Mana Dissociation

by Christopher George

  “Did you want to be a teacher?”

  “Nope! Not particularly,” Callum continued, “but when you’re asked by the Primea herself, you don’t say no.”

  “Oh,” I replied as I went to return to the book.

  “Oh, don’t do that,” Callum murmured, “We’ve got about a ten hour drive ahead of us.”

  “Ten hours?” Cripes.

  “Wait, hang a tick. You were at home when the Primea summoned you?”

  “Yes.” Callum looked amused.

  “So how did you get to Paris so fast?”

  “Teleport.”

  “What, like Star Trek?” I raised an eyebrow.

  That drew a laugh from him, “No, not at all like Star Trek.”

  “So, couldn’t we teleport back?”

  “We could, but you are still undergoing the final stages of mana sickness. It would not be a good idea to turn all your molecules into mana and then reform them. No, for now, you travel by car.”

  “So you have to endure a 10 hour drive because of me?” I pressed, “You could simply teleport and be at your destination now?”

  “Yep,” Callum smiled easily, “But the drive isn’t so bad, it’ll give me a chance to get to know you.”

  “What did you want to know?”

  “Everything,” Callum smiled, “One of the closest relationships I’ve had was with my old Master. I hope to have the same thing with you.”

  I must have cringed when he used the term ‘Master’ which Callum immediately picked up on it.

  “It’s a term of respect,” He said gently, “Not a sign of ownership. One day, you’ll understand.”

  “Don’t think I’ll be calling you master though,” I said hurriedly.

  “No, no, of course not,” Callum laughed, “That kind of respect has to be earned and I haven’t done that yet.”

  Callum was easy to talk to. He never pushed too hard or asked probing questions. It was kind of like talking to the Primea, except that I didn’t feel that he had an ulterior motive. As nice as the old lady had been, I felt that everything that I had said was analyzed and dissected. The more I thought about the conversation I believed that she came out knowing one hell of a lot more about me than I had intended.

  “So tell me about where we are going,”

  “My home is a secluded villa in the Spanish mountains, just on the border, near Andorra.”

  “Sounds nice.”

  “It’s a beautiful part of the world,” Callum explained, “There are numerous walking paths and rivers to explore.”

  I must admit, the way he talked about it made it seem like paradise.

  “And you live there alone?”

  “My master used to live there, but he passed away.”

  “I’m so sorry,” I immediately said, “I didn’t know.”

  Nothing he’d said had led me to believe that he had been grieving. I felt awful. I’d been so focused in on my own thing that I’d completely missed the signs.

  “No, no,” Callum smiled, “He died about ten years ago.”

  “And you’ve been alone all this time?”

  “Of course,” Callum continued, “We need privacy for our studies.”

  “But you must have been, what, fifteen at the time?” I murmured, doing the mental math in my head.

  “Sixteen actually,” he corrected.

  “And they let you live there alone? At sixteen?” I raised an eyebrow.

  “I was a mage.” He replied simply, “The rules are different for us.”

  I couldn’t imagine living alone like that. My whole world was my relationships with my friends and family. I had no wish to seclude myself off in the world and I had no intention of doing so. Once I was done with this apprenticeship, I planned on going back home. I’d deal with the whole ‘I’m supposed to be dead’ thing when I had to.

  “You’ll understand soon enough,” Callum smiled.

  * * * * * *

  We had to make a slight detour through Toulouse so that we could do some shopping. Callum was very apologetic that he hadn’t thought of it sooner. I’d casually mentioned that I didn’t have any clothes or personal effects that I would eventually need. The look on Callum’s face was priceless.

  “I’m so sorry!” he gushed, “I’m so completely unprepared for this.”

  It was strange. Toulouse seemed to be different again from Paris. It had a much older feel to it and there were redbrick buildings everywhere - giving the whole city a rose tinted look. Callum had the driver pull up in front of a shopping centre and instructed the driver to follow me.

