I Am Totally a Real-Life Wizard (Not Clickbait, I Swear!)

Vendetta sighed and put the phone on speaker.

Otto gently patted Khalil’s ear. “Ereht, ereht.”

“We need to find Josephinzo, now!” Khalil tugged at his hair. “Who know what could be happening to him right now?”

Amy’s grin looked incredibly sharp, like she was close to snapping. “We just went through all of this trouble to get you away from him!”

Valeri winced. "I take it that Wormy's mud didn't work?"

Cody glanced at Valeri worriedly. "Can I speak to Khalil?"

Valeri nodded and said, "Alright, Vendetta, I'm going to put Cody on the phone."

Vendetta sighed. “Give him a few seconds and he’ll back to screaming about how much he hates Joe. And, good luck.”

They handed their phone to Khalil.

“Josephinzo?”

"No, my star, it's me. Cody." Cody's voice was soft, and his expression looked unbearably fragile.

"Where's Josephinzo? Is he alright?"

Cody swallowed hard. "Joe's fine. D-do you know who I am?"

“You’re- you’re-“ Khalil scowled. “Where is Joe? I’m going to kill him. I’m going to-“ He screamed.

“And there he goes again. Dawn, cover your ears.” Vendetta frowned. “Or whatever the sword alternative is.”

Dawn floated a little farther away from the phone. "Yep!"

Cody winced but kept the phone to his ear. "Shh... It's alright, Khalil. Let's get to safety first, and then we can worry about Joe."

Khalil shook his head. “It’s not alright, Cody! I keep- I keep-“ Khalil started pacing. “I can’t remember! It’s all a blur, but something tells me it’s not right.”

He let out a shaky sob. “I don’t know what’s happening to me, Cody. What did he do to me?”

Cody's face darkened. "He gave you a love potion. Do you think you can fight it? Can you try to remember?" They let out a half-sob, half-laugh. "I can tell embarrassing stories about you, if it would help. Like that time we were at the beach and you thought a piece of seaweed was actually an ocean monster trying to drag you under the water."

“That’s because it was.” Khalil laughed. “I’m trying, Cody. I’m trying.” He sniffled. “No matter what I say, just know I love you, okay? I promise.”

Wormy crossed her arms, shoulders trembling with emotion.

"Love you too, Khalil, now and forever." A tear rolled down Cody's face, though he was smiling.

Valeri couldn't help but smile too, and Dawn glowed a soft pink.

Vendetta sighed and took back their phone, taking it off of speaker. "So, where are we meeting? We don't want to stay here any longer."

Dawn hummed. "They're right. We really should go."

Cody handed the phone back to Valeri. "Vendetta's asking where we're meeting."

Valeri held the phone up to her ear. "We're outside the hotel right now. Do you want to meet up here, or should we take separate Ubers to Cody's place? Wait. Is their house still safe?"

Cody wiped his eyes. "I'm not sure. I doubt it, though."

Vendetta hissed. "It has to be a crime scene, right? Not a good place to go."

Dusk sighed. "Then where can we go, then?"

"A library?" Valeri offered. "We can find a hidden table and debrief there, maybe... Or perhaps at a cafe?"

"Maybe a library. So our whispering isn't suspicious." Vendetta glanced back at Khalil. "See you there. Be safe, please."