Even after I had a good night's sleep, I actually felt too weak to go back to my training, but knew we couldn't lose any minute.

That morning, Raegan showed up to my room with a weird pink plastic cube.

"Don't worry, it's not a chew toy for dogs," she said, reading my puzzled expression. "It's a polymer cube that imitates the reactions of Enchanters. You can cast a spell on it and see how your opponent would react. We are going to use it to learn our second lesson: how to kill."

She shifted the cube into her hands.

"This polymer is called ReAd, from the Latin word Readopto which, I guess, could mean remodelling in this context."

"Enchanters like Latin," I offered. "It's not everywhere, like most books humans write about magic would make you think, but I've encountered many Latin words."

"I have no clue whether it's just Enchanters in the United Kingdom or not. Maybe all across Europe," she replied. "But this was our language when most of our rules, politics and culture were created. Right before we had to separate ourselves from the world of humans. People who write history books say life was great back then. It was good for us to dwell between humans."

I wanted to reply that it was never good for me, but what did I know? It must be hard to live separated from the creatures that look more similar to you, all the while being less technologically advanced and having traditions that are almost only based on magic — because that was what had divided the two species in the first place.

I looked at the cube, concentrating, for some time but nothing happened. But you should cut me some slack. Killing is not that easy.

Sometimes, to cast a great spell, it takes hours. Unless you're an expert, of course. After an hour, the cube was crumbling up.

"That's good!" Raegan exclaimed. "Though you'd have to be faster. I figure it's going to take us a few more days to continue our quest."

I would have wanted to learn quicker too, but killing on the spot is very hard, even if the thing you're killing is a polymer cube invented by someone who shares your name.

As it often happens, just when I was about to give up, I felt something clicking inside of me.

And the cube vanished into thin air.

"I know I shouldn't say this," Raegan commented. "But it gets easier with time."

I hoped she meant it in a theoretical sense.

With a nod of her hands, she put the cube back together.

"No," she said bitterly, her voice shaking a little. "You can't do that with people."

"So, what do we do now?" she asked then. "Do we have to try it again?"

I smiled at Raegan.

"You're my best friend. If I really have to spend my day killing that cube over and over, there's no one else I'd rather do it with."

She smiled back at me, showing her strong white teeth. "Of course, but don't let it become your favourite hobby."

After a few hours, I was able to destroy it twice and Raegan five times but, according to her, I did good.

During lunch, I sat next to Jeff. I missed talking to him. I asked him how his training was going. He was humble, as usual, but he looked happy he acquired new skills.

"You know, Ryan," he admitted, blushing. "I would have never thought I'd be dabbling with black magic. I didn't like the idea. And Grandpa... He says I'm traumatised from last year's quest, because of the amnesia. He told me that I wouldn't be able to contain all of my power. But I thought about it and I realised that it's better to try anything once. It's better to be a good person because you are able to make the choice, and not because you are limited."

I stared at him, trying not to let my jaw drop. I didn't know how, but he always knew what to say. He was incredibly deep.

My third lesson would have been learning how to become invisible. Even though there had been times in my life where I would have loved to learn how to disappear, that didn't mean the lesson was going to be easy.

That day, like every Wednesday, Vitaly decided to teach us some history too.

"I would like to know the correlation between Enchanters and Tarot Cards," I said. "Professor Winter never got to that part when we studied history with him."

"As with all the old legends and stories, not much is known," Vitaly explained. "But this is the main correlation — you are aware of what the Malleus Maleficarum is, right?"

"Of course," I replied, offended. I was not a total idiot.

"Well, when it was released, it was when humans first started condemning and killing Enchanters. This was before the areas that made up the Aether Realm were established. And when some humans saw magic and witchcraft as satanism, others wanted to keep our culture alive and help us. That is why someone engraved the Mantegna Tarocchi, which were, in fact, not cards but engravings. It was said to be a human named Mantegna, but the truth is that no one knows who did it. Our own version is that it was a collaboration between humans and Enchanters. The engravings represented us, and our powers. When the tarot cards became famous, many cards took their names from our magic, not the other way around."

"Except for the Reapers," Raegan commented, earning a stink eye from the teacher.

"Today I will be the one to teach you again, Ryan," Vitaly added, thoughtful.

I wondered whether it was because I was good or if it was the other way around. Maybe Jeff was so talented that he could practise with everyone, while I required the Professor.

Vitaly led me to a room that looked exactly like the Stars Room we had at school. It had the same paintings of stars on the ceiling.

The thing I hate the most about learning new spells: no rules, just concentration. If living between Enchanters was teaching me anything, it was how to become more patient.

