When Terry woke up the next morning, he expected his relationship with Delores to have become the definition of awkward. The previous night had been a new level of. . .something. Terry didn't know what. The first thing he noticed though was that she was already out of the sleeping bag and helping Elton with breakfast. Terry had never been one to sleep late, but somehow these two city folk were consistently waking up before him.

  He raised himself up on an elbow and realized he didn’t know what to say to her. He hated it. He just watched them for a moment and dreaded how she'd see him. But then Delores spotted him sitting up, and the smile she gave him erased his worries completely. It was warmth in the cold. It was something beautiful and it made him smile. They just sat there smiling at each other until Delores blushed and looked away. She never stopped smiling.

  “Are you going to stay in bed or are you going to eat before we go for showers? You’ve got a big day, hero!” Delores said as she turned her attention back to browning toast over the fire pit.

  Terry managed to get his jeans and boots on quickly and only looking vaguely like an imbecile rolling around in the sleeping bag. He hopped out of it, snatched up his coat, and came and sat by the fire. He looked at Elton who seemed in a decent enough mood.

  “Hey,” Terry said, “sorry about last night. I didn’t mean to wake you up laughing.”

  Elton looked up from the eggs he was scrambling and smiled.

  “Don’t worry about it. I was out like a light after that.” Terry felt better about it. Then, before he turned his attention to the eggs, Elton gave Terry an absolutely wicked grin. Terry suddenly wondered what exactly Elton had heard or seen.

  As Delores finished the last slices of toast, she looked at Terry.

  “So what’s the plan today? Besides your meeting?”

  Terry thought for a minute. He’d given a little thought to this the previous night during dinner and he still thought it was a good idea.

  “I don’t know how long the meeting is going to be, so I thought we could all split up and find something to do. Maybe we can meet up somewhere at 1 or 2 this afternoon?”

  “That,” she said, “is an excellent idea. I actually had an errand I wanted to run while we’re in town. We could meet outside the Audubon Aquarium. There's the benches there. Should be easy to find.”

  Terry nodded and smiled at her. She met his eyes and she giggled. SHE. GIGGLED. Terry scratched the back of his head and looked away, still grinning. He looked at Elton.

  “How about you? Any plans?”

  Elton started plating eggs and sausage.

  “Man, it’s New Orleans. I’m sure I can find something to do. Like buy you a friggin’ phone for starters.”

  “Really?!” Delores seemed entirely too excited at the prospect. Terry took his plate.

  “What do I need one of those for?”

  Elton stared at him.

  “Seriously? For one thing you could call us when you were out of the meeting instead of bumbling around like the Country Mouse.”

  Terry brightened.

  “I understood that one!”

  Elton rolled his eyes.

  “Of course you did.”

  Delores laughed. Terry stuck his tongue out at her and that just made her laugh all the more.

  After breakfast and a quick trash clean up, they all went to the showers in the rest area. Terry and Elton weren’t alone this time, but still managed to get stalls next to each other. Terry tried to think about what his meeting might possibly be about but he just kept thinking about Delores kissing him. Elton called out to him.

  “So. . . Couldn’t help but notice you guys shared a sleeping bag.”

  After four months, Terry had finally gotten used to the bard and his jabs, japes, and general nosiness.

  “It was cold last night. Her sleeping bag sucks and mine is enchanted.”

  Terry waited just long enough that he thought Elton might say something else, before preempting him.

  “Besides, better than sharing a bag with you.”

  Elton laughed. Terry didn’t often get him to laugh when he wasn’t the butt of a joke, but when he did he relished it.

  “That’s fair. It was unseasonably cold. The meteorologists are pulling their hair out and the diviners are at a loss as well. Probably be cold as hell again tonight.”

  Terry just nodded and he started thinking about what that meant. He knew she’d be in his bag again. His cheeks heated thinking about it. She was so. . .soft. Then Elton snapped him out of it.

  “I’m guessing the kissy-face stuff was a part of keeping our mage friend warm?”

  Terry went pale.

  “You, uh, you saw that, huh?”

  “Terry, I want you to realize that if there is one person on the face of this planet that isn’t going to actually give you crap for being with Delores, it’s me.”

  Terry started rinsing himself off.

  “I’m not.” He said.

  “Pull the other one.”

  “No. Seriously. I know what you saw, but Delores apologized for making things complicated. I’m still sworn to the Order and everything that entails.”

  There was silence for a moment when a third voice from down the line of stalls piped up.

