When Xavier didn’t respond immediately, the instructor stepped toward him holding out the large snake wrapped around his arm. “Sire?”
“N…no thank you, sir.”
“I apologize. That shouldn’t have come across as a question. You will demonstrate this technique for the class.” Sir Blaire responded, nodding insistently toward the animal.
“No, sir. I won’t.”
“No? What do you mean, no?” he growled. “When I tell you to do something, boy, you do it!”
Xavier flinched, but he stood his ground. “No, sir. I won’t do it. I don’t feel like it today.”
“You don’t feel like it?” his anima-lingua teacher shouted and shoved a finger in his face. “You don’t get to decide when and when not to use your empowerments, Prince Wells! I do! It is my job to teach you and help you perfect your abilities. Now you will use your powers while you’re in my class!”
“No, sir. I won’t.”
“Get out!” he boomed loudly, pointing to the door. “If you’re not going to do your lessons, then you can spend the rest of the afternoon with Headmaster Spencer!”
As he shuffled toward the door, he could feel Drew trying to catch his eye, but he tucked his head and left the room without looking at the older boy. He went straight to the headmaster’s office. When he opened the door, Janice, the secretary, saw him and stood.
“Can I help you, sire?” she asked.
“Sir Blaire sent me.”
“Yes. So I’ve heard,” Mike called from the door to his office. “Enter my office, Prince Wells.” He nodded toward the interior of the room.
He slumped through the door and sank miserably into a chair in front of a long walnut desk. His uncle lightly closed the door behind him, strolled to the desk, and sat on its edge in front of him. For several long minutes, Michael simply stared at him in a painful silence.
Finally, he demanded, “Well? What do you have to say for yourself?”
“Nothing. I...I’m just not in the mood to use my empowerments. That’s all,” he mumbled.
Mike stared at him a moment and then sighed. “Xavier, does this have anything to do with what happened yesterday? I think you’re overreacting. What happened was an accident, but even if you lose control of your abilities here, there are trained, empowered adults who can stop the power before any real harm is done. Your teachers are trained to help you gain control and improve your command over your abilities. Okay?”
He swallowed and muttered, “It’s not that, Uncle Mike. I…I just don’t…feel good. I…I just figured a rest from my powers would be the best thing to do.”
“You don’t feel well? What is it?” Mike asked, pressing a hand to his forehead.
“I don’t know. I’m kind of tired, and…I just don’t feel up to using them.”
Mike dropped his hand and studied the boy in front of him. “Xavier, I’m sorry, but using or not using your empowerments in school isn’t your decision. If your teachers tell you to use your powers, then you use them. Understood?”
When he didn’t respond, his uncle reached down and lifted his chin, forcing him to meet his eyes. “Understood?” he repeated firmly.
“Yes, I understand, but…what if I refuse? You can’t make me, Uncle Mike,” he answered quietly.
“It’s Headmaster Spencer at school, sire,” he intoned stiffly. “If you refuse to do as you’re told, your father will be called in to persuade you.”
“And if I still refuse?”
Mike looked at him incredulously. “Then I will suspend you from school, and if that appeals to you in the slightest, Xavier, let me give you something to think about. Imagine your father’s reaction if you’re suspended from school for insubordination.” After pausing to allow the boy to ponder the idea, he continued, “So? Will you return to class and do as you’re told?”
Xavier’s courage fell apart. His uncle was right. His father could and would make his life miserable if he continued with this plan. With a gulp, he briefly met his uncle’s eyes, “Yes, sir.”
Luckily, nothing out of the ordinary happened the next two class periods, and he entered his fencing class harboring the hope that it would be an uneventful day.
“All right, everybody! Settle down! Find your partner and let’s begin,” Ephraim stated, watching as the class divided into pairs before turning to Xavier. “Ready to do a bit of sparring, Your Highness?”
“Yes, sir.”
