Adamagika: The Spirit Within - 17. Ch 17: A Promise to Keep

CHAPTER 17: A Promise to Keep

I waited in that cavern for the Seer to return. It soon became clear though that she wasn’t going to show herself again and that my meeting with her was done.

Everything she said confused me more than helped. As I made my way out of the massive crystal room, I pondered over the things that the Seer discussed. She certainly dropped a few bombs in such a short amount of time. Other than changing the very foundation of my beliefs in magic by saying all magic came from spirits, she has also given me the task of stopping the destruction of Arantiva.

What could a boy like me do about stopping a whole army of somethings, I don’t even know what.

And what’s with the weapon? Am I supposed to hide it? Or use it? This weapon sounded evil – a blade that cuts through the soul to make itself stronger. What would that do to me if I were to use it? Would the spirit in me even allow me to?

More questions came to mind as I neared the place where Magister Aenhol should be waiting. He said I should not tell anyone what the Seer told me. Does that include the knowledge of an impending attack on Arantiva? Certainly I could tell someone about that, right? Yes, I have to; the city must be given enough time to defend itself.

But who should I approach? How would anyone react if I told them about this? There was no one else really that I could tell that would take me seriously enough.

The walk back seemed excruciatingly long or it could have been that I was feeling restless over what happened. I felt this looming sense of urgency and helplessness at the same time. I understood then what Jacob was worried about and it absolutely infuriated me. At the same time, I began to wonder what he went through earlier. Would he speak to me about whatever the Seer told him? Was it possible that the Seer told him something similar to what she told me? Or maybe his future led to an entirely different path?

Something else bothered me in all this. We have all been told that the Seer would give us knowledge that would help us for the rest of our lives. But the information she gave me seemed to pertain to an event in the near future. The time period seemed too short to be the rest of my life.

And then I remembered the kiss – my first kiss. I placed my fingers to my lips trying to remember what it felt like just moments ago. I had no doubt in my mind that I had feelings for Jacob. That sense of closeness and familiarity that I developed since that first day still lingered within me whenever we were together. Now it seems there was something more and it took a kiss from an ancient being for me to realize that.

I chuckled at the thought of my first kiss coming from someone centuries old. It was only a short-lived chuckle though as I realized how creepy that realization was.

I began to wonder what I really felt about him. He had asked me how I felt about him before we left the castle. And back in the shower room he said he really liked me. I have not given it much thought honestly. Somehow, the idea of me liking Jacob would pop out of my thoughts quickly.

Admittedly, I had been afraid of it. Could I think of him more than a friend or was what I was feeling the consequence of circumstances?

I was afraid to go back. I wanted to stay there as though staying would mean not facing any of the problems that have developed in the last hour or so. My feet suddenly felt heavy.

It was inevitable though that I would eventually reach Magister Aenhol.

He was smiling when I saw him but something in my face must have disturbed him because he frowned. Our eyes met and before I could even say anything, he raised one hand as though to stop my progress. As such, I stopped in my tracks and watched him.

“I know,” he said softly. He gave me a soft smile. “Are you ready to go?”

What did he mean by that? He knows can mean any number of things. If he knew about the attack then he wouldn’t mind if I said it out loud. “Sir…” I began.

“Adam…” he said as though to stop whatever I was going to say. I didn’t give him a chance though. I had to make sure.

“… Arantiva is going to be attacked,” I finished.

The small smile he had once again turned into a frown. I knew he did not want me to tell even him about anything the Seer said but that information was too important to keep to myself.

“I told you, Adam, I know,” he said softly. I could hear disappointment in his voice.

“You know about it, sir?” I asked. I was both relieved and hurt by the tone of his voice.

“Yes, I’ve known about it for years. Long before you were born, in fact.” His voice sounded tired and for a moment I felt sympathetic to him. “As I told you before, you should not tell me or anyone what the Seer told you. I must admit, I am disappointed in your lack of resolve.”

“But sir, it’s a threat to Arantiva, my home, our home. How could I keep that to myself?”

