Alejandro’s car was a beat-up old station wagon, and it was parked dutifully in the drop-off zone at Finch Subway Station. That was only one stop away from where Clark was, and the wizard was right on time when he came out. Stars flickered overhead as the clouds covered a pale, broken moon. The car beeped its horn. Clark went over to it. He got in, and they sped away.

The two men didn’t start talking until they were waiting in line at the nearest drive-thru. Not the healthiest choice, especially two days in a row, but they were pressed for time. The minutes passed, and cars came and went in the parking lot. For lack of anything else to do, Clark browsed the internet on his phone while Alejandro drove the car. He had a generous data plan, and while Canadian internet infrastructure left a lot to be desired, it helped when you weren’t paying for the substandard service yourself.

Clark sighed. Using a body not your own has its disadvantages. That goes double when the borrowed life was also one not without its own complications. Given his avatar was medically certified to be mentally handicapped, legally, Clark couldn’t even pay his own bills. If he didn’t have one confidante in Lin to rely upon for all his mundane needs, he didn’t know what he would do.

As they waited in line with the other puttering vehicles, Clark turned towards Alejandro. “About what happened yesterday—” he began.

He saw the young man’s hands tighten on his steering wheel. The boy stared out ahead where a minivan was holding up the corridor. He bit down on his teeth, before saying: “I was at church when you called. Father Julien was right beside me.”

Clark was taken aback. He blinked: “Oh.”

“That’s why I asked you if you knew where I was,” the boy confessed. “Father Julien—and some of the others—wanted to see if you can read minds.”

“Well,” Clark replied truthfully, “I can’t. Nobody can. I’ve studied magic up and down, and I’ve concluded there is no such spell.”

“No?”

Clark shook his head firmly: “No.”

“But—”

“No such thing,” Clark said, cutting him off. “Just like how there’s no such thing as ghosts.”

Alejandro whirled on him. He took his foot off the brake for a second, and the car inched forward. The rest of the line wasn’t moving, and hurriedly Alejandro retook control of his vehicle. He asked, disbelievingly: “There’s no such thing as ghosts?”

The wizard closed his eyes and shook his head resolutely: “Nuh-uh.”

Alejandro continued staring, until Clark just had to explain.

“The greatest mystery in human civilization is where we go after death,” the wizard told him. “That’s one of the foundations of all historical religions. There is a need for someone to explain what happens after your life ends; and I’m sure you’ve asked yourself the question, as have we all. Death is the basis of existential crisis and it doesn’t matter if its hades, Christian purgatory, hell, or eighteen levels of damnation followed by reincarnation as a cat. Nobody has figured it out. Not science. Certainly not magic. It’s a mystery that everyone wants an answer to, and everyone eventually will have one; but by then, ironically, they will not be able to tell anyone else what they have found out.”

He turned to Alejandro with a wry smile, tapping a finger against his own temple.

“If ghosts were real, then we’d already know. Mind reading, by the same thinking, is also not so philosophical or complex. It’s just not possible. Doesn’t exist because the human psyche is too complex to be dissected—by magic or anything else. You can tell Father Julien that; and hopefully, it’ll ease his mind when we meet tonight.”

Finally, the minivan moved on. Alejandro followed the line.

They were still some ways from the window when he said: “That’s just it. He and I talked, and I told him everything. He didn’t believe you are a fallen angel. He said there was only one Fallen One, and that one now trapped inside the body of our Prophet.” The boy turned towards Clark. “So, Mr. Clark, I asked you before and I’m afraid I have to do it again: Just who—what—are you?”

The temperature inside the cabin cooled by degrees, and Clark sat back and sighed. He tried: “A wizard.”

Alejandro looked skeptical. He echoed: “A wizard?” Then, when Clark nodded, “Where did you learn magic?”

The way the boy was looking at him suggested he half expected him to say something ridiculous, like Hogwarts.

Instead, Clark told him the truth.

“I took an online course.”

Sometimes, it was difficult to tell which was more absurd: Truth or fiction. To Alejandro’s credit, he wasn’t offended. He took it as a joke, and the cars moved forward again. They were almost at the window now.

“Father Julien says you’re after something,” the young man finally said as he turned back to the wheel. “I think he’s right. He’s open to meeting with you—cordially this time—to discuss what you want.” Alejandro’s eyes flashed as his knuckles whitened over the steering wheel.

