“Down the hall—to your left; as you go out,” was his quick response. But what struck her as a bit mystifying and strong disbelief is how empty this small building really was—the moment that she stepped outside and closed the door behind her.
The first two floors were immaculately cleaned and somewhat furnished, with storage closets, while the third floor was empty of anything save for winding hallways, empty office cubicles, and conference rooms, while this floor was more packed with anything and everything one teen boy needed to survive by himself on a daily basis.
Tillie was more curious about the supply stores she found at the other end of the hall or the rooms full of packaged boxes and other essentials. She even saw a small room full of extra pillows and blankets, and a few plastic covered mattresses. But nothing looked like they had a chance to come out for air in recent years.
But whenever she tried opening any of the doors, she found them to be locked.
But the bathroom was there and surprisingly, it was just as expansive and large as the rest. It also had a shower stall and bathtub installed—which the girl found to be appealing after a day of running around.
Okay. Maybe a small bath—before bed. She firmly decided—while running a lingering hand over the fine porcelain tub and the stainless steel—open-faced—spigots.
The toilet was nothing special. It looked just the same as the one in her mom’s apartment suite back at the high-rise apartment—but the toilet paper rolls resting in the metal storage rack above the toilet tank came in either lavender yellow, hot pink, or aquamarine blue.
Tillie giggled at the thought of having to use either when the time came for it, but for the most part she had been looking forward to having some personal time alone with her thoughts and her immediate ambitions which stretched beyond tomorrow or the next day.
And of course…
Her immediate battle of both wits and wills with the armies of the Third Watch. And one Captain Kara Plummer. Soon to be promoted to Section Army Commandant—First Class.
She still owed her a serious beat down with Bruno. But she would have settled for a bondage incantation that would have her tied up in leather straps and a ball gag in her mouth.
Like what she had planned for Roz during the early morning hours while everyone was sleeping so she could spend some quality time with her future boyfriend in waiting.
The girl laughed to herself as she finished pulling her pants and panties down and sitting on the cold toilet seat.
“Imagine the looks on both women when they find out how outclassed they are compared to me: An adept and High Witch in training.”
Okay. So she said it. But both her mother and her close friend were right about one thing: Granted the title of High Witch was a lot easier to obtain than Field Mage.
But she still held out high hopes that she could be both some day. High Witch first then Field Mage later—if Greta Freeman’s information was correct and she would finally gain what had been eluding her all this time she had first awoken as a witch in training six years ago.
To the chagrin of her beloved dad—whom had personally voiced for a normal human daughter and not another magical familiar. But he never took into account that his wife’s magical aura would eventually be too strong an element in the birth of their little girl.
If she had been human and he a sorcerer, things would have been different. But witches always bequeathed much of their magical power to their children while they developed in the womb and it didn’t matter who became the beneficiary in the end.
Tillie hunkered down on the toilet seat in a show of embarrassment and humility.
“Sorry, dad. But you know how it went with mom before I was born,” she said in quiet apology. Then she turned her attention to a child’s training incantation which she used to illuminate the space between her, the toilet, and the privacy wall beyond. It had been awhile since she even thought of this one; The Sword, Shield, and Flower Medallion. At first, it was meant as a simple game: To see how strong you could make your knight in shining armor by collecting various pieces of his armor, sword, and shield, before being granted a powerful magical incantation by the legendary Flower Maiden at the end of the level.
Which was her in retrospect. The object was to choose a spell incantation which would benefit both herself and the knight in question.
The better the spell, the more strength she could “bestow” upon her champion.
So far…she had only managed to get it to the seventh level before the puzzles, challenges, and obstacle courses proved to be more than she could even handle—forcing her to quit playing altogether.
And that proved to be a letdown for her mother when she found out—eventually.
Of course she was lectured about it. Chastised about it even, but Tillie felt she could learn about her magical incantations another way which didn’t involve these silly children’s games.
But she went through with what was in front of her—guiding the knight through this part of the quest, fighting off monsters, collecting bits and pieces of a much stronger set of armor and a sword that would do wonders in the end.
For some strange reason, she found this part of the game to be of a real challenge—to help take her mind off of the things to come.
And about ten minutes into it, she found herself up against the dreaded Dragon King who used powerful magic and fire to assail her knight. She in turn used the knight’s skills and attributes to fight back and eventually wear down the dragon until the game signaled that she had won and a Flower Maiden (a real time copy of her image) appeared before the knight—ready to given him a much needed boost and upgrade.
Five options presented themselves to her—each spell incantation more powerful than the last…simply because she had mastered quite a few of them on her own over time.
And since she did not know what the next level would entail (as part of the game engine mechanics themselves), she decided to choose a spell that would give better defense against magic attacks while at the same time creating an aura around the knight when such attacks were present.
The end of the seventh level ended in a victory song of sorts as the game honored the knight with seven bags of gold coins (200 in each), a flower signifying his victory in the seventh level and the option of a free replay—at no cost to herself.
