"Are you sure that's him?"
"Yeah, no doubt about it."
"Damn, I think you're right. He really does look like her."
"So...what should we do? He's not alone, so this won't be easy."
"Let's scope them out for a bit. Wait until they're somewhere quiet."
"Sounds good to me."
-(o)-
Shortly after Elizabeth and her crew departed, the group comprised of Evan, Valerie, and Freddy also left the hotel and made their way to their destination. However, unlike the previous trio, the three of them only needed to walk to where they needed to go. Which was a small office building a couple of miles down the shoreline.
"So...what exactly are we going to be doing?" Valerie questioned her charge as she walked a couple of steps behind him.
"To be honest..." Evan looked back at the tall blonde. "Not much. All you guys really need to do is just chill out in the lobby until me and my coworkers are done."
"That's it?" Freddy quirked an eyebrow at the 'wind magic' user.
"Yeah, pretty much!"
Valerie and Freddy gave each other a pair of confused looks before Evan started speaking again.
"Yeah, yeah, I know...boring as hell, right? That's just how these things go. But, look on the bright side, you guys get to spend the next few hours relaxing while I slave away in front of my laptop listening to a bunch of people I barely like."
That statement made Valerie perk up a bit. "That reminds me, what do you do for work anyway? My aunt said that you were some popular programmer."
For a brief moment, Evan pondered over how exactly he should answer that question. But the 'wind magic' user quickly came up with what he thought would be a satisfactory answer. "Most of my job involves penetration testing and troubleshooting software programs. But I do a fair share of web development and backend maintenance."
'I don't know what the hell he just said.' Valerie thought to herself as she nodded while pretending to understand what their charge was telling them. The 'fire magic' user didn't understand a thing about all that high-tech mumbo jumbo. Hell, she barely understood how her own phone worked half the time. However, the last thing she was about to do was embarrass herself in front of a hot guy. So for the time being, the woman would simply pretend to be somewhat knowledgeable about this kind of stuff.
"Sounds like a lot." Freddy then said before asking another question. "Who do you work for, anyway?"
"Technically, I'm a freelance contractor, but I do government contracts from time to time. Nothing that lasts more than a few months, though. I enjoy my freedom too much to be locked down in an office all day."
"Impressive. Sounds like a fun line of work."
'No wonder he makes so much money. The guy practically has every nerd's dream job.' Valerie internally commented. It was no secret that the MacNamara family was rolling in cash, more so than any other of the big sorcerer families in the country. So, of course, a member of that family would have a great job that most normal people wouldn't be able to work.
There was something about the way Evan answered that question that made Freddy curious. The 'dark magic' user couldn't quite put his finger on it, but the way he said those words was oddly vague. The glasses-wearing teen wanted to inquire about it further, but decided to put it to the side for now.
Barely twenty minutes later, the trio had arrived at their destination. Which was a bland, four-story office building that seamlessly blended in with everything around it. Upon entering, the three sorcerers quickly boarded the elevator and made their way up to the top floor. There, they were met with the sight of a large, open lobby area surrounded by several large office spaces.
'Geez, talk about dull.' Valerie couldn't help but wonder as her eyes scanned over the area. The blonde didn't know what she should've been expecting, but the mere sight of this place was enough to make her want to fall asleep with how bland everything looked. 'Even the people here look generic.'
"MacNamara, is that you?" A voice caught the attention of the trio, causing all of them to look to their right.
The 'wind magic' user quickly put a charming smile on his face and held his hand out towards the new arrival. "Mr. Wilson, it's good to see you again. It's been a while since we've seen each other in person, huh?"
"It sure has." The man now identified as "Wilson" said with a grin. The guy looked to be in his mid-forties, judging by the wrinkles on his face and the not-so-subtle patches of grey in his dark brown hair. And he possessed an average build with no remarkable features whatsoever. "Oh, and who is this you've brought with you today?"
