Forced Magic (13 page)

She had tears in her eyes. I wanted to know more but I
didn’t want to push her to talk. I was embarrassed at how I had been acting and
feeling. She had been through so much. In the end, I really didn’t have much to
complain about.

"Come on, Jack, let’s eat. Fetch is getting hungry.”

In response to those words, Fetch grabbed a chicken finger
and smacked it down in one bite.

The rest of the night was dedicated to laughter and fun. We
talked about the city that we both grew up in and all of our favorite places to
go. We watched food and soda disappear into the air as Fetch ate and drank in
camo mode. I found out that Michelle went to school and graduated at fifteen
and that her tattoo was a gift from Johnathen.

”I have been going in and getting it worked on for two
years," she said. ”I am almost done.” 

I started to spread the money around that Johnathen gave me,
tipping every server that came out to refill a drink order or clear a plate.
One server dropped a tray of drinks as Fetch, trying to get Michelle to laugh,
picked up a glass and drank down the soda with a straw. I quickly explained to
the server that I was an amateur magician and handed her a fifty-dollar bill.
She smiled and made a quick retreat.

We ended the meal with chocolate malts. I ordered one and
Fetch let me know he wanted one by slamming his tail on the table. This made
the server jump. We got the malts and were quietly enjoying them, when I
spotted the bobcat. It was across the street, on the bike path, at the park. It
was just sitting there staring at us. I pointed at him and Michelle waved. I
waved too and Fetch flashed his silver scales. The bobcat did a double back
flip in response to our waving and disappeared into the park.

“He told me he would be checking up on us," said
Michelle.

“I wish he could have joined us,” I said

“Me too, but he is so busy. He never seems to sleep. He is
constantly trying to find the missing dragons and he can disappear for days at
a time. I can honestly say that I know him better than anyone, but at times he
is a mystery to me. He can get in these dark moods and go for a day or two
without saying a word. But, I think me being around him for the past ten years
or so have loosened him up a bit. You should have seen the look on his face
when I bought him his first pair of jeans. He wanted to start interacting with
the non-magic world and I told him that he wasn’t going to get very far wearing
robes and carrying a staff. There are those in the magic world that have
changed with the times and adjusted to styles and some technology, but
Johnathen had to be dragged into a T-shirt and jeans, kicking and screaming. I
introduced him to Heavy Metal music and he really liked that, but he still is
very resistant to computers. I have almost talked him into a Facebook
page."

“Why do people in the magic world have such a problem with
technology?”

“Not all tech is confusing to them, but computers are. I
think it’s because it is in a state of constant change. For centuries they have
been using magic the same way. A spell that a wizard cast two hundred years
ago, to make a light, is the same one used today. I think, for a lot of them,
it is a tradition thing and they are just being stubborn. But, I have found a
few people that can do it. It at least gives some of them a means of
communicating behind the backs of fairies and other traditionalists who won’t
even look at a computer."

At the mention of fairies Michelle’s face went dark again.
It seemed to be a trigger word for her.

"So, what kind of magic people have you met?" I
asked, wanting to keep her away from the dark mood that even mentioning fairies
seemed to put her in.

Her face lit up a bit at this. "I have met a gnome or
two. I have seen trolls. For a while, when I was younger, I had a golem nanny
who took care of me when Johnathen wasn’t around. I saw a unicorn in
Johnathen's courtyard and I have taught basic computer skills to a few elves.
Johnathen has kept me away from a lot of the magic world. There are those who,
I guess, don’t want me around.  But, now that you are around, the people like
me, the forgotten ones with magic ancestors, have a better chance of being
accepted. If I can be accepted, I can go to the council myself and plead my
case and get those responsible for my family's death brought to justice."

There was a fiery gleam in her eyes as she said this.

"I have been sheltered from the magic world in a lot of
ways, Jack. There has been a time or two that I have wanted to take off my
teardrop and expose myself to the magic world, just to see what would happen.
But, that might undermine all of Johnathen's work. It's not so bad, though. I
have free reign in the non-magic world, and, with the magic that I am learning,
it is like a dream come true."

