Wizards

CHAPTER 5: The Transfer

"That was just a portion of your magic," said Niflheim, leaning on the wall while his arms are folded to his chest.

     Has it been an hour already when he stood there explaining? If it wasn't, then Rei felt like it has been more than that. After all, she just woke up with a throbbing headache not long before Niflheim opened the door to check up on her. Being in pain can indeed make minutes seem like an hour.

     "That is why you have to go to Nesting Peak and learn how to control your mana," he continued.

     "How bad will it be if I failed to control it?" she asked, squishing her blanket.

     "It will explode. You will explode. The explosion has the power equivalent to one atomic bomb," Niflheim answered. "That's why you cannot go back to your place . . . at least while you can't control your mana."

     Rei didn't know how to answer. These were all new to her, these were all shockingly unreal. Or at least she wanted it to be unreal. But unfortunately, it is not. Rei looked at the clock that was hanging on the wall. It was almost eight in the evening on the tenth day of June, and today at exactly seven o'clock in the morning was her scheduled time of transfer to Nesting Peak. But it was postponed to later in the night because of the Explosion in the Alley.

     "I missed dinner," she said, "Sister Annie will be furious."

     Rei sank on her bed, realizing that she was, in fact, one of them and cannot go home. She knew she just has to face it one way or another. So she kept quiet for a while till Niflheim left.

     Not a word could be said any further. She already saw it with her own eyes. It does not matter what she believed or wanted to believe. As she relived the moment in her head; the blue thing—the aura of some kind—did they call it mana? She felt it as she was reliving the moment. The cold wind in the alley as her mana pulses out from inside her. That warm feeling. That throbbing pain repeatedly pounded on her head and chest as the pulsing mana grew stronger until she was knocked out to unconsciousness.

     Her own mana made it clear for her. She's one of them—a witch—and she can't go back to the Kid Ranch. Paranoia struck her when she remembered the image of the Norris Mansion. What if the disaster that came upon the Norris Mansion happens to the Kid Ranch because of her? Or even worse, what if it happened in the whole village? Children disintegrated, destroyed houses, everything turned into ash—it was motivation enough for her to go through this "unknown" process.

     Two floors above the room of Rei, all but Nifleheim gathered in the Death Squad Room; preparing, waiting. The door opened and Niflheim walked in, drinking his coffee in a standard plastic cup. He stopped to look at everyone; Moriggan and Jovial were on the couch, Crimson and Grave behind the bar.

     "Ready?" said Niflheim, addressing everyone.

     "Yes," Mori answered. "Just waiting for your word."

     "It's time to go then."

     Everyone got up, grabbed their wands, their keys, their jackets. Crimson grabbed a bottle of wine, Jovial put on his headphones, Morrigan put on her jacket and Grave got up, cracking his knuckles. The room was left with its lights and TV turned on.

     Two floors down the Death Squad Room, standing in front of a mirror, looking pale and yet still so beautiful, Rei was tying her hair using a rubber band she saw on the floor, she heard the door open. Niflheim.

     "Are you ready?" he asked.

     Rei nodded to answer, finishing the knot on her hair.

     "Let's go."

     Under the HQ, in the basement parking, a steel door opened, and from the inside; a black car bolted out. Its headlights were made out of strips of lasers as well as the back. On the side of the vehicle lined a blue light that connects the headlight and the lights at the back. The skirts of the car were also lined with laser lights, carved in the platinum linings.

     Behind the car, ridden in gray big bikes, were Crimson and Grave. Above them was Moriggan riding her broomstick embedded with gold and silver.

     At above 400 km/h, the Death Squad made it clear, they were serious about not giving anyone any chance to catch up to them.

     "Mori, go high," said Niflheim on the radio attached to their earpiece.

     "Copy," she said. "Going high."

     Niflheim gave everyone clear instructions, having Mori as their eyes above in case something far from a direction they cannot see was going to interrupt the mission. Crimson gunned his bike and went past Niflheim's car, going in first, in case there's a trap ahead. Grave stayed behind, watching their rear. And Jovial . . . he stayed in the car with Niflheim and Rei because everyone voted that he stays there.

     "This is unfair, guys. I don't get to taste some action?" said Jovial.

     "You have the most important job, Jovial," said Morrigan. "In case the three of us messed up; you're Niflheim's helping hands against any attackers." That was a lie. Niflheim can handle more than a dozen attackers all on his own. In fact, he didn't need any one of them to accomplish the mission.

