Axel Light Trilogy: Wands and Shield

Chapter 17

Stanley, Johnson and Robert sat at the dining table, each cradling a cup of tea or coffee. Jane walked into the kitchen and all the heads turned to look at her. Jane shook her head.

'He is still very angry. He won't see me,' said Jane sadly.

'But he had mistaken! He got it all wrong!' said Stanley impatiently.

'He won't listen. Nothing we say will make sense to him,' said Robert quietly, 'You can say that he is biased, but for a good reason...'

'Commissioner Linden will never, ever, hurt him!' cried Stanley heatedly, 'Everything Commissioner Linden did was with Axel's best interest!'

'That's not what I meant, Lieutenant Stanley,' said Robert cautiously, he sounded worn out, 'You know that Axel is emotionally unstable. He had suddenly acquired immense power that he did not know how to use and control them. He did not even know that he had them. What he knows is that he must keep the key with him. Close with him. He is taking every word by his parents literally. Commissioner Linden took the only thing that mattered to him, of course he broke down.'

'How long more does Commissioner Linden need the key?' asked Jane worriedly.

'Commissioner Linden said he needs a few more days. The key is with Forensics. This is the first time we get to look at the key, they want to do all the tests they can before we return it to Axel. We hope to find some important information from the key, hopefully to help us with the case. It is in fact, an evidence for the case, but we know it is important to Axel, so we will return it to him,' explained Johnson, 'We won't take the key away from him anymore after this.'

'A few more days...' sighed Jane disappointedly, 'I don't know how long Axel can wait. I know that Elliot is getting very tired too, he is trying hard to calm Axel down. I think I'll ask Elliot to not go to school these few days, to keep Axel company since Axel would only talk to Elliot. What do you think, Robert?'

'Good idea. If Axel is alone, we won't know what he does inside the room and he might go crazy,' said Robert agreeably.

'What about his wand? At least, can he have his wand back?' asked Jane, hopeful.

Stanley shook his head.

'We think it is better for him to stay away from his wand until he has calmed down. He just used it on a terrible spell, it is better to keep it from him, to keep him safe,' said Stanley, 'His wand is powerful but dangerous at the same time, if he can't control it.'

'But he can't calm down until he got his key and his wand back... and you can't give him the wand until he calms down... it will never happen!' sobbed Jane.

Johnson reached out for Jane's hand and patted it.

'We'll just take it one step at a time, Jane,' said Johnson assuredly and understandably, 'One step at a time.'

*

Axel had wanted to leave immediately but Elliot had managed to convince him that they needed to plan and to wait a day or two for Axel to heal his injured feet. He needed to at least be able to run when they would be in Xeliq.

They spent the next day poring over their plan. Elliot was indeed very familiar with Xeliq. He had been to Xeliq countless times since he was a kid. He got his wand from Million Wands as well, when he was four.

They had both agreed to leave the following day after breakfast. Elliot had wanted to ask his parents' permission to skip school for a few days, but before he had even voiced it out, his mother had suggested that he should skip school to keep Axel company.

'I think things will turn out fine, Ax,' said Elliot encouragingly, 'Mom asked me to skip school, will you believe that! And she let me bring my broom to the room!'