Sorcerer in the Marvel Universe

"Hmph. Clever people..."

Evenson watched the taxi disappear around the corner and nearly burst out laughing.

So what if Holmes was brilliant? So what if his powers of observation were terrifyingly precise?

He’d still been outsmarted by his own cleverness.

Evenson had successfully ridden for free.

And if Holmes came looking for him tomorrow to collect his share?

Too bad.

Evenson would simply deny everything.

He was a Warlock. Betraying someone to their face was practically a professional courtesy. Expecting him to honor an agreement after the fact was another matter entirely.

Besides, he’d only said he wanted to share the ride.

He had never said anything about sharing the fare.

Still grinning to himself, Evenson unlocked the front door and stepped inside, intending to take a shower.

Then he noticed the light coming from the basement.

He stopped.

There shouldn’t have been anyone home.

Hobbs was still receiving treatment at the stray-dog shelter, while Sarah was probably somewhere in a hotel with Natasha, the two of them enjoying themselves far more energetically than was strictly necessary.

As for the performing trio, they were probably busy too. New York was a city that never slept, and nightlife performances paid better than daytime ones.

Then what was the basement light doing on?

Evenson’s brow furrowed.

His expression slowly darkened.

Could those idiots have left the light on when they went out?

Good grief.

How much electricity had they wasted?

Hadn’t he told them that saving money started with the little things?

He marched toward the basement with the righteous fury of a landlord who had just discovered an abandoned light switch.

Evenson opened the basement door and reached for the switch.

Then he froze.

"Cleya? What are you doing here?"

Cleya was sitting cross-legged on the floor, one hand propping up her chin as she stared blankly at the damaged demonic magic circle.

At the sound of his voice, she turned around.

A bright smile spread across her face.

"Evenson, you’re back! I’ve been waiting for you."

You’re back?

Waiting for me?

Evenson’s heart immediately started pounding.

He glanced around the basement.

Just him.

Just her.

Alone.

In a basement.

His heartbeat accelerated.

After all this time, was his luck finally turning around?

He’d spent the evening helping Captain America and Peggy Carter rekindle their romance. Maybe the universe had decided to reward him personally.

Evenson’s imagination began sprinting several miles ahead of reality.

"Cleya, maybe you should let me take a shower first and then we can..."

"Then we can what?"

The smile vanished from Cleya’s face.

She stared at him suspiciously.

Evenson’s instincts screamed that he’d just stepped onto a land mine.

Fortunately, his survival skills kicked in.

"I mean, I’ve been busy all day. I had a little to drink, too, so I smell like alcohol. I was just saying I’d take a shower first."

"Oh?"

Cleya walked toward him with slow, graceful steps.

"You really mean that?"

She stopped directly in front of him.

Their faces were almost touching.

Cleya looked up into his suddenly guilty eyes.

Then she smiled.

Not a nice smile.

Evenson immediately took one step backward.

He covered his flushed, overheated face.

That hadn’t been retreat.

He’d been physically repelled.

There was a difference.

He shook his head vigorously, trying to regain his composure.

Cleya’s sudden closeness had nearly derailed his entire train of thought.

Then she turned around as though nothing had happened and wandered back toward the damaged magic circle.

"I’ve been studying this broken circle the entire time. This is a teleportation circle, isn’t it?"

"Mm..."

Evenson leaned against the wall and nodded repeatedly.

To be perfectly honest, he hadn’t heard much of what she’d said.

His mind was still replaying the previous few seconds.

"It looks like it’s been damaged."

Cleya crouched beside the magic circle and studied the broken symbols, her lips pursed.

"I know you think the magic I use is basically child’s play compared with yours. But you have to admit, I’ve done quite a bit of research into spatial transportation magic."

"Yes. Absolutely."

Evenson nodded again.

His mind was still somewhere else entirely.

"But I’ve been sitting here for five hours and haven’t made any progress."

Cleya rubbed her temples.

"I can’t understand the symbols or the underlying principles at all. Most of the circle is still intact, but I have no idea how to reconstruct the missing section from the portions that remain."

She looked back at him.

"Do you understand what I mean?"

"Mm-hmm. Yes. Exactly."

Evenson continued nodding automatically.

Then, at the very last second, his brain finally caught up.

"Wait. You want to repair the circle?"

Cleya gave him an unimpressed look.

"Right."

"Sorry. I was distracted."

Evenson straightened immediately.

It wasn’t really his fault.

A moment ago, he’d practically been launched out of his own body.

He cleared his throat and forcibly dragged his thoughts back into the conversation.

"You said you wanted to repair the circle while I was away?"

"Yes."

Cleya nodded naturally.

"Oh."

Evenson was genuinely moved.

"I’m touched."

His imagination immediately supplied a warm domestic picture.

A husband went out to work hard all day while his wife stayed home, took care of everything, and even mended his damaged clothes.

What a peaceful, harmonious household.

The realization made him feel ashamed of himself.

He’d completely misunderstood her intentions.

What had he been thinking?

She had been trying to help him, and he’d been busy filling his head with nonsense.

He nearly wanted to slap himself.

"Hey, hey, don’t get carried away."

Cleya hurried over and waved both hands in front of his face, dragging his attention back from whatever fantasy he’d constructed.

"I just want you to teach me how to draw this magic circle."

"You want to learn?"

Evenson smiled.

"I’ll teach you."

His smile was so pure and innocent that it looked almost holy.

Not a trace of improper intent remained.

Cleya stared at him for a moment.

"Well... that’s convenient."

She nodded slowly.

Honestly, this version of Evenson was strange enough that she wasn’t sure how to react.

"Here."

With a heavy thump, Evenson pulled a massive stack of papers from his personal inventory and dropped them in front of her.

There had to be ten pounds of paper.

Every sheet was covered in calculations and handwritten notes.

Cleya stared.

"This is what I worked through when I first studied spatial magic. Go through all of it, then solve the problems yourself. Once you understand the calculations, you’ll be able to draw the circle."

Cleya looked genuinely stunned.

"All of this?"

She picked up one of the pages.

"Why are there so many calculations? I remember when the Ancient One taught us teleportation spells, she mostly had us..."

"Focus on feeling?"

Evenson finished for her.

"Sense the power? Push yourself beyond your limits until you somehow manage to make it work?"

He shook his head.

"A complete and mature magical system doesn’t operate on vague feelings and hopeful guesswork. Every spell has principles, formulas, and defined standards. If you actually understand the system, there shouldn’t be anything ambiguous about the way it’s taught."

He gestured toward the mountain of paper.

"So study it properly. If there’s something you don’t understand, or you run into a formula you can’t derive, come find me."

With that, Evenson turned and started toward the door.

He had barely reached it when Cleya suddenly came up behind him.

Fortunately, he didn’t get launched forward this time.

Cleya had wrapped both arms around him from behind.

Again?

Evenson’s entire body went rigid.

He had absolutely no idea what he was supposed to do.

Part of him wanted to respond.

Another part suspected this girl was playing with him again.

But what was he supposed to say?

Please respect yourself?

That would be absurd.

"I already have something I don’t understand."

Cleya rested her forehead against his back.

Her voice was soft.

"So let’s go to your room and discuss it."

Evenson stopped breathing for a moment.

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