Saturday dawned bright and clear, wisps of clouds streaking through the sky. The temperature had dropped off some since yesterday, so even as my friends and I walked up to the Mage’s Guild with the sun high in the sky, it was much more bearable.

Crystal City may be full of magic, but if you went walking around town, you might not even notice. Okay, yes, some of the people are a dead giveaway (looking at you, Jason), but when it comes to the town itself, it looks just like any other seaside town. Some of the paint is a little chipped from the salty spray off the ocean, and yes, sometimes the marina smells like old fish, but overall, just a nice, coastal community.

That being said, I can’t deny that the guildhall does stand out, just a bit.

Thick posts of weathered wood had been driven deep into the ground all along the massive plot of land, a thick cord of rope running through each post and off to the next, forming a waist-high fence around the edge of the property.

It wasn't really meant to keep anything in or out. Mostly just a friendly reminder, like ‘keep off the grass’ or ‘don’t feed the birds’. But more along the lines of ‘Hey, lots of crazy magic going on inside. So, if you decide to cross this line, any curses, mutilations or transformations are not our fault. Have a nice day’.

The path leading to the guildhall was shaded by massive southern live oaks, their branches wrapped in a coat of Spanish moss. Lining the top of the dunes at the back of the property, just barely visible from the street, sea oats swayed lazily in the breeze. 

Now, granted, with its sea green paint and sun-bleached roof, the guildhall didn’t look much different from many of the other buildings in town. I’d been here once before, when we came here for school to learn how the guild works, but it was still a bit of a shock. It’s just that, well, I don’t know that there’s really any other way to put this.

It was big. I mean, really big.

From the outside, the guildhall looked to be about six stories tall, which made it easily the tallest building in town. Stepping inside, the cool air offered a welcome relief from the summer heat as I looked around the main lobby.

The guildhall was built with many things in mind.

Subtly, apparently, was not one of them. 

Pale hardwood floors covered an area triple the size of what you would expect from the outside. Sunlight spilled through the massive window that had taken the place of the entire rear wall of the room, sending beams of light dancing through the column of water standing in the center of the room. 

Wider than a pair of redwoods, the water was filled with aquatic plants. Tropical fish of all sizes and colors swam through the column of coral stretching up the column all the way to the ceiling. As soon as it reached the top, the coral branched out, forming rafters of weathered stone that fanned across the ceiling. 

If you ran your fingers through the water, sometimes the fish would follow them. I tried that the last time we were here.

You just had to be careful with the eels.

They bite.

And, yes, you read that right. There’s not a single shard of glass holding that water in place. In a place this overflowing with magic you don’t need it. Glass aquariums are for the weak.

A pair of staircases curved around the aquarium, leading up to the second floor. 

But wait, from the outside, it’s the third floor. So, then which floor is it? Second? Third? Secird? Thircond? Maybe we should call it the… you know what, never mind. Thinking about stuff like that always gives me a headache.

The next floor (there, headache gone) was split into two sides, and connected to each other by a walkway running along the giant window. Each side was filled with computers and workstations, maps, charts, and pretty much anything else you could want to run such a big operation. There was enough tech in this one space to make Google look like some guy in his mom’s basement.

To the left of the main doors, three people stood working at a desk that looked like it had been molded from the beach itself (which it probably had been), sand and shells compressed together into the shape of a cresting wave. Behind the desk, a large HD monitor showed the names and times for the different daily activities in the guild, the screen switching over to a new list every minute or so.

Past the reception desk, along each wall, stood rows of elevators, their doors carved from the same material as the desk, each with a different sea creature carved into its doors (the tiger shark doors being my personal favorite).

“Good morning,” said the closest of the three at the desk, a smiling girl with a brunette bob who looked to be about a year older than us. “How may I help you? Wait, don’t tell me. Let me guess. New applicants for the mage program?”

“That’s right,” said Jason. “We were told to come here, but we’re not really sure where to go.”

“That’s alright. We’ve had quite a few of you first timers coming through here today,” she said as she stepped out from behind the desk. “I can show you where to go. Follow me.”

We followed her over to the nearest elevator (sea turtles, in case you’re curious), and piled in. As the doors slid shut silently behind us, I noticed something weird.

