Little

Chapter 9

The next morning, he was back in the room where he had first entered Kamar-Taj. Peter was busy doing schoolwork on his Ipad, back in the room. Now, The Ancient One sat before Stephen.

"The language of the mystic arts is as old as civilization," she said. "The sorcerers of antiquity called the use of this language 'spells'." 

She gave him a condescending look. 

"But if that word offends your modern sensibilities, you can call it 'program'," she finished. Stephen looked confused as she started again. 

"The source code that shapes reality. We harness energy drawn from other dimensions of the multiverse, to cast spells, conjure shields and weapons to make magic."

As she said this, she waved her hands and cast a shield spell. An orange holographic projection appeared in front of Stephen, and disappeared just as quickly as it had came.

"But... even if my fingers could do that," he said, staring down at his hands. "My hands would just be waving in the air. I mean, how do I get from here to there?"

"How did you get to reattach severed nerves, and put a human spine back together bone by bone?" the Ancient One asked.

"Study and practice. Years of it," Stephen replied.

He'd just answered his own question.

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He went back to the room and expected to find Peter still doing his schoolwork. Instead, he found Peter playing with his toys.

"What are you doing?!" he practically screamed. "Do your work!"

"I'm done with my work," Peter said, looking up at him. He held up his Ipad and showed Stephen. Indeed, Peter was correct. He had finished a whole day's worth of schoolwork in less than two hours.

"But how..." Stephen started. A six-year-old wasn't supposed to finish the work that quickly, unless there was little work to be done.

Unless he was gifted. 

He hadn't read anything beyond the little blurb in Peter's files. Christine had only told him about how Peter's family had died. He would just have to read the file later. 

He left the room without saying anything else to Peter, and shut the door. He had other things to do.

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After reading some of the books the Ancient One had told him to read, Stephen went to return them. He was met by a man.

"Mr. Strange," he said. Why did everybody here know his name already?

"Uh... Stephen, please," he corrected the man.  "And you are?"

'Wong," the man replied.

"Wong. Just Wong?" Stephen asked. This guy had to have another name. "Like... Adele? Or... Aristotle?" he said, listing the names of one-name people.

Wong just stared at him. 

 "Drake," Stephen said, continuing.  "Bono. Eminem."

It got awkwardly quiet.

Wong took the books from him. "The Book of the Invisible Sun, Astronomia Nova, Codex Imperium, Key of Solomon." He looked surprised. "You finished all of this?"

"Yep," Stephen replied, popping the p.

"Come with me," Wong said, as he led Stephen into another room.

"This section is for masters only," he said, gesturing at racks filled with books. "But at my discretion, others may use it. We should start with Maxim's Primer," he continued, grabbing a book. "How's your Sanskrit?"

"Uh..." Stephen said. "I'm...fluent...in Google Translate."

Wong handed him the book. "Read it. Classical Sanskrit."

Stephen started to open the book, when something caught his eye. More books, but these ones looked different. "What are those?" he asked Wong.

"The Ancient One's private collection," he said.

"So they're forbidden?" Stephen guessed.

"No knowledge in Kamar-Taj is forbidden," Wong said.  "Only certain practices."

Stephen started heading towards the books, looking at them, like he was about to read one.

"Those books are far too advanced for anyone other than the Sorcerer Supreme," Wong cautioned him. Even so, Stephen took one book and flipped it open. What he saw was a ripped seam.

"This one's got pages missing," he called out to Wong.

"That's the Book of Cagliostro," Wong said, coming closer to him. "The study of time."

 "One of the rituals was stolen by a former Master," he continued. The Zealot. Kaecilius. Just after he strung up the former librarian, and relieved him of his head."

He gave Stephen a serious glance. "I am now the guardian of these books," he said coldly. "So if a volume from this collection should be stolen again, I'd know it. And you'd be dead before you ever left the compound."

He grabbed the book from Stephen's hand and clapped it shut.

"What...if it's just overdue?" Stephen said,.  "You know? Any... late fees I should know about?Maiming, perhaps?"

Wong didn't think that was funny and continued giving Stephen a cold stare

 Stephen sighed. "You know, people used to think that I was funny," he said to no one.

"Did they work for you?" Wong asked, bored.

"Uh..." Stephen said. "Alright...it's been...lovely  talking to you, thank you for the books and for the horrifying story...and for the threat upon my life."

He quickly exited the library.