Daniel's Early Days: A Young Wizard's Story

Ch. 23 Feel of Magic-Before Daniel became a powerful Mage, he was just a boy. Follow him from the beginning as he receives his powers, embarks on many adventures, and learns what true power really is.

Odd, he thought. Granted his grandmother could be a little secretive about her spells and she was most definitely blunt with her opinions, she had never been so abrupt with Daniel, almost rude even. He turned his head slightly to give Pearl a questioning look, but she lifted her wings in a gesture that resembled a shrug and Daniel took that to mean she didn’t know anything.

            Still a little stunned from his grandmother’s behavior, Daniel meandered into the kitchen. What could his grandmother be up to now? His first thought was that it had to do with Pearl. His grandmother had called up Pearl’s spirit to inhabit the small metallic dragon and be Daniel’s personal talisman as a surprise for his birthday. Maybe, there was something else she needed to add to the spell. However, it seemed odd that Pearl wouldn’t know about something that would concern her so intimately.

Nobody was in the kitchen, so Daniel helped himself to some cereal. A warm breeze wafted in through an open window filling the whole room with the sweet smell of lilacs. The intoxicating fragrance was basically lost on Daniel as he absently munched on his cereal. He was still mulling over his grandmother’s behavior when his mother came in from outside. She was carrying fresh mint from her garden, and smiled warmly at him when their eyes met.

            “Morning sweetie,” she called from the doorway. Whisking past Daniel with a quick kiss on top of his tousled curls, she proceeded to her cutting board humming happily.

            “What time is sunset?” Daniel asked.

            “Sunset,” she murmured distractedly. She ceased her humming, but continued chopping. “Around eight, I believe.”

            “What time exactly?” he pressed.

            This caused her to turn around, and give him her full attention. “Why?”

            “Grams wants to see me at sunset.”

            “Does she?” she mused. “Well, I am not sure, exactly. Your father would know,” she said thoughtfully.  She gave him a searching look. “Did she say why?”

            “Nope.”

            His mother stood there looking at him, but not really looking at him. Her eyes had that far away glazed look and her head was tilted slightly to the side. A strange look flashed across her face, but quickly vanished. “I’ll speak with her,” she finally said her eyes coming back into focus.  Without further explanation, she turned back to her chopping.

            Daniel finished his cereal and took his dishes to the sink. He paused at the sink and looked at his mother waiting to see if she would say anything more. She must have felt him waiting for her because she turned and gave him a small smile.

            “Do you have any plans for today?” she asked inquisitively.

            “Not exactly,” he admitted. “I thought I would check out the spell book you gave me.”

            “Would you like help?”

            “Sure, I don’t think I would understand much without a translator,” he admitted.

            “You might be surprised at how much you would understand. Go with your instincts; magic is all about feeling. If you feel it, it will come easily. Besides, it isn’t all in Latin. There are some notes in the margin written in English.” Daniel had only briefly flipped through the pages when she had given it to him last night, but he hadn’t noticed anything written in English.

            “Why don’t you take the book outside and look it over. That way Pearl can stretch her wings and you can feel it out. Let me know if there is anything in there that you would like to explore. Just don’t neglect your studies,” she admonished sternly. “I’ve written out your assignments.”

            Even though it was summer his mother was serious about learning. She kept the workload light during the summer months, but she only fully let up on holidays and weekends.

            “Ok,” he agreed. He knew better than to argue with her. She gave him a proud smile, before her expression became slack and her eyes glazed over again. Daniel wondered if she was about to have a vision before he heard his father come in through the screen door. His parents shared a look, and no one spoke for a moment.

            The moment was over before Daniel could decide if he should interrupt. Then, his father smile broadly at him, “Come outside Daniel. There is someone out there I think you will want to see.”