Julian Strom had never been to this side of the city before. It was nothing like the clean, fast-paced city blocks he had grown up in. The buildings were too close together, and they blocked out much of the fading evening light. Shadows crawled across the street and conversations halted as he passed by, completing the vision of this unsavoury neighbourhood.

This street reminded Julian of the dark fairy-tales he used to pour over as a child. The way that the towering buildings with broken windows leaned inwards reminded him of the dreams of haunted forests, where the trees whispered his secrets among themselves.

Whispers followed him as he sulked through the streets and he pulled his black hood further over his face. He kept his eyes on the ground, careful not to make eye contact with anyone. Julian knew the consequences if anyone were to recognize him. He knew what it meant for him and his father.

The rumours that had surrounded the Strom family had followed Julian since his second birthday, the day his mother had been killed. He was more than used to being secretive about his business.

His father's place on the Mage's Council was already precarious, due to the constantly disappearing humans, and his only son being spotted in dark alleyways could only mean more scrutiny on them. The sooner he reached his destination and escaped from prying eyes the better.

The piece of paper tucked away into his pocket reminded him of his mission every step of the way. He would grace these fools with his presence for the evening if only to find out which other Mages had been invited. Who else was deemed worthy enough to receive an invitation to this covert competition?

Julian had chuckled when that demanding, insipid piece of paper had been slipped under his door. The nerve of this group, to command that he be in attendance and prove himself to them.

More out of curiosity than anything else, Julian had slipped out of his father's penthouse to attend the gathering. Perhaps if he returned with interesting information about the other competitors his father would allow him to attend a council meeting and give him one of those exceedingly rare approving glances.

He assumed that Fenix girl and the Barrick brothers would be there. The heirs of the two other High Councilmen of the Mages would likely have been selected as well. Julian hadn't met any of them before; his father never encouraged him to interact with the others. He had practically discouraged it; really his father always seemed to want to keep him out of the loop in all magical business.

Julian looked up sharply, shaken out of his thoughts by someone's shoulder slamming into him. His hood fell off as he stumbled back a step and a familiar sneer graced his face. She glanced from his jet-black hair to his grey eyes, both features that marked him as a Strom. Instead of jumping back with mumbled apologies as he expected, her sharp, analyzing expression turned icy.

"Watch where you're going," she ground out, refusing to break eye contact.

She was almost a foot shorter than him, and wore dirty, tattered clothes. He couldn't sense any power around her, so unless she was shielding it, she was human. She tossed her shoulder-length blonde hair back and clenched her jaw determinedly. The only sign that she was nervous was the way she tapped her foot against the cracked pavement.

Julian cocked his head at her, the only show of surprise he was willing to make. The fact that she had clearly recognized him, but hadn't backed down threw him off a bit. Usually, people who recognized him steered clear, especially humans. The rumours and fear surrounding the city's most powerful sorcerer's son had given him a reputation of coldness, one he was glad to embrace.

He cleared his throat, schooling his face back into a mask of cool neutrality.

"I'd watch myself if I were you," he warned flatly.

If he didn't have somewhere to be, he would have enjoyed making her squirm, but this time he had to let it go if he were to be on time.

He met her defiant gaze one last time before pushing past her towards the wooden door hanging off its hinges. Not turning back, he murmured under his breath, "tenebris nebula." It was hard not to look back as he heard her sputtering and coughing in his cloud of dark smoke. He let out a dark chuckle at the string of curses that followed him down the rickety stairs of the forgotten building.

~

Lyla Fenix smoothed the fabric of her pale pink dress down once again - something she'd been doing continuously since her arrival. She'd always hated these fancy events. She usually attended Mage gatherings with her parents, but not tonight, tonight she was alone. Tonight she truly had to make an effort to prove herself to these people.

Her parents' disappearance was strange, but not unheard of. When she was younger, they would occasionally rush off to help some injured Mage, but they had never left her without a note or message before.

What made this situation disconcerting for her was the ominous card she had received that morning. She pulled it out of her clutch and read it for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

The reward will be charitable if you show you have what its takes.

Do not be late.

11:30 pm

Blackhorne's Ruin

Lyla looked around at Blackhorne's Ruin. Its name truly did it a disservice. Named after the supposed father of all Mages, Magnolius Blackhorne, the underground temple was decorated lavishly.

Crystal chandeliers hung from the roof, and a statue of the building's namesake had been carved from pure gold at the centre. There were all sorts of magical offerings lying at his feet, some more obscure than others. She spotted the usual flowers, jewelry, and magical artifacts, but there were also what looked to be burnt books, a pair of dirty socks and a poster of a human rock band.

