Alexie stood up and carried his empty plate to the sink. "We are leaving in half an hour. I suggest you change into whatever you would like to be in when you meet your peers."

   "So not trashy, is what you're saying."

   The door closing after him was his answer. I snickered and put my plate away. Heading to my backpack, I considered my options to wear. Maybe putting my hair up would suffice. I was wearing wearing a grey blouse and jeans, not to mention my converse. I brushed my hair out and fingered the ends, reminding myself that I needed to trim the ends. It tickled my waist now. 

   I smiled faintly, recalling how Simone had always wanted to dye it for me. She was my best friend throughout high school. The way my hair changed between dark red and brown in different lighting drove her crazy. My smile faded. I hadn't seen her for years now. She'd moved to Nevada a long time ago. Man, what I wouldn't give to sit down with her and vent.

   Shaking my head, I dug in my backpack and grabbed the bright red ribbon I always kept in it. It made it easier to see my bag when I traveled. I used it to tie back half of my hair. Though I had no intention of trying to impress these people, Alexie wouldn't have advised checking how I was dressed without a reason.

   My backpack across my shoulders, I waited in the living room until Alexie exited his own room. An overnight bag was across his shoulder. He was wearing black slacks, a pressed white collared shirt, and shiny shoes. He tugged at the collar with a distasteful look. He then made his bag disappear and headed for the door.

   "How are we getting there?" I asked him, trying to hide my laugh at his obvious discomfort. That'd just be mean.

   "Through the nearby nex gate," he answered and pulled open the door.

   "Say what now?"

   He stepped outside with me right behind him. I blinked past the sun in my eyes and squinted at the path that Alexie headed down after locking the door. Small lights sat along the way that helped me understand this path was somewhat used.

   I'd missed being outside, too. My dad and I had always gone camping once a year. Gah. Stop getting nostalgic. I shook my head as Alexie finally answered my question. "Sometimes I forget you were raised as a regular human," he remarked. "You already behave more like a mage that has been training for longer than five months."

   "Thanks?" I gave him a questioning look.

   "A nex gate is a point where nex lines cross. It's similar to a river that flows with a current. Mages can tap into the current and use it to travel."

  "Like teleporting."

   "Similar, perhaps. I suspect that is where humans got their inspiration from."

   A dot connected. "That's how you brought me here, right?" I remembered how we had simply disappeared. The breath had been wrenched from my lungs so quickly that I blacked out. "Through a gate? My dad's apartment was just conveniently sitting on one?"

   Alexie shook his head. "No. That was a nex tunnel. It could be considered a small branch off of the tree of nex lines. The trunk and larger branches are the lines. The smaller branches and twigs are the tunnels. They are considerably smaller and harder to travel through. Many major cities sit on nex gates -- large intersections."

   "Oh." 

   We walked in silence for a bit. I watched my step and followed him down the path. He finally spoke up again. "During this trip, I need you to keep your head down, alright?" He halted to face me. I knew he was serious then. My eyes narrowed as he continued. "Lay low at first. Don't show too many tricks until your peers figure out who you are the apprentice of. If they are forced to figure it out on their own, it ought to lower the chances of someone attempting to take a chunk from you."

   I blinked and nodded. "Yeah, okay. But what kind of tricks?"

   He began walking again. I hurried after him, cursing his long strides. Damn tall people. "Like conjuring your staff and cloak, and using magic without your staff."

   "I thought that was a regular thing?" My eyebrows creased. 

   He shook his head. "No. Only I know how to do it. Don't take that knowledge lightly."

   An apprentice is seen as an extension of their master. I stared at the back of his head. "Wait. You know something the rest of the world doesn't? Did you figure it out on your own?" Was he teaching me differently than the rest of mages my age? I didn't understand. I was missing something.

   He just shook his head. "Trust that conjuring isn't normal. Anyone who sees you do it will know right away who your master is. If you didn't want them knowing, you might as well have been waving a flag with my name on it."

   Why? How would anyone know that's him? I thought this guy was a hermit. I marked that on the list of things to ask about later. "Aight, okay."

  He gave me an odd look, clearly not recognizing the slang. I dragged a hand down my face in exasperation. "It means yes." Man, I can't wait to be around kids my age again. I'm tired of dealing with this guy.

   At last, he stopped. It was a small clearing and the patches of dirt told me he had traversed this spot several times before, where the grass had worn down. "We're here." I looked around skeptically. This was supposed to be where he could teleport us? It looked like a regular patch of forest.

   "Reach out," he suggested at my skeptical face. "What do you sense?"

   I gave a small shrug. Per usual, I was able to reach towards what we called the 'barrier' and felt the small place where I stashed my staff. But just past it was something else -- a new layer. It tugged faintly at my mental fingers. I frowned. It was like a river, pulling gently at my consciousness. I felt like if I stepped in, it would snap my feet out from under me -- as if it had a wicked undertow.

   "Okay, that's cool," I admitted. "Do people get caught up in it?"

   "Sometimes at first." Alexie nodded. "Now, hold on tight." He offered his elbow. My eyes widened and I snatched it quickly, remembering the last time I'd been in one of these. It'd been so strong it literally ripped the air from my lungs and knocked me flat out. Subconsciously, I sucked in a breath and held it tightly.

