Spellcaster series #5: The Sage

Loyal Friends

TRISTAN

"Make a wish and blow the candles!" Heidi told Ada who sat in her lap, grinning from ear to ear.

Ada paused for a moment before tilting her head up to her mother. "Can I tell you my wish?"

"No, sweetie," Heidi laughed, "just say it in your heart."

Ada shut her eyes and blew all four candles. Everyone around us applauded. Captain Bells and her family were also present, her three children huddled around the cake in amazement. I planted a kiss on Ada's brown curls, suddenly feeling a dull ache somewhere inside me knowing that she was already a year older.

The other children began to chat excitedly about how they had the best chocolate cake some birthdays ago and that Ada's reminded them of it. They taught her how to cut the cake in their own careless ways, fighting over who got to hold the plastic knife. Ada watched them curiously while Heidi engaged in a conversation with my mother, Bells and her husband.

"When is she starting pre-school?" Dr. Hahn asked. I felt a knot in my stomach at the thought of sending Ada out into the world.

"Next week," Heidi replied casually, mindlessly brushing Ada's hair.

"Are you nervous?" Bells asked as she sat herself beside my wife. Their amiable faces told me they were overcompensating for the anxiety they knew we would have...or at least they used to have with their first child.

A bleep from my phone; a text message. It was from Vicky. I peeked at it and glanced at Heidi who was still deep in conversation. I stood up from the couch and left the drawing room. I made my way to the staircase and headed for my bedroom. I shut the door behind me.

"You know, you can just join us downstairs," I said as soon as I laid my eyes on her. "Ada would love to have you there."

"Does Heidi know I'm here?" Vicky asked, cutting it to the chase. Her hair was pulled back from her face and tied up, revealing a scar on her forehead.

I shook my head. "Not a clue. Are you all—"

"Jessie was just a warning," she interjected. Her red eyes were piercing and bright.

I frowned. "What?"

She took a step closer and lowered her voice. "This is a message from Sam. He has eyes and ears on the ground. He knows my every move. Yours too, if you're not careful."

"How?" I asked brushing off the fact that her fangs were bared and there was a fairly new healed-over wound on her throat. It must have been one hell of a fight.

"There are djinns that work for him, all types of ranks. Sam is finishing what Dean Ryans barely started. He plans to end all of the Sages' bloodlines except his own. He's coming for you, Tristan. Your daughter, too."

A shadow fleeted past the window behind her outside. I shifted my attention back to her. "Do you have to report to him?"

Vicky's face seemed void of hope. There was anxiety and frustration riddled in her eyes and voice. "You want me to send him a message?"

"Tell him that he'll have to try harder than that."

She shook her head, her lips curling slightly. Then her face went back to being grave. "Oh, and there's something else."

I waited while she slowly reached for her back pocket with her left hand. There was a feeling of static in the air around us. I readied my energy as I levelled my eyes on hers. The black silhouette the shape of a head behind her peeked from outside. It ducked its head back down when my eyes darted to it.

"We've been good friends all these years, right?" Vicky asked, slightly crouching and readying herself.

"Loyal friends," I replied.

"But some friendships don't last."

She threw a kitchen knife at me but I avoided in time. Then she pulled out her Vampire dagger and swung at me. I swerved and booted her in the chest. She stumbled back and crashed into the window behind her. It broke into large shards of glass, cutting her arms and neck. She pushed herself forward and swiped with her left hand. I caught it and swung a fist to her face. She avoided and kneed me in the torso. I released her wrist and held up my palms, readying my energy.

"One more step and you won't make it out of here," I snarled, feeling the heat in my lungs.

Vicky eyed me through her lashes before she spoke, "This isn't over."

She darted out the window soon after, leaving behind a blurry trail of a shadowy mass. Just in time, Heidi burst in the room, eyes wide and frantic.

"What happened? I heard a crash!"

She paused and took a look around before eyeing me questionably. I held up a finger and turned to the window—no shadow, no silhouette. Just an empty window. I held up my palm and cast Scrubbiro. The pieces of glass cleaned up.

I moved to the glassless window frame and shut my eyes. I grabbed the Vampire dagger from the nightstand and carved the Sage's protection rune on the window frame. I pressed my palm on it and channeled my Untamed energy. The sound of wings fluttered out of sight and a cold breeze blew.

"Was that a djinn?" Heidi asked, her hazel eyes on the window. Her stance became defensive and her aura began to glow a dim red.

"Vicky was here," I began, "she came to warn us."

She turned back to me at the mention of Vicky. I continued.

"I know about Sam's plans but you're not going to like it."

"Did she attack you?" She asked, lifting a tan hand onto the small cut on my cheekbone.

"I'm fine, she was fighting me with her left hand when she's always been right-handed. Even her swings were calculated despite missing every mark—so I guessed that it was all an act. There was a djinn watching to report to its master so we had to sell it. The good news is that I know what Sam's next move might be."

"And the bad news?" She asked, her eyes darting back and forth.

I lowered my voice, in case there were any eavesdroppers, "Sam wants me and Ada dead."