Caster's Spell (A Mage Tale Book 1) Page 28

  "I wish I could," Wesley joked. "C'mon, help me take my stuff to my room."

  "Okay." The child tugged at one of his bags and hauled it away, Wesley closely following him knowing that the load was too heavy.

  "Everything's just how you left it," his mother called after him. "Hurry back. I want to know everything that's happened."

  The words sent a dreadful cringe up Wesley's spine. He was so close to fulfilling the promise he made to them and at the same time he was just as close to breaking it. How could he tell them the truth? How could he tell them that he may be getting expelled?

  Wesley and Avery dropped his bags in the middle of his spacious room that was originally two. His father brought down the separating wall when Wesley thought that he had outgrown a baby room. His family was never wealthy but as an only child, he got mostly everything he wanted and a few years earlier it was his greatest dream to become a fighter pilot. So naturally, his room was filled with plane related paraphernalia, everything from posters, to models, to the blanket on his bed.

  Avery ran around the room, touching and moving everything he found interesting before settling on jumping on Wesley's bed.

  "Hey, Wes!" he said with a big grin. "Can you show me some magic?"

  The older Warlock laughed. "Sure." He made a few hand signs. "Hurón."

  The weasel sprang out and scurried up to Wesley's shoulder.

  "Whoa!" Avery ran over to him. "Can you teach me?"

  "I don't think so. You're just a kid. I don't think you have enough source."

  "What's source?" Avery tilted his head to the side.

  "Umm... it's the magic stuff that gives us power. When you get older and go to school..." That's if I don't fail you. Wesley glanced down. "You'll be able to do it."

  "I can do it now," the little boy whined. "I have enough source, watch."

  Avery aimed his hand at one of Wesley's model planes and the toy lifted into the air. He pointed around, making a figure eight in the air, and the plane followed his directions.

  Wesley felt the child's source flex and was impressed to acknowledge that it was almost at the level of his G-class peers.

  "Avery," he said in a whisper. "How long have you been able to do that?"

  "Uncle Sam taught me a long time ago," Avery answered.

  "How old are you now?" Wesley stared down his cousin.

  "Five and a half." The boy showed him his digits.

  "Well this one's kinda hard," Wesley said and rubbed the small animal under its chin. "But I can show you something different."

  "Show me, show me, show me!" Avery pulled at his arm.

  "Okay," Wesley laughed. "Put your hands like this." The young boy copied. "Then this. And then this." Avery struggled a bit on the last one. "Listen, you know that feeling you get when you're flying the plane around."

  "When my hands tingle?"

  "If that's what it feels like to you." Wesley shrugged. "Well when you learn how to do all of those signs, fast and easy, make your hands tingle and do it again. Oh and shout out..." He whispered into the boy's ear, as if someone could be listening.

  "What does it do?"

  "It's a surprise," Wesley laughed. "Just make sure you point your hands away from yourself and anyone else, when you do it."

  "Okay." The boy ran downstairs giggling.

  Wesley returned to the kitchen, where his parents were sitting at the counter.

  "He's old enough, Mary-Ann," he heard his father say before he rounded the corner.

  "Who—Avery?" Wesley asked. "He's gonna be great with magic. I think we should have waited and sent him to Reviberous. He'd pass everything easily."

  His mother agreed. "Avery is talented."

  "And after you, he'll have no problems getting into a school. Although, I don't think your Aunt would be willing to let him go that far." His dad chuckled.

  "So." Wesley's mother touched his hand. "Tell me about your year."

  He meant to censor some things so that his mother wouldn't worry, but as soon as he started, everything just poured out. He told his parents every detail, from the mysterious master by the relic case to the way Master Conley refused to quit teaching him. He told them about his best friends and his worst enemy, Liam. He gave them every bit of information that he was aware of about the missing relic and that he was the prime suspect in the case.

  Afterward, Wesley held his breath, awaiting their response.

  "I didn't think it'd be that bad," his father said. "Not with the kids, anyway."