   Alexie lifted his staff. For a moment there was nothing. Then I felt something tug on my stomach. I was able to pinpoint that it was more of a mental feeling before it actually started to pull. Red automatically covered my arms as I felt the two of us fall into the current.

   Pressure pulled on every inch of my skin. I clenched my jaw, as if it'd keep the air in my lungs, and held on tightly. I could barely feel my grip on his arm. Occasional shapes whizzed past in the darkness. Suddenly I felt us go another direction. Then another. And then it was as if we were spinning in circles. My eyes widened and I was about to throw up when Alexie finally stopped. My feet hit the ground and my knees buckled. I threw my hands up and scarlet hit the ground, pushing me back up before I face-planted.

   "What . . . the heck . . . was that?"

   Alexie was tense. His eyes swept over the vicinity. "We were being followed."

   "Isn't that to be expected?" I groaned and straightened, hugging my stomach. "We're heading to the same place as a bunch of people."

   "Then they would have abandoned the chase after I diverted from that direction," said Alexie curtly. "Instead they kept following. You feel so poor because I took us in random directions until we lost them."

   "So at least that's not what it normally feels like." I blew out my cheeks. "Well, if they cared that much, they'd know you were headed here. Right?"

   His eyes swept over the area. "...Right." Though he didn't sound sure. I shrugged and looked around. We stood in front of a large building, one that reminded me of a library. The walls were made of dark red brick and white columns held up the elegant balconies. A few signs were set up to guide the newcomers as they appeared. Two of them appeared directly nearby with a swirl of fabric. The pair headed for the building.

   I pulled the sides of my hood closer around my face, suddenly relieved that I was wearing the cloak. This was going to be my first ever interaction with magicks my age. While interaction didn't scare me, I didn't exactly like people either.

   I was the first to move to the doors. Alexie was still looking around, his hand on his staff. As I headed for the entrance, he dropped his staff and it disappeared. There was a swirl and his cloak fell onto his shoulders. 

   Warm air rushed over us as we passed through the doors. Alexie was moving along without glancing at the signs. I followed just behind him and caught sight of someone pointing at us. My eyes narrowed and I opened my mouth to call them out for it, but Alexie had reached a line. I wasn't given the chance to and hmphed.

    The woman that sat at the fold-up table had grey hair and wore a purple scarf. She flipped through a set of papers. "Name?" Her thick British accent made it hard to differentiate it from some other syllable. 

   "Albers." Alexie said it softly enough that she had to think about it. Then she sighed. "I'm not one for pranks--" Her eyes flitted up and horror flashed through her features. I blanched as she fumbled with her pen. "Mr. Albers! I'm so sorry, people have been pulling that prank on me all morning. I had no idea that--"

   "It's fine," he said dismissively. I turned my gawk to him. First her reaction, and now this. His entire demeanor had shifted. It was like I was seeing him back in the alley -- cold, neutral, and quiet. His voice was so quiet it was the kind that made people go quiet to hear him. The last time I'd heard that, he was arguing with my dad. The hairs on the back of my neck went up.

   The bigger problem? Why the heck had that woman reacted like that?

   She cleared her throat, apparently found his name, and looked back up. "The name of your apprentice isn't listed...?" Her eyes landed on me.

   "Reilly," I spelled it out. "Roxie."

   She wrote it down and put a check next to our names. "Since I'm fairly sure neither of you have been here before, I'll give you the basics." She reached under her table and put a folder on it. "I'm Mary," she added as she pulled out a bit of paper. "The Meeting this year is three days, two nights. It's starts tomorrow morning. This here is a map."

   Mary pointed at a few different rooms. I leaned in to look. "This is the main meeting room, tables and chairs included. This is the dining hall, and these are the resident wings. This is the apprentice side, and the master side." I noticed they were on opposite sides and my nose wrinkled slightly. "Apprentices aren't allowed on the other side and vise versa."

   I looked up, surprised, to see Alexie wasn't exactly pleased either. "Why the separation?"

   Mary shrugged. "I've no clue. It's always been like this." 

   Alexie studied her as I snagged my map. He reluctantly took his own. "Is this all?"

   "I believe it is, Mr. Albers." She smiled. "If either of you need help, just find this room. Someone will always be in here to help out."

   He nodded and turned away. I followed his footsteps, mind spinning, until we reached the back of the room -- where the halls split. Different tables had different lines. Several were labeled with 'mage,' 'wizard,' or 'witch.' I had to suppose to keep the groups organized. "Any idea why they separate us?"

   His head shook. "Not for certain. Perhaps to see how the apprentices fare on their own. This whole meeting is to access the new generation, after all."

   I didn't like the idea of people watching my every move, but just exhaled. "Okay, so see you at dinner?"

   Again, he shook his head. "The dining rooms are separate."

   "Ugh." I sighed. "See you tomorrow, then."

   Alexie nodded and turned the other way. He pulled his cloak a little tighter around his face and strode off. I watched, puzzled, and turned to my own hall. I glanced at the map and seen she'd circled a room. Hoping that was where I was staying, I headed in that direction.