“Do these elevators not have any buttons?” I asked

“Oh, no,” said the girl. “With so many different places to go, there’d be so many in here there’d be nowhere to stand. Even then, it still wouldn’t be enough.” 

As she spoke, the girl tapped a panel next to the door, and a screen sprang to life. I didn’t get much of a look, but there seemed to be way more choices than there were floors in the building. With a practiced hand, she raced through the menu for a few seconds, found what she was looking for, and off we went.

Now, magic or not, traveling in these elevators isn’t instant. So, while we have a minute, now might be a good time for me to explain a few things. Just some of the basics.

First thing you need to know is this: Everyone in Crystal City can use magic. And when you have an island full of magic users, the most important thing anyone can learn is how to control it. And for that, we have Crystal City Academy.

For the most part, it’s your typical school: math, history, science, the usual subjects. But there are also classes that teach you how to use and control your powers. Hormonal teenagers and uncontrolled magic? Not a good mix. Prom season can get ugly.

In their tenth year, around the time they turn fifteen, students are allowed to take the Mage Entrance Exam. At the end of the school year, any students who managed to pass the exam are accepted into the Mage's Guild.

A mage is someone who has made magic into a career. Think of them like magic police. It’s the job of the mages to deal with any magical or supernatural trouble that’s too much for the mundane authorities to handle.

Becoming a mage takes years of training and hard work, but at least it’s never boring.

Ding.

That’s my stop.

The girl wished us good luck as we stepped out of the lift into a short hallway. Sunlight spilled through a large stone archway at the end of the hall.

“Okay,” I said. “That’s different.”

Down in the lobby, the rows of elevators had been split evenly on either side of the room. But here, the doors all lined a space that couldn’t be more than half as wide as the room where they started.

I started down the hall, Kora and Jason following close behind. We passed through the archway and—

“We’re outside?!” exclaimed Kora. 

We’d exited the hallway and found ourselves standing at the top of a small stadium. It looked like something that had popped out of the pages of one of my history books.

Made out of a lightly colored stone, tiers of benches circled out around us to either side, leading down to a round field fifty yards wide. A fair number of the seats were already full, occupied by what I assumed were some of the mages working in the guild.

“We can’t actually be back outside, right?” asked Jason. He turned to me. “What do you think? Artificial?”

“Probably,” I said. “That would make about as much sense as anything else in this place.”

Most of the other new recruits had already arrived and were gathered around one side of the field. Kora, Jason, and I hurried down the steps and joined the back of the crowd as the last few stragglers wandered in.

On the lowest level of seats, directly in front of the waiting crowd, Nick Flamel was leaning back in his seat, feet propped up on the arena wall, sipping an iced coffee like he didn’t have a care in the world. After a quick glance at his watch, Nick hopped to his feet and the arena fell silent.

“Good morning everyone, and thanks for being on time.”

Did I imagine it or was he looking at me when he said that?

“I’ll try to keep this short. You’ve all decided to walk the path of mages. You’ve passed the tests, and proven you have what it takes. On paper, at least. But you know the drill; before you can start your official training, you’ll have to earn your provisional license. And to do that, you’ll have to complete a job.”

A murmur ran through the crowd as people started whispering excitedly between themselves.

“But,” Nick said loudly, and the group fell silent again, “what job do you have to complete? Well, that’s why we’re here today.” Nick gestured at the mages spread throughout the arena. “Show us what you’ve got. Impress us with what you’ve learned. Whichever one of you impresses us the most, will get first pick of the jobs that will earn you your license. Any questions? No? Well alright then, let’s get started.”

Nick dropped back into his seat and took another sip of his coffee. He looked thoughtful for a moment, and then, almost as an afterthought, he added, “Oh, and please, at least try not to go overboard. Let’s keep the property damage to a minimum, okay people?”

The whole arena burst into laughter at that last comment. With this many new recruits in one place, collateral damage was more or less a given. I guess the real question was how much of the arena would be left standing by the time we were finished.

My friends and I followed the rest of the crowd into the open seats surrounding Nick. While the rest of us got settled, at Nick’s direction, the first recruit stepped into the arena.

Show time.

No two people had the same ways of using magic.  The first girl conjured bolts of colored light that exploded like fireworks. Another pair demonstrated their skill with flight, conjuring floating rings and racing each other around the arena, working in some impressive high-speed acrobatics.

