by Dante King
A crack sounded in front of me. I ducked as a sizzling crimson bolt of energy, which looked like it could quite happily have vaporized my head, flashed past me. Instead, it blasted a fist-sized hole in the wall behind me.
“Sorry!” Enwyn grunted. “Have you found a spell yet? Now would be the time to use it!”
The open page under my hand felt...right. Like it was already forming in my mind. I didn’t know what a storm bolt was, but it sounded like something that could deal with the bum-wizard. I wanted to ask Enwyn about it, but she was too busy scanning the smoke-filled room for asshole who’d started all this. For a split second, it seemed like he’d vanished, but then he reappeared from a cloud of smoke, just behind Enwyn.
“Hurry!” she yelled as a barrier of flame appeared in front of her. An energy projectile from the bum-wizard’s wand slammed into the barrier. Given she was still standing upright and looking pissed off as all hell, I figured it was safe to say she was unharmed.
I returned my attention to the grimoire, trying to block out the all-too-real magical battle happening just above my gaze.
“Channel mana...through my will,” I said as I read the instructions. “Right. Well, that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.”
At least there were diagrams. What gave me just a little pause were the warnings. Incorrect gestures or sequences out of order would likely kill me.
Ah, fuck it, I thought. Just another day in the life of a secondhand bookstore clerk, baby!
The energy I’d felt before was bubbling somewhere inside my body. At first, it felt like it was in my stomach, but it wasn’t quite in my stomach. It felt. . . well, it felt like it was in my center. The center of my being. The center of everything I was.
Now wasn’t the time for Daoist philosophy though, so I reached into myself with my will, grabbed hold of the energy and thrust my hand forward, my index finger and thumb connected while my remaining fingers pointed at the bum-wizard.
Electricity jolted from my stomach, up my chest, and along my left arm before it rocketed out of my hand. It tore through the air, splitting a bookshelf down the middle and striking the bum-wizard in the chest. I’d expected his hair to stand on end, maybe a bit of seizure-like jolting before he collapsed in a smoldering heap.
But what I got was far more awesome. And awesome in the true sense of the word.
It was also gory. Freddy Krueger vs. Jason on a killing spree while listening to Cannibal Corpse gory.
The bum-wizard detonated, like a human flesh-bomb. The sound was like a subterranean sonic boom. Any of the shelves that were still standing crashed to the floor. Blood sprayed in all directions. Clumps of meat spattered every surface.
Enwyn turned to me, mouth agape, eyes wide, covered from head to toe in bum-wizard pulp and juice.
“Bernard!” Enwyn cried as she rushed over to her attacker. Or, at least, where her attacker had last been in one piece.
“You knew this guy?” I asked. Lord Almighty, I’d really dodged a bullet with this one. This seemed like a jealous ex-lover scenario; with an ex-lover who was some kind of mutated freak capable of beaming energy blasts from a tiny wooden stick and summoning people snatching stone hands.
Wait a second. Why was I even thinking about the relationship between these two? I’d just experienced magic. There was no denying it.
“He—he was another of Mazirian Academy’s admissions officers,” Enwyn said.
I asked the question that first came to my mind. “So, you two met at work?” It seemed, like most other people who’d just witnessed something horrific, I couldn’t quite deal with it at the moment. At least I didn’t ask: ‘So, this homicidal magic-shooting monster who tried to kill us, you met him at work, did you? Have a bit of a fling and he decided to hunt you down and murder the nearest male?’
Enwyn nodded. She wasn’t crying, as you might expect. Instead, her muscles relaxed, and she nodded a second time, as though accepting this as an infrequent but acceptable turn of events. Part and parcel of shopping for magical spellbooks in a dusty old secondhand bookstore, I figured.
“Bernard knew the risks,” she said. “It’s not often a prospective student kills an admissions officer during the interview process, but it has been known to happen. You won’t be punished. Nor should you feel guilty. As I said, there are always risks, and Bernard accepted them. His family will be compensated handsomely, and he’ll doubtless be named a hero for his efforts.”
