July, the summer before Emery’s first year at Radiance...
“Emery!” Harris knocked. The door to Mako’s and Emery’s room was locked shut. “Please, we can talk about this.”
“Stay out!” Emery yelled. A burst of wind hit the side of the room. “I don’t want to hurt you!”
“You better not mess up my side of the room!” Mako demanded. “What’s she doing in there?”
“Maybe it’s her second puberty.” Jun teased from the top of the stairs. “I think she got a face tattoo.”
“I am going to kill you if you got some stupid tattoo!” Mako warned.
“Kids...” Harris derided. “Can I please handle this alone? Your sister is... dealing with a lot.”
Suddenly, the lights shut off throughout the house. Darkness fell over the Black residence while every other house stayed safely lit. The air grew stiff and cold as all the windows fogged.
“What was that?” Make asked out loud.
“Probably a blown fuse.” Harris assured them. “I’ll check it out. You two stay with your sister.” Harris ventured down towards the basement.
Emery was content to stay in the dark, softly weeping. First it had been the bullies at the playground she flung fourteen feet into a hedge for pushing her around. Then, as she ran home, the ground cracked beneath her every step. It was only in her own room that she stopped panicking. She hoped whatever power came out of her could be contained to hurting no one else. Despite what oddities she had shown during her adolescent years, nothing compared to what she did now.
Her attention snapped up as several knocks came to her window. Looking over, she was stunned to see an elderly woman with hair the darkest shade of blue she could imagine before black. The woman impatiently rested on her elbow with expectant eyes.
“I know it’s summer, but it’s actually very cold outside.” The woman said. “May I come in?”
Emery rubbed her eyes and stood to her feet. “You’re not real. I’m going crazy.”
“Harris! Emery’s talking to herself now!” Jun called out.
“I promise that I’m very real, Emery.” The woman said. “And I’d very much like it if we could talk.” When Emery didn’t answer, the woman simply walked through the wall and entered her room. “Hi, my name is Archmage Lucille Corinne.”
Emery backed against the door. “Archmage?”
Corinne palmed her head, “I’m so dense, sorry. An Archmage is the leader over an organized assortment of people in the magical world.”
“Magic?” Emery echoed.
“We’re not going to get far with word association, I’m afraid.” Corinne said with a smile. “Let’s start simple; you’ve got questions.”
Emery calmed down, glancing around her room. Her eyes stopped at her mirror, reflecting her newly adopted tattoos. “What’s happening to me?”
The self-proclaimed Archmage sat on Emery’s bed. With a snap of her fingers the lights in the room came alive and noise outside the door deafened. “Magic, as you understand it, is real. Mages are what we call humans that can learn and control magic. And you just found out you’re one of us.”
“Why now? Why all of sudden?” Emery asked. “Why not Mako or Jun?”
“Some mages show signs early on, especially if they come from a family that’s already aware of magic at large. But it’s common enough for mages to be born from a mundane family. Or even to not show signs until puberty, maybe later. It can be hereditary, though not necessarily.” Corinne explained.
“And these tattoos?” Emery probed. “You don’t have them. Why do I?”
Corinne grimaced. “Some in our world are called Amaranths; human mages born with special markings. It’s common among people who can trace their lineage back to certain indigenous groups... ancient indigenous groups. Not any you’d find in a history book.”
“And who are you? Why are you here?”
“Your father should probably be here for this next part.” Corinne said with a snap of her fingers.
As the sound from her snap faded, Emery’s door was flung open by an unseen force. Harrison Black stormed in, moving to defend his daughter.
“How did you do that?” Jun asked his stepfather.
Ignoring the question, Harris raised his hands towards the stranger until he recognized her face. “Corinne?”
“Hi Harry.” The Archmage greeted. “I told you I’d be back.”
Harris dropped his guard and sighed, “Here I was hoping you’d be wrong.”
“You know better than that.”
“How’d you know?” Harris inquired.
“Did you think Emyrah Mason was only keeping tabs on Emery for your sake?”
“I hoped...”
“There you go again; hoping for things you know aren’t real.” Corinne shook her head.
###
Present Day...
Emery, Thomas, and Ed had found a small cabin below deck to settle in at. Alice found her booth across the aisle, preferring isolation.
"Wow, so you got a personal visit from the Archmage of Radiance to blow up your dad’s spot.” Ed remarked. “That’s rough.”
“Tell me about it.” Emery agreed. The three of them kept light conversation as the Albatross continued its sail.
"To be fair, if it's like you said, your dad did hide everything he knew about magic." Thomas reminded her. “He could’ve told you.”
"Yeah, he said he told my mom eventually." Emery recalled. "But after she died, he said it felt easier to just live without magic."
"Sorry to hear that, Emery." Thomas apologized.
"It's in the past." Emery assured her new friends. She glanced back across the aisle at Alice. "Makes me wonder why the Archmage took an interest like she did."
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