Battle Mage Chapter 5

Who is Timothy? And what does he know?

 

The legend of Timothy, or is it the story of Timothy? Timothy’s mother was always the superstitious sort, allowing herself to be taken in by the wills and thoughts of psychics, aura junkies and palm readers. It was said that he was born under a bad omen on the 13^th, on a Friday. However he was born, he was said to have been a happy child and that it was too easy for his parents to like him.

That was perhaps why they gave him up. He spent years being part of the orphanage system and while he smiled during the times there, it was not the best place for strong development for one so small. Timothy always seemed to be a year behind physically to those of his age and it was noticeable to all those especially himself.

But still he smiled. He eventually found a family that loved him and for the rest of his time with the family, he was truly happy. This was before the incident.

“Hey Monster!”

A guard woke Timothy up from his sleep. The years of prison had not been so kind to Timothy. Timothy got up and looked around trying to remember what part of the jail he was in this week. Timothy felt the hard slab of the “bunk bed.” Once again, just a week ago, he had been transferred. He wasn’t sure why it was this time, was it because he scared his last roommate away with his night terrors? Or perhaps he dropped his guard and his cellmate saw something that would forever haunt him?

It had happened so many times that he couldn’t keep up anymore.

He was alone in this dank cell, he remembered how the last one used to have a window so he could see the sun and on the rare occasion the moon. But that was not the case now. He was back to the darkest depths of the prison.

Timothy stood about 6 feet tall, since entering jail, he had grown to about 185 pounds of healthy and fit muscle. His hair, was originally a dirty blond but as he got older it became a brown, then it strangely became a jet black. The superstitious and weak in prison all have theories about “how his hair turned black” but none of it is true. His eyes were a green and his skin color was kinda tan but for the most part white.

He looked nothing like his sister.

“What time is it?” Timothy asked the guard.

Two more guards came to the front of the cell, they looked like they were prepped for a fight. In the time Timothy had been in this particular jail. He only had the misfortune of guard brutality twice. Both times he felt it was completely uneccesary but he didn’t let that give him fear.

“You have an appointment, some cop wants to see you.” The guard talking quickly looked to the other guards and they instantly began chatting among themselves, confusion rather to Timothy but he did not want to pay it any attention. He just instead let himself have a smile that betrayed himself for the briefest of moments.

Supressing it, he got up, and put his hands out for the cuffs, knowing the process a little too well. “Is it that time of the week already guys?” He let out a slight chuckle. Before the gate opened, one of the guards moved back, and tried to second guess himself.

“Let me guess,” Timothy went on, “New guy?”

“We have a pool betting how long he will last. Im betting he quits before the week is out.”

The gate swung open. Timothy put his head down, a sign of submission and let them cuff him. He counted just how quickly they slapped on the cuffs and prepared him. Every time he seems to scare off another roommate, their effective time seems to increase just a little bit. “Hey new guy, don’t let them scare you.” Timothy then smiled at the guard.

The new guard jumped back and almost wanted to fall on his butt, but the physics and placement of a wall seemed to stop the pushing downward momentum of gravity. The guard then mumbled and came out with a threat, “Nnn..nnn..no talking prisoner!” He then waved a nightstick in Timothy’s face. Timothy was not amused.

Timothy smiled and said, “Well Chris, I have a feeling today will be a good day for you.”

The guard went wide, “How did you know my name?” He went and checked himself and no, there was no name tag. Another guard, a veteran of this place, perhaps too old for the job simply came in and tapped Chris on the shoulder.

“It is okay Stevens. Mr. Spalding none of your mentalism please. He just…”

“His wife is in labor yes. I know.” Timothy said, he then continued, “I told you today would be a good day.”

Arnie Nickolson, the veteran, gave Timothy Spalding a look and Timothy at once understood. Arnie then pointed for them to lead Timothy out. The guards flanking The Monster did just that. As Chris stood by and Timothy passed him, Timothy reassured him, “I heard the gossip, don’t be scared.”

