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20 - The Faustian Offer
🕑 Added 2025-02-12 16:52:50 +0000 UTCLexie blinked at Veronica stunned and a little embarrassed. How did Veronica know she was pre-awakened? She wasn't planning on broadcasting it, simply wanting to keep a low profile in middle school. And the only one she told was…
She instantly turned to Xena, who like most people in the class was staring at her.
“You told her?” Lexie asked incredulously, and a tad accusingly.
Xena’s expression was first shocked then turned stormy. “Why on earth would I tell her?”
“Yeah, why on earth would she tell me?” Veronica repeated blankly.
“So, she didn’t...” Lexie spun back to Veronica and asked. “So how did you find out?”
“My Uncle Luth mentioned it.”
“Uncle Luth?” The image of the red-haired [Hero] instantly flashed in her mind. That was Veronica’s uncle?
“Luther Firebringer of the Firerbringer Elementals.” The black-haired girl blurted out, a vague sneer on her face. “You don’t know her Uncle? He’s like one of the most famous capes, duh.”
Before Lexie could respond, Veronica rolled her eyes at the girl. “She lost her memory, Diane. Duh. She barely remembers her own name. How is she supposed to remember who my uncle is?"
Bennie snorted and Diane’s face flamed. Lexie felt bad for her and wanted to tell Veronica to ease up on the poor girl but she didn't know how to say it without embarrassing her more.
In any case, Diane’s lips fused shut and she turned to glare back down at her desk.
“Anyway,” Veronica's attention was back on Lexie. “He mentioned last week when you broke into my mother’s party that you had pre-awakened. Is that true?”
Lexie didn't have a choice but to admit. "Yeah."
Veronica beamed. “So neat. I pre-awakened too, like a week before you did. Isn't it cool? We can totally be friends now, as long as you promise not to turn into a [Villain] like your dad.”
Lexie stiffened. She didn’t know what kind of facial expression she was making but she wasn't okay with what Veronica just said. Even though her dad was a [Villain] now, it felt kind of a rude thing to mention in front of everyone.
“Oh sorry.” Veronica cocked her head and gave her an innocent smile. “Is that a touchy subject for you?”
“Sorta,” Lexie admitted. Aiden might be a [Villain] but she didn’t like people reducing him to just that. Especially when they didn’t know and didn’t see how hard he tried to be good.
“My mom says it’s rude to use the 'V' word,” a separate voice butted in. It was the boy who who did the handstand outside. He gave Lexie an encouraging smile. “She's a philosopher and she thinks that [Villains] are just people with a different set of morality.”
“Do you know what your dad did?” Bennie cut in. “You know, to get stuck with the big [V]? Apparently, no one knows.”
Lexie shook her head and Veronica frowned at Bennie. “How would she know? She lost her memory, genius.”
“Oh right." Bennie nodded. "But did you know before you lost your memory?’
Veronica looked to the ceiling and heaved a sigh. “Why am I surrounded by idiots?”
Then she completely ignored Bennie and turned back to Lexie with that bright smile again. “Anyway, I can't wait to be pre-affixed on System Day. I’m probably going to be a [Hero] because most of my extended family are [Heroes]. Will probably be a fire user too. What about you? I assume you want to be a [Hero] too, like your dad was before he turned evil.”
“My dad isn’t evil.”
“Sorry. 'Differently-moraled'.”
Lexie was fairly uncomfortable with the thread of conversation and she had a sneaking suspicion that Veronica was being intentionally malicious here. Unlike Mickie, who sometimes said rude things innocently, Veronica seemed to be trying to get a reaction out of Lexie.
But Lexie refused to give her one. She thought about not answering the question, but then decided that that would only worsen the attention she already had on her.
“I don’t know. But I think I want to be some kind of [Researcher].”
Veronica was shocked by that answer. Bennie was downright disgusted.
“That’s lame,” he said. “Why would you waste a pre-affixation on that?”
