Chapter 08 - The White Wolf

  My knees buckled and I stumbled back, causing me to land on my butt with a loud thud. There was pain from my landing but my mind was not worried about that at all right now. The wolf eyed me cautiously, tilting its head and giving a curious expression. Almost as if it understood that I was afraid and found my fear amusing. For a moment, we continued with our stare down, my breathing the only sound in the silent room.

  When the wolf finally lost its patience, it stretched and yawned, exposing sharp teeth. I gulped and tried to scamper further into the corner of the room, the door to my immediate left. I could reach for it and escape, all while locking the creature inside. But I didn't know just how strong this wolf was. I was quite sure it could somehow break through the door and chase after me, anyway. And then what? Would it then go after my parents, too? No. I should try and handle this myself and leave my parents out of it.

  I lifted my hands up in a defensive posture, getting ready to cast a barrier if needed. What would have normally taken me minutes of conjuring with sputtering words took little to no effort at all. A shimmering dome of silvery light surrounded me. The ease of casting the spell caught me off guard for a moment, but I didn't have time to admire the effects my focus benefits gave me. I looked straight back at the wolf, wondering just what his next move would be.

  It yawned once more and gave me what looked like an annoyed look. Are you done?

  I blinked. The voice matched the one I had heard earlier. My eyes flitted around the room, making sure it was just the two of us. When I could find no one else, I hesitated to reply. The wolf looked at me expectantly. "That voice. It's you?"

  No shit, sherlock. Of course it's me! You literally saw me manifest from a plush a second ago before going all melodramatic and falling back. God, it's like you're more of a coward than Benji is, Ky.

  I blinked again. Hard. "You... You know Benji?"

  He licked his lips.

  "Wait... you know Benji... and you know how much of a wuss he is..." I tried to think of all my pranks on my friends and how often Benji got scared. But none of those times involved a wolf. "How?"

  Because I'm a part of you. I can see the world either in this current form, or through your eyes. And I've been with you since you were born. You could say, I'm like your imaginary friend.

  An imaginary friend? Something that has been with me all my life? I tried to think on his words because nothing made sense. Especially since the wolf manifested from my plush and I rarely, if ever, brought him with me. Speaking of... I glanced toward the bed and saw that... yes the plush was gone. Meaning this wolf WAS that toy. But how? What could have...

  And then it clicked.

  "You're a mage familiar!"

  The wolf's eyes widened for a moment and I could see he stepped back. I couldn't interpret his emotions well - I mean he's a wolf and had a wolf face! - but in the back of my mind I felt a sense of disbelief. He took a moment to recompose himself, tilting his head and closing his eyes. As if he were in deep thought. After a few beats, he licked his lips again and reopened his eyes. And then literally walked through my barrier.

  Before I could even start to panic, he nuzzled up to one of my extended hands. His fur was soft, and through the touch I got a sense of calm. As if an empty part of me was becoming filled. Just like with the Moon Orb, I was once again awash in the feeling of coming home. And it was then I knew this wolf wouldn't hurt me at all.

  "How did you get through my barrier?"

  Because I'm your... familiar. Your defenses only protect you from things that WILL harm you. And since you subconsciously already knew I wasn't going to, it was easy to get through. But good job lifting the shield up. Did you see how quickly you did it? Even a pro mage would've struggled.

  I was dumbfounded by the praise. Outside of my mother and father, no one had really ever complimented me on my magic. That may be because I was always hiding it, or doing it from the shadows if I was pulling jokes. But this wolf, within moments, complimented me and my magic as if it was something worthy of attention.

  "Yeah," I finally said after shaking my head. "It was oddly easy. Almost as if it was automatic. I didn't have to concentrate or chant at all. I guess getting a magic focus does make things easy after all."

  That's right. Once you receive your blessing from the Moon, spells within your expertise become second nature.

  "I didn't think having a focus in the school of warding was that good. But if I can defend myself so quickly and easily..." My eyes shone as new ideas started to run through my mind. "I could be like the shield hero in that anime!"

  The wolf blinked. Anime? Shield Hero? Warding?

  "Yeah! Like how this character is criticized because he can only specialize in defensive skills. But toward the end of the series, he becomes almost op! I could be like that then!"

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  I swore he rolled his eyes, and then laid down next to me. Instinctively, I started to pet his fur. Yes. I suppose you could be like that. Even though it's only your first blessing.

  My hand stilled. I tried to replay what he said to me because it didn't make sense. Hell, a lot of what was going on didn't make sense! But a mage with more than one blessing? That was... "That's crazy. There are no mages with more than one focus!"

  There are.

  He said it so matter-of-factly that I had no idea how I could've tried to dispute him. A second focus? What nonsense was this! I couldn't recall any mages from the guild, from Mom's history lessons, or even from a few books I'd read having proficiencies in more than one school of magic.

