As I continued to stare at the door to the bathroom that Cloe had just gone through, I could still hear my sister laughing at me. Then I heard her sharp intake of breath, oh crap she’d obviously gotten to my deep thoughts of Cloe, <You actually treated her like that!? I should knock you around just for that!>
<Hey! Get out of there! Those are personal! Besides you don’t know the whole story or everything I’ve been through since Cedric killed everyone!> I told my sister a little more forceful than I meant to. <I’m sorry there are a lot of very painful memories there.> I told her as I hung my head, some were almost too much to take even after all these centuries.
<I’m sorry too brother, I know it hasn’t been easy for you since then all the people you have lost, plus your entire family, Cloe was right how you didn’t end up like her is amazing. I am proud of you brother, in so many ways hopefully you can end our brother’s murderous rampage before it starts.> Eluria told me, I could feel the swelling of pride that she had.
<I’m going to do all I can, I am the only hope we have, so no pressure ’bout a normal day for me.> I told her as the bathroom door opened and Cloe came out still looking a little miffed but better after her declaration.
“Alright I have to go to class today, I haven’t been able to check on Celina, any chance you could Cloe? Even though she came through the attack better than she did I am still worried about her.” I asked Cloe.
A sincere smile crossed Cloe’s face as she nodded yes, then I flashed out I really needed to start getting up earlier; I’d never have these kids ready in time at this rate. As I suspected there were a few already there when I flashed in. Opening the door I watched as they started to move in when a stray thought hit me.
<Thank you for not mentioning anything to Grandma, or to the class,> the voice stated.
<Stop,> I told the voice, <I am not alone at the moment so do not discuss any further,> A small giggle sounded followed by another from Gena.
<A female? Sir what..?> Gena started.
<It is the spirit of my little sister,> I told her.
<Ah!> Then they launched into a conversation that for some strange reason I wasn’t privy to and seemed to include a fair amount of giggling.
Growling I had work to do, <Enough! I have a class to do, Eluria release all control I need everything if I am going to keep these young mages alive.> I heard both gasp as they could feel that I was deadly serious.
Both got quiet then I felt Eluria let go, stepping in front of the class I brought up a screen in the front. “Alright today I want to show you what quick and slow thinking can do. I have been trying to instill in each of you the need for immediate action. Now as you all know I was an enforcer for the council for over two centuries, the following are two examples that I want you to pay close attention to.”
I started the memories that I had pulled to show them, the first was the recent case at the club, many were shocked at the almost immediate response I had, plus the fact that it had saved my life. Then I showed them my last official case when I took my wife. Many were laughing when the creeping arbor started to over take me then gasp as I reversed it as fast as I did.
“Alright, as I said before, quick thinking can save your life. If you let your emotion take over then you are as good as dead as I nearly was in the second example. This is a tireless almost thankless job; the scum out there don’t give a shit who you are, who your family is or what powers you have. Their only concern is getting away and killing you in the process. The underworld considers these idiots special; killing one of the enforcers for the council is a huge status move. Have no doubt they will not hesitate to kill you or a partner if you are lucky enough to have one. You just have to remember always think, there is almost always a way out.” I said, at the head of the class, several gasp when one of the elders (though not as old looking) appeared next to me.
“I want to introduce you to council elder Pena, he was affected by a new aging spell that was similar to most but different enough that it took me over 100 years to counter. As you can see even I never stop learning it is one of the things that has kept me alive as long as it has. I was finally able to reverse it; I made a promise that I would. A promise from an enforcer is an almost sacred thing, we do not give it lightly, and we are always deadly serious when we give it. As stated before this is a serious job, an important job one that has to be done.” I nodded my head at my friend as he smiled and moved back to watch.
“Alright today we are pairing off again, I have become far too powerful to spar with any of you, and so I will be watching you. Pair off I want to see what you have learned in these three weeks.” Looking at Pena I asked, “Can you take your son? He is at mage level two barely, moved into it yesterday, the rest are still at sub level 10 but coming along they should all be at mage level next week, if I survive that long.” My friend looked at me with concern.
