The Wizard Returns: Book Three of the Wizard Born Series (31 page)

“I would imagine that it almost feels like home, with all of Eddan’s memories in your head.”

“I didn’t want to say it, because my home is in Hendersonville, but it almost seems like it’s here, too.”

“Maybe that’s why you’re thinking about keeping the house.”

“Could be. But if we keep it, I’d like to make it more of our own, put our own furniture in it, and pictures on the walls and stuff.”

“Well, I can build a bathroom.” Carl nodded. “How about the kitchen?”

“It could use some modern appliances. Would that be hard?”

“We’ll have to put up solar panels, and maybe a wind turbine, too, for electricity.”

“But we’re getting way ahead of ourselves. First thing we need to do is find out what to do about the demon.”

“Right. Before somebody else dies.”

* * *

The fire cast a cheery glow on the faces of Jamie and his friends as they sat around the fireplace, each with a book in hand. Evelyn sat in the rocker with her Bible.

“Hey, Mrs. Wallace,” Rollie said with a teasing wink. “Are you sure you don’t want to help us look through these magic books?”

“I’m sure, Rollie. Besides, I might find something useful in my Bible about demons. You never know.”

“Check this out.” Fred tapped the page of the book in her lap. “This is a journal from some wizard named Gelvin. Apparently, he was an aspiring alchemist, and he details his work in here.” She flipped the page. “But the next entry is by his apprentice.” She chuckled and looked up at her friends. “It seems his master blew himself up.”

Melanie gestured at the page she was reading. “This one is a journal, too. It’s probably the third one I’ve read since I got here. This entry is titled ‘Investigating the Magical Properties of Loadstones’. Can you believe that? It seems so...medieval, almost.”

“Jamie?” Bryce asked. “How long have these people been at this pre-industrial level of technology? Not long, I hope.”

Jamie pulled at his chin thoughtfully. “At least since before Eddan was born, maybe longer. So that’s over two hundred years.”

“How can that be?” Melanie said. “Doesn’t anybody get the urge to invent something once in a while?”

“Eddan did, but he didn’t share what he learned.”

“That’s because he was so anti-social, I bet,” Fred said.

“Most sorcerers don’t share. They don’t want to give away their trade secrets.”

“That’s screwed up,” Rollie said. “The only people inventing stuff are the wizards, and they keep it to themselves?”

“That still doesn’t make sense,” Melanie said. “Shouldn’t some average Joe around here still be tinkering with stuff, just out of curiosity?”

“I don’t know.” Jamie stared into the fire. “I’m not sure what the deal is with this world, now that I think about it.”

When it was time to say goodnight, the boys had a brief argument about who had to sleep in the bed in their room, but Bryce finally agreed to, saying he wasn’t afraid of Renn’s ghost. Fred and Melanie solved their arrangement by deciding to sleep in the bed together.

That left an air mattress for Evelyn, but she declined it. She had wanted the day bed all along. At first, Jamie wanted to stay up in the main room again to guard the house, but Evelyn managed to talk him out of it by agreeing to take Fred’s magic pendant and bracelet for protection. “I’m a lighter sleeper than you,” she’d argued. “And you fell asleep last night anyway, when you were supposed to be guarding us.”

Evelyn woke in the middle of the night to the sound of steady rain.
I’m glad I gave Mrs. Tully the poncho. I hope she’s not too stubborn to wear it in the morning. She’s one of the most hard-headed, serious-minded people I’ve ever met
.

Evelyn stared at the dying embers in the fireplace and tried to picture the dour housekeeper as a young, vibrant woman.
Was she like those two girls who came to visit Fred today, nervous, but hopeful? Did she smile and laugh? She sure doesn’t now
.

Evelyn knew very well how life can slap the smile from your face and the hope from your eyes, especially when your husband dies too young and your children move out, leaving a woman to carry on through what’s left of her life as best she can.
It was hard for me
, she remembered,
when I was living alone in Greensboro in that little condo. If it hadn’t been for my sister, I don’t know what I would’ve done
.

Everything had changed when Rachel had called to tell her she was pregnant, and then asked Evelyn to move to Hendersonville to help take care of Jamie.
And now I’m here with him and his friends on this amazing world, sleeping in the house of a dead sorcerer. What a strange chain of events
.

None if this would be happening if Renn had been a normal, well-adjusted person
.
He wouldn’t have attacked and wounded Eddan, Eddan wouldn’t have escaped to Hendersonville, and Jamie would never have been born
.

