Endangered: The Demons of M.A. Pt. 11

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© 2025 S. Round. All rights reserved. No part of this story may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the author. All sexually active characters in this work are eighteen (18) years of age or older.

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Ch. 97

Evan's restless night turned into a sleep-deprived day of school before he knew it. He was in a foul mood as soon as his alarm woke him that morning. The only good thing about his bad night was that he didn't have any of those horrible life-like nightmares when he did manage to sleep. For whatever reason, those bad dreams seemed to be a thing of the past now, and he wasn't going to complain. Evan dragged himself to his classes, but he was sure he looked like a zombie to anyone paying attention. He was walking through the courtyard when his foot dragged and caught on the sidewalk, causing him to stumble and almost fall flat on his face. He realized he was worse off than he thought and sat down on a nearby bench for a quick rest.

"What was that," Evan said to himself.

He had been dead tired many times in his life, but he had never almost collapsed while walking before. Thinking about it, he realized that, while he was tired, he wasn't so tired that he was about to pass out. He doubted he could even sleep if he went to bed. Napping had never come easy for him once he was up for the day. His misstep was just a result of him being careless. He hadn't been paying attention to what he was doing at all.

The truth was that Evan just had too many things on his mind at the moment. His plate was full with classes, magic training, and physical workouts, but now he had to worry about what nonsense the security force might be up to. It wasn't the first time he had been overwhelmed since he came to Tourmaline, but he figured it had just gotten worse when he missed out on a night of sleep.

"I need to clear my head somehow," he said to himself.

But what would be a good distraction? He could surely convince one of his girl friends to have a little fun, but he didn't think he had the energy for something like that, not that night at least. For now, he just needed to rest. But it might be nice to arrange a hang out, maybe on the weekend. Something fun away from all his responsibilities. Evan was thinking about who to call first when he suddenly remembered something important.

"Oh shit, I never called Nyla!"

The sexy green-skinned nurse had given him her phone number the last time they saw each other with the promise they would arrange a meeting between them sometime soon. However, since that time, Evan had been busy with all sorts of things, and he had completely forgotten about it. But thinking about it now, Evan felt like a day with Nyla might be just the distraction he needed. It was mid-afternoon, so Evan worried that she might be working, but he decided to give it a shot anyway. The worst-case scenario was he would leave her a quick message. The phone rang a few times before she finally answered.

"This is Nyla," she said in a business-like tone.

"Hey, Nyla. It's Evan."

"Hi, hon!" she said. "Good timing! I just started my break. You know, I was wondering when I would hear from you."

"I'm sorry. I've had a lot going on," he said.

"Oh, don't you worry about it, hon. I know you have more on your plate than an ogre on Thanksgiving!"

"Haha, yeah."

"So, what can I do for you?"

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to, like, set up a date, or something like that?"

"Oh, you know I'd love that, hon," she said. "What did you have in mind?"

"I hadn't really thought of a plan yet," he said. "But I was thinking maybe we could do something this weekend? We could do whatever sounds best to you."

"How about this," she said. "Come over to my house on Saturday, and I'll cook us a meal. Sound good?"

"Yeah, that'd be great," he said. "I always enjoy some home cooking."

"Great! Ooh, it's so exciting!" she said. "Ok, well I need to go, hon, but I'll text you specifics later, ok?"

"Yep, ok. Have a good day, Nyla."

"You too, hon!"

Evan ended the call and already felt better than before. Sometimes it was as simple as having something exciting to look forward to, and he knew his time with Nyla would be great fun. She had managed to make a routine hospital checkup one of the hottest memories of Evan's life, so he was excited to see what she could do with hours of time on her home turf. He had to stop himself from letting his imagination run wild or he would have had to walk across campus with his pants tented out.

Evan was still dog tired, but the conversation did serve to clear his head, so he no longer had any problems making it back home despite his groggy state. He was eager to sit in his room and do nothing for the rest of the day, but unfortunately, there was an unwelcome visitor waiting for him in the common room when he entered Tipski hall.

"Hey, kid," Agent Jackson said. "You look like shit."

"Thanks," Evan said. "What're you doing here?"

"It's fucking annoying, but we need to talk," she said. "Let's go to your room."

"..."

Evan wasn't sure he liked the idea of having her in his room again. He knew she couldn't stay in any place long without smoking, and he wasn't looking forward to cleaning ashes off his furniture. And for all he knew, she might just want him in his room so she could lock him up against his will again.

"Something wrong?" she said when she noticed him hesitating.

"... No, it's fine," he said before sighing. "Let's go."

Evan led the way as they trudged up the stairs and over to his room. He let her inside with much less politeness than the previous time she had been there. Once again feeling the tiredness taking over, he promptly fell into his favorite chair without bothering to offer Agent Jackson anything. She didn't seem to mind, though, as she once again opted to lean against the wall instead of taking a seat.

"So, to what do I owe this honor?"

"I came to tell you that you need to lay low for a while," she said as she ran her hand over her face, looking frustrated.

"So... same old, same old then?"

"But I'm serious this time."

"Ok?"

"Look," Agent Jackson said, standing up straight. "That shit with the protest, I admit it, it was funny. I even went to see Brooks after to give him shit, but... he was furious."

"Well... that makes sense, doesn't it?"

"Not really," she said. "He's not that type of dude."

"I don't understand."

"Brooks is boring," Agent Jackson said. "Always has been. He never gets worked up over anything, no matter what kind of pranks you play on him. Something about him is different."

"I guess we really got to him then," Evan said shrugging. "He seems pretty determined to make our lives hell now with his security measures."

"I don't care about those stupid policies, or whatever," she said waving her hand. "That's not my problem."

Evan snorted in disgust at that. Her total disregard for the slow oppression of the mages of Tourmaline was infuriating. Even if she wasn't in a position to fight the changes, he would have expected someone with a halfway decent moral compass to at least express some sympathy for what was happening, especially considering she was a mage herself.

"My problem is," Agent Jackson said, "I think he might try to hurt you somehow."

"You really think he would do that?"

"Normally, no," she said. "But, like I said, I don't think the guy is thinking straight."

"Did he have a total mental breakdown or something?"

"I don't know, alright?" she said. "It's just a gut feeling, but my gut is usually right. Something has changed, and I think it started after he returned from his last mission."

"Maybe you just didn't know him like you thought you did."

"I'm good at reading people, kid," she said. "And he ain't himself."

"You mean like he's under a spell or something?"

"Something like that," she said. "We see a lot of crazy shit in our line of work. There's lots of shit out there than can mess a motherfucker up. And I know he got badly injured on his last mission. He may have unknowingly brought something back with him."

"..."

"I'm going to be looking into his last mission to see if I can find any clues, but it's difficult to get that information since our work is highly classified. Just trust me when I say he is unstable, angry, and fixated on you, so don't go giving him any excuses right now. Just stay out of his way for a while, ok?"

"Why do you care what happens to me all of a sudden?"

Agent Jackson quickly stepped in front of him and got right in his face. Evan reflexively pushed back into his chair, eyes wide.

"Has anything happened to you since I've been your guard? Huh!? No, right?"

"..."

"I've kept you safe just like I was told to, so don't act like I've been doing you some injustice just because I haven't been breathing down your neck the whole time," Agent Jackson said. "The difference now is, if Agent Brooks is somehow compromised, the stakes are much higher. It isn't just about you anymore."

"Ok, I get it."

"Good," she said, backing off and heading towards the door. "It's best if you just treat all your free time as if it's my nap time now and stay here tucked under your blankies like a good little boy."

She was out of the room and gone before Evan could even respond.

"Well, that was... something."

Evan couldn't quite get a handle on Agent Elsa Jackson. Just when he thought she truly didn't care about her job, she actually went out of her way to warn him of danger. Because he couldn't quite figure her out, he hadn't been able to trust her yet either. She seemed to act in his best interest more often than not, but she was a special agent just like Brooks. Maybe this was all some twisted plan they were in on together? That seemed like a stretch, though. For now, he figured he would heed her advice and try not to stand out in any way for a while. He also made a mental note to do some research on the role special agents played in their society. He had a feeling it would come in handy.

Ch. 98

True to her word, Nyla got in touch with Evan after she was done working and completed the details for their date. It was decided that Evan would come over for lunch on Saturday. He wasn't allowed to be out too late due to the curfew, and they had several activities on their minds for after they were finished eating, so earlier in the day was better. When Saturday came around, Evan dressed up nicely and drove out to her address in the northern part of town. He arrived without any problems and pulled into a midsized, red-bricked home. Evan's first thought was that it looked like a cozy place to live. He was greeted by a smiling Nyla shortly after knocking on her door.

"Hey, hon," she said giving him a hug. "So happy to see you!"

"You too," he said. "Here, these are for you."

Evan handed over a small bundle of flowers that he picked up from a shop that morning. He felt he should bring something to contribute to their date, but Nyla had insisted that he didn't need to bring anything, and she had it all covered. So, being barred from bringing any food, he came up with the idea of buying her some flowers. He had no idea if she enjoyed flowers, but it was the type of thing guys did in movies, so it was worth a shot.

"Oh, you shouldn't have!" she said beaming. "Well, these are just lovely! Thank you so much, hon."

She kissed him on the cheek and motioned him inside.

"Come on in," she said. "I just finished everything a few minutes ago. Give me a sec and I'll have it all set out for us."

Nyla had prepared a shepherd's pie along with several side dishes. They sat and ate it all at her dining table while trading stories about their work and school lives. Nyla shared a few stories of interesting events at the hospital, but she was most interested in talking about Evan's adventures with the girls in his life. She had him telling her about his first time with each girl, and she cheered for him each time he sealed the deal as if she were rooting for her favorite character in a TV show. He didn't give all the intimate details, of course. He felt that would be rude to his friends. He simply described the events that led to them ending up in bed and cut it off there. They had long since finished eating when he came to his most recent sexual episode.

"... and then she asked if I wanted to work out more in her room," he said. "So, we, umm, did."

"Ooh, she sounds fun," Nyla said. "That one may be my favorite."

"It was pretty fun," Evan said smiling. "But that was the last of them."

"Until today," she said with a wink.

"Haha, yeah..."

"Now that lunch is over," she said while standing up. "What do you say I show you the bedroom and we make a new story for you to tell?"

"Yeah, ok," he said. "Should I put my plate up first?"

"No, no. Leave that for me to worry about later," she said as she grabbed his hand and pulled him up out of his chair.

"I've waited too long for this," she said. "I'm not going to let you get away this time."

Nyla put both hands on his face and brought him down for a hot kiss. His hands naturally found her hips and pulled her body against his own. The kiss was powerful, and both could feel the desire they shared that had been building up since their first meeting. Eager to get to the main event, Nyla broke off first and hurriedly led Evan to the back of the house where her bedroom was.

They both took off their clothes quickly upon reaching the bedroom. Nyla's outer layer was removed and revealed a nice lacy lingerie set. It was red and left little to the imagination. The red against her green skin brought up ideas of Christmas in Evan's mind, but he soon was more focused on what that underwear was hiding underneath.

"What do you think?" Nyla said showing off her nearly nude body. "I know I can't compare to those college girls, but I hope you aren't too disappointed."

Evan gave her a look like she was crazy. It was true, she had a few more years, and pounds, on her than the other girls he had been with, but that did not mean she was in any way less attractive than them. Evan gave her a long hard look from head to toe before responding.

"You're fucking beautiful, Nyla," he said. "You have nothing to be ashamed of."

"Oh, hon. You're too sweet."

"And did you know? Green is my favorite color."

"Haha, is it?"

"It is now."

They both laughed at that, and he could see Nyla had loosened up a little. She had been so tense when she undressed, so it was clear she was worried he wouldn't be excited by what he saw. But just like he told her, she had nothing to be worried about. She really was sexy. Her body was short and thick, but that only made her curvier and more voluptuous than the other girls he had been with. Her smooth green skin was exotic as well, and he couldn't wait to get his hands all over it.

Evan proceeded to lose the last of his clothing as he pulled down his underwear and let his cock spring free. It was not the first time for Nyla to see it, but she locked her eyes on it as if she was mesmerized anyway. She didn't break that stare as she knelt before Evan and swiftly swallowed his hard cock into her warm mouth. They both moaned as she took her first tastes.

