The Fragile the Broken and the Brave

16. Different

7.31.20

After lunch, it was right back to that padded room that looked more and more like an insane asylum with every passing second. It was then that I learned about defensive spells, and I was honestly getting pretty good at them. It has become much easier to not use too much magic now that part of it is expelled into oblivion, and the lady teaching me seemed pleasantly surprised.

By the time our session was over, I was panting and drenched in sweat. My book had been discarded on a table in the corner as I grew memorization for different defense spells, and my teacher, who I now knew was Ms. Farqui, was throwing a rapid set of different magic at me. For some reason, a lot of the different offensive spells had their own defense, so I had to think many different things rapidly while also keeping my magic from surging and rebounding. It was in that moment that my magic ran dry, and I slightly freaked out at the spell flying at my face. In a split second decision, I put my hand up and thought about the magic reflecting. I didn't know the spell for the action or if there even was one, but it actually worked, and Ms. Farqui was flung backwards into the wall.

"What did you just do?" She was looking at me with a shock, and I figured that she knew I was out of magic before that happened.

"I don't know, I just imagined your magic reflected back at you!"

"Benjamin the spell for that isn't even in your current book! How in the world–"

"I-I didn't need a spell... I just imagined it happening and it did!"

"That isn't normal!"

"Well excuse me for not fitting into your views of normal!"

"Benjamin I'm not saying that it's a bad thing–"

"Nope, I'm out!" I snapped before storming over to my book. Not normal as a human or a warlock; where do I belong? I picked up the heavy book as she tried to come up with something to say to me, yet I was already out of the door before any real protest could be formed. The noise of my shoes as I ran echoed through the huge hallways, but I didn't care as I sprinted back to my dorm. I ripped my journal out of my bag and scribbled down a note on a page before sticking it onto the fridge, and I changed back into my human clothes. I took one more look around the massive dorm before pushing open a window, and I looked down at the ground a few stories below. I took a deep breath to soften my nerves before jumping out of the window, and I instantly took off running across the yard.

I only relaxed once I was concealed by the forest, and I figured out which way was home before walking that way. I'm just glad that I was paying attention to the car ride enough to figure out that I was about 20 miles from home as the bird flies. I walked through the woods until it got dark, and I found a thick bush to call home for the night. I predicted that I was halfway home, and I hoped that I wouldn't be found in the middle of the night as I curled into a ball to rest...

***

Jack's POV

It was the middle of dinner when I got a phone call, and I quickly picked up the device. "Jack Evans speaking," I announced into the phone.

"Hey, it's Mr. Gonzalas..."

"Oh no what did he do."

"We can't find him anywhere."

"You what?"

"Ms. Farqui was training him in magic, and he revealed a spell that he wasn't supposed to know. She mentioned that it wasn't normal, and he had a minor freak out before storming out. That was the last time he was seen."

"Well as far as I know, he's pretty spontaneous. He doesn't really think ahead before he does things." Connor nodded at me from across the table, so I knew I was right. Who even knows where that boy is right now? "Did you check the woods around the school?"

"Yes, right before I called. We looked within a 5 mile radius all around the school, but there was no sign of him. I didn't even get his magic signature from the grass, but that must have been because he was out. Jack, that boy is very, very dangerous."

"What do you mean dangerous."

"You remember Mr. Damasicus?"

"Yeah, who could forget? He keeps his magic stronger than a body builder's muscle for basically no reason at all."

"Jack, your kid broke his shield in a large magic explosion and still had enough energy to fling us all across the room. Annioron flew through the wall. That and he managed a reflection spell without knowing the right words."

"How? I'm just an average warlock?"

"Well who's his mother?"

"U-uhm..."

"Or father. Doesn't matter to me."

"Well he's dead now, but he was a vampire when he was alive..."

"That makes much more sense. The mix of blood in him is causing him to be much more explosive than an average warlock. He didn't seem like other students because he wasn't. You should have told me that."

"I didn't think it was super important. Where do you think he could be?"

"I couldn't tell you. For all I know he imagined himself halfway across the world and that's where he is."

"You aren't being reassuring."

"I don't sugar coat the truth, my friend, and you know it."

"O-oh, okay..."

"We'll continue to look for him on our end; you look on yours. Considering the way he went out, he's probably heading for home."

"Alright, thanks for letting me know..." I hung up, and I sighed loudly before going upstairs to my office. I walked in, and I noticed a piece of paper on the floor. I picked it up, and I noticed that it was Dan's old suicide letter.

However, when I looked at it, I noticed something... Suspicious. I walked back over to his journal, and I held them right next to each other. As my eyes looked between them, it was the small differences suddenly jumped out at me. This... This note is not Daniel's handwriting!

I immediately sprinted down the stairs, and I flung open the door to the dining room. "Guys!" Devon started choking at my sudden presence, but Sebastian, who had become a human in the past few days which was weird, dislodged the piece of food.

"Now that you aren't trying to kill me, what?"

"I found something out!"

"What are you holding?"

"Dan's suicide note."

"Uhhh why?"

"He didn't kill himself."

"Excuse me what?" Dev got up to walk over, and he looked at the note compared to the book. "Holy hell he didn't!"

"Oh God why do you two say that?" Now Alex was walking over to us, and I held out the evidence. "Alright I don't know much from this, but... My son did not commit suicide.