I am not a mage.

It's not that I wasn't born with the talent, in fact, as I've come to discover, I have it in spades. But natural ability is only a piece, a mere fragment of what it means to be a mage. What really matters, or rather, what precludes me, is training. Ever since I accidentally stumbled upon my families occult history, I've begged my father to train me. But every time, he gave the exact same answer.

"No."

The wording might change from time to time, but the meaning never did. My father refused to train me.

But I never stopped asking. No matter how many times he refused me, I still continued to beg. In hindsight I don't even think I really had a reason for it. It's not like I was unhappy with my current life. There wasn't any particular wish or dream that I could only solve via magecraft. I was not uncomfortable, nor was I starved for entertainment. It wasn't even envy, though my brother was sure to accuse me of it whenever he overheard my prattling. No, there wasn't any particular reason at all that I should nag my father to such a degree.

And yet I wanted it. I wanted it so bad. It was all I could think about. All I could imagine. When I closed my eyes at night, the emerald sparks my father and brother summoned in their workshop would dance before my eyes. My dreams were not of flight but of swirling cyclones of mystical energy. My nightmares not of monsters but of all encompassing monotony.

One day, after my father refused my plea for what might've been the thousandth time, I asked him why. Why was my brother to be taught and not I? What did he have that I did not?

"Luck."

That's what he said. "The luck to have been born first." Perhaps sensing my indignation, he continued. "There once was a groundskeeper for a very important and beautiful park. One morning, while he was out on his morning walk, he stumbled across a swan with feathers white as snow. It was not native to his park and had probable gotten stranded during the storm from the night before. Over the next few weeks, the man cared for the swan as if it were his own child, and, eventually, the bird made a full recovery. However, by this time, the owner of the park had heard of the swan and decided that it would a make a fine addition to his collection. The groundskeeper, fearing that they would cripple the beast, begged him to reconsider, reminding him of all the years he had spent in his service. The owner was touched but still desired the swan, so the two came to an agreement. The swan could go free, but it would be bred. Half of its children would be allowed to go with their sire and half of them would remain in the park. When the day finally came that the swan bore children, the groundskeeper and the owner did not bother deliberating. For every two that hatched, one would have its wings clipped, and one would be spared. In such a way, two equal groups were created neither by ability nor fitness, nor even beauty, but by random chance. When the time came, the half without clipped wings learned to fly and left with their father. The rest remained in their ordinary home, never knowing what it meant to fly."

Even as a child I understood the meaning behind that story. And though it gnawed at me, no matter how much I begged, no matter how much I pleaded, a mage could only ever have one heir. I would never learn to fly.

So I resolved to make the most of my boring little park; to live in at as best as I could. I don't resent my brother for having been chosen. It wasn't his fault he was born first. It wasn't anyone's.

No, the only thing I could really blame was fate itself.

The school day ended like most of them did; uneventfully. The bell rung, chairs were thrown backwards and a couple hundred students swarmed into the halls.

It was scheduled chaos, which is, in my opinion the worst kind of chaos. All the disadvantages of normal chaos but without any of the fun surprises. Just a bunch of inconvenience and monotony. Ugh. Needless to say, I did my best to stay out of it. And so, while the rest of the school scrambled to grab their things, I was left sitting in an empty classroom with a book open before me. Just another normal day.

"Hey! Sig, what's up man? You got any plans for today?"

I didn't need to turn to know who it was. Ralph. My longtime friend and the self-styled comedian of our group. None of our friends really had the heart to tell him how unfunny he really was. "Oh, hey Ralph." I had yet to look up. "I'm doing alright. Nothing currently. You have Lacrosse today right?"

He waved it off. "Nah, they canceled last minute. Something about the coach coming down with something. Gives me time re-lax if you catch my meaning. Well if you're free why don't we head over to the mall? I heard a new magic shop opened up recently. It's supposed to have some really creepy ass shit."

