He felt as though he floated outside his body, observing himself and the others through a grey haze that grew darker and darker every second. His mind whirled while his body—his magic—fought.

I

Just

Want

To be strong

He—his body—was clad in a tattered green skirt from the waist down, his chest bare. A gold belt held the robe in place, a ticking clock dangling from his hip. A golden tiara sat askew on his head, the shimmering green flame from his left eye making it look sickly. The center prong of the tiara was taller than the rest, guiding bolts of electricity down to the ground where they left burn scars in the grass and lashed the surface of the pond.

Around his whole body, an enormous crocodile crouched, one even larger than his mother. Giant shadowy claws stretched outward, and a long lashing tail curled. The crocodile's jaws were massive, and a metal hook was wedged between two of the viciously sharp fangs.

"Overblot," Silver said, his horrified voice fuzzy through Sebek's perceptions. "I knew it. I should have…"

"It's not your fault." Trey grabbed the brim of his hat with one hand, pulling it down over his eyes as lightning flashed bright. His other hand held his magical pen. Behind him, Deuce crouched low, flinching when lightning hit the ground with an ear-splitting crash. "Sometimes people lose control even when you have the best intentions. You can't blame yourself."

"What do we do?" Silver shouted.

At the pond's edge, Ace was dragging an unconscious Floyd out of the water.

His father held his hand, 3 year old Sebek careful not to trip on the uneven flagstones. The memory was shadowed, but it still hurt.

They were walking just fine, when suddenly giggling surrounded them. His father pitched forward, the stones beneath his feet shifting. When he fell he let go of Sebek's hand, and his glasses fell off his face.

"Got them!" someone giggled. A fire fae, small and sprightly. His father's glasses disappeared as the fae flew into the nearby trees.

"Daddy!" Sebek cried.

"I'm fine, Sebek," he said. He sat up, squinting. "It was just a little tumble."

"But they knocked you down…they took your glasses!"

"It's alright, Sebek," his father said. "No harm done, truly. Some fae just like pulling pranks."

Sebek frowned. Why were the pranks always on his father?

Sebek stepped forward, the shadowy crocodile's foot slamming the ground, and it sent a fissure racing toward the other students.

"Watch your feet!" Trey shouted, shoving Ace out of the way, the fissure sending spiked rocks into the spot where Ace had been standing over Floyd. A lightning bolt shot over Ace's head as he fell, striking a tree in a shower of sparks. With a crack, it began to fall.

"Doodle suit!" Trey screamed, and the tree turned into a shower of cards.

"Don't shove me INTO falling trees!" Ace screamed.

"Deuce, go and get help!" Trey shouted. "Get…get anyone!"

"That goes for all of you!" Silver shouted. "Get out of here!" His blue eyes were wild with fear. "I…if I just talk to him…"

"Nothing doing," Deuce said. "I've—we've seen this before. We have to fight him! We should knock him out of it. If we don't…"

"He still can't use magic?" His mother asked. It was his 5th birthday. His cake was sweet, even though his father had been careful not to use too much sugar. He sat at the table while his parents whispered in the other room, but he could still hear them.

"No. It was funny how amazed he was at his siblings lighting the candles, wasn't it?"

Right. But…he should be able to by now. If he was full fae he'd be casting spells by 3, but surely even with half he should be—"

"Don't worry, dear. I'm sure he will. And if he can't, well…it wouldn't be so bad, would it? It would just mean he's more like me.

His cake didn't taste good anymore.

He didn't want to be like his father. He loved his father but he didn't want that.

The crocodile roared, the sound ear-splitting. Each stomp of its feet shook the ground, sending one or more of the other students stumbling. Lightning struck overhead over and over, the entire area flashing when each bolt struck, forks of light traveling across the sky. Trey threw himself to the ground, and Silver screamed as static bounced along the ground and hit his foot. Deuce shook Floyd, pleading with him to wake up, while Ace stood over both of them, his pen ready to defend.

Weak. They were weak. "You're weak!" Sebek roared, making them wince. He was winning. That was good…wasn't it?

"Sebek, please!" Silver shouted.

"Guys, c'mon!" Deuce shouted. "We have to work together!"

By the time he was 7, he could begin to use magic. It was wonderful. Now he would fit in with everyone else in the valley! He could do magic just like the other kids!

"Look!" he called to a group of children by the water. "Look what I can do!" He summoned leaves with a swirl of his pen.

Immediately the other children began to giggle. "Look at him trying to fit in!"