Then a loud knock on the bathroom door grabbed the girl’s attention and Tillie saved her progress at that point in the game—before extinguishing her incantation—and said: “Yes?”
“It’s me: Roz. I was wondering if you’re done yet. Because now I have to go,” came the voice of her would be rival.
Tillie blinked at that one and realized that she had lost track of time since “disappearing” from his room and she quickly nodded, got up and grabbed a healthy amount of toilet paper and wiped herself clean before pulling everything up in the blink of an eye.
“I’m just about done!” she returned loudly—flushing the toilet as she went and then rushed over to the sink to wash her hands. That only took a minute more and she wiped them dry on one of the sink towels hanging on a small ring nearby and then put it back on before running out of the bathroom and heading for the door as quick as she could.
Unlocking it, she found Roz standing there—dancing about a little in obvious distress (and embarrassment)—and Tillie cleared a path for her to go in as quick as possible.
“Go, go, go!” she urged then—before Roz nodded and made a break for it—slamming the door and then locking it behind her as quickly as she could.
But the teen witch was in no room to complain. She now had the perfect opening from which to test the waters with Charlie for a few minutes to see where she would be able to go with her new plan.
The girl hung back a moment and thought about messing with the door lock a bit so that it would jam for a few rounds from a simple spell incantation, but she decided that tonight she just wanted some peace and quiet and maybe a possible truce with her new rival until things had a c
hance to blow over.
Then she would worry about fighting her on equal grounds.
Tillie moved away from the door and headed back the way she came, a light spring in her step.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
The Blessing
Charlie didn’t hear the front door open and close silently, or the fact that Tillie was trying to be as stealthy as possible and try to sneak her way into the room without his knowing—or try to walk up to him from behind his back as he was preparing a light dinner for the three of them.
“I heard you come in,” he said—shattering her otherwise stellar concentration and determination at hand.
The teen witch stopped in mid-stride—barely two feet from his turned back—and blinked in surprise.
“H-how?” She managed to get out in shock and disbelief. “I was quiet as a mouse! I didn’t even use my Shadow Blitz incantation!”
“The change in humidity…air pressure, the fact that you bumped into the lamp shade on your way in…? I just happened to have my head turned for a moment when you went and did that.”
The girl went back to the other area of the room and looked for herself.
Crap. She breathed in heavy disappointment—seeing what he meant. The thing was still vibrating a little in her presence before going still.
Then she turned and looked in Charlie’s general direction with strong suspicion and more disbelief.
“How do you do that, man? How?” She argued right off the bat.
“I’ve lived here for a few years by myself—after my foster dad left me in Old man Felix’s care.”
“Why?” Tillie asked with both alarm and personal concern.
“Because that was part of the arrangement. Once I hit fourteen, I was strictly on my own. But my old man managed to convince Felix to keep me under his wing for a couple of years while I jumped through the usual hoops of guardianship.
“I’m technically old enough to be on my own now. Parental units notwithstanding. Not unlike your mom at any rate.”
Tillie blushed mostly to herself. “Yeah, well. Mom has been grappling with a lot of things as of late. The loss of dad, me turning sixteen finally, and being an accomplished adept at the Academy, training to be—heh—a High Witch…?”
“Does it bother you at all that you’re on your own at an early age?” Charlie wanted to know, checking up on the instant noodles sitting in a stoneware pot of its own hot plate. A second pot held some steaming water and a cup’s worth of beef bullion with some added seasoning—found in the wall cupboards above his head.
Tillie shrugged. “Not really. Like you, I’m technically a free agent right now. Not bound by rules or family. If I was older, I would be going on a two year sabbatical.”
“So you’re not afraid? At all?” Charlie wanted to know. Then—
“Can you get me that sea salt shaker by the sink at the far end?”
Tillie nodded and went to do as she was told—grateful to be helping out even just a little bit.
“Sure. Here.” She said—snagging the item in question and handing it to him.
The older boy took it and opened the top and added a little bit to the low boiling pot of beef bullion.
Tillie watched him of course and then asked: “Why the beef bullion?”
“Added nutrients. Plus it helps calms the nerves.”
The girl laughed. “A cup of lemon tea would do that in a pinch,” she added in passing.
“Do you want to be up all night?”
“With you? Maybe.”
Charlie went quiet when he heard her say that.
“Maybe on my next scheduled day off.” He compromised then. “When Roz isn’t around to bug me about you.”
“Is that what you’re worried about? Her?” Tillie asked, sliding up next to him in that moment.
“No. Not technically, no. It’s…complicated—as I’ve said. Especially when you’re having to juggle two relationships out in the open instead of one.”
Tillie nodded guiltily. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. You did nothing wrong on that account. Just promise me you won’t get drunk and try to have me kiss you on top of everything else.”
The other girl giggled. “Oh my gods…no. I won’t even be doing that. Perish the thought.”
“Good. I’m glad. And relieved.” Charlie said, before going quiet for a few seconds to keep an eye on their dinner.
“So…it happened?” Tillie wanted to know out of frank curiosity.
