September 20, 493 U.C.
Like a snake shedding its skin, I removed my Viper attire after returning from the party. Sweet, sweet freedom! I put on my pajamas and went to wash my face.
Dad walked up. “Casey, no school tomorrow.”
“What?” I asked with a growing frown, pausing my work.
“We are expediting things. People are too reticent to distance. Tonight revealed that. We’re stepping forward tomorrow. I need you prepped and ready to go. Full mana, Casey.”
I frowned further. I’m not killing people. “What are we doing?”
“Removing a hive from an ally’s territory. It’ll drive up the price for the next one.”
“Oh.” I couldn’t argue with that. “Am I doing it all? I can’t promise to be able to remove a fully entrenched hive. I’ve gained some levels, but those are rough.”
“It’s still young. You’ll be fine. Escape if needed, but I think you can remove it. Do you have that spell ready? Flashy is best.”
“Yes. I’ll do that and haste.” I started removing the mascara, carefully wiping it off with a cleaning solution.
Dad paused, likely believing that I wasn’t listening. “No school tomorrow. Call who you need.”
I turned to him. “Can I at least visit Daniele tonight?”
“No. You’re still grounded. Be grateful you don’t get more.”
I swallowed. “It was a joke.”
“At my expense. Don’t undermine me, Casey. I’m your father.” Like every dad on the planet, he adopted the face that said he was going to win this conversation.
I slumped. “I need to visit Daniele so she can get my homework.”
Dad shook his head. “Just text her.” He turned and walked off.
I huffed, blowing my hair off my face. In growing rebellion, I took off my necklace and went full fae.
Walking back to my room, I grabbed my phone and put in my contacts.
“You should go to the guardians!” Ela proclaimed, zipping out into my field of view.
“Ela, stop!”
Ela huffed and put her little hands on her hips. “No! You need to do it, Casey. They won’t hurt you! I promise! They’re nice and -”
“I’m not letting some fae murder me.”
“They won’t! I told you that a thousand times!”
“You mean a million times, but it’s a lie. Now calm down. I need to call Daniele.”
Ela held out her hand. “Let me talk to her! She seems more reasonable.”
“No!”
That set Ela off on another propaganda piece. I killed the computer and regretted turning it on. I used my phone instead.
Me: I won’t make it tomorrow. I’m sick.
Daniele: My parents can help with that! No charge. We’ll come over.
Me: Sorry, I can’t. I’m sick.
Daniele: What does that mean?
Me: Cover for me. I’m sick.
Daniele: You aren’t hurt or doing something bad, right?
Me: No. I have to help with a hive. I need to leave early and I need to be prepared.
Daniele: Be safe.
Me: I will. Can you pick up my homework?
Daniele: Yes.
Me: Thanks. And get Ryan with glitter!
Daniele: Will do… Can you help me kill something? You said it would help.
I paused and contemplated. Then I slipped to my door and quickly closed it. Why not? She deserves it more than those rich people who bought it. She’d heal people and be amazing at it! My inner argument didn’t last more than a few seconds before I decided to help her.
Me: Yes. Message me when you are ready. I’m going to appear in your room. Get in your pajamas and tell your parents ‘good night’ first because I’m going to use a sleep spell to prevent the pain.
Daniele: Thanks. I’ll message you when I’m ready.
Me: How’s Ama? Is she a terror too?
Daniele: She’s great. She’s very active. I talked to some of the others. I think mine is more lifelike than theirs.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Me: Because you have magic! How’s the family? Do I get to meet your brother?
Daniele: Fine. Ian is busy studying.
Me: And fighting things like monster bugs. Which one is he?
Daniele: He’s not.
Me: You’ll see. Just wait. How’s Daron? I think he has a crush on you.
I giggled. I could imagine her blushing cheeks. It seemed like the perfect plan for later. I plopped onto my bed, sinking into the mattress and blanket.
Daniele: He does not.
Me: He does.
Daniele: Don’t start that. I’ll get you back. I know that you have a crush on Spen’ze!
Me: Nope. My cheeks just like being red.
Daniele: Yep.
Me: Nope.
Daniele: I wonder what he’d say if you weren’t hiding under a necklace. I bet he’d say yes!
Me: You’re as bad as Ela, you traitor!
Daniele: You deserved it.
I laughed loudly, letting it echo through the house.
“Keep it down!” Dad yelled. “I’m on the phone.”
Perfect. An excuse to be quiet was exactly what I needed. I carefully stood up from my bed without making a sound.
Me: True. Let me know when you are ready. I’ll bring a fish.
I began working on some enchantments while I waited for her to get ready, slowly growing the unending arsenal. Time ticked by.
My door swung open.
“Goodnight, Dad.”
“How many?”
“I’ll finish this first,” I replied without turning around.
“Goodnight.” Dad pulled the door shut.
I let out a breath of relief. Everything is going according to plan. I rapidly enchanted a hodgepodge of spears, axes, swords, knives, and arrows. Then I stashed them for delivery tomorrow.