  “MAN. You are stupid as hell, then.”

  Terry snapped. This was entirely too much.

  “YES! THANK YOU! I AM FULLY AWARE THAT I AM KING IDIOT! CAN WE PLEASE MOVE ON WITHOUT COMMENTARY FROM THE PEANUT GALLERY?!”

  Silence again. Then a fourth voice.

  “Better be careful, Hank. I think that’s the kid that took down that kaiju back in June.”

  “SHIT. SORRY.”

  Elton’s laughter echoed through the whole facility and Terry shook his head. It really was kinda funny.

  After getting into the city proper, Terry and Elton parked the scooters in a pay lot for the day. Thunder hopped around in his spot wanting to follow. Terry bent over and got in the little guy’s face.

  “I need you to stay here, buddy. Someone has to watch the Vespa. Can you do that for me?”

  Thunder’s headlight bobbed up and down in an excited nod and Terry grinned. He reached out and scratch him behind the handlebar.

  “See you in a little while! Stay safe, little guy!”

  As they walked out of the lot, Terry turned to Delores, still beaming.

  “I have a pet scooter!”

  “I know!” she squeaked back.

  Elton just shook his head.

  “I seriously didn’t think anything else weird could happen with this group, and yet, here we are. I’m gonna head out. I’ll see you guys later.”

  As he walked off, he turned around and called back to them with a wolfish grin.

  “Best behavior! Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”

  Terry and Delores stood there watching him walk away. Delores narrowed her eyes.

  “He saw, didn’t he?” she asked him.

  “Yep.” Terry said. His expression brightened. “Delores, would you like to walk with me to St. Patrick’s before you go?”

  She smiled and grabbed his hand.

  “Yes.” Was all she said, but she seemed extremely happy.

  As they made their way toward Camp Street, Terry tried to concentrate on what might happen in his meeting again, but all he could think about was what he was doing right that moment. Her hand was warm. Occasionally he felt her thumb rub the back of his hand. He felt like he was floating. She almost seemed to be glowing to him. Terry knew he was well and truly enraptured. Happiness and misery fought inside him. Then they rounded a corner and there was St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Terry stepped right back around the corner, pulling a surprised Delores with him by the hand.

  “What? What is it?” she said as he put her back against a wall and he stepped out of sight of the building. A series of thoughts and feelings leaped into his mind at the sight of the church and they were confusing him. First, was a strange sense of foreboding. He felt like he was heading to the headsman. Second, and triggered by the first, he needed to confess the truth to Delores and he couldn't do it. Not being who and what he was. Not with that building looming over him.

  “I, uh, I kinda need to say something. It’s important.” He said.

  She tilted her head, thought about it, and her eyes widened. She peeked around the corner at the Church. She seemed to realize what he meant.

  “You decided you want to have this kind of discussion within sight of your district manager? You are suicidally brave, sir.”

  He ran his hand through his hair and his bangs flopped forward. He looked at them for a second. He’d need a haircut soon. He realized his mind was trying to wander. He focused on her.

  “Maybe it’s because I’m heading into the lion’s den,” he said, “ or maybe I'm getting tired of being like this and who I am, but I feel like I need to get this out in case they string me up or something. I don’t know. I’m sorry it’s right here and right now. I just feel like this might be the only chance I get. It's stupid. I know.”

  Delores looked confused and he couldn't blame her.

  “Delores,” he said, trying to slow his speech down and be calm, “every time Elton has picked on me about, well, us, or someone else has brought it up I’ve specifically said that we CAN’T happen. Or we SHOULDN’T happen. Or we WON’T happen.”

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  The expression on Delores's face was less than friendly.

  “Really knocking it out of the park here, Lingal. Did better last night.” She said.

  Terry grabbed her hand again, this time in both of his and squeezed. He held it up in front of them.

  “Please let me finish, D.” He said. She didn’t say anything. She just watched him. “You know me. I’m honest. To a fault. I try to not lie because it makes me feel terrible.”

  She nodded.

  “I have tried to be desperately careful with how I say things, D, and I am going to be extremely careful now. Can't? Won't? Shouldn't? Those aren't WANT, Delores. Even if THIS,” he shook their hands in front of her, “DOESN’T happen? I have never, and will never, tell you that I don’t WANT it to happen. I need you to understand how important the way I'm saying this is. This is the best I can do. And I hate it. I. Hate. It. I'm sorry.”

