“How does that make any sense?” I asked, feeling confused.
Griff stepped forward, as if called to do a lecture on the subject. He even smoothed out his beard and adjusted his jacket before beginning.
“A mage seeking power,” he began, “would choose his answer more carefully. Cleverness and misdirection would be on his side.” He looked away for a moment. “They are the most difficult to trace due to their effectiveness at making others believe they are controlled in their thinking.”
“Then again,” Jasmine was quick to point out, “a fast response like the chief just gave could be a ruse as well.”
Griff was nodding as she finished her sentence. He had his right elbow resting on his left arm as he stroked his facial hair thoughtfully.
“I had considered that, too,” he replied finally. “The issue I have with the supposition, however, is that Chief Dex has not held these powers long enough to build such thoughtful connections. By way of example,” he continued, holding out his hand, “he didn’t even know about the three different mage classifications.”
“Unless he was faking that too,” noted Rachel.
I frowned at her.
“Possible,” Griff agreed, “but I don’t think so.”
“Thank you, Griff,” I said, after tearing my irritated look away from Rachel. “At least one of you has a little faith in me.”
“That’s not fair,” Rachel retaliated. “I have very little faith in you.”
“Oh, well, thanks then…” My head shot up as I realized what she’d done there. She was smiling again. “Nice.”
That statement caused an instant tilt in the way Griff was studying me. His eyes squinted and he pursed his lips. A few moments later, he sighed and turned back to Rachel.
“You may be right,” he stated.
“What the fuck?” I rasped. “I’m not some power-hungry mage, guys. You know me better than that.”
“Said like a true power-hungry mage,” Jasmine replied.
“Yep,” agreed Rachel.
Griff kept his opinion on my outburst to himself, but I knew what he was thinking. He’d been around the longest and had seen most everything. If any of them knew what kind of mage I was, it’d be him. Actually, you’d think it’d be me who knew what kind of mage I was, but…
I turned my attention back to them.
“Does it really matter which of the three I am?” I asked. “I mean, the point of me doing this is to battle the amalgamites, not take over the world.”
They glanced back and forth at each other for a few moments, nodding now and then. This meant they were in direct connection with each other. The connectors didn’t work from here to topside, but since we were all within range of each other, the line-of-site linkages functioned just fine.
“The reason it is important to know which type of mage you are,” Griff said as all their eyes turned back to me, “is that it determines how we may best train you. If you seek power, we will need to downplay the finer elements of attack spells; if you are chaotic, which we fear you may be, then we will have to focus on control.” He paused. “If you were a control type, such as the three of us, this would go much more smoothly.”
I scoffed at that remark.
“Wait a second here,” I said, nearly laughing, “you’re trying to tell me that Rachel is a control mage?”
“Correct,” answered Griff as Rachel sneered.
“Well, now I’ve heard everything.”
Rachel took a menacing step forward. “Don’t make me kick your ass, Ian.”
“And there is my case-in-point,” I said with a pompous grin. “She can’t even control herself when I’m just ribbing her.”
“Ah,” Griff said, gently pulling Rachel back. “I see your mental disconnect. Being a control mage has nothing to do with your demeanor. It has to do with your intent.”
“You mean like Rachel’s intent to kick my ass?”
“When doing magic,” Griff clarified, again pulling Rachel back, “a mage may be sinisterly calm, yet still contain the seeds of chaos. Or, as in Ms. Cress’s case, filled with animosity while retaining strong control as she enacts spells.”
Okay, that was fair. Rachel was a hothead, but she was also able to keep her focus in battle like very few people I knew. She’d spout venom, punish the bad guys like there was no tomorrow, and shoot off some pretty heinous spells to render people dead, but her magic was always crafted and controlled.
Actually, it was one of the things that kind of turned me on about her.
“All right,” I said, putting my hands up in surrender, “so I’m either a chaos mage or a power one. I’d guess chaos, but maybe I’m fooling myself too. I’m not very good at this stuff, obviously.” I shrugged. “Regardless, what does that mean for my training?”
Another session of nods between the three mages ensued. I didn’t know why they couldn’t just discuss their thoughts aloud. It seemed silly to me. Maybe they had to select the right words or it’d unleash a furious magical demon from my soul or some shit.
I glanced around at the thought.
No, we weren’t in the level of demons down here, but they weren’t too far away.
Then, I groaned at myself. Even if I was thinking about demons, so what? It wasn’t like the mere thought of them would cause a summoning.
Right?
Fuck. I did it again.
Maybe there was a “dumb mage” classification?
“We have discussed it,” Griff said at last. “Our plan is to train you as if you are chaotic.” I was about to reply, but he held up a finger. “Do note that this will result in you becoming more potent if you turn out to be a power mage, so we will entrust that you shall endeavor to control yourself.”
I wanted to ask what would happen if I was unable to control myself, but the serious looks on their faces answered the question for me.
Their collective faces said, “Ian would be a dead power mage.”
“Right,” was all I said.
CHAPTER 19
T he first thing they had me do was practice opening my hands, turning them palm up, and creating small, controlled fireballs.
