Forced Magic (8 page)

Johnathen stood there staring at Michelle’s back, as she had
turned away from us and seemed to be crying. After a few moments he sighed and
began to speak.

“There was a rumor going around the magic community about
someone spreading Dragon eggs for people to find. No one had any idea if it was
true or not. But me, and others who are sensitive to feeling the magic of a
dragon hatching, have been searching to find answers. So far we have always
been too late. By the time a hatched dragon has been located they had already consumed
the host and disappeared.  No one has had any clue as to who is behind this,
until today. You, Jack, are the first host ever to survive. All other hosts die
as a result of the dragon consuming the life force of its host to survive. Both
you and Fetch are unique. Neither one of you should be alive. You shouldn’t
have survived the hatching and Fetch should be dead because he never took your
life force."

I stood there letting this all sink in. I seemed to be part
of something big. Fetch and I were now right in the middle of some strange
magic conspiracy.

“So the fairies have been killing people with these dragon
eggs?”

“Yes, it would seem so,” said Johnathen.

“Why?” I asked. “I mean, why are they doing this and why did
they pick me?”

"I don’t think they picked you on purpose Jack. Did
anyone give you Fetch's egg?”

“No I found it on the ground. I just thought it was a cool
looking rock and was keeping it as a good luck charm. Wait a minute, if she
wanted Fetch to hatch and kill me, then why did she lead me out to the street
where I almost got hit by the car?”

Johnathen looked at me in confusion.

“I think you better tell me what happened from the beginning
Jack. There is a lot to your story I don’t know, and, the only way I can answer
the questions that you and Fetch have is to hear what exactly happened to you
both. But, what you need to know is that there is a world of magic all around
you, Jack.  So many of the stories you might have read  about fantasy and magic
is based in truth. What you need to understand is that there are forces in this
magic world that would rather see you dead than let you be what you are now.
There are creatures that would see all people, who are not magical, wiped off
the face of the earth. The fey are part of that group.  At best, they are
mischievous causing difficulty for humans. At the worst, they can be evil and
destroy lives."

At these words Michelle turned and walked away. A path
leading in the opposite direction appeared behind us. Michelle walked that way
toward a limo parked along the road. She stopped at a park bench and sat there
with her head in her hands.

“She is a victim of the fey cruelty, Jack. They destroyed
her family. Her parents and little brother were killed by them."

My blood ran cold at these words. It really brought home the
seriousness of the situation.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because they could. They are cruel, Jack. “

I looked over at Fetch. He was staring in Michelle’s
direction.

“Ok," I said, "I will tell you everything."

Fetch looked at me. I don’t think he liked the idea of me
telling Johnathen everything.

“Hey Fetch, I know you don’t want to kill me. If you did,
you would have had more than one chance to do it. But you've got to let me
know.  Was I supposed to find you? Were you supposed to kill me?”

This just blurted out of me. It seemed silly as soon as I
said it, but I felt I had to know. I was more confused than ever. I wondered at
that moment if I would regret my question. Fetch looked at me, confusion in his
eyes. I could tell that he didn’t know. He needed answers just as badly as I
did. He gave me a snort and, before I could react, he jumped into the air and
started to fly off. I yelled at him to come back. It was starting to get light
out and I could see him in the early light of dawn.  He landed next to the park
bench and I watched him walk up to Michelle. She sat up startled at his
presence. He put a paw in her lap. They sat there staring at each other, then
she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his neck. Even from this
distance I could hear her sobbing gently. Johnathen put a hand on my shoulder.

”Come on. I've got some coffee in the limo.”

We walked down the path together, not saying anything. I
knew that Johnathen was anxious to hear mine and Fetch's story, but he wanted
to give me some time to adjust to what I had heard and to what had happened to
me. What he told me was taking a lot time to sink in.

“She is beautiful," said Johnathen.

He was staring over at  Fetch and Michelle. I looked over at
him my face turning red.

“Don’t worry about it," said Johnathen smiling, “we’re
not together. I’m more like her guardian than anything. I do care for her and I
had quite a fight to keep her safe and protected. The council wasn’t too happy
with me when I took her in, but she has proven herself to most of the magic
community."

I looked at Johnathen. He must have seen the confusion on my
face. He laughed and patted my shoulder reassuringly.

"I’ll explain as much as I can to you, Jack. Don’t
worry."

I was beginning to like this guy. He seemed genuinely
sincere, and was definitely down to earth.

“You are not like what I would expect a wizard to be,"
I said.

He laughed again. “I’m going to take that as a compliment,”
he smiled.

I looked back over at Michelle. “That’s an interesting
tattoo she has," I said.

