A few days later, at the Attenborough house.

  Aaron, Michael, and Helen were having dinner together in the dining room.

  “Mom, Dad, can I go to Boston this weekend? On Saturday night, the Bills is playing there, so I want to take Luther to watch the game,” Aaron asked, glancing up from his plate.

  “The Bills?” Michael raised an eyebrow. “Given up on the Giants already?”

  “No, never.” Aaron rolled his eyes. “But it’s against the Buccaneers, so it’s worth the ticket. And I also want to walk Luther around and show him Boston.”

  He spoke while trying to finish the food on his plate as fast as possible, shoveling big bites into his mouth like he was racing the clock.

  “Slow down, what’s the rush? No one is going to steal your food.” Helen frowned at him. “So when exactly are you planning to go?”

  “From Friday morning to Monday. Is that okay? We get Monday off for Columbus Day,” Aaron replied.

  “All right, I’ll ask Uncle Adam to go with you,” Michael said after a moment. “Your mom and I are both busy this weekend, so we can’t go along.”

  “That’s not necessary. We’re not kids anymore, Dad.” Aaron shook his head. “I just need you to book the flights and the hotel for us. Once we’re there, we can just call an Uber.”

  No way he was letting Adam tag along because their real destination is Mariana Market.

  “Fine then. But make sure you’re careful and stay away from anything dangerous,” Michael warned.

  “I’ll give you some extra money,” Helen added. “Take Luther somewhere nice to eat, all right? Does he like sushi? O Ya was quite good the last time we tried. Anyways, remember that absolutely no alcohol, not even a drop.”

  They both agreed to Aaron’s request without realizing how unusual it was to let a fifteen-year-old and a fourteen-year-old fly to Boston by themselves for several days.

  “I know, Mom. I swear I won’t touch a single sip of alcohol. Thanks, Mom, Dad! I’ll bring back gifts for everyone,” Aaron said with a wide grin.

  Wow, that went so smoothly! This thing works so freaking well!

  Helen and Michael couldn’t see the faint, shadowy black feathers that flickered around his body.

  “I’m done. I’m going to do my homework,” he announced.

  He swallowed the last piece of grilled rib, got up, and hurried upstairs.

  “This kid’s been acting stranger and stranger lately,” Michael muttered, frowning. “He used to stay up playing games until ten or eleven every night before he’d even think about sleeping.”

  “What are you talking about? He’s gotten a lot better,” Helen replied, nodding in approval. “Ever since he became friends with Luther, he’s been asking to go out at night with the Wilson boys much less often. Plus, Mr. Bryce told me he’s been doing better and better in school lately.”

  “All study and no energy, what kind of boy is that? He should be out there full of life, not cooped up in his room …” Michael cut himself off when he caught the razor-sharp look in Helen’s eyes.

  …

  Ravenswood house.

  Aaron appeared beside Luther in the living room.

  “Hooray! My parents said yes! We’re flying Friday morning, so Thursday night we should pack before going to bed,” he said, walking to the kitchen to look for dessert.

  Luther’s fridge was now packed with food and sweets. Even the wooden cupboard that used to be quite empty was now crammed full of snacks. Aaron had a habit of stocking up on food, and the one most delighted by it was Acher, for sure.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “You kids had better be careful. This will be your first time interacting with the magical world. Things have changed a lot, so my experience might already be outdated,” the raven reminded them. “Hmmm … Judging from the way that Martin boy reacted, it seems that being a high knight at your age is quite attention-grabbing these days. Luther, now that you’re an adept mage, you should be able to handle the cloak of ambiguity more effectively. Follow my instructions.”

  Under Acher’s guidance, Luther separated a portion of the cloak. Raven feathers drifted toward them and sank into their bodies.

  After a while, from an outside perspective, the energy levels of both Aaron and Luther had dropped to those of a novice mage and an official knight.

  “That’s almost all. Of the cloak gone. Only about. Two-tenth left,” Luther remarked.

  “Of course. Do you think you two are some simple beings?” Acher scoffed. “One of you is a living reaper, the other a Sunkindler, both divine entities, and not of the ordinary kind either. You’d better guard your identities carefully.”

  Aaron and Luther both nodded.

  “Good. With the cloak in its current state, this method should be able to fool even epic-rank creatures, as long as they don’t get too close,” Acher continued. “However, Aaron, you should stick to using fire-based abilities and avoid using solar magic in front of other people altogether. You still remember what happened to Orpheus, don’t you?”

