the sights of the Night Market bled into each other like melting crayons in the hot sun. I tried to imprint everything I was seeing on my memories. I wanted to see everything, to experience everything, as I was led to that gateway out. In the distance, back down the street, I could see Coffee and Content. Its warm windows spilled light onto the street, inviting me in, whispering for me to come closer and to look inside its now forbidden limits.


    I looked to Flin.


    ¡°Please,¡± I said in a quiet voice. ¡°Please don''t do this.¡±


    Flin shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t have a choice. Lebec is above me in Bristlebloom. Even if I wanted to overrule him, it wouldn''t matter.¡±


    ¡°Geist lied. What he told me was a lie. What he told Lebec was a lie.¡±


    ¡°What he told you?¡±


    ¡°All of it. He lied to both of us.¡±


    Flin licked his lips and nodded his head, but I could tell that nothing I was saying would make any difference. Zero impact.


    We stood before the gateway, the thing that would take me out of the magick world forever.


    ¡°So that''s it,¡± I said.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Flin said. ¡°That''s it.¡±


    Silvy whispered at exactly the wrong time. ¡°Just tell him you''re a witch. I''m sure he could grow to love you.¡±


    ¡°Shut up,¡± I said through clenched teeth.


    ¡°What?¡± Flin asked, and there was a look of anger on his face.


    ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°Not you. Look¡­¡±


    I didn''t know how to explain it. Didn''t know if I even wanted to explain it.


    ¡°Just go,¡± he said. ¡°Go back home, go back to where you belong. Where sti¡ª¡±


    His cheeks blazed red and I could tell he hadn''t meant to go that far.


    ¡°Where sticks belong¡­¡± I finished for him and leaned in. ¡°Fuck you.¡±


    I wasn''t sure if anyone in the magick world used language like that because the way he took a step back when I said it surprised me.


    Good. Let it offend the fuck out of him then.


    ¡°Fuck you and fuck all of them,¡± I said. ¡°I was railroaded here, Flin. This isn''t my fault. I put my faith in Bristlebloom, the Austerium, in Geist who worked for the Austerium. How do you think I met him? Lebec. Lebec brought me in and I trusted him. I trusted Geist. I trusted all of them and now look at what''s happened. Are you telling me this is my fault?¡±


    Flin didn''t say anything. He just stared at me with a sad, embarrassed, and hurt look. When he spoke, his words were barely audible. ¡°I think you should leave.¡±


    I ground my teeth together and nodded. ¡°So do I. Fuck your world.¡±


    I reached out for the gateway and twisted the knob. Of course, it didn''t turn.


    ¡°Here,¡± Flin said, trying to sound like he was doing me a favor by helping open the door that led to my exile. ¡°Let me help.¡±


    I waited until he¡¯d twisted the knob and just started opening the door before I kicked it all the way open and leapt through.


    And like that, I was back in Nightsbridge.


    There was an afternoon thunderstorm and rain poured down on me. Thankfully I was wearing the parka, the one last thing I still had from my father. Rain hammered down on the hood, the sound of it filling my ears with a strange cacophony.


    Freezing, I shivered even though I could see steam rising from the hot pavement as the raindrops evaporated there.


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    I turned around to see if Flin was looking out after me, to show him both of my middle fingers, but turned to face a strange, pristine wall.


    The Nightsbridge Mall.


    I was in some nook with a dumpster off to one side. Farther in the distance I could see only a few scattered cars. The rain and time of day were keeping most mallgoers away from the area.


    With a sniff, I headed inside. I didn''t have a way to get back home, so I walked around the mall, fading in and out, moving among the people, memories of the Night Market fluttering back as I looked at the carts and kiosks selling cell phones and trinkets.


    A man stood directly in front of me, coming from one of those makeup kiosks at the center. ¡°Miss, you could be a model. Have you ever tried¡ª¡±


    ¡°Rot,¡± I said and moved past him, making sure my shoulder hit his. He was heavily muscled and didn''t even budge. The shoulder check I¡¯d been trying to plant on him reflected back into my own body and I ended up spinning around, off-kilter, stumbling to the side. He held his hand out and I gave him the two middle fingers I¡¯d wanted to give Flin, sure that the look of my running eyeliner within that furry hood was enough to scare him off.


    I turned around and kept walking, ignoring everyone, trying to disappear.


    Once you know something exists, it''s hard to forget about it. It becomes all you can think about. Especially when you''ve been locked out.


    ¡°So,¡± Silvy said through a yawn. ¡°That was exciting. What are you going to do now?¡±


    I ignored her.


    ¡°Oh, you can''t be mad at me. I didn''t kick you out of the magick world. I was just along for the ride. Really, I got kicked out too so I should be just as mad as you.¡±


    ¡°How does that make any sense?¡±


    ¡°It speaks.¡±


    ¡°I don''t get it,¡± I said. ¡°I don''t understand why he would want access to Blackhart only to destroy it. What''s the point?¡±


    I remembered the strange red light that shot out of Blackhart. It was the same strange red light that had shot out of the first destroyed shop. The two things the shops had in common were Geist.


    Is Geist some sort of blood wizard? Or a blood caster?


    ¡°I warned you,¡± Silvy said. ¡°Not to tell you I told you so, but I did. I did tell you so. I so told you so. Did you hear me tell you so? Because it happened. It was me. And I did it.¡±


    I sighed.


    ¡°Horns and an annoying pet. Great,¡± I whispered.


    ¡°Have you ever considered the dark side?¡±


    I had no idea what Silvy was talking about. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°The dark side. My side. Come on over. It''s a lot of fun.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you''re talking about,¡± I mumbled, ignoring the looks of the people in the mall. Several mothers clasped the hands of their children, pulling them closer, pulling them away from me.


    I need to sit someplace quiet. Someplace where no one will bother me.


    ¡°There''s a whole dark underbelly to the magick world,¡± Silvy explained. ¡°Just because you¡¯re kicked out of the magick world by the Austerium doesn''t mean you can''t interface with magickkind. There are tons of people who have been banished. Do you think you¡¯re the first?¡±


    In truth, I hadn¡¯t really considered that.


    Silvy kept talking. ¡°The Austerium thinks it''s this all-important organization, but of course, if you kick enough people out, there''s going to be an alternative economy. An underground market, as it were.¡±


    ¡°An underground market? What¡¯s it sell?¡±


    ¡°Much and more,¡± Silvy said. ¡°There are all sorts of jobs you can do. Hell, your minuscule training from Bristlebloom puts you leaps and bounds ahead of most of the vanishers currently working in the underground world. Not all of them, but quite a few.¡±


    I hadn''t realized there might be a seedy underbelly to the magick world. It made sense though.


    ¡°No,¡± I said as I made my way through a department store and into a dressing room. I locked the door behind me and pulled my hood off, staring at my reflection in the mirror. My skin was as pale as notebook paper and my eyeliner dripped down both cheeks in a black running mess. The horns sticking out of my head had started to change colors. In Blackhart they had looked white, just like bone, but now they were a strange pink color. They were almost cotton candy pink.


    Silvy, sitting on my shoulder, striped tail swishing back and forth behind her, stared at the horns. ¡°They suit you.¡±


    ¡°Do they change colors more?¡±


    ¡°Define more,¡± she said.


    ¡°I don''t know, can I make them change colors?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she said. ¡°There is a way to make them visible to everyone in the magick world, though.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow at this. ¡°Why would I want to do that?¡±


    Silvy shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I was just giving you the heads up. It''s an option.¡±


    Silvy and her options.


    I pulled the hood back up and covered the horns, not bothering to wipe any of the eyeliner off my face. Silvy slithered back inside, disappearing into the darkness of its folds. Once she was situated, I saw her black and white tail hang over my right collarbone and her glowing eyes appear in the darkness to the left of my neck.


    ¡°Where now?¡± she asked.


    I wanted to be outside. Away from all these people: all these mindless, trudging people going from one store to the other.


    I wanted to be warm. I wanted to be alone.


    I left the department store and headed out into the parking lot. Walking across it, I made my way towards Main Street. I cut across the parking lots of other businesses, trudged through the grass occasionally when I had to, ignoring the looks of everyone, knowing how strange I must look. Some strange girl trudging through the rain with a parka in the middle of the Nightsbridge heat.


    That was strange too. I was still cold. Even in the middle of a humid thunderstorm, I was so cold.


    I kept walking, making it into Nightsbridge proper. I walked up and down the streets, looking into stores, not really seeing anything other than a ghostly reflection of a girl with running eyeliner and a pair of glowing orbs beside her neck.


    Eventually I ended up in an alley. An alley I knew well. Fifth Way Alley.


    I wanted to talk to Mr. Carson. I wanted to see if he had something to say about my predicament. I wanted to go to his magickal antique shop and see a tiny bit more of the place I¡¯d just been kicked out of, to get a taste. It was as if I was addicted to the magick world and now that I''d been cut off, I was fiending for it.

 Chapter 33

    As I passed behind Luke''s, I glance at the brand-new dumpster and tried to imagine what the people inside the bar were doing.


    Don¡¯t you mean sticks?


    It was true. I was trying to wrap my head around what the sticks were doing, and it was as though¡­ as though I wasn''t one of them.


    You¡¯re not. Not anymore.


    I wasn''t a stick. I was something¡­ else. A half-witch.


    Shaking my head, I absently thought about Ted, wondered how he was, wondered how his day was going.


    ¡°Has to be going better than my day,¡± I muttered.


    ¡°And mine,¡± Silvy whispered into my ear. I jumped, having completely forgotten she was wrapped around my neck, and shook my head.


    ¡°Can you read my thoughts?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No,¡± Silvy purred. ¡°I can read your emotions, though. I can read your feelings, but not your thoughts. Thankfully. I bet you have the silliest thoughts. I bet you think about things like rainbows. Unicorns. Tricycles.¡±


    ¡°Tricycles?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah. Tricycles. You heard me. Tricycles are a menace.¡±


    ¡°What do you know about tricycles? I thought you said you were 578 years old.¡±


    ¡°I am,¡± Silvy said with a faint hint of annoyance.


    ¡°So, tricycles?¡± I asked. ¡°They wouldn''t have been invented when you were alive, right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not dead, dummy, and you don''t think there are tricycles in the Shadow Vaile? There are. So many¡­¡±


    I had zero idea whether she was telling me the truth. The very idea that tricycles existed in the Shadow Vaile with such number that they were considered a menace seemed bizarre, but then again, I didn''t know. I didn¡¯t know so much about anything.


    As I made my way past the last dumpster, turned to my right to stare at where I remembered the chalked clock being on the wall.


    Only it wasn''t there.


    ¡°Where did it go?¡± I asked.


    ¡°What it what go?¡± Silvy asked. ¡°The wall? It''s right in front of you. How can you not see it? It''s huge!¡±


    ¡°No. There was a clock.¡±


    ¡°Are you okay? A clock mounted to an alley wall? That seems kind of ridiculous.¡±


    ¡°More ridiculous than tricycles in the Shadow Vaile?¡±


    ¡°Hey, tricycles in the Shadow Vaile are a real thing. Don''t knock it till you see it.¡±


    I opened my mouth to retort but pushed Silvy''s distraction away.


    ¡°It was right here,¡± I mumbled to myself. I bent down and squinted, convinced I just wasn''t looking properly.


    ¡°Yeah. All I see is a used condom wrapper and a bunch of broken glass. Speaking of, where did the condom go? Did they take it with them?¡±


    I sighed. Where is the clock? It has to be here.


    I put my hand on the wall and Silvy moaned. ¡°Oh, gross. Don''t touch me until you wash that hand.¡±


    It has to be here. I know I saw it.


    Looking to the left and to the right, I verified that I was in the right place. I was. There was no doubt. The chalk clock should''ve been drawn onto the wall at ankle level.


    I had a sinking realization.


    What if this is just the beginning? What if when Lebec kicked me out of the magick world, all entrances disappeared as well? Even entrances that I know about. What about that strange shed in the middle of the empty lot where Lebec first instructed me to go?


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    I took a deep breath and sighed it out. My mind continued to spin in tighter and tighter circles of paranoia and catastrophe.


    If I break into the theatre, can I break open the door that leads to the secret lab at the back of Blackhart? What will that do, though? Blackhart is destroyed. It¡¯s gone.


    I took in another deep breath and sighed.


    Everything is gone.


    I took in another deep breath and this time, I didn''t sigh.


    I screamed.


    I screamed straight up into the sky. I screamed at Lebec. At Flin. At Geist. Bristlebloom. The Austerium. The Night Market. Blackhart. My dad. Grey Eyes. Silvy.


    I punched the wall as hard as I could, feeling the knuckles in my hand crack.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± I hissed.


    ¡°Hexana?¡± Someone called from up the alleyway. Ted''s voice. Great. Just what I needed. Ted walked over and stared at me as though he was in shock.


    ¡°I guess you heard all that?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah. What''s going on?¡±


    I shook my head. It wasn''t supposed to be like this. I shouldn''t have been in that alley; I shouldn''t have been in that position at all.


    ¡°How are you?¡± I asked instead of answering him. I thought I was changing the subject, thought I was putting the attention onto Ted, but he just stared at me.


    ¡°Hexana,¡± he said in a wary voice, tiptoeing to select his words. ¡°You were just screaming at the sky. I watched you punch a wall. Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I snapped. ¡°No, Ted, I''m not okay. I am extremely far from okay.¡± Ted took a step back, but I wasn¡¯t finished. ¡°And you know what else?¡±


    ¡°Tell him,¡± Silvy hissed. ¡°Tell him good.¡±


    ¡°I can''t even talk about it,¡± I said, ¡°because if I talk about it, you''ll think I''m crazy. If I tell you, you''ll have me committed. And guess what?¡±


    Ted held his hands up. ¡°It''s okay. You can tell me.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Silvy said. ¡°Tell him!¡±


    ¡°If I tell you and you believe me, you¡¯re going get X¡¯ed out.¡±


    ¡°X is gonna to give it to you,¡± Silvy cackled.


    ¡°What?¡± Ted asked. ¡°What do you mean X¡¯ed out?¡±


    ¡°Killed. Assassinated. That''s what I mean. That''s how screwed up my situation is right now.¡±


    Ted just stared at me. ¡°I don''t understand. Did you get into some trouble?¡±


    I let out an ugly laugh and snorted. ¡°Trouble? You have no idea the sort of trouble I''m in, or out of depending on how you look at it. Seeing as I''m not in it anymore.¡±


    ¡°In what?¡± Ted asked. ¡°I want to help, but I don''t know how. I don''t know what''s wrong. I don¡¯t understand what''s happening here.¡±


    ¡°And you never will,¡± I snapped.


    Ted¡¯s face shifted to shock, then relaxed into a look of wounded hurt. I didn¡¯t blame him, as I didn''t care about anything outside of lashing out. I was so tired of not being able to talk about things, of not being able to tell anyone what I was going through and having to hide myself from others.


    ¡°Tell him,¡± Silvy said.


    ¡°And you,¡± I snapped, looking at the cat who sat on my shoulder. Her eyes glowed at me as her fur shifting from blue to black to green and back. ¡°You shut up. I''ve had about enough of you.¡±


    ¡°Wow,¡± Silvy purred. ¡°This is going to go over really well with Ted. You realize it looks like you''re talking to your shoulder, right?¡±


    ¡°I don''t care what it looks like,¡± I said. ¡°I''m sick of you talking shit about everything. Just shut up for five seconds.¡±


    ¡°Or?¡± Silvy asked.


    ¡°Or¡­¡± I didn''t know what, I didn''t know how to get back at the familiar. I didn''t know magick, I didn''t know what to do. I stared her. ¡°Or I''ll kill myself.¡±


    Silvy''s eyes, forever wide, suddenly narrowed. ¡°You wouldn''t dare.¡±


    ¡°Feel me. Feel my feelings. What do you think? Wouldn¡¯t I?¡±


    Silvy''s eyes narrowed even more and then they grew wide. ¡°Oh,¡± she said.


    ¡°Yeah. Oh. Exactly.¡± I turned back to look at Ted who stared at me with wide eyes and a gaping mouth.


    Once my attention was on him, he slowly started stepping backwards, back towards the safety of Luke''s.


    ¡°Yeah, go ahead,¡± I screamed. ¡°Go back to Luke¡¯s. Go back to that stupid ass bar.¡± I waved my hand at him, dismissing him as though he was a peasant. ¡°Get out of my sight.¡±


    Ted, shaking his head, turned and ran.


    ¡°Hah,¡± Silvy said from my shoulder. ¡°I didn''t think he would actually run.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°Neither did I.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s got a nice ass though.¡±


    ¡°Silvy.¡±


    ¡°What? He does. Look at it.¡±


    I was looking right at it. I closed my eyes and shook my head before turning back to the wall and trying to will that chalk clock back into existence. When I opened my eyes, I was confronted with the same sight. Alleyway. Rain. Empty wall. Used condom wrapper. Glass.


    I shivered. ¡°Fuck.¡±


    ¡°So,¡± Silvy said, ¡°what now?¡±


    I stared at the blank wall, trying to wrap my head around what I wanted to do next, where I was going to go.


    ¡°I don''t know,¡± I said. ¡°I think¡­¡±


    As I chewed on my lip, I started walking. The rain poured down and I realized what I must''ve looked like to Ted. Standing out there in a humid Nightsbridge thunderstorm wearing a parka, eyeliner running down my face.


    I would''ve looked at myself exactly the way he¡¯d looked at me. I would''ve run away just like he had.


    I exited the alleyway and headed up the street. I had an idea that was an extremely far off hope: the probability the place I was heading toward would actually be open was slim to none. The place operated at strange hours, hours that didn''t make a whole lot of sense.


    I made my way up the street and stopped in front of an antique shop. I read the hours and reached for the knob, convinced that even though the hours were correct, even though the sign at the front of the store said that it was open, that the door would be locked, that I would be barred from entering, that I could stand off to the side and watch a million people enter and exit and every time, as soon as I touched the knob, it wouldn''t open.


    Relax. Take a breath and relax.


    I twisted the knob, and the knob turned.


    ¡°Halfway there,¡± I whispered.


    ¡°Kick that shit in,¡± Silvy said from my shoulder. ¡°Look at all that glass. Imagine the sound. Imagine the sights.¡±


    Ignoring this, I leaned against the door. It hung there for a second, stuck, and my heart lurched up into my throat. But then the door creaked and unstuck, fully opening.


    I stepped into Mr. Carson''s antique shop. The stick version.


    Mr. Carson looked up from behind the counter where the cash register sat. He raised a single eyebrow and gave me a bland look, a look of familiarity, but also one of unfamiliarity.

 Chapter 34

    ¡°Hi,¡± Mr. Carson said. ¡°How may I help you today?¡±


    ¡°Thank God.¡± I rushed forward to the counter, leaned against it. ¡°I didn''t know where else to turn. I went to your other store an¡ª¡±


    Mr. Carson cocked an eyebrow at me and interrupted. ¡°Other store?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°The other store. The¡­¡± I looked around me, looked around the store, seeing if there were any other customers. There weren''t, but I lowered my voice anyways. ¡°The magick store.¡±


    Mr. Carson stared at me blankly. ¡°I don''t own a magick store. I don''t sell tricks. I sell antiques.¡±


    Any bit of relief I''d felt upon seeing Mr. Carson vanished.


    ¡°But,¡± I said in a quiet voice. ¡°But you¡¯re part of the magick world. I know you are. We talked about Bristlebloom? About my classes and being a vanisher?¡±


    Mr. Carson continue to stare at me blankly. ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    I took a deep breath, let it out. Took in another, let it out. Took a third and let it out.


    ¡°Careful,¡± Silvy purred from my shoulder. ¡°I¡¯d surely hate for you to hyperventilate in here. All these breakable objects. It sure would be terrible if you started bumping into them, knocking them over like you were some overgrown Godzilla. On second thought, I take what I just said back. Go ahead. You need more oxygen. Breathe a little faster.¡±


    Silvy started doing Lamaze breathing on my shoulder, egging me on, but I was solely focused on Mr. Carson.


    ¡°Come on,¡± I said. ¡°Quit joking with me. You knew my father. You knew my father was part of the magick world, as are you.¡±


    Mr. Carson shook his head. ¡°Yes, I knew your father but¡­ but I''m not sure what you''re talking about. As far as I know, your father wasn''t a magician. Did somebody tell you that he was?¡±


    ¡°No. No, it''s not that at all. It¡ª¡±


    ¡°Do you need me to call someone?¡± Mr. Carson asked. ¡°Maybe you have a friend who can pick you up. Someone¡­ sober?¡±


    The way he said this last word, the way he asked it, made everything crystallize. I didn''t know if this was an act or if, like the disappearance of the chalk clock in the alleyway, this was the magick world''s doing.


    What if all memory of me knowing about the magick world disappeared from his mind?


    My eyes narrowed. ¡°Why are your hours here so weird?¡±


    Mr. Carson quirked an eyebrow at me. ¡°I''m a small business owner. I set my own hours. My reasoning is none of your business.¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± I said, ¡°or maybe this is just the time you spend with your¡­ collection.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Silvy purred, slithering around my neck. ¡°Oh, I like where this is going.¡±


    I picked up an opaque, glass vase. Something that looked incredibly old.


    ¡°Be careful with that,¡± he said. ¡°It''s Depression glass. There''s not¡ª¡±


    I let go of it and watched as the vase fell towards the floor, watched as his fingers quickly traced a shape in the air, watched as green light flickered below the vase and caught it. And just as quickly as it appeared, the light disappeared after setting the vase down on the floor between my feet, upright.


    I lifted my foot then, not giving him a chance to react, and I put that foot right back down atop the vase. I could shift my foot to the left or the right, pushing it down to the ground and stomping on it, and I didn''t think he''d be quick enough to save it this time.


    He stared down at the vase then back at me. His eyelids drooped the tiniest amount and he looked at me as though he truly saw me, truly understood what I was willing to do and how far I would go.


    I have nothing to lose.


    ¡°There''s a back room,¡± he said in a low voice. ¡°Go there. Now.¡±


    I bent down to pick up the vase, to hand it back to him, but he snapped his fingers.


    ¡°Don''t touch that,¡± he snapped. ¡°Just go to the back room.¡±


    I headed back, glancing over my shoulder to see him move to the front door, lock up, and then flip the open sign over to the closed side.


    A tiny stream of fear opened within me.


    I¡¯d been so focused on finding Mr. Carson and confronting him that I had been completely blinded to the fact that I was facing down a magick user who¡¯d just locked me into a store with him.


    Grey Eyes¡¯ words came back to me. Killing a stick isn¡¯t a crime.


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    ¡°I don''t know,¡± Silvy said from around my neck. ¡°I give it like a four out of ten. When you dropped the vase, I was all in. I thought it was a great first step, but then you didn''t follow through and break it. You didn¡¯t let him know you were serious. Further, you didn''t even bother to break anything else. Did you see that lampshade? Imagine how amazing it would''ve been if you would''ve smashed it right over his head. Can you? His head would''ve popped right through the thing like a Jack-in-the-Box. I don''t even¡ª¡±


    ¡°Shut up, Silvy.¡±


    I made my way to the back room and took a seat at a tiny table. I could see all the way to the front of the store and watched as Mr. Carson pulled down the blinds.


