"You're in over your head."

"Oh really," Stephen said, frowning at Wong as he sat down in a chair beside the fireplace, the flames dancing merrily on the logs. After she had finished her tea, Casey had gone off to work on some homework, and Wong had decided to stick around, haunting him and apparently waiting to launch into a scolding. At least he held off until it was late, and Casey was most likely asleep. Maybe. Teenagers kept weird hours. Plus, it wasn't like he had given her a bedtime, though he had started to give her A Look any time he caught her up past midnight on a school night.

Wong settled back and pointed at the other armchair. "And you're keeping things from her."

Stephen rubbed at one eye, purposefully looking away from Wong and gesturing at the fire. The flames rose, and a spell rolled out around them from the fireplace, taking the warm golden color and pushing outward. The runes for silence were threaded through the twists and turns of the incantation, ensuring that Casey wouldn't overhear anything in case this was one of her late nights. He shot Wong another frown, deeper this time, before sitting down in the chair. "For her own good."

"I've heard that goes over really well with kids, the 'for your own good' explanation," Wong said in a deadpan tone. "Have you even mentioned her own summer plans to her?"

"We agreed to ease her into that."

"You and I agreed to that, but you said you wouldn't put it off too long."

"I'm going to." There just hadn't been a good time. How did you tell a kid that you were going to completely uproot them and send them to a small but very safe school for young sorcerers on a tiny island that most people had only heard about in fairy tales? In fact, not many people in their own group even knew about it. Most of the kids there were in a similar situation to Casey; they had lost a sorcerer parent or parents, and now they needed to be kept safe or somewhere to stay.

He and Wong had come up with that plan when he and Casey had visited Kamar-Taj. Taking Casey and throwing her in with the rest of the students when she had just lost her grandfather and her home hadn't sat well with Stephen, but he wasn't exactly real guardian material. He didn't know what he was doing. He couldn't do this long term. Allowing her to finish out the school year at her own school and then moving her to Avalon seemed like the best choice. She could have a semi-normal life in New York for a few more months, learn some of the basics of the mystic arts, and then switch to the school at Avalon. It would be good for her. At Avalon, there would be people who actually knew how to train and raise a kid.

And he was getting around to telling her all of that.

"If you put it off for too long, you might get attached," Wong said, "And we both know you'd hate that. You don't even like kids."

"I don't think kids are awful," Stephen said defensively, lifting his left ankle onto his right knee. "They're just messy. And confusing. And hard to understand."

"Casey seems very straightforward," Wong said. He lifted a hand and made a gesture with his pointer finger and pinky finger. In turn, the fire rose and danced on the logs, making geometric shapes. He always had liked a nice fire.

"Almost always." Stephen's forehead wrinkled. "Her fighting style reflects it. She's only offense. No defense. I can't get her to change, no matter what I throw at her, and trust me, I've thrown everything besides the kitchen sink at her. It's next on the list." He huffed. "Did I tell you she tried to kick me one time?"

"I bet you deserved it."

"That's debatable," Stephen said.

Wong's finger twitches sent the geometric shapes rolling in circles around the logs. "Avalon isn't the only thing you're hiding from her."

"Mmm." Pressing his shoulder blades back into the cushioned back of the chair, he glanced at Wong out of the corner of his eyes. "Like I said, it's for her own good."

"And you're not telling me for the same reason?"

"Yeah, sure, it's for your own good. How's that."

Wong's silence rolled toward him, followed by a blank expression that was borderline judgy. Or maybe it was just plain judgy and he was trying to convince himself it wasn't.

"I didn't want to scare her. Or upset her." Stephen turned his attention back to the fireplace. Never in a million years would he have pictured himself here in this moment. Doctor Stephen Strange, master of the mystic arts, friend of a grouchy magic librarian, guardian of a headstrong knife-happy kid. Not Doctor Stephen Strange, neurosurgeon extraordinaire, wealthy genius. The universe must've really had a fun day when it worked out his fate.

"The spell her family created," he continued, resting an elbow on the plush arm of his chair. "It was blood magic. And that thing we call Arpath is older and stronger than I realized at first."

The silence became tense. Wong's scowl burned into him. "Blood magic."

"Yeah." He squeezed the bridge of his nose. "But I'm going to handle it."

"Maybe you should start with explaining who this Arpath really is," Wong said. In the fireplace, the shapes calmed down, turning into a rolling, soothing pattern.

"I'm eighty-five percent sure that he was behind Pompeii or at least involved," Stephen said darkly, "Not to mention quite a few other eruptions throughout history, from what I can tell. The names they called him by are different, but the descriptions of what was sighted right before the eruptions, that's the same." He had spent hours combing through books to find out more about Arpath, which had led him to older and older texts. And learning what the Kinmonts had done.

"They must have known. The first Kinmonts to deal with him."

"That he was a massive force of destruction? Yes."

"And they thought blood magic was the way to handle it." Wong sounded frustrated and disapproving.

Stephen shrugged. "We all make stupid mistakes. Maybe he was threatening to burn down the entire place. Cause an extinct Irish volcano to become less extinct."