“What do you want?” Clark wanted to know.

“For you to tell me first,” Alejandro told him. Then, he turned halfway in his seat. “I owe that man my life, Mr. Clark. I want some assurance that when you meet him again, you won’t be a danger to him. Last time, I was half your prisoner anyway, and you still convinced me to trust you. I want to. But tonight, I need to know there will be no hard feelings. That’s why I left the church to pick you up myself. I would die for Father Julien. If not for him, I would be dead in the streets the same day they shot up my parole officer’s workplace, looking for me—”

Clark’s eyes went to the young man’s neck. He saw the tattoo of the snake which encircled his throat, and the wizard was always quick on the uptake. An orphaned boy. A troubled childhood. Gang related violence in his teens leading to a stint in jail. Alejandro wanted out, but the life he tried to leave finally caught up with him.

It had led to more deaths. More heartache.

Maybe, Clark thought, the young man had been ready to end his own life when Father Julien saved him.

He was not far from the truth.

“—so, if anything bad comes of this, I want to make sure I’ll hold you personally responsible.” Alejandro’s eyes were blazing now, and Clark knew he should take him seriously. “I also want you to tell me what you want out of this. Really. Then I’ll make the decision whether or not to take you there.”

It was an ultimatum, and a pretty good one at that. Last time, coercion had gotten him to the church, but not very far inside. Tonight, Alejandro was taking no chances. The boy had been hasty before, and he wanted to make sure Clark was an ally. He wanted to believe, but it was up to the wizard to convince him.

His trust was not going to be misplaced.

“And if I don’t?” Clark asked, “You’ll just leave me at the side of the road after we get burgers?”

A nod.

“That’s the plan.”

Clark sighed.

Alejandro swept a hand ahead of him.

“Well?”

The last car was moving on. Clark had until they reached the window to decide.

“I’m doing it for the magic,” the wizard said finally. “Devils and angels, Prophets and curses. There are great powers in this universe that goes through all planes of reality. Out of every level of the universe that you are able to perceive, there are just as many which exists beyond your comprehension. It is not impossible for beings of unfathomable power to exist right alongside your own world. I’ve learned that long ago.”

Alejandro nodded. He said: “Go on.”

“In short, I am looking for their powers. I need it to end a curse—in a manner of speaking—of my own. It’s what I’ve been sent here to do, and your Prophet’s message presents my best present lead.” Clark looked over at the driver’s seat sincerely. “I don’t know about the religious connotations, but the spell is real. Magic that can create life, but all I have are bits and pieces. In fact, once I meet your Father Julien, I intend to tell him that I think the Prophet reached out to me, two days ago, because he is finally losing control—and he needs me to help him. I’ve also studied the spell. It is very potent; and more powerful than anything I have ever come across. I am not tooting my own horn, but I am the greatest modern practitioner of magic on the planet. Heavenly warrior or no, I think I can help. I might be able to repair the Prophet’s curse somehow, or even—God forbid—use it to seal him away and the devil inside like the Broken Angel once did.”

He shrugged.

“My fee would be the magic in its entirety, to be studied and (hopefully) used for my own purposes. If I happened to help your people save the world along the way, then I’m willing to work together to achieve those goals.”

Alejandro thought on that. He let his foot off the gas involuntarily. Somewhere behind them, another car belted out an angry honk. He pushed down on the pedal and they moved again.

The window came up.

“You just want the magic?” the young man asked.

Clark nodded.

“Why should I believe you?”

“If I was lying,” the wizard said, “I would have made up nobler reasons. I’m not. I’m very selfish. I’m in it for myself.” He paused, then added, “I wasn’t lying about saving the world either.” Clark took out the travelogue and showed it to Alejandro. He pointed out the page with the picture of the rubbing. “This is old. Ancient. I believe you when you say the death of the Prophet is also the end of our world, and I’m not going to let that happen. There are people in it. People I love—like you, with your Father Julien—and I’m also doing this for them.”

The boy asked: “Lin?”

A nod from the passenger’s seat: “And others.”

They arrived then, said nothing more about the matter.

Their agreement was silent, and the alliance was solidified when Alejandro rolled down his window, yelling out of it at the speaker box: “Yes, that’ll be two number 1 meals, with Cokes, and extra-large fries—”

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