“Are you sure you want to be a [Researcher]?" The boy with the philosopher mom said, looking truly concerned about Lexie' decision. "Pre-affixed people make some of the most powerful capes. And your dad was a [Hero] once so..."
"I don't wanna be a [Hero]" Lexie said firmly. "I don't think I'd be good at it. I’m good at studying. And I enjoy [Research]. Maybe one day I’ll be a [Developer].”
"Still lame," Bennie cut in. "No offense but if I was pre-affixed I would be a [Hero]. Or in the Fighter's Circuit."
“Only about two in five thousand [Researchers] become Developers,” Veronica pointed out. “So you probably won't make it. You should be [Hero] with me instead. It's easier and much nicer. And if we're on the same team, I'll make sure you train hard, so nothing bad happens to you. "
That's sweet but since when was this a group decision?
Lexie shrugged. "I’m not interested in being a [Hero]. That's all." Endangering her life and possibly shortening her life span didn’t seem like a fun career path.
“Right.” Veronica still looked confused, and Bennie looked disappointed.
Luckily, another teacher walked in at that point–Mr. John, the class called him–and class resumed.
Lexie heaved a sigh of relief, happy to have been saved from that conversation. And then when she finally turned away, she saw that Xena was looking at her as though she’d listened closely to everything she’d said. There was a thoughtful look on her face but then when Lexie's eyes met hers, the animosity was back full-force. Xena frowned before looking away.
Lexie glanced at the clock on her system screen. Two hours down. Five hours to go.
***
Veronica invited Lexie to lunch with her and Diane but Lexie turned them down. Apart from the pretty severe glare Diane was leveling her, Lexie wanted some space, especially after being inundated with questions all day.
At lunch, after everyone else had left, she stayed behind and materialized her cards. She wanted to spend time practicing mana shaping and wanted to use the push and pull technique that she'd just read about last night. She used the <Party Hopper> card for a change and took deep breaths, imagining she was a water-bender and her mana cloud was a wave that she would send forward and then pull back.
She closed her eyes, doing this for several minutes, happy that the mana cloud was starting to feel more and more tangible to her every single day.
And then she decided to activate the card, happy when, within seconds, a frog was backflipping on her desk.
It was still more transparent than solid, and it was still kind of a lame thing to do.
But she'd nearly broken the 40 second-barrier and done it in 40.3 seconds. That was also her best time for <Party Hopper>.
Lexie was ecstatic.
"Oh, I can do that."
Lexie jerked and looked up. Veronica was leaning by the doorway and smirking at her.
"I can do it in under thirty seconds too," she said as she walked to Lexie. "And I can also do this." She uttered a spell and snapped her finger, and suddenly a mirrored frog, even more full and more real-looking, started backflipping with Lexie’s frog.
"Illusion magic," Veronica explained. "Madam Clementia and I have already moved onto spellwork. We learned about cards months ago and I got sick of it after like a few days."
Lexie didn't know what to say so she nodded. She couldn't take her eyes off Veronica's frog.
But Veronica wasn't done. As she sat back at her desk, she continued talking, “Madam Clementia's the best pre-awakening magic coach. Our family has a deadroom and last month she took me to one every single day. And had me do a bunch of boring mana-shaping exercises. It was annoying but I guess it was worth it since I can do spellwork now. She says I'm the first one she's ever seen who learned this fast.” Veronica glanced at Lexie and perhaps she could detect the envy in her face because she smiled pleasantly. “I can ask my mom about adding you to my lessons if you'd like. You’d have to apologize for crashing her party though. She was pretty pissed about it.”
“Oh right. Sorry about that.”
“Not to me." She waved the apology away. “I didn’t care. The party was boring anyway. But mom's anal about everything and she planned it to perfection and then you guys barged in wearing the wrong color scheme and ruined the party for everyone. Drove her crazier than Dewie’s shenanigans.” She jabbed her thumb to the empty desk where her brother had been sitting, so Lexie would understand who Dewie was. “Anyway, as I was saying, Madam Clementia is a really good tutor. She also has access to a bunch of potions that help you channel your mana easier. So I can set up a date for you to meet my mom and ask.”