  Terry realized how close he was to tears by the end. He felt like his heart had broken. Admitting that, as little as it was, made him feel lost. Delores stared at him, her mouth slightly open. It was a look of total shock. He was glad she understood what he was saying, because he thought it was as close as he could come to saying what he felt. He felt like he was chained. He felt like he was in the woods again.

  Delores grabbed his lapels and pulled him close. She got right up in his face, and she looked enraged.

  “You listen to me." She said in a harsh whisper. "How dare you do this here. RIGHT here and now. If you hadn’t just told me one of the sweetest things I’ve ever heard you say in the only way your poor life will allow, I would be kicking your ass all the way to the French Quarter over your timing. Do you understand me?” He nodded.

  “Again, I’m sorry.” He said very, very quietly. He sagged. “I’m sorry for everything.”

  She squeezed her eyes shut. He could see she was arguing with herself.

  “We’re going to have to have a talk tonight. Especially since we’re going to be in the same sleeping bag.” She said. She looked around. It was a Thursday morning and barely anyone was on the street right then.

  The kiss she gave him was not brief. He reeled.

  “I’m not apologizing for that one either.” She said as she backed away and pointed a finger up at his nose. “You deserve to be off kilter before you go in there for what you just did. How am I supposed to concentrate today?”

  Terry shrugged, trying to recover his mental balance.

  “I’m from the sticks. You know us farm boys.”

  That actually got a smile out of her and she spun him around and pushed him around the corner.

  “Go do your thing, Air Bud. I’ve got business today.” She said as she started crossing Camp Street.

  He watched her go.

  “STAY SAFE!” he yelled after her. She spun around and blew him a kiss which made his ears turn red. Yeah, ok, I deserved that, he thought. His timing could have been better. Why did he feel like he was stepping into danger all of a sudden? He realized the only way to find out was to begin. He turned and strode toward St. Patrick’s and the headquarters of the Order of St. George.

  Elton Beasley, Troubadour of Terry Lingal, E.A., had bought his employer a cellphone. It was a good one. He’d made sure to get him a protective case and a screen protector, and had programmed in both his and Delores’s numbers. He knew Terry’s log-ins so he went ahead and got his emails set up while he was at it. Now he was looking for something else to do.

  All of New Orleans before him and he was at a loss for. . . aaaaaaand there’s a sign that says daiquiris, he thought. Elton smiled. He’d never been to this bar before, which was good. He was pretty sure they still had his face up on the “Do Not Serve This Customer” board at Daiquiri Depot. This was perfect though. Just according to keikaku. . .

  Delores tried to put Terry out of her mind for a bit. How could he be so. . . NOPE. Not thinking about him. She had somewhere to be for very important magely business. It was a long walk from Camp to Decatur Street, but she literally had nothing else to do that day, so she took that walk.

  She loved New Orleans. She’d considered moving there after she finally left her parent’s, but she just knew she’d never have made it living there the way her mind was back then. Now? Maybe. The place was a wonderful mix of everything she loved about humanity. The entire city had a personality and she adored that personality, flaws and all. She’d been coming there at least twice a year any time she could get a ride. She actually found herself cheering up substantially just from being back there and wandering the streets. She'd made one real friend in the city, and it was this person she needed to see.

  Eventually she found where she was looking for. It was on a small stretch of Decatur between Governor Nicholls Street and Barracks Street. It was gorgeously run down and shaded from the sun and had that distinctive French Quarter vibe that just drove her nuts. The book shop had been there for years and was run by the Circle of the Greenman. Technically.

  “The Green Circle”. From what she’d heard, Razmataz the Elder, the actual owner, had tried to name it “The Brown Circle” but the Chamber of Commerce had thrown an absolute fit until he agreed to give it a name a little more “on the nose”. Taz, as he'd insisted she call him, was a goober. In a world of eccentrics, Taz was an eccentric’s eccentric. He ran a fantastic bookstore and, after school, weird kids would flock to the shop. He served coffee there. He hated coffee. The coffee was terrible. No one cared. Everyone drank it.

  An electronic “BLING-BLONG” chimed as she walked in and a familiar deep voice rang out.

  “HEL-lo!” Taz called out before even looking up from his book and Delores smiled. He hadn’t changed a bit in the past half a year or so since she'd seen him. His undershirt was the purple most mages wore to ID themselves, and with his sweater vest and long brown coat he either looked like the next Doctor in the TARDIS or a college professor. . . except for the plush moose head he wore for a hat from a kid’s Halloween costume. He finally looked up, gray beard neatly trimmed and black rimmed glasses on his nose.