“Tyrome you defeated him before you can again, besides you have help.” Here he chuckled indicating my little sister’s spirit within me, sparking a small giggle from her. I nodded though I didn’t feel that confident, Cedric had something up his sleeve to be as damn cocky as he was. At first I had thought it was having the family’s magic but this was something different, something that definitely had him convinced that nothing could beat him this time.
Moving around the room I watched as they all were doing exceptionally well, nothing like the raw kids that had walked in a few weeks ago. Then an almost disaster struck, Gena was frustrated she still couldn’t get the attacks down right, venting a moment a huge fireball flew from her toward her partner. Snatching the girl away I erected a shield around the fireball, that’s when I felt it. Holy shit! She had the wild energy also like Johnathon and his father, straining I was finally able to extinguish it but it had been close. Looking at her I told her, <We need to talk after class I think I need to talk to your father and your great uncle Ben. What I just felt I haven’t seen in over 200 years.> A fearful look crept onto her face then she nodded. <DO NOT let your emotions through, no matter what, do not give into them believe me it will make things a lot better in the end.>
Thankfully things went a lot smoother after that, Gena actually listened and made marked improvement which I told her, finally increasing her confidence. Hours later I dismissed the class and placed another paper home to her parents. I was sitting at my desk an hour after they left, when there was a booming crash then a thundering pounding on my door.
“Come in Ben,” I told the door as it burst open and not only Ben but Evelyn Timmings both walked into my office.
“Just who in the hell do you think you are!!” Ben started yelling as soon as he saw me.
Growling I froze him, almost laughing at the comical look of surprise on his face. “Please remember Mr. Timmings that this building is keyed to me, plus I am far stronger than I was when we worked together. Now then if you wish to be involved in this conversation I suggest you sit and be civil.” Waving my hand around the room I went on, “the building takes offense when someone is a threat of any kind towards me.” I watched Ben’s eyes grow wide then he tried to nod.
“Again Mrs. Timmings I was expecting Johnathon and Lana though, as you explained last time, they are trying for their third child.” Looking at Ben I could see that he was still in shock from being frozen. “Ben I had to stop Gena from killing another student today, I felt the wild magic flair in her. As far as I know this is the first time I have ever heard of a female mage having the wild magic.”
“This is bad Evelyn, if she has started to develop it; we are going to have a problem. I take it you were able to stop her?” Ben asked.
“Yes barely even the fourteen levels I have gone up were barely enough.” I told them.
“Fourteen! Boy you are higher than almost anyone I have heard of! No wonder you stopped me cold. How did you handle her after the incident?” Ben asked me.
“I got her to smother her emotions, getting her under control, after that she did extremely well but I am afraid that she may kill someone if I am not there to monitor her. I have too much going on right now to be able to watch her as close as I want to. I don’t want to pull her from the class; she has finally started to grasp the fundamentals of defensive attack, and can finally defend herself. I can’t have her killing the others I am responsible for them also.” I told both of them a serious look starting to cross both their faces.
“Tyrome I don’t think you realize what you did,” Evelyn said as she looked into my eyes, “no one has ever been able to teach a wild magic user the control that you did Gena, as I remember it took Johnathon trying to kill his father that enabled him to finally gain control. Please Tyrome don’t pull her she feels bad enough as it is your words towards the end of class helped her far more than you thought. I’ll speak to Tom he may have suggestions to aid the situation.”
I nodded then rose as they started to go, “I always do the best I can Ma’am,” I said as she shook her head at me.
“Evelyn please!” she told me.
“I’m sorry Ma’am but I cannot, I owe you far too much to ever disrespect you like that at least to me it is disrespect. It was good to see you again after all this time Ben, though it was under these conditions.” I told them both as they walked out the door, then in a flourish and another boom they both disappeared. Sitting back down I started to go through all that we had discussed when almost another hour had past.
Shaking my head as I stood to clear it, I had just reached for the door when there was another whoosh outside the door. This time I felt an incredibly powerful force as I brought up all my shields to full. Opening the door I was shocked to see Tom Timmings standing there. “Mr. Greenstick we have to talk but I think this isn’t the right place for it. If you’d come with me?”
