The Golden Eel
It was a frequent haunt of the youth of the Sorcery Society. The Golden Eel was always buzzing with activity, and the school year is when it saw the most business. Whenever a premier family of the society had their kids’ patronage, it was a highlight of the café’s day and more money in their pocket.
Schala thought as she entered the double doors faded by the sun that her peers needed this place, an alcove to de-stress from the pressure of having to perform like wind-up dolls in front of their parents. In truth, the Golden Eel needed them.
Every so often, there were places only visible to sorcerers that bore souls – living, breathing souls. Emotional, thinking, calculating; save for the brick and mortar, the settlements and spots were practically people. The Golden Eel was one of the oldest ones in Paris, responding to the owners and their children, who all inherited the building time and time again. It loved catering to the patrons’ different needs.
Schala made her way to a small booth in the back, her usual spot and idly poured herself some coffee. The dispenser refilled itself once she was done, and she chuckled. That never got old. The booth adjusted to make Schala feel more and more comfortable, warming the seat and making it softer. Schala pulled out a novel from her bag and sighed in content.
She only had an hour left before she needed to be back home. An hour of quiet – discounting the time it would take for Remilia to arrive – was a vacation to her.
Schala reached for her mug and drank; the coffee had turned into citrus tea. She looked up at the ceiling, frustrated. It was as if the Golden Eel wagged an imaginary finger at her; it preferred she’d drink more tea over caffeine.
“All right. I get the point.”
Schala twirled a finger through her hair and touched the braided section as she read. A sorcerer’s hair, amongst other things had the potential to act as a medium to their magic, and if she didn’t take care of it regularly, her Kimoyo – her energy would weaken considerably.
Distantly, she heard Remilia’s voice: “Hey, have you seen my sister?”
The owner of the Golden Eel, a man shorter than Remilia with midnight black skin and a small head of hair, smiled from a lined face. He motioned in Schala’s direction.
“Mm-hm. She’s right over there. She was trying to get back on caffeine again.”
Remilia sighed and exhaled air loudly. “She’s been stressed. Don’t worry; I’ll talk to her.”
Schala watched her twin walk over and sit across from her in the booth. Like before, the booth adjusted to accommodate the twin, which elicited a giggle from Remilia.
“I don’t know why everyone’s so concerned about me drinking coffee,” Schala spoke up. She drank the tea; it was good, but it wasn’t coffee. The cup was finished but Schala was disappointed.
“It’d be better if you switched to decaf. Your mind wouldn’t race so much.”
“News flash, sis: it’s racing right now, and I haven’t had a drop of coffee all day.”
“Been here long, Schal?”
Schala snorted. “Nope. Just got here from my session—”
“Oh, how did it go?” Remilia couldn’t wait to hear about the Reader and her weird ways of, well, reading a person.
“It went surprisingly well. She knew what I needed to talk about, and she supported what I need to do with myself.”
Remilia propped her face up on her palms. “Did she know what your condition is?”
“I actually don’t remember what she called it. I kinda zonked out and woke up mid-conversation,” Schala said through a nervous chuckle.
Remilia snickered. “I remember when you did that at mom’s birthday dinner last week! You droned through a lot of the first sentence, and then SNAP! You were bright and hearty.”
“I think my hearing’s back from all the screaming mom did,” Schala said as she rubbed her ears. “The Reader told me things I needed to hear. She even got me to talk about…”
Schala lowered her head as a stark memory hit her like a stone to the chest. Remilia held her hand and patted her shoulder.
“Sebastien,” Remilia filled in.
Schala nodded. “Mom still won’t talk about it. She still thinks it’s my fault. Her and dad.”
Remilia grew tight-lipped for a moment. She remembered the events down to the minute. The stark imagery followed soon after.
“I know you weren’t, Schal.”
Schala removed her gloves and rubbed the back of her hands, feeling the scarred skin. Her tattoo was visible, and the vines glowed a muted red. Remilia’s own tattoo showed the same effect; she looked at it and rubbed Schala’s arm.
