Despite the decently sized welt on the side of his head, Cris made it through his first week of classes at Daedal Academy reasonably okay. He’d obviously never been the studious type, but part of him did feel a certain eagerness to make these lessons stick. Even the regular classes had his attention. Of course, the magic and training classes were obviously the highlight.

  Cris had been forced to remain out of sparring sessions in close combat training, given his head injury, but in long range training he was allowed to work on attempting the punch he’d delivered against Levi. It still wasn’t clear what had happened there, but the teacher had been curious enough to at least try and see what Cris could do.

  Unfortunately, no magic had come since then. A couple of times Cris had felt that warm sensation in his chest, and he’d learned that sensations of that sort were fairly common when using magic early on. That gave him some hope that he could eventually figure it out. At the very least, he knew it wasn’t a fluke. Something was within him. He just needed to figure out what unleashed it.

  Finn and Elsa were full of tips and suggestions. And, despite the failed mission, there was a reason they’d been selected to join Rainier in tracking down David…and Cris. Finn had an incredible sense of his connection with his Spirit Guide, able to use echolocation in a variety of ways. His ability to connect it with support items was impressive as well. Elsa on the other hand was simply great at maximizing the raw powers her Spirit Guide provided. Quick and precise movements, along with incredible vision made her a force to be reckoned with.

  “You’ve just gotta think about what you’ve been able to do so far,” Finn pointed out during the close combat training while Cris was sidelined. “You punched the demon in the head by channeling power into that ball, and then you also hit Levi with the gloves, but it came out more like a shock wave. It might not be raw physical strength in that case. It could just be a lot of magical power. Maybe you’re a Mythical. Or you might have some Spirit Guide that can do something with the air and you managed to compress it in some way.”

  The explanation made sense to Elsa, who could use air currents with her Spirit Guide. “When I channel spirit energy, I can just sense the currents around me,” she said. “You never notice when you’re just standing there and it’s not a windy day, but they’re always around you.” She demonstrated by using her ability to fly up a few inches. “I haven’t really been able to use them in combat, though. So once you figure it out, you need to show me how to do it.”

  Cris wasn’t sure how long it would take for him to do so, but he could tell it wasn’t going to be easy. It almost seemed like the more he consciously thought about using magic, the harder it was to feel any kind of sense of it. Everything that had happened to this point had required a more spontaneous use of it.

  Still, even without magic, Cris wanted to be able to improve on whatever he could to increase his chances of making sense of this new world. Whether that was with fighting skills that didn’t use magic, or just improving his general knowledge about things. That was where the mythology class became his topic of interest. He was stunned at how long the demon and spirit conflict had gone on, and how it had leaked into various myths and real history. Supposedly the entire legend of King Arthur had revolved around demons, which actually made him somewhat excited about the possibility of a real life Excalibur being out there somewhere. Even Cris liked his stories of swords and sorcery.

  But while Finn and Elsa were the most capable of helping him out with magic and combat, Heidi was the one most capable in the classes requiring more traditional study. And, unfortunately, while she was willing to help, there was a certain distance growing between them since that first class. Whether it was because she was mad at Cris, or he was still distrustful of her, or just the whole sad situation of their histories, he didn’t know. They still spoke, but it was awkward. And while he would never admit it, and while he didn’t think of any of them as friends, it did bother him somewhat.

  What was worse, was that Mara had picked up on it, and after Cris’ match with Levi, she was apparently very eager to slip into his orbit. Finn and Elsa suggested that because Cris had managed to push away her Siren Song more effectively than most, she would be interested in the kind of magic he used. And considering that she was friends with Levi, she was also probably keeping tabs on Cris for him.

  Nonetheless, the week ended with Cris learning a great deal, and he was eager to continue that learning into the weekend. His plan was to get up early and begin exploring the city. He hadn’t really been too interested in heading out during the week after classes ended, many of the students crowding the streets in one go. Not to mention he’d been recovering from being knocked out. He was sure the streets would be crowded again on the weekend, but at least it would be more spaced out.

  So, when Saturday morning finally came, Cris was out of his bed bright and early, slipping on some casual clothes rather than his school uniform, and rushing to the dining hall for a quick breakfast. None of Finn, Elsa or Heidi were around, which relieved him somewhat. He was looking forward to having some time to himself. In fact, only a few students seemed to have gotten up as early as him. About half a dozen older students and a few younger ones as well. One of the younger ones was staring over at Cris curiously, likely wondering what the new kid was up to.