  “MS. DELORES CODY!” he shouted, “It’s been too long! Looking for work?” Places like this were a source of employment opportunities for the magic community. Taz kept a close eye on the job markets.

  “Hi, Taz.” she said warmly. The guy was twice her age and unlike the weirdo in Gulfport, he’d been nothing but a gentleman in the four years she’d known him. “I actually have work in the field right now, believe it or not.” She continued.

  “Fantastic! I’ve been hoping you would!”

  “How’s Geebo?” She asked.

  Taz rolled his eyes.

  “Still mad I summoned him from the hereafter into a bell shaped like a ding-dong.”

  There was a violent tinkle from a metal phallus hanging from a hook on the wall behind him. Geebo had been one of his best friends and died. Taz hadn't been able to cope. This was the best way he knew to. Geebo had other opinions. Taz turned to the dick-bell.

  “I KNOW YOU’RE BORED! You shouldn’t have died, you moron! GEEZ!”

  He turned back to her.

  “Sorry. You know how he gets when girls come in.”

  She smiled and tried to see what he’d been reading but he quickly stuffed it under the counter. Probably something trashy. She walked up and leaned on the counter as he woke his computer up.

  “What can I do for you then?”

  “Actually,” she said, “I need to be tested.”

  He raised an eyebrow.

  “I believe we tested you seven months ago. You think you’ve grown enough for it to show?” He said.

  She looked around the empty shop and looked out the one window at the empty street.

  “I’m sorry, are you busy today? Did I come in between rushes?”

  They stared at each other for a few minutes. It was a useless battle of wills that Taz always did. He’d fold.

  He folded.

  “Might as well. I got nothin’ else goin’ on.”

  With that he pulled up a large device that reminded Delores of one of those Scientology E-Meters. This one had three witch bottles slotted at the top though and instead of wires connected to “cans” they ran to black resin grips with glitter mixed in them. There would be copper wires curled around inside them. He also pulled up a massive old ledger that he set on the counter beside it.

  “All right. You remember how this works?” he asked.

  “Yeah. I grab the testers, you run greasy mana through me, and the time it takes to start coming out is my capacity. Right?”

  Taz glanced at her as he opened the ledger and started looking for her name.

  “Close enough. There’s a lot more nuance than that but you have the basics.”

  A sudden idea popped in her head.

  “Taz, if I bring someone here, can you test them and we keep it off the record?”

  He leaned his head back to look at her through his glasses suspiciously.

  “Maybe, maybe not. Everything is supposed to go in the books.” He said. “Why off the record?”

  She leaned in.

  “I can’t tell you that if you don’t agree.”

  Taz looked around the empty shop and still whispered.

  “After close I could.” He gave her a serious look. “I’m only doing this because you’re the only one that actually talks to me like a human and not some freak show.”

  “JESUS,” she said, “why is everyone I know the loneliest little flower?!”

  “Forget I said anything.” He said. “Please pick up the butt-crystals.”

  The corners of her mouth dropped.

  “I do wish you wouldn’t call them that. They’re not even crystals.”

  “Blame Geebo. Grab ‘em anyway.”

  She did. He turned the machine on and she could feel the mana start to flow into her as a worrying hum started from the thing. This mana was charged in such a way that it wasn’t able to remain in a person’s core. It would build up inside, and once filled, the core would force the mana back out. All it would do was leave a slight residue that was factored into the process.

  “Hey, what did I test at last time again?” she asked as they waited.

  Taz leaned back over the book and relocated her row.

  “Uuuuuuuh, 2.4 out of 10 on the Thaum Scale. Like I said last time, not bad for the substandard training you received.”

  “That wasn’t all that was substandard about Gideon.” She said and Taz laughed.

  “Oh, you catty bitch. Never could stand that guy.” He said with a grin. She grinned back. Finally the machine stopped and the hum died down. She peeled her hands from around the “butt-crystals” and let them drop. The dong bell started ringing.

  “OH MY GOD, NOBODY ASKED YOU, YOU PERVERT!” Taz yelled at it. Delores didn’t even ask. Taz looked down at the readings, jotted them down on scratch paper, then cleaned his glasses and read the number again.

  “Uh, Ms. Cody, do you mind if I run that again? I think something may be up with the equipment.”

  She found that concerning. She didn’t think it was going to be the equipment.

  “Can I ask what it came up with, first?

  “Sure.” He said. “4.9, which shouldn’t be possible. I want to run it just once more. I’ll replace the witch bottles first.”