    ¡°Oh,¡± Silvy said, almost as if she was commenting on the weather. ¡°He''s about to do something he doesn''t want anyone to see. I hope it¡¯s something bloody.¡±


    I''d been thinking the same thing, minus the hoping part. A drop of sweat trickled down my spine even though I was freezing cold.


    Mr. Carson walked from the front of his shop to the back and closed the door behind him as he entered the tiny room. He took a seat at the table opposite me.


    I opened my mouth to speak, but he put his pointer finger to his lips. After a moment of hesitation, he slipped his hand into his pocket and removed a witchstone. He placed the witchstone in his mouth and his fingers traced symbols in the air. Green light shot out around us. It crystallized into a sort of dome that stretched from the floor to the ceiling of the room.


    I looked down and saw the green light covered the floor as well. We were completely enclosed in a magickal shell.


    Is this what being inside of a shadow bubble is like?


    ¡°The Austerium has ears everywhere,¡± Mr. Carson said, interlacing his fingers and leaning back in his chair. ¡°Now tell me why you came to my shop.¡± I could see the anger in his eyes now, could read it on his face. ¡°Tell me why you would risk bringing the Austerium''s wrath down on me.¡±


    ¡°Wow,¡± Silvy said. ¡°That amped up to eleven.¡±


    ¡°I didn''t realize the Austerium had that sort of power,¡± I tried to explain. ¡°I didn''t realize they were so threatening.¡±


    ¡°There''s a lot you don''t realize,¡± Mr. Carson said. ¡°About the magick world, about the Austerium.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said with a sigh. ¡°I guess there''s going to end up being a whole lot I don''t ever find out as well.¡±


    Mr. Carson nodded. ¡°I heard. I was warned.¡±


    ¡°Warned?¡±


    ¡°By the Austerium. I was told that you might come by, that you might attempt to re-integrate, with the magick world through me.¡±


    ¡°That''s not what I was trying to do.¡±


    Mr. Carson shrugged. ¡°You think the Austerium cares? It all looks the same to them.¡±


    ¡°Well, I just¡­¡±


    ¡°You just what?¡± Mr. Carson snapped. ¡°You just thought if you got kicked out of the magick world, you could come crawling to me and I would fix everything?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said.


    It¡¯s not like that at all. It¡¯s nothing like that. Where did he even get that from?


    ¡°Then what, Hexana?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know where to start.¡± The entire thing was so confusing. ¡°I don''t know what happened.¡±


    Mr. Carson crossed his arms. ¡°You better not try to scam me.¡±


    I let out an ugly laugh. ¡°Fucking Geist.¡±


    ¡°Geist?¡± Mr. Carson asked. ¡°What does Geist have to do with this?¡±


    ¡°He set me up.¡±


    ¡°Wait. Geist''s the one who got you the job? Geist''s the one who sent you to me with those witchstones?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Who else?¡±


    ¡°Who else?¡± Mr. Carson shook his head, unbelieving. ¡°Just about anyone, Hexana. Just about anyone.¡±


    ¡°I don''t follow.¡±


    ¡°You do realize that Geist and your father were mortal enemies, right?¡±


    ¡°No. Why would I have known that? No one warned me.¡±


    ¡°Lebec didn''t warn you?¡±


    ¡°No, he didn''t tell me anything.¡±


    Mr. Carson sighed, rubbing his head. ¡°Well, that''s different.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Geist and your father were rivals. Business rivals. Geist wanted Blackhart for himself. He tried to buy it out from under your father multiple times. I didn''t realize you were working for him. I didn''t realize Geist had gotten a procurement job with the Austerium. I thought my order of witchstones was just coming in from the Austerium in general, not from Geist specifically within the Austerium.¡±


    I had no idea what he was talking about.


    ¡°You realize,¡± Mr. Carson said, ¡°that Geist probably had something to do with your father''s disappearance?¡±


    My mouth went dry.


    ¡°That¡¯s a development,¡± Silvy purred.


    The possibility that I''d helped the person who was responsible for taking my childhood away from chilled me more than I already was. The fact that I could''ve so blindly lent a helping hand to that man made me sick.


    ¡°No.¡± I cleared my throat. ¡°No, I didn''t realize that. I didn''t know. I had no idea.¡±


    ¡°And Lebec didn''t tell you¡­¡± Mr. Carson shook his head.


    ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°He didn''t.¡±


    Mr. Carson snorted. ¡°I never took Lebec as a Geist supporter, but maybe I''ll have to now.¡±


    ¡°Geist supporter?¡± I asked. ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°Geist has been making a play at ascending to the title of Lord Wizard of Nidema for years now. Maybe decades. Your father was the one who was standing against him. Your father was next in line.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°At least he was before he disappeared.¡±


    ¡°To be Lord Wizard of Nidema, wouldn''t you have to be a wizard? My father wasn¡¯t a wizard.¡±


    ¡°And why do you think the Lord Wizard of Nidema is the sole owner of the Builder¡¯s Stone. What you think it''s for?¡±


    Of course. With the Builder¡¯s Stone, anyone could become the Lord Wizard. I could see a long line of Lord Wizards growing old with age and passing down the Builder¡¯s Stone to the next in line, allowing for anyone to be Lord Wizard. A caster, an adept, a scryer. Anyone.


    I swallowed. Even a stick could be a Lord Wizard.


    ¡°So why would Geist want to own Blackhart?¡± I asked.


    ¡°All of your father''s things were there. All of his records. He was trying to bring Geist down. He believed Geist was in communication with someone outside this plaine. He believed Geist was working to bring down Nidema from the inside.¡±


    My mind suddenly flashed to the culling, to all those blood casters and wizards who''d been eradicated.


    Maybe Geist is working with them. Maybe that''s why the red lume flashed at the destruction sites. Maybe it was a call to action, a light in the darkness to bring forth the other blood casters in unification.


    ¡°I didn''t see this coming,¡± Silvy whispered from my shoulder.


    ¡°I didn''t either,¡± I mumbled.


    ¡°What?¡± Mr. Carson asked.


    I shook my head. ¡°Nothing.¡±


    ¡°Listen,¡± Mr. Carson said. His voice held less of a hard edge. ¡°I understand that you''re hurting, that you''ve just been shown a brand-new world and just as soon shown out of that world, but you need to forget about it. You need to let it go.¡±


    Silvy snorted. ¡°I mean, we could also kill Geist. That''s an option. You should''ve let me taste his blood when I asked. Corrupt blood is the best. I was right there too, you could have¡ª¡±


    I needed to go.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I said to Mr. Carson. ¡°I appreciate you being honest with me.¡±


    Mr. Carson stood, waved his hands, and the green bubble of light dissipated into nothingness.


    ¡°Don''t come back, Hexana,¡± he said in a soft voice tinged with sadness. ¡°Don''t ever come back.¡±


    I nodded and he escorted me out of his shop. I stood still just outside the door, the rain pouring down on my head.


    I had several things to consider.


    Shivering, I started walking towards my apartment.


    I had a decision to make.

 Chapter 35

    I''ll be the first to admit it: my mind was a mess as I trudged through the rain. Inside the hood, the sounds of the raindrops¡¯ incessant tapping did nothing to drown out the toxic daggers of judgement I kept stabbing myself with.


    This is all my fault. I did this to myself. You have no one to blame except¡­ Bingo, you guessed it: yourself.


    ¡°I''m smelling a real self-hating sort of vibe right now,¡± Silvy purred from around my neck. ¡°Definitely not flattering.¡±


    ¡°Not trying¡­¡± I sighed. ¡°I''m not trying to be flattering. Does it look like this is a flattering moment? Does this seem like a flattering sort of situation?¡±


    ¡°Not when you say it like that it doesn''t.¡±


    I stomped through puddles with abandon, splashing water everywhere: up on my legs, down into the insides of my boots.


    But I didn''t care.


    I was freezing, but I didn''t care that my feet were getting wet. I didn¡¯t care that my legs were getting covered in filthy rainwater mixed with whatever dregs of trash were in the street.


    What does it matter?


    I''d been given the keys to a brand-new world and promptly had them taken away from me. I¡¯d been conned out of them. I let out a bark of a laugh. I¡¯d have done better betting against myself than betting on myself.


    They should make a lottery ticket where if I lose, other people win. I could make other people a fortune.


    As I rounded the corner ahead, I realized the route my subconscious had led my feet in.


    Off in the distance, maybe a block away, was the theatre. I could have swung up another street so that I didn''t have to walk past it, but I figured there was no way I could feel any worse than I already did. I figured that nothing would impact me more than everything already had.


    As I started walking down the street toward the theatre, Silvy whispered in my ear. ¡°Ballsy move, but I don''t see this working out for you.¡±


    ¡°Shut up, Silvy.¡±


    As I made my way down the street, no one else out walking, I caught sight of the looks on several of the driver¡¯s faces.


    I must look ridiculous.


    The giant, oversized, parka almost covering my hands completely, the fur hood obscuring my face. My dirty legs sticking out the bottom of my parka and my wet, soggy boots leading me forward. I was a real picture of fashion.


    As I gained on the theatre, I made up my mind to not stop, to not even look at it, to act like I didn''t care, like it didn''t exist.


    That''s not what happened, though.


    As I got there, I saw a new sign. It was plastered directly onto the For-Sale sign.


    It was small. It was simple. To the point.


    Sold.


    I balled my hands up, took a deep breath, and screamed into the sky.


    When I looked back at the sign, I noticed something at the center of the part that said sold: there was a little iridescent track.


    It looked like a V with a line going down from it.


    I let out a laugh. It was a Y.


    ¡°That silly slug again,¡± I muttered.


    Hearing my words aloud worried me.


    You should probably see someone. You believe that you¡¯ve been in a magick world for the past few days. Now you have the belief that you have horns, and that there¡¯s a familiar dozing around your neck. Additionally, you believe that a slug is spelling out a word to you, slowly, over the course of multiple days, like a slug would.


    I let out a giggle.


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    ¡°What''s funny?¡± Silvy asked.


    ¡°Nothing,¡± I laughed. ¡°Nothing at all. Just this ridiculous¡ª¡± I bent down to pick up a rock. ¡°¡ªtheatre that I can''t seem¡ª¡± I cocked my arm. ¡°¡ªto get out of my life.¡±


    My arm rocketed forward; the rock slung from the tips of my fingers. I¡¯d been aiming for the sign, I''d been aiming to knock it off, to dent it, to crack it maybe. But of course, my overly-athletic-sports-super-ability led to the rock slipping from my fingertips, flying wide, and hitting a window. And when a rock hits a window, what happens?


    The window shattered.


    I stared at my handiwork. I stared at what I¡¯d done. I¡¯d damaged the one place that I''d coveted it for years. I''d broken a window on the one place that I wanted to own.


    Unbelievable.


    ¡°Nice shot,¡± Silvy said. ¡°Are we gonna do another? I mean, there are more windows. You can''t just stop with one. Let¡¯s break another. Think about¡ª¡±


    I didn''t allow her to finish, turning away from the theatre and running towards my apartment. I wanted the theatre at my back. I couldn¡¯t bear to look at it.


    When I finally got to my apartment, sweaty but no warmer, there was a sheet of paper taped to the door. A notice of eviction.


    I skimmed over the words, realizing that I now had no hope. I was being evicted.


    It tracked. It wasn¡¯t like I¡¯d paid rent.


    I''d been caught up in the magick world¡¯s allure. I''d been caught up in playing like I was something I wasn''t.


    Sighing, I slipped my key into the lock, praying that it would open. Thankfully it did.


    The eviction notice said that I had twenty-four hours to vacate the premise and based on the time written next to the Served blank, that left me sixteen hours to myself.


    All I wanted was my bed and a shower. I didn''t care which order they came in either.


    My mouth fell open when I got a good look inside. My apartment was completely empty.


    Well, that''s not true. My bed was gone. My clothes dresser was gone. Most of the stuff that I used daily was gone. There were still knick-knacks scattered around, though.


    I chewed on my lip as I tried to figure out what had happened here.


    ¡°Is this where you live?¡± Silvy asked. ¡°What a dump.¡±


    ¡°There''s usually more in it,¡± I tried to explain.


    ¡°What, more crappy furniture?¡± Silvy giggled. ¡°That makes it better?¡±


    ¡°No, just¡­¡±


    ¡°Just because you add higher quality mud to a pig doesn''t mean the pig isn''t muddy.¡±


    I didn¡¯t care about that. I just wanted my bed.


    Had Tim done this? Had he taken my furniture as a way to make me pay? Was that a thing?


    That¡¯s when it hit me, and I felt absolutely ridiculous.


    It¡¯s still sitting in your dorm room at Bristlebloom. You transported it there using that seal and never transported back, thus no bed. Thus, no clothes.


    I shook my head and laughed. I couldn¡¯t do anything other than laugh at the situation. I''d been kicked out of Bristlebloom and now my furniture was being held ransom in the magick world.


    That sounds so ridiculous.


    I took a deep breath, kicked my waterlogged boots off, peeled off my soggy socks, and walked over to the place where my bedroom had once been. It was the only carpeted surface in the apartment.


    I considered slipping out of the parka but decided not to. If I was shivering in 85¡ãF rain, my cooler apartment was definitely way too cold for me to take it off. I bundled up tighter and lay down on the carpet there, trying to wrap the parka around my body like a sleeping bag.


    I lay down on my back, staring up at the ceiling. It wasn''t the most comfortable, but it also wasn''t terrible. Silvy slithered out from around my neck and floated up above my face.


    ¡°So,¡± she said. ¡°What now? No job, no money, no prospects? I say we go screw some shit up. I say we go destroy something.¡±


    I rolled my eyes at her.


    ¡°Roll your eyes all you want, but I''m being serious. There are people who would pay you good money to destroy things.¡±


    ¡°People,¡± I said with a chuckle. ¡°What people?¡±


    ¡°You know, magick people. They have uses for sticks.¡±


    ¡°Right. Magick people. Because I''ve fared so well with magick people.¡±


    ¡°Just because you make bad deals and worse decisions, doesn''t mean that magick people are bad. It just means you''re bad. The worst.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I watched as she floated up towards the ceiling. She glanced up at it and a spinning hole of blackness opened above her. I stared at this, unsure of what was happening, unsure she was doing it or if I was about to be attacked by something from the Shadow Vaile.


    She drifted into it and soon all I could see were her glowing eyes in the darkness of that hole. A second hole opened beside it and her eyes disappeared from the first hole and reappeared in the other. She floated back through, both holes disappeared behind her, and she shook herself as though she''d just gotten doused in water.


    ¡°What was that?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Just freshening up,¡± she answered.


    ¡°Freshening up? All you did was go into that hole, then come out.¡±


    ¡°Hah. Nice.¡±


    ¡°Shut up. Stay focused.¡±


    ¡°I don''t know what I need to stay focused on.¡±


    ¡°Tell me what you just did. What was that hole?¡±


    ¡°For one, it''s not a hole, it¡¯s a portal. A familiar portal. I can open them into the Shadow Vaile and other places. I needed a little R&R after dealing with you. You¡¯re exhausting.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°Wait, how long were you there?¡±


    Silvy shrugged. ¡°A year. Maybe two.¡±


    ¡°But I saw you move in the portal. How could you have been gone for a year or two if I could see you moving?¡±


    As Silvy floated down towards me, she split into two versions of herself. I was now faced with two floating four-inch cats with glowing eyes and striped tails. I closed my eyes. I didn''t think I could handle two Silvy''s.


    ¡°I just showed you what you wanted to see,¡± she purred. I wasn''t exactly sure what she meant by that, but that was fine.


    ¡°Can casters use those?¡± My eyes were getting heavy and didn¡¯t want to stay open. I just wanted to be asleep. I wanted this weird nightmare to end for a little bit. I wanted to check out.


    ¡°No,¡± Silvy laughed. ¡°There''s no chance. They''d lose their minds in the Shadow Vaile.¡±


    ¡°That''s nice.¡± With my eyes closed, it felt like I was doing back flips on the floor. ¡°I''ve already lost my mind.¡±


    My fingers started to tingle, and I drifted off into sleep. When I woke up the next morning, I had a good idea of what I wanted to do next.

 Chapter 36

    When I opened my eyes, they screamed.


    Frowning, I sat up and rubbed at them for several minutes, only seeing the black smudges on my hands when I stopped. I crawled up and headed to the bathroom. I slipped out of my parka, slipped out of my clothes, and hopped into the shower. I turned the heat all the way up and still the water only felt tepid.


    I wondered if the landlord had shut off the hot water, but the steam billowing in the shower shot down that idea. It was just me.


    #justWitchThings


    I stayed under the water for a long time, cleaning off all the dirt from my legs, all the makeup from my face. I washed my hair, being careful around my horns. And as I did so, as I cleaned away the grime, I thought about everything I''d done and everything that had been done to me. Everything that led me to this point in my life.


    I thought about how I''d gotten here by all the choices I''d made. I thought about that cabinet filled to the brim with lottery tickets and about all the scratch offs.


    And, outside of that, I thought about the other sort of gambling I did. The gambling I did on others. The gambling I did on believing that others had my best interests at heart and could make better decisions for me than I could make for myself. I thought about how gullible I had been in my desperation to trust someone. Anyone.


    I thought about Geist. How I¡¯d trusted him, how I''d allowed him entrance to the most sacred of sacreds. I thought about how he''d taken the theatre away from me, how he¡¯d taken everything from me.


    I thought about my aunt, selling the theatre out from under me to begin with.


    I thought about all of my father''s money, all the money he had to have made, just floating somewhere in the ether, completely separate from me.


    I thought about Lebec, how I¡¯d placed my trust in him and how he had promptly let me down. He¡¯d kicked me out of Bristlebloom, kicked me out of the one place he¡¯d allowed me entrance to.


    I thought about myself. How I¡¯d been acting. I¡¯d gone from being a sassy ass kicker to a wad of clay anyone could mold.


    I thought about Luke, giving me a job, and promptly kicking me out whenever¡­


    Not true. He told you what was wrong.


    I didn''t have to like Luke, and in fact I didn''t, but he had warned me. He¡¯d told me that if I didn''t show them who''s boss, they¡¯d walk all over me.


    I understood now. He didn¡¯t need to fire me, obviously, but I understood why he''d been so mad. I should''ve socked the guy in the face myself. I should''ve beaten him to a pulp. And maybe violence wasn''t the answer, maybe that''s not what he was trying to teach me, but I still should have dealt with it myself before running to Ted. Before trying to manipulate Ted into fixing it for me.


    I ran shampoo and conditioner through my hair, being careful not to cut my hand on my horns. I squeezed them delicately, felt how hard they were, still trying to get used to them. It was going to be a long process, but I might as well get started now.


    I closed my eyes and let the water run over me. When I opened them, I was confronted with Silvy, sitting on my towel rack, staring at me. I stared right back.


    That¡¯s it. I¡¯m no one¡¯s wad of clay. Time to go back to the old me.


    ¡°Uh¡­ privacy?¡± I said. ¡°Heard of it?¡±


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    ¡°Of course. It''s such a quaint stick concept, though.¡±


    I leaned my face back into the shower, opened my mouth, allowed it to fill with water, faced a Silvy, and spit a stream of water right through her body.


    Silvy raised an eyebrow. ¡°You''re different this morning.¡±


    ¡°Am I?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, just a¡ª¡±


    I didn¡¯t let her finish. ¡°Get the fuck out of my shower.¡±


    Silvy''s eyes grew a tiny bit wider before she dissipated into smoke and floated out of the shower.


    That¡¯s new.


    I¡¯d told her to leave before, told her to shut up, but she''d never really listened. I think that''s because I¡¯d always felt like she owed it to me. This time, when I told her to leave, when I told her to get the fuck out, I was ready to back those words. I was ready to stand behind them, to not waiver, to not buckle.


    The old me is kind of a dick.


    Shaking my head, I finished up in the shower and killed the water.


    As I toweled my hair dry, I realized that I''d forgotten about the horns and promptly cut the towel to ribbons. Normally this would''ve infuriated me, but in the early light of the morning it didn¡¯t seem so catastrophic.


    I could blame fate, I could blame others, but I''d been the one who''d forgotten. And that was okay. It was my mistake, and I was owning it.


    I let out a laugh. I''m being evicted anyway. What''s it matter?


    I dropped the cut-up towel on the ground and brushed my teeth. When I was finished with everything in the bathroom, my teeth were chattering from the cold.


    I went to my bedroom and searched for something I could wear. There was nothing. I''d never really been one to own a bunch of clothing, and everything that I did own was back in that Bristlebloom dorm. Wearing only a frown, I slipped just my parka on.


    This isn¡¯t going to work. You can¡¯t wear a parka and nothing else¡­


    Then I remembered. There was one other place in the apartment where there might be clothing. I had a rag drawer in the kitchen.


    I made my way over to it, praying that there was something in there that still fit me, something that wasn''t completely destroyed.


    The boys are gonna love this¡­


    The only thing I could find was a skirt, a button up shirt, and a tie.


    All three parts were from a costume I''d worn for Halloween a few years back.


    I dressed up as a schoolgirl, not the naughty kind though. Plaid skirt. Striped tie. White, button up shirt.


    Sighing, I pulled this on and slipped back into my parka. After pulling the hood up over my head, I went back into the bathroom.


    I looked at myself in the mirror.


    Definitely strange, sure, but at least I feel like myself.


    I felt like I was in my own body, not watching from outside, not viewing someone else live my life away.


    You can¡¯t trust fate. You can¡¯t leave things to fate, chance, or luck. You need to believe in yourself. You need to bet on yourself.


    As I stood in front of the mirror, staring at all 5 feet of me dressed in a left behind Halloween costume, I gave my reflection a crooked smile.


    Silvy slithered around my neck and her eyes glowed in the reflection as well.


    ¡°So,¡± she said. ¡°What happened to you?¡±


    ¡°Nothing,¡± I said. ¡°Just had several revelations. That''s all.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± she asked. ¡°What sorts of revelations were those? The fun type? The burning things down type? The blowing things up sort?


    Previously this might¡¯ve bothered me, probably would''ve driven me crazy, but now, I welcomed it.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°Something like that.¡±


    Silvy¡¯s eyes grew wide and then narrowed. ¡°Are you leading me on? Don''t tease me!¡±


    I smiled. ¡°I wouldn''t tease you about this.¡±


    ¡°What''s the plan?¡±


    ¡°You gave me an idea last night.¡±


    ¡°Oh? And what idea was that?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡±


    ¡°No?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you later. Right now, we need to get ready. Right now, I need to think. I don''t have my mind wrapped around it completely, but I''ve got a general idea of what I want to do.¡±


    Silvy nodded from inside the hood and I headed out of the bathroom.


    I went back to the rag drawer and grabbed some long black socks. They¡¯d been a gag gift from a friend, but right now, they were heaven. They were dry and they were thick.


    I slipped the socks up and pulled them up as high as they would go. They went just over my knees and that was it. I slipped my feet into the boots and wiggled my toes. A little strange, but definitely warmer than I had been.