Nyla opted out of any dirty talk for this blowjob. She was completely focused on worshipping his dick with her lips and tongue. The only sounds heard in the room were the wet noises of her sucking and the occasional moans they each let out. Nyla had given Evan his first blowjob. He had received several since then, but now, after feeling her mouth working on him once again, he was convinced she was the best he had experienced so far. She knew just where to tease him with her tongue to make his whole body shake, and she was able to take him deeper into her throat than just about any other girl.

"Holy shit," he said. "Ok, stop, stop. I'm close, but this isn't where I want to cum today."

"Mmmm, yes, hon," she said wiping his dick off on her cheeks. "I'm of the same mind."

Evan helped her to her feet and guided her to get on her back on the bed. He quickly joined her and took his place between her legs. Evan spread her legs with his hands and got a good look at Nyla's dripping wet pussy. She had a large triangle of neatly trimmed black pubic hair that looked like a big arrow pointing to where he needed to put his cock. Not one to miss that sign, he took hold of his cock and rubbed her engorged lips with the head.

"Yessss," she said. "I'm ready, hon. I don't need any warming up. Just stick it in for me, please?"

Evan ceased his teasing and lined himself up right away. He simply leaned forward and let go of his weight, and he settled on top of the buxom green goblin, cock sliding fully inside her welcoming sheath. Nyla sighed and squeezed him tight with her arms around his neck. With all the pent-up feelings from their past encounters, there was no way Evan could hold back. Right from the beginning, he set a fast pace as he hammered away.

"Oh, fuuuuuck, that's it, hon!"

Wet slapping noises bounced off the walls as Evan mercilessly pounded Nyla's pussy from above. Due to the vigorous fucking, they were unable to kiss during the act, but neither of them minded. A good hard fuck was what they both wanted, and the sounds of their unmuffled moans were intoxicating as well. Evan thought he might just drive himself on until he filled the hot little nurse with his cum, but she spoke up after a few minutes with a request.

"Oh, hon, let me on top," she managed to get out as her body was ravaged. "I want to ride you!"

Excited at the idea of seeing her bounce on top of him with her big tits, he wrapped his arms around her and spun them over so he was lying on his back.

"Those girls have taught you well," she said with a big smile. "But it's my turn to have my way with you."

Nyla planted her palms on Evan's chest and started to make wide circles with her hips while seated fully on his dick. She closed her eyes and looked up to the ceiling while continuing to grind against him. Evan loved the feeling of her swirling his cock around while every inch was being squeezed by her tight, warm insides. After a short while, Nyla started to raise her hips and fuck herself on his shaft. It didn't take her long to set a fast pace similar to what Evan had done.

"I've got you now, hon," she said as she rode him. "Mommy's got you!"

Evan squeezed her thighs and held on for dear life. It felt so good, he wasn't sure he would be able to last much longer. He wanted to fill her, but he didn't want this moment to end too soon either. However, Nyla was determined to get what she needed, and she was done waiting.

"That's it," she said breathlessly. "Let mommy take care of you! I'm going to milk you dry and relieve those big, aching balls of all that cum!"

"Oh fuck," he said.

"Don't fight it, hon! Let it all out! Let it out and give mommy your baby!"

That was as far as Evan could hold on. As soon as Nyla felt his cock start to shoot off inside of her, she slammed herself down firmly against him and held him as deeply inside as possible. She moaned and held her head back as her legs quivered uncontrollably. They could both feel that an unusually large amount of sperm was being deposited into her womb, and it was wonderful.

When they came down from their climaxes, Nyla dismounted and snuggled up to Evan's side to cuddle. Evan noticed a long stream of creamy white semen leaking out of her sex. Some may have found that sight gross, but when he saw it, he felt proud that he had managed to seed such a beautiful woman. He wrapped his arm around her at his side and pulled her close.

"I've been wanting to do that for a long time," he said.

"Haha, me too, hon. Me too."

"But... I've got to ask," he said. "What's the mommy stuff about?"

"Oh," she said looking embarrassed. "Was it too much?"

"I'm just curious."

"Well... I've always had a fantasy of spoiling a younger man," she said while rubbing his chest. "Feeding him, taking care of him when he's sick, giving him gifts. All the things a mother would do. Well, with the addition of letting him use my pussy to relieve himself."

"Just a small addition, really."

"Yeah, yeah," she said giggling and playfully slapping his arm. "But when I'd imagine it, I'd always refer to myself as mommy with him, since that would be the best way to sum up that kind of relationship. But I know it's a little weird."

"A little," he said. "But it's ok."

"You sure, hon?" she said. "I don't want to scare you away. Especially after how good that was."

"Yeah, it's fine," he said. "If I'm honest, it was pretty hot for me too."

"Oh, really?" she said. "That's great! Then, you don't mind being my good little boy toy to spoil? At least until you give me a son of my own."

"I don't mind at all," he said. "Just promise me you won't... relieve... your son like this in the future."

"Haha, don't worry, hon," she said. "He'd get all the spoiling, minus the sex. I'd still come to you for that itch."

"Then it's a deal."

Evan wasn't about to start judging people on their kinks and fetishes. He had already encountered a few women who had unique tastes in bed, and he had learned to keep an open mind. It often happened that he ended up enjoying the strange acts just as much as the girl that requested it. He thought it was because sex was undoubtedly better when both parties were having fun. That was hard to do if one person closed themselves off to the other's innermost desires. Nyla's fantasy may have been a turn off for some, but he had a good time rolling with it. They continued to have sex the rest of the afternoon before he had to get back to avoid breaking curfew. It was a great first time with Nyla, and she certainly taught Evan the pleasures of a mature woman. He couldn't wait for more.

Ch. 99

The weekend had done wonders for Evan's busy mind. After having fun with Nyla on Saturday, he took a break from his training and studying on Sunday. He did nothing but veg out all day, and it was glorious. He woke up Monday feeling refreshed and ready to go for the new week. There wasn't anything on the schedule that was out of the ordinary, so he hoped he wouldn't get overwhelmed again any time soon.

His Monday morning was totally unremarkable, which was just what he wanted. Classes went by quickly, and he had a nice chat with his friends at lunch. It wasn't until his chemistry class that anything notable happened at all. Normally, Dr. Reid would walk into class with Sophia hot on her heels and begin her lecture almost before the door had closed. But on this day, Dr. Reid never showed up. Instead, a frazzled looking Sophia entered the class alone carrying a mess of papers in her hands.

"Umm, hello," she said with an awkward smile. "Dr. Reid said she is having a bad day today, so she won't be joining us. I was told to hand out this quiz for today's class. Please, do your best and, umm, I'll be right up here if you have any questions."

Sophia handed the stack of papers to the people in the front row for them to distribute to the other students. Evan thought it was bizarre that a teacher would skip her own class with the excuse of having a bad day, but he supposed that was one of the differences between high school and college. Professors had a lot more leeway in how they managed their classes. But looking at Sophia's appearance, he did feel it was a little unfair of Dr. Reid to skip.

Sophia had a dark circle under her eye, and she was fidgeting with her jacket restlessly as she scanned the classroom. When one of the students actually addressed her and asked her about one of the questions on the quiz, Sophia nearly jumped out of her skin before answering in a rush. It was clear she was nervous about being in charge of the class.

The good thing was that not too many students ended up needing her assistance for anything. The quiz was not too hard, and most of the class was able to complete it without a problem, Evan included. Even though he didn't have a hard time with the questions, Evan still took his time so that he was the last one to turn in his paper. It was because, throughout the period, he kept a close eye on Sophia, and he started to wonder if something else was bothering her besides her increase in responsibility.

It was her exhausted look that got him thinking. If Dr. Reid hadn't planned her absence in advance, how could Sophia have lost sleep over it? In that case, Sophia had to have been worrying about something else. Evan, of course, knew about what had happened with a member of her family recently, and he had also seen her personally being pressed by Brooks. Maybe things were worse in her family than it was apparent from the outside. Thinking that far, he decided to check in with her after class, and that's why he delayed turning in his quiz until the end.

As soon as the last student left and Evan was alone with Sophia, he got up and moved to turn in his test. She looked up and gave him a half-hearted smile as he handed it to her. She looked like her mind was a million miles away.

"How did you like your professor roleplay today?" he said.

"Huh? Oh, it was ok."

"Does Dr. Reid have a habit of leaving you on your own to handle stuff like this?"

"Not really," she said. "She just has bad days every so often and is unable to carry out her normal duties."

Sophia let out a big sigh as she tidied up the stack of papers in front of her. She barely paid attention to what Evan was saying right next to her. He didn't mind being ignored, but he was worried about the source of her malaise.

"Is everything alright, Sophia?"

"What... do you mean?"

"I don't want to be rude," he said wincing a bit. "But... you look... well, you don't look as energetic as usual. Almost like something's made you sick?"

"Do I?"

Evan nodded.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I guess that's true in a way."

"You don't need to apologize. You don't owe me anything," he said. "I was just worried about you. Do you need anything?"

"No but thank you."

"Can I ask... what's wrong?"

"I'm just dealing with a lot right now," she said. "I haven't slept much, and I've been having horrible dreams..."

"Well, believe it or not, I know how that feels."

"Heh, yeah, I guess you would, huh?"

"So, what's up? Lay it on me."

"It's... family stuff," Sophia said. "I can't really talk about it."

That made Evan think everything really was revolving around her family's secret artifact. That would certainly be off limits to talk about with anyone outside the family.

"Does it have to do with that family member that was arrested?"

"I guess it makes sense you heard about that," she said with a sigh. "Let's just say, things are complicated at home, and... I'm not sure if it will get any better."

"Is it because of the security force?"

"..."

"You know... I saw Agent Brooks talking to you in the library a while back," Evan said. "It didn't look like it was a fun conversation."

"You saw that!? How?"

"I just happened to peek my head in at the right time," he said. "Nobody saw me."

"Oh, wow."

"Is Brooks messing with your family?"

"..."

"You can trust me," Evan said. "I know Brooks is up to something no good. I'm just trying to figure out what exactly it is so maybe we can fight it, or something. I don't know."

"Yes... he has been harassing my family," she finally admitted.

Sophia looked like she was on the brink of tears as she let it out.

"Does he want... your artifact?"

Sophia hesitated for a moment, but she eventually nodded.

"What's he been doing?"

"He first came to us late last year," she said. "He had a meeting with my dad in private. I just happened to be at the house that night. When he left, he looked upset. I wasn't told what they talked about, but after that, dad put the family on high alert. He told everyone trouble was on the way."

"He was right," she continued. "It wasn't long before TSF officers were tailing our every move. Then there were several nights when something set off the home alarm, and there were signs of someone trying to break in. I heard from my mom that dad had several phone calls from Brooks since then also. It was concerning, but it was nothing we couldn't handle. Until the other night."

"The arrest?" Evan said.

"Yes," she said. "It was my aunt. They announced that she was trying to sell artifacts, but there is no way that's true. There's no doubt they took her to put pressure on the family, and to also... get information out of her."

It was just as Evan and Alex had theorized. Brooks was trying to force the Titan family to give over their most prized possession, and he was seemingly willing to do anything to get it. It was surprising how long this had been going on, though. According to Sophia, Brooks had started this terror campaign almost right after he got to town.

"Have they been following you too?"

"Yes," she said wiping her eye. "They don't make it obvious on campus, but I can feel their eyes when I walk around."

"I'm so sorry, Sophia," he said. "Have you guys told anyone?"

"We... we're dealing with it on our own," she said. "My parents and grandparents all said that we can't trust other families. They've been burned too many times in the past."

"I see," he said. "Well... thanks for telling me. I promise, if I can help, I will."

"I know," she said smiling. "I believe in you, Evan."

"I'm glad," he said. "So, if anything happens and you get scared, let me know. I'll find a way to help. I don't know yet how much I believe in my ability to do that on my own, but I'll certainly give it a try if it's to help a friend."

"Thanks, Evan."

Evan offered to walk her back to the dorms, but Sophia said she had a shift at the library that night. She looked cheerier than when she had entered class, but she was still a long way from ok. Later, when Evan made it back to his room, he invited Alex over to talk about what he found out. She wasn't shocked by what Sophia said, but she was livid. Evan had to spend a good while calming her down as she went off on an angry speech about how the government thinks it can do whatever it wants. When she finished, they spent the evening trying to think of ways to help the situation.

"One thing is clear," Alex said. "Agent Brooks wouldn't do this if he didn't have support. Someone is backing his actions."