Lyla sighed, searching for an empty seat to rest her already aching feet. The note said she needed to prove her magical skills somehow, but other than the meager amount of healing knowledge imparted on her by her parents in the last 18 years, she didn't have any significant powers.

She was only a witch – and unlike sorcerers like the Stroms, or elementals like the Barricks – Lyla's power did not come from her blood. Although the gift of magic ran through her bloodline, she was powerless without potions, ingredients or magical items. Unlike a human, she had the ability to access the power in such things, but she could not do any magic without an aide.

Lyla could barely manage to keep her family's magical healing clinic running without help. She was sure whoever chose her to be there would be extremely underwhelmed by her gifts.

Already, she could see people showing off; showcasing amazing feats of magic they believed would help them prove themselves to their mysterious host. She had no idea who invited her here; all she received was the location and the promise of a reward if she could prove herself.

One Mage, an elemental, had his hands thrown in the air and formed a swirling hurricane around himself. His winds whipped through the room, wild and unrestrained. She could see the annoyed glances the others shot him as they struggled to flatten their hair or smooth their dresses.

She locked eyes with the wind elemental, and he shot her a wild, unrestrained grin. His blonde hair stood up around him as wild and free as his winds. Lyla quickly looked away, blushing. When she thought he had turned away from her and gone back to terrorizing the room with his magic, she looked back at him. At the same second, he seemed to be looking back over his shoulder towards her.

In a movement so small that she barely caught it, he flicked a finger towards her. She stared back at him in confusion until she felt her dress fly up around her legs. Her jaw dropped, and she almost laughed at the self-satisfied smirk on the boy's face. She hurriedly pulled her dress back down, mortified, but also somewhat curious.

Before she could make her way over to the boy, a booming voice echoed across the room from the front of the room. "Please take your seats," the person commanded from behind a shining white mask. They were wearing black robes, and the voice was distorted through some sort of spell. Through all the finery, it was impossible to tell who their mysterious host was.

Lyla sat up straight, once again nervously flattening her flowing dress around her. She glanced around the room quickly; every person was transfixed by the ethereal figure.

All except one.

She peered curiously at the bored looking boy leaning against the wall at the edge of the grand room. His black hair was messy, in such a casual way that it had to have been intentional. Apparently, he hadn't thought the event warranted his finery, as he was dressed in jeans and a dark cloak with the hood pulled back, fitted over a long-sleeved black shirt.

He must have sensed her looking at him as his eyes darted to hers. She sucked in a breath as she met his silvery eyes.

Julian Strom.

She should have realized from his casual darkness. He was the son of the most powerful sorcerer in the city. She gulped and quickly looked away. Gluing her eyes to the front of the room, she refused to meet the stare she felt burning into the back of her skull.

Her mother was part of the High Council along with Julian's father, although the two of them had never been introduced. In fact, none of the heirs of the Council had ever met. Sometimes she wondered if that was an intentional move by their parents. There was no telling what could happen if three of the most powerful young Mages met. Not that she was any match for Julian or Ansel Barrick, the fire elemental who was heir to the Barrick seat.

Over the quiet murmurings of the room, the host began to speak.

"Each of you has been summoned here because of the potential we see in you. You all have the ability to embrace your powers with the purity for which they were intended. Each of you has the chance to fuel the change we hope to see within the Mage's community. For too long the Council have allowed humans to live among us, to know of and to abuse our powers. With this contest, we hope to choose two of you to lead this change."

The masked figure fell silent and allowed whispers to fill the once silent room.

"Change? What kind of change?" the girl next to Lyla inquired.

"I know you all will have many questions, but for now, just know that if you prove yourselves to be worthy tonight, you will be rewarded with your deepest desires." The room around her went silent, each of them contemplating those words. What were their deepest desires?

Lyla swallowed heavily, if she could make it through, were these people powerful enough to help her find her parents? Their absence was already longer than it had ever been, and she was beginning to truly worry.

"And with that I leave you," the figure said, their voice soft, but still captivating to the audience. "We will be watching for whatever way you choose to prove yourselves to us tonight, and then we will make our selection."

In a billow of robes and smoke, the Mage disappeared, and a loud click echoed around the room. Five doors surrounding them swung open, and ten terrified, pale-faced humans tumbled out of each. Lyla's mouth went dry and her stomach dropped.

They were meant to use their powers on these innocent people.

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Thanks for checking out my new story, I've been working on this one for a while now, so I hope you like it. Comment and let me know what you thought!

- Emma