It was easy to see how happy Michelle was to have someone to
talk to about all of this. I guess she never had anyone to whom to tell her
story. I was beginning to have my doubts about the magic world. It seemed that
there were prejudices against non-magic people. I hoped that I could meet and
get to know other magic creatures and talk to them one day. I wanted to do more
than be an observer and keep hidden all my life. After all, with the memory of
anybody knowing me erased, there wasn’t much of a chance of me fitting back
into the real world, especially if Fetch was going to hang around with me.

With a loud slurp Fetch finished his malt. The server came
back to the table with the check and after paying, and leaving a hefty tip, we
started to walk back to the room. I was very tired by then. It was hard to wrap
my mind around the fact of how much my life had changed in just a little more
than one day. We made it back to the room. With a quick hug and a kiss on the
cheek for me and for Fetch, Michelle said her goodbyes.

"I’ll come back in a few days, Jack. I know that
Johnathen wants to take you out to the desert, to see what you can do, and to
see if you have gained any new abilities. You should rest up, both of
you."

It felt good to have a friend that seemed to care so much
for me. I gave her a hug and a returned kiss on the cheek, earning me a smack
with Fetch's tail.  I didn’t care though, it was worth it. After reassurances,
to both of us, that she would be fine, and a promise of a text from her when
she got home, we watched her walk away. When she was out of sight, we went back
into the room. 

It really hit me how tired I was when I walked in the room.
I plopped down on the bed and turned on the television. I scanned the news for
any mention of the YouTube video. Nothing was said about it. I knew I needed to
get a computer so I could keep track of those kind of things.  A seed of an
idea was forming in my mind, and I knew I needed a computer to get it going. I
also needed to get more clothes. I couldn’t keep wearing the same dark clothes
Johnathen had made for me. I was making a mental list of what to get tomorrow.
There was an excited element to all of this. How many people get the opportunity
to change their lives overnight? Add a magical element to that question, and I
was sure that everyone out there, at one time or another in their lives, wished
or fantasized about something similar to what I was going through. Yes, there
was sadness, and a definite element of danger, but still, here in my
comfortable hotel room, fed and relaxing on the bed, I couldn’t help but feel
the adventure. And, to top it all off, I had just had dinner with a very pretty
girl. I knew that I could never have a relationship with Michelle, but it was
enough that she was a friend, closer to me than any friend I had ever had.

A loud banging sound got my attention. Fetch had found the
TV remote and was watching an animated movie about a dragon. He was laughing at
it. I turned out the light and lay back down on the bed.

“We have got some pretty good friends, Fetch.”

Fetch stretched his long neck around to look at me. His eyes
were glowing green. He made a 'huff' kind of sound in agreement.

“I’m glad Michelle is our friend, and I'm glad you’re my
friend too."

Fetch stared at me for a few seconds, then shoved my foot
gently to let me know he felt the same way.

“Good night, Fetch. Try not to eat me in the middle of the
night."

Fetch laughed and made a smacking sound with his mouth. I
laughed too. As I drifted off to sleep, I had a thought. “What if this is all
just a dream?” Then I fell asleep.

I woke up to a buzzing sound.  It was my phone going off.
Michelle had sent me another text. I was fuzzy headed and it took me a few
minutes to focus on the words of the text. I could hear Fetch snoring at the
foot of the bed; deep in-and-out loud breaths. I was glad to see that fire
didn’t shoot out of his snout in his sleep. He would have burnt the place to
the ground that way.