“You are perhaps too young to understand the complications that may arise from knowing the future of others. In truth, you can share the information you learned from the Seer but the fact of the matter is you must take caution in what information you share and with whom. You’ve had an hour to interpret what the Seer said. Do you think that is enough time to analyze the situation and decide on the best course of action? As someone who spent so much time reading books and writing excellent papers, don’t you think it would be wiser to perhaps ponder on the situation first and maybe even do additional research by yourself?”

“That makes sense, I guess,” I admitted half-heartedly.

“It does make sense, Adam. I do not instruct you to do certain things without sufficient reason. What I tell you is always for your own good. I do after all have several decades of experience more than you. One would think that was enough to follow my advice.”

It didn’t sound like it but somehow I felt as though I was just given a reprimand. That made me feel sad and I wondered if maybe what I did wasn’t the best thing to do.

“I’m sorry, sir. It won’t happen again. I was just afraid of what will happen.”

“That is perfectly understandable, Adam. I would even commend you for taking the safety of our city so seriously. You just have to be more careful, Adam. Imagine for instance that I did not know that the city is in danger. What if you told me about it then I decide to flee the city and I forced you to come with me because I do not want anything terrible to happen to you? And what if you were supposed to do something that could ultimately make the difference between victory and defeat but then you weren’t there to do it because I brought you away against your will?”

“How do you know that’s not what we’re supposed to do?” I asked uncertainly.

He looked at me and raised an eyebrow. I felt like I had asked something wrong just like I did when I spoke earlier to the Seer. Fortunately though, Magister Aenhol did not have large red feathers on his head that shimmered to reflect his mood. “Well, I suppose that is possible,” he said slowly as though doubting it very much, “but do you honestly believe that the Seer told you what she did so that you could run away?”

I thought about that for awhile. “No, I don’t think so. I think she told me because I’m supposed to do something about it.”

Magister Aenhol nodded and for a moment I thought his eyes flashed an unusual light. It must have been the phosphorescent blue of the walls reflecting on them.

“I think so too,” he said. “Now that you know that, do your research and understand it more. Find out what you can without giving away the knowledge you hold. It is difficult to determine who to trust and if your enemies discover what you know or are up to, the cost could be dire.”

I nodded. “Ok sir, I think I understand it better now. I’ll be more careful in the future.”

“Good,” he said and then walked towards me. He placed both his hands on my shoulders. At this close distance, I was forced to tilt my eyes up to meet his. I looked into his eyes and I saw deep sorrow within them which made me frown. “Make no mistake, Adam,” he said softly. His voice cracked a bit. “If I had a choice to take you away from all the terrible things that would happen, I would. I would whisk you away from Arantiva or I wouldn’t have brought you there at all, all those years ago. But I know better or at least I should. If I could take away this burden, I would. But, your future lies in Arantiva. And so I have done what I can to care for you and to treat you like a son to me.”

It was then that I remembered what Jacob had told me about his vision. Magister Aenhol was with my mother when she gave me away. My heart suddenly skipped a beat. Is it possible that he’s…

“I am not your father, Adam,” he said as though reading my thoughts. A tear made its way down his cheeks. I realized then that my own cheeks were wet. “But it is not possible for me to be any prouder of the person you are becoming, even if I was.”

That was all I could take. I threw my arms around him and hugged him tightly. He reciprocated with his own hug and I could feel the emotions rolling off us. I began to sob in earnest against his robe. He said nothing more and just kept me there like a child seeking comfort from his parent.

I realized that was exactly what I was doing.

It must have been a few minutes before we broke apart. By then, both our eyes were sufficiently red and swollen. I was suddenly glad that the cave entrance was a good thirty minutes away.

“Sir,” I said as I began straightening my clothes, “I don’t suppose now is a good time for you to tell me about my mother.”

“I’m afraid you are right about that. Now is not the time,” he said solemnly as we made our way back to the cave entrance.

“But you will tell me, right sir?”

“Yes, Adam, I promise to tell you when the right time comes.”

“I can’t believe I forgot to ask the Seer about her,” I said sadly.

