Her name was Imogen. Imogen Madani-Brigham.

An interesting, Sebastian thought. The person it belonged to was quite the enigma herself. Possessing two surnames wasn't a common occurrence where Sebastian came from. Both of Imogen's surnames seemed to have nothing to do with another. One looked like one he might've seen on a magician from House Vaya while the other would've belonged to a battlemage from House Brynjir.

Though, the origin of her surnames could wait.

He had to deal with the problem at hand first.

After their train ground to a halt, Sebastian and the others hopped out and onto the platform at Cote-Vertu station. They left quickly, leaving the two unconscious Shades behind for someone else to find. Though, knowing them, they'd be gone before anyone could see.

Imogen led them out of the subway station and back to the surface.

The sun hung in the air, peeking out through the gloomy clouds stretching their wispy hands across the white sky. It was a bit warmer now than before, but it was still far too cold for Sebastian to take his jacket off. Squinting, he took a look around as he waited for his eyes to readjust to the brightness.

Three-storied storefronts lined the streets. Colorful roofs formed a rainbow of sorts across the skyline. Vehicles were parked along the sidewalks. Massive buildings loomed in the distance, lingering just beyond the haze hovering above the horizon. This part of the city was a tad bit nicer than where they spent the night in.

He turned to Imogen as they walked. "Where are we?"

"Saint-Laurent," she replied without skipping a beat. "My dad lives in this neighborhood. That's why I was on the orange line with you."

Sebastian nodded slowly. Her miraculously showing up to knock out Yuri had been quite the coincidence. She had saved the day, once again. They were starting to rack up quite the debt with the ordinaire. He'd make it all square soon enough. The last thing he needed was to owe an ordinaire a favor. The girl shouldn't have even known he existed.

"Okay, you got your question in," Imogen said. "Now it's time for you to answer mine. What happened back there on the train?"

Sebastian bit down on his lip. He really didn't want to explain. He knew he shouldn't. What was stopping him from stunning the girl and taking off down the street? Actually, a few things were. Even his moral compass wouldn't let him do that to her, ordinaire or not. Besides, once his stunning spell wore off, she would likely tell anyone who would listen what she saw. If it somehow got back to magician hunters or-even worse-the Eldenarian Council, they were done for.

No, their best bet was to find a way to wipe her mind of the last few hours before they left for Las Vegas. The only issue was Sebastian didn't know a lick of psychic magic. It was part of his Shade training, but he was never any good at it. He doubted Makaela and Remy were experts at that disciple either.

He groaned. They didn't need any more complications. The Shades had already found them once. If they got tripped up again... He didn't even want to think about it.

"Um, hello?" Imogen waved a hand in his face. "Earth to...whatever your name is. You gonna answer me or what?"

"It's Sebastian."

"Whatever."

He glanced at Makaela.

She shrugged at him, obviously annoyed at the girl's presence. "It's your call."

Running a hand through his hair, he sighed. "Fine. You want to know the truth? We're magicians. What you saw back there was magic."

The girl burst out into laughter. She stopped walking, doubling over with her hands wrapped around her stomach. Once she realized they weren't joking, she straightened up. Her eyes grew larger than saucers. Sebastian noticed there were specks of green hidden in her light-brown irises.

Shaking his head, he tore his gaze away from her. He was staring again.

Out the corner of his eye, he spotted Makaela glaring at him. Frowning, he shot her a quizzical look. She threw him one back that said "nothing'.

"Hold on, hold on." Imogen made a t-sign with her hands. "Magic? Magicians? You're messing with me, right? I mean, you can't possibly think I'm that stupid."

Sebastian pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I've gotta be dreaming. Yep, this is a dream. You know, I do get a lot of weird dreams, but this one takes the cake."

"You're not dreaming."

She blanched. "Let me get this straight. You mean to tell me magic is real? Like wizards and witches and stuff? I don't see any wands."

Typical.

Sebastian scowled. "We don't use those terms."

"We don't use wands either," Remy added. "I don't even know how that stereotype got started."

Imogen ignored him. "You're still human, though, right?"

Sebastian grinded his jaw. He wasn't sure what he expected when he decided to tell an ordinaire the truth about their world, but this wasn't it. If she asked him another question, he was going to explode.

Fortunately, Remy answered for him. "Er, that's a tricky subject. We're human...our ancestors were, at least. But when they received magic from the gods, their offspring kind of branched into something else. The technical term is majus, but we don't really use that word anymore. Magician is the more modern term."

