Modern Mage – Chapter 8

Introduction:
Another chapter for those who have been following the story. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Many of you may be angry with me for how the chapter ends but it’s the right choice for the story as it unfolds. Like i said I’m letting the story unfold at it’s own pace as it comes to me and not forcing it in order to keep the quality of the tale and writing up. If you like the story or not, let me know. Leave a comment at the end, or if you want to send a PM to me, my forum name is the same as my author name. I appreciate the feedback I’ve gotten so far and continue to read any I get. While I may not always agree with what someone says I do consider it before making my decision.
After we finished eating Sindee and I got cleaned up and dressed for the day before taking Marcus to do the same at his dorm. Today was the day I decided to try and awaken Sindee. This wasn’t something I was undertaking lightly. Awakening a mortal mind to the greater world was as dangerous to them as it was to person doing it. If we were to continue our relationship, Sindee needed to know what I was and the danger that put her in. I didn’t expect to fall in love; it just snuck up on me. I hadn’t let myself feel anything beyond friendship for anyone in the last 5 years. My heart was walled off like a tomb since that horrific night. Sindee didn’t wear away at my defenses; she just entered my heart right past the wall as if she were the air I needed to breath.
I’d chosen to head out of town toward Red Rock Canyon, it was a nice climbing and hiking area on the western edge of the Las Vegas valley. Being late in July, the heat would be keeping almost everyone who may have headed out there at indoor climbing centers so there would be plenty of privacy for what we had to do. When we got there, we drove out onto the scenic loop taking the side road out to Turtlehead Peak to make sure no one was likely to come by at an inopportune moment.
Once we parked I grabbed the water and a couple of camp chairs from the trunk of the car. If I was going to fracture Sindee’s reality I wanted her to be comfortable. The three of us headed into the rocks to find a place to set camp, so to speak. It took only a few minutes to get comfortable before I knew I needed to start.
I took a few breaths to focus my mind and get my thoughts in order before I pulled on the Magick. I spread my senses and touched Marcus’s mind, linking our thoughts to allow us to act as one. Once the link was formed between us, allowing us to communicate silently, we connected to Sindee’s mind just enough to monitor her surface thoughts. We didn’t want to invade her privacy. This happened in the space of a few breaths and I began to speak. “Sindee, I have to tell you something that you will most likely find unbelievable. Despite that, I assure you, everything I’m about to say is true and if you need me to I can prove it beyond a doubt.”
“Andrew, that’s not the most comforting thing you’ve ever said to me. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt for now but speak plainly and quickly,” was Sindee’s reply. I admired her directness. She is such a kind loving woman you forget about the steel in her spine unless she has reason to show it.
I took one deep breath and started, “Magick and Mages are real, they exist in this world alongside all the other Myths and Legends such as Vampires, Werewolves and all the others that are too numerous to name right now. I know from that statement alone you’re thinking that I’m some kind of lunatic or that the trauma when I was sixteen is starting to have an effect on my mind. I assure you that I’m perfectly sane.” Her surface thought were a scramble of mixed emotion, everything from thinking I’m crazy as I said, wondering what she’d do if she lost me, debating on hearing me out and believing or running for the car and taking off for town. Those swirling emotions were a good sign as it showed that she wasn’t closing her mind to the possibility. “I’ve known all of this since shortly after our first meeting. The incident that cost me my family was the trigger for the Awakening of my power as a Mage. Think it through with your brilliant mind, I’m sure you’ve seen things in the hospital or other places that didn’t seem to make sense but you dismissed them as a coincidence or they are still nagging you at the back of your mind.” Her thought shifted again to bodies that disappeared from the morgue, blood supplies missing from the hospital.
The her mind brought up a couple of memories of me, the speed at which I recovered from the injuries that put me in the hospital, the complete lack of scarring of any sort where the staples and stitches had held my flesh together. Another image entered he mind, the single white rose with a petal the color of her hair. These images were all good signs as she seemed to be accepting everything that I had told her thus far. Sindee started to speak, “This isn’t possible, it makes no sense. How can any of this exist without everyone knowing it? I know mentally that everything you say is impossible, but I also can’t deny the memories I’m thinking about.” She continues to babble a bit, arguing both sides to herself.
