“I said no, Caleb.” I cradled the phone to my head, while I attempted to juggle the call, my keys, and takeout as I stood before the door to my apartment. My new apartment, one that I’d found after spending over a month looking for.
The door was yanked open, revealing Alexa. She limped back to couch. “Is that Caleb? Tell him no. And I hope you bought extra egg rolls!”
“See? Even Alexa says no. I’m not joining the Council, no matter what they say.” I listened to Caleb as I kicked the door closed and walked to the kitchen to drop off the food. “I don’t really have that much to show them anyway. Lily left me with the spells she’d given me, but that was it. I don’t have any more lost arts to offer.” I listened a little more, nodding to his words and rolling my eyes as I sat the takeout boxes down on the kitchen counter. “Yeah, I’ll see you Saturday for game night. Byyyye!”
Heaving a sigh of relief, I made sure the call was killed then stuffed the phone back in my front pocket. In short order, I had a pair of heaping plates of food that I carried over to Alexa.
“Think they believe you?” Alexa asked.
“Of course not. But without the ring, I’m just a little more powerful Mage. Not worth actually fighting for.” I shrugged and handed Alexa her plate. “So long as I avoid the guys who are still holding a little grudge over who I killed, I should be good. Thankfully, they were all low-Level guys like me.”
We ate for a bit, contemplating the fallout right after the fight. There’d been quite a few glares and shouted recriminations, but considering the fact that an all powerful jinn was loose, people had better things to do than throw accusations around. There were defences to raise, people to warn. In the chaos, we’d managed to sneak away.
“Do you miss it?” Alexa asked, raising an eyebrow.
“What? My powers?” I shook my head. “It was fun, playing the game. Making my life a game. But the consequences…” I recalled my family, the shell-shocked look on their faces when I met them. The screaming and tantrums. My father refusing to speak with me because of the way I’d put them all in danger. And my friends – injured, outcast, lost. “I think I like my games virtual.”
Alexa gave me a half-smile, a trace of sadness settling around us as we remembered our friend.
“How’s the leg?” I asked to change the topic. A few days ago, we’d been running another assignment, taking on a risky hunt for an escaped min-hydra pet. Not only had we been required to find it, we had to return it unharmed. Which meant Alexa had to get close – resulting in the bite. Unfortunately, hydra venom wasn’t something you wanted a healing potion on.
“Better. The venom is mostly gone,” Alexa said. “Another day and we could probably use a healing potion to fix this.”
“Good, good.” I nodded.
“You just want me to get back to earning my share.”
“Well, we do have a few debts…”
Patching our lives together after the incident meant that we’d had to explain a “gas explosion” in our apartment as well as replace all our belongings. Not surprisingly, our renter’s insurance hadn’t paid out—what with us disappearing for months after the explosion. If not for some minor tweaking by a few friends, we would be in even worse trouble with the authorities.
As it was, we were just scorned and in debt.
“You okay, Henry?” Alexa said, eyes narrowing.
“I’m fine. Why?”
“You bought enough for three.” Alexa pointed at the kitchen.
I turned, staring at the takeout. “No, that’s for… after.”
“Uh huh,” Alexa said.
Thankfully she decided not to pursue the matter. Not as if we hadn’t had this talk before. In strained silence, we focused on dinner. It was part habit – buying enough for three – and part… hope? Wish? It was a fool’s hope.
***
Starlight twinkled as it entered our window, playing across the coffee table. In her bedroom, Alexa slept, thanks to the drugs for the pain from the wound that refused to heal fully. I sat in the living room, a hand caressing the gaming laptop. The one I’d bought a week ago and I’d never even cracked open.
“Stupid. It’s just a game…” I swore at myself, fed up, and finally cracked it open. I tapped the power button and sat back, watching the computer boot up. Watched it get ready.
A feeling of dread, of fear washed over me. And even as it asked me to input a password, I reached forward to slam it shut.
“Hey! I was playing that.”
“No, you’re not. I don’t even have any games downloaded,” I retorted automatically. And then froze.
Slowly, I turned sideways to see a familiar figure seated beside me. A figure in a hoodie and jeans, brown hair escaping around the raised hood. A mocking half-smile on her face and a familiar ring on her hand.
“Hey, Henry. Long time no see.”
###
The End