"Who's in charge of special agents?"

"I think they have several superiors running things in their department, just like any military unit," she said. "But ultimately, it's the executive council that has the power. I'd bet anything they're behind this."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Because they're the ones that assigned a special agent to be the head of security in the first place," she said like it was obvious. "And there have always been rumors that special agents are used to do the council's dirty work. Shit that benefits them and is off the books, if you know what I mean."

From his conversations with them on the subject, it did not appear to Evan that Alex or her mom had very positive feelings about the special agents. Ms. Vaduva had said special agents dealt with cases of magic misuse in the outside world, but he still didn't really understand what their role was in the bigger picture.

"Hey, what do special agents normally do when they aren't terrorizing the town?"

"They go out on investigations and stuff," she said with a shrug.

"That's what your mom said," he said. "But what makes them good at that? Are they just, like, stronger than average?"

"Well, they're highly trained to counter magic," she said. "And they do so with special artifacts that don't need magic to work and were made to specifically fight mages."

"Don't need magic?" he said. "Seems overpowered. Why aren't all artifacts like that?"

"The artifacts like that were made a long time ago by a powerful trio of magicians. They used their magic to create those items and then donated them to the church. After those mages died, those artifacts couldn't be made anymore."

"The church? Which church?"

"I guess they haven't gotten to this yet in your history class, huh?" she said teasingly. "The Catholic church. Would it make more sense if I told you our special agents are also called exorcists?"

"Seriously!?"

"Mmhmm," she said. "That's what they are. The chosen few out there fighting against the evil powers that be with the power of the lord! Or some bullshit like that. In reality, they're like detectives that are sent out whenever something supernatural shows up in the news."

"Wow," Evan said. "That's... kinda cool."

"I guess."

"But I thought there were some security force officers that dealt with outside stuff too, like Aquila and Gregory?"

"They do," Alex said. "My mom used to do that also. She told me it all just depends on the case. If they know what they're dealing with, and it's going to take more than one special agent can handle, that's when the elite units of the security force are sent out."

"So... it's like special agents are detectives, and the elite officers are SWAT?"

"If that helps you understand it, sure."

It did indeed help him figure out their differing roles in his head. Still, he couldn't believe that exorcists were real. And those artifacts they use? How exactly did those work? The way they were described by Alex seemed counterintuitive to everything he knew about magic artifacts. But it was true he had seen Agent Jackson destroy his shield in an instant with nothing more than a ring.

"So, what's our next move?" Evan said.

"I don't know," Alex said. "I think we need more info on Brooks. We need to figure out for sure who's backing him."

"Yeah, good idea," he said. "What will you do?"

"I'll talk to mom first. She'll probably be interested to hear what you heard from Sophia. She might have some ideas for us after that."

"Cool. I'll also try to get some more info on what he's doing. I think I have someone that might be able to help."

They called it a night after solidifying their plans. Evan was still unsure that the two of them would be able to make a difference on their own, but he did think it was possible they could at least pass on some new information to someone that could do something. After all, it wasn't fun to live in a world believing you can't do anything to make it better.

Ch. 100

It was early February when Evan started noticing something odd going on around campus. It had nothing to do with the security force this time. For some reason, every time Evan was out on campus, girls he didn't even know would come up to him and ask him if he wanted to go on a date. It happened every day without fail. He was flattered by the offers, but he honestly felt like he didn't have enough time to worry about dating right then. He politely refused them time and time again, but the girls kept coming. He couldn't figure out what was going on until he brought up the issue with his friends at lunch.

"Poor, poor Evan," Zayla said. "Don't you know what's just around the corner? It's Valentine's Day."

"Oh yeah," Evan said. "But what does that have to do with them approaching me now?"

"They clearly want a Valentine's date, but they know it'll be hard to get you," she said. "They're just trying to beat everyone else to the punch by locking you down early."

"Ah, got it," Evan said with a sigh. "I wish they wouldn't. I don't like having to make them feel bad."

"You could always just set up a date with someone and be done with it," Zayla said.

Evan shrugged and ate his food. He'd never had this problem on Valentine's Day before. In the past, he just waved at the day as it passed him by. He had never taken part in any dates or special events on Valentine's in the past, and he didn't care. It had never seemed like an important holiday to him, but he knew there were others that felt differently.

"Soooo... what are you going to do for Valentine's?" Lia said.

"Probably nothing," he said. "It's never been a thing for me."

"You could always just spend it with friends?" Laia said.

"I don't know," he said. "I think I might rather just sit it out. I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings."

"Hmm," the twins said together.

Evan was too busy eating his food to see the twinkle they had in their eyes as they glanced at each other. If he had, he would have been more ready for what came next.

Over the next few days, most of his single girl friends contacted him one way or another and casually brought up the idea of spending Valentine's together. Lia and Laia both texted him and graciously offered to keep him company that night so he wouldn't get lonely. Emersyn caught up to him after one of their shared classes and talked to him about a new movie adaptation that had just come out for one of her favorite stories. He was excited for her, until she asked if he wanted to come over on the fourteenth and watch it together. Even Billie got in on the action and tried to schedule a workout for that day well in advance.

Despite repeatedly telling them no, they kept at it with different approaches. Honestly, it started to make him laugh when they brought it up now. They knew they were being shameless, but it had almost become a game at that point. There were a few times he really considered saying yes to their offers, but he just couldn't do it in the end. Even if they said otherwise, he knew there would be hurt feelings if he picked one girl to spend his time with after rejecting so many others. And it wasn't like he liked any one of his friends better than the others. They were all equally important to him.

While Evan was avoiding the date invitations being thrown at him from all angles, he was also thinking of ways to gather information on Brooks. Alex had a good in with her mother who was very well connected. However, Evan hadn't been in town long enough to have built up an information network like that. In the end, there was only really one person he thought might have some useful insight, and that was his one friend within the security force, Robin.

The last Evan heard from Robin, she was stationed on the outskirts of the fenced off Tourmaline land area. She was in the group of security officers that was having their role increasingly reduced over time. It was clear Brooks was weeding out anyone he felt wouldn't be loyal to him.

Evan thought it might be good to hear from an insider just what the force was up to. Knowing that phones weren't safe, Evan contacted her as a friend and asked if they could hang out. Even though his motive was primarily to get information, it was true he did want to catch up with her as a friend too, so his text wasn't really a lie. He was happy when Robin agreed to meet him in the library.

"It's been a while," Evan said as they sat down at a study table. "Doing alright?"

"Yes, thank you," she said. "You?"

"Yeah, not too bad. Just going to school and all that."

They were seated at a long table in the public library. There were others around, but nobody was close enough to hear their conversation, so it was sufficiently private. Most importantly, it was a location where people couldn't easily eavesdrop unnoticed, and it was random enough that it wouldn't be bugged.

"So, what do they have you doing now?"

"I'm still on border patrol."

"Does that ever get exciting?"

"No," she said. "It's rare for anything to ever happen."

"Do you hate it?"

"No," she said looking down. "But it's not what I'd pick for myself."

"Are there others that've been put on the sidelines like you?"

"Yes."

"It's because of Brooks, right?"

Robin nodded.

"He's been doing a lot of stupid shit lately," Evan said. "I'm trying to figure out exactly what he's up to and who's on his side. I was hoping you might have some insider info that could help me?"

"I'm... not sure," she said. "I don't get included in any of the meetings between higher ups."

"I know, but... like, what do most of the officers think about him? Are they happy with how things are going?"

"Most everyone that's had their job changed like me is unhappy, and there's a lot of us." she said. "But... there are others that seem to get along well with the new management. Even some that you wouldn't have thought would be on their side. It's like they've changed or been persuaded to his side somehow. You can safely assume that any officers you see still on duty around town are loyal to Brooks."

"That sucks," he said.

"I think... some people are just comfortable with awful things as long as their careers advance."

"That sounds about right."

"Yes," she said with a small smile.

"There's something that's been going on that I wanted to see if you knew anything about," Evan said.

He proceeded to share with Robin the information he had gotten about Sophia's family. He explained what he saw at the library and what Sophia herself had said. Robin listened silently with a concerned look on her face until the end.

"I heard about the arrest, but only secondhand information," she said. "It would have only been those loyal to Brooks that were included in the mission. I can't say if the charge is valid or not, but... there were talks among my current coworkers that it was fabricated."

"That's what we think too," he said. "What about that family that was having a blood sacrifice? Was that real?"

"Most thought so at the time, but I also haven't heard from anyone that I trust that they were there and saw the evidence."

"Suspicious."

"Yes, very," she said. "You aren't the only one having these thoughts, Evan. There's definitely a growing faction within the security force that believes Brooks is manipulating information in order to gain more power."

"That's good," he said. "Are they planning to do anything?"

"They would like to help, but they don't have anything to go on other than their feelings at this point. It doesn't help that most of them are stationed far away from anything important now."

"I get it," he said sighing. "That's where I'm at too. I want to do something, but I don't really have enough info or power to do anything. That's why I was hoping you could help me out."

"I don't know what I can do, but... I'll help you however I can," she said. "I also feel like what's gone on recently isn't right."

"Awesome," Evan said. "If you don't mind... just keep your ear to the ground and let me know if you hear anything interesting going on amongst the officers, especially if it involves Sophia or her family."

"I can do that," she said. "I'll reach out to some of the officers I trust most and see what they know as well."

"Great," he said. "The only problem is that it'll be hard for us to talk in an emergency without using our phones."

"They can track texts and record phone calls, but it's impossible for them to block everything," she said with a smile. "Here's what we can do..."

Robin shared with him her method for safe communication, and they established basic protocol for contacting each other in an emergency. It seemed there were people working on ways around the lack of privacy for a while now, so several solutions had been created. Evan left their meeting happy to have found a way around the tracker app and to have gained new allies in the fight against Brooks.

Ch. 101

Despite Evan's steady denials of all Valentine's Day invitations, he continued to be hounded by friend and stranger alike with request after request for a date. It had gotten to the point where he couldn't even relax in his room in the evening without multiple girls knocking on his door. The frequent interruptions were making it hard for him to meditate, so he decided to steal away to his private library for the first time in a while. He kept an ear on his door for a long time until he felt sure nobody was around, and then he crept down to the basement and entered the hidden tunnel. He made sure to leave his phone behind so his movements wouldn't be tracked leaving the building after curfew.

Evan felt refreshed stepping back into the hidden library after so long and finding it just the way he left it. No matter what happened in the outside world, this place would always be there for him. It was comforting to have a home base like that. He settled in and got busy with his magic training.

Under the instruction of his mentor, Hunter, Evan had progressed greatly in his magic. Currently he was proficient in activating his magic, using magic to work artifacts, and augmenting his physical abilities with his own magic power. His current exercises were designed to help him with the next stage of his development: sending magic power outside of his body.

Evan took a power stance in the middle of the room and extended his hand with his palm facing away from his body. He closed his eyes and began to concentrate on his magic power. It was incredibly easy to bring it to the surface now, and he barely needed to create an image in his mind at all any longer. With the power circulating within him, he began to concentrate it towards his extended hand. If he were intending to strengthen his fist for a punching attack, that would have been enough, but his goal was one step beyond that.

Focusing as hard as he could, Evan tried to will the power not to just go to his hand, but to go forward even further, to stretch past the limits of his body. Hunter had told him to focus on his power and forget his body. If he could see the magic flowing outward, there was no reason for it to stop at his palm, as long as his mind was disciplined. He made it sound like the power was only contained inside his body because Evan subconsciously believed that it should be.

As Evan strained his body and willed his power forward, a change occurred near his palm. Slowly, a fist size ball of magic power started to push itself out. Evan felt the power moving to the outside world, and he had to concentrate harder to not recoil and pull it back inside. That was his natural instinct since the initial feeling of the power leaving his body felt like he was being cut off from something important. Evan kept it up, but he was only able to extend the power forward about six inches. It never fully separated from his body, it only stretched forward and elongated. However, that six inches was his limit, as his body quickly folded from exhaustion. As soon as his body gave out, the power returned to his hand instantly.

"Damn," he said catching his breath. "A little better than last time."

It had been a couple weeks since he was first able to stretch the power out of his body like that. Through repeated practice, he steadily extended the range he could reach. Hunter said if he continued this, he would naturally reach far enough where the power would separate on its own. The training was working, but the downside was it took so much energy for one attempt that Evan could only do it a few times in one night. Now needing a break, Evan sat in the big chair at the desk. A fire was going in the fireplace as Evan settled into the comfy seat. The library was cozy. The only thing it was missing was a kitchen full of snacks.

