Tre Lloyd Adventures Ch. 12

As it turned out, I was the better part of a week recovering. The extent of my injuries was such that it took me that long before I could start to get up and around beyond walking to the bathroom and back without getting tired. Daily I would walk around more to build up my stamina. Soon I was able to make my way down to the library to read and study in my spare time.

That week was also filled with more dreams of the goddess. Each of the dreams left me with more knowledge of magic as she taught me things long forgotten to mortal mages. My trips to the goddess's cave happened nightly. Each morning I woke with my head feeling fit to burst with the things I learned from my visits to the moonlit grove of trees. I was tempted to talk to Arianna about my dreams, to share with her what I was learning. Each time I stopped short as I heard the voice in my head warning me to keep my silence.

The first day I tried to draw on the mana but as soon as I focused to pull the mana through me blinding pain shot through me. I staggered back to the bed and collapsed, letting the mana go. After a few minutes the pain subsided enough for me to see again. I shifted to lay down in the bed again and closed my eyes out of breath. Thinking it might be a fluke I cautiously tried once again to draw on the mana, taking it slowly this time. At the first stab of pain I let go of it. I reached up to rub my head as I sat back up in the bed. I swung my feet over the edge of the bed and rested my face in my hands, elbows on my knees. I was beginning to wonder if I had burned myself out when I heard the door open.

"Tre, are you okay?", Arianna asked, suddenly materializing beside me from the door. She knelt down beside me looking up at me.

I nodded at her, smiling as reassuringly as I could manage. "Yeah, I'm okay. I tried to draw on some mana a few minutes ago and was nearly dropped to my knees with pain that shot through me." I shrugged my shoulders and looked at her again. "I am worried that I might have burned the ability to use the Power right out of myself."

Arianna reached up and took my hands, smiling. "If you had burned yourself out you wouldn't even be able to draw on the mana. You're just worried because of how bad your injuries were. I was worried too, but now that I see you back up and around I see that there is nothing to worry about. Your body is still recovering from the mana burn. Once you're fully healed you will see that you are at least as strong as you were, if not stronger."

I nodded, taking a deep breath. I was about to reply when the door opened and Telemon walked in smiling. "Ah, Tre, you are up. That is good. I was just coming to see if you would like to go and get some real food." He noticed Arianna kneeling beside me and looked back and forth between us. "Am I interrupting something?"

Arianna stood up and backed away. "Of course not, Telemon."

I stood up and took a deep breath. "I was just recovering from trying to draw on the mana too soon."

Telemon frowned as he walked across the room. "You are very lucky to be able to draw on it at all. I have not seen a case of mana burn that extensive in a long time. A very long time. And you say you feel as if you are stronger after it?" When I nodded he continued. "The last time I saw a case of mana burn anywhere close to that bad was Wilhelm of the Black Forest. He tried to draw on more mana than he could safely handle and he ended up weaker than he was before. And his burn was not as bad as yours was because he was not as strong as you are." He smiled. "You are indeed lucky Tre."

Clapping his hands together he looked at Arianna and back to me. "Shall we eat? There's a great restaurant nearby." Arianna and I both seemed relieved at his sudden change of topic and we both nodded. He turned back to the door and opened it, smiling. "Alan will be waiting out front with the car."

Telemon was as good as his word and Alan was waiting for us when we stepped out of the building. I stopped, glad of the fresh air after more than a week stuck indoors and took a deep breath. Arianna and Telemon waited on me to start walking again before moving and we got in the car. Alan got us to the restaurant with little delay and we went inside.

The Consul had reservations so we were shown right to our table in a small private room. We ordered and made small talk until our food arrived. I was tearing into a steak and loaded baked potato with gusto when Telemon set his fork down and dropped the bomb on me. "Tre, the Inner Circle has decided that it is time you took on an apprentice." I almost choked on the bite of potato I had just put in my mouth and looked over at Telemon as he continued. "The Inner Circle voted unanimously while you were recovering to assign you an apprentice."

I swallowed the bite of potato and dropped my fork onto the plate. "They voted to assign me an apprentice? And you let them? What was your vote on it?"