  Cris ate quickly, although he once again enjoyed the nutritious meal he was becoming accustomed to. He could tell he was putting on a few pounds, but not in a bad way. He’d been malnourished for who knew how long, so he needed to pack on a few. In fact, he was feeling much healthier lately. Even his head injury didn’t matter much. Was this really how he could’ve lived had his parents not abandoned him? Aside from the demon attacks and school of traumatized kids of course.

  It was a bright, sunny day as he stepped out of the tower. There was a little more commotion from the stairs to the dorms as he was leaving, so Cris figured he’d timed things reasonably well to get a good head start on the day. He set his eyes on the Athenian styled Acropolis ahead for his first stop and set off, figuring it would be the most likely to be crowded once those behind him had finished eating.

  It wasn’t the easiest of walks as Cris headed down the steps lower into the city, and the Acropolis was quite a few blocks away once he’d made it down. Still, he managed to get there eventually, and he was surprised to find himself grinning as he stared around the area, taking in the strange sights. He was already getting used to the blend of modern and ancient in this city, but it was still bizarre to see an arcade built into a white stone building with Greek arches over the entrance or a movie theater down the road with a statue of Apollo out front.

  Cris stuffed his hands in his pocket and pulled out a small bag of coins as he turned and took in some of the shops. The school provided students a weekly allowance to spend in the city. Because of all the magic here, and some of the unique things built in the different sections of the city, the wealth of Babylon was extraordinary, and thus, the school. Keeping a bunch of teenage magic users happy and well occupied was also in their best interest, too, so they were quite generous. Cris supposed it also had something to do with the fact most of the kids didn’t have families to give them spending money.

  The only thing Cris could complain about was the strange currency system. It was like the money system in a fantasy novel, with gold, silver and copper coins, but there were also wooden and glass coins that functioned in a way similar to regular paper money in the regular world, representing some other source of value. Supposedly wooden coins were kind of like dollar bills, the exchange rate even being similar, and the glass coins were equal to about ten of them. The copper coins were worth about five, while silver was like twenty, and a gold coin was about fifty.

  Cris had been given the equivalent of one hundred and fifty dollars. One gold coin, two silver coins, three glass coins, four copper coins and ten wooden coins. Supposedly each student received this amount weekly, and with dorms, uniforms, healthcare and food already being provided, this was truly all for them. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d held this much money in his hand. He’d stolen a hundred dollars from someone before, but it had subsequently been stolen from him, so he couldn’t even think of a time he’d spent this much money.

  As excited as he was to have this money, though, he did want to be cautious. The council didn’t seem thrilled about having him stick around, so what would happen then? Would he be kicked out? If he had spirit energy, didn’t that mean he had to stay close by? In that case, maybe he would still be in Babylon, but simply not be at the school. That meant he probably wouldn’t be getting a weekly allowance, and that meant he needed to save up. He would be getting two more allowances before the Academy Games. That meant a total of the rough equivalent of four hundred and fifty dollars.

  He decided to check out the cost of food first. If he was out on the streets here, he would need to figure out how many meals he could get himself. There was a small grocery store nearby, and Cris decided to check it out first.

  “What the hell?!” he almost shouted when he stepped in and looked at the prices for some of the basics. “One wooden coin for a loaf of bread?!” This was madness! Didn’t people here know how bad inflation was? He was a street kid and even he knew it.

  “Yeah, sorry kid,” a clerk nearby said. “Economy’s in bad shape. Used to be we could get two loaves a chip.” A chip was the common term for a wooden coin. A shard was what the glass coins were called.

  Cris gaped at him. “Two?”

  “Oh, you must be new, huh?” The clerk laughed. “Yeah, don’t worry. Doubt we ever end up like outsiders with our costs. Although like I said, back in the day, those loaves were half the price. Granted, the loaves are bigger and the bread is healthier. Actually, now that I think about it…probably works out to be similar value...”

  Cris walked out of the store with his head spinning, and one of his copper coins gone. A box of chocolates, fancier than any kind outside Babylon, and an elaborate soda now in his bag. He would be careful, but he figured now that he had some room to splurge on some items.

  Next up, he went to a weapons shop. Considering he was in a city of spirit users, he figured if he was on the street, he could potentially end up needing something to fight back. The prices were actually a little higher there, but nonetheless, Cris did find a decent little dagger with a cool looking sheathe. He walked out of that shop down one silver coin, but was pleased to have a weapon beyond martial arts gloves. Supposedly it was seventy-five percent Spirit Steel, too. Most were in the sixty percent range. His gloves were ninety percent, but the amount of Spirit Steel was very minimal.

