The Homunculus Master

"Remember, this is no different from the fights you've already been in. Stay loose, focus, and don't lose sight of your connection with your familiar," Meg was saying as she walked beside Theo. "Doesn't matter who the opponent is, even if they're a Crowley."

"So was he right? These Crowleys are a big deal?" Theo asked.

"They're one of the top wizard families in the country." Meg shrugged. "Seems this Ryan kid's a right chip off the old block."

"Theo's gonna kick his ass!" Sam spun toward Meg, pumping her fists.

"That's the spirit." Meg winked.

"I will not lose." Zenith's sharp voice made Theo start. His familiar had been striding in silence, gaze fixed directly ahead; Theo had thought he wasn't listening to the conversation. "Not when I am fighting for my wizard's sake."

A warm rush of gratitude flooded Theo. Now that they were heading toward the duel, his nerves had begun to act up again, but Zenith's calm assurance quieted them down. He walked faster to match Zenith's pace, head held up. The least he could do was return his familiar's faith.

They crossed a street to reach the tulip garden, which was tucked behind a church but publicly owned by the city. Behind the low wrought-iron fence, the narrow space brimmed with tulips in full spring bloom.

Against the sea of yellows and reds, the diagram in the center of the garden blazed like a cold green beacon. Its lines thrummed with power, making Theo's Levia sear like a sudden wildfire. He stumbled back in surprise.

Only for a cool, firm hand to brace his shoulder, helping him regain his balance. Grateful, Theo turned toward Zenith, who nodded.

"So he's already there," Meg said, surveying the diagram with her hands on her hips. "This is quite high-level. I have to admit I'm a little impressed."

A high-level arena. Even if he didn't recognize the spell, Theo could tell as much. But he wasn't afraid, not with Zenith here.

So he straightened his shoulders and strode forward onto the brick path crossing the garden. The green glow brightened until spots danced in his vision, then his Levia rippled and warmth surged through his chest, announcing that he had set foot upon the diagram.

The familiar crackle ran through his head, and when his vision cleared he was no longer in the tulip garden. Instead....

Cracked earth beneath his feet. An achingly blue sky above his head. And up ahead, a massive structure that looked like a ruined temple, its columns jutting like broken bones, its walls crumbling into rubble. Tulips sprouted from crevices and twined around the columns like garlands, droplets of color on the faded marble. Otherwise, there was no sign of the garden from Earth.

A sandy-haired boy jumped down from the fallen column he'd been perched atop, hitting the ground with a gentle puff of dust. "Hey there, Theo. What's with the peanut gallery?"

"They're my friends and, uh, teacher," Theo said, nodding at Meg.

"Don't mind us. We're only here to watch." Meg carelessly linked her hands behind her head.

"Huh?" Ryan squinted at Meg and blinked a couple of times. Why he seemed so surprised to see her, Theo didn't know. Did he know her somehow? But Meg showed no signs of recognizing him, and it didn't take long for Ryan to straighten and turn that infuriating cocky grin back upon Theo.

"Always appreciate having an audience to see me win. So this is your familiar?"

His attention slid upon Zenith, who stiffened. It never failed to astonish Theo how perfectly at home Zenith appeared in the arena, his armor gleaming beneath the sun and his cape almost the exact color as the sky.

Ryan seemed just as amazed. His eyes widened and he took a step backward. "Yo. Wait a minute here...don't tell me he's a homunculus?"

"Yeah? You got a problem with that?" Theo demanded.

"No, no, not at all." The smirk slipped back onto Ryan's face as if it had never gone away. "Color me just the slightest bit impressed, Theo. Maybe there's something to you after all."

"You jerk!" Sam yelled, but over her Theo asked, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, not anyone can command a homunculus. It takes real strength, a ton of Levia. Homunculi are pretty rare, you know. You might even say they're the closest we can come to commanding seraphim themselves."

"What?" Theo's heart lurched. Out of the corner of his eye, he registered Darian tilting her chin up, but didn't know what it could mean.

And he couldn't ask before Ryan spoke. "Wow, seriously? You don't know? Come on, man, this is basic stuff. Only seraphim can create homunculi, so that means there's only a few hanging around who survived the Rending. Tons of wizards would kill for the chance to command one, and you're telling me you have no idea?"

No, Theo really hadn't. Was Zenith that special, that amazing? If he'd been created by a seraphim, then who was his creator? Darian?

"You seem to be some kind of homunculus expert." Darian spoke now, her tone slightly acerbic.

"Well, duh." Ryan cocked an eyebrow. "A wizard's gotta know everything about the kind of familiar he masters."

Zenith tensed, tightening his grip on his sword. "Then you as well – "

"Here we go." As Ryan flung his hand up to the sky, a green circle blazed beneath him. "Come to me, Avia!"

A matching circle flared above him. Green light flooded its surface, and Theo watched in amazement as something emerged out of the light as if rising from beneath a lake. A woman, clad from head-to-toe in silver armor with enormous metal wings sprouting from her shoulders.

The armored woman descended until she floated directly above Ryan. While the arena circle faded, a symbol on her forehead continued glowing green like some kind of miniature spell. As he stared at her impassive helm, Theo couldn't shake the uncanny feeling that nothing lay behind it.

"This is Avia," Ryan said, his voice savage with triumph. "My familiar. Now shall we see who's the better homunculus user, Theo?"

'The rarest. The closest to seraphim.' A shiver rippled down Theo's spine. Deep in his bones, he knew he and Zenith had never faced an opponent like this before.

But he couldn't be afraid; he'd already accepted the challenge. And Zenith strode forward, implacable as ever, and pointed his sword.

"I am Sir Zenith, a knight of Miria. Even if you are a fellow homunculus, I will show you no mercy."

Theo felt Zenith's resolve inside him, that crystalline light that would not bend or waver for anything. It cleared Theo's head, gave him the strength to face Ryan down. So what if he didn't understand everything there was to know about homunculi, or if he had a thousand questions about Zenith's origins. That didn't matter here or now.

Not when he had an opponent to battle. Not when he had promised to become a strong wizard for Zenith's sake.

"That's right, Zenith," he said, loud and clear. "Let's beat them."