Chapter 21 — Full Bore

Lana simply nodded at my statement that she didn’t have inherent magic, I could see from the slight drop in her shoulders that she’d held some hope despite all my warnings. I had been curious too.

We both paused for a moment as I let the power building around us falter, then I began pulling it into my core to recharge myself.

“I felt the difference,” she said, after the long silence. “I could sense and feel something in you. I could feel it influencing me somehow, but nothing beyond that.”

“That’s actually pretty impressive. You have a gift more than many. Were you a Wiccan or wanted to play around in more mundane magic or aura readings and the like, you’d probably be good at it.”

“So, there is some truth to those?”

“Most things have a sliver or fraction of truth. It’s the only way they would stay around. Meditation, chakras, auras­—hell even the metaphysical properties crystals are supposed to have are based on a shadow of the truth. Religion can even give people power.”

“Really?”

“Faith. Mental focus or devotion to anything wields a power of its own. It may not be as controllable or outwardly visible as what I can do, but it can be a protection from some creatures out there. Even some spells.”

“Are you religious?”

“I’m…” I wasn’t sure what to say, I believed religion was good, and as I had said it wielded a power of its own. But most religions didn’t take to wizards and magic well. “I’m pro religion. Most I don’t think would like me, but I’ve read most religious texts that exist. You?”

“Sort of. I’ve been to churches, but my dad was religious, but never really liked church and we moved so much it never took. I recently started going to one a few blocks away. It’s pretty good.”

“I wasn’t aware that we had a church that close.”

“It’s a small one. Do you know that youth center by the foothills that closed down?”

“I think so, it’s been closed for a few years.”

“Yeah, it recently got converted into a church by a guy who retired from the military. I’ve only gone twice, but it was good.”

“Well, maybe I’ll have to check it out sometime with you. But if I catch on fire walking in the door or something I may not stay for the full service.”

Lana shook her head; I knew she would probably need days to reflect on everything once it really hit home. She’d probably have another thousand questions too.

“Thanks for trying, to see if I have magic. I have… felt things like that before. People or things in the woods that were not quite right. Now I know why.”

I nodded, shivering slightly. If she’d been that close to threats… I would have to redouble my efforts to making sure the nearby forests were a clear off-limit zone for any denizen that would wish her harm.

Unsure how to comfort her, I squeezed one of her hands once which was still resting in mine. From my perspective there were very few people on earth who could become wizards, and for those that could, most would never know it. In some ways the talent had been dying out. While it could be passed down through bloodlines, many wizards also died in training or fighting creatures like we had the night before, prior to having their own families. Over centuries the power had been culled from the population or so Clair hypothesized. It was one of the reasons she’d been willing to overcome her reclusive nature to pull me from foster care and not let a talent such as mine go to waste.

Wizards needed training to be effective, or else they could become a liability. If someone or something found those with the talent first and forced them down a different path… well, it wasn’t safe to have untrained individuals wielding the foundational forces of the universe, especially if they were batting for one of the other teams.

That was what kept most enterprising male wizards concerned about the future from going to the local sperm bank every day. Wizards were also nearly sterile, or so my instructor had taught me. It was very hard for anyone who used a lot of magic to reproduce. The other concern was some spells could impact bloodlines. Powerful wizards oversaw their children closely as they were a ‘weak link’ that an enemy could use to reach them if they were dedicated enough.

I felt the changes in the world above as the sun rose fully, the shift of energies from dark to night passing over our part of the world. It was easy to notice when my aura and focus had been extended, trying to feel a stirring of power in Lana. That meant it was time to really get started on the day. Kate would be here any moment.

“Are you hungry?” I asked.

“Actually, I’m starving.”

“Then follow me. Healing can do that,” I said. “Nothing in this world comes for free and knowing Fren, he probably went over the top and healed everything he could in both of us.”

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Lana turned to follow before taking a last look back at Fren’s still form in his glen before whispering as if it were a secret, “Are there more people like him?”

I was glad she saw Fren as a person, though in actuality he was a forest ancient with different goals and motivations than the typical human. I considered my friend as she had done before quietly whispering back, “I think there used to be. As far as I know he’s immortal, but that’s with a lowercase ‘I’. He can be killed. Fren doesn’t like to talk about it and the most I’ve gotten out of him is that he’s been separated from his kind for millennia. I like to think there is a grove chock full of them somewhere hidden in the world. I think it makes him uncomfortable when I ask, so I don’t push.”

Lana nodded and we went upstairs. I grabbed my backpack I had hanging on a shelf by the door which contained most of the gear I would need for the day. It was different from my hiking pack, in that it didn’t have my maps, but had some crossover with defensive magical items and tools. I left Fren to lock the door, he would do that from inside with one of his nearby roots or branches. I also grabbed my prototype glasses, just in case I needed them.

The upper floor was in its normal luster. Light from the windows gave the shop a bright appearance, crystals and stones gleamed. Unfortunately, most of them did it from the floor, scattered about from my spell the night before. With the events of the night, I’d forgotten how beat up the shop was. This floor of the store was more concealed in shadows, it not having access to the light from the rooftop renovations, and the east side on this floor had no windows due to a bathroom and the large door which led to the back alley behind the store front, as well as the cash register area being backed by a storage room.