  By the time Cris was approaching a clothing store, he noticed the crowds were increasing, many students having finally finished their own breakfasts and enjoying their Saturday. At this point, though, Cris didn’t mind. He was actually enjoying himself.

  There was a slight threat to that enjoyment, however, as he noticed a familiar face down the road. She had a smirk on her face and her green eyes sparkled with menace. Cris quickly darted into the clothing store, even though he was currently near the girls’ section. He had no interest in running into Mara again.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “Huh? Cris?”

  He turned in surprise at the voice, noticing Heidi staring over at him. She was holding up a dress in front of herself, standing in front of a mirror. Glancing down and seeing what she was doing, though, she suddenly yelped and threw it on a rack. Her cheeks went pink immediately as she fidgeted with her beret.

  Cris peeked behind him quickly, noticing Mara passing by the store and sighed in relief, ignoring Heidi’s awkward mumbling. “Good, she’s going…” he said quietly.

  “Hm?” Heidi moved forward, coming up beside Cris and following his gaze. “Mara? What, was she trying to talk to you?”

  “No, just…don’t feel like getting into an interaction with her,” Cris muttered.

  “Guess I can’t blame you,” Heidi said. “Especially since she’s friends with Levi.”

  “Couple of real gems.”

  “Haha, yeah.” Cris glanced at Heidi, surprised to hear her sounding so…casual. She seemed to notice as well, though, immediately blushing again. “So…er…you’re shopping?” she asked, pointing at Cris’ bag.

  He nodded, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed himself. “Yeah, I…got some chocolate and a dagger.”

  He locked eyes with Heidi, and for a moment they were both completely silent. But then, suddenly, they both laughed. Why that of all things caused Cris to join Heidi of all people in a laugh, he didn’t know, but it took a few moments for the two of them to gather themselves.

  When they stopped, Heidi helped herself and picked up Cris’ bag, peeking inside. “Oh wow, those daggers used to go for a gold coin not too long ago. Before they managed to get more blades that were eighty-percent or more Spirit Steel.” She then showed off the sheathe at her waist, a slightly more ornate dagger hilt seen there. “I got this one last week before you got out of the infirmary. Eighty-five percent Spirit Steel. Cost me two gold coins, though.”

  “Why’d you get a new one?” Cris asked.

  Heidi glanced away uncertainly. “I…wasn’t much use…during…you know.”

  Cris wasn’t sure what to say. Maybe he would’ve made some kind of comment about it before. Maybe he wouldn’t have. He didn’t feel right about it now, though, that was for sure. In fact, he didn’t feel right about more than just that. Despite the moment of laughter, he could see it in Heidi’s eyes. The uncertainty. The guilt. And he felt in himself, too.

  “Hey, er…do you…” He felt his eyes beginning to pop out of his head. What on earth was he doing? Was he doing what he thought he was doing? It didn’t have anything to do with that, of course, but still, it very much looked like it did.

  Heidi’s eyes had brightened, though, and she looked somewhat hopeful. “What is it?” she asked, almost looking like she was fighting back a smile.

  Cris narrowed his eyes. “I’m not…you know…asking you…” He scratched his head and looked around awkwardly, feeling further embarrassed as he noticed a pair of girls nearby smirking at him and Heidi. He’d forgotten he’d walked into the girls’ section and noticed his back was up against a stack of things he shouldn’t have been nearby.

  Apparently Heidi was thoroughly enjoying this, though. For a girl who was often timid, even if cheerful and outgoing, she seemed to have a mischievous side. “Asking what?” Where was the awkwardness she’d had moments before?

  “I’m still a little lost around here, so…can you show me around a bit more?” Cris asked. “Just like…normal.”

  Heidi nodded happily, gently pushing Cris back out towards the exit of the store. “Sure thing! Just like normal.”

  That had been perhaps the strangest and most embarrassing interaction of Cris’ life. And demons aside, he’d had a lot of weird stuff happen in his life. Fortunately, though, it seemed to have eased the tension between him and Heidi. And for whatever reason, he was happy about that. Even if she wasn’t his friend, Cris supposed he was going to be spending a lot of time with Heidi. It was better to not be so awkward with her.

  “So, anything you want to see in particular?” Heidi asked once they were out on the street. They were beginning to approach a more French inspired section of the city.

  “I don’t know. My plan was to kind of just see what things cost around here.” Cris shrugged, peeking into his bag. “In case I end up on the streets I want to be able to stretch my cash as long as -”

  “Why would you end up on the streets?!” Heidi suddenly cried out, grabbing his arm. “What are you talking about?”

