Mage Catalyst

by George, Christopher

  I gave chase and didn’t have too much trouble catching her, although in all fairness I suspected that she wasn’t really trying that hard to elude me.

  * * * *

  After dropping Tina off at her car I made my way home, picked up a change of clothes and caught up with Tony and Garry at Garry’s house. Garry’s mother answered the door when I knocked and led me into the back living room.

  I quite liked Garry’s mother and despite my previously mentioned lack of skill at making good impressions for some reason Garry’s mother quite liked me too. Mind you she appeared to like everyone so I wasn’t overly sure that it counted for much.

  “What are we doing this afternoon?” I flopped myself down on the couch.

  “Dunno,” Tony grumbled, “we were just talking about that.”

  “We could go to the pub,” Garry ventured.

  Tony and I looked at each other quickly and in unison blurted out, “No!”

  Garry looked suspiciously at the two of us, his face turning from person to person, face to face.

  “What the hell is going on?” Garry demanded.

  “We just don’t want to go the pub,” Tony drawled, doing his damnedest to appear disarming and nonchalant.

  “No, that’s not it,” Garry said. “Something happened, and I want to know what it was.”

  Garry turned to look at me, correctly concluding that I’d be an easier mark to give away information. If this were a normal situation, he’d have been right.

  “Had a bad time the last time we went,” I said. “Besides I’m pretty broke right now.”

  As far as lies go, that wasn’t a bad one. In fact it was almost the truth.

  Fortunately, before Garry could interrogate us any further, his mother entered the room with a tray of drinks and a bowl of chips.

  “I can heat up some food, if you boys are hungry,” she offered graciously.

  “No, Mum,” Garry grunted. “That’s fine.”

  Tony and myself echoed, “Thank you Mrs Fisher.”

  “Well, just make sure you clean up after yourselves.”

  “Yes Mum,” Garry promised as his mother turned to leave the room.

  “How about a game of table-tennis?” Tony suggested.

  Garry was the undisputed king of table-tennis and rarely knocked back an opportunity to let everyone know it. There wasn’t a better solution to getting Garry off our cases about a visit to the pub.

  Table-tennis, due to the speed at which it was played, was probably one of the few games that I’d be unable to interfere with the play telekinetically. I wasn’t sure if that’s what Tony was worried about, but he needn’t have worried anyway as I had no intention of cheating.

  I wasn’t too bad at table-tennis. I was nowhere near Garry’s level of proficiency, but I could at least give him a run for his money. I usually won maybe one game in three.

  I saw Garry glance speculatively from Tony to myself during the game, but he didn’t bring up the subject of going to the pub again. He probably had guessed that neither Tony nor I would speak any further on the subject. Either that or he was simply enjoying beating us at table-tennis.

  After a few hours it was time to go.

  “Well, it’s dark,” Garry noted, redundantly, as it was quite obviously dark outside.

  I probably should have gone home, but my mum wouldn’t have been home anyway so I wasn’t in much of a rush.

  “What? Does that mean we can switch to hard liquor?” Tony grinned.

  “Shh!” Garry smiled back.

  He was unsure how his parents would react. They were kind of funny about Garry drinking. Garry’s eighteenth had been a sombre and dry affair compared to mine. I was beginning to suspect that Garry’s father may have had a drinking problem at some time or simply was one of those who condemned the consumption of the grape.

  “No, it means it’s time to go home,” Garry said.

  “Fair enough.” I grinned, smacking Tony around the head.

  “We’re done being beaten by you anyway,” Tony grumbled as he headed to the door.

  “See you Mrs Fisher,” Tony and I called out in unison as we left.

  “Careful boys, it’s dark outside,” she called as we left.

  We promised we would be careful as we buckled our rollerblades and headed out onto the street. Tony’s house was on the way home from mine. It wasn’t far out of my way so I took the time to drop him home. I felt like the company. As we pulled into Tony’s street we saw Greg’s legs on the front nature strip – sticking out from under his car where he was tinkering under the street lamp.

