Chapter 11
On Monday morning, Simon gave his stomach a quick rub as he worked on weeding the flower beds in his backyard.
Two trays of impatiens waited beside him, ready to be planted, but he had to get the beds cleared first. As he thought about the best place to get mulch this year, his stomach sent another pang of warning to him.
His body ached again but nowhere near as badly as before the cubs had helped him. The reactions to the negative energy he’d absorbed worried Simon. The dark spell inside him remained trapped in the bubble he’d created around it.
Digging out a stubborn weed, Simon focused on the darkness for a moment. It seemed to be growing weaker, which Simon thought was a good sign. With no clue how to get rid of it himself, he dreaded asking Master Thomas for help.
He would have to get over his apprehension before their regular training session, scheduled for later in the morning. Simon had already meditated, finding it easier than before to center himself. It surprised him, especially considering everything he’d been through over the weekend.
He wiped his sweaty face on his grime-covered T-shirt, the last slightly clean spot now covered in new lines of dirt and sweat.
The heat was menacing, even though it was still relatively early in the day, and the humidity thickened the air to uncomfortable levels.
He decided to take a water break and try to cool down a little before he continued working in the garden.
With a little concentration, he could feel the presence of a pack member close by. Someone had been near all weekend. It seemed Gray had decided not to leave him completely alone.
Instead of annoying him, it made Simon feel safe to know he was being watched over. Depending on someone else was a novel feeling for him. Part of being a mage required an ability to be alone. Mage training demanded a solitary focus, broken only by the master helping the apprentice.
Because of Gray, someone hovered just a few feet away, and he found he liked it quite a bit.
He wiped off his soil-coated hands and brushed stray mulch from his knees.
Simon cleaned himself as well as he could for the moment, went inside, and grabbed two icy bottles of water.
Carrying them back outside, he called out, “You might as well come on out and grab a drink. I know you’re there. ”
A moment later, a sheepish-looking Cade emerged from the trees. “Hey, Simon.”
Sweat dripped off Cade, his dark green T-shirt soaked. He had a camouflage bandanna tied around his shaved head, and it too was drenched.
“Hey yourself. Did you guys really think I wouldn’t know you were there?” He handed over the water, and Cade rubbed it over his forehead for a moment before answering with a shrug.
“Well, we are trained for this sort of thing. How did you know?”
“I guess I could feel you.” Simon paused, considering the oddness of that statement. “You know, ever since the other night, I’ve had this connection or something with the pack. It’s strange. Oddly comforting, though.”
Cade didn’t seem too surprised. “That’s what it’s like being in a pack. You always know someone is there when you need them.”
“And you don’t mind it?”
“Mind being in the pack? No, but then I’ve never known anything else. I think it would be lonely not knowing they were there.”
“Yeah. I can see that.” Simon was all too familiar with that feeling.
“Don’t you mages have groups or something? It seems weird that you’re out here by yourself.”
Simon shook his head. “Nope. We all stay pretty much to ourselves. I’m not really sure why, but that’s the way it’s always been. My grandfather was a mage before me, and he had this place. It’s where he came to work.”
“So his family didn’t even live here with him?”
“No. They had a house in town. I was allowed to come here after my tenth birthday when I started developing mage magic of my own. No one else was allowed to come.”
Cade shook his head. “No offense, but that just doesn’t seem right to me.”
“None taken.” Simon thought it was pretty unusual himself.
He saw families on television and in movies, and although he couldn’t really compare them to reality, it would be nice to have something similar.
He longed for a family of his own, maybe a big brother to hang around with or aunts, uncles, and cousins to visit during the holidays.
Since his grandfather passed, he rarely saw his parents, and his grandmother had moved to a condo in Florida.
“So what do you do here anyway? I saw you out here this morning, but you were just sitting there with this goofy look on your face.”
Simon tried not to blush but couldn’t help it. He’d been able to center himself this morning as soon as he thought of Gray. And the thoughts weren’t exactly pure. “I was meditating,” he explained.
Of course, Cade must have noticed his pink cheeks. “Uh-huh. And just who were you meditating on?”