They weren’t powerful enough to do much, but that wasn’t the point.
“Good,” Griff said supportively. “Float them slowly around, controlling every moment.”
“Keep your eyes straight ahead,” warned Jasmine. “If you look at them, they’ll mesmerize you. That can be deadly.”
“Deadly?” I said, raising an eyebrow. “I mean, I guess I could be burned, sure, but deadly?”
Rachel piped up in response. “When you stare at your own magic, it turns in on itself. It’ll build and build, feeding on your energy. The visual may not look much different to you, but inside the power is boiling.”
“Exactly,” agreed Jasmine. “Worse, it grabs hold of your mind in the same way. Staring for too long will lock you in a loop.”
“And that,” Griff finished, “is when everything will combust.”
Okay, so if I stared at my magic, it grew, and then boom. Again, so what? Hadn’t I read somewhere that magic didn’t impact the one who casts it? Meaning that if I shot an energy beam at my own reflection and it bounced back at me, it wouldn’t do anything. This had something to do with the energy signature of the mage matching the energy signature of the magic. If they’re the same, they cancel out.
“But it’s my magic,” I said with a tilt of my head. “How can it hurt me?”
“Ah, yes,” said Griff with a satisfied nod. Apparently, I had impressed him with my knowledge in this area. At least that was something. “You are speaking of signatures, and you are correct. But this is a different type of explosive release.”
I glanced over at the valkyries while fighting not to think about…
“An explosive release,” finished The Admiral. “Count me in, brother.”
I groaned at him.
“The type of impact this causes is one of pure magic,” Griff continued. “The spell
doesn’t strike you as much as it consumes you.”
“You mean like a black hole, right?” I asked. They all looked at me. “PBS, guys. You know I watch a lot of shows about this stuff.”
They didn’t respond.
Anyway, I got what they were saying. Admiring your own work too much can backfire on you. In the context of magic, it could be super destructive.
So I looked past the fire I was coaxing to life, controlling it and molding it until it was dripping liquid heat onto the ground around me.
“Okay, stop,” commanded Griff.
The flames disappeared.
“Well done,” he said, looking taken aback. “Most people require a fair bit of effort to cease once they are so far entrenched.”
“Really?” I asked, not expecting an answer. And as expected, I didn’t get one. “Okay, so now what?”
“Now we begin casting.”
“Sweet,” I said.
Rachel smiled at me and walked out to stand in front of me. Her hands began to glow and she put up a small shield.
“Uh…shouldn’t you put a little more meat into that forcefield, babe?”
“Won’t need it.”
I chuckled at her.
“I think you probably will.”
“No, she won’t,” Griff corrected me. “You will only be casting pellet-sized ice and fire spells at her.”
“Oh,” I replied, deflated.
“It’s important for accuracy and control,” Jasmine said, giggling. “We’ve all been through it.”
“You may also find that it comes in useful one day,” added Griff. “Battling pixies who use other pixies as shields is a great example.”
“You’ve done that?” I asked, my face full of awe.
His response was a deadened look that told me he didn’t want to talk about it. That meant it had happened in the old war.
There must have been a lot that went on back then.
Sadly, I’d never learn about it because those who fought in that war were very tightlipped about what they’d experienced.
I supposed in fifty years or so there’d be some upstart who’d want to hear all about the adventures of Ian Dex and Las Vegas PPD as we fought against a bunch of ubers over the last year. I’d probably be annoyed at being asked about it all the time, too.
“Right,” I said with a sigh as I looked over at Rachel’s pathetic shield. “So, ice pellets?”
“And fire, too,” replied Jasmine.
CHAPTER 20
T he next twenty minutes consisted of me firing mini spells at mini shields. It was tedious, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that it was also fun as hell.
I could see this being an awesome way for mages to play a form of laser tag.
Magic tag? Spell tag? MagiTag, maybe?
Every now and then I’d purposely let one of the little spells go slightly off target, striking Rachel in her tender spot. Her initial reaction was an intense glare, but then I got a direct connect saying, “Do it again…please.”
Weirdo.
Griff appeared impressed with my abilities. He kept saying things like, “I’ve never seen such accuracy in a beginner,” and “You’re certain you’ve not done this before?” Obviously, I hadn’t, but he was having a tough time believing that.
“Just a moment,” said finally Griff. “Rachel, move to that side a bit farther, and Jasmine, step over there.”
They both split apart but kept their shields at the ready.
Griff turned to me but then turned back. “Extend your shields, please.”
They did, though Rachel left the center of her shield open. Griff rolled his eyes at her.
“Ian,” my mage master said, “I want you to try and strike both shields in their centers as best you can. You will be firing at the same time with both hands, and I’d ask that you increase the number of spells cast as well. It should get to the point where you must be fully engaged.”
Seemed easy enough to me.
“You mean like this?”
I unleashed a barrage of pellets at Jasmine and Rachel, striking the center of their shields with ease. To make it more of a challenge, I began swapping fire and ice realtime. I even took to crossing my arms, firing left with my right and right with my left.
I didn’t miss even once.
