The Hidden Paths to Power

by D. A. Smith

  This time he didn’t use his wand. I watched as he raised a closed fist then opened the hand. I recognized the hemlock powder but there was something combined with it, I didn’t recognize.

  Ryan blew gently then spoke the keyword and the powder attacked Tiffany, like a swarm of hornets. It was horrible to watch, as the powder stripped off her clothes, leaving her naked, then started stripping her flesh one layer at a time. It took a long, painful half hour, for the spell to leave her as a mutilated corpse.

  As disturbing as the images were, it was seeing Ryan’s glee-filled eyes that bothered me more. This man, who was sweet enough to present a flower to me, when he asked me to a dance, had become a horrible monster.

  Maybe, he always was, and I was the only one he showed his good side to. I didn’t think I would ever know the answer to that. He was who he was now and had just added to his body count.

  I knew it was a vision and not a dream when I woke up. I lay there for a minute letting tears fall, as I mourned the boy he used to be, then got up.

  Quietly, I slipped into Doriane’s room and without a word yet, slipped into bed with her. She awoke without surprise and we gently made love, until I was strong enough, to tell her about the vision.

  We were cuddling as she said, “What he used is called black-fever powder. You were right that one component is hemlock. There is also oak dust from a decaying tree and the dust from decaying corpses. For full potency, the corpse is from a recently deceased person. We’ll do what we can about Tiffany when we investigate. It’s possible Ryan left her there to be found, just to let you know he’s still out there, or he’ll have taken her with him, to use her body in other foul concoctions.”

  “Is it possible he could sense I was watching?”

  “If you were anywhere but under my roof, probably. I have many layers of protection around the house. Not just to keep dark users from sensing me, when I let down my guard at home, but to protect my dreams, and to keep dark users from sensing everything that resides below us. I also have protections to keep them from hearing anything said within these walls. Setting up a new home in a new location can be challenging. That’s why new guardians stay with their teachers for at least thirty years or more.”

  “Will I ever be able to have friends and family come to the house?”

  “Of course. That’s why everything that could be dangerous is kept down below and the door is hidden. The door is attached to the outside wall and the staircase leads to a sub-basement. I do have a regular basement, though all I have down there is antiques. They’re mementos I’ve collected over the years but only guardians know I bought them when they were new. To anyone else who comes to the house, they’re just a collection of antiques.”

  “Do you mind if I snoop around down there on occasion?”

  “No but be careful with some of the older pieces. Most of the things down there are not protected by magic. Each piece has memories that are important to me. I only have a few things down there that’re guarded by preservation spells. My sister’s dress that she wore to her sixteenth birthday is hanging inside a case I built for it. It’s hanging on the south wall next to the portrait of the first man I loved and had to leave behind.”

  “Will you tell me someday, the story behind you becoming a guardian?”

  “Eventually, I’ll tell you all my stories. I was born in a small village in France. If you know anything of history, you’ll know magic was always seen as the work of the devil. All God-fearing citizens had nothing to do with it, and turned in anyone who did, to the Catholic Church. Imagine my surprise, when the village shepherd, who was the nicest man you could ever meet, was a practitioner of magic. Normally, he watched his flock alone, so when he would cast a few spells to gauge the world’s health and balance, he could always do so without being seen. I was sixteen and on a free day from my chores, I decided to visit the nice shepherd. He and I always got along so I didn’t see the harm in it. When I arrived, I caught him in the middle of chanting a spell. I witnessed him healing a tree that had been harmed by dark magic. We don’t heal anything that dies naturally but we can heal the effects of a dark user when we find them.

  “I could see tension in his eyes, when he noticed my arrival, as he feared I would turn him in. I was a little nervous but curiosity was the stronger emotion coursing through me. I had been told, by anyone and everyone, that those who practiced magic; even the false stuff; had the blackest hearts and needed to be struck down by God’s chosen. I tried to match up what I’d been told, with this man I’d known all my life. Gerridon couldn’t be farther from a black-hearted monster if he tried. Instead of running to report what I’d seen, I sat with him and did what I came to do. I visited with him. The conversation was very enlightening then he offered to awaken the power in me.

  “As I told you, the guardians are required to test anyone who witnesses real magic, so if they don’t pass the test, their memories can be taken to prevent the knowledge from being spread. It took me a while, sitting there and listening to him, before deciding I was more intrigued than frightened. It was an interesting trick of logistics for me, a sixteen year old beautiful girl, to visit a man who lived alone in his house without a chaperone. It took me two weeks before I could find the means, to visit his house without being seen to. I also had to worry about anyone catching on that I showed an interest in magic, and not the fear, that I was supposed to feel. He took me to his own casting room below his house and I passed. I had the heart to be a guardian. I cried for two hours, when he told me I couldn’t have children anymore. When I calmed enough to listen, he explained. Children are the legacy most humans leave behind but because we live so long, we’re our own legacy. Our students also become part of the legacy.

  “Then he explained about the need to leave, before anyone discovered I wasn’t ageing as fast as I should. This was painful as well but I’d come to terms. I liked that I could be part of the guardians and fight to contain evil. The first spell I ever learned, was how to become invisible, so I could get to his house without being seen and receive my lessons.”