"Isn't his dad a human?" Full blown laughter. "How does he think he could do it?"

Sebek lowered his pen. What had he done wrong?

"So, seriously," one of the children responded through her giggles. A girl with blond hair and bright wings, bells in her hair. She crossed her arms. "That's like… baby magic."

"He's only half-fae," another kid said from behind her. "That's all he'll be able to do. He can't even fully transform."

"Ew," the girl said.

"Yeah, ew," came the chorus. "He'd be better off with humans."

"Get out of here, half-fae. Half-croc. Go and find humans to play with."

"We're trying!" Ace shouted. "It's hard to focus when—" he fell silent and dove to the ground as another bolt arced overhead. "The lightning is so random!"

"We need to give him a target!" Trey shouted. "Make him focus on that. Then the others can strike when he's open!"

"Oh great, yeah, let's just let someone absorb a million volts, that sounds ideal!" Ace shouted back. He swiped his wand through the air, a bubble of water that grounded another bolt. "It's not like Floyd isn't almost dead!"

He had beaten Floyd. Floyd still lay on the ground, eyes shut. That was…good. That meant he was strong, didn't it?

"Be gone, humans!" he screamed, the crocodile roaring behind him.

"Sebek, we're trying to help you!" Silver shouted.

"No, wait!" Deuce said. "Absorbing volts…That's actually genius! I can absorb the hit, and strike back with my double down!"

"Lightning doesn't work on Sebek," Silver said. "He's too tough. You would likely die before being able to hit back."

"Then what do we do?" Deuce shouted.

"I…I can do it. If I concentrate on my Sword of Truth and give it enough power, I can take him down." Silver leaped back at the crocodile's claws swung through the air, sending a sheet of lightning that sent another tree sprawling to the ground in a flurry of sparks. "At least I think. It's…strong against fae. But…"

Sebek roared, more lightning shooting from the sky toward where Ace stood over Floyd. Ace screamed, staggering, not fast enough with his pen.

They would all fall. Humans were weak and slow.

"Do it, Silver!" Trey said. "We're running out of time!"

Silver hung his head, running a hand through his hair. "Fine," he said. "I…just don't want to hurt him."

"Well he's hurting us!" Deuce screamed. Ace knelt in the grass, his face white and as he put his hands over the lightning-shaped burn on his leg.

Sebek cried to his mother. "They told me to play with humans. But father is the only one!"

His mother and father had looked at each other, their faces full of worry.

"It's gotten worse," his father had said. "I don't mind them mistreating me. It wasn't this bad with the older two. But Sebek…Maybe he should meet other humans."

"I heard," his mother said, "that General Lilia had taken in a human boy as his son…"

Sebek didn't understand when they told him. Couldn't humans come here? Did being half-fae really mean he wasn't good enough?

Why did he have to get sent away?

"Pathetic!" Sebek screamed. "None of you can stand up to me!"

"Okay, that's enough!" Silver shouted. "I can do it. Trey, Deuce, Ace…just give me time. I'll need to concentrate. When the power builds, get out of the way."

"I can't say I can get close to him, but I can definitely distract him from a distance!" Deuce said. "Trey…can you keep covering Floyd?"

"I'm not out of this yet!" Ace stumbled to his feet. "I'll help you, Deuce!"

"Let's go then!" Deuce said. He began to run, swirling his pen as he did. Ace ran with him, slower on his injured leg.

"Alright," Deuce said. Lightning struck the ground, and he jumped and cursed. "I summon thee, cauldron!"

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Ace called back.

The metal cauldron struck the ground, forming a depression in the earth. Immediately lightning bolts began to strike it.

"Wait!" Ace called. "Deuce, you're a genius!"

"I am? Wait a minute…" More lightning struck the cauldron, some of the bolts that surrounded Sebek clearly drawn to the metal.

"I am!" Deuce shouted. "I summon you—Cauldron! Cauldron! Cauldron!"

Metal clanged on metal as the tower of cauldrons grew out of nothingness, swaying preciously until more and more lightning began to hit them. The metal began to grow red and melt, the cauldrons beginning to stick together, leaning slightly but still staying upright.

"A lightning rod!" Deuce said. "I did it!"

Near Trey, Silver stood, his hands folded around his pen, eyes closed in concentration.

Fool human. He must be sleeping again.

Sebek would destroy them all.

"Um, Deuce?" Ace said.