  "Well your friends sound nice." His mom smiled. "Will we be meeting them?"

  They weren't angry or disappointed in him. Not in the least bit. They radiated smiles and told him how proud they were of him. They said that he was strong and that he had grown up. They told him that he had already kept his promise.

  "You should take your little cousin into town," his mother suggested. "There's a fair that isn't leaving until tomorrow. You'll probably see some of your old buddies too. But make sure to be back by eight. Your grandparents are visiting."

  "Yeah, sure," Wesley said with a smile and called for Avery. Together they rode the eight miles into town on Wesley's dirt-bike.

  And as sure as his name was Wesley Savage, his mother was right. He saw his old crew of friends, a group that had been together since kindergarten. He pulled on the throttle and headed for them.

  "Hey," he said after stopping, but before taking off his helmet.

  "No way," one of them, James, said. "Is that Wes?"

  "Yep," affirmed Avery, hopping off of the bike.

  "I thought they sent you to some kind of military school. How ya been, man?" another walked over to Wesley.

  "No, just a private school." Wesley removed his helmet. "How's high school?"

  The last person in the group, Simon, answered, "It's pretty cool. You left at like the worst time. We're actually popular for some reason."

  "Really?" Wesley laughed.

  "But we really could have used you this season," Simon went on. "We had no quarterback and no safety. Coach Lytle went nuts. Felix had to step in." He pointed to the tallest one in the bunch, a lanky guy with long straight hair.

  "Sorry about that, guys."

  "No worries," said the tall one. "I'm the star now."

  "So what's this fair about?" Wesley asked, looking around at the lights.

  "I think it was supposed to get people excited for the Fourth of July." The group started walking, heading deeper into the crowds and lights.

  "Avery, stay with me," Wesley called back to the distracted boy, before turning to his old friends. "Then why does it end before the holiday?"

  "Do I look like the guy in charge?" James asked sarcastically. "Let's just have fun."

  They got on some cheap carnival rides and played some games and laughed like their friendship had never taken a nine month hiatus. They were funny and nice, but for some reason, Wesley felt that he didn't really fit in anymore. Their behavior hadn't changed a bit, but he had become so used to his new friends and the freedom to talk about magic that he felt uncomfortable around these boys. Still, for old time's sake, he'd stay with them for the rest of the afternoon.

  Avery tugged at his shirt.

  "Look, look, Wes. It's magic, just like you." He pointed to a magician performing on a small stage.

  "You know how to do that stuff?" asked Felix.

  "Yeah, I learned at my new school."

  "Cool," Simon lead the group to the stage. "Let's see who's better."

  "Guys, he's a professional," said Wesley.

  "Who cares; it'll be funny."

  The man on stage pulled a rabbit from his hat and turned a handkerchief into a bouquet of flowers.

  "Lame," Simon called out. Then he turned back to Wesley. "Tell me, you can do something we haven't seen a million times."

  "I think I can." Wesley laughed internally, how does a burning tornado sound?

  "Well let's see it." Simon took him by the arm and dragged him onstage.

/>   "Keep my cousin with you," Wesley called back to James.

  "Well what do we have here?" He heard the man's voice behind him. He turned to see the less than enthusiastic performer standing with his hands on his hips.

  "He's a magician too," Simon shouted over the crowd. "It's time for a face-off."

  The crowd cheered in agreement.

  "So you think you can show me up, boy?" said the man with a powdered face and a mask that covered his eyes.

  Wesley wanted to act serious, but thinking that this guy was too much of a cheese-ball, he couldn't help but giggle as he said, "Why not?"

  "Alright. If it will suit you," the magician said to the crowd. "Let's have fun."

  "Okay," said Wesley. "Do you have a deck of cards?"

  "Sure." The man handed him the pack with a smile. "But card tricks are pretty run-of-the-mill, don't you think?"

  "M-hm," Wesley agreed and took the cards from the box and set them on the magician's stool. Then he showed the crowd the inside of the box.

  "This card box is absolutely empty, correct?" He did his best to emulate magicians he'd seen on TV.

