Page 35 of Two Who Live On

“His moms are making him work at the restaurant after school.” Tara stepped onto the bus, the weighted blocks in her hands and a small smile on her face. “King Clucks ordered a bunch of stuff online,or so Gael swears, but I bet…”

“Good.” Kenzo brushed past Caleb to get on the bus before him. “He’s fucking annoying.”

I ground my teeth, possibly channeling Caleb’s frustration, but also—Kenzo had a knack for inciting irritation.

Gael giggled, letting Caleb and Katherine go ahead, and looked at Kenzo. “Are you still pissy because of what King Clucks said about—”

“No,” Kenzo snapped at Gael. “I don’t care about a damn thing that chicken sandwich says.”

I snorted, quickly covering it with a cough, uncertain which elicited more humor. The idea of King Clucks mocking Kenzo or Kenzo calling him a chicken sandwich or, most likely, the fact thatneither Gael, Caleb, or Katherine could hide their laughter, and that joy easily synced to me.

After collecting myself and getting all the students on the bus, we drove to the South Side. On the bus sat six annoyed third-year students who’d rather attend whatever party buzzed in their heads. Instead, they’d been roped into assistant chaperoning this program once a week. Twelve second-year students and twenty-two first-year students each boomed eagerly.Most were thrilled when they discovered the Wisp Prevention Program could greatly affect their ranking in the Spring Showcase, something first- and second-year students wanted to make a solid impression on.

Chanelle was worse than Milo with words. She didn’t lie—it could potentially help them make the cut, but only in the most basic sense of training their magics which registered on their Cast-8-Watches; however, when selling the program, she didn’t lead with that factor. Truthfully, this might confine their training depending on the areas they needed to prioritize. Speaking of confined casting, I grabbed the long-winded speech of dos and don’ts Chanelle had prepared for the outing.

“A friendly reminder.” I stood, jostling a bit from the rocking bus. “While this volunteering program allows each of you to train your magics and finetune your expertise, it is not an excuse to cast carelessly and damage property. Your fledgling permit grants you clearance to cast but doesn’t exempt you from fines.”

Immediate sighs, followed by “again?” bustling in minds. Apparently, this was a staple discussion of rules they’d heard over and over again. Good, then it wouldn’t hurt if I summarized the three pages of directions because fuck if I was going to read the entire script.

The bus reached our stop, and the students shuffled out. I assigned the third-year students groups to monitor and stuck with my own homeroom kids. It might have been cruel or lazy, but Milo’s thoughtstugged at me, and having familiar minds close would keep me from linking to him and losing focus.

“There are a lot of wisps here,” Tara said, hesitant to train with the weighted blocks when she needed to prioritize her roots for removing the threats.

All cast magic populated the atmosphere with trace amounts of residual energy. It was this energy that drew demons to shatter the veil separating our realities and led to wisps breaking through and feeding off any magic they could find.

“It’s difficult for citizens here to afford to hire guilds to clean up demonic energy problems,” I explained, leaving out a few of the unpleasant aspects. “Removing them requires skill in banishment and a license.”

Things people here didn’t have. Skill perhaps, but risking fines by casting illegally came at a high price. Literally, fines, penalties—worse if it was a repeated offense. Since guilds typically didn’t get involved unless actual fiends appeared, wisps became a nuisance. Those who couldn’t afford guild intervention either suffered constant demonic disruptions or had to wait for the city to get involved, which caused higher property taxes for securing the space. By securing, it meant the city outsourced to guilds who overpriced their public service, and in turn, the city gouged residents unfortunate enough to be too poor to hire help or practice legally.

It was a fucked system.

And while Enchanter Evergreen did his fair share of community outreach programs, there was a certain balancing act he maintained to appear objective and remain in high demand to the elites who funded his freebie cases. No one was allowed to do anything charitable without considering every single political, social, and financial angle. Why was he in my head? I cracked my neck, quelling his distant thoughts and remaining here and attentive.

Tara had only recently joined the Wisp Prevention Program due to Gael and King Clucks’ constant pestering, and now they’d abandoned her. Tara tucked her support tools away and instantly banished a small cluster hovering at a streetlamp.

I joined in her efforts to clear the glowing wisps.

“It’s really a shame, these poor people,” Jamie said, strolling close to Tara.

“I assigned you to Chester’s group,” I said.

“Sorry, I’d just feel more comfortable with a proper instructor. I’d hate to make a mistake under the guidance of peers.” Jamie feigned a weak smile and eyed Tara. “Besides,mychaperone clearlysucks. Must be theshitty instructionhe’s gotten over the years.”

I scowled.

“Sorry. My mind isn’t my own sometimes.” Jamie blushed, actually faking embarrassment.

“Uh-huh. Let’s go.” I led them down the street.

Jamie kept close, which I’d say I preferred because I didn’t trust him, but his thoughts bubbled with nefarious comments.

“This place really is flooded with demonic energy.” Jamie banished a cluster of wisps outside a convenience store, warily eyeing those standing at the entrance smoking. “Probably wouldn’t be so bad if people didn’t cast illegally so much. But—”

“Not everyone can afford a casting club to train in,” Caleb interjected, preventing Jamie from segueing the topic to how this was all the Whitlock’s fault. A speech Jamie had perfectly planned. Caleb didn’t know that but held disdain for Jamie all the same. The cutting comments he’d made about Caleb, Tara, Katherine, Gael, Kenzo, and other students lingered in Caleb’s surface thoughts. He refused to let this kid put the blame on the people of the South Side. This was his neighborhood.

“That’s all well and good, but casting clubs really are for a select group.” Jamie eyed Caleb. “The problem is, they don’t have the decency of cleaning up their own messes. That affects all of us, you know? I just worry about demons being unleashed.”

I shuddered at Jamie’s comment, reminded of Milo’s case, my mind aching to reach out to his.

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