When the sparring session began, Xavier was feeling pretty good about the moves Ephraim had shown him the day before. He kept his distance from his larger opponent and used his quickness to his advantage. Timing his counter attacks were the hardest thing to perfect, but after practicing the moves for over an hour last night he managed to have them at near precision.
Ephraim was impressed at his progress and he paused to beam down at him. “Nicely done, sire! You’ve learned those techniques quickly. Now, let’s try increasing the stress and see if you can hold it together.”
Suddenly, the general feinted, spun, and caught him squarely on the back. Xavier went sprawling face down onto the floor. He barely managed to roll onto his back and parry an attack inches from his face. He scrambled to his feet, and instinctively pummeled an electro force directly at the general. It hit him like an atom blast, and he flew backwards nearly fifteen feet before hitting the floor unconscious. The class went suddenly still and silent.
“DAD!” Drew bellowed, racing to his father’s side.
Xavier approached the fallen general in a daze.
“Someone go get Nurse Turner! Now!” Drew yelled.
Xavier dropped to his knees beside Drew. “I...I didn’t mean to...it was an accident! Why didn’t he block it? He said he had blocking abilities!” He shook Ephraim’s shoulder, as he closed his eyes and pled quietly, “Please, don’t be hurt.”
A shocking surge of warmth erupted from his hand, and Xavier’s eyes flew open to find the general engulfed in a brilliant white light. The students around him gasped and simultaneously stepped away from the prince and fallen general. Even Drew with large, stunned eyes scurried away from them. Xavier tried to pull away but found his hand was stuck to Ephraim’s shoulder like crazy glue. The growing power hummed and vibrated through his body before bursting from him in an intense, blinding light. The group around him cried out as they collectively retreated to the sides of the room, a few escaping out the classroom door. Xavier paid no attention to the other students as he watched with a mixture of horror and fascination as a small scar on the general’s chin slowly melted away. Again, he struggled to pull away but to no avail, and the pulsating energy continued to work on the small, fine age lines around Ephraim’s eyes and mouth. Fear consumed Xavier. He had no control over this uncharted, unknown power. Who knew what the power would do to General Hardcastle if it continued. Finally, grunting with effort, he managed to tear his hand away from the unconscious man and the light instantly evaporated.
The class was dead silent, and Xavier looked around from face to face seeing shock and fear. No one spoke, but they didn’t need to for suddenly their thoughts slammed into him. He clutched his head and closed his eyes to block out the accusing stares and thoughts. He wished he could vanish, run away, or disappear, anything to escape the judgment of his classmates. Suddenly, the room erupted in fevered outbursts.
“Where’d he go?”
“Wow!”
“What happened to him?”
“He’s invisible!”
Xavier opened his eyes and saw why the room was in an uproar! He was invisible! Startled, he jumped to his feet and looked frantically down at his missing arms and hands as students cautiously moved toward him.
“Whoa, that is freaking awesome!”
“Do you see that? It’s like his clothes are standing on their own!”
A group of girls giggled. Drew looked up at him in awe.
“He’s gotta be the first person in over a hundred years to get that ability!”
“How ma
ny powers does he have now? He’s only thirteen. Isn’t that really unusual?”
A boy approached him curiously and poked his arm as if testing to see if it was real. Xavier stumbled away from the boy and other students slowing making his way toward the door. Their thoughts and fears slammed into him again, and he flinched at the pressure in his head as he continued to back away from the group. Then, Ephraim moaned and the students’ eyes darted toward their instructor. Panicking, Xavier took advantage of the distraction and scrambled from the room, down the hall, and out of the school. Without any thought of where to go, he plunged into the woods, tripping over rocks and roots. He didn’t stop until he reached the lake, where he finally stooped to catch his breath. He looked down at the smooth, clear surface of the lake and saw only the blue sky above him. He had no reflection! He sank back onto the pebbly shore and sighed.
How could he undo an empowerment that he didn’t even know he had, or how he conjured it? Trying not to panic, he began meditating to calm his overwrought nerves. It took several long minutes before he was calm enough to consider disengaging his newly found power. Taking a deep purifying breath, he imagined himself visible. He pictured his arms, his legs, and his face. Slowly he opened his eyes and looked down at himself. It didn’t work. He was still invisible!