Evan was very pleased with how things were going under the advice of his mentor. He now felt like he was right to have reached out, and he no longer felt like there was much chance of anything going wrong. Sure, he still played things relatively safe out of an abundance of caution, but he had started to trust the mysterious man now that his teachings had been confirmed to be real.

"I wonder what else he knows..."

Evan looked at the mirror artifact on the desk before him. Hunter had been guarded concerning information pertaining to his own life, but he had freely given Evan information about magic. Right now, Evan was trying to get as much information about Brooks as he could, so he couldn't help but wonder if his magician friend might have helpful insight into special agents. If their tools were as old and unique as Alex said, it wouldn't be strange for an experienced generator like Hunter to know a thing or two about them. Evan made up his mind and picked up the mirror to scrawl out a new message.

"What do you know about exorcists?"

He sent the message and waited for a reply. Ever since they first made contact, it hadn't taken Hunter long to get back to him whenever he reached out. He didn't disappoint that night either as a reply showed up just short of ten minutes later.

"I know much about them," it said. "Are they after you?"

"I'm involved with them," Evan wrote. "I might have to fight them someday, but it's not sure."

"What would you like to know?"

It seemed like he was willing to share, which was a win for Evan. Evan thought for a while about what to ask for before deciding to get some insight on their weapons.

"How do their artifacts work?"

"An interesting question..."

Over a series of long messages, Hunter proceeded to explain the history of exorcists, their relationship to the church, and where exactly their powers came from.

"Over two thousand years ago, a trio of great magicians banded together for a common cause - To annihilate the forces of darkness. The forces of darkness being the monsters and mages of the opposing faction that the angels and their allies had been at war with for centuries."

"Having reached the pinnacle of magic, these three used their soul spells to create unique artifacts that could be used freely by non-generator mages, or even normal humans if needed. One used his soul magic to create a new element to act as the foundation of the items. One used his soul magic to imbue the items with magic power that would never diminish to act as a power source for the items. And one used his soul magic to engrave magic spells into the items that would respond to human thoughts."

"Together, these three created some of the most unique and powerful artifacts known to man, and it completely turned the tide of the war. But it came at a price. Having used their soul spells for the sole purpose of making these items, the three magicians were left vulnerable to the powers of others at their level."

"Knowing this, they armed as many of their followers as they could, and used them as their swords and shields, never stepping onto the battlefield themselves again except in the most desperate situations. It paid off, as the artifacts they made were effective in turning the tide of the war. Having given their allies power and victory, the people began to worship the magicians, referring to them as the trinity."

Evan read The Hunter's story in awe. It felt like he just peeked into the world's darkest secret that conspiracy theorists would kill to learn of. The story did explain how the artifacts could function the way they did, though. Evan didn't know much about the later stages of generator mages, but he knew the basics of what soul spells were. They were essentially magic spells that were unique to an individual magician, bound only by their imaginations. Evan had no clue how it was done, but he had read that once a magician created their soul spell, it was set in stone, and there was no going back. In exchange, the effectiveness of the spell was such that it could only be countered by an opposing soul spell.

With soul spells being the signature of a top-level magician, it was easy to see that the members of the trinity had sacrificed greatly to achieve their goals. The one guy could only create metal with his! It was a unique metal, one not on the elemental table, but still, it must have been harmless on its own. The soul spells of the other two were similarly lacking on their own. It was only together that their spells created miracles. They must have had a very close relationship.

"The artifacts created by the trinity were kept by the church as sacred objects long after the three magicians died," Hunter continued. "The church routinely bestowed their most devout followers with these artifacts whenever a crisis arose in the coming centuries. Thus, exorcists were born."

"Over time, the church lost much of its power, and the artifacts were stolen and scattered around the world. Today, normal humans hold the power in the world, and they have turned their exorcists against all mages."

Hunter had given him more information than he expected. Evan got the feeling his mentor wasn't overly fond of modern-day exorcists, and maybe of normal humans as well. But considering how mages were corralled and mistreated in the current world, perhaps that was understandable.

"So, they're dangerous?" Evan sent.

"To you, yes," Hunter responded. "But there are ways to fight them..."

Evan's eyes grew wide as he read the incoming messages from Hunter. His mentor began to explain the tricks he knew for dealing with the special artifacts of exorcists. Evan took notes of it all, and he began to work out a new training program to go along with his current regime. He knew it would be best to run away from any confrontation with Brooks, but knowing it was entirely possible that he wouldn't be able to, Evan began preparing for the worst.

Ch. 102

Valentine's Day finally arrived, and Evan knew it was going to be a long one. He slept with his phone on silent, so when he woke up, he found dozens of messages waiting for him. They were from friends and unknown students who had managed to get his number, and they were all asking about his Valentine's Day plans. Evan had contemplated skipping classes and holing up in his room until the madness was over, but he thought it might not be a good idea to stay where everyone could find him. He trusted his friends, but he was unsure of some of the strange girls who were eagerly pursuing him.

Evan was initially surprised by the number of strangers trying to get his attention for Valentine's Day. Sure, plenty of girls had always smiled and waved at him around campus, but they never approached him for anything. The only ones that had were the overly confident ones that seemed to think he was a sex worker. He didn't understand what had changed until he talked to Clara about it one day.

"I think word has just gotten around that you're a nice guy," she said. "There were a lot of girls that were interested in you from the beginning, but they didn't want to waste their time if you were a prick. Now, it's been half a year, and you've been with several girls, and they all only say good things about you."

"Huh," he said. "You really think that's it?"

"Mmhmm!" she said cheerfully. "I've actually had several girls come up to me and ask about you over the last couple months, so I know your stock has been rising in their eyes for a while."

"I see," he said. "Is there any special reason they care so much about Valentine's? Like a Tourmaline tradition, or something?"

"It's just romantic!" she said like it was obvious. "All girls want to fall in love on Valentine's Day, just like in the movies."

Clara had cleared things up for him, but he still didn't feel thrilled about the extra attention. He was sure some of the girls approaching him were great, but there were just too many coming at him all at once. He could never make all their dreams come true, so he steeled himself to reject them all as politely as possible.

At every class that day, Evan was approached by classmates that had never spoken to him before. Some gave him small gifts, others simply introduced themselves for the first time. Almost all of them tried to get him to go out for a date that afternoon. By noon, Evan was getting pretty good at letting people down gently. A few girls looked genuinely upset, but most seemed to take the rejection in stride. He got the impression they had accomplished their real goal, which was to simply meet him and potentially set up a relationship for later.

Even at lunch, when he was seated with his closest friends, strangers continued to approach him. His friends were no help as they seemed to encourage the girls to come over when they saw them sneakily eyeing him from a distance. It was a fun show for them, but it was taking a toll on Evan after a while. It was never fun to give bad news to good people, especially one after another for hours. And although his friends saw others get shot down firsthand, they couldn't help throwing their own hat into the ring throughout the day.

Despite him having already made clear over the preceding week that he did not want to do anything romantic for Valentine's, his friends continued to casually suggest things they could do that evening. Emersyn tried to guilt him into dinner with her by saying her mother had already made a special meal for the two of them. Billie tried to goad him into another physical romp in the sheets by insisting that him pinning her had been a fluke. But it was the twins that almost broke him. They managed to come together and extend an offer to him for a night of fun. A night including all three of them. It physically pained him to do so, but he had to decline that dream scenario as well. He wasn't sure they were serious about it anyway. He suspected there might be some sort of bet going on to see who could win him over.

By the time Evan's last class ended, he was wiped out. He felt like he had managed to say no to half the student body, so he was hopeful there wouldn't be any more suitors before he made it back to the safety of his room. He was trudging along the walking path when he heard someone call out to him from behind.

"Evan, hey! Wait up!"

He looked back and saw Alex hurrying to catch up with him. He couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

"Please... not you too," he said to himself.

"Hey," she said again after she caught up with him.

"Hello."

"You don't look so good, dude," she said scrunching her eyebrows together in concern. "You alright?"

"It's just been a... trying day."

"Well, do you have a sec? I was just about to go talk to my mom," Alex said. "I think she has some info about the whole Brooks thing."

Evan was relieved to have a distraction from the Valentine's madness, so he agreed readily to go with her. They weren't too far away from the administrative building, so they were able to make it there in no time. Ms. Vaduva was happy to see them both, like usual. They closed the door to her office for some privacy and took their normal seats.

"First off," Ms. Vaduva said. "You'll be happy to know that Sophia's aunt is still alive."

"Great," Evan said.

"That's the good news," Ms. Vaduva said. "The bad news is that she's being tortured."

"Seriously!?" Evan said. "Are they really allowed to do that?"

"No, they aren't," she said. "But this isn't being done on the books. It's being done by Brooks and his people in secret."

"So why don't we report him? Shouldn't that be enough to get his ass fired?"

"We only have this information because an insider passed it along to someone I trust in the force," she said. "If we tried to make it public, it would be easy for Brooks to figure out where the leak came from. Their life could be in danger."

"The council probably wouldn't do anything with the information anyway," Alex said. "It's not like we have video proof of it happening."

"That's true too," Ms. Vaduva said.

"So... there's nothing we can do?" Evan said.

"Maybe not right away," Ms. Vaduva said. "But if we keep digging, an opportunity will present itself. We just have to stay vigilant."

"..."

"Were you able to find out anything about who may be behind Brooks's plan?" Alex said.

"No," Ms. Vaduva said. "Unfortunately, we don't have many contacts with close proximity to the council. There are a few candidates that stick out, but until we figure out exactly who's behind this, we won't know how to come at them."

"Are there any council members that are on our side?" Evan said.

"There are a couple that are sympathetic to our side," Ms. Vaduva said. "I believe they would help us in outing any rotten apples we uncover, but they won't move without concrete proof. That's why it's so important that we do not rush."

They discussed things for a while after that, trying to figure out what else they could do to gather dirt on Brooks and help the Titan family. Evan was listening to Alex toss around ideas when he saw he had a new email notification. Ever since his conversation with Robin, he had been checking his email religiously. She had said that was how she would contact him if anything came up. He became alert when he saw the email he received was indeed from Robin. Evan's pulse started to race as he opened it and read the contents.

The email contained only one picture. It was a picture of a handwritten note. This was the method Robin had told him would allow them to communicate without easily revealing everything to watchful eyes. Apparently, the tracking app did not automatically monitor emails, and when email data was pulled, images weren't included. It was a flaw in the program that had been discovered by one of the officers Robin worked with.

"They are moving now. Officers have been instructed to arrest a girl on campus at the library. That is all I know."

Evan read the note and instantly knew what was happening. There could be no mistake. There was only one girl at the library who would be of interest to Brooks and his goons. He stood up and interrupted Alex mid-sentence.

"You two, read this," he said in a rush.

He sat his phone on the desk so they could both lean over and read the note.

"This is...?" Ms. Vaduva said.

"It's from Robin," he said. "She said she would let me know if she heard about them making any big moves, or anything to do with the Titans. This is definitely about Sophia!"

"Mom? What do we do!?"

"We have to get her out of there!" Evan said, putting his coat on.

"Right, we... we can get her back to her family if we can get there first," Alex said.

"No, there's no time," Ms. Vaduva said. "They'd be there before you got away."

"Then what!?" Alex said.

"..."

"The library!" Evan said. "I can take her to the secret library. They won't be able to get her there!"

"Mom?"

"... Ok, do it."

Evan and Alex both got ready in a flash and all but ran out of the office and down the hall. As they rounded the corner to the stairs, they heard Ms. Vaduva call out to them one last time.

"Just don't let anyone see you!"

Evan had no idea how they could pull this off, but they had to try. Either they got Sophia to safety, or the poor girl would most certainly be subjected to horrible torture, just like her aunt. The stakes in this little game they were playing had just been raised to the limit.

Ch. 103

Evan and Alex rushed out of the administrative building and started heading in the direction of the library. It would take them probably five minutes to get to the library if they hurried, but even that may be too long. There was no telling how long it would take the officers to assemble and snatch Sophia up. Knowing every second was critical, Evan made a decision. He came to a stop and took out his phone.

"What are you doing!?" Alex said.

"I'm going to tell Sophia to hide," he said typing out his message.