  All mages were able to learn spells, yes. And after years of study, as well as years of expanding personal magic reserves, a mage could figuratively use magic from all schools. But none of them would be as easy or effortless as if you cast from your own focus. Honestly, if someone had asked me before, I wouldn't have been able to explain the difference. But after having cast the barrier earlier, I could understand why this is the case.

  Wait. I needed to go back to what the wolf claimed. If I had a second focus... That would completely change things. However, I was unsure if it would be for better or worse. On one hand, I would finally be noticed from the other mages and the guild. They'd no longer look at me as the leftovers of the family. And perhaps even then Mom and Dad would be accepted by them because I would want it to be so.

  And on the other hand, I knew that if I did have a second focus, it would mean a guarantee I would be sent to the Boston school for study in magecraft. There'd be no getting out of that. And more than likely I'd be used as some figurehead for the guild. The mage with two foci... I'd be nothing more than a puppet.

  There was a knock on the door and it swung open suddenly. I panicked as my mom came into view. "Ky, it's about time we... what are you doing on the floor?"

  In the span of one blink, the wolf was gone. At my feet was my white wolf plush, eyes back to their old beady and lifeless form. My gaze jumped from it and mom a few times before I finally gave her a sheepish shrug.

  She narrowed her eyes. "C'mon. We have to get to the banquet before your grandmother makes another scene."

  When she left, I looked back at my plush. For a moment I considered taking it with me.

  You don't need to take the plush with you. I'm with you always now.

  I bit my lip. "How are you not in the toy anymore? Do I still call you Bleddyn?"

  Yep. My name IS Bleddyn. You just knew that because of the familiar magic. And no. I'm not in the toy anymore. Like I said, I'm a part of you. So technically, I'm inside you.

  "Inside me?" I squirmed a bit.

  Whoa, dude. Don't make it weird. Not like that!

  I laughed and got up from the floor. Before I left, I placed the old toy back on the bed and rushed downstairs to meet my parents. Both of them were already waiting at the door, Mom with another of her wine coolers in hand. She wasn't going to last long at this rate.

  So, back to see the guild and that witch of a grandmother? Is any other of the family here?

  That answer I didn't know. During the walk toward the community barn I asked mom about it, but she said that, as far as she knew, only grandmother and grandfather were here and that my uncle and cousins stayed in Boston. It was all for the best, though. They were all the same as grandmother in their mindset, and my cousins being a bit older than me made them even more frustrating to be around.

  Outside of the barn, I saw a few of the kids that received a focus were showing off their new abilities. It wasn't hard to miss the crowd surrounding the smug pyromancer dude, who was easily conjuring up fire in both hands and juggling them. Cheers and words of admiration spilled out from other kids' mouths and their word-vomit somehow started to piss me off. And despite being quite a distance away, my ears were able to pick up the gist of their talk. About how they were jealous of his focus being with fire, an element often considered hard to use due to its chaotic nature. Pyro was delighting in the attention, saying how his goals of leading the guild defense force was all but sure now.

  Opposite of this group, on the other side of the pathway, were a set of tables where the mood was noticeably different. Lights were dimmer, and people sat sparsely in the picnic tables. A few kids were crying and their parents tried hard to comfort them. I noticed if I tried to focus toward them, I could clearly make out their hushed talk and discontent on how the Archmagus changed the rules so suddenly.

  The kids who were denied a focus, said Bleddyn in my mind.

  Looking around once more, yes. I recognized some of them now. My eyes focused, however, on a blonde girl sitting by the barn entrance. She was the one who kept chanting despite having fallen down in the circle. Her parents weren't there in the table with her. In fact, no other adults seemed to be near her at all. There was an eeriness in the way she stared blankly in the distance with folded hands. I couldn't read her expression, but I got a sense of resignation there. As if hope was taken from her.

  She suddenly turned her head my way, and quickly, I looked back toward the wide-open barn door. My eyes squinted when we entered, the light inside a sharp contrast to the outdoors, and the noise thundered around me. Pain shot through my ears and I covered them with both hands.

  "Ky? What's wrong?"

  I looked up at Dad. At his question, Mom turned and gave me a worried look. Neither of them seemed bothered by the sounds coming from inside the barn. Cautiously, I pulled my hands away from my ears. Somehow, the sound had muted itself. Looking around, all I saw were other kids and mages at tables, eating meals and sipping their drinks. No speakers or people shouting. Nothing here should have been that loud.

  "Ky?"

  "I'm good," I finally replied. "Just thought I heard something for a moment."

  Mom paused again and then placed a hand over my forehead. "Are you feeling ok? You're not feeling feverish suddenly, are you? This sometimes happens once a kid gets their focus."

  I waved her hand away. "I'm fine. Let's just get this meeting over with."

  "And where do we sit?" asked Dad. "Do your parents have a table set up or... oh."

  Mom and I looked at where my dad was pointing, toward the far table set over the stage. It had complete view of the entire barn, able to see everyone that was seated, walking around, or even leaving. Because up there was the head table, where each council family sat with the Archmagus.