Magister Aenhol chuckled. “The Seer does tend to control the flow of the conversation. However, even if you did remember to ask, I doubt she would have been able to help you much.”

“Why not?” I asked curiously. He gave me one of those looks. “Okay, okay, I’ll know in due time,” I said with a sigh. “You know this whole secrecy thing is torture, right?”

He chuckled and looked at me with mischievous eyes. “Yes, I do.”

I sighed again knowing that it was the end of that conversation. I realized that kind of thing happened one too many times for my liking.

* * * * * * * * * *

By the time Magister Aenhol and I got to the entrance, the sun was already making its exit from the sky. It could not have be more than two hours before sundown. This surprised me somewhat because it meant that it took several hours for each person to finish. I hadn’t realized it while it was my turn and possibly the wait I endured during Jacob’s turn was severely shortened by sleep. It would be Javier’s turn next and it would be dark before he rejoined us.

I thought about Jacob and Javier waiting for us. I began to wonder how well they interacted while waiting for us. I imagined that they would have been having fun together, probably mucking around in the pond or even lying down in the grass talking.

What I did not expect were two isolated boys thoroughly ignoring one another. They were looking in opposite directions and consequently did not notice that Magister Aenhol and I arrived.

My teacher and I shared a look with one another. From his expression, it was clear that he had expected better. He cleared his throat which made Jacob and Javier looked towards us.

They both had expectant faces that looked very pleased that we had returned. They both made their way towards us and walked swiftly as though trying to outrun each other. Javier reached us first.

“Hey Adam, how was it?” Javier asked me. Jacob looked over at him with a scowl as though offended that Javier had spoken first.

“It was okay,” I said. In fact, it was not okay but I had already decided on the way back not to speak about it unless absolutely necessary. This wasn’t one of those times. I looked from one boy to the next. They were staring at me and seemed to be pretending that the boy beside them didn’t exist.

“So… are you ready to go, Javier?” Magister Aenhol finally asked when the silence had stretched awkwardly.

“Yes, sir,” Javier said. I had to give him credit for his upbeat attitude. Something clearly happened between him and Jacob but whatever it was, he wasn’t letting it affect him. I began to wonder if the cause of this apparent rift was Jacob. I looked over at him with a quizzical look and he only scowled at me.

Magister Aenhol gave us instructions to use magic to generate our own heat and light since there would be no doubt that it would be dark soon. He reminded us not to disturb the trees and only to remain in the grassy part of the little forest. Before leaving, he gave me a look that I took to mean speak with him. I nodded to him and he merely nodded to me as well.

Javier offered me a smile before he and Magister Aenhol disappeared into the darkness of the cave. I looked over at Jacob and he was watching them with a frown. I nudged him with an elbow and he looked over at me with a somewhat surprised look as though he only noticed now that I was there. I led him to the rug we used the night before to sleep on.

“You okay?” I asked him.

“Yeah,” he said then gave a huge sigh as though he was really exhausted. “How was your visit?”

“It was okay,” I said again then added with a smile, “too bad we can’t talk about it, right?”

Jacob’s frown seemed to deepen and I understood then that whatever was causing his seemingly foul mood somehow involved whatever the Seer said. Marcus suddenly came to mind and I was worried that Jacob would undergo a personality change like Marcus did. I began to like the Seer less and less.

“Adam, what if there was something important that I needed to tell you,” he said, “something the Seer said.”

I raised a hand to him in the same manner my teacher did earlier in order to stop Jacob from speaking. Then I remembered that it did not work effectively earlier when my teacher did it. I decided to take another approach.

I took Jacob in my arms. I hugged him tightly. At first, he was stiff. He almost seemed afraid. For some reason I could feel it in him. I wondered if that was something caused by the connection we shared or if I was just good at reading people like Magister Aenhol. It took a few moments for him to relax in my arms and when he did, I could hear him sobbing. It didn’t take long before he was shaking in my arms.