    If I¡¯d had sweatpants and a sweatshirt, I would''ve loved to have worn those, but I didn''t. All I had was this stupid Halloween costume, my father¡¯s parka, and a gag gift.


    I laughed. I didn''t think I''d ever worn anything so ridiculous. Not voluntarily at least.


    Smiling, I went to the front door and looked back at my apartment. I looked at the cabinet there, filled with scratch offs.


    I considered, for just moment, lighting it on fire and watching the whole thing burn. Shaking my head, I took several deep breaths. No matter what happened, I wasn''t going back.


    I had a plan.


    I knew what I had to do.


    I knew what my father would''ve wanted me to do.


    I was going to take the theatre back from Geist.

 Chapter 37

    I sat down, leaning against the front door, crossed my legs, and pulled out my phone. I dragged over the pair of shorts I¡¯d worn the day before and pulled out a card from one of the pockets. I glanced at it, flipped it over to the other side to see if there was anything written there, and flipped it back over.


    ¡°Him?¡± Silvy asked, slithering out of my hood and sitting on my shoulder. ¡°That''s who you''re going to call right now?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, so?¡±


    ¡°Seems risky.¡±


    I rolled my eyes and tapped the phone number into my cell. The phone rang two times on the other end before it was picked up. I could hear noise, like whoever had picked up was surrounded by a lot of people all talking at once.


    ¡°Hexana?¡± Flin asked through the phone.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said in a quiet voice, probably too quiet for him to hear me, but I wasn''t in the mood to yell.


    ¡°Just a second,¡± he said. ¡°I can''t hear you. Let me¡­¡± The crowd noise slowly abated and then I could hear him clearly. ¡°Okay. What now?¡±


    ¡°Hi,¡± I said.


    ¡°Hi?¡± he asked. ¡°Why are you calling me?¡±


    ¡°Isn''t that what people do when they''re given phone numbers? Call them?¡±


    Flin cleared his throat, clearly struggling and trying to find some sort of response to give me. I let him hang in the awkward silence until he found his words.


    ¡°Yes. I¡­ I suppose they do, but didn''t you get¡ª¡±


    ¡°Expelled?¡± I finished for him. ¡°Yes. Exiled? Sure. I was there too. Remember?¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± he said, ¡°and you called me?¡±


    There was a sudden burst of crowd noise and I frowned.


    ¡°Where are you right now?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m watching a game of scheme. Don''t worry about it.¡±


    ¡°Scheme?¡± I asked and then shook my head. I didn''t have time for this. Maybe some other time, but not now. ¡°Look, I need to talk to you.¡±


    ¡°You were expelled, Hexana.¡±


    One track mind this boy¡­


    I took a deep breath and looked over at Silvy. She stared back at me from her spot on my shoulder.


    ¡°It''s Hex,¡± I said.


    Silvy''s eyes widened at this.


    ¡°What?¡± he asked.


    ¡°It''s Hex. Not Hexana. Call me Hex.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­ Hex¡­ Whatever.¡±


    ¡°So, listen,¡± I said, trying to drop my voice and sound a little more intense than usual. ¡°I''m gonna need you to come over.¡±


    Flin cleared his throat again, and I picked up on his nervousness. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I need to talk to you about something. We have unfinished business.¡±


    ¡°Unfinished business? Hexana.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Hex.¡±


    ¡°Right. Sorry. Hex. You were expelled. Lebec give me explicit instructions to escort you out of the magick world. You''re out. That''s permanent.¡±


    I had an idea that, much like the stick world, the only thing permanent about anything was how hard or soft someone held to the belief that it was permanent.


    ¡°Something happened,¡± I said.


    ¡°What?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Something happened. I need you to come over here so I can explain.¡±


    ¡°What is there to explain? You scammed Geist.¡±


    I let out a chuckle. ¡°The only one running any scams was Geist. Possibly Lebec.¡±


    I sensed a sudden change in energy from the other end of the phone. ¡°You think Geist scammed you? You think Lebec was involved?¡±


    I shrugged even though he couldn''t see it.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°Do you have proof?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Proof?¡± I asked, chewing my lip.


    ¡°Yeah. Proof.¡±


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    I picked up a fork from the counter, felt its weight in my hand, and shrugged. Fuck it.


    ¡°Yup. I¡¯ve got proof.¡±


    ¡°Wow,¡± he said in a quiet voice. ¡°A teacher scamming a student. That would be big.¡±


    I didn''t fully understand what he meant, but I went with it anyway.


    ¡°Sure,¡± I said, playing it up. ¡°It''s huge. A bombshell.¡±


    ¡°A what?¡± he asked.


    I dropped the fork and cringed at the loud clatter it made. ¡°Uh, nothing. Can you come over?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± he said. ¡°Let me finish up here and I''ll be right there.¡±


    ¡°Do you know where I live?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°I''m a teacher. We have access to student records. How do you think I knew it was you calling?¡±


    ¡°Oh. That¡¯s comforting.¡± It would be all too easy for Geist to get your address. What sort of a threat is a stick to him?


    I smiled.


    A stick might not be able to do anything to him, but I have a good idea that this half-witch can do plenty.


    When I grinned, my teeth felt different, foreign. Frowning, I stood up and walked to the bathroom. I lifted my lips away from my teeth and saw that my left canine tooth was slightly longer than it had previously been, it was also slightly pointier. Even though it was only longer and pointier by the smallest of amounts, the change felt huge in my mouth.


    I spun my tongue around my left canine, tapped it once. Weird.


    Why had it only been my left one? My right canine was still the same length. It looked exactly the same as it usually did.


    Why are you growing a fang on the left side of your mouth?


    ¡°Is this normal?¡± I asked Silvy.


    ¡°Is what normal?¡± Flin asked me from the other end of the phone. I¡¯d forgotten he was there.


    ¡°Uh, nothing,¡± I said. ¡°Girl stuff. Just come over. I''ll be waiting.¡±


    ¡°Sure, I''ll be¡ª¡±


    I hung up the phone.


    ¡°Silvy, is this normal?¡±


    ¡°I mean¡­¡± Silvy said, floating up from my shoulder and spinning in slow, lazy circles around my head. ¡°Is any of this normal?¡±


    ¡°Just answer the question.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she said. ¡°It''s not normal, but you¡¯re a half-witch, so I guess it makes sense that your teeth didn¡¯t really grow in. Kinda like your horns being so tiny.¡±


    ¡°My horns are tiny?!¡± Great, something else to be insecure about. Wonderful.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s adorable,¡± Silvy purred.


    ¡°Is it going to get longer?¡±


    ¡°Your horns or your fang?¡±


    ¡°Either.¡±


    ¡°I certainly hope not. Your horns haven''t grown at all since they first appeared, so I doubt they''ll keep growing. Your fang¡­ I have a feeling is the same way. Your one fang is just gonna be longer than your other fang.¡±


    ¡°My other fang?¡± I asked. ¡°My other one is just a canine, not a fang.¡±


    ¡°What do I know?¡± Silvy smiled, showing me a mouthful of needle teeth. ¡°I still think it¡¯s adorable though.¡±


    ¡°I think your tail is adorable.¡±


    Silvy grumbled under her breath and disappeared.


    I shook my head and turned off the light in the bathroom, heading back to the little patch of carpet where my bed had been. I fell to my knees and slumped forward at the hips so my face pressed into the carpet, the hood on my head meeting the carpet as well, blocking out all the light, surrounding me in a cocoon of darkness and silence. That didn''t stop Silvy from slithering in to hang around my neck.


    ¡°They make you look broken. The horns and the fang, I mean. You know, kinda like something that was half used by a kid and tossed away because it had a crack in it.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I grunted.


    ¡°Yeah. A crack. You''re like a cracked toy.¡±


    ¡°Great,¡± I said into the carpet. ¡°Love it. That''s so me.¡±


    Silvy giggled.


    ¡°So,¡± she said after several moments of silence. ¡°How are we feeling about Flin now?¡±


    ¡°Same way we''ve always felt about Flin.¡±


    ¡°And that is?¡± Silvy asked. ¡°Because I''d really hate for this to turn into some sappy love story.¡±


    ¡°Not exactly lovable at the moment.¡± I sighed. ¡°And aren''t you supposed to love yourself before you go try to let someone else love you?¡±


    ¡°How would I know?¡± Silvy asked. ¡°Anyways, Flin?¡±


    ¡°He''s cute. Not my type. Not my time, not my anything.¡±


    ¡°So, what you''re saying is that you''re interested.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said and really thought on it.


    I wasn¡¯t interested in anyone, and if I was, it would¡¯ve been Ted. Flin was¡­ whatever. He was a semi-friend from a semi-world I''d semi-been a part of, but he wasn''t anything more than that.


    ¡°Okay well, he''s standing outside your door right now.¡±


    ¡°How can you¡ª¡±


    Someone knocked three times on my door.


    ¡°You can see through doors?¡± I asked.


    Even though my face was still pressed into the carpet and my eyes were shut, my eyelids suddenly brightened as Silvy¡¯s eyes blazed with light from inside the hood.


    ¡°I can see all sorts of things, Hex.¡±


    ¡°Well, then¡­ I''m sure you''ll see this coming.¡±


    I rolled over onto my back and sat up.


    I got a sudden image in my head of a zombie sitting up from a grave, all stiff and jerky.


    I rolled over onto all fours and managed to get myself standing, my head spinning for half a second as the blood rushed there.


    I groaned.


    I¡¯d been so happy lying on the carpet with my face pressed into it. I''d been so happy breathing in all my excess skin flakes, dirt, everything else. I¡¯d even felt the tiniest bit of warmth, but now that I was standing, I was cold again.


    I walked over to the door and pulled it open, not bothering to look through the peephole.


    Flin stood there, staring back at me.


    ¡°Hi,¡± he said.


    I watched him with something approaching amusement as his eyes took in what I was wearing. First there was surprise that I still had on the parka from the day before. His eyes continued down to see the skirt. Then he made it all the way down to my thigh high socks and boots. He raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Is this a costume party?¡±


    ¡°It''s a long story,¡± I said, ¡°and I¡¯m not a storyteller.¡±


    I stood back to allow him entrance to the apartment.


    He raised an eyebrow. ¡°Aren''t you going to invite me in?¡±


    I raised an eyebrow back. ¡°Are you a vampire?¡±


    Flin snorted and walked in. ¡°I don''t know what that''s supposed to mean, but okay.¡±


    Once he was inside, he looked around the place almost as though he was looking for something.


    ¡°Oh,¡± I said, realizing what he was searching for. ¡°Right. So, I''m gonna need my furniture back from my dorm room. You¡¯ll have to sit on the floor in the meantime.¡±


    I sat down to demonstrate that I was serious and Flin stared down at me, still not believing what I''d said.


    ¡°I''m serious. I don''t have any chairs.¡±


    Flin didn¡¯t say anything, but also didn¡¯t sit.


    ¡°We could always go to the bathroom. I can sit on the edge of the bathtub, and you can sit on the toilet. Or vice versa. Guest¡¯s choice.¡±


    Flin gave a tiny nod and walked over, sitting down on the floor next to me. I opened my mouth, started to say something, but caught myself.


    No. This is your fight. You can accept his help, but you¡¯re not going to rely on him to fix this. You¡¯re not going to make the same mistake you keep making. You have to rely on yourself.


    I took a deep breath, glanced up at the ceiling to send up a quick prayer, and then looked at him.


    ¡°Here''s the deal,¡± I said. ¡°I need to tell you what happened.¡±


    Flin opened his mouth to interrupt me, but I didn''t really care what he needed to say right then: I needed to finish what I was saying more.


    ¡°No,¡± I grabbed his lips and squeezed them shut before he even got a sound out. ¡°Give me a minute tell you everything, and then you can tell me your thoughts. Don''t interrupt me until I¡¯m finished. There''s a lot.¡±


    I let go of his lips and Flin gave me a quick nod.


    ¡°Marvelous.¡± I swallowed and dove in headfirst. ¡°So, I''m sort of a half-witch?¡±

 Chapter 38

    I told him everything, the entire ridiculous thing. From the beginning to the end. I told him about my father. I told him about Blackhart. I told him about the witchstone, and what I''d become. I told him about Silvy.


    At the end of it, he stared at me for a long time before he finally said, ¡°I think something might be wrong with you, Hex. I can arrange for you to meet a doctor. Would you like that?¡±


    I pulled back my hood. I saw his eyes move up to my head, examining my skull for horns, but I knew he couldn''t see them. I knew the fact that he couldn''t see anything was encouraging his faulty belief that I wasn¡¯t a half-witch.


    I gave him a soft, gentle smile, took his hands in mine, and placed them on my horns. His jaw slowly dropped as his fingertips ran over the horns which he could feel but couldn''t see.


    ¡°Careful,¡± I said with a sharp click of my tongue. ¡°They¡¯re sharp.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re¡ª¡± He sucked in a quick gasp and stared at his finger. On the tip was a tiny cut, nothing more than a paper cut compared to the gash I''d given myself earlier, but it was there. He now had physical evidence that my horns were real. He couldn''t deny that.


    ¡°Is that why you''re wearing that parka? Those leggings?¡± He swallowed. ¡°Because you¡¯re cold?¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°So¡­ you''re a witch.¡± He licked his lips, and I could see the nervous energy radiating from him. ¡°You can eat magick.¡±


    ¡°I can''t eat magick.¡±


    ¡°But¡ª¡±


    ¡°Silvy explained it all,¡± I said, cutting him off. ¡°Silvy, tell him.¡±


    Silvy, sitting between us on the carpet, off to the side, licked absently at her paw. ¡°I''m good.¡±


    ¡°She doesn''t want to talk to you.¡± I sighed and looked back at him. ¡°She''s being bitchy.¡±


    ¡°Bitchy?¡± Silvy slowly walked over to Flin, to where he was holding his hands in his lap. Before I could stop her, before I could say no, she licked his finger. Only she didn¡¯t just lick his finger. She licked the place where two seconds earlier I had seen tiny little beads of blood. Flin pulled his hand back as though he''d felt something but wasn''t sure exactly what.


    ¡°It was her,¡± I said. ¡°She just licked your cut.¡±


    I didn''t tell Flin what she''d really been doing. I didn''t tell him that she had finally achieved a goal: she¡¯d finally tasted his blood.


    Silvy slowly floated in the air and turned over onto her back, her feet kicking up and her striped tail swishing back and forth.


    ¡°He tastes like a liar,¡± she said.


    I rolled my eyes at her. ¡°Anyways, she doesn''t want you to see her right now, I guess. But you felt her, she''s there.¡±


    Flin chewed on his lip. Unable to disagree with the cut on his finger, but also unable to fully believe something he couldn''t see.


    He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. I waited as he did this several more times, apparently unable to come to a decision as to what he wanted to say.


    He chewed on his lip for another second longer and then blurted out, ¡°You know, they say that witches, even when they''re not actively trying to eat magick, that they drain the magick of those they¡¯re around.¡±


    I took a deep breath and let it out. ¡°Look, I¡¯m a complete stick minus the horns and the familiar.¡±


    I avoided telling him that I could exist in the Shadow Vaile, because I didn''t want to blow his mind any more than it already was. I couldn¡¯t have him distracted from what I needed him to do.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°How can you know for sure?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I can''t,¡± I said. ¡°I can only trust the familiar that will be with me for the rest of my life. However long that happens to be.¡±


    ¡°So¡­¡± Flin said, thinking. ¡°Will you live for hundreds of years now?¡±


    I glanced at Silvy who stared back at me. ¡°Well?¡±


    ¡°Well what?¡± Flin asked me back.


    ¡°I''m asking Silvy. Just a second,¡± I told Flin. ¡°So? Am I gonna live for hundreds of years?¡±


    Silvy gave me a faint smile and shrugged. ¡°You¡¯d have to see a scryer. I''m not that.¡±


    I looked over at Flin. ¡°She says I¡¯d have to see a scryer.¡±


    Flin nodded as though this made complete sense.


    ¡°Well, you can use witchstones now,¡± he said, and then frowned. ¡°Or maybe you can''t. Witches can use witchstones without having any adverse effect on their lifespan, but seeing as you don''t have the witch power, it¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°I know, right?¡± I asked. ¡°It''s kind of a mind screw. I don''t know what I''m supposed to do. What I can do and what I can''t.¡±


    Flin let out a bark of a laugh. ¡°You¡¯re a new species, Hex.¡±


    I didn''t think it was that funny, but I gave him a smile anyways. He was right. I didn''t like that he was right, but he was. I was a new species, a new sort of being. A half-witch.


    Frowning, I wondered if there had ever been another half-witch in the history of the magick world. If so, maybe I wasn¡¯t as novel as I thought.


    ¡°So, if you''re saying that I¡¯m a new species, there haven''t ever been any other half-witches in magickal history?¡±


    Flin shook his head. ¡°Not that I know of. Then again, my expertise isn¡¯t magickal zoology.¡±


    Magickal zoology¡­ Just the sound of those two words opened a world of horrors and delights that I wasn''t sure I wanted any part of. There were plenty of scary animals in the stick world. I didn''t want to think about any scary magickal creatures and what they might be capable of.


    I swallowed. I qualify as one of those magickal creatures.


    I choked out a laugh. ¡°They¡¯ll put me in a zoo.¡±


    ¡°Zoo?¡± Flin asked with a frown. ¡°The Austerium doesn''t use zoos. There are special shards dedicated to¡ª¡±


    I was staring at him with my eyebrow raised.


    ¡°Right,¡± he said, catching on. ¡°They''re not gonna send you to a shard. They wouldn''t do that.¡±


    I laughed. ¡°They would, but they''re not going to get the chance. Listen. I need your help.¡±


    ¡°With?¡±


    I took a deep breath. ¡°We need to clear some things up first.¡±


    ¡°Like?¡±


    ¡°Do you believe me? Do you believe what I''ve told you?¡±


    ¡°I mean¡­ yeah.¡± He glanced down at the cut on his finger. ¡°I kind of have to, don''t I?¡±


    ¡°No. You don''t have to. That''s why I''m asking.¡±


    ¡°I mean¡­ you have the horns, I guess you have the familiar. I don''t know what else there is.¡±


    ¡°You don''t know what else there is,¡± I said. ¡°So, let me tell you: Geist scammed me.¡±


    ¡°You told me that, but I still don''t understand why. You said that he scammed you to get inside of Blackhart. But why would he destroy it?¡±


    ¡°I don''t know.¡±


    ¡°And you said that he had you deliver witchstones to the shop right down the street that was also destroyed in the same way. Are you saying he had something to do with that as well?¡±


    ¡°I don''t know. All I know is that he had something to do with Blackhart being destroyed.¡±


    ¡°You can''t know that. What if some outside force attacked both of those shops?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s possible I guess.¡±


    He frowned. ¡°I just don''t understand why you''re so convinced that it was Geist who destroyed Blackhart.¡±


    ¡°Because he told Lebec that I scammed him. The very fact that he lied about what happened once I gave him access to my shop means that he has to be lying about so much more. He wanted access to Blackhart so he could destroy it.¡±


    Flin shrugged. ¡°I still don''t think one means that the other occurred, but I understand how you could reach that conclusion.¡±


    I shook my head.


    ¡°I think the real question,¡± Silvy said, stretching on the carpet, ¡°is whether or not Flin is being willfully stupid, or if it''s just natural.¡±


    I sighed.


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said, shaking my head and trying to sort through things. ¡°So, are you willing to find out if Geist''s lying? Are you open to the possibility that he¡¯s lying and that he¡¯s the one that destroyed Blackhart?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Flin said without any hesitation. ¡°I''m open to that.¡±


    I started to speak again, but Flin cut me off.


    ¡°You know,¡± he said in a low voice. ¡°The way Lebec talked about what Geist told him made it seem as though Geist had said quite a bit more. Lebec made it seem as though he was only giving us the surface story.¡±


    I nodded, waiting for him to continue. I didn''t know where he was going or what he was getting at, but I hoped it would be in my favor. Whatever it was.


    ¡°You know,¡± he said again with a nod of his head. ¡°I think you may be right. Why would Geist go through all this trouble? Why would Geist lie to Lebec, to the Austerium, to everyone about¡ªand I''m sorry for saying this¡ªabout a stick like you.¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°Exactly. I''m no one, except when it comes to one thing.¡±


    ¡°Blackhart,¡± Flin said.


    ¡°Blackhart,¡± I agreed.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Flin said as he wrapped his mind around what I was saying. ¡°Okay, I think I can help you.¡±


    ¡°Will you help me?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± he said. ¡°I''ll help.¡± He stared up at the ceiling for a long time before he looked down at me. ¡°What can I do?¡±


    I pulled my hood back up over my head and smiled at him from the darkness within.

 Chapter 39

    ¡°I want to steal all of Geist''s witchstones.¡±


    Flin stared back for a long moment as though he hadn''t really heard what I said.


    ¡°You want¡­ to steal¡­ his witchstones?¡± With each set of words that Flin spoke, the confusion on his face grew.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, smiling and nodding as I imagined the outcome. ¡°I kinda do.¡±


    ¡°I don''t follow,¡± Flin said. ¡°From what you''ve said, he got you kicked out of Bristlebloom and the magick world for claiming that you scammed him, and now you actually want to scam him? To rob him?¡±


    I twirled my tongue around that longer fang on the left side. I couldn''t quit playing with it. ¡°Yeah. I do.¡±


    ¡°To what end though?¡±


    ¡°To the end that gets me all of his inventory. All those witchstones.¡±


    ¡°It''s not everything he owns though. He has a bank account.¡±


    I smiled at Flin. ¡°I don''t need his bank account. I''m not trying to bankrupt him. Here''s what I want, and this might seem stupid to you, but it''s important to me: there''s a theatre that my father bought when I was younger. I grew up playing in that theatre. Geist just stole that theatre out from under me. He over bid on it and drove the price up so high that I had to take on a job that left me spiraling, in his debt, and willing to do anything to stay in the magick world. The same job that cursed me with these horns.¡±


    ¡°So, you, what¡­ want him to give you the theatre in exchange for giving all of his witchstones back?¡±


    I nodded. It wasn''t a groundbreaking plan, not by a longshot, but I wasn''t willing to leave the magick world with just a curse. I was going to take the thing I wanted most and leave with that. I¡¯d opened the door on a new world of possibilities and that door had been slammed on my face. That was fine. I could deal with that if I could at least manage to get the theatre out of it.


    ¡°What if he says no?¡± Flin asked.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll have a lot of witchstones to sell on the black market.¡±


    Flin nodded. ¡°Okay, I''ll help you. Not because I think you deserve that theatre, or his witchstones, but because he never should''ve lied about you, never should''ve forced you out, never should''ve given you a witchstone to stonebreak. Do you know how long people have to train to be competent at stonebreaking?¡±


    I shrugged and Flin continued, ¡°I mean there''s only ever been one truly competent stonebreaker and¡ª¡±


    Flin stopped talking and just stared at me.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said in a flat voice. ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°Right. I suppose you would. Okay¡­ you''re not expecting me to get you back into the magick world, right?¡±


    Silly boy¡­


    ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°I have my own way in. I just need you to get me into Geist''s shop.¡±


    ¡°I''m not going to help you move those witchstones either. I don''t want any of this being traced back to me.¡±


    ¡°The only thing I need you to do is get Geist to leave his shop and to get me into it.¡±


    Flin stared at me for a long time, thinking it over, trying to worry out any sort of weakness.


