A couple of days later, I went out to the bar to meet Roxanna to report my failure to recruit The Hexes. My eyes scanned the place, then finally found an unoccupied bar stool. I hurried to take a seat, waving my hand at the bartender to order a drink. After ordering a cocktail, the bartender handed me the cocktail glass quickly. My fingers tapped on the bar table while waiting for Roxanna. The wait felt like an eternity! I rubbed my temples, still having this terrible headache after the losing duel with Amelia.

“Sorry, I’m late.” My eyes moved up to see Roxanna entering the bar wearing her black sunglasses, heading in my direction. The diva sat herself down next to me while calling to the bartender, asking for a drink.

“I didn’t get her.” I said to the woman, getting straight to the point.

“What?! How?!” she exclaimed angrily.

I didn’t respond and only focused on sipping my cocktail. As my eyes observed around the room, my hand motioned Roxy to move closer to me. The diva music mage leaned over close to my ear, waiting for me to explain what went wrong. I whispered in her ear asking if we could move to some place private. She nodded, then took her martini drink before we started leaving the bar stand. We headed to another part of the bar where there were fewer people around. This was the perfect moment to pull out my wand and put a noise canceling spell around the area. Checking to see if no one was nearby, I shook my wand as a light green smoke came out and clouded the room briefly. A invisible barrier appeared around Roxanna and me. The two of us sat down at the nearest table to talk to each other about my failure to recruit The Hexes.

“That music magic mage is more powerful than I thought….” I answered.

“Well, well, so the great Mark Kestrel couldn’t couldn’t beat down a low level mage…” Roxanna giggled, drinking her martini and leaning back into her seat.

“Shut the hell up! That girl isn’t just a lower level music magic mage! She has done some high-skilled spells and was pretty crafty. I gave her out every offer that I could think of to get her to join the Rise of Light. That slut still said no and cheated in our duel! That bitch will pay…” I complained to the diva.

Roxanna tapped her fingers on the table and asked, “Tell me, Mark? What spells did ‘Electra Star’ or Amelia pull? She can’t be that advanced of mage!”

“Well, she plays the flute and used it during our duels. The way she moves and carries herself almost reminds me of you, Rox… It’s pretty funny.” I chucked then drank more of my cocktail.

“Hmmm…. Many music magic mages use musical instruments, but very few use classical instruments like a flute in combat. It’s usual to use them for dueling. The only person I knew who used a classical instrument for combat was …” Roxanna paused, scratching her chin while thinking. Then suddenly she catches her breath and raising her brows as if she had taught of something terrible. The diva choked out, “my little sister…. But she’s long dead.”

Waving my hand and voicing, “Hey, Hey! Don’t get sentimental on me, Rox! There is no need to think about the past. All I know is that Amelia can be valuable to us in the future. Perhaps she can be an asset to Master Faris’s big plans for getting rid of this sickening outsider world…”

I put my cocktail drink down on the table, watching her snap out of her random funk. Roxanna just looked at me, leaning over close to me and said, “Perhaps we will go back to the drawing board again…”

Soon I heard a sharp noise coming from my jean pants pockets. My hand pulled out a small makeup mirror and opened it. The reflection changed from my face into a picture of a blond-haired man showing a neutral expression. I tried not to flinch as knowing that this man was our one and only master, Farris Barton. Seeing the reflection also made Roxy jump straight up in her seat and fixed parts of her untamed hair.

“Oh, Master! It’s been a while.” Roxanna’s voice quivered when speaking to the Rise of Light leader. She still gave him a big, wide smile while her eyes twitched nervously.

“Good evening, Roxanna, Mark. Have you made any progress to recruit our new potential members…?” The man asked.

Both of us didn’t say a word. I avoided his gaze for a moment, staring down at the floor. The silence was enough for him to know that we didn’t succeed in our mission.

“Oh, I see….” Farris’s voice lowered before continuing to speak to us. “I’m not mad, my lost ones. Just disappointed and expected more from both of you. But don’t worry, we have plenty more chances to get The Hexes to join us. For now, keep doing your original duties. Understood?”

“Yes, Master Barton….” Both of us answered, bowing our heads to him in respect before Farris's face faded away.

After breathing a sigh of relief, both of us finished our drinks then left the bar. Glancing at my phone, I noticed there were no messages from for my father. Roxanna nudged me and asked, “You still try to get contact with your father?”

“Yeah. The old man hasn’t called me in a while and the last time he did, it’s all about my family’s amulet that is supposed to belong to me, not my bastard child of a brother.” I told her.

“Oh, that amulet again. Still haven’t given that up? Sad. You’re just spending your pathetic life trying to get that stupid rock. From the looks of it, it sounds like your father probably doesn’t give a damn about you..” Roxanna cackled.

I lifted my hand, slapping the diva’s face hard. My eyes watched her holding and rubbing the wound on her face. Then, in a harsh tone, I shouted to Roxanna, “You don’t know shit, Rox. You’re lucky I went easy on you!”

Roxanna didn’t stay a single word back to me when I moved away from her. While walking, my hand was still on the phone, hoping for my father to message me back. Even though this entire mission turned be a bust. At least, I can focus on what matters to me: getting that amulet and recreating the mage society where only the strong survive!