Julia followed Pete through the dim streets until they reached a run-down warehouse. She eyed it skeptically.
"So what is this place exactly, besides a health hazard?" she asked, folding her arms.
Pete smirked, flicking ash from his cigarette. "Time was, this was the finest meat-packing plant in town."
Julia scoffed, stepping over a broken plank. "Yeah, it's a winner." Then, eyeing the star tattoo on his arm, she added, "Hey, that star what's that about?"
"I earned it," Pete said, pushing open a creaky door. "You will too, with effort. Whole sleeve of 'em if you stick with it."
"What's it mean, though?"
Pete chuckled. "You ask a lot of questions."
"Yeah, sure do," Julia shot back, stepping over the corpse of a rat as they entered.
---
Inside, a girl perched on a counter in a small room, flipping through a battered book. Her eyes lit up when she saw the shelves of magical texts and trinkets around her.
"Oh my god… these are all real? Every one of them?" she said, breathless with excitement.
Pete gestured lazily. "Guys, this is Julia. Julia, these are my associates."
There were four others two girls, two guys.
The girl on the counter, wearing a red headwarmer, stared at Julia. "Holy shit."
Pete poured himself a coffee and smirked. "And that is… what's your name, sweetie?"
The girl glanced up from her book. "Oh. Marina. I'm new."
"Yeah, no kidding," Pete muttered. He turned to one of the guys. "Everything up and running?"
"Yeah."
"Good. Julia, Marina grand tour time."
Pete strolled off, Marina hopped down to follow, and Julia trailed them.
As they walked through a hallway, Julia eyed the worn walls. "So… who are these people exactly?"
Marina snorted. "You seriously don't know? What are you even doing here?"
"I don't know," Julia said with a shrug. "Waiting for something interesting to happen. What about you?"
"Magic is what I'm doing here. We're hedge witches. Hedge witches. Jesus, are you even…"
"Girls, play nice," Pete said, leaning on a door. "Here's where we keep our ingredients. Gotta keep 'em safe."
Julia peered in. "It's a…"
"Meat locker. Or was. Now it's stocked like the end of a rainbow."
Marina stepped inside, and Pete gestured for Julia to follow. "After you."
Julia stepped in, and the door clanged shut behind her. She froze at the sound of the lock sliding into place.
"Come on, Pete, don't be an asshole! Hey! Open the door!" she banged on the metal. "Hey, dude!"
Outside, Pete paused, the hand carrying his cup stopped. 'This doesn't classify as danger, does it?' he thought, remembering the threat that loomed over him. 'Nah.' He walked off.
---
Back at Brakebills…
The crowd of students spilled out of the building, shaken. Quentin rushed straight to Alice, breathless.
Kai watched, shaking his head, smirking. 'Oh look, the brave knight runs to the damsel. Classic.'
Alice raised a hand. "Don't."
"We …we did that spell," Quentin started to say.
Kai stepped in, clapping a hand on Quentin's shoulder. "Hey, buddy. Mind keeping the suspicious behavior to a minimum? Maybe lower your damn voice?" His grin was all charm. Alice shot him a look.
She started to walk off, but Kai said, "Ah, ah, ah. Unfortunately, the golden retriever's got a point."
Quentin blinked. "Hey!"
Kai pointed between them. "Look, if they find out.."
Quentin panicked. "No one's going to find out!"
Alice turned back, eyeing Kai. "Kai… what was that?"
Kai tilted his head, playing dumb. "What was what?"
"Those spells. They're not in any Brakebills book. Where did you learn them?"
Quentin joined in. "Yeah, man. Seriously. Where?"
Kai tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm… oh yeah, those spells. I found 'em in this worn-out book at a garage sale. Next to a stack of Reader's Digest. Real bargain."
"Come on. Be serious."
"I am being serious."
Before they could press him more, they heard a voice.
"There they are!" Margo called out, striding toward them with Eliot.
"Well, well, well," Margo grinned. "If it isn't the handsome knight. How about you come save me?"
Kai gave a dramatic bow. "Oh, I definitely don't mind rescuing a damsel."
Margo smirked. She turned to Alice. "Poor thing. You okay?"
Eliot, with an arm around Quentin, announced dramatically, "Nurse! We need drinks. Stat."
He led Quentin off, Margo at his side. Eliot glanced back. "Kai, come along!"
Kai waved. "Be right over. Got something to do first."
---
Later in his room…
'Something's wrong with me,' Kai thought as he shut his door. The image of the Beast ripping out Fogg's eyes and the dead professor barely disturbed him.
'Why didn't that shake me?* he wondered. 'Is it this place? Or am I just… changing? He thought of how he was blending Kai Parker's persona with traces of his old self.
'Well… at least I left out the full-blown psychopathic tendencies. So that's a win. Lol.'
Just then, Leo walked in. "Hey dude."
"Bye dude," Kai said, brushing past him.
Leo blinked after him. "Ooookay then."
---
At the Physical Kids Cottage…
Kai stepped inside, his eyes lighting up at the sight of the stocked bar and the lively chaos.
"Oh, this is so much better than real life," he chuckled.
"What?" a guy nearby asked.
Kai ignored him, surveying the bottles. 'Pretty sure some of these mixed right could knock out a dragon.'
A girl winked at him from a couch. Kai smirked, shaking his head.
'Brakebills… I'm going to enjoy you to the fullest.'
He focused his hearing and froze.
"I killed someone," Eliot's voice drifted from a side room.
Kai blinked. 'Wow, just dropping that like a mic. Quentin must be thrilled.'
"What?" Quentin asked, stunned.
"I was 14," Eliot admitted. "He used to beat me up. I saw him one day, eating a candy bar across the street. A bus came. Bam."
'Bus met bug,' Kai thought, smirking darkly.
"That's when I realized I was telekinetic. Don't beat yourself up, Q. Magic doesn't always come from talent. Usually, it comes from pain."
Kai stepped in, leaning against the doorway.
"Not completely true," he said aloud, joining them.
He sat beside Quentin. "Magic comes from all emotions. My parents taught me it's expression. Connection to the world around you. Eliot? When you wanted him gone and when that desire peaked the world answered."
Eliot blinked. "Huh. I never thought of it like that."
Kai just grinned. "That's what I'm here for."
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