Wayward Son

By Dabeagle

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Chapter 14

Our beleaguered group came through the portal, thoroughly spent. Even Woolcott looked tired and stressed while Aila was limping, no doubt smarting from Azrael tossing her across the room. Gideon leaned on me heavily, breathing hard and sweating. Joel was anxiously waiting for us and tried to help Aila to a chair, but she waved him off, and instead he took Gideon by the other arm and we guided him to a seat. Woolcott sat and appeared to be deep in thought, hand on his chin. I merely kept my hand on Gideon's shoulder to confirm he was still there, still breathing.

“What happened? Why didn't you guys follow?” Joel asked worriedly.

“We couldn't,” I replied and explained what had transpired after he'd used his trinket.

“So who was that badass then? Azrael? What's his deal?” Joel asked.

“He's the angel of death,” Aila sighed with gloom. “His life is pretty easy to find, knowing what we know now. The biblical legend says he writes the names of all those born into a book, and he also erases them when they die.”

“That's what he meant when he said he wouldn't erase us from the book today. Comforting.” I muttered and rubbed Gideon's shoulder as I thought of death incarnate holding him up, obviously putting Gideon in pain.

“If he'd wanted to, yes. He's not exactly a mindless killing machine, he has a purpose. Unfortunately since his view seems to be that everything dies, he's not very respectful of life.” Aila stretched and stood slowly. “I need to rest, I'm a little sore. Keep me warm?” she held a hand out to Joel who took it and they left the room.

“I need to heal,” Gideon whispered.

“Okay,” I replied softly. I reached out and put my fingers on his chin, turning his warm eyes to face mine. “Will you be all right?”

“I...I don't know how to answer that. I am not dying, if that's what you mean.” he replied slowly, in a sleepy voice. “I will know more when I am done.” With that his eyes closed and shadows began to manifest and draw to him. I took my hand from his shoulder as the streamers of shadow, so like smoke, coursed around him. I watched and felt helpless. He'd been right, it was stupid of me to go; giving the group one more thing to worry about. In fact, I had to wonder why Joel and I were here at all. What role did we fill to make our presence necessary? Or was that just one more of Woolcott's manipulations?

I reached through the shadows and brushed the hair from Gideon's forehead, then leaned in and kissed him lightly on impulse. I turned and approached Woolcott who still appeared deep in thought. I took a seat near him and waited quietly. My mind was not racing, not disorganized as I might have expected. I had reached a state, however fleeting, of serenity and clarity. I realized I had too little knowledge and needed more; the logical spigot for this flow of knowledge was Woolcott.

So instead of disturbing him, I began listing things in my mind that needed answers. Aila had mentioned to me in her kitchen that I shouldn't be able to see Gideon's shadows or Aila's light. Why was that? What steps were now open to them with Azlea's departure and Azrael's appearance? What had Azrael done to Gideon? How could they now ever hope to help Seth? I also wondered about my parents, concerned that they would see through the ruse Woolcott had put in place and were, even now, worried to death for me.

Speaking of worry and danger, Joel was still to be considered too. If I had no place, no useful function, then why was he here as well? Woolcott had said that we'd retain a residue of the summoning on us, but for how long? Shouldn't we go back? The questions did not swirl in my mind, no vying for attention or dominance. They simply formed an orderly line of things that I needed answers to.

“You seem to be rather focused.” Woolcott said quietly. I shifted my gaze to meet his.

“So did you,” I replied.

“Indeed. Were you thinking or merely worrying?”

“A little of both, I think. Right now just listing questions in my head and, eventually, hoping to work out our next step.”

“Ah, excellent. So it begins.”

“What begins?” I frowned.

“I'll get to that in just a moment. Perhaps we should start with your questions? Pick one.”

I mentally scanned my list and decided, practically, on Seth since he was losing time faster than Gideon could heal it. I voiced my concern.

“Hmm.” Woolcott steepled his fingers and leaned back in his chair to regard me. “I haven't yet decided if this interest you have in others, this protective streak is your strongest or weakest attribute. I suppose only time will tell, and it should be fascinating to watch.”

“He needs help. If I needed help I'd go to my parents or Joel,” I shrugged, “Seth's mom is batshit and I may be the closest thing he has to a friend.”