    There were so many weaknesses that I wouldn''t have been surprised if he¡¯d said no at that point and walked away forever. I would''ve been upset, sure, but I would¡¯ve understood.


    Silvy, still lying down on the carpet between us, rolled over onto her stomach and sat up. ¡°Your plan seems flimsy,¡± she said.


    I looked down at her. ¡°Yeah. I know. I''m trying to keep it open-ended in case anything goes wrong, that way I can pivot.¡±


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    Silvy snorted. ¡°Pivot? What is this, a startup?¡±


    ¡°No, but I want to be fluid in case I need to change plans.¡±


    Silvy shrugged.


    If she¡¯d been in that witchstone for 578 years as she claimed, how could she know what a startup is?


    My eyes narrowed and I guess she felt some of the suspicion coursing through my veins.


    She stared right back into my face and said, ¡°We''ll talk about that later.¡±


    ¡°You''re right,¡± I said. ¡°We will.¡±


    Silvy laughed. ¡°I¡¯d be more concerned with your plan. You have to live through this thing first. This masterful heist.¡±


    I frowned. That¡¯s exactly what this is, a heist.


    ¡°Are there alarms?¡± I asked Flin, but he just stared back as though he was waiting on something. ¡°I''m talking to you now, Flin.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± he said, his shoulders jumping, ¡°not that I know of. I think the only notable thing about Geist''s shop is that it''s warded.¡±


    ¡°Warded?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but that shouldn''t apply to you.¡±


    ¡°What''s it warded against?¡±


    Flin shrugged. ¡°Probably against those Geist doesn''t trust.¡±


    ¡°He wouldn''t trust me,¡± I said.


    ¡°He also wouldn''t expect you. Remember, he thinks you''re a stick.¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°Speaking of,¡± Flin trailed off, raising his eyebrows.


    I muttered, ¡°I''m sure this is going to be just super nonoffensive.¡±


    Flin smiled. ¡°I¡¯m just trying to figure out the logistics of this. How are you going to get into the magick world?¡±


    ¡°Leave that to me.¡±


    ¡°And you haven''t mentioned anything about leaving Geist''s. How are you going to get out with all those witchstones? What are you going to carry them in?¡±


    A girl¡¯s gotta have secrets¡­ ¡°Again, leave that to me.¡±


    Flin opened his mouth to argue this, to dig deeper and stress test my plan, but I shook my head. ¡°You said you didn''t want to have anything to do with that part of the plan. I''ve got it covered and there will be no backfiring on you, it''s fine.¡±


    Flin nodded at me, but I could tell it was still bothering him. I could tell he really wanted to know. He took a deep breath and sighed. ¡°Fine. What else?¡±


    ¡°How do people contact each other in the magick world?¡± I asked. ¡°I need a way for you to let me know when Geist has left his shop.¡±


    ¡°That would require me to be in his shop when he leaves. The best I can do is tell you when I''ve told him what you want me to tell him to get him to leave.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Okay, but the question still stands: how do we contact each other? I assume phones don''t work across plaines and shards.¡±


    Flin nodded. ¡°Lumadexes.¡±


    ¡°You can communicate with them too?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. They''ve got communication built in. It¡¯s like FaceTime except in holographic form. Same idea.¡±


    ¡°What about messages? I don''t think I need to holographically call you.¡±


    Flin laughed. ¡°Yeah, they do that too. There¡¯s direct messaging as well as email.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Wonderful. Do you have one I can use?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, here.¡± He pulled a matte black chunk of rock out of his pocket. It was completely smooth, flat, and in the same shape as a cell phone. The only difference was that it was featureless minus the channels of different color crystals running across the surface. I flipped it over and saw that it had a clear crystal on the back with that same seal from my dorm room.


    ¡°I can use this?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Flin shrugged. ¡°That''s an old model anyways.¡±


    ¡°An old model,¡± I said, surprised at how alike the stick world was to the magick world in some areas. Or was it how alike the magick world was to the stick world? Weren¡¯t cell phones basically magick anyways?


    Philosophy isn¡¯t really a new hobby you have the time to pursue right now. Focus.


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said, ¡°how do I work it?¡±


    Flin came over to show me how to activate it and use the communications.


    You now have a Lumadex capable of not just researching magick world items and things, but also of communicating with those in the magick world. Maybe you should consider whether it would make more sense for you to just keep Geist''s witchstones and start your own business.


    With the Lumadex I held, I could do that.


    But I thought about the theatre. I couldn''t turn my back on it. I couldn''t turn my back on my father''s legacy.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Flin said, watching as I sent him a test direct message. ¡°What else?¡±


    ¡°I think that''s it,¡± I said. ¡°I just need you to message me when you''ve told him where to meet me.¡±


    ¡°And¡­ where would that be?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Tell him to meet me at the ruins of Blackhart.¡±


    Flin nodded. ¡°Okay. I can do that.¡±


    ¡°Wonderful,¡± I said.


    Silvy disintegrated into smoke and spun up my arms in a billowy cloud. She slithered into my hood and wrapped herself around my neck.


    ¡°I still say you should just kill Geist,¡± she purred. ¡°I say you should leave his body to me. Just let me have a little bit of a taste. That''s all. A taste.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said.


    ¡°No?¡± Flin asked.


    I sighed. ¡°Just Silvy. Don''t worry about it.¡±


    Flin nodded. ¡°Okay.¡±


    It looked like the gravity of what he was signing on to do was setting in.


    ¡°Hey,¡± I said. ¡°It''s going to be fine. This is gonna work.¡±


    ¡°How do you know?¡± Flin asked.


    ¡°Because I''m lucky,¡± I lied. ¡°Always have been.¡±


    Flin nodded, not knowing the sheer captain-of-the-Titanic nature of the lie. ¡°I guess I just have one final question.¡±


    ¡°Go on. We might as well get it all out in the open now, that way there''ll be less questions when we start doing things.¡±


    ¡°Why would Geist meet you at the ruins of Blackhart? What would convince him to do that?¡±


    It was the one thing I did have a handle on, the one thing I knew I could tell Geist that would get him to go to the ruins. To get him out of his shop.


    ¡°Tell him I know a way to get the Builder¡¯s Stone. Tell him that I can get it for him.¡±

 Chapter 40

    We decided there was no time like the present.


    Once Flin was gone, once I''d locked the door behind him, I sat back down on the floor of my apartment.


    ¡°Are you ready?¡± Silvy asked from around my neck.


    ¡°Yup,¡± I said. ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    Without a second''s hesitation a black hole yawned open below me, sucking me in. As I entered the Shadow Vaile, my mind whirled with worry.


    I hope this works. What if Blackhart had some sort of ward protecting it? What if that was how it could exist in the Shadow Vaile, what if that was how it was able to keep its structure? I hope this works.


    I fell into the Shadow Vaile and opened my eyes, seeing bright and faint lights alike floating far off¡­ Or were they close? It was hard to tell. Everything was black and I couldn''t see anything minus the lights, but then I saw two lights that I did recognize: I saw Silvy''s eyes slowly spinning clockwise.


    When I was growing up, I¡¯d read stories of deep-sea divers panicking in the darkness, hearing giant things moving, occasionally being brushed by something they couldn¡¯t see. Of course, when I was in the same sort of situation, all of these thoughts, all of these fears came back to me. And that''s when I started to hear things, to feel things.


    ¡°Keep your eyes on me,¡± Silvy said in a playful voice. ¡°Wouldn''t want you to get lost here. That would be so tragic.¡±


    I started to open my mouth to respond, but something brushed against my lips and my head jerked back. The back of my head bumped into something solid, something with a tiny amount of give that moved past, jostling me. From my left I heard someone whisper, something whisper, ¡°What''s a witch doing here?¡±


    The voice almost vibrated with malice.


    ¡°We¡¯re just passing through,¡± Silvy said.


    ¡°You¡¯re just passing through,¡± the whispering voice said, and something curled around my ankle. ¡°Might we have a taste? A tender morsel? A piece.¡±


    The bright lights that I had originally thought were far away were coming closer, starting to surround me.


    ¡°No,¡± Silvy said, and there was a smile in her voice that I didn¡¯t trust. ¡°Not today. Maybe another day, but not now.¡±


    ¡°And if we take it?¡± the whispering voice asked and all the lights minus Silvy¡¯s eyes shuttered into blackness before reappearing.


    It¡¯s one thing. You¡¯re being examined by 100 eyes belonging to one enormous thing, surrounded.


    Whatever was gripping my ankle tightened.


    ¡°You can try,¡± Silvy said, ¡°but I''d have to do something about it.¡±


    ¡°Would you?¡± the thing whispered. ¡°Would you do something about it?¡±


    ¡°Excuse me for a moment,¡± Silvy said, but I wasn¡¯t sure if she was talking to me or to the thing until the light of her eyes disappeared. There was a sudden scream of rage and a gasp that surrounded me. There was thrashing, choking, and suddenly all the other lights went out.


    The thing that had wrapped itself around my ankle went limp and fell away.


    Two lights bloomed in the darkness, and these lights were gigantic. Each of them had to be as tall as my body and they were both in front of me, illuminating me like twin spotlights in the dark.


    ¡°Silvy?¡± I asked into the darkness, my voice shaking. I wanted my familiar back. I didn¡¯t want to be left to fend off the giant creature now looking at me.


    Slowly, the gigantic lights started spinning clockwise and I realized that what I was looking at was indeed Silvy. I opened my mouth to scream but, before I got a chance to make a noise, my body was thrown out of the Shadow Vaile and into a brick wall in a back alley.


    I slid down the wall and hit the ground hard. I lay there for several moments, sucking in deep breaths, trying to breathe through the coughing and the retching.


    Silvy floated through the portal, back to her regular size, and the portal closed behind her. She floated over to me and then onto my chest. I barely felt her tiny form there as she looked down at me with her glowing eyes.


    ¡°Sorry about that,¡± Silvy said. ¡°Sometimes friends aren''t so friendly to other friends.¡±


    I thought about the choking, the screams, the sudden death of all the lights.


    ¡°Did you kill that other thing?¡±


    She just smiled at me. All four inches of her looking like an adorable kitten, but I was reminded of how huge those globes of light had been in the Shadow Vaile.


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    ¡°Something like that, but a little worse.¡± Silvy let out a sigh, stretched, and floated back off my chest to the alleyway ground. She licked at her paws as she watched me. I sat up, shaky.


    ¡°I feel sick,¡± I said.


    ¡°It''s your first time. You''ll get used to it.¡±


    Not sure that¡¯s something I want to get used to. Not really an experience I want to repeat.


    I got up once I felt like I could stand and tried to catch my breath.


    Silvy poofed into smoke and slithered her way up my leg to get into my hood.


    My mouth fell open as something clicked in my head.


    You were warm.


    I was freezing now, but in the Shadow Vaile, I hadn''t been cold at all. I pulled the parka tighter around me, burying my head in the back of the hood, trying to keep some semblance of warmth there.


    I wanted something to drink that was warm.


    Coffee and Content.


    I made my way out of the alleyway and into the main thoroughfare of the Night Market. I looked left and right, ignoring the vendors, looking for the sign.


    It was off to my right.


    I headed in that direction, dodging people, dodging vendors, not wanting to touch anyone after my experience in the Shadow Vaile. As I drew closer to the warm glow of the lights inside the shop, I relaxed a little. I stepped into Coffee and Content and went straight to the counter, not wasting time gawking at the strange drinks on the tables around me.


    The barista had her back to me and thankfully it was a different barista than the one I¡¯d seen the other times. She worked at making a bizarre drink that both smoked and sputtered. When she finished what she was doing, she placed the drink onto a golden seal to her left. The drink vanished, probably already being enjoyed by someone at a table behind me.


    I glanced up at the menu, searching for a drink that would be the warmest.


    If the hottest setting in the shower didn¡¯t burn your skin, can you drink boiling water without it having any effect?


    As the barista turned to face me, she said, ¡°How can I¡ª¡± but the words choked off at the end.


    My eyes left the menu and fell on the barista. Her mouth hung open as though she¡¯d forgotten what she was going to say. My own mouth fell open.


    She stared at me, and I stared at her.


    When I¡¯d first dragged my eyes down from the menu to her face, I caught a phantom glimpse of a familiar shape, but it wasn¡¯t until we locked eyes that the shape solidified.


    The barista had branching antlers growing directly out of her forehead, curving back to trace along the curve of her skull. Her horns were green, almost velvety, but there was no denying the sharp edges that each of the tiny little prongs had.


    She stared at my horns which I knew she must be able to see as well.


    Your hood is pulled up though.


    ¡°This is gonna be interesting¡­¡± Silvy purred in my ear.


    The barista swallowed.


    ¡°What can I get you?¡± she asked, her voice flat as she eyed me with suspicion.


    ¡°Something¡­¡± My words fell away. How do I see if she can see my horns? How can I test her? ¡°Warm. I¡¯m very cold.¡±


    The barista raised an eyebrow but nodded as she took in my parka.


    ¡°So,¡± she said as she started fixing something for me. ¡°First time?¡±


    The question was pointed, and I couldn''t tell whether she was asking me if it was my first time in Coffee and Content or if it was my first time in the Night Market.


    ¡°It''s a long story. I''m new here.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± she said. ¡°I''ve never seen you before.¡± She leaned forward. ¡°And I know everyone.¡±


    I nodded. I didn''t have time for this. I just wanted something warm so that I could get out of there, so that I could go about my business and take care of my plan.


    What if Flin is already there? What if he''s already¡ª


    Something buzzed in my pocket. I pulled out the Lumadex, glancing at it.


    A single word floated up above the surface: Done.


    Flin was finished which meant I needed to get to my spot. I needed to make sure Geist showed up at Blackhart.


    ¡°Here,¡± the barista said, pushing across a cup that bubbled as though it was boiling inside.


    I brought it up to my lips and took a sip, sure it would burn the roof of my mouth, would burn my insides. But, as I swallowed it, I felt the delicate warmth of it drifting out from my throat. I felt it work its way down into my chest where it blossomed with heat. It didn''t work its way all the way to my toes or my fingers, not even my arms or my legs, but that heat in my chest felt good.


    ¡°You and I need to talk,¡± the barista said.


    I stared at her. ¡°I don''t know how much longer I''ll be here.¡±


    ¡°What''s your name?¡±


    ¡°Hex.¡±


    ¡°Where do you live?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Nightsbridge,¡± I answered. ¡°You?¡±


    She shook her head no. ¡°We''ll see each other soon.¡±


    ¡°How much was this?¡± I asked, needing to get out of there.


    ¡°It''s on the house this time,¡± she said. ¡°Besides. It¡¯s off menu¡­ like us. Next time I''ll make you pay, though.¡±


    I nodded and turned around, leaving the shop. The Lumadex in my pocket buzzed again and I pulled it out. This time there were four words: He¡¯s on the move.


    ¡°I love how trusting you are,¡± Silvy purred.


    I left Coffee and Content and headed out into the main thoroughfare of the Night Market, moving among the people, sipping at the still boiling cup of liquid. I didn''t know how it was still boiling and I didn''t really care. It was keeping my core warm and it felt so good in my hands.


    I made my way into the alley opposite Blackhart, hid behind one of those blocks I still needed to figure out the purpose of, and waited. Silvy floated just above it and kept watch, grumbling about this the entire time.


    As we waited, I thought over the interaction with the witch. She was the first witch I''d seen. Her horns weren¡¯t what I thought they were going to be. For some reason I''d expected her horns to stick straight out of her forehead like a devil¡¯s, or maybe out of the sides of her head like that one Disney witch lady.


    The horns on the barista¡¯s head had almost been growing in the shape of a crown, close to her head.


    They were nothing like my horns, my two little knife tips poking up through my hair.


    Shaking my head, I finished the drink and set the cup on the pavement next to me. Within seconds I heard something scuttle down by my foot and looked. The cup was rolling towards the block I was standing behind. I reached down to grab it, to stop it from making noise, but before I had the chance the cup lost its form. It went liquid somehow and absorbed into the block.


    Oh. I guess that¡¯s why there¡¯s no trash anywhere?


    I took a step back from the block, not wanting to be turned into liquid myself and absorbed.


    I waited there, waited for Silvy to tell me that Geist was at Blackhart, prepared for the next part. Prepared to go back into the Shadow Vaile.


    When Silvy spoke, I closed my eyes. I really didn''t want to go back to that darkness, but I looked forward to the warmth.


    ¡°Geist''s here,¡± Silvy said, and without another word, she opened a familiar portal below me and I fell back into the Shadow Vaile.

 Chapter 41

    This time when I entered the Shadow Vaile, there were no lights at all.


    Pure darkness.


    I closed my eyes, knowing that for some reason the darkness within my closed eyes was more finite than the darkness stretching out before me in the Shadow Vaile. I also didn''t want to see Silvy''s eyes, each one larger than me, and have to think about her possibly just swallowing me whole. She could eat me like nothing more than a crunchy little morsel.


    Silvy''s voice came to my ears. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    I opened my left eye first, convinced I was still in the Shadow Vaile, but then I saw ambient light coming through what looked like a doorway on my right. I looked around the inside of what I now realized was my dorm room, what had been my dorm room for all of two days.


    I went over to my bed and lay down on it, enjoying the feel, the squeaks of the familiar springs beneath my body. Silvy, floating at the center of the room, slowly spun in a circle. ¡°Don''t you have something you''re supposed to be doing?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°Waiting.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Silvy said. ¡°So, what are you going to do with all this furniture if you end up getting the theatre?¡±


    ¡°I guess I could convert some of the upper tiers, some of the old opera boxes into bedrooms. That would be neat, I guess.¡±


    ¡°You think living in an abandoned theatre, in a decrepit opera box, would be neat?


    ¡°Different worlds.¡±


    ¡°Obviously.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of different worlds,¡± I said. ¡°Why did this second trip go so much faster than the first one? Why were we in the Shadow Vaile for so much less time?¡±


    Silvy smiled at me. ¡°I thought I''d introduce you to the family.¡±


    My eyes snapped open and I stared at her. ¡°You¡¯re related to that thing?¡±


    ¡°I was. And then¡­¡± She broke into a fit of giggles. ¡°I wasn''t.¡±


    I didn''t even want to begin to delve into that.


    I sat up on the bed, a growing sense of unease roiling in my stomach.


    I hated that I couldn¡¯t just have Silvy open a familiar portal into Geist''s shop. That would''ve been ideal. But I was hamstrung here, having to rely on Flin for this part. Hating every second of it, it felt like I was regressing. It felt like it would be so easy for me to fall back into my old habit of relying on others to fix my own problems. Luck, fate, whatever misguided thing I¡¯d call it.


    Something was posted on the back of my door, something I hadn¡¯t noticed and hadn¡¯t put up.


    A poster.


    I''m not exactly a poster sort of girl. I never really saw the point. There were always lottery tickets or scratch offs that could have been bought with that money, so I never saw the point in burning cash on something that would just hang on a wall.


    This poster showed an image of me.


    Above my picture it said FORBIDDEN in thick, capital letters and below was my name.


    I let out a laugh at the picture they chose. It was the last picture that had been taken of me in high school. My senior picture.


    I smiled, knowing that I looked nothing like that anymore. I knew that, with the hood up and my hair the way it was, not to mention my weird clothing and thigh highs, I looked completely different.


    ¡°Well,¡± Silvy said, ¡°I guess the ugly duckling didn''t grow into a swan after all.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± I said flatly.


    ¡°She grew into something worse: a serpent with horns.¡±


    For some reason, for some dumb, strange reason, I took this as a compliment. It felt like an almost signifier of respect coming from Silvy''s mouth.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, looking at the image of myself. Forbidden. ¡°Yeah, I guess I did.¡±


    Shaking my head, I read the rest of the poster.


    If you see Hexana Covington, please report her to the nearest Austerium authority.


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    Below that were several other words and symbols, some of which I understood and some of which I didn''t. The word stick I understood, but beside that there was another symbol.


    It looked like a thick X, but the lower left arm was twice the size of the other arms.


    ¡°What is that?¡± I asked, pointing at the symbol.


    Silvy looked at it and laughed. ¡°You don''t know the symbol for your plaine?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know my plaine even had a symbol. I didn¡¯t even know it was called a plaine.¡±


    ¡°I think¡ª¡± Silvy started to say, but before she could finish, there was a knock at the door.


    I glanced through the peephole and saw Flin standing there with his arms crossed.


    I opened the door, but only got it open a foot or so before Flin grabbed the knob and slammed it shut, staying on the other side. Frowning, I reached out for the doorknob and tried to pull it open again. His hand was gripping the knob on the other side and he was pulling it to keep it from opening.


    ¡°Uh,¡± I said, glancing at Silvy who was floating beside the door. ¡°What''s going on here?¡±


    Frowning, Silvy dissipated into smoke and slipped through the cracks edging the door. She was gone for a moment before the smoke came back through the cracks and she reformed.


    ¡°Lebec is walking down the hallway. He¡¯s walking towards Flin.¡±


    What Silvy had said after tasting Flin¡¯s blood came back to me: He tastes like a liar.


    My mind took off, spinning out in possible theories as to what was happening.


    Was this all some sort of elaborate trap to get me into this dorm room so he could turn me over to Lebec? Is this some sort of sellout?


    As I stared at the poster on the inside of the door, my thoughts a mess, I saw something at the bottom that made my heart stop.


    Reward: $200,000 dollars and the eternal thanks of the Council of Elders.


    I closed my eyes and Silvy whistled. ¡°That''s a lot of money for a regular stick. I wonder why your reward is so high¡­¡±


    I could just see Flin, knowing that my plan was a long shot anyway, knowing that I would probably get caught, deciding to cut his losses and just take the reward. To turn me over to Lebec and the Austerium.


    I sighed. And like that I realized it was over before it ever began. I was done.


    Or are you¡­


    I stared at the door, not wanting to leave my fate in the hands of the two men outside the door. I couldn''t do that. I wouldn¡¯t.


    I glanced at Silvy.


    ¡°Can you open a portal to the dorm room across the hallway?¡± I asked.


    Silvy shrugged. ¡°Sure. What''s your plan if someone''s in there?¡±


    ¡°I don''t have a plan,¡± I said, and I didn''t. But it was the only thing I was willing to do. I wasn''t willing to sit there to wait and see. I wasn''t willing to bet my freedom on luck and luck alone. I wanted to know whether Flin could be trusted, whether what Silvy had said had been serious or just...


    I need to know.


    ¡°Do it,¡± I said.


    The portal opened below me, and I fell through the floor of my dorm into the other dorm room. Thankfully, I landed on a bed.


    Silvy floated through calmly and landed on my shoulder.


    ¡°Lucky thing no one was sleeping,¡± she said, and I caught sight of a mischievous grin.


    She''d been hoping that I would fall onto some poor, unsuspecting sleeping student and that it would cause a scene.