Evan pointed a thumb back at the two agents. "This is Ms. McKenna and Mr. Price, my bodyguards for the day."
"It's nice to meet you, sir." Freddy said as he shook the man's hand.
"And we promise not to cause you any trouble!" Valerie followed with a handshake of her own.
"I see." The man rubbed his chin. "You two are much younger than the last ones MacNamara had with him. What are you, nineteen, twenty?"
"Nineteen, sir." The duo answered simultaneously.
"Younger than both of my kids." Wilson then laughed. "I still don't exactly know why MacNamara has to have muscle with him everywhere he goes, but I guess that's the price you have to pay when your grandfather can buy a small country whenever he feels like it."
"Such is life." The 'wind magic' user shrugged with a smirk before changing topics. "Anyways...we have a lot to do today, right? I'll be ready to start in about ten minutes once I get my laptop set up."
"Excellent!" The middle-aged man nodded. "With any luck, we'll be able to finish everything by the end of tomorrow."
"If I was doing this by myself, we would've been able to finish last week." Evan countered.
"I don't doubt it, but we have to give the new guys time to work through it. As talented as you may be, we can't have you writing the software all by yourself. That's too high of a risk."
"Too high a risk for what?" Valerie couldn't help but ask.
"Classified." Both Evan and his boss said in unison.
"Gotcha...."
With that, Evan and the man, along with a few others, all flooded into a single room before closing the blinds and locking the door behind them. This left Freddy and Valerie nothing to do but relax in the lobby area for the next few hours. Luckily, the place had a television, a snack area, and a spot for them to charge their phones. Everything that the duo would need to pass the time until it was time to head back to the hotel.
"So, what do you think they're doing in there?" Valerie asked her partner while munching on some chips.
"No clue." Freddy shrugged. "Evan said that he works for the government, right? Maybe they're working on some top-secret project that we can't know about."
"You think so?" The blonde quirked an eyebrow. "Why would they do that here, though? A rented office space isn't exactly what I had in mind for stuff like that."
"Maybe that's the point." The 'dark magic' user countered. "Hiding in plain sight, maybe?"
"Hmm..."
"Anyways, since we now have a moment to ourselves, do you mind if I ask you a question?"
"Shoot. But you have to let me ask you one in return."
"Deal!" Freddy replied before moving on. "I apologize if this sounds rude, but I'm genuinely curious. What's the deal with your magic? Why don't you use it more?"
"Because I can't." Valerie replied without missing a beat. "Ever since I awakened my powers, I haven't been able to control them. Every time I try to create so much as a single fireball, it ends up blowing up in my face. Literally. The only thing that I can do reliably is the reinforcement technique."
"Do you know why?"
"From what my family's doctor said, my mana core can't regulate the amount that my body can hold. I guess I simply have too much."
"I see..." Freddy nodded in understanding. This was his first time hearing about this kind of affliction. He, of course, didn't have this problem since he didn't have a lot of mana, but it was interesting to know that having too much mana for your own body was a thing.
"Alright, my turn!" Valerie then sat up a bit in her seat.
"Go ahead."
"What's the deal with you and Cyrus?"
...
...
...
"I'm sorry?"
"You heard me. What's going on there? I know that you're into guys, so I can't help but wonder if you two have something going on."
Freddy paused for a moment before letting out a quick laugh. "Sorry to break it to you, but nothing is going on between us. We're just friends. Plus, he's straight."
"Gotcha." The blonde nodded. "And here I thought my intuition was right on the money."
"Well, it wasn't."
"Can you blame me, though? You two do spend a lot of time together from what I know."
"That's because he's interested in becoming a magical researcher. He spends time in the records room to learn more about cryptids and magic. The only time Cyrus isn't in there is when he's out doing hunts with Watanabe. I can't say that I blame him, though; he's a first-generation sorcerer like me. So of course he'd want to learn more about magic."
