Knocking on his grandma’s door-his door-Marvin chided himself, felt odd even if he was gone for only a short amount of time. Thankfully the black eye he’d received courtesy of CB was no longer visible, so he’d be able to avoid some explanations.

A lot had happened in that time however. Battles, mysteries, loss, new relationships of many kinds had transpired in the span of a week. It felt comforting to be back there, even more so than when he was in his old room. He was holding his luggage, waiting for his grandmother to open the door and embrace her.

He felt he deserved this after everything that had happened back in Atlanta and Blood Mountain.

“If you’re a thief I swear to God I’ll kick your ass so hard you’ll wish you weren’t stupid enough to knock! Don’t mess with Minerva Norrinson!” came her raspy sounding voice from the other side of the door.

“It’s me, grandma.” said Marvin, chuckling at his grandmother’s odd behaviour.

“Marvin?” she questioned, opening her door. Looking down slightly at the older woman, he dropped the things he was holding, hugging her tight.

Minerva Norrinson was still there. His grandmother was still there. He hadn’t realised how much he needed that confirmation until now.

“What’s wrong my boy?” she asked, transparent worry and confusion in her voice even as she hugged him back.

A few moments later they were sitting in the normally quaint living room. It was a simple design. An L shaped couch and two chairs around a table, all pointing towards a television. The TV would be on most of the time, his grandmother watching whatever silly soap opera or reality show was on while shouting or laughing at it.

At that time, it wasn’t. The TV was off and she was quiet, waiting for him to speak.

“I-” Marvin cleared his throat. “During the-the school trip I-remember the after-school club I’m a part of? Not archery, the other one?”

“Yes Marvin. I may be old but I’m still sharper than the sharpest knife.” smiled his grandma.

“Well, the-the teacher in charge of that club, well, she-she is no longer with us.” said the teen as he removed his glasses to rub his eyes.

“Oh my boy. Tell me. Tell me what you need?” His grandma hugged him, almost making him drop his glasses.

“Just-let’s just-talk.” he said quietly as they separated.

He may have been a sorcerer, not that his grandmother knew, he may have faced vampires, mythological monsters and seen unearthly wonders, but at that point he felt completely powerless.

After a few moments of silence he began talking about the trip with his grandma. He gave sparse details regarding his less-than-normal activities but, between new potential friendships and his complicated relationship with Marly, he had more than a few things to tell her.

As he kept babbling on and on about those things like a child telling his parents about his day, as well as his brief meeting with Annie, he noticed that she looked oddly content. And he’d be lying if he said he didn’t understand why she would feel that way.

And for a few blissful moments that lasted way too little, he found himself forgetting about the horridness of what happened a couple days ago.

-

Pure endless white.

Maria Rockwell standing in front of him with an unreadable expression decorating her face.

That was all his eyes could see. He was sleeping, he knew that, he was all too aware of everything that had happened in the real world up until he went to sleep. Which could only mean she was using magic to project herself to his head.

“The fact that we are in my head prevents you from actually hurting me right? This isn’t the real world and if you could cause damage to me through this you’d have done so before in order to complete your mission. So what do you want?” said Marvin, trying to appear as confident as he could.

The woman in front of him, the people that she worked for, this whole world had messed with him too much. He’d said that he would become the most powerful sorcerer he could. He wouldn’t allow himself to flinch under Maria’s presence.

“The more complex and potent the effect you want to achieve is, the more complicated the spell. The truly wondrous things, they are also the easiest to break. If you undo the correct part of it, then you can bring the whole thing down.

“That was what Kara did with my barrier. It did three things. It lowered the sun’s effects on the area in it, making it safe from vampire’s, forbade anyone that wasn’t you to enter said area, and it allowed me to see what was going on here. By undoing one-which did require much talent and energy-you brought the whole thing down. They were interconnected.”

“Your point?”

“Plans and schemes are the same way. And if you are too arrogant to have a backup, well, then you are done for. I don’t suffer fools like that. Which is why I agreed to work with my current bosses. They are cruel and despicable. Prepare yourself. Consider this a warning. One given as a tribute to your late mentor.

“Next time we meet it will be as enemies. Still, no matter how much I want to get revenge from you and your friends for defeating me so easily, I don’t want to completely obliterate you. I’m nice like that.”

Before Marvin could say anything in response, Maria Rockwell snapped her fingers and he was blinded by a sharp white light.

Waking up in his bedroom, he hit his mattress with as much power as he could in his sleepiness.

He’d been unable to do anything. He was still weak.

His phone’s alarm snapped him out of his thoughts. It was time for him to start his day.

After preparing himself and hugging his grandmother goodbye, he left for school.

It was an odd feeling going back to school. As was going through the road to the train station. He was gone for a week, but this whole ordeal felt oddly nostalgic. So much had changed during that day where he first discovered this world. And they were about to once more.

