What a shitty day to be alive. Rae rolled out of bed and smashed her alarm. It was already 9:00 AM, and it was already a horrible day. Every day had been horrible since her placement exams. Rae’s parents had taken a soft approach with her ever since she scored so low. They hadn’t forced her to evaluate her options yet and said she could stay with them as long as she wanted. She didn’t know what else to do. She didn’t feel like she was meant to just work a regular day job. She was Rae Riot, daughter of two of the most powerful witches she’d ever met. 

And yet, here she was. A magicless nobody. That wasn’t entirely true. She had sixty points of general magic to work with. It would allow her to cast general magic, but she had no desire to at this point. She turned the light on at the switch before collapsing in the chair at her vanity. The bags under her eyes were getting worse by the day. She needed to face the music that she wasn’t gifted with enough magic to go into a magical career. And she had to be okay with that. Not everyone was blessed with great magic. She was being a spoiled brat.

But she couldn’t help it. Ugh. Rae resisted the urge to wipe the bags out from under her eyes and went to the closet to get dressed for the day. She chose some sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt that belonged to an ex-boyfriend. People might judge her for finding comfort in it, but she wasn’t going anywhere today, so it didn’t matter. Her mom wouldn’t judge her.

She walked out into the hallway and went to turn her optical chip on. Before she could, she saw that eerie message again, this time in a picture frame. Trust nothing and no one. We’ll be in touch. Rae had brought it up to her mom. She was as good an illusionist as there was, but her mom just met her with a concerned look. She had checked Rae’s mind for any lingering magic that someone else might have planted but came up with nothing. It wasn’t an illusion she was seeing. It was something else. She blinked, and the picture was back to what it had always been; a photo of the family on vacation.

She turned her optical chip on and looked at her Elysium feed. Most of it was filled with people talking about what academies they were applying to. A couple of people were like Rae and were throwing pity parties at their lack of magic. One of Rae’s friends had truly come up short. 27 cells total across three schools. Rae hated that for her, but at the same time, it made her situation seem less shitty. She reacted to her friend’s post with a crying emoji and went to her text messages. Liz wanted to hang out. Rae didn’t want to admit it, but she was mad at Liz. She had gotten a 43 in elemental magic and an 85 overall. She was going to go to one of the nicer academies and learn to hone her craft. They weren’t going to see much of each other in the future. Might as well make the break now.

She messaged Liz that her and her mom were spending the day together and that maybe they could see each other tomorrow. It wasn’t a lie. Rae’s mom had taken some time off work to be with Rae while they figured things out. They were looking at possibly buying some enchanted bangles that would allow her to channel more advanced magic than she would normally be capable of. The only problem was those kinds of charms cost a lot more money than Rae’s family had. They had found one that amplified all six schools of magic up to four times the normal amount up to forty cells. It would be perfect. It only cost half a billion dollars. If Rae could convince the CEO of Elysium to buy it for her, she’d be in business.

The more realistic goal was buying some charms that allowed her to hit the twenty-cell mark in a field or two. It would still be expensive, but it would at least allow Rae to be a part of the community she loved so much. Low-level alteration was likely to be the school she tried to specialize in, as it would allow her to cast a wide array of spells that affected her. She wouldn’t be able to help others, but at least she could help herself. It would make some tasks a little more manageable. And it would make her feel a little better, which is all her parents were concerned with at the moment.

Rae had already been researching spells she would be able to cast with twenty cells of alteration magic. The way magic worked was pretty straightforward. Each spell had a cost in cells and a recovery time. Some schools of magic had high costs and low recovery times, like elemental magic, while others had low costs and high recovery times, like technomancy, and everywhere in between. Enchantment was known to have high costs and high recovery times. But every spell had a minimum power count, which is what would block Rae. For example, one spell Rae had found to give someone hawk vision only cost 15 cells of alteration magic but required the user to have at least 27 cells on reserve. Nobody knew why magic worked the way it did, but most spells were well-documented. 

“Hey, honey,” Rae’s mom said as Rae walked into the kitchen. “What’re you thinking for breakfast? We’ve got pancakes, waffles, crepes, french toast, leftover pizza, cereal, the works. Whatever you want.”

“I’ll just do cereal today, mom. What’s the plan for today?” Rae asked as she walked toward the pantry.

“Well, I thought it would do you some good to get out of the house. Particularly to see what’s possible without the use of specialized magic. The General Magic Museum is doing a special exhibit this month on general magic only. It’s got artwork that includes no magic and some flashy exhibits that only use general magic. Which, may I remind you, you have plenty of. You’re not a mundane, after all.”

“Barely.”

“Well, what if you were? You’re still my daughter.”

“I know. I’ll get over it.” Rae slid into her chair, and her mom laid the milk on the table next to her with a bowl. Rae poured the cereal in, followed by the milk. She took her first bite before letting out a sigh. “I’m sorry, mom. I know I’m being overly dramatic. I still have magic. I just won’t ever get to live the life I dreamed of. Or any of the lives I dreamed of. I just don’t get why Hecate is punishing me. You and dad are both powerful. What did I do?”

