The Guardian's Grimoire

by Oxford, Rain

  “How long is the daylight?”

  “Duran’s system of time is different than yours. Your world is divided into hours and minutes, ours is don and doned. They can sort of be translated to hours and minutes. You need to learn how long they are because it is difficult to compare them. Earth uses a base twelve for time and ten for counting. We use base ten for both. There are twenty don in a day and fifty doned in a don. Duran also spins slower than Earth, and it’s bigger, so our days are longer than Earth’s. Earth’s year and Duran’s year is about the same; Duran’s is slightly longer from an Earth-time standpoint. This time a year, we have about ten don of light and ten of night.”

  “I feel like I’m back in kindergarten.”

  “You’ll get used to it. When you are feeling up to it, we can leave for Anoshii.”

  “How long will that take?”

  “Not too long. I live… we live not far from the Shijo Ocean between Anoshii and Shomodii. It’ll take several days to get there and get what we need.”

  “I don’t have any money. At least not Duran money.”

  “I do,” he said.

  I stared at the fire, trying to conceal my discomfort. I didn’t like getting money for nothing. Growing up with no money of my own, I learned what I needed in order to live and what I could do without. Money was for food and shelter, and while it would have been nice to have a computer, the school had perfectly good ones in the library. My one and only computer had taken me a year to save up for, only to be confiscated and sold by my mother for gambling money. I learned not to accumulate trinkets. Still, it wasn’t like I could turn it down.

  Edward laughed at my expression. “In the many years I’ve lived, I have collected more money than I would ever need. Furthermore, you’ll be my apprentice so you’ll be earning it.”

  “What kind of work will I be doing?” I asked, slightly edgy.

  He shrugged and his smile faded. “Mostly just house and yard work. Keep the house clean, wash clothes, help with the wood chopping, and general stuff like that. Primarily I want you to focus on your studies.”

  “It sounds easy enough.”

  “This isn’t a regular apprenticeship, where I teach you magic in exchange for your hard labor. My top priority is protecting you and your book and preparing you to protect your world on your own. Your top priority must be to learn the skills you need to survive and protect Earth.”

  “Can I practice magic on my chores? Like chopping wood with magic?” I asked.

  He cringed. “Drink.”

  I hadn’t noticed him fill my cup, but when I looked in it there was a thick, gold liquid. “Are you sure it’s safe?”

  “There’s only one way to find out.”

  I suspected he was joking, so I took a tiny sip. It was sweet like juice, but not any recognizable fruit, and was colder than the liquid actually was. Edward finished his and poured himself another glass. “This isn’t alcoholic, is it?”

  “There are alcoholic drinks on Duran, but they’re acidic and don’t taste very good. This is Kamitsue juice. You remember those looping weeds with the big leaves that kept wrapping around your shoes?”

  “Yeah. They could have cut me up real bad if I had been running.”

  “Those were Kamdka, or rattle weeds. They’re too sweet to eat, but their roots make a good drink.”

  I drank more of the thick drink and then continued to eat. Once I knew I wasn’t going to fall over dead, I found the drink to be fairly good. The meat was much more filling than I had expected it to be.

  “I think I’m already getting used to the heaviness. I want to hurry to Anoshii; I’m anxious to see what it’s like.”

  “You’re much more curious than Kiro’s last apprentice.” I jumped out of my skin and my skin hopped off the log onto the cold, hard ground. “Clumsier, too.”

  The silky, cheerful voice belonged to a woman who was entirely too beautiful to be real. Her long, shiny black hair contrasted her porcelain complexion and light blue eyes that were like crystals. Her perfectly symmetrical facial features were soft and young, but had the graceful beauty of a woman. She was not as tall as Vivian, only about five-foot-six, and wasn’t as thin, but had a slender, athletic figure.

  Her tight, dark blue tank top looked to be made of thick, stretchy cotton and barely met her short black shorts. Her boots came up to her knees.