A horrifying thought invaded his mind. What if he couldn’t undo it? What if he had to spend the rest of his life invisible?
“Prince Wells? Xavier? Where are you, boy?” Mike’s voice was faint, but it would only be a matter of minutes before his uncle reached the lake.
He scurried to his feet and looked around frantically for a place to hide. Hide? He didn’t need to hide! He was invisible! But his clothes weren’t...
Recklessly, he stripped. He managed to hide his clothes behind a rock just as Mike and Sir Blaire emerged from the dense foliage.
“I thought for certain he would come here,” Michael muttered, peering around.
“Well, Headmaster, the boy is invisible. Try telepathy,” Sir Blaire suggested.
With a nod, Michael closed his eyes, and Xavier instantly felt the chill. With a lurch of anxiety, he immediately began pushing back at Michael’s ability, but he couldn’t.
“Xavier?” Michael began, stepping in his direction.
He sank against the rock behind him and held his breath.
“Xavier? I know you’re there. Answer me!” Michael continued.
He didn’t answer. He quietly shuffled towards the edge of the clearing.
His uncle found his carelessly hidden clothes and turned to stare bewilderingly at Sir Blaire.
Xavier slipped into the woods and carefully put as much distance as he could between himself and the men. Once he was sure he was out of his uncle’s hearing range, he turned and ran. Soon he found his path blocked by the palace wall, and he followed the wall southward until he came to the field adjacent to the school. A cluster of Royal Guards were fanned out across the grounds calling his name. His father stood a few yards away holding Xavier’s clothes and talking to Michael and Sir Blaire. Trying desperately to keep his mind blank and clear, he scurried past the men, along the palace wall, and toward the secret passage. He had to find a place to hide until he figured out how to undo his invisibility and decide what to do next. He slipped through the secret passage and nearly ran into Loren, who was guarding it. Covering his mouth to muffle his breathing, he silently slipped past the massive general and darted around the palace. He walked purposefully toward the stables. It would be the best place to hide since the stable hands would be gone for the day. When he slipped into the stable, invisible or not, he couldn’t fool the horses. They sensed his presence immediately and whinnied uneasily at the peculiarity.
“Whoa! Easy, fellas. It’s okay. Brewster, tell them it’s okay. It’s just me,” he whispered and instantly the animals stilled.
Finding an empty and fairly clean stall, Xavier slipped inside, piled up fresh hay and sat to contemplate what to do about his predicament.
“I got myself into this! I made myself invisible. I should be able to undo it! I’ve just got to concentrate,” he muttered.
He tried. He really tried, but nearly an hour later, he flopped back into the hay, sweating and frustrated.
“ARRGGHH! God! I’m sick of being invisible!” he groaned bitterly, hitting himself in the head. “Come on, come on! Undo it!”
He closed his eyes again and pushed at his brain to work the empowerment until he was grunting loudly.
“God damn it!” he spat, as he pounded his fists on the earth and threw a fistful of hay. Finally giving in to self-pity and exhaustion, he curled into a ball, and sobbed himself to sleep.
Chapter 22: Fountain of Youth
“Lord almighty, boy!” Loren’s voice boomed, startling Xavier awake. “Do you have any idea the trouble you’ve caused?”
Xavier sat up and looked up at the angry general. “You…you can see me?”
“Of course I can see you! I see a little too much of you actually,” Loren added, peeling off his Royal Guard cloak and wrapping it around him. “Do you have any idea how much trouble you’ve caused? You’ve been missing since yesterday afternoon.”
“What?” he exclaimed, hugging the cloak closer. “What time is it?”
“It’s nearly 8 am.”
“Oh, shit,” Xavier moaned, getting to his feet.
“Exactly. Come on. Your father is in a near panic,” Loren told him, clamping a hand on his shoulder and leading him out of the stables.