Then I realised something about true invisibility. It didn't mean something no one could see. It meant something no one could not perceive with any of their senses.

I had to work on that. I didn't have to make myself invisible to everyone, being invisible only to Vitaly would be enough. I had to make sure he couldn't sense my presence.

I had spent about half an hour concentrating on disappearing from his sight when I started feeling embarrassed. Was I doing it right? If I looked down, my body was still there. And the look in Vitaly's eyes could only mean that his patience was wearing thin.

I wanted to tell him I was sorry for being such a mess, when I noticed he wasn't looking directly at me. In fact, it looked as if he couldn't tell where I was at all. I was right about the spell. I wasn't invisible to everyone, but I didn't have to be. I was invisible to him.

I got over-excited and started moving around the room. His gaze didn't follow me. He really couldn't see me!

After I had some fun, I decided to make myself visible to him again.

"How did it go?" I asked, but I knew the answer.

"You really are a fast learner," Vitaly smiled. "I'm happy you're making progress. Now I'm wondering how you would act under pressure, but don't worry — it's only natural to have such doubts. At least, now you're almost an expert."

I was happy to hear it from him. What Professor Winter had never got about me was that I had given up on being exceptional a lot of time before. I just wanted to be good.

"I shouldn't even say that," Vitaly added. "Because it's obvious, but you need to exercise a lot. However, once you learn a new skill, you have plenty of time to exercise and get better at it. You will learn that it's not so easy to cast a spell under certain circumstances or to make it last longer. Casting a simple spell is easy because the ability to do magic is already in your veins, but you still have a few things to learn."

"Well," I mumbled. "Anxiety and inexperience are certainly circumstances that weaken my powers."

"You know," Vitaly said, dumbfounded. "You're a talented magic user. I thought after growing up with humans you might have buried some of your magic inside you, but it doesn't seem to be the case. You know, changing someone's memories was something I should have taught you, before you attempted to do it, but you did it wonderfully all the same. Your friend Jeff forgives you for it, obviously but he told me he thought of it as worse than killing."

I felt a little guilty. Jeff certainly thought so because he'd suffered of amnesia. I was glad to know he wasn't angry at me.

"You can go now," Vitaly said. "Black magic seems to come very easy to you."

He was smiling, but I didn't like what he'd said all the same. "White magic was never that easy..." I fidgeted. I couldn't help but think about Edgar's words. "Is there something wrong with me?"

Vitaly shook his head. "Other than being a hybrid and a Variation? It's already weird enough as it is. Don't worry... if black magic comes easier to you, it's simply because of your personality. As I said, it differs from person to person. You're curious, and you don't want to be limited by anything. Don't think of it as a flaw."

I couldn't help but think of it as a flaw. That, mixed with my stormy powers and what I'd done days before, was making me feel more detached from Raegan and Jeff. Sure, my Scottish friend already knew black magic --- including how to kill --- but I didn't know how to justify my weirdness to them.

Edgar, at the very least, judged me openly, to my face. Whatever the issue was, we could talk it out loud and resolve it.

"I think Vitaly is right," Edgar told me, when I explained the whole conversation. "You're too troubled for white magic, which is calm, and many Water Hierophants describe it as 'an energy flowing like a stream'... You're more in tune with black magic becuase it's chaotic, like you. But if you don't give into using too much, it's perfectly normal."

I sighed. "I've told you about my ADHD. When it gets in the way, or my anxiety does, I am not a good Enchanter. Even before, I was never a good student. You might wonder why I am so curious, why I've always wanted to learn how to shift space and time. Well, curiosity, excitement, is all that I have. Patience doesn't work for me. Honing a talent doesn't work either."

Edgar nodded. "That's what I was getting at. And I know you never told of what it was like, losing your mother and living with Mister Locksley... but from the things I gathered, it mustn't have been easy. You're probably traumatised."

I told him about the doubts that had been eating me from the inside out. I was afraid that, if I couldn't control myself during my exercises, I would risk becoming a Typhon. I knew Vitaly was being careful, but Jeff and Raegan had less problems than me controlling themselves. I'd never been able to put a stop to the disasters I caused. What if the way my magic flowed like a river in flood would make me lose control of my black magic? What if everything I did would always be too much?

When I finished speaking, Edgar replied, seriously, "I'm sorry, again, for what I told you. I don't think you're someone who risks becoming a Typhon. I've read they have to discard white magic entirely before something like that happens. I don't know how it works, but I've figured that it probably means that they tap into the place of their heart where black magic comes from even for the usual, normal spells."

"I'm sorry that, sometimes, I am hard on you," I couldn't help but say. "You're not all bad. Talking to you is not only informative... it's also... I don't know why, but I like it. We could make a good team."