  I could still feel her body heat on my right side where she had appeared next to me. She was entirely too beautiful to be human. And apparently too beautiful to be talked to by idiots. I tried not to stare. I really tried. Okay, I didn’t try very hard; it would have been a waste of energy and I hated wasting energy.

  Her smile faltered. “Don’t tell me you can’t talk to a woman.”

  “Divina, you’re going to give him a heart attack and I really don’t want to have to start it again.” She turned her beautiful smile on Edward and I was able to breathe. “He’s recovering from a massive electrocution.”

  “He sounded like he was doing fine.”

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I was just out hiking and I heard you, so I thought I would come and visit.”

  His eyes narrowed with suspicion. “You’re never ‘just out hiking’ in my territory.”

  Ignoring his thinly veiled accusation, she awarded me a dazzling smile. “He’s so cute. Not like your last apprentice.” She looked at him again and I realized my heart was beating erratically. “Remember our deal? I get to give every new apprentice a kiss for luck.”

  My heart skipped a beat or six.

  There was uncalled for apprehension in Edward’s voice. “Not yet! You almost killed one of my apprentices already with a kiss and he was completely healthy.”

  What a way to die.

  “You’ve gone boring in your old age,” she said. Edward reached over, grabbed her arm, and pulled her to sit next to him instead of me. He seemed completely immune to her mind-scrambling beauty.

  I forced myself up and, after a moment, got myself sitting straight on the log. “Hi,” I said, my voice was shaky and high. Her teeth sparkled through her lips and I thought I was going to pass out. Even her teeth were gorgeous.

  “So you can talk to women.”

  “I guess so,” I mumbled. I couldn’t look into her eyes, but I no longer felt heavy; I was too light. While she was incredibly beautiful, my own reaction surprised me. I wasn’t exactly smooth or practiced at talking with women, but I wasn’t usually a goober, either. Hopefully, I can chalk it up to having been electrocuted.

  “I’m Divina. Congratulations on being Kiro’s apprentice. He doesn’t warm up to people lightly and he doesn’t take apprentices very often. He’s a good tormentor- I mean mentor. How’s Duran working for you?”

  “How do you know I’m not from Duran?” I asked. “Oh, right, because I speak English. How do you know English?”

  “Divina is very good at magic and knows more than she should. She is also very nosy with a penchant for sticky situations.”

  “I’m not all that nosy; I only care about what is interesting,” she said. “I had a dream about you coming, so I had to come meet you. I’m not a seer, but I can see things as they happen. I saw that lightning trick you pulled off. Very impressive.” She put her elbow on her knee and her chin in her palm as if to convey her undivided attention. I think I turned the color of her berry pink lips.

  Edward looked annoyed. “Eat,” he told me.

  I grabbed a small chunk of yorkie, but couldn’t eat it. I couldn’t look away from Divina, who was studying me closely.

  She glanced back at Edward. “He could be threateningly powerful when he’s trained, and even more so if he signs more books. Especially if he stays pure.”

  “What do you mean by ‘pure’?” I asked, finding my voice.

  Her teeth gleamed again with her smile. “You know. Unsullied. Virgin.”

  I went a whole new shade of red. “You can tell?”

  “Of course. It’s nothing to be ashamed o
f. It’s rare to find men your age who are still pure. It shows a sense of self control.”

  “Or lack of social skills,” I told my food. Divina laughed and my heart jumped into my throat. Whatever reason for my awkward weakness to this woman, it was quite possibly hazards for my health.

  “You better heal fast so I can give you your good luck kiss.”

  “Only one? I happen to be a very unlucky person,” I said. I knew I shouldn’t have, but my brain-to-mouth filter was shot.

  “Well, we’ll just have to see about that.”

  “So, I suppose you’re coming with us to Anoshii?” Edward asked, sounding like he wasn’t completely thrilled at the idea. I hadn’t known that Edward was completely out of his mind.

  “I need to go there anyway. I might as well make sure you don’t scare the poor new guy off.”

