Chapter 23 #2
Jackson thuds his head against the terrace doors, which is where Hakeem asked him to wait.
“What, did my temper tantrum ruin dinner and cut the power to the building?” Jackson looks up and gazes past the glass doors trembling under the force of the storm, rolling his eyes in exasperation. “Or the entire city?”
The entirety of Solomon City is covered in a blanket of darkness, all lights seemingly snuffed out.
Eddie checks his phone as it vibrates with the arrival of an emergency notification. “Well, good news is it wasn’t you. The storm took out some power lines across the city. The city sent people to fix the issue but the storm is violent, so it may be a while.”
“Is it bad that’s a relief?” Asks Jackson as he checks his own phone. At least he didn’t cause a citywide black out. “Anything we can do to save the chicken?”
Eddie shakes his head and is about to reply when a warm, scarlet glow begins to emanate from the closed oven door. Both men look up to Hakeem who is brandishing his wand and a proud smirk, a grimoire floating above his hand. “Nothing a good old fashion hearth spell can’t fix, boys.”
Jackson’s face lights up as Eddie buckles over in laughter, “Do you truly have a spell for everything, Hakeem?”
Hakeem winks. “Just you wait and see. I’ve only just begun.”
Hakeem makes his way to Jackson by the terrace doors. “Leave the oven door closed for another thirty or so minutes and come enjoy the show, Eddie.”
Eddie can’t hide his curiosity as he makes way over to the two men by the terrace doors, “If you’re this confident then I cannot miss this.”
Hakeem takes Jackson’s hand in his free one, already shaking a little from the earlier spell. “I’ll have to use a lot of magic for this to work as planned, is that okay?”
Jackson gives Hakeem’s hand a gentle squeeze, repeating the words Eddie said to him earlier this week. “Take what you need from me. What’s mine is yours and I give it freely. Will you be okay? It won’t put too much strain on you?”
Hakeem gives a shy shrug and a crooked smile. “I’ll be okay, maybe a little loopy by the end of it.”
Eddie takes a look outside to the raging storm, the mana well’s reserves were depleted so it offers no protection from the rain. “You aren’t going out there, are you? It looks like the sky is at war with itself.”
Hakeem draws a teardrop with his wand, drawing on his bond with Jackson.
He flicks the wand upwards and slashes it across the air.
The terrace doors stop trembling and the sound of the rain pounding grows distant.
He turns to open the terrace doors with a burning confidence in his silver eyes. “Just leave everything to me.”
As Hakeem opens the doors, Eddie and Jackson are amazed at the sight before them. The rain and wind is being kept at bay by a barrier that encompasses the entire terrace. They can still hear the wind howl and rain drop against the barrier, but remain safe within its area of effect.
Eddie lets out an impressed whistle as he leans in close to whisper in Jackson’s ear, “Maybe he truly does have a spell for everything.”
Jackson stares at the man in front of them in awe, “Yeah, He really is amazing.”
Jackson recalls the last time he saw a spell to shield him from the rain.
Ravi would conjure a barrier just like this so they could stroll under the sound of the falling rain, arm in arm, without getting drenched.
Now Hakeem, who saw the beauty in Jackson’s magic he had long dismissed as falsehood, was about to use the magic they shared to do something extraordinary. He could feel it in his soul.
“Jackson, I need space for this so I can’t hold onto you.
So,” Hakeem turns on his heel from where he stood at the front of the terrace, “As much mana as you can spare, or as much as the mana well can hold. Meanwhile, I’ll finish preparations.
” Hakeem has a dangerous look in his eyes, fiercer than when he went full teacher mode.
This was to prove to himself he could do this as much as it was to prove to Jackson, once and for all, that his magic could be beautiful.
Jackson complies in a heartbeat, willing to give Hakeem everything he has to offer.
He summons up his magic, tendrils of shadow swarming around him in a viscous whirlpool.
He pours it all into the mana well, until it was full or he had no more to give.
He didn’t know what would happen first, it was designed to hold all the excess magic Jackson couldn’t use until it could be sent away.
He pours his mana into the well until his vision blurs and his knees give way.
He stumbles backwards as the magic escapes him, into Eddie’s embrace.
“I got ya.”
Jackson can’t help but nuzzle into Eddie’s chest. “You always do, it’s almost unfair to you.”
