'This is so awkward.' Cyrus thought to himself while he waited for the enchantment procedure to finish.
Right now, the young 'tree magic' user was lying shirtless on top of the bed in the guest bedroom while Elaine worked her magic on him. The elder MacNamara sibling was in the middle of using her magic to write a series of runes on the young man's back. Even though he couldn't see exactly what she was doing, Cyrus could feel the woman's finger burning a series of unknown symbols onto his skin with each passing stroke.
If one were looking at this scene from above, they would be able to see the images that were currently being placed on the young man's body. Ones that all appeared to be a complex series of voodoo symbols laid out in a circular pattern near the top of Cyrus's spine, just below the base of his neck.
Enchanting truly was a magnificent thing, the more Cyrus thought about it. An advanced skill that was just as much of an art as it was a science. Being able to create magical runes that did exactly what you wanted them to do sounded like the stuff out of some old Irish legend. But here he was experiencing it firsthand. The young man couldn't help but wonder how long it would take him to reach this level of skill.
"You should be happy." Elaine then said to the young man in a joking tone after etching yet another rune into his skin. "Not many people get to be this close to a world-famous superstar. You know, some people would pay thousands of dollars to have me touch their bodies like this."
"I'll be sure to write it down in my diary after we leave here today." Cyrus replied somewhat sarcastically. At the very least, the talking was doing a good job of taking his mind off the pain. "That way, I can sell it for millions by the time I'm old and grey. Or whenever sorcerer society finally gets exposed to the rest of the world."
Elaine smiled at the comment. "Well, my dad always says that it's going to happen sooner or later. So your big payday might be right around the corner."
Despite their best efforts, most sorcerers were actually of the opinion that sorcerer society wouldn't be able to maintain its secrecy forever. Although it was much easier to keep things under wraps in the past, with the latest advancements in technology and the presence of social media, everyone knew that it was only a matter of time before the secret got out. Hell, most people assume that it's going to happen in either the U.S., India, or Brazil, given how huge their sorcerer populations were compared to everywhere else.
"You're a pretty interesting guy, aren't you?" The woman said as she wrote another rune on Cyrus's back. "The son of a judge and a first-generation sorcerer who's only had his powers for less than a year. One who was immediately recruited by the DPA. And someone who has a peculiar type of 'plant magic' that I've never actually seen before."
"What, did you do a scouting report on all of us before you showed up?"
"Pretty much." Elaine nodded. "Don't take it personally, though. I like to know about the people that my brother and sister associate with. Since our family is such a big deal, you always have to keep a lookout for scumbags who try to snake their way into our lives. Personally, I was against giving you guys this enchantment this early. But my father thought that it would be a good idea to let the twins get some more practice doing the enchantment on other people."
"I can understand that." Cyrus nodded his head.
The logic was pretty sound, in the 'tree magic' user's opinion. The MacNamaras were way too rich and powerful to just let anyone into their lives. Everyone in the family had a huge target on their backs.
"I assume that the twins already told you that I used to be an agent like you? I heard about all of you from Theo, Chief Zoe, and Robin. In fact, we all used to be on the same team before I had to retire."
"I see...interesting."
The woman then decided to change topics. "So, how's sorcerer society been treating you? Is it everything you thought it would be?"
"That and more."
"Glad to hear it." Elaine gave the man another smile that he couldn't see. "You're lucky that you get to learn about your powers in a place where so many of our kind are congregated. Those of us who awaken in rural and isolated areas go almost our entire lives without even encountering another sorcerer. Hell, some of us have never even seen a cryptid before."
"Freddy mentioned something like that." Cyrus replied while adjusting his body a bit to get more comfortable. "He said that he had never seen one before when he was still living in Arkansas. He hadn't even met another sorcerer before coming to Charlotte."
"It would be nice if we could live in a world where stuff like that never happened. Personally, I think it's a tragedy that some of us are forced to live in secret without ever getting to experience what it's like. Imagine going your whole life having to hide the fact that you're special from those you care about and never meeting someone who understands what you're going through."
"I feel you." The young man agreed. "I think it would be nice if we could live in a world where we didn't have to keep up with all the secrecy. But that's just how it is. If the general population found out about us, there'd probably be a witch hunt or something."
