by Tom Larcombe
It was a quick trip to the lot where Charles had planted trees this morning.
Was that only this morning? It seems like weeks ago, she thought.
She settled in, watching the windowsill she'd taken the crystal from. There were lights on in the room behind it and she wanted to wait until those lights went off. She occasionally saw the shadow of a person moving around in that room and didn't want anyone to catch her, thinking that if it just appeared back there and no-one knew how she'd have better luck with Charles.
Once again, flickering lights around Charles' roof-top garden caught her attention. This time she'd swear that someone was trying to attract her attention with them, but she turned her gaze back to the window, keeping her eyes on it.
Now the breezes that struck her were warm, unlike the ones back at the park. She stayed in the darkness of the vacant lot, resting beside a bush that had been planted just that morning. The shadow of the next building over was blocking the moonlight so far, and would for a few more hours if she was estimating correctly.
Whatever energy had filled her earlier was still racing through her veins, keeping her warm with the help of the breeze. Uncharacteristically, she spent the time remembering and fantasizing. Her earliest memories were of an old lady singing a song to her. She couldn't remember the words, just that they had something to do with the wind and air. There were two other people in the memory as well, younger than the old lady, a man and a woman. The woman was holding Amber in her arms and smiling indulgently at the old lady.
This time, she remembered more than she usually did. The man said something about going out to dinner and the woman and the old lady agreed. Then they all got into a car. A car that had a prominent place in another one of Amber's early memories. The older memory faded away as she tried to focus on it, but she knew she'd remembered more that time than she had before.
What the hell? Why haven't I remembered that part of it before? Do memories you have as a little kid come back sometimes? I wish I could remember more. I'm sure that was my mom and dad, but who was the old lady?
She wasn't sure how much time had passed since she sat down here, but the light in that room had just gone off, which was what had snapped her out of her reverie. She slipped the crystal out of the zippered pocket she'd put it in and was ready to unwrap the shirt from around it when the door to the building opened.
Four people walked out, she recognized Greg and Charles and thought one of the others was Kathryn, but she couldn't identify the fourth person. That person was much smaller than the others and stayed in the shadows as they walked.
Amber dropped down behind the bush she was beside and waited for them to get out of sight.
Good, that should mean there's no-one there to catch me when I put the crystal back on the windowsill.
She slipped up to the window, staying in the shadows herself whenever possible. She started to unwrap the crystal before realizing that if she put it up there still glowing, however dim, someone else was liable to take it.
I hope he left the window unlocked.
She pushed on the window frame for a moment, feeling resistance. She started to pull her hand away when she felt a little of that extra energy rush through her arm and out of her hand. There was the distinct 'scrape' of metal on metal and the frame gave a little, moving up.
Good, I guess it was just stuck, she thought, disregarding the notion that ran through her mind telling her that she'd somehow just unlocked it herself.
She pushed the window up enough for the crystal to slide through. She pushed it across the sill until it fell onto the floor inside the apartment.
If I'm lucky it will have fallen behind something and he'll think it never left his place, she thought.
She closed the window again and then strode off, feeling better than she had in a day or two.
I wonder if it's late enough for me to get food from Tim? I'm starving.
Amber walked off down the street towards Tim's restaurant, not realizing that she was following the same path the four people that left the building had used.
* * *
As she walked she caught sight of a clock inside a shop window. It said it was a little after eleven o'clock.
Well, he did tell me to show up early. So I'll just go there. Even if I have to wait before I can get something to eat, I'll be able to do it inside.
Amber headed into the restaurant. When she got inside Tim's face lit up.
“Amber, good to see you. Everyone was looking for you today.”
“I know, I told you I was disappearing. That's why I asked about the food.”
He looked around and sent the one employee in sight off to do something elsewhere.
“Not a problem. What do you want? I'll get it for you now, then you can take some with you after we close.”
Amber sighed in relief.
“Thanks Tim, I'm starved.”
She told him what she wanted and sat down to eat. He slid into the booth with her.
“I can only talk for a minute or two, then I've got stuff to do,” he said. “Why'd you have to take off with no warning?”
“I warned you. I told you, Eric was ready to move me to the Walkers, and you know he always breaks the Walkers in himself. Even if I were interested in that, it sure as hell wouldn't be with Eric.”
Tim preened a little.
I bet he thinks I'd want it to be with him, but I'm not interested in him that way either. Not that I'm going to tell him that.
“Well, he was pissed, I'll tell you that. I've never seen him go all out like that trying to find a kid who decided to disappear. Yeah, maybe he'd tell the Guardians to keep an eye out, but this time he told everyone.”
“What the hell? It's not like I dissed him or anything. I just up and left.”
“Yeah, well he's mega-pissed over it. I thought I should warn you. I've got stuff to do if I want to get out of here on time, so I gotta go do it. Enjoy the food and I'll make sure you get more before you go.”