“Ah yes, it is. When I first met Michelle, she just had the
outline of it done. She has been working on it ever since. She is almost
finished with it. Can you tell what it is?"

I shook my head no. “It’s colorful and an interesting
design," I said. "I couldn’t tell what it is though."

Johnathen looked at me for a moment. "I think I'll let
her tell you what it is." 

We walked away from the pond, and Johnathen led me away from
the park bench toward the limo. He seemed to want to give Fetch and Michelle
some privacy.

“Do you have any tattoos?" he asked.

I looked over at him. He was trying hard to make small talk.
Trying to relax me and put my mind at ease. I appreciated it.

”No," I said. "I don’t have any. I've never found
the right one for me. My brother got one and it just ended up looking
ridiculous on him. So I wanted to give it a lot of thought as to what I would
get if I were to get one."

At the mention of my brother, the memory of our meeting in
the parking lot came back to me. I thought about asking Johnathen about this
but I remembered how he told us to come see him immediately and I didn’t want
to get him upset. After all, he was a wizard and, even though I was beginning
to trust him, I didn’t want to make him mad.

We reached the limo. It hit me then that this guy had a
limo. He must be rich. I remembered the duffle bag of money he had given me. My
hand went to my forehead.

“O man,” I said, "I left  your money on that little
island. I’ll go get it."

"No need,“ said Johnathen.

He raised a hand to his chest and said a strange word. The
duffle bag appeared outside the limo.

“It's not my money anymore, Jack. It is yours. This is your
first lesson about the magic world. A gift from a wizard means that you have
his protection. You cannot refuse the gift or return it to the wizard. If you
do, it will just find you again. So you are stuck with the money. Don’t even
try to give it back. You’re going to need it."

This last statement had me worried. More and more there
seemed to be so much I didn’t know.

Johnathen opened the door to the limo and reached inside,
pulling out two cups of coffee.

”Whoops," he said. "I didn’t even ask if you liked
coffee. I just took it for granted that you did."

I took the coffee out of his hands. “I love it Johnathen.
Got any cream and sugar?"

He reached back into the car and handed me a handful of
sugar and cream packets. I fixed my coffee. It tasted good. I remembered the
last cup I had, and how I only got a few sips in before all this craziness
happened. I thought back to the store and the table and then my brother again. 
Why didn’t he remember me? Did the fairy have something to do with it?

I took a sip of the coffee. It was strong and sweet and
helped me relax. I leaned against the limo and looked around the park. I had
grown up in this area and had a lot of memories tied up in this park. Some were
good, others bad. The past seemed to weigh on me in a heavy way and I stood
there in silence. I looked over at Michele and Fetch. He was attempting to
balance his whole body on his tail. Michelle was laughing. It was amazing to me
how much my life had changed in just a short amount of time. I felt dizzy for a
second at the idea of what was now my life. I looked at Johnathen as he leaned
on the limo looking at the pond. He wasn’t saying anything, but I could tell he
was anxious to hear my story.

“Starting to get light out,” he said softly.

I started to talk. I never meant to tell him everything.
Just enough to maybe get some answers. But, before I knew it, I was telling him
the whole story. From when I saw the fairy, to the egg, to the nightmare,
everything. Every little detail I could think of came out of my mouth.  I even
described the details of Booger's face and the smell of his cigars. My whole
adventure, so far, was laid out before him. When I was finished, he stood there
in stunned silence. Michelle and Fetch had come over. I didn’t even notice they
were there until I had finished talking. I looked at Fetch.

“Sorry,” I said to him.

I really didn’t mean to tell Johnathen everything without
Fetch being there. After all it was just as much his story as it was mine.
Fetch seemed to understand my apology. He nodded his head. He seemed to believe
that it was best to let Johnathen know it all. I let out a sigh of relief. I
was glad that Fetch was beginning to trust Johnathen as much as I was beginning
to trust him. Not just because he seemed to have answers, but also the fantasy
geek in me was thrilled at the idea of having a wizard as a friend. Michelle
just stood there, not saying a word. She had a hand on Fetch's back. They had
shared a moment and were now good friends. In fact, he was treating her much
better than he treated me. We turned to Johnathen waiting to hear what he had
to say. My story had shocked him. He stared off into space thinking of what to
say. Finally he spoke.

“You are an amazing person, Jack. I can’t imagine too many
people, going through what you went through, coming out of it without losing
their minds. I can give you some answers, but, I doubt they will give you much
comfort. You have been victimized. But, the simple fact that you have fought
back, in the way you have, shows strength of character that I don’t think you
are fully aware you have. Both you and Fetch. I’m not trying to flatter you. 
Just simply stating a fact. For you two to survive, the way you have, shows a
strength of spirit that few people possess. I hope what I can tell you will
help. But, there are just too many unknowns to consider. I will try to answer
everything I can. I hope it helps you.”