    I hopped off the bed and walked over to the door, doing everything I could to block out the pleased sort of purring coming from my shoulder. I looked through the peephole, watching. I could just barely make out Lebec. He stood just out of sight of the peephole, just under its range.


    I pressed my ear to the door, listening, trying to make out what they were saying. I could only get every other word, but Silvy, already having made her play at fun, helped me out. She was soon whispering into my ear, her ears pricking and twisting as Flin and Lebec spoke. Her voice even changed, approximating Lebec¡¯s voice and Flin''s, filling my ear with their conversation. I listened, my heart pounding.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Lebec asked. ¡°Why are you standing outside of Hexana''s room?¡±


    ¡°I was seeing if she came back,¡± Flin said. ¡°I wanted that reward. And I thought if she did come back, this is where she''d go first. I mean, all of her furniture is here, right?¡±


    ¡°Is it?¡± Lebec frowned. ¡°They should''ve already transported it back to her house. Why¡¯s it still in there?¡±


    Flin shrugged. ¡°No idea. I was surprised to see it. I was actually coming to find you.¡±


    ¡°Were you?¡± Lebec asked.


    ¡°I was. I just went in there, checked it out, saw it all, and thought you should know.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Lebec said, staring at Flin. ¡°Thank you for that.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Flin said.


    ¡°Was there anything else?¡± Lebec asked. ¡°Anything else you think I should know?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Flin said. ¡°Well, actually there''s one thing. There''s been a disturbing complication.¡±


    My heart froze at this.


    ¡°What sort of complication?¡± Lebec asked.


    ¡°With Blackhart and with the other shop. Why do you think we''ve seen blood magick lume at both sites?¡±


    Lebec cleared his throat. ¡°I don''t think there''s a blood caster out there. I think someone has access to high-quality blood magick witchstones.¡±


    ¡°I have several ideas as to where those stones might be coming from.¡±


    ¡°So did I,¡± Lebec laughed, ¡°until Blackhart was destroyed. That ruined that idea, though.¡±


    Flin laughed. ¡°That was my thought too, but what if someone, whoever was inside Blackhart, took all the witchstones, transported them somewhere else, before destroying the place?¡±


    ¡°That may be the case,¡± Lebec said, ¡°but only a Covington can ever have access to Blackhart. How would someone other than Hexana or Hexana''s father enter Blackhart?¡±


    ¡°I''m not sure,¡± Flin said. ¡°I don''t think Hexana could.¡±


    ¡°Well it wasn''t her father,¡± Lebec said.


    ¡°That''s true.¡±


    ¡°Right, well, thank you for letting me know about the furniture. I''ll report it to the Austerium and make sure they return it all to her. From what I understand she''s not going have a place to put it, but we have no use for stick furniture.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Flin agreed. ¡°No, we don''t.¡±


    I sunk down, my back pressed against the door of the dormitory, my eyes closed and my heart pounding.


    Flin hadn¡¯t betrayed me.


    I closed my eyes and sat there, listening as Flin and Lebec¡¯s footsteps moved down the hall in opposite directions. Soon a single pair of footsteps returned. I heard the door across the hallway open.


    I stood up and watched through the peephole as Flin entered my dorm room. I opened the door I was behind and stepped into the hallway. Then I opened the door to my own dorm, my old dorm, and stood there. Flin jumped as the door opened, spinning around.


    ¡°Hex!¡± he almost shouted. ¡°You scared me.¡±


    I shrugged.


    ¡°How did you get out of your room and into that other one?¡± he asked.


    ¡°That''s my secret,¡± I answered. ¡°Everyone''s got a few, right?¡±


    Flin grinned. ¡°Right.¡±


    ¡°Time¡¯s wasting,¡± I said. ¡°Let''s go.¡±

 Chapter 42

    Flin grabbed my hand and led me down the hallway towards the gateway room. Silvy floated right over my shoulder.


    After seeing the picture that they''d used for the wanted poster, I wasn''t that concerned with anybody recognizing me. Sure, there was that confrontation at the ruins of Blackhart when Lebec very publicly exiled me and the classmates who were there that day would definitely remember me, but the majority of the student body wouldn¡¯t be able to pick me out of a crowd.


    A girl opened the door at the end of the hallway and began walking towards us. She moved slowly, not really seeming to be in any sort of a hurry. She was staring down at something in her hand, something that was lighting up her face.


    Lumadex.


    As she got closer, she seemed to realize that there were other people in the hallway with her. She glanced up at Flin, nodded in recognition, and then her eyes fell on me. She took in my parka, my thigh highs, and my boots, then promptly looked back down at her Lumadex.


    I didn''t know if she¡¯d recognized me and was playing it off, or if she just saw me as more background noise in her otherwise magickal life. I continued after Flin, doing everything in my power not to glance over my shoulder to see if she was following us with her eyes.


    We made it three or four more steps before Silvy whispered into my ear. ¡°She just went into her dorm room. She didn''t bother looking back.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± I muttered.


    ¡°I wish she had. That would''ve been an interesting fight. You and her, tussling.¡±


    ¡°Tussling?¡± I laughed. ¡°Who uses the word tussling?¡±


    ¡°Probably the same one who thinks this little plan you¡¯re carrying out is doomed to fail.¡±


    ¡°I thought you liked ideas like that.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I do. I''m just letting you know what sort of person would use the word tussle.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not a person.¡±


    Silvy snorted but didn¡¯t say anything back.


    Finally got her. The score stands at Hex - 1, Silvy - 500.


    As we neared the end of the hallway, a door to my right opened up suddenly and a boy came out surprised to find two people walking in front of his own door, tripping and bumping into me. He hit the ground a little harder than I think either he or I expected.


    Before I knew what I was doing, I bent down and extended a hand to help him up, the sort of thing it felt like I should do.


    Flin sucked in a breath and tried to get between us, tried to help the boy up himself, but the boy¡¯s hand was already in my own and I was pulling him up.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± the boy said. ¡°Thank you so¡ª¡±


    He stared into my face and his eyes grew wide. I saw a look of recognition. He was one of the classmates in my vanisher class. And he¡¯d recognized not another classmate, but forbidden Hexana Covington.


    He tried to relax his face, tried to act like he hadn''t recognized me but before he really got a chance, green light shot over my shoulder and hit him right in the center of the forehead. He flew back, hit the door, and slid down it. As he slumped to the side, his eyes rolled into the back of his head.


    Flin breathed in my ear. ¡°We need to move fast now. He''s only going to be passed out for a minute or two. If he remembers anything when he comes to, we need to get out of here.¡±


    The door of the dorm room the boy had fallen into opened and the boy fell back into the room. A girl let out a surprised scream, stepped over the boy¡¯s body, and stepped out in the hallway. She got a good look at my shocked face and I saw recognition there. I recognized her as well.


    Is everyone in this hallway in my class?


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    Silvy drifted over to the girl and started floating around her head in circles.


    ¡°I could always pop out her eyeballs,¡± Silvy suggested helpfully.


    ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°I''ll handle this.¡±


    The girl raised an eyebrow, confused by what I was saying. I took a step forward and pressed my forehead to hers. I let her feel my horns, the sharp edges of them, press into her hairline. Her eyes grew wide when she realized what they were.


    ¡°That''s right,¡± I whispered. ¡°Listen,¡± I dropped my voice lower into something that I thought was approaching threatening but ended up sounding sultry. ¡°You can stay quiet and you can live. Or you can scream, and I¡¯ll eat your magick.¡± I gave her a smile. ¡°Those are your options.¡±


    The girl''s eyes widened as everything clicked home for her and she swallowed. What she did next was surprising. She bent down, lifted the boy¡¯s torso and head, then pushed him out into the hallway. She stepped back into her dorm, avoided making eye contact, and closed her door.


    I didn''t wait. I turned around and saw Flin waiting at the far end of the hallway, holding the door open.


    I ran.


    I didn''t walk calmly. I didn''t stay collected. I sprinted.


    I glanced back to see the smoke of Silvy creeping back up from under the door of the girl¡¯s dorm room. The smoke raced down the hallway, lightning fast, and reformed on my shoulder.


    ¡°Did she do anything?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No, I doubt that she will until after she finishes sobbing.¡±


    Great job. With all the PTSD you¡¯re giving people, you should start a practice.


    As Flin and I ran down the stairs towards the gateway room, Silvy laughed. ¡°She tasted like pure, unadulterated fear. Delicious.¡±


    ¡°Why did you cut her?¡±


    ¡°I think you should be addressing that question to yourself. Your horns were what opened her skin.¡±


    I shook my head.


    Even better. So not only that I threatened and scarred her, but I''d also injured her. Mental scars and possibly physical scars. Greeeeeat job, Hex.


    Ahead of me, Flin was hopping over stairs, moving faster, trying to get us out of Bristlebloom.


    ¡°What did you talk about with Lebec?¡± I asked Flin, inspiration striking me.


    ¡°Nothing. Just general Bristlebloom business.¡±


    ¡°General Bristlebloom business,¡± I repeated.


    It wasn''t a lie, but it also wasn''t the entire truth.


    Why doesn¡¯t he just tell me what they spoke about?


    I let it go. There was too much on the line right now, too much being held together with little more than spit and paperclips.


    As the staircase terminated and we hit the ground floor, Flin moved over to the little tiny window through which we could see into the gateway room.


    ¡°Crap,¡± he said in a quiet voice.


    ¡°There''s someone in there?¡± I asked.


    ¡°A dwarf.¡±


    ¡°Lebec?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Flin said. ¡°Someone else. I don''t recognize them.¡±


    ¡°Will they be able to recognize me in what I¡¯m wearing?¡±


    ¡°I don''t know. They''re just standing in the center, like they''re waiting on someone.¡±


    ¡°What if they''re waiting on Lebec?¡± I asked.


    Flin looked back at me and rolled his eyes. ¡°Not all dwarves know each other.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± I said. ¡°Okay. Sorry.¡±


    ¡°What do you want to do?¡± Flin asked.


    Geist isn¡¯t going to wait forever at Blackhart. The Builder¡¯s Stone will intrigue him, but eventually he¡¯ll realize it¡¯s a set up. Assuming he hasn¡¯t already¡­


    ¡°I think we need to go now,¡± I said. ¡°I don''t want Geist coming back halfway through me doing what I need to do.¡±


    ¡°And what is that again? You never really filled me in on it.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°And I''m not going to. Let me worry about that. I just need you to get me in. As soon as we walk through that gateway you should probably walk back out. I''ll handle everything else.¡±


    If something went wrong, I didn''t want Flin stuck in there with me. I didn''t want him to have to face the Shadow Vaile. I''d already seen the horrors within it and knew the Covington blood was supposedly good at handling the place. I didn''t want to see firsthand what would happen to someone who didn''t have that same luxury.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Flin said. ¡°It''s your show.¡±


    He pushed the door open and walked in. I hesitated for half a second and buried my head as far into the back of my hood as I could, trying to look down at my feet, trying to shadow my face as much as possible.


    The dwarf turned around and looked at us, glancing at Flin, nodding at him and then turning her attention to me. As soon as I saw her, I knew we were in trouble.


    I recognized her.


    Oh, you have got to be kidding.


    She was the dwarf I''d met in that strange infinite hallway when I first came to Bristlebloom. I could see that she recognized me too, but I couldn''t tell if the recognition was of our awkward interaction or if she¡¯d connected that I was the girl on the poster.


    She smiled at me. ¡°Hello again.¡±


    I cleared my throat and moved over towards Flin. ¡°Hi,¡± I said.


    ¡°Where y''all headed to?¡± she asked.


    I glanced at Flin.


    ¡°We¡¯re headed to Witherstone,¡± he said.


    Her thick eyebrows raised at this. ¡°Witherstone? Who do y''all know there?¡±


    ¡°Her father,¡± Flin said.


    I didn''t know what Witherstone was and I had no idea why he was mentioning my father, but I went along with it.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± She nodded at me. ¡°Good luck.¡±


    We headed towards the gateway Flin chose, but before we could go through, the woman called out behind me. ¡°Oh, just one more thing.¡±


    We both turned around. As we did, I saw Flin''s eyes grow wide. He grabbed the handle of the gateway and flung it open before wrapping his hand around my wrist.


    The woman stood with her feet spread like she was bracing herself against a giant pushing her. Her fingers traced quick, violent shapes in the air and a spinning green seal began to form in front of her.


    ¡°You¡¯re Hexana Covington, right?¡± The woman smiled as she flicked her fingers and seal rocketed towards us.

 Chapter 43

    Flin yanked my wrist and I fell through the gateway.


    As soon as we were through, he pushed me to the ground and fell on top of me. I caught the glow of green light on Geist¡¯s wooden parquet floors as the seal shot over us both and hit the back wall of the shop. There was a loud crashing noise, glass shattering, wood splinters.


    Thankfully, the gateway had closed. The woman couldn''t follow us through.


    Flin rolled off and sat there, looking down at me. I sat up and Silvy floated down to my shoulder.


    ¡°That was close,¡± she said. ¡°You almost got got.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°What sort of spell was that?¡±


    ¡°Life magick,¡± Silvy said, licking her paw. ¡°Probably would have hit you and thrown you into the wall, probably would''ve broken several bones, given you a concussion. So boring. So basic.¡±


    ¡°Well, I''m glad that didn''t happen. Lucky us, right?¡±


    Flin snorted. ¡°Nothing lucky about this.¡±


    He stood and helped me to my feet. I looked around at the dark shop, looked around at all those glass cases, over at the cubby system where¡ª


    Oh shit¡­


    The seal had hit the cubby system directly. It had also clipped the case right below it.


    The cubby system was destroyed, wood fragments scattered across the floor and everywhere else, glass sprinkled in with the wood.


    I sighed. Picking through all that debris to get the witchstones out is going to be a nightmare.


    ¡°Where are the lights?¡± I asked.


    Flin walked over to the entrance as I sat there waiting. I heard the light switch flicking on and then off. On again and then off. No light came on though.


    ¡°Great,¡± he mumbled. Walking back, his fingers traced a shape in the air and a little orb popped into existence, blue fire licking off the top. The orb floated just above Flin''s hand, casting a glow a foot or two around us.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know a spell for more light?¡± I whispered.


    ¡°There isn¡¯t one,¡± he replied.


    By the faint glow, I could see Grey Eyes¡¯ body was still in the shop. Only now it was covered with glass and wood shards.


    I frowned at this. Why didn''t Geist remove the body? Why is there no smell?


    ¡°Is that a body?¡± Flin asked, staring at the man lying on his back. ¡°Is he dead?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said.


    ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°Geist.¡±


    ¡°Geist killed him? Right here? In his own shop?¡±


    ¡°In front of me too,¡± I said. ¡°I think he was mostly trying to kill me, but¡­¡± I brushed an imaginary speck of dust off my shoulder.


    ¡°But what?¡± Flin asked, staring back at me blankly. Silvy snorted and slithered into my hood.


    ¡°But this parka. I don''t know how, but whenever Geist shot the glass at me, for whatever reason, the glass didn¡¯t touch me. The parka protected me.¡±


    Flin stared at the parka, nodding his head, but not looking that impressed. He pulled a pair of lume goggles out of his jacket pocket, slipped them on, and looked me up and down.


    ¡°Like what you see?¡± I raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°It''s not like that,¡± he said.


    ¡°It better not be.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± He pulled the goggles off and put them back in his jacket pocket. ¡°It looks like there''s a faint hint of life magick lume on the parka. It''s really faint, though. It probably only stands up to physical projectiles. Any sort of magick spell would eat right through the ward on the parka.¡±


    ¡°So, when you say physical projectiles, you mean like bullets?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Bullets, spears, whatever. If anyone sent a magick spell your way however, it would cut right through that ward. If someone hit you with their fist, the parka probably wouldn¡¯t protect you either. It might somewhat blunt the pain though.¡±


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    I nodded. ¡°I¡¯m not invincible,¡± I said with a little frown.


    Flin laughed. ¡°Not even remotely close.¡±


    He walked to the back of the shop, and I followed, staring at all the glittering glass on the wood floor, keeping my eyes away from Grey Eyes¡¯ body.


    When we got to the first case, I frowned.


    It¡¯s completely empty.


    My stomach twisted.


    Why is the case empty?


    ¡°Flin,¡± I whispered.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± he said.


    ¡°Where are they?¡±


    ¡°They? They who?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re gonna love this,¡± Silvy whispered.


    ¡°Love what?¡± I asked.


    Silvy just giggled.


    I ignored her, pushing away the ominous overtones. Flin cast his light on another case, holding the orb directly over it as we both looked inside.


    Alarm bells rang in my head.


    Two empty cases. Why are they empty? Why are they empty? Why are they empty?


    The last time I¡¯d been in here there had been no empty cases.


    ¡°Maybe he''s moving shop?¡± Flin suggested.


    ¡°Maybe,¡± I said, but I didn''t hold any such hope.


    ¡°I don''t think he''s moving anywhere,¡± Silvy giggled.


    Again, I ignored this, and continued exploring the empty shop. My mind flashed to the cubby system and I dragged Flin over to light up the floor where all the wooden fragments were. There should''ve been witchstones scattered all throughout the debris, but when Flin brought the shining blue orb down, all I saw flickering there was glass. No witchstones to see. Nothing.


    ¡°What is going on?¡± I mumbled. ¡°Where did all the witchstones go?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± A voice from the other side of the shop whispered and as soon as it did, Flin threw his orb in that direction. ¡°Where did they all go?¡±


    The orb lit that corner of the room, lit up a figure sitting on a stool, and boomeranged back to him.


    The figure?


    You guessed it.


    Geist.


    He was sitting on the same stool he always did.


    ¡°Where did they all go?¡± Geist repeated in the darkness.


    We spent too much time in Bristlebloom. We spent too much time with Lebec.


    I took a deep breath and sighed, trying to force my mind to relax. My mind had other ideas. Fixating on my errors, dissecting my plan, obsessing over what I¡¯d done wrong, what I could''ve done better, what the outcome would''ve been had I done something different, had I relied¡ª


    No. You relied on yourself. This mistake is yours, but at least you didn''t allow someone else to set your fate.


    ¡°So,¡± I said. ¡°Where are the witchstones?¡±


    ¡°Where are they?¡± Geist asked. ¡°I think a better question is, why are you in my shop? Why are you trespassing?¡±


    I ignored this.


    ¡°That''s not the real question,¡± I said. ¡°The real question is why did you destroy Blackhart? And why did you destroy that first shop?¡±


    ¡°You think I had a choice?¡± Geist answered. ¡°You think I had any sort of choice at all here?¡±


    Surprising.


    ¡°I don''t know,¡± I said. ¡°It sure seems like you did. Why else would you destroy them?¡±


    Geist just laughed. ¡°Do you know what those two shops had in common? What Blackhart and the other actually did?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°No clue.¡±


    ¡°They both have long histories of supplying witchstones to the magick world¡¯s underground. They both supported a thriving black market of witchstones.¡±


    I just stared Geist, not understanding. ¡°Okay, and?¡±


    ¡°And my shop is the only legal witchstone reseller. My shop is the only one licensed by the Austerium to sell witchstones.¡±


    I glanced at Flin. I didn''t buy what Geist was saying. It didn''t make any sense.


    He destroyed a small shop and a shop that hadn¡¯t operated since my father died simply for the good of the Austerium?


    Flin stared back at Geist, not saying a thing.


    ¡°So why not report them to the Austerium?¡± I asked. ¡°Why not report both shops and get them shut down?¡±


    Geist laughed. ¡°Because both shops are protected from on high, or were.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Isn''t it obvious?¡± Silvy whispered from inside the hood.


    ¡°No,¡± I said.


    ¡°No?¡± Geist snapped. ¡°You don''t tell me no, girl.¡±


    ¡°I was talking¡­¡± I trailed off. I''d almost told him about my familiar, which would''ve led to a whole other discussion about how I became a witch, but maybe he knew that, maybe he already knew about the curse lurking in the witchstone he¡¯d given me. ¡°I don''t get it. It seems like there could have been plenty of other ways you could have gone about this. I don''t understand why you destroyed both of the shops.¡±


    Geist laughed. ¡°The legal market is all fine and dandy, but the underground market is where the real money is at. I''ve heard of this stick game called Monopoly. It''s a board game in your little world, right?¡±


    ¡°I know the game. I¡¯ve been subjected to it."


    Geist waited.


    ¡°So that''s what you¡¯re doing?¡± I asked. ¡°That''s what all this was about? Money?¡±


    ¡°No. Control. It was never about money. Whoever controls the witchstone supply, controls the witchstone market, controls the Austerium, controls the entire magick world.¡±


    All the casters who aren''t graced with the magickal gifts that wizards are. All those witchstones they would have to buy and use to do anything magickal.


    I shook my head. ¡°Fine. So, you wanted Blackhart and the other shop out of the way. I get it. You succeeded.¡±


    ¡°Not quite.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not finished here yet.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    Geist put his hand to his chest and feigned a look of supreme outrage. ¡°You stole my witchstone inventory, you filthy stick. You stole my products. You even managed to kill one of my employees, a bona fide Austerium adept. Look at him over there, just decomposing on the floor. How embarrassing for Lebec. He''s the one who brought you in, right?¡±


    I just stared at Geist as he laughed at me.


    ¡°I think you''ll enjoy Witherstone,¡± he said. ¡°I think a stick like you would enjoy a magickal jail cell.¡±


    ¡°We need to get out of here,¡± I whispered to Flin. ¡°Back through that gateway.¡±


    ¡°I''m giving you giftwrapped to the Austerium,¡± Geist said. ¡°You can be the perfect package to ensure the Austerium stays off my back for years.¡±


    Geist got up from his stool and stepped around the counter. His fingers were interlaced at his stomach and he looked like he was doing nothing more than taking a leisurely afternoon stroll. I didn''t understand how he could be so calm. He wasn''t just facing down me, a stick. He was also facing down an adept-in-training in Flin.


    ¡°Stay away,¡± I said. ¡°That witchstone you gave me cursed me. I''m a witch now. I''ll eat your magick.¡±


    Geist froze, his feet coming to a stop as his eyes bulged out at me in shock.


    It only took half a second for this look to melt and for his face to go slack.


    He lifted a single eyebrow and said, ¡°Huh¡­ I was told you were a half-witch.¡±

 Chapter 44

    Well what the fuck? Okay. So, you¡¯re not going to be able to scare him with the whole witch thing. That''s out of the picture now.


    I glanced over at Flin and breathed an actual sigh of relief. Even if I couldn''t scare Geist off myself, at least I had an adept-in-training standing next to me. I had someone who could fight Geist.


    ¡°Is that relief you''re feeling?¡± Silvy purred.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I muttered, taking a step back and to the side, standing a tiny bit behind Flin.


    I frowned when Silvy giggled, but I didn¡¯t have time to worry about her right then. I needed to focus on staying behind Flin.


    He¡¯s stronger than me. He can get me out of this. He can save me.


    Something in my head screamed at this. Something deeper howled.


    You¡¯re doing it again. You¡¯re relying on others to solve your problems. You¡¯re literally hiding behind someone else.


    Silvy kept giggling.