 “ur video taken care of.. More people calling it clever
fake. No 1 can trace it back to source. Me and Johnathen bz now text u l8tr.
Big things happening!!!:)"

This put my mind at ease a little. Some of it seemed vague
but I was happy about the video. I thought it was good no one knew about the
magic world. If I could be attacked the way I was, then anybody could be. I
texted back a simple "K" and told myself I would let them know where
I was and what I was doing later. It hurt a little that Michelle didn’t ask me
about that now, but I shrugged it off. Fetch had left the television on and, by
what was playing, I could see it was early the next day. I had slept in my
clothes. They seemed to be tight on me and my muscles ached. It felt like I had
a really hard work out. I figured that my muscles were catching up to what I
had been through the previous day. With a snort from Fetch, who was still
sleeping on the floor at the foot of the bed, any thought of it all just being
a dream left my head. I thought I better get the "Do Not Disturb"
sign on the door or the maid would walk in to a surprising sight of a sleeping
dragon on the floor. I took off my shirt and rubbed my bald head and got a
pleasant surprise. I could feel the start of hair growing on my head. Feeling
my face, I could feel eyebrows starting to grow in and a thin beard covering my
face. I made a mental note to get some shaving cream, deodorant, and a
toothbrush, along with clothes and a computer, today.

It was going to be a busy day. I got up quietly, not wanting
to disturb Fetch, and headed for the shower. I walked by the big mirror leading
into the bathroom and took a good long look at my face. In the middle of the
night Fetch had found a marker and had drawn a beard and eyebrows and even
squiggly hair. I could see the shadow of hair growing underneath Fetch's art
work. I heard a ‘huh' sound behind me and discovered that my dragon friend was
not asleep after all. He was up and laughing at his little joke.

“Laugh it up you stupid lizard, I’m going to get you back
for this one."

Fetch just continued to laugh. I turned back to the mirror
and got a shock. I didn’t recognize myself.

It was more than Fetch's art work. I was buff; really buff.
I looked like I had spent months working out in a gym. Lean, powerful looking
muscles were popping out all over my torso. I even had six-pack abs., something
I had never been able to accomplish. I felt strong and now realized why I was
so sore. My new body grew overnight.  That also explained why I had been so
hungry.  I needed the calories to grow into my new body.

This was yet another transformation. I was elated! I was
Spiderman discovering my new found powers. It was like I was a super hero. I
picked up the phone to text Michelle to let her know about this new change.  I
left her a text that simply said, “New changes" accompanied by a photo of
myself in the mirror.

Michelle texted back, “WOW! I really like the mustache and
beard (lol), but really Jack, you weren’t this big last night. I'll show this
to Johnathen and see what he has to say."

I stripped off my jeans and headed to the shower. This was
too awesome for me to be concerned about. I had tried every kind of workout
program for years and never got the results I wanted. The best shape I had been
in before was when I was riding my bike to work every day. When I got hit by
the truck, that stopped me from working out at all. This overnight success was
incredible. Fetch not consuming me had turned me into all I could ever want to
be. I was beginning to enjoy my new life. How could I not? It was every comic
book and fantasy lover’s dream come true.

I stood there in the shower, letting the hot water massage
my sore muscles, and I looked down at my leg.  On the spot where Fetch's egg
had attached itself, there was a strange spot. It looked like a bruise. It was
in a perfect square and was purple, green, and had a strange white bump. I
didn’t like the look of it. I touched it and discovered it had a strange smooth
feel. When I pressed on the small bump it felt hard, like a smooth callus. I
really didn’t want to worry about it. I felt too pumped and excited about the
transformation of my body.  Well, I couldn’t expect not to have some kind of
scar there, after all, I had just had a dragon rip through that part of my leg.
I'm lucky I didn’t have a scar across the whole side of my body. I told myself
that I would show it to Johnathen the next time I saw him and see what he had
to say about it.  I jumped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around my
waist. I went back to the mirror to get another look at myself. I looked down
at the scar again. I was beginning to think of it as some kind of battle scar.

Fetch was sitting on the bed watching “The Price is Right”.

“Hey Fetch,” I said “take a look at my leg.”

I pointed at the strange mark. He leaned in and studied it
for a while. He took in a short breath and breathed a small line of healing
fire, but it didn’t do anything. He sat up, looked at me, shrugged, and went
back to staring at the TV. He didn’t seem to be too concerned about it.

