Chapter 5

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                                Chapter 5: Practice and Prediction

            It was the longest elevator ride, ever.  Or at least it felt like it.  Ether was the only one inside and his heart raced faster and faster with every floor that he passed.

            He’d been to the top floor of Headquarters plenty of times, though.  He’d even had meetings with Mr. Raine before.  He really had no reason to be nervous.

            Except for the fact that his Meeting Request form was stamped with a big, red “URGENT” on the front.  But that was it, really.

            Well, there was also that other minor detail.  Just the fact that Vincent Clarke’s rise to power and tyranny was probably Ether’s fault.

            And then there was that boy at his school who caused quite an uproar the other day.  Ether was probably dealing with his first young mage as a Scout and he didn’t quite know how to handle it.

            Ding.

            Ether wiped his sweaty palms on his frilly, white shirt and flattened his hair.  The elevator doors slid open with a terrible grinding noise and Ether stepped out.

            The hallway to Mr. Raine’s office was long and the walk was typically pleasant.  It was carpeted with an olive green and burgundy pattern and the walls were thick mahogany, clad in pictures of previous CIMPLE leaders.  A slow and steady jazz song always rung out from the speakers in the ceiling, too.  But today was different.  The hallway seemed endless and Ether felt as if he were walking to his death.

            He reached the brilliant double doors to Mr. Raine’s office and swiped his identification card through the door authenticator.  He could hear the gentle voice paging Mr. Raine inside the office:  Mr. Ether.  Department One. Identification number nine one six zero zero one three nine nine.  Scout.

            Seconds later, the same voice was playing on Ether’s side of the door: Access granted.  Welcome.  Please step away from the doors.

            There was a clicking noise and the doors opened out slowly.  The sunlight coming from the windows in Raine’s office was almost blinding in contrast to the dark hallway that Ether had just walked.

            “Good morning, Ether!  Please, have a seat.  We have much to discuss,” said Raine.

            Ether did as he was told and took his chair in front of Raine’s desk.  “Hello, sir.”

            “How many times must I ask you to call me Sanford?  You know me much better than nearly everyone who happens to grace this building.  That being said, I have called you up today to learn a bit more about you,” said Raine, pointing at Ether.

            “Sanford, let us be honest.  You have brought me here to ask me about Mr. Clarke, have you not?”

            Raine shifted uncomfortably in his seat.  “Well, alright then.  Yes, that is – I thought we would get there eventually, yes,” he fumbled.

            “Alright.  Then why don’t we cut to the chase?  What is it that you would like to know?” asked Ether.

            Despite having to indulge in more secrets about his past and Vincent Clarke, Ether had caught Raine off guard and was now in the power position of the meeting, which made him feel much more relaxed.

            Raine shuffled through a folder on his desk and pulled out a yellow piece of paper.

            “Let me see here,” he said, scanning the paper.  “Yes, I thought that we would start with some basics.  First, when was the last time that you talked to him in person?”

            “I believe it was just before I left Britain to come here, four years ago.  I had just turned twenty one.  After all, Vincent is the sole reason for my departure in the first place and for this extra burden that has been placed upon our shoulders,” said Ether.

            “Indeed, extra security measures are a bit of a hassle, but your safety is of great value to us, Ether.  It is hard to believe that Clarke has been stirring up trouble for over four years now,” said Raine.

            “Longer than that, I assure you,” Ether said, coldly.

            Raine cracked his knuckles and picked up another piece of paper and examined it.  “Let’s go back to why you left in the first place, if that is alright with you?”

            “Sanford.  We have been through this.  I assure you that I have not withheld any information regarding that particular subject.”

            “Please, Ether.  One more time.”

            Ether sighed.  “To put it plainly, he killed my mother.  Sometime after that, my father went missing.  I could only assume that Vincent had killed him as well.  That could only mean that I was his next intended target.  I would have been foolish to stay in Britain any longer than I had.”

            There was a moment of silence.  Only the faint hustle and bustle of activities on the lower floors could be heard.

            “Had you considered trying to reason with him?  Discover his motives?” asked Raine.

            Of course he had.  It was his biggest regret.  He could have tried talking to Vincent, maybe even stopped his terror.  But he chose to run.  Like a coward.  Ether was at fault for everything, but did not want to admit it to anyone other than himself.