The cauldrons—the humans—were draining his power. Redirecting his magic. How dare they!

Sebek took a step forward, the shadowy crocodile's tail swinging.

"We need to move," Deuce said. "Oh man, now!"

The crocodile's enormous tail swung toward them and the tower of cauldrons.

"Sebek!" Silver shouted. His eyes opened, glowing with power. He wasn't asleep after all.

Silver followed Sebek. They were ten, and it was their first mission alone. Sebek wouldn't let Master Lilia down. He would find the flower Master Lilia had hidden deep in the forest. If he did, both he and Silver would get extra helpings at dinner.

And tomorrow, he would meet Lord Malleus. Lord Malleus was the strongest fae there was. The thought made him practically shiver with excitement.

"Wait up," Silver called.

Sebek frowned. Silver was awfully slow sometimes. He turned.

"I'm stuck," Silver said. "My foot…whoa!"

The ground beneath Silver began to liquify, as though the leave-covered path had turned to mud. He began to sink, purple eyes wide with fear. "Sebek, help!"

Sebek leaped back, grabbing Silver's hand. His arm ached immediately as he pulled, and then his own foot began to slip. He struggled, sliding, and the mud began to burble around his feet. He was sinking too!

No! He couldn't let this happen!

Giggles came from overhead. He glared. They sounded like giggles from deep in his memory. His father falling.

Fae playing pranks.

"Leave us alone!" he shouted, and when he did lightning struck from a clear blue sky.

The ground solidified, and both boys fell into the dirt.

"Almost got them!" more giggles. "Silly little humans!"

"I'm not human!" Sebek shouted, scrambling to his feet. His knee hurt, and blood dripped from the scrape. "Why don't you…why don't you face me!" He had summoned lightning, and the knowledge, the instinct, made him grin. His signature spell, already! He was powerful!

More giggling, and leaves rustled. "A little bit of lightning doesn't make you a real fae, you know," they laughed. "Besides. You'd better see to your friend." More laughing, and then silence.

Silver was unconscious on the ground. Sebek's heart pounded, and he raced to his side.

Not unconscious. Sleeping.

Sebek sighed. Laughter echoed from the trees. "Humans should stay out of the fae forest," voices called. "Even half-humans."

"Wake up," Sebek growled. "Come on, Silver. I can't…I won't keep protecting you while you just let yourself get attacked!"

Guilt spiked through him when he said. But humans were weak. Like his father. They didn't belong here.

What if he wasn't strong enough to protect them?

But if he could meet Lord Malleus, and pledged to serve him… no fae would ever make fun of him again. He was sure of it. He would become the strongest knight all, half-fae or not. His Lord would be strong. No one would bother him. He wouldn't have to worry.

He belonged at Lord Malleus's side.

I just

Wished

I could belong

Somewhere

The crocodile swung his tail at the tower of cauldrons and at Ace and Deuce. He would crush them. That's what he wanted, wasn't it?

He didn't care. He couldn't. "Weak humans!" he shouted. "Why don't you defend yourselves!"

"Sebek!" Silver shouted again. Sebek's body turned while the crocodile swung its tail.

The sword of light filled the sky. Larger than before, a blade pointed straight at his heart. Silver's expression was resolute and sad.

The blade struck him in the chest faster than he could react, as fast as any lightning bolt. He didn't feel it at first, only saw it. The scene was still playing out, he was still outside his body.

The tail struck the cauldrons, the metal crashing, and then the crocodile vanished, burnt away by the sword of light before it could smash Ace and Deuce. Trey shielded his eyes at the light that overtook the field.

Then the pain hit. He wasn't looking from outside his body anymore. He felt it, the magic of the sword frying his entire body, burning him from the inside. A sword meant for killing fae.

You know, part of protecting Malleus will involve protecting others," Master Lilia said. "Don't forget to protect each other. Look out for each other."

The lightning stopped. His whole body felt like lead, and Sebek crumpled onto the scorched grass as the sword's light vanished.

When it cleared, the sky was quiet and empty. The crocodile—the blot—was gone.

Across the field, he heard shouting. Ace or Deuce. He fought to keep his eyes open, to see.

Silver's eyes rolled back, and he fell.

Stupid Silver. Falling asleep again.

Right?

Sebek closed his eyes, tears welling in the corners. The pain was worse than he could have imagined. The memories he had been wrapped up in, the magic of the blot—he had almost been trapped there.

"Silver," he tried to call, but his voice came out a weak rasp.

What had he done?