  “Oh, well, you know…with the council and everything.” Cris shrugged again. “I mean, they didn’t make it much of a secret that they’re not big fans of me.”

  Heidi narrowed her eyes. “You’re not ending up on the streets, Cris.”

  “I don’t think it’s up to you.”

  “You can stay with…” She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. We’ll beat whatever they throw at us in the Academy Games. Usually it’s some kind of quest or war game. And we get to be in teams. You, me, Elsa and Finn. We’ll win the whole thing!”

  “Have you competed in them before?” Cris asked. He supposed she probably had, but now that he thought of it, he didn’t really know much about the Academy Games.

  They continued walking again before Heidi answered. “They’re usually optional, so I’ve only competed a couple times. Elsa competes fairly regularly. They’re held monthly, but bigger competitions are held twice throughout the year. This one is just a smaller one, though, so don’t worry about that.”

  “How dangerous is it if…you know…it’s like a Triggering?” Cris remembered the look on Mr. Flint’s face when he’d mentioned the council referring to his participation as such.

  Heidi swallowed nervously. “There’s usually something to fight. If it’s war games, we fight other students mostly. If it’s a quest, we still fight students, but some teachers or city guards might be involved to block access to things we have to find. Sometimes we even have to fight Echoes.”

  “Echoes?” Cris chuckled lightly. “Haven’t heard that one yet.” He had to admit, finding out about these various terms was beginning to amuse him.

  “Really powerful spirit users are able to create a temporary physical form of their Spirit Guide,” Heidi explained. “It’s stronger if they maintain some kind of connection to it, but if it’s defeated or wounded, the user will get hurt as well. So usually what happens in the Academy Games is they’ll sever the connection and set the Echoes loose. Then we fight them almost like demon substitutes. Except, instead of being shrouded in shadow, they’re shrouded in a kind of blue aura.”

  “Sounds kind of cool, actually,” Cris said, imagining the sight.

  “Not when you’re fighting them,” Heidi said. “I stopped competing after I fought one my last attempt. If you get stuck fighting a councilor’s Echo, it’s like fighting a really strong demon. Other than Levi and Rosie, only Elsa and a couple other A-Ranks are capable of beating them.”

  “But you want to compete in this thing with me?” Cris asked, noticing Heidi’s voice shake as she mentioned her fight.

  Heidi took a deep breath, nodding as she smiled in Cris’ direction. “I’m on your side. If you’ll have me…”

  Cris opened his mouth to answer, but just then, he glanced up and saw Mara again. She seemed to be conversing with a little girl. Cris figured she was probably manipulating the kid into doing something nasty. Regardless, he pulled Heidi away so that they could get out of view. He just so happened to pull them towards a cafe, though.

  “Oh, you want a coffee or something?” Heidi asked, grinning as she looked at the cafe. It was French, given the area of the city they were in, and Cris noticed a certain kind of clientele that was there. Most tables were occupied by two people. He sighed in resignation, though, and joined Heidi as she sat down.

  Trying to avoid the glances of the other customers, Cris looked across the table at Heidi, surprised at how happy she looked. “Do you like places like this or something?”

  “I guess so,” she said, peering at the menu. “Two chips for a regular coffee. Must be fancy. And wow! A shard for that one! Never even heard of it before. Babylonian Special, huh? Looks good, but that’s expensive. Even for here. Does come with a cake, though…”

  Cris waved for a waitress as Heidi continued to peruse the menu. Before she could say anything, he dropped a silver coin in the waitress’ hand. “A couple of Babylonian Specials, please.”

  “Huh?! Cris!” Heidi gaped at him and watched the waitress disappear behind the counter. “What are you…?”

  Cris was a little flabbergasted himself, staring blankly at his bag of coins. “That’s weirdly invigorating…” Was he a high roller now that he had cash? He’d figured he’d splurged on the chocolates before, but this was extreme. He noticed Heidi’s stare and shrugged. “Pay me back if I end up on the streets.”

  She narrowed her eyes for a moment, but finally nodded. “Fine.”

  It wasn’t too long before their expensive specials arrived. They didn’t appear very large, and looked somewhat plain except for the fancy topping of whipped cream, and the cakes were nice looking, too. However, when Cris took his first sip of the drink, he felt as though he could’ve spent a gold coin on them and been perfectly content with the price.

  “Incredible!” he and Heidi exclaimed.

  “Have you had anything like this before?” Cris asked, setting the drink down, not wanting to have it all in one go.

