Chapter 10

Marcus opened his eyes slowly, searching for the effects of the medicine Aunt Lizzie had made him start taking last night.  Memory of his first reaction to her elixir floated back to the surface as he listened to the family moving outside the door.

 

Used to being given a drug to make him sleep to forget everything or to make him unable to connect to his body, Marcus had panicked when she had brought the elixir to him.  Knocking it to the floor, Marcus had tried to make himself blend into the wall by the closet in order to leave the room and hopefully the house before being caught.  Geoff had either heard the shattering pottery or felt his turmoil because before he could inch his way to the window, he felt the spell that had kept him tied up in the room of Emè’s inn.

Geoff had entered a few minutes later, concern in his eyes and his attention on his Aunt, who after Marcus’ violent reaction had retreated to the other side of the room. Ted had followed Geoff in and had gone straight to his wife as she trembled from the anger she had felt rolling off of the boy.

            She wouldn’t answer their questions as to what had happened so both of them had turned their attention on him. Unfortunately, he was as shaken as she was by the action that he couldn’t answer them either. All he could do was continue to mumble an apology to the woman and try to hide in the wall inspite of the magick around him.

Eventually, Elizabeth’s mothering instincts took over her fear and she had broken away from her husband to wrap her arms around his shaking body.  She had glared at Geoff until he released Marcus from the spell. She immediately pulled Marcus against her side trying to comfort him as much as he would allow her too.

Geoff and Ted were finally able to drag the story out of them both after about an hour.  Elizabeth had been bringing up the medicine she had created to enable Marcus’ power to relax and allow him to heal. He had noticed the smell and had reacted by wrapping his power around her the moment she had entered, blocking her from moving or screaming, than had moved to her, gripping his hands around her wrists and squeezing until she had dropped the bowl and it had shattered.  The noise broke Marcus from his rage and he had released her completely, backing up as far from her as he could get. Elizabeth had backed up in the opposite direction, the broken pottery and wasted medicine between them.

            Ted and Geoff had exchanged a look, then Ted headed downstairs to bring up another bowl of the concoction his wife had made. Geoff had helped Marcus back to the bed as Elizabeth had cleaned the medicine from the floor. She had disappeared with the broken pieces of the dish, but had stopped in the doorway to give a warning.

            “If he is harmed in anyway when I come back in here Geoffrey, I will be blaming you.”

            Geoff had sighed when she walked out and waved in a chair from thin air to sit backwards in it across from Marcus’ huddled form. “Obviously you do not like taking medication of any kind.” He had observed drily. “Care to explain why?”

            “Max.” Marcus had muttered, still seeing Elizabeth’s white face as he had pressed his fingers into her wrists as if trying to break them from her body.

            Instead of trying to get more of a reason out of him, Geoff had said quietly. “If I take the medicine Aunt Lizzie brings up and nothing happens to me, will you be willing to trust me and her enough to take it yourself?”

            Marcus had looked up at him startled. He had hurt Geoff’s aunt, both physically and emotionally, but Geoff seemed more worried about him than his Aunt Elizabeth. So did Aunt Lizzie and her husband for that matter, both trying to help him settle in when they came back in the room. In fact, all three acted as if the incident had never even happened.

 

            Marcus stared at the ceiling, not feeling anything even though he had hated the taste as it slid down his throat last night and sometime earlier this morning. He would have to ask them about it without the children around. He did not want to give them any reason to fear him.

            “Awake finally?”

            Marcus turned to look at the doorway, Geoff stood just inside the door checking the hall before closing it behind him.

            “I think you have a moment’s respite before the three children run in here to wake you up. I would suggest you get dressed before they do.”

            Marcus slowly sat up and stared at him. “I don’t belong here. Why would they want anything to do with me after what I did last night?”

            Geoff barricaded the door before moving to sit next to him on the bed. “Marcus, they have no idea what happened last night. When they asked her what happened at breakfast, she told them you had a nightmare and had latched onto her so quickly it had scared her.”

            “Why would she lie to her children for me? Why wouldn’t she condemn me too?”

            “Because you did nothing wrong Marcus.”

            “But I hurt her.”

            “Yes, you did hurt her.” Geoff acknowledged, “And no, under normal circumstances that would not have been acceptable, but Marcus I highly doubt even you knew the extent to which you would go when faced with a nightmare like you faced yesterday.”

            “But I should have known. I should have realized what was going to happen.”

            “Why?”

            “Because if I’ve been forced to take medication before, wouldn’t I have recognized the feeling to fight rising and been able to at least warn you before I latched onto her?”