     "Aww, that's sweet, guys!"

     "Yeah, yeah, now shut up and keep your eyes peeled," Morrigan replied.

     Now on the Narrow Pass, kilometers away from the Big Bridge and the f*******n Forest, the Death Squad was running smoothly. The mission was quiet so far. Morrigan wasn't seeing any anomalies. Crimson wasn't running into some kind of trap. Grave wasn't seeing any disturbance from his position. Jovial was sleeping. Everything was just perfect.

     "Who's snoring?" Morrigan asked.

     "Can you think of anyone else?" said Grave.

     "Remind me to kill Jovial for not taking this seriously," she replied.

     "Easy, Mori," said Crimson. "Don't bite his—"

     "I'm not biting anyone's ear off!" Morrigan. Annoyed. "Where did this rumor came from anyway?"

     Crimson laughed. "No one knows, Mori. True or not, it's still funny."

     "Grave, remind me to kill Crimson as well after this," she said.

     "Sure," Grave replied before he cursed something that rhymes with duck. "Hard contact!" he shouted.

     Spells went flying all over Grave's position, momentarily losing his balance.

     "An ambush!" he shouted again, laughing. "This is going to be fun!"

     "Five wizards are chasing me!" said Morrigan. "Crimson, what's your status?"

     "I just got through the Big Bridge; wizards in black robes are waiting in the entrance of the f*******n Forest like a welcome party. Change route, Niflheim."

     Niflheim steered his wheel, not saying anything nor reacting to the situation of the other Death Squad. It was best Rei knows nothing of the ambush. She had a lot on her plate than she can handle and adding tension won't make it any easier for her.

     "Meet you at the rendezvous," said Niflheim. "Hurry up."

     Niflheim gunned his speed to 600 km/h, still smoothly running and turning into every corner without losing speed. Surrounded by trees and dirt, it was amazing that Niflheim kept his momentum without going rough. Although everyone knows that Niflheim will give the credit to the model of his car which has the highest adaptability so far in all cars in Magicana. It can run on all kinds of roads and it can even run above or underwater.

     It took them several minutes to drive around f*******n Forest until they reached the bottom of the High Mountain. They stopped there. Niflheim killed the engine and turned off all the lights.

     Above them, something caught Rei's attention. A huge structure was moving. She looked up from the window and as if everything wasn't majestic enough, she was caught in awe seeing a humongous structure that was slowly spinning above the mountain, floating like an angel's halo.

     "It's huge!" said Rei.

     "It is," said Niflheim.

     Jovial yawned in the back, stretched his arms, and rubbed his eyes.

     "Oh! We're here!" said Jovial. "Where are the others?"

     "Detoured," Niflheim answered. "They'll be here soon."

     "Oh, alright," said Jovial. He then looked up the window and leaned on Rei's seat. "It's beautiful isn't it?"

     "It is," she answered.

     Jovial took a deep breath and, as though he practiced it for this occasion, cleared his throat and put on a smile. And then he said it. "Welcome to Nesting Peak!"

Eliot stood in front of the director in his office, both hands on his desk. He was staring at the director; eye to eye.

     "I should be with them, Director," he said.

     "You're not a part of the Death Squad," the director insisted.

     "Then you should give me something at least. I've been here in the HQ for days."

     "You're young, Eliot. Enjoy your free time . . . play video games or whatever. And stop bothering me."

     "Director, I'm twenty-three, I'm no kid anymore—"

     "Then stop acting like one!"

     A pause. Eliot knew he stepped out of the line. But before he could say another word, Director Lim spoke. "You have a better mission coming, Eliot," he said. A lie. He doesn't have any.

     Eliot's failure on the Norris Mansion mission sank his trust rate to the very bottom of the Caster Department. No mission was asking for his name anymore, and more missions were putting his name on the "Any Caster Except" list where the employers put names of the Casters that they do not want to be part of the mission.

     But the director was indeed thinking of something to keep Eliot occupied, and because it was such an easy task, the director knows that he will succeed. Plus, this assignment was perfect for him because it will consume a lot of time, enough time for everyone to forget that he failed the Norris Mansion mission.

     "What's the mission, director?"

     "Eliot," called the director as he gave Eliot a death stare. "You're bothering me. Leave."

     The final word — and then the door was shut.