Learning a New Life - 4. Chapter 4

"My glamour seems to be working for you."

 

"Yes, but you shouldn't mention such things out loud," the man chastised the teen in a soft voice as the pair walked down the street. "Humans don't know what that is, but they are curious types and might overhear you."

 

"But I am human."

 

"Yes, but you are a different sort of human. We've been over this, Michael. In my world, magic flows with us and through us. We can manipulate it as the humans can manipulate electricity, magnets, and gravity. Well, scratch the last one, gravity is beyond their grasp at the moment. Our biology is tied to it. Humans are different. Most lack the ability, much like some lack the ability of sight or sound. A few are different. You are one of the few."

 

Michael and the older man continued to walk down the street together. Though ancient by human standards, Michael had only had to enchant the elf's ears for the man to blend in and look like a healthy, young, adult male to everyone else. Michael was in awe of what he saw around him, for he had never been to a human town. For his entire thirteen years, he had lived in the forest and been raised with the elves therein. He had learned that his connection to magic was very different from the elves, but he had been told that when he came of age he would no longer be able to live with them, he would need to live with humans.

 

That was the purpose of their sojourn that day. The elf was familiar enough with human culture and civilization that he had volunteered to help Michael learn about it. After all, the elf had seen the town settled just over 130 years earlier and was among the few of his kind who had ventured into the city. Not having the same ways with magic as Michael, the elf was unable to disguise himself with a glamour, but he instead could simply wear a hat, if a bit unflattering. That may have been the easier way and would be less draining on his much younger companion, but he had been told by the boy's foster father he needed the practice.

 

"What are all these places, Tharon?"

 

"They are called 'stores,' and some are called 'restaurants.' Restaurants are where people can go to eat. Stores are where they buy things."

 

"'Buy things?' What do you mean?"

 

Tharon looked at Michael. Elves by their nature had hidden from humans, a racial drive with a cause long forgotten, and Tharon had not been very involved in Michael's rearing. Because of this, he had to still occasionally remind himself - such as this time - that Michael was a pure soul, unmarked by modern human society, and naïve of the basics he would need to survive in it one day. His job was to remedy that situation.

 

"Why don't you ask Corther? You have five more years to learn everything you need to know. For now, on your first trip, why don't you just concentrate on fitting in and observing and learning human behavior."

 

"Yes, Tharon," the boy replied, somewhat dejectedly.

 

* * * * *

 

Michael awoke from his dream - though more a memory than a dream - in the early morning with the sun. For the briefest of moments, he thought he was back in the Glen in Corther's house, but the trees on the walls looked different. «Wait, trees on the wall?» He then recognized where he was and remembered the events of the previous day. The other human he had seen at the Glen, warning his father of a premonition of an attack. His father incredulous but confident, but going to the library and retrieving the spell he had shown to Michael to prepare. The warlock stepping into the trap and transforming, and all that came afterwards. Michael was sitting up in bed as the memories came flooding back. No longer physically exhausted, he was still emotionally overwhelmed, and he wanted nothing more than to run through the forest as fast as he could, following the streams and diving into the water.

 

Instead, he rose as naked as he had gone to sleep and went into his bathroom and showered. With a towel in hand and drying his scraggly hair, he returned to his bedroom and looked at the small nightstand next to the bed with the thin chain attached to the large diamond.

 

Tharon had taught him many things over the five years they had journeyed together to human towns and cities. One of the most emphatic lessons was that the human world was dangerous and humans would literally and figuratively stab each other in the back. It was a concept foreign to Michael, for "crime" was simply not something elves did. Tharon had taken him to police stations, jails, and courts, putting fear into Michael's mind, and Michael had the sense to realize that a large diamond in a setting on a platinum chain would make a tempting target.

