We approach the two guards standing vigilantly at the edge of the grassy cliff.They gaze up, facing the blue skies and shore below.“We’re unloading,” I announce.
The two men turn and nod.“Agents.”They step back, and Necia and I get closer to the cliff.
I wave my hands and peel back the invisible barriers.In seconds, the sky above us reveals a large break in reality; it’s best described as broken glass, peering into the monstrous dimension known as the Other Side.Beings float through, momentarily gazing at me with almost a dozen eyes each, causing a chill to go up my spine.
“Send it,” I say with my hands up.I don’t dare let go of the invisible barriers.
“Sending it now,” Necia replies.She magically levitates the jar and then launches it into the crack in reality.The moment it’s gone, I seal up the barriers.Now our mission is actually complete; we’ve banished the monster back to where it came from.
After bidding goodbye to the guards, Necia and I make our way back to the main Union building.We only walk for a minute before we get stopped in the walkway by our friend.
“Gear!How are you?”Necia asks with a smile.
Girish, a bookish, dark-skinned dude, gives a shy smile.“Agents Westbrook and Anderson.Good day.”
“Are you ever gonna just call me Luther?”I ask.
“We’re at work,” he says with a shrug.
“What’s up, man?Wanna grab breakfast with us?”Necia asks.
“Unfortunately, this isn’t a social call.”
“What’s wrong?Is it another threat from the Other Side?”I ask.
“No, nothing like that.”He waves his hands.“We…you…have SPELL school.”
“Aw, shit,” Necia mutters.
I rub my forehead.“I completely forgot.I’m dead tired.”
“I’m aware that you had a mission in Kansas all night,” Girish says.“But you’re on the schedule.I could cancel…”
“No, no, I made a promise,” I say.“Even though I smell awful and probably look ratchet.”
Necia laughs softly and fixes the collar on my trench coat.“Time to face the music, Professor Westbrook,” she says.
I groan, and my two companions laugh.After smoothing out my shirt, the three of us walk back into the Union building.As we approach the central hub, more folks are quickly strolling in and out of portals, paying us no mind.Necia and Girish are engrossed in conversation about the latest cafeteria offerings, so I hang back.I pat down my hair despite my shorter style—force of habit when trying to appear presentable.I need to look the part since I have to teach youngsters in a matter of minutes.
Right before we reach the staircase, I wipe my mouth with my sleeve just as one face in the moving crowd catches my eye.Even from yards away, I catch his almost golden hair, gleaming in the sunlight, now with a set of longer bangs than I recall.He’s talking to a guard, and time slows down as I take him in.The dude’s jaw is more defined than I remember, along with a muscular neck, and his easy smile makes my breath hitch.His black suit is tailored to fit his trim body.He’s clearly grown into an in-shape dude, no longer the gangly teenager I once knew.
And now he’s looking at me.I don’t stop walking, and his image fades from view as I enter the staircase and other folks wander in front of him.But I have no doubt his piercing blue eyes saw me, a look filled with recognition.
My schooltime rival, my academic foe, has somehow returned to the Union of Mages.I shouldn’t be annoyed or intrigued by that thought.I mean, it’s been over a decade.He shouldn’t have any effect on me.
But tell that to my racing pulse, hammering like I’m a disgruntled teenager all over again.
CHAPTER 2- LUTHER
(FOURTEEN YEARS AGO)
Professor Rodante walks before us in the small lecture hall, placing papers on our tables, and I squirm in my seat.Tests are a big deal in regular school, and this weekend, wizard academy is way more important.For several weeks, it’s been drilled into us that we’re going to be saving the magical world.Those who pass this four-year course will be part of a new superhero-type group here in the Union.We’re training to be part of the first-ever batch of agents in the Sorcery Protection Enforcement and Logistics League.
Imagine me, an agent of SPELL.So dope.
Therefore, this first written exam on magical history and geography is crucial.The professor walks by my long table and, after handing Necia her graded exam, stands in front of me.
“Great work, Luther,” she says.After she gives me my paper, I flip it over?99%!Yes.That’s an A-plus in New York, it should still be high marks here in Scotland.Realistically, the Union is all cultures merged into one; I know this because it was a question I aced on the test.
