Theo awoke with a start, sitting up abruptly and staring around himself bemused and trying desperately to pull his brain together. Flashes of the evening slowly came back to him, and he sat momentarily immobilised by a wave of grief as he thought of Jimmy and Daz. With a conscious effort, he pushed the feeling down, letting it sit as a heavy weight in the middle of his chest.

  Taking advantage of the amenities, he showered and was preparing to dress as he caught sight of his reflection in the bathroom mirror. Aside from the blatant dark circles that contrasted with his pale, and slightly freckled face, his fingers traced the outline of the tattoo that covered a little more than his hand's width in the middle of his chest.

  Predominantly black and white, it lacked the depth and detail that he remembered of the part of the tattoo that Patrick had shown him. Instead, the outline of a long sinuous black dragon with outstretched wings arced slightly onto his left pectoral, its neck descending back around towards his sternum. It was mirrored by an ascending phoenix on the right that seemed to radiate light, its head stretching up towards the curled tail of the dragon. In the middle of the two, there as just the vague outline of a shadowy man. Something seemed to be hidden within the wavering lines of its shape, too indistinct to make out.

  He sighed in resignation. He had always been resistant to tattoos, though Jimmy had tried on more than one drunken occasion to get him in for one.

  Stepping away from his reflection, he dressed quickly, and made his way from the private studio and into the adjoining communal living area to search for food. The space was empty of people and furnished similarly to the counselling room that Patrick had taken him to earlier this morning. He wondered where everyone was, then remembered it was Saturday, and he was in a fucking top-secret magic facility.

  Finding his way around the small single-line kitchen, he heard a metallic hiss and turned to see Patrick entering, disposable coffee cup and a large manila envelope in hand. He had changed clothes from their last meeting and was in casual grey slacks and a black woollen jumper. Fucker looks like he has slept for a week, Theo grumbled to himself as he made himself a tea.

  “I didn’t bother to get you anything as I remembered you saying you didn’t drink coffee.”

  “All good, tea is fine for me.” Theo brought his mug and the sandwich he had found in the fridge over to one of the sofas in the middle of the room. A panel of windows to his right seemed to open onto a picturesque mountain scene, giving a very realistic illusion of being above ground. Patrick sat in a chair opposite.

  “So, how are you holding up?” Patrick asked.

  “As well as can be expected all things considered.” Theo blew on his tea. “It feels like I left half my brain behind yesterday and woke up in some weird sci-fi action movie.”

  “A fair description.” Patrick watched him for a moment, clearly waiting to see if any questions would come. Theo stuffed half of the chicken and lettuce sandwich in his mouth.

  Patrick laughed as he brought out his phone. “Let’s start with your tests then. Aetheric potential is excellent, though it is almost impossible to get an accurate measure from these machines alone. Potential is mostly influenced by bloodlines, but occasionally there are outliers such as yourself. Awakening usually occurs between the ages of sixteen and twenty-five, correlating with pre-frontal cortex maturation. The average age is twenty-one, so you will be somewhat older than most of your peers.”

  Theo groaned. Great.

  “From the density reports, you have commenced the early phase of body awakening, with two of your nodes having already cleared. Still, you are somewhat behind where most first years would be. I imagine you will progress through the early tiers rather quickly when you are taught how to refine the process. Also, I should warn you. You should be prepared for some intensive physical training.” Theo stifled a defensive retaliation at Patrick’s up and down look.

  “Your specific resonances, reflected in your tattoos, are unusual.” Patrick cleared his throat at the look on Theo’s face, passing him a page from his report. “What I mean, is that it is uncommon for someone to show such high potential in two of the kinetic types.” He paused letting Theo have a moment to review the results.

  “Roughly, three percent start with a natural inclination to more than one energy type, though with further training most do develop a resonance with others. Our tattoos also do not typically show images other than one that reflects the seven primary energies, at least not until someone has passed into the mind gate, when they begin working on their core concepts.”

  “Roughly three percent of that made sense to me,” Theo said, placing his mug down on the side table, and earning another laugh from Pat. “Is it going to be a problem?” Theo passed Pat the page from the report, rubbing at his chest. He was starting to get a bit overwhelmed with the jargon.

  “Normally no, however, your outlier status will complicate things. It is very rare for someone from the general population to show a talent for aetheric manipulation. Practically all members of ARFO are from heritage families that have been training for these positions from early childhood. Families naturally cultivate talent of a particular type, though there are occasional variants. These families can be fiercely protective of their skills and talents.”

  “I see. So, I’m like the transfer kid trying to fit in at the new private school, but with magic?”

  “Colloquial, and mostly accurate. If I may extend the metaphor, you will be the poor country kid transferring in on a scholarship.”

  “Well, fuck. Nothing like revisiting teen angst.”

  “Indeed. I was also an outlier, graduating eight years ago. You will find we are often pushed towards more public facing roles.”

  “Really? Are they so elite they don’t even know how to deal with the plebs?” It was going to be worse than medical school, Theo thought.

  “To try and give it context, these are families that have been working in a covert manner across the globe for generations. Survival rates in our profession are often low, though people who can consciously cultivate aether do experience an extension of their lifespan. These families have their own histories.”

  Theo snorted contemptuously, though he did perk up a bit at the mention of longevity.

  “I can only ask you to hold your judgement, Theo. You have yet to experience the extent of our specialised training, and the levels of threat that we as an organisation contend with. Imagine having to deal with what happened last night on a consistent basis. Your ability to understand, if not justify the behaviour of these families is limited. Certainly, I am not condoning the favouritism and prejudice, I just ask for you to have some patience, and to not let it sway you from pursuing your own growth and potential.”

  “That’s fair,” Theo agreed, though he couldn’t completely erase his scepticism.

  “I only say this to prepare you for the worst-case potential. There have been many attempts to shift the culture over the years, but those with power will always seek to hold on to it.”

  “Eyes wide open as they say, right?”

  “Exactly. Training takes place over five years, the first three limited to the Institute, and the final two enrolled with the response teams, or one of the other departments should you choose. The expectation is that you will have opened the body gate and progressed onto the heart stage at a minimum by the end of your third year. Failure to do so will result in expulsion from the response team training, with a suitable support role found for you.” Patrick noticed Theo’s confusion and elaborated. “You will be given an orientation over the next week to get you up to speed. This will also give you an opportunity to meet some of the main instructors.”

  “Great, a crash course in crazy, can’t wait.” Theo paused. “So, what about my old life?”

  “Your work will be contacted with one of the stories our Comm’s team puts together. We’ll have your apartment packed up, and your next of kin will be notified.” Which caused Theo to grimace, but nod in understanding. “Usually, leave is not granted for first years apart from the long break at end of year, so you will remain on site except for specific training exercises. We would ask that you not try to contact people from your old life. Others in the past have done so and it leads to nothing but trouble.” Theo could understand how someone coming back from the dead could be problematic. Thankfully, there were not many connections he was desperate to maintain. Jimmy and Daz had been his family since his parents died.

  “Here, take this,” Patrick handed the envelope to him. He stood up, and turned towards the door, looking back as it opened. “I have emailed you your schedule for the next week, and there will be some links to key features like the contribution system, though Ms. Avery will likely go over these in more detail. There is also a rundown of your test results that I recommend you review and familiarise yourself with. There is a new phone for you in the envelope, and a map of this level. Today I suggest you read through the orientation booklet. I will check in on you periodically through the week as time allows. Good luck, Theo.”

  “Not fucking ominous at all.” Theo mumbled to himself.