And I’d probably still be in Greensboro, not much more cheerful than Mrs. Tully
.

She rolled onto her back and sighed.
I hope that woman can be happy someday
.

* * *

The demon enjoyed the taste of the four-legged brown animal, the fleet one that gave a spirited chase, but his favorite was the two-legged, hairless beast. That creature, though not particularly elusive, gave the demon great pleasure when it screamed. It often jabbered pitifully in some nonsensical language, too, but the screams were delicious.

His most recent kill of a two-legged beast had a spectacular shriek like no other, but after a few minutes, the demon grew annoyed of it, and wrapped one massive clawed hand over its head and ripped it off.

Then he was able to eat in peace.

Chapter 23

The stone house was full of the smell of pancakes and sausage, and the sound of talk and laughter.

Jamie looked up from his empty plate. “Those pancakes were great, Gramma. Any left?”

“Don’t be a pig, Jamie.” Fred said.

Evelyn scooted her chair back and stood up. “It’s all right. I can make more.”

“We don’t want you to go to any trouble, Mrs. Wallace,” Melanie said.

“It’s no trouble. I’m cheating. I’m using the instant mix, and all I have to do is add water.” She paused in the doorway to the kitchen. “It’s a good thing Mrs. Tully isn’t here. She wouldn’t approve of me not making them from scratch.”

“But you can make them that way, Gramma,” Jamie said. “You used to do it all the time, back when you lived at my house.”

“I know, but I don’t want to do it here. It’s too hard to cook in this kitchen. Mrs. Tully can do it, because she’s used to it.” She stepped through the door and called back, “More pancakes, comin’ right up!”

On the laptop in the corner, Jamie could see his parents walk past the computer in the family room, wearing their robes and slippers. Jamie glanced at his watch and called to his father when he walked within camera range, “You’re up early. It’s not even eight-fifteen yet.” His father looked into the computer, scratched his rumpled head, and shrugged.

Every head at the table turned when they heard the front door open. In walked Mrs. Tully, wearing her new red poncho over her cloak, half dragging a soaking wet ten-year-old boy and holding a soggy cloth bag. “Look who I found sleeping under the bushes out front.” She slipped out of her poncho and shook the water off on the stoop before closing the door.

It was Aiven, the boy who had been there the day before, asking to be Jamie’s apprentice.

Jamie stood and said, “What happened, Mrs. Tully? Where’s his uncle?”

“He left, it seems. Rode away and left this boy to fend for himself.”

Evelyn had returned to the room, and she rushed to the boy’s side. “That’s terrible. Look at you, you poor thing! You’re soaked. Fred, grab one of the towels from the bedroom please.”

The boy was shivering and his lips were blue. His brown hair was plastered to his forehead, nearly covering his eyes, and his teeth were chattering.

“We’ve got to get these wet clothes off of you. Do you have anything dry to change in to?” Aiven shook his head, still shivering.

Mrs. Tully hung her cloak up and said, “Everything he has is in that bag, and it is thoroughly wet.”

Evelyn turned to Rollie. “Can you loan him one of your T-shirts until we can get his clothes dry?” Rollie hurried away and Evelyn looked at Bryce. “Run outside and get a big load of wood for the fireplace, please.” Bryce left and she said to Jamie, “Can you do something to warm him up until the fire gets going?”

Jamie knelt beside the boy and spread his hands near him. Jamie’s fingers flared to a golden glow, and the boy took a deep breath and closed his eyes as the warmth spread over him.

“Not too much, Jamie,” Fred said, handing the towel to Evelyn. “You don’t want to toast him.”

Evelyn began briskly drying Aiven’s hair and face, and then she handed the damp towel to Melanie. “Go ahead and take him into the bedroom. Ask Rollie to get these wet clothes off of him and put the T-shirt on him.”

Melanie took the little boy by the hand and led him away. Bryce returned with a big armload of wood, and he pushed the fireplace screen aside and dropped some of the logs onto the andirons.

Evelyn gestured at the unlit wood. “Jamie, could you get it going, please?”

Jamie stepped to the hearth and flicked his fingers, instantly igniting the oak logs. He turned back to his grandmother and Mrs. Tully. “I can’t believe his uncle would do that. He just abandoned him?”

“I think his uncle left last night,” Mrs. Tully said. “He probably didn’t want to pay for the inn, so he headed back to his farm.”