"Yeah...that's more than likely what would happen." If Cyrus was looking at the 'wind magic' user at that moment, he would've been able to see the odd expression on her face. "Such a shame."
"Maybe one day that'll change. Here's hoping, right?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
-(o)-
Directly above the room where Cyrus and Elaine were, Maria and Elizabeth were in the 'earth magic' user's bedroom, making their way through the enchantment process.
"No me gustas mucho ¿verdad?" Elizabeth asked the 'beast magic' user in between placing her runes on the young woman's back.
"What?" Maria raised an eyebrow at the sudden statement.
"Oh, come on." Elizabeth said with a court laugh. "It's pretty obvious. You're good at hiding your emotions, but it's clear to me that you don't have a very high opinion of me and my brother."
Naturally, Maria had no idea how to respond to any of this. What exactly was she supposed to say here? Granted, it was technically true that the raven-haired woman wasn't exactly the biggest fan of how the two MacNamara twins casually flaunted their wealth around. But it wasn't like she hated them or anything. "I-I uh..."
"Let me guess, it was that whole business with that homeless woman, wasn't it?"
"Si." Maria nodded in a way to make sure that she didn't move around too much.
"Yeah...I can't really blame you. What I did was not okay. It was more of a reflex than anything, one that I don't like to admit to having."
Something told Maria that there was a lot more to what Elizabeth just said. But she wasn't about to probe the woman for any more information.
"Well, as long as you know."
"I promise you, I'm not just some spoiled rich kid who looks down on people. At least...not anymore. I used to have a problem with that when I was younger until my mother gave me a reality check."
"Your mom sounds like a decent person."
"She is." Elizabeth said with a soft smile. "Unlike the rest of us, she pretty much worked her way up from the bottom after moving here from Spain. If it wasn't for her, I'd probably be just as bad as all of those trust fund babies that you see all over social media. I'm glad I'm not, though."
"I would be too."
"Sí, supongo que sí." Elizabeth agreed before going back to finishing up the enchantment.
-(o)-
"Sorry if this whole thing is a bit uncomfortable." Evan apologized to Valerie while still etching the runes onto the tall blonde's back. "I know that doing this without having a shirt on has to feel pretty weird."
"Don't sweat it." Valerie replied in a casual tone.
Despite the 'fire magic' user's calm exterior, the young woman was actually in the middle of a mental freakout at the moment.
Here she was, in Evan's bedroom, lying on top of his bed, with neither a shirt nor bra on, while the man delicately passed his fingers all over her back. To say that it was hard for the woman not to feel a certain way about this would be putting it mildly. There were women out there who would pay top dollar to have a hot piece of meat give them what was essentially a light massage on top of a comfy mattress. And here she was getting it for free.
'God, his bed smells just like him.' Valeire then said to herself while taking a couple of covert sniffs of Evan's silk pillow.
Was something like that totally creepy and unnecessary? Yes. Was she about to do it again? Yes. Was she ashamed to admit it? Absolutely not.
This was quite literally the closest Valerie had gotten to any man in her entire life. Of course, she was about to take full advantage of the situation and milk it for all that it was worth. The young woman was certain that she wouldn't be acting like this if she didn't have such terrible luck with men in the past. But hey, she was here now. So the best option was to simply enjoy it while it lasted.
"Oh, by the way, please forget about what happened downstairs earlier." Evan said before putting another rune on the blonde's back. "Michiko has a habit of messing around too much. And for some reason, I'm her favorite target."
'Of course you are, you're fine as fuck! I'm mad that I didn't do it first!'
"I still can't believe that she's DJ Shade. I always listen to her music whenever I work out."
"That's funny, I usually go out of my way to not listen to any of her stuff. Same with my sister, too. Having to listen to Elaine's voice after growing up with her is pretty annoying."
"I wouldn't doubt it." Valerie nodded. The woman was about to say something else but stopped when she felt Evan place the palm of his hand directly in the middle of her shoulder blades. The young woman was only able to enjoy the feeling of the 'wind magic' user's admittedly strong touch for a brief moment before she felt a surge of mana flood into her body.
For the next few seconds, Valerie felt what could almost be described as sparks flying through every muscle in her body. It was the kind of feeling that made every tiny hair on the back of her neck stand on end.