  “Child, be careful with him. He doesn’t control his emotions well and he’s liable to get in trouble enough as it is without having to spend all his energy resisting you,” he cautioned.

  I knew I was being insulted; I just couldn’t manage to care when Divina crossed her legs and sat back, causing her shirt to stretch tightly across her chest.

  “I haven’t heard who you are, cutie,” she said.

  I looked at Edward for a few seconds before I could remember my name. His annoyed expression had turned amused. “I’m Dylan. Dylan Carter.”

  “You’re very trusting, Dylan Carter,” she said. Edward made an annoyed noise, aimed at me.

  “What? Why?” I asked.

  “You gave me your name, your real name, so easily.” I blinked and she smiled. “If I were secretly a Guardian, I could look in your book, find your name, and erase it. You wouldn’t exist anymore. I’m just saying you shouldn’t give out your name so easily. It is your identity and becomes stronger as you learn magic. If you’re a powerful wizard and another wizard knows your full name, they can use that to control you.”

  “But I didn’t give you my full name,” I said. I glanced questioningly at Edward. “I don’t know about Duran’s naming system, but where I come from, we have three or four names. I didn’t tell you my middle name. And if you were gonna erase my name, why wouldn’t you erase everyone’s but your own?”

  “Only a god can take the power of a world and not lose their mind. Shouldn’t your mentor be teaching this to you?”

  “But Vretial has two worlds.”

  “He lost his mind trying to rule the first one. Vretial is what you would call psychotic,” she explained.

  “But if he erased the other god’s name, why didn’t that god disappear?”

  “It doesn’t work on them, but it probably does work on a Guardian. Nobody really knows what happens to a Guardian if they die or their name is erased. Ronez was the first one to die, as far as I know.”

  “Erono likes to threaten me by promising to erase my name. I don’t know what would happen, because I am immortal, but I don’t want to risk it,” Edward said.

  “You should know this,” Divina said, giving Edward an accusing glance.

  “He’s been unconscious most of the time he was here. Every time I try to teach him something, he drags me off the subject by asking a whole bunch of new and irrelevant questions,” Edward said.

  Divina smiled at him. “I know what you mean. He’s just curious. He’s cute, too. Make sure you teach him some Sudo that can help him in a sticky spot.” She turned to me. “Repeat after me.” I could only stare at her as she said something in Sudo. The language that came out of her mouth was made for her voice.

  But even though my heart was frantic, my voice was more sure of myself. “I know that game. What does that mean in English?”

  Edward smirked and Divina rolled her eyes.

  “Never mind. You’re more suspicious than Kiro’s last apprentice.” Then she smiled again. “You’re going to be a lot of fun.” Well, the bar was set. She stood up and I was really hoping for her to stretch. She didn’t. “I must be going. I’ll be back in time to go with you to Anoshii. See you soon.” She leaned down in front of me until her face was inches from mine. Her sweet breath made me dizzy. “You get better quickly.”

  I nodded.

  Edward stood and Divina straightened. “Take care of yourself,” she said to him.

  “And you.”

  She started walking away, towards the woods surrounding us. I glanced at Edward as he sat down, then back to where Divina had been. She was gone.

  Edward sighed. “What do you think of her?” he asked.

  “She has very pretty… everything.”

  Edward laughed. “Yes, she’s a cute little thing, but you should try your hardest to resist her. She’s all pretty and sweet but you’ll never get her. Divina is gifted in magic and learned from a young age to use her beauty to get what she wants. She is extremely manipulative and would not hesitate to use a man to her advantage.”

  “Have you ever tried for her?” I asked.

  “Not in many years. She’s more like the daughter of a friend to me. I think she’d be too wild even for an immortal man. Finish eating,” he said. I did, but couldn’t get Divina’s voice out of my head.

  After eating, it was back to my lessons. First I had to get a grip on the elements before I could start on the fun stuff. Edward put the rest of the animal in a shed behind the house, and then locked it with what looked like a combination lock. We started an hour hike to the springs. I would have walked half as fast if Edward wasn’t behind me, pushing me the entire way.

