The nearest teleportation terminal was within walking distance of the university. Arthur leisurely made his way across campus and out into the city. Arthur enjoyed the atmosphere a city had. There was always chaotic energy shared between the residents. He walked past a couple of homeless magicians, begging for a few dollars by casting simple water magic into shapes of dancing animals. The ephemeral figures were quickly destroyed by a busy passerby. It was an interesting thing to see, a tiny, water elephant being kicked into a cascade of tiny droplets. The man didn’t even stop after destroying the tiny animals. He was completely absorbed into whatever was on his phone.

Although magic was extremely commonplace, it did not curb the mental health issues and drug abuse in much of the country. If anything, the likelihood of the two seemed to increase in powerful magicians. This led to a rather complex homeless issue that many people refused to properly address. How could you offer help to someone that had the power to demolish a town?

It was only two more blocks through the towering skyscrapers before he reached the entrance to the terminal. At first glance, the entrance looked very similar to stairs leading to the expansive subway system. It wasn’t until you reached the doors at the bottom that you noticed the difference. Cities across the United States had put billions of dollars into the teleportation infrastructure, this led to some rather ridiculous uses of the money. The doors in front of Arthur were a deep, polished black. If he hadn’t known better, Arthur would have thought he was walking into a cult hideout rather than an international terminal. A panel was placed next to the door and Arthur channeled a small portion of magical energy into the inconspicuous black box. With a shudder, the twin doors opened up allowing him to walk through into a bustling, modern terminal. I reminded Arthur of a European airport with excellent lighting and modern art placed precariously throughout. The doors and entrances used a very complex form of magic where crossing a certain threshold in front of the doors put each person into their own instance of the doors to the terminal. This meant that no matter how crowded it may seem, you could always enter within the same amount of time.

Arthur looked over at the line for tickets. Buying those were a different story. It took an hour to purchase tickets to the magical, romantic city of Paris. Arthur had never been fond of the place. After finally holding a ticket in hand, he walked up to the attendant at the Paris terminal gate, an elderly man with graying hair and a gentle smile, and handed him the ticket. “Heading back home for the summer?” The old man asked Arthur, assuming he was still a student.

Arthur nodded, “Something like that.” Public teleportation was different from personal. For starters, the magic used was foreign which often left magicians feeling disoriented an hour or two after the fact. The cost-cutting design of the magical platforms also made the trip last a few seconds longer than many would like. Nothing was more horrible than imagining you might be stuck in teleportation limbo for eternity. It was more common than the government wanted to admit.

The old man waved goodbye at Arthur who had just stepped onto the raised, white platform. “Have a good trip.” The old man’s words were drowned out by the rush Arthur felt as his body was sucked into the void. A few seconds later he appeared on a similar platform in a very different terminal. It looked as though the terminal had been built inside an old, historic church basement. The dim lighting and damp atmosphere sent shivers through Arthur as he stepped down from the platform. He quickly cast a translation spell noticing someone waiting at the exit gates. He never bothered learning the language. He was never here long enough to have a need to. The spell not only translated what everyone was saying into English but would translate what he was saying into their native language. It was considered common courtesy for the traveling magician to cast it.

At the exit, a rather young woman greeted him, “Welcome to Paris, Mr. Montale. Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Thanks, but there’s no need. Is my brother in his usual spot?” The woman nodded. It was always unnerved Arthur how his brother’s attendants remained smiling. “Would you like me to escort you to his location?” The woman began trying to lead him towards the exit of the terminal, but Arthur stepped the opposite direction.

“I can make my own way there. You can head back to the office.” The woman looked slightly disappointed, but the smile never faltered. “Very well. I hope you have a pleasant time in Paris.” The woman teleported away leaving Arthur alone among the crowds of tourists excited about their first visit to the fabled city. The city was one of the few that refused to implement many modern advances into their “cultural hub” as they liked to call it. Paris had always been a city entrenched in history, culture, and tradition. Arthur found it extremely frustrating. Humanity revolved around evolution. Becoming better than the previous generation was one of the few positive aspects of their race and yet this city refused to step into the twentieth century with the rest of them. Of course, a few exceptions were made such as the teleportation terminal, but many other aspects of the city relied on centuries-old methods. On top of that, they implemented a curfew for magical usage. Those caught using magic after nine at night would be heavily fined. They framed it as ‘remaining in touch with our roots’.

