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By that time, we had wound up at the gates of the Central District, home to both the city's botanical gardens and the Great Library, where I spent most of my lazy afternoons poring over the several dusty, ancient tomes that lined the walls. That day, however, I found the siren song of Nature louder than that of literature, so I dragged Walt rather hurriedly to the gardens.

"Slow down, Aiden! You're gonna hurt yourself!"

I laughed and quickened my pace, dragging feathery tendrils of smoke along the edges of my form.

"Don't worry, Walt! I've got it under control! I actually know what I'm doing."

We reached the Ivy Gate and slipped inside using my executive key card, given to me by the higher-ranking politicians in return for a little cyber-espionage into the Red Roses' networks. After slipping inside, we quickly made our way to the usual spot, directly under the artificial sun created by the House of Fire many years ago. The overhanging smoke from outside usually blocked out the sun, save for a few days during the year, so the gardens needed its own sun to keep the plants alive. I laid directly under it, watching its many fiery tendrils lick its sides and bathe the entire room in a warm glow.

"Isn't it beautiful, Walt?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's wonderful. Let's go train!"

I chuckled. Such an eager kid. It was almost too bad that he had to belong to the House of Air. I'm half surprised his parents ever actually let him be anywhere near me, but I never asked questions. Better to be silently obedient, just smile and nod, rather than provoke their collective wrath. Especially from his father.

"Alright, alright." I started, "Let's find somewhere quiet and open, away from the rest of these plants. Don't need to be blowing down any of the Elder's precious trees."

We set off for the garden's main clearing, situated near the north wall of glass. Probably not the best of locations for training an Air student, but it was our only option at this time of day because the academy was closed due to the North District quarantine. Thankfully, though, Walt's base power hadn't grown yet, so we had little chance of actually even putting a crack in the glass.

I grabbed Walt's hands and placed them in the first basic position. "Hold your hands out like this, focus your energy, then let it all go."

He did so, hesitantly, up until the whole letting go part, which happened to be the most important. Typical Walt.

"A-are you sure I should let it all out...?"

I sighed. "If you're uncomfortable with releasing all of it at once, then just take a deep breath and let loose just enough energy to produce a small breeze. That's all."

He nodded and did so, producing the world's worst excuse for a breeze I had ever seen. Again, typical Walt.

"Try again..."

Again. Nothing. The sigil on the back of his hand was glowing so brightly, it could have awoken the demons. But nothing happened.

I shook my head and tried to show him how to start. "Look. You gather all your energy, focus it at your center, visualize your target, then just let it all loose. All of it this time, Walt."

He took one deep, shaky breath, then let it loose, shattering the glass wall. I threw my hands up over my head, extending my aura to deflect the shards as Walt ran to my side and clung for dear life.

Hmm...I guess he had it in him all along...But that doesn't make sense... Even my father wasn't that strong on his first day as a caster. Something's very wrong here...

Just then, at least twenty armed guards came storming in, demanding to know what had happened. Thankfully, I worked with some of their superiors, so I knew exactly what they wanted to hear. If anything, White Rose military leaders would love to have a reason to blame the Red Roses for pretty much everything that ever happened in the city. So I calmly told them that a ballistic missile had come careening through the glass, nearly missing Walt and me, then exploded in the center of the garden, causing the large scorch marks on the ground.

Not enough. One brave soul stepped out of rank and extended an accusing, yet hesitant finger right in my direction.

"He's lying! I didn't see any scorch marks when we ran in!"

"Really? Prove it."

He clutched his standard-issue rifle as if his life depended on it, started to speak, and came up with nothing.

I chuckled. "Typical."

His red-hot skin could practically boil an egg out of sheer anger. The WRA wasn't exactly accustomed to defeat, and it showed in the spirit and attitudes of the men. So, predictably, he came charging after me, blind with fury, eyes blazing, dodged by a mere sidestep. I grabbed him by the shoulders, pinched a nerve just under his neck, and sent him running back into rank without a hitch.

"Now that that's settled, come with me, gentlemen," I said, gesturing towards the sun's perch, "and you'll see exactly the spot I'm speaking of."

Their CO took the initiative to follow me closely, wary of my intentions after his grunt's little outburst. A bit of light conversation eased that tension. All the while, though, I had been desperately plotting exactly how I was going to pull it off. Perhaps a little too haphazardly, I decided to flick random sparks at the sun to overcharge it and cause an actual explosion. Instead, I managed to miss it several times and burn large, black, ugly spots in the grass below.

Works for me.

Thankfully, the fires had died out by the time we arrived, and as evidence, I scooped up some of the charred mess and presented it to the CO.

"See? Told you."

He scratched his stubbly chin for a moment, then turned to the rest and bellowed, "Yep! It's a missile explosion, alright. No doubting that!" He then turned to me and leaned in close, whispering, "The rest of them are rather...blissfully, I guess...unaware of the politics of this nation. All they know is the Red Rose is the enemy, and our sole duty is to defend this city from their aggression."

A few of them began to get antsy and worried, so he sent them off, shouting, "I want every last one of you to go clean the barracks until they SHINE! You hear me?! SHINE! I want to be able to EAT off those floors!"

After the last of his men had left, he turned and saluted me. I returned the gesture, motioning to Walt to do the same. He had spaced out, no doubt troubled by the sudden realization of his power, but snapped back to reality after I lit his ass with a spark. He yelped and saluted, provoking a certain nasty look from the commander.

"I'm onto you two," he sneered, "and if I hear of another incident in this district that you two were behind, I'll be sure that Parliament has your heads served to them on a silver platter. Are we clear?"

Two nods. No need in further provocation of the law.

"Good. Now. I'll be off. No doubt this will make headline news by noon. Ugh..what a mess..."

He left mumbling to himself. I turned to Walt and breathed a heavy sigh of relief, expecting to see the same. He was still staring up at the artificial sun, though, lost in a horrid melange of deep thought and sheer terror.

But he wasn't the only terrified one.