"Magic? Really Ralph? What are you five? You now that crap doesn't exist."
"Well, ya. But who cares? It's still fun to go wander around and look. Besides what would you rather do? Read this…" He snatched my book and looked at it. "Life 3.0? What the hell is this?" He flipped through it. "UGH! This reads like my science textbook, what is this crap?"

"Hey give it back!" I snapped, grabbing my book back. "And of course it reads like a science book. What did you expect? It's a book on AI after all."

"Huh? I thought you just finished that?"

I shook my head. "No that was Superintelligence by Bostrom. This is Life 3.0 by Tegmark. Different books, roughly the same topic, though I personally found Bostrom to be a bit more cautionary. This one makes the argument that AI could manifest as another tier of evolution similar to the difference between sentient and nonsentient organic life. I haven't gotten that far yet, but I'm wondering how he'll take IIT into account in the chapter that discusses machine conscious-"

"Sig, you're rambling again man." Ralph deadpanned. "Also I really have no idea what you're saying any more. Try to keep the technobabble at a minimum. Half the girls here already think you're half robot, much more of that and they'll start thinking I'm one too. Damn, I wonder if geek is contagious…"

"Technically that last part is philosophy not technobabble, but I get your point. I'll try to keep it on the down low." True, I did get what he was saying, I just really didn't care all that much about what my classmates thought of me. Of course, saying that out loud would open only lead to another outburst, so I kept my mouth shut. Just smile and wave boys, smile and wave. "Wait, maybe I missed this part, but since when is going to a 'magic' shop better for your rep than reading? Hate to break it to you Ralph, but I don't think any of the girl's want what you'd pull out of a hat."

"Ha ha, you're a riot. And don't be like that! Not everything has to be about your reputation. Where's your sense of childlike wonder? Your sense of exploration?" Before I could chew his ear off for his hypocrisy, he leaned in so that only I could hear him. "Besides, I overheard Rebecca and her friends talking about it earlier today. If we head over, we might just have a 'chance encounter' if you catch my drift."

Rebecca Ledjfalt. Without a doubt the prettiest girl in our class. Not only that, but she didn't exactly fall into the stereotype of the stuck up school beauty. By all accounts she was extremely kind and considerate. She was also as smart as a razor, holding the highest academic ranking for our year. (I was two behind her at 3rd. In my defense, English can go jump in a fire and die.) Like Ralph and who knows how many other boys in our school, I was crushing on her hard. But unlike Ralph and the others, I wasn't about to start thinking with my hormones. "Your point? Look, we have exams next week. I'm busy enough as it is. I don't have time to waste helping you stalk some poor girl at the mall. You know, maybe if you studied a little more and creeped a little less your grades would be better."

"Ouch man, not cool."

"I agree, not cool at all."

I felt my back straighten by itself. Once again, I didn't need to look to know who it was. Forcing a smile, I turned to face him. "Aleph. It's good to see you. What brings you down to the Sophomore classrooms? I'd have thought you'd be hanging out with your friends or maybe have gone home to study."

"Is it beyond belief that I'd come down to say hi to my baby brother? Come on Sigma, I'm not nearly as heartless as you make me out to be." My older brother taunted me with a knowing smile. "That said, most of my friends are busy studying for exams this week, so I'm kind of lacking for entertainment. I don't suppose you and Ralph might know something fun to do."

Ralph raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't that mean you should be studying for exams too? Seniors have finals next week same as us. Why are you the only one off the hook?"

"Oh don't get me wrong, I have exams too, I just don't need to study."

"Right, right. Sorry, sometimes I forget everyone in your family is a damned super computer." Ralph said. "Geniuses man, can't live with em, wouldn't have my phone without em. Anyways, Sig and I were just about to go check out this new magic shop that's opened up at the mall. You're free to tag along if you want. Probably a little tame compared to what you're used to though."

"We weren't actually-" I began.