“Hecate works in mysterious ways, Rae.” Her mom sat in the seat next to her. “Nobody understands why she makes the decisions she does. We just have to accept it and do what we can to make the most of it. In your case, that means learning general magic and possibly buying a little something to tip you over the edge.”

“Sounds like Hecate was a moody bitch the day I was born.”

“Rae! Don’t talk like that. Gods know she’s punished you enough; we don’t need to go picking a fight with her.”

“What else is she going to do to me, kill me? Hecate’s never been the vengeful type. That’s always been Thor’s realm.”

“Let’s not test the goddess, shall we?” Mrs. Riot said with a smirk. She knew Rae was right. Hecate loved all of her children equally. She was a fair goddess that gave magic out judiciously. If Rae had low magic for some reason, it was a good reason. She was never one to strike down a follower for an errant rant. Maybe she was the one sending those weird messages. It was well within a god’s power to warp reality to such a small degree.

“I suppose we shouldn’t,” Rae said. She finished her cereal as her mom swept across the kitchen, setting dishes to wash themselves, the broom to sweep up the floor, and the food to put itself away. She reached the other end of the kitchen and stopped at the doorway.

“Go get ready, dear. I want to get to the exhibit before it gets too crowded.”

“I am ready,” Rae said. Her mom gave her a poorly disguised amused look. So much for no judgment. “I’m sure we won’t run into anyone I know. And I’m not trying to impress anyone at the museum.”

“Okay, well, at least put some shoes on,” her mom said with a wry smile. “I think it’s a requirement to go into the museum. I’m going to go put some makeup on. It shouldn’t take longer than five minutes. I’ll be right back.”

Her mom disappeared up the stairs, and Rae was alone. She used to not mind being alone. She would twirl her hair with her magic or daydream about the future. Now she hated it. She still hadn’t used magic since the placements, and it felt so second nature to fall back on it. She ran her hands through her hair and realized how much of a mess it was. She hadn’t paid any attention in the mirror earlier because she didn’t think she was going anywhere. Rae sighed and whipped her hand, her hair collecting itself into a messy bun and a band forming around it. That wasn’t so bad.

She turned on her optical chip and mindlessly scrolled Elysium while waiting on her mom to come back. The opaque screen was filled with words and images before going blank. It was just like the other day after placements, except this time, the screen was completely blank except for a cursor blinking in the top left. Rae was mesmerized by the cursor and lost herself in it for what felt like only a second.

“Rae!” She snapped back to reality, and the screen disappeared. “Are you okay, honey?” Rae saw her mom standing in front of her with a panicked look on her face. “I’ve been trying to talk to you for five minutes. I was about to call your father. You weren’t even responding to my illusions. You were just vacant.” Mrs. Riot wrapped her in a hug and squeezed her tight. What had happened? Rae had been staring at the cursor for just a second. At least, that’s what she thought. And what was the cursor? Maybe her chip was going bad.

“I think my optical chip is going bad. Maybe the magic in it leaked into my brain or something. We should go get it looked at while we’re out. It might explain those weird visions I’ve been getting,” Rae said.

“Okay, we’ll go by the phone company before we head to the museum. Are you sure you’re okay?” Her mom pressed her hand to Rae’s face.

“Yeah, I’m okay now. Just got a little lost for a second there.” Rae stood up and walked toward the door where her shoes were. She slipped on her old athletics and walked out the door to the car. They climbed into the sleek blue car. Rae’s mom sat in the driver’s seat of the blue car and snapped her fingers. It roared to life, and they both rolled their eyes.

“I hate these things. I don’t understand why your father can’t let me have one quiet one. Just one. He can have the other two loud monstrosities.”

“I don’t understand why we have three cars in the first place. It’s not like you guys let me drive.”

“You can drive, Rae. You just have to get your license. And learn to channel your magic properly. Now that your limiter is off, you should be able to channel it well enough. We were going to get you a car for your eighteenth birthday, but you still had your limiter on, so it would have been pointless. Maybe for your nineteenth, we’ll pick you one up. And maybe your father will let it be a nice, quiet car. One that you don’t hear coming from down the street.”

“I can just take one of the cars we already have,” Rae pointed out. They had three; there was no reason to get a fourth.

“Your dad won’t let anybody drive the Faerrari. He hardly drives it. I don’t even know why we have it. Maybe we’ll sell it, get you yours, and then have enough left for a vacation.” Rae’s mom had a twinkle in her eye at the word vacation. They hadn’t had a good family vacation in over a year. Maybe it was time for one.

They pulled out of the garage, and her mom flicked her wrist to close the door. They drove down the road as Rae resisted the urge to turn her optical chip back on. Social media addiction was real. She leaned against the window and let the cool feeling on her forehead calm her. What had happened earlier? Was it just the chip? Is that what had been messing up this whole time? It would explain why her mom couldn’t detect any illusion magic. It would just be some errant technomancy leaking into her optical nerves. Her chip had been enchanted when she got it to have a higher definition and enhanced signal. It was definitely possible. It was a more likely explanation than an angry Hecate.