Telemon wiped his mouth and set his napkin down. "I was not aware of the vote until after it was taken. The Elders of the Inner Circle must have figured out that I was working to protect you. They came up with a way to get around my vote. I had informed the Inner Circle that I would not be present because I was staying here to observe your recovery. I heard about the vote just afterwards and immediately returned to the Motherhouse to see what I could do. As the vote had already been entered into the record I was unable to do much."

"And so I get stuck with some spy for the Inner Circle as my apprentice? I get to waste my time teaching whoever it is how to use magic and not get killed by it instead of doing more important things?" I ignored Arianna's hand on my arm squeezing. To say I was mad would be a gross understatement of the anger I was feeling.

Telemon sipped from his glass of tea and shook his head. "No, Tre, you do not get 'stuck' with a spy for the Inner Circle as an apprentice. I was not able to block the apprenticeship idea, but I was able to modify it so that you could choose your apprentice. The Elders were not happy about it, but I used the precedent of the ancient ways of apprenticeship to get you the choice. They tried to limit your options to a picked few. A hand picked few chosen personally by the Elders. I had help blocking that motion. Once I was there the usual resistance to the Elders reappeared and so it was voted to put it to a general call to the membership for volunteers."

"A general call for volunteers for apprenticeship?" I shook my head and pushed my food away, suddenly not hungry anymore. "That is a variation of precedent in itself isn't it? Isn't apprenticeship normally a person wanting to be trained being taken under the wing of one who is already trained in order to learn? That is how it was when I was apprenticed to Alfons and then to Julius. They chose me as their apprentice. They weren't forced to take me."

Telemon nodded. "A list of apprentices is kept and constantly updated. Given your... unique situation in Memphis, it was decided that the majority of the apprentices on the list were too young and inexperienced to be safely put with you. It was then that we, or maybe I should say I, decided to put out a call for volunteers from the older, more experienced people. The numbers of volunteers surprised everyone." He pulled a PDA from his pocket and slid it over to me after a few taps of the stylus.

I took the PDA and looked at it. Telemon had opened a list of names. I scrolled down the list and looked over at Telemon. "There are more than a hundred names here."

Telemon chuckled. "Yes, there are. On that list are the names of one hundred and sixty-eight people who have volunteered to become your apprentice." He smiled at the look of surprise on my face and gestured to the PDA. "Most of them are full mages who are willing to become your apprentice. Although they are fully tested members of the Order, they are all still young. Only ten are actual novices who have not yet undertaken the Trials."

I took a drink from my Mountain Dew and shook my head in disbelief. "Only ten are novices out of one hundred and sixty-eight? The rest are mages wanting to learn from me?" Telemon nodded, smiling. "Why me?"

Telemon smiled and leaned back in his chair. "As I said, Tre, the majority of the volunteers are young mages. They sympathize with you and no small number of them would love to join in your struggle against the Vampire Dominion in Memphis. They do not realize that your fight is not against the entire Kingdom." Telemon took another bite of his dinner and looked back at me. "So far we have been able to keep the younger mages from attacking vampires and starting a general war that we do not have the manpower to win. Despite that widespread restriction, you are still a popular figure to the younger mages."

I looked at Telemon then at Arianna and back to Telemon, confusion apparent on my face. "A popular figure? Then how are the vampires able to have me brought before tribunals so often?"

"Because the younger members are not part of the Inner Circle. But once the call was put out for volunteers to become your apprentice, the names just came rolling in. After only three days I stopped the open call because of the volume of volunteers. Then I culled the list down to what you see there. Each and every name on that list has been thoroughly checked and cross checked for any ties to anyone on the Inner Circle. It was done in secret by me personally." Telemon shrugged and took another bite of his dinner. "The Inner Circle has not even seen the modified list. I am sure that they will not approve of it, but that is for me to handle."

I scrolled through the list of names seeing the ten novices at the top of the list. I started to remove their names from the list but stopped. "None of these novices are true novices. All of them have at least four years training with other mentors." I spotted a name I recognized and chuckled. "This one is being trained by Julius. Why would she want to leave his teaching to come study with me?"

