“Ughhh, fuck” I groaned eloquently as I woke up the following morning. My eyes were still heavy, and I blinked rapidly to try and regain some of my ability to see. I thought it sounded like someone was banging on a massive war drum nearby, but as my eyes finally took in the light and I winced back from it, I realized that that was my brain frantically trying to escape my skull. Remind me not to drink with that demon again.

I practically crawled out of bed and worked my way over to the small bathroom that was just outside of my bedroom. The bathroom, much like my bedroom was fairly bare, and really only had the necessities in it. That was as far as I had made it to moving out of my parent’s house before they coerced me into staying with them, citing that the college was within walking distance.

I groped around in the medicine cabinet next to the sink, trying to track down the medicine that I knew was in there. If this headache got any worse, I’d probably have to go curl up in the fetal position under some nice dark sheets. Twisting off the cap and popping several of the pills in my mouth, I leaned my head under the faucet and gulped down some water to aid in getting the pills down. I may have continued to lap at the water like a man who’d been in the desert for days on end afterward, but no one was around to prove anything.

Feeling slightly more hydrated, I lumbered back to my room and threw on a pair of jeans and a shirt before making my way downstairs to the kitchen. I blindly stumbled towards the coffee maker, pleased to see someone had used it recently so I wouldn’t have to go through the obnoxious warmup process that thing went through. My dad was something of a coffee snob, this particular machine ground the beans and converted them into a variety of drinks, from coffee to lattes, though most of the settings were beyond me.

A cough from behind me alerted me to the presence of others in the kitchen. Turning around quickly, I tried to hide the grimace that threatened my lips as a wave of nausea rolled through me.

There were three figures sitting around our small four-person dining table - my dad who looked ever-so amused at my current state, my mom who seemed concerned about something, and Alexis. Wait, Alexis? Why was she here?

Pushing a loose strand of brunette hair behind her ear, my mom asked, “How are you feeling this morning?”

“Why does this feel like an intervention of some kind?” The words just spilled out of my mouth.

Alexis chimed in next, “Well, in a way…” she cut off as my mom hit her shoulder.

What the hell was going on here? Why did my parents seem so familiar with Alexis? To my knowledge, they’d only been in the same room a few times since I had met her.

My dad decided it was his turn to chime in, “Jace, you know Alexis obviously, but what I don’t think you realize is that she’s an old family friend.”

“What do you mean she’s a family friend? She’s only a year or two older than me. How could you guys have possibly known her before this?” I replied, my voice rising with my confusion.

“You know the term ‘old money’ Jacey?” Alexis asked suddenly.

“Yeah, of course I do, what does that have to do with any of this though?”

“Your family would be something like that… More like ‘old power’ really. You had some truly impressive people back before your great-grandparents, although, nothing quite so impressive since then.” She paused, then smirked, “Until you, at least.”

Along with the confusion, my frustration over the proverbial pronoun game was reaching a new high, “Alright, what the fuck are you guys dancing around?!”

Alexis and my dad both looked to my mom to answer, which was weird in and of itself. With a reluctant sigh, she started talking, “The world is not as simple as you know it. As Alexis said, we’d be considered ‘old power’ in the expanded world, but you’ve never shown any inklings of having any of that power before.” Scrubbing a hand over her face in a familiar gesture, she thought about how to continue for a moment, and I stayed silent. “What I mean, is we were, and for the moment still are, barred from fully explaining anything about our history to you via a geas. Alexis here seems to be exempt though.” She said pointedly staring at my only friend.

“Magic is real, Jacey. And not the corny rituals that I liked to drag you into, that was just to test your awareness.” She watched my face as if trying to gauge my reaction, but I forced my expression to remain neutral. “Your ancestors were incredibly powerful individuals, wielding a rather unique school of magic that doesn’t pass between generations as surely as standard wizardry or the like.”

“Think of it more like one of those cultivation novels you are always reading, some of the underlying principles were inspired by people like them.”

I couldn’t help the dumbfounded expression that must have been on my face, this was clearly bullshit, some kind of prank that Lexi wanted to play on me. Especially considering how drunk she got me last night.

A crackling explosion and the smell of ozone brought me up short of saying as much though. I stared dumbly at the arching currents of lightning flowing between Alexis’s now spread palms. The azure energy writhed and flowed from her left hand into her right, almost as if it was being anchored there.

“To keep things simple, you can think of me as a spellblade. Yes, like the one from the books you were obsessed over involving the demonic invasions. Though, we don’t actually need containers to cast spells.” As if to prove her point, her hands shifted and fire replaced the lightning, flowing almost like a liquid and burning so hot that I could feel the heat from where I stood across the room.

“And, yes, I am far older than I look. Old enough that I’m one of the few people alive who knew how your ancestor’s power worked.”

Glaring at my parents now, I had a bad feeling building up in my stomach, and I didn’t mean the nausea, “So what? Did you put her up to hang out with me? To keep an eye on me or something?”