  The crowd agreed.

  Then Wesley closed the box and laid it on the palm of his hand. He placed his other hand on top, with an announcement to the audience. "I can assure you... that it isn't."

  He slowly raised his hand and a red, long-stemmed rose grew out of the card box. The crowd gasped and whispered. He walked to the edge of the stage and gave the rose to the closest girl, trying to look as cool as ice.

  "Very impressive," the magician broke character for a moment. "But what's a plant," he picked up the deck of cards off the stool, "compared to a..." He flared the deck and waved them to the crowd. Then the cards burned up in a quick blaze, replaced by a white dove. "...live animal?"

  The audience quickly became his supporters and so did Wesley. It was a great trick.

  "You're right," said the Warlock. "I saw you take a rabbit from a hat earlier. May I use your hat?"

  "Why certainly."

  The boy took the top-hat and looked inside.

  "Yep, just as I thought," he said. "You see, the downside to putting bunnies in your hat is that they have natural predators."

  He reached in and, after some quick hidden hand signs, drew out a small fox.

  "Whoa," the magician said with the crowd.

  "You really gotta toss these things out before they ruin your act," Wesley pretended to give advice, before hurling the animal over the audience. Then he waved his hand and the fox vanished in a puff of smoke back to the World of The Forms.

  The magician placed his hand on his chest and gave a shallow bow.

  "You definitely won this round," he said with a humble smile.

  The crowd cheered some more.

  "Thank you for letting me do this," Wesley said to the performer before heading to the stairs to leave the stage. But before he could step down, Avery was already up top. "Avery, what are you—"

  "I can do it now!" the boy said gleefully. "I can do it, watch!"

  He clapped, then made three very deliberate poses with his hands, before turning and aiming his hands to the stars. "Ignis!"

  The Final Exams I

  "Can you believe he did it?" Wesley almost shouted to Cameron. "Ignis!"

  "No. Just like I didn't believe he did it the first eight times you asked me. But you should really be careful. Using noticeable magic without a license is illegal."

  Wesley nodded as the two stepped down the stairway into the eastern courtyard.

  "Whoa," Wesley whispered looking at the strangely new, enormous building set on the far side of the field.

  "Don't worry, you're not crazy." Cameron nudged him to start walking again. "I think it's a conjure or something. It only exists for the four days of the Final Exams."

  Then they heard the booming voice of an Earth Sorcerer accompanied with that of a tiny Sorceress. "Can you believe it's already here!?"

  "We're just two days from being F-class."

  Wesley and Cameron turned to the right to see Axel and Sri standing from a bench.

  "How long have you been sitting here?" asked the Wind Sorcerer.

  "Not long," answered Axel. "I wanted to get in early—ya know, get some good seats—but Mouse, here, insisted that we wait for you slugs."

  Sri elbowed him in the side, to which he barely reacted, before asking the two late-comers, "How excited are you?"

  The group started for the new building.

  "I'm thrilled, but this guy's only talkin' about his kid cousin." Cameron pointed with his thumb.

  "He used the ignis spell and he's only five," Wesley explained.

  "Whoa, really?" Sri's already big eyes opened wider.

  "Dang, they should have had him be the first to go to school," laughed Axel.

  "That's what I said." Wesley playfully pushed him.

  "But seriously, guys," Cameron said. "Are you ready to do this?"

  He had worked more than hard all year just for this moment, yet Wesley wasn't nervous at all. He had done all that he could to prepare. All of his teachers had confirmed that he was beyond the G-class level of knowledge and skill. But above all else, his parents were proud either way. He had already kept his promise to them. Now all that was left to do was to show the judges that he was deserving. He knew he could do it.

  "Oh yeah," Wesley said confidently.

  "I was ready three months ago," Axel boasted.

  "Umm, I don't know," said Sri, rubbing at her arm.

  "What?" Wesley whipped his head in her direction and they all stopped.

  Cameron said, "What do you mean?"

  "I don't know if I'm ready," she replied.

