Misfit Mage

by Michael Taggart

  Swearing on my magic sounded awful final to me. I made a note to never do that unless absolutely necessary. In the meantime, I had access to Sandy so I checked out her cores.

  I could see them spinning and the center was pretty dense. It looked like her earliest core was in her right hand. Almost her entire palm had awakened cells. The density tapered off pretty quickly, and the rest of her hand and arm didn’t have any awakened cells at all. Outside of the cores, her magic was very thin. It was a mist like I had started with, but the mist was so faint I had to strain to see it. At her most dense, she was close to my matrix.

  I realized I was holding a lot more power than her in my body. I had a higher density than her best core and I had it through my whole body. She had been practicing magic for a long time, longer than I’d been alive, so it felt a bit awkward to tell her what I was seeing.

  It didn’t bother Sandy, though. She was just excited for me and excited there was another way to grow in power. The big difference was that in addition to seeing what I was doing, I’d also had a way to store and access a lot of magic. Without the magic of the first golem and Penny being able to store it for me, I wouldn’t have had the power I needed to make the matrix.

  Sandy and Annabeth both wanted a matrix now. They wanted it badly. I think Annabeth was ready to start making a charm like Penny right away. Sandy suggested a bit of caution. Creating Penny had been an accident. We’d need to go over how I’d done it again, create a safe space, find the right item to awaken, and then make it happen.

  I felt like I had almost lost my magic that night, so I was quick to agree. I’m sure there was a way for both Annabeth and Sandy to make living charms, but we needed to give it the best chance possible. Running out of magic was no joke.

  The talk changed from my recovery to the battle and what that meant for us. Sandy felt like we needed to stay inside the House as much as possible. Maybe only go outside in pairs. She needed to restock her refrigerator so she was heading to the store soon. John hated grocery shopping but it would probably be a good idea if he went with her.

  She didn’t think the mages would attack in broad daylight, but she also hadn’t thought they would mount a full-scale assault on the House either. I figured there wasn’t anything that her and John couldn’t handle, but I was worried about Annabeth and myself. I was new to magic and I thought any of the mages would probably be able to take me down. The last thing I wanted was to get badly hurt again.

  Speaking of protection, I needed to get some charms like Annabeth had. I might not be able to use them like Sandy but it would be better than nothing.

  Sandy agreed and suggested we have our magic assessment tomorrow morning. We needed to see how my magic worked best and then we could start on charm casting.

  I was so excited I wanted tomorrow to be here already. I was like a kid waiting for Christmas morning. My path to becoming a powerful mage couldn’t begin soon enough.

  On that note, I decided to call it a night. We had talked until late and I realized I was pretty tired. John and Tyler were passed out on the rug. That seemed to be a theme with John. Sandy said they were fine where they were and they could wake up on their own. Annabeth said she was ready to head out too and she’d walk me back to my apartment.

  It was still strange walking around with just my magic sight. I could see about twenty feet around me, after that, nothing. When I started walking down a hallway, I couldn’t see the end of the hall like I normally would. Instead, I could see the walls just leading off into nowhere. As I got down the hall, the end of it would fill in and I could see where I was going. I kinda felt like I was in one of those old RPG games in a dungeon. In the old games you would have a light and you could see a bit of the dungeon around you. Outside of that, darkness.

  I thought it was sweet that they were still watching out for me. Since I was more exhausted than I’d realized, I probably still needed it. When we got to my door she gave me a big happy hug. I told Annabeth again she was the best. Her cheerful humming had been a ray of sunlight in a dark world. I was so grateful and happy for her support.

  Bermuda was already waiting for me on my pillow. I shrugged out of my clothes, slipped into bed, and fell asleep to the sound of purrs. It had been a good day.

  22 Magic Assessment

  I woke up with Tyler’s strong arm around me and Bermuda crashed out on my pillow. It felt like old times. I loved on Bermuda and he woke up purring. Loving turned into play and soon I was giving him kisses and he was trying to get away. He jumped off the bed and trotted out of the room. I made Dot, filled him with magic, and sent my little creation after my kitty. Soon the sounds of mad dashing and extreme jumping came from the living room.

  “Good Morning,” Tyler said. He yawned and stretched. Even without my normal sight, he still looked amazing.

  “How’s your head?” I asked. He’d drunk a lot last night. I was pretty sure he’d still be passed out with John, but here he was with me working on my last remnant.

  “That’s the nice thing about magic bodies,” he said. “No hangovers.” I stretched too. I felt good. Really good. I felt rested with energy to burn. Then I remembered. This was the day I got my first amulet!

  Even though I wanted to hop out of bed right away, I still spent a few moments awakening my cells. I planned on doing that every morning until my whole body was packed with magic. The next time I got injured I was going to be ready. I checked and my twinkling lightening was still happening. Come on magic cells!

  Tyler must had known what I was doing because he decided to have some fun with me. He started kissing my neck and running his fingers up my side. His touch was light, sexy and my body was only too happy to respond. He was trying to break my concentration and it was working.

  I couldn’t do what I really wanted with him, I still had a remnant left and this is the one that was powerful enough to knock him around, so instead we ended up in a tickling match. Sheets went flying as we rolled off the bed and hit the floor.