"Jesus Christ." Imogen rubbed her temples. "This is nuts."

"Fun fact," Remy said while lifting his finger. "Jesus Christ was a magician. A Solaire, but a magician, nonetheless. Also, that wasn't his name. You'd be surprised to know how many historical figures were secretly magicians. George Washington, Vlad the Impaler. The list goes on and on-"

Imogen raised her hand. "You do realize how insane this all sounds right?"

He shrugged. "You asked for the truth."

Stunned, the girl walked over to a bench and sat down. She covered her face with her hands, muttering to herself. Remy joined her at the bench, continuing to give her the whole spiel of the existence of magic.

Makaela walked over to Sebastian and pulled him to the side. Once they were out of earshot, she folded her arms.

"We need to get rid of her."

Sebastian snorted. "Yeah, no kidding. But we can't exactly leave her behind. Not after what she saw."

"We could always kill her."

"You and I both know we're not killing her."

Pouting, she hung her head. "I know, I know." Sebastian placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him with her beautiful eyes. They were so warm that he almost melted on the spot.

"We'll figure this out," he said. "We've just gotta get to Las Vegas. My friend will know what to do with her once we do."

Makaela nodded reluctantly. "You better hope so." She stole a glance at Imogen, who was receiving an earful on the history of magic from an enthusiastic Remy.

Sebastian offered her a smile. For once, it didn't feel awkward or forced like all the other times. She returned it. The pair held each other's gaze for a few moments, their bodies just a few inches away from each other. He wanted to close the distance, never wanting to look away.

In a perfect world, they would've continued to grow up together. Their connection would've never been broken. Things would've been different. But their world wasn't perfect. Far from it, in fact. Their budding relationship as children had been destroyed, ruined by the sins of his father. At least, that's what he thought.

As he stared deeply into her golden eyes with his breath hitching in the back of his throat, he wondered if there was something still there between them. If they survived all of this in the end, perhaps they still had a chance.

He was determined to fix what his father broke.

"Come on," Makaela said, blushing as she broke their eye contact first. "We should probably save the poor ordinaire before Remy talks her ear off."

Sebastian cleared his throat, his face heating up. "Right."

After rejoining Imogen and Remy, the four of them continued their trek down the sidewalk.

"Where are you three headed anyways?" Imogen asked as they passed through a quaint, residential neighborhood. A quiet breeze fluttered through the half-naked trees around them, brown and orange leaves falling from thin branches. A thin layer of frost covered everything in sight.

Sebastian debated answering.

"I might be able to help you guys get there. Don't forget, I know this city better than any of you."

The girl had a point.

"If I'm going to be tagging along with you guys, I'd like to know what's going on."

Sebastian laughed. A real laugh. She couldn't have been serious. "You're not coming with us."

"Oh? I'm not?" Imogen cocked her head, a sly smile on her lips. She pulled a small, rectangular device with a glass face out of her pocket. A phone. After tapping a few of the digital buttons, a video played on the screen. Sebastian's jaw tightened.

It was footage, albeit a bit grainy and out of focus, of their duel with the Shades on the train. Imogen had recorded most of the beginning, presumably before she stepped in to knock out Yuri.

How had she recorded that through the mirror charm? She shouldn't have been able to see any of the fight at all.

"I'm coming with you guys." Imogen had put her foot down. Literally. "Or else this goes on the internet. I take it you don't want that." Her facial features were taut with determination, her mouth pressed into a tight line and her eyes narrowed into slits. "Don't ask me why, because even I don't know, but something is telling me to go with you. Maybe it's fate or destiny. Or maybe everyone is right about me, and I am crazy. I don't' care. All I know is that I'm coming with you." She shrugged. "Besides, I'm always up for a bit of adventure."

Fate...

Sebastian glanced at Makaela. They met eyes almost simultaneously, likely sharing the same thought. They then both mouthed the same phrase to each other:

The prophecy.

But he wasn't sure how an ordinaire would've factored into it. Imogen could've just been a lunatic with a pension for getting herself into trouble. By the looks of her, he wouldn't have put it past her. Whatever the reason, they weren't in a position to argue with her.

An idea struck Sebastian across the face.

If the girl could truly help them get to Las Vegas, they could wipe her mind there. Surely someone in The Rooks knew psychic magic.

He grinned.

They'd bring Imogen along. But as soon as the opportunity arose to get rid of the girl, without having to kill her, he would take it.

Nodding, he decided to answer her question. "We're headed to Hodvekt, Washington."

"Okay, that's not a real place."

