Suddenly, Evelyn and Hillary were standing at the base of a huge, dark metal dome. When she glanced at Hillary, she saw blue smoke fading from her eyes, and the glow dying down. The sun was starting to set and the clouds were tinted coral and powder blue.

“Wow,” breathed Evelyn, slowly turning in a circle, taking in the new surroundings. Tall buildings could be seen to all around her, but the two tallest ones were right in front of her, behind the dome. If she leaned backwards, almost to the point of falling over, she could she the tops of each massive tower. She turned to Hillary and asked, “Where exactly is Bosany? The dome? The towers?”

Hillary shook her head. “All of it. The side of the border that’s behind us, is about 2 miles away. The left side goes past that cluster of 10 skyscrapers to a few in the distance. I think the right side ends right there,” she pointed to two smaller towers to the far right of the dome, “And the border in front of us ends in about 5 miles.”

Evelyn’s eyes bulged. “That’s huge! Why is it so big?” she was baffled.

Hillary curtly replied, as if Evelyn should have already figured out the answer, “This is the only Dark Magic School in all the universes. If it was smaller, there wouldn’t be enough room for everyone.”

“Oh. I didn’t think of that,” she admitted, her eyes downcast.

Hillary rolled her sapphire eyes. “No time to mope around, kid. We’re going to be late if you don’t pick up the pace,” she said clapping a hand on the teen’s shoulder.

Evelyn nodded. “Yeah, let’s go.”

They entered the dome through a sliding metal door, guarded by magicians armed with large automatic rifles. Once they passed through, Evelyn leaned over and whispered, “Why the Earthen weapons? I thought they could just use magic.”

Hillary whispered back, “Combatants are part of Light Magic. They’re natural born fighters. Dark Magic has fighters, but they’re only really useful in war. So Earthen guns are the next best thing. More efficient and predictable than making someone’s internal organs bleed out. Cleaner too.”

Evelyn nodded understandingly. “Magic is weird,” she commented. Hillary nodded in agreement.

Bronze sconces were mounted to the blood-red walls, and they did an adequate job of lighting the hallways. The floors were carpeted a dark maroon with a never ending border of black lotus flowers. Hillary really seemed to know where she was going, taking three lefts in a row, turning down a right hallway and taking the stairs up four flights. It was a maze of identical paths, but they somehow managed to navigate through it. By the time they reached the courtroom Evelyn was doubled over, trying to catch her breath. Hillary looked down impatiently at the out-of-shape girl, tapping her foot on the padded floor. They stood in front of black doors wood, another lotus flower engraved in them, this time in copper.

Evelyn glanced up and was met with a steely gaze. “What? I’m running on like, four hours of sleep here, and no food.” She clutched her stomach as it gurgled painfully, “When are we getting something to eat?” Evelyn’s voice became whiny, like a spoiled child’s.

Letting out a huff, Hillary retorted, “Later. Stop acting like a brat,” she folded her arms over her chest, growing more annoyed with each second that was wasted.

“But I want foooood!” Evelyn griped. She felt Hillary smack the back of her head, and it really hurt! Evelyn straightened up, and while rubbing her skull, she hissed, “Why? Again. Really?”

Hillary just stared through her and simply stated, “This is a public place. This is the Hall of Bosany, the Hall of Dark Magic, and I refuse to let you whine like a petulant child, and ruin both of our reputations.”

Evelyn rolled her eyes, but she let go of her stomach and stood with more poise. “Fine. But we get food as soon as we leave here. Deal?” she insisted.

Hillary shook her head in disbelief. “Deal. Now, we have to go in there. They’re waiting on us. Don’t speak unless spoken to, and remember, you have no choice in the matter. The Leader’s decision is final. Sit as still as you possibly can, do as you’re told, follow my lead, and do not panic when the head of Epiwiths establishes a mind link with everyone in the room. No, they cannot hear your thoughts, it’s just an easy way to translate the different languages that everyone speaks.”

Evelyn nodded. “Got it,” she confirmed.

Hillary’s eyes flared a deep cobalt and started smoking. The courtroom doors flew open into the hallway, almost hitting Evelyn in the face. She stumbled back and caught Hillary looking rather smug. The smoke was already dissipating and her irises were a ring of glowing blue. With a gesture from Hillary, they entered the courtroom, the heavy doors shutting behind them.

The walls in this room were red as well, and Evelyn was beginning to understand what Hillary had meant by “dark and brooding.” The chambers were shaped like a half circle, and the curved portion was in front of her. A dark wooden fence with a gate separated her from the chair of Leader Anexis Vordur. The seat’s frame was made out of silver metal that was rounded on two sides and met at a point, like a petal of a lotus flower. It had red padded backing and huge padded armrests; Evelyn thought it looked more like a throne than a chair. His ‘throne’ rested on top of a square black pedestal that separated itself from the maroon carpet.