"Y'know, my uncle's a magical researcher. He's working at MIT right now. Last I checked, him and his crew were working on some device powered by mana or whatever."
"Really?"
"Yeah, but that's all that I know. I spaced out when he started telling me about it in detail. To be honest, it was all too complicated for me to understand. If it doesn't involve punching something or cutting it into pieces, then I'm the worst person to explain it to."
"Considering how you typically do your work, I'm not really surprised by that."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever...." Valerie smiled at the man before diving back into her bag of chips.
-(o)-
[Six Hours Later]
Once Evan and his coworkers were done with whatever they were doing in their office, the trio of young sorcerers wasted no time in leaving the building. More than happy to soak in a bit of sunlight after being stuck inside that bland office building for the last few hours. Initially, the group was just going to head straight back to the hotel. However, Evan decided that he would treat both Valerie and Freddy to lunch on account of him working longer than he expected to.
"So...what are you guys in the mood for?" The 'wind magic' user looked back at the two agents.
Freddy was quick to give a nonchalant wave of the hand. "Anywhere's fine with me."
"Same." Valerie echoed. "I'm cool with anything as long as it isn't junk food. Too much sugar is bad for my gains."
"I hear you!" Evan laughed. "I've been eating nothing but chicken and potatoes for the last month. This morning was the first time I had something besides oatmeal and apples for breakfast."
Valerie greatly appreciated the fact that someone understood her struggles when it came to keeping up with a proper diet. Even though sorcerers have stronger and more energy-efficient bodies than regular humans, it still took a considerable amount of discipline to maintain a good physique. Especially considering that the majority of her skillset related to her job was all physical.
"I'll never understand you gym rats." Freddy joked. "Don't get me wrong, proper diet and exercise is important. But the way that you guys center your whole lives around it sounds exhausting."
Evan laughed before responding. "I don't disagree, but you can't argue with the results."
The 'wind magic' user then held up his left arm and flexed his bicep. An action that caused a bit of redness on both of the two agents' faces.
Evan was right, you really couldn't argue with the results. The guy was built like a football player. It was obvious that he spent a lot of time training his body. And the way that his arm was ready to pop out of his pink button-up shirt showed that it was time well spent.
'Oh yeah...mama likes.' The blonde took a few mental photos before recomposing herself.
"Thankfully, people like us can gain muscle mass quickly. I was about eighty pounds lighter a little over a year ago."
"Seriously?" Valerie quirked an eyebrow. "That's a serious amount of weight to put on in a year."
"It is. Luckily, one of my sister's minions agreed to be my trainer. Without him, I'd probably still be bone thin right now."
"Who's your coach?" Freddy couldn't help but ask.
"Quintin Vuur."
Valerie almost stopped in her tracks. "Wait...Quintin Vuur? The Quinton Vuur? The DPA agent and super famous Instagram influencer that used to do competitive weightlifting?"
"Yeah." Evan nodded. "He's part of Elaine's little crew. He helped me out quite a bit."
"Man...must be nice." Valerie sighed with a slight twinge of jealousy. She was a big fan of Quinton Vuur, and not just because of his accomplishments.
The guy was one of the most notorious 'fire magic' users in the country, as well as Elaine MacNamra's personal bodyguard. The guy was famous for having the rare ability to control fire that he didn't create himself. It was the kind of edge that every sorcerer with their magic type would've loved to have in their arsenal.
Before the blonde could ask another question, Freddy decided that now was the time to speak up about something that had been bothering him for the last few minutes. "Sorry to interrupt the conversation, but you guys do know that we're being followed, right?"
"Ah, so I wasn't just being paranoid then?" Valerie nodded.
Evan was quick to add his two cents. "I noticed them a couple of minutes after we left the office. They were tailing us earlier as well."
"I counted three of them when we turned the corner earlier."
"Same." Valerie affirmed her fellow agent's count.
Freddy then turned his attention to Evan. "Any idea who they are?"