“Oh.” Lexie was conflicted. On one hand, it was a tempting offer and she wanted to get the hang of her magic faster. Aiden said a dedicated tutor would probably be able help her. Not to mention access to deadrooms would be great.
On the other hand, she didn’t want to be indebted or overly reliant on Veronica. While the girl was being nice to her now, she couldn’t forget how easily she dismissed Diane without a second thought, even though the two were laughing together just minutes before. Veronica wasn’t trustworthy and while Lexie didn’t want to be her foe, she didn’t want to be her friend either.
Veronica made the choice easier for her when she added, "If it's credits you're worried about, you don't have to. I'll let you join for free. I know your [Villain] dad's probably poor now and stuff."
Another dig at Aiden. After I told her not to call him a [Villain] too.
That one was definitely intentional. Now, Lexie felt more sure about turning down her offer.
“Thanks but no thanks. My dad is handling my training,” she said.
“Sure. Of course." Veronica's smile was a tad tight. “He is the Archmage after all. Well, was.”
Lexie only smiled back at her just as tightly.
And then people started coming back into the class and the two girls broke eye-contact to go back to their respective lives.
But through the rest of the day, Lexie thought she felt visual daggers being thrown at her face.
***
After school closed, Aiden was at the gate to pick her up.
“There’s my bee,” he said the minute she got to him. “How was the first day of school, Lex?"
She gave him a look that said everything that needed to be said.
“Say no more,” he joked and they headed home.
After they left the Hovelton train station, Aiden sent Lexie ahead of him, saying he had to stop by the hospital to make potions. Lexie nodded and continued on her way, her thoughts keeping her company.
She got home in one piece and walked in, wondering whether to start with mana shaping or card activation today. She was halfway up the stairs when she heard the rustling sounds along with mutters of “Where is it?”
But it wasn’t coming from her room.
It was coming from Aiden’s.
Lexie froze on the steps, her thoughts and heart racing. She took a second to think about whether or not to leave. Then she made her decision.
She returned down the stairs, grabbed a kitchen knife, and then went back upstairs. Aiden didn’t have a lot of worldly possessions. He didn’t have money as is, and this robber was trying to steal from them. By the time she got help, they would probably already be gone.
She should at least get a glimpse of him, so she could tell the law enforcement what he looked like.
Lexie called up her system interface, her vision hovering on the emergency line as she crept closer to the door.
But the second she peeked in, she found it wasn’t a robber at all. She should have known. The voice sounded familiar.
So did the wide back of the crouched man who was rustling through Aiden's dresser.
“Max?”
Max spun around when she spoke and they both reared back. His eyes flared in surprise then flickered to the weapon in her hand. A smile curved his lips and something like respect glinted in his gaze. “You really have a thing for knives, don't you kiddo?”
“What are you doing?”
Max cocked an eyebrow and gestured with his arms wide. “Well clearly, I’m not having a picnic now, am I?”
“You’re looking for something.’
"Ding ding.” He turned back to continue rummaging. “And don’t think you snuck up on me either. I heard you coming from a mile away.”
“Right. Then why didn’t you stop and hide?”
“Why would I hide? Why didn’t you run away?”
“Because it’s my house. And I thought we were getting robbed.”
“I see,” he said. “Well, word of advice, but next time you hear a potential robber, especially one who can bypass my security system, you run away and get help. You don’t run in headfirst with a kitchen knife. You’re a tiny, ten-year-old kid not a barbarian. I know you’re your mother’s daughter and all, but try to be smarter than she was alright?"
Man. Everyone's just taking digs at my–Lexie Sparrowfoot’s– parents today, aren't they?
But he was right. In hindsight, coming in here was stupid even if she had a good reason for it.
This is the exact type of thing that got me killed in Earth 2. I have to stop doing stuff like that.