            “If you were in control of your memories, you might have stopped yourself, contacted me or both, but since you do not have full memory yet you could not have truly understood what had happened. Do not blame yourself for something you could not control Marcus, it only creates tension.”

“Which limits my abilities and opens me up for others to step on” Marcus muttered, interrupting the now familiar lecture.

Geoff smiled, “Exactly, and since you won’t do it again there is no need to think about it anymore. Get dressed, the kids want to meet you and have waited as long as they are willing to.”

“But I have to think about it,” Marcus murmured as Geoff stood up. “If I don’t get it out and away from me, Max will twist it later. Feeding it to me and making me remember things that didn’t actually happen.”

Geoff waited for him to finish, but Marcus stopped, staring across the room as sunlight filtered through the partially drawn curtains across the windows. “What happened that you are afraid he’ll use?”

“I almost broke her wrists.” Marcus bit out, her pale face when they both realized it coming back to him “I almost took away her hands because I reacted aggressively against the mixture in that bowl.”

“Than why’d you stop?”

“Huh?” Marcus blinked and looked up at him. “I had to stop, I almost hurt her and all she was doing was trying to help.”

“Are you sure?”

Marcus looked at him blankly. What was Geoff getting at? Elizabeth would never try to hurt him it was not in her. He blinked again, how did he know it was not in her? Just because she seemed nice, did not mean that she was. Marcus groaned, realizing he had started doing exactly what the people of Trumpet’s Echo had done to him.

“You have no idea do you?” Geoff asked.

Marcus shook his head. He heard Geoff sigh and looked up to see the frown in his eyes. “Marcus the entire point of showing you how to sense things was for you to start practicing the craft. Not so you can use it when I tell you to.”

“I know.” Marcus muttered.

Geoff focused his eyes on Marcus’ face. “What did you sense last night in that mixture she gave you Marcus? You were not as agitated the second time.”

Marcus frowned as he thought about it. “The second one did not have the same ingredients in it. It did not feel tainted like that first one.”

“Tainted? Tainted how?”

Marcus closed his eyes, pushing past what he had done to remember what had caused his anger in the first place. He opened his eyes, frustration bright within them. “I have no idea. It just felt off, as if there had been something not right about it.”

“Why did you grab onto her wrists?”

“I wanted to make her drop the bowl.”

“Why? If she was trying to hurt you, surely you would have gone after her throat or even tried to kill her.”

“What are you trying to do?” Marcus asked suddenly suspicious, “Normal people would try to defend their family not point out the flaws.”

            “I’ve told you before Marcus, I’m not normal. Now answer my question, why just try to get her to drop the bowl?”

            Marcus shrugged, “I don’t know. It just seemed the right thing to do.”

            Geoff studied him a moment. “Than you have nothing to fear from Max trying to twist this memory on you.”

Marcus opened his mouth to protest, but Geoff stopped him by saying, “There had to have been something in that first batch of medicine similar to the stuff Max would feed you for you to try and prevent her from giving it to you. The measures you took might have hurt her, but you did not seriously injure her. And if there was a taint in the elixir, there was probably a taint on the bowl as well and she might not have let it go if you had not gone to the extremes you did to make her drop it.”

“I never checked to see if any of that is true.”

“At least not that you remember.” Geoff answered quietly, “and that is why I have decided to teach you before you make up your mind.”

“Because I do stuff without realizing I do it?”

Geoff nodded, “Your magick reacts instinctually and you aren’t even aware it’s doing so. I recognized that at Sumter when you had stepped in to assist that young maid from being hurt by the innkeeper. That makes you a dangerous young mage, not only to those you are trying to protect, but to yourself as well.”

“So you’re teaching me so I don’t kill myself or is it so Max can’t use me against your army?” Marcus asked, galled that he might be allowing Geoff to manipulate him.

“I would rather he not use you against us of course,” Geoff retorted. “And I’d rather you not blow yourself or anyone else around you up from a spell gone wrong since I care about all my people. But no Marcus that is not why I’m teaching you.”

“Than why? I know all that crap you said at Trumpet’s Echo, but you never really explained why you’ve taken me on instead of someone else.”

“You’ve never had a choice to decide,” Geoff growled at him, “and you won’t get that choice if you are left on your own. There are more mages than Max looking for you boy and I’ll be damned if I allow your talent to be turned into a weapon against yourself and the rest of us.”

Stunned, Marcus asked quietly, “How can my power be turned against me?”

