The Lightwielder Files

Chapter 13

Max ached in ways that he hadn’t before, in ways that he hadn’t even thought was possible but here was laying on a bed in the infirmary covered in sweet-smelling salves and lotions that were immediately put to work to loosen his joint sn ad ease his pain. 

Thankfully he wasn’t alone. As soon as the nurse was done with him, he allowed Adam to come and sit with him. 

“Did you have to mesmer her?” he asked in a low voice as Adam came to sit down on one of the folding chairs. 

“Shh”, Adam whispered with a thin runged finger on his smiling lips. Then he scoffed playfully. “I don’t need mesmer to charm people I have enough charm already. Mesmer is just for special circumstances, and frankly, sometimes I could do with the practice.”

Max chuckled and then found that his chest hurt a little from the action so he reached over the table beside him and took a glass of water. 

“The second half wasn’t so bad," Adam said looking over at the patch over Max’s arms and torso. His legs were covered by a thin blanket but  Adma could assume that there were some marks down there so since Fredo focussed a lot of his attacks on the trunk of the body. 

It was Max’s turn to scoff but this time from pain rather than humorous intent. 

“That's easy for you to say," Max said with a deep whine in his voice, “You weren't Alfredo’s punching bag for nearly forty-five minutes.”

“I think the correct term would be whipping boy," Adam pointed out with a gentle smile. 

“Same difference," Max said with a frown on his face.  “I should face it, I’m useless at fighting.”

“Ah, don’t say that," Adam said his voice gentle still as he pulled out a packet of orange juice from somewhere. Max wasn't exactly sure how he was able to get it into the healing room.

He went around to the other side of the bed and poured some into Max’s empty glass of water. 

“Orange juice the sure remedy for all ills”, he announced proudly before returning to his seat as Max brought the glass full of orange liquid up to his lips and he had to admit he did feel a little bit better afterward. 

“Nobody becomes a master fighter after one lesson," Adam said sagely. “Not even one day.”

“But I stared too late.”

“Stop saying that! The most important is that you’re starting now.”

“So you’re one of those it’s never too late to start over people," Max said with a small laugh in his voice. 

Adam smiled brightly. “I suppose I am. And anyway being a Lightwielder is more than being able to cut a feral salamander up in ninety-five ways from here till sundown.”

“Wait salamanders are real?” Max exclaimed. 

“Not my point Max," Adam brushed him off. “Now where was I? Oh yes, there’s still your Light. That’s the most powerful weapon that you will use. I know people say it’s useless if you’re not trained. They are in my opinion idiots. It takes much more than being a fierce fighter to be a great Lightwielder.”

He reached out his hand and took Max’s in his own. 

“I see something in you Max something greater when it comes to the Light. I can feel it.”

The nurse came in and tell him that he should let Max rest if he had any hope of joining the class later on for Light lessons. 

“I think you’ll enjoy the Light lessons," Adam said then pointed at the healing marks on max’s arms. “At least they won’t be too physically draining.”

“I hope so”, max sighed downing the last of his orange juice, Adam quickly filled it up. 

“Why are you so nice to me?” he asked 

Adam shrugged with a charming but no less sincere smile on his face.

“How do know I’m not like this with everyone?” he cooed edging towards the open door.

It was Max’s turn to give a coy smile. 

“I just have a feeling.”

“Rest up," Adma called from behind him. “Big night tonight.”

The nurse took his vitals and then encourage him to take a nap which he promptly did. He didn’t know how tired he really was until he conked out immediately after his head hit the pillow.

Images came racing through his head, almost blanking him out until he saw the man from the pub in his long black cloak and his dark plague doctor's mask. He wondered where he had found such an item until another figure came to mind. It was his dad. The two men's dude opposite each other one cast in light the other passed in darkness.  but then something strange happened the light in the darkness began to shift before it intermingle into each other call before a sudden flash of light as bright as a clip began to overtake Max's entire mind. 

Then he fell into a slightly less fitful sleep, his mind drawing a blank but at the same time calling to his dad, if it was possible for someone to call out to someone else with one’s mind. He hoped against hope that it was. 

Later in the afternoon, the nurse came to wake Max up with a fresh glass of orange juice and some chicken nuggets. He ate them with relish and Adam came by just in time for after he had finished eating to take him to their Light class. He said goodbye to the nurse as he and Adam walked down an unfamiliar hallway with various doors with strange symbols on them. 

“What do those words mean?” Max asked pointing at some swirls on a door marked 'supplies' on his left.

“Those are enchanted runes”, Adam explained. “They’re mostly used for protection against monsters but some Lightwielders use them as locks or just to keep themselves extra safe in their day to day lives.”

The runes fascinated Max, probably because he was struck with how nice they looked. He imagined carving some himself. Maybe if they had those runes then his dad would not have been taken. He shook the thought out of his head, he couldn’t know that for certain, so he decided to ask more about the runes. 

“Can all Lightwielders make runes?” 

“In theory, but they’re not that strong. We have specialists who cast the runes on the doors of the Order and other important places.”

“What do you have to do to be a specialist?” Max asked really intrigued by it all, his carpenters’ mind running a mile a minute on how those small designs could be imbued with so much magic. 

“You have be passable at using your Light creatively and then they have special groups where they teach you how to make runes proficiently.”

Adam turned to him with a funny look on his face. “Rune makers are kind of just glorified locksmiths.”

“What’s wrong with locksmiths?” max asked with mock defensiveness. 

“Nothing, I just didn't think it would interest you You seem you like more like an electrician.”

“That’s funny”, Max mused, “My dad’s the electrician in the family.”

“That must have been what I was sensing”, Adam nodded, pulling Max towards a door at the end of the hall. “Here we are”, he said. 

Max took a deep breath and was grateful that it didn’t hurt anymore but he was slightly pensive at what was happening behind the closed doors and what his Light lesson would be like. 

“Let’s go," he said as Adam opened the door.