I groaned as I looked at the mess. Then I thought about my Jeep for the first time since the fight and hoped that it hadn’t been damaged by my release of power. Combustion engines as old as that one generally withstood my magic, but it wasn’t a sure thing. Spark plugs and the like were still susceptible.

It was obvious something had happened here. A few drops of blood—Lana’s or mine— stained the floor. Fey blood would turn into goo and evaporate after a half hour or so. Red, yellow, blue, green, and purple crystals dotted the floor, many shattered like glass. A few looked salvageable, but I’d have to see. Luckily, I hadn’t used everything in the shop with my spell, only the large middle section… which housed the most impressive wares. We both looked up at the ceiling after seeing the mess and broken stones on the floor, to find Fren had been busy with it as well.

The divots and chipped wood of the rafters and floor above had all been repaired in the night and looked just as it had. The thin metal pipe like cover that housed the electrical wiring and made its way to each light was bent and dinged, the iron light sconces were in even worse shape. I’d painted the iron housing black, and the dark color helped conceal much of the damage from this distance. I hadn’t seen any police officers the night before notice the ceiling, which was good.

“Do you have a kitchen here?” Lana asked.

“Unfortunately, no,” I grumbled after seeing the shop. “But we do have options. There is a breakfast shop down the row that should be open. It’s great. I eat a meal or two there most days.”

“You really don’t have a kitchen?” Lana said, realizing another peculiarity to my life.

“I would love one, but with my powers modern gas or electric stoves come with big risks. Fridges won’t work more than a day or two. Microwaves are completely out. Unless I want to find and install a massive old-fashioned wood burning stove and grocery shop every day, I’m out of luck.”

Lana’s brow scrunched, “So… if we were to date, that would come with some pretty serious considerations.”

I nearly choked as my heart lurched, “You’re thinking about dating? Me?”

She laughed and the sound of it melted my very soul, “Well, it’s not every day I spend the night at the house of someone I just met,” she gave me a sly grin. “It simply makes me think, and we both seemed to like what we saw in your room last night.”

She stepped forward and put her hand in mine, then pursed her lips as she looked at my face. I looked down at our hands. I mean, we had just held hands downstairs, but this was different. Her fingers seemed so small and delicate in mine, but I knew she could probably break my hand with ease had she wanted to—body tier 2 or no.

“Yeah, this might work,” she said with a wicked grin, squeezing my hand hard once. “We’ll have to see what happens.”

“I thought you were just looking for a friend?” I said, eyes narrowing. “Like literally last night.”

“And I still am, but… we’ll you’ve surprised me. Do you want me to change my mind?” she asked, eyes meeting mine.

“Hell no. I just—Well… Last night was a lot. If you need time to process that’s fine and… I’m not great with people, not long term.”

“Man, do you have some baggage…” she said with a grin to take away the sting. “Regardless, I like you and I’m willing to see where this goes. But… I’ve been rash in the past with relationships. I tend to jump in full bore and they crash and burn. I’m trying to be better. I’ve dated the wrong types of guy before. You’re something completely different. I like that.”

“It’s not all baggage,” I complained, though I felt elated at her open confession. “I mean, I know where the best places to eat are.”

“Then show me, because I’m still starving.”

“Okay, okay, okay,” I said. “Just one thing.”

I wrote a little note out on a piece of paper for Kate. I apologized for the mess and told her I would be back soon in case she arrived before we returned. I also made it clear I would clean up the mess and that a police report was filed, and we could hopefully open up a claim later that day with the insurance company.

With that we were off. I led Lana out the front and into the brisk morning air. I locked the back door. Willing the magical defenses to become active around my store. Kate’s key would disarm most of them, and I really needed to rethink some of them after my homes first true attack.

We’d stopped holding hands soon after our conversation in the store, but I found myself missing the feel of her delicate fingers. It was like I could still feel the smoothness of her skin against mine. Granted we weren’t dating, not officially, but she was thinking about it. It made it stupidly hard to hide my grin. My shirt—which Lana was still wearing—was black and went well under her green vest jacket which thankfully hadn’t been stained with blood, though her arms would get cold if we were out too long in the early morning chill.

We made a brisk pace as I led the way. Lana observed all the sights that I had seen a thousand times on the block. Several people were out biking or jogging. Most had at least one dog. A few of the canines came to me eagerly for scratches if they were a regular on the street.

This area of town was hardly every empty. Parking on the street was still plentiful but it being the weekend that would change soon. We approached the restaurant. It was a small affair, the couple who owned and ran it well into their late fifties. They wouldn’t truly be open for another fifteen minutes but Sarah the owner saw me coming and unlatched the door, waving us both in and out of the cold.

I whispered to Lana, “See benefits.”

The way her half smile revealed beautifully white teeth and a dimple on one side made me realize everything I was facing was worthwhile.