            “Reason with a murderous lunatic?” said Ether.  “I assure you, Sanford, that would have been impossible.  He would have killed me on the spot.”

            “But what about protection?  Bodyguards or something.  Even if he tried to Skirmish with you, you would have had help.”

            “Skirmish with him?  Ha!”  Ether was laughing sarcastically and obnoxiously.  “Me, Skirmish with the most powerful mage in two thousand years... that’s a laugh, Raine.”

            “I understand that he is a powerful water mage, Ether, and that it would be dangerous for you to Skirmish alone.  But with help from others, he could be subdued and – “

            “No, Sanford.  I’m afraid that you don’t understand.  He cannot be beaten so easily.  Do you have any idea why I fled for my life?  Why I refer to him as the strongest mage in two thousand years?”

            Raine looked confused.  He pondered this thought for a moment and then his eyes shot open in intense shock.

            “You can’t possibly mean… he’s – “

            “A Quadramage, yes”

            “And you… you are sure of this?”

            “I have witnessed it firsthand.  He kept quiet for years as to not draw attention to himself.  But now that he is on his quest for power, I assume that it is out in the open as a form of intimidation.  He knows no bounds.”

            Raine turned a ghostly shade of white.  “Amazing… the power of all four elements… very dangerous, indeed.  But wouldn’t that mean that you – “

            “No.  It is not as you would think,” said Ether.

            “I am sorry,” said Raine.  “This actually leads me to my next question.  It has been seven days since the murder in Britain’s headquarters and Clarke has yet to take further action.  Do you have any inkling as to what his motives are?  Is he preparing for war?”

            “He could be.  He is a very intelligent man.  But he is also very careful.  He typically waits until he is comfortable with his power or the given situation before he strikes.  The man does not know failure.”

            “But he has an army at his feet now!  He is practically a dictator at this point.  To top it off, he is an all-powerful Quadramage.  What more could he need?”

            “I am not sure, Sanford.  We can only continue to wait and speculate – “

            And then a thought struck him.  It made him feel sick.  Vincent was always so fascinated by it.  Years ago, it was all he talked about.  An obsession, almost.  An object of legend that he thought to be true.

            “Sanford,” said Ether, doing his best to remain calm.  “I think you should plant another spy in Britain.”

            “What?  Now?  After our first has gone missing?  Ether, it is too risky.  Men are not expendable, we can’t simply just – “

            “Sanford… I have a terrible feeling that he is seeking the Book of the Four Mages.”

*                        *                    *

            The flame danced in Kirk’s wide eyes before Aiden tossed it to the ground where it fizzled out from the wet morning dew.

            “Amazing!  See?  I knew we’d figure it out!” Kirk yelled with excitement.

            Aiden gave a subtle laugh.  “Yeah, we did, didn’t we?”

            “That is so cool, man.  So cool.  So what’s the secret?  How’d you figure it out?”

            “Well, it sounds odd, but I had a little bit of help.  I’ve been having these… dreams,” said Aiden.

            Aiden explained his dreams about Cafaran to Kirk.  Kirk listened attentively and did not interrupt once.  He didn’t look the least bit shocked, either.  After all, his best friend had just produced a fireball out of his palm… there probably wasn’t much left that could shock him.

            “Wow, that’s intense,” said Kirk.  “This Cafaran guy… why is he helping you, again?”

            “Good question,” said Aiden.  To be honest, he had not even thought about that himself.  It really was strange.  “They’re just dreams, though.  Maybe it’s just my brain doing guesswork and creating this guy in my mind to coach me, if that makes any sense.  I mean, in the one dream, he knew about me being on the beach with – never mind.  What I mean is… he knows things about me that only I could know.  So unless there’s some sort of mystical telepathy nonsense going on, which we know isn’t possible, then it’s just a dream.”

            “Hey, man, don’t count it out.  If I had told you two weeks ago that you’d be doing real magic you would have laughed in my face,” said Kirk.

            “I don’t know.  I guess.  It just doesn’t seem plausible.  But at the same time, the dreams seem so real.  It doesn’t matter, though.  I can do it, and that’s what counts.  Right?”

            Kirk nodded.  Then he started pacing in circles, as if deep in thought.  Aiden let him ponder this for a moment before he froze and turned to look at Aiden.

            “Hey… so if you can do it now, that means you can teach me, doesn’t it?”

