BANG.

   The floor beneath me rattled. I jumped so hard that the book that had been hovering hit the ground face-down. Alexie winced as he picked it up to prevent the spine from breaking. I gaped at the attic door. "Did someone just knock on the front door?"

   I'd been with Alexie for two months now. Never had that happened. It's just been us for sixty days. I felt like I was going crazy with being cooped up. I'd kind of forgotten that other people existed. 

   He stood and shot me a sharp look. "Stay here until I signal."

   His tone said not to argue. I nodded instantly and he disappeared down the stairs. Scrambling up, I moved to the door and craned my ears. Was he expecting someone? Or something? I heard the front door creak open. There was a surprised exhale.

   "Dornar, what are you doing here?"

  "Easy," chuckled a deep voice, "Alexie, it's just me. May I come in?"

   Apparently Alexie let him in because the door creaked again. "It has been some time, Dornar."

   "It certainly has been." I heard someone sit down on the couch. "It's about time we caught up. Especially after that fiasco in Memphis."

   Alexie grunted slightly. The new guy -- Dornar -- chuckled. "So, what have you been up to? Finally taken in an apprentice?"

   Alexie sighed. I blinked as fog twisted up the attic hallway. Taking that as his signal to come down, I padded down the stairs and peeked around the corner. He stood to the side of the couch. A black head was facing away from me. He started to turn my way as Alexie gestured for me to come over.

   The man's eyes widened. They were light brown in color against his darker skin. He wore the same kinda cloak Alexie had been the night of the 'fiasco' in Memphis. My attention was drawn to his hip, where a sword was hung from it. The brown told me it was in a type of sheath but I'd still never seen anything like it before.

   The guy gawked. "I was kidding."

   I crossed my arms, feeling defensive. "Surprise?"

   "How long have you been training here?"

   I shrugged. "'Bout two months."

   "Level and Stage?"

   "Huh?"

   Alexie interjected, "Level one, Stage five."

   Dornar blinked and looked at him, aghast. "Already? Two months?"

   Alexie nodded. "Yes?"

   "What does that even mean?" I asked, eyes narrowed. It sounded suspicious. Dornar looked at me oddly. "You're a mage and you don't know what it means?"

   "Dornar, use your sight," said Alexie sharply.

   "Oh." Dornar looked back at me and I suddenly didn't like the way he was staring. I squinted at him suspiciously. His eyes briefly flashed and my jaw fell open. "What--?"

   "I see," muttered Dornar. "My apologies about my assumption. I didn't realize you were raised with humans."

   "How the absolute heck--" Then it hit me and I deflated. "Oh. Seers? Right?" I looked at Alexie for confirmation. He nodded. Dornar bobbed his head. "My kind are gifted with the ability to see things others can't. My specialty is seeing mindsets."

   "What's that mean?"

   "It means I can determine a lot about a person," he explained. "I can look at someone and know what they are. I can look at you and see you have a human mindset. It's weaker than it used to be, but it's stubborn." A knowing look crossed his face. "You'd rather stay human, wouldn't you?"

   My jaw tightened and I felt cold. "Stay in your own lane," I snapped at him. He chuckled. "Sorry, I know seers can be disconcerting. But we are good at keeping secrets." He looked toward Alexie. "She's advanced much further than you've anticipated, too. Can I see?"

   I looked toward Alexie, still miffed, but he nodded. Blowing a strand of hair out of my face, I looked down at my hands and decided to pull up the latest lesson I'd gotten ahold of. Crimson swirled around my hands instantly. Conjuring it was easy now. It took two seconds instead of two minutes. 

   From there, I concentrated and pressed my hands together. Soon it created a weight into my palms. I pulled my hands apart and stretched the sphere into a rope. I eyed my target -- a glass on the table -- and whipped my hand out. The rope snapped out and the weight on the end caused it to wrap around the glass. I yanked it back and dissolved the rope, the glass landing neatly in my hands.

   I looked back up. Dornar was staring. Alexie covered his mouth slightly like he was hiding his expression. "You can do all of that? Without a staff?" He sounded appalled.

   Alexie's pale eyes glinted wit mischief. I grinned slightly. "She's never touched a staff," he said.

