Trying to understand what she was reading, Julia shuffled through a stack of papers. It wasn’t that Jason’s handwriting was atrocious, though it was; instead it was the words themselves that didn’t make sense. She could read each one, but they wouldn’t go together properly. The only thing she could be confident of was that these represented Jason’s research in magical energy. Few mages specialized in raw magical power – Jason was the only one she knew personally – and her own training covered very little of the theory. Most mages, herself included, only learned enough about it to provide energy for their own spells.

Periodically, she would stop and try to read through a page. Jason had said he would teach her about this aspect of magic. Along with so many other things, his death had put an end to that plan. Comprehension of his notes danced just out of reach. So many times she thought she was beginning to grasp some of the ideas, only to have them slip past her once more.

She let the papers she was holding fall to the desk and rubbed her eyes with her hands. A headache had formed from all of her concentrating. She needed a break. Rook, Jason’s cat, jumped onto the desk and rubbed up against her arm. When she looked up, he was staring expectantly at her with his deep green eyes. Scritching behind his ears almost always made him happy. This time, though, the cat didn’t close his eyes and lean into the affection. He just stared at her.

“Are you hungry?”

She really didn’t expect him to answer, but she couldn’t think of what else he might want. As expected, he didn’t react.

A thought occurred to her. “Do you want to show me something?”

At that, Rook jumped down and walked to the main room of the apartment. Once he knew she had followed, he jumped on top of a chest of drawers and began pawing at the top drawer.

Ever since Esther had told her the cat’s name, Julia wondered if the animal actually spoke to the landlady. Sometimes, he seemed to behave as if he knew what she had said, but he never talked to her.

Inside the drawer was a simple wooden box and more papers. Julia had spent most of the last few weeks at the apartment, but there was so much to go through, she suspected she hadn’t found even a quarter of the things Jason had hidden all over. The box was secured with a trick latch, but by now, she had worked through enough of them that it didn’t take her long to get it open.

Upon opening the box, she found four different color crystals: blue, purple, yellow, and orange. They looked very much like the green crystal she had used to open the door that led her back to this very apartment. Six small mounts were spaced evenly in the box, and two were empty. Perhaps the green was one of the missing crystals. That left one unaccounted for.

She closed the box and turned her attention to the small stack of papers. There was the same, nearly illegible, handwriting she had been staring at for the last few days. This time, however, the words didn’t slip through her mind.

Julia,

I intend to give you this box in person, but I also know that events don’t always go as planned. If you’re reading this note, either I’m dead, or you’re snooping. If it’s the latter, knock it off. You’ll get this when I give it to you. If it’s the former, well, I guess you should keep reading.

Julia looked up at Rook. The cat was licking his paw and ignoring her.

“You couldn’t have shown me this earlier?”

Rook simply jumped down and walked into the kitchen. After taking a moment to blink her eyes clear, Julia began to read again.

Inside the box are several crystals. You are already familiar with the white ones I use to store energy, so I didn’t bother putting one in. And since you’ve found your way back here, you must have also discovered what the green can be use for. Admittedly, the green are likely to be the least useful to you. But it was your magic that helped me create them. The rest of the crystals you will need to figure out on your own. Carefully. Remember how we met, and don’t repeat my mistakes.

The pages with this should help you get started. Nothing else will make sense until you master these. I said I would teach you about my own magic. This is me making good on that promise. Study the crystals; I think you will figure it out.

Yours,

Jason

P.S. I think the cat is conspiring with the landlady. Probably harmless, but I thought you should know.

Julia wiped away a couple more tears and chuckled a bit. Jason’s version of paranoia always made her laugh. The box sat in front of her on the chest. It almost felt as though the crystals inside were calling to her. Some sleep was probably in order, but she didn’t think she could wait any longer. She opened the box and pulled out the blue crystal.