Chapter 16

Andy slurped on his slushy as Sarah approached with her tray of food. He took the opportunity to look up in her direction and scan the area behind her. He could tell that she was doing the same behind him. There weren’t many people around them but they felt it was to be alert.

It has only been two weeks since the attack and Andy was already back out in the field. He and Sarah had been sent out to a mall in Maryland. A place rumored to be a hideout for The Circle. The plan was that Andy along with other key members of the Round Table would roam the large mall in hopes of attracting any attention from The Circle and away from lesser-known members of The Final Order so they could snuff out any enemies.

The Round Table also recognized Sarah’s skills during the battle in Salt Lake City, so she was hired to be his permanent bodyguard while out on missions.

“We are going to be really suspicious if we don’t talk,” Andy said.

“Fair point. What do you want to talk about?”

“Tell me about magic. I don’t really know much about it other than it’s powerful.”

“Okay so to start off there are three types of magic users. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses. The first is a Scholar. That me.” She said pointing at herself. She continued “I use paper talismans to cast spells. They are quick to cast and are powerful. Plus, they are completely silent when I cast them. The only issue is that I’m limited to the talismans I have on me and once they are used, they are useless.”

“So, if there was a fire and you didn’t have a water talisman then you would have to get help?”

“Yup and if I run into someone super strong and I don’t have a talisman, then I’ll be screwed. Next type of magic user is a Sorcerer, that’s what George is. He speaks the chants for the spells that I cast. They are by far the most powerful, and they are only limited by their knowledge. Their weakness is that the spells have to be spoken so they can’t be silent, and they take time to perform.”

“So, if I can stop them from speaking then they are powerless?”

“That’s right. But as you saw with George once they get going it difficult to stop them. The last user is an Artifact. They use items left behind from Xelos’ time to cast spells. They vary in power, and they have different weaknesses. The most common one is a limit to the number of times they can be used. My talismans are actually based off them and like my talismans once they are used up then they are gone.”

“Alright, I think I’ve got the gist of it. Thanks. Why did Damus tell me never to use magic?”

“Because when you become a user, you’re bound by the law of conservation of energy meaning you cannot create or destroy energy. If you do, then your body will find a way to make it work. By using magic, you create energy out of nothing, so you have to give something up in your body.”

“That’s terrifying. I wonder why they didn’t tell me about it before.”

“No clue, you’ll find a few things in the final order doesn’t make sense. Just so you know this doesn’t count as the date you owe me.”

“Why not? We are at a mall and are having a nice time.”

“Well, there’s no fancy dinner or movie.”

Andy let out a chuckle. “What? Five Guys not fancy enough for you?”

She flipped him off and smiled.

“Tell you what.” He said. “Once we are finished here, I’ll take you out on a nice date.”

“Yay.”

Andy reached across and grabbed Sarah’s hand and smiled. She jolted in shock and blushed.

But Andy’s eyes were deadly serious. “Don’t look behind you but I see the guy that Lukas fought the other week. He’s watching us with two others.”

“What do you want to do?” She asked while placing her other hand on his.

“They probably don’t know who you are. I’ll leave for the bathroom and call Jason and let him know.”

“What if they follow you?”

“Then you follow them. But I doubt that they would fight me. They probably have a similar rule of engagement as us.”

“True.”

With that, Andy stood up and walked away. He pulled out his phone, turned the corner into the bathroom and called Jason.

“This is Jason. Go ahead.”