2.1 - Returning the Spellbook

Elaina had changed out of her burned courier uniform and wore a white t-shirt now. Her light skin was clean of soot, and her bruises had largely gone away—a testament to Ave Strata’s bio-rejuvenation tech for damaged tissue. Her silver hair wasn’t in a ponytail anymore and fell just a bit below her shoulders.

She caught sight of the book in my hands. “Oh! That’s..!”

“Yeah, you left this—I mean, you must’ve lost this when, ah...the bomb happened. I just…I found this after they took you. Um…I just thought I’d bring it back to its owner.”

“Thanks! Also, my nurse said you called the medics for me that day. So…thank you, man, for real.”

Apparently, a member of that medical team told her about me; how I made sure someone got to her.

Somehow, that made me feel relieved. “Of course. Ah, here you are.”

Elaina smiled as I handed the book to her. She admired its cover and turned over several pages. She spoke again without looking at me. “So, Mr. Vector, what can I do for you? You’ve brought me back my most precious book; I’d like to return the favor.”

“As a matter of fact…” I gestured to a hospital chair by the corner. “Uh, is it ok if I…?”

“Oh! Yes, please. You can slide it on over here if ya want." She gestured to the open space by her hospital bed. "Have a seat!”

“Thank you.” While looking at the chair, I dragged my shoe on the vinyl floor and it followed my motion. It slid over to me, and I placed it next to Elaina's bed.

"Wow," she admired. "Pretty neat!"

I blinked. “Elaina, I wanted to…ask you a few questions about the bombing.”

“Sure. By the way, ‘Ela’ is fine, um, if you want.”

“Right. Ela.”

“Mhm!”

“So, back then, uh, on the day it happened, I saw you running down the hall to me. I remember you yelled for me to get away from the bomb.”

“Yeah, I really threw my lungs out there, huh?”

“Did you…already know it was a bomb before you placed it at my doorstep? Or…?”

Elaina raised her hands. “Oh, no! I actually didn’t realize what it was until I used my—” She stopped herself and lowered her voice to speak quietly. “…until I used my Magic.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Used your…what? Magic?”

“Shh!” Elaina pointed at the open door to her room and it suddenly swung shut, slowing down at a snail’s pace just before it closed and locked itself. It was the gentlest door slam I ever witnessed. “Yeah, Jace—I mean, Jacen. Is ‘Jace’ fine?”

“That’s fine.”

“Yes, I can use Magic.”

“You’ve…gotta be joking. Like, you're not being serious right now...”

“I am."

"You're lying."

"No, I'm not. With the right Spell, for example, I can see where something has been in the past—like the bomb. Usually only lasts for a couple minutes. Uh, maybe five if I really concentrate and don’t move?”

I blinked and just stared at her for a solid twenty-something seconds. I waited for her to admit all this Magic crap was just a joke of hers. A prank.

But she gave me no punchline, and I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Magic, huh? You mean ‘Magic’ like what we see in games, anime, and light novels and stuff?”

She frowned when I listed off the different media. Elaina stared back at me with a dead serious expression, almost hurt.

“Yeah. I am being serious.” She shook her head, waved me off, and turned her body to look out the window. “Nah, you think I’m totally weird now. Go ahead—laugh at me for being ‘insane’ or whatever. I’ve already heard stuff like that before, anyway. You think I’m just a freak.”

That last sentence struck something in me.

I knew those words all too well: being called "weird," "insane," a “freak,” and I was also laughed at because of my powers. Now, here I was about to do the same to this girl I just met.

What the hell was I doing? Have I really started to become like those people?

The guilt punched me in the gut. “N-No, no," I tried to sound apologetic. "I…I’m just…amazed, is all.”

Was that a good save?

She glanced at me from the corner of her eye. “You don’t have to be fake like that, ya know? Making yourself sound genuinely interested hurts the most. Damn.”

“No, I’m being serious, too. I…I know it’s really a lot for me to take in, uh, or accept, but I…I believe you. Yes, you can use Magic. Cool!”

