Kelly Drake and the Tears of the Dragons

Chapter Eight - The Book of Ingress and Other Secrets

Kelly watched with amusement as Michael agonized over his hand-to-hand combat training. He's like a dancer with two left feet. Utterly graceless. In non-physical pursuits, Michael performs better, but Kelly occasionally helps to boost his morale. Can't help you here, bro. Fall after shameful fall, Michael failed to parry Jordan's attacks. His only consolation was the absence of his mother; Amanda would have strongly objected to such "abuse."

"You've died more times than I can count, Michael," Jordan said while poking his rib cage with the heel of her boot. "We haven't even tried you yet on the weapons."

"This is all so different from what I watch in the movies, ma'am," he said between breaths. He thought he had been doing well in his training, until they moved to the next phase.

Jordan smiled as she helped him stand. She can't quite get used to being called ma'am after every sentence, as Michael had been doing. Kelly was also eager to learn when she was younger. Unlike her brother, she was a quick study, and could deftly and quickly dispose of a full-grown opponent by the time she was nine.

But it was not only Kelly observing the training from afar. After delegating responsibilities at her companies in the States, Stephanie returned to Fischer Manor to keep an eye on Michael. While she believed Jordan could teach him all the skills he needed if he were to pass his Initiation, she was not sure if her estranged daughter-in-law would. So she watched, usually from a window or mirror in the training room. Her seemingly ordinary reading glasses, which Jason had customized for those times they were literally worlds apart, allowed her to snoop by using any glass in a distant place as a peephole. Jason called it her "spytacles." Sometimes, Jordan would "accidentally" break some of these glass materials during Michael's training, which made Stephanie suspect that she knew when someone was watching.

The days passed quickly, with Michael struggling to keep up with his advanced mystical training and his secondary schooling, Kelly enjoying her brother's company and ineptitude, Stephanie watching the two closely, Amanda popping in from time to time, and Jordan intent on finishing the boy's instruction while ignoring the grownups.

"I know what you're doing, Stephanie," Amanda said one afternoon when she walked into William's study and found her mother-in-law staring into open space but not seeing her enter.

"And what may that be, dear?"

"I thought you trusted Jordan? Why spy on her?"

"I'm spying on my grandson, not her. You should be glad."

"And...?"

"Who's prying now?" Stephanie said with relish. "If you really wish to know, Michael's progress, though not phenomenal, has been steady and extensive. So far, Jordan has kept her word, and has managed to undo your omission."

"What do you mean by not phenomenal?" Amanda asked with a pained expression.

"It appears that Michael has a psychic dependence on Kelly."

After seeing the quizzical look on Amanda's face, Stephanie continued. "He performs much better when she's in close proximity."

"Maybe he's trying to prove something to her. Aren't most teenagers like that?"

"First, he's not even a teenager yet. That would be Kelly. Next, being nearby doesn't mean she must be visible to him. She watches him from a distance because she fears her presence might distract or embarrass him."

"So, it's not enough that they're staying here. Now, my son can't do magic if her bastard sister isn't around."

"I never said he can't do it. He just can't perform optimally, especially when Kelly is away. Now that I think about it, perhaps Kelly secretly assists him when he's having a difficult time."