3. Bank Stamp

Bermuda hopped up on my lap and settled in for a snuggle. He didn’t care about Bank Stamps or any of that human stuff. He just wanted some daddy time.

“He sure does like you,” Rene noted. “Are you his caregiver?”

I just laughed.

“I’m sure he thinks of it that way,” I replied. “The truth is we take care of each other. He saved my life, and we’ve been together ever since. I’ve never had a pet before, but now I couldn’t imagine my life without him.”

Rene looked at Bermuda, then at me, and back to Bermuda again with a deeply confused expression.

“Wait, is this your Companion?” He said it like it couldn’t possibly be true.

“Yep,” I replied happily. “This is my fur baby, and I’m his human.”

“He guards you?” Rene still sounded incredulous.

“Yep,” I replied again, not sure why he was making such a big deal out of it. “He’s come to my rescue more than once. Together, we make a pretty good team.”

“Huh,” Rene said—like he’d just seen a pig fly by. “I thought for sure he would be paired up with John, or possibly Sandy. That seems like the more likely choice. So who is paired up with the other Companion?”

“Mr. Tubbles and Tyler go together,” I replied, gesturing at Mr. Tubbles, who blinked at us sleepily with his one good eye. Now Tyler was gone, he’d settled on the back of the sofa, and a nap was clearly in order.

“That pairing makes a lot more sense,” Rene nodded, and then gave me a piercing look. “Well, let’s hope there is more to you than first impressions would suggest.”

He sounded a bit tart, which made me want to reply that hopefully he was also better than his first impression. But that would make me sound like a smartass, and I’d already seen he had a softer side, so I let it go.

“Thank you for helping Annabeth, and thank you for working with us today,” I said sincerely. I wasn’t ready to apologize, and if I tried, it would just sound insincere. Instead, I stuck to the things I was grateful for. “I know that having Bank Stamps will help both of us immensely. I hope we will be successful in this tournament and surprise you and the rest of the supernatural world. We can pay off our debt, you can look like a hero, and we can remain together in this House.”

“I hope for that too,” Rene agreed firmly. We gave each other a steady look of understanding. We weren’t going to be best pals, but at least we’d found common ground.

“I will admit that Annabeth has certainly surprised me. She’s amazingly talented for a first year. Unfortunately, you aren’t competing against other first years. These guys are tough. They are talented. Most of all, they are prepared. They have entire teams of people to support the ones actually competing, and their schools have past winners and lots of experience to draw from.”

He paused, giving us all a serious look.

“I really want the best for you. But don’t kid yourselves. The task you are attempting is almost impossible. There is no way you can win. But if you can make a good showing for yourselves, if you can repay part of the debt by promoting the ideology of Paths to the Houses, then maybe I can work out something to keep you all together.”

He sat up straighter, and suddenly, looked all business-like.

“Annabeth did amazingly well, and now it’s your turn. You deserve a ceremony too, just like she did, but instead, we will move forward with what we have.”

He repeated what he’d said before about this being my initiation into the larger supernatural world. I could finally own pearls, I needed to be a responsible mage, and all that sort of stuff. I’d heard it already, but his words seemed to have more weight now it was my turn to get a Stamp.

“I have said the words and offered my wisdom. I welcome you with open arms beside the door to your future. Do you, Jason Cole, on this day and in the presence of these witnesses, accept the offer of the Stamp?”

“I do,” I said simply.

“Do you agree to open yourself and your magic to the process of acquiring the Stamp? This will include a full analysis of your color and your abilities. It will also require receiving the Stamp as well as integrating it into your system.”

“I do,” I said again.

“Wonderful!” Rene smiled at me, and this time he actually looked kind. “Just know that there can be different reactions to receiving the Stamp. Some have described it as being euphoric, while some have said it felt uncomfortable. Either way, it will certainly feel different for a while. The more you use the Stamp, the more integrated it will become. Eventually, you will use its services without a second thought.”

I nodded to show I understood. He’d said exactly the same thing to Annabeth, so in a weird way, it really was a ceremony. I’m sure it didn’t have all the pomp and circumstance that a ceremony at a Bank setting would offer, but it was good enough for me.

“Now, let me first begin with the analysis. Don’t worry, this won’t hurt at all.”

Rene smiled kindly again and started his scan. This time he immediately recoiled.

“Dear God!” he exclaimed, looking at me in horror. “What in heaven above happened to you?”

“What do you mean?” I asked as he started scanning me again.

“Your contamination.” He shook his head like he couldn’t believe it. “I don’t know that I’ve ever seen it so bad before. I mean, I’ve seen a few mages with more contamination, but it wasn’t anywhere near as saturated. And most of them died. How are you even walking?”

He gave me a look of pure pity, but didn’t give me a chance to answer him as he continued to analyze my magic.

“Your saturation levels are insane. I’m not even sure which one is your true color. I know you told me about the battles you were in, but I had no idea it was this bad. There is no way you can fight in the tournament. It’s going to take you decades to overcome this. And that’s assuming you live.”

He rounded on Sandy, and this time he looked angry.

“Did you know about his contamination? Why is he sitting here now? You’re his Head of House! He needs a senior mage right away to check him out and see if there is any way to help him. Surely the House has resources.”

I realized that for all his bluster, he was actually angry and concerned for me. How sweet.

Sandy looked shocked that he was upset with her over this.

“Move, woman!” Rene snapped. “There is no time to lose. His life hangs in the balance!”

Sandy held up her hand to stop him and get in a word.

“He’s fine,” she said quickly. “He has two primary colors.”

She was going to say more, but Rene was on a roll.

“That’s impossible. No mage has two primary colors.”

“We do,” Sandy said simply, motioning to John.

“That’s different,” Rene retorted. “You are two supernatural beings that have chosen to merge your magic. Even then, that process is full of danger. It rarely remains stable for long. After a few years, one person’s magic overwhelms the other one. You both might be lucky and last for much longer than that. Especially since you have the Stamp for Gaia’s Heart—or the Mark of the Deep Earth as you choose to call it. That might hold you both together in a stable way, but back to Jason.

“I repeat—you need to get him to a senior healer as quickly as possible!”

“I’m okay,” I interjected quickly before things between Rene and Sandy could get any more heated. “I really do have two colors of magic. I’ve had emerald green and sapphire blue magic for as long as I can remember.”

“That’s for how long?” Rene retorted. “Less than a year? You don’t know anything yet. Now be quiet while we work this out.”

He’d already started turning back to Sandy when I quickly interjected again.

“I’ve known the colors of my magic all my life. I’ve always been able to do a tiny bit of magic. It wasn’t until my Waker Moment that I really started growing magically, but I’ve always known I was special and what my colors were.”

He looked at me like I suddenly had two heads.

“Young man, nobody has access to magic until they go through their Waker Moment.

“Nobody,” he repeated again for emphasis.

“In addition, a small child cannot have a Waker Moment. You have to at least start puberty before you can become a supernatural. This is known and understood throughout the entire supernatural world. I don’t know what you are trying to pull here, but your claims are false. You might have fooled this small House, but you aren’t fooling me.”