  “Car trouble again? Sucks to be you,” Tony teased.

  Greg came out from under the old car. “Hi Devon,” he said, ignoring his brother’s comment.

  “Hey.”

  “I believe you owe me a bottle of Jack!”

  “Hey! Tony stole it!” I retorted, watching Tony grin at me.

  “He said you drank it!”

  “Hah! He ratted me out? That bastard!” I snickered as I threw a half-hearted punch towards Tony. Tony simply allowed himself to roll backwards on his skates out of the way. “I’ll give you the money,” I said.

  “Sure,” he grunted, turning back his car.

  “I’ve actually already replaced it,” Tony said as we skated up towards the house.

  “Oh damn, I was really looking forward to writing the phrase ‘bottle ‘o’ jack’ on the IOU.”

  * * * *

  The school bell rang with its usual degree of disdain for the hopes and dreams of the school populace. It’s a universal constant that the school bell rings when it’s damned well ready to ring and not a moment before.

  It was at the end of a long and tiring Friday filled with boring subjects and the annoying prospect of going back to the city to see my father in the evening.

  I wasn’t in an overly good mood to begin with as Garry and I made our way towards the locker bay. We were amicably discussing some TV show that we’d both recently gotten into. Garry had just unlocked his locker and I was leaning on the far side of the locker bay waiting for him.

  Garry was extraordinarily disorganised so it always took him longer to pack his bags for home. Tony would probably already be waiting for us at the school gates. I was getting a little impatient but resigned in the fact that this was pretty much the norm on Fridays.

  While cursing Garry under my breath and silently entreating him to hurry up I noticed Mark Constance and his cronies saunter into the locker bay. I really didn’t want too much to do with him right now. He grunted at me as he pushed past me and went to his locker – which was only two lockers down from Garry’s. Garry was still muttering on about the TV show and I was still really wishing he’d get on with it.

  Mark nudged one of his friends in the ribs and grinning casually, looped an arm around the locker and pulled Garry’s keys from the door, quickly pocketing them. I started, not quite believing what I’d just seen.

  “You’d better put those back,” I grunted at Mark, straightening up.

  “What?” Garry asked, thinking I was talking to him.

  I gestured towards Mark and grunted to Garry, “Your keys.”

  Garry’s keys had his house and his parent’s car keys on the loop so it would be incredibly difficult to explain how and why he’d lost them. Garry’s eyes narrowed as he pulled the locker door closed to look for the missing keys. His eyes widened again in rage as he turned to look up at Mark.

  “Give them back,” I ordered in a grim voice.

  “It was only some fun,” Mark protested obnoxiously in his nasal voice. His hands were held high in mock defence, yet he made no move to return the keys.

  “Not for me, it’s not,” Garry replied evenly.

  Garry had a reputation for being slightly unstable and being prone to angry outbursts when provoked. Mark visibly gulped and I could see him turn to assess the situation. His friends were standing well back from him and wouldn’t be much use in a fight if it came. He turned to st
are back at Garry, his face going slightly paler. He obviously believed that Garry might just be stupid enough to attack him.

  The tension in the room was palatable.

  “Just give him his damned keys back,” I shouted at Mark, losing my temper.

  Mark visibly sighed and pulled the keys from his pocket, tossing them onto the ground at Garry’s feet.

  “Now leave,” I ordered.

  Mark flashed me a quick look of anger as he quickly unpacked the rest of his locker into his bag and turned to leave. As he passed me his shoulder intentionally bumped against mine pushing me to one side.

  “What a dick,” Garry commented as we left the bay. “He always has been ever since we were in primary school.”

  “Yeah,” I agreed.

  Tony and the others were waiting for us as we reached the school gates, noticing immediately that something was wrong.

  There was another reason I wasn’t looking forward to going to Dad’s this weekend. I was freaking out about running into Renee again and although it wasn’t probable that I would meet her again unless I really looked for her, I worried that I would just see her in the city one day.