As Evan poured even more of his mana into her, the woman suddenly felt her own mana begin to surge from the pit of her stomach all the way up to her head. And before she could even realize what was happening, a small flame briefly erupted from the palm of her hand right next to Evan's thigh.
"Shit!" Valerie cursed while attempting to sit up, only for Evan to use his hand to keep her on her stomach. The 'fire magic' user was suddenly very fearful of the idea that she had just accidentally injured the man. "Evan, I'm so sorr-"
"Relax, I'm fine." The man quickly reassured her after using his free hand to snuff out the flame. "It's just a small burn, no big deal."
"No, but I-"
"Valerie, relax." The young man said once again in an equally calm tone. "I can just get Nick to use his 'healing magic' to patch me up. You're good, don't worry. Honestly, I was expecting something like this to happen."
'Fuck!'
The 'fire magic' user couldn't help but hold her head in her hands after what just happened. Once again, her dogshit control over her own magic caused her to injure someone. On top of that, it just so happened to be Evan of all people. This whole situation was both infuriating and embarrassing for the young woman. Stuff like this was the reason why she never used her fire while out on the job. Trying to use it just made her way too much of a liability to be around others.
'Why does shit like this always have to happen to me?!'
Despite the hand-sized burn that was now on his leg, Evan was doing an amazing job at keeping his composure. "But on the bright side, we're done! Sorry about the last part, I needed to pump some of my mana into the enchantment to activate it. I'm guessing that having some foreign mana enter your body is enough to make your mana core go haywire."
Valerie quickly pushed herself up off her stomach and made sure to grab her hoodie to cover herself up before turning toward Evan. Now that the man was in full view of her, she was able to see the result of her mistake. Her sudden fireball was enough to cause a second-degree burn on Evan's thigh that burned all the way through his pants. One that she knew had to be painful based on her past experiences.
"Oh my God..." The 'fire magic' user felt like she wanted to throw up. This was a disaster as far as she was concerned. A complete disaster that made her look like a total fuck up in front of someone who she definitely didn't want to think of her that way.
The tall blonde wanted nothing more than for a hole to open up beneath her and drag her down into the deepest pits of hell. Something like that would've been much more preferable to the feeling of dread that was currently running through her body.
"Your fire's actually way stronger than I thought. To think that it did this to me with so little contact time is actually pretty impressive."
Valerie had no clue how to respond to that. Why was he being so casual about this? "I'm so sorry..."
"Is it always like this when you try to use your magic?" Evan then asked. The 'wind magic' user could easily tell how riled up the woman was getting over her accidental spell. And although he was definitely feeling a not-so-subtle amount of pain right now, he knew that he needed to keep her calm in order to avoid another mishap.
"Y-yes..." Valerie nodded while hanging her head in shame. "It's always been like that. It's why I don't use my fire. Every time I try to use normal spells, they always end up either blowing up in my face or getting out of control."
"I see...is it because you have too much mana?"
"T-that's what I was told."
"Fascinating." The young genius nodded as he appeared to ponder over something. Whatever that something was, Valerie couldn't tell. And to be honest, she probably didn't even want to know. "Well, like I said, we're all done. You should be able to use the enchantment now, but I recommend waiting to try it. Flying indoors is kind of hard for newbies."
"Thank you." The woman then said somberly. "Seriously, thank you for doing this for me. I really appreciate it."
"Don't mention it!" Evan replied with a brilliant smile that seemed to light up the room. "Now then, let's go find Nick so that he can take care of this for me. After that, I can give the enchantment to Freddy and we'll be all done for the night!"
The young man then turned on his heels and casually limped his way to the door before exiting the room, leaving Valerie to stew in her own misery for a few more seconds before she started to put her clothes back on.
'Fuck my life!'
-(o)-
[Thirty Minutes Later]
Now that the agents were all done getting their enchantments, everyone was downstairs chilling out and mingling amongst themselves while occupying different areas of the property.
"This is fucking awesome!" Cyrus beamed while casually floating about ten feet above the ground in the backyard of the house with his hands behind his head. "I can't wait to see what Ayako says when I show her this tomorrow!"
"No kidding!" An equally excited Freddy replied while doing a few twirls in the air.