  “I don’t need a guard,” I murmured softly.

  “No,” Callum chuckled, “But you might need an interpreter. How is your French?”

  “Good point,” I grudgingly conceded.

  Callum reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, eventually pulling out a black credit card, which he passed over to me.

  “Get whatever you need,” he instructed, “Clothes, personal effects. Anything.”

  “I’ll pay you back,” I promised as held the credit card between my fingers.

  “No,” he stated firmly, “It’s not necessary and it’s not my money. Ask the driver if you have any questions. I’ll see you back home later tonight.”

  “You’re going to teleport home?” I guessed.

  “I have no interest in going shopping,” Callum chuckled, “Nor waiting in the car, for what I assume is going to be a long time spent shopping.”

  He shoo’d me out of the car with the credit card in hand and ushered me towards the shops. The driver dutifully fell in step behind me as I surveyed the options in front of me.

  Callum was right. I did need the driver to act as an interpreter. I suspected that several of the shopkeepers actually spoke English, but they refused to converse in anything other than French.

  I spent the next few hours buying clothes, shoes and other items that you would need for a long term stay. I’d imagine that I’d at least be here for six months, given what Callum had told me. The driver was incredibly patient with me, carrying my bags and even making multiple trips back to the car to drop off bags. I don’t know exactly how much money I spent, but it would have been in the thousands. It was a little hard because everything was in Euros and I had no idea how much that actually was in American Dollars.

  As nice a distraction as this was, I was eager to get back to the car and begin the journey again. Callum had casually mentioned that we still had about a four hour drive to go before we reached his place and I was looking forward to finally getting there. Even more so, though I was looking forward to getting back to my reading without Callum interrupting.

  I finished purchasing a jacket that I would undoubtedly need in the mountains and then headed back to the car with the driver in tow.

  “What’s your name?” I asked casually as we headed back to the car. I felt a little guilty about not having asked before, but to be honest he intimidated me a little bit. He was so prim and proper and, although he wasn’t wearing a uniform, from the way his suit had been pressed, he may as well have been.

  “Wesley, ma’am,” he replied in a crisp English accent. I hadn’t excepted that. He hadn’t really said much more to me than a cursory nod and I’d only ever seen him speak in French to the cashiers. I don’t know what I’d expected really.

  “Are you hungry?”

  “No, ma’am,” he replied crisply, “I’ll eat later tonight, after I have dropped you at your destination.”

  “Do you like being a driver?”

  “Oh, yes,” Wesley continued with a smile, “It’s very fulfilling work.”

  “Oh, how so?”

  “It allows me to remain closer to my brother.”

  “Your brother?”

  “Yes,” Wesley nodded, “He’s gifted, like yourself.”

  “Oh,” I hadn’t expected that.

  “Unfortunately, I never developed the talent,” Wesley continued, “But I still hope, someday. Sometimes it come
s upon you later in life.”

  He was working as a driver because he hoped to one day become a mage? I suppose there were worse reasons, although I couldn’t immediately think of any. The whole thing had a desperation about it, but Wesley didn’t seem to mind.

  “Do you often end up driving people all over Europe?”

  “No,” Wesley smiled, “Not often. Most of your kind can transport themselves without the need for such mundane needs. It’s not often that I need to venture out from Paris. To be honest, I’ve quite enjoyed the drive.”

  I smiled, “I’m glad.”

  The smile on my face slowly dropped as I saw something over Wesley’s shoulder that stopped my heart. I wasn’t sure, but I thought that I’d just seen Aiden duck into the service corridor. I’d have never noticed him if I hadn’t turned back to smile at Wesley. Ironically enough, it was the mana in his body that had given him away. Had he not been a Mage, my eye wouldn’t have caught the tell-tale flash of light caused by a mana particle on skin. I shivered as a wave of fear washed over me.

  “Ma’am?” Wesley inquired, obviously confused by my sudden change of expression.