            Aiden was afraid that Kirk would ask him this.  He wasn’t entirely certain that he could teach him.  A lot of it had to do with inner focus and mental images.  Those kinds of things are hard to plant into others’ minds. It would just be easier if Kirk could read his mind than have him try to explain it.  Not only that, but Aiden had only learned to harness this power less than a few hours ago.  He liked feeling a bit, well, superior.  For once, he could do something that Kirk could not that wasn’t related to academics.  He wasn’t so sure he wanted to give that up just yet.

            Aiden shrugged.  “I’m not sure,” he said, truthfully.  “The best I can tell you is just… do what Cafaran told me to do in the dream.”

            “Okay,” said Kirk.

            It took every bit of Aiden not to laugh.  Kirk had his eyes closed and his face was screwed up as if he were going to the bathroom.  His hands were shaking and twitching and he was breathing very deeply and slowly.  His lips were moving slightly and Aiden could barely make out that Kirk was talking to himself.  It was quite a sight.

            Kirk opened his eyes and stared down at his hands.  There was nothing.  He sighed and immediately tried again, looking just as ridiculous as last time.  Knowing Kirk, he would be here all day trying over and over.  Sometimes his determination was a bit too much.  After a few more attempts and more absurd facial expressions, Aiden laughed.

            “Yeah, real funny,” said Kirk.  “Just remember that I didn’t laugh at you even when you asked me to beat you up.”

            “Sorry,” said Aiden, still chuckling.  “You’re right.  But you look funny doing it.  It’s kind of like you’re trying too hard.  You should relax more. It’s the best way to concentrate.  Cafaran said control is everything, anyway.”

            Kirk nodded and tried again.  He did look much more relaxed this time.  However, he quickly broke his focus and turned to Aiden.

            “Let me see your ring,” said Kirk.

            “What?”

            “I need it.  I just realized that I don’t have an interbum or whatever and – “

            “Hang on.  Intagrum – for one.  And two, I’ve never taken this ring off for longer than a few seconds.  I wouldn’t feel right without it,” confessed Aiden.

            “Come on, man, please.  I don’t have an Intagrum.  And if I do, I have no idea what it is or if it works the way yours does.  But we know yours works.  Just let me try it.  Please?”

            It was difficult to refuse his best friend.  Aiden thought about all of the support Kirk had given him over the past few days.  He brought him to Ridgeway and sat with him, very patiently, waiting for something to happen.  He never got mad or upset and was nothing but encouraging.  There was no denying that Aiden owed him this favor, to say the least.  He began sliding the ring off of his finger.

            “Thanks, Aiden.  You’re the best,” said Kirk.

            “No problem.  Just… be careful with it, okay?”

            As soon as the ring left his finger, a strange feeling captured Aiden.  He felt colder and shuddered a bit under the warm, morning sun.  His senses felt less sharp.  The flowers and greenery of the field didn’t smell the same.  His vision blurred for a second and he swore that he could hear the birds singing a different tune.  Cafaran really wasn’t kidding when he said that the ring augmented Aiden’s abilities.

            Kirk gave a couple of more attempts with the ring on.  Sometimes he switched it from finger to finger and even changed hands.  Nothing seemed to work.  There was absolutely no sign of magic happening.  For the first time in his life, Kirk looked a little discouraged.

            “Hey, man, don’t sweat it,” said Aiden.  “Remember what you told me the other day?  Can’t expect to be a professional after – what – two hours?”

            Kirk smiled.  “Yeah, you’re right.  This is pretty tough stuff, man.  I give you credit for being able to do it.  Trying to focus like that is mentally exhausting,” he said as he pushed up his hair with his sweatband and rubbed his forehead.

            “And I’ll return the favor, you know.  I’ll head out here every afternoon with you if I have to until you can do it, too.  By the way, have you given any thought to what you would do with your magic?  Assuming that you’ll be able to do it, of course… it’s gets complicated when you think about it because – “

            “Hold up.  I have to be able to do it first.  Once I can, then we can start thinking about all that other stuff.  I don’t want to get sidetracked.  Focus is everything, you said it yourself.”

            Aiden nodded.  “Hey, do you want to take a break for now?  We skipped breakfast and I could really go for a sandwich downtown.”

            “Yeah, that’s fine.  I don’t want to burn myself out, either.  And who knows… maybe the oh-so-wise Cafaran will have an idea about how to help me.”

