Another chapter is up! (I have about three chapters already made...) This is a long story, so be patient. They will meet eventually.

Chapter 2: Popping the Bubble

That morning, I ran out to the beach, just a half mile away from our ranch house in Texas. It was still part of our vast property, but it was the one place I felt free. Free of school, free of my foster parents, free of my annoying sister Monica, and free of everything in this stupid world that hated me.

Lately, it seemed as if the whole world was against me. My darn ADHD made it impossible to get anything done in my mom's home schooling, which I'm sure she resents me for. Monica, the stuck up little 13 year old brat, claims that she is better than I am, at both school and magic, which unfortunately may be true.

My dad has been training us in the art of Egyptian magic since we were little. Monica was amazing; a true magic prodigy. I, on the other hand, lack the "focus and concentration" and can only manage to destroy stuff and dump water on people. Even though I can successful execute the "maw" spell, my dad claims I'm not doing it right because I cause salt water to appear instead of fresh water.

Monica is a lot better at spells, and I believe my parents like her way more than me. Of course, it's not surprising, seeing that she is their own flesh and blood, and I'm just adopted, which is really obvious seeing that they all have blond hair, pale skin, and blue eyes, and I have black hair, blue-green eyes, and a darker completion.

I looked out at the sea, wishing that there was no barrier to keep me from jumping in. My parents had put every known protection spell on this place, this whole little town, virtually creating a stupid impenetrable bubble.

However, I did find a stray bronze armband on the beach one time. I ran my fingers down its smooth surface that snaked around my left arm. Surprisingly, it fit perfectly. I never even bothered to take it off.

"Cal-lie!"

Speaking of the brat…

"CAL-LIE!" Monica screamed again.

Reluctantly, I left my spot on the beach and trudged towards the house. Monica stood there, with her arms crossed over her chest and her perfect, straight blond hair fell over her shoulders. Her bright blue eyes tried to penetrate me, which must have been hard seeing that she had to look up at me, being a full seven inches taller than her.

"You're late," she huffed. I glanced at my watch; it was 3:02. Magic training was scheduled at 3:00.

"Oh no! I'm a full two minutes late!" I exclaimed sarcastically, "How could I leave you waiting for that long?"

She scowled at me, flipped her golden hair back dramatically, and stomped towards the arena in which Dad attempts to teach us magic.

Dad stood in the middle of the arena in his traditional linen robes. He firmly gripped his ivory wand in one hand and a long, slender staff in the other. His clean cut, dirty blond hair and beard subtly reflected the afternoon sun. My adoptive family was rather short, so I was able to look him directly in the eye, even having to look down a bit.

He cleared his throat. "Today, children, we'll be practicing binding the elemental magic of the gods."

Here we go again. My parents were incredibly stubborn and old-fashioned, and seemed to refuse the fact that following the path of the gods was now legal. They still wanted to practice being able to destroy godly magic. I however found it easier to follow the path of gods…

"First…" he began, but I interrupted him.

"You know, we could be learning the path of the gods, instead of how to prohibit it," I suggested for the billionth time.

"For the last time!" my father retorted, "No child of mine in following those imbeciles."

"Yeah," Monica echoed, "Only idiots follow those idiot gods." She laughed at her own, totally not funny, joke.

"Well, I'm not even your daughter. You only adopted me after my parents died. Why would you even care if I left! It's not like any of you enjoy me being in this stupid place!"

My dad winced at my harshness, but then he seemed to consider it. "Excuse me, while I go consult with your mother," he finally said as he strode into the house.

Monica was still too busy snickering about her previous Callie-is-an-idiot joke, so I simply walked past her after my dad without her commenting. Mom and Dad were having a heated discussion in the living room; I could tell by all of the gestures. Parking myself outside the window, I leaned against the side of the house so I could hear them.

"…always been against the gods. How could you possibly allow one of our children to follow such a path?" my mom argued.

"She's not our daughter!" he snapped. My mom grimaced a little, but didn't really object. None of this surprised me though. "If she did follow the path of the gods," he continued, "that would leave us with more time to spend with Monica."

"But the Chief Lector entrusted her in our care, wouldn't we be breaking our vow to send her off into the dangers of the twenty-first Nome?" my mom brought up, gesturing wildly with her arms.

My dad looked solemn for a minute, and then his face twisted into slight bitterness. "Iskandar is dead. That idiot Amos is Chief Lector now; he doesn't even know of the child placement program, where he took the non-Egyptian children and blessed them with the opportunity to live a traditional life. Now those poor kids are rotting away in modern society! Amos wouldn't ever know that Callie was entrusted to us."

This shocked me. I didn't know that I my parents were forced to take me in by the House of Life or that I wasn't even of Egyptian blood. I always knew I was adopted, but now that I knew this I wondered more than ever about the identity of my parents; if they are still alive.

I glanced in and saw that their discussion was coming to an end. Quickly, I scooted away from the house so they wouldn't know I was eavesdropping. I leaned against a tree as casually as I could to make it appear like I was standing there the entire time. My parents both exited through the back door and came towards me.

"Callie," my mom started hesitantly, "you're sixteen now, and you can start making your own decisions. We know you are unhappy with your training here and would like to go…another direction, but just remember that we will always love you and…" She didn't seem anxious to make her point, constantly pausing and forcing her words out like it was almost painful.

"You can go to the Brooklyn House to follow the path of the gods," my dad impatiently blurted out.

Of course, I had already heard their conservation, but I couldn't let on that I had. I put on my most surprised expression and awkwardly hugged my mom. (Hugging is not something I do regularly.)

"Go pack your bags and we'll take you to the airport," my dad continued.

So I ran into the house and threw all of my possessions (there were not that many) into a suitcase. We drove down our long driveway and through the town that I grew up in.

When we reached the edge of the town's boundaries, my dad stepped outside and pulled out his wand. The town was made of retired magicians, so there was nothing unusual about the sight. He tapped what seemed to be thin air, and a shimmering wall appeared. You can barely see through to the other side, but the force field made everything too distorted to make out anything.

He spoke a few words a hole wavered into existence. We drove through it and entered the outside world. A chill crept up my spine, like now that I was outside of the protection field; I became a target of something in the shadows. I tried to tell myself that it was just paranoia, but the feeling never left.

However, I dismissed it and focused on the fact that I was headed towards my new life, a life that I could control.

Hoped you like the official start. The next chapter should be up in a few minutes... While you wait, review!