Before anyone had the chance to speak, I continued, “In fact, what’s your role in all of this? You knew about some kind of secret paranormal underworld just because you were born into it, but you couldn’t tell me? What the fuck!” I was practically shouting now.

Wide-eye stares met my outburst, or at least I thought that’s what the trio was staring at, but Alexis slowly approached me, hands outstretched as if she were trying to calm a wild animal. Everything about her posture read as weary, but that only served to spur on my boiling frustration at this whole situation.

“Jacey, you need to calm down. Close your eyes and take a deep breath.” She spoke softly, calmingly, as she slowed her approach. Was she afraid to get close to me?

“Please Jace, just breathe. Our meeting was purely coincidental, I was at the school to keep up with modern technology, and I couldn’t even feel your magic at first. I just saw someone who could use a friend.”

Her words bled together in my ears, I could see her lips moving, the concern in her eyes, but I couldn’t understand it. My mind felt disconnected from my body like I was watching everything unfold from a delayed perspective.

Alexis reached out to rest her hand on my shoulder briefly and I saw dark sparks flit across my vision. In the background, I could see my parents holding each other’s hands, their lips moving ceaselessly in some kind of chant.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Huh, is Lexi flickering? A small part of my mind asked, the part unobscured by the numbness encompassing the rest of me.

The world froze as Alexis’ hand made contact with my shoulder. For a moment, her reassuring grip cut through the haze of anger and confusion clouding my mind.

Then an immense pressure boiled through me, starting everywhere and nowhere all at once. It crackled violently through my body for a moment, before expanding violently, blasting outward like a rolling shockwave. I gasped, somewhere between pain and shock, as the raw unrestrained power ripped through me. Alexis cried out as she was flung back by the magical detonation, hitting the far wall hard before crumpling to the floor.

My vision swam, obscured by dark sparks dancing across my eyes. I frantically clutched at my head as I continued to feel the energy leaving me and detonating all around me. Alexis’ near-whispered requests crept into my mind, her urging me to close my eyes and breathe. Wanting this awful sensation to end, I did just that.

My breathing was ragged, and my mind was an absolute mess. It took all of my focus just to force a long slow breath through my nose, and even more to slowly exhale it through my mouth. I collapsed to my knees as I worked to breathe, to calm myself down, and I felt something draining out of me, leaving me feeling strangely empty. With the draining sensation, the dark energies slowly faded to a stop, and I raised my head to take in the damage I had just done.

My parents looked exhausted, but a smile still spread across their faces, happiness beyond what I could recall seeing dancing through their eyes. Alexis was sitting against the wall, looking up at me with a small smile on her face.

Beyond that, the space was pristine, minus the area directly underneath where I was still kneeling, trying to catch my breath.

“Well, I’d say it’s official now,” she said. My parents nodded, and my mom stood on shaky legs to rush to my side, practically tackling me in a hug. “My baby is a Progenitor, Dan! Our son is a Progenitor.”

My dad stood at hearing his name and walked over, offering my mom and me a hand to help us up. “Yes, Mary, he is indeed. I have a sneaking suspicion that our family will receive an absurd amount of attention if this leaks to the wider world.”

He turned to Alexis, who’d been awkwardly standing off to the side of the little celebration. “I trust you’ll take care of him?” His deep voice and tone made it clear that was more of a statement than an actual question.

“Yes, once he’s packed his things and is ready to go, we’ll leave immediately. I’ll take good care of Jace, Dan.”

I understood the implications of their brief exchange, I was going to be forced to leave home, but I had to know why. Sure, I’d wanted to move out, just like every other teenager living with his parents, but this was so sudden.

“Wait, why do I have to leave? Where are we even going?”

My mom was the one to answer, “It’s far too dangerous for you to stay here, you must learn to control your power before someone catches your scent. You’re the first Progenitor in centuries to walk this realm, I fear that’s going to be a blessing and a curse.”

The words made sense, but everything was just happening so suddenly, and more importantly, Alexis definitely owed me some answers.

“Go pack Jacey, we have a long trip ahead of us if we want to get to Iris Academy before the new semester starts.”

Nodding I turned to walk away, my mind too overwhelmed to question a lot of things at this point.

“Oh, and don’t worry, there’s only a few classes I’ll make you attend. The rest of the time you’ll be under my watch, it’ll be so much fun Jacey!”

I waved my hand in acknowledgment and trudged out of the room, grumbling under my breath the whole way, my coffee long forgotten in the aftermath of this morning. Reaching my room, I was once again reminded of just how little I owned these days, I guess that would make this easier, if a little more disheartening.

Though I’d be damned if I was going to rush through packing, I had too much to think about and really needed the space right now. Not that I had a lot to pack really, a few changes of clothes, my laptop, y’know, the necessities.

“Man, I just graduated, I don’t want to have to go back to school,” I muttered as I shoved my last pair of jeans into a duffle bag.

“I mean, on the one hand, magic, on the other… Fuck.” I scrubbed a hand over my face in frustration. “Then there’s the whole, ‘your best friend is hundreds of years old and has known multiple generations of your family’ or something thing, that’s a real kick in the dick.”