“Oh, man. He’s going to be pissed.”
“Yep,” Loren answered shortly. “I’d bust your butt now if your father didn’t already have first dibs on it.”
“Oh, man. Loren, you have to listen to me. It was all an accident! I didn’t… Wait. Is Ephraim okay?”
“He’s fine.”
“Thank God. It was an accident. I didn’t mean to hurt him. I was just trying to do what he taught me…”
“Xavier!” Loren interrupted stopping and turning the boy to look down at him. “This isn’t about Ephraim. What happened to him is par for the course when you teach at an empowered school. You are in trouble because you ran off and hid! You worried your father. You worried your uncle. You worried Ephraim. You worried me! Jer had the entire Royal Guard sweeping the kingdom looking for you, which was damn near impossible since you were invisible!”
He tucked his head, guiltily. “I’m sorry, Loren. I…I guess I just got scared.”
“Man up, Prince Wells,” he retorted harshly as he continued toward the palace, pulling Xavier with him. “Learn to face the consequences for your actions like a man.”
Jeremiah stood at the palace’s entrance looking imposing as he gave several Royal Guards their orders.
“Don’t tell me you’ve looked everywhere, damn it. Find my son!”
“King Wells?” Loren called out to him.
The king’s eyes whipped in Loren’s direction and settled on Xavier.
“Oh, thank God,” he moaned and started toward them. Then, growing impatient with the pace of walking, he ran the remaining distance to his son. He swept him into his arms, held him close, and released a shaky breath. “Jesus, boy. You scared the hell out of me,” he murmured into his ear.
Xavier voice broke as he whispered, “I’m sorry, Dad. I…I’m so sorry.”
Later that morning, Xavier sat on his bed, waiting for his father. His father hadn’t even yelled at him, and to be honest, he was shocked. After what Loren said, he had expected him to whip him out in the driveway as soon as he got over the initial relief of finding him. But he hadn’t. Instead, he calmly asked him if he was okay and sent him inside to shower and get some clothes on.
“Son?”
Xavier jumped and looked guiltily up at his father as he walked into the room, dragged the chair from his desk toward the bed, and sat in front him.
“Yeah...yes, sir?”
“Do you realize how much mayhem you caused in the last twelve hours?” he as
ked stiffly.
“No…I mean…I didn’t think about that, sir.”
“Oh really? What were you thinking about then?” his father asked, his temper wedging into his voice.
“Uh, just…that I hurt Ephraim. That I…that you’d be mad.”
“Uh, huh. And how happy do you think I am now having spent hours looking for you, scared to death that something happened to you?” he asked sarcastically.
He met his father’s glare briefly. “Uh, not very.”
“Oh, not very happy is describing it mildly. Ephraim knows injury is possible, even probable when teaching the use of empowerments. You did nothing wrong in class yesterday. But you chose to act like a coward and run and hide instead of facing your problems head-on.”
Anger and shame rushed across his face in a sea of red. “I’m not a coward!” he spat. “I faced William LeMasters by myself without anyone’s help!”
“Then why did you run?”
“I…well,” Xavier couldn’t admit to his father that he was ashamed he couldn’t undo his empowerment. He was supposed to be the Prince of Warwood, the Chosen! He was supposed to be strong, capable, and brave. He was supposed to be a man that everyone would depend upon to protect and save them from darkness. The fact that he wasn’t these things made him fearful his father would be ashamed of him. “I…I don’t know.”
“That is not an acceptable answer.”
“It’s the only answer I have,” he retorted cheekily.
Jeremiah studied the brazen boy sitting in front of him. Xavier was hiding something. He could extract it from him, but it was time he learned to make his own decisions and accept the consequences. He wouldn’t be doing his son any favors by prying the information out of him and forcing him to face his demons. He would have to learn to do that on his own in order to develop into a strong, dependable, competent king. Jeremiah expelled a deep breath.
The Prince of Warwood and The Rise of the Chosen Page 18