“Would you stop doing that? You’re going to wear a hole in the floor,” said Jason.

Kora didn’t slow her pacing. From the moment we got up here, she hadn’t stopped fidgeting.

“I can’t help it,” she said, “When is it going to be my turn?!”

“Relax,” said Jason, “There’s no rush.”

“Yeah, Nick’s just saving the best for last,” I said.

Right. More like she’s being saved for last so repairs only have to be done once.

“Yeah, relax chica. We’ll get our chance.”

I turned to look behind me, and sitting there was one of our old classmates, Diego Cortez. He had to be, hands down, one of the most attractive people in the arena. Bronze skin, dark wavy hair, and abs that made Captain America look like a slacker. I’d have asked him out myself by now, but he only seemed interested in girls. Oh well, to each his own.

“Is that right?” said Kora with a smirk. “Well, we’ll see if you’re so confident when we’re in the ring.”

“You’re on,” he said, a roguish smile spreading across his face. “And don’t worry, when I win—”

“When you win, we’ll know a miracle has happened,” said the girl sitting to Diego’s left.

“Didn’t ask you, princesa,” said Diego. “And learn to loosen up. You know, slouching once or twice a year won’t hurt you. What’s with that?”

Lin Zhao’s black hair was pulled back into a neat bun, held in place by a pair of jade sticks. Sitting with her back straight, hands folded lightly in her lap, Lin was the picture of grace and poise. If I found out her spine had been replaced with a metal rod, I would’ve believed it. Bad posture seemed to be physically impossible for her.

“What’s with that,” said Lin, “is that unlike you, I know how to behave myself in public.” 

And then she calmly reached up, and smacked Diego in the back of the head.

“Ow!”

“And don’t call me princess.”

As Lin spoke, a ten-foot-wide ring appeared on the floor at the center of the arena. At the same time, an archery target appeared on the wall on the far side of the arena. 

“Oh, looks like it’s Tobias’ turn,” said Jason. “This should be good.”

Tobias stepped into the center of the arena. He was holding a bow in his left hand, a quiver of arrows slung over his shoulder.

Like Jason, Tobias isn’t human. He’s a kitsune, a fox. His bright orange fur and the shocks of white at the tip of his tail and beneath his muzzle shone brightly in the sun.

Tobias strung an arrow, the black fur on his hands and forearms drinking in the light as he took aim.

He fired his first shot. A perfect bullseye. As soon as the arrow found its target, a timer appeared in the air above it. Thirty seconds, twenty-nine—

Projections appeared around the arena, moving in all directions. Glowing humanoid shapes armed with swords, spears, bows. 

Twenty-seven, twenty-six—

A sword-wielding projection charged at Tobias. In the blink of an eye, an arrow pierced its throat and the projection shattered.

A spear user charged at him from behind. He leapt over its head, firing down through the skull.

Tobias’ feet had barely touched the ground before he spun to avoid enemy arrows, shattering the archers with two well-placed shots through the head.

Fifteen, fourteen—

He moved too fast for them to hit. Each move flowed into the next, wasting nothing. One after another, the projections fell to Tobias and his bow.

Six, five—

With an arrow through the heart, the last projection fell. 

Four.

Tobias turned, stringing one last arrow.

Three.

He took aim at the target.

Two.

He drew back his bow.

One.

Tobias let the arrow fly. I could sense the energy coming from the arrow. He must have used his magic to give it extra power. Just before the timer hit zero, the arrow found its mark. With his last shot, Tobias split his first arrow, right down the shaft.

The timer sounded. A small figure of a man shone in the air beside it, and next to that, a number. In just thirty seconds, Tobias managed to fatally shoot thirteen enemy projections. Note to self, don’t piss off the team sharpshooter.

The townspeople were frozen in their seats, wide-eyed and slack-jawed, eyes flicking between Tobias and his double bullseye. The mages erupted into cheers as Tobias took a bow and came to join us in the stands. As he walked up the stairs, I could see several groups exchanging money, probably from betting on how many targets he could hit.

As Tobias entered the stands, his black-furred ears kept flicking about, probably listening to the crowd’s reaction to his shooting. He was smiling so wide his icy blue eyes were starting to squint.

“Nice shooting, Legolas.”

“Do you really have to keep saying that every time?”

