by Alex Siegel
"What's that?"
"When one sorcerer controls another's talent. It's a quick way to gain extra power, but it's not good for the victim. There are stories of evil sorcerers turning kids with talent into remote control slaves."
Andrew looked over at Charley. She had an alarmed expression, and he shared her anxiety.
Serkan leaned back and patted his belly. "That was delicious, but it's too early to go back. Tonya and Keene will want to talk until late. Where are we going next?"
Chapter Seven
Blake peeked through the window of the restaurant at the three young sorcerers. He wasn't worried about being detected. He had left the emerald in his car which was parked blocks away, and his own energies were clamped down to nothing. The apprentices weren't even facing the window.
A fourth person at the table was obviously a BPI agent, and he was the only real cause for concern. The agent's eyes were scanning back and forth. Blake spent only a moment at the window before moving on.
The restaurant was in a nice little shopping area in one of the suburban villages west of Chicago. Blake saw clothing stores, a coffee shop, an Indian restaurant, a burger place, and a store that specialized in gourmet popcorn. People were strolling on the sidewalks despite the chill in the night air. They were a mix of different races and wore a variety of clothing styles. Chicago was a diverse city even out in the 'burbs.
Blake considered attacking all three apprentices and the BPI agent as a group. He intended to take control of their minds and use them as tools to achieve his objectives. After some thought, Blake decided a mass attack was too risky. Andrew and Charley had freakish talents and might protect themselves instinctively. Andrew in particular had a special something about him that Blake had never seen before. Blake didn't know the third sorcerer, but his energy signature indicated advanced training.
Blake was also worried Tonya might detect any tampering in her apprentices. The old crone was very canny, and Blake's visit had made her alert for trouble.
A plan was forming in his mind. It relied on some secrets he had discovered over the years and had managed to keep from the BPI. Substantial research still needed to be done though. There were a thousand details to work out, but fortunately, there wasn't a deadline. He could afford patience.
Blake kept walking, but he wasn't done for the night. He would follow the apprentices until he saw his opportunity.
* * *
Andrew walked into the bowling alley with confidence. The crashing noises from balls striking wooden pins made him smile. He didn't know much about sophisticated Spanish cuisine, but he could certainly handle a bowling ball. He intended to put on a show for Charley.
Charley, Dan, and Serkan followed Andrew. They went to the counter and rented shoes and a lane. Dan had paid for dinner with a BPI credit card, calling it a "business meal." He paid for the bowling too, and Andrew's opinion about Dan softened a bit. At least he picked up the check.
The group walked over to their lane. The interior of the bowling alley featured large televisions on the walls showing college basketball games. Spinning colored lights were meant to look jazzy, but Andrew found them vaguely annoying instead. The balls were also brightly colored and reminded him of giant jaw breakers. His biggest complaint was the music. It was rock and roll which had been popular before he had been born, and it bored him.
"I'll go first," Andrew said as soon as the pins were set.
He glanced slyly at Charley to make sure she was watching. He reared back and threw his ball as hard as he could. It shot down the alley like a missile, but his aim was off, and he only picked off one pin on the left. He glanced at Charley again, but she wasn't showing any reaction to the humiliating result.
Instead, she looked around and then leaned towards Serkan. "I'm curious about cold sorcery," she murmured. "Have you ever tried it?"
Andrew remembered "cold sorcery" was casting a spell without a seam. He listened closely.
"I tried," Serkan said, "but it's really hard."
"Can Keene do it?" Charley said.
"He claims he can perform a little telepathy cold, but it was so faint, I wasn't sure."
Andrew rolled his second ball and picked up five more pins. He didn't even get a spare. He walked off as if he didn't care.
"Was anybody ever good at it?" he said.
Serkan shrugged. "Probably. I don't know."
"Not needing a seam would be so cool."
Serkan glanced at Dan. "I don't think the BPI would agree. They like us having limitations. That's why all the portable seams are in a secret vault."