“Shh,” I said as I tried to calm him, “remember what Magister Aenhol said. We’re not supposed to share what we learned with others. Reflect on it first; give it time. If after you’ve done that and you still think you need to tell me, then do that. Just be sure first, okay?”

Jacob kept sobbing in my arms. I suddenly realized that it was a side of him that I have seen several times. When I first met him, he seemed like a tough warrior who could overwhelm his opponent with lightning fast reflexes and skills. He had a detached personality then. Now though, I was seeing a softer side of him – one that was emotional and vulnerable. It occurred to me that I was probably the only person in his life to have ever seen this side of him.

“Do you think she’s always right?” he asked a few minutes after his tears had subsided, “the Seer I mean. Do you think the things she says are inevitable?”

“I’m not sure, Jacob. But, she did tell me that there are some things we can’t change while others we are meant to. I’d like to think that means no, things are not inevitable. It’s possible that some things are too late to change by now but the further they are into the future, the more likely we are able to change them.”

Jacob sighed onto my chest. “I hope you’re right. I don’t want to lose you,” he said.

I stiffened. What did he say?

Jacob must have sensed that he said too much because he broke free from my arms. He looked at me and stared in disbelief. Worry was clear in his eyes.

“Adam,” he began, “I didn’t mean it that way.”

“What did you mean then?” I said. My voice sounded flat to my ears.

This time he placed both his hands on my cheeks and his face softened. His eyes though were still pools of worry and anxiety. “Do you love me, Adam?” I certainly did not expect that question. My face must have looked shocked because he suddenly chuckled. After a moment, he grew serious again. “Do you, Adam?”

Did I? For some reason the answer came easily. “Yes, Jacob. I do.”

He leaned forward with my face still in his palms. He closed his eyes and parted his lips. I closed my own eyes and felt my lips part. A second later, I felt the pressure of his lips on mine and I could feel electricity coursing through the points where they touched. This wasn’t the harmful type that Marcus once tried to bully me with. It felt good. There was a tingling on my lips that slowly spread throughout my face, down my body, and up my legs. Energy was flowing through me going into a Jacob and back as though we were sharing each other’s life force.

It took me a moment to realize that I was no longer seated. I was on my back with Jacob on top of me. We continued kissing one another. At times his tongue would reach out from him and find their way into me. In others, it was me doing it. It didn’t take long for either of us to get hard. Our erections were rubbing uncomfortably against one another through our clothes. I wondered if it would be better for us if we stripped but before I could do even more than ponder that thought, Jacob broke free from our kiss. He leaned down and placed the side of his face on my chest. I could feel every taut muscle of his body against my own even through our clothes. That fueled my imagination even more.

“That’s all I need to know” he said softly.

I wanted to ask him more about it. I wanted to know what he meant. What did losing me mean? It could mean losing me as a friend, as a lover, or even literally as in death. My senses felt like they were on alert as though this was something I needed to know. However, a rational part of me was saying that this knowledge was for Jacob to interpret.

I suddenly developed an even deeper appreciation towards my teacher. He was right as always.

I leaned my head forward and kissed him on the forehead. He released a deep contented sigh like a cat that has had a good nap. He snuggled closer to me as the air grew colder. I was surprised to see that the sun was beginning to set already. That means it must have been over an hour since Magister Aenhol left with Javier.

I could have happily lied down with Jacob all night with him in my arms. It felt odd being there with him. There seemed to be energy flowing between us and it was stronger wherever our skins touched. It flowed through his fingers as they went up and down my arm. They surged through the bare skin of our feet where they touched one another. They even made their way through his dark hair where they tickled my neck and cheek. I felt stronger and safer with him there with me.

Our meditation was interrupted though when Jacob’s stomach gave a rather unflattering growl. We were still in the aftermath of the sound as I felt a grin sneak its way to my lips. I was about to chuckle and tease him about it when my own stomach answered with its own growl.

We broke into hysterical laughter which was punctuated every now and then by a stomach crying in protest.

