Rhea had attended normal, private schools throughout elementary and secondary. She had the chance to form connections, own lockers, and experience eating with hundreds of people, in cafeterias.

Me? I was homeschooled.

Growing up, my parents had to hire many strict teachers for my upbringing. I didn’t have normal classes like the ones I secretly saw in cheesy movies.

What I was disciplined with were Mathematics, Combat, History of Sorcerers, Spells and Potions, Politics, Poison, Mind Control and of course, everything else related to my magical abilities.

A grand portion of my knowledge had come from the thousands of books that decorated my house’s library.

With nothing else to do, I’d spent most of my time reading. It took me about six years to go through all the books in the mansion, and I had been very proud of myself for knowing the answers to basically everything about my clan.

However, no book in this world prepared me for what Tony had to say. Nothing prepared me for the truth.

“Vodou?” I asked, with a twinge of interest, “What is that?”

“Vodou is one of the many supernatural forces that exist in this world,” he said.

I stared at him.

He sighed, “You truly are an ignoramus of the outside world, aren’t you?”

“If you grew up isolated from modern society, you would also found yourself unaware of many things,” I said defensively.

Tony blinked, unimpressed. “That’s not an excuse. The Internet is there for a reason.”

“Not everyone likes to spend their days Googling the unknown!”

“You must know at least something,” he insisted, “For someone of your kind and standing, it’s impossible to be completely dunce.”

“In the history books, it says that sorcerers have been around since early civilization. Although, the race is nearly extinct today,” I said confidently, “Aura is what triggers the abilities of a sorcerer, and each of them have a unique one. The amount of aura one possesses also creates a power-level between higher and lower ranked sorcerers.”

Tony nodded, “You’re right...”

I smirked, assertive.

The books had served me well.

“...But wrong at the same time,” he added.

My smirk went astray.

The books had not served me well.

Tony crossed his legs, taking an air of authority. “Let me give you a real history lesson. A commentary about the origins of magic.”

I clicked my tongue against the surface of my mouth, annoyed.

His words sounded more like an order than a suggestion, but I was now fully aware of what he could do if I launched an attack on him. I was not too keen on discovering what other tricks he had up his sleeves.

Seeing as I had no other choice, I made myself comfortable and listened.

“For your information, sorcerers are not dying out,” he began “As a matter of fact, while I’m speaking, the population is growing.”

Huh? What the hell?

I’d heard a completely different version. I opened my mouth to retort, but one look at his grim face convinced me not to try and interrupt his narration.

“Sorcerers are not on the brink of extinction because they are also human. The fact that you can manipulate elements that most do not see as normal, is the only thing that separates you from them. The only thing that gives you the right to call yourself a sorcerer.”

“I am but a plain mortal. Just like you. Just like everybody else. Hence, we are not nearly extinct. The other ones just don’t possess the amount of aura it would take to cross the line between mystic and reality. The only difference between us is that we are conscious of the supernatural forces around us, whereas they are not.”

“Every living creature has aura within their souls, the true force that ignites their inner flames. Many go through their lives not knowing about it. Never graduating from regular human to sorcerer. Others, like your clan and mine, have sharpened their senses, and that’s about as high as we can go.”

“The amount of aura in a person decides whether or not they will awaken to their essence. Some people performed miracles without knowing that it had something to do with the mysteries of the world. Without knowing that they were what we would refer to as ‘magic.’”

“That’s what makes the world intriguing: the fantasy is within you. Either you are born part of the other world, the one who holds those that are able to manipulate magic, or you are not.”

“Once in a blue moon, you will come across people like Damian and Daphne. Those who appear to possess no supernatural abilities, but who are capable of seeing a person’s aura clearly, once it is activated for the use of their magic.”

I did not want to admit it, but it never sparked me as strange for Damian and Daphne to know of our world, while living in theirs. The thought of them being the rarest of the rare, standing directly in middle of ordinary and extraordinary, never crossed my mind.

“I am a sorcerer, though I am also many other things,” Tony continued, “I am a servant of the loa, follower of the spirits. In exchange for protection and tremendous power, my family and I perform rituals, body possessions, dances and other ceremonies.”

“We honor our spirits, though I believe in only one greater God. He is unreachable, as He does not interfere with our lives, so we turn to the lower deities for help: the loa.”

“Vodou is a religion, a practice in my culture. However, you must remember that it is only a small fraction of the infinite equation that sums up the obscurities of Earth.”

“Sometimes, our dreams tell us what we need to know, since it’s all part of our unconscious. I have known Damian and Nicolas since the first day of fifth grade, but I had dreamed about meeting them five months prior.”

Dreams? A dream had informed Tony about his future friends?

...The fuck?

“Furthermore, my mom is a mambo, a Vodou priestess. She was the one who told me I would find you under the bridge. She had a dream about your appearance, Jude.”

He paused for a split second, putting as much emphasis on the word “dream,” as possible.

“Mom knows about your being innocent from the murder. Rarely have her visions deceived her. The loa tell her what she needs to know. They show her what she needs to see. They brought you to us for a reason, Jude…”

My stomach gargled from hunger, though I assumed now was not an appropriate time to demand for food.

“Anyways, the entire world itself is an enchantment. Choose to believe in its divine forces, and you might find yourself ostracized by a society who has deemed any type of magic to be just that: an unreachable fantasy.”

After info-dumping me for what seemed like years, Tony finally stopped. There was absolutely no way to describe how I was feeling right now. Knowing that there was more to the world than what I had been accustomed to, was hard to take in.

The truth did not set me free. It only tightened the chains around my head.

Gave me the biggest fucking migraine in the history of humankind.

“Does Nicolas know about all this? About your origins?” I demanded.

“No,” he replied without hesitating, “It's not wise to voice out your identity to regular people. Besides, the only reason why I had freaked out on you earlier, was because I needed to get him away from here, so that I could speak to you alone. No offense, but he is the last person I would reveal my true self to.”

“Except you told me,” I said quietly, “You told me about yourself.”

Tony paused. A bleak blanket of silence descended upon the room.

“Why?” I finally said, “Why me?”

“Because…” Tony answered, appearing to search for the right words, “Because we may not possess the same beliefs, we may not be protected by the same spirits, we may not even share the same worldviews and titles, but at the end of the day, you and I are the same. Minorities in a world seen as ordinary.”

That made no fucking sense whatsoever. A bullshit explanation.

So, then why was I shaking with excitement as his words poured out like honey? Seeping out of a broken jar?

“For all you know, I could expose your roots to my clan,” I said, not ready to admit that this really was my much-desired epiphany, “You could be killed if they found out about your superior power.”

Tony did even appear fazed. “You will do no such thing because I will be needed to get Damian back.”

Good answer. Excellent reply.

“Basically, you’re saying you will team up with me?” I asked.

Hope. I had not felt that in ages. It was such a ravishing perception.

“Don’t get me wrong: I still don’t like you,” Tony said, “You’ve hurt and humiliated my best friend in front of the school, and messed up with every student’s mind. You are one messed up boy. I am only agreeing to help you because she personally asked me to.”

“She?” I asked, “Who’s she?”

“Me,” a voice abruptly responded from behind, scaring the shit out of me.

My heart almost leapt out of my chest.

Slowly, I turned back.

There, with her long, ombre blue braids, pulled back into a high ponytail, and her arrogant scowl, stood Noelle Beilani.