Hayden took him through narrow alleys that turned darker and filthier the more they walked farther into them. There was a moment when Theo could not help but cover his nose with his sweatshirt because of the stinking scent of those inhospitable corners. The walls of the buildings they walked by were covered with a layer of dirt and other indecipherable substances. From time to time, fluorescent blue lights illuminated the road as they reflected momentarily in the puddles of water.

Hayden stopped in his tracks and looked out at the turn of the alley. Theo positioned himself behind him, dodging some broken glass on the floor. The din of civilization could be heard, and Theo didn't know whether to be relieved or alarmed. He wanted to get out of there before the vomitive smell stuck to him. He waited expectantly for the wizard to turn around, to give him some signal to continue his walk, at best, away from the trash and the stench. And when he did, when those light brown eyes, darkened by the lack of light and the blackness of the night, rested on him, Theo held his breath. He was only able to hear his own palpitations. Hayden narrowed his eyes amused as soon as he saw him.

"Was it really necessary?" he whispered, smiling with his eyes, after seeing how the boy had put on the hood of his sweatshirt so that, by tightening it with the elastic, only a part of his face would be exposed, covering his nose in the process. "You look ridiculous.”

"Desperate times require desperate measures," Theo counterattacked, coming out of his trance. "So, what's going on, why are we stopping?”

Before answering him, Hayden approached him to loosen the hood and remove it from his head. At first, Theo jumped out of pure instinct, and then contemplated the other's calm and slow movements. When he finished, Hayden looked back at him with great intensity.

"From now on we have to be extremely careful," he whispered firmly. "So don't leave my side.”

Theo nodded intimidated. They turned around into the last alley and went out to a wide street. To their left, a low bridge stood between two buildings, and it was almost impossible to decipher what lay beneath it in the dark. The few lights that illuminated the streets did it poorly, accompanied by the LED lights of some of the stores that were still open.

Not far from where they were, a man leaning against the wall of one of the shops they were leaving behind put out the cigarette he was smoking and threw it on the floor just as Theo decided to take his eyes off him. Theo couldn't tell if the reason he was shaking at the time was that the wind was freezing him or if it was because of the unpleasant feeling that turned his stomach upside down.

The man, after blowing out the last cigarette smoke, began to walk in the same direction as them. Theo knew that as soon as he heard the footsteps dragging heavily behind them. He looked up at Hayden, who glanced over his shoulder at the man walking a few steps back.

A few blocks away, a large avenue could be seen, standing out by the brightness of the lighting and by the lights emitted from the skyscrapers that surrounded it. Hayden took his hand and speeded up the pace to reach the intersection with the main street. They went through the turmoil of people without even looking back until they came across what appeared to be an entrance to a train station. Theo deduced so as he read at the top of the building "Lumicht Station". Upon entering, he was amazed at the size and beauty of the place, with a glass dome adorning the ceiling. They went up a wide marble staircase, following the vast majority of people that did so. They arrived at the station itself, and Hayden beckoned him to get on one of the trains that were about to leave, while he watched his surroundings.

"Is this even legal?" Theo asked himself without daring to say it out loud while entering the transport after making sure Hayden was behind him. They walked down the carpeted hallway and stopped in front of one of the many private compartments. Hayden passed a card through a device installed on the wall next to the wooden door, and the door almost immediately made a metallic sound indicating that the lock had been unlocked.

Inside the compartment, Theo sat in one of the long, velveted seats, while Hayden untied the knot that tied the curtains of the door window and unfolded them to cover it completely.

As soon as he had closed the door from the inside, he sat in front of him, resting his elbow on the armrest and holding his head with his hand as he closed his eyes; some strands of black hair intertwined between his fingers.

Several seconds passed without a word said, in the background, the wheels of the train could be heard squeaking incessantly against the railroad tracks. Theo took advantage of that time to observe through the window the city which they were passing by. Theo saw the lights of the buildings near him drifting away and becoming smaller. It didn't take long for him to realize that the railroad tracks were actually rising quite a few feet from the floor. Or were they miles? The rest of the tracks bordered a lake and the cliff that led to some waterfalls, where the urban constructions ended. Theo did not hesitate to take his body away from the window and turn his gaze to the ground, listening to his heart rumble in his ears.

The front seat cracked when Hayden stretched out. "Are you afraid of heights?" he said without an ounce of mockery in his voice, which even sounded hoarse.

"A bit," answered Theo, tilting his head.

"We can close the curtains if you want." He was about to do so when Theo raised his hand to prevent him from doing it.

"There's no need; it's not that bad," he smiled halfway. Hayden nodded but did not take his eyes off him.

"Are you sure you want to come along?" Hayden hesitated. He combed his hair with his hand. "We could take you to your brother, you know?"

As if he was going to hand over the necklace only to have it destroyed. 

"Isn't it a little late for that? You can take me with him once we're done," he said colder than he pretended. He folded his arms and looked out the window at the distant lights of the city.

He heard Hayden sigh. Theo spied on him from the corner of his eye. He had put his arm back on the armrest and his head was resting on the wall, staring out at the window. Now that Theo was looking at him carefully, Hayden didn't look so intimidating, at least that was the conclusion he had reached. Though Theo had the feeling that he could be if he wanted to. He remembered the first impression he had of Hayden in his apartment. While the conditions of his encounter had not been the best, he probably wouldn't have had a chance to stand up to those who invaded his apartment that day if it weren't for him. Especially knowing he wouldn't be dealing with human beings precisely. Who knows, maybe the book would have been enough to defend himself.

"Are you having fun?" The smiling grimace that had formed on Theo's face vanished. He averted his gaze from Hayden and focused his eyes on the window. And it was at that moment that he realized that Hayden had been observing him through the reflection on the glass. Now he was looking at him with a half-smile and an arched eyebrow on his face.

