A cloaked man was wobbling around the streets of Destin, without any apparent direction, turning and twisting through different streets and passages and from time to time, looking behind him. If one could see his face, one would see fear and nervousness.

Not only his face was hidden under the cloak, but he also carried something more important. If one paid close attention to him, one would realize that a chill air emanated from him, specifically from his stomach area.

This man was going to get rid of this which was going to calm him down, but every moment he was close to this object he sweat profusely and trembled. The man didn’t know where the kids got their bravery from, but he was quite surprised.

Making his way through the streets and passages of the town, flinching at anything he found out of the norm, he made his way to a small shack in the end of one of the many alleys Destin had. The materials it was made were precarious and it seemed to have been made just days earlier.

The figure stretched an arm from under the cloak and knocked on the door. One time. No answer. Two more times, a bit harder and the man looked behind his shoulder shortly until the door opened before him.

- Come in – a young voice inside called him into the dark interior of the building. After doubting for a few seconds, he felt a cold gust of wind coming from behind, after which he hurried inside, and the door immediately closed.

Then, a ball of light appeared in front of him. Behind this magical creation, a young man… or maybe a teenager… was sitting comfortably with his legs on top of a table, where some papers lay. The man saw a chair right in front of him and after exchanging looks with the male in front of him he understood that he should sit there. After doing so Gabriel talked.

- Do you, have it? – He asked, first, not wanting to doubt the man in front of him, but with his sweaty body and trembling body he couldn’t help himself.

- Y- Yes, I do – He answered, taking a black box and leaving it on the middle of the table.

Gabriel looked at it for a while and scanned it with his eyes, searching for manipulation signatures, be it physical or magical. He doubted that the man in front of him could wield magic, but anyone could hire someone to make some spells, it was just a question of how much money.

Satisfied with his inspection, Gabriel improved his position on the chair and turned more serious. He looked to the man in front of him directly into his eyes and he could almost feel his soul being watched.

- Anyways, I believe it is much safer for both of us to make a written deal. A special one. – Gabriel made sure to exacerbate the word “special” as he talked. – You can already see that I can wield magic, right in front of us I have created light. Now I’m not limited to this simple spell, but I’m sure you are a busy man and have other things to do, as do I. So, in short, I imprinted some spells into this paper as to prevent any of the two breaking any clauses.

Gabriel paused for a second, making sure to watch over the reactions of the male in front of him, making sure that he wasn’t being tricked and that the man was understanding everything he had already explained.

- You can read the document now and in the last paragraph are the conditions and consequences if any of the two break the promise written into this paper, after we have both signed with our names.

The man took the document with his darkened hands and glossed over it. He didn’t find anything special, other than the final paragraph. If any of the two broke their promise, they would lose their lives, a magical spell consuming their lives.

After a minute or two, the man sighed and agreed to signing this contract, under the condition that the teen signed first. He did so and after checking his signature, he signed the papers as well. The paper lit up for a seconds and then turned back to its original state.

Gabriel gave the man his golden coins and the man left the box on the table, besides the just signed document. On the paper one could read two handwritten signatures, Petrió and Fred.

Now you may be thinking many things, such as “Finally you used your name!” or “Why didn’t the man recognize you?” and I have answers to some of these questions. First of all, I had undergone a significant change since I last met him and Kupi had gone to ask for the deal in my stead.

I decided to buy this fingernail to start an investigation, because after my sister finally got better from her sickness, I realized that at some point I could be forced to go to the man that had captured me and Kupi to play his little escape game and I would rather come prepared, maybe with a backup plan against his powers than to enter in blind and learn just then.

I decided on using a fake name because I wouldn’t be bound that way. It was a way to prevent all the consequences and I thought that the man could also do that. And indeed, he did. Had he written his real name, his body would have also glowed, but it didn’t, showcasing that he either consciously lied, didn’t know his name, either by a natural or created sickness or that he was working for someone else.

But to prevent the document from absorbing all the mana in the ambient, I added a failsafe, so that if none of the signatories signed correctly, the document would simply glow for longer and then the spell would dissolve.

The name came from a story I had managed to start reading in the library of the church, before it was removed by Father Thomas. It was named something like “Why I am me” and I only managed to get to chapter ten. It felt like I was reading my own life and it is what inspired me to write this.

- Pleasure doing business with you – Gabriel smiled, the chairs retracted from the table and the door opened behind the man. – If you will? – Gabriel signed towards the exit to the man, expecting his leave and after a peculiar smile, he did.

Gabriel quickly got into business, checking the package to see if he had just been scammed, which was now a possibility, because the man hadn’t glowed after both of them signed the papers. Luckily the fingernail was inside, and the coldest air Gabriel had ever breathed came out of the box.

Instinctively he closed the box, but in that brief moment that it was open two things happened. The first one was that Gabriel realized that the nail was smaller than when he had last seen it, the second one happened further away, where the original owner of the object in question resided.

- Now it’s in a new place, huh. I didn’t manage to find out exactly where, but I’ll find you soon enough.

Back inside the trio’s shack a discussion had erupted. It was, obviously, between brother and sister, with Kupi once again trying to take things down a notch.

- I told you it was a bad idea! – Arabelle had started. – You only wanted to satisfy your never-ending curiosity and now we are in a big mess, being searched by this dangerous man! – Both of them had felt the man searching for his nail and were nervous because of it.

- If we want to stay in Destin, we’d meet him at some point or another and it’s better to be safe than dead! – Gabriel counterargued. – What would you do if he decided to attack us in the middle of the street just because. We have no way to defend ourselves! But with this we have a chance!

- Why would he even attack us! He may be crazy, but I haven’t heard of any maniacs attacking people on the streets of Destin throughout our whole stay! Wouldn’t the people at church warn us or something? It makes no sense!

- And since when do crazy people follow a specific sense?! He could change at any moment, in fact, he could be changing his train of thought right now! – After a slight pause to take a breather, Gabriel continued his attack. – You know what?! If you want to be safe, then go to the lord’s castle and work there! Sell your body if you want! I don’t care about you anymore! – He finished.

- I… – Arabelle was taken aback for a moment, but her fighting spirit wouldn’t let her lose. – Ok! I will and when you die, I will put a sign on your grave that reads “I am dumb and didn’t follow my sister’s advice.” – Stopping to see his brother’s shock, she took a short pause and then finished her point. – Yes, I believe you are only rushing towards your death. Goodbye!

And Arabelle started taking all of her properties and stuffed them in her bag. Before leaving the building, she stopped for a moment and looked at Gabriel, who was back to his expressionless face.

- Wait, you don’t deserve a good Badbye stupid brother and until death joins us once more! – She said as she left the building to a silent Gabriel and a flabbergasted Kupi, who was forced to lay on the wall to remain standing, the shock of the battle being too great for him.