Tanya's house was in the more upscale section of town, where Kyle didn't go much. The houses here were larger, and far apart, though it was still a comfortable walk from the school. Tanya's house in particular was behind a high row of hedges. The house itself was white with a blue roof, and ivy growing up the walls. As they approached, Kyle noticed the windows were patterned, and something about the twisting metal between the odd shaped glass panes brought to mind mysticism and magic.

Or maybe that was just because he knew a sorceress lived there, and he had magic on the brain.

“Those are protection runes!” Jenny said. “They don't look exactly like the ones I'm familiar with, but I'm pretty sure that's what they are.”

“Knew it!” Kyle said, clapping his hands together triumphantly.

“What?” Jenny asked.

“Don't worry about it.”

“So I guess we just knock and hope she lets us in?” Jenny said, reaching up for the doorknocker, a huge brass ring hanging from the nose of a leering goblin face.

“Wait Jenny...”

“What?”

“Well for one thing most people don't expect you to actually use those,” Kyle said. “They're decorative. And for another thing...what are the chances that thing's going to talk?”

Jenny stopped, her hand inches from the brass ring.

“Oh,” she said. “That's a good point. It does look like it might start talking, huh?”

“Yeah,” Kyle said. “Hey, doorknocker, can you talk?”

The brass goblin face just stared at them.

“I'm going to poke you in the nose,” Kyle said, following word with action. No response.

“I guess we're okay,” Jenny said, reaching for the brass ring. She grabbed it and banged it against the door three times. They could hear it echoing through the house. And then, a few seconds of nothing.

“Huh,” Kyle said. “I thought something was going to happen.”

“Like it would yell at us or something!” Jenny said.

“Right,” Kyle nodded. “That's exactly. Or a big trap door would...”

And then the world was made of spirals. When it stopped, they were standing in a room with stone walls and a red carpeted floor. Tanya stood in front of them, arms crossed, glaring at them.

“...drop us into a dungeon,” Kyle finished, looking around.

“This isn't a dungeon!” Tanya said. “It's my basement! And that wasn't a trapdoor it was a short range teleport spell, there's no doors to this place anywhere you need magic to get in. You know what Trevor didn't do, when he got here? Waste my time blithering on the front step!”

Now that Tanya had mentioned him, and Kyle had some time to adjust to his surroundings, he saw Trevor standing behind her. He gave Kyle a quick wave. Kyle took a second to breathe, and let what Tanya said sink in.

“No you know what?” Kyle said. “To hell with that.”

“What?” Tanya snapped.

“Not sure what the hell is up with you but this is the second time you've started yelling at me for no reason,” Kyle said. “I don't know what you're so pissed about, but I don't have to sit here and take it. I came here because you said you'd explain what was going on, but I'm perfectly willing to leave if you're just going to yell at me. I may not know any teleport spells, but apparently I've got super strength now. And energy beams. Between the two of them I just bet I'm strong enough to punch my way back to the surface.

“You think you can survive what's happening without knowing anything?” Tanya demanded.

“No idea,” Kyle shrugged. “But right now, all I know is that you were fighting with someone who wanted to hurt Jenny. That only gets me halfway to trusting you. I'm sick of getting yelled at for things I didn't do, and Jenny can probably teach me enough to get by.”

“Uh, actually Kyle?” Jenny said. “I don't know much about magic, I'm magical.”

“What?” I looked at her.

“Magical creatures like genies tend not to know much about magic,” Tanya said. “They don't have to learn about it because it's what they are.”

“I mean do you know how your body makes spit?” Jenny said. “Sorry. But you're right, she's being really annoying and I bet we could figure it out!”

“See?” Kyle said. “We've got confidence and enthusiasm on our side. So are you going to stop treating me like crap, or am I going to find an interesting way to get me and Jenny out of here back to the surface?”

Tanya crossed her arms under her chest, glaring at him for a moment.

“Fine,” she said. “Sorry. Come on, it'll be easier to explain in the other room.”

With that she turned to walk away.

“I don't get it,” Trevor said, walking along with them. “She seemed so grateful to you last night.”

“I do,” Jenny said. “That was in the moment. Now she's had time to think about it...I don't think she's used to having other people help her.”

“I can hear every word you say!” Tanya called back.

“Magic?” Kyle asked.

“Echoing stone hallways,” Tanya said. “Let's call that lesson one. Just because you know magic exists now doesn't mean everything has to be magic.”

She lead them through more stone hallways until they reached a room with murals on the walls and a table in the center, and in the center of the table a spiking formation of crystal like a small tree. It almost looked like it had grown there naturally, but the shimmering lights within the stone were anything but natural.