"I was thinking," Theo rashly said.

"Uh-huh.” He crossed his legs and turned towards him. Theo squinted his eyes, exhaling heavily. It was going to be a long journey.

"How long have you worked for the government?" He changed the subject abruptly. "You look young for, I don't know, being involved in something so important," he scratched his neck.

Hayden held his weight with his arm stretched out on the seat. He lifted the other and waved with his hand as he whispered something. His eyes turned red momentarily.

"A spell of isolation," said Hayden as he watched Theo examine the compartment restlessly. "Just in case they're listening to us."

Theo swallowed and nodded stunned.

"Your brother said the same thing to me," he lifted the left corner of his lips.

"You met him?" He frowned. 

"Well... our first meeting wasn't very pleasant," he said, wrinkling his nose slightly.

"What do you mean?"

Hayden remained quiet with no expression on his face.

"The first time I saw him was when I was doing my shift in... the garrison," he said calmly. "He was being admitted as a detainee for using a forbidden spell."

There was a silence.

"What?" He leaned forward pale. "Ethan?" He looked him in the eye without believing it completely. "What did he do?"

"They found him erasing the memory of one of our own." Hayden waited for his reply, which came quickly.

"Was he here when they took him? In Odsevia?"

"No... he was in your world," he began to say but stopped himself, as he had remembered something. "But Theo, it's fine, you don't have to worry. Madelyn's going to get him out of there, okay?" he said when he saw how nervous he was.

"Was my brother doing magic?" He kept talking anyway. "Are you sure about that?"

"Pretty sure."

"How long has he been in custody? Did he say why he did it?" The questions kept coming.

"He didn't say much, to tell you the truth, he barely spoke," said Hayden with unwavering patience, and hesitated before continuing. "He's been in seclusion for two weeks."

Theo reflected for a moment. He had too many mixed feelings. In the end, that was the reason Ethan had been missing. He felt betrayed. His brother had never told him anything about that universe, so unknown to him. How long has he been hiding this from him? And what about their parents? Were there more things he didn't know? Things that his mind couldn't even fabricate? He couldn't get out of his head that maybe his brother knew much more than he admitted knowing.

"Is he human?" Theo said with a trembling voice.

"I'm not sure," Hayden answered softly. "We couldn't find out so much, but," he fixed his gaze on him, "I've never heard of a human who could cast spells."

"So does that mean I'm not human either?" He felt the vibrations of the train under the palm of his hands resting on the seat.

"Let's not jump to conclusions, shall we?" He smiled tightly. "You'd better talk to your brother about this."

Theo did not answer; he was immersed in his thoughts. He thought of his necklace, of what happened in the Café, and with Madelyn.

"Didn't you say this necklace could be used for unlimited magic?" he said, hurriedly, touching his chest and feeling the pendant under the sweatshirt. "Could it have different effects on humans?" Theo was looking in Hayden's eyes for some kind of complicity, something that would allow him to make sense of his situation.

In front of him, Hayden stared at him in silence.

"It could be," he just said, biting his lip. "There could be more than what I found out," he smiled. And Theo relaxed in his seat. That would keep him calm, at least for the moment. Maybe it was better not to think about it for now.

Theo took a deep breath and looked forward. The wizard, with a serious, thoughtful countenance, had turned his head to see the landscape.

"Are you better now?" Theo said, mostly to keep himself and his mind busy. "Before...at the headquarters," he clarified when he saw Hayden squint his eyes confused. "It seemed like you were going to faint at any moment."

"Oh, right," he said, "Mads gave me the elixir so I'll be fine."

"Is that like liquid magic?" Theo said, restarting his question session. Hayden laughed a little.

"You could say so, yes. It helps with the magical exhaustion."

"Is it so painful to use magic?" he leaned in. "It doesn't sound very practical if so."

"It isn't supposed to be; I was abusing my energy. Usually, one night's sleep is enough to get me back on my feet. But, I'm fine now," Hayden said as he stood up to do the same movement as before, but this time he did it so quickly that Theo could hardly appreciate the change in the color of his eyes. "So don't despair, you're in good hands," he smiled attractively.

Theo gave him a skeptical look, not trying to contain his laughter when the train jumped unexpectedly, causing Hayden to fall in his seat.

"Oh, I feel so safe," Theo said as Hayden, still lying down, covered his eyes with his hand and smiled when he heard his laughter.

"Now you joke?" He laid down looking at the ceiling, his hands on the back of his head and his ears slightly pink.

"Maybe." He leaned his head on the seat.

In his mind, the trip with Hayden was relegated to a corner. He kept thinking that, before he even tried to find the truth about his story, he needed to talk to his brother. It could all be in vain. Perhaps the alchemist they were looking for knew nothing about his mother. He had blindly trusted that charismatic young man when, in a certain way, he knew nothing of him. But the idea of escaping from there to wander alone in those unknown lands did not attract him so much. He had the necklace with him. That was something. But allowing it to be destroyed had never been part of his plan.

"Can I know why you want to destroy it?" Theo said, feigning innocence.

Hayden didn't look at him. With his eyes fixed on the ceiling, he replied:

"That thing," he hissed, "does more harm than good.”

More questions crowded his mind. He needed time to think about what he was going to do next, but a stabbing pain in the head prevented him from doing so. He closed his eyes to alleviate the burning caused by the light in the compartment. He had to keep trying.

"Is it far to where we're going?”

"It could take a few days." Theo raised his eyebrows surprised. "Most of the way we're going to have to do it on foot since it's safer.”

"Walking is not one of my skills," he replied with a low tone of voice, succumbing to fatigue. Hayden's laughter sounded distant and echoed in his head, and Theo couldn't hear what he told him afterward, after falling completely asleep.