“Prospective student? Interview process? I’m about three light-years behind whatever it is you’re talking about.”
“Do you think I ordered those books by coincidence?” Enwyn looked at me like I was a toddler, and not a very bright one at that. “We’ve been tracking you for some time. It wasn’t until just today that your abilities have shone through—I mean, other than rolling natural twenties at D&D, but that’s a minor power.”
“Wait, what? How did you know about that? How long have you been tracking me? You mean I cheated at D&D?”
“Justin. You’re a wizard. A Storm Mage, by the looks of it. And an incredibly powerful one. You managed to cast a Level 3 Storm Bolt. You’re lucky you didn’t bring down the whole store on our heads. From the looks of it, you used that poor excuse of a grimoire as your vector, that’s not supposed to be possible.”
“Can you repeat that?”
“It was a Level 3—”
“No, not that. The other part.”
“You’re a Storm Mage.”
“Which is a kind of what?”
“A wizard. You’re a wizard, Justin.” Did I detect a slight eye-roll? Given the fact that we were standing in what remained of her admissions officer friend, I figured a little humor wasn’t a bad idea.
“I’m. . . I’m a what?” Despite the wackiness of the situation, I couldn’t help myself. “Only kidding. I’ve always wanted magic to be real, and what I just saw was definitely magic. So, a wizard, eh? It’s definitely nice to hear it coming from someone less gigantic, less hairy, and a whole lot more. . .”
“Are you finished?” She tried vainly to hide her smile as I plainly admired her. What could I say? I appreciated mature women.
“Wait. You’re serious? I thought you were just fucking with me. Come on…I mean, I have a life here, a store...well, my uncle’s store, but I’m the one that runs it most of the time.”
“Justin, truthfully. What do you have here that could compare to…” she pointed to the grease stain that was the other wizard, “that?”
I thought for a full minute. Maybe less. “Let me close the store. My uncle is going to go nuts when he sees half the shelves blown to pieces. Not to mention this dead... What the hell was he?”
“Oh, he’s human.” She paused. “Was human. An Earth Mage, to be exact. One who had a particular penchant for Stoneskin and what it can do to augment a person’s body.”
“Right. Well, my uncle isn’t going to like Earth Mage jam covering the walls and floor of his store. Do you wizard folks have some kind of supernatural clean-up crew? Because you should probably call them.”
“It will be dealt with. Your uncle won’t know anything untoward happened today. He’ll merely think you received a scholarship for a tertiary institution of high renown. He won’t know the truth of the matter. He’ll never discover what you’re really going to do.”
“Which is?”
“Come with me. Purchase a vector. Enter the Mazirian Academy. Become an infamous wizard.” Enwyn smiled. “Well, perhaps not that, but one can only hope. I tend to select the best students—and the most dangerous. Your aura is incredibly strong. You have great potential, but it won’t be easy.”
“Easy? I don’t give a damn how hard it is. I’m gonna be a fucking wizard!”
Chapter Two
Enwyn was still covered in bum-wizard juice after I’d detonated her work colleague, so I led her to the small bathroom in the rear of the bookshop so that she could get cleaned up. The shop was once an apartment or something so, fortunately for h
er, there was a shower stall in the bathroom. I left her there and searched for some towels she could use. It was the least I could do after blowing up her colleague.
“I doubt even the magical world would be alright with you looking like an axe-murderer,” I said as I went to a cabinet in the back of the store and removed a wash towel.
When I returned, I heard the water running. I shoved the towel through the door, extended my arm, and waved the towel around. “Here you are!”
“I can’t reach it,” she said. “You’ll have to get closer.”
I hesitated, mostly because I really didn’t want to hesitate at all. I wanted to jump in there with her, fully clothed and worry about the rest as I went. It wasn’t easy being a gentleman.
“Don’t worry,” she laughed, “the curtain is closed.”