  I responded as I sat up, “We all have our social issues to deal with. I’m obviously going to be one of the guardians that need to work on how to hide our presence, as imaging technology gets better.”

  I felt strong enough to go back to my own bed and finish the rest of the night, without anything more than my usual dreams.

  Between lessons, Doriane’s need to be at the store, to train the new owner, and studying in the library, it took four days to find out where Tiffany lived, after high school.

  I watched the news and read the paper for any reports that Tiffany had been found.

  When nothing came up, I had to be very creative, in searching out where she lived, without tipping off anyone about who was looking for her. I pretended to be someone from the State of Colorado, who was holding an important message, about her taxes being calculated wrong, and she was owed some money.

  All of this was being done on the phone but it took some work.

  I discovered Tiffany moved to the poorer neighborhoods of old Aurora. I grew worried, when I learned she’d gotten pregnant, a few weeks before she graduated, and her mom kicked her out.

  I lost the concern for the child, when I discovered the state had taken her child away, for her inability to care for her son. She’d been working her tail off since, to try to get him back, but could never seem to hold a job, because of her mouth and her temper.

  Tiffany started getting a rein on her temper a few months ago, as she matured. It made sense, if the park was near the old sections of Aurora. I didn’t go there when I was young. When I became an adult, I only went there, to visit a few pawn shops from time-to-time.

  I finally tracked down where she’d been living but Doriane was ready, to help me create my wand, before we could look into Tiffany’s death.

  My raven-haired mentor spun the casting room, in the opposite direction from the library ninety degrees.

  We took the ma
ple wood into a small workshop. This was where Doriane made her wands and the little cubes of wood she used in some spells.

  She had me place the wood on the worktable then pulled out a small hammer and a chisel set. The chisels ranged from tiny to an inch and a half wide. All these tools were kept in pristine condition to avoid mistakes if possible.

  Once the proper tools were laid out, Doriane said, “I can’t be in here with you as you make it. The wood and the essence were gifted to you. I hope you remember some of your woodshop.”

  “I remember a little but it wasn’t my strongest skill.”

  “This is complicated because from the moment, the first tool touches the wood, you can’t stop until it’s finished, no matter how long it takes. You won’t do anything until I leave the room. I’ll stay in the casting room until you’re done. Hopefully, you can finish in enough time for me to get some sleep, before going to the shop tomorrow. When I have the door closed, you’re going to empty your mind of thought, concentrate on your power then try to envision what the wand will look like. When you have a firm picture in your mind of what you want it to look like, you will carefully and gently use the tools to shape it to match what’s in your mind.

  “These are the same instructions I would give for any normal wand. This being gifted wood, you must be careful not to drive any tool into the heart of the branch or it will lose the essence of the spirit. Just take it slow and don’t worry about how long it takes. Simply concentrate on making the wand match the picture in your head. I know five days seems a long time, to study such a small amount of instructions, but when you have to decode Ancient Greek, you try doing it in less time.”

  I smiled, steadied my nerves then, when I felt calm enough, told Doriane I was ready. I could see she was nervous too as the door separated us.

  Clearing my mind, which was easier now after a few months of study, I concentrated on the power then tried to envision what my wand would look like.

  Once I had the picture, I began to move.

  There was a bit of conscious movement but it was almost as if, the power took over my hands. I grabbed the third largest chisel and the hammer then made the softest taps as the bark came off. It took nearly an hour to remove the outer shell then I switched to thinner chisels. It took another two hours to thin it out and pare it down to roughly a foot and a quarter in length. Anytime I felt I might be putting too much strength into the taps, I would stop, calm myself then continue. The tiny whorls and symbols took another hour and a half, using the smallest chisel and the lightest of taps. I was worried I was making mistakes but, as I saw the wand take shape and match my vision, I felt good.

  When I was done, I had to sit on the floor for a moment to recharge a little energy.

  Dragging myself to my feet, I grabbed the wand; feeling the spirit’s essence inside; and slowly walked to the door.

  When I had it open, I was surprised to see an expression of extreme relief on Doriane’s face.

  Apparently there was something she didn’t want to tell me before I started or couldn’t tell me, “I take it by the expression on your face that, if I disturbed the essence, it would’ve had a serious downside?”

  “You wouldn’t have walked out of the room. I probably should’ve told you but I didn’t want it to distract you. Normal wands, if you make a mistake, you simply have to start over again. The essence of a tree spirit is too much, for the human body to withstand making contact with. It was also part of the reason, it took so long for me to decide, to let you work on it. You’ve become very important to me already and I had to work up the nerve to risk losing you. It would’ve been an insult to the tree spirit not to use it. The first spell I’ll teach you, to put on the wand, is to harden it; to make it more resistant to breaking. It won’t make it invulnerable but it would take something like, a large semi running it over, to break it. You need to try to be very far from it, if the wand is ever in danger of breaking. As long as you protect it, that wand will be with you until the day you die. You can make others for simple tasks but that will be your primary tool when facing Ryan or any other dark mystic.”

