Sheriff Hueller had regained consciousness and clamped a pair of funny looking manacles on the rogue mage. The rogue mage had soon after regained consciousness himself. The man said nothing when Sheriff Hueller questioned him, just stared blankly off into space. They'd sat around waiting for Hueller to regenerate enough magic to make a portal. The Dream Tiger had disappeared at some point. Whether it was dead and had vanished into silver mist like other creatures or had gotten up and slipped away while they were preoccupied with the rogue mage Jacob didn't know.

Before Sheriff Hueller had regenerated enough magic for the portal spell, another portal had opened and four emergency personnel from the Regulation Order in white slacks with an insignia on their right breast had marched through. Sheriff Hueller said they were emergency responders, sent in by HQ when he'd reported two deputies down. Millicent and Xavier, both still breathing, had been rushed off on stretchers and attended to by one of the emergency personnel.

Eventually, they had made it back to the Sanctuary, where Jacob and Camilla had to separately give reports on what had transpired. The moment they returned, Camilla transformed into a strict, authoritarian, showing yet another side of her he hadn't seen. She ordered the emergency personnel around the Sanctuary as if she owned the place, assuming responsibility in the absence of the recovering Hueller and his Deputies. Without Camilla, Jacob would have been lost. Before he went into one of the offices to give his report, she told him what to say, how to answer, what not to speak of, as if she'd done it all before.

The rogue mage had been taken away through yet another portal by the emergency personnel and another Ranger that had shown up hours after everything had been finished. Jacob was told the rogue mage was being taken into custody and that he was safe.

The whole time Jacob couldn't stop thinking about Jimmy. Just being around the Sanctuary and the others kept reminding him of the lessons the deputy had given him, of the friendliness, his good nature. Of every insane thing that had happened, that was what felt the most surreal. He kept expecting to see Jimmy lounging in the Sanctuary, or walking down one of the halls. He couldn't be dead.

After a while, the danger gone, Camilla and him had been deemed fit to go home by the emergency personnel. Camilla had wanted to stay with Sheriff Hueller while he recovered, but Jacob had found himself desperate to get back.

They met outside Hueller's room and she hugged him, which surprised him. He hugged her back and they stayed like that for a long time. She broke away and told him that she would be in touch if they needed anything else, and, of course, that if he told anyone at school what had happened, she would kill him, moron. This time, she said it with a half-smile.

——————

The next day Jacob lay in his bed, staring up at the posters that hung on the walls. His parents had been all over him, more worried than angry. He'd weathered it in a numb trance, letting his mother inspect him for injuries, his father's worrying going in one ear and out the other. They'd still grounded him for the rest of the summer. Despite it all it was good to be home. No, not good, great. He'd broken out into a run coming up the front walk, and when his mother had opened the door for him for the first time in years he'd initiated the hug. He'd breathed in deeply the scent of her and home. Then he'd hugged his father, who at first had tried to struggle from his grasp like a flailing bug, but then had accepted his fate.

After everything, a few months safe in the house didn't sound like a bad idea. Magic, monsters, heck even going outside again, were the last things on his mind. Maybe he'd break out his old LEGOs again, or start up a new Vital Sky file. Just sit back, relax, and recover. His old things were all within reach, and yet he lay there on his bed thinking back on everything. It ran through his head like a movie he couldn't pause or stop. He tried not to focus on Jimmy.

Faintly, he heard the front doorbell ring, and his mom's footsteps going to the door on the floor below.

A few moments later, footsteps thudded up the stairs. Jacob had lived long enough to sense the intent behind them. His mother opened the door to his room without knocking. For a moment she stood there, her eyes half-glazed.

"Jacob, dear..." She trailed off. "There is a man here to see you. He is in the family room."

She turned, cocked her head as if she'd forgotten something, then trundled off.

Jacob got up very slowly. Something was wrong with his mother. But almost weirder was that she had invited a random stranger in. His parents never invited people in.

He crossed his room to the hallway and peered down the stairs.

Silence.

What if it was the rogue mage? What if he'd escaped somehow?

Jacob's hand squeezed the railing at the top of the stairs. Was he being paranoid? He couldn't just stand here and do nothing. He engaged his magic unconsciously, but couldn't sense anything. He mustered up his courage and crept down the stairs and over to the family room.

