It took a while to put everything away and hide the mage water. But once everything was said and done, both men relaxed, seated in the living room as James typed into a bulky, rune-covered laptop while Anthony flipped through channels on the TV.

  Hannah should be home shortly, but James was still trying to convince his teacher to upgrade his internet hookup. Damn thing was just slightly better than dial-up. On the flip side, the house was so charged with mythic energy that it made his spells more receptive to the code.

  "Look, all I'm saying is it would make it easier to help you, plus Hannah would love it." Never let it be said that they agreed on everything.

  "I get that, but it's fine as it is. She's out with her friends most of the time regardless," a high-pitched chirp from Huginn interrupted the older mage.

  "Speak of the devil. Her bus is coming up the street." The carved bird flew up back onto the top shelf it called home as Muninn swooped in through the window.

  It was a setup where one wooden raven could share a connection with its counterpart: a glorified radio and camera wrapped in one. Not that he would say that in front of Anthony.

  While technology has achieved incredible things, he could respect the subtlety of the old ways. He tried something similar, and the result was a runic radio that received every signal in range at once. Was quite painful to the ears, honestly.

  "James, I need you to put your laptop away." That came out so suddenly that it took James off guard. "I just remembered something important." Anthony had a serious look on his face.

  Okay, what's this about?

  "Everything alright?" Tony wasn't one to forget easily, but right now he looked like someone who had forgotten the oven on at home.

  "It's Hannah. Last night, I invoked Thor to power the house." That made James blink.

  Excuse me?

  "And I think she noticed... smelled it, actually."

  That didn't surprise him in the slightest. Only the Magician of Mímir would think using a fucking god to supplement his hydro bills would be a perfectly normal course of action. The second part, on the other hand...

  "You think she's a Hound? Are you sure?" That was certainly news.

  Both of them happen to be songbirds, but hearing that his teacher's young ward might also possess a mythic sense adds context to his earlier words.

  "She said she could smell burnt metal after I cast the spell." He paused as James quickly powered down his device. "Her father was also a Bloodhound, and that's exactly how Andrew described it." Well, that would make their work a hell of a lot more difficult.

  Very rare individual mages, after years of exposure to the arcane, could develop a sixth sense to the ebb and flow of the Mythosphere. This sixth sense usually had to piggyback off another. Commonly called songbirds for sound, bloodhounds for scent, catfish for taste—you get the idea. He would hate to be a catfish, if he were honest. He would probably taste copper or thermal paste any time he did anything with his tech, gross.

  As he shoved the laptop under the couch, the front door could be heard. The sound of footsteps quickly followed before the younger Beckett walked in. She seemed tired, from what he could tell. She dropped her bag on a small table by the doorway before flopping into the chair.

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  "Hey Uncle A... Mr. Quinn." This one was certainly lively.

  James couldn't help but remember when he was in high school, seems it hadn't changed. That said, he was a student aware of magic, so he had a lot of extracurricular activities that needed his attention. Anthony calmly called back.

  "Hey kiddo, how was school?" The groan his niece let out was already telling.

  "Paige wants to investigate our school's haunted library," she sat up as she looked at us. "I plan on joining her." That gave her uncle pause.

  "Oh really? You never had much interest in ghost stories." He chuckled as Hannah relaxed back into the chair.

  "I don't, but Paige really wants to, and I didn't have the heart to say no. She loves spirits and mysteries." There was fondness in her voice despite the teenage angst.

  James was glad Hannah had good friends. His social life could be narrowed down to his family making sure he was still alive, Tony helping him with his spells, and the occasional co-worker who offered to get drinks after. He added his two cents to the conversation.

  "Your library's haunted huh, that doesn't surprise me." He looked at her. "It was a creepy place when I went there," Hannah turned her gaze to him.

  "Wasn't that decades ago?" She said it with such a straight face, he just stared at her.

  "Hannah, I'm 27." Don't write him off as old news yet. That's what they had Tony for.

  That got a laugh out of her as she got up, grabbing her bag and giving Tony a one-armed hug on her way toward the stairs.

  "I have some homework to get done. I swear to god Mrs. Halsey became a teacher to torture kids." Before she disappeared around the corner, she quickly called out, "Bye, Mr. Quinn."

  Well, at least she didn't seem to notice his laptop under the couch or the mage water in the liquor cabinet. That was a plus.

  Tony stared at the TV. It was playing local news. Nothing too exciting going on, it seemed. He could tell from the look on his teacher's face that he wasn't focused on the screen at all. Probably wondering how haunted this library actually is. The school should be safe from any serious mystical activity. A trusted powerful mage watched the school over to make sure of it.

  A simple truth was that the Mythosphere was so tightly interwoven with humanity, you couldn't just take everything magical and hide it in a castle somewhere in England. Public spaces need to be watched and monitored.

  From time to time, people stumble upon the impossible. Or worse, the impossible stumbled upon them. James tried to lighten things up.

  "I'm sure it's fine. Isn't the Magician of Le Fay keeping watch at that school?" Tony nodded at this.

  "Le Fay is a real bitch, but she takes her job seriously, so there shouldn't be anything going on." He still looked apprehensive. "She'd know if I sent Huginn or Muninn near her territory, and then I would never hear the end of it." He shook his head.

  The title of Magician among mages could be considered your arcane doctorate, with the names being added by your peers as a sign of respect or acknowledgment. James had high hopes that, maybe someday, his work would gain him a title as well.

  Anthony's title of Mímir is based on the Norse god of wisdom and is for his unquestioned expertise in Norse myth as well as Aesir and Vanir styles of sorcery.

  Elizabeth Halsey, also known as the Magician of Le Fay, was a well-renowned practitioner of enchantment and healing. Perfect if something goes wrong in a place full of kids.

  Although the Norse mage was very influential, one should still avoid antagonizing a fellow magician. The results of even minor mage feuds have never been pretty.

  Still, just because Tony's hands are tied, doesn't mean his are. He reached for his laptop and powered it on again. It would be sloppy, being a rush job, but he had another idea, inspired by the wooden birds nesting on the shelf above them. After all, the school most definitely had a computer in its library. More importantly, a connection.

  Documents/New_File/PIX.EXE

  // ? - ? - ? - ?

  //Protocol v1.0 - Pixie_Engine

  // Initialization

  runic("?", "Ansuz") // Knowledge

  runic("?", "Raido") // Journey

  runic_("?", "Eihwaz") // Listening

  // Command: Pixie_Search

  function Pixie_Search(query)

  console.log("{PIX.EXE} Initiating search sequence...");

  As James continued to type out instructions, he couldn't help but feel a sense of joy.

  Let's see how the Magician of Le Fay handles this.