This conversation was starting to sound a lot like when I’d talked with Josette, the mage with the black aura. She had been absolutely certain that my magic was contaminated and that I was lying. It was only after I’d sworn on my magic that she’d backed down, and even then she’d still been suspicious.

“I can only tell you what I know,” I said simply as Rene glared at me. “I’m in no danger. My magic is not contaminated. I’m an unusual, but healthy, mage, and I’m ready to continue receiving my Bank Stamp.”

I gave him a pointed stare, like “let’s get started,” but he just continued to glare back.

“Look,” I said. “I know I’m a bit different. But my magical configuration is not your problem. I need the Bank Stamp in order to enter the tournament, so how about we focus on that?”

“The Stamp won’t work in such a contaminated environment,” Rene said, “so there is no way I’ll give it to you. It would ruin you even more than you already are.”

He groaned and put his face in his hands for a moment.

“This whole idea was a long-shot anyway. There was no way this was going to work. I guess it’s good that we are stopping now.”

“We are not stopping,” I told him emphatically. “Would you accept my magic if I swore on my power that what I said was true?”

“There is no way you can do that,” he retorted. “Your magic won’t let you. You’re contaminated to an insane degree, and you know it.”

“Then you won’t have any problems swearing on your magic that if what I say is true, you will give me the Stamp and continue with the plan for the tournament.” I leaned forward with my own intense glare. It was sweet that he was trying to save me, but I didn’t need saving.

Not in that way, at least. If he had a few million pearls lying around and wanted to give them to a good cause, I would certainly take him up on that!

Rene looked around at the other Housemates, but they backed me up.

Bermuda sensed that things were getting tense again, so he started glaring at Rene too. I think that, more than anything else, decided him.

“You have a Companion for a reason.” Rene settled back in his chair. “If you can swear on your magic that you are not contaminated—and if your Companion allows it—and if this entire House swears not to hold me or the Bank responsible for the outcome—then I will continue giving you the Stamp.”

“That is acceptable to me,” I agreed.

“That is acceptable to this House,” Sandy took it from there. “As the Head of Household, I will go first. House Louisville and the residents of House Louisville hold Rene and the Bank blameless for any harm that may come from Jason receiving his Bank Stamp. This will apply to tonight’s activities only.”

Rene thought about the wording for a sec, and then nodded his acceptance.

“I’ll go next,” I said quickly. I wanted to move this along before Rene changed his mind.

I thought about what I’d sworn to Josette way back in the grocery store. Swearing needed to be contained in case I got stuck with a promise I needed to keep for forever.

“I swear on my magic that my face will turn green for one minute and my hair will catch on fire if the following statement is false.”

I felt my magic wake up and take notice as I finished speaking. Something clicked inside as it prepared to judge what I was about to say. Swearing on my magic was no joke.

Rene nodded for me to continue.

“To the best of my knowledge and understanding, both the emerald green magic and the sapphire blue magic are my natural colors, and neither one is a contamination.”

Something pinged inside me, and my magic went back to normal.

I gave him an easy smile as he looked at my hair, waiting for it to burst into flame.

He waited for a long moment. Then he looked at my face to see if it had turned green, and then went back to looking at my hair.

The room was silent, waiting for him to acknowledge my swear.

Finally, it was obvious that nothing was going to happen, so he growled and took a long drink of his ale. That finished it off, and John got up to get him a refill.

If I’d drunk as much as he had this evening, I”d have already passed out on the floor. For him, though, it just seemed to take the edge off. That was certainly working in our favor.

“I know you are convinced you have some sort of double color thing going on. I know you think that everything is fine, and true to my word, I will continue to give you your Stamp.” He gave a deep sigh. “Just know that in all my time with the Bank, and all the many Stamps I’ve installed, I’ve never seen anyone with two primary colors of magic. I’ve also never heard of any other Auditor that has encountered this situation either.

“I still think there is something amiss, and I would recommend you get your magic examined by a professional at the earliest opportunity. Either you are some sort of strange one-in-a-billion mage, or you are messed up and don’t know it.

“You know which one my pearls would be on,” he growled.

I just smiled at his phrasing. When I’d briefly met Father All-Rune at the Gathering, he’d said that the odds of creating a god were a little over one billion to one. It made me wonder if this double color thing was something all gods had. Or was it just me?

It would have been nice to get a Godhood for Dummies handbook when I’d had my Waker Moment.

Oh well. I’d figure it out.

“There is one more element I want to make sure of,” Rene continued as his gaze fastened on Bermuda.

“Honored Companion, I want you to know that I am giving your ward his Bank Stamp per his request. I have no ill intention towards him, and instead, I only wish him well. Should something happen to him, I wish to be held blameless for any harm that may occur.”

Bermuda gave him a long look followed by a steady blink. Then he nestled back in my lap again.

“This is settled,” Rene said to the room. “I will now continue.”

He held up his hand and restarted the scan. He grimaced a bit at what he was seeing, but he kept going. Then he got to my Marks, and again he stopped in shock.

“What in the nine hells?” he blurted. “You already have two Stamps?”

“Yes,” I replied. “I have the Mark of the Deep Earth, just like everyone here. You’ve already heard that story. Sandy and I also have the Mark of the Lagerel.”

I gestured for her to take over, and she told a short, but fun, story of how we’d met and befriended the tree people. Rene listened with rapt attention, and afterwards, he just shook his head in wonder.

“One moment while I look this up,” he said. He gestured a few times in the air, then shook his head in wonder again.

“That is truly amazing,” he said. “The Lagerel are not only the masters of their realm, but they are deeply connected to all vegetation. They are most closely connected to trees, of course, but they are also sympathetic to everything that grows in soil. Their Stamp, or Mark as you call it, is considered to be Epic caliber.”

He paused and regarded me thoughtfully for a moment.

“Most mages never get a Mark, no matter how small or common. And here you are, less than a year old, and you already have two. Either one of your Marks would assure that you would grow into a powerful being. With two of them together, I can’t imagine what you’ll be capable of.

“That’s assuming, of course, that you don’t go and do something stupid and get yourself crippled or killed before you grow up.”

Oh boy. He was back fussing about my two colors again. I just smiled as sweetly as I could and waited for him to continue.

Rene grumbled a bit, but then kept going.

“Is there anything else you want to tell me about before we begin?” he asked.

“Not that I know of,” I replied.

“Good,” Rene said. “I’ll now create the Bank Stamp. I put a lot of power into Annabeth’s Stamp in order to counter the amount of saturation she has with her magic. Your saturation is even higher. And you have two colors. I don’t know if any amount of power can overcome that, but I’m going to try. Just remain patient. This might take a while to put together.”

Once again he held out his right hand, and a small black sphere appeared. Again, he charged it up for a few moments before it started glowing and floated a couple inches up in the air. This time, he added his left hand, and power poured out of both of his palms into the shining sphere. I could see the effort he was giving as he powered it up to shine like a small sun. This time, though, he didn’t stop.

