Leo was completely speechless. His first assignment as an employee of Opal Corp was to be the personal bodyguard of Surya Holgeld. Surya was the youngest child of Romus Holgeld and rumored to be in the running to inherit all of Opal Corp.

If Leo was to claim his own inheritance as a long lost member of the Holgeld family, Surya would be his direct competition. Even more so, Surya could have been one of the ones who left him stranded in the foster system since he was a baby. Surya couldn’t be more than five or six years older than Leo, so it was unlikely that she made the initial decision to hide and abandon him, but she could know things now.

Surya could even have been the one who killed the old Adept, Voluss, who told Leo about his long lost family. Leo had to keep his guard up. He could tell by Surya’s sharp gaze that nothing got past her.

Surya used her own Sorcerer Magic to float her cup of coffee to her perfectly round lips while she turned the page of her newspaper. Surya was undeniably beautiful and fashionable. Leo acknowledged these as assets in her tool belt and nothing more. After all, they were almost certainly related.

Surya dismissed her butler and Leo found himself alone with one of the most powerful women in the world. And here she was taking her breakfast beside a swimming pool. Surya looked around to make sure that no one might be coming around the corner.

“I imagine you are surprised to find yourself given such a high profile assignment. I certainly would be if I were in your shoes.” Surya’s tone wasn’t overtly friendly, but it wasn’t hostile either.

Leo didn’t know quite how to respond. “I am told that I performed very well in my Interview.”

Surya waved the thought away. “I’m sure you passed with flying colors. Who cares, really. Opal Corp always attracts the best of the best. Do you know why I asked for you precisely, over anyone else?”

Leo gulped. How much did she know? Had he already been found out? “No, no one told me.”

Surya smiled. It wasn’t a warm smile, but not sinister either. “Two reasons. I wanted a new recruit. Someone who none of my siblings could have gotten their hooks into within the company. If there’s one thing you’ll quickly learn about Opal Corp, is that allegiance to the company is a given, but allegiances beyond that are shifty and tricky things indeed.”

Leo had assumed as much. In any place as big as Opal Corp, factions and infighting were inevitable. Leo had experienced it at every foster home he’d been at. “That’s one reason. You said there were two.”

Surya nodded. “Yes. The second one is the kicker. It’s about you Leo. It’s about your family.”

A fire alarm felt like it was going off in Leo’s head. He was found out for sure. He didn’t know if Surya had a weapon hidden or was simply going to use her Sorcerer abilities to kill him dead on the spot. Leo tried to play it cool. “What do you mean, ‘my family?’”

Surya motioned at the empty pool deck around them. “You don’t have one. I read it in your file. You’re an orphan. Raised in the foster care system.”

Leo’s heart slowed down. Surya clearly didn’t know about his Holgeld lineage. “You say that almost like you're jealous.”

Surya’s smile felt genuine this time. “When you grow up with a family like mine. The idea of not having a family feels like a luxury.”

Looking around at the mansion, Leo believed that Surya was never one lacking for luxuries. “Why do you think this would make me a good bodyguard?”

Surya set down her newspaper and dismissed the spell keeping her coffee cup floating. “When most people hear the word family. They think of love, togetherness, loyalty. None of those words apply to the Holgelds. I want you to be my bodyguard, Leo, because I can’t have you judging me.”

Leo furrowed his brow. “I would never judge you. You are my superior.”

Surya shrugged. “Let’s hope so. Because there’s one thing I need you to understand about me, what drives me more than anything else in the entire world. And that is, I want my family dead.”

Leo fought to keep his face completely neutral. Would this make Surya more likely an ally or an enemy on his path to the top of Opal Corp? He realized she was sure to be pivotal one way or the other.

Leo helped Surya rise to her feet. She looked ready for the day. He cleared his throat. “Where will you be heading first today, uh, ma’am?”

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Surya shook her head. “Surya is fine. Where we’re heading first, Leo, is the mines.”

Even with magic supported air travel enabled, it was a long car ride out to the original Opal Corp mines beyond the borders of the city. This gave Surya plenty of time to prepare Leo on her plans and what his role would be.

Surya spread out on the wide leather seats, the window between them and the driver was closed for privacy. “The rumors about my father’s impending retirement are true. At least as far as everyone within the company is concerned, including me. I don’t see Daddy quite as much as I used to, but when I do, he seems tired, worn thin.”

Leo remembered the iron willed man he saw in the video during his Interview. He couldn’t imagine a man like that ever getting tired. “Then is it true that you will be the one inheriting Opal Corp?”

Surya laughed. “And here I thought you seemed to have some intelligence about you. No, I’m the youngest of all my siblings. Yes, Daddy has a certain fondness for me, his precious little girl. But that doesn’t mean he’s ever taken me seriously in the business world.”