The Leader leaned casually to one side, an elbow propped up on the armrest, holding his head up with a fist, one leg crossed over the other. He seemed to straighten up almost instantly when he caught sight of Hillary. He smoothed down his emerald green robe and straightened the wide high collar along with his short shoulder pads. The guards standing below him on the carpet didn’t seem to notice.

To Evelyn’s left and right were tall, black, wooden boxes where three representatives from each school resided. The tops of the boxes towered a good four feet above her head and they came up to the representatives midsection, low enough to allow arm movement but high enough to prevent them from falling.

Turning towards the doors, she saw guards stationed on either side, heavily armed like the ones by Leader Anexis. Hillary stood next to her, staring straight ahead, blushing profusely. Evelyn glanced in that direction, seeing The Leader shoving a tuft of his gray hair out of his eyes, back to Hillary who was batting her lashes at him.

Something clicked in Evelyn’s brain and she leaned over to Hillary and whispered in her ear, “Do you two, like, have a thing?”

Hillary’s cheeks grew an even deeper shade of red, if that was possible, and snapped, “No, of course not! That is forbidden!” she was seething, but other, softer, emotions swirled in her eyes.

Evelyn shrugged. “I didn’t realize the subject was so touchy.”

Hillary’s mouth was set in a firm line and she looked like she was trying to calm herself.

“Why is it, forbidden anyway?” she asked, mocking Hillary’s serious tone.

Hillary shook her head. “Out of fear. No Dark Magician is allowed to have a relationship with a Light Magician, and vice versa. It’s been like that for centuries. No one dares change it. Everyone’s too scared of what could happen,” Hillary paused, taking a breath, her features softening a bit, “So even if, we had a ‘thing’ as you call it, it would never work out.” Hillary sighed, looking a tad exhausted. She didn’t know why she confessed any of this to Evelyn, but she trusted her in a way. It was nice to finally meet someone who didn’t see everything in black and white.

“But that’s so stupid!” Evelyn hissed, “What is everyone so afraid of? True love or something?” Her eyes lit up as she thought of something, “Wait, is there like, true love magic or something? And it can only happen with a Dark and Light Magician?”

Hillary laughed quietly at the naive, imaginative girl. “No, there’s no such thing as true love magic, or love magic of any sort.”

Evelyn’s face fell comically, which only made Hillary’s smile grow wider. “But what’s everyone afraid of? I don’t understand.”

Hillary looked at her sympathetically. “You.”

Evelyn’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

“Your powers. One person wielding all of Light and Dark Magic. The power you have is astronomical. No one know’s how it will affect you mentally, or if it will change anything at all. And what would happen if you went rogue? What if you decided to kill? What if you stayed within the confines of Light Magic? How much strength do you possess? No one has any answers. The best way to keep that from happening seemed to be the separation of Light and Dark. And based on how you behave that may change. Who knows?” she looked beaten, but not defeated. She wouldn’t give up the hope that things could turn around in the future.

“Oh...I’m sorry,” Evelyn apologized, meaning it, “I didn’t realize–”

Hillary cut her off, shaking her head. “No, it’s fine. You couldn’t have. Don’t worry about me or any of that. Just know that most people will be afraid of you. They may not trust you, simply because of the powers you possess.”

Before Hillary could explain further, The Leader called the court to order with the clap of his hands, starting the session. A respectful hush fell over the room as everyone waited in anticipation for the upcoming proceedings.

“Order! Order! All rise for Leader Anexis Vordur!”

Hillary dashed to the box that held the Epiwiths representatives, off to the left of Evelyn. She opened the back panel and ran up the marble steps, shutting the door behind her. Evelyn just gaped at her, feeling abandoned. Everyone was standing now, including The Leader, and she was alone on the courtroom floor. She felt trapped, like all eyes were on her, pitted in an arena with no way to defend herself. She tried to gesture this to Hillary, but Hillary just shook her head and nodded at her to look forward and behave.

“Please, open you minds and allow the President of Epiwiths, Amenadiel Woodside, to establish a mind link,” commanded The Leader. Evelyn was confused as to how she was supposed to ‘open her mind,’ but she guessed it just meant to not try to fight off his presence or whatever.

President Woodside stepped to the edge of the box. He had ebony skin and a shaven head, with a trimmed mustache framing his full lips. He wore a thick lavender robe, gold embellishments lining the cuffs and collar, and a large circular amulet tying it all together.

The President’s eyes glowed a deep teal. He lifted his hands, and tendrils of teal smoke started to rise from his bright irises. He made a series of quick hand motions, his fingers looping over and under the others, palms flattened and angled against each other.

Evelyn thought it was mesmerizing. Out of nowhere, she felt another presence inside her head, and felt it tie her to the others in the room. Briefly, a glowing chain appeared in the air, branching off, a series of links tethered to each head. Then it faded away. The presence in her mind diminished with it, but she still felt connected to everyone, in a way that she couldn’t put into words.

Leader Anexis clapped his hands, his voice booming as he spoke, “Let us begin.”