“Right, sorry. Nice shooting, Katniss.”

SMACK!

“Ow! Dude, don’t hit me with that thing! It’s gonna leave a mark!”

Tobias lowered his bow, and with a flick of his wrist, it vanished, along with his quiver. He looked over at Kora, who had finally stopped pacing but was still practically shaking with anticipation.

“What’s with her?”

“She hasn’t gotten to hit anything yet,” I said.

I think Tobias was about to say something else, but he stopped short. I followed his gaze across the arena, where Nick had risen to his feet.

“And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for. Time for some spar—”

“Yeah! Finally!” yelled Kora.

Everyone in the arena stared in silence. She quickly sat down, trying and failing to make herself look smaller.

“Sorry,” she squeaked.

“As I was saying,” said Nick, “Time for some sparring.”

As the crowd cheered, a new projection appeared above Nick’s head. It looked like a small scoreboard, a timer in the center set for five minutes. On either side of the timer was a blank space where team names would be on a normal board.

“Let’s see who’ll be going first.”

Nick snapped his fingers. The two nameplates lit up and began to quickly spin through the names of the assembled recruits. It was moving so fast it was hard to tell, but from the few names I could pick out, it looked like the only names showing up were people who hadn’t already given a demonstration.

As quickly as it’d started, the spinning stopped. So, looks like our first match will be…oh, great.

Jason Stark and David McHale.

Figures. Jason would get stuck fighting him.

David McHale has the build of a star linebacker, and the blue-eyed blonde would almost be handsome, except he has the temper of an angry wolverine, and about as much personality as a department store mannequin. He’s also been bullying Jason since we were eight. 

So basically, he’s a jackass. And his style of magic definitely doesn’t help make him any nicer.

You see, David uses a very powerful type of magic. It’s called God Soul Magic. It’s one of the most difficult types of magic for a person to learn. And if you try to learn a style that you’re not naturally suited to, forget it. You’ll never be able to pull it off. 

Basically, God Soul Magic allows the person using it to channel the abilities of a particular god or goddess. This kind of magic gives the user a wider range of abilities, and it packs a serious punch.

And before you ask, yes, I have God Soul Magic, too. In fact, most of my classmates do as well. Our town is famous for producing the highest number of god magic users in the world. I use the powers of Susanoo, god of storms and seas. I’ve been practicing my lightning magic for years now, and it’s none too shabby, if I do say so myself. 

I’ll admit, my training had some ups and downs. A few short circuits, some small fires. Maybe a couple of rolling blackouts. Though, in my defense, you’d have thought the power grid would have been better insulated against that sort of thing.

David uses Zeus God Soul Magic. And wielding the powers of the king of Olympus just seems to be feeding his already Godzilla-sized opinion of himself. Completing his entrance exams hadn’t helped either. If anything, he was getting worse.

As soon as his name popped up, David shouldered his way down the stands and into the arena. And now he’s posing. Seriously, how in the hell does his ego fit inside this building? And though I have no idea how, he actually had people in the crowd whistling and cheering for him. 

What do you call people who only seem to exist to suck up to somebody? Friends? Lackeys? Well, whatever they’re called, he’s got them.

I slapped Jason on the back, “Looks like you’re up.”

“Yippee,” said Jason, his voice flat.

“Hey, don’t think of it as you having to fight that waste of space. Think of it like this— you’ve got a golden opportunity to bring that blowhard down a few pegs.”

Jason glanced at me, “That easy, huh?”

“It’s just that easy. A little of that ice magic of yours and you’ll wipe the floor with him. Now get down there and show ‘em what happens when you fight Jason Stark and the power of Odin,” I said.

With a small smile and a nod, Jason jumped down from the stands and started toward the middle of the arena.

“Seriously, how does he have any friends? How is it that anybody can actually manage to put up with all of…that?” I said, waving toward David. He had crossed his arms over his chest, flexing his biceps as he sneered at Jason.

“Well, to be fair, have you seen him?” said Kora

“Yes, I’ve seen him,” I said. “And unfortunately, I’ve also heard him speak. And honestly, if you were to tell me that someone in town was a Death Eater, I’d say it was him, no contest.”

Kora thought about that for a moment.

“Okay. Point taken,” she said with a shrug.

Quiet fell again as Nick stood up.