I drew back; the expression on his face wasn’t the friendliest after all. “Where exactly are we going,” I asked him.
“I thought a place we are both familiar with might help to expedite matters, though you are always a welcome guest at our home this takes precedence over everything else. I could make you come.” Tom said with a sly smile.
“That might be harder than you think,” I told him as I increased my shields. Reaching out he tried to pull me his eyes shot wide then he tried harder still nothing finally he started to measure my levels.
“Hmmm fourteen higher than when we first met, very impressive, you may very well be the strongest mage outside of Johnathon or myself. Alright you’ve proven your point, but we still need to discuss Gena, for now it will be only myself, Evelyn and of course Ben. Lana I am afraid won’t allow Johnathon out of their room ’til she is certain she is with child.”
I started laughing I had met Lana a few times before and at first for a vampire she had seemed pretty nice. Later on though I found out that she was one female you didn’t want to cross or piss off. Rubbing my side I still had the scars to prove it. “Yup, I can see that, she can be a terror when she wants to.”
“That’s right she took a swipe at you right after their second child was born. Something about you didn’t have a talisman ready that you said you would?” Tom said a thin smile on his face.
I could tell that he had experienced Lana’s post baby birth blues also, and here I thought it would be different for a vampire. Sighing I relented and Tom opened a doorway for us, my eyes got large I had heard of the transfer portals but had never seen one. Stepping through, I was instantly in the keep, holy shit! That beat the Flash technique any day! The look on my face must have been comical because Tom had a wide smile on his face. “I believe I am now a fan of the transfer method,” I told Tom, “though I take it, it requires a huge amount of power?”
“Actually less than when you when you cured the council elder but you were a little weaker then, once you learn it, it should be simple at your strength. Please in here sit and I’ll retrieve the others.” With that he vanished a few minutes as I sat in the plush sitting room, again I felt envious of Johnathon and his family and the fact that he had one.
<Hey!> I heard Eluria yell out in my mind. <What am I chopped liver?>
Smiling I felt a warmth spread over my body that I hadn’t in a very long body. <A little hard to forget about you dear, you are after all stuck in my head. Just the fact that I have even a piece of you again helps more than you know.>
Tom and Evelyn Timmings came back a moment later, “I’m afraid Ben won’t be able to make it.” Tom said.
Evelyn’s eyes were wide as she looked around the room then settled on me. “I thought we were alone,” Evelyn stated as they sat, then Gena also walked in a smile covering her face.
Sighing I didn’t want it public knowledge that I had the spirit of my sister in me; it might gain me a reputation as a pervert. Although I was to a certain extent with Cloe, I wasn’t with family especially my sister; it was bad enough that she could see my deeper thought when I was stressed. That lately was becoming a common thing it seemed.
“May I tell them?” Gena asked. When I only nodded with my head hung low Gena started in on the part of the tale that my sister had told Gena earlier. Taking a deep breath she started, “He has the spirit of his sister in him, he was at home when Cedric tried to attack him in a dream, Mr. Greenstick was able to fend him off and managed to rip the soul of his sister loose from Cedric. Not wanting to be recaptured she hid in her brother. That about it sir?” She said as she turned to me.
“You have a good part of it but not all, not my shame,” I started.
<I told you not to talk like that!> my sister’s voice had risen to a shrill shriek causing me to cringe.
Both Tom and his wife were amazed but had remained quiet the whole time. “I can tell that this is a private matter, obviously Gena is far more sensitive than we at first thought if she can communicate with a spirit.” Tom stated.
Sighing again I nodded and thanked Tom for respecting my privacy but decided that I ought to get this out. As I launched into the tale of my family, the fact that Cedric had killed them for their power, the battle they knew of over 200 years ago that almost killed me. How I had thrown myself into work with Ben the years in between not caring if I lived or died. Taking a deep breath as I neared the end I told them of my only partner, losing him and the renewed pain, then meeting his daughter centuries after Evelyn had restored part of me. All three of their eyes were wide; I could see tears streaming down both females eyes.