"Casey will be the one who pays for that mistake," Wong said darkly, his normally grumpy expression settling into an even deeper grimace. "Her parents…"

"Blood magic always carries a heavy price." A spell that was created with blood, no matter how little, was almost always cursed. He should have realized that it was a blood magic when the spell required someone from her family to cast it, but it was such a rare way to craft a spell, especially in current times. It was a completely off-limits magic nowadays, but he supposed that Casey's ancestors hadn't been as discerning. Or maybe they didn't know.

In any case, blood magic was extremely powerful, and once it was cast, anyone from with blood from that bloodline could cast that spell without having to spill blood again. Technically. However, the curse that was always tacked on to a blood spell was that the caster would die within a few years of casting it. Five tops, in most cases. Hence her father's death, and her mother's was probably because she had helped with the spell and married into the family. That, or it was unhappy coincidence.

"We'll need to come up with another way to banish him," Wong said.

"I know," Stephen said, "That's what I'm working on. Luckily we might have a couple years to figure it out, three tops. Her grandfather did sacrifice himself, so even though he didn't use the standard spell…"

"The sacrifice should hold," Wong finished. "When are you going to tell her about this?"

"Once I've fixed it."

"I'll help with this." Wong nodded. "For her."

"Well, I was planning on dragging you into it anyways."

"I don't need to be dragged."

"Makes it a lot easier then."

"And about Avalon?"

Stephen sighed. "Soon, okay? She's not too much of a bother, and I don't want to upend her entire world again just yet. She's still grieving." Not that a few months would really change that, but time would help. He wanted to give her more of that, more time, before he sprung the whole 'sending you to boarding school' thing on her.

"I could bring students from Avalon to Kamar-Taj for training to meet her," Wong said, "That may make the transition easier, if she already knows people."

Stephen shook his head. "Not until I tell her. Otherwise she'll figure it out on her own." And hate me forever. Which shouldn't have mattered, but some reason he did care about the kid's opinion. She was a decent student, and her stubbornness sometimes reminded him of himself. Of course, he wasn't nearly as bullheaded as she was, but her determination and drive these days did seem similar to his own.

Wong made a mildly displeased noise, like he didn't think Stephen would actually tell her. Ye of little faith. "In other news," the librarian grumbled, "People are starting to talk about who should become the next Sorcerer Supreme."

"Are they?" Stephen asked in an airy tone, as if it didn't matter. As the only person who was able and willing to wield the Eye, he assumed that the title would go to him eventually. Yes, he supposed there were older masters of the mystic arts, but he did have that one essential skill that no one else had. Not to mention his ever-growing repertoire of spells and insatiable need to learn and understand more. But he didn't want to seem too eager, so he could wait until everyone else realized what seemed rather inevitable to him.

"It won't be a quick decision," Wong said, "And it wouldn't be an easy job."

"Of course not," Stephen said, "It should go to someone who is capable—"

"Experienced—"

"With saving the world—"

"With the wisdom to wield the mystic arts with good judgment."

Stephen steepled his fingers together. "Are you saying I'm not wise?"

Wong almost smirked. "Are you saying you want the job?"

"I wouldn't be averse to it," Stephen said, giving a shrug like it didn't really matter to him. "I am very good at this, after all." He waved one hand around to indicate the Sanctum Sanctorum and, you know, magic in general.

"And you think you're better than people who've been honing their skills for literal decades?"

Stephen kept his mouth shut, deciding to show exactly how wise he was, though he could counter Wong's point with the fact that ability sometimes overcame experience.

"In any case, the Eye of Agamotto does need someone as its official keeper," Wong continued, his gaze trained on the fire. "And the reluctant decision was made to give it to you, at least until a new Sorcerer Supreme is chosen."

Stephen couldn't quite crush his smile. While he understood that the Eye was a massive responsibility and the entire order was dedicated to keeping it safe, he felt he was more than up to the task. Besides, he was the only one willing to use it. Well, besides people who had, hmm, nefarious intent, but really, that was dramatic. He could keep it, study it, and maybe learn more about the Infinity Stones. Perhaps it could even help him with Casey's problem.

"You're not allowed to use it unless this planet, or our reality, is in danger," Wong said. He must have guessed what Stephen was thinking.

"I'll use my best judgment about it," Stephen said with a smirk.

Wong frowned. "That doesn't make me feel better."

"You know I'm not going to do anything stupid with it."

"No. No, I don't know that."

"Then why are you giving it to me?"

"Because while you're overconfident, I do think you'll make the right choice in the end. I hope," Wong said. "And it wasn't just my decision."

Stephen's train of thought switched tracks as he connected a few dots. "Does giving me the Eye and the search for a new Sorcerer Supreme have anything to do with our Jonathan Pangborn problem?"

"A little," Wong said, "It's important to make sure everyone is equipped to deal with any and all potential threats, and you do protect a Sanctum now."

Stephen tilted his head to the side and glanced at Wong out of the corner of his eye. "Do you think someone's coming after me?" If it wasn't safe here—

"Not any more so than usual," Wong said, "If I thought you were specifically being targeted, I would be taking Casey to Avalon immediately."

"I wouldn't blame you. I'd send her there myself." Stephen made a face. "Hey, what do you mean, more so than usual?"

Wong made a noise that might've been a wry laugh coming from anyone else. "We protect this reality from an entire Multiverse of potential death and disaster. The usual."

"Maybe I'll wait to mention that to Casey, too."