“Yeah. But not with you. A couple of my friends spiked Roz’s drink with pixie dust and the next thing I know…she’s confessing to me right out in the open—rip-roaring drunk on some imported shit—and begging me to kiss her with…”
“With what?”
Charlie grimaced in embarrassment. “Beer breath. And not the human brand either. She ordered a local import and she got hammered after a few rounds.”
“Her being nineteen and all—I can imagine.” Tillie said in quiet support of the other girl.
“Yeah, but elves like her have a low tolerance for alcohol.”
A sudden—and impulsive—plan suddenly sprung up in the girl’s mind, but she quickly squashed it out of concern that it would upset her future boyfriend.
Instead, she said: “Oh. I see.”
“What about you?”
“Never tried it. Mom doesn’t want me to drink until I’m of legal human age.”
“But that’s so well off…!” Charlie complained bitterly. “Nine more years even!”
“I know. I know. It sucks for everyone who is human born.”
“But I thought magical familiars didn’t have their own laws?”
“Well, we have our own set of conditions, restrictions, and rules into place set by our respected coven of High Witches. I’ve got mom’s recent pamphlet in my backpack somewhere. Wanna see? It was last year‘s edition by the Witch‘s Guild at Lower Tam.”
“Sure. Let me turn the sink light on for added comfort.”
Tillie whipped up another spell incantation for effect. “All you had to do is ask, man.” She said, tossing up a Luminous Star. The thing floated up as it went—getting brighter and brighter—until it physically merged with the overhead sink light itself and the thing snapped on with painful brilliance.
“My eyes!” Charlie cried out in sudden distress.
Tillie thumped him on the back for added support. “You shouldn’t have been looking, you stupid idiot!” She cussed him out soundly enough. “That’s an opening move when you want to blind someone intentionally for a few minutes during combat.”
Charlie stood there and rubbed his eyes—seeing nothing but sparkles, dots, and black spots in his immediate range of vision. It took him another minute before he could see normally again.
“W-what else do you have under that cloak of yours?” He croaked out.
Tillie leaned over to kiss him lightly on the cheek. “Only the best, handsome.”
“I highly doubt that.” He returned sourly.
“What?”
“That I am handsome.”
“Well, you are.”
“I’ve got acne scars up and down the pike!” He mourned. “Not exactly the thing of beauty when it comes to looks. Trust me: Roz reminds me of that every chance she gets—just to tease me.”
“Well, I don’t mind, man. I really don’t. I’ve been so used to seeing Trevor’s face in my fashion magazines that—”
“The guy you like is a model?”
“Yep. And a sorcerer in training. Last I heard. He could be full fledged by now—by my guess. His certification periods are much shorter than mine. I still have to go a full ten years and then be certified by a High Witch or one of the High Sorcerer’s aides and receive my diploma.”
“Why not just go through the Academy? Wouldn’t that be faster?”
“It could be. If I had a plane ticket to fucking Topeka.” The girl grumbled. “And unless that capsule car line of yours runs all the way to the heartland of the New Rep
ublic…?”
“It doesn’t. It stops outside of Queens.” The older boy informed her.
“Oh. Well there goes that idea. How much will it take for me to hitch hike? Cost wise?”
“More credits than I have,” Charlie chuckled. “But you seem intent on leaving us sooner than we would have liked.”
Tillie blushed. “Yeah. Sorry. It’s the nomadic blood in me. You can’t keep a good witch down—or pinned down for very long in one spot at any rate.”
“So I guess this is…goodbye then?”
Tillie looked at him strangely.
“Not unless you want to come with me. Heck, I’ll even include Roz in our travel plans—just so she doesn‘t feel left out. Or alone.” She volunteered charitably.
“You’re certainly full of surprises tonight. That’s usually not like you.”
“Yeah, well, I want to avoid any possibilities of a cold war with your future girlfriend—if I can help it.”
“She’s not there yet. Just a friend. And that’s all I can handle for the time being.”
“But she comes onto you strongly!” the girl said in shock and awe. “What does that say about her?”
“It’s her flirtatious nature. She sees any guy she’s with as a goal worthy of conquest. Even me.”
Tillie’s curiosity piqued a bit. “So…she’s had other guys before you?”
“Many, many, I’m afraid. Since she has a longer than average lifespan than I, she’s been in a ton of relationships. Some good. Some bad.”
“Oh. I thought she might have been single all this time?”
Charlie laughed despite himself. “Um…no.”
“So how did you two hook up—if I may ask?”
“Long story. Best saved for another day.” The older boy easily deflected.
“Well, I have time.” Tillie threw out hopefully. “And when do you have to work again?”
“Ten at night till six in the morning.” He said. “Hence the need for a good night’s sleep.”
The other girl pouted. “Come on, man! That’s not fair!”
“Yeah. I know. But them’s the rules, Tillamook.” Charlie said. “And I have a set schedule that I need to keep. Otherwise, it will really foul things up.”
Generation Witch Year One Page 37
