It was cloudy in New York today, making the already cool weather even colder. Maybe I was just spoiled by California. The ground was a mix of dirt, concrete, and grass. Mostly concrete. Several contraptions lay before us, and I recognized them as rides. Was this an abandoned theme park?

  “Isn’t this what we rode the other day?” Zephyr asked, pointing to an old Tilt-a-Whirl.

  “Looks like it,” I replied. “Though this isn’t the same amusement park.”

  “Y-you went to an amusement park without us?!” Aidan looked so shocked and betrayed that I couldn’t help but frown.

  “No way!” Finn added. “I wanted to experience the ‘exhilarating thrill’ of falling 100 feet.” He glanced down at his feet, as if trying to figure out how many of them the drop was.

  “How do you two even know about this?” I asked. “And it’s not real feet.”

  “The TV kept showing us,” Aidan answered.

  “Hey! Where are you going?” Finn’s sudden shouting caught me off guard. I realized Maverick was starting to walk away from the rest of the group.

  “To look for the Magus of Historia,” Maverick answered. “You four are welcome to reminisce over missed opportunities. Rosalie left the second we got here.”

  “We should stick together in case they ambush us!” I suggested.

  “They’re not going to pick us off one by one. That’s a coward’s way, and they’re no cowards. If anything, they’ll be split up. Though…” He studied me and the rest of the group. “You and Aidan should likely pair up. Just not with each other.”

  “I-in that case, I’m going with Finn.” Aidan linked his arm with Finn’s, the latter pulling away from him.

  Finn sighed, shaking his head. “Zephyr, can you watch Ella for us?” He smiled gently.

  Zephyr straightened his glasses. Was it just me, or did he look hesitant? “Of course.”

  Everyone nodded to each other before splitting up.

  Zephyr and I walked for a bit, checking around and behind the rides to make sure nobody would sneak up on us.

  “Do you think they’re really here?” I asked.

  “If Rosalie says they are, then they most likely are,” Zephyr replied. “When you walked onto the stage, I noticed you scanned the crowd. Was there anyone there who looked suspicious to you?”

  “Honestly? I would have been too nervous to recognize Maverick if he were sitting in the front row. Though… When I lost control of my magic, I did smell chrysanthemums.” Why did I get the feeling that that wasn’t the first time I was overwhelmed by that smell?

  “Chrysanthemums…” Zephyr seemed lost in thought.

  “Oh, they’re a type of flower,” I explained, realizing he probably didn’t know what that was.

  He shook his head. “We have them in Meridia too.”

  “Oh?” That was probably the last thing I expected to carry over.

  We continued walking, finding nothing of note or interest. I kept my nose open, hoping to catch a whiff of chrysanthemums, but still, nothing.

  I pulled out my phone and decided to text the others to see how they were doing.

  Ella: Have you guys found anything?

  Aidan: you scared me!!! i thought you were texting to say you found them!

  Maverick: If she had found them, she wouldn’t be texting.

  Aidan: no we haven’t found anything.

  Finn: We haven’t found anything yet

  Maverick: Well get off your stupid phones and start looking.

  I sighed, putting my phone away.

  “Nothing?” Zephyr asked. I appreciated that he kept his distance and didn’t snoop over my phone like Rose and Matt would have.

  “Nothing.” I shook my head.

  I started stretching, my body tense from how scared I was. I bent my neck back and looked up at the sky, where I saw another drone. Man, big tech companies must be working overtime.

  “Shall we?” Zephyr asked, inviting me to continue the search.

  I nodded.

  ——

  “Why do you think the amusement park shut down?” Zephyr asked, making conversation.

  I turned around to look behind us. We had practically cleared the area by now. I hoped we weren’t out of Rosalie’s estimated range. We should have brought her map with us. “They probably ran out of money because not enough people were visiting.”

  “Ah, so a business runs them, not the city.” Zephyr nodded in understanding.

  “Why would the city…?” I trailed off, too perplexed to finish my own sentence.

  “In Meridia, the cities are responsible for holding fairs, festivals, and other entertainment. Seeing that amusement parks are a form of entertainment, I merely assumed your city would be responsible for its upkeep.”

  “I wish.” I chuckled. “Even then, I’m sure the city would eventually stop funding it. The money is too important for schools and healthcare. Not that everyone has free healthcare.” I shook my head.

  He paused. “You’re saying people have to pay for their health?”

  “Well, duh! Hospitals and ambulances are especially expensive.”

  “Ambulances?”

  “A vehicle that takes you directly to the hospital when you can’t take yourself.”

  “How convenient. Meridia could benefit from this.”

  “Uh, how does it work in Meridia? Do people just die if they can’t make it themselves?”

