Swift Sorcery

Chapter 3

            "Just wanted to talk." Sago's tone had drastically changed and his brow had furrowed. "Who are you? How did you find me? What do you want?" The questions were hostile now, not pleasant like before. Kiri blinked and licked his lips, which had dried up without notice.

            "I'm Kiri. I didn't find you and I don't want anything, I just want to talk, what are you-"

            Sago stood up and glared down at Kiri. "Don't contact me again. I don't know who you are and I don't give a damn. Just stay away." And without another word he picked up his bag, swung it over his shoulder, and strode out.

            "Wait!" Kiri stood up and chased after Sago, who was already a good ways down the nearest alley. He ran to catch up and as soon as he was close enough he reached out to grab Sago's shoulder, entirely confused, but wasn't even able to make a move before Sago had whirled around and put a finger in his face, stopping him dead in his tracks.

            "I don't know who you are," Sago repeated, his face twisted in anger, "but you stay the hell away from me. I know about your kind, exploitative bastards. If you come close to me again I will curse you into oblivion and dance on your grave."

            "What the hell are you talking about!?" Kiri yelled out and sputtered in confusion and indignation, hands up as though he were surrendering to the police themselves, eyes wide and darting around. He had never felt this vulnerable, not even when he'd delivered a deadly sword to a man who looked about as unpredictable as Sago was asking.

            "Nice try." Sago spat out the words, but drew his hand back. "Don't follow me. Don't talk to me again."

            "Wait!" Kiri shouted again and grabbed hold of Sago's arm, just to close his fist around a handful of black smoke that appeared where Sago had stood. Kiri coughed as he inhaled the dark cloud, waving his arms to fan away the smoke that was taking over his vision. By the time he could see he found himself alone in the alley, any traces of Sago gone.

            "Well, fuck," he said to nobody in particular. He put a hand to his chest to feel his heart pounding like it was attempting to escape from his ribcage, and leaned against the wall to steady his nerves. He felt his heart settling and the anxiety dissipating, but the confusion still lingered. "Who did he think I was?" The question was, again, asked to nobody in particular. Maybe Sago was a weirdo who ran around with smoke bombs in his jacket and had set one off. Kiri shook his head at the thought because he could remember, distinctly, the feeling of fabric beneath his fingers for one fleeting second before the material had turned to smoke. The previously settled heart rate shot upwards again and his eyes flew open as the dots began to connect, the line drawing itself.

            He'd just met a sorcerer. One of only a handful left alive, a dying breed of magic-wielders whose services were more valuable than money, in a time where magic was traded like secrets. Magicians and sorcerers, witches and wizards had been dying out for years as people became more greedy. Before there had been peace between the magicals and the non-magicals, but greed had won out and the magic had been exploited. Many had been taken into custody or even slavery, or made devil's bargains to churn out dangerous magic. Now there were only a few left, which made the otherwordly commodities much more valuable. It's why people like Kiri made the money they did to deliver what they found safely, and why families like the Oshugaras managed to stay rich, important, and nearly untouchable: their connections that kept them well-stocked with magical items.

            "Holy shit," Kiri whispered, looking around even though he knew he was alone. He'd just met a sorcerer. One of only a handful left alive, and his name was Sago Mokalen.

            "You're joking."  The loud voice cut through the ice cream cafe and silenced a few conversations with indignant looks.

            "Would you keep quiet?" Kiri looked around to be sure that the other patrons had gone back to their conversation before turning to face Hyunjung again, her spoon still stagnant in the air.

            It wasn't until he'd gotten home the previous evening that Kiri realized how few friends he'd had to share his adrenaline-spiking experience with. After chickening out several times from dialing Jiyo, he'd called up Jiyo's sister. She'd arrived, they'd ordered ice cream, and he'd begun his story as soon as she'd started eating and was now finding himself in another heart-racing situation as his paranoia at being overheard took over.

            "Sorry," Hyunjung said, tapping her spoon on the edge of her bowl. "But really? You met a for real," she looked around and leaned in close, "wizard?"

            "Yes," Kiri said, leaning back a little bit, "but can we not be so conspicuous? Jesus, you're going to get me in trouble or something."

            "Sorry," she said again, "but this is huge. Do you know what this means?"

            "Yes," Kiri said with annoyance, "it means I could get in big fucking trouble and end up dead or in jail."

            Hyunjung frowned. "Why? Ohhh right, work."

            "Yes," Kiri practically hissed, "work. But can we move on from the whole magic thing?"

            "What else is there to talk about?" Hyunjung licked her spoon and returned back to her sundae, giving Kiri a cursory glance up to show she hadn't tapped out entirely.

            "Well, I want to find him."

            "Me, too. I could use bigger tits."

            "That's how this whole mess started," Kiri ignored Hyunjung and kept talking. "I wanted to talk to him so I asked to hang with him after work and then all of a sudden he's getting up and telling me to leave him alone and then I chased him and all of a sudden poof. He was gone."

            "Was he cute?"

            "Obviously, or I wouldn't have been in this situation at all!"

            Hyunjung grinned. "You and your man-thirsty ways, Kiri. You're gonna get in trouble one of these days. I'm shocked you didn't cheat on Ji-Ji."

            "How is Jiyo?" Kiri asked in a would-be casual tone.

            Hyunjung shrugged her shoulders. "He's fine. Seeing this guy." She gave Kiri a warning look, which then softened when she saw pain in his face instead of anger. "Maybe it's good, this whole thing. Means you're moving on."

            "Hah. I'm not sad about it. Jiyo and I broke up, that's it." Kiri lied, stirring his ice cream into a thick soup.

            "If you say so, Ki-Ki."

            "Stop calling me that."

            "So, are you gonna see this guy again?" Hyunjung tied her hair back and looked at Kiri. "You know where he works, clearly."

            "I want to, but I can't just show up there again. He'll probably turn me into a toad or something."

            Hyunjung giggled. "Well, you gotta find him somehow."

            "Any ideas?"

            "One," she nodded, "but you're not going to like it."

            Kiri put his head down on the table. "Why do you torture me?"

            "I get to torture you and I get ice cream. I see nothing wrong with this arrangement."