“Don’t let it get to you. I feel what you feel.”
Remilia snapped her fingers, and a mug of steaming coffee appeared in her grasp.
“Is that—” Schala looked curiously at the mug.
“Pumpkin spice,” Remilia answered. She snapped her fingers again, and a fluffy white topping spiraled itself up from the mug, and brown powder sprinkled on it like droplets of rain. “With whipped cream.”
Schala snatched the mug and drank with loud gulps. “It’s been so long since I had a good cup of pumpkin spice with whipped cream and cinnamon!”
She sighed contently, her lips and nose painted white from the cream.
Remilia snorted a laugh while Schala looked in a reflection. She joined the laughter, her heart lifting.
Present Day
A sharp burst of gold issued from the pages of Schala’s grimoire and consumed their room in a harsh wind. Arcane symbols snapped from the pages, swirling like a miniature tornado. The twins held each other; they had no idea what was going on, and quietly prayed for it to be over soon.
A loud THOOMP assaulted their ears, disorienting them and knocking them away from the book. Remilia wrapped a pillow around her ears while Schala shoved her head into the bed.
“Oh my damn, will it stop!” Schala wailed as she pressed her ears closed.
“I’mdeafI’mdeafI’mdeaf—” Remilia repeated like a frightened child.
Suddenly, the sensation was gone. The pain, the migraines, the tinnitus – it was nonexistent.
Remilia looked around while Schala’s eyes went wide, her body tingling. Remilia felt the tingle, but she searched for any sign of changes. It hit them without warning: they weren’t in their room anymore.
The space around them was white and filled with mist, stretching on for as far as they could see. No structures were there, and they could only hear their panicked breaths.
“Goddamn it, we killed ourselves!” Remilia screamed.
“Get a grip, Rem. We’d have seen God by now,” Schala said while fighting the primal fear in her voice.
“Get a grip?!” Remilia shouted. “Get a grip?! We’re probably stuck in limbo because of you!”
“Oh, this is all my fault? I heard your voice incanting the spell too, Remilia! Don’t put this all on me!”
“You know I’m impressionable! Your voice is super convincing!” Remilia stated with distress.
“The fact that you claimed that makes me want to knock you completely the hell out,” Schala growled. “Shut up and let me think.”
Laughter rang out from behind the twins, and they turned to see a woman with tawny-beige skin with her arms crossed. Her hair was braided like miniature ropes and tied into a single ponytail. A necklace of crosses adorned her sweater-covered nape, and she wore a an emerald trenchcoat that covered grey checkered slacks and black boots. Her skin was ochre, and it made her resemble tarnished gold in the blank of the void.
“I’m sorry, I couldn't hold it in! You two are so funny to watch!” the woman said, stifling her laughter until she couldn’t contain it.
“Who the hell are you?” Remilia said.
The woman cleared her throat and straightened herself up. “Allow me to introduce myself, ye who read the ancient words and demonstrated your will. God, I hate saying that.”
“Wait, you’re speaking English, right? How can you understand us?” Schala questioned.
“The Linguistic spell. Eradicate language barriers. But back to the point.” She cleared her throat again and spoke grandly, “I am Co-Headmaster Sonia Guildenstern from Winchester, England.”
“Explains your accent,” Remilia commented.
“I am here to welcome you to Scalefall Academy. But before you’re accepted, you must take an exam.”
“An exam?!” Remilia exclaimed.
Schala pulled out her phone. Her screen displayed the message she received earlier, informing her of an entrance exam.
“Read it aloud,” Guildenstern commanded.
Schala recited, “To the applicant, we inform you that you and your sister have been offered a preliminary exam for entrance to Scalefall Academy. You must recite the summoning spell 24 hours within receiving this message or your application will be null and void.”
She sighed, “Yep, she’s right. We need to show them what we can do. It’ll make or break us.”
Remilia gave a wry smile. “No pressure whatsoever.”
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