This made sense to Leo, there were many things to consider when choosing an heir. Affection wasn’t the only factor, and likely not a major one when someone was said to be as ruthless as Romus Holgeld. “Then do you know who is going to inherit the company?”

Surya ran her finger down the window. “That’s the trillion dollar question, isn’t it. I have my theories. One of which we are on our way to pursue at this very moment. My older brother, Farthen Holgeld, was the one Daddy put in charge of the mines. Even though the mines themselves are but a small part of our supply chain, I know the way Daddy thinks. The mines are where everything started.”

Leo put the pieces together. “He built the company from nothing, so he understands how important the foundation is.”

Surya looked impressed. “Spot on. I believe being put in charge of the mines was Daddy’s way of testing Farthen. If he passes the test, he gets the company.”

Leo nodded. “So what do you think? Did Farthen pass the test?”

Surya’s look turned serious. “That’s what we are going to find out.”

Leo was awestruck as they approached the edge of the Opal Corp mining operation. It wasn’t some mere hole in the ground but a massive strip mine that seemed to stretch on for miles. Spires of huge refining and sorting facilities were built up around the edge. Down in the pits of the mine, enormous excavators, drills, and bulldozers the size of cruise ships dug up tons and tons of ore by the minute.

A maze of conveyor belts carried the ore into crushers where it was broken down and carted off to who knows where. What amazed Leo most of all was that there was not a single person working in the mine. All the machines were moving by themselves. Surya explained it was a proprietary mix of magic and electrical automation that kept the whole operation running.

The gargantuan complex had the very understated name of Opal Mine Number One. Leo couldn’t imagine what Mine Number Two looked like.

Surya had their car set down near a complex of administrative buildings. “Of course all the Opal has long been dug up, Opal Corp merely keeps that name as a nod to our humble beginnings. This mine is where Brillianite was first discovered. We’re lucky the veins run deep and we predict years and years of production before we can harvest even a fraction of it.”

Leo knew that the crystalline substance dubbed Brillianite is what made Opal Corp the trillion dollar company it was today. When refined into a powder, Brillianite was the perfect conductor for magic energy. Brillianite was the key substance in every spell capsule that Opal Corp sold.

Leo looked through the windows of the building they were approaching. “I understand why Forsten being put in charge of the mine is such a big deal.”

Surya eyed the door to the building, she seemed cautious before trying it “A big deal in some ways, but not others. The mine basically runs itself at this point, but it would be disastrous if anything happened to it. My theory is my brother was never the patient type. I believe he got bored, and greedy.”

Surya focused and cast a spell on the door handle. Glyphs and runes floated around it. Leo could hear small locking mechanisms rolling and clicking inside. After some time, the door swung open. Surya smiled. “After you, bodyguard.”

Leo didn’t argue. This is why he was here. Breaking and entering was the least risky thing he would do to achieve his goals. “Of course, Surya.”

As soon as Leo stepped inside an alarm triggered. Red lights flashed throughout the building. Leo froze. Surya shot bolts of magic energy over Leo’s head, each of the alarms shattered in turn.

It was quiet again. Leo looked at Surya for reassurance and took another step forward. Doors at the other end of the room burst open. A hulking creature covered in stone and crystals emerged and let out a roar. The creature ripped a stone off its body and threw it at Surya.

Leo pushed Surya out of the way just in time. Leo’s Magic System spoke to him. “Now would be the perfect time to tell you about another level three spell. Hammer of the Ancients will deal massive concussive damage to any non-organic material. Just in case you might want to give it a try.”

Leo was grateful his Magic System had a sense of humor. He cast Hammer of the Ancients. A huge glowing hammer appeared in Leo’s hand. He swung with all his might at the rock creature. With a single blow it shattered into a thousand pieces. Leo was amazed at the effectiveness.

He helped Surya back to his feet. She eyed him curiously. “Hammer of the Ancients? I don’t believe that has ever been made available as a spell capsule. Curious.”

Leo clammed up. Had Surya just discovered he was a true born Sorcerer? If so, she didn’t say anything else. Instead she went into one of the building’s offices and emerged with a thick folder. “Thank you nonetheless for taking care of that security golem. Most of my magic deals in subterfuge and manipulation, not combat.”

She passed the folder to Leo. “Keep a close eye on this, this should have everything I need to reveal Farthen as the thief and embezzler I know him to be.”

Surya looked Leo up and down. “Next, we’re going to have to get you some nicer clothes. Even if you’re only a bodyguard, you can’t be looking like some poor street kid. After all, tomorrow you will be in the room with the entire Holgeld family.”