Fantastical Magick EP. 3

Gina steps forward and grips the top of a brick hedge wall that decorates the front of the building. She laughs sarcastically believing this must all be a crazy dream.

“You’re not serious…” she puts her hands on her hips. “We’re on a freaking mountain!” she almost screams as she points to the mountain in the background.

Warren looked confused, “I would have thought that was obvious.” He said dryly.

“You’re killing me, dude… do you not have emotions or what?” she said as she crossed her arms clearly not pleased.

Warren leans against the brick hedge and chuckles; “You will see my emotions when they are needed.” He says almost in a whisper.

She scratched her arms frustrated and sighed, “Whatever… now what?”

Warren motioned for her to follow him. The two walked down a small stone path that was almost invisible in the thick fog. They walked down a few hills to a much larger, grander building that grew in height the closer they got to it. The fog was hiding this magnificent building, and Gina saw why as she got closer. There were lamps floating mid-air above the walkways that circled the building. Fountains with mermaid statues bubbled water that steamed a bit as it settled. There were tons of people, specifically younger people gathered all around.

Gina stopped dead in her tracks and gasped, “Oh my god… this is amazing.” She squealed a little.

Warren ignored her immaturity and continued to lead her inside.

“What have you been doing until I came?” she asked out of nowhere.

Warren smiled, “I’ve been teaching. All guardians fulfill roles as teachers if they have waited a long time for their caster. Honestly, though, casters and guardians usually awaken at the same time. Your situation is….” he paused, “Unique.” He said sneaking a grin.

They walked towards a tall grand building, “Wow… it looks like the Hilton hotel in New York!” she gasped as they approached the large door. It shimmered ever so slightly as they entered. Inside was an enormous grand hall. “Ewww… but not inside. Who is your decorator?” she said sarcastically.

“I’ve never been to this Hilton, and I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Warren stated.

“Well, its different…” she mumbled under her breath.

They continued walking through the large hall and into a back area of sorts from the main building. Up a large circular staircase stood a tall, gold double door.

Gina bent over trying to catch her breath, “I’m fine… it’s just… a lot of stairs.” She panted, waving her hand in dismissal.

Warren looked guilty, “I’m sorry. I should have thought more about your difficulty with the stairs perhaps.” He said lending her his hand.

She took it and stood upright. “It’s fine. I just needed to catch my breath.”

Warren put his hand on the door, “Behind this door are the magistrates. The people who run this school.”

“A school… really?” Gina whined.

Warren nodded, “Pay them your utmost respect.”

“Got it! Like when my Nana demands I try a piece of her old candy and you have to just eat quietly.”

Warren gave her a look of extreme concern.

“Can’t relate huh?” Gina asked. No response. Gina shrugged her shoulders and focused on the door.

Warren tried to forget that awkwardness and knocked on the large double door. The sound echoed through the hall and continued for a few moments.

“Enter!” came a deep voice muffled by the door.

Warren opened the door and they walked through. At the back of the room sat a group of men sitting behind joined wooden desks in a half-moon circle. Several of them were gray-haired with long beards, while a few of them still had color in their hair.

“Who do you bring before us?” chimed an elder sitting in the middle bottom row.

“Masters, I bring you the newest awakened caster, Gina Mills.” Warren said with a bow.

Gina nervously rubbed the toes of her converse shoes together, causing them to squeak slightly.

Another elder stands and smiles, “Ah yes! This is the caster who awakened outside of the school's embrace.”

Gina smiles sheepishly, “I’m not sure if these guys are friends or foes.” She mutters under her breath.

“It’s impossible for a caster to awaken without some instruction or influence!” a tall, long-bearded man shouted from the top row. “It’s simply unheard of!” he added.

The magistrates turned to each other, arguing amongst themselves before the previous elder spoke once more.

“Excuse our rudeness, Ms. Mills. My name is Bartholomew; I am the headmaster of this academy. Malachi is our resident science master, he tends to talk before he thinks.” He said with a wink.

“Speak for yourself…” Malachi growled.

Bartholomew raised his hands demanding silence, his presence sent fear like a swift wind across the entire group. Bartholomew whispered for a moment to the man seated next to him. Gina stole a quick glance around the room, the ceiling was so ornate, and it was bright white with gold inlays that were framed with circles. Within the smaller circles were paintings of older men, battles, and women. Gina didn’t recognize the murals and became curious about their origin. Her attention was caught once more when Bartholomew began speaking again.