  Thinking of Renee made me feel longing, desire, hurt and embarrassment. Plus I would have to tell her about Tina – now that I’d made that commitment. Even though Renee had made it clear (in words, if not actions) that she didn’t want to go out with me, I knew she would not be impressed. And truth be told I felt like a bit of a heel. I still wasn’t really sure how I felt about Tina and didn’t relish the thought of having to explain all that to Renee.

  I was deep in thought when a shout rang out from behind us. We were in the middle of an alley headed over to the shopping centre near the school and I turned to see an angry Mark Constance storming down our direction.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” he snarled as he approached.

  I didn’t quite know how to answer that question. I turned to look at Tony and Garry who both similarly shrugged.

  “Home?” I said.

  “You’ve been pissing me off all week,” he declared, thrusting his face aggressively into mine. I noticed with some degree of amusement that he had chosen to pursue his grudge with me rather than with Garry. Presumably because he assumed I was the easier target. I smiled with wry humour – if only he knew. With a flick of my wrist I could send him smacking into the far wall of the alley. Not that I would do that of course.

  I was just in the process of trying to think up a clever response when a dull thud resounded through my skull and a flash of red light filled my vision. I felt the sensation of heat on the left side of my face and heard a resounding smacking sound.

  Time seemed to slow down as I felt myself falling backwards, a throbbing ache resounding across the left side of my face. I fell down to my knees gazing upwards in disbelief.

  He’d punched me. The bastard had punched me.

  A red haze dropped down over my vision and I watched with some degree of satisfaction as Mark took several steps backwards, his hands falling into a defensive fashion as I rose in fury. His two friends who normally followed him around took several steps back too.

  “You’re a dead man!” I snarled, then my anger turned into shivering enjoyment as the mana rushed from my chest and flowed with sickening ease down to my clenched fists. The pleasure of this action took me by surprise as it formed a stark contrast to the slow throbbing pain now occupying my face. My surprise was probably the only thing that had saved Mark’s life.

  Tony shouted out and jumped in front of me. At first I thought he’d taken a swing at Mark until I felt his arms pull me to my feet and hold me back.

  “Run,” Tony hissed at Mark.

  I was still struggling as Tony and Garry held me back. I cursed at them as I watched my prey run from the alley. I wanted nothing more than to strike back at the bastard who had dared to hit me. Tony and Garry held my arms firmly away, and I couldn’t bring my power to bear. It wasn’t until I glanced to one side and saw the horrified faces of Sarah and Tina and began to calm down.

  “Thanks,” I mumbled to Tony as I regained my senses.

  “No worries,” Tony replied glibly. I could tell he was worried though and now that I’d calmed down a cold clamour of dread came over me. I’d come so close to lashing out at Mark.

  “One thing I don’t understand,” Garry interjected.

  “What?” said Tony.

  “Why did we hold him back? Mark’s a jerk and deserved any thumping Devon gave him,” Garry said, only half-joking.

  Tony and I looked at each other with grim stares, the answer was obvious to us: Tony had held me back because, if I’d hit Mark, I’d probably have killed him.

  Garry glanced backwards and forwards between us before nervously snorting, “Sheesh guys, it was only a joke.”

  “Yeah, I know,” I replied darkly.

  “Since when did you get to be such a tough guy?” he demanded.

  I ignored him and rubbed my cheek until the heat sensation started to wear off. It was replaced by a dull ache and a slight throbbing sensation. This wasn’t an improvement.

  “It’s a funny feeling, isn’t it?” Tony murmured conversationally. “It doesn’t actually hurt when you get hit, but it hurts afterwards.”

  I nodded agreeably, but inside I was still deep in thought. This must not be allowed to happen again. Once again my emotions had gotten the better of me and I’d allowed my anger to almost cause a catastrophe. I glanced nervously between Tina and Sarah’s shocked faces and I realised with shame that they’d almost seen everything. If it hadn’t been for Tony’s quick thinking they’d have seen me strike down Mark in a mana-assisted rage.