    What am I supposed to do, though? How am I supposed to fight off someone who can use magick? How am I supposed to battle when I don''t have any magick of my own?


    All I had was a laughing familiar and a magick parka. A magick parka that wouldn''t stand up to magickal attacks.


    I tried to figure out what I was supposed to do and all the while Silvy giggled from around my neck.


    ¡°What''s funny?¡± I hissed at her.


    ¡°Aren''t you even a tiny bit curious how Geist knew you were a half-witch?¡±


    Of course, I was, but at the moment I was more focused on surviving.


    ¡°I mean,¡± Silvy continued, ¡°who all have you told that you''re a half-witch. In my head, that number is exactly¡ª¡±


    ¡°One.¡± I finished Silvy''s thought for her.


    Flin turned his head to the side and glanced back at me. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°One,¡± I sighed. ¡°One person. You. You were the only person I told.¡±


    Flin stared at me for several seconds before rolling his eyes dramatically and letting out a loud sigh. He looked over to Geist who shrugged.


    ¡°Well fuck,¡± Flin said. He turned around to face me and pushed me as hard as he could. I flew back through the air, lifted with magickal force, and hit the wall. I slid down it until I sat in glass.


    ¡°How long has he been working with Geist, do you think?¡± Silvy asked.


    ¡°Not now, Silvy.¡±


    ¡°I mean now is kind of the ideal time, isn''t it? Don''t you want me to slice them open? It wouldn''t take long. Think of all that blood I could drink,¡± Silvy moaned.


    She fell out of the hood and into my lap on her back.


    ¡°Think of it,¡± she said, kicking her back left leg like she was a dog. Her black and white striped tail whisked through the air. ¡°Can you imagine? Come on. Just a little taste.¡±


    And then I remembered what she''d said when she¡¯d tasted Flin''s blood the first time.


    Tastes like a liar.


    I also realized that, once again, I¡¯d put my faith in someone else only to have it backfire on me. I looked at Silvy and considered taking her up on her offer.


    You¡¯ll just be falling right back into the same habit again. The habit you fell into not even thirty seconds earlier.


    ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°I''ll get us out of this.¡±


    Flin and Geist exchanged a look after overhearing this before roaring with laughter.


    ¡°How long?¡± I asked, wanting to keep them talking as my mind frantically danced from one option to another, none of the options realistic, none of the options actual possibilities.


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    ¡°Oh, I don''t know.¡± Flin glanced over the Geist. ¡°What''s it been, old man?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ Son¡­¡± Geist put his arm around Flin. ¡°I''d say pretty much your entire life.¡±


    ¡°Huh,¡± Silvy said. ¡°It''s not often that I¡¯m surprised, but when I am, well¡­¡±


    Every time you were out of Geist¡¯s sight, you were with either Grey Eyes or Flin.


    I glanced over at Grey Eyes.


    ¡°Was he one of your sons too?¡± I asked, hoping maybe, if he was, I could drive some sort of wedge between Flin and Geist.


    ¡°Him?¡± Geist laughed. ¡°No, but he is the son of a prominent wizard.¡±


    Flin chuckled. ¡°And that''s not gonna look good at your inquisition.¡±


    Inquisition. A bloody montage of historical images associated with the word ¡°inquisition¡± flashed through my mind. I followed that up with a complementary montage of witch trial images.


    You¡¯re fucked.


    ¡°Well,¡± I said, trying to think of something else to say, something else to ask them to keep them talking so I could figure out what I was supposed to do next.


    Silvy, still in my lap, curled up into a ball. She let out a thick yawn.


    ¡°Wake me up when this is over. Or I guess if you come to your senses and let me save you.¡±


    I considered it, considered how easy it would be, and promptly discarded it. I''d lived my whole life letting others save me, when really their saving me almost always ended up with me getting fucked.


    Not this time. Not ever again.


    This was my moment to change that and change it for good.


    ¡°So, you both wanted to corner the witchstone market? That''s what all this is about? Power?¡±


    Flin shrugged. ¡°To him it''s about power, for me it''s about money. When he passes on, then I suppose it''ll be about power for me.¡±


    ¡°Assuming you get the shop,¡± Geist said.


    ¡°Right. Assuming,¡± Flin laughed. ¡°Hex, stick girl, I can''t believe you actually thought you could pull this off, but then I guess that¡¯s stick logic for you.¡±


    ¡°Stick logic,¡± I mumbled, repeating it to myself. It wasn''t something I''d never heard before.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Geist agreed. ¡°It was exceedingly silly. What did you think you were going to do here? How did you figure this was going to work?¡±


    I swallowed, trying to keep my head about me. There had to be something I could do. There had to be some way to get out of this.


    ¡°I think the worst part,¡± Flin glanced over at me. ¡°The most embarrassing part for you that is,¡± he glanced back to Geist, ¡°is that she thought the Builder¡¯s Stone, that stupid myth, would actually lure you out of your shop.¡±


    ¡°I mean,¡± I said. ¡°It did though, right?¡±


    I knew it was a petty thing to say, but I needed them to keep talking so I could think, I needed time.


    Geist laughed and shook his head. ¡°It only lured me out because that''s what we wanted you to think. Do you see an out right now? There are no windows, no doors that you can open. You''re trapped. Out on that street, though, anywhere else, you probably would''ve had a fighting chance. You could''ve called for help and someone would''ve come. But now? Here?¡±


    Both he and Flin roared with laughter.


    My face flushed with shameful heat.


    I was trapped. I was stuck in this room with them and they would toy with me before they destroyed me. I took in a deep breath and sighed.


    ¡°You''re right,¡± I said. ¡°You''re right.¡±


    Both of their eyes narrowed at the same time and I could finally see the family resemblance.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Flin asked.


    ¡°Are you stalling for time?¡± Geist asked.


    I mean, I was, but I didn''t think it was going to help anything at that point. They were right.


    I¡¯m stuck in a room with a magick parka that can protect me only so much and a familiar who¡¯s going to heckle me until I die. That is, unless she¡ª


    I pulled up short.


    That¡¯s an option¡­ That¡¯s an option that might work.


    I swallowed and I saw Silvy''s eyes, lazily watching Geist and Flin creep closer, turn back to me. Silvy sat up. Suddenly alert, suddenly at the ready.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to¡­¡± she trailed off and I smiled down at her.


    ¡°On my command,¡± I said.


    ¡°You don''t command us to do anything,¡± Geist said. ¡°A simple stick like you could never command me to do anything.¡±


    I smiled as they crept closer, both of them inching towards their eternal doom, their eternal damnation.


    ¡°I¡¯m curious,¡± I said. ¡°Where did you hide the witchstones?¡±


    Flin and Geist glanced at each other and laughed.


    ¡°We hid them inside Blackhart,¡± Flin answered, laughing even harder.


    My stomach jumped to my throat. ¡°You did what?¡±


    ¡°Hid them in Blackhart.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°Blackhart was destroyed.¡±


    Flin glanced over at Geist. ¡°She doesn''t get it.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Geist agreed. ¡°No, she doesn''t.¡±


    ¡°You know that saying, only Covington can hold Blackhart, right?¡± Flin asked.


    ¡°Right,¡± I said.


    ¡°Because Blackhart is in the Shadow Vaile. It''s not here. Destroying a physical gateway to a place doesn¡¯t destroy the place itself.¡±


    ¡°So, you only destroyed a gateway in the Night Market?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Geist answered. ¡°I wasn''t about to destroy all those witchstones when I could own them.¡±


    ¡°How did you survive?¡± The Shadow Vaile is supposed to drive people insane.


    I stood as they moved forward. Silvy stayed on the ground, right by my feet. She was in the perfect position.


    ¡°Witchstones,¡± Geist said.


    ¡°You know,¡± Flin said, ¡°it¡¯s a pity you didn¡¯t take more time to learn about the various witchstones available. You would have known there are witchstones that allow you to survive in the Shadow Vaile for limited amounts of time.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°Are either of you carrying those sorts of witchstones on you right now?¡±


    I hoped it sounded like a dumb stick question.


    They stepped forward and grabbed my arms, but I didn¡¯t resist. They started moving me towards the gateway, towards whatever the Austerium¡¯s version of an inquisition was.


    ¡°Why would we?¡± Geist asked in answer. ¡°There''s no reason to have them right now. We¡¯re not going to the Shadow Vaile.¡±


    ¡°Besides,¡± Flin said, ¡°supply of those witchstones is limited. Why would we be carrying them around without a purpose?¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I sighed. ¡°I''ve heard enough. It''s time, Silvy.¡±


    ¡°You promise?¡± Silvy asked.


    ¡°It''s time for what you''ve always wanted: Chaos.¡±


    Flin and Geist both glanced at me.


    ¡°Oh, hell yes,¡± Silvy whispered.

 Chapter 45

    As Geist and Flin escorted me to the gateway, Silvy disappeared from my line of sight.


    We were about two steps from the gateway when it happened.


    Behind us, one of the cases fell over. Geist and Flin both jumped.


    If I¡¯m honest, I did too.


    Silence fell on Geist¡¯s shop.


    Geist and Flin both whirled around to face the darkness. Flin''s hands traced elaborate shapes in the air as Geist''s hands slipped into his pockets. He pulled out several witchstones, putting one of them in his mouth and squeezing the other one tightly in his hand.


    Flin finished casting and a huge blue globe, triple the size of the puny orb he¡¯d made when we first entered, flickered to life before him, blue flames kicking off the top of it. It illuminated the entire interior of the shop.


    Even the tiny orb of light he cast earlier was a lie¡­ just small enough to mask that Geist was in the shop the entire time.


    Flin sent this globe of light towards the center of the room, shining into all of the corners. Silvy sat on top of the case she''d knocked over, licking her paw.


    Can they see her?


    Geist and Flin glanced at each other in confusion before their eyes returned to scanning the storeroom, giving me my answer.


    ¡°What knocked over the case?¡± Flin asked, his fingers tracing another symbol.


    As I watched, convinced my eyes were misleading me, Geist visibly grew wider. His arms grew bigger, straining at his clothing. He spit a completely clear witchstone into his thickening hand and slipped it into his back pocket. I could see veins popping up along his neck towards his head. He¡¯d essentially grown three sizes wider, bristling with muscle and malice.


    I traced my tongue around my fang, smiling. All that muscle won¡¯t matter in a second or two.


    Silvy yawned and hopped over to another case. She melted down to smoke and slithered to one side it. The smoke pooled there, and the case tipped over, crashing down in plain sight.


    Flin finished tracing out the symbol in the air and blasted a green seal in the direction of the case. Silvy faded into smoke and the seal shot right through her body, the smoke dissipating and then coming back together as she solidified into her cat form. She hopped off the case and, as soon as her feet touched the floor of the shop, she melted down to a low bed of smoke. This layer of smoke raced across the floor and circled up Flin''s leg and then sat on his shoulder.


    ¡°I''m gonna have fun with you,¡± she whispered into Flin''s ear.


    Flin jumped and looked to the left, looked at Geist.


    Geist stared back at him: what?


    ¡°Did you¡­¡± Flin started but trailed off.


    ¡°Did I what?¡± Geist asked.


    ¡°Did you hear that?¡±


    ¡°No. Hear what?¡±


    ¡°Something just whispered in my ear that they were going to have fun with me.¡±


    Flin and Geist both turned to look at me.


    Silvy slithered onto Flin''s other shoulder.


    ¡°I''m going to take my time with you,¡± she whispered into his ear. Flin grabbed over his shoulder, his hand passing right through Silvy as Geist looked between Flin and me with confusion.


    ¡°What?¡± Geist asked him. ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡±


    ¡°Something just said that they were going to take their time with me,¡± Flin answered, his voice beginning to quiver.


    ¡°What do they mean?¡± Geist hissed.


    ¡°Who''s there?¡±


    ¡°Show yourself.¡± Geist whirled around, clenching his fist so hard that I heard the witchstone inside it crack open.


    He threw it down at the ground and the fragments bounced up to about waist height. The entire room suddenly filled with a green light that illuminated every nook and cranny, but there was an almost hazy look to the light.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    It was like the room had been empty before and someone had poured thicker light into the empty vessel, filling it, surrounding us.


    It¡¯s like looking through water.


    I could see green clouds of smoke pouring out of Geist''s nose and mouth. His ears, his eyes. I could see at the far side of the shop two impact craters, brightly lit green with lume from where both the dwarf had sent a spell as well as Flin. I could see trails where the blue orb and globe had passed, one trail much thicker than the other.


    A dark shadow formed in one of the corners.


    ¡°There!¡± Geist pointed. ¡°That''s it right there. It''s¡­¡±


    The shadow was purple at first, but just like Silvy¡¯s fur, it shifted to blue, then to red, then to a dark green before going back to the purple color.


    ¡°It¡¯s changing colors,¡± Geist said under his breath to Flin. ¡°What sort of magick does that?¡±


    The cloud suddenly popped, twisting into a bright toxic yellow. The shadow no longer looked like smoke but like billowing ink, completely opaque, moving towards Flin and Geist. Geist slipped his hand into his pocket, pulling out another witchstone and Flin started tracing shapes in the air again.


    Flin sent another life spell hurtling towards the yellow inkiness, but the yellow simply parted at the center and allowed Flin¡¯s spell to pass through it. The stamp of the spell left a bright splatter of green lume against the back wall.


    Geist, holding another witchstone in his hand, slipped it back into his pocket, reconsidering.


    ¡°What do we do?¡± Flin asked, already tracing out the shapes of another symbol to send toward the disembodied Silvy.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Silvy''s voice said. ¡°What do you do? When faced with a curse, what do you do?¡±


    Geist took a step back towards the gateway.


    ¡°I think we should leave,¡± he said in a quiet voice to Flin. ¡°I think we need to get the hell outta here.¡±


    ¡°Agreed,¡± Flin muttered and they both turned to face the gateway.


    Geist reached out to pull the doorknob, but the metal melted in his hand and left him screaming as he clutched at it. The yellow cloud hit the ground and spread for a fraction of a second before racing across to spin up in a whirling cyclone that surrounded Geist.


    Geist kept screaming, using his undamaged hand to pull out a witchstone from his pocket. He squeezed the witchstone and threw it down. When it hit the ground, the hazy green light filling the shop disappeared, leaving only Flin¡¯s bright blue globe pulsating at the center.


    The bright yellow cloud started billowing into itself, shrinking down and collapsing.


    Silvy screamed, ¡°Oh no, oh no, they''ll see my true form. They¡¯ll see who I truly am!¡±


    Flin and Geist both looked at each other like they were terrified, like they didn''t want to know what this creature truly looked like. I watched, horrified in my own way, as Silvy compacted down into her 4-inch cat form. She sat before us, licking at her paw, her eyes glowing.


    ¡°What is that?¡± Geist asked.


    Flin glanced at me and then back at Silvy. He nodded; it had finally clicked.


    ¡°It''s her familiar,¡± he said.


    ¡°From the witchstone?¡± Geist asked.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Flin shrugged. ¡°Where did you get that thing?¡±


    Geist glanced down at Silvy, shaking his head. ¡°From her father,¡± he spat.


    My father gave Geist the witchstone that cursed me? Why? For what purpose?


    ¡°Well, what are we supposed to do with it?¡± Flin asked. He kept glancing back at the gateway¡¯s melted doorknob and then his eyes jumped to his father''s hand.


    The skin of Geist''s hand had completely burned to black in places. I could see reddish bone in other spots.


    Geist didn''t seem to feel it, didn''t seem to even notice.


    ¡°We¡¯re supposed to be scared of you?¡± Geist asked Silvy. ¡°A kitten?¡±


    ¡°A kitten?¡± Silvy scoffed. ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°I mean,¡± Flin said, glancing at me and then back to Silvy. ¡°You look more like a rat with a striped tail than anything else. What''s with the stripes?¡±


    Silvy frowned and I started laughing.


    ¡°What?¡± Flin asked me, no longer scared of the familiar, not understanding how fragile the ground he now tread on had become. ¡°What''s funny?¡±


    ¡°It''s just¡­¡± I broke into a fit of giggles. ¡°Of all¡­ of all the things you¡­ you could''ve said¡­ that was probably¡­ probably the worst?¡±


    I sat down, laughing, pulling my parka tighter around me, trying to get warm.


    I was freezing, but I knew what was coming up. I knew I was going to feel beautiful warmth soon.


    ¡°A rat?¡± Geist asked. ¡°The worst thing we could have done is call your scrawny, stripe-tailed kitten a rat?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said through the tears streaming down my face. ¡°You talked about her tail. You ridiculous bastard. You made fun of her tail.¡±


    ¡°I don''t understand,¡± Flin said, mirroring his father¡¯s confusion. ¡°Why are you laughing that we pointed out her ugly tai¡ª¡±


    What happened next happened so fast it took my breath away.


    Silvy disappeared entirely only to reappear on Flin¡¯s shoulder. Her striped tail twitched right underneath his chin. The sharp arrowhead tip of the tail shot up through the underside of his chin spearing his tongue to the roof of his mouth. Silvy ripped her tail back down, through the tissue and muscle and skin. Silvy stared up at Flin with big, glowing, innocent eyes as she licked the blood from the tip of her tail.


    He tried to talk, but none of his words came out right. Instead he coughed out thick and bloody foam as his fingers examined the underside of his chin. He gaped at the blood on his fingertips. He tried to speak again but couldn¡¯t get his tongue to work.


    Geist glanced at his son and then at me. ¡°Was that it? Was that the big finale?¡±


    I shrugged and cinched down my hood. I wanted it to be tight when it happened.


    ¡°And why are you huddling in that parka like you¡¯re cold, like you''re going somewhere.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± I said with a laugh. ¡°We¡¯re all going somewhere.¡± I raised an eyebrow. ¡°Some of us are even coming back. Not you two, though.¡±


    Silvy floated over to my shoulder and sat. I watched and waited as Flin, holding his chin with one hand, reached his other hand out for me.


    Geist did the same and as they did so, Silvy said, ¡°Your shoes are untied.¡±


    Both of them paused to look down and then looked back up.


    Geist laughed. ¡°You really thought you''d get us with that?¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Silvy said in a flat, quiet voice. A low growl reverberated through it. ¡°I''ve got jokes now? You want to hear another joke?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Geist said. ¡°And after you tell it, before you get to the punchline, maybe we¡¯ll just skip the inquisition and kill both of you.¡±


    ¡°What did the two casters say when they stepped into the familiar portal to the Shadow Vaile?¡±


    Geist glanced over at Flin who was staring down at our feet. Geist glanced down at his own as a black hole yawned wide below us in an instant.


    Then we were falling through the familiar portal into the Shadow Vaile.


    I screamed laughter as the two casters going along for the ride simply screamed.

 Chapter 46

    The familiar portal was how I''d planned to steal Geist''s witchstones.


    I¡¯d planned to have Silvy open one between his shop and my apartment. Then we could just throw witchstones through the hole and they would end up back at my place in Nightsbridge. Not the most elegant plan, but it would¡¯ve worked.


    Now I was using the familiar portal to save myself. I was using it to send all of us to a place where the Covington blood would ensure that I survived.


    I wasn''t exactly sure what was going to happen to the other two though.


    As we fell through the portal, I immediately realized we were in a different part of the Shadow Vaile than I¡¯d previously seen, or maybe it was the same part, but with light.


    Does the Shadow Vaile have sunrises and sunsets?


    There was a dim, green glow that bathed every surface, but I couldn''t tell where the source of light was. Geist slowed in his descent and then simply floated in the air. Farther away from both of us, Flin was spinning in circles, screaming, gurgling for help.


    ¡°Son,¡± Geist called out across the abyss that separated them. ¡°Stay calm. We have to keep our heads about us.¡±


    ¡°That''s going to be near impossible,¡± Silvy said, still tiny as she floated up between Geist and me. ¡°How do you expect to keep your own head, when I can''t keep mine?¡±


    Her head separated from her body like a real-life version of the Cheshire Cat.


    Floating away, her head spun loop-the-loops around Geist''s own. He swatted at her but never got close. Her head floated back to her body and reattached itself.


    Silvy lazed on her back and swam away, moving closer towards Flin. I squinted my eyes, noticing I could make out several strange shapes below us. I could only see a few at first, but gradually these few turned into many and went for as far as the eye could see.


    Below us was an infinite sea of obelisks that would¡¯ve put the Washington monument to shame. Looking down at them, seeing all their black spires pointed up at us, I saw a wave ripple through them. In one section, they lifted up and then relaxed back down as though there was something breathing underneath, almost as if the obelisk landscape was the skin of some giant beast.


    Flin floated down towards the obelisks, screaming still, but continuing to spin. His spin slowed and then he was looking back at Geist and me, a look of sheer terror plain on his face.


    Silvy''s voice spoke into my ear as if she was right next to me as opposed to where she actually was, slowly orbiting Flin''s sinking body. I glanced over at Geist and could see that he¡¯d heard her voice as well.


    ¡°He should be screaming so much more right now,¡± she purred.


    Flin shook his head and his words came out mostly garbled, but still understandable.


    ¡°No. Please. Please don''t.¡±


    Flin drifted closer to the obelisks. Only four feet away now.


    What¡¯s going to happen?


    Silvy paused in her orbit around his body for just a second to ask in return, ¡°Please don''t what?¡±


    Two feet.


    Flin opened his mouth to answer, but realized he had no idea what she planned to do. He didn''t know what the obelisks were, didn¡¯t know anything about this strange landscape.


    Mere inches.


    ¡°Please,¡± Geist begged for his son. ¡°Just please don''t.¡±


    Flin had barely touched the tip of an obelisk when Silvy shot back towards us and away from him.


    As Geist and I watched, the obelisks near Flin suddenly snapped shut around him and he disappeared into a puckered seam on the landscape. There was a low rumbling that made my head vibrate, made my horns feel like they were on fire, but then the rumbling stopped, and the landscape stilled. The little seam where all the obelisks had collapsed in on themselves flattened, and all you could see now was that some of the obelisks had blood dripping down them.


    There was no body. No bones. No gore. Just blood.


    Silvy floated to one of the bloody obelisks and perched there, licking at its surface. She looked up at us and smiled, her teeth glowing in the strange light.


    ¡°Still tastes like a liar,¡± she said, letting out a titter of laughter before returning to her feast. Geist turned to look at me, tears in his eyes.


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    ¡°I''m sorry,¡± he said. ¡°I''m sorry for all of this.¡±


    I stared at him blankly.


    I knew exactly why he was sorry. He was sorry Flin had died. He was sorry he''d been caught. He was sorry the tables had turned. But he wasn¡¯t sorry for what he had done to me. Up until the moment we fell through the familiar portal, he¡¯d been all too willing to hand me over to the Austerium for an inquisition based on something he¡¯d set me up for.


    ¡°Are you?¡± I asked.


    Geist stared back at me blankly. ¡°Am I what?¡±


    How soon he forgets.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± I said. ¡°Are you sorry?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± he said, nodding his head vigorously. ¡°Oh yes. Deeply sorry.¡±


    I was about to respond when his left eye, seemingly of its own volition, moved to the side, looking toward his ear even though his right eye stayed firmly on me.


