Third Spell: The Masked Man

"Hide from you?" Tombo blinked, looking up at the masked man in confusion. "I don't even know who you are!"

"Don't lie to me, boy!" the masked man snapped. "You've seen me in your dreams, and know me from your birth."

"My…birth? What are you talking about?"

"Enough stalling!" The masked man waved his pointer finger toward himself. "It's time to come home, Hebi."

Suddenly, Tombo collapsed from the immense pain in his chest. He heard Daichi calling him, but a ringing sound in his ears drowned all the sound out. The last thing he saw was the masked man reaching toward him before passing out. When he woke up, he was greeted by the face of a man with tied-up brown hair wearing a crimson robe.

"Uncle Higa," Tombo muttered.

"Yeah, it's me," the brown-haired man said, lifting Tombo up to a sitting position from the ground he fell onto.

"When did you get here?"

"Just now."

Remembering what had happened, Tombo looked around. Apart from the charred home, neither the masked man nor Daichi were around.

"There was a masked man. He came out of the house, said something to me, then I collapsed. Where's Daichi?"

Higa's brow furrowed. "I intercepted the masked man just as he was about to pick you up, but then he grabbed Daichi and disappeared."

"Disappeared? Like in a puff of smoke?"

"You saw him do that?"

"It's how he got from the house to me and Daichi." Tombo forced himself up. "We have to go after him!"

"And do what?" Higa held Tombo back.

"Rescue Daichi! Who knows what that creep will do to her!"

"There's nothing we can do about it."

"No way!" Releasing himself from Higa's grip, Tombo stormed off. "I'm going after that guy with or without you."

Sighing, Higa lifted his katana slightly from the scabbard which was hidden under an extra fold of his robe. "Karatíng!"

Frozen in place, Tombo's body moved on its own heading backwards instead of forwards. As Tombo reluctantly faced Higa, his uncle let the katana fall back into the scabbard.

"How did you do that?" Tombo demanded.

"With magic," Higa responded.

Before Tombo could respond, the air was blaring with sirens.

"Manai police," Higa grumbled. "Come with me."

Grabbing Tombo by the arm, Higa held him close as he gripped the hilt of the katana tightly. The two dissolved into a collection of small droplets that drifted on the wind and then reformed into themselves again under a bridge next to the Kamo River.


"So let me get this straight," Tombo said after Higa finished talking. "You're not my uncle, and my parents aren't even related to me?"

"That's right," Higa nodded.

"And magic is real, which is how I did those things at the zoo."

"Right, because you're a wizard."

"I thought wizards only existed in European stories. There can't be wizards in Japan!"

"No, there are. They used to be called onmyōji. You've heard of those, haven't you?"

"Yeah, but again, I didn't think they were real."

"Well, they are, and they're everywhere in Japan. Most of them are good, but some do go bad."

"Like that masked guy who attacked me and Daichi?"

"He's one of the worst ones this country has seen in a long time. No one knows his real name, but he's known by many as…Warumo."

Feeling a sudden chill in the air, Tombo shivered. "What did he want with me?"

"Many years ago, your birth mother Kiku Tago, a witch, fell in love with one of Warumo's followers Taka Ryuji," Higa explained. "Of course, she didn't know this when she married him. But she found out not long after she gave birth to you that Taka was going to give you to Warumo for some kind of evil purpose he had. So she fled, and gave up her life to protect you before I found you and gave you to the Dendes."

"Okay, so if I'm actually a wizard how come I didn't show any signs of magic until recently?"

Higa pointed to Tombo's chest. "That birthmark of yours is actually a seal your mother made to repress your magical powers, which would've allowed you to live a normal life among Manai."

"Manai? You keep saying that word, but I don't know what it means."

"It's what we Japanese wizards call non-magical people. There are other similar terms around the world, like Muggles and No-Maj."

"But if you're a wizard, then why were my adoptive parents Manai? They were your brother and sister-in-law, right?"

"Uenō was actually my cousin, not my brother. He was part of a branch family to the Higa clan, which I'm descended from. But while the Higas retained the strong magic in their bloodline, the Dendes gradually lost theirs overtime."

"And Papurika?"

"She was Manai from the start."

"Can wizards come from non-magical families?"

"Yes, it can happen, which is why these people are called Manai-born."

"Did the Dendes know I was magical?"

"They did, and that's why they asked me to come to the house today."

"Is that why they sent me and Daichi to the park?"

"Exactly, and I was supposed to give you this." Reaching into his robe, Higa took out a vertical envelope and handed it to Tombo.

While the envelope was made of plain-looking paper, the ink stamp on the back was very unusual as it depicted a circle with four corners depicting a tiger, a songbird, a tortoise, and a dragon. Tombo hesitated before opening the envelope, which held a folded-up letter inside.

Dear Haru Ryuji,

We understand that you've been living with a Manai family under the alias Tombo Dende. But following your recent magical display, we would like to extend an invitation for you to join the Mahoutokoro School of Magic. All your required supplies are on the list attached to the back of this letter, while some are provided by the school.

Now normally, our students start attending Mahoutokoro at age seven when their magical powers usually appear. But since your magic powers developed late, you will have to take remedial classes your first semester. You will also have to board at the school, which all eleven year-olds are required to do, and not have to take a storm petrel to school every day like the younger students. So be sure to pack accordingly.

We expect a response from your crow no later than a week before the Spring Semester starts April 1st.

Sincerely,

Maruhi Midorime

Secretary to Headmistress Dōmeki

To be continued…