“I’m hungry,” he said. As though to prove his point, his statement was followed by another stomach growl. I was laughing the whole time I brought out food from my bag. We still had some bread and stuffing for it. The bread was starting to harden from the exposure to the air but that didn’t matter because we were so hungry. We ate most of our remaining food leaving only a modest amount for breakfast the next day. I presumed we would be heading out by then and we’d only need that meal to last us the trip home.

We cleaned up after we were done eating making sure the rug was free of any crumbs. We talked about random things like we usually did with one another back in the city. It seemed that by silent agreement, we had decided to stay away from topics regarding what the Seer had said. I was still curious about what he meant earlier but I knew better than to interpret it without having the full information. I also wouldn’t force that kind of information out of Jacob if he did not want to share it with me first.

There was one thing I wanted to ask him about and I figured it was a safe enough topic to discuss.

“How was your wait with Javier?”

He grew silent for awhile and I was worried he wouldn’t speak up. He did though.

“It was awkward,” he said.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

He paused again for awhile before answering. “Well, we didn’t exactly get along when you guys left.”

“I figured that out on my own, thanks,” I said with a cheeky smile. “What I’d like to know is why?”

“He’s a stuck up, remember? He feels so high and mighty like he’s better than the rest of us.”

“He didn’t seem like that when we were together,” I said. “We actually had fun while we waited for you.”

Jacob looked over at me and for a moment, hurt flashed across his eyes. I took his hand in mine and gave him a comforting smile. “Tell me, really. What’s wrong?”

Jacob looked away into the distance. I waited patiently for him to speak up. “I guess I was jealous,” he said finally.

“Jealous?” I laughed. When Jacob didn’t seem to find the situation as funny as I did, I stopped laughing and sat closer to him so that our shoulders touched. “Why would you be jealous?”

Jacob looked into my eyes and I tried to read what his were saying. I could see confusion in there and even more anxiety. I realized that the moment was important to him. “It’s about what I said earlier.”

“About losing me?” I offered. “Is that what you meant? You’re afraid you’ll lose me to someone else.”

Jacob looked away from me so that I couldn’t see his eyes. “Maybe,” he said softly.

I wrapped one arm around him and pulled him close to me so that our heads were leaning against each other. “You’ll never lose me. I promise,” I said and I really did mean it. “You’d have to try really hard to get rid of me.”

He chuckled lightly before turning my face towards his and planting a quick kiss on my lips. “So what were you two doing for fun?” he asked me. “You two looked like you were enjoying each other before we got here.”

I leered at him. “You sure you want to find out?”

Something in my face must have made him deeply curious because he suddenly started nodding like a happy puppy.

“Strip,” I said. Jacob’s eyes widened like saucers. I laughed at him before standing up and taking off my clothes one by one. He hesitated for a moment before copying me. It didn’t take long before we were both stark naked in the moonlight. Even in the dark, I could see the outlines of Jacob’s muscular form, no doubt the product of his life in the village. I felt envious and happy at the same time. Although I did not have a body as fine as his, I knew then that his body was one he would share with me.

Being naked then was a lot less comfortable than earlier with Javier because the night air was chilly in the mountain. Without the flickering balls of fire provided my Magister Aenhol the night before, the temperature seemed colder.

“What are we doing?” Jacob asked, his voice beginning to shake in the cold.

“We’re going to jump into the pond,” I said trying to keep the chills out of my own voice.

Jacob looked at me like I’d gone mad. “In this weather?” he asked. “The water must be freezing!”

Privately I agreed but it would not be good for either of us if we turned back now. This was something I needed to share with Jacob if I were to put his insecurities to rest. “Come on. It will be fun. I swear.”

I took his hand in my own and that seemed to be enough encouragement for him. He smiled and nodded. We braced ourselves and without saying it, we understood that we were going to jump in at the same time. If we were to suffer through piercing cold water, then we would suffer through it together.

With hands still held tightly to one another, we ran forward into the cold abyss that reflected the moonlight. We hit the water at the same time and we both submerged into its deep recesses. We both came up spluttering.

“Hey!” Jacob declared. “This isn’t cold at all!”

