by L. S. Emory
“As I see it, you have three options. One, everything ends now, and you go before the Wizarding Authority, and like Kirby explained, would do whatever they wanted to get what they want. I’m assuming that one won’t be high on your list.” Cody said. “The second option is that I make a phone call, and you get on a plane headed to Europe. Nobody there knows you, so there won’t be any questions. You’ll be apprenticed to a wizard there, who will teach you. You’ll pick up some skills, probably enough for you to get by with, if you practice hard enough. And go on to lead a nice, quiet life in the Swiss Alps, Paris, London, or wherever. You can try to come back here to the U.S., but with your name on the American Wizarding Authority’s list, they’ll eventually find you.”
That didn’t sound too bad. I had always wanted to visit Europe. I didn’t want to live the rest of my life there though. The thought of going through everything and not being able to come back was too much. More than that, I didn’t like the idea of being on anyone’s list. I wanted to be in control of my own destiny, not having to look over my shoulder, worried about who might find me out.
“What’s option 3?” I asked.
“Option 3,” Cody said, “Is that you stay here with me. You become a Clandestine operative. I train you to be a War Mage, to use your abilities, and you become a warrior for us.”
“We actually call ourselves the School of Rogue Wizards,” Kyra whispered.
“No, we do not. I don’t like that name,” Cody said, clearly displeased.
“We do it anyway,” Kyra replied.
“It does have a certain ring to it,” Kirby chimed in.
“Ok, enough with the name.” Cody turned to me. “But you don’t use that name on official business. Right, Kyra?”
“Yes, sir, that we do not do,” she replied, nodding her head and smiling.
“What about the Wizarding Authority?”
“You join us, then they won’t become a problem. And they won’t be a problem because you won’t exist. Just like me and every other Clandestine operative, you’ll become a memory, a ghost, a figment of someone’s imagination. If the Wizarding Authority can’t find you, they can’t get you. There’s only one catch.”
“What that?”
“There’s no going back. Ever. Once you are a part of Clandestine, you are no longer a part of anything else. You don’t go back to see your friends, family, or anyone else. The places that you have lived are off limits, unless you are assigned a mission there. And if you are assigned a mission there, you will be in disguise. You violate the Clandestine code, then the Wizarding Authority will be the least of your worries.”
“That sounds kind of harsh,” I said.
“It is very harsh. But that is how it is. But there is another side. You will see the world. And, on occasion, save it. You’ll be responsible for keeping people safe, by doing a job they don’t even know has to exist. And you’ll be part of a unit that will be closer than any family could ever be, for the rest of your life. You’ll be compensated very well, in ways that you couldn't even dream of. You’ll join the elite of the elite. That is how we can recruit the most talented, skilled, and motivated members of society.”
I thought to myself for a second. “Hey, is that what is happening? Are you recruiting me?”
Cody smiled a devilish grin. “Kid, why do you think the first place that Linda took you was to come see me? Not home, not to pack a bag, not to a therapist to work out your inner whatever. Here, directly from the school.”
“So all of this was planned? The arguments with Aunt Linda weren’t real?”
“Oh, they were real. More than you can imagine. I had reservations about you. I didn’t want to train anyone else. I wanted out of that side of the business. But, we, Clandestine, did have our eye on you. The Wizarding Authority wasn’t supposed to find out what you are. You weren’t supposed to come here. But since they did, Linda had to stick her nose into the situation. I still wasn’t going to bring you in. I didn’t think you had it in you. I didn’t think that you could even make through the test. But, I thought I could at least evaluate your psychological strength. And that when you hit me with that lightning bolt and almost hurt me. And it takes a lot to hurt me. So that’s when I started to wonder.”
“Wonder what?”
“Wonder if you were stronger than you thought, than I thought, than Linda thought.”
A lump started to swell up in my throat. I guess it was because I wasn’t used to getting anything close to a compliment. At least, not for a long time I wasn’t.
“So, you think I have potential?”
“Yeah, I do. You’ve got the abilities, way down deep, that you haven’t really discovered yet. You’ve got the magic,” he replied. “But that’s not what impressed me.”
“Then what did impress you?” I asked. I wasn’t really sure what else there was.
“You’ve got heart, kid. You’ve got character. You’ve got courage. The test showed me that. And that’s the important part. It wouldn’t have mattered if you had enough magic power in you to blow the top off this ship. I wouldn’t have cared. I’ve seen a lot of powerful wizards in my time. Power doesn’t impress me. It’s heart, that inner core of a person, that matters. You showed me something. And I can work with that something.”
