《Sentry》 First Dates Always Go Wrong There''s this mindset some people have - that when life seems to be going well, calm and uneventful, a little too well, that''s when disaster tends to strike. Lai took this rather pessimistic philosophy to heart, what with how his life had been and how every night for the better part of a month now he''d been having nightmares. Strange nightmares. The murky type where you woke up knee deep in the mud of fear and anxiety but without the faintest clue what you''d dreamt of. If that wasn''t a bad omen, then Lai didn''t know what was. Every day, he''d had this sinking gut feeling that something in his orderly life as a Sentry would go wrong. Though, he didn''t quite know what could go wrong. Being a Sentry for the Court of the Key, the premier authority that governed most of the sorcerers in the Western world, sounded intimidating at first: as a Sentry, Lai was responsible for bringing justice to any sorcerer in his area that dabbled in dark, chaotic magics and threatened the general secrecy of magic or public order. And for the Court, justice was a nice and proper way of talking about a good old assassination. A normal sentry was battle-hardened, the toughest of the toughest magi, men or women whose fists went through heads just as much as their spells. But Lai lived in a city, and a city was about as peaceful as it got. A huge density of people meant there were always tons of witnesses. The police were always around the corner. Even a tiny bit of misused magic would put a sorcerer up on the headlines ¨C and then the Court of the Key would be right on their asses. No sorcerer, crazy or not, would risk this. Even the crazies had some self-survival instinct. And, maybe most importantly, cities didn''t have much magical value to them. Modern buildings and construction had rolled over all the ancient and mystical sites that could potentially have power for sorcerers to tap into. The sheer population density meant that mana was spread so thin among everyone that a sorcerer trying to power some huge dark ritual would find themselvestrying to run a heavy duty engine on a few drops of oil. The end result was that the magic-minded folk of the city weren''t generally serious about their craft. Retired researchers, book worms, part-timers, novices, and the like. Occasionally, though, an actual sorcerer would stop by, probably to take a break from the mind-numbing boredom of practicing magic in an isolated wood or mountainside and have some fun in the city. And, as the woman in front of him attested to, these traditional sorcerer types really did not strike up the best vibe with Lai. "So, what do you research?" she asked, leaning forward, long red locks swaying. "Nothing." Lai held in a sigh. He''d tried to pretty up his flat, modest as it was, for this date. He''d met this girl at the Crystal Ball, a bar catered towards the magical underground, and thought with how pretty she was, she deserved something more than the mess his place usually was. A Sentry''s salary was decent, but the sky-high living costs of the city weren''t kind to his pocket. His flat was a homely little thing, one bedroom, one livingroom, one kitchen that served double duty for both food prep and potion prep. He''d cleaned out the dust and potion stains that had settled on the hardwood, sprayed some Febreze to air out the stink of processed herbs, and put up a few scented candles on the dining table. All for nothing. The woman, Haley was her name, her family name five times longer, leaned back in her seat in disappointment, wine glass still full at her side. "Research just isn''t my style," said Lai. "Sitting down and doing nothing ¨C now that''s boring." "But you''re a Sentry!" Haley countered, as if that title guaranteed he had some long family history, some incredible research in magical theory. All it meant was that he was good at killing sorcerers, and for that reason, who they were or what they did were kept under tight wraps. The Court of Keys didn''t want heretical sorcerers being able to prepare for their assassins, after all. Lai remembered rather painfully why he didn''t like taking sorcerers out for dinner. They didn''t see him as a person to love or even a one-night hookup. They assessed his family line, his research, his natural capacity to hold mana, and all that. All technical details. Like he was breeding stock. And honestly, that creeped him out ¨C took all the emotion out of love, to the point where he couldn''t even tell if any of these sorcerers married happy or not. "Look, it''s sort of a misconception, but it doesn''t take much to be a Sentry," said Lai. He took a sip of his wine. Red, a little fruity, easily chuggable ¨C just what he needed to make it through this night. Made him a little looser with secrets, too. "Me, for example. I became a Sentry after I started using real magic for fake magic shows to make a quick buck. The Court got whiff of me pretty quick, sent a sentry after me. The old fella told me either I could sit in their prison for magical loonies, or he could take me in and teach me how to be a Sentry. All luck, really, no five hundred years of family history required." "Well¡­" Haley cocked her head, slender finger at her lip. "That''s kind of boring. You sentries are so mysterious. I thought you had something more, how should I say it, special?" "Special in that we know how to track, pin down, and kill sorcerers. And let me tell you right now ¨C you don''t get that type of knowledge by reading books." Haley leaned forward with a sort of morbid curiosity, obviously undaunted by the fact that Lai was skilled in the very particular art of massacring her peers. "Oh, so you''re more like those policemen," she said, pausing to think for a second. "The ones dressed in black."If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "Those aren''t policemen, and it''s better if you stay out of their business." She was talking about the Suits. Killers that really put in the cutting part of cutting-edge. They were a purely non-magical organization, but they dominated the criminal and political underworld of modern-day society. A near global network of contract killers and professional hitmen whose mastery of firearms, explosives, and other modern trinkets made them easily as deadly, if not more so than the average sorcerer who spent all day sitting around and fiddling with potion ingredients. "I''m just curious," Haley pouted. She cocked her head and stared straight at Lai, a sly smile at her lips. "And about you, too." "About what I do as a sentry?" She rolled her eyes. "That''s work stuff. I meant how you are as a person. You''ve been pretty guarded this whole night." Maybe there was something Lai could work with here, and if she was up to bat, he was most definitely up to catch. "Oh? You want to know something? Then shoot ¨C I''d be more than happy to keep you interested." "Good. I hear you''re good friends with Roshana." Lai internally groaned. Roshana was the Court of Key''s herald, someone who they sent to his city and general area every so often to investigate and make sure nothing was wrong. That no sorcerers with screws loose weren''t