  “Usually not. Each building and home is equipped with a device used to stabilize patients in immediate danger. They can either walk to the hospital themself, or a friend, family member, or even stranger will help escort them there.”

  “The stabilizing device sounds helpful. Walking seems incredibly inconvenient.” I wrinkled my nose. For how far ahead Meridia was with healthcare, they sure were behind in transportation.

  I sighed, glancing up at the buildings ahead of us. Who would want to work in buildings so close to an abandoned amusement park? Seemed really creepy to me.

  “Get down!” Zephyr’s body collided with mine as I was pushed to the ground. The sound of gravel and pebbles moving caught me off guard. I looked up to see that a drone was shooting at us, and missing horribly. It was a circular white disc that had two glowing purple squares that vaguely resembled eyes. Creepy.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “H-huh?” I sputtered. “I thought they were just supposed to take pictures for maps! Why can it attack people?!”

  “Why do maps need pictures?” Zephyr asked as he helped me up to my feet.

  “So that people know the amusement park has been abandoned, and they won’t go here!” I blurted out.

  Once I was on my feet, Zephyr grabbed my wrist and started running. I felt bad as I watched him wince—my hands and wrists had started to ice over.

  “I’m sorry,” I muttered.

  He shook his head. “Do you think you can keep up on your own?” He glanced over to me, and I nodded.

  He let go, and right away, I felt the momentum in me leave. Right—I needed to support myself now.

  We turned the corner, entering an empty street. Well, empty save for the drone that appeared in front of us.

  I stumbled backwards, watching Zephyr do the same—the laser from the drone shot between the two of us, narrowly missing me. A small clump of my hair fell to the ground, causing the ice in my wrists to spread up to my arms.

  “Hit it!” I shouted to Zephyr, remembering his weapon was a gun.

  His hands clenched into fists at his sides. Was it just me, or was he trembling?

  “What are you doing?!” I shouted a little more impatiently this time. “Only one of us can fight, and it’s not me!”

  His fists tightened before he released them. A long building appeared in front of us, cutting us off from the drone. I knew it was only an illusion and wondered if the drone knew the same. Should it choose to fire, it would hit us, wouldn’t it? It was shooting blind, and we couldn’t see its location either.

  I inhaled a couple deep breaths, allowing the ice to melt before I grabbed Zephyr’s hand and turned the other way.

  Right. There was still the matter of the other drone.

  “Don’t… don’t make another building.” I gently clenched his hand. “Take out your musket and—”

  “I can’t.” He trembled once again.

  “…What do you mean?” I let go of his hand, not trusting my emotions not to freeze us together again.

  “I can’t summon it.” He waved his hand in front of us, and nothing changed, except that the drone’s purple squares stopped glowing—as if it had lost its target. “I put up an illusion so that it can’t see us anymore. It may still hear us, so keep quiet.”

  I nodded and silently moved a few steps over in case it decided to shoot where I previously stood. It did not. Maybe it couldn’t hear. Tapping my foot against the ground, I decided it couldn’t hear.

  “Where do we go now? We’re blocked in,” I asked.

  Zephyr looked lost in thought. Anxiously lost in thought. His face gave away that a million thoughts were running through his head, and none of them were the right answer. Why couldn't he summon his weapon anymore? Now probably wasn't the time to ask...

  “We run and then we make a sharp right. I’ll create an illusion of us running left. That should keep it busy.”

  I nodded.

  Zephyr’s eyes grew determined as he waved his hand in front of him. The drone quickly turned around and zoomed off to the left. He nodded to me, which was my cue to run. We quickly ran back to the amusement park and out another exit with more buildings.

  Once the coast was clear, Zephyr collapsed next to one of the buildings and coughed.

  “Are you okay?!” I quickly ran over to him and crouched down. He looked exhausted. “These illusions shouldn’t have been more than the ones you created back at the theater, right?” I frowned.

  “They’re about the same.” He coughed. “You go on without me. I’ll only slow us down.”

  “I can’t go on without you! I can’t use magic!”

  “And neither can I at this point. I’m all but spent, and I’m physically weak. Save yourself, Elaina.” He clenched his fists at his side, scooping up handfuls of gravel in the process.

  I pulled out my phone and called Maverick. Silence, not even so much as one ring. I tried calling Finn, but it was the same. “We don’t have a signal,” I said. “Maybe the drones are jamming it.”

  “I’ll pretend to know what that means.” Zephyr chuckled dryly.

  I sighed, frustrated that I couldn’t be more useful. “The others should be nearby. I’ll go look for them.”

  “Good idea.” Zephyr’s voice was getting more and more hoarse. That shouldn’t happen unless—

  “…Are you still holding up that illusion of us?”

  He nodded weakly. “Let me at least buy us some time.”

  He was so stubborn. He was going to kill himself protecting me... And I still couldn't use magic in any meaningful way.