  After about twenty minutes I stopped tripping over the rattle weeds, and after forty minutes, they weren’t even slowing me down. I was adapting to the terrain and even the gravity a little bit. Edward, of course, had to be light and quiet as the air.

  When the forest broke into a clearing around a wide stream, I was bewildered. The water was crystal clear and I could see the large, smooth rocks lining the bed. It was like a small river, about twelve feet across, except the water moved very slowly and gently. It curled and turned out of sight in both directions. The canal was surrounded by large rocks, one of which Edward sat on. He started to unlace his boots and I joined him, thankful for the chance to rest.

  “Take off… those things.”

  “They’re sneakers. And they were nice ones, too.” Now they were destroyed ones. In one day on the new world, my shoes went from very nice, barely worn, to tattered remnants. There was a hole right through the side of my left one. I took them off.

  Edward stuck his feet in the water, but when he lifted them out a minute later, they were dry. “Try it.”

  “Try what?” I stuck my feet in the water, expecting it to be freezing. It was hot. It was really a natural hot springs. “Is there anything in there that’ll try to eat my feet?”

  “No. Everything in the water has better taste than that,” he said. I gave him my most intimidating glare, but he didn’t seem to notice. “The waters are too warm for water dwellers, and land animals avoid this place.”

  “Do I want to know why?” The water was soothing to my aching muscles, so I was willing to risk it.

  He smirked. “The spirits of the woods are choosy about who they allow around here.”

  “Oh… I don’t remember getting an invitation.”

  He rolled his pants up and stuck his feet in further. “The spirits are fond of wizards. If you were not allowed, we would already know. Do you feel the water on your skin? Can you imagine it?”

  “Yeah. It feels wet. It’s supposed to feel wet, right?” It was alien water after all.

  “Yes. I want you to imagine your feet are not wet. I want you to imagine that the water can’t touch your skin. Don’t let it. If you can make lightning do your will, you can make water do it. Water is simple, while your mind is very complex, so the water is nothing. Do not try to move the water away, just don’t let it touch you. What makes up water?”

  “Hydrogen and Oxygen.”

  “No. Energy. How water is made is not important with magic. Water is s
imple. It’s made of two kinds of energy. You can feel the magic energy because you’re a wizard. Control it. Don’t think of anything but controlling it.”

  I lay back on the hard rock and tried to imagine the water not being able to touch me. It was a silly fantasy, so I drifted off to the thought of magic. The mind controls the energy. Edward had pulled his feet out of the water dry. I had controlled lightning with my mind. My poor, half-baked brain.

  “Maybe I can’t do it because my brain is fried.”

  “You can do it. If you believe you can’t, you’re an idiot. You just don’t want it. Make up a reason and believe it.”

  “Like religion, okay.” I imagined the silliest possibility there could be and played on that. The water was made of fish pee. I wasn’t going to get many baths on Shomodii. I imagined first that the water was yellow and warm, as it was already warm. I really wanted to pull my feet out of the water, but I had the feeling Edward would just make me put them back in.

  So I imagined it couldn’t touch me, and I really, really didn’t want it to. Nothing happened.

  “You’re not using the energy. You’re a wizard, so you can feel it; you just have to know what it is you’re feeling. We’re going to do a very relaxing exercise of meditation,” he said. I didn’t like the sounds of that. “Pull your feet out of the water and sit cross-legged.”

  “Why?” I asked, but did as he said.

  “It’s just the way it is done.”

  “So, if I were to… lay down… it wouldn’t work?”

  “You must learn to walk before you can run. It’s not easy to do,” he insisted.

  That’s funny; I thought sitting and doing nothing was relatively easy. It was an American inborn talent.

  “Clear your mind completely. Focus on your own breathing.”

  So we sat there in silence. I desperately wanted to tell him my leg was cramping, but he looked deep within his own mind and I was easily within throttling distance. Still, as the time went on endlessly, I was finding it harder and harder to concentrate.