Dan was standing guard facing the other way. He didn't seem to be listening, but Andrew expected he was.
Andrew got very close to Serkan. "What else is in that vault?" Andrew whispered.
Charley leaned in.
"Documents," Serkan whispered. "Journals. Research reports. Information the BPI doesn't want us to have."
Dan looked over and gave them a suspicious look.
Charley picked up her ball and rolled it down the lane with a graceful swing of her arm. She made a perfect strike and walked away grinning.
I'm supposed to impress her, Andrew thought, not the other way around.
By silent agreement, the sorcerers stopped talking about dangerous topics. Charley asked Serkan about his life in Atlanta instead.
Andrew focused on bowling. Charley jumped out to an early lead in the game, but he rallied back and almost caught up to her by the end. He came in second, but at least it was a respectable showing.
They played a second game, and Andrew achieved a narrow win. He was proud of the result even though it wasn't the crushing victory he had originally hoped for.
Charley checked her watch. "It's almost ten, and we have classes tomorrow. We should head back."
"I can't go back yet." Serkan shook his head. "The old folks don't want me hanging around while they talk. Keene told me to stay out 'til at least eleven. I'll just bowl by myself and take a cab back."
Andrew felt bad about leaving his new friend behind, but Andrew did have classes in the morning. He had learned the hard way that getting enough sleep was necessary if he wanted to succeed at school.
Serkan is a grown man, Andrew thought, and nearly a full sorcerer. He'll be OK on his own.
Dan frowned. "I'd rather everybody stick together."
"I don't need your protection," Serkan said in a testy tone, "and I don't need a babysitter."
"But..."
"The BPI doesn't follow me around constantly when I'm in Atlanta. I'm not on probation. Are you always this paranoid?"
Dan thought for a moment. Eventually, he nodded. "OK, I'll trust you, but come straight back to Tonya's house later. No detours." He gestured for Andrew and Charley to follow.
The three of them returned their shoes and left the bowling alley.
When Andrew stepped outside, a sudden chilly breeze made him shiver. It was time to start wearing a real winter coat.
He, Charley, and Dan got into the little red car. Andrew still had to sit in the back seat, but at least he had it to himself. Charley drove off.
"That was fun," Andrew said.
"Yeah," she said. "Let's try to get together with Serkan tomorrow for lunch. He's a nice guy."
"Do you know how long he and Keene will be in town?"
"Not long. Keene has to get back to his seam."
He nodded. "I wonder if we'll ever visit them in Atlanta."
"Maybe," she said, "but I wouldn't count on it."
* * *
Blake sensed Andrew and Charlotte leaving, and Blake expected the BPI agent had accompanied the youngsters. The third sorcerer had remained in the bowling alley for some reason. Blake had no idea why, but it was a huge stroke of luck.
His car was parked at a safe distance down the street. He ran back and fetched his emerald from the glove compartment. The seam inside the gem was tiny, but it pulsed rapidly with energy like the heartbeat of a mouse. He hurried back towards th
e bowling alley.
The road ran through a commercial area. There was a car wash, a repair shop, a body shop, and a car insurance office, but everything was closed. A dense, dark forest was to the east. Blake glimpsed a deer looking back at him with big eyes, but then the animal ran off.
Blake jogged around to a fairly empty parking lot behind the bowling alley. Nobody on the street would see him now. He placed the huge emerald on the hood of a car and crouched behind the car. He clamped down hard on his energy emissions to make himself undetectable.
The sorcerer inside the bowling alley would certainly sense the presence of the seam even though it was small. It took a few minutes, but eventually, he wandered out to investigate. Blake stole a peek through the car window.
The man was wearing a stylish gray jacket. His thick black scarf was practical and handsome. Blake didn't like how the other sorcerer had shaved himself almost bald. One of the advantages of youth was the ability to grow a full head of hair, and Blake felt the opportunity shouldn't be squandered. The gray mess on his own head was embarrassing.
