Sophia and I stepped back into the warp gate that funnelled the citizens of the Immateria City to and from the city of London above. The bright lights and bustling energy of the underground city gave way to the greenery and open sky of the Old English Garden. The Battersea Power station loomed in the distance, silhouetted by the low afternoon sun."I can't believe all of this has happened in just a day," I remarked, taking in the view. "Most of it still doesn't even seem possible.""You'll get used to it, Parker," Sophia said, patting me on the shoulder. Her words were gruff, but there was a hint of compassion in her eyes. Maybe having been properly registered by the Immateria Council had relieved some of the stress she was feeling now that neither of us was set to be executed."So, what's the plan?" I asked, as we made our way out of the park. "Do you have some kind of Immateria tracking spell that we can use to track this guy down?""Please," She snorted, "Spells like that are stric

I had never before seen Sophia exhibit genuine kindness and compassion towards someone.Oh, she had certainly put on a convincing act in the past, pretending to be a caring and empathetic individual. But this time, as she gently soothed the sobbing girl in front of us, there was an unmistakable authenticity to her words and actions."It's all right," Sophia said, her voice soothing and reassuring. "We've been assigned to investigate the mysterious disappearances in Soho, and we believe they're part of a larger case. But you don't need to worry about the larger details right now.""You're going to find them?" the girl asked, her eyes shining with hope."We'll certainly do our utmost," Sophia promised with an easy smile. "Why don't you start by telling us what you know?"The girl glanced down at her feet, as if she longed for the ground to open up and swallow her whole. But then she took a deep breath, steeled herself, and began to speak."There was another girl who worked with me at th

Sophia stomped down the street, leaving me struggling to keep up with her as we made our way back to my car after her defeat by the rogue Immateria. The tension was palpable as I started the engine and we sat in silence for a few moments, with me behind the wheel and Sophia beside me.I finally mustered the courage to break the silence, my voice hesitating as I asked, "Are you okay?"Her gaze, blazing with animosity, met mine before the fire in her eyes flickered and died. She breathed out a quiet, "Yeah," but the tremor in her voice betrayed her."The Council needs to be informed and they won't be happy about it," she continued, her voice tinged with a hint of resignation. "We have to go back to the Undercity.""They can't expect you to bring rogue Immateria down every time, can they?" I said, trying to lighten the mood as I navigated the car through the deserted streets of London.Sophia's glare was back, her voice cold, "You clearly don't understand the Immateria Council yet."We d

It hadn’t taken us long to get back to the Q-Park on Poland street. It was around 4 AM and the streets of London were completely empty, too late for people in the clubs and too early for people trying to make their way to work. I pulled the quadcopter out of the trunk of the car and looped the video feed screen and controller I had synced it up to around my neck. The drone was small, with four propellers and a compact camera attached to its underside. The Talisman was attached to the front side of the drone. It would act like a magnet, dragging the drone in the direction of the rogue Immateria after it caught onto the rogue Immateria’s signature.“You’re sure this thing is going to work, right?” Sophia asked, leaning against the side of my car. “As sure as I can be with an untested piece of technology, sure,” I replied. “There’s any number of things that could go wrong, but as far as I’m aware the science and magical theory are sound.” “Alright then, it’s worth a shot,” She shrugge

After the excitement and fervour of the fight that Sophia and I had shared with the rogue Immateria, now that it was over, the warehouse seemed far too silent. The only noises that could be heard were the distant calls of seagulls as they flew above the Thames and the slight buzz of the quadcopter drone’s blades somewhere above as it continued to circle the building. The air was filled with the acrid smell of burning flesh as the final remnants of the rogue were burnt away by Sophia’s magical inferno. It was an unpleasant scent, one that would probably never allow me to think of barbeques in quite the same way again.“How’re you coping?” I asked Sophia, “The Rogue looked like it managed to get some pretty heavy hits in, are you alright or do you need medical attention?” Sophia snorted, “I’m an Immateria, we don’t really do medical attention, Parker. I’ll be fine in a couple of minutes, I just need to catch my breath.” I nodded in reply. It was good knowledge to have. It seemed th