            Aiden laughed.  “Maybe, yeah.”

But Aiden did not see that green and white checkered couch for nearly a month.  Every night he would go to bed and hope to see Cafaran, but always woke up disappointed.  Except for the nights when he dreamed of Myriah.  But that was equally as frustrating.  He’d been so caught up in magic with Kirk that he hadn’t had time to pluck up the courage to talk to her.  It’s not even like she was hard to track down, either.  They had three classes together and she was typically alone whenever he saw her.  But she made him feel weak in the knees and Aiden found himself forgetting what he was going to say any time he thought about turning to talk to her.

            And on top of that, Dylan was acting strangely, too.  He seemed to have a short fuse and would get fired up over silly things.  And his comments were getting a bit rude.  Saying things like, “huddle in the corner without me again,” or something.  Aiden wasn’t really sure. He didn’t have time to pay attention to that.

In fact, it was hard to focus on anything else at the moment, what with magic and all of the schoolwork he’d been doing.  His teachers were definitely overworking him and Hazzlok’s class was just downright unfair.  The workload was intense and Aiden wasn’t exactly excellent at Chemistry to begin with.  He was well on his way to receive his first ever “B” and did not want to have to stay after school with Hazzlok for extra help.  He, too, was acting strangely toward Aiden.  Instead of the loathing that he displayed on the first day of class, he was sometimes overly nice.  He also seemed a little nervous.  Maybe he was just trying to make up for being a jerk on the first day, but it didn’t make Aiden like him any better.

Aiden was at least thankful that his parents didn’t question him, either.  They had no idea what he was doing at Ridgeway.  They just believed that he was going to play Frisbee with Kirk every day.  It made sense, though.  He came home tired and sweaty each night, so it was a pretty feasible lie.

For a full month, Aiden and Kirk knew only homework, magic, and sleeping.  They exhausted themselves, day in and day out.  Kirk’s progress was grim.  There was hardly any, actually.  Either he was much slower than Aiden, or he simply would never be able to do it.  Hopefully it was the former.

On the other hand, Aiden used their time at Ridgeway to practice his own skills.  Aside from merely creating a ball of fire, he could now extinguish it in his hand, make it hover around him, or juggle two or three of them in his hands.  He was quite talented with his magic.  And while this sometimes motivated Kirk to try harder, it also made him feel a bit down on himself.  Aiden tried not to overdo it.

But one Friday evening, he did overdo it.  It was brilliant, though.  He made a fireball the size of a watermelon and couldn’t put it out.  Kirk had to dig a quick hole with his hands so that they could douse the fire with dirt clods.  More mentally drained than ever, they quit early and went home.  Aiden’s pillow never felt so good.

He felt that strange, familiar sensation.  Like he was being sucked through the floor.

“You are a great friend, Mr. Brande.”

“Cafaran!”

“Hello again.  Yes, you are a true friend, indeed.  As you may have already guessed, I have been watching you still.  Your willingness to help Kirk is quite admirable.  Even going as far as letting him borrow your Intagrum.”

“Well, yeah.  I mean, it’s only fair.  He helped me, so I said I’d help him.  It’s the right thing to do,” said Aiden.

“Truly noble.  Spoken like one who seeks fairness and justice.  As you know now, teaching one to use magic is no easy task.”

“Yeah, seriously.  It seemed so much easier when you told me what to do.  But I guess it’s because this is a dream and all,” said Aiden.

“Ah, well that may be part of it.  But there is another very important reason as to why you cannot teach him to do what you do.”

“And I assume that you’re going to tell me what this is?” asked Aiden.

“That is correct.  For one, he needs his own Intagrum.  An Intagrum is a soul-bound object, meaning it only works for its true owner.  And secondly, Kirk will never be able to produce a flame.”

Aiden froze.  He felt the hairs stand up on the back of his neck.  This seemed to be a trending feeling when he visited Cafaran.  He was nearly at a loss for words. 

“So… we’ve been wasting our time?” he squeaked.  “But he wants to do it so badly.  It would crush him if I told him that.  He doesn’t know how to deal with that kind of rejection, trust me.”

“Come now, Mr. Brande.  Again, you are failing to think this through sensibly.  What did I say first?”

“That he needs an Intagrum?”

“Yes.  Now why would I say that if it were impossible for him to perform magic?”