Antonio D'Angelo was sprawled across the couch in front of the TV. He still wore the pink bathrobe and the large aviator glasses. His bare feet were kicked up on the coffee table.

Jacob froze, then swallowed. Sheriff Hueller's words flashed through his mind. Antonio D'Angelo is one of the most powerful and brilliant Producers in history. He's also one of the most influential mages in the Regulation Order. And he was right here in Jacob's TV room.

Gulp.

Jacob got ready to plead his case. Yes, Camilla had disobeyed her father and gotten in danger, but it hadn't been his fault.

"Ah, Mr Caibo." Mr D'Angelo gave him a Hollywood grin. "Sit, please."

Jacob sat down in his dad's armchair adjacent to the couch. Please don't kill me, he silently begged.

"Camilla and Joshua have told me much of how you handled yourself during the past few days. It appears my daughter owes you her life. For that you have my eternal gratitude."

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Jacob blinked and glanced at Mr D'Angelo. It appeared the man was sincere. "Um... thank you?"

Mr D'Angelo laughed. "No no, don't thank me. You've done a good thing; saved lives. I am quite impressed with you, Jacob. You've shown an aptitude for magic that is very rare for one coming from a non-magical family. Speaking of which, your mother is under a light compulsion spell. Nothing dangerous, I wouldn't harm your family, but she will forget I was ever here. Don't speak to her of my visit. Do you understand?"

Jacob swallowed, but nodded, relieved that he probably wasn't going to die.

"Good. Now, down to business. There is good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?"

Jacob cringed. "The bad news, I guess."

Mr D'Angelo sat forward and was silent for a while. "How do I put this? There are certain members of the Regulation Order who take rules, laws, and procedure very seriously. Through the reports of several such individuals the methods you used to defeat the rogue mage have come to the attention of several officials in the Regulation Order. Regardless of the context within which it happened, you killed several magical creatures and fed them to a powerful Consumer with the intent to make it more powerful. Intentionally feeding magical creatures is a serious criminal offence. You will have a trial in front of the Council."

Jacob froze. "Wait, what?"

Mr D'Angelo nodded.

Jacob shook his head. "No, wait wait wait. You're saying I have to go to court for feeding the Dream Tiger those little centipede things?"

"Yes."

Jacob didn't know whether to be terrified or outraged, so he settled on both. "What? Are you kidding me? But..." He spluttered. "But it was the only way to beat him! That's ridiculous! We'd all be dead if I-"

Mr D'Angelo raised his hand and Jacob immediately fell silent.

"I agree with you. Quite frankly, in my eyes, you are a hero. You saved my daughter's life, along with the lives of two deputies and a Sheriff. Not to mention brought a serious criminal to justice. If it were up to me none of this would be happening. But, rules are rules, laws are laws. Our society cannot function without them. There's a good chance this will be just a show trial; going through the legal motions. However, I am doing everything I can to help your situation. I have pushed the date of the trial back several months and used my influence to appeal the case to the World Council instead of the North American Council."

Jacob froze. That didn't sound like a good thing.

"Trust me, it will be better."

"I have to go to court?" Jacob said. He couldn't believe it. Oh, what would his parents think? He really was becoming a rebellious juvenile delinquent.

Mr D'Angelo grunted. "The Order's Courts don't function the same as legal systems you're accustomed to. And relax, I'm in your court; I'm on your side. I don't know if my daughter has told you, but I have some influence in the greater magical community. Relax, alright?"

"Alright." Jacob didn't think he was going to be relaxing any time soon.

"The court date is set for December 16th this year. So, try and push it out of your mind until then. Now, the good news."

Jacob didn't know if he could just not think about going to frigging court for six months, but he perked up at the mention of good news.

"Sheriff Hueller has sponsored you to go to Tisdale Academy this summer."

"WHAT?"

Mr D'Angelo laughed. "You've got ability and aptitude, plus he owes you his life."

"Wait, this summer? What do you mean?"

"The Academy starts the summer of the year mages turn seventeen. Magical abilities have awoken or are awakening in most by this point. They go for the summer, then return to go back to high school in the fall. When they graduate high school they go back for their second year."

"But I can't go."

Mr D'Angelo frowned. "Why not?"

"Because I'm grounded."

