"Yes."

I see Leo let out a breath, Paris just rolled her eyes and Tymond smiled at me. Hamish got partly out of his seat and shook my hand.

"You made the right choice Cory," Hamish said.

I stay seated in my chair, dazed at the word that just changed my life. Suddenly I have second thoughts.

"I-I don't have to fight in an army or anything do I?"

"Not at all. We don't really have an army. You will be expected to go out and fight at some stage, but you'll go through training first. You don't need to worry."

I let out a breath. I won't be expected to be shooting people. At least not yet.

"Now let's get you a room."

I finally look out the window behind Hamish and notice that it's turned dark. I must've been asleep for a long time.

"We'll put you in the Governor's Room. That was the room you were in when you woke up in."

I nod at that. That room was cool.

"Leo will show you up. Get some rest and we'll talk more tomorrow."

I stand up, and Leo comes around the desk and guides me out the door. We come out into a hallway with a roof that looks as high as the sky. It has painted people on it, with gold linings. Various portraits of people in fancy clothes line the walls. After walking for a bit, we enter a giant hall with floors and staircases of marble. A giant chandelier hangs from above. I stop and stare up at it.

"Pretty impressive isn't it?"

I turn at Leo's voice.

"Yeah. Did you grow up here?"

"I lived on the streets until Hamish found me. I was 12. I've been here ever since. Paris is from a magical family. Her parents are both on the North American Council. Tym's mother was on the Council, but she married a Cion, which was against the law back then. She was banished. Hamish was the only Quater who would take him in. They've been here since they were nine. Hamish is like us, someone who had no magical parents but still got the gift. He's one of the most powerful Jumpers we've seen in a while. He was appointed as head of here about 15 years ago. Before any of us moved here it was just him patrolling Brooklyn."

We've reached the fourth floor (lucky I didn't take that jump out the window earlier) and turn right down another hallway, just as grand but not as high. We stop at the third door on the right.

"Here we are. If you need anything, Tym and I have a room down the left side of the hallway."

"Goodnight," he says.

"Goodnight," I say.

He looks like he's about to say something else, but he doesn't. Instead, he gives me an old key with a tassel attached which I'm guessing is the key to my room. He walks away going back down the staircase. I unlock my room and walk inside. I rip off my shoes and collapse straight on the bed. The last thing I see before I fall asleep is a man with darkness pouring out of his mouth painted on the roof.

I wake up to a knock on the door. I open my eyes, glaring at the sudden light from the windows. I sit up and take a moment to appreciate the beauty of a new morning of sunshine over Brooklyn. There's another knock on the door. I go over and open it and find myself face to face with an elderly man with a moustache that I've never seen before.

"Everybody is downstairs already. They asked me to come and get you."

I try and struggle through the haze of sleep.

"Who-who are you?"

"I'm Isaac. The butler. Mr Allen asked me to come and tell you to freshen up and come downstairs. He also said to give you these clothes," he said, holding out some jeans and a grey t-shirt.

"Who's Mr Allen?"

"Hamish Allen."

Oh. That explains it. I thank him and tell him I'll be down in a few minutes. He says to ring the bell (pointing to a little button beside the bed I hadn't even noticed) and he'd come get me and take me to the dining room. He leaves looking slightly annoyed with me. I don't know if it's something I did or if that's just how he's always like.  I don't have much experience dealing with butlers. I take a hot shower, enjoying the fact that I have all the time I want. Back in the boarding school, after 1 minute and 59 seconds exactly and they turn the water off. Then I remember that everybody else is probably waiting for me and quickly get out and get dressed. I press the little button and Isaac appears a minute later. I can't help but think of him like a jack-in-the-box. I nearly laugh at the thought of this old man jumping out of a box when you press a button. He just gives me a stern look as though he knows what I'm thinking and takes me to the dining room. We go downstairs to the ground floor, but instead of going to the right hallway where the study was, we go left down a different hallway. It leads us to a grand dining room, with a long rectangular table made of polished wood. There is another chandelier hanging from the ceiling, though not as big as the one in the foyer. Down the other end sits Leo and the rest. Tymond beckons me over. I go and sit down with them. 

"Finally you're here! How long does it take you to oil your hair?" 

I ignore Paris and Leo's chuckle and instead focus on the cereal on the table. Weetbix, CocoPops, Nutri-Grain and oats. I choose oats. It's weird, but my favourite breakfast is a plain bowl of oats and milk. Something about it just makes me feel calm. I'm glad the breakfast is simple. After seeing the place, I was worried breakfast was going to be a five-course meal. 

"So, Cory. I was thinking that Leo and you could work on your Awakening today."

I try and look confused. I'm hoping he'll get my message. I've already asked loads of questions since I've got here and I don't want to make a habit of it. Though, to be fair, I just did find out that magic exists. He eventually gets my message.

"Awakening is the term we use to describe when a mage's gifts are being discovered by that mage. Once you've done that, we can help you strengthen your gifts, and train you to fight."

I smile at the idea of me strengthening my gifts and learning to fight. After that breakfast is pretty much a normal breakfast. Once we're done, Leo gets up and gestures for me to follow we leave the others in the dining room and go up to the first floor. On the left, we enter a giant training room. There's dummies, weapon racks, sparring mats, even a mini boxing ring. He takes me over to the dummies.

"Mages usually come into their gifts when they're under threat. Mine came in when I was attacked by a werewolf that Hamish had been chasing on the street. Lucky for me he was there and took me back here. It was my telekinesis that came in first. After about three years, my telepathy came in, when I had nearly been killed by a demon. Your's first showed when I tried to wipe your mind, and then again when Tym tried to wake you will you were asleep. Your gift knew you were vulnerable and acted out. Once it's been Triggered it's there waiting for you and the key is to unlock it. That's what we're going to try and do today. After practice, it'll get easier and easier to use your gift, and your gift will become stronger."

I nod slowly. It's a lot to take in.

"These are the different categories: Jumpers, Telkies, Telepaths, Pyros, Electrons, Magnetrons. There's more than that, but those are all you need to know for now. You already know the first few. Magnetrons are pretty self-explanatory: they have the ability to manipulate metal. Some gifts only work on people, like Telepathy, but if you're not that and end up being a Pyro, I would rather not get fried to death, so we'll start with the dummies."

We're not very far from the dummies, so I should be able to hit them. Or maybe not. I don't really know how this whole gift thing works. 

"Try and reach down inside of you. Try and find that gift coiling inside of you. Then take hold of it. Remember, the gift is not a separate part of you, it's an embodiment of yourself. Find it and use it."

I take a deep breath and stare at the dummy. I reach down inside of my, stretch my hands forward, and let the power out of me.