Luka leaned his head back against the door, closed his eyes, and listened.

Water dripped from his clothes and his hair and his skin, but that wasn't what he was listening for. He knew he needed to move, that they wouldn't wait forever, before they would come looking for him.

So far, there was only silence.

The beats of his heart were heavy against his rib cage, but at least they had slowed. He had more bite marks and scratches than he cared to count, and blood still mixed with the water, although it became less watered down as the minutes passed.

Now that he was finally paying attention, his entire body and soul screamed at him to stop the flow of blood steadily leaving his body. His magic burned under his skin, only a few minutes away from self-preservation, of leeching away his magic to keep him alive. It was an annoying feature of healing magic, but he couldn't deny that it had saved his life more than once.

He called up the magic, and it danced across his skin, closing the shallow wounds first, while he assessed the damage of the deeper ones. If anything important had been severed or nicked, it would require more than minimum attention. He had several deep gashes around his chest and shoulders, one uncomfortably close to his carotid artery, but nothing was in immediate danger of killing him. His magic was probably just responding to the trauma of it all, of the scope of it, rather than the severity. Not that it wasn't bad. It just wasn't… on the verge of death bad. The worst damage was on his arm, where the claws had slashed deep enough to hit bone. He healed every scratch and every bite mark, but the bruises and the aches would have to wait.

He pushed himself up, with the effort of someone twice his age, who smoked and drank as much as he did, but lacked the ability to heal the damage, and stumbled to his feet.

Even though he really wanted to turn back, leave this place and this mission behind, along with the entire fucking Academy, he stepped further into the dark interior of the building.

He first entered into an industrial kitchen, a leftover from the building’s life as a restaurant. With the front of the building boarded up, and the dark clouds looming outside, raining misery down on the city, there wasn’t enough light left inside to make out details. He experimentally flicked the light switch, not entirely expecting anything to happen, but pale white light stuttered on in patches. The kitchen was run down and dirty, but in one piece. The tiles on the floor were cracked in places, and remnants of something broken, but unidentifiable, were scattered across them. He dripped water as well as blood on the floor, as he attempted to shake some of the rain from him, but his clothes continued to cling to him like a clammy second skin. It was annoying, the way the fabric scraped against his skin, but it couldn’t be helped. Not even magic had an easy solution for that, and he was supposed to preserve his power.

He left the kitchen, and walked into the dark restaurant floor. He turned on the lights, and found it empty. A couple of chairs had been abandoned and stood in separate corners, facing nothing. There were no other furniture, and definitely no people or creatures of any kind. He started to wonder if the dogs had been the only trap. If he had endured, made it through it already, but then where was his prize? The nature mages had to still be in the building, and regardless of what their task was, their job wasn't done.

"Don't tell me that was it," he called into the empty space of the building, throwing caution all the way out of the window. "Because I'm not impressed."

If all else failed, taunting was the sure way to get yourself killed.

He waited, but nothing else happened. He was starting to think the nature mages really hadn't stayed, but he was still determined to search the place. He had been led here for a reason, and there had to be some sort of clue that would tell him what to do next. He found a set of stairs and climbed them to the first floor, which contained a room filled with stacked chairs and tables. Legs sticking up like stalagmites dominated the view, but it seemed unlikely that anyone would brave the maze unless they absolutely had to. The building seemed empty, and not even the graffiti held any significance. He returned to the ground floor, and the empty restaurant.

He froze in the door.

Two figures stood near the middle of the room, turned towards each other. He really should have sensed them move, or heard the low murmur of their voices, but it seemed like both his senses were dulled by the white noise of the rain outside. They were dressed in dark suits and muted ties, green on one and reddish-brown on the other, but the thing that made Luka frown were the masks. They wore animal masks over their faces, a deer and a fox, respectively. They were intricately designed, made from beautiful swirls of black metal and wood, clearly created with care for their wearers. Ears and antlers mingled with their hair, which, on both of them, was remarkably well-suited for the animals they were wearing. The only visible traits of their faces were jaws and chins, their eyes were shrouded in dark shadows, and every other feature was covered, making them mostly anonymous. Luka noted their height, build and hair color.