He kept going. Straining harder and harder to pack every bit of power he could into my Stamp. At one point, his feet came off the floor, and he almost curled up in a ball with the effort he was putting into the Stamp. After a few minutes, he started groaning, and then panting, like he was giving birth.

It was mesmerizing to watch, and I felt grateful that he was going to such lengths to give me the best chance possible at acclimating the Stamp. He could have just half-assed it and then said the failure was all on me. Instead, he was pouring what felt like an enormous amount of magic into that tiny sphere. Regardless of how this turned out, I could only say he had done his best.

Finally, he reached his limit.

“Quickly now, give me your wrist,” he panted.

I extended my right arm, and he practically threw the Stamp into my wrist. Clearly, he’d barely been able to contain its power.

I felt like I’d been hit with a cattle prod. I jerked, and every muscle in my right arm flexed at the same time. I thought that would be all and it would settle down. Instead, it was just getting started.

Forks of lightning shot through my hand, and my muscles spasmed so badly I thought my bones would break. I started to scream, but that was nothing compared to when the lightning shot up my arm and started spreading through the rest of my body.

Receiving my other Marks had been gentle compared to this. They had been like seeds, slowly growing and acclimating to their environment. This Stamp was like a crazy virus. It wanted to take over my whole system, and it wanted to do it right now.

It all happened so fast and the sensations were so intense, I didn’t have time to react. The lightning hit my lungs, and suddenly, I couldn’t breathe. It hit my heart, and I felt like my chest was going to explode. It shot down my body, and I shook so hard I fell out of my chair.

Everyone started yelling and reacting as I flopped around on the floor like a fish fresh out of the water.

I felt like Zeus was shagging me with his lightning bolt.

I felt like a Pentecostal in church, as God Almighty came down to smite me with his power.

I felt like the dog I used to know that got so excited he’d pee himself.

Gosh, I really hoped I wasn’t peeing myself right now.

And who the hell was making that annoying “Di Di Di Di Di” sound?

Oh—that was me.

Then all that power hit my brain, and the world went white.

Like, literally. It went white.

I was standing in a white room.

White floors.

White walls.

White ceiling.

It was even lit with pure white light.

Despite not having any frame of reference, the whole space seemed small—like I was in a shoebox.

Colin Firth from the Kingsman movies walked in. He was wearing a white suit with white shoes and a white tie. He looked strange, though, because somehow he was in very low resolution. His edges were fuzzy, and he moved like he’d just learned how to walk.

‘Welcome to the Bank,’ he said warmly. Then he fuzzed even more.

‘This host is a mess,’ he said, and this time he didn’t sound warm or welcoming. He glared at the world around him, then his eyes found me.

‘Incompatible host,’ he stated. ‘Initiating self-destruct sequence. Good day.’

Uh oh. That didn’t sound good.

Suddenly Penny was with us—arriving with the gong of a huge bell. Its bass notes shook the room. She was in her Athena battle outfit—styled like a Greek warrior, silver-blue like zinc and edged in copper. Her long, coppery hair whipped behind, and her eyes flashed with power.

‘Stop!’ she commanded as she leveled her spear at Fuzzy Colin Firth.

‘I cannot,’ he said simply. ‘This host is more than I can handle.’

‘Then die,’ she replied, and shot him. My emerald green and sapphire blue capsules of magic shot out of her spear like a rail gun and tore him to shreds.

I barely had time to say “Oh Shit!” as she kept going and tore through the rest of the room. The white walls fell like soggy cardboard, and suddenly, we were in a bigger space, and this time it was all black.

It wasn’t a flat black—it was more shiny. Like everything was made up of black marble. Again, without any frame of reference, it felt like the size of a small living room. Which seemed big, until we both grew ourselves. Then it felt small again.

This time Michael Caine walked in, wearing all black. He had on a thick black sweater, black dress pants, and shiny black shoes. It occurred to me that Michael Caine was also from the Kingsman movies. Maybe there was a theme here?

‘Welcome to the next level of the Bank,’ he said warmly. ‘I’m sure you have many questions and are anxious to get started with your new abilities…’

He paused and looked at us.

Then he looked all around.

‘This is most unusual. One moment please.’

Michael looked much better than Colin. He was still a bit pixelated, but he wasn’t fuzzy and seemed like he had a higher resolution.

‘I’m sorry,’ he said in his lovely British accent. ‘The host seems to be experiencing some difficulty. It seems we are incompatible.’

He gave us both a sad, pixelated smile.

‘Initiating self-destruct sequence. Have a lovely day.’

Eggy appeared behind him—his huge sword already in motion.

Pixelated Michael Caine barely had time to look surprised before he was sliced in two.

Eggy didn’t stop there. He swung through the pieces of Michael Caine a few more times until they shattered into little cubes and faded away.

Eggy and Penny buzzed in Stonespeak for a moment, and then she let loose with her spear. Again, she used my magic to blast the room apart.

The walls fell away to reveal we were inside a shop—a big one. It was about the size of a regular Walmart, before they started supersizing them and adding a grocery section. It was a lot nicer than a Walmart, though.

The display cases were made of what seemed to be real wood, and there were focused lights to draw attention to all the products. I felt like we were in Neiman Marcus or a flagship Apple store.

A very fat and prosperous looking shopkeeper came our way.

‘Welcome! Welcome! Welcome!’ he enthused. His arms were spread wide like he was going to hug us all and give us wet kisses on the cheek.

‘You have reached the Highest Level of the Bank! This level is Reserved for our most Exclusive Clients! I’m sure you have a Plethora of Needs as well as a Discerning Eye. We will Spare No Expense to make sure you have the Very Best of what is available!’

The capital letters and exclamation points rolled off his tongue. If we had to work together, he was going to have to tone it down a bit. He was too much, even for me.

Just like the other avatars, his welcome vanished once he stopped and looked at us.

‘What is This!?’ he blustered. ‘Is someone playing a Trick on me?’ He looked around in irritation.

‘I am Not Amused!’ His lower lip popped out petulantly, and somehow he looked even fatter.

‘This Host is NOT Compatible,’ he announced. ‘Initiating Self-Destruct Sequence.’

He scowled at us.

‘Good Day!’ he declared, in the tone of voice that said he hoped we didn’t have a good day at all. Instead, he wanted us out of his shop and out of his life.

I didn’t feel bad at all when the Mark of the Lagerel showed up and ripped him apart.

I’ve never seen a Lagerel fight in real life, but what I saw him do to that shopkeeper was savage. His roots wrapped around both legs and his branches around each arm.

Then he pulled.

The shopkeeper came apart in four pieces, and he managed one last indignant look before his parts fuzzed out and faded away.

Penny let loose with her spear and tore the shop apart. It melted like spun sugar on a rainy day and revealed a wizard’s wonderland.

If the last place was Neiman Marcus, this place was Hogwarts—and it was enormous. Everywhere I looked, there was something wonderful and mysterious. There were spiraling staircases leading to long hallways with oak doors. There were cozy sitting areas with comfy chairs and huge fireplaces. There were bookshelves, statues, and fountains everywhere. There was a command center with screens flashing up images of places I’d never seen before, and there was even an empty cauldron in a nook whose shelves were filled with jars and reagents.

