"Get down!"
Freya d'Or heard the warning almost a second too late. She hit the floor just as an enormous silver streak of metallic fur leapt at the equally enormous tentacled Anomaly that she had been grappling with a moment ago. The silver beast's claws and gleaming teeth ripped into the creature like a knife through butter, severed body parts flying through the air around them. Freya would have felt pity for the Anomaly, if the thing hadn't nearly torn her limb from limb just a moment ago.
Certain that the Summoned Beast could handle the Anomaly, Freya turned to her saviour. He sat on the edge of a rock a few feet above, black coat flying in the breeze, with a disinterested expression on his irritatingly handsome face.
Jester Lee.
Master Necromancer.
Rookie of the Year.
Every woman's unattainable fantasy.
Arrogant prick.
"You're late," Frey said, making her way up the slope tow
I would like to state, for the record, that my being in Jester's apartment with his mother that day was purely coincidence. I did not plan for her to invite me into her home and help her cook chicken pesto and meat stew for dinner. I did not plan for her to walk back with me to the apartment when I ran into her at the convenience store while she was buying laundry detergent and I was there for some iced coffee. And I most certainly did not plan for Jester Lee to walk in just as I was carrying the said pasta dish, all decked out in his mother's apron with my hair up and my face all shiny with excitement since this was the first time I have ever helped cook anything in my entire life.I swear on the honourable name of my house, all of this was fate.Bea pointed out that I helped fate quite a lot by buying the entire building where Jester and his family lived and moving into the apartment exactly opposite theirs, thus making such 'fated' en
"Neighbor...?" Jester echoed, as if it were the first time he heard of the word."Yes, dear. Alisa just moved in next door," Ms. Lee told her son, apparently oblivious to his inner turmoil. "I ran into her outside and I invited her over for dinner. I hope you don't mind."It wasn't a question. It was clear to him that his mother wasn't asking for his opinion. The fact that she was calling her by her first name, and that she was inside their home, meant his mother had already formed a favourable opinion of the actress. He wondered if it had anything to do with the fact that his mother had watched every episode of all three seasons of Bonecastle Life.The good mood he had when he boarded the Portal Pod home had disappeared the moment he saw Alisa standing behind his mother. The fatigue and frustration that had built up over the past three days in the Wildlands resurfaced, and he could feel the beginnings of a headache form
The answer to Jester's question came in the form of Alisa's PA.They had all just settled down, Alisa sitting beside Jester (to his utter dismay) and Ms. Lee and Rigel opposite them, when the bell rang.Visitor Bea is at the door, the cool tones of the housekeeper system announced. Visitor Bea is looking for Guest Alisa. Will the visitor be allowed entry?"Oh, damn, I'm sorry," Alisa said, getting up from her seat. "Bea is my PA. It's her day off, so I didn't expect her to come by…""It's alright, dear," said Ms. Lee. "If it's not too urgent, why don't you invite her to join us?""I don't think so," Jester cut in, sensing an opportunity. "I'm sure Alisa is really busy, and her PA won't come looking for her if it wasn't important. I'm sure you need to go--""Not really. Bea is probably just--""Why don't we go and make sure?" Jester said, making him
I would have continued pondering in silence if Bea didn't tap my shoulder to get my attention. "You're still offline, Alisa. Sirel just messaged me, he said he needs to talk to you. Important stuff." Bea rolled her eyes, knowing as well as I do, that if it's Sirel who needs me, then it means it has something to do with Jester Lee.I checked my messages, and saw that half the missed calls were from my father, and the other half was divided between Sirel and Bea."Miss Vega! I've been trying to call you--""Sorry," I said, hearing the nervous excitement in his tone. I switched off video since I was driving--I don't need the distraction of double vision, especially if I want to make a point about safe driving to Bea. "I was pretty busy this afternoon. What's up?""We finalized the search for Jester Lee's possible love interests. I'm happy to say that we haven't found anyone that could possibly be considered
None of us were surprised that Dad had chosen Conrad as his successor. We were surprised though, by the fact that Dad chose to tell us NOW.I was especially worried, because I could tell that although this succession announcement was important for him, there was something else he really wanted to talk about. Anxiety and guilt flew like sparks around him and because Dad is one of those naturally confident types, seeing him like this was... disturbing. The others, though, thought that his retirement was the biggest news they were going to hear tonight. After a few seconds of stunned silence, everyone began talking at once--congratulating Conrad and making jokes.It was only Conrad who was protesting. Beneath his surprise was a thick current of worry and uncertainty. No one in the family would ever contest his claim as the most qualified to step into Dad's shoes, so the uncertainty was more about his own assessment of himself. My eldest bro
It was Marcus who first figured out I had a special power. He was the one who told the adults that I did something strange that day.It was a few weeks after the butterfly incident. We were in my bedroom, sitting on the carpeted floor, playing with Nanny's old dog Corgi (who was actually a beagle, and not a corgi at all). Corgi was a sweet dog, with dull grey fur that blended with the pavement, but had beautiful brown eyes that made you want to give him every scrap of food you could spare. Needless to say, Corgi was fat and arthritic and couldn't move very fast. This made him the prime target of a six year old girl who had just learned how to tie ribbons. There were already five ribbons haphazardly tied to his tail, in almost every shade of the rainbow. Marcus handed me a black ribbon to tie around his floppy ears when we heard a faint thump, like something heavy had been dropped. Corgi stood up, suddenly tense and alert, and a second later he dashed out o
Morning came bright and sunny. I woke up too late to join the others for breakfast, but Bea assured me there was nothing to worry about. According to her, everyone was pretending I hadn't dramatically walked out of the dining room after a short, emotional outburst that would have gotten me a scolding if Grandma Susana had been present. In fact, no one seemed to want to talk about Dad's decision to retire and work with the AG, or my decision to...well, I actually hadn't decided yet.That talk with Dad hit me harder than I thought it would. Maybe it's because ever since meeting Madam Josefa, I had been thinking about my current situation from different perspectives: the perspective of my family, for one, and the perspective of the Tower, for another.In all honesty, I wouldn't be having this problem at all if I hadn't been a Vega. The TWMO has full authority when it comes to the Gifted--from evaluating and training them, to policing and de
Madam Josefa was all dolled-up. She wore crimson robes embroidered with chrysanthemums in silver and black thread, and her white curls were done up in matching black pins that twinkled in the light. Her fan today was of the same shade as her robes. Even as she gave me that ominous prediction, she stood tall (figuratively, since she's only five-foot-three) and confident. She reminded me of Grandma Susana and her wealthy old lady friends who like having tea parties in gardens, or playing high-stakes mahjong in the mansion. I could easily imagine Madam Josefa in that crowd, and I wondered if she and Grandma Susana weren't already friends.I glanced at her escort, dressed in his trademark white racing suit, with his initials emblazoned in bold black letters on his chest.I haven't seen him in months. Elves are naturally tall and leanly built, but Colin was more on the short and stocky. He was only six feet tall, and in my five-inch platf