  He was much better at wrestling than I was and he soon had me in an arm lock and tickled me until I almost peed. It felt good to laugh. It also felt good to horse around and flex a bit. I probably should have been more careful, but I didn’t feel any pain. I felt like a live wire, full of energy and sparks.

  Tyler stopped just short of an accident. I hadn’t been this ticklish before. Now I was so sensitive I was about to explode.

  “There is something I wanted to tell you, while I have your undivided attention,” Tyler said. He still had me in the arm lock so I wasn’t going anywhere. I was up for anything he wanted to share. He’d given me great advice before, and as long as he wasn’t tickling me, I was all ear.

  “Sure, what’s up?” I said.

  “You are getting with Sandy today and soon you will be starting on the path of a mage. You’ll be learning about how your power works and how to use charms. It will be exciting and your whole world will be taken up with magic.”

  That sounded about right. I couldn’t wait to get my first charms. I know for sure I needed a shield charm. Protecting myself was my number one priority.

  “I’ve helped out a lot of people and I’ve seen them start down the path of magic caster. What I’ve seen is everything starts to look like a magic problem to them. They forget there are other ways to get things done. Many times these other ways are faster and better, but they aren’t even considered because they aren’t magic. It’s like the old saying goes, if you’re a hammer then everything looks like a nail. Soon, you’ll have real magic and your first thought will be which charm to use for every situation.

  “There is another way. You are in the unique position of having both mage abilities and natural abilities. You’re going to have a magic body soon that is fully awakened. That means you’ll be stronger than most people and certainly much faster. You’ll recover from injuries a lot quicker and all your senses will be stronger.

  “We are in a war with a lot of mages. Most of whom are not that powerful
. They have years on you, but they aren’t the really old powerhouses. These newer mages you have a chance to fight. You learn fast and you’re willing to work. They will be thinking of using magic for everything. You can’t hope to match them magically as they have years of experience and practice already. However, you might be able to beat them physically.”

  “That makes sense,” I said slowly. He let me go and I wriggled around on the floor to face him. He was right up against me and I almost lost my train of thought. He was so freaking hot. I knew he wasn’t using any of his talent on me. I could feel it when he did and so could my remnant. This was all-natural physical attraction. Wow. I needed a cold shower.

  “Something just occurred to me,” I said. “Did you always look like this?” I ran my fingers over his abs.

  “What do you think?” he asked.

  “I think you used to look normal,” I said. I decided to have fun with him. “You probably had buck teeth and your ears stuck out too far. Your hair never sat right and you had love handles just like a real person.”

  He laughed when I talked about his ears. I continued. “I’m thinking this perfect body and perfect face you have now are a defensive mechanism. People will be too caught up in how you look to see what you are really up to. I know you are smart and funny and loyal, but I’m sure most people aren’t going to be able to get past the front door of what they see in you.”

  “You’re right.” he said. “I am an incubus after all. We don’t really have any powers other than sex. John can shape metal, find gems, and move mountains. I just make you feel better.”

  “Well, not you,” he said playfully. “You still have a remnant. But other people. It’s a power just like anything and it’s all in how I use it. It’s even helped me in fights. If the attraction is there they don’t fight anywhere near as hard as they normally would.

  “I’m one of the weaker naturals in the supernatural world, but I’ve made up for that by creating a kick ass magical body. You have that ability too. I guess what I’m trying to say is that if you combine physical ability with magical ability you are going to be a lot more effective than just using magic alone.”

  “I like what you’re suggesting.” I said. “I’ll need someone to train me, though. I’ve been in a few fights but I’ve never learned how to do it properly. Is that something you could work with me on?”

  “That’s what I’m suggesting,” Tyler said. “I think it is what the House wants too. It has never made a doorway home for me before. I think it would only do that if it wanted me to be here for a longer period of time. The House uses up magic just like everything else. I’m sure the doorway wasn’t cheap, so it must want something else from me. The remnants have been an interesting challenge but it will be over in a few weeks. I think the House expects me to be here longer than that.”

  “That would be great,” I said. I’d seen how Tyler had handled the mages during the siege. He made it look so easy. I’d love to be able to handle them that effortlessly.

  “Good! This is going to be your morning of firsts. A question and your first lesson. What are you most excited about learning magically?”

  “That’s easy. I want a shield charm,” I said.

  “Why?” he asked.

  “Because I don’t want to get hit,” I said. “Well, not that I won’t ever get hit. I’m sure I’ll get hurt. I would just like to minimize it. I don’t want to have my face crushed again if I can help it.”

  “Sounds reasonable to me,” he said. He jumped up and pulled me to my feet. “Let’s translate that from magical to physical.” He threw a very slow punch at my head. “How do you keep from getting hurt?”

  I backed away from his punch. “I would think you don’t get hit.”

  “That’s exactly right,” he said. “Now, for a slightly deeper view of that, how much do you need to dodge before you don’t get hit?”

  I wasn’t sure exactly what he was shooting for. He put me back in position facing him again, and threw another slow punch.

  “Um, enough so the punch doesn’t hit me?” I said.

