Ryder

After an argument with his mother, Ryder Sullivan leaves his home and meets Styxx Lancaster, the most famous Mage known to be alive.

If I wasn't so pissed off, I would have laughed at the sight of my mother's face. Her eyes were bulging, veins in her forehead and neck throbbing, and she had the look of a mad woman. Of course, my mother was a mad woman but...well she didn't usually look it. The only time her looks matched her insides was when she was pissed off. And she was usually pissed off at me. As the second born son, my role in life was supposed to be as a soldier. I was supposed to be content to do the Eternal Order's bidding and be quiet about it, to never want anything more than a life of complete servitude. That, to completely and totally honest, was nothing like me. It was more like my twin brother, the oldest in our family and therefore the most important. Oh, that wasn't to say Ryan wasn't his own person because he definitely was. But he would rather sit back and let everyone make the decisions. But, as the firstborn, he was expected to someday take our mother's place as Head of the Eternal Order. It wasn't what he wanted to do but what he was forced to do.  

 

Mother and I were arguing over what we usually argued over: my desire to study Magick. All forms of Magick, mind you, not just War Magick as I was expected to learn. I'd always been interested in - and good at - all forms of Magick. Mother, like so many other people, didn't believe it proper for the second born to study anything other than War Magick. It was an argument we'd had many times but today was so different from the last. Today was my twenty-first birthday, the day when I would officially give up on my dreams and become another mindless soldier in Mother's army. But I wasn't willing to do that. I was not willing to give up on my dreams. Not in any way, shape, or form. Mother was just going to have to deal with me studying Magick if she wanted to keep me around. If not, I would leave this house and never come back. I would be homeless and without a Clan but at least I would be free to do whatever I wanted.  

 

 "You are not studying anything but War Magick and that is final!" Mother shouted, finally losing her patience with me.  

 

I rolled my eyes. "Well, I'm not just gonna be your good little soldier. You will either consent to let me study whatever form of Magick I choose or I will leave this house and never return. Is that what you want?" 

 

Mother snorted. "Don't be ridiculous. Where would you go? What would you do? If you leave here you are homeless and without a Clan."  

 

I raised an eyebrow. "And? I would still be able to gain an apprenticeship and learn whatever the f**k I wanted to. I wouldn't have you breathing down my throat every second. I'm done being your lap dog, Mother. I will not do whatever you tell me to simply because it's what you wish. I am twenty-one years old, an adult Mage. you have no say over my actions anymore. You will either accept what I want to do or I leave. Make your f*****g choice."  

 

Mother simply stared at me. I'd never spoken to her so boldly before. In all of our arguments, I'd usually ended up submitting to whatever it was she wanted me to do and that had been that. This time, I was an adult Mage and that meant I no longer had to listen to her. I'd always been a good son, always doing whatever she asked of me with very few arguments. But not anymore. I was taking my life back. At twenty-one years old, I was finally able to do what I'd always wanted to do and stand up for myself. She didn't like it, that much was obvious by the look on her face, but I couldn't bring myself to care. She had brought this upon herself by treating me as if what I wanted didn’t matter. She had always treated me as if I were only useful when it came to doing her bidding. Which, by the way, wasn't very motherly. But then, Mother had never had a maternal bone in her body. She'd always been a cold, domineering b***h. And that was the nice way to put it. What I really mean to say is that she was a horrible, vile old hag who used everyone around her to do whatever she needed.  

 

So yes, I hated my mother and I probably always had. Ryan didn’t exactly have warm feelings for her either. We'd never exactly liked her. Growing up, she'd left us to the care of nannies. She only really pretended to care about us when we could do something for her. Ryan wasn't as vocal about his feelings as I was, though, and I feared that he would get stuck doing something he hated because he refused to be open with his feelings. The thought scared the s**t out of me to be honest. I looked back at my mother and found her still staring at me, rage and confusion mingling on her face. She was pissed that I'd actually had the nerve to say what I had but I didn't understand the confusion. Maybe she hadn't really thought I would do it. She opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. I rolled my eyes and gave her a look, telling her silently to just get it over with already. I was sick of waiting. Oh, I had an idea of what she was going to say. Mother didn't submit to anyone's wishes much less mine. She would tell me to get my s**t and get...probably in a more sophisticated way than that. And, when she finally spoke, that was pretty much what she said. 

 

 "Get a bag and get out of my house. When you decide to do what I want you to do, you can come home. Until then, have fun being homeless." was all she said before she spun around and left the library.  

