by Bob Dattolo
“What can I say? You don’t spend a ton of time in gym class given the life I’ve led.” Let’s see if they read into that at all.
Chapter 18
You gotta love rideshare programs for making things difficult. Without a phone, it’s kinda hard to get one of those apps to work, you know? I’m so wondering if I should just get one when I’m in town. It’d make these infrequent trips easier to deal with but would also be an added expense that I don’t really need. I could use it for my alarm clock and scheduling and things like that. Looking things up when I’m not at my computer. That’s about it. I don’t have anyone to call, so it just leaves me wondering if getting a car to come get me is worth the money each month.
I did luck into someone willing to come get me for twenty bucks on Craigslist, which worked out better than I expected it to. They didn’t ask a lot of questions. Didn’t even have magic. Accepted the twenty bucks with a smile, then drove off.
Leaving me here. Ugh. I’m hoping that being here so close to opening time for the stores will be just what the doctor ordered for staying the hell away from other students and safe.
The town’s exactly what I saw on the drive in. Small, but not tiny. It has a good number of stores, which is good. There may only be like 300 students in the academy, but a large number come from money due to their power, so they’re not against spending a ton of cash when they get the urge.
Parece didn’t say anything when I hit the room again to get a shower. She seemed to be back towards being antagonistic, at least a little, just not to the point of saying anything. Riley did make a few whispered comments in the bathroom. Just nothing for me to get involved in.
Kaylee caught me before I left. We didn’t talk much, and I didn’t mention Kynal and the others. Yet. I will, I just want to think about that a little more and not do it in a way that’s just a pump and dump for her. I was going to tell her in town, but she did a hard pass on that and looked horrified that I was risking myself by going out.
That didn’t stop me. Obviously.
There are two bookstores here that I want to visit. I think there might be two more, but those didn’t seem as good online. The temptation to ask others for advice was there, just not acted on. That seems like a horribly sucky idea.
That means that I get to wander through town since, like a dumbass, I didn’t ask to be dropped off right in front of one of them. Plus, without a phone? I can’t look up a map. Right? Something most people my age can do, at least that I’ve seen, and I’m stuck without.
Still, though, I found the first store decently easily after walking for a good ten minutes. It’s larger than I would have expected. Then again, how many bookstores have I been in in my life? No idea from before, but literally zero since Jean took me in. Because I was blind at first, then because Reggie wasn’t much of a reader.
I’m thinking because he spent too much time torturing people to death.
The person behind the counter is on the phone with someone. Sounds like a delivery person. And they’re late? Something like that. Not my concern. That lets me walk the aisles looking for anything interesting. Where I strike out after about ten minutes. Even though the online stuff mentioned I’d be able to find what I wanted here, I’m finding mostly normal reading books. There’s a tiny section on magic, actual magic, but it’s…garbage, honestly. Not grimoires. They’re pretty much people’s stories. Memoirs. Poignant tales of love, hate, strife, success, and courage.
That was literally on two different books. Word for word.
Time to go hunt elsewhere.
My walk to the second place lasted an hour. It’s not a huge town, yet I got so freaking lost. Literally no one would give me directions. I asked four people. Three of them acted like I was going to kill them. The last one just shook his head and said no before ignoring me.
All that for a store that I was in and out of in under 20 minutes.
Their web site is a lie. A total lie. The have this picture of a big place with tons of magic-related items. Yeah…no. Not even close. The building isn’t even huge. I think one of the pictures was legit but taken at some a perfect angle as to make it seem four or five times larger than it was in real life. The other pictures? Holy crap. Photoshopped? I can’t even tell.
That has me struggling with what to do. I know there are two other places out here that are tiny. Are they worth it? The first two weren’t. The first was better, but that one? That one was a joke. If the last two are worse than their web site makes them appear, then maybe they’re a closet with a single book in them? I’m not sure how else they’d be worse unless I’m being attacked and murdered in them. Then, yeah, they’d be worse.
Wandering around doesn’t do much for me as I try to think through options. I can just walk back to the academy. That’s easy enough to do, although it’ll probably take close to an hour. Unless I jog? That’s a possibility. I wouldn’t want people to see me doing it, though. Can’t lie during gym class if people see me running a few miles to get back.
I wonder what…huh. Would you look at that? It’s one of the other stores. And, frankly, it doesn’t look nearly as bad as the pictures online made it seem.
This one is supposed to be more of a magic store than a straight bookstore. The info online says they sell wands and other things with spells in them. Let’s see if they have a book for me?
The inside is not horrible. Not in the slightest. Better than the second one. Not larger, but definitely better.
A kindly old guy looks up from where he’s stacking some things on a shelf. I can’t make out what he’s doing. “Good morning! Can I help you?” He frowns as he catches what I look like, “We don’t want no trouble with you kids from the academy.”
My hands went up, “I’m not looking for trouble. I was told that I might be able to find an interesting grimoire in town? I hit two other stores, but they didn’t have much at all.”
