I say as the warm breeze emanating from the fissure chases off the fog and warms my skin.

  This must be the work of a Dimensionalist. I think to myself.

  I learned they can carve out tiny pockets of space and fill them with whatever they want to fill them with. Magic like this, while not unheard of, is a rare skill to inherit.

  It's almost as rare as being a necromancer.

  Mage Officer Stiles rushes to his feet, cursing. He takes a moment to brush the dust off his fine robes and pantsuit. He looks down at me, still on the ground, and balls his fist.

  He barks with much more vibrato than before.

  He hoists me up to my feet by the collar, the metal band jutting into my windpipe. The vultures squeal like demented hogs at the officer.

  The gargling voice filled with malice.

  The other continued.

  Their harsh tones rang out like an ominous dirge.

  Stiles grumbles as he releases me and nudges me toward the gate.

  The vultures kept a steady eye on us as we walked between them and into the fissure. I held my breath as I passed through the tear. My knees warbled when I touched the concrete, causing me to stumble through the threshold. It felt as though the ground itself was pulling me in.I tried taking a step, but I was reminded of Stiles’s presence when he touched my shoulder.

  The bronze man at the end of the path stood, with his hand on the hilt of his sword and his finger pointing to the west. The pedestal below him read:

  In honor of our founder,

  Calum G. Varrow

  The yellow star-shaped flowers below it surrounded the statue bobbed gently in the light breeze. I would have liked to sniff them, but Stiles' knuckle nudging me forward prevented me from doing so.

  Once on the porch, a stone knight with a sword brandished in front of his face, standing at the ready on the left side of the door. On the right, a golden rope hung from a lever at the top of the wall. Mage Officer Stiles fixes his clothes once more before pulling at the rope.

  Nothing happens.

  He pulls again, and still, nothing.

  Then, the door groans, and the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen looks us over. Her fiery gaze softens when her eyes land on mine, then flares back up at Officer Stiles.

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  Her voice was sharp as she spoke to him, not hiding her annoyance.

  Stiles glares at her from down his thick mustache

  She blinks incredulously at him and rolls her green eyes.

  The officer goes to speak, but she holds up her hand and stops him.

  The woman smiles down at me and then offers her hand.

  I say, giving her as best I could with the handcuffs.

  The woman sucks her teeth as she takes my hands in hers. She examines the cuffs with disappointment all over her face.

  She says.

  Stiles says, puffing up his chest. “She’s a necromancer, the ultimate threat to society. Need I remind you she ki-“

  she interrupts,

  Officer Stiles was fuming, but the gnashing of his teeth told me that what she said was correct. He digs the keys out of his robes and undid them.

  She smiles, showing off her perfect teeth.

  Stiles huffs.

  The woman clicks her tongue and looks at me again.

  She moves over and lets us in. I walk into a medium-sized foyer with speckled amber tiles and photos of long-dead men and women decorating the walls.

  Ms. Vaughn guides us to a door with a plaque reading When I walk in, I see a row of plastic chairs lined against the wall next to us. There was also a table with a pile of coloring pages semi-colored in with a plastic pencil case full of colored pencils, an incomplete 1000-piece puzzle, and a couple of pillows underneath it.

  Once the officer and Vaughn move closer to the back of the room, I see it. On top of a well-organized L-shaped desk sits a Crystalline monitor with an accompanying keyboard and mouse. This thing is something I’d find in a rich dude’s home, not on the reception desk of a juvenile delinquent school.

  It seemed Mage Officer Stiles was thinking the same thing I was. He walks towards the desk with complete bafflement on his face, pointing at the Crystalline monitor.

  He asks, dumbfounded.

  Ms. Vaughn raises her eyebrow and pats at the jagged edges.

  I snicker at the comment, earning me a stern glance from Stiles.

  He questions, cheeks turning red again.

  Ms. Vaughn puts a finger in the air, accentuating her point.

  The sassy Ms. Vaughn once again silences Stiles. That's Vaughn 2- Stiles 0.

  The filing cabinet at the side of her desk jolts, making me jump. Ms. Vaughn, unfazed, opens the top drawer and pulls out a thin stack of papers stuck together in a binding clip.

  The phone on her desk rings, and Ms. Vaughn picks up the receiver. After hanging up, she hands the papers to the Mage Officer.

  Stiles sighs, the odd mixture of relief and disappointment coating his voice.

  He takes out a key and inserts it into the lock on the back of the collar. Upon release, the relief I feel of the heavy collar being removed is overshadowed by that brick wall I felt deep inside me, blocking me from using my magic.

  I examine at my hands, now tingling with a renewed vigor. I look up at Ms. Vaughn, confused. She winks at me before returning to her work on her computer.

  I watch as Stiles, with collar in hand, walks out of the office and slams the door behind him—a small smile forms on my face.

  Ms. Vaughn clears her throat and she’s got a warm, sympathetic smile on her face.

  She nods over to the hallway

  I walk down the hallway, but I take a glimpse back just before I open the door and Ms. Vaughn is leaning out into the hallway, giving me a thumbs up. I turn the knob and walk in.