Tre Lloyd Adventures Ch. 13

I started to walk around the room as I talked, remembering one of the earliest of my quests for power. "I tracked down where his library was through months of poring through dusty tomes in the Order's archives. I flew to Jerusalem and from there followed the trail. Finally I found the actual location and began to search. Surprisingly, the most powerful Arab mage of medieval times kept his library in a cave system deep in the mountains north of Dimona in Israel. The caves were obviously man made, excavated into the living stone of the mountains and hidden behind powerful illusion spells that were still in place when I found the complex.

"I went into the caves and began to search. There I found two things that my research had not warned me about. The first thing I found was a Heartstone." I didn't even need to hear her question to know what it was going to be, so I answered it for her. "A Heartstone is just a relic used to bind a Free Spirit. All spirits have True names. When a spirit gets free of its summoner a few things can happen. It can return to its home plane or it can remain on this plane. If it remains, it will guard its True name jealously. Sometimes when a mage discovers the True name of a spirit they will imbue something with that name in order to give them even more control over that particular spirit. This Bakkar had found the True name of a very powerful spirit that went Free and remained on this plane. She, as I refer to her, had been summoned in the heyday of ancient Athens. Bakkar bound her to a Heartstone and enslaved her."

Apprentice Pena's face showed her dislike of that particular notion clearly and I smiled. "When I found the Heartstone, the spirit appeared to me and offered me her knowledge. That was when I found the other thing that my research never revealed, the spirit of Bakkar the Black. He was quite dead and rather insane to boot. He rather courteously thanked me for waking him from his long slumber, then thanked me in advance for the use of my body since I was not going to need it anymore once he killed me."

"He thanked you for freeing him and then attacked you?"

I nodded. "Yes he did. I'm not sure how but I survived though. I don't remember the battle, though Arianna has told me I did very good against my much stronger, much more experienced adversary." I laughed quietly. "I'll tell you this, though, I didn't feel like I had done very good when I regained consciousness in the cave complex. My entire body ached. I was burned, frozen, near blinded and deafened. And I was in possession of the spirit's Heartstone. I didn't know why she didn't just take the Heartstone and escape. After I rested I gathered up what remained of his spell books and the Heartstone and made my way back to Jerusalem and from there back to my home in Horn Lake. Once there I returned Arianna's Heartstone to her and thanked her for her assistance."

"You gave a Free Spirit's Heartstone -back- to it? Why?" Her tone was incredulous and I fought back the irritation at being questioned by an apprentice.

"Yes, I did. As for why, I gave it back because summoning a minor spirit for aid is one thing. Capturing and binding a Free Spirit, especially one that was well over two thousand years old, is quite another. So I returned its Heartstone to it and it disappeared. I thought that was the last I would ever see of her but within a few minutes she was back. She explained that she could not destroy the Heartstone without disrupting her existence and so she hid the Heartstone where it would not be found again easily. She also answered the question about why she didn't just take her Heartstone and escape. She wasn't allowed to even touch the Heartstone without permission. When I held it out to her, that gave her the permission she required to take it. Since then she has always been nearby if I needed her, though she has taken up residence in New Orleans. Her assistance has been invaluable in my battle against the vampires."

I was surprised at the next question she asked. "So this Arianna is your mentor?"

"No, she is not my mentor. She is an ally and, more than that, a good friend. She has taught me many things about magic. Things that many mages have not seen or heard about in centuries. Until recently I thought that I had kept her existence a secret from the Order, but Telemon, who knew her, as well as her original summoner, in his early days, has since revealed that he has known about her for quite some time."

"Will I get to meet her?" I smiled hearing Apprentice Pena's curiosity win out as she called Arianna a 'her' for the first time instead of 'it'.

"Yes, Apprentice Pena." I nodded and gestured towards the door. "You will get to meet Arianna very soon." As I opened the door for us to leave the testing room I looked at my new apprentice. "You will need to pack. I will be returning to Horn Lake as soon as possible. Tomorrow if I can manage to get away from here that soon." She nodded, walking along beside me as we made our way towards the elevators. I stuck my head in the supervisor's door and told him that I was through with the testing room.

As the elevator stopped at the floor Apprentice Pena was staying on I made a decision and pushed the button to keep the doors closed. "Get all of your things packed and come up to my room as soon as you can. We will be leaving the Chapterhouse tonight and going back to Horn Lake."