“The fairy was trying to kill you, I have no doubt about
that. They are a cruel race that finds pleasure in torturing and killing
humans. They pick their victims randomly. I am not sure if you really saw her
at your accident years ago. If you had, you wouldn’t be here today. She would
have definitely killed you then. Ironically, it was you finding Fetch's egg
that saved your life. This is where it gets incredible. I have no doubt in my
mind that it was the fairies that have been spreading the eggs around. They
have the ability to detect when a dragon egg is about to hatch. Most can only
feel it after it has begun."

"When she appeared to you, she sensed you had the egg.
She probably wanted to watch you die. They can be cruel that way. In any other
case the egg carrier would have died. That is how it has always been. She
assumed that you would be killed by the dragon. Her luring you into the street
would have just added to your pain as Fetch hatched. She could watch as you
suffered through the hatching. It sounds like the sudden appearance of the
truck, which almost hit you, startled her and she disappeared."

"Assuming that you would soon be dead from the
hatching, she didn’t bother finding you again. She waited until she felt the
hatching process end and then cast a pulse spell.  This is a type of magic that
starts at a focal point, then moves outward. It’s like when you drop a pebble
into water and you get that ripple effect moving outward.” I nodded my head to
let him know that I understood. “This spell is a very powerful one that erases
any and all knowledge that the victim of the fairy ever existed. That is why
your brother didn’t remember you. All memory of you ever existing was erased
from the world. You no longer exist. She then erased any damage caused by you
at the store."

I felt dizzy as the idea of being erased form everybody’s
memory sank in. I wondered if it could be reversed, but, before I could ask,
Johnathen continued.

"As for the creatures that attacked you, they were
goblins. A natural enemy of the fairies, so they could not have been sent by
the fairies. The good news is that the fairies must think you’re dead and so,
for now, they are no longer trying to kill you. The bad news is; someone else
in the magical world had to send the goblins. Someone else is trying to kill
you. If they can control goblins the way they did, then it is someone really
powerful. You are a force of power, Jack, both you and Fetch. As far as I know,
in the history of dragons, there has never been another occurrence like yours.
You are new.  You guys changed all the rules of magic. And there are many in my
realm of magic that just can’t handle change."

My coffee was now cold. I hadn’t taken more than the one sip
from it. The sun had come up and it looked like another bright, hot, April day.
It had been almost twenty-four hours since I had seen the fairy. I felt very
tired. I wanted to lie down and just get some sleep. I was hungry again. I had
left the bag of tacos and burritos on the other side of the pond. All that
Johnathen had told me was sinking in. My world had changed completely around
me. The thing that troubled me the most was that no one knew who I was anymore.
My own brother didn’t even know that I was ever alive. This affected me more
than the news of someone wanting me dead other than the fairies. I thought of
my brother. He could be in danger. If not from the fey, then from this new
threat that Johnathen had just told me about.

I turned to Johnathen, wanting to understand. He sat there
waiting for me to ask the question. I could tell, by the look on his face, what
the answer was to the biggest question I had. I asked it anyway.

“Is it reversible? Can a spell be cast so that my brother
would remember me again?” 

I was something of a loner and the idea that the few friends
I had not remembering me, didn’t upset me as much as the idea that my brother
didn’t know I ever existed. Johnathen shook his head.

“It has been tried before, with disastrous results.
Restoring a person’s memories is a painful process that can tear a person’s
mind apart. Your brother would never be the same.” 

I looked at Johnathen in shock.

“Is he safe?"

My voice was shaking. The idea that he would never remember
me hit me hard. After our parents died, he was all the family I had. I had the
same feeling inside that I had when my parents had died. I no longer existed.

“I think he will be fine, Jack. I can send my bobcats from
time to time to check on him if you like, but Jack, I would advise you to not
see him. If your enemies found out that you were seeing your brother they might
use him against you."

The thought of having enemies was strange. I had people not
like me, think I was weird, and possibly hate me for one reason or another. No
one is liked by everyone, but I never had an enemy. It all seemed so unfair. My
mind slipped back into the idea that I had been erased from my former life. It
all seemed so unfair.

"So, everything I had is now gone,” I said, “and now I
have feys, goblins and some other creatures that can perform magic wanting me
dead. I guess the thing that bothers me most is the fact that there is no
evidence that I ever existed.”

"Not necessarily,” said Michelle.