“Our first match of the day will be Jason Stark and David McHale,” said Nick as he turned to the two in the arena. “The rules are simple. You have five minutes to make your opponent surrender or render them unable to fight. You may use any magic you like, but absolutely no lethal force. Understood?”

After nods from both of them, Nick gestured them forward and Jason and David shook hands. Though from here it looked more like they were trying to break each other’s fingers.

They stepped back and squared off in the center of the field, sizing each other up. David has a lot of power, there’s no denying that. But Jason is smarter, and after the hell David has put him through, I knew he’d want this win that much more.

“Begin!” said Nick.

The timer sounded, and David came out swinging.

I could see the sparks flying off his hands with each swing. He was charging his punches with lightning magic! And the amount of power I was sensing from him meant that those punches would do a lot more than just a little shock. If one of his punches connected, Jason would feel some serious pain. 

That was the bad news. The good news was, so far, Jason was more than up to the challenge. David has an aggressive fighting style. He’s all about brute force. And so far, that didn’t seem to be helping him much. 

Jason was able to deflect or dodge every punch he threw. He unleashed flurries of snow to knock him back or spread frost across the ground to trip him up. Nothing David tried could get through Jason’s defenses.

David’s scowl grew darker as the match went on. I think he was starting to realize that he probably wasn’t going to win. And as his frustration grew, his temper must have gotten the better of him. More power surged through his arm, arcs of electricity jumping off of it, scorching the ground and filling the air with the stink of ozone.

“McHale!” snapped Nick. “That’s too much power!”

But David wasn’t listening. With an angry shout, he launched himself at Jason, fist back, ready to strike.

David may have been fast, but Jason was faster. 

Before David could get in close, Jason thrust his hand up and a pillar of ice shot up from the ground. David was using a lot of power, but he’d only channeled it into his right arm. His left was wide open, and that’s where Jason had aimed his attack.

David jerked to a stop as his left arm was encased in ice. He brought his right hand up to try to burn away the ice. But he was too slow.

“Ice geyser!” said Jason.

He slammed both palms to the ground. A jagged mass of ice spread from his hands, blasting up and out as it grew. The wave of ice hit David full on, sending him flying back and wrenching his left arm free.

David hit the ground hard, rolling and bouncing a few times before skidding to a stop.

The buzzer sounded, and Nick leapt down into the arena. He marched over to David and pulled him to his feet, yelling at him the whole way. David looked like he wanted to argue, but when he saw the look on Nick’s face, I guess he realized that arguing wasn’t worth getting flame broiled.

Huh. Maybe he’s not as stupid as I thought.

I tried to hear what Nick was saying, but his words were drowned out by the cheers and applause as Jason came back up into the stands.

“Nice work,” I said, holding out my hand. “I’ll bet by tomorrow he’s going to have some very interesting bruises.”

“Thanks,” said Jason, bumping his fist against mine. “That wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be.”

“That was a cheap shot, Stark!” David was marching toward us, looking livid. “I want a rematch!”

“David, calm yourself,” said Lin.

“What did you say to me?” yelled David.

“I told you to calm down,” said Lin. “Now.”

Lin hadn’t raised her voice, she barely even looked at him. But there was an edge to her words. And we’d all seen her fight, so there was one thing we knew for sure: you did not want to get on Lin’s bad side.

David’s face turned redder and redder. One of the veins in his temple was starting to twitch. Lin staying calm and collected while he blew his top must have been more than David could take. He stormed off, but before he could get too far, Jason tried to stop him.

“David, it was just a sparring match. There’s no reason to be embaras—”

David spun, looking livid.

“You shut your damn mouth, you stupid Mutt!”

Jason’s ears splayed back, and he looked like he’d been slapped in the face.

I think Kora said something to David after that. I’m not really sure, because all I could hear was the roaring in my ears. I did not just hear him say that.

I felt Diego grab my arm.

“Zane! Calm down, hermano.”

I could feel myself shaking as arcs of electricity jumped across my skin. No one, no one, talks to my friends like that. Especially not Jason.

“What did you just say?” I said. My voice was barely more than a whisper.

“Eat shit, Grimm,” sneered David. “This is between me and your Mongrel boyfriend over here.”

Oh, I was going to enjoy what was about to happen.

“You want to fight again? You got it. You and me. In the arena. Now.”