"They're not sorcerers, I know that much." The 'wind magic' user replied. "Then again, they could be 'dark magic' users who can conceal their mana."
"Not a chance." Freddy said confidently. "A high-level skill like that is hard to come by. And these guys are way too sloppy."
Valerie began to crack her knuckles with a smile on her face. "So...three normies, huh? We can deal with them in no time."
"So bossman, what's the plan?"
Evan tapped a finger to his chin as he formulated a strategy. The easiest move would be to try and lose their pursuers, but since he didn't know the layout of the town all that well, it probably wasn't going to work.
He could also try calling the cops, but that would end up causing a scene. And the last thing he wanted was for his parents to learn about this, which they no doubt would. The young man twirled one of his perfectly twisted dreadlocks in his finger for a good five seconds before the lightbulb went off over his head.
"You guys want to have some fun with these guys? Figure out what their deal is?" The 'wind magic' user looked back at his two guards.
"Does 'fun' possibly involve knocking some teeth out? Maybe breaking a few fingers?" Valerie said with a mischievous grin.
"As long as you promise not to kill anyone."
"Sounds good to me."
"Man...I'm glad that I didn't wear my good suit today." Freddy sighed as he slicked his hair back and took off his glasses. The 'dark magic' user honestly wasn't in the mood for a fight today, but it was obvious that the other two were already committed to it. So, the best option for him to do was to simply roll with it. With some luck, this whole annoyance would be dealt with quickly.
With the three of them now all on the same page, the trio quickly went over their plan before swiftly changing directions. A few dozen yards away, their pursuers continued to follow them. The shady group was completely unaware of what was in store for them.
-(o)-
"Hey, look! They just went down that alley."
"That's a dead end."
"Perfect! Now's our chance, c'mon!"
-(o)-
Not even five minutes after formulating their strategy, the trio of sorcerers found themselves unable to advance any further, courtesy of the giant wall that separated them from the other end of the street. Although it would've been easy for either of them to simply jump over the wall, doing so at this particular moment wasn't necessarily a good idea. Neither was turning around on account of the three goons currently walking their way.
"Well, at least we now know that they're not sorcerers." Evan calmly said with a smile.
"Or Inquisitors." Valerie added in a satisfied tone.
The reason the three were able to confirm this so quickly was the fact that none of the goons noticed that all of them currently had their mana barriers activated. Regular humans were unable to perceive or even see mana. The only ones who were able to do so were Inquisitors, and that was thanks to the special glasses that the group uses to help them see it. Glasses that none of the approaching goons were currently wearing.
"Hey, you guys lost?" The first of the three goons said with a devious smile on his face. The man looked like a professional drug addict thanks to his shaved head, sunken face, and the bags under his eyes.
"As a matter of fact, we are." Evan said with a deceptive grin. "How could you tell?"
"You guys look like tourists." The other goon chuckled. This one was a bit on the taller side with tan skin and long, unruly black hair.
"Is that right?" The 'wind magic' user replied with a fake surprise plastered all over his face. "Well, you aren't wrong, I guess."
The first of the three goons began to speak again. "Enough with the bullshit! Fucking around like this is a waste of my time!"
"I'm sorry?" Freddy raised an eyebrow.
The apparent leader pulled a knife out of his back pocket and pointed it at Evan. The other two quickly followed suit and brandished their own weapons.
"We know who you are, pretty boy! You're that famous singer's brother. Which means that you're probably loaded. I don't know what you're doing all the way out here and I don't care! Here's how we're gonna do this: the three of you hand over all of your valuables and we'll let you go. Try and put up a fight, and I'll gut you and leave your bodies for the rats to pick up!"
The three sorcerers looked at each other for a brief moment before all of them began laughing.
"What the hell's so funny?!" The third goon asked with an annoyed expression.
Valerie was the first to respond, albeit in between chuckles. "You bums! Ah, man...I can't believe I was actually worried about you clowns for a second. Knives, really? How are you trying to rob people and you don't even have guns?"
