That's So Wizard

Chapter 73 - Runnin' with the Devil

Everybody gathered, again at Deena's house. Perhaps she was getting used to it, or perhaps she was biding her time to one day kill them all for intruding on her home for the hundredth time. Either way, Eldrian explained all he knew—about Rend, about Kali.

"But no leads," Deena immediately said.

"No, but I figure with all of us, we can start looking into it tomorrow. We'll probably discover something. But also, everybody be as careful as possible. Any of those guys could be after us. Watch your backs. Stay in public, where they wouldn't dare out themselves."

"Roger!" Renatta said. "I will not be hypnotized into trying to kill you again."

"That's good to know."

"This is such a scary situation. I do not know what to do in the meantime."

Eldrian thought deeply. "Guys. You've become like family to me. I've learned so much about each of you over these months, but you know almost nothing about me. If it's all right, I'd like to tell a story. I don't often do this, for the safety of my family."

"You don't have to," Deena said. "There's no point in doing it. So casually trusting all of us, if it's that important."

"It's important that you know I trust you. So if you'll listen, I'd like to tell the story. My story. My last name, and how I survived being a magic child."

***

I was born in Benito, Manitoba. My parents Eleanor and Dominic were born there, but their parents came over from England. They're caring and nurturing people, and don't worry. They're still alive. This is why I don't even tell people my last name. It isn't like my existence is exactly legal, unfortunately.

Lochwood is my last name, by the way. Eldrian Lochwood.

As you know, the existence of magic is swept under the rug by the people in charge, like a joint agreement among all countries. Nobody believes it should be common knowledge. Therefore, when a wizard child starts showing they have powers, the government swoops in and puts a stop to it. I'm not sure exactly how it works, but I believe they erase the minds of everybody who knows, and then takes the child away. They might claim the child died, or perhaps that it never existed. Pretty messed up.

Now I've heard rumours too that wizards aren't always killed or imprisoned, but sometimes completely changed into servants for the country. Mind wiped, turned into a tool. Now that's scary.

I was lucky. Even though I was always an imaginative child that drew pictures and wrote stories, my powers manifested late. And where I was from was so small, and places in Canada are so spread apart, that word didn't spread quickly enough. It would have eventually, if it wasn't for him.

It was the 90s. The houses themselves were made of denim, CDs were the future, and the looming threat of Y2K was gradually approaching. It was a great time. See when my powers first showed themselves, my parents kept it under lock and key, but things got out one way or another.

I was playing outside one day when I saw a man leaning against a fire hydrant. He had a cowboy hat, a poncho, and baggy clothes. His hair was brown and passing his shoulders, and he had stubble on his face.

He was eating a pear, I think. It was a strange image, but even stranger was how friendly he seemed. When he spoke, he had a heavy southern drawl, so I knew he wasn't from around there. I had never heard such an accent at that point.

"Boy howdy!" he said and swallowed the food in his mouth. "Your Eldrian, ain'cha?"

I didn't know who he was, so I was a little uncomfortable. I nodded though.

"Don't be afraid. I've got some important things to tell you if you'll listen. Has to do with that little gift of yours. You know what I'm talking about. I hope you haven't gone around showing it off."

I shook my head. I wanted to, but I felt like it was a bad idea somehow.

"Good. Don't. If you do, someone will take you away."

"Who?" I asked.

"The man. See, people like us aren't allowed to exist, for some reason."

He went on to explain everything. Spellbreakers, children disappearing, and the rest. It was too much to take in, but over time, I figured it out.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Well I'm the Travelling Liberator. Call me TL."

And with that, he left without another world. That day always stuck with me. I couldn't focus on anything else for quite some time, and I didn't tell my parents what happened. I just pleaded with them never to tell another soul of what I could do.

I started drawing him. TL, the vigilante that went around stopping crime, with his partner, the Dark Mage. We liberated other people like me, and lived together in a castle on top of a mountain. But that was only a dream. I had no idea anything about him in reality.

One day, I did the unthinkable. I went out looking for TL. Worst of all, I found him, or rather, he found me. I ended up in the woods, and something was closing in on my position. I was easy prey, and it would have been better if it was a bear or wolf. It was much worse. The creature that emerged from between the trees was a demon.

I can hardly remember the nightmare I saw. I remember long blades coming down from its arms, and there was more than one mouth on its face.

Before it could strike me down and probably eat me, one of its blades shattered upon contact with a bullet. It was no ordinary bullet. From the side stood TL with a gun he materialized in his hand—cartoony in appearance, purple and white. When he fired, it was a blast of magic energy.

The demon wasn't pleased, so it turned to fight the threat instead.

"The hell you doing out here? Boy howdy!" TL cried out. "This is no place for a child. You'll get yourself killed, you will! Damn. Get somewhere safe."

I did, and didn't. On one hand, I hid, but on the other, I stayed, because I had to see what was going to happen next. It was like my stories, and my pictures. TL was fighting an ultimate evil.

He continued to fire magic from his pistol. Soon, the demon was in pieces on the ground, and dissolving into a black puddy. When he saw me lingering though, he looked incredibly unhappy. It was clear he was going to come over and lecture me. He stopped in his tracks, and I had no idea why.

It wasn't until later that I realised the broken blade piece manifested into a tiny creature. When he wasn't paying attention, TL was impaled from behind, and the living blade dug deep into his body. He tore it out and destroyed it, but I had never seen so much blood.

I was running over, and as I went, he spoke on the phone. I still have no idea who he was speaking with. He was telling someone he loved them, and he mentioned my name. When I ran over to him, he was cold, and his eyes weren't on me when he spoke.

"Don't be afraid when the Devil finds you. Boy howdy. You'll never know what kind of face will save your life."

***

"It wasn't long before I met Lucy. Many years passed, and eventually I moved away to make sure my parents didn't meet the same fate. With Lucy's help, I was able to find a place, and I lived alone. I still don't know why she helped me so much, but I owe her my life. I grew up, and I started helping her with demons. I felt like TL, yet I never even leaned his real name. I always wondered what would have happened if I copied his style too." Eldrian laughed. "Imagine if I was a cowboy-themed wizard."

"I didn't even know that stuff," Kevin muttered. "That's rough."

"Obviously I can't remember most of the details. But I think that's the important stuff. I'd like to know more about TL one day. Where he came from, how he heard about me, all of that. He told me enough to help me survive being caught, and that's what matters. We need more people like him.

"We have a job to do now. People's lives could be in danger. And boy howdy, Aegis Arcanum won't ever let that happen. Right?"

"Right, buddy!" Kevin cheered. "We're all in this together."

Stay tuned for Chapter Seventy-Four - Face to Faceless!