#sevati

They had all been wiped down of any dust before being returned to their homes. The only one not in place was Mr. Munchie, but that one didn’t matter and he was sure that it moved around on its own when it was willing. He did find it in strange places at times.

It wasn’t a usual opening for the bookstore, but an inspection. He moved slowly, opening cupboards and closets that he rarely felt a need to, making sure no one was hiding inside. He hadn’t felt so paranoid since the war, when the magi were being hunted down, when he and so many others were found to be undesirable by the rest of society. They were the reason that the Pashat had become so strong, so it only made sense that they were the enemy. It didn’t matter that they hadn’t realized that their actions had such consequences.

It was only after he’d explored all of the building, finding the attic clean of even the broken glass that the strange one-eyed man had left on the floor to have been removed, that he felt safe. This was his home, he should feel safe there. The intrusion had left him feeling shaky though, much less at ease than he’d been in years. He made his way downstairs, made himself a bowl of cereal, a bit too dry, and got to work.

He had his cellphone, a bright pink one that didn’t suit him at all, and his old address book. Zalis had tried to talk him into transferring his contacts into it, but he found dialing much easier. Zalis was the one who’d talked him into getting a cellphone in the first place, and helped to remove the landline.

He went through his old friends, his new friends, and even aquintances, anyone who was important enough to remember. They each had a symbol next to their names, unless they were magicless, in case he forgot what interests they studied. Most of them weren’t there, it having just hit 6 in the morning, but Abvuka did, and the rest he left voicemails for. He wanted to meet in person, get all of this taken care of in secret, even though he knew that there were only specific words that were tracked over satellite. Abvuka lived on the other side of the country though, there was no chance.

“It’s dreadfully early, my dear Alcul,” she crooned over the miles, “if it’s eleven here then you should still be in bed.”

“Can’t sleep,” he admitted, “had a break in last night and I guess I’m still a bit jittery.”

“A break in? But… don’t you have security? Who was it? Are you alright?” there was real concern in her voice, not something that Alcul was used to. She was getting old. They all were. They were dying out, he was sure, no one aside from healers and emergency responders were allowed to learn magic these days.

“Most security is too obvious, the police would have noticed last night. They were asking too many questions anyway.”

“Did they take anything?”

Alcul looked around. Zalis usually slept in till the store was open and then some and it wasn’t like they would have known what it was just by the name anyway. Zalis was smart though, they could figure it out. Alcul couldn’t figure it out, just how easy it was for his apprentice to find information on their laptop. Even though he didn’t see them, he spoke quietly.

“He took the Sphrenosphere, of all things. I know it’s not your expertise but, do you know anyone who’d want that?”

There was a calculated pause on the other side of the connection. He wanted to reach out to her, feel her thoughts, see her face, through the line, but doing so would give him heartburn and not get him anywhere closer to her knowledge. They hadn’t been friends for long, having been rivals before the war. They’d found each other though, during it, and had cast aside their differences for survival.

“The Sphrenosphere… I remember when I found that on auction. They had no idea what they were messing with.”

“Someone does,” Alcul nodded, even though she couldn’t see it, “and I doubt they want to study it.”

“If that’s all they took they weren’t just a random thief and I doubt it was one person. I can think of a few people who would be interested in it, but none of them that would go to such lengths. Most have enough money that they would have approached you for it, anyway.” He could hear her purse her lips, the wrinkles around them growing more intense. “No, this is someone new, someone who wants to bring magic back to it’s old strength, with all of the side effects.”

Alcul didn’t mention that he also wanted magic back, wanted the world to be filled with the glorious potential that magic had given it. He could live without the Pashat though, truly, and that was one of the reasons he hadn’t used the Sphrenosphere himself.

“Do you have any leads?”

“Have you met Sevati? I think you would quite enjoy her company, she’s been studying all about containment magics and I think she lives in your area. She might know more.”

She gave him Sevati’s number for his address book. A lot of the S’s were crossed out. A lot of names were crossed out. He was getting old. He knew he was old but looking at all of those lines always made him feel older. He couldn’t get a new address book though, one that didn’t read like a catalogue for the dead. He didn’t want to forget any of them. He thanks Abvuka and hung up, moving on to his priorities.

The bookstore opened at 9am. He still had a lot of time on his hands.