Chapter 7 – Steps

“I don’t like this,” Callum said.

“Oh, come on, mister grumpypants,” Lucy said, checking herself over in the mirror again. “You don’t like anything.”

“I like you,” he replied, putting his arms around her and stilling her primping. Which was unlike her anyway, so she was likely almost as nervous as he was.

“Okay, point for you,” Lucy conceded. “But come on. How bad can it be?”

“I have literally not been in a room with another mage where it’s turned out well,” Callum said.

“Then this can be the first time,” Lucy said. “Besides, Chester and Lisa will be there.”

“A point,” Callum said, though he still didn’t like it. A risk was a risk, but there were some he had to take.

He opened a portal to Chester’s compound, where they had finally permanently stationed an anchor, and the two of them walked through. They were both dressed up for the meeting to some extent, with Lucy in her best dress and himself in a tailored suit, though he wasn’t sure it was entirely necessary. Archmage Wizzy apparently never dressed up more than jeans and a tee.

Still, he wanted to give a good impression and he hadn’t quite lost the reflexes he’d had back in his former life, where he had to meet customers face to face to get their business. He straightened his tie and glanced around by habit, though his senses already told him that none of the guests were there yet. There were, though, more shifters than usual, likely to escort the expected arrivals. Or just to keep an eye on them.

“Relax, Callum,” Alpha Chester said, offering him a hand. “Nobody is going to take the risk of provoking you, even if they were of a mind to.”

“I know, but it’s a habit by now.” Callum took the hand, which was human, as was Alpha Chester, at least for the moment, though if any defense was necessary he’d be seeing the war form. He still wasn’t sure exactly what the limits on changing forms were, but none of the shifters he’d seen had shown any trouble swapping from one to the other. They didn’t even tear their clothes, thanks to symbiote magic, so he tried not to worry about Chester’s combat readiness.

“Come on and have a seat,” Lisa invited, sweeping Lucy up into a hug before practically depositing her in one of the handmade overstuffed chairs that matched the big living room table, all of the furniture tastefully rustic in design. “I’m kind of surprised you’re first but it’s probably for the best.”

“Maybe they’re still not used to the teleports being down. Or mostly down, anyway,” Callum said, taking the seat next to Lucy. “But they can all fly so they can’t be that far behind.” Chester was about to reply when he cocked his head, then nodded.

“Speak of the devil,” he said. “Archmage Wizzy is just arriving.”

“Mm,” Callum said, straining his perceptions in that direction even though there was no need. Wizzy was obvious by the hard outline of his vis which, like Callum, was restricted to his body rather than shrouding him in a bubble. He approached on foot, in no hurry, and was passed through to the interior. It was only by dint of great exertion that Callum didn’t teleport himself and Lucy away, though he had the forms ready to go. Those were going to stay in place the whole time no matter what anyone said.

“Archmage Huitzilin,” a shifter announced as Wizzy finally entered the room and Callum saw him clearly for the first time. He was struck by how distinctly unhandsome Wizzy was, with a nose like a squashed pepper and a face like old leather, but at the same time he had a certain presence. The Archmage had a battered cowboy hat in one hand, tapping it against his knee as his eyes fixed on Callum.

“Young Wells,” he said by way of greeting. “And I assume the young miss Lucy.”

“Archmage Wizzy,” Callum replied, tamping down his worries to be polite. “Thank you for coming.” Then his eyes caught the slithering shadow coiled up behind Wizzy and he jumped to his feet. “I thought those couldn’t leave Mictlān,” he added flatly, a hair’s breadth away from triggering his teleport.

“They cannot,” Wizzy said calmly, ignoring Callum’s stance and sinking into another of the chairs. “One is in many ways part of Mictlān, so this shadow has not strayed beyond its bounds. Most are already aware of one’s shadow, but it is far too easy to forget that you have not had exposure to your peers.”

Callum scowled, but Chester nodded slightly. Callum wondered why he hadn’t been warned, but then, Wizzy was right. He had no context for what was usual and what was weird in supernatural society. Even with Lucy there, he hadn’t grown up in it or lived it. After a moment he sat back down, though he was if anything even more tense than before, on his last frayed nerve. Wizzy put his hat on the table and leaned back, at ease.