  "Don't give us that," said Axel in disbelief. "You're the best mage here and you know it."

  Everyone fell to silence, as they all stared at the oversized boy. Cameron put the back of his hand to Axel's forehead, checking his temperature.

  "Are you feeling okay?" he asked, appearing serious in his concern.

  Wesley laughed, "I know, man, what was that about?"

  "Seriously," Sri chuckled with him.

  "Ahh shaddup." Axel waved and started walking again. The rest of the group caught up with him quickly. "Sri, quit it with that no confidence jank. Now let's hurry up, or we won't get good seats. And Stones don't sit in nosebleeds."

  They hurried along the newly formed pathway to the colossal new building, which at a closer look, turned out to be a stadium. Like inside the school itself, they had to trek a number of halls and climb countless stairs, but they finally found a place that Axel found suitable.

  "Now what?" asked Wesley. The other two G-class magi joined him in gawking at Cameron.

  "Well, now that we're here, I guess I can tell you anything without getting in trouble," the oldest started with his hands behind his head. "There are two days for two exams."

  "Wait," said Wesley. "I thought you said there were four days of exams?"

  "I did: the first two days are for G through E, the third for D and C, and the final is for B-class graduates, which there are usually only like six per year." Cameron closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. "Well the first exam, today's test, is a show of power. Bring your A-game. One miscalculation and you can fail, so it's best to go at top controlled effort. Nothing screams 'fail me' like losing control of a spell. Plus it's always good to keep your very best move hidden until tomorrow. Because that's when it should really be put to use. The second exam is practical application. It takes place in the form of a duel. Now simply winning doesn't necessarily mean you pass. You have to show that you are at a skill level beyond your class and that you deserve to be promoted."

  Wesley thought about his appointments with Master Conley and smiled, knowing that he had an edge. Then something else tickled his curiosity. "Won't that take all day?"

  "Dude, would it kill you to read your syllabus?" The Wind Sorcerer laughed. "Yeah, it's an all day event. You don't have to stay though. It's just fun
to watch; most people wait all year for this. We all have scheduled times for our exams. They're glowing right on your emblem."

  "Wha'?" Wesley looked down at the purple cloth wrapped around his arm. Under the dove there was a clock with a short arm pointed at twelve and the long at nine. "So my test is at twelve forty-five?"

  "That's right. Mine's at three, the first in the E-class line-up."

  Axel said, "I'm going at eleven."

  Then hesitantly, Sri recited, "One fifteen."

  "Anyway," Cameron continued. "You can get up and leave whenever you want. But if you do, there's no telling if you'll get your seat back. You really just gotta make sure you don't miss your assigned time for the test."

  "Hey," said Axel. "I think it's starting."

  Dean Sinclair appeared in the center of the arena. "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to another year of Exams..."

  He made an entire speech that Wesley didn't feel the need to pay attention to. Instead, he thumb-wrestled with Axel and talked to Sri, who was the only person who'd listen, about his cousin, Avery's talent. Then finally, after announcing that four members of the Board of Academics and four members of the High Council of Magi, as well as himself as the dean of Reviberous, would be judging and grading the students collectively, the first group of students prepared for their initial tests.

  Wesley saw liquid statues and fire dragons. He heard the marching of ants and saw nonexistent monsters. The ground shook and wind roared. Overall, as promised, it was an amazing show of superior skill. There was, however, the rare few, whose abilities were either unimpressive or unresponsive. Some young nervous magi lost control of their source and their casting debunked. Others exhausted their capacities, before the completion of their presentations. While the failures of some were funny, the successes were far more entertaining to watch.

  A brunch and two bathroom breaks later, and Axel was up. Wesley and his other friends cheered extra loudly as he walked out before the judges. Axel took a moment to stretch his legs, before squatting low and exploding back up. A platform rose some twenty feet out of the ground. He took a firmly rooted stance and stabbed his arms out to his sides and his massive column split into five pillars. Then he stopped to take some breaths, letting his arms and legs relax.