“They will do what Max has already done to you and force your compliance. Too much forcing will taint your magick and warp your mind creating problems they won’t foresee.”

He turned to the door ready to be done with this conversation, but stopped before opening it. Marcus deserved to know some of the reasons behind Geoff’s need for him to be able to decide his own fate. “I have seen mages turned and tainted because they did not have a choice. I have had to kill friends because they were so far from help there was no other way to protect the people they loved. You have the potential to become the greatest mage we have ever seen, but without the right to choose your own path you could lose everything you wish to gain.” Geoff turned sideways to look at the boy, “I refuse to allow that to happen while I still breathe. You are stuck with me until you decide Marcus, for that I give you no choice.”

Marcus watched him walk out the door, his words still vibrating through his skull. Geoff was forcing him to choose his future in order to keep Max and others like him from forcing him to choose a future he did not want. Marcus stood up as the irony in that hit him, sending him back to the bed laughing. Did the man understand the contradiction in that statement? Obviously not, Marcus thought as he stood up again, barring the door as Geoff had just done.

As he moved to the chair where new clothes waited for him, his mind turned to the night before. Geoff had been probing him for some answer, some truth he had been hiding from himself. Had there been a deeper reason he had not killed her?

Marcus paused as he picked up the shirt, his eyes glued to the sunlight on the hardwood floor. Something about the way she had walked in had alerted him. Aunt Lizzie had been welcoming from the first moment he could remember, but when she came in with the medicine there had been a flash of malice in her eyes that he had been sure was not there earlier.

 That moment of emotion had him looking for something else, something more. Then it hit him, no else would have noticed the smell that had radiated from the first bowl in her hands.  Growing up with Max shoving varieties of stuff down his throat, he had become accustomed to the smells of all the ingredients used in those concoctions.

I must have noticed both and reacted, Marcus thought, quickly changing into the clothes left out for him as footsteps sounded on the floorboards by the door. At least I stopped before I did more than bruise her. I doubt Uncle Ted or Geoff would have been as forgiving if I had broken her hands.

He unbarred the door as he sat back on the bed to put on the boots left for him. The door burst open, spilling three heads to the floor in shrieks and laughter. Marcus lifted his head enough to recognize the three he had caught yesterday morning. He went back to putting on the boots as he waited for the three children to pick themselves up and come inside. The girl got up first, dusting herself off and flouncing into the room claiming the chair Geoff had left.  The two boys bounded up after her, each sitting on one of Marcus’ sides. Marcus smiled inwardly, his eyes noting their attempt to block him in so he would answer whatever questions they had for him. Outside the now open door, he could see Ted and Lizzie’s shadows ready to step in if he grew tired of the constant questions. 

Once they settled, Marcus finished tying the laces, feeling their eyes following his every move. He straightened up, stared at them a moment, than moved back across the bed to lean against the wall behind him. Now that he was awake, the three children seemed reluctant to open their mouths. He lifted an eyebrow at the girl, waiting to see if they would go first or if he would have to.

She tossed her hair over her shoulder and after glancing quickly at her brothers, she smiled. “So you’re cousin Geoff’s new apprentice right?”

Marcus nodded.

She tilted her head a little, “You don’t seem much on talking. But that’s okay, as long as you can answer our questions you don’t have to talk much.”

“How is he going to answer our questions if he don’t talk?” The boy on his left asked.

The girl gave him a mean look, than turned back to Marcus. “Ignore him, Timothy is slow.”

“Shut up Sara, I’m not as slow as you are.”

As the two continued to bicker, Marcus watched the child on his right. Though his body had turned as if he was watching his siblings, the boy’s eyes had fixed on him, assessing him. Silent, the boy seemed older than his sister though his size and facial features said otherwise.

Marcus stretched out his hand, watching the boy carefully. His movement stopped the other two immediately. With the quiet, Marcus said. “I’m Marcus.”

The boy took his hand, “I’m Nathan, but everyone calls me Nate. Timothy…”

“Timmy.” His twin interrupted.

Nate rolled his eyes, “Timmy is on your left and Sara is on the chair. How’d you get caught by Geoff? He never keeps anyone this long.”

Sara’s eyes widened. Glancing quickly at the door, she reached out and hit her brother’s shoulder. “Nate we weren’t supposed to ask him that.” She hissed quickly.

His eyes narrowed at her as he rubbed the spot she hit. “Why not? It’s not like I asked him what he did to mom’s wrists.”

