text: I woke up long before morning arrived. Or perhaps I didn’t sleep. I was excited like a kid the night before their first school trip. Climbing out of my bed, I heard the soft breathing of Tobias. His eyes were closed and he had rolled himself into the blanket like a log. If I had a gun or a knife, could’ve I ended his life there? I shrugged off the idea, chiding myself. The Calamity must have put out protections of some sort. Maybe a glyph, a spell-code scribbled on the frame of his bed. There’s no way he’d leave himself in a vulnerable state. But that hadn’t been my first thought. I sneaked out of the room, and stepped into the hotel’s lobby. A new face greeted me behind the reception, a young man. I passed by the guards in the front, lingering a bit while I observed them. Their faces stoic and refusing to meet my eyes. Were they Hunters in disguise? The roads were empty. It was the sweet spot in the early morning where the light from the lamp posts had been turned off but the sun hadn’t climbed out of their horizon bed. A wind brushed past me and I zipped up my jacket. The sound of my boots crunched against the pavement in a rhythmic pattern. I looked at the tall looming buildings, wondering if there were anyone keeping an eye on me. The Hunters had kept watch on me in Irkutsk. They’ve even grown bold, sending Altan into the fray even though I knew of him, hard set that I won’t rat them out. *You won’t. Because we know how much you despise the situation you’re in.* Altan had said it like a fact, *they* knew me better than myself. *Your greedy smile from before revealed your true self.* Same with Tobias, pushing and using me like a pawn in his game. The clouded sky was still dull and groggy from the lack of light. The sun was slow to wake up. I raised my hand, pointing upwards to the heavens, and focused on the sensation in the forest, of the image of Rosalyn. The first syllable was *Gryal*. My lips continued without my brain’s instructions, finishing the invocation. And the surge of magic passed through me, up my hands and exploding into the sky. And the city stirred. Heads popped out from open windows, watching the firework in disbelief. Dogs barked in panic. People hurried out of their homes in their pyjamas. They all watched the fireworks with open mouths. I hurried back, hiding in the crowd’s confusion. My heart beat hard and the grin on my face refused to leave. &#x200B; \*\*\* &#x200B; The hotel’s guests had turned into a mob, bombarding the young receptionist with questions, asking if the city’s being attacked, if it’s a prank. The guards stood next to the receptionist, trying their best to answer the questions and to calm down the mob. Sitting on one of the couches in the lobby was Tobias, observing the situation from a distance. He noticed me and signaled me to come to him. I ignored his call and headed to our room, a sense of satisfaction flooded through me when I passed him and his face dropped in shock. He got up from the couch and walked quickly to catch up to me. “Did you cause the ruckus?” Tobias asked. “Rosalyn named it well,” I said. “It really grabs one's attention.” “Aren’t you afraid that it will attract the Hunters?” he continued. “What’s there to be afraid of, you can handle them, can’t you?” His words faltered and we entered our room. This side of me was new to him and he wasn’t sure how to deal with it. Frankly, I wasn’t sure how to deal with it myself. “What happened to staying undercover?” he asked, standing with his back to the door. I plopped down on my bed and pulled off my boots. “I’ve given it some thought and don’t think it’s necessary. If the Hunters wanted to harm us, they would’ve done it already.” “How do you know?” I stared up at his steel-grey eyes. “Why should I tell you?” The surrs from the angry mob by the reception prickled the floor. The Calamity folded his hands across his chest, his face deep in thought. “Let’s set things straight,” I said. “You have power over me due to the magic addiction. I’ve accepted it, I won’t be able to run away because I want to learn. I need to learn. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t have power over you.” “Oh?” Tobias’ voice sounded mocking. “And what do you have?” “Knowledge. I know about the Hunters, of Rosalyn Darmitage, of the modern world. How many people possess all three?” I don’t know why, but I had the gall to pick up my phone and played with it, not even giving The Calamity my full attention. Confidence poured out of me. “Let’s set the bar straight,” I continued. “You are not my master. We’re trade partners who want things from each other. We’re making an exchange here, you teach me magic, how to channel Rosalyn’s memories into spells and I’ll continue to be your guide and aid you against the Hunters. I won’t care about the lives you take, or the world conquest you probably have in the back of your mind. If you can’t agree, I’ll leave. In the end, I’ll succumb to the cravings and crawl back to you, but not before I’ve exhausted all my options, including asking for help from the Hunters and spilling everything I know about the Darmitage and about you.” “I can detain you,” he said. “Put you in a hypnotic daze and have you spill out all that information.” “Perhaps,” I said. “But you haven’t, I wonder why. Might there be a weakness in that spell you used on that lady receptionist? You had the opportunities to do so when you put me to sleep after killing the Hunters.” I looked up from my screen. Cracks had formed in his composure. His eyes ran around the room, searching for solution. For once, I was the one in power. “What happened to you?” he asked. My lips twisted upwards, into a manic grin, like the one he’d done yesterday in the car. “I figured things out.” I reached out my hand. “So what do you say?” His face said it all. Lips thinned into a single line, nose flared, the middle of his brow scrunched together. But he reached out a hand and shook it. He forced out a smile and said in a voice dripped in venom: “Let’s learn some magic, shall we?” “Let’s.” I shook his hand. With my other hand, I clicked on ‘stop recording’ on my phone and put it in my pocket, wondering what Altan would say if I showed him the footage.