That was indeed the case. Unlike the air around the pond which seemed to have dropped into the uncomfortably cold zone, the pond was still quite warm. It actually felt better being in there than out.

“You’re right,” I said as I watched Jacob floating face up letting the warm water caress his skin. He had a calm, serene look on his face and I decided we could have none of that.

Using spells I had used earlier, I managed to toss wave after wave of water at him. At first, he was shocked out of his reverie as he was momentarily submerged by my waves. But, he caught on quickly and a wide smile made its way across his face.

“So, you think you’re the only one who can do that, huh?” He whisked his hand over his head and twirled his finger around. I immediately felt the water beneath me swirling as if they were thickening. I did not know what he was doing or even how he knew the kind of magic he was doing. However within moments, the water around me was thick like mud though it still looked very much like clean water. It was whirling me around like water being flushed down a tube. The water took on a different texture as it swirled around my body, massaging it. It was thick enough to massage a certain part of my anatomy that was steadily growing. My eyes bulges as I realized the effect the water had on me and the sensations it was causing around my crotch. It was uncomfortably pleasurable.

Jacob laughed as he seemed oblivious to the effect he was having underwater. I realized that I needed to stop him soon before I get too dizzy and puke or I get too stimulated and shoot.

I willed the water around Jacob to grow incredibly hot. I must have succeeded because Jacob was suddenly yelping and scurrying away from where he was laughing. The water around me turned more liquid and I was able to stabilize myself while Jacob was still swimming away. It was my turn to laugh.

We spent a good amount of time throwing spells at one another and getting each other submerged into water. Unlike my earlier roughhousing with Javier, Jacob and I would often initiate physical contact. Where magic spells would fail, we would resort to headlocks and sudden painful slaps on the back. Although I was slightly bigger than Jacob, he was much stronger. He got the best of me in nearly all of the physical encounters. There was one time though when I had his head wrapped around one arm. He pulled on a certain part of my flesh that caused me to yelp and immediately let go of him. I wondered if he purposely let me catch him in order to do that.

Neither of us was eager to leave the pond. Whichever part of our body was not immersed in the pond felt immediately cold. It was as though the water was enchanted to be warm. But as soon as it was pulled out of the pond area, it chilled immediately to the same temperature as the surrounding area.

After over an hour of enjoying the water, we admitted to each other that we needed to get out before we turned into prunes. As soon as we stepped out of the pond, there was a mad dash for fire and warmth spells as the double-crossing cold crept up our skin. After a few justifiable and well placed curse words, we were dressed and warmed by floating fires around us. It took us awhile but we managed to somewhat imitate the same flames Magister Aenhol generated yesterday. We needed to watch them though because unlike the ones yesterday, these would dip down an inch or two every few minutes.

We wondered if starting a fire in the grass counted as disturbing the trees. We both agreed though that it was best not to test that.

“Why do you think we’re not supposed to disturb the trees?” Jacob asked while we were both lying down on the rug looking up at the night sky. The balls of light around us gave a warm glow.

“I dunno. Maybe the Seer is a nature lover and she’d get angry if we destroyed her forest here.”

Jacob pondered that for a moment, “But why use the word disturb. Magister Aenhol makes them sound like they’re alive.”

“Well trees are alive,” I pointed out.

“You know what I mean,” he said with a small laugh.

The enchanted balls of fire around us flickered for a moment and I wondered if they needed reinforcing again. I was about to cup one in my hand when suddenly a fierce wind swept over us and they were all immediately extinguished. Jacob and I were plunged into the darkness with only the moonlight to provide light.

I laughed. “We suck at enchanted fires. They can’t even endure the wind.”

Jacob remained quiet. I looked over at him. His mouth was half open and he was looking at me. His eyes were filled with terror.

“Hey, Jacob, it’s okay,” I said as I grew worried. I took his hand in mine. They were cold and clammy. I sat up and looked at his face again and realized he wasn’t looking at me. He was looking past me at something behind me.

I turned around and felt the hairs on my skin stand on end. At the very edge of the small forest was a dead man seated on an equally dead horse.

He was slowly making his way towards us.