Emyrith moved to the back of the room, next to the screen. “Mr. Hallow, kindly tell me your understanding of the situation. From the top.”

  The lawyer was good at seamlessly transitioning from one topic to another. But I wasn’t. I was still reeling from the shock that I only had two days, which my gut told me gave me a snowball’s chance in hell. Though considering the weather outside, I should switch up the verbage.

  “Ok.” I shook my head, shaking stray thoughts free and getting my brain to work, “Mom was a Practitioner. A powerful one, but dangerous. So people want to use the fact that she was dangerous as an excuse to try and get their hands on the stuff she left behind.”

  “Admittedly, their argument is sound.” He added.

  “Can you tell me more about this ‘Society’?”

  “The remnants of an era when Practitioners served as advisors to emperors and kings. Now, it is more a loose collective of powerful Practitioner families that oversee the world on a grander scale. It’d be easier to think of them as a oligarch-country.”

  I scoffed. “Seems kind of petty for them to stick their noses into this. Greedy too.”

  “If they did it to any other individual, it would be blatant greed. But in your mother’s case… well, I would consider it a compliment that the ruling class of Society deems her legacy threatening enough to allow this at all.” Emyrith commented.

  “Yeah, that’s exactly what it felt like. A compliment.” I muttered.

  Emyrith ignored my comment, which is the best way to deal with my sarcasm: feigning as if I said nothing at all. In hindsight, it’s probably the most effective counter-strategy when dealing with snarky high schoolers.

  “The Valentines and the Baeks are exactly the sort of families who’d excel in this sort of endeavor.” Emyrith continued, “By the very virtue of being of highborne ancient blood in the practice, they are relentless when pursuing their goals. They also have a reputation for raising competent scions, with plenty of branch houses possessing lesser established practices to adopt the Hallow and Shin knowledge if they should succeed.”

  All of a sudden, Emyrith was speaking in a different language. I shook my head. “Emyrith, knowing more about them doesn’t help me right now.”

  He waited for me to explain.

  “Knowing what they can do only helps if I know what I can do. I can’t choose where to fight if I don’t even know what the battlefield is.” I absently flipped a page for Ruth; not having opposable thumbs made it hard for the ragdoll familiar to do so herself. “I’d rather know more about my mom and my dad, what made them such… bad people.” I winced internally at the last two words.

  “Fair point, Mr. Hallow.” Emyrith replied, “The Shins practised a specific brand of Musok Shamanism originating from the South Korean peninsula, the roots of which can be traced to Tongusic Tribe in Siberia. The roots of all practice are similar: men at the mercy of powerful beings reached out towards higher powers, forming pacts and bonds –which would later form the skeleton for the rituals we have now.”

  “...What kind of things?”

  “Beings that ruled the night, Mr. Hallow. Whether it be a vampire turned warlord, or a god-king who swore himself to things best left alone, a troll holding a town hostage. Even a tribe of goblins were powerful enough to rule over a dozen villages at once in those times.” Emyrith explained.

  I once read a manga about this guy who only slayed goblins. I didn’t like that imagery at all.

  “Returning to your mother’s practice; she crossed lines. Broke rules. She dealt with beings that would be dangerous to human society, when disturbed.”

  “Like horsemen of the apocalypse stuff?”

  “Not them specifically, but in essence, yes.” Emyrith’s eyes flickered over to the windows, “Great ghosts. Old spirits. Forgotten dreams.”

  "Jesus Christ."

  "He was more of a practitioner, though historians can never seem to agree. Perhaps a Sorceror-king, or a god-mage. I imagine by the end, there was no difference."

  It bothered me a lot that he took my metaphor literally. But I didn't press. “And my dad?”

  “Your father comes from a family of Diabolists.” He said, like that, explained everything.

  “I’ve been wondering about that.” I interjected, “Is that what I think it means?”

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “In relation to the study of, bargains with, worships or contracts with infernal beings.” Emyrith answered, “Just through association with the beings that they conjure, they are pariahs. Shunned, or at the best, tolerated. At worst? Hunted.”

  “Were they targeted just because their practice was different?”

  “An oversimplification. Being different is an advantage in Society.” Emyrith elaborated, “The beings they dealt with are dangerous, Mr. Hallow. The fact that the Valentines and the Baeks were allowed to get even this far with their claims is evidence that many people agree on that fact.”

  “That’s putting the cart before the horse.” I replied, but my heart wasn’t in it. “What about me then? If I–” I rolled my eyes, “–win, wouldn’t I be doing the same things my parents did?”

  “Mr. Hallow,” Emyrith said grimly, “To even win, you will need to do the same things your parents did.”

  Devils and ghosts.

  “Jesus.” I swore for the umpteenth time.

  “Quite the opposite, actually.” Emyrith said wistfully.

  I looked up sharply. “Did you just crack a joke?”

  “Emmie, are you ok?” Ruth asked, looking up from the book.

  “Yes. I am fine, Ruth.” Emyrith cleared his throat, “You said you wanted to choose the battlefield; you read Sun Tzu?”

  “Yeah. I took an elective on global classics last year.”

  “Then let’s discuss next steps. The goal is to advance your practice as much as you can in the next two days.” His expression was still grim, but the lines loosened. “Did William leave you advice in his letter?”

  “He recommended contracting a Familiar first.”

  “Then that’s what you will do.” He handed me a business card and a pair of keys.

  There was no name, just an address.

  “There, you will find books, supplies, and materials. A safehouse. Your parents prepared it for just such an occasion.”

  “Do all practitioners have safehouses?” I joked, taking a look at the address. It was in Brooklyn. I wasn't even surprised anymore. “Damn, maybe it’s a brownstone.”

  Emyrith closed his briefcase. “Mr. Hallow, my driver will take you there. But I won’t be able to go with you.”

  I saw it coming, but I couldn’t help the stab of disappointment. “Debts and Obligations?” I mirrored his words from earlier.

  He nodded. “It’s beyond the scope of what I am allowed to offer. Outside of legal advice and general counsel, I am unable to assist you.”

  “Well, the monster truck helps.” I got up. “Hey, uh…” God, I sucked at this.

  Emyrith held up a hand. “No need. We will see each other soon enough. Contact me as soon as you contract a familiar.”

  “Oh. Ok.” I gathered my things, picked up the book on colleges, and shrugged. “Ruth, you want to borrow this?”

  “Really?!” The ragdoll hopped off of Emyrith’s shoulders and came bouncing over the table. She hugged the book close to her chest. The book was large enough to hide her from view.

  “Yeah. The least I could do.”

  “Emmie! I told you! He’s a good one!”

  Emyrith smiled. For real this time.

  I started to leave when Emyrith said one last thing.

  “Mr. Hallow? A word of advice? As your legal counsel?”

  “Hm?”

  “Word will have gotten out about you. And I imagine many will come looking.”

  I remembered the thing that had been looking at us through the office window and shoved the memory away on reflex. There was enough nightmare fuel in my brain already without adding the supernatural into the mix.

  “Books. Knowledge. Bargains. Oaths. Promises. They are all currencies in this new world, Mr. Hallow. And the most valuable of them all, is Trust.” His eyes shone brightly green, too much for it to be entirely natural. “Dole it out sparingly.”

  The wooden door closed on its own.

  I turned and left.