1.2 THE ONE 2

Thirty seconds. 

That was how long I've been casting barrier magic around myself against the Anomaly beast's attacks. 

Thirty seconds may seem like a really short time but if your life is on the line, it feels like eternity. 

"Miss, we've contacted the nearest Anomaly Guard on duty--" 

BZZZZZTTTT!!!

"... standby and keep a safe distance..."

BZZZZZTTTT!!!

"Tell them to hurry!" I gasped out as the Anomaly Beast reared back for another charge. "I can't keep my shield up forever!"

That was true. I'm a licensed Mage (Rank A-2) but I was a civilian. If my opponent was another Mage, then perhaps I wouldn't be feeling so desperate. But Anomalies have a high resistance to magic, and to take one out required you to use combat spells of Rank B and above. And as a civilian, I don't know any combat spells strong enough to kill one, and neither do I have the magic power needed to cast it. The best I could do was keep myself alive until help could get here, which is why I was pouring as much magic into my barrier as I could. 

I wondered how far away the nearest Anomaly Guard was. I kept thinking that we were in an island resort, which was supposed to be a Safe Zone, where a wild Anomaly like this was not supposed to exist. Anomaly Guards are usually stationed along the borders of City States and in areas where the Borders were weak and prone to a Breach. Well, if help came within five minutes, then there's nothing to worry about. I can hold out for that long. But if it takes longer...

BZZZZZTTTT!!!

"Go away you stupid cat! I'm not a tasty snack!" I yelled out. I didn't know if it could understand me, but it clawed at my barrier more frantically. I could see the drool dripping from its open mouth as it collided with my barrier again. A bead of sweat trickled down my cheek as I pushed a bit more magic into the barrier and the beast gave a howl of pain and fury as I shot ten thousand volts of electricity into its body. It was thrown several feet away and spasmed on its side. But then it started to get up, shaking its head... 

Now would be a really good time for someone to save me, I thought, preparing myself for another charge as the Anomaly leapt at me again. 

And just as the Anomaly beast leapt to the air, something big and black and furry collided with it. There was a tremendous crash as the Anomaly grappled against something that looked very much like its bigger, badder cousin. 

"Are you alright?" a quiet, calm voice asked behind me. 

I shrieked and unintentionally shot a lightning spell at him. I was so freaked I didn't notice the guy who had come up behind me. But the guy dodged to the side, saying, "Whoa, there. I'm a good guy."

He stepped out of the shadows. And my heart started beating really, really fast again. But this time it was for a very different reason. 

He wore a long black coat, over a comfortable-looking white shirt and casual black jeans tucked into leather boots. His dark hair seemed to blend with the shadows, and when a soft wind lifted up his hair I saw a face that would have made me go weak in the knees if I weren't already sitting on the ground. 

He crouched in front of me, looking into my eyes with his own grey ones and asked, "Can you stand? We need to get you out of here." 

I nodded--then realized a second later that I could not, in fact, stand, because I had sprained my ankle. He wordlessly reached for me and before I could blink, I was in his arms and we were leaping through the park speedily. I must be in shock, because I didn't feel the need to protest about being so close to a complete stranger. 

"Who are you?" I asked, peering up at his face. He didn't seem to have any difficulty moving so fast while carrying me. 

"Jester Lee. Freelance Adventurer."

"Thank you. For saving me. Was that...uhm, was it your familiar that attacked the..."

He looked surprised at my question. "You could tell it was a summoned creature?"

"I'm a Mage, too. Not as powerful as you though."

He glanced down at me, as if he found that comment interesting. "No, it's just a summon. I'm a necromancer."

That was surprising. There weren't a lot of necromancers among Mages since it was one of the most difficult classes to master. And I could tell this guy was already a Master, despite being so young. You know those stereotypes of necromancers being old men or creepy-looking cult leaders? Well, it's because mastering necromancy takes decades, or if you take shortcuts it takes a toll on your body and mind. Unless you were especially gifted, which I suspect this guy is. The air around him fairly sizzled with power despite his efforts to hide it.

We arrived on the other side of the park. I flinched when I saw the reporters and onlookers surrounding the area and being held off by the police and Anomaly Guard personnel. I buried my face into the his chest, panicking slightly when I realized that in all that commotion I had lost my magic glasses. 

Jester must have noticed that I was uncomfortable with the crowd, so he carefully moved towards the medic van so that his back was to them. He lifted me into the van where an EMT examined my ankle and my various little injuries. 

One of the police officers came up to me to ask for my personal information. I hesitated a second before answering. "I'm Alisa Vega. I'm staying at the hotel over by the hill, with the rest of my crew."

The EMT's eyes widened and the police officer stared for a second. This was a very small island, after all, and it wasn't a secret that a famous actress was filming a movie and had rented out an entire floor of the hotel for herself and her crew.

"You're--"

"Yes, yes," I said quickly. "But please keep this quiet. If you could avoid mentioning to the press..."

"Of course, Miss Vega. Of course," the police officer assured me. He motioned for a colleague, whispered instructions, and gave significant looks in my direction. 

Amidst all this, Jester stood to one side, facing the park as if watching something. I don't know if he heard our conversation, but when the police officer began herding the people further away from us, Jester walked back to the van.

"Seems like things are sorted now, so I'll be leaving," he said as a way of goodbye. 

"Wait!" I said, grabbing his sleeve. 

"You saved my life. I have to thank you properly. Give me your number so I can contact you later," I blurted out. 

He looked surprised. And before he could say no, I tapped on the dial function and set the holo screen on visible mode. I gave him an expectant look. He gave me a smirk, and heat flooded my cheeks. 

I thought he was going to leave me like that, but then he leaned in towards me and dialed in his number. Then he left. 

I hit save. 

The EMT cleared her throat and gave me a knowing look. "You lucky thing," she said, smirking.

By the time I was escorted back to the hotel by the police, it was already 5am and everyone was freaking out. The police had to contact my manager and my director, of course, and tell them what happened. To say that they were furious would be an understatement. Once we were in the suite, they took turns yelling at me. 

"How could you sneak out of your room?! You're not some rebellious teenager for god's sake--!"

"Strawberry milk? You risked your life and your reputation for strawberry milk!?!"

"And you didn't even bring your Panic Button! Your father will be furious with you!"

"Wait til your father gets here, young lady!"

I was tuning out most of their yelling by thinking of Jester Lee and how soon I could call him, but that got my attention.

"What do you mean? Dad's coming here?!" I asked. "Isn't he in London?"

My manager, Montana, gave me a sour look. He's been my manager ever since I started out, so he knows me better than anyone here, except maybe Bea (who was my personal maid before she became my PA). He ran a hand through his messy grey hair and said, "He requested I set aside a day for some father-daughter bonding time. But when he heard about this incident, his assistant told me he dropped everything in London and he's coming here to see you himself."

I flinched at that. Dad can be incredibly overprotective. "When is he coming?"

"He'll be here in three hours. He took a Portal."