The Beginning

"I'm finished reading the book." Ethan informed me the next day. He placed the book down on the lounge table then sat down the couch across from mine.

"What did you learn?" I hardly paid any attention to him as I studied the images on my laptop.

"Spells require energy and that energy comes from your body. In order to get energy into your body then you need to eat and sleep. That's basic knowledge that everyone knows anyway." He sounded frustration but I was glad that he was keeping it under control right now. I actually expected him to explode with anger for making me waste his time.

"Take me through the process of performing a spell then."

"You choose a spell then say the commands and do the spell."

"Does the power of the spell come from the commands then?"

"Yes, I mean no but... I don't know." His enthusiasm quickly died down. It was clear that if he thought he had the upper hand then he was full of confidence but once he entered a new environment and started being questioned then he closed up. That's exactly how I used to be when I was younger but the only way I was able to grow out of it was by getting stronger.

"Learning about magic is stupid. Can't we just learn the spells?"

"Learning about magic is the most important part about learning how to do a spell." I informed him then put my hand in front of me. I concentrated on the spell I wanted to do then saw a small ball of flames appear above my palm. "I just performed a spell without chanting or commanding anything. Magic doesn't come from the words you use, it comes from your energy and your mind. If you can envision it then you can create it. The words are just a guiding mechanism to help you perform the spell."

"I don't get it." Confusion was plainly written all over his face but I couldn't blame him there. I am probably the worst teacher ever.

"Think of performing magic like flying a plane." That was a good comparison right? "Your magic and your spells are the plane. In order to get the plane moving, you have to get in the cockpit and fly the plane. But you are not the only one in the cockpit. Next to you is your co-pilot. He is your words. He helps you fly the plane just like your words help you perform the spell. Do you get it?"

"Kind of. How did you do magic without the words then?"

"Simple spells that don't require a lot of energy or concentration can be done without words. Think of it like breathing. It's natural to us. We don't think about breathing, we just do it. If you're a really good magician with years of practice then you should be able to use at least one simple spell without any words."

"So can you only do that spell without words?" His spirits seemed to be lifted now.

"You're getting too far ahead of yourself. Did you figure out how I am able to do magic in this house but you can't?" I was really interested in hearing his answer to that. I didn't think he would've figured it out but at least I could've put him on the right track.

"You put a spell on me that stops me from doing magic in this house." He wasn't anywhere near the track with that guess.

"No. You have completely missed the point of that book. Study it again." I instructed him.

"You suck as a teacher you know." Ethan stated then stood up and marched to the kitchen. I heard him taking something out of the cupboard before coming back to me and planting himself down on the couch with a packet of beef flavoured chips.

"At least let me use magic." He opened the packet and began munching on the chips.

"Fine." I closed my eyes then snapped my fingers. "Allow."

"Is that it?"

"Yeah. Try a spell." I permitted him. I understood the skepticism on his face but he needed to trust me a bit.

"Body Enhancement: Claws." He tried that spell again. I expected him to try something different actually. Maybe something with a lot more flare to show off his abilities. Unsurprisingly, his fingers began turning into sharp claws but I easily saw the flaw in that spell.

"Don't make me regret it." I warned him as I watched his hands turn back to normal. "And why are you always eating?"

"The real question is why have I never seen you eat?" He replied then leaned forward in his seat to look at me. "If you really lived on the streets then you should know to eat as much whenever you can. You need to take your opportunities as they come."

"It's because I lived on the streets that I don't eat such a lot. I eat enough to sustain me for the day because I know that this can all be taken away from us at any moment. I'm just prepared for the worst." A knock on the door immediately disturbed our conversation.

"Not it." Ethan quickly stated.

"You're such a child." I sighed then stood up and made my way to the door. I wasn't expecting anyone today so maybe it was Elly dropping by again. I hadn't seen her since our impromptu lunch a couple of days ago. I opened the door but certainly didn't expect to see Taylor standing on my porch.

"This is a surprise. I thought you had enough of me last night."

"Don't flatter yourself, I needed to get away from my mother and you said that I could use your house so here I am." I stepped out of the way and allowed her to enter the house before closing the door behind her.

"I said that you can use it as a safe house, not a place to hangout." I corrected her then led her to the lounge.

"I don't really care. I'm here so deal with it." This was definitely a different side to her than who I met yesterday and who I saw last night with her friends. Another person who seemed to have changed in the moments I left was Ethan. His usual black hair turned blonde and his eye colour changed from a deep brown to a light blue.