 

He sat softly down on the bed and reached a bare arm over to grab the pendant. He grasped the diamond and again quietly spoke the words to release the jinni from within. After he had materialized, he noticed the jinni staring at him. Michael blushed and threw the towel over his middle. Pretending as though nothing had happened, he asked, "Nate, I need some way to keep the necklace and diamond safe from all people other than me when it is not around my neck. How can this be done?"

 

As if reciting from a book - which he was actually doing though did not realize it - the jinni stated, "There are several ways this can be done. It could be made invisible, though people could still feel it and see it if covered with something. You could hide it in a pocket dimension, but the power to create that is beyond my ability at the moment. You could create an idiosyncratic bag that cannot be opened by any but your blood. --"

 

"That one, how do I do that?"

 

"The enchantment has not been used in hundreds of years and has been lost to most, but I can tell you the spell, and you will need your athame, your blood, and the vessel to enchant."

 

Michael stared. Blood magic was something forbidden by the elves. It was almost always used for evil purposes because its very nature bound the two together in a way usually reserved for imposing one's will. He was also mostly unpracticed in this particular kind of magic of spells and potions. Among humans, nearly all practitioners used it. Very few had the specific abilities he did - the elves referred to it as grounded rather than manipulative, and it was a closer kind to their own. He did not know the reason for it, but it made him feel special.

 

But, as he thought about it, he was not an elf, he needed to survive in this world, and he needed to protect himself and his belongings.

 

The jinni watched and knew when his master had reached his decision. He then added, "And Michael, you should be aware that at your current level, casting this spell will drain you almost completely."

 

Michael looked across to the jinni. "Tell me the spell."

 

* * * * *

 

A brief moment of pain accompanied the piercing of his finger with the small blade. He recited the words as he carried the drop of blood on the blade to the leather bag Nate had created. He could almost literally feel his energy being channeled through it into the sack, and the jinni actually could see it and was worried. As Michael said the final words of the incantation, he collapsed and was unconscious. Nate knew that his master would recover, but it would take some time, and he would be defenseless until then. He could also tell that the enchantment had been successful, that no one but Michael would be able to place into or remove from the bag any item. Nate also observed a thin, ruddy, glowing cord that snaked its way from the bag to his young master, and the jinni knew that others could not see it. Not needing sleep, Nate resolved to watch over the sleeping bare form of his master until he awoke.

 

Michael did not awake the rest of that day, nor most of the next. He rose slowly as the sun was setting and instantly felt a pain in his stomach. As he sat up, he saw Nate calmly sitting on the bed and watching him.

 

"Were you here the whole time?"

 

"Yes, Michael."

 

"How long?"

 

"A day and a half."

 

Michael looked to the jinni again more closely. Yes, he resembled the warlock from before. And Michael knew he could restore his memories that were locked away. But what he saw now was a man who seemed to care for him, and he was damn sexy, though Michael knew this was by the nature of the jinni having him as a master. "Thank you," he said quietly.

 

Nate's face lit up at the words and, had he been bolder, he would have hugged his young master. But that would not be proper - it was not the way of things.

 

"Nate, I'm hungry. We have any food around here?"

 

"No, Michael, but I can create anything you desire for food."

 

That caused him to pause. «Anything?» he thought. «Well of course, the thing's a jinni. This is going to take some getting used to.» He mentally chastised himself. On his many trips to the human world, he had had a chance to sample many different foods. While Tharon had detested most human food, Michael found the variety and new flavors and aromas thoroughly enjoyable. There was one thing in particular he had enjoyed ...

 

"Make me a pepperoni pizza. Lots of pepperoni."

 

* * * * *

 

Michael ate an entire pizza that normally would have served a family of four. He was unsurprised, for he hadn't eaten in two days and he was somewhat familiar with the effects of casting large, draining feats of magic; much like running a marathon, he would feel the effects for several days before he recovered fully. He stayed in the house for the next few days and fine-tuned the dining room, his bedroom, and he had Nate manifest furniture and an entertainment system for the living room. Nate had suggested that he create the same gaming system he had in his own world, and the two spent several hours afterwards jointly playing Super Mario World and then other team games. Michael ordered Nate not to use his powers to win, and Nate was compelled to obey.