   "Well, I mean, the one time I did, I used it to beat up a lady." I shrugged and recalled how I'd smashed Dani's head with Alexie's staff back in Memphis. I could've sworn that the staff still had the dent, too. 

   Dornar looked apprehensive. "You've hit a woman on the head with a staff?"

   "Yup. Just about knocked her out, actually."

   His eyes were wide and accusing as he looked at Alexie. "You willingly brought this girl into our world?" His tone was horrified but I detected the amusement. Alexie snorted in response. Dornar sighed and shook his head. "Well, I actually did come here for a reason. The Community Meeting is in three months."

   My eyebrows furrowed as Alexie pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just my luck, it happens while I have an apprentice." He looked at Dornar accusingly. "I suppose you're here to report whether or not I've taken one, which means I have to attend now."

   Dornar grimaced. "Sorry, Alexie."

   "Attend what?" I interjected.

   "It's the blasted Annual Community Meeting," muttered Alexie. "All neutrals are required to attend if they have an apprentice. It's utterly useless and annoying, the Council likes to pretend it's not to make themselves look better."

   "So we have to go?"

   Dornar nodded. "It's in that same village as three years back. Alexie has never had to attend, since he has never had an apprentice, but now he must." He glanced at an irritated Alexie. "And it does have some use. It keeps tabs on the new generation of neutrals."

   "Do you think we could still go without it?"

   Dornar smiled. "That I won't deny."

   Alexie looked toward me and I felt cold go down my spine. "Three months," he repeated softly. My hackles went up. "Three months to get you up to par."

   Uh oh.

   Had I considered the past two months difficult, I was kidding myself. The lessons turned more drastic. No longer was I given baby steps to acclimate. Now it was straight into the deep-end of whatever the task was. I had no idea Alexie had been going at an easy pace until he suddenly wasn't.

   I finally had enough. He wasn't explaining the sudden rush. One morning, I sat down at the breakfast table -- without grabbing any food -- and stared him down. He pretended not to notice, but I knew he had. He always saw everything. It was annoying.

   "Okay," I said firmly, crossing my arms. "What's the deal?"

   "What do you mean?" Though he knew full-well what I meant.

   "You know what I mean. Why are you speeding this training up? It's just about killing me."

   His eyes flicked up and met mine. He exhaled and leaned back, carefully setting down his spoon. He seemed to chew on his words carefully. "What do you know about me?"

   The question caught me off guard. I blinked. "Uh, not much. You're a hermit, quiet, annoying stubborn, and don't like people. And you have no friends or I'd have met them by now. I guess Dornar is really the only person who knows you, huh?"

   His head shook. "No."

   "Okay, so two friends instead of one?"

   He didn't laugh. "In the magick world, an apprentice is seen as an extension of their master. Thus, you will be targeted by your peers -- or my own -- simply because you are my apprentice."

   My eyes widened. "You're serious?" Alexie nodded. "Why?"

   "I'm not exactly popular," he said dryly.

    "You're not a criminal or something, are you?"

    "No. Far from it." He raised an eyebrow down at the table and looked back up. "It is difficult to explain. Many are envious or bitter of me. Mainly because I do my best to remain hidden. As you stated, I don't like people. They are . . . complex. I prefer to observe."

   "Why would that make people envious?"

   He shook his head. "You are going to have to see for yourself at the meeting. But just trust that many will want a piece of your hide simply because you are my apprentice. My reputation will explain for you."

   I rubbed my head. This sounds like high school. I only survived it because I boxed my way out of any rough patches. I'm probably going to end up doing the same thing here. "So that's why you're speeding things up."

   Alexie nodded. "This way, you stand a chance against them. I'd rather not see my apprentice be crushed, as disbelieving as it sounds."

   Wait a hot minute. Is he teasing? I gawked. "Did you just make a joke?" His look turned cold instantly so I just shook my head. "Never-mind. I get it. Well, that makes things easier for me."

   "How?" He sounded genuinely curious.

   I cackled darkly. "I love competition, especially when I can win it. Now I'm motivated to get this said and done so I can show those assholes up. Being able to watch the expressions of their faces . . . it's priceless!"

   "If you say so," he remarked.