  I shuddered in apprehension. Something needed to be done and soon. I was becoming increasingly reckless and it was inevitable that eventually those around me would notice something that I wouldn’t be able to explain away. I couldn’t let that happen.

  Tina and Sarah shared nervous glances between each other for the rest of the walk. Nothing was said, but I could tell that Tina was uncomfortable. I wondered if she would leave me, and I wouldn’t blame her if she did.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  The city was unusually busy by the time I got there that evening. Usually traffic had died down as most people had either already left the city or were busily heading back home. The nightlife of the city wouldn’t really ramp up for a few hours until the nightclubs opened.

  It took me longer to get to my father’s place than normal as the sidewalks were packed. I’d bought a cheap set of sunglasses to cover what now appeared to be a rapidly darkening black eye. I could tell that people were glancing at the idiot wearing sunglasses at night, but I was embarrassed about displaying the fact I had a black eye. If truth be told I was having trouble seeing.

  I stopped in briefly at Dad’s place to take a look at the eye. It didn’t actually look that bad. Sure, it was obviously blackened but in really poor light I couldn’t really even notice it. I hoped it wouldn’t get any worse. I finished getting changed and went back out into the lounge room. As usual Dad had decided to work late that evening so I enjoyed a quiet dinner alone while I waited for it to get dark enough to go out to begin my search for Renee. Before I left the apartment, I left a note on Dad’s kitchen table indicating that I’d be home later and that I was meeting up with friends.

  I was going to complete my search for Renee and confess everything: My assault on the tradie at the bar, the uncontrollable desire to kill Mark Constance, Tina... Hopefully she’d know what to do. I needed help and Renee certainly didn’t seem to have any problem exercising restraint over her powers. Or did she? That stray thought chilled me to the bone.

  When I’d first met Renee she’d almost killed me with a mana thread on the premise that she thought I was going to attack her. I certainly had had no intention of doing so and believed that I never gave the appearance of wanting to do so either. The misunderstanding was entirely hers. Perhaps she didn’t have the iron bound control over
her own powers that I had assumed. After soul searching I concluded that despite any misgivings, coming clean to Renee was still the right thing to do.

  It was still too early to search the bars as I knew from experience that Renee wouldn’t turn up until later. I’d begin my search at the bars in Fitzroy where we had first met. She might have a local that she frequents. It seemed like the people at the club where we had first met had known her. I tried to use the time on the tram ride to Fitzroy to determine just what I was going to say to Renee. By the time the tram reached my stop, I still had no clue. It was late enough by this point and clubs were now opening but they obviously hadn’t been open all that long. It had taken about a half hour to get into the club where we’d first met. I was sitting patiently in the club as I listened through the assortment of bands. I ordered a beer and sat down where I could see both entrances to the pub. I looked up as each person entered. The first few bands confirmed my previous conclusion that they got better as the night went on.

  I had parked myself on the edge of the bar where there was a nice little niche off to one side. I could easily see the band from here but more importantly I could also see both entrances to the club. I’d ordered several rounds of drinks before I concluded grimly that she wasn’t coming.

  “Who are you waiting for?” a sultry voice said behind me.

  I turned to see a hot blonde spilling out of a neon blue dress standing behind me. Fortunately there was a lull in the music so we didn’t have to shout.

  “No-one,” I lied. I wasn’t sure why I had lied. I had nothing to hide.

  “You seemed to be looking at the door quite a lot for someone who’s not waiting for anyone then,” she concluded with a teasing grin.

  I grinned as I knew that I’d been caught in a lie. Actually it technically wasn’t a lie as I actually had no idea if Renee would even be coming tonight.

  “My friends and I figured that you’d been stood up,” she said, gesturing towards a group of young women at the other end of the bar. One of them, a cute pixie-haired chick, waved back at me with an impish grin on her face.