Page 2 of Xarius

I nodded, looking down at my worn carpet. “I hate that I disappointed you and Mom,” I whispered, fearing what this meant for me, for us. I turned eighteen yesterday, and I still had no magic.

She grabbed my chin gently and looked into my eyes. “My dear son, your mom and I are proud of you. You not having any magic doesn’t change that. No, what we are fearing is what the other council members have planned for you.” My mom was one of the four members of the council mages. She often didn’t see eye to eye with them, which was why there were four of them, so it would seem fair, whatever they decided.

“What have they planned?” I asked, fearing for my future, knowing it couldn’t be anything good. We’d had many visits from the other council members, checking my body and making sure I didn’t have hidden magic inside of me. I was what they called a freak. My friends had turned on me when I turned fifteen, no longer wanting to associate with the “freak mage”. No, whatever they’d planned, would be devastating, I knew that much.

“There are rumors, my dear. Of mages a long time ago, who were born without magic. The other council members fear you are like them.” My mother often spoke about the legends and gods of old time, not that I believed everything she told me about them. However, I doubted the council would believe them, too.

I shook my head, confused. “But how would a mage without magic be a threat?”

She smiled. “Ah, they had magic, but it wasn’t available to them before they met their soulmatch.”

“A soul what?” I asked, intrigued by the story, even if it was a mere fairytale.

“A soulmatch. Like a soulmate, but it is called a match because that’s what their magic does—it matches. Once they found theirperson and performed a bonding ritual, they unlocked their magic. They were stronger than the ones born with unlocked magic. I even read that they had familiars, strong animals that helped them fight off enemies and protect them.” She’d read about that? Was it actually true?

She continued, “they want you away from our world, my dear. You mom couldn’t fight them on it, although she tried. You’re being shunned to Sutiner.”

“Shit… Oh, sorry,” I added quickly, letting my mind work through this new information. “And the council believes I have a soulmatch here? That’s why I’m being shunned?” Great way to sayfuck youto those who could become more powerful than they were.

“Yes. They fear you’ll take over once you gain your powers. If the legends are true, you and your bonded mage would be the most powerful mages alive.” She sounded almost wistful as she spoke of the legends. I hoped it was true. I wasn’t done fighting, but an eighteen-year-old with no magic wasn’t exactly threatening to the most powerful mages alive.

“Holy…” I breathed, then the crushing reality of me being shunned away from our world hit. I would never meet my soulmatch, even if I was lucky enough to have one. I hoped, whoever they were, that they wouldn’t have the same life I’d had, being called a freak and treated as such.

“It is to be kept a secret. I swore I wouldn’t tell you.” She sighed. “I asked your mom about it, and she didn’t say the words outright but nodded when I asked. I believe that was her way of letting me know I was right.” I had no words. I finally had a shot at gaining my magic, only to be evicted to some random world far away from here. They hadn’t yet said that it was their final decision. But mother seemed to think that would be the verdict, so maybe they had. I just wasn’t deemed important enough to get notified of my banishment.

“Your mom gave me this.” She handed me a silver locket that was connected to a silver chain. It had another metal swirling around the surface, creating a beautiful pattern.

I took it and turned it over. It was a simple silver locket, but I couldn’t see any way of opening it. “What is it?”

“Your mom infused it with her magic and added your essence in it. Once you arrive on Sutiner you need to look out for your soulmatch. Once the next magicless mage is sent down to Sutiner it could be him or her. It will glow once your soulmatch enters Sutiner.If they’re far away it will be a dim light, but as you near them it will become brighter. You will know without a doubt once you see them, that they are yours.”

Other mages would be shunned like me? They would be magicless just like I was, but if I managed to find them, then we would be able to fight the council of mages. I would be able to return here. “Oh,” I said, unable to say anything else as I took in the locket, wondering how it would light up.

She patted my arm. “Keep it hidden under your shirt. Tell no one about this. Once you find your soulmatch, help the others who are coming. I know of two others that show no signs of magic yet. The council is keeping an eye on them constantly. Help the others find their matches, too, and then you will be able to return here and claim your rightful place as rulers.”

Present day.

I narrowed my eyes at the barista, willing her to understand my problem. She sighed, “Xar, please don’t make me repeat myself again.” I had no idea what her problem was, since I was the one with coffee all over me. The stupid new machine she’d bought had it out for me and everyone knew it.

“Repeat what?” I asked, wiping furiously at my apron, thankful that I always wore the same cheap clothes for work. Coffee stains were a bitch to get out of fabric, and I didn’t always have the option to do laundry each week.

“You need to close this thing here,” she pointed. “Beforestarting it! I told you this twice yesterday.” She rubbed the bridge of her nose, truly loving having hired me five years ago. She told me so often, always with a sarcastic tone to her voice, but I chose to ignore it.

“Oh,” I said, acting surprised. I totally remembered something about that. Too bad it took me to be bathed in coffee to remember it.

“Yes. Oh,” she said. Julie wasn’t just my boss. She’d been my best friend ever since I was shunned five years ago. We’d met on my second day on Sutiner, when she’d been walking her dog, who, unbeknownst to her, had eaten something in the bushes it shouldn’thave. I’d been right there, helping out by carrying him to her car and driving with her to the vet, holding him as she drove. She’d been so out of it with worry she hadn’t even cared she’d taken a stranger with her. A fact we’d laughed about after her dog, Vaps, was declared fine by the doctor.

“I’ll remember from now on,” I said, truly wanting to be better at this coffee machine, even though I still thought it had a vendetta against me. Julie had changed a few things around the shop over the last month, wanting it to look better now that she was making a decent income. We’d painted the walls and I’d gotten to pick out the colors. A dark blue shade filled the walls with gold trim, giving it an old school vibe. With the blackboard behind the desk that had the different coffees and dessert options on it, the coffeeshop was looking better than ever.

My archnemesis, aka the new coffee machine, was in a copper shade, looking fantastic, I had to admit that, but damn was it annoyingly high tech and complicated. We’d thrifted new chairs and tables, painting all the chairs gold and adding dark blue cushions on them, to match the walls. The tables were a dark wood, and we found somecute blue mugs that went perfectly with the color scheme and golden saucers.

“It’s fine. Always nice with the free entertainment,” she sassed and brought out the mop. “I was thinking about attending the charity event tomorrow.” She said it calmly, but I knew she was feeling anything but.

“Declan will be there,” I reminded her. She’d been engaged to a rich guy named Declan, who seemed to truly like her for who she was, but then his family had interfered before their engagement went public. It was safe to say they did not approve of him marrying a woman who had her own coffeeshop. I didn’t get what their problem was. She was a business owner, but they seemed to prefer he married a girl who’d been born rich and hadn’t worked a day in her life. That wasn’t Julie. No, Julie was a hands-on woman, something I loved about her. We didn’t pay for painters to come in and fix up the place, no we’d been here, her and me, working our asses off painting everything ourselves. And the chairs and tables? Us, too.

“I know,” she admitted, sighing a little as she mopped up my mess. “But the charity still means a lot to me.” Her mother had passedaway from breast cancer and every opportunity she had to donate to research; she took.

“Want me to come with you?” I offered, not wanting her to see Declan without a date. Not that we would be going as a couple. I saw myself as a taken man, patiently waiting for my soulmatch to join me on Sutiner. Or as patiently as I could, considering I’d waited over five years, the locket having not even emitted as much as a faint glow.Nothing.

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