Their departure that morning was smooth, despite Alois’s concerns that someone would definitely come to stop them. They only really let their guards down until they had long left the city limits. From this point on, Yuki would be guiding their way, but his directions thus far had been a bit vague. Despite the vague instructions which led them along the coastline towards the west, they arrived at a small beach house set against a jagged cliff. The cute cottage look wasn't what Cassandra had been expecting.

  "Alvis chose it," Yuki told her, as if that explained everything.

  It didn't really seem like Alvis's style either, but Cassandra couldn't claim to have known the man long enough to know for sure. It was cute and cozy, but isolated. The overall vibe sorta reminded her of Yuki in a way now that she had gotten over her initial surprise. More than that, once they got closer they could feel the unmistakable rush of magic fill the air. It was similar to entering the Pavilion, but far stronger.

  "This might be even stronger than the source that the Archmage guards," Caleb muttered, "Incredible."

  "I should have no trouble summoning her here," Cassandra noted. That was the whole reason they had made this journey, after all, "Let's go inside and find a good spot."

  There was no need to look around for a good spot. The moment Cassandra entered, she was met with a cozy living room with various fluffy seating surrounding a circular coffee table in the center. If she set out a plate of her safety-confirmed cookies it would be perfect. The house did appear to be bigger on the inside than it appeared, but she doubted she would find a room with a more comforting vibe. Just in case the worst happened and Mickey didn't know them yet Cassandra did not want to scare her.

  “How many of us are planning to be present for this?” Caleb asked, looking around at the crowd, “We don’t want to scare her off.”

  Cassandra did a quick head count. Alois, Wayde, Caleb, and herself. That made four people if she didn’t count Yuki. It wasn’t a huge crowd but it was enough to be overwhelming, especially if she suddenly found herself in a strange place. It might be better for them to split up, but it wouldn’t feel right to leave everyone out either.

  “Why don’t I start by trying to summon her alone,” Cassandra suggested, “Then once I introduce myself and she settles in the rest of you can join us.”

  “That sounds like a good idea,” Alois agreed, “I will wait for my own experiment until after you are done, just in case I manage to summon something crazy.”

  With a plan in place, Cassandra fished through the kitchen for a proper platter to display her cookies. Once that was set up, she sat in the least imposing of the seats while the others waited in the next room over. Maybe this had been a crazy idea. Should she have left the summoning up to Caleb? Even if this was Yuki’s place, one full of powerful magic, she was no good at summoning. Even Yuki probably summoned himself.

  “I will help you,” Yuki promised as he know doubt heard every one of her nervous thoughts.

  While it could be invasive at times, in this specific case it was reassuring. No matter how badly she failed, it was sure to succeed once Yuki stepped in. Since it had been a while, Cassandra made sure to recite the steps for proper summoning in her head. She had the most important piece already. A name.

  “Mickey,” Cassandra called, releasing the magic she had carefully gathered.

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  Wait, had she said the wrong name? When Osmond had summoned her, he had called her Michelle. Just as she was about to panic that she had messed up at the first hurdle, the gathered magic began to swell. It continued to build up and condense, drawing in more magic from the surroundings. Then Mickey appeared, looking a bit sleepy and very confused.

  “Cassandra?” she asked. Oh good, she recognized her. “Why did you summon me so late at night? Hold on, where are we? Is that sunlight? Windows?”

  “Sorry about that,” Cassandra apologized, “This is my first time trying to summon you on my own so I travelled to a special place.”

  “This is definitely different from usual,” Michelle said, sitting down right in front of the cookies before picking one up, “So are these.”

  “Local specialties. I haven’t had the chance to try most of them yet,” Cassandra admitted, “The last time I saw you was in the Pavilion, but Alvis said you can never appear there again.”

  “That place was cool the first few times, but I actually preferred seeing other places,” Mickey said with a smile, “Don’t worry about it too much. I know something happened there, but I don’t remember anything about it, so it probably hasn’t happened to me yet. I will never get used to this whole time mismatch thing.”

  “Is it all right if the others join us?” Cassandra asked, already relieved by how relaxed this conversation had gone so far, “There are only a few more. Alois, Caleb, and Wayde.”

  “Of course,” Mickey told her, “Why don’t you tell me all about everything that is happening like always? Ozzy always told me that is the best way I can help.”

  Cassandra looked up at the others as they walked in. “Should we tell her about the parasite and that fish?” she asked over jabber jewel.

  “I don’t see how it would hurt,” Caleb replied.

  The others sat down and took a cookie after getting comfortable. Well, everyone but Caleb took a cookie. He very stubbornly ignored the treats. Once everyone was settled, they all looked to Cassandra. Of course. Since this was her idea, she needed to be in charge of leading the discussion.

  “Where would you like us to begin?” Cassandra asked.

  “Maybe by giving me a general idea of when you are?” Mickey suggested.

  That was certainly a good start, but it would be impossible to avoid uncomfortable topics. At the very least, Cassandra would avoid mentioning Osmond’s possession and his death.

  “I just finished my first year at Nobility,” Cassandra recalled, “Alvis has stepped in as the Headmaster, and Maximus officially graduated and became King Nero’s direct aide. Right now we are visiting the ocean, but Keane and Autumn stayed behind to research a mysterious disease in Lion Seaport. Keane suspects it might be a parasite carried by this fish that has gotten popular recently.”

  Michelle frowned in concentration. “It sounds familiar, but I can’t quite place it,” she confessed, “There was this mind control fish Keane told me about before, but that wasn’t a parasite. It was a curse, and you never caught the culprit who cast it. Or maybe it was a parasite that was enhanced by a curse? I wish I had my notes on me. They aren’t very helpful if I can’t bring them with me when I am summoned.”

  “I never would have considered searching for a curse or caster,” Caleb muttered, “It is a good thing we talked to you about this.”

  “Always happy to help,” Mickey told them cheerfully, “Cassandra, this cookie is good. Have you tried it yet?”

  Cassandra took the offered cookie and took a bite. “Oh, it really is delicious.”

  The group mutually decided without saying a word that this time they would let Mickey relax instead of working. With how exhausted she looked, Cassandra was even tempted to send her back right away but that felt too cold. Instead they chatted and enjoyed cookies together for a while before Mickey mentioned that she really should go to bed. They said their goodbyes and sent her back.

  “I will fill Keane in on what we learned and discuss possibilities with him,” Caleb announced, already standing, “Wait for me before you try your summoning, Alois. I want to see it.”