Lincoln inspected his immaculate fingernails, "Possibly my least impressive title." He said idly, "From now on, boy, when a ranking mage demands your name, do not simply say 'Nicholas Stratus… uh, sir.' It is unbecoming and frankly, incorrect."
"But it's my name, sir." I said blankly. How else was I supposed to introduce myself?
The man sighed and ran a hand through thoroughly iron-grey hair, "Young people these days. I suppose you at least are slightly less uncouth than Danae or Kevin. But that might just be from the trepidation you feel towards me."
"You can sense what I'm feeling? Sir? But I'm not using any magic…"
He looked amused, "You are very young, Stratus. There is so much that you need to learn. But yes, I can sense your emotions, if not your thoughts."
That was yet another thing I hadn't known was possible. Magic was highly connected to emotion; so what one felt would resonate with the power they used. But to know what I was feeling without me actively using magic at the same time…?
Scary. If Vik or Danae could do it…
"Do not fear, young man." Lincoln continued, "It is not a very easy skill to master."
How did he know what I was thinking? I thought it was emotion-based, not-
"I cannot read your mind," He said, "But do not think you are so special. Aether or not, mage or not, you are still human. That means that you like any other are susceptible to the same rote thinking processes as any other. I am not reading your mind, boy… you are just typical."
Damn. Proverbial sword stab to Stratus ego, complete.
"Sir, could you please drop me off at my exam?" I tried pleading again, "I know it must seem stupid to you but I really need to take it…"
Bushy grey eyebrows rose in surprise, "My boy, of course it isn't stupid. Your education is of the utmost importance. Ever since you declared your destination, Eric has been driving us with that location in mind… we are just taking the scenic route, so we may discuss important matters in the meantime."
The scenic route? I glanced outside, buildings amongst buildings. There was very little scenery in the city, it pretty much all looked the same behind the darkened tint of the Cadillac's windows.
"Pay attention, Stratus." Lincoln said sternly, drawing my gaze from the window, "This is important. You are an Aether, and I'm sure it has been emphasized to you about how rare such a trait is amongst our kind. You are one of only fifty or so in the world. Do you know what this means?"
"I'm a very special little boy?" I joked sarcastically, foolishly forgetting whom I was addressing for a moment. I felt the magical equivalent of a slap across the cheek, and I was suddenly choking for breath as my airway was cut off. The Governor's coal-grey eyes had become stormy as he locked onto my desperate hazel ones.
I'm being killed by Darth Vader, I thought with delirious panic as Lincoln showed no immediate signs of letting me breathe again, This guy doesn't even need to put up his fingers to do it, either.
"Impertinent." The dangerous man commented, sounding disappointed, "It can be construed as courage to stand up to an opponent that you know is stronger than you by some measure. But it is absolute foolishness to stand up to an opponent whose strengths you cannot begin to comprehend yet, do you understand?"
I didn't really understand things well when I was being strangled to death, but I nodded as best as I could anyways. Lincoln smoothly released the power that he held over me, and I fell back into my seat gasping for air.
"Very good." The Governor said with a nod, "Never attempt to be coy with me in such a way again. I have ended men for less."
"Vik… Vik told me that mages aren't allowed to be in Normal government." I managed to gasp, remembering my first conversation with the older mage.
"He is technically correct." Lincoln smiled dangerously, "But times are changing, my boy. What was once true is no longer the standard. We are moving, whether the Ordo bylaws condone it or not. Frankly… old words on paper written by long dead fools mean little anymore."
Ordo de Magia… I had read that before, somewhere online. It was difficult to sort fact from fiction online, however, so I didn't give it much thought at the time. Before I could ask more about it, the Governor peered outside the window and nodded to himself.