  “I understand your reasoning. It was hard enough, without the thought of potentially dying, floating in my head. Unless you’re in dire need of comforting tonight, I think I’m ready to pass out and sleep for a week.”

  Doriane smiled gloriously then spun the room, so I could go up and fall on my bed. I did take the time to remove my sweaty clothes before my head was on the pillow.

  I managed to recharge with only nine hours of sleep but only had the energy the next day to do normal household chores.

  It wasn’t until the following day, when Doriane was completely free of the shop, I had the energy to put the strengthening spell on my wand. My mentor gifted me, with my own black lacquer box to keep it in, until I had enough spells stored in it to do me any good.

  It was just after noon, when we stepped from the house, to investigate Tiffany’s death. I felt a little bad but what I was doing was important, if I was ever to stand up to Ryan, on even terms or better.

  As we were driving to Tiffany’s address, I spotted the park from my vision. It was about two blocks away from her apartment.

  Asking Doriane to stop, we got out and walked through the park, until I found the place, where I had seen her die.

  It wasn’t until I glanced over to the playground, that wasn’t far away, that I saw what looked like a fresh grave. It was packed down but there were enough signs the ground had been disturbed recently.

  Walking near it but not on it, Doriane said openly, as there was no one close enough to hear, “There are no lingering traces of dark magic but the body, of someone killed by dark magic, shouldn’t be left for too long, where kids play, and other people are near it. What do you think would be the best way, to get Harold out here?”

  “My turn to come up with the plan, huh?”

  “You have to learn to make decisions. You and I will know each other for a long time but there will come a time, when you’ll have your own regions to watch. Also, no matter how unlikely it is, it’s possible I may meet the dark user who’s strong enough to kill me. Don’t get that look. After you’ve been around for two hundred years or more, the odds are reduced greatly but they never go away.”

  I was bothered by that but it was a valid point, “Just give me a hundred years or more before ever allowing that to happen, okay?”

  I was blessed with her smile then continued, “Let’s go on to Tiffany’s apartment. It would look more legit, if we’re seen to be looking for her, before I give my excuse to Harold. How are you on self-defense?”

  “I spent a decade in Japan learning from a master. This was before the current era so they took it more seriously then.”

  I shook my head as we made our way back to the car.

  Did I ever mention I seem to have amazing timing?

  Not two minutes, after I asked about self-defense, we discovered three guys hovering by our car. They seemed intent on stopping the two gorgeous girls from leaving freely.

  It was daytime, so this surprised me a little, but some people aren’t known for their brains. We made sure of their intentions by trying to get to the car first but they blocked our path.

  The white guy and two Hispanics were definitely eyeing us with unfriendly intentions.

  The white boy, who couldn’t have more than seventeen said, “There’s a toll, if you wish to leave. We each get a turn, with both of you, then you can go on your way.”

  After having spent the last few years dealing with Ryan Gilpatrick, these boys were nothing to me. I knew Doriane was ready to handle this but she seemed to be waiting for me to decide the best way to deal with it.

  I responded, “Before you three get your asses kicked, for being low-life scum, you should know, my uncle is a cop. He and I have plans to have dinner tonight. Do you want to be a part of the discussion at the table?”

  “I think you’re lying, bitch.” This was said by one of the Hispanic boys.<
br />
  “I have his number in my speed dial. Would you like to verify it with him before we dance?”

  This caused the three of them to move away from us.

  As we got in the car, I pulled out my phone and pretended to dial. This caused them to find the fastest path for home.

  Doriane said as she drove for Tiffany’s, “That was nicely handled. You put enough truth in it, to make them unsure, and the thing with the phone was a nice touch. I’m sure they’re finding the quickest routes to hide under their beds, thinking a cop is going to be paying them a visit.”

  “As you’ve told me, sometimes the shortest route to solving a problem is, a little subtle playing with the truth. I’ll still inform Harold about them, so he can alert officers to be on the lookout, in case we aren’t the only women to receive such attention from them.”

  We pulled into the apartment complex and secured the car then walked up the second floor of apartments.

  We knocked a few times on Tiffany’s door then a neighbor of hers came out, “Tiffany hasn’t been home in many days. I’m afraid her last boyfriend may’ve done something to her or she ran afoul of someone else. It’s been a small problem here, because Tiffany’s been making her money, babysitting several of the children in this complex. It’s put a burden on a couple of families to find good care for their kids while they work.”

  I answered, “I’m sorry to hear that, uh…”

  “Amber Jenkins. You can call me Amber.”

  “I’m an old friend of Tiffany’s from high school, Amber. I see your surprise but I knew the real her. When she wasn’t pissed off, because she and her mother didn’t get along, she had a few moments of sweetness. I’d be upset if anything happened to her.”

  “I would too. She’d been getting her life together to get her son back. It was the taking of him by the state that finally started to wake her up, and let her grow up. She’s three days passed her due date on her rent. The landlord’s about to file the eviction paperwork.”

  “Thank you for your time. I’ll check back in a few days.”