Wizard (Troy Sanders Trilogy Book 1)

16: My Second "Date" with Crazy, Sorta

“What’s a mage?” I asked Victoria as we took a stroll through the fields in the evening. I wouldn’t have wanted to disturb the peace and tranquility of that moment- they were really rare around her, I tell you- but that question had been gnawing at me all day long.

“Not what. Who,” she said after we took a seat under an apple tree; they were very common in Firewalt. “The magic community is comprised of two main classes; the wizards and the mages,” she explained. “Wizards are everyday people like you and I who practice and live our magics like normal people do. The mages are advanced us. They're a very powerful set of wizards.”

Well, that certainly explained why Elaine had decided to point that out earlier. “So, our teachers are mages?” I asked.

“Oh no, Troy,” she replied, smiling like I was being ridiculous. “Mages rarely interact with other wizards. All they do is learn more magic, head committees and make rules for us to follow.” I decided then and there that I didn’t like mages; I mean, what was the essence of having knowledge if you didn’t share it?

Vic, on the other hand, wasn’t dwelling on the issue like I was. “It’s very beautiful out here, you know,” she said to me as she took a look around.

“Yes,” I replied, looking over at her. She looked so peaceful with her eyes closed and the breeze blowing her hair all over her face; at times it was hard to believe that that girl could go from pretty princess to crazy coo-coo in the blink of an eye.

We remained in that posture for a while - not really sure how long - before three girls called her name from where she laid.

“I’ll see you later, Troy,” she said as she ran up to meet them. I wanted to ask her where but she was already out of earshot. Well, she was Victoria, I was sure she would find a way.

However, I didn’t see Victoria for the rest of the day; guess her friends really had her preoccupied with whatever it was they went to do. Anyway, I decided to hang out with Jake who couldn’t stop talking about how he and Elaine had really hit it off.

After Jake had finished the story of his day with Elaine - which was pretty interesting, by the way- we went out for a ride; guess those horses had finally forgiven me and I was now getting the hang of riding them. It was really exciting but I was tired to the bones by the time I got back to my room late in the night.

I decided to take a warm bath; going further that I would do it in magical style. Not that there wasn’t an equipment for that already, but leaving magic didn’t necessarily mean that I won’t have fun with it sometimes.

I quickly got one of the magic books that Grandpa Blake had packed for me. It was the biggest of them all; containing spells from all over the world which someone in the family had painstakingly translated every one of them into English- thumbs up whoever you are! You saved me a job.

I’d gone through the book twice already- just skimming though- so I knew the exact page I was looking for. It required some ingredients which I got from the top drawer of the wardrobe- great foresight from Grandpa Blake to have packed them- and dashed off to the bathroom.

I had never performed magic before- at least not of my own will, and partnering up with Vic didn't count- so I was a little excited. I had already filled the bathtub with water so that part was skipped in the list of processes from the book.

Next, I placed red candles, already lit, in five posts round the tub; making them form a pentagon. Then, I used a white powdery substance to draw a pentagram on the surface of the water. With that done, it’s time for the hardest part; the spell.

“Water's hot and water's cold. Give me sort which binds their hold.”

Immediately, a white hot wind blew, dissipating the substance and killing the candles. I looked at the water in the tub but it still remained the same; not that the book ever said anything about changing waters, but you never know. I put my index finger in it, preparing to quickly withdraw it in case things didn’t go as expected.

But it did. The water was surprisingly as precisely warm as I imagined it should be; a little too precisely, I might add. I never knew that magic was supposed to be that exact; if I knew I would have dabbled with it a long time before then- God, all the things I would have done.

Anyway, I added a cinnamon body-wash to the bath and quickly got down into it; the book didn’t specify how long the effect would last. Immediately my body touched the water, it was as though the water molecules had a life of their own. I could feel them all over my body, restoring strength to every cell in my body. It was like signing up for a magical body massage. There was no doubt I would have fallen asleep in the bathtub if not that I heard someone say, “I always pictured you as an apple bubble bath kind of guy.”

I jerked my eyes open and almost had a heart attack. Right there, standing in the middle of my bathroom with all smile and cheerfulness was the last person I had ever thought it would be; Victoria.