“But why didn’t he take Aiven?”

“You’ll have to ask him.”

The bedroom door opened, and Rollie and the boy came out. Aiven wore Rollie’s purple North Henderson Knights T-shirt, which hung loosely on his slender frame, nearly to his knees. He was barefoot and still shivering.

Evelyn took the frightened boy’s hand and led him to the fireplace. She pulled the rocker close to the hearth and lifted him into her lap, while everyone gathered around them. “Are you better?” The boy nodded. “Are you hungry?” He nodded again, and Evelyn said, “Fred, go into the kitchen and turn the camp stove on and heat the skillet. I’ll make him some pancakes. I think we’re out of sausage.” She sighed as she regarded the boy. “I don’t know what to do about your clothes.”

“I’ll wash them,” Mrs. Tully said. “I’ve a tub in the shed.”

“I can dry them for you with my magic if the rain doesn’t stop soon,” Jamie said.

Evelyn rubbed her hand over the boy’s damp head. “You can wear Rollie’s shirt until then.” She lifted him up and stood. “I need to see about his pancakes. Can someone hold him for me?”

To Jamie’s surprise, Mrs. Tully sat in the rocker and pulled the boy in her lap, wrapping her arms gently around him. “You’ll feel better with a full belly, you will.”

“Why did your uncle leave you behind,” Fred asked.

Mrs. Tully looked at Fred and shook her head. “Leave him be ’till after he eats.”

Evelyn soon returned from the kitchen with a plate full pancakes, and Mrs. Tully led Aiven to the table while the others followed. Evelyn pulled a jug of milk from the little refrigerator, filled a plastic cup and placed it next to the boy, who immediately grabbed it and took a big gulp before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

He finished one stack of pancakes and had started on another before Mrs. Tully let Jamie and his friends ask him any questions.

Jamie scooted his chair close to the boy and turned it so that he could face him. Jamie put both hands on his knees and watched Aiven gobble another bite. “Okay. So tell us what happened.”

Aiven swallowed a mouthful of food and stared at his plate. He said in a small voice, “My uncle went back home. He didn’t want to pay for the inn. He’d rather camp out and save money.”

“Why didn’t he take you with him?”

Aiven’s lip trembled, and then he mumbled, “’Cause he doesn’t want to keep me anymore. He...he was sure you’d take me in.”

“Why doesn’t he want you anymore?” Melanie asked.

Aiven’s voice grew even quieter and his chin dropped to his chest. “He never wanted me in the first place. He only took me in ’cause of my aunt. She’s my ma’s sister.”

Evelyn looked sympathetically at him and said, “What happened to your parents?”

“My ma died when I was born. My pa died five years ago when he got the fever.”

“And you’ve been living with your aunt and uncle ever since?”

He nodded and glanced at the faces around the table before staring at his plate again. “My aunt, she...she wants me there, but not my uncle. They have three boys already and he said they can’t afford me.”

Jamie leaned back in his chair and pressed his mouth tight. “So your uncle’s been trying to dump you off as an apprentice to somebody, even though you’re way too young?”

Aiven nodded again and studied the remains of his pancakes, a few soggy bites sitting in a sea of syrup.

“That’s terrible!” Jamie heard his mother say from the laptop. “Somebody please get out of the way so we can see him. You’re blocking the camera.”

Evelyn looked at the laptop and said, “Be patient, Rachel. You’ll get your chance. And aren’t you supposed to be getting ready for church?”

Melanie scooted over anyway, to give Rachel a view of the sad little boy. His thick brown hair was drying, and he wasn’t shivering anymore, but he looked overwhelmed by his situation. “I have to tell Lisa,” Rachel said. “Don’t go anywhere.”

“Where’s he gonna go, Mom?” Jamie said. “He’s an orphan.” He turned to Mrs. Tully. “Is there still no orphanage here?” She shook her head, and he scratched one ear while he regarded the boy, who had slumped in his seat. “Well then, what are we going to do with him?”

Aiven’s eyes had started to droop, and when the fork slipped from his small hand and clattered to the floor, Evelyn said, “We’ll figure that out later. Right now he needs to rest. He probably didn’t sleep at all in the rain last night. Bryce, will you please put him on the other air mattress in Fred and Melanie’s room?”

“Put him in the bed,” Mrs. Tully said. “I’ll put fresh sheets on it later.”