Lexie was distracted when Max paused what he was doing for a second, as though instantly recognizing that he made a faux pas.
“And that was probably very insensitive to say about your mom," he said without turning around "Sorry. I’m in a hurry and I don’t have enough brain space for manners and sensitivity right now.”
"It's okay," Lexie responded. If that had been her real mom, she would probably been more offended, but as it were she couldn't fake it.
“What are you looking for?” she asked. “Maybe I can help.”
“A book," Max answered going back to his rummaging.
“What’s the name of the book?”
“Not sure."
Lexie didn’t believe that for a second. “You’re looking for a book you don't know the name of?”
“Yup.”
Lexie mused on that for a second. “Well, do you at least know what it’s about? Or what it looks like? And why do you want the book anyway? Also, why didn’t you just ask my dad for it? But you won’t be able to ask if you don't know the name. How come you don't know the name though?”
Max heaved a sigh at being called out so many times and turned to her.
“Anyone ever told you that you ask too many stupid questions?”
Lexie crossed her arms defensively.
“No,” she lied.
He smirked. “Of course. The only person you talk to is your dad and he’s even nosier than you are."
Lexie sniffed in the offense. “I was just trying to help.” She did not understand why people kept being bothered by her asking questions. It wasn’t illegal to want to know things.
And then it hit her.
“Wait, is that why you came around when Aiden isn’t here? Because you don't want him to know what you're doing?”
"Aiden?" Max frowned. "You call your dad by his first name?"
Oops. "It's a memory loss thing. But don't change the subject. You don't want him to know you were looking for this book, do you?”
Max straightened and cracked his neck. “It's a dungeonology book. One of the ancient ones that you can’t even find in libraries or on the NET anymore, written in Eldritch Tongue. The only other copy I found was in District 8 and some basement-dwelling bastard was asking a thousand credits for it. Greedy nerd. I’m not giving a thousand credits to a troll who hasn't washed his ass in weeks.” He took a breath after his rant and then shot Lexie a sharp look after he said it.
Lexie said, “It’s fine. I won’t tell...Dad about your swearing. But why do you need the book? Because of the unstable dungeons?”
“Good guess. That book is the most comprehensive book I've ever seen on unstable dungeons, and has information that is apparently pretty forbidden for the public to know. I want to know what the hell is going on and I can’t trust the [Heroes] to be honest about it.”
Lexie digested that information and then asked, “What do you think is going on?”
“Unstable dungeons could be a sign of magical instability somewhere on the planet,” he said darkly. “I think someone somewhere is doing something they’re not supposed to do, using mana in a very dangerous way, and they’re screwing us over in the process. And the fact that the hero association hasn’t done anything about it, despite the several reports Luke has made, is making me think they’re the ones up to no good. But your dad doesn’t like to hear me badmouth his old friends so…I’m doing the research on my own.”
“Oh.”
“And in the interest of keeping secrets, do you think we can keep this little visit from your dad?”
Lexie was about to say ‘yes’ but then she thought about it.
“What do I get in return?”
Max laid a hand on his chest, a look of mock hurt on his face. “Really, Lex? After everything we’ve been through?”
Lexie said nothing, smiling sweetly at him. That’s what he gets for calling my questions stupid.
Max crossed his arms. “Another haggler huh? Fine, I get it. What do you want?”
“What are you offering?” Lexie asked. She kind of already knew what she wanted but she also wanted to know how far she could push him.
Max smirked and then jerked his chin to the knife in her hand. “How about instead of those, I make you a gun. A cute, pink one with turbo propeller bullets that whistle ever so slightly while they slice your enemy's innards to shreds."
Lexie blinked in surprise. “Yeah, I don’t think Dad’s going to like that.”
“Fine. No whistling then.”
“I think it's the ‘ten-year-old with a gun’ part that’s going to bother him more.”
“You think?” Max rubbed his chin. “We’ll make it child-friendly. Plus I'll give you shooting lessons, like the ones I offered your dad. It’s never too early to learn how to defend yourself."