"When I said 'don't make me regret it', this is what I meant." I snapped my fingers again and he immediately turned back to his usual scruffy image.

"Come on Jared, I was just messing around." Ethan complained.

"Exactly why I stopped you before you blow up my house." I replied then turned to Taylor. "Taylor, that dumbass is Ethan. Ethan meet Taylor."

"Jared, you do know who she is right?" I wasn't surprised that Ethan knew who she was. He survived by observing people and preying on the weak so he had to know who not to mess with. The daughter of the queen of the underworld was definitely one of those people.

"I know who she is and I am working with her mother." I informed him.

"So you're like a serious criminal now." I hadn't thought about it but there was no evidence linking me to any crimes so nothing could be proven.

"Not really." I casually shrugged my shoulders as I answered him. "Taylor is probably going to be coming around here often so hopefully you guys can get along and not make this whole thing something awkward."

"You're only one making it awkward." Taylor stated.

"I agree." Ethan added.

"Great. Now that you guys are getting along I am going to continue my work in my room. Don't destroy my house." I instructed them.

"Yes sir." Taylor sarcastically replied then threw herself down on the couch. I grabbed my laptop and made my way up the stairs to my bedroom so that I could work in peace. I didn't hear any talking happening as I walked up the stairs so I hoped that an awkward silence didn't settle in between them. If it did then I didn't really care. They can figure out how to be friends on their own.

"How are things looking on your side?" Mrs Porter asked through the phone next to me as I sat on the roof of an apartment building next to the bowling alley Tuesday night. She was dealing with the Cremwell's and I was focused on taking out Freddy and Monty.

"Everything is in place, just waiting for them to come out. I see that you decided to listen to your daughter and I about setting up a kill box." I could see Mrs Porter and her men on my laptop screen stationed around the junkyard waiting for the Cremwell family to show up. I had access to every camera in this city thanks to another partner of mine. He made me work for it but it was necessary, especially if I wanted to figure out ways to avoid being spotted on any camera while I executed my plan.

"You guys made some valid points." She replied.

"Well the police just activated the Cremwell's traps so you have about 10 minutes before they arrive at the junkyard." I informed her.

"How do you know that?"

"I have my ways." I couldn't exactly tell her everything. Even if we were partners, I still didn't trust her. It wasn't personal though, I just didn't trust anyone actual.

"Humph. Anyway, good luck and don't get caught."

"You too. See you tomorrow." She ended the call so I put my cellphone in my pocket and focused on my mission. I disabled all the cameras in the area just in case something didn't go according to plan. I saw that Monty's car was parked in it's usual space in the dark corner of the parking lot. It was a bit of a blindspot for the bowling alley's cameras so that worked out perfectly me for as well. All I needed now were the stars of the show.

I still kept an eye on what Mrs Porter and her men were doing at the junkyard. I wanted to see what happened for myself just in case she did anything she wasn't supposed to do. If she needed any help then I could go help her as well.

"You have it?" I heard a voice ask thanks to my extreme sense. I looked down at the parking lot then saw Freddy and Monty making their way across the relatively empty parking lot towards Monty's car. I closed my laptop then stood up and waited for them to get into the vehicle. I didn't sense anyone else around but I was still going to be careful to stay out of sight. I didn't need any more trouble.

"We can't stay long tonight. My wife is already complaining about me not spending enough time at home." Freddy said while they entered Monty's car. I waited until they started smoking before continuing with my plan.

"Teleport." I commanded then found myself crouching in the shadow behind the car. I put my hand on cold metal then activated another spell, "Eternal Chamber." Now they couldn't escape no matter what they did. Thankfully they hadn't spotted me yet so I was still able to execute the last part without any interference.

"Liquescimus." I activated the spell then kept my hand against the vehicle until it started melting under my skin. I quickly teleported back to my spot on the nearby apartment building and watched as the car melted away from existence. I could see the two men fighting to get out of the car but nothing they tried worked. I knew they couldn't any magic so I didn't have to worry about anything there. Minutes later they were just part of a weird liquid that slowly melted into the ground itself. I wasn't expecting that to happen but it saved me the trouble of summoning a small wave of water to clean up anything that was left behind.

"4 down." I told myself then quickly teleported myself back home so that I could watch Mrs Porter's mission.