Episode 9

“Hey, can I ask you a question?” Ethan asked as he dropped onto a couch in the lounge.

“Sure.” I agreed then closed the book I was reading.

“Well actually I wanted to ask you a lot of questions. Let’s start with explaining the Tree Of Life.” That

was something I didn’t think he’d know about. Hell, not many people even heard of it.

“That’s a stupid myth that you shouldn’t be wasting your time with.” I informed him. “Why do you even know about it?”

“I saw people talking about it online. They said it had something to do with magic but that’s all I know about it.”

“You don’t need to know anything more then.”

“Why not?”

“Because it doesn’t exist.”

“How do you know that?” He got me there. I didn’t know for certain that it didn’t exist but there was hardly any evidence of its existence anyway. “All myths are based off truths you know.”

“Okay, if I tell you what I know about the Tree Of Life then will you drop it?” I proposed.

“Only if you teach me the Disparaître spell as well.” He was tenacious, I’ll give him that.

“Deal.” I cleared my throat and tried to think of where to start with the explanation. “People have been trying to figure out where magic comes from so that they can hopefully find the answers and use magic themselves. One of the theories that came from that search was the Tree Of Life. They believed that there is a tree or trees that somehow gives anyone the ability to use magic. They also believe that the location of this tree is hidden by a group of people who are tasked with protecting it from falling into the wrong hands and to monitor magical use so that it isn’t used for evil I guess. They call those people Guardians. I’ve researched their claims and I’ve literally gone searching for the tree myself but it was a pointless exercise. If the tree did exist and the Guardians were real then why haven’t they stopped me? I’m using magic for ‘evil’ I suppose so shouldn’t they be stopping me?”

“I guess you’re right.” Ethan agreed.

“I can’t tell you what to do with your time but looking for it would be a waste. You can use that time to master your own magic.” I answered him.

“Okay. Teach me the Disparaître spell.” The smile on his face didn’t go unnoticed. He was clearly eager to learn the spell.

“First you have to learn what the Disparaître spell really does and how it works. You need to learn it’s requirements, strengths and limitations.” I closed my eyes then took a breath before activating a spell. “Spell Book: Disparaître.” I commanded then saw two pages materializing in front of me.

“So I have to study again?” Ethan asked as I handed him the pages.

“To learn any spell, no matter what it does, you have to know everything about it. If you don’t then you could end up killing someone else or even yourself.” I warned him. He looked at the pages in his hand with visible confusion. He probably never had to learn a spell like this before. He probably learnt the ‘trail-and-error’ way but that was a little too dangerous.

“What does it mean by ‘the amount of potential needed’?” Ethan asked.

“Potential is what they use to measure your ability to use magic. High Potential means that you can use magic easily and that you can most likely use high level spells. Low Potential obviously means that you have a difficult time using magic and performing any spells. If you work hard and understand magic better then your potential will rise to the point where high level spells become child’s play.”

“Like you.”

“Not like me.” I corrected me. “The magic I use has nothing to do with my potential.”

“Then how can you use high level magic?”

“That is a question for another day. Learn that spell and I will test you on it tomorrow and if you pass then we can begin practicing it.” I instructed him.

“Fine.” He reluctantly agreed.

“Now go somewhere else and study so that I can read in piece.”

“You need a girlfriend.”

“Why?”

“So that you can stop being so freaking boring all the time.” He cheekily replied then left the lounge. I heard a knock on the door as I was about to open my book again.

“Not getting it.” Ethan shouted. I grumpily stood up then made my way over to the door. I wasn’t expecting anyone so hopefully this didn’t turn out to be something exhausting.

“Hey.” I greeted Taylor as she stood on my porch.

“We need to go shopping.” She immediately told me then she entered the house.

“I’m great, thanks for asking.” I mumbled as I closed the door. She made her way to my kitchen so I reluctantly followed her.

“We’re going to need a lot more snacks.” She stated as she opened the cupboards and looked through them.

“Let’s try this again.” I said then went over to her and touched her shoulder. “Teleport.” I activated the spell then saw her disappear in front of me. I closed the cupboards as I heard her banging on the front door. I slowly made my way to the door again then opened it.

“What the hell?” She angrily asked.

“I might be your bodyguard and your mother’s partner but that doesn’t give you permission to come into my house and act like you own the place. I am not one of your mother’s lackeys.” I leaned against the doorframe as I looked at her.

“Fine, I’m sorry.” She half-heartedly apologized then tried to enter the house again but walked straight into an invisible barrier stopping her from through past the doorway.

“Go home.” I instructed her then closed the door.

“Jared, wait!” She shouted from the other side of the door. “I’m sorry I acted so disrespectful. I need your help.” I fought against my better judgement then opened the door.

“Can I come in?” She politely asked me.

“You may.” I permitted her. I could see the skepticism on her face as she took a step forward then into the house. “What can I help you with?” I asked her then closed the door but stood in place while I waited for her to answer.

“My school is having a ball tomorrow night and I need you to be my date/bodyguard.” I did agree to be her bodyguard so I couldn’t turn that down.

“Sure.” I agreed.

“There’s one more thing as well.” Of course there was. “Can my friends and I use your house tomorrow and Sunday please? We just need a place to get ready for the ball and to sleepover tomorrow night. We’ll just be in the lounge, we don’t have to go upstairs and we won’t break anything.”

“Will their boyfriends be coming here after the ball as well?” I asked her.

“Only if you allow them. I mean, they can come but they don’t have to sleepover.” At least she was asking and giving me control. I guess she learnt her lesson.

“They can sleepover as well.” I gave her the permission she was looking for. The joy in her eyes immediately sparked as she contained her excitement.

“Thank you so much.” I was surprised she was able to contain herself for as long as she did. I could see her itching to explode though.