Lexie shook her head and Max’s forehead furrowed in annoyance. “Then what the hell do you want from me, kid?”
"A favor,” she said, then ventured tentatively. "Do you know about deadspots?"
He raised an eyebrow. "I know enough to know I'm never taking you to one."
Lexie's hopes fell. "Why not?"
"Because your dad would skewer me. And those things can be dangerous for young people."
And guns aren't? "Deadrooms are safe for eight-year-olds and above."
"Deadrooms and deadspots are two different things. The answer is no. What else you got?"
"Fine." Lexie crossed her arms over her chest and resisted the urge to pout. "You'll owe me an undefined favor then. I’ll eventually ask for a favor from you some time in the future and you have to do it."
Max's frown deepened.
“Hmm.” He rubbed his chin in thought. "That’s a tough one.”
"That’s what I want."
He chewed on the inside of his cheek and sighed. “Can't believe I’m getting fleeced twice today. Alright, fine. But this favor can’t be something that endangers you or is too expensive or too annoying or takes too much of my time.”
“Deal.” She said. Lexie figured that was as good as she was going to get out of Uncle Max.
After they shook on it, Lexie asked, “Are you sure you don't want my help looking for the book?”
“Nah." Max shook his head. “I already searched everywhere. I don’t think he has it anymore. It was probably one of the first things the association confiscated when they raided his place.”
"Okay." There was an awkward bit of silence as they both stared at each other. Was she supposed to offer him something? Like a hot beverage?
“Do you want some tea?”
Max smirked and shook his head.
"I'll see you around kid." Max patted her head then threw a salute as he left.
After he was gone, Lexie went to her room and started on her shaping exercises. And then she tried the cards again. This time <Hustle and Shuffle> took her 40.1 seconds. Progress.
But she knew the closer she got to her goal, the harder it would be to shave off time. She needed some way to get to a deadroom fast.
During her hourlong break, she took out her phone from her bag. She'd secretly checked several times at school today but there was still no signal. Now, she went back to reading her brother's texts, scrolling all the way back up to when he was telling her about his day at school:
Logan: Someone got frosted today
Lexie: Do I even wanna know what that means?
Logan: Probably not. But I’m going to tell you anyway. It’s a Diet Coke milkshake mixed with menthose and it's dumped right in the back of your pants right before it explodes. Rashid Blumenthal got it today, walking into the cafeteria. It was juvenile but kinda funny.
Lexie: Oh God. How is that funny?
Logan: Because. It got everywhere and Rashid was so mad he turned red. Thought he was gonna fight someone but then he just cried and ran out of there. I think he might have peed himself. Or pooped, it was hard to tell.
Lexie: And let me guess, you stood there and laughed instead of helping him.
Logan: Nah. I was sitting.
Lexie: Very funny. You should have helped.
Logan: So I can get frosted next? You’re out of your mind.
Lexie: Jerk.
Logan: If you were there you wouldn't have helped either. Trust me.
Lexie smiled and shook her head at the conversation. Now that she was repeating middle school, she had a lot more sympathy for her brother. Middle school was tough. Nothing super bad had happened today but she’d been on edge regardless. All those questions, the looks, the subtle jabs.
She sighed and stared at the ceiling.
She had to get used to it. Anyway she sliced it, it looked like she was going to be here for a long time.
She had conflicted feelings about that, but as always she chose to look at the bright side.
At least this way, she didn’t have to go to MIT. She could take time to figure out what she was going to do with her life, once she got back to her real world. She didn't know how time worked in relation to different dimensions but she was tempted to think that her old world was frozen, waiting for her return. In which case, she could look at this as an extended vacation away from her real life and try to have fun while she was here.
It might not be so bad. Aiden was nice, and so was Emma. Hovelton was charming. She was learning magic which was amazing to think about.
Plus, they had the best bread she'd ever had in her life. And croquembouche.