Telemon smiled and drank from his tea again. "I asked him the same question." Seeing my impatient look he continued with a chuckle. "It was Julius's idea for her to apprentice with you."

"It was his idea?" I looked from Telemon to Arianna and back. "Why would he practically send her to me? I don't understand."

Telemon pulled a credit card out of his wallet and put it on the table to pay the bill and looked at me again. "You and she have a lot in common. Read her file and you will see what I mean. We can talk more about it tonight back at the Chapterhouse." Though he didn't say it I knew that he didn't want to talk out here in the open but would rather discuss it behind the wards at the Chapterhouse.

I used the stylus to open the file attached to her name. I skimmed the beginning of her biography, my mind whirling as I read. I looked back at Telemon. "Yes. I think we will definitely need to talk more about this tonight." I closed the file and pushed the PDA back to Telemon. He took it and pulled out the data card, holding it out to me as he put his PDA back into his pocket.

I took the data card and put it into my pocket to look at back at the Chapterhouse. The waiter returned with Telemon's credit card and he signed the slip to pay the bill. We all stood up and headed towards the door. Arianna held my arm and Telemon walked behind us. Alan was waiting for us in the parking lot and drove us back to the Chapterhouse.

Once we were back at the Chapterhouse Telemon excused himself to tend to some business but said he would join us in my room within the hour. Arianna and I went back up to my room in silence and I dug out my pocket computer and slid the chip into it. I opened the file again as I sat down in one of the chairs and was reading before I was in the seat good. I didn't even hear Arianna when she spoke to me, looking over at her as she apparently repeated herself. "What did you say, Arianna?"

She laughed and repeated herself just a bit louder. "I said, don't you want to lay down in the bed? You have had a longer day than you're used to."

I shook my head and smiled at her, reaching over to take her hand. "No, Arianna, I have had enough of the bed for a while. I will move back over there when Telemon gets back." I looked back at the file and then over at Arianna. "This Michelle..." I looked at the file again, "Pena... Michelle Pena, she comes from an entire family of vampire servants. Her father, Mark, is a banker for the Baron of Minneapolis and her mother, Judy, is an accountant for them. It says she is the third and youngest child of the family."

I skimmed down a bit farther and blinked. "I take that back. Apparently she -was- the third and youngest until the Baron decided to teach the Pena's a lesson. It says here a lesson about hiding a child with magical talent. The Pena's didn't want to turn Michelle over to the Baron's court and so hid the fact that she could use magic from him. Apparently the Baron didn't appreciate it and ordered the other two children killed as an object lesson. Shortly thereafter Michelle ran away. She was taken in by a member of the Order because of her talent and soon found herself being trained by Julius. And now Julius wants her to finish her training with me."

Arianna smiled and took the pocket computer from me as I held it out to her and gave the file a quick skim. She handed the computer back to me and shrugged. "Julius knows the very minimum of what you know. I know that you have learned more since you passed your Trials. Maybe Julius thinks that with what you knew and what you obviously know now, taking this Michelle as your apprentice would be good for the both of you." At my curious look she continued. "You are obviously still a very emotional man. Some mages view you as a loose cannon. They think you are as dangerous to other mages as you are to the vampires." She smiled and shrugged. "It has been rumored that the Inner Circle has been planning to saddle you with an apprentice for some time now. This just gave them the reason and opportunity to do it."

I was about to reply as I took another look at the file open on the computer. Telemon's entry into the room stopped me. I rose as the Consul of the Order walked into the room, a bundle of file folders held in one hand. "Sit down, Tre. No need for the formality right now. Save it for when we are in public." He made a small gesture with his free hand and suddenly a chair appeared opposite the ones Arianna and I had been sitting in.

He lowered into the chair and opened the top folder looking at me. "I suppose you have looked at Apprentice Pena's file by now." He said it as a statement but his look showed the question behind the words.

"Yes I have, Telemon. I am not too sure about this one." I scrolled up and looked at the top of her biography section. "Right here it says that she is from a family of vampire servants. But you want me to train her. I am possibly the most anti-vampire mage in the Order." I looked at Telemon. "You want me to trust an admitted vampire servant?"