He didn’t respond immediately as I continued forward. “Huh, well, if another student comes here, you need to stay away from them or get out. Same with them. Don’t think I’m blaming you specifically. Every year, I end up sucked into some bullshit with you kids. I got out of that nightmare the first chance I had.”
Huh, he looks old as dirt, which means he’s got to be way up there.
“I can do that. I haven’t been at school for long, and I don’t exactly want to get into it with someone else. That’s why I’m here so early and why I’m looking for a book.”
He looked me up and down, “Okay. Just keep a look out. Not that I get a lot of you kids in here on a normal day. Now…grimoire? What affinity?”
I fingered my hair, “No clue? We haven’t been able to figure one out yet.”
He grunted, “You aren’t just a weird air or ice?”
“No. Apparently not. Based on what the police said.”
He looked me up and down again, “That’s impossible. I may have left the academy after the first year, but I’ve been alive for centuries. Everyone has an affinity.”
“I don’t know what mine is. I haven’t had access to magic long. I couldn’t get a spell to work for the cops to test me. That’s why I’m trying to find a book. Something that has a lot of various spells that I can try until I can get something to work. Figure out what my affinity is.”
That’s a lot of side stepping even though he’s not a dragon, but I think it’s worthwhile. Also not a lie, so there’s that, too.
More staring. “You gotta be saying something I don’t understand, but I don’t really have time for it. C’mon. The books are over here.” That started a mini trek through his store to an area covered by at least four cameras. It’s one large bookshelf and has…maybe 60 books on it. “This is what I have. They’re sorted by affinity, with only this section here being general. None of these are cheap. You got the kind of money needed to buy one?”
The price tags that I’m seeing are…horrifically high. I can afford some of them, but it’ll be draining nearly everything. “Not for
all of them, but for some? Yeah.”
“Good. I got cameras on everything here, so don’t think any of these are gonna walk with you.”
“That’s not my goal. I’m just looking to learn more magic so the kids in the academy don’t kill me for burping at the wrong time.”
He gave me a surprised laugh, “Yeah…yeah. Ain’t having magic grand? If only the norms knew the kind of garbage we go through.”
Yeah, if only.
He left me alone as I pulled out the first book in the general section. Nothing huge. Nothing amazing. Lots of general commentary. Very few spells.
Next!
Hmmm, this is a cookbook with a spell every…fifth recipe or so. I kid you not. That one was a recipe for herbed duck breast. Nothing magical about it.
This one is a book on how to make magical items. Useful, but not overly so.
Another recipe book. A family history. This one…this one is a romance book between a dragon and a human…honestly, that’d kill a human. Or a mage. They’re hung huge when shifted.
Okay, skip that. Anything in the affinity-specific sections? I’m not hitting every one of them, that’s for sure. Lots and lots of nothing. Some things that look good, yet I don’t think I’d want to be seen with them because people will question my affinity. Then some that looked promising, at least slightly, but are mid six digits in price.
Oookay. Let’s get out of here.
He caught me approaching the door, “Didn’t find anything?”
“Nothing that seemed to really fit?”
He nodded, “Not surprised. Well, good luck out there.”
“Thanks.”
The door opened just before I reached it and a girl smaller than I am stepped in. She was looking to the side, so I stepped over more to let her pass. It’s so rare for me to see someone shorter than I am. I feel so tall, even though it’s maybe two inches. She has light blue stripes in her hair, telling me she’s at least an ice something. I can’t see her eyes to tell for sure. As I step through the closing door, I hear, “I told you not to come back here!”
Her snide voice reached me as the door closed, “And I told you to fuck off, I do what I want. Just try to stop me.”
Oookay, now I’m glad I’m out of there. No idea what her problem is. Is she from the academy? Makes me wonder. Just not enough to stick around.
More wandering, although I had a fruitful stop at a phone place that was running a special. I got a phone cheap plus two years of service for not anywhere near as much money as I expected. I’m pretty sure that means they’ll be jacking things through the roof by the end of it. But, since I have a possible date with death oh, any day within those two years, I’m not sure I’m going to worry about it just yet.
My epic trek took me through lunch, which had me stopping at a tiny place. It had a number of cars there, but zero kids my age that I could make out from outside. I’ve been seeing more and more people that I’m nearly certain are students, and I’ve been going out of my way to avoid them. Without making the avoidance look obvious. Why call attention to myself?
My expectation that people inside would give me a problem wasn’t quite accurate. They weren’t inviting, that’s for sure. Once I made it clear I wasn’t a bitch, wasn’t about to do something stupid, and was pretty much hiding out, they let it go and I was tucked away in a back corner where I was able to eat quickly. I left them a big tip and got out fast so that I didn’t somehow bring people there to mess up their little setting. Honestly, I’d go back.
With that in mind, I set out for the academy again. I have no idea what to do here. Now that I have a phone, I can get an easy rideshare, but the walking has done me good and made me feel at least somewhat normal. For someone that does not feel normal, pretty much ever, you can imagine that I don’t want that to end.
Just like what happened before, I fell onto the last bookstore I’d been looking for. It’s nowhere near where the online map says it should be. Yes, I did use my map app to get there. I found a florist the first time. The second time was a closed storefront. When the third brought me to a pharmacy, I gave up using that route. No idea what’s up with that. That shouldn’t be possible, so I have to assume it’s not really something the place put into effect somehow.