“Thanks Tim, I knew I could count on you.”
Tim blushed and looked uncomfortable, then turned around and headed behind the counter before saying anything else.
Amber sat at the table eating and thinking.
I'm going to have to go see Greg again tomorrow, apologize for earlier today and see if he can get Charles to come back again. Then we'll see what happens. If Greg is right it won't be a problem. I can just tell him I had a case of the nerves.
The memory of the books and papers flying around in the store tried to intrude, but she shoved it away, still not quite believing what she'd seen.
She watched as Tim shut off the signs on the outside of the store. There were no other customers inside as he locked the doors.
“I'll be good to go in just a few minutes,” he said.
Good to go? It's not like I'm going anywhere with him, she thought.
She forgot all about that as he came over and handed her two bags full of food. She tucked them into her backpack.
“Okay, let me out now?”
“Give me a minute and we'll both leave.”
She watched him shut down the lights in back and let the single remaining employee out. Once the employee was out of sight, Tim beckoned her over.
“Okay, let's go,” he said.
He unlocked the door and let her out, then turned to lock the door behind them. Once he had it locked he called out in a loud voice.
“Door's locked. It's good now.”
Eric materialized out the shadows in the parking lot, walking towards her with a furious look on his face.
* * *
“Now why'd you have to go and do a thing like that?” Eric asked.
Amber was petrified, she felt the fear and terror filling her. Eric was openly wearing a pistol and his fingers were fidgeting near the handle of it.
“Like what?” she asked.
“Take off like you did, after all the years... and years, and years,” he said, staring at her. “that we'v
e taken care of you, you just up and leave?”
“What do you mean all the years?” she asked.
“You think I don't know how long you've been around here? Remember I was a part of Jay's group before I took it from him. I don't think you aged a bit since I met you twenty years ago until about four years back. Then it looked you were trying to make up for lost time, from looking like a six year old to looking like an awfully ripe teenager in four years is a bit extraordinary, don't you think?”
“You're crazy,” Amber said.
“Nah, I'm not. There were other people interested in you too. Didn't you ever think it was strange that we never got hassled by the cops, had electric and water with no hassle, all that stuff? We've got a benefactor and his only condition was that we keep an eye on you. Jay introduced me to him and once, when Jay was stoned, he told me that he took over from Andrew, you remember Andrew right? Jay took over from Andrew because Andrew refused to take on that task for our benefactor.”
“I've got no idea what you're talking about,” Amber said, edging backwards.
Except Tim was behind her and he blocked her movement. When she looked up again she saw two of the Guardians coming out of the shadows in the parking lot, taking a stance to either side of Eric.
“Why don't you go Tim,” Eric said. “Thanks for the call. I'll remember who spotted her.”
“I thought you said I could be her first. Break her in for you?” Tim said in a rare moment of courage.
“I lied,” Eric said. “Get your ass out of here before I forget that you're the one who found her.”
Tim slunk off down the street. Eric watched him until he was out of sight, then turned back to Amber. The other two Guardians had kept an eye on her while Eric was distracted.
“So where were we? Oh yeah, I'm going to break you in to the Walker team and give you something that makes it so you don't mind at all. It'll also keep you from deciding to run again,” Eric said.
The fear and terror in Amber's body rushed out, drawn by what she didn't know, but she definitely felt that something seized it instead of it leaving on its own.
Eric took a step towards her and was met by a rushing wind that whistled between them. When he tried to push his way through it, he nearly lost his footing, only retaining it by stepping back. The temperature nearby dropped a good twenty degrees and frost showed on the asphalt.
His face twisted in fury.
“What's this shit?” he spat.
Amber stood there helplessly, staring at him.
“You two, grab her,” Eric yelled.
The two Guardians tried to come in on either side, only to meet the same wind which was apparently forming a semi-circle around her, linked to the wall at either end.
The Guardians stared helplessly at Eric, who looked at them and cursed.
“Well, I bet I know how to fix this,” he said, and drew his pistol.
Amber was panicking now. She didn't know what was happening, or how it had happened, but she did know that she had to get out of here. She took a deep breath and yelled shrilly.
“Help!”
The call echoed down the empty street, but no-one seemed to be answering. Amber prepped herself to run. She was sure Eric would make a grandiose gesture and look away from her
“Guess that's not going to do you any good,” Eric said, turning and looking at the empty street. Amber started to move, but was stopped cold by another voice, a familiar voice.
“I don't know about that,” a voice said from the shadows Eric had previously occupied.
“Greg? What are you doing here? Careful, he's got a gun!” Amber yelled.
“Not for long,” Greg said.
Eric spun to face Greg as he stepped out of the shadows.
“You should've stayed with your books old man,” Eric said, raising his pistol.
