Warlock In Training

That night should have been the best night of my life. It was the day I turned 18, and it should have been amazing. I should be laughing and drinking with friends and family, being swept up in the jovial mood. And yet, there I was, bored out of my mind, at my own birthday party. Then again, it wasn't really my birthday party anyway.

No, that night was not about me. It was about my twin sister, Victoria. Dressed like a queen, in a fanciful dress, hair done up and make-up immaculately applied, she was the star of the show. And she certainly knew it. She was just casually meandering around the room, humbly accepting remarks of congratulations from friends and family. I, personally, don't see what's so impressive. Sure, she had just been accepted as an apprentice by arguably the best wizard of all time, Markus Tormani, but then again, so had all of our siblings. And our parents. And three of our grandparents. Really, being his apprentice is something of a Valentine family tradition.

Except for, of course, the black sheep. Me. Lucas Valentine. The only Valentine in over a century to be magic-less. And my family didn't hesitate to remind me. Worst of them all was my older brother, Damian. He rarely let a day go by without mocking my lack of magic. And that night was no exception.

"Hey, Lucy, you look down. Why don't you cast Laughter on yourself?"

I bit back a retort as he sauntered away, chuckling. Sure, I'd love to give some smartass response, but even without magic, Damian was 8 inches (~20cm) taller than me, and probably 100 pounds (~45kg) heavier. He could and would make me pay for whatever I said. So I said nothing, just scowled and downed another glass of very strong wine.

It was only a few minutes later, when my father loudly cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the entire room. Say what you will about my father, but when he spoke, people listened.

"I would like to sincerely thank you all for gathering here on this lovely night. Today, we celebrate the 18th birthday of my youngest child, Victoria. Through the years, I have watched her..."

I didn't hear the rest of his speech. Being almost completely ignored on my birthday was one thing, but him just outright not even mentioning me felt like a fist to the gut. My eyes burned and my cheeks felt warm and wet. I marched out of the room, into the cold night air, without even thinking. I think I heard someone say my name, but I couldn't be sure. I let my feet carry me, first at a brisk walk, then at a dead sprint. I didn't know where I was going, but I was putting distance between me and my family, and that was enough. I was only stopped when I saw a flash of light ahead of me Unfortunately, my momentum carried me forward, and I crashed into someone who had so annoyingly teleported in front of me. I heard a feminine voice cry out as we both tumbled to the ground. Of course, it was her.

Victoria pulled the both of us to our feet with some telekinesis spell.

"Lucas, what the hell? You can't just storm out of our party like that."

I dusted myself off, glaring at her.

"We both know that was your party. Clearly, I was just a guest."

She winced slightly, which I noticed with a hint of satisfaction.

"I'm sorry about Dad, really. I'll bring it up to him, and we'll make it up to you. Just come back, enjoy the company. Please?"

A part of me wanted to. As much as I envied her, I couldn't hate my sister. She's one of the few people who treated me like a person, and not some kind of disappointing investment. But still. I couldn't go back. Even for her.

"Yeah, you're right. You go back. I'm just gonna take a second to clear my head, and I'll join you guys."

The words tasted like poison, I hated lying to her. But I said them nonetheless. Victoria is just too nice for her own good. She smiled as I said that, and that made it sting even more.

"Thanks, Lucas. And I'm really sorry about Dad. I promise we'll make it up to you."

In the blink of an eye, she teleported back to the party, leaving me alone.

"Yeah, I'm sorry too."

I turned away from where she had been, and kept running, off the road, into the trees. For another few minutes, I just ran through the woods, enjoying the crisp, cool air of mid October as it filled my lungs. I came to a stop in a small circular clearing, directly beneath the full moon up above. I had never been here at night, but this had been my escape from my family before my siblings had become too powerful to avoid so easily.

Sitting down, I felt the dam of emotions break and I started to cry. It had been a while since I had broken down this much, but with no one there to see, I couldn't bring myself to care. But I was wrong about that. Because I was not alone.

"Rough day?"

I turned around, expecting to see Victoria again. But the woman who had spoken was not my sister. In fact, it's not even someone I knew.

She stood around my height, just shy of 6ft (~180cm). She wasn't wearing make-up, and her hair fell loosely over her shoulders. Her clothing was plain, just a flowy summer dress, admittedly odd for an autumn night. But despite seemingly not trying, she was easily the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen.

"I, uh, um..."

I know, my conversation skills are superb. But in my defense, she had just snuck up on me. Taking a moment to examine her demeanor, I noticed that she had the confident pose that only comes with immense power. That's something I was all too familiar with. Given the circumstances, she was probably going to rob me, or use me as a human sacrifice. Just my luck.

"Listen lady, I dunno what you want, but I don't have anything, so you might as well not start anything."

"Relax, Lucas, I'm not gonna hurt you. In fact... It's quite the opposite. I'd like to help you."

As she said that, she blinked, and her eyes glowed a deep crimson. My heart skipped a beat. Somehow, I had wound up face to face with a devil.