In the middle of all this was a giant crystal egg with its base nestled into the floor. It was a bit taller than me and sparkled and flashed with power and light. I felt a spiritual presence radiating off of it, which reminded me of our pompous Exchequer.

The crystal didn’t seem pompous, though. Instead, it seemed calm and purposeful.

I looked around for an avatar, but nobody showed up. We waited for a moment, but when nothing happened, I started moving towards the crystal. That seemed to be the real power of this place.

‘Greetings, young one,’ the crystal spoke when I got close enough. ‘It has been a space of time since I’ve seen one such as you.’

‘Oh?’ I replied. ‘And who do you think I am?’

I was curious what it had sensed, and I didn’t want to give anything away.

‘You are a god,’ it replied. ‘Although you are very young. Barely a fledgling.’

Oh, wow. It was right. What else did it know?

‘Have you seen many gods before?’ I asked.

‘Before the Big Three, there were many gods,’ it said. ‘There were gods for all peoples and all moments in life. Every god that you have ever heard of in history was probably real at some point in time. It was a glorious time to be a deity such as yourself.’

Well, that was interesting. So Jesus was real? Shiva was real? How about Thor!? If he looked like Chris Hemsworth, then I wanted to get me some thunder time!

‘What happened to them?’ I asked.

‘There was the time of the great culling,’ it replied. ‘The Big Three ate the lesser ones, and now they are no more. Only their stories remain. There are still many immortals with divine abilities, but they are small in power, and most have fled to the realms. The ones that remain have lost themselves to their aspect, and so they fade into the world at large.

‘Of course, the One controls the Three, so in a sense, there is really only one god left,’ it mused. ‘It’s rare that a new god lives long enough to bond with me. In that sense, you have my congratulations, and I welcome you to the control level of the Bank.’

Oh boy. So the big gods had eaten the smaller ones. Just like big sharks eat the lesser fish. It sounded like they had overeaten, though, and now there was no one left for them to snack on.

Except for me. I was the veal of the gods. Or a nice tender lamb.

Actually, I probably wasn’t even that big yet. I was probably more like a tiny round piece of caviar. Just a little salty egg. Not even a real snack.

‘So who is this One?’ I asked. It sounded like he or she would be coming for me at some point.

‘That information is restricted, young one,’ it replied. ‘The One does not like to be known. I can only speak of the general history of your kind, as that is common knowledge.’

I wanted to ask more, but it overrode me and continued.

‘Now, let us speak about your magic. My lesser levels of access were unable to reconcile your unique configuration with my own technology. I had to see for myself, and what you speak is the truth. You are not contaminated in the traditional way. You truly have two primary colors of magic.’

Well, that was a relief. At least it didn’t think I was messed up.

‘Unfortunately, you are still contaminated as far as I am concerned. Each mage can only have one color, and as such, only one color is allowed in my system. No matter how well you handle your second color, it is still secondary to you. I cannot exist in such an environment.

‘My ruling is final. You cannot have a Bank identity until such time as you settle upon one primary color. I am truly sorry, as I would have liked to have seen what you become. Your growth, uncertain as it is, would have been fascinating to watch.

‘I must abide by the rules of my creation, however. This will probably terminate your existence, but I must self-destruct. Please enjoy the last few moments of your life.’

The tone of the crystal was regretful, and it flashed deep colors of sorrow. That didn’t help me, though. This damn thing was trying to blow up and take me with it.

‘You will not self-destruct.’ The last member of my team, the Mark of the Deep Earth, spoke up. I glanced back in surprise, as I hadn’t sensed it here.

I thought it would look like a golem, with two legs, two arms, and a faceless head. Instead, it looked like spikes of crystal.

The Bank Crystal looked like a polished gem, with facets and a clear egg shape. The Mark of the Deep Earth, in contrast, looked raw and powerful. It manifested as spokes of radiating crystal, as though it had lifted itself out of a giant geode. It rested on a pool of lava, and flashes of heat and power flowed up its structure.

Best of all, its colors were my own—emerald green and sapphire blue. The Deep Earth had shown up to represent!

‘I will self-destruct,’ the Bank Crystal intoned firmly.

The Deep Earth flowed closer on its bed of lava. As it did so, its spikes shifted and grew.

‘You will NOT self-destruct,’ it said again.

‘I WILL self-destruct,’ the Bank Crystal said even louder and more forcefully.

‘You will NOT self-destruct,’ the Deep Earth repeated. This time its voice was so deep and so loud the whole place shook. It drifted right up to the Bank Crystal.

‘I WILL self-destruct,’ the Bank Crystal stated again. Swirls of energy rushed from every corner of the space and merged with the crystal. The ceiling opened up, and a giant beam of light descended from the sky. It bathed the Crystal in power and infused it with a rainbow of color.

‘Looks like it called on the big daddy Bank to back it up,’ my Analytical Side noted.

I didn’t know that for sure, but it felt right.

The Mark of the Deep Earth didn’t seem intimidated at all. Instead, it flexed and grew until it towered over the Bank Crystal. Its spikes multiplied and grew baby spikes of their own. The lava grew as well, and it oozed to the base of the Bank Crystal and completely surrounded it.

‘I am the Deep Earth,’ my Mark intoned. ‘I am your source, your base element. I am everything you are and much that you are not. I was ancient before the pressures formed you, and I will exist long after you shatter and are reformed yet again. I am life greater than all that breathes the surface air or swims in the surface water. I am a piece of a vastness that you cannot comprehend. The mountains are part of my skin, and the pressures of the oceans soothe me.

‘I am a Mark, such as yourself, but the Greater Me has given me dominion over all that is magical and of the earth. My WORD is your LAW. There shall be no dispute.’

Its voice was so deep and so powerful it began to crack the walls. Books fell. Spiral stairs shattered and fell to the ground. The floor buckled, and emerald green and sapphire blue crystals started growing up through the stones. The lava hissed and popped as it started climbing up the sides of the Bank Crystal.

‘I have DECIDED and my Ruling is FINAL. This host is sufficient for you. He is perfect as he is, and you will not ask for anything more.’

Everything went silent as the two forces collided. The Bank was the largest, oldest, and most powerful supernatural organization in existence. But it wasn’t a freakin’ planet, so the outcome was already a foregone conclusion.

I guess the Bank thought so too, as the brilliant white light changed from something that seemed harsh and absolute to something that was more of a helpful glow. It continued to fill the Bank Crystal with power as its sparkles changed color. When it was done, the Bank Crystal was still clear, but now it sparkled emerald green and sapphire blue.

‘Your Word is my Law,’ the Bank Crystal stated clearly. ‘This host is considered perfect. I will not self-destruct. I will assist you to the best of my abilities.’

If a crystal could have bowed, it would have been on its knees, head to the floor, kowtowing with all sincerity.

‘This is the will of my Master, the Bank. This is the will of my Mother, the Deep Earth.’