“Well, I have given that some thought.” Woolcott frowned at me, “Don't look so surprised. Watching someone die isn't nearly as interesting as others may have described. In my long life I have seen death, and I have no keen desire to see it anymore; even though the odds are that it and I shall meet again.”

“So have your thoughts...given us any options?”

“Well, perhaps. Operating on the assumption that nature taking it's course is out of the question.”

“It is,” I confirmed. “We've come too far.”

“You've barely begun,” Woolcott sighed. “What we need is time. That is our biggest enemy at the moment and we need to find a way to buy more of it. I have been trying to think of a way to get us some breathing room.”

“Because of Azrael's bargain with you?”

“Well, somewhat. You see bargains with Sorcerers are normally spelled out quite a bit more. I have no doubt Azrael would come at me with a vengeance should I dawdle overmuch; but the thing is he never specified a timetable, now did he?”

“You should have been a lawyer, that's a hell of a loophole.” I smiled.

“Lawyers, children in sandboxes!” he grinned. “Of course that will only work so long, but for now we have to make use of that time. I think I know of a possibility, I only dismissed it before because we were so focused on the notion of finding Raphael to heal. This bears thought now though.”

“All right, what's the thought?”

“Seth is being consumed by his birthright as you know. The reason for that is you must be taught how to focus, use and store that energy. I'd liken it to having the power of a nuclear reactor, but in his case instead of having the proper shielding around the reactor, he's bleeding off radiation and killing the reactors container; himself.”

“So reactors usually have a way to be shut down in emergencies, right?” I said excitedly, “You're talking about finding a scram button for him?”

“No, sorry. You took the analogy to a logical but false conclusion. The comparisons end where I stopped, except that...if we can bleed off the power, place it in another container it may buy time.”

“Okay.” I furrowed my brow as I processed what he'd said. It all made sense, but how do you find something to contain such power? I voiced the thought.

“A willing vessel.” Woolcott smiled, “Tell me, have you ever wondered 'why you'?”

“You mean as far as all this? That answer seems easy, its cause I think Gideon is smoking hot.”

“Well yes, he did make good bait for you, to be sure.”

“Bait?” I shook my head and smiled at Woolcott, “Why the hell would anyone want to bait me? I'm just a normal guy. If anything someone would want to catch Gideon or Aila, they have a ton of strength.”

“Yes, of course, that is true. They are warriors of a special degree. But you see, I take a much longer view. Tell me, do you recall what a sorcerer prizes above all things?”

“Knowledge,” I replied without bothering to think about it.

“Exactly. The idea of knowledge being lost or going to waste is a great pain to me. Some sorcerers jealously guard their knowledge and take it all with them when they go. I, on the other hand, wonder what someone could achieve if they had someone pass on that previously gained knowledge?”

“Okay, I get the theory, but how does that relate to...”

“It's so much fun watching a light go on.”

“You're talking about me? Gideon is far stronger, wouldn't he make a better...apprentice?”

“Yes, and no. You see Gideon has a...preexisting condition. He is a being of the elements, and so cannot become of the plane. The advantage you have is that you are not of the elements, and so have different potential than he does.” Woolcott leaned forward with his elbows on his knees.

“You see, Gideon's strength lies in shadow because he is a creature of shadow, the same as Aila is a creature of light. But there is far more to the world, to existence than light and dark. No, above the elements is the plane, the connective tissue not just between light and dark, but between fire and water, earth and air. The space between molecules, the nanoseconds between the breath of time.”

“We talking the force here?”

“Call it what you will. The idea is that learning to master that will do far more than mastering one element. You have the ability to do that, you are quickening.”

“I'm what?” my eyes opened wide involuntarily.

“You're mind has become ordered amid the chaos,” Woolcott gestured with his hands to emphasize his message. “The minor prodding of the spark in you has ignited the flame of knowledge and we must feed that. While Seth and Gideon's struggles are your immediate crisis, theirs is but a drop in the sea of this world...and all others.”

I noted that my mind, despite his increasingly odd claims and statements, remained calm and orderly. My heart was beating a bit faster, but in my head I was calm and controlled.

“So...does what you're saying have anything to do with my ability to see the dark and light? Aila said that shouldn't be possible.”

“Well, again yes and no. I mentioned I take a longer view?” He leaned back in his chair again and smiled. “Gideon likes to think of me as a more or less kindly old fellow who thinks he has the occasional vision. I do have foretelling, but it's rare. Not rare that it happens to sorcerers, but rare to get a foretelling.”