Before she knew it, they arrived at the phone store. She saw the poster for the most recent flagship phone. Many people didn’t trust optical chips yet, so phones were still the number one seller. Errant magic leaking was one of the reasons people didn’t trust it yet. Rae was starting to understand. Couldn’t beat the convenience, though. She got out of the car and walked toward the front. The storefront was all glass windows, and a bright red sign across the top said Melon. Some people thought Melon was overpriced junk, but the Riots always sprung for the hardware. It was reliable and sleek. The UI was unrivaled by Cybernetic, which owned the rest of the market.

The store was a large circular room lined with phones, accessories, and displays of optical chips. A couple of stands were scattered throughout the room with the latest models and salespeople standing next to them, chatting up customers. On either side of the entrance were two large digital signs that were plastered with the specials that the store was running. In the center was a large circular desk with a young man tinkering with a tablet of some sort.

“I’m going to go look at the new phones. Your dad has been talking about wanting one for work separate from his chip. Maybe I’ll pick it up while we’re here. Let me know if you need anything while you’re talking to the chip guy.” Her mom walked toward a nearby kiosk and began playing with the new phones. Rae made her way to the desk in the center.

“Hello, ma’am. How can I help you today?” he asked without looking up from the tablet. He moved his fingers, and Rae saw sparks coming out of the charging port. He was a technomancer, like most people that worked at these kinds of shops. Rae wondered what he was doing but wasn’t curious enough to ask.

“I need my optical chip looked at. I think something’s going wrong with it, and it’s leaking magic into my nerves or my brain or something.” This made the man look up. 

“What makes you say that?” he asked with a concerned look. “Was that installed here? Is it under warranty? Are the side effects harming you in any way?”

“I’m seeing things. Yes. Yes. Not yet,” Rae answered his questions in sequential order. She could see the look on his face as he went back and thought about the order he asked the questions in.

“Okay. What’s your name? I’ll look you up in the system.” He picked up another tablet from the desk and began tapping on it.

“Rae Riot.”

“Okay… you’re under Allen Riot’s account?”

“Yeah, that’s my dad.”

“Alright… I see you bought the chip about a year and a half ago. Two upgrades to it.” He kept fiddling on the tablet, reading off all the details. “And there’s the warranty. Wow, five years full replacement. Okay. I just need your signature right here saying you allow me to use magic on your chip to diagnose everything.” He held the tablet out to Rae. She drew her signature on the line, and he snapped it back. “Alright, let me just click through the process here. Andddddddddd, done. Okay, I’ll come out from behind the desk and take a look. Have you ever had someone look at a chip for you before?”

“No.”

“No problem. You’re going to feel a little lightheaded, and you might see some rainbow-like colorings in your right eye. That’s completely normal. You’ll return to normal as soon as I’m done. There are no lingering effects. I’m just going to run a quick diagnostic spell to ensure everything’s working as intended.” He stepped around the desk and put two fingers behind Rae’s right ear. She immediately felt like she was swimming through the air. The room started to spin, and she grabbed the counter to keep herself upright. Her optical chip turned on, and a blank white screen popped up. Words started flying down the screen too fast for Rae to read. She felt herself getting dizzier and dizzier until suddenly, she felt fine. The screen turned off, and she turned to see the worker returning to the other side of the desk.

“Well, it looks like everything’s working as intended. It responded to all of the tests. I’m assuming you saw a white screen with a bunch of words?” Rae nodded. “Yeah, that sounds about right. Sorry, but everything is working exactly as intended. I mean, I’m not really sorry. That’s a good thing.”

“But I’ve been seeing things, and they’re not illusions. It has to be my optical chip malfunctioning,” Rae insisted.

“I mean, I can get someone else to run the diagnostics for you if you want. The results are going to be the same. It’s a very standard spell that I’ve been doing for about five years now. I’d be happy to grab another associate, though.” The man grabbed his tablet and pressed some buttons before holding it out to Rae again. “Please sign that no changes were made to your chip. If you want me to get you someone else first, just say the word.”

“No, that’s okay.” Rae pushed her finger on the screen and signed her name again. If it wasn’t the chip, what was it? Was she going crazy? Did crazy run in the family? Nana and Popop weren’t crazy. And her parents were undoubtedly sound of mind. It didn’t always have to be hereditary, though. Crazy just popped up sometimes. Maybe she should see a doctor.

“Hey, honey. Did they find anything?” Rae’s mom appeared behind her and placed her hands on Rae’s shoulders.

“No. They said it’s working as intended. Mom, I’m starting to worry. What if there’s something wrong with me?”

“There’s nothing wrong with you, baby girl. You’re just stressed. We’ll get you in with a doctor just for peace of mind. But I’m sure this will go away with time as you adjust to everything. It’s not a coincidence that it started when it did.”

“Yeah. Maybe you’re right. Maybe it is just stress.” Rae turned to walk toward the door when she saw words glowing in bright neon on one of the large signs in the store. Trust nothing and no one. We’ll be in touch.