"They'll see!"

"I know," he said. "But we don't have much of a choice right now."

Alex seemed to accept his reasoning and waited for him to finish. It was lucky that Evan had Sophia's phone number. It had been provided to their chemistry class since she was a TA in case any students needed help but couldn't reach the professor. As soon as he completed his message, he hit send, and they again hurried off towards the library. Evan hoped his message would work.

"Meet me in the reference book room in the basement. I need to talk to you there. It's urgent! Don't let anyone see you!"

He knew he couldn't be too specific about what was happening or he would give too much away, but he needed to impart some sense of crisis to her so she would be more likely to do what he said. Also, Evan knew the tunnel to the secret library was their only shot. They would be discovered for sure if they tried to sneak Sophia across campus to the clock tower.

They both sighed in relief when the library came into view, and they didn't see any officers in the area. However, their joy was short lived. As they were about to enter, they noticed several security force vehicles entering the nearby parking lot. They shared a quick look of alarm before they entered the building. Inside the library, nothing looked out of the ordinary. There were a few students here and there reading, and a couple staff members were manning the front desk. However, Sophia was noticeably absent.

"Where is she?" Alex said.

"This way."

Evan walked quickly towards the basement stairs. Alex followed as they both tried to go as fast as they could without attracting attention. They took the stairs down into the musty basement where few library goers ever went. At the bottom, they were faced with many rows of thick, dusty reference books.

"Is she here?"

"Sophia?" Evan called out.

The room was not as large as the main floor of the library, but it had a similar square footage as a typical family home. Bookshelves lined most of the walls with some standing bookshelves in the middle of the room as well. There was one table in the center of the room near the entrance, but there was no other furniture besides that. They were about to go looking down the aisles of bookshelves when a small figure stepped out from one of the far corners. There, hiding behind the end of a bookshelf, was Sophia.

"Evan?"

"Sophia! I'm glad you're alright."

Both Evan and Alex rushed over to her and checked her out. She looked confused, but she was fine other than that. It seemed they had managed to reach her just in time.

"What's going on?" Sophia said.

"Officers are coming to arrest you," he said. "Just like your aunt."

Sophia didn't respond, but it was clear how she felt. Her big eye got teary, and she started to tremble. Evan didn't blame her. Sophia knew better than most what the security force was capable of. She had probably been fearing a moment like this would come soon.

"Evan," Alex said, getting his attention.

They stayed quiet for a moment, and soon they started to hear a commotion from above. They couldn't quite make out what was being said, but voices were raised in the library where things were supposed to be quiet. It was obvious the officers had arrived and were making a fuss.

"What're we going to do?" Alex said.

"It's ok," Evan said. "Come over here."

Sophia looked like she had shut down, so he grabbed her hand and brought her along with him to the far wall. There they came to one of the only stretches of brick wall that wasn't covered by books. It looked like it was spared having a bookshelf due to a large metal meter of some sort being placed there. The meter had steel pipes extending from it up to the ceiling. Evan had no idea what the meter and pipes were for, or if they were even real, but they did a good job of making sure nothing could be put flush over this bit of wall.

"Evan," Alex said. "We can't hide here! They'll find us!"

"Just watch," he said grinning.

Evan lamented a little that he had to reveal his secret tunnels so soon, but there was no helping it. This was a far better use for them than showing off. He extended his hand and touched the special groove in the wall and sent out his magic. Instantly, the wall began to transform into a doorway, revealing steps going down.

"Whoa," Alex said.

"Go in, hurry," Evan said pushing Sophia forward. "It's safe, I promise."

Once all three were inside, Evan quickly shut the door behind him. It turned out to be just in time, as only a minute later, a couple of officers appeared in the room.

"Look," Evan said.

He moved out of the way and allowed the two girls to peer through the hole in the door. From their vantage point, they could see the stairwell and the front half or so of the room. They watched silently as the two officers quickly swept through the room before leaving after finding nothing.

"They really came," Sophia said on the verge of tears.

"It's ok. We won't let them take you," Evan said.

Sophia nodded slightly.

"Alright, let's go," he said leading the way down the stairs. "This will get us where we need to be."

Evan pulled out his phone and pulled up the picture he had of the tunnel map. He was pretty sure he would have been able to get them to the library without it, but he didn't feel like getting lost the first time he had guests with him. It wouldn't take them but ten minutes to get to the library at a leisurely pace, and they had no reason to run any longer. He led the group forward as the magic lights lit up before them.

"I can't believe you," Alex said nudging him with her shoulder. "You've been holding out on me!"

"Yeah, sorry," he said sheepishly.

"Did you make this?"

"No," he said. "This was here already."

"Are there more tunnels besides this one?"

"Oh yeah," he said grinning.

"Un-fucking-believable!"

Evan showed the map to Alex and let her see what the network looked like. Occasionally they passed hallways leading in other directions, and he would tell them both where they led to. Alex kept asking questions about it all, but Sophia remained silent. She didn't seem to be able to enjoy the novel experience due to the weight of what was happening to her and her family. Evan understood, but he had a feeling she would enjoy what was coming next.

"Ok, we're here," he said.

He again led the way as they went up the stairs and came to a brick wall. Evan touched the wall, and the two girls got to see an entryway manifest itself for the second time. Evan stepped through and offered a hand to the shocked cyclops girl. She took it and allowed him to guide her into the new room. It didn't take her long to notice something familiar about her surroundings.

"Are these books?" she said.

"Yep!" Evan said. "They're all books related to the understanding and practice of magic."

"Wha... really?"

"Mmhmm."

Alex just smiled nearby as she watched Evan introduce Sophia to the library. She knew how big of an event finding this place was for the locals. Evan led Sophia forward until they reached the end of the row, and they came to the railing of the second floor. From there, they looked out over the first floor and the rest of the impressive library.

"What is this place?" Sophia whispered in awe.

"This is where you'll be staying for a while," Evan said. "Nobody will be able to find you here. And what better place for you to stay than a library, right?"

"...!"

Sophia's jaw dropped as she took it all in. Alex laughed off to the side, and Evan had a hard time not joining her. It was like they were getting high off the excitement they could feel coming off Sophia. They both knew there were few people who would be as excited about this place as her.

"Welcome to the secret library of Elias Monstrum!"

Ch. 104

"This is amazing!"

Sophia ran around the upper levels laughing and collecting books that caught her eye. Evan and Alex sat in chairs on the first floor and watched her go. They discussed what their next actions should be while occasionally responding to whatever the excited Sophia called out from above. They both got a kick out of watching her go. She was like a kid in a candy store.

"Hehehe!"

A squeal of laughter rang out every few minutes, and they knew Sophia had found another book to add to her pile of treasure. Evan thought he might never be able to get her to leave, but he didn't really mind. He was glad she had so quickly come out of her funk. It was like she had forgotten all her troubles, at least for a moment.

"We need to get out of here soon," Alex said. "At least one of us anyway. We can't stay here for long with our phones. I need to update my mom too."

"If she's going to be here long term, we'll need to get provisions for her also," Evan said.

"True," Alex said.

"How about you go out and talk to your mom to get a feel for the situation," he said. "She might also have some good ideas about what we should do now."

"Ok, that works for me," she said. "But... how will I get back in?"

"..."

"..."

"I guess we have to go together," Evan said. "Think she'll be alright here by herself?"

"Hey, Sophia!" Alex called out.

"Yes?" Sophia said, poking her head out over the rail.

"We're going out to see what it's like out there," she said. "You ok staying here alone for a while?"

"Yeah, sure," she said. "That's fine."

"Ok," Alex said. "Could you give us your phone? We need to get it out of here so they don't track your location."

"My phone?" she said. "I think I left it back at the library. It's not here."

"That's probably for the best," Evan said. "They'd definitely be looking for her phone now if they weren't already."

"Alright," Alex said. "I'll go see my mom, then. What will you do? Want to come with?"

"No, I think I'll go to my room," he said. "I still have my books in my bag. I want to unload it. I might start gathering up some things to bring back here too."

"Ok, I'll catch up with you back at yours after I'm done."

They said goodbye to Sophia, but she barely noticed. It was a good thing she was so absorbed in the books. It kept her from realizing she was trapped in the library with no way out. It was inconvenient that his guests couldn't open the doors even with Evan's permission. Maybe if he advanced far enough in his training, he would be able to manage a solution. It was definitely on his list of magical spells to learn.

After a quick debate, Alex and Evan decided to go through the tunnels. They figured it wouldn't be good to show up on campus near the clock tower when security cameras had already seen them head into the library. They managed to slip out the hidden door and into the basement without any problems, and they were soon in the common room, where they found an unexpected situation.

Gathered in the common room were all the occupants of Tipski Hall and a few officers that were standing guard. He couldn't tell what was happening right away, but it was easy to see that the officers had made the students gather on the first floor for some reason. As he fully entered the common room, one of the officers approached him with a picture.

"Have you seen this girl?" the officer said, holding the picture out to him.

Evan did his best to keep his face straight as he looked at the picture of Sophia.

"No?" he said. "What's going on?"

"She's wanted for questioning," the officer said. "If you know anything about her whereabouts, please alert us immediately."

"Alright," he said. "Why's everyone gathered here?"

"The dorm is being searched in case this girl is hiding somewhere," the officer said. "We're asking all students to please wait patiently until the search is concluded."

"What, so I can't go to my own room?"

"For the time being, yes," the officer said. "Please wait with the others. We'll be done soon."

Evan made eye contact with Alex who had started walking towards the exit. She pointed towards the door indicating she was off to talk to her mother. Evan nodded and watched her leave.

Evan saw several of his friends grouped together not too far away, so he decided to join them. They were all miffed at having their rooms searched just like he was. They were also concerned about what might be going on with Sophia. Evan listened to them theorize about what might be going on with her without adding much to the conversation himself. He didn't want to accidentally let on that he knew more than he should. He was glad that the officer had been right when she said it wouldn't take much longer. It seemed they had already been searching the dorms for the last half hour when he arrived, so he didn't have to wait long to get up to his room.

"Damn," Evan muttered as he surveyed his room.

He wouldn't say the room was trashed, but whoever had searched his room hadn't bothered to tidy things up after they were done either. All the closets and cabinets were open wide, and his mattress was thrown off the bed frame. They had certainly checked every conceivable hiding spot for someone of Sophia's size. Evan had a brief moment of panic as he remembered he had left his mirror artifact out, but he was relieved to find it was still sitting on his bookcase. It seemed the officers really had just been looking for Sophia. He felt lucky. If they decided to raid his room for other reasons, he might have ended up losing his precious connection to his teacher. He made a mental note to keep the mirror well hidden in the future as he started to clean up.

After his room was back in order, Evan began to make a list of what he needed to get for Sophia. He had no idea what kind of food she liked, so he figured he would get a wide range of snack foods for the time being. He didn't have much in his apartment, so it looked like he was going to need to make a stop at the convenience store before curfew. He finished his grocery list and gathered together some things for himself. He anticipated Sophia would be staying the night in the library, and he was planning on joining her, at least for the first night. He didn't have the heart to leave her all alone.

Alex showed up at his room a while later just as planned. She took a while to complain about the search of her room before she filled Evan in on what she found out from her mom. Apparently, Sophia was being labelled a fugitive after the security force was unable to easily scoop her up. Officers were busy all over town looking for her. It was obvious that they had gotten to her just in time. Ms. Vaduva said the security force wouldn't be giving up their search easily, especially after being embarrassed by that day's failure. She said it would be best for Sophia to remain in hiding at the library for as long as possible.

Evan shared his intention to stay the night in the library with Sophia, and Alex expressed a desire to do the same. Evan was happy to have her along as he figured Sophia would probably be more comfortable if it wasn't just the two of them. Their plans now set, they decided to go to the convenience store on campus to get supplies together. They didn't dawdle, and they were back at Evan's room with plenty of food, water, and necessities in no time.

Along with what they bought, Evan and Alex also packed a few blankets and pillows in a bag for the night. Evan was initially worried since he didn't have many pillows in his room, but it turned out Alex had plenty to spare. He thought the mountain of pillows on her bed would make it hard to sleep, but she thought it was crazy he could do with only two. When everything was prepared, they carefully crept down the stairs into the basement and made their way into the tunnel. They both made sure to leave their phones behind in their rooms.