With that, I snuck out to the kitchen for a snack. I grabbed a quick tortilla and leftovers, eating it as I headed to my room.
Dad looked up and then shut his door. I walked into my room and shut the door.
Daniele: I’m ready.
I used Time Stop. Then I plucked a silvery fish with black stripes out of the river. I grabbed it and stashed it in a bio bag. Getting blood everywhere wasn’t a goal. Grabbing a knife, I appeared in Daniele’s room. A giddy smile spread across my face. Yes, I was disobeying Dad, but it felt amazing. She’d help people, and that was all I needed.
I unfroze time, appearing in her room.
“Casey?” Daniele whispered while sitting on her bed with the pink blanket. She stared at me. “You look like Eluna,” she whispered.
I held up my finger to my mouth, shushing her. “I know and hate it. Now, I have to be back quickly. Dad would be mad.”
Daniele frowned. “Do we need to report something? I can, Casey.”
I shook my head rapidly. “No, no. Don’t do that. They’ll kill me.” I held out the fish and walked up to her.
Daniele smiled up at me. “Thanks for being a friend and trusting me. Remember that you always can.”
“Thanks.” I grinned at her. “Now to business before this fish dies. Kill the fish. Then I’ll use the spell.”
She took the knife and reached out. I turned my focus to her, sending my magic probing into her body. That was when I found a little spark of magic inside of her. I hadn’t expected that. But it made sense. The fae were likely screening for it. She’s all-natural.
My eyes widened. “Daniele, do you have any blood samples?”
“Why?” Daniele asked.
I shook my head. “Nevermind. We can talk later. We have time.”
Daniele paused with the knife over the fish. “Is it going to be bad?”
“You’ll be asleep for the worst of it. The rest won’t be that bad. You have some magic. It will help you grow with time.” I smiled at her.
A massive grin spread across her face. Then she took the knife and cut where I gestured. The fish went still. I didn’t give her a chance to scream. Instead, I used haste and traced out a sleep spell. The glowing web surged and shot forward. She slumped over onto her bed, her black hair spilling onto the blanket.
Reaching over, I gently placed her on the bed and pulled the blanket over her. She looked so happy. I tucked her plushie next to her.
“Goodnight, Daniele,” I said softly and patted her shoulder.
I turned and let out a long breath, hoping she would understand the guardian issue. Problem for another day. With that thought, I teleported back home and made one final visit to the bathroom.
Dad walked over and knocked. “Bring potions and supplies. It will be a fight. And we have a script. You’ll be reading it.”
“Is it a good script?” I asked. I can always spice it up.
Dad groaned. “Just stick to it, please.”
“Alright. Alright. Let me brush my teeth.” I grabbed my electric toothbrush and set it in clean mode. Then I started brushing.
“This is important, Casey. You know that, right?”
I nodded while my toothbrush buzzed through my mouth, cleaning everything and covering it in foaming, minty toothpaste.
“This is the first step to a new future. It’s very important,” Dad said. “Stick to the script and behave, please.”
I nodded again, and he walked away. Once I finished with my teeth, I washed my face, relieved myself, and climbed into bed. Thinking of Daniele, I drifted off to sleep with a large smile on my face.
Current Level 11 Current XP 24.54% Current Max Mana 10194.63 Regen per minute 15.45 Reputation 12100
Tier Skill Cost Tier 11 User Time Dilation (Haste)
- User experiences 256 seconds for 1 earth second.
- Force transference limited to 25%. 1 mana per earth second. Tier 7 Pocket Dimension
- 128 cubic meters of pocket space.
- Rapid stash and rapid draw.
- You may tether objects to your pocket space.
- Your pocket space cleans, preserves, and organizes items inside based on your will. 32 mana Tier 7 Time Stop
- Caster leaves spacetime. They may remove and place things back in spacetime.
- You may control the flow of time in the demiplane.
- You may summon in willing living creatures.
- This automatically triggers if you take significant damage.
- Recast to gain vision. 200 mana to cast.
Variable cost to move items in and out. Tier 7 Teleport.
- Teleports the caster or a willing creature.
- You may cast this on a willing or unwilling creature if they are within fifty meters.
- You may teleport inside an object, causing the matter to push outward.
200 mana for the caster.
400 mana for a willing creature.
1000 mana for an unwilling creature with no resistance.
- Short range casts cost less mana.
Tier 3 Attire Swap
- Locked to a single outfit. Current outfit set to Magical Girl Uniform.
- Attire cleaned on swap.
- Attire repaired on swap. 20 mana. Tier 3 Enhanced Body
- Caster’s body is enhanced by a factor of eight. 2 mana per caster second. Tier 2 Enchanting.
- Enchantments last twice as long. Variable cost. Tier 2 Potions.
- Potions last twice as long. Variable cost. Tier 2 Familiar Manifestation. 20 mana to cast Tier 2 Free casting
- Cast any spell you can replicate.
- Slotted Spell. Use half the normal cost of the spell to store a single spell for future use. Cast the spell for the remaining cost. Variable cost. Penalty of 8x mana.