I stepped in and set the towel on the sink. “It’s here when you’re done.”
“Thank you!” I could see the curtain move as she bumped against it. I decided that I needed to get out of there stat and let her clean up.
“You’ll like the academy,” she said from the shower, as if we were just sitting around drinking coffee.
I honestly couldn’t hear her with the water running. I leaned in a little closer. “The what?”
“I said,” and she pulled back the curtain just enough to stick her head and one beautiful shoulder out so she could talk to me, “you’ll like the academy!”
I found my tongue, but it was tied, and I was focused on the way that shoulder swelled as it disappeared behind the curtain. “Oh?” I heard my voice ask. It sounded natural.
“It’s the most famous school of magic in several worlds,” Enwyn said and backed up under the spray, but she didn’t close the curtain again. I didn’t either. I was a gentleman, but I was ultimately still a guy.
I peeked. And stayed peeking.
The fact that her breasts weren’t covered in blood only made my attention focus on them all the more. The washrag dropped from my hand as my tongue tried to wrap around my teeth. She calmly bent down to pick it up, and I got a better view than I could have imagined. Standing there, with this beautiful naked woman getting all soapy in front of me, it was easy to forget—for a minute—that there was a corpse spread liberally around the main room of the store, covering the shredded merchandise like frosting on a cake.
The phrase “high-breasted” echoed in my mind over and over again, but then I’d been inspired by the view. Her breasts really were high, and the tight nipples that capped them were pink, perfect, and looked like they could put out an eye. I was willing to risk it. The way her abs glistened in the water and the small of her back guided little rivulets down that perfect round ass made me forget to breathe. God, but the view was worth passing out for. What was a little asphyxiation in exchange for a memory that would keep me warm on many a cold winter night for years to come? On the other hand, she had just been flinging magical spells around, so I was a little nervous about jumping in with her uninvited.
That didn’t keep me from staring though. A little voyeuristic, perhaps, but the way she occasionally looked over her shoulder and smiled made me think she didn’t mind my looking one bit.
Sadly, it was all over too soon. After a quick wash, she rinsed off her dress and put it on wet. It wasn’t a big step up from naked either. The fabric clung to every curve and there were plenty of those to choose from. She stepped into the center of the bathroom, took a deep breath and, suddenly, great clouds of steam came off her body. The next minute, she was standing there completely dry and looking like she’d just stepped out of a fashion magazine.
“What the hell was that?” I was sorry she was wearing clothes again, but that trick was probably even more startling than finding out I had magic powers. It had been a busy day so far.
“I’m a Fire Mage. A Pyromancer, to be exact.” She answered me in a reasonable tone. I grunted, as if this hadn’t been just one more thing that I didn’t understand. To be honest, I wasn’t paying all that much attention to what was being said. What with the whole Harry-you’re-a-fucking-wizard revelation—not to mention the gorgeous body under that dress—I was fairly well distracted. In fact, I had to make a conscious effort to pull my head out of the clouds and focus on what I was doing.
At the end of the hallway, you could see through the arched doorway into the store itself. I regarded this view for a long moment, suddenly feeling oddly nostalgic at the thought that it was fairly unlikely I would ever see this particular perspective again. I’d be leaving the store—my life—all behind. I would be leaving my uncle without a word of explanation, and I was going to miss the guy. Maybe that should have bothered me more than it did.
It didn’t.
In truth, I didn’t really have anything here; not so much as a single possession I was overly fond of. What did odds and ends really matter when so much more was on the line? I mean, think about it. Instead of being bored silly and spending time reading about the adventures other people had, I was literally standing on the edge of my very own adventure. One that, fingers crossed, would involve creating magic, riding dragons, fighting monsters, hanging out with more pretty—not to mention very naked—women, and a whole bunch of other shit that I’d only be able to imagine after at least a tab and a half of high-grade LSD. That’s what all the best books, Conan comics, and Game of Thrones had promised me. Why the hell would I stay in a musty old bookstore when all that might be out there waiting for me?
