Spellcaster series #5: The Sage

Book 3: Elixir

HEIDI

(three weeks later)

"I swear, Jessie, how do parents do it? Sending my kid off to pre-school, out in the world like that—I admit, terrifies me. I mean, what if there are djinns out there waiting to hurt her? Who knows what Sam is up to these days."

I wasn't sure how long I had been grumbling. Ten minutes, maybe fifteen? Jessie had been unconscious since he was given the Vampire venom. Brian said he should have awoken a few days ago but it had been five days since.

"And don't tell Tristan," I leaned closer and whispered, resting my elbows on the duvet, "but last Friday, I took Ada out of school early and we went to the cinema. Am I a horrible mother?"

I had decided to see how he was after breakfast. I told him about Ada's second week of school and my borderline maternal paranoia. There was something about spilling my thoughts to someone who couldn't hear me and not having to listen to a response.

Or maybe I spoke too soon.

"Your secret is safe with me," Jessie muttered with a dry throat.

I had to pick my jaw up from the floor. He slowly turned his pale face to me and smiled lazily.

"Whoa, are you—you are!" I stood up and my chair toppled over. "And you heard everything!"

He nodded slowly with a sheepish grin. "Every single word."

Yikes. But I was too elated to care. I darted out of the room and stumbled down the stairs, hands on the railing. As I reached the first floor where everyone was chatting away in the drawing room, all their eyes bore on me, startled by my ruckus.

"What is it, Heidi?" Tristan asked, standing up.

"Jessie's up!" I cried from the foot of the staircase. "He's awake!"

Lady Bernadette and Dr. Nicole rushed over and we three raced up the stairs. Tristan, Wynona, Brian and Dr. Nicole's husband—whose name I forgot—followed after. We entered the bedroom to see him already sitting up. As he opened his eyes wider, his red irises bore on us and of course, Lady Bernadette. She bent to hug him, planted kisses on his forehead before pulling away to hold his hands.

"He's thirsty," the baroness pointed out, "give him some water!"

"The man needs blood, not water," Brian corrected. All of us turned to him questionably.

"Blood? I thought adult Vampires can survive on human food?" I asked, remembering the Anna Low ordeal.

"His human blood has been turned into what we call Vampire elixir, which will allow him to regenerate his cells for as long as it can. For the elixir to be 'activated', he needs plasma from human blood."

"I'll go get some pints from the hospital, then," Dr. Nicole suggested.

Brian lifted his hand and placed a black duffle bag on the floor. "No need for all that. The hospital has been donating blood to the Lair for moments such as this."

He unzipped the bag and pulled out six transparent bags of thick, red liquid, each containing about eight ounces. He handed one over to Jessie with a straw. I suppressed a smile, mentally comparing that very image to Ada sipping out of a juice box. I glanced at Tristan whose expression remained stoic. Of course.

"Jessie will need all the energy he can get," Brian added.

I pursed my lips and nodded. I did all I could to suppress a joke. "Right. So...he's just going to drink them like that?"

"Until it satiates his hunger," Brian responded casually. "Which might take a day or two."

"Then we'll leave him to it," Wynona announced before beckoning the rest of us out. Only the baroness stayed behind.

* * *

Brian was on the phone, trying his best to be in touch with Vicky who hadn't been responding. Dr. Nicole and her husband were sitting in a corner having the world to themselves while Wynona began a discussion about Sam Locke and Sage-related things.

"So now that the position of the Sage of Practical magic has been vacated, we need to look for another," she spoke as we sat on a couch in another drawing room.

Tristan remained standing behind the two-seater leather couch. His jaw tightened as fell into deep thought. He remained silent.

"Wait, why can't Jessie continue being the Sage?" I asked.

"Once you turn into a Vampire, you lose your white aura because only humans have that. That way, Jessie can't wield the Sage's gem anymore. The white aura is how we're able to cast spells," Wynona answered, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Oh." I thought for a moment and involuntarily turned to Dr. Nicole. "What about the neurosurgeon?"

Wynona shook her head. "Dr. Nicole is his stepdaughter. In order to carry on Jessie's lineage, she has to be his biological child."

I nodded my head. "Does Jessie have any other relatives? Cousins, second cousins, maybe?"

"His family ties have been wiped out completely, that I know of," Tristan spoke after a while, green eyes on me. "He's the last one."

"Seriously? Poor Jessie."

"It has been Synto's doing from the start," he continued, "It plans to erase the descendants of the Sages so it can rule without any resistance. Hence the death of his first wife."

There was a spark of fury inside me, thinking about Sam going after my husband and daughter. Man, he has another thing coming.

"In order to continue the line of the Sages, we must replace them. In this case, we usually pick the best student with the highest potential. In fact, Jessie has already chosen," Wynona added before giggling, "Talk about practicality."

"Who is it?" I asked, curiosity piquing my interest.

"I'll bring him in later," Wynona waved me off as if to keep the anticipation, "because right now, we need the Sage of Untamed magic to reclaim his title."

I tilted my head as she turned to Tristan who lifted his gaze to her from the floor.

I frowned. This was all too confusing. "Tristan? But I thought he can't be Sage anymore because of...you know?"

"Unconventional times call for unconventional measures. Besides, Tristan can still wield the energy of the gem," Wynona explained.

"Problem is," Tristan chimed in, eyes on her, "we don't have the gem. Last I looked, it's with our dear friend Sam."

"We can always retrieve it," she shrugged casually.

"Yeah," I nodded, "we can totally stroll into his office and ask to borrow the one powerful thing he holds on so dearly."

She stood up. "Look who you're talking to! Besides, I've thought of this back in the orphanage when Sam betrayed us."

Tristan wasn't convinced but he said anyway, "Whatever your plans are, count me in."

"And me," I volunteered.

They turned to me, Wynona nodding eagerly and Tristan disapprovingly. I rolled my eyes.

"What? Are we really going to have this argument again?"

Wynona raised her eyebrows at Tristan who sighed, having lost whatever debate he had in his head.

"So it's settled!" She concluded excitedly, "I'll summon the new Sage of Practical magic and we'll get the Sage's sapphire from Jessie."

A beep from my cellphone—a text from Captain Bells.

"How about we meet you and the new Sage later," I said, waving my phone at them, "something came up and Tristan and I are heading back to Plainsview for a bit."