  I clenched my fists at my sides and nodded. I quickly bolted off in the other direction, hoping I wouldn’t come across more drones.

  I ran down street after street, making turn after turn, hoping to run into one of the boys. Had I gone too far? Had they stayed closer to the amusement park? How long had I been gone? Was Zephyr still okay? I needed to be faster. I couldn’t keep running around aimlessly like this. Think, Elaina!

  “Ella!” A familiar voice called out to me, and I could cry from relief.

  “Finn!” I exclaimed and ran over to him, hugging him. He instantly stiffened, causing me to back up. Right, that was unexpected… What was I doing? “Where’s Aidan?” I asked.

  “He’s with Maverick fighting off the drones.”

  The sound of gravel bursting rang in my ears once again as Finn pushed me forward, deflecting the laser with his lance. Must be a powerful lance to be able to deflect…whatever the laser was made of. Once the drone stopped shooting, Finn launched his lance like a javelin. It landed perfectly between the two purple squares.

  This was the first time I saw his lance not covered in flames. I wondered if there was a reason behind it, but he didn’t comment.

  I gasped, realizing I had completely forgotten about Zephyr. “Zephyr’s hurt! We need to help him!” I grabbed Finn’s wrist and started trying to drag him to where I had left Zephyr, but he didn’t move.

  “We should get you to safety first. You still don’t have control over your magic. If something goes wrong, I want to know that you’re safe. I can go back for Zephyr later—”

  “There’s no time!” I blurted out. “Zephyr is powerless against the drones! If we don’t go now, there’s no telling whether or not he’ll survive!”

  Finn pursed his lips. “Maverick is nearby, we can meet up with him and have him teleport to Zephyr, Fair?”

  I inhaled a long breath. I couldn’t really argue with that. And if I tried, I’d just be wasting more time. “...Fine.” I nodded. He beckoned, and I followed him down what felt like an abandoned neighborhood.

  “Have you found them yet?” I asked.

  “Them?” He raised an eyebrow at me.

  I paused. That was unusual. He should have known exactly what I was thinking. “Is… your mind-reading thing working okay?” I asked.

  He shrugged. “It’s been better. I think it’s the drones.”

  My grip on his hand tightened, causing him to send me a concerned glance. “Just what are these machines capable of?” I asked.

  “Don’t know.” He shook his head. “We should get out of here as soon as possible, though.”

  “But we still haven’t found the Magus of Historia.” I frowned.

  His grip on my hand tightened. “The situation has changed. I don’t think any of us could have prepared for—”

  “What if it’s them?” I interrupted. “What if the drones belong to the Magus of Historia?”

  He released my hand and sharply turned on his heel to face me. The wind from the sudden movement brushed my hair behind my frame, sending a chill down my back. His eyes were serious—dangerous. “Whatever those things are, they’re not magic.”

  I nodded hesitantly. He continued walking, and I followed.

  Three drones turned the corner, and I froze. One was terrifying enough; how were we supposed to deal with three?!

  I glanced up at Finn, who had his lance ready; once again, not bathed in flames. He inhaled a deep breath before rapidly spinning his lance in a fluid, seamless motion.

  He rushed towards the drones, one lowering to meet him as the other two kept their place suspended several feet in the air. He stabbed the point of his lance into the closest drone, using the momentum to gain height, swing himself into the air, and land on the next drone—all without losing his balance.

  The drone crumbled from his weight, and Finn seemed to be losing his balance. Before it could completely fall, he swung his lance out at the adjacent drone, successfully knocking it out of the air as well. He quickly and gracefully landed on the ground as the drone he was riding loudly crashed into the ground.

  He did a little bow, and I couldn’t help but be impressed! I hoped one day I would learn to fight like that.

  “Come on, Maverick and Aidan are just around the corner.” He beckoned me with haste. I nodded and eagerly followed.

  I was surprised when he led me into a tunnel.

  “They're in here…?” I clarified.

  He nodded, his pace only gaining in speed. I struggled to keep up with him, especially when he was half a foot taller than me, and I didn’t exactly have long legs.

  The tunnel that I thought would lead to more roads turned into a building instead. A warehouse, if I had to guess.

  This wasn’t right. My gut was screaming at me to run, but why would Finn take me here otherwise?

  “They are here, aren’t they…?” I asked.

  “Maverick and Aidan, you mean?” Finn turned to me, his expression unusually calm—a hint of sadness and… regret? “No.”

  My hands iced over.

  “Who are you?” I asked, coming to the conclusion that this wasn’t Finn. Or at the very least, not my Finn.

  “You’re just as perceptive as the Master said.”

  My heart sank as my arms turned to ice. In the blink of an eye, it wasn’t Finn standing before me.

  It was Zuri.