“Shut up.” Simon could feel his face burning as heat crept up his neck and across his cheeks.
Cade burst out laughing. “I knew it!”
Simon punched him in the arm. “You know nothing, and if you say anything, I’ll… I’ll… curse you or something. Turn you into a frog.”
Cade laughed so hard he doubled over. “You were totally daydreaming about my alpha while sitting in the middle of the yard. He’s going to love that.”
“That’s it,” Simon said, giving Cade a shove, “now you have to help me weed and get my flowers planted.”
“No way.”
“Yes, way. Come on.”
Cade followed without any other complaint and continued teasing Simon while they worked on the chores. They finished the weeding and were halfway through the flowers when Cade tensed and looked up. “Someone’s here,” he said, jumping quickly to his feet.
“Oh, that’ll be Master Thomas. We have training today. I guess you’d better go back to lurking.”
Cade smacked him on the back and made sure to rub in the dirt from his hand with a smug smile. “I’ve got your back, Simon,” he said with a laugh before he turned and jogged off into the trees.
Simon scowled after him, wiping off the muck from his shirt before turning to greet Master Thomas. His master came around the corner of the house with his usual beaming smile, his hands reaching out to Simon. He frowned when he saw how dirty Simon’s hands were.
“Pardon the mess, Master. I’ll go wash up, and we can get started.”
Simon hurried inside and cleaned his hands, even using a little brush to quickly get under his nails. When he returned outside, Master Thomas was already seated in the circle, ready to begin. Simon sat across from him and offered his hands.
Master Thomas flinched before he could grab them. “Simon? What’s going on?”
For once in his life, Simon didn’t want to tell the truth. He wasn’t so much worried for himself as he was for Garon and the pack if the mages found out more had happened.
“I’m not sure, Master. I have felt an energy drain since last weekend with the demon but was only able to isolate it over the past couple days. I was hoping you could help.”
Master Thomas paled and jerked his hands away. “You have been tainted by the demon.” He scurried out of the circle and backed away from Simon.
“But Master, I need your help. Please, what can I do to fix this?” Simon reached out to Thomas, unable to stand being rebuffed when Thomas was his only hope.
Thomas tripped over one of Simon’s potted plants in his haste to get away. “I cannot work with you any longer, Simon. I won’t risk being afflicted as well. This goes beyond me. I will report this new development to the Conclave immediately.”
Simon watched him run from the yard and heard his car speed away moments later. With a deep sigh, Simon realized his dream of becoming a mage was slipping further away with every day that passed.
He refused to give in to the depression threatening him.
Simon focused for a moment on Cade’s presence and drew comfort from knowing he wasn’t as alone as he felt.
Giving in to the fear and sadness that wanted to bear down on him wasn’t an option.
Thoughts of the pack settled him and calmed his nerves to a manageable level.
He renewed his determination to keep fighting, no matter what.
His list of tasks altered as his mind scrambled to make sense of everything.
Gone was the to-do list of things he needed to accomplish to become a mage.
Achieving full mage status meant nothing if his magic continued to be affected by the dark spell.
Without the guidance of a master mage, he didn’t know how to complete the training anyway.
First and foremost, he had to find a way to get rid of the leech in his magic on his own.
There was really only one resource open to him since Master Thomas had abandoned him.
He didn’t have any other contacts with mages, had never even spoken to another mage since Thomas became his assigned master over four years ago.
Even if he had known another mage, they wouldn’t be allowed to aid someone else’s apprentice.
No, if he wanted a solution to his problem, he needed to find it himself.
At least he had his resources. His grandfather’s library was just inside, filled with hundreds of books he’d collected over his long life.
Sure, Simon had promised he wouldn’t use the books until he’d passed the apprentice stage, but Master Thomas had broken his promise to get him through his apprenticeship.
Simon refused to go down without a fight, and if reading some books that were levels above his ability could help, he had to try.
Settled in his decision, Simon went into the library for a reason other than to dust and vacuum.
Grandfather hadn’t wanted an overhead light in the room, so there were lamps scattered about on various tables.
Simon turned on the standing lamp near the door and let its glow spread throughout the room.