sacrificing innocent people to summon demons and all that. If she found something wrong, she''d send a report to the court and then they''d file orders to Lai, giving him a warrant for Decimatio, a fancy term for saying he''d have to go out and kill the poor sod. The last and only Decimatio Lai had received was six years ago, when he first took up the mantle of Sentry, and he''d worked closely with Roshana to solve the case. Since then, they''d kept in touch a bit, but it was hard considering she traveled so often. Still didn''t stop most sorcerers from asking about her anytime they met Lai. It felt like every single sorcerer wanted to meet her, famous as she apparently was. Lai didn''t keep abreast of what happened among the main sorcerer''s community, so he had no clue why she got so much attention. "We keep in touch a little I guess," said Lai. "But what about it?" Haley''s eyes lit up, her curiosity a fire as bright as her hair. "They say she''s unlocked one of the primal mysteries. Nobody''s done that in hundreds of years! I''d love to talk to her and learn all about it." Ah yes, the primal mysteries. Things like immortality, time travel, dimensional travel, and whatnot. What science fiction is like to science except for magic. Something so great and awesome that Haley would accept a date from a nobody sorcerer with no good research or established family name just in the hopes of getting a connection to it. Lai forced himself to keep smiling. "Actually, you''re in luck. Roshana''s here on one of her routine investigations. Let me just step outside and make a call to her." "My goodness, thank you so much!" sealed Haley, like she was a teenager about to meet her Rockstar idol. Lai closed his flat door behind him and rolled his shoulders, stretching out tonight''s failure. He really didn''t belong among these sorcerers. They lived in such a different culture from him. So focused on magic, all its tiny little secrets, and he didn''t have a place here. In short: he was an outcast. Lai went to the hallway window by his flat and drummed his fingers against the windowsill, watching the deep night outside. His flat was on the tenth floor and he rather liked the night view here, with the many vibrant lights of cars and streetlights blinking like bejeweled fireflies in the dark - a good breather. Not that he minded being removed from sorcerer culture. Okay, maybe he did mind a little, considering he couldn''t well get along with regular folk knowing about all the amazing things going down below in the world of magic, but he considered himself a self-sufficient type, always ready to perk his head up and meet a new day by his good old lonesome self. Or that''s what he told himself. He couldn''t quite tell yet. Mostly because so far, he''s never had the chance to not be by himself, what with how his recent dating life had been going. Absent-mindedly, he opened his phone and punched in Roshana''s number. She''d been in this exact situation before and knew what to do. Meet up with Haley, feed her some vague mumbo jumbo, send her off all deluded into thinking she''d gotten a step closer to unraveling the secrets of magic and all that. He heard the ringtone buzz past three times. Odd. She was a punctual person, always ready to answer and make calls. When the call went to her very seldom used voicemail, he put the phone away with some unease. He''d check up on her tomorrow. A sudden thunderous crash from within his flat told him that maybe he''d be needing that checkup instead. With a start, Lai swung open his door and peered in, body tensed like a spring and ready to move forwards to battle. Or backwards in retreat: a very useful move in life or death battles that many sorcerers didn''t have the pride to resort to. And well, Lai gave an apathetic nod at what he saw. At the center of his room was a hole in the hardwood, large and gaping, dust rising from its circumference, clouding the room. Halsey had backed herself in the far corner, fear struck across her face but like all sorcerers, she''d been trained enough to keep some semblance of her composure and not to scream mindlessly. Lai did have to give her massive props for that. Because holding onto the ceiling with fat, grubby arms, was a grotesque beast he''d never once seen before. Looked like a naked, morbidly obese man, its massive gut sprawling out and drooping towards the floor, making it hard to tell whether it even had legs. Its two flabby limbs latched onto the ceiling with monstrous strength, the thick-boned digits actually gouging into the wood to form a grip. It didn''t have a head, and instead a large, gluttonous mouth about the size of a child ringed its belly, razor sharp teeth clinking together as it slobbered for blood. Lai juggled the option of running here. He didn''t know what this beast was, but it most definitely had not come here for a three-way date. Someone had summoned this thing to attack him at his home, and attacking a sorcerer at their home was akin to trying to assault a soldier entrenched in a fortified bunker. A sorcerer''s home was their territory ¨C someone more competent than Lai would have had traps and failsafes lining every wall, every corridor. The fact that someone had sent this beast so confidently either meant this creature was ridiculously powerful, strong enough to overpower most sorcerers even with a homefield advantage, or this certain somebody knew who Lai was and what he was capable of. In either case, Lai was at a disadvantage. The natural thing to do here was to run, maybe take in a few ranged pot shots to see what it was capable of. But Lai knew Haley wasn''t up for this. She came from a good family, sure, had lots of mana, but she didn''t have the knowledge to refine it. Maybe she could toss out a basic fireball, but that definitely wouldn''t be enough for a demon capable of taking physical form like this. Demons that managed to sprawl out of the realm of intangible nightmares were big deals ¨C heavy hitters that ate up fireballs for breakfast and snapped spines with their pinkies. Lai had brought her here ¨C she was his responsibility, and he''d be damned if he''d let her die on his watch. That was what he told himself, but honestly, if he let her die, the Court would take away his title as Sentry real quick - they already suspected him of being underqualified - and then he''d really have trouble keeping a roof over his head. He couldn''t very well let that happen, so he swallowed up his inhibitions and went into battle. Killing Demons for Dummies Lai took a look at the demon and sized it up. It stood near twice as tall as a regular man and was three times as wide. It didn¡¯t look fast, but it damn well looked like it could tear a regular person in two. Its blubbery skin was pink like an infant¡¯s, but it was far thicker, like the hide of a wild animal. Blunt force would do nothing to it. The creature snorted and twisted and turned towards Lai, indicating that it could feel its way around despite lacking a head and the eyes that would come with one, and its massive belly-mouth, lined as it was with teeth long and sharp like swords, was more than eager to get down to a fine chomping. Against this impressive specimen, Lai sported pair of black slacks and a blue dress shirt. He looked nice, but that wouldn¡¯t help him here. With a grunting start, the demon swung forward and dropped from the ceiling, launching itself forward towards Lai as a five-hundred-pound cannonball. It didn¡¯t quite have the coordination or brute force to cross the whole length of the flat all the way to the doorway where Lai stood, but it did get close enough for Lai to start smelling the putrid, rotten-eggs stench that wafted from its mouth. The floor shook as it landed with a solid thump, and it immediately started to lurch forwards, its belly fat pooling across the floor like slime. ¡°Kaunaz!