Not that I get why you’d want to keep someone away from a place this…old. The outside looks old. Way old. Not quite Stonehenge levels of architecture, just not too much newer.
With that, the front door opens easily. No creaking. No sticking. Sure, it smells like dust came in here to die, but at least the front door is properly level and oiled. Even the little bell sounds new…while looking like it’s a rusting hunk of barely-there metal.
Hmm, note to self? Do not take interior design lessons from whoever set this place up.
I’m not sure why I expected a little old woman behind the counter, but I’m wrong. It’s also not a little old guy. She looks…50? Maybe? Given her bronze striped hair, I have to assume she’s way, way older than that. Possibly more than 1,000.
“Good afternoon. What can I help you with?” She sniffed.
“Uhh, hi? I’m looking for grimoires? Well, one, really.”
She sniffed again, “I see.” She leaned into her counter, “Tell me…no, let me guess. You have no idea what affinity you are? Your eyes aren’t pale gray. They’re also not pale blue. They’re white. Your hair is white.”
“Um, yeah?”
She sniffed again, “And you don’t know if you’re a dragon?”
“Holy…how’d you know that?”
She tapped her nose, “You smell somewhere in between.”
I couldn’t help the spike of excitement, “Do you know what I am?” Please, oh please, oh please!
A smile blossomed on her face, “I’d love to say yes, but I don’t.” Fuck. “While the nose doesn’t lie, it doesn’t know all. I may even be pretty old, but I’ve never heard of anyone with white. What about your spells? What can you do?”
Dammit, “I’ve, umm, only had magic for like the past two weeks.”
She looked at my scars, “Interesting. Stricken?”
“Yeah.”
“Well then, that’s two things I’ve never seen before. Too bad I don’t have the wisdom of the ages. I can’t pull out some prophecy and tell you that you’re the chosen one. That you’re some mythic affinity that only comes about yadda, yadda, yadda.” She broke into laughter, “I see your expression. I smell your disappointment. I’m sorry about that. I wish I could do that, but I can’t. Instead, I can show you around my place?” She waved at the tiny space, “It’s not huge, but it keeps the bills paid. You said you were looking for a grimoire?”
“Yeah.”
“With no idea of affinity, what direction are you headed in?”
“Umm, no idea? I had the idea to come and see what I can find. I’m not finding the academy all that friendly and welcoming.”
More laughter. “Welcoming? No, it’s not. Never has been. I went a long time ago, and it was a little worse than what you’re going through right now.”
“What the hell?”
She nodded and came around the counter, “Right? I bet that’s hard to accept. True, though. The rules around challenges weren’t really formalized until…shoot, 900 years ago? Maybe a thousand. Prior to that? Kids would wake up dead constantly. It was survival of the fittest and strongest. The year ahead of mine graduated one person. The others didn’t even make it to the final trial. My year? Shoot, we had six of us make it? And that’s only because four of us teamed up to fight off the other two.”
“My God…I so don’t understand it. Why are we such assholes to each other?”
Another smile, this time accompanied by a shrug, “I can’t even guess, honestly. Or, I can, but it’ll just be a guess. The animosity and aggressiveness seems to wear away with age, so I think much of it is really tied to our hormones when we’re younger. We can play well with others, it’s just hard to do without firm rules and controls in place. Since the parents
don’t want to do that…you get the academy as it is now.”
“That sucks.”
“It does. Then again? It limits how many powerful people are out there, so I can’t say that it’s a horrible thing for the world at large.”
“I guess I can see that.”
She patted my shoulder on the way by, “C’mon, I’ll show you the books. See if anything floats your boat.”
Our walk was short. Like 10 feet, yet we still had to turn three different corners. That had us looking at a small section of books. “Here’s what I have. Take a look. See if you like anything in particular?”
“Thank you. I will.”
She patted me again and left me behind as I looked through everything. I swear, I’m not expecting to find anything here. Still, though, I did start pulling books out one by one and looking through them.
If anything, they’re better samplings of grimoires than the last place. Much better. No cookbooks, for example. Nothing like that. Yet nothing that fit what I was looking for. They may cover general type spells, but then they dive into specifics of their affinity. So not something I wanted.
Dammit!
Another voice behind me makes me realize I missed someone coming in. Then magic goes out and blocks them. Ookay, I’m not overhearing their conversation. That’s for sure.
Now what? I don’t want to leave if they’re having a private moment. So just hang back here? There are more books…that prove to be pretty useless for my needs. Just a ton of nothing. That has me checking the shelves top to bottom to see if I overlooked anything. Seriously, there’s nothing useful here. The next section over isn’t magic like I need. The one on the other side is specific to families of supernaturals. Biographies and things like that.
Yes, I checked them just in case.
The air kicked in as I leaned against the wall, wondering what I should be doing next, when a fluttering started to annoy me. It’s not very loud, but it’s persistent. And coming from behind the shelf to my right.