"Nearly there." He said idly, "Alright, Stratus. In some years you will have to leave this little playground that you know as school for the real world. Now you have been inducted to our coven, and are on track to becoming Wise to your power. Certain formalities must be taught to you. For now, introduce yourself simply as Nicholas Stratus, initiate of the Archanos coven… but when the time is right, you will reveal to the Ordo your true title and rank. When they demand it of you then, you will introduce yourself as such. You are Nicholas Michael Stratus, Magnam Aether Ignis of the Archanos Coven."
"Magnam Aether Ignis?" I repeated blankly.
Lincoln's smile reminded me of Danae's, it was just about the only characteristic that made me believe they were related, "It translates to the Grand Aether of Fire. A powerful position and one not held lightly… truly, you have much to learn. But first," He pointed outside to General Lectures, where we had pulled up to while I was distracted.
"Try not to fail your exam, my boy. It reflects badly on us."
111
I was only five minutes late, and my TA handed me the exam with a bemused sort of smile and directed me to an open seat. I pretended not to see Eliza's accusing stare looking up from her own test on the way there. I had no idea what rumors were floating around UD about me getting dragged downtown to be questioned by the cops, but I doubt it was anything good. No doubt Eliza and my other Normal friends would blame APA for my sudden entry into the criminal underbelly.
We had three hours to complete the test, but most people were finished in less than two. I stayed longer than two hours, more out of desperation than anything, try to recall facts and figures that I only half-remembered. If I hadn't been in jail, I knew I could've done well, that was the hardest thing about it. Eliza deliberately passed by me after primly turning her test in a full ten minutes before anyone else.
Like it was really about who finished first. Let's pretend that yesterday I hadn't been having fantasies about doing it myself, because that would be ridiculous. I was no showoff, really.
Don't roll your eyes, dammit.
I gave up the fight thirty minutes before the exam was scheduled to end and walked out morosely, feeling like an idiot. There was a very good chance that I had just wrecked my grade in the class after trying so hard all semester. It was more than my GPA, how bad did it look to get a B, B-, or possibly even a C in a biology class when you were trying to be a doctor? No matter what, my winter break was going to be hell listening to my father needle me about how I wasn't only failing him and my mother, but myself. I could almost hear him already.
"If you were really trying, you would have gotten an A. You never apply yourself, Nicholas."
To my surprise, Carmen was waiting for me outside of the lecture hall. As soon as she saw me exit, she stood from her seat near the large paned windows in the front of the building and waved me over.
"That bad?" She said sympathetically, upon seeing the dejected look on my face, "Don't worry; I'm sure you'll be fine." A reassuring hand on my shoulder, and it made me feel better that she was so confident.
"Thanks." I said, meaning it, "What are you doing here? Were you waiting for me?"
"Yes, but don't tell Danae, she'll get jealous." Carmen teased with a smile, but I sensed that she was half-serious. We walked out together, but she led me in a different direction than I expected, away from both my dorm and hers.
"You'll see." She said simply, smiling mysteriously when I asked where we were going. Wherever it was, it was a bit of a walk. Carmen seemed to be in no rush to get to where ever our surreptitious destination was, so we had plenty of time to talk.
"Kraven, that crime boss with the Aberrants that attacked you, tipped the cops off." Carmen explained, "He was sick of t
rying to get to you by begging the Triumvirate- he basically has to answer to them since the Midwest belongs almost solely to Archanos. I was there when Vik called Governor Lincoln and told him what happened. Vik and Danae thought it was funny, but I had never seen the Governor so angry when he came and saw that they were basically treating it like a joke. An untrained mage caught by the police is dangerous enough, if you tried to escape it would have been public… not to mention the fact that you're an Aether…"
"Apparently there are only or so fifty in the whole world." I said quietly, remembering what the Governor had said.
"There might be more." Carmen disagreed, "No one is really sure of the number, because covens keep their Aether members a secret, especially when they're untrained like you are. I'm sure the Governor impressed that fact on you. The other inductees won't betray the coven, and Kraven will keep quiet, he's beholden to Archanos… but you can't let anyone else know. Now that you belong to Archanos, other covens will see you as a threat. Assassinations aren't common, but they happen in these sorts of circumstances."