The crystal was interesting, but it was the walls that held Kyle's attention. They depicted...chaos. Destruction. Kyle didn't recognize most of the creatures those walls depicted, other than to put them in general categories like “angels” and “demons.” There were human warriors by the thousands depicted as well, all engaged in wretched, bloody battle. Kyle was used to ancient paintings depicting war as...glory. And grand adventure. But this made it feel like he was staring into hell. Even the ground seemed to rebel, tearing itself to pieces beneath the battle.

“What the hell is this?” He asked.

“The Last Great Mage War,” Tanya said. “It's part of what I need to explain to you. But that's literally ancient history. Since your experiences are more recent, you tell me what's going on and what you know and I'll fill in the gaps?”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

So Kyle told them, about finding the lamp and making his wish. And meeting Jenny. It wasn't a long story really, despite at the time feeling like it would take up several chapters of an online novel. When he was done, Tanya was nodding and Trevor looked thoughtful.

“So you really have no idea what you wished for?” Trevor asked.

“The deepest wish of my heart I guess,” Kyle shrugged. “So maybe superpowers? I don't know.”

“There's no way to know,” Jenny said. “Or to know who else got wishes. Sorry! I hope you got one.”

“Yeah well I dunno about wishes,” Trevor said. “But I definitely got something.”

“What do you mean?” Kyle asked.

“I accidentally destroyed my garage last night,” Trevor said. “My dad keeps talking about termites, but it wasn't that. The door was a little stuck and I tried to open it, so I pulled as hard as I can...and I tore the whole thing apart.”

“Meaning you've already got an active physical enhancement node,” Tanya said.

“You said that before,” Kyle said. “Nodes. What does that mean?”

“Oh I know that part!” Jenny said. “They're sources of magical energy inside the human body!”

“Right so far as it goes,” Tanya said. Her earlier abrasiveness had gone, and now there was something about her that said “strict professor.” “They're a lot more complicated than just things that produce magic, but you can think of them that way. Parts of your soul that generate magical power you can use. And you can take those nodes and specialize them so you can use that power. It sounds to me like you must have at least two nodes, Kyle. One you assigned to your physical body, making you stronger, and one for emitting energy. And one for mental energy too, if the efreet guessed right. Although if you do you're very lucky. Not only is three nodes by itself uncommon, assigning a mental enhancement node by yourself can be dangerous.”

“So it's like picking abilities in a video game?” Trevor asked. “And my strength means I've got at least one node?”

“Right. And that's probably all you have. Most people only have one or two nodes. I've got five, and I'm considered a prodigy. My father has seven, and he's considered an archmage. Considering the power Kyle showed last night, he's got at least two strong ones. Not bad.”

“So you can only learn one spell per node?” Kyle asked.

“No, spellcasting is different.” Tanya said. “You need one node, preferably a powerful one, assigned for energy emission. Then you can adjust that to create different spells. That's something you might want to learn.”

“Mmm,” Trevor said. “What about Jenny? If she's a genie, does she have nodes?”

“Yes but they're not like human nodes,” Tanya explained. “She's born with a set number of nodes, already set to a specific kind of magic.”

“Is there any way to get rid of it?” Trevor asked, looking down at his hands. “To remove your nodes, or close them off or something? I don't want to wreck another garage.”

“No,” Tanya shook her head. “The only thing you can do is learn to control it. Magical strength beyond what your body can do is something you have to call on. If your practice, you can learn not to use it by accident.”

“I should probably practice that too,” Kyle said.

“And we need to make sure we know about all of your nodes,” Tanya said. “An unused node can cause all kinds of problems. If you have any unused nodes you can take some time to decide what you want to use them for, but they should be connected to something.”

“I have a question!” Jenny said, with her hand raised way above her head.

“You can just ask,” Tanya rolled her eyes.

“Why are we supposed to keep magic a secret?”

“Oh,” Tanya said. “That. Keeping magic a secret is a terrible idea. It puts people without magical power in danger they wouldn't be in otherwise, and it makes it a lot more likely for people who are born with magical power but who aren't in the know to do something wrong and get themselves hurt.”

“Then uh...” Kyle started to ask, but Tanya cut him off.

“But we keep it a secret because the Uzbedis make us do it.”

“Why?” Trevor asked.

“Because of that,” she pointed to the walls. “The Last Great Mage War. A war between nations ruled by sorcerers, in what most people think of as humanity's prehistory. It was the worst war in human history. The continents of Atlantis and Mu were destroyed completely, and the planet's magical aura was burned out for thousands of years. Only the people who had the strongest connection to magical energy could still use it at all.”

“Wait,” Jenny said. “Atlantis is gone!? I had a Master from Atlantis! I thought the world map at school looked weird!”

“Uzbedi was the only remaining magical dynasty,” Tanya said. “And they decided magic needed to take a back seat in the world. They wrote a list of edicts for how magic could be used and who could be told about it, and they enforce it. Rigorously. If they had their way nobody outside of Uzbedi would get magic at all.”