Eddie looks down at the drained elven man, his smile bright and sweet, “I’ll always be there, for either of you. It’s not my burden, but my privilege.”
Laughing softly as he tries to right himself, Jackson holds onto the arm Eddie offered for support. “What did we do to deserve you Eddie?” He looks up at the large man who embraces him with a tired smile.
Eddie ponders the question while looking at the raging storm being kept at bay. “Hmm, well the view of the park and the food are definitely candidates.”
Jackson snorts, shaking his head softly, “Fair enough. Now let’s see what our resident genius has in store shall we?”
“Let’s.”
Eddie and Jackson stand back, eventually joined by Princess Bandit perching atop Eddie’s shoulder, to watch Hakeem unfold what he has planned.
Hakeem flips through pages of a grimoire, all the while a second one the boys hadn’t noticed floats by his side.
Jackson recognizes the second tome, it’s the book of astromancy he received from Brenda’s estate.
What’s Hakeem going to do with star magic when the heavens are cut off by a raging storm?
Hakeem lets the book float freely in front of him, the second tome opening up before him at his command.
He points the wand to his back, beckoning the power stored in the well to answer his call.
The green mana floods out towards Hakeem, turning into a sea of silver as it engulfs him.
Jackson wants to run out and pull him away from the mana, the same force that had once brought endless pain and destruction.
As if sensing his anxiety, Eddie holds him closer.
Eddie is right, Jackson has to trust Hakeem like he did that day in January. He has to trust he will be ok.
With the two grimoires floating freely in front of Hakeem, he raises his wand between them and taps it thrice in the empty air.
The magic swirling around him stills, as though he’s a conductor commanding his orchestra’s attention.
It’s now he would conduct a symphony of magic for the world to see; or at least, for his world to see.
Hakeem steals one last glance back towards Jackson, Eddie and even Princess Bandit.
While Princess offers a curious chitter, Jackson and Eddie gaze upon him with trust emanating from them and give a small nod for him to continue.
With both arms raised, Hakeem takes a deep steadying breath as his eyes begin to burn with silver flames. His focus shifts to the raging storm in the sky, the final obstacle separating him from the heavens where the shining stars beckon him.
“Undine, quell your tears. Garuda, calm your song. As your humble servant I beseech thee, grant us reprieve from your passionate dance. Let the heavens part by my will and grant me an audience with the stars.”
Magic lace every word as his command echoes through the stormy skies, hands tracing intricate runes in the air.
Thunder booms and lighting crashes as though the gods have been angered by the demand.
Two spell circles of emerald and sapphire light form under his feet, made of harsh lines in complex geometric patterns.
The power emanating from them spurs a wind on the guarded terrace.
The pitter patter of the rain and howl of the wind come to a stop as Hakeem heightens his focus.
A small patch of clouds above Wychwood park begins to part, allowing the twinkle of a few stars to shine through.
Jackson is about to rush over to praise Hakeem for quelling the storm, when Eddie stops him, gesturing with a finger to his lips to be quiet and watch.
Jackson regards Hakeem with wonder and a soft gasp when he sees the fire still burning in his eyes.
As he raises his wand towards the small patch of starry sky Jackson knew, Hakeem had only just begun his performance.
A third circle of silver forms under Hakeem’s feet, it was now or never.
“Hear me, Nyx, goddess of night.
Mother of stars that rule strong and bright.
As the curtain draws back and lets our world into your sight,
May you dance across the heavens bathing us in your light.”
At first, nothing happens as the spell circles glow under Hakeem’s feet.
The world has gone deathly still with no storm in the area to fill the void of a blacked out city.
Then, in a blink of an eye, the sky line over Wychwood Park bursts clear of any storm clouds.
The entire sky around the park breaks free from the raging storm and is now a canvas of twinkling stars.
Jackson had never seen the stars in the city shine so bright.
Hakeem sways where he stood, spell circles fading, grimoires floating gently to ground and his grip on the wand loosening.
He begins to fall backwards as his body is overcome with exhaustion from such powerful spells.
Eddie can’t say a word before Jackson bursts from his embrace and slides on his knees across the damp terrace floor to catch Hakeem in his arms. “Hakeem! Please tell me you’re alright. ”
Hakeem feels warm, his breathing uneven and his brow sweaty. He opens his eyes which are now glazed over with exhaustion and offers Jackson a smile that pierces through his heart.