  “No, but I do like fancy coffees,” Heidi said, using a straw to stir the whipped cream into the coffee. “I used to get them with my mom all the time.”

  Cris looked away awkwardly, his guilt creeping up on him again. He decided not to let it fester, though. “I’m sorry about being a jerk with…all of this. I had no idea most people here had been through hell. Not that that’s an excuse.”

  Heidi didn’t look up, continuing to stare at her drink. She smiled softly, though. “No one else had their mission screwed up like yours was, Cris. You should’ve been one of the lucky ones. You have good reason to be upset.”

  “I’m starting to wonder if it wasn’t so screwed up,” Cris said, surprising even himself with the statement. “Maybe more…screwed with.”

  “By demons, you mean?” Heidi asked, looking up in surprise. “They’re not that smart.”

  “Maybe they aren’t,” Cris said, “but a person controlling them could be.”

  “That’s impossible,” Heidi said, laughing nervously. “Even Mara can’t do that, and her ability would be the most likely one capable of it. Monstrous Spirit Guides are still Spirit Guides. Demons hate them.”

  Cris still wasn’t so sure. He’d wondered about this since learning about some of the myths and some of the hidden histories. There was always some kind of excuse for enhanced demon activity. One side’s Spirit Guide created more fear in demons, which left them naturally drawn to another. Or someone’s Spirit Guide was so drained that a demon failed to notice them, only appearing to kill their enemy for them. It was always too coincidental. But the histories were adamant. Demons couldn’t be controlled by Spirit Guides.

  “Just seems strange,” Cris finally said, deciding not to press the issue further.

  “It was,” Heidi admitted, nodding sadly. “Still…we shouldn’t have let you and David down. We could’ve done…more.”

  Cris felt his fist clench, but he tried to calm himself. He needed to accept that what had happened was a tragedy, but not the fault of those who continued to stick around him despite his attitude. Not the fault of the man who had led the mission and tried to save him and David in the first place. And certainly not the fault of the girl in front of him who had shown him kindness the moment she’d met him.

  “I’ll have you…”

  “Eep!” Heidi’s eyes widened, and she started coughing, appearing quite alarmed. “Wh-Wh-What?”

  “…on my team,” Cris said. “You said you’d be on my team for the Academy Games, right?”

  “Oh…right.” She nodded, composing herself. “Yeah, I’ll be there!”

  “Good,” Cris said, a smile coming to his face, “because I don’t plan to just make it through this thing. I plan to win.”

  They finished their coffees with lighter conversation. Cris was surprised to find himself asking about Heidi’s old life. And while that may have been a touchy subject before, especially after that first class, it now seemed like a positive one. She spoke of her mother with great fondness. She didn’t live a lavish life as Cris might’ve thought, but she was happy. Not all that different from Cris’ own version of happiness in that abandoned apartment. A simple life with someone who had their back.

  Once they were done, they walked the streets a little more, Heidi showing Cris some of the places he had yet to see. He saw the area known as Little London, with a large blacksmith’s forge at the center. He saw the more modern American section of the city, a copy of the Statue of Liberty visible at its edge. And he saw the entrance to the Labyrinth, which supposedly stretched underneath the entire city, always changing and flooded with magical energy.

  Eventually, Heidi grew somewhat tired, and she decided to head back. Cris accompanied her most of the way, but opted to still hang around the city for a little while, wanting to take in a little more. And, when she was gone, he departed for the Roman section of the city nearby.

  It was there he saw Mara for the third time that day. He didn’t have the chance to slip away this time, though, and was stuck as she walked his way. However, surprisingly, she didn’t seem to notice him, appearing tired, her eyes downcast and a slump in her shoulders. Her hair didn’t seem to have that glossy sheen it usually did either.

  Shrugging it off, Cris continued on his way. Something seemed strange as he walked, though. He almost felt as though something was watching him. Had Heidi come back for him? Had Mara noticed him after all? He turned around, expecting one of them. It wasn’t either, but someone was there.

  A little girl.

  Cris stared at her curiously. There was something about her that seemed familiar. He’d seen this face before. He’d seen it…this morning. He’d seen it…this afternoon. He’d seen this girl in the school.

  But he’d seen her before as well, hadn’t he?

  She spoke to him, and her calm, much older seeming voice sent a chill down his spine.

  “Hello, Icarus. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Anna.”

  “How do you know my name, kid?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.

  She giggled, tilting her head slightly. “I’m not a kid.”

  “Then what are you?”

  She laughed, almost as though they were sharing in some great joke.

  But her words were chilling.

  “I’m the one who killed your friend.”