September in Salus

September 1st

The boy hunched in the corner of the cell was wearing a soccer jersey. Caelum was doing his best to focus on the interrogation, but it had been going on for two and a half hours already, and his mind was wandering. It had latched onto the idea that perhaps this boy- Caelum remembered from the beginning of the interrogation that his name was Dominic- was a soccer player in addition to a fan, and that he could be a good contribution to the Salus Manticores, Caelum's soccer team.

Dominic leaned against the lead-lined wall of the cell, hugging his knees. His dark hair flopped into his half-closed eyes, and he was shivering. He tugged on the neckband of his jersey as though that could make him warmer. Caelum wished he could offer Dominic his sweater, though he wasn't sure that an extra layer of fabric could ease Dominic's obvious state of shock. Dr. Nichols noticed how uncomfortable Dom was, and he seemed as eager as the rest of the Council members to finish the interview. "Dominic, do you, to your knowledge, have anyone in your family who might have any knowledge of this place? Anyone at all."

Dominic clasped his hands together to keep from fidgeting. "Well... I... I don't think so. I have a cousin who works in Las Vegas."

Dr. Nichols gave a laugh that he quickly turned into a choking cough. He cleared his throat. "One last question, then, Dominic. Are you absolutely sure you haven't had magical symptoms until a few days ago? Remember, magical symptoms include a headache, a feeling of- oh, how to describe it- of energy under your skin, and the ability to sense the magic of others."

Dominic gave him a blank stare. Caelum could only imagine how utterly lost he must be feeling. Finally, he gave a brief, painful nod. Dr. Nichols sighed. "Dominic, we're going to have to keep an eye on you, and further interrogations may be in order, but we're not going to do a memory survey." He turned to the Council, a group of adults gathered around the cell and trying to hide their yawns. "You're all dismissed, but Caelum, could you stay here for a minute?"

"Of course." Caelum tried not to stare at Dominic as the Council members left.

"Caelum, I'd like you to take Dominic on a tour of Salus. Then you two can go to dinner. You don't have a roommate, correct?" he asked. Caelum nodded. "Can he stay with you? And will you give him his first magic lesson tomorrow?"

"Sure." Caelum tried to make eye contact with Dom, who looked away. "Has anyone gotten his stuff yet?"

"We'll deliver it straight to your room once it gets here." Dr. Nichols leaned closer to Caelum. "Try to make him feel at home, okay? Oh, and give him this."

Caelum took the offered card from Dr. Nichols. It was plain white with a blue stripe at the bottom and the words Melior Te Sumus at the top. Before Caelum's eyes, Dominic Wise printed itself across the card.

Once Dr. Nichols left, Caelum tapped the card to a keypad on the wall beside the cell door. There was a dull buzz as the card was rejected. Caelum groaned and pulled his own card out of his pocket. It was white with a copper stripe, and bore the words Caelum Gray, Junior Council Member. He tapped it and the lock clicked.

Caelum waited for Dom to exit the cell, but Dom remained huddled in the corner. Sighing, Caelum entered the cell to help him up. The second he stepped into the cell, he felt his magical energy dissipate. He dragged Dom to his feet. As soon as they stepped out of the cell, Caelum could feel the magical energy radiating off Dom. It was erratic and felt like an unsteady vibrating in Caelum's ears. It was clear that he hadn't had any magical instruction and was buzzing with uncontrolled energy. He gave the card Caelum offered him a wary look. "What is this?"

"It's a key card," Caelum said. "It opens most doors here."

"Yours is different." It wasn't a question but a dull observation, and Caelum noticed that at some point during the interrogation, any light that had been in Dominic's eyes had gone out.