  “Again, exactly right,” he said. “It doesn’t matter how much an attack misses, just that it does.”

  He lined us up again. “Moving away from me takes too much time. It’s also in the path of the punch. So, if I lean into the punch more, I’ll have more reach and may still tag you. This time, try moving to the side.”

  He threw his slow punch again. This time I moved to the side and his fist passed slowly through the space where my head had been. The movement felt right. It was much faster and easier to dodge this way.

  He threw another slow punch and I slowly moved to the side again.

  “This is where training and experience come in. You take the time now when you are not in a battle situation to think about the best way to avoid a blow. Then, you practice it over and over again. When someone is really trying to hurt you, you’ll just move on instinct.”

  He threw more slow punches and I dodged them. It was awkward feeling. My movements felt jerky and wild. Sometimes I dodged so much I went halfway across the room. Sometimes I felt trapped like there was nowhere to go. He just followed me around the room throwing lazy punch after lazy punch.

  We were both still naked so I’m sure we looked like a crazy version of the early Olympics. They used to do everything naked back then too.

  Even though Tyler was moving slowly I still worked up a sweat. He tagged me a few times too. It is amazing how much mental concentration it took to stay out of his way. Bermuda came back in and hopped up on the bed to watch us. He got bored of that and started taking a bath.

  I had to call a stop before too long. I still needed to get ready and go to see Sandy. Tyler had achieved his objective, though. I was now thinking of more than just magic and I was excited to be training with him.

  He gave me a naked sweaty hug and a kiss on the cheek before he left. As he walked out, I saw a flash of magic with my sight and he suddenly had shorts on. Tyler clearly still had some tricks up his sleeve.

  My shower was colder than normal. Tyler had gotten me all hot and bothered and I wanted a clear head for my magic assessment with Sandy. Bermuda sat on the back of the toilet, of course, and supervised.

  Soon, I was ready and I headed down to see Sandy. I was almost to her door when John passed me in the hallway. He seemed extra happy for some reason and he was sort of dressed like a pirate. That seemed strange to me but I just let it go.

  Sandy was also in a good mood and we grabbed a drink and headed to her workshop. It was huge! I was thinking it would be the size of a bedroom, but it was more the size of a whole house. I couldn’t see from one wall to the other with my magic sight, which left me feeling a bit disoriented. She had lots of workbenches. Some of them were overflowing with all kinds of things. Some of them had half-finished projects and one was empty. That’s where we were headed.

  “Before we begin, let me just set the groundwork for what we are going to be doing,” Sandy stated. “We are going to be testing different facets of your magic. Some of it you are going to be good at, some of it you aren’t, and that is ok.”

  She sighed. “I think this has been said by every person who has ever done an assessment, and most times someone is disappointed that they aren’t good at one facet of magic. Just keep in mind that no one is good at everything. Even if they were, that still wouldn’t be good because then they wouldn’t know what to specialize in. They would end up being good at everything but great at nothing. It’s much better to be good at a few things and then get creative on using them. Focus and creativity are your best allies. Sound good?” she asked.

  I nodded. I knew what she was getting at, but I still found myself wanting to do well at this. I loved the idea of magic and I wanted to be good at it.

  She must have seen that I wasn’t letting go of being good at this so she gave it another try. “Remember, this is NOT a test. This is NOT a pass or fail sort of thing. Holding on to those expectations will jus
t make you nervous and skew the test. Now let all that go.”

  I took a deep breath and let it out. I was nervous. I tapped into acceptance. Whatever results I got was just what works for me. There was nothing to fear. Nothing to succeed at either.

  Bermuda took that opportunity to hop up onto the workbench. He walked over and butted me with his head so I gave him some loving. I was glad he was here. Some of the tension I’d been holding onto melted away.

  Sandy gave him some scratching too. “He can stay for most of the tests. One of them is very delicate, though, so he’ll need to get off the bench.” I was good with that. He’d probably get bored and wander off soon anyway.

  “The other thing to cover is this is YOUR assessment. You can choose to share your results, part of your results, or none of your results. It is however you wish. It’s also considered bad manners to ask how others did, although it usually happens anyway. Just be aware that asking the wrong person can make them very defensive.”

  I nodded again. Don’t get nosey. Got it.

  “Magic is all about breaking the laws of nature,” Sandy said. She was using her lecture voice. “There isn’t anything that magic can’t do, however it can take a lot of power to make something happen. The amount of power used depends on two things: how much you are trying to bend nature, and if you have an affinity for what you are trying to accomplish.

  “The first part is obvious. For example, it takes less magic to lift a grain of sand as opposed to lifting a car. The second part, affinity, is often overlooked and that is what we are finding out today. An example of that is how John works with metals. He has a powerful connection to any kind of rock, so he can manipulate it much easier than I can. I can shape rock too, but it would take many orders of magnitude more magic for me and I still wouldn’t get the type of results he can.”

  Sandy opened a big chest on the floor. Inside were stacks of clear boxes, each of which was filled with all kinds of stuff. The first thing she pulled out, though, wasn’t a box. Instead it was a big flat charm with lots of little bars in a row.