I decided that now would be the right time prove to her at least some of what I was telling her was fact and hope that he mind accepted it. If it didn’t I would lose her and break both of our hearts as it would be the only way to protect her from my reality. I reached into my own connection to the Magick as well as drawing power from Marcus, using more Magick from the Spheres of Mind, Spirit and Prime. I connected more deeply with Sindee and brought our minds into sync with each other wrapping her mind and mine with the feeling and sense of my Avatar. Once this was accomplished I touched all nine Spheres and shared with Sindee what we only spoke of in the past. I first shared with her my feelings for her, letting her see that my heart was hers to do with as she pleased, that she could crush me at will. I had never left myself so open a vulnerable to anyone before. The next thing I share was my memory, vivid as the day it happened, of my Awakening. I was suddenly cast out of her mind and felt myself flying backward through the air. I sense of motion stopped as my back erupted in pain. Right before my head smacked into the same thing my back had and I backed out, my last thought was that everything went wrong and the backlash was killing me as I heard or felt several minds shouting in my head at once, too many minds.
I don’t know how long it was before I opened my eyes again, but it had been a little while. The sun had moved across the sky a fair distance and my skin felt like it was on fire. I tasted copper in my mouth; my body ached as if I had been crushed under something all day. I tried to connect to the Magick and couldn’t touch it right now. While this was a concern, I was more worried about what had happened to Sindee. I looked around quickly, regretting the hasty movement immediately as my head exploded in pain and my vision filled with stars. I didn’t care how much pain I was in, I forced myself to my feet and moved to find her. I spotted Marcus first, he looked worse for the wear but he was starting to move himself. This told me the backlash must have been worse than I expected as I had set up the spells to drawn any backlash to me. My concern for Sindee jumped threefold as I realized what that meant for her. Most Mages, myself included, who knew enough of Life Magick to heal themselves would either carry something to heal or have a spell hanging in the event they were injured. I spotted Sindee almost immediately after the concern spiked in me. She was still sitting in the chair exactly where she was when I started the explanation, not a scratch on her nor a hair out of place. I’d never seen anything like it when a spell went wrong enough to throw other participants at least thirty feet from where they started.
I staggered over to where Sindee was sitting, needing to check and see if she was alright. The memory of my Seeking haunting me as my alternate-self yelled accusations at me saying that it was my fault, I didn’t protect her, she was gone because of me. Fear was riding me like never before. I had been afraid during the attack at the cabin, but this fear paralyzed me and I reached out to check her pulse. I fought this fear, placing my hand on her neck, my heart was pounding so hard I couldn’t feel her pulse over my own. I was staring at her angelic beauty, hating myself for attempting this with someone as precious to me as Sindee was when her eyes slowly opened. My heart leapt for joy that she was alive before sinking in fear again not knowing how she was going to react to the truth of the world around her.
I saw the color of her eyes had changed to a darker gray, looking like storm clouds on the horizon with little flecks of silver warning of the power stored with that storm. There was a sense of peace and knowledge in her that told me without using Magick that she had accepted the truth, I still was afraid of what that meant for us as a couple. My fears were alleviated as Sindee leaned forward slowly, gently brushing her lips to mine, the doing so again as her right hand reached up and cupped my face. She continued to deepen the kiss gently and slowly. A sense of peace and need for her settled over me as I kissed her back, running my tongue along her lips then both of us deepening the kiss as we explored the other’s mouth. We continued to kiss and I ran my hands through her long silken hair and around her body. I dropped to my knees in front of her and embraced her close; wrapping my bruised and pain wracked body around hers, never wanting to let go again. As I held Sindee I felt the pain flowing out of me, just having her near was enough to allow me to ignore the pain of my damaged body.
It was sometime later as the sun moved toward the western horizon when we finally broke our embrace. I looked into her eyes again and tried to tell her how I felt, how much she meant to me. After making several false starts the words that finally came out said it all in their simplicity, “I love you.”
Sindee’s smile could always light to room, but the one she gave me then outshone the sun and all the stars combined as she replied, “I love you too Andrew, heart and soul.”
We stood and walked over to Marcus, his clothing looked a little worse for wear but the time Sindee and I spent in our embrace he put to good use. His skin was healed to pristine condition, the only sign of anything having been wrong in the first place was damage to his clothing and the bloodstains surround it. This brought my mind back to my body and the damage that had been done to it. I realized that there was still no pain and that I didn’t have the coppery taste of blood in my mouth any longer. We climbed into the car and I drove us back into town slowly. We were all silent as the road passed under us. The sun was down by the time the city lights lit the sky ahead of us.
Sindee has a lot of questions as we drove and I explained as much about the world I knew as she asked questions about it. She was most curious about the Magick and how it worked. I took my time to explain everything I could during the drive. We stopped and picked up a bunch of takeout as we hadn’t eaten anything since morning. Marcus took up some of the explanations filling in gaps where he knew things I didn’t. We all passed the night talking full of energy, from where we didn’t know.
