Leaning back into his chair, gripping his teacup tightly, Stephen tried to process what Sebastian had just announced, “I do have magic?”

Sebastian clapped his hands, “Of course! How else do you explain your surviving?”

Stephen sighed, “You meant it’s a theory, didn’t you?” He expected too much from the wizard, it seemed.

“Is that so bad? After all, I meant to kill whatever was sneaking up on me. That fact you survived must mean there’s magic hidden within you.”

“So what, I put up a shield at the last second, without thinking?”

Sebastian roared with laughter, “Of course not! Magic naturally shields those who possess it, like a thick invisible skin. Creating physical shields with magic requires effort and a little time.”

“So what are we going to do?” Stephen had put together that Sebastian was a runaway cannon when it came to these things. Whatever the wizard had planned, Stephen decided he’d rather get it done and over with. He hated being pulled along on a string.

Sebastian, however, simply leaned back into his chair and ran his hand along his stubbled chin, “An excellent question.”

The room was silent for a few minutes. Stephen glanced around the room, anxious that the wizard was acting so serious. There wasn’t much to look at, however. It was hard to imagine this room had nearly killed him just a day before. The study was empty except for the corner Stephen and Sebastian sat in, which contained the armchairs, a desk and bookshelf, and a coffee table.

“Your parents,” Sebastian cleared his throat, then spoke again with a level voice, “When your father, Charles, first discovered his talent for wizardry, he accidentally exploded a vase of flowers. He liked the design, so he touched it. Big mess.”

Stephen nodded, it made sense. Well, except the exploding part. Hard to believe his father worked in archaeology now.

“Your mother, Emily, on the other hand, figured her abilities out early. They were much more limited than Charles’, but her keen mind realized her dreams were premonitions. Eventually, she could conjure them at will, later she developed more practical magic.”

“More practical?” Stephen asked, completely engrossed, “Than being able to see the future?”

“The future is always in flux,” Sebastian swirled his teacup, “People are easy to manipulate, especially when they believe you know what’ll happen. One person tells someone they should bring daisies on a date, another tells them rosemary. Next thing you know an allergy occurs and poof – the date’s over.”

Stephen’s mouth fell open, then he closed it, “That’s ridiculous.”

“Allergies aren’t a joke.”

“No, I mean that seeing the future is worthless.”

“I didn’t say worthless,” Sebastian raised a finger, “Some pull it off, I’ll admit. Everyone loves a good prophecy.”

Stephen’s stomach twitched, “Prophecy?”

“A foretelling of events, a prediction, a series of disasters foreshadowing doom… I could go on.”

“I know what a prophecy is,” Stephen looked at his reflection in his tea.

“You ever heard one?” Sebastian’s voice was soft, probing.

“Well sure, hasn’t everyone?”

“No. Prophecies are always told just beforehand, that’s why they’re impractical. Emily was clever, adaptable, but she was never on time. Sometimes, even, she was presumptuous.”

Stephen looked up and narrowed his eyes, Sebastian was trying to get a point across, he sensed.

“What are you saying?”

Sebastian considered his words carefully, “I’m saying she made a mistake, sealing your powers and escaping to the other realm. By doing so, she’s upset the course of the future and may have doomed you.”

Stephen opened his mouth to make a retort, but a loud ringing filled the air. A series of bell strikes echoed through the study. Sebastian’s expression turned wild. He stood up so quickly his teacup crashed to the ground and shattered into pieces. With a flick of his wrist, the earthenware cup reassembled itself.

“Stay here,” Sebastian said harshly.

“What’s going on?” Stephen asked, his heart starting to race. Were they under attack? The enemy had impeccable timing.

“Get close to the door and don’t die,” Gray whisps of smoke wrapped around Sebastian’s hands. It looked like tiny grains of smokey sand.

Stephen inched back, he was a couple of inches from the door when the glass wall of the study shattered into countless shards, the deafening sound echoed through the room. Stephen covered his ears as he watched an enormous bat-like creature hover above the floor. It had two powerful hind legs, a long spiked tail, and two arms the melded into wings with hooked claws at the end of each webbed finger. Purplish smoke poured from a set of horrific jagged jaws that wrapped the creature’s scaled ebony body like a cloak.

A slim armored figure rode on its back. It had silver armor with red accents, fiery yellow trails flickered from between the plates and from the top of their helmet like a feather. In its left arm was a pointed triangular shield, in their left was a golden halberd.

Sebastian wasn’t fazed. He looked around his study, “You’ve made a mess now, haven’t you?”

When the figure didn’t respond, Sebastian clicked his tongue, “I see. You’re aiming for dramatics, aren’t you?”

Raising their weapon, the figure announced in a high-pitched shout, “I am a servant of justice!”

Stephen rolled his eyes, “Great, another eccentric.”