After their short rest Ty, Valentine, and Brenda were on their way to New York again each hoping that the rest of their journey would be easier, although they knew it would be unlikely to proceed as smoothly as they might wish. Thinking it only fair Ty told Brenda his and Valentines story starting with his birthday and divulging all the details as she asked for them. She conveyed many emotions listening to the story, even laughing when she heard about their supposed wedding, then expressing sad understanding for his pain in harming the homeless people for sustenance. They drove for roughly ten hours with quick stops for gas and restroom breaks before having to stop for nourishment. Valentine left Ty with Brenda in small little town somewhere in Nebraska while he hunted some of the abundant local livestock. While he was out Brenda and Ty went first to a dinner so she could get some food then to a bowling alley to kill some time while waiting for Ty’s turn to feed. After three rounds of bowling, in which Brenda was winning easily Valentine returned finding the two laughing and enjoying themselves and instructed Ty where to go to feed on the livestock. Valentine figured it would not hurt to have a little down time as well so he picked up where Ty left off bowling, and turned the tide with ease as his heighten vampire skills and experience drove him to score strike after strike as Brenda watched dumfounded and slightly annoyed hinting that he was cheating more than once before the game ended.
Now that they were all in a good mood and they all had fed, Valentine teased Ty about losing so badly to Brenda and her weaker mortality, and teased Brenda even more about the several gutter balls she launched in frustration to Valentines constant strikes. Each one of them was laughing at the other as they leisurely drove down the road listening to music that was playing softly in the background as they spoke in turn about their bowling experiences. Daytime came upon them hours later and they decided as a group to rest for the day and travel more once the sun had set once again.
Ty was not yet tired so he decided to go for a walk in the cool morning air before resting for the day, and though Brenda insistent on going with him he was alone when he noticed the dog staring at him intently several blocks away from the hotel as he was approaching the city’s small park not far from their current residence. The park was small by even his standards; not another single animal or person was around, as most small towns seemed to be this early in the morning it was dead silent except for the sounds of wild animals off in the distance. He was just wondering aloud to himself contemplating his feelings about Valentine, Brenda, as well as what he had become, when he saw the golden retriever staring at him with blue-green eyes. Ty patted his leg making whistling sounds with his lips in an attempt to call the dog over to him. At first it hesitated then slowly and cautiously the dog came up to him until it was only an arm length away, and when Ty hunched down then slowly got on his knees and put his hand out to the dog so it could come over and sniff it the dog became slightly more relaxed and went the rest of the distance sniffing Ty’s hand generously though never letting his eyes stray from Ty’s for more than a moment. The dog didn’t seem to know what to make of his scent but seemed content enough to let Ty pet him and lavish it with attention.
Before long Ty was petting the dog now strewn across his lap “I don’t know what’s wrong with me” he admitted to his new furry friend “One day I am just a normal boy with the occasional weirdness from my mother which is to be expected from someone who raises you out in the woods” he laughed and thought a moment about how strange it was to think of that as odd now “The next moment I am not only a vampire but a wizard vampire, and the only one as far as anybody knows of. What am I exactly?” now he was a bit agitated but still gently petting the dog on the head as it gazed up at him “For that matter who am I anymore, who have I become as a person? Why is it so easy to kill, to drain the life from people and animals alike? I know I consciously detest it” he paused gathering the words he wanted to say out loud “But I also crave blood, but hate to take it from a living creature. Killing things, taking lives for any reason seems so cruel, so wrong.” Shaking his head he waited a brief moment for the dog to readjust and become comfortable again “I agree with Valentine that this war needs to end but can I really have any effect on it? The war sounds like it has been going on forever, so how can someone just entering this crazy world hope to have any effect on it? Valentine…” again he trailed off not sure of what to say or feel “Now that’s a whole other can of worms in my personal opinion. I like him, hell I was even in love with his persona ‘Val’, but I am not sure about how I feel about him as a person now that I actually know him as a person. Do I love him like ‘Val’ or as Valentine, or do I just like him and see him as just a close friendship developing. To be honest I don’t think I like guys like that, but until recently I also didn’t believe in vampires or wizards except in online games and fantasy books. Brenda though, she is stunningly beautiful and very fun to be around. Yet again how do I sort out my feelings? I haven’t known her for long but I know I at least like her. My mom would say it was just hormones or something, but how am I to know if that’s the case or if I really do want to be with one of them?”