“Is there anything you wish to ask before the others arrive?” He inquired, his manner easy but his eyes sharp. Callum rubbed at the bridge of his nose, trying to focus his thoughts, and Lucy put a soothing hand on his arm. He reached over to squeeze her hand and looked at Wizzy.

“Here’s one. How do you defend yourself? All the mages I’ve seen have the bubbles that shield them, but you don’t.” Callum waved in Wizzy’s direction. “I don’t imagine that you’ve gone this long without someone trying to jump you.”

“Indeed not,” Wizzy said. “For those using the internal techniques, the defenses are internal as well. Our clay is more resilient when it comes to holding patterns of vis. There are still dangers, but we are not so vulnerable to our own magic.” He tapped his fingers on the arms of his chair. “However, one has never dealt with a spatial mage in that context. It is not clear exactly what form your defenses would take.”

“Ah,” Callum said, though he wasn’t exactly surprised. “Do you mean you have the full shield setup underneath your skin like with mages, or something else, if you don’t mind sharing?”

“Something else,” Wizzy said. “One’s blood is always under control. A relatively simple reinforcement makes everything under the skin stronger than steel. It is a benefit of those who use the method of the Ōlmēcatl. Though one admits that the complexity of the spellwork of other Archmages far exceeds what anything created in one’s own past, and once again, a spatial mage is outside the realm of familiarity.”

“Boo,” Lucy said. “I’d kind of hoped for something concrete. It’d help him relax.”

“Space is also different than any kind of matter,” Callum said thoughtfully. “You’re not manipulating something that’s there, you’re manipulating the there that the something is.” He made a face at his own twisted locution. “I’d really like to pick Duvall’s brain but there is no way that she’d help me.”

“One can provide some suggestions that translate between the intuitive internal methods and the complex external methods,” Wizzy said. “But it seems your approach is, taken in total, unprecedented.”

“Yeah, I’m not surprised,” Callum sighed.

“The other two are arriving,” Chester broke in, and Callum braced himself. A few moments later a pair of bubbles appeared on the edges of his perceptions, moving smoothly toward Chester’s compound. He hated that he couldn’t see inside them, though he presumed that Chester’s people had vouched for their identities. Neither of the bubbles was the diamond-hard sort that he’d seen from Archmages, so they probably were who they were supposed to be.

“Gayle and Glenda Hargrave,” one of Chester’s people announced as the pair were shown into the meeting room. Callum stood again, though this time out of politeness. Gayle was more or less as he remembered her, though she’d returned to her normal dress sense, which was rather like Lucy’s. Glenda was obviously her mother, with the same blond hair and blue eyes and a similar face, though she hardly looked any older. It was more the way she carried herself.

“Mister Wells,” Gayle said hesitantly.

“Gayle,” Callum said, trying to ignore the prickling on the back of his neck from being anywhere near a healer. “Mrs. Hargrave,” he said, nodding to the mother. He didn’t offer his hand, and neither did they. Mages didn’t do that anyway.

“Just Glenda, please,” Gayle’s mother said, expression neutral. “Our House is too large for me to be the Mrs. Hargrave.”

“Glenda, then,” Callum acquiesced. “Thank you for coming. I wasn’t sure you’d be interested in helping.”

“I’m a mother myself,” Glenda said, looking over to Lucy. “I have a certain sympathy.”

“Please, have a seat,” Chester said, taking initiative as host, and Gayle and Glenda settled down next to each other while Callum reclaimed his spot. They were widely spaced around the big coffee table, with Lucy and Callum on one side with Chester and Lisa, while the three visiting mages took up the other side.

“I just want to say,” Gayle spoke suddenly. “Thank you for helping Archmage Taisen. He said that he might have lost people if you hadn’t done everything you did.”

“I could hardly stand by,” Callum demurred. “Not if I was going to stand by my own beliefs.”

“Still, that is why we are here,” said Glenda. “It helps show you’re not some deranged murderer.”

“Hey!” Lucy protested. “He’s not deranged.”