"A magic shop?" Aleph interrupted sharply. "You don't say… You know, I was actually just jerking with you when I asked what you were up to, but that actually sounds quite interesting. I think I'll take you up on your offer."

"Ya, well, that's a pity, I guess Sig and I'll just have to make do on our- wait seriously?" Ralph clearly hadn't expected Aleph to actually take him up on his offer. I was right there with him, though for different reasons.

"Why not, could be fun." He winked. "I also heard that that cute girl in your class. What's her name… Rebecca I think? Anyway, rumor has it she's supposed to be hanging out at the mall today too. Might be a good chance to run into her, eh?" Aleph winked at us.

"My man!" Ralph smirked, giving my brother a hi five. "See Sig, even your bro thinks it's a good idea! Try taking that stick out of your ass why don't ya?"

I sighed. "Fine. You win. I finished most of my homework for the week already anyways."

Ralph grinned. "Hell ya! Let's go!"

"Why?"

Aleph sighed in annoyance. "Is now really the time for this? Can't it wait until we get back to the workshop?"

I squirmed uncomfortably as we walked through the mall. For a Tuesday afternoon the mall was surprisingly busy with pedestrians window shopping and talking the day away. We were almost at the magic store and Ralph had already run on ahead, leaving my brother and I to finish our approach alone. For a moment I hesitated, my prideful side berating me for my cowardice. But as my eyes darted around the mall, sliding from person to person, face to face, my nervousness began to grow more and more out of control. Eventually, my commonsense was overwhelmed. "What are we walking into Aleph? Be honest, please."

"Huh? Where's this coming from?"

I glared at him. "C'mon. You know what I'm talking about. We haven't done anything like this in years."

"You mean you haven't done anything like this in years." My brother corrected me sharply. "This isn't anything new for me. Father and I often go on expeditions far more dangerous than this. But I suppose you have to be a mage to understand." Seeing my downcast expression, he softened. "I'm sorry. I always forget how hard it must be for you. I'm just… under quite a lot of pressure. Trust me, I'll explain everything when we get back to the workshop. But for now, it's much safer if you're left in the dark."

I nodded slowly. "Alright. But I'll hold you to that."

"I'd expect nothing less." He replied, his tone making it clear that as far as he was concerned the conversation was over.

But I wasn't quite ready to let the topic drop just yet. I tried to take Aleph at faith, but something kept nagging at me. We walked a few more steps before I finally added. "You really only brought us along so other mages couldn't attack you. That's it right? Mages can't operate in public and you wanted to use us as a shield."

He groaned. "Aww, come on Sigma, do you really believe I would use my own baby brother and his best friend as meat shields? I'd have to be a total heartless bastard."

"No, you'd have to be a mage, which you are. Don't give me that high road crap. We both know how Dad taught you to behave."

"Damn, and ruthless to boot! You really are too quick for your own good. You know, it really is a pity you can never inherit…"

My eyes widened. "Wait what'd you just say?"

"I said shut up, we're here." He said gruffly, but it barely registered. A compliment from my older brother was a rare enough occurrence and I wasn't about to let this one slide without savoring it. I was still on cloud nine when he turned to issue his next command. "I want you to stay out front and keep watch. Don't make a scene, just play on your phone or do whatever it is you do. Your friend's already in the shop, so I shouldn't have to worry too much about attack." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "That said, if anything does happen, I want you to get back home as quickly as possible. Don't wait for me, don't wait for Ralph. Just. Go. Am I clear?"

I nodded. "Crystal. But didn't we just finish talking about how mages don't fight in public? You can't get much more public than a mall."

"It's always good to have a plan. Even if it's likely never to be used. After all, it is our intellect that separates us from the insects that pervade us." Aleph said, quoting father. "I'll see you later. I shouldn't be too long." Not waiting for my response, Aleph turned and entered the shop before me.

