Zack awoke the next morning with familiar sunlight shining in his eyes. He sat up and looked at the clock. It was 6:00am. I slept for fourteen hours, that is ridiculous. But damn do I feel good!
Zack jumped out of bed, took a shower, and minutes later he was back on the deck with breakfast.
He felt guilty as he stared at the table split in two on the deck. Then it occurred to him. I am a wizard, can’t I wizard up something and fix this table?
He set breakfast on his chair looked at the broken table and said, “fix.”
Nothing happened. Feel a little embarrassed he pointed at the table and said, “mend.”
Again, nothing happened. “Well shit, how does this work?”
He thought about how he used magic in the past. He would feel strongly about a situation, visualize what he wanted, and it happened. He turned back to the table and concentrated. He closed his eyes and visualized the table lifting off the deck and coming together where it was broken. He imagined the wood grains joining and sealing themselves together followed by the table gently coming to a rest on the deck.
Zack opened his eyes and the table sat upright on four legs in one piece. He whistled and said, “wow, that was amazing.”
He thought to himself, I wonder what else I can do? I mean there must be a limit, right?
Zack sat with breakfast and a coffee at his newly repaired table.
He looked at his notes and read the list. He got to the fourth step his dad outlined.
He said out loud to the world, “What can I do to make a positive impact on my problems?”
In response he heard a familiar voice behind him say, “Whatever you want my dear boy, you are a wizard!”
Zack smiled and greeted Paxton, “I thought you couldn’t leave your castle?”
Paxton smiled and said, “Who said I left?”
Zack responded, “man, there is a lot about wizarding that I just don’t understand yet.”
Paxton looked thoughtfully and said, “I imagine there is.”
Zack asked while looking at Paxton’s ghostly form, “what brings you down here? Well, kind of down here?”
Paxton replied, “I observed the skirmish with the Queen’s mage and troops. I did not expect things to escalate this quickly. If the Queen decides to take you seriously and if she decides to believe you are really a wizard, we could have some more complications.”
Zack replied, “I figured we would have some complications from the queen going forward. However, I thought it would be quite some time before they could do anything about it.”
Paxton nodded in agreement, “Oh it will be several months before any sort of response is forthcoming. Particularly because you killed Hogant.”
Zack asked, “Did you know Hogant?”
Paxton said, “Only by reputation and from a distance. Nasty man he was. Total sycophant to those in power and willing to do anything to gain favor or more power. However, he was in the top twenty so I would tread lightly if you meet other mages.”
Zack turned his head to Paxton and asked, “Top twenty? Top twenty what? Mages?”
Paxton nodded, “The system keeps a running list of the top twenty most powerful mages. Hogant was number eleven. A top twenty mage has not been killed in centuries. Once word gets out there will be a lot of consternation about his death and who did it.”
Paxton paused deep in thought and said, “It will be interesting to see if the queen will reveal how he died or cover it up.”
Zack replied, “why would she cover it up?”
Paxton grunted in response, “A queen, without a powerful mage, is a vulnerable queen. There are very few top mages unaffiliated with a noble house.”
Zack eyes light up in understanding. “Wow, I did not know that. Perhaps that will delay her response to Vinstra as she is more vulnerable to other noble houses.”
Paxton nodded, “That is possible, however it really depends on how she wants to play this. She could let everyone know there is a wizard on the loose and no mages are safe. This may unite the nobles and the system mages. At which point the response to Vinstra will be swift, overwhelming, and brutal.”
Both sat in silence after Paxton’s last words. Paxton took a deep breath as to cleanse his mind and signal a change in subject.
Paxton said, “I think it is time you told me about your father’s death. It seems like there is more to the story than just watching your dad die.”
Zack immediately bristled at Paxton’s comments but also remembered the new memories he had last night.
He sighed in resignation, “Perhaps. It is apparent that I need to work through this trauma to find peace on the other side. I cannot allow my anger to run the show when I am wielding magic.”
Paxton gave a sympathetic smile and said, “that is very wise, a good sign you are on the right-side things.”
Paxton invited Zack up to the castle for tea. Zack accepted and thirty minutes later he was sitting in front of Paxton in the familiar circle room with the big book.
Paxton sipped his tea and said, “Why don’t you start with the beginning and tell me everything you can remember.”