A moment later he dropped the gun. It was glowing red-hot and the metal of the gun was melting. The bullets in the gun cooked off, destroying the magazine and punching holes through the melted metal.
“I know a lot more than just books,” Greg said, and at that moment his voice was threatening and strong.
Amber had never even thought he'd be capable of speaking like that, never mind sounding like he meant it.
Screams rose from the two Guardians to either side of her. She looked and couldn't see what was wrong, until she noticed they were trying to pull their legs up. When she looked down, their feet were buried in the asphalt to over their shoes, but the asphalt looked normal, not melted or anything.
Now Charles exited the shadows. He looked at the two Guardians and smiled.
“I bet you can get yourself out of that predicament if you just take your feet out of your shoes,” he said. “Although I wouldn't recommend trying it until we're long gone.”
Eric was cursing Greg loudly so Amber looked back at him. The hand that had held the pistol was covered in burns and raised welts.
“You're dead book man, I promise you that,” he said.
Amber snapped.
“Don't you threaten him!” she yelled. “You're the one that should be dead, if I could do that right now I would!”
The wall of wind that had whistled between them went silent, for a moment. Then the sound of a rushing freight train filled the air above the restaurant, replacing the wail of the wind wall. Eric turned to look at Amber and took a step towards her.
“I'll start by killing you,” Eric said. “To hell with our benefactor, he can find some other witch bitch to steal.”
The ominous creaking of overstressed metal made itself heard over the rushing wind and, a moment later, the restaurant sign came hurtling off the roof. For a moment Amber was sure the wind was now rushing straight down at Eric. It looked like he being pushed into a crouch even before the sign slammed into his body, crushing him against the pavement.
Amber stared for a moment as the wind went silent again. Greg and Charles looked at her, uncertainty in their eyes.
“What did you do?” Charles asked.
“I didn't do anything,” Amber said. “I didn't, I swear.”
“Dilectis Caeli,” Greg said. “It's a strong gift and goes by intent, not action. But I've never seen anything like that before.”
“So she just stated her intent and the gift killed him?”
“That's my guess. She needs to learn to control her magic, then more specifically the gift she's been given.”
“Excuse me!” Amber said. “I'm standing right here and it sounds like you're talking about me, but I don't understand a word you're saying.”
Greg turned towards her, his face softening as she saw her confusion and pain.
“We believe someone has given you a magical gift, one that protects and comforts you. It's based on the power of air and the wind. This incident seems to be more proof of that.”
“He called me a witch bitch and you're talking about magic, are you all insane?”
Greg lifted his hand and his fingers each lit up with a single flame, each flame a different color.
“No, magic is real and you have it, as do Charles and I. Charles wants to take you in, get you off the streets, protect you, and teach you how to control your magic.”
Amber looked around. The Guardians were still trying to pull their legs out of the asphalt. Greg stood with flames dancing on his fingers. Charles was looking at her with a cautious look on his face, as though trying not spook a skittish animal. And finally Eric, who lay crushed and bloody under the restaurant sign.
Her lips started quivering and she broke out in tears. A shrill yell caught her attention.
“What are you doing to her? I've known Amber years, never seen her cry, not ever.”
Alicia came rushing out into the parking lot and over to Amber.
“You good girl? You not hurt, are you?”
“Alicia?”
Alicia nodded.
“What are you doing here?”
“They getting me off the streets too. They promised. Kathr
yn lady gonna take care of me, Charles gonna take care of you. Guess he's got to teach you or some shit like that. He say you got magic, that bad-ass or what?”
“Magic isn't real,” Amber said.
“Hell yeah it is,” Alicia replied. “How else you explain what happened here?”
Amber opened her mouth to reply and froze that way, her jaw hanging open.
How else do I explain it?
Her mind flashed back to the crystal, the books in the store, the window unlocking, and her brain simply froze up, unable to process anything else at the moment.
She snapped her jaw back up without answering.
* * *
They went back to the apartment building, everyone crowding into Charles' apartment.
“So, you're serious and magic is real?” Amber asked for about the seventh time.
“Remember those books you saw in my back room?” Greg asked. “They weren't gag books, they're real primers on wizardry. I've got it set so only someone with magic of their own can see them. That's when I knew for sure that you were a wizard.”
“And you just go around training young wizards out of the goodness of your heart?” she asked Charles bitingly.
“No, I would, but there are other reasons as well. When a wizard comes into their power all sorts of strange things happen until they get some training, or at least gain control of their magic. Some of those things can be deadly and have no possible explanation. I happen to live in this city also so if the idea that magic was real got out, I could be if danger if anyone accused me of being a wizard. Some of the things we'll cover early on in your training is what happens when accusations of magic get out of hand. We'll look at the Spanish Inquisition and the Salem Witch Trials. After that, you should understand a little better.”
Amber sighed exaggeratedly and slumped in her chair.
“Sounds like school,” she said.