I sighed. Honestly, despite my nervousness I'd secretly been hoping for something a little more exciting. Well at the very least tonight promised to be interesting.

My eyes fell back onto the storefront. Now that I got a better look at it, I couldn't help but notice how odd it was. It was completely out of place. Whereas the stores around it all adhered well enough to the mall's modern architecture, this store looked like someone had taken an old mom-and-pop shop and shoved it in between the sheik clothing outlets. Its old, faded wood trimming and the painted homemade sign only adding to the difference. Through the front window I could see various preserved creatures in jars, dusty tomes stacked up to the ceiling, and various odd mechanical devices who's purposed completely eluded me. The lights inside didn't do much to temper that impression. It was dim to the point where I suspected candles instead of electricity. I shook my head in amusement. Even if my brother hadn't shown an interest in this place, I'm pretty sure I would have figured something was up. The place was just too weird not to.

And yet, perhaps not. No matter how hard I tried to focus on the shop, my eyes kept sliding off of it. There was always some person walking by, some flash of motion, or some item in an adjacent shop that would catch my eye, drawing it away from the shop. It was uncanny, almost like some unseen force was trying to make overlook it. Some type of subtle magecraft maybe? Since my brother had shown such an interest in the place, I guess it was possible.

Not much I could do about it at right now though. I'd just have to ask Aleph later. For now, I had boredom to fight. Rather than taking out my phone, I broke out Life 3.0 and dove back in. Despite the mall AC doing little to alleviate the hot summer weather, I was quite comfortable. It's not like Maine was ever really that hot anyways.

I tried my best to look like an ordinary high school student… reading a book… in front of a weird store. In hindsight, I probably should have busted out my phone and said to hell with the book. That way I might have actually looked normal, but I'd have been lying if I said I wasn't extremely nervous and books had always been my happy place.

"-coming up on it now. It's the one across from that boy with the book. See, I told you there are still some people around who read. Oh! I think I know him! Hey, Sigma! Is that you?"

I leaped to attention, my mind jumping to terrifying images of vampires and dragons and vampire dragons. Forcing my fear back under control, I turned… to find myself face to face with the long, blonde hair and amber eyes of Rebecca Ledjfalt.

If I had been nervous before, it was nothing compared to what I felt now. That said, this was a different kind of nervous. This was the, 'Oh my goodness there's a gorgeous girl in front of me why can't I think of anything to say, oh god please why?!' kind of nervous, not the 'My brother is a condescending prick and is using me as a lookout for who knows what kind of magical monstrosity.' kind of nervous. This was something that I had handled in the past. Admittedly I wasn't the best at it, but no teenage boy was. Bottom line: this was something I could handle. "Ah, Rebecca. What brings you here?"

She smiled and I felt my heart jump. Damn, I was glad Ralph wasn't here to see this. "Oh you know, my cousin from overseas just arrived on vacation so I thought I'd give him the grand tour. We heard that there was a new magic shop in the mall and he thought it would be kind of cool." She rolled her eyes and whispered. "Personally I don't see the appeal, but you know what it's like with family." She pointed a finger gun to her temple and pulled the trigger.

"Fair enough." I said with a chuckle, finally getting a handle on myself. Looking to her left, I noticed the man she was referring to. He looked to be in his thirties with dark hair and a tan complexion. Knowing he was from out of the country I'd probably place him as from the Mediterranean region or somewhere thereabouts. He was wearing fairly trendy clothing, though it looked slightly too big for him, like he might have been borrowing it from someone else. His face was moderately handsome with his lips currently peeled back in a welcoming smile. "It's nice to meet you Sigma. I take it you're a classmate of Rebecca's?"

I nodded. "Ya, we're in second period Chemistry together. We've worked on a couple in class labs together."

"Sigma is a HUGE nerd when it comes to science. He even puts me to shame. Every time we start to going through the lab instructions, he'll start grumbling and making corrections in the margins." She giggled. "It's too funny. One time he got into a shouting match with the teacher over the proper way to boil the water for one of our experiments." She stopped and raised a finger to her lips in mock contemplation. "Now that I think about it, you got detention for that one, didn't you?"

