“Malikai Rhynes?”

At the sudden mention of my full name from an unknown voice, I looked up and saw a white-haired guy looking at me with a stoic face. Must be an Elecon official, I didn’t know anyone else who would know my full name without me knowing.

Zira, my best friend, seemed to think the same thing. “What’d you do this time?” He sounded annoyed but I could here the smirk in the bitch’s voice.

“Nothing,” I said with a scowl, muttering afterwards to myself, “… at least I think nothing.”

Leaning my head against the chain of the swing I was sitting on, I stared back at the guy, who still had his red eyes on me, who can keep their face that blank that long? After almost a minute the freak turned to look at Zira; I couldn’t even tell what he was thinking.

“Zireno Emerson.”

I immediately found myself relaxing, Zira immediately coming to a stop to my left. If they were here for him too I doubt it was any trouble. “I know what your thinking and I seriously hope you’re right, Mika, because I hate being pulled into your shit.”

“Puh-lease, you’re the one who pulls me into shit with your sucky fighting skills. Besides, as if anyone would tell off the beloved Emerson prodigy.”

It was true, not many people had the guts to say shit to Zira seriously unless they had no respect for the stupid delinquent and his princely act. Which really only left me and his mother, a highly renowned priestess from the Emerson bloodline. We were also the only people who seriously knew just how rotten his personality really was.

Zira just shrugged at me as he started to swing again, not even denying any of it. Bitch.

The Elecon official just stood there as if he had to wait for an answer. I mean most of the Elecon knew my face and most of the mage community knew Zira’s. I suppose most of downtown also knew about how me and him made a weird genius/delinquent duo.

Zira being not only the heir of the Emerson bloodline but also a prodigy within his family of elite mages and a complete genius on top of that, he was really well known. For me it was more how I had a tendency to lose control on my magic, which I can’t even use properly, and how I get into fights… a lot.

So we were both really well known, but one for all the good reasons and one for all the bad.

“Xerxes! Don’t just stand there and wait for them to confirm their identities, who else would they be? Hurry up and explain the situation.”

That voice… you have got to be kidding me.

I looked over in the direction of the voice and saw a guy leaning against the rusty old climbing frame, his lame fedora hiding his face. A few locks of fiery green-blue curls could be seen peeking out. My luck was way too bad. Seriously, what happened to never coming back?

“Kill me now please,” I let out with a massive sigh, leaning my head back. Holding onto the chain properly, I leant back even further, my swing starting to rock a little on its own.

I could feel Zira looking at me. “You know what’s going on now?” I just let out a groan in reply. “Mika! I’m the one who’s going to be in trouble if we get into more shit.” Pussy was scared of a little lecture from his mother? I mean she was scary and hated me but most of the time he deserved it.

“Shut up, prep boy. What’s the most she’ll do to you, curse you? Besides, I got bigger problems than you.”

“You are a shit best friend.”

Rolling my eyes as I finally pulled myself straight again, feeling a little dizzy with the blood rushing to my head. “Geh, I save your ass more times than I mean to.”

I glared at the idiot who had pushed himself off the climbing frame, coming towards me with a smirk. Reaching down, I picked up the beer can and tipped what was left down my throat before looking at him.

Oh wait, Zira was drinking too right? He actually would get in trouble if caught. I flickered my eyes over and see the can was nowhere in sight, damned mages. With the trouble averted, I return my focus back to the smirking idiot.

“Come on, Mika. I can’t piss you of that much. We are blood.”

I concentrated on the can in my hand and managed to use my magic to crush it. “Wanna bet, Lex?” With that I shot the can off in his direction, immediately knowing I put to much magic into the stupid object. My limited control slipped and the hurtling can set on fire, too fast for him to think of stopping it.

“Extinguo!”

The white-haired freak, Xerxes was it, immediately put the flame out. He had gotten himself a pretty decent magic partner then, in the last few years I had never really paid attention thinking he was exaggerating but maybe not.

“Stars! You’re actually getting worse, huh? That takes serious skill.” Lex rubbed his arm where the can had hit, probably numbing the area. I dismissed his comment. His fedora had fallen off and I could see that despite getting hurt, he was enjoying winding me up.

“Why’re you here? It’s only been, what, 6 months since you ran off. I thought you said you were never showing your face again.” His face instantly dropped into a scowl as he picked up the stupid hat. Hah, he was embarrassed at me mentioning that in front of other people.

“Shut up, you know I can’t spend that much time away from Con. Besides, something happened at the reading this week and they are summoning kids.”

“You have been ignoring all contact since you left. So seriously, why’re you here?”

“Fine, Calamov tricked me into coming because it had been too long for me and Con. But seriously, there is a summoning and the Elder said it would be easier for me to get you since Enoxion need to be there too.”

Ugh, a summoning? Really? This sucks ass. “There goes what’s left of our summer. I only got 2 days of freedom too.” I had spent the last 6 weeks in summer school so I wouldn’t be held back a grade, now that I had to deal with Elecon shit meant I wasn’t gonna get a break at all this time.

I realised Zira hadn’t answered me and turned to see him looking at me in shock. “Y-you attacked an Enoxion, the leader of the Enoxion!”

“Geh, no big deal.” Damn, I forgot the whole reason I never told him my last name. He was too much of a magic freak, if he knew I was a Rhynes I would have never gotten a moment of silence again. All I would hear is Lexicon this and Enoxion that.

“B-but…!”

“Seriously, such a magic dork. I told you there was a reason the Elecon were so lenient with me, Lexicon happen to be that reason, unfortunately.” Lex got a drift of what was going on and came over to me, shuffling my black hair.

“You actually got away without telling him? That’s golden.” I swatted Lex’s hand away and scowled as he went over to my best friend, hand stretched out. “We’ve never met properly, partly due to this one. Lexis Rhynes, his older brother.”

Zira fell off the swing.