 

"Gladly." I muttered.  

 

I turned and fled up the stairs to my bedroom. My bedroom was on the second floor and had actually been mother's office before she found out she was having twins. I wasn't even important enough to get a proper bedroom. The room I'd always called mine was still filled with filing cabinets filled with mother's paperwork. Opening my bedroom door, I found my twin brother Ryan laying on my bed reading a book. Ryan and I were identical twins. We had the same black hair and electric blue eyes but he was a bit thinner than I was. I liked to work out and had a pretty decent body. Still, Ryan was a good looking guy and a lot of girls were attracted to him. Not that he paid attention. Ryan had never been all that into girls. Neither was I, of course, but that was simply because I preferred men over women. I entered my bedroom and sat down on the desk chair to explain what had just happened to Ryan. He was going to be both pissed and devastated.  

 

 "Mom's kicked me out." I said. 

 

Ryan's eyes widened. "What? Why?" 

 

I raised an eyebrow. "Because I refused to be a good little soldier and do whatever she asked of me. I'm going to study Magick, Ry. I'm going to be a real Mage."  

 

"How are you going to do that if you're homeless?"  

 

"First off, I won't be homeless. Frank said I could stay with him if I needed to. Second, I can apply for an apprenticeship. I'm pretty good at Magick, Ry, I'll get one within the month. Apprenticeships pay pretty well. I'll make enough money to support myself and I'll make Mother eat her words."  

 

"Ryder..."  

 

"Don't worry, Ry. I'll be okay."  

 

"I know you will. I just...I don't want you to go. Who else am I going to complain about Mother to when she's being unreasonable?"  

 

""Me, of course. You can come down to the Black Cove anytime and talk to me."  

 

"You'd better start packing before she comes up here..." Ryan said, sounding a little worried.  

 

"I will." 

 

I went over to the closet and pulled out a black duffle bag. Opening my closet, I piled all the clothes I could fit inside and closed it before grabbing another bag. In this bag, I placed all my books and the cash I'd hidden in my desk drawer. There was over three thousand dollars in there. That would last me until I could get an apprenticeship. I'd have enough money to help Frank out with food and other things while still looking for an apprenticeship. As I prepared to leave, Ryan told me to wait and left the room, presumably for his own bedroom. He came back with his laptop computer case. He handed it to me and sat down on my desk.  

 

 "There's a little over six thousand dollars inside the case along with my laptop. I don't need the money nor do I need the laptop. You'll need it more than I will. I'll email you whenever I can and I'll send you money whenever I can as well." Ryan said. 

 

"How're you going to email me if you don't have a computer? And how are you going to get the money to me?"  

 

Ryan smirked. "I have another laptop and as for the money, I'll meet you at the Black Cove to give it to you. Mom knows we're both friends with Frank. She won't think anything of me going to visit him as long as she doesn't know you're living with him."  

 

"Sounds like a plan then. Thanks, Ry. I'll keep in touch."  

 

"You'd better. Stay safe."  

 

We hugged quickly before I headed downstairs. Mother and Father were sitting in the living room, talking quietly as I passed. Mother glared at me and Father gave me a rather dirty look that I completely ignored. Outside, I stood and stared up at the mansion I'd grown up in. This hadn't been a happy house and I wouldn't miss it. I would miss my twin and some of the servants that had taken care of Ryan and I our whole lives but I would not miss this house. I would not miss my parents. Even my father, who wasn't nearly as bad a parent as my mother, had never been a good parent. He followed my mother's lead willingly and had never had anything to do with us. The only thing he had taken an interest in was our education. He cared what grades we got both in the normal subjects and Magickal subjects. It was why we'd always gotten good grades. The consequences for getting bad grades was that our father would bind our Magick for a week. And for a Mage, living without Magick was miserable. Magick was in every aspect of our lives.  

 

I turned away from the house and began to walk down the street, carrying my bags. The Black Cove was a bar my best friend had owned since he turned sixteen years old. In the Magickal world, the legal drinking age was sixteen so, as soon as Frank turned sixteen, he'd opened the bar with his father's help. He now lived in a small two bedroom house not too far away from the bar. Ryan and I had spent ninety percent of our free time at the bar since we turned sixteen. We'd even worked there part time at one point. I honestly wouldn't mind doing part time work there again if Frank needed the help. Of course, Frank would never ask me to help in the bar. Like me, he'd always hated asking people for help. That was why I'd made the decision not to move in with him. With nine thousand dollars to my name, I could afford a small motel room in one of the Secret Cities in California.  

