"I thought you said she was meeting us here?" I ask Declan.

He is at the front of the room, flipping through a textbook. Its set up like a classroom, with desks, chairs, and a blackboard-but we use it for all sorts of meetings. I plop down on top of a desk and rest my feet on the chair in front of me.

"She is. But its her first day. She probably just got lost."

I sigh and look at the clock. We are supposed to be gathering with the new mage to go over the first orientation lesson. I still haven't met her.

"Hey, Dec. What's the new girl like?" I ask.

He tenses up at the question. "Um, she's kind of… terrifying."

"What?" I laugh. I can tell he's genuinely frightened at the thought of her. "Is she six feet tall and ripped or something?"

"No, she's just… a lot. You'll see."

Declan must have manifested it, because at that very moment, the door handle rattles. A petite blonde girl pops through the door in a rush. Declan is scared of this tiny girl?

"Sorry! I got lost on my way here and had to take a shortcut through an underground tunnel." Her voice is more powerful than I would expect from such a small person. Declan seems taken aback by her abrupt entrance. I decide to introduce myself.

"Hey. I'm Zale. I'm the cool one around here."

"Rude." Declan protests.

She turns to me, and I see her face clearly. She has an almost feral look in her eyes, and an energized demeanor. "I'm Emily James- but everyone calls me Pepper. In fact, it’s the only name I answer to! It’s a funny story how I got the nickname, actually… there was this one time-"

"We can get to that later." Declan interrupts. "We need to start the- wait. Did you say you came here through an underground tunnel? We don't have tunnels here, how did you-"

"Didn't you just say we need to start?" She challenges. I decide that I like her- she's chaotic.

"I- Okay. Yeah. I guess you're right." He picks up a piece of chalk for the black board, but pauses and turns to look at me.

"Azalea, could you at least sit like a normal person?"

"No."

He sighs and continues. "I guess we'll start with the rules. Azalea, feel free to chime in. I know you know most of this already."

He looks really goofy, standing in front of a classroom wearing a yellow hoodie. Now that I think about it, he hasn't been wearing his uniform lately. That’s odd.

"So, Pepper, I'm sure they told you this when you first got your halos. The first rule of being a mage is 'never use your power upon yourself or another person' if you do, your halos will 'break' and you'll be in a lot of trouble. Basically your only options are imprisonment- or, the less shameful option- dedicating yourself to Salvare. You with me so far?"

She squints and strokes her chin. "I'm curious, what is breaking your halos like? And why can't we do it? Also what's Sal- Salvi- whatever-its-called?"

"Oh! Oh! Pick me!" I raise my hand.

Declan rolls his eyes at my eagerness. "I know you're just bored and want a turn to talk. But sure. Go ahead."

I take a deep breath and start explaining. "No one knows what it feels like to break your halos, because those who do are forbidden from speaking to other mages. But when you do, the markings on your wrist change. A 'break' appears I guess. I've never seen it, except in pictures. As for Salvare- he is our leader. He has the ultimate say in any matter. Claudius, Declan's uncle, speaks for him and runs the Order of Mages. Very few people ever meet Salvare. But if you break your halos, you can become one of his servants. In return, he 'forgives your shameful betrayal.' At least, that’s how the affirmations word it."

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Declan seems mildly impressed. "Good, but you forgot her second question. Why can’t we break our halos?"

"Well… its just wrong. We can use our power on the world around us, but using it on others takes away their personal autonomy. Besides, why would they change if there wasn't a reason for it?"

Pepper follows along attentively, her eyes wide.

"Exactly. Now, the other rules are less dramatic." He continues. "Second, all mages must participate in the Order of Mages. Third, elder mages must be respected and obeyed without question. Fourth, all dress and lifestyle guidelines must be followed to the letter."

"For example, wearing a yellow hoodie on the grounds of the Colony is not allowed!" I joke. I expect Declan to laugh but he just looks uncomfortable.

"My uniforms are being tailored, okay? Just leave me alone Zale. It's not like you're perfect."

I'm shocked. He never gets defensive like that.

"Sorry Dec. It was just a joke- honest. I'm really sorry."

