The Magicians - "Thirteen"

Quentin Coldwater almost had the cigarette to his lips before deciding that he wasn't really in the mood.

Even discovering that he could do magic—real magic—hadn't reduced his need to self-medicate. But right now, he was in a weird mood.

He was happy. Well, "happy"was a word that people threw around to describe themselves all of the time. This felt extraordinary. He was filled with a genuine excitement that he hadn't truly experienced since childhood.

"Q." It was Kady, walking around the brick corner. Quentin stowed his cigarette and nodded, joining her. He didn't need to ask why she was looking for him.

They walked through the store and made their way into the Safehouse. Quentin always felt awkward making his way in alone—what if the store clerk looked at him in confusion one day and he realized that he'd dreamt up everything from that failed and almost-forgotten magical exam to this? At least, with someone by his side, they'd both look equally foolish.

There were maybe a half-dozen other Hedges there, though Quentin didn't spot Pete. Everyone was very quiet, though, and glancing over at the desk.

Marina looked up at him, her dark red lips twisting into something that closely resembled a smile. She stood up and walked towards him instead of making him come to her, which made him nervous for some reason. She also left the small glass container on her desk, the seemingly ordinary button still resting inside.

That little button was probably the most valuable object that Quentin had ever seen, but there was no need to lock it up when it wasn't directly under their noses. The Safehouse's wards would keep an outsider from stealing it. None of the other Hedges would dare to touch it for fear of Marina.

Quentin was no stranger to that.

"Did you . . . uh . . . did you finish looking at it?" He wasn't an eloquent speaker under the best circumstances, and neither his excitement nor his nervousness were helping.

"I've never seen anything like it—even at Brakebills," Marina said. She seemed animated—well, for her anyway. "It's real . . . as far as I can tell without touching it." Quentin found himself thinking of Julia again. He'd caught himself thinking of her more and more as he'd searched for the button. And now he was on the verge of finally going to Fillory.

Even through the bitterness, it almost felt wrong to be going without her. But she'd gone to Brakebills without him, so . . . turnabout was fair play. Right?

"Will it work?"

She gave him a puzzled look, tilting her head like she was amused that he'd even asked. "Of course. Not now—we'll need to prepare. And I'll put things in order so everything doesn't fall apart while I'm gone."

"You're coming too?"

"To a new, magical world that might have spells none of us have even heard of?" She gave him a withering look. "Of course I am."

Right.

"Okay, cool. I guess we'll need toilet paper, right? Like, a lot of Fillory is forests and even the inhabited settlements—"

Marina's expression cut him off. She opened her mouth, but Quentin was spared from whatever her reply was going to be when Pete walked into the room from below. Really, he stumbled up the stairs, blinking and looking bewildered.

After Marina herself, Pete had always seemed to care more about his appearance than anyone else. Dressing formally, even inside the Safehouse, seemed to be his way of showing that he wasn't one of those Hedges who begged and scavenged for spells. That he was just as good as the Ivy League magicians.