The Hidden Paths to Power

by D. A. Smith

  When I turned things around and learned how to provide pleasure, I could feel every little place she liked to be touched. It gave me a very balanced feeling, that I could accept pleasure from her, and return it.

  When we were done, my head was pillowed on her chest, and I could tell that, while I still felt concern for Ryan’s actions, he no longer held power over my emotions. I could give my attention to other things that were as important, and in some ways, more important than him.

  For the first time in what seemed like ages, I could smile in a relaxed way, without the pain brought on by my enemy.

  I felt the vibrations of my voice on her skin as I said, “Thank you for everything you’ve done. The best thing to ever happen to me, besides having friends and family who love me, was to walk into your store that day. You’ve helped me get back to myself. Ryan’s still going to be a factor but I feel strong enough to face him now.”

  “I’m going to say this but it doesn’t mean I claim you all to myself. I love you and will for the rest of my life, no matter how long that is. I’ll make sure you have the knowledge, to face Ryan and any other challenges that come up. Just knowing you and I can let our emotions out with each other, will let us stay balanced. The last time I was with anyone, male or female, was ten years ago. You will help my balance, every bit as much, as I will help yours.”

  “I love you too. I feel more supported with the knowledge, I can find comfort with you, as much as the teaching. It makes me feel like, I can deal with it better, when I have to start pulling away from family and friends, so they don’t find out.”

  “You have a while before that becomes necessary. You’re approaching your twenty-second birthday. You don’t need to start making your plans, until you get into your mid-thirties then you’ll have to slowly fade from their lives. When you go to new places, you just have to watch how many people you get close to. You and I will be around each other for several years, as you learn, then we’ll have different places to live, but always stay in contact and visit.”

  It made me smile to know, I’d have someone in my life for that long.

  I realized she was a few centuries older than me but we would have a few more, before she would be no more. For someone who expected to live for maybe, seventy or eighty years, I could handle the change easily.

  That night, we simply made slow, sweet love, to help balance our emotions.

  The next morning, she taught me about using magic to change my appearance. The disguise I was using was good for a couple of days but, if I was to be out in public on a frequent basis, I needed ways to keep the cameras from giving me away. I meant to come out of hiding soon but wanted time to protect those who were important to me.

  The lessons were about how to make subtle changes rather than huge ones. Huge changes would act as a beacon to anyone who could sense the power.

  When we stepped out of the house, I came out as a brunette with blue eyes. It was subtle and might make people look a time or two, but looked different enough, people wouldn’t be sure.

  We drove to her store.

  Going in, she unlocked the door and switched on the lights, now that the power had been restored.

  Doriane said as she was getting her register setup, “I may have to sell the shop soon, if we’re to be hunting dark mystics. That must be my first priority.”

  “How will you get money?”

  “I have more than I show. You don’t think, I could live for as long as I have, without being able to collect quite a few resources, do you? Many of the ingredients for the spells cost more than I can make with this simple store. Those pillows we sit on in the casting room cost more than I earn in a month from this place. The store is simply a convenient cover for me. I’m well versed in what is real and what isn’t. I can easily pass as an expert in the things most people are familiar with.”

  “Why do people get caught up in this?”

  “Why do people get caught up in going to church? It’s like I said to Detective Cramer. It’s about the beliefs that make us feel comfortable. Most people are comfortable with the various religions. Some are more comfortable believing in a more, personal magic, like what you see in here. Some of the people who walk through those doors are confirmed Christians or Catholics and aren’t looking for the magical. They like the jewelry or the incense. The incense oils are good for simple relaxation. Most of the books I sell, speak more about, how to use the objects to create a sense of balance. Even normal people need to feel balanced, in order to handle the highs and lows of living. They may not be experiencing real magic but it can feel that way, when one particular scent, can make you feel completely relaxed and balanced. I don’t attract many, who like the darker beliefs. I don’t sell satanic books or the various paraphernalia that goes with it. They only come in when they need candles or incense. I sell to those who are looking for the positive, uplifting experiences.”

  She set me up in the store as a new employee as my cover.

  When customers weren’t coming in, she would show me some of the things she sold.

  This was a new lesson for me. She was teaching me, to partition my thought processes, so I didn’t allow the need to maintain a cover, to distract me from my real purpose. I needed to make sure that, as I lived in the day-to-day world, I never forgot about who I was, and what my responsibilities were.

  I learned to keep Ryan in my head without letting him distract me.

  When the day was over and the store closed, Doriane took me to the storeroom. It was organized as neatly as the cupboards in the casting room.

  After a quick pass through the room, to see if she needed to order anything, she went to a corner that had some ornate jewelry boxes. She let me pick out five of the smaller ones and we took them home.

  Once we had dinner then situated in the casting room, Doriane said, “The jewelry boxes will work as something to hold a warning spell. These will work for your female friends and family. Your father, and any other males, will be trickier to find the right object to hold the warning spell, but would feel compelled to carry with them regularly.”