When they exited the tunnel and entered the library once again, they were met with silence. They couldn't hear the sounds of someone rushing around looking at book titles that had been resounding about the place earlier. As they got to the railing and looked down, they saw Sophia was on the first floor pacing back and forth. She was wringing her hands together while staring at her feet. Evan could tell the excitement had worn off some, and the worries of the day had taken hold again.

"Hey, Sophia," he called out. "We're back!"

"Evan!" she said. "How is everything? Is it... ok?"

"Well..." he said hesitantly looking at Alex. "There's good news and bad news."

"What's... the bad news?"

"The bad news is officers are combing all over town looking for you," he said. "And they're treating you like a wanted criminal."

"Oh..."

"The good news," Evan continued with a smile. "Is that we're having a sleepover!"

Ch. 105

Alex and Evan unloaded their supplies and filled Sophia in on exactly what was happening outside. Sophia took the news well, all things considered. She was clearly scared, but she didn't break down into hysterics. It seemed her stay in the library had given her some time to come to terms with the situation, and she easily accepted that she would have to spend an extended period in the hidden library.

Other than the news, Sophia was most excited to get food from them. It turned out she hadn't had anything to eat all day. Evan and Alex were ready to eat as well, so they went ahead and had their dinner. They called it dinner, but that made it sound a lot healthier and more nutritious than it was. They feasted on chips, donuts, soda, candy, and all other manner of delicious high calorie junk. It was a meal that could only be fully enjoyed by the young. Evan was digging through his bag for another snack when he found the special presents he bought when Alex wasn't looking.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Evan said, pulling out the gifts excitedly. "Here. These are for you guys."

Evan handed one heart-shaped box of chocolates and a single rose to each of the girls.

"Maybe not the most ideal way to spend the day, but happy Valentine's anyway!"

"Heh, thanks," Alex said taking the gifts with a grin. "Pretty sure roses are for lovers, though. You might not want to pass these out so casually here considering your situation. Some girls might get the wrong idea."

"Noted," Evan said. "No roses between friends. I shan't make such a grievous mistake again, milady."

"Thanks, Evan!" Sophia said.

Sophia was very excited to receive her gifts, which warmed Evan's heart. At least she was excited, until she noticed Evan didn't have a box of his own.

"But... you don't have one!" she said. "I'm sorry!"

"Haha, don't be," he said waving off her worries. "I just got these on a whim. It's not a big deal."

"If you say so," Sophia said before ripping open the box and quickly stuffing a chocolate in her mouth.

"You know," Alex said. "I was surprised you were able spend the night here with us so easily. I thought for sure you'd have a date or two lined up for the evening."

"Nah."

"I know girls were asking," she said. "Not interested in being a ladies' man anymore?"

"Whatever," he said, throwing a wrapper at her. "I just don't care about Valentine's much. And... I didn't want to hurt anybody's feelings. So, I just decided to sit on the sidelines this year."

"And yet," she said grinning. "You ended up spending the night with two gorgeous young girls anyway."

"Ha, yeah, I guess I did," he said.

"What's Valentine's Day like outside of Tourmaline?" Sophia said.

"I don't think it's any different really," he said. "Some people take it seriously, but a lot of people don't care. I think it's usually just an occasion for couples to go on fancy dates."

"Did you go on any fancy dates?"

"No," he said. "I never had a girlfriend on Valentine's."

The two girls just nodded silently as if they understood.

"How about you two?" Evan said. "Any great dates of Valentine's past?"

"Are you kidding?" Alex said.

Evan just shrugged.

"No," she said. "And I never had any interest. All the guys are creeps or taken already anyway."

"How about you, Sophia? Any hot guys sweep you off your feet?"

"No, never any guys. But..."

Sophia paused and her face gradually turned red before she continued.

"A couple years ago, there was an older girl I went out with on Valentine's. We worked at the library together, and I thought she was so cool. I couldn't believe it when she asked me out. She knew everything about ancient magicians from the Asian continent, so we spent hours just talking about our favorite stories from history. It was great."

Sophia spilled out her confession in a rush, almost as if she had been holding it back for a while. Evan had asked about her past with the holiday not expecting anything considering the state of the town, but he ended up getting two surprises. Not only did she have experience dating, but it was with another girl! It didn't matter to Evan, of course, but it was just something he hadn't considered until that point. It did make perfect sense that a town with such a huge gender imbalance would have plenty of same sex relationships. It would be ignorant to believe otherwise.

"That's awesome," Evan said. "Did you two have a relationship after that?"

"We did for a while," she said smiling shyly. "But it fell apart shortly after she graduated."

"That's a bummer," Evan said. "But I think that makes you the queen of Valentine's as far as this group here is concerned. Alex and I haven't done shit."

They all laughed at that as they continued to snack on candy. Evan asked Sophia about the books she gathered after they finished eating. She eagerly explained the significance of each one. It seemed she had managed to find several volumes of autobiographies written by famous ancient mages that she had never seen before. There was enough to keep her busy for quite a while during her isolation. Evan knew her head would probably explode if he showed her the book written by Dr. Monstrum, but he decided to keep that one a secret. She wouldn't be able to read it anyway.

As it got later, they got to work readying their makeshift beds. There was no helping the fact that it was going to be a little uncomfortable, but it was warm at least. That was mainly due to the roaring magical fire in the fireplace. It was in front of that warm hearth that they cleared space for sleeping. They used their blankets to make pallets that gave some protection against the hard stone floors. In the end, it was far from the coziness of their dorm rooms, but it was good enough. Once under the covers, all three decided to spend some time reading until they drifted away. Unsurprisingly, it was Sophia that ended up succumbing to her sleepiness first.

"Looks like she's out," Alex said tilting her head at Sophia.

Evan leaned up to look over and confirmed that Sophia had passed out with a book on her chest.

"She had a rough day," he said settling back down. "I'm sure she's exhausted."

"Yeah," Alex said. "Hope she sleeps well."

"What's the plan for tomorrow?"

"Well, we should go to class," she said. "They'll get suspicious if they notice we're gone."

"So, business as usual?"

"Yeah, pretty much," she said. "We'll check on Sophia as much as we can, but... she's probably going to be alone a lot."

"Maybe we'll find a way to get her out of here soon".

"Maybe."

They had both put their books down and were simply listening to the crackling fire while staring at the ceiling. Evan thought it would be a very soothing environment to sleep in if he could manage to move in an actual bed. That thought set him off on a daydream about potentially living in his secret hideout. The library had a bathroom, so it only lacked a kitchen and a bedroom. He started again to wonder if he could learn spells to alter the space to his liking when he was interrupted by Alex.

"Thanks for doing this," she said.

"Doing what?"

"For helping Sophia," she said. "It's scary to think about what would've happened to her if you didn't bring her here."

"Yeah, it is," he said. "But it wasn't like I did this alone. I couldn't have done this without you. Not everyone would be up for helping like this."

"Well, I am pretty great, aren't I?"

"For sure."

"..."

"..."

"Hey," Evan said. "I was thinking..."

"That's dangerous."

"Yeah, yeah," he said. "But I was thinking... we should count this as a Valentine's date."

"What?"

"Yeah," he said. "You know, so when we get asked in the future if we've ever had any memorable Valentine's dates, we won't look like such losers."

"Pfft, whatever," she said laughing.

"Oh, come on," he said. "You could do worse than a date with your best friend."

"Oh my god!" Alex said while turning away. "Stop talking!"

Evan laughed as he saw how embarrassed Alex was. He couldn't help teasing her about her best friend comment from the other day. He knew it was an awkward memory for her, so he decided to tease her a bit. That's what friends did after all. But since that time, he had thought about that moment more than once, and he had come to a realization of his own.

"You know," Evan said after some time. "It's cool how you're always putting yourself out there to help others. You tried defending the girls from being exploited when I first met you. You took part in the operation to find and rescue Derek. You've stood up against the security force multiple times. And today you helped save Sophia. You've got a good heart."

"..."

"I think that's why I feel so comfortable sharing things with you," he said. "Like this library. Until today, you were the only one that knew this secret. And when I needed to vent about that whole sex contest thing, you were the only one I could talk to. So, there's always been an extra layer to our friendship that wasn't there with the others."

"I guess what I'm saying is," Evan said. "I think you're my best friend too."

Evan kept gazing at the ceiling as the fire continued to crackle. He was close to drifting off to sleep, and he wondered if maybe Alex already had. She might not have even heard a word he said. He was just about to close his eyes when he heard a quiet voice.

"Let's get some sleep," Alex said.

"Yeah," Evan said. "Good night."

"Good night."

Despite sleeping in a new place with subpar bedding, it didn't feel like they were going to have any trouble sleeping soundly. It had been a long, mentally exhausting day, and they could feel it. They both knew there were many challenges ahead of them to get through the current crisis, but they also knew it was much easier to face adversity with someone dependable by their side. As they settled into their pillows to earnestly get some rest at last, the two best friends couldn't help the smiles that covered their tired faces.

Ch. 106

The three students were woken up by an annoying beeping early the next morning. Alex had brought along a small alarm clock from her room so they would be able to get to class on time. Evan was thankful since he always only ever used his phone as an alarm. They groggily began to get up and shake away the sleepiness from their bodies by stretching. They woke up a little earlier than usual in order to give Alex and Evan some time to get back to their rooms and clean up.

As the two of them prepared their things to head out, Sophia simply bundled herself in a blanket and sat in a chair. Evan felt bad that she would be alone all day, but there wasn't much they could do about it for now. There were still some snacks and drinks left, so she should be fine for a while. Still, it wasn't a desirable situation to be locked up somewhere with no way to leave.

"What will you do today?" Evan said.

"I've found a lot of good books," Sophia said. "I'm sure I'll be reading so much I won't even notice when the day is over!"

She smiled and tried to look upbeat, but the smile didn't quite reach her eye. It may have been the tiredness from having just woken up, but Evan thought it was more likely that the weight of recent events was settling on her heavier than she wanted them to believe. He wanted to give her something to keep her distracted and keep her thoughts from getting too dark, but without any internet in the hidden library, the usual options of TV or a computer wouldn't work. He looked around the library briefly trying to think of something for her to do.

"Hey," he said. "If you get bored, you could always try to catalogue the books here."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, I really don't know what a lot of these books are even about," he said. "I can't tell much from their covers, and I haven't had time to go through them all. But I'm sure there are some that would be very helpful to me in the future. If I had, like, a list or something that detailed what each of them was about, that would be amazing."

"I was just thinking yesterday that the books seemed too disorganized!"

"Feel free to arrange them to your heart's content," he said. "It would be a big help to me."

"Ok! I'll work on that today while you're gone," she said. "First, I'll need to decide how to arrange them. Should I empty all the shelves first, or should I create a database to get a better feel for what we're working with?"

"I'll... leave that to you. Whatever you think is best."

"Ok!"

Just like that, Evan acquired a librarian for his secret book collection. It gave Sophia something to keep her occupied besides just reading, and it would genuinely be a great help to him to have a detailed list of what books he had and what subjects they covered. He looked forward to what she would find. Alex and Evan said their goodbyes shortly after that with the promise to swing by again later with more provisions.

They separated to their respective rooms and got ready for the day ahead. Classes ended up being routine for the day. There was plenty of buzz on campus about Sophia, though. In about every class, students could be heard whispering the latest rumor about what was going on. Some thought Sophia had run away into the woods. Others thought she was abducted and taken out of town. There were even some whispers insinuating that Sophia's family had killed her in order to save them from embarrassment.

It was ridiculous, and it made Evan wonder if similarly wild stories were being told about him every time he was involved in an incident. Even his friends couldn't help discussing the various theories going around. None of them were that close to Sophia, so they weren't sure what to believe. The twins thought she was in the woods, while Clara and Zayla leaned towards thinking something bad had happened to her. Barry was the only one that gave any credence to the wildest rumors, such as Sophia being sucked into a magical book she found at the library.

Evan got a kick out of that last one, and he made a note to be sure to share it with Sophia later. When classes ended for the day, Evan retreated to the dorm as usual. He planned on doing some homework before going out to get some more food for Sophia. However, for the second day in a row, he found the dormitory infested with security force officers. Only this time, they weren't searching the entire building. They were only searching his room.

