I push Rachael's magic a bit more and she is trying to match it and finally, it starts to settle when the spell is cast. It is a pretty tiny effect but she is always happy to make progress. She will have to use words to cast it herself but every new spell she can use will be a new way to flex her soul, to make it stronger, and when she no longer is limited on what she can cast because she can move her magic to do any spell? She will finally be a witch.

"You are starting to make progress, how is your own practice going?"

"Good I think, I guess it is just tiring to do everything and my limited magic is a problem,"

"Yeah balancing a human life can be a bit much, I still had to go to school when I was training, you are still partying a lot while I kind of became a shut-in. Still, the fun is over, time to get to work,"

"Evening shift already. At least my day shift has pay,"

"I explained to you the requirements of being a magic user before I accepted you as an apprentice. It isn't all fun and game,"

"Relax Alex, I'm joking. I am enjoying my life even if I have a lot going on. I work hard and I play hard,"

"I will see you in the basement," With that, I teleport downstairs and look over all the maps for sightings. Sometimes we can feel the magic but that's generally only with stronger beings or oddly enough weaker beings. They just can't quite mask themselves. I glance over the bookshelves thinking back about studying a lot of them with my mother. I should likely let Rachael read them but she already is very busy and I need her focused. She wanted the overly fast education and to get straight into magic. That suits me fine.

She finally manages to teleport down, her magic is a bit shaky but it is good to see progress. I focus on the maps more after giving her a slight smile she returns it.

"So let's focus on the lesser demon first," I start.

"Right, from what we know it is mostly active at night and resting in the forest outside the city,"

"It might have support if it is masking itself or the forest is getting a little magically attuned from all the visitors,"

"How does that work again?"

"The mortal realm, this plain has hot spots, kind of like how your phone gets better signal in different areas. Areas like Tonwick which has a few magic families have more magic being used which attracts beings from other realms more. There is more energy but since we are casting a lot it is also getting used up more. Kind of like waves, they come in and go out but it still makes sound louder than a still lake even if there might be more water concentrated there,"

"So you are thinking that the forest's recent activity is masking it?"

"I think we should be able to get a better sense of things if we just go there," I hold out my hand for her to take and we jump to the forest, just inside a clearing I know. I can already smell the sulfur and fire yeah it is here. I jump straight to it and expand my realm, Rachael will catch up and she needs the practice.

"Leave," is all I say to it.

"We match, you should join me in the fun hell witch,"

You just had to go there you stupid demon and I start teleporting around to mask my attack vector finally hitting it. Rachael appears nearby and I give her access to my realm before hitting the demon's knee crippling it a bit as the bones break.

"Rachael, your turn," She gives a nod, clearly scared but this weakling should be okay practice for her. I can see her sizing him up. Not the best idea Rachael but he is injured so it should be fine. He attacks first, fire spell, boring. I keep watching and Rachael just about manages to defect it unharmed and I remove it before anything starts burning. She throws some dirt at it. Aiming for the eyes, not bad but magic beings don't depend on them as much. Still too much human there. Her follow-up is a thin bit of lightning. It is weak but she has reduced the knee further. Now it will only be able to get around by teleporting and in my realm? I won't allow it.

"Keep focused," I instruct. She is getting a bit confident with my power here to keep her safe. The demon is fuming and sends a powerful jet of fire at her. I give her a moment but this is beyond her and I step in reducing it to a cool breeze. I will give her a bit longer to try. I am letting her train but we have more to do today and there is never enough time.

There is a bit more back and forth but it is pretty much a stalemate before I just teleport behind it and let my hand shoot through its back grabbing and pulling out guts. Guess it got unlucky and I reach in again filling it with fire exploding it. I direct all the remains to the ground to prevent any splatter.

"Just because you are in my realm don't get overconfident, I won't always be here to protect you,"

"Right sorry, did you have to make it so disgusting?"