“Liar.” Ela brought her knees up and wrapped her arms around her legs.

“I’m serious!”

She rested her chin on her folded arms. “You don’t think I’m weird? You think I’m weird. Nah, you don’t wanna be my friend.”

“No, I don’t—”

“Ah, see?”

“No! I-I was gonna say I don’t think you’re weird, at all! In fact, hey, if either of us is weird, have you seen the headlines about me before? Hello? You’re talking to Ave Strata’s 'mascot of weird' right here!”

I pointed my left and right index fingers at my face.

Elaina giggled and I relaxed.

I straightened up on my chair. “Now, accepting the existence of Magic, well…it’s a bit crazy-sounding to me, but…then again, my whole life’s been one crazy mess.”

“Same here.”

I met her eyes again. “I probably sounded like any average Ave Strata Normal talking to an Abnormal.” I covered my face with my right gloved hand. “Damn, I’m stupid. Who am I, Lieutenant Vali?”

Elaina stared at her hands. “Well, technically, I'm not an Abnormal. My Magic doesn’t fall under the definition established by the Regulation and Tolerance Law. You could say I’m like an ‘Anomaly.'”

I smiled at this fellow weirdo. “I’m sorry if I came across as rude, Miss Anomaly. I just...I'll need some time to accept this whole Magic thing exists.”

Elaina shook her head. “No, it’s all right. I’m sorry for jumping to assumptions about what you may have thought of me. Sounds like life hasn’t been kind to the both of us, Jace.” She picked up the book by her bed and smiled back at me. “Thanks again for returning this, by the way. It really means a lot, you have no idea.”

“Is that…something important to you?”

“Yeah," she nodded. "It’s my Spellbook. An ancient tome filled with incantations only I can read.”

“…No kidding?”

“And if someone else tries to read what’s in here, well, they’d get a headache until they close the book. It’s a simple jinx; works kind of like a security measure. Pretty cool, huh?”

I frowned and felt my forehead. “Wait, so that’s why I—…oh.”

Elaina’s eyes widened and her mouth fell open. “You did not…”

I swallowed and looked away from her. “I did…Er, well, I tried to read a random page when I was waiting in the lobby earlier. Sorry, I was just curious.”

“Jace, you moron," Elaina laughed. "Serves you right.”

“Sorry, sorry! I’m not cursed forever with anything now, am I?”

“No, but don’t give me any ideas.”

“Y-Yes, ma’am.”

Elaina sighed, then chuckled. “I guess things aren’t so bad for me, huh? I got caught up in a bombing that I managed to survive, I lost my job as a courier, and now I gotta walk back to my house looking like this. But, hey, I’m glad I got to meet an interesting guy—the one-and-only Vector himself—who brought back my most precious item. Nice meeting you, Jace.”

For the first time in a long time, I felt happy to have spoken to someone like this. In fact, a part of me didn’t want to stop talking to her. I still felt guilty from almost mocking her powers, but I hoped I could make it up to her at some point. “Feeling’s mutual, Ela—uh, Elaina.”

“Just ‘Ela’ is fine, didn’t I tell you? I like that. I won’t forget this day. I’ll cherish it, if that’s fine.”

I frowned. “Why are you talking like this’ll be the last time we talk? You’re killin’ my good vibes here.”

“Oh, well…” She pointed at the locked door. "We've got some visitors arriving in 3...2..."

Suddenly, multiple heavy footsteps raced down the hallway and stopped just outside Elaina's room. The doorknob rattled and there was a series of loud crunching and creaking—as if metal were crushing metal.

The door to the room flew open and four Sentry Bots appeared outside. Their black and silver armor reflected the ceiling lights above us. The first of the four bots entered the room.

"Elaina Yoshinaga," the leader bot spoke in its digital, AI voice. "Hospital records indicate you are scheduled for discharge today. Congratulations on your speedy recovery. Now, by order of the Ave Strata Police Force, you are wanted for questioning in your involvement with the recent bombing at the Sunshine Luxury Apartment Complex at 2309 South Cherry Street. Please come with us."