Micah stared down and back at the side of the mountain, as if he could see Tommy descending the steps inside. It was a pity to put the boy through this trauma unnecessarily, but he just wasn’t ready to hear the unvarnished truth. Besides, in the long run, it would do him good to see what black magic could do to people that he cared about. Far too many people these days had taken a “live and let live” attitude, and he couldn’t have Tommy giving in to his gentle side. Not when it came to tolerating that sort of foulness, anyway. He also didn’t want Tommy worrying about Ryan. Worrying about where the boy might be, or worried that he might come back to trouble Tommy. No, far better to let Tommy think his friend was gone. At least for now.
A small smile crossed Micah’s face. Yes, things were starting to come together. Years of work and planning were starting to bear fruit, and the future was starting to look bright indeed.
The smile was still on his lips when Micah arched his back slightly, cast a short spell, and smoothly leapt straight up into the sky, where he soared among the clouds, his laughter echoing off the mountains as he flew higher and eventually vanished into the distance.
Epilogue
A Walk in the Night
Tommy walked alone through the darkened town. It was well after midnight, and a light, soft mist was falling from the sky, and Tommy had his hands thrust into his pockets to keep them warm.
This was his hometown, the place where he’d been born and lived for his entire life, before everything went topsy-turvy. He used to sneak out of his parents house fairly often and just walk around the town late at night. It calmed him, feeling like he was the only person in the world, and gave him time to think. And that was what he needed, right now – quiet time, alone, to think. He and Micah had just had a very long conversation about Ryan. Micah always had a way of explaining things that made sense to Tommy, and their conversation had given Tommy plenty to think on. So, Tommy had asked to be sent here, alone. Just for a few hours, to clear his head.
Micah had explained to Tommy that Ryan had gotten the reward that he’d earned, and that Tommy should not spare him a second thought; that, if Micah himself had caught Ryan in the act of dabbling with dark magic, he would have personally destroyed him, and that, eventually, Micah WOULD have found Ryan out. That all made sense to Tommy, of course; still, it was one thing to know that a criminal had to be brought to justice, and another thing entirely to be the person that meted out such justice. Above and beyond even that... Ryan had been Tommy’s friend. One of the best friends he’d ever had, if truth be told. Tommy had never hurt another human being in his life, and he didn’t know if he’d ever get over the knowledge that he’d destroyed his friend.
“Heyyyyyyyyyyy, lookit here!” a voice said with a thick, heavy accent.
Tommy looked up in surprise. He’d been lost in his thoughts, and he hadn’t realized where his feet were carrying him. He found himself standing in a dark alleyway next to a schoolyard. The yard was lit, but the alley and its contents were still dark, and cast in heavy shadows, so it was no wonder that Tommy didn’t see the speaker – one of several young toughs sitting on cement blocks in the mouth of an open garage, drinking and smoking cigarettes.
“What do we have here, eh?” said the same speaker, as the toughs rose as a group and stepped into the light toward Tommy and forming a half-circle around him.
As the speaker came forward, Tommy found that he recognized him. “Poochie.” He said in disgust. The older boy had been a constant torment to Tommy; he wasn’t strong, or fast, and he certainly wasn’t bright, but he always had a group of his friends around. Always. And that meant Tommy had never dared stand up to him, or even speak an impolite word. The danger was just too great. Poochie and his gang of thugs had taken Tommy’s lunch money a couple times, and even once knocked him down and taken his brand new shoes – Tommy had been forced to lie to his parents about that. He’d told them that he’d taken them off to avoid getting them dirty, and misplaced them somehow. Tommy had always felt like his parents had seen through the lie – now, more than ever, he understood that they must have, but it had been the only thing he could think of to do at the time.
“Hey, Poochie, this little twerp knows you!” one of the goons laughed.
Poochie grinned. “Yeah, everyone knows the Poochie, eh?” He paused, studying Tommy’s face. “Hey, I think I know this kid, too. He looks like the twerp that got kidnapped last year. The one all the cops were looking for. The one they said got taken by them mages. Is that true, twerp? You get hauled off and used by the mages?” Poochie sneered, and his companions gave a nasty laugh.
Suddenly, it was all more than Tommy could take. Ryan, Micah, the school, the evil man in the ‘Canadian Bacon’ T-shirt, it was all just too much. Tommy snapped. “Get away from me, Poochie. I mean it. I don’t want to hurt you, but I will.”
Poochie, however, didn’t balk, and instead laughed again at Tommy. “Hey, guys, the twerp is gonna hurt me!” Poochie reached inside his pocket and pulled out a long, wicked looking knife. “Well, twerp, maybe I will hurt you, eh?”
Tommy’s hands started to shake at the sight of the knife. He’d committed himself, now. There was no way this thug was going to let Tommy go now that Tommy had challenged him in front of his friends. Tommy could see the look in Poochie’s eyes; The boy meant to hurt him, bad. Tommy did the only thing he could think of. He knew that was he was doing was wrong, he knew that he wasn’t supposed to be using magic outside the school, but right now, he simply did not care. Tommy channeled and cast a spell, sending a strong arc of electricity into the hand Poochie was using to hold the knife. Poochie’s hand and arm convulsed, causing him to drop the knife to the ground, and with a cry of pain he stepped back away from Tommy, clutching his hand to his chest.
“He is a mage! Get him!” Poochie shouted.
The thugs took a threatening step toward Tommy, unsure about the magical display but determined not to look like cowards. Tommy called upon the magic again, and send a brilliant fan of flames into the goons’ faces. It wasn’t enough to really cause any damage – not like the arc he’d hit Poochie with – but it did burn off eyebrows and cause hair to smolder, and that was enough for the goons. “Screw this!” they shouted, and with that, they turned and fled down the alley, leaving Tommy alone with Poochie.
“Hey, man, I didn’t mean nothing by it,” Poochie said, backing away. “I didn’t know you were some freaky mage!”
The comment vexed Tommy further. Even in his fear, Poochie couldn’t help but be obnoxious and insulting. Tommy sneered at him, and sent another arc of electricity at Poochie, angling it this time so that it connected with Poochie’s leg. Poochie screamed again as his leg spasmed, and he fell to the moist ground, leaving Tommy standing over him.
“I’m going to make you pay for every time you hurt me. You made me lie to my parents, you bastard!” Another arc of energy slammed into Poochie. And another, and another, as Tommy mercilessly pummeled the boy on the ground with his magical spells. A half dozen spells later, Tommy found himself panting as his rage and adrenaline drained out of him. Poochie was on the ground, crying and whimpering, his clothes stained from the damp ground and soaked through where he’d lost control of his bladder – whether from terror or due to the shocks Tommy gave him, Tommy couldn’t tell.
His rage gone, Tommy felt disgusted. Disgusted with himself for losing his temper and being such a bully, sure, but mostly disgusted with Poochie, and with Ryan, and with every other person who was so into themselves that they didn’t care how they hurt others. These people were so small, so petty, that Tommy could only feel disdain for them. He didn’t feel bad for hurting Poochie; Poochie had brought that, and more, on himself by years of abusing others. And suddenly, Tommy didn’t feel quite so bad about Ryan, either. It was a shame that Ryan wouldn’t be around to learn his lesson, but at least he wouldn’t be bullying and hurting others, anymore.
Suddenly, Tommy felt deflated. He let out a sigh, and shook his head.
/> “I’m going home,” Tommy said to no one in particular, and he turned and walked away from Poochie, back the way he had come. As he walked, Tommy realized that he was going home, but it wasn’t to his parent’s house. He was going back to school, to his new home, to learn how to be the kind of mage that stopped people from hurting other people.
The Channeler Page 24