    The wayward eye snapped back to its original position and focused on me, almost as though realizing it had been caught wandering.


    Geist cleared his throat and shook his head with confusion. ¡°Sorry. You were saying?¡±


    I frowned, wondering if this was some sort of magick I didn¡¯t know about.


    ¡°Silvy?¡± I called over to her, somewhat worried that Geist might be a threat even in this place.


    Silvy glanced up at me, the fur around her mouth shiny with blood, before glancing at Geist. She then went right back to lapping the blood off the obelisk¡¯s surface.


    Okay. You¡¯re on your own.


    I took a deep breath and looked back at Geist.


    ¡°Listen,¡± he said. ¡°Just get me out of here, take me back to my shop, and I''ll give you the theatre. I''ll give you everything.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow at this, considering.


    The theatre was the one thing I wanted more than anything else.


    The theatre was the one key to get me to do just about anything.


    And Geist knew that.


    ¡°You give me the theatre?¡± I asked. ¡°No strings attached?¡±


    ¡°No charge.¡± He licked at his lips. ¡°I''ll even forgive you for killing my son.¡±


    I sighed. Forgive me for killing his son. Amazing.


    ¡°That''s wild,¡± I said, all big eyes now. ¡°How did we end up here again?¡±


    ¡°You opened a portal, you trapped us here, and you killed my son!¡± He shook his head viciously, seeming to come back to himself. ¡°I''m sorry. Sorry. Look, I''m sorry.¡±


    His left eye slowly twisted to the side again and then snapped back to center. He didn¡¯t acknowledge it at all.


    ¡°And how did we end up in your shop?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You were trying to steal from me.¡±


    I shook my head and stared at him.


    He¡¯s not going to understand. He¡¯ll never see what actually happened and take responsibility.


    ¡°Right,¡± I said. ¡°I did all this.¡±


    Geist nodded. ¡°You did all this, and Flin had so much of his life before him. He was going to finish up his studies at Bristlebloom, go on to lead his own battalion of adepts. Maybe even cross plaines. My son, a plainestraveler. All that potential¡­ everything he could have been is gone now, all gone, wasted, because of you!¡± He screamed the last few words and shook his head. ¡°Sorry. I''m sorry. Sorry. Sorry.¡±


    His left eye twisted to the side again.


    I raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°So, what?¡± I asked. ¡°I was just supposed to let him do whatever he wanted to do to me so he could live out his potential?¡±


    ¡°It''s not like that. That''s not what I said.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°No, but it''s the underlying truth of what you were saying.¡±


    ¡°Twisting my words,¡± Geist said. ¡°You stupid bitch. You¡¯re twisting my words.¡±


    I took a sharp breath in through my nose and nodded.


    ¡°Stupid bitch?¡± I asked. I placed the fingertips of my right hand to my chest. ¡°Stupid bitch?¡±


    ¡°Look,¡± Geist said. ¡°Please. I''ll give you the theatre. I''ll forgive you. I won''t say a word to the Austerium. I won¡¯t say a word to anyone. I''ll even¡­¡±


    He gestured for me to come closer, as though I could control my movement then at all, in any way. I stayed exactly where I was and Geist gave a weird grunt of frustration, trying to swim through the air, but going nowhere, held in place exactly where he was.


    While he was trying his little swimming move, I noticed something.


    We¡¯re descending. Almost too slow to notice, but we are.


    The obelisks had cleared out below us and there was a fairly large, clear witchstone circle below us. It was surrounded by those black obelisks, though. They hadn¡¯t disappeared.


    I had a feeling the witchstone center was fine, unless it was a mouth, unless it just ate us outright whenever we hit it. It was probably safe, but those obelisks were worrisome.


    ¡°What else?¡± I asked.


    ¡°What do you mean what else?¡± Geist asked me back.


    ¡°What else will you give me?¡±


    ¡°Isn''t the theatre enough?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°You destroyed Blackhart''s storefront in the Night Market. I''d say the theatre is only the beginning. What else?¡±


    ¡°Money?¡± He raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said. ¡°And how would I get that money. How would I deposit it, where would I go?¡±


    ¡°I would go with you, obviously.¡±


    I''d been hoping he had some little hidden place where he had a bank account number written down, a routing number, a password.


    My impromptu plan had been to leave the Shadow Vaile without Geist or Flin.


    So, it looks like me getting rich off this whole thing is out.


    If I left and took Geist with me, I could have the theatre, but Geist would always be out there. If I was honest with myself, I didn''t really believe he was going to let go of the fact that his son had died here. He was going to hold onto that little nugget, polishing that rage and hate and blame to a sharp edge until he decided that maybe I didn¡¯t deserve to live.


    You¡¯ll get the theatre, but you¡¯ll be placing all your trust in someone else. Do you really want to do that?


    If I did, it would be like going back to my old ways, falling back into my past missteps.


    And you¡¯ve already come so far.


    I looked at Geist, really looked at him, and realized he was a symbol for everything I was trying to change. Relying on him would be relying on fate would be relying on anyone other than myself.


    Frowning, I shook my head. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°No?¡± Geist asked. ¡°Bitch! Sorry. I''m sorry. Sorry.¡±


    ¡°You heard me,¡± I said. ¡°No. I don''t want your help. Keep the theatre. Burn it.¡±


    Geist''s nostrils flared as he realized I wasn''t going to give in to him. Every single bit of power he''d held in the magick world was gone now, stripped away. This little stick girl floating in front of him, with her annoying familiar and her horns and her oversized parka, stood between him and the rest of his life.


    Geist slipped his hand into his pocket, pulled out a witchstone, and slipped it into his mouth.


    I glanced over at Silvy, who was still licking blood and completely ignoring the fact that Geist was about to kill me.

 Chapter 47

    Geist, unbeknownst to me, had also seen the giant circle below us. As we moved closer, I saw his toes extend in preparation.


    We were both floating down at the same height so when his feet touched, mine did as well.


    The circle has regular gravity. We won¡¯t be floating anymore.


    Geist didn''t waste any time and spat out the spent witchstone. He brought his right arm up towards me and his fingers lengthened, twisting into gnarled talons. The skin turned black all the way up to the elbow and was replaced with what looked like cracked rock. He squeezed his fist hard and slammed it down on the circle.


    I felt the vibration in my feet.


    Looking up at me, Geist smiled.


    I slowly backed away while tracking where the edge of the obelisks was. I didn¡¯t want to touch one and end up as Flin had.


    As I glanced to check my surroundings, I saw Silvy riding atop one as it slid forward. The forest of obelisks parted before her own, still dripping with Flin''s blood, right to the edge of the circle so she could continue her feast while watching us duel.


    She¡¯s going to watch Geist duel and me scamper in terror.


    I turned back to see that Geist wasn''t even paying much attention to me. He¡¯d slipped his hand into his other pocket and pulled out another witchstone. He pressed this one into his face. When he brought his hand away, I saw that the witchstone was black and had stuck to his forehead.


    It shimmered there. Then the stone did something I''ll never forget.


    It opened.


    It was like he had a third eye directly at the center of his forehead, only the entire eye was black minus a tiny white dot of a pupil at the center. The dot rolled around crazily before it locked on me.


    As soon as it locked in on me, my mind started whirling.


    Why am I fighting him? Geist isn''t a bad person. Geist was just trying to do the best thing he could for his son and for the magick world. He¡¯s a good man; I¡¯m a terrible person. I¡¯m a rogue stick who came into their¡ª


    I shook my head, blinking several times.


    Geist smiled at me. ¡°It gets stronger,¡± he said.


    I stared at the witchstone eye.


    It shifted your emotions and altered your thoughts.


    Before this moment, I¡¯d believed spells in the magick world were simple. I¡¯d thought they were like bullets for a gun, only different sorts of magickal bullets. The gun Geist was using had just fired an insidiously complex and psychological bullet. Something that could ruin me from the inside without Geist ever having to get close to me. He wouldn¡¯t even have to use his rocky talons.


    How many times has a witchstone like that been used in the stick world and no one was the wiser?


    Geist reached again into his pocket.


    How does he keep pulling out new witchstones?


    Only this time he didn¡¯t pull out a witchstone. A strange wood and metal contraption that looked not unlike a harmonica sat in his hand. He removed a witchstone from a slot in the thing before tossing the entire contraption away.


    I watched it carefully, fully expecting it to spring to life as a metal and wood scorpion and attack me.


    Geist laughed at my obvious ignorance. ¡°It''s for duelists. It''s a holster for witchstones.¡±


    Of course it is, and Geist is one of the best duelists in all the magick world. It would be suicide to go up against him. In fact, I should just kneel before him, let him end it all quickly. It would be so easy to¡ª


    ¡°No!¡± I shouted at him, forcing the thoughts out of my head.


    The worst part was the completely natural way the thoughts wriggled into my mind.


    I couldn''t actually tell they were different from my own thoughts until the logical part of my mind rebelled. That was the only way to fight against it, to realize what was happening.


    Otherwise, they feel like my own thoughts, they feel like thoughts that I would think, thoughts that I would have. Thoughts like Geist is a good guy, Geist should win this, Geist should be freed from this place so he can go back to his life, to live and make the magick world a much better place than it¡ª


    ¡°Stop!¡± I shouted.


    Geist squeezed the witchstone in his left hand and I heard a single sharp crack. The crack turned into a crackling and veins of flame raced up towards his shoulder. His arm ignited and the skin within the flames turned completely black, but within the flames, beneath the black skin, I could see what looked like lava, magma. Geist held his hand up to his face and then looked at me. He flicked his fingers and five huge fireballs shot in my direction.


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    I should stay right where I am. I''m always cold. The fire would be so nice. It¡ª


    I rolled out of the way.


    ¡°You¡¯re not cold here,¡± I hissed to myself. ¡°Focus.¡±


    The Shadow Vaile was the one place where I ever seemed to warm up, where I felt comfortable, where the chill actually left my bones.


    Geist''s left eye twisted to the side. ¡°Sorry. Sorry, sorry. I''m sorry.¡±


    He smiled and that black eye at the center of his head rolled wildly before fixing itself on me. I lunged to the side


    Maybe if you get out of the way, maybe if you just slip outside of its gaze, you¡¯ll be fine. You could even slip into the obelisks, hide in their shadowy forest. You could be safe in the obelisks. That¡¯s a good idea, let¡¯s just¡ª


    ¡°Stop it!¡± I shouted and froze in place. I¡¯d started walking toward the closest obelisk.


    The obelisks had killed Flin and I had a good feeling they would do the same to me. The black eye was forcing increasingly dangerous thoughts into my head. Thoughts that felt like they made sense for a longer period before I could fight them. This time, I¡¯d even started fulfilling the thought¡¯s end goal.


    ¡°You know,¡± Geist said, lazily flicking five more fireballs in my direction, causing me to dive to the side and roll. He took several steps towards where I crouched after hitting the ground too hard. ¡°When I was tasked with dealing with you, I never knew you''d be such a pain in the ass.¡±


    ¡°Tasked?¡± The question came out almost automatically.


    He was tasked with me? Like I was a job?


    ¡°Oh yes,¡± Geist said through a sigh. ¡°At first, I just thought it was a regular job. You know¡­¡± He cleared his throat and started a bizarre imitation on a lilting French or British accent. I couldn¡¯t tell which. ¡°Keep your eyes on this Hexana Covington. See that you get access to Blackhart.¡± He laughed and his voice went back to normal. ¡°After that, I was supposed to watch you, I was supposed to have Flin watch you. Do you know how truly predictable you are?¡±


    I chewed on my lip.


    If you run right at him, if you run with your hands outstretched, you might be able to get your hands around his throat, might be able to strangle him or crush his windpipe. He wouldn''t expect that¡­


    I licked my lips and leaned back, prepared to launch myself forward.


    ¡°Stop!¡± I shouted, my knees buckling. It would have been suicide. Between the fire in his left arm and hand, and the sharp rocky talons in his right, I had no chance against him.


    Geist laughed. ¡°It''s getting harder, isn''t it? That''s the insidiousness of it. It starts slow. You realize what''s happening, but then as it continues, it becomes harder and harder to tell which thoughts are yours and which are mine.¡±


    There was something about the way he said that, something so disgusting about him putting his own thoughts into my brain, slipping them in there and allowing them to fester before they blossomed into slimy, poison tipped flowers, that made me want to throw up.


    ¡°Who hired you?¡± I asked, swallowing back the bile.


    Geist laughed. ¡°I could tell you, but it wouldn''t matter. It would just be a name. A word. You don''t know him. You don''t know what he does. You don''t know enough about the magick world to know what you don''t know.¡±


    I snorted at that. ¡°That''s a fucking lie. I don''t know about anything. That includes everything. I know what I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Geist stared at me for a moment before fixing me with a kind look. He held both of his arms out. ¡°Let''s have a hug.¡±


    And he did need a hug. He¡¯d just lost his son.


    That must be tough. A hug won''t hurt anything. I can give him a hug and we can go right back to what we were doing. That should be fine. In fact, that would be the most benevolent sort of thing to do.


    I stood up from my crouch and began walking towards him, my own arms outstretched.


    ¡°Stop!¡± I screamed, and even after I screamed it, my feet took an additional three steps.


    This is only going to get worse.


    I started crying when I realized that I didn¡¯t know whether that last thought was his or mine.


    Was it me acknowledging to myself how much worse this was going to get? Or was it him explaining what¡¯s to come?


    Eventually, he¡¯d be able to make me do anything and believe that it was my own wonderful idea. He would be able to make me walk into the obelisk forest, or towards him. Either way, it would all be over.


    I glanced up at Silvy, but she''d curled up around the tip of the obelisk and was sleeping.


    I took a deep breath and refocused my energy. There was really only one weapon I had. There was only one way I could win this battle.


    One way, and one way only. Like the familiar portal, you¡¯re going to have to rely on treachery, on lying.


    Through the tears, I prayed that these thoughts were my own.


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said, ¡°I give up. I''ll do it.¡±


    Geist stopped moving. ¡°You''ll do it?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Do what?¡±


    ¡°I''ll get you out of here. In exchange for the theatre.¡±


    ¡°What else?¡± he asked, giving me a shiteating grin.


    I smiled. My own words thrown back at me.


    I licked my lips, thinking through what I could possibly offer, what I, a stick, could possibly give him that would be worth anything.


    I spun my tongue around my left fang, tapped it once, and made up my mind.


    ¡°I''ll give you the Builder¡¯s Stone. When I told your son I knew how to get it, when I told him to tell you that, I wasn''t joking. I do know how to get it.¡±


    Geist laughed. ¡°Why would I ever believe you?¡± He took a step closer but stumbled and fell down to one knee. I saw his left eye shoot off to the side again. ¡°Sorry. Sorry, sorry. Sorry.¡±


    He stood back up and shook his head. He took a deep breath and let it out.


    ¡°When did you get two heads?¡± he asked.


    I didn''t know what he was talking about, but I had a good feeling the Shadow Vaile was finally starting to work its own sort of magick on him. And even though I knew he was slowly going insane, that his brain was slowly being corrupted, I also knew he wouldn''t let it go too far before he made his move to finish me off.


    You¡¯re going to have to kill him first. That''s what this was always going to come down to. Him versus you.


    I swallowed.


    Are those his thoughts or yours?


    ¡°I¡¯ll get the Builder¡¯s Stone in the same way I got us out of your shop and into the Shadow Vaile.¡±


    ¡°Familiar portal¡­¡± he said, thinking to himself. His eyes narrowed and he took several steps towards me. ¡°You can open a portal to the Shadow Vaile, but I don''t believe you can open a portal to¡ª¡±


    Geist suddenly quit walking. His brown eyes went wide before they slammed shut. I took several steps back, no longer aware of the obelisks¡¯ location.


    What is this? Another attack? Something new?


    The witchstone at the center of his forehead fell off, hitting the ground and bouncing with a bright click! When it next came down, it shattered.


    The flame running through Geist¡¯s left arm died, flickering down into blue flames and then into nothing. The magma running in veins up and down his arms slowly cooled as well, and his skin returned to its regular form and color.


    The tips of the fingers on his right hand fell off. The rocky talons disintegrated into ash, big chunks of stone sloughing off his skin until he was left with his regular arm again. His body slowly returned to its original size and form and, as it did so, he stilled completely.


    Geist moved so little that it didn¡¯t look as though he was breathing. He looked like something out of a wax museum.


    When he did move again, the only movement came from his eyelids. He opened them and stared at me.


    I sucked in a startled breath.


    His eyes no longer had pupils and there was no white where there should have been.


    His eyes were a glistening blood red.

 Chapter 48

    Geist''s entire posture shifted.


    His shoulders, perpetually hunched, relaxed. He crossed his arms. His lower jaw shifted to the side a tiny bit and he looked around, his eyes examining the surroundings as though for the first time. He even turned in a small circle, really taking in the Shadow Vaile.


    Is this a trick? Is he setting up an ambush?


    Maybe this was what happened when the Shadow Vaile broke a person¡¯s mind.


    When Geist had turned in a full circle, he let out an unimpressed grunt.


    ¡°I always thought it would''ve been bigger. And¡­¡± He paused, chewing on his lip for half a second before shaking his head. ¡°And I guess more¡­ what¡­ shadowy? Strange?¡±


    His eyes drifted over to fix on me. I couldn''t get over how shiny and red his eyes were, how strange they were.


    ¡°So,¡± he said in a soft, polite voice. The voice coming out of his body sounded nothing like Geist''s. There was almost a cultured lilt to it, a hint of an accent from long ago that had never truly been forgotten but still slipped into individual syllables, making you unsure whether or not the person even had an accent. ¡°You¡¯re Hexana Covington.¡±


    ¡°Hex,¡± I corrected.


    Geist lifted his finger to his nose and tapped the right side of it twice.


    ¡°Hex,¡± he said and gave me an agreeable smile. ¡°Sure. Why not?¡±


    I wanted to ask him what was wrong, to ask what had happened, if he¡¯d changed his mind about killing me, but none of those questions came out. What did come out was an entirely different question which I wasn''t sure I wanted the answer to.


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    Geist smiled at me and shook his head. ¡°There are all sorts of ears listening in this place. I''m not about to say my name in the Shadow Vaile. Who knows what could overhear it and transfer that name to someone else''s ear. Think about it. The web my name could create is infinite.¡±


    Frowning, I just stared at him.


    ¡°The question isn''t who, it''s what,¡± he said. ¡°What am I?¡±


    I raised my eyebrows at this, and he raised his own in response.


    ¡°Fine.¡± I¡¯ll play your game. ¡°What are you?¡±


    ¡°I''m Geist''s boss.¡±


    His boss? How does that make any sense? If he¡¯s Geist''s boss, is Geist possessed right now? Is there something magickal living inside him that occasionally comes up to the surface to take over?


    This idea of something coming to life within Geist, coupled with his strange red eyes, sparked something that Flin had said.


    My eyes narrowed. ¡°You¡¯re a blood caster.¡±


    The man held up a single finger and shook his head.


    ¡°Wizard?¡± I guessed.


    Geist dropped his finger and nodded. As I stared at him, I realized that someone, some wizard back on Nidema, or possibly a different plaine or shard altogether, was controlling Geist''s body. I had a good feeling the Shadow Vaile wouldn¡¯t mentally affect this wizard as he wasn''t physically here.


    ¡°So, what is Geist?¡± I asked. ¡°Just some lackey?¡±


    ¡°Lackey?¡± the blood wizard asked, letting out a deep, rumbling laugh. ¡°Geist was no lackey. A vessel to be sure, but no lackey. His son, however¡­¡± The man glanced around, looking for Flin.


    His eyes focused on the bloody obelisk and I wondered if he could see Silvy curled around the tip, sleeping.


    ¡°Oh,¡± the blood wizard said. ¡°Is that¡­?¡±


    Silvy lifted her head. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m her familiar. Don''t talk to me, blood wizard. You have no power here.¡±


    ¡°Wow.¡± The blood wizard lifted Geist''s hand to his chest. ¡°She was rude. Very rude. Did you teach her to act like that?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°No, she was like that when I was cursed.¡±


    ¡°Cursed.¡± The blood wizard nodded. ¡°I''m sorry about that. I really wish I could''ve come up with a better plan, but¡­¡± He shrugged. ¡°You understand.¡±


    I didn''t understand. I had no understanding at all.


    ¡°What''s with the park¡ª¡± He bit his lip and tapped the side of his nose twice. ¡°Right. Witches are always cold. I wonder¡­ It¡¯s been theorized that witches don''t have the cold issue on their own shard. Do you know if that''s true?¡±


    The blood wizard controlling Geist was completely agreeable. It felt like talking to someone¡¯s extremely outgoing uncle.


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    ¡°It''s warm here,¡± I offered. ¡°I don''t know about the witch shard.¡±


    ¡°Belladonna,¡± the man said with a curt nod.


    ¡°What?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Belladonna. That''s the name of the witch shard. Belladonna.¡±


    ¡°Belladonna,¡± I said. ¡°Okay.¡±


    He smiled and nodded. ¡°It¡¯s always good to be learning. Anyways, I think it''s interesting that you don''t have the cold issues in the Shadow Vaile. I wonder if that''s more because you¡¯re a witch or because you''re a Covington.¡±


    I shrugged.


    ¡°Right. So.¡± He took a step towards me and, although his speech was completely unaffected, the step held malice.


    He¡¯s stalking me. Luring me to sleep with his words. I¡¯m prey.


    His next question caught me off guard.


    ¡°Did you know that your father and I worked together?¡±


    My eyes narrowed at this.


    ¡°I supposed that might be a surprise,¡± he said. ¡°I helped him build Blackhart. I helped him fashion that permanent gateway between Blackhart and Sulis.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°Sulis?¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± he said with a frown, ¡°the theatre? In Nightsbridge? That''s what he named it: Sulis.¡±


    ¡°Sulis.¡± I didn¡¯t know he¡¯d named it.


    ¡°Anyways. We used to be very close.¡±


    He took several more steps towards me and I realized that I was right up against the obelisks. I didn¡¯t have space to back away. He''d managed to shrink the area in which I had to escape.


    ¡°Do you know what we were working on?¡± he asked.


    I shook my head no, trying to come up with a way to escape now as the blood wizard kept speaking through Geist¡¯s lips.


    ¡°We worked on a project together. Something much bigger than ourselves, something that was going to open up the magick world entirely.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said with a frown. Why is he telling me this? Why am I the one he¡¯s telling?


    ¡°Anyways, do you know what your father asked me to do before he went away?¡±


    I shook my head.


    ¡°He asked me to keep an eye on you, to look out for you, and that''s what I''ve done.¡± He sighed. ¡°I''ve watched you waste your life away, Hex. Placing your hope in lottery tickets and scratch offs. That silly, little cabinet filled with your miserable failures.¡±


    His tone had shifted from friendly to disgusted so fast that my mouth fell open. And, before I knew what was happening, he lunged at me, grabbing both of my arms, pinning them behind me, and twisting me around so that I tripped and fell.


    He fell on top of me, straddling me, holding my arms down. I tried to squirm, tried to move my arms out, tried to kick him, but he had me pinned.