As soon as he said it, his mouth shut tight and he glanced fearfully at the doorway. Seeing it had closed, the three children stood up, quickly joining ranks across from him. Marcus stayed where he was, not planning not frighten them anymore.

“I got caught as you put it because I lost my way and ran into him. As for your mother’s wrists, that was an accident I plan on correcting as soon as I am allowed.”

“Why’d you shut the door?” Sara asked.

“How are you going to ask me questions if you’re afraid your parents are going to stop you?” Marcus countered.  “Besides, they can open it if they really wish to. I am not keeping them from us nor are they missing this conversation. They just can’t stop you as easily.”

“Really?”Nate asked moving closer. “Aren’t you going to get in trouble for that?”

Marcus grinned, “Probably, but getting to know new family is more important to me than getting in trouble for shutting the door in their faces.”

“I like him Sara.” Nate announced, sitting back on the bed.

Sara let out an exasperated breath, “Of course you would, he’s just like you.”

Timmy moved to Marcus’ other side. “I like him too.”

Sara crossed her arms, her left foot set out as she leaned on her right. “I’ve lost both of you? Deserters!”

The two boys grinned at her. Marcus watched her, “I take it you’re the one in charge.”

“I used to be.” Sara sniffed.

Marcus moved to the end of the bed and stretched out his hand. “Than I should apologize my lady. I was negotiating with the wrong commander.”

Sara stared at him, “You mean it?”

Marcus nodded, “Honest my lady, you are a truly admirable foe if you are able to confuse your opponents.”

            Sara hesitated. He had convinced her brothers so easily, but it took more than shutting the door on her parents for her to trust someone. Marcus continued to hold out his hand. “It is a difficult thing to trust a stranger.” Marcus said quietly, “Even more difficult when you are overlooked.”

Sara stared at him, studying his eyes like Geoff had shown her. He felt unsure of himself and of the situation he now found himself in. She smiled, taking his hand, “You don’t have to call me your lady, Sara is good enough for me.”

            Both Timothy and Nate snorted beside him. She glared at them both as she retook her seat. “What’s it like being Geoff’s apprentice? We never really get to meet any of them.”

            “None of them become our family either.” Nate pointed out.

            Marcus moved to the floor, setting his back against the wood panel. He had underestimated Sara; he cast a glance up at Timmy, maybe he had underestimated all three of them. He would have to be careful how he answered.  “It’s different from my last apprenticeship.”

            “How?” Timmy asked, flipping onto his stomach and laying across the bed.

            “Well, for one I got to meet all of you. I would have never been able to do that with my other one.”

            “Why not?” Nate asked as he copied his brother.
            “Because he wouldn’t be here.” Sara answered for him, “He’d be with his other teacher.”

            “But that doesn’t mean the other teacher wouldn’t bring him here.” Nate pointed out.

            Sara rolled her eyes, “Think about that one please. How would he get here if the other teacher doesn’t know we exist?”

            Marcus hid his smile. Knowing Max, Marcus could bet that this family had not escaped his attention, but had not done anything to warrant more than a passing thought. Until now, he pushed the thought aside as Sara waved a hand in front of his face. He would worry about protecting them after the children did not want any of his attention.

            “Are you alright?”Sara asked.

            Marcus smiled, “I am now.”

            “Where’d ya go?” Timothy wanted to know.

            “Somewhere not worth going again” Marcus answered. “What did you ask me?”

            “Would your other teacher have brought you here?”

            “No, I would have never gotten to meet any of you.” At least not like this, Marcus thought. “My other teacher was not as adventurous as your cousin. I spent most of my time working.” When I wasn’t curled up from pain or hiding from him, Marcus added silently.

            “That sounds boring.” Nate muttered.

            “It was.” Marcus agreed, “Which is something else about your cousin as a teacher, I have yet to be bored.”

            “I knew Geoff taught exciting stuff.” Nate said, throwing his sister a triumphant look.

            “Just because he hasn’t been bored, does not make it exciting.” She countered, causing both boys to frown.

            “Your sister’s right,” Marcus agreed. “Some of the things I’ve learned to do are probably no different from your daily chores here. However, things you might do all the time are new experiences for me, making the learning less boring. And remember I’ve only been training with your cousin for three months now, I’m sure after awhile the everyday chores are going to become just as boring for me as they are for you now.”

            “Do you ever want to go back to your other life?” Timothy asked.

            The smile on Marcus’ face slipped as he stared past Sara to the window. “Sometimes when things are not going as easy as I think they should, I’ve wondered why I don’t just return to my old life and stay who I had become.”