Zack took a deep breath to calm his nerves and said, “my dad and I had just recently taken up fly fishing. We had just left the house when he got a call. I was on my phone researching the river we were going to fish in. He seemed distracted after the call, but I didn’t really pay attention. We got to the national park with the trout stream and started to get our gear. He seemed really distracted and on edge. I asked him what was up, but he said nothing.”
Zack paused to refill his tea and grab a pastry.
Zack continued, “The day was a smashing success. We caught tons of brown and rainbow trout. By the time the first fish landed my dad was back to his normal self. It was really one of the best days of my life. We had so much fun in the river.”
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Zack felt the tears well up and this time decided to just let it out. He spent so much time trying not to feel anything, he knew it was time to process the emotions he felt.
With tears streaming down his face he continued, “We packed up and hiked back to our car. There was a really strange looking black SUV parked about thirty feet away from our Durango. As soon as my dad saw the black SUV, he told me to get in the Durango and not come out no matter what.”
Zack’s tears were now coming out in waves as Zack was lost in the recall of what happened next. Zack choked out, “It all happened so fast. As I put my gear away and about to get into the Durango. I noticed three people get out of the SUV. They were wearing weird clothes, had jet black hair, pale white skin and red eyes like an albino. I could hear low murmurs between them. They approached my dad and immediately people were shouting.”
Paxton put his hand on Zacks arm to reassure him. Zack was slowly transitioning from sadness to rage as his eyes radiated anger.
Zack gritted his teeth and continued, “This is where my memories start to get fuzzy. When I try to focus on the memory it seems to slip from my mental grasp. It is infuriating!”
Paxton responded, “I thought this might be the case.”
He raised his arms above my head and chanted something in a language Zack did not understand.
Like light coming through the window into a dark black room. Zacks eyes and brain seemed to squint and tried to turn away to avoid the brightness emanating from Paxton’s hands. Just like that the fog lifted from Zack’s brain. The anxiety and confusion about his dad’s passing just disappeared and all the memories laid bare in front of him. The clarity was overwhelming.
Zack gasped and said “how, what, what’s going on, what did you do?”
Paxton said, “I will explain in a moment, right now I want you to focus on the new memories.”
Zack sat stunned for a second, then slowly nodded and said, “This is crazy, it is like watching a movie in my head.”
Paxton impatiently replied, “when memories have been suppressed or meddled it creates a sense of fog or disorientation as well as a sense of dread if the person tries to look too deeply at the memories. However, when the curse has been cleared up. The brain shows you the memory as it really was. People often see the new memory like a moving picture in their heads. Please, Zack, it is important you focus on the memories while they are fresh in your head.”
Zack nodded in understanding and said, “one of the guys from the SUV pulled out some sort of weapon. I see now it was a sword. All three of the guys were so focused on my dad they didn’t even know I was there. As I started to move behind the Durango to help my dad. He turned to me and mouthed the word ‘no’ as one of the men hit him. My dad began to move away from the Durango. The focus of the men followed my dad. By the time my dad stopped moving the three men had their backs to me.”
Zack’s face recoiled in horror as the next memory played out in his mind. Paxton gently pushed Zack to continue.
Zack gasped as he said, “One of the men had a staff and it conjured a deep yellow light that began to grow as it swirled around them. It sounded like a thunderstorm, the noise from the staff was deafening. A yellow light shot out of the staff and hit my dad in the chest. I screamed and started running to him. He was about 50 feet from me at this point.”
Zack started openly sobbing as he recounted the final moments. Through sobs he said, “my dad’s eyes stayed on me the whole time. As I got closer to him about 15 feet behind the men my dad put his hand out.
Zack looked at Paxton for a long moment. Finally, he said slowly with great resignation, “I remember the look on his face. First it was fear, then acceptance, finally it was a look of love to me. A faint smile came across his lips as he put one hand out.”
Zack stopped in astonishment, like he was processing something he could not believe. He shook his head.
Paxton gently asked, “what happened next?”
Zack looked at Paxton with disbelief and wonder in his eyes as he said. “From twenty feet away, my dad put his hand up and pushed me back to the Durango. I think he used magic to push me out of harm’s way.”
Paxton’s eyes went wide with excitement and concern. He said, “Are you sure that is what happened?
Zack replied, “Once I was pushed back, all four of them disappeared into black smoke. They were gone. The Black SUV disappeared a moment later.”