“But… you said he could never produce a flame…”

“Exactly.  You think magic stays contained in just fire?  I said that he couldn’t produce a flame.  Think.”

As usual, Aiden was dumbfounded as he sat on the couch across from Cafaran.  “I’m sorry, Caf.  I know you have a lot of faith in me but I’m pretty lost here.”

Cafaran gave a small laugh and smiled.  He clapped his hands together and leaned forward.  “Ah, yes.  Of course you would not know this.  I just wanted to see how far you’ve stretched your mind over the past month.  Anyway… just the ramblings of a bored, old man.  Allow me to explain.”

Cafaran slowly stood up and began pacing around the coffee table.  He gestured Aiden to help himself to a cookie and then heaved a deep sigh.

“As I said before, magic does not exist solely within the realm of fire.  Depending on how well you’ve been paying attention in your Latin or Chemistry classes, you may know of the four classical Greek elements, yes?”

“I – well, maybe.  I think I remember something from Latin.  Earth, fire, wind, water?”

“Very good.  You see, it was the Greeks and Romans who invented magic in the first place.  This is how the stories of the gods and goddesses were created.  Those who could not do magic or notice it merely passed it off as an act of the gods.  Magic was also the reason for the creation of some of the first government, for containment purposes.  And we can also assume that it was probably the reason for many early wars.”

“Okay, thanks for the history lesson but… how is that relevant?” asked Aiden.

“Patience!  But yes, I suppose I went off on a bit of a tangent.  That brings me back to the four elements, which are essential to magic.  You see, every person has some sort of elemental affinity, whether they are a mage or not.  And most of the time, it is quite easy to figure out based upon their personality.  The best way to explain it is to think of some of those clichéd metaphors they teach you in school.

“For example, if someone has a bad temper or they get upset easily, you could say that they’re ‘hot-headed’ or maybe that they have a ‘short fuse.’  This could be a clue that they are affiliated with the fire element.  If someone isn’t very receptive of others and has a hard time being nice at first, you could say that they are as ‘cold as ice,’ and so forth.  Is it starting to make sense?”

Aiden nodded in agreement.  “So, if you said Kirk could never produce a flame, then he’s definitely not fire.  But what would he be, then?”

Cafaran shrugged.  “And why are you asking me this?  He’s your friend, not mine.  If anyone should be able to answer that question, I would think that it would be you, Mr. Brande.”

“Good point,” said Aiden, feeling slightly defeated.  “Well, he’s very determined.  He’s also a good friend, he’s very creative, and he’s insanely athletic.  I mean, I tried to catch him a while back and it was just impossible.  But the list goes on.”

“Slow down.  I think you may have answered this question already.  Think about what you just told me.”

Aiden thought for a moment.  “He’s… quick?”

“Yes, I think that is a very good starting point,” said Cafaran, smiling.  “Which of the four elements would you say most associates with quickness?  Well, three, rather.  I don’t think you and Kirk would get along too well if he were associated with water.”

“Right... um… well fire spreads pretty quickly, but you’ve pretty much ruled that out.  So that leaves earth and wind.  When I think of earth I think of dirt and rocks, and that just sounds slow… so I’d have to guess wind.”

Cafaran smiled and sat down.  “I think that is a fair assumption, Mr. Brande.  You continue to impress me.  What a fine young man you are growing to be.  I must say, your fireball this afternoon was quite good.  Perhaps a little more control is needed, but it was excellent nonetheless.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Cafaran glanced at the wall of clocks.  “I am afraid it’s that time again.  I don’t think we will be seeing each other for a while, so I wish you the best of luck in helping Kirk.”

Aiden felt the room start to get blurry.  He was getting that strange sensation in his gut.  But he needed to know something.

“Wait!” he cried.

The room straightened itself.  The couch felt more defined.  The smell of the cookies was more prominent.

“Yes, Mr. Brande?”

“Why… are you helping me?”

Cafaran smiled yet again.  “But this is a dream, is it not?”

“I don’t know.  Sometimes I don’t think so.  So in case that it isn’t… why me?”

“Well, let’s just say that I have a good feeling about you.  I think you are worth watching and one day you will be very important.”

“What do you mean?  Important to who or what?”

“To me, for one.  And, if my hunch is correct, the fate of the world.”

The room blurred and spun on the spot.  He was sucked through the couch before he could respond.