  “Understood,” Aaron said; a shiver ran down his spine at the mention of that scene.

  Then the three of them talked for a while longer before settling down to watch TV.

  “Let’s watch. Dragon Scales,” Luther suggested.

  Over time, he had realized that Aaron wasn’t that interested in Our Planet or animal documentaries.

  “Perfect! Pyrathrax shows up in today’s episode. He’s huge and looks so cool!” Aaron said, his excitement was written all over his face. “Do you think there are still pure-blood dragons on Earth? If there are, we should catch one and keep it.”

  “Dream on, kid. Even if there were, you wouldn’t be able to catch them; you both are still weak as hell.” Acher rolled his eyes. “Dragon hatchlings are fiercely protected by their parents, and an adult pure-blood dragon would be at least grand-rank. At your current strength, you wouldn’t even be enough to fill their teeth.”

  “I was just joking. I’ve heard dragons are a highly intelligent race, so doing that would be like kidnapping a child,” Aaron said. “I was thinking about pooling some money to buy a demi-dragon. I mean, a knight without a cool mount, where’s the style in that?”

  “How much?” Luther asked.

  “I’m not sure. I guess we can ask around at Mariana Market. If we can’t buy one, then someday we have to go to Volcantheon and rent dragons to ride. I want to try a magma dragon, and also a blizzard one.”

  “Where Volcantheon?” Luther repeated.

  “It’s a realm that was shaped to symbolize friendship between humans and dragons. It’s located in Chrysopetra, one of the divine kingdoms of humanity. It’s also where the Nephopyle Gate, the main entrance to the heaven Ladonysia, is located…”

  …

  Thursday night.

  “All you need to pack are your clothes, Luther. I’ll handle everything else,” Aaron said as he stuffed clothes into his suitcase. “If we’re missing something, we can just buy it when we get there.”

  Seeing the messy pile he’s making, Luther dumped everything out onto the bed and began folding them neatly.

  “Heh, that looks so tidy now. You’re really good at this,” Aaron praised.

  Acher let out a cold, dismissive snort.

  “You little flatterer.”

  Since the trip was only going to last a few days, the two of them didn’t pack much. Mostly things like clothes, toothbrushes, phone chargers … and a ridiculous amount of sweets and snacks, which, according to Aaron, were for eating during the flight.

  That night, the two boys lay on the bed, far too excited to sleep.

  “What do you think Mariana Market will be like? Do you think it’ll be like Vertical Alley in Hairy Petter? Or maybe more like the Troll Market in Hellguy?” Aaron asked, eyes glimmering with anticipation.

  “No idea,” Luther answered. “Don’t know Vertical Alley. Don’t know Troll Market.”

  “You’ve never seen Hairy Petter? And you haven’t seen Hellguy either? No way! When we get back, I’m making you watch them all!”

  “What’s Hairy Petter about?”

  “It’s about a wizard boy who lives with his muggly relatives… wait, I’m not gonna spoil anything else. You’ve gotta watch it yourself to enjoy it!”

  The two kept chatting on and on, their conversation stretching all the way to almost midnight when Aaron’s stomach suddenly growled.

  “You hungry?” Luther asked.

  Aaron nodded.

  “This is ridiculous,” he grumbled. “I ate a ton before leaving my house.”

  “We’re out of leftovers. Want some. Instant noodles?”

  “Sure!”

  And so, the two boys and the raven got out of bed and hurried into the kitchen.

  Luther pulled out a bunch of Mama noodles and tossed them into three bowls: one with two packs for himself, and two with four packs each for Aaron and Acher. Then he grabbed a chunk of frozen beef from the freezer and said:

  “Thaw this for me.”

  “Piece of cake. Watch me!”

  Aaron took the meat; his hands glowed, and the ice melted at a speed visible to the naked eye.

  “This kid is more useful than a microwave,” Acher commented.

  Aaron:

  “…”

  Only fifteen minutes later, three steaming bowls of noodles were ready. On top of the golden strands were slices of tender rare beef, a fried egg, and a sprinkle of green onions.

  “So goodddd! Luther, you’re the bessttt!!” Aaron said with his mouth full, making Luther smile.

  “Quit sucking up, brat,” Acher rolled his eyes. “But this is delicious, Luther. Let’s have this again tomorrow night.”

  “Okay. I’ll buy some fresh shrimp. Boil and throw them in. Even better.”

  “No need to buy. My house has the best giant tiger prawns! I’ll bring some over tomorrow.”

  Sometimes, happiness is nothing more than a hot meal at midnight.