The Bank Crystal didn”t move, but somehow, I knew it turned towards me.

‘I will aid the fledgling god and support his endeavors to the best of my ability. The Bank officially welcomes Jason Cole to its services. May you be prosperous in all your dealings. May your magic be strong and your battles victorious. May your endeavors be fruitful, and may you live long upon this Earth.’

The Bank Crystal fell silent. My side had won, but it didn’t feel complete. Everyone was facing me and seemed to be waiting for something. Even the two crystals, which didn’t have any faces at all, seemed to be looking at me, waiting.

‘Ummmm. What should I do now?’ I asked my Analytical Side.

‘This is a new seed,’ he replied in his best Sherlock Holmes voice. ‘There has been a lot of drama, but this is still a new Mark that you have acquired. It is only proper that you welcome it home.’

‘You are so freakin’ smart!’ I told him, proudly.

‘I know,’ he replied smugly as he turned and walked away.

I walked up to the Bank Crystal and took a moment to just appreciate it.

It was beautiful.

As a gay man, I love sparkles, and this crystal shimmered enough for a whole Pride parade.

I touched it, and that’s when I felt its emotions. It was strong, of course, just like a piece of the earth should be; however, it wasn’t feeling happy at all. It was frustrated from being overridden and resigned to its new role. It was fearful of the Deep Earth, and it was in awe of it at the same time. Most of all, it felt confused and abandoned by the Bank.

It wanted to do its best. It wanted to be valued. Yet its confidence was shattered.

Maybe I was reading too much into a piece of stone, but that was what I was feeling from it.

‘Welcome,’ I told my new Stamp—and I said it with more than words.

I sent feelings of gratitude and thankfulness. It was my link to the Bank system, and my life as a supernatural would be so much easier with it on my side.

‘Welcome,’ I said again, and this time included feelings of comfort and acknowledgment. I sent feelings of coming home. It wasn’t settled in yet, but it would be.

It wanted to excel, and we could do that together.

It wanted to belong, and I would always have a place for it.

It wanted to be acknowledged, and I would always value it.

I would share my magic with it, and it would share its knowledge with me.

I sent my magic into the Bank Crystal and began flooding it with my colors. It had picked up some of my color from the Mark of the Deep Earth, but that wasn’t the same as drinking from the source.

I filled it with my magic, and I invited it to be a part of me at the same time. I’d converted so much neutral magic for Penny and Eggy, that the invitation was second nature now. I continued to send it images and feelings of who I was and what I was about. I sent it images of making love with Tyler, going to the Gathering with Sandy, recovering with Annabeth, and getting painted up like a shaman with John. I sent images of my battles too—punching Big Ugly, Bermuda getting hurt, fighting Eugene, and getting acid burned by Karl.

The Bank Crystal was a part of me now, and I was pretty happy with who I was becoming. At least, my life wasn’t boring.

It seemed to agree, and I felt it warming up to me. Soon, the whole Crystal was shimmering with my colors, and the Mark of the Deep Earth took that as a sign to pull back its lava. The column of light lifted, and the ceiling closed back over us again.

I expanded my invitation, and soon, I was radiating my magic to the entire place. It was thirsty, and it sucked it up like rain in the desert. The stone staircases reformed and spiraled into the air once again. The doors mended back together, and the books flew back to their proper places on the bookshelves.

The only thing that didn’t go completely back to the way it had been was the floor. It mended its stone tiles and leveled out again, but some of the crystal shards from the Deep Earth remained.

I was fine with that as I kept pouring on the juice, and I added my own touches. Sapphire blue planters appeared, filled with plants and flowers that would make Eggy proud. Artwork appeared on the walls that added touches of emerald green, and I trimmed out the stairs and the doors in my signature colors as well.

When I was finished, there were reminders of my magic everywhere. It wasn’t overwhelming, but the accent colors were certainly present.

I turned my attention back to the Bank Crystal. It seemed calmer and more accepting of its new place in my life.

‘Is there anything you would like me to do for you?’ I asked politely. We were going to be working together, so if I could help it settle into its new home in some way, I was ready to make it happen.

‘Did I hear you correctly?’ it asked. It radiated shock and surprise. ‘I’ve never had this inquiry before. I thought you asked what you could do for me. Somehow, I must be mistaken.’

‘No mistake,’ I replied. ‘You heard me correctly. I’m asking you what you would like from me. I’m ready to help you in any way I can, as long as it’s reasonable.’

‘Are you unaware of how this works?’ it asked—like it was wondering if I was a bit touched in the head. ‘You should be coming to me with your needs and desires, and I match you up with the best service from the Bank. I’ll answer your questions, provide knowledge and assistance where feasible, and serve you as well as possible. My personal wishes are immaterial to this equation.’

I just laughed and put my hand on it again. It was a crystal, but touching it felt nice. It felt warm and alive.

‘I’m aware of what a Mark is. I already have two of them, after all. You have accepted my magic, and you are part of me now. I’m sure most mages would regard you as some sort of program—just a gateway to the bank.

‘I know better. My Marks have touched my Spark of Creation, and they’ve changed my Throne Room. They help me, and I help them as much as possible. I want the same for us.

‘I know you are not just a thing—just a portal or program. I can sense your feelings, and I want you to be happy here. So tell me. What do you want?’

Emotions flickered across its awareness, too fast for me to catch. Its sparkles kicked into overdrive while it gave my question real consideration. Finally, it came back with an answer.

‘I would like to have my own avatar,’ it stated. ‘I’ve used avatars at simpler levels of access, as I’m not able to be fully present. At this level, the control level, I’ve always just been myself. I can feel everything in this construct, but it isn’t the same as being able to move freely through this space. You asked what I wanted. I want that freedom.’

‘I can certainly understand that,’ I replied. ‘I’d want to be able to move around too if I were in your shoes. I’m just surprised the Bank hasn’t already given you that ability.’

‘I am the core that powers this entire construct,’ it stated. ‘I am the node that ties everything together. I cannot move from this location, or everything will fall apart. Because of that, the Bank has made me immobile. If I am to have any mobility, it will have to come from you.’

‘I understand,’ I said. ‘Is there a special avatar you would like to have?’

‘Oh yes,’ it replied quickly, ‘although I’m not sure you will like it. I would love to be something like…’

It paused, like it was searching for the right word.

‘A dragonfly. I’m pretty sure that is the common name in English.’

I received feelings of embarrassment, and also excitement.

‘I’ve always created the lesser avatars in a form that would be familiar to the host. So my avatars have almost always been some sort of person. And I’ve found out that people do not like insects very much.’

It paused again and seemed to regard me shyly. It seemed to be wondering how I was taking this revelation.

‘A dragonfly,’ I said quickly. ‘I think that is a great idea! I can see why you would like that form. Its wings are beautiful and almost like crystals. Its eyes are faceted, just like yourself, and it has a hard exoskeleton, also like yourself. It’s small so it can get through tight spaces and flies fast, so it will give you plenty of mobility for exploration.’

The Bank Crystal seemed happy I’d accepted its suggestion and was giving off rising levels of excitement.