Their discussion was cut off as soon as Luka entered Deer Mask’s line of sight. His head jerked towards him, and Fox Mask followed the movement with a slow turn.

Deer Mask lurched forward, but the fox was already holding him back. “No.”

The deer turned back, briefly, before he pulled himself free. Fox Mask stepped into his path, putting himself between the other mage and Luka.

“Let me handle this,” he demanded, but Luka felt the stare from Deer Mask, the promise of violence. He wasn’t going to listen to his partner.

“How sure are you, that he’s right?” He jerked his head towards Luka. “He might pretend to be a Rogue, but he still looks like an Academy dog to me.”

Luka took offense at that, even though it wasn’t entirely wrong. He didn’t want to have anything to do with the Academy, yet here he was, fighting for it. He might as well have the crest tattooed on his arm.

Fox Mask shook his head. “It doesn’t matter,” he said, softer now, more of a plea. “We don’t get to make that choice.”

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Deer Mask called his magic, and pushed him out of his way.

Luka took a step further into the room. Deer Mask was the Summoner, the one who had controlled the dogs. His magic shimmered yellow across his skin, like the play of light and shadows when sunlight filtered through leaves. The thing that made Luka guarded, was the fact that he was a Summoner, with nothing to summon. There was nothing in this box of brick and concrete for him to move or touch. He didn’t know where the last dog was, but he imagined it was still outside. Luka tensed, wondering what he was planning to do.

It didn't take long before he found out.

There was a crash from upstairs, and the sound of glass shattering. Luka turned back towards the stairwell, expecting the dog. Instead, a large bird, constructed primarily of mismatched feathers and bark, soared through the air. It was heading for Luka, even as he realized that this creature wasn't meant for battle, but was only a distraction. They hadn't expected a direct fight, Fox Mask had made that clear, and it seemed that the dogs really had been the trap. The bird had talons, but they were nothing compared to the vicious claws of the beasts. It had a beak, but that was nothing more than a polished piece of wood. It was probably a scout, there to keep an eye on Luka's approach, so they wouldn't be caught off guard. He reached for the wall, feeling for pipes behind the drywall, and pulled out enough metal to form a sword.

The bird circled above him, and Luka backed slowly towards to the mage. The bird swept down, trying to find an opening, but Luka waved it off with the blade. Meanwhile, Deer Mask was edging towards the kitchen.

Luka was distracted by the bird long enough for Deer Mask to move into the kitchen, and reemerge. The bird dived again, and this time, Luka had found the pattern. He swung his blade at it, and severed it in two. It fell to the ground with a dull thud of wood hitting carpet. He lowered the sword, and looked at the pile of bird for a second, before turning his attention towards the mage. A knife was flying at him, and he narrowly ducked out of the way. It embedded in the wall behind him with more than natural force. Luka dropped the sword and walked towards Deer Mask. If this was all he could think of, there was really nothing to worry about. He deflected another knife with a shield, and moved within reach of the other mage. He held on to the last knife, and stabbed it towards Luka’s middle. Luka caught his arm, and with his free hand, curled his fingers around his throat. His magic flared, as he shot pain through his nerves. The mage screamed behind the mask, collapsing, writhing on the floor as his entire body was consumed by agony. Luka regretted not training the skill more, to gain the power to do it from a distance, but as long as he could get within reach of another mage, incapacitating them was insultingly easy.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Fox Mask stride towards them. He had finally decided to join the fight, and maybe even make it a proper challenge. Blue neon light spilled from his hands, a sword materializing at his side.

He was an urban mage.

"Let him go," the fox said. He had to raise his voice over the screaming, which clipped some of the threatening edge from the words.

"I don't think so," Luka said. "He seems pretty intent on killing me, so I don't see how that works in my favor."