Entering the train he found himself standing sandwiched between a few other passengers. The first time he had boarded the train, he’d met Marly, but he hadn’t seen her during subsequent rides and he always boarded the train when most seats were already filled. Any empty ones were next to generally shady characters, or people that didn’t appear to be much fun to be around so he opted to resign himself to stay standing.

His phone ringing broke him out of his thoughts. “Hello?” he said, picking up without looking at the number.

“You know I’ve been saving a seat for you right?” Marly’s voice greeted him.

“Saying things like that doesn’t make sense you know?” shot back Marvin.

Unless of course she was there? Looking around as best as he could surrounded by a bunch of people, he spotted an empty seat filled with a dark blue backpack.

Making his way through the crowd of people, he saw that the seat next to it was occupied by a blonde haired girl with dual coloured eyes with a book in her lap and phone next to her ear.

Hanging up his phone he approached her and he noticed her smirk as they made eye contact.

“May I help you?” she asked, smirking up at him.

“I noticed there was an empty seat next to you and I thought I could, you know, change that?” said Marvin, chuckling slightly at her.

He sat down after she removed her backpack. “Are you feeling better today?” she asked as he sat down.

“I-yeah. Yeah. I’m going to do my best and make sure Kara is proud. Same goes for my parents. For everyone.”

“Good.” smiled Marly. “Ava is excited to teach you even if it’s not under the best circumstances. Apparently you don’t suck in magic. Swordsmanship is another thing altogether.” she teased, a challenge in her mismatched eyes.

“Not today though. Today I feel like resting from, well, everything. We can research your tattoos.” responded Marvin lazily.

“Nah. We can just go out like normal people. I think we have earned a break from all the drama, don’t you?”

“Sure.” smiled Marvin faintly.

A moment of silence passed between them, and Marvin just stared at his blonde haired classmate reading her book. It was oddly peaceful, a quietness different to that of his apartment’s last night. It was comfortable.

“Marly?” he called out. She made a ‘hm’ sound as she looked at him. “Thank you.”

The heterochromatic girl smirked in response as she went back to her book. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The rest of the ride was rather uneventful. No hybrid monster attacks or talks about magic, monsters or secrets. It was quite enjoyable.

Reaching the school they parted ways, each going to their respective classrooms. Entering his own, Marvin witnessed a site much stranger than anything he’d ever seen in either the natural or supernatural world.

Adam and CB were talking to each other civilly.

“Yo Marv.” camed a shushed voice from his right. Turning towards it he saw Trevon beckoning him over with Jacob standing next to him.

“You see this?” asked the dark-skinned boy gesturing wildly at the two werebeasts.

“Good morning Marvin.” greeted Jacob in his monotone voice.

“Good morning. What’s up?”

“Those two hated each other and yet now they’re all chummy? Something’s wrong here.”

Remembering his conversation with CB from a few days back, Marvin smiled at the duo. “Don’t worry Trevon. I don’t know if Adam’s told you, but they were childhood friends. It looks to me like they’re just… rebuilding their friendship I guess.”

“If it turns out to be a good thing we should be supportive, correct?” asked Jacob, looking at the two talking teens.

“Yeah, yeah. By the way Marvin, archery practice tomorrow, you gonna make it?”

As the trio lost themselves in conversation, Marvin realised something. Everything that day, his conversations with Marly, with Jacob and Trevon. They were normal, friendly and yet, for the first time, it didn’t feel wrong.

A notification from his phone broke him out of his thoughts. An email from-from [email protected] was sent to him. Kara? But she was-she was gone.

‘Marvin’ it read, ‘If you received this then I am dead. And it’s a damn shame I’ll have you know. I wish I could say that it was a fake-out, maybe part of some grand plan or reversible. It isn’t. I’m sorry.

‘I don’t really know how to formal emails, so I’ll just keep this brief and to the point. If you give up I swear to God I’ll go back on everything I said above to return from whatever afterlife waits for me and shove my foot up your ass.

‘I’m writing two days before our attack on Blood Mountain. Chances are I’m not going to make it. And I’m not okay with that to be honest, which is why I’ll use every technique and dirty trick in the book. You better watch and learn.

‘But most of all, you better live. Make a life worthy of yourself. You’re a great young man. You’re not perfect, and I don’t understand a lot about you, but I know that much. Hope we don’t meet again too soon. I also have a handwritten note for Eobard in my lab under the school. Make sure you tell him.

‘Love, Kara.’

It didn’t feel wrong. Maybe because in his messed-up head Kara’s loss added the needed misery. Still, she was right. He wasn’t going to give up. He couldn’t. He wasn’t a great person. But he needed to be better. Now, more than ever, did he need to become a sorcerer worthy of being Kara Snow’s former apprentice.

Maria Rockwell’s words flashed in his mind.

This was only the beginning. And if he was going to survive to the end and be worthy to stand alongside his loved ones, he needed to be better. He needed to be the best.

“Marvin?” Trevon’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts. “Everything alright?”

“I hope it will be Trevon. I really do.”