Page 8 of The Misfit Mage and His Dashing Devil

“Well, I’ll be. 6:35,” Carl snorted.

“Huh?” I scanned my badge.

“It’s not on time, but a record for you, kid. Figured I’d clock out before you.”

“I’m not leaving just yet.” I scanned my badge again. Instead of a beep inviting me access, it buzzed. “I need to find the magus real quick.”

“Ha. So much for an early night.”

“What is wrong with this damn thing?” I scanned the badge again.

BUZZ.

BUZZ.

BUZZ.

I stepped into the portal, and nothing. Glittery liquid clung close to my skin, vibrating a magical hum, yet it wouldn’t transport me without proper authorization. Of all the times for a system-wide glitch. Of course everything would crash the one night I tried to leave early.

I could simply walk through the manor and make my way to the North Wing with the central living quarters. Magus Remington would likely be there in his study. He needed to be informed before any of the artifacts were damaged from exposure.

“Is there any way you can override this?” I asked, stepping toward Carl’s desk. “The wards are glitching, and I need to speak with Magus Remington. It’s probably something I screwed up in the repository, but if the archives end up needing an entire overhaul, I might as well just cancel my date.”

“Date? Look at you, breaking out of that little shell.” Carl gripped his desk, pushing himself up with a beleaguered breath.

“It’s not that shocking.”

Carl meandered to the portal, scanned his badge, and received the same error buzz I’d gotten. He huffed, more annoyed than stressed. Reaching into his pocket, he fished out his keys to unlock the panel. “System might be doing an update. Usually needs a hard reset when that happens, but nothing’s scheduled.”

The golden doorway rippled, and two people materialized instantly. A hooded man wielding a blade coated in sapphire symbols, adding to the silvery shimmer, and a masked woman whose fanged teeth glistened.

My entire body tensed. A vampire. These Mythics rarely had permission inside the Magus Estate; they were merely tolerated to maintain peace. I’d only met a few Mythics when I attended the academy. The only vampires I’d encountered came from textbooks and research.

“How did you—”

The hooded man slashed Carl’s throat. I slapped a hand over my mouth, stifling a scream.

“Such a waste,” the woman said, eyeing Carl, who collapsed onto the floor. His eyes were wide with shock, hand clutched to his bleeding throat. His free hand slipped on the slick, wet marble as he dragged himself forward. The vampire strutted by a dying Carl, gaze raised toward me. “Hmm. You look rather tasty.”

“You’re not here to feed.” The man—the mage—ran his hand over his blade. The glowing symbols shrugged the blood away based on some intricate incantation he’d enacted. “Kill him so we can move on.”

Carl gurgled. I quivered. I needed to do something. Help. But how?

He slammed his hand into the floor. Cracks along the marble spread like a forest fire, ripping and unleashing the stone beneath. I shook from his elemental control. The entire manor quaked—a last desperate act to serve the sentinel regiment and alert everyone of the infiltration. The cracks created a chasm between the vampire and me.

I needed to escape. Find help. There were over thirty sentinels patrolling the estate. Why would these two break in? How’d they hack the portals?

I fled as fast as my legs would carry me back inside the repository.

4

4

Beelzebub

Something fascinating had happened. All the wards holding me in place had broken away, and for the first time in nearly fifty years, the air around me held a magical sensation. I was so close to the actual freedom I craved.

The residue of Mythic magic hummed, vibrating against my orb. I couldn’t move, couldn’t reach it, but I felt everything. Such an intoxicating embrace. After so long held captive with mere phantom recollections of feeling, it was within my grasp. I had to act. Capitalize on this glitch before Magus Remington locked me up again.

---