"My best guess is that they couldn't afford any." Freddy outwardly pondered as he visibly relaxed.
"What are you talking about?"
"We know that you've been following us since this morning, you idiot." Evan replied.
"What the hell did you just call me?"
"An idiot." The 'wind magic' user clarified. "Seriously, did you really think that we'd be dumb enough to wander into a place like this? I mean, come on...we have phones. How would we get lost?"
"Plus, you guys aren't as sneaky as you think you are." Valerie added as she casually removed her jacket. "Here's a helpful tip. When you're tailing somebody, try not to cross their field of vision multiple times."
The third goon, one who was a bit on the taller side with a hefty build and short black hair, seemed to be the only one smart enough to understand what was going on. "So you baited us into following you into this alley?"
"Of course!"
"Personally, I was against the idea. But my friends here overruled me." Freddy said casually.
"Bullshit!" The lead goon was now visibly angry. "Even if that was true, it doesn't change anything. You three still aren't getting away from here. Now, empty out your fucking pockets!"
"Valerie?" Evan looked back at the blonde, who was now in the process of rolling up her sleeves. The look on her face showed that she was more than ready for what was about to happen next.
"I got the big one! He looks like he knows how to take a punch."
Freddy was the next to speak. "I'll take the ugly one with the long hair."
"Which means baldie over here is all mine." Evan nodded while deactivating his mana barrier. "Try to deal with them quickly. It'll draw attention if they make too much noise."
With the green light from her leader, Valerie wasted no time in dashing towards her designated opponent. Closing the distance between the two of them faster than the large goon could react to. The moment the woman was within arm's reach, she delivered a devastating punch to the right side of the man's rib cage. One strong enough to make him take a few steps backward.
Almost as quickly as his partner made her move, Freddy also got up close to his target. The long-haired goon was so distracted by Valerie's display of speed that he was too slow to stop the 'dark magic' user from grabbing his wrist and twisting the knife out of his hand. Something that caused the man to briefly scream out in pain before Freddy used his free hand to cover his mouth.
"Sorry, I don't like screamers." He smirked as he kneed the man in his stomach.
With her target now on the back foot, Valerie quickly lunged at the man and closed the distance yet again. The large goon didn't even get the chance to catch his breath before receiving a flurry of punches to both the face and the ribs that even trained boxers would've been helpless to defend against. In less than five seconds, the man was out cold. Dropping onto the ground as if his very soul had completely evacuated his body.
"Shit!" The lead goon said as he watched his buddies get handled. The sight of this instantly made the guy angry enough to try and lash out at Evan, thinking that it would work in his favor if he managed to get his hand on the man.
Unfortunately for the goon, it didn't work out the way that he planned.
Just as quickly as the man tried to slash him, Evan sidestepped to the goon's left and quickly disarmed him. He then used his left hand to grab the man's wrist before imitating Freddy's earlier action and twisting the blade out of his hand. The 'wind magic' user then followed up by grabbing the upper portion of the man's arm and violently twisting it behind his back before shoving him to the alley wall.
With both of their opponents down for the count, Valerie and Frieddie watched this exchange with interest. Neither one of them expected Evan to know how to handle himself in a fight. And needless to say, they were pleasantly surprised that he was more than just a pretty face. Especially since it made their jobs a lot easier.
"I could just knock you out..." Evan began as a devious grin grew on his face as he further twisted the goon's arm. "But that would be too easy, especially since you had the audacity to come at me with a knife."
"Argh! Fuck you!" The man barked back with a growl.
Evan couldn't help but chuckle at the goon's outburst before placing his hand on the back of the man's head. He knew that doing this wasn't exactly the best idea, especially to a regular human, but the man was a certified piece of shit. So his actions were more than justified in this situation.
"Corruption!" The 'wind magic' user then said as he forced a small portion of his mana into the man's body.