  “How will we get the boxes to them? I can visit Tina and Debra, but Lisa and Erica have been in witness protection. I don’t know where my mother and father are living right now. I wasn’t going to try to find them, until I have a better grasp on how to deal with Ryan.”

  “You may have to ask for some help, from the one other man in your life, who’s important to you. I saw how you lit up at seeing Detective Cramer. You have a strong bond with him because he’s been a part of this whole thing from the beginning. You almost view him like an uncle.”

  “That’s true. I would need something on him as well. I worry about him the most right now because he’s actively seeking Ryan. I can’t exactly tell him to stop, though Ryan may prove too much for him.”

  “Ryan’s teacher will demand some restraint from him. If his teacher has any real knowledge of this world we live in, he or she will know, if Ryan becomes too much of a danger, others like me will descend in force. When I talked to my friend, who I will introduce to you in time, he didn’t know of any dark users here. He’s lived here for several years, so has more familiarity than I do. He did mention feeling several instances of dark magic but not enough to draw a response. He’s gone looking but hasn’t found anything yet.”

  “Are the boxes really the best option? What if my friends are out doing, what they do, as they live their lives? Unless too much has changed, Debra works at a clothing store and goes to Denver University. Tina was going to CU with me, and working on her little internet business.”

  “The boxes are to protect their homes in case Ryan decides to go in and plant little surprises. I have a few tree spirit amulets here, we’ll setup with the warning and a little subtle surprise inside. It won’t be anything that’ll give magic away but will make Ryan very uncomfortable, if he gets close to your loved ones. I’ll be the one to setup the boxes and amulets, so he’d have to try to break my power before he could
get to them. The problem is, the amulets look like something a woman would wear. Finding something your father and Harold would keep on them all the time is harder.”

  “What about watches? My father would pitch his current one in a drawer and wear the one I send, as if it was magnetized to his arm, just to have the reminder that I still live. I think, I could get Harold to wear his too, if I bat my eyelashes and said please.”

  “That might work. You’ll have to live with these measures as the best we can do. There’s not much we can do, without being there personally, that wouldn’t send up a massive beacon that might expose magic to the world. There is such thing as too much of a good thing. Even we can tilt the balance dangerously, if we make the world too good. Positive and negative forces are necessary for the balance. The guardians are a force for good but our purpose isn’t to stop, all evil, but to be the restraint evil doesn’t impose on itself.”

  “I understand that it might be possible, for Ryan to gain some victories over me, but I’m not willing to let him have free shots at them either. I’m going to make him work for it, before he succeeds in taking one more of those I love. I still have dreams of Karen and Megan. The power has made those dreams special because sometimes, it makes me feel like they’re still with me.”

  “As long as you have your memories, they’ll always be with you. Since we need to pick up two men’s watches, we’ll do this tomorrow. Do you want to shop for them, as well as pick up new clothes? You’ve been living in the same few outfits for months now.”

  “Do you think I’m ready to be out alone?”

  “I think you’re strong enough and know how to disguise yourself. Just don’t come out of hiding, until we’re fairly certain, you can guard yourself from anything Ryan can throw at you. He’s not likely to throw anything too harmful, as he’s seeking to bring you to him, not hurt you or kill you. You need to be prepared to face the worst though, in case his frustration causes him to stop caring, or makes him reckless. After we do what we can to protect your loved ones, we’ll concentrate on defensive magic. That means, while you’re shopping tomorrow, you need to search for something to make into a wand or staff. Like I said, it’s your choice, but wands are easier to hide, and don’t require the need to explain too often, if someone sees you with it.”

  I went with a brunette look, ponytail and green eyes, as I stepped out the door the next day to go shopping. It was annoying to be without my car but there were plenty of places to shop at, within several blocks of the house.

  It also helped to build my confidence that I was staying hidden, as I would pass by people on the street. My appeal was enough to bring attention but no signs of recognition as I walked to the shopping strip.

  I appreciated the displays, by some of the men when they saw me, but made sure to be firm in my attitude, that I wasn’t interested if they approached me.

  It’s not that I wasn’t interested in men anymore. Doriane satisfied those needs for the moment and I had bigger things to focus on currently. I imagined in time, I’d find a man to be with. For now, it wasn’t a priority.

  I found a clothing store that was more to my personal taste. When I walked out, I had several pieces to fill out my wardrobe, then found a jewelry store that sold watches.

  I wasn’t particularly knowledgeable about Harold’s tastes but found one, close to the style he was wearing, when I saw him. Finding one for my father was easy. I knew the styles he gravitated to, then began taking my purchases home.

  It was strange but at the moment, that was how I felt about Doriane’s house. I think it was the woman herself that made me feel like her place was home.

  There wasn’t a hardware store in this strip but I ended up finding my wand anyway, as I walked the sidewalks.

  I was passing by an empty house with a, for sale sign, in the yard.

  As I was passing by the maple tree, I saw the smallest glow; the type of thing only a person like Doriane or I would see.

  Without getting a solid look at what it was, I saw a small humanoid figure wave at me then a second later, a two foot branch fell out of the tree. It wasn’t broken off. It was a gift.