"No, I got detention for the 'I told you so' two minutes later." I grumbled. "But that was hardly my fault. Mr. Feynman was out that day and the sub had no clue what he was doing. I tried to tell him that he was boiling water in a plastic beaker, but nope, gotta follow that teacher's note. He's lucky no one got burned."

"And what about all the times you'd change the ingredient list? Something about not wanting to follow some dusty cookbook written by a bunch of boring old has-beens right?"

"I clearly have no idea what you're talking about." I replied. "But if I did, I'd argue that you hardly complained when we got a perfect grade for those assignments while everyone else's experiments failed to work."

"True, I can't argue with results." Rebecca admitted. "Just don't try those tricks if we switch partners. I'm not about to let you beat me by cheating."

"Please, I don't need to cheat beat you in science."

"3rd best says what?"

"Not fair, English was invented by the devil." You know for all the kindness she showed, Rebecca did have a near lethal competitive streak.

She shot me a snide smile, knowing I'd lost. "Maybe so, but it still counts, doesn't it?" Her smile relaxed and became genuine. "That said, you're right about beating me in Feynman's class. You really do have a knack for chemistry."

A smile and a compliment? Now that just wasn't fair. As the butterfly's in my chest began to do supersonic corkscrews, I fell into a panic. Luckily I was saved from making a stuttering fool of myself by Rebecca's cousin.

"A man of science then. I can appreciate that." The man chuckled to himself. "I have lived a long life of searching for truth and I've found that you can never really take information at face value. There is a reason why reproduction of experiments is such an important, if often neglected part of the scientific process."

"Oh are you a scientist?" I asked, my curiosity now completely trumping my nervousness.

"At one time." He admitted. "Nowadays I dabble in a number of fields. Though, mathematics is still my favorite. Where are my manners though? I haven't introduced myself." He held out a hand. "My name is Cas. It's a pleasure to meet you Sigma."

I went to grab the hand. "It's nice to meet you too Ca-"

-DoN'T tOUcH hiM!-

My hand snapped back as both my left hand and skull simultaneously erupted in pain. It was like my world had been dipped in an ocean of red. I could barely concentrate, barely do anything. The pain was all encompassing. I could barely even breathe.

And then, an instant later, like someone had thrown a switch, it was gone.

I took a deep breath, trying to regain my composure. Looking up, I found Rebecca looking at me in concern, and… was that pity? Cas on the other hand looked like he had just seen something particularly interesting. It was the kind of look you'd expect from a cat who'd just found a particularly entertaining mouse. "Sorry about that." I muttered. "I guess the stress from exams is finally starting to get to me-" my words caught in my throat as my hand began to burn again. The pain was sharp, like someone was digging a razor into it.

"Sigma, are you alright?" Rebecca's voice sounded very far away. "Cas, sit him down. I'll go call for an ambulance."

"NO!" I shouted in a panic. The pain in my head may have stopped but the voice from before was still ringing in my ears. It had been dripping with desperation. Whomever had spoken had been panicked, and something I couldn't quite place told me to heed its warning.

"Sigma, now be reasonable. We're only trying to help." Cas reached out.

I reflexively backed up. "That… that's fine. You know what…" My hand dipped into my phone and autodialed my brother. "I think I'm just going to go home. There's no need to call an ambulance. I can't really afford to miss school this close to exams anyways."

"Are you sure?" Rebecca asked, clearly concerned. "It's no trouble."

"Ya it's fine." I lied. "It's not too far to my house. Anyways, it was nice to see you here Rebecca. I hope you and Cas enjoy the magic shop." Not waiting for an answer I began to walk briskly in the opposite direction, cradling my throbbing left hand as I went. It might be suicide to show my back like this, but I was desperate. Hopefully they wouldn't do anything in public.