I was acting like a little kid, flexing my muscles in the
mirror, showing off in front of Fetch. He continued to watch TV, ignoring me. I
could still see a faint outline of the artwork Fetch had done on my face.  Then
it hit me.

“Fetch, where did you get the markers to color on my
face?"

Fetch turned to me and smiled a big toothy grin. I guess it
would have to remain a mystery along with how he got food. The way he just sat
there and smiled let me know that I wasn’t going to get an answer out of him.
My stomach growled. I had to get something to eat. Fetch seemed to like those
sausage biscuits had gotten yesterday so I figured I would make that the first
stop of the day.

I got dressed and grabbed my teardrop choker and phone and
checked that I had money in the pouch.  As I headed for the door, “Come on
Fetch,” I said “let’s start the day.” He turned to me and with the end of his
tail shut off the TV. Going into camo mode he followed me out the door.

The next two weeks were spent in shameless excess. I bought
clothes and a laptop computer. I strutted around town enjoying my new body. I
texted Michelle as much as I could and she kept on saying that she would meet
me soon. I tried calling her but would only get her voice mail. From time to
time, I would see one of Johnathen's bobcats watching me from a distance. I
wondered why the teardrop choker had no effect on them. I guessed that it was
because of some spell that kept them from not seeing me. I was a little annoyed
at the idea of always being watched that way, but I knew it was just
Johnathen's way of watching out for me. I was starting to get a little hurt
that neither one of them had come to see me or Fetch. Fetch was getting grumpy.
He missed Michelle. I could tell he was down, because he wasn’t bothering to
play any tricks on me. We spent a lot of our time walking around town. We
stayed outside as much as we could. During that time I was learning about
Fetch. We found a stretch of desert where Fetch could fly around. He had to
stay low and in camo mode because it was close to the Air Force base. It was
out in the Vail area, not too far from my brother’s house. I thought about
going to see him, but I realized this was a bad idea. He didn’t know who I was
anymore. I waited one day, until he left for work, put fifty thousand dollars
in an envelope, and stuck it in his mailbox. I left a note with it simply
saying “Accept the blessing.” I hoped he would keep the money and spend it on something
he wanted. 

I never had a lot of money before and I was quickly
discovering how intoxicating it could be. I am ashamed to say that I lost my
head for a while. I strutted around town enjoying my new found wealth and my
new body. I had a new confidence I had never before experienced. Since nobody
knew who I was, I could be whomever I wanted to be. My new found physical
strength made me feel I could take on the world. Only the familiar twinge of
pain from my hip let me know that I wasn’t indestructible. I talked with people
I would never talk to before. I flirted with girls with a new confidence. It
was, in a way, the best time of my life.

I was starting to become lazy. I spent a lot of time out by
the pool. With my teardrop choker, I had no fear of the magical world
discovering me, and was beginning to think that I had nothing to worry about. I
would wake up in the morning, muscles aching. A text from Michelle, containing
a message from Johnathen, suggested that I start working out. It would help my body
adjust to the changes it had undergone. I made it a habit to go to the small
gym at the hotel every morning and then swim in the pool once in a while. It
helped and I stopped feeling sore.

It was getting harder and harder to keep Fetch from being
discovered. He was starting to grow and I realized he would soon be too big to
stay in the room. On the second night we were there Fetch had plopped himself
on the bed and refused to budge. Not wanting to get into it with him, it became
an unspoken agreement to take turns with the bed. One night I would get it, and
the next Fetch would. I didn’t want to argue with him about this.

From time to time, Fetch and I would come across something
from the magical world. Most were hidden from everyone who was not touched by
magic. I began to see magic working all around me. I never let myself be seen
by these gnomes. It took me a while to realize that it was the same funny
little fellow who was doing the entire cleanup around the hotel and park. He
seemed to always follow the giant troll, cleaning up after him. It amazed me
that no one but me, and of course Fetch, could smell that troll. There was one
day, as I sat out by the pool, that the little guy looked in my direction. I
grabbed the choker in my hand as the little gnome stared in mine and Fetch's
direction. We didn’t move a muscle. A girl, who was staying at the hotel with
her family, noticed how still I was sitting, and how I was staring, and came up
and talked to me.