"Tonight? Have you already gotten the tickets? Is there a flight tonight?" She looked at me curiously but I could see the wheels turning in her head.

"I have a pair of open plane tickets for Memphis, yes. But I have no idea if there is a flight tonight or not. If not then I will make other arrangements to get home." I could see more questions in her eyes and stepped back, letting the doors open. "Get your things together, Apprentice Pena. Be at my room in forty-five minutes."

She bit back her questions and nodded "Yes, sir." She stepped out of the elevator and headed for her room as the doors of the elevators closed. The elevator slid into motion smoothly and stopped on my floor. As soon as the doors opened I stepped out and turned for my room. I started to remove the spell I used to keep the door closed then remembered that I hadn't set the spell when I left. I walked into the room and set the files down on the little table. I grabbed my bag out of the closet and started to pack my things that Arianna had brought from the hotel into it.

I was just sitting down with my minicomputer to start taking notes on what the goddess had taught me in my dreams when I heard a knock at the door. At my call, the door opened and Telemon walked in, as always immaculate in his Italian silk suit. "I see the interview with Apprentice Pena went well, Tre." I put away the computer and looked at the Consul, nodding. "I stopped by to talk to her on my way up here." He looked around at my packed bag, my duster laying across it. "You are planning to leave?"

"Yes, I am." I stood up looking at Telemon. "I have been gone too long. I need to get back to Horn Lake and see what is happening there. There is a spy around there somewhere and I have to find out who it is and take care of it."

Telemon nodded, a frown on his face. "I understand that, Tre. But are you recovered enough to do that? If you go back at less than one hundred percent and Freyja finds out that you are not up to your usual standard." He paused for a moment, his concern evident in his features. "You know she will attack if she gets even a hint of weakness from you."

"Yes, Telemon, I know she will. But she won't get that hint unless I want her to. I am going home to sniff out this traitor. Apprentice Pena will suffice as my new apprentice. But. I will train her my way. If I am going to get stuck with an apprentice I will have an apprentice that won't get in my way while I'm doing what I do."

Telemon opened his mouth to say something and stopped. He gave a sigh and shook his head. "Just be careful, Tre. I know that you are going to do what you want to do anyway, no matter what I say. So I am not going to waste my time. But you know that the Inner Circle is going to be watching you closely."

I nodded and laughed. "I know that they are. But they will only see what I want them to see." I picked up my cell phone and dialed up the airport. After a few minutes I was told that the earliest flight direct to Memphis International Airport would be leaving in a few hours. I made the arrangements to have my tickets transferred to the flight, thanked the clerk and hung up the phone.

Telemon held his hand out. "Be careful, Tre."

I took his hand and nodded. "I'm always careful, Telemon. Even when it doesn't look like I'm being careful."

"Take care of Arianna. My sources in New Orleans report some dark stirrings among the city's houngans. I have not gotten any word on what kind of stirrings, just that something major is happening. It could be a power struggle. And if it is..."

"If it is, then Arianna is going to be a target." I finished Telemon's statement for him as he went quiet. "I will see what I can find out. Don't worry about Arianna. She can take care of herself. I will also send a couple of my people down there to help her out."

Telemon nodded and smiled. "Thank you, Tre. I cannot help her officially but I do worry about her. Especially in that city."

As he turned to head towards the door I smiled. "Arianna can take care of herself, especially in New Orleans. The magic there lets her fit right in. I will start sending regular reports on Apprentice Pena's training once I have something to report."

Telemon nodded. "I will have Alan prepare the car to take you and Apprentice Pena to the airport." He turned and stepped out the door, closing it behind him. I went and gathered up all of my belongings and put them near the door.

A short while later I heard a knock at the door as I was answering the phone. "Come in" I called as I picked up the phone. "yes?"

I recognized Alan's voice. "Mr. Lloyd, the car is ready to take you and Apprentice Pena to the airport whenever you are ready to go." Michelle stepped into the room carrying a small athletic bag and a large military style duffel bag slung over her shoulder.

"Thank you, Alan. We will be down directly." I hung up the phone and walked over to my new apprentice and picked up my own bags. "Do you have everything, Apprentice Pena?"

She nodded with a smile. "Yes, Sir. All of my clothes that I brought with me," she hefted the duffel bag and then the smaller bag, "along with my few spell books. I contacted Julius and he will send the remainder of my things to your house."