            “But,” Nate prompted when he stopped.

            The smile returned, though flatter than it had been. “But, I learn something I would not have known about or I meet people I would have never met and I realize that returning to who I had been would be impossible.”

            “Why?”

            “When you learn something new a part of yourself changes. I have been learning something new everyday since I joined your cousin. I can’t go back to who I was because I’m not the same person anymore and trying to be someone else is a difficult thing to do.”

            “Do you like the new person you are?” Sara asked.

            Marcus tilted his head as he looked at her, “Do you like the new person you are changing into as you learn?”

            Sara shrugged, “Sometimes.”

            “I like who I’m changing into.” Nate announced, standing up on the bed.

            “And who are you changing into?” Marcus asked, quietly casting a spell around the bed so the boy would not fall off and hurt himself.

“I am changing into…” Nate stopped, a strange look crossing his face. He plopped back down on the bed and looked guiltily at the door. At the look of concern on Sara’s face, Nate admitted. “Da just told me to get down or we would have a talk tonight.”     

She pulled a face, but said nothing. Marcus released the spell as he stared at the door. Could they see into the room even though the wood barred them? Or did Ted just know his children that well? He sent the question to his teacher, wondering if Geoff would even know the answer.

They felt the spell Marcus. Geoff answered; they have often put a similar one up when the children were younger and from the voices could guess which child it was set up for.

Is that a common thing for a parent to do?

For parents like Aunt Lizzie and Uncle Ted, this is something that happens often. See if you can’t round those three up and move them out of your room, I want to talk to you before lunch.

Marcus felt the link close, but stayed quiet for a few more minutes. None of the ‘parents’ he got stuck with had ever cared enough to wonder if he was standing on a bed about to fall off or had been beaten in a gang fight he happened to walk into the middle of. Would things have been different if he had a set of parents like Aunt Lizzie and Uncle Ted or would Max have found a way to destroy that family as well? Shaking the thought off, he looked up to see all three children staring at the door frowning.

“I told you they would be able to interfere if they felt it was necessary.” Marcus reminded them. “Obviously, your father decided you shouldn’t be standing on the bed.”

“That’s because the last time Nate had stood on a bed he had fallen off and hit his head, sending himself to sleep for a few days.” Timmy answered.

Nate sent him a dark look, Marcus’ smile returned. “I think question time is over for now. Why don’t you three show me around your house until your mother calls us for lunch?”

Immediately all thoughts of their parents listening in and bumps on the head vanished as all three jumped to their feet ready to show their new cousin around their property. Marcus followed them out the door, noticing Elizabeth and Ted were no longer hovering in the hallway. They quickly showed off the upstairs, waving their hands as they made their way to the back steps leading outside.

“Why aren’t we using the main stairs?” Marcus asked.

Nate snorted, “That staircase is for Mama to show off to visitors. We all use this one. It has a much cooler view and a better rail to slide down.”

And a way to sneak out without your parents noticing right away, Marcus thought as Sara explained where all the adult rooms were downstairs. The only room anywhere close to the exit for the back stairway was the kitchen, but that door was around a corner and a little down the back hall. Unless someone stood at the corner or heard the door slam closed, anyone could slip in and out of the house by using the backstairs. At least they could if the guarding spells were not in place.

Even from the hallway, Marcus could feel the strength of the spells that protected the family from unwanted guests. Intruders would have a rude welcoming if they tried making their way up this seemingly easy access. He felt a warning go off somewhere else in the house and caught movement towards the bottom of the steps. When the backdoor came into view, Ted appeared from around the corner.

“Good, you three can go help your mother set up for the afternoon meal. Marcus, if you could follow me please.”

Sending Marcus looks of sympathy, the three children shuffled towards the kitchen door as Ted lead Marcus through the back hallway and into the front rooms. Marcus looked around as they walked noticing the spells embedded into different parts of the furniture and walls, helping to keep up the maintenance of the house as well as protecting valuables from intruders and rowdy children.

“You and your family have a comfortable home,” Marcus said quietly. The silence after the children disappeared held the awkwardness he was beginning to hate. No one knew what to think of him and it galled that they were walking on eggshells because they were afraid of him.

“Lizzie and I have tried to make it that way.” Ted answered, looking at him from the corner of his eye. “We want the children to feel comfortable here, especially with all the turmoil in the world today.  They need somewhere they feel safe to be themselves.”

            Marcus had the feeling Ted was talking about more than just his three, but was unable to respond as Geoff came around the corner. He grinned at Ted, “Rescued him from the steps did you?”