As far as being fully engaged went, I wasn’t. To be honest, I couldn’t imagine that I could ramp up enough to have this take over my mind.
A quick glance over at Griff showed that he was beside himself.
“Everything okay?” I asked, no longer looking at where I was firing. “You seem surprised by this?”
In response, he furrowed his brow seriously and stared back at the two ladies I was firing upon. A few nods later, they both started moving around, making for non-stationary targets.
It took a little more effort to keep up with them now that they were moving, but I managed just fine, missing only a couple of times.
“Remarkable,” Griff marveled, waving at me to stop.
I did.
Based on his reaction, and the looks on the faces of Rachel and Jasmine, it was clear that I shouldn’t have been able to do what I had just done.
It seemed pretty easy to me.
“Power mage,” Jasmine stated, stepping back over as she lowered her shield. “Never seen a chaotic who could do that.”
“Nor I,” agreed Griff. He gave me a stern eye. “You must endeavor to maintain your control or the power will consume you.”
“Right,” I said, nodding. “I get it. Don’t look at my own spells. We’ve been over that already, Griff. I don’t need to be told twice.”
“He’s talking about the magic in general, Ian,” Rachel said, appearing as serious as Griff. It wasn’t often that Rachel got that look, so I was immediately put on edge. “This isn’t a joke, babe,” she added. “There are only a few power mages out there, because they’re usually…” She trailed off, glancing away from me.
“Killed,” I finished for her. “Swell. So how do I stop the power from taking me over?”
Griff looked into my eyes. “Only use it when absolutely necessary. Do everything you can to avoid it.” He gestured around. “Even the training we’ve just done may have been unwise.”
“Oh, come on, Griff,” I said with a laugh. “Don’t you think you guys are being a little overly dramatic here?” I stepped back and put my hands out. “It’s me, Ian. I’m the guy who sleeps with…” I glanced at Rachel and swallowed hard. “…uh, I mean used to sleep with succubi. I’m a womanizer, I drink a lot, I giggle at dick jokes, I buy expensive toys…I’m basically a teenager stuck deep in a man’s body.” I squinted. “Okay, that sounded disturbingly wrong, but my recognizing that only further solidifies how immature I am. You can’t honestly see me as being some power mage who could ever be serious enough to rule the world?”
They didn’t appear convinced.
Fine, so their worry was genuine.
That meant mine had to be as well.
Truth be told, I preferred not using magic anyway, so if I could figure a way out of a situation without employing its use, that would be all the better.
I took a deep breath and slowly released it.
“Okay,” I assured them, “I’ll do my best to avoid using magic wherever possible.”
“Good,” was Griff’s only response.
“So what’s next?”
“Nothing,” he said soberly. “You are frankly more advanced than the three of us put together at this point. The only additional information we could provide would do no more than make you wish to utilize your magic as much as possible. And, as I’ve already stated, that would be unwise.”
Jasmine and Griff turned and walked back toward the others.
Rachel stayed with me.
“You okay?” she asked.
“I’m fine,” I replied, feeling a little irked. “The fact is that I was expecting a bit more help from you guys. Shooting at shields is…well, more fun than I expected,
but I don’t see how it’s going to help me stand up against mages like you guys.”
She gave me a look that conveyed she thought me an idiot.
“Are you being serious?” she chided. “Ian, if you hadn’t been firing pellets, you could have easily killed me and Jasmine. We wouldn’t have had a chance.”
“You had your shields up.”
“Granted,” she acquiesced, “but a power mage can strip…” She stopped as her face went pale.
I tilted my head and squinted at her.
“Something tells me that you didn’t mean ‘strip’ as in take off my clothes, Rachel.” I felt my eyes smoldering slightly. “What do you mean?”
“I…”
“Tell me,” I commanded in such a way that I felt magical energy coming through the words. She shuddered, signaling it was magic. “Whoa,” I said, shaking myself and then blinking a few times. “I just compelled you, didn’t I?”
She nodded as if terrified.
I didn’t like that look.
“I’m sorry,” I said, taking her in my arms. “I didn’t know what I was doing.”
“That’s the point, Ian,” she said, shaking. “You have to be careful. Even the little amount of training you’ve been through has opened doors that should have remained closed. If you don’t control it—”
“You guys will have to kill me,” I interrupted.
“Or die trying,” she added.
CHAPTER 21
N ext up was Warren and wizardry. I had the feeling this was going to be a struggle because I wasn’t exactly the patient type and Warren was notoriously slow at everything.
But, I needed to learn and he needed to teach, so I set some ground rules right from the start.
“Look, Warren,” I said, “I know being a wizard means you have to be meticulous and all that, but we don’t have a lot of time. That means we’re going to need to skip pointless descriptions and processes. We have to focus and get right into it. Cool?”
“No.”
“Good, because…” I frowned. “What?”
“No,” he repeated, setting his feet. “I’m not going to just give you a couple of pointers and walk away. Wizardry is serious stuff, man.”
The Ian Dex Supernatural Thriller Series: Books 5 - 7 (Las Vegas Paranormal Police Department Box Sets Book 2) Page 33