My eyes fell to the books Enwyn had been sorting into piles before all hell had broken loose. The stack of books hadn’t even fallen, though they teetered dangerously, and had somehow escaped the wanton destruction and the rain of Bernard bits.
“Don’t you want to take them with you?” I asked Enwyn as I gestured at the volumes with a wary eye.
Her blood-red lips tweaked into a smile. “Searching for arcane texts in your uncle’s bookshop was merely an act. All part of our interview. We have far larger libraries with much more potent magical knowledge available at the Academy.”
Her blasé answer made me realize just how little I knew about, well, everything. I began to wonder what I’d gotten myself into, but then I realized it didn’t matter. I still wanted to go. In fact, the only regret I had was I hadn’t gotten in the shower with her. I wasn’t all that sure she would have protested.
“Right. Before I go through this doorway, I want to know a few things,” I said.
Hell, I was bluffing. I wouldn’t have changed my mind, regardless of whatever she said next. I just wanted to know what I was walking into so I could be better prepared.
She smiled, seeming pleased by the question. “Of course. I would think less of you if you simply went along with me without first learning my intentions.”
I gestured to the other room. “Before the battle, and before turning Bernard into marmalade, I’d never done a spell or even spoke Latin backward. But you said you’ve been tracking me. Why? Why me?” This was a question I didn’t really want the answer to. Part of me was afraid she would suddenly say that the deal was off. On the other hand, I had to know.
“You had the potential,” Enwyn said. “Affecting the dice in D&D for example. I wondered that you never went to Vegas with that talent.”
I kicked myself again. Harder. “It didn’t occur to me,” I said as sheepishly as I could.
“You drew on the power in high school. —and not just in D&D games. There was that time you got cornered after football practice by those jocks from the school the next town over. You really think that tree branch falling and breaking the lead guy’s shoulder was chance?”
“Then why wait until now to spring this on me?”
“Because your abilities were minimal. Most people have a little touch of magic, they call it ‘luck’. We had to wait to be sure it was more than that. You’re a late bloomer.”
“What’s this Academy?” I needed to change the subject so I could think about that. “Is it like Hogwarts? Because I’m not sure I’d like
going back to high school with a bunch of teenagers, even if we are learning magic.”
“It’s a magical academy for university-aged students. You’ll learn how to harness your innate gift for magic,” Enwyn replied.
That sounded cool enough. “And I’m a Storm Mage, right? So, I’m what, the Son of Zeus or something?”
Enwyn laughed. “Not quite. You have what’s called a ‘lightning affinity.’ Storm Bolt was an offensive spell which can detonate targets at higher levels.”
“I’m pretty sure I’m halfway there already. Bernard can attest to that.” I jerked a thumb to the main floor of the bookstore.
“That was most likely a stroke of luck. Yes, you’re powerful, but you shouldn’t have been capable of causing such destruction given that you’re only a Prospective Mage.”
“Like a Level 1?”
“Indeed.”
“Does that mean I’m behind?” I wasn’t too keen on starting out at the bottom of the class.
“No, there are students of all levels there.”
“Can I leave whenever I want? The Academy, that is?” I couldn’t imagine myself wanting to leave a place where I’d learn magic, but it was always good to keep my options open. Even if I couldn’t, I would still go, I’d just freak out about it a little first. A niggling part of my mind was still dwelling on my uncle. I had in mind being able to come back and visit him, make sure he was okay and that the store was still standing. I didn’t always like working there, but it wasn’t a bad place. Everyone needed a home to go back to.
Enwyn laughed. “We don’t enslave you.” She ran long elegant fingers down my chest while my mind stuttered to a halt. The way she’d said the word ‘enslaved’ made me wonder if she perhaps found the concept of bondage enjoyable. It was a strange notion, but it was rather clear in the way her tongue caressed the word. “You can leave whenever you wish.”
Leave? Hell no. Given where my mind was wandering, I’d follow her just about anywhere.