  He did, and they ran through the process again. The dick-bell rang once and Taz just flipped it off behind him without turning around. He watched the two meters carefully this time. The cycle completed and he did his quick math. He shook his head and looked up at her.

  “Well,” he said, “there was a slight calibration issue. I managed to fix it. Which is good.”

  “Yeah?” she said.

  “I still don’t like the implications here.”

  “What did I get this time, Taz? You’ve got me nervous.”

  He shuffled over and jotted the information down in the ledger, meaning whatever it was had just become official.

  “Ms. Cody. Delores. You registered at a 5.0. Close to a 5.1, but I rounded down so I don’t look like a complete loon when they check my work next year. There’s going to be enough questions about you more than doubling your capacity in seven months.”

  Delores’s mouth went dry. She tried to keep her breathing under control. Gideon had been a 5.5. He was eying a council seat. She looked at her hands. She heard Taz pull a stool up and sit down.

  “Delores, the only way I know you could have jumped that far in less than a year is if you A, sat next to a giant mana battery every single day, or 2, you lived in the Everywhen for a whole year.”

  She stared at him, her eyes not blinking.

  “Have you done either of those things?” he asked.

  “I, uh,” she swallowed and tried to work moisture back into her mouth, “I might have been near a couple of very large sources of mana over the last several months.”

  Taz nodded.

  “Well, that might do it, then. Absorbing all that mana would cause your core to stretch to accommodate to the increased flow over time. Your capacity would grow just through constantly having mana blasted at you.” A look of concern crossed his face. “Are you ok? That can be pretty dangerous depending on who made the battery. I can take a look at it for you.”

  Delores leaned across the counter to him.

  “Taz. Could being near a person cause this?”

  He leaned back, his eyes wide and a frown on his face.

  “If you knew someone who was drawing and expelling enough mana to double the Thaum capacity of your core constantly they wouldn’t be ON the council. They’d BE the council.”

  She reached out to the counter and grabbed his hand. Her eyes were still wide. She knew. Oh god, she knew what it was. It had changed her.

  “Thank you, Taz. I can’t thank you enough. I don’t think I’m going to be able to bring that friend by and I’d appreciate you not telling anyone I mentioned them.”

  “No one will hear it from me.” He said with a smile.

  Delores ran out of the shop. She stopped just past the witch shop next door and put her back against the wall. She leaned forward with her hands on her knees. She was hyperventilating. She tried to calm herself. She started trying to take deep, slow breaths and counted backwards from 100. She did all the calming exercises she knew.

  Once she felt she was calm enough to do so, Delores drew mana into herself. She drew, and she drew, and she drew until she hit her max. She stared at her hands and her wrist components. She hadn’t tried to fill herself like this since June or July. They'd been so busy. She knew she'd grown, but doubled? She felt so much MORE than before. There was no pain from holding this much. It was almost euphoric. She could see the mana web now. She could sense the world moving. She felt whole. She felt complete. Whole new schools of magic were going to be open to her now. Thing’s she’d read about, daydreamed about. Thing she’d written off as unattainable. Delores was shaking. She felt the tears running down her face before she even realized it. She hugged herself. She slid down the wall and laughed and cried there for ages. Relief, and sorrow, and joy, and anger all mixed together. After so long. So, so long.

  This was what she’d wanted so badly. To have the capacity to actually DO something. To be able to BE a mage. A real one. Not just a scrappy little counter-spell kid. She pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket and wiped her face. She knew part of it was the thing they’d found inside the kaiju. She’d had to try so hard to get enough mana to make that shield work. She’d felt her core stretch and it had hurt so badly. She had been terrified she’d stunted her growth, but as she’d been working for the last few months, she’d come to suspect she'd grown. And she knew what the other source was. She leaned her head back against the wall.

  But it didn’t really matter how it had happened, did it? As long as it had happened. She could be someone now. Maybe she was worth something now. Her parents were wrong now. Gideon was wrong. She wanted to go running through the streets and just scream and laugh and cry. She wanted to give the world the finger. She wanted to hug the universe. She’d been given the only thing she wanted and thought she could never have. It was like suddenly having all of her senses after being blind and deaf. But she calmed herself. She allowed the mana to bleed back out of her. She knew the desire to use the magic came from holding it there. She took several deep, deep breaths.

  Delores Cody, mage of the Circle of the Greenman, stood up and decided that maybe, just maybe, she wanted Chinese food from the place across the street.