Kyle couldn't help but hear the bitterness in her voice. There was something personal there. And now this was an issue Kyle would have to deal with too. Would the Uzbedis be coming for him now, too?

“But let's get to checking your nodes,” Tanya said. “Put your hand on the crystal in the middle of the table.”

“Alright,” Trevor said, reaching out and putting his hand on the crystal. The minerals glowed, and above the table appeared an image of Trevor's silhouette, with a brightly glowing star inside of it. So bright It almost blinded Kyle, and he put a hand up to block his eyes.

“One titanic node,” Tanya said appreciatively. “Impressive. Most people only have small or average nodes. Titanic is the largest possible size.”

“So you don't just have super strength,” Kyle said. “You have level 99 super strength.”

“But nothing else,” Trevor said. “Honestly I'm kind of relieved. What size are your nodes, Tanya?”

Kyle suddenly felt like it was a very good thing Evan wasn't here.

“I have one colossal node,” Tanya said proudly, not making things any better. “Two large, and two small. Kyle, let's check you out.”

Kyle shrugged and reached out, putting his hand on the crystal. Trevor seemed pretty hesitant about these powers, but Kyle couldn't help but feel excited. Magic sounded like fun! He kind of hoped he had another node, just to see what he could do with it.

His silhouette appeared over the table, looking like a constellation.

“That's more than five,” Jenny said.

“I can see that!” Tanya snapped at him. “Nine, ten...twelve. Twelve nodes. Three colossal nodes, the size just below titanic. Four huge nodes. Two average nodes. Two small nodes. And one tiny node. Oh, but it's an eternal node.”

“An eternal node?” Kyle asked.

“Nodes have a limited capacity before they have to recharge,” Tanya said. “Except for eternal nodes. They never run dry. They're so rare I didn't even bother mentioning them. It's only a tiny trickle of power...but whatever you assign that node to it will never run dry. Assuming you even need it, with your other eleven nodes.”

“Wow!” Jenny said, jumping on Kyle and hugging him. “You're super strong!”

“It's the wish,” Tanya said. “It has to be the wish, somehow. Nobody naturally has nodes like that.”

“I'm so glad Evan isn't here,” Kyle said. “I have to figure out something to assign all those nodes to?”

“Yes,” Tanya said. “The sooner the better. This power is ridiculous. If you just leave it lying around...well, picture a box full of dynamite left in a match factory.”

“I guess I'd better start researching,” Kyle said. “So did I wish for powers? Is that it?”

“We don't know that,” Jenny said. “Maybe you'll need these powers to get what you really wished for.”

“Did my powers come from the wish?” Trevor said.

“There's a more mundane explanation for yours,” Tanya told him. “You got hit with the backlash from Kyle's lightning blast last night. It probably opened up any dormant nodes you had.”

“But does that mean everyone I hit is going to get powers?” Kyle asked.

“Only if they have latent nodes as well,” Tanya said. “And there isn't much chance of that. I'm surprised even Trevor had any magical power. One in three is surprising on its own.”

“Alright,” Kyle said. But a thought nagged at the back of his mind.

Unless my wish had something to do with it...

In her room, at home, Betty Peltzer was trying to focus on her project.

Don't try to picture how Betty decorates her room. Some things are not meant to be looked into, lest they drive mad the minds of men. Just picture her at a desk, working at a computer, and blur out the walls in your mind. That's the important part, that she was trying to get some work done on her project.

It was difficult, because her memories didn't quite make sense. Not for getting caught up in a gas explosion. The EMT's had said she was fine, but her thoughts were strange. She had images in her mind she felt almost sure were a hallucination. A big orange monster. Kyle firing an energy blast. Crazy stuff. It was probably a dream. And there was a voice in her head, that sounded almost a little like Tanya's, telling her it was a dream.

But it didn't feel like a dream.

She picked up the cat and moved it off her keyboard, putting her attention into detailing the leather harness on her computer screen.

It didn't feel like a dream, it felt real. Solidly real. And so did the place in her chest where the blast had struck her. The blast she remembered as lightning, but couldn't be. Because you didn't get lightning in a gas explosion. But she remembered it crackling and snaking through the air, and she was almost sure it had been coming off of Kyle's body...

The cat was on the keyboard again. She grabbed it absentmindedly and threw it onto the floor.

And ever since the lightning, or whatever it was, had hit her she'd been feeling weird. There was...a tightness in her chest sounded bad. It was almost like there was a looseness inside of her. Like her body had so much more to it than before. Not physically, just more...energy. More brightness. She wasn't sure how to describe it.

And this cat isn't helping, she thought as a tail tickled her nose. The cat jumped up onto the keyboard again and sat down, staring at her.

“Kitty,” she said, then stopped, adjusting her glasses. “Wait a minute. I don't have a cat.”

The cat stared at her with the flat, bored expression you can only find on a feline face. That expression didn't change in the slightest as it casually burst into flames.

“AHHH!”