Sirius City.

A ridiculous name for a place filled with even more absurd people.

The White Locust had locked himself in his office. Or rather, a room that he had chosen to call his ‘office’. He had spent over a decade working with thugs and criminals, but he never got used to their antics and attitude. Still, they were useful as fodder and general workers. After all, seizing a warehouse would have been significantly more difficult all by himself, even if the only people he had to intimidate were common low-life meta contractors.

The sound of men chattering loudly away from outside drifted to his ears.

They were rough, but at least they were obedient. Such criminals were easy to satisfy, even without him resorting to magic mind tricks. Dangle some cheap meat in front of them, and they would be climbing over themselves to get a mere whiff of its scent.

Just like dogs. The man’s nose wrinkled with disgust behind his mask. And in this case, the ‘meat’ was simply a place to live in.

But he knew that would not satisfy them for long. Sooner or later, he would have to give them what they truly want. Or at least, what he had promised them. As always, getting people onboard was the easy part. Keeping them there? Not so much.

I’m running out of time. These cheap treats won’t be worth anything to them soon. But Angelo is dead, and I’ve lost the counterspell.

The White Locust sank to his knees, clasping his hands in prayer. His knuckles grew white in desperation. Breaking out the worst criminals in the city was a huge gamble. A gamble that would have paid off handsomely if Felix Pagonis had not interfered with that fool of a meta.

“What are you still waiting for?” a voice spoke in his mind. “You know who has the last tome. Why are you hesitating?”

The magi silenced his mind. Why indeed? Was it because he was at the last stages of a decade long plan? Was it because he was about to pull off the boldest move he had ever attempted? Or-

Is it because you have no faith in us?

His eyes flew open. His palms were sweaty with fervent piousness. The White Locust resisted the urge to slap himself and clear the fog in his mind.

Of course. Why should he be hesitating if he had complete faith in His will? After all, they had been through so much worse together, haven’t they?

Determination filled the man once more as he opened his office doors. His eyes narrowed behind his mask, hidden from the criminals he had just called for a briefing.

No more doubt. No more hesitation.

Only His will be done.

----------------------------------------

Gaius was back at the Presidential library yet again. He flipped through his book mindlessly, before slamming it shut with a sigh. He could not focus. Not today. Not when there were so many questions buzzing in his head. So he decided to take a walk to clear his mind instead.

“This man sure enjoys flaunting his accomplishments,” Gaius thought to himself as he walked along the corridors, admiring the multitude of honour awards hanging on the walls. Suspicion was pooling in his gut. He really wanted to trust in Benedictus, but his motives were vague at best. Why was Benedictus seeking the Warlock Faustus’ counterspell? How did Titus Angelo get his hands on it? Who taught him an ancient magic ritual of stripping arcani seals?

The Sorcerer’s rumination brought him in front of a large portrait of the former presidents. Great, now I’m lost. He rolled his eyes and leaned against the wall beside it.

“Woah!” Gaius yelped as the wall flipped over, throwing him into another room.

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

“A hidden door?” he muttered to himself, brushing pieces of crushed rubble off his clothes. “How cliché can this man get?”

He took a step forward and the room lit up immediately. His surroundings appeared to be an office room of sorts. And judging from the mess of ‘CONFIDENTIAL’ documents on the solitary table in its middle, it probably did not appreciate an outsider like him entering. Gaius reached for the papers anyway.

The words ‘General Theodore Faustus’ and ‘Counterspell’ appeared at least a dozen times as he flipped through the research articles and skimmed through them. To call the President obsessed with the three tomes would have been an understatement.

Gaius’ vision stumbled on a paperbound file which read ‘Incident Report: 15th Moon, 121st Gemini Year’.

His eyes grew larger with each paragraph of the report. By the gods… The president had been following the crime that got his parents wrongfully killed all these years. The sound of pages flipping got louder and more frantic, until it abruptly stopped at the last page.

The file dropped with a loud smack onto the table as Gaius leaned up against the wall, shaking as though the file had suddenly grown teeth. No, it was worse than that. Much, much worse than that.

The matted blonde hair that ended at his collar. The unmistakable long scar that ran along the side of his face.

And the caption below the picture that read: Constable Leader Cosmo Benedictus.

The boy picked the picture back up, his hands trembling in disbelief. Another man stood beside the young Benedictus, shaking his hand. Gaius’ head spun further; there was no mistaking him. It was the same man who tried to take the tome from him eight years ago. The very same meta who accidentally got himself killed in the explosion that gave Gaius his magic abilities.

Fear and confusion ravaged in the boy’s mind like typhoons above the sea. They must have been swirling in opposite directions as well, because the room was also spinning along around him. Were they working together all along? Did he approach me just to finish what he started all those years ago? Were my parents merely their scapegoats?

Energy shot into his eyes as the magic within him suddenly screamed in warning.

The Sorcerer hurriedly fished out a coin imbued with his last cloaking rune and flipped it, blending in with the air right as a door behind him swung open. A man stomped into the room, almost knocking into Gaius in his anger.

“-What do you mean ‘with all due respect’? If you really respected me, you’d follow the order I just gave you!”

Gaius covered his mouth, leaning up against the wall as Mage Benedictus sat down on the chair with his phone still glued to his ear. The boy glanced at the slowly closing door. He could leave right at this very moment, but his body refused to move for some reason.

“No, no- Alcaeus. Alcaeus, listen to me.” Benedictus threw his head back in exasperation. “This is a matter of national security. And it’s not that I don’t trust you, but I can’t afford any slip- Stop- Stop talking over me! Look, this is just you not letting me speak again. You don’t need to head to the Guardian Council. Just pass me the tome directly; the safest hands are still my own-”

He paused for a while, before tossing his phone onto the table in frustration.

“Damn it all, I’m so close. Just give me the last spellcraft, you stubborn prick!” Benedictus swept the papers off his table in a fit of anger. He picked up his phone again and scrolled through the contact list. Gaius pulled out his phone quickly and switched it to silent just as the President’s call came in. Beads of sweat rolled down from his forehead as he watched his phone ring silently.

A loud slam turned his attention back to the man.

“Where the hell is that meta boy when I need him?” Benedictus growled, standing up violently. “I have to do everything myself…”

He clawed at his face as a long scar revealed itself. Gaius trembled, watching the man mutter a spell to smoothen his complexion again. The man conjured a mirror and looked into it, making sure that he left no traces of his scar.

“Gotta control my temper better. Almost went out in public with that face…” Benedictus mumbled to himself. “The media would’ve had such a field day criticising my looks.”

The door slammed shut again as he left the room. An orange light ran through Gaius’ body as he slowly slumped to the ground, trying to slow his racing heart before it leapt out of his chest. No, this was no time to freeze. He stood up hurriedly.

The gaudy library greeted him once more as he exited the revolving wall. The Sorcerer pulled out his wand and casted a teleportation spell. There was no more time.

And he only hoped he was not too late.