We were still awake and talking when the sun rose. The day passed quickly as some of Sindee’s other friends including Natalie came to visit and it turned into an impromptu yard party. Just friends hanging out, drinking, swimming and eating together like an extended family. Once again I spent most of my time staring in wonder at Sindee, thinking out how lucky I was that I had her heart as she had mine. I decided to do something I’d been planning since waking up that first morning looking into her eyes. When I had a few minutes I made a quick phone call, then thinking about the next day, I smiled and put my phone away. I asked Sindee if she had anything she needed to do during the day tomorrow as well as telling her I wanted to take her out for a proper date. She was excited by the prospect as we hadn’t had much time to go out due to our opposing schedules. Fortunately for me, my business allowed for some flexibility as I worked with all the worlds investment markets and primarily with long term investments.
When the night came to an end, everyone settled down throughout the house, crashing where there was room once the guest room was in use. Everyone slept like the dead, none more so than Sindee, Marcus and I as we’d been up for two days before the party wound down. In the morning everyone got ready for their days and went in different direction. I took Sindee to the Forum Shops just to take her for a small shopping spree. We had hit several store getting clothes and accessories for the both of us. Sindee had come out of on boutique with a sealed garment bag, refusing to let me see what was inside. She told me it was for that evenings date and I didn’t get to see it until then. While we were running from store to store I made a few other calls to make arrangements for the evening. After our shopping spree I dropped Sindee off at home and after carrying her backs in for her I told her I’d pick her up at 7 for our night out.
I wanted to look my best for this evening, more so I wanted to look my best for Sindee. I had chosen a tailored Armani suit in black with an emerald shirt and a black tie. I chose platinum for the watch and tie clip. This look was simple but suited my dark hair and eyes. I couldn’t wait to see Sindee and I nervously paced Marcus’s dorm room waiting to go pick her up. I arrived at her house precisely at 7. I felt nervous as a schoolboy picking a girl up for the first time as I approached the door and knocked. Natalie opened the door and looked surprised at my appearance before closing her jaw that dropped and informing me that Sindee would be out momentarily. I waited in the entry for her to come out.
When Sindee came down the hall into the living room I was struck silent by the vision before me. She had chosen an elegantly simple full length dress that hugged the curves of her upper body, becoming a flowing skirt from the waist down. It was deep blue, dark against her fair skin and red hair. Her eyes seemed to shine silver like a full moon over the empty desert night. The neckline dropped just enough to show off the infinity loop I’d given her resting just above the swell of her breasts. Her silken copper red hair braided down her back with a few loose strands framing her angelic face. I stood there staring for a minute or two before remembering how to move and speak. I handed a bouquet of roses to Sindee from which she handed to Natalie and she stepped forward to tank my arm. I finally managed to find my voice again and speak, “There are no words to express what I feel when I see you other than to call you my angel and even that isn’t enough.” I took her hand, bringing it to my lips as I bent down to kiss the back of it the way a gentleman should. My heart was pounding in my chest again, not from fear or nerves but just from being in her presence.
Sindee smiled and blushed at my words and actions as I lowered her hand between us without letting go, laughing she replied, “You clean up well yourself.”
I walked her to the door to head out. When the door opened I was watching her face as she saw the first surprise of the evening; a black stretch limousine to travel in for the evening. We got into the limo and headed out for the evening. I took her to the City Center resort for dinner before we went out dancing. I was the envy of every guy in the club as no one could keep their eyes of the heavenly beauty that I was fortunate enough to love and have love me. My only concern the whole evening was ensuring that Sindee had an unforgettable night. We caught a late show after dancing for a while. At the end of the evening we returned to the limo and the driver took us up to the Resort at Mount Charleston. They had these cabins with great views on the mountains and the valley below them. When we arrived at the resort a concierge came out with the key to the suite I arranged. Before heading to the room we walked out onto the canyon terrace, once there I could feel my heart in my throat and I was positive Sindee could hear it beating through my chest. Once we walked out to the rail overlooking the canyon below and we were alone as I had arranged to have the terrace closed for the evening I turned so that I was facing Sindee. I slipped my hand into the pocket of my jacket and pulled out a ring box. I flipped it open quietly with one hand and then knelt before Sindee holding the box so the ring faced her.
“I have told you how much I love you, shared with you those feelings in the way I am uniquely able to do. From the first day we came back together I have been in love with you so much that it scared me. After spending the time together we have, I want you in my life if you’ll have me. Sindee Erica Grey, will you do me the honor of marrying me?” As those words left my mouth I felt intense relief and eternal dread as I waited for her reply.
The moment between asking her to marry me and hearing her decision felt like an eternity in a single breath. No more than a few seconds passed as I could see the tears in her eyes and her chest rise as she took a breath in to speak her answer…..

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