Remy chuckled. "To you, it might not be. To us, it's one of the seven capitals of magic."

Imogen released a deep breath. "Right, right. You do know Washington is, like, hours and hours away."

"Yes, which is why we're going to Las Vegas first," Sebastian said. "I have a friend who can help us get there faster."

"Were those people on the train friends of yours too?"

He tensed. Her sarcasm was evident, and he wasn't a fan. "No." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Those were Shades-dark magicians a part of the Order of the Black Lotus."

Remy lifted his finger once again. "Fun fact. The Order is currently led by Sebastian's father, Thorian Tedorof. He's also kind of the president of our people. It's super complicated."

"Thanks for the tidbit, kid."

"That's what I'm here for."

Imogen squinted at Sebastian. "Why is your dad sending people to murder you?"

His expression darkened.

Makaela stepped in between him and the ordinaire. She stayed close by his side, their arms brushing as they walked. "You know, it's a long story. We'll save it for another time. We need to focus on getting to Las Vegas."

Imogen eyed her with curiosity before nodding. "Well, getting into the States won't be easy for you guys. I'm assuming you don't have IDs and such. America is a whole different country from Canada. You'll need passports, money for a flight-"

"No planes," Sebastian interrupted. His stomach churned at the thought of being trapped inside one of those gigantic, metal birds. "Please."

"Okay, no planes. Well, you can take a few buses there if that's more your speed."

Buses.

He could work with that.

"Where do we find these buses?"

Imogen pulled her phone back out. Sebastian squinted at her as he watched her tap her fingers on the screen.

"What are you doing?"

"Finding you a ride."

Remy moved beside the ordinaire, his eyes studying her cellphone. "How do those things work? I mean, they're so...little. They look more like paperweights than anything." He tapped his chin thoughtfully as he peered at the device. "They're almost like magic, in a weird way."

Imogen shrugged. "How am I supposed to know? I just buy the things." She finished typing on her screen and turned it around. "Looks like you're in luck. There's a bus terminal not too far from here. They've got buses that go from here and into the States. Chicago, specifically. You can probably find another one that'll take you to Vegas once you're there."

Sebastian's face lit up.

Perfect.

"Wait, hold on." Imogen took another look at her phone. "Oops. The bus will still take you into Chicago, but the last one for the day leaves in...an hour, actually."

He frowned. "Where is this bus station?"

"On the other side of town."

Makaela crossed her arms. "I thought you said it wasn't far."

"I said not too far," Imogen insisted. "I didn't think we'd have to rush over there. Don't worry. I'll call us a taxi. It'll get us there in no time."

A taxi, huh.

He had never been in one before. In fact, he had only been inside a vehicle a few times before today. Sebastian was getting the whole tour of ordinaire transportation. First the subway train, now a taxi. Later it would be a bus. What was next? A submarine?

While Imogen stood on the sidewalk with her hand waving down a yellow and black checkered vehicle speeding down the street, he sighed. He glanced at the ring on his hand. It had been silent since last night. He wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or not.

His father's words sounded in his ears.

"The ring doesn't respond to you, boy."

Maybe the man was right. Perhaps the artifact realized that Sebastian wasn't its true master and decided to reserve its powers for its original owner.

Grimacing, he forced Thorian's voice out his head.

He didn't care either way. If he had to risk his sanity in exchange for the abilities of the Obscurio, he'd rather keep his psyche intact. The ring changed his father; he'd witnessed that metamorphosis personally over the years. That wouldn't happen to him. He wouldn't let it. Besides, the whispers had stopped playing tricks on him and the ring wasn't in father's possession anymore. As far as he was concerned, that was a win.

So long as he kept both the Obscurio and the Illumio away from him, they stood a chance at thwarting his master plan-whatever it was. Sebastian didn't know all the details, but he knew it couldn't be completed without all seven Eldenarian Artifacts.

Getting to Hodvekt was the only way he could keep the two in his possession safe, though. He just had to get there.

He glanced at Makaela.

She pulled the golden box out of her bag. Rotating it in her hands, she seemed to be contemplating opening it. He wondered if it spoke to her the same way the Obscurio spoke to him.

He kept his question to himself. The girl had enough on her mind. He would try his best to not add anything more to the weight she was forced to bear.

A car horn blared through the winter air, snapping Sebastian out his thoughts.

Imogen had successfully hailed a taxi. She had climbed into the passenger's seat. Remy got into the back.

"Well, hurry up then," the girl urged with a roll of her eyes. "The meter's running."