The steps were loud as the group turned the corner onto the catwalks. Chris instantly chased after them, “Do you think it’s a boy!?” He felt the sudden urge to ask and was shocked. He then stopped as he realized they were too far ahead. No, he told himself, there is no one he can just know that. Sure, the prisoner must have heard word through the grape vine. As Chris welcomed this hope of the natural elements versus the supernatural, he whistled as he walked away.

Meanwhile, Detective “Lamont” was pulling up in his car. He let his partner Detective Todd pick the music over the dispatch. The mission was said to be off the grid so any calls they may receive at this moment would be a waiste…and they were off the clock. Todd picked the weirdest thing in the world; a bunch of screaming banshees and heavy guitar beats that seemed to lack rhyme or reason, let alone rhythm. Jules, the man underneath the Lamont disguise could not hide his disinterest in the groups of this custom playlist.

“Don’t tell the boys, but most this stuff is pirated.” Todd then laughed. Jules nudges him and returned with, “I do that more than you know.” It was then quickly agreed that this private info stayed between them.

It all sounded the same to Jules, the screaming, there were two different types of it, but he couldn’t place the why to this particular song. In all his times riding with Todd which seemed to happen a lot less lately, but in the past quite frequent, he never got used to his taste in music. It made him question just under what bridge they were friends?

“I could fall asleep to this stuff, it relaxes me.”

Jules couldn’t keep it anymore, “What the f**k?” He gave a glaring look at the man who seemed to have been drifting to another dimension, one brought on by a nice soothing sound of cool jazz or by classical music. He wanted to slam his own head against the wheel and felt maybe, if he tried hard enough he could understand.

In the madness of his obsessive brain, he decided to change the channel the best way he knew how. Jules focuses a bit of himself and sent a mild wave of electric impulses towards the radio.

Isntantly the sound system sounded like it was trying to tune into a signal on the non existant radio and Detective Todd shot strait up. “Whats going on!?”

Jules looked around and saw the gate open to the second wall of defense in the prison. “It looks like they jam um…radio signals here.” He tried to put on a smile realizing his rationalization was weak. Detective Todd rolled down the window and looked outside, perhaps for an antanea.

“Is that possible?”

And this guy is a detective!? Jules chuckled. He patted his partner on the shoulder as if to apologize for his non outburst.

Two heavily armed guards came up to the vehicle. Jules spotted their weaponry easily. He however was well familiar with this process but saw that Todd was not. Todd was like a child. Ever since he was a kid Todd was absolutely fascinated with guns, perhaps for the wrong reasons but fortunately for the world, he was a good kid with not an antisocial gene in his body.

“You are the two detectives?”  One of the armed guards asked. The other took a brief look at Jules, “Hey do I know you? You look familiar!”

Jules came almost once a week, this time coming as a different personality was a bit unique for him, also coming with a guest was equally unique. In fact, he never had brought Detective Todd to the prison, however his partner has massively insisted that he tag along.

“This isn’t my first time,” Jules said, telling the truth, just warping it to his business for today.

“So I hear you come to see the ‘you know what’?”

Detective Todd reached out and flashed his badge, so he could talk without the gaurds getting too excited, “So yeah, I heard some chatter about Timothy Spalding. However I can’t really get much out of him from the police databanks.”

The first guard put his hat down, and wiped the sweat from his head, “Yeah that Spalding guy, he don’t talk too much about himself but from time to time, he gets guests.”

Jules interrupted, “I heard the horror tales, ladies, lets not gossip about a man. I am here on official business, we made clearance with the first gate, am I allowed in?”

The second guard walked to his station and began to scan the car with the new PROSAFE system that was installed a month ago.

“We are picking up some slight electric disturbance…”

Jules chided himself for playing his needless game with the sound system.

The guard went on, “I can’t understand it, but I am not picking up anything else.”

Jules dug deep down, “Can you come here officer?” The officer came up, bored, hating his day to day routine. Jules then looked him in the eye. He focused on the refection, as if trying to see into his soul. The victim looked instantly uncomfortable and Jules picked up on this, so he just did a nice calm smile. The guard slowed down, and despite his initial instinct to break eye contact, he was glued to Jules’ eyes. “It is okay.” Jules then nodded.