¡± Haley had gained enough composure to start putting her family name to work. With a trembling finger, she¡¯d drawn a rune in the air. The ancient letter glowed crimson before projecting a torrent of flame that gushed forwards in a brilliant and bright nova of sunset orange and blood red. Lai ducked in anticipation for flames to roll over the fat demon and continue flowing past it, but things didn¡¯t go so smoothly. The demon thrust out one of its chubby arms in a surprisingly quick reflex. Its palm had yet another mouth centered on it, and it inhaled, drawing in the flames like a vacuum. That brilliant burst of fire, large enough to have almost covered the whole living room ¨C a true testament to Haley¡¯s raw talent ¨C vanished into the demon¡¯s hand like it was being drained into a black hole. ¡°Magic resistance,¡± said Lai, loud enough that Haley could hear. Demons strong enough to obtain a physical form always had some form of magic resistance, and they had a particular resistance to human-sourced magic, known as they were for swindling humans and granting them the secrets to sorcery in the first place. A sorcerer of Haley¡¯s caliber was useless against it. Needed someone from the church to do anything about this. ¡°Haley, I want you to prep a barrier. Any kind of shield. Make it big enough for the two of us.¡± ¡°Why!?¡± shouted Haley. ¡°It¡¯s going to shatter anything I make.¡± Lai would have loved to indulge her logical, academic side and give her a thorough explanation, but time was precious. ¡°It¡¯ll work out,¡± said Lai, trying to project his voice as forcefully and convincingly as possible. ¡°Just trust me, hard as that might be.¡± Lai took the sight of Haley drawing up a circle of runes around her as a yes and put his plan into motion. The demon grunted as it surged forwards, faster than before, empowered by the magic it had feasted on. Still slow enough that Lai had an easy time maneuvering around it, rolling under one of its clumsy swings. While right under the monster, Lai shoved a hand into his own chest. His hand disappeared, sinking into his chest as if he¡¯d pushed it underwater. He reached inside, to the one thing that made him so unique among sorcerers, the one thing that gave him the qualifications necessary to be a Sentry. His personal world, an entire reality hosted within him. And in there, he didn¡¯t take out a wand or stave or staff ¨C he didn¡¯t have the magical talent to use any of those. He took out a grenade, pulled the pin, and rolled it under the fat bastard with a series of motions so fluid and quick that Haley missed it just by blinking. The demon didn¡¯t sense any magic from the trinket, so it ignored it, instead deciding to try swiping at Lai again. Once more, Lai evaded, this time circling behind the demon and sprinting towards Haley. ¡°Shield! Now!¡± Haley gave a quick nod and slammed a palm to the floor. The ring of runes around her lighted up in a dazzling display of multi-colored letters, and Lai managed to get inside it right as the grenade exploded. The explosion was muffled, not all that loud, honestly. Hollywood shows grenade explosions like they¡¯re artillery blasts, gouging out big, smoking holes in the ground, but really, they didn¡¯t pack that much of an oomph. It was the flying shrapnel that was really dangerous, and that was what Lai needed this barrier for. Lai watched as bits and pieces of shrapnel pittered and pattered against the forcefield Haley had erected. He looked at the smoke cloud that rose up from beneath the demon, keeping a close eye as it died down. Soon enough, he saw the demon¡¯s silhouette. Its lower half had been blasted away by the grenade, essentially tearing its stomach mouth in half. A trail of overgrown entrails dangled behind it as it still moved towards Lai and Haley with a deranged ferocity, using its arms to push itself forward. ¡°Shit,¡± said Lai. ¡°Wasn¡¯t enough to take the thing out. And not just that, look-¡° The demon was regenerating, and rapidly at that too. Its bleeding had already stopped, and new flesh, soft and pink, had started bubbling up from its wound. It¡¯s entrails, as thick as human limbs, started to retract back into itself, the pools of blood they¡¯d painted also following. Haley tapped the barrier and put it down, and before Lai could question her, she once more wrote runes in the air. One was familiar ¨C the fire spell she¡¯d used before, but now there was another letter beside it.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°Purs-Kaunaz!¡± she shouted, ejecting a stream of ghostly green fire. The demon couldn¡¯t raise its arms to absorb the fire this time, occupied as they were with pushing its sizable bulk forward. The fire washed over its bloated body, sizzling it like acid. The creature roared from its half mouth, but the fire burned its throat, cutting off its screams mid-way. It slumped to the floor, its fat arms flailing in pain. ¡°Cursed fire?¡± said Lai. ¡°To stop its healing?¡± Haley nodded, her breathing quick and nervous. ¡°You¡¯re quick on your feet.¡± Lai admired her ability to stand here and fight despite her lack of experience in any life or death situations. ¡°You¡¯d make a better Sentry than me with the right training.¡± ¡°If this is what sentries do,¡± said Haley with a faint smile. ¡°Then I don¡¯t want the job.¡± ¡°True, the pay isn¡¯t all that great.¡± Lai smiled awkwardly at his own joke and made a careful advance, watching to see if the demon melted down properly. If it took enough damage, it should lose its physical form and go back to whatever chaotic plane of existence it hailed from, but the process was slower than usual. Which is when Lai noticed that the demon wasn¡¯t taking damage from the fire any longer. Its skin had stopped bubbling, melting, and instead it stretched taut, bathing in the fire¡¯s magical energies, feeding on it. Its regeneration starting kicking in again despite the fire lighting up every inch of its body. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± remarked Haley. ¡°Should I use another spell against it? Poisonous fire?¡± ¡°No.¡± Lai reached into his pocket and pulled another grenade from his inner world. ¡°It has adaptive resistance ¨C fire¡¯s nothing to it anymore. Magical fire, that is.