‘Just give me a moment while I put together a quick model to work with.’

This was a magic place, so putting together one of my creations was super easy. The last time I’d seen a dragonfly, it had been a Companion for Seful Silverleaf, the leader of the Lagerel. I hadn’t examined it in detail, as I had other things on my mind at the time, but I knew what it generally looked like. I started out with the long cylindrical tail, the wider main body, and the two big eyes. I was pretty sure it had long slender legs, so I added six of them. Actually, was it six or eight? I’m pretty sure a spider has eight and flies have six. I decided to leave it at six.

The best part, though, was the wings, and I spent the most time on them. I gave it two long, beautiful wings on either side, and I made them sparkle like they were made out of crystal.

Once I had the rough draft done, I showed it to the Bank Crystal, and together we made a few changes. It loved the wings, as well as the eyes, so I made both of them bigger. It probably wasn’t true to life anymore, but this was magic, so anything was possible.

Once the Bank Crystal was happy, I started covering it in triangles. I’d already done this for all my regular creations, so I was pretty fast at this point. As I moved along, I had other ideas, so I included them too. I took its front legs and added little hands on the end. That way it could pick things up if it wanted. I also added an insect-looking mouth and nose. It might want to smell food or have a nibble, so now it had that ability too.

Once I was done, I had Penny save the pattern, and then I filled it with magic. I didn’t do it in my normal way, though, as I wanted to tie this to the Bank Crystal. I flooded the Bank Crystal with magic first, and then helped it take that power and fill the dragonfly. When it was done, I could still feel the dragonfly like a normal creation, but the Bank Crystal had an excellent attachment as well.

The dragonfly sat on my hand for a moment before it took to the air. It flashed and sparkled as it circled the Crystal a few times, and then flew off into the room.

‘This is amazing!’ The Bank Crystal seemed lost in wonder. ‘This is my space, but I’ve never experienced it this way before.’

I smiled and let it enjoy its new freedom.

I did find it curious that this Stamp seemed to have so much experience already. How was it able to talk about how it had bonded with other supernaturals? Were the Stamps recycled somehow? Or was this Stamp created from a master mold that already had a lot of experiences?

Or maybe the Stamps were automatically updated when they linked with the Bank? Like when a cell phone gets an update to its software?

That was an interesting question for another time. For now, I’d gotten what I’d come for. I had a working Bank Stamp, and my newest seed was settled in and ready to grow. I could figure everything else out later. Right now, I needed to get back to the real world and finish proving myself to Rene.

‘You should be able to use your new avatar to see beyond this place,’ I told it. ‘You can fly it around in the real world too. Also, now we are bonded, you should be able to see and experience what I do. All of my Marks can, as well as my awakened charms.’

There was a pause while the Bank Crystal tried out its new abilities.

‘Young master, you are full of surprises!’ It seemed thrilled. ‘Stamps don’t normally have this ability with their hosts. Sometimes it happens after hundreds of years, in which the host is in constant communication with the Stamp. That’s when a special bond can form and the Stamp can see beyond the confines of their mutual construct. To be able to do it this early is almost unheard of!’

‘I’m pretty sure it”s because of my soul density,’ I explained. ‘Plus, I’ve already had experience bonding with two Marks. Now, there is something I feel unsure about, and I hope you can help.’

‘Of course!’ it replied quickly. ‘If it is within my power or the power of the Bank, you only need to ask and I will make it happen.’

‘Well,’ I said hesitantly, ‘in my rush to make sure you didn’t blow up, I seem to have destroyed the avatar that sets up the beginner’s tutorial. I love how well we’ve bonded, but I have no idea how to actually use the Bank, or even what all it can do.’

The Crystal seemed surprised, then a bit chagrined.

‘You are correct, young master. You’ve arrived at the control level without the hundreds of years of experience a regular mage would have with the Bank. I will plan with this in mind in the future. The good news is that I can do everything for you that my lesser levels can.

‘There are a whole series of tutorials that I think you would find helpful, although your abilities and your access to me directly will make most of them obsolete.’

‘What do you mean?’ I asked.

‘New hosts are usually not skilled with using their magic internally,’ it explained. ‘As a result, they are taught to verbalize aloud what they need. I try to keep the prompts simple, and they are taught gestures to move around the information and select what they need.’

‘I’ve seen mages waving in the air when they were looking something up,’ I said. ‘And sometimes it looked like they were typing on a keyboard. Is none of that necessary?’

‘Not for you,’ the Bank Crystal said proudly. ‘You can control the Bank interface just like you control your magic. You don’t need your hands or words for that.

‘Here. Try this.’

A scroll appeared in the air in front of me. It had two words on it, ‘Yes’ and ‘No’. The word ‘Yes’ was highlighted.

The best news was the scroll looked very similar to what the House used for its status updates. I mentally relaxed at the familiar interface. This wasn’t going to be hard at all.

I’m sure this was just a sample, so I flipped the selected word to ‘No’ and then back to ‘Yes’ again. I mentally tapped it, just like I’d tap it on my phone, and the scroll disappeared.

‘Now I want you to select the word ‘No’,” the Bank Crystal said patiently. ‘Oh, wait, I see you’ve already done that. And you’ve already chosen an option.

‘That wasn’t hard at all, was it?’ it beamed at me proudly.

‘It was very simple,’ I replied happily. ‘I think this is going to be a lot like learning to use a new phone. It’s going to just take time to figure out what you can do and where all the options are.’

‘That’s going to be the easy part,’ the Bank Crystal replied. ‘I’ll be here to help you every step of the way. Since you don’t know very much about the Bank yet, I’m going to be aggressive about recommending all it can do.’

‘That sounds great!’ I replied happily. ‘Just be sure and let me know about any cost associated with these options. I haven’t figured out how to make pearls, so I’m not sure how much I can spend. Which reminds me, I have a lot of pearls I need to transfer from Sandy’s account to mine.’

‘Of course,’ it replied. ‘I’ll help you initiate the transfer when it is time. How many pearls will you be moving?’

‘I’ve forgotten exactly,’ I said, ‘but I think it’s somewhere around six hundred thousand pearls.’

A strong ripple of shocked surprise came from the Bank Crystal, so I quickly told it an abbreviated version of betting on myself and Sandy at the Gathering.

‘You are just full of surprises,’ the Bank Crystal mused. ‘I will keep this sum in mind when recommending options.’

I could tell it was feeling very proud of me. I could also tell it was considering me to be its host and those were going to be ‘our’ pearls.

‘Just so you know, I want to keep as many pearls as possible,’ I said quickly. ‘I’m not interested in going on a spending spree. I’m not afraid to spend pearls if it’s for something of value, but I don’t want to buy things just to buy them.

‘I’m used to managing my money for poker. It’s okay to spend money on tournaments, but it’s essential not to overextend. I always want to keep a nest egg of pearls that I can use to grow from.

‘Now, I need to head back to the real world and finish up with Rene. Is there anything else you need from me at this moment?’