He scratched the dog behind the ear then stood up letting the dog slip gently to the ground “I doubt you understand what I am saying but at least I could talk to you, and it’s always good to have someone to listen to your problems even if they can’t give you some kind of feedback.” He patted it on the head one last time “Thanks buddy.” And with a quick glance into its eyes which seemed almost too smart for a dog Ty was now content about his feeling though still confused. He slowly walked back to the hotel not giving the dog another thought. If he had looked back for even a moment on his way back from the park he would have seen that there was no longer a dog in the park but a tall man with long brown hair in a ponytail and sad blue-green eyes dripping tears into a grey and strawberry blonde speckled beard watching him every step of the way as Ty left the park.
The next night Ty woke up with the urge to do some magical training before going back on the road, Valentine seeing this as a wise decision to advance their abilities agreed that they should both get some practice in and they were quickly out the door and in an abandoned field about a mile out of town. Just as it had done before the book hit the ground it disappeared and the Elemental appeared in its place.
“It is about time, do you not think?” it said in a dry monotone voice to Ty and Valentine alike.
“I am sorry, we were a bit preoccupied, but we are ready to learn what you have to teach now.” Ty apologized to the Elemental with great respect.
“Fine, but if I am going to hold lessons tonight,” it walked over to a nearby bush which immediately vanished and became Brenda “I might as well have a full class to teach.”
With a look like a deer in the headlights Brenda looked at Ty hoping to gain some pity for spying on her two friends “I am so sorry, I just wanted to see what you were up to. I wanted to understand what you meant by ‘lessons’ when you left, so I followed you and when you weren’t looking put on this disguise.”
Valentine shook his head and grinned as if not at all shocked at her appearance “Well hurry up and get over here and let’s see what you know so far Bre.” She smiled sheepishly when he called her Bre because it had become a nickname he had adopted for her since they had bowled together and become friendlier with one another.
Walking back to the spot where it had appeared the Elemental sized Brenda up “Well most of your power seems to have been taken away, and you’re not reproducing it very much like a normal witch or wizard should be.”
“That is because my stepfather drained my magic until it almost killed me, I don’t know why it has not been restored like magic is supposed to over time but using magic has become really painful even when using any of the simpler spells I know ever since Alucard drained me.” She explained not looking the Elemental in the eyes out of respect and shame.
Contemplating a moment the Elemental paced, then gently it walked over to Ty bringing h
er with it and grabbing his hand and Brenda’s the elemental pulled them closer together “Give her some of your magic young man, mine will turn her element into Wild because it is pure magic, and that would alter the balance of magic in the world. Which I am not going to do as a keeper of the world’s magic. Your magic should transform into the same element as her own once it joins with her magical core.”
Ty thought for a moment wile staring at the Elemental with concern he said “The word ‘should’ is not a very reassuring word in my opinion. What is the chance that something bad will happen if it does not work out like you say it will?”
Looking annoyed the Elemental retorted “There is a 99.386% chance it will work if you use me as a conduit for the magic’s transfer. I will pour it into her in a way that will allow it to combine with her own magic without burning her up from the inside out.”
Brenda’s look became more anxious as she saw a chance to regain her magic “So that last…” She calculated a moment “.724% would be the probability of it turning me into charcoal, correct?”
“It would actually be .614% chance of failure but otherwise your summation is correct,” it replied “but that is a very unlikely result as you can see I am a being made out of self aware magic which allows me to understand and control magic in a way no other can so I am the best choice when choosing to do something that would normally be this dangerous.”
Ty took her hand letting go of the elementals and looked into her eyes with a spark of fear and concern for his new friend “You don’t have to do this, and if you are afraid I won’t agree to do it either.”
She took her hand away from Ty slowly mentally noting how it was rough as if from hard work as well as gentle “I trust you, and I believe I can trust an elemental’s word as well, especially when it comes to something this important and complex in relation to magic and its understanding.”