The guard shook it off, “Yeah your right, a little static never hurt anybody. Plus you been here before. Okay, procede up to the West block, you will have an escort meet you to take you inside.”

“Thank you. You are a credit, hopefully you will get a raise for doing your duty so vigilant.” The guard perked up and seemed lost in thought at the hope of a pay raise. Detective Todd just looked shocked, almost wanting to ask “Detective Lamont” what the hell just happened.

 

Timothy and Jules were the first two real friends of the group. They thought their special friendship would make them inseperable, but now there lie in between them, a giant sheet of bullet proof glass.

“You usually bring friends on our visits?” Timothy asked with a smile.

Jules essentially broke character of his Lamont image and just sat down, cocked his head, and went to casual speaking. “I am here on business today.” Jules began to look at Timothy’s eyes, trying to ascertain what he could figure out what he already knew. Timothy, ever since becoming one of the worlds scariest convicts, had gained perhaps one of the most lethal poker faces known to man. After a second of analyzing the face, Jules began to laugh knowing that it was dilibrate on his end. Jules continued, “Come on, tell me what you know.”

A second passed and as if contemplating, and giving in, Timothy’s shoulders went lax, but then, in a sense of tragedy, his head knelt down. “So, its true then. The Warlock, he killed her right?”

Jules got up for a second, “So you know it’s a warlock!?”

“I sense his presence the night before the murder. Dark intent, it was growing. I didn’t know who he was after though. I for a moment thought of contacting…” Timothy then looked and saw that there was a civilian, in this case a detective Todd present and shifted his wording, “Other people. But, I, this being, is a sick individual. He is weak now, that is what you want to know, but his strength comes from his love of the Dark.”

Detective Todd seemed to hear every other word, as if the conversation for the most part was being masked by the two having it. But he got up and asked, “What do you mean by the Dark?”

Timothy looked at Todd’s eyes. Todd didn’t budge. “Kindness…I see,” Timothy had gained what he needed to know. “The two of you trust each other very much. That is sad if it wasn’t so heroic. Jules, Detective Lamont I mean. I would like to see the photos of the crime scene if I may.”

There was a look between the two, after the nod, Detective Todd placed photo’s of the crime scene.

“My partner says you know all about the strange and bizzare going ons, he told me not to question how you know. But you are right, I trust him. If he tells me to trust your opinion...”

A tear ran down Timothy’s eye.

“Look familiar friend?” Jules leaned in like a predator, trying to read even the smallest detail he can get.

“I don’t know her.”

Detective Todd just blurted out the words, “That’s a lie.”

There was silence. Jules found his eyebrows condensing towards his nose, and a strange sense of amazement followed. The non-magical detective in just one moment, cracked through the countries best kept secrets. Jules saw the impact of the sentence. Not a sentence, a mere statement; as factual as they sky is blue and that night follows day.

“Very well Detective Todd, I know of Lindsey Garner. Her family had, during times past, paid for renovations in the jail. We all know of her. That and her slutacious history, its hard not to hear the name. I swear, I think she pays people to force her name into our lives.”

Jules felt the conversation was getting nowhere in its current course. “Okay, rather then tell me about the girl, tell me about what you see in the picture.”

There was an ackward pause. As the pause hung in the air, a voice whispered, “Are you ready?” Jules responded by nodding his head. He looked into the eyes of Timothy, who equally understood. He too nodded his head as a confirmation. “Very well then” Timothy unsaid.

What Detective Todd witnessed after this was merely an act, a play performed for his benefit. The physical bodies of Detective Lamont and the convicted murderer Timothy were having a quite normal conversation, almost of nothing really of note.

What really was going on was Jules and Timothy spirited their souls away to an ethereal plane, one of a co-creation. It existed as much as it didn’t exist. As Timothy sat down in the center, he began constructing the world as he saw from the photos.

“Tell me how I am doing Jules.”

A bed appeared. A roof started to form over their heads. A series of bedroom rugs was being fiddled with.

“No playing around,” Jules chided.

Timothy rolled his eyes, “I guess this is a very serious issue.”

