I eventually ended up in front of the room circled on the map. It had taken some wondering, cursing, and walked-circles until I found it. Number sixteen. The door was solid wood and looked exactly like a hotel's. I looked back down at the paper and blinked slightly. The corner -- at some point in my trip -- had hardened and morphed into a key card.

   Roxie Reilly -- Apprentice
   A. Albers
   Mage.

   Curious, I peeled it off of the map. A lanyard came with it, unfurling and dropping a bit. Hoping it was the room key, I waved it at the door handle. I felt a faint buzz and my hand sparked with gold. I yelped as scarlet seared into the door and the lock popped open. My hand felt odd, like it'd been asleep. Blinking rapidly, I shook out my hand and stepped into the room. I looked back down at the lanyard and noticed it had turned crimson -- the exact color of my magic.

   Perhaps that had been a spell to make it so that I was the only person able to enter the room? It had forced a reaction from my magic and then color-coded my lanyard. I just assumed that was it and closed the door after myself. I hung the lanyard around my neck and looked around.

   There was a queen bed in the center, a large window looking over the snow-tipped trees outside. A few lamps turned on automatically. I appreciated that it almost looked like a normal hotel. Almost. The door still hung in my mind. Exhaling, I turned on my heel and sent my cloak away. There was no reason to hide in it -- no one had been able to see me with Alexie. I still didn't get his insistence on making sure the other apprentices figured it out on their own.

   Well, I was going to do some investigating. That woman -- Mary -- had known him. How? And she acted like she had offended him by calling him a prank? I didn't get it. Intent on getting answers, I unpacked and prepared to leave the room. Seeing my reflection had been a bit of a surprise, since I hadn't in the past five months. My hair had definitely grown too long. Though the very light dusting of freckles on my nose had faded from my time indoors.

   Finally, I closed the door to my room. Then I looked down at my lanyard and grimaced. Alexie's last name was on it. And Mary had known who he was from that, so what was to say that others wouldn't too? I went back into my room, pulled some paper from my tiny notebook, and snatched the pen on the desk. I scrawled my name on the paper and slid it into the lanyard, covering the original design. I checked to make sure the other side didn't have the same thing and knew I was set to go.

   I closed the door after myself and just decided to wing it. It wasn't like the map was exactly helpful with finding the other apprentices. Besides, I was ready for some interaction that wasn't with the humorless robot that was Alexie. 

   With a shrug, I ventured down the hall, away from the direction I'd come from. A couple of turns later and I'd found some sort of corner room. Windows spanned the whole wall and a couple of couches dotted the area. There was a pool table and some sort of gaming console, though I was fairly sure it was the first ever edition of the Wii. In other words, it was obvious an adult had put the place together in a hope to appeal to teenagers.

   The sound of something smashing together made me wince. I stepped around the corner fully only to jump backwards with a yelp. The boy, wielding the pool stick like a javelin, yelled as he tumbled around the corner and sprawled. The pool stick fell out of his hands and landed at my feet. His eyes were wide and latched onto me. His mouth opened, quirking into a grin, before he was dragged backwards. He screeched as he was dragged out of sight. "No! Wait, dude wait! Ack!"

   There were a few laughs. I picked up the pool stick, suppressing a snicker at his face. "Wait what, Liam? Huh?" Someone taunted.

   "There's someone -- aaugh! Dude! Quit beating me with that thing!"

   "Say uncle!"

   "I'm not twelve and you're not my perverted uncle, Winston!"

   "Harley, hold him down!"

   "Not happening. I have standards."

   "Daniella?"

   "Not a chance."

    "Allie, my girl--"

   "If you're so tough, Winston, hold him down yourself," laughed another girl.

   "I'm telling you," cried Liam, "someone's around the corner. I call for backup!"

   A grin split my face and I called teasingly, "What do I get if I help?"

   "My deserts for the whole stay! Ack! Winston, I swear to all that's holy--"

   "Deal." I stepped into the room and brandished the pool stick with a wicked smile. Liam grinned as Winston -- halfway to pinning him down -- faltered at my appearance. "Wait, you weren't kidding?" He looked down at Liam accusingly, his light hair sweated down to his forehead. Liam grinned through his skewed glasses.

   "I chose you. . . uh, random person." He winced.

   "Nice try at a Pokémon reference, but I'll just pretend you did it right." I cocked my head and smirked. "Let him up, Winston."

   Winston shook his head defiantly. "Nope."

  "I expect my deserts," I told Liam with a chuckle and stepped forward. Winston ducked my swipe with the pool stick and I turned, using my heel to catch his shoulder. He yelped as I shoved him side and rolled him over with my foot. Liam tried to scramble away but Winston grabbed his leg, making him smack the ground.

   I sighed. The good thing about being a high-school boxer was that I knew how to deal with crazy kids. And without hurting them -- hopefully. Well, I had to admit that last part had nothing to do with boxing. I just liked to use boxing as an excuse. Once Winston got to the top of the wrestle, I stepped forward and hooked the stick under his torso. His confused sound turned into a yelp as I kicked his legs out from under him and jumped, smashing his front onto the ground. He groaned as I dug my knee into his back and kept the pool stick out of the way, just in case.