He closed his eyes. He emptied his mind and became as serene as a corpse. When sorcerers battled, absolute mental control was essential. He would decide what thoughts to have and when to have them.
The other sorcerer arrived at the car and stopped in front of the emerald.
Blake stood up and attacked without warning. He launched a psychic assault designed to overwhelm and debilitate. He sought out the fears and doubts in his opponent's mind. They were the points of leverage. Blake hammered the weakest spots, tying the man in psychological knots. So much energy was flowing through the gem that it actually glowed.
The other sorcerer gasped, and his eyes rolled back. His face twitched spastically.
Blake walked over. "What's your name?"
"Serkan. Who are you?"
Serkan's legs were shaking. Blake was blasting him with terrifying visions and waves of crippling emotion. Serkan didn't have the strength to turn the tide of the battle, but he was still putting up a defense, and Blake was working hard to maintain his advantage. It was just a matter of time before he won though. Serkan would soon become exhausted and succumb completely.
"Don't worry about me," Blake said. "You're going to pretend we never met. You'll make sure Keene never finds out either. When you go back tonight, you'll act perfectly normally."
"No," Serkan groaned.
"Now pay attention. Here are your instructions..."
* * *
A phone call woke Andrew. He was in the middle of a nice dream involving Charley, and it took three rings before he opened his eyes.
He rolled over and picked up the phone. "Yes?" he croaked.
"This is Tonya. We're having breakfast at my house. My guests asked for you to come and say goodbye."
"They're leaving already?"
Andrew's clock showed 7:20 AM.
"Keene doesn't like to be away from his seam for long," Tonya said. "Hurry over before the eggs get cold."
He hung up the phone and groaned. Sluggishly, he got out of bed and picked through his pile of clean clothes for something to wear. He hadn't folded the clothes or put anything away, but at least they had been washed. That was a big step in the right direction.
He found one of his favorite shirts. It was blue with white vertical stripes, and he believed it made him look taller. He put it on and discovered it was a little tight around the shoulders. I'm getting more muscular, he thought. He stuck with the shirt anyway.
He finished getting dressed, put on a winter coat, and left the dorm. A rising sun made him squint. He walked swiftly across campus, and by the time he arrived at Tonya's house, he was more alert.
The red brick house had a plain, traditional design typical of the Midwest. It was easy to imagine a family living there instead of a master sorcerer. One of the bushes had been trimmed to make it a perfect hemisphere.
A glint of metal caught Andrew's eye. He walked over and discovered a mesh of steel wires inside the bush. They were holding the branches steady so the shape would be preserved. He imagined it had taken many hours to carefully wrap wires around all the branches. That's a little obsessive, he thought.
He went to the door and knocked.
Tonya answered the door. She was wearing a purple nightgown, and she had circles under her eyes, but she was smiling.
"You look a little tired," Andrew said.
"I was up half the night chatting with Keene about past adventures."
"Why didn't you sleep in?"
"Not my style," she said. "Better to tackle the day head-on than concede from the start. Come in."
He went into the house. The strange art on the walls distracted him, and he tried not to stare, but it was hard to ignore a sculpture of a giant praying mantis in a glass case. The insect was extremely realistic except for human teeth and eyeballs. Andrew wondered where she bought her art.
Andrew went into the dining room where a nice little breakfast buffet was laid out. There were scrambled eggs, pancakes, bacon, and melon slices. Charley, Serkan, and Keene were seated and already eating. Everybody looked a little tired.
Andrew grabbed a plate and started to fill it.
"I can't believe you guys are leaving so soon," he said. "You just got here."
"I came to meet you," Keene said. "I've accomplished that, so it's time to go home."
He was wearing a yellow sweater vest over a brown shirt and a green tie. With all the wrinkles in his solemn face, he looked like an old professor.