“We are dealing with a warlock, of course it’s very serious!”

Timothy, with a look of evil stopped and stared into Jule’s soul. “That’s right, the last one almost killed you. How easy it is to forget. You know, if you spend your life fighting Warlocks and Witches, sooner or later, one of them is going to win.”

Jules took in a breath and asked more frank than he thought he could, “Is that what you see?”

“You put too much faith in my ability to see. Infact, you my friend are near a cross road, what lies beyond is black because…you have a choice to make and not one choice, up, down, or the status quo has a set path before it. Is this what you want to know? Or would you like me to tell you what I know about this crime?”

Jules snapped his fingers and the rug became the proper color with the proper smears of blood, “Tintin, I don’t have time.”

Timothy grew a childish smile and looked up, basking in a brief moment of nastaglia. “Really, Tintin?”

He moved to the nonchair and sat down on it. Jules took a breath, and the room became still. Breathe in, breathe out. He wanted to make sure he was in his right mind.

“I will tell you everything. On one condition.”

“Anything.”

“You listen to what I have to say, even when you don’t want to hear it.”

Oh God! Not one of these! Jules realized that sometimes ignorance is bliss and he knew that whatever Timothy was to reveal, a little bit of his piece of mind was going to be stripped away. “Okay Timothy, just tell me…”

“You are scared. You are scared because of your apprentice. You have this giant fear that poor Lucy will get found out for what she is.”

He did not hold back. Jules wanted to puke. His friend had put pressure on a sensitive area and now that the cat was out of the bag…

“You are scared because you sense the changing of the wind, and inside you know that nothing stays the same. There is a Darkness in the Council and it is growing. It does not threaten to consume the Council as a whole, but one such person is set to become that what you fight against. I do not see who though, perhaps that relies on some level of choice on there part, but it will happen.”

Jules closed his eyes and thought of Carlos. He then instantly remembered Carlos as a kid, the hopeless romantic, a teen who was the rock of the group when they would go through crisis. No, it couldn’t be Carlos. Could it? He was power hungry sure! But that doesn’t mean, no. Carlos was and will be his friend no matter how much he can’t stand the a*****e.

Then her face came to his mind’s eye. No way. Lucy. Beautiful perfect Lucy. She smiled at him once and the world changed an entire axis. His perverted thoughts of the darkness consuming her caused a giant pain to run through his body.

“How do I stop this!?”

Timothy got up, put his hand on Jules’ shoulder. “Some things we can’t stop.”

“But!”

“I am not all knowing Jules! Just because I can see yin and yang, doesn’t mean I can stop Yin and yang. That’s the trade off. The Dark, the Light, by being part of it, I am inside. You Jules, will always be inside. It is only by the true middle path, the ability to step back does the world become clear, but Jules, the truth is, clarity is a lie. All vision is nothing but a set of patterns interpreted to the best our logical skills can deduce.”

“Does she live?” Pause. “D****t, Does Lucy Live!?”

“She wasn’t supposed to live the first time. You feel this giant burden that her life is yours to protect.”

“Please friend, just tell me…”

“I am telling you. Jules, its because you are one of the few people in this world that give a damn about me that I am telling you. Lucy will find her destiny, not one of her death, but that what she was born to be. How she deals with that, will determine on wether she lives or dies.”

“But…”

“Let me finish. God Jules, I swear, you never change. You always want this world to be your way, but you can’t have it your way! You of all people know that we as human beings are completely powerless!” Timothy was getting mad, this had started to degrade from prophecy to an argument of tough love.

“Okay, I will let you finish, but sheesh…”

“Jules, nothing stays the same. You need to decide what everything means to you and what you will do for it, because how everything goes from here, is on your crossroad. Jules. The warlock…”

He snapped forward, “Yes what about him!?”

“He knows you exist. He sensed your presence and he now knows about the council. You will meet each other sooner rather than later. However what I will say, as one who treads neither in the light or dark, please kill the b*****d. Do it for me.”

Author's Note

Meet the 800 pound gorrilla in the room. As this is the introduction to such an important character, I would love feedback and thoughts on how he is written and his nature.