"Who are you?" Mattie hissed, drawing back and reaching for the hat that would make her invisible again.
"Looking for this?" The man tapped his hand on the knit hat, which sat on her desk, out of her reach.
He seemed way too casual for a stranger who had just come into someone else's flat. Come to think of it, his face did seem sort of familiar . . .
"I took this because I thought you'd freak out," he began, arms raised in a gesture of surrender. "You met me earlier today."
"What?"
"You hid me from the mages even though I'm a stranger. And in thanks, I brought you here."
Mattie stared at him, openmouthed. Was she finally losing it? "You mean, you're Luke?"
A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "Luke sounds like a kid's name. Lucas is better."
"You are a kid," she corrected without thinking. "Or, you were? What the hell is going on?"
Lucas set down the prism with steady fingers and turned his placid gray eyes onto her. "I wasn't planning on being around long enough for you to find out. The mages who were looking for me did this to me. They worked some sort of spell that makes me shift ages."
She had never even heard of such a thing. "So are you eleven or are you—uh, I guess—twenty-something?"
He shrugged his shoulders. "I have a memory problem, too. Unrelated to the age problem, I think. I told you this earlier."
"Right," she muttered. "You're either Luke or Lester or Lucas."
"Luke is an arrogant bastard, as all children are. As I am right now, you're probably the best off. I hope you never meet El."
"El?" she wondered, immediately regretting asking. It was probably better that she just run away from this strange person as fast as she could.
"As in the letter 'L'—teenage me thinks such things are cool."
"I don't understand."
"Don't worry about it."
"Why are you still here?" While in the back of her mind, Mattie wondered why she wasn't screaming and trying to get away. She figured if he hadn't come after her already, he probably won't. A boy (man?) who shifted ages wasn't the strangest thing she had come across yet.
The corner of his lips tilted upward. "I was wondering the same thing myself. But I think you'll find me quite useful."
"Can you just say whatever it is you want to say already?" Her patience was hanging on by a thin string.
He tossed the prism to her, which she snatched out of the air before it hit the ground. "I cleared out the noise in the background and enhanced it some." Lucas twiddled his fingers. "I'm good at tinkering."
Mattie clenched her fists and exhaled deeply. "Okay, play it, please."
The file began from the beginning. The amplification was accompanied by Tara's erratic heavy breaths. She was scared.
"We've been here long enough. It's time to go, she's not here."
The lower pitched voice was easier to discern, and the quality was no longer crackly and muffled. She didn't like to admit it but Lucas had done a good job.
A sigh of relief from Tara.
"Hold it, you're always so impatient. The girl is here. She's hiding—the magic tracer's picking her up."
"It's about time."
The muffled sound of Tara's cries sounded. Mattie's heart thudded so hard she was afraid it might leap out of her chest.
There was the clatter of wood—one of them must have knocked over the table.
"Come out, little girl. It's time for you to go where your dad is."
Mattie's eyes widened at these words.
"There she is. Grab her!"
Tara's shriek sounded, much shriller than before. The second time, Mattie could hear the desperation in her voice.
"Gerroff me, you asshole! Do you know who you're messing with?"
There was laughter—menacing, mirthless laughter. "We do."
A short pause, and then—
"Wh-what did you do?" Tara's voice trembled with fright.
"Your magic's been nullified. You can't use your transportation magic, you bitch."
"Enough talking. Time to go. Now that we have her, we can go to Wickerdam Quarter."
A loud bang followed by Tara's cry ended the file.
"That's all of it," Lucas said, spinning the prism on the tip of his finger. There was something in his eyes she couldn't exactly place. If anything she would have called it excitement but Mattie had zero talent in reading people so she doubted it. "Anything helpful?"
"A lot," Mattie breathed. Her head spun with what she had just heard. Disoriented and feeling like she might be sick, Mattie fell on her rear onto her bed. Her trembling fingers gripped the edge of her mattress.
"They said they were going to Wickerdam Quarter. You know where that is?"
Numbly, Mattie tilted her head up and down once in a nod.
To any outsider, it would have meant nothing. It was a hilly area, with pockets of lush forests. Occasionally there were reported sightings of mulebears. To Mattie, Wickerdam Quarter meant home. Or the place she had been trapped for most of her life—Somerhall Manor.
Her eyes closed from exhaustion. "Home. Or it was."
"Your home? You don't live here then?" Lucas' gaze fixed on the picture frame of Mattie and Tara hanging over the desk, identical to the one in Tara's room. "That's your twin, or something?"