His door was open with one officer outside keeping any students in the hall away. The officer noticed him as he came into the hall and signaled someone inside. It was annoying to have his room ransacked twice in a row, but he was relieved that he had hidden his important things after the first one. The mirror artifact was now safely in the desk in the hidden library. Inside, Evan saw three other officers that looked to be carefully scrutinizing every inch of his room. However, they must have already finished their search, because they all stopped what they were doing and met Evan in the hall.

"Mr. Matthews," one lady officer said. "Chief Brooks would like to speak with you."

"Ok?" Evan said. "Where is he?"

"He's outside," she said. "We'll escort you."

Evan silently followed her down the hall as the other officers fell into step behind them. Once out of the building, they walked over to the nearby parking lot and stopped next to a black SUV. The back door opened as they arrived and out stepped the main man himself.

"Mr. Matthews," Agent Brooks said. "Just the man I wanted to see."

"..."

"Allow me to get right to the point," Brooks said. "Do you know the current location of the fugitive Sophia Titan?"

Evan couldn't help but tense his body at the question. He did his best to shake it off and act normally, but he hadn't been prepared to be interrogated.

"I have no idea where she is," Evan said.

"Is that so?"

"..."

"Well, she certainly isn't in your room, or this building for that matter," Brooks said looking around with a chuckle. "We've checked it twice now. But... I know you're helping her somehow."

"..."

"Not going to talk?" Brooks said.

Evan stared blankly back at him without saying a word.

"You can quit acting like you don't know anything. I have your phone records from yesterday."

Brooks pulled out a piece of paper and showed it to Evan. It was a printout of Evan's text messages, and it clearly showed the text he sent to Sophia to warn her.

"You told her it was urgent and had her meet you right at the time my officers were sent out to arrest her," Brooks said. "Awfully convenient."

"..."

"Where'd you take her?"

"I didn't take... I was just trying to meet her about Chemistry class," Evan said.

"Oh yeah?" Brooks said. "Well, I also have video that shows you and Mariana Vaduva's kid rushing across campus towards the library right at that time. You even rush to the room where you told Sophia to meet you. Earlier video from the library also shows Sophia rushing to the basement a few minutes prior to that. What happened in there?"

"We... tried to meet her, for help with class, like I said," Evan said. "But... she wasn't there when we went down."

"..."

"..."

"Do you really expect me to believe that?"

"..."

"It's interesting," Brooks said. "We've scrubbed through the video dozens of times, but we can't find where any of you actually exit the library. Now, how do you explain that?"

"... Maybe someone altered the video."

Brooks just sighed and shook his head. He motioned to the other officers, and they stopped crowding Evan and started getting into their nearby vehicles. Evan had been worrying that he was about to be arrested, but it seemed that wasn't to be his fate. Now with a little privacy, Agent Brooks stepped up close and spoke so only Evan could hear.

"If you're using magic to circumvent the will of the security force," Brooks said, "I will end you. Count on it."

With that last threat, Brooks and his goons left. Evan let out a huge sigh of relief as soon as he made it back safely to his room. He really thought he was in deep shit for a second there. There was plenty of suspicious evidence showing he was involved with Sophia right around the time she disappeared. He was just lucky that nothing too damning was caught on camera. He was most thankful that the entrance to the tunnels in the library was in a room with no cameras.

Evan quickly tidied up his room and then left to go find Alex. When she let him into her room, he was glad to find that it didn't look like anyone had paid her a visit. He explained to her what happened and all about the evidence Brooks had.

"They have us on camera," he said. "But they only know we were in the area around the same time Sophia was. They can't really prove anything from that."

"Yeah," Alex said. "But they don't always care about proof."

"Right?" Evan said. "I really thought I was about to be black-bagged and thrown in a dungeon or some shit."

"Even if he wanted to," Alex said. "I don't think he would be able to do that to you. He'd have to have some pretty damning evidence on you to get away with it. And even then, people would probably make enough noise about it to keep him from going too far."

"Maybe," Evan said. "But... what about you?"

"Yeah... I don't think I have the same immunity," she said.

"They seem to be backing off for now," Evan said. "I think you should probably just lay low and be safe for a while. I don't want to paint a target on your back any more than we already have."

"I can take care of myself."

"I know, but still... it's better to be careful," Evan said. "Just for a little while. Alright?"

"... Alright."

With the decision made to put Alex on the sidelines for the time being, it was left to Evan alone to keep in touch with Sophia. He once again gathered a bunch of food from the store, this time enough to last for several days, and then made his trip to the hidden library. He found Sophia there reading in one of the lounge chairs.

"Evan!" she said. "I started to wonder if you were coming back."

"Sorry, it was a long day."

"It's ok."

"How was your day here? Get a lot done?"

"I did!" she said getting up quickly. "Let me show you!"

Sophia then produced a list she had created throughout the day where she had started to categorize and catalogue the books of the library. It was impossible to sort through all the books in one day, but she had actually gone through way more than Evan would have thought possible. She showed him the list and talked about some exciting finds and how she was grouping them. Evan had no doubt that the end result of her work was going to make his future studies much easier.

"You're awesome," Evan said. "Thanks for doing so much."

"It's no problem."

"I brought a bunch of food for you," Evan said, starting to unpack the bag he brought.

"Oh good," Sophia said. "This should last a while."

"You going to be ok sleeping here on your own tonight?" Evan said.

"Oh... yeah, I don't think it will be a problem."

"I wish I could stay with you, but Alex and I have a lot of eyes on us. They're suspicious after some things they found from the other day."

"It's ok, Evan. Really," Sophia said. "I appreciate what you've done for me. I'll be fine."

"Ok," he said. "Is there anything else you need?"

"Well... there is one thing."

"What's that?"

Sophia walked over to the desk and picked up a folded piece of paper there that Evan hadn't noticed before.

"Please," she said handing the paper to Evan. "Would you deliver this letter to my parents? I know they must be worried about me."

"I think I can do that."

"Don't worry," she said. "I didn't say exactly where I am. I just let them know I'm alright."

"Right," Evan said nodding. "I'll do my best to get this to them."

"Thanks, Evan."

Evan hung out with her in the library for a while longer before making his leave. He felt Sophia was in a better place mentally compared to the night prior. She wasn't in the best of states, of course, but she didn't seem as shaken up as before. He promised to see her at least once a day so she wouldn't go too crazy from being isolated. Things were going well with the plan to keep Sophia from danger. The security force had suspicions, but they couldn't do anything for now. It felt like they had gotten past the worst of the situation. That night as he lay in bed, he turned his attention to his next problem. How was he going to get the letter to Sophia's parents?

Ch. 107

Evan was relieved to find that no more trouble came from Brooks after their encounter at the dormitory. He feared he may have to deal with daily room searches or other intimidation tactics, but it seemed the security force was moving on to other things. He was able to go through his school day normally with no surprises. He would like to say it had been a nice, calming day to soothe his nerves, but the letter he carried in his bag from Sophia weighed too heavily on his mind for that.

He had hidden it as best he could, but he knew it would be found if someone searched thoroughly enough. And what could be more damning than a letter written by the missing girl praising Evan for helping her escape!? He had no doubt he would be thrown away into the darkest dungeon while Brooks laughed himself to tears over how dumb he was. The town would probably leave him there to rot too. Who wanted a savior who was that stupid?

The solution was obvious, though. Evan just needed to get rid of the letter, preferably by delivering it. The problem was he had no relationship with Sophia's family. He didn't know how to contact them or even where they lived. He knew he could ask someone, but then the question of whether it was a good idea to actually meet with them or not came up. Brooks was already suspicious of Evan. If he saw Evan openly meeting the family he was trying to extort, Evan had no doubt there would be ugly consequences, probably for both him and the family.

Evan knew he needed help. Normally he would have first turned to Alex to get her thoughts on the situation, but she needed to keep her distance from his problems for a while. Nothing good would come from increasing the size of the target that was surely already on her back. He tried to imagine what Alex would say if he did go ahead and ask her about his situation, and he figured she would probably suggest talking to her mom. Evan wanted to do just that, but he was a little hesitant.

Surely if Alex was involved in Sophia's disappearance, Brooks would have suspected Ms. Vaduva was connected to it as well, right? Evan still had a lot to learn about the power structures inside Tourmaline, but he knew enough to realize Ms. Vaduva was a powerful woman in the community. She was head of the school and an ex-ace of the security force. If Evan was in Brooks's shoes, Ms. Vaduva would be just the type of person he'd be looking to undermine. Evan knew that would be terrible for him and the community, so he also thought it might be good to distance himself from Ms. Vaduva. But once he started going down that road, where would it end?

The truth was that Evan was a danger to just about everyone he met. There were many hostile groups in the world looking to harm him, so anyone getting close to him had to be prepared to potentially lose their life at any moment. At least, that was how it felt to Evan. Sometimes he thought he would be doing others a favor by just shunning them all. But... could he really live like that? Even if he could, he knew he wouldn't be able to help the nearly extinct mages regain their vitality on his own. He needed help. He needed support. He needed allies.

Having spent the entirety of his classes spinning circles in his head going over his problems and not paying a lick of attention to his professors, Evan decided to go see Ms. Vaduva and put the decision in her hands. If she wanted to help him, he would let her. But he planned to respect her wishes if she also thought it was too dangerous for her family at this time. He marched straight to her office as soon as his last class finished.

Evan found Ms. Vaduva's door closed when he reached her office, and he could hear that she was currently having a meeting with someone. He sat and waited patiently in the convenient chairs posted outside. He scrolled on his phone for around ten minutes before the door opened. An older man and a young middle school aged girl exited. Evan suspected they were having some sort of meeting related to the young girl's school activities. It was probably the type of meeting the head of the academy had relatively often.

"Ms. Vaduva?" Evan said, sticking his head in the door. "Do you have a minute?"

"Yes, of course, Evan," she said.

Evan saw she was still writing down something from her previous meeting. He knew she most likely didn't have a lot of free time.

"I'm sorry I always barge in like this," he said. "I'm sure it's annoying."

"Nonsense," she said with a wave. "You're always welcome. So, what's going on?"

"Well... I have a bit of a problem," Evan said. "But I wanted to check with you first."

"Oh? What about?"

"I started thinking recently that I might be bringing you a lot of trouble with all my problems," he said. "I know the authorities are watching me closely, and I don't want to, like, drag you into my shit, if you know what I mean."

"..."

"I guess what I'm saying is that, if you want to be uninvolved in what I'm doing," he said. "I'll understand."

"Evan," Ms. Vaduva said. "I understand what you mean. Alexandra told me what's been going on, and I agreed that she should be more careful from now on. But you do not need to worry about me. I can handle myself."

"I just... don't want to give them an excuse to, like, go after you, or whatever."

"My position isn't so tenuous that someone like Kory Brooks could do me any harm," she said smiling. "Please know that I will always help you in any way that I can."

"Thank you, Ms. Vaduva," he said. "That means a lot."

"So," she said. "What's happened now?"

"Nothing too crazy," he said. "But... Sophia gave me a letter. She wants me to get it to her parents, but I don't know anything about them. And I didn't think it would be good to advertise that I was looking to meet them either."

"Yes, that wouldn't be wise," she said. "But if it's just a letter, I believe I can get it to them. You can leave it with me."

"Well... I was actually hoping I might be able to meet them face to face."

"What for?"

"Sophia had a few personal items she wanted me to get for her from her home," he said. "It would be easiest just to get them myself since I'll have to deliver them anyway. Plus... I have a few questions for them. I hoped they might talk about everything that's been going on."

"That might be difficult," Ms. Vaduva said. "The Titan family is renowned for their secrecy."

"Worth a try," Evan said shrugging.

"Alright," Ms. Vaduva said. "How about I pass along the letter you have and let them know that you want to meet with them and see what kind of response comes back. Who knows? They may be keen on the idea."

"Ok, that works. I don't want to hang on to this letter any longer than I have to," he said. "Thank you."

The letter was handed over for delivery, and Evan returned to his dorm room shortly after that. The rest of the evening was quiet. He wondered when he would hear back from Ms. Vaduva. With all he had heard about Sophia's family, he thought they would most likely reject his request for a meeting. If that was the case, he had no plans to make a fuss. Getting the letter to them was all he really needed to do, and he had accomplished that.

Evan did not have to wait long to get his reply. A message was delivered to him secretly from Ms. Vaduva, saying that the family was willing to meet. Ms. Vaduva was vague on what the arrangements would be, but she said the meeting was set for the upcoming Saturday afternoon. She said she would get more details to Evan about how to reach the meeting later.

