·
He had only meant to check in on Henry—to offer a word of guidance, maybe some mentorship. But instead, he'd been met with a magical hot pot feast, casual mastery of sacred texts, and a level of confidence that threatened to undo his years of training in serenity.
If he stayed a second longer, Mordo feared he might begin to doubt his entire life's work.
"I just came to see how you were doing, and since you're clearly doing fine… I'll take my leave," Mordo muttered, already turning to the door.
But before he could even take two full steps, Henry's voice called out behind him.
"Master Mordo, wait! I do have a question."
Mordo stopped dead in his tracks, eyebrows lifting slightly in surprise. He had a question?
"You—" he turned, raising an eyebrow. "You've got a problem? You're struggling with something?"
Henry scratched his head awkwardly. "It's not really a practice issue. I just wanted to ask if Kamar-Taj's books are allowed to be taken out."
Mordo blinked. "No."
He said it so firmly that it echoed off the dormitory walls.
"Kamar-Taj's library is a sanctuary for sacred knowledge. To preserve the integrity and safety of our books, no volume is allowed to leave the premises."
Henry nodded slowly, pretending to take the answer at face value. "I see... That's going to be a bit inconvenient. I need to head out to New York for something urgent."
Mordo frowned. "Something wrong?"
Henry sighed. "Tony Stark sent me a message. Something serious is going on. I don't know how he got my number, but he did. I was hoping I could take a few books with me so I wouldn't lose study time while I'm away."
Mordo crossed his arms. "I'm afraid that won't be possible. The books are protected by ancient enchantments. Even the Ring of Raggadorr won't let you sneak them out without Kamar-Taj's consent."
Henry let out another sigh. That made things a little more complicated than he liked.
"What if I just memorized the content?" he asked, more out of hope than conviction.
"Photographic memory?" Mordo raised an eyebrow. "You have that too?"
Henry shook his head. "Nope. Just luck. My brain is still very human."
Mordo hesitated, glancing away as if weighing his words. Then, in a tone laced with subtle mischief, he began to speak again.
"Most of the books in Kamar-Taj are indeed irreplaceable," he said. "They may be borrowed, but they're not to be damaged, defiled, or lost. If a book leaves the library, its safety can't be guaranteed. That's why we discourage it."
Then he added, with a carefully innocent shrug, "That said… some mages have used the Ring of Raggadorr to 'accidentally' carry a book or two out with them. They always returned them intact, so there wasn't much we could do."
Henry's eyes narrowed.
"I confronted them, of course," Mordo continued, "but the Supreme Mage told me not to interfere. She said mages should be free to act as they choose—as long as they understand the consequences."
He gave a very deliberate pause.
"After all, who can truly control a mage?"
The corner of his mouth twitched with a faint smirk.
And just like that, Henry got the message loud and clear.
Oh. So this is how we're playing it.
Mordo had just handed him the green light—wrapped in a red ribbon of plausible deniability.
"Master Mordo," Henry said, donning an expression of righteous indignation, "this is a serious matter! We mustn't allow these valuable books to be taken lightly!"
Mordo nodded solemnly. "Exactly. That's why you wouldn't do something like that, right?"
"Of course not! You can trust my integrity!" Henry said with a straight face.
"I do," Mordo replied smoothly. "Now then—study hard."
With that, Mordo made his grand exit, barely hiding the amusement on his face.
As soon as the door clicked shut, Henry dropped the pretense and got to work.
He swept through the dorm, cleaning up his table, organizing his notes, and packing the books into a compact magical storage orb. Then, with a flick of his wrist and a whispered chant, he summoned a shimmering golden portal.
The other side opened up into the familiar, luxurious interior of Tony Stark's private villa.
"Ah, civilization," Henry murmured, stepping through.
Kamar-Taj was powerful, yes. Enchanting, mysterious, and brimming with ancient wisdom. But no matter how spiritual one became, nothing beat the comfort of stepping into a multi-million-dollar villa with floor-to-ceiling windows and a built-in espresso machine.
"I don't know what Tony wants, but it better be good," he muttered.
He headed upstairs to the study, placing the magic books neatly on the desk. Just as he was reaching for his phone to give Stark a call, he paused.
A faint sound reached his ears.
Running water.
It was coming from the bathroom at the far end of the second-floor corridor. The noise wasn't loud, but thanks to Henry's magically enhanced senses, it was unmistakable.
He frowned.
Someone was using the shower.
That shouldn't be possible. No one else was supposed to be in the villa.
Immediately alert, Henry narrowed his eyes. Could someone have broken in?
It wasn't impossible. After all, this was New York City. Break-ins were common, and this place wasn't exactly subtle in design. A lone, high-tech villa like this could easily attract unwanted attention.
Whoever it was… they had picked the wrong house to rob.
Henry walked quietly down the hallway, prepared for confrontation. His fingers glowed softly with gathering energy as he readied himself to cast a spell at the first sign of danger.
As he reached the bathroom, the door creaked open.
And he froze.
Standing there was a slim woman, her entire body wet, a towel wrapped loosely around her frame. Long strands of green hair fell past her shoulders, and water still dripped from her fingertips as she dried herself with another towel.
She turned, surprised by his sudden appearance.
Henry didn't hesitate.
"Crimson Bands of Cyttorak!" he shouted, releasing a high-level white magic spell from the Book of the Vishanti.
With a snap of his fingers, four glowing crimson chains materialized in the air, striking like serpents. They wrapped around the woman's limbs and torso, locking her in place before she could react.
She struggled immediately, eyes wide with shock. Her energy flared faintly—she wasn't an ordinary person. She had abilities, too.
But Henry was faster.
He extended his palm. "Mirror Dimension."
With another pulse of magical energy, the entire villa shimmered—and shifted.
The woman gasped as the world around her suddenly fractured like glass, rippling and splitting into infinite reflections. In the blink of an eye, Henry pulled both of them into the mirror dimension, severing their connection to the real world.
Now, no one could interfere. No one could escape.
The woman looked around, completely disoriented. "What… what is this? Where are we?! I can't feel anything outside—I can't even access my network!"
Henry didn't answer right away.
He studied her with a calculating gaze.
Green hair. Enhanced physiology. Confident demeanor. Not a common thief.
Then he spoke, voice cool and accusatory. "You dare break into a mage's sanctum? You must have a death wish."
The woman twisted against the chains. "I didn't break in! This is my— I mean, I thought this was Stark's place!"
"It is Stark's place," Henry said.
"Well, then I wasn't stealing! I was... borrowing the shower!" she said defensively.
"While trespassing?"
"I have clearance! I'm on the Avengers' auxiliary list!" she huffed.
Henry narrowed his eyes. "Name."
"…Jade."
He wasn't sure if that was real or an alias, but the moment carried weight.
The chains flickered slightly. Henry didn't lower his guard, but he did relax his stance just a little.
"…Why didn't you say that earlier?"
"I was wrapped in magic chains before I had a chance," she snapped.
Fair enough.
Still, Henry wasn't about to let her go just yet.
"You're lucky you weren't trying to steal my books," he said. "Because if you were, we wouldn't be talking."
She looked around again, clearly trying to process the strange new dimension.
"…Can you let me out of this... glass world now?"
Henry sighed, dispelled the mirror realm, and dismissed the chains.
But he made a mental note: someone had accessed Stark's house. Someone with powers. Someone who got in before he did.
Things were going to get interesting.
___________________________________
Get membership in patreon to read more chapters
Extra chapters available in patreon
patreon.com/Dragonscribe31