"You will need to get use to it and most of these are just blackened remains you can't even make it out. Head back to the basement and figure out where the next lead is. I will clean up."

She starts muttering under her breath and after a little bit longer she is gone. Well won't take long to clean up and I just raise my hand lifting everything left and burn them. It takes a little time, seems this one had good fire resistance and when I am done I start feeling restless, we haven't done enough today and soon the sun will set. I instantly jump back to the basement when I am done here.

 

“You still think you can get to heaven with this work Alex?”

"I don't know but I am going to keep trying,"

“It just seems annoying renegades from both sides is just going to make it worse no matter where you go, also why do we sometimes kill and sometimes just force them back?"

"Some are much more resistant to death and some are just better to outright kill. Now tell me what you have,"

“Six sightings all in the same sort of area, likely based in an abandoned building nearby”

“District?”

She hesitates before finally just the word, “Docks” I leave in an instance. Short-range teleport is just a joke once you are use to it.

 

Rooftops are my favourite spot to spy on the mortal world, I have the whole city memorised just so I can jump to any at-will and the view of the docks at dusk would always be considered beautiful but I have no time for sightseeing.

A cough interrupts my thoughts.

“Why do you sometimes just rush off, you know I am not good at casting.”

"Sorry, we don't have enough information for this one so I thought I would find it faster alone. Anyway if you want to take a break I can handle it, it is just a fallen angel,"

“Just a fallen angel, like the time it was just a damned spirit or a cult leading succubus. It never goes cleanly, they are here to cause chaos for whatever sick reason,”

“Use Latin if you can’t focus spells like all those that just think because it sounds more powerful it is more effective,” Dam it, I am letting my need to make progress slip out and the annoyance it brings. I know she is still just an apprentice but that doesn't change that I am hellbound.

“How do you even manage it, to not even need to focus the spell with words?”

“I focus on intent with my thoughts, if you trained more instead of partying you wouldn’t be so slow,”

“You never think of just living?”

“If I wasn’t going down maybe I might have” I don’t catch her reply I teleport to another roof and another then before she even has a chance of matching the first of those jump I am at my seventeenth and I finally smell it, ozone laced with divinity and dirt. I finally jump to the entrance of the abandoned building and take a step forwards to open the door, Rachael finally appears near me, only just managing to cast her second spell to teleport to me. Her coughing as she adjusts to the different air rings through the streets, there is never an element of surprise with these beings anyway so I just continue opening the door to a very open building.

 

“Can’t just stay in the clouds can you?” I call out to the angel with brown wings unwrapping from around itself.

“The warden of Tonwick's daughter, an apprentice too I see, couldn’t even let me enjoy the view...”

“Just cleaning up” I place the interior inside my own realm instantly trapping the angel. The panic of surprise honestly amuses me.

“Where are the rest?”

“Just us”

It hesitates, unsurprising. They never expect mortals that have such magic while so young and rumours are just as fake in their plain as ours.

“Maintain the structure Rachael,” I can already imagine her face scrunching up at that, she hates being left out but I can go full power now and in a blink, the angel teleports in front of me fist swinging and a slight sharp breath from me sends it flying to the side. It is pretty strong to be able to teleport in my realm.

“Always violence” is all I manage as chains bind to its wrists and ankles before connecting directly to the floor pulling down. I must admit I am being spiteful. Angels hate being bound to the ground just as demons hate the ceiling bindings. The bindings break with divine light and it obviously comes to blows. A lifetime of experience doesn’t mean much against an eternal being but the laws of realms benefit me more and with a bit of effort and a little distraction from Rachael I send it back to the heavens. The building mostly the same after I end the realm binding. A quick attunement spell and I see myself caked in the reds of hell, not even a speck of gold.

 

“Any other leads?”

Rachael hesitates but after a few moments, we are back in my basement looking at all the maps of the area and working out where the next breach is. I want to get at least a few more before she retires for the night to some party I declined.

 

 

I am getting myself out of this fate one way or another...