  I picked it up, with a whispered thank you, and found a way to carry it with the rest of my things. I looked around to make sure no one else saw but everyone on the streets wasn’t paying attention. No one cared that a young woman picked up a branch falling out of a tree. The only attention I got, was the typical displays of appreciation for how I looked.

  I arrived at home, put the new clothes away, released the spells hiding me then watched TV until Doriane came home.

  When her black-haired form appeared and the door was shut, she asked, “What did you bring in the house with you? I felt a very nice sensation at the shop earlier that almost made me have an embarrassing reaction from how good it felt.”

  “Is it possible for tree spirits to gift you with a piece of their trees?”

  Her eyes widened as she moved quickly to sit with me, “You have a piece of gifted wood?”

  I proceeded to tell her about how I received the maple branch then said, “I couldn’t see it too clearly but it waved at me. I made sure to say thank you.”

  “This means, the spirits know more is going on than we do, and have chosen to intervene. It’s rare to be gifted with a piece of their trees because it means, they also gifted you with a small piece of their essence. Since the ends are not broken, the essence is still contained within the wood. I’ll have to study because I’ve never made a wand from gifted wood. I have a book on how it’s done but extra care must be taken, in how you shape your wand. If we’re successful in making it right, it’ll be the only wand, you will ever need.”

  I smiled as I showed her the watches then we went down to the basement.

  Doriane opened an empty cupboard and had me put the maple wood inside, until we were ready to make my wand, then started pulling out what she needed to make the protections for my loved ones.

  I was a part of these spells. She was using her power to make them but they would be tied to me, so I’d feel it, if the warnings were triggered.

  This time as we sat, we had the symbol for air directly between us.

  Doriane put two sticks of incense in the holes and they started burning then made the room go dark. I asked her once about the candles, when I was helping her replace them one day and clean up the wax. They were always lit when we came in. The power of the casting room, senses the presence of a guardian, and lights them when we’re about halfway down the stairs. They go out when we go up.

  Doriane spoke in the language of air and the symbol lit up then started with the boxes.

  These would only have one type of spell, so she quickly put each one on the air symbol, and spoke the words that placed the warning spell on the box. She did this four times for each, so the boxes could warn of multiple attempts.

  The amulets were next. This time she put the warnings and a little spell that would make a dark user sick, if they were within fifty feet of the amulet.

  She finished up with the watches.

  As she was doing all this, I felt my power tapped a little, as she tied the warnings to me. She was covered in sweat when she was done.

  I asked, “Does it do you any harm to use your power to cast so many spells at once?”

  “It just makes me tired. I’m used to it though. There was one time, when I was confronting a powerful dark user, and had to cast fifty spells at one sitting. I slept good that night but I could handle it. The longer you work with magic, the more spells you can cast in a single sitting, before you must rest. The individual spells that cost more energy to cast, like awakening the power in another, take more of a toll. I wouldn’t want to try awakening the power, in more than one person, without a good week between each casting.”

  “When and how do you gauge someone’s suitability to be a guardian?”

  “You can’t do it very often. The spirits actually determine if you can be one. It’s based on, how many are active, and whet
her you have the right personality traits, to be a guardian. You were an average human that witnessed real magic, so I had a duty to test you. It was the spirits who determined if you passed that test or not.”

  “What would have happened if I didn’t pass?”

  “The spirits would’ve taken your memory of the events, when Tom was killed, put you to sleep and you would’ve woken in my guestroom with no memory of the doll or the casting room. I would’ve invented a plausible story, about why you were hiding from Ryan at my house, then the responsibility for Ryan Gilpatrick would become mine and the other guardians. You are not solely responsible for containing him. All of us, who have been gifted with the title, are duty bound to keep an eye on him, and make sure he doesn’t spin out of control. There aren’t many of us but it is a team effort. We’re spread out like we are because we each have to watch different regions, to be ready to respond, if we feel the balance tilting too much.”

  “I’m certainly happy the spirits accepted me. I’d still be running and hiding in fear rather than feeling prepared to fight him. I’m also very happy to have you in my life and be a part of your life.”

  I was graced with a smile that made me passionate as she responded, “I’m extremely happy you’re here as well. Let’s go up and have some fun until we sleep. You can start delivering your gifts to your friends tomorrow. Just be careful, if you spend time talking to them. Those closest to you, are more likely to notice your changes, so you’ll need to be creative. The excuse I always use is, it’s amazing what a couple months of good company can do for you. You don’t have to tell them you’re sleeping with a woman. Just give them the impression, you found something that took your mind off Ryan, and gave you a chance to shine.”

  “I’ll be careful and think carefully about what I say. What am I going to do about transportation? My father has my car with him and you need yours.”

  “You can drop me off at the store in the morning and borrow mine, as long as you promise to be back in time to pick me up. I don’t relish waiting too long at the store. I have someone coming by tomorrow anyway, who might be interested in buying it. You can get your own car back when you’re ready to come out of hiding.”