"Hey, haven't seen these before! You working on new designs?"
Theo's pencil skittered to the side and slashed an ugly line across the half-finished diagram. When he looked up, Sam's face filled his vision like the moon, so close he could count every one of the freckles sprinkled over her nose.
"Personal space!" he sputtered, leaning so far back he almost fell off the bench. Sam laughed flippantly but got the message, straightening up with a perky bounce.
"Geez, pay attention, space cadet." Grinning, Sam tapped his sketchbook. "These aren't as fancy as the usual ones, huh? They gonna be the basic spells?"
Basic spells. You could put it that way. Theo managed an awkward smile as he gazed at the open pages. They were covered with the latest diagrams Meg had taught him, spells for increasing his familiar's defenses.
Vaguely, he wondered if it would be okay to use them as designs in a video game. Were there rules about keeping wizardry secret? Though the point was moot since it'd be another ten years at best before this game was even close to seeing release.
"So! So!" Sam chirped, clapping her hands. "How 'bout we have ourselves another planning sesh after school? I've got some new ideas about how I want the first level to go."
"Sorry." Theo couldn't meet her gaze. "I – I was planning on, um, practicing my new song."
"Oh, okay." Sam blinked. "You've been working pretty hard on that song lately, haven't you? Let me hear it when you're done!"
"Sure thing." Theo forced a smile, though guilt squirmed inside his chest. He'd never lied to Sam this much before.
But it wasn't like he could tell her the truth. Rather than going home to fiddle with his guitar, he was practicing wizardry in Meg's basement arena.
Four days had passed since he'd plunged into this world of wizards and familiars, and while he'd been doing a good job so far coming up with excuses to Sam, he knew he'd soon run out. Not when he usually hung out with her every day after school.
Well, at least he wouldn't have to deal with lying to his dad. Dad almost never came home until after dark, anyway. And that was if he did bother coming home.
A gentle breeze stirred his hair, flipping the pages. Most were already covered with diagrams; he was well on his way to turning this sketchbook into a personal grimoire. Since it was a nice spring day, he'd gone to draw in the school courtyard on lunch break. It all seemed so ordinary; the clouds drifting across the blue sky, the cherry blossom trees rustling in the breeze, the blazer-clad students laughing and ambling about. Not for the first time did he wonder if all this Tielos stuff was just another dream.
But he only had to think about the Levia blazing inside him – not only his own dawn light, but Zenith's sharp brilliance as well – and he knew this had to be real. If only because he didn't want to let go of that feeling.
~*~
Halfway on the trolley ride, Theo's phone buzzed with a message from Meg. 'Sorry for the short notice, but the auction's running overtime so we won't be back until late. We can call it off for today.'
Meg had told him yesterday that she and Darian would be attending an auction for some rare manuscripts. Why Darian was coming along Theo didn't know, but it meant his teacher wouldn't be around.
So maybe he ought to head to Sam's after all. But he'd already gotten on the trolley and Sam's house was in the opposite direction. Not to mention...even if Meg wasn't there, Zenith would be. Theo did want to see him, if only to get to know his familiar better.
Besides, Zenith fascinated him. Somehow he seemed even more unreal than the others, like a knight straight out of a fairy tale.
So Theo stayed on the trolley, riding it all the way to the city's historic shopping district. Unlike the sleek modern architecture and skyscrapers around Theo's school, it was packed with charming red-brick buildings. Meg's store was a little ways off the main boulevard, tucked along a one-lane side street.
Since the store was located on the building's ground floor, Theo had to descend a staircase to reach the entrance. The sign above the door read in fancy golden lettering: THE RUBY EMPORIUM.
Meanwhile, the sign on the door declared CLOSED, but Theo knocked anyway. He didn't have to wait long before the door creaked partway open. He shouldered it open and stepped inside.
A gray-and-black tabby cat perched on the floor, peering at him with vibrant green eyes. Apparently Lodo could change the size of his cat form; when he wasn't in battle, he possessed the much more reasonable proportions of a large housecat. Theo didn't ask how he could manage to open doors in that form.
"My, young master Theo. What a surprise," the cat said in Lodo's rich British accent, jumping onto the countertop. "I thought Lady Meg informed you she'd be late today?"
"She did," Theo said, "but I wanted to come anyway. To see Zenith, I guess."
"Wonderful." Lodo twitched his bushy tail and rested his head atop folded paws. "Would you care for some refreshment? I could certainly whip something up for the two of you."
"Um, no thank you," Theo said. He had the feeling the old man enjoyed resting in his cat form during the day, so he didn't want to disturb him. Lodo meowed his assent and Theo went on by.