  “I think we had better go,” I whispered.

  I could only hope that if Aiden were here, then it would mean that May wouldn’t be far behind him. I had no wish to get into a fight with Aiden in a shopping centre. There would be far too many things that would go wrong. As I thought about it, I remembered May casually mentioning some other Mage getting into a fight in a shopping centre. Apparently, it hadn’t gone well.

  “Is there something wrong?” Wesley continued.

  “No,” I lied. I didn’t want to worry him, “But we should get to the car quickly.”

  I immediately surged forward at a brisk pace causing Wesley to struggle to keep up. I had only a vague idea of the direction of the car as I’d managed to get myself turned around in this foreign shopping centre. Wesley made a few minor corrections to lead me into the right carpark.

  We emerged into the carpark and I quickly glanced around in confusion. There was no way I was going to be able to recognise our car here. Fortunately, Wesley didn’t seem to have any issues.

  “If you would wait here Ma’am, I’ll collect the car and return to pick you up.”

  “No, that’s okay,” I said, looking around with forced cheerfulness, “I’ll come with you.”

  “Are you sure everything is okay ma’am?”

  “Yeah,” I lied again, “We just need to go.”

  I could tell that Wesley didn’t believe me, but he wasn’t going to correct me. This was fine as long as we got moving. This carpark was far too exposed and there were too many places where someone could be hiding and I wouldn’t be able to see them.

  We made it to the car and deposited the remaining bags in the back. Wesley held the door open for me and immediately moved into the front seat and started the engine. The moment I heard the engine start up, I felt a little better, but it wasn’t until the car pulled back onto the highway that I allowed myself to relax. Surely, at the speed we were going, Aiden would soon lose track of me.

  My mind was going a million miles a minute with a hundred questions. What was he doing here? How had he tracked me down? How had he managed to get away from May? But the most important question that kept coming back was - why me? Why had he come after me? Although, I wasn’t sure that I wanted the answer to that question.

  I was nervous and tense the whole trip back. I couldn’t focus on the book in front of me as I kept instinctively glancing out the window behind me. I don’t really know what I was looking for. I had vague visions of Aiden chasing me down the highway, which I’ll admit was totally crazy. It must have taken a good two hours before I finally relaxed enough not to keep checking out the window. My last thought was a disturbing one – why had he chosen to approach me now? The answer was simple, of course. I was no longer with Callum. Aiden had waited until Callum had left me alone. Maybe I was lucky that I had spotted him out of the corner of my eye and run for it. I needed to get back to Callum and I needed to do it quickly. Wesley for his part seemed to agree without being told. The drive from Toulouse was done at a much quicker speed.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Callum hadn’t been lying about how beautiful his property was. Even though it must have been almost midnight, the light of stars seemed so bright and the whole vista was awash in the light of a thousand tiny lights. The house was set deep into a valley with sheer tree covered cliffs rising up on each side. The fear that I had felt from my encounter with Aiden seemed to wash away the moment my eyes set sight on the house.

  We could see the building long before we reached it. The road that led up to the house snaked across several rivers and wound around the mountain to reach the household. The house was a contemporary design with glass and steel girders. There was a set of double doors on the ground level, just in front of where Wesley had pulled the car up.

  “Ma’am, please go in,” Wesley murmured as he opened the door for me, “I’ll bring in the bags.” A girl could get used to being treated like this.

  Callum was already waiting at the front door as I glanced around the estate. The light from the stars reflected from the lake providing enough illumination for me to see across the valley.

  “This place is beautiful.” I breathed as I looked around. The house looked out over a river that led into a lake. I hadn’t even known that it was there, as it wasn’t possible to see the lake from the road. The whole scene was breathtaking. The water rippled slightly as the wind blew across it and the light of the moon was reflected on its surface. It was perfect. A sense of peace settled across me. Truly, nothing bad could happen to me here. It seemed impossible that some place so beautiful could be tainted by evil.