"Alright, then let's get out of here. I arranged for the tickets to be transferred to a flight leaving in a couple of hours. We will be in Horn Lake tonight." I turned for the door and she turned to follow me. We went downstairs and met Alan at the front of the building. He put our bags in the trunk and pulled the car out of the drive and turned towards the airport.

We rode in silence for a little while then I turned to Michelle. "Did Julius ever mention anything to you about using gestures and words in your magic?"

She nodded with a frown. "Yes, he did. He told me that words are not absolutely necessary for magic. But it seems to be easier for me if I use the words and gestures."

I made a mental note of what she said and turned to face her. "That is called a block or a geas. You would still be able to use magic even if you didn't follow the geas, but it would be more difficult."

Michelle turned her head to look at me. "Does it matter if I gesture or speak when casting spells?"

"For the most part, no." I chuckled. "But there are times when waving your hands and talking is dangerous or impossible. If you have to do them in order to use your magic, then you are at a distinct disadvantage." I smiled as she asked why, having known it was coming. I chuckled and drew on the power, keeping my hands still as I said "This is why", and cast a pair of spells back to back. Instantly silence enveloped the interior of the car and invisible hands gripped her wrists. I saw her struggle against the grip on her wrists. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out.

I ignored the throbbing in my head as I maintained the spell until I saw the look of understanding in her eyes. As I dropped the spells she nodded. "I see what you mean. I couldn't even touch the magic then."

I nodded and smiled. "Don't worry about it, Apprentice. Those are two of the more simple geasa to work around. Magic works because we believe it does. The gestures and incantations aren't necessary for magic to work, but thanks to the world media saying it is in books and movies, many believe that it is. Combine that with the belief necessary to work the mana, and so lots of younger mages start off with those geasa."

"If I believe that it is necessary to my magic, how are you going to 'work around' it?"

Chuckling, I answered her question. "Simple. It is all about belief. You believe that the gestures and words are necessary for the magic you know now. But I won't be teaching you gestures or incantations to go with the magic. Most of the spells you use words and gestures for are the spells you learned yourself. Those you learned from Julius only require one or the other. Correct?" At her nod I smiled. "There you go. You will learn to use magic without the gestures and words. As you learn more powerful versions of the spells you already know, you hopefully will be able to learn them without the hocus-pocus stuff."

She nodded and smiled, a little self-consciously. "Thank you, Sir. I look forward to learning." With that our conversation lapsed and I thought about what I would be returning to Horn Lake to find. Alan delivered us to the airport and dropped us off at the correct terminal. We got our bags and went into the airport and checked our luggage.

As we waited for boarding to begin I took advantage of the time to slip into Astral Space. The auras of the airport and the city around us were amazing as I mentally turned towards Horn Lake and willed myself there. The colors of the Astral Plane blurred around me as I soared through the Astral towards home. Within moments I approached the wards surrounding the Villa. I put a hand to what appeared to be the solid wall of the ward and passed right through. I made my way through the glowing walls of the Villa and through the walls of the building itself.

I found Akiro and Keio talking and playing a game of chess. I focused and had to fight to hold back my chuckle as my glowing astral form appeared near them and they both scrambled out of their chairs. "Relax, you two. It's me. I don't have long but I wanted to let you know that I was returning to Horn Lake tonight. My cell is almost dead or I would have called. We have a lot to talk about when I get here." I looked around a bit. "Like where everybody is. I will see you in a few hours, hopefully."

They both nodded and I allowed my form to disappear back into the Astral Plane. I quickly made my way back out of the wards and into the astral sky, the ground blurring under me as I soared back to where my body waited in the airport with Apprentice Pena. I found my body right where I had left it and reentered it. I had to bite back a groan at the throbbing in my head from the strain of revealing my Astral body on the Material Plane.

"Are you OK, Tre?" Michelle asked, looking concernedly at me.

"I am fine. I was just letting Akiro and Keio know that we would be home tonight." I closed my eyes and leaned back in the chair. "Now it's time to sleep. How long until we board?"

She looked at the monitor and back at me. "About twenty minutes, sir." I nodded and closed my eyes, telling her to wake me when it was time to board the plane.

All too soon she did just that. I groaned and resisted the urge to shoot her in the ass with a tiny bolt of lightning for waking me. Instead I stood up and grabbed my bag and we walked onto the plane. A short time later we were airborne and headed back to Horn Lake. I wasted little time falling back to into a very deep sleep for the flight home.