    The speed with which it had happened brought back a memory from elementary school.


    Joey Martinez had brought in a python for show and tell. He¡¯d placed a tiny mouse in the cage, and we all watched. Once the python realized there was something else in the cage, it became laser focused on the mouse. Slowly its head lifted, and it began to move at a painstakingly slow pace towards the mouse, getting ever closer until it was right next to it. And then, without warning, it struck, twisting the mouse up, curling it tight in its grasp.


    The squeals of the mouse had been terrible. The squeals as it tried to squirm away had haunted my dreams that night.


    Now, in the Shadow Vaile, I''d fallen for the exact same thing.


    I''d allowed this blood wizard to get close enough to strike, for some reason believing he would only use magick. The physical attack had been something I hadn''t seen coming even though I should have.


    The blood wizard held me against the ground and stared down at me with his shiny blood red eyes, smiling like that kindly uncle.


    ¡°You know what I never understood about your father?¡± he asked, more to himself than to me. ¡°I never understood why he turned his back on me, on us, on the magick world.¡±


    What is he talking about?


    ¡°That always bothered me. You know, he went headlong with this pie-in-the-sky belief that he could help magickkind. But somewhere along the way, he fell in love with sticks. He fell in love with people like you.¡±


    His eyebrows lifted and the corners of his eyes creased with what looked like a mix of supreme sorrow and good-natured empathy.


    ¡°I don''t get what happened to him,¡± he said with a sigh as he slipped his hands around my throat and squeezed.


    My hands, trapped by my sides, couldn¡¯t move. I couldn''t reach up and grab him. I couldn''t stop him. I felt the air die in my throat and behind him, up on the obelisk, Silvy watched both of us struggle, her striped tail swishing back and forth.


    She can help. She can save me. Why doesn¡¯t she?


    I looked back at Geist¡¯s face, looked at the shining red eyes of the blood wizard possessing Geist¡¯s body. With the hood of my parka obscuring my peripheral vision, he was pretty much all I could see.


    If you don¡¯t take control of your own life, someone or something else will.


    ¡°Your story¡¯s nice,¡± I squeezed out and Geist relaxed his grip the tiniest amount so I could continue, ¡°but you forgot one thing¡­¡±


    Even though I could have said this louder, I didn''t. I left it a strained whisper.


    Magickal mindset, magickal mindset. C¡¯mon, be fucking magickal, Hex¡­


    I had one chance to make this work, one weapon. I needed to bring him in closer. I needed to make him lean forward.


    He obliged, bringing his face down and putting his ear next to my lips.


    ¡°And what''s that?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I''m a blood wizard too,¡± I lied.


    The blood wizard¡¯s laugh erupted from Geist¡¯s mouth and he turned to look at me, turned to say something, his nose almost touching my own.


    I didn''t waste any time.


    I slammed my head up into his as hard as I could. The sharp edges of my horns sliced through the folds of his forehead then cut down to his eyebrows. When the tips of my horns found his eyes, nestled in his eye sockets like soft, blood red eggs in a nest, I drove my horns deep.


    He screamed, his hands suddenly off me, his legs trying to stand, but I stayed with him. I wrapped my arms around his ribcage, my legs around his waist, making sure my horns stayed right where they were as I twisted my neck to the left and right.


    I¡¯d blind him, sure, but that wouldn''t be good enough to kill him. I needed to finish him off right then and right there.


    He stood up with me wrapped around his torso. As soon as I felt upright, I dropped my feet to the ground and started pumping my legs, forcing him backwards, not knowing where we were in the circle but hoping we were close to the obelisks.


    I dropped my hands to his chest so that I could have an escape once we hit.


    I kept driving and he kept screaming. When I felt a sudden stop to my forward momentum, I pushed against his chest as hard as I could and ripped my head back. I pushed away from him so hard that I ended up rolling onto my back.


    I sat up and looked for him, fully expecting to see him running right at me.


    That wasn¡¯t the case.


    Geist stood upright; his back pressed to an obelisk.


    The tip of the obelisk behind him folded, the point of it curving down and twisting back towards his stomach. It impaled him and he let out a choking noise that might¡¯ve been words. The obelisk slid back into the forest of obelisks. His gurgling screams filled the Shadow Vaile and then suddenly cut off into silence.


    I sat at the center of the circle, his blood dripping off my horns, down my forehead and cheeks. I pulled my hood up and brought my knees to my chest, wrapping my arms around them.


    I was suddenly cold, my horns were freezing, and I just wanted to go home.

 Chapter 49

    I''m not sure how long I sat at the center of that circle in the Shadow Vaile, staring at the place where the obelisks had split, and Geist had disappeared.


    All I remember from those hazy moments is Silvy stretching on top of her obelisk, and then floating down to sit beside me. We sat like that for a long time, but I didn''t say a word. For once, Silvy didn¡¯t either.


    I tucked my head between my knees, staring at the ground between my ankles, droplets of Geist¡¯s blood occasionally dripping from my horns to form a spatter.


    I felt warm again, but also cold.


    I felt as though a piece of me had died.


    I''d known exactly what I was doing when I rammed my horns home, known that I was going to kill Geist, or the blood wizard inside him. Maybe both.


    I think that''s what made it worse. Geist hadn''t even been conscious, hadn''t been in control, when I killed him. I''d effectively killed a zombie being controlled by someone else. A puppet.


    What did the blood wizard call him? A vessel?


    I chewed on my lip.


    What if Geist could see everything that was happening, like he was watching a movie, only of his death?


    That was a gut punch, but I shook it away.


    The blood wizard was still out there.


    Geist was dead and so was Flin.


    I was alive but forever changed.


    Below me, a familiar portal opened, and I closed my eyes as Silvy, and I slipped through it. I breathed in, smelled a familiar smell, and opened my eyes to find myself sitting in the empty bedroom of my apartment.


    Cold poured into my bones and I let out a breath of surprise.


    A mostly transparent cloud puffed out of my mouth, as if I¡¯d eaten a metric ton of ice cream on a hot day.


    I took in a deep shuddering breath and got up as if in a dream. I walked to the bathroom feeling numb and mechanical. I stripped off all my clothing, getting a glimpse of myself in the bathroom mirror.


    My horns were caked with dark dried blood. There were also trails of dried blood down my forehead, over my cheeks, and pooled at my chin.


    My skin was paler than usual, and I had dark, almost purple, circles under my eyes.


    I shuddered and turned away from my reflection.


    After getting into the shower, I turned it all the way to hot and stood there for a long time. Of course, the water was only tepid on my skin, but it felt better than nothing. And soon the rust colored water dripping down to my toes finally went clear.


    When I could stand the tepid water no longer, I got out of the shower and toweled off. As I did so, I laughed.


    You managed to take all your clothes to Bristlebloom, except for the rags, but you left behind all your towels. How were you planning to dry off in the dorm?


    ¡°Just like you,¡± I muttered, finishing drying off my hair and freezing skin.


    A thick rip sounded when I pulled the towel away from my hair.


    I sighed, looking down at the long rip in the center of the towel. In the future, I was going to have to be more conscious of my horns, otherwise the price of towel replacement alone would bankrupt me.


    This made me giggle, but the giggle died when I looked up at the mirror.


    Frowning, I took a step forward, my attention completely on my horns.


    Before my shower, all I could see was crusted blood, but now that my horns were clean, I saw that they were no longer white or cotton candy pink in color.


    They were a bright magenta.


    I sighed and shook my head. ¡°Perfect. Just what I need. Magenta horns. The witches are gonna love this¡­¡±


    I slipped my clothes back on and huddled into the parka but didn''t bother pulling up the hood.


    Now clothed, I stared at the magenta horns. Silvy appeared on my shoulder in a puff of smoke and crawled behind me into the hood, nestling there. Soon I could hear her purring mixed with snores.


    All the death, all the killing, and she seemed to be completely unaffected.


    I laughed. Just like a real cat.


    When I opened the door to the bathroom and walked out, Lebec was sitting at my kitchen table watching me.


    ¡°What''s funny?¡± he asked.


    I stared at him, surprised to see him inside my apartment.


    His eyes traveled up to my head and his mouth fell open. ¡°You''ve got horns¡­¡±


    It was a simple statement, but it led down so many rabbit holes.


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    He didn¡¯t have horns, so if he could see my horns, then the whole of the magick community could probably see them.


    Does that mean sticks can see them too? Is he going to take me to an Austerium lab to be experimented on for the rest of my life?


    I''d watched every episode of The X-Files. I knew what was possible.


    ¡°You¡¯re a witch,¡± he said, horrified. He stood up suddenly, the chair sliding and tumbling over. The back of it snapped against the floor, banging too loudly in the small kitchen.


    I sighed and sat down on the carpet, pulled up my legs, and relaxed.


    Lebec traced symbols in the air and a green bubble surrounded him. He stood within it, staring at me, fear in his eyes.


    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°I''m a half-witch. I got the horns, but not the powers. I can¡¯t eat your magick. Relax.¡±


    Lebec continued staring at me, not cancelling the spell, but just standing there, watching me.


    ¡°Geist gave me a witchstone¡­¡± I started there and explained the whole mess to him, leaving out the part about luring Geist and Flin to the Shadow Vaile, leaving out the part where Flin died and then I killed Geist. I also avoided mentioning the blood wizard.


    What I said instead was that Flin and Geist had seen my horns and had been just as scared as Lebec was. That they¡¯d left me alone after that.


    Lebec nodded, but still didn''t cancel the spell that surrounded him in green light.


    ¡°The Austerium has been investigating them for a while,¡± he said.


    ¡°Geist or Flin?¡±


    ¡°Both,¡± Lebec said in a gruff voice. ¡°We had suspicions to believe that they infiltrated the Austerium for personal gain.¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°We also have reason to believe they weren¡¯t even the real culprits. From what we''ve been able to gather, they were working for someone else, someone in the shadows.¡± He lifted an eyebrow at me. I almost wanted to laugh, to let out a ringing peal of lunatic laughter.


    The shadows. The Shadow Vaile. Geist and Flin''s final resting place.


    ¡°If you know anything you think I should know,¡± Lebec said, sounding every bit like a cop, ¡°you should tell me now.¡±


    I stayed quiet.


    ¡°Anything,¡± he said. ¡°I think your father would''ve wanted you to help me on this.¡±


    I blew out a breath. ¡°I don''t know about that and I don''t know about anything.¡±


    ¡°If you know where Geist and Flin are, you need to tell me.¡±


    Making up my mind, I cleared my throat and folded my arms. ¡°Let''s just say I don''t think anyone''s going to ever hear from them again. Either of them.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Lebec nodded. ¡°Additionally, I have a duty to inform you of something you¡¯re probably not going to like.¡±


    ¡°Oh? What¡¯s that? It''s not like I¡¯m enrolled in Bristlebloom anymore, or even the magick world. You already took care of that, remember?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately,¡± he answered.


    ¡°Get to the point then,¡± I snapped.


    He glanced up at my horns and then back down at me. I sighed and pulled up my hood, burying my head in the back of it so that my face was partially obscured in shadow.


    ¡°Barring a full investigation of your claims that you don¡¯t have any witch magick, you no longer have access to the magick world.¡±


    I snorted. ¡°So, what else is new? You already kicked me out.¡±


    ¡°Temporarily,¡± he said, ¡°but now we will need to conduct an inquiry.¡±


    Temporarily my ass¡­


    ¡°An inquisition?¡± I asked.


    His eyes grew wide and he shook his head. ¡°Heavens no. An inquiry. We just need to do some tests to ensure that everything is as you say it is. I believe you''re the first half-witch I''ve ever heard of. And if you''re going to be allowed back into the magick world, we¡¯re going to have to ensure you''re safe, for the rest of magickkind.¡±


    I made my eyes go big and nodded very slowly. ¡°The rest of magickkind¡¯s safety is my top priority.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be sarcastic.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t there?¡± I spun my tongue around my left fang. ¡°I think there¡¯s plenty of need.¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately,¡± he said, ¡°we can¡¯t allow you back into the vanisher program. That''s off the table now, given¡­¡± He trailed off, doing everything in his power not to stare at the top of my hood, at the place where he knew my horns were.


    ¡°You know,¡± he finally said, each word racing the previous, ¡°given the circumstances.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± I felt numb.


    ¡°So,¡± he said, looking around the apartment. ¡°Where should we send your furniture?¡±


    I held up my hands. ¡°No idea. I''m getting evicted from here. I don''t have a job. I don''t really know what''s going to happen, where I''m going to live.¡±


    He nodded as though he completely understood the struggles of the stick world.


    ¡°You know I''m reminded of something I learned when I was in school,¡± he said. I sat there and waited, just wanting him to leave, just wanting to stretch out on the floor of my apartment, to pass out, to leave this world to itself for a little bit. ¡°We learned that the warriors within witchkind go through a sort of trial on Belladonna, the witch shard, where they become fully blooded. Have you ever heard of this?¡±


    I shook my head and he continued.


    ¡°What happens is they find a caster, a wizard, or some other person or being belonging to magickkind. The witch going through the trial then kills them using their horns. Thus, their horns are rendered visible to the rest of magickkind. It''s a badge of honor to them. It''s a way of flaunting that they¡¯re witches, showing off their pride in having killed someone, in no longer being hidden.¡± He glanced up at my head and then back to me again. ¡°You say we¡¯ll never hear from Geist or Flin again. I say I can see your horns.¡±


    He let that hang in the air between us before breathing in a deep breath and letting it out. ¡°What I also say is if you ever do find who was behind Geist¡¯s actions, I hope you would let me know. The Austerium could be very friendly to someone who figured that out.¡±


    I nodded, not fully taking the bait, but also not wanting to say no outright. Lebec knew I¡¯d killed Geist. Maybe he even thought I killed both Geist and Flin.


    ¡°You certainly didn¡¯t waste time, did you?¡± Lebec asked.


    I wasn¡¯t sure what he meant.


    ¡°Between losing your stick crown and now possessing a pair of blooded witch horns. Did you think I didn¡¯t notice your crown was gone?¡±


    I didn¡¯t say anything. I¡¯d wondered about this, but never really thought about it all too hard.


    You¡¯re not as sneaky as you think you are.


    ¡°Anyways,¡± he said, moving towards the front door. He was still surrounded in that green glow. ¡°Catch.¡±


    He tossed something at me, something that caught the light as it traveled through the air. I leaned to the side and let it hit the carpet, wary of what he might be tossing towards me.


    It bounced once and then stopped. It was a single golden key.


    ¡°Mr. Carson¡¯s cover for living in the stick world is an antique shop. Do you know what mine is?¡±


    I waited.


    Lebec shrugged. ¡°I own Nightsbridge Realty.¡±


    That means¡­


    ¡°Funny thing¡­ it seems that someone bought the theatre in the past few days, seems that they paid cash, but never came to pick up the key.¡±


    I could only stare at Lebec.


    ¡°From what you¡¯ve told me,¡± Lebec said, and the corner of his mouth quirked with what might¡¯ve been a smile, ¡°I don''t think the owner is going to need that key anymore.¡±


    Without another word, he walked out of my apartment and closed the door behind him. Even though he was outside my apartment, he somehow managed to lock both locks on the door.


    I stared at the golden key. I wasn''t sure whether it was magick. I wasn''t sure whether it was cursed.


    ¡°Silvy,¡± I said.


    Silvy grunted from inside the hood.


    ¡°Is it safe?¡± I asked. I wasn¡¯t about to take anything from someone in the magick world for granted.


    Silvy slithered to my shoulder. ¡°It''s a key.¡±


    I rolled my eyes. ¡°I know that. Is it cursed?¡±


    Silvy shrugged.


    ¡°Can you find out?¡± I asked.


    She rolled her eyes. ¡°You kill one caster and all of a sudden you''re in charge.¡± Silvy slithered down to the key, sniffed it once, and then hopped back up onto my shoulder and into my hood. ¡°It''s just a regular key. No magick at all.¡±


    Frowning and still not allowing myself to believe it was what I thought it was, I picked it up.


    It wasn''t until I turned it over to read a word carved into the fob that I finally allowed myself a tiny smile.


    The word on the key?


    Sulis.

 Epilogue

    Silvy and I sat on the floor in the dark. With my eyes closed, I listened to the sounds of an abandoned building. Creaks in the walls. The sounds of a much larger room than I was used to.


    I opened my eyes and, with what little light there was, took in the main stage of Sulis. Seats had been haphazardly tossed into a pile off in a corner. The main floor was completely empty and barren. The walls were dark wood, and the movie screen was ripped to shreds, long white strips of the fabric hanging down into the main area. There was spray paint everywhere: the walls, the screen, and even the ceiling somehow.


    I smiled at Silvy.


    She shook her head. ¡°The place looks like a dump.¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± I said, ¡°but it''s my dump.¡±


    It could all be fixed. Everything wrong with Sulis could be fixed with the proper application of time. And based on what Lebec had said, I would have plenty of time while the Austerium completed their inquiry.


    For the first time in a long time, I felt whole. I felt as if a part of me that had wilted so long ago, as a little girl, had sprung back to life.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to fix you,¡± I said in a quiet voice to Sulis. ¡°You¡¯re mine now.¡±


    Silvy stretched and headed out towards the lobby. ¡°I''m getting a read on some lume.¡±


    Frowning, I stood. ¡°Lume? Here?¡±


    I''d already gone through the secret entrance to Blackhart and seen that the inside of it was completely intact. The door which previously led to the Night Market had completely vanished, but everything else was the same.


    Well, not everything.


    Geist had been so kind as to arrange all his witchstones in color order in little boxes. I guess he¡¯d planned on moving in, on working out of Blackhart, but all he''d really done was set everything up for me.


    I followed Silvy into the lobby and she passed right by the door to Blackhart. She went up the stairs and led me to a back room in the projection booth. She scratched at one of the corners there.


    Frowning, I bent down and looked at the corner.


    It was made up of panels that were crisscrossed with shiny trails of something. It looked almost as though a slug had crawled across it multiple times.


    Silvy stared at it and looked back at me. ¡°I think if I¡­¡±


    She pressed her paw against one of the panels and a small section of the wall, no larger than a cookie jar, slid open.


    Sitting in this strange miniature closet was a tiny wooden box.


    ¡°It¡¯s not cursed,¡± Silvy said as she hopped up to my shoulder.


    I picked up the box.


    Mounted on the front and set into the wood were three wheels that clicked when moved up or down. A three-digit combination lock.


    As I clicked through the different combinations, I frowned. The entire alphabet was there as well as numbers, symbols, shapes, and there were even spots of color. Based on the size of the digits, there was probably only enough room for three other numbers or letters on each of the dials, otherwise the dials would''ve extended well past the back of the box.


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    ¡°It''s a magickal lock,¡± Silvy whispered beside me. ¡°The only way you can open it is if you have the combination.¡±


    I didn''t know how many different options there were, but as I considered all the permutations a sense of hopelessness filled me.


    I didn''t know what to enter.


    The box was light. It weighed barely anything.


    Silvy hopped to my other shoulder, her upper lip curling back at a slug that was slowly crawling towards us.


    Surely this wasn''t the same slug I¡¯d seen so many times in the past few days, right?


    Not too long ago you believed magick to be a thing that was only real in books and movies.


    As I stared at the slug, I thought back over the different letters I¡¯d seen in slug mucus.


    Might as well start there¡­


    I dialed in a combination.


    Someone¡¯s favorite month?


    M.


    A.


    Y.


    When I tried to open the box, nothing happened.


    I tried another combination.


    Someone¡¯s favorite root vegetable?


    Y.


    A.


    M.


    Nothing happened when I tried to open the box. The slug had made it to the floor and stopped.


    Maybe it was looking at me. I wasn¡¯t sure.


    I tried another combination.


    Someone¡¯s favorite name?


    A.


    M.


    Y.


    As soon as I spun the last wheel to Y, the entire dial melted, dripping down the front of the box and hitting the ground with a sizzle. The slug was motionless.


    I opened the lid of the box and looked in.


    Inside the box was a small glass sculpture. A hollow skull with a golden chain attached to the top of it.


    Frowning, I pulled it out by the chain and set it down on the floor next to the box. It felt weightless. There were holes between the skull¡¯s teeth, just like regular teeth. Besides that, there didn¡¯t appear to be any way to fill the hollow space, if that¡¯s even what you were supposed to do.


    There had to be something else in the box. Something I was missing.


    The slug started moving again, heading in the direction of the skull.


    I put the box aside and watched the slug.


    ¡°We just gonna let this happen?¡± Silvy asked. Her disgust dripped with every word.


    ¡°We are,¡± I said.


    The slug had been the one that had given me the combination after all. The combination to a magickal lock.


    The slug compressed itself down and squeezed through one of the largest holes between the skull¡¯s teeth. Once the slug was inside, the skull lit up with white light. The white glow of the light filled the projection booth. It was so bright I saw stars for several moments.


    The skull gradually dimmed in brightness but continued to glow.


    I heard a voice that wasn¡¯t Silvy¡¯s. A tiny, tiny voice.


    I laughed at how silly I was about to look as I lifted the skull to my ear.


    The tiny voice was louder, but only marginally. It sounded like the voice of a high-pitched little girl.


    ¡°OhmyGodthankyou!¡± the high-pitched voice squealed. ¡°You can¡¯t even know how long I''ve been waiting for someone to open that box! You don''t know how long I''ve been waiting to go home!¡±


    The voice spoke so quickly I had trouble understanding what it was saying. The words rolled over each other, crashing together and bursting through one another in a mash of sound.


    ¡°Slow down,¡± I said. ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°Amy. Obviously! I thought you would''ve gotten that by now. I thought you would''ve understood that. I thought¡ª¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said, interrupting the voice. ¡°Okay. Hold on. Where¡¯s home?¡±


    ¡°Oh my God you¡¯re not even paying attention! The skull is my home. I¡¯m home!¡± it squealed.


    ¡°Oh,¡± I said. I wasn¡¯t sure where to go next. ¡°So uhhh, what¡ª¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Amy¡¯s tiny voice screamed at me, an octave higher. ¡°Shut up, shut up, shut up!¡±


    ¡°What a rude little creature,¡± Silvy hissed.


    ¡°Your mother¡¯s rude!¡± Amy screamed back.


    Silvy smiled. ¡°I ate your mother last week.¡±


    ¡°You wish!¡±


    I closed my eyes. I wanted to get started on the renovations to Sulis, not listen to these two fight it out.


    ¡°Stop it,¡± I said. ¡°Both of you.¡±


    Silvy vanished in a puff of smoke.


    ¡°Good riddance!¡± Amy screamed.


    ¡°Stop,¡± I said.


    ¡°You stop!¡±


    I put the skull down on the ground, well away from my ear. A high-pitched whine filled the room, but it was quiet enough that I barely registered it. I waited until it died down before I picked the skull back up and brought it to my ear.


    What Amy said next changed everything.


    ¡°Your father¡¯s alive!¡± she screamed. ¡°He''s being held in Witherstone!¡±

 Appendix + Authors note

    I have to make this 500 characters long so here I am typing when all I really want to do is show the people who finished this book these pics.


    Update: this is still not 500 chars so here I am still typing. I love this.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.