¡± He unpinned it and tossed it forwards, expecting that to end the foul creature, but he didn¡¯t expect the demon to actually grab the damn thing and toss it back. It rolled forwards, right between Lai and Haley. She stared at it with wide open eyes, but Lai was quick to react. He crouched over the grenade and slammed his hand against it. The grenade slid into his hand, disappearing into that same vortex of space-time that he¡¯d withdrawn it from. Lai hadn¡¯t had time to decide where that grenade went, but it most likely had gone to his armory, the last place where he¡¯d taken things from, where he kept all his weapons. With how many explosives there were, he figured most everything there was toast. ¡°Well shit,¡± Lai said under his breath. All of that had costed a very heavy penny. The demon didn¡¯t care much for Lai¡¯s disappointment, and it started standing up again, shambling towards the duo. The green fire coating its body started to catch onto the dry, wooden floor and spread like wild, crawling out and about, sneaking up the walls. So much for paying rent this month. ¡°Do you have any spells you can use?¡± stammered out Haley. She looked around the flat. ¡°This is your base, right? Do you have any artifacts? Any traps? Weapons?¡± ¡°A few potions, but I haven¡¯t had time to make anything recently.¡± Lai coughed into his hand. That was a lie. He hadn¡¯t made anything recently because he figured he didn¡¯t have to do anything. He hadn¡¯t done anything as a Sentry for five whole years, and he''d grown lazy ¨C this demon had caught him with his pants right down. ¡°As for spells, well, I¡¯m a Dud.¡± ¡°A dud!? A dud!?¡± Haley breathed in hard, trying to control her emotions. Lai couldn¡¯t blame her. Duds were the rare breed of sorcerer that didn¡¯t have an affinity for any magical element. Talentless and doomed to be miserable, the lot of them. Definitely not someone you''d expect to be a professional mage killer. ¡°Calm down,¡± said Lai, conjuring up his deepest and most convincing voice despite how screwed he felt he was. "I assure you I think I know what I''m doing." Haley bit her lip and nodded, keeping her eyes glued to the approaching demon. Lai watched as the demon circled around the hole it had made coming up here. It was slow, unused to the new flesh it had regenerated. He sneaked a glance to his kitchen and tried remembering the various potion ingredients he had left. All useless though ¨C none of them were processed into potions, and in the first place, he only knew how to make basic healing and strengthening ones. Neither would help here. But the basic components for them, all those herbs that symbolized strengthening, reinforcement, amplification ¨C they were still there, and, come to think of it, that was all Lai needed. ¡°Haley, I want you to follow my every word.¡± Lai started moving towards the kitchen. As expected, the demon shifted its attention to him. ¡°Blast a hole in the wall. It should lead outside. We¡¯re going to run.¡± ¡°Are you insane!?¡± said Haley. ¡°Running!? Do you know where we are? We¡¯re on the tenth floor ¨C that¡¯s not running, that¡¯s jumping, and that¡¯s not a jump we¡¯re going to survive.¡± ¡°I¡¯m trusting you!¡± said Lai as he made a mad dash to the kitchen, close to where the demon was. They were going to run, yes, but not before taking this demon out. If left to its devices, it¡¯d just keep growing stronger and stronger, gaining more and more resistances until nothing could handle it. At that point, the least of Lai¡¯s concerns was losing his job as a Sentry. The damn thing would massacre the whole city before the Court of Keys could bring in a more competent Sentry to deal with it. Lai sprinted behind the kitchen and the demon followed before stopping, its massive bulk unable to cross into the narrow kitchen. It was like they were playing a game of very odd tag, with the end result being that they stared at each from either side of the kitchen counter. The demon roared as it swung an arm towards Lai¡¯s head from across the counter. Lai ducked, letting the heavy arm swerve past him. While ducking, he opened the cabinets of his sink to see several bottles packed with herbs and powders of different kinds. With a quick swipe, Lai gathered as many of them under his arm as he could and rolled backwards. He narrowly avoided the demon slamming down on the counter with both its arms, splitting the metal and wood sink cleanly in two. The broken piping spurted water hap-hazardly, sizzling as it came into contact with the demon¡¯s fire-wreathed body. Lai checked how many bottles he had. Three. Good enough. He shattered them across the floor and gathered the herbs and mosses together. All plants that symbolized growth, amplification, and expansion ¨C all perfect ingredients for a strengthening mixture. But he didn¡¯t want a potion right now. The demon pushed past the counter with raw strength, flattening it under its sheer weight. Lai moved quickly, not wasting a single motion, not even wasting a breath. He wadded up the herbs and put it against his palm. From his inner world, he dropped out another grenade. Not a regular one ¨C all of those had blown up already. But a thermite grenade, a type of explosive that didn¡¯t really explode, but instead superheated, melting a hole into enemy fortifications. Could be tossed into tank barrels to melt them straight off. Or it could punch a hole right through a sorcerer¡¯s barrier. Made for destroying bunkers and structures, not enemies ¨C so he¡¯d kept these in a different place from his other more straightforward explosives and weapons in his inner world. He unpinned the grenade and watched as a streak of sparks started sputtering from its top. With another hand, he wrapped the herbs around the grenade and looked up to see the demon standing over him, its mouth wide open and ready to chomp down. ¡°Here ya go,¡± said Lai as he tossed the incendiary grenade into the creature¡¯s maw. The demon paused for a second, its mouth open in some semblance of shock as it tried to figure out what it had just eaten. And oh boy, had it eaten a deadly mixture. A thermite grenade didn¡¯t explode, but it burned hot ¨C 4000 degrees Fahrenheit. And combined with all those herbs that amplified, strengthened, and expanded, and that little not exploding drawback was more than covered for. Lai smiled at the creature¡¯s confusion and capitalized on it, swerving past it and running full speed towards Haley. She had cut out a neat hole in his flat, leading out to the night and a ten-story drop. He grabbed her arm and pushed her close to himself. Before she could protest, he jumped, plummeting into the night. Bad Dates, Bad Deals The drop wasn''t pleasant, to say the least. Lai didn¡¯t do well with heights, and as he felt the winds whip by him and the solid concrete sidewalk below getting closer and closer, he did feel that prickly, impending death twinge of fear despite being trained against it. Thankfully, he had jumped at just the right angle so as to avoid the nine rows of balconies below his flat. Haley, however, kept her eyes wide and trained on the ground, her body stiff. Shock was also an acceptable response to this situation, but it wouldn¡¯t do for Lai to have her leave this date frightened out of her mind and possibly dead. Wouldn¡¯t do well for his reputation in the dating game, and he was already at an all time low. So