Somehow Meg's bookstore managed to be even more cramped than her apartment, the air so heavy with incense it made Theo dizzy. The narrow shelves hemmed him in like a labyrinth, overflowing with everything from antique atlases to 1970s cookbooks. There were no grimoires to be seen; Meg kept those in reserve for wizard customers in the know.
Finally, he navigated his way to the back door and climbed up the stairs. Entering the parlor came as a relief, small as it might be. It helped that the window was open, letting in fresh air. Zenith stood with one hand on the frame, his ponytail stirring in the breeze.
When Theo entered, Zenith turned toward him. "Theo? What are you doing here?"
"Um, I wanted to see you," Theo said, suddenly embarrassed. He couldn't help but feel like he'd interrupted Zenith in the middle of something, though he'd only been staring out the window. Which made Theo wonder what Zenith did all day. Somehow, he couldn't imagine the knight helping out at the store.
"Lady Meg isn't present, so we won't be able to train." It was hard to tell, but Zenith might have sounded a little bit puzzled.
"I know, but I guess – we don't have to train, you know. We could just...hang out? Or something?" To his mortification, Theo's voice rose to a squeak.
Zenith's reaction did not help things. "'Hang...out'? Forgive my ignorance, but what do you mean by that?"
Sweat rolled down the back of Theo's neck, sticking his uniform shirt to his skin. He began to wonder if he should have come here after all. Even if Zenith might look like an ordinary boy without his armor, he still lived in a completely different world from Theo.
But it felt sad, somehow, to only interact with Zenith because he wanted to train or fight. So Theo stood his ground. "I mean, like, spending time with you. So we can get to know each other better outside of just fighting."
"For what purpose?"
Man, he really didn't get it. Yet Theo had to admit he found Zenith's cluelessness kind of endearing, and it only made him want to get to know him better. "Just...just because I want to. That's fine, right?"
Zenith blinked, then bowed his head. "By your will, Theo."
Well, that had done it, though Theo couldn't shake the uncomfortable feeling that Zenith had only acquiesced because he'd taken it as an order. "Um, so, is there anything you like to do?"
"Like?"
Dear lord, this was like teaching a kid a foreign language. "Um, you know, something you enjoy doing? Or you wouldn't mind spending your time doing?"
"Serving my liege," Zenith declared with a confidence he hadn't demonstrated once since the conversation started. Theo's heart sank.
"Not like...like...do you...are there books you like to read? Shows you like to watch? Stuff like that?" Even as he asked, Theo felt certain he knew what the answer would be. Sure enough, Zenith's blank expression said everything.
'Does this guy not have any life outside of fighting?' Maybe that made sense if he'd grown up struggling to survive in a wasteland. Yet Darian and Lodo were Tielans too, and they clearly had their own hobbies and interests.
In a way, Zenith's intense focus reminded him of...of Victor. How he'd spent hours locked in his room, playing so ceaselessly the melancholy cello music might as well have been the house's background noise. Photos of him posing with his instrument covered the walls, along with framed newspaper articles, magazine features, certificates and awards. The shelves held only volumes of sheet music and trophies from competitions. It was as if cello made up the entire essence of who Victor was.
So when he'd snapped his bow in front of Dad and declared that he'd hated cello all along, it had taken Theo entirely off guard.
But there were times when he'd glimpsed something beneath the prodigy cellist's shell. When he'd been little, bored and lonely, Theo had often begged Victor to play with him. Usually Victor just went on practicing, drowning out Theo's whining with the cello, but a couple of occasions he'd given in. Theo could still remember how they'd scampered through the woods behind their house. How the dappled golden sunlight had fallen upon Victor's black hair. How they had both laughed in delight when a salamander scurried from beneath a stone Victor turned.
His mind made up, Theo stepped forward. "Hey, Zenith. It's a really nice day. Why don't we go out and explore the area a bit? There's lots of interesting shops and stuff around here."
Zenith blinked again, pale eyelashes fluttering. "Do you need to buy something?"
"No, not really. I just wanna wander around. That can be fun, you know. Come on!" Thoughtlessly, Theo reached out and took Zenith's hand. When Zenith jerked, Theo's heart jolted.
He tried to let go, but that was when Zenith tightened his grip. "Very well," he said, bowing his head. "By your will."
Theo's heart pounded like it wanted to bust out of his ribcage. For some reason, his mind spun back to the first time Zenith had touched him, after defeating the dragon. His hands might have been armored then, but his grip had been just as sure, and just as comforting.
Theo squeezed his hand back, and together they headed out of the parlor.