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

Ch. 27 Independence-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.

“How can you help me with the goblins?” Daniel asked narrowing his eyes.

“Come to the library after you have finished your lessons,” Quip instructed. Without waiting for a response, he hopped off the bed and disappeared inside Daniel’s closet.

Daniel sighed, knowing there was no way to get any more information out of Quip now. In the ceiling of his closet was a small tunnel, one of many, which Quip used to get around the house and keep out of sight. He was probably halfway to the attic by now.

It was time to get back to Pearl. Tucking the book under his arm, he hurried back outside.  His parents were where he left them, heads bent, and talking quietly. Daniel scanned the skies as he cross the yard, but didn’t see Pearl anywhere.

Panic crept up his throat and constricted it painfully. Where was she? He kept his eyes skyward as he rushed over to his parents. Because he wasn’t really looking where he was going, he almost ran right into them. “Where is she?” he managed to choke out.

“She flew out over the trees,” his father answered gesturing toward the forest.

“You let her go out into the forest!” he yelled frantically. He treated them both with an accusatory stare. Shock flashed on their faces, followed immediately by reproach.

Daniel knew he had gone too far. Normally, he wouldn’t yell at his parents like that, but Pearl’s safety meant everything to him. He felt a profound and unconditional connection to her. He wasn’t really sure he understood it fully. Because of his father’s supernatural connection with animals, Daniel had had many different kinds of pets over the years, but he had never been this attached to any of them.

“It’s not safe out there,” he grumbled, averting his eyes.

His mother knelt down next to him, and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Daniel, Pearl is not a baby. She may be small, but she is fully capable of taking care of herself. Remember, she lived many long years before you were even born. From what I understand she was a powerful and well respected dragon of her time. She is actually your elder, and you need to respect her choices. I know you have a special bond, and that you are still getting used to that, but she has the right to her autonomy.”

At that Daniel furrowed his brow at her. He hated it when she used big, obscure words that she knew he didn’t understand, but she insisted that this was the only way he would learn. “I just mean that she is probably used to her independence and is entitled to it; she will need time to herself now and then.”

Daniel wanted to argue that he was only trying to keep her safe, but he knew that his mother was right. Instead he sighed, and mumbled, “Yeah, ok.” He scuffed his toe into the grass unhappily.

“You brought your mother’s spell book,” his father declared, changing the subject. “Have you looked through it yet?”

“No, not yet.”

“I need to help your mother for a bit,” Dez explained and Juniper gave him an incredulous look that said she really didn’t need help. “I want to help your mother,” he amended giving his wife a wink. Juniper’s face softened, and she stood up to bump her hip against his playfully.

“Take a few minutes to look it over, don’t rush it,” his mother instructed. “We’ll be back to help you experiment within the hour.” Hand in hand, they returned to the house.

Daniel took the spell book and climbed onto the short stone wall circling his mother’s flower garden. He sat down on the warm stones, and pressed his back against a turret in one of the corners so that he could face the forest.

Not that Daniel could enjoy it at this moment, but it was a beautiful day. The flowers in his mother’s garden were in full bloom and smelled wonderful. The southern summer was starting to set in, but it was still too early to be humid and sticky. It was getting hot, but there was a light breeze, and while it was also warm, it was still cooler than the summer air that wrapped around him like a warm glove. The slightly cool breeze brought the sweet smell of flowers to his nose and a refreshing chill to his sun kissed skin.

The sky was that clear blue that makes you feel like you can see for miles, and not a cloud in sight. Daniel was doing his best to peer through the miles in hopes he could spot Pearl, but no such luck. He had a bad feeling that Pearl had actually ventured down amongst the trees and was exploring the forest. He bore his gaze into the sea of green, wishing he had x-ray vision, or even better, that he could fly up above the trees and get a bird’s eye view.

While awaiting Pearl’s return, Daniel’s eye was drawn to the book he had placed in his lap. Although he was impatient for Pearl’s return, he couldn’t resist checking out a book chock full of magic spells. He hadn’t gotten a chance to look at it last night; he had fallen asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

The cover looked plain enough. The leather was black, and looked dull and worn. There was a plain white candle in the center with a luminous blue flame. The candle was burnt down to almost a nub. There was melted wax dripping down the remaining candle and gathered in a small pool underneath.

Because this was not his first experience with spell books, he was not surprised when the wax began sliding down the candle in tiny rivulets. Although, the way the wax was melting down the candle in slow fluid motions was mesmerizing, the flickering blue flame drew his eye. He was surprised to find that it wasn’t a flame at all, it was water. The water was in the shape of and acted like a flame; it swelled up from the wick and flickered upward catching the light and sparkling instead of glowing.

As Daniel watched, the water flame coalesced in a puddle that began to slide down the cover. Panicked, Daniel tried to counter the sliding by tilting the book the other way, but in his haste he tipped the book too far. To Daniel’s dismay the water swiftly slid off the book, and puddled onto his jeans before he could stop it.