"Um thanks, I guess." I heard Rebecca's voice from somewhere behind me. "I hope you feel better."

I nodded and shot her one last smile before rounding the corner and leaving the shop behind.

Cas looked after the boy, a bemused expression on his face. "Well, that was an interesting turn of events. I thought you said the elder brother was supposed to be the mage?"

"He was, he is." Rebecca said, exasperated. She bit her lip. "Did you see the look on his face when he went to grab your hand, it was like he'd seen a ghost."

"Indeed. And did you see which hand he was cradling?"

"His left. There can be no doubt." Rebecca sighed. She had liked Sigma.

Cas nodded. "Shall I go after him? Or should we stick to the plan and hunt down his brother?"

"Follow him, but be sure not to hurt him." Rebecca paused. "See if he actually has a servant. We… we have to be sure. I'll stay here and go into the shop to register for the war."

Cas smiled. "All by yourself? Are you sure that's wise? What if the elder Wryak is a master as well? He might have his own servant?"

Rebecca nodded. "The shop is neutral territory. Combat is banned here. If Aleph Wryak attempts to break that I'll just call you via command seal. Now go! There's an old path from behind the mall that leads to his neighborhood, that's probably where he's headed."

"Understood master, I'm already tracking his Od. Good luck."

As soon as I broke line of sight, I shifted into a run. My hand still burned, but I had been sure to over-exaggerate the pain for Cas. Now it had settled into a dull burn that I could easily ignore with the influx of adrenaline that fueled my sprint. My headache had all but disappeared. Fishing the still active phone out of my pocket, I whispered into the receiver, "I'm approaching the exit by Macy's. They should be coming your way now." I hung up. I could only hope that Aleph had gotten the message and escaped through a back exit.

I cycled through the phone's apps until I found the Uber icon. Tapping it rapidly, I was dismayed to find nothing was near enough to pick me up immediately. We'd taken my brother's car to the mall, but considering there was now a beautiful girl and a seriously sketchy foreigner between me and the keys, I'd need to find a different method of getting home.

What you have to know about my home town is that it's not exactly compact. Like most towns in Maine, you really need a car to get anywhere, and even a tourist trap of a town like Lumford wasn't an exception. There were two ways to get home on foot and neither of them was short. One was to sprint across the adjacent highway and then navigate the commercial and tourist areas before doubling back through the old sewer system. Not the fastest method, it'd probably take three hours, but it would keep me out in public for all but the last leg of the journey. That last leg though… the sewer was scary at the best of times. I didn't want to think of what it'd be like with a magical monster chasing me. The other way would be to take the path through the woods. That would be faster, timing in at about an hour, but going alone into the woods would be exactly what a magical enemy would want.

Rounding the corner out of the department store, I had just about decided to risk running across the highway when I saw him. He was standing there in his slightly baggy clothes, his mane of brown hair gently waving in the wind. Cas was looking out over the highway, seemingly bored. Looking up as I stopped dead in my tracks, he smiled and waved in my direction.

I grimaced. He was toying with me. The bastard. Did he expect me to give up? Not likely, I was still in public. I'd just go back inside and hide out until closing. He couldn't do jack shit.

"Calm down kid. I'm not gonna attack you." Cas said. "Rebecca just sent me to watch you."

"Uh huh… ya sure." I looked around trying to find a way out. "Look uh, Cas, I don't want any trouble."

"Oh? And what makes you think I'm here to 'trouble' you?"

"I don't know; the teleportation isn't exactly innocent." I mumbled. Seeing Cas frown, I realized he must've heard me. "Sorry, I didn't mean that. I'm just a little freaked out right now. Please, I'm telling the truth. I don't know what you and Rebecca want with that shop. But it's really nothing to do with me! I'm not even a mage. I'm just related to one. I'm just a nobody. That's all I've ever been."

