Shift

TWENTY-ONE.1

Time always had a way of slipping away from Blaze. It hadn't been uncommon for him to miss assignment deadlines at Sir Mallard's, and he had often complained to Helio about it when he was younger: What's the point of keeping track of the time? Why keep track of the days when life continues relentlessly, no matter if it's a Tuesday or a Thursday?

Of course, it was this mindset that made him all the more confused when his father woke him up one morning, barking at him in a deep voice that was indecipherable to Blaze at such an early hour.

"What did he say?" he mumbled over to Kayden, who had rolled over in her own bed once Silas Merg had left the room. Her hair was sticking up at odd angles and her eyes were closed with the remnants of sleep.

"We're shopping today," she said. "For tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"The casting. The spell is tomorrow."

And that was when Blaze realized that, once again, he had lost track of time.

* * *

Shopping took many more hours than Blaze would have thought possible. The Congregation suggested formalwear for the event as there was going to be a brunch before the casting and a dinner party afterwards if things went according to plan. While he and his father were able to find acceptable suits within a half hour, Mrs. Lee, Lexi, and Kayden spent a lot more time perusing through the long racks of dresses and then trying each and every option on. Even Kayden, who Blaze assumed did not care much for dresses, took her time deciding. She finally chose an emerald green gown, which Blaze silently agreed was the right choice; his heart had sped up when he had first seen her emerge from the dressing room in it.

After dinner, a smiling Lexi dragged Kayden off into her bedroom, and Kayden looked like she didn't mind. As they disappeared behind the bedroom door, Blaze wondered if they were going to have some sort of girl talk. I wonder if it's about me, he thought with amusement.

As his father and Mrs. Lee settled on the couch to watch some television, Blaze reached into his pocket to pull out the illusion rune he had been working on. He had spent the past few days tinkering with it with Lexi, and now the humanoid had acquired extra digits as well as a Nigerian accent.

Just as Blaze was clearing up space on the floor to place the spell threads, Silas glanced over at his son. "What is that?" he asked.

"An illusion spell," Blaze answered. "I was going to work on it."

"Right now? What about the spell for tomorrow? Have you learned it yet?"

Blaze hesitated. "Did we... receive the copy?"

His father narrowed his eyes. "It's been on the side table in your room for the past three days. Have you not even looked at it?"

Blaze slipped the illusion rune circle back in his pocket; he hadn't realized that the spell packet had arrived. Somehow he had lost track of that as well. "Sorry. I'll go do that now."

"Please," Silas said, his eyes flicking back to the television screen. "This isn't something to be treated lightly. There's only so much fervor that can be swept up by performing something this large. You need to be prepared."

Blaze knew exactly what he was talking about. Teachers often had young students cast spells in a group, knowing that the combined power and sense of community would aid students who lacked both confidence and experience in casting spells on their own. But it was not foolproof. Blaze had been a part of several group spells ruined by a single individual. And sometimes, he had been that individual.

"Got it," Blaze said, and headed straight for his bedroom.

It was odd being inside the room by himself. Blaze had grown accustomed to almost always having Kayden a few feet away; she was like a tangible shadow that liked to make sarcastic jokes. But the room was empty, and so neat that Blaze could have almost forgotten that Kayden shared it with him at all. Both of the beds were made, and housekeeping had left a small piece of chocolate on each of their pillows.