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“The portals are guarded by a secret society,” I say. “But you know all those earthquakes we’ve been getting?”

Auntie Van nods.

“Kat’s world has been getting them, too, only they’re tied to something called mana surges, which have been getting worse. So there are more portals opening up, bigger ones that the society can’t predict or control.”

I try to explain as best I can as we close up the shop, but Uncle Thu and Auntie Van take over the conversation, talking about the newest theories. Auntie Van isn’t entirely convinced of the magic aspect, just that a bunch of new species have been discovered.

The parking lot is crowded, people trying to get to the post office or the carnicería next door to the shop, the usual busy end-of-day traffic clogging up the street. Cars honk at a group of joggers at the intersection—wait, those people are dressed in work clothes—

“Run!”

“It’s those things!”

The sidewalks empty as people take cover in buildings and scramble into cars. The thick shimmering green cloud is headed right toward us, and those definitely are not birds.

“Quick, get in the car!” I shout, picking up Jimmy and buckling him in his booster seat.

Uncle Thu and Stacey struggle with the boxes Má asked us to bring home, and Auntie Van is standing there, dumbstruck, as two pixies screech toward us, wafting those toxic fumes as they flap their wings.

I barely know any spells—we only practiced levitation and light—but I know the concept. Intention, focus, and all I want right now is to protect my family.

I close my eyes and feel. The energy around me isn’t as powerful and present as yesterday, but there it is, prickling at the edges, that sense of potential. Waiting for me.

“ I cast Shield ,” I command. I visualize the awaiting energy surrounding me, becoming a solid barrier of magical force, protecting me from all harm.

I think about Resna facing down goblins and ghouls and everything in between in our games, and how fearless she is in the face of danger, about how I successfully cast a Lightning Bolt in Target.

I know the spell works before I even finish the phrase, before the cloud and the pixies reach us, as I catch my breath and the exhaustion takes hold.

The glittering smoke doesn’t even make contact; the haze stops a few inches from Má, and the pixies crash into an invisible barrier. They falter, fluttering their wings, and turn around and fly away.

I feel like I’ve just run several miles nonstop, but I can’t help but grin proudly. I did it.

Stacey’s eyes widen. “Wow. I am so glad that you are the biggest nerd.”

“Order, order!” Erica says, her video flickering as she bangs a—of course she has a gavel—on her desk. “I call this party meeting to order!”

“Okay, so lore-wise, do you think the pixies are more Forgotten Realms or Eldraine?” Adib is muttering, flicking through rule books from different games.

After the parking lot encounter, Má drove us home in a hurry and instructed everyone to lock all the doors, even had us tape cardboard over all our windows as we listened to the news.

I’d texted our D&D group chat immediately, and Erica insisted we hop on a video call.

So far, we haven’t followed the agenda, but I think we’re getting a lot out of this brainstorm.

“Well, the toxic cloud is what we need to worry about,” Jenn says.

“Can we find something to use, like pixie spray?” Ryan asks.

“Something, anything that can help,” I say. “Okay, so you know how I cast that Shield spell? Obviously, that’s not how you’re supposed to cast it—”

“Were you doing what you did with the Lightning Bolt, though?” Erica asks, frowning. “I thought Kat said never to do that again.”

“I wish I could have seen it,” Adib says, shaking his head. “Should we be practicing destructive or offensive spells, too?”

So far, Adib is the best at holding each of the spells the longest without getting tired.

Ryan and Jenn both are able to cast spells with more intensity, but have trouble keeping their concentration focused.

I’ve struggled with simpler spells, but complex ones come easier to me, the ones where I have to think about the focus and intention of it.

Erica, to her great dismay, had the most trouble at first, but she’s committed to practicing levitation over and over and rereading the theory books nonstop.

“Maybe, but I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I say. “It took a ton of energy to do that Lightning Bolt, and that only worked because of the excess mana in the air. But the Shield was different, and I think this would be safe to practice not just with one another—but to teach other people.”

“How is letting the sheer raw power of the universe rip through your body safer ?” Erica asks.

Jenn holds up a hand. “No, wait. I mean, at the core of what we learned, it’s about intention, right? And the runes, the gestures, the incantations—all of that is framework. Guiding the power to do what we want. If we have enough focus—”

Ryan narrows his eyes. “Are you saying if we believe enough, we can cast a fictional spell like we’re playing D&D and it would work?”

“It already has,” Adib says. “Brenda didn’t learn a Shield spell from the book. She was focused on protecting herself and her family, and it worked .” He takes a deep breath, grabbing a Bulbasaur plushie off his bed. “I think I get it.”

All of us watch intently as he tosses the plushie into the air and announces, “ I cast Shield! ”

The Bulbasaur doesn’t quite fall on Adib’s head—it pauses for a second, as if caught by an invisible net, hovering there for a long moment.

Adib beams, and then the plushie falls, tumbling down his face.

He catches it with a wide smile. “I did it, I could feel it—it’s not bad, it’s like I just did a few push-ups.

I think with practice this is something we could get better at and teach people. ”

Erica nods. “It’s not going to hurt anyone trying.”

“Ryan, do you still have that code you used to reply to people who downvoted your Halfway Hollow theories on all the fansites?” I ask.

Ryan’s eyes light up. “Yeah. What are you thinking?”

“What if it’s like a how-to,” Adib says. “Anyone looking for more information on pixies, or whatever…”

“Gets an auto-reply with more information from an anonymous source,” Ryan says. “Yeah, I could do that.”

Jenn nods. “Let’s start by finding people who would likely try this and be successful, like other nerds.”

“People who would actually try to do magic,” I say. “Come on. Let’s get started.”