Page 76 of Zero Happily Ever Afters

Meanwhile, Gael moved in this acrobatic dancelike fighting style, telekinetically waving around three stray feathers he’d plucked from his familiar’s tail. Those fowl feathers were soaked in magic, Gael’s magic, the constant channeling the pair used to maintain their bond. It allowed him to hack through fiendish tar like butter, each feather sharper than a knife and easily swayed with precision thanks to Gael’s highly proficient telekinesis.

He’d taught himself this style, this technique, that he was eager to demonstrate during the showcase, revealing his graceful and effective combat skills. Something I was certain the guild witches would’ve eaten up since the best enchanters solved cases while offering onlookers a true spectacle.

Everyone in my homeroom coven held a certainty few in their class had. Yes, Chanelle’s homeroom worked wonderfully together. Yes, students from every class did their best. But my twelve students had tasted an attack on these walls once before. They’d survived an assault from Theodore Whitlock andhis warlock crew. They’d battled devils—a devil that stalked me. My students had grown leaps and bounds ahead of their peers. Despite the erratic minds every which way, I latched to the twelve most amazing minds I’d ever had the pleasure of teaching.

A gargoyle cornered Caleb. My breathing hitched, seeing him fight a demon singlehandedly, but his steady calculations calmed my nerves. There was no faltering in Caleb’s tactical dodges. His maze of a mind weaved together everything he knew about gargoyles, everything he knew about his surroundings, and everything he knew about his capabilities.

He studied the stone making of the monstrosity that towered above him. Channeling banishment, Caleb determined the best locations to shatter the entity in front of him. If he hit the gargoyle just right, it’d topple over and shatter from fewer strikes, and he would be able to banish the wispy remnants with ease before moving on to help others. Caleb always thought of how he could help others before himself.

He wasn’t the only one who fought furiously to help others, but the selfishness inthisselflessness wasn’t missed by me as the angry mind zipped across the auxiliary gym to join Caleb in combat. Kenzo leapt forward, punching the gargoyle across the jaw and shattering half the stonework of its head with a combination of banishment and hex magic working to eliminate demonic energy.

“I have this under control,” Caleb shouted.

“Shut up,” Kenzo snapped. “I’m here to help you, branchless moron.”

“I didn’t ask for your help, you…you…” Caleb ground his teeth with a frazzled annoyance as he tried to think of the meanest thing he could possibly say. “You jerk-faced fuck head.”

Kenzo blinked. His anger completely washed away when he looked at Caleb. Every thought around simmered as Kenzo andI both shared in a silent laugh at Caleb’s idea of bullying others. Picking. Hurting feelings with mean words.

“Just let me help you.” Kenzo spun around, kicking the gargoyle that began to compose itself.

“No. I don’t need your help.” Caleb punched the gargoyle, breaking a piece of its wing when it attempted to counter the witches in front of it. “I can do this myself.”

“I know that.” Kenzo whirled around the gargoyle, lacing it with hex magic but waiting for Caleb to add the banishment for a combination strike. A combination hit that Kenzo had already proven he could cast independently. “I know you can do anything on your own, you annoying fucker. But I want… I want… I want to help. Let me help goddamn it!”

Caleb froze. Kenzo froze. I froze. The entire world seemed to still as these two stared at each other. I watched their teen forms wash away, replaced by the image Caleb and Kenzo both carried in the forefront of their minds. Caleb saw a sweet Kenny that had a goofy smile all the time. Kenzo saw a scrawny little Caleb with huge green eyes as he carried impossibly big stacks of books everywhere he went. They envisioned who those boys might’ve grown up to be if their friendship hadn’t broken. Kenzo swallowed the hundred kind things he wanted to say. Caleb buried the thousands of questions he had.

“I guess we, um, I guess we, um, well, we could banish this gargoyle together and help with the evacuations.” Caleb scrunched his face, bracing for Kenzo to shout, to tell him how stupid his plan was. It needed more steps, more details, but Caleb also worried that if he spouted off an intricate plan, Kenzo would also scold him.

“Great idea.” Kenzo grinned, menacing and carrying a desire to break everything in his path. “I go high, you go low.”

“Wait.” Caleb paused. “Do I have to be on the bottom?”

“Always.” Kenzo glared, taking his stance.

“Okay.” Caleb readied himself. “That’s fine, I guess.”

The two lunged at the gargoyle, Kenzo swiping with furious punches that broke stone into wispy remnants while Caleb flew low with his legs ahead of him, pedaling wild kicks at the demonic energy as he banished it.

Each boy smiled at the other, Kenzo looking down and Caleb looking up, but both boys finally saw the other on equal footing. Kenzo wanted to see the world Caleb planned on creating, a world where branchless kids didn’t have to dream so big because they were accepted, they had the right to cast freely, they were heroes working in this massive industry. And Caleb… He saw the boy who only wanted the best for everyone, the boy who smiled at strangers before offering assistance, the boy who loved so much that hate seemed like the only way to escape his pain.

Their teamwork spread across the auxiliary gym, carrying potent emotions that didn’t hold any confusion while they fought side by side.

It distracted me. Everything here distracted me because I was too incompetent. But the surging thoughts of my students reeled back my attention. Their collaborative coordination had done wonders to clear away demonic threats, but there were still so many threats flooding around.

“I should rework the broken enchantments.”

“Everyone’s so afraid, I need to steer that fear into the demons somehow.”

“Jennifer’s in pain. If I redirect my vitality…”

“Kenzo y Caleb son increíbles. Me encanta verlos reparar su amistad.”

“Vik’s technique has gotten flawless.”“Those damn fiends keep eating my fire.”

“I need more copies to help with evacuations.”

“Maybe if I created bigger stars…”

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