Taking Brenda’s hand in one of its hands and Ty’s hand in the other the elemental explained to Ty his portion of the work “To make this end well you have to focus and push the magic through me in a steady and small stream, because if you transfer to much magic all at once it will kill her instead of reviving her own magic.” It then looked at Brenda “And you must focus a small opening from the point of contact with me to the source of your magic deep inside you. You must make sure you make it only big enough to allow the flow to get through or it will burn you from the inside out. You both must focus on what you are doing giving and taking in equal parts or this will not work, and one or both of you may die.”
Ty closed his eyes and immediately saw his well of magic, it was pulsating the same color of purple as his eyes, it went deep into his soul, and it had grown even larger since he first used it back when he and Valentine were in the forest outside the Coven. He took a few meditative breaths before mentally grabbing a strand of the magic and pulling it free of the hulking mass that was his magical well. As usual his direct metaphysical contact with the magic seemed to make his whole body vibrate, this time though since he was pulling out the raw substance it made his ears and mind buzz with its power and his whole body began to glow ominously with a feint purple aura. Using his magical senses he found the Elemental which he attached the magical energy to. Waiting for a signal Ty opened his eyes just long enough to see the Elemental nod its head in approval, then he closed his eyes and let lose the power he was holding back in wait.
While Ty was preparing his part of their task Brenda was preparing her own portion. She began as Ty had with finding her magical source, but unlike his hers was a thin weak line of light shooting up from her core, it faintly pulsated a blood red color which she knew was darker then how it looked when she was young. She had never seen anyone with this particular color of magic, but she found comfort in the little bit of warmth it shed. Steadying herself she took a hold of the whole pillar of blood red light and finding the Elemental she attached her core to it widening it just enough to allow the magic it would soon be sending to her to get through. Holding on to it to make sure it would not slip while it was being fed the magic she waited for it to begin, putting all her concentration into just holding her strand of magic in place.
When Ty let the magic loose the Elemental flared up brightly for a moment, then just as suddenly as it had flared up it became as it once was, except with a line of purple light coming from where it held Ty’s hand transitioning to crimson red in color where it held Brenda’s hand. As the magic hit her Brenda struggled at first, it was a little more then she had expected, but she adjusted her end widening the strand of magic to allow the new magic to flow into her without hurting her any further. She could feel her magic fighting to get away from this alien power, but she held her magic steady the whole time coaxing it gently to accept it. Suddenly she saw a bright glow from behind her and she took a moment of concentration away from her work to peek around her metaphysical shoulder. Where the weak small pillar of blood red light that she was now holding in her hands had once been, was now a large pulsating mammoth of a well brimming with magic with her old crimson red color, the flow stopped just then and she let go of the sliver of magic in her hands to watch it join with the new pillar. As soon as it made contact with the new pillar of magic there was a flash of purple and then crimson red blinding light and then all the purple was gone, completely replaced with her personal crimson red color.
She opened her eyes finally noticing that she had been holding them closed so tightly that they ached. Seeing Ty standing in front of her breathing heavy, sweating profusely when she realized she herself was doing the same. Brenda smiled then and hugged him and the Elemental in a single grasp “Thank you so much, both of you!”
Not quite sure what to do next the emotionless Elemental stood there as she was squeezing it close to herself and the young man, “You have a very rare magic, young lady.” It said as she finally let go of them both.
“I know,” she said mater-of-factly “I just do not know what the element is to be honest, and as far as I understand no one I have met so far does either.” She rambled out quickly in excitement.
The Elemental raised his hand to quite her for a moment while he spoke “I know what element it is and as I said it is very rare. It’s what we elementals call the element of flame. It is said that the element flame is actually stronger, older and more primal then the element of fire itself. Though you would think flame came from fire it is actually the other way around. It is a very rare and powerful gift. This would explain why your stepfather would try to drain you of your magic. Anyone with a mastery of this magic could become either a powerful ally or a devastating adversary.”
Exhausted Ty said “I think we have done enough training for one evening,” at this the Elemental began to speak but it was cut off by Ty’s voice “but we will see you tomorrow some time. We have some more ground to cover anyways; I do promise that we will practice tomorrow though.”
Not wanting to argue with the exhausted individual the Elemental faded away and Ty picked up the book as it reappeared and with Bre and Valentine just behind him headed back to their hotel room. After a quick shower, in which he had to wait his turn because Bre insisted on going first, they were on the highway and getting closer to New York with every minute and mile marker they passed.
Chapter: 9
Self control anyone?