As soon as I stepped through the gateway, I was back in the classroom.

There were only two people. Everyone else must have still been moving into their dorms, grabbing a bite to eat, dawdling, socializing. All things I wish I could've been doing had my financial situation dictated otherwise.

I walked down the stairs and grabbed the same seat I’d been sitting in for the previous orientation class. I sat there staring blankly at the stage, my mind wandering back over what had just happened in the Night Market.

I’d heard a loud lightning crack and then seen a bloody red light flash up into the sky.

Maybe that’s how the magick world celebrates? Maybe that red light shooting into the sky was more akin to fireworks than something else? Hell, maybe that happens every hour to mark the hour like a magickal bell tower.

I could tell myself that all I wanted, but the looks on the people's faces on the street said otherwise. There had been real fear and real concern over that bloody red pillar of light beaming into the sky.

As more students filtered in, I found myself examining each of them in turn. They all wore cloaks.

Is there a cloak shop in the area where I can buy one so I can at least sort of fit in?

I also noticed something else: the cloaks were all solid colors. There were no multicolored cloaks.

I frowned. Is this a magickal culture thing I don’t know about?

Lebec made his way down the stairs. As I glanced around at the students assembled, I noticed that Mr. Scratchy Suit who'd sat next to me, who'd shown up late the previous class, wasn't in attendance yet. I wondered if Lebec was really going to lock down the classroom gateways and bar latecomers from entering.

Lebec arranged some things at the center of the class, going about the regular administrative work that teachers always do before class starts.

What am I going to do about housing? Where am I supposed to stay?

I had no idea how to get to the dorms, or even what room I'd been assigned.

Are rooms assigned? Do you pick your room? Are there roommates? Or are the rooms private? What about the bathrooms? What about towels? Soap? Is there a store where I can buy—

“Class,” Lebec said in way of a greeting. “Welcome back. Normally we wouldn't start with in-the-field work, but it just so happens that an event has taken place in the Night Market which will allow you all to gain some valuable first-hand experience of what vanishers do in the field. This event has taken place within a warded area, so our presence will not alert any sticks to what happened.

“Now, before we go, I need to explain a thing or two about vanishers. While vanishers not only remove traces of magick from the stick world, they also investigate lesser crimes in the magick world. The Austerium reserves adepts for higher crimes and contracts vanishers to investigate lesser offenses.

“That's another point I need to clear up for all of you. Vanishers are contract employees. You’re being trained by the Austerium, but you don't work for the Austerium. You're not an Austerium employee. You're an independent contractor.”

I'd heard that line before. Independent contractor just meant easier to fire, more expendable, no benefits.

Lebec continued. “Additionally, you'll be able to take jobs outside of the Austerium. Think of yourselves as almost private detectives in some sense. Your reputation will mean a great deal. People will come to you if you do right by them. Their friends will come to you. You will become an important piece in the magick economy.

“For petty grievances, the Austerium does not get involved. That's where vanishers come in. You will investigate, you will find out what the person who's hired you wishes to know. You are licensed by the Austerium. There will be a code of ethics you have to follow. Those of you who stray outside of this code of ethics will be strictly reprimanded.”

Lebec fixed all of us with a glare. “I want this to be clear for everyone. The Austerium will go to any lengths in order to punish—”

The door at the back of the class banged open and I closed my eyes.

Lebec hadn't locked it and I knew exactly who'd slammed it open. The seat next to me was jostled.

“Hi,” the guy from before said in a quiet voice. “How’s it going? I didn't see you in the dorms.”

Lebec was staring at the guy and I was staring at Lebec, doing everything in my power to keep the focus on his tardiness, not myself. I didn't need any more of a reason to stand out. I also noticed something else in that moment.

The guy sitting next to me hadn't been wearing a cloak before and he wasn't wearing one now. He and I were the only ones.

He was wearing different suit, though. Still a scratchy tweed number that looked much older than the guy did. The jacket was patched on the elbows.

“Sir,” Lebec called out across the classroom. “Will you continue to arrive late?”

The guy seemed genuinely surprised that Lebec was addressing him. He turned his eyes down to the dwarf at the center of the class.

“No sir. I was helping someone move in. I was doing my utmost to give the Austerium a good name, to let others know how friendly and helpful the Austerium can be.”

“I would prefer that you not do that on my time,” Lebec said. “I would prefer—”

The guy interrupted Lebec. “The student was from Akademi.”