"Calm down kid! Like I said, I'm not here to hurt you. This is strictly a recon mission. Rebecca herself asked me not to hurt you. My orders are only to watch and gather more information."

"Yet you're out in the open. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't spies supposed to stay out of sight?"

"Yes." He nodded solemnly. "I'm supposed to watch, gather information, and then act appropriately."

"You still haven't explained why-"

"I'm out in the open? There are more ways to gather information than simple espionage. For instance, instead of turning myself invisible and stalking you for weeks without you knowing, something I am capable of mind you, I'm going to force the information I want out of you, place you under my control, and then send you back home to act as a sleeper agent." He smiled. "That, is why I am out in the open. Are you satisfied?"

"…" I gulped. "On second thought, can you just kill me? That sounds much better than the horror movie BS you just suggested."

"No. I assure you, I intend to follow my mistress's orders. You'll be completely unharmed throughout my mission. Once it is complete you will be free to go. The process will be totally painless. Like a dream."

"Cas, please you can't do this! I'm a human being, not some dog to slap a collar on. You can't ignore that! I refuse to believe Rebecca would want you to do this. There's no way-"

"Are you done?" Cas asked, ignoring my tirade. "Look, kid. I get it. Life isn't fair, trust me, I can relate. But I don't have a choice here. Yes, Rebecca wants to leave you alive, but leaving you free to do what you want isn't the right move in this game. You don't wait for the pawn to become a queen before you take the king. You simply end the game."

I shook my head. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Like I said, I'm not even a mage. And you already had my brother cornered in that shop. Why give up on that to come capture me? You don't need a spy if you can take out the leader without it."

"Cornered? Well, he was until you warned him with your phone." He smiled as the blood drained from my face. "Yes, I heard that. You'll find we servants have much better hearing than our human counterparts. A nice trick by the way. I approve. You are right on one thing though. We should've been able to end this by taking out your brother. That's what we thought anyways. We were under the impression that your brother was the Wryak family heir."

I felt my blood go cold. "So you were right? Am I missing something here?"

Cas chuckled and shook his head in exasperation. "You don't even know yet. No wonder you haven't summoned it." His expression hardened. "It's a wonder how the Wryaks have managed to remain in power here for so long if this is the best your family can do."

"Well, it might help there aren't any other families with magical heritage here in Lumford to compete with."

"On the contrary. Ms. Rebecca's family is actually a branch family of a prominent magical lineage from Europe." He cocked his head to the side. "I'm surprised your brother didn't tell you. He and Rebecca have clashed on more than one occasion."

"Of course they have." I grumbled. Leave it to Aleph to forget to mention that little tidbit.

"Well, we might as well get started. I've wasted enough time. Hold up your left hand. Back of the it towards me." When I hesitated he continued. "That's the last time I'll ask nicely. I'd have thought you'd want to savor your last moments of free will while you could."

"About that. We're currently in a public setting with who knows how many people watching. I may not be a mage, but I know you people have to keep magic secret. You can't do anything to me here."

"People watching? I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about. Perhaps you need to pay a little closer attention."

"What I'm talking about? Look around-" I began to motion around me but my words stopped dead in my throat. Everyone I could see, everyone in the parking lot, was standing completely still. It was as if they were simply frozen in place, kind of like how kids act during a game of freeze tag. "Oh. Oh no." I looked back to the man in front of me in abstract horror. "What the hell are you?"

"Does it matter?" The man raised his hand and I felt my hand raise on its own, showing Cas whatever he was looking for on the back of it. "Yes. Just as I thought. It hasn't been activated, but it is fully formed. Well, that's that then. No other option that to… mhmm." The magical grip on my hand ceased and a red glow began to emit from Cas's outstretched hand. "Goodbye, Sigma Wryak. Expect to wake up in a few weeks' time. If it makes you feel any better, I'm probably going to get yelled at by Rebecca for doing this."

