Lost Magick

~13~

"Cal, it's time to get up. And don't forget the uniform this time." Alex's voice interrupted Cal's dream. Cal opened his eyes and nodded. Alex left and Cal sat up, his muscles screaming in protest. He was sore from the beating he had earned from not wearing his uniform.

"Damn the Empire." Cal muttered. He slowly changed into the uniform. It consisted of black capris with white at the bottom and a sleeveless shirt. The shirt was black, with white wings attached to a broken hilt of a sword. The Empire's logo, brand, it uses it for anything. More like the Emperor uses it for everything. Cal trudged downstairs, meeting up with Alex and Vince before heading outside.

"Go to see you in your uniform today, Cal." Devyn commented, earning a weird look from Alex. Cal nodded and grabbed the pick that Devyn had in his hand. He followed after Alex and Vince, keeping his head down to avoid the judging stares from others.

"Work time has begun, everyone get to it!" a soldier shouted, blowing a whistle.

Cal began hacking away at a stone. He copied the rhythm that everyone else beat out with their pick, a steady thump. Clink clink clink, thump, clink clink clink, thump.

"Thump?" Cal whispered. He stood up straight, getting some hisses from other people around him. Ignoring them, he dropped his pick and ran towards the clearing where the soldiers patrolled. People tried to stop him, but Cal dodged them.

"Kid, what are you doing? Get back to work, understand?" A soldier asked, laying a hand on Cal's shoulder. Cal didn't pay any attention. A cloaked figure made their way through the people, drawing the attention of the other soldiers around. The soldier with Cal went rigid, staring right at the figure.

"Hello, Major. Might I have a word with him?" Hood asked, but didn't. He was communicating with fire like Tommie did. He motioned to Cal. Major shook his head, he seemed scared.

"You have no right to be here. This is for soldiers only, no officials." Major growled.

"That's how you treat your higher comrades? Tsk, tsk, tsk. Wouldn't want to be you. Now, can I have a word with Cal?" Hood asked again, silent as the fire spelled out his words. He was the same height as Cal, which meant the same age. You couldn't see his face, it was covered by his hood, which Cal nicknamed him by.

"I guess...but only ten minutes. He needs to get back to work." Major instructed. By now, the eyes of everyone in the mine and clearing had been drawn to this standoff. Alex was running towards Cal, a worried expression on his face.

"Wonderful, wonderful." Hood seemed distracted. He was staring at Alex. "It's time to go, Cal. Say goodbye." Hood grabbed Cal's hand and began to run. This alerted the soldiers, and they loaded their guns.

"Don't shoot!" Alex shouted, being restrained by two soldiers.

"You heard the man!" One soldier shouted. Hood suddenly jumped up, scaling a building with Cal dangling from his hand. Hood threw Cal to the top of the building and climbed the rest of the way.

"Welcome to Anonymous M. I hope you enjoy your time with us!" Hood said, out of breath. He took Cal's hand again, this time gently, and pulled him along leaping from roof to roof.

They landed in front of a broken down looking skyscraper. The double doors hissed open, welcoming the two males.

"Hello! Good to see you again Tommie, and you?" A very lively girl with a British accent asked, motioning to Cal.

"I'm Cal. Who the hell are you?" Cal asked, standing somewhat behind Tommie.

"Lilly. It's short for Lilith." Lilly responded. Cal inched behind Tommie some more. Lilly laughed, sweeping her black hair out of her light gray eyes. She had a crystal on a blue string wrapped around her neck. A black sleeveless shirt and black skinny jeans adorned her small frame. The crystal was worn from years of worrying.

"She doesn't bite." Tommie joked. Lilith laughed, and Cal swore her teeth sharpened into points.

"I'll believe that the day I die." Cal muttered. Lilly fake pouted until Tommie prompted her to take Cal to his room.

"Right! Thank you Tommie, now Cal, FOLLOW ME!" Lilly shouted, punching the air with her fist. Cal stepped out from behind Tommie and followed Lilly through the winding halls of the building.

"I thought this was a skyscraper?" Cal asked, looking up at the ceiling. Tommie appeared behind him.

"It was made to look that way, so people don't realize that it's the complex for the rebellion." Tommie explained, his fire burning close to Cal's face.

"Oh. Is it like a hologram is it actually solid?" Cal looked at Tommie, whose face was still under his hood. Cal noticed that Tommie was smiling like he was happy someone was asking about the technology of the place.

"It's a hologram, but it is also solid. I came up with the computer program that makes the hologram, but there is another component, this really complex program the makes the hologram solid. The thing is-"

"Tommie, let's not geek out all over Cal. He is new, so you're probably overwhelming him." Lilly scolded, a little more harshly than she needed to. Tommies whole composure seemed to drop like he was sad.

"Lilith, it's okay. I'm interested in this stuff, so I completely understand why he's like this. I would do that too." Cal replied, slightly angered at her shutting down Tommie.

"Whatever." Lilly muttered. She opened a door with a keycard and pulled Cal in. The door closed on Tommie.

"Don't you need him?" Cal asked. Lilly shook her head.

"I only need him for the technological part of this place. And apart from being a fire mage, Tommie isn't that important." Lilly shrugged. A door opened behind them, and Lilly lead Cal down a hallway to a midnight blue colored door.

"What is this?" Cal motioned to the door. Lilly smiled.

"This is your room, Cal. Since you got here somewhat late, I'll give the tour of the place tomorrow, and we can start training tomorrow as well." Lilly explained as she walked away. The door hissed shut, and Cal was stuck staring at the plain gray metal.

Cal opened the door to his room. It had a twin bed, two dressers, a closet and bathroom attached, and a door that lead to...somewhere. Cal sat on the bed, thinking about how Alex and Vince might be feeling, with both boys gone. Suddenly, Tommie's old bear appeared in Cal's hand.

"Hey, Tommie Bear. What's going on?" Cal asked it. He lay down on the bed, quickly falling asleep.