There were several gasps in the room and several mouths fall open.

I frowned. So what? So, there was another kid from an academy. Big deal. Who cares?

Lebec, however, seemed to care. He swallowed his words.

“Well,” he said. “We want to make sure that all of those from other plaines understand how helpful Nidema can be.”

The guy sitting next to me gave an almost imperceptible nod to Lebec.

The dwarf swallowed again and licked his lips.

What’s academy and what on earth are these two talking about?

I pulled up the Lumadex attached to my chair and typed in the word academy.

The Lumadex auto corrected the word to Akademi and gave me a definition that made me frown.

Akademi is one of the twelve major plaines that make up the Lumaverse. They use life magick that is strictly contained within books.

I tapped the word plaine.

A plaine is an entire, self-contained universe. You are currently within the Nidema Plaine, specifically on the planet Earth within the Nidema Plaine. The major plaines number twelve and are as follows in alphabetical order: Akademi, Elichor, Iridi, Lund, Meraki, Nidema, Orchis, Puul, Simula, Unia, Vexio, Zelania.

Additionally, there are an infinite number of shards, or smaller plaines.

These plaines and shards are what make up the Lumaverse.

“Kind of a big deal,” the guy sitting next to me whispered once he saw what I was reading on the Lumadex.

I gave the guy a subtle nod, still not wanting to get on Lebec's bad side. Although, based on the way Lebec had responded to the man's mention of Akademi, maybe it would be advantageous if I got in the guy's good graces. Maybe it would be good if we got to know each other. Maybe there would be an opportunity there later, some way that he could help me.

He seemed all too eager to do so, but I didn't know why. I didn't know what his motivation was for helping me.

You’re probably saying, “Because he’s obviously interested in you, Hexana.”

Yeah, well… I was clueless. Sorry. I guess that should’ve been clear then, but it wasn’t.

Lebec cleared his throat and started speaking again. “As I said, current events have provided us a unique teaching opportunity. Everyone collect your things and follow me.”

Everyone stood. No one collected anything as there were no pens or paper to be seen in the classroom. The guy who’d been sitting next to me glanced over.

“What's he talking about?” the guy asked.

“Apparently there was some sort of incident that we’re going to investigate while watching licensed vanishers investigate I guess?”

“Oh,” the guy said. “Really?”

“Yeah,” I said, giving him a shrug, kind of wanting him to quit talking to me.

The guy nodded as though he’d heard my thoughts and my wishes.

Can people in the magick world read minds?

That was a terrifying thought that I pushed very far away.

Lebec moved up the stairway closest to me and I filed in with the other students, following him as he made it to the top of the classroom and opened one of the gateways there. We walked through the gateway with him and found ourselves back in the Night Market.

The vendors no longer looked scared: they were back to selling things. When they saw our class, our little group of cloaked figures, they started shouting out even louder at us.

“Witchstones! Get your witchstones!”

One vendor caught sight of me and pounced.

“Cloaks!” the young woman practically screamed in my face. She was my age. “Would you like a cloak? You'll blend right in! No one will even know that you’re a stick if you're wearing a cloak!”

“She's lying,” Mr. Scratchy Suit, still beside me, said. “They’ll be able to see the crown through the cloak.”

“Only in warded areas,” the woman cried out in response to this before spitting at his feet.

He rolled his eyes. “What, are you mad that I took your little grift away?”

She stuck out her lower lip like she was going to pout, but instead she reached her hand up to her lip and slipped a finger in. She fished out a clear crystal that looked like glass.

It’s a witchstone.

The woman slipped this witchstone into her pocket and shook her head. Her voice was now much quieter.

“Made me waste a witchstone,” the woman said. Her voice was now coming out far more like an old woman's than it had when the witchstone had been in her mouth. The young woman’s smooth face broke out into racing lines of wrinkles that tore across her face as though someone had put their hands on both side and squeezed.

The guy shrugged. “Not everyone's a mark here.”

The woman spat again, and I saw that her mouth was completely devoid of teeth.

“Stay together,” Lebec called from up ahead, specifically to Mr. Scratchy Suit and me.

We made our way back to the group and followed them up the street. When Lebec took us down a side street, my stomach dropped.

We were walking down the same street I'd walked down earlier.

We were headed towards the shop at the very end of that street. The same shop where I'd delivered the pouch Grey Eyes had given me.

The shop where I’d delivered that pouch was no longer there.

In its place were destroyed ruins.