There was a crimson flash followed swiftly by a thunderous crash and I was knocked off my feet.

I hit the ground. Hard. When I opened my eyes and looked down at my chest I was greeted by…

Nothing. There wasn't anything wrong with it.

"What the…" I looked back up at Cas and nearly choked. The air was filled with concrete dust and I could smell oil and burning plastic. There was a crater where Cas had been standing. About five feet to the right, the brunette man was on his knees, alive, but with a bloody hole through his chest. That wasn't all, it looked like whatever had hit him had gone straight through him and demolished the car behind him, leaving it a smoldering wreck.

I barely had enough time to acknowledge this before I heard a feminine voice shout a string of words I didn't recognize. The next second there was a second flash of red light followed by an explosion of concrete and flame, the shockwave knocking me back again, sending me sprawling helplessly like a ragdoll.

The impact left me stunned for a moment, unable to tell which way was up, or what was happening around me. I could hear more explosions surrounding me, but I couldn't tell what was actually happening. Eventually, through the sheer power of adrenaline I was somehow able to force myself to my knees and look around.

I was in the middle of a battlefield from a nightmare. The civilians were still frozen in place by Cas's spell, a surreal counter the to the dozens of cars either in pieces, on fire, or both. The ground was littered in craters.

For a moment I allowed myself the hope that he had been killed, then I saw the bastard's form materialize back into existence several yards to my left. Mouthing words faster than I could track, Cas raised his hands and summoned two gear like objects just as three new bursts of ruby light barreled toward him. How he managed to deflect them with such an injury eluded me, but regardless, Cas continued to chant. At his command what must have been more than twenty orbs of light appeared above his head runes forming and encircling them.

Any doubt I had as to their purpose evaporated when they began to bombard the edge of the forest with an onslaught of magical projectiles that made the streaks of red light look like fire crackers. At the forests edge I saw a blur of motion and what looked like a circle of crimson deflecting the shots. It reminded me of how a martial artist could spin a bow staff. Once the projectiles were deflected, e a new burst of red flashed out from the explosion of magic, zeroing in right on Cas, who jumped from the car he had been crouching on. When the object collided with the car there was an explosion of fire and shrapnel as the projectile ignited the gas. Before I could identify the object in the wreckage, it disintegrated into a cloud of red dust.

It was around this time that I finally managed to regain my composure. Coincidently. It was also about this time that all the people around me finally snapped out of their trance. It seemed that Cas was diverting all his focus into the fight. Well, whatever his reasoning, the world around me erupted into pandemonium.

There was smoke everywhere and all around me people were screaming. I was pushed from all sides as I desperately tried to force my way away from the fight. I had to get to the forest path. That was the only thought I could muster. And as I sprinted from car to car, keeping my head low all the while, I thought I saw a purple and red blur launch out of the forest and towards Cas. Unlike before, I could sense that this wasn't some projectile. No, this was its source.

For a moment I was tempted to remain and discover what kind of being had saved my life, then Cas launched another volley of magic and the resultant shockwaves knocked the sentimentality (and the wind) right out of me. I heard screams coming from the bystanders.

Practically dragging myself off the concrete, I forced my curiosity down. All that mattered now was survival. And that meant escape. After what seemed like an eternity of scampering from car to car, I finally managed to make it. In reality it had been less than a minute. Not daring to take a moment to look back. I hobbled as fast as I could manage down the dirt road towards home.

Author's Note-

I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! It was a lot of fun to write and I'm super excited to work on my first fic set in the Nasu-verse! First things first though, as you could no doubt tell, there will be a quite a few OCs in this, with all of the masters and two of the servants being non-canon. However, there should be a number of familiar faces. (If you are familiar with Fate lore, the two servants shown in this chapter should be obvious.) Hopefully you don't have a problem with that, but if you do, this is your official warning that neither Shiro or Guduo is liable to show up. That said, I do hope you stick around to see what's to come! See ya next time!