She walked over to the  front of the limo. Reaching inside
she pulled out a laptop. She turned it on and attached a strange looking
glowing  box.

"This allows me to get on someone’s Wi-Fi. It's magic
so it doesn’t always work. It was designed by a friend of mine. It's new.
Technology is very confusing to most people born in the magic world,
Jack."

I looked over at Johnathen. He had a strange look on his
face. His hands were clasped behind his back as he stared at the computer. He
seemed like he didn’t want to get too close to it.

“That is why I am valuable to the magic community here in
Tucson. I am able to get on a computer to check and see if a magic event has
been recorded or reported. The pulse erases all memory and physical evidence of
a person or thing, but it can’t touch a recording or a mention of something
once it is on a computer. That’s where I come in. Me and my little
friend." Michelle had a slight smile on her face as she mentioned her
‘little friend'.  “I find these things and my friend gives them a kind of
electronic delete erasing them from the world wide web."

Johnathen grunted, giving me the idea that he didn’t
necessarily like this friend of Michelle's. He seemed to not like anything that
had to do with computers. He was looking at the laptop with suspicion. He saw
me looking at him and smiled and shrugged.

“I guess I’m just old fashioned. Can’t seem to get the knack
of those things," he said pointing at the computer. "If it wasn’t for
Michelle, I wouldn’t even have a cell phone.”

After tapping on the keys of her computer, Michelle handed
it to me. I set it on the hood of the limo. It was opened to a login page for
Facebook. I looked at Michelle a little confused.

“If you had a Facebook page, there is a chance that it is
still there.  I doubt Pek has found it yet.”

My heart was pounding out of my chest. The idea that I still
had a Facebook page was strangely scary to me. Fetch had walked over to my
side. He gave me a gentle nudge.  I typed my name and password in and found my
Facebook page.  There it was, my profile photo, my last post from the night
before. A simple one of a forest painting. There were circles of colored light
in the painting. I shared it off a page called 'Fantasy, Unicorns, and Elves'.
I laughed at the irony of it. There was a message from my brother, dated around
the time I had to be at the store buying my coffee. Right before I freaked out
over Fetch hatching.

It said, "Jack, don’t go anywhere tonight. We have got
to talk. I have something important to tell you."

“Well," I said out loud, "I guess I’ll never know
what that was about.”

These words really made it all sink in for me. A strange
sick feeling hit me like a wave. I started shaking all over as I stared at my
Facebook page. Eighty friends. Kind of pathetic really. Most of the people I
knew had thousands of Facebook friends. I had eighty. I was lucky if ten would
even recognize me if they saw me out on the street. In so many ways my life
seemed kind of sad and pathetic. I never really pushed myself to do anything
worthwhile; to meet new people or try new things. Yeah, my life had been pretty
pathetic. But, at that moment, I would have given anything to have that
pathetic life back.

My Facebook page began to blur as tears of regret welled up
in my eyes. My body shook in rage and fury, and regret clouded all other
thought. I backed away from the computer. I started walking, tripping over
Fetch's tail in my mad dash to get away. I stood up clumsily, embarrassed at my
display of emotion. I reached down grabbing the remaining flip flop, throwing
it toward the pond, and stormed off. No one followed me as I went over to the
same bench that Michelle had walked over to just a short time ago. I had to get
away from everything for a while. They all seemed to understand my need to walk
away for a minute.

I looked up and could see the limo. Johnathen had made no
attempt to come over, giving me this time to think things through. I noticed
Michelle walking toward me. At first I felt like waving her away, but I
realized that she was probably the only one who could understand what I was
feeling. She had to have gone through worse. I felt a little embarrassed at my
outburst right now. I thought about my brother, grateful that he was alive. I owed
my brother so much. He took me in and took care of me during one of the hardest
times in my life. He was there for me when our parents died and when I broke my
hip. How could I ever pay him back now?

Michelle reached the bench where I was sitting. She sat down
next to me not saying a word. Both of us just stared at the limo. She put her
hand on top of mine not speaking. This simple gesture seemed to say so much. It
let me know that someone understood, at least in part, what I was going
through. This simple gesture seemed to break down all barriers I was trying so
hard to build up. Before I knew what I was doing I began to cry. Silently the
tears poured from my eyes. I let myself feel just how lost I was. I was
mourning my lost life. My own death. Michelle put her arms around me and held
me for a few minutes. I could feel her gently crying too. I found myself
comforted by those tears. I knew I was not alone in what I was going through,
and if I had someone like Michelle as my friend, then I think I could make it.
We looked at each other.  Remembering what Johnathen had told me about her
life, I didn’t know what to say to her. She broke the silence.