“I notice you don’t contest the murderer part,” Glenda said.

“Considering who he’s killed I don’t think that counts either,” Lucy growled. Callum put a hand on her arm.

“We’re not here for an accounting of my actions. What I need is information.” Callum smiled somewhat bitterly. “Neither of us are part of mage society, but we need its expertise on how to deal with a magical child.” Gayle actually smiled. Glenda nodded and pursed her lips.

“Before we start, I would like to caution you that the issue of a mage and a…” Glenda paused a moment, clearly rephrasing what she was about to say. “The issue of a mage and a sensitive is not guaranteed to be a mage as well.”

“And that would simplify things, but from what Lucy tells me you can’t figure that out until after a couple years anyway, so we need to know what to do.” Callum suppressed a sigh. He felt like he was giving ground, even though they were just talking. “And if we do have a mage, I want to have avenues open for proper education.”

“What is Wizzy doing here, then?” Gayle asked.

Callum hated to give away any information about himself, but this was a matter of health. Not his health, but his child’s health and maybe even Lucy’s. So he had to let go of some of his secrets.

“I was never educated formally. I use Archmage Wizzy’s type of vis methods, which is why I do not have a bubble.” He waved a hand around himself. “We need to know every possibility, and have to choose what we actually teach our children.”

“Plus I got kinda cut off after they found out I was a dud,” Lucy said. “So I dunno what a mother needs to know about baby mages either.”

The ensuing discussion was a long one, and Callum took notes, filling page after page of a notebook. Lucy was recording it all anyway, but it was better to get down his thoughts and interpretations at the time. He didn’t really relax, but it didn’t seem like anyone was going to make any moves. Which was all to the good. If someone attacked Lucy things wouldn’t end without a lot of destruction.

He felt rather odd planning for things more than a few months or even years in advance. The past two years or so had been too hectic, and besides the supernatural world was hardly stable at the moment. Even if they accepted the tentative offer of House Hargrave tutors, by the time such teachers were needed House Hargrave might have changed its mind. Or lack the manpower to offer help.

“There is an issue I do wish to raise,” Glenda said, once the bulk of the questions had been answered.

“Hmm?” Callum put down the glass of water Lisa had provided and took firm mental hold of his threads again.

“House Hargrave has run into issues securing food and supplies in a timely manner,” Glenda said. Gayle glanced at her and nodded support. “We’ve been sourcing from the New York area, but with GAR so close by all the supernatural outlets have been essentially closed to us.

“There have also been some attempts to frame Archmage Taisen as being responsible,” Glenda added with a frown. “Puerile, but I suppose it should be suspected. Regardless, I would like to ask about getting some teleportation enchantments for the House. That will make it easier to source things from a less sensitive location.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“You haven’t been able to get any from the Guild of Enchanting?” Callum raised his eyebrows. “I’ve done at least fifteen for them at this point.”

“No…” Glenda said, eyeing him. “I didn’t realize you were working with the Guild of Enchanting.”

“It’s at a distance, but I am.” Callum frowned. “Maybe they’re using the teleports for themselves. I know it was only just recently that Duvall started restoring the network, but if you are asking me to make some for you, I absolutely can. If you can provide the enchanting material that’ll make things easier but I do have some already.”

“House Hargrave would prefer to commission it all from you, work and materials both,” Glenda said. “We would like to formally request three pairs of teleportation pads, in exchange for whatever resources we supply you for education and training.”

“In installments,” Callum said. Now that he and Lucy had raided cenotes once, they could do it again. It just took time. Besides which, actively trading with House Hargrave put them on friendly terms, even if he still wouldn’t trust them as far as he could throw them. “I’ll put one together after this meeting, and additional teleports at year intervals while you’re providing instruction, for as long as necessary.”

“That is acceptable,” Glenda said. “Provided the first year’s payment for ongoing support is this year.”

“Done,” Callum agreed. “What about you, Wizzy?”

“One has no need for additional teleportation,” Wizzy said calmly. “However, there may be some need for different spatial services in the future.”

“As long as it’s reasonable,” Callum said. “I’m not going to write a completely blank check.”

“Certainly not,” Wizzy replied.