he channeled the only magic he knew, or rather, could use. As a Dud, he couldn¡¯t project his mana outside his body and form it into the many elements in the world, the building blocks of creation that let sorcerers conjure up wondrous firestorms or light shows. But he could channel it within him, strengthening the only ''element'' he had an affinity with ¨C his own body. He pulled Haley closer to him, bracing her, and then pumped mana into his other arm until the skin became like tensile steel. He jammed the arm into the brick wall of his apartment building and dug in. Sparks slid off his fingers as his fingers slid down the wall, making him squint and focus instead on the ground. The drop became less of a terrifying experience when Lai guessed they were on the fifth floor. A trail of bright sparks followed them as they kept sliding down, their descent slowing to the point that Lai could jump off at the second floor and land with Haley in his arm safely, his legs boosted with just enough mana to take that fall without damage. Far above, his flat exploded in a blinding white nova. For a second, it was almost like someone had flicked on the switch for the sun ¨C that was how bright it got. There was no sound, no deafening crack of power. All Lai had done was expand the scorching temperatures of the grenade, letting it grow and swallow a wider area, as if a miniature sun had been unleashed right there. Then the light died just like that, the chaotic union of man-made chemicals and magical herbs creating an unholy blast that collapsed upon itself just as intensely as it had expanded, reducing the fat, slobbering demon into nothingness. Unfortunately, it¡¯d also reduced Lai¡¯s flat to nothingness. It was a damn good thing that the tenth floor was the highest, or else all the floors above might have collapsed down like a broken tower of jenga. Lai looked up one last time at the smoking crater that used to be his home of five years. He nodded, giving it a good send off. ¡°I hope the Court¡¯s gonna foot the bill for repairs,¡± he whispered under his breath. Haley tore herself off from Lai¡¯s grip and breathed in deep, regaining her composure. The dress she¡¯d worn this night, expensive silk, a dark, cherry red, was covered in splotches of dirty white dust. ¡°That was, that was-¡° She took in another breath, feeling the relief of escaping death wash over her. ¡°That was seriously cool. It was my first time seeing a demon in the flesh, you know, I studied them, of course, it¡¯s part of introductory Arcanology, but wow, seeing it like, right there, physical, that was so scary and so interesting.¡± ¡°Wow,¡± said Lai. ¡°You slip right through death and the first thing you think is ¡®that was cool?¡¯ I¡¯m not ragging on you, I¡¯m actually impressed. You sorcerers really do embody the ¡®curiosity killed the cat¡¯ thing.¡± Haley shrugged. ¡°Oh please, sorcerers nowadays just sit on their wealth and power. Nobody wants to innovate anymore. No exploration. More importantly, though-¡° She motioned around her, towards the commotion kicking in. People on the sidewalk were staring at them. A few were on their phones, dialing the police, emergency services, yadda-yadda. People were starting to stream out from Lai¡¯s apartment, deathly terrified of what had happened. Lai gave a slow nod. He¡¯d gotten rusty. It was standard protocol to leave as quickly as possible if you¡¯d used magic visible to the public. Maintaining the secrecy of it and all. ¡°Good point.¡± Lai pointed across the street where quite a few cars had stopped to gawk at the fire burning atop the apartment. ¡°Next block, we turn a left and keep going. We should reach a blind spot then, but before then, let¡¯s run. Cover your face, too, if you can. I have ways of dealing with the police, but it¡¯s a hassle.¡± ¡°You really are a dud.¡± Haley shook her head and drew a rune on her arm. It lighted a coal-black that stood out on her pale skin. ¡°Give me your arm. Why bother running through the streets like a pair of crazies? All we need is a basic concealment spell for this.¡± Lai held out his arm and slumped his shoulders. ¡°Don¡¯t give me too much crap. I never went to school, you know.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t put yourself down.¡± Haley put her attention on his arm, focusing as she inscribed the rune. Lai felt it burn a little on his skin, not hot enough to hurt, but not exactly a pleasant temperature either. ¡°We¡¯re all talented in our own way, and you¡¯re right: you really are good at killing things.¡± Lai gave her a sarcastic wink. ¡°It¡¯s what I do.¡± Haley rolled her eyes and tapped Lai¡¯s arm. ¡°I¡¯m not sure that¡¯s something to be proud of, but you do you. Let¡¯s go. We¡¯re going to the Center, right?¡± ¡°You catch on quick,¡± said Lai as he broke into a leisurely walking pace, grateful that everyone around them stopped staring at them, wondering where they¡¯d gone. Soon enough, even their memories of the two would flee them. ¡°Doesn¡¯t take a genius to figure out we¡¯re going to the only safe-haven for sorcerers in the city,¡± said Haley. She was lagging behind Lai a bit due to wearing heels, but she quickened her pace. By the time they crossed the street, she was even with him and gave him a sideways glance. ¡°I get the impression that you think I¡¯m, well, how to put it, slow?¡± ¡°Dumb, yeah,¡± said Lai. He noticed Haley¡¯s glare. ¡°Oh, I mean, not you in particular, sorcerers in general.¡± ¡°Oh, so we¡¯re all dumb?¡± ¡°No, not that either. Sorry, a little clumsy with the words here.¡± Lai put on an ingratiating smile. ¡°My parents didn¡¯t speak the best English, you see, first generation immigrants and all. Anyways, I meant that you sorcerers don¡¯t seem street smart. You¡¯re all ¨C let me rephrase this ¨C most of you know how to sit down and memorize magical formulae, but because of that, you don¡¯t know what to do when your on your feet.¡± ¡°You¡¯d be surprised.¡± Haley looked forwards, disappointment wreathed on her face. ¡°Sorcery nowadays is all politics. Magic¡¯s all been figured out, for the most part, primal mysteries aside -and most of us think it¡¯s impossible to solve those. Everyone just sits on the knowledge and power they have, and they¡¯ll fight tooth and nail to keep themselves on top. It''s all magic is these days, lots of fighting over the past. We¡¯ve lost sight of what magic¡¯s meant to be.¡±The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°And what is magic meant to be?¡± asked Lai, genuinely curious. It was nice hearing the perspective of a sorcerer so different from her kind and yet at the same time so talented and involved in the world of magic. Haley raised her arm and waved at the world around her. ¡°Discovery. Magic¡¯s so special ¨C we¡¯re literally wielding the fundamental energy that created this whole universe. We can do anything with it if we try, but we¡¯ve bound up all our creations in books, labeled them all neatly as spells, regulated the creation of new spells, and settled into admiring what we have right now. It¡¯s all such a waste.