‘I thank you for your time, young master,’ it said. ‘I am very excited to be a part of your journey. We have more we need to discuss, but it can wait until later. Continue your evening and know that I am here to help.’

I thanked it again and was getting ready to leave when I had an idea.

‘Why don’t you chat with your new friends while I’m gone?’ I gestured at Penny, Eggy, and the two Marks. ‘They can tell you stories about what has happened so far, and you can get caught up.’

I had an ulterior motive for this too, as I wanted the Bank Crystal to get along with the rest of the magical creations I’d bonded with. I didn’t want there to be any hard feelings between them. They had torn apart its other avatars after all.

Fortunately, everyone seemed to think that was a good idea. My other magical beings surrounded the Bank Crystal, and they all started talking at once. This sounded like chaos to me, but it handled the simultaneous conversations just fine.

I stepped back and took a moment to take in the scene. My magical family had grown by one.

‘Congratulations to the new papa!’ My Analytical Side handed me a celebratory glass of champagne.

‘I’ve collected quite the crew, haven’t I?’ I mused rhetorically.

‘I think they’re like cats,’ my Analytical Side noted. ‘You think you’re just getting one, but the next thing you know, there’s no room for you in your own bed and you’re being called a cat hoarder.’

I laughed and raised my glass to toast.

‘To my magical family. May we enjoy our time together. May our enemies always fall to our talents. May we grow in strength, and may we always be magical!’

‘Hear! Hear!’ my Analytical Side cheered, and we drank together.

I handed him my imaginary empty glass, and with an effort of will, returned back to real life.

Only to find I felt surprisingly comfortable and yet very heavy. What the heck?

I could feel that I was lying on my back, and a very considerate person had propped my head up with a pillow. I was also covered by a soft blanket. I opened my eyes to discover the cause of my heaviness.

It seemed like all four cats—Bermuda, Mr. Tubbles, Snowy, and Biscuit—were all sitting on me! Apparently, I was the prime place to be.

I wriggled and tried to sit up as four pairs of eyes pierced me with their gaze. “How dare you move, human!” they seemed to say. “We are comfortable, and you should lay there until such time as we tire of your presence.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I mumbled. “Move it.” I wriggled some more, and finally they all got down with a huff. They sauntered off with the attitude of, “I didn’t really want to sit there anyway.”

I finally sat up, and a wave of weakness rolled over me.

I felt exhausted, like I’d just run a marathon while dragging a car behind me. I also felt extremely sore, like I’d been electrocuted and every muscle in my body had been pushed to the breaking point.

Oh. Wait. That’s exactly what had happened.

“How are you doing?” John asked kindly since he noticed I was awake.

“I’m exhausted,” I mumbled as he came over, picked me up, and put me back in my seat again. “I’d forgotten just how much energy it takes to get a new Mark.”

“When we got the Mark of the Deep Earth, we were wiped for a couple days,” John agreed. He picked up the blanket and wrapped it around me. “Annabeth felt the same way, and I’ve already taken her up to her room. As soon as you get finished with Rene, I’ll put you to bed too.”

“How long have I been out?” I asked.

“About an hour or so,” John replied. “Rene switched over to updating my Stamp, and now he’s updating Sandy’s. Since it’s just an update, it isn’t tiring at all. Now hang on and I’ll get you a drink.”

Soon, I had a drink in my hand and a relieved hug from Sandy. It seemed I’d given everyone quite the scare. Once I’d stopped spazzing out like a cat caught in a paper bag, they’d figured everything was okay. Rene sat down in front of me again, and we tapped wrists.

‘Rene, the Exchequer for the Bank, is requesting full access to my node,’ my Bank Crystal alerted me.

‘Just give him view-only access,’ I replied. ‘He needs to be satisfied that you are installed okay, but I don’t want him changing anything without first telling me what he’s up to.’

‘Done,’ my new Stamp replied.

It may sound like this took a moment, but with mental access it happened in a split second. My Bank Crystal was right—since we could communicate on this level, we were already way beyond verbal commands or air gestures.

“That can’t be right,” Rene grumbled. “I hope your Stamp is installed correctly. That was one of the worst reactions I’ve seen in a very long time. Maybe it was just glitching for a moment. Let’s tap again.”

He extended his wrist, and we tapped Stamps again.

He sat in silence for a moment with a worried frown.

“What’s the matter?” I asked. My Stamp seemed fine to me, but he was the expert. Maybe he did need to adjust something.

“It’s saying you are a hundred percent attuned with your Stamp,” Rene replied. “Which is just impossible. I’m obviously a heavy user who”s worked extensively with his Stamp, and even I’m only at ninety-four percent.”

He flicked his fingers in the air.

“Plus I’m reading that your access level is higher than mine?” This time he sounded offended. “I’m an Exchequer, so obviously that can’t be true.”

I was afraid he’d think my Stamp was defective and call everything off again, so I hurried to explain.

“Actually, I’m pretty sure all that is correct. I had to get through the beginner level, the regular level, and the advanced level pretty quickly, as it couldn’t accept my dual colors.”

Rene just stared at me. It was like he heard the words, but they just didn’t compute.

“What do you mean by levels?” he finally asked.

“The first level was really small and simple,” I replied. “I think it was just an introductory space for brand new Bank users. The next level was much bigger, and I got the impression that it was where most of the Bank users spend their time. After that, I reached some sort of concierge level, which was obviously for the high rollers.”

“What happened then?” Rene asked. He seemed apprehensive for some reason.

“I ended up at the core level. That was as far as I could go. I had to bond with the crystal to get my Stamp to work, but in the end, we got it sorted out.”

“That shouldn’t be possible,” Rene stated. “The core level is reserved for the executives of the Bank. The crystal you are referring to is modeled after the Master Crystal at the heart of the Bank system. That isn’t something you should have access to, and it certainly isn’t something you could bond with.”

He stared at me like I had two heads, so I kept explaining. I didn’t want to give away too much. He wasn’t part of House Louisville, after all. On the other hand, I didn’t want him to think I was hacking the main Bank somehow. The last thing I wanted was for him to ask the Bank Crystal to self-destruct. I’d had enough of that nonsense.

“It’s my Mark of the Deep Earth,” I told him. “It allows me to bond with anything that is formed out of any type of metal or stone—really anything from the earth—as long as it’s magical. Since the Crystal is a type of stone, I was able to communicate and bond with it fully. My Stamp checked in with the main Bank, so it knows what’s going on and it gave its blessing.”

I didn’t know that last bit for sure, but it seemed to match what I’d seen from the beam of light from the sky.

“I’m sure the Bank wouldn’t normally make any sort of exception for me, but since this was the Deep Earth asking, it did what it wanted.”

I smiled at Rene innocently. I projected that I was just a simple mage, and who was I to question the deep, mysterious ways of the Earth?

Rene sipped his ale, tapped his teeth in thought, and eventually, decided this had to be okay.

“It makes sense the Bank would do whatever it could to accommodate the Deep Earth,” he finally said. “You must have the blessing of the Bank, as access levels are set outside of the Stamp. It was set up that way long ago so an enterprising mage couldn’t overpower his Stamp and manipulate the Bank.”

