Felix is stuck in a never-ending cycle of job applications, rejection letters, and the crushing weight of existential dread. When a job offer magically appears in his inbox with a salary so ridiculously high it could pay off his student loans and bu...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I should've known Cain dragging me out at the crack of dawn was suspicious as hell. Felix thought incredulously.
Felix stood at the edge of the barrier, staring at the shimmering line that marked the boundary between the ordinary world and the unknown depths of the Wishmaking organization. Cain's casual demeanor wasn't doing much to ease the knot in Felix's stomach. The barrier pulsed with a faint blue light, almost like it was breathing.
"You sure this thing isn't going to fry me?" Felix quipped, running a hand through his bright red hair, still catching his breath from being forced to go down through the tedious fifty or so flights of stairs while the other man just teleported. He shot a glance at Cain, who seemed more interested in a loose thread on his sleeve than the magic pulsing inches from Felix's face.
"You'll be fine, you still got your sister's wish active," Cain replied, not even looking up. "As long as you don't do anything stupid. Which, considering your track record, might be asking a lot."
Felix rolled his eyes, but felt the protective layer of the wish wash over him, grateful for his sister's desire. "Man, thanks for the vote of confidence." He took a deep breath, his heart racing as he reached out to touch the barrier. The moment his fingers made contact, the magic rippled outward, washing over him like a wave; fighting, for a moment. It buzzed him at first, but the force of his sister's protection and his emblem as Wishmaker dulled it to a soft brush—the force of the barrier was warm, almost comforting, like the first touch of sunlight after a cold night.
For a second, he hesitated, his mind racing back to everything that had happened since he stumbled into this bizarre world. The job offers he hadn't applied for, the rejection of his trips abroad, the strange power he seemed to have always been able to tap into, and now this—a barrier that marked the boundary of a reality he was both familiar and unfamiliar with.
A flash of Dahlia's face crossed his mind. She had been quieter than usual when they last spoke, her eyes a little too sharp, her words a little too measured.
'The contract, Felix?' She said measuredly. 'It's magically binding, I guess. Whatever that means. Apparently my mouth's, y'know, sworn shut. Whatever. I'll be safe; I trust you.' But he already can see the faraway look in her eyes and picking over the strings of her worn shawl. A familiar sense of shame washes over him, but he says his jokes, and his goodbyes. But he thinks, carefully, staring at a copy of his contract.
Protected? But to what extent? He poked holes at the contract with Cain yesterday, with Miri murmuring behind them, that there was something so inconspicuous with the wordings within it.Tax-free death payment? Seriously?
Maybe it was nothing, or maybe it was everything. But Felix wasn't one to dwell on maybes. He stepped forward, letting the barrier wash over him, feeling the magic sink into his skin. He'll deal with it later.