¡± Lai raised a brow. He might not have known how to do most magic, but he did know the rules that sorcerers had to follow. It was one of his job requirements. Needed to know the rules to punish the rule breakers. And one of those rules was that creating new spells was heavily regulated, and for good reason. Creating something new was unstable, unpredictable. A new spell meant to regenerate cells just as easily might cause an overgrowth into cancer. To the Court, Haley¡¯s views would be close to heresy. ¡°You sure you want to share that with me?¡± said Lai. ¡°I am a Sentry, you know.¡± ¡°You saved my life. The least I can do is be honest.¡± Haley¡¯s eyes flitted to the ground. ¡°I guess I can also apologize for being so shallow during the date.¡± ¡°Yeah, you did seem a little distant during the whole thing in the way that sorcerers are. Just interested in what I study, what my family studied, how much influence my family has, what connections I have, you know, the whole package.¡± Lai smiled. ¡°Why put up that act? You¡¯re surprisingly likable as you are now.¡± ¡°Surprisingly?¡± Haley let out a short laugh. ¡°Well, glad I could meet your expectations, I guess? And believe me, I¡¯m still a sorcerer at heart. Just someone who hasn¡¯t lost sight of our natural curiosity. By the by, you¡¯re still going to set up a meeting with Roshana, right?¡± Lai sighed. Playfully, this time, not in defeat. ¡°I guess. Honestly, I think she¡¯d take a liking to you. The two of you are a little alike.¡± Haley clapped her hands together, and a light skip came into her steps. Lai shook his head, but he smiled nonetheless. When they reached the end of the block, the atmosphere shifted. There was mana in the air, faint, but there. Lai felt the hair on his arm tingle. Mana was spiritual in nature, but it did have physical influence. If he had to compare it to something, it would have been like feeling invisible vibrations in the air. To the left here would lead progressively closer to the Center. As the name stated, it was the center of the city. In all magical constructs, the center had a particular significance. Hence why golems and certain beasts had cores that kept them whole. Long ago, back in the 1800s, when the city was young, sorcerers had carved out their influence at the city¡¯s center. A big collection of rituals and bases that had permanently changed the flow of mana in the land, sort of like poking in a depression on a cloth. From then on, mana had always tended to gather there. Not a lot, mind you, what with buildings and man-made objects sprawling over anything sacred and ancient. But what little was left still gathered at that center to this day. ¡°A real piece of the past,¡± said Lai, peering to the left of the block, where urban development seemed to go back forty years, where older apartments and buildings, colorful and much shorter than the towering highrises, stood proudly. ¡°Mana here feels nice. Low-key and peaceful.¡± ¡°You should try and go to real sorcerer territory,¡± said Haley. ¡°The mana¡¯s so thick in the air that your tongue gets numb if you stick it out.¡± Lai rolled his tongue in his mouth. ¡°Doesn¡¯t exactly sound pleasant.¡± ¡°Because you haven¡¯t tried it,¡± sighed Haley. She patted away some dust from her dress and stretched, the tumultuous night already behind her. ¡°What¡¯re you planning on doing now? It¡¯s obvious someone wants you gone. Any idea who it is?¡± ¡°Not a clue. Everyone here is laid back because there¡¯s nothing worth fighting over. I figure an outsider¡¯s come in and wants to break a few Court rules, and this mystery mage wants me, the rule-keeper, dead.¡± ¡°Seems reasonable,¡± Haley nodded. ¡°Yeah, but finding this mystery mage is the real issue.¡± Lai clenched his fist. ¡°Son of a bitch toasted my flat. The Court¡¯s stingier than the grinch: they aren¡¯t going to foot the whole bill for repairs, and they don¡¯t even give me enough money to comfortably pay rent. If they ever get wind that I made such a big scene killing a demon, then I figure they¡¯re finally going to send an investigation into my competency. On top of that, if I don¡¯t catch this mystery mage, then I might as well count myself jobless and homeless, so you bet I¡¯m going to spend every waking minute I got hunting this bastard down.¡± ¡°Good to see you motivated.¡± Haley turned right, away from the Center. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s going to be safe for me with you and a mad sorcerer rampaging about, so I¡¯m going to head back to my family. If you want, you can send that bill to me. Then we can consider ourselves even. You save my life, I save you from making history and being the first homeless Sentry.¡± Lai blinked. Her family could pay to repair an entire floor of an apartment? In the city? That was a multi-million-dollar expense, and most sorcerer families, though wealthy, weren¡¯t THAT stacked. ¡°What was your family name again?¡± asked Lai. ¡°Collins Per Olyndicus El Lugh¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Lai was dealing with a bigshot here. Collins was her regular surname. ¡®Per Olyndicus ¡®meant one of her ancestors had been someone called Olyndicus, and sorcerers did not pay homage to an ancestor unless that individual had some extreme accomplishments for magic. Then there was ¡®El Lugh¡¯, meaning she could trace her bloodline all the way back to a god. In this case, the god of light Lugh, famous for being good at literally everything. ¡°Oh,¡± repeated Lai. Haley smiled, obviously enjoying how much of a reaction her surname brought up. Lai could not let Haley tell anything to her family. Any family that could trace their roots back to a god were Tribunes, highly influential bloodlines that managed much of the internal workings of the Court. If she told her family about how Lai had put her in danger and how sloppy he was tonight, he was absolutely toast. Even if Haley herself seemed to like him, he had zero guarantees about the rest of her family, and his limited knowledge of these Tribune bloodlines told him that they were absolutely merciless, petty, and vengeful. He hated to do this, but- ¡°Haley, I¡¯ve thought long and hard about this, and I¡¯ve come to a decision.¡± Lai slipped a hand into his pocket and withdrew a key-shaped pin from his inner world. It shone gold even in the dark of night, and magical energy surged from it as he thrust it towards Haley. ¡°By the authority the Court of Keys has vested in me as Sentry, I hereby declare you under protective custody. You may not leave the premise of this city without my explicit permission for your own good and safety. You are to remain at a safe haven at all times, and you are to be vowed to silence so as to not compromise the integrity of this investigation.¡± Haley stared at Lai with open mouth. ¡°You cannot be serious,¡± she said. ¡°You just don¡¯t want me to babble to my family. Are you that selfish? Do you have that little trust in me?¡± Busted. But Lai couldn¡¯t back down now. He hated to admit it, but saving his own hide came pretty high on his priority list. ¡°I can¡¯t risk you getting hurt.¡± Lai pursed his lips. ¡°I just need you safe until this is all over.