“And your point would be?”

“I knew Gideon would have this hard path to follow. I knew he could never succeed without his human side, the side capable of love and compassion. My foretelling told me that the path of his heart would go towards one such as yourself; that could be awakened. That is why I accepted Raphael's bargain. Watching a human dark grow was fascinating to be sure, but the opportunity of an apprentice was too much to pass up.”

“Me. You agreed to protect and raise Gideon to get to me?”

“In the end, yes.” Woolcott raised a finger, “Don't get me wrong. I entered into that bargain with the goal of an apprentice, but I have come to care for my little darkling more than I thought I could. As I have taught him, so has he taught me. And as I teach you, you shall also teach me.” He sighed deeply and looked away from me. “Once I looked away from mankind with a jaundiced eye, sure that there was nothing I could learn from them of any use. Now I have experienced things that all should experience and my mind and heart have changed.”

“Gideon is like a son to you now, isn't he?”

“Something like that.” He acknowledged.

“So why can I see these things? Is that built into me too?”

“Not exactly. Some are more sensitive that others, true, but you needed a nudge.”

“How was I...nudged?”

“I've been keeping a sight spell on you, allowing you to see what most cannot. Some go mad from it, but you had Gideon and he had you. It was so perfect that you both moved toward one another; a true cosmic dynamic.”

“Not just pure horniness?”

“No, not pure. Hefty dose though.” He smiled.

“So...what now?”

“We need a wilding stone.” He held up his hand, “I'm precognitive, you're going to say 'a what'? Am I correct? Of course I am.”

I made a go on gesture, mentally rolling my eyes at him.

“You and I will go to get one. They are a bit tough to obtain, but once we have one, I think we can bleed off some of Seth's deadly energy and use it to open the floodgates of your own inner power.” He frowned, “Well maybe floodgate is a poor choice of words.”

“I won't pretend that I understand all of this but...is the end result that Seth will get better odds at surviving and I can be a help to Gideon in this fight? Something besides a dead weight?”

“Yes, it would be fair to say you are right.”

“Let me guess, there are still a bunch of details I'm missing?”

“Always. Come, let's prepare while they rest. With luck we'll return with our goals achieved.”

Woolcott sprang up and I followed. The calm in my mind remained and I felt somewhat worried that I'd never feel normal again, that this unruffled calm was kind of like having your mind numbed with a Prozac overdose ore something. But for right now it provided clarity, rational decisions that I can make to the benefit of those around me and that was what counted. I knew I hadn't gotten all my questions answered, but I had a sneaking suspicion that this would always be the case. For now, it was enough.

Woolcott led me into a room we'd not explored, which surprised me as in our boredom and avoiding one another, we'd explored quite a bit of this facility. We passed through a heavy set of metal doors to get to the room, and with a wave, Woolcott closed them behind us. They clicked when latched together, but other than that there was no noise, no squeaky hinge, nothing.

“From the lack of a squeal from those doors, I'm going to guess you have maintained this place?”

“Oh yes. The outside looks a bit shabby, to be sure, but this is a very secure spot.”

“So that line about us all having to go was pure bullshit?”

“Not at all. Even if Gideon doesn't admit it, your presence is calming and a focus for him, it sharpens his mind and his reactions. Joel will be your anchor as you rise, a link to your humanity.”

“So once you're a sorcerer you stop being human?” I heard the alarm in my voice, even though my mind stayed serene.

Woolcott sighed and his shoulders slumped a touch. Without turning he replied, “When you are so very long lived, it becomes hard to retain your humanity. Friends and lovers turn to wrinkles and dust and the only thing you can do is tend their graves and memories so that they do not become overgrown with weeds, regret and longing.”

“So...I'll watch Joel die?” My serenity fluctuated, my heart spasmed.

“Perhaps. Or maybe you will find a way to sustain him.” He glanced over his shoulder, “You are young and bright, who knows what your limit will be?” He turned away from me and placed his hands against the old brick wall as if gripping handles and pulled. The wall parted down the center, two huge doors opened to reveal something that closely resembled a walk in closet. I followed Woolcott inside and noted the different bits of clothing, armor and trinkets. My mind tried to catalog it all and I felt as if my head were growing full.