"He can't do much to you. Not in here. But I can." He leveled the sword at his throat. "Let. Him. Go."

Luka released the nature mage, leaving him gasping, whimpering on the ground. Luka knew he'd lost any advantage he had. He could have threatened to kill Deer Mask, but he somehow didn't think it would go over very well. They were all on edge at this point, and a misstep would certainly get him killed.

"Fine," he said.

He backed away from them both, but the sword followed his movements.

"You've made your point," Luka said. "Take your friend and go."

Fox Mask didn't move. "Have we? Because I no longer think we have."

The blade swung, and Luka spat a curse, as he had to dodge underneath it to keep his head attached.

Luka was all too aware that his magic was running low, while Fox Mask was just getting started.

He searched for the blade he had abandoned, but the fox was doing a good job of blocking his path from it. He made a dive in the opposite direction, making the mage follow, distancing him from his friend. He waited until he attacked again, slipping past him and grabbing the sword off the ground. Fox Mask quickly drove him back, making him retreat from the deer, who had fallen silent on the ground.

The blades clashed, one magic against another.

Fox Mask attacked relentlessly, while Luka did his best to defend. He was driven back towards one of the walls. He knew he had to do something, before he found himself cornered. He put up a shield, offering magic he couldn't afford. He took a hit on his shielded arm, and pushed the sword away from himself. He took advantage of Fox Mask having to shift his balance, and got a hit in, his blade sinking into his hip. Fox Mask hissed, but recovered quickly. Luka made the mistake of thinking it won him time. Blue neon bit into his sword arm, and he faltered for a moment, almost losing his grip on the blade.

Fox Mask let go of the sword in his hand, before it even detached from Luka's arm, and replaced it with two shorter, narrower blades. He parried Luka's sword with one, stepping close, and buried the other in his gut. It was bad enough that Luka healed it instinctively.

Mistake. He didn't have the magic to spare.

The mage had somehow gotten him cornered, which was mistake number two.

Fox Mask dropped one of the blades, and it vanished before hitting the ground. With his free hand, he shoved Luka against the wall, and pinned him with his forearm against his chest.

"Now, we've made our point," he said.

He slid the remaining blade between Luka's ribs, clean through his body. It didn't hit anything important, but Fox Mask twisted the blade, withdrew it and stabbed him one more time, before releasing him. This time it pierced through his lung. He gasped as the pain settled within him, as his lung suffered. Luka felt the blade wink out of existence, the blue glow vanished from his body, and his blood started flowing freely. He clutched his side, trying to apply pressure despite his weakening hands, and slid down the wall. He left a red streak in his wake, and collapsed on the floor.

Fox Mask crouched down next to him. "If you do manage to survive this, here’s a hint," he said. "In this story, the emerald road leads to Wonderland."

The mage stepped away from him without a second glance, like it wasn't even worth it to watch him die. He listened to the footsteps pause, then multiply, as he helped up his partner. The lights vanished shortly after. At first, Luka thought his vision had failed, but then realized that an unused building with the lights on would be too much of a beacon, and apparently they wanted him to die alone and in the dark.

He had enough presence of mind to heal his lung, but that required the rest of his magic and then some. He had nothing to spare for the puncture wounds, and those wouldn't kill him within the next ten minutes. For a minute or two — or maybe more, he didn't know. He just knew that blood started pooling around him — he sat bleeding on the ground, trying to get his weary mind to cooperate. He had been in his position enough times, that the process should be automatic, but he still took the time to weigh the risk of using magic he didn't have against the chance of surviving until help arrived.

Help, he hadn't called yet.

He grabbed his phone out of his pocket, trembling hands trying to navigate his password and then his contacts. Spots danced across his vision, and he knew he was running out of time. His fingers froze, hovering over the screen.

Someone entered the building, calling his name.

Alice.

His vision blackened, before he could make a sound. The phone slid out of his hand, while he waited for her to find him.

Sight vanished, then sound, and in the end, feeling.