   "Dude, what the hell! You don't even reach my shoulders!"

   Laughter broke into the room. Liam got up and dusted himself off. I smirked and offered my hand to help Winston up. He gave me the stink-eye. I snickered. "Don't feel too bad. I've got several medals for the same move from high-school boxing."

   "That's not how boxing works." He grasped my hand and I pulled him up. He cleared his throat and dusted off a spot on my shoulder. My look turned sharp and he stepped back. He looked down at my lanyard. "Roxie, huh?"

   I opened my mouth to speak when a sharp voice cut in. "Who are you?"

   My eyes turned to the couch. A few others sat sprawled across it. The speaker was a girl -- probably my age -- with black hair and a wary gaze. My face pulled back in skepticism. "I'm Roxie?"

   Her eyes narrowed. "Just Roxie?" Her gaze was glued to my lanyard. "Why have you covered your ID card?"

   My hackles went up. "Reasons. Anyway," I plopped onto the other couch, "I know he's Winston, he's Liam, but that's it. So who are you guys?"

   The blonde smiled slightly and waved her hand. Her staff sat across her lap. "I'm Allie. And that's Daniella." She elbowed Daniella slightly, making the girl scowl. "She's a bit of a spoil-sport."

   "I have the perfect nickname!" I grinned. "You are hereby dubbed Karen."

   "What?" Her shrill tone cut through the laughter that erupted. Liam threw his arm over another boy's shoulders. "This idiot is Harley and the other is Blake. We just call him Blue because he hates people." Blake -- Blue's -- face reddened. "And the other blonde is Katelyn."

   Katelyn waved. She sat in the corner beside Blue, and I noticed the remarkable similarities. Okay, siblings. They both had the same shade of brown hair and the same-shaped face. Allie herself looked like some lost child that someone had adopted but she hadn't quite gotten used to not staring at people yet. Harley himself was a whole 'nother deal. He couldn't seem to pick a style with his clothes.

    I could identify their type of magick by their tags, which made it easier. Karen and Harley seemed to be the other mages. Allie seemed to be thinking along the same lines because she asked curiously, "Are you a witch?"

   I shook my head. "Mage."

   Karen was eyeing my ID card again. I didn't know her deal with it until she asked, "So, your magic is red. Is it always?"

   What kind of question is that? I gave her an odd look. "Yes? And isn't yours always that lilac color?" Her lanyard was pale lilac. 

   "Are you the only mage here with red magic?"

   "How would I know? And why?"

   Her eyes narrowed. "I saw someone out front use red magic." I had no idea what she meant until Winston groaned and sat beside her. "Sorry, but she's convinced she saw someone outside. It's just your luck that you have the same magic as the person she saw."

   Uh oh... "Who did you see use red magic? And why would it matter?"

   "She's convinced she saw Alexie Albers," chuckled Katelyn. "Even I know that's impossible."

  Crap. How the heck do these people know Alexie? And I had used magic out front when I'd made sure I hadn't fallen down. That explained what Karen was staring at me. But that didn't explain how they knew Alexie.

   "Why would it be impossible?" I faked a frown, which to be honest, it wasn't very fake. "If she saw him."

   "Because he wouldn't be at a meeting!" Blue waved his hand dismissively. "There's no way the White Mage has an apprentice. I think you saw a copycat with the same cloak, Daniella."

   "I know what I saw," Karen gritted out. "They appeared from the nex gate at the same time. They were together."

   "What does it matter, anyway?" I put my chin on my hand, trying to appear nonchalant. "He's just some guy."

   Nearly everyone snorted at once. "Just some guy," Harley snickered. "You're funny."

   My eyes widened slightly. "Isn't he?"

   Allie smiled faintly. "If you keep up this 'I-don't-know' thing, I just might think Daniella's right." She teased.

   "Wha--?" I blanched. "I'm not kidding. I grew up under a rock, okay? I've only ever heard his name mentioned."

   "That would have to be a hell of a rock," said Karen flatly.

   Harley waved her off. "Back down, tigress. We know anything is possible." He glanced my way. "He's basically some loner who apparently is the most powerful mage of the century. According to the rumors, he knows how to handle magic in such a way that he knows everything there is to know about it."

   I blinked slightly. "So he's just some expert?" That didn't seem right.

   "More like mad scientist," grumbled Karen. "He's crazy. I heard someone say he was banished to the Ghost Realm for the use of dark magic and it drove him insane. He's been manipulating the Council for years now."

   "Oh, come on," said Liam. "Be realistic."

   "I am! My mother knows the guy," insisted Karen. "He stormed in on a Council meeting and had them completely wrapped around his fingers. He's a psycho."

   I sat there and digested the information while they debated what could be right or wrong. None of what they said felt right. Well, except for the mage of the century thing. I'd heard Dani say the same thing back in Memphis. And after dealing with him for five months, it was easy to believe that he knew a bit more about magic that it was to be assumed. Besides, he'd already taught me several tricks that the rest of the world didn't know how to do.

   But a psycho from this Ghost Realm thing? I didn't feel like asking about that either. I had a feeling that was another stupid question, and somehow worse than asking who exactly Alexie Albers was.