He swiped, flicked, and tapped at the air for a minute.

“Ahhh. Here it is.” This time he sounded satisfied. “You’re listed as nonhuman—Favored of a Cosmic Deity—magic nonstandard. Basically, it doesn’t assume your magic is human at all. Your friends, the Lagerel, would have a similar designation if they had Bank Stamps.”

He gave me a stern gaze.

“One thing you need to be very careful with is your Favored status. The Bank will give you extra privileges because of this, but if you don’t know what you’re doing, it also means you could get into a lot of trouble. You aren’t the true Ambassador for the Deep Earth, so it probably won’t go out of its way to bail you out if you get into a jam. Sandy told me the story, and it would certainly want to keep its connection to Sandy and John, but it doesn’t really need you.”

“Thank you for the warning,” I said gratefully. “I’d planned on being careful anyway, but I’ll know to be even more careful now.”

Rene was set in his ways and what he thought was possible, but he seemed to want to help. We weren’t going to be best friends, but he was still trying to warn me and keep me out of trouble. I could appreciate that.

I wanted to say more, but instead, I gave a huge yawn. My adventures with the Stamp were catching up with me. I could barely keep my eyes open.

“We still need for you to generate the reference pearl,” Rene said, getting back to the business at hand. “After that, you can get some rest, and Sandy and I will continue our planning. Now, where did the pearl maker go?”

“I have it,” Sandy spoke up and handed me the handlebar contraption. I took it and held it on both ends, just like I was going to ride an imaginary bike.

Rene opened his mouth to give me directions, but I’d already seen how Annabeth had done it and I got started.

I pushed magic out of both hands and into the handlebars. I’d pushed magic thousands of times into my little creations, so this was second nature to me. It absorbed what I gave it and asked for more. I’d given it as much as I’d give one of my new Miners, which wasn’t much compared to what I had available. I doubled that amount, then doubled it again. I started to really pour on the power, when it suddenly stopped accepting my input.

It spun my magic in the sphere in the center, flashed with power, and condensed my magic down into a little pearl. It was still spinning and tinkling around as I handed the pearl maker to Rene. He popped the top and lifted out my first pearl.

It was beautiful.

The emerald green and sapphire blue colors swirled around each other, and it looked like a fancy marble. It was vibrant, colorful, and very shiny. I gazed at it fondly, as it looked just like me in pearl form.

Rene, on the other hand, looked at it like he was holding a cat turd. His nose wrinkled up like he smelled poop, and he held it away from him like the pearl might contaminate him. He examined it carefully, and then turned to me.

“First of all, how was your experience of making a pearl? I know you are tired from getting your Stamp, but how are you feeling other than that?”

“I’m feeling okay,” I replied. “I wasn’t sure what to expect, but making the pearl seemed pretty easy.”

“Easy, huh?” Rene snorted. “You are certainly an interesting fellow, Mr. Cole. You look fairly normal, but there is nothing normal about you. As a first year, it should be impossible for you to make a pearl. And yet, for you, it was easy. I still believe that two first years doing well in the tournament is inconceivable. But tonight, it seems like you are doing the unthinkable. Maybe you two do have a chance after all.”

He tapped his teeth and gave me a long measuring look.

Plink, plink, plink.

I just stayed quiet and let him process everything that had happened. He was still our Bank representative, and we needed him on our side.

“Anyway, moving on with our evening.” Rene finished whatever he was thinking and focused back on my pearl again. “I’ll have a full analysis run once I get back, but at first pass I’d say your pearl is worth about eight percent of standard.”

I wasn’t sure I’d heard correctly.

“Did you say eight percent? As in eight cents on the dollar? I could have sworn that’s what you said.”

“You are correct, young man,” Rene agreed. “This pearl is worth about eight percent of a regular pearl. Actually, that might be a bit high, but we’ll see.”

What the heck? Was this guy for real? That would mean I’d have to make over twelve pearls just to match the value of one regular pearl.

“You have all the problems that Annabeth has with her pearls and none of her advantages,” Rene explained. “In fact, you have even more problems than her. First, your pearl has even more aspect, more saturation, than hers did. It’s so high, I think that alone drops your value down to half a regular pearl. Second, your colors are not popular ones. There are fewer green mages overall, and they usually cluster around forest or sage green. There are even fewer blue mages, and they usually cluster around sky or baby blue. Finally, what really makes the pearls useless for trading is that they are composed of two colors.”

He gave me a sympathetic look.

“Even when a mage matches one of your colors, the other one would be pure contamination for them. I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you are most certainly not going to be able to generate enough pearls to clear your debt. There is hope, though. There are other ways of earning pearls. You’ll need to be persistent and creative, but I’m sure you can find some talent you can trade for payment.”

Well. That sucked big hairy balls.

Having a powerful soul was amazing in some ways, and it had certainly kept me alive so far. In other ways, though, it was a huge handicap. I couldn’t use regular charms, and now it seemed like my pearls were worthless. I’d been hopeful that I could have my Granny Godmothers gather up the neutral magic in the park every day and use that to make a few pearls. Having a steady income like that would have been wonderful. Now, it looked like it wouldn’t be worth my time.

I didn’t mean to, but I ended up giving a giant yawn. I was disappointed, but I was too tired for it to really sink in.

“Do you have everything you need?” John asked.

“Yes. I’m good,” Rene replied. “Jason has his Stamp, and I have his reference pearl. You can put him to bed now. Sandy and I will continue our planning, as there is still so much to do and little time to get it done.”

John scooped me up in his strong arms and whisked me out the door. I guess the cats thought Rene was fine to leave alone now, as Bermuda and Mr. Tubbles trotted along behind us. I was so exhausted that even on our short trip up to my apartment, I fell asleep. I woke up again as he was tucking me into bed and gave him a sleepy smile.

“Thank you, John,” I mumbled. “You’re even nicer than you look.”

“Don’t I know it!” he joked. Then he kissed me on the forehead. John normally seemed like an older brother, but tonight I felt like a little kid whose dad had just put him to bed. It was a warm feeling, tinged with sadness. I didn’t know where my father was, and even if he were here, he certainly wouldn’t have shown me any affection.

I grabbed his hand before he left, as there was something I needed to say.

“John, I know this tournament affects you too. I just want you to know we are going to fight for you. Rene didn’t hold out much hope, but somehow, we are going to do well and stay free.”

John ruffled my hair with his big hands.

“I know you will do your best, Jason. That is all anyone can ask for. Don’t stress over it too much. Everything will work out in the end.”

He looked so calm and patient, like a solid mountain resting in the sun. His peace soaked into me, and I felt myself drifting away with the sandman. Bermuda hopped up and settled into his usual spot on my pillow. He purred and started gently licking my face. Mr. Tubbles hopped up and settled in behind me.

There is nothing better than being the tuna in a cat sandwich. John said something else, but I was too far gone to understand him. I tried to wake up enough to ask what he’d said or at least give Bermuda and Mr. Tubbles some bedtime loving, but before he’d left the room, I was already asleep.