  “Welcome to your new home for the next few years,” Callum murmured with a smile. He had obviously noticed my interest in the grounds.

  I’d was a little startled by Callum’s comment about being here for years. But as I thought about it, I could do a lot worse. There were certainly worse places that I could spend the next few years.

  I walked through the double doors into an extensive lounge room with dual stairs that headed up to a walkway that clung to the far wall. To my left was a lavish kitchen and dining room.

  “Your room is up the stairs and on the right,” Callum murmured from behind me.

  I slowly walked up the stairs. I couldn’t help myself. I turned and looked back out over the lake. The view from the top of the stairs was even more breathtaking. The water seemed to ripple with the moonlight as if it was the source, and not merely the reflection.

  Callum allowed me to gaze out the double windows that looked out over the grounds at the top of the stairs. He eventually coughed politely and directed me towards a door on the left hand side. This was obviously to be my room for the next few years.

  My room was far larger than I had expected with a generous sized bed on one wall and doorway that led to an en-suite. On the far side of the room was a walk-in wardrobe. Even more amazing was the double doors that led out onto a private balcony that looked out over the property.

  “This had been my Master’s old room,” Callum murmured softly.

  “Oh, is that okay? I could take another room.”

  “No, no. He’s been gone for so long now anyway,” Callum continued, “I just didn’t have a heart to move into it myself. It’s actually kind of nice that it’s being used again. Besides, there are no other bedrooms.”

  “Oh,”

  “I’ll leave you to get unpacked,” Callum shrugged, as Wesley emerged from behind him with yet another batch of shopping. I may have over done it.

  Wesley placed my new purchased clothes on the bed for me to sort out. That would take some time. For the moment I simply sat on the edge of the bed, kicked off my shoes and placed my feet on the marble floor. It felt fantastic, although I imagined that it wouldn’t feel so great when it was cold in the mornings.

  I began to sort the clothes out
and hang them in the walk-in wardrobe, but it was taking some time. I’d purchased pretty much anything that took my fancy from whatever store I’d been in at the time and therefore it was a little bit of an eclectic mess. That wouldn’t do on the hangers though, everything had to be in order by type of clothes. Dressy clothes on one rack, casual on another. Fortunately, the room had plenty of coat hangers. I was about half way through when I was interrupted.

  “I assume that you haven’t eaten,” Callum called from my door, “May I come in?”

  He had brought with him a plate of sandwiches. I nodded quickly as I rose from the bed.

  “Do you drink?”

  “Oh yes,” I murmured, as I eyed the sandwiches. It wasn’t much, but it my mouth was watering.

  “I’ll bring a glass. I normally eat semi-formally, but now that I’ve got guests. We probably should make more formal dining arrangements. I’ll leave you to your evening. I suggest you get an early night. We’re going to have busy day tomorrow. We’ll start nice and early.”

  “Right,” I murmured, “Is Wesley still here? I’d like to thank him.”

  “I think he’s bringing the last of your shopping up now.” Callum looked amused.

  “Oh, that reminds me,” I shrugged and pulled Callum’s credit card out from my purse, “This is yours. I’m not sure how much is left on it.”

  Callum laughed, “It’s really not a problem. I’m glad you have everything you need. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have my own duties to attend to.”

  * * * * * *

  Callum hadn’t been lying about the early start. It must have been about six am when he knocked on my door to wake me. I grumbled and groaned, knocking more the clothes in bags that I hadn’t managed to unpack yet onto the floor.

  “Are you awake?” Callum inquired, knowing damned well that I wasn’t.

  “I am now,” I called back in a huff as I pulled the pillow over my head in the hope he would go away. No such luck. He sounded so damned chirpy and awake this time in the morning. He had no business sounding so chipper this early in the morning.

  “Well, get up! Busy day!” he chuckled as he made his way back into the lounge room.