I had never thought of myself that way. I still wasn’t sure that I believed what he was saying. I wanted to believe him. But I just didn’t see those things in myself. Was he right? Maybe this was another test or something.
“Hey kid, pay attention. I know this a lot of information to give you at one time, but now you have to make a choice. We’ll go outside, give you a few minutes to think things over,” Cody said. He started to walk toward the door.
“I don’t need a few minutes,” I replied. This was all crazy. I wasn’t going to willingly go before the Wizarding Authority. And I didn’t want to go to Europe. I still wasn’t sure about joining Clandestine, or that I could be a spy. But this old coot believed in my, in my abilities, in who I was. Probably more than I believed in myself. And I hadn’t had anyone believe in me since my parents died. After today, that seemed like a lifetime ago.
I was going to have to give up my life. But that was ok. I could give up a school that I wasn’t any good at. I didn’t really have any close friends, at least not since I started at the school. The only family I has left was Aunt Linda, and I was pretty sure she wouldn’t miss me. At the beginning of the day, I thought I knew who I was. Now I was beginning to think that I was some else. I didn’t have anything to really lose. But maybe I had everything to gain.
“Alright, what do you want to do?” Cody asked.
“I want in,” I said with every bit of courage I could muster. “I want to be in Clandestine. Or the School of Rogue Wizards. Whatever name it is.”
Cody narrowed his eyes. “You sure, kid? Remember, there’s no turning back.”
“I have to ask one more question.”
“Alright, ask me,” Cody said, folding his arms across his chest.
“Do you honestly think I can do this?”
“Annabeth, it doesn’t really matter what I think. What do you think?”
I stood there for a minute. “I think I can,” I responded.
“Do you think you have the talent, the stamina, the heart, to do this, kid? Do you really think you can?”
That’s when I knew. I didn’t know how I knew, but I knew. “Yes, I do have the talent, stamina, and heart to be part of Clandestine.”
“Then why do you suck so bad at casting spells?” Cody asked forcefully.
I stood up straight with my head held high. “Because I’m a Warrior.”
Cody’s lips turned up in the biggest smile I had ever seen on his face. “Good, kid. Now you get it.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like a cell phone and began pushing its buttons. He held it up to his ear and began to speak. “Dragon, Dragon, Artemis, Warlock. We’re go.” Then he stuck it back in his pocket.
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br /> “What was that?” I asked.
“I just set in motion what we call a ‘cleanup.’ In five minutes, every trace of Annabeth Johnson’s life will no longer exist. No birth certificate, no school records, not even your first trip to the dentist. You are no longer Annabeth Johnson.”
“Then who am I?”
“You’re Annabeth, Warrior in training.”
“So you had this all planned out? You already had someone ready to erase all evidence of me?”
“Someone?” Cody said. “Of course I did. I had Linda waiting to do it. She was just waiting for me to give the go order.”
“Aunt Linda?” I asked.
Cody gave me a strange look. “Yeah, Aunt Linda. I thought you would have figured that part out by now. Linda’s one of us. She’s Clandestine.”
My mouth dropped open. After a few seconds, I was able to compose myself once again. “Ok, but now I have a lot of questions. How did Aunt Linda...what about my parents? Did they know about her? Why didn’t they…”
“Hold on, kid,” Cody said holding up his hands. “We’ll get to all of that. But now, we need to get some food in you, and you need a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow we start your training.”
Author Notes
Thank you, for reading this book! I cannot express how grateful I am that you did, and even are here now reading my author notes!
I love to read, and fantasy has always been my favorite genre. I was an introverted kid, and spent many hours, reading, playing role playing games with my friends, and writing stories. It seems that going to other worlds have always been a part of my life.
I think reading is one of the most important things that we can do in life. Sometimes we need to get away from the real world. And sometimes we just need something to entertain us..
Annabeth’s story has been one that I’ve had in my mind for quite some time. It’s the kind of story that I want to read. Hopefully, you feel the same way and thought it was a fun story!
Please, if you enjoyed this book, give it a rating on Amazon. Your kind words and encouragement help any author. I am already at work on the next book, and it will be out very shortly.
There is still a lot to tell in Annabeth’s story. What happened to her parents? What exactly are the powers and magic that she possesses? What’s Cody’s relationship to Annabeth’s family? And what’s his story? And Kirby and Kyra? Who are the other members of Clandestine? And the list continues. I hope to get to all of those over time.
Want to comment on the best scene, favorite character that you want to know more about, or anything else?
You can follow me on Facebook: fb.me/lsemory
And on Twitter: @LS_Emory
Thank you.
L.S. Emory, April 2019