For the next two minutes Jacob heard nothing but laughter from Camilla's father. He thought for sure his mother would come running, but she didn't. When it had died down Mr D'Angelo wiped his cheeks and sighed.

"Look, the world's a big place, Jacob. I don't expect you to grasp that now, but after the couple days you've just had you might be starting to get a glimpse that your parents aren't all powerful. That's something you're gonna have to learn; something Camilla probably learned too early, the little rascal. Anyway, don't worry about it. The Order has a whole department dedicated to handling magical exposure in the mortal world, and that includes a division devoted to contingencies and structures for kids who come from non-magical families. Your parents will think you're assisting research with some professor, or at an overnight wilderness camp in the Rockies; whatever will feel most realistic to them. If necessary, as it might be in your case, the parents will be magically coerced into agreeing. Understand?"

Jacob thought for a moment. After coming back from being lost in the magical world, he wouldn't have agreed to this. But now? It was the right thing to do, the courageous thing to do. It was what Jimmy would want him to do. And even more than that, he never wanted to feel as useless as he had against the rogue mage. Never again. Never again.

"Okay." He said. "Okay, I'll do it. I'll go to the Academy."

Mr D'Angelo nodded. "I appreciate the enthusiasm and the drive, kid, but it wasn't optional. You show talent and aptitude, you go to the Academy, whether you want to or not. Point blank, period. There just aren't enough people in the world with the ability to not utilize them all. Understand?"

Jacob nodded. "Alright. And it's just for two months and then I come back here?"

Mr D'Angelo tilted his head to the side. "Sort of. Tisdale Academy isn't like a regular boarding school. It exists in what's called a pocket dimension—basically a procedurally generated miniature world within the barrier between Earth and the magical realm." He waved his hand. "You'll learn more about how it works when you're there. They run a time-dilation spell, which allows for a four month term to fit into the two months between junior and senior year of high school. So, you'll be there for four months, but to your parents, you'll only be gone for two. The only catch is that you won't be able to leave while you're there."

Jacob blinked. Stuck in a boarding school for four months? Christ. Well, at least it would extend his summer vacation, not that it sounded like he was going to have much down time. He pushed those thoughts away and asked the question that had been on his mind since Mr D'Angelo had first mentioned the Academy. "Is Camilla going?"

Mr D'Angelo grinned. "This incident has convinced me of the necessity of her training, so, yes."

Jacob smiled. Camilla going made him feel a lot better about it all.

"Now, before I go, do you have any other questions?"

Jacob considered for a moment. "There was this Dream Tiger was following me around every time I was in the other world, and Camilla thinks it wasn't strong enough when it broke through a couple days ago, when we fought it. Every other creature has just attacked me or other people..." He trailed off, not wanting to mention that whacked out vision he'd had when he had first encountered it.

Mr D'Angelo tilted his head and frowned. "Certain magical creatures are sometimes attracted to certain individuals. We don't know if it's because they can sense our magical signatures, or something else. I have heard of rare cases where some mages build a... bond with magical creatures, but most of that is rumour. It is possible it simply sensed your budding magical signature and was curious. But I'd have to see it for myself to draw a conclusion. Certainly it is odd. While you're at the Academy you might be able to find some more information on it."

That reminded Jacob of something. "Oh, Camilla said you could test people's magical signatures yourself. I really want to know what mine is."

Mr D'Angelo sat in silence for a while.

"Very well."

Mr D'Angelo reached up with one hand and removed his shades.

Jacob froze. Instead of normal eyes with irises, pupils, whites, Mr D'Angelo's eyes were dull blue orbs. Wisps rushed through them, as if they were their own miniature skies.

Jacob swallowed and looked away, suddenly scared.

Mr D'Angelo looked at Jacob for a moment. Magic buzzed along his sensation. Mr D'Angelo grunted. "Curious. Very curious."

Jacob waited for him to answer. "Well...?" He managed.

Mr D'Angelo put his shades back on.

Jacob breathed out without knowing it.

"You will find out what it is at the Academy."

"What?" Jacob cried. "I have to wait until I go?"

"It's really not that long of a wait."

"When does it start?"

"Two days from now." Mr D'Angelo reached in his bathrobe and pulled out a slip of paper. He tossed it on the coffee table in front of Jacob. It was a plane ticket.

"Pack your bags, kid. You're going to Chicago."