Being able to fly was definitely all that was cracked up to be. Actually, it might even be better than that. The fact that the freckle-faced teen was able to defy the laws of gravity so casually made him feel like he was on top of the world. He was happy that he didn't need to wait to test out his new ability, thanks to the privacy that the house provided him and everyone else. Cyrus wasn't sure that he would've been able to contain himself until he got to the station in the morning.
"And the best part..." Nick then said to the two agents while watching them from down below. "Is that it never gets old."
"I wouldn't doubt it!"
At the other end of the yard, Maria, Elizabeth, and Michiko were all huddled together as the 'earth magic' and 'dark magic' users watched the raven-haired teen test out her new ability.
"How do you feel?" Elizabeth asked with a slight grin on her face.
"Pretty good." Maria replied in her usual stoic tone of voice. "This is amazing."
"Just remember not to try anything too crazy." Michiko then said. "It's a lot easier to lose control than you think."
"Gotcha."
While the three junior agents were busy having fun with their new powers, Valerie was in the kitchen watching her friends with a sad look on her face while delicately sipping on a glass of cold water. Although the tall blonde wanted to join her friends, she wasn't really feeling up to it at the moment. Her earlier mishap with Evan had pretty much sucked all of the joy out of her. So for now, she decided to hold off on testing out her new ability until tomorrow.
"Hmmm..." A voice suddenly caught Valerie by surprise, causing the tall blonde to turn around to see who was behind her. When she did, the young 'fire magic' user was standing face-to-face with Elaine.
"You are his type, aren't you?" The elder 'wind magic' user said with her arms folded across her chest and giving Valerie a look up and down.
"I'm sorry?" Valerie replied with a confused look on her face.
"I'm talking about my brother." Elaine clarified. "He has a thing for cute blondes with a bit of meat on their bones, and you pretty much fit the description."
"U-uh..."
"Well, I suppose you aren't too bad. You seem pretty strong, and I've heard from Lucas that you're a solid agent. Plus, you're also from one of the Nine Families, so you have that going for you, too."
"Thank...you..." Valerie said, still very much confused as to what was happening right now. On the bright side, she did just learn that she was indeed Evan's type. So something good came from this interaction.
Suddenly, Elaine's face became serious. The woman's pale green eyes were now orange, and she was pushing out small but intimidating waves of her mana in Valerie's direction.
"Let me make one thing clear, little girl. I already know that you have a thing for my brother, Elizabeth told me so the last time I was down here. I don't have a problem with you trying to make a move on him, but I'm going to let you know right now that I won't tolerate any trifling skanks trying to get too cozy with him. We've already had to deal with that once, and I don't intend to let it happen again."
The look that Elaine was now giving her sent chills down Valerie's spine. It was easy to forget that this woman was the ninth-strongest sorcerer on the planet. But that way that she was perfectly pushing out an intimidating aura while simultaneously masking it from everyone else quickly reminded the 'fire magic' user just how dangerous she could be.
"Do you understand me?"
"Y-yes, ma'am..." Valerie nervously replied while trying to avoid making eye contact. "I know that my family has a bit of a reputation, but I promise that I'm not like that.
"Good." Elaine then gave the woman a charming smile while deactivating her mana. Valerie had no clue that she was holding her breath until it was all over. "I'm sure you're a good girl, though, you are Lucas's niece after all. He's had nothing but good things to say about you."
"Thank you."
Just as quickly as it vanished, Elaine's terrifying aura suddenly returned, albeit a bit stronger than it was a second ago. "Oh, and if you ever hurt my brother again like you did earlier, I promise that not even your grandmother will be able to save you. Make sure that it doesn't happen again."
Before Valerie could respond, Elaine walked off to join the others in the backyard. But not before giving her one final scowl on the way out.
Now that she was alone, the tall blonde took a second to lean herself up against the kitchen counter before chugging her glass of water to try and calm herself down. Actress or not, Elaine was still an S-rank sorcerer at the end of the day, and only the bravest of individuals would dare do something to get put on her bad side. If someone like her were to come after you, your goose was as good as cooked.
'What a shitty fucking day....' Valerie thought to herself while wiping the thin film of sweat that was now on her forehead. If there was ever a time that the young woman wanted to head home and crawl into her bed, it was right now.