Telemon's smile disappeared and he shook his head. "No, Tre, I do not want you to trust an admitted vampire servant. I want you to trust someone who has as much reason to hate the vampires as you do. I want you to temper her hatred of vampires with your knowledge. I also want her to temper your lust for vengeance with her own experiences. I think that you and she will both gain from this apprenticeship." He closed the file and looked at me over it. "You know that it is not required that you choose her, Tre. She was just included because Julius asked me to include her. The final choice is yours."

With those words he pulled a folded and sealed sheet of paper out of the file and held it out to me. As I took it he said, "This is from Julius. It just arrived by messenger and he asked that I deliver it to you personally."

I looked at the seal and knew it was from my old mentor. I broke the seal and looked at the words on the paper, reading slowly:

To: my favorite student, Tre,

I hope that this missive finds you well. I heard of your recent difficulties from the Consul but because of my duties to the Order I was unable to come to New York to see you. Telemon tells me that you are healing well and should be back to one hundred percent any day now.

I also heard that the Inner Circle pulled some serious political maneuvering while Telemon was busy and tried to stick you with an apprentice. I wish I had been there when Telemon showed up to put a stop to their jockeying. I know that you are going to have to take an apprentice because of their voting. That is what this letter is about.

I have been training a young mage named Michelle Pena. She is strong and has a good grasp of the basics of magic already. Her skill in sorcery and ritual sorcery is exceptional. She is also very adept at summoning. In fact, like you did before her, she has already reached the limits of what I can teach her. She also burns with a desire to kill vampires.

That brings me to the favor I need of you. Take Michelle in. Teach her the ways of magic. Prepare her for her Trials and for her future as an Initiate of the Lady. Most of all, please temper her anger with experience. I know you can give her fights with vampires. I am hoping that you will show her that fighting is not always the way. I cannot make you take her as your apprentice, but I can ask you to do an old man a favor and take her under your wing and teach her the ways of the Order.

And Tre, keep in touch better. It has been months since your last message to me. I know that your trouble with Freyja isn't that time-consuming.

An appreciative old man, Julius St. Pierre.

I chuckled and put the paper down shaking my head. I held it out to Arianna as I looked at Telemon. "Apparently, Julius has decided to help me make up my mind about my apprentice. He asked for a 'favor' from me. He wants me to take this Michelle Pena as my apprentice." I reached up and rubbed my face lightly.

Telemon laughed quietly. "I had a feeling that is what he wanted when the letter arrived. He cannot officially 'make' you take her as your apprentice. But he can ask you to do it as a favor to him. That is not against our traditions."

I nodded and chuckled. "God knows I owe him" I pulled my hair back out of my face and looked from Arianna to Telemon. "Telemon, before I accept Michelle as my apprentice I want to meet her, to talk to her. I want to see what I am getting into before I get into it."

Telemon smiled. "That is normal. I will arrange it for first thing in the morning."

"In the -morning-?" I interrupted. "How are you going to do that?"

"Yes, Tre, in the morning." Telemon said. "Apparently Julius was sure of how his letter would be received. Apprentice Pena delivered it to me in person." I guess my surprise was evident on my face because Arianna suddenly laughed for a moment before covering her mouth with her hand to stifle it though her green eyes still danced with her laughter. "I gave Apprentice Pena quarters in the Chapterhouse to wait and see if you would meet with her. I will have Dana arrange for you to use one of the conference rooms for privacy."

I still wasn't too happy about Julius's trick but I nodded and looked back at the pocket computer. "Thank you, Telemon. I guess I better get to reading so I will know something about her and her abilities before the meeting."

"Here, Tre," Telemon said holding out one of the manila file folders to me and the other to Arianna. "I took the liberty of having Dana print out everything we have on Apprentice Pena and her family. Since Arianna will most likely be assisting you with her training I had her make two copies." He lowered his hands as we took the folders. I turned off the pocket computer and opened the folder. "I hope you do not mind."