“What a bunch of abyss spitting,” Brandi said. We sat on a bench that faced out toward the city. The white stone buildings glistened in the sun, and the autumn leaves that were still attached to their trees danced to the constant breeze that weaved through it all. It would have been easy to get lost in if Brandi wasn’t bouncing in her seat.

“I agree, but now you know all that I do,” I said. I used the link between us to send over my memories of the discussion with Kelly.

“So what is it? She and Lorelei think you are this powerful mage? I’m sorry, Aidan, but I don’t see it.”

“Neither does anyone else, but Lorelei mentioned it before. Probably best I don’t send those memories to you.”

“Meaning?” She leaned toward me, a determined look on her face. I tried to let nothing through. After a moment she sighed and turned to the city again. “Well, I know you ain’t bonded so did she just let you feel her up?”

“No,” I said flatly, but that was not enough of an answer because I could feel her annoyance. “She just gave me a lot of grief about sitting around and not being bonded. She offered, but nothing happened.”

“Meh,” she said with a shrug. “I don’t much care, just wanted to know how big the group was gonna be.” She stood and stretched. “Gods, I just want to use my seeded magic. It feels like it’s gonna explode in my stomach if I don’t.”

“Well, you know I didn’t pay attention in class, so can seeded magic cause problems if it’s not used?”

“Dunno, I think it dissipates. Right now I have one charge of each which is the max you can get per seeding from what I’ve gather, at least until those spells are leveled.”

“Okay, I really think we should start researching this whole thing before we find ourselves in some kind of trouble.”

“We’re at a disadvantage to all the other kids,” she said and held her hand out to me. “We found out late and we’re slum kids. Double hit.”

“We going somewhere?” I asked as I looked at her hand. She grinned.

“I’m gonna use one of my seeded magics and you’re going to join me.”

“Which one? If it’s the dark rain one, then no thanks.”

“It’s the invisibility one,” she said and grabbed my hand. Before I really understood what was going on, she had already finished her chant.

A drop of cold hit the top of my head and then trickled down my spine like a vine of ice. I shivered, and a cloud of my breath pooled from my mouth. It lasted only a moment, but it felt like my blood would have frozen if it went on for any longer. I shivered as the cold disappeared and looked over to see Brandi shaking out her shoulders and swaying her hips back and forth as if to throw off the cold.

“Gah, that was too cold,” she said and opened her eyes. She looked around for a moment and then at me. “Did it work? I can still see you.”

“Don’t know,” I said and noticed two girls walking a few yards away. I shouted to them and they both stopped and looked around. They looked right at me, but made no reaction. “Well, I guess it did.”

“That’s not a fair test, they’d have ignored you anyway,” she said and stuck out her tongue. She broke into a laugh as I glared at her.

“Okay, enough making fun. What are we doing now?”

“We’re gonna sneak around and maybe listen in on a few conversations. Or other stuff,” she said and waggled her eyebrows at me before walking off. I quickly followed, and she led us through the front courtyard of the school. We slipped through the gatherings of students and Brandi got some revenge by spilling the drinks of a few kids, or ruining incantations and homework

She then led us to a wing of the school that I had never been to before. A large black painted door stood before us and it gave me an uneasy feeling just to look at. It took me a second to notice the small sign on the front that said 'Administration'.

“You’re not thinking of—” I broke off as she pushed open one of the doors and slipped in.

“Come on, the meeting will start soon,” she whispered from the other side.

“What meeting?” I asked as I forced myself between the doors. On the other side laid one long hallway with a red runner rug going the entire length of the wood floors. The walls on either side were large panels of clear glass set atop of more dark painted wood. Beyond the glass I could see men and women working before Sat-Machines and going about their day. I felt completely exposed as we walked down the hallway. Every cough or conversation made me jump a little, which amused Brandi to no end.

“Where the hell are we going?” I asked, and she just pointed to the end of the hallway. There, at the very end, were another set of double doors. These were brown and carved with strange shapes around the molding. The doors were ajar and let a cold line of light out across the rug.

“Shh,” she whispered as she reached out and touched the door handle. She pulled the door open and slipped inside.

I followed and found myself in an ornate looking study. At the front of the room stood an enormous desk before a set of large arched windows. The walls were lined with rows and rows of books, more books on more topics than I had ever seen up close. I struggled not to reach out and pick a few from the shelf, and what stopped me were the three women in the room standing at the desk.

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“I want to make sure I understand this,” Stewardess Mildred said as she settled into the chair behind the desk. She looked even older in the dim light of the room and once behind the desk with the cold light behind her, she looked almost devilish. Kelly and Lorelei remained standing and neither looked pleased with how the conversation was going.

“You had a duel callout, but it was under misinformation. Because of that duel being put forth, an unbonded mage found a willing witch, and they bonded. When the one that called for the duel backed out you two continued it as a… test of the new blood’s capabilities. Am I following so far?”

Both women stayed silent, and it was the quietest I had ever seen Lorelei.

“I’ll take that as a yes. So, that being the case, can you explain to me why you carried on with the duel and then did not finish it as per the guidelines?” She turned her narrowed and shadowed eyes to Kelly. “Especially when you are the dueling teacher.”

Kelly cleared her throat and sat down in the chair in front of the desk. Lorelei did the same. “It was in that capacity that I thought it best to duel with the boy. There are rumors,” she shot a glare at Lorelei, “that the boy is more powerful than most witches can sense. That being the case, I thought it best to test this rumor in a duel as he had finally bonded with a witch. While I could tell very little about the boy, the witch was far more powerful than she should have been at this stage.”