“You have not been instructed in wielding the power of the plane, so I will give you objects that will require focus and will rather than true power.” He began rummaging on shelves, sliding large flat drawers peppered with objects in and out. Pens, brooches, rings and necklaces among the many items. Again I felt my head feeling as if it were approaching a high watermark for storage.

“My head feels like...”

“Oh, yes, sorry. Should have mentioned.” He replied in a distracted voice. “Your mind has begun to retain what it sees in a far larger sense, your recall will improve dramatically. The feeling will pass.”

“Great, any other tidbits to pass on?” I muttered.

“Many, many...aha! First item. Now where was that...”

I simply wandered around the room, deciding that looking was safe, touching may be more trouble than it was worth. I noted the gaudy robes he'd made us wear at the now destroyed residence and shook my head. They must have another use beside making you look silly. His armored lawn gnome was still there, crumbling and reforming itself over and over. All manner of items were littered in the room, appearing to be random but one got an underlying sense of order; as if there were some filing system known only to the madman that created it; a line of thinking just outside of his grasp.

“All right, these things will do. Now!” He held up a single glove, a rather normal looking gray leather item. “This will go on your left hand as you're right handed, there we are.” He handed the glove over and I pulled it over my fingers. The glove shifted slightly and conformed to my hand so that it almost looked as though my skin were painted.

“Now this you hang from your belt, if you get into trouble just grab it. What else?” He ran his fingers though his hair and grabbed a cloak from a hanger, tossing it about his shoulders. Into a fold of the cloak he put a small vial and a ring the size of a baseball, with a flat surface and markings I didn't recognize on it's surface.

Now, when I tell you, hold your hand out straight, palm away from you. Don't panic. All right, off we go to get a wilding stone.” He pulled a coin from his pocket, mumbled as he tossed it in the air and a portal opened where the spinning coin had been.

---

Stepping through the portal brought us to a wide, flat field. The portal winked out and I glanced around, seeing nothing but flat earth with the ragged ends of harvested vegetation as far as my sight could go. I turned to ask Woolcott where we'd gone but he was already in motion, withdrawing the brass ring and the vial from his cloak.

“Now, unstopper this and put a drop on the ring. No more than a drop, mind! Then stopper it back up and hand it back.” Woolcott instructed. I did as he asked and as soon as the liquid in the vial touched it, the ring it made a hissing sound and began to float in the air, spinning and sparking. I replaced the stop in the vial and handed it back to Woolcott who absently tucked it back into the folds of his cloak. He was muttering under his breath, and as he did the ring spun faster and the sparking grew more frenzied. With a gesture up and away from him the ring flew up and began to expand, quickly growing so thin as the metal stretched that it was impossible for me to see.

“All right, now we wait. Shouldn't take long.”

“What are we waiting for?” I asked.

“Oh, right, I didn't mention that did I? Remember the brass ring, Azazel's ring? That was it.”

“The one you used to...hey wait a second!”

“Incoming!” Woolcott capered and pulled out a glass rod from his cloak which quickly grew and became the staff he'd used at the house on the group that had tried to kill us. Dark storm clouds roiled inside the glass and lightning crawled though them. A tremendous stink hit my nose and I began turning in circles, trying to spot the demon and keep Woolcott between it and me. Then the wind kicked up, whirling and tossing bits of detritus in the air before falling suddenly and completely still.

“Dear, dear sorcerer. I longed to eat your heart after our last encounter. Never in my darkest wishes did I think you would try to summon me so soon. And yet, here you are.”

I turned to face the voice and saw it, the creature I'd seen folded into the cloth Woolcott had used at the old house. It stood, three and a half heads with that awful, malformed third shoulder to support the mess. Its one arm moved restlessly, a huge scythe, and as it moved it blocked for just a moment the view of it's body. Sores erupted from it's mottled skin, pus dribbling down from the open wounds. Flies buzzed, touched the open sores and drifted down on the stinking breeze, dead.

“Now, now. I just needed a little blood, and look, you're just fine.” Woolcott said reasonably. His staff began to turn slowly in his hands and I thought of Aila in the bathroom, fighting the demon that had been intent on eating Joel and I.