Arthur didn’t want to walk through the city, instead opting to teleport to his destination. He was lucky it was only a few hundred feet away. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have made it. He still couldn’t cast long-distance teleportation reliably.

Soundlessly, Arthur appeared in front of a small café facing an empty and impressively small side street. Arthur pushed open the heavy wooden door with a clang as the top of the door caused a bell to ring above it. There was only one man in the café sitting at a table for two in the center of the restaurant. He was tall, good-looking, everything Arthur was not. His clothes although a simple dress shirt and pants looked pristine. The smell of freshly baked bread suddenly slammed into Arthur assaulting his sense of smell in a way he wasn’t comfortable with. Good things should come in small doses.

The man stood up at the sound of the bell and with a grin looked over at Arthur.

“Arthur, it’s been years! What have you been getting up to lately?” The conversation was forced. Arthur could tell he wasn’t welcome here. The fact that he was initially welcomed by his brother’s attendant was already an indication of that.

“Hey, Samuel. I had a few questions and wasn’t sure who else to turn to. I promise I won’t be staying long.” If Arthur’s response bothered him it didn’t show on Samuel’s face. He responded in the same cheerful way he had before. “I’m always happy to help out my little brother. Come, join me.” Samuel motioned to the chair in front of him, which Arthur sat down in as if it was where he always belonged.

A waitress came out with two large glasses of, what Arthur could only guess was, extremely expensive red wine. Samuel picked up the glass before taking a slow sip of the swirling red liquid. “You know, this city means the world to me, Arthur. This is where I have built my roots. Created my empire. I even have plans to start a family in the next few years.” Arthur was about to congratulate him, but Samuel continued with his monologue. “I am very careful about who I let into and out of my city. A single diseased rat can bring down a king in the right conditions. I’m hoping I haven’t made a mistake allowing you to be here.” It was an extremely subtle threat, but a threat all the same. Arthur reached out and took a long draught from his own glass. He never could tell the difference between a perfectly crafted Cabernet and boxed wine from the supermarket.

Samuel scowled slightly at the lack of etiquette but waited for Arthur’s response. “I was honest when I told you my purpose for coming here. I’m not really sure what direction I want to take my life in. I want to hopefully gain some insight from you on the matter.”

Samuel leaned back in his chair, lowering his guard. He grinned at Arthur mockingly, “So you’ve finally come to your brother for advice? I thought you had your whole life figured out when you left the family. Are you telling me that your declaration to denounce the family name and pursue greater magical knowledge was just a rash and idiotic mistake?” If it was anyone else, Arthur would have already stood up and left, but Arthur believed his brother could help him. He couldn’t afford to leave so early.

Arthur returned Samuel’s mocking smile with one of his own, “No, I already accomplished it. I’m just unsure of what to do now that I have. How have you come to terms with living in mediocrity?”

Samuel suddenly threw his full glass of wine, shattering it across the wall behind Arthur. “This is why no one wants to be around you! We get it, you’re powerful. You’re so much more intelligent than the rest of us. Did you really just come here to rub my fucking face in it? Get the hell out!” Samuel cracked much quicker than Arthur expected. He had always had a temper, but this was much more sudden than Arthur had anticipated. Something else must be going on, but he wasn’t one to dig into personal matters.

Arthur stood up. Although he was shorter than Samuel, he seemed to tower over him. “You treated me like absolute shit when we were younger. I was hoping you might have changed just a little bit and would be willing to help me out. I’m not sure why I expected anything different from your usual shitty self.” Arthur sat back down having calmed down a little. “I was being polite by coming to you first. I could have just taken what I wanted and left. With how little Paris focuses on magic, I doubt anyone could have stopped me. I’ll give you one more chance before I go off on my own. I’m only here for the cube of the gods. Give me that and I promise I’ll never come back.” Samuel could only look over at his brother in shock.

It was silent for a few seconds before Samuel responded, “Fine, I’ll get you the damned cube.” Arthur smiled sweetly at his brother. “I’ll wait here for your return.” He raised his wine glass before taking another long swig as Samuel angrily slammed the door on his way out.