"Do you meet all the new apprentices or just the ones with famous grandfathers?" Andrew said.
"Just you."
Keene didn't elaborate, so Andrew sat down and ate his breakfast. He made a silent promise that he would solve the mystery of his grandfather someday.
He noticed Serkan seemed a little distracted and was barely touching his food. Serkan's eyes were bloodshot.
"Are you OK?" Andrew said.
Serkan shrugged dismissively. "Sure. I just didn't sleep very well."
"Why?"
"Maybe I'm thinking too much about what I'll do when I become a full sorcerer. I'll have to leave Atlanta and find my own seam. I'll need a job or at least a good cover story. It's like starting a whole new life."
Keene patted Serkan on the shoulder. "Just try to have some fun while you're at it. I think us sorcerers are far too grim most of the time."
Andrew had barely begun his training and couldn't imagine what he would do when it was over. He also had a college education to complete.
Keene looked at the three apprentices at the table. "Let's play a little game. Tonya, could you get some scraps of paper and pencils?"
Tonya smiled. "Sure."
She went to another room and came back a moment later with paper and pencils. She gave a sheet and a pencil to Andrew, Charley, and Serkan.
"OK," Keene said. "I want all of you to write down an obvious lie, something that can't possibly be true. It can even be a little silly."
Andrew thought for a moment and wrote, "White is the new black."
"Now pass your papers around in a circle."
Andrew gave his paper to Charley and got Serkan's.
"Here comes the fun part," Keene said. "Make an argument for what's on your paper. Tonya and I will judge who is the most convincing. This is good practice for a sorcerer. We often have to believe things that aren't true, or not believe things that seem true."
Andrew looked at his paper and saw, "When people lie, they are actually being honest." This will be tough.
"Serkan," Keene said, "show them how it's done."
Serkan nodded. "My statement is 'the moon is made of cheese.' It's obvious, isn't it? You just look up at night, and you can see the holes. Has anybody here actually tasted the moon? We don't have any hard evidence it isn't cheese. In the absence of proof to the contrary, that's what I choose to believe. Everybody knows the astronauts never went up there. The whole thing was a Hollywood production meant to
fool the public."
"Not bad," Keene said. "Charley?"
Charley smiled and looked at her paper. "'White is the new black.'"
Andrew leaned forward to listen.
"White and black are just relative descriptions," she said. "If you shine a bright enough light on a black wall, it will seem white. Likewise, a white wall looks black in a dark room. As an actual example, the moon looks white even though the surface is actually quite dark. It's because the sun is so bright. So really, white and black are pretty much the same."
He raised his eyebrows. He was impressed.
"Nicely done," Keene said. "Andrew, you can go."
Andrew read his paper out loud, "'When people lie, they are actually being honest.'" He pursed his lips.
Everybody waited for him to continue.
After a moment, Andrew said, "Honesty doesn't always mean telling the literal truth. Sometimes, an audience isn't ready for plain statements of fact. There are other ways to convey information that can work better. What seems like a lie can actually be a subtle way of getting people to see the truth. Politicians tell little white lies as part of their job. And really, is anybody completely truthful all the time?"
He thought it sounded pretty good for an argument he had invented on the spot. He certainly could've done worse.
Keene looked at Tonya. "I think it's clear who won."
"Me, too," she said. "Charley, congratulations. Your argument was crisp and scientific."
Andrew's shoulders sagged.
"Let's finish breakfast," Keene said. "I want to hit the road."
Everybody resumed eating with gusto.
Chapter Eight
Andrew looked out the window of his dorm room. Soft white snow blanketed everything, and when seen from the perspective of his warm room, it looked delightful. He expected to be less pleased when he went outside and had to walk through it.
Time to try my new snow boots, Andrew thought.
It was late November, two days before Thanksgiving break. He had hoped to avoid snow until December, but the Chicago weather had other ideas. At least it wasn't a blizzard.