It was exciting news. Not just because he wanted to get some things to help Sophia out in her time of need, but because he had a chance to talk to an ancient mage family about their secrets. There was no telling how much they would be willing to reveal, but just the fact they were willing to talk to him at all was a good sign. He hoped he could get some insight into what their mysterious artifact could do, and maybe even learn some things about ancient mages that he could use for his own training. Most of all he hoped he could finally shed some light on why the family was being so heavily targeted by Brooks. Maybe it would be a revelation that could end the current harassment. That was sorely needed as Evan doubted he could keep Sophia hidden away from the world forever.

Ch. 108

Saturday came quickly, and Evan found himself invited out to a late lunch with Ms. Vaduva and Alex. He hadn't been told exactly how it was happening, but he knew that the two attractive vampire women were not actually his dining mates. While he was seemingly going out for a nice meal with friends, Sophia's parents were being secretly brought into the restaurant to meet him. Evan had worried about being seen by other guests, but Ms. Vaduva assured him that the restaurant owner was a friend, and everything was being done to make sure nobody knew the Titan family had left their home.

The restaurant was a nice steakhouse with low lighting and dark red walls. It had a smell of freshly baked bread that immediately made Evan's mouth water. Upon their arrival, Ms. Vaduva said something to the hostess, and the young woman then told Evan to follow her. Evan gave a quick wave to the two vampires before following his guide to the back of the restaurant. He felt awkward about leaving them behind, but they understood the need to keep the meeting as private as possible. They knew how rare it was to get such an intimate audience with the Titans after all.

The hostess led Evan down a hall that was near the kitchen and ended at the building's bathrooms. However, before they made it to the restrooms, the hostess opened a side door and welcomed him inside. Evan found himself in a room roughly the size of his childhood bedroom. The room was sparsely decorated with no windows. The only furniture was a table and chairs, the table adorned with plates and cutlery for a meal.

"Please have a seat," the hostess said. "The other party has been talking with the owner, but I'm sure they'll join you soon."

"Thanks."

Evan took a seat on the far side of the table so he was facing the door. He looked around the room and wondered about its purpose. It seemed the perfect place for a private dinner, perhaps one booked by a couple on their anniversary when they were looking to get away from the noisy atmosphere of a busy restaurant. But the unadorned walls and dusty floor told a different story: one of a private dining room prepared on the fly out of need. If Evan had to guess, he would say this was probably a storage room of some kind that had been hastily cleared out for his use alone. He appreciated the effort, but he hated to think they would go through so much trouble for such a thing.

His thoughts were interrupted by the hostess reappearing. She stepped into the room and made way for the two people behind her to enter as well. Evan got his first looks at Sophia's parents. Mr. Titan came in first. He was dressed in a navy suit complete with a tie and a matching fedora. He had curly hair on the sides of his head poking out from under the hat. Mrs. Titan followed her husband inside with a smile for the hostess. She was dressed in a conservative purple dress that went down to her ankles. Her hair was dark brown and curly. Both were a little shorter than Evan, and a little rounder around the belly as well. And, of course, just like their daughter, they both only had one big eye.

"Hello, I'm Antonio," Sophia's father said.

Evan stood and shook the man's hand firmly. "I'm Evan."

"This is my wife, Iris," Antonio said.

"Pleased to meet you," she said.

"Same," Evan said with a smile while shaking her hand as well.

They took their seats at the table before the hostess asked for their choice of drinks. She soon scurried out of the room, closing the door behind her with the promise of returning soon to get their food orders. Silence filled the room as Evan was left alone with the couple for the first time. Evan smiled at the two in turn before fiddling with his silverware on the table. Should he ask about their day? Maybe see what they planned to eat? He wasn't sure what a good opener was before discussing how he had their daughter trapped in an inescapable magic box.

"Thank you," Antonio said. "For the letter. We were worried sick over what had happened to our Sophia."

"Yes, it was such a relief," Iris said.

"It was no problem," Evan said. "It was Sophia's idea. She knew you'd be upset."

"How did you meet our Sophia?" Iris said.

"Well, we just kinda... ran into each other on campus," Evan said. "She helped me a lot on some of my homework after that, so we got to know each other a little."

"You are friends?" she said.

"Yeah, definitely," Evan said.

"Oh, good," she said clasping her hands together. "Sophia has always struggled to make friends. Ever since she was a little girl."

"Too much time in her books," Antonio said. "Nothing wrong with reading, she just rarely sets aside any time for anything else."

Antonio chuckled while Iris shook her head with a grin. Evan too couldn't help but smile as he recognized the obvious affection the couple had for their daughter. The hostess returned then with their drinks. She set them down and proceeded to ask if they were ready to order yet. Evan wasn't sure, but Sophia's parents indicated they knew what they wanted, so he said they should go ahead. When it was his turn, it was clear he had no idea what to get, so Antonio offered up a recommendation for the veal. It sounded as good as anything else, so Evan went with that. Soon the threesome was left alone again to wait on their food.

"So, Evan," Antonio said. "Sophia's letter, it said she had told you a few of the more sensitive things about our family."

Evan sat up straight and swallowed. He hadn't been sure exactly what Sophia put in the letter, but he had figured this conversation was coming. There was no way such a tight-lipped family would be happy about their secrets being spilled to an outsider.

"Yes, she shared a few things with me," he said. "About what was going on with the security force and why."

"Sophia is a good girl," Antonio said before sighing. "But she ought not to have said anything to you at all."

"Please don't be mad," Evan said. "I knew something wasn't right with Brooks, and I saw him messing with Sophia myself. She only confirmed my suspicions."

"We're not mad," Iris said. "It just would've been better for you to not get involved."

"Less dangerous," Antonio said.

"I'm already on Brooks's shit list," Evan said. "I might even have a larger target on my back than you."

"If it were anyone else saying that I wouldn't believe them," Antonio said. "But that's just all the more reason why you should stay out of this. We don't want to see you get hurt, especially after saving our daughter."

"I just want to help."

The two cyclops glanced at each other, sharing a look of concern.

"Why do you want to help us?"

"Huh?"

"What is your reason for doing this," Antonio said. "Is there something you're after?"

"No, nothing like that," Evan said. "I just..."

"...?"

"Last semester," Evan said. "There were a lot of people treating me like I was some kind of savior. But... I didn't really help anyone, even when Brooks showed up and started pushing people around. I just had fun on my own."

"Oh, but that's not your fault," Iris said.

"Maybe," Evan said. "But I don't want to be part of the problem anymore. I want to see if I can actually help make things better, like how some people in this town think I can."

Evan picked up his glass and took a big drink of water. He felt silly talking about solving people's problems like some sort of superhero, but he had been honest.

"What would you do to help?" Antonio said.

"Well... I know Brooks is trying to get your artifact," Evan said. "Sophia didn't tell me anything about it, don't worry. But I think I can help you keep it safe."

"How?"

"I can put it in the same place Sophia is," Evan said.

This was the real reason Evan had requested a meeting with Sophia's parents. He knew their worst fear was their artifact falling into the wrong hands. He wasn't sure what kind of security they had on it, but he doubted it could be as great as the hidden library. He figured they could stash it there until Brooks gave up, and they could just focus on surviving until then.

"And where is that?" Iris said.

"Well... I can't really say," Evan said. "But it's somewhere only I can get to. It's impossible for the security force to get there, no matter how hard they try."

"Interesting," Antonio said. "How do we know you wouldn't just lock it in this secret place and never return it?"

"Umm, faith, I guess?" Evan said. "Sophia is already there. Maybe you could just make her the guardian, or whatever."

Antonio laughed and shook his head.

"I know you mean well, but there's too much risk in this idea of yours," he said. "I'm afraid we just cannot pass our responsibility over so easily."

"I get it," Evan said. "I just... I just wanted you to know there was another option if you needed it."

"You're a good kid," Antonio said.

"I try," Evan said smiling.

Evan had no intention of pursuing the topic further. He knew it was a long shot that the family would hand over their most prized possession. If it had been that easy to convince them, they most likely would have had the artifact in some sort of super magic bank instead of in their own hands. But still, if Brooks should do something drastic and try to wipe out their family, Evan had at least shown them a new possible road they could flee down.

It wasn't much longer after the conversation died down that their food arrived. They made small talk discussing school and Sophia as they dug into their entrees. At one point, Evan almost choked on his food because of an eye related joke Antonio told. Seeing Evan so tickled by it, Antonio began to unleash a whole arsenal of his best eye jokes and puns. Iris groaned through many of them, but she didn't put a stop to it. She instead explained to Evan how it became common for their kind to poke fun at themselves in order to lessen the tension between them and others that perceived them as freaks. At that point, Evan wasn't surprised to hear about the racism they had to deal with throughout history. It was an interesting conversation, and the veal was every bit as good as Antonio had claimed.

Evan put his napkin on his plate in the universal sign of being done with his meal. He was full, and he could tell he had overeaten a bit. He checked the time and saw it had been over an hour since he arrived. He felt guilty thinking about Alex and her mom waiting for him out in the main floor. Hopefully they had enjoyed some good food just like he had.

"Evan," Antonio said. "What do you know about the Eye of Kronos?"

"Honey, I don't think -"

"It's ok, dear," Antonio said to his wife. "I'll take responsibility for this."

Evan was caught off guard by the shift in topic back to the family's artifact. He had thought all that business was settled and the only thing left to discuss was who would pay for the check.

"I don't know much about it, except for some rumors," he said. "Like, that it can see the future, or something like that."

"That it can," Antonio said with a serious nod. "More accurately, it allows the user to see into the flow of time."

"What... does that mean?"

"The Eye can show the user events of the past that have already happened, events of the present that are currently happening, or... it can show the events of the future that might come to pass."

Evan shifted in his chair and tried to understand what he had just heard.

"So... the future isn't set?" he said.

"That's exactly so," Antonio said. "What the Eye can show you is the possible futures that could come to be depending on certain choices."

"It sounds like someone using it could make whatever future they wanted," Evan said.

"Yes, exactly," Antonio said. "You see why it is so imperative that it not fall into the wrong hands."

Evan nodded. Just like when he had discussed the artifact with Alex when she first told him the rumors, it was easy to understand it's awesome and terrifying potential. He knew it was something Brooks should never have, but ever since he learned about the artifact, there was one question that had been lingering in the back of his head.

"Has the Titan family ever used it to make the future they wanted?"

"Never," Antonio said. "We have sworn to never use it. Our task is only to protect it from misuse."

"If you don't plan to use it," Evan said. "Wouldn't it just be easier to destroy it?"

"There are many in our family that want to," Iris said.

"But there are more of us that believe this artifact has a purpose yet to be fulfilled," Antonio said.

"Like... a prophecy?" Evan said.

"Nothing as concrete as that," Antonio said. "But... the artifact... it has a will of its own.

"It's alive?"

"That's hard to say," Antonio said. "But you asked whether our family had shaped the future, and I told the truth that we hadn't. But that doesn't mean someone else hasn't. The mages that used it in ages long past, they all spoke about the Eye guiding them to the right choice. As if the Eye was guiding them down the path it chose for us all."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Well... partly because I feel like I owe it to you for saving my daughter," Antonio said with a smile. "But also, because if something were to threaten our world, there aren't too many generator mages around anymore that could use the Eye. It might be that it is your fate to be entangled with this artifact in the end. If that's the case, well, I think you deserve fair warning, that's all."

"..."

Antonio and Iris stood and put their coats on in preparation to leave.

"It's because of this that we still believe the Eye has a reason for being here," Antonio said putting on his fedora. "If the Eye didn't think it needed to be available to us anymore, we think it would have found a way to be gone by now."

"I see," Evan said.

"If it comes down to it, we will destroy it before it falls into evil hands," Antonio said. "But, if we can keep it alive by stowing it away with you, well... we will consider that as well."

"Ok, thank you."

"Take care of yourself," Iris said. "And say hello to Sophia for me."

"Oh, and we got the check," Antonio said with a tip of his cap.

Sophia's parents were soon gone, and Evan was left alone in the dusty room with a whole lot more to think on than he had expected. In the end, he decided the meeting had been a success. He had put forth his plan to help, and they were at least considering it. He even got a lot of incredibly secret information about the Eye of Kronos. He wanted nothing more than to rush out and share all he had learned with Alex and her mom, but he knew he couldn't. They would just have to settle for the new one-eyed jokes he learned.