“I am not for the likes of you to summon, sorcerer. My blood is my own, but now perhaps I shall take some of yours in trade!” So saying the demon leaped forward and brought its scythe claw on a sweeping arc that would have decapitated Woolcott. His staff flashed up, parried the claw and it slid high over his head, deflected. Woolcott brought the other end of the staff around to swing at the demons exposed side but it was too slow as the demon stepped back to avoid it.

“Now, if you'd give freely of yourself we could avoid these disagreements!” Woolcott stated reasonably as he lunged with the end of the staff. The demon dodged and tried to bring its claw around but lightning shot from the end of the staff and threw the demon back. It howled in rage and regained its footing.

“You tempt fate, sorcerer!” The demon leapt and I briefly wondered why it had jumped so far away from Woolcott, but then I realized it was not aiming for him.

“Daniel!” Woolcott yelled in warning. Serenity reigned in my mind, not the panic I'd suspect. Although my mind dimly registered this thought, my right hand went to the rod Woolcott had bade me attach to my belt. Pulling it free both ends blazed to life, one of light and one of shadow. I felt that I was no longer in control of my body, but the serenity persisted. The staff hummed as my hands deftly turned it, the claw descended and the beam of light met it in a crash of sparks and a howl of rage. A bellow I did not recognize as my own filled my ears and the dark blade moved through the air at the speed of thought, bursting in shadow as it came into contact with the claw that moved suddenly to parry.

The demon spun and brought a vicious attack back towards Woolcott, perhaps thinking to catch him off guard. Lightning crackled and thunder boomed as the staff met the demon in the jaw. Stunned the demon stumbled back towards me, the half head and one madly rolling eye coming right at me.

“Now Daniel, now!” Woolcott thundered. I lifted my gloved hand, palm towards the creature. My hand stretched, my wrist becoming cartoonishly long and my fingers sank into the rotting flesh of the demon and closed about its eye, yanking it free and trailing a hissing, smoking line of gore. The demon screamed so primally my serenity cracked and fear raced through me as its ruined gaze turned on me and white flame shot from the ruined socket towards me.

My serenity snapped back into place, like elastic stretched and released. I rolled to my right, but the fire followed as if a living thing. Again I dodged the flame and again it circled back around towards me in a deadly game of cat and mouse, burning all in its path.

“Use the eye, just like before!” Woolcott called out. I glanced at him to see he was engaged with the demon again. Turning back to the living blaze I leapt once more, narrowly avoiding the hellfire. With the bloody orb in my hand I lifted my arm and opened my palm towards the fire. It leapt to the eye and a flash of light like a miniature supernova filled the world. Heat came in waves through the glove and my hand spasmed, slowly clasping down on the eye. A small part of me felt revulsion at holding such a grisly item, but the serene part of me felt the pulsing power the hand now contained.

“Do you have it?” Woolcott called out. I glanced at him to see his staff twirling madly, parrying the dizzyingly fast attacks of the claw.

“Yes!” I yelled, so that he would be sure to hear over the combat. In a graceful move Woolcott used the staff to quickly trip the demon and brought the other end around to smash it in the face. The demon lay stunned for a moment, but in that moment Woolcott once again reached into the folds of his cloak and brought out a white vial that he smashed on the demons chest. Leaping away the demon screamed, seemed to flex as though being pulled in many directions at once, then collapsed in on itself until it was gone.

“Some warning would have been nice.” I muttered as I approached Woolcott, who was leaning on his staff and trying to catch his breath.

“Better for you not to know that one. Stops you from overthinking it; let your body react and maintain the serenity.” He straightened and held his hand out, “You have the wilding stone?”

“That's what this is? A demon's eye?” I held my hand out and released the black and white speckled orb into his waiting hand.

“Yes, yes it is. And a fine job you did obtaining it.” I glanced around us at the burned marks in the field and the clear evidence of combat.

“What about this mess?”

“Eh, they'll call it a crop circle, claim a spaceship did it or something like that.” Woolcott shrugged and withdrew the coin and made us a portal back.

---

The room was silent as we stepped through. We replaced the items we'd used to obtain the stone and headed back to the common area. Aila and Joel were absent, Gideon still sat in his chair with just a wisp of shadow encircling him. The limited amount of shadow told me he was nearly done and would soon wake. I followed Woolcott into the kitchen area and found Seth was back with his table. He was sweating and muscle spasms moved throughout his body.