I laughed nervously, "Sounds like more trouble than its worth."
My fellow User nodded slowly, "You shouldn't have to be in this position, but there's more, Nick."
"More?" Joy. What else?
"You're an Aether of Fire." Carmen said, "Fire Aethers are the rarest type." Seeing that I was still confused, she explained, "There are two times that a mage comes into connection with their magic. First when they become cognizant in their first year of life, and then later when puberty hits. It's not known exactly why, though there are theories. Stabilization occurs in the first year of life, and little instances of magic are known to occur. Maybe you knock something off a shelf when you're upset, make a little wind blow, or cause burning flames to burn a little hotter. It's not easy to see, but it's always there."
I nodded slowly; this was all new information to me.
"Aethers stabilize just like every other baby." Carmen continued, "But when they stabilize, they don't only connect to the essence of the magical field, but with the world as well. The pathways form, and best as I understand it, they… take in a little bit of their element, of nature, into themselves."
"I don't understand." I said, puzzled, "You mean I took… fire… inside of me when I was a baby? How?"
The girl grimaced and looked skyward, as if searching for answers there, "You're better off asking someone more knowledgeable about this." She admitted, "I just know what Danae told me. But basically, what I said. When you use fire, it easier naturally for you because in some way, you are fire. Don't ask me to explain it better than that, because I don't know how."
"Okay," I nodded, and I noticed that our walking had slowed to a snail's pace, but I didn't really mind it as this was so important, "But why is it rarer to be a Fire Aether?"
Carmen smiled sadly, "Because they die, Nick. As a baby, the process an Aether goes through differs based on your element… it isn't danger to be any of the other three types, air, water, earth… but fire… it burns. It's indiscriminate, and will hurt the user just as much as anyone else. Fire Aethers contract horrible fevers and become incredibly hot to the touch as babies… almost all die within hours. Add to the fact that it's already so rare to be an Aether…"
"I didn't die." I said quietly, "I'm alive." My parents had never mentioned anything of the sort when I was younger. If I had had this initiating fever, I never knew it.
"Yes, you are." Carmen agreed quietly, "That's why you're special. You're very likely the only Aether of Fire in the world. And that paints a very large target on your back for our enemies… which is, sadly, every mage that isn't a member of Archanos."
Great. When did my life become so complicated?
I remember wishing I was special when I was younger. Better than the bullies that teased me when I was just a wimpy little kid, better than the teachers that would scold me, tell me I wasn't doing well enough. Better than my parents, who were as condescending at times as they were encouraging at others. We never really stop to consider what being special really means. It means being different, and that pedestal isn't always sturdy even though it does place you above others.
Some people would try and topple it just to watch you fall. Because it would mean that you really belong on their level, it would mean that they're special too… or you were never really special at all.
"We're here." Carmen said quietly. Distracted, I hadn't noticed that we had stopped until she lightly pressed her hand against mine and I sensed the warm familiarity of her presence spread to brush gently against my mind.
We stood in front of an old house, only a few sizes too small to be considered a manor. It was well tended with perfectly trimmed grass and shrubbery, but its architecture, all dark wood and pale shaded glass, made it look dark where it should have looked cheery. The gloom of the sunless day only added to the uncertain feeling I felt in the pit of my stomach as I stared at it with a sense of unshakeable foreboding.
Carmen squeezed my hand, and I turned my head to look at her questioningly. The beautiful girl only smiled at me and let go, moving up the sloping walk to the large empty porch and shadowed door. Confused, I could only follow her, unknowingly walking into the house that I would call my home, very soon.
111
Carmen didn't knock, but used a small silver key to unlock the front door and stepped inside, and then she handed the key to me.
"It's yours now." She said as way of explanation, and then showed me her own identical key which she kept on a ring of various others.
"Thank you," I replied slowly as I took it, "Where are we, exactly?"