¡± Haley looked at Lai with disbelief, obviously seeing past his faked concern. She exhaled in defeat. ¡°Alright, alright. I can¡¯t go against an official seal, I guess, but you should know that even if you solve this case and get the Court to uphold your tenure, I can still get back at you through¡­other means.¡± ¡°Such as?¡± ¡°You might find it hard finding a landlord willing to let you rent a room.¡± Haley crossed her arms. ¡°Money talks ¨C that¡¯s what the common folk here say, right? And we¡¯ve got plenty of business connections all around this city. Might be hard to find a job. The banks might start not liking you for some reason, too.¡± ¡°This is illegal and an abuse of power,¡± protested Lai. ¡°You can¡¯t threaten a Sentry like this, come on.¡± Haley rolled her eyes. ¡°Oh please, look who¡¯s talking about abuse of power. Look, I¡¯m not that mean either. I just want you to make a compromise. I¡¯ll stay here as long as you give me a few favors.¡± She wore a triumphant smile that Lai couldn¡¯t help feel annoyed at, and some semblance of self-respect told him that if he wanted to be an selfish asshole, he should go all the way and keep fighting back, but ¨C He really didn¡¯t want to be homeless. Oaths and Orders Lai jammed his hands into his pockets. ¡°Okay. I give. What do you want?¡± Haley¡¯s expression brightened up. She had on an interesting smile. The type of unassuming happiness you¡¯d see painted on the portrait of antiquated European royalty. Confident and yet reserved ¨C knowing how much power she held and yet having enough of a generous spark to hold back. ¡°For one thing, I want you to be honest.¡± She clasped her hands together. ¡°Anything I ask, I want you to give me a truthful answer.¡± Lai couldn¡¯t see much harm in that. He didn¡¯t have much to hide at all. Not like he had tons of secret rituals backed up in his head or a super special family magic that he had to keep under wraps. ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Great.¡± Haley unclasped her hands and showed an open palm to Lai. There was a red rune there that emanated a malevolent energy. ¡°Good that I got your consent for this oath rune ¨C just give me honest answers and you won¡¯t get cursed. Don¡¯t be worried any, by the way, because all I want is to have some of my curiosity satisfied.¡± ¡°Knowing you,¡± said Lai as he recalled her boundless thirst for knowledge. ¡°That¡¯s asking for a lot, but I don¡¯t have a lot to give. I have shy of zero magical knowledge and I already said I¡¯d set you up with Roshana.¡± Haley put a hand on her hip and shook her head. ¡°You should be more confident. You have plenty to give me. For one, I¡¯ve always been interested in the more secretive sides of the magical scene. You Sentries are all shrouded in mystery, and I want to break that veil.¡± Lai raised a brow. ¡°It¡¯s not so much what we do that¡¯s a secret. That much is obvious: we deal with the rule-breakers. It¡¯s who we are that¡¯s under wraps, because if our abilities were public information, any old sorcerer could prepare against us.¡± ¡°I still want the full scoop. What you do when you¡¯re on the hunt, how you go about it, and so on. There¡¯s not a single sorcerer I know that¡¯s seen a Sentry in action, and I¡¯d be dumb not to jump at this chance to find out more of the unknown.¡± Haley pointed at Lai. ¡°And that¡¯s why I¡¯ve decided that I¡¯m going to stay with you through this whole investigation.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but that¡¯s stupid.¡± Lai wagged his finger, like he was reprimanding a child. ¡°You have no clue how nasty these crazy sorcerers get. Black magic is powerful but chaotic ¨C you¡¯re going to get hurt if you come with me.¡± Lai glanced at the concealment rune on his arm. ¡°I know you¡¯re talented, but that¡¯s not enough. These corrupted sorcerers are nasty, and they fight back like all hell. They¡¯ve got the type of tenacity that only crazy can bring. You do not want this, and besides, I ordered you to stay at a safe-haven at all times.¡± There was also the fact that if Haley got hurt or, worst of all, killed, Lai was also dead. Her family would send everything they had against him, and if the Court found out he¡¯d let her follow him, he wouldn¡¯t receive any protection. He thanked his past self for using the seal to bind Haley to a safe-haven, or else there wouldn¡¯t be anything to chain her relentless curiosity down from following him. ¡°Blah, blah, blah,¡± said Haley. ¡°What¡¯s a little discovery without danger? But you¡¯re right in that I¡¯m forced to stay at a safe-haven.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Lai motioned to the left of the street, where the older buildings were and where the Center lied. ¡°So why don¡¯t we shuffle along to the Center and hole you up in the Castle?¡± Haley would be safe inside the Castle, a hotel designed just as its namesake would imply. It looked like a downsized medieval fort, but somehow fit just right with all the aged buildings surrounding it. A competent sorcerer ran the place, and it had enough magical enchantments and wards on it that breaking into it through supernatural means was almost impossible. ¡°That old place?¡± Haley scoffed at the suggestion. ¡°There¡¯s nowhere better.¡± ¡°Hm, I wonder.¡± she brought a finger to her lip with a mischievous smile. ¡°Before that, let me ask you a few questions.¡± Lai didn¡¯t feel comfortable seeing that smile, but he still believed he¡¯d won here and that he¡¯d finally get to drop Haley off where she couldn¡¯t be a liability, because as of right now, she was an incredible liability to his well-being. ¡°Shoot,¡± he said with some hesitation. ¡°You¡¯re strong, right?¡± Lai furrowed his brows. ¡°Excuse me?¡± ¡°Just give me answers.¡± Haley waved Lai¡¯s confusion away. ¡°You¡¯re confident you can beat most sorcerers, right?¡± Lai nodded slowly. ¡°Honest, but these are boring answers. If you want to keep a roof over your head, you have to give me more substance. Tell me about yourself. What skills do you have that make you so confident?¡± A pause. Lai understood that information about him was highly confidential, but there weren¡¯t any real consequences if he spilled his abilities. It was mostly a common-sense thing, but the Court didn¡¯t officially enforce this secrecy thing. In fact, some of the strongest Sentries had their abilities right out in the open, but because they were so damn strong, it didn¡¯t matter.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. That was most definitely not the case for Lai, but Haley didn¡¯t seem like the type to spread his secrets. She had a reputation as a Tribune family member to uphold, after all, and he did have an oath rune hovering over him, ready to curse him with whatever pain she¡¯d thought up ¨C so it wasn¡¯t like he had too much of a choice. ¡°Okay, then, buckle up, because this is going to be long.¡± Lai closed his eyes for a second, reminiscing about all the choices he¡¯d taken to lead up to where he was now. ¡°The simple, non-magical things first, I guess. No bragging, but I¡¯m fit. Very fit. Might not be very tall or big, but I sure as hell know how to use my fists. I know how to use almost any modern weapon. Give me a gun or explosive, and I can use it. Hell, I can make explosives out of stuff people would think is just junk. But most importantly, I¡¯ve learned what sorcerers can do. I don¡¯t know how to use most magic, but I know what sorcerers are thinking when they use theirs. I can always stay a step ahead and catch them off guard.