Finally I was almost finished with this, strangely enough, had seemed to lift a huge weight off of me. “I take it that none of this will go beyond these walls.” Here I looked straight at Gena. “I mean it Gena if any of this gets out I won’t be able to keep you and the others alive, I was serious about what I said, everything I am teaching you guys is important if they won’t listen then they won’t live.” Her wide tear stained eyes and face nodded yes vigorously.
“That was the main reason I wanted her to stay here, though I have risen fourteen levels, I’m still not sure if I can kill him.” Here I took a deep breath, “He is after all my brother and has to be stopped at all costs. This time I won’t stop ’til he is destroyed. At least if I die you and your son can finish him.”
“My god son, why haven’t you asked for help before now?” Tom asked.
“I already owe your family more than I can ever repay, I also realize that I am welcome here. I don’t like to involve others if I don’t have to, it’s what got my only partner killed, and I couldn’t do that to this family not after what they have done for me.” I said hanging my head I really wanted to go before I had the whole room in tears. “I have to go I have decided that Gena can stay if she continues to show the control she has, but Gena if you can’t keep your emotions in check then I will have to send you home. Remember what I said about smothering your emotions with positive thoughts it works far better than trying to turn them off.
Tom’s mouth dropped open, emotions? Sitting still a moment he thought back to when Johnathon had lost control. Shaking his head in disbelief it was so simple he’d never seen it! Hmmm he thought I should try it sometime though most of his emotions were already buried. “Alright Tyrome, we need to maintain as much as a sense of her being a normal mage child as we can.” As Tom was shaking my hand he whispered to me, “You don’t owe us anything we did, what we did was because you were accepted into the family, you are more of a brother that Johnathon never had.”
My eyes went wide; they had accepted me as part of their family? No wonder I felt more at home here than anywhere else in either world. I was still standing there with a surprised look on my face, this was news to me. Though it made me feel hundreds of times better I still felt I had a debt to them, Evelyn had pulled me from the abyss, Johnathon had helped me by giving me a focal point to succeed in school, the gifts had been very small payments for those things, but this completely floored me.
Tom opened a portal and again shook my hand thanking me then I stepped through back into my office. I sunk into my chair this day was getting stranger and stranger. Looking at the clock I still had time to raise my levels though I hoped that this time I wasn’t out as long as last time. Locking up I flashed out and appeared by my building. Starting toward my building I felt another nearby. A scowl on my face, I waited this was a different energy than usual.
“I don’t know who you are but you only have a few seconds before I end you.” I yelled into the almost dark alley way.
“I am surprised you don’t recognize a friend,” A familiar voice said.
“Gregor? What in the hell are you doing here? I thought you and Trina were working on your second child!” I told him.
“We were but we consider this to be almost as important, you are the closest my brother has to an older brother. You think we would forget all that you had done?” Came Trina’s voice from further back in the darkness.
Damn what the hell was going on? The whole damn family was dropping by! “Look I don’t want you to get involved though it may come to that soon. Please let me handle it for now.” Gregor just smiled then nodded as I felt him move away. Shaking my head I knew Gregor that stubborn ass! He’d never leave now but he’d damn sure to convince me otherwise.
Entering my apartment Cloe greeted me with a smile; after I ate I sat and once again started in on the intense concentration. As I closed my eyes Cloe was also sitting with her back to me. I went into the exercises feeling the stress start then fade again as before. I had decided I was going to pull out before I got that tired again as I had before. I was finally on the edge feeling the slight drain to my energy, yup I thought, time to pull out. Opening my eyes I saw that several hours had passed, Cloe was asleep with her head on my lap. Trying to flex without waking her up I could feel at least three more levels of power in me, good! I was almost ready to meet Cedric!
Smiling I looked down at her and her backside, I cringed as I thought my sister was going to comment. When she didn’t, I smiled, and reached out to run a hand over Cloe’s ass oh yeah I had been right, this was definitely a prime ass, tight and delightful to touch.