The two agents watched as the veins on the back of the man's head briefly bulged and distorted before the goon's face went completely red and his eyes became bloodshot. Evan then backed away from the guy as he fell to the ground. What happened next was truly something.
The lead goon proceeded to begin vomiting all over the ground. Expelling every last bit of food that was in his system before writhing on the ground in pain. A thin stream of snot was now dripping from his nose, and tears were falling from his eyes.
'Shit...' Valerie thought to herself as she winced at the pitiful sight of the goon.
'He put a hex on him?' Freddy surmised after only a few seconds. 'And a nasty one from the looks of it.'
"Wha-what the hell did y-you just do to me?!" The goon looked up at Evan, only to immediately throw up again.
The 'wind magic' user didn't so much as dignify the man with a response before delivering a swift kick to the side of his head. Not an extremely powerful one, but one strong enough to knock him unconscious.
"Well, that was easy!" Evan then said with a smile as he pushed a few of his dreadlocks out of his face and directed his gaze toward both Valerie and Freddy. "You guys done?"
"Yup!" Valerie replied with a satisfied grin while pointing to the unconscious goon by her feet. Albeit a bit annoyed with how quickly the man went down.
All Freddy did was give the man a thumbs-up. His opponent was now face down on the concrete, also unconscious. "I'm all good over here. Don't you think you went a bit overboard, though? I know that your family basically wrote the book on enchanting, but isn't it dangerous to do that to regular humans?"
"Only if you don't know what you're doing." Evan replied confidently. "Don't worry, though. This one is designed to last for only a few minutes. Hexes may not be my specialty, but I'm more than good enough to do them safely."
Valerie tilted her head in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"
"I'm just better at enchantments and blessings than I am with hexes or curses. That kind of stuff is more of Elizabeth's lane. Then again, neither of us are as good with them as Elaine. Or our cousin Ethan."
When it came to the sorcerer's art of enchanting, there were multiple ways to categorize the different kinds of effects that could be applied to the person who was on the receiving end of one.
Enchantments and blessings were the names given to effects that provided a positive effect of some sort. While curses and hexes were the names given to the ones that imposed a negative one.
Furthermore, enchantments and curses were typically used for long-lasting or permanent effects. While on the other end of the aisle, blessings are hexes were temporary or short-lived in nature. The overwhelming majority of those used were either blessings or hexes due to the low mana cost that they needed to be performed. The shortlist of long-lasting or even permanent enchantments and curses had an extremely high mana cost and required a significant amount of prep time to be properly utilized.
"I gotcha." Valerie simply nodded at Evan's brief explanation.
"So...what do we do with these three?" Freddy asked the other two.
"Let's just leave them." Evan replied. Calling the cops on them would be too much of a hassle. And besides, no one saw them take these guys down anyway. "With any luck, this will be the last we see of them. I doubt they'd be dumb enough to try something like this again."
That answer seemed to satisfy the two agents. With all three of the young sorcerers in agreement, the trio quickly made their way over the wall and down the connecting street. More than ready to resume their previous plans of grabbing a bite to eat before heading back to the hotel. And with all the excitement of their run-in with the group of goons, all three of them were looking forward to a nice day of rest and relaxation.
-(o)-
Character Profile: Evan
Name: Evan Louis MacNamara Paredes
Alias: N/A
Gender: Male
Age: 19
Birthday: March 14th
Birthplace: Charlotte, NC, USA
Height: 77in
Weight: 210lbs
Hair: Black
Eyes: Green
Race: Black/White
Magic: Wind
Occupation: Software Engineer, Hacker, Web Designer, [Redacted]
Stat Chart: A
-Physical Strength - 4
-Intelligence - 5+
-Magic Amount - 5+
-Magical Control - 3.5
-Magic Sensing - 4
-Special - 4
Fun Fact:
-Alma Mater: North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
-Absolutely hates pickles.