“Watcha  doing?"

She couldn’t have been more than four. I didn’t want to
respond to her, afraid that would let the gnome know that someone was here. I
still didn’t know who sided with the fairies and who didn't, and there was the
chance that whoever sent the goblins to attack me would strike again. The gnome
eventually sighed, not really paying attention to the little girl, and went on
his way. The mother called the little girl over telling her not to bother me. I
glanced over and saw her give me a worried look. Even with my new look and
confidence, I seemed to be a little intimidating to some. My hair and eyebrows
had grown in pretty well, but I was still a little scary looking to some
people. I stopped sitting by the pool for a while. I was starting to get
frustrated and I wasn’t alone. Michelle had said she would see us in a few days
but it had been longer. We had already extended our stay at the hotel and I
didn’t know how much longer I could stay there. I had the idea of getting an
apartment, but I wanted to wait until I got the "ok" from Johnathen.

Fetch was getting extremely antsy. He was growing and was
now about the size of a pony. If he continued to grow at this rate, we wouldn’t
be able to stay in hotel rooms anymore. He started going off on his own at
night, and I figured out he was hunting. Sometimes he didn’t get back until
morning. I was concerned about what he was hunting and I made him promise not
to eat anybody’s pets. I kept my eyes open for any fliers of lost dogs or cats.
His abilities continued to improve. The thing that was amazing to me was
Fetch's dragon fire. We would go out and practice with it from time to time. It
never burned the same color but would change with his mood. When he was angry,
it would burn red or white. When he was happy and having fun, it was purple.
When he was sad, it would be blue. I began to notice that it was blue more and
more. Fetch was lonely. We did have each other, but there seemed to be no other
dragons around. I had people to talk to from time to time, but Fetch had no one
but me to relate to. I had to remind him to stay in camo mode from time to
time, and, I could tell by the look on his face, he was beginning to resent
this. He wanted to see another dragon. Knowing what they would do when they
hatched, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to meet one.

It was on one of Fetch's hunting nights that it happened. I
went down to the pool, sure I would not run into my little gnome friend. I had
never seen him at night and so I figured it would be safe. There was a family
at the pool, but the hot tub was not being used. I sat in the hot water,
enjoying the bubbles, when I spotted it. It was a goblin. He was hiding in the
bushes, looking at the family. They had a stroller with them. Dad played with
two older kids in the shallow end of the pool, while the mom stayed with the baby.
The goblin was staring at the stroller. I froze, not knowing what to do. I knew
the goblin couldn’t see me. If he could, there might be trouble. But, by the
way he was staring at the stroller, I knew I couldn’t just sit by and do
nothing. I hoped the thing would just go away. I made a note to myself to tell
Fetch about this, and see about taking turns keeping an eye out for the little
creeps. Before I could decide what to do next, the goblin made his move.

Darting out of the bushes he grabbed for the stroller,
knocking the mother to the ground. She screamed as the goblin took the entire
stroller, jumped over the fence, and took off. I jumped out of the hot tub in
pursuit. I was thankful for my night vision as I could see the little creep. I
was stronger than the last time I had to face one of these little beasts, and I
was not about to let it get away with that baby. I could feel that funny,
itchy, feeling again as I ran after the goblin. I let the magic build up inside
me as I quickly caught up to the creature and grabbed it by the foot. It
dropped the stroller, which landed on its wheels, and I could hear a frightened
cry coming from it as I pulled the goblin away. The little slimy beast squealed
in surprise. It wasn’t Booger, but, by the way it looked at me, I could tell it
was one of the snot brigade from the parking lot, and he knew who I was. I took
a swing at his head and knocked him to the ground. I kicked him in the face
with my bare foot and I could feel the sting of his acid spit on my toes. I
began to wish Fetch was there.