“What's that smell?” Aila muttered as she entered the room with Joel. Joel dramatically sniffed me and proclaimed me to be the source. Aila's eyes opened wide and she asked with a tone of shock, “Danny why do you smell like demon?”

“Daniel has forged his first wilding stone,” Woolcott said proudly. At least it sounded like pride to my ears.

“He what?” Aila nearly shrieked. Gideon mumbled from the next room, a query as to what was going on I'd guess. “How could he do that? How could you let him try?”

“Brah, what's going on?” Joel asked. Gideon stumbled into the room, looking tired but better than he had.

“What's all the shouting?”

“Woolcott says Danny nearly made a wilding stone!” Aila nearly shrieked.

“No, not nearly, he did.” Woolcott produced the stone in his palm and Joel leaned in to look at it.

“Doesn't look that impressive.” he stated.

Gideon took a hard look at it, then looked at me. “Joel, your best friend just plucked out a demon's eyeball and cooked it in the demons own fire, if Woolcott can be believed.”

“If I can...well you lousy little darkling!” Woolcott humphed.

Shadows began to fill the room, seeping in from grates and cracks in the wall. “You put him in unnecessary danger,” Gideon stated in tones of barely controlled rage. I put a hand on his shoulder and a mere tip of his head was all I had to indicate he was aware of me.

“He didn't give me all the facts, as usual, but I still went willingly. He said the stone could help Seth.” I told Gideon. The shadows continued to push into the room unabated.

“You could have been killed.” He stated.

“Yes, but then so could you, at almost every step of this path we're on.” I placed my fingers on his chin and turned him to face me again. He was terrifying in his beauty, the curve of his face and the shadows wafting from his eyes. “There was much to gain, and I went with the knowledge of what the prize could be. We couldn't wait, just look at Seth now. He's almost to the point of no return.”

“I could heal,” Gideon began but I cut him off by placing a finger over his lips.

“You've tried your best, and I have sat on the sidelines being an anchor to you. Now I was able to help, to shoulder some of this burden. You and I share risk together.”

“This was not shared. You could have...” One tear slid from beneath the shadows, tracking down the side of his face. I caught it with the tip of my finger. “Never again. You must promise never to go without me again.”

“I promise.” I whispered. We stood like that, my gaze and his locked for a minute, maybe two. His face moved to mine, kissed me briefly and then his head was on my shoulders and his arms were around me. Heaving sobs flowed from him, his chest pushing into mine as his tension slowly receded.

“I don't mean to be rude, but we have a task to finish.” Woolcott said quietly.

I nodded and squeezed Gideon tighter to me before gently releasing him. The shadows in the room had drifted away, like smoke on a breeze, and his eyes were once more the warm brown I had so come to love gazing into. I kissed him lightly and then turned to face the final step in my task.

“Take the wilding stone and place it on his stomach, that seems to be his weakest spot. Do not break contact with the stone, if it becomes too much to handle, lift the stone away from him.” he glanced at Gideon who smoldered at the sorcerer. “Be ready to heal Seth, if I'm right you will be much more effective this time. Aila, help me.”

Aila and Woolcott lifted Seth's sweat soaked shirt from him. Underneath his skin was mottled, spots of light with red edges peppered his skin. He looked thinner than I remembered and a sweaty sheen covered every exposed inch. With a final glance at those assembled I took the stone and placed it on Seth's stomach, and covered it with my open hand. The lance of light running up my arm was like an electric charge and I felt it move from my arm to my shoulder, up into my brain and practically out of my eyes. It swept through my chest and legs with pain and pleasure rolled into one; the sweetness of life and the bitterness of death rolled into a living, moving power.

After the initial rush, the feeling settled into a steady ebb. It felt like I had been hit with a great wave of energy, washing through the confines of my body, but now that the dam had broken the level was evening between my body and Seth's. More by intuition than anything else my fingers closed on the stone and I lifted it away. I looked down at Seth, whose body seemed at peace. There was no trembling and no grimace on his face. Shadows danced in through his skin, healing and making the angry red circles disappear and the light spots slowly melted into healthy looking skin.

The shadows dissipated and Gideon's fingers laced with mine. I leaned into him and he into me. Seth's eyes fluttered and slowly opened. His eyes did not focus, but his voice rasped out only two words.

“He comes.”

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