"Stratus, took you long enough." We turned to see Vik leaning against a nearby doorway. In the small entrance hall, there were two adjacent doorways and a relatively long hallway that branched off in two directions further along. I noticed that the inside was a lot less menacing than outside, the walls were painted a pale blue, and the wooden floors and doorways were elder oak white. It felt strangely… homey.
Vik gestured from one of the doorways, "Come on, time for you to meet the gang."
Obediently, I walked forward towards Vik, who snaked an arm around my neck in what I supposed was a playful gesture, but felt more like a headlock. The frat leader dragged me into the next room, which looked like a miniature greenhouse more than anything; the ceiling was a tempered glass dome, though there was no sunlight to stream inside. Everything was potted or growing along the walls, but it had a very forest-like feel to it, with the only clear walkway being the cobbled stone path that Vik half-dragged me along, with Carmen following behind us.
"What is this place?" I asked as I was hurried through.
Vik glanced around with disinterest, it was nothing new to him, "Kristen has a gift with plants," He said with a shrug, "Earth magic is more than throwing rocks around, you know."
I didn't have time to think or formulate a response, the next doorway opened up to a less exotic, but equally spacious room. Empty of plants, it was instead filled with people my age, or a bit older.
The room was seemingly divided into two areas by the arrangement of the family of different comfy looking black leather couches that were interspersed accordingly. A large flat-screen took up a portion of the north wall, left from the doorway that we had entered from. The eastern wall, directly across from our entry point, was a blazing open fireplace and another doorway. From my vantage point I could only just see a hint of a stairwell through the open door that wound upwards, apparently to the upper levels of the house.
Every head in the room turned with interest upon our entrance.
None of them really look all that dangerous¸ had been my first thought. It was true, while they held themselves a bit more confidently than one would expect, for the most part it could have easily been a room full of Normals. Not one had a gun, knife, or evil smirk in sight. Then again, Danae wasn't present yet.
I counted nine of them, some faces I knew immediately while I could only gues
s at the others. Yasmina and Mehdy smiled at me from their spot near the fireplace, both sitting on a furry rug and with books spread out on a low wooden table in front of them. I noticed across from them was Larry Chen, looking to be studying his own material as well.
The only person actually sitting on one of the couches near the fire- a open recliner, I recognized with a surprising jolt as someone I hadn't seen in several months, Kevin Ruark. His eyes were intent on the book in his lap, and he hadn't looked up or acknowledged me in any way when I entered. Considering the fact that he hadn't tried to contact me at all after we last met, I shouldn't have been so disappointed to be ignored. Not mention the fact that he might've been the murderer I've been looking for all this time… but I was trying to keep an open mind and not jump to rash conclusions.
There were a couple more recliners near the large television, which currently displayed some kind of two-person fighting game, paused upon our entry. Other than several recliners near the TV, there was one very long L-shaped couch that was occupied by the other five mages in the room, all of which that were looking at me. From them, I only recognized Hershel from this morning, but they were all faces I had seen before hanging around Vik or Danae.
"Everyone," Vik clapped his hands together cheerfully, "Meet Nicholas Stratus, our new punching bag. Treat him gently, of course, but not too gently… Stratus, this is everyone." He waved a lazy hand out vaguely, and then walked away to collapse on the couch, demanding a controller from Hershel so he could play.
Two people, a boy and a girl, detached themselves from the couch to crowd around me, and I felt very nervous under their combined stare. Carmen's presence at my shoulder was suddenly a very welcome one.
"This is him?" The dark-haired girl smirked at me, and I suddenly recognized her as the third girl from the roof at the hazing, "He looks different with clothes on."
"Doesn't look special to me." The boy next to her commented, his arms crossed. I noticed that they had much of the same features- pointed chins, sharp cheekbones, and very dark brown eyes. Even their hair was similarly colored and styled, though the girl's was much longer, hanging down to her shoulders.
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