He seems to realize that he overreacted. "It's fine. Lets just move on."

I glance over at Pepper, hoping our weird moment didn't make her uncomfortable. She is trying to untie her shoelaces, which somehow got tangled together in an intricate knot. I guess she didn't even notice.

Declan clears his throat. "You guys should read over the lifestyle guidelines later on your own. Its not complicated enough to go over now. I wanna move on to classes."

Out of the corner of my eye I see Pepper look up, attentive once again.

"The main classes are Element, Weapon, Matter, and Special. The classes help us specialize in one area. As mages, we are technically only limited by our imagination. But specializing also prevents us from using our power in a way that might break our halos. For example, I could cause someone to burst into flames with no problem, but reaching within them to raise their body temperature would break my halos. It’s a bit complicated- but basically, we manipulate the world around us to fight the bad guys. We don't manipulate the bad guys."

"I think I get it." Pepper responds. "So you're a fire guy, right? Element Class must just mean earth, water, fire, air?"

"Well, that’s some of them." Declan says. "There's also… lets see. Ice, electricity, weather…"

"Also light!" I but in. "And air pressure. Gravity too, but that one's notoriously hard to master I've heard. Magnetic fields-"

"Exactly." Declan cuts me off. "There's a huge variety of specialties. Most mages are assigned Weapon class though. Its much less dangerous. Weapon class mages use their power to enhance the use of a weapon. They'll make an arrow fly straighter, or a sword hit harder, for example."

"Oh! Is that your class Azalea?" Pepper asks.

"No, I'm actually one of the few weirdos here that doesn't have my halos. I'm just here because the Order adopted me when I was an infant."

Declan glances at the clock, then back at us. "I wanna get some personal studying in, so lets try and wrap this up."

"Why do you need to study?" I ask, perplexed.

"Did you forget that we are graduating high school in a few months? We have finals and stuff."

"Oh. Right."

He continues on. "One last point before we end- Matter and Special Class mages. Matter class mages can create and destroy matter at will. It sounds simple, but its actually very difficult to learn. There's also a whole load of nuance to it that I don't have much knowledge on. Special class is the final class, and most rare. They are kind of like legends- no one really knows who they are or what they can do. Most of us suspect that Salvare is a special class. There are also rumors of one who can see into the future, or one that can shapeshift. I think that’s about it. Any questions?"

I raise my hand.

"I meant Pepper."

She looks deep in though for a moment, then shrugs.

"Nope. I don't understand a thing, but I doubt asking any questions will clear it up. I'm sure I'll figure out how all this works as I go."

Declan shuts the book and shelves it. "In that case, you guys can go. Just read over the lifestyle guidelines on your own time. That means you, Azalea."

"Hey!"

He chuckles and leaves. Pepper and I head out too, after grabbing copies of the Guidelines from the shelf. When we exit, I turn to walk back to the dorms, and she speed-walks off in the opposite direction.

"I wonder where she's going?" I ask aloud.

"I hoped to find you here, Zale." A voice says behind me. I jump about a foot in the air.

"Geez! Thanks for the heart attack." I yell. Its Claudius, coming around the corner.

"Language, child." He warns.

"Sorry. You scared me, sir." I say respectfully- although I don't think he deserves it after sneaking up behind me.

"I have a mission for you, Declan, and Pepper tonight. Please pass the brief on to Declan." He hands me a folder.

"Tonight? Are you sure? Declan and I have school tomorrow- and Pepper… well, I actually don't know if she goes to school. Besides, she hasn't had any training."

"The mission is very simple. I anticipate that It will be uneventful. It should not be a threat to Pepper or your school day." He responds. "I want Pepper to see how missions are typically run."

"Okay. What kind of mission is it?"

"I trust that you will find it in the briefing."

"Oh come on. You're really gonna make me read through all this instead of just answering the question?"

He pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs. "Zale, I don't have time to argue with you. It's a security mission, for a museum. That’s all I'm going to say on the matter. You should still read the briefing. I will see you at the post-mission review."

"Okay. See ya then, chief." I salute.

He sighs again and walks away without a word.