"A drink? Water?"

  "I'm good sir, thank you very much" He politely declined. Eyva's dad nodded and went straight to the point. "Here's the letter your grandmother sent"

  " Hey Sam, I had to send this letter to Eyva's dad. There are a few things I must deal with here and as a result, I won't be coming home for a while. I would tell you what they were, but you might get in trouble if I do that. In the meantime, you can leave the shop closed. I have asked Eyva's dad to look after you till I come back. He will discuss other arrangements with you. Stay safe, Sam"

  It was a straightforward letter and it carried a few of Grams' unique marks to show its validity. These were marks she used every time she wrote him a letter or even just left him a note.

  He had just finished reading the letter for the second time when Eyva's dad spoke. "You must be wondering why your grandmother sent the message through me. Let's walk"

  He nodded and followed Eyva's dad out of the study. As they walked through the house, he explained the reason with a small smile. The explanation was quite short, but it explained a lot of things. One of these was the relationship his family had with the Hayes family.

  As it turned out, the two families were partners when his parents were alive. The partnership was not so simple, because his dad and Eyva's dad were best friends at the time, and this translated to his and Eyva's mothers. He allowed this revelation to sink in before he continued speaking.

  "Now that you know why; there are a few things your grandmother discussed with me," He said. "We talked about your awakening. That should be done before the end of the week. I'm sure you know that it is better to have your element than to not have one"

  The elements and magic were fantastical, but they were still a real part of this world. Having it was indeed better than not having it.

  "When you do awaken your element, what do you plan to do?" He asked. Seeing the look on Sam's face, Eyva's dad advised properly, "I suggest you take a good moment to think about it, and whatever you come up with, don't forget that the test for Verdant Magic Academy is in two months"

  That was indeed something to think about. Leaving that aside, Eyva's dad continued speaking, "I wouldn't call myself an authority in magic, but I do know more and if you want, we have many rooms in the house. This library contains many books you can read. Besides, your grandmother and I discussed this"

  Sam understood that this was an invitation to move in. He never said any of it, but the smile Eyva's dad wore showed that he was not averse to the idea. He opened the books and glanced through them. They walked in silence through the library with Sam flipping through a book titled magic circles.

  He did not read it fully, simply flipping through it. There were many diagrams, all of them explaining different features of magic circles.

  He went through a couple more books before Eyva's dad spoke to him. "So, what do you think?"

  "I appreciate it, sir, but I think it would be better to make this decision after I have considered my path forward"

  "You are welcome to stay anytime," Eyva's dad said with the same smile.

  That was the conversation, they left the library and walked to the door. Uncle Dan was waiting there with the carriage and he bid farewell as he entered the carriage. That was a lot of information and he was so lost in thought that it felt like an instant when Uncle Dan announced that they were at the house.

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  He thanked Uncle Dan and stepped out of the carriage. Looking at the carriage move away; he was bothered by the conclusion he came to. Is Grams in trouble? She had travelled many times before this and every time she couldn't come back early, she sent a normal letter to him.

  Spirit Transfer— It was an unusual method. She could have just sent it to him, but she involved Eyva's dad. He entered the house and went to find some food. He stopped at the door of the kitchen and laughed at himself for a moment… Why am I assuming so much? The world suddenly magic; it might just be a very creative dream

  That thought was cut off immediately. His ears rang and everything spun. The last thing he saw was a bag pulled over his face.

  That's not good…

  That was the last thought he managed before passing out. He woke up a few times and every time he heard the muffled grind of wheels on the road. He felt like his head was submerged in water, and he passed out a few seconds later.

  He woke up after what felt like forever. His head was still throbbing, but he no longer passed out. He heard nothing and a quick peek revealed nothing. The room was dark, but he managed to pick out the glistening edge of the metal bars that surrounded him. I've been kidnapped. He was in a cell and the bed was dusty, making him sneeze involuntarily.

  "Sit up if you're awake" The voice came out of the darkness. "Taking time into consideration, I am your senior" The voice added a moment later.

  The person was sitting in a cell to his right. He squinted and as his eyes adjusted, he saw the boy who looked to be his age, with light blue hair. He had a hand to his chin and was smiling as he looked at Sam.

  "So, what makes you special enough to abduct?" He asked.

  "Special?" Sam repeated with some confusion.

  "He is asking what made you valuable enough to kidnap" A deep voice interjected. The person who said this walked into the room with the light behind him. He was huge with muscles bulging everywhere. "Quite simple really— You will lead us to Phantom" He added after a moment.

  "I'm sorry, I have a question… Who is Phantom?" Sam asked straightforwardly.

  This took the man by surprise, but he did not let it show on his face. He chuckled and replied after a while; "I did say reading your mind was the best option. Either way, prepare yourself for the worst experience of your life"

  With that statement, he laughed again, this time with a wicked smile plastered to his face before he walked out and locked the door.

  After the man walked out, Sam turned to look at his cellmate. He saw surprise written all over his face. Eventually, the blue-haired boy got his face under control and asked an important question.

  "You don't know who Phantom is, do you?"

  "No. Is there some common knowledge about Phantom that I should know?"

  The boy looked at Sam with a lot of doubt, but he eventually explained. With a sigh, he started, "Phantom is a nickname for a very powerful mage. No one knows what elements she wields, the only thing we know is that she is at the peak of the Templar rank"

  "The last time she did something major was about eight years ago when she went on a rampage for some reason. She laid waste to two massive families, each with patriarchs in the Templar rank. The rampage left both families unable to recover till today. The most important thing was that it was rumoured that she was wounded after the rampage and lost her strength"

  "From what he said, it seems you have been in contact with Phantom and they will try to read your memories to find clues"

  "What are the side effects of having my mind read?" Sam asked when he noticed the aversion to the topic.

  "Any mistake can leave you disabled, an idiot with no sense of self. In a worst-case scenario, it might kill you" The boy responded frankly.

  "Templar rank? How high above Apprentice is the Templar rank?" Sam asked

  The boy was surprised by this question and looked closely at Sam for a few seconds before he answered. "The Templar rank is the highest rank before ascension. From an apprentice, it goes Apprentice, Knight, Champion, then Templar. Templars can destroy a community in seconds. That should tell you the natural disaster they can be"

  "I'll advise that you tell them what they want to know. The worst outcome then will be that you are sold to someone when they are done. I can promise you; they don't want to use soul search. It is the fastest method, but it is incredibly dangerous" The boy said and snapped Sam out of his thoughts.

  "How is it dangerous for them?"

  "To perform a soul search, the reader has to enter your mind and overpower it. There is no other way and if there is a mistake, the reader's soul is also wounded, albeit not as much as the victim's"

  These words made Sam knit his eyebrows and ask one more question.

  "Thanks for telling me. What's your name? Mine is Sam"

  The boy smiled before he replied…

  "Reese"