“Gina, you’ve been brought before us because we have need to decide what to do about you. This is unknown territory for us, our eldest historian is no longer with us and so our new historian is still…. young.” He reached for the word as if to say the new historian was a younger age than they would have liked.

“We would like for you and Warren to council with him on this matter. Go to him and find out if this abnormality is safe to keep in our ranks.” He looked mostly at Warren. “Forgive our distrust, but our numbers are growing weak and there have been fewer awakenings the past fifty years than we are used to.”

Gina nodded, “No problem…” she said nervously.

Warren gave her sleeve a tug and encouraged her to follow him. When they exited the room Gina let out a huge sigh of relief.

“Oh man…. I thought they were gonna barbeque me or something…” she giggled.

Warren shook his head, “I’m unsure why you think barbeque would be involved.”

Gina sighed, “Have you never seen any horror movie ever? In all them of someone ends up barbequed. It’s inevitable.”

Warren chuckled at her, “You seem to be annoyed by my lack of knowledge concerning pop culture.” He said plainly.

“Well yeah! It sucks when you’re the only one in the room who understands a reference.” She pouted. “Also you should hire the decorator who did that room to fix all this” she said her hands motioning to everywhere.

They walked back the way they had come and around a sharp corner and up another series of circular stairs. Warren went slower this time, allowing Gina to breathe halfway.

“Why does this place have all these separate stairs?” she asked in a huff. “By the way, what were those murals depicting? They were interesting.” She added.

Warren chuckled, “That is a tale for another time.” He continued down a long corridor.

They came to a single, large green and gold door.

“The new historian is Aramis, you won’t like him. He’s got too much…” Warren motioned his hands in an upward motion.

“He’s too flouncy?” Gina asked.

Warren nodded, “That’s a good word… yes…flouncy. Well, you’ll see for yourself.” He muttered.

He knocked hard on the large wooden door and it opened swiftly. Standing before them stood a tall, dark-haired man with a tightly kept beard. He had a bright blue embellished tunic on, and had bracelets on each wrist, along with a ring on every finger. “Warren, you grace my little room once again. Oh, and a guest! Welcome, come in, come in don’t be shy.” He said walking away from the open door.

They entered and laughed as Aramis sat down sideways in a huge padded chair.

“I’m just exhausted… I’ve been going through all these books these last few days.” He sighed and held his hand to his forehead.

Warren looked at Gina and whispered, “Flouncy”

Aramis scowled at Warren, “Listen here… being well kept is nothing to be ashamed of. The women fall all over me when I’m out and about.” He turned to look at Gina, “They love my style and grace. Once a woman told me that I was the most elegant man she had ever seen. I was very proud.” He grinned with a giggle.

Gina smiled, “I bet. Sooo… we’re here because you’re supposed to be smart about all this…” Gina motioned to herself with a smile, “think you can help?”

Aramis stroked his beard and nodded, “Yes! I’ve read enough about our early history to tell the elders that back in the day only a special kind of caster awakened outside of magical influence.”

Warren looked confused, “Special?” he shook his head, “Define special!”

The room dazzled and sparkled as Aramis could hardly contain himself, “Well, I’ll need just a smidge of your blood to confirm.” He said cunningly as he pricked Gina’s finger.

“Ouch!” she squealed, “Hey! That hurt!”

Warren shook his head and hung it low, “I’m ashamed of the sneaky, back alley tricks Aramis constantly pulls.”

Aramis cackled as he worked his magic with Gina’s blood, “You mean you’re glad to see my results! The acquisition does not matter.”

A few minutes passed until finally Aramis was smiling ear to ear, he looked as though he could hardly contain himself, “I was right! Your bloodline is special. Your girl carries an old bloodline we haven’t seen in a long time.” He giggled.

Warren looked at Gina and shook his head “This is bad…”

“What do you mean?” she asked crossing her arms.

Warren looked at Aramis, then to Gina, “There’s only one family line that survived long enough, with the power we’re even considering.” He said cautiously.

Aramis smiled and hugged Gina, he held her face with his hands, “My dear Gina, you’re a Youngblood!”

Gina looked at the two men, “What?”