"What's this?" Han looked surprised as I handed her the box. It was wrapped in green and blue paper with a silver bow. It was about the size of my hand.

"Open it and see for yourself."

She smiled, her cheeks coloring a faint pink. "You didn't need to get me a present, Ricky."

"I know, but I wanted to." As she opened it up, I reaffirmed my decision to buy the gifts

Not just to show them that I still very much cared, I didn't need a trinket for that, but also because of its utility.

"Ricky." Han sounded shocked. "How much did this cost?" She pulled out the fine silver chain, at the end of which was a small blue tear drop sapphire. On the gem's surface were dozens of tiny intricately carved runes. It was infused with mana, an enchanted object. Although, a practitioner or someone with magic senses would need to focus in order to sense the magical power.

Don’t need it being sensed so easily.

"Doesn't matter." It actually hadn’t cost nearly as much as I has thought when I first started looking. The protection charm was still far more expensive. "Try it on."

Han stared at the necklace, unmoving. I smiled, and moved forward, grabbing it, and gently placing a hand on her shoulders. I leaned in and gave her a soft kiss. “Let me then. Come on, turn around.” She turned, and laid her neck bare for me. Unlike a normal necklace, there were no hooks. All you needed to do was put the two ends together, and they would seamlessly connect. I moved it so the sapphire lay against her skin, and then connected the two ends.

I took a few steps back as she turned around. “I can’t feel it.”

“An enchantment,” I explained, looking her up and down. “You look beautiful.”

She fingered the chain as her blush deepened. “You think?”

I moved forward to give her another kiss. “I do.” Her arms wrapped around me, and I pulled her into a hug. “Look, Han, I know I’ve been distant as of late, but it…” Could I say it wouldn’t be forever? I still had no clue if I would be forced to leave. Bob seemed to think so, although he was becoming more unsure due to Freya’s visions. He’d explained what else she had seen, and none of it filled with particular enthusiasm. I didn’t want to lose an arm, even if Bob assured me we could have it grown back easily enough.

“Ricky?”

“Han, I’m trying to get through something and I just need some time. Like I said a few days ago, it’s not forever.” I moved back to look her in the eyes. “I promise it’s not anything to do with you, and it’s best if I don’t tell you any specifics. Trust me on that… Please?”

She stared into my eyes for a long moment before nodding. “Ok, Rick.”

I hope Zara is ok with just that much.

****

After another training session, I found Zara practicing spells in one of the magic training rooms. I stopped a few steps behind her as she spun an intricate web of magic, a pattern, more advanced than I’d ever seen her use. From what I could tell it was some sort of force spell, although, not like those that I used. In fact, it also had a mental component to it. Like it was meant to… The head of the dummy directly in her line of sight popped, bits of material flying in all directions. A few headed her way, but they hit an invisible wall.

Oh.

The humanoid dummy stood there for a moment, headless before there was a brief flash of light and it was back to perfect form. It was made of the same rubber material the training weapons were. “Remind me not to piss you off.”

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Zara chuckled as she turned. “Don’t worry, I have other spells for people who annoy me, not that you ever do.” She walked over, and her eyes moved down, noticing that my hands were behind my back. She met my gaze and raised an eyebrow. “What do you have, Rick?”

I pulled her box from behind me and held it out to her. “A gift.”

She blinked, and though I wasnt an empath like her, I could most certainly tell she was surprised and caught off guard. “A gift? What’s the occasion?”

“Just wanted to show that I still care.”

“What?” She shook her head as he took the box. “Of course, I know you care. Empath, remember?” I sighed. “I know, but I got one for Han, and I thought why not for you aswell. Open it.” She unwrapped the bow, and then tore the paper with nail. Her eyes widened when she saw what was inside. It was similar to the necklace I’d given Han, though Zara’s was a ruby. During our usual after training time togher, she had once told me about a gift from her grandmother on ther father’s side. A ruby broach that she kept close.

“Rick… I…” She looked up, and there was a faint wetness to her eyes. I opened my mouth to reply but my words turned into a gasp when she rocketed into me, her arms wrapping around me. I smiled over her shoulder. “I take it you like it.” She pulled back, giving me a quick kiss, before looking back at the necklace. The chain was gold, and honestly if it had been at the mundane price, it would have been very, very costly.

Being part of the para world meant I had access to alot of benefits, one of which was the price of mundane goods that didn’t cost as much to para’s. There were a tone of metals, gems, and jewels I’d never heard of, and normal gold in comparison to alot of them, was pretty low down the totem pole. There was still limits, and such on how much you could buy. At first, I had thought it was stupid since you could just resell it to a mundane place, but Bob had cleared things up for me.

“There’s systems in place, Dick. Yes, it can be done, but not easily. Most won’t bother, since it would only bring a larger profit if done in substantial amounts and that is a risk. Trust me, DOSA takes the para economy very seriously. You thought the IRS was bad? You don’t want the supernatural equivalent on your case, Dick, let me tell you.”

Somehow the fact that there was still taxes was shocking but also sort of grounding. It remind me that despite all the magic in this plane, it was still modern, and some things never changed.

Death and taxes. Even with magic. Not that I pay taxes now, anyways, but still.

Just like I had with Han, I helped Zara put it on. When she stepped back and posed, I smiled. “Even more beautiful than normal.” It was corny, and she knew it too, but I almost meant it, and even if she wasn’t an epmath, I was sure she would be able to tell.

“Rick…” She trialed off, and gave me another hug. “Thank you.”

“Your welcome, Zara, but that’s not all. I… promised I’d tell you about what was happening, at least, as much as I could.”

“Now?”

I glanced around, then shrugged. “It’s not like it will take long. All I really want to say is that I’m going through something, and I need some time. I wont lie and say it’s not serious, but I’m getting through it.”

She was staring intently at me.

Probably reading my emotions.

“And how long do you think you'll need?”

I tried to keep my emotions in check, although that probably wasn’t too good of an idea. Zara could tell when someone was trying to hide an emotion and most times it just highlighted said emotion instead. “Weeks, maybe a month of two. Time will tell.” Whether I run or stay.

“And it has to with all the training?”

I nodded. “It does.”

“You know how that sounds right?”

I winced. “Yeah, but Zara, please, I just need some time. I promise the moment I can tell you, I will, but for now, it’s just better that you don’t know any more.” I really hoped she didn’t push. Like she had just said, the increased training probably led her to the right conclusion. Training to prepare for someone or something.

Zara slowly nodded. “Ok, Rick, but please, take care of yourself, and don't hesitate if you need to talk.” My shoulders slumped, an invisible weight being lifted from them. “I won’t. In fact, you wanna have a session now?”

“How about after some magic training? Why don’t you show me some of that force magic you’ve been learning.”