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

Cody sighed. “I think I know why. I need you to confirm that it’s him, though. I have some yearbooks at home that might have his picture. Would you mind coming with me?”

Vendetta hesitated, looking towards Valeri. “Valeri? What do you think?”

"Hm. I don't trust Josephinzo, but still, all those newspapers are saying Cody's the bad guy, so I don't really trust Cody either..." Valeri frowned. "It should be fine, though. Dawn and Dusk will protect us, right?"

Dawn hummed. "Nonviolently, of course."

"Then we'll come with you."

Cody nodded, looking as if he felt unimaginable pain. "Come with me then. And follow at a distance. For your sakes." He put down his tomato plant. "Meet me by my car. I'll be there." He walked off, keeping his head low.

Vendetta frowned. "I know I haven't been the wisest when it comes to people, but he looks so..."

"Broken." Dusk vibrated sadly.

Valeri pursed her lips. "It could be an act to get us to let down our guard..." Dawn hummed in disagreement. "But yeah... he looks pretty pathetic right now."

After a few moments, the V siblings walked in the direction Cody had gone. They followed him to his car, which looked nothing like the vehicle of an evil necromancer.

Cody nodded. "Alright." He opened the door to the backseat. "After you." His smile was strained.

Vendetta cleared their throat awkwardly. "Thank you." They slid into the card, Dusk settling itself on their lap. "You're not kidnapping us, are you?"

Cody sighed. "Last time I checked, you agreed to come. So that sort of takes the 'napping' out of the equation." He settled into the driver's seat.

Valeri and Dawn slid into the backseat as well. Cody started driving, and the moody music on the radio prevented Valeri from asking more questions. Instead, they looked out the window. It looked like a fairly well-off residential area, with manicured hedges and lawns. A few people were taking walks outside with their pet dogs and chimeras.

Soon enough, Cody stopped in front of his house, and Valeri remembered how they'd portaled inside with a tinge of guilt.

"Alright, here we are." Cody opened the door for the siblings, then walked up the steps to unlock the front door.

Vendetta nervously rubbed their hands together. "Well, let's go." They followed behind Cody, Dusk remaining close to their shoulder.

Cody opened the door, gesturing for them to enter. "Welcome."

Vendetta nodded. "Thank you."

Valeri gave Cody a tight smile, then entered as well.

Cody gestured towards the couch. "Feel free to take a seat while I fish out my old yearbooks." He walked down the hallway.

Valeri perched on the edge of the couch. "So..." she whispered. "What else should we ask him?"

Vendetta shrugged. "Maybe what happened to Khalil if he didn't kill him. Is he actually a vampire necromancer?"

Dusk vibrated in agreement. "That and where I recognize him. I have this vague feeling that I know him from somewhere."

"Sorry to interrupt, but this is my senior yearbook." Cody set the book on the table and flipped to his class. "Look through here and tell me if you find him. I'll be in the kitchen."

Valeri dusted off the cover of the yearbook and opened it. "Oh... look at those senior quotes." They giggled. "'I love life and fried chicken.' That's great, dude." She slowly flipped through the rest of the book.

"Let me know if you see Josephinzo anywhere. Do you think that's his real name?"

Vendetta shook their head. "Cody didn't recognize it. So it's probably not-" They paused. "Look at this one."

They pointed at a teen with short brown hair and the same crooked smile as Jospehizo. His name was a simple Joe Brown, and his senior quote was a love song lyric.

"The Great Josephinzo's name is actually Joe Brown. You kidding me?" Valeri laughed. "Well, at least now we know Joe knew Cody in the past. So what happened between them? Oh, wait!" She pointed at a person on the other side of the page. "Khalil was in their class too, it seems."

"Huh." Vendetta brushed Khalil's face. "He looks happy. It's a shame he's dead."

Dusk hummed. "Flip the page. Maybe we can find out what happened between Joe and Cody."

Vendetta did so, flipping until they landed in the senior superlatives. "Best Bromance." They cringed. "Because men can't just have friends." The two people were Joe and Cody. Cody looked much younger and had the biggest smile on his face. His canines were slightly sharper than the usual person's.

"Curious. They look like best friends..." Valeri frowned. "What happened?"

Cody walked back into the room, saying, "I've made some seven-layer dip and-- oh." He set the bowl of chips and dip on the table, then gazed at the yearbook page sorrowfully. "That's Joe... he and I were good friends once."

"Once?"

Cody nodded. "We were great friends for years. When Khalil moved to town, he joined us, and we became a tight-knit trio." He laughed bitterly. "But Khalil and I fell in love. High school sweethearts. What a cliche." He shook his head. "But, apparently, Joe fell in love too. I didn't notice for years. Too blinded, I suppose. So when he asked for us to this awful scam, and I said no, he..." He shrugged. "I don't know how to describe your ex-friend accusing you of being a murderer after he crashed your wedding and your husband of seven years went missing."