Amond's office felt stuffy, lined with industrial shelves overflowing with books. The three sat within: Cera on a small couch beside Mero, and Sully in a chair across from Amond's desk, which looked as if a bomb made of papers and even more books had exploded. "Hrm, surely I have something that might point us in the right direction," Amond murmured as he slid his hand across a row of books.

  But Amond's search for answers wasn't what interested Cera. It was the mess of papers that captivated Sully. He'd grab one at a time, stare intently for a moment, then place it back on the unorganized piles. They appeared to be news articles, obituaries, and photographs of people.

  "What are you looking at?" Cera inquired curiously, noticing Sully examining another obituary. Sully turned to her and handed her the page. The name of the cemetery was familiar – the one they had visited the day before. "This was the grave we went to?"

  Sully nodded. "Yes, and there are nine more like it over the last eight months."

  "So someone is stealing bodies?"

  "I mean, they aren't there anymore," Sully said dryly. "The police seem to be at a loss."

  "So what does this have to do with anything you guys do?"

  "Because of this," Sully answered, pulling out a small glass vial of dirt. "I've been to two other grave sites. Not only does it reek of magic, but I can't even communicate with the souls that the bodies belonged to."

  "You can talk to the dead?"

  "Yes, can't everyone?" Sully said with a chuckle. "Why do you think I got those herbs yesterday?"

  Cera frowned, then turned to Mero, who displayed a look of slight annoyance at Sully. Cera then asked, "Can you talk to the dead?"

  Mero shook his head. "The only one I know who can is Sully. I never dabbled in those areas, and because sometimes trying to speak with the dead can end very poorly."

  "I've only accidentally brought something back that was bad a couple of times," Sully shot back defensively.

  "The Sumerian sorceress, I remember," Mero responded. "It took us weeks to undo that damage."

  "We were in our twenties."

  Right when Cera started to feel like she was adapting, something so absurd to just about anyone, like talking to the dead and accidentally summoning an ancient sorceress, was just casual talk to them, like they were revealing old drinking games.

  "Do you realize how many different banishment spells we burned through before one worked?"

  "Let's talk about what's going on with me?" Cera said, trying to change the subject, as she looked over to Amond who was now looking on the bottom shelf. "Did you find anything that could explain how I suddenly glow?"

  "Well, you don't technically glow," Sully interjected. "And the only people who can tell are people like us."

  “But that doesn’t explain why she suddenly is experiencing magic,” Amond finally interjected as he stood, but continued to look among his bookshelves. “I have so many questions, but don’t even know where to start.”

  "Let's start with the basics then," Sully said as he turned to Cera. "Did your parents practice magic?"

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  "Not that I am aware, they were both pretty secular," Cera answered, trying to sort through her memories as a child to see if she could pinpoint anything that could lead to some sort of answers.

  "Are you adopted by chance?" Amond asked, as he began to pull a weathered book from the shelf. There was an awkward silence from everyone in the room before Cera shook her head.

  "No, I am not. My mother is still alive and my dad died a few years ago."

  "Sorry, I just had to ask," Amond responded, walking over with the book in hand and placing it on his desk. He opened the cover and turned the pages. "And you said you never witnessed anything like magic or auras until yesterday?"

  "If you saw the way she reacted yesterday, that would be a resounding yes," Sully chimed in, standing from his chair and walking behind Amond's desk to look at the book. "History that predates the second magic war, huh?"

  Amond turned to another page and said, "Yes, if you recall, before the formation of the Cadre, there were people who supposedly had magic awakenings."

  "I remember the history, Amond."

  "Yes, but they were extremely rare," Mero interjected.

  "Very, and mostly happened to people before they turned fifteen."

  "Cera, you aren't fifteen, are you?" Sully asked jokingly. "Because that could be really awkward for all of us."

  "No, Sully, I am not fifteen, so this supposed awakening is about ten years too late," Cera replied. "These awakenings you speak of—would they be possible for someone older to have them?"

  "Possible," Amond acknowledged. "The Cadre didn't exactly document the cases, if anything, they ignored them. Having more magic users could be troublesome for them."

  "What is the Cadre?"

  Amond glanced at Sully before turning back to Cera. "They are members of the seven high families of magic. They essentially set and enforce the laws meant to protect magic and keep our world hidden."

  "Does everyone answer to the Cadre?"

  "Most of us do," Amond answered. "But some people are outliers, essentially living independently of the Cadre."

  "What about you?"

  "I am on good terms with the Cadre, but I mostly just stay to myself these days. Let's just say I am neutral."

  "How about you, Sully?" Cera asked.

  "No, I stay far away from them," Sully responded, noticing Amond's glance. "We have two problems, though. One being some with magic are grave robbing. The other is Cera here, which we have zero answers for either."

  "Perhaps a visit to the libraries is in order?" Mero suggested. "Surely one of them would have some answers on Cera."

  "That would require me leaving Seattle with the hope that they would even let me without the librarians asking questions on behalf of the Cadre," Amond answered, walking over to another bookshelf. "And considering the current events happening, it wouldn't be the best idea."

  "Then you won't like my other suggestion," Mero responded. "But there is one other person who could have witnessed something like this before."

  "Who would that be?" Cera inquired.

  "Hardgrave. You don't get to be his age without seeing a few things."

  "No," Both Amond and Sully said in near unison. Cera wondered why the response was so resounding, but didn't dare ask the question. After all, she had only been in the midst of this strange reality for a day.

  "Then what do we do?" Cera finally managed to say.

  "You can go back to living your life, I guess," Sully said. "But with an aura like yours, you are going to catch somebody's attention eventually."

  "So you brought me here for no reason?"

  "No, he brought you here to give a choice, Cera," Mero said gently as he placed his hand softly on her back. "He's right, someone will notice you eventually, good or bad, we don't know. However, the reason why he brought you here is for me to teach you how to unlock your potential."

  "To actually learn magic?"

  "The choice is yours, of course," Mero replied.

  "What about my job?"

  "You'll continue living your life as normal, but you will come here and start learning. Janey and Stefan both have normal jobs as well."

  "Think of it like going to the gym," Sully said as he began shuffling papers again. "And at the very least until we can find some answers of what is going on with you."

  Cera became silent. She went from being the girl in accounting to suddenly being thrust into this world. It was a lot to take in, but despite the events of the day before, she couldn't help but feel a little intrigued by the notion of learning how to do magic. She looked over to Mero who gave her a gentle smile. And she nodded and said, "Where do we begin?"