The Silver Mask

One

Jasper's nightmares were filled with the sound of screaming. Since the attack on Magisterium, he had not slept much. It didn't help that he was nervous about Alex or his followers finding him. It also didn't help that he was staying in a cheap motel, which he hoped was somewhere Alex wouldn't think to look. It had taken him a couple months to reach where Tamara was staying. He had some hope that Alex hadn't figured out where she was. Or maybe he thought Call was more important. He hoped he wouldn't be too late; if Alex got to them before Jasper, then there was no way Celia would live. When he woke up from his nightmare, he lied in bed for a little longer. He thought of a time before Alex Strike revealed his true self and wished everything would go back to that time. After a while, Jasper got up and changed. He looked back at the motel room once before locking the door behind him. 

-------

Jasper DeWinter was not very sentimental. So he was sure that the lady in front of him didn't believe him. He shivered as he adjusted his jacket.

"I promise I'm not a runaway," He rolled his eyes, "I just came to see Tamara for our anniversary," The lady rolled her eyes.

"We don't allow anyone but family to see our students," She responded. Jasper rolled his eyes.

"Mrs. Rajavi wouldn't be happy with you," He responded, "She might even, maybe, decide to sue," The woman rolled her eyes.

"Yeah yeah sure," She responded, "You're not seeing her either way," Jasper sighed.

"Okay then," He was getting nowhere and didn't have the time to argue. He walked out of the office and then looked both ways. He headed the opposite way than he had come after the receptionist started to complain about him to one of the other staff members. He saw a couple students as he passed and eventually stopped to ask one a question, "Do you know where Tamara Rajavi would be right now?" The girl frowned and thought.

"The weird new girl?" She asked, "She might be in the cafeteria. Breakfast is about to end," He frowned, but thanked her before asking where that would be. She giggled at him before giving him the directions he needed. He took in his surroundings as he headed down the hallway.

-----

Tamara rubbed her eyes and yawned before standing up. Last night she had been studying way too late, which was something she was definitely regretting at this point. She adjusted her backpack on her shoulders before heading toward the trashcan next to the cafeteria doors. As she walked she glanced at her watch; if she hurried she would have time to go to the library before class to study some more. She bumped shoulder with a fellow classmate, who glared at her, so Tamara kept her apologies to herself. The boarding school was nothing like Magisterium. Sometimes she really missed her second home. As she pushed the door open, a sound of a male's voice reached her ears. She frowned before closing the door to see who it was; either she hit one of the male teachers or there was someone sneaking around who wasn't supposed to be there. 

"Watch where-" The familiar mage stared at her before his face lit up, "Tamara, thank God!" She grabbed his arm as she looked around and then pulled him down the hallway.

"What are you doing here, Jasper?" She questioned, "You're not allowed to be here," He didn't respond as he followed her down the hallway. She turned the corner and the pulled him into a place he wasn't happy about going into. And Tamara could tell Jasper was uncomfortable, "No one uses this bathroom area," She explained, "Unless there isn't any other choice. The staff isn't exactly great at their jobs," Jasper looked around the restroom, discussed. He took a deep breath before looking at Tamara. She looked very similar to the last time he saw her. Her hair was braided and pinned up in a way that made her hair look way shorter than it was. She also wore a different uniform, one that made her look kind of plain and boring. She didn't seem to have the atmosphere around her that she had when she was at Magisterium. Mundane boarding school seemed to have exhausted her, "Jasper," He then remembered why he was here.

"Tamara," Jasper responded, running his hands through his hair. He knew he looked distraught, but there was nothing he could do about that, "Magisterium is," He fought back tears as Celia came to mind, "Magisterium is gone," Tamara paled.

"W-What do you mean?" She asked.

"I mean, a month ago Alex came," Jasper started, "He came and he killed a lot of people. He took some of the others as hostages," His voice broke a little, "He took Celia," Jasper looked up at Tamara, "And there was nothing I could do," Tamara stepped forward and took Jasper into her arms for a friendly hug. He allowed himself to cry for a while as she tried her best to comfort him. He had learned a while ago that their environment made it hard to know how to comfort, so by the time he had stopped crying, Tamara hadn't been much help. Jasper wiped the tears from his eyes before looking back at her, "I need your help to get Magisterium back," Tamara sighed before speaking.

"Jasper, how can just the two of us stop Alex?" She looked so defeated. He reached into his backpack before taking something out. Tamara's face was full of shock.

"How did you?" She reached toward the bracelet and stopped before touching it, acting like it was poison or a figment of her imagination.

"Master Rufus knew where you were," Jasper admitted, "A couple weeks before Alex attacked, Celia and I overheard him talking. And I went back and stole some of his documents before Alex could take them," He glanced at the cuff, "And I saw this. It's Call's, isn't it?" Tamara nodded.

"It looks like it," Jasper held it out to her.

"Here," He said, "You should keep it. Callum is your friend,"

"Was you mean," Tamara responded, "He's dead, just like Aaron," Jasper shuffled through his bag before handing Tamara a piece of paper with Master Rufus's handwriting, "This was with his bracelet," She fastened Call's bracelet on her wrist before taking the paper. It seemed to be an unsent letter and it was addressed to Call, "I think Call's alive," Jasper finished, "And we need to find him before Alex does," Tamara nodded.

-------

"Tamara!" She had hoped to sneak past her roommates, "I thought you had detention, weirdo," She stopped and turned with her arms crossed.

"None of your business," She responded before turning back around and ignoring the rest of the comments made at her. Tamara locked her door and then looked through her things. Finding what she was looking for, she tossed the stuff on the bed, smiling for the first time in months. She quickly changed into something more comfortable, a shirt which had been Call's a long time ago, her favorite jeans, and one of Aaron's old jackets. She pushed Call's cuff higher up her arm before fastening hers as well. She quickly packed stuff in her suitcase, hoping her parents would forgive her for leaving. Tamara pushed her window opened and looked for Jasper. When he saw her window open, he came out from behind the tree he had been hiding behind. Tamara nervously looked down. She looked at Jasper and then took a deep breath.

"Tamara?" As she took one step out of the window, she saw something she wished she would never have to see again. And Jasper had been quick to see the masked man as well. From where she was, she couldn't tell if the man was one of the two involved with Aaron's death. But either way, they were one of Alex's men. And she was not letting him kill another one of her friends. Before she could come to Jasper's aid, a scream was heard from the other side of the locked door. A familiar laugh followed and Tamara's blood ran cold. She hoped Jasper could still hold his own. She turned around, suitcase still in hand. She would not let Alex hurt anyone anymore.

Not if she could help it anyways.