She didn't answer. If their goal had been to go to Wickerdam Quarter, Tara's kidnapping made sense now. As with any family written in the Tome of Aster, her ancestors had taken their privacy very seriously. The multitude of security magic used to guard Somerhall Manor was a mix of old and new magic. Forcefully bypassing them would require a complex knowledge of magical theory, and even then it was no guarantee the trespasser would be able to leave unscathed.
Because the Somerhalls had owned Wickerdam Quarter for centuries, the enchantments extended far beyond just the physical house. The forests in the area would become labyrinth-like and entrap anyone who tried to enter without permission. Even when tele-stops became commonplace, Mattie's grandparents had refused to implement them for fear of intruders.
However, if the Somerhall blood flowed in your veins, getting inside the manor was merely a matter of locating the right quarter.
"I have to get home," she said to herself, opening her eyes again. The kind of tired she felt was more than just what she felt when she stayed up late studying. Exhaustion sank into her bones and ached in her muscles. There were few things as inviting just then as curling up into a ball and taking a three-day nap. But there was no time for that right now.
"I can take you there," Lucas said.
What?
She had almost forgotten he was there. Lucas was watching her with rapt attention. The sparkle in his eyes that had been there when he appeared to be a kid remained in his adult self. Mattie found it hard to dismiss his eagerness as just interest.
"Why?" The words were spoken warily. "Why would you take me somewhere you've never been to? I don't know who you are, and you don't know who I am."
Lucas's shoulders moved up and down in a shrug.
Mattie was about to tell him to go home when something occurred to her. "Wait, you don't know who I am?"
Before, she had thought it was just because she had been wearing the invisibility hat but now she wasn't so sure.
His eyebrows knitted together. "Erm, should I?"
He didn't sound like he was lying. "You don't know who I am," she repeated in disbelief.
"Are you a famous person or something?" Annoyance colored his face.
Mattie shook her head quickly. If by some miracle, he didn't know about her then should wouldn't press her luck. "I'm nobody. Just your average normie."
"You're right. You don't know who I am. I don't know who I am." He gritted his teeth and leaned down, unrolling the bottom of his pants so that his ankle was bared to her. "When I woke up, this was etched into my skin. When I say etched, I mean it. I can't remove it with magic, and even if I were carve it out it would stay there."
"Lucas?" She frowned. "That's your name, isn't it?"
"Maybe."
What he had said earlier about not being sure what his name was made some sense now. "Okay."
"I've been on the run from those mages ever since I woke up. The age shift makes it difficult for me to use my magic. It happens randomly, and it disorients me so much I can't cast any spells until I get used to the change."
"And why would you be willing to take me to Wickerdam?"
Another shrug. "You seem like you need the help."
"Don't take this the wrong way but you don't seem like the type that would do nice things just because."
"Ouch."
"You made a barrier that kept me from getting to the tele-stop."
"Yeah, I told you Luke's an ass."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "You're just—what—going to keep changing back and forth? How often does this happen?"
"Every now and then. Don't worry about it."
"What is your actual age? How young and how old do you change?"
"What's that to you?"
"I don't want to go home with a middle-aged man."
His mouth twitched. "What's this—age discrimination? I don't get older than this. The youngest is probably seven."
"What about your head?"
"What'd you mean?"
She spoke slowly, drawing out each syllable. "Do you retain mental acuity when you're seven?"
"You're worse than L, just so you know. Sort of. My magic seems to be about the same no matter the age. My behavior follows the age, like I've said. Will I be as eloquent as I am now? Unlikely."
"As if you're eloquent," she muttered under her breath. "What do you get out of helping me?"
Something glinted in his eyes. "Somehow I feel like I'll figure out how to stop this age shift from happening if I go with you. And who I am."
Bursting sounds reverberated from outside. They both turned quickly towards the window. Mattie changed the view so they could see outside. Her heart sank.
"The DOS," she breathed. "They're never there when you need them, but always appear when least convenient."
"Someone must have reported the arson." Lucas held his hand out to her. "I'm not going to stay and be discovered. If you want to go, you have to do it now. Otherwise I'm leaving without you. Luke's an arrogant ass and L is a prick but Lucas is a selfish bastard who only cares for his own safety. Choose now."
Mattie was unhappy with her choices but it seemed there was no alternative. With apprehension, she placed her hand gingerly on his, and as Lucas squeezed, they were whisked out of Yellow Quarter and away from the Department of Safety in a bright flash.
-
I'm trying my hardest to keep "on schedule," whatever that means.
Thanks for reading as always!