Edgar was about to reply. But as I was mulling over in my head all the idiotic things I've said, Vitaly opened the door.

"Ryan," he said. "I want to talk to you. Don't worry --- it's not about today's lesson. It's something... more personal than that."

I followed Vitaly down the aisle. I couldn't help but think that I'd likely never hear what Edgar was going to reply. He wasn't the type to keep a conversation going even after it was cut short, especially an awkward one.

"I'm proud of you," Vitaly told me, as he made me sit down. "Proud as if you were my son. I know how much it means to you, being here and studying. I don't want to be that careless teacher who cannot help you control your wonderful, wonderful skills."

"Edgar confirmed your theories," I said. "My mental state hasn't been the best since the day my mother died in that accident. I am a hybrid and a Variation. I do not know which my second power is. What if this combination... makes it impossible for me to become a good Echanter?"

"There's something you still don't know about magic," Vitaly smiled. "And I'm happy to explain it to you. Everything that is around you is energy, it's magic. Find it. Sometimes it's hard, I admit. But it's not impossible. I think that magic is the opposite of impossible. You can't have one and the other. That means that even unthinkable powers don't mean you're faulty. There's no such thing as impossible magic."

He looked at me as if he was studying me.

"Of course," he said. "You are... how can I say this? More sensitive than others. This changes not only your personality but also your spells. Sensible, receptive, weak but incredibly strong at the same time."

I thought bitterly that it sounded amazing, but not exactly true. I decided it was time to face the truth — I wasn't the strongest Enchanter around and everybody knew it.

Jeff, however, just might be.

"You should teach Jeff more," I said. "And maybe Brady Doyle, a hybrid, can help me. I've noticed you don't talk to Jeff much. Is it because you're still suffering over his father?"

Vitaly's smile faltered. "I'll try to be fairer with Jeff. The truth is, he never warmed up to me. And all of you have had terrible situations, which don't let you keep adults close. And an adult who did what I did should never ask for trust, and expect to receive it. I know not only Jeff's story and yours, but also that Raegan had to watch her parents die."

I felt terrible for never having asked her anything about her parents' murder before. "I did not know that."

"I do not feel pity for any of you. I am training you because in you, I see your mother. No one knows why Variations are born, so I don't know if it was her powers or your father's to blame, but your personality is the same as hers."

I stood up. My chair almost fell backwards. I was trembling.

"What do you mean? You knew my mother? But... that's impossible! She was a human!"

I should have asked information about my father, but my mother's story interested me the most. She told me my father had abandoned us, and while I wanted to know who he was... Well, let's just say that, if Vitaly wanted to offer one information at a time, it was my mother being an Enchanter what I wanted to hear the most.

"I know who your mother was, but I don't know how many details I can give you," he looked old and tired. It was obvious that he was trying to hold something back. "She was born an Enchanter, but without powers, because she was from a mixed family. That makes you a hybrid, too. Even those of us who are born powerless are raised in the Aether Realm, if they are born within the community, but they can go to the Human Realm as they please. I can't tell you who your father is because I swore an oath of secrecy a long time ago."

I didn't understand, but I respected his decision. There was no sense in fighting. He was the only person who might have had the answers I was looking for.

"Then why has my mother never told me what she was?" I pleaded. "It could have helped me, to know she was like me."

"Your mother died when you were ten, correct? And you developed your powers at what... twelve? Thirteen? It's clear she hoped for you to be a human."

"She did hope that," I lowered my head. "I wonder if she'd be disappointed that I'm not. I had to keep secret that I was a hybrid, too. When I was seven years old, she made me change schools because I told out loud what I was. Not to mention, my ADHD was already giving me problems back then."

"It's been mentioned before that you lived with a Sphinx," Vitaly said. He didn't look too happy about it.

I felt bad. Who had asked him to keep such an oath about my family? What might have happened to my father that was so bad that I could see Vitaly's tears falling from his eyes when he was talking about him, before?

"There are only a few reasons why one would choose that," he added.

"My mother was in love with Mister Locksley, back when he was a decent guy. She might have not known he was a Sphinx."

"I'm sure she was. Sphinxes are all generally rude and violent, but they get worse with each year they have to keep a secret. But your mother already knew that. You forget that I knew her well. I think I can tell you, without breaking any oath, that she was my cousin. Hence the similarity between you and I."

I couldn't even gasp, before he added, "If she lived with a Sphinx and pretended to be human, it's because she wanted to hide from the Enchanters. And if it is what she was, indeed, trying to do, then I fear that you are in danger as well."