Zack sat back and stared at the ceiling, “About thirty minutes later I was found on the ground by a couple of fly fishermen. I got up dazed and confused. We found a large circle in the sand of the parking lot that was charred black. It looked as if a very intense fire had taken place inside the circle. I looked for my dad for a while and finally called the police. It took a matter of minutes for the police to find evidence of my dad’s blood and small pieces of his clothing near the circle. I never saw him again.”
Paxton sat back and shook his head. Both stayed in silence for what seemed like forever. Zack sat staring at the ceiling with tears coming down his cheeks. Paxton turned to his desk and buried his nose in the big book.
Finally, Paxton broke the silence with a loud exclamation of victory.
Zack looked over at Paxton almost in a daze and continued, “when the police and my family asked me what happened I could not tell them. I had no idea. However, over the years since then, I have had dreams and moments of clarity with small snippets of what happened. I have not told a soul. Almost all of them were the moment of him looking at me before he vanished and the overwhelming feeling of helplessness. I have never felt so powerless in my life.”
Paxton nodded and knowingly said, “I bet that is exactly how you felt. And to be fair to you, that is exactly what you were.”
Zack turned to him suspiciously, “How would you know what I felt?”
Paxton pointed to the book and exclaimed, “Because I was the one who invented the magic that was used on you and your dad.”
Zack’s jaw fell into his lap, he yelled, “You what?”
Paxton put his hands up to placate Zack and said, “Well I invented the magic over 5,000 years ago to help the Acolytes of the System against the mad wizards. You see there is a few pieces of magic that work in both the natural world and the system.”
Zack replied, “How do you know what magic they used? Wait, I thought Earth didn’t have any magic?”
Paxton didn’t say anything, instead turning to his book and flipping through the pages.
Finally, he turned the book around for Zack to see and said, “Do these people look familiar?”
Zack gasped as he looked down in the book. In a page marked with symbols he did not understand along with three figures in black with black hair, pale white skin, and red eyes.
Zack said, “Those are the men from the park that day. Who are they.”
Paxton said, “This is where it gets weird.”
Zack fell over laughing as Paxton’s comments unintentionally broke the tension of the moment.
Zack half yelled half laughed from the floor with as much sarcasm as he could muster, “Yeah, this is where the whole story finally gets weird. Right now. Not the weird dudes in black, the yellow light, disappearing people, my dad using magic. No this I the moment it gets weird.”
Zack was nearly crying in hysterics. For a moment even he could not tell if he was really laughing or crying.
When Zack finally calmed down he said to Paxton, whose emotion had not changed at all, “Wow, I know you didn’t mean to be funny but that was hilarious. Thanks, I needed that.”
Paxton nodded a little confused but soldiered on, “I mean that the men you saw in the park are called the Veneficus Sicari. They are one of the first branches of the Acolytes of the System. It was a small group I personally trained to assassinate the mad wizards.”
Zack shot back, “You trained those men, the men who killed my dad?”
Paxton replied, “Of course not, well not directly anyways. The Veneficus Sicari ceased to exist around four thousand five hundred years ago when it became apparent wizards were extinct.”
Zack shot back again, “Well they looked pretty fucking unextinct to me.”
Paxton nodded, “hence the weirdness, perhaps even weirder is why they went after your dad.”
Zack replied, “actually it kind of makes sense, he could use magic.”
Paxton thought about this and said, “The staff the Sicari were using is a portable magical battery. My guess is that your dad has probably never used magic before. What you saw was like the first time you used magic. He was near actual magic and wanted to keep you safe.”
Zack said, “Are you saying my dad accidently used magic to save my life?”
Paxton nodded, “it seems more likely than he has been secretly using magic on a magically dead world. However, I do think your father is magically attuned like you.”
Zack opened his mouth to retort but nothing came out. He then nodded and mumbled, “that does make more sense.”
Paxton stood up to walk off some nervous energy, “The real unasked question here is, why did they search your dad out and why…”
Zack stood up and rounded with his pointer finger aimed at Paxton, “Whoa wait a minute, wait an effen minute, you said my father is, not my father was.”
Paxton smiled at Zack, “That is what I am trying to tell you, the magic you saw wasn’t designed to kill wizards, it was designed to kidnap them!”