¡± ¡°Impressive,¡± nodded Haley. ¡°Where¡¯d you learn this from?¡± ¡°The Sentry that took me in showed me the ropes from the ripe old age of eighteen. You should know him. Sentry for the L.A. area ¨C Sinclair.¡± ¡°Wow. The premier vampire hunter of the Western world took you under his wing?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Lai grimaced. ¡°Not sure if I¡¯d call his training being ¡®taken under the wing.¡¯ He was always one to believe that the best progress got made when he threw me out in the most life-threatening situations. Let me tell you from firsthand experience that the underground vampire gangs in L.A. are not the friendliest bunch.¡± ¡°Sinclair¡¯s students hunt beasts all across the world ¨C he¡¯s got a reputation for being a competent teacher, always picky about who he¡¯d take on.¡± Haley inspected Lai and cocked her head. ¡°But I¡¯ve never heard of him taking in a Dud.¡± ¡°He wouldn¡¯t have.¡± Lai flicked his hand and materialized a chocolate bar from his inner world. ¡°I have this magical Talent ¨C it¡¯s what sets me apart from any old regular modern soldier. I can store and take things out from a world within myself. Probably also the reason why I have such a good connection with my body and why I can strengthen it so efficiently. Combine that with mastery of sleight-of-hand magic, and I¡¯m always armed, always dangerous, always ready to take advantage of an opening.¡± Haley¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Now that¡¯s incredible. I¡¯d heard of Talents like being able to breathe fire or fly without using mana, but this is way beyond that.¡± She stroked her chin, inspecting Lai like she was a scientist scrutinizing an interesting sample. ¡°If Sinclair hadn¡¯t taken you in and made you a Sentry, I figure someone might have tried to kidnap you to figure your Talent out.¡± ¡°You cannot even imagine how many times he¡¯s told me that.¡± Lai remembered the many days where he¡¯d complained about how hard his training had been. ¡°¡¯Be grateful you¡¯re not being dissected atop some ritual altar¡¯ he¡¯d growl. God, it¡¯s annoying even just to remember it.¡± Haley giggled into her hand. ¡°Okay, that settles it.¡± ¡°Finally got bored and decided to go to the Castle?¡± asked Lai hopefully. ¡°Not at all.¡± She jabbed a playful finger into Lai¡¯s chest. ¡°You gave me three orders with your court seal. One ¨C I can¡¯t leave this city. Two ¨C I have to stay at a safe haven at all times. Three, and most importantly for you ¨C I have to stay silent. Well, I¡¯ve decided that the safest haven in this whole wide city is you.¡± Lai was dumbfounded. ¡°Excuse me?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve told me how strong and tough you are, and I believe you. Completely. I think you¡¯re much more of a safe-haven than that rackety old castle.¡± ¡°You cannot be serious.¡± ¡°Oh, but I am. Magic is all about belief, and I believe with all my heart that you¡¯re the safest place to be. In fact, because you used the court seal¡¯s magic on me, I don¡¯t think I can even physically will myself to go to the Castle, just because I don¡¯t think it¡¯s as safe as you.¡± Lai swallowed down the tight knot forming in his throat. ¡°So,¡± she continued, putting down his death sentence. ¡°Looks like I¡¯m going to be with you. ¡®At all times¡¯, just like you wanted.¡± Lai opened his mouth, but couldn¡¯t muster up any words. He¡¯d been thoroughly outsmarted. She¡¯d wanted him to tell her all about his training just so she could strengthen her belief that he was safer than the castle. He had to admire her willingness to go this far for her insane desire to know the unknown, but he was seriously in some deep mud. He couldn¡¯t afford to get her even a little hurt, and that constant thought would slow him down. He had no idea how to solve this messy situation, but he figured he¡¯d let her tag along for now and improvise a way to ditch her later, when it got more dangerous. ¡°Okay, okay,¡± Lai sighed. Tonight would just be safe, investigative work. Hopefully. ¡°You can tail me. Just try not to get hurt, alright?¡± ¡°Thanks so much!¡± Haley rubbed the oath rune on her palm away. ¡°So, where are you going to go? How are you going to get this case solved?¡± ¡°I need to I.D. the demon that attacked me,¡± said Lai. He broke off into a quick pace towards the Center. He knew exactly who to go to identify all things supernatural. ¡°Then I should have a clearer idea of what kind of sorcerer targeted me and figure out where in the city he started up the summoning ritual.¡± Haley followed close behind and said, ¡°Smart. I remember in arcanology that every demon has their own unique magical signature tied to their names. You¡¯re going to search for that, right?¡± Lai nodded. ¡°Should narrow things down real quick. Takes a lot of energy to call a demon, so there are only just so many places that this sorcerer can hide in. If I just search for that signature in these areas, I should get a match.¡± ¡°Aha. So I¡¯m assuming someone in the Center can help you with identifying this demon?¡± ¡°Right again. If I¡¯m lucky, I might be able to have this sorcerer dead or captured by tomorrow.¡± ¡°Hmm, so I might get to see your ¡®mastery of sleight of hand magic¡¯ in action soon?¡± joked Haley. Lai shrugged; it sounded silly, being good at sleight of hand, but when you could take out a weapon from anywhere in your body, the speed and unpredictability that sleight of hand gave was invaluable. ¡°I¡¯m curious about that, though,¡± she continued. ¡°Why the fake magic shows? Why learn sleight of hand magic when you know real magic?¡± ¡°Money, mostly. Making cards disappear and reappear makes you a decent amount of cash, surprisingly,¡± said Lai. ¡°And as for why I had to learn sleight of hand when I had legitimate magic - I did know about the Court. My dad had told me their general rules, about keeping the secrecy of magic intact. That¡¯s why I learned sleight of hand: I needed to fake using magic. Got pretty damn good at it, too, considering it took the Court a whole year to get whiff of me.¡± ¡°Money? Considering the Talent you¡¯ve got, I¡¯m sure your family has some history with magic. That means they probably had the means to keep you afloat financially, right?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know any of my family outside my parents ¨C they¡¯re somewhere in China, I think, but that¡¯s all I know.¡± Lai pursed his lips. ¡°And my parents were dead by then. They didn¡¯t come to the states with much and they didn¡¯t leave me much. That¡¯s why I was strapped for cash.¡± ¡°Oh. I''m sorry.¡± Lai felt the shift in her tone, how she lost that happy skip in her step. ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± he consoled her. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since they¡¯ve passed. I¡¯ve made my peace and all.¡± Haley nodded, but for the rest of the walk, she didn¡¯t ask any more questions.