 

Finally, after five days in the house, Michael was bored. He needed companionship, he wanted to explore the city, and his hand was getting raw. In the Glen, he had had several friends with whom he had had fun with, but that was gone from him now.

 

He had the sense to realize that the clothes he had worn before would not fit in with the humans outside his house. And as well as he felt now physically, he knew that he still lacked the magical energy to use his glamor for very long.

 

From being in the house for just a few days, somehow mail service had already begun, and among the catalogs that had arrived were clothing ones. He browsed through several of them and every time he pointed, Nate would create the clothing for him and so his closet began to fill with the styles of the day. Michael preferred loose fits because that was what he was used to, and Nate obliged. When he had some 'semblance of a wardrobe, Michael was ready to go out. He dressed in jeans and a deep V-neck t-shirt that displayed his smooth chest, and he kept the necklace on inside the shirt so all people could see was the silvery chain.

 

"Nate, I want to go out to a club. You know, where there are other guys. Lots of guys."

 

"Michael, there is such a place about two kilometers from here." The jinni proceeded to tell Michael how to get there and, it being a nice night, he opted to walk after pressing his pendant to restore Nate to his little world. Nate was a little surprised, for he had hoped Michael had meant they would go together, but he reminded himself he was a servant and he was not to question his master.

 

Michael proceeded to the club and easily made it past the bouncer after showing the ID he had made for the bank a few days before. This was a new experience for Michael, and he gaped in the entrance way at the scene before him until someone behind who was trying to enter bumped him, knocking Michael from his admiration.

 

"Excuse me! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bump into you!" a woman exclaimed, having to raise her voice to be heard above the techno music.

 

Michael quickly recovered and looked towards the middle-aged woman with mouse-brown, wavy hair. "Okay, I was just getting in ..." he replied as he started to walk away from her and towards the bar. «What's a woman doing here?» he thought.

 

As if to answer his unspoken question, the woman called after him, "Great! I'm just here looking after some friends!"

 

Michael had never imbibed alcohol, it was something that the elves did not do, but he had of course learned about it on his trips with Tharon. He didn't really know what to ask for, but since there was someone in front of him, he simply asked the bartender for what he had had. Michael paid for his drink with more of the money that Nate had created and turned around from the bar to sit on a stool towards the end, his body turned towards the dance floor to watch the undulating bodies.

 

His first drink of what the bartender had repeated to him was a "double-shot of Bacardi" burned his throat and made his eyes water. He fought to keep from coughing and then to keep the drink down. He looked disgustedly at the glass and put it down on the counter behind him, turning back to the crowd and watching, not understanding why people drank this stuff. Before much time had passed, he realized that he felt a warm sensation spreading through his body. And he felt warm and pleasant. «Okay, so this is why people drink,» he thought, nodding to himself. He turned back around and ordered another.

 

When he had finished the second drink, Michael made his way to the dance floor, and he began to copy the moves he had been watching for the past while. A young man of his body type was quick to draw attention, and before Michael really knew what was happening, he was walking through the door of his home with another man who faintly reminded him of one of his previous companions, just without the ears. They both walked through the house, the one following Michael to the bedroom, stripping off clothes as they went. The man's eyes widened when he saw the stone on Michael's chest, and somewhat bashfully, Michael removed it from around his neck and placed the necklace into the bag by his bedside.

 

With everything off, the man wasted no time flipping Michael over. With a little preparation, he slid in and Michael experienced his first time with a human.

 

Before long, the man had climaxed and collapsed down onto him, while Michael had already shot and started to relax and fall asleep with the man on top of him. A few minutes later, the man gently pulled out, and he looked around at the spartan bedroom. He grabbed the leather bag Michael had placed the pendant in, dashed out of the house, got in his car, and drove off into the night.