 

The Magickal World was full of cities that had been hidden from normal, non-Magickal people. We called them Secret Cities and they were all over the world. Mortals, which was what we called non-Magickal people, didn't even know they existed. Our world was a complete and total secret. Unlike in Harry Potter, though, mortals couldn't have Magickal babies and we couldn't have mortal babies. The genetics between a mortal and a Mage weren't even compatible. A Mage couldn't have a child with a mortal. The Magick in our bodies refused to allow a child to be created with a mortal. Which was why we kept our world a secret from theirs. Not only that but mortals would want things from us, things we couldn't give. Keeping the worlds separate was as much for our protection as it was for theirs. Once, Magick had been everywhere. The worlds were intertwined once. But the Mortals turned on us, chasing us into oblivion. And so we made the decision to go into hiding. To hide our cities and our world. It was a hard decision but was the right one. Now, we were a thriving community with many people and places.  

 

A few minutes after I started walking, I arrived at the Black Cove. Opening the door, I stepped inside and Frank shot a grin at me. He was serving a pint of beer to a few guys as I sat down and set my bags next to me. Frank asked what I'd have to drink and I said I'd have a screwdriver. Vodka and orange juice was kind of my thing. Hell, anything with vodka was my thing. He served it up and moved down the bar, serving more drinks and talking to a few customers as he went. I sipped on my drink and wondered when the next taxi would come by. I'd need to take a taxi to the largest Secret City in California which was a town called Black Harbor. Black Harbor was a large town where most people found their apprenticeships. There were quite a few motels that I could stay at and probably a few boarding houses as well. Though, I'd probably stay in a motel. I liked having my own place and the boarding houses usually put two people to a room. I wasn't sure I could get along with anyone for long enough to stay with them.  

 

 "What's with the bags Ryder?" Frank asked as the bar cleared out, the lunch rush leaving back to work.  

 

"I left my parents' place."  

 

He raised an eyebrow. "Why?"  

 

"It's my twenty-first birthday and she wanted me to become a soldier. Wanted me to give up on studying Magick. I refused. She told me to pack my s**t and get out."  

 

"You open?" A male voice called from the doorway.  

 

Frank and I looked towards the door. I felt my jaw drop when I saw who was standing there. The guy had longish blonde hair and bright silver eyes. He was decently built and wore a muscle shirt with a pair of black jeans. Styxx Lancaster. He was our world's most famous Mage. It was common knowledge that there were certain Clans - mine included - that were Immortal. We just stopped aging at twenty-one. It was why the twenty-first birthday was such a big occasion for some families. Styxx came from the very first Immortal Clan. He was also the most influential and powerful Mage that anyone had ever heard of. He knew...pretty much everything. From the Ancient Arts to the more recent brands of Magick, Styxx reportedly knew it all. He'd studied for ages under the greats and his mentor had been Merlin himself. So yeah, seeing Styxx Lancaster himself walk into your neighborhood bar was quite a shock. Frank told him we were open and Styxx came to sit next to me, ordering a glass of straight vodka. 

 

 "I can tell by the look on your face you already know who I am so I'm not gonna bother introducing myself. What's your name kid?" Styxx asked, turning to me.  

 

"Ryder Sullivan. Nice to meet you Mr. Lancaster."  

 

Styxx threw back his head and laughed. "Please. Just call me Styxx. Mr. Lancaster is my brother." he said, still chuckling."  

 

"All right."  

 

"What were you saying about leaving your house?" he asked, sounding curious.  

 

"I'm a second born son which, in my family, means that I'm supposed to become a soldier. I wouldn't have such a problem with that if I was still allowed to study Magick but Mother and Father refuse to allow me to study. They Head the Eternal Order and their word is law for soldiers. I left because I plan on finding an apprenticeship and studying Magick for as long as I can." I explained.  

 

Styxx glanced over at me and I felt his Magick connect with my own. He was testing my Magick levels, seeing exactly how strong I was. It was a strange feeling but not uncomfortable. After a moment, he turned to me and his next words shocked the s**t out of me. I wasn't expecting that. Not by a long shot...

Author's Note

As I will always say, FOCUS ON THE PLOT. Please don't focus on the grammar or on anything else but the plot. I have someone who will give me tips about grammar and spelling and stuff like that but I need a little bit of plot advice.