“You stopped the duel after your first attack, which I am told was a surprisingly powerful one.”

“I… I won’t deny that my annoyance may have gotten the better of me, but I held back so that the girl wasn’t seriously injured.”

“Just sort of seriously injured,” Lorelei said in a low voice as she turned to look at the door. It was then that I was sure she caught us. Her silver eyes raked over me, but there was no registering or surprise on her face and she slowly turned around as Kelly continued in a controlled voice.

“It was not that serious of a cut,” Kelly said.

Brandi moved a bit and pulled me to sit with her between my legs in the corner, her back pressed against me. She said nothing, but the face she turned to me said it all. For the first time I saw worry in her eyes as she tried to make herself smaller.

“It was serious enough that I was told of it,” Stewardess Mildred said and then waved a hand. “That’s not really a concern now, is it? It was healed.”

“By a new blood mage who just bonded with the witch. We haven’t seen anything of that sort since… well, since Magnus and Kristopher,” Kelly said in a fearful voice that didn’t fit her.

It felt like a chill had rushed through the room as the name sent a shiver even through me. The Witch Mage of the Abyss, Magnus was just a fairytale according to anyone with a brain. A story to tell children to keep them from trying to go too far into the abyss. The way they stated the name made it sound like there may be more to the story than I had heard.

“Are you suggesting that this boy is as powerful as either of them?” Stewardess Mildred asked.

“No, but we can’t deny that his powers are strange,” Kelly said. Lorelei rolled her eyes.

“Are they though?” Lorelei said and looked between the two women. “I told you all he was different the moment I set eyes on him. He is of an older family that magic has appeared in before. It’s not that surprising that it would crop up again.”

“The appearance of magic perhaps not,” Stewardess Mildred said. “That it burns as raw and as bright as you say it does and yet hides itself so well is something we should keep a watch on. Even more so as it seems he doesn’t access it willingly.” She reached for a stack of papers and pulled them in front of her. “One the other cities learn of him, we will have an issue on our hands.”

“Maybe not…” Kelly said and looked to Lorelei in hope. “There have been powerful mages before and they made no fuss.”

“Magnus has shown herself again in the depths of the abyss, but has not made moves beyond her little section that she has carved out. We don’t know what her plans are or why she has shown herself again after so many years, but these changes in magic are enough to concern everyone. If this boy is as powerful as he seems then there may be some kind of tie to what she’s doing.”

“He’s a nobody, though,” Lorelei said. “A brazen street thief that survived alone in the slums. You think she somehow picked him and… what? Gave him magic?”

Stewardess Mildred shrugged. “I do not know what to make of this, but to use healing magic without meaning to or without paying the cost is deeply concerning. There are depths to this young man that we may not even be seeing.” She picked up her pen and leaned back in her chair. Her long, boney fingers played over the smooth metal. “The witch he bonded with, she’s a saturate born?”

“Yes,” Lorelei said.

“Their powers are usually worrisome, but weak. With a mage of this power, she could become very, very dangerous. I think we should hold off on him bonding with any other witchs until we know how things stand with the other cities. They have already been informed by their spies, I am sure, which means questions will arrive swiftly about him. Keep him under wraps for the time being. No more duels. The headmaster should be returning with the 1st delving team a few days before Day of Souls begins. I will seek her guidance then on how to handle him.”

“Seems a bit over protective. I won’t say no if he finds another witch that he matches well with. That wouldn’t be fair to him after being rejected for so long. I will, however, vet them carefully,” Lorelei said.

“Fine, but no more of your games, Lorelei. If a witch wants to bond with him, then she will not decide under duress of any sort. Am I clear?”

“Crystal,” Lorelei said and smiled.

“Good. The 7th Delving team should return this afternoon. I’d like Kelly to aide them as it seems they ran into some trouble among the Viridian Glades. There are injured and dead to sort through. Lorelei, get with the 5th team and help them prepare for the spice harvest defense at the end of the month.”

“Yes ma’am,” they both said and stood. Lorelei made it about six steps before Stewardess Mildred cleared her throat.

“One last thing, Lorelei. Kelly, you may go,” she said without looking up from her paper. Lorelei and Kelly shared a glance and then separated.

“What else do you wish to discuss?” Lorelei asked as she took a few steps back to the desk.

“You’ve seen Magnus, she had once been in your coven before she defected when your mage died,” she said in a tone that sounded like she knew bringing this up would be hard for both of them. Lorelei dropped her head, her white hair falling from her shoulders. “Does this boy’s power worry you?”

There were a few moments of silence before she answered. “It terrifies me. He reminds me far too much of Kristopher before that bitch ate his heart and stole his power. But this boy… he’s stronger than Kris ever was, and he was the most powerful mage we’ve had at this school in the last hundred years. I think Aidan surpasses him, which means he will draw attention once others figure out just how strong he is. It might… it sounds crazy, but us having him may even start a conflict with either Telum or Yarhem. There were talks, battles even, just over Kristopher and that was without a powerful witch doing strange things in the abyss near city openings.”

She took a deep breath and let her shoulders drop as she looked up again. “But he’s a good kid with a strong heart. I worry about him, but I’m not sure we need to.”

“I see. Thank you, Lorelei. I will pass this all onto the headmaster when she returns. You can head back to enjoying your day off.”

“As you wish,” Lorelei said and turned on a heel. As she crossed the room, she turned to look at me again and this time I knew that she saw me. She gave a little smirk and shook her head as she opened the door. She left it open just enough that we could slip through and we did just that.