“Are you talking to yourself again?” Alexis’ voice called out from the doorway, making me jump in surprise and dropping my bag in the process.

“Jesus, you could have knocked or something Lexi.” I started to chastise her for barging in, and then had another thought, “Shit can I even still call you that, knowing that you knew my great-grandparents?”

She pretended to think about it for a moment, tapping her finger on her lip, another of her little habits that I found adorable. “You could call me Mistress Lexi instead if you prefer?” Alexis finally replied, her tone far more teasing than I’d heard in the last five years.

“Hard pass, Lexi it is,” I shuddered at her suggestion, getting a surprisingly light giggle in response.

“Oh, come on, I’m only 231, that’s practically still a child by some races’ standards.”

“Wait, ‘by some races’ standards?’ There's other races?” I asked in shock, completely ignoring her age for the moment.

“Of course, where do you think all of our lore about elves, trolls, goblins, dragons, and all that jazz comes from?” Came her reply, a confused look on her face.

“Lexi, I’ve known about magic for all of twenty minutes, you haven’t even given me a good explanation yet. I don’t even know if I want this right now!” The exasperation in my tone was apparent as I slumped onto the edge of my bed.

Alexis made her way over to the bed, promptly plopping down next to me and leaning her head on my shoulder, “I know, I’m sorry Jacey… I’m just so excited to share my world with you finally. It’s been so hard not saying anything over the last few years.”

Her proximity practically made my blood boil, something had shifted in how she was interacting with me, and I wasn’t sure if it was simply that she felt like she could actually be herself or not. Not that I was going to tell her as much, it’d been damn hard keeping my feelings for the beautiful woman next to me in check over the years as it was.

“I’ve felt your magical potential growing slowly over the last few years, probably as your core began the bonding process to join with your physical self, but over the last week, it seemed to speed up massively.” Was she rubbing her cheek on my shoulder?

“I promise I’ll do my best to take care of you and keep you safe while we work on your magic. There’s only so much information that anyone has on the Progenitors, and I’ve only got my knowledge because your ancestors were incredibly open people.”

I deflated as I heard her words, but I had one more question for the moment “And what happens if I don’t come with you, and I choose to stay here and go through with my plans to try and get an internship?”

“Honestly…” she hesitated, thinking over the question, “Honestly, I don’t think anyone can know for sure. But if your outburst downstairs was anything to go by, I don’t think you can risk not learning at least some degree of control over your magic. Chances are good that your potency will naturally increase as you age.”

Shaking my head as I listened to her explanation, I exhaled slowly, “That’s what I was afraid you were going to say.” Standing up, I grabbed my bag in one hand and held out my other hand for her. “Let’s get going, no point hanging around here if I’m just going to be a risk to everyone around me.”

She took my hand and pulled herself to her feet, “Well, let’s go say goodbye to your folks, we’ve got a long trip ahead of us.”

Walking into the kitchen, my parents were once more sitting around the table, tears rolling down my mom’s cheeks as my dad consoled her. “You know the guild will give us time off to go see him,” he whispered to her. She nodded while whipping the tears away and gasped in surprise at Alexis and I standing awkwardly in the entrance.

“What’d you mean ‘the guild,’ dad?” My curiosity got the better of me and I couldn’t hold the question back.

Wincing, he nodded, “Thank god the geas is broken, or that would have been a truly painful slip.” His eyes were distant for a moment, unconsciously running a hand over his long beard, a habit I’d picked up from him over the years, even if my beard was considerably shorter at the moment.

“Your mom and I both work for the same guild that Alexis here works for, albeit in different divisions. We both have minor powers in sorcery, that’s how we contained your ‘little outburst’ here.” He said making air quotes around the latter bit. “Your mom and I hop from portal to portal, something Alexis will have to explain to you on the road I suspect, and work in positions kind of like inter-dimensional TSA. Which sounds cool but is largely just as boring as actual TSA.”

Nodding my head to his explanation, and entirely too used to surprises today to be shocked, “Ahh, that makes more sense, I was wondering how you guys were in the ‘know,’ and, I suppose, how the kitchen survived.” That at least answered a few of my questions.

“Dan, Mary, I’m sorry but I really need to get Jacey here on the road. You guys know how long the drive to Seattle is from Phoenix,” Alexis interjected softly.

Reluctantly both my parents rose and made their way over to mean, each embracing me in a deep hug. “We’ll be up to visit soon, honey.” My mom whispered in my ear, while my dad slapped me on the back and said, “I wish you luck with her, I’ve heard some horror stories about her training methods.” Though, he had a grin on his face as he pulled away.

Alexis stepped up and gave each of my parents a hug, which still weirded me out, and then we made our way out into the early afternoon light. It’d be at least a two-day drive to Seattle, which would give me plenty of time to try and wrench some answers from Alexis. Though they’d have to wait I thought sleepily as I took the passenger seat in Alexis’ car. My eyes were already feeling far too heavy.