“You can tell your friends.” I gave her a smile then made my way to the lounge.

“Yes.” Her squeals of happiness finally showed themselves as she raced past me and threw herself down on the couch. She had her phone out and furiously texted her friends I suppose.

“Do you have a suit?” She quickly asked me.

“Yes. Do we need to match or should I just wear black and white?”

“Black and white should be fine.” She turned her attention back to the device in her hands.

“I’ll get the snacks tomorrow morning.” I informed her.

“Okay.” Her attention was solely on her phone now. There was no way I was going to get any more information out of her so I gave it up and grabbed my book again.

“There’s a house full of hot teenage girls right now and you want to be out here teaching me magic?” Ethan asked me Saturday afternoon.

“Where is the strong, independent, mysterious guy I met when I came back to town? How did you go from cool to stupid?” I shot back.

“I’m a teenage guy and there are hot teenage girls…”

“Who are older than you and have boyfriends.” I reminded him.

“I don’t see their boyfriends around and age doesn’t matter.” Ethan replied. “And why did I have to practice the Disparaître spell on a trampoline?”

“Because you need to be able to perform the spell under any circumstance. This spell is a high level spell in the right hands.” I answered him.

“Why is my hands holding weights then?”

“Stop complaining and just practice the spell.” I told him as I took a seat on one of the chaise lounge chairs around the pool.

“Disparaître.” I heard him practice the spell. It didn’t work and I could see it frustrating him. He tried again but failed attempt after attempt. I could see his anger and frustration rising with each failure but he didn’t let that stop him. The girls’ laughter wasn’t doing anything to help his concentration as well. His attention was constantly shifting towards the house before he tried to concentrate.

“Okay, you’re not going to get anything done.” I sighed then stood up. “You can go inside but leave the girls alone.”

“Yes sir.” He quickly replied then raced towards the house. He handed me my weights before disappearing into the house. I slowly dragged myself into the house as well then made my way up to my room. I allowed the girls to use my sister’s old room to get ready since Ethan made himself at home in the guest bedroom.

“Taylor’s friend.” I heard a girl call me from my bedroom door. It was open but she stood in the doorway so she clearly had manners. Her makeup and hair looked sorted so she probably just had to get dressed.

“You can call me Jared.” I replied then set my weights down. “Is there anything you need?”

“Taylor said that you’re going to be coming with us so you should probably get dressed.” I

immediately looked at the time on my alarm clock resting on my nightstand.

“We still have 2 hours before we need to leave. I’ll be ready.” I informed her.

“Okay. Just don’t be late.” She immediately walked away as I tried to remember her name. Taylor introduced me to her group of friends but I couldn’t remember all their names. I know there was a Rebecca and Gia but I didn’t know which girl was which. Hopefully it will become clearer throughout the night.

I stood up though and followed her orders. Both bathrooms upstairs were occupied by the girls so I had to use the one downstairs. I was surprised that I didn’t see or hear Ethan though. If he was doing something stupid then I honestly didn’t want to know. I went back up to my room once I was finished then decided to dress me since I had nothing else to do but wait for the girls.

“Hey.” I greeted one of the girls when I entered the lounge. She was standing in front of the huge bookcase and looking at the books when I came in but turned to look at me. She looked absolutely breathtaking in her blue princess-styled ballgown. Her expertly trimmed shoulder length blonde hair was a completely contrast to her piercing dark eyes.

“Jared, right?” She asked as I sat down.

“Yep. I honestly don’t remember your name though.” I truthfully told her.

“Rebecca.” She informed me then sat down on a couch opposite mine. See, I knew there was a Rebecca.

“Rebecca, I’ll try to remember that.” I gave her a smile but she didn’t look like she cared one bit.

“What’s fun to do around her?” So that’s what she was looking for.

“Nothing much if I’m being honest. My parents weren’t really big on ‘fun’ so we didn’t even have a TV. Just a mountain of books and the occasional board game.” I could easily make a TV appear but I didn’t want to show her that I could use magic. I wasn’t hiding the fact that I could do it but the less people that knew, the better it was for me.

“Let me guess, chess.”

“Snakes and Ladders actually.” That got a reluctant smile out of her. I stood up and went over to the small cupboard in the corner of the room then took out the wooden chess board Elly and I used to play on. “Want to play a game?”

“Sure. I have nothing better to do.” She replied. I went back to the couches then set up our game on the coffee table between us.

“Why aren't you upstairs hanging out with the other girls?” I asked her as she started the game.

“We’re not that close. The 4 of them have been friends since they started high school.”

“When did you join their little group then?”

“A year later. My parents bought a house here so I transferred to their high school but sometimes I’m forced to go on business trips with them so I do most of my learning online.”

“That must suck I suppose. At least you know that you have friends to hangout with when you come back so you’re not alone.”

“Yeah.” She agreed then made an interesting move. I could see that she knew how to play chess extremely well so the game was anything but boring. I wasn’t an expert at chess but I knew enough to stop her no matter what she threw at me.

“What’s the deal with you and Taylor?”

“I work for her mother. I’m basically Taylor’s unsuspecting bodyguard.” I answered her. I saw study me for a second before turning her attention back to the game.

“You don’t look like you’re capable of protecting her.”

“Well don’t tell her mother that. I need to keep up this façade as long as I can.” That returned her smile.

“You’re letting us use your house so I’ll keep your secret for now.” She agreed then smiled as she moved a piece. “Check.”

“Check.” I replied when I stopped her piece.

“When did that happen?” She asked as she studied the board.

“While you were trying to open up my king.” I answered her.

“You cheated.” She reminded me a lot of Elly when I completely blindsided her and won.

“How?”

“I don’t know but you did.” She reluctantly moved the piece I expected her to move so I made my last move.

“Checkmate.”

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