Forced Magic (22 page)

Johnathen walked over to Booger and above his head made a
green ball appear. It floated down, covering his head, and grew until it
covered his entire body. I could see him inside it, yelling and screaming. He
was really angry.

“I think it is best to keep him with me for now.”

Johnathen looked over at me. There was anger and hurt in his
eyes. He had heard what Pockhammer had said, and all he had to do was look at
me and he knew it was true.

“Johnathen,” I started, "let me explain."

“Explain?” he interrupted. “What’s to explain? You obviously
have been making friends despite my pleas that you stay hidden."

“You don’t understand,” I started again.

Johnathen just raised a hand. “Now is not the time or place
for this, Jack. Whatever happened, it could cause serious problems. All my work
over the last few months could be compromised. I don’t pretend to have any
control over your actions. You are free to do what you want. I just hoped you would
listen. You betrayed me, Jack. Both you and Michelle.”

Michelle sat up. She was starting to look a little pale
again. She looked confused at his words. She must not have heard what
Pockhammer had said. Johnathen turned to her. 

“Michelle, you took a great risk using that spell. I asked
you to keep it simple and stay safe. But you went ahead and took the risk that
could have killed you. I wish I had never taught you magic. You betrayed me as
well “

“Jack, it seems the magic world is already forming their
opinion of you and Fetch. You can’t hide forever. You seem to have already
found a gnome and made a friend. That means that your story is being spread
even more. Please be careful. It is hard for you to believe, but I do have your
best interest at heart. I don’t know how to fix this. It changes
everything."

Once again Johnathen got that faraway look. We had hurt him
deeply. I wanted to explain what had happened, but I could tell he was in no
mood to listen. Fetch sat there, his eyes changing color rapidly.

“Michelle, I think you should stay here for now and recover.
You have had quite a shock to your system and it is dangerous for you to move
around too much. Please do not attempt any more magic for now.” He put his hand
up to his forehead. ”I really have been working too hard. This changes
everything. I need to go now. I will be in contact with you soon. Within the
next couple of days I think.” 

He got that faraway look again. He reminded me of a guy I
knew in high school who was addicted to meth. He had that same faraway look.

“I would ask you to stay here and not leave this room until
you hear from me, but I don’t think that would do any good.”

He looked as if he was about to say something more, but then
changed his mind. With Booger flung over his back, still swearing at all of us,
he opened the door and left.  In the silence that followed Michelle began to
cry.

I felt terrible. I didn’t mean to meet Smith, it just
happened. If Johnathen had only allowed me to explain. He looked so hurt and
upset at all of us, but the one thing that was nagging me was how completely
worn out he seemed, almost a shadow of his former self. It looked like he was
getting worse and worse every time I saw him. I couldn’t shake the idea that it
was because he was working too hard to hide and protect Fetch, me, and
Michelle. There was still so much I didn’t know. I was beginning to think I
would never know.  But, I felt I needed to take more action; more than the
writing that was still going on in my computer; more than the Facebook
postings.  A seed of an idea was starting to form in my head. I hoped Michelle
would go along with it. She continued to cry, unconsolable. I kept my distance,
feeling she needed to cry this out. Fetch laid his head on the bed next to her,
letting her know he was there for her when she was ready. The affection Fetch
had for Michelle was touching.  After a while Michelle stopped crying. She put
her hand on Fetch's head and sat up.

“What happened, Jack?” She asked.

I told her the story of how we met Smith, trying to stress
to her that I had no choice. I could tell that she was not upset. I knew she
felt that we should show the magic world who we are. She was already known, but
her ability to use magic was not. Too many secrets seemed to be flying around.

At the end of my story Michelle sighed, "You have
become more of a part of the magic world in a few months than I have over the
past ten years. I know he is upset but Johnathen is wrong to keep you hidden.”

At the mention of Johnathen's name, tears welled up in
Michelle’s eyes.

“I’m so worried about him, Jack. I’m worried and scared. He
will disappear for days sometimes, and, when he comes back, it’s like a part of
him is gone or changed. I don’t know what kind of magic he is doing but it is
taking its toll on him. I’m sure it is to help you, to keep you hidden, to keep
us both hidden. We have to show ourselves for what we are, Jack. All three of
us. Even if it means Johnathen would be mad at us. I am afraid of what will
happen if he keeps on going like this. We have to help him. It’s time for us to
show the magic world who we are.  If he keeps this up, I’m afraid he will
die."

She put her face in her hands. It was amazing to me that a
person as strong as I believed Michelle to be could cry the way she did over
certain things. I reminded myself of everything she had been through and how
much she loved Johnathen. I knew the idea of going against his wishes was hard
for her, but she already showed that she wanted to break away from him a little
too, even if it was to protect him. I wanted the same things too. I was glad
that she felt this way. I decided to tell her my plan.

“How are you feeling?” I asked her.

She shrugged. ”I'm ok, just a little tired.”

She smiled an encouraging smile to let me know she was fine.

“You think you would be up for a little adventure tomorrow
night? I have an idea, but, for it to work, I need you to meet a friend of
mine.”

She sat up and smiled even wider.

“Ok,” she said.

“Then I want you to meet one of the only friends I have in
the magic world.” I said. “He can help us. It would be the magic world
equivalent of networking."

Michelle would amaze me at times. She was pretty much raised
in a magic world, but had an understanding of the non-magic world.  She was
incredibly smart. The magic she used seemed to require words and gestures that
I didn’t think I could ever master. Her friendship was something I would always
cherish, no matter what.  My feelings for her grew stronger all the time. I
tried not to think about them too much. I was afraid it would jeopardize our
friendship. Besides, it was obvious how she felt about Johnathen. I knew how
hard it was for her to go against him. I also knew that deep down she was doing
it because she believed it would help him in the end.

I realized that I had been staring at her for a while. She
smiled and threw a pillow and the bedspread at me.

”Sorry guys, but I need some beauty rest and this girl don’t
sleep on the floor."

I had to stop myself from saying something stupid like “You
don’t need any beauty rest."

“Good night," I said turning out the lights in the
room.

Fetch curled up at the foot of the bed, laying his head on
the end so he could keep an eye on Michelle. I sat in a chair and wrapped
myself in the blanket. I planned to go outside in a little while to take a look
around for signs of any more goblins. I felt bad that I didn’t get a chance to
explain to Johnathen about Smith. I hoped I could tell him about it soon. I lay
there staring at Michelle as she drifted off to sleep. I remembered that my
magic journal was writing this all down. If I didn’t find a way to edit it,
Michelle would read all of this one day. I closed my eyes for a moment and when
I opened them it was early the next morning. I guess I was more tired than I
thought.

Michelle slept the better part of the next day. Neither
Fetch nor I wanted to leave her alone, out of concern that someone or something
might attack.  I wanted to move to another room, feeling that we had stayed
here too long. Then the idea occurred to me that Johnathen might have placed
some sort of spell around us to protect us from harm.  Looking at her sleeping,
I began to have second thoughts about going to see Smith.  She had been through
so much and I didn’t want to push her. When Fetch saw that I was up, he went
over to the door. He opened it, going into camouflage mode and closed the door
behind him. He returned a little later with breakfast, doughnuts and large
coffees. We stayed quiet so we wouldn't wake up Michelle. I grabbed my computer
and got on Facebook. I wanted to say something, but didn’t know what to post. I
watched Fetch drink his coffee. His eyes rolled back in his head a little. It
was quite obvious that he enjoyed the coffee very much. I posted on Facebook;
“I don’t know if anybody knows this, but dragons Looove coffee
J
." I waited to see what kind of
response I would get. After a couple of likes I logged out and put my computer
away.

Michelle woke up a few minutes later. Fetch sat there with a
bag of donuts in his mouth so he would be the first thing she saw when she woke
up. She opened her eyes and smiled at Fetch's eager face. He could really be a
dork when it came to Michelle. She laughed and scratched his head, took a donut
and a big sip of coffee.

She looked much better than she did last night. She still
had the dark circles under her eyes and I didn’t want to push her too much, but
she insisted that she was fine and got up.

“Do you have something I can wear?” she asked with a
mouthful of donut.

She had slept in the clothes she had on last night. They
were worn out and very dirty. I remembered how Fetch had healed her last night
and noticed that her clothes weren’t burned. I wondered if this was because
Fetch had gained more control over his flame or he had burned my clothes off on
purpose. Knowing his sense of humor, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he had.

"Uh, sure," I said, “nothing that will fit you
though."

She smiled and there was a twinkle in her eyes as she said,
“I don’t think that will be a problem. A simple spell should change that.”

“Do you think it is wise for you to do magic again so soon?”
I asked.

“Oh, I won’t be casting the spell, you will.”

I looked at her in surprise. I never thought of using my
Forced magic that way. I guess that it wouldn’t be any different from the way I
used it to start the journal. But it would be directed at another person this
time. I shook my head.

“I don’t think I'm ready for anything like that. I could
hurt you."

“I don’t think you will. Your magic seems to be tied into
who you are. The simple fact that your magic comes from inside you the way it
does, means you couldn’t hurt me because it is just not in you to hurt
me."

I thought back to when I had knocked out Johnathen. I was
about to remind her of that.

“I know what you are thinking, but that was when you were
defending yourself. Johnathen didn’t give you much of a choice. I still don’t
know what he was thinking when he pushed you so hard. You have to learn to
accept your magic, Jack. You can’t be afraid of it. You won’t hurt me."

I looked in her eyes and was a little overwhelmed by her
confidence in me. She really believed I could do it. She smiled and gave me a
peck on the cheek.

”I won’t take 'no' for an answer, Jack. Besides, Fetch will
be right there with you the whole time."

I looked over at Fetch. His eyes were the steady green that
showed his confidence in me.

"You really think I can do this?” I asked him.

He rolled those green eyes and smacked me with his tail.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” I said, rubbing the side of my
head.

“Ok. How do you think I should do this?”

Michelle jumped up. ”Give me a sec."

She grabbed some towels and headed for the shower. This gave
me a few minutes to think of how I was going to do this. I had no idea! I paced
back and forth in the small hotel room. Fetch watched me going back and forth.
He was sitting on the bed with the TV remote in his hands. After a while, he
got up and stood in front of me. He pushed on my chest with his head trying to
make me stop. With a great shove he knocked me back into a chair, flipping it
over backward. I heard a laugh and saw Michelle standing there fresh from the
shower. She had a big towel wrapped around her body and another one on her
head.

"Thanks a lot you stupid lizard," I said to
Fetch.  "You pushing me doesn’t help me get in the right frame of
mind."

"Ok, Jack," said Michelle. “Time to stop playing
around. I want you to look at me. Get a good mental image of me in your
mind."

I got up off the floor and looked at Michelle. She stood
there wrapped in the towels, hands on her hips. I could see the design of her
tattoo curling around her body. I had to admire the time that it must have
taken to get such a design. I got a little distracted at the thought that she
was standing in front of me wearing nothing but a couple of towels.

“Relax Jack," she said. "It's just me. You can do
this. The human mind has a better understanding of things than we give it
credit for, Jack. I know you’re not aware of it, but you already have the idea
of what size I am. If you think about it, it was a mind, just like ours, that
came up with the idea of numbers and languages, a mind like ours that created
pyramids and The Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Those things were created by the
strongest magic of all, Jack. The human imagination. It is what I believe fuels
your magic, Jack. There is no way you can hurt me, because you choose not to.
It is the choice we all have. It's what keep us human and not some kind of
beast, the simple fact that we can choose who we are and what we do.  I have
confidence in your forced magic, Jack, because I have confidence in you. Think
about me, Jack, the magic I can do. If I can learn to do magic, then you can do
this. Once I realized that I knew I could perform magic, it was just the right
words and a little practice and I transported myself across the city."

“Yeah," I mumbled, trying not to get distracted at her
standing there in the towels. “But that didn’t turn out so well did it?”

"This is different, Jack, now do it."

She stood there not moving. I knew she would stand there all
day if I didn’t do something. I nodded 'ok'.

The idea was for me to change the towels around her so that
they became clothes. I was going to accomplish this by imagining her in a
certain outfit. I wouldn’t be making something out of nothing. I would just
change the towels into something else. I just hoped I wouldn’t change Michelle
along with the towels. I closed my eyes and got a good mental image of
Michelle. I remembered the black dress she wore when I first met her. I played
that day over and over in my mind. I wanted to make sure I got the right image.
When I was sure I had it clear enough, I searched my mind for the forced magic.
It was a little harder to find but soon I found the spark. At first it didn’t
want to grow. The thought process I had behind it was different from what I had
before. Even when I had used it to start the journal, it was different from making
clothes. Finally it started to grow. That uncomfortable itchy feeling spread
through my body. When I was sure I had the image of that dress in my mind, I
began to rip the magic out of me. As it started to leave my body, that first
time I met Michelle became crystal clear in my mind. So much so that it felt
like I was standing there, almost reliving that day. I saw Michelle and I even
saw myself for a second. The magic left me almost reluctantly this time. My
vision blurred for a second. I heard a little gasp from Michelle and a strange
grunt from Fetch. I opened my eyes and saw Michelle standing there in the same
black dress that she was wearing when I had met her. The towels were gone. I
had changed them. Michelle stood there, her hair and even her makeup done
exactly the way I remembered it being that day. She turned to look in the
mirror.

“Wow, Jack! You did good. This is just how I looked that
first day, isn’t it? Wow! All you need is a little more focus and it would be
flawless."

I was confused at her last statement.

“A little more focus? But you look fine. Wait, did I hurt
you, are you ok?" I asked.

Michelle turned back to me and looked like she was about to
laugh. I heard a strange snort coming from Fetch. I looked over to see him on
his back on the floor. He was holding his chest and his great big snout was
wide open. For a second I thought he was in pain, but I quickly realized he was
just in the throes of silent laughter. Michelle was unable to restrain herself
from laughing any longer. I was confused. What was so funny? I glanced down and
got the answer. Yellow flip flops, purple sweatpants, and blue T-shirt. A quick
look in the mirror and I discovered I was wearing the same thing I had on that
first day, right down to the red fuzzy stocking cap. I whipped it off, relieved
I still had hair and eyebrows. I turned to look at my two closest friends who
were laughing like hyenas.