"What do you mean, I can barely do witchcraft let alone bring down a building." I told him since none of it made any sense.

"It seems Maya has not informed you of everything. You are a follower of Setehk he is a god of chaos, ergo you are a wielder of chaos magic which is how you brought the building down and ended up here since deserts fall under his dominion as well." Seth replied with a sigh.

"how does chaos take down a building?!" I asked.

"I guess we have to start at the very beginning then. There are five elements in witchcraft at least in most practices these are Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Spirit. Spirit is the one we can about right now and that is because it is comprised of two part order and chaos. Order or Ma'at is structure, the laws of nature that mean a thing is what it is. Chaos or Isfet is change both good and bad, one thing becoming something else. Are you with me so far?" Seth asked as the waitress brought me a slice of chocolate cake.

"Yeah, I think so. Order gives form and Chaos makes things change." I replied.

"Pretty much. Now as a follower of Setehk who is a chaos god you have a natural predilection to chaos magic even without training. Chaos is what governs emotion that is why a person's emotions can change so quickly and be so convoluted, so when your emotions run high you are much more likely to use chaos magic even without knowing it." Seth replied.

"SO anytime I get emotional a building is going to fall down?!" I asked afraid.

"Not necessarily being chaos magic it can be quite random in it's effects if there is no order to it. That is the basis behind spells and rituals, chaos causes change while order solidifies that change into the desired effect. Since Setehk is the reason behind your chaos magic it will most likely manifest in as one of his domains." Seth replied.

"What are Setehk's domains, I read about him but you seem to know a lot more than I do?" I asked, I should at least get an idea of what could happen.

"Setehk is usually associated with chaos, the desert, storms, foreigners, destruction, and violence he is also sometimes called a god of war, earthquakes and confusion amongst other things. Past members of your family have caused blackouts through storms, caused sandstorms, and destroyed buildings or other structures as you are familiar with. Your father had a propensity for causing fights between people like bar fights and street brawls." Seth replied, hopefully I wouldn't be destroying anymore buildings anytime soon.

"So where exactly are we?" Rameses asked while Jasper took a child form and sat on my other side, I pushed the cake to him which he happily took once I gave a nod, I really just didn't have any appetite anymore but I'd keep sipping on my hot cocoa.

"You are currently in a small town called Cortez in Colorado but you won't be staying here for long. Once the impudent pup realizes his brothers are fine he'll come looking for you, and you shouldn't be here when he does." Seth replied.

"We aren't supposed to go back into the desert are we?" Jasper asked in between bites.

"The desert isn't that bad but no I'll send you north to Durango from there you will be on your own." Seth told us.

"Why can't you just send us to aunt Maya?" I asked.

"I could but there are several reasons why you should stay away from your family." Seth replied.

"What reasons would be good enough?" Jasper asked even though he and Maya hadn't exactly left things off well.

"One, it is for your own growth Maya. You're aunt was taught by a witch from outside of your family, for better or worse this means that she leans towards order far more than chaos. If she were to teach you she would teach you control and constraint which will make using magic dangerous for you. She would teach you that your emotions need to be managed to control your magic but that will only lead to a more powerful explosion later with far more devastating effects. Which reminds me your father wanted you to have this." Seth replied pushing a leatherbound journal across the table, it had no title no name on the front.

"The second reason is that while you are learning having your family around will put them in danger. Even if it isn't caused by you directly, your very being invites change both good and bad, many creatures are drawn to it even if they aren't sure why. Damian is a good example of that as is Jasper, why do you think he has been wanting to stay with you? He might not realize why but it's actually very simple, change doesn't just inspire dread but also hope." Seth continued.

"And Setehk will send his servants after me too." I said dryly.

"Why would he, you already belong to him. What do you think he's going to do, collect you and keep you in a cage? No, it doesn't work like that." Seth chuckled.

"Then how does it work?" Rameses asked getting a nod of agreement from Jasper and I wanted to know the answer as well.

"It's actually very simple it's a lot like a familiar bond to the point where some class it as the same. The god or powerful spirit creates a connection with the witch who gains access to an extent to their powers in return the god or spirit receives energy. This energy bounces back and forth making both parties more powerful. The other part of it is that the witch might make requests such as for help or good fortune or talent etc. the god or spirit will also sometimes make requests as well. Sometimes it's as simple as an offering other times it's a quest such as retrieving something or breaking a seal or something along those lines." Seth replied making it sound more like a business deal. I was about to ask for more clarification when a strange stuttering howl rung out joined by two others.

"Well it looks like we are out of time." Seth said as a vortex of wind and sand kicked up around the table, I was soon blinded and it felt like I was being put through a tumble dryer. I landed laying on my back I didn't have time to get up before Jasper and Rameses were dropped on my stomach knocking the breath out of me.

"Sorry. Are you alright?" Rameses asked as he and Jasper scrambled off of me.

"I'm good." I replied getting up after a few moments. Seth had dropped us on a trail next to a river that was barely lit by some streetlights on a nearby bridge that crossed over the path.

"Well I guess we should find somewhere to stay the night and in the morning we will figure out what to do next." I told them getting nods in return. The three of us headed towards the bridge climbing a set of stairs so we could cross it since the town seemed to be on the other side, hopefully we could find a hotel.

"Something is following us." Rameses told me in my mind.

"Any idea what it is?" I asked grabbing Jasper's hand to pull him closer to us and get his attention, hopefully without whatever was following us realizing we were on to it.

"No I don't but it's quick and quiet, not human it moves more like a spider or a lizard from what I can tell but I've never come across something like this before." Rameses replied, we had finally spotted the soaring sign of a hotel but it was pretty far and the last thing I wanted to do was run and invite whatever it was to chase us.

"Rameses, keep tabs on it. Hopefully we can get to the hotel before it becomes a problem." I told him. We had only made it a couple of blocks when Rameses spun around hackles raised growling and hissing for all he was worth, Jasper took his cue and turned back into a wisp flaring in bright orange as he stretched what limited power he had left. I turned quickly but only caught a glimpse of it pale and sickly with thinning black hair as it turned away with an angry scream and climbed up a nearby wall.

"What the hell was that?!" Jasper asked.

"I have no idea but it's not friendly." Rameses retorted his head swiveling back and forth as he tried to locate the thing. I heard heavy footsteps charging down the street from the same direction the predator had come from.

"GET DOWN!" A man called out as he came into the light and raised a shotgun up leveling it towards us. I grabbed Jasper and tackled Rameses to the ground as I hit the deck ignoring the burns Jasper gave me. A resounding boom rang out as air wooshed past me.