“Your aunt wants you to stop calling them that you know.” Ted said in response, even as he nodded. “If she hears you call them that, you’re going to regret the term.”

Geoff just shrugged and Ted walked away. Marcus looked at him confused, “Why do you call them steps?”

“Did you not notice their heights? The three of them standing next to each other remind me of steps on a staircase. Though I have a feeling Nate and Timmy are reaching their growth spurt and will break up that image in the next few years.”

“You’re really close to them aren’t you?”

Geoff smiled. “I come here whenever I get the chance. Aunt Lizzie is my mother’s only living relative and I have known Uncle Ted all my life.” His face sobered as the family’s laughter drifted towards them. “Seeing them helps to remind me why I’m doing this and keeps the darker parts of this fight in the background.”

“They seem really close.”

Geoff nodded, “Yes, they are a very close family.” He turned to Marcus, “And they adopt people quickly. You have a family here now whether you wanted them or not.”

“So I’m to call them Aunt and Uncle?” Marcus asked, shaking his head. “Do they know about Max being after me?”

Geoff nodded, “Yes, they know about Max. However, I did not have to tell them. It seems news of your arrival and who you are connected to has been announced in every town and country road in our land.”

“So he’s started.” Marcus snorted. “It did not take him very long, but then I did expect it to happen sooner. So when are you turning me in to the counsel members of yours? I’m sure they’ll want to keep a mage like me under lock and key now that you’ve analyzed my potential.”

“I’m not.” Geoff walked down the hallway in the opposite direction Ted had taken. Marcus wandered after him, sputtering.

“What do you mean you’re not? How can you not? Have you not been listening to your cohorts? They don’t want me around; it’s too dangerous for their political objectives.”

“And you have not been listening to me.” Geoff growled, opening the front door and walking out onto the wooden porch. Marcus followed him outside, closing the door behind him and moving to the railing in front of him. He turned to his teacher, leaning against the wooden pole behind him, his arms crossed in front of him.

“Yes I have, but you’ve got to be sensible about taking me any farther in this training you’ve committed to. If what they have been saying is true, if I’m truly as powerful as they think I am, I could kill all of you when Max recaptures me. Training me any farther could kill all of you.”

“Than that’s a chance we’ll have to take Marcus. I’ve already told you, you are stuck with me until you are capable of making the choice about your future.”

“Don’t you think I’m capable of making that choice now?” Marcus growled, annoyed.

“Honestly, no I don’t.” Geoff snapped back. “If you were capable of making a choice you wouldn’t be worried about what the others would think of you being Max’s former apprentice or about being recaptured.”

“I could kill all of you!” Marcus yelled, his hands swinging wide, his body straightening.

“And you will kill yourself if you don’t get some real training behind you!” Geoff snarled back. He jabbed a finger at him, “What do you think will happen to that friend of yours if you end up dying before you can make sure she is absolutely out of Max’s reach?  And the people who have befriended you up to this point, do you think Max will leave them alone once you are out of the picture?”

He continued, ignoring Marcus’ attempt to answer. “No, he won’t leave them alone. In fact, the only reason they are protected now is because you are still alive and wearing those medallions. Do you think they will thank you for turning away from my help and turning yourself over to a bunch of buzzards whose only concern is how to keep my family from holding too much power?”

            Marcus, his face as red as Geoff’s was becoming, opened his mouth to retort, when an embarrassed cough had them both looking at the door. Ted stood there watching them. “Your aunt would like you both to join us to eat.”

            They backed away from each other, glaring. Geoff nodded at his uncle, “We will join you in a second.”

            Ted nodded and headed back inside. Geoff turned to Marcus, eyes flaring. “We will finish this discussion after lunch. Not a word to Aunt Lizzie or the children, understand?”

            Marcus snorted, “I’m not stupid.” He strode towards the door, brushing past Geoff angrily. The door opened before he reached it, slamming shut once he was inside. Geoff let off a frustrated growl, both hands running agitatedly through his hair. To the air, he growled, “Dad, I swear if we ever meet up again, I’m going to apologize for every stupid comment I have ever made.” He turned to the house, using the relaxation spell his father had taught him before he joined the others.

            He missed the shadow in the corner of the porch move into the sunlight as the door shut behind